Zach Sobiech, 18, passed away this morning, surrounded by family and friends.

In the past few weeks, donations to Zach’s cause — the Children’s Cancer Research Fund — skyrocketed, as did downloads of his song, “Clouds,” which has more than 2.9 million page views on YouTube.

Be sure to check out his full story here, it is truly an inspiration.

Above: Interior view of Para Surface,  Hamish Newall-Watson

INTERIOR AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN DEGREE SHOW 2013

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, May 17^th – May 24^th

Defining Interior Environment Design is an impossible challenge. Primarily designing an atmosphere and an experience, your final outcome often still an intangible idea you must still communicate effectively so that it feels within reach. This is also a challenge but not impossible. It simply means that the outcomes are varied, highly creative and dynamic as seen at this year’s Interior Environmental Design Degree Show 2013 at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. Designing the groups exhibition space as a collective, our graduates express great enthusiasm for their discipline whilst also and creating their individual thesis.

Interiors encourages new ideas but also preservation. Preservation of buildings through renovation, community through social enterprise projects, businesses facing challenging financial climate, our environment through ecological initiatives and maintaining physical environments by combining them with their digital parrallels rather than replacing them with them.

A strong theme through the graduate projects this year is social enterprise; tackling issues from homelessness, mental illness, crime, community and local business and proposing some innovative solutions. Ross Crawford, influenced by his involvement in Dundee’s first ever Global Design Jam, took the idea of creative collaboration and connecting the global creative community and has developed a project to do just that in previously unused areas of cities, with similar initiatives around the globe. Fawn Russell has taken on an unusual project in conjunction with HMP low security open prison in Dundee called These Four Walls. Experimenting with natural light within her spaces, Fawn has challenged the ideas of incarceration, and punishment with Bentham’s ideas on tactical punishment, curfew, regeneration and experimenting with alternative environment for society.

Enterprising Paula Grubb has designed for fellow DJCAD students from a variety of disciplines and designed pop-up shop, Show Off, giving graduates the opportunity to bring their creations onto the High Street. In his proposal So Sow, John has tapped into the current enthusiasm about local produce, supporting local business and hopes to get the community excited about food. He has designed a community swap service where home-growers to local industrial food producers can swap, sell and share seeds and produce. With farmers now looking for easier and more efficient ways of producing more crops in smaller spaces, Duncan Perkins has designed and crafted a structure for growing strawberries that increases the yield four-fold in his Berry Barrels. His sketchbooks, featuring amazing working sketches, gives great insight into production process and thinking.

Shona Cairns project display exudes creativity and hands on exploration of materials and forms. This initial development has then led to her design The Epicentre, in a Rotterdam site creating an awareness raising space to highlight climate change and host imaginative projects which will encourage the public to prepare from climate disaster.

Focusing primarily on process and research into sound physics and shape formations, Hamish Newall-Watson has considered how digital technology can be merged with spatial design by developing a temporary modular structure in his project Para Surface. Able to shape spaces at a variety of events and festivals the built forms can then be projection mapped onto to display digital media adding to the atmosphere of the physical space. Aiming to enhance the physical experience with the digital to provide a new shopping experience Esther Lockhart has successfully morphed physical retail spaces with virtual online shopping experience in Walk-in-Website.

Interiors is diverse, with alumni going into 28 different creative areas within the industry. Already Paula Grubb’s innovative Show Off business concept has won the ‘Test-Towns’ award whilst Shona Cairns is a finalist in the £10K Janine Stone nationwide interior design competition. After the degree show, the students are taking their work to exhibit and present it to industry at graduate design show Free Range in London. The Interior and Environmental Design Degree Show 2013 won’t give you the answer to that impossible question of what exactly Interiors is but instead will show and inspire you to think about all the things it could be.

This article was written for the university arts and humanities magazine DURA. Visit there website for more articles on art, design, film, literature and performance.

I first found their quinoa salad with mango and avocados.  They had me at “mango”.  The recipe is actually titled “Black Quinoa with Mango, Avocado, and Tomatoes,” (find the recipe here) but I had no tomatoes and only regular quinoa.  But I made do, and this salad turned out to be one of the most bright and fresh sides I’ve ever had.  The lime juice, mango, and avocado all combined in one dish just makes you feel like you’re on vacation!

