Most things this year haven't quite gone to plan, and with Halloween just about less than a week away, it seems that too isn't going to be the same as all the other years.

However, I personally don't want to think I've missed out on another thing this year, so that's why I've racked my brain to come up with five ways that you can do this Halloween even if you are confined to your home.

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5 THINGS TO DO FOR HALLOWEEN WHILE IN LOCKDOWN

ZOOM PARTY

As much as by now I'm sure we are all sick of online lectures, for the most part, video and voice calling our friends (and family) is the only way we are able to socialise. And with even more places locking down as this pandemic continues, the forecast for any parties happening this Halloween doesn't seem bright. So I suggest instead zoom parties. Honestly, for me I would probably prefer it a little more sat in my room in my PJs, but for those of you who want to drink and hang out with friends maybe this would be a decent enough substitute for those crowded and loud dance floors.

Movie Evenings

Despite us all being stuck to staying in our rooms, we can still continue the traditions of watching scary (or as scary as Disney can go for me) movies on Halloween. Either find a movie on Netflix and get everyone joined in on Netflix Party, or get everyone on over to Discord where you can watch a few movies together.

Do It For The Gram

We might not be able to get dressed up and go out, but this year we can still get dressed up and hang out in our rooms. I know I don't like to waste a good makeup moment, so maybe if you get dressed up this Halloween why not give yourself a photoshoot, and share those looks with your friends over on Instagram. If you do post anything I'd love to be tagged in them!

Bake Some Treats (or tricks)

Going way back to one of my first few years of blogging I created a post on baking some ghost biscuits, baking is always a fun activity to do when (or even when your not) confided to your own home. From cookies to cakes, you can bake anything and make it Halloween theme. If you need some ideas Pinterest is a great place to find some Halloween treat inspiration. I have a board set up for them if you want some quick inspiration.

Take A Break

I for one know I'm terrible at actually taking a break, and as much as I try to a take a breather my mind doesn't really shut off. But with the stresses that this year has brought to everyone, maybe using Halloween as an excuse to pause for a second and let yourselves breathe wouldn't be a bad thing. Give yourself a treat! 

Writing this I realised I miss the days of trick'n'treating and that now I don't really do much for Halloween. But what do you normally do for Halloween? And what plans do you have for this year?

- Sophie

Keep up to date ...  Twitter Instagram Bloglovin

5 Things To Do For Halloween While In Lockdown

Halloween

Most things this year haven't quite gone to plan, and with Halloween just about less than a week away, it seems that too isn't going to be the same as all the other years.

However, I personally don't want to think I've missed out on another thing this year, so that's why I've racked my brain to come up with five ways that you can do this Halloween even if you are confined to your home.

---

5 THINGS TO DO FOR HALLOWEEN WHILE IN LOCKDOWN

ZOOM PARTY

As much as by now I'm sure we are all sick of online lectures, for the most part, video and voice calling our friends (and family) is the only way we are able to socialise. And with even more places locking down as this pandemic continues, the forecast for any parties happening this Halloween doesn't seem bright. So I suggest instead zoom parties. Honestly, for me I would probably prefer it a little more sat in my room in my PJs, but for those of you who want to drink and hang out with friends maybe this would be a decent enough substitute for those crowded and loud dance floors.

Movie Evenings

Despite us all being stuck to staying in our rooms, we can still continue the traditions of watching scary (or as scary as Disney can go for me) movies on Halloween. Either find a movie on Netflix and get everyone joined in on Netflix Party, or get everyone on over to Discord where you can watch a few movies together.

Do It For The Gram

We might not be able to get dressed up and go out, but this year we can still get dressed up and hang out in our rooms. I know I don't like to waste a good makeup moment, so maybe if you get dressed up this Halloween why not give yourself a photoshoot, and share those looks with your friends over on Instagram. If you do post anything I'd love to be tagged in them!

Bake Some Treats (or tricks)

Going way back to one of my first few years of blogging I created a post on baking some ghost biscuits, baking is always a fun activity to do when (or even when your not) confided to your own home. From cookies to cakes, you can bake anything and make it Halloween theme. If you need some ideas Pinterest is a great place to find some Halloween treat inspiration. I have a board set up for them if you want some quick inspiration.

Take A Break

I for one know I'm terrible at actually taking a break, and as much as I try to a take a breather my mind doesn't really shut off. But with the stresses that this year has brought to everyone, maybe using Halloween as an excuse to pause for a second and let yourselves breathe wouldn't be a bad thing. Give yourself a treat! 

Writing this I realised I miss the days of trick'n'treating and that now I don't really do much for Halloween. But what do you normally do for Halloween? And what plans do you have for this year?

