Keep Calm and Shamrock On!

Helloooo and HAPPY BELATED ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO YA!

This past week has been super busy to say the least, but before we get to that I just need to rant a little - hope you don't mind. I have gone to the gym twice this week.. that's it, 2 times. This makes me SO frustrated. It's partly my fault because of laziness, procrastination, etc. BUT that being said, not being able to get the gym makes me full of stress, anxiety, and self let down. I had an awesome bootcamp last Tuesday and a super sweaty spin class on Thursday which makes me happy, but I was planning to swim on Friday morning, and do yoga tonight, which didn't happen. I know I have to breathe and calm down about not working out, but missing those workouts makes me really down - but I just have to remember that there is always next week - SO this week I plan to workout A LOT to make up for the lack of effort last week. I even had my parents bring my roller blades when they came to visit today, so that's something to look forward to! :) Another thing that's irritating me - not finding the time to blog everyday! I need to realize that it's not about finding the time, it's about planning my time correctly - which is a hard task for me!

Now that that's over, let's talk about this past weekend! Friday night kicked off the festivities with a dinner date here in London with a great group of girls! The place we went to was VegOut, which is a vegan restaurant and might I add is DELICIOUS! Cheryl, Sabrina, Ellen, and I were all very satisfied with the meal and all stated that coming back is a MUST! Sabrina and I split the Raw Zucchinni Spring Rolls and the Pate Sandwich, while Cheryl and Ellen opted for the Chick-Pea-Nut Burger (which is probably what I'll try the next time I go!) We also decided that dessert would be a good idea, since they had so many yummy options! I ended up getting the worlds most amazing cupcake! Like seriously, I don't think I've tasted one better! It was an Earl Grey cupcake with lemon frosting and is to die for - YOU MUST TRY IT! That's an order.. ;) Cheryl and Ellen split a chocolate cake, which sadly I don't have a photo of BUT not to worry, just head on over to her blog for a look!

Pate Sandwich

Raw Zucchini Spring Rolls 

The BEST cupcake ever - Earl Grey with Lemon Frosting!

YUM - I'm already planning my meal for the next visit! Anywhoooo that brings us to Saturday or ST. PATTIES DAY! Let's just say that it was CRAZY - morning pancake keggers, a few (or more) drinks, and an AMAZING time with friends! I love all of these girls to death, and I'm so happy that we got to have such a fun time yesterday! I'll leave the whole St. Pat's topic to that.. you know what St. Patties is all about! ;)

Cassie, Sabrina, and I at the morning kegger! LOVE these girls!

My St. Pat's nails - aren't they festive!?

Me and the roomie for next year! ♥

Today was full of relaxation, a visit from my parents (which was great because I miss them SO much!), and PLL and tea with my loves (Sabrina and Cassie).. oh not to mention a little birthday celebration! It's Sabrina's 19th birthday today! Soooo that being said, I'd like to dedicate this post to her! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE! I hope you had a fab day, love you girl!

HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY SABRINA! ♥

AliwS

It's been a while..

HEY!

..soo it's been a while since I've posted - probably because of the busy busy week I've had! I literally have been hibernating in my room studying since Monday, which was not too fun, but I'm officially done midterms as of this afternoon, YAY! Too bad I have about a hand full of essays to get written - including a History paper that is worth 30% and is 2,500 words, due Tuesday, that I've been neglecting because of the psych midterm I had today! Whoops. Soo guess how I'm spending my Saturday night? That's right with my laptop and books about the Nazi regime - super fun right?   

Anywhoooo on a side note, I'm officially obsessed with One Direction. I don't know how I stumbled upon them, perhaps twitter - I forget, but they are super cute and BRITISH/IRISH! (for all of you who don't know, that's a major plus for me lol, British accents are the key to my heart..)! In particular the song "What Makes You Beautiful" makes my heart melt in a super fan girl kinda way.. whatever I'm not ashamed - watch the video and see what I mean (in particular 2:25.. swoon) 

Officially Obsessed w/ One Direction!

In other news I finally got my glasses! I actually enjoy wearing them because I find them super cute! They're Ralph Lauren Polo and I often describe them as 'Ryan Gosling glasses' hehe! I only need them for reading and when I'm on my laptop, but have found myself wearing them on days when I'm too lazy (or too busy) to put on makeup - it's a win win situation! 

