are we ready
for this transformation
oh it's like it's pregnant actually
careful
there's seven thousand dollars yeah
[Music]
december is here well it has been here
for a minute
but i wanted to get out other content
before i dove into the festive stuff so
this video is the kickoff to that
and i wanted to not do vlogmas this year
and i'm sure you're aware by now but my
life
is just not that exciting these days i
usually travel home
to my family for christmas in canada or
we travel to my husband's family in
france
and there's just so much more to film
there's sightseeing activities we just
go out more in general so since i'll be
spending december
here in hong kong and quite literally
here
in this room in this chair working on
this desk
i wanted to make the most of it and make
this space feel a little bit more
comfortable
and warm and just that that danish word
hygge in general um so i've put together
a list of things that i have done
or i will do in order to do that and i
wanted to share that with you
the very first thing i did was clean
when there is a lot of clutter around
i feel very distracted and constantly
reminded of the work that needs to be
finished one of the ways that i do that
or the biggest way that i do it
is a huge closet clear-out and change
your work i actually filmed a whole
detailed video on that so if you want to
see that i will link it below i'm not
going to go through all the details
again
um but just know it is very satisfying
there is a lot of
really nice organizational time lapses
and i teach you guys some hacks in it
after decluttering and organizing i was
left with a closet that was very clean
concise curated and i
just felt really good and my mind felt
very clear remember how bad
my drawers were before you couldn't find
anything open the bottom one i just
finished organizing it
remember how full it was whoa
i think you can keep it for a week
and with the old all cleared out i was
ready to bring in the new
adding some seasonal decor can
reinvigorate your surroundings you can
really use colors
textures lights and plants to warm
things up in december my christmas tree
is always the center of my home so it
was the first thing i wanted to put up
all right are we ready for this
transformation
[Music]
all right let me change into something a
little bit more appropriate
[Music]
so i'm gonna say baby you
light that's when you turn it on ready
baby you line up my world life
three babe i'm like baby
did it go
[Music]
the light sparkles and extra colors
makes my heart happy every time i get a
glimpse of it
and then after the tree i like to swap
out the pillows and blankets i did my
home quite neutral with pops of color in
the decorative accents on purpose not
only does changing the colors around you
keep things exciting
but it can also affect your mood your
energy levels
decision making and emotions this is
because some colors are known to be
stimulating
and some are soothing this concept
actually dates back to ancient egyptian
times when they use sun activated
solarium rooms constructed with colored
glass for therapeutic purposes you still
see the use of color in modern medicine
both for relieving the eyes of surgeons
and possibly lifting the moods of their
patient i actually experienced color
therapy when i did
adult swaddling in japan
so this year i went for red and green
which is probably the most
popular and unoriginal christmas colors
ever but red is a very passionate color
it raises your blood pressure so it gets
your heart beating a little
green is very calming at the same time
it's very it like has to do with nature
so i feel like they balance each other
out i did keep the
amber pillows because yellows and
oranges are
known to be very energizing
and warming and uplifting also red is a
very popular color in chinese culture
you see it incorporated a lot into feng
shui so you can put a red carpet there
and then you can put out for real roses
i don't know how true color therapy is
you know that i just feel good when i
change things up it could be just
changing
the sheets on my bed to a different
color or just changing one pillow it
just
it just feels good especially right now
since i
can't travel and i love traveling and we
are people who often travel
this is ways that i can change up the
space that i'm in so much to just make
me feel a little bit more
um re-energized next i made coasters
for this one i just used lone fox's
method i got geo molds
mixed some resin and hardener according
to the proportions of the instructions
on the package and i poured one into the
other very slowly to avoid any bubbles
forming
and i mixed it together until it was
completely clear
um so until you see no streaks and then
i added in a bit of glitter
mixed that together and i poured the
mixture into the molds until it was
about halfway full before placing in
some dried plants and flowers similar to
the colors of the decor in my house
and then i poured in the rest of the
resin mixture set the flowers in place
