Sadly don't really have any Thanksgiving-type photos, but here are some pumpkins!
Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians!!!
Two years in, and I'm in love with Thanksgiving. Sales are on, there's the long weekend and there's so, so much food! It's the perfect excuse to spend and take a cheat day from your diet! Let's spend this day with family, being thankful and of course, food - more importantly, turkey.
I hope everyone has a fantastic one!
If you don't celebrate Thanksgiving (or are waiting for the November one), have a great Monday!
So, a month into the school year and I'm surprised that I'm still alive. How has it only been a month?
I've found myself buried in work these past few days and the next few days are no different. I swear, with the workload I've been dealing with, it feels as though more than just a month has passed. But alas, here I find myself with two more to go before the Christmas break. And I need it to come by quicker.
That being said, I've really been enjoying this month despite the stress and breakouts I've had to deal with. Third-year journalism has been kicking my butt, but I'm loving it. I mean, where else am I able to tap into my inner cameraman and shoot interviews with all this professional equipment? Even setting up I find quite fun! Granted, I'm still quite the amateur and have a long way to go, but all this hands-on experience does have me feeling waves of excitement (and anxiety, because hello? These babies are breakable!)
Photos taken off my Instagram account
One thing that I have definitely not been enjoying as much is editing all the clips. It. Is. A. Pain. No lie. Making sure everything plays smoothly and everything is in synch is such a painstakingly, frustrating process that a few friends and I have found ourselves throwing our hands in the air in defeat. So much respect for video editors out there! I don't know how they do it.
Lately I've been spending quite some time at the editing suites here at Carleton, and it's beginning to feel somewhat like a second home in the university. But hey, every time we get a thumbs up from the pros (a.k.a. the tech guys and our prof)? Nothing beats that sense of pride and happiness you feel when you know you've done something right.
Another place I've found myself frequenting is ByWard Market. Yes, one of my courses does require me to be trolling the place for news stories, but I've come to love the place! Funny how I've been here for two years and it's only now that I've learned that there's more to that area than just the actual market and few pubs here and there. Turns out there's tons to do there, hence why you may just find me strolling along with my camera (both for work and pleasure) snapping away on the weekends.
Future blog posts of ByWard adventures to come!
How have I never noticed this totem pole before?
Without a doubt I've had my lazy days, especially when the weather's all foggy and cold. I mean, sure, I love fall but not when I wake up to this and have to walk around in it. Not cool.
But on most days, it's all good. You just know that the day's going to be nice when you wake up to something like that.
So yes, this past month, has been filled with so many discoveries, and despite a few bumps along the way, it's been great. I seriously still can't believe that it's only been a month. Is it too early to start counting down the days until Christmas? I hope not, cause I've started already...
Cannot wait for the next few weeks (especially with reading week coming up)!
Here is what I have been loving this month beauty-wise, and I guess you can kind of consider these as my back-to-school beauty necessities as I have been reaching for these products so much to make myself presentable!
As I am now in a much cooler climate (but still quite sunny, mind you), I have been using Perricone MD's No Foundation Foundation (which was actually a hand me down from mi madre as she wasn't using it and we do have a similar skin colour). It's quite light-weight but it has got a buildable coverage, good for those times where I haven't gotten much sleep and need to hide the tiredness from my face. I've been pairing that with my MAC Pro Longwear concealer and MAC Prep+Prime highlighter in Bright Forecast, and I feel that it's a great combination for making me look as flawless and awake as I can. I've also been using Clinique's All About Eyes serum quite regularly, and I feel that it's been doing an excellent job at keeping the puffiness under my eyes at bay. Definitely recommend it to anyone.
Other products I have been loving are the MAC mineralize skinfish in Rio to brighten up my face when I feel it's looking a little dull, my MAC blush in Gingerly (which is a gorgeous terracotta colour that looks like a natural 'blush' for my NC40 skin), the L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga mascara (in I think deep black) that gives my lashes a little more 'oomph', MAC fluidline in Dipdown (a gel liner that I daresay rivals Bobbi Brown's Espresso Ink) and the MAC An Amorous Adventure quad (from the A Novel Romance collection) colours are just to die for. I actually have yet to touch the pastel blue colour from the quad, as I have no idea how to wear such a light blue on my eyes. Any suggestions?
As far as lips go, I have definitely gone for much darker colours, and I'm eagerly waiting for autumn to come just so that I can rock more dark lips. For "my lips but better and darker" I've been loving MAC's Bad Girl RiRi (from the Rihanna holiday collection last year) and Rimmel's Tower of Mauve (240). For days when the sun isn't out and instead rain has graced our presence, I've been reaching either for my Rimmel Electric Plum (300) lippie or MAC's Hearts Aflame, a brick-red colour, to match the dark and damp mood.
Other beauty products I have been loving this month are my Bioderma makeup remover which takes off all my makeup at the end of the day in a jiffy, my mini Bvlgari Mon Jasmin Noir perfume, the L'Oreal Total Repair Replenishing Detangling Care spray for my hair after I take a shower, and three pastel Essie nail polishes in Ballet Slippers (light pink), Urban Jungle (nude) and Who is the Boss (pale blue).
Now, as always, here are my non-beauty faves!
Now who doesn't love chocolate? If you're as much of a chocolate lover as me, you have got to try out the Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations chocolate bars! Chocolate heaven mixed with jelly, beans and popping candy, I must say. It does take quite a while to chew because of all the added sugariness but it's well worth it. My cousin introduced me to these babies while I was in Singapore last year, and I am hooked. I need more. I haven't seen these around, so I'm not sure if you can only get them in Singapore or so. Either way, if you ever see these at your local supermarket, GRAB THEM! You won't regret it.
Because I am in the 'back-to-school' mode and have been spending most of my days working away on my laptop, coffee is essential. I'm particularly liking this Kopiko Brown Coffee mix that I brought over from the Philippines. It's not too strong and not too sweet, which is great when I can't be bothered with having to hunt down for milk or sugar in the kitchen. Hmm... a cup of this definitely wakes me up - especially when I've had a late night (and I'm sure there will be many more of those in the coming weeks)! I definitely will be stocking up on these over the Christmas break...
My jam? Definitely 'Find You' by Zedd ft. Matthew Koma and Miriam Bryant. It gets me pumped every morning and the upbeat melody always puts me in a good mood. I do believe this is the most played song on my iTunes library - that's how in love I am with this song ever since it came out in January (it's part of the soundtrack for Divergent, which I actually have yet to see!). I do have tons of similar songs in my "morning playlist", but this one I will always put on repeat. Do you have a morning playlist to get you ready for the day?
What have been your favourites this month?
Happy discovering!