This upcoming week is going to be a bit stressful and hectic as well, with lots of things to hand in, but also a lot of things to look forward to! Monday and Tuesday will basically be writing my essay/doing all of my other forgotten homework that needs tending to, and hopefully a few good sweat sessions (like bootcamp, and perhaps a swim)!  Wednesday I'm going to see Legally Blonde the musical here at Western, Thursday is possibly the MIT formal (or more homework blah), Friday is trying a new restaurant with some friends, which I'm really looking forward to! We're going to Veg Out which is a vegan restaurant here in London - I'll let you know how it is! and FINALLY Saturday is ST. PATTIES DAY! I cannot wait - I've already started planning my outfit, with the first purchase being this little gem: 

GO GREEN!

All that's left is a few beads, and perhaps a temporary tattoo and feather boa?! We'll see what I can find at the dollar store! This week is going to be good post wise so STAY TUNED! Until then wish me luck with this essay! 

AliwS

Homework, homework, and wait more HOMEWORK!

SUNDAY FUNDAY! Except for me it really isn't going to be.. I will be studying the day away! Which is really my own fault because I literally have done no homework all week, so this upcoming week is going to be a long nightmare. Tomorrow I have my first midterm in MIT 1200 (which I haven't started studying for and have no motivation to start.. blah) on Tuesday I have a text analysis due in History (but I have bootcamp so it balances out!), Wednesday is a Classics midterm, and Thursday is an English test.. that is just the beginning of all of the school work I have to get done! This month is going to be CRAZY, so I'm sorry if this blog gets neglected for a little bit - although I'm sure my procrastination will get the better of me and I'll blog all of my frustration; YAY for  blogs! 

Now for a little bit of an update of what I've been doing for the past couple of days. For starters I'm proud to announce that I've won two Roll Up the Rims! Woooo - that takes my Tim's count to 2 out of 5. :) Soo far I've won a coffee and a donut - I cashed in my coffee already (for my new favourite apple cinnamon tea..) and I'm gonna give my donut away to someone to enjoy - any takers?

My winning cup!

This reading week has been full of delicious meals, and definitely some things that I normally wouldn't eat, so next week I have to buckle down and get back to my normal (healthier) eating habits! Yesterday was one of those days where I splurged.. For breakfast we made Breakfast Carrot Cake - a recipe that I found on Pinterest! It was super easy to make the best part about it was the cooking time, 1 1/2 - 2 minutes in the microwave! The cake was small but filling and to top it off was a 'banana ice cream' that sweetened and made the cake a little more moistened.

Breakfast Carrot Cake pre-baked 

My addiction for pumpkin is also growing. For dinner one night I had a pumpkin puree mix that I just threw together. It included: pumpkin puree with a little bit of almond milk and a splash of plain yogurt, cinnamon, an apple, stevia, raisins, and a granola crumble! YUM - it was delish.

Pumpkin mixture

Yesterday was also a fun day because I got to see the Vow with some of my family in London! It also wasn't just a normal movie theater experience - we went VIP! Which I've never done before, and I loved it. It was a group of about 15 girls, which makes it so much more fun. There were even waiters that brought us drinks etc.! I went out of character and had a mango Bellini (I don't drink alcohol all that often..), but it was soooo good! The only part of the experience that I didn't like was the actual movie. Don't get me wrong Rachel McAdams is one of my favourite actresses and Channing Tatum is pretty nice to look at, but the ending was horrible! I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but let's just say that I was disappointed and it left me a little depressed. (Ps how much does my sister look like Rachel McAdams!? Even all of the mannerisms are alike - it's freaky..)

Rachel and I in the VIP lounge right before "The Vow"

Mango Bellini 

I ALSO went to Hana for lunch with Rachel and Rah (my grandma). I told you that this week has been  pretty food related. Other than having a new obsession with pumpkin, I have an obsession with sushi as well. Mm so good! Check it out if you're ever in Sarnia - I'm gonna invite myself.. :)

Sushi anyone?

That's pretty much everything! Now that I've taken like 45 minutes to write this post I better get studying.. wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.

