Sunshine Blogger Award!

I've been a little bad in the sense that I was nominated for this quite a while back ago. Nonetheless, I am so overjoyed that I was chosen to be tagged in the Susnhine Blogger Award by the lovely Alia!

The rules to the Sushine Blogger Award:

1. Post 11 random facts about yourself.

2. Answer the 11 questions asked by the nominating blogger.

3. Nominate 11 bloggers you think bring sunshine into the world.

4. Come up with your own 11 questions to ask them!

Here we gooo!

❄ 11 facts ❄

1. My first concert was Justin Bieber's My World 2.0 tour. I actually didn't even like him that much back then either, haha. (In my opinion, Believe was his peak and now everything is just going downhill... not hating though, he gets enough of that already...)

2. I have a snow globe collection. So far, I have snow globes from places in the US, Canada, Asia and Europe.

3. When my family and I went on vacation to LA, the only celebrities we managed to spot were the Scooby Doo cast and Marley from Marley & Me. (Still pretty awesome though)

4. I don't really like big cities, but I've had a soft spot for Chicago since going their with my band in grade 9.

5. Other than Korean dramas, the only other show I watch is Downtown Abbey, though I really want to start Sherlock.

6. My favourite subject in school right now is probably physics, even though I'm definitely not the best.

7. I hate shopping. I get exhausted in one hour, haha.

8. I've had 4 pets so far. Three goldfish named Marlin, Nemo and Dory and a turtle named Little Green (it actually had a Chinese name, but this is its translation).

9. My favourite Disney movie is Tangled, but I want to rewatch a bunch of the Disney movies because my memories are kind of fuzzy with the rest of them.

10. I love stuffed animals.

11. Music is a huge part of my life.

❄ 11 answers ❄

1. What's your favourite movie?
I can't choose, so I'm listing a lot.
Harry Potter, Tangled, The Proposal and Forrest Gump.

2. Do you have a special talent?
I can pull a lot of weird faces?

3. What's your favourite colour?
Green!

4. How many languages do you speak?
I can speak and write fluently in three. English, Chinese and French.

5. If a fantasy world was real, which one would you want to live in?
Definitely Harry Potter. I think about it everyday.

6. What's your favourite animal?

I can't pick a favourite! Anything cute would work for me...

(but have you seen the pomsky?)

7. How would you describe your personal style?
Kind of indie and hipster(?) or cute and girly.

 

8. Do you have any pets?
I had pets, but no, not anymore.

9. What are some of your hobbies?
I love to read, play instruments, listen to music, blog, watch YouTube swim and dance.

10. Television or movies?
Television. The experience just lasts longer, you know?

11. Where were you born?

Born and raised in Canada woot! ;)

❄ 11 questions ❄

I thought I'd make the questions a little more fun and different this time so here we goooo :)

1. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

2. You're stuck as a character in a horror movie, which stereotypical character do you think you would be?

3. Which school book left the best impression with you?

4. Tell us a joke.

5. You can sing a duet with any artist in the world (dead or alive), who would you choose?

6. If you could be in any Disney story, which would you choose?

7. What is something really embarrassing you remember doing as a child?

8. What is your ultimate idea of a relaxation day?

9. If you could befriend any fictional character, who would it be?

10. What is a song you have on your phone that would be considered as 'embarrassing'?

11. What is a fashion trend that you will never understand?

❄ 11 nominees ❄

1. Amy
2. Stevie
3. Katie
4. Annie
5. Emily
6. Hannah
7. Natalie
8. Maddie
9. Lucy
10. Naomi
11. YOU! :)

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me! If you take on this tag, be sure to comment with the link below because I would love to learn more about you and see your answers to these super fun questions!

See you soon! xx

My Year in Instagram

Lately, I've found myself looking back quite a lot at old photos on my computer. This naturally brought back amazing memories for me to reminisce over and eventually, I found myself on my Instagram page. These are a few of my favourite photos on Instagram which I decided to share in a short post with you guys today!

What are your proudest photographs? I'd love for you to comment with a link or something so I could check it out!

Hope you enjoyed this little post! I'll see you next time! xx 

My Skincare Routine | #2014BloggerChallenge

You guessed it! This week's challenge is to share anything related to skincare! And I think you've already guessed that I decided to share my own skincare routine as well, haha...

