Holidays!!!

Our first real Christmas tree is up and decorated:

Christmas wreath (DIY project!) is on our front door:

Gifts are wrapped:

A lot of delicious cookies have been baked (sorry, no picture!)!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!!

At 9:45 this morning...

I sent the FINAL draft of my dissertation to my thesis director!!!!!!! 150 pages!!!

I am SO happy and SO relieved!!!



I think I will have a great weekend!!!!!!

Random Thursday

• I have not been writing a lot lately! I feel lazy, I guess, and I just want to read other people blogs!

• Yesterday, I had to go to the optometrist because I have an eye infection and it hurts so badly! But I got an antibiotic cream and it helps! So I won't be around a lot in the following days, my eye has to rest!

• Monday is going to be a BIG day for me, more on that later! Just send good vibes please!

• The boyfriend was in Montréal for work all week long and I miss him! He will be back soon and we will finally get our Christmas tree! It's about time!!!

• I was in Québec city last weekend and it was like the good old days! I miss living there!

• Yesterday, my mom bought me a sweater and socks and it totally made my day!

• It's snowing right now and I have to shovel!

How are you? Anything random to say?

At 6:30 this morning...

I was outside shoveling a lot of snow!!! It snowed a lot over the night (about 35 cm) and it's still snowing right now! I have shoveled for an hour and a hour later, you can't tell I have done anything! Crazy! I guess I don't need to workout today, shoveling is a real workout, my arms are so sore! It really feels like winter!

* * *

This week is a short week because on Thursday, after lunch, we are heading to Québec city for the weekend! My boyfriend has an appointment for a MRI in a private clinic on Friday and this is why we are going to Québec. Here, getting an appointment for a MRI at the local hospital takes about 6-8 months (though it's free, thank you Canada health system)! Because he is going to a private clinic (it took him only one week to book an appointment there!), he will have to pay for the MRI, but insurance will pay back 75% of the cost! So that's not too bad! We will be staying at his cousin's house and we are also going to do a lot of shopping! I really miss those big malls!!!

So, this is our Menu for this week, we are keeping it pretty simple:

Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: Spaghetti and salad
Wednesday: Spring rolls and chinese noodles
Thursday: Subway (on the road)
Friday: Surprise meal at B's cousin

So, what are you cooking this week?

Friday Confessions

• I confess that I can't help but be jealous of people who seem to have everything.

• I confess that I want to buy every Essie nail polish.

• I confess that I'm having a hard time working out these days! No motivation!

• I confess that I don't like to go to the grocery store the weekend because there is too much people and I hate it! I hate to do small talk with people (acquaintances) I have not seen in a long time.

• I confess that I love to eat cereals for dinner. And for lunch. And for breakfast. Is that too much?!

What are you confessions?
Happy weekend!

Random Thursday

• I don't have much to say!

• I feel really tired!

• We are going for a weekend trip to Québec city in two weeks and I can't wait! I miss my university town so much!

• I want to put Christmas decorations!

• I want to buy everything on Sephora website. But it's so expensive and I'm on a budget!

• I have sent many resumes but no one has called me yet. Depressing. Really.

• I want to have a cat. But I can't because the boyfriend is really allergic. Sad.

That's all for today!

What's your random thoughts?

Friday Confessions!

• I confess that I really love to buy new hair products! (But sometimes, I use it only one time and it stays in the bathroom drawer!)

• I confess that I love to watch Christmas movies. In summer. In fall. In winter. In spring. I am that crazy!

• I confess that I have grey hair and I don't like it! I feel old!

• I confess that every time I go to my parents house, I make myself a snack because their fridge and pantry are much more fuller than our own! (Their house is a 10 minutes walk from our place!)

• I confess that I love to do laundry!

• I confess that I really need to go to the hairdresser, my roots are really showing! (My last appointment was like 12 weeks ago!)

• I confess that I'm really envious of people that are Ivy league students (we don't really have that here!), that really fascinates me, I must have watched too much Gilmore Girls!

