Weekend Update

*From our attempt to go to the beach on Sunday but it was too cold! Boo*

Could this weekend have gone by any quicker? It feels like I was just sitting at my desk on Friday afternoon and yet, here I am again.

This weekend was exhausting because I went to a bachelorette party on Saturday. We traveled an hour and a half on Saturday morning to Grand Bend. 15 of us checked into a hotel and got ready to have a wild night. We started drinking after lunch, played lots of games, ate lots of snacks and eventually prettied ourselves up enough to go out for dinner and then to the bar. I feel as if I've been beat up. I don't think I can even handle drinking anymore now that I never do it. I was super hung over all of yesterday and I'm covered in cuts and blisters and sore spots. What did I get myself into? It was fun though! I just wish I didn't have two massive blisters on my big toes. This is what I get for trying to be fancy and wear some fabulous but not so comfy shoes. Oh well.

Today I'm back at the office doing what I do best: staring at a computer screen, chugging coffee and wishing I was in bed. I have a lot of work to do for my internship right now. We're working on getting through these training videos and they take forever. I wish I could learn through osmosis or something!

Anyways, I must get back to the videos, even though I don't want to.

Have a happy Monday!

xoTaylor

Secret of the Week

Isn't it funny how we usually remember the past as so much better than it was?

xoTaylor

Worker Bee

I feel like my entire life is spent at work lately but I can't really complain because I love money and I also get to wear cute outfits like the one above. These are the things that you appreciate as a grown up I guess.

Yesterday I went to Toronto to meet up with Shauna. She is a copywriter at an advertising agency and they wanted to interview me for a video they were doing about the impact of a campaign they did. Check out surrenderyoursay.com to see their amazing campaign! I got to see their amazing downtown office and meet all of her co-workers. Shauna is such a grown up, it actually blows my mind. I feel like a baby when I see her with a "real" job in a field that she's passionate about. She has her own apartment and she gets to work in an amazing building downtown with a great view. I've always dreamed of an office where you look outside and get to see the city buzzing all around you. I sure am proud of that girl!

After Shauna got a little work done while I sat around asking her questions and spinning around in an office chair (I am so not a grown up yet) we went to see a movie. Her friend Rachel came with us too. We saw Only God Forgives (not my cup of tea). After we ate burritos outside on the patio of a busy street and talked and laughed. It was pretty awesome. I am dying to get my butt living in the city too! We need to find an apartment NOW. I'm too excited!

Today I've been super busy at the office. I feel like time has been flying by. I get to leave early today too because I have to drop off some paperwork to be mailed (woot). I have errands to run because tomorrow I'm going to Wasaga for Tessa's sisters bachelorette party! I'm so excited. I've known Tessa for actually half of my life now so seeing Taryn get married is kind of like seeing a sister get married. Should be fun!

Anyways I must be back to work!

Have a happy Friday y'all!

xoTaylor

Finishing a book is like saying goodbye to an old friend

You can really tell that you are mourning the end of a book when you find yourself making a list of 24 books to read...

I have always loved to read. I'm very proud of my love for reading. I cringe when people tell me "I never read" or "I don't like to read." Gosh, there's nothing better than getting obsessed with a book! I love how you need to carry it around with you everywhere just in case you get a chance to sneak in a page or two. I love how you see the world from the narrators point of view for the entire time you're reading it. It's like you have integrated someone else into your personality. It's so much better than watching a movie because you get to understand the characters so much better. I hope that when I have kids that they will love reading as much as I do, I sure as hell am going to try and make them!

Prior to making my very exciting list of future reads I finished Girl, Interrupted. I have loved the movie for quiet some time but I wanted to know the true story and I wanted to see exactly what Susanna Kaysen was feeling. It was a great read. I finished it in just a few days.

