Joyeux Anniversaire: Celebrating ebbony&lune’s First Year
Happy 1 year blogiversary, ebbony&lune!
est. June 20, 2017
About year ago, I was in my student apartment bedroom, fairy lights on, candle lit, sitting on my bed with a pen and notebook in hand; it was way past midnight (2:30AM, to be (almost) exact), and I was pulling out hairs trying to come up with a focus for my new blog... and more importantly, a name. I wanted this blog to be professional, something relevant to my music therapy work; I wanted it to be a creative project, to be casual and readable, and I wanted people to enjoy it; but mostly, I wanted it to embody who I am, a place to share my experiences and interests with others. A week later, I had purchased my domain. Sitting on a couch at the end of a university dorm's hallway, in the middle of the night (I had an overnight shift to make sure none of the campers did anything crazy), I found myself typing away at my laptop, writing up new ideas and content for my soon-to-be-launched blog.
Now that ebbony&lune has reached its 1st blogiversary, I wanted to share a collection of some of the posts fro this past year. Looking back, I do wish I spent more time working on building up my "brand" and online presence, but I had other more pressing and time-consuming things to worry about (like my last term of school, and my internship, among other things). But, it's definitely come a long way, and I will do my best to keep posting regularly.
According to my analytics, these are the most popular, most visited posts of the year:
1/ The Kitchen Party Playlist: Songs from Newfoundland
"We went to a couple dinner theatre shows, and even a shed party (larger version of the kitchen party), where multi-instrumentalist musicians performed traditional and popular Newfoundland & Irish tunes. Here are some of our favourites. Note: listen to the lyrics - they tell stories!"
2/ 21 Apps Every University Student Should Download
"I thought I'd put together a list of some handy apps every university student (or any student, really) should download onto their phones, pronto! These apps will will help you stay organized, boost productivity, and protect your health and wellness."
3/ Lavender's Blue, Dilly Dilly: Visiting Terre Bleu
"Terre Bleu was established in 2011 by the Baird family, and has since been recognized as a popular agro-tourist destination as well as the largest lavender farm in Ontario, with over 30,000 plants."
4/ Natural Beauty Goodies + How To Use Oval Brushes
(This post got featured on Uni+Koncept's website!)
"These brushes allow you to apply your makeup with such ease and precision, and the bristles are like velvet, super soft to the touch ... [They] work wonders for face makeup (i.e. foundation, contour, highlighter, blush, etc.) as well as for blending, but I still prefer using the traditional brushes for the eyes."
5/ Happiness Is... The Simple Things In Life
"Their concept of happiness, as well as self-efficacy and sense of independence, are so simple; their minds are so beautifully simple... [this] just made me want to re-evaluate the small things that make me happy; the simplest of things. Happiness in experiences rather than material goods."
6/ Depression: The Silent Killer
"it is imperative we treat everybody with kindness, respect, understanding, and love. reach out to others with no judgment. let them know that someone cares, and that they are never alone. just one loving person is all it takes to save a dear life. be that person, be that support."
7/ Free Your Wandering Mind with Box Breathing
"Deep breathing helps you regulate your respiratory rate, as well as allows for more oxygen to flow throughout your blood and body. The eye scanning portion is an added technique to box breathing, and encourages you to regain awareness of your surroundings, thus promoting mindfulness and consecutively, relaxation and grounding."
8/ The Essentials: Saje's 'Pocket Farmacy' and Vitruvi's 'Sleep'
"Our culture is seeing a rise in natural, holistic approaches to healthcare, and a surge in all things healthy and vegan, so naturally (pun intended), essential oils have started to become more popular. No, they cannot completely replace medicine in large cases such as cancer treatment, however, they are a great quick remedy for something small, like a headache, heartburn, or even muscle tension. Not to mention they also help people calm."
9/ I Finally Saw My Favourite Band!
"I think I was too mesmerized by the presence of Coldplay right in front of my eyes to even scream... I caught myself just staring, completely 'Hypnotised' by their music and their spectacle of a show. They were so fantastic live - honestly sounded even better than the recordings. And they completely owned their show, restarting songs to get fans to put down their phones and get up on their feet, and giving lighting cues for a more intimate 'breaking-down-the-fourth-wall' atmosphere."
10/ A Music Therapist's Holiday Wishlist
"Christmas is just around the corner! And it really is true when they say that every Christmas, birthday, holiday, etc., a music therapist will be asking for musical instruments to add to their collection... So, if you have a music therapist (or any musician) in your life, here are some great, useful gifts you can send them for the holidays."
Some of my favourites that didn't make it onto the 'Top Posts' list:
