Isn’t it bizarre-o that it’s now 2015? I was talking with a friend of mine whose child was born five measly days ago and how their baby is literally a child of the future. They will never know what it’s like to be without internet and smart phones. Information at their fingertips. Being able to literally get whatever they want delivered to their front door, be it clothes, books, or something to eat. What a weird existence.
Carl Sagan once said, “The cosmos are within us.” I feel like that has never been truer. I look up at the night sky far more often than I used to, marveling at our small earthly home and the vast sky above us. How much longer is can our planet support us? How much longer until we become stars ourselves?
February 19th marks the start of the Chinese New Year, the year of the Sheep. Are any of you born in the year of the sheep/goat? Let’s hope we aren’t fooled by wolves in sheep’s clothing this year. I might celebrate my sheepish side by purchasing a shearling coat and eating some tripe. JK that’s disgusting.
Anyway, let’s be happy that we made it through to see another calendar year. What are some things that made your year special?
Okay so remember when I promised that I would continue blogging about green things until St. Patrick’s Day? Well that day has come and gone and I only ended up writing one green-themed post. Shame on me. Shame on me for doing other things besides sitting on my computer. Welcome to my blog of broken promises.
Anyway, I’m going to make it up to everyone/the 3 people who read this by giving you an avalanche of green things to feast your eyes on. Make sure to tell me some of your favorite green items as well!
I love this billowy green skirt:
But I’m also a sucker for this mermaid inspired pencil skirt:
One of the most memorable green gowns was worn by Keira Knightly in Atonement. Never forget:
I am also partial to this palm print:
And basically anything palm leaf themed:
A backyard filled with big, green topiaries is now my newest obsession:
However, I’m unsure if smelling like my backyard would be a good or a bad thing. Nevertheless, I applaud Lush for making this item smell exactly like the lawn:
I wouldn’t mind decorating my ears with these beauties:
Or painting my nails with this pretty peridot shade:
I could drink these green tea lattes all day. With a splash of raspberry, they’re surprisingly addictive:
This mint limeade looks thirst quenching during warmer weather:
I could see this green Persian-esque rug being a good addition to any sparse room:
Unless this little green-eyed beaut threw up on it:
Out of boredom and a severe lack of creativity, I decided to do one of these awful questionnaires that float around tumblr. I thought it had some good questions that helped me look back throughout the year. If you feel like doing this yourself, feel free to copy and paste it!
1:What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before? Visited Portland!
2:Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I think so, and no. I’m going to constantly try to better myself and do good.
3:Did anyone close to you give birth? A friend did, yes. And her baby is the cutest ever.
4:Did anyone close to you die? Nope. No one close to me ever dies. I never get the chance to put a cute funeral look together!
5:What countries did you visit? Canada. You don’t need to remind me how lame that is.
6:What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013? A puppy and more self confidence.
7:What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 5th only because it was my birthday and I had an extremely fun bash. Also May 4th because that’s when I took my husband to Disney World 🙂
8:What was your biggest achievement of the year? Reading over 30 books! An all-time high for me!
9:What was your biggest failure? Being idle.
10:Did you suffer illness or injury? A little bit here and there.
11:What was the best thing you bought? Anything that makes me feel good–facials, massages, bath products, perfume, etc.
12:Whose behavior merited celebration? My mom’s.
13:Whose behavior made you appalled? My dad’s.
14:Where did most of your money go? Bath products, books, movies, clothes, tennis lessons.
15:What did you get really, really, really excited about? Vacations, seeing family, shopping!
16:What song will always remind you of 2013? “Don’t Save Me” by Haim
17:Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? Happier, thinner, personally poorer, collectively richer. Things are lookin’ up for old Lils.
18:What do you wish you’d done more of? Exercised, volunteered, danced, stayed up late, laughed.
19:What do you wish you’d done less of? Sleeping, eating, being moody/mean.
20:How did you spend Christmas? In Vegas with my cute little husband. He’s not actually little, but he’s cute.
21:Did you fall in love in 2013? I continued to fall in love.
22:What was your favorite TV program? I liked Catfish, Biggest Loser, Breaking the Faith (all terrible reality TV shows) and Mad Men.
23:Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Hate, no. Highly dislike, probably. No one comes immediately to mind though.
24:What was the best book you read? Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was one of my favorites. I also loved East of Eden by John Steinbeck and The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.
