lazy weekend...

this weekend, i ate good. like i do most weekends at home. i spent friday and saturday relaxing, making food, and just eating it. then i went back to toronto for a work party on saturday night. my mom slept over and sunday we got some breakfast, went to the book store, and then hung out in front of the tv, watched way too much, and then watched crazy, stupid, love. i'm getting sick, so this was a good weekend for me.

i {heart} vera wang. had to snap a picture while walking by with dylan.

woke up saturday morning, my mom says, "you want peanut butter cookies?" yes! and then i made a couple dozen.

look what i finally found!! oh-my-god-good!!

i was watching rachael ray last week (love her show and easy recipes) and she made this, and i decided i must make it immediately. so me and my mom did for lunch on saturday.

spinach artichoke and ricotta pie. it turned out delicious.

and then we made candied pecans with a hint of cayenne pepper thrown in.

my piggy bank is growing! $500 and counting. grow, baby, grow! (i've written more here about what it's for)

how cute is this? these 2 guys were waiting so patiently while their owner was shopping for jewelry. tails were wagging and they were just hangin' out.

and now, it's monday again. luckily, i only have a 4 day week again. i could get used to this. now lets hope my head clears up and soon enough, i don't want to rip my whole throat out. yes, rip it all out. sore throats suck.

hey girl...

only people from hamilton and the surrounding area will understand this, but it's great. although personally, if i had to pick a canadian "ryan" it would 110% be mr reynolds ;)
currently, my Internet is down, and therefore doing this from my phone and can't add a picture, so just imagine the hottie below this text, & when it works again, i'll update this.

Happy weekend!
(looks like i got an image to upload!)

america, but better...

this video is hilarious. minus the tar sands, and the seal clubbing (lets not talk about how awful canada is in that department), canada is pretty good!

go canada !

i have friday, saturday AND sunday off this weekend. i'm stoked. i'm going home for a bit, and then on saturday night, if you can  believe it (but i guess it's better late than never), we have our work 'christmas' get together! ha just a little late.

we're *in* nature...

me and dylan used to be *quite* the hiking couple. in fact, pretty much the first time we really hung out, he took me hiking. unfortunately, it's been a while since we've been, but last night, i was thinking about it.

october 26, 2006. 1 month before we 'officially' started dating. doesn't it look like an engagement photo? haha that's what everyone has always said.

 water's a flowin' (these are now from 2008).

so young. so cute.

strong like hulk.

 checkin' out the view.

 ohh dangerous.

 living on the edge.

look, we rock climb! (not really, it's an illusion).

see, another illusion. but lets just pretend i can really rock climb with no harness.

muscles; don't mess with me.

it's been so long since we've been hiking. this spring, i'll be sure we get out there. especially because it's something dylan really loves to do. and hey, if i can feel my legs burning, and get a good workout while i'm at it, why not?

instagram round-up...

i bet you didn't expect to see me around here on a sunday, did ya? i'm linking up with jenni for the best of instagram.

i had won an online contest through twitter from a book store, and when i came home the other day, i saw this huge package! i had no idea what the prize was, but these 2 books were inside. no wonder you people like online shopping; coming home to a package is great!

a few weeks ago, i took chloe for a nice walk while it still quite warm. and now, there's snow :) although i wish there was more. the amount on the right (taken yesterday) is pitiful for a january in canada.

the cutest puppy in a basket (!? what's wrong with his legs??); a delish cake pop, and my day yesterday. (ps. i haven't finished 'one day', haven't seen the movie, and i have no idea what it's about, so SSSHHH!!)

how to deal with -16C weather-start with a toque, add a scarf, and then bundle up in a warm coat. then brave the elements.

so far, this sunday is shaping up pretty good. i've watched bruce almighty, and now the brady bunch movie is on tv. i'm drinking good coffee, and snacking away. sundays are great.

awkward and awesome...

i figure it's been a while since i've done an awkward and awesome, so why not today?

awkward:
-getting asked for my number by a regular at work. it went a little something like this: "blah blah blah conversation..hey, you should give me your number and we should hang out some time" "oh sorry, i have a boyfriend" "the good ones always do" and then cue my face going bright red.
-not  understanding accents. i'm horrible. it really does make things uncomfortable.
-waking up at 2 am and seeing from my bedroom that my kitchen light has gone out. obviously, my first instinct wasn't that the lightbulb burnt out, but that someone was in my place and had turned it off. (ya, my kitchen light stays on all night)...i swear i'm normally a logical person. and then i went and flicked it on and off to make sure it was burnt out (which it was), and i went back to sleep peacefully ;)
-being too lazy to wash a glass when i was done, therefore drinking OJ from the container. and then it dribbled down me. good thing i was alone. (it was nearly done. i wouldn't drink from a container knowing i may have to share with someone)
-how accurate this video is..between 12 and 16 seconds, this is how i am when a butterfly is within 30 feet of me. then i cower in fear and hyperventilate.