I followed the recipe to a T, minus the tomatoes and green onions.  Simply because I didn’t have them at the time.  This will definitely be a Summer staple at our house.

Mangoes. Cutting the pulp away from the bone.

Using fresh cilantro from our herb garden!

Now that I found a stellar side dish, I needed an equally great main dish.  As this blog had yet to steer me wrong, I went in search for an entree.  I decided on their “Honey, Lemon & Rosemary Grilled Chicken” (recipe found here).  It was a beautiful day and using our BBQ seemed like the appropriate thing to do.  An added bonus of this recipe was that I got to use another herb from our herb garden!

Followed this recipe close to exact, only adding a pinch more garlic than suggested.  Using chicken breasts, I let the meat marinate for 30 minutes before grilling.

Fresh Rosemary

Making the marinade

And eventually, dinner was served.  Add a little wine and you have patio dining at its best.  Can’t wait to try more recipes from this blog!

I first started getting into tvshows in 2007. It was the year I was hospitalized for anorexia and depression. It was also the year where I lost most of my friends. Some kept their distance because they simply didn’t know what to do or say. During my months at the hospital, I can only count two friends who actually came to see me.

I remember the night before I was admitted, I had signed the damn contract they wanted me to sign, and it was only 12 hours before I had to leave. I was afraid and alone. So I turned to Will and Grace, one of my favorite shows today. If you don’t know the show, you should watch it. During a time of desperation, I needed something to distract me from the pain, the ache and the fear of the unknown that would come in the hours of the morning. So I started episode one, and laughed my ass off. I had seen it before on TV, but this time I had an entire season to myself, and I watched it all during that night.

When I came to the hospital, I had specificly asked to bring my own computer. Remember, this was back in 2007, and laptops were extremely expensive. I had received one as a hand me down from my boyfriend at the time, and he had sent with it all the running seasons of Scrubs. Scrubs is a sitcom about a young team of doctors, making their way through the hectic life in a hospital. I found it to be very appropriate at the time.

So the first night, after the weigh-in, the checkups, the prodding by doctors, the sleeping pills prescribed, I was finally alone. I laid down in my bed, turned on my computer and started watching. I did this for the entire time I was in recovery. I don’t know how to put this, without sounding ridicilous – but those TV shows saved my life. The late night episodes were my sanctuary away from the mental hospital. It drowned out the noises and screaming from my fellow patients. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me feel hopeful again. I still watch Scrubs and Will and Grace to this day. It’s strange, how something so small can change everything. I love the dynamics between the characters, I love to watch how the characters develope, and I love that they make me laugh.

I have suffered from insomnia my whole life. As a baby, my mother told me that I rarely slept. I would just lie awake and stare at the ceiling. As I got older, I would lie awake and hate myself and my life and my body and felt so guilty for having these thoughts, that I needed a distraction.
I read books, but as my weight dropped, I could no longer concentrate for the extented amount of time I needed to read. My memory was failing so I didn’t even remember the things I had read. I started reading Lord of the Flies, and made it to 30 pages before I put it down.

Now, as an adult, I am still in love with TV shows. I have watched thousands of episodes of different shows, mostly at night when I can’t sleep, or when I am so depressed that I can’t function. I just lie in bed, and watch seasons upon seasons of sitcoms. I rewatch Scrubs once a year, all 8 seasons. I rewatch Friends once a year, all 10 seasons. I watch Gilmore Girls, The Office and everything else remotely funny.

Every night before falling asleep, I watch a couple of episodes. I crawl under the sheets and hear my boyfriend snoring, tossing and turning. I open my computer and turn off the lights, put in my earplugs and start a new episode, and repeat it until I am tired enough to fall asleep. I am so greatful that TV shows has been in my life for so long.

Day one

Day 2

Day 3

I love my girl … I so wish she could be like some other small people and get all her teeth in a big rush, hers seem to be taking months to creep out, one by one.

So … now we know, an early evening trip to the swings, and then bedtime spoonful of jelly fresh from the fridge help the pain go away and make a small person happy.

