Random Thursday: Top 5 Must-Read Blogs

Join Lin, Sarah and me for another week of Random Thursday! This week is all about blogs. We know you guys read at least one of ours regularly, since you're linking up (and thank you, thank you, thank you!), but we want to know: what other blogs can't you live without?

 
I don't read a lot of blogs, but the ones I do read regularly are awesome. You guys should totally check them out.

1. Linny's Vault

Lin asked that I portray her as Mila Kunis. Here you go, Lin.

Okay, so this is a bit predictable. But I absolutely LOVE Lin. I'm assuming most of you are right there with me, since you're part of this link-up! She's funny, witty, sarcastic and doesn't pull any punches. Not only that, but she's a great blog mentor - she has a couple of weekly link-ups you guys can join (Ten on Tuesday and Random Thursday), she spends a ton of time visiting other blogs and leaving awesome comments, which is actually how I "met" her, and she hosts regular blog swaps! Keep an eye on her - girl knows where it's at! Here's Lin (for reals this time):

2. The Bloggess

If you have never heard of The Bloggess (AKA Jenny Lawson) then I'm not even really sure you can call yourself a blogger. Seriously. I have never laughed so hard in my life as I have at some of her posts - my favourites are usually the transcriptions of conversations she has with her husband, Victor. But she does have a serious side. She suffers from anxiety disorder that often relegates her to the bathroom at events, and various other mental problems. She discusses the effect these have on her life openly and frankly, and her honesty makes me (and I assume many others) feel less alone on bad days. I absolutely adore this woman. She also published a book recently, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, which should go on your Christmas list!

3. David Thorne

I first came across this guy when everyone seemed to be talking about the Missing Missy post (if you've never read his blog before, start there). But once I started reading.... I just couldn't stop. Over the next week or so, I read the entire thing. Now, like much of the things I like, this isn't for everyone. I guarantee there's something on the blog to offend... well, pretty much everyone. Even me. (Warning: that Missy link has a few upsetting bits about injured cats in it - but the rest is so funny I'm willing to overlook them.) If you like very sarcastic, borderline (or overtly) offensive humour, you'll get a real kick out of this guy.

4. Lisa Eldridge

I've mentioned Lisa before in reference to her YouTube tutorials, but she also has an amazing blog as well that is full of tips, information and amazingly inspiring photos of celebrities and shoots she worked on. If you're at all interested in makeup, you have to check her out.

5. All of you guys!

I do my best to read and comment on every link up we get for Random Thursdays, and I've found several blogs that I absolutely love reading! So my #1 piece of advice if you're looking for some fresh reading is to click through the Random Thursday link-ups - I guarantee you'll find kindred spirits, thoughtful insights, and lots of giggles! We're so lucky to have such a fabulous group of bloggers join us every week!

And on that note - link up below!

VACATION!!

In case any of you notice me posting a bit less over the next two weeks and/or not responding to comments, don't worry - it's just because I'm on vacation! I've got a few posts scheduled while I'm gone, but I won't have a chance to check in at all until I get back.

In the meantime, go hang out with Lin, if you don't already (in which case, also, SHAME ON YOU because she's is amazing), she'll keep you entertained and give you some gut-wrenching giggle fits, I'm sure!

See you in a few weeks! :)

Fill in the _____ Friday

1. My favourite feeling in all the world is... *ahem.* Well. My very favourite feeling I'll just skip past cos... well... no one needs to hear details. But some more "appropriate" for sharing on the www are: When I'm snuggled all warm and cosy in bed with J. and a cat or two and it's raining, cold and miserable outside. Also like massages. And that first beer after a long, hot day.
2. My favourite smell is... I don't really have just one. I love LUSH's Pied de Pepper foot cream, also cinnamon buns, a home-cooked meal, apple pie, peppermint mochas.... there are a lot of them.
3. My favourite taste is.... again... there are a lot. Love beer, salty snacks, sharp cheddar, and pretty much anything with pesto in it.
4. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen was... some awesome graffiti in Germany. Seriously, that shit was dope. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera, so I can't share it with you, but it totally blew my socks off. Most of the countryside in England is pretty stunning, too - and I loved almost everything I saw in France.
5. The best sound ever is... well, definitely not my alarm clock. I dunno, maybe hearing the voice of someone you love. My cats' purring is pretty awesome too.
6. A smell that reminds me of my childhood is... wood smoke. I grew up on a small island and a lot of people there heat their homes with wood fireplaces, so that smell takes me back.
7. My favourite of all the senses is... hmmm. I don't really have one - they're all pretty important to me. They say smell evokes the strongest emotional response, but seeing where you're going and the faces of people you care about is pretty neat too (also reading). I love food, and life would be pretty bland if nothing had a flavour. I love music so I can't imagine not being able to hear, and touch? Well, see question 1. Yeah, pretty fond of all of 'em.

