10 Things I Wish I Learned in High School

     I've spent 3/4 of my life in some sort of formal education system. In that time, I've learned a bunch of things... just nothing that I could really use as an adult. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that I know Pythagoras theorem or that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell - I could do so well at a trivia night with all the mostly useless information I've learned throughout the years. But there's so many things that I've been struggling with or seen a lot of my friends struggle with that I think should have been taught to us in high school. I totally understand that some people think that some of the things on this list should be taught by parents, but a lot of our parents didn't have time to teach us, or didn't even know how to do these things themselves.

1. Taxes

     Seriously I have no idea what I'm doing. Or why. Or when I'm supposed to do it. What happens if I don't? There needs to be a class on this because every person I know is struggling with the exact same questions.

2. How to buy/take out loans for cars or houses

     We rented houses the whole time I was growing up, so I have never had to know what a mortgage is. This year, my mom and I bought our first house together and it was so much harder than I expected. There's so many steps that go into it and I'm still not even sure if I could do it without my mom.

3. Voting

     We talked a little bit about voting in our civics class, but I don't think it was nearly enough. With technology as accessible as it is, it's really hard to sort through all the news and figure out what's real and what's #fakenews. Kids should be taught in school where to find the relevant, real information. They should also be taught where to go to register to vote, and where to vote when it's time to actually cast your ballet.

4. Home Economics

     I don't know if some schools still have classes where they teach you basic cooking, personal finance, sewing, and just general how to keep yourself alive information, but my high school definitely didn't. Thankfully my mom did teach me a lot about taking care of myself, but a lot of people I went to school with weren't as lucky, and as soon as they moved out really struggled with day to day living.

5.  Social Media Training

     Our whole lives are spent on our phones and computers, so I really wish someone would have taught me the things that I should or shouldn't post on social media, how to be professional or grow a following. How you portray yourself on social media is so important, and get potentially make or break your career depending on how you show yourself. 

6. Time Management Skills 

     I feel like you're just handed 10 billion things to do everyday and expected to just know how to manage your time wisely to make it all work, but I definitely could have used some help. I still struggle with managing my time throughout the week with all the things I have to juggle, so I think it would have been so good to have some sort of skills taught to me in school.

7. How To Say Sorry

     I literally am learning how (or when) to say sorry at 20 years old. I used to just go through life, never apologizing for any thing until I realized how hurtful that was to my friends and loved ones. I hate saying that I was wrong about anything, so when I started dating my boyfriend we would get into so many arguments just because I would refuse to admit that I was wrong about anything and I would never say sorry.

8. Your High School Friends Might Not Be Your Adult Friends and That's Okay

     I'm incredibly lucky because I met both of my best friends in grade 9 and we've still managed to be friends after we graduated. That's so rare and a lot harder than I ever expected. But when you move away from home for school or work, you meet so many new people and you're so busy that it becomes much harder to keep in touch with old friends. Sometimes you also realize that you're just not on the same path as someone and it's totally okay if you don't want to do the same things anymore.

9. Grades Don't Really Matter

     I was never a great student. Heck, I wasn't even a good one most of the time, and that bothered me a lot until I graduated. I failed more classes than I care to admit to (also I definitely lost track), but after you're done school, no one really cares if you're a A+ student or a C-. Obviously if you're planning on going to college or university you do have to take certain classes or maintain an average, but after you graduate, things as trivial as what grade you got on an assignment won't matter at all. Just do your best and try not to stress about it too much.

10.  You're Going To Make It Through

     I wish that there was someone that told me not to get so stressed about little things when I was in school. When you're in high school everything seems so big and important that it's so hard to deal with, so just take a deep breathe, trust in yourself and know that you're going to get through it and be better for it. <3

Winter Skincare Routine

     I swear every year I forget  what the cold weather does to my skin. so when November comes I panic and have to call my mom to ask her what to do. I have always had incredibly oily skin though, so when it suddenly gets so dry that it starts to peel, I get very scared that I'm going into organ failure or something. Luckily I've figured out my skincare routine which helps keep my skin moisturized and (mostly) blemish free.

Step 1 - Mary Kay Botanical Effects cleanse

The formula I have is for oily skin, but they have one for dry skin and combination skin as well. It's super gentle and doesn't have any added fragrance or synthetic dyes. I like this one a lot because it cleans my pores but doesn't completely strip my skin of its natural oils making me feel my skin feel clean and fresh, but not super dry.

