love is better than coffee

Last week was my week from hell (and I know for many others, it was a week of tragedy). I had felt like I was hit with the gusts of a thousand plagues; I had the flu, a cough, a cold, the whole works. The one day that I did go outside last week was to go to do a small bit of Christmas shopping and mail out my Christmas cards; and it was on that day that I was reminded of the goodness in people, that infectious Christmas spirit (this was the day before the shooting in Newtown, which dampened my spirits, and my condolences go out to all those affected). 

But from the girl who randomly complimented my coat as I was getting off the bus and she was getting on, to the nice salespeople at Chapters and Starbucks, to the lady at the post office who took off tax, to the bus driver who said, "Hello! How are you doing today?" I had a genuine smile on my face, and was also a little resentful that I was homebound most of the time and couldn't go out and see that Christmas spirit more often. I was also missing The Boy, my friends, and my sister like crazy (my sister can't come here for Christmas anymore, but I will come visit you, don't you worry! And umm, Christmas Eve Skype date, please?). 

And then it all came to a head on Sunday morning. I had slept in and my parents were already out, and I found myself starving since I usually don't sleep in until 11:30am. I ate brunch and realized that I wasn't chewing properly and it was hard to drink. I went upstairs to brush my teeth and realized that I couldn't move the left side of my face. I tried to smile at myself in the mirror and my smile was coming out crooked. I couldn't properly close or wink my left eye, and it felt like I had been shot up with Novocaine  It was paralyzed. And I was terrified. The first thing I did was call The Boy at work, who started going through all the options and told me to get my parents to come home right away. 

As soon as my parents came through the door I cried out, "I can't move the left side of my face!" and we immediately went to the hospital; by some stroke of luck, I was in and out of there in half an hour and the nurses and doctors were so incredibly kind. Aside from my food poisoning/dehydration in Hungary a year and a half ago, I hadn't had to be admitted into a Canadian hospital since I was born.

Fortunately, it's not a stroke. I have something called Bell's palsy, which is the inflammation of nerves causing temporarily paralysis in the face, usually either brought on by a cold or because it runs in the family (in this case, both, since my grandma had it once). I was put onto steroids and have an ointment for my left eye that gives me blurry vision but allows my eye to not dry out, and it should be back to normal in two weeks or so. But it was such a frightening feeling, not knowing what was going on, not being able to voluntarily move my face which normally is so expressive. On the other hand, I know it could have been much, much worse. 

It's really been in these last few days that I've realized that love is better than coffee. From the outpourings of well wishes from best friends and blog friends, to the random surprises from The Boy who gave me flowers and a bag of candy to make me feel better, to the little things like my mom making me breakfast and showering me with hugs ... when scary things happen, as scary as they may be, love is one of the best things to respond with. It might not make the scary thing go away, but it eases the pain. 

To end this wall of text, I hope that you've been having an AMAZING December so far, full of great times with family and friends. Since I'm most likely going to be homebound on and off for the next couple of weeks, I'll definitely try to post more often. For now, here's other things that brightened my otherwise dismal week:

(1) Mail! My new favourite shirt from Kym @ herro hachi, and Christmas cards from Tasha and my sister. Thank you so much ladies :) 

(2) Watching a pretty sunset on my one evening out of my house. 

(3) A get-well soon package from The Boy with flowers, strawberry kiwi juice, and chocolate.

Now to brighten up this post:

What's made your December bright?

And what's better than coffee (or your favourite indulgence) for you?

an ode to august

Oh August - how I love you. I might be a little biased since my birthday's on the 31st of August which is  tomorrow(!!!), but I've always found myself enjoying the days more, taking the most pictures during this month, and reveling in free days, planned nights, and spontaneous Skype dates. The air is not as humid and muggy as July in southern Ontario, and there's a slight crispness in the air in the evenings as the sun sets earlier; but it's a nice reminder that layered knits and pumpkin spice lattes are right around the corner.

My simple smile for this week - besides finding sweet birthday cards and surprise packages in the mail from dear friends - is finding my own little bit of paradise this month in the form of a road trip to Bruce Peninsula National Park. We drove through towns that had a higher population of cows than actual people and made it to crystal clear (and freezing!) waters and exploring a grotto (and coming up with a song called "Otto the Grotto").

The waters looked all Caribbean-like but were so cold.

