weekly wrap up: winter semester has begun

Sorry about the late weekly wrap up!  I have finished two weeks of school, and I already feel so swamped with homework.  So far I have read two plays, a novel, many poems and endless essays.  Taking 4 upper level lit classes has its ups and downs.  I love reading, but it is all I am doing lately!  However I do prefer reading and essays to big projects and labs.

(This is just my way of trying to justify my lateness.  Look at that stack of textbooks!)

So there is a funny story behind this picture.  After my crazy study session, (pictured up above) I noticed the beautiful sunset.  Determined to get a good photo of it I drove up to my aunt's house (she lives right across the street).  

When I thought I had taken enough photos I got back in my car and thought, "Hmmm how I am I going to get out of here?"  and started driving forward.  I then realized that it was far too muddy to turn around where I wanted to.  So I then figured it would be a good idea to just turn around where I was, seeing as there was an empty field I could go into if I wanted.  

However this field turned out to be a tad muddy as well.  I was halfway through the turn when I realized I had made a grave error.  My car stopped moving, though the tires were spinning quite vigorously.  I had to call my dad for help, but there was nothing we could do.  

So my car got to spend the night in the field, and in the morning when the ground was frozen I was able to drive out.  

It was definitely an experience, one that I am NOT likely to repeat any time soon.

My Grandma celebrated a milestone birthday this weekend.  So Kelsey came home for the weekend and we had a party.  It was nice to see our relatives, and celebrate our wonderful grandmother!

I love to read in my spare time, though with all the reading I have been doing for school my poor brain needs a break sometimes.  I got this awesome hardcover Buffy comic book.  It is beautiful to look at, and very fun to read.  A good way to unwind after a long day of class and reading!


And finally, I'd like to leave you with a little sneak peek from a photo shoot Kelsey and I did this weekend.  We'll be doing a full post for it soon....so stay tuned!

p.s. ♥ jordyn

outfit post : oh deer

For today's outfit, I'm showing off my latest DIY - the "oh deer" bleached tank top. This has quickly become one of my favouite tops to pair with plaid flannels and oversized sweaters. It's just SO comfy and I probably wear it too much, but I feel absolutely no shame. It's that great. Parka : Aritzia  /  Toque : Korea  /  Mitts : Dollarama  /  Flannel top : Garage  /  

Tank Top : thrifted & diy'ed  /  Jeans : thrifted  /  Boots : Spring

Bracelets : wrap around made & gifted to me from Kelsey, the wooden beads are from Korea, and the others are from H&M

p.s. ♥ clara

diy : bleached "oh deer" tank top

Anyone who knows me knows that I say, "oh dear" too much and with this new craze over "deer", I thought it would be fitting to put the two together. So here it is, my version of the very popular bleached shirt diy with a silly pun! Oh dear, indeed... So here's what you need: 

I thrifted an oversized, comfy black tank top from Goodwill and for my deer stencil, I simply googled "deer silouette", found one that I liked, and then printed it in black and white. Simplicity is best.

{ i n s t r u c t i o n s }

1. stick your piece of cardboard underneath your tank top - this is to ensure that the bleach doesn't bleed through the back.
2. cut out your stencil and don't worry about being overly precise & accurate!
3. tape your tank top to your piece of cardboard so it doesn't shift around and then tape your stencil to where you want it on your tank top.
4. grab your paint brush, dip it in bleach, and paint away!

I added an extra touch to my tank top by free-handing a banner with the words "oh deer" and also doing a couple paint spatters, which can be done by simply flicking your paintbrush a couple inches away from your shirt. Get creative! There's so many different ways to make this diy uniquely "you".

This diy has quickly become one of my all-time favourite tank tops and I've received sooo many compliments and "where did you get this?" comments. So I encourage you, do your own twist and get a fabulous, unique, one-of-a-kind piece for your closet! You won't regret it :)

p.s. ♥ clara

tasty tuesday: as you like it - Shakespeare cookies

"If music be the food of love, play on."

-William Shakespeare

Jordyn and I really love attending plays, musicals and concerts, especially when they're local.  We attended Shakespeare's As You Like It last year at Jordyn's university, and were inspired to make some Shakespeare cookies!   One of Jordyn's friends was a member of the cast, so we dropped these off before the show as a treat!

For these cookies, all you need is a basic sugar cookie!

Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter
3/4 cup Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
1 TBSP Milk (or cream)
2 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder

Directions:
1) Cream butter - add sugar, vanilla, egg and milk; beat hard.
2) Add flour and baking powder to cream mixture and beat again.
3) Roll onto flour board and cut into shapes.
4) Bake at 400 degrees F for 5-6 minutes.

We used royal icing as our white base, but buttercream would work as well as long as you smooth it out nicely!

We chose to decorate most of the cookies with a few quotes from the play, as well as the stag motif which was a symbol within the play.  We also picked a few well-known quotes from Shakespeare in general to decorate the rest!

For the writing, I just melted down a few (maybe 1/4 of a cup) chocolate chips and placed it in a ziplock bag.  I snipped the corner of the bag and went to town writing!  I found that handwriting rather than printing the words was much easier, and that the trick is to write quickly!  Hesitating or worrying too much will cause shaky lines and more mistakes.  I also suggest practicing a bit on wax paper before you try it on a cookie!