What are your Friday confessions?

Happy weekend!

Forever 21!

I'm browsing Forever 21 website and I love the accessories section! I'm really into gold, diamonds (fake, of course) and pearls these days!

I would love to have those earrings:

And those necklaces:

And those bracelets:

Did you buy any accessories/jewelry lately?

Two on Tuesday: Holiday Wish List!

This week, I'm linking up with Andrea from My Chihuahua Bites for 2 on Tuesday! 

This week is about Christmas!

Share two items from your holiday wish list (only 2?!?!?).

1. I hope I will get DVD series, like Beverly Hills 90210 seasons 7-10! I am totally a fan of that old TV show from the 90s and I have already seasons 1-6!

2. An elliptical machine!

I really want this to be able to exercise more at home but I don't think I will get it, it's kind of expensive! :(  A girl can dream!

So, what's on your Christmas wish list?

Birthday Post

On November 3rd 1984, the song Caribbean Queen (Billy Ocean) was #1 on the Billboard (and this song is actually one of my favorite from the 80s!). It was a Saturday. This was the day I was born, 27 years ago!!!

So today is my birthday! I can't believe I am 27!!! I feel so young haha! I don't like to get older... I was not excited at all to turn 27! It's too close to 30!!! I'm feeling very nostalgic right now! It feels like it was just yesterday that it was my 18th birthday! I can't believe it was already 9 years ago!

Tonight, I will be celebrating with my boyfriend at my parents house! There will be a great dinner and my favorite cake, carrot cake!

I hope this year is a great year for me!

Alphabetical Facts!

Hello, November!!! 2011 is almost over, can you believe it?!?! I can't wait to decorate for Christmas (but I'm not allowed to decorate until the end of November, my boyfriend doesn't like Christmas decorations as I do! Too bad! )


I have seen other bloggers do those Alphabetical Facts and I wanted to do it myself!

A. AREA CODE: 418

B. BED SIZE: Queen

C. CHORE YOU HATE: Vacuum the basement

D. DOG'S NAME: I don't have a dog! 

E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM:  Take a shower!

F. FAVORITE COLOR: Purple and pink

G. GOLD OR SILVER: Silver

H. HEIGHT: Almost 5'6

I: INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: None! I have no musical talent at all!

J. JOB: Graduate student

K. KIDS: None!

L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: Currently living with my boyfriend in a rented townhouse!

M. MOM'S NAME: Mimi

N. NICKNAME: M-C

O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: None, except at birth!

P. PET PEEVE: Arrogant people

Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: Anything from Christmas Vacation, like: 

"Merry Christmas. Shitter was full." 

R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: Righty

S. SIBLINGS: 2 brothers (28 and 24) and 1 sister (21)

T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: 7:00 AM

U. UNDERWEAR: Bikini cut

V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: Baked mushrooms!

W. WAYS/REASONS YOU ARE LATE: I'm never late! (Well, rarely!)

X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: Chest and teeth

Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: Cupcakes!

Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: Monkeys

Feel free to do your own Alphabetical Facts!

Happy Halloween!!!

Myspace Halloween Graphics provided by MUDTRAP.COM

Happy Halloween!

How come it is already October 31st?!?! This is crazy!!!

I had a great weekend! On Saturday night, we had that big Halloween party planned (in an old church turned into a community center) and it was really fun! There was about 30 people and we danced the night away!

My costume was really simple and it cost me nothing (my mom had all the things I needed at home!)!

I was dressed as a Crazy Cat Lady!

We were pretty lazy on Sunday (the boyfriend was really hangover haha!). I had to run some errands and after that, I went to my parents house to help my mom to put Halloween decorations outside the house. It was so cold! I also did some cooking with my mom (like a wonderful pumpkin cake!) My boyfriend came over for dinner and we had a great time.

Today, I am working on my thesis and I hope to be done with my introduction and my conclusion before my birthday (which is in 3 days, November 3rd!)!!! I can totally do that!!!