The Grotto and my freshly dyed strawberry-blonde hair! (:

When I haven't been searching for or enjoying paradise, I've been baking a lot thanks to my parents' friends who have a ton of fruit trees in their backyard. Two weeks ago I made plum cake, and just last night made a peach cake, all using the same basic recipe (which I'll probably share soon)!

The times that I'm not baking, I've spent catching up with schoolmates from university and teacher's college, either at a restaurant, cafe, or a 10km hike which kills my legs but feels so good at the same time. There's this trail that my friend introduced me to that has running streams, crazy hills, and close encounters with deer and I wish it was closer to my home so I could walk it every day.  

Two of these lovely ladies are leaving me for London; 

I unfortunately could not fit inside their luggage.

The times that I'm not catching up with schoolmates, I've spent doing an overdue reunion with two of my workmates - and crashed a TV set in the downtown for a show called Bomb Girls. Lots of 1940s garb, fake snow, and posters for 5 cent burgers and trendy fashions.

WOMANPOWER -- we can do it! We can ... cook things over a stove?

And when I haven't been doing all that, I've been trying to plan out as much of my fall as I can while also working in The Boy's soon-to-be-open shop! While we'd love to get our ideal jobs right away, this is kind of our back-up/let's-make-ends-meet route for now, and it's pretty nerve-wrecking and exciting at the same time. 

I find that I can look back at every August of my recent years with fond memories; it'd definitely be my month of choice to relive over and over if I could.

if you could choose a month to relive whenever you wanted, 

which one would it be & why?

and if you haven't yet,

please mosey on down and join the postcard project!

Tomorrow involves a surprise day from The Boy (all I know is that I have to bring my bathing suit), and then hopefully a beach day with my girlfriends on Saturday. Hope you all have a great rest of the week! (:

gone fishin'

Sometimes you just need to getaway - even if it's just for a day. Escape from the hectic life that is either thrust upon us or that we make for ourselves and take time to relax. On Wednesday I was able to have a little getaway by going fishing! (In a way, it's like my Wednesday wish came true.)

Before I met The Boy, my experiences with fishing were looking at the dismantled fishing rod, net, and box that my dad kept in the basement but seldom used. Now, I think of it as a perfect mini-escape: you spend the day sitting by the water, looking at the clouds, enjoying the sun, and it doesn't really matter if you catch a fish or not. But it doesn't hurt, either, since I caught 8 fish myself! (Whoo-hoo, pro fisher-woman here.) That day was definitely one of my simple smiles of this week.

Taking some time to jump around; t-shirt from here. 

      

We were nearby Hewitt's Dairy Bar so decided to stop in
for a treat of the raspberry sherbet variety.

     

A family had a property right on the lake we were fishing on
so we got to see their paddleboat and airplane in action.

    

My first fish of the day (that we threw back in).

Even though the rainclouds have finally found us in southern Ontario, I'm going to make the most of it by visiting one of my best friends this weekend. Hope you all have a great weekend!

What's your simple smile of the week?

P.S. Thanks so much for the warm welcome back! (:

a look at may

A month's absence either means (a) I've been having a busy but awesome month; (b) I've been too lazy to update; or (c) a combination of both. I'll admit, it's been (c): the last few weeks have been full of amazing memories and getting way too much water in my ear from swimming, and also full of much needed downtime after finally finishing my "career" as a student. Now, I'm just unemployed (but looking!). The job market is slim pickings, but when my mama was away in B.C. for two weeks (more on that later), I applied to six school boards and might be even thinking of going to England(!!!) next year if teaching in Ontario doesn't work out. 

After a couple of weeks of all this though, I noticed that I have missed this blog and all the incredible people that I get to interact with and talk to, and I definitely want to revive this space here (and after this post, my next on the priority list is changing this look up a bit!). 

For now, here's a look at what I've been up to in May! I have been absolutely horrible and not catching up on you but please let me know what you've been up to in May, and what you're looking forward to in June!

this may...

We completely owned a claw machine at a carnival ...

... marveled at all the goodies available inside food trucks during an event before deciding on a chicken burrito, wood-fired pizza, and a Beavertail, which was delicieux ...

... fed my addiction for caffeine with 1/2-price frapps before seeing The Lucky One (Zac Efron, you have grown up well) ...

... celebrated birthdays & didn't get the memo of pulling a Zoolander face in a photo ...

... took a road trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a chicken breast panini with goat cheese(!), and mouth-watering and completely satisfying gelato ...

... but mostly, we went there to celebrate four years together! :) 

The day was full of happy moments, even when a bird pooped on me (at least it didn't poop on my gelato), and it reminded me of how happy I am to have this man in my life!

