A Day Out Biking ft. Jilla Active

Senior year has been a complete whirlwind - college applications, my 5 APs, working on my Instagram page - I got a little too caught up with everything that I completely skipped blogging last month. I've been trying to better myself amidst this chaos, trying to find some sense of clarity. After a short hiatus, I'm finally back at it, doing what I love most :). Also, a mini update before I get into the bulk of the post - last month was my birthday month! I'll be combining my birthday post/haul with my black Friday haul, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

To be completely honest, after school started, I've started working out a lot less and eating less healthy than I used to. That's not a good sign! Luckily, now that my UK college applications and EA schools are done, I can start getting back into my regular routine. This past weekend, I went out biking around my area in an effort to re-motivate myself. Jilla Active was generous enough to hook me up with some super cute activewear, which only served to pushed me to start exercising even more. I'll be reviewing a few items from them today!

Back To School Update + Giveaway!

*Giveaway is at the end of this post <3

I'm so sorry I missed a post this month but I'm only human right? D: I update tumblr almost everyday though, so check me out there (its linked here and at the sidebar).

I've been really busy lately with this past summer being the summer before senior year, so I was really caught up with essays and summer homework. I also had an internship at a local university for the entire two months, so I actually didn't have much of a summer (7am-7pm work time).

Fitness: A Lifestyle

It's not something all of us enjoy doing, but I'm sure most of us lust after its results.

Yes, we all know what I'm talking about: working out.

It's summer, and a lot of us prefer to lounge around the house, eat chips and cookies whilst watching Netflix with the AC on full blast. But it's summer, and summer means pool parties and beaches and swimsuits. Now we're getting nervous. You definitely don't want your chips-and-salsa filled belly making an appearance at your pool party!

Staying fit can be a hard feat for some of you, which I totally understand--I've been in your position before. Whether you want to lose weight or tone yourself up, you must understand that staying fit is a full-time job, meaning you can't do an intense "5-day bikini workout" and go from couch potato to swimwear model in a week. I know, I know. Sounds crappy right? Motivation often dies down after a month or two. That is why today I'm going to share with you all my favourite workout tips that will hopefully make (or keep) you guys motivated to stay healthy.

Mom Date, Mom Jeans

I recently found this beautiful little brunch cafe (called 39A) hidden among the winding streets of my city, Hsinchu. I didn't really find it myself--rather a few upperclassmen went there and tagged the place on IG and my mom and I hunted it down to try for ourselves :). 

It's been a while since my mom and I had a proper mother-daughter brunch date, so we decided to head downtown for a little brunch date to catch up. Since it was an "occasion," I decided to dress up and look more sophisticated :).

Relaxation: A Spa Day

With AP's and SAT 2's coming up, I've been spending most of my time studying D:.

Unfortunately, I am a full-time student. and blogging is more of a hobby for me. Of course that doesn't mean I won't blog--instead I might miss a few posts here and there (especially around May/June).

Last month I went to my first ever marathon in Taipei sponsored by NB. I ran a total of 11 km, which is the most I've ever run. Wasn't even sore afterwards :). 

When I went home, I decided to have a "mini-spa day," running myself a bath and putting on a few face masks.

Sunday Skate Sessions

Never in a million years would I have imagined myself skateboarding.

Hi, my name is Rennie, and I have absolutely no balance.

I remember when I was younger, I would try to "skate" on my brother's skateboard and end up face first on the pavement. But recently, I decided to take on something new and try skating again. With (a lot of) help, I managed to learn how to skate a decent distance before skidding to a halt (thankfully not on my face). I went ahead and ordered a not-penny-the-brand Penny Board in white and black (obviously, since I wear no colour).

Youth

I seem to like to post about music, don't I? Enjoy this song <3 (it was, once again, introduced to me through a good friend of mine).

I've been on a 2 month hiatus, and finally, FINALLY, I'm back. I guess I use this blog as a venting system--which is not bad I guess, it acts as a sort of online diary I can consult whenever I'm down. Chinese New Year just passed, and I'd just like to acknowledge all my friends and family have done for me (not that their love should only be recognised on a holiday).

