Can you blame us though? The last few years have been rough on everyone. And the world hasn’t gotten much better since I last wrote. But lets get back to some positive feelings for now. Spring is finally here in The Netherlands. It’s impossible to avoid it. I figured now would be the best time to return to this space. The beginning of a new season always fills me with joy. Here is what I’ve been up to, along with a few updates on how we’ve been.

In full bloom
It’s been a strange year, what with many flowers having already bloomed in January. But there’s a lot more to be see in our area. And I’m so thankful for it. The sight of bright flowers lifts my mood and gets me excited for the future. There’s so much to talk about and I’ve taken a long enough break!

Catching up on reading
I’ve not forgotten my reading challenges but I’m kinder on myself this year. My goal is to read at least 10 books. I’m getting older and my time becomes more valuable with each passing year. This year I want a mix of genres I love, but also books that are relatable to me. I’ve finished reading Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes: Essays by Phoebe Robinson, and I found her book to be a great mix of relatable and eye opening. If you’re in the mood for a bit of comedy and a bit of grounding… Then you should take a look at this title, I had a great time with it. I want to read more books about the Asian-American immigrant experience so I’m on the look out. More updates to come when I get a hold of some good titles!

Gamer Hype
I’ve been playing games with friends on and off but I always value my alone time. I’m trying to balance out playing 2 different Pokémon titles, Animal Crossing and a few mobile games. I’d also love to write a post on Guild Wars 2 again. The expansion End of Dragons came out a few weeks back and the story still tugs at my heart. Guild Wars has been a huge part of my life as well and I’m willing to preach about it to anyone who will listen, haha.

Future Plans
Sander and I have a few music shows planned out, 1 or 2 conventions, and a 2 week holiday with his parents. You can be sure I want to write about everything. I haven’t been slacking in self improvement department. On top of continuing my Youtube channel, I’ve put in a lot of time learning to draw. Yes, I’ve been at it a while now… but with drawing, you can never stop learning. I signed up for 2 Domestika courses as well!

I’ve completed the Fantastical Illustrations with Procreate by Michael Relth course and I’m still working on my final piece for Atmospheric Scenes in Procreate: Paint with Color and Light by Ramona Wultschner. These courses have challenged the way I look at art as a whole, and pushed me to explore what I want to draw. It feels amazing to spend a week (or in my case, 2 or even 3) working on a piece to have it come together in the end. I’d love to take Drawing Appealing Characters with Personality by Magdalina Dianova, but I need to figure out if I need to practice anatomy more before I dive in.

So for now, those are all the updates I have. I’d love to write more but some weeks are uninteresting. As things start opening up, and we start getting out, there will be more to talk about. If you’ve been with me this long, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We all had a difficult adjusting to the changes in our lives and I couldn’t find the motivation to write. I do love writing and I hope I can do more of it this year.

The post Welcome spring – some updates appeared first on A Daily Lee.

Sex Bomb
We live in The Netherlands and that means we have a washroom, a single often tiny room for the toilet. And you know how toilet rooms can get at times, especially if they’re super tiny. It’s been months since I decided to invest in a Lush body spray as a bathroom spray… Let me tell you, I will never go back. Especially with Sex Bomb. It’s an exotic blend of jasmine, sage and ylang ylang oils. Imagine yourself on a spicy, floral journey into the unknown, that’s what this scent is all about. Honestly, if I didn’t use it for the bathroom, I’d use it on myself.

Orange Blossom
Before I left California I had one wish. I wanted to find a perfume that would remind me of home. Of springs spent in orange groves where the blossoms would fall like rain. It was a tall order though and I left without finding something. And here it is now. Orange blossom is that perfect delicate scent of those same orange groves I grew up with. It’s also got a woody flavor to it with rosewood and bergamot. It’s not strong but it lasts for ages. When I get a whiff of it, I’m right back in California. I’ve never been so happy about perfume! Well I do still love my Ectoplasm, but that’s also a citrus scent. I guess I just have a think for citrus?

Lord of Misrule
This was another scent that isn’t new to our house hold but it’s a limited edition one. Available only once a year, Lord of Misrule is another spicy trek into the unknown. It’s got black pepper and patchouli for that double attack of a scent so specific, you’d know it on first sniff. It’s something hard to describe with words, but trust me… Once you try it, you either love it or hate it. We love it so much we went for the biggest bottle this year.

