Changes (Updated)

Hello there pals. As you may have noticed, I did a little maintenance on the old blog today. It got kind of confusing so anyone who was on here during that, you have my apologies. It was an impromptu decision which so far I'm feeling happy with. Do you like the new look? Mostly I'm digging the new header font. It's called Homemade Apple and it sounded just too delicious not too use! I also really like the see through post backround. This is the second time today that I've changed my backround. First, I put the flowers all front and center but it was feeling a little busy so I'm trying out a calmer theme. Let me know what you think. Seriously, I'd love some feedback on if you like it or hate it or what you would change/keep! TELL ME!

I've allowed for anonymous comments for those who are shy!

Anywho...Just thought I'd keep y'all filled in.

Have a wonderful day my pretties.

xoTaylor

Obsessing over: school supplies. I don't know if I'm just a weirdo or what but I have a sick obsession with school supplies. Oh how I love pencil cases and pens, notebooks and post-its.Planners are my absolute favourite. I love having a beautiful planner so much that I sometimes go through a few a school year because I'll find a new one that completely trumps my current one. Maybe it's the Type A in me but there's something so comforting about having your entire life fit perfectly into these little boxes where you can see exactly what needs to get done. There's also something completely stressful about seeing those looming deadlines but hey, that is life as a student. I'm currently lusting over a giant pack of sharpie pens in every colour. Writing my notes in orange or teal or even pink always seems to make it a little easier to stay awake in class.

Working on: some art journaling. I bought a Smash journal months ago and haven't really given it much attention. Last night I did a page and now I'm getting the urge to do more! It's so great to just sit down and do something completely for you. It's even better that I actually have time to do these things now that I'm only working 12 hours a week.

Thinking about: The Hunger Games. You probably don't know this about me yet but I am completely obsessed. I saw the first movie and immediately ran out and bought all three books, which I devoured at record speed. Allow me to geek out on you for a quick minute: Katniss is one of the best heroines ever. Yes I'm aware there are way better heroine's in the history of literature but as far as modern day badass ladies go, she's pretty up there. She's brave as hell, tough and generally just...awesome. She doesn't spend her day thinking about stupid boys or devote all of her time to worrying about the love triangle she has found herself in like other ladies of literature *cough* BELLA *cough*. She's not the least bit helpless and I just think that she's finally a female character who girls can look up to, not because of her looks or her ability to make men fall in love with her, but because of her bravery, strength and character. Geek out  is over now. (Ps the moral of that story was supposed to be that I bought it and plan to watch it tonight...I just got a little worked up there. My apologies).

Listening to: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I must admit that their album Here is not as good as Up From Below but I am warming up to it.

Wishing for: a wonderful long weekend! It's not actually a special weekend for me because I don't work Mondays or Fridays anyways but everyone else will get to play with me! I'm going to the beach on Saturday so I'm excited for that even though it will be slightly sad because it will be like saying one last goodbye to Summer for the year. Oh well, fall is near and that means new boots, leather jackets and giant wool sweaters.

Before I leave I must introduce you to the star of my picture, Clyde. He's my sister's dog and he is the best dog to ever walk the planet, seriously. He's so nice and gentle and he just likes to lay around and let you pet his belly. When my sister brings the two year olds over to her house to see him he just sits really nice while they stroke him with their tiny toddlers hands and sometimes he licks their little fingers and makes them giggle. Man he is just the best. We tell my sister that her and her husband are probably going to have an insane child because they just got too lucky with Clyde.

Enjoy your weekends my cyber surfing friends!

xoTaylor

Progress

 Knitting has come to be a serious obsession of mine. I love that I'm creating something that I'm going to be able to wear and enjoy. I love that when someone asks me where I got it I can tell them "I made this!" Lately I've spent a lot of time sitting around, knitting and catching up on episodes of The Newsroom. It's the perfect way to sit around and be lazy but still feel like you're doing something. I only have about two balls of yarn left and I'll be done! AHHH! I can't wait to wear my fabulous mustard coloured infinity scarf and even more so I can't wait to make SO many more colours. Even though my scarf is a bit wonky and has a few holes in it from dropping a stitch here and there I love it! So happy I took up this hobby. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to DIY! Can't wait to show you my scarf when it's all done!

