I’m kind of loving the ombre trend, especially with hair, even though I would be way too scared to do that to my own boring blonde hair. So I sort of used this tutorial from cotton & curls, only I had a bathing suit on and there were 2 cats getting all up in my dying business the whole time. Yes, a bathing suit. It is March in London, Ontario and it is bathing suit weather! Mother nature is on drugs.

Yes, I am wearing shamrock sunglasses, and yes, those are my friends, haha. We loove to dress up for the holidays!

Any fun St. Patrick’s day DIYs out there, or just cool DIYs in general?

When I got to Michael’s they only had ONE green dye left, and it was dark green, so I was praying that it would work. I also used my 40% any one item coupon at Michaels, so the dye was a lovely $2. Since my tank was $8 from Joe Fresh, that means that this shirt only cost about $10 to make, and I got SO many compliments on it and people asking me where I bought it from!
I did the ombre and it turned out pretty awesome. My only concern about it was that it was SUPER hard to get the exact right amount of dye in the mix to make it just a shade lighter, so my shirt was pretty much 2 shades of green- light green, and dark, forest green. Oh well, I still loved it.

After I did my ombre-ing (is that a word?), I wanted to put some sort of shamrock on the front. I had seen some tutorials online about bleach pens, and making designs with those, but I didn’t have one of those or some place close enough to pop out and buy one. I’d also seen tutorials for shirts like the one here on Scissors and Safety Pins on pinterest and fell in love.

So with my moms help we printed off a shamrock design with her Cricut, I stuck it on my shirt, sprayed it with bleach and fell in love! You can pretty much see how it turned out here. The stencil sort of took away from the ombre effect, but you can still notice it!

Lauren

-Lauren Messiah-

As of right now, the only jeans I own (that fit me..) are skinny jeans/jeggings that just happened to be on sale.  This morning I wasn’t feeling very well, so I didn’t want to wear jeans, and my lulus were in the laundry basket, so I wore leggings.  These aren’t “stylish” leggings at all.  In fact I think they might be old maternity leggings that I found in our house and adopted.  Either way, they are super comfy.  I know some people use the rule that it is okay to wear leggings as long as you wear a shirt that covers your lady parts/bum, but I’m not sure that I’m even following that rule today:

It’s a longish shirt, and a long sweater in the back, but mostly when I’m sitting cross legged at school on a comfy bench it doesn’t come down all the way.

I do have an issue with people dissing ‘leggings-as-pants’, but who are okay with jeggings/skinny jeans, or vise versa.  When I was home for Thanksgiving weekend I brought 2 pairs of jeans, and my leggings. I guess one of the pairs of jeans would be considered jeggings. We go to church with my dad’s side of the family, and live next door to our Oma, so we were going to spend Sunday afternoon with them as well.  Sunday morning I wore leggings with a long shirt to church.  These are the same tights as the picture above.  Before dinner I changed into my jeggings. I think I got about 3 comments about how tight my jeans were.  I really don’t understand this.  I was wearing tights earlier, which are just as tight, if not tighter than my jeans, so how is this different?

What are some fashion “rules” that you live/dress by?

Have you ever been criticized for what you were wearing?

Does anyone have any advice for me about how to fall asleep better/easier?

Ps. Check out this song. New favourite. The Finish Line -Train

We’ll keep you updated with our shenanigans as the week goes on!

I thought this would be a good opportunity to tell you all what we love about our baby.

I love Lauren’s creativity and beauty. Lauren will show up at a party wearing an amazing skirt, or a gorgeous tank top, and upon asking her where she got it, she will respond “Oh, I made it” like it is no big deal. She is such a talented designer and creator – I hope we will be seeing some of her creations on this blog soon!

Lauren is also an incredibly beautiful girl. She has this gorgeous long blonde hair, and her eyes are so blue they are almost silver, and practically see-through. She is a pretty young woman (And I hope she comes to visit me over Stampede )

Lauren may be ‘the baby’ in terms of age, but you’d better believe the rest of us would have a hard time keeping up with her when it comes to her athletic ability. She’s been a ski racing champ, hard-core cheerleader, and just this past Sunday she ran a 5 km race…which I don’t think she trained for. She can play a decent game of golf with ease…heck, any sport really!

Dear Lowen,
I always wish you were with me when I am shopping because I always feel like I could use your advice! I love that photo of us from my wedding, it might be my favourite wedding photo (don’t tell Kent!) I love that I always know where to find you on weekend afternoons (laying on the couch watching some movie that we haven’t seen since we were kids.) And lastly, I love that you are the sister with the sense of humour closest to mine, meaning that you always know how to make me laugh.

Have a happy JUNE 9!

