Goodbye 2013

I may have let this blog lapse into long periods of silence but I couldn't let myself allow the last day of this year slip away without some sort of post. The things I have been doing these last few weeks... Primarily, being a hermit. I don't go out, I don't call anybody, I don't have anyone over. I quilted my little heart out in time to make my mother a lap quilt for Christmas. I've been doing plenty of baking and cooking. Also probably a lot more eating than I should be. Video games, late nights, quality kitty snuggle time and a marathon of Nip/Tuck has also been a recent thing for me. 

I have another five days off before classes start again. My holidays have just flown by and that makes me sad. I'm honestly dreading classes this semester, the schedule is brutal and I'm going to be waking up at 5:30am four days a week. It's no worse than what I've done before but still. Not looking forward to it. I could look back at 2013 and think of all the things I've done, but I don't care enough to. I just hope 2014 brings a slimmer, less lazy me who actually knows what the hell she's doing with herself half the time. Happy New Year...

Sundown Sand Boa

The rain is coming down again today, so my pumpkin-picking trip with friend and baby is postponed until tomorrow. I don't mind too much, having a lazy day in my pajamas feels good. My parents, grandmother and I went for a dinner at my college's culinary-student run restaurant last evening. I was gifted a paid meal for four there and it was absolutely delicious.

Top - Thrifted from The Salvation Army

Dress as Skirt - Purchased from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy

Leggings - Ardene's

Shoes - Gift from grandmother

It was a really nice way to end my week of mid-terms. Next week is reading week so I have no classes. Time to relax! I have one essay I want to work on but otherwise, I plan to spend my time relaxing, visiting friends and family, and making good food. I'm going to clean out of my animal room and attempt to organize it as best as I can. I still don't have a garden shed so I think I'll just box up my things and bring them over to my grandmother's, since she said I could store things there.

My lovely female Kenyan Sand Boa has finally reached her full adult size. From this point, she may get fatter, but she won't get much longer. She's such an adorable chunky little thing! I love my pretty Halloween, and I'm still glad I named her such, it's so fitting. But she's one of the snake-babies who's tank needs a cleaning so I'd best get on that. Cheers!

Peach Pie and Sunshine

It's cloudy and gloomy outside today, the total contrary of these sunny outfit photos. Hopefully the sun comes back out to shine on my little part of the world soon. In the meantime I just try and appreciate the smell of damp leaves in the air. I really do love Autumn so much.

Dress -Purchased on Etsy from Sally Jane Vintage

Shoes - Gift from my grandmother

This was my mid-term week, and I did fairly well on most of my written tests. I did absolutely wonderful on my cuisine mid-term though, with 87% which is more than I'd been hoping I'd achieve. My grade could have been even better if I had just remembered to season my breaded mushroom and hadn't overcooked my turned potatoes. I'll practice even more before the final exam to make certain these sorts of little mistakes don't happen again.

The above pie is a peach sour cream filling recipe from my school baking book. I'm bringing all my manuals home over reading week so I can make plenty more tasty good things to eat and share during my time off. That's the one problem with food... there are so many delicious recipes, and so little time and tummy-space to eat them!

My parents and grandmother are meeting me after my class today for a nice dinner at the college. I was offered a paid table for four in the school's dining room, and I certainly wasn't going to say no! I'm looking forward to getting dressed up for a nice dinner. (Not that I don't get dressed all fancy most of the time anyway heh, but having an actual occasion for it is refreshing!) I hope you all had a nice week. Cheers!

Backed up in the Present

While my outfit photos are rather out of date, I blame this on the fact that I live in the moment. I enjoy taking the outfit photos when I do take them. Everything I wear because I enjoy it, it makes me feel good. There's no intense need to post them though - for one thing I'm fairly certain I'm the only person who even reads my blog anymore hah - and that's fine. I get around to it eventually.

Top -Thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Vintage shop in Ottawa

Shoes - From grandmother

There's a bear somewhere out near my home. I found its leavings, full of choke-cherry seeds, smack dab in the middle of the driveway. These are the things I missed when living in the city. I hope the dear thing sticks around, it can help itself to all the berries if it wants! If I'm lucky, I may even catch a glimpse of it some early morning, or in the evenings.

