take me out to the ball game...

a couple days ago, a few of my girl friends came over for a belated birthday celebration, which included bringing the the fixins for a bbq on our terrace and then heading out to a blue jays game (baseball). believe it or not, it was my first time at any sports game. ever! i can't say i really knew what was going on, but we had a good time. we also enjoyed watching the girl in front of us take selfie after selfie after selfie. i'm talking in the realm of 50-60 photos. wild. anyways, the blue jays lost, but it was no rain on my parade.

no candles? there's an app for that.

24 years of friendship.

iphone timer apps for the win.

blue jays vs la dodgers.

and then half we in we moved to closer seats.

something happened here and people were cheering.

you can't beat a day/night out at around $11-$20 for tickets. blue jays, i'll probably see you again before the summer ends.

me time...

we all need it sometimes. i'm an only child, and i lived alone for my 5 years in toronto, so i'm used to it; i crave alone time if you will. i'll be getting lots of it while dylan is house sitting this week. he'll pop in a few times here and there, but for the most part, it's me the chloe.

a hot drink and a lit candle.

 a pile of magazines needing to be read and nail polish.

tea, i'm trying to like you.

those eyes.

and pajama bottoms; what i wear at home 100% of the time.

so here's the thing; i absolutely hate tea. but i want to like it! i keep trying it, but it's a no go. i drank maybe 1/2 of the passion tea above, and it was ok at best. black tea with a lemon wedge is another that's the best of what i've tried, but i still grimace with every sip. yet i still make tea from time to time in the hopes that eventually i'll like it. green tea? definitely not. chai latte? yes! chai tea? nope. maybe i'm just not meant to be a tea person. perhaps i'll just stick to my coffee; we've been best friends for years.

phobias...

can we talk about phobias for a second? we all have them, some more odd than others. i think i've mentioned this here before, but my phobia is...

butterflies.

otherwise known as lepidopterophibia.

we're talking debilitating, cowering in fear, heart racing, can't breath..it's bad.  years and years and years ago (i was maybe 6 or 7), before i knew this fear existed, my mom and i waited in line in sweltering heat for the opening of the butterfly conservatory. as soon as we got in there, it was a nightmare and my phobia was realized. we left shortly thereafter.

last year at an antique mall. this was randomly hanging on the wall.

last week, i was taking chloe for a quick pee and i noticed a butterfly. oh great, i thought. the season is here. but then i saw another. and another. and they were literally everywhere; as common as the little brown bird. and they're all the black and red suckers. the next day, i took her on a walk and about 3 minutes in, i think i had seen more butterflies than i had in the previous 10 years. it was by far the worst walk of my life and i just wanted to get home. i couldn't even take breaths when i got in and then i vented my frustrations on twitter. i asked dylan, mr environmentalist, what is up with all these butterflies?! have you seen them?! there's got to be a reason! tell me! there's more than normal, i swear i'm not crazy! he said it probably had something to do with the climate, and to that i said, duh. but really, he didn't know. the next day, he posted this article on my facebook wall. basically, this is the gist of the article...

"butterflies may not grow on trees, but it's starting to look like they do. eastern canada is in the midst of what's believed to be the biggest springtime butterfly migration in history. hundreds of thousands of butterflies have made their way north--many more than usual and much earlier than expected."

yeah, that's right. the biggest migration in history. this summer may be my person hell. lets hope that is temporary. i can't handle walking the dog in fear every day! oh, and one other weird thing, i have a quarter sized butterfly tattoo on my hip. yes, it's true. it's something i got on a whim on a high school grad trip with friends (my best friend was basically like, lets get tattoos, here's one for you, and i was all, ok), and while i know it's weird, i definitely don't regret it.

so tell me, what phobias do you guys have??

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.

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! 

2011 in review...

so i'm a little late on the 'year in review' post, but that's ok. i've been busy, and quite frankly, it takes a long time to put together! so lets see what i was up to in 2011.

january

 we took a day trip to niagara on the lake, declared, yet again, my love of books, and showed that we're a little weird, on on 2 different occassions.

february

 we had to put our 15 year old family dog down, ate some good food with the fam, and celebrated a friends 24th birthday.

march

 this little blog turned 2, i got really stressed with the last bit of school, dylan made me look silly with photoshop, shared my big crush on matthew gray gubler, got a reply from khloe kardashian on twitter,  and shared my thoughts on expiry dates (i don't follow them).