And last, but not least ...

This little prince was born! See my sister's announcement here about it :) Not only do I have a gorgeous niece, but now I have an adorable nephew whom I can't wait to meet! I just want to pinch his little cheeks. My mom went to visit for two weeks to help out and see the little guy for the first time which meant, for the first time ever, me and my dad living alone in the same house - and though there were times where we wanted to rip each other's heads off, we got along for the most part (and that's a good thing). 

I hope your May has been chock-full of great times & good moments!

What was your favourite part of May? 

What are you looking forward to in June?

I'm off to go camping for the weekend for The Boy's birthday, but I'll update soon! :) 

that's amore

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to say, I really do love the weekends. Especially the long ones. Easter seemed to come and go in a flash, leaving behind great memories of having a bash/"ta ta for now" party for my friend as she goes to Africa for a month, having The Boy come over for Easter dinner with accordion in hand (and my dad playing a few awesome tunes) and a bunny coming to watch us in the backyard, and going out for coffee with one of my best friends at one of the only places open on an Easter Sunday: McDonald's.

This past weekend I embraced my inner zebra with a striped top (that I had just bought a couple of hours earlier) for a wildlife-themed birthday party where I had way too many jaggerbombs but had a blast dancing the night away. 

So before I get into what I really wanted to talk about, here's a little peak at what I've been up to the last couple of weeks (and, um, where the heck did April go?!): 

Admiring Nature: The top row are from my walks back from the gym, and the bottoms two are from a camp we went to as a field trip for the grade 5s. One student said they should "tear the forest down and build a shopping mall" which almost made me weep for humanity, so instead I looked at the lake.

Simple Smiles: In the form of a "congratulations" card from my students on my evaluation day from my faculty advisor (I received a perfect score!), Second Cup for a caffeine fix, a surprise gift from Taiwan in the shape of Taiwan from my dear friend, and pizza ... because pizza is the best.

Easter Weekend!

Rawr! Yes, most of my friends are Asian.

And some silly pics :)

And while I spent half the Saturday in supreme hangover mode, it was Saturday night that brought along the most thoughts ... we spent the evening at another couple's house and got onto a conversation about how we hope that, when we're our parents age (45+), we'll still be in love as when we are now. I look at my parents, who still have such affection for each other after all these years, and hope I'll be the same way. 

While one friend remarked that he would always treat his lady as a princess and give her everything she wants, it got me to thinking about the way I love, and the way I want to be loved. 

When I think about my relationship with The Boy, he treats me with that chivalry from ages past and I am so grateful for that. But when it really comes down to it, I cherish our relationship because we try to treat each other as equals. My feelings for him go deep; I need to give him the love he needs, and I hope he needs and wants to give me the love that I need. I never want to have him suffer to make me happy, just like he shouldn't expect me to suffer hardships to make him happy. If that makes any sense. 

In essence, it's about those small gestures. I'm all about the simple smiles, and while flowers and chocolates and diamonds may be nice, I cherish those smaller things that can be done on a daily basis, almost effortlessly. A squeeze of a hand, a post-it note or text message to say "I love you", cooking a favourite meal. That's the way I love. 

Lately I keep hearing about the 5 Love Languages, so I took the test, and lo and behold, it's physical touch. So, if we ever meet in real life, prepare for a tight hug to show you I care. But it also goes beyond that; I'm not the perfect girlfriend or perfect friend, but I try my best to show someone that I'm willing to go the extra mile for them, because, as L'Oreal puts it, they're worth it. And I am so grateful to have their love in my life.

What's the way you love?

How do you want to be loved? 

Hope you're not having a case of the Mondays/Tuesdays like I am,

and hope there's sunshine wherever you are right now!

those little surprises

It might seem obvious that surprises are unexpected, but I find unexpected surprises to be the best kind of surprise. Whether it's a week of gorgeous weather that shows up and makes it feel like summer, or a package that comes in the mail, or one of those days where time feels like it's just stopped, or being pleasantly surprised that The Hunger Games lived up to your expectations. 

So even though that unexpected week of warmth was followed by getting snow and a cold (thanks, grade 5 students, for still coming to school when you're coughing your lungs out), I enjoyed that week getting to wear skirts and sandals, looking for flowers, and eating sundaes with The Boy. And when my feet ached from wearing those sandals I haven't worn in nearly a year, another unexpected surprise came in the form of a package from Kat, full of things from The Body Shop to pamper my feet with. Thank you so much, lady! 

