Andrea's 18th Birthday Dinner

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my baby cousin's 18th birthday. I say baby cousin as a joke, because she's - oh my god - eighteen now which means I've gotten really old. Didn't I turn 18 not too long ago? I still feel 18, mentally. Anyway, we went to L'Academie, a restaurant that's situated in the same mall I worked at for a couple of years. It's a good restaurant, it's got a bit of everything to please everyone. The prices are decent enough that you won't break your wallet by going there. Plus it's bring your own wine, which is always a plus. 

Christmas-fied Room

I decided to dive into the holiday spirit and decorated my room for Christmas. I picked up most of these decorations at the Dollar store and Canadian Tire. I'm hoping to find a more season-appropriate bedspread, because the pink flowers are way too summery for my room. 

Life Update + Topshop Mini Haul

I haven't been writing a lot lately mainly because,

a. I haven't been anywhere remotely interesting.
b. I'm in that weird transitional period where I'm still waiting for my online orders to arrive.
c. School is really kicking my butt, you guys.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Cheekies! Yes, that's what you're all called from now. There's only about 50 minutes left of Halloween for me and I'm so sad it's over. Halloween is one of my favourite holidays, mainly because of the costumes and the candy. Those are the only important parts, right? I spent the evening handing out candy with my zombie family, as we blasted Thriller through out living room windows, and threatened to eat children's brains. We also made two kids cry, which made me giggle naughtily - I'm sorry, kids.

Halloween Cupcakes

I was feeling a little Martha Stewart today, so I decided to make some Halloween themed cupcakes. I usually make them straight out of the box, but I decided to be adventurous and made them completely from scratch. You know what? They're obviously much better than the ready mix stuff. They taste a lot fluffier and a lot less greasy than usual, they're delicious. Anyway, I got the recipe from canadianliving.com and I thought I'd share it with you guys because it was so easy to make! I got about seventeen cupcakes in total, and it took maybe about thirty minutes in total. This is the simplest recipe I could find, it's a great project for a Sunday afternoon.

Chihuly: Utterly Breathtaking

My cousin and I had planned to go see the Chihuly exhibit at the Fine Arts Museum for ages, but we never got around to it. Luckily, when I thought my chance to see was out of the picture, they extended it! Do I need another clue? So went bought our tickets and went with a couple of friends. I had been so curious about this exhibit ever since my last trip to the museum a couple of weeks ago. I didn't know anything about the artist, but I was really looking forward to seeing his work.

Apple Picking

Over Thanksgiving weekend, my parents and I decided to go apple picking because a) I had been dying to go and b) it would be a great excuse to take a million pictures for the blog. I'm so lame, I plan out activities because they give me a reason to whip out my camera. Anyway, it was such a beautiful day, it almost didn't feel like October. The weather has been a lot colder lately, and I can't believe it was only a few weeks ago that I was talking around in a plain shirt with no coat on. We drove all the way to Mont St-Gregoire, which is about 30 minutes away from our house. We went to the Denis Charbonneau Orchard and Cidery. