A Little Party...

I'm off on a mini-trip with a few of my best ladies to celebrate my birthday! Good 'ol weekend away... CANNOT WAIT!

Wishing you a great weekend!

Christmas Movies

I feel like I could talk about the best parts of Christmas forever. There are so many, from big things like family, to little things like candy canes. These favourite things seem to pop up or come to mind constantly over the holidays, which is great. Or you'll hear someone else talk about them and immediately chime in. One of my (endless list of many) favourite things about Christmas is the movies. From old school cartoon movies (most of which I own) to new school Christmas movies. The stories are always filled with love, they always have a festive setting, and let's be honest, when it's snowy outside isn't it the best to sit inside by the tree and watch these Christmas movies? That's what I'm looking forward to this weekend. There's a couple of big snow storms hitting the city and with only a couple of plans, I intend to make sure all the necessary Christmas movies get watched or re-watched! With today being my last work day before the holiday, I've got time :)

With that in mind, I thought I'd share some of my favourite Christmas movies:

1. Love Actually - This is a no brainer. Forget Christmas, this is one of my ALL TIME favourite movies.
2. The Family Stone - I feel like this movie is less well known and popular and I have ZERO idea why. It is again one of the best movies in existence. Fun and funny, such a beautiful story.
3. Elf - Duh. We all need a laugh over the holidays. And we all need a little Will Ferrell always.
4. Home Alone - Classic. Just classic. 
5. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - I can't believe I only saw this for the first time when I was in my early 20's. That's probably why it's not higher on the list but MAN I know why this is most peoples fave! 
6. Scrooged - Saw this for the first time last Christmas season with my friend and we laughed and laughed and laughed! Previous to seeing it was in the "Christmas" section of the movie rentals, we hadn't really heard anything of it but decided to give it a shot! If you've not heard of it, do give it a shot! It's hilarious. 
7. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, The Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas - Not in any particular order, I cannot rhyme off a list that does not include these childhood cartoon favourites. I own these and hope to get to them all this weekend or before Christmas - it's tradition! 

I'm SURE I am missing one or two or ten... isn't that always the way? Someone mentions one and you're like "Oooooh yeahhhhh!". What's your fave?

At that, here's my fave part of my fave movie Love Actually - which you should probably only watch if you've seen the movie (spoiler alert) - enjoy:
 

Case of the Mondays...

At the start of this week, or any week, how did you feel? Did you feel like you were having surprise, having a "case of the Mondays"? Well surprise! A case of the Mondays is a real thing, especially with us ladies!

In an article of Marie Claire magazine I learned about a U.S. study that looked into the days, times, and occasions when women feel their most and least attractive. Not a huge surprise, Monday is the day we want to look in the mirror the least. The reasoning? Firstly the obvious: it marks the start of a brand new work-week. But it is also linked to Monday showing the most "effects" of our weekend social activities! Sunday comes in second place on the "ugly day" scale. My guess is it's second and not first because we are not required to do anything such as dress up, socialize, or go out if we don't want to... Sunday Funday is ours right?!

Our best day where we feel most attractive? Well that day is today: Thursday! You are approaching the end of your work week and are mentally preparing for whatever your weekend holds. It's no wonder! How do you feel today? I feel mighty good :) 

Do you suffer from a case of the Mondays? I'm usually not too bad but I definitely do like Thursday better!

Color Run 2013: Montreal

I did it again, first one of the year: The Color Run!

Once again I made my way to Montreal to do the Happiest 5K on the Planet with my friend who lives in the city. It was so much fun! It was better than last year because last year it was held in October and was more than a little chilly. This time it was a clear, warm, sunny morning - could not have been more ideal. It was definitely busier than last year - the craze is catching on! The whole weekend was great. After the run we did a little bit of shopping and had a great meal on a cute patio downtown. 

Now, until the next one... I highly recommend it!

***Originally this post was intended for Monday or Tuesday, but I've been under the weather since I woke up Sunday morning with a funny feeling throat. I was hoping it was just because I breathed in a bunch of the powdered colour, but no such luck, it was a good 'ol fashioned cold! 

So many runners! Some prematurely throwing their colour as you see, haha!

This picture doesn't do the ground justice but everywhere you walk the ground is like artwork with all the random colour!

