August 30, 2015

girls day


Sweet, sweet summer days. Is there really anything better? There are a lot of things I love about summer, but the social acceptability of topping basically everything with ice cream might be my ultimate favourite. I made these coconut creamsicle margaritas a couple summers ago and they were amazing, my favourite summer drink I've come across thus far, so I knew I had to make them again with Sunny and Navneet! Our day was blissfully lazy and cuddly and perfect.


coconut creamsicle margaritas, slightly modified from howsweeteats

ingredients for 2 small servings:
  • 2 ounces of coconut rum
  • 2 ounces of orange juice
  • 1 1/2 ounces of tequila
  • 1 ounce of lime juice
  • 1 ounce coconut water
  • 1 ounce canned light coconut milk
  • 1 ounce simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, boiled then cooled)
  • vanilla ice cream
  • honey and toasted coconut for glass rims
directions:

to rim glasses, fill a plate with coconut. rub honey over the rims of the glasses then place on the plate with coconut. set aside.

combine coconut rum, orange juice, tequila, lime juice, coconut water, coconut milk and simple syrup in a shaker and shake well for 30 seconds. pour into glass rimmed with coconut and scoop as much ice cream as you want on top. drink!

August 27, 2015

colourpop!


We have a confession: we are in love with Colourpop. Here's why: the quality is amazing, the price is amazing ($5 for lippies and eyeshadows and $8 for blush!!!!), the colour selection is AMAZING and unlike anything we've seen elsewhere. Check it out for yourself!


from the wrist out: swift, quarters, between the sheets, bonus, tonic, wisp (blushes + highlighter)


from the wrist out: smash,  game face, get lucky,  i heart this, girly, amaze, sequin

sequin, so quiche, hammered, mooning, shameless, bae, dare

hanky panky, to-a-t, bandit, mittens






mittens, bandit, to-a-t, hanky panky, smash

sequin, amaze, girly, i heart this, get lucky, game face

drift, shameless on top, bae on the bottom, mooning, hammered, so quiche

swift, between the sheets, quarters, bonus, tonic, wisp

brunch lippie

chi chi lippie



pitch lippie with hammered, mooning, girly eyeshadow



 
chi chi lippie with game face and mooning eyeshadows

August 10, 2015

summer daze



#friendship
On this beautiful May day (yes, we know this post is late) Gabby and I had a lovely time watching Cinderella in the cheapo theatre near my house. It was very light and required no thinking whatsoever and we got to ooh and aah at all the beautiful cinematography. Sometimes everyone needs a day to relax, and what better way to do it than in the company of your best friend? Afterwards, we drove to this strange little park just out in the middle of nowhere. It's literally just a couple of paths surrounded by grass and a random train track, but the longer we took pictures there, the prettier it seemed to become, particularly as the day began to draw to a close.

top from h&m, skirt from ross, bag from forever21

jacket from buffalo exchange

dress from forever21, watch from triwa

bae and i heart this eyeshadows by colourpop, brink lip liner and leather lipstick by colourpop
Obligatory makeup shot. I've been working hard on my skillz since I got into Colourpop--post on that coming soon! Also, this dress makes me feel like some kind of Greek goddess... wishful thinking says armour-free Athena?




shoes (that i can't believe we didn't get a decent shot of) from aldo



shoes from kenzie girl



I've never truly been a fan of summer--fall is the season that makes my heart come alive, honestly. Summer can be hard because I've always appreciated the hustle and routine brought on by school, and to be free of that makes me feel kind of weird sometimes, haha. Moments like this, though--being with someone I love in a strange, beautiful place surrounded by mountains, endless sky and silence--they make me feel like I can see the beauty in the season. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think this was one of those summer days that was absolutely perfect because of its simplicity. I truly hope everyone's summer has been full of random, lovely little moments like this, too. :)

August 04, 2015

what doesn't kill me

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After a lifetime of unrequited crushes, 2015 has been a pretty interesting year for me so far in terms of romance. I've experienced two very different relationships with two very different people--the first of whom was more a friend than a lover, and the second who was just... complicated. A month ago yesterday, I broke it off with him because I realized I was very, very unhappy--not just in the relationship, but in the fact that I have been suffering with anxiety and depression this summer, and I was having real difficulty in reaching out to my partner and not feeling like a burden, as well as difficulty in feeling like he understood what I was going through.

The truth is that I still spend most days regretting many of the things I did and said, and I often feel like I`m to blame for the failure of the relationship--which is something that, as far as I understand, is pretty common among people who struggle with mental illness. But what I want to emphasize in this entry, both as a reminder to myself and to others, is that your illness does not define you. There is so much I have learned and that I am still learning, but that's something I've always had difficulty coping with--the idea that maybe my illness will be a part of me forever and impact all the important aspects of my life. That it might even destroy my romantic relationships because it's too much, or because I'm somehow not enough. And it's true that it has definitely affected who I am and many of the connections I've made in my life. What I've come to realize, though... well, I'll share that soon enough. I thought perhaps if I shared some of the things I have realized through this relationship overall, it could prove helpful and maybe even cathartic for anyone who might need them. (Including myself.)


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1. Reaching out to others when you're in pain is so, so important, especially if you have difficulty in coping on your own. For me, this is particularly important since I have a tendency to blame myself most for whatever I'm feeling shitty about, even if the source is external. Talking to other people adds rationality to a situation that may otherwise be entirely driven by emotion, and sometimes it's especially good to have a voice of reason to kindly but firmly add some third-person insight.

2. For me, that's the reminder that no relationship is one-way--and a normal relationship failing is no-one's fault, or at the very least not any one person's fault. If things were equal on both sides, you're doing yourself, your ex, and your relationship a disservice by blaming any one thing.

