Saturday, January 31, 2015

January Snapshots


January has been an amazing month! It's definitely been a bit stressful at times, but overwhelmingly, I've had a a ton of fun with people I love. I've been making progress on my creative goals, zooming through classes and school work, and living healthfully and wholly. I have had an overwhelming feeling that this is going to be a great year. But already it's going by too quickly!!

Some January highlights:
  • Mike and I spent the last bit of the holidays together, and went to some fun holiday parties
  • I came back to North Bay to start my second semester! My friends and I had a super fun and hilarious slumber party night. We made cauliflower crust pizza and black bean brownies, and generally had a blast. We've done lots of fun things together this month!
  • I've made lots of friends with the cute deer who roam around my backyard every day!
  • I've been reading a lot of poetry, and have fallen in love with Lang Leav.
  • I also started watching Parenthood, and have become positively obsessed.
  • We began art class at school. It's helped to remind me of my creative goals and to focus on them.
  • I started my Whole30, and focusing on eating whole, clean foods. Actually pretty challenging as a vegan. I eat like a bunny rabbit. On the bright side, I went down another pant size!
  • I took a trip home for a weekend to visit with Mike and my family, and to attend the Coles holiday party. It was such a fun weekend, but way too short.
  • Mike had an unplanned trip to Sudbury, and I met him there for another weekend together!! We had an amazing time together.
  • I bought a ukulele and began learning how to play! It's been a goal of mine for such a long time.
  • School was a blur of presentations, group projects, and papers. I'm flying through assignments and inching ever closer to my next placement (EEP!)
  • I ended the month with some fun adventures with all sorts of friends, and a blurry drunken night.

Altogether, it has been such a fun month! I can't believe it's already February. Despite being fairly terrified to start my next placement, I'm excited to see what this month has in store for me!

Dressing Profesh And Feeling Fresh

(dress: h&m | tights: h&m | booties: ardene | scarf: h&m | necklace: american eagle | bracelets: h&m | earrings: joe fresh)

On Friday, our school hosted an Education Fair. It was hyped up quite a bit throughout our program. We were told that all sorts of school boards and agencies would be there, and to dress really professionally and print off resumes. I prepared appropriately, and it was nice to stroll around with my friends and check things out a bit. But I think it was a little over-hyped. Ideally, I want to end up in either the Soo or Toronto next year, and there was no one there for me! Not a single board or agency! But that's to be expected. I know it's going to be a challenge finding a job next year. BLAH I don't want to talk about it, I don't know why I brought that up!

I bought this dress with the $100 gift card I won at H&M on Boxing Day. I do think it's really cute and professional, but I'm no longer in love with the way it fits me. It's a little too conservative for my taste, and I thought it hugged me in all the wrong places. It has a very high neckline, which could be cute on some, but I decided to cover it up with my scarf and funk it up a bit. It probably takes away from the professionalism, but I just had to do it.


After my classes and the fair were over, I ended up having a really fun day! I had an impromptu hangout with Sarah that began with us playing Settlers with her brother and his wife, led to us having a late night dinner with a friend of hers, turned into us having a crazy drive + dance + sing session, getting pulled over by the same cop twice (because of silly reasons! not my driving!) and laughing a lot with him about it, and then randomly deciding to drive to Quebec in the middle of the night (about an hour away from North Bay). It was a night to rival the kind of thing we did when were ripe little 19 year olds with the energy to last us until 5 in the morning. It's so nice to a close friend that I've been close with since we were 15! We've spent a lot of time living in different cities, and don't get to see each other a ton in North Bay due to our extremely different schedules. But we always have a blast together and it's always like no time has passed at all! So nice :)

Thursday, January 29, 2015

My Cutest Ugly Dress

(dress: h&m | tights: h&m | boots: spring | earrings: joe fresh | bracelets: mix of smart set and h&m)

When I first spotted this little treasure on the rack, I was with Mike and Amanda, who both gave it a confident and firm "NOPE." I believe the words Mike used to describe it were "absolutely hideous." And Amanda likened it to something a grandma would wear, obviously.

Still, my heart longed for it. I returned to the store, tried it on, took a #FAB dressing room selfie, convinced myself it was the perfect dress, and triumphantly left the store with the dress in my shopping bag and $30 or so gone from my wallet.

