Ramblings

Winter Checklist

2011-12-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

There are just some winter traditions that are too good to give up. These are things that I have to do every year.

1. Make a gingerbread house.

Make it from scratch or grab a gingerbread house kit. It always means that the holidays are coming. The best part is using icing sugar to "make it snow".

2. Outdoor skating

This for me is a must! Every year I HAVE to go outdoor skating. I try to get as many people as possible to go with me. Usually it ends up being just one or two but it is so much fun anyways! Plus it makes for a great date. Just saying.

3. Peppermint hot chocolate

One of my favourite drinks. Its chocoately yet refreshing all in one. This usually follows outdoor skating. It is the perfect pair. Skating and hot chocolate.

4. Reading

Finals are done and I can read for fun without feeling guilty. Something about reading for pleasure when I am supposed to be reading textbooks makes me feel REALLY guilty. Even more so then when I am watching a movie. Strange, I know.

5. Baking

This year I am slightly obsessed with cookies and royal icing. I want to make pretty decorated cookies. Probably will get super frustrated and end up making cupcakes (got to stick to my strengths).

What are your favourite winter traditions?

Home for the Holidays

2011-12-19T23:18:00.002-05:00

First semester has come to a close! Exams and studying are FINALLY finished (for now). It is good to be home for the holidays. Its been way too long since I have been home and with my family. Far too long since I have seen my friends. I am looking forward to watching a ton of cheesy Christmas movies, baking some Christmas goodies and sipping mug after mug of hot chocolate (preferably peppermint hot chocolate). I love cozy winter days of reading a great novel while drinking tea or outdoor skating with christmas lights and music. Winter can be magical (at times, others its down right dreadful). I am wishing for snow this Christmas, its just not the same without it.

Less then a week until the big day. Until then I will be madly wrapping gifts!

Belle

Once again...

2011-08-29T22:59:00.004-04:00

I have been bitten by the blogging bug. The random need I seem to get everyone few months to blog. It lasts for about 3 to 6 blog posts and then I am usually "cured" for a few more months until the bug strikes again. Life gets busy and the creativity runs out and I no longer feel guilty for not updating (not that I really have any readers anymore) and the blog falls by the wayside. Oh well, that's life for you. It seems to strike every so often, usually around the holidays and back to school. And hey, what do you know I head back to school for my second year of university.

I am getting really excited for my second year. Its my first year really on my own, out of rez and in a home. I honestly cannot wait. It seems as though all my friends are back already and I am dying to get back to school. Strange I know. I am enjoying school and I am actually *gasp* loving learning. I love that I get to study what I'm ACTUALLY interested in.

So much in my life has changed since I started this blog five years ago, I almost feel like I need to reintroduce myself. I know its hard to believe! I find it entertaining to go back to some of my older posts and see what I wrote all those years ago. How my interests have changed (or stayed the same in many cases). I am still that Gilmore Girl loving (although slightly less obsessed), nerdy girl that I was when this thing started. I still read blogs on a daily basis although the blogs I read have changed quite a bit. Though there are still some that I have been reading since the start. Many of my favourites have stopped blogging or I have out grown them. I am hoping that this blogging bug will stick around a bit longer this time.

Love,

Belle

Obsession: Couponing

2011-05-26T20:51:00.003-04:00

Lately I have been obsessed with Extreme Couponing. If you are not familiar with the TLC show then seriously go turn on your TV and watch it. You know what I'll even save you the effort, click here and you will be magically transported by the magic of the internet to a clip of awesomeness. Seriously be excited.You will be HOOKED. It is actually so good in a weird sort of way. It is not something I think you can really do in Canada but I do enjoy watching people buy ridiculous amount of stuff. Oh TLC thank you for entertaining me with crazy shows that I couldn't watch anywhere else.

Confession: I still read...

2011-05-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Cheesy Teen Novels. Like super cheesy. As in I can pretty much finish you in one sitting and if anyone caught me reading this I would be totally embarrassed but I will still take them out from the library cheesy.

Everyone likes to pretend that they read books that widen their horizon and have deeper meaning. And yes we do all read those books but sometimes I need a really junky novel. Something that totally takes my mind off of the world. I love to read, don't get me wrong. I love getting lost in a book. But these books allow me to let my mind go numb and I don't need to think. Which is sometimes all I really need. Especially after all the reading that I have to do for school its nice to read something where you don't really have to think too hard. Gives your mind a much needed mental break. Plus a part of me loves the silly love stories that take place in these novels. You may think I am crazy, many of you have probably already lost respect for me. But what can I say. Its an addiction... that really can't be cured.

The Weight Issue

2011-05-04T00:43:00.002-04:00

I have recently had discussions with many of my close friends about the pressures of being thin and having a positive self image. So many of my friends are suffering from eating disorders and it pains me to watch. They are all gorgeous girls and the least of their worries should be about the number on the scale. I feel like so many girls suffer from a negative self image and the centre of that is their weight and their eating habits. Its an issue that is discussed over and over. Yet so many girls are haunted by this demon. Who is it that we are trying to be super skinny for? Our friends? Our families? Boys? Ourselves? What is the ideal body weight?

I personally have never suffered from problems with my weight or have felt any pressure to be thin. That's not to say I don't have my "fat" days or the days when I am like wow I should probably eat some fruit or something seeing as I can't remember the last time I had an apple. But for the most part I have always been content with my body. When my one friend told me that she was recently suffering from issues with how she looked and wasn't eating I was shocked. I have know her for a number of years and she has always been around the same weight and has always been skinny.

Dear Friend*,

You are a beautiful person inside and out. You are a wonderful, caring, thoughtful person and an amazing friend. You are unique and special in your own way and have made my life better and more positive for so many reasons. Even if you can't believe it yourself know that I believe that you are gorgeous just the way you are right now. I do not need to you change in anyway. I love you just the way you are. Do not let anyone make you feel bad about yourself. They are not worth your time or energy. You place so much emphasis on what you feel is "bad" but forget all the good. If you need it I can come up with a list of reasons of what makes you beautiful and special. I believe in you and I want you to get better. I am here for you.

I love you,

belle

*I have a lot of this to many of my friends who are suffering from eating disorders and thought I would share it here with you all.

First Year

2011-03-25T15:21:00.004-04:00

The past few weeks have been crazy. With midterms left and right I never left the study room on the floor and then midterms ended and less then favourable results from those midterms started to come back. Then panic sunk in finals are only 2 weeks away and I am in no way shape or form ready for them. Nor am I ready to leave this place in 5 short weeks. This past year has flown by and I worry that I did not get everything that I wanted to out of it and I worry that somewhere along the line I began to lose the person I was when I started here. What happened to the girl who was involved in everything and who was constantly busy, always on the move. The girl so strong in her values and morals, who knew what she wanted from life. Where did that girl go? First year university is an eye opener. You move away from home and are completely on your own away from your parents for the first time. You learn so much about yourself. For the most part I am happy with the person I am becoming but there are things from my past that I feel are slipping away which I would like to hold onto. I miss being the girl who got the grades, who had it all. When did I lose that? I feel like meeting all these new people being away from my family and friends I somehow started to mould myself into this new person who I am not sure I am 100% comfortable being.

Things did not work out with the boy across the hall. People warn you about floorcest for a reason. I should have known better and yet I do not regret putting myself out there. Perhaps we really could of had something. Who knows. I have met so many amazing new people and hopefully some life long friends. I would not change one thing about my first year experience, expect perhaps being more involved in clubs within the university. But these are things that I can work on next year, not all is lost. My floor is an amazing group of people and changing even one person would make it completely different. I have 5 weeks left here and its not too late to pull up my socks and get the grades I know I am capable of. To have fun at the last few parties of the year and to just hang out, watch movies and laugh with my floormates. I am sad that this year is coming to an end, it is one I wish would last longer. This chapter of my life is just starting but man the pages turning fast.

Confession: I am obsessed with the

2011-02-21T16:29:00.006-05:00

Its a slight problem that I have. I cannot seem to get enough of the Food Network. From Everyday Italian to Iron Chef to Ace of Cakes. I love it all. I watch them all.

Chopped, The Cupcake Challenge, Dinners Drive-in and Dives.

But my favourite has to be the Food Network Challenges. Making cakes

for every occasion and amazing sugar sculptures. How can you not fall in love with this channel?

One day I would love to go on a road trip and eat at some of the places that Guy visits on Dinner, Drive-ins and Dives. Honestly this is not a show you should watch while hungry.

Iron chef brings on a whole other group of issues. My mouth waters for foods that I know for a fact I hate and I sit there and judge based on platting and originality. I may or may not have a slight crush on Bobby Flay.

So now I have the urge to go to my kitchen and create some wonderful dish... or perhaps I'll just watch some more Food Network. We'll see.

Love,

Belle

February

2011-02-06T19:54:00.004-05:00

I am currently curled up in my bed in my dorm room. Our portable heater is going and I have a cup of tea beside me. My roommate is playing the sound of music soundtrack and I am about ready to curl up and fall asleep. I wish I could just sleep through the rest of February. I have serious issues with this month. Not only is it non stop snowing and freezing outside, I knew from the start that it would not be a good month. February first I was waiting for the bus when a car came and splashed all of us who were waiting with gross brown cold slushy water. Which by the way tasted very salty. I have been in a fight with on of my friend on my floor for about a week now and we are not talking. Gotta love living in close quarters with everyone. (It also doesn't help when everyone is sick.) Then to make things even better my cell phone decided to die on me yesterday so I am currently phone-less for an unknown period of time which is just so excellent. I never realized just how dependent I am on my cell phone. However I hate walking around campus at night without one. With Valentines Day coming up, lately I have been seeing couples EVERYWHERE. Seriously. They are just popping up all over the place. Its a rather depressing time to be single.

Heres to hoping that February gets better... fast.

Belle

The Perks of Being a Wall Flower

2011-02-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning to read this book for four years, ever since my grade nine english teacher recommend it. It was never available at the library and last month I finally remember to look for it at the bookstore. I am so happy that I found it and a little sad that I didn't read it earlier. If you have not read this book please stop reading my silly blog and go read it. Go. Now. I'm not kidding. You can thank me later.

Charlie does not participate in life. He is an observer. He quietly watches everyone around him and thinks to much about life. The books is a composition of letters that Charlie writes to an unnamed unknown friend. I don't want to give too much away and I don't want to say too much. I believe it is one of those books you need to discover for yourself. In a way I am happy that I read it after finishing high school because I was able to look back. I don't think I would have taken as much from this book if I read it in grade nine. I was just too innocent then and not fully aware of the evils of the world (not that I really think am now... but I am more aware then I was). It is a book I believe I will read again and again, recommend to all my friends and continue to take something from it.

This blog post sums up a lot of what I am feeling. I randomly found it through google images after finding this photo.

Do, Date, Ditch

2011-01-31T21:20:00.000-05:00

Do, Date, Ditch. Its very simple. You pick one to do, one to date and one to ditch.

Nate:

Chuck:

Dan:

Okay here's what I would do. I would Do Dan, Date Nate and Ditch Chuck. Why? This was a hard choice for me. But Dan is forever in love with Serena and Chuck has Blair and I wouldn't want to piss her off and then there is Nate. Who is beautiful and sweet. Who would you Do, Date, Ditch? Leave your answer in the comments.

Love,

Belle

Old Favourites

2011-01-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

We all have those blogs that we love to read. Ever so often we stumble upon a new blog here or there that we grow to love. I have been reading many different blogs for about four years now and some of my favourite bloggers are sadly no longer blogging. However four of my favourites who have been around since the start are still blogging and continue to inspire me. Two have grown and moved onto new blogs which I love just as much as the old and the others are still writing their original. Their blogs are ones that I visit on a regular basis, their wardrobes I have come to recognize and I often find myself thinking what would they do.

The Clothes Horse.

From her remixes, her labbit, and her travels Rebecca always gives me something interesting to read about. She inspires me to wear more skirts and sets my sights on traveling the world. I love reading her blog on a daily basis.

Always Something.

This is a new blog for this redheaded blogger. Her Embracing Mondays give me something to look forward to on Monday Mornings. Her blog is one that truly makes me think. While this is a new blog for her I cannot wait to see how it grows, it has already brought back so much of what I loved.

Ashcan Rantings

This blog. So much I could say. However what sums it up best is this blog was the first blog I started reading and Molly was on the first (and consistent) to comment on my posts. This blog is what made me want to blog. From her taste in music to her witty remarks it is truly a unique treasure out there in the blogosphere.

Quintessentially Quirky

This is Tess's second blog and I love it just as much if not more then her first. Her book reviews, style files and outfit round ups are some of my favourite features. Her blog has a great balance of fashion and personal life along with little added bonuses that really make you think.

I highly recommend that you check out these lovely blogs. Let me know who your old favourite or new favourites are.

Belle

Do, Date, Ditch

2011-01-24T02:48:00.000-05:00

So this is a game that my friends and I enjoy playing when there are no guys around and we are just hanging out. Basically someone names three guys (people we know, famous people or characters from movies or TV shows) and everyone else has to decide which they would do, which they would date and which they would ditch. I thought it might be fun to play here. So sticking with my love of Gilmore Girls which of Rory's Three Guys would you Do, Date, Ditch?

Dean

Jess

Logan

I would Do Jess, Date Logan and Ditch Dean. I loved Jess but felt that Logan made a better boyfriend and I just really didn't like Dean at all. Let me know who you would Do, Date, Ditch in the comments!

Have a great weekend,

Belle

The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.

2011-01-18T02:38:00.005-05:00

So I thought that I would share a bit about my life at university. So here goes:

The Roommate:

The Good - She my best friend

The Bad- Her BF staying the night

The Ugly - Not talking for a week

The Guy Across the Hall:

The Good - He's attractive

The Bad - I'm attracted to him

The Ugly - Floorcest

The Living On Your Own:

The Good - Space from the famjam

The Bad - No home cooked meals. KD anyone?

The Ugly - Missing said famjam

The Classes:

The Good - They are actually interesting

The Bad - The work

The Ugly - 9 am Calc anyone?

The Science Labs:

The Good - Feeling Legit!

The Bad - 3 hours... REALLY?

The Ugly - Spilling chemicals on yourself

The Finals:

The Good - Doing better then expected

The Bad - Doing worst then expected

The Ugly - Telling the parents about The Bad.

Love,

Belle

2011-01-14T02:23:00.002-05:00

Sometimes people surprise you. Like tonight for example I was in the worst mood ever and a friend from high school who I never used to talk to about things came through for me tonight. We were never super close until the end of grade 12 when we went on a two week school trip together with only six other students and we all became really close. Usually our conversations are fairly light but today I was in full on rant mode. Thankfully he came through and gave great advice. It's strange the people you rely on and who are there for you. Sometimes its people who you don't expect. Its a funny thing really. We are hours away and yet he managed to tell me what I needed to hear and was able to make me feel better. What happened to make me so upset you ask? Well I fought with my crush. Over basically nothing. (I know I am no back in grade seven). Which ended with me in tears and the fight sort of being patched up. Seriously, don't ever like the guy across the hall. Its just plain messy, especially when other girls on the floor like him as well. Jealously, broken friendship and tears result. But actually. Guys are just confusing; one minute they like you and the next they don't. We live across the hall, have two classes together and have all the same friends. Yet we are both too scared to do anything incase something happens before the year is over and we will have to live across the hall for the rest of the year. I promised myself no "floorcest" ... lets see how long this lasts.