For the stag's head, we found it easiest to pre-draw the lines on the back of wax paper, and then pipe the chocolate on over it.  We let them set completely in the freezer before placing them on the cookies.  Then we used a blow dryer to "melt" the heads to the cookies...we didn't want them falling off!

We hope you liked it!

p.s. ♥ kelsey and jordyn

weekly wrap-up: nerds and nesting

Now, some of you may have noticed this by now...but I'm definitely a nerd.  Aaand the above photo definitely showcases this fact quite clearly.  At least I'm not alone though! haha.  We took that winner of a picture in the living room of my apartment with my roommate Rochelle, and her boyfriend Joel.  We're all nerds, and we all are proud of it!

Since I've been back in Van since the Christmas break, I've been in a funny re-organization and "nesting" mood.  Thankfully, so has my roommate....so we've been doing a bit of rearranging and redecorating in our apartment, and I love it!  It's definitely a very small, compact apartment, which makes it quite difficult to go too crazy...and at times it's quite frustrating to make it look nice and homey without it becoming cluttered.   But we're getting there!

I picked up these three vases in Edmonton while I was visiting Clara!  They were cute, matched and were nice and cheap (a buck each!), so I couldn't resist.

This is right beside our front door, and perhaps my favorite new addition to our apartment.  Rochelle's boyfriend was kind enough to hang these both for us, and I'm in love!  I totally stole the idea for home sweet "home" from Clara, as she has a similar chalkboard hanging in her house....but I attempted to draw a hobbit hole, instead of a traditional house, since that's what we call our apartment.  And it's perfect to write each other notes on!

I also want to state how much I'm in love with my kobo glo!  I won 100 bucks from Chapters over Christmas (yipeee!!!), and treated myself to a kobo!  Although I'll never stop buying hard copies of books, I have fallen in love with how easy it is to bring sooo many books along with me wherever I go.  I've also figured out my library's e-book system, which has been so great!

And finally, I leave you with my favorite pair of shoes at the moment.  I received an incredible pair of handmade galaxy shoes from my crazy talented friend Ashley.  (you can check out Jordyn's pair HERE).  I was totes jealous of Jordyn's pair, and am super stoked to have my own!

p.s. ♥ kelsey

outfit post: soft blue button up + top knot love

Now I had a very specific source of inspiration for this outfit....

source

  (I even had a scarf picked out as well, and promptly forgot it in my apartment...haha, oops!).

I'm sure many of you have seen this image floating around pinterest, and I've always loved the simplicity of it.   It's casual chic perfected! 

I've been on the lookout for a simple blue button up for quite a while now, and managed scored this blue shirt during a boxing day sale! I instantly knew that this is how I wanted to style it.

It's definitely my new favorite, and I've worn it way too many days in a row already.  hehe.  It's just so soft and comfy, and can easily be dressed up or down.

I found this purse on a ridiculous sale at an Aldo outlet in downtown Van, and ended up nabbing it for 9 bucks...after tax!  I have a lot of medium size purses, and I love that this one is a bit smaller...making it more convenient when you don't want to bring much with you!

shirt: aeo // jeggings: aeo // purse: aldo // wedges: aldo

p.s. ♥ kelsey

diy: mason jar candles

Now this diy is quite special due to the fact that Jordyn and I were able to do it with our cousins in Alberta while we were out visiting for Christmas!  We're so blessed that are ONLY cousins on my mom's side are both girls, are both super close in age to us, and we always have a blast when we get together.  I just wish we could see them more than once or twice a year! 

jordyn, jenna, kelsey, randi

We decided to attempt to make our very own mason jar candles, after being inspired by the diy: teacup candles that are all over pinterest!  

Supplies:

-old candles, candles that are too strong (so you can mix with an unscented candle), dollar store candles, ugly candles, etc.

-wicks (with stickums is best.  stickum = metal disc at the end of the wick so you can glue it down!)

-tin can(s)

-dutch oven/wide pot

-knife

-cutting board

-mason jars

-skewers

-clothes pins

Directions:

1)  First you want dig out, scrape the wax out of any old candles, and chop up any new candles.

2)  Place your wax in a tin can, dividing up different scents and colours as you see fit. *we chose to mix a very strong scented candle with a couple unscented dollar store ones to help mellow out the scent!

3)  Set your tin cans in pot of gently simmering water, and stir constantly.

4)  While your wax is melting, you can prep the mason jars by hot gluing the wick stickum (aka the metal disc if you have one) to the bottom of each jar.  Then, use two skewers (one on either side of the wick) and two clothespins to hold the wick in the center of the jar {see photo below}.

5)  Once the wax is completely melted, pour into each jar.  *don't hesitate, or you'll get lines in your wax!

6)  Don't move your jars until wax is completely re-solidified!  

7)  Then feel free to decorate each jar to your choosing.  **check out our lace and burlap mason jar diy for ideas!

If you use dollar store candles, you can chop them down the middle, pull out the wick and stickum, and use those instead of buying your own!

Be super careful when handling hot wax!  It's a good idea to keep a cool, damp cloth on hand just in case of accidents.

These would make great gifts, and are also a nice little project to cozy up a home!

p.s. ♥ kelsey, (jordyn, randi & jenna)