After I finished the book I felt like I had lost a friend. I needed something new to keep my company. Luckily one of my favourite blogs The Dainty Squid posted a new What I've been reading... post. She has great taste in books. We share a favourite author (Chuck Palahniuk) and her "odd" interests (such as books about morticians, crime and the sex trade) are topics I'm super interested in. I went through all of her past book posts and then looked on Amazon at other suggested reads. I came out of the day with a giant list of books to read.

I went to Chapters right after work and got Spook and The Safety of Objects. Sadly most of my top picks weren't available at Chapters so for my next picks I'll have to go the Amazon route. I must say that I'm feeling pretty mature over here because the last two books that I read were biographies and I'm currently reading Spook, which is non-fiction. Did I just grow up?

Got any book suggestions for me? I'm always up to add more to my list!

xoTaylor

Female Empowerment

Working for a woman's magazine that is focused on working women, or "alpha-females" as I commonly hear thrown around, I have found myself hypersensitive to women's issues these days. I often joke to my friends "Haven't you heard? I'm a feminist now." The truth is that as of late I've really found myself super interested in the stories of strong women. Men, you're wonderfully inspiring too! But I think women have a different set of obstacle to overcome than men do and those are obstacles that I can relate to. When I hear from a woman who is strong, inspiring and unapologetically herself, I can't help but feel a lump in my throat. Sometimes inspiration can make you cry, in the best of ways.

In my search for inspirations I came across this show:

Amanda de Cadenet interviews women on every topic from sex, to love, to health, to overcoming struggles, to becoming successful. My favourite thing about the show is that it shows that no matter what you want in this life there is no shame in it. If you want to have babies and get married, DO IT! If you don't, DON'T! If you love sex, success, plastic surgery, aging gracefully...anything, we can love it. I think we can get so distracted by what's expected of us and follow that without considering our own feelings. At the same time, I think we can feel shame for wanting things that we feel like society has prescribed for us. If we look deep down and know that what we want is what we want then that is the path we should take.

I've spent hours watching this show now. I'm obsessed. If you want a good dose of inspiration then give it a watch. It's probably one of the best things I've ever watched. There have been shows in my life that I have been obsessed with but none that could really benefit me in such a great way.

Give it a watch! Here's episode one! I also recommend the interviews with Dianne Von Furstenburg (gosh is she amazing), Miley Cyrus (surprisingly self-aware and mature) and Sarah Silverman (she has great things to say about women uplifting each other and in another episode delves into her depression).

GIRL POWAH.

xoTaylor

Weekend Warrior

Another weekend has come and gone, another Monday is here to slap us in the face (at least that's how I tend to feel when the alarm clock goes off on Monday mornings!)

This weekend felt wonderfully jam packed, I ate too much ice cream and got in tons of time with the people I loved. It was pretty great.

Friday night I spent the evening hanging out with Jordan. We went out for ice cream at midnight and watched Harry Potter. I could probably spend every night that way.

Saturday I woke up early and headed to the trailer with my sister, baby Jack and Clyde the dog (some of my very favourite people/one favourite pup). It was nice to spend lots of time with my big sister. My mom and David were at the trailer waiting for us and we all spent the afternoon talking and spending time outside. I read in the sun and chatted with my mom and sister while knitting. It was pretty wonderful. My sister, Jack,Clyde and I left after dinner and after I got home I immediately got ready to go out for the night. One of my friends had people over and we all hung out playing drinking games and sitting outside. It was pretty nice.

Yesterday Jordan and I woke up (after sleeping in...so nice!) and headed to Paris, ON. Jordan wanted to go to a restaurant that he had eaten at once while he was working up there. We took the beautiful country drive only to find out that the restaurant he wanted to go to was closed on Sundays. Bummer. We found a nice pub in the cute little downtown area and chatted over deliciously greasy food. Since yesterday was National Ice Cream Day I had to get us some. We walked to a cute shop and enjoyed our ice cream on the drive home. When we got back into Cambridge we went to see The Conjuring. Probably the scariest movie ever. If you like scary movies then you need to go see it! At night I made up for all of my weekend ice cream indulgences by going on a run with Erika and Tessa. After the run we snacked on fruit and watched the Kardashians together. It was a good end to a wonderful weekend.

