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 :)

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)

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!

❄ 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

HAUL | MY FIRST BLACK FRIDAY

 Being a Canadian, I've never been apart of the Black Friday hype. Until this year.

Actually, I have something to confess. Even this year, I didn't go shopping on Black Friday, since unlike American students, we don't have a day off in Canada. So this is essentially a haul my mom did for me, haha. Honestly, it wouldn't have made a difference if I went with her since I would have bought the exact same things. I'm officially in love with all my new purchases.

So without further ado, let's begin!

❄ OLD NAVY ❄

Yes. My family bought matching sweaters for Christmas this year. We are fabulous ;)

I actually really love this knitted sweater! I'm planning to wear this either by itself or with a white and gold detailed collared shirt.

❄ AMERICAN EAGLE ❄

I have officially jumped onto the animal sweater bandwagon. I seriously died from the cuteness of this crew neck sweater. I mean, it's a sequined, pink and shiny Bambi. Definitely planning to wear this shirt for the last day of school before break with a cute Santa hat!

I was devastated this year when I found out that my school had cancelled our clothing orders. I had been waiting for two years to buy our adorable and super comfy sweatpants after finally being of some seniority in the school.

Luckily, I now have these sweatpants! (Though the navy blue ones are going to my sister) They're super comfy and fleecy and have the perfect fit! I'll definitely be wearing the heck out of these this winter!

❄ TOMMY HILFIGER ❄

I don't usually shop at Tommy Hilfiger, but turns out, my mom knows how to find amazing things there! Like... another cardigan! Honestly, you can never have to many cardigans. This one is super soft and cozy. I also love how it's bright and perfect for the holiday season.

As you can see, this sweater is already permanently on me, haha. I am proud to announce that I now have two super mega awesome cozy and baggy sweaters in my wardrobe! This one is a creamy pastel yellow, which I find, tends to compliment golden skin tones. I love how it's cable knit down the middle so its nice and baggy, but the sleeves still have a snug fit.

❄ TARGET ❄

Another super exciting store that has officially opened in Canada! They were having great deals off their movies so why not just grab a little bit of everything? Surprisingly, the only movie I've watched in this pile is Les Mis, but I cannot wait to snuggle up and watch the rest of these in my newly renovated home theatre!

❄ HMV ❄

Hate me all you want, but I'm a Directioner. But believe me when I say that I am not an extreme Directioner, so there's no need for hating me or killing me over one of the guys. If you ask me for my favourite one, I'll probably explode from my inability to choose though, haha. I just really love listening to their upbeat songs when I need to get energized and their slower songs to relax and forget about all the things that stress me out.

Midnight Memories is amazing and I'm super impressed with pretty much everything on this album.

Speaking of Midnight Memories...

I'M GOING TO THE WHERE WE ARE TOUR!

I'll definitely be taking a bunch of photos there so there will probably be another Post-Concert Nostalgia post coming up in April, haha.

So that's it for my first ever Black Friday haul!

What was your proudest Black Friday purchase?

Let me know if you're interested in a Midnight Memories review!

I'll see you soon and happy December!!!