things better than coffee #01

I was considering putting today's morning routine in this list -- waking up to my boyfriend calling me, having a scrumptious breakfast with coffee, and then working out for an hour -- before realizing that it contained coffee. Whoopsies!

So here we go! This is the first of a weekly edition of things that are better than coffee to me!

1) Cuddling
For me, there's no better way to feel comforted or relaxed. Whether it's cuddling with the significant other, or having my dog curled up next to me (yes, my pet sleeps with me every night!), it feels so good having someone warming up next to you, completely submitted into each other's arms (or in the case of the pet, their paws?). Either way, I'd take cuddling over coffee any day. It's a sure way to beat the lonely blues!




2) Pleasure Reading
Since I'm an English major, most of the time I read what I'm required to (i.e., Plato and James and the Giant Peach) rather than what I want to read (though I'll admit, Roald Dahl is a nice, quick read). So when I get a moment to pick up a book I'm interested in, I savour it. My week off from school is slowly coming to a close, and I've managed to read three books in that time. Yay! One of my recent faves is Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch, where the protagonist asks the question we all have -- "What if (fill in the blank here)?" I love reading for pleasures' sake.


3) Winners
One of the most underrated stores that I usually forget to put in my 'favourite stores' list is Winners. Brand names at low prices is their motto. My last purchases from them were a long grey cardigan that I've been searching for, and a pair of skinny jeans. Given that all my jeans are dark due to their ~magical slimming powers~, I took a risk and bought a lighter pair. I've gotten a lot of compliments from this outfit and owe it all to Winners. Sometimes it's a hard scramble to find something you truly love there, but it's worth it!


4) Revlon Beyond Natural Concealer & Highlighter
Back when I bought mark. products, I fell in love with their concealer. Liquid concealers just don't do it for me, so the creamy kind is what I crave. I found the answer in this Revlon product, that retails for about $11. I'm in shade light-medium, and it does wonders for covering up my dark undereye circles and has great coverage for my blemishes. Plus, the highlighter is multi-purposeful -- I've used it not only as a highlight for my cheeks, but it's a great base for your eyeshadows! Only complaint is that I wish more product came in each box!


5) Two-Bite Brownies
Given all my ramblings about exercise videos and going to the gym, I might have fooled some of you. But I have to admit -- I absolutely love food. This week, my favourite are those two-bite brownies that you can find practically everywhere. Of course, I try to eat them in more than just two bites that way I'm not tempted to eat more, but it's hard to resist! Their moist, full of chocolate, and yeah ... definitely not part of a well-balanced diet, but I see no shame in eating some every once in a while!


Do you relate to any of these? What kind of things would you put on your list? (And if you don't like coffee, just consider other 'addictions' and find out what's better than them!)

can't wait for summer!

I went to the gym yesterday with the boyfriend (and 3 other people were supposed to show up, but none of them did!). While the snow and harsh winds blew by the large windows, we both sighed and said, "I can't wait for summer."

Of course, once spring rolls around [haha, spring rolls] I know I'll be just as happy. But getting the Victoria's Secret catalogue yesterday with Adriana and Miranda wearing bikinis on a warm beach just made me yearn for those summer days & nights.

Wishlist:

Victoria's Secret


Inspiration Outfits




More to come soon, probably!

Of course, I'll probably be looking at stores like Forever 21 and H&M for my fashion fix, but a girl can dream, can't she?

the best things in life are free?

I'm having to admit to myself that I'm ... a bit broke. I had a part-time job during school last semester which I could not handle and pretty much destroyed any chance of a high average. So, this term, I decided to go back to just being a student. Which is wreaking havoc on me everytime a girlfriend invites me out to something.

The last two nights though have been 'nights in', and they've been just as memorable as the nights out I had last weekend. I celebrated nine months with my boyfriend on Wednesday, and we spent a majority of it just cuddling on my couch and watching Mr. Bean episodes. Hearing him laugh and feeling his warm chest so close to me was the perfect way to celebrate.

Then, I had some Wendy's (oh boy, I'm healthy!) and rented Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist with a couple of girlfriends last night at one of their houses. And it was so relaxing, and the atmosphere was calm yet fun.

As much as I love the fabulous things and would love to go on a cruise/buy expensive shoes/own more than 2 Mac make-up products, sometimes the best things in life really are (practically) free.

our lips are sealed ...

Just recently I went out for dinner with the gals, those friends that I've had for over five years. We've all gone through our rough patches, but it's nice to know that I can count on them ... for most things.

During the dinner, there was one friend in particular who kept diving into private matters that we all didn't want to discuss in a public setting. She demanded to know how far we've gone in our love lives and accessed whether that made us a 'real woman' or not. It was clear that many of us gathered at that table would have preferred changing the subject, but she kept on pressing.

The thing is, you can't count on her to keep her mouth shut. When I revealed to her (in a private setting, mind you) what my love life was like, the first thing she did was tell a friend who I hadn't told yet and was also planning to do so myself in a private setting.

She's also one of those people who frequently updates her Facebook status and MSN statuses with what she's doing. If she heard of Twitter, she'd be updating that thing every 10 minutes.

When it comes to private or personal things, how much should we reveal? Is it right for them to broadcast it, knowing it was said in confidence? Or should we just let it slide, knowing that things are 'better out in the open'?