The Holidays!

Well Well Well....

Hello Ice. Hello cold. Hello bundling under 5 million layers.

Think I'm complaining? Think again. I LOVE THIS WEATHER!!

Not only is it the best time of the year to accessorize yourself, but fall fashion is just so much more intimate and individualistic! The amount of times I catch myself checking out peoples outfits as they walk by me on the street... well, to be honest I've lost count.

And theres something about this season in general that is making it all the more special. Maybe its the variety of color, or the warmth and weight of the materials, but theres something extra delicious and cozy about it and I'm diving right into it!

The bordos, the navy blues, the gold and silver embellishments, the furs (faux of course), the plaids and burberrys, the sequined skirts, the flowy and tight knit sweaters, the thigh high boots and ankle boots alike. I am loving this years trends!

It makes me excited to get out of bed in the morning and choose my outfit. Something about knowing you can forego the usual simplicity of dressing in single layers because its too warm outside just makes it more fun.

As the days get colder, and the outfits get cozier, lets all be thankful that the season has so much to offer young fashionistas on a quest to look comfy and cute all winter long!

BRING IT JACK FROST!

Happy Holidays Fashion Lovers!

Barely Legal Pawn, feat. Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Julia Louis-Dreyfus

A little Breaking Bad nostalgia for you fans out there.



I saw this and thought it was brilliant! i know theres no way to bring back the show but it truly was one of the greatest I've ever watched.



Enjoy! :)

Under The Sun: And It's Almost Gone...

Under The Sun: And It's Almost Gone...

In Loving Memory of a True Legend

I could not believe my eyes when I first found out that Robin Williams had passed. I thought to myself "NO! This has to be a hoax! Terrible Prank! No way this is real!"

I was mistaken.

I quickly logged onto my news app and found out that it was death from an apparent suicide. This broke my heart in more ways then one.

Some of you might think that it doesn't make sense for me to be so distraught at his passing, given that I had never met him, and had no personal ties to him whatsoever.

But, given the reactions that have blown up all over Facebook and Twitter, the outpouring messages of love for him and the utter sadness that seems to be weighing down on all of us like a heavy rain cloud, I think I can safely say that I am not the only one that feels the way I do about what happened.

There are so very few people in this world that I feel are genuinely beautiful people to their very core. People that are pure in the work that they do, and in the way they share love and happiness with others.

Robin Williams was one of those people.

He had the uncanny ability to reach right into your soul and tickle your funny bone, the way only a close beloved family member could. The ability to build a sense of closeness with every audience member at his stand up shows, and the ability to win your affection for him with every role he played.

I loved each and every one of his movies, tv shows, stand up acts, characters and the like. Even the really bad ones, and it was because he never tried to be something he wasn't. There was a relatability and realness to every character he played.

From the crazy scientist in Flubber, he taught us to never stop believing in your dreams, even if everyone around you feels that they are unattainable and will never work.

From the Loving husband in What Dreams may Come, He showed how powerful true love can be, and that if you've found it, to do whatever is humanly possible to hold onto it.

From Peter Pan in Hook, he showed how important it was to never let go of your childhood innocence and imagination.

One of my all time favourites, however, was Mrs. DoubtFire. This one is closest to my heart because the story mirrored perfectly how I felt when my parents separated. Not only that, but the fact that Robin and my dad looked like they could be twins made me love this character all the more, especially when I was little Natalie's age (the youngest daughter in the movie) when the movie first came out.

I used to watch it over and over again, because he reminded me so much of my dad, and it helped me feel closer to him when I wasn't able to see him and missed him so much.

I think its because of this character that I feel a more personal loss with him being gone. Like it was my real father who had died. I know that that may come off a bit nonsensical, but its true.

For all of the people that knew him personally, his friends, coworkers, colleagues, family members and anyone who had the chance to share a laugh with him face to face, I say that you are the luckiest of us all.

You are the luckiest because you got to experience first hand all the wonderful qualities I mentioned above.

So this ones for you Robin. I hope we all get to share a laugh with you up there someday, and I hope you found the peace you were searching for.

