Sunday 22 December 2013

Mini Haul | Blogmas Day 5


For those of you who don't know me well, I'm actually pretty bad at doing hauls. I always feel guilty for buying a lot of things, haha. So here is my mini haul from yesterday's downtown shopping adventure!

I'm so excited that I finally got to visit Lush! One thing I learned is that they have an excessive amount of employees there and it was slightly overwhelming, haha...

Sunny Side Bubble Bar
I hardly take baths and I don't think I've ever taken a bubble bath so I cannot wait to try out this bubble bar. The one my sister and I ended up choosing was the Sunny Side bar. It has a citrus scent that's super refreshing, not to mention the fact that it fills the tub with gold sparkles.

Dragon's Egg Bath Bomb
For my own bath bomb, I chose the Dragon's Egg (i think? i forgot to take the name down). It has a citrusy scent, which you can probably tell by now is my weakness... Apparently this bath bomb is suppose to explode with sound and colour which sounded too awesome to leave. And it has glitter. Again.

Golden Wonder Bath Bomb
My sister chose the Golden Wonder, which would have definitely been my second choice. Guess what it smells like? Citrus, surprise! There's also a 'surprise' that comes out when you put it in water, so that should be exciting... I'll have to try it next time!

Beanies
Now this is actually supposed to be a Christmas gift.... oops... My sister and I decided to buy each other beanies for Christmas. She had been searching for the Bad Hair Day beanie since the beginning of this year and we found it for a great price at Urban Behaviour. And right next to it was the Meow beanie and fate was just out of my hands haha...

I told you I wasn't good at hauls... but I still hope you enjoyed this short little post!

I'll see you tomorrow! Bye! xoxo





Saturday 21 December 2013

December Playlist | Blogmas Day 4

Today, I am completely pooped out from staying up until 4 am during my sleepover and proceeding to spend the rest of the day shopping for Christmas presents. I thought I'd do something super simple and just update everyone of my current favourite songs!


Miracles In December by Exo
This is my current absolute favourite song. I never used to listen to Chinese and Korean songs, but I decided to delve into the world of Exo this Tuesday. And I fell hard, haha. All thanks to my sister. Exo records their songs in both Korean and Chinese, but I find that this particular song sounds better in Chinese :)


All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey
The Christmas classic. You can't not sing along.


Everything Has Changed by Ed Sheeran & Taylor Swift
I absolutely love both Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, so this duet kills me every time I listen to it. Not to mention that the music video is so adorable that it hurts.


Baby Don't Cry by Exo
Another song by Exo. They're actually singing live in this version and the harmonization is beautiful. That's all I will say.


Caravan by Passenger
I have been obsessed with Passenger's Let Her Go and I finally obtained the time to find more of his music. 

Sorry for the short post, but it's been an exhausting day! I hope I was able to introduce some new music to you or find a fellow music lover!

Comment below and let me know your current favourite songs so I can give them a listen!

See you tomorrow! xx

Friday 20 December 2013

Christmas At My House | Blogmas Day 3


I absolutely love how our house looks during the holidays! It's always super warm, cozy and festive. Today, I'm actually hosting a super belated birthday party at my house so I only have the time to post photos of the various decorations around the house and in my room. Hope you enjoy and find some inspiration through these photos!

❄ THE FAMILY ROOM ❄















❄ THE DINING ROOM & HALLWAY ❄




❄ THE LIVING ROOM ❄





❄ THE BASEMENT ❄




❄ MY BEDROOM ❄






So there we have it, I'm actually quite proud of the way my house looks during the holidays! Though, I'm only responsible for the decorations in my room...

And yes, we have three Christmas trees up this year, haha!

Hope you enjoyed day three of blogmas! See you tomorrow :)

Thursday 19 December 2013

Honey Lemon Tea | Fighting Colds | Blogmas Day 2





For Day 2 of Blogmas, I am here to help you make the best of you relaxing holiday! With winter comes dry and cold air. This can often, if not always, cause sore throats and dry coughs. I cannot imagine anything worse than spending a much anticipated holiday suffering in bed.

Today, I'm going to share with you a natural remedy I found which soothes your throat and cough while thoroughly flushing your respiratory system (ooo fancy words) of the disgusting mucus and phlegm that pile up! Not to mention, it tastes amazing! You'll only need three common ingredients and 5 minutes!

So let's get started! xx

RECIPE


The first thing you need to do is get a mug and start boiling your water! For the sake of Blogmas, I chose my cute Rudolph mug given to me by Claudie for Secret Santa last year!


The next thing you need is a lemon. I would recommend rinsing it first! All you need to do is cut one slice and you can keep the rest wrapped up in the refrigerator for further use! Keep in mind, if you want to make more than a cup of tea, feel free to prepare more than one slice!

Lemon is what plays a major role in curing your congestion and coughs. The acidic juice helps penetrate the layer of phlegm that is stuck in your throat. It can also loosen up the muck that sticks to the walls of you throat which is usually the main cause for your irritation and itchiness!


Next is honey. I really don't have a specific amount of honey I like to put in, haha. If you're someone who doesn't mind the citrusy sourness of lemons, put less honey, but if you don't like sour drinks, put as much as you want! But keep in mind, honey is an important part to this drink so you'll definitely have to add some!


Lemon juice is highly acidic. For those of you who understand the pH scale, its a 2. For those who don't, this is one digit less corrosive than hydrochloric acid, as corrosive as vinegar and more corrosive than grapefruit. Acid goes from 1-7, the lower it is, the more acidic. Therefore, drinking this might cause some stomach irritation because your stomach already contains hydrochloric acid. Trust me, your stomach will not be happy if you eat acidic foods all day long. 