The jelly helped with my sore throat as well (oh the joy of a summer cold) .. but. I couldn’t fit onto the small person swings!

Asher was a darling the entire time and warmed everyone up with his smiles. The kids both loved the hotel pool. Silas was Silas and introduced himself quickly to each member of the family he met. “You don’t know me yet…my name is Silas,” he said to his great-aunt Diane, then explained “I can run real fast” and showed her several times back and forth across the hotel dining room. He punctuated his last sprint with a ninja-kick, and then escorted her through the breakfast buffet line.  He played hard and tuckered himself out, taking a 3-hour nap on Saturday afternoon. He had been awake from 11pm-1:30 a.m. the night we arrived. Picture of his nap below.

The rest of the week- I don’t know- it was Molly’s hell-week at work, and she had long days at the office and I had long days with the kids. We didn’t get much house-work done, but that should change this week. The demolition-reconstruction job is finished on the first floor, and now we’ve got a ton of painting to do. We’ve got about 10 days left, but I’m starting to feel that we’re close enough and it will be fine, even if we’re all jammed in one bedroom for a week or two while we finish the others. And even if we’re cooking dinner under the shadow of the red-faux-brick wallpaper that covers part of the kitchen wall. I hacked a dog-door into the brand new door we had just purchased, so Ella can let herself out now, thank goodness. I borrowed a Dewalt sawz-all from the West Philly Tool Library, which made the job hugely easier. I have a sawz-all I bought from Aldi a few years ago, and while I love it, it lacks power and I love it like I love Silas’ art work.

We didn’t try to squeeze the blog portraits in at 11:30 last night, and still haven’t done them yet today, so I need to go fire those off. Then off to the house to get dirty and hopefully see some progress.

Silas in regalia early this week

I never thought I would love a bike so much. I have always appreciated the convenience of a bike, at IU I rode one for awhile and then in D.C. when Tyler got into his “A BIKE IS FREE” mode- we rode them pretty frequently.

But here… I feel like a little puppy who is experiencing his first car ride. Pure bliss- head out the window, ears flapping, tongue-hanging out, slobber flying…. that is how it feels as I am sailing down the road.

The other day while I was basking in my bliss, I decided to be fancy and turn around to go another direction and before I knew it, I was lying on the ground. My hip, hand and ego bruised pretty badly, but mostly I was shaken up because I didn’t understand how it happened. Under normal circumstances, I would not be telling people about this, but as I stood up and dusted myself off, I realized I had another bruised. I looked around me and noticed that there were 2 ladies standing down the way, a boy walking past me and an older man across the street, and not one person even glanced at me. As I rode on, attempting to console myself- I reflected. Should I have expected someone to help? Should I have expected someone to ask how I was, to glance my way? Where did those expectations come from? Is it because I am a foreigner? Don’t get me wrong, living here for the past year I have experienced unprecedented acts of kindness, which is probably why I felt so shocked that not one person acknowledged I had fallen. Obviously, I am still a little confused as to why this happened, but then I came upon this video today and even though it has nothing to do with me or my experience, it made me feel a little bit better. Like a beautiful band-aid to place over my wounds…

Kindness

Bag: Sportsgirl, Wallet: Love Couture, Camera: Sony, Pencil case: Typo, Glasses: Paris Miki | debbyrachel

Alas, the compulsory blogger’s post.

Haven’t you always wondered what was in my bag? No? Okay, well, then, why did you click onto here? (Yup, joke’s on you!)

I’ve wanted to do this post for a while now, and finally bothered to actually take the necessary photo because it was number #13 on the Instagram #MayPhotoChallenge (unintentional Taylor Swift reference there. Actually unintentional). Yes, I am now an Instagram addict. Follow all the action @debbyrachel if you enjoy constant spamming of random food shots, most of which (okay, all of which) aren’t gourmet. My photography skills are below par too, which makes for a real selling point. Ah, the downsides of being a broke uni student (can’t afford nice food or a cool camera, okay I get it… I actually live it. #firstworldprobs).

