Pink sky at night...

I know the saying is technically "red sky at night, sailor's delight", but in this case, a pink sky was what we saw last night in St. John's. A sudden thunderstorm came over the city and poured for about 10 minutes. Shortly after, the sky brightened and cleared, and we were treated to this beautiful sight.

As I get older, I seem to be getting more and more of an appreciation for nature and the world around me. I just came back from a week out west in British Columbia and Alberta for a family wedding. Driving through the Rocky Mountains, I saw sprawling landscapes and natural beauty that really are a sight to behold.

The wedding ceremony was at a beautiful spot called Emerald Lake, in B.C. It was stunning. Snow-capped mountains, lush green forests and a teal-blue lake...breath-taking. 

If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend driving through the Rockies, as they'll give you a new appreciation for the vast land we call home.

A snapshot of happiness

A year ago, I was at a bit of a crossroads in life. Things were up in the air and I felt like I didn't have control of my life - something that always makes me feel uneasy and unsettled. My trip to Europe was something that came about very quickly and while I was on the trip, there were times I had to force myself to enjoy it. One time that it wasn't forced, however, was a year ago last night.

I'd spent a couple of hours wandering around on my own, visiting favourite haunts in London and feeling gleeful that I easily remembered my way around. When I finally felt a bit tired, I found a Starbucks to pop into to charge my phone and have a little rest. I bought a Peppermint Mocha and sat in the window and pulled out my book to read for a bit. I looked out the window to see some wet snow had started to fall. Watching double-decker buses and black cabs zoom by, along with dozens of people hurrying about their business, I felt the most amazing sense of contentment, happiness...just generally at peace. It was the happiest I'd been in a very, very long time.

I sat there, recognizing this fact and took in that feeling, really being in that moment. It was something that's stayed with me ever since, and I hope I get to feel that way again soon. 

2012: The Year in Review

It's that time of year again - the ol' Year in Review. Time to take a look at the past 12 months and all the good (and maybe not so good) things that happened in my life.

My first impression of 2012 was that it wasn't exactly what I'd hoped it would be; but then, things rarely go the way you hope or plan them to. So while I first thought of 2012 as kind of disappointing, reflecting on the past 366 days (it was a leap year, remember?) has shown me that there was a lot of good in the year, and I have much to be thankful for. Let's take a look, shall we?

- Beginning a transatlantic cooking adventure with a best friend living across the pond that has taught us a number of new recipes and to be thankful for ever-evolving forms of communication that keeps us connected while living on opposite sides of the world.

- Celebrating my Champagne Birthday in my former home, Toronto. A weekend filled with my favourite things in one of my favourite places!




- Having laser surgery and saying goodbye to glasses for good! Our 17 year relationship finally came to an end, and I am thankful every day for my perfect vision.

- Taking off to the Sunshine State for a week in April with my family, our first family vacation in about 12 years!

- Going to Montreal with three of my best friends for a wild bachelorette weekend in July! It was time well spent for the four of us, who hadn't been all together since the previous Christmas.

- Getting to be a bridesmaid in one of my best friend's weddings, and being a part of her special day when she married her very best friend.




- Undertaking a blogging challenge in the month of November that tested my blogging skills and my patience!





- Enjoying the most relaxing Christmas I've had in years with family and friends, better than any gift that could be bought from a store.




I remember this time last year, I was really excited for 2011 to be over and for 2012 to begin, because I had a lot of plans for this year. I'd said I wanted to make my champagne birthday the most memorable of all, and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday than doing exactly what I'd wanted to do - spend it in Toronto doing all my favourite things. My trip to Florida with my family was a fantastic week filled with shopping, sunning and quality family time.

The bachelorette weekend in Montreal was definitely one of the more memorable experiences myself and the girls have had in our friendship, but the icing on the cake was definitely standing in A's wedding. Moments before we walked down the aisle, the four of us stood in a circle and marveled at how far we've come over the past seven years, and how much has changed for the better in our lives. It was a magical day and I'm so thankful I was part of it.

So, I guess when I think about all these lovely thing that happened this past year, I can say that while it didn't exactly happen the way I'd planned, 2012 still held wonderful things for me. It was a really good year, but I have a sneaky feeling 2013 holds something even better.

Last year, I shared my favourite Mark Twain quote: "Twenty years from now, you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So sail away from the safe harbour. Explore. Dream. Discover." And while those words are ones I try to live by every day, this year, I have a new quote that I'm going to live by, and it's one you may have already seen around the internet. It's called The Holstee Manifesto, and it's pictured below.