Osheaga

As I mentioned Friday, this past weekend was a holiday weekend. The highlight was definitely on Sunday when a friend and I went up to Montreal for a music festival called Osheaga. It's a HUGE 3-day festival. I had never been and although it's 3 days we decided just to go for the Sunday as our main goal was to see Mumford and Sons. Being a festival of course we got to see so many other great artists including The Lumineers (who were AMAZING)! It was awesome. 

When we got there we had about 20 minutes of torrential downpours to deal with (we caved and bought ponchos) but after that, it was pretty much sun and blue skies! Touring around was fun because there were just so many stages really spread out, so many vendors and other cool areas. There was also a really cool Chill Zone overlooking the water where we spent some time before Mumford and Sons just hanging out and ended up making use of our ponchos once again, but as blankets to sit on (or lie on as seen below). We just had a blast. Then Mumford and Sons. WOW. They were so incredible. Better than I hoped. I want to see them again immediately! The talent. The music. I swear I was in a trance the entire concert! It was a dream come true...

Here are just a few pics that I took:

There was a really cool area where they had random works of art like this

Hugging one of the giant mascots

Lumineers

Thank goodness for the poncho!

Mumford and Sons

Mumford and Sons confetti finale - too cool!

If you are anywhere near Montreal, and like festivals, I'd definitely recommend Osheaga! I will return I have no doubt.

Blurred Lines...

Just like he did with Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas", Jimmy Fallon did a version of "Blurred Lines with Robin Thicke and the Roots, and classroom instruments! I love it. And I love LOVE love the song. But who doesn't? It IS the song of the summer.

This weekend is a long weekend in Canada, and although I've taken vacation days to give myself long weekends the last few weekends I am VERY much looking forward to this one! I'm going to a music festival in Montreal on Sunday and I can't wait. Happy Friday all!

The Weekend of all Weekends

Most of Last Year's Team

This weekend for me is the WEEKEND OF ALL WEEKENDS! Or at least tomorrow is the DAY OF ALL DAYS! Tomorrow my city is holding it's annual H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everywhere) Volleyball Summerfest! Basically it's a just for fun (unless you're competitive, which I my friends, am not) all day volleyball tournament and all 'round good time! It is also a charity tournament, if you didn't get that from the acronym, so there really is no downside.  I look forward to this day almost all year long. Fact. Or at least starting in January. In January I start looking forward to April which I know is when the early bird registration begins. In March I have to try and restrain myself from recruiting a team because it's "too early" when in fact, I know that we're only a month away from registration! April, well April is awesome. Then every month after that I count down is in full force. It's my Christmastime in summer essentially! :)

I started playing in HOPE 8 years ago when I worked at a restaurant that put in a team. I could not believe the time I had. I played for that team for 2 more years and was addicted! The next year I had graduated school and was in my career and not at the restaurant, which meant I wouldn't be playing on that team. I took it upon myself to start my own team and have kept it up the last 5 years - this will be year 6 of my team and 9th year playing! So far my team has been an all-girls team where the point of the day is primarily to have a good time. If ever a new person plays for us sometimes they worry that they're not a good volleyball player. As much as it's fun to win, that's not what the day (and the team) is about. 

Every year we try to do some sort of theme as well. The first year most of us wore the same vibrant purple bikinis with white cover-ups, then it was the same VS deep pink bikinis, then an all-neon theme, then black and white (most of us did zebra), last year was pacific blue with neon yellow shorts, and this year is white suits with neon accessories/cover-ups. Outfits are half the fun sometimes I swear!

2010 - Neon Year

As far at the "Summerfest" goes, in addition to the volleyball playing, there are a couple of tents that serve drinks and play music all day, as well as a mini-concert series towards the end of the day. As I type this I'm pretty darn excited, and it doesn't hurt that tomorrow looks like a STELLAR day :)
 
Have an excellent weekend!

Canada Day!

Today is Canada Day which means - long weekend and fireworks! 

Happy Canada Day (or Monday if you're not Canadian)! :)

Been Away...

This past weekend I took off a few extra days to make it a long 5-day weekend, and went away with some of my girlfriends to the most amazing cottage! It was a dream. Today is my first day back and I'm not gonna lie, it's been tough. Waking up early and to an alarm. Putting on real clothes. Putting on heels. And now sitting in front of a computer screen. It was nice to unplug and relax. Take me back! :)

The cottage aka paradise

The Big Easy!

