feet in the sand

There's nothing quite like burying your toes in the sand on a nice day at the beach (and every time I do, I'm reminded of Amanda Bynes in What A Girl Wants when she says, "Don't you just love squiggling your toes in the sand? Did you know it's a natural exfoliant? Mom says if you can walk on a beach and you have a steady hand with nail polish there's no reason to ever pay for a pedicure." Wise words.)

 Catching some air at the beach!

Of course, once I'm all hyped up on chips and sugar, all I do at the beach is attempt to take jumping photos (since the water was way too cold for swimming). This weekend was a pretty crazy one, but one of those weekends where you take a lot of photos and then realize that none of them are suitable for the 'net (i.e., belated birthday barbeque extravaganza at The Boy's house complete with too many drinks and good friends). The only one I'd dare to show is:

I ♥ BBQs.

While recovering from the weekend, I've caught up on The Voice (who here is rooting for Team Adam? Though I also love Dia), and done a wee bit of shopping, though it's mostly walking away empty-handed when I see something on sale online, go to the store, and then it's gone (I snooze I lose, I guess!). I did come home with this pretty item, though:

I used to wear bracelets all the time, and decided to add one from Guess?  :)

I'm starting to turn into one of those people who doesn't know what day it is haha. I could have sworn today was the start of the weekend, which means celebrating one of my best friend's birthdays and hitting up Canada's Wonderland, but realized it's hump day. Either it's old age or I need to get myself a steady schedule. And too many days have gone by without doing this, but I received an amazing award from Tasha from a work in progress - thank youuuu!

Not sure if I fit into the 'stylish' category (but I tried to by showing off my bracelet haha). Now, these awards come with rules: you have to list 7 random things about yourself and then tag 7 other lovely people. So here goes! :)

1. I've played the guitar for about five years on-and-off; I'm rusty, but I love it.
2. I have a slight addiction to nail polish, and I have to wear it otherwise I nibble my nails down to the knuckle. Lately I'm hooked on the 'shatter' ones from OPI.
3. I got a navel piercing done last August in Vancouver as a bit of a 'dare', and my Dad doesn't even know about it yet (shhhh).
4. I could be on Don't Forget the Lyrics and win since I memorize lyrics way too easily.
5. When I was younger, I pretended I was in an all-girl group called (wait for it) The Sunflower Girls. Aww yeah. Our hits included "Love You Once More" and "If You Were My Boy" (which I wrote).
6. If I had the time and energy I'd love to become a daily vlogger like CTFxC and the Shaytards. Until I realize I'm not as cool/don't do too much hehe.
7. Every week I realize more and more that I have a horrible phobia of insects (except for butterflies and dragonflies, we cool).

Thanks again for the award! And I'd love to give this to: Krissy from i am krissy, Tiara from little tiara, Margarita from Fab Brunette, Reni from inHERshoes, Jaime from La Vie J'aime, Abby from Robots in Trouble, and Kathy from Life in Progress - and I'm adding Mel from ChinkyGirlMel because I love her outfits!

Hope you're all having a great mid-week!

What are you looking forward to this weekend? :)

P.S. A -major major- thank you to all the recent bloggers following me! 

I'm on the look out for the perfect giveaway gift, stay tuned :)

happy 101

Way back when (a month and a half ago!) the lovely Chinkygirlmel awarded and tagged me ... she's an amazing blogger who you can't help but want to visit daily to see her adventures, so I couldn't let her down - sorry for going this long without doing the tag, and thank youuuu!

Rules for happy 101 award:

1. Post who gave you this award.
2. State ten things you like.
3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment.

 1. Love - it might seem a bit redundant to say I like love, but it's true - love with The Boy (picture taken on Thanksgiving!), the friendships I have, the love for my sister and my parents ... And of course, the awesome friendships I've made with bloggers whom I haven't met but really hope I get to one day! all of it is something I like, something I cherish; without their love, I'd probably be a different person.

2. When everything goes right - I was going to say "according to plan" at first, but realized I like spontaneity :) By "everything goes right" I mean you have a crazy morning where you completely forgot about an assignment so you whip up two pages in an hour and then print it out and realize you still have 15 minutes to spare before you catch the bus so you manage to make yourself look somewhat presentable and catch all the right buses and get to class on time and then someone shares some of their candy with you ... errr, yes.

Maybe a better example is meeting up with Kym and while I was all jittery with nerves, had an amazing time getting to know in person and being so thankful that we got along so well while she showed me around her city. Miss you!

3. Doodling - one of my favourite pasttimes, since I've abandoned the idea of bringing my laptop to class (too heavy and too many distractions). So while the Prof is lecturing, I ... doodle. I take notes, of course. But given that all of my classes kind of have the same theme I feel like I'm learning the same thing over and over again.

I've learned that I'm only really good at drawing food, which sucks when you're incredibly hungry since you feel like devouring paper. Oh, and the Pikachu is because the guy sitting in the very front row of ascending rows was playing Pokemon on his laptop during the entire lecture. Seriously dude, just go home.

4. Discovering places - whether it's a new restaurant in town, a waterfall I didn't know about, or places on the world wide web; recently I've fallen in LOVE with They Draw & Cook, where people draw out recipes ... and thankfully it's going to be published because I want to print them all out! And of course, I'm creeping My Name Is Reeses to see adorable pictures of my sister's new dog.

5. Accessories - I'm not the biggest accessory girl, but I love those ones you look at and realize, I have to have it. Added to that list are my owl necklace from Forever 21 and my heeled oxford shoes from Payless ... so unbelievably comfy.

