Beach + books = bliss.
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Adding amazing books to your summer reading list can be as simple as signing up for the BuzzFeed Books newsletter! You'll get a review of a new book you might love every Wednesday, plus much more twice a week: great jokes and quizzes, wonderful lists, powerful essays, all the Harry Potter and YA buzz you can handle, and of course, even more book recommendations.
An Instagram-famous photographer reveals the secrets to taking extraordinary pictures on your phone.
Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed / Cole Rise
Travel photographer Cole Rise is Instagram famous. As in, he created Rise, the filter, and has over 906,000 followers.
Since crafting Instagram's first photo treatments, Cole has promoted the gospel of the "unedited edited" look via his gorgeous pictures on Instagram, founded a mobile and desktop photo app of subtle filters called Litely, and was most recently featured in Apple's Shot on iPhone 6 campaign.
Needless to say, this guy knows his stuff. Cole sat down with BuzzFeed Life to discuss the secrets of subtle editing and how to get DSLR-worthy photos from your phone.
Cole Rise
Take on adulthood like a champ.
Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed
It's the ultimate Netflix/morning email hybrid accessory. They'll crush their inbox before 9 a.m.
It doubles as a measuring cup (for food) and a sip measurer (for chef). Monitor sips, prevent accidental weekday drunkenness.
There's a lightweight backup battery hidden inside, plus cables for iPhone and Android.
Yes, you can actually buy a house for $500. And it could be the best thing you’ll ever do. Or the worst.
But while there are lots of true stories and tall tales about getting a house for as little as $10, there are some very real and lasting consequences to investing in real estate anywhere — and especially in Detroit.
So we talked to Nicole Curtis, Michigan native and host of HGTV's Rehab Addict (currently filming in Detroit), and Craig Fahle, director of public affairs for the Detroit Land Bank Authority, about what it really means to buy a house at auction in the Motor City.
J.D. Pooley / Getty
At best you'll have to invest about $10k in repairs to make the home livable. At worst, some of these homes can be in shambles AND have a value of –$40,000 because of back taxes, liens, water bills, and any number of other things.
TlL;DR: You can't just pay $500 and move right in. But you can buy a $500 house, invest some time and money, and have a great property for $30,000-plus (which is a lot less than anywhere else in the country).
Jessica Probus / BuzzFeed
The biggest and most well-known online auctions are the Wayne County Tax Auction and the Detroit Land Bank Auction.
The Wayne County Tax Auction is run by the Wayne County Treasurer's office. Last year they sold over 24,000 properties online that had been in foreclosure, for a minimum bid of $500.
The Detroit Land Bank is a newer public authority that auctions three properties a day for a minimum bid of $1,000, plus closing costs and the current year's property tax.
Jessica Probus / BuzzFeed
For many Detroit homes, the first auction price is just the amount of liens and taxes owed on the house. If no one buys them then, they either go to a second auction where the prices start at $500 or they are given to the Detroit Land Bank where the starting price is $1,000.
Jessica Probus / BuzzFeed
This handy icon has been hiding there all along.
Thinkstock
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Ten years after the release of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the Pevensies are all grown up!
The film tells the story of the four Pevensie siblings who discover a magical land in the back of an old wardrobe after being sent away as evacuees during the Second World War.
Walt Disney Pictures
Don't worry. We've got you covered.
Walt Disney Pictures
Alert: Peter got hot. After being cast as the eldest Pevensie sibling in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at age 18, Moseley continued his lead role as Peter in the film's follow-up, Prince Caspian. He's had small roles in several movies since, including the series' final film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Now 28, he's starring as Prince Liam in The Royals alongside Elizabeth Hurley. The network picked up the show for a second season two months before its debut.
Walt Disney Pictures / Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
Anna has been busy since her days as Susan Pevensie, but you wouldn't know it from her IMDb page. She was accepted to Oxford University in 2007 to study English language and literature (filming for Prince Caspian had finished in September 2007, right before she started her undergraduate study), and she's had several roles on stage. Now 26, she has a starring role as Lola on Reign, which follows the early life of Mary, Queen of Scots. And she looks exactly like you've always imagined!
Walt Disney Pictures / Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images
“The only thing I wanna do in the next five years is make a good, new, friend.”
Stephanie Anderson / BuzzFeed
"In general, when you're in LA, the only people you meet are like, at your spin class, and you have to wonder - if a woman is going to seek you out at spin class what their motivations are, but if you're desperate for female friendship, as I am, that you're like 'okay, this isn't a weird situation!'"
