August Love List

 

As I mentioned in this post last week, I'm crazy obsessed with Youtubers lately. Especially the British beauty vloggers. My sister and I often talk about them as if they were close friends of ours (no shame). One of those Youtube/Bloggers is Victoria from Inthefrow. She recently did a video titled August Love List. And I thought it would translate well into a blog post so here goes! 

 

What I Watched: The entire first season of True Detective. Holy moly, I still don't understand how I become so invested after only 8 episodes but I'm not ready to say goodbye to Marty and Rust.

What I Snapped: My favourite picture was of one of the Joffre lakes at the peak of our hike a few weekends ago in Whistler. Find the photo here.

Who I Loved: Mi familia! This month was full of family camping, hangouts and get togethers. I feel so lucky to be surrounded (and related) to such amazing people!

What I Wore: I've been loving these boyfriend jeans (called girlfriend jeans) lately and love to pair them with casual t's or dress them up with flowy tanks.

What I Did: Our Scenic Rush day for sure! It was just so beautiful and I loved seeing Brandon's excitement. Truly a once in a lifetime experience.

What I Ate: Can I say too much? haha

What I Drank: Rickards Radlers became a summer fav, because of their light sweet taste. Perfect for patio sitting and sunset watching!

Where I Went: Camping in Whistler with the whole family and dogs was a favourite trip this month. It was casual but fun. We saw some beautiful spots, ate some amazing food and had plenty of laughs.

What I Heard: My favourite song this month was a tune that I found on a workout playlist and it seemed to get my ass in gear when you need that little pick me up!  Waiting All Night ft. Ella Eyre - Rudimental. Have a listen here!

What I Used: I'm currently using Laroche Posay Effaclar face wash in an attempt to clear up my face and after 2 weeks of use I am actually noticing a difference! Still not crystal clear but I do know that it is a process. Stay tuned as I plan to post a review after a month of use!

 

 

 

A Little Bit of Randomness

 

I swear this week has gone so fast! One day it's Monday morning and the next it's Thursday afternoon. Where did the week go?

 

I was planning to share another room in out home renovation tour but silly me still hasn't uploaded the after photos so we're going with a random thoughts post and maybe I'll be productive tomorrow and upload two posts! We shall see.

 

A few thoughts bumbling around my head this morning:

 

-I am 100% ready for fall and winter. I apologize to all you summer sun worshipers but I am so excited for rain and wind storms, cozy nights snuggled up, having a REAL fire in our fireplace, peppermint schnapps and hot chocolate, Hunter boots, toques and mittens, the fresh smell of cold morning air, all of the candles, bubble baths, ski season, holiday movies and everything in between. And I am aware that around February 12th I will hate most of the above. There's four seasons for a reason.

 

-This post made me laugh and then has continued to make me laugh throughout the day. I'm hoping she wasn't serious on everything but it did give me several "it's funny because it's true" moments!

 

-It doesn't matter how on top of it you are or how efficient you become there will ALWAYS be laundry, dishes and cooking to do. Like forever.

 

-I think it should be a rule that no matter what you're doing, if you feel like exercising you should just be allowed to drop everything and work out. Doesn't matter, working, getting your teeth cleaned, in school etc. I feel like I would work out more if that was the case.

 

-What does it feel like to have a 6pack? 

 

 

A Letter: Sleepless Nights

Bear not losing any sleep

 

Dear Sleepless Nights,

 

Good morning. Or should I say Bad morning?

 

Recently you've come into my life and I want to let you know that you were not invited nor expected. You've made waking up for early morning gym workouts incredibly difficult. Not impossible just hard. I've met you several times over the years, usually when my life was stressful like around exam time or during intense life decisions. And to be honest I understood your presence. Right now however, you've come at me with wild dreams, restless legs and increasing bathroom breaks. These night time interruptions are not welcomed. I'd like you to leave. I look forward to my 7 continuous hours of sleep each night and you've completely ruined that. Please consider this letter a polite way of asking you to move on.

 

Many thanks,

 

Brittany

 

P.S. My cup of tea does want to thank you for deepening my relationship with it as I now require two.

