Music Monday// The Rural Alberta Advantage

That's right, Music Monday is back on the blog! I really need to get on some sort of schedule with le blog. I can't believe it took me this long to get into the Rural Alberta Advantage. They're a pretty talented alternative Canadian band, which is a dime a dozen in my opinion! This "Barnes' Yard" is such a perfect song and so catchy to listen to, I definitely had this on repeat for the last few days, I'm seriously obsessed with it. Enjoy it and love it ♥

Rustic Chic

I don't know what it is, but I'm starting to acquire a taste for every article of clothing from Roots Canada.  It's probably me stalking the pictures from awelltraveledwoman on Tumblr, especially her taste in rustic chic clothing and decor, and also the amazing photography that she documents on her blog.  Ask me a year ago what I thought about Roots clothing and I would have said that it was for people with no concept of style, but now, I'm so inspired by it.  

I've never been a huge fan of the sweltering weather that we get in the summer, and I would never really want to travel to somewhere super warm.  I think it would be so cool to travel somewhere up north in the mountains and the trees, and I would really like to travel to Iceland someday (it looks so amazing there!).

I'm starting to acquire a taste for plaids, knits, nordic prints, faux fur and leather (hey, that almost rhymed, ha!).  I know this stuff is so stereotypical for Canadians, but its actually super stylish.  It's so weird how our styles differ and how completely opposite they can be.  One day I'll want to wear something like skinny jeans, flats, a black and white striped top and a black blazer and now I'm wanting to wear plaid and knits.  It's kind of awesome how we don't have to stick to a certain style pallet, and how we can incorporate some of our favourite styles into our unique *look*.  I'm kind of crushing on this Capri Hoody in Salt & Pepper and this Penny Duffle Coat in Blue Iris.

StickyGram

Are any of you obsessed with InstaGram as I am? InstaGram is a fun little app that lets you take pictures and apply these amazing photo filters and blur features to them. I was browsing through Pinterest and found this amazing website called StickyGram that lets you turn your favourite InstaGram photos into magnets. So neat, right? You can even gift a StickyGram to someone on your Christmas list. I think I'm going to add this to my wishlist!

Holiday Nails

I did my nails last night and wanted to go for something sparkly! I did a clear base coat, and then a coat of Rimmel nail polish in 270 Steel Grey, followed by a coat of Love & Beauty in Disco Ball. I love the end result! It's going to take some serious scrubbing, as comes with all glitter polishes, but for the time being, it's so worth it!

Long Time No Blog

It's been a good few weeks since I've updated le blog. I've taken an unintentional blog break the past little while, mostly do to the lack of inspiration of things to post about. I'm trying to think of a recap to make about the things that I've been up to, but all the days are blurring together and I'm having a hard time remembering everything that has happened the past little while. Here's a few things that have been on my mind though:

1. Finishing university and moving

I'm so close to finishing my undergrad degree and its just starting to sink in that I have 4 more days of classes to complete before the end of an era. It's going to be weird not being in school because that's all I've known so far. I think the everyday stuff is going to be an adjustment, with not walking through campus, being a bus ride away from seeing friends and walking down the street-lamp lit street en route to the entertainment in the Market. 

I'm moving home and it's definitely going to be strange from living in a city for 4 1/2 years to the country. It's going to be so quiet outside. I'm so used to hearing sirens, having the street lamps giving a soft orange glow in my bedroom at night and being surrounded by tall buildings.

When I do move home, I have a few things that I want to focus on. As soon as I move home, I'm going to apply to H&M for a job. It would be so amazing working there, surrounded by amazing clothes and people with style. I also want to commit to a regular fitness regime. School has kind of been a pain-in-the-butt with that.

2. Changing up the hair

I always gets so fidgety with my hair and I'm craving for a change again. I absolutely adore my bangs, I'm so glad I decided to go back to them. I have a teensy bit of a grey patch growing in, it's not super visable, but its there. I kinda want to go dark with my hair! Nothing too dark, but something darker than what I have. I've thought about testing out a demi-permanent colour to see if I like it, but chickened out when I was in the store isle. I also really like the trend of clip-in feather extensions. Nothing too crazy on the colour, but maybe a white and brown patterned feather. 