6. A nice night in - whether it's curling up on the couch to watch my favourite show (Castle), watching hilarious YouTube videos with a friend, or spooning on a bed while watching a movie with The Boy ... nights out are fun, but I love a nice night in.

7. Collecting coffee mugs - when I move out, I expect to have a whole cupboard of coffee mugs. While matching ones are neat (the third one had a Cappuccino buddy just like it, but sadly the ear broke off during the flight from Vancouver to Hamilton), I think having a vast array of different ones is better. The Class of 2010 one is HUGE and from my parents, the second is a Shakespeare Love Quotes which I adore, the third is a Macchiato mug which was 99cents from Vancouver, and the last one is a Mocha mug my sister got me from Starbucks. Ever in doubt of what to get me as a gift? A coffee mug.

I sound incredibly boring, don't I?

8. Being there for someone - giving them a hug, doing a favour, coming with someone somewhere ... I like being there for someone :) It's as simple (and as complicated) as that (since sometimes this can be taken advantage of, but that's a story for another time).

9. Postcards - twitter and Facebook chat seem to be replacing e-mail, which replaced letters, and so on. But I still love the idea of postcards - I really hope everyone who participated in the Postcard Project got their postcards, I'd love to do this idea again sometime soon! Above are my three most recent postcards - from Alexis, Kym and Carla!

10. Reciting movie lines - off the top of my head. I have just about the weirdest memory where I can remember every single line of Pirates of the Caribbean, the entire Oliver Wood scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as well as Hot Fuzz, Serendipity, and Finding Nemo - but I don't remember anything really useful. But I like it? :P

So now for tagging! Sorry if you've already been tagged in this, but you're awarded anyways! :) Make sure to check them out!: Ramblings of a Fab Brunette, be de.lizzy.cious, i am krissy, Sara's Organized Chaos, Little Tiara, Across My Universe, The Blarkness Chronicles, La vie ... J'aime, A New England Girl, and Insomniac Lolita.   

What do you like? :)

And what did you like about today?

i like to sit on dinosaurs

When I was younger, I went to see Jurassic Park at the theatres with my older sister and a daughter of my parents' friends. I consider it my 'first horror film' before I saw Scream (which traumatized me for a good three months after I watched it). The most memorable thing about Jurassic Park? When the T-Rex came onto the screen and I screamed and - from what I remember - ran out of the theatre. Well, the other day, I sat on a T-Rex -- take that, extinct creature! Was anyone else scared by Jurassic Park?

In all honesty though, Jurassic Park is one of my favourite films :) I'm just excited to make more memories  - whether of the scary variety or otherwise - with my sister (countdown to Vancouver: just a little over a week)! Until then, I'm trying to soak up as much sun and time with friends as I can, while also looking forward to my last work-week at the summer school in the office. Here's some more photos from the weekend:

Don't worry, he's not actually choking me ... hehe ...

We stumbled upon this - by the looks of it - abandoned bookstore which was literally FLOODED with books. I would love to read The Book of Spies, The Encyclopedia of Etiquette, and The Illustrated London News. I decided if I were to ever pull off a robbery, it would be here.

Celebrated one of my closest friend's birthdays on Friday with a buffet and then going to a pub! And then I realized that Kym had her birthday on the same day, so if you haven't greeted her -- belated is still good, I hope! Or you can give her a belated present by checking out Herro Hachi (shameless plug haha).

Now, I have some really overdue awards to share and I'm really grateful to you all :)Thanks for the warm welcome back and for these awards, as well! First, I received the Versatile Blogger Award! Here are the rules:

There are some rules to this award:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award

2. Share seven things about you

3. Nominate 6 newly discovered blogs

4. Let your nominees know about the award!

Thank you so much Tasha! So here are the seven things about me: 

1) I'm left-handed. It might seem like the most basic information about me, but a lot of people don't know that even if they've known me for years!

2) I like having 'nostalgic' evenings where I spend a few hours listening to Spice Girls, or watching old Sailor Moon episodes; uber nerd, I am. 

3) Pizza = perfection and I could eat it every single night of my life.

4) To combat all that pizza-eating, I love going to ExerciseTV and trying out all their workouts, just wish I had more time to do them.

5) I have a nervous habit of biting my nails. In order to get rid of that habit I must have my fingernails painted AT ALL TIMES. That's the only way I won't bite them.

6) Gifts that I consider to be great: hugs and anyone who offers to get me a cup of coffee, haha. 

7) I've had multiple dreams of meeting up with bloggers from around the world and I wake up happy - and wondering if my imagined voices are really how these bloggers sound like!

I'm awarding blogs I've just happened to stumble upon and think deserve this! So I award: Allison, Christine, Emma, Essence, Leesh and Lisa!

And then Bree (who always has amazingly fun pictures) awarded me with the You're Going Places, Baby award! Thank you :) The Rules: Describe where you think you'll be in 10 years and then pass it along to 10 other bloggers!

Firstly I award Margarita, Andhari, Tiara, ko0ty, Krissy, Jess, Kym, Mayra, Nahl and Amanda - because I would love to read your answers! It's kind of terrifying thinking about what will happen ten years from now, but here goes ...

 

In ten years, I picture myself being the happiest multitasker - hopefully married, hopefully with one child, and with photo albums full of travel adventures before that child came along. I would love to be a high school teacher or a professor, have my webdesign company, and  be in the process of finishing up a novel. Most of all, I hope I'm in a location that either I'm surrounded by close family/friends or that helps me feel secure - a roof over my head, food in the fridge, all that jazz. Oh, and a gazebo in the garden. YES!

And if any of you just feel like doing this award, feel free to pick it up!

Okay, this blog is now completely full of ramblings, but I just have to ask:

How was your weekend? :)

a piece of me in may

I was planning on posting this yesterday - instead, I spent the day doing way too much HTML and CSS coding, making myself delicious iced coffee, and then reading (+ finishing) a novel until 1am - because, as soon as I go on vacation, the first thing I do is pleasure read - my simple smile of the week. /book-worm

I love that so many bloggers are continuing the tradition that Toothfairy started (although her hiatus seriously sucks!) and that is ... A Piece of Me on the first Sunday, err first Monday of every month. So here goes!

This month....

I like: that I'll have much more time to see friends on weekdays, that I'll have time to do things I'd like to do for a change; I also love that me and The Boy are celebrating two years together this month!

I don't like: that as I get older, time seems to go by faster. Recent revelation, right thurr. Oh, and the whole class thing on Tues/Thurs nights, but at least I have a friend there who will make it worthwhile :)

I want you to know: that my legs need shaving, but I'm still in that state of mind where it's winter and you don't have to shave that often ... I need to get out of that.

Oh, and I want you to know that it's good to have a little spare time to do things you normally don't have the time to do. Like maybe pick up my guitar that I haven't played in two months (gah).

I've planned: to make at least five meals from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible that I got from the library, and I've also planned to work out at least three days a week ... we'll see if that happens!

I want to say to someone special: I am so freaking proud of you.

Now, time for a picture segway!

Gorgeous tree from a walk on Saturday with The Boy :)

One of the yummiest pizzas I've had this year so far - also thanks to The Boy :)

The lovely Mel (make sure you send her some get-well-soon wishes) tagged me in a little Q&A thing. Thank youuu! I tag Manju, Tiara, Sara from Sara's Organized Chaos, The Girl In Stiletto and Andhari! :)

1) A vampire or a wizard (and why)???

Definitely a wizard/witch - there was a time where four Halloween's in a row, I alternated between being a 'witch' and then being Hermione (the same thing). I'd love to do little spells and y'know, get an acceptance letter to Hogwarts even though I'm over 20 :)

 2) If you could change one thing about you, what would it be - if anything???

I think I might have to go with Mel's answer and say my metabolism, it kind of went away after my trip to Poland. Oh no, wait! I'd say my sensitive stomach. I would like it to be tougher, please.

3) Would you rather live like a rock star or like a president? (in other words: fun or power?) 

Definitely a rock star, but with a twist. I wouldn't really be able to handle the responsibilities of a President, so I could be like Bono from U2 (though less annoying and I wouldn't always wear sunglasses) and promote good things and ways to help others/the earth while rocking out on my gee-tar.

4) What's your favourite cartoon character???

Oh wows, this honestly a tough one. I'd say Squirt from Finding Nemo but that's not really a cartoon. Probably Sailor Mercury or Sailor Jupiter, those ladies were fierce. Or Pikachu!

5) What's your (most) guilty pleasure?

Hmms, listening to really old-school music from the 90s really really loudly. 

6) If you were a song, what would it be???

This is impossible to answer! I'd say "Bohemian Rhapsody" by QUEEN just because of the fun sing-along factor or "Starlight" by MUSE because it has such a happy tune to it and it's fun to clap along to.

7) What's your biggest dream?

To explore as much of the world as I possibly can, while having an unlimited supply of SD cards and camera batteries. And to be happy in a home with a gazebo and a garden where I can invite my friends and loved ones for yummy meals.

8) Do you prefer to be the one who asks questions or the one who answers them, and why???

Definitely the one who asks them. I get so antsy when people ask me questions; I always feel like I'm bound to disappoint them with my answer. And I'm a curious lady who loves to ask questions.

9) What is your biggest turn off and turn on? 

Biggest turn-off: people who spit on the sidewalk in public - just find a sink(!!!), and definitely B.O. Oh, and extreme rudeness - I understand if you're moody and having a bad day, but that's no excuse to be outright disrespectful to others.
Biggest turn-on: guys with brown hair and blue eyes (although The Boy has green eyes, and they are pretty haha). And a guy who can cook.

10) Have you ever broken any law?

Ahh, this one makes me laugh because me and The Boy have an inside joke where I don't want to commit anything that's illegal - we always say, "Nuu, nuu illegality!" But yes, I probably have broken a law or another, but I try not to ;)

Annnnd last but not least, the awesome Andhari from Insomniac Lolita awarded me with:

The Preppy Mafia Award

Thanks, lady! It involves filling out this questionnaire (yes, this post is loaded with them) and passing this on!

1. Who is your style icon?

I'm going the same route as Andhari and pick a reality TV star - Lauren Conrad. I love the way she can mix and match basics and make it flow effortlessly.

2. Which is your favorite socialite book?

I read chick lit, but don't think I've read anything that can be qualified as a socialite book. Any recommendations? We can have a socialite-written book club haha.

3. Favorite party theme?

Anything to do with dressing up, really. Whether it's formal, non-formal, ridiculous costumes, or something like a tea party or a pirate party (oh yes, I went there).

4. Go to Halloween costume.

A witch - so simple. Although I've come out of my 'witch shell' and I've been a  princess, a schoolgirl and a Mexican senorita for the past three Halloweens.

 5. Extravagance you cannot live without?

Hmms, I'm not sure, to be honest. I don't think a computer really counts, eh? Maybe earrings since I always need to be wearing them.

