UPDATE ;-)

I have had a bit of a social life over the past 8 weeks but not much of one. It's hilarious looking at the few pictures I've taken over this time (I usually have tons of pictures sitting on my computer), but there is only 4 more weeks to go and I can start job hunting! And I'll be able to go to the gym on a regular basis!

First off - Halloween. Spent the evening with my wife, bumped into the boyfriend and then her and I left him and went back to being fabulous. The best part of our costumes is that I'm 10 inches shorter than her (I'm Batman).

Topshop opened up in Western Canada, apparently it's the biggest one outside of London which is weird. I've been to the one in Manhattan and ours seems smaller. The layout is different than most stores, it does seem like you are going through an odd maze of medium sized rooms. I like their clothes, they look like a better quality then most brands but I don't know, it's very trendy. It looks like a higher end version of Forever21, which just opened up in Downtown Vancouver as well, so I don't know how much I'll spend at Topshop. But it is fun to walk through. Right across the street from Topshop is my fave, HandM, and lucky me I walked in during their $15 sweater sale, 2nd year in a row that I've caught it!

I'm very proud of myself over these past few months, my school is located exactly one block from these shops. I'm trying my hardest to not over-consume as it's not only hard on the wallet but also hard on the environment. Yes I donate as much as I can but what's the point of buying more so the companies have to make more clothes. There are too many shopaholics on this planet and I'm going to distance myself a little bit more from it.

I've invented a new meal during this busy time - the effortless omelet. I don't get to eat dinner that often (evening classes) and it's hard for me to keep food in the house when half of my week is only spent sleeping there. I really miss dinner, I really do. Eggs keep a bit longer than other proteins but sauteing and preparing vegetables can take away precious moments sitting with the tv. Simply whip up some eggs in a bowl, add a few chopped veggies of choice to the raw egg, maybe a bit of cheese and any spices you may like, pour it into a heated mini frying pan and you'll have an omelet in under 5 minutes. If you put a lid over the pan, keep it on lower to medium heat the egg should cook almost through and then flipping it over is no problem. No folding or tucking required with this guy, it's a college boys dream come true!

If you slice the veggies a bit thinner you don't really notice that they aren't fried, they still get nice and warm and the cheese melts and even gets crispy in some spots.

Wow, I can't wait to be done school. Accomplishments include not shopping and easy omelets?!? Haha, at least my relationships with friends and loved ones aren't being affected, they've actually improved and have become even stronger.

Well then,

I just started my first full week of evening classes (right after work) and it's what I expected. I get home and have enough time to breath and get organised for the next day. Lists to help with my organisation will be my best friend until December 10th when I finish the course. So here is a lazy post to keep things going.

AAAAAaaaaaaand I just burnt my tongue while waiting for this picture to upload. That is the wife and I having a coffee before our flight over to Victoria for her sister's bachelorette. Then a quick shot of me reading Joel Stein's new book (had to tweet it to him and he got back to me, still a little starstruck). And finally downtown Victoria was closed off and it was a pedestrian madhouse party with lots of chalk and artwork.

I got to hangout with little Miss Myra for a bit and then it was party time. Lots of events, food and drink to keep us going all night, I didn't go to bed until 4 am and I have no idea how I've survived this week. The bride to be ended up hungover and tired from the drinks and volleyball and still had a smile on her face, job well done!

This is me today, trying to fit in some studying so I can catch up but this mini bottle of orange nail polish is really distracting me. Must keep control until I watch a movie tomorrow night! Also, I've come up with a new project for ladies only, I'm really hoping I'll have an hour to make it this weekend.

Bridesmaid dress done!

I've finished altering my bridesmaid dress!  I just have to finish up the inside stuff that no one will see, a few loose threads, etc. I have to send out a thank you to Suzannah from Adventures in Dressmaking.  Her posts have taught me how to get back on the sewing machine and to just fix the clothes you already have.  Here is the original post and here is the dress in it's original form :

While working on it, I couldn't see the changes that I made, but now looking back at the pictures it was like a tent on my body!  And here it is now.  I got my friend to take a quick picture before we ran off for more accessories, sorry for the bad lighting:

I shortened the dress by 2.5 inches and I brought in the 3 seams that it has.  It also has a side slit that will be lengthened a tiny bit more, time to show off the gams!  And here is one last shot that was sent to the bride and the other bridesmaids - my strike a pose.  I wasn't planning on posting it here but it has better lighting and really shows how cute the dress turned out! (mind the loose threads)

The wedding is less than a month away, no traditional (Canadian) Thanksgiving for me this year, but it's so exciting now that it's all coming together. 

