30 Things I Learned in 2011

Happy New Year!!!

I seem to have to do this a lot but I really do apologize for disappearing for long stretches of time.  One of my foremost goals in 2012 is to stabilize my life enough and to be disciplined enough to post regularly again.  I really miss writing, but my life's been a whirlwind of job changes and new jobs in the past few months.  Don't get  me wrong; I am super happy to be where I am right now because for the first 10 months of 2011 I wasn't in a good situation professionally, which made me rather unhappy.  But now I'm really glad to say that I'm in a much better place work-wise, so I'm hoping to be able to build the rest of my life around that schedule now, including a ton of extracurrics.  Some things never change. ;)

That said, if you're here reading this I'm so grateful to have you as a reader and I'm very happy that you've stood by me all this time!  And I thought I'd share with you a tag going on YouTube right now: 30 Things I Learned in 2011.  They are:

1.) I can make the unequivocally right decision and still regret it afterwards.
2.) My mom was right about not letting me do retail when I was in high school.
3.) It was not a good year for dictators.
4.) I have lots to be thankful for.
5.) But I still have lots to work towards.
6.) Giving blood is awesome! It’s a great way of giving back to the community especially if you’re at a point in your life when you don’t have much to spare financially. Plus it gets a lot less scary after the first time. But trust your gut about who’s sticking you.
7.) I should never be afraid to say no, because I will only screw myself over if I agree to things I never wanted to do.
8.) I can survive on a lot less than I’m used to having.
9.) But having more money to spend won’t necessarily mean that I will be more satisfied with my life.
10.) Many of us have a very wasteful lifestyle in North America.
11.) Boys are only as good as their basic instincts.
12.) Cheap people are odious creatures. (But cheap ≠ poor; by cheap I mean those who try to acquire things they cannot afford by wrangling deals out of people.  They are awful and despicable.)
13.) Education makes a difference on a very fundamental level.
14.) Agent B can get ahead in life. (More on this later. ;P)
15.) I’m going to be a really strict mother.
16.) I feel a disconnection with many people my age because a lot of them are doing things I feel unready and/or unprepared to do, such as getting married, having kids and buying property. (At 24??? Really?!)
17.) One of the biggest problems in the world is that anybody can have kids, but many people shouldn’t. Most kids are born because people want to fulfill themselves or because they were not careful. And a lot of the aforementioned do not know how to raise children.
18.) Infertility seems to be an increasingly common problem in first world countries, and I wonder if this is the way nature is phasing humans out the way many other species were, perhaps to fix the overpopulation problem.
19.) I seem to have bad luck with landlords; I should just save up and buy instead of renting ever again.
20.) “No just means it’s going to take a little longer.”
21.) It’s really important to persevere, even (or especially) when things seem hopeless. You never know how things will turn out.
22.) I always thought that I was pretty up front, but apparently I am big on bottling things up until I explode.
23.) And when I explode, I go nuclear.
24.) I used to take my free time for granted.
25.) It’s important to listen to your gut and know when to get yourself out of a situation – and then you have to aggressively find a way out. It’s a key way of progressing and moving onto better places.
26.) There’s a lot to be said for keeping my head down and just working hard.
27.) Foreign as the concept is, I should rely less on the opinions of people I love/trust. There are many of them and I’ll get pulled in a million different directions.
28.) Being a grown-up actually isn't so bad.
29.) Dermatological skincare works way better for me than luxury brand stuff.
30.) Comedy truly is my entertainment genre of choice and I don't need to feel embarrassed about that. :P

Material Girl Once More

Remember my post on how I was a changed person after living in Europe twice?  About how I realized how wasteful my lifestyle is in North America, how little I realized I could happily survive on, how I realized how much more satisfied I was with life even though I had no extras in my life at all in Europe, compared to now in Toronto, where I have a (very) modest income and could afford to buy some things for fun?

Well, I had an "I'm Back!" moment the other day at a jewellery store.

Forgive?

Source

I know, you guys, I know I'm slacking this week.  But I have a legitimate excuse, I promise!  I just started a second job and I have not gotten used to the heavier work schedule yet.  As such, I need a bit of a reprieve this week, but on Sunday, I will be back, with bells on! :)

Why am I taking a second job?  Well, the opportunity kind of dropped into my lap, to be honest.  I wasn't thinking of doing two jobs but I was approached and I thought, hey, this could be fun!  And it also goes towards supplementing my entry-level income, which is very needed and appreciated.  So on the days when my two jobs overlap, I have 15 hour days.  I also work every weekend now, so on average I work about 10 days before I get a day off.  But it's okay, because happiness is being busy with things you enjoy!

And what, precisely, are my jobs?  I'm obviously not going to go into identifiable details, but if you've glanced at my About Me panel to the right, I do marketing for a living.  That's my bread.  My butter, now, is beauty.  That's right, I've been initiated into the beauty biz!  Which I'm thrilled and excited about because, as you all probably know, beauty products are, like, my life.  Plus I will have TOOONS to share about with you here.  So keep an eye out for lots of product reviews and recommendations in the future!

Hope you all are doing wonderfully.  Talk to you Sunday!

XOXOXO

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone!

As you may have noticed, there was no article yesterday - it's Canadian Thanksgiving!  A Very, Very Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, no matter where you're from.  One of the things I am most thankful for in my life are you guys, my readers, who actually care about what I have to say, who give my work value, and who are the reason why I do this.

Here's to another year full of things to be thankful for!

XOXOXO

Basic French Manicure #2

My basic French mani v2.0!

Much better than last time, right?

This might just be my favourite French polish combination yet.  Here, I'm wearing

Tasty Tuesday: Bar Central (La Boquería)

Bar Central at La Boqueria, Barcelona

A few weeks ago I alluded to a food-induced out-of-body experience that I had in La Boquería.  You know that feeling, when you