Today starts a new week and I feel mighty sleepy. I wish I could just curl up an take a nap. Too bad that today I have to:

- Intern until 2pm
- Work until 6
- Maybe go shopping for a new book? (I feel a little bit lost right now since I finished my book last night)
- Watch yesterdays episode of True Blood (I can't believe I forgot to record it last night!)
- Drink giant cups of coffee
- Knit and knit and knit and knit

Well kids, hope your Monday is going smoothly. I'm off to write for my internship.

xoTaylor

Secret of the Week

I just finished reading Girl, Interrupted last night so this secret seems fitting.

xoTaylor

Adult Life (Kind of...)

*Just another day spent photoboothing in between office work...even when I'm doing adult things I can't help but let out the teenager in me (she'll never die)*

Is it Thursday already? Sheesh this week has seemed to fly by, not that I'm complaining. I'm ready for the weekend! This weekend I'm going to spent Saturday at the trailer with my family and hopefully get some fun time in with friends too. Why must the weekends feel so short? It hasn't even started yet and I still feel like it won't be long enough. C'est la vie.

So...funny story: 

This morning I got paid and it was an amazing paycheque because I've worked full time for the past two weeks. It was amazing to look at my bank account and see double what I'm used to. Unfortunately that money was promised off before I even got it. I went to move $500 to my Toronto savings and accidentally put it on my visa! I couldn't even believe it. If any of you know about visas then you'll know that this money is not coming back. The good this is that my visa has finally been paid off. (Fun little fact about me: Jordan has been giving me so much crap lately because I've been paying $100 a month for a while trying to whittle it down but actually paying so much more in interest charges and making it take even longer. I can't help it, I'm just one of those people that visa probably loves because they make so much money on me!) Well, now my visa has been paid off (which I guess is a good thing overall) and I still have a decent chunk to put in my savings. The funniest thing is that the most responsible thing that I've done lately was on accident. Sounds a lot like me!

So here's to pays that are already gone! I guess that's what being an adult is all about.

Happy Thursday

xoTaylor

I bought it!

The True Blood soundtrack on vinyl! So excited!

It all started with boredly browsing urban outfitters.com looking for a red blazer in the sale section. I found one and then realized I still needed another 20 dollars to get free shipping. Guess what costs 20 dollars? THE TRUE BLOOD SOUNDTRACK ON VINYL! It's gonna ruuulleee.

Does anyone watch? Wasn't this weeks episode so intense? I'm dying to see what happens next!

xoTaylor

Don't you want to win something from Victoria's Secret?

I know you do!

Besides winning this super sexy sleep set (that would make me feel a lot like Zooey Deschannel in her New Girl "Pyjama Outfits" as Schmidt put it) you also win two other sleep sets. Oh man. So exciting. 

ENTER HERE: http://WomenWhoRunIt.com/Ultimate

Honestly...besides getting the chance to win this amazing package, you'll be signing up for the Women Who Run It weekly e-mag which I write for every week! If you like reading my writing (which I'm assuming you do because...you're here...reading it) then sign up! I wrote the feature this week and the intro to the issue.

JUST DO IT Y'ALL AND YOU COULD BE ROCKING SOME SUPER SEXY SLEEPWEAR VERY SOON!

xoTaylor

Must Make

Whoever invented Pinterest...just rules. It is the ultimate source of inspiration. Just going through my boards makes me feel so antsy, like I need to run to the craft store RIGHT NOW! I love it. Here are some things I would la-la-love to make ASAP:

*I'm dying for an owl pillow. It looks simple enough too!*

 *So presh*

 *I know I've showed you this image before but look how great they look on a bed*

 *Best motivation ever*

*I have a serious thing for Day of the Dead skulls. So adorable*

*Who doesn't want to be Holly Golightly? Can I also get some of those amazing earplugs that she wears too?*

*I don't know if I could think of anything cuter than this...like really. Too cute*

Why does craft stuff have to be sooo expensive? You walk into the craft store and before you know it you've dropped a hundred dollars! I guess I'll just have to stick with knitting my scarf right now. My first knitting project ever was to make a mustard chunky infinity scarf. It had SO many dropped stitches and wasn't long enough to wrap twice like I'd originally wanted but I got antsy and just finished it early (silly me). You can read about it here or here. Now I've bought the same wool again and am starting mustard scarf 2.0. It should be done...by fall haha!