Once again.. its been a while

2010-12-20T16:18:00.002-05:00

So its not a secret that I suck at updating this blog. Which I have been so busy lately that I have forgotten to even begin to feel guilty about it...opps. Then it comes a time when I stumble upon a new great blog that I haven't read before and I think oh ya I have one of these. Then the itch starts and I think to myself why not start blogging again. Then I remember that I'm crazy busy and I don't have a funny, witty personality that everyone loves, nor do I wear skirts on a daily basis. Yet its about to be the start of a New Year, which always means New Years resolutions. Which usually includes posting on a regular basis. And hey, if a regular basis means every few months then I'm right on track. I once again have no idea if I am going to start posting again. Do I have that kind of time and energy to post again, or do I just want to enjoy my first year of university and all of the craziness that goes on there. Living in Rez has been such an interesting experience and I have grown and changed living alone and by alone I mean sharing a room with a roommate and living on a floor with 40 other 17- 20 year olds who are all at university to "study" and have a good time. (Don't get me wrong I am seriously there for the school, the social life is just a great added bonus). Just finishing finals is reminds me that I am for sure there to study my ass off, but hey it all worth it in the end right. Perhaps I will try to update more often, I always thought that this blog had to be a daily fashion blog kind of thing with a ton of readers but right now I might just be content with it being for me. Personally I miss writing my random thoughts down and just hitting publish post. Not the greatest editing skills haha. But a rant and a ramble is what I am good for.

Heres to another year gone.

belle

2010-09-04T01:33:00.004-04:00

Hey Everyone,

Summer is basically over. I have no idea where it went and a small part of me wants it to come back. It went way to fast. However I move in to Rez tomorrow at university and I am extremely excited, scared, nervous, sad, but mostly excited. I cannot wait for the most part. I want to meet new people make new friend. Yet I also want time to go slower, I am not 100% prepared to leave home yet. I still don't know where I stand with this blog. I don't want to delete it because I still have the urge to write a post here and there. However I do feel less pressure to post and there is basically no guilt when I don't post which is nice. It is no longer a chore. I went to New York City with my family last week and being there I wanted to blog about it and it helped to inspire me to get back to posting here again. I don't know if this feeling is going to last and if it does how long. I am not promising anything right now. I am hoping to do a post about New York soon but I know that with moving and university and all it will be tough. I would love to start doing outfit posts but to be honest with you all I am extremely lazy. I don't have a tripod and I don't have anyone to take photos for me. Half the time after I wear an outfit and go out somewhere and think wow this would have been a good place to take a photo I either a) don't have my camera on me or b) think of this after the fact when I get home and see the other photos that I took that day.

Well thats all for now.

belle

Fear

2010-08-20T00:00:00.001-04:00

We all have our fears. For some its height, spiders, public speaking or even death. Me, I fear failure.

Failure its a part of life and yet its probably one of my greatest fears. I cannot stand the thought of failing. No matter how hard you try, how hard you work, failure is sometimes inevitable. I can't stand the feeling of knowing that my best just isn't good enough. It is almost impossible for me to put into words how I feel, I am struggling just typing this. It goes further then just failing a test or even a quiz in school but being a failure. Not succceeding in life, and reaching my goals. Perhaps I put too much pressure on myself. I feel like a big part of this for me is not knowing what the future holds. I feel like I talk about this a lot, but its just that I would love to know where I am going to be in the next 5 or even 10 years. Perhaps its not about failure but about making the right choices and knowing that I have done the right thing and have gotten to where I need to be. I wish that I had a crystal ball to know my future, I do not need to know exactly what has happened, more I just need to know that I am going to be okay. I want to reach my goals. I want to make something out of my life. I feel like this internal struggle to become something is eating away at me. For the most part I just want to be happy. I want to have met the goals that I am setting for myself. I feel like not meeting these goals would make me a failure. Perhaps its not about failing but being a failure in the eyes of others. I do not really know. Its confusing. Life is confusing. I wish I had the answers but I don't. No one really does. I am not going to sit here and act like I know what is going to happen. Your guess is as good as mine. I feel like just being myself here has become hard and thats not why I started this blog. I wanted to be able to be myself, but then it turned into this whole other thing and somehow, someway, somewhere I lost who I am. I hate that. I hate that I let that happen. I want to get back to me, this right here. This strange, random, fun loving girl. I may no longer be 16, but 18 is just as great. I just want to let go open up and be me again. I hope that I can. I hope that I can put the cares behind me, the fears and the failures and work forward and move on.

Belle

Getting Older...

2010-08-10T01:57:00.003-04:00

Wow! It's hard to believe that summer is almost over. For me it means that in about four weeks I will be moving away from home to go to school. Granted I'm not moving that far. Only about 3 hours away but still its far enough for me. I am very close to my family and I know that I am going to miss them. I am very excited to start school though. I really can't wait to see what September has in store for me. I can barely contain my excitement. Today was a tough day. One of my best friends is leaving in a couple of days for school. She's leaving the country and her school starts earlier then mine. Meaning that tonight we all said good bye to her and had one last hang out session before she leaves. It still doesn't seem real. I can't believe that my little group of friends is being broken up. Its hard. I hope that I will be able to keep in touch with them while we are all off doing our own things in different parts of the world. After spending four years together being practically inseparable its strange to think that we will not be going to class together again next year. I know that everyone feels this way as they are about to start university and I know its time to let go of my high school years as strange as that is. The other day I said I'm going to hang out with my high school friends and I felt incredibly old. Have you ever noticed that you always feel younger then you are. When I was in grade nine the grade twelves seems so old and it was hard for me to picture myself as one of them. Now that time as come and gone and I still in some ways feel like I am in grade nine. When I think of university students I think of people much older then myself and yet here I am about to start university. I am no longer a high school student but a university one. I feel like just when I've come to accept what I am its already over. Getting used to being in grade twelve and then before you know it I was graduating and the year was over. It flew by. It was an amazing year full of good times with friends and classmates. Getting to know my teachers better and being able to focus on subjects that I am really interested in. Grade 12 for me was probably my best year of high school and the one that I most enjoyed. I have no regrets about the past year and I would do everything exactly the same if given the chance. I did everything I wanted to do. I got involved in everything that I wanted to be involved in. That made the difference for me I think. Being able to do everything I loved and accomplish the goals I set for myself at the end of last year. Showing not only myself but everyone else that I could do it and that I was a known figure in the school. It was important to me and while I was often stressed out and looking back I don't really know how I survived. I am glad I did everything that I did because I am a stronger person for it. This past year was one that I will never forget. It was full of great memories and I was able to strengthen my friendships with those who meant the most to me. I know who my real friends are and I am happy with the person that I am. I know who I am. I may not know what I want to do in life right at this very moment or what the future holds or what I will be doing this time next year but I am okay with that because right now I like who I am. It took me a long time to get to this place, but I am happy with who I am. For now thats more then enough.

Love,

Belle

Body Image

2010-08-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone,

The other day I was on Teen Vogue, and they had a survey about body image, which I decided to take and it got me thinking. The survey asked questions about what you thought about your body and celbs bodys, that sort of thing.

I personally feel that I have a postive body image. I may not like everything about my body, 100% of the time, but for the most part I am okay with my body. I personally feel like you wouldn't be able to find someone who likes every single thing about their body all the time. We all have those days where we hate certain parts of our body.

The media is constantly discussing stars and their weight. They can never win, they gain weight and they are fat, they lose weight and they have an eating disorder, there is never a happy medium. The survey asked what we thought was the best body type, and beside healthy they had Leighton Meester in brackets. I would personally consider her to be on the skinny side. I think that our perception of what is a normal healthy body weight has been affected by the media.

To me stars such as Selina Gomez and Taylor Swift have positive body images. They do not talk badly about their bodies and focus their attention on other more important issues. I hate how the media constantly looks at stars and their weight. Weight to me is just a number. What matters is how you feel about yourself. For me clothes allow me to feel good about myself. When I feel good in what I am wearing my confidence goes way up. It doesn't matter what the number on the scale is.

I find that many of these Teen magazines are very hypocritical. They have articles on the dangers of eating disorders and on have a positive body image. Yet you turn the page and their is a work out plan and a diet waiting for you to try. They are sending girls mixed messages about what they should care about. Don't get me wrong it is important to be healthy. To eat and exercise regularity. But why does exercising have to be running on a track or lifting weights. Why can it not be walking the dog or dancing? We seem to forget that their are other ways of being active. Eating healthy doesn't have to mean cutting out the foods you love. Yet we think diet and automatically its low carb, no sugar and no sweets. Why does eating healthy have to be considered a diet. Diet gives a negative image. Eating healthy doesn't mean cutting things out or eating less. To me at least it means eating more fruits and vegetables and eating fast food less often.

I think as girls we are hardest on ourselves and on each other. Why does it matter what size I wear. Or what size my friends wear? I think that we need to be less harsh on each other and recognize that everyone is beautiful in their own way. I have seen girls buy clothes a size too small for the fear of going up a size and in hopes of fitting into it later on. Why do we do that. What is this fear of buying clothes that fit. Why does it matter what the number on the tag says. When did the number become more important then the way we feel in the clothes.

We realize that their are body image issues among teen girls. Yet we do nothing to change it. Magazines do a feature on it and yet they still put work out routines in the same issue. Its something that I don't think is going to change unless we change. Girls need to realize that they are worth more then just the numbers, the number of their weight and the number on the tag. We need to stop judging other girls and realize the beauty in everyone. If everyone takes a stand things will begin to change.

Belle.

Guilty Pleasures

2010-06-30T22:19:00.005-04:00

Hey Everyone,

We all have them those guilty pleasures that we hate to admit but we love to watch. Lately for me its been Pretty Little Liars. However I have to say these four girls have some really great clothes which I have been giving me lots of inspiration lately.

I love Aria (the one in the dress and black jacket) and Hanna's (the one in the dress and blue cardigan) style's the best so far.

This is my favourite outfit so far. I love the whole combination of the boots, dress and jacket. I really want to get a pair of boots like this, however stores aren't really carrying boots now. Have to wait until closer to fall I guess.

This is what the girls wore to their friend's funeral. I love Aria's tights.

The show so far has been pretty good. The plot line is pretty interesting and I am excited to see it unfold, that being said I wouldn't replace any of my regular fall shows for it. (I currently watch about 5 or 6 tv shows a week during prime tv time). However it's a great summer show. Check it out if you have the chance.

Belle

New Beginnings and a Tag of sorts

2010-06-04T16:17:00.007-04:00

Hey Everyone,

Its that time of year again... exam time! It is hard to believe that I am in my last year of high school. Writing what will be my last set of high school exams. Onto bigger and better things. It has yet to hit me that I am almost done high school and that I will be leaving my beloved school of 6 years ( I started there in grade 7). I will miss all of my amazing teachers most of which are more then just teachers, but also mentors and friends. They are people I knew that I could go to with any problem, no matter how big or small. They would always be ready and willing to help me. My classmates, some of whom I've known since grade 7 others, more recently. We have become a pretty tight knit group. Not all necessarily best friends but people who I feel comfortable talking to now and again. I will miss the simple everyday things. The routines that I have gotten so used to.

It is weird to think that I will not be going back next year. I will not don my uniform again in September, nor will I be walking those now familiar halls, greeting familiar faces. The one thing that I love about my school and I know I will miss dearly is the community. It is a small school which makes it possible for me to know so many people, not only in my grade but in younger grades. I have been able to make some really great friends with people in grades younger then myself, because we see each other so often in the hallways or at lunch. Teachers who I have never had a class with know me by name, by the simple fact that the school is so small. It has been both a blessing and a curse. I mean rumors spread extremely fast, and everyone knows everything about everyone, but other then that it has been nice. I know that I am rambling on, but the knowledge that high school is done has just begun to hit as I write this. Wow. Hard to believe. I thought it would hit sooner. I totally pegged myself as the one who would be crying about the last day of classes, the last assembly the last whatever. But I didn't. I am sad to leave but ready to move on. I know that next year will bring new challenges, new friends and amazing times. I am excited about the next chapter of my life.

Tess had a great Tag on her blog. I wasn't tagged, but I didn't let that stop me from doing it. Haha. ( I will do anything not to study for exams... including updating my usually unloved blog). I feel like I just invited myself to someones house for dinner. Breaking the rules... oh well. This is me being a rebel. Haha. The questions were just to good to pass up. So here we go. Feel free to rebel with me :) I think the way it works is I answer her questions then make up some of my own, for others to do.

1. For those nights when you eat ice cream out of the carton, you are watching what guilty pleasure TV show?

Generally I always eat ice cream out of the carton. I even write my name on it, so as to keep others (namely my brother) from helping themselves to my ice cream. Usually I grab it when I'm studying. Or when I'm watching a great chick flick and painting my nails. Really anytime is perfect for eating ice cream.

2. If you could have any animal in the zoo as my pet, what would you choose?

Probably a giraffe. They are so cool. Although I don't know how that would fit in the house. More practical (if possible) would be a penguin.

3. What would your daemon be (for you Philip Pullman fans) or what would your patronus be (calling all Potterheads)?
hummm... which animal am I most like. This is tough. I want to say something like a gazelle because they are fast and graceful. I am not fast and I can be kinda clumsy, thats probably not what it would be. One can dream right?
4. What was your favorite childrens book?
The Very Bad Rabbit. It had an orange cover, and I would want it read to me every night for my bedtime story. To the point where I had it memorized but I still wanted to hear it every night.
5. What is the most overrated movie you have ever watched?

This is a tough one. I feel like any of those comedies that people are like OMG that was the funniest movie I have ever seen in my life, then you go and watch it and you don't even laugh.

6. What book character would you like to befriend?

Well a book character that I would like to date is Wes from The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen but I realize that is not the question being asked.

Befriend. So many. I always think books are better when I feel like I could be friends with the character.

7. What is your favorite type of cake?

The more chocolate the better.

8. What song to you sing along to in your car when no one is with you?

Pretty much everything, and horribly too might I add. I never know all the words, so its generally me laughing at my self for screwing up the lyrics.

Okay here are some of my questions! I'm not going to tag anyone but leave me a comment if you did do my questions, I would be interested to read your answers.

1. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live and why?

2. If you could switch places with anyone for a day (dead or alive, real or imaginary) who would it be?

3. If you had to eat one food everyday for the rest of your life what would it be?

4 . If you had to pick a season to live in for one year which would it be? Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer?

5. What is your go to movie when you are feeling down?

6. If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of the year what would it be?

I hope that everyone has an amazing rest of the weekend.

Good luck with exams if you have any!

Belle

2010-05-16T20:12:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I was reading post secret today when I came across this:

Enjoy!

Belle

Ecuador 2010

2010-04-24T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,
This past March I was lucky enough to get to travel with Me to We to Ecuador to help build a Kitchen and Dining Hall in their first 10 by 1o community.

I have always wanted to travel the world and experience for myself the culture of other countries as well as the experience of going and seeing where the money goes to from the charities that I support.

While in Ecuador I learned some very important life changing lessons, that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. We worked with a community to aid them in the building of their Kitchen and Dining Hall for the school. The Kitchen and Dining Hall are very important to the entire community as many of the women come out to cook meals for the school children and are currently cooking in unventilated kitchens with wood stoves, which as you can imagine is not ideal for these women as the kitchen's become filled with smoke. Many of these women carry young children and babies on their back as they are cooking. This is causing many respiratory problems within the community. As well the dining hall contains a hand washing station that will greatly improve hygiene in the community. Many of the children currently eat with their hands, after playing outside all day. By building the kitchen and dining hall Free the Children hopes to teach these communities about the importance of hygiene and nutrition.

We worked closely with the community in what is called a Minga helping to build the dining hall. A Minga is when the community comes together to work together for the good of the community. Everyday there would be a small Minga of around 15 community members to help with the building of the Kitchen, along with us. We worked hard and were able to accomplish a lot in our week with the community.

While in Ecuador we met an amazing and inspiration woman named Maria. Maria was the first indigenous woman to attend university. Many of the girls only attend school to grade seven so her completion of university was a major accomplishment. She was also the youngest president of her community. She works closely with communities and women in order to develop alternative income projects for many of these women.