Huge thanks to The Little Things We Do for the blanks!

Random Thursday: All Things Halloween

Time to get spooky with Random Thursday! Join Lin, Sarah and me to find out what Halloween is all about!

I'm heading off on vacation the day after Halloween this year, so I won't be going big because I'll be busy packing! However, here are some Halloweeny links and ideas for you!

1. Pixiwoo - Corpse Bride Tutorial

 
2. Awesome costumes!

3. Zombie car stickers (you can totally rock these year-round, btw).

4. Candy, candy, candy!

5. Awesome. I would totally do this if I had a kid. (Which is why I probably shouldn't have one.)

What do you love about Halloween? Did you turn your home into a creepy haunted house or come up with the world's best costume? Share and link up below!

Holiday Blog Swap!!

Who doesn't love a good blog swap? And with the holidays coming up - whichever holiday you subscribe to - getting a lovely package full of seasonal treats in the mail sounds like a wonderful idea! So with that in mind, Lin, Amber and myself are hosting an extra special blog swap - the Holiday Blog Swap! Now's your chance to share some of your seasonal faves with fellow bloggers and make sure that they get something awesome to unwrap!

How can you join in the fun, you ask? Well, it's pretty darn simple. Here's what you need to know:

• The swap is open to all regular bloggers (must have posted 6+ times in the last 30 days)
•  Swap is open to everyone everywhere - but we understand that shipping can get a bit pricey, so if you prefer to be matched up with someone in your country, just let us know!
• Sign up is open for 7 days, and 7 days only - so make sure to submit your info to us ASAP! (Deadline is Sunday, November 18th)
• You can put anything you consider seasonal and fun in the package, with a value of $20 minimum (not including shipping). Spend some time perusing your swap partner's blog for ideas and of course, if you're really stuck - just ask them what they like!
• You must have your package in the mail no later than December 3rd to make sure you beat the holiday rush!
• Don't forget to snap some pics and post about your packages as soon as you get them so we can all see your loot!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me, otherwise join in the holiday fun below! 

Fill in the _____ Friday

1.  One thing I plan on doing to relax this weekend is... watch TV in my pyjamas. You know, when I'm not at the dentist or cleaning up or packing or doing any of the other thousand things I need to do!
2. A big pet peeve of mine is... when people are inconsiderate on public transit. Or, you know, in general. If there's a line-up, wait your turn. If someone clearly needs a seat, give yours up. If you have a backpack, take the damn thing off. And remember - just because you can't see the people behind you doesn't mean they're not there. 
3. I am really loving... spending time with my friends. Seriously, they're pretty awesome.
4. The rain is... all over my damn parade. Not loving.
5. My favourite girly indulgence is... do peppermint mochas count as "girly?" No? Okay, makeup then.
6. A song I always get stuck in my head is... hmmm. I don't actually know... but usually it's the really annoying ones that stick and are there for like a day. Never the good ones. And more often than not it's a jingle, like the Bounty one. So irritating.
7. The best cure for stress is... beer.

 Thanks to Lauren at The Little Things We Do for the blanks!

Random Thursday: Things I Love About Fall

Ready for another Thursday with Lin, Sarah and me? Here's this week's topic:

You might have noticed that the days have been getting shorter, the weather has been getting cooler, and, if you live on the west coast of Canada, that your socks are never really dry. That's right, it's officially fall. And with it comes some recognizable signs that the seasons have changed. Here are some of the less unpleasant things that spell out "fall" to me!

1. Rain boots and umbrellas.

It's wet here. You pretty much can't live here without them.

2. The colour orange.

Between pumpkins and leaves changing, this colour seems to be EVERYWHERE this month!

3. Slippers and blankets.

My new house is COLD. I've got these slippers from Mountain Equipment that are basically sleeping bags made into booties...can't live without them. J. also got me these HUGE fleece blankets for Christmas a few years ago, and I spend the winters wrapped up in them burrito-style. I have bad circulation. It's a matter of survival.