How was your weekend?

Have a great week!!!

Friday Confessions!

• I confess that I don't feel good if I don't wash my hair everyday. 

• I confess that I like to stay home on Friday and Saturday nights.

• I confess that when they meet me for the first time, people often think that I'm shy.

• I confess that I have a hard time respecting my budget.

• I confess that I dream about winning the lottery. (But I don't buy any tickets haha!)

• I confess that I can be pretty selfish sometimes. (Hard to admit but it is true.)

• I confess that my birthday is less than one week away and I'm not excited at all to turn 27! (Way too close to 30!!!)

What's your Friday confessions?

Have a great weekend! 

Do you have any plans for this weekend?

(I'm going to a big Halloween party tomorrow night and I'm so excited!)

I Am Hungry!

And our fridge is pretty empty (at least, I have beer haha!!!) There is nothing in the freezer! And no more snacks in our pantry! I hate days like that! When I am hungry, I get cranky!

I definitely need to go to the grocery store tonight to get some good food!

Menu for this week:
Tuesday: Chicken and vegetables
Wednesday: Souvlakis and brown rice
Thursday: Egg salad
Friday: Pita pizza

And I'm looking for new snacks! I'm getting tired of eating chewy bars, yogurt, celery and apples!
Do you have any favorite (and healthy) snacks? Please share!

Friday Confessions!

• I confess that I'm a very picky eater. 

• I confess that I can be very judgmental. (That's bad, I know!)

• I confess that I'm addicted to sugar. (I can't say no to cake! Or gummy bears!)

• I confess that I'm a perfectionist.

• I confess that it takes me forever to get ready in the morning. (If my hair and my makeup are not the way I want it to be, I don't feel good for the rest of the day!)

• I confess that I have a phobia of veins.  (I can't even look at my own arm!)

• I confess that I miss living in my university town. 

• I confess that I sometimes wish I would have chose something else than literature as a major.

• I confess that I really want to do some shopping right now!

What are your Friday confessions?

Happy weekend!

Who Loves Wine?

This is what my boyfriend got at the liquor store this weekend! He had some gift cards to use and he got a lot of alcohol!!! He even got one free bottle! (He also made a mess when he left the store because he broke a bottle of red wine and he spilled it all over the floor ha!)

I love me some wine!

Do you have any favorite wine?

Fabulous Friday!

It is Friday people!!! I'm so happy that the weekend is finally here!

What is fabulous for me?

• Date night! The boyfriend and I are having a date tonight! Dinner at a restaurant and a movie! We have not been to the movies in ages, for real!

• A walk in the woods. We are going for a walk this weekend outside the city for sure and I will try to not forget my camera to snap a few fall pictures!

• Baking! I'm planning on baking a lot this weekend! Pumpkin muffins, peanut butter cookies, chicken and roast beef are on the menu!

• Halloween decor! I will be getting some pumpkins and I will hang a fall wreath (that I have made last year) on our front door!

What's fabulous about your Friday?

Enjoy your weekend!

Blogiversary!

One year ago, I wrote my first post (October 6th 2010).

In 12 months, I think I have made great progress in my English writing skills.

Like a lot of you may know, English is not my first language and every time I write a new post, I have to switch from my French mind to my English mind!!! It's sometimes hard to find the right word when I have a French word in mind! This is not always easy people!!! I know that I do grammar errors and that my English is far from perfect but I'm happy to be able to communicate in an other language!

Reading blogs and writing my own have help me improve my English skills! (As well as watching English TV shows) I have learned new words and new expressions that I have never heard before (well, we didn't learn those in English classes!)!

I have the chance to be able to speak/understand/read/write two languages, isn't amazing?!?! I know that's not everyone who gets that chance!!! I am proud of that!

DIY Project: IKEA Drawer Chest Makeover

I have never showed you the DIY project I did a couple months ago for our upstairs living room!