I actually have a pretty simple skincare routine since I don't use make-up. Either way, I find my skincare routine very effective (when I stick to it :P) and hope it can help you guys find the perfect products for your skin!

♡ face ♡

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

This is the only product I use to wash my face. I use the skin cleanser once during my morning routine and once during my night routine. I love this cleanser because it's super soft on your skin and even though your skin is thoroughly clean after using it, it never feels overly dry like some products.

Tip: Using skin cleansers that really dry out your skin often cause your skin to generate even more oil to make up for the lack thereof.

Overall, I've been really pleased with the Cetaphil and Spectro brands that can both be found at Costco.

Neutrogena Moisture Oil-Free SPF 30

In the mornings, I follow up washing my face with an SPF moisturizer. It's super important to make sure that you have SPF in your day-time lotion. I can be far too lazy with actually using sunscreen, but having this in my daily routine helps a lot! I even use it in the winter because why not?

Complex 15 Daily Face Cream

I have to say that this is probably my all-time favourite face cream. I use this after washing my face at night. It doesn't have any SPF in it because I'm fairly certain that I won't be exposed to a whole lot of UV rays when I'm asleep.

What I love about this lotion is that it suits all types of skin tones. When applying this, it seems like it's on the watery side of lotions, but as soon as it contacts your skin, it lightens up. Not only can you almost feel it hydrating your skin, but it also tightens your skin, much like applying egg whites would.

Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Prescription

After trying many different acne treatments in the past, I finally chose to ask my doctor for a prescription. My case of acne definitely does not qualify to be the worst, but I always tend to get acne all over my forehead. The problem for me was that the swelling actually started to hurt. 

I would definitely recommend this to anyone suffering with acne. It can be so tempting to try out methods you find on the Internet, but without proper scientific backup, you never know what you could do with the skin. After applying this cream onto any acne spots that pop up for a couple of days in a row, I always notice a super positive result. My skin is definitely much better.

♡ body ♡

Bath & Body Works Shower Gel

I recently received tons of amazing products from Claudie for my birthday that are all perfect for this post! These two shower gels smell amazing so they've definitely become part of my daily routine. I'm especially in love with the Amber Blush scent!

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Butter

I actually just finished up with my mango scented body butter and loved it so I started using this, a gift from my sister, Connie, right away. It's super moisturizing and thick, yet doesn't leave a residue on your skin for too long. It's perfect for when your skin becomes chapped from the harsh winter air! Not to mention, if you're the kind of person who likes to shower in the morning, this scent is perfect to wake you up!

Bath & Body Works Beautiful Day Body Lotion

Finally! A product I bought for myself! There's nothing much to say about this one other than that it smells super fresh. I use this as an alternative to my body butter just to have fun with using different scents, haha...

The Body Shop Cranberry Joy

This is yet another birthday gift from Claudie :) Though I've heard mixed reactions over this scent, I actually like it a lot! It smells both sweet and slightly spicy at the same time. It's perfect to use in the winter when your hands dry up faster than you even thought was possible! I carry this around with me everywhere and it's definitely a life saver.

♡ lips ♡

The Body Shop Born Lippy Raspberry Lip Balm

Once again, yet another gift from my sister! This lip balm smells amazing and it always makes my lips super soft and moisturized. I usually use this at night before bed and in the morning. It's pretty impressive since applying this at night makes my lips considerably less chapped when I wake up in the morning!

EOS Mint Lip Balm

EOS lip balm is definitely an all time favourite of mine. Sounds weird, but the taste actually matches its smell, unlike some lip balms that end up invading your mouth with a weird plastic taste. This lip balm goes everywhere with me and I use it at least five times a day. It's definitely an essential!

Maybelline Baby Lips Pink Punch

This is more of a summer lip product than a winter one. I haven't been using it lately, but it's definitely beneficial to have around if you're in a region with a lot of sun. It contains SPF 15 in it which is great since it's actually possible to get sunburned on your lips after long days under the sun.

And there we have it! My daily skincare routine along with a few other favourite products! I hope I was able to do this challenge justice! Make sure to leave a comment below if you've also participated in the 2014 Blogger Challenge and I'll be sure to head on over and check out your post!