We were able to visit a womens group where these women sell their knitted goods in order to bring income into their households and help to create a better future for their children. Meeting the womens group showed me how important women are to their families and the running of their households in this culture. They work in the fields, take care of the family chores and children as well as try to earn money for their families. Many of the women in the women's group were well educated for women in Ecuador and it showed me first hand the importance of education and how education for girls can help to break the cycle of poverty.

One of the most important things that I took away from this experience was the importance of community. Everyone was always willing to help each other out and lend a helping hand. They did not expect anything in return. Their values are centered around family and community which is something I believe we are lacking.

This trip for me was only the beginning. On the trip we talked a lot about finding our passion and goal setting. I have set goals for myself for the next three years. We also talked about traveling with intent and what that meant to us. To me it means traveling with open eyes and an open heart. It means experiencing the culture and taking the experiences back with me. I would love in the future to travel and volunteer in other countries. It is one of my dreams to go to Kenya and volunteer with the Mully Children's Family. Free the Children is an amazing organization that was started by Craig Kilburger when he was only 12 years old after he read an article in the newspaper about a 12 year old boy who was killed by the carpet mafia for speaking out against Child Labour.

One thing that I encourage everyone to do, is to Give their 10. Free the Children has a 10 by 10 challenge and the idea behind it is quite simple. We can all do small things everyday to help change the world. Together we can make a difference. Go to giveyourten.com and pledge 10 things that you can do on a daily basis to make the world a better place. Then share your 10 with 10 people and $10 will be donated in your name. The community that I went and visited was a result of the 10 by 10 Challenge.

Here are my ten:

1. Drink water from a re-useable water bottle / mug

2. Turn off the lights

3. Hug, hug, hug

4. Volunteer somewhere new

5. Re-connect with an old friend

6. Read about a new social issue

7. Unplug unused appliances and chargers

8. Shop for vintage clothes

9. Carry a reusable bag

10. Travel somewhere new

Love,
Belle

Canada supports you...

2010-02-24T22:53:00.007-05:00

Joannie Rochette.

For those of you who don't know, Joannie's mother passed away two days ago just after she arrived to watch her daughter perform at the Olympics. I have to say that Joannie's skate last night was extremely emotional and the strength that she had is inspiring. She is truly one of my idols. I wish her all the best in the free skate tomorrow and I hope she knows that Canada and the skating community are behind her during this tough time. She is a competitor and a fighter and her mother would be proud. I hope that she has the skate of her life tomorrow, not only for herself but for her mother.

Good luck Joannie and God bless.

Love,
belle

Valentines Day and Olympics

2010-02-14T18:53:00.014-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Happy Valentines Day!

I don't have a real valentine, I never actually have, but for some reason I still love the holiday, I still maintain the childhood innocence of it all. Giving cards and candy hearts to friends, wearing red, white and pink and just enjoying the day. My friend and I decided to be valentines this year, I got her these really cute mini food erasers and she gave me a cookie gram!

If I were to get gifts for valentines day here is what I would like (they aren't exactly traditional):

Mod Cloth Fingerless Gloves $15.99

I am ALWAYS freezing. These would be prefect because they are cute and they would allow me to use my fingers. As it is now, typing with mittens or regular gloves, isn't always easy.

Fred Flare Rubber Ducky Ear Buds $ 15

I have a thing for rubber duckies. I have a sparkly key chain that I love and had to have as soon as I saw it. Next I want rubber ducky pjs.

Fred Flare Necklace $44

I love the quirkiness of this necklace, I just can't explain it. I love the randomness!

Mini Cupcake Lip gloss -Fred Flare $18

These are so cute! I have a thing for food like products. I love them. I have one, that I got at the toy store where I work. But of course they are sold by Fred Flare!

Its not too long of a list but its just a taste of what I like. Cupcakes and chocolate are always appreciated.

From Cupcakes Take the Cake. I love browsing this blog to see all the amazing cupcakes that people make.

A side note:
I watched the Olympic Opening Ceremonies on Friday! I am so excited to watch the figure skating, I can't wait to cheer Team Canada on. I got myself a pair of the red mittens that everyone seems to be wearing, they are really warm.

I hope that everyone has an amazing Valentines Day. I am going to see the movie Valentines Day tomorrow, I can't wait! Hopefully it will live up to the hype!
Enjoy the day with your sweetheart or friends or family.
Love,
Belle

To Do List

2010-02-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

Hey Everyone,
So one thing that I have never done on my blog is a list of guys that I think are hot. My friend B has an album on facebook called the to do list, which I find highly amusing. I thought it would be fun to make my own and share it with you all. Sadly half of them are fictional characters but what can I say, TV is my life. In no particular order:

Ryan Gosling

Canadian and in the Notebook....

The Gossip Girl Guys:

They are half the reason I watch Gossip Girl... the other half is the clothes.

Matt Lanter

I saw him in a movie about figure skating and was like WOW hes hot. I told my friend all about him and she was like well hes yours, I wont even go look, so we will not fight. Then he was on 90210 and she was like wow hes hot, but he was already mine.

Jess:

The only guy Rory was really meant to be with. I hated Dean, didn't mind Logan (he had his moments). Jess was always right for Rory, at least I think he was.

Taylor Lautner:

Yes okay, I like him. I think he's BEAUTIFUL.

Seth Cohen:

Words can not describe my obsession with Seth. I would rather be Seth then date him. I just think that hes so cool.

Damon:

It has to do with my love of Vampire Diaries. Damon gets some of the best lines, and he is so sexy. Seriously go watch Vampire Diaries.

Leo:

Enough Said.

Brad Pitt- Thelma and Louise

One of my favourite movies. Plus its Brad Pitt.

Well that was my very High School Girl post for you all. I'm sure that I am missing a few people, and that you may not agree with my list. But there you go. It was fun to put together.

I hope everyone has a good week, and the timing of this post was quite good, what with Valentines Day coming up so soon.
Love,
Belle

02/02/10

2010-02-02T23:27:00.005-05:00

Hey Everyone,

I can't believe how time flies. I can remember ringing in the New Year like it was yesterday, and now its February and things are piling up, and I just want to curl up and sleep away winter. Spring needs to come faster. It has been a stressful couple of weeks what with play, work and the amount of school work that has been piling up. Trying to work through the mountains of homework seems like a never ending task, hand in one thing get assigned three more. I have broken down more times then I can count. It feels like the weeks all run into each other and that weekends no longer exist, its just one big long week, Monday to Monday. I go from my school uniform to pjs and back again, with a work outfit here or there, and sometimes pjs are replaced with track pants. I miss my clothes and getting dressed.

All that being said, I have still manged to find some time for TV and reading blogs. I'm actually writing a post on mine which is shocking in itself. I am hoping to start outfit posts soon, but as stated above, there really haven't been any. I can't remember the last time I really put effort into getting dressed, and my decision wasn't which school sweater should I wear today, or which over sized t-shirt is more comfortable to sleep in.

I have become OBSESSED with Vampire Diaries. I am loving Stefan and Damon. I like the fact that for the most part the vampires ACT like vampires and while Stefan and Elaina are soul mates they have their ups and downs. Plus the cliffhangers keep me coming back. I hear GLEE is amazing and I am hoping to watch it this summer, when I have more time.

Lately I have been looking at dresses for Prom. I know that I want a long dress with a low back and most likely a jewel tone colour. I really like this one that Taylor Swift is wearing:

(image via instyle.com)

Sorry for the randomness of this post. It was completely all over the place, however I feel like it is a jumping off point, because as of now at least I am writing and sharing some thoughts. Which is all I can ask of myself at this point in time.

Thank you for sticking with me,

Belle

Good Bye Plain Jayne

2010-01-26T20:05:00.003-05:00

Hello Everyone,

Today when I logged onto blogger to actually see if I could *gasp* work on a post. I noticed that Plain Jayne announced her last post forever, and that her blog is no longer online. I was actually pretty upset to hear the news as I loved that blog quite dearly, and read it often. While I posted comments often I never spoke with the author directly, and could think of no other way to contact her then this. I am sorry to see her blog go, it was a regular read of mine for over a year now, and has inspired me in many ways. Plain Jayne you will be missed.

I will have an outfit post soon. I have been pretty busy with school (I know excuses! I am sorry!) and I am a bit sick, so I think I will go and curl up with my tea and watch some bad TV... Teen Mom anyone? Haha I love that show, my guilty pleasure among other things.

I will try to post something with substance soon... Don't give up hope yet.

Love
Belle

Back...

2010-01-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone,

I feel horrible that I have left this blog alone for so long, a combination of being busy and not sure of what direction I want to take. I feel like my life is being pulled in a thousand different directions. I love this blog and I want to continue it, trust me I haven't forgotten but I don't want to only half write it. If I am going to write this blog I want to put my all into it. I hate only half doing things and I just felt like I couldn't give enough time to it, so it was just easier not to write at all. Time just seems to fly by and before I knew it 2009 was coming to an end and 2010 was around the corner. I hope that 2010 brings me many new and wonderful memories and friends. It will be a year of change with leaving high school behind and starting university in the fall. I am so excited and I can't wait.

I am hoping to put more time and effort into this blog, I still do read so many blogs and I am constantly on Weardrobe (not that I have my own account). Many blogs continue to inspire me and make me miss mine. I hope that my long break away from my blog has left me refreshed and ready to start posting again. I am sure that many of you understand.

I am hoping to start outfit posts but it was hard for me to post while I felt like my style was changing and being influenced by so many of you. I continue to add to my wardrobe and I am starting to shy away from a lot of my old clothes. I know that I have a long way to go and I am not always the most confident person. I would like to get away from this and be more bold and daring with my outfits this year. It also doesn't help that I wear a uniform to school so most days I go from pajamas to my uniform to back to either my pajamas or track pants. Weekends (if then) are really the only time when I get to really dress for myself.

I am hoping that this post will be the launch (or relaunch) of this blog, and that I will get back on track with my posts.
Love,
Belle

2010

2010-01-03T12:23:00.002-05:00

New Years 2010
Where did you go on New Years?: my place
Who were you with?: besties
Did you kiss anyone at midnight?: haha ohhh j
Did you make any resolutions?: not at new years

Love Life
Did you go out with anyone?:nope
Did YOU break up with anyone?: nope
Did you get anything for Valentine's day? nothinggg
Did you meet anyone special?: yes
Did you fall in love?: ....
Are You still with him/her?: n/a

Friends & Enemies
Did you meet any new friends this year?: yess
Did any of your friendships end?: yes
Did you dislike anyone?: yes
Did you make any new enemies?: unspoken ones i guess
Did you resolve any fights?: yes
Who did you grow apart from?: famfriends, old friends, skating friends
Do you have any regrets when it comes to your friendships?: sometimes depends who

Birthday; Seventeen
Did you have a cake? course, cake = birthday haha
What did you do for your birthday? nothing special, it landed on another holiday this year
Did you have a party?: nopee
Did you get any presents?: yes i did
If so what was the best thing you got?: gym membership (haha i actually wanted it)

Personal;
Did you change at all this year?: of course
Did you dye your hair?: highlighted
Did you get your hair cut?: not like majorly, but like trims yes
Did you change your style?: haha my hair's always the same
Were you in school?: yes
Did you get good grades?: yupp
Did you have a job?: skatingg and toy storee
Did you drive?: yesss sir
Did you own a car?: nope
Did anyone close to you give birth?: no
Did you move at all?: no
Did you go on any vacations?: yes
Did you leave the country at all?: yes
Would you change anything about yourself now?:pretty happy with myself right at this moment

Overall
Is 2009 a good year?: nothing really horrible sticks out in my mind
Did 2009 bring any new insights? of course
Do you think 2010 will top 2009?: yes, its time to graduate and go to university
If you could relive any moment which would you choose? I can't even pick one,

Confessions; I...
(x ) stayed single for the whole year
() made out in/on a car
() kissed in the snow
(x) celebrated Halloween
( ) kissed in the rain
(x ) had your heart broken
() broke someone else's heart
(x ) had a stalker
( ) mooned someone
() went over the minutes on your cell phone....
(x) had a good relationship with someone ....
( ) someone questioned your sexual orientation
( ) came out of the closet
( ) gotten pregnant
( ) had an abortion
( ) lost a baby
(x) had/have a relationship with someone you'll never forget
(x) done something you've regretted
() lost faith in love
( ) kissed under mistletoe

school*
(x ) took an honors/advanced class
( ) broke the dress code
( ) sent to the principles office for misbehavior
(x) got straight A's
(x) met one teacher you really like
( x) met one teacher you really hated
( ) failed a class
(x) skipped school
(x) did something you were proud of
(x) discovered a new talent
(x) proved yourself an idiot
(x) embarrassed yourself in front of the class
( ) fell in love with a teacher
( ) intentionally tripped someone at school
( ) got lead in the school play
( ) made a varsity team
(x) were involved in something you'll never forget

things to do*
( ) painted a picture
() wrote a poem
(x ) ran a mile
(x) listened to music you couldn't stand
(x) went to a sleepover
() went camping
() threw a surprise party
(x) laughed till you cried
( ) laughed till you peed in your pants
( x) visited a foreign country
(x) cut in a line of waiting people
(x) told someone you were busy when you weren't
(x) partied to celebrate the new year
(x) cooked a disastrous meal
( ) lost something/someone important to you
(x) lied about how old you were
( x) prank called someone

...more?*
[x]broke a promise
[x] fallen out of love
[x] lied
[x] went behind your parents back
[x ] cried over a broken heart
[x] disappointed someone close
[x] hid a secret
[x] pretended to be happy
[ ] kissed in the rain
[ ] slept under the stars
[ ] kept your new years resolution
[x] forgot your new years resolution
[ x] met someone who changed your life
[ ] met one of your idols
[x] changed your outlook on life
[x] sat home all day doing nothing
[] pretended to be sick
[x] left the country
[] almost died
[x] given up something important to you
[] lost something expensive
[x] learned something new about yourself
[x] tried something you normally wouldnt try and liked it
[x] made a change in your life
[x] found out who your true friends were
[x] met great people
[x] stayed up til sunrise
[x] Cried over the silliest thing
[x] was never home on weekends
[ ] got into a car accident
[x] had friends who were drifting away from you
[ ]had someone close to you die
[] had a high cell phone bill
[] spent most of your money on food
[ ] had a fist fight
[]went to the beach with your best friend
[ ] saw a celebrity
[x] gotten sick
[ ] liked more than 5 people at the same time
[x] became closer with alot of people

HONEST Q&A
1. Have you had any relationships this year? yes
2. Have you had your birthday yet? yes?
3. Kissed two people in the same night? nope
4. Pulled an all nighter? summer days
5. Puked at all? yup
6. Went Camping? not this year
7. Bought something(s): Of course
8. Met someone special? yes
9. Been out of the country? yes
10. What are you thinking about? how much happened this year, how much seems like a blur and how much i forget
Random*
1.) Hugged someone? of course
2.) Slept in someone elses bed? yes
3.) Got a job? yes
4.) Loaned out money? nope... well to the broski
5.) Gotten in a car accident? nope
6.) Gone over your mobile phone bill? nope
7.) Done something you regret? yes

Love Life*
01. Have you ever been in love this year? --
02. Do you believe in love? yes
03. Why did your LAST relationship fail?
04. This year have you ever been heartbroken? yes
05. This year have you broken someone's heart: hopefully not,
06. This year have you ever fallen for your best friend? nope
07. Are you afraid of commitment? no

Rebel*
01. Have you done drugs this year? no
02. Have you been kicked out of a store this year? no
03. Have you shop lifted this year? no
04. This year have you gotten a detention? nope
05. Have you cheated on a test this year? nope
06. Have you raced this year? yes in track :P
07. This year have you broken the law? perhaps one or two nothing major
08. Have you lied to your parent(s) this year? probs

Overall 2009 was an amazing year and I can't wait to see what 2010 holds for me. I know it is going to be a year full of change and new exciting adventures which I hope to share more of with you. I know that I haven't been the greatest blogger lately and I would really like to post more often. I think that over the holiday I have gotten back into the blogging world and I know what direction I want this blog to take, but as always there are no rules and no guidelines. Its a no strings attached approach. I hope that you all have an amazing new year.