Pumpkin Spice
And of course, no Lush haul would be complete without a bar of soap. Not included in this photo is also the bar of Pumpkin Spice I picked up. I wanted to keep it wrapped up and protected until I use it. And smells exactly as it is named. The cool think about it is it has pumpkin seeds baked in so you can use them to scrub your body and get rid of the tough grime from Trick or Treating! I can’t wait to open up this one but I’m still working on a Christmas Jelly from last year!

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And I know that I do actually have friends and family that I haven’t seen for 5 years because I’ve moved away… But Amsterdam sort of feels like an old friend. A friend that says very little, but you always remember what they say. Amsterdam was not the first European city that I’ve seen in my life, but it’s one of the most influential. I have so many important memories and I’m glad we finally went back, felt safe going back.

The anxiety of living in a foreign country
I can’t say that I still feel anxious about living in The Netherlands but the main reason we went to Amsterdam was to complete my reapplication to live here. I needed to update my photo and signature. But all those “what if” situations kept popping up in my head. What if they found something wrong with my papers? They did actually, it was pretty funny. But it was no huge issue! Someone wrote down the wrong date for my passport and the guy who helped me fixed it. He was an amazing dude too! We laughed the entire time.

I’m a nervous person by nature but even after 5 years I’m still learning to feel comfortable. I should be more confident in myself, I’ve accomplished a lot! But I couldn’t have done it if I had stayed in my home town in America. I’m always reminded of those first few weeks when we visit Amsterdam. How I never thought I could find the courage to leave. It’s all in the past now but I look back and smile.

Precious time with Sander
Sander and I have a small flat and that means we’re always in earshot of each other. But that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve a break once in a while. And by break I mean a date! Now listen here. During quarantine, the dogs have developed a lot of anxiety and they can’t remain alone.. Which of course can be a pain in the ass. But, we’ve thankful that Sander’s parents love our dogs. So they get to baby sit and Sander and I can have a few hours to ourselves.

It’s also a great way for us to actually spend time together. Otherwise we’re on our phones, watching tv, or something something else. We can’t give each other 100% of our attention. Dates are few and far between now but that’s the way things are for now. Amsterdam has always been the place we enjoy ourselves the most and I’m so glad we don’t live to far from it.

A true test of knowledge
So when we go to Amsterdam, I’m adamant about only using Dutch. We hardly speak Dutch at home so I’m always rusty… And Amsterdam is the best place to “be Dutch”. And let me tell you I will always adore that feeling… When people believe that you’re Dutch and that you belong. I love entering a store and having only Dutch spoken to me. It’s like I do belong, that this is my true home. It’s never been easy for me to feel at home or comfortable where I live.

And I know I said above that I need to be more confident… But this is a different form of confidence. The knowledge that I speak the language, that I’m at home with these people. It’s the best feeling in the world. I know I have my Dutch tutor to thank for that… And I know she reads these posts, so hello Wess!

Cultures from all over
There are times when I feel too Dutch though. The same meals, scents, flavors, sights and sounds… Most of that stuff is strictly Dutch, especially since I come from such a small commuter town. But in Amsterdam, you’ve got everything to smack you in the face. As the capital city of The Netherlands, Amsterdam is home to thousands of different cultures under once roof. I can tell you Sander and I spend a lot of time in the Asian streets.

I’ve found dozens of flavors from my mom’s home cooking on the shelves in such grocery stores. So I’m also thankful that Amsterdam can let me bring a small piece of home. If you ever get the chance to eat fresh burfi, please do! It’s one of my favorite Indian desserts!

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The Search
I knew I wanted to shop local stores and help out a smaller business. The issue with that was… Curtains are super expensive! We have large windows because our windows are French doors. We needed something tall enough and wide enough to fit and not break the bank. In the beginning I found curtains starting at €600 for one window. That’s so expensive! And we had 2 French doors plus a smaller 3rd window to furnish! There was no way we could afford something like that. So I began to consider my options.