- Sophie

Keep up to date ...  Twitter Instagram Bloglovin

Read more »

October 25, 2020

Photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash
*Contributed Post*

Ecological health, at present, is a factor of great importance for humanity. It is the health of the future that we must all take care of. Imagine a world where the environment is so polluted that you can't even breathe. Even the skin cannot be exposed to the sun because the radiation effects are unimaginable. It's sad to think that one day we could come to this. It is annoying to realize that today many people do not care about protecting the environment. Our health and hygiene depend, to a greater extent, on everything that surrounds us. By taking care of nature we take care of ourselves, without realizing it. Ecological health and environment should be the premise of a new lifestyle for all.

Take An Eco-Friendly Approach To Your Health

Photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash
*Contributed Post*

Ecological health, at present, is a factor of great importance for humanity. It is the health of the future that we must all take care of. Imagine a world where the environment is so polluted that you can't even breathe. Even the skin cannot be exposed to the sun because the radiation effects are unimaginable. It's sad to think that one day we could come to this. It is annoying to realize that today many people do not care about protecting the environment. Our health and hygiene depend, to a greater extent, on everything that surrounds us. By taking care of nature we take care of ourselves, without realizing it. Ecological health and environment should be the premise of a new lifestyle for all.

Read more »

October 22, 2020

If you didn't realise by now I am a sucker for tips'n'tricks to make my life easier, especially during this time of studying online. So with that, I have found myself adding quite a few new chrome extensions to the web browser to try and ease the stress that third year is bringing to my door. Since I'm sure many of you also use Chrome I thought it might be of some help to make a post about my favourites of these chrome extensions.

10 Helpful Chrome Extensions For Students

student life

If you didn't realise by now I am a sucker for tips'n'tricks to make my life easier, especially during this time of studying online. So with that, I have found myself adding quite a few new chrome extensions to the web browser to try and ease the stress that third year is bringing to my door. Since I'm sure many of you also use Chrome I thought it might be of some help to make a post about my favourites of these chrome extensions.

Read more »

October 18, 2020

After skipping this series for a year since I was on my placement year, I'm back for another addition to my University Room Tours.

---

This year I was trying to decorate my room more since I have to spend pretty much 24/7 inside these four walls, however, my set up isn't all too different from first year and second year. Even so, I thought it was about time I uploaded this post, and possible have your opinions and ideas on how I can make my room feel more like my room than just another university dorm room.

Once again this years post is more of a picture post rather than a more wordy post, but I hope you liked seeing a sneak peek into my dorm room.

What's your favourite spot in your university room? What have you done to make it feel more homely this year?

- Sophie

Keep up to date ...  Twitter Instagram Bloglovin

University Room Tour - Third Year Edition

room tour

After skipping this series for a year since I was on my placement year, I'm back for another addition to my University Room Tours.

---

This year I was trying to decorate my room more since I have to spend pretty much 24/7 inside these four walls, however, my set up isn't all too different from first year and second year. Even so, I thought it was about time I uploaded this post, and possible have your opinions and ideas on how I can make my room feel more like my room than just another university dorm room.

Once again this years post is more of a picture post rather than a more wordy post, but I hope you liked seeing a sneak peek into my dorm room.

What's your favourite spot in your university room? What have you done to make it feel more homely this year?

- Sophie

Keep up to date ...  Twitter Instagram Bloglovin

Read more »

October 11, 2020

Recently for our apple products, there has been an update on iOS. And with this new update, the iOS14 brings a whole bunch of features that are perfect for taking our digital notes a lot more smoothly. So I'm here today to gather a list of all the new features for you to try out for yourself.

---

BEST IPAD NOTE-TAKING FEATURES FOR IOS14

Scribble

This feature is a great addition in making the process of working with an apple pencil that much more efficient and smoother. Scribble lets you write in areas you would normally type and those words are changed to text. So say if you wanted to search something up you could write into the search engine what you are looking for instead of typing it, meaning you don't have to put your pencil down at all. Other features of this are crossing out letters or words that you want to be deleted or adding a verticle line between where you want a space if one is missing. And it even works in Goodnotes, for example in the textboxes or even in the search bar when looking up keywords in your work.

Shape Recognition

This is when you try and draw a shape such as a star or heart your iPad will automatically sharpen and perfect the shape if you hold your pen to the screen after you finish drawing. For those of you who use Procreate this is a similar feature to what you can do in that app, however now you can also use this tool in other apps like the iPad notes or Goodnotes. Great for those who like to include illustrations in their work or even just to doodle on the side; like how we used to doodle in the margins of our school workbooks.