Right now I'm sitting around sipping on hot water with lemon and watching the episode of Sex and the City where Carrie becomes a model and ends up as fashion roadkill. Oh how I love this show. It's 12:30 right now and I have to wake up at 5:15 tomorrow morning to go to my friends house at 6am to wish her off and give her the gift me and my other friend made for her (OH MAN I really think I'm going to just give up on trying to not use people's names on here! I don't know why I don't like using my friend's names...mostly because they don't know about this blog so I don't want to infringe on their privacy or anything but I'm very close to giving up....you're all probably pretty confused most days anyways haha). ANYWHO I'm hoping that besides a morning of crying that tomorrow will be full of workouts, knitting, television and reading.

xoTaylor

Weekend Update + More Birthday Deets

I've literally just come off of one of the best weekends ever. Friday night was my friend's going away party. My biggest regret is that I did not take a picture of what I looked like that night. Seriously. I did my hair and it was fabulous. I'll never like how I look that much again haha. Besides that it was such a goooood night of being around friends. Perfection. Saturday the boyfriend had a BBQ and the boys above are throwing him into the pool. Hooligans haha. Perfect Saturday afternoon. That evening a bunch of us went out for Indian food which I am now surprisingly obsessed with. Afterwards me and my two best friends went to the artwalk in our town. We live in a pretty small town where nothing ever happens but the downtown block is getting really cute lately. We have gotten a coffee shop, a vintage store and a record store all within the last year (or two). SO cute. Saturday night we had an art walk and they shut down the block and all of the shops put art on their walls and a band played in the middle of the street. It was so quaint and personal and just adorable. Afterwards we saw The Campaign. Not tooo shabby but not my favourite. Sunday was the boyfriend's Grandma's 75th so I spent the day at his house. At night my best friend came over and I taught her how to knit and we sat around laughing and watching chick flicks and at midnight we ate cheesecake for my birthday. I literally cannot think of a more wonderful weekend.

Here's what the remainder of my birthday looked like:

I wore this outfit for dinner with the family and the boyfriend surprised me with flowers when he came. Good feelings all around. I did eat WAYYY too much cake these last couple of days so now I have to go work it off tonight. Boo for that!

Hope everyone is feeling as wonderfully happy as me today.

Much love,
xoTaylor

Birthday Girl!

It's my birthday! The big two-one is finally here! So far it's been very wonderful! Last night my best friend came over and I taught her to knit and at midnight we shared some delicious cheesecake that she brought me. It was wonderful to say the least! This morning my mom and stepdad barged into my room when I was sleeping which I could not be the least bit mad about because I got something from MARC! I don't know if you know this but Marc Jacobs is my biggest obsession. The man can do no wrong. I got the most beautiful watch with a white face and white leather band. Obsessed. Below that is my gift from my two best friends. I'm wearing the sweater right now and it's the coziest thing I've ever experienced. They also gave me a Led Zeppelin, an Arctic Monkeys and an Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros record. Best gifts ever.

Well my friends my day has just begun so I'm going to run off and enjoy being legal in every country in the world. I'll be back tomorrow to share photos from my weekend which was probably the best weekend of my summer.

Much love.
xoTaylor

Gotta Get Down on Friday

Today has been a wonderfully lazy day at the office. It's a surprisingly good day so far. I say surprisingly because I did not have a fun wake up call this morning. I woke up at 7am and smiled because I still had 15 minutes of precious sleep left...or so I thought. The kitchen is right above my bedroom and for some reason my mom felt the need to walk around for those 15 minutes STRAIGHT. I silently fumed and then reluctantly got out of bed at 7:15. I was not a happy camper.

As far as the rest of my day, I'm the only one at work today so I've spent the day so far painting my nails and watching tv. The nail art was inspired by the polka dot nail art I posted in my Best of Pinterest post yesterday. I think I did a pretty fine job. I've been watching "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" on youtube today. Oh my gosh this is the craziest show ever. It's a spin off from "Toddlers in Tiaras" and focuses around the craziest little girl you'll ever see. If you've never heard of her just click here. (Prepare to cry laughing).

Well I'm done work early today so I only have about an hour left. Tonight is my friend's going away party. So excited.

Have a wonderfull weekend my little honey boo boos!

xoTaylor

Today is just one of those days where I just feel happy for no good reason. I'm not feeling too tired today, it's beautiful outside and it's almost the weekend. Tonight my mom is going to take me out for my favourite restaurant and I will be enjoying a delicious heaping bowl of Chicken Chow Mein! MMMM. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Later tonight my best friend is coming over and I'm going to teach her how to knit while we watch the Hunger Games. I can't really think of anything better.