This song struck a chord, not because of the musical content (though that plays a huge part as well), but because of the lyrics. I'm going to be 17 this year, and will be entering my senior year of high school after this summer.

There is an odd combination of feelings I've been experiencing lately, a queer concoction of anticipation and inexplicable boredom (I know I'm not making sense, am I?). It's sort of like a heavy weight and the pit of my stomach that just sits there, and I honestly don't know what to make of it.

Point is, this song, Youth, embodies how I am feeling (at least what I think I am feeling)--an raw, unaltered feeling of feeling alive (I really am not making sense...).

I've never felt more alive <3.

To end on a happier (and WAYYY less confusing) note, today is Valentine's Day! Lots of love to those who follow my blog (and IG), and I PROMISE my next post will be up faster (2 weeks, max)! I have something really exciting lined up for you all, stay tuned!



<3,
R

Heaven

Heaven. The idea of heaven scares me. I've been gone for a while now. To be honest, I just haven't been very inspired to write. And I don't want to put up a half-assed post just because I have to.

This blog is a platform on which I wish to express my opinions and feelings. I know I post mostly fashion or food related posts, but my initial reasoning behind creating this blog was to share my opinions and thoughts.

A friend of mine recently showed me this song by Troye Sivan. It is called Heaven, and basically outlines his struggle with the demons inside of him and coming to terms with his sexuality.

I really connected to this song, not because of the meaning he embedded into it, but because of my own interpretation of it.

I'm currently a junior in high school, and I honestly have no idea what the future has in store for me. I can identify with the fear and nervous anitcipation that this song captures. Growing up is never easy, and knowing that everyone goes through this process is somewhat comforting.

So many of my good friends are graduating this year, and I know I'm going to miss them so much next year, but at the same time, I am excited for them to begin a new chapter of their lives somewhere else.

I guess this post is just a reminder for myself that life goes on no matter what, and we should always be thankful for what we have.



Lots and lots of love,
R

a lesson on grammar: it doesn't matter

i typically don't like to share what i write with the world.

but todays a special day, so to say. i know not a lot of people read this blog, but as i keep sayin, i keep this sort of as a diary for myself to look back at. but for those that do read this blog i want to share with you all a piece of my mind. hope you all enjoy:

Inexplicable: A poem of conjunctions and disorder and ultimately what runs through my mind.

there are somethings that just can’t be put in words. like that feeling you get when you’re almost asleep and you can feel your body slowly drifting away and your hands your legs even the funny patch of skin on your elbow are completely numb but your mind hasn’t yet been put under. your mind projects you walking up an endless flight of stairs and you just keep going up and up and up until you feel like you’ve almost reached the peak and you lift your tired leg, crunched in an almost perfect ninety degree angle and the anticipation is almost killing you—and that’s when you fall. you fall so incredibly far down down down, past the wisps of clouds that you didn’t even notice were there and you hit the bottom, and everything goes black.

pitch black. 

then you wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and awake but so so sore. bruised from the onslaught of lethargy that you thought you rid of during the night. it spreads through your body, blanketing you in a layer of “tired” like an icicle in front of the fire in the coldest days of winter. 

this is honestly how i think in my mind. :P 

since this post is lacking in color (literally, since there are no pictures :P) ill add this pic--thought it was pretty fitting

i have a confession to make: i hate periods (the type that ends a sentence not the type that graces us girls every once a month). my love for conjunctions and commas, colons and semi-colons have recently manifested themselves. oh and don't forget run-ons and sentence fragments. 

these "violations" of grammar rules don't irk me; on the contrary, i feel empowered. these minute changes and tweaks not only expresses my personality through my writing, but also gives character (and ultimately emotion) to what i write. 

what all these punctuations and conjunctions have that periods (once again, the type at the end of the sentence) don't is a sense of continuity. they create a sense of possibility, a chorus of maybes and what ifs, as if the story can still go on and hope is still there.

you all may be thinking that I'm stretching it but i honestly think otherwise. maybe its cuz I'm only 16 and i don't know any better but thats what i think and i think im fully entitled to my own opinion. 