Belle

Be the Change -We Day 2009

2009-10-07T00:00:00.002-04:00

EDIT: They will be airing We Day again on Saturday October 17 at 12, on CTV.

Hi Everyone,

On Monday October 5, 2009 I got the amazing opportunity to attend Free the Children's third annual Toronto's We Day. It is a day for youth to come together and hear inspirational speakers. It was AMAZING and I am so glad that I got the chance to attend. I have talked about Me to We before. A couple of reps came to my school and gave an extremely inspiring talk and led us through some eye opening exercises. You can read about that experience here.

I can hardly describe what it feels like to be in a room with people who have done such amazing things to change the world. Hearing each of the speakers unique experiences and stories is something I will never forget. Being inspired by their experiences I had a ton of ideas of what I wanted to do to help change the world. What amazed me the most was the amount of people in attendance. It was so empowering to be in a room with 16, 000 other youth who want to change the world.

There were so many amazing highlights from the event that I do not even know where to start. There were so many inspiring and inspirational people, plus a lot of great performances. I can only try to describe how truly amazing the experience was. Hearing from all of these people that WE can change the world, and I truly believe that WE can.

Craig and Marc Kielburger.

Craig started Free the Children when he was 12 years old after reading in the newspaper about a 12 year old boy who was murdered for bring attention to the conditions that child labours were working in, in the carpet-making industry. This story affected Craig so much that he wanted to do something to make a difference. Today Free the Children is a charity that is recognized around the world.

Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel is a survivor of the Holocaust and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. He wrote the book Night (which I have yet to read but it is at the top of my list). Night is based on his experience in the Holocaust. My favourite quote from his speech is:

"Human Beings are not replaceable."

Robin Wiszowaty

Robin left her home in Chicago to go and live in Kenya with an adoptive family. Hearing about her family in Kenya and the customs that they have, and her decision to leave Chicago was amazing. The courage that she had to leave and go some place totally new and different is very inspriational.

Jessi Cruickshank

Jessi is the host of the After Show on MTV. She went to Kenya to stay with Robin and her family. She told us about her experience in Kenya and about when she asked the 13 year old girl that she was staying with, if she could change anything in her life what would it be. The 13 year old responded "nothing". She would change nothing about her life.

Mike "Pinball" Clemons.

Pinball was an excellent speaker. He got the crowed interested in what he had to say and delivered a poem. It was so much fun listening to him speak. He was probably one of the best speakers of the night.
Spencer West
Spence West does not have any legs. Yet he does not let that stop him. When doctors told him that he would not be able to walk on his own he proved them wrong. He has traveled to Kenya and is currently planning a trip to India.

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way.
Dr. Seuss

Nico Archambault
Nico is Canada's First Favourite Dancer. He was there to announce that We Day will also be held in Montreal next year.

SYTYCD Canada Top 8

The Jonas Brothers

The surprise guests of the evening were the Jonas Brothers. I must admit I was pretty excited, I kinda like the Jonas Brothers. Joe is my favourite. That is all I am going to say on that topic. Moving on.

Justin Bieber

Hedley

Hedley finished the day with a mini concert.

Opportunity is not a chance its a choice.

Overall the We Day was an amazing experience. I hope that I get the chance to attend next years. They will be showing a special on We Day on CTV on Saturday October 10, at 7 ( I think). Or watch it here. *** They will be airing We Day again on CTV on Saturday October 17 at 12

Me to We's newest Campaign is 10x10 for 2010. The plan is to have everyone donate 10 dollars and 10 hours of community service. They also want to help support 10 communities.

For more information check out 10x1o here.

For more information check out Me to We here.

For more information Check out Free the Children here.

For more information about We Day. Click here.

For more information check out CTV here.

It takes one person to make a difference.

Love,

The Windy City

2009-10-03T00:32:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Over the summer I went to Chicago with my family for a few days. Chicago is a beautiful city with so much history. From the Great Chicago fire in 1871 to Al Capone in the 1920s. The shopping in Chicago was AMAZING. The stores were HUGE. There is this one street called the Magnificent Mile, and it definitely was just that. The Forever 21 was the biggest I have ever seen. It took me hours to go through everything, and I got some really great pieces there. Bloomingdale's had some great sales on jeans, and I got some Urban Outfitter boots that I am in love with. I will show you what I have brought in a later post, I thought I would share some other photos from the trip for now. Chicago has some very interesting buildings, and beautiful architecture.

This building was really cool. It had apartment building up top and a parking garage below.

I was on a bus when I took this photo which is why it is not centered. I think I've mentioned before that I was a doll person as a kid (and in some way I still am) I even own an American Girl. The American Girl place was incredible. I couldn't believe how big it was and how much stuff was going on there. As soon as I walked in I wanted to be 7 years old again, holding my American Girl. My best friend and I used to dream of going there together with our dolls and going for tea. I guess we are a bit old for that now. But it was a lot of fun getting to see all the little girls with their American Girls.

It feels like just yesterday I was in Chicago but it was really over a month ago, how time flies. It's hard to believe that school has started and that its already OCTOBER! Seriously when did that happen? I feel like I am really starting to get out of that blogging funk I was in earlier, and hopefully that means I will be posting more often. I think I went through a bit of writers block for a while and didn't know what direction I wanted to take the blog so I just sort of stopped posting. Hopefully I am through all that now, and you will be getting more regular posts.

Love,

A is for..

2009-09-12T00:00:00.001-04:00

Hey Everyone,

I have been posting about Canadian Designers for a while now, and it is a topic that enjoy posting about. I love learning about new designers and sharing them with everyone. I have decided to make it a regular feature on my blog, and make my way through the Canadian Designers alphabetically. I hope you all enjoy it.

A is for... Anne Marie Chagnon and Arielle de Pinto

This is actually my first post on a Canadian jewelry designer but both designers really stuck out, creating unique and beautiful pieces of jewelry.

Anne Marie Chagnon is a jewelry designer from Quebec. Her work is truly stunning.

These rings are what originally made me fall in love with Anne Marie Chagnon's creations. I have a thing for interesting rings, and these are definitely different and original.

I love the contrast of the dark wood with the silver pieces. I also really love the interesting shapes of the beads.

I really love the colours in this piece. They all complement each other. I also really like the strong geometric shapes within the design.

Check out more of Anne Marie Chagnon's work here.

Arielle De Pinto is from Toronto and has a very unique approach to creating jewelry. She basically knits chains together to create her works of art.

What I love about all her pieces is how delicate she makes the chains look. I love the hardness of the metal with the softness of the knit. In this piece in particular I really like how the two different metals are weaved together.
The incorporation of the brass rings in this piece is stunning.

Find more of Arielle De Pinto's work here.

I hope that everyone has an amazing week.

Love,

The last first day

2009-09-08T12:30:00.001-04:00

Hey Everyone,

So today was my last first day of high school, so of course yesterday, I had to watch the episode of Gilmore Girls where Rory starts her senior year. I was kind of disapointed to wake up and not find my mother sitting in my room waiting to wish me a happy last first day. I can't seem to find the clip on youtube to share with all of you, so you should just go and watch the entire series. Its worth it.

It was really great to see everyone again at school, I really started to miss everyone. It however felt like I had never left, the summer felt more like a weekend, then 3 months. It was back to routine which I still have to get used to. I am very happy with all of my teachers, thankfully. My two homeroom teachers are hilarious and will make being at school at 8am on a Monday morning a little bit nicer.

I really hope to do well this year, I want to have a good time and many laughs with all my crazy friends.

Sorry for the short post. There will be many more to come (and they will be more interesting with pictures, I promise.)

If you went back to school today, or last week or whenever, I hope that your first day went well.

Love,

Back to school

2009-08-26T17:04:00.006-04:00

Heyy Everyone,

I can't believe summer is coming to an end. It went so fast. I have lots to share with you about my summer which I will do very soon I promise, I'm working on the posts, but every time I start I get sucked in by spider solitare. I am slowly becoming addicted its an issue. I will try to get the posts up soon.
This time last year I was doing a back to school post about uniforms, which took forever and was totally worth it. I have mixed feelings about going back to school this year. I'm really excited for my last year of high school, but also sad. I know I am really going to miss my school. It has been like a second home for me for 6 years now and part of me doesn't want to leave. I am excited to visit universities; decide where I want to go and what I want to do, but part of me is afraid to leave the safety of my school. By starting school it will be the beginning of an end, grade 11 flew by and I know grade 12 will too. I remember being in grade 9 and looking up to the grade 12s thinking that they were so much older and that I would be that much older and mature when I reached grade 12. However I still feel like I'm in grade 9, it doesn't feel like I have changed, and now that I'm in grade 12, they don't seem so much older. I know that grade 12 will be stressful to start, but I once everything gets going, I know it will be a lot of fun. This summer went by really fast, its feels like it was just June.
Anyways I hope you all enjoy what is left of your summers.
I will post again soon promise.
Love,

2009-08-03T23:21:00.009-04:00

Heyy Everyone,

The other day I finally got to hang out with two of my friends, like we used in the summer. We went up to my friend's boat, and it was a blast. It was so much fun lying in the sun, (we actually had some sun for once) talking and feeling the wind in my hair. At one point it got to be really windy and you couldn't hear a thing, everything around you was drowned out. This plus looking out into the water made it a great way to escape reality and just think. I loved it. Every time I do something outdoors, I think why don't I spend more time outside. I love going on hikes and exploring new places.

It felt good to spend time with my friends again. I felt like I hadn't seen them for a while. I was really starting to miss them. We always say that we are going to spend a ton of time together in the summer, but then everyone becomes busy with their own things, and we never get to see each other as much. After the boat we went out for dinner. We ended up at Montanans, as usual, and our waiter was pretty cool. Montanans got rid of the crayons on the tables which I complain loudly about each time I go there. Half the fun of Montanans is drawing on the table as you wait for your food. So we asked him nicely, and he brought us some crayons, which was great. We also ordered spinach dip, which is my favourite food. If I had to only eat one thing for the rest of my life, that would probably be it. It comes with FRIED BREAD! More things should come with fried bread, because its heavenly.

Driving back to my friends house we saw this guy on a skateboard, and he went to cross the street, but somehow he missed the skateboard. He looked around at everyone and raised his arms and then did a sort of bow, grabbed his board and kept going. It was funny probably in a you had to be there way, but I thought I would share anyways.

As you can see I am back. I have decided just to write as I feel like it. No pressure. I am starting to feel like my old normal self again, which is nice.

Went to watch my friend's soccer game. Not really into soccer, so started doing cartwheels instead. Brought back old childhood memories.

Anyways, until next time, I hope everyone is enjoying their summer,
Love,

Stuck

2009-07-30T13:57:00.004-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I know I haven't been the greatest blogger lately. It really not that I have been busy but more that I haven't been in the mood to blog. Lately I have been feeling like I lost myself and I don't know who I am anymore. I have always been a confident person and I still portray that when I am around others but sometimes I am unsure of who I am. I don't feel like this is a negative thing, I just feel like I am changing. I know that everyone feels this way sometimes, and I feel like once again I am ramblings. Part of me feels like its hard to write on this blog because I am changing and I'm not sure what to write about or what direction I want this blog to take. I feel like I am stuck and I don't know where I am going.
I feel like I am trapped in a box and I can't get out. I know that there is a way out, but I can't seem to find it. I feel stuck and uncreative, and when that changes then I will be able to post again. I need to find that spark again.
I'm sorry and will post as soon as I get my spark back.

Harry Potter!

2009-07-16T18:35:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone!
I saw Harry Potter yesterday! I liked it, I thought it was much better then the fifth movie. They left out stuff, as usual, but over all I enjoyed it. I don't want to say to much because I don't want to give anything away.

What did you think of the movie?

I have been busy this past week with summer school and my friend is here from out of town. I will try to post again soon. I always mean to post and then I forget to, its a bit of an issue.

I hope everyone is having an amazing summer. (I personally would like it to be a bit hotter.)

Love,

Belle

Summer School

2009-07-07T00:00:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone,
I decided to join Mary's Summer School once again. I had a lot of fun doing it last year so why not do it again. It is actually perfect posting it today, as I am starting actual summer school today. I'm taking an extra credit in order to lighten my load for next year.

I really want to do the homework where you go to the library and take out a CD for everyday of the week, but my local library will not be open until Tuesday. So I will have to wait until then to get my CDs.

Genetic Disease:

This year in biology we did an entire unit on genetics and it was actually my favourite part of genetics. I loved doing punnet squares and working with pedigrees. It was very interesting to see how genes are passed down through generations. I want to share a genetic disease with you that after researching about and reading the stories of those who are affected by the disease really touched my heart.

SCID is often called Bubble Boy Disease due to David Vetter. He was a boy in the 70s who lived in a plastic bubble because he was affected by this disease. The disease affects the immune system.

What is SCID?
- A primary immunodeficiency (a state in which the immune system’s ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or absent) due to a defect in a gene.
- A severe defect in both the T- & B-lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) systems.
- Also known as “bubble boy syndrome”.
- SCID can be successfully treated early. Otherwise it can be fatal within the first year of life
- Rare disease
- Most Common SCID is X-SCID

Signs and Symptoms:
- Signs of SCID include an increased susceptibility to infection (more infections than usual). I.e. A baby with SCID may have recurrent bacterial, viral, or fungal infections that are much more serious and less responsive to treatment.

- Numerous, serious, and/or life-threatening infections that are not easily treated and do not respond to medications (as they would in children without SCID), including the following:
o pneumonia - infection of the lungs.
o meningitis - infection of the brain.
o sepsis - infection in the bloodstream.
- other infections, including the following:
o chronic skin infections
o yeast infections in the mouth and diaper area
o diarrhea
o infection of the liver, skin, or ear

Reasons For Malfunction
X SCID
The mutation occurs on the IL2RG gene
The gene codes for a protein essential to the immune system
The protein aids in development of Lymphocytes (an immune system cell)
Lymphocytes protect against invaders, regulate immune system and make antibodies.
If a body is lacking Lymphocytes it makes it impossible to defend it against infections.

ADA SCID
Spontaneous mutation
Lack of enzyme that removes toxins

Pattern Of inheritance
X SCID
Sex Linked recessive disease
Affects more males
Females can be carriers of the disease
In order for females to be infected with the disease both X chromosomes must have the defect.
ADA SCID
Affects males and females equally
It has an autosomal inheritance pattern

There are a few treatments for SCID. They include bone marrow transplant and an experimental treatment of Gene Therapy.
If you would like more information about SCID check out this website.

If you would like to read about a child who suffers from SCID visit this blog and this one.

Summer School has allowed for many hallway moments! Why is it that the best laughs always happen when your sitting around in the hallway?

I hope you all are having an amazing summer.
Love,
Belle

101

2009-07-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,

So I have had this post planned for a while. I knew that I always wanted to go back and reflect on my blog after one hundred posts. This is actually post one hundred and one. I wasn't quite ready to release it week so I did a different post. But one hundred and one will do just as well as one hundred. I can not believe that I have made it this far. Before starting this post I thought a lot about what I wanted to say, and I feel like in true me style, it will be a bunch of rambling and I will never really get to a point, so I am going to apologize in advanced for that. I thought about doing something really special for my 100th post, but I ended up deciding to reflex on my blog over the past couple of years.

