Happy Holidays!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas (if you celebrate it... if not, what do you celebrate? :)) I apologize for my lack of posts; it has been an interesting past couple of weeks! Between kidney stones and getting ready for Christmas... it's just been crazy. Also, today was my 18th birthday! Which means I am officially legal in the province I live in! But unfortunately... I spent the entire day with an awful flu that has kept me up so long I`m not sure if my body remembers how to sleep anymore! (Sure seems like it doesn`t) But I`m off to try again :)

Happy Holidays!

Cute kids and Kidney Stones!?

...I love the smell of kidney stones in the morning... not!
I can't work until it passes which makes me very sad... I work quite a bit (About 10 hours a day) but I love it. I was at work when it first started, I had no idea what it was and got rushed to the ER. But my mom was there, so it was okay :) We ended up playing weird hospital games to make it seem better than it was.
Part of what I do in a day is work as a casual youth worker for Boys and Girls Club, so when my mom went back to the office to tell them what had happened, she came back to the hospital with cards from kids for me! I'm sorry the picture is sideways... it won't let me fix it today!


The good side to being home... I get to watch more Ellen! I am a major Ellen fan... until I worked this much, I watched her every day! Now I will get to again for the next few...
Greyson Chance got his debut on Ellen... it is a pretty cool story, you should check him out! He's such an adorable kid haha I love in his interviews how he is always so stoked about everything. And I love this song :)


I also want his piano... I love word art like that.

It will just take a second to click :)

I always get these emails from ONE. I always sign the petition and email it off to a few people, but I've decided to also post a few on here! It just takes a second; all you have to do is click the link to make a difference! :)



Original email:

Today, as we mark World AIDS Day, I wanted to share something that isn't often said—good news about real, tangible, life-saving progress. Today, 6,500 fewer children will die of diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria or pneumonia than just 5 years ago.

It's staggering to me that with the right support we can make such a big difference, and it goes to show what can be achieved when people call for governments to act. However there is more to do—in fact, despite these amazing advances, over 1,000 children are born every day with HIV. It's a heart breaking fact, yet what makes it even harder to swallow is that this can easily be prevented through a simple treatment given to women during pregnancy.

Please click here to sign our petition asking leaders to finish the job and make sure no child is born with HIV:
http://one.org/international/actnow/nochild/o.pl?id=2060-4078321-x9r.wWx&t=3

Dear World Leaders,
By 2015 we can make sure no child is born with HIV. It all starts with an agreement at the United Nations to combat extreme poverty, with every country doing their bit. Please do yours. Thank You.

Help ensure that mothers get the medicines they need so that by 2015 no child is born with HIV. It sounds ambitious, but we know what progress can be made in just 5 years, so please join me today.

Together as ONE we can make a difference.

Thanks!

Roxane Philson, ONE.org

Merry Weekend!

How is everybody's weekend going? What have you been doing?
Mine started a day early this week, so I am stuck on thinking it is Sunday today, even though it is Saturday! (But I was very excited when I found out I get to sleep in tomorrow now! :))

I've spent the last three days up in Lethbridge to apply for so many jobs I lost count! (I am moving there in about a month... hopefully!) And of course, being in Lethbridge means I got to spend the last three days with my boyfriend, Jordan. It was so amazing to see him, we haven't seen each other in three weeks because the highway between our cities was so bad from the snow! I can't explain how perfect it was spending time with him, but that means I just miss him even more already! haha

Also, being in Lethbridge meant shopping! I didn't pick up very much since it is close to Christmas... but my mom bought me some early Birthday presents (My real birthday is December 26th, but I needed new winter jackets, so I got them early)
(Excuse bad picture quality... I don't own a good camera, so they are just with my iPhone!)

Both my Jackets are from Ricki's

This one is sooo warm! I love how it goes in at the waist..

My new peacoat :) I am so excited because it has purple in it! my favourite



Now for what I bought myself:
Moroccanoil...
This is magic in a bottle. (The gift set was cheaper than buying just the oil!)
My hair has been SO AWFUL lately, I couldn't even hold back from buying this until after Christmas. So extremely frizzy, broken, dry.. yuck. I used it this morning, and what a difference already. I am going to try the hair mask tonight... I'll let you know how that works!

And lastly, I came home with two sweaters...
So for this, I'd just like to call it the "Marley vs Jordan" segment.

Marley:
This is my sweater I bought today, a pink Ralph Lauren one that is so soft and warm :)

Jordan:
This is the sweater my boyfriend sent me home with :) haha... you can see our different tastes, but I guess opposites attract!
(I guess it is some Norwegian Death-Metal band. But I still love it!)

Who do you think should win? :)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

PHEW!

What a long, busy week + some it has been! So sorry for lack of posts, I am getting used to working 8:30 - 6:30, and it is harder than you might think! :)
(Especially if you're like me and love sleep...)

How was everybody's Monday? What did you do this past weekend? Any upcoming plans this week?

I finally get to see my boyfriend on Friday (we haven't seen each other in three weeks because of the snow!) and I am beyond excited!