6. Living person you admire?

My sister, my mom, my close friends, and ... all of you :)

7. Greatest fear(s)?

Letting people down, being alone, being stuck in an elevator, large insects, not going anywhere in life no matter how determined I am ...

 8. Traits you deplore in yourself?

I try not to think of myself in that way because no one is perfect ... but I guess me being overly sensitive to things and being over-emotional - it tends to give people the impression that I'm weak and/or that people can just walk all over me.

9. Which talent would you most love to have?

To be able to read music. I play instruments, and I know where the 'Em' chord is on the guitar, but I can't read notes; I feel if I could, I might be able to play better.

10. Greatest achievement?

Finishing university - even if I'm coming back for a minor, I can say I'm a proud graduate come June. And I just got all my marks back and for the first time in all four years at uni, I have an A- average ... ahh, stoked.

And although Andhari already passed it along to my sis, I award her, Krissy, Erika @ Cafe Fashionista, Steph @ That Girl Is Hoisin, Nahl @ Little Miss Juicy, and the BonBonRose Girls who are amazing and let me know I won their giveaway this weekend - definitely makes the start of May a good one :)

What are you looking forward to this month?

And what's your simple smile today? :)

Hope you had a great weekend!

simple smile + snowy goodness!

You know what makes a Monday morning even worse after knowing that you've just had a week off from school and you really don't feel like going back? Waking up to a crazy snowstorm and traveling in it!, with your eyes being blinded by crazy wind-snow. We've finally been hit by some overdue snow ... though I would have prefered it last week (toboganning time!). Now I just feel like giving it to Vancouver. 

I hope you all had great weekends, though! Mine consisted of Mission Cheer-Up on Friday, by going over to The Boy's place. Our recipe for cheering him up? Plenty of hugs and cuddles, a huge meal of pizza and honey garlic chicken wings (yum), and then 27 Dresses ... chick-flicks like that always cheer me up and it cheered him up, too. The Boy claims he has more than 27 dresses though ... I'd like to see that, haha.  We also watched 2012, which ... I wouldn't recommend. Oh, and I also dyed my hair a light reddish-brown, but the pictures I've taken so far are incredibly emo so I'll show that some other time. Then Saturday consisted of a random bubble tea outing with two close friends and then meeting up,  even morerandomly, with the drift-away friend I've mentioned before. It wasn't as awkward as I was expecting, but I could tell that our friendship wouldn't be as close as it was in the past. Overall, a good weekend to close off a week of relaxation.

 

   

A look at a snow-covered fire hydrant and me walking home :)

Don't lie ... you want a sip of that strawberry banana bubble tea, don't you? ;)

But yes, walking to a bus-stop while being blinded by snow isn't a fun way to spend your Monday morning, fo sho. Knowing that I'll be seeing MUSE in TWO WEEKS is my simple smile of the week, though! Another thing that makes smile are these two awards!

The cute Gingerella (who's celebrating her birthday tomorrow, give her a shout!) awarded me with the Beautiful Blogger award. Thanks so much! The rules are to give this to 15 other bloggers you deem fantastic or beautiful. I'd seriously give this to every one of you if I could, haha.

So here goes, I award this to: 1) Krissy at i am krissy; 2) Andhari at Insomniac Lolita; 3)  Amanda at Teasingly Diverse; 4) Juliana A Blonde Walks Into A Blog; 5) Tiara Little Miss Tiara; 6) Mayra at Life is Bananas; 7) Iva at Iva Messy; 8) Sarah at Sarah Does Japan; 9) Nahl at The Girl in the Blogging Department; 10) Kym at Bee Creative; 11) New England Girl; 12) Jessica at Alright, Still; 13) Nicole at My Teacups in Peony; 14) Aubrey at Made You Blush; 15) Adele at Poptart.

Then, KS from While We're Waiting awarded me with this adorable award (thank you!). There weren't any formal rules, so I'm just going to award three girls who are like the sprinkles on my cupcake: Margarita, my sis, the cupcake expert extraordinaire; Josie from Josiebean!, who has returned(!); and Steph from That Girl Is Hoisin' who has also returned to blogging! All three of you gals cheer me right up.

Whew, after all that I just have two requests:

1) If you have any Ask Nikolett questions (advice-related or find-out-more-about-me-related), ask in the comments or e-mail me!

2) Does anyone want to guest blog for me next week? The week of the aforementioned Muse concert is also the week I have 4 papers due in 4 days (GAH!), so next week I'm going to try to finish them all and I'd really appreciate your lovely voice on here while I'm sitting, highly caffeinated, in a dark room with a laptop at 4 in the morning haha.

Hope you've had a good start to your week! :)

therapeutic thursday: friday edition

Yesterday, I felt the furthest thing from relaxed, the complete opposite of calm. Thoughts of the future usually puts me into hysterics, because I feel like I need to have everything in its place, everything determined. The thought that someone else's decision will impact the rest of my life ... it frightens me. But sometimes, you have to let go. By the end of the night I felt happier, more relaxed. Not necessarily carefree, but realizing I don't have to be in control of everything all the time. Because in reality, all I can control are my choices, my reactions to things. 

In the spirit of being therapeutic, here is a list of things that help me when I've got all Psycho Crazy. I call it the Things That Help Me When I'm Psycho Crazy list (very original, eh?). 

Put away the tissues, hide the box of delicious cookies, and try to find ways to relax that will make you feel better about yourself rather than wallowing in self-pity (of course, we all have those days, but this is a more positive list, y'see).

