Monday, February 28, 2011

March!

March is here! March is here! Yeehaw! Spring will begin this month!! YOU'D BETTER ENJOY YOUR LAST WEEKS, WINTER, BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO GET AN EVICTION NOTICE SOONER OR LATER!! HA!

It's been in the 60's and 70's in Virginia lately. GRRR. At least our snow has mostly melted here!


Last week I got to explore Yorkdale Mall for the first time. Trevor hadn't been there in a number of years himself, so to him it was like being there for the first time all over again. Whee, Yorkdale virgins! The main reason why we were there was to help our close friend Mike revamp his personal style and wardrobe completely to make him look more like a fashionable 25 year old than a geeky 15 year old (not that there's anything inherently wrong with geeky!). We were there for EIGHT HOURS. EIGHT. The majority of which being spent in the dressing rooms at Guess, Tristan, and Banana Republic. Oh, my feet! Oh, my bored-to-tears brain! Oh, my grumbling stomach! Oh, my grumbling husband!

Mike dubbed us and our little venture Team Laser Explosion, so at least the cool title helped things. But it just kind of backtracked in everything we were trying to do to make him become manly! HAHA.

Even though I felt special and "cool" to be part of Team Laser Explosion, I felt especially fat and frumpy in those expensive mall stores, their runway dance music, and their rail-thin girls wearing the latest trends and superior sparkles in their heavily-lined eyes. And their prices! Ack! I know you get what you pay for, but $500 for a filmy little jacket? No thanks.

But Banana Republic redeemed themselves in my eyes because they were having a 25%-off-purchase event, and they had catered food.


Ohh, come to mama.

Then came the best part. Nicole (Trevor's best friend's girlfriend, who is also Mike's cousin) and I went to Sephora to play with makeup testers. I'd never been in a Sephora store before. When I lived in the US, the closest one was in NYC!

IT WAS SO MAGICAL, YOU GUYS.

Life suddenly seemed so much sweeter and happier as I sighed in content, testing Urban Decay eyeshadow and gloss and Sephora Collection nail polish. I gave myself a whole new look that could have easily surpassed $300. Trevor and Mike had to literally drag us from the magical makeup store, but not until we were spritzed up with perfume!

I'll share with you some of the products I tried and loved!
Urban Decay shadow in Lounge, a gorgeous brown with green duotone!
Urban Decay Lip Junkie in Perversion, a sheer black/purple sparkle and Midnight Cowboy, a gorgeous champagne sparkle
Benefit Benetint, possibly the most awesome product ever and I'm sure everyone in the world has tried it before except me
Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense Lipstick in #14 and #15
Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer
Sephora by OPI Nail Polish in Metro Chic

Now I'm inspired to write a post about my favourite scents and my addiction to them! What is your favourite cosmetic that you've tried?

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Friday, February 18, 2011

TGIF! and Five Question Friday

Hello there, new followers!! I'm so glad to have you aboard. I hope you're enjoying the ride so far, even if there's not that much here at this moment in time! Please feel free to introduce yourself in the comments :D



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This is the first time I've ever participated in Five Crooked Halo's Five Question Friday! Click the pic to go to her blog so you can answer the questions too and link up!


1. Have you worn the same outfit more than one day in a row?
Ew, no. Except for jeans. I don't wash them every single time I wear them unless they get something on them. I tend to wash them every couple of days.

2. If you had to choose any LARGE city to live in, which would it be?
Toronto, obviously. LOL.

I've always lived in semi-rural locations, and while I appreciated the quietness and the beauty, I'm definitely a city girl at this stage of my life. I LOVE Toronto!

3. Fly or drive with the kids on vacation?
I can't drive and neither can my husband, so I guess I'll say fly! Hopefully our future children won't be as nervous on planes as I am...

4. What is your idea of "spring cleaning"?
Oh man. I get into hardcore spring AND autumn cleaning. This includes changing out clothes for season-appropriate ones, decluttering everything, a deep cleaning, and organizing everything else.

5. What is the best book you have ever read?
So far, I've got to say it's the "Simple Abundance" daily book by Sara Ban Breathnach. For an entire year, you learn how to love yourself and find your authentic self and really let her loose, living your life fully and wonderfully. It really is life-changing!

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So what else is on my mind today?

I want to start writing fun product reviews again. I know there are tons of review blogs out there, and I really want to participate and offer my opinions on products I already own or have just bought. My blog is listed as PR friendly, so if I ever get an offer from a company, that will be great but I'm really not seeking them out. I DID join a campaign on BzzAgent and have received a couple Dove products to review, yay! I would definitely recommend joining the site if you're into receiving free products and don't mind spreading the word about it word of mouth or on your blog :D

Also, if you're looking for a fairly new forum with fun, fresh topics and fun, fresh gals with creative streaks, then look no further than the Yes and Yes Forum! I joined a few days ago and am now active in posting. I already love it and the girls who frequent it!

I'm stressed for time as today is my husband's 27th birthday and I'm getting everything spic and span for his party tomorrow evening! TGIF, everyone, and have a GREAT weekend full of sweetness and joy!

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

My latest winnings and HOO ARE YOU?

First off, my latest winnings! I entered a Thursday giveaway at Kind Over Matter a couple weeks ago, and I won the A Year in Yes 2011 Calender from yesandyes.org!

Here's a peek at what the inside of the calender looks like.



As you can see, it's got a really cool list on the side of the page, as well as a space at the bottom to write about what you loved during the month! There's ideas written in the date boxes, plus various holidays and silly national fun days (such as National Bubblegum Day). Each month's list and image are entirely different. And amazing. The quotes on the images are concise, crisp, and inspiring without getting flowery. After this year is over, I'm going to remove the images and hang them all up on the wall so I can always see them.