april

 my girl friend got an adorable puppy, i graduated from the university of toronto!, i got to take some cool pictures of birds, made some delicious coconut macaroons, went to the antique markets, and once again, traveled to my favorite place ever; nyc.

may

  we cooked together, i enjoyed the beautiful weather, and dylan turned 25 and i made him a cakewhich.

june

 we had a picnic in the park,  shared my love of camping, we had a nice dinner to celebrate my grad, i took chloe to woofstock, i blogged while tipsy on sangria, i saw lady gaga practice for an award show in the streets (and other celebs),  and we went to wonderland.

july

 i enjoyed numerous drinks on patios, i saw donny and marie in concert with my mom, and she about died of happiness, i celebrated with friends, i turned 24, and got a tweet from 'liam' from 90210, and i got caught in the rain while out with my girl friends.

august

 we saw death cab for cutie for the second time, chloe went on an adventure around town, i tried five guys for the first time, went to my cousins wedding here and here, i had fun while shopping, had coffee by the pier, and went to niagara on the lake with my mom.

september

 dylan moved into a new place, we enjoyed the pool life, i welcomed the early signs of fall, i didn't start classes for the first time in about 21 years, i enjoyed tiff with my mom, chaz bono tweeted back to me, i shared (what is still) my favorite pasta recipe, chloe turned 4, i got a bunch of free stuff, i went to the dark side, and i got a job.

october

 we had a friday night date, we went apple picking, i barely decorated my place for halloween, i obsessed over my purple pants, we cooked together again, and i shared that i think i have a possible ghost following me (ps, it's happened multiple times since that post).

november

dylan cooked me a delicious dinner, i admired the beautiful christmas windows, celebrated another friends 24th birthday, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary in old quebec city and old montreal, and i told you guys about my grey hairs.

december

 i showed you my place decorated for christmas, me and my mom went to the christmas market, and it got even more beautiful at night, i shared our christmas card, spent time with family, loved christmas morning, and was happy that me and dyl 'skipped the gifts' this year.

overall, i would say this was a pretty good year! i looked back on so many posts, and thought "oh ya! we did that!" lets hope that 2012 is the year i get a job related to my degree and that pays way more than what i'm getting right now haha (not very hard). cheers to 2012!

signs of my increasing age...

i'm getting old. 

2 words: white. hairs.

yes, it's true.

about 2 or 3 weeks ago, before i got my hair died again, i was looking at my hair in the mirror and noticed what i thought to be a grey hair. i wasn't totally sure if it was just my natural, mousey, roots coming in, or if it really was a grey hair. the next time i was home, i had my mom look and she thought i was being silly. and then when i went to the hair dresser a few days later, i forgot to ask.

fast forward to last week, and i was looking in the bathroom mirror again at my roots. what? everyone knows the bathroom has the best light (and i'm not quite sure what i'm looking for when i stare at my roots. am i trying to decipher my natural color? see if i can actually watch my hair grow? i don't know but i stare at my roots for a time that isn't normal). anyways, i'm looking and i see it. so i grab my tweezers and pluck out a little baby hair near my hairline and stare at it. sure enough, the 2-3inch hair was half white, half brunette. the next day, i'm staring again, and 2 more. shit. 

i actually couldn't care less about this. i think it's quite funny. i guess it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, since my moms 2 sisters were grey by the time they hit 30. and i don't imagine that these white hairs are going to grow like weeds all of a sudden, and i'll be grey by the time i'm 25. but if for some reason they do start coming in more, i guess that just means i'll spend the rest of the majority of my life as a blonde. not like i wasn't planning on going back to blonde shortly anyways, it's just that it would be a lot harder to notice it against blonde hair rather than the stark contrast of a brunette.  

although i'll tell you what i'm not down with. possibly being grey before i'm even married. not cool. anyways, now i'm just overreacting.

so, that's that.

i'm now 3 hairs less. white hairs.

ps. i'm 24.5 years old.

the bunny hill...

i'm just going to put this out there. i'm not a sports person. i don't watch sports. i don't play sports. in elementary school and high school, gym class was 1000x worse than math class for me. in fact, when we played volleyball, the teacher always let me serve from halfway up the court, because i was that bad and could never make it over the net. true story.
but, the one sport i actually kind of like? snowboarding. i say kind of because i've only tried it one time. and that was nearly 5 years ago. and it ended kind of traumatically. but, i did have a good time. and was surprisingly good for a first timer, and for someone who simply does.not.do.sports.