3. This blog

I've also been thinking about this blog and what I want to do with it in the future. I think once school is done, I'm going to commit to posting on a regular basis and integrating more of my own content, especially with pictures. I also kind of want to turn this into a style blog! I think I'm starting to become more aware of my personal style, and with this blog helping along the way could help me discover and chip away at it more (although the thought of taking an outfit shot is kind of intimidating!).

Well, that's about it for now! I have class in the morning and tomorrow is going to be one of my last homework days as a student! I'm going to be writing some blog posts for my New Media class tomorrow, listening to music and putting on a coconut and shea butter mask that I got from Forever 21 for $1! 

Christmas Tree Alternatives

It's that time of year again! The days are getting shorter, the air is getting crisper and all of the stores in the shopping malls are decorated with twinkly lights and playing Christmas music.  My roommates and I are moving out of our apartment at the end of December and we thought it would be too much hassle to put up our 3-foot Christmas tree.  It would still be a little sad to not have a Christmas tree up during our last few weeks here, so I picked out a couple of options that I think would work out nicely. Both would work nicely for a small apartment.

1. Christmas light candles- we have a few wine bottle lamps that we bought from the dollar store to decorate our balcony, but now that summer is over, we could take a few of them and put a string of white lights in them and gather them together on a table. It would look so cute with our presents surrounding them.

2. Glitter tree- I'm really leaning towards this idea. It's sounds like such a fun and crafty endeavour! All we would need to do is get a few branches from the park nearby (or at the dollar store) and lather it with glue and cover it with white/black/grey craft glitter.  Put it in a tall vase and voila! Plus, it would look so adorable with a few brushed metallic ornaments!

What do you think of my ideas? Which option would you choose? Is anyone listening to Christmas music yet? I'm starting on November 15th :)

Modern Love Must Read

I read this article yesterday titled "When the Words Don't Fit" and I can't get it out of my mind. It has to do with modern love and how we can sometimes get caught up in actively searching for someone or hoping for some sort of extravagant love story to happen. This article reminds us that we're not always in control and that we just have to let it happen. I highly recommend giving it a read. You can find the article here. 

Baby It's Cold Outside

Is it weird that I'm wanting to listen to Christmas music already? I've done quite a bit of window shopping and every store has their Christmas displays out and are playing Christmas tunes over their sound systems. I was in Chapters yesterday and I saw that Starbucks has introduced their Christmas cups already! :)

Want to know one of my favourite parts of having chilly weather? Guys in coats! I'm now starting to see it everywhere. I think it is so important to have a good fall/winter coat that fits with your personality and that isn't meant for the ski slopes. When I walk down the street I think the first thing I look at is a guy's coat, and then their face, hahaha. Bonus points if they have a nice scarf too, heehee. Is any one else with me on this one?

Photo: Hypebeast

Long Overdue Update

My internet has been going haywire the past few days and I've missed keeping up with my blog and reading through my blogroll. I have so many post ideas that I want to execute in the next few days!

I have been noticing lately that the weather is starting to get pretty chilly! I saw on the weather forecast that we're probably going to get a bit of snow tomorrow! In lieu of the dipping temperature, I decided to knit a cowl to wear with my black blazer or my trench coat. I was browsing Etsy and came across this chunky wheat neck and shoulder cowl. I had some yarn lying around so I decided to copy it! I absolutely adore the colour of the yarn that I chose, its a burnt red/orange colour and it is so soft. I will post pictures when I am finished it. 

ps: Did you know that I learned to knit through YouTube? The new media that is provided to us really does amaze me.

Photo: ArrowsDesign

Music Monday// Bon Iver

This song has been on repeat on my iPod for the past few days. It feels really appropriate for the chilly weather we've been having in Ottawa lately which I love so much! The lyrics and the landscapes in this music video are fantastic. I think this video was shot in Iceland, I want to visit there so much! For the time being though, I'll have to settle on this music video.