I don't know if I've stressed this enough yet but I'm SO excited for the weekend. I just can't wait to see everyone and have fun and even get some relaxing in on Saturday and maybe some workout time.  Oh the possibilities. What I'm not excited for is Wednesday when I will have to say goodbye to my dear dear friend but let's not think about that right now. Another reason today is awesome is that fact that I got her jewelery in. Look:

So that's what today is looking like: happy! Hope yours is too!

xoTaylor

The Best of Pinterest

I'm a little Pinterest obsessed these days even if it does make me completely hate my apartment and all of my clothes. Such envy! It is nice though to look at beautiful things. Pinterest is such a great place for inspiration. Here's whats been inspiring me lately...

Pops of teal:

Fall Fashions:

Polka Dots:

So much I love. So little time.

If you want to follow me on Pinterest click here.

Hope you enjoyed the pretties I've been drooling over. Have a wonderful Thursday!

xoTaylor

Etsy Purchases

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I've been drooling over lots of etsy shops lately but never really had a need for anything until now. The phone case was for me. I've been mulling over buying it for a while but when I went on etsy and saw it again I couldn't resist. I mean, who doesn't need an Audrey phone case? My point exactly. My other two purchases were a bit less selfish. I mentioned in my last post that a very dear friend of mine is moving to British Columbia. This is CLEAR across the country from me. It's an almost 5 hour flight so I decided she needed a serious going away gift. I got her the necklace above and I got to pick out the stone. I picked out a sage green colour  and then put her initial "T" on the leaf. The earings are chrysanthemums and I picked these specifically because I know they are very near and dear to her. The main character in her favourite book as a kid was named Chrysanthemum and she's told me that one day she hopes to get one tattooed on her. Finally I think I am going to make her a mug using this method:

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You just write on it with a sharpie and then give it a good bake in the oven at 350 degrees. I'm obviously not going to write her some romantic love quote on it from Pride and Prejudice on it. I was thinking about writing a little rhyme I made up: Whether near or far, there's no need to fret...our best days haven't even happened yet. Yah like? I just hope her jewlery comes in the mail before she leaves Wednesday! I'm very excited to give her this gift! I just feel like it's perfect for her. Sometimes giving gifts is more fun than getting them...sometimes.

xoTaylor

Obsessing over: Blogging. I don't know if you've noticed but this is my third post today. I just want to post everything right now. You're supposed to make a blog that you would want to read and I really do love reading blogs that get frequently updated so I don't see too much of a problem with that. If you have any suggestions for other things you'd like to see from me though, feel free to let me know!!

Working on: knitting my infinity scarf. It's a beautiful mustard colour and I can't wait to finish it. Since this is my first time knitting it's a big wonky and I think I made it a bit too wide but I can't wait for it to be done and then I can work on my next project. I'm working on a progress post of my scarf for you guys so that should be up tomorrow!

Thinking about: fall and even winter. I feel like a bit of a traitor saying this during the summer time but I am beyond excited to wear tall leather boots and knee socks over jeans and my new scarf and to buy beautiful winter coats. Ahhhh

Listening to: Radiohead. I must tell you that I seriously believe Karma Police is one of the most beautiful songs ever. It makes me feel very sad to listen to it because it reminds me of times I've listened to it when I was feeling depressed but that's something I love about it. Music is probably one of the most amazing things. It can completely change my mood. Sometimes when I'm singing a sad song I get so caught up that I get a lump in my throat. This is one of those songs. I just love how if you really try you can completely feel what the artist was trying to convey to you. Case in point: music is rad.

Wishing for: this weekend to be amazing!! One of my best and oldest friends is moving to D.C next week. This is another moment when I get said lump in throat. I've known her since we were in the 5th grade. That's 10 years people! She's off to school so of course she'll come back for holidays and hopefully won't make that her forever home. I'll miss her so so much. Sunday the boyfriend's grandma is turning 75 so I'm VERY excited to see his whole family and just enjoy the party and EAT! MMMM.

Well I am off to write maybe (probably) another blog post for today. I hope I'm not overwhelming you but the creative juices are flowing today. Just enjoy it!

xoTaylor

Even More of Me on the Interwebz

I think you guys should know that I have a tumblr now. I made it at the beginning of this month. I think it's very pretty and that you should really check it out. It's http://sleeplessinhibitions.tumblr.com/. Feel free to follow me or just to look at all the pretty pictures or ask me really random anon questions (love it!)

