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!

My friend Leah (not to be confused with my sister Leah) picked us up from the train station in London and we headed to her house for a pre drink before going to Cowboys, our favourite country bar, where a few of us rode the bull!

On Saturday we had promised Katelyn that we would babysit Hails and Brianna while she cleaned and got ready for the baptism the next day.  Babysitting may have turned into playing then all of us taking a nap, but we then went to the mall with Hailey in tow to meet Erica and Denis.

Check back for more pictures and an exciting story from our weekend away from school!

Three months ago I proudly voted for the NDP leader Jack Layton to lead our country. Today I went to his visitation and shook hands with and gave my condolences to his family. A great Canadian man, a leader in Canadian politics, died this week. As I stood in line for the visitation (a line which quickly grew to be hours long), people around me were having intense political conversations and debates, and I prayed that they wouldn’t try to engage me – I wouldn’t have known what to say. What I do know is that I trusted Jack, and I believed in him just as much as he believes in me. Jack’s final testament was his letter to all Canadians, which he wrote during the last few days of his life. Jack entreated to all Canadians to be hopeful, optimistic and loving, and that is why I went today. I went because I am loving, I am optimistic and I am hopeful, and I will encourage myself to continue to believe in myself and my country, the Jack way.

The scene at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto today was beyond moving – I’ve never experienced anything like it in my entire life. Words of optimism, words of hope and words of love were scribbled, scrawled and artistically plastered over every possible surface. I read that ‘Elementary teachers love Jack’, ‘Social workers love Jack’ (okay, that one was me). ‘Tories and Grits love Jack’, ‘Tamils love Jack’, and countless, literally countless messages of dedication and trust and inspiration. It was so emotional, and it was an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Jack didn’t ask us all to join the peacecorps, or donate all of our money to charities – Jack believed it started very grassroots, that each and every person could be  part of a movement towards further social democracy and contribute positively to society. As I was eating my lunch I watched a tv reporter interview two individuals – one was a ten year old by whose baseball team was sponsored by Jack, the other was a Hindu pharmacist from Halifax who stated he was compelled to come to Toronto because everyday he saw and helped the people that Jack believed in.  If you’re in Toronto please go and check it out. If you’re watching tv please take a minute to listen – Jack’s legacy will live on, and we have to start by believing in ourselves.

I have not yet been to Micaela’s new home.

Horrifying, I know. She got possession of the house in November, and moved in December, and now we’re almost halfway through March (count ‘em, that’s FIVE months!). I have seen her plenty since then, but the timing has just not worked out in our favour to visit her at home. Even Lau has been there and she lives 8 hours away from Mic (I am only two)!

Tomorrow I am taking the Greyhound to visit her, Bowie, Kent, Kate, Scott, Hailey, Erica, Denis, Mom, Dad, Oma, et al. Uhh, by the way family – I will be in town this weekend. Party at Micaela’s? I’m sure she won’t mind! (Just Kidding.) (Kind of.)

I was at work tonight when  coworker possibly changed my life as I know it. I told him so, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t believe me. The conversation went a little bit like this:

Me: “What did you get up to last night?”

Him: “Oh, just went to this weird bar. It specializes in board games, you go and drink beer and play board games and there is even a board game sommolier.”

Me: “WWWHHHHHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT. What. Seriously? You just changed my life.” (He thought I was being sarcastic. No.)

Alas, me and the roommates have make a date to hit up Snakes and Lattes in Toronto this week to check it out and let it change my life for good. Hopefully they will agree to take pictures (unlikely) or possibly make a video blog (likely, with enough beer) and let you know how we like it!

In the end, the job didn’t work out for me. Logistically, me and the position weren’t the right fit for each other, a situation which forced me to be honest, poised and professional. It was my decision, and here I am back at square one, career-wise.

This situation is a prime example why I should always go with my gut instincts, as mine are unfailingly accurate. (And no, I don’t want to talk about it.)

I’ve been working a ton at my new job lately (you know – the one that starts with an ‘R’ and rhymes with Boots). It’s funny starting a new job, especially one whose hours extend past regular office hours – you spend so much of your time with people you never would have even met before, and you get to know them so well. Their boyfriend problems, their exam schedule, the people you know in common, the products, etc. I see some of my coworkers more than I see my own boyfriend these days! Luckily I like the people I work with, but I can see how having annoying coworkers could make life a living hell.

So that’s my schpiel, blah blah blah, I’m working a lot, still trying to find the perfect job in my field, still trying to keep my head above water stress-wise, still trying to find a doctor and a neurologist for more testing, still loving my new apartment, definitely still loving the Fall weather. It was snowing yesterday morning when I left the house and I almost criend tears of joy. Still missing Calgary, still excited for Micaela’s baby to arrive, still sad she is moving away from Toronto, still worrying too much about things that are out of my control…

(Side note: Kate and our friends Laura and Allison just stopped by to check out my new digs! Thanks girls, it was really nice to see you and talk about babies.)

-weheartit-

Also: Jamielynn asked in my post from last week which church I go to in Ottawa. Well the answer is, I don’t usually go to church in Ottawa.  As for the times I did go, I went a couple of times with a friend to Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, which is Ottawa’s oldest church, and is right across from the beautiful National Gallery of Art (check it out. Seriously awesome).  We chose that one because we’ve heard so much about it, and how amazing it is.  They really play up the fact that it is old and famous though.  When I’m home I go every week with our parents, Kate, Hailey, Oma, our aunt Louie, and whoever happens to be around to come with us.

-all from weheartit-

Don’t forget to send in your (real or fake!) moustache pictures for Movember!

Last week:

I love quotes. I like how quotes don’t only come from men and women who have been written about in history books, but perhaps the homeless guy down the street or your best friend’s parent, or even sidewalks.

A while ago, Micaela posted a bit about ‘sisterly connections’, which has quickly become a favourite quote of mine. She wrote:

“The sister connection goes much deeper than things like ‘getting along’. We do, and we don’t, and then we forget that we ever didn’t.”

I truly couldn’t find a better way to describe a sister’s relationship. Honestly, that quote could probably be used to describe the relationship between you and your best friend, too. If you’re a quote lover like me and are constantly looking for new ones to be inspired by, I suggest getting a Tumblr account and following random individuals. It’s a never-ending resource for inspiration.

Do you have a favourite quote? If you do, please share it in the comments.