Weekend recap: All I did was eat

Welcome back to monday. It always creeps up on me.. Luckily I only have a three day week this week as I am headed off to Ottawa thursday morning for a wedding!

This past weekend was fun, relaxed and full of food.

Friday night I worked my second job then went over to my cousin's house as I was still staying there for the weekend. I watched Greys and ate chocolate covered almonds. The wildest Friday night.

Saturday I just did so many things! 

Got my nails done: (thanks to my pal Rebecca over at rebeccalikesnails)

(please dad, ask me one more time why I have one nail a different colour).

My friend April moved to Calgary on sunday so she had a going away dinner saturday night. We went to a restaurant called The Gypsy Tea Room and the food was AMAZING. I had blackened salmon with a sun-dried tomato sauce. Sun-dried tomato anything is MY JAM.

NOM

We went back to the hotel room she had, had a few drinks then called it a night.

Sunday I met up with a few coworkers at the mall for some shopping. I didn't actually buy anything except this:

Chocolate chip cookie dough hayyy

My weekend ended with more Greys and some puppy cuddles from Toby

How was your weekend? Full of fun and love I hope!

Instagram roll + April goals

Here's what my week has been like according to my Instagram!

The Mindy Project - The season finale was tuesday but I had to get fully caught up before I watched it (I still haven't so no spoilers!). I am so in love with this show and everything that Mindy Kaling does. I refuse to believe she could ever do anything wrong. 

Sunny day in St. John's - FINALLY. It has been snowing and dreary for what seems like ever. I am so over winter and ready for the sun. It wasn't even that warm when I took this picture yesterday but I don't care. There was little to no snow on the ground and none falling so it was a beautiful day.

Toby- This is my cousin's dog. Her mom is gone away for the week so I am staying there with her. The best way to describe Toby would be the dog from Up! He loves to cuddle and LOVES belly rubs. When I'm sitting on the couch he just sits in my lap the whole time. I just need a dog of my own..

"Be there for others but never leave yourself behind"
When I saw this quote browsing through Pinterest, it really hit me. I spend a lot of time helping my friends, or you know doing them favours and making sure they are happy. There isn't anything wrong with that, but sometimes it's easy to get caught up and forget that you are a person too! Time for some more self love on top of the love I have for the people in my life.

New month new me? One can try I suppose. Whenever I try to set goals for myself I want make sure they are actually feasible don't just turn into wishes that I can't actually turn into reality.

So I'm trying to keep it pretty simple this month. Building on previous goals set for myself.

Cool it with the drinking/going out

I'm never one to shy away from going out with friends for some drinks and a good time. However the older I get the more I get over the hangover REAL quick. I also don't need to be spending so much money on going out. I know that I can have a good friday night for a fraction of the price.

Try and eat more healthily

There is a Subway right next to my office. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I am addicted to Subway. The people who work at that know my order off by heart. If that isn't a problem I don't know what is.

Travel somewhere alone

My wanderlust is so bad right now. I had trips booked but had to cancel and it's so depressing. Hopefully I can save up enough money to make this happen. I think I need this sort of independence for myself.

Be more organized

I bought a Kate Spade planner last summer  and started off strong but have fallen off the bandwagon. I know that once I start school again I'll need the planner, I just wish I had been using it all along. I broke it out tonight and added some new things to it so let's just keep it up this time hey janet? 

Do you have any goals for April? I'd love to hear em! 

Happy friday!

Hump Day survival

I don't know about you, but I definitely have a love-hate relationship with Wednesdays. On one hand, it's the middle of the week and the weekend is approaching, but it's also not close enough to Friday to be excited about.

I also feel a mid-week slump both during the day and night on Wednesdays. Thus I have decided to take Wednesdays back and make them a fun day instead of a drag.

1. Have an activity planned for the day/night.

This makes such a difference! Whether it's a date night with your significant other, coffee date with a couple of friends, or a movie night with the girls, it gives you something to look forward to all day long. I generally meet up with 4 of my closest friends on Wednesday nights just to catch up on the past few days and have a hilarious time. Instead of the work day dragging on, I know I have a great night ahead of me!

2. Catch up on your favourite TV shows or watch a specific show

I like to record shows from the weekend or past week that I didn't get a chance to watch at the time. I currently have 3 episodes of Keeping up with the Kardashians and two episodes of The Royals recorded waiting for me. Is there anything more relaxing than sitting back and binge watching TV? Probably not. This could also work for Netflix. Pick a show you haven't watched before, get a glass of wine and comfy clothes and voila, a Wednesday night that dreams are made of. (This has been me with Grey's Anatomy for that past week..)