I hope one day that I can make all of the pretty things above!

xoTaylor

It doesn't always come up roses

So lately I've been sharing my apartment hunting adventures with you and I thought that while I was sharing them that I was well on my way to finding the apartment but we have found ourselves back at square one.

Yesterday Erika and I were sold on the apartment that we had seen over the weekend. We were filling out paperwork, getting Kiki to do the same and getting all excited about the prospect of moving in for August 1st. Erika and I had already sent our paperwork to the owner and sent Kiki to the apartment to check it out too. Unfortunately, Kiki didn't share in our excitement. She has rented in Toronto for the last four years so she's definitely less naive than us. She made some valid points about the location and some issues with the apartment and told us that she wouldn't fault us for getting it still but she said that it wasn't the place for her. Erika and I can't afford the place without a third person and we don't have anyone right now. We could have gotten it anyways but we didn't want to risk a weird roommate situation so we're trusting in Kiki that we need to let that place go and find something better.

I'm pretty bummed because I got all my hopes up and was dreaming all about the move but it is what it is. If there is something better out there for us then we will have to go looking for it. It just sucks that we went from sending in paperwork, to being back at square one.

I am getting kind of anxious about the idea of never finding anywhere to live but I'm sure I'm just being dramatic. We just have to keep looking!

So I think I won't share too much about the moving process until we have officially signed the papers and found a place. No use getting everyone all excited!

Until next time,

xoTaylor

Dreams

This was a quote that I thought over a lot while I was considering moving to Toronto. I still let it roll through my mind when I find myself doubting my decision. I don't know if I've ever felt so scared of a decision that is also so incredibly exciting. Maybe I felt this way about moving 6 hours away to go to university. I can't really remember. The difference now is that I have so much less of a safety net. While I was able to feel safe in my ability to stay in Ottawa, my main worry was meeting people. Now that I'm moving to Toronto, it's the other way around. I'm moving with my best friend, our other best friend lives there and I already know that I'll never be stumped for what to do. My fear here stems from having to fully be independent for the first time. I'm making this move with no job. It's terrifying but I've built up a bit of a nest egg so I do have some comfortable padding. If I can't find a job in the time before my money runs out then I must be pretty useless.

I don't want to talk to much about the apartment on here until we know things are for sure (I'm feeling superstitious). Just know that I'm feeling very excited about the prospects of independence and following my dreams. I can't wait to share whatever happens next with you. 

xoTaylor

Secret of the Week

It's sad that most times we can't help people until we have felt their struggle. Like how people who have worked a crappy customer service job know how important it is to be nice to employees. I'm definitely guilty of this. Just funny how insignificant we think our rudeness or ignorance can be to a person until we experience it ourself.

xoTaylor

The Big Reveal

I told you I'd show you my new hair cut so without further adieu...here she is:

I'm pretty smitten. It's not exactly like the photo but it never is! I love how she angled it down in the front. It's too cute! I can't wait to see what it looks like all messy and rocker-ish like Julianne Hough had it. Oh the possibilities.

So...I don't want to jinx anything but Jordan and I are going to look at an apartment in Toronto that Erika, Kiki and I are considering moving in to. Erika went and saw it on Friday and she's pretty obsessed. I've seen many pictures and videos thanks to her and now I can't wait to see it in person. I already have my eye on a room I want. I can't help but get anxious about things like that! If I were on The Real World I would be one of those people who runs around the house trying to get the best room and would probably freak out about trying to make sure it was perfect. I'm that girl. So...without jinxing our little dream apt, Jordan and I are going to take a look. I might also convince him to let me stop into Ikea (I can't be near one without going in!)

