A few lovely little things that have made my days a bit sunnier, and could help lift the clouds wherever you are.
WATCH
I YouTube quite a bit (or Netflix - very little actually watching TV when it's on). A lot of what I watch are beauty gurus, but there's a few others I watch also! Here's two favorites:
Food Wishes by Chef John
A delightful cooking channel, he shows you how to create fantastic meals using simple language and methods. He's funny, he's knowledgable, he's encouraging, he likes puns, he loves cayenne. Even complicated recipes seem like a cinch. I recommend the Irish Cheddar Spring Onion Biscuits and the Salt Crusted Beef Tenderloin to start.
Glam and Gore by Mykie
Sort of a beauty guru? But sort of not? If you have ever been interested in doing SFX looks or just need a reason to buy a giant jug of latex and a bag of cotton balls, then you have to check her out. From gory Disney princesses to abominable snowmen to steampunk, she provides crazy in-depth tutorials, going over how to put together the look, what you might need, and how to be safe while doing it. She is one of the very few I make sure to never miss a video.
APPS
I've recently downloaded a couple of apps on my iPhone, strong enough to have the power to pull me away from Instagram and Twitter (which is saying something).
Lake
This is a very neat coloring app, that uses several illustrators to provide a daily sketch to color. The free version gives you one free daily sketch plus one free sketch per illustrator; to get the full library you do have to pay (they have weekly and monthly subscriptions also). However, by subscribing, you get a custom color palette and you get to directly support the artist, which is always a great thing! I found it through one of the illustrators, Maja Säfström, whom I follow on Instagram - see her cute drawings on @majasbok!
Texture
If you love magazines but hate how they pile up in your house - and hate how expensive they are - look no further. For one low subscription rate, you get access to all the magazines they have, and can download and read them on your tablet or phone at any time. They have two levels - if you like your weekly magazines like People or Entertainment Weekly, it's a bit more expensive - and an impressive library. Vogue, Marie Claire, Men's and Women's Health, Backpacker, OK!, US Weekly, etc, etc. There is something for everyone on this app, and it's really nice to be able to read whatever you want without getting a separate subscription for each or paying newsstand prices.
LISTEN
A new favorite and a rediscovered old favorite, from extremely disparate styles of music.
The Staves, "Tired as F*ck"
She has a voice of an angel, and this song speaks to my soul. I suspect it will speak to most people's soul.
Type O Negative, "Cinnamon Girl"
I was a teenager in the nineties, which means I have a very soft spot in my heart for the sort of grunge-y hard rock to come out of that era. Type O Negative was one of the best. Peter Steele had a helluva voice - deep and resonant. Here they cover Cinnamon Girl, which is one of my fave Neil Young songs; it was this song that cemented my love for this band.