Welcome to your local YAA bloggers, Estelle Kim and Iliana Cutten’s Blog of the Month! As a dynamic duo since junior high, we have opened up our new YAA blog content, K&C Corner, to share our recommendations and offbeat thoughts. Each month we will share with you our monthly obsessions in a variety of alternating categories for your enjoyment. We will be exploring topics such as books, Netflix suggestions, new hobbies, and many more! Now let’s get started!
NETFLIX RECOMMENDATION OF THE MONTH
https://www.fox.com/new-girl/
Iliana – New girl
Between avoiding work and getting tired of social media, it suffices to say that I have had a great deal of time to binge Netflix. This month’s obsession? New Girl of course. While our American neighbours have been able to enjoy New Girl on Netflix for years, us Canadians finally have, at long last, been able to watch the hit sitcom. Centred around Jess, a chipper school teacher, the series is a comedic presentation of her life with three male roommates in LA. Made for easy watching and guaranteeing quick laughs the show offers a generous 7 seasons of entertainment. If you stan Zooey Deschanel and are a fan of lighthearted addictive TV series, this show will not disappoint.
Estelle – Hospital Playlist
It would not be an overstatement to say that my life these days revolves around Thursday, the day that Hospital Playlist is released. Unlike many of the other medical TV shows I’ve watched, Hospital Playlist is a show that leads you through the details of the everyday life of working in a hospital through 5 friends who have been sticking with one another since undergrad school. This show will make you cry and laugh as you are invited to see a close-up of the lives of every patient, doctor, nurse and all other characters, with each one of them sharing their own unique stories.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Estelle – Us against You
When asked about my favourite books, the first one that comes to my mind is Us against You. Although it may sound very cliche (like the quotes that are always on the cover of books), this is a book that kept me on my toes until the last page. The way the author portrays the emotions and situations of each of the characters is so impactful and carefully illustrated. I felt like this book was a long explanation and proof of one of my favourite quotes “life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot” by Charlie Chaplin. The way the author portrays the character’s minor and insignificant everyday life scenes in such a dramatic and impactful way to me showed how when we look at other people and their life situations, it may not seem significant but when we are put into that same situation and look at it from a very subjective view, it seems more dramatic and consequential. The foreshadowing in this book also creates a sense of suspense that is so frightening because of the emotional attachment that you unconsciously create with each of the characters as you turn the pages.
Iliana – The Help
If I am being entirely honest it’s been a very long time since I read an entire book, BUT, my absolute favourite novel is The Help. The 2011 world-renowned novel by Kathryn Stockette is a historical fiction set in Southern Mississippi during the Jim Crow era and explores the rising racial tensions of the time. Not only does the book highlight the narratives of white household’s African-American help but does so in a genuine manner that provides insight into the struggles of this marginalized population. The work is truly a touching story of adversity which brings 21st-century intersectional feminism to the early 1960s. Stockette’s talent in writing in the first-person narrative places the reader in an intimate setting with these funny and powerful women allowing for a shared understanding between both the novel and the audience. It is no wonder with such compelling characters and a captivating plot that Kathryn Stockette’s The Help spent over 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
HOBBIES OF THE MONTH
Estelle – Drawing & Colouring
Although I had never imagined that I would be able to start a collection of drawings and colouring in the middle of the semester, this is a new hobby that both the beautiful May weather and loads of time quarantine has inspired. I usually like to draw Disney characters or Charlie Brown characters, and you won’t be able to find a photo without flowers in it! I would recommend for beginners like myself to start with “cliparts” like the picture above, where all the lines are very clear and definite. I like to focus more on the colouring than drawing, but I feel like the whole process is what makes me feel rewarded when I’m done. The drawings are also a good, colourful addition to my wall!
Iliana – Rollerblading
Since recently finding my mom’s 1992 set of rollerblades in the garage I have taken to the streets to embarrass myself in front of pedestrians and cyclists alike. The sport mimics the movements of ice skating but has the bonus of beautiful scenery and the rough concrete to remind you of gravity. Despite the initial challenges of being completely unable to stop and failing to navigate seas of gravel I have enjoyed my time falling and sometimes skating down pathways.
FOOD OF THE MONTH
Iliana – Banana Bread
My mom’s classic sugary banana bread, both suspiciously delicious and dangerously addictive. Sweets are always a hot commodity in my household, however, a banana bread loaf usually only lasts mere hours after being made. After thawing some suspiciously dark bananas from the freezer we make the dough like any other banana loaf. Then for the sake of nutrition and to comfort our genetic sweet tooth we add a TON of chocolate chips. That is the most important aspect of the food, I cannot emphasize this enough; do not hold back on the chocolate. I only caution chocolate overuse to not impact the structural integrity of the dough. For your future baking considerations; banana bread.
Estelle – Honey lemon marmalade
Homemade honey lemon marmalade has been my soul food for the past month. Not only is it a way to make good use of the WHOLE lemon, but it also helps with the detoxification of our bodies! I feel like a detox is vital especially during times like this where I am seen to be consuming more food (especially junk food) compared to the amount of physical movement in a day. Although it does take some time, I would strongly encourage you to make honey lemon marmalade. You can also replace lemon with orange and make orange marmalade if you want a more sweet rather than sour product. It can be the jam to your toast and also make for deliciously sweet tea!
SONG OF THE MONTH
Estelle – “Bonfire ” by Peder Elias
Although we cannot “meet by the bonfire” with our friends, this song will make you feel as if you are sitting by a bonfire, singing fun camp songs with the people you like. Its a light and sweet song to lift your mood when you are missing your friends or even just the feeling of surrounding yourself with people outdoors!
Iliana – “At Seventeen” by Janis Ian
I was once told that your favourite songs are those which you feel emotionally connected to, whether that be through memory or situation. Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen” is a pop/folk ballad that explores the realizations of youth amongst the realities of aging into adulthood. The song connects to the adolescent’s fears of missing out regarding appearances, romance and success. Regardless of popularity or other social afflictions, I think that the song reflects many of the insecurities that young people hold.
RANDOM CATEGORY
Iliana – Everyday ASMR
I know that ASMR is not a necessarily new topic but I am learning to appreciate the everyday sounds in my life. For example the sound of typing, oddly comforting, or the crisp sounds of cracking knuckles, also unexplainably satisfying. While I know that both these sounds are usually deemed as annoying or uncomfortable I suggest holistically appreciating not only these sounds but searching for your own aural enjoyments in life. Less controversially spring showers have brought me the simple but cherishable sound of rain against my window. If this section doesn’t speak to the current pace of life, or perhaps how boring my life has become then I don’t know what will. Still, I challenge you to seek out life’s small comforts and pleasures, especially when you have this time.
Estelle – Charlie Brown Illustrations
While searching on Pinterest for simple illustrations to draw, I had come across some adorable Charlie Brown pictures. Even before I knew it, there was already a collection of Charlie Brown pictures on my laptop! Not only are they simple to draw, but the expressions of all the characters are so lovely it lightens your mood when you look at them. I like to alternate and change my phone wallpaper so that the illustration correlates with my mood of the day. Today, I wanted to share a couple of my favourites with you guys – they can be perfect phone backgrounds, Instagram profile pictures, or even just cute photos for you to look at!
And that concludes K&C Corner: Blog of the Month for May 2020! Thank you for tuning in and have yourselves a lovely May. See you back in June!