The Glebe

One of the challenges for my Internship was to go to a neighbourhood in Ottawa and take some pictures and make a little film. It was due the day after I got back to Ottawa after Thanksgiving so I really had limited time in making this. Still though, I'm pretty happy with it based on only having a few hours to shoot it and put it together. I really wanted to work with the theme of home, that you should make sure you always have a place you can come home to and feel completely at ease and comfortable. 


My next challenge is to write a blog post about an event in the Glebe, so today I'm going to go on over to the Farmers' Market that happens every Sunday to snap some pictures and pick up some produce. Have a lovely autumny Sunday!

Indian Summer

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope all of you get to have lots of delicious turkey! I took the bus home for the weekend and I'm back in Ottawa tomorrow afternoon. It was a short weekend but it was good! Can you believe this weather? It was about 30 degrees yesterday and it felt like summer!

The other day I got some really good news that I've been meaning to share. I applied for and got a Social Media Internship! It's for 3 months and it involves blogging 3x a week for a company in Ottawa. It's so me! It doesn't feel like work at all :) At the end of the internship, the best intern receives an iPad 2, so I'm going to work really hard to get that. One of my projects due this week involves making a short video about a neighbourhood in Ottawa. It's going to be a short little film and I think it's going to be pretty cute. I'll post it on my blog when I'm done :)

I found this poem yesterday that my mom wrote when she was in high school. I think it fits with the autumny atmosphere that's happening right now.

Who's That Girl?

I had been toying around with the idea of getting bangs again for a long time but I was always too chicken to get them done again. Well, last week I took the plunge on a whim and I'm so happy with the result! I decided that I might as well get it done and quit wondering! Here's a picture of the final result!

I have to say that I was really inspired by Zooey Deschanel's hair, especially in her show "New Girl"! Sometimes I wish that my hair was a gorgeous mocha colour, but I should really learn to love my natural hair colour as it is. What do you think of my hair now?

A Must Read For All Dog Lovers

I found this on Pinterest and it is so adorable that I had to share. This made me tear up when reading it, it is so, so sweet. It makes me want to get a dog and spoil him with toys, love and delicious treats. 

1. My life is likely to last 10 to 15 years. Any separation from you will be painful remember that before you get me. 

2. Give me time to understand what you want of me. 

3. Place your trust in me- it is crucial to my well being. 

4. Do not be angry at me for long, and do not lock me up as punishment. 

5. You have your work, your entertainment,and your friends. I only have you. 

6. Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don't understands your words, I understand your voice when it is speaking to me. 

7. Be aware that how ever you treat me, I will never forget. 

8. Remember before you hit me that I have teeth that could easily hurt you, but I choose not to bite you because I love you. 

9. Before you scold me for being uncooperative,obstinate,or lazy, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I might not be getting the right food, or I have been out to long, or my heart is getting to old and weak. 

10. Take care of me when I get old; you too will grow old. Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say: "I cannot bear to watch" or "Let it happen in my absence." Everything is easier for me if you are there, even my death. Remember that I love you.

Romantic Star Projector

I have been coveting star projectors for the past year and I've been trying to find a company that sells them. I gave up for a while, but the other day while I was browsing Pinterest, I saw some pictures from the online shop INFMETRY that sells them!

Wouldn't this be so romantic to have in your bedroom or your kitchen while having dinner? Just imagine, a guy invites you over to make you dinner and he surprises you with a delicious meal, some wine, and some Bon Iver playing in the background. I want this projector sooo bad! If someone buys it for me, you'll be my favourite person forever! ;)

The Gibson Roll

I'm really in love with a certain hairstyle right now. It's called the "gibson roll" and it looks so glamourous, and it is so easy to do! I tried it once just to see if I could pull it off (because lets face it, a lot of hair tutorials are not so easy, especially for people who are left handed). It was pretty easy and it can be used for a variety of occasions. I tried it out once and I was paranoid that I looked old and that it made my neck look weird, but I was just being silly. A little suggestion though: keep the hairstyle a little messy, it keeps it modern without looking too matronly. For instructions, head on over to Refinery29!

