Packing for the weekend 101 with Janet

I will admit that prior to my semester abroad last winter, I would have been the worst person to give packing advice of any kind. I was notorious for overpacking and making my suitcase overweight. Or of the flip side, not packing enough to sustain me for the duration of the trip. But ever since I had to deal with extreme weight limits and short trips, my packing ways have definitely improved.

I'm heading off to Ottawa tomorrow morning for the weekend for a wedding (pending the amazing Newfoundland weather doesn't have other plans for me). Since it is stuck in that awkward still winter/almost spring but not quite phase, I had to vary what I packed.

I always start by taking out my favourites of each type of garment. There are generally 10 of everything; dresses, sweaters, leggings etc. 

Then I have to narrow down which ones I'm most likely to wear, that gives me about 5 of each thing. Still too much for one weekend. So then I just go withnt the most comfortable/ones that go with the most things. And voila, down to an acceptable amount of clothes needed for a weekend.

(I did go back and fold them properly I promise)

So here is what is included:

- 3 dresses

- 2 pairs of shoes

- 3 sweaters

- 2 pairs of leggings

- 1 bra

- 5 pairs of underwear

- 5 pairs of socks

3 dresses and sweaters might be an overkill, whoops.

I also have to leave lots of room for new clothes because venturing out of Newfoundland to anywhere is like hitting a gold mine. We don't have H&M, Forever21, Sephora.. essentially we have nothing. 

In my carry-on, I like to keep it pretty light, although I also have to squish my purse in there so it might not be so light. Maybe I'll put that in my checked luggage as well.

Book - Mindy Kaling; I am obsessed with her show I couldn't not read her book.

Kate Spade "Paint the Town Red" journal to document my trip. One of my favourite things to do is to write down things about the people around me on the plane. Sometimes it creates a good story.

Kate Spade pencil case but used as a makeshift makeup bag. Just the basics (foundation, mascara, lipstick and brow gel). 

And of course headphones because I like to tune everyone out and watch movies. 

What does your usual long weekend packing list look like? Are you better at packing than me? (I would say without question you probably are).

Picnics and lighthouses

I couldn't be happier about the fact that it's wednesday. Only two more sleeps until friday, which makes the weekend sound closer than it actually is. Whoops. So can I just sleep threw all of tomorrow?

Anywho, this past sunday, myself and three of my besties went to this cute little town about an hour away from where I live to have a picnic at a lighthouse.

how cute are we??

The best part being that they make the food for you! You just put in what kind of sandwich you want, what kind of desert you want and you're on your way! They give you a blanket then you find a spot and they bring it to you! They even give you blankets. It's the CUTEST thing.

This the view you get while enjoying your delicious meal:

We saw whales and puffins and it was just amazing. After binging on the food, we laid down to work on our tan Then finally head out.

If there is anything remotely similar to this near you I would 100% recommend it.

Now I want to know, do you have any must haves for a picnic? For me it's never complete without lemonade, ever.

Would you have a picnic with me please??

Bipolar Weather

 I don't know if it's in poor taste to talk about the weather on your blog (since it's a last resort topic in conversation) but IMMA DO IT ANYWAY.

Here in good ol' Newfoundland we experience weather unlike any other place I've been. It could seriously be like this one day:

and then the next morning you look out your window and BAM:

 I really wish I was kidding. 

The entire month of june was maximum 8 degrees and then SUDDENLY july hit and has been 24 degrees everyday since. I am not usually one to complain about the heat (like, at all. I am the person who loves getting in the car after the sun has been beating in on it all day and everything is hot to the touch) BUT THE HUMIDITY is a bit much. 

The worst part about humidity? This:

but whatever. As humid as it may be and as sticky as I feel, it's friday, it's summer and I am going to damn well enjoy myself.

Happy weekend!

Fridays through the ages

Well well well, friday we finally meet again.

Many fridays have come and gone throughout my 24 years on this planet. While for the first 6-8 years I probably wasn't doing too much on the weekend besides watching TGIF on abc with my mom, I do have some concept of how my friday plans changed throughout the years. (ok they didn't really change that much until I could drink, but you get the point).  Let's dive in shall we?

Ages 9-14

The majority of these fridays I can guarantee you were spent in one of two ways:
1) Going to the movies
2) Sleeping over at my best friend Rebecca's house

Ah yes back in the day when movies were only 5 bucks and the treats were only 6. A time where the whole experience could be achieved for under 10 dollars if you snuck food into the theatre. Which is about the most rebellious thing I did at this age.

Also a time when sleepovers were not sleepovers, they were wakeovers. As in, let's not sleep at all then annoy the shit out of our parents the next day because we are so cranky.

Ages 15-18

This was the highschool time. I half wish I could say I was with everyone else in drinking for the first time, having your first boyfriend, but I was essentially too cool (re: not cool at all) to partake in such activities.

Here's what I was like in highschool for the most part (apologies in advance)

Instead, I would go to my friends house and listen to two of them play emo songs all night and we would all sit around sharing feelings and being the ultimate emo kids. This phase did not last long for me, but hey, when all your friends are doing it, you do too.

