Spring Lookbook | #2014BloggerChallenge

Today is a day of many firsts for me. Not only is it my first ever Outfit of the Day post, but it is also the first time I've 'officially' shown my face on my blog! We're soon approaching my blog's first year anniversary, so it's about time I show my face right? 

Today's 2014 Blogger Challenge was to make a simple post of an outfit we would where in spring. Instead, I've taken the opportunity to create a mini lookbook. Somehow I always find myself over-achieving for these challenges haha :P Also, sorry for the awkward posing and such, you'll come to learn (if you haven't already) that I am a very awkward person in many situations...

OUTFIT #1

My first outfit is for the warm spring days where if it weren't for the melting snow around you, it would feel like summer. Though I still find myself sticking with monochrome clothes, I do like to add some colour when the weather gets warmer.

Shirt: Guess

Skirt: Walmart

Boots: Target

Bow: Handmade

I've recently loved wearing half my hair up. I always find that my scalp starts to hurt when I wear my hair in a high pony for an entire day, so this hairstyle is perfect for keeping my hair out of the way without a ponytail. I also have a slight obsession with bows... Let me know if you want a DIY post on how I made this bow!

A closer look on my boots from Target. These are my first pair of heeled ankle boots and I love them!

Cardigan: Forever XXI

It's normally pretty chilly in Canada during the springtime so I put on this oversized knit cardigan for the morning and evening when the temperature is still pretty low.

OUTFIT #2

Like I mentioned before, the weather here tends to be on the colder side. This outfit is much more realistic and suitable for spring in Canada.

Denim Shirt: American Eagle

Leggings: Uniqlo

Combat Boots: Globo Shoes

Jacket: Gap

These photos weren't originally going to be used for this post, so you'll have to excuse my craziness haha :P 

OUTFIT #3

Little bonus outfit idea from my older sister, Connie! For the day where the temperature outside was miraculously 23°C, this is what she chose to wear....

Oh, side note, this was part of the present I gave her for her birthday, just saying. ;)

Dress: H&M

So this is my very first outfit post coming to an end. I hope I was able to give you some ideas on how to revamp your wardrobe for spring!

I'll see you soon! x 

DIY: Lush Basket

It's always so refreshing to go on Lush hauls. Everything there is just so fun to smell and play around with. Unfortunately, we all probably have that problem where we bring home our new purchases and they suddenly end up all over the place and we never see them again. So today, I'm going to show you a cute way to store your Lush products until you have the time to use them.

Note: These photos have been on my computer since Christmas, hence the Christmas product from Lush, haha :P

STEP 1

Go out and purchase a small, decorative dish. You can find these for a super cheap price in a thrift store, or, like me, at an Ikea.

STEP 2

Get your hands on a pair of scissors and any piece of tissue paper that you think would match your dish. In my case, I went with a red paper with dark red festive designs for Christmas.

STEP 3

Measure out how much paper will be need to cover the bottom of your dish and, using your scissors, carefully cut it out. A tip would be to always cut out more than you need and adjust it from there.

STEP 4

Depending on the depth of your dish, you may have to use more paper, which does not have to be your tissue paper, to add some padding. This way, you'll be able to evenly distribute your products so they will all be visible.

STEP 5

Go ahead and arrange your Lush products, however you would like, into the dish.

And there we have it, your own basket to keep your new Lush hauls on display! You can keep this pretty much anywhere, from your bathroom counter top to the sides of your bathtub. It not only helps with the organization of all the products in your bathroom, but it also keeps your bathroom smelling amazing.

Hope you liked this easy little project and I'll see you in two days! xx

A Week in My Life: Camp Edition | #2014BloggerChallenge

I cut it pretty close with this post, but this time, I actually have a valid excuse. The challenge was to post a "week in my life" post and the post date just so happened to fall on a very exciting week for me! I decided to use this as an advantage and share with all of you my experience at our school's leadership camp!

Note: I took these pictures with my phone so you'll have to excuse me for the bad quality...

I have been to this camp four times now, and counting, and have been a leader two of those times. It's so much fun to take a bus for 2 hours to arrive at the camp, breathe in the fresh air and just destress for three days. It's also so interesting how you get to interact with students from all different social groups for a couple of days!

DAY 1: LEADERS ARRIVE

Day 1 started with just the leaders arriving. We used this as an advantage to walk through our entire program, including all the workshops. It was also the perfect opportunity to do some leader bonding so we could work together effectively the next day with the grade 10 campers.

Creepy path to girls' cabins...

