Lookbook: Date Night Outfit Ideas

Lookbook: Date Night Outfit Ideas by fragglerocker on polyvore.com

A Compilation of Non-Intimidating Valentines

Because not everyone is ready to let that special someone know how they really feel, here's some inspiration for valentines cards that are casual enough to give to anyone.

 

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 Urban Outfitters 

Etsy

Upcoming Toronto Gigs

Heyyo, sorry it's been so long, but things get crazy in December/January (holidays, family, blah blah blah).

I have noticed that there are a HUGE amount of awesome concerts coming up in the Toronto area so I figured I would share them with ya'll. I will also do my best to do follow up posts on the gigs I attend myself (which will be most of them, I'm a certified groupie).



Balance and Composure with Safe to Say, Riot Acts, and Iris 
Thursday January 16th @ The Hard Luck Bar
722 Dundas St. West, Toronto
All Ages      Doors open @7pm
Tickets

Acoustic Basement Tour with Transit, Like Pacific
Wednesday February  @ The Hard Luck Bar
722 Dundas St. West, Toronto
All Ages    Doors open @
Tickets

For Today with Stray from the Path, The Plot in You, and Like Moths to Flames
Tuesday February 11th @ The Opera House
735 Queen St. East, Toronto
All Ages   Doors open @ 6pm
Tickets

Bring Me the Horizon and Of Mice & Men with Issues
Saturday February 22nd@ The Sound Academy
11 Polson St, Toronto
All Ages   Doors open @ 6pm
Tickets

Touche Amore with Seahaven, Caravels, and mewithoutYou
Monday February 24th @ Virgin Mobile Mod Club
722 College St. Toronto
All Ages     Doors open @ 7pm
Tickets

Memphis May Fire with Hands Like Houses, A Skylit Drive, The World Alive and Beartooth
Monday March 10th @ The Opera House
735 Queen St. East, Toronto
All Ages   Doors open @ 5:30pm
Tickets

La Dispute with Mansions and Pianos Become the Teeth
Monday April 7th @ The Opera House
735 Queen St. East, Toronto
All Ages   Doors open @ 7pm
Tickets


The Wonder Years with Citizen, Defeater, Real Friends, and Modern Baseball
Wednesday April 16th @ The Pheonix Concert Theatre
410 Sherbourne St. Toronto
All Ages    Doors open @ 6pm
Tickets

Vans Warped Tour with Mayday Parade, Anberlin, Cute Is What We Aim For, and more
Friday July 4th @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
908 Lake Shore Blvd West, Toronto
All Ages    Gates open @ 11am
Tickets

Ten Books I Haven't Read, But Most Definitely Should Read In the (very) Near Future (and so should you).

      As much as I truly do love to read, I am willing to admit that the collection on my bookshelf has yet to change since my big shopping trip in London this summer. Aside from the two books I read for english class this semester, I haven't actually finished a book since....August (oh the shame, I know).
    To get me out of this slump, I decided to look up a bunch books that would be too rad to turn down. I have compiled quite the list but chosen to share with you the ten books, including a combination of fictional novels, how-to guides, and graphic novels, that I will for sure attempt to get through over the next few months. I do have a four weeks off class as of last night, so I really really hope I can check a few off the list by then. Fingers crossed, toes crossed, colon crossed.


*eventually I will revisit this post with a short review of each book...but who knows how long that could take*




Love Is a Mix Tape: Life And Loss, One Song At A Time Paperback By Rob Sheffield

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera 

Poseur by Marc Spitz


Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine



The Importance Of Music To Girls by Lavinia Greenlaw



In Between Days By Andrew Porter


1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die By Robert Dimery


Eleanor & Park By Rainbow Rowell


Off Track Planet's Travel Guide By Off Track Planet



Teen Angst? Naaah... by Ned Vizzini

Mini Winter Lookbook

*I am not a model, the camera went off by itself* (haha jokes)

Moving along from that embarrassment...so a few days ago I needed to create a personal look book as part of an application, and I figured that I may as well share the results with you nice people. There are only three photos, hence "mini" in the title of this post, and they basically depict the three modes of my style in the fall/winter months (of course when going outdoors, I put on an extra seven layers) . Enjoy...

Denim shirt, thrifted. Vintage band shirt, was my dads. 

Black jeans, BDG. Misfits pin, had since I was ten. 

Crushed velvet top, thrifted. Acid wash jeans, BDG.

Shoes, Converse. Gold chains, Forever21. 

Velvet hair srunchie, American Apparel. 

Cropped sweater, Primark. Velvet skirt, H&M.

Purple tights, H&M. Studded flats, DIY. 

Late Night Bites: Vegan Bran Muffins With Blueberries Chocolate Chips and Cinnamon

While I haven't done a whole lot of baking now that I'm living on my own with only a tiny little kitchen, and not a lot of spare time or money, I did scrape together some easy- peasy -lemon -squeezy- muffins a few weeks ago that taste uber delicious, and are somewhat healthy (you know,  for a muffin).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of wheat bran
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of cane sugar (or replace with Stevia)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of egg replacement + two teaspoons of water
1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1-2 cups of fresh blueberries
1 cup of vegan chocolate chips



Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit, and then mix together wheat bran, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and HALF of the cinnamon. Then add the egg replacement and water, and applesauce until it's a nice soft, thick texture. Next add the chocolate and blueberries and fill a regular lined muffin pan with a large amount of the mix filling 2/3 of each hole. Use the reaming cinnamon to sprinkle on top of each muffin, and stick in the oven for about 15 minutes or until a fork comes out clean. 