Before starting this post I went back and reread many of my posts over the past two years now. Reading some of my very first posts makes me cringe. I will not delete them, as they are very much a part of this blog and have helped it become what is it today. That being said, there are many posts that I am very proud of, and I would like all of my posts to be at that level, which lately I do not feel like they are. It is kind of fun and interesting to look back over the past two years because you begin to see patterns with in my posting. I always start posting more around January and it slowly starts to die down and around April, May and June you get my "I'm sorry, I've been busy, I'm such a bad blogger" posts. Then summer roles around and I am back to posting regularly.

This blog has been a growing experience for me, it has become a part of who I am. This blog in many ways is me, though out the posts my interests, thoughts and feeling can be seen. For those readers who have been reading my blog for a while now, maybe you can see some of the changes not only with in my blog but within me. I honestly don't know what the future holds for my blog, but as of now I plan continuing it. I do not know if that will change when I leave for university in a year or so, but right now I do not think that it will. My blog is my escape from the real world. I started it back near the end of grade nine which seems hard to believe. I have changed so much since then.

I am a big believer in goals. I set them for myself all the time, and some I treat almost like wishes in the fact that I don't tell anyone about them. Part of it I know, is my fear of failure. I work so hard to try and reach my goals and to end in failure is heart breaking, however it is a part of life, that I have come to accept. I have however reached one goal and that was to stick with this blog. When I started it, I said I am not going to give up on this blog after a 5 posts, but I am going to stick with it. 100 posts later, I think that I can safely say that I have done that. I am very proud of myself. In my profile/About Me section I wrote that I wanted to carve a space for myself out here in the blogging world, I truly think that I have done that. It may sound weird but this blog does feel like home. I thought about maybe changing my header or my background but I have decided against it because I feel that the way they are now truly reflects me and my blog. The blue is close to the colour of my room, and it reminds me of ice and skating and I just really love the header.

Belle is not my real name, and I have debated about reveling it or not. I personally don't want to mostly because I like writing under another name, its just fun. Belle really has nothing to do with my real name at all, (I'll give you this it starts with a J).

When I started I didn't tell anyone about my blog because I wanted it to a be a space completely my own, without the fear of being judged. This is still true today, with the exception of my best friend B. I am sure that if one of my good friends read this they would probably think that it sounds a lot like me, and if they asked if I had a blog I wouldn't deny it. However they have never asked.

I think that one of the coolest things about blogging is getting read people's blogs from all over the world and having them read mine. I can get inspiration from real people all around the globe, I love that. Blogs are so easily accessible and peoples personalities shine through that it makes them a pleasure to read. I love getting comments from people with blogs that I didn't know where out there, and going and reading their blog. A lot of inspiration for my blog, my clothes, and my life comes from the blogs that I read. There are so many smart, funny and talented people out there.

I started this blog for so many reasons and I continue it for so many others. I truly enjoy it.

I have had a steady amount of readers for almost 2 years now, and I would like to thank all of you for reading and commenting on my blog. It means so much to me, and is what helps to keep this blog going. I love to know that others are interested in what I have to say. So thank you.

For all of you of you who read that entire post all I can say is WOW and THANK YOU! I tried to edit I swear! My last few posts have been very text heavy and my next post will have many more pictures, I promise.
Thanks to all my readers again!
Have an amazing week.
Love,
Belle

My Sister's Keeper

2009-06-28T20:56:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone,
I have been at the movies quite a bit in the past week. I went to see Transformers. It was amazing, and Shia was looking beautiful! There was a lot more action this time around then in the first. The movie I really want to talk about however is My Sister's Keeper. I read the book a while back ( around two years ago now) and I loved it. The novel by Jodi Picoult, was powerful and extremely emotional. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, its about a girl, Anna, who was born for the purpose of saving her sister, Kate, who has cancer. However when Kate needs a kidney Anna decides to put her foot down, and no longer wants to be a donor for her sister. She takes action and sues her parents to the rights to her own body. I'll let you read the book to figure out the rest. I have never cried so much as I did when I read this novel. It felt as though it was real and you connected with Anna's character. The family had gone through so much to try and keep Kate alive and her illness was taken a toll on the family. When I heard that they were making this book into a movie I was very excited, I knew this would be a movie I would cry at, seeing as I bawled throughout the book.

The movie for the most part was amazing. Of course they didn't go into as much detail as the book but the overall feelings of the book were portrayed. I cried like really cried, which was a first for me, I hardly ever cry at movies. Sofia Vassilieva, who played Kate, did an amazing job. As did Abigail Breslin who played Anna. Cameron Diaz did an amazing job as the girls mother. She portrayed the character of Sara perfectly. She captured Sara's feelings about her willingness to do anything to save her daughter's life, no matter the cost. Her love for Kate shone through and she didn't understand Anna's side of the story. The movie stayed true to the book for the most part until the end of the movie. This is where my issues with the movie come in. They dramatically altered the ending of the movie making it completely different from the novel. I do not want to give anything away, but I basically sat in the theater going WHAT WHAT WHAT! THAT IS NOT HOW IT HAPPENED IN THE NOVEL. That being said, if you did not read the book I am sure that you would enjoy this movie just fine. It is a sad movie, so I would bring a box of tissues with you. I would recommend the book over the movie for sure as it goes into way more depth and has many more twists and turns.

Anyways I hope everyone has an amazing week.

Love,

Belle.

Friendship

2009-06-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the meaning of friendship. What makes a good friend, and once we have them how do we keep them. I feel I learnt my meaning of friendship early on because of some frights I was having with friends. Looking back, in a way I am happy I experienced those fights when I was younger because it made me think about what a true friend is, and those girls I was hanging around with weren't really my true friends. I recently read Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. (On a side note, some people who had read it told me that they didn't really enjoy it. I on the other hand love it.)

One part in the novel sort of inspired this post. Ruby, the main character, is given a English assignment to take a word and find out what other people definitions are. Her word was family. This got me thinking about friendship. Everyone has their own meaning of the word, and I believe how you define friendships, defines the relationships that you have with your friends to a certain degree. I personally feel one of the hardest things of friendship is growing apart. Friends that you have grown up with are suddenly not the same person that they once were, or perhaps its you that has changed. But it affects the friendship, just the same and someone ends up hurt. In many ways I find that this is almost worse then fighting with a friend, because neither of you has done anything wrong. You want to save the friendship but you don't know how, and you each have your own lives and different friends then you once had. Its difficult. For me, I think the meaning of friendship is constantly changing as I make new friends and discover who I am as a person. In my friends I want people who are going to be there for me and support me.

Sometimes when I think about all the friend trouble I have had in the past I wonder if I am a bad friend, but then I think of all the friends I've had for years and those that I continue to make. My best friend is like my sister, in fact we used to pretend we were twins. I've know her since I was 2 years old, and we have had our ups and downs. There was a year when we fought, and weren't talking, I don't even remember what the fight was about. Yet we were able to work it out, and even though she now lives in another country we still talk almost on a daily basis and we see each other at least once a year, usually more. She's been there through so much, and I know that I can call her and she will drop everything in order to listen and I would do the same for her. Friendship is one of those things that is always changing, at least for me, and I am constantly struggling to find a new definition.

Whats your definition of friendship?

Love,

Belle

Summer!

2009-06-16T17:24:00.005-04:00

secretzen

Hi Everyone,
I am finally done exams! Summer is here and it actually feels like summer, the weather is beautiful!

I love the start of summer, the first two weeks are always so much fun, because you feel so good about being finished school and everyone is having end of the year parties and get together.
This Friday is my friend's Sweet Sixteen Party and its the last one for my grade. So I have been shopping for a new dress and also got some new shoes and a purse. Pictures to come.

Since the weather has been so nice I have been thinking about new bathing suits.

I really like this retro suit from ModCloth:

Anyways sorry this post was sort of lacking. It was more of an I'm back and more to come post, I have some post ideas that I am working on.
I hope everyone is having a good start to summer as exams end.
Love,
Belle

2009-05-29T21:21:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone,
Its crazy crunch time right now, with school ending and exams about to start. I haven't been able to post as much as I would like to. Once exams are over I will be able to post a lot more (2 weeks!)

Anyways until then I will leave you with the shoe I am currently lusting after:

From Aldo.

As soon as it goes on sale it will be mine.

Love,

Belle

Thieves

2009-05-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,
It's finally the long weekend! Mine is pretty packed, but its a nice mix of work and play, so it's not too bad. Hopefully I'll catch some fireworks!
I have found some more Canadian Designers, that I really want to post on. A few of them have some beautiful designs and also environmentally friendly. Just like the one I am going to share with you today. Thieves by Sonja den Elzen, is a fashion label based in Toronto. All the fabrics used come from sustainable materials. Here are my favourite looks:

I love the fabric of this skirt as well as the hem line.

I love this dress! The back is so different and really adds to the dress.

I love how the shorts are kind of shinny, and they have a great shape

I think this is my favourite look. I have a thing for vests.

All Photos from Thieves. Check it out.

I hope that everyone has a good weekend.

Love,
belle

2009-05-03T00:00:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I joined the track team at school once again. I really don't love running as some people do, but I hear that you can come to love it. The days that I don't run I do feel more sluggish and feel the need to go run. So maybe I am starting to enjoy it. I have seen the changes in my body already, it is starting to become stronger. I hate the feeling of sore muscles after a workout but I love knowing that I worked hard and pushed myself.

I have been trying to make more of a dent in my movies to watch list. It has gotten so long, I don't think that it will ever end. I love watching movies, the good the bad and the in between. I went to see 17 Again, the other day. It was pretty good. I found it very funny and would go see it again. I also watched Footloose, which I loved, and could watch over and over again and never get sick of it. I love old movies.

Exams time is starting to creep up again. They are in about 5 weeks and school is getting super busy. Can I just ask where did all the time go? I can't believe we are already in MAY! It feels like New Years was just yesterday. I have started to get my notes together for exams, because my exam schedule is insane. I know that there will be lots of chocolate ice cream to help me make it through.

We have some yummy apple strudel at home, which I didn't make, but would like to try making one day. It was great with ice cream.

Some of you may remember my semi dress. Well I decided to try wearing it another way, with tights and a belt. I really like how it turned out as well.

Anyways, I hope that everyone has an amazing week.

Love,

Belle

Me to We

2009-04-19T23:57:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,
How are you all? I am currently waiting for my lunch to finish cooking, while skillfully avoiding homework, which made me think, wow I haven't blogged in a while. So here I am. I think I mention the weather in pretty much every post, but here I am about to mention it again. Its finally SUNNY and NICE outside! It makes me happy to not have to wear a heavy winter coat anymore, or any coat for that matter.

There was a Me to We workshop at my school the other day, and I was lucky enough to attend. It was a very interesting and inspiring workshop, that really got me thinking. We played a game were they taped a stereotype onto our backs and everyone treated us how society treated that stereo type. It was a very interesting experience to be put into someone shoes. Afterwards we discussed the activity and how being stereotypes has an affect on our lives. People opened up about their own experiences and shared about how when their friends joke about their stereotypes, it often hurts, or bothers them even though they know that they are joking. It helped a lot of us realize that we needed to remain more open minded about people, and that we should try to go into situations with an open mind and not judge people right out. We also recognized how difficult this is sometimes, and how we often judge people without meaning to. It was amazing to see every one's opinion on the topic, and how much the topic affected everyone. Everyone had something to say and something to share about stereotypes and how it personally affected them.
Another thing we talked about was how everyone has a story, and how you don't really know that person until you know their story, and how every ones story is different. The leaders of the workshop shared their stories with us and they were amazing and powerful.
One issue we talked about was the distribution of wealth and food around the world. The imbalance of wealth and food compared to population is huge. We began to talk about how every issue is connected and if you focus on changing one issue such as education or women's rights, you are really helping many different issues indirectly.
The workshop opened my eyes to many different issues, and I am very glad that I go to participate in it. I wanted to share some of what we did with all of you, because it really inspired me. If you get a chance to go to a Me to We workshop I highly encourage you to take the opportunity. Me to We is a part of Free the Children, which is an organization that has been changing lives around the world. Check out the MetoWe website.

I hope that everyone has a great week.
Love,
Belle

Easter

2009-04-13T00:09:00.005-04:00

Hey Everyone,

Happy Easter/ Passover/ Spring. I would love for the weather to be a little bit warmer, but its not. I hear that its supposed to get warmer this week which would be nice, I hate getting dressed then having to go change cause its not appropriate for the weather. It makes it very difficult to get dressed. Oh well.

I baked some cupcakes for Easter, they are very spring looking. I thought that I would share them with you.

Fresh from the oven

Making the icing colourful

The finished product

The marshmallow chicks

I hope that everyone had a good holiday.

Love,
Belle

Experience is something you get, after you need it.

2009-03-31T22:10:00.006-04:00

Hey Everyone,
I kept meaning to post, and then I would put it off, and say oh maybe later and later turned into never. I have some ideas floating around in my head, that I will share with you soon, but for now, I apologize for my random ramblings and partially incomplete thoughts, that I am about to share with you.

My title is what Rachel Flatt's coach said to her in the kiss and cry after her skate at the World Figure Skating Champions this past week, in LA. (I know, I know, I'm sorry for another skating related post.) Let me just say this, I'll get it all out of my system, and then I will move on. Canada medaled in 3 out of the 4 events, and we have a very strong team going into the 2010 Olympics. Patrick Chan was amazing, as was Joannie.

I have been back at school only a few days now and already am loaded down with work. It is hard to believe how quickly this year went by. Its April already! You can tell spring has sprung and the weather has finally begun to warm up. All the snow has melted, and you can see buds beginning to grow.

Here are some outfits that have inspired me lately:

I love Rachel's cardigan, its so bright and cheerful.

I really want Katie's shoes.

I love Blake's entire outfit. It's very gossip girl.

I love this entire outfit, but I really love the scarf.

I really like the pop of colour in the belt.

I hope that everyone has a great week,

Belle

March Break

2009-03-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone,

Its finally March Break, so I have sometime to relax and post! Something I haven't been able to do in a while. The weather is getting much nicer out, the snow has pretty much all melted, and the temperature is rising, which meant that I got to ditch my winter coat this week which was kind nice. I am excited to catch up on every one's blogs, as well as on my movie watching. Plus Gossip Girl is back on this week!

I finally got a chance to go into American Apparel the other day to try stuff on, we just got one at the mall near us a few months ago. I didn't end up buying anything but I now have a super long wish list. I love their cardigans, they are super soft.

There is this Canadian Designer Hoakon/Helga, and they have really cute bags. The bags are all made out of recycled leather. I love their photo shoots. Here are some of my favourites. But check them out here.

The Figure Skating Worlds are coming up soon. (March 22 -29) They should be really exciting and I can't wait to watch them. I want to wish everyone good luck, especially the Canadians. Hopefully we will bring home some medals.

I hope everyone has an amazing week.

Love
belle

Post Secrets

2009-02-28T12:44:00.005-05:00

Heyy Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posting. As you may know I'm in my school play and its closing night tonight. Which is bitter sweet, I'll miss all the fun times, but I won't miss all the practices and being super tired. I will be glad to have free time back. I don't have much time to post since I have a bunch of homework to catch up on.
I love post secrets and here are some that I wanted to share with you:

I loved this one mostly because it has Lorelai Gilmore in it today

I hope that everyone has a good week.