Other unexpected surprises: getting a package from Krissy with a ring that just screams computer nerd and a lovely necklace that I can't wait to wear in the summer, having a live band listen to my request and play "Benny and the Jets" in a pub with teacher college friends, hearing that my cousin in Poland is engaged (my first Polish wedding, maybe?), being surprised every time one of my grade 5 students says, "You're a really fun and good teacher!" even when I'm teaching math, and surprised at my motivation to actually go to the gym.

Tonight I'm probably going to try to relax with a cuppa tea and a few episodes of Flower Boy Ramen Shop, continue with some graphics designing and web-brainstorming, lesson plan, and then get ready for tomorrow! 

'Til then, here's what I've been up lately in picture-form. 

But wait! Here's the winner of the Starbucks gift card + random bag of goodies:

Katy from twentyfourcarat.net! Congrats! (And visit her blog if you haven't yet!)

Exploring the jungles of a greenhouse and admiring the flowers.

On a walk down by the bay :)

Seeing how many glasses we can stack on top of each other on a wild Friday night ;)

Embracing my inner Katniss and my ticket stub from Tuesday night.

Another unexpected caffeine-related surprise & my new ring! :)

What's an unexpected surprise you've had recently?

P.S. If you like postcards, prepare yourself for a postcard-filled April!

Hope you've had a great weekend so far! :)

a good meal {giveaway}

“The pleasures of the table belong to all times and ages, to every country and every day; they go hand in hand with all our other pleasures, outlast them, and remain to console us for their loss.”

- Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin, The Physiology of Taste

Over the past week, I've really enjoyed those moments of being at the table with people I care about, enjoying a meal and reflecting on life. In a world of such hustle and bustle, it can seem almost a chore to sit everyone down at your dinner table - and, I'll admit, a good 3 out of 5 dinners with my parents involve us looking through separate newspapers or reading books instead of actually conversing.

This quote stood out to me because it doesn't necessarily say the pleasure of food, but rather the pleasures of the table. Dinner can be used as a cause for a birthday celebration, a job promotion, an engagement party (congrats Mel!), a catch-up afternoon after a long time of not seeing someone, or an intimate getaway for two. It's those memories that linger, and while a bad meal can tarnish that memory, it's the people I'm with that certainly make it worthwhile. 

The two days off thanks to 'Family Day' in Ontario and an extra day off from my teachers college for the president of the university (so random) inspired me to explore my kitchen. I honestly would love to cook and bake any moment I can, if only my kitchen was bigger and I had more spare time.

During those days off I made apple cinnamon streudel muffins, which was my first attempt at ever making muffins and I gotta say, they turned out pretty good! On Pancake Tuesday I made pancakes for the first time in forever (making me wish I was more like Bree), and then made some dinner for me and my tata while my mom was at work. It felt nice, even though the worse part of making food is definitely the cleaning up (no matter how hard I scrub, I swear there's pieces of food that just magically appear on a bowl once I clean it). 

Recipe adapted from here with slight changes: 

chopping two apples and grating one, and putting a half-cup white sugar and half-cup brown sugar into the batter. 

Last weekend provided yummy bubble tea and moments to catch up with my closest friends that I unfortunately don't get to see that often. Our go-to place has become that bubble tea restaurant with its $1.00 dine-in special where we always get french fries and fish balls (which tastes way better than it sounds).  And while we usually take advantage of all the board games there, from Jenga to cards to checkers, the last few times have been spent just talking and laughing, and I enjoy it just the same. 

Valentine's Day combined great company with delicious food. We had bruschetta with goat cheese and two separate pastas along with amazing Caesar salad (and of course, chewy gummy candy for dessert). The Boy and I hit up an Italian eatery and talked about life, love, and a little white box that popped up on the dinner table midway through the meal (a necklace from him that I adore!). 

I'm definitely thankful for the moments where I can sit down with the people I love and care about and enjoy the pleasure of being in their company (and the pleasure of food, too). To celebrate that - and to celebrate three years of blogging - I'm going to have little giveaways each Sunday for the next few weeks so that you can indulge in a good meal, too. First up:

A Starbucks gift card ($15) along with a few of my favourite teabags.

There's nothing like good conversation over a warm drink and a cake pop.

To Enter:

(1) Be a follower of this blog!

(2) Write in the comments "Enter me!"

Open to local and international bloggers alike!
Next Sunday's giveaway (teaser alert) is about a good meal at home.