Maybe there is a show you love to watch on Wednesday nights. Why not invite some people over, get some food and watch it together! I love talking to people while watching shows, especially if they are as emotionally involved as I am.

3. Make a playlist

Since you actually have to make it through the day in order to get to your night plans, a little music goes a long way. I find that having a fun playlist to listen to while I'm at work makes me a little less stressed and makes the day more positive and go by quicker. You can check out the playlist I made here or head over to Spotify or Songza and find one that suits your style.

4. Make it a special meal night

Who doesn't love to eat? And who doesn't love knowing what you're going to have before you get home! This usually goes one of two ways for me, either I've already found a recipe online and will get the ingredients on the way home and make it, OR I have already made reservations at a restaurant. This might be because I love food so much, but I think knowing you are going to eat somewhere delicious or make something delicious is reason enough for me to smile throughout the day.

5. If all else fails, remember this:

It's Wednesday, which means there are only two more sleeps until Friday. You can do it!




Is there anything you do to make your Wednesdays a little less Wednesday-y? Let me know!

Newfoundland slang

One of the things I love most about languages is the different dialects how they all create different slang words and sayings to convey meanings. In my opinion (maybe being from here makes a me a bit biased..) Newfoundland has some of the most interesting sayings and slang in Canada.

And no, contrary to popular belief, we do not say 'eh' in all of Canada. Newfoundlanders most certainly do not say 'eh'.

So let's get started and get you all up to date on your Newfoundland vocabulary shall we?

- Whadda y'at? (Meaning: what's up? It's pronounced exactly the way it's spelled). 

- Yes b'y! (Meaning: When something bad or good happens, this is generally an exclamation made. Either supportive and happy for you, or shocked by what has been said or done.)

- How did it go after? (This is a personal favourite of mine. Any time someone from NL says this you immediately understand what they are talking about. However I've said this to friends from the mainland and they get really confused. Meaning: When you were previously having a conversation with someone about something you were going to do, or someone you were you going to talk to, and you see the person you had had said conversation with, they will ask you how did it go after. As in, after the conversation, the thing took place and now I want to know how it went.)

That was probably a terrible explanation...sorry about that.

- Who knit you? (Meaning: Similar to saying who raised you when you do something stupid or impolite, but not super offensive as this saying is mostly sarcastic!)

- I dies at you (Meaning: I die laughing because you're hilarious, or I die laughing at you).

- Crooked (I thought this one was a general one across English but was mistaken when my friend from Ontario had no idea what I was talking about. Meaning: sad, sooky, unhappy, sulking)

That's all I have for now. Do you have any interesting sayings from your hometown/state/province? I'd love to hear them!

Happy Monday!

PS: I do not at all assume that every person NOT from Newfoundland doesn't know what these mean. Just purely based off of personal experience with people from outside the province.

Happy International Day of Happiness! - Life lately

Coincidental that this day also happens to fall on a friday? I think not.

As if friday isn't reason enough to be in a good mood, just remember things could be worse because this could have been your monday (it was mine):

Yup. Thank you so much mother nature for dumping 30 cm on us again. There is nothing the atlantic provinces love MORE than MORE snow the last week of winter.

But aside from that, this week has been pretty stellar. I mean it WAS St. Patrick's, and what kind of Irish-Newfoundlander would I be if I didn't celebrate?

I even made sure my pasty white skin was out to play!

AND and and AND

The Osheaga lineup was finally revealed, in the cutest/most addictive way possible. Through a game for your phone.

Here are just two of the 4 postcards they revealed, MY FLORENCE + THE MACHINE DREAM IS COMING TRUE

                        

In a more serious but not less happy twist, my ex-boyfriend from France booked a ticket to come visit me. We have still be talking since the breakup, so I haven't really felt like we actually broke up. It's been a very confusing couple of months as I'm still trying to work out the logistics of if we can ever actually be together or if we are doomed to lifelong distance. I definitely have mixed emotions about him coming. Obviously I am excited but also nervous about how I'll feel. Will the feelings still be there, will I want to uproot my life even though I'm 99.9% sure he wouldn't uproot his to move here. I mean he can't speak english so there's that. I'm also worried that it'll end like last time and I'll be lonely and heartbroken all over again and a large part of me wonders if I'm even ready to take that chance.