Belle

Happy Valentines Day - Special Guest Blogger

2009-02-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Heyy Everyone,
Happy Valentine's Day! I was talking to my friend who blogs Say Pleats! and she was telling me a funny story of what happened to her, which inspired this story for one of her English class, where she had to write from the perspective of a middle schooler. I thought that I would share it with you all. Here it is:

So I like this guy.
But I don't know if he likes me back. I've gone out with like, oh I dunno, 15 guys in the past three months to get over him but I can't. I mean, he is the most adorable person on the planet! With his adorable smile and his multicolor braces, and the saggy pants and the Abercrombie polo, what's not to love about him? The best part is that he reeks of Axe. It's almost like he takes a bath in it. I sit next to him in science class, and I purposely forget to bring my notebook every day to class so that he has to give me a piece of paper. And every single day, his loose leaf paper smells just like him. It's great.
So anyways, I want him to ask me to the eighth grade dance, which is only four months away. So that means that I need to find out if he likes me or not soon so that way I know if he is going to ask me to the dance or if I need to find some other guy to ask me to the dance. Because we all know that I can't ask him to the dance it's like an unwritten law or something.
I wanted to hang out with him and show him that I am just as charming out of school as I am in, so I called my friend Kristin, who has social studies with him and knows that I am like head over heels for this guy, and I had her IM him and ask him to come to the movies on Friday with me and Kristin. In order for him not to feel cornered or anything like that, I invited my other friends Kasia, Samantha, Alexandra, and Lauren, and then Lauren was bringing her brothers friend who is really cute, so that way he wouldn't be, like, the only guy.
Last minute, he backed out. He said he had to babysit his brother or something. Which is really geeky but kind of cute cause he is such a nice guy. So we went to the movies anyway, and I ended up telling my other good friend, Samantha, that I really really like him and have liked him for like 6 months. And since Samantha is in English with him, I told her to tell him what I think about him and then tell me what he says about if he would ask me to the eighth grade dance or not. She told me later that day over IM that he isn't sure whether or not he likes me, so he has to think about it.
Now, listen. I have a secret for you. So like two weeks ago when I was taking a break for about 3 days from boyfriends (this was after breaking up with Cameron because he smelled funny and then going out with Michael because he was really cute and he did my homework for me), I wrote a love note to the guy I told you I have liked for forever. It was all, "when you walk into class you brighten the room and you are so sweet and nice and I've liked you or forever and even though I tell everyone that I broke up with Cameron because he smelled like eggs, I really did it because I like you too much" and on and on. When I finished it, it was eight pages long. I have really wanted to give it to him, but instead of doing that I called Samantha, you know, the girl who I had talk to him about liking me, and I read all eight pages of it to her over the phone. She was like, "AHMG that is sooooo cute do you want me to tell him?" And I was like, "yeah obvi, and then tell me what he says so that way I know whether or not to talk to him in Science the period after you two have English together.
So she told him and he was like, "Wow that's sweet. I didn't know she liked me that much. Maybe I will ask her to the eight grade dahhhnce."
So when she told me I totally felt like flipping out I was so happy! But instead of dancing in the hallway, I totes changed my facebook status using facebook mobile on my phone to, "Bianca is totes so happy right now!"
So when I went to science we flirted the entire time, and then the next day at lunch, Luke, who was told by Alex, who was told my Samantha, who was told by my crush, asked me to the dance for my crush! I was like, "yeah, I guess that'd be cool, " because I wanted to keep my excitement down, ya know?
So two weeks later, we like broke up. I decided that he was too intellectual for me. I mean, it was like talking to a dead stick, and who wants that? So now, I found this ahhhhdorable guy in the cluster next to mine that I think likes me back… we'll see what happens!

Hopefully you enjoyed her story as much as I did. I hope that everyone has a great Valentines Day.
Love
belle

Semi Dress

2009-02-09T00:00:00.001-05:00

Heyy Everyone,

It once again has been a crazy week. This is the time of year at my school when all the major projects are due, plus play is in less then a month. I am in it this year, and it is a bit stressful, to say the least, but its fun, getting to know people from different grades, who you wouldn't normally get to see. Our semi formal was this past weekend, it was a lot of fun, and every one's dresses were really pretty. As per usual there was some drama, which I was not a part of thankfully, its so much more fun with having to deal with all that other stuff... gives you more time to dance the night away. The theme was masquerade, which made me think of Gossip Girl right away.

Here is the mask:

I bought the gold mask and added the feathers and the stick (wrapped in ribbon) to make it fancier.

I got both my shoes and my dress from Le Chateau. I really like their dresses and they have cheap but cute shoes.

I loved the bow at the back.And finally the dress...

I wanted something that I wouldn't normally get and was fun. I loved the colours and the print of this one. I am glad that I chose it. ( I pretty much tried on every dress in the store)

I hope that everyone has a good week, I will be back next week with a Valentine's Day/ possibly an outfit post.

Love,

belle

Thoughts and Nationals

2009-01-30T00:00:00.002-05:00

Heyy Everyone,
It is finally the weekend. Yay! Although I have a lot of work to get done, I am looking forward to sleeping in.

Please bear with me, I have been wanting to post about this little girl I met at work, and yet for some reason everything sounds better in my head, and way cheesy when I type it out. So there is your warning. It's not really writers block because I know what I want to say, the real problem is how to say it. Part of me thinks that I should wait until it sounds right and part of me feels like I should just write it from my heart and leave it. I think that I might go for a Goldilocks compromise and meet somewhere in the middle. Okay well here goes:

I teach skating, and working with young kids is fun, but sometimes they can really get on your nerves. I teach this one little girl who caught my attention right away. Sometimes I forget that I am with kids a lot younger, who need a lot of encouragement to keep motivated. While I was given my group corrections on how to do a certain move, she said yes but at least I got part of it right. It made me stop and think that while it was my job to give them corrections it was also my job to praise them when they did something correctly. It helped me to make sure that I congratulated them on what they had done right as well as help them fix what they had done wrong. Throughout the entire lesson she never complained or whined about what we were doing (And even if she did, she was really an angel next to some of the others in her group). As a skater one of the things that shocked me the most was she had new skates on that day, and hardly complained about them. She fell countless times that session and I remember her saying "well the one good thing about falling down is at least I am good at getting up." That honestly blew me out of the water, while most people would have been discouraged, she just looked at the positive side. It is strange sometimes where your life lessons come from, she has taught me to be more patient and that if you look you can see the positive side to a situation.

Keeping with the skating theme, as I mentioned in an earlier post Nationals were a little while ago. I was going to post about them that week but there weren't any great pictures up. So I decided to post about them now. Those that placed well at Nationals will be moving on to compete at Worlds in L.A. in March. I think that Canada has a pretty strong team and I can't wait to see how they do internationally. I would like to congratulate all those who competed in Nationals.

Here are the winners of...

The Men's Event:

1st - Patrick Chan
2nd - Vaughn Chipeur
3rd - Jeremy Ten

The Women's Event:

1st-Joannie Rochette2nd
2ed-Cynthia Phaneuf
3rd- Amélie Lacoste

The Pairs Event:

1st - Jessica Dubé / Bryce Davison
2nd - Meagan Duhamel / Craig Buntin
3rd - Mylène Brodeur / John Mattatall

The Dance Event:

1st - Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir
2nd - Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier
3rd - Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje

*all photos from Skate Canada Website: here.*

My school's semi formal is in a week, so I should have some pictures of my dress within the next week or so. I hope that everyone has a restful and relaxing weekend (or an exciting and action packed one, if you so wish).
Love,
Belle

Beauty Post

2009-01-25T00:00:00.001-05:00

Heyy Everyone,

I haven't done a makeup/beauty post in what feels like forever. The cold weather has taken a toll on my skin. It has been really dry lately. My skin care army consists of water, lots of moisturizer and lip balm.

I got a new Mac Pallet for Christmas and I have been meaning to share it with you. The pictures aren't great, but the colours are better then the ones from the site ( I find that they are always off). The gold pallet is the one I got last year and the red one is this years.

These are the colours from this years pallet. The thing I love about the pallets is that all the colours go nicely together, and you can easily create many different looks. The green in this pallet is really pretty, its a bit brighter in real life.

Even the design of the pallets are beautiful. I like last years design better then this years.

I really like these colours and tend to wear them on a daily basis. The dark blue is beautiful as well as the silver.

I don't have much time to post this week. Hopefull I will have more time next week.
I hope that everyone is almost done their exams. If not good luck.
Love,
belle

Granted

2009-01-19T00:00:00.001-05:00

Heyy Everyone,

I have had a very busy past week. I am in my school play and we are getting into the thick of rehearsals. I was hoping to post this earlier this week but I didn't get the chance. The Canadian Figure Skating Nationals just ended, they were in Saskatoon this year. It was a very exciting year, and I spent the entire weekend watching skating. It is freezing here! My hands are all chapped from the cold. The weather makes it seem like an appropriate time to post about Canadian Designer Granted.

Granted produces all handmade products right here in Canada.

This sweater looks super warm and soft. When I am freezing all I want to do is put on a warm cozy sweater, like this one.

These leg warms are really cute, and the look warm. I would love to get a pair.

If you would like to see more check it out here.

I hope that everyone has an amazing week.

Love,
belle

Photos and Tag

2009-01-09T19:41:00.006-05:00

Heyy Everyone,

It has been just over a week into the New Year, and so far no complaints. Over the break I got some time to catch up on my blog reading, and I read some amazing blogs, with beautiful pictures. They inspired me to take some of my own. I am not very good, and I played around with my camera a bit, but I'm still kinda proud of them. I choose to do a dancer theme, because something about ballet shoes and tutus really interest me. Anyway here they are:

I really like watching old movies. The other day I watched For Keeps? with Molly Ringwald, it was cute and funny. There were some pretty epic scenes right from the start. Stan's little sister was super adorable and amusing. I recommend it for a night when you want to watch something light hearted.

I saw this Tag on The Tiffany Tree, and decided to do it, it looked like fun.

The Rules:
1. First, state the rules.
2. State four talents that you happen to possess.
3. State four random facts about yourself.
4. Tag four other bloggers and state why you tagged them.

Talents- I'm not the most talented person, I don't play any instruments or do anything special, but here goes:
1. I can pretty much recite any episode of Gilmore Girls to you.

2. I am very good at Dominoes, much better then Monopoly.

3. Can biology be a talent? As in the course... If not I'm making it one.

4. Baking chocolate chip cookies. The secret is to under cook them, so they are chewy and taste more like cookie dough

Random Facts (I always blank on these, sorry if there are any repeats):

1. I can't stand it when my nail polish chips. I have to take it off right away and redo it. I hate looking at my nails when they are all chipped. The really sad part is that I didn't have this until I was reading a magazine and I think Hillary Duff's pet peeve was chipped nail polish, and for some reason after that I was like wow, I really hate it when my nails chip. Now I have spent way too much time on this subject.

2. I have an American Girl, even though I am Canadian. I was a doll person. I loved to dress her, and I used to take her around with me everywhere. I got her to look like me and everything.

3. I didn't cry during the Notebook. I am one of the only girls I know who didn't. I really didn't find it that sad. I don't really cry during movies, I cried in Finding David's Heart (some TV movie) and in Titanic. I tend to cry more in books.

4.When I have nothing better to do I bake cookies, cakes, pies or muffins, then I proceed to eat them all. Seriously the fact that I am not 500 pounds surprises me on a daily basis.

Now then onto the Tagging:
I tag...

1.Ambigous Alleration Abomination - I discovered this blog not that long ago, and it is quickly becoming one of my favourites. It always has amazing posts with beautiful pictures.

2.Say Pleats! - She has a great sense of style, and honestly her room is gorgeous!

3.If you made it through my paragraph on chipped nail polish consider yourself tagged.

4.Everyone Else- I read a ton of blogs, and truely enjoy reading everyone of them.

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend.

Love,
Belle

Journals and a DIY

2009-01-04T21:13:00.004-05:00

Heyy Everyone,

So I must confess, I have an obsession with journals. I love them. I love the idea of an empty journal and all the possibilities that it holds. I however always start writing in journals and then stop halfway through them or after a couple of weeks.

Each journal has a different use, and therefore they never get used up. Some are travel journals, some are regular journals (the diary kind), a few are blank, one is full of lists, and the one with cat on it is full of quotes, pictures and other random things.

Lately, I have become obsessed with making journals. The blue one is an old journal that I covered in felt. The polka dot one has post-it notes in side (originally posted here) the other one is made up of random scrap paper (originally posted here).

My new obsession with making journals lead me to make this:
The front
The back

I got the idea and instructions on how to make it here.

Well tomorrow is back to school. I'm really not ready for the break to end. I have no idea how I am going to wake up tomorrow. I really want to post at least once a week this year, hopefully I will be able to keep it up.

I hope everyone has a good day back,

Love

belle

2009

2008-12-31T12:00:00.000-05:00

Heyy Everyone,
As 2008 comes to a close, its hard to believe that its already over and a New Year is about to begin. Looking back on 2008, I have to say that it was a good year. I made lots of new friends, and many social barriers in my grade were broken down. My school was very cliquey. Over the past year those cliques have really begun to break down. I like the fact that everyone is friends with everyone, we all still have our close friends, but more and more we are hanging out with each other. I was put into a class with out any close friends, which forced me to make new ones. I am really glad that I got to get to know a lot of the people in my grade who I wouldn't have got to know other wise. I have made some really great friends this past year and I am very thankful for them.
I feel like in 2008, I stopped living inside a bubble, and really began to enjoy my life. I feel that there was a change in me, that made me more confident. I went on so many amazing trips this past year, that really helped to pull me even more out of my shell. I'm not really a shy person in the traditional sense, I am actually loud and some what annoying. I love telling random funny stories and laughing with friends. I got to know people on my trips that I wouldn't have normally hung out with, but we were forced together in many ways because there were so few people our age to hang out with. They were all nice and I had a good time with them on vacation but I know that they aren't people who I would normally be friends with, they made me appreciate the amazing friends that I have.
The start of a New Year is a time to look back, and think about the year that has past, and the year that is about to begin. Around this time many people are making their New Year's resolutions. I don't make New Years resolutions because to me, it feels more like a "new year" in September, what with back to school and all. I tend to set goals for myself then, school related and otherwise. That being said, I do have a New Year's resolution for my blog, and that is to post on a more regular basis, as well as to post a variety of content.
I am not doing anything special to welcome the New Year. I am justing having a friend of mine over, along with family friends. We will probably watch movies, eat junk, and watch the countdown on TV.
I hope that everyone has an amazing New Year.
Love,
belle

Tag

2008-12-28T10:50:00.002-05:00

Heyy Everyone

So I have been taged by the wonderful Ready Set Go!

1. Were you named after anyone? nope, but my middle name is for my grandma

2. Do you still have your tonsils? I do at that

3. Would you bungee jump? Sure, I think I would

4. What is your favorite cereal? Cherrios with chocolate milk

5. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Depends on the shoes. My running shoes almost never, but others all the time

6. What is your favorite ice cream? Chocolate

7. What is the first thing you notice about people? Humm depends on the person I guess

8. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I can be annoying :p,

9. What was the last thing you ate? Im eating cherrios right now

10. What are you listening to right now? my brother, hes talking to me about something but I am ignooring him.

11. Last movie you watched? Some Christmas movie on the W network, I think it was called Holiday Wishes

12. What did you dream about last night? I dont remember

13. What book are you reading? I am one of those people that reads like 4 books at once, so Im rereading Breaking Dawn and reading A complicated Kindness, The Kite Runner, and the Mists of Avalon.

14. Summer or winter? I like the summer heat, but I love the snow

15. Do you have any special talents? Not any really cool ones, like being double jointed or anything. Not really I guess.

I tag:
Dress Forms Pins adn Needles

The Tiffany Tree

Qin At The Disco

and anyone else who wants to do it.