As of lately, I'm so attracted to shiny things! (I sound like a bird!)

Sequined shirts like this one (from Bootlegger) have caught my eye a lot lately! I'm resisting from buying anything before Christmas now

Glitter-y eyeliners... especially gold and purple. I don't have one... yet... but it'll happen!

This I actually do have! My "Love nectar" Lustreglass from M.A.C. with lots of gold shimmer in it :)

In other news, I'm thinking I'm going to start a purse-sized go-to makeup kit. Any suggestions of what should be in it?

New buys + Award!

I thought the only PINK store in Alberta was in Edmonton... but while I was in Calgary today, I found out they opened a new one! I was so excited because I regretted not buying this last time I was in Edmonton... so here's what I picked up! (They were even on sale!)

the new PINK scent, Bold & Playful
My favourite, Warm & Cozy (Shimmer and Shine)
I wasn't intending on getting the shimmer one, but they didn't have the regular.
But that's okay, I love sparkles this winter anyway :]

I am awful at describing scents, but I love all of them from PINK! It was so hard to choose!

The rules:

1. Thank the blogger/s who gave you this award

Biiig thank you to Mimi who gave me my first award! What a huge compliment :]

2. Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experiences using five words.

(I don't know if they'll all be five words, but I'll keep it short :]!)

My philosophy: If I'd like to read it, I post it. I love hearing peoples opinions on the things I blog about.

My motivation: Fellow bloggers. It's really sweet that people take the time to read and comment.

My experience: Positive! I actually haven't come across someone on my blog yet (or in the blogs I follow) that were negative. It's fabulous.

3. Pass on to ten other bloggers.

Since I don't have many followers, I can't list 10... but here's some!

Marie
Meghan
Freya
Marisa
and of course, Mimi! (But I don't know if I am supposed to actually tag this back to her!)

Buttons :)

(via Gap)(via Ruche)
I had a dream about those boots, so I must like them more than I thought! haha

(via Ruche)

(via Le Chateau)

I love buttons :]
TGIF!

I am going Christmas shopping this weekend, and seeing Harry Potter with Jordan! (If the highway roads aren't too icy!)

What are you up to this weekend?

BAKING!

For the past while my oldest sister (Kelli) and myself have taken on baking for all our "events" and just for fun! We have been planning our Christmas baking list for a while now... we decided on this one today, it is super cute!


Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Cake!

Cake:
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups boiling water

Filling:
1/2 cup Whipping Cream
8 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Icing:
6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1/4 cup Butter
1/2 cup dairy Sour Cream
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Suggested Decorations:
16 M&M’s® milk chocolate candies (eyes)
16 Rolo® milk chocolate covered antlers (antlers)
4 Pepperidge Farm® Double Chocolate Chunk Soft Baked cookies, cut in half (ears)
8 maraschino cherries (noses)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
2. In a small bowl, stir together Sour Cream, eggs and extract; mix well and set aside.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.
4. In a large electric mixer bowl, combine chocolate, Butter and water; stir with a spoon until mixture is melted and smooth. Add half of flour mixture to chocolate mixture and beat on low speed of electric mixer until combined. Add Sour Cream mixture and beat until combined. Add remaining flour mixture and beat until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. While cakes cool, prepare filling and icing.
6. For filling, beat Whipping Cream at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form; set aside. Beat Cream Cheese, powdered sugar, sugar and extract at medium speed until creamy. Fold Cream Cheese mixture into Whipped Cream. Stir in nuts, if desired. Chill.
7. For icing, melt chocolate and Butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool about 5 minutes. Stir in Sour Cream. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating till smooth and easy to spread.
8. To assemble, pipe chocolate icing around outer edge of bottom layer. Spread all but 1 cup filling inside the piped circle. Place second layer on top. Frost top and sides of cake with icing. Just before serving, cut cake into 8 slices and decorate as desired using reserved filling, candies, cookies and cherries for eyes, antlers, ears and nose.

Makes 6 servings.

Have any favourite holiday treats?

I've been there!

I've loved Michael Buble for years!
This video made me miss California so much! I want to go back!

My life outlook...

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.

The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"
.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Just in time for the snow storm!

This has to be the softest hoodie I've ever owned!
& it's so warm! Perfect for todays snow storm!
(from American Eagle)

Today my mailbox was frozen shut; So I had to kick it to break off all the ice until it opened.
Hope the weather there is better than here!

Not exactly my kind of music but...

...isn't the bass player a babe?
haha


...My boyfriend Jordan's old band (recently started a new one that's unnamed).
It's okay, I don't know what they're saying either.

It sure was!

Ainsley, "Gammy! Listen! ...Hear that? I think that's Auntie Mar singing!"

Bows!

Lately I love everything with bows! (I think it's because it reminds me of wrapping presents at Christmas... which is one of my all-time favourite things! Weird, I know) Some of my favorites are...

Headbands!


Belts!

Flats!

Necklaces!

Handbags!

Dresses!

and earrings, tops, skirts and cardigans
So basically, if it has bows, I will like it!

Do you have a favourite trend?

I finally fell into the scarf fad!