Enjoy my ever growing web presence

xoTaylor

A Day Off

I found myself awoken at 7am yesterday on my day off. To me this is outrageous but to my sister it is socially acceptable to text a person at this time. Luckily her text included the offer of breakfast with her and the kids she nannies. I'm not one to turn down breakfast so of course I obliged. Afterwards we came back to my house to watch Monsters inc., swim in the pool and paint our nails. It was all very relaxing until I discovered that the infestation of fruit flies that I thought I had cleared from my apartment was not completely gone and had spread to the kitchen upstairs. It was hideous. These things procreate like it's nobody's business. I finally gave up on trying to fight them myself and just called an exterminator. So glad I can stop stressing out about how to get rid of them and just relax in my own home. If you ever find yourself with a fruit fly infestation I suggest you call someone in sooner than later. They are survivors, just like Beyonce but without any sort or redeeming qualities. I went out to dinner with the girls at night and then came home to enjoy the new episode of True Blood. By far, this was the busiest day off ever. Sheesh!

The best news of all is that the boyfriend gave me my birthday present early. Ray Bans!!! I'm in loooovveee. Now I just have to get through today and then my mom and stepdad are home from Italy tonight. I know, they went to Italy and didn't even take me!? I'm beyond jealous, since I have an insane obsession with Europe, but hopefully they will have brought me home lots of goodies!

Bye for now!
xoTaylor

Weekend Update

So I had quite the interesting weekend. Friday was pretty relaxed. I bought a new outfit (cute huh!?) and spent the night around a fire with a couple of Friends. Saturday I went over to the best friends house to begin my job of dog sitting. Let me just tell you, it was not what I expected. In my mind the weekend of dog sitting meant lazing around, watching tv and getting to relax. First of all, their internet was not working. I was seriously hoping to get some tumblr time in while I sat around. Instead I realized just how boring being house bound can be. I got a little bit of cabin fever and no amount of old seasons of Gossip Girl or Grey's Anatomy could cure me. The biggest problem was that the dog is the devil. Don't be fooled by it's adorable appearance, this dog is a little demon. It's incredibly hyper, it bites and is just an idiot. I brought it out of it's room a total of three times and all three times it peed on the rug. The most annoying part of this is the fact that I had taken it out each time before it came in the house! I banished it to it's room for the rest of the time. Saturday was the hardest because it kept eating grass and making itself sick which was both disgusting and annoying. Since it's a puppy I was literally taking it out every 30 minutes. It took me six tries to get through a movie. Also, I needed to wake up every three hours during the night to take it out and then at 7am to feed it. This job was so much harder than I expected. The worst part was that my best friend and her family didn't return home from Montreal last night until midnight at which point I had to drive home and then get some sleep before I had work this morning. I'm really not suprised that I slept through my alarm this weekend. It was just a tough weekend that I had expected to be relaxing.

Some good parts about this weekend: my friend lives in the country so I went for the most amazing jog yesterday. It was about 4K and the views were gorgeous and the breeze coming over the fields felt amazing. The boyfriend came to visit me a couple of times so I was very excited to see him since I was SO bored. Me and the pup went on a little walk of their property and took in some nice views. Finally, it felt nice to do a favour for a friend.

This week is going to be all about catching up on sleep!  This is my last week of full time before I go down to a day and half next week. I couldn't be any happier. Also, guess what...it's my birthday in 7 days :)

Goodbye pals.

xoTaylor

Seeing the World from a Different Angle

I feel as if I've just had an epiphane. So often I find myself sitting around focusing on the negative. I can have a wonderful day but I will only remember the small negatives and let them eat me up. Yesterday was one of the best days I've had in a long time. I spent it with my best friends and had so much fun but I found myself lingering on a comment I took negatively. This morning I was letting this comment eat me up inside until I remembered another moment of the day, a positive moment and then realized that the day was full of them! I let that one comment bring me down when I really don't even think it was meant that way. I think I hear something and all of a sudden find myself in a tailspin of negativity. I take something harmless that someone said and turn it into a personal attack on me. I know, it's crazy. I think now about yesterday and see so many wonderful moments. From now on, I am making it my mission to focus on the positive, give people the benefit of the doubt and reject any negative thoughts. If I really look at my life I can see how amazing it is. I am blessed in so many incredible ways. I live in a beautiful house, I have a family I love even though I'm pretty sure we are all a little bit insane, I am priviledged enough to be able to attend a great university and I won't even have very much debt when I'm done, I have an amazing boyfriend and friends I love and cherish so what's my problem? I don't have one and that's exactly my point. Life is grand and I need to remember that more often. Try seeing your life that way too, it has filled me with a lot of happiness.

xoTaylor

Life

Things have been pretty uneventful as of late. I've been hitting the gym, working and knitting. I've already used a whole ball of yarn. I'll have to grab more tonight to feed my obsession.