And since this whole post has been about food (a first!), I have to ask:

What's your go-to meal? 

What's a dinner you'd have every week if you could?

Hope you've had an amazing weekend!

3 years

 [image found via pinterest]

Take a seat, pour yourself a cup of coffee (or tea), and grab a piece of cake - Better than Coffee turns 3 today! I wish I could share a piece of cake with all of you around the world. Through this blog I've made some amazing connections, met awesome bloggers-turned-friends (and am planning on meeting at least 3 this year!), and I've been able to chronicle my life with all of its ups, downs, simple smiles and random moments.

Some of my fave blog posts on here from the last 3 years include . . . writing a letter to my body and learning to appreciate it; professing my love for Serendipity and questioning fate/destiny; ranting and raving about public transportation and telling the story of how The Boy and I met; wishing on Wednesdays about different places I'd love to go (Antigua is still a goal!); things that help me when I'm psycho crazy, probably the weirdest-titled list I've made; raving about the best concert ever, seeing MUSE in March 2010; looking back at random ways to spend a weekend, complete with mosquito sunglasses; admitting that you are all better than coffee; looking at a diary entry from when I was 7 years old (I should do this again haha); sharing my recipe on tiramisu; starting my postcard project (it's coming back!); going to Vancouver for the first time to visit my sister and meet Kym for the first time(!); talking about my groundhog week around my birthday; looking back on the year 2010; the beauty and wonderment of being a tourist in your own city; getting into teachers college(!!!): my second trip to Vancouver for my sister's wedding(!!); an amazing weekend in Markham and days to remember; finally fulfilling my dream of a month in Europe and reminiscing about it (I need to share more photos!); bringing back childhood memories by dressing up as Misty for Halloween; and talking about just a few of my favourite things.

I'll admit that I've neglected this blog from time to time but I could never let it go in the sense that I love having a place where I can talk about that great journey of life (cheesy!), have a place where I can rant and ramble and smile, and talk with online people that I wish I could have over for a movie/games night in with a ton of good food. Basically, I just want to give a huge:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Thank you for following, thank you for commenting, thank you for creeping, thank you for all the friendships made and random conversations that make my day!

You all deserve your own personal cake :)

Hopefully this blog will go on for at least another three years, and I would love it if you were all along for the ride! But 'til then: what's your favourite kind of dessert? Because I'm itching to bake!

the weather outside is weather

Lately, I've found myself indulging in fifteen minute walks. I used to take these walks all the time when we had Shadow, but they got left by the wayside when we had to put him to sleep. It felt weird taking walks solo, and I honestly become intimidated by all those runners around my neighbourhood who would jog in freezing weather in workout gear while I trudge through the snow in ten layers of clothing. 

In the past two weeks, though, I've kind of ignored the runners and just focused on one step in front of the other, clearing my head, and enjoying being outside even if the weather outside is weather (oh Paul Rudd, how I love thee in Forgetting Sarah Marshall ... and now that I'm starting How I Met Your Mother I'm rediscovering Jason Segel, too). 

These little walks make me feel kiddish again and bring me back to those years where I would crave being outside; even before I had neighbourhood friends, I would pretend to be an athlete named "Aimee" (which was my favourite name in the world) on my rollerblades or Tony Hawk's protege on a skateboard, whizzing around the block. Those were the days where you would skin your knee and cry, but then admire the battle wound. 

As the years go by, it's almost as if those moments get lost in disarray and replaced by everything needing to have a purpose; that voice in my head would keep saying, "What's the point of going outside for a walk when there's so many other things to do on your to-do list?" In defense, I respond, "Why can't you just enjoy something simply because you enjoy it?" 

When I see bloggers like Krissy become suddenly inspired to write a novel, seeing Kat's determination to tackle her 2012 goals, Kym's awesomeness in creating a clothing line and having it soar, seeing Tiara's art on a pendant, seeing my sister Margarita (who just had her birthday - Happy Birthday!) looking absolutely fab as a soon-to-be mom of two children, and looking at Katy's set of rules inspires me to indulge in those things that make me happy, follow my dreams, and constantly better myself. 

And fortunately, I have a few supporters.

Even though I loved sitting in the theatre watching Sherlock Holmes 2 and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (both phenomenal films, by the way), two of my favourite memories from these past two weeks were walking around the bayfront with a friend when the skating rink was a bit too watery followed by checking out a local coffee shop and, just yesterday, going on a random walk with The Boy. We had planned on an all-out road trip but instead hit up a local hiking area with a waterfall across the street and enjoyed looking at bunny tracks and amusing ourselves by seeing which parts of a lake were frozen or not.

