DuoDiaries

Review | Netflix's New Comedy: "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"

the official poster for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

TIA HERE, slipping in a blog post amidst the chaos of classes (a lot of which are requiring I write blog posts, which is why DD has been on hiatus—I'm tragically using up all of my blog ideas for class and clubs).

January & February | Favorites

TIA HERE and although it's been a little while because of the toils of Cornell classes and clubs, I thought it was a good enough time to talk about my monthly favorites—or, rather, my bimonthly favorites.

January and February are crazy, cold, ambitious months, when people start and end their New Year's Resolutions and trudge through miles of snow. This is the wildest time to try to hold onto sanity, but also the most important. Here is my list of things that have kept me sane in the past month or so:

MUSIC

Rachelle Dyksinski is a wedding singer with a soothing voice that is perfect to listen to when doing homework or taking a break. Check out her YouTube channel and thumb through her music if you love acoustic guitars, the occasional ukulele, and a lovely female singing voice.

5 Simple Ways to Survive Cold Season

TIA HERE, hoping to keep you healthy while everyone around you descends into coughs, sneezes, and tears. While you should always remember to get a flu shot, there are also little things you can do to bolster your defense against sickness during the icy winter months. Here are five easy tips (all gleaned from my mom, the ex-nurse) that will hopefully help you strengthen your protection against cold weather illnesses:

Back in Ithaca | Our International Gift Exchange

TIA HERE with our latest video! Now that we're back in Ithaca, Victoria and I decided we'd finally do our gift exchange. I grabbed some goodies while in Europe, and Victoria got some from while in South Korea, and this is a short video showing what we decided to give one another.

Tragically, my camera shut off before we could record our outro so expect an abrupt ending. Regardless, I hope you enjoy! Maybe you'll even learn a little about our experiences and the countries we visited along the way.

Much love,

Chasing Perfection | How to Make the Best of Your Character Flaws

TIA HERE with the age-old Hannah Montana adage: "Nobody's perfect." Although Hannah may not be real, her advice is, and I know it still applies to me every day, a constant reminder that being perfect is an impossible goal. Just like every good literary character has their set of flaws, people are no different. So, when it comes to addressing your imperfections, there are two ways to take it all in—fall into a vast pit of despair as you fail to become the person you wish you were, or find a way to make the best of it. Look for your fatal flaw in the list below, and consider its silver lining:

TIA HERE with my first book(s) review of the year, and of Duo Diaries... ever. And there is no better way to kick off the book reviewing than with the book I just finished yesterday—Please Remain Calm, the novella sequel to This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers. Because the two go very much hand-in-hand, I thought it'd make sense to throw them all together into one nearly spoiler-less post (don't worry, there's a bold, all caps warning for when you get there).

VICTORIA HERE to bring you along with me on a girls' day out in Samcheongdong. Nestled between mountains and palaces, Samcheongdong quickly became one of my favorite spots in Seoul because of its beautiful and relaxing surroundings. Within walking distance of the neighborhood lies great traditional sites such as Gyeongbokgung Palace and Insadong, and Samcheongdong itself contains a village full of charming (aka expensive) traditional homes. Though the neighborhood is rooted in a historical gold mine, Samcheongdong also is a very artsy locale full of museums, cool galleries, and many small independent cafes and shops that make this place ideal for a chill day out.