Cyber Monday

Sorry I've been AWOL lately, I've been working on my final paper for one of my classes. 5000 words is a lot of papers... who knew? Now I've only got the editing to do and then I'm done with that course (thank goodness). I've also been at work a lot, how do people have a social life when they work full time?

Admist all my madness, I have spent quite a bit of time shopping. Here in Canada I felt the black friday deals weren't that great and today with the cyber monday deals, I'm not too impressed. I find that it's harder to find deals when you know everyone else is shopping too. I love going to malls that very few people frequent because that's where everything is marked down and all of the good sizes are left. Shopping is a science. You have to consider the demographics of the area and that tells you if they're more likely to carry your size. If the demographic is completely opposite to you (eg. most of the people in the area is large and you're small, then that's a mall that you want to go to). So there you go, now you know my secret, tell all your friends.

top} $9 Winners
skinny jeans} $2.50 Stitches
heels} $3 Walmart
white purse} gift from my sister from a trip to paris

Do It All Again

This Friday was girls night. There's nothing better than gathering the girls up and chatting away. I think we spent almost 4 hours at Starbucks sipping our venti caramel brule lattes and peppermint mochas. We usually have activities planned and all but my favourite outings are ones where we can all sit down and talk/gossip.

So I guess the lesson this week is:

Have your own friends.

While it's great to share friends and have other couples to double date with (I love double dating), it's also important to have friends outside of the relationship. When Friday night rolls around and your significant other is busy, it's nice to have other people to hang out with. They're also handy when you get sick of your partner (but that never happens, right?)

This also goes along with last week's topic of doing your own thing and having your own hobbies. Many often lose their individualism when they're in a relationship. Having your own friends lets you just be you while not being constantly be attached to someone else.

So gather your friends and enjoy your night on the town.

Happy Friday!

Makeshift

Lately, my boyfriend and I are tightening our belts because he is on a budget (check out his blog here). So of course, we're trying to save money on dates. But one thing that I can't compromise on is my sweet tooth. Instead of getting dessert at the restaurant or going to an ice cream parlour, we just picked up some Ben & Jerry's and ate it in the park. It was kind of our impromptu mini picnic. Who knew being cheap can also be romantic?

Miss Independent

Do your own thing.

You've all probably heard this one before. It's important to have interests outside of your relationship, blah blah blah. But the reason why people say it so often is because it's true.

Having hobbies benefits the relationship but most importantly, it's beneficial to you. When you have your own thing to do, you aren't constantly fixated on your relationship. For me, having different interests makes me feel like more of an individual. Having been in a relationship for so long, you start to fuse into one person and people outside of the relationship see you as a package deal. By doing my own thing and having something else to focus on just makes me feel like I'm my own person again.

Being more independent makes you more attractive and having hobbies make you interesting. And honestly, the whole motivation behind this blog was because I wanted to start doing something in my spare time. Of course, there were also many other factors but this was one of them.

While some dependence is necessary in order for a relationship to work, having your own interests can be empowering. It shows that you're an individual who is actively choosing to be in the relationship.

Have a great weekend!

Pressed

In case you haven't read my previous post, I'm a romantic. So of course, I love dates because I love the whole idea behind it; getting to spend time together and being all fancy s'mancy. While McDonalds is my boyfriend's idea of a romantic date, I would prefer a smaller, quieter restaurant.

It's so much fun to pick a random place to try out and that's kind of what I did for this panini shop. I've been passing by it for 2 years on my way to school so it was nice to actually go in and try it out. The panini's were so delicious and I love the atmosphere, I can't wait to go back there again!

Go to http://www.mangiacake.ca/ and try it out yourself

Romance is in the Air

I'm a romantic, so of course, reading this story made me cry. The story's about a couple who had been together for 72 years who died one hour apart from each other. In today's world where people get divored 72 days after an extravagant wedding (ahem, Ms. Kardashian), it's nice to hear stories about lasting love.

I'm sure this couple, like all others, probably had their ups and downs but the point is that they were together for so long and if they hadn't been in a car accident, they would still be together. When you hear about the high divorce rates and you see all these celebrities separating in the media, it's discouraging. It makes you wonder if it's even possible for two people to be together forever.

The problem with a lot of couples is that they rush into things. They get married because they feel their biological clock ticking, they think they should be taking the next step, or that it's something fun to do. Whatever happened to taking the time to find that special someone, getting to know them inside out and falling in love? Or are we all falling in love too easily?

Whatever it is, it's great to hear stories about couples who are commited to each other and commited to being with one another. I hope you all like this story too!

My favourite thing about fall is taking my boots out of the closet and giving them some fresh air. It's so strange, every summer I miss wearing warm sweaters and boots but every winter I miss my skirts and flip flops. Why do we always want what we can't have?

But one thing I always love are weekends (and lucky for me, mine already started). I have a long weekend this week because I worked an extra shift last week. Yay, what should I do this weekend?

black tee} $3.00 Smart Set
skirt} $12 Club Monaco
boots} $10 from a small boutique
scarf} $2 Ardene