1) HUGS. When I had a bit of a breakdown yesterday on campus, I went to see The Boy after his class in need of one thing: a hug. Sometimes, just having someone show you they care is enough. And if you don't happen to have anyone nearby, virtual hugs are just as good. You might not have arms actually wrapped around you, but knowing that someone from a distance cares about you is comforting (I'm looking at you, Little Tiara and Andhari, who offered me virtual hugs from afar). Even Darth Vader needs hugs.

2) WORKING OUT ... followed by a bubble bath. I know, working out is torturous. Especially at the gym, right? So work out at home. Find some online exercise videos (ones at Exercisetv.tv and the Beach Bum series are some of my favourites). Those trainers won't judge you, they'll just do a quick 10-minute workout using your own body weight. Working out is one of my best ways to just forget about things and concentrate on being healthy. And though I'm not the biggest fans of baths, a bubble bath is a great way to just relax after all that working out you just did!

 

3) MUSIC. Followed by dancing. Music is one of those indescribeable gifts of life. To be able to put feelings into beautiful words, accompanied by tones and instruments ... whether you like listening to soft tracks that soothe the soul or screamo to shout out the pain (whatever floats your boat!), I find music to be one of the most relaxing things you can do when you're stressed out.And dancing your heart out helps, too.

4) HOT CHOCOLATE. Followed by sleeping. Instead of devouring a whole pint of ice cream/box of chocolates/(insert your food of choice here), have some hot cocoa. It's warm, so it will soothe you, and it's still got that chocolatey goodness. Alternative: some tea, either herbal or regular. Also amazing. And of course, SLEEP. It might be hard to shut out the thoughts that make you stressed, but after the first three things and realizing that tomorrow is a new day (carpe diem and all that), hopefully you'll rest easier.

Annnd, a last one, inspired by Manju: 

5) MAKING A CHANGE ... like a haircut. I'm getting a haircut today, to get rid of the split ends and hopefully look good for the ball I'm going to tonight. There's something so relaxing about having someone massage your hair and then cut it ... taking a little load off, making your head a little lighter to think about other things. It doesn't have to be a big change. It can be something like adding one cup of water to your daily routine, or deciding to cut out one Starbucks drink a week and putting that extra $5 towards something you're looking forward to if you're strapped for cash. Just try to make one change that will help you, not hurt you.

So, what helps you when you feel yourself going nutsy crazy psycho lady?

And if you never have, I salute you and want to learn your secrets.

Last but not least, I want to thank Sarah from Class and Coffee for this amazing award:

This definitely makes me feel simply fabulous, haha. Thank you!!
The rules require me to blog about a woman who I think is fabulous. This woman can be someone I know in real life, a celebrity, or a fictional character. Then, I must pass the award on to five other fabulous bloggers.

There were honestly three people who came to mind: first, one of my closest friends who has dealt with so much but still keeps strong; I admire her so much. Secondly is my Mom, who is amazing and plays video games while still keeping the house in good order, working a job, and caring for her family.

But I knew the one woman who is the most fabulous is: my sister, Margarita. The name of her blog itself shows that: Ramblings of a Fab Brunette.

Apart from being fabulous, she's one of the most generous people I know. She doesn't give herself enough credit, methinks. She'll always be the one to send an amazing card through the mail, one who will take care of a poor sister with expensive books (thank you!), and who has gone through so many changes in her life. She's gotten to experience and see so many things in life, that I could only imagine about or dream of.

She was the one who got me into webdesign and Adobe Photoshop. I was the one who loved Spice Girls before her, but we bonded over our love for Posh Spice. And now, my sister is a bit like Posh Spice herself. She has a great man, an amazing daughter (even though Posh has sons), a fabulous sense of style, and a heart of gold.

And I hope you don't mind that I just rambled about you for three paragraphs, sis (tee-hee). The pictures from the right are some of my fave recent memories including singing Aerosmith's Don't Wanna Miss A Thing for my parents' 25th anniversary. I miss you!

Now, I'd like to pass this on to some other fabulous ladies: LiLu from LivitLuvit, Carla from Girl With The Golden Touch, Mayra from Life is Bananas, Erika from Cafe Fashionista, Jessica from Alright, Still, annnd I suppose my sister, too haha.

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

I'm headed to a ball tonight, so expect pictures soon!

the cat's out of the bag ...

I keep seeing cats everywhere today. When I left home, there was a cat darting on the lawn across the street. On my way back from church was another black cat running across a driveway. And it made me think of the expression: the cat's out of the bag. Which made me think of Fab Brunette's post on looking inside her bag. So, I decided to do the same! Warning: the bag of a university student is usually messy and full of random things.

There's my bag on the left -- I use it for classes, for going shopping, for sleepovers, you name it. It's pretty basic, but I love it for the fact that it can fit my laptop and my battery for it, plus a whole bunch of random things I need. I used to have an H&M bag that served the same purpose, but then my pen exploded in it, leaving ink over everything. 

Anyhoos, you probably want to know what's inside it, don't you?

 

Just a note: I got rid of about 10 smushed chocolates in my purse before I took this ;)

1) My wallet, a Marc by Marc Jacobs that I got from my sister a few years ago and love!

2) My notebook that I use for my classes. It's so colourful and makes me want to write in it.

3) A pack of gum. Always. And it's sugar-free, which Chandler Bing would like (at 2:44).

4) Gotta have some pens. Although I'm pretty sure the bottom one is dead.