4. Hot drinks.

Anything from tea to hot chocolate to lattes - fall is all about anything that will warm me up!

5. Moisturizer.

Terrible circulation = very dry skin, so as soon as the leaves start to turn I stock up on moisturizer and lip balm. Seriously, I have like three different kinds of each on my desk and in my purse.

6. Scarves.

I LOVE scarves. Not only do they provide the opportunity to add a pop of colour to my otherwise denim, black and grey outfits, but they keep me warm and cosy and stop the wind from going down my neck.

That's about it for me! What are your favourite things about fall? And what can't you live without? Link up and share!

Ten on Tuesday

1. The Halloween candy season has begun. (I may or may not be eating a mini Reese Peanut Butter Cup while typing this.)

2.

We don't even have any absurdly large skirts to hide under.

 

It has been raining more or less for the last week. To put this in perspective, we've had an uncharacteristically warm summer - the most rain we've had since about July is maybe one or two days - and it was light rain. That NEVER happens in Vancouver. This weekend it was pouring down like it had been saving it up for months and decided to dump it all on us at once. It's been so long that I almost forgot how to deal with rain - it felt exceedingly weird putting on rain boots, a rain jacket and huddling under an umbrella. Me no likey.

3. Please don't leave me any comments about how it's so hot and sunny where you are that you're sweating and worried about a sunburn. You poor thing. At least your feet are dry.

4. What's with casing Jennifer Jason Leigh as Emily's mother on Revenge? I know she did some amazing roles back in the day, and is great at those gritty, depressing "realistic" characters - but she does not feel right for this part, and I'm finding her annoying. Here's hoping she doesn't get too much screen time.

5. 

Even the un-photoshopped side doesn't look 54.

 

Hollywood creeps me out. No one ever seems to age. I kind of get wanting to slow down the process, but at a certain point you just look wrong. Like Demi Moore - I'm pretty sure the woman's a witch. Or a very life-like robot.

6. If you're a makeup addict, you may want to avoid going into a MAC store because right now they're offering pre-ordering from their Christmas collection. It's beautiful.

7. I don't know if it's the weather, the shorter days, remnants of my cold or all the vaccines and tests I've had lately, but I could totally go for a nap right now.

8. Starbucks. That is all.

9. A friend of mine just added me on LinkedIn and I glanced at her page and noticed that she volunteered at a hospital as a "baby cuddler." Is that really a thing??

10.

Yeah, pretty much. 

 

What I want to say to.... well, pretty much everyone today.

 

Touche.

Oh, Ellen, you do make me laugh. 

Also? Very good point.

Fill in the _____ Friday

1. My favourite flower is... I'm not really a flower person, but if I had to pick, the calla lily. So elegant.
2. You should never talk about... other people if you don't have anything nice to say (I totally break this rule ALL the time. It's really hard!). And religion with people whose beliefs differ drastically from your own if you can't listen to each other without arguing. That one is a minefield.
3. My favourite discovery as of late is... Hell Pizza. If you're ever in Vancouver, check it out. I had a pizza the other day that had apricot sauce, pine nuts, green onions and cream cheese on it. I know, totally weird, right? Turns out - most delicious pizza EVER. You may also be surprised and delighted to know that they have pizza with avocado on it. For reals.
4. This fall you will probably find me wearing... scarves and rain boots. Except when I'm on vacation, then shorts and flip flops!
5. I wish I were... an Oscar Meyer weiner? Sorry, had to. But seriously, I wish I were... already on vacation! Or failing that, watching TV in my pyjamas, cos that never gets old.
6. My favourite TV show currently is... still Criminal Minds. Probably always will be.
7. This weekend I want to... sleep lots and start packing, because it's going to take me weeks. Literally.

Thanks to The Little Things We Do for the blanks!

Random Thursday: Superhero Powers

Time for another Thursday of Randomness with Lin, Sarah and me! This week is a topic that all of us have contemplated (possibly at much more length than we'd like to admit), mostly when we're late for work and wish we could get there in 5 minutes flat, or when we have 5 bags of groceries to carry and the upper body strength for 3. No? Just me, then. Anyway, without further ado, this week's all about:

So this is a tough one. Because let's face it, pretty much any superpower could come in pretty handy. But if I had to pick, these are my top 5, in no particular order.  

***Warning: Contains a spoiler for season 1 of the TV Show Misfits. Though I'm assuming you've all watched it already, because if you haven't, I can't be your friend anymore.