I was putting my garden to sleep for the winter the other evening when I inadvertently harmed a hibernating frog with my hand tool. The poor thing was so injured that I had no choice but to put it down. It's buried in the middle of my garden now, with a little heart, and a spiral, drawn above it in the dirt. I felt absolutely horrible for it, but I suppose it's better to mourn its loss than to be a person who feels no pain at the death of an innocent living thing. I'm off now to pick up my grandmother and head to my parents' for Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. I hope those of you who celebrate it now have a good holiday. Cheers!

Another Day

I've fallen out of the habit of taking outfit photos - which is a shame because I've been wearing some pretty neat stuff lately - but I think part of it is due to the changing of the seasons. It's almost always windy out, and often cloudy or raining. And while I love Autumn, the smell, the crispness of the air, it doesn't really lend itself to my going out there in short sleeves for photos with my half-broken camera.

Necklace - Made by Me

T-shirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Belt - Ardene's

Skirt - Vintage from Kilo Shop in Paris

Mocassins - Sears

I suppose I can just start taking them indoors again like I did this photo back in early September. Eventually I won't have much choice either way. I'm spending a lot of time in my kitchen now, even more than usual. I'm trying to practice a lot of the recipes from school, which I think I mentioned before, but cooler weather always drives me to my kitchen.

This is some Scallop Seviche, with jalapeños and cherry tomatoes on a chiffonade of lettuce. It was actually really delicious and I'll definitely be making this dish again. I attempted to make a vegetable consommée this past weekend but due to some stupid mistakes I messed it up. I'll be trying again though, because I'm stubborn and it's something I really want to be able to do.



My parents were doing work on their bathroom late last week so my mother brought her ball python Fluffy to my place until they were done. I couldn't resist piling him in with my two boys, Galen and Rorschach. They make such a cute pile o' pythons!

I should probably start getting ready for my baking class this afternoon though. We're making the Choux Pastry Swans that I practiced last weekend. Should be a good class. Cheers!

Behind In the Times

I meant to post this outfit before I left for Europe but it kind of never happened. So before I can start posting more current outfits, here's a final summery one. As it is, the weather is gloomy and cool and not at all like summer. September is here and it's making itself known, that's for certain.

Skirt as a Dress - Walmart

Belt - Can't remember

Necklace - Value Village

Sandals - Value Village

I was a little bothered that everybody could see my bra straps but I got over it quickly enough. This was comfy and breezy and colourful and lazy, everything I needed it to be that day in mid-August. This morning I have to get dressed for cool temperatures and rain though, since my classmates and I are going to a farm to pick some corn! Cheers!

I'm Back!

I returned from France a few days ago, and I've been settling back into my life here. Tomorrow is the first day of classes for me so I have that on my mind too. I'm excited and nervous, it'll be better once things get going. I still haven't gotten around to uploading all my trip photos and sorting through the thousands of them, but it'll get done eventually.

Even though I was there, and I can vividly remember what I did, it still seems a little unreal. I really did have a trip of a lifetime. Traveling solo was a bit daunting, but now that I've done it, I know I'll be doing it again. The only person holding you back from adventures is you!

Family Day Trip

Back on Saturday August 3rd, my parents, grandmother and I went on a little day trip. We took a route driving around Lake Nipissing. We visited Board's Bee Farm, two pottery places, antique shops and other such places. This post is essentially going to be a photo dump because my brain is exhausted from planning my Euro-trip, but at least it's something.



It was a really lovely day and I'm so glad we were about to go out and do this. Days like these make me glad I moved back home to be around my family. Time is precious, and all the more so with those we love. Cheers!

Ripe

I work hard, and when I get home, I don't always really feel like getting dressed up in a complex outfit. It's times like those that wonderfully simple frocks come to my rescue. This tie-dye dress has been in my wardrobe for several years now, and while it doesn't get tons of wear, I still love it. In a way, it symbolizes the beginning of my journey into who I am now.