The Find
I was on Ikea one day and found the LENDA curtains. I loved how they needed little work to be installed. The tab heading on the top meant we didn’t need to buy rings. Put up a rod and slide those babies in. Simple and clean, they were thick enough to block light but still allow a decent amount in. Which meant we could even keep the curtains closed during the day and not be in the dark. There are sometimes when the weather outside is disgusting, and I don’t want to see that! The white shade of the curtains was even super close to the white trim we already had in the flat. These curtains were perfect. What wasn’t perfect.. Was the size. While they were tall enough, they weren’t wide enough to cover the French doors.

The Problem
The LENDA curtains are 140cm and we needed something that was at least 270cm per panel. That’s a lot of fabric! It was understandable that buying something that would fit the space, would also cost an arm and a leg. I spent months searching for another solution and then it hit me. Why not do a little of my own DIY? I could these curtains into something that could fit the space. The idea was super simple too.

The Solution
We would buy double the amount of curtains and sew two panels together to make one large panel. Would it work? I had no idea, but I had faith that I could make it work. So we took the plunge and bought 5 sets of LENDA curtains. Since we had a smaller window we didn’t have to worry about that one. A single panel worked fine for that one! Thank goodness for little blessings, huh? We put up the single panel and figured out the length of what we needed. The panels are super long to fit any space! So another hurdle popped up. I would need to sew not only 2 panels together, but take it up from the bottom as well since 300cm was way too long.

So I borrowed Sander’s mom’s sewing machine and set aside a few hours to work. First I took 2 panels and sewed them together, starting at the top so that they would match up. This was the correct way to work, as the panels didn’t match by the time I got to the bottom. Of course, panic set in until I realized that I was cutting off a chunk of the bottom and that it didn’t matter either way. Once the bottom length was hemmed and cut, we had some beautiful looking curtains that draped like a dream and had more than enough fabric to cover the windows.

The Verdict
I never thought I would love a space this much. The change in tone of the room is like night and day. I wish I had photos of the old space for a comparison but I don’t! Needless to say our living room looks elevated and even a bit chic. We’re still working on our flat little by little to achieve a home that we’re both proud of. I love that we finally took the plunge and installed curtains. This is such a huge step in the right direction for our place. And we didn’t spend more than €300 for this makeover. This is the first step in changes around our place that we had planned for the spring! Be sure to come back and see what else we decide to do!

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Playing games with purpose
I love playing video games but felt guilty about doing it. I’ve spent a majority of the year drawing and finding other ways of being productive. But there’s only so far self indulgence can go. I get so much joy when I write and get reader responses. The same goes for my channel. It’s been a slow slog through the mud since Youtube is so saturated, but it gives me a sense of purpose. I love planning out the videos for the week and follow through from beginning to end. This space has grown so much and still has a long way to go…

But in the end it’s still a non profitable space for me. I figure if I keep working at recording videos and playing games, maybe someday I can make some revenue from it. And I’m not doing it for the money. If I was, I would get a steady job. I just want to learn and grow as a person, and even possibly make new friends along the way.

Learning new things
I don’t want to stop learning new things but there was a hole in drawing. Drawing takes years of time, effort, and hard work. It’s going to take years before I see improvement and some days I feel helpless to my own inabilities. With recording, it’s all technical. If I don’t know something, I can just look it up. I went to school for these sorts of things and it feels good to revisit those skills. I missed them! They say you never stop learning and I wholeheartedly agree.

Now this isn’t a plug for my channel, because it’s so small right now and it’s a personal project. But I just wanted to put these words out into the universe. I haven’t forgotten about this blog but there’s not much for me to write about. So instead of sitting around all day, I’ve put my energies into something else. If you’re curious about it you can check it out from the link in the sidebar. And until next post, I hope you guys are staying safe!

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Talk it out
Don’t go out of your way to find people to fight with. Instead have calm, collected conversations with others about racial identity. I can say that even I grew up around racism both towards me and towards others in my community. Consider why racism happens and keep in mind that it goes both ways. In the book How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, Kendi discusses that racism isn’t always towards other groups. In his high school graduation speech, he regretfully recalls that he encouraged the gap between Black people and other races. It’s one thing to be proud of your race, and it’s another to push yours on a pedestal to make it better than others.

Get educated
It’s been a tough slog for me but I’m making progress in my summer reading list. Nothing is more powerful than a well rounded education and I wish race was taught about in schools. Our American history books skirt around issues, avoid heavy topics, and skim over powerful Black moments like they were nothing. Fill in the gaps for yourself by reaching out and grabbing true history instead of the watered down stuff in dated textbooks.