Music Monday// Paradise

I'm not going to lie,  I was really excited to wake up this morning to hear Coldplay's new single "Paradise" drop this morning.  "Paradise" is from their new album Mylo Xyloto which is debuting on October 24th. Can that date come any sooner? I'm a big fan of this song, it's a new side of Coldplay that fans haven't seen before, its more electronic than their previous work. Listen to the song below:

Dream Shoes

My jaw was literally on the floor when I set my eyes on these beautiful shoes. They need to be in my possession.  These Jeffery Campbell Splendid Heels are amazing. I love the platform heel, the brass tacks, the peep toe...yada yada yada! I found a similar pair at the mall the other day but unfortunately they were the only pair left and were a size too big. I think I will have to save up for them once I graduate and have a job. These heels and a DSLR camera will be on the top of my list of my post-university purchases! <3

Hello September!

Gosh, can you believe that it's September already? It felt like the summer went by in a wink. If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that I have a deep love for Autumn, the coloured and crunchy leaves, the crisp air, I'm far too excited for it! The weather right now is starting to get a lot colder and this morning I found myself burying my cold hands into the pockets of my blazer because it was so chilly. I actually wished that I had worn mittens this morning!

In other news, I'm starting my last semester of my undergrad tomorrow and its both exciting and bittersweet. I can't believe that I've been in school for so long. At times, my undergrad felt as if it dragged on so slowly, but at the same time, it went by so fast.

Music Monday// The Middle East

I spent the morning browsing Chapters with one of my friends today and we stopped by Starbucks to pick up some delicious drinks. While I was waiting for my latte, I picked up an iTunes "Pick of the Week" and redeemed my card when I got home. This song is a bit slower than the other songs I have featured on Music Monday, but I instantly fell in love with the song. It seems kind of appropriate, with the change of the seasons and the beginning of a new school year. Let me know what you think of this song, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

ps: Sorry for the terrible formatting of the music video. Blogger has been acting really weird lately!

I Follow Rivers

I've been such a terrible blogger lately. What has it been, two weeks since my last post? Brutal! I've been in such a busy mode the past two weeks that this month has flown by so quickly. After returning from my friend's cottage (which was amazing to put it simply) I've been giving my room an overhaul with new paint, a new layout and doing a hoarder binge, hahaha. I promise to post pictures when I've organized everything and when it doesn't look like a disaster area. I also went to a Blue Jay's game in Toronto on Sunday, which was an amazing experience, but it was a little sad that the Jay's lost :(

Can you believe that its September tomorrow? In preparation for the new school year, I've accomplished a bit of clothes shopping. I'm thinking of doing somewhat of a clothing haul. Would any of you be interested in something like that?

Photo:  Sully Sullivan

Girls Like You

Braids are my kryptonite! I remember when I was younger when french braids were super popular. I remember trying so hard to learn how to do it on myself, and eventually getting the hang of it when I was about 14 years old. Right now though, regular ol' braids don't satisfy me anymore. I love when I discover new types of braids that I wouldn't even think were possible to pull off. I came across this picture and I'm trying to figure out how to pull this look off.

From what I can gather, it looks like the top portion is a waterfall braid going from the left side of her head over to her opposite ear. From here, I think she gathered the pieces of hair from the waterfall braid and french braided them, only taking hair from the right side of the braid and then gathering everything into an elastic just beneath her right ear. Phew, that was a mouthful! I think I'll have to try this sometime. Isn't it so unique?