5) My glasses. Without their glasses case. I take care of them ... well. *cough*

6) My cell phone with a pretty charm from Japan my friend got for me!

7) My USB key where I store essays and not one, but 3 lip glosses/chapstick.

8) Some anti-bacterial moisturizing hand lotion in Warm Vanilla Sugar. Smells so good.

Oh, and a random napkin. Because you never know when you might need one?

9) Oprah kinda sticks out, doesn't she? My Professor lent me an issue of her magazine since I have to write a paper on her magazine in two weeks. This issue is from 2003 ... wowsers.

10) Some tinted lip conditioner from Mac. Smells yummy and makes my teeth look whiter, which is a plus.

11) And finally, my agenda. Without it, everything would be handed in even later than it already is, hehe. 

 

If you feel like showing off what's in your bag, definitely go for it! Next, I got this award from the amazingly adorable Krissy! Thanks so much :) It's theYou're A Doll award! The gals on that picture scare me, but getting an award doesn't, hehe.

The rules are:

1. Remember to link back to the person who awarded you!

2. Select 5 more bloggers that you think are dolls and link them at the bottom.

3. Tell about a character from a book/ movie/ drama that you like most.

Now the third rule took the longest for me. There's so many characters I adore (especially Sara and Selene, characters Kate Beckinsale plays in two amazing movies). But from what I've seen, most of the dolls who have been rewarded this try to make the character relate to them in some way ... so in that case, I choose:

Georgia Nicolson. The first book from the series (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson written by Louise Rennison) was given to me by my sister and had me literally rolling on the floor laughing. I was ROFL-ing hardcore. She's a British teenager who writes in her diary about all the random things that happen in her life, her crazy family, her friends, and her mishaps and relationships with boys. Her aspiration is to be a back-up singer, which shows how cool she really is.

I like her because she's not perfect. She's written as a normal, albeit kooky, teenage girl who makes up words with her friends and does crazy dances in public (something I did a lot in my teenage years). She has her grievances about her body parts (huge nose and huge boobs), but by the end of the series she learns to love herself. And she has her crazy times with a multitude of boys, but finally learns to be with the one who likes her for her. Her character has been with me since 1999, so in a way, I felt I kind of grew up with her. The series came to an end last year, but I can re-read them over and over again.

Plus, they made the first three books into a movie which really brought her to life. She's funny, she's selfish, but caring and ... yes, I like her. And hope someone else has read the series/watched the movie!

I award Margarita, Andhari, Manju, Little Tiara, Adele, Sarah, and Nicole!

And now I ask:

How have your weekends been? What did you do? :)

Mine was pretty lowkey, so I want to live vicariously through you all, haha.

Have a great rest of the day!

visiting indonesia...

Today, you can find me over here at Insomniac Lolita. The amazing Andhari asked me to guestblog while she's off in Bali, so I stayed up until 1:30am (1:30pm her time) so I could post. Hence my 'visiting' Indonesia, teehee.

And on another note, the sweet and heartwarming Aubrey gave me an award! Thank you so much! I didn't end up winning the Newbie award @ 20sb, but getting a personal award is just as awesome. And hello to all you new followers and commenters!

The award is:

The Best Blog Award, where we're to award blogs that we've recently discovered. So here goes!

- I am Krissy - The Juicy Courtship - Martinis Or Diaper Genies - Curls And Coffee - One Long Road - Class And Coffee - Ocean Dreams AND Lovely Little Life! Make sure to check them out!

Hope you've all had a great day ... my entire 18th Century British Lit class agreed that this Wednesday felt like a Monday. But tomorrow's a therapeutic Thursday and I'm just itching (wait, that sounds wrong) to answer all your questions!

festive cheer and freedom

I'm feeling a little festive, so I had to change my little header above. Reasons for such festivity?

i) I got my first Christmas card in the mail today from Nicole and it made my day :)

ii) I'm finished all my exams and projects! It feels so great to have a few weeks off from school.

iii) I'm looking forward to catching up with friends I haven't seen in ages.

iv) A few overdue awards from Carla and Sara! I got the Kreativ Blogger award from Sara and this lovely award on the left. Both involve sharing 7-10 facts about yourself and then passing it along. I'd like to award Manju, Margarita, Amanda, and Krissy! I decided to put a little spin on things and instead share ten things I can't wait to experience  and do in the next few weeks -- hope you gals don't mind!

1) Reading

I have the biggest pile of books waiting for me to just tackle them with hungry fingers (makes it sound like it's a feast, meep). Sometimes it feels good to just read for pleasure instead of reading something that's on a course outline. I've already read the last book in the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series called "Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?" My sister got me into these books way back when the first one came out -- I feel like a bit of my childhood is gone now it's over (the same feeling I felt when I finished reading the Harry Potter series haha).

2) Catching Up With Friends

It's going to be so good to hug those friends I haven't seen in a while and avoid all topics regarding school and work. I can't wait to catch up with the friends I can just talk to about anything and everything. As you get older, it seems harder to hold onto friendships, mostly because life just gets in the way. I love the friends I have where we understand life is busy, but what we have is important. Ah, I'm a cheeseball.  

3) Apple Cider (Cocktails)
Me and my closest friends are bringing back our Secret Santa tradition and exchanging our gifts at a potluck-dinner Christmas party that I can not wait for. Hopefully on the menu is apple cider cocktails, which is the recipe of the week. I've never actually tried them, but just the thought of them makes me thirsty. This list is making me both hungry and thirsty now (my stomach just grumbled).   


4) Snow!