1. X-Ray Vision.

And no, it's not just so I can check if your bra and panties match.
Though I totally would. 

I've got to admit, even though traditionally this is a power coveted by pimply pre-adolescent (and, let's face it, fully grown) boys, I do wonder what it would be like to have x-ray vision. Mostly because I'd like to know whether there are really correlations between penis size and other male body parts. But also because wouldn't it be useful to be able to see what's going on in your body? To know exactly how bad an injury is or what's causing that weird lump? The inability to really know what's happening in our bodies is one of my pet peeves with the human condition. Would be great to be able to see the beginnings of a problem and fix it.

2. Iron Man. The whole package.

Genius. Billionaire. Playboy Philanthropist. Totally superhuman.

Okay, so I know that you're all going to point out that technically he doesn't have superpowers, per se. But I'm arguing, based on my extensive experience working in retail and dealing with complete morons, that intelligence is practically a superpower these days. And when you combine it with that level of sarcastic and irreverent wit, you've got to admit, these days that's like having TWO superpowers. So I claim that it counts. And this is my blog, so I'm right. End of story.

3. Immortality.

Failing his superpower, I'd take him as a consolation prize.

Well, who doesn't want that? Though knowing my luck, it wouldn't kick in until I was old and fat and decrepit and I'd be stuck like that forever. But still, I'd have lots of time to catch up on all the reading I haven't been doing because I'm too busy blogging, watching TV and chatting to Lin.

 4. The ability to freeze and/or turn back time.

Here's hoping I could learn to do it without making that face.

 Mostly because I'm ALWAYS late for things, I haven't met an excuse for procrastinating I haven't liked, and I hate mornings. Not gonna lie, I'd mostly use this one to catch an extra hour of sleep and/or take a nap at my desk.

5. A Sidekick.

That would be me, on the right. Taking applications for the other dude.

Mostly? I just want a sidekick. You know, someone to look up to me, film me doing awesome shit, and get me breakfast in the morning. That's totally what sidekicks do, right?

I have to admit, even though superheroes aren't really my thing, it's been interesting thinking about all the good things I could do for myself (and possibly others if I got bored with that) if I suddenly had a superpower. Of course, we all know that if I were a superhero, I'd be much more likely to resemble this guy.

Or one of these guys.

But whatever, superheroes are superheroes, am I right?

Alright, now it's your turn. What super-skill do you covet? And what would you do with it? Link up!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Still getting over being sick. Do not understand how the human body can produce so much mucus - nor do I understand why it would want to. Gross.

2. 

I miss lattes. Chamomile tea is not an appropriate drink for the first day back at work after a long weekend. Unfortunately, it's what I've got, because I'm trying to stop my body from producing even more mucus. Cos, you know, gross.

3. So. Much. To. Do. Who knew going on vacation would be so much damn work? I have so many errands to run, phone calls to make, things to remember to buy, things to remember to pack... and that's not even taking into account the tidying and organizing I need to do before we go so that the person staying in our house isn't appalled by our mess. By the time I'm actually on vacation, I'll need half of it just to recover from the stress of planning it.

4. Talking to insurance people on the phone is pretty pointless. They really should just have a recorded message that says "I don't know your medical history and I can't give you a definitive answer to any of your questions, so please refer back to the legal policy document that sent you here with thousands of questions in the first place."

5. Why are Tuesdays after a long weekend even worse than Mondays of a regular week? It's like my body spent the day rejecting work. Violently and painfully.

6. Grooooaaaaannnnnn.

7. 

I spent most of the day doing relatively mindless work, while simultaneously occupying my mind with fantasies of what I'd do if I suddenly became Bill Gates or IKEA rich. This is an ongoing fantasy that has become quite intricate. I have now added a zombie paintball course in the woods behind my imaginary estate. I'll tell you the whole plan sometime, but for now, that's really the highlight and all you need to know it's gonna be awesome.

8. Have I mentioned lately how glad I am that TV season is back?

9. Some people have WAY too much time on their hands.

10. 

It's important to have dreams.

Totally doing this next time I get an erroneous text.

 

The one who was waiting for the perfect man? 

Turned to dust.

Well if Apple Maps says it... must be true.

 

This is just 'cos I want everyone who says 

"YOLO" to be locked up. Forever.

Poor kid.

 

Fair point.

And that's it for another Tuesday!