five good things on a friday

01. great food shared with great people

I spent the weekend indulging in amazing food while visiting one of my best friends in Oakville - Saturday's meal consisted of an incredibly filling and delectable turkey burger from a place called The Works; the toppings were goat cheese (can not stress how YUMMY it is), spinach, roasted red peppers and added sundried tomatoes with a side of sweet potato fries. Sunday's homemade brunch included leftover sweet potato fries, baked salmon, and quinoa - a word that I always pronounce wrong - mixed with salsa, peas, garlic powder, and pepper.

The meals were a perfect accompaniment to catching up, wondering about our lives, and strolling about town. Oh, and watching V/H/S, which I can only describe as ... horrifically strange. 

Oh and I also made chocolate almond macaroon (cookies) that were found from Kym's blog and made from this recipe. 

02. taking in your favourite scenery 

Excuse the crazy close-up, but it just shows how happy the beach makes me. Or just being by the water in general. Especially when there's Haribo involved. 

03. dancing (horribly) to zumba followed by yoga

No picture of this one since my dancing should not be photographed ;) But I had an awesome Monday run at the gym; Zumba has quickly become my favourite mode of cardio, since the instructor at my gym is so enthusiastic and doesn't mind making a fool of himself (and he has insane hips), making the whole workout a blast. And yoga was the perfect way to wind down and really see just how inflexible I am (must do more yoga). 

04. mixed (online) tapes

When I was younger, I distinctly remember all the mixed tapes I would make from recording things on the radio and, when I became a little older, all the mixed CDs my sister and I would make, complete with customized Photoshopped covers of whichever artist was on the CD (mostly Britney Spears and Spice Girls, in my case). Just this past week I became acquainted with this site called 8tracks, where people make mixes of 8 tracks or more. I made my first one (here it is) for when I'm more in a mellow mood, and can't wait to make more. If you make mixes on here, please let me know :D 

05. playgrounds 

Although I don't go to playgrounds as often as I used to (remember that spinning wheel of death where everyone tried to hold on? where did that go?), my park recently did renovations and my boyfriend got stuck: 

Good times. This weekend I'm planning on being a bit of a homebody by making plum cake and getting The Hunger Games when it comes out tomorrow, but hopefully do some more exploring outdoors, too.

what's a good thing (or five) from your week?

what are your plans for the weekend?

hope it's a great one! (:

february freebies & blogaversary!

Today marks two years since my first blog post at Better Than Coffee! Happy blogaversary to me! It's been an amazing two years of making cherished friendships, meeting one blogger in real life (and hopefully more soon?), and finding out what makes me smile simply, what I like to wish for, and trying to keep calm and therapeutic when obstacles get thrown my way. All while recapping weekends and spending time with The Boy and with friends. 

Last year on this occasion, I wrote a seriously long paragraph thanking everyone who I've had the pleasure of 'meeting' in this sphere of blogging - and trust me, you ladies & gents are amazing. Your comments keep me going when I struggle, and make me laugh when I need it most.  It makes me smile to see that a majority of the bloggers I listed either are still blogging or I still keep in touch with, and it makes me smile even more knowing that there's so many amazing bloggers I have yet to discover. You guys have helped me through so many things. But instead of rambling, I'm just going to give. It's February Freebies times!

I haven't made a mix since October, so why not make one for the month of luuuurve.
Youtube play-button idea is an inspiration from Cafe Fashionista with her Play It Again, Sam! feature.

001. Glory Box - Portishead

002. Come Wander With me - Emilie Satt

003. Don't Be Careful With Me - Meg & Dia

004. My Love - Sia

005. Consequence - The Notwist

006. Apple and Cinnamon - Utada

007. Love Lockdown - Kanye West

008. Undisclosed Desires - MUSE

009. Sweet Disposition (Doorly Dubstep Mix) - The Temper Trap

010. A Year Without Rain (Starlab Edit) - Selena Gomez & The Scene

011. Samba De Benção - Bebel Gilberto

012. Between Two Lungs - Florence & The Machine

013. Lovesong - ADELE

014. Won't Stop - OneRepublic

015. Real Love - Regina Spektor

016. Teenage Dream - Boyce Avenue

And next are some things I made myself and, well, let's just say I'm not the greatest of artists when it comes to drawing things with pen and paper, but I wanted something that was 'made from scratch' (since I can't just send you all honey lemon loafs like I planned). You can download the PDF files below, and feel free to print them out on the paper of your choosing, and maybe even punch a hole near the top and add string to make it all fancy!

And the next ones I actually made way back in December as little 'gifts' for the Christmas cards I was sending off, but since they fit in so well with this blog's theme, I figure why not add them in? :)

I'm hoping to fill this month up with more loving and freebies, but most of all I just want to give a big THANK YOU! From the people I talk to 'on the regular', to the anonymous lurkers, to everyone in between who visits here, thank you for visiting, thank you for commenting, thank you for accepting my craziness :)

And since I made bookmarks I have to ask:

What books are you reading lately?

mellow autumn

I feel like I'm re-using my fingers for the first time in weeks just by typing here ... I haven't updated in a while and along with seasons changing, you might have noticed a little change in the layout here (hint hint, wink wink, come take a look if you're viewing this via a reader)! It might just be a temporary look but I felt like something fresh, something new and I've always wanted to make a Scrabble-inspired layout. Blame it on being an English major who loves words too much.

While I could explain all that I've been up to over the past few weeks, I only have two things on my agenda: catch up on all the blogs that I've missed, and provide a little peace offering for being a hermit. When I was younger I used to make a gazillion mixed CDs, photoshopping covers with the main artists on them. Why not do it now in digital form? So here goes! If you all like, I might try making these every month/every other month.

This month's mix? A little mellow, a little hipstery, with lyrics about change and the like. I'd like to call these Caffeinated Mixes :)

Blend from a 2008 wallpaper I made using own photos. Previous cover used photo from here.
Youtube play-button idea was an inspiration from Cafe Fashionista with her Play It Again, Sam! feature.

001. Brooke Fraser - Something in the Water

002. Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - Home

003. School of Seven Bells - Windstorm

004. Coldplay - Don't Panic

005. Vince Vaccaro - Costa Rica (Acoustic)

006. Muse - Shine (Acoustic)

007. Mumford and Sons - Thistle and Weeds

008. William Fitzsimmons - I Don't Feel It Anymore (George Raquet Remix)

009. Zee Avi - Is This The End

010. William Fitzsimmons - So This Is Goodbye (Pink Ganter Remix)

011. Florence and the Machine - Cosmic Love

012. Charmaine - Tied To The Ground

013. A Fine Frenzy - What I Wouldn't Do

014. Kate Walsh - Your Song

015. 2NE1 - You and I

And if you'd like to download it, CLICK HERE! :) Just a note: probably all of these mixes will feature at least one song by Muse and one J-Pop or K-Pop song because I listen to those three every single day. Either way, I hope you get to enjoy some of the music I'm into!

Does this count as a good peace offering? No? You want me to come into your house and clean it once a week and bake you delicious cookies afterwards? Errm ... we'll see what I can do about that. But for now, I'm back to blogging baby!

What have you all been up to? 

Happy September's over?

(I am!)