As Autumn Falls | Photography From A Fall Fiesta

There is something pretty weird about seasons here in Canada, well at least in Ottawa. Sure, our autumns are absolutely stunning, but it seems as if it only lasts for a few weeks. Last Monday, we woke up to fresh snow just about everywhere, unlike the small drifts we have in November that melt away immediately. So needless to say, winter has already come upon us and I'm starting to feel a little nostalgic over our short-lived autumn season.

That being said, autumn is my absolute favourite season and here are some reasons why:

THE WEATHER. There's nothing more refreshing than stepping outside on an autumn day. Rather than it being hot and humid, or bitter cold, autumns seem to have that gentle cold breeze that cools your skin while the hot sun is still blazing above you. Essentially, it's sweater weather. Not to mention the amazingly sweet scent of fresh air that sticks to you for a while longer when you go indoors.

THE COLOURS. The mixtures of deep ruby red, gold, amber, yellow and even the occasional dullish brown all come together to make a beautiful warm sight for the eyes.

THE SCENTS. The perfect time to light all the musky and spicy candles. Pumpkin pies in the oven, apple cider boiling on the stove. That little dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.

THE FASHION. An excuse to wear that comfy over-sized sweater over a pair of leggings. The perfect season to rock a pair of knee socks. Being able to use a chunky thick infinity scarf not only as a fashion statement, but as a cushion to rest your head on during class as well? ;) Not to mention the artsy chic flannel shirts and combat boots.

THE MUSIC. How each song seems a little richer. How the sound carries just a little farther. And how each note and drum hit sounds just a little bit crisper in the cool air. When that perfect song comes up when you're walking home in the perfect weather, surrounded by the perfect scenery.

HIKING. Driving up the mountains through straight and winding roads framed by ancient trees and their beautiful leaves. Hiking to the summit where the air is fresh and the tree tops below you form a giant mosaic of autumnal colours.

Needless to say, autumn definitely brings out that warm and fuzzy feeling for me. The snow is starting to melt here in Ottawa and we're getting ready for another week above freezing point. However, I don't feel like it'll be the same as 'autumn' per say. At this point, the leaves on the ground will be sopping wet and crumbling apart, however I guess that's another thing I like about autumn.

THE LITTLE INFINITY. When autumn time is here, it's the best kind of forever. However, the little infinity makes me appreciate just a little bit more. I look forward to that one perfect autumn week every year, and cherish it when it arrives.

What makes your favourite season so amazing for you?

My Wishlist | #2014BloggerChallenge

At times  like this, I really am thankful for the 2014 Blogger Challenge. I have been suffering from a horrible case of writer's block for the past month, with plenty of posts drafted, but none of the near finished or worthy to be published. So, with this prompt of sharing what's on our wishlists, I thought I would try getting back into the blogging groove with a short post. Seeing as I worked and earned some money this summer, it's the perfect coincidence that I had actually created a mental wishlist prior to writing this post. It's pretty much the perfect motivation for me to save the money I earn for the chance to treat myself to a more 'luxurious' gift in the future.

So without further ado, here is a list of items I'm hoping (dreaming) to save up towards...

1. Record Player

2. Polaroid Camera

3. Frends Taylor Rose Gold Headphones

4. Drum Set

5. Acoustic Guitar

6. Film Camera

7. Portable Mic for Filming

Well, looking at the list I've created, it looks like my life revolves around music, photography and film... I feel like my wishlist should be more practical, but hey, my dreams have spoken. Here's to hoping that I'll be able to buy some of the items on the list, but of course, real life interrupts and money must be used for better purposes, haha.

What are some items on your wishlist?

Downtown at Dusk

It's been so long since I came out with my last blog post! Who knew that grade 12 would be so hectic from the start? Everything was just thrown right at me as soon as I walked into school on the first day! It's only been 3 weeks of school and I've already been to and back from a leadership camp which I had to organize. Needless to say, it's been a little crazy for me.

After arriving home from my school's leadership camp, however, I found that the two days in the middle of a forest had really relieved my stress and refueled me to take on the rest of the school year. This weekend, though I was frantically trying to catch up on school work, I was still pretty calm. My family and I even had the time to go out for a walk downtown and have a little dinner at one of our favourite restaurants, Arirang.

The whole walk reminded me so much of why autumn is my favourite season. It definitely helped take away my sadness over the fact that summer has truly come to an end. I love early autumn, when the leaves are only just starting to change colour, so you can still see a mixture of the fresh greens of summer along with the ambers of fall time. The best thing about autumn, however, is definitely the breath of fresh air. There's nothing better than being outside where the air is cooling down around you, but the sun is still warm on your skin. 