Walking in a winter wonderland ...

Being a pair of "hoodlums" (and calling him Pippi Longstocking because of the strings).

Moments like taking a little stroll really bring about those simple smiles for me; and I really want to make this year one of indulging in those simple smiles. 

What are those simple things that make you happy?

What's one thing you've lost sight of but want to rediscover?

Hope you had a great weekend & have a happy start to your week :) 

simple smiles #48

I can't believe it's less than two week 'til Christmas! While the weather isn't cooperating, we're going to put up the Christmas tree tomorrow and I'm going to buckle down tonight and watch some 'holiday' movies - I'm not a huge classic holiday film person (mainly because I don't own any) so I'll most likely be watching Love, Actually and Beauty and the Beast (a lot of it is set in winter, hence the holiday-ness haha). 

When you're sick for almost a whole month straight, looking at those simple moments that make you smile can make all the difference, because if it weren't for them you would probably spend the whole time in bed, feeling like a zombie. Or feeling sorry for yourself because you haven't gotten any better (which is so counter-productive and just makes you feel worse). I am so grateful for those around me who make each day better. Here are those simple smiles that have been filling up my life lately.

The "Get Well Soon" Package: The Boy came over the other week and said he'd bring me some kind of 'get well soon' package; I did the same thing for him last winter when he was sick a lot due to school stress - except my package was full of Fisherman's Friend and tissues :P The first thing I heard when he hugged me hello was rustling, and for a second I thought they were chips (and since I rarely have 'em, I thought "oooh!"). The chips were actually a bouquet of roses, along with a package of candy and strawberry-kiwi wine (my new favourite). It's probably one of the best packages ever, and was so spontaneous and random and ... ahh, just warmed my heart right up :)

The Grade 8s: It seems a cruel thing, to let you enter into a classroom on random dates in September-October, let you spend four weeks straight with a class, and then take you out completely. I became so attached to my associate teacher and my students during my first teaching block, and it really solidified my love for teaching, that I was dreading my last week with them. While things sprung up here and there that surprised me (i.e., hormones), they were such an amazing group of students. 

So when it came to my last day, I prepared an art lesson for them as kind of my 'last message' to them and advice as they move on to high school and bigger and better things. The quote is from Martin Luther King, Jr:  "Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." Since I did rotary with both grade 8 classes, I got to know 58 students and gave them each a letter of the alphabet that they had to design using typography skills and putting in their own personality. It was supposed to happen during the last two periods of the day, complete with Christmas music and treats. 

Turns out, they had a surprise for me earlier on in the day. I went downstairs to heat up my hot cocoa and when I came back upstairs, the other grade 8 teacher said, "You can't come in this classroom, I'll come get you, though" (since both classes were in one room). I could hear them shouting out the 12 Days of Christmas and was a bit bitter that I couldn't join in with them ... and decided to mark instead lol. 

Eventually they came to get me and as I entered the room they shouted, "WE'LL MISS YOU!" and enveloped me with a huge group hug and tons of gifts ... they spoiled me rotten (I'm now reading the final book in The Hunger Games thanks to my associate teacher who remembered that that was the only one I hadn't read yet) and were such an unbelievable first class to have. 

On the left is a 'thank you' card from one student who asked me what my favourite cartoons were (I confessed they were Pokemon and Sailor Moon haha) and gave me this card with Pikachu in it. On the right is the 'staircase' part of the quote that the students designed. They made my day, my week, and my whole teachers college experience unforgettable. 

The Celebrations: That same night, I got together with a group of classmates to celebrate, and since I'm a bit of a hermit when it comes to that, it was a fun night out :) But even better than that was finding out that me and my best friends that I've known since high school would get together this month to do our annual Secret Santa. As time goes on it seems to become harder and harder to meet up with those you care about, even though you still do care. And that only gets worse because time seems to fly by faster as you get older. I am so stoked to get to celebrate with them next week and finally have all five of us reunited!

The Christmas Spirit: While the snow keeps saying 'hello' and then disappearing abruptly, my neighbourhood is surrounded with lights (though it's no Candy Cane Lane from New Girl - something that I need to marathon with my sister when we meet up again). My Christmas cards are all sent out and there's just those little things that keep popping up - like not minding the Christmas decorations and music when you're out shopping at a surprisingly quiet time in the mall, or using manipulatives in our math class to make a Christmas tree.