I had an old white drawer chest (bought at IKEA like 20 years ago!) from my childhood bedroom and I had the great idea to give a second life to it! 

I put a black/white damask wallpaper on each drawer (3) and I had to be really careful because of the damask pattern, I wanted it to be perfect! It took me like 6 hours to do it! I painted the top and sides with black paint. I also purchased 6 silver knobs and I think the final result is great! And it looks really nice in our grey living room!

Total transformation cost:  $50 (approximatively)

Unfortunately, I didn't think to snap any pictures of it before the makeover!!! But you can figure that it was a really old piece of furniture, it used to be white, but it was more like a pale yellow color ha!

Here some pictures of the final product:

There is a lot of storage to put all my DVD!

I just love that damask pattern! And this is an unique piece of furniture!

Did you do any DIY projects recently?

Keeping It Real!

This is how our office/guest room looks like right now. 

This is where I write my thesis on a daily basis, this is why papers are all over the room!!! This is an organized mess ha! 

The important thing is that I actually got a lot writing done in the past days and this is going well! I have to keep up the inspiration and the motivation! I have a lot of edits to do. Can't wait to be done!

Miscellany Monday & Menu Monday!

• Once again, the weekend was not long enough!

• Saturday, I baked 2 pies with my mom: an apple pie and a blueberry-almond paste pie (with fresh blueberries that my mom picked out by herself in the woods! In October!) Those pies were SO good!!!

• I did a big cleaning of the house and it feels so good! I love when things get done! It was a very productive weekend!

• This weekend, I watched Season 1 of Gilmore girls (2000)! I can't believe it was 11 years ago!!! I have all the DVD and I love watching it! 

• It looks that this week, we will finally be getting a check from the insurance company for the water damages we had back in May (almost 5 months ago!!!)! Finally!!! It was about time!

• Saturday morning, I woke up with a big bruise on my left ankle and it still hurts! I don't know how I got that! I can't workout for a couple of days because my shoe hurt my bruise!!! I want to work out so bad because I have not worked out in the past week!!!

Menu Monday

This week is a short week because we are heading to Montréal on Friday for the long weekend!

Monday: Chili con carne

Tuesday: Partridge meat, brown rice and veggies

Wednesday: Macaroni and roasted brocoli

Thursday: Pizza and cucumber salad

I have already cooked the chili and the macaroni yesterday, so two dinners are ready for this week! I don't have to worry about getting those dinners done! The boyfriend will be cooking the partridge meat and the pizza is a frozen pizza! 

Have a great week everyone! 

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Fabulous Friday!

What is fabulous on that LAST day of September? (Already!?!?!)

• Fall weather! I love to see the leaves changing color!

• Banana bread and pumpkin bread! Those are my favorite, I ate way too much of those yummy breads  this week!

• Traveling! Next weekend is our Canadian Thanksgiving and I'm going to Montréal for the occasion with my parents and the boyfriend! We will go to an orchard, do some shopping (IKEA, here we come!), see my brothers, my sister and my grandparents, it will be great! Can't wait!

• My boyfriend! He is taking the afternoon off to have some time with me because he is going haunting all weekend long! Love him so much!

What's fabulous about your Friday?

These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

I love fall clothes and boots are definitely one of my favorite things to wear with jeans! I love that style! The following boots are some of my favorite and they are all from ALDO: 

I'm going to get one pair of those boots for sure (my birthday is coming in early November and my mom will buy me that as a gift!) but I still don't know which! I love them all! I already have black boots, so I might want another color this year, like brown or maybe grey!

Are you going to buy new boots this fall or do you stick with a pair you already have in your closet? Do you have any favorite brand?

Miscellany Monday!

• It's Monday (again!)! The weekend is always too short!

• It's haunting season and the boyfriend and his group of friends went out of town (Friday night-Sunday night) to haunt! They didn't kill anything! B will be out there every weekend until October 17th (they stay in a camp in the woods)! The weekends are not that fun without him here! We get to see each other every night of the week but I miss him! 