This mini little adventure really made me appreciate living in Ottawa and notice the quirks of this little city. Parliament Hill, for example, has an incredible view of the bridge that links two provinces together. The locks and the murky waters reflecting the autumn leaves give off such a beautiful and classy small town feel in the midst of downtown Ottawa. It's incredible how much I was able to discover from this short walk, even though I've lived here all my life!

So here's just a little short post! I'll really try to keep updating frequently, but please be patient with me, haha!

What I wore:

Arrow T-Shirt from Zara

M Skirt from H&M

Burgundy Knee Socks from Forever XXI

Denim Shirt from American Eagle

Black Chunky Shoes from Globo Shoes

What do you love about your city?

What's In My Backpack | Back To School

School is starting in less than 12 hours! I did some pretty last minute packing tonight, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to share with all of you what I keep in my school bag all year round.

1. A Binder

I keep 8 dividers in this binder and a big zip up pocket for the handouts teachers give out without holes punched in. I arrange the dividers in the order of my 6 classes. The two last dividers are always for miscellanious pieces of paper and lined paper.

2. Pencil Case

All my stationary is from Muji other than my eraser, white out, USB and pencil led.

3. Hand Saitizer

4. Hand Lotion

5. Tissues

6. Sunglasses

7. Glasses Case

8. Keys

9. Baby Lips (with SPF)

10. EOS Lip Balm

11. Comb

12. Wallet

13. Graphing Calculator

14. Scientific Calculator

14. Little Notebook

15. Phone

16. Earphones

17. Laptop

I also have a few bonus items especially for the last day of school, which I will be leaving in my locker. The first, of course, is a lock so know one steals any of my things. The second is labelled as my "Shtuff". In here, I keep some emergency items that I might need. These include hair elastics, bobby pins, gum and band aids.

So that's what I travel around with on a normal school day. I'm so excited to see what this year has in store! Senior year, it hasn't really sunken in yet... To all the students who are reading this blog post, I hope you all have an amazing school year! xx

What are your backpack essentials?

P.S. Since grade 12 is such a critical year in high school, I will be trying my best to constantly come out with posts, but unfortunately, I can't promise to have a consistent schedule, and random hiatuses will come and go...

My School Day Morning Routine | Back To School

The alarm sounds and you crawl out of bed, sleep deprived and getting ready to head out for another day of school. Don't we all love the sound of that? Nonetheless, there's no use in preventing the inevitable, so you go about with your morning routine mechanically and half asleep. So, I thought I would share my school day morning routine with all of you!

During the beginning of the school year, I take the bus to school. Not a yellow school bus or anything, no, I take the public transportation kind. Not to mention that my school is completely across the city from me (about a 1 to 1 1/2 hour bus ride). So, my morning starts at 7:15 when my dad wakes me up. 

I usually drag myself directly to the bathroom from my bed. The reason I do this is because I hate when I'm washing my face and the water gets onto my outfit of the day, so it's much easier to risk getting my pajamas wet instead. I usually start off with brushing my teeth. The specific toothpaste I use changes all the time, but my family and I usually stick to using Crest toothpastes. After brushing my teeth, I use THEFACESHOP's pore brush to apply the Cetaphil face wash all over my face, using a circular scrubbing motion. I then wash it off and apply my Aveeno SPF 30 moisturizer, and if I'm especially tired and have very prominent dark circles, I'll follow up with applying the Maybelline concealer in my under eye area.

That's usually all I do in the washroom. I then return to my room and find the clothes I'll be wearing. Sometimes this takes a very short amount of time if I was feeling very efficient the night before, and already laid out the clothes. Otherwise, being indecisive, it takes me forever to pick out my outfit. Side note: Here are some outfits I picked out for the first week of school.

Hopefully, after getting dressed, I can just pick up my bag and head downstairs, but most of the time, I haven't packed my bag the night before. Even if I have, I tend to pull my agenda out every morning to double check that I have everything I need for the day in my bag.

All that's left before heading out the door is to eat breakfast. I'm a pretty lucky person in the sense that my dad always wakes up earlier than me, so breakfast is usually on the table by the time I get downstairs, but I'd love to try and make some of the breakfasts I posted on this post myself this year. Breakfast is usually pretty rushed for me, and then I'm out the door by 7:50.

So there's my morning routine during the school year! Once again, apologies for missing a day again, I completely forgot that my entire Saturday was booked full with events, leaving me with no time to write out a blog post. Only two more to go, and one day left before school starts!

What's your school day morning routine?