And to complete the Christmas mood, I'm making one of my caffeinated mixes (which I haven't done in a while) and making it holiday-oriented; I'll be blasting it tomorrow when I put up the tree and expect a download up by this upcoming Tuesday! 

Now, I have to ask:

What's your remedy to get better when you're sick?

'Cause I need it haha.

And what are your plans for this weekend?

Hope it's a great one! :)

a few of my favourite things

Suddenly it's the second last month of the year and the days feel shorter and darker. My cough has become one of those guests that overstay their welcome and just when you think it's gone, it pops up again in the form of a nasty 3-minute coughing session (but thank you, thank you, thank you for the get well soon wishes, they made me feel warm and cozy!). But on the bright side there's plenty of things keeping me happy and healthy-ish, so here's a few of my favourite things:

In the blurry background you can see the amount of leftover Halloween candy
(we had zero children come to our door).

Holidays Cups: OK, I'll admit I was going to write "coffee" but thought that would be obvious. Starbucks has come out with their holiday cups and I had my first one today (peppermint mocha, yippee)! Yet, I'll admit, I'm a bit "why now?" when I walked into Zellers (the Canadian version of Target) and heard cheesy Christmas tunes blaring and when I headed downtown and saw three people walking around with Santa hats on. I'm all for Christmas cheer and all that, just wasn't expecting it so early!

Shellac 'em!: After my eye exam yesterday, my mama and I had a bit of a "girls day out" and decided to get a manicure with Shellac! I'm prone to biting/picking at my nails (the grossest habit ever) so knowing this'll last fourteen days makes me happy. The cute lady who did my nails said, "Next time you bring hand to mouth just slap away with your other hand and say, 'NO!'" Considering I pretty much have no nails this is only the second manicure I've ever had and I kinda like 'em :)

Warm Hugs Scarf Swap: The lovely Leesh and Elisse (who just celebrated two years of blogging) held an amazing scarf swap that included a packet of a warm beverage to enjoy. I was partnered up with Lori and received my package earlier this week and love the infinity scarf she sent me (seen in the pic above)! Thank you so much, and thanks to Leesh and Elisse for hosting this!

Cozies: This is a bit of a shameless plug, but I'm absolutely adoring the cup cozies that we're whipping up for mine, my mom's, and my sister's design shop! While our etsy shop is still empty, stay tuned; and thanks to everyone who responded to my little 'survey': honeybean designs is coming soon :)

This might just be the weirdest combination of photos I've ever put together.

Henry Cavill is very angry with the leaves.

Crunching leaves: Seeing as one of the most popular Facebook groups is called "I Will Go Slightly Out of My Way To Step On That Crunchy-looking Leaf", I know I'm not alone in getting excited over seeing a sidewalk absolutely littered with bright-coloured leaves ... and then jumping all over them to find the crunchiest-sounding one.

Immortals: Even though seeing this film on opening night made me and The Boy promise to never again see a film on opening night because of how chattery/giggly the crowd seemed to be (and it's a promise I might keep since there's no more midnight releases of Harry Potter), I really enjoyed this film. It's not the typical Greek mythology film because it really concentrates on gorgeous visuals and slow-mo gore (OK, maybe that last part is typical); it makes me wonder how it would look like in 3D since we opted for the 2D version. Since Henry Cavill stars in it, it was pretty much a given I was going to like this film. And then the second I saw Klaus from The Vampire Diaries pop onto the screen, The Boy and I both looked at each other and went, "Yup, I like this movie." Don't expect a masterpiece, but expect a good story and pretty things to stare at (including, but not limited to, half-naked men).

Aside from all that, it's going to be a hopefully relaxing rest of the weekend ... I start officially teaching in my gr8 classroom this Tuesday so I need to start planning (and wishing and hoping and dreaming and praying that I do okay my first few days) and maybe watch a movie or two.

What are a few of your fave things right now?

What are you up to this weekend? :)

Hope it's a great one!

life's a beach

Long weekends are great, aren't they? You get that chance to just unwind for a day or two, reconnect with people, or let you be by yourself and just enjoy the moment. It was Thanksgiving in Canada this past weekend and the weather was perfect - which means that, of course, the rest of this week is going to be cold and rainy (c'est la vie, mais oui!). 

Even though I've been yearning for a hike (and stepping on crunchy leaves) ever since it became autumn, the weather this weekend called for: a beach outing with The Boy. 