Love,

Micaela

I have never really thought about what it must be like to be homeless. Sure, like everyone when the cold weather comes around I think “Wow it would suck to have to stay out here”, but I, of course, am bundled up in my huge winter coat, warm boots and mittens, with a roof over my head while I think this.  Being a poor university student when I see the people asking for money/food at Rideau I walk right past them, not thinking about getting them food or giving them money, just wishing I could get to my car/the bus faster to get home to my warm bed.

For 5 days, Business students across Canada are finding out what it’s like to be homeless to raise money for a local charity, while still having to go about their day to day activities such as classes, meetings, practices, and for the Dean of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton, work.  Yep, for one day/night the Dean was homeless.  The Business schools around Canada are spending 5 days homeless on their own campus.  For 5 days they can’t shower, they have no income, their only food can be by donation from students/faculty, they have to sleep outside under a tent that they made, they can’t use any social networking sites, and they still have to go to their classes and such.  The charities chosen by the students were Operation Come Home, and Rideau Street Youth Enterprises, both which cater to at risk and homeless youth in Ottawa.

I hadn’t heard about this fundraiser before last Monday morning when I walked past the tent and sign outside of the University Centre here at Carleton.  I really wish I knew more about it now that I have seen it first hand.  To do something like this would change the way I see the homeless people around Ottawa and London.  They write in a blog (I don’t know how it works with the no networking sites…), as do the other students across Canada, so check it out!  5 days

Have you ever seen something like this, or had the opportunity to do something like this?

So here is is folks, 25 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Sunday.  These are from genpink’s source, Marc and Angel Hack Life and they have little explanations about each question:

1. What did I learn last week? – If you have trouble answering this question, it’s time for a change.  It doesn’t matter how old you are, you should learn something new every week.
2. What was my greatest accomplishment over the past week? – Reflecting on your accomplishments is a healthy way to raise self confidence and contentment.  It’s also an effective way to track your progress.
3. Which moment from last week was the most memorable and why? – It may open up your mind to new passions and goals, or simple pastimes worth revisiting.
4. What’s the #1 thing I need to accomplish this week? – Everything else is secondary, and should be treated as such.  Nevertheless, this question will also shine light on other noteworthy tasks.
5. What can I do right now to make the week less stressful? – Set reminders in your calendar, get your laundry done, fill the car with gas… organize yourself.
6. What have I struggled with in the past that might also affect the upcoming week? – The idea here is to learn from your struggles and better equip yourself for future encounters.
7. What was last week’s biggest time sink? – Steer clear of this in the future.  Setup physical barriers against distractions if you have to.
8. Am I carrying any excess baggage into the week that can be dropped? – Physical clutter, mental clutter… eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary may shine bright.
9. What have I been avoiding that needs to get done? – Pencil in a time to get these things done.  For any 2-minute or less tasks, consider scheduling them first thing Monday morning.
10. What opportunities are still on the table? – If it’s still available and you want it, make a concrete plan to go after it this week.
11. Is there anyone I’ve been meaning to talk to? – Regular communication can solve problems before they fester.  Always keep an open line of communication to those around you.
12. Is there anyone that deserves a big ‘Thank You’? – Take time each week to thank the people who have helped you.  Your kind gesture will not go unnoticed.
13. How can I help someone else this coming week? – The easiest way to get what you want is to help others get what they want.  If you help them, they will remember you when you need help.
14. What are my top 3 goals for the next 3 years? – You’ll never make any progress in life if you don’t setup realistic goals for yourself.
15. Have any of my recent actions moved me closer to my goals? – If the answer is no, something needs to change.
16. What’s the next step for each goal? – Knowing the next step is the key to accomplishing the whole.
17. What am I looking forward to during the upcoming week? – The answer can act as a great source of motivation.  If nothing exists, schedule something to look forward to.
18. What are my fears? – Consciously address your fears each week and slowly work on resolving them.  It’s all about taking baby steps.
19. What am I most grateful for? – It’s a smart way to keep things in perspective, and something you should never lose sight of.
20. If I knew I only had one week to live, who would I spend my time with? – Another helpful reminder… Life is short.  Spend more time with the people you care about.

Genpink added five of her own:

1. Who can I inspire this week?
2. Did I tell the people in my life how much they mean to me?
3. Did I make a difference with someone?
4. Did I learn something?
5. Have I done something creative this week?

So tell me folks, do you have any questions that you ask yourself to take inventory of your life/week?

Hope you all had a great weekend, I know I did!  Cheerleading Nationals were this weekend in Brampton, and pretty much the whole fam jam came. 4/5 blondes were there, 3 aunts, 1 Dave,  1 brother in law, 1 oma, and 1 mom! I always have the biggest entourage there and I love it!

We came 4th! Our awesome coaches Anson and Meagan are in the front.

Karlene, Ashley and Me at awards.

Me and Ashley at the Afterparty! Which was innnnsanee.

More pictures will be coming, this is just all I have right now!