because they kind of move around a bit
when you pour
and then i let it set and harden
overnight before
removing it and painting the edges to
finish it honestly
i love the way these turned out i
thought they look really good and
professional
i actually tried to tell my husband they
were really expensive to see his
reaction because
i just i don't know i think they're so
good i feel like you could sell them or
they'd make a really good gift
careful there's seven thousand dollars
no way
yeah you made it i know it's a special
treat from japan
it has healing properties in the tree
yeah
i saw the mold
scents can be extremely effective in
lifting your spirits
and triggering happy memories this can
be done
by your christmas tree if you do have a
real one
or through candles i really love to
change up the smell in my home to
reflect seasonal scents so right now i
like things that are really deep
rich spicy warm and woody i've seen
these beautiful curvy candles
around all different platforms lately
and i've seen a lot of tick tock videos
pop up and was surprised to learn how
easy it is to make them despite how
costly they can be to buy simply pop
them into some warm water for about 15
minutes and then you can mold them into
the shape you want but be aware of the
top end and the bottom end
because they need to be straight so that
the candle can be balanced and stay
upright or else it's going to be really
dangerous when you light it for the
second one i rolled it out leaving the
top and bottom as is
in order to support the candle and then
i just slowly twisted it for the third
one i took two candles
looped them around and then just super
glued them together there's so many
different cool designs that you can do
and i think they would make a really
nice gift i always get complimented on
them when people see them and then i
tell them oh i made them and then people
are really surprised but it's
so easy um just be aware don't use
metallic candles
or any candles that have had the color
painted onto them
oh it looks like a sunburn
[Music]
and it looks like peeling it looks like
a snake shedding its skin
[Music]
maybe it's artistic yeah a deconstructed
candle
very avant-garde could sell this for
like
five thousand dollars on yeezy.com
yeezy.com
would you say it's fire
it's lit after you've molded them just
leave them against something so that
they're fully supported and they can
cool down and set in place and then you
can pop them into candle holders
and put them all around your house going
to the flower market in hong kong
is one of my favorite ways to treat
myself and then with flowers you get the
proven mood booster of having a plant
around you
you get the color therapy aspect and you
also get to enjoy the scent what i like
to do
is have a set of dried flowers that i
keep with me at all times
i just swap them out here and there and
keep them stored away
and then for each season i'll just add
in a few fresh flowers with some pops of
color
and that is a way that i can keep
flowers around my home quite often but
also be very cost effective
speaking of triggering happy memories
through smells let's move on to
food take the time to prepare
food that makes you feel good not only
nutritiously
but just in your soul it could be
food that your family always
traditionally prepares for christmas
especially if you're not going to be
spending christmas time together you
could still make that food on your own
grandma used to always make
chicken and dumplings on the stove and
it was just like one of my fall
favorites
that's one of the things i love about
food when you miss someone so much
it can bring back a memory for you or
like make you feel a little bit closer
to them
[Music]
in canada we like to store things in our
garage our garage is like a giant
freezer during the winter because it's
cold enough to store food
so i just remember my grandma and my mom
always just preparing a huge batch and
storing it and then you can just take it
out when you need it
and take it out when you need that
comfort you can take it out when you
need that familiar
smell or memory um of the people you
love and the traditions you love or you
could also try something new you could
pick
a country or a place that you really
want to travel to or that you used to
travel to a lot and you really miss and
you can make a dish from that country
or it could be a completely new recipe
you saw i really wanted to try these
glass cookies because they look so
pretty and really appealing to all the
senses
sight taste sound smell
it's got it all so what you want to do
if you want to make these is
take out some cold cookie dough roll it
out use cookie cutters to cut out a
shape
use something circular to cut out a
little window and then
bake them then make your clear candy by
adding sugar water
and corn syrup to a pot over medium heat
bring it to
150 degrees and you want to have a cold
ice water bowl ready to test the candy
if you place a bit
in and it gets crispy you know it's done
and if not you can cook it a bit longer