Girls' cabins around a crescent

Closer look at the cabins.

Sun setting as we light the camp fire to rehearse camp songs for the next day.

Taking advantage of the small population of leaders to roast marshmallows.

 We then had a little movie night with our sleeping bags and pillows in the dining hall until about 1 am. We watched Footloose and a psychological thriller called Prisoners.

DAY 2: CAMPERS ARRIVE

Since we had already done the workshops, I got a little bored and did some doodling when the campers were repeating them... :P

After a busy day of workshops, we head to the camp fire.

Camp fire location slightly darker this time, we're always somehow behind schedule haha...

Walking to the dining hall for the dance after camp fire and changing.

DAY 3: WRAP UP AND DEPARTURE

Wore my rainboots the entire camp and ended up getting some wicked blisters :(

Had the opportunity to improvise some games as the campers circulated from game-to-game. My friend and I set up a Mafia game station in the Teachers' Cabin.

As usual, Leadership Camp was super fun and destressing. Unfortunately, now that it's over, it's time for me to start worrying about my physics test on Wednesday! I hope you enjoyed this post and I'll see you soon!

What interesting thing did you do this week?

❀ Monday Motivation ❀

Yet another Monday has arrived and I am, as usual, completely exhausted and lethargic. I haven't been good at coming out posts lately as I've found myself in quite a writer's block so I have decided to just share another one of my quotes from my quote book with all of you!

"The hardest battle you will ever fight is between who you are now and who you want to be."

If you live in the same environment as me, you'll understand when I say that it is not exactly the best time of the year right now. While others are thrilled over the arrival of spring, we're crying into the fresh snow, haha :P It's been a long school year as well, so close to summer, yet exams and summatives still stand in the way. Sometimes, there's just no motivation to do work and everything just seems pointless. What I love about this quote is that it makes you realize that it is not the boringness of school, or the exhaustingly long winter which stands in your way. Instead, you must realize that it's all about attitude. With my current situation, this is the view I took on this quote when I read it yesterday.

This week, I'm hoping for a fresh start. Yes, I woke up at 6:45 today and I am exhausted, but at the same time, it was my first time of the year seeing the sun up in the sky so early on into the day. I hope you'll all try with me as I appreciate the beauty of the new fallen snow and truly enjoy learning about atomic structures in chemistry (sarcasm, but I actually will try).

The photo I chose actually plays a huge role on this message and my goal. I took this during the New Year's firework display in my neighbourhood this year. New Year, new me right? Well, this time, it's a new week and a new attitude. So I hope you'll all join me in winning the battle against our negative views this week!

See you next time!

Note: I'm sorry if those of you from Bloglovin are reading this post later on into the week. I seem to be having problems with my feed updating immediately after I post. They always tend to come out a few days later... I'll try my best to fix it or wish it gets better by itself!

Strawberry & Lemon Squares | #2014BloggerChallenge

With my sister's birthday party, which just passed, and this 2014 Blogger Challenge prompt, it was almost the perfect incentive for me to do a little baking over the March Break, or Spring Break, however you like to call it. I found this recipe here and because of my weakness for anything berry or citrus flavoured, I had no choice but to try it out, haha :)

This recipe was surprisingly easy to make. I made it for the first time 2 hours before the party started, finished on time and got amazing feedback on the squares during dinner! If you're looking to bake something simple for your family or need to bring something to a party, this is the perfect dessert. The ingredients are extremely easy to find and the procedure itself is simple and does not take much time.

So let's get started!

INGREDIENTS.

1. 1 cup of all-purpose flour

2. 1/4 cup powdered (or icing) sugar

3. 1/2 cup butter (or margarine)

4. 1 lemon (You will need the lemon juice and peel)

5. 2 eggs

6. 3/4 cup granulated sugar

7. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

8. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

9. 5 fresh strawberries

10. (Forgot the picture oops) 1/3 cup strawberry jam

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Combine 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup powdered sugar together in a large container and stir until even.

3. Add the butter into the mixture and, using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Note: Being someone who bakes just for fun, I did not have a pastry blender. Instead, I just used a spoon and gradually combined the mixture myself. In my opinion, using margarine for this method would be easier if you always forget to soften your butter ahead of time like me.

4. Taking an ungreased 8x8x2-inch baking pan, firmly press the mixture into the bottom.

5. Pop your pan into the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.

6. In the mean time, take half of your lemon. You can squeeze out the juice over a cup using a fork like in the pictures above.