And of course, the final step would be to enjoy the muffins with a nice glass of almond milk, and then send the rest to me mwhahaha :)

Hell Yeah it's the Holiday(s) Gift Guide

Can I get a 'Hell Yeah"??? Yes? No? Doesn't matter, it is officially the Holiday season, as decided by me, as I'm now finished my first semester at uni. And if like me, you don't get all of your shopping done the day after Halloween, I have a few awesome gift suggestions that anyone on your list would be stoked to find under the tree.

I've included lots of gender neutral gifts, and all cost less than $50.00 (bonus!!)

For Your Tea Lovin' Pal

David's Tea Merry Collection

This cute little box comes with 3 packs of loose leaf holiday-related teas, Ceylon Star, 
Mint Chocolate Rooibos, (my personal fav), and Toasted Walnut and ten filters (but I asked a worker at David's tea, and she recommended getting a few extra paper filters or a reusable infuser).


Each pack makes about 5 cups of tea, so it's a pretty sweet deal, pun intended,  for $12.50 considering a hot cup would cost $3 each.

You can pick this up either online or in store (hurray!)

Mugs Galore!                                                                                   

Because no cup o' tea is complete unless you have a nifty mug to drink it out of, I've put together a few fun designs that suit a variety of tastes. All of the mugs pictured can be purchased online through Urban Outfitters, and probably eBay and Amazon as well. The blue and white speckled mug is $8 and perfect for anyone who likes a soft, vintage style. The shape and pattern just makes me think of camping and fire! The centre mug is a bit pricey ($24, yikes!), but to my defence, look how cute it is!!!! and the little panda siting on the edge is actually a spoon, so really it's like two gifts, sorta. Although I'm a baby when it comes to spicy food, Spiracha has had a huge year, and I know tons of folks who would love to receive this mug, it may even be worth something some day if the factory really does close down :(:(

Comfy Cozy Gifts

Paddywax Glass Candles

These super gorgeous, super smelly good-y candles by Paddywax not only come in a huge variety of scents, sizes, and jar designs, but they are also made from soy wax (whoohoo vegan!!) and are actually pretty affordable for such high quality (Prices range from $10 to $25). Unlike a lot of reasonably priced glass candles, Paddywax don't include huge stickers on their jars, and instead have a more antique feel,  making them perfect for those finicky about their home decor.

I LOVE the Ocean Tide and Sea Salt (pictured) and the Pomegranate and Spruce scents :)








Society6 Pillows

Pillows are probably one of the top 5 best things in life, and these wicked printed throw pillows from Society6 even make top 3. If you are unfamiliar with Society6, you really need to change that. They allow artists to sell their prints, pillows, t-shirts, whatever they want. Society6 produces, sells, and distributes the products, and the artist makes money!! It's a win win. I've featured just a few favourites of mine, but there are hundreds of styles to choose from, and every pillow costs only $20.00.

Festive Bath Bombs

The cold weather is here, meaning flaking skin, chapped lips, dry hair, and a real need for some bath time pampering. Every year, LUSH brings out a whole bunch of awesome festive gifts, including bath bombs, massage bars, and soaps. I personally love the little penguin bubble bomb, and the melting snowman massage bar (who smells like cinnamon fyi!!).

And for $5 to $9, they make great stocking stuffers, and are perfect if you need just a small gift for a secret santa, because who doesn't like adorable soap right??

For Musicians, Moshers, and Groupies Alike

Ticket Stub Diary

This hardcover half diary/half scrapbook is perfect for anyone in your life who's favourite pass-time is crowd surfing, or checking out museums, movies, going on train rides, anything that requires a ticket really. The book has little pockets to keep your stubs safe and sound, and writing space on the side to take note of how many guitar picks you caught at the show.
This is for sure the one thing on this list that I personally NEED in my life (*wink wink nudge nudge* mom, I hope you're reading this).


It's the next best gift to an actual concert ticket, plus it probably cost much less (around $15).


Beauty Babes Will Love...

Tarte 6-piece liner & lash set

                                                                                   

Because everyone has that certain someone in their life who refers to Sephora  as a home away from home, I've included a lovely gift set from Tarte Cosmetics. Firstly, Tarte is great, just super awesome for many reasons. All products are 100% vegan, never tested on animals, and use all natural ingredients (and the quality ain't too shabby either). 

For the holidays, Tarte has put out a few gift sets, which are all beautifully packaged and cost much less than if you were to purchase each item individually. I've featured the Lash and Liner set, which costs $40.00, but they also have gloss and face sets if your friend already has enough eyeliner to last into their senior years.





DIY

Hot Chocolate Mix

I always find that giving gifts is wayyyy better than receiving, and the most fun gifts to give are the ones you make yourself. A mason jar full of hot chocolate mix is a super duper cute and thoughtful gift that can be really inexpensive, especially if you buy the ingredients in bulk and then separate them into multiple gifts!

For this mix, all you need is a mason jar with a lid, (you can get these at most dollar stores or grocery stores) sugar, cocoa powder, powdered milk, chocolate chips, and candy canes/peppermint candy. Just layer each ingredient in equal amounts, put the lid on top and tie with a pretty bow. Marshmallows can also be added, as well as cinnamon, nutmeg, espresso, etc. 

Substitutions can easily be made as well, this is YOUR creation remember, make it how you want. And fellow vegans, just remember to add the word VEGAN in front of all the ingredients (I think it in my mind and heart, but I don't always write it).

And if you would like a more detailed set of instructions, check out this lovely blog.