This is the New Year.

I sit here thinking about 2012, all of the things I have done, and all of the changes I have made.
This year has been an amazing learning experience, and what is life without learning?

I got my first non-student job, met a tonne of new people, and spent quality times with the people I love.

I completed a year of a much healthier lifestyle, spent the time reading just for fun (for the first time... ever), and kept up this blog for a whole other year.

Do I have any goals for 2013? 

1. To venture outside my comfort zone more. 

This was a 2012 goal.
I did a bit, but not as much as I had hoped I might. It's back on the list for 2013.

2. To budget and stick to it. 

This is so hard for me. I'm living with my parents without too many expenses, so I can justify "spending" a lot more. 

My goal will be to save 70-75% of my monthly income. 

Aggressive, but really it should be easy for someone in my situation. 

3. Love and appreciate more. 

I live with my family. They get on my nerves. It happens to everyone. 

But I don't want to look back on these years and regret not appreciating them enough. 

Do you have any goals for 2013?

Happy New Year to everyone :)

Pink pants.

Top: Tommy Hilfiger

Vest: Old Navy

Pants: Costco

Belt, necklace: Forever 21

Know what's exciting? 

Finding out you can fit a pair of girls pants.

And then buying them in two colours, for $9.99 each.

Quote of the day.

I came across this quote in a book that I was reading a couple of months ago.
I thought it was too awesome to keep hidden.

What to wear: New Years Eve

Now that Christmas is over (sort of...), it's time to start thinking about New Years Eve (too early?). 

With a party to ring-in the new year, naturally I am asking myself "what the heck do I wear?"

As I see it, I've got two options: 

A Dress?

(1) // (2) // (3)

Pros: 

- I don't often wear dresses.

- Being fancy is easy.

- I don't get many opportunities to wear a fancy dress (pro 1 + pro 2..does it count?).

Cons: 

- Unlikely to wear again - I don't often wear dresses. 

- Could be cold. I am always really cold.

Top & shiny pants?

Tunic, Leggings, // Pants, Peplum top

Pros:

- More likely to wear again - can be remixed a little easier.

- I really want an excuse to get coated jeans or leggings...

Cons: 

- Maybe not as fancy as a dress.

- Again, don't get many opportunities to wear fancy dresses. I might feel like I'm wasting one!

Gosh, I have no idea what I'm going to wear. Against some peoples' recommendations, I'm heading into town for some boxing day shopping..Some of these sales are 1-day only and you know me and sales... :\
We shall see what I end up with!

Merry Christmas!

From the pup & I, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.

After the storm.

So about that snow storm we had...
It was a fun drive into work on Friday morning. And then drive home Friday night.
The world might as well have ended because of the number of car/bus/cop accidents that I heard about and saw.

At least the pup seems to be enjoying the fresh foot of snow. As long as he's got his stick :)

Before the storm.

So this is the before photo.
Stick around and you might get to see how it looks now. 

Winter red.

Vest: The Bay (Material Girl)

Top: H&M

Pants: Winners

Boots: Le Chateau

"Be festive", they say.

So I wear red pants. 

Chocolate bark.

As Christmas creeps up, I figure I should do something nice for my bosses at work. I didn't really want to buy them anything (who knows what to get them?), so I decided to turn to junk food. Chocolate bark, to be more specific.

Chocolate bark is pretty. It's fun and fancy, and pretty hard to screw up. 

Sweet. Right up my ally.

First, I chopped up the chocolate. 

Second, I melted the chocolate. I boiled a pot of water on the stove and held the other pot with chocolate overtop of the boiling water. I don't have one of those fancy devices, so I improvised.

Third, I poured the melted chocolate into pans and added the toppings.

...Then I stuck them in the fridge to cool.

One finger blister and a sore arm later, I've got three different kinds of chocolate bark that I'll split between my two co-workers.

Semi-sweet chocolate + marshmallows + toffee bits drizzled in bittersweet chocolate

Semi-sweet chocolate + almond slivers + dried cranberries

White chocolate + crushed candy canes + bittersweet chocolate

Lessons learned? 

- Chopping chocolate sucks. 

- Bittersweet chocolate is really bitter, so maybe use less next time. It's a good thing they like a dark chocolate..
- Need to come up with a good way to get them OUT of the pans..

- Make twice as much so you can enjoy some too.

Happy Holidays :)

Quote of the day.

Source: en.wikipedia.org via Kelly on Pinterest

This is kind of how I feel right now.
Not sure about where I'm going, what I'm doing.
Anything is possible, but where to begin?

Time for some new adventures, I think. :)

New finds.

Sweater: Forever 21

Top: H&M

Jeans: American Eagle

Boots: Walmart

Watch: Fossil

Finally. A cream cable knit sweater. 

And a new favourite plaid top. 

Kelly's winter outfit-of-choice, right here.

Knit sweaters.

Source: sierrachantal.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: fashforfashion.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: shophopes.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: thewhimsypearl.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: prettylifeanonymous.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Since the weather has taken a turn for the worse, I've been dreaming of knit sweaters. 

Like these ones here. 

Toronto with my long-lost bff.

Just a little re-cap post about what went down in Toronto this weekend.

First, I waited for the train. Waiting sucks. Five hours later I was in our hotel, downtown, enjoying the view.

Our first night consisted of the following: A trip to Bulk Barn for necessary candy, a bottle of wine to share, and a great movie to enjoy and quote. 

Then we shopped. While we shopped we found some fun faux eyelash testers at Sephora, and ran into Jim- I mean, John on the cover of some random mag. In case you didn't know, he's my faaaavourite.