and then test it again
pour your sugar mixture into the holes
of two out of three cookies per set and
then let it cool and harden
take a glass cookie layer it with icing
place
another cookie place some sprinkles or
small candies inside oh it's like it's
pregnant
actually no babies not that egg
it's not a cannibal this is babies layer
it with icing again before placing
another glass cookie on top finally
decorate the top
and you can enjoy the sight smell taste
and sound
[Music]
here's something else for your site to
enjoy a table setting time lapse
[Music]
at night is the time when my mind starts
to wander i get a little bit
anxious so i find having something
prepared for me
nearby that i can easily and quickly
grab
helps to keep me calm and just relaxed
and more
ready to go to sleep i like to keep a
stack of books next to my bed
i think ordering a bunch online or going
to your local library if you can
and just preparing a bunch really helps
i've also been seeing a lot of
embroidery or cross stitching tutorials
and it looks really interesting to me
personally it's something
else i actually want to try having a
project or trying something new
is just a great way to get my brain to
think more creatively
and then that in turn leads me down the
path to other new things
and i used to do this again by traveling
or seeing new places talking to
different people so this is a great way
that i can get my brain
juices flowing and just have some sort
of new adventure
in my life having something to look
forward to makes all the difference
it could be a small party if your health
authorities
and the guidelines according to where
you're living allow it
it could be a zoom call i've set up some
zoom calls with groups of friends before
we'll set a time and do like happy hour
or something and we'll all show up with
a cocktail
i dressed up for you guys i'm wearing
jeans and everything
and that has been really nice it could
even be just making something like
overnight oats the night before so that
you have something to look forward to in
the morning i'll just go through even
the netflix calendar of what's gonna
come out this month and schedule that
like oh i can watch this today i just
find for me personally if i really focus
on the things that i have to look
forward to rather than the things i
don't have to look forward to this year
it just makes me feel so much better so
planning ahead
and setting myself up to feel those
feelings of anticipation
and excitement is something that i've
really tried to do this year
make sure that you're getting enough
sunlight sunlight is a natural source of
vitamin d which is necessary for so many
basic bodily processes
it also makes your immune system strong
and
it is linked to your mood because a
decrease
in sunlight can cause a decrease in
serotonin production in your body
and it can also affect your body's
production of melatonin which is a
chemical that is produced during
darkness to regulate your sleeping
patterns
and your mood so this can be especially
difficult to get if you're spending more
time
inside so if you can get outside for
even 15 minutes a day
even if it's in the morning or you're
you're walking to get groceries just
bundle yourself up if it's cold
and catch those rays because it's gonna
make
a big difference and if you can't get
outside or you live in a darker place
maybe consider talking to a doctor to
see if supplements may be right for you
see if your vitamin d levels are low
because if you do feel yourself
quite moody and tired and stuff like
that it could be related to your vitamin
d levels
dressing up is a way that i really get
into the festive spirit something i like
to do for every holiday
is my nails these bring me so much joy
because literally everything i do has a
festive touch
so i could wear all black and i would
still be
dressed for the holidays because i have
these spirit fingers
so you could get them done by a
professional or you could do them
yourself
i saw a lot of cute christmas nail
stickers
at the dollar store here at saiso and
besides nails i am a big fan of dressing
up
for no reason at all to the point where
my husband needs to constantly remind me
that we're just going to a casual place
potential
it's good have any casual ones but the
holiday season is a time where you can
especially add
a little extra sparkle and spice which
could be in the form of an
outfit a holiday sweater or festive
pajamas and those are all of my ideas
and things that i will be doing this
coming holiday
season and just the colder dark months
ahead to help myself feel a little bit
more warm and in good spirits if you
have any tips or things that you will be
doing from your home to help the days
pass by a little bit better then please
let us know in the comments
and i hope your days ahead are as best
as they can be
and that you oh my life just went out
that you stay
healthy and comforted um and yeah just
thank you so so much for watching this
video i will see you very soon with
another one bye