All things good

I am in love with this springs biggest colour trend, pastel. But I am also partial to neon so here are a few photos that bring out the best in both. If you are brave enough to use pastel as your new hair colour I love it!

Nude

I’m sure you’ve all been well aware of the importance of using nude in an outfit. I’m talking about any aspect; from shoes to nail polish to lipstick it all falls into the being so right category. It used to be that black and white were used as neutrals but more and more nude came into the picture and bam, so right!

My wish list this summer is to get a pair of nude sandals. I guess you could call them gladiator but just something that is comfortable, sturdy and goes with everything.

One of my favourite ways to adapt the nude trend is in nail polish. Right now I’m wearing a slightly grey polish that I consider in the nude family. I’d like to find a shade close to my skin so I blend in together. As hideous as that sounds its so pretty done the right way.

Things you should try:

Nude polish (this is a must)

Nude heels (in my opinion every woman should own a pair)

Nude lipstick (try to find a shade with a tiny bit of pink in it)

Nude accessories. Here I’d mostly be referring to the peach family but any pastel would work. I know it’s not your traditional nude but its so pretty.

All things mint

A bit of mint-spiration http://pinterest.com/atkinsla/mint/ 🙂

To my …self

To my 15 year old self:

Don’t let people tell you you can’t because you can, you can do anything (except fly). Although you think being popular is the most important thing, you have to focus on getting good grades and what you like to do, even if it’s not cool. Follow your dreams and reach for the stars. Unfortunately the boy you think you love will not be the last and will not be your true love. Don’t be disappointed because all of these experiences will make you into a special person. Work hard and save your money but remember to spend it too. If your friends ask you to go out, do it, there is plenty of time to sleep. Tell people you love them and appreciate them and smile often. Don’t be scared and love a lot.

To my 21 year old self:

Although you are focused on your future you don’t have to decide what you want to do now. Live in the moment but have the future in the back of your mind. Work hard, study a lot but make sure you go out as much as possible. Use “yes” instead of “no”. Try different trends especially if you are scared. Like what you do and if you don’t like it then you have the option to change it. You are perfect regardless of what anyone says. Eat cake and veggies and go to the gym. Don’t be scared to trust people, they may hurt you but you need to learn what you want and how you should be treated. Don’t search for true love, instead do everything else that you want and it will find you. Save your money and spend some too. Keep the friends you know are true as they will be there for you in the future. Never choose a boy over your friends.

To my 28 year old self:

Even though you may not think it, you are doing everything right. Remember you are only living life for you so do everything in your power to experience it. Your true love has found you, your friends are here to stay so focus on being happy and everything else will follow. Expect great things, always.

Xo …

Caramel Popcorn

I wanted to tell you about my new favourite treat (and when I say fav I mean out of this world goodness). You guys know those 100 cal packs of cookies and chips from Christie? The ones that never seem to be as good as the real thing. Ok well I have found one that I can’t believe is 100 cals.

I don’t like to count calories but if you are going to eat something sweet it’s nice to have it in the back of your head.

So this one is new and it is white fudge drizzle caramel popcorn. It’s so so so so soooooo good. Omg!

Give it a try 🙂

Random Fact

I learned this random fact from the lady at the grocery store who kept repeating it as I bought Advil for myself a few weeks ago. She said if you are feeling sick you should gargle with warm water, salt and lemon and it will go away. She swore by it and as I took my receipt and walked away she literally yelled don’t forget the lemon.

So last night I tried it. I wasn’t feeling sick but you know when your throat has a little something funny going on. It totally worked. It was gross but I feel totally normal today. Amazing grocery store lady!!

Try it out! But I hope you don’t need it!

This blog is about Valentines Day

In case you were confused, today is Valentines day. And, even if you don’t like the holiday, don’t care, are unhappy, are happy, love it, etc. etc. I think that on today of all days – tell someone you love them. Even if it is your dog or cat. Everyone deserves a little love today and every day.

I love you! ❤

Things to Try

I think that life is about trying new things and just going for it. It’s really easy to be standard and be set in your ways. And also saying you don’t like something as if you have tried it but you really haven’t. I’m sure we have all been there.

On this super health kick, I thought why not try a few new things so here is my list of things to try in life (especially if you think you won’t like them)

– sushi (it seems so trendy but I honestly did not want to try it – I hate seaweed but it’s actually really good)
– spaghetti squash (you won’t regret this)
– kale chips (amazing)
– staying in a hotel on your birthday
– a totally new hair colour
– wearing 4 inch heels for an entire night
– coloured denim (pair it with a neutral top – or pair it with another colour!)
– wearing more color in general (try yellow or purple when you are in a down mood)
– asking for something at work (they can always say no – it has gotten me further in my job now)
– taking a school course because it interests you
– buying that thing that you’ve been looking at for months ( just make sure you have saved the money then just do it stop waiting!!)
– visiting another area in your country (such as a Canadian traveling across Canada)
– consciously remembering to say please and thank you and looking people in the eye (one thing I have to work on)

My next try is a green smoothie!

A random list but it matches my random blog!

Focusing on health

So this is going to be a post related to health. I am currently training for a 1/2 marathon – and for those of you who don’t know, it’s 21km (which to me, is quite a lot) but since completing a 10km obstacle run in a pretty decent time last summer, I thought it was time to sign up for my next adventure.

Honestly, it’s hard to stay dedicated to training – it’s easy to sit in bed after work and watch tv, which is what I normally did when I came home. Sometimes (about 3 times a week) I would go to the gym and putter around, run a bit or go on the elliptical for like 20 minutes, lift a few weights and call it a workout.

Lately, I have to push myself to be better. It’s going to be too much of a strain to just say I will do it later – come race day I know i’ll be happy that I was dedicated.

Thanks to my personal trainer friend, I have a set schedule – this includes running and cross training 5 times a week – which can be intimidating. I have also significantly improved my eating which is making the most difference. Instead of having a bad snack at night (cookies, or crackers, something that does nothing for me) I now feel full enough to go to bed without having a snack. I have stuck to eating oatmeal in the am, having a snack like yogurt and fruit, salad for lunch and another snack like almonds in the afternoon. Dinner is usually veggies, a whole grain like brown rice and chicken or fish. I find that my mood has changed a lot, I am happier and I feel great. Since I can say I am not perfect, I have fallen off a few times, but then I really have to help push myself to get back on. It’s hard to focus on the end result when you are training which is the biggest hurdle.

I think being strong is the most important part of all of this diet stuff, healthy eating, life improvement, whatever. I think if you can have really strong will power you can accomplish anything.

It really stems from my role model LC who has a lot of great stuff on her website. She is so encouraging that it makes me want to be better. Waaaa what a baby I am!

Just find a way to integrate more veggies – they solve everything 🙂

Time to Chop

I do realize that over the years I have become quite attached to my long hair. It’s not super long anymore but it’s long enough that if I were to cut it I would notice a difference.

I’ve really wanted to cut it short for the past month or so which I think validates my idea to just go for it. I mean, it’ll grow back after a while.

Pros of cutting long hair:

– You get a totally new look

– It will grow back

– It will make it a heck of a lot healthier (I currently have ombre – it’s blonde enough that it’s noticeably damaged)

– How could it not be awesome

Cons of cutting long hair:

– It will take a while to grow back

– If I don’t like it I am stuck with it

– …That’s all I can think of!

Here is my current length and here is what I want to cut it to:

I’ve already decided to just go for it, but if you are ever going back and forth, just tell the hair dresser that you still want it long enough to put in a pony (nothing worse than going from pony to down – all – the – time)

But still keeping with the signature ombre (a la Miley)