Jackson Square

As I alluded to in a post last week, I recently went to New Orleans! I didn't want to report on it until I got my pictures sorted out to share and now they are.

This was a trip I had been thinking about doing for a while. I always had the fall in mind as well for when to go. This fall all the pieces came together and I made it happen! It was just me and a friend and we went down at the beginning of the month for a long weekend. It. Was. A. Blast. There is no place like New Orleans. Nadda. One of the initial motivators for me was that I heard it was kind of like Vegas, and outdoor Vegas. And I really liked Vegas. After being there, I can totally see why! It's the same party-party atmosphere and energy, everyone is having adult beverages all day long and on the streets, and when you're on Bourbon street it's just bar after bar after bar. It's crazy!

On top of ALL that it's a gorgeous city. I'm not one to say "ooooh, it's full of culture and history", but man, is it EVER full of culture and history! We went on a couple of tours that showed us around the French Quarter (where we stayed) and learned so many interesting things about that history. It was actually super cool and added to the experience. The horse and buggy ride around the French Quarter was recommended to me and surprisingly was one of my favourite parts of the trip! As far as the culture it's so cool and laid back. The buildings are French, Spanish, and Caribbean inspired architecture - at least during the rebuild after the great fire of New Orleans (see, history!). It's a very unique look. It seems like wherever you go you can always hear jazz or blues music in the air. The food is unique too! Creole and Cajun. Lots of seafood (but lots of NON seafood choices for someone like me who doesn't prefer it). There's something for everyone! Also worth mentioning was that everyone we met was super friendly! 

It was a place that was on my bucket list and I can now check it off! If you've not been, I highly recommend it. I think it's only a matter of time before I make my way back there... :)

Must-try New Orleans cocktails from right: Pat O'Briens (World Famous) Hurricane, Hand Grenade, Shark Attack - with names that like, it's a wonder we survived!

Dance

In the spirit of the weekend I am sharing a song that has quickly become a new favourite. The song is Dance by Rebecca and Fiona. It's a relatively unknown song by a relatively unknown group, but I am loving all their music from their album "I Love You, Man" (nothing to do with the movie). It's dance music, with a bit of an indie and 80's vibe to it. Enjoy!

Sunday (just got more) Funday

Well Sundays are just about to get way more fun! This weekend 4 (count 'em 4!) of my favourite shows are premiering... and all on Sunday! My PVR is going to get a serious workout this fall. 

On ABC the second seasons of Once Upon A Time and Revenge start up, as well as a brand spankin' new show called 666 Park Avenue. 

Once Upon a Time was new last fall and very much unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It's definitely an acquired taste but it had me hooked. It's half fairy tale and half real life - a story based around Snow White's evil queen putting a spell on all the land (so all the fairy tales) and sending them to a horrible realm - Earth! I thought it was quite well done, and gives you a darker or more real look into these fairy tales we all know and love. I didn't know how they were going to make a second season happen with this story line, but there it was, in the last few minutes of the finale. I can't wait now to see what happens!

Revenge. I love this show. It's smart, creative, suspenseful - it's awesome! If you have not seen season 1, I recommend you do. The whole season (and series) revolves around this main character avenging her fathers death. That could definitely make for a cheesy show, but they do it really well!

666 Park Avenue is a new show this fall. Since it follows the other two ABC shows I'm already hooked on, why not give it a shot! The magazine ads for it make it look like a saucy show, but the TV ads for it make it look like a scary show - either way, WIN! Can't wait.

Moving on over to Showtime... DEXTER. There's not much to say except that it is brilliant. I can't believe this is going to be the start of season 7. The show has not lost any of it's quality over the years, in fact, it might have gotten better! As more time passes, serial killer Dexter has to become more clever, and therefore the writing does too. Each finale has left me with my jaw dropped and last year was no different. This is going to be a good season kids!

Do you share my love of any of these shows? What are you most excited to see come back (or start) this fall?

Friday, Gangnam Style!

The latest and greatest dance tune to take over - Gangnam Style by Korean rap sensation, Psy. 

Please DON'T try to learn the words as it's in Korean (you know who you are...), but please DO learn the dance! Happy Friday!