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

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?

Cosmic Love

It hasn't quite seeped in yet that it's the end of the school year and people are off for the summer. I'm really excited for the warmer and sunnier weather (it's been so blah lately!). For the summer I really want to make my balcony the go to place for dinners and drinks with twinkly lights and comfortable and chic cushions. I really like this idea for lighting that I stumbled on recently.  I have a ball of hemp that I got a few years ago because I was in this phase of making hemp bracelets and stuff, but this would be amazing to make for a balcony during the summer. It's cheap too! There will be many, many more posts about balcony inspiration coming up in the next little while!

Transatlanticism

Did any of you know that H&M has a home collection? I didn't! I think it varies by location though, so I don't think I can access it from my area. I'm crossing my fingers that H&M online will come to Canada soon! Aren't these photos absolutely gorgeous? I love the first pictures to bits! It makes me so excited for summer; the warm breezes, sunny skies, cold drinks, bare feet! What's your favourite part about summer?

♥

  

Holding On

I've been kind of absent from the blog lately as I've been trying to get some school related issues out of the way and taken care of. For some reason, my school doesn't plan the courses they offer very well and doesn't accommodate very well to the mass number of students in my faculty, which has resulted in my trying to get into the right classes last minute to fill up the requirements for my program. 

Long story short, I wasn't able to get into a mandatory class I need to graduate, which means I'll have to stay an extra semester in the fall. I'm not happy about it, but I suppose it gives me time to think about my options more (while also digging me deeper into debt and making me slowly go insane). I'm trying to stay positive, because everything happens for a reason, right? Hopefully something great and amazing will come out of this.

In other news, the weather is insane. -28 degrees tonight! Here's a little something to warm you up.

Possibility

This week has been a scorcher in terms of the weather, so hot and humid. It's almost unbelievable that tomorrow will be September. September. I'll be moving back to Ottawa on Saturday morning and will start packing all of the things I've accumulated over the summer back into the car on my four hour journey back to Ottawa. A few days ago, when the weather wasn't so sticky, I went for a little walk outside to clear my head and get some photos of the beautiful scenery near my house.

I don't know why, but moving back and forth seems to stress me out a bit. Maybe because I'm not that into "change" or because I'm uncertain of what will happen once I pack my bags, but it sometimes has this unusual effect on me. I'm excited to start my final year and see all of my lovely friends, so this feeling will shake off once I'm all settled, it always does. Anyway, here are a few pictures that I took that I think are pretty.

It's Not the Things You Say

I can't believe that summer is coming to an end in a few short weeks. It definitely went by ridiculously fast, but I'm not complaining because I'm happy to see the humid and hot weather be replaced by the cooler air and leafy winds.  This past week was spent cottaging with friends and having a fabulous time.  Everything from boat rides, swimming, board games, reading and sunning.  The perfect way to cap off summer. Here are a few pictures from a great week:

Home From Away

Last week I went on vacation to Prince Edward Island and got to experience the beautiful beaches, red dirt, delicious potatoes and the picturesque sunsets. My family and I ended up driving to both tips of the island collecting sea shells, rocks and sand to make sand jars for DIY souvenirs, which I got the idea of while seeing one at one of the gift shops we visited. 

Prince Edward Island is the perfect place to own a summer cottage and I was really inspired by the bright and beachy feel that a lot of the homes have. I've always seen myself living in a large city, but after visiting PEI, I could imagine myself living in a cottage home. Below, I've included a compilation of pictures I took during my trip. 

A Lighthouse in Cavendish

Deep Sea Fishing Boats outside of Cavendish

A beautiful farmhouse overlooking the ocean

The road to our cottage for the week

East Point where the two tides meet and erode the dirt

North Cape Lighthouse

A gorgeous barn located in Green Gables in Cavendish. I love the cedar siding on it.

Me on the shore of North Cape. You can kind of see the wind farm in the background

Probably one of my favourite photos of my trip. The tide was out and there were little creatures along the shore like crabs and jellyfish. I'm back to regular blogging now that I took the time to unpack and relax. Tomorrow I have another post lined up about the clothes I bought and the eclectic souvenirs that will look great in my apartment.

DIY: Lanterns

Every now and then I like to visit Design*Sponge to browse room and decorating ideas. As I was reading through posts, I came across a cute DIY project that would be perfect to tackle during the spring and summer months. How cute would these coffee can lanterns look on a patio or deck looking out to a backyard? These lanterns look very eclectic and Moroccan, and can easily be styled according to one's personal taste. They would also look amazing as a table centrepiece. Head over to Design*Sponge to get the instructions. I will definitely be making a few of these lanterns pretty soon. 

Photo: Design*Sponge