<3

R

randomness and shopping and LIST GALORE :P

hey all :)

i feel like junior year is passing by so fast yet so slow at the same time. did that just make sense? ugh i dunno what I'm saying anymore.

well. my school's MUN conference is this weekend, so I'm super busy T_T I'm helping out with administration, so yay thats fun (it is, but it's also super tiring)

on a side note, my birthday is coming soon (its next tuesday), and this past weekend i had a mini birthday party. it was eh. i mean i didn't really enjoy myself as much as i should've, but that's my own fault. that is also why i didn't make a separate post (i didn't take many pictures either).

i also went to taipei this past weekend, and that was exciting! i went and did a little shopping in h&m, pull and bear, and bershka. ill post a haul in no time :) i really want to go back and get a pair of black leggings, black jeans, white jeans, and a top i saw in zara though. oh well. that's kinda my wishlist for this year :P

you know what i think ill just type out what is on my wishlist right now

WISHLIST 2015:
-Bershka white high waisted pants
-Pull and Bear high waisted pants
-white ripped skinny jeans (high waisted)
-big loose tops (zara)
-change size of my bershka top (i got a size too big)
-asymmetrical skirts
-booties
-knee high boots
-tennis skirt (american apparel-esque)
-i want to go to a recording studio and record a few of my favourite songs :)
-browse over topshop/boohoo/windsor/brandy websites cuz why not
-athletic wear/active wear (nike, UA, adidas)

hopefully i can go to taipei soon and get the first 4 items, since winter is right around the corner, and i really need new leggings (the ones i have are so stretched out from wearing them so often last winter). also, i wear jeans really often, and i don't have a pair of plain black jeans/white jeans. id also like a few more loose t's since i always wear the same shirts over and over again :P

my mom actually won't be here on the day of my birthday, since she is leaving for the states :/ but on the bright side, she can help me get a few things from the states :P so here is my wishlist #2!

AMERICA WISHLIST 2015
-blk water
-boxed water is better water
-arizona ice lemon tea <3
-arizona raspberry tea
-brandy melville stuff
-any other clothing store my mom passes by haha. she usually gets me stuff without me asking, which is SUPER NICE OF HER. seriously i think my mom has better style than me haha.

*disclaimer: lmao i realised my wish lists are so long and would probably cost me a lot of money and i prob sound like some spoiled little brat who just wants everything. but most of the things on the list i won't actually end up buying or i will be using my own money to buy SO YEA. or maybe i am a spoiled brat. who knows. hehe. each to his/her own thoughts.

last list i promise!

here is kinda my "to-do-list" for posts and videos

-autumn lookbook
-NYC haul
-haul from taipei
-prob a giveaway soon
- haul from america (?)
-fashion edits (post)

AYYEEEE okies I'm done. back to hw <3

renster

nyc adventures--day 5 (target, NYU, soho)

hey all!

i haven't posted in a week, but THAT CAN BE JUSTIFIED. i had SATs this past weekend as well as a community service trip! also i had a birthday party on friday so yea :P here is the last portion of my lovely NYC adventures!

so its like day 5 (my last full day in the states), and basically my dad and I went to visit NYU :P. we actually bumped into one of my alums! oh what a small world :P

We weren't allowed into NYU since it is opening week so after visiting we went to soho where i basically shopped for the rest of the day :P

BUT I VISITED BRANDY MELVILLE :P heh that was fun. I visited both of them (the one on prince street and the one on the main street.

there were SOOO many people in the on on the main street and the whole store was a mess--i did find a few things i loved tho! sadly there were too many people so i decided against purchasing (we were short of time). ill probably order online soon hehe :P

oooh i forgot that in the morning i went to target to stock up on some food

the graffiti in NYC is seriously the best...this really made me crack up

YESSS little italy! we left brandy melville and continued down to little italy and chinatown where we had lunch <3

Then we stopped by st. patrick's cathedral which was sadly closed :(

there was another brandy there, but i didn't find anything that i liked so we left :P

YAYY MORE SHOPPING haha!

sorry this is a little rushed...im typing this at school. basically thats the end of my trip to NYC and boston!

junior goals

hey friends!

this year I've established 5 rules for myself <3 i hope you enjoy :P



rennie

nyc adventures--day 4 (columbia, times square, more froyo)

