November Snapshots

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Here is a little glimpse of how I spent November (and a little bit of October thrown in for good measure). It has definitely been a hectic month, but it's positively flown by. I'm excited to throw myself head first into the Christmas spirit of next month :)

• Lately it has been a real accomplishment for me to wipe off old nail polish and apply a fresh coat. I am a truly pathetic excuse for an adult.
• I took a road trip to Thunder Bay with Mike and Mark for Halloween to visit my besties! We stayed with Embo and took it as an opportunity to surprise Laura. It was such a success and a wonderful trip :)
• I miss my best frands. :(
• In an attempt to be healthy and frugal, I made my own quinoa, and it turned out pretty stinkin good if I do say so myself.
• Every day has involved being surrounded by books and obsessively reorganizing said books. Joy of joys.
• Yoga s'all I do these days to keep myself a little sane.
• Our group of friends finally had a get-together, and I brought my new friend Amanda along to have a jolly time. :)
• My puppy is cute.
• Desperately trying to make packing my lunches a part of my every day routine. I was pretty proud of this salad. Successfully creating an edible meal is a big deal for me apparently.

10 Ways to De-Stress

Yesterday I ranted a little bit about the stresses of the old 9-to-5 (actually the not-so-9-to-5 since my shifts are never that consistent). These past few weeks have definitely had their share of stress, for work-related reasons and otherwise. But ya know, I'm trying to remain positive. So I'm going to focus on how these weeks have reminded me of important ways to relax and take the weight off! And I am going to share these stress-removing methods with you all :) Some may seem obvious, but I'm sharing them anyway, because everyone can use a reminder to take a moment to relax.

• Deep breaths. This is like the CTRL-ALT-DEL function for your body and will put you into Force Relax mode. You know. Shut down some non-essential applications. Restart your system, if you will.
• Brew up a hot beverage. Hop in a hot bath or lie down with a cozy blanket. Turn off all the lights. Light a few really great-smelling candles. Grab a cuddly pet if you have one handy (only if you're not taking a bath though, let's not make it weird). And THEN:
  
• Listen to calming music. I like picking a playlist on Songza or 8tracks. That way the down time can double as music discovery time. Heyy-oooh multitasking!
• Rant. Write. Journal. Blog. Find a good friend and talk their ears off. Send a far-away friend a lengthy facebook message. Find an old sheet of paper and cover it with words and scratches and angry drawings. Then rip it to pieces later if you're feelin' it. Get it all out, girl.
• If the lying around just isn't working for you, get moving. I prefer long walks and yoga. Both are excellent activities for burning off steam, and both allow you to reflect and meditate on your shitty life (and hopefully help you realize it isn't so shitty after all!)
• Furiously cleaning your room/ house/ apartment also allows you to burn off steam and take your mind off things. Plus it's productive.
• Go for a long drive if you have a full tank. Take a journey. Let your mind wander as far as your car. Spread love and peace across the land.
• Watch a favourite movie or crack open a new book. Allow yourself to leave your current woes behind and enter a different realm. Just come back to this world after a few hours so we don't have to throw you in the loopy bin. Escapism, bros.
• Shop. This is actually horrible advice. Stress shopping is not a joke. But if you're a shopaholic and therapy shopper like me, it really does work. But don't do it. It's an expensive coping method. Unless there's a sale.
  
• When all else fails, sleep it off. It really is true that nothing ever seems as bad after a good night's sleep. Let your present self have a nice deep slumber and let your future self handle things. Future Self is up for the challenge, I promise.

I hope you all remember to take a moment to sim this week. It's good for your brains and your bodies and you deserve it.

(I stole this picture from WeHeartIt! Oops! Is this frowned upon in the blogosphere? Am I doing this wrong?)

Falling Down the Stairs

sweater: forever 21 | jeans: american eagle | boots: reitmans | scarf: h&m (similar) | locket: forever 21

So I fell down the stairs yesterday morning. It was awful. I bumped every bone in my body and my puppy came jumping after me (and on top of me). And it was a very good indication of the way the rest of my day would go ;)

Cozy sweaters and scarves have definitely become my go-to these days. And I'm basically living in these boots. I do love layering up during cold weather. It always seems to make me feel a tiny bit better about all the snow on the ground!

This is the outfit I wore briefly before quickly changing it in for a collared blouse and black pants for my day at work. Y'all, the dress code has very much lost its appeal these days. In fact, lately work has given me more stress than its worth. Perhaps it's because I'm there nearly every day, all day. Or maybe it's because customers gradually wear you down over the years. Or maybe because the pay is beyond brutal and I've turned into the drowning man on those debt commercials. Or maybe it's because our group of employees is spending far too much time together and we are slowly driving each other insane. Probably all of the above. In any case, I'm in desperate need of a big, long, paid vacation.

For now, I'm gonna have to settle for de-stressing at home! I spent last night cuddled up with my puppy and a cup of tea, catching up on my favourite shows. And then I threw in my nightly routine of yoga which always helps me to relax :) How do you guys de-stress? Any and all tips are welcome at this point haha!

H&M is Coming to Town

It was just officially announced this week that our less-than-cutting-edge, not-exactly-fashion-forward, slightly-behind-the-times, kind-of-a-little-bit-crappy city will be getting an H&M!!!!! I know this wouldn't be a big deal to anyone living outside of the Soo. But our shopping is deeply pathetic here, you guys. The closest H&M (or any other even moderately good store) is 8 hours away. This store opening in the Soo is something I have been dreaming of since the ripe age of 15, and honest to god, NEVER thought was possible. This is the biggest thing to happen to our city for a long time. My facebook timeline simply blew up at the announcement, and this news has been the talk of the town. Plus, it's going to be the only H&M in Northern Ontario which is also pretty special :)

To celebrate, I thought I'd share some items from my H&M wishlist. (I can't believe I will be able to buy these items in my own home town in just a few months!!) I love that H&M offers everything you could possibly need! Here are just some of the lovely basics, florals, pretty dresses, accessories, and adorable cozy sweaters that I love.

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A Fresh Start

dress: urban outfitters | shoes: h&m | necklace: american eagle | ship helm earrings: forever 21

WELL it's definitely been a while. The past few months have involved a lot of stress, busy-ness, work, and awful, restricted dress codes. My life has been lacking in creativity and motivation and pretty outfits, but I am forcing myself to get back in the game. Because it is good for my health, damn it. So here we are!! Back for a fresh start :)

The majority of my good friends have moved away for school/ returned to school out of town this year, so life in the old city has been fairly lacklustre. BUT! Last night I brought a lovely work friend along for a get-together with the boys. We played Cards Against Humanity and drank rum and just had a wonderful time!

This dress is the kind to throw on with a pair of tights and simple jewelry, and still feel perfectly put together. So naturally it was the perfect dress to crash boy's night in ;) It's so comfortable and the pattern reminds me of confetti hehe.

I also celebrated my four year vegiversary yesterday! I ate lots of cookies and a veggie poutine and was a horrible example of what a healthy vegetarian should be. I can't believe it's been a whole four years since I've eaten any chicken nuggets or bacon or burgers. Yipes! Never thought I would last this long! And now I can't even imagine eating meat. So strange!!