25:What was your greatest musical discovery? Haim, Lorde, more Lana del Rey, more Elvis Costello, XM radio stations.
26:What did you want and get? A new iPad.
27:What did you want and not get? The ability to gracefully walk in heels.
28:What was your favorite film of this year? This is the End, Prisoners, Philomena, Blue Jasmine.
29:What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Growing and learning with my husband.
30:How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013? Black, maxi dresses, mini skirts, comfortable, sweaters, rings.
31:What kept you sane? My husband, my mom, and music.
32:Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Eddie Redmayne, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Franco, Ryan Reynolds.
33:What political issue stirred you the most? None. I am not one to be stirred by politics.
34:Who did you miss? My friends and family.
35:Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013. Blood isn’t always thicker than water.
36:Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. “Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be.” -Doris Day
Hope you have a happy new year! Thank you so much for following my blog, or just for stopping by! I really appreciate it!
I never thought I’d use a Katy Perry song as my title, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. Just be relieved that I didn’t use “I Kissed a Girl and I Liked it.”
This year my husband and I spent our Christmas in Vegas by ourselves which turned out to be a fun little getaway and something very different compared to my past Christmases. Celebrating the holiday in Las Vegas is not for the faint of heart. But it is a great time to go because the weather is nice and the crowds have died down.
I find that I always have a running commentary whenever I’m at a public attraction. There’s so much to see, so many people to judge, and a lot of things to laugh at. The following is a list of some of my brain’s dumb thought process while on vacation:
Everyone here is on crazy pills.
Why are people gambling at 8am? Why are they drinking at 8am?
A hustler tried to sell me his rap album and refered to me as Taylor Swift. Then he asked for my autograph and I told my husband to give him some money ($3) for his “album.” I got a talking to about interacting with strange men on the strip. Tee hee.
Mmm what smells so good?
So much foooood. Buffet dreamland.
What is the point of see through pants?
I think my legs are going to fall off…omg what is that? SO SPARKLY!
I hate slow walkers.
That cab driver is my new best friend.
Ahhh spa time.
Ahh jacuzzi time.
Ahh nap time.
Where am I? Who am I?
Elvis impersonator informs me that it’s “illegal to be that cute.” Umm alright. Why do I attract freaks?!
Did Wolf of Wall Street really need to be 3 hours long? Don’t get me wrong, I love Leo, but like, this was so unnecessary.
While eating the thinnest pizza ever I determine that this is what heaven tastes like.
Merry Christmas, homeless man!
While eating the most sugary milkshake ever, I decide that this is what hell tastes like and throw up in the bathroom like a real lady. Was there butter in that shake?!
Merry Christmas, crack addict!
Do people actually like Celine Dion this much?
She has her own gift shop?
Got tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles Love show and it was literally the bomb.com. I had this creepy smile on my face the entire time. It was gross.
Merry Christmas, Chinese man who’s been playing the slot machines since midnight yesterday!
“The Desert Inn Has Heart, The Desert Inn Has Heart…”
Why is there a five mile line up at Starbucks?
I want to punch that cab driver in the face.
Goodbye Vegas, thanks for the mems!
Have you ever been to Las Vegas? What did you think?
The world we live in today makes it easy to forget why we celebrate Christmas. Ever since childhood, we learn to connect presents with Christmas. Consumerism is at a high, but happiness is also apparent, so it’s not all bad.
A lot of people say that we should put Christ back in Christmas and I’ll often think “Right, Christmas is the time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.” but I wouldn’t really ponder any more about it. People will sing hymns, go to church, and decorate their houses to feel the spirit of Christmas, but is that it? Is that all we can do?
I went to a Live Nativity Pageant that my church put on last night and I was expecting it to be totally cheesy and dumb. I seriously always expect the worst for stuff like this because I’m always ready to cringe. But I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how much I learned about the birth of Jesus.
I think we have it easier living in a time where (for those who believe that Jesus was the son of God) Jesus had already come and died for our sins compared to those who were expecting his arrival 2,000 + years ago. I don’t know if I would’ve been a strong enough person to believe that God was going to send down a Savior to the world. So it’s cool to think that there were so many people that recognized his birth on the very first Christmas.
Like, the three Wise Men are so coolio. They were my favorite part of the nativity. Mostly because one of them was wearing shoes that looked like the Genie’s from Aladdin. Also, I just like the idea that they traveled so far to see an infant child that they knew was their King. It was eye opening for me since I never really thought much about baby Jesus being born in a manger. But the fact that people already knew how great he was the minute he arrived on this Earth, to have that much faith, really impressed me.