in the car. a little nervous. a little excited.

 wearing my girlfriends pants and jacket, with my rented board and boots.

 just a guy in spandex.

 i was probably already tired.

 i stuck to the bunny hill for the day. duh.

a break in the bar.

near the end of the day, i was going down the hill, doing pretty well, when all of a sudden i got myself turned around and couldn't stop. i fell backwards and smacked my head on the hard snow. i cried. and was done for the day. womp womp. because i don't have a jacket and pants, and have to rent the boots and board, and then of course pay for the day, it's not cheap for me to go. hence, not having gone back in years. hopefully, once i get a real job where all income isn't going to my rent and loans, i can get back out there! it's something dylan really enjoys and is good at, which is why we went in the first place. :)

Oh, & lets not forget how much the chairlift hates me and i hate it. it ran me over when getting off more than once. awful.

these photos were from march 2007. crazy. we had been dating about 4 months. and about 3 weeks before, dylan had asked me to cut his hair. i butchered it so bad with the electric razor that he had to shave it. oh how i hated it hahah and myself for screwing up so royally.

ch-ch-ch-changes...

nothing big or life altering, but...

long(ish) and blonde.

 4inches shorter (& healthier) and a rich brunette!

i kind of felt like carrie from SATC movie when she goes dark because she's in kind of a 'dark' period. i've done a post on my various hair colors and styles here. but really, i just needed a change. it's getting to be fall, i wanted something different, and i'm still jobless and really frustrated, so the new hair kind of suits my current general mood. (i also couldn't get a decent picture of myself with my new hair to save my life)

 ok i look bit more lively in this one.

*i've had it for 4 days and i still freak myself out when i walk by a mirror, even though i've been dark before.
**i'll be back to blonde in a few months ;) i still feel more me that way. even though this brunette is actually pretty close to my natural color, believe it or not!

music on my mind...

some songs on repeat lately; some new, some old.

-Plain Jane Automobile - Stones

-Mat Kearney - Lifeline

-Coldplay - Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

-Coldplay - Paradise
-Band of Horses - The Funeral

-John Mayer - Heart of Life

-John Mayer - Assassin

-John Mayer--actually every song. yes every one. i love him.

-Ray Lamontagne - You Are The Best Thing

-Aqualung - Strange and Beautiful

-Aqualung - Brighter Than Sunshine

-Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy

-Jason Castro (from American Idol) - Somewhere Over The Rainbow (absolutely love this song, and this is my absolute favorite version)

*each one will take you to the song on youtube*

abc's about ME...

i saw this going around a bit, and i thought, why not fill my friends in on what size bed i sleep on and possible x-rays?

Age: 23
Bed size: double. wish for a california king
Chore you hate: hmmm probably dusting
Dogs: yes. love them. obviously. there's miss chloe. but i also eventually want a giant one (think great dane, bull mastiff, bouvier, bernese mountain dog...)
Essential start to your day: going pee? lol or eating an apple
Favorite color: to wear? black. so boring and drab, i know. decorate? white or dark plum
Gold or silver: silver. although i do love the look of rose gold for the odd thing
Height: 5'2" and i love it :)
Instruments i play (or have played): the recorder in grade school ;)
Job title: the student title is now done, so i suppose at this moment my title is 'unemployed'-lovely
Kids: one day
Live: Toronto
Mom's name: to me-mom
Nickname: when i was young,  my dad called me bones. now my friends just call me bee or bree (which is what you all know me as, but that's a short form)
Overnight hospital stay: nope.
Pet peeve: tonnes. but the first one that comes to mind is people who walk too slow on the sidewalks, or walk in packs, or stop abruptly, or come towards you in a group and expect you to move out of the way. ugh. can you tell i walk everywhere???
Quote from a movie: "can't see the lines, can ya russ?" from christmas vacation (first thing that came to my mind!)
Right or left handed: right
Siblings: none. always wished for one though
Time you wake up: generally between 7:30-8:30 on my own
Underwear: yes, i wear it...
Vegetables you dislike: mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes; i'm sure there's more
What makes you run late: nothing! i'm always on time. i hate lateness
X-rays you've had done:  just dentist ones. oh, and i'm assuming i had one when i broke my collar bone when i was about 3 (i fell off my parents bed..i didn't get the nickname bones for nothin' ha)
Yummy food you make: grilled cheese. and red velvet cake. i'd say i'm pretty decent at a lot of things though
Zoo animal: i could do a whole post of the animals i love: tigers, penguins, elephants, monkeys (and everyone in that general category), meerkats...

so there you have it. the most random things you probably didn't care to know anyway!
love, yours truly. and chloe.

happy 2 years little blog; things i love...