Step 2 - Mary Kay Botanical Effects hydrate

This is a super hydrating cream made for sensitive skin and I am obsessed with it. It feels so light and isn't greasy at all, just makes my face feel extra hydrated and fresh.

Step 3 - Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

This moisturizer is my holy grail. It's so gentle on my skin, soaks in super fast and dries pretty matte. I use steps 1-3 every morning and night, but I'll reapply this one whenever I'm feeling my skin get dry throughout the day.

Step 4 - Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask

Would this list be complete without a face mask? I use this Origins mask from Sephora on nights that I'm feeling extra dry or if I need a little bit of extra pampering. It's super cooling and always makes me feel refreshed in the AM.


Step 5 - The Face Shop Mild Papaya Peeling

I use this once every week or two, when I have a lot of peeling skin. It has natural papaya enzymes that remove the dead skin cells with hyaluronic acid that helps moisturize at the same time. 

I hope these products help you stay moisturized this winter! And if you're feeling the winter blues, remember that spring is just over a month away!!

Valentines Day Date Jar // DIY

     Y'all this is my very first Valentine's day that I'm actually in a relationship. I have no friggin' idea what I'm doing. I honestly have spent at least 5 hours scrolling on the internet trying to find some super awesome gift for my boyfriend but the only things that really stood out to me was a cute Pinterest craft and some punny word play gifts that would make him laugh.

Popsicle Stick Date Jar:

this is the inspo I found on Pinterest

you'll need: 

-popsicle sticks (I used 60 sticks, and they were 6 colours to correspond to the categories I chose but the number of popsicle sticks and categories are totally up to you!)
-a marker that shows up on all the popsicle sticks (or a couple different colours)
-a jar of some sort
-ribbons/glitter/paper to decorate your jar



     This is so cute and I loved how it turned out, but I admit that it was actually way more of a pain in the butt than I originally expected. Basically all you have to do is write down your date ideas on the popsicle sticks (all colour coded to fit into categories like stay in dates or expensive ones) and find a cute jar that they fit in nicely.

     Unfortunately for me, I couldn't find a cute jar, so I had to improvise. I cut a Pringles can in half, covered it with coloured paper, and then wrote some labels and glued them on. For the categories, I decided on stay home (cheap and 'lazy' dates, like watching movies with popcorn or indoor picnics), places to eat (milkshakes in a diner or a new cute cafe) , planning required (trips away or dates that require calling ahead and booking time like paint balling or escape rooms) , indoor exploring (different places in Toronto like the CN Tower or  Casa Loma), outdoor exploring - winter edition (building snowmen and going to see light festivals) and outdoor exploring - warm weather edition (like hiking or picnics). Each categories had 10 dates, so it was a total of 60 which I admit took a lot of effort, but it turned out so well that I definitely think it was worth it.

I got this inspo here!

     For some reason I kept finding ideas for a bunch of pretty inexpensive gifts with cheesy puns written on them. There's nothing I love more than a good pun so I had to try some of these out.

     When I was growing up, my parents were really big on scavenger hunts so it's something that I've always loved doing for other people. This year I've decided that I'm going to hide each of Brandon's presents in different spots with clues to the next until the last clue leads him to the date jar. I think this is such a cute idea and a super fun way of giving gifts (also way less awkward than sitting down and watching someone open their presents).

I hope you all have a super wonderful Valentines/Galentines day (what's the bro equivalent of galentine's day??) and you get told that you're so loved and have a super nice bum. <3

What I Read // January

    As some of you guys may know, last year I challenged myself to read 150 books of the course of 2017. Unfortunately I set my sights a littttttle too high, especially considering I started in march and I ended the year with a total of 60 books. This year I'm trying again, but I'm going to try to read 100 books in 2018.

    I keep track using the Goodreads app but I thought I'd also discuss the books I've read here, as well as do a little haul and show you the books I've bought every month. So without further ado, these are the books I read in January. 

Living Dead in Dallas + Club Dead - Charlaine Harris 

     At the end of 2017 I started reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels, which is what the show True Blood is based off of. It's about a telepathic waitress in a small Louisiana town who gets mixed up with some Vampires, who are trying to assimilate into human society. Honestly, it's like sexually charged Twilight without the teen angst and a little bit of mystery. This month I read the second and third book, which introduces more supernatural creatures (called supes) and while they do get eye rolling-ly cheesy, the books are actually really entertaining. 

A Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket

     A Series of Unfortunate Events was one of my favourite movies growing up, and I tried to read the series when I was young, but I couldn't get through it. But after the Netflix version came out last year, I promised myself that I would try to read the series again. Then I saw them in a used book store a couple weeks ago for $5 each and I couldn't say no. I read the first one in 2 days and I have to say, I love them so much. I do understand why I couldn't get through them when I was a kid because they writing is a little bit dry, but now I hear the narration being done by Patrick Warburton and it is e v e r y t h i n g. 

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott 

     I've read the condensed version of Little Women probably 5 times, the first being at aged 4 (your girls a nerd). I don't think I fully understood about half of it, but it was the first big chapter book I ever read so it's definitely been one of my favourites ever since. This time though I read the actual full version and it took me a lot longer than I expected, but I also loved it so much more. It's such a classic story and I definitely think everyone should read it at some point. 

She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb

    When I moved into my apartment, I had no friends and no job so I stayed home all day and started making my way through my sisters book collection. She's Come Undone was one that I started in September or October and literally took me until January to finish. This book is incredibly long, very boring, and so incredibly depressing that I genuinely could only read about half a chapter before I had to put it down and read something else. I'm really not even sure how to do a synopsis of this book so I'll just say it's about a girl named Delores who has almost every bad thing in the world happen to her. That's it. That's the whole book. 

Stuart Little - E.B White

     When I was a kid, my imaginary friends were mice. My best imaginary friend was of course, named Stuart. Obsessed doesn't even cover how much I loved the movie. I could probably still quote it. I didn't even know that it was a book until I was in a bookstore a couple months ago and saw it for $2, so obviously I had to grab it. It is sadly not as great as I expected it to be, since it isn't really the same story from the movie, but it is still good nonetheless and it has been super helpful when I'm babysitting so I really can't complain. 

What I've bought this month: 

A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket (Books 1-5)

      I mentioned that I saw these in a used book store, but the first three were $5 and four and five were $6, and the covers look so nice on the shelf, I'm very excited to get the rest of the series and read them. 

Talking As Fast As I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything In Between - Lauren Graham

      Okay so my boyfriend surprised me with this a couple weeks ago and I may have cried a little. Gilmore Girls is my all time favourite show which I'm currently making him watch and he was very sweet and saw the book and bought it for me. I've wanted to read it since it came out so I'm very excited to read it this month.

     What books are you guys reading? Do you have a goal for how many books you want to read this year? Let me know in the comments below. <3

Mama's Mac + Cheese // Recipes

    Moving away from my mom has been hard for so many reasons, but one of the biggest is that I miss her home cooked meals more than I can even put into words. My mom is a genius when it comes to food. Living with her cooking for almost 20 years was the greatest, but then having to cook for myself every night is the biggest pain in my butt. Thankfully my mom is wonderful and taught me how to cook from a very early age and she also shares all her recipes with me, and I thought I would share some of my favourites with you over the next little while. This week I made mac and cheese, which honestly tastes like actual heaven and it's also pretty cheap to make which I definitely appreciate now that I live on my own.



What you need:
5 strips of bacon
1 small onion
1 can of Campbell's condensed cheese soup
2 cans of mushroom soup
1/2 of whole tomatoes
1-2 tbsps of black pepper
2-3 drops of liquid smoke
1 bag of macaroni
2 cups of shredded cheese
750 ml of milk


   First of all, preheat your oven to 400F (does anyone else forget to preheat every. single. time?!) In a large pot, boil water for the macaroni. Then in a pan, fry your bacon, and while it's cooking, chop up your onions - the size depends on how you like them, I like onions so I chop them up pretty small, but my mom usually leaves them a bit bigger so that my sisters can pick them out. When the bacon is cooked, take it out and lay it on some paper towel and put your onion in the pan and fry it with the bacon grease.

     In a large bowl, mix together the cheese and mushroom soups, the tomatoes (you can cut them in half if the you think the whole tomatoes are too big!), and the liquid smoke - this can get super overpowering so make sure you use 3 drops max! When the water has boiled, add the macaroni and cook it, probably around 8 minutes. While that's cooking, you can cut up the bacon and add it and the onions into the bowl. After the mac has cooked, strain it and pour it into the bowl. Mix it all together while adding in the milk slowly. You want it to be a bit milky when it's done because it will soak up in the oven. Add in the pepper slowly and taste as you go so you don't add too much.

     After everything is mixed, transfer it all into a casserole dish and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake covered for 22-25 minutes. The cheese should be melted and golden brown. Let it sit covered for about 15 minutes and then it's ready to eat!

     If you try this out please send me photos and tell me how it went! This is probably in my top 5 favourite recipes so I really hope y'all enjoy it.