Be accountable
I wish I could say I’ve never been racist but that’s a lie. I know I’ve had more than a few racist thoughts. But you know what? People can change. Know the difference between being not racist and being anti-racist. If you’re not racist you don’t have to choose a side to stand on. If you’re anti-racist, you’re against racism and you value racial tolerance. The road isn’t easy, but nothing worth fighting for is easy to reach.

Donate all you can
You don’t need money to donate to the cause. Sign up and volunteer your time. Protest when you can but keep yourself safe too. Stay away from violent protests and take precautions in case of an emergency. If you have items that donation centers can take, bring in your old clothes and books you don’t use. Shelters also need help as well so do a little investigating on what you can help out with in your community.

Commit to Change
It’s easy to say and then not follow up. Be the change you want to see in this world. And remember that no matter how small your voice is, it’s still your voice. Use it to preach love, kindness, and tolerance. At the end of the day, we’re all human. We all need each other to survive in this world. Let’s not promote hate to anyone. Wake up every morning and remind yourself that you’re lucky to be alive. Not everyone can do so. And if you’re privileged enough to not worry about your life when you go outside… Remember that not everyone can do that either.

Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash

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My name is Lily and I’m a light skinned Indian-American woman born in 1988. I understand I will never understand the suffering of Black people.

Please know that this blog is a place of happiness for me but I can’t stand aside and ignore what’s going on in the country where I was born. My parents immigrated to America for a better life. Everyone should be given that American dream. So I’d like to take this moment to direct as much attention as I can to helpful resources. Consider visiting Sarah Sophie Flicker’s Instagram where she has a huge list of other places to turn to. The wonderful people at Good Good Good have also put together the following resources:

I’ve also discovered a way for people to donate if you don’t have the money to. If you click this Youtube link, you’ll be directed to a video filled with content by Black creators. It has ads attached to it and all revenue will be donated to the organizations listed in the description box.

The post “I can’t breathe” – George Floyd appeared first on A Daily Lee.

Of course I still use my Mini but it’s not my main Ipad anymore. And that’s because I spend many hours on Procreate. Since I use my new Ipad Pro 2020 for drawing, let me share how it’s helped me improve everything. From the way I draw, to the methods I use, the Ipad Pro has changed a lot of things for me!

Sync ready
When I was ready to switch to my new Ipad Pro, all I had to do was place both Ipads side by side. They detected each other and synced all my files and accounts! It took no time at all for me to have all my files, reference photos, and apps installed on my new Ipad and it was amazing. The Apple pencil needed to be next to the Ipad Pro to activate too! I thought I would have some trouble getting everything sorted but I was drawing on my new Ipad in less than an hour.

Easy to use
After the initial set up, all I had to do was set up my facial recognition and I was ready to go. I don’t remember it being so easy to get back to work on a new Ipad but it was amazing. And now, all I do is hold it up to my face to load up my workspace.

No wire fuss
I used to have to remember to plug in my old pencil and sometimes I would forget. Then I would have to charge it for a few hours before I could get to work on something. Now I use the magnets in my Apple pencil to attach it to my Ipad Pro! And charging it is as simple as that. Do remember though, that if you use your Ipad in this way, the pencil takes its charge from the Ipad. Make sure you have it plugged in otherwise you’ll have a fully charged pencil with an Ipad at half charge!

Faster turn around
The Apple pencil is so responsive that it blows my mind. I barely have to apply pressure sometimes! And I can now shade on the side of the tip, like a real pencil! While I valued my time with the Adonit stylus, I’m so happy that I took the time to figure out that this form of digital media was for me. Sander uses it and my old Mini for when he has the drawing bug. It’s been so good to be able to talk to him about art and using the new Ipad Pro has helped me improved how fast I can turn out new pieces.

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Konmari Method
Do you remember when the Konmari Method was the only thing people could talk about? About how you should purge anything that didn’t “Spark Joy”? That’s what Facebook was for me. In the past I had used it so much. As I got older I used it less and less. My friends list became smaller. My posts became infrequent. Why? Life changed for me in the last 5 years and I didn’t feel like sharing it all. So in the end I deleted it because it didn’t “Spark Joy”.