2 years. wow.
2 years since i started this nook in the world wide web.
i actually thought it was more into april or may, but i randomly checked when my first post was on saturday morning and saw that it was in 3 days!
i really didn't know if i would keep up with this when i started, but of course i'm glad i did.
who would have thought you could meet so many amazing people through the net? girls that i have stuff in common with! not me...but i was proven wrong.
whether you've been around here a while, or are new, here's some things that i love... that you've probably noticed. ready?

i met this man in october of 2006. this was one of our first pictures, taken with a cell phone. we were sitting in our college here.

i got this little girl at the beginning of 2008 and she's certainly brought me much love.

i have professed my undying love, obsession, fascination, adoration etc for NYC

i have also shared my love of a little thing called red velvet cake. or really, red velvet in any form...

and say it with me-cream cheese icing haha

books. i love a good book;  and used book stores. and this goes without saying, but in case not, reading them too (mostly true crime).

and lastly, camping and cottaging. good laughs and fun times in the summer.

and then of course, other things like coffee, toronto, my friends and more.
oh, and we (meaning dylan) has made some videos; NYC2009, NYC2010, and camping2010.

i love looking back on old posts (who doesn't); this really is like a diary. and now that i'm 2 years and 475 posts in, there's no stopping me now ;)
thanks to everyone who stops by, reads all the time, or once in a while and to those who leave sweet little comments  ♥♥♥

the bolded words will take you to all the posts under that label. and i couldn't tell ya why some of the bold is blue, some is grey and some is a darker grey.

award season continues in blogland...

i've gotten two awards lately, so here goes!

thank you to daniela at dk everyday  for this one!

and the survey that goes along with it...

what inspires you?
hmmm, i guess i would say any young, successful person who is doing what they want to do in life. gives me hope that i can do it too.

what is your favorite season and why?
i've come to the conclusion this year i really do like winter and the snow. but i also like fall and spring. i like the things that come along with warm weather, like walking the city easier, sitting on a patio, camping and going to the beach.


what are you most looking forward to this year?
graduating!! and finding a job...but i guess in a way i'm not looking forward to it all. it's scary.


if you could write a book about anything, what would it be about?
oh gosh, i honestly don't know. a compilation of my favorite recipes?


what is your greatest passion?
 i would say i love taking photos,  but i'm not very good at it. but i guess just because i'm not good at it (yet) doesn't mean it can't be a passion. i wish i could say yoga, because i really do want to get into it. and i also wish i could say my job, because i hope i get one i'll be passionate about and love, but i guess that's soon to be determined...

if you could change one thing about your life or yourself, what would it be and why?
i would  have been born in NYC :P lol but really? umm i would probably want to be not so shy. sometimes it sucks. i get nervous when i shouldn't and it takes me a while to open up.


lastly, what is your favorite novel?
well, i can't think of one off hand. i read mostly true crime, and it just doesn't seem right to pick one of those as a 'favorite' haha but i do love dead janitors club by jeff klima. it's pretty hilarious, about a guy who cleans up crime scenes. but, there is another book- sophies world by jostein gaarder - which is a philosophical book. i read it a few years ago and got 3/4 of the way through, and i plan on starting from the beginning when i read it again (hopefully soon) but i really enjoyed it.


and jennifer at a day in the life of a mom gave me this one...so thank you!

the rules are: link back to the person who gave you the award to let them know you accept; share 7 things about yourself; and pass the award on to 15 newly discovered bloggers and let them know about the award.

so, here's 7 things...
1) if i'm at home, you can almost gaurantee i'm wearing my housecoat. usually along with shorts/sweat pants and a tank top. seriously, i love it.
2) i am the opposite of an insomniac; i am asleep within 30 seconds of my head hitting the pillow 98% of the time.
3) pretty much the only way i can eat pie is warmed up with vanilla ice cream.
4) my room at my parents house, which i started redecorating in august, is still incomplete.
5) i didn't cry at the notebook. and i really didn't even like it. maybe that was the high school me.
6) i hate talking on the phone.
7) i very, very rarely shop anymore...props for me!

and for both of these awards, i'm going to cheat. if you read this blog, and want to take one, or both, you can go ahead and say it's from me!