Summer Reading List

It's still weird how fast the summer has flown fly! I only finished summer classes about a week ago and my summer is cut short to only a few weeks before my final semester starts. To optimize my few short weeks of "summer", I organized a reading list that I hope to finish before September comes around. Here are a few that I'm planning on reading:

a). Eat Pray Love: I've been wanting to read this book for a long time and right now is the perfect time to dive into Elizabeth Gilbert's adventures across Italy, India and Indonesia. I've already started reading and I'm in love with Gilbert's descriptions of Italy, it makes me want to go back and have a delicious slice of Italian pizza, yum! So far, I love the book!

b). My Name is Memory: My mom picked this book up a few days ago and it sounds really interesting. It's about past lives and falling in love. The two characters Daniel and Sophia have spent centuries falling in love over and over again, life after life, and across continents.  Daniel has the memory to recall his past lives which is both a gift and a curse. This book sounds really juicy! 

c). The Heart of the Matter: I'm a huge fan of Emily Giffin's other books and I've read them all more than once. The Heart of the Matter is Giffin's 5th novel and its about two women, Tessa and Valerie and how a tragic accident causes their lives to intersect with one another. It's still a mystery about what this book is about, but if they're anything like her other books, this one is sure to be great!

ps: What are your summer reads?

Music Monday// Foster the People

It's only been a few weeks since I learned of the band Foster the People and they've quickly become one of my favourite bands to listen to at the moment. They're a band hailing from Los Angeles, California who have a knack for indie pop music. Listen to their amazing song "Houdini" and don't get too addicted!

Stay Young, Go Dancing

Eeek! The new 2012 IKEA catalogue came out recently and I found myself drooling over the entire online magazine and picking out everything that I love. It got me to thinking about how it's so strange that our tastes change as we get older, whether it be music, food, fashion, decor or our taste in who we're attracted to. I often find myself thinking about how much my tastes have evolved and how they're staying relatively constant at this time.

When I was a teenager (doesn't that sound awful?) my taste in music hovered around bands like Yellowcard, My Chemical Romance and The Used, anything that sang to the closet angsty teen that was inside of me. I was about 16 or 17 during this time and its strange to think that I don't actively listen to these bands anymore. Right now, my musical taste has evolved to a genre of alternative/electronic, which if you're interested in checking out, hit up my posts labeled "music" in my sidebar. In my Audience Research class that I took this summer, we read an article that discussed our musical tastes as we grow up. I found it super interesting that our musical tastes are defined between the ages of 18-22 and we tend to lock into that for the rest of our lives. My professor mentioned that the same thing goes for our creative ideas and opinions/views. Neat, huh?

As for food tastes, I would have to say that my palate has both changed and stayed the same. I still have a strong aversion towards sea food, red meat of any kind and the crusts on sandwiches (weird, right?). Then again, I've grown accustomed to foods like olives and red peppers.

Fashion wise, I think my personal style has changed remarkably. In high school I didn't have much of a fashion sense, I remember wearing things like flared jeans and baggy t-shirts and not caring what I wore didn't phase me at all. I don't think it was until I was 17 that I started being more conscious of what I wore. I've definitely committed some fashion crimes during my time at university, but I'm definitely more picky about what I wear and I often have times when I look in  my closet and drawers and can't find a single thing to wear. 

As for my taste in boys, I think I've fallen all over the place in the past 6 or 7 years. Through high school I had a little thing for punk guys, I loved the black hair, the skinny jeans and the lip piercings, all of which I think were tied to my musical tastes. At this moment, I think I'm really picky. I haven't really noticed anyone that has piqued my interests; a guy that shares my love for beautiful film, who loves sarcasm as much as I do and who I'm actually interested in talking to for more than 5 minutes without any awkward silence.

Eeeps, I've gotten way off track than what I was initially going to post about. Here are a few pictures of the IKEA rooms that I'm loving right now. 

ps: How has your taste changed up until now and in what ways? I'm eager to hear!