• I worked a lot on my thesis in the past couple days and I can't wait to be DONE!

• I went to dinner at my parents' last night (we had brie cheese and mango salad, so good!) and we watched a movie, it was fun!

• I ran some errands yesterday morning and I got some orange juice for free (3,99$)! The lady at the supermarket didn't scan it, it's not on my grocery bill haha! I love getting things for free like that, am I bad?!?!

• I baked banana bread and I can't stop eating that! I think it's the best loaf of breads I made in a long time!

• I also baked 2 meals for this week: meat & veggies macaroni and tofu & veggies sauté! I'm also planning on baking some chicken for the end of the week!

• I want new boots but I can't find anything I like here! It's really frustrating to live in a small town!

How was your weekend?

Beauty Routine!

Lately, I have read about some other bloggers' beauty routines and I totally want to share mine!

Hair
I wash my hair everyday and it sometimes gets dry and that brand is great for my hair! It's a smooth shampoo for colored hair!  

L'Oréal EverPure Color Care System Smooth Shampoo

Alcove Smoothing Lotion

After blowdrying, I use a smoothing lotion and the flat iron (when I have to leave the house, I don't do it everyday!). I use that thermal hair spray to protect my hair from the heat:

Rusk Thermal Shine Spray

To keep my hair straight all-day long, that product is a must-have that I have been using for years:

Bed-Head After-Party Smoothing Cream

Face

I wash my face in the morning with Spectro-Jel:

My favorite brand of skin cream is definitely Vichy:

Vichy Aqualia Thermal for dry skin

Aqualia Thermal Mat Anti-Shine Effect

Make-Up

The following products are the ones I use almost everyday. I really love Sephora products but those can be expensive! (And I don't live anymore in a city where there is a Sephora store! :( Too bad!) But I swear by Maybelline for mascara, this is the best and I'm never disappointed!

Sephora Mineral foundation
(Color: D30-Sand)

Nars Blush (Color: Orgasm)

Mascara Maybelline Falsies
(Color: Intense Black)

Maybelline Eyeshadow Trio
(Color: 35T-Almond Satin)

Sephora Ultra-Shine Lip Gloss 

(Color: Glitter Beige 33)

Nails

I do my nails by myself because I like to switch color (like 2 times/week!)!
Those 3 nails polishes are my favorite for Fall:

Essie Nail Polish (Color: Fancy Delancey)

L'Oréal Paris Nail Polish (Color: Mauvie Star)

Essie Nail Polish (Color: Plumberry)

Voilà my beauty routine!
What is yours? 
Do you have any favorite products or a favorite brand?

Weekend Recap!

Hope everybody had a great weekend! I sure had a good one!

What I have done:

{Friday}

• In the afternoon, I did some laundry and some cleaning around the house and I went to Walmart to fill our pantry.

• We went to dinner at my in-laws' house! It was so fun! We were happy to see them, they just got back from a 2 months trip in Newfoundland and Labrador!

• After dinner, B and I met some friends at a local pub and we had some drinks! It was a fun night!

{Saturday}

• I did a 60 minutes workout but I was so tired and I didn't feel like working out at all!

• B and I met our friends' twins boys! They are 3 weeks old and they are so tiny (5 and 6 pounds)! Cute babies!!!

• I painted (2 coats of white) our closet's doors! 

• We went for a long car ride after that!

{Sunday}

• We went for a long walk in our neighborhood and it was freezing outside, I had to wear a scarf! Summer is definitely over here!

• After that, we watched a movie: The Manchurian Candidate. It was good but the end of the movie is hard to understand!

• We drank a great bottle of wine and we had a nice romantic dinner! I love nights like that!

How was your weekend?

Hello, Fall!

Fall is my favorite season of the year, always been! And here, it's already pretty fallish!!! It's like 10C outside! Adios Summer! (Summer are pretty short here!)