This is my life. I'm planning to live it as best I can and to the fullest extent. Happy New Year! Here's to 2013: My Break Out Year!

Sail away from safe harbour.

I always did like Mark Twain. I always enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn was one of my favourite books in high school. But the thing I like most about Mark Twain is the quote below. It's one of my favourites and something I try to remember every single day.

I discovered this quote in my mid-twenties and it's resonated with me ever since. I try to live by it every day, because I don't want to look back and say "I wish I'd done that." I want to look back and say "I can't believe I did that."

I'm Picky about Paint Colours

When moving into a new place all your own, the prospect of shopping for new furniture, picking out paint colours and decorating your walls seems pretty exciting, right? Right.

Riiiiight.

For someone who likes to think she knows how to match colours, and knows what goes with what, let's just say that the task of picking out paint colours for my apartment was one that was pretty overwhelming. I wish I were kidding. 

Like the colour beige, for example: I knew I wanted a beige colour for my living room and halls, but I couldn't find that perfect colour, the one I'd been thinking of and persistently looking for. And then, when you do find a shade you like, apparently it won't actually look like that when you put in on the walls. And then, you have to think about lighting - what will your chosen colour look like in the daylight? What about in the lamplight? Not to mention the type of paint, and the finish, and the texture...so many questions! Too many questions. Frustrated and overwhelmed, I gave up...but not completely.

You see, it's handy to have friends that are creative. I'm creative in some ways, but picking colours just isn't one. I left that to the professionals. One professional in particular: my best friend.

She just completed an interior design program and now, not only is Meghan naturally talented when it comes to colour and lighting, space planning, window treatments and more, she now has the credentials to back her up. This girl knows her stuff, as you can tell from her blog and all her design ideas!

So instead of pulling all my hair out, I grabbed a handful of different blues and beiges and brought them to the expert, who promptly pulled two paint chips out of the pile and said, "Here. Do you like these?" And of course, I did, since she knows me so well. And that was that, problem solved.

And so, voila, I give you...my living room colours:

So exciting, I know. ;) I'll bet you wanted to see the finished product? Don't worry, that's coming in a blog post in the next couple of weeks!

Oh, and by the way - I got so frustrated with choosing colours, I used the beige alllll through the halls, living room and half the dining room. The kitchen, bathroom and other half of the dining room are the blue colour. After a while, I just couldn't take another visit to the Paint Shop, staring at paint chips for 30 minutes, trying to figure out what went with what, and I couldn't bear to bother poor Meghan again. 

I'll be back next week with another post about the trials and tribulations of that pesky chore: furniture shopping. 

Have a great week!

I'm huntin' me an apartment...wish me luck!

For the past few months, I've been frequenting websites like craigslist, kijiji and viewit.ca in search of an apartment for myself and my friend Heather. (Heather's not been lazy, she's been looking too!) Coming from St. John's, and having lived at home my whole life, (except for a term in England) I never had to deal with renting an apartment. To be completely honest, I really don't know much about it; I barely knew where to begin looking!

So, I did what I always do when I want to know something: I Googled it. (What we did before Google, I just don't know.) I found a number of different websites that would let me search for apartments, including those listed above. I thought this was a great first step, but I soon learned that my search would be more difficult than expected.

For example: it's very convenient that the websites list the nearest intersection that an apartment is located, but for someone new to the city (aka: Me) those intersections mean squat. A lot of the streets I have never heard of, so everything was checked out on Google maps.

Another factor to consider when trying to find a place to live in a city you know so little about is the neighbourhood. I know so little about where a good area to live in Toronto is, so I'm always looking on my trusty Google Maps to see where places like "The Annex" or "Yorkville" are. While in Toronto a few weeks ago, Heather and I, along with our future roommate Brittany, checked out an apartment just east of Yonge and Dundas, but it wasn't for us. Thankfully, the apartment wasn't for us, as apparently the area is not so nice, as I later found out.

Our needs for an apartment are not that unreasonable (I think): It has to be close to the subway line, we'd prefer a building, and we want to live downtown. For me, personally, I've always wanted to live downtown in a big city, and as I'm not sure how long I'll be living in Toronto, I want to really get the experience of living downtown.

As I'm in Newfoundland for the summer, I've been doing my hunting on craigslist and then emailing my finds to Heather so she can potentially visit them in person. We're still looking, so wish us luck, and if you know of any great locations where I should be looking, or you know of an apartment, please, don't hesitate to tell me! I'm welcome to anything at this point!

Have a happy week!

-Elizabeth