All Delighted People

I recently came across this picture of some awesome decor that is actually in a dorm room. Crazy, right? Who knew that with a little thought and a trip to IKEA could personalize your room so much that you forget that you actually even live in residence at school. Now that I look back, I wish that I had put some more thought into decorating my dorm room when I was in my first year. I wish I had pictures to post on here, but my room was just a mess with paper, laundry and tacky posters and pictures. Yuck! Although my taste now has certainly changed, my student budget prevents me from fully executing my dream decor ideas :)

What do you think of this dorm room?

Ohh Boy// Mad Men

It was just tonight that I was directed to Banana Republic's new Mad Men inspired fall collection. Eeek, the pieces are to die for! Now for all us Mad Men fans, we can actually look the part! According to Fashionista, the collection was a collaboration between Mad Men's costume designer Janie Bryant and is scheduled to be released sometime in August. What do you think about the line? Here are a few of my favourites:

Pumped Up Kicks

Today was one of those days that absolutely rocked! I feel like I'm on such a high right now from things just falling into place today. I had a presentation for my Audience Research class and my group and I did really well, I'm so proud of us. After the presentation, my prof commented on how he liked an aspect of our presentation (which I was in charge of, eeek! :D). It's a little weird, but do you ever feel like an outfit helps make your day and boosts your confidence? I wore my new black peep toe wedges for my presentation and I felt on top of the world! It felt like when I was walking down the street, everyone took notice.  I wish I could wear those puppies everyday!

I also went for a good run today too. It may have only been a short run (2k), but I feel like my mind is so clear afterwards and it makes you feel like you can conquer anything. I guess this is what you can call a "runners high"? Hopefully this good day will transfer to tomorrow :)

Here's a pretty picture for you to fall in love with. The picture looks amazing blown up.

Newsprint Nails

I was browsing through Refinery29 when I found this awesome and unique tutorial for your nails. They're called Newsprint Nails and after I watched this video, I've been thinking about doing it. So a few hours ago I took out some newspaper, nail polish (both a colour coat and the top coat) and some Gin (hahaha, its part of the tutorial, I swear!). I am so thrilled with the result! I found it super easy to do as well. I had tried doing water marbling on my nails which turned out to be time consuming and a disaster to say the least. Take a look at my end result! 

ps: Did you notice that I put sudoku prints on my thumbs?

Music Monday// Blah Blah Blah

Nope, this isn't Ke$ha...shame on you for thinking I have terrible music taste! This weeks music feature is actually a really sick band from Chicago called Blah Blah Blah. Their music is best described as Brit Pop with a lot of depth and substance.  Check out their music video of "Why Am I The Only One Laughing" below and try to not get addicted! xo

Update: Download a free copy of "Why Am I The Only One Laughing" here. 

Summer Nails

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that I have a weakness for nail polish of any kind. Bright colours, pastels, glitter, nudes, you name it! The past couple of days I've been rocking "Sun Kissed" by Sally Hanson and I love the colour so much. I paired it with my new navy and white striped top from Zara. I loved the colour blocking combination so much that I had to snap a picture. 

Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise

I'm not sure if I would consider myself a tattoo girl. It's neat to see them on other people, especially if they're unique, but I find that I wouldn't be able to commit to something like that since my mind and taste changes all the time. That doesn't mean I don't like browsing pictures of some seriously cool tattoos. The wanderlust one would have to be my favourite! If you were to get a tattoo, what would you get?

Band Crush// Young the Giant

It's a rare occasion when iTunes genius recommends to me a band that I actually like. It's an even rarer occasion when I immediately fall in love with the album, download it and listen to it over and over again! Young the Giant is a band that hails from Irvine, California that creates electronic indie rock. 

Their music is perfect to include in a summer mix for a road trip or the beach. Their open session videos are amazing, I think they're better than the studio recorded versions. The open session versions of "Islands" and "Strings" are so beautiful and haunting. They give me chills!

Every Little Thing

I have a confession to make...I am in love with the hair accessories from Urban Outfitters! I'm guessing my recent love for hair accessories stemmed from me getting my hair cut the other day. It sounds really gross, but I went without having my hair cut for about a year and a half (eeps!) I think it was because my last haircut was when I got my bob and I've been afraid of the hairdresser's chair ever since! But ever since getting my hair cut, my hair feels so healthy! I keep running my fingers through my hair like a weirdo, hahaha. Aren't some of these pieces so adorable?