The acid can also irritate you throat, which is the exact opposite of what we want to happen! In order to avoid this, honey has a vary soothing affect on the throat which can protect the inner walls from any irritation that the lemon juice can cause. In all honesty, honey is also acidic, though very low. Therefore, it cannot neutralize the acid so keep in mind that you probably should not be chugging this drink all day long.


I like to add the honey in my mug before the water, but you can do whatever you want with that step, haha. All you have to do is add everything in and stir until it all blends together! And don't forget that it's probably scolding hot, so diving right in might not be wise unless you can withstand boiling water down your already sore throat...

My family will often make an entire teapot full of this tea during the seasons where everyone is slightly sniffly. I like to think that this is the reason I was able to present my 30 minute long English presentation during flu season... ;) I hope this post was able to help some of you!

Here's to a healthy New Year! :)
(so cheesy lol)




Wednesday 18 December 2013

Christmas Cracker Tag | Blogmas Day 1

I can't even begin to express how relaxed I feel right now. My intense amounts of work load are finally over so I'm planning on trying to do one post every day leading up to Christmas! It'll be my own mini Blogmas that's only one week long, haha.

So to start off, I am so excited that one of my real life best friends, Jessica, tagged me in the Christmas Cracker Tag! Head on over and check out her amazing blog!

I've seen so many of these Christmas tags floating around and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them to relax during stressful times. The holiday season always fills me with warmth and joy, so I can't wait to get started with this tag!

The rules are simple. Answer all 10 questions, add the Christmas Cracker tag logo anywhere on the post, tag as many people as you like and comment on their blogs to let them know!

So let's get started :)

❄ MY ANSWERS ❄

One: What’s on your Christmas list?
I really wanted a new phone this Christmas because some stupid students at my school stole my phone near the beginning of the year... I actually ended up getting a Nexus 5 in the mail a couple of days ago, and so far, I'm loving it! So, not much left on my list, haha.

Two: What’s on your Christmas Day agenda?
Usually, my family and I love to sleep in! We always eat a tiny breakfast before opening presents and then my sister and I like to make a brunch for the family! We tend to spend the rest of the day lazying around unless a friend or family decides to host a dinner... :)

Three: How much Christmas shopping have you done?
I haven't had the time to do much Christmas shopping yet since school starts to get hectic around this time. I've only managed to buy gifts for the Secret Santas that I'm participating in at school. My sister and I are planning to do all our shopping as soon as school lets out on Thursday!

Four: What’s been your biggest ever surprise gift?
I don't remember ever being super surprised by any gift, but one gift I still remember is the huge Harry Potter behind the scenes book my parents bought my sister and me for Christmas one year. Huge Potterhead here, haha...

Five: When do you usually put up your Christmas tree?
Our Christmas usually goes up right at the beginning of December. Then my mom likes to decorate a little bit throughout December so that by Christmas, our house looks amazing.

Six: Do you have a special outfit planned for Christmas Day?
My family and I actually bought matching red sweaters this year! We're going to be looking awesome.

Seven: Do you have any plans for Boxing Day?
My family and I usually go to a mall downtown, but I think this year we're going to one that's closer by because a bunch of new stores just opened this autumn!

Eight: When did you stop believing in Father Christmas?
I think I remember overhearing my parents tell my sister when I was 10? I still like to pretend he's real though ;)

Nine: What’s your favourite Christmas scent? (Candle/Perfume)
Definitely anything spicy! I usually cannot stand spicy scents, but during Christmas time, they remind me of gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate and get me in the festive spirit over all.

Ten: What do you love most about Christmas?
What I love about Christmas is that everyone in the family gets a holiday so we can literally spend an entire week together even if we're just being lazy at home!

❄ QUESTIONS ❄ 

One: What’s on your Christmas list?
Two: What’s on your Christmas Day agenda?

Three: How much Christmas shopping have you done?

Four: What’s been your biggest ever surprise gift?
Five: When do you usually put up your Christmas tree?
Six: Do you have a special outfit planned for Christmas Day?
Seven: Do you have any plans for Boxing Day?
Eight: When did you stop believing in Father Christmas?
Nine: What’s your favourite Christmas scent? (Candle/Perfume)
Ten: What do you love most about Christmas?

❄ I TAG... 

1. Emily
2. Tiffany
3. Jade
4. Barbs
5. You!

Wednesday 4 December 2013

❄ First Snow ❄

As soon as I noticed that it was snowing, I grabbed my camera and ran outside. These photos were taken about a week back, but I thought it would be a suitable December post! Though this wasn't our first 'official' snow, the others were too weak to stay. Trust me, when you've seen snow for your whole life, you can tell what kind a snow it will be just by looking at the size and shape of the snow flakes.

I took a couple of pictures, but they definitely do not do the actual scenery and justice. Either way, I hope you enjoy! Especially to those of you who have never (or hardly) seen snow!








I love how the weather waited until two days after my birthday to finally let the snow down on us. My biggest pet peeve is how Christmas seems to start before my birthday even passes! Now with the first snow and my birthday behind us, it really is the perfect timing to get into the holiday spirit!

I cannot wait to finally start decorating for the holidays! And all the cozy Christmas sweaters are definitely a plus as well!

What are you looking forward to in December?

I'll see you soon! xx