Last night’s emergency vibrantly-coloured sushi to break up the text | debbyrachel

There isn’t anything particularly interesting in my day-to-day bag. I constantly switch between four bags depending on what I’m going to do that particular day (uni with no heavy Chinese books, uni WITH heavy Chinese books, work, interning… you get the picture). Some things I think are absolute essentials no matter what you’re doing are: mints, tissues, bandaids, floss, pens, paper, hand cream, lip balm, emergency food (I go for mandarins, bananas, nuts and muesli bars simply because they’re super easy to pack and unpack), phone, water, keys… but hey, I’m pretty sure you already knew that. Because you’re not five (or are you? If so, smart kid! Oh wait, you’re part of Gen Z, so I take that back…)

So what have I learnt from this rather uninteresting, standard post? Nothing much, really, besides: 1) I don’t really have any cool-looking stuff. Sorry, ego. 2) I call myself a journalism student (the admins at UTS do, anyway) but don’t own a voice recorder. Yeaaaah. What’s up with that? I’m working on it though, especially since I’ve started volunteering for 2SER’s Panacea show, and will obviously need a decent device to record interviews with my talent. Any recommendations, media friends?

Here’s a closeup of the bag (which I actually don’t use as much as I’d like, due to my relentless desire to keep the studs intact):

Sportsgirl Stud Bucket Bag $60 | LOLA x EVE

P.S. I finally went out and bought myself Demi Lovato‘s new album, Demi, because I’m old school and won’t buy from iTunes for some stupid, noble reason unless it’s the free song of the week. Cue ultimate stinge alert.

P.P.S. Also currently stalking the best and worst dressed at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards. Very happy for my girl Taylor Swift who won EIGHT gongs including Artist of the Year and Top Artist! Looking forward to seeing you this December, T! Of course, I have already secured presale tickets (thanks Taylor for coming before I leave for China!)

P.P.P.S. I’m currently loving will.i.am‘s new album, Willpower. Literally every song on it is a gem and puts a beat in my step each day. The perks of entertainment internship freebies!

P.P.P.P.S. Yes, I’m aware that my P.S. notes are currently in a ‘who’s longer’ competition with the text of my actual blog post. Oops. Here’s a piece of rainbow cake to make it up to you. Happy Tuesday!

Mmmmmm. No words | debbyrachel

Ce n’est pas tellement de liberté qu’on a besoin, mais de n’être enchaîné que par ce qu’on aime.

- Pierre Reverdy

Ombré hair refers to hair color fading from dark to light, or vice versa. Instead of the color starting from the roots, it gradually becomes lighter, or darker, towards the ends. The word “ombré” in French means shadow or shade.

Before

After!

Back view

Surprise of the day: I listened to my Google Maps app and took US 89A home instead of going through Page and taking the l-o-n-g detour ADOT set up. Not only did it shave an hour off the trip, it gave me some gorgeous views of the Vermillion Cliffs and other sights.

And since it only took nine hours instead of 10, I had the energy to drive an extra hour to the Boyfriend’s last night. Win-win, right?

I made a quick stop at my place with all my loot from #blend2013. Didn’t want the bars to melt in the heat. Eating melted/re-solidified stuff wouldn’t give me a true feel for the products.

Blend Retreat was so much fun, and I’m glad I went. Look for more updates this week.

This past weekend was bitter sweet.  Bitter because my Appachan (Grandfather) passed away, sweet because it was actually a pretty fun weekend (which included a wedding).

Lets start with the bitter.  Appachan was 93 years.  We have a family orphanage in India led by one of my uncles and Appachan lived there.  They took amazing care of him and loved him like their own.  You couldn’t ask for anything better.  The funeral was in India on Sunday night (Monday morning there).  My Dad has 10 siblings and all but 2 of them made the trip.  I was able to watch the live feed of the funeral via the web.  At any age, funerals are never a fun thing, but being that Appachan was able to live such a long life, it’s easier to celebrate his life, rather than focus on the loss.  It was nice to see all of my Dad’s siblings together.  Sheena and I were planning to make the trip to India at the beginning of 2014 so that Appachan can see/meet Layla, but I guess our timing was off.  He was my last surviving grandparent and will be greatly missed.  