Can we just respect how flashy the first wise man was?
Also, the Wise Men had a llama with them which I could not stop watching. He really stole the show for me. Like, if I hadn’t known he was acting, I would’ve thought he was a biblical llama. The donkey in the manger was also exceptional as well as the goats.
The thing I like the most about Christmas is how happy and full of peace people are. Of course some families get lost in the shuffle and get stressed with holiday pressure. But I think if we keep this time of year simple, help our fellow men and women who need it, and make our hearts full of love and joy, this time of year will feel how it was intended to feel.
I hope all of you have a great holiday season. And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I hope you still get to spend time with your family and friends and feel warmth during this magical time of year.
I keep managing to out-do myself for worst title of all time. At least I’m not reviewing anything. I seem to find a way to review anything I touch, watch, or read. I just need to reside in a padded room from now on.
Anyway, for those of you panicking about finding a Halloween costume last minute, don’t you worry. I have some fun ideas that even the biggest idiot can pull off. Hopefully you’re familiar with the movies these characters are from, otherwise congrats! You might be the biggest idiot.
Let’s start with the easiest costume first: Joel Goodson from Risky Business
All you need is an oxford button down shirt (preferably with a pinkish hue, but white is passable too) and white socks. If you want to go above and beyond, you can also bring a tennis racket to use as a fake guitar while you’re standing on your friend’s coffee table. Note: It’s possible that you will become a mega douche when you wear this outfit. Beware.
Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction
I was actually planning on going as Mia this year but now I don’t have a party to go to. How generous of me to provide you with my easy costume idea. Mia is a great female costume. All you need is a ten dollar black bobbed wig from one of those crappy Halloween stores, a white button down shirt, black cropped pants, and a cigarette. You could enhance this outfit by throwing some fake (or real, I don’t really care) blood on your chest and under your nose and plunging a fake (or real) syringe into your chest (above your left boob). Note: if you have a friend that has a suit, he can play Vincent Vega (John Travolta) or Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson). The latter would involve either being black, or wearing black face (I wouldn’t suggest it, but again it’s your life).
Cameron Frye from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Things can get a little tricky with a Cameron costume. You need a pair of khakis and a Detroit Red Wings jersey (#9 Howe). Getting the jersey itself could take a while and end up being too pricey. Unless you’re a fan, in which case you might as well kill two birds and buy yourself a damn jersey. Treat yo’self. Otherwise you can always purchase a red long sleeve t-shirt and print out the logo and tape it or pin it onto your shirt. Let my Cameron gooooo.
Wendy Peffercorn from The Sandlot
What girl wouldn’t want to be the heart-throb for a league of adorable prepubescent boys? To truly morph into Wendy you will need a red one piece bathing suit, white sunglasses, a red ribbon for your hair, red lipstick, and a whistle. It would be awesome if you could find someone to be Squints that you could give mouth to mouth, but that might be going overboard.
Daniel Larusso from The Karate Kid
Daniel didn’t really have any stand-out outfits in the film, however, the most memorable scene is the final fight in the dojo. All you have to get is a white karate uniform. I’m sure you could find one of these at a Halloween store, a thrift store, or online. You’ll also need a sweet tie-on headband. Your nearest Chinatown should have one. You’ll also need to wear a clueless look on your face the entire night. Make sure to enlist one of your friends to shout “GET HIM A BODY BAG!!” every so often.
Cher Horowitz from Clueless
Cher’s ensemble is a little tougher to pull off. I wouldn’t suggest going as Cher unless you have blonde hair because a blonde wig would look totally lame. Cher has a couple of looks you could go for. All of them include 90’s mini backpacks. So invest in one of those if you can. Her most popular look would perhaps be her yellow school attire. Find a yellow plaid mini skirt, a yellow cardigan or blazer, and white knee socks (American Apparel should have you covered in this department). You could also wear a black blazer with an argyle mini skirt and knee socks for her Rodeo shopping look. OR you could wear a red dress and glue a feather boa onto a jacket for her Valley party look. Choices, choices. You’ll end up looking like a total Betty no matter what outfit you choose.
