Christmas in NYC 2015

If you read my post from last Christmas, you'll know I'm a Christmas enthusiast. I LOVE Christmas. I LIVE for Christmas. I am the person who's Christmas lights go up in October and come down in April, and who watches Love Actually and listens to Michael Buble's Christmas album in the middle of July. Naturally I die a little bit when NYC whips out the insane Christmas decorations and window displays to celebrate the holiday season, so spending Christmas there again was a dream come true. 

A Healthier Take On Peppermint Bark

Peppermint bark is one of those holiday treats that you start eating and before you know it, you've finished all of it in one sitting. This is a quick and easy recipe for a "healthier" peppermint bark that won't make you feel AS bad about eating it all up in one day.

Thanksgiving Inspiration: Turkey Day Decor and Table Settings

Thanksgiving is my second favourite time of the year (after Christmas obviously) because it combines my three (slash four) favourite Fs: Fall, Friends/Family and Food.  Even though Canadian Thanksgiving was last month and it's essentially Christmastime already in this country, our neighbours to the South will be celebrating American Thanksgiving this week. 

10 Creative Pumpkin Carving Ideas

It's that time of year when pumpkins are everywhere: in our drinks, in our pies, and in front of our homes. Whether you're an amateur carver or the Picasso of Pinterest, here are ten creative pumpkin carving ideas for this Fall/Halloween season!

Forever Young: Murad's Age Reform Intensives

As a 20-year-old, I'm not super concerned about anti-aging/wrinkles just yet, but I am definitely keen to try anything that will put both of these things off. After spending a lot of time outside in the sun this summer, I became conscious of some premature signs of aging on my face when a few dreaded dark spots started to appear. To battle these dark spots early on, and attempt to try and erase the damage my many careless sunscreen-less days had caused, I turned to Murad's Age Reform line. 

NYC in Three: Day 2 & 3

The second day of our trip ended up being my all-time favourite day in New York City. We covered so much ground in what seemed like so little time, and managed to hit every place on our mental list without getting stressed about staying on schedule. We unintentionally stuck to a park theme for most of the day, so please excuse and/or enjoy the obscene amount of photos in this post. 

A Review: Murad's Blemish Control Travel Kit

As common as acne-fighting, clarifying and blemish control products are in the world of skincare, I still haven't found a go-to product for breakouts. As much as I love the Proactiv commercials where Justin Bieber is like "Hey girl, you can look flawless too with the help of Proactiv", I find that their products are too heavy-duty for my skincare needs. Enter the Murad Blemish Control Travel Set.

NYC in Three: Day 1

Early in May I went on a quick trip to New York City with my friends Maddie and Tess. After talking about taking a trip together for years, we finally scoured Airbnb, booked our flights and packed our carry-on bags. Maddie was turning 21, Tess was preparing to move to Australia, and I was looking to celebrate the end of final exams, so off we went.

Panamania - The Pan Am Games Take Toronto

I'm not sure if it's my competitive nature, my emotional tendencies, or both that get me so riled up whenever there's an international sporting competition. I tear up pretty much every 5 minutes during the Olympics; between the victories and the stories of overcoming adversity, or emotional advertisements that run every 20 minutes, I can't seem to catch a break. In any case, the Pan Am Games were no different. 

Starbucks Spreads the La Boulange Love

Starbucks has finally brought their La Boulange pastries to Canada! 

Full discretion: I'm addicted to Starbucks. I've devoured almost every food item they have to offer. I go multiple times a day. I can, and usually do, consume Venti Cool Lime Refreshers in less than 5 minutes. Even though La Boulange might be old news in the U.S., controversy over the pastry change is still alive and well. Shockingly, people have even created entire Pinterest pages dedicated to comparing the old pastries to the new ones. 

I was a little hesitant when I saw the announcement that their La Boulange pastries were coming to Canada. When it comes to food I'm always down to try new things, but I'm not a big fan of changing food that I already know I enjoy eating. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?

Read. Watch. Listen. (03.16.15.)

What to read, watch, and listen to this week.

15 Tips To Help You Spring Forward

This weekend we "spring forward" and turn the clocks ahead by one hour for longer AND brighter days (woooo!).  Recently my "winter mood" has been in full swing. The cold and the darkness have made me unmotivated and less energetic, with lying in my warm bed and staying indoors seeming WAY more appealing than exploring the city, going to the gym, etc. 


I decided I wanted to be ready to tackle the week when I go back to school after Spring Break. I made a list of things to help me "detox" from winter, ditch my mood and help me spring forward with my clocks this weekend. Obviously it's still too early for many of us to ditch the winter coats and whip out our shorts and flip flops, but there are a lot of small things that have inspired me to get back into the swing of things. Without further ado, check it out: 

First Impressions: Benefit's Roller Lash Mascara

Last Friday Benefit Cosmetics released their new Roller Lash mascara. 

My eyelashes are super straight and annoyingly sparse. According to a Google search this has something to do with the fact that I'm half asian, but who really knows. They tend to angle downwards meaning I need to do a lot of work with an eyelash curler to make them noticeable. This is what makes a mascara that curls so appealing to me, so I was the most excited when I found out that Benefit was releasing one.  

A Review: Nirvana Perfumes by Elizabeth and James

I figured since I tell all of my friends about them, I might as well tell the internet. I'm usually really against "celebri-scents", but I have been using Nirvana White for over a year now, and Nirvana Black since last fall. 

Read. Watch. Listen. (02.16.15.)

What to read, watch, and listen to this week.

(At Least) Three Reasons To Read Amy Poehler's Yes Please

"Saying 'yes' doesn't mean that I don't know how to say no, and saying 'please' doesn't mean I am waiting for permission. 'Yes Please' sounds powerful and concise. It's a response and a request."

Read. Watch. Listen. (02.02.15)

What to read, watch, and listen to this week.

A Review: joeSCRUB Coffee Scrub

There are three things in the world that I have a love-hate relationship with; Candy Crush, coffee and body scrubs. Candy Crush is irrelevant to this post, so I'll save it for another time.

Read. Watch. Listen. (01.26.15)

What to read, watch and listen to this week.

The Cover Songs You Didn't Know You Needed

I love covers. Although they're a little controversial with some people refusing to believe that anything can be as good as the original, I think it's so cool to see what talented people can do with great songs. Below are some of my favourite, relatively underrated, covers of "Sunday Morning", "Rather Be", "The Heart Wants What It Wants" and "Blank Space" from the past few months.

The Mindy Movement: Mindy Kaling's Global Domination

Unless you live under a rock, you've probably noticed that Mindy Kaling won our hearts and our streaming time over the past year. Spreading faster than a cold during winter, what I am now going to call "The Mindy Movement" (even though someone has probably already coined this phrase somewhere) started slowly, and then seemingly grabbed the world's attention all at once.

Resolutions & How to Keep Them

Happy New Year everyone! And happy struggles as you keep writing 2014 on everything for the next couple of weeks. Today I want to share my thoughts on New Year's resolutions, and the importance of cutting everyone (including you) some slack, with a little bit of a Hannah Montana throwback.