I love the clothes I get to wear during fallish time, the weather, the nature, to see the leaves change of color, pumpkin candles, spice latté, fall wreathes! I can't wait to do a little Fall decor around our place!

Another thing I love when September comes is cooking muffins or pumpkin breads!!! This is what I have done two days ago and my little pumpkin breads turned so yummy!

Most of the ingredients I used!

Cooking in progress!

Voilà!!! Yummy!!!

What I Have Been Up To...

via google images

After a much needed break from blogging, I am now back!
In the last month, a lots of things have happened in my life.

Here some random things that have happened since my last post:

• At the end of July, I went to Montréal for a fun weekend (with B, B's sister and her boyfriend)! The anniversary party for B's aunt et uncle turned great! We truly had a blast!!! And we (the four of us) had a fun car ride together! 

• I went to a Bachelorette Party for a girl I barely know (she is not a close friend). I had too much expectations and the night was really BORING!  Big FAIL!

• I went to a wedding on August 20th. Perfect weather for a wedding. Despite the no-fun at the bachelorette party, the wedding actually turned out to be really fun! We danced the night away! (Love that expression!!!) I didn't catch the bouquet... but I got one white rose that felt on the ground during the toss haha! 

• I have done 530 km on my bike (inside and outside) in one month!!! I'm really proud of myself regarding working out!!!  

• I have lost 8 pounds (in about one month). Big success!!! I fit into my target purple dress for our friends' wedding! I got some many compliments!!!

• I got the news that I'm going to be an aunt! My older brother G and A, his girlfriend of 7 years, are going to have a baby in late March 2012! This is so exciting! 

• I did a lots of car rides with B to some random places! We just love to do that on the weekends!

• B and I celebrated our dating anniversary on August 23rd! We have been dating for 9 years!!! Almost a decade! (You can read about our story right HERE.) For the occasion, I baked yummy cupcakes! (Funfetti cupcakes!) We ate those in only two days!

• I had a lot of serious discussions with B regarding our actual (and future) situation and I think that we see things more eye-to-eye... 

• I truly understood that misunderstandings can lead to a lot of tears.

• I drank a lots of chocolate milkshakes from McDonald's to help me getting back my happiness!

• I went to my parents' house several times for great dinners filled with fun and laughs!

• I cried a lot and had really difficult times. I am still struggling. But I think I feel better. 

• I did some writing for my thesis but I am not done yet!

• I have been to a friend's house for a housewarming party that turned out so much fun! 

• I cleaned our garage, that was really needed! I love cleaning!!!

• I baked a lot of desserts (muffins, cookies, cupcakes, etc.)! So yummy!

• I spent a lot of time in our jacuzzi to relax!

• A close friend of mine got engaged. I am happy for her but I feel so jealous. Mixed feelings. Because she has been with her boyfriend for only 11 months. And B and I have been together since 2002. That's 9 years!!! B and I had discussions about that topic and I now know that he wants to get married with me some day but right now it's just not the time. I understand that, I know that. But I'm still jealous, I am bad, I know. I don't want to be that kind of girl but it looks like I am becoming that girl. I don't like it. 

• I applied for a teaching job (French - Grades 10 and 11), got an interview the same day(!!!) and the next day, I learnt that another girl got the job (a girl that knows well the school's principal in fact and she is less qualified that I am! Ggggrrr!). I was very angry because I really thought I was going to get that teaching job! (As a matter of fact, I was pretty confident!!!) The school's principal seemed to really like me (he told me that my resume was fantastic and very very well written! And that my work experience was really good! And he liked the fact that I was a girl from in town!). He also told me that the job was a permanent job and if I wanted that job, it was mine! And he even gave me a grand tour of the school and he gave me the student and the teachers guidelines and the school calendar! WTF?!?!?! He really did everything to make me think that I was going to get that job! I was soooo disappointed! And I'm still pretty angry after almost 2 weeks! :(

So, this is all for today! I'm looking forward to return to blogging!!!

What's new in your life? Anything I missed?

Have a great day everyone!!!

xox