I did have a brief stint at the age of 17 of sneaking into bars downtown, but I was always sober. Nowadays I don't know how I ever managed to have patience being sober when going out but I give myself a pat on the back for doing so.

Ages 19-22

Who am I kidding, this still applies now. The legal drinking age where I am is 19 so that was the beginning of the end. My friends and I started going out every friday and saturday night, apparently we didn't experience hangovers at the beginning. Now, I still enjoy a night now, but two days in a row? Count me out. I mean, I will have a glass of wine or a beer, but to sip back an entire bottle and get to drunky pants mode multiple nights in a row? I get super tired. It still happens though, because somehow the thought of a good time outweighs the hangover possibility.

So really, have I changed that much since I was 19? Probably not.

Well I hope you are all having a lovely friday, let's hook up with Whitney over at I Wore Yoga Pants and back that azz up!



This week I present to you the one, the only, Beyoncé:

Have an AMAZING weekend!

Get your nails done, get your hair did

So since I’ve only just started this job I don’t really have a lot of responsibility yet. I’m sure that will come in time, but for right now I have a lot of free time on my hands but I don’t want to be caught and fired for surfing the interwebz too much. And let’s be honest I do enough of that at home anyway.

I like to think I'm being super creative and innovative AND sneaky by writing this in a word document, but I’m sure I’m not the first person to come up with the idea to write a blog post in Word and then copy and paste. I would be giving myself way too much credit if that was the case.

So with all this time on my hands, why not give you the low down on what I did this weekend?

Friday

Friday night, my friend Katherine and I decided we were need of a good cry, and I mean a GOOD cry. So we went to see the Fault in Our Stars. I need to start off by saying that I read the book and not once did I shed a tear while reading it. Was it sad? Absolutely! But for whatever reason, there was nothing in it that sent messages to my brain to tell me I should find this so sad that tears should be pouring out. Well, I more than made for the lack of crying while reading the book when I saw the movie. Any time anyone had a sad look on their face, I would start to tear up.

And then there were the real ugly tears. You know, where your face turns red and you start to hyperventilate? They were happening. I don’t think I could ever be a pretty crier. It’s full on waterworks or bust for me. Which is fine, I just wish I had been smart enough to take off my makeup before the movie. But if the worst thing that happens to me is mascara running down my face then I think I’m ok.

The movie was amazing. I would really recommend it. I usually don’t enjoy Shailene Woodley (purely based off of Secret Life of the American Teenager, which I really shouldn’t fault anyone for because I mean it was just a terrible show) but she played the character so well.

After the movie I went home and went to bed. They start movies here at crazy late times like 10:30! I mean that’s a bit late to be starting a movie; some people need their beauty sleep.

Saturday

 On Saturday I headed out for a usual Saturday date with my friend Chris to subway. I wish I could lie to you and pretend that I don’t eat subway on a regular basis or that I’m not weirdly obsessed with it but that just isn’t true. You could feed me that 6-inch turkey all day every day and I would never get sick of it.

 Post lunch it was time for me to get my hair did. Needless to say my “bangs” were need of some TLC. I hadn’t gotten my hair cut for a couple of months and it was starting to knot in the back. This made brushing it through a real DREAM. I was so tempted to shave my whole head but I know would have regretted it approx. as soon as it was happening.

 After ma hurr appointment, I went back home, up to my room to my laptop; this where I’m likely to be found if I’m at home. I turned on Orange is the New Black which was supposed to be “just one episode” but turned into 3. I’m still not on the second season but I just don’t want it to be over.

After my little binge watching spree, I headed over the liquor and picked out some of Australia’s finest Riesling (re: cheapest):

 and got Wendys for supper. I have this idea in my head that anything over 10 dollars is already too much for a bottle of wine so when I’m feeling fancy I go for the Yellow Tail. This all took place at approx. 6pm. Then I had to start getting ready for my friend’s party. And for me, getting ready to go out is a PRODUCTION.

Step one: Shower (even if I’ve already showered that day, but I probably forgot to shave because come on, ain’t nobody got time for that)

Step two: Lay around in a towel for an hour thinking about what you’re going to wear.

Step three: Finally pick out an outfit, only to hate it the second you put it on and end up changing 10 times.

Step four: Give up and just wear the damn outfit you were going in the first place.

Step five: Makeup. Pretend that you know what you’re doing and try to effortlessly blend like they do in youtube videos.

Step 6: Fail miserably. Also get mascara under your eyes because you are definitely a grown woman who can put makeup on. Stick the normal colours that don’t generally cause you any problems.

Step 7: Rethink everything (outfit, makeup etc.) The decide that it’s too late now, you’re already an hour and a half late so just get your butt out the door. So yeah, I need quite a bit of time to get maself all beautimous.

I went to my friend’s house, had a few (many) drinks then went out on the town. We danced, drank some more and then 3 o’clock struck and it was food time. We managed to get a can home rather quickly as well (mostly because the guys who were getting the cab first were nice enough to let us have it).

I am the queen of taking sober looking pictures...