Sense of worth
The worst part of social media is that we get to see the way people live. What’s terrible about that is we only see the perfect, edited and curated pieces of how someone lives. It’s not the whole truth and if it is then it’s rarely embraced. I had lied to myself and others about how I lived. It was exciting to embrace a new culture but I never spoke about the negatives about it. That idea toyed with my self worth. If something wasn’t good enough, perfect enough, it wasn’t worth posting about. Everyday is worth living. It’s not about the perfect days. The bad days also help make us who we are!

Nothing to contribute
Because I never felt like anything was worth sharing, I hardly ever posted. My Facebook feed became photos from strangers. I was beginning to learn about other people while no one learned anything about me. It’s a false sense of friendship and felt empty. I had acquaintances add me to their friends list because we had spoken. That’s not a friendship I was interested in. I figured that no one would miss me if I quit Facebook.

Freedom from acquaintances
I never spoke about personal experiences. I felt like these people on my friends list were nothing but strangers. As I stated before if something wasn’t post worthy then it wasn’t going to be shared. I started to feel pressure to share those photo perfect snippets of life. I didn’t know these people. Why did was there pressure to please them? Instead I found that I would only reach out to my closest friends. There are many better ways to talk to these treasured folks and I didn’t need Facebook for that!

Reconnecting with treasured folks
Now that I’ve quit Facebook, I’ve been using my email so much more. I have a small list of friends that I email weekly to keep in touch. It’s so much more personal to do it this way. It’s 1 on 1 time with people I’ve always loved. And while I’ll miss out on photos and other things that people share to Facebook, this system works best for me. I speak to those I want to and the background noise of strangers has been cancelled. I don’t spend time scrolling for hours looking at how other people live. Instead I focus on my own life and the ones that I adore the most. That’s enough for me.

The post Why I deleted Facebook appeared first on A Daily Lee.

Listen to a Podcast
I’ve been in a reading slump for a few months and I’ve finally broken out of it. But in the down time I still wanted to learn and grow. Instead of forcing myself to read and hate it, I decided to invest in Podcasts. It’s like listening to a subscribable radio talk show. They cover all sorts of topics depending on your Podcast of choice. There are ones for financial help or relationship questions. There are comedy Podcasts and ones that focus on politics or religion. The one that I’ve marathoned lately is LORE. It takes real world history and shares how it inspired the supernatural world. Take Dracula, for example. There are tons of stories from history that lend their voices to the creation of the vampire.

Take a break from Social Media
I got a head start on that this year by deleting my Facebook App from my phone. I would spend at least 30 minutes each morning looking at what my friends were doing. Think of all the things I could have done instead! Now I have those 30 minutes free. I hug my dogs and tell them how much I appreciate them. My mornings have become quiet and relaxed. There are more Apps that need deleting but hey, one step at a time right?

Eat new things
This year I stepped out of my comfort zone when it came to cooking. You should do the same. I’ve never been so excited to throw together ingredients to see what they taste like. The most recent thing I made was a delicious Jalapeño and Cheddar bread (post coming soon!). The entire time I kept telling myself “This is going to turn out so badly!” And guess what? I can’t wait to make it again!

Start something new
You guys remember when I put together a mini bullet journal. I bit the bullet and invested in a full size one! While my life isn’t full of busy days, there are a few areas I want to improve. My organization is miserable and I always forget to do things. Starting a bullet journal to help keep me organized sounded like a great place to start. I have a list of things I want to learn and do in 2019 and I hope bullet journaling can help keep me on track! Think of something you’ve always wanted to do and tackle it in 2019. Don’t put it off until later! Take charge now and get going!

Do things that make you feel good about yourself
Think about what makes you feel confident about yourself. Doing something that makes you feel great can be as simple as sitting down for morning coffee (or tea!) without looking at your phone or the news. Take the moment to reflect on who you are and what you want to change. If you’re doing something that makes you sad, change it! For me I used to wake up and dread the day. Because I woke up with a negative attitude the entire day would feel like crap. Now I get up in the morning and I’m ready to embrace the day. Each day has so much potential and there’s so much to learn.

There’s a lot to do in 2019. It’s a new year and a fresh start. Face it head on and roll with the punches! We only have one life to lead and it makes no sense to not do what we love.

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