7. In a large container, combine 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, eggs, 2 tablespoons flour, baking soda and granulated sugar. Using an electric mixer, mix the contents on medium for 2 minutes.

7. With what is left over from the juiceless lemon half, use a grater to obtain 2 teaspoons of lemon peel. Add it to the mixture.

8. When you pan is out of the oven, pour your newly made mixture over the hot crust.

9. Put the pan back in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.

10. When your pan is almost ready to be taken out of the oven, take out a saucepan and put it over the stove. In the saucepan, combine the strawberry jam and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Stir the mixture over medium-low heat until it is melted.

11. After removing your pan from the oven and setting it onto a wire rack to cool off, wash your strawberries and cut the into quarters.

12. Apply an even spread of the jelly solution onto the squares and distribute the strawberry quarters evenly so each of your 20 squares will have one strawberry. Leave to cool completely.

Once it's been chilled for at least an hour, you can go ahead and cut out the bars!

This recipe honestly only required stirring and pouring mixtures into a pan, haha! It's so easy and convenient and doesn't take much time to prepare. Not to mention it was a big crowd pleaser, my sister's friends loved it so much that she didn't even end up getting one, haha :P Not a big deal though since it's so easy for me to make again!

There you have it, my first attempt at Strawberry & Lemon squares!

Leave a comment below if you also took this challenge or if you're going to try out this recipe! I'd love to see how it goes for all of you :)

That's it and I'll see you next time!

Music Obsessions | February 2014

I just felt like writing a short and sweet little post today so I hope you guys enjoy this!

 Since there's been a Facebook tag going around asking for everybody to list their favourite albums, it reminded me that it's been a while since I've shared my music taste with all of you!

So without further ado, here are the albums that I have been (and still am) obsessed with!

Back Again...

Night Visions by Imagine Dragons
It is definitely not a surprise that this album is making an appearance on this post. I'm just so extremely excited because my sister's friends bought her this album for her birthday and I completely flipped out. I've already blasted it in our house... I just love how the Imagine Dragons create so many different styles of music and they manage to make each song sound unique and amazing. If you somehow don't know who this band is, go check out their perfection.

Storms by Hedley
I've always been slightly in love with Hedley's music. Their lead singer's voice is super unique, making all their songs different from the normal pop-rock songs. Ever since hearing their album, Storms, I've been completely obsessed. They recently came out with a new album called Wild Life and amazed me yet again as they seem to always change their style of music, but have mastered it again. Their new album literally added a funky element to pop-rock, haha... I listen to it all the time, but I have to say that I still love Storms more!

New Loves...

Blisters by Adam Barnes

I was first introduced to Adam Barnes' music when I watched Zoella's Autumn Lookbook video. She used Adam Barnes' She Will Stay Beneath the Moon and I loved the song so much I went and found it on YouTube. Turns out, Adam Barnes is a YouTuber who only has a few thousand subscribers! He is so amazingly talented and if you need an idea on his style, he reminds me a lot of Ed Sheeran, only with a little more instrumentals, but still very acoustic... be sure to check out his channel! This is honestly my favourite album of the month!

Clarity by Zedd

I'm not usually a fan of electronic and dubstep music, but when Clarity and Stay the Night were released and became popular, I found myself constanting listening to the songs and trying to sing along. I finally committed and went onto YouTube to search up more of his music last month and Zedd's songs are definitely what I go to now for a little energy and pick-me-up!

In a Perfect World by Kodaline

My friend, Francesca, has recently taken me under her wings and has already introduced me to so many amazing musicians. I still remember in tech class a few weeks ago when she turned to me and said the words: "I have a band for you that I know you'll love."

I fell in love... :P

If you've never listened to Kodaline before, you definitely must go find one of their songs on YouTube! I would recommend All I Want, not only because the song is perfect, but because its two, yes two, music videos are so beautiful and touching!

Breath by Chen and Zhang Li Yin

This isn't really an album, but let's not worry about that... :P If you're a fan of EXO, then you'll probably already know about Chen's collab with Zhang Li Yin. When this song came out, I instantly fell in love with it, not to mention the beautiful and sad music video. It probably won't suit most of you guys who aren't exposed to the Asian culture, but to those that are, go give this song a listen! I have to say that it's probably my favourite song of the month! :)

So there we have my current favourite albums (and song)! I hope you enjoyed looking into my music taste again, and I'll be back soon with a 2014 Blogger Challenge post! :)

What are your favourite songs and albums at the moment? I'm always looking for new music so be sure to leave a comment below!