RIP

Seattle/Portland Trip 2013 (God I miss that pasta!!! So good! If anyone is planning on going to Portland anytime soon, go to Cheryl's on 12th, order the Garlic and Artichoke Angel Hair pasta, and then bring me some!!! :)

Procrastination & The Perfectionist

Procrastination & The Perfectionist

Interesting listen. The message (or at least what it sounds like to me) really rings true for myself and for a lot of people that I know.

What if we made the decision to consciously change the way we carry ourselves and the way we get things done? Would be interesting to see that happen!

Take a listen :)

The Simple Beauty of Summer

Camping. Swimming. Fresh cut watermelon. Sunshine. Birds chirping. Naps in the middle of the day. Your favourite ice cream. Spending time with good friends without a care in the world.

These are just a few things among many that make summer delightful for me. I recently had the chance to get away from the technological world, the business world, the "I have 17 questions for you that I need answered right away" world and be close to nature, my friends, and get some good ol' fashioned R & R.

Where did I go?

The Answer: Needa Lake. So very far away from 'civilization', that it took 4 hours to gain cell reception upon returning.

The reason this trip was so special to me, was not only because I got to spend solid quality time with one of my best friends in the world, but also because I really felt like I needed a break from everything 'online'. I needed to unplug as they say and figure out who I really was again, and who I wanted to continue being when I got back. And that attitude really got me thinking.

We all get so caught up in our internet lives and cataloguing every single second (meaningful or not) for our Facebook page or our Twitter page or our Instagram because heaven forbid we should miss the opportunity for a #selfie moment, or to be 'connected' somehow.

What surprised me most about returning from my trip was that most people I talked to wanted to know "Where are all your photos? When are you gonna post them? When are gonna update your Facebook for us to see it all?" verbatim. How about "How was your trip? What did you do? Where did you go? Did you have a great time?" and the like.

I have to admit that made me feel a mixture of emotions.

For one, I felt sad. Sad, that the simple pleasures in life seemed to be fading, and sad that the act of story telling and reminiscing on good times gone by, somehow, was indirectly needing to be uploaded for the world to see for proper validation.

For another, I felt annoyed, as if my not posting all these photos was letting people down in a way that didn't make sense to me at all. As if the comparison against others memories gave it more meaning to the person who experienced that moment in the first place.

Lastly, I felt disconnected. Disconnected from real human emotion and the simple beauty of being in the moment with someone sharing something with you face to face. Reliving a beautiful time from memory. Backtracking and jumping around in the story when you get excited that you remembered something else that happened that you want to share.

We all get so busy in our lives and develop this unconscious tunnel vision where we go through life with blinders on, completely unaware of anything else around us except whats immediately in front of us. Days, weeks, months will go by and then all of a sudden we look up, pause, and think, "Geez! Its been a really long time since I've seen or spoken or spent time with this person."

Because of all the social media around us, we still feel in the loop with whats going on, simply by liking someones post, or sharing a funny blurb on someones wall, or commenting on a cool picture, making us feel like we were there, experiencing that joy with them.

The Reality:

You haven't actually spoken to that person in 4 months, you can't even remember the last time you got together and had a movie night or went to the beach, or did anything together. You become sad, thinking of how close you used to be, how many things you used to do together, and how different your lives feel from one another now.

So the million dollar question becomes, How do we get back in touch with what used to be important to us in a real way?

How do we do this when everywhere we turn, theres a new trending app or page or web space out there thats designed to do that for us the 'new and improved' way. And, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of cases where all of those things have been a positive influence in peoples lives, but the kinds of moments I'm focusing are not those times.

The Answer:

Close the laptop, power down the iPad, pick up the phone and have a real conversation with the person you miss the most, and work your way back from there. Go outside, soak up the sunshine, eat some watermelon, go for a swim, light a campfire, roast some marshmallows, and remember how beautifully simple summertime used to be when all you had was yourself and your friends and family, and your own two feet to take you out in the world to experience life the good ol' fashioned way.

To those of you who know me, you know that I can be the worst when it comes to having blinders on where my work life is concerned, but part of the reason why I'm writing this in the first place is to say to all the loved ones I miss the most, be it friend or family member or significant other, I hope you all know how important you all are to me, and I would be a fool if I let you all slip away from the real connections we've had.

So don't be surprised if one of these days I call you out of the blue. Instead, be happy that you are one of the people I miss, and let's go get some ice cream and share great summer moment together.