So yeah, I'm in loooveeee. And I know it's mid-February, but I REALLY think that everyone needs this calender in their home! And it's only $12 right now with free worldwide shipping. So hurry up and go grab one!

I also just won Hong Ying's highly seductive novel "K: The Art of Love" at Book'd Out for the recent Follower Love Giveaway Hop. Weehee! I cannot wait to receive this novel and start reading.

And now, I'm finally participating in the HOO ARE YOU? weekly questions again! Here are my answers.

NightOwlCrafting



1. What did you get/give for Valentine's Day?
My husband and I aren't really that big on celebrating V-Day, not as far as gifts go anyway. We had a really nice dinner and had chocolate, though, to celebrate our first V-Day since my landing as resident.

2. Do you have a vacation planned in the next couple of months or in the summer?
It would certainly be nice! I'm hoping for a fun road trip to Montreal or the Thunder Bay area. I don't know. I'm pretty easy to please!

3. What is one thing you do to pamper yourself?
I love to give myself manicures and pedicures a few times a month. It keeps all my digits looking great, my skin soft and smooth, and it's a nice little boost of confidence.

4. What sparks your interest to other people's blogs?
I love crafty and creative people, people who are kind and make heartfelt posts, and beautiful photography.

5. What kind of a mood are you in today?
I've been in a rather mixed up, stressed out, happy mood. It's kinda all over the place.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Pictures from Thornhill

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I hope your day was lovely and sweet, no matter what your relationship status. :)

We began ours by walking up to the library in Thornhill Village, which is otherwise known as Old Thornhill. I absolutely love this community because of how quaint and magical it is, at least in our area. There are a lot of gorgeous parks, and the historical houses are just so lovely. Framed by wooden fences and pretty summer gardens and guarded by tall hemlock and blue spruce, Old Thornhill is a very quiet, endearing look into yesterday, right on the border with Canada's largest city.

All of Thornhill is quiet and beautiful, though! When you turn down Clark, or Henderson, or John or Centre, you wouldn't think you were that close to the insane bustle of Toronto. It's so ideal.

I took some pictures today as we took the picturesque walk home from the library and Tim Hortons. We'd hoped that the weather would be mild, as had been predicted, but it had begun to fall and the wind was really roaring in the trees. It had been well above freezing yesterday though, so there were still lots of puddles to sidestep. But that didn't deter us.





















And I got this one of Trevor as he was trying to readjust his library book and our box of Tim Bits. Check out that piercing glare! LOL


I'm so happy to live here. Sometimes it's hard to remember that I'm really in Canada again, and I feel my breath catch and my throat swells. I'm so grateful to be here.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Tips!

Tips for Becoming Canadian

So you're now a resident of Canada, eh? Well, not so fast. there's a few things you should know when moving up to the true north. One of my Canadian friends helped me write a few of these following "tips". I hope you enjoy them!

DISCLAIMER:
This post is is not intended to be offensive in any way, so please do not take it as such.


- Two words: Tim Hortons.

- Don't make fun of the accents that Canadians swear they don't have. This includes, but is not limited to, saying "eh" at the end of every sentence and heavily stressing words like "boot" for "boat" and "aboot" for "about". They hate that and frankly I've never heard a Canadian speak that way.

- With that being said, you must say "Eh?" at least 3 times a week.

- Don't assume Canadians live in igloos and have caribou for pets. Canadians REALLY hate that.

- If you shop at Canadian Tire, you will acquire Canadian Tire "money". Don't ask. You will find out.

- Canadian money is very colorful. Do NOT make loud remarks on how it looks so very similar to Monopoly money. Also, do not walk around with a jingling bag full of one and two dollar coins (otherwise known as loonies and toonies) and role play that you're a traveling bard with a bag full of gold and silver.

- In a typical winter, you'll need to sacrifice flimsy winter fashion for heavy duty gear. So save your cutesy little thin scarves, wedge heel stylin' boots, and pretty jackets for early spring. This is the time of year to be wearing several bulky layers, some of them fairly unattractive!

- Don't go around expressing in ANY way, shape or form that you love winter and/or snow. This includes singing "Let It Snow", wearing clothes with snowflakes on, or expressing any emotion other than anger and depression.

- You must hate George W. Bush 10% more than the US does.

- Start spelling things like "color" and "flavor" as "colour" and "flavour" and you'll earn immediate respect. It also helps to have a perfectly functioning knowledge of the metric system and Celcius, otherwise people might look at you strangely when you say a temperature in Fahrenheit or measure something in inches or yards.

- You no longer have to care about football, if you're American. But if you do still care about it, you do not have to watch the CFL. Even Canadians watch the NFL, as the CFL sucks!

- Don't tell a Vancouverite that Toronto is lots better than Vancouver. You'll probably get your tired slashed or get beaten up.

- Don't root for a non-Canadian hockey or Olympic team. Ever. Don't say I didn't warn you.

- Don't walk around speaking with a faux British accent, or assume that all Canadians have British accents.

- Likewise, don't assume that all Canadians only speak French.

- Nabisco is called Christie in Canada, and DiGiornio frozen pizza is called Delissio. Yeah, I'm still not used to that.

- Milk comes in bags and gasoline is measured in litres. Still not used to either of those.

- CADBURY CREME EGGS AT NEW YEAR'S, PEOPLE.

- Canadian/English chocolate and candy alone will make you want to live here forever!

- Don't joke about maple syrup.




Have a great weekend, everyone! :)

Mary