Tonight I have dinner with the girls and then tomorrow I'm going to Canada's Wonderland. It's a theme park and I'm so excited because 1) I LOVE rollercoasters and 2) I haven't been in at least 2 years. Hooray for days off!

xoTaylor

The Book Review: The Virgin Suicides

When I first posted that I was reading The Virgin Suicides someone commented and suggested that I tell you guys about it when I was done. Well, what a wonderful idea! So here I am, about a good month after I've finished it, giving you my thoughts.

The Virgin Suicides is set in a suburb of Michigan in the 1970s. The story is told from the point of view of the nieghbourhood boys who are obsessed with the five beautiful Lisbon sisters that live on their street. In the beginning of the book one of the sisters kills herself and over the course of a year we see their lives disinegrate leading up to their untimely demises. The great thing about the book is that we know right from the get go that the girls will kill themselves but we never know when, or how.

My favourite thing about the book is the authors portrayal of life in the suburbs. He takes the mundane everyday world and turns it into something beautiful. I loved reading about the sisters from the eyes of the neighbourhood boys. Their obsession made everything the girls did fascinating. It was also so interesting to read about the breakdown of the girls' lives. I think it's very interesting to show the way that when you are a child things look so shiny and new and as you grow older they begin to become tarnished by what we know.

My favourite character was Lux. In the movie she is played by Kristin Dunst and I think that's the best way to picture her. I thought she was such a cool and complex character that I almost found that I was obsessed with her too. I wish the author would have paid as much attention to developing the other sisters as well as he did with Lux.

While the book seemed a bit slow at times I think it was meant to be that way. It was relaxing, almost lazy at times, just the way life in the suburbs can be. I also love the idea that even though life in suburbia can seem so perfect from the outside, behind every door is a very complex story. I would recommend the book.

I also watched the movie and it seemed to follow the book pretty well. It wasn't able to capture the complexity of the book but movies never do. If anyone is interested in reading the Virgin Suicides it's by Jeffrey Euginides.

I bought a new book last night. It's called Never Let Me Go and it's by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's also been made into a movie. The film was made in 2010 and it stars Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Kiera Knightly. I've heard some good things about the novel and that movie has a seriously awesome cast so I can't wait to see what this book is all about and then graduate on to the movie.

So that my friends was the first installment of The Book Review. Hope you enjoyed and I hope you run out and read The Virgin Suicides! Or maybe just give me some suggestions for books to read later!

xoTaylor

Weekend Update

I don't know about you guys but this weekend flew by for me! Friday night was spent doing things around the apartment. I had some painting touch-ups to do on the doors and the bathroom and needed a few pictures hung so me and the boyfriend spent the evening listening to records and making the apartment look beautiful. Afterwards we had a little fire and huddled around its warmth until bed time.

Saturday was my cousins wedding. The picture above is what we wore! I thought I looked like a 1950's housewife which I obviously loved. It was so fun. We ate lots and enjoyed lots of free drinks and did a little bit of dancing (I can never get the boyfriend to dance much, so sad).

Yesterday was a wonderfully lazy, yet productive day. I woke up early and went to spin class where I proceeded to sweat my butt off. I came home and cleaned my apartment from top to bottom before the boyfriend took me out for a late lunch. The lunch turned into a stop at the craft store where I decided I wanted to take up knitting. I'm seriously obsessed. I'm making a mustard coloured infinity scarf right now. It's so cool to just make something from scratch. I'll share progress soon.

Hope everyone elses weekend was so wonderful that it didn't feel long enough.

xoTaylor

Rain...Again

It's raining again today with no end in sight. I myself am feeling a little gloomy today. I think I will go home from work today and crawl into bed and sleep the night away. Just one of those days my friends.

xoTaylor

Yesterday was Toasty

See what I did there? Cause it was hot AND because I ate french toast for dinner. Punny eh? I know. Anywho..yesterday was hawt! After work I met my sister and the kids she nannies at the water park. Everett obviously wasn't very into it, as you can see from the picture above, but the other 4 loved it and eventually he got into it.

It was an interesting evening last night. Every plan I had got cancelled and I was actually very happy about it. My sister was supposed to come over and workout with me but she was too tired, I was supposed to go see my best friends new pup but she had to work late and I was supposed to meet a friend for coffee but I pushed it to tonight due to exhaustion. Instead I took a nice little nap and ate french toast! MMMMM. Later on I went to the boyfriends for some Harry Potter. Only a couple movies left and then I'll stop talking about them.

I cannot believe how tired I've been considering the fact that I actually have MORE time on my hands. I blame it on the heat. It's cooled down a lot more today because it's rained ALL day and it's supposed to rain for the next few days. I'm actually happy because I just bought a new trench from Forever 21 and this gives me an excuse to pull out my Hunters and splash in some puddles. Always looking on the brightside :)

xoTaylor