Selection of Handwritten Notes

This works like the lasso tool in Goodnotes, where you can select those notes that you have written by hand. However, now the iPad recognises handwritten text from any drawings that you might also have included in your notes. This smart selection then allows you to treat the text as typed text and you can even paste your handwritten words as typed text in other apps such as google docs; giving a lot more freedom to the notes you write by hand.

More Digital Note Tips:

> Apps Every Student Should Use

> Digital Note-Taking Apps

> How To Take Digital Notes

Data Detection

This is a new and quick way to add dates and events to your calendar from wherever you are taking your lecture notes. Say you professor gave out an assignment due date during your lecture, instead of flickering between different apps, the ios14 update means your iPad can now detect these and lets you add them to you calendar from the notes app that you are on. This also works with phone numbers, emails and addresses too.

Quick Styles

For those of you who do type, either instead of or as well as handwriting your notes, there is also the new quick way of switching between different text looks, with the boldface, italics, title, heading and more now located on the Aa button on the keyboard, making it smoother to personalise your own notes.

These are just some of the new additions that come along with the iOS14 update. I'm sure by now you've seen nearly everyone and their grandmothers making their phone screens look ethically pleasing but now I hope these tips too help you make the use of your iPad (or any other Apple device) more fun and efficient.

I don't post much about my notes and such on my personal/blogging Instagram, however, if you want to see more of my university life or how I'm getting along with taking notes digitally I do have a studygram account that you can follow me on, @she_studies_astro. I'm trying to get into using my studygram more again as some kind of motivation to keep my notes up to date and looking presentable.

Have you found any new features for iOS devices that you love, share them below? Or if you use a different device, what are your favourite tips for taking notes digitally?

- Sophie

Keep up to date ...  Twitter Instagram Bloglovin

Best New iPad Note-taking Features for iOS14

digital notes

Recently for our apple products, there has been an update on iOS. And with this new update, the iOS14 brings a whole bunch of features that are perfect for taking our digital notes a lot more smoothly. So I'm here today to gather a list of all the new features for you to try out for yourself.

---

BEST IPAD NOTE-TAKING FEATURES FOR IOS14

Scribble

This feature is a great addition in making the process of working with an apple pencil that much more efficient and smoother. Scribble lets you write in areas you would normally type and those words are changed to text. So say if you wanted to search something up you could write into the search engine what you are looking for instead of typing it, meaning you don't have to put your pencil down at all. Other features of this are crossing out letters or words that you want to be deleted or adding a verticle line between where you want a space if one is missing. And it even works in Goodnotes, for example in the textboxes or even in the search bar when looking up keywords in your work.

Shape Recognition

This is when you try and draw a shape such as a star or heart your iPad will automatically sharpen and perfect the shape if you hold your pen to the screen after you finish drawing. For those of you who use Procreate this is a similar feature to what you can do in that app, however now you can also use this tool in other apps like the iPad notes or Goodnotes. Great for those who like to include illustrations in their work or even just to doodle on the side; like how we used to doodle in the margins of our school workbooks.

Selection of Handwritten Notes

This works like the lasso tool in Goodnotes, where you can select those notes that you have written by hand. However, now the iPad recognises handwritten text from any drawings that you might also have included in your notes. This smart selection then allows you to treat the text as typed text and you can even paste your handwritten words as typed text in other apps such as google docs; giving a lot more freedom to the notes you write by hand.

More Digital Note Tips:

> Apps Every Student Should Use

> Digital Note-Taking Apps

> How To Take Digital Notes

Data Detection

This is a new and quick way to add dates and events to your calendar from wherever you are taking your lecture notes. Say you professor gave out an assignment due date during your lecture, instead of flickering between different apps, the ios14 update means your iPad can now detect these and lets you add them to you calendar from the notes app that you are on. This also works with phone numbers, emails and addresses too.

Quick Styles

For those of you who do type, either instead of or as well as handwriting your notes, there is also the new quick way of switching between different text looks, with the boldface, italics, title, heading and more now located on the Aa button on the keyboard, making it smoother to personalise your own notes.

These are just some of the new additions that come along with the iOS14 update. I'm sure by now you've seen nearly everyone and their grandmothers making their phone screens look ethically pleasing but now I hope these tips too help you make the use of your iPad (or any other Apple device) more fun and efficient.

I don't post much about my notes and such on my personal/blogging Instagram, however, if you want to see more of my university life or how I'm getting along with taking notes digitally I do have a studygram account that you can follow me on, @she_studies_astro. I'm trying to get into using my studygram more again as some kind of motivation to keep my notes up to date and looking presentable.

Have you found any new features for iOS devices that you love, share them below? Or if you use a different device, what are your favourite tips for taking notes digitally?

- Sophie

Keep up to date ...  Twitter Instagram Bloglovin

Read more »

September 27, 2020