Now lets move on to something a little sweeter.. Like a wedding.  Bryan and Mabel got hitched over the weekend.  The wedding and reception were both great!

I don’t want to glaze over the ceremony part of things, but lets be honest… the reception is what it’s all about!  The Sugarland Marriott has seen its share of grand receptions, but this was amazing.  Decor, food and the guests in attendance, it was a great time!  Felt like a reunion of sorts.  We were able to see a few faces that we haven’t seen in some time (and some faces we are blessed to see all the time!)

Lisa coined the hashtag #brybel for twitter, so we had some fun with that as well!  Things ended pretty late for us, but Layla was a trooper.  She stayed awake for a majority of it all, but closer to the end of the night it was clear that if we stayed any longer, she wouldn’t be so kind to us.

Sunday morning, MJ Oommen spoke at church with a very relevant message.  It’s great to see young people so passionate about Christ!  Very refreshing and eye opening for me.  After church, Sheena had a work thing to attend so Layla and I joined her.  It was a Summer Kickoff hosted by Houston’s First Baptist, Sienna Campus.They know how to host a Summer Kickoff!  Burgers, hot dogs  crawfish, bounce houses, slides, video games, petting zoo, mini train, pony rides… it’s was awesome!

Layla was fixated on the slide, so Sheena and I obliged but got burnt out quickly.  Luckily Benson and Marsha joined us and she was happy that Nicky was there to play with.

Layla’s a gangsta, so she decided to get herself a tattoo.

Pink butterflies are the most hardcore thing they had, so she went with that.

Layla and Nicky both got pony rides too!  I didn’t get pics of Layla, but here’s Nicky!

Some other random highlights of the weekend… we visited Sheena at work

and I finally hung the swing that Earl and Asha gave Layla for her 1st Birthday.

Listen
with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridges to bow for the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water looking out
in different directions.

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging
after funerals we are saying thank you
after the news of the dead
whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you
looking up from tables we are saying thank you
in a culture up to its chin in shame
living in the stench it has chosen we are saying thank you
over telephones we are saying thank you
in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators
remembering wars and the police at the back door
and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you
in the banks that use us we are saying thank you
with the crooks in office with the rich and fashionable
unchanged we go on saying thank you thank you

with the animals dying around us
our lost feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us like the earth
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
we are saying thank you and waving
dark though it is

~W. S. Merwin

**Painting – Listen by the marvelous Jennifer Davis

The second reason is that I have been thinking about a lot of things in my life and making some decisions. The first big decision was making a real, concerted effort to try and get back to a happier, healthier state and frame of mind.

Every bout of depression is different in its severity and a bad one can leave a long lasting, residual mark on your mentality that can lead to unhealthy and unhelpful wallowing.

Looking back and analysing the last few years, I could clearly see the point where I was happiest, and it coincided with the time that I decided to make a real effort. Obviously that isn’t rocket science but a bad bout certainly derailed me and it all lead to me beginning this blog.

What exactly do I mean about making an effort? Well it means not coasting and really taking control. If I’m completely honest a kind of ‘woe is me’ attitude was setting in and if I’m really really honest, I have to admit I was sleepwalking through a vast majority of my final year of university.

So in the last couple of weeks I’ve made an active effort to ‘wake up.’ I’ve been readying my writing portfolios and have started looking for freelance work whilst continuing on with my novel and scripts, plus I’ve started doing other simple things like exercising again.

Regular exercise is genuinely such a great tool in fighting and coping with depression. Getting back into the shape I was, regaining the muscle I lost when I was wallowing is not only a great self esteem boost, the endorphins from exercise really are a great, natural buzz. I’ve also taken control of my alcohol consumption which is a huge step.

When it comes to my writing/professional life, all of that side is in my real name and does take up a lot of time so this blog will almost certainly revert to being updated once a week at best, but I’ll be keeping it as an outlet.

As always the challenge comes not when times are good, but in times of adversity and it is here that I hope I can take strength from the last year and a so of my life and remember that, when I am making a real, concerted effort life is better and indeed fun. When the next bout comes I believe/hope I’ll be able to deal with it.

I had to go with a Rocky video here didn’t I haha.