Images via Urban Outfitters

The Real World

I absolutely adore Refinery29 when it comes to fashion and beauty inspiration. I was looking through the website today and found this amazing beauty trick for those of us who want to experiment with colour but don't want to commit to it.  This trick is so easy! Just grab some coloured blush or eyeshadow and dip a brush in the powder and slick it across your strands (preferably near the ends of your locks to get that ombre effect).  After you're done with the powder, add a light coat of hair spray to keep in the colour for the day. So easy right? I want to try this immediately!

Music Monday// Ellie Goulding

I've been a little obsessed with Ellie Goulding for a while. Her music is a mix between pop and electronic and her hit song "Lights" is such a good tune to listen to. I dare you to not get addicted! The music video is pretty cool as well! Enjoy her song below.

Missed Connections

I always find it so funny when I stumble on something like this.  Just recently I found Sophie Blackall, an artist on Etsy who is inspired to make art pieces from the Missed Connections section on Craigslist. Enjoy a couple of her art pieces below. Check out her Etsy for more. Aren't some of these pieces so romantic? Swoon! 

The Naked and Famous

Hi everyone! I can't believe my blog has been on a hiatus for the past month-ish, I blame my super lame school schedule and the lovely weather! Luckily though, I get a few days off between semesters and I'm reveling in not having to do anything until Monday! I downloaded a few new songs to my playlist and this one really sticks out to me. It's such a good chill out song and the music video is very dreamy in a hipster-like way :)

This Is A Damn Cold City

...Not. It's actually grossly warm and humid. I swear, I need to relocate to somewhere cold like Russia or Iceland where I can comfortably wear cardigans, jeans and flats/boots all year round. Today is a classic example of how great I am at procrastination. I have to read a book by Tuesday for English class that I'm nowhere near finishing (yikes!). 

For some weird reason, I want to go to a live show/an open mic night and just listen to music and chill with a drink. Live music is always at least 10 times better than pre-recorded music.  I just wish Ottawa wasn't a city of secrets hiding all of the cool venues for live shows/open mics. Anyways, here's a cute hairstyle I want to take a stab at sometime soon. I think it's called a waterfall braid. Maybe today?

DIY // Bistro Chairs

This past weekend I decided that I wanted to switch things up with my Tarno bistro set from IKEA. I was kind of bored with the dull brown colour and wanted something more eye catching and bright for summer. So I walked on over to Home Hardware and looked over the paint colours for about 15 minutes before deciding on a minty blue colour. I was looking for a colour that matched Tiffany & Co. and I think I picked out the right one! I'm so happy with the end result and I can't wait to be able to hang out on my balcony in the warm weather!  The colour is called "Whisper" :) 

Summer Nails

So I'm pretty sure I have a nail polish addiction. Every time I walk into a store I glide over to the nail polish section and swoon over all of the adorable colours. The other day there was a sale on all of the Sally Hanson Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Colour and I picked up four bottles...eeep! Luckily after reading through a beauty article over at Glamour, I unknowingly picked out the hottest colours for spring and summer (bright blue, yellow and orange as well as a nude vanilla colour). Here are a few nail polish ideas that are going to keep me inspired throughout the warm months.

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty via Glamour Beauty

Tulip Festival

Yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to see the Tulip Festival in Ottawa for the first time. I've lived here for 4 years and I've never seen the beautiful tulips! They had the most amazing selection of tulips in the gardens by the waterfront and there were so many people there snapping pictures of all the colourful flowers. Take a peek at some of the pictures I grabbed while I was there.

These tulips remind me of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland!

Gorgeous houses like this one lined the area where all the tulips were. Dream house!

And lastly, there was this amazing street artist in the Byward Market working on this lovely drawing. It was so impressive! The market was bustling with visiting tourists.