Belle

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T14:56:00.003-05:00

Hey Everyone,
I love the holidays! No school is bliss. I spent all day yesterday in my pjs, rereading Breaking Dawn. It was great! We have gotten lots more snow, it is a winter wonderland out there. It makes me want to go build a snowman, but its not packing snow which kinda sucks, but its also good because it makes shoveling a lot easier. It was Skate with Santa and the annual ice show last weekend which was a blast as usual. Its so much fun to see all the little children freak out about Santa and skate with their parents ( I think its the first time I didn't here anyone cry because they wanted their mommy or daddy... which was nice) I had a lot of fun with all my friends, we drank hot chocolate and cheered on our fellow skaters in the show. I love to watch everyone perform and do what they love best. It is one of my favourite parts of the holidays.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope that everyone has an amazing, fun, and safe holiday. Enjoy spending time with family and friends.

Merry Christmas... Only one more sleep until Santa!
Love,
belle

Cozy Winter Days

2008-12-18T07:25:00.000-05:00

Heyy Everyone!
It is really starting to feel like Christmas. Now I can't help but love the snow, often I complain about it, (I don't really like the cold much) but I love how pretty everything looks. I have been outdoor skating a few times now, and I can't wait to go again! I have been baking Christmas cookies, they smell so good.

I love just wearing pjs all day. My favourite thing to wear is extra big pj bottoms and my brother's ae shirt (that I steal on a regular basis) Here are some of my favourite lounge wear (I might have posted some of these before but they are just so comfortable):

From Arie:

I always have freezing feet. I love these they are so warm. I also love wearing wool socks.

These pjs really cute, and they are grey.

From AE:

Everyone should own this shirt. Guys clothes are so comfortable. I love this shirt, I wear it all the time. I would suggest that you buy it a size bigger to allow for maximum comfort.

From Roots:

These pjs, are super thick and soft. These trackpants are probably my favourite. The track pants from Roots green line are even more comfortable. They are really soft, and are made with organic cotton.

From Pink:

These pjs look really warm. I would love to get a pair.

This shirt looks really warm and comfortable.

Tonight I just want to curl up with either a book or a movie and some hot chocolate.

I will hopefully be able to post more often over the break.
Love,
Belle

Inspiration and SYTYCD Canada

2008-12-08T22:49:00.006-05:00

Heyy Everyone,
Life is crazy right now, I have so much stuff to do for school, I really don't have much time to post. So You Think You Can Dance Canada ended last night. Nico won and Allie was top girl. I was very happy with the top four, and I really enjoyed the first season. I thought all the dancers were good, and they had some amazing performances. Plus most of the male dancers were HOT! I mean just look at Nico.

Here are some outfits that have been inspiring me:

Sheane Grimes

I love her beret, and scarf!

Scarlet Johanson

I love her sweater. I really want an over sized grey cardigan. I am thinking of checking out the guy section of blue notes, or going to American Apparel.

Jessica Biel

I love her jacket and scarf. I have recreated this a few times now.

Emma Roberts

Love her bag and jacket.

I'm sorry for the short post, I promise more soon. I am working on a few Christmas posts right now.

Good luck to those with finals right now, and to all those who have crazy work loads.
Have a good week,
Belle

World AIDS Day

2008-12-01T00:00:00.005-05:00

What are you doing to get involved?

Heyy Everyone,
Today is World AIDS day. I am handing out ribbons in order to create awareness and support the cause. I hope that you all get involved in some way or another. Even if it is just visiting one of the sites below.

Check them out:

http://www.worldaidsday.org/
http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/
http://www.avert.org/worldaid.htm
http://www.cdnaids.ca/
Product Red
(Starbucks) Red
Here is some great Product (Red) Stuff:

From Gap:

From Apple:

From Converse:

I hope that everyone has an amazing week,

lots of love

Belle

Twilight Movie

2008-11-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOLIERS! But really if you have read the book, I wouldn't really worry. But you have been warned.

Heyy Everyone,

I went to see the twilight movie on Saturday! It was AMAZING! I loved it! It did not ruin the book for me at all! Of course it was not as good as the book, but I never expected it to be, since they never are. All of the actors did an amazing job, and Robert Pattinson is extreemly hot in the moive. Once the movie ended I wanted to go buy another ticket and go see it again. lol. There wasn't enough of the other vampires, like Alice, as I would have liked. We really didn't get to see their characters as much as you do in the books. Edward however was perfect and beautiful. Everytime he was on the screen I couldn't help but squel a little, I came home and changed the back ground of my computer to a picture of him. If you liked the books and even if you didn't I suggest you go and see Twilight!
Here are some pictures:

Kristen Stewart:

I really like this dress, its simple and cute.

I love the top half of this outfit. Not so much the bottom.

The cast at Much:

This was so amusing to watch. People would ask questions and they never really directly answered the questions. If you get the chance check it out at muchmusic.com

Elizabeth Reaser

I love the colour of this dress.

Rachelle Lefevre

She's Canadian! She was seemed really nice at the Much interview, and she was very down to earth.

Nikki Reed:

I really like the print of this dress.

The Cullens. I loved what they wore in the movie. They always looked so put together.

Robert Pattinson is so hot! I couldn't stop from squeling. I loved him in Harry Potter and he was even better in Twilight. Cedric Diggory just didn't get enough screen time, but Edward does. :D. Does anyone else think that he kind of looks like Ed Westwick?

See, sorta? It's even more from the side profile, but I couldn't find any good pictures.

Anyway I hope you all have a good week. I will try to post more often.

Belle

Lara Presber

2008-11-11T03:00:00.000-05:00

Heyy Everyone!

I haven't done a Canadian Designer post in a while, so I decided to do one today. I have found some new designers to feature.
Lara Presber was an architect who turned into a fashion designer. This can be seen through out this unique collection. All the clothes are designed and produced here in Canada. Her fall 2008 collection is full of earth tones with pops of metallic here and there.

Here are some of my favourites:

I really like all the different colours in this dress. It is beautiful. I really like how it sort of looks like an animal print, but you can't place your finger on what animal it is.

I love this skirt. It is a beautiful colour and has such great texture.

I love this entire outfit. I really like the blue colour of the skirt. The top is amazing, I love how it flares out a little bit at the bottom. It has such clean lines.

This dress has such an interesting shape and a great texture.

I really like the wide leg pants, and the texture of the top. All of her pieces have amazing texture. I like how the top is cut.

Check more out here.

Today is Remembrance day. Please take the time to remember all those who have given their lives to protect their countries, and all those who continue to put their lives on the line for their country.

I hope that everyone has an amazing week.

Love

Belle

Skate Canada International

2008-11-05T03:00:00.000-05:00

Heyy Everyone,

This weekend was the Homesense Skate Canada International. This year it was held in Ottawa, and the Canadians did us proud. We brought home medals in every event. Gold in the men and women competition and silver in dance and pairs. I personally love to watch the skating and I am so proud of the Canadian team. It looks like we are well prepared for Vancouver 2010.

Jessica Dube and Bryce Davidson are amazing. I don't love them as much as I loved Jamie and David, but I still find them a joy to watch.
Patrick Chan showed what he could do when he beat Jeffery Buttle (who recently announced his retirement) at the past Canadians.I don't know much about Ice dance personally, but I love to watch it because it is "pure" skating. It is more about the edges since there are no jumps. It was Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier's first time competing at an international senior event, and they did amazing.

Joannie Rochette blew the competition out of the water, winning by about 20 points. She has grown so much in the past year. The women's event is the one I most identify with (since I skate singles).

Congrats to all the skaters, and good luck in their next competitions.

I haven't done a Canadian Designer post in a while, so I will do one within the next week or so.

I hope that everyone has an amazing week.
Love,
belle

Halloween

2008-10-29T03:00:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone,
Halloween is just around the corner!!!
Halloween isn't as much fun as when I was little, but I still love free candy. haha. This year I am going trick or treating for canned food. I am doing the Halloween for Hunger campaign which was started by Free the Children. It is for a really great cause, and hopefully I will be able to get a lot of canned goods. An added bonus I still get to trick or treat, which I find so much fun with out people thinking I am too old. I don't know what I am going to be for sure, but there is always the good old black cat to fall back on, if I can't come up with anything else. Some people are so creative and I always think wow why couldn't I have thought of something like that. Oh well.
I was searching online the other day ( I really just was trying to avoid homework) and I found some pretty cool pumpkins, here are my favourites:

This pumpkin is really cute. I wish I had the skills to carve pumpkins like this. Its too bad that they rot and you can't keep them forever.

Not spooky but totally cool

Simply amusing
This took some skill.

The Burger Pumpkin is totally cool! Its my favourite by far.

Please note: None of these pictures are mine. I found them all online.

Celbs all decked out for Halloween:

The Duff sisters.

Misha Barton

Christina Aguilera

Audrina and Christina

Anne Hathaway

I'm not sure how old these pictures are. I found them all online.

I hope that everyone has an amazing, fun and spooky Halloween. Let me know what your going to be.

Love,
belle

Tagged

2008-10-23T03:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,
I have once again been tagged. Thank You, Rebel Angel for tagging me. I didn't really have an idea for this weeks post and now I do.
Six Random Things About Me:
1. I eat chocolate ice cream while studying
2. I procrastinate as much as possible, then I get really stressed and then I break down and then I suck it up and get my work done. I always say I start earlier next time and never do.
3. I have a double pierced ears
4. If I don't read before bed it takes me longer to fall asleep
5. I suck at Rock Band. I can hardly play easy and I can't play the drums to save my life.
6. I am a music loser... I like to listen to music but I don't really care what I listen too. I wouldn't be able to tell you the name of a song, and who sings off the top of my head.
Six Random Things I Like:
1. BBQ corn on the cob
2. Birthday cake... its so much better then regular cake
3. Gossip Girl
4. Wool socks - they are so warm and fuzzy, the ones from Roots are the best since they aren't itchy.
5. Microsoft One Note 2007, if you haven't tried it go try it now, its so cool!
6. Sleeping in until 11
Six Random Things I Don't Like:
1. Snow in October!!!
2. the new facebook
3. physics and vectors
4. being sick
5. people who walk really slow
6. when your cell phone dies right as you need to use it, but it was fine the day before when you had no use for it.
Six (not random) Bloggers I Tag:
1. Say Pleats
2. Hail Mary
3. The Wandering Alchemist
4.Fashion Insider
5:A side order of style
6: Anyone else who wishes

To keep with the theme here are six (random) star styles that I liked lately:

I like what the first three are wearing because they are around my age and they usually dress their age, and not to slutty or old, unlike some I could mention.

I love Emma's dress.

I really like Selena's dress too. I love the pattern. She looks really good in this picture.
Emma always looks great! I almost always love what she is wearing.
I love Rachel's boots, they are really cute. She looks really chic yet effortless here.
I am not sure that I love Posh's new cut, but I love her vest.

I think that Katie's look is my favourite. It is cute and simple. I can see myself wearing this.

I hope everyone has an amazing week,

Belle

Thanksgiving

2008-10-14T03:00:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone!
Happy late Thanksgiving ! I am stuffed from all the food I ate. Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays. I love all the good food and I love fall. This year I decided to make pumpkin pie.

I love baking, I find it very relaxing and often if I don't have anyhting to do I'll start baking. I got the recipe I used here. It's by Anna Olsen, I love her show Sugar on the Food Netwok. It's one of my favourites, although I have a love/hate relationship with Anna, I love what she cooks but personally I sometimes find her annoying.

This year I was one of the people in charge of they food drives at my school. It was a lot of work but it was worth it. We were able to get a lot of food in to help those in need.

I went to a farm yesterday. There was lots of pumpkins, a hay wagon ride, roasted corn and candy apples.

I love this time of fall right now, when the leaves are falling and they get all crunchy. I love fall outfits, the scarves, vests, jeans, boots and jackets. I can't find a good picture of one right now, I know that the Gilmore Girls have it down, but when you are looking for something you can never find it.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

Have a good week
Belle

Time Flys!

2008-10-06T17:22:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone!
I have been super busy, as I know most of you are. I wish I could post more often, but unfortunately with all my other commitments I can't. I try to post as often as I can, and I do try to comment back on every one's comments and I am trying to make my rounds on all the blogs I enjoy reading, but life gets in the way sometimes. So I'm sorry for my craziness. The sad part is that I don't have a great post planned for this week, I have a bit of a writers block (I blame physics!!! ha ha why not right?) I do have a (Canadian) Thanksgiving post planned and in the works, so until then:

I was very upset that Gossip Girl was old last night ( I hear that it might be new on CW which I don't have :( so I will be stocking youtube for it).
I loved the dress Jenny wore in the last episode:

So for the past few weeks I have been racking my brains trying to figure out who Catherine was on a different show. My friend finally pointed out that she was Sherry from Gilmore Girls. I was like OHHH YA!! haha, and I call myself a major fan. If you just listen to her voice you can tell right away. Spooky, (Sookie, haha okay no) oh well it just gave me another reason to hate her. haha.

See same person!!!!

Okay moving on...

So I have talked about Mark by Avon before and I just got another one of their catalogs and I can't help but love some of their stuff.

I love the shape of this bag, and the bright blue colour, it also comes in yellow as you can see. It is only $30!

I really like this dress it would look great with a bunch of different coloured tights, yellow, blue, brown etc. It would also look really great with my new boots. Its $28
I like the print on this dress. I would wear it with tights just because it looks a little short. This dress would be great to spice up with big colourful accessories. Its also $28
This sweater/wrap is great. It cab be worn so many different ways ( I like it the way it is shown in the big picture and open the best). It has so many possibles and can be worn with a ton of different things. Its $28. I find that Mark products all can be worn with many different things, and many different ways, which means that they will fit into a bunch of different wardrobes. I love the versatility of it.

I hope that you all have a great week. I must get back to my homework. I will post my Thanksgiving post this weekend. I will have time then. I hope you enjoyed my crazy last minute post for this week.

Lots of love,
Belle

DC

2008-09-29T19:21:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,
I am finding it harder and harder to find time to post. But in as I am avoiding physics even though I have a quiz tomorrow now seemed like the perfect time. ha ha. Last week I was in DC on a school trip, which meant shopping among other things. The trip was amazing, I learned so much and saw so many inspiring things. D.C. is beautiful and I loved all the monuments. I would love to go back one day. Here are some pictures from my trip:

I fed the birds, I felt like I was in Mary Poppins. :P

The White House. We didn't go inside because we didn't have time but we did a lot of other amazing things. We went to the Holocaust museum, which words can not describe.

Here is what I brought:

I was really sad that the mall that we went to didn't have an AA so I couldn't get the oversized cardigan that I wanted. I did however go into an Anthropologie. Let me just say that their website doesn't do the store justice, I didn't get anything from there though. I also went into a VS and I didn't see anything that I was dying to get so I held off. F21 was okay, I thought it would be a lot better, the prices were much better then they are here, but the selection surprisingly wasn't as great. I did find some stuff I liked though.

I got this shirt from Abercrombie Kids because it was cute and on sale. I really liked the cut, and it looks really good with jeans.

My Steve Madden boots. I love them, I have been looking everywhere for boots and I finally found some that I liked!

From Forever 21:

I couldn't find the sweater dress that I got online, but its sort of the love child between these two dresses. Its grey. When I'm not so lazy maybe I'll take a picture.

These tights are really cute, I love how they are ribbed. I was very disappointed that these were the only colour they had and the only style they had where they were footed tights. I was planning on loading up on tights while I was there but it didn't happen...oh well.

They also didn't have that many head bands. This one was cute and I really liked the colours and the pattern.

Anyway I hope you all have a good week. Hopefully I'll be able to post more soon. I better get back to studying.