Don't mind the dry cuticles ... loved this little "bouquet" he picked for me.

We couldn't decide whether to GO kart or not ...
so we creeped while eating Haribo (the YUMMIEST candy).

Gazing off into the distance ... there's something so tranquil about being by water.

Jumping photo (a.k.a. We're sooooaring, flyyyying photos)!

A skipping rock competition turned into me capturing him throwing dozens of rocks into the lake. This was our favourite one :)

Next came Thanksgiving, which has always been a bit of a low-key event for us since most of my family lives in Poland; now with my sister in B.C., it was just me, my parents, and The Boy eating a delicious dinner and then watching Horrible Bosses (which was hilarious). 

Wore a dress from Hungary - and that's it! Hottest Thanksgiving ever :)
And in case you're wondering - it's amaretto almond coffee (delicious).

Just looking back on this weekend makes up for a week of stress from lesson planning and having my first real lesson in front of six chosen grade 8 students, my peers from teachers college, my faculty advisor AND a video camera. To say I was stressed was an understatement ... and since the school we're at doesn't have a proper heating or cooling system, I was sweating buckets. I decided to do a lesson on homophones and homographs and it actually went pretty well :)

Now that's it done, I know I still have so much to improve on, but my classmates were so encouraging so instead of coming home and having a breakdown I turned on the kettle, boiled some water, and made a coffee/hot chocolate/Nutella concoction. Pretty good way to relax, methinks.

This weekend I'm celebrating mine and The Boy's friends getting engaged over drinks, having a youth group meeting (complete with owl cupcakes, need I say more), and err ... homework. 'Tis a thrilling life for me.

What are you up to this weekend?

If you haven't yet, make sure to join the "what a hoot!" giveaway!

simple smiles #45

Today was one of those days where you wake up and realize that September is already half-way gone, that the official first day of autumn is coming up even if it felt like it days ago, and that three weeks have gone by without a blog post (sorry for being a stranger!). Lately life has been a combination of these three things:

The year of the planner has begun - I started teachers college a couple of weeks ago which means writing down due dates and "do I really have to do this?" reminders (and keeping all my pens and my glasses in my Harajuku pencil case). It also means having my addiction to coffee triple and encouraged by friends - I got not one, but two reusable coffee mugs and not one, but two coffee cup cozies, including the adorable one above from Leesh as a surprise birthday gift (thank youuuuu)!

And in my downtime, I focus on those simple smiles: enjoying the scent of a creamy pumpkin candle, sweatin' to Just Dance (I am awesome at "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go") and going to Starbucks as often as I can. Yessir.

When my mind isn't being bombarded with theories and practices of teaching, I find my mind wandering ... to Europe. I'm not gonna lie, there's mornings where I wake up and wish I was back at The Boy's grandparents' house, listening to roosters nearby and actually enjoying waking up at 7 in the morning. 

I miss the Danube, I miss the food, I miss the architecture. But I guess my simple smile was that I even got to go on that vacation ... and that I took a ton of photos :)

Since I can't be back in Europe whenever I please (if only!), I try to make the most of where I'm at in Ontario through:

This month has been all about catch-up and I love it - going out for dinner and Starbucks dates, random shopping excursions, laughing at ridiculous Pictionary drawings (I drew 'plastic surgery' as a girl with huge boobs and a guy standing over her holding a scalpel ... the guesses were hilarious, and just proves that I'm a horrible artist), and taking 'class photos' with a big group of people. Oh, and enjoying a delicious breakfast at 1:00 PM which included crepes, french toast, and a bucket of fruit on top (delicious).

All of those are simple smiles, but one major one is: The Boy is actually enjoying fandoms I love. He came over last Thursday for the premiere of The Vampire Diaries (ahh the last scene broke my heart) and so far we've watched the first two Harry Potter films; he hasn't read the books, but it's a start (as long as he stops calling him Harry Pothead). 

Tonight I'm off to see Drive with Ryan Gosling (we were initially going to see The Lion King 3D but figured we should probably go see a movie we haven't seen before ... and that will have older people in the theatre lol). How're you enjoying the week?

Oooh, extra simple smile: forgetting to make coffee this morning, realizing how tired I am for class (which ran from 8:00am-5:00pm today) and then having my cohort group bring in STARBUCKS for the entire class. It was amazing.

What's your simple smile of the week so far?

And what's your favourite thing about autumn?

(Or spring, if that's the season coming up for you!)

P.S. Giveaway coming soon; hopefully it'll be a hoot!