But can you really ask someone to cancel a plane ticket across the world? (re: Atlantic ocean)

Anyway, however your week went, remember tomorrow is another day and it also happens to be saturday. It's the little things!

Travel Thursday

Hello there kids. I wanted to post but I want kind of at a loss for what to write about. When I took a look at Kayla's post, I thought this would be absolutely perfect.

I have always loved travelling and I am definitely fortunate to have been able to do so with my family when I was younger. Going to France last year has only increased my wanderlust and I know that I will eventually get to all the places I want to see.

I also feel that travelling can put your life into perspective. Too often we fall victim to our surroundings without questioning them at all. There are so many places to visit, culture to explore and foods to eat to keep yourself grounded in one spot. Through travelling I've definitely found the more adventurous and the more relaxed versions of myself (re: staying in crappy hostels really makes a person I think). I wish everyone had the financial ability and time to explore this amazing world!

So here is where I've been:

Europe:

Barcelona - Spain
Rome, Cinque Terre, Venice, Pisa - Italy
Prague - Czech Republic
Athens - Greece
London - England
Amsterdam - The Netherlands
Lyon, Paris, Quimper, Vannes - France

Lovelocked on Pont des Arts!

North America:

Orlando, Fort Lauderdale - Florida
Chicago - Illinois
Portland, Auburn, Bangor - Maine
Atlantic City - New Jersey
Toronto, Ottawa - Ontario
Quebec City, Montreal, Trois-Rivières - Quebec
Halifax, Truro - Nova Scotia
Charlottetown - PEI

Also been to Cuba!

And I've been to places in Newfoundland, obviously haha.

It's funny once you put it to writing, I realize exactly how lucky I've been and I definitely appreciate all the opportunities I've had! I also drove to Florida when I was 8 with my parents from Newfoundland so I guess I've visited a lot of states but don't remember them!


Now, onto places I want to go:

I am guilty of being one of those people who wants to venture outside of North America and over to Europe even though there are so many places on this side of the world that I want to see.

New Orleans:
I want and need to visit this city for Mardi Gras. Every picture I've ever seen makes it seems like such an amazing time! I would also want to explore it! Mardi Gras would just been an excuse to go there I guess.

Washington DC:
I mean I know so little about American Politics, but think it would be amazing to see the home of one of the biggest and most powerful countries! And maybe run into Barack.

Germany:
All of it. Oktoberfest, the Berlin Wall, just every part of it. It has been on my list for so long and the one regret I have in life is never getting there when I was doing my exchange. There are places I would have traded it for.

Vancouver:
Even though I live in Canada, I've never been past Ontario. I want to see the west coast and see what all the hype is about!

Las Vegas:
Because, is there any reason to not go to Vegas?

What's on your travel bucket list?? I'd love to know!

Linkup!

Happy humpday

This is the current view from my window..

Thanks March, you're really being a pal, being all spring like. (WHY)


Anyway, due to lack of sleep last night I was in serious need of a pick me up to get me through the day. So I made my way over to Spotify to make a playlist that might make my day a little bit better.
I've left it here so you could also maybe avail of it.




Reminder that there are only two more sleeps until friday, YOU CAN DO IT.

Everything's coming up Janet

First of all, you can fine me on bloglovin' now!



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I have actually had the most amazing weekend AND monday. That's right, I had a great monday despite the freak snowstorm that decided to hit St. John's this afternoon.

I'll start with the truly amazing part where I booked a return flight to Dublin for $300! That's it! I was staring at the screen forever deciding if  I was going to book it or not. I decided it was too good of a deal to pass up so I did. And I am going alone (tentatively). It's only for 2 weeks but I am determined to fit in as much as possible!

Here are the destinations I want to hit:

Dublin (obviously):

Berlin:

Krakow:

and finally, Budapest:

If you (or anyone you know) have been to any of these places please let me know! I want to to know what the best sites to see are.

I also bought a backpack asap and it shipped today and I cannot wait to get it. 

I am kind of nervous, but mostly excited about travelling alone. I will be able to do exactly what I want on my own terms. However I love to be around people so hopefully I don't get too lonely! I have friend living in Scotland at the moment who said she might interested in going so hopefully that works out!

And to top it all of, I got accepted into the education program at my university which means I'm a step closer to becoming a real person. maybe.

How did your monday treat you?? Extremely well I hope!