awesome: 
-being told i have 'perfect skin' and a 'perfect nose' by 2 different people. *blush* if you say so ;)
-finishing 4 of the books i got for christmas. i'm just motoring along.
-laughing so hard i'm crying over funny youtube videos. alone. wait, maybe this should be under awkward?
-having s'mores in january, especially because i never got to have one in the summer!
-90210/criminal minds/desperate housewives are back after a long hiatus.
-snow is in the forecast for today!! woooohooo (hold back the hate mail :))
-i have 2 weekends off in a row. this is unheard of.
-the fact that me and dyl have kind of planned out what we would like to do for our 'summer getaway' at the end of april. if all works out, i'm (well dylan too, of course) excited! 
-my mom now knows how to text, and even use ALL CAPS. this leads to funny messages from her. things like, "hi honey, it's WINDY WINDY WINDY outside, don't bother with your umbrella, love mom(my)"

 i'm so weird that i wear dylan's undies and pose so oddly in them.

i'm pretty sure i've posted the above photos before, but i thought i would add them in because they kind of fit with the 'awkward' theme. anyways, i'm on my 6th of 7 days in a row at work, and i'm just about spent. tomorrow night cannot come quick enough.

january s'mores...

a friday night at my parents, flurries outside, and a fire inside. pretty great if you ask me. what made it even better was roasting marshmallows in the fire and making s'mores in january!

who can deny a s'more?

sure it may not be the best way to toast a marshmallow (in a household fireplace), but if you're only eating a few, there's no harm ;)

free as my hair...

i've gone and done it again. i changed up my hair. i'm on my way back to blonde, and while i was at it, i cut a good 3-4 inches off. it hasn't been this short in probably, 5 years. i was over the brunette, and i just feel more 'me' as a blonde. to be honest, i hate the 'transition color' that i always have to have when i make my way from dark to blonde, but it'll have to do for 2 months. she got it as light as she could and this will just have to do. don't get me wrong, i think the colors are great, i've just never thought they suited me; i prefer really blonde, or really dark.

ta-da.

back in september, it was this long! ahhh lord, it's going to take me another 5 years to get it this length again.

so, in a couple months, my hair has gone from long and blonde, to shorter and brunette, and now shortest and light blonde. always changing, never satisfied :)

happenings...

a few things going on lately, courtesy of the instagram app, of course. (username: simply_girly)

1) forgot how great earmuffs are until i just got a pair 2) smizing? is it working? tyra?

1) i love pancakes 2) i love food, and yes, i love chinese food 3) portion control? low carb diet? not in a million years.

1) i love the birthday cakepops from starbucks. 2) it's time for the wonderful crest white strips again!

the book in the picture is 'go ask alice' and let me tell you, it was awful. the character was beyond annoying and i was so ready for the book to be over. right now, i'm reading 'i hope they serve beer in hell' and i have to say, while it's so raunchy, disgusting, and he is a major douchebag, i find it quite funny. but that's just my sense of humor. definitely an easy read.

...

one day, we'll be here...

via
doing just this...
and i can't wait...

but not for quite some time, i imagine.

somebody that i used to know...

i'm just busy working away. such is life. and when i come home, i have fun on my webcam. sexy pictures for dyl? nah, he gets these babies. lucky guy ;)

i'm a ball of fun.

ps. have you all seen this video that's going viral? probably. 5 people, 1 guitar and a wicked cover (of a song i've never heard). seriously, i love it. i'm obsessed. i can't tell you how many times i've listened to it in the last few days. it's already on my iphone. give it a listen and love it, too. you're welcome. also, i found the original and listened to it, and this cover is, in my opinion, way better.
** i just found out on the news that they're from just outside of toronto! woohoo canadian talent! 

through 5 years...

i completely forgot to post about this 'video' i made for our anniversary. actually, i just uploaded it to youtube not too long ago. i showed it to dylan when we were in the hotel in quebec, and he loved it :)  so, if you care to see 5 years worth of pictures of us in 5 minutes, take a look!

have a good weekend!

girls christmas dinner...

this was our 8th (or maybe 9th?) annual girls christmas dinner; typically it's a potluck, but this year i was outvoted and we went out for mexican (we've actually only gone out one other year). surprisingly, it was rather easy to pick a date this year with 6 working girls. so on december 21st, we filled our bellies, and guzzled sangria.

the damn lighting makes it look like the side of my head is shaved.

*pale is in*

*longer arms needed*

the food was delicious, the drinks were yummy, and it was good company. after dinner, we went to a too-crowded-too-got-get-me-outta-here-bar. thank goodness we only stayed an hour. i'm over that scene!

new years eve...

new years eve was very low-key. we had some eggnog, watched an episode or 2 of how i met your  mother, and .....wait for it...we were in bed by 11. i know. it's a miracle i made it that late; by 9:30 i could barely keep my eyes open. i randomly woke up at 11:56 and then heard all the cheering and fireworks outside. shortly after, i was back asleep ;)

jacknog; turns out, i wasn't a fan. sailor jerry's spiced rum is much better with eggnog.

 french press + milk frother = amazing. + mimosas, too.

 i felt like being extra nice this morning, and made coffee, mimosas and blueberry pancakes before dylan woke up.

morning kiss.

peeling garlic for dinner. god i love garlic.

not happy with my cake...bottom layer cracked right across.

smiling, even though i'm holding the ugliest cake i've ever made. still tasted great though. and i'm still eating leftovers today.

new years day was much better than nye in my opinion. we ate well, as you can see, watched a lot of how i met your mother, and didn't leave the house once. and, i also forced dylan to watch kourtney and kim take new york with me. he said he judged me for it and that he had never seen a group of more sad, boring people in his life. sundays episode was a little boring though, no? but i do see his point ;)