You might not have noticed, but I was also wearing clothes on my trip. Here's a shot of the travel outfit on our last day, and a plastic dress from Forever 21 that I was so compelled to try on.. But no, I didn't buy it.

We also ate, since humans can't survive without food (fact!). Especially poutine from New York Fries. And yummy pub food from some random place we found. Woohoo!

Lastly, we went out on Saturday night and had the most random time that resulted in a horse mask being worn. A little creepy, no?

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I'm leaving, on a jet...train?

Guys, I'm on a train! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I'm mostly excited because I haven't been on a train in about 7 years? Maybe 8? Could be 10...

Hence the over-excited selfie. That was taken mayyyybe 3 minutes ago. Thank god the person beside me is reading and not paying attention to what I'm doing, otherwise she might think I'm a little weird.

Maybe I am a little weird.

Okay, I am a little weird. :)

I'm heading to Toronto to see my bff who I haven't seen in over a year and a half. We're going to spend the weekend shopping and bonding. On the agenda when I get in tonight? Wine and Monty Python's The Holy Grail.

Catch you all on the flip side! ;)

p.s. I only packed one outfit. I win!

If you want, you can follow along on my instagram and twitter for updates, since I'll be taking full advantage of being in the big city!!!

Current favourites: Urban Outfitters.

One Line a Day notebook // Reversible knit cardigan // Chevron shower curtain // Wall pocket  // Chiffon button down // Head massager - who doesn't need one? 

Seriously. Give me all of it. 

Before the snow.

Sweater: Forever 21

Pants: Kenneth Cole

Boots: Call it Spring

Scarf: Old Navy

Watch: Fossil

These were taken before I took my blog break. 

There was no snow. Then there was snow. Now there's no snow again.
Make up your mind, weather.

Source: straightlinesquare.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

... Just in case you forgot :)

A year of single.

So when I said this blog would become personal, here's an example of how. Beware, this'll be a long post. 

About a year ago, I became single for the first time in almost 7 years. Since the age of 16, I had both a year-long relationship, and when that crumbled, jumped into a 5 and 1/2 year long relationship with my most recent ex-boyfriend.

When we broke up, my biggest fear was:

What am I going to do with my life? How do you be single? 

I had "grown up" in the 7 years that I was in relationships. I went from my sweet-16 up until my very last semester of University. I went through lots of personal growth with someone there to turn to, someone to be with. Which is why I expected the transition to single-hood to be very difficult.

We ended the lease on our apartment and I moved back home with my family. They gave me any love and support I needed. I spent almost two weeks with my amazing cousin who kept my mind off of boys. I started spending more and more time with my best friend, and finally saw her more than once every couple of months. I rekindled relationships and started spending time with some people who have turned into amazing friends over the year.

I started to realize that being single wasn't so bad.

But then I was shocked by a reaction I recently had. A couple weeks ago, I ran into someone who I hadn't seen in years. We started talking and she asked who I was seeing - not if I was seeing someone. I admit to having felt a little embarrassed that I wasn't in a relationship, or even dating anyone. Everyone she knows, and nearly everyone that I know, is.  

It gave that evil part inside of me the chance to whisper:  

It's because you're weird, ugly, not good enough. 

But then I realized there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Being single is just as normal as being in a relationship,  and means nothing more than you haven't found the right person yet. I feel like I am finally beginning to figure out who I am and who I want to be. That's the most important thing in life. I haven't felt stress like I used to - mostly because I'm only taking care of myself. I don't make decisions based on anyone else but me.

Being single isn't the pain I thought it would be. I've begun to love myself, appreciate the alone times, and think about me and what I truly want.

It's just another way of life. Something to be embraced, enjoyed and celebrated.

And I'm finally figuring out how to do it.

Cozy wrap sweater.

Sweater: Zellers

Tee & belt: Forever 21

Jeggings: Dynamite

Socks: H&M

Boots: Payless

When the world around me starts to look dead, I can't think of anything better than a cozy wrap sweater to snuggle into. 

Winter is coming.
Update: Winter has come. It's been snowing. Gross.

Adventures in Watertown.

This weekend I went cross-border shopping in Watertown with a friend of mine. I took some random snapshots of the day and some of the fun things we found.

As a Canadian, there are certain things that excited me. Most of the American readers of this blog would likely find these less-than-thrilling...

I went to the Olive Garden. For the first time ever, after enduring years of commercials featuring tasty pasta dishes. It lived up to the expectations! Breaded mozza sticks? Best food of life. Highlight of the day, by far.

I went to Big Lots and bought some peeps for $1. Firstly, it's awesome there's a store called Big Lots. Secondly, I bought lots of things for $1 here.  Thirdly, I just ate all these peeps right now. 

Also I found myself some Vanilla Coke. Why the heck did this comeback not make it up to Canada?!

"Hefty Hefty Hefty"... We don't have this brand in Canada, and I always laugh at how ridiculous these commercials are. And then I found a cereal called Koo-kies. Probably the best cereal ever. Probably a guarantee for diabetes.  But I'm sure it tastes incredible!

Parking for a horse & buggy. Never ever seen this before. And the stoplights and signs hang on wires! This begs the question... what happens when it's windy? How are you supposed to know the left-turn lane from the go-straight lane? Do they ever move? Please, someone enlighten me. I am curious!

Apparently Walmart holds "the only way to crown your throne": Toilet Tattoos <-- most random/weird/hilarious find of the day. And I am officially a Max-inista!