Max Fischer from Rushmore
If you want to be poor little Max Fischer, you’ll need a light blue button down shirt, a navy blazer, preferably a maroon and navy striped tie or a red and navy striped tie, a red beret, khakis, and maybe some gold pins or prestigious patches as proof of your achievements. Oh, you’ll also need some tortoise shell glasses. You could also go the extra mile and acquire some racing goggles because you never know when the Yankee Racing Club will need you.
Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family (1991 version)
Wednesday is kind of awesome. All you need is a black long sleeve dress (not skin tight) preferably with a white collar, black tights, black Mary Janes or any type of black shoe, and a black braided wig. Also you should think about draining all of the color from your complexion by powdering it white. It’s best to have an absent look on your face the entire night. Practice looking unimpressed–it helps if you actually feel this way all the time. I would know.
Hope those ideas were helpful and easy.
What’s the best costume you ever wore for Halloween? What are you going to be this year?
For those of you who haven’t found love, or who have found love and hate the person now–this is for you. The Smiths/Morrissey have some of the best lyrics. They’re so sharp and clever that they always put a smile on my face even though they’re totally depressing. So without further blabbing, this one’s for you:
“Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking when I said I’d like to smash every tooth in your head/Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking when I said by rights you should be bludgeoned in your bed.” (Bigmouth Strikes Again by The Smiths)
“And you have never been in love until you’ve seen the dawn rise behind the Home for the Blind[…]You have never been in love until you’ve seen the sunlight thrown over smashed human bone.” (First of the Gang to Die by Morrissey)
In my life why do I give valuable time to people who don’t care if I live or die?/Two lovers entwined pass me by and heaven knows I’m miserable now/In my life why do I smile at people who I’d much rather kick in the eye?” (Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by The Smiths)
“She told me she loved me which means she must be insane/They said they respect me which means their judgement is crazy/He said he wants to befriend me which means he can’t possibly know me.” (How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel? by Morrissey)
“So, goodbye please stay with your own kind and I’ll stay with mine. And “love” is just a miserable lie/ you have destroyed my flower-like life not once – twice/ you have corrupted my innocent mind not once – twice.” (Miserable Lie by The Smiths)
“So what difference does it make? It makes none, but now you have gone and you must be looking very old tonight.” (What Difference Does It Make? by The Smiths)
“Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me no hope – but no harm just another false alarm.” (Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me by The Smiths)
And a romantic one…just for good measure:
“And if a double-decker bus crashes in to us, to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die. And if a ten ton truck kills the both of us, to die by your side, well the pleasure, the privilege is mine.” (There is a Light that Never Goes Out by The Smiths)
Doesn’t 2013 sound like an unlucky year? Is no one bringing up the fact that thirteen is unluckiest number of them all? Hotels don’t even make a thirteenth floor, that’s how bad it is. But it’s okay, let’s just all keep pretending that 2013 will be a great year.
I was looking at my resolutions last year and I was actually very surprised. Usually resolutions depress me because I’ve never really set a goal for myself and accomplished it. At least, not on purpose. But I completed a lot of the things on my list with flying colors!
For example, one of my goals was to start volunteering and I estimated that it would only last four months once if I started. Well, not only did I get a volunteering job, I stayed there for 10 months. Technically I’m still there, but they’ve been slow for a while so they haven’t needed me much.
Another resolution of mine from last year was to be more spontaneous in Victoria–do things I haven’t done, make more friends, and put myself out there. Well, now I’ve made lots of friends and did many adventurous things. And by that, I mean that I went camping twice.
Something else I had on my list was to read more. I projected that I would probably read one book this year and I ended up reading five! My little library is growing. I didn’t even realize I was completing a goal I set out for myself. Maybe that’s the key to setting goals, they have to be something you like to do so that you’ll end up accomplishing them no matter what.
Something else I wanted to do was to “make our apartment cozy and perfect”. I am so proud of myself with this one. Around the time that I wrote last year’s post, I had saved up a little over $1000 with my babysitting money and I wanted to buy a couch with it. Since then, I’d saved up enough to buy that couch, a chair and ottoman, a rug, a TV credenza/mini entertainment center, a trunk, and a mirror. I have definitely accomplished that goal. It makes me proud to have “feathered the nest” and I think it makes Paul proud too.
I still had other things on my list that I didn’t really accomplish like going to church more, stop hatin’ on people, and to complain less. And I think those will be my resolutions for this year. The year of the left-over resolutions.
But really, like I said last year, I’m basically perfect and I’m just writing this list out to feel more human.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 180,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 3 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!
Lily In Canada 