That was back in September or October, and admittedly this is much more of an autumn dress, but it remains one of my favourites. Long sleeves, floral print, and an unexpected ruffle? Check, check, and CHECK. I feel like a 60's folk hero when I wear this thing. It's great.


Yesterday was a lovely day. My friends came over between classes, and we had a super fun ukulele and singing session. Then Alexa and I spent a few hours in the library, doing lots of homework but also being silly geese.

Today, however, sucked. I had lots of homework and a big group assignment. I wasn't even overly concerned about the work but I still felt overly stressed! Bah! It was a long day and I had random bouts of anxiety. I think that being so busy is really starting to catch up to me. But I relaxed as much as I could and had some sim time for myself so things are looking up.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Making a Statement

(top: smart set | jeans: american eagle | boots: spring | necklace: h&m | bracelets: h&m)

Homework has really been picking up this week, but I can't seem to peel myself away from lying in bed, watching Parenthood, and playing around with my ukulele! While we're on the topic- Parenthood is SUCH A GOOD SHOW. I am fully addicted.

All I know is that I need to get myself in productive mode, and FAST. I have six things due from Thursday- Saturday, and I also have an education fair to prepare resumes for on Friday. You would think being in school from 8-4 every day, and having group meetings for projects, would get me in school mode! Instead, I think it's taking away from potential homework time. And then by the time I get home, I'm too lazy to think about school. *Sigh* the next few days are going to be something else, I tell ya.

I went to a dance cardio class with Lindsay and Larissa yesterday. That's kinda productive, right? Just not the kind of productive I'm aiming for currently.


This is actually an outfit I wore last week. I've been whining for several months about how badly I want a statement necklace, and how difficult it is to find one that I really love. It doesn't help that my friend Lindsay has an adorable collection of funky necklaces that I'm always pining over. Finally, the last weekend that I was home, this sparkling treasure caught my eye on my trip to H&M. It was $20, which was more than I wanted to spend on a necklace that I was almost too intimidated to wear- but I'm so glad I did! It's just the kind of necklace I was looking for, and I think it will look great with casual outfits, as well as dressy ones. I think it spiced up this relaxed outfit perfectly.

Now I just need to spice up my homework routine, AMIRITE??

Monday, January 26, 2015

My Very Own UKULELE!


I did it!! Today, I bought my very own ukulele! It has been a longtime goal of mine, my friends, and I'm so so so excited to finally have a ukulele to call my own :D Isn't it so pretty? It's such a gorgeous wooden colour and the sound is beautiful. I am thrilled as can be!


Beginning to learn how to play hasn't been too difficult, since I play piano and am pretty familiar with the guitar. I've been able to transfer a bit of my existing knowledge. So far I've learned a few chords and am working on stringing them together! Hopefully I'll be able to play some lovely songs soon :)

I'm so excited that I'm finally starting something that has been on my mind for so long. Yay for checking things off our bucket lists!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

An Unexpected Trip


I just got home from a last-minute-ish trip to Sudbury to visit Mike! He ended up coming up to do some politics stuff, which I helped him out with. We did spend some of the weekend working, but overall it was SO awesome to have some unexpected time together.

We went to a few delicious healthy/ vegan restaurants. I'm really starting to rub off on Mike with the healthy eating and it's pretty hilarious. We go to the Laughing Buddha every time we're in Sudbury, but we also tried out a new vegan restaurant called Tuco's Tacos, and Mike enjoyed it just as much as me! WE HAD SUCH DELICIOUS MEALS. I wish we had restaurants like that in the Sault. At least North Bay has a few more exciting places to eat!  Mike and I had such a fun time together, and it was so poopy having to say goodbye. The short visits are almost harder than long visits because they're such a tease!

It was also fun to have another roadtrip. I've driven with friends a few times, but there is something so awesome about driving on the highway by myself. It's sooo cheesy but I think I am going to look back on this year as a really romantic and adventurous time of my life. I've spent so much of this year on the road, travelling between two places, and planning times to see Mike.

I've been feeling very grateful lately! I lead a very happy and full life, I have such positive relationships and friendships, and I'm pursuing meaningful experiences. I'm also planning such exciting things for this year. I dunno, I just don't want to forget how lucky I am. Okay I'm going to stop ranting about how happy I am now. That's enough.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Nothing Like a New Dress

(dress: h&m | tights: h&m | boots: spring | scarf: h&m | belt: h&m)

I had high hopes that I would be able to write a post today entitled "MY BALLIN' NEW HAIRCUT." My friends and I had a trip to the salon planned for yesterday, and we were all going to get some new do's. I was planning on a big change, too! However, we didn't arrange things quite well enough. The salon didn't have time to fit me in, and the cut I planned on getting was also waaaay more than I anticipated. So Linds and Alexa got their hair done, and I was left in the dust!