See you soon! xx

What are your skin essentials?

Foggy Morning Playlist

With the extremely cold winter we've experienced in North America so far, the freezing rain today brought in foggy clouds with it. It put me in the perfect mood to make a foggy day playlist full of both mystical (oo fancy) and warm songs! Most of these are also my current favourite songs so this a little like a "music favourites" post as well. Hope this playlist will be able to warm up your day!

Wake Me Up Ed Sheeran [x]

Monster Imagine Dragons [x]

How Long Will I Love You Ellie Golding [x]

Young And Beautiful Lana Del Rey [x]

Asleep The Smiths [x]

She Will Stay Beneath The Moon Adam Barnes [x]

I Can't Make You Love Me/Nick Of Time Bon Iver [x]

Safe And Sound Taylor Swift [x]

I See Fire Ed Sheeran [x]

Feels Like The End Mikky Ekko [x]

I Won't Give Up Jason Mraz [x]

Caravan Passenger [x]

Morning Song The Lumineers [x]

Sweet Disposition The Temper Trap [x]

Sense Tom Odell [x]

I'll see you soon with another 2014 Blogger Challenge post! :)

Canadian Hockey Night

There's nothing like a spontaneous adventure during break. On Thursday night, my sister and I arrived at the Canadian Tire Centre for the Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets game. My dad often brings home pairs of hockey tickets from work, but the games are almost always on school nights. 3 hours before the game, my dad called home letting us know we finally had tickets to a game that my sister and I could go to.

So let's take an adventure through Canadian culture shall we?

Though it is obviously easier to keep track of the game and players while watching the game on TV, I'm sure everyone can agree with me when I say that nothing compares to the aura of family and spirit at sports games.

One interesting thing my sister and I realized during the game was that we felt pretty old after not following hockey for two years. And we're only teenagers, haha! All the old players had been traded and replaced by new players. On the bright side, we still recognized some familiar faces.

Team Anderson and Karlsson. Just saying.

It just so happened that I ended up sitting next to one of the cutest and most enthusiastic kids in the stadium. Through his cheering and flag waving, he made it onto the jumbotron twice in a row. And you guessed it. There I, my beautifully awkward self, was on the jumbotron laughing my face off... Not the best moment of my life. 

I'm super proud to say that I have never yet been to a Senators game where we have  lost. Though this game was close, the Sens pulled through winning 4-3. This is definitely one of the highlights of my break. It's so nice to visit old traditions once in a while!

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into a Canadian life! As soon as I got the tickets, I knew I wanted to make a mini post out of this. Now that break is over, I won't be posting as frequently, but I loved having the time to write to you guys a few times every week!

What were the highlights of your winter break?

See you next time! xx

My New Years Inspiration | #2014BloggerChallenge

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I'm so excited to start off my first post of the year with the first ever 2014 Blogger Challenge prompt!

As you can probably already tell from the title and banner, the first challenge is to share inspirations and resolutions that can help everyone make the most out of 2014!

Personally, this year I'm hoping to work on my self regulation. Though I've gotten a lot better with procrastination and such, it's still an ever-existent problem in my everyday life. I'm hoping that I'll be able to work on my focus since I get distracted way too easily by the smallest things. I hope that being conscious of this resolution will help me destroy all my bad habits and have a more organized life in general! Let's hope for the best!

Now a little warm fuzzy to start the year off...

I found this quote while scrolling through Tumblr one day and immediately added it to my quote notebook.

While browsing through my many pages of quotes and trying to decide which one was suitable for this post, I kept flipping back to this quote. Here's why... (and excuse me as it gets deep)

Life is a mixture of the happiest, most squeal-worthy moments and the saddest, most heartbreaking events. By the end of the year, I'm sure all of you can look back and think the year was the best and worst you could have possibly wished for. With this quote, I hope I can help you open your eyes and realize that during anytime in your life, there's always going to be people around you who love you and care for you.  Even if they never explicitly tell you. The kind of people who will help you conquer 2014.

So with this little warm fuzzy, let's take on 2014 together!

What are your New Year's resolutions?

I cannot express how excited I am to see where this blog goes in 2014! Happy New Year everyone!