Lots of Love,

Belle

Toronto Film Festival, Canadian Idol and A Canadian Designer

2008-09-19T10:59:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone!
I have quite the Canadian post for you today, from TIFF to Canadian Idol to Paper Bird! I got it all. I know that this post is a little late but it was half done and then I never got a chance to get back to it, so better late then never right? I am sorry I haven't been able to post as often as I like, I meant to have this post out last weekend but it has been crazy. I have been on a school trip, so I will have some pictures from that in my next post. The Toronto Film Festival was held a while ago now, it was early September. Here are some pictures from

Kira Knightly

Zac Efron and Claire Danes

Rachel McAdams

Paris Hilton

Brad Pitt

Emma Roberts

Jennifer Aniston

Jessica Biel

Kate Hudson

Canadian Idol winner was announced over a week ago now, but I am very happy that Theo Tams won. I voted for him, which by the way the voting becomes addicting. It's like a game, you feel as though you personally won when you get through. It is very amusing. Anyway Congrats Theo!

The next Canadian Designer that I wanted to feature is Paper Bird. All the clothing is hand made and it is from Vancouver.

I really like this dress, it is more of jumper I guess. I think it would look really good with a brighter shirt underneath.

This is my favourite look. I love the coat.

I really like the shoes and the shape of this dress. It would be very easy to dress it up or down.

Check out Paper Bird Here.

I hope that you all have a good week, and I will have a post from my trip very soon.
Love,
Belle

Majolie

2008-09-07T10:18:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone,

I survived my first week of school. It really wasn't that bad. My classes are all pretty good, I have good teachers and friends in all my classes. Most of my classes are small which is nice. I already have homework in most of my classes. I have been avoiding my physics homework, which is not a good sign seeing as we are only 3 days into school. The weather is turning cooler, which is bitter sweet. I love fall clothes but I love the sun. Seeing as it is cooling down I decided to post about another Canadian Designer, she designes handmade knit wear. I have been lusting after these beautiful peices for months. Here are some of my favourites:

I love the simple design and the colour of this sweater. It can be worn forever, because it is so simple and classic.

This black sweater is another one of those peices that can be worn forever. It is simple and classic. I love the subtle detail of the argile print in the sweater.

These next two sweaters are from last years collection:

I love the colour of this sweater. It looks so warm and cozy, yet it still is fashionable.

This is another sweater that can be worn forever. I love the design down the side of the sweater as well as the charcol grey colour.
check it out here

That's all for me for now.
I will try to post regularly once a week on the weekends, so try to check back.
I hope everyone has a great week.
Belle

Shopping and DIY

2008-08-31T03:00:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone,
I can't believe that it is already back to school on Tuesday. I don't know where my summer went. It went by so fast! I know that I said I would do a wish list post, however I am still not 100% sure of what I really want yet. I might just add an item to the end of each post for now, but I am not sure. I volunteered at a theatre camp the past 2 weeks and the first week the kids put on Horton hears a who and then they put on Wicked. I have had the Wicked songs stuck in my head for days. I went to see Vicky, Christina, Barcelona. yesterday, it was a pretty good movie, although I don't think that I really understood it. Barcelona was beautiful and I really want to visit it one day. I have been shopping which is always fun, and here is some of what I bought:

I got this grey vest, which I love.

I also got a beret. I have wanted one for a while, but I could never seem to find one that looked right. This one is perfect.

These headbands are really cute, and they are only $1.50 for 2. I couldn't resist. I got 2 black ones, a purple one and a white one.

I really wanted these Coach shoes for a while. I finally got them. I love them, they are very comfortable and cute.
A DIY:
I found an old card, and decided that it was too pretty to throw away, so I covered the inside with pink paper, and then glued in some post its. I love post it notes, they are one of the greatest inventions ever. I use them all the time. Now mine are covered and look like a note book, which is held closed by 2 buttons. If you would like more information on how to make one, just ask.

Anyways that's all for me for now. I am working on another Canadian designer post, so check back soon.

Belle

Uniforms

2008-08-19T03:01:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone,

It's that time of year when everyone is posting their back to school wish lists.

My school has a uniform, with which I have a love, hate relationship. I hate not being able to wear whatever I want, but on the other hand knowing exactly what I am going to wear in the morning is a big time saver. It also makes the days when you can wear your street clothes a lot more fun. Many people put more effort into those outfits, since they can't wear them all the time. My school is very strict on what we can and can't wear with our uniforms. The only way that we can spice up our uniforms is with accessories, and even some of those are limited. So I decided to do a post of different accessories that I can wear with my uniform and some of which I wouldn't mind getting. I got my inspiration from Gossip Girl, so you will see a mix of Blair, Serena, and Jenny inspired pieces. I will do a non-uniform wish list soon. The post is pretty long, however there are a lot of pictures.

The basic pieces of my uniform are a kilt, white button down shirt, a tie, and either a sweater or a blazer.
We are allowed to wear shirts that aren't from the school here are a few that I found:

From American Eagle:

I really like this one; it has three-quarter length selves. It still keeps you warm and it looks good with a vest.

From Forever 21:

From Nordstorm:

Another 3/4 length . I really like the detail on the sleeves, with the buttons.

We have to wear black shoes, and I personally like them with a small heel or no heel at all, since I have to wear them all day long.

From Coach:

I really like these Coach shoes, they are extremely cute, and I love the buckle.

From Forever 21:

These are cute, if you would like something higher.

From Steve Madden:

I love the button and the slight heel. I am thinking of getting these ones for my school shoes.

From Aldo:

I really like these ones as well. I love the crisscross straps. They are different from the other flats that I have seen at Aldo.These a fairly simple and cute.
I really like the slight heel in these as well, and also the knot detail at the front.
I personally love the inside pattern of the shoe.

Serena is well known for wearing boots. While we aren't allowed to wear boots during school hours we can wear them to and from school.

From Aldo:

I really like the colour and the buckle detail on this boot. The heel on this boot is the perfect height. It is low enough that it would be comfortable for a long period of time, yet high enough so you feel like you are wearing heels.

I really like this suede boot.

From Nordstorm:

It looks more like a riding boot, and reminds me of the boots Serena wore in the first episode.

Jenny tends to wear a lot of hats. Here are some cute ones that I found:

From Aldo:

I really like the black trim on this hat, as well as the bow.

This beret is really cute, and I really like the pom pom!

From Anthropologie:

From Shopbop:

From Forever 21: From Fashion Flare:
I love this plaid. This hat came in a few different colours, my favourite was red, but I couldn't get a full picture of the hat.

From Gap:

From Juicy:

I really like both of these hats, (its the same hat in different colours, but they looks so completely different!) I really like the bow detail.

While all the character's wear headbands, Blair is the best known for them. Here are some Blair inspired headbands that I found:

From Forever 21: (Most of these come in different colours)
I love skinny head bands

The sequin is amazing. My friend has this and I am always stealing it.

From Heart on your head by Mary:

I love the leopard print and the bow The three hearts are so simple and cute

We wear either knee-highs or tights with our kilt. Here are some of my favourites:

From Forever 21:

These tights look thicker and would be better for the winter months

I really love the texture on these tights, its adds more to your uniform with very little effort.

From American Apparel:

I like the texture on these tights also.

All the girls on Gossip Girl have great statment bags. Here are some that I found:

From Aldo:

I love the lock and key on the bag, it such a cute detail.

From Coach:
I love this colour!
From Juicy:
From Urban Outfiters:
I love the plaid.

The Girls from Gossip Girl tend to wear bright interesting and eye poping coats.

From BB Dakota:
I love the sleeves on this jacket

From Gap:

This is a great little leather bomber. From Forever 21:

I think that this coat looks the most like the one Serena is wearing above.

From Urban Outfiters:
From Delia's
I love the colour of this coat.

I tend to not wear a lot of jewerlly at school, as it gets in the way. I do like to wear bracletes becuase they are easy to put on and they can be seen the best when I wear my uniform. We are not allowed to wear huge necklaces so bracletes are the best way to go. Here are some of my favourites:

From Anthropologie:
I love the bow!

From Coach:

From Tiffany's and Co:

I really want a charm braclete from Tiffany's.

From Urban Outfiters:I love the feather design
These are two bangles. I really like how they look together, but they can also be worn apart.

The Cast of Gossip Girl looking good in their uniforms:

So I didn't really mean for this post to be so much about Gossip Girl, but I really love how they wear their uniforms. Although it seems fitting what with Season One coming out on DVD today.
I hope that you enjoyed the post and found it useful/helpful. Even if you don't wear a uniform I hope that you took something from it.
Have a great week,
xoxo,
Belle

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

2008-08-14T10:18:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone,

!Warning Contains Spoilers!

I went to see the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 the other day. I personally didn't like it at all. It ruined the books for me, since they put the last 3 books into the one movie, it made the girls stories seem rushed and incomplete. Some characters were missing such as Carmen's love interest Win and her step brother and sister. Lena's sister Effie wasn't in the last movie, however she was in this one. They left out Eric, so Bridget had no love interest through out the story. Lena's grandmother never comes to stay with them and Kostso doesn't come back before he finds out his girlfriend back home is pregnant, as well as Lena and her father never fight about her going to art school. Bridget goes to see her grandmother, but she doesn't pretend to be someone different, and she doesn't meet her childhood friend and fall back in love with soccer. Carmen never looks after Lena's grandmother, nor does she go through a hard time with her mother's pregnancy like she does in the book. Tibby's sister never falls out of the window, she doesn't make her movie about her mother or Bailey. All four of the girls do not go to the beach house or to prom. That was a really long and detailed way to say that a lot was left out. Since so much was left out stories they had to be altered and changed. We didn't get to see the struggles that the girls went through to in their fullest and the strong emotions that were in the books just wasn't there. I know that the movie is never as good as the books, but this was really disappointing. I am sure it would be a good movie if you never read the books. The acting was all really good, the only problem I had was that Alexis Bedel will always be Rory Gilmore to me. A lot of what she said reminded me of Rory. Oh well that's what I get for being a Gilmore Girl fanatic. The best part of the movie was when all the girls were together in Greece, it was beautiful there.

All four girls at the premiere. I love Blake and Alexis' dresses.

I'm not sure if this is from when the first movie came out. But I was having trouble finding pictures of Alexis and Amber so I decided to throw it in.

Many of you are aware of Post Secret, well now there is this really cool thing going on for teens where they submit their story in only 6 words. You can check it out here. Some of these 6 word stories are extremely cool, and really tell you a lot about the persons life. It is amazing what you can say with only 6 words.

Here is some that I thought up (though they really reflect my life completely): Stupid decision. Some mistakes. No regrets. The second one I thought up was: The boy didn't deserve her tears.

If you have any six work stories, and you feel comfortable please share them with me in the comments and/or send them in.

Anyway that's all for now.
Love,
Belle

Why am I covered in feathers?

2008-08-06T21:45:00.000-04:00

Heyy Everyone,
So I went to the Rogers Cup, and it was a lot of fun. I now understand tennis, plus Nadal is very good looking so that did hurt either :P. I am really glad that I went.

Nadal changing his shirt... best part of the match. tee hee

The ball boys were HOT!

My cousin is here visiting from Alberta, which is why I haven't been able to post sooner. We went to the zoo the other day. It was a lot of fun. When I saw the giraffes I screamed, and everyone looked at me. It was pretty funny.

The butterflies were so beautiful and they would fly so close to you. It was amazing.

The Giraffe!!!

This picture kind of sucks because of the glass, but it was a boa, and when I saw it I was like "Am I the only one having a Harry Potter moment right now?" A lot of people turned to look at me and then laughed.

I am watching the Teen Choice awards as I write this, and I'm sorry but can I just say that Miley is very annoying. It's kind of bugging me. Personally I never really had a problem with her, but she is really starting to get on my nerves, and she is wearing WAY too much eye liner in my opinion. Also what is Lil Mama wearing, it's some pink and white shirt, that looks like she stole it from Little Bow Peep, (haha lame joke Lil bow peep... haha no okay). Um so the Jonas Brothers won the choice hotties award and they beat Chase Crawford!!! That is just so WRONG!!! If you are asking me that is.

Blake Lively at the awards. I love the colour of her dress.

Zac and Vanessa... the "it" couple

Leighton Meester

I went to the Breaking Dawn Release Party on Friday. My friends and I got there around 8:30 so we were the third in line, which was pretty cool. We drank Starbucks (read my Starbucks rant here)... yes even I found a drink I like. It was a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino. Anyway, I didn't get to make a shirt for the event, but I saw some pretty cool ones, that I envied. Most people were Team Edward YAY! I think I only saw two Team Jacob shirts. The bookstore had trivia and Jacob and Edward drinks, I tried the Edward, it was pretty good. It was a fun night over all. I dressed up as Bella, wearing skinny jeans, a white eyelet shirt (which is what she wore to Forks the first day, its on the first page of Twilight) and a black coat. Some girls went in Prom Dresses others wore black and red.

My book:

The button and stickers I won playing Trivia:

The button says I was bitten by Breaking Dawn and the stickers say things like My heart belongs to Edward Cullen.

My Mask:

Its hard to tell but there are red sparkles on my mask as well as a white feather.

My thouhts on Breaking Dawn:

!Warning Contains Spoilers! (lots of them!)

I finished Breaking Dawn ( I avoided the Internet until I did). Personally it is my favourite book from the saga, however Twilight is a very VERY close second, it might be a tie. I thought that it was pretty predictable. I knew from the minute Bella threw up that she was pregnant. Although that is never something I would have guessed before hand. It was interesting to read book 2 from Jacob's perspective, even though I hated Jacob. I booed when he came back. (I do like him now though but I still love Edward.) Book 3 was by far the most interesting and I wish I could see Alice's perspective in some places. The fight between the Cullens and the Voturi was inevitable, but I wanted more action. It was tense but disappointing because there wasn't really a fight. I hate how Bella was so controlled as a newborn, it made me mad. All we heard was how hard it was to be a newborn and how you could think of nothing but your thirst and on her first try she avoids human blood, with out being restrained at all. I didn't really like Bella's superpower. I know that it is in the end what saved them from the Volturi, and I guess it is kind of cool how she can control it now, turning it on and off. Over all I really enjoyed the book, I thought it summed everything up and didn't leave me with too many answers although I would like to know more about Renesme's life. I was glad when Jacob imprinted on Renesme. He could finally leave Bella and Edward alone, plus he was no longer sad, which is good. However I don't really understand how that happened. I mean he is a ware wolf/shape shifter, and he is supposed to hate vampires so how is it that he imprinted on a half vampire. Will they be able to have kids? The whole point of imprinting is to keep the ware wolf gene alive, if Renesme can't have kids (which she might be able to because she is part human) then why did he imprint on her. Also if they have kids, what will they be, Vampire, ware wolf, human or all three. How will that work. I get that Edward and Bella fell in love and Edward is a vampire and she is a human and all. So Jacob falling in love with Renesme works, BUT he imprinted which is a biological thing from being a ware wolf. So it is a bit confusing. I have to say though the one thing that has always bothered me through out the saga (and this may be because I am such a Gilmore Girl fan) is that Bella and her mother are supposed to have such a close relationship and yet she hardly sees/hears from her. Bella and Charlie seem to be a lot closer. Even though I have talked a lot about what I didn't like in the book, I thought it was really really good, and I would recommend it of course. I love Edward even more, he supported Bella through everything, and he really loves her. I also love the fact that Bella is a mother, and that you get to see how much she loves Renesme and that she got that human experience as well as a family. Her and Edward have their own little family within the Cullen's which is perfect, although it kind of sucks that Nessie (before Bella called her Nessie and was set on Renesme I refused to call her Nessie as well. In order to support Bella. I like Nessie's middle name of Carlie a lot better then Renesme.) is growing up so fast. Anyway let me know what you thought of the book.

I hope that everyone has a good week. Check back soon for my review (okay well thoughts) on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
Love,
Bell