Tonight is back to school for me, it's been a couple of years since I've taken a course and it's time to upgrade.  In 3 months I'll be ready to work administration in dental offices.  No more ordinary administration jobs for me, and no more competing with thousands of other girls with the same skills.  The next 3 months will have very few crafts, oh so sad, but I'll still have the rest of the winter months to get my fill of knitting and sewing!  So I'll be around, just not as much, as I also have to find a bit of time for a handsome guy I've been dating - who will also be super busy with his 3 month intense course.  He's lucky he's handsome, considerate and polite, or I'd be a goner ;-)

Air Fresheners

I love essential oils and I usually put them in those special candle holders with water. It's great, but the intense smell does go away. I've been scouring the thrift shops lately for the perfect oil burner and after going through a few (thankfully they are only $3 when used as apposed to $18 brand new) you end up realising how poor the designs are. I'm currently cleaning up oily water that has splattered on my desk *grumble*. While reading through Free People's site I saw that they had a DIY air freshener and I decided to give it a try! This way I get the long and softer, lingering effect of the oils without the constant watch over the candle, water level and little bits of splattered oil.

I grabbed my essential oils, some glass jars from the dollar store, baking soda and a glue stick. I used Lavender for under my bed to help me relax during my sleep and peppermint for my closet.

The jars are a bit smaller so I pretty much filled them up with baking soda and poured 10-12 drops of oil on top. I just shook the baking soda around a tiny bit to cover the oil and made sure that most of the oil stayed on the top. This way, when the oils lose their power I will just remove the top part of the baking soda and dispose of it, stir the remaining powder to freshen it up and then add more drops. I kept the safety seal that was included with the jars and punched holes in it with the pencil.  I then glued the safety seal to the top of  the jars.

And there are my air fresheners!  I didn't bother making them too fancy and cute as they won't really be seen.  I made these last week and wanted to test them before posting about them and while looking for something in my closet last night I did get a light lingering peppermint smell, SUCCESS!  I ended up realising that the glue to hold the seals down did nothing and that the holes were much too small, so I cut them larger to be the size of a pencil and I just used an elastic to keep the seal on (for the time being).  I live in an older, wood home that has it's old, wood home smell and I've been trying to figure out how to help keep it fresh during the winter months and I'm sure this will help. 

Chia Seeds!

I first tried Chia in the Holy Crap cereal.  I didn't notice a huge difference in my energy but after following Styleactivist on Instagram and seeing picture after picture of her preaching its amazing benefits, I decided to give it a full try.  It's amazing.  I'm a low energy, low metabolism type of gal, and even though I work out 4 days a week, bike commute to work and eat a very healthy diet, I get the yawns and need my down time (it's genetics, both of my parents don't have a lot of energy). 

They aren't that big at all, if anything they remind me of super teeny tiny pearls in bubble tea (they remind me of dinosaur eggs too).  They have no flavour but come with a bit of a crunch.  They only take a minute to soften and form a gel around them and you just drink 'em down.  I prefer them in my smoothie as it's already a thick drink.  It's been 3 weeks, I hardly yawn, don't need coffee (although I still drink it because it's awesome tasting), and my workouts are better than ever.  These little seeds are full of omegas and protein, all you need is a tablespoon a day, and hey, it's VEGAN!

Here is Style Activist's blog :-)

Death by Chocolate

Do you like chocolate, and coffee.  Then stay away from this:

It is the most AMAZING combination of chocolate and coffee that I've ever tasted.  Seriously robust.  I was secretly hoping that it would taste way too strong, like 3 cups of concentrated espresso. 

I don't know if I'm disappointed at how amazing it tastes, therefore I'll eat as much as I can get my hands on, or if I'm super happy at how amazing it tastes.  Self control will be very difficult over the next while.

Is this goodbye?

My parents are trying to sell their house and move from the Kootenays to the Okanagan.  There are so many positive points but the only negative is that I'll lose pretty much all ties to the area that I grew up in.  This may have been my last visit to that area with it's small towns, beautiful mountains, high altitude, clean air and few jobs ;-)  It was very sad to leave, felt like I wouldn't see my parents or dogs again which is so silly because I see them every 4 months.  So here are some memories of the town I'll never live in.

My mom and I went to the farmers market conveniently located a block from their house.  It was less than a block long and most of the product hasn't changed in the past decade but it was comforting to see, such as the old man in his Wrangler jeans selling the salad spoons and forks that he carves out of wood, I could have sworn I took a picture of him.  These cupcakes (whose company name is something I never even thought of getting) were amazing.  There were traditional cupcakes, some were gluten free and I picked up a pack of the sugar free chocolate and the vegan coconut lime.  And I LOVE the litte egg cartons to pack them.  Made it easy to transport them and they were really cute for serving.

Of course the puppies and I went on many walks in the bush.  It has been great spending quality time with them over the years, building a trust and respect with animals is such an amazing feeling.  Tasha, the smaller dog with the tanned face, and I grew even closer on this trip.  Poor puppy was abused before she came into our home and it's taken her years to trust people.  I'm so proud to have helped her accomplish so much and because of this I am her favorite person, she never leaves my side.  I've taught her to no longer start fights with unknown dogs and she even lets the odd person pet her on the trails.  I don't know if I'll ever connect with another dog the way I connect with her, there is so much loyalty, trust and love.  And now to find new trails to explore outside of a new city when my parents finally move!