"It's hard when you're an adult woman, because for the most part, people are more focused on finding their romantic mate, but I've found in the past four years that I've wanted a female friend so much more. It's much harder to find someone that you like, wanna talk to, than it is to find a man you wanna sleep with."
Comedy Central
So, you eat cereal for dinner and can barely cook an egg. No one else needs to know that.
You know when you buy rice, pasta or grains, they come in perfectly good plastic packaging? Well throw them out, pour the contents into big jars and put them on display. This shows that you are a good homemaker with a sense of rustic, country charm.
Therry / Getty Images
Your guests don't need to know that you usually drink water out of the kitchen tap. If you really want to wow them, when you give them a glass of water, just give them the sparkling stuff without even mentioning it. They'll think you drink fancy water ALL THE TIME.
That's right. I said it. Don't look at me like that. At the very least, squirt some bleach in the toilet, wipe down the mirror and make your sink taps shiny. Admit it, the bathroom was overdue for a clean anyway.
Stoupa / Getty Images
When guests come over, it is opposite day for the bathroom. Take all the stuff you actually use off the vanity and chuck it in the cupboard. Then take all the stuff you never use out of the cupboard and display them. Most of these things will be gifts from people who don't know you that well or miniature hand creams you've swiped from hotels. Now's their time to shine.
Liubomir Turcanu / Getty Images
You’re cursed with a sixth sense for seeing empty packets.
Marvel
It's tempting to start putting post-its on them saying, "you didn't throw this away so I assume you want to keep it."
The WB
Are half the population just walking around in a daze?
You know you're gonna have to get up and tidy and some point, so you can't fully let go.
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Set one up at your reception and let your guests go crazy. Ranked from easiest to hardest.
Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed
You can order flowers from your florist, or buy them at the grocery store the day-of. See how to make it here.
Difficulty level: ?
This heart is so simple to make that you could set up a few hearts in different colors and at different heights. Get the step-by-step here.
Difficulty level: ?
Make your kid’s big day magical.
Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed
Learn how to make yours here.
You can DIY this using an old sheet, sponge, and red paint. Learn more here.
Find this idea and other cool ones like it here.
Car seats, fire extinguishers, and even potatoes can be dangerous past a certain date.
Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed
Jitalia17 / Getty Images
Cheap and easy ways to save any bad hair day.
Jenny Chang // BuzzFeed
Rock out with some rocks in your hair. Find out how here.
Get the tutorial here.
But you'll look like you put in more time than that. Find out how to make it here.
Go ahead, rub one out.
Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed Life spoke to Sulyn Silbar, ACSM-certified personal trainer and founder of Body + Mind NYC, and Luke Bongiorno, physical therapy director of NY SportsMed & Physical Therapy, who recommended these simple self-massages. You can do some with your hands only, while others require the aid of a tennis ball or foam roller — but all are super easy and only take a few minutes, no professional required.
The best part about this move is you can do it under your desk without interrupting whatever you're doing. You can use a regular tennis ball, but Silbar recommends a spiked ball like this one, which will leave you feeling airy on your feet.
Here's how to do it:
1. While sitting, step on the ball with a bare or socked foot and roll back and forth from heel to toe with firm pressure — but don't try to flatten the ball completely.
2. If anywhere feels particularly painful or tender, work those knots out by rolling in small circles.
If you need more pressure: Do while standing instead of sitting.
Anna Borges / BuzzFeed Life
Expensive taste on a DIY budget.
Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed
Shine bright like a diamond when you check to see if you've got something stuck in your teeth.
Full tutorial at A Beautiful Mess.
These are made using Crayola air-dry clay — the kind you find in the kids art supply section!
Full tutorial at Designlovefest.
You can always find table runners for sale at places like Target (because — let's be real — most people don't use them) and pillows are among easiest things to sew.
Full tutorial at Francois et Moi.
Bring it on, summer.
Hang whimsical mugs for extra charm.
Find instructions at One Little Bird.
One Little Bird Blog / Via onelittlebirdblog.com
Perfect for a cottage bathroom. Shark bath mitt optional (though recommended for cuteness).
Find instructions at The Picket Fence Projects.
The Picket Fence Projects / Via thepicketfenceprojects.blogspot.ca
Because cold drinks and a hot summer day go together like...well...cold drinks and a hot summer day.
Get the instructions from Shannon and Jim Fox here.
Shannon and Jim Fox / Via foxhollowcottage.com