 

 

Taking Stock

 

Making: a point to do what makes me happy
Cooking: the most random meals for dinner lately. Brandon hasn't been complaining but I definitely need to bring back meal planning.
Drinking: blueberry black tea
Reading: just started the Girl on the Train, so far SO good
Wanting: to enjoy the last few weeks of summer
Looking: at holiday décor already... oops!
Playing: oldish Mariah. Aka The Emancipation of Mimi. Love.
Wasting: time watching old episodes of Australia's Next Top Model. You could say obsessed.
Wishing: my skin would sort itself out! God damn adult acne...
Enjoying: my workouts again
Waiting: for clear answers
Liking: my morning routine: gym > breakfast > getting ready > hanging out with Bear
Wondering: about the best choice for our federal government
Loving: relaxing nights in with my hubby.
Hoping: going back to school is a good choice
Marveling: at how fast this summer has gone!
Needing: a couple extra hours this weekend to get the boring stuff done
Smelling: fresh linen scent... everywhere, Brandon is in love with air fresheners!
Wearing: jeans again, loving that the temps have dropped a bit
Following: so many YouTubers, especially the British ones
Noticing: that True Detective before bed leads to CRAZY dreams
Knowing: everything happens for a reason
Thinking: about so many things
Bookmarking: a lot of recipes (see note above about meal planning)
Opening: up to myself about what I really want
Giggling: at Bear, all day everyday
Feeling: anxious but hopeful

 

Stole this from Sidney at The Daybook Blog.

Home Renovations: The Living Room

Tomorrow will mark one year since Brandon and I received possession of our first home! To celebrate this exciting anniversary I thought I'd finally share some pictures of our renovations!

 

I want to start by saying that Brandon has done an amazing job making all of my designer dreams come to life. Not only is this our first place as homeowners but it is also our first place ever so it was really intimidating to not only renovate but to decorate and really cultivate our own style.

 

The first room we painted was the living room. We knew this is where we would spend the most amount of time and where we would hang out with friends and family. I wanted a clean slate to be able dress up once we purchased furniture and accessories so we went with a warm white and gray colour scheme.

 

I cannot sufficiently describe the difference the white made vs the original brown and green. All of a sudden our humble living room seemed super spacious. Going with a lighter colour can make a world of difference!

Note... I totally forgot to take "Before Photos" when we actually moved in, so all of the before photos are when the previous owners still lived there...oops!

BEFORE:

 

 AFTER:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't do any major construction in this space, just some paint, TLC and décor touches. Can't wait to show you the rest of our home! Most of the décor is from Homesense and a few things from Ikea. The A-frame shelving unit is from Reclaimer Craft Design and the large wooden sign is from IndieHaus. Both are on Etsy and were so lovely to deal with. The sign is custom as they usually don't come that large and I chose a few lyrics from our wedding song. Oh and the sugar skull is handpainted from our honeymoon in Cancun! This room is still a bit of a work in progress as I would love to find something different to put into the corner where our TV box etc live and I have a chair that will replace the leather one but it just needs to be refinished first.

*Sorry about the photos. I took them in a bit of a rush one morning. The others will be better :)

 

 

Babe, there's no speed limit

 

Recently Brandon and I had a day that had me humming a classic Shania song... "Just go faster, faster, don't be slow Rev it up, rev it up 'til your engine blows".

 

For our one year wedding anniversary (!!) I gifted Brandon the Sea to Sky Experience with Scenic Rush. Our actual anniversary isn't for a couple of weeks but this is definitely best enjoyed on a beautiful summer day and didn't want to risk the chance of having a rainy September to try and deal with.

 

Long story short, Brandon and I, as his shotgun rider, got to drive some of the most powerful and luxurious sports cars up a beautiful stretch of highway as well as enjoy a gondola ride up a mountain to enjoy some gorgeous views of our beautiful province.

 

It was a perfect day and I had so much fun seeing Brandon's smile and excitement for a solid 4 hours. I might just be up for wife of the year ;)

 

Let the photo dump begin:

 

 

Back to School Fall Wishlist !!

This September I am officially going back to school!

 

"Woo" "yaa" cue the Staples commercials!

 

I think it's been 18 months since I decided to leave university and graduate with my diploma instead of my degree. At the time, it was a tough decision but one that I knew I had to make because I was starting to get very discouraged and burnt out and honestly wasn't sure if business was the direction I wanted to go anymore. But I've recently learnt that I only have 7 courses left to complete my degree and since I am in a much better head space, now is the time to get back into it!

 

Something about the prospect of heading to classes in a few weeks has me thinking about my Fall wardrobe. Hence a little wish list creation on the H&M website! Check out my Back to School picks below:

 

 

 

1.//2.//3.//4.//5.//6.//7.//8.//9.//10.

 

As you can tell I'm channeling a soft, comfy, casual look which is perfect for morning classes and late night study sessions. Bring on the rainy days and warm bevies... oh and exams and projects..sigh.

 

What is on your Fall must-have list?