3. Talking to others also reminds you that you aren't alone--both in the fact that you don't have to be stranded in an island of pain and loneliness, and in the fact that your problems aren't unique and others have survived the same shit you're going through. Hearing a friend tell me today that she knows exactly what I'm going through, and how she dealt with it, has been one of the most comforting things I've heard in days.

4. Sometimes, though, talking about it is impossible. There are going to be a lot of really bad days. Relationships are scary because being vulnerable in front of another person is terrifying enough to begin with, but then there's the chance that you'll end up with a broken heart and it'll feel like it'll last forever. The only way to really survive the worst days is to know what your own coping mechanisms are and do your best to engage in them. For me, some ways to cope are to are to exercise, cook, read, and talk to friends. At my lowest points, I've found I can't even engage in any of these coping mechanisms--and that's a good time to take a nap, or otherwise find a way to give yourself a break from your thinking.

5. It's good to remember the good aspects of the relationship, but not during the time when you're still getting over someone. I've made a list of all the reasons why I needed to break up with my partner, and it actually has proven helpful.

6. Focusing a lot on the good days, or even the good moments, has helped me an immeasurable amount. I try to hold on to how I'm feeling by documenting it as best as I can--using pictures, words, whatever else I think might help me best remember the fact that these moments still exist even when you feel like you might never be happy again.

7. The hardest lesson I've learned so far: sometimes there's no such thing as closure. So far, all the people that I've fallen in love with are people who have stayed in my life even after I moved on, and that's always been something that's made me very happy because even if I no longer love them romantically, I'm still lucky enough to be a part of their life. In this particular relationship, my ex not only did not want to end things on a peaceful note--he just no longer wants to interact with me in any way. Almost every day, I've imagined us having a coffee, just being okay, and deciding to give each other a break before returning to friendship later on. The truth is that sometimes life just doesn't work like that, and that means that you just have to try to do the best you can, even if that means putting what you want aside.

8. Crying is okay. Leaning on people is okay. And if you still can't deal with the situation even though you're trying your hardest, it can be a good idea to seek professional help.

9. There's no changing the past. Your instincts are important, and if you felt wrong in your relationship at any point, or you felt the need to break it off, you were probably right in doing so, even if there are times when it doesn't feel like that.

10. The most important lesson, and the hardest one for me, personally, to believe and remember, is that having a mental illness does not mean you are unworthy of love. If anything, losing this guy who probably wasn't even right for me has made me realize, more than ever, how truly loved I am. I have so many people who I've commiserated with and others who have somehow accidentally found out that I'm going through a rough patch and still find the time to ask me how I'm doing despite the fact that they barely know me. And then, of course, I have the friends who I can text in my moments of real despair and anger, the ones whose love and partnership truly does feel unconditional. It's okay to have a hard time loving yourself, once in a while, because there are special people who can do it for you when things are especially bad.

I'm learning now that some things just are the way they are, even if there's no reason for them to be that way. Sometimes things just change, or they come to an end, and that's okay--life will keep going, sooner or later. Right now, it's okay to breathe through it, or cry or shout or scream through it too. You're gonna be alright, and I am too. 

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April 12, 2015

end of semester celebration!!!

It's that time of the year when your actual lectures are over and you find yourself doing anything and everything rather than studying for your finals. One more semester down and two more to go for me, but Navneet is ALL DONE - like pack bags and go home done. Like never come back apart from graduation ALL DONE. Oh dang. This is obviously very awesome and I'm so #proudofher .... but it meant that yesterday was the last after-class-on-Friday hangout we'll ever have. I'll be feeling nostalgic about it this Friday probably. So you know we had to go all out and eat fried chicken and waffles!!!!!! But first, our kick-butt outfits.




slightly wrinkled and rained on dress from h&m, jacket from zara, shoes from target




jacket from buffalo exchange, dress and tights from urban outfitters, long-sleeved shirt from hollister, boots from spring

We did our research and according to the Internet, Portland Craft has one of the best fried chicken and waffle creations in Vancouver. Although we had never eaten fried chicken and waffles together, we pride ourselves on having pretty distinguished palettes (ok maybe that's just me, but I could be wrong) and man, were we in for a culinary experience!


I honestly do not know how to describe to you just how freakin delicious fried chicken, waffles, gravy, and maple syrup taste together. Separately they are great, but together the effect is synergistic. That's a new word I learned this semester in my public health class!!! It means that the effect of the combination of the two things is multiplicative instead of additive. If you've never tried all 4 together, you gotta do it. I woke up today #flawless thinking of fried chicken and waffles. That's when you know it's good, man.


And then!!! Rose cream filled donut bites!!!! How cute are these little guys! The combination of the rose cream with the flaky pastry inside and the just-right crispy outside - also a synergistic effect. The rose cream reminded me of the perfume that sweet, huggable Grandmas always seem to wear. You think that that would be a bad thing but it was similar to an edible version of a Grandma hug, which is obviously a very good thing. Trust us.


I almost forgot about the beer! The beer!!! We really don't know anything about beer so we asked our server for a recommendation for something light and slightly sweet. We decided on Pyramid Breweries apricot ale and, oh dang, was it good. It was definitely sweet but not too sweet, light but not too light. And it was so complex! I've never tasted a more non-boring beer in my life. Granted, I haven't taste a lot of beer in my life but this one was definitely up there. It was the perfect pairing with our fried chicken and waffles and donut bites. All in all, a truly beautiful day and I currently want nothing more than to eat all of this again. Look at that fried chicken. Oh my gosh.