 Dress - Purchased from After Shower Shop on Etsy

I actually wore this dress in one of my very first ever posts on this blog, back in September of 2010. It seems like a lifetime ago when I look back on it, even though it's been barely three years. I've changed a lot and come a long way.

My outward appearance is quite similar, but on the inside, I'm a whole new person. I was a little green sprout back then, and now I'm a thriving tree with leaves unfurled. Being in my mid-twenties, I'm still very young and have a lot of growing and changing to do yet. But being able to look back and see and feel my progress and growth is really nice.



The sun rises every morning, granting us a new day to do with as we please. It's up to us to use that time to our best advantage, to enjoy it, and this life we have under that sun. I used to struggle through my days, slogging through them like a chore, forever living for the horizon without any real goal or destination in mind. My days were slipping by unnoticed, wasted, when those days were exactly what living is all about. I'm doing my best not to waste any more sun rises, and to relish all the sunsets. I hope to enjoy so many more. Cheers!

All Stars

My best friend Becky and I went to a lovely little festival called All Stars last weekend. We live 6 hours apart now, but the festival just happened to be smack dab in the middle between us so we couldn't pass up the opportunity. I didn't really take any photos myself - except of mushrooms and slugs - so these aren't mine but ones I pilfered from others sharing their own of the event. I had a fantastic time and I'm glad we were able to come together for it!



We both seem to be pretty stealthy/unnoticed by photographers and I haven't seen a single photo of myself - not even in the background - and this below is the only shot of Becky I could find. She's really a smiley happy lady but we both get into our dancing-serious-face poses without realizing it. I love my Beckinoodle!

The vibe was cozy and intimate, with only a few hundred people in attendance. It was refreshing after having gone to some really big festivals in the last few years. I saw a few familiar faces, but this festival being further South into Ontario rather than North into Quebec, I didn't know too many people.



This is definitely a weekend I'll remember fondly in years to come. These are the moments I live for and the experiences I strive to live. I hope you all have good weekend. Cheers!

Solo Camping

I needed to recharge my batteries last weekend so I spent Saturday night out on a little solo camping trip. Camp grounds aren't my cup of tea, so I just found a little spot on public land by the shore of a lake and set myself up for a night. It was really nice, just me and nature. I swam and read in the sun and enjoyed a little evening fire. I hadn't been that relaxed and at ease in a long while.

It was so funny, the little fish in the lake would practically swarm me when I stood around in the shallows. They were really curious and would come check me out without fail no matter how many times I went back into the water.



As you can tell, I was more than a little taken with the view from my campsite. I really had the most gorgeous weather, although there were a lot of biting insects. My skin looks like a haphazard game of connect-the-dots. When I took the photo below, I just felt so happy and in my element - bugs not withstanding. I wish I could feel like that more often.

This weekend I'm heading to a festival where I'll be meeting up with my bestie Becky. We haven't seen each other since late April and I am so excited. It's going to be amazing dancing with her out in nature and just enjoying some lady time together. Fingers crossed the road trip goes well - I purchase a used vehicle last week and I'm still paranoid - and that we don't get rained out! Cheers!

Flash Bang

Bright colours are something I love, but I love them even more in the summer months. I know 'colour blocking' was a big thing a while back, and I don't know if it's still 'in' or not, but frankly, I don't care! I love this outfit. It felt bright and fun and I enjoyed wearing it.

Sunglasses - Walmart

T-shirt - Walmart clearance

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Clogs - Gift from my grandmother

I'm making spur of the moment plans to attend a festival with this weekend with a friend I haven't seen since way back in March. I'm really excited, both to see her, and for the weekend of great grooves and dancing that awaits us. This weather is perfect for it. I'm so excited!

I hadn't expect to be able to attend any festivals this year so this is a nice surprise. I'll be visiting another friend afterward too, since the festival will put me just a little over an hour away from them. I'm making the most of my 3-day weekend! Anyway, I hope you are all having a good start to the week. Cheers!