I steal a brown one just like this from my Mom all the time!
(via Ruche)

(via Bootlegger)

My Stages.

When things go wrong (don't worry, things are great right now!)... I go through three stages, all of which are accompanied by three types of songs until I feel better!

Stage one - Self Pity.

This is where I listen to Damien Rice... You can cry and sing along to his songs at the same time! (I admit, I'm a cry baby!)

Stage two - Calm down and realize I think everything is much worse than it actually is.

So come on, yeah, because everything's not lost!

Stage three - learn & move on.

This is followed by an extremely embarrassing happy dance!
What's your go-to happy song?



On an incredibly random side-note:
Last night my brother Cody and myself went to TWO different grocery stores to get ingredients for me to attempt to bake red velvet cupcakes with creme cheese icing...neither had what I needed. Needless to say, I got frustrated and I ended up with a bag of instant cookies.
They are yummy.

Coastal Scents

Should be here in less than two weeks!(Duo Fiber Stippling Brush)

(10 Piece Professional Blush Palette)

I'm updating my workout playlist!

I am always listening to music when I do my workouts...Very different tunes compared to ones on my usual playlists ! (which usually consists of Indie, country and alternative) But I've decided to update it!
Some on the "keepers list" are:

Coastin' - Zion I & K. Flay [My version doesn't have the long intro]
Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship
Yeah - Usher [I'm going to get hassle for this one from my sister, Meghan!]
Cold Hard Bitch - Jet [My favourite]
Four Minutes - Madonna (ft. JT)
My First Kiss - 3OH!3 (ft. Ke$ha)
Here's The Thing - Girl Talk
and of course...
Stop - Spice Girls [singing along to this one gets my mind off it when I start getting tired!]

What's on yours? Any suggestions?

Life is just better with...

(In no particular order)

~Good primers~
I've noticed a HUGE difference in my foundation application after using the HD Make up Forever primer with it! (I use the green one because I have an over-all red undertone but no actual breakouts, and it works pretty well! ... However if you're looking for pore minimizing and breakout coverage [unless the skin-coloured one works differently, I'm not sure] I wouldn't really recommend it)
I love the Kat Von D eyeshadow primer in skin. My shadows have lasted much much longer with it!

~Heat Protectant~

I will be the first to admit I'm very guilty of being awful to my hair. I'm often dying it different colours, blow-drying it almost everyday as well as curling/flat-ironing. This has made a HUGE difference! My hair is much much softer, and my frizz has gone down dramatically.

~Holidays~

I'm pretty sure I could be hired as an Elf. I LOVE Holidays- especially Christmas! I love the music, the decorations, the people, the spirit, the shopping, the cooking, the holiday specials! EVERYTHING! Today Jordan took me to Starbucks and I had my first holiday drink - White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha. Yum :]
I can't wait to start Christmas shopping!

~A healthy workout routine~

Coming from someone who used to be completely inactive and pretty down, I can't explain enough how much just getting out and exercising makes a difference in how I feel.
First off - I love my elliptical. When I first started using it, I felt awful after only SIX minutes... now I can easily run through the duration of Forrest Gump! (Which I have done twice since it was on tv!) I have awful knees so this really helps because I can get amazing cardio in without joint pain.

Even though Jillian Michaels is a hard ass, I honestly can't explain to you how much difference this video has made. Although I can't say I lost "20 pounds in 30 days" (I have awful eating habits) I have been doing this most of this past year and have lost over 50 pounds, 35 inches of body fat and gone down 2 BMI categories. I love how it's a short video(about half an hour including warm-up and cool-down) but it's really effective!

~When things smell good!~
(Ironically placed after naming something that makes you smell gross ;)...unless you have a way of still smelling good after a good workout... then fill me in!)
HOLIDAY SCENTS! I love when Cranberry scents come out. My mom has SO many of these (but in tarts). I love when she burns them around Christmas.
Victoria Secret scents... I think this one was my favorite! I should have gotten some instead of stealing a little bit from my cousins everyday in Edmonton! :]

Just my favorite perfume :]

~His sweater~I love having my boyfriends sweater. Because he lives and goes to school about an hour and a half away, we only see each other on the weekends. So during the week, he gives me his sweaters. No matter if I'm sad, cold, or miss him a lot this is the next best thing to having him here! Life is just better with something cozy from someone you care about :]

~A purpose~
"...Because the purpose of life is to have a life purpose."


Hope everyone had a great weekend, BRING ON MONDAY!

My Saturday!

This Saturday I had my first solo photo shoot! I had the opportunity to work with Eiko to do a "Trash the Grad Dress" shoot, it was a ton of fun having everything done! It was definitely a great experience!
(This is the only picture that has been posted so far... it is definitely not my favorite... I like from the nose up, but I'm definitely not a fan of my neck! Hopefully the other ones turn out better! :])

I wish I didn't bite my nails!

On Stage

Only Gold for Me


(These top two from Sephora by OPI)

Sugar Plums

Jingle Bells

Ingrid
(These last three from the two latest China Glaze collections)

TGIF! Have a great weekend!