HELLOOOO

im super proud of myself--ive been posting on this blog regularly :P. i set a goal for myself this year to continue my blogging journey, as it is pretty dang therapeutic.

so upon arriving at NYC, it was already pretty late. the hotel we were living at was around harlem, so we checked in and got some rest.

taiwan seriously needs to step up its snap sticker game

the next day, we headed towards Columbia university, which was located around 96th street.

whoo!

stunning :P

for a university located in the middle of a city, columbia's campus is simply stunning. it reminds me of cambridge or oxford. we tool our time exploring the campus, and went ahead and got some lunch. we actually brought it into the campus and ate on a bench. the weather in new york is so much better than the weather in Taiwan, so we made the best of it and had a mini picnic outdoors :P

California sushi rolls :P

pasta salad :P

can you imagine me as a columbia student? :P

i actually really want to go to columbia. if i end up choosing to go to the states for college, i would probably go to columbia, given that i get in. 

after a few hours of campus tour, my dad and i walked from columbia to times square. yea, you heard me right. we walked :P. we actually passed by a michaels, which made me super happy :P. 

on the way there, we passed through central park, which is simply beautiful--it's like a mini jungle in the middle of new york.

yessss!

more froyo pls <3

remember how i told you guys that i got my dad addicted to froyo? yea we passed by another pinkberry, and like the basic white girls we are, we got another bowl of froyo <3.

yay me and dad

we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, and there were so many stores around times square!

times square tourist pic :)

hershey's factory house :P

grand central station 

i actually didn't buy much in times square--a bralette and a top from urban which i will show in a future haul <3. 

we then went home. ill continue the new york adventures in the next post!

boston adventures-day 3 (brandy melville, urban outfitters, forever 21)

hello!

i simply love shopping.

basically, the whole last day in boston, my dad and i shopped newbury street. it was probably the best shopping experience too--my dad was surprisingly patient, and i spent so much time just checking out the delicate bralettes from UO as well as the sports/active section in forever21.

yasss i love UO bralettes <3

after shopping for a while, we passed by a pinkberry, where i introduced my dad to the world of froyo. he loved it just as much as i did i daresay. 

Pinkberry Froyo is the bestttt

i love red velvet errthang <3

had to go for round 2 baby <3

after that, we stopped by au bon pain for lunch (again cu im obsessed), then took the train to NYC! 

im sorry for the relatively short post--i would show you guys what i got but i am going to be filming a NYC/boston haul soon!

<3 have a wonderful wednesday folks!

boston adventures-day 2 (au bon pain, quincy market, and tufts university)

ayyy!

new post today <3 another travel post!

so day 2 in boston started off pretty strong. my dad and i stumbled by this nice cafe-esque place called Au Bon Pain, and boy is the food there good! they had this really interesting salad buffet thing that i absolutely adored. and best of all, they had ranch dressing. i mean. let's be serious. in taiwan we seldom have ranch, so when i saw that they had it i was jumping for joy inside. besides the salad bar, they also had a wide selection of pastries and cooked food. the whole place reminded me of the mensas in germany.

yessssss!

sigh. its food like this that makes me love eating healthy <3.

after eating a (delicious) breakfast, we took the T (boston metro) to tufts university. 

saw this house on our way to tufts

yessss!

i had arranged a campus visit and an information session at tufts uni, so i spent the majority of my morning hanging out there and learning more abt tufts.

hello jumbo! ft. dad's head

after going to tufts (where i met up with one of my alums from my school), i went to quincy market to just hang and shop. the whole atmosphere reminded me so much of europe <3

we actually passed by the union oyster house, which is the oldest restaurant in the US!

whoo!

oldest restaurant in the US....wut? :P

we ended our day with some fabulous lobster rolls. let me tell you, they are fabulous <3

Luke's lobster!

this is literally my life. <3

ive never had lobster rolls before, and im gald i tried them out. i love crab, shrimp, and lobster, and this fulfills all those cravings in one meal. plus the slaw was so good. a erfect end to a perfect day!

boston skyline <3

im going to finish uploading my boston/nyc adventures by the end of this week (hopefully <3) stay updated by following me <3 also check out my social media on the clickable sidebars on the left <3