And I don't mean that nasty, gnarly snow -- that's only good when you have chestnuts roasting on an open fire (and I don't have a fireplace). But I love the feeling of seeing a good few inches of powder snow on the ground, and seeing it glisten as the sun hits it. So pretty. Today's been a combination of a little snow and rain (not cool).

5) Making Things

That sounds so ominous ... what will I be making? BABIES! (just kidding!) But I hope to tackle some form of home-made crafts, either to give as gifts or just to admire.  Catching my eye are making frosted glass, an exploding box of photos, or this snowglobe that I found via weheartit which led me to this blog entry about de-cluttering your kitchen and making snowglobes. I thought it was adorably cute and would love to try it out ... maybe with a little plastic coffee cup? And, as you can tell, I've been doing a lot of discovering via the world wide web ... that's because I'm a lazy bum who spent the first day of freedom on the computer, yipee.

6) Cards & Presents

Over the next few days I'm going to be writing and sending a bunch of cards and I can't wait. My mom's been grumbling and saying she hates writing cards out to our relatives, but I love to send things (paying for postage? not so much love there). On top of that, I'm going to be braving the mall with its overcrowdedness and try to get some nice items to give to the parentals/the friends/The Boy/the dog (yup, he gets a present)! Wish me luck that I don't get trampled? :)

7) Getting Out Of Town

The past few months have all been a routine, with not much room for adventure. I would love to go on a road trip (with clear roads) to a nearby town and explore while getting yummy samples of fudge. Or maybe go to an outdoor skating rink in another city.

Now, The Boy's never been skating, so I'm sure we would be as paralyzed as the couple in that picture (but hopefully we'd look just as fancy, haha). I get so happy at the thought that I don't have to see my school for the next few weeks ... makes it sound like I hate school (ironic, since my whole life is going to be school), but it's just overwhelmed me. I just want to get outta town.

8) Sleeping

I need to catch up with my pillow -- projects have made me abandon it far too early in the morning, so I can't wait to sleep some more.

9) The Holidays

Christmas and New Year's are right around the corner -- it's going to be a bit different this year with my sister on the other side of the country (plus the fact that my family's kind of given out presents early ... oops), but I know it's about more than just that. And while plans for New Year's are still up in the air, hopefully it'll involve more catching up with friends and a new year's kiss? (Ever since that episode of Friends where none of them get kissed at midnight, it's kind of stuck with me. I am cool.)

10) Drinking LOTS of coffee and getting a holiday drink from Starbucks/catching up on blogs/playing The Sims and/or Final Fantasy/watching a ton of movies/experimenting in the kitchen/drinking yummy hot chocolate/cleaning my room/making graphics/just relaxing.

Yeah, that's about it in a nutshell.

Thanks to you all for always being so amazing, I'm sending lots of hugs your way.

If you'd like a Christmas card, drop me an e-mail :)

And now I have to ask:

What's made your week better?

stop & smell the flowers

Yesterday afternoon, my dog reminded me to stop and smell the flowers.

{not my dog, but still so adorable!}

The ground was all soggy with mud, but I made sure that Shadow had enough time to peruse around our neighbourhood. That was when he noticed a bushel of flowers on the edge of the park. He stopped and literally smelled those flowers for a good thirty seconds. I almost wished I had bent down beside him and smelled the flowers with him. But having that thirty seconds of quiet reflection reminded me that it's good not to be on the go all the time.

A few minutes later, he paused and looked at the little kids playing on the jungle gym -- the next generation of kids, in my mind. Just ten years before, me and my childhood friends had dominated the area, playing with sticks-as-swords as my guy friend pretended to be Cloud Strife, his little brother played Vincent, and I was Aeris or Tifa (and sometimes both simultaneously) as we played Final Fantasy VII in real-life (we were cool, okay? Oh, and click that link to get an idea of what we pretended to be heehee). 

It made me miss the simpler times; yet, it also made me realize how complex we make things nowadays. Sometimes all it takes is a simple 'hello, how have things been?' phone call or e-mail to someone you haven't seen in a while, instead of just wondering why you haven't talked in so long. Sometimes, you just have to give a hug or a simple gesture to cheer up someone's day. Sometimes all it takes is to be given a simple compliment to know that you are loved. So, stop and smell the flowers every now and then :) Trust me, it's pretty therapeutic. 

So, here are some awards that definitely made me feel loved! The lovely and fashionable Kristen and Megan from Bon Bon Rose awarded me with the Honest Scrap award! I did this a little while ago right here, so you can check out my ten pieces of honesty! I award this to Jessica and Archana!

Next, Nicole {who is a sweetheart!} awarded me with:

The Superior Scribbler Award, which is so cute! You can find out more about it from here. I award these fellow superior scribblers:

Becks, Manju, Margarita, Andhari, Mayra {get well soon!}, Sarah, East Coast Ecstasy, Girl With The Golden Touch, and Lilu! You are all very superior haha :)

My step to trying to take a step back and relax was writing my first poem in about a month; usually I take an 8-month hiatus when school starts, but was suddenly inspired. Me happy, haha.

Well, now I have a three-hour break to catch up on school readings (ah, what a luxuriously laid-back Monday), followed by class, a meeting with a Prof to talk about a Multimedia thesis in which me and my friend want to send a camera into space (more on that later!) followed by graphics design at night.

Hope you're all having an a-okay start to the week!

And make sure to stop & smell the flowers every once in a while,

or perhaps to crunch the leaves that litter the ground.

I need to take lamaze classes ...