AliwS

Finding a Balance

It's that time of year again! Yes, can't you hear all of Canada rejoicing? It's Roll Uuuup the Rim! I am a little ashamed of this, but I can say that I do get caught up in it all - I've already had two, and lost both.. I'm sure the lineups at Western U Tim Horton's are going to be extra long when reading week is over - and I'll probably be standing among the madness!

Tim Horton's Roll Up the Rim! One of my 'loser' cups

Other than having Tim Horton's on the brain (lol just kidding) I haven't been doing much! Which is starting to stress me out.. I need to start doing some homework on this reading week but it's just too hard when I want to spend time with family and friends and just relax! It's such a hard thing to balance school work and home life - I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed. In the upcoming month I have 4 midterms to study for, 2 novels to read, and an 8 page essay to write, and I'm starting to freak out. I just need to take a few deep breathes and start somewhere I guess..

Reading week has been good to me so far (except for the stress level rising daily). Yesterday I went to go see the movie "This Means War" staring Reese Witherspoon - who I love! It was a good movie, a little unrealistic, but that's why it's a movie! I went with my sister, Rachel, and Katie. It's so nice to be home to see everyone again! I also have been having my fair share of overnight oats! I've tried a few different flavours so far (including the pumpkin from the earlier post). Today I had peanut butter banana oats and the morning before that I had applesauce oats! The base for the applesauce oats was fat free vanilla yogurt and unsweetened applesauce, plus some cinnamon. In the morning I added an apple and a little more cinnamon (I'm a little crazy with my use of cinnamon!). For the peanut butter and banana oats I used the same fat free vanilla yogurt and some almond milk. In the morning I added half a banana and melted some peanut butter so I could mix it through! Both were delicious and I would definitely make them again! I still have a few more mornings at home so I think I'll try another flavour before I have to go back to school - any suggestions?!    

Applesauce Oats

Peanut Butter Banana Oats

I also got to workout again today, which felt great after having a rest day yesterday! I didn't get to workout as long as I would have liked, but it's reading week so I'm not gonna be too upset about it. I'm also getting excited to start swimming when I get back to Western U - I went out to find a bathing suit today with no luck, but I'm determined to find one so I can try out the pool next week (hopefully I have time). That's another thing about all this school work - hardly anytime to workout, but I have to set my priorities straight I guess.  

I think that's the key to all of this stress, I just need to find balance with everything. I hope I can discover it soon before everything is due all at once! This post is getting long so I'll sign off and leave you with this picture of the squash I decided to make the other night! Half of an acorn squash filled with grilled mushrooms and red/green peppers, spaghetti sauce, and sprinkled with some crackers for some crunch!

Experimenting with Acorn Squash 

AliwS

The Past Week..

Things have been CRAZY for the past few weeks! There are so many assignments to tackle, as well as piles of readings and not to mention the four midterms I have after reading week. I'm trying to keep calm but things are definitely starting to stress me out! I'm hoping that this next week off will relax me a little, although my reading week is literally going to consist of reading all day long! But enough of complaining about my workload - I am in university, I should know better - back to the past week! Since this is the first post of this blog I thought I'd just share what kinds of things I've been up to.

For one thing I'm obsessed with overnight oats, if you haven't heard of them you need to look them up asap - they will change your life lol. I currently have some chilling in the fridge and can't wait to try them in the morning! They are pumpkin flavoured - made with canned pumpkin puree, vanilla yogurt, and rolled oats. In the morning I'm going to add raisins and cinnamon - YUM! I'll let you know how they turned out and maybe even post a picture! 

Another exciting thing that I did this week, as a little Valentine's Day present to myself, was getting my nails done with my friend Caileigh! She was going because she wanted bright and fun nails for her trip to Cuba (so jealous), and I decided to tag along! We decided on shellac nail polish because it literally lasts for almost 3 weeks, which is awesome! After our nails were finished we headed to Starbucks to attempt to finish our essay's (Caileigh and I are in 3 classes together) and 5 hours, a grande skinny cinnamon dolce latte, and a tall new blonde roast later I was finally finished!  

Here's a little snap shot of the finished product 

Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte and Shellac Nails 

Other than my trip to the nail salon and the Starbucks marathon the rest of the week was readings, assignments etc. nothing to exciting! As for what next week brings I'm hoping for lunch dates, some good workouts, and recipes that I've been dying to try! (I don't have a kitchen in my dorm room, so being at home is a treat) 

Have a great weekend,

AliwS