Anyways pals, have a happy Sunday (or as I like to call it "True Blood Day!")

xoTaylor

Apartment Lusting

Erika, Kiki and I are looking for apartments in full force these days. We're sending tons of listings to each other and have even started going to see some. 

With all of this excitement swirling around I can't help but imagine how gorgeous it's gonna be. Here are some inspirations that I've seen on Pinterest lately.

 *Beautiful little setup. I love the greens*

 *This is so ecclectic and cozy! I know just where to get a window frame! Also I feel a serious need to make an owl pillow*

 *Oh the colours! Also, this is the same bed as the one I'll have in the city. Love love love it*

*I would love an apartment with radiators. They're just so beautiful*

 *And they're also functional. I would use mine as a shelf!*

 *I totally love the idea of a step stool as a bedside table. I found one at a vintage shop but it was $80. No bueno!*

 *Coolest cork board ever and obviously the most beautiful*

There's some of the beautiful decor ideas I've been collecting lately. Hope we can find a gorgeous place to put it all in soon!

xoTaylor

Hair Dare

I am someone who takes their hair very seriously. When I'm having a bad hair day that means I'm having a bad day. It may sound shallow and blah blah blah but it's just how I feel. It's nice to feel good about yourself and I feel like my hair really sets the stage for that.

That being said, I get bored with my hair pretty easily. I always talk about growing it out but end up cutting it off. At Christmas time last year I cut off a lot of my hair because I like to work on impulse. I usually think of my hair cut ideas and then try to immediately book an appointment to do it. I like to do things before I can talk myself out of them. It all grows back! It's fun to take a few risks.

Since I cut off a lot of my hair at Christmas I've decided that I'm more suited to a shorter hairstyle. It looks better on my due to my shorter frame and I find that long hair can be pretty exhausting. It needs to be done more often, it can look scraggly and messy (which I hate), and tends to die due to over styling. Also, it takes forever to do and therefore I find myself rocking a bun so much more.

Well, I've come up with a new hairstyle that I'd like and I have an appointment for Saturday. I'm scared/excited!

Check it out:

I loooveee her. Isn't she just beyond beautiful!? After I saw Safe Haven I was obsessed with her hair.

I'm so excited to get this haircut. I was it to just graze my shoulders. Hopefully it turns out!

I'll be sure to show you my new do when I get it!

xoTaylor

Work Days

I don't know if anyone has ever told you this before but full time work is exhausting! I am very very tired, not exactly tired because I haven't been getting enough sleep but tired because I just want to sit around and do nothing and have yet to be able to do so. I just want to sit around and watch old episodes of True Blood in my pyjamas. Is that so much to ask?!

The good thing is that I haven't been able to relax because I've been busy with good things. I have been hanging out with Jordan, working out with Erika and even fit in a wonderful coffee date with  Ms.Tessa. It's the good kind of busy.

Speaking of busy, I have a mighty busy day ahead of me. I have tons of stuff on the go for the internship and need to finally bring some things to a close. Hopefully I can get a lot done. It would be nice to get some of this stress off my back.

Tonight I will:
- Look at apartments online
- Probably spend some time finishing internship projects
- Watch True Blood
- Hopefully eat some kind of delicious ice cream treat (I've been craving ice cream all week!)
- Maybe get a work out in with Erika (maybe)

So I must be getting to work so that I have more free time this evening. Have a good day lovelies!

xoTaylor

Obsessions

I've spent an irresponsible amount of time on Society 6 this morning looking at prints. They have some of the best pieces and they usually come in prints, t-shirts, sweaters, iphone cases and laptop cases. I basically want them all.

My favourite is the Movie & TV category. 

Prepare yourself for the mother of all posts, you've found something I can't get enough of:

*Almost Famous is my favourite movie. I cannot stress my love for this movie enough and this print is perfection*

*This is quiet possibly my favourite movie moment. Kate Hudson did the most beautiful job of portraying Penny Lane's sadness. And I love love love when William screams "Where and when does this real world occur?!"

 *This is my favourite print that I've found today. It's perfection*

 *I fall asleep almost every night listening to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Of course I couldn't just include one print when I love the movie so much*

*I wish I had the guts that Clementine does with her hair. "I'm just a fucked up girl looking for my own piece of mind." She's amazing*

 *I want to get this on a t-shirt for Jordan. He would love reading all those hilarious quotes*

*Fight Club is my second favourite movie. I've read the book a few times and seen the movie more times than I can remember. This is probably the best movie ending ever*

 *I have very serious plans of being Wednesday Adams for Halloween. She's amazing*

 *My True Blood obsession is back in full force thanks to this amazing new season. I need to rewatch every season right now *

 *I love Beetlejuice. Winona Rider is amazing in it. "I myself am strange and unusual*

 *Can I just be Hermione? I want to be best friends with HP and to have Ron as my boyfriend. Is that cool?*

 *This one is called Obliviate. So sad to think that she had to make her parents forget about her at this moment.*

 *Anything with Zooey Deschannel is always a go but (500) Days of Summer is definitely one of my favourites.*

 *I love this movie. I am obsessed with Claire and Bender's "love" story. I have a serious crush on him. Don't lie, you do too!*

*Again, Tim Burton rules. I was introduced to him at a very young age with the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. I've been a loyal fan ever since*

So besides seeing all of my favourites and obsessing over them on the site, I've also come to the realization that I need to see Moonrise Kingdom and The Royal Tennebaums and also get my butt in gear and watch more Game of Thrones.

Have a good Wednesday (and by that I mean a good Challenge day because The Challenge:Rivals II is premiering on MTV tonight. My Real World obsession can live on!)

xoTaylor

Weekend Update

My mom and stepdad rented a trailer for our family for the summer. This weekend was our first one up there trying it out. If we use it enough this summer then they want to buy one for next year. I have a feeling we will!

Jordan and I went up on Friday night and ended up getting there at 10:30 (bummer) and exhaustedly (is this even a word?) climbing into bed not too long after.

We woke up early the next day, went out for breakfast and then my mom and I went into the closest town to check out the little shops. I got a Fleetwood Mac live record and a Led Zepplen 45 for $10. I.was.stoked. After that my sister, Pat and baby Jack came to visit for the afternoon. Tons of badminton was played and many many popsicles devoured. After that Jordan and I ventured into town and found the most amazing antique store! It was HUGE and stacked to the brim with amazing and unique things. Some of it (okay a lot of it) was pretty expensive but I walked out with two vintage mason jars for $14. After we got back I went for a nice relaxing jog around the park (which is huge by the way) and then we sat around the fire for the rest of the night.

Sunday was spent doing some more antiquing, some more relaxing, some more eating and then heading home late in the afternoon so we could make it to Jordan's house for dinner. It was a good weekend and we plan on going back next weekend (there's supposed to be a firework festival!).

Without further adue...here are some pictures of the weekend:

* Pretty much the perfect trailer uniform*

 *The lake was so gorgeous and even though it was hot we didn't go swimming. Next time that waterslide is getting used. It.will.happen.*

 *There is no baby who is cuter than Jack. This is a fact. A lot of people say he looks a lot like me as a baby (lucky lucky boy)*

 *I'm see-through*

*How fah-reaking awesome is this cake? It was only $4 and my mom offered to buy  it for us but I let my willpower kick in (mostly due to my popsicle consumption that had happened earlier that day)*

 

So that was my weekend. I hope we can re-create it all summer! It's so nice to get away and just relax or play games outside. The drive up is so gorgeous too!

 

Have a good week y'all!

 

xoTaylor