... I'm forgetting how to breathe properly. Time seems to go by so fast now. It's already hump day, the middle of the week, and I've had little time for reflection on a simple smile or to wish about something on Wednesday. Instead, all I can think about is, "How did it get to Wednesday already?" I'm a big fan of leisure time, and got so much of it during the summer, and it's been really hard to get adjusted to the pace of being at school and riding buses every single day.

Hmm, I suppose my simple smile of the week comes from a fun day on Sunday, catching up with a friend through shopping at H&M (got a couple of really cute fall clothing items!) and then having a pumpkin-fest at Starbucks (wow, you know you're tired when you write Starburst instead), getting a pumpkin spice frappuccino and a cream-cheese pumpkin muffin (seriously delicious).

And my Wednesday wish is for more times like Tuesday night, where me and The Boy managed to temporarily avoid the slaughter of school that has raged upon us [err, yeah] and managed to spend some time, just him and I being close with each other. Those moments of just holding each other remind me to breathe, before the pace of the world catches up with me again.

Basically, I'm really sorry for the lack of updates, both blog-wise and graphics-wise, though I am working hard on some designs! Once I get everything organized and listen to some "Slow Me Down" by Emmy Rossum and "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day, I'm sure I'll be back on track!

And before I head off, the lovely Kimberly from My Wooden Heart gave away an award to each of her readers, and I couldn't resist doing it! So thank you Kimberly!

The Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might not know.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.


So 7 things you might not know about me:
1) I'm in my final year of university, doing a combined Honours major in English and Multimedia.
2) I have a ridiculously bad nail-biting problem. The only way I can resist is by painting my nails. It's more of a nervous habit, wish I knew how to get rid of it (and yup, I've tried those yucky tasting clear liquid-polish you can put on your nails, didn't work).
3) Weddings? I've only attended one in my life. Don't know what it's like to be a flower girl/bridesmaid or anything, and most of what I know about weddings I know from movies.
4) My greatest desire is to travel/learn languages. So far I know two fluently (English & Polish), am learning a third (Hungarian) and want to pick up a fourth (Japanese).
5) My biggest fear is probably heights. Second to that is elevators.
6) I still read Seventeen magazine, even though I'm twenty-one.
7) I have met The All-American Rejects about six times, and got free concert tickets from the lead singer when he asked if I was going to the show that night and I told him it was sold out. Such a lucky day!

I tag anyone who'd like to do this, in case there's something about you you've wanted to share with your readers, but didn't know how quite to fit it into a blog post :)

Hope your week's been a bit more of a breather than mine!

sitting with a nose strip on ...

I'm sitting here with a Biore nose strip on my nose and all I can think about is how much I want to watch The Princess Diaries movie for the scene where Mia gets caught with it on her nose by a boy and then rips it off and says, "Ow." Not that I'd want to recreate that scene or anything. [Clearly I'd be insane if I did -- I'd much rather recreate the whole 'I'm a princess!' scenario.] Being an avid movie watcher though, there's so many scenes I'd love to recreate in everyday life. Pretty much every happy/romantic scene in Serendipity tops the list. And the song n' dance segment in Robin Hood: Men In Tights. Also, I'd love to have just an everyday moment where everyone is in sync and choreographed perfectly to a random song, just like in the movies.

Is there a movie scene you'd love to recreate?

Anyhoos, this Labour Day weekend has been pretty relaxing, and tomorrow it'll be full of more BBQ-ing and fishing at a lake. But in the meantime, I've also been tagged twice! Both of them involve little Q&A sessions, so I'm going to do them in different entries this week. Can't wait to do Archana's, but since I'm a little exhausted, I think I'm better suited for one-worded answers!

I received an award from the amazing Ramblings Of A Fab Brunette! Here’s how this one works: USE ONLY ONE WORD! It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers. Then pass out the award to whoever you would like! - I tag/award Jessica, Andhari, Steph, and anyone else who'd like to do it!

1. Where is your cell phone? dying

2. Your hair? drying

3. Your mother? walking

4. Your father? watching

5. Your favorite food? pizza

6. Your dream last night? Sting(?)

7. Your favorite drink? coffee

8. Your dream/goal? teacher

9. What room are you in? "study"

10. Your hobby? graphics

11. Your fear? heights

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren’t? flexible

15. Muffins? sure!

16. Wish list item? EUROPE

17. Where did you grow up? Ontario

18. Last thing you did? milk

19. What are you wearing? PJ's

20. Your TV? F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

21. Your pets? Shadow!

22. Friends? adore

23. Your life? better

24. Your mood? tired

25. Missing someone? Boy

26. Vehicle? nonexistent

27. Something you’re not wearing? socks

28. Your favorite store? XXI

29. Your favorite color? blue

30. When was the last time you laughed? earlier

31. Last time you cried? Wednesday

32. Your best friend? amazing

33. One place that I go to over and over? school

34. One person who emails me regularly? Facebook(!)

35. Favorite place to eat? sanitary

Wow, that was hard. By sanitary, I mean anyplace that is sanitary ... I could eat anywhere, honestly. And as for the dream about Sting -- I did not understand it at all. Apparently it was a high school reunion with a bunch of people I don't normally hang out with and we were at a Sting concert -- except I only really remember one Sting song ('Desert Rose') so he kept singing it OVER and OVER again. Gotta love bizarre dreams.

If you haven't already, make sure to check out my giveaway, you enter up until Tuesday morning -- by Tuesday night I'll have the winners revealed, yahoo! If you have tomorrow off, enjoy it :) If not, I hope your Monday isn't too shabby!