On Sunday I woke up in the wee hours of the morning (9am..which after getting home at 4am is really too early). Sunday afternoon I went to a bridal shower where there was free food. Need I say more? There were many MANY ham sandwiches consumed. The games were cute and everyone had a good time. After the shower my friend Rebecca (from www.rebeccalikesnail.com!) did ma nails!

I love love love them. And they are making typing this up that much more fun. Anyway, that’s about it for me! What trouble did you get into this weekend?
 

Working for the weekend

THANK GOD it is Friday. I made it through my first full week of my new job, which is a feat in itself. (in and of itself? is that how the expression goes? no idea..)

 Now I have done the 9-5 thing before, but it was only ever for a summer job which really meant, do whatever the hell you want as long as you show up because you'll be gone in two months anyway. NOT this time ladies and gents, oh no. This time I am in it for real. I have real responsibilities that can have an impact on the functioning of the company (ok not really a big one but let me just have this ok?).

 So in honour of completing my first full week of real adult life, I'm going to share with you the things I've learned:

 1) You really do need to bring your own lunch. When you're a student it's all good because you're getting the money and likely don't have many other needs that aren't already covered so you can get Subway everyday! (not that I've ever done that..) But in grown up land it's much more economical (and healthier) to bring your own lunch. That being said, I'm not that great at following my own advice so there will probably still be many trips to subway for my precious lunch hour.

 2) Waking up early every day for the rest of your life (or however long you're at this job for). This is a hard one for me. Being in school I've become accustomed to a certain luxury called sleeping in and not dealing with important things. I didn't wanna go to class? Well whatever I'll just stay in bed cause no one can tell me what to do. But now, I really need a valid excuse for not coming in, and I have to report it to someone. And if I were to take a mental health day I'm pretty sure karma would come back and get me and I wouldn't have any sick days left. I used them all up because I "didn't feel like it."

 3) Not everyone you work with is super nice. This probably isn't a new thing since, guaranteed anywhere you there's going to be someone who isn't nice and has no interest in talking to or getting to know you. There is a large degree of separation in departments in my office. I went in the lunchroom today, where I could everyone talking from outside the door, and as soon as I opened that door they all went quiet. They are all people who sit on the other side of the building. It was fine, I was only going in to get my diet pepsi and leave anyway.


 There are a few more things, but I'm already late getting to go out so I should probably do that! But before I go, I'm joining up on the Back that Azz Up tag with Whitney over at I Wore Yoga Pants!

               This song is my current jam:
                                
Have an amazing weekend everyone!

Superhero Saturday

Hello all! So this past weekend I definitely didn't get up to my usual shenanigans (I need to save my liver for the coming weekend which is George Street Festival aka. drink all week and don't feel bad about it.) On saturday I participated in the Easter Seals Drop Zone. Easter Seals is a foundation that provides a place for kids with disabilities to come together, learn and grow to their full potential! A great cause. The Drop Zone is annual fundraiser where participants raise money for the foundation and in return get to rappel down the side of a building! This was my first time participating! I wasn't going to do it at first because I'm TERRIFIED of heights, but because a lot of people doubted me and were like "yeah we figured you wouldn't" I decided to prove them wrong. (The best reasoning for doing it? Probably not.) Here I am rappelling down a 150ft building!

The first initial step over the edge is the hardest, then all you can think about is getting down. Although there were times I thought I HAD to be at least half way and I wasn't even close. I had my family and friends there cheering me on so it was all worth it in the end!

Altogether the fundraiser made $97 000!! It's insane the amount of support I got.

Later that night I went to a potluck where I made chip dip (re: my mom made chip dip), which I thought would suffice, but my friend Harmony made a WHOLE bunch of indian food. So delish. 

That's all I got up to this weekend! What about you?

Too old?

Hello hello!

I can't believe how fast this summer is going. I started teaching a month ago, it feels so surreal. I am excited for august when it'll be just me, my bed, my friends and nice glass of wine. Of course, to have wine you need to have money to buy it in the first place. uhhh.... help me I'm poor?

I have been wondering lately how old is "too old" to be going out and drinking and going dancing. I have friends now who say they are just "too mature for that stuff." I feel like my generation is mixed. There are some who feel that their twenties are the ultimate party years (kind of like myself) and then those who may or may not have exhausted themselves in their teens and now want to wind now. I can't imagine settling down now. I have too much time left in school and so many things I want to do to be content in one place.

I mean, there are so many bottles of riesling I haven't tried! I can't very well stop now.

It doesn't bother me so much that these friends don't want to go out dancing, that's totally fine. But I don't feel that those of us who should be scolded for it. I won't force you to go out and dance with me even though you are probably missing out on a really great time (re: definitely missing out) but that's your prerogative. (please note that I would have NO idea what that word meant if Britney hadn't done the Bobby Brown cover. I have zero shame for this stuff). Just stay home and nap! (Which can also be a really amazing time).

Whatever you do on the weekends, do it and do it well.  YUP breaking out the J-lo on this fine (rainy and gross) thursday evening.

Enjoy your evening!



Janet