While Linds was finishing up with her hair cut, Alexa and I went shopping around since we both needed new jeans. And on the bright side of things, I bought a new pair of my usual jeans another size down! I was pretty excited to have gone down another pant size. However, it's hard to be too excited when I'm not seeing the changes in my body that the scale and the number on my jeans band are saying. But that's another post for another time.


A new dress is also a great way to make you feel better about things. When I was home this past weekend, I took a little visit to H&M to spend a gift card I got over Christmas! I saw this dress over the break, but didn't pick it up. It haunted me for a few weeks, so I decided to buy it this past weekend. I picked up a few other things as well, and I have to say, H&M is taking over my closet since it came to the Soo. I'm becoming such a poster child. I mean, check out this outfit! What the hell is that?

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Back in the Bay (Again)

(top: h&m | pants: h&m | kimono: brandy melville | boots: spring | earrings: joe fresh | necklace: american eagle | bracelets: mix of h&m and smart set)

This past weekend, I took a trip back home for the Coles Belated Christmas Party, since I worked there over the holidays. Honestly, I was a bit reluctant to even attend the party, and it kind of just worked out as a convenient reason to visit home.

And I'm glad I did go home! I had such a perfect/ adorable/ romantic weekend with Mike. Being apart for long stretches can be insanely hard sometimes. I count my lucky stars that our distance isn't that extreme, and that we can see each other somewhat often. I know we have it pretty great, as far as long distance goes. But this weekend was especially lovely, and we did so many fun things together.

I also spent a lot of time with my mom and of course, Maya, which was lovely. My mom even took us out for dinner and a movie, which was so much fun (THE IMITATION GAME IS AN AMAZING FILM)! The weekend definitely flew by way too fast.


It's so nice to be back in North Bay though!! It's hard to get back into the swing of things, homework-wise. Classes are still enjoyable, but I'm dreading the due dates coming up.

My friends and I have been having a blast though! I spend so much time with Alexa and Lindsay and Larissa, it's shocking we haven't gotten sick of each other yet. I actually wore this outfit for a movie night with Alexa and Lindsay. We have a bit of a movie night tradition, and it's always such a blast going to the theatre together (I SAW THE IMITATION GAME FOR THE SECOND TIME, IT IS SO GOOD).

I'm so incredibly grateful that I made such amazing friends here. It's so crazy to think that we just sat at the same table on the first day of class. We were destined to be besties!

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Time to Create


I have always considered myself to be a creative person, and I've always been passionate about the arts. However, in the past few months, I've realized how much my creative hobbies have slid under the radar in more recent years!

I'm pretty sure that being in music and art class has caused me to think about how much I love music and art, and I really don't want to let go of that. I have been very busy over the past few years, with school and work and whatnot. But it's so important to me to express myself creatively, and I don't want to let that go to the wayside in order to make room for other more "important" things. It's SUCH a DEPRESSING thought. SO! I have decided to commit myself to more creative pursuits in the upcoming year, as much as I possibly can. Here are a few of my creative goals:

  • Finally buy a ukulele and learn how to play it!
  • Continue teaching myself the guitar. Try to get over how hard those stupid bar chords are and force my fingers into position. Maybe I'll even sing a song or two! :O
  • Work on getting my teaching credentials for piano! This has never been a huge goal of mine, but I've been thinking about it more and more these days. 
  • Draw more. I used to sketch day in and day out, and I really miss it. For Christmas, I drew my aunt a picture of my grandparents. It was such a special project for me, and reminded me of how great it can feel to create a picture from scratch. Plus my aunt cried so much when she opened it, which made me realize how special handmade projects can be.
  • I'd like to write more if possible! I have a fun writing workbook which I'd like to fill in. I used to dabble in writing poetry as well. Recently I've been reading a lot of poetry, and I'm thinking I might try it again if the mood strikes. 
  • Continue working on some more DIY projects and crafts! 
  • As always, put together some pretty outfits that make me feel fancy.
  • Perhaps blog a little more here and there.

Let's see where the creative winds take us, shall we? :D

(picture from tumblr)