Hair Revival

Sometimes life gets tough and your bills take all your money and you put off getting a haircut for months on end. Before my haircut last week I hadn't sat in the salon chair in 5 months. It was brutal.

My bangs were almost non-existent which was driving me NUTS.

Luckily my wonderful mother called me up the day before I was supposed to come home for the weekend and told me that she had made (and paid) for a last minute hair appointment for me the next day *cue choirs singing and little baby angels flying around with trumpets*

Now I have my bangs back, my dead ends gone, and I'm ready to take on the world (okay…that was a bit dramatic).

Anywhooo… in other news I'm spending the weekend trekking downtown everyday for a leadership conference that work is sending me to. I'm kind of nervous. It's hard for me to spend time with a bunch of people I don't know but hopefully I'll learn lots and have a good time!

I've also got moving on my brain! We're officially moving in 37 days. It stresses me out to look at all the crap I've brought to this apartment. Especially when I have to think about how I'm downsizing big time back to my old bedroom. Guess I better start simplifying!

Have a good weekend!

xoTaylor

The Final Decision

This is a post that I've been dreading writing for a couple of weeks now.

I mentioned earlier that we had been trying to decide whether we should move out of our apartment early or not. Erika and I were flip-flopping and so scared about making a decision. Eventually we gave ourselves until the upcoming Sunday to make a decision. We would have time to think and then by Sunday, the decision would be final.

By the time Sunday came so many things had changed. Kristina wasn't sure about B.C anymore, Erika had found herself set on one decision, only for us to give her new information and send her back into the decision process, and I was flip-flopping myself.

My decision came down to this: I missed home, which is typical for anyone, but I don't feel like my life really revolves around being in Toronto. I'm here and I'm enjoying it, but I'm also finding myself pulled back home a lot because that's where I love to be, with the people I love. I'm also living a life where I live to work here, something I wouldn't be doing if I were to move home. I'm not happy with working a retail job that I'm miserable at and just scraping by at the end of each month. Furthermore, things have only gotten tighter as the holidays have ended and all my retail shifts have dried up. At this point it just financially makes sense for me to move home.

I want to pay off my school bills and get a car and start saving money. I don't want to scrape by anymore. I want to be able to contribute something to my future home, the one I plan on being able to buy, instead of spending years renting and throwing my money away.

But here is what's great:

I have always said that I wanted to move out and live with my best friend and guess what? I did. And it was an amazing experience. I still love her the same way I did when we moved in. I'm sure I'll miss her like crazy when our bedroom doors aren't down the hall from each other.

Also, I've learned a ridiculous amount about responsibility and being an adult. I think this decision may even be a testament to that. Yes, I'm moving back home, but I'm doing so to further my life in a different way. I don't want to have student debts that I can't pay off and I want to be able to save money and start creating my life.

This was a great year. A great and very hard year, but it was great. I met people, I went out on my own, I learned so many things, and I had fun.

So I am moving on to the next phase in my life without regret. I'm ready for what is coming next and I'll forever look back and smile at every happy, stressful, fun, crazy, and amazing moment that I had in Toronto.

xoTaylor

Currently

watching Runaway Bride. I watched Pretty Woman this weekend and so I figured this was only a natural progression. 

listening to the radio. I got one for Christmas and I love listening to it. It's like a surprise playlist everyday!

drinking water. My friend and I are in a health competition and we have to drink 8 glasses a day. It's so much harder than it sounds.

reading Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. It's good but I'm not completely obsessed with it like I though I would be. I'm excited to move on to 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup.

trying to make myself workout more. Why must I feel so lazy?

learning to be happy in my current situation. No matter what I'm doing it is a stage in my life right now and I should just enjoy it while it lasts.

dreaming of warmer weather, sandals, walks outside and iced coffee.

loving all of the people in my life. I'm so lucky for every single amazing person who I call my friend or family.

feeling optimistic.

Have a lovely Thursday. It's almost the weekend!

xoTaylor

Busy Life

*Pretty colours on my desk*

I've been trying to keep myself busy lately. I find that I get a bit depressed when I sit around the apartment too much so I made a resolution to go out and enjoy myself!

Yesterday my roommate, Kristina, and I went out on a thrifting trip. I got a sweet flannel shirt and as much as she tried, she didn't find anything. Womp womp. Later that night I met up with my friend, Erica, from work and we saw Monuments Men. I always love getting to chat with her and it's good to get together outside of work where no one can tell us to stop talking and get back to work haha!

Today after I finished work I bundled up and set out for a little adventure in the city. I headed to the World's Biggest Bookstore (which it actually isn't but hey, you can't blame them for trying!) Everything is 50% because it's closing at the end of the month. So sad to see a Toronto landmark like that shut down but I'm glad I got to go! Oh and I got the A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book for half price! So excited! I've been wanting it since it came out this summer.

After that I decided to just walk around the city and see where I got. I grabbed a coffee and picked a direction. I ended up walking by the old Maple Leaf Gardens arena, which is now a Loblaws grocery store. I heard it was cool to see how they'd turned an arena into a grocery store and that they'd kept some memorabilia inside. It was so cool in there. Not just because there were still original seats and amazing memories from the landmark, but because this was like the mecca of all grocery stores. It honestly was more like a gourmet food market. I mean, they had mushrooms that cost $250.00 per serving, and a sushi bar, and a bakery and it was wild.

Other things that happened while I was downtown:
* I saw a guy fall off of his unicycle and laughed (why are you unicycling in downtown Toronto dude?)
* I gave a homeless man money and he asked me for more (rudeee)
* I bought this:

Isn't it beauttiiffuull?

Now I'm sitting in bed watching Netflix and knitting.

Pretty solid day if I do say so myself.

xoTaylor

Decisions, Decisions

Things are beyond crazy over here.

We recently had a huge decision fall into our lap over at the apartment. Kristina will be leaving for the summer to go to B.C so she asked Erika and I what we want to do about the apartment. Do we want her to sublet her room or do we want to see if we can end our lease early?

We told her to ask about ending our lease early and then all of a sudden it was all happening. Our landlord agreed, she put the apartment online and she has people coming to view it tomorrow. We're actually still deciding what we want and she's already thinking we're done.

The worst part is that Erika is in Florida right now…oh and we're both flip-flopping.

I think I know what I want…but our decisions effect each other. I'm giving her time to think because she needs to have a feeling one way or another. I don't want her to make a decision and regret it. I know we're both feeling a lot of emotions right now, and we don't want to make a decision that we will later regret and we both are looking at the other one wondering what's best.

We have until Monday. 7 more days and we have to be decided.

It's really hard but the decision will come. I know that whatever decision we make that I will look forward and make it positive.

Also- I'm feeling a very lonely and lethargic feeling right now. I spent literally ALL afternoon doing nothing. Lying on the couch and watching American Horror Story and Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

To balance this out I'm going to take myself downtown tomorrow afternoon. I just heard that The Worlds Biggest Bookstore is closing this month! I'm going to go explore it for my first, and probably last time.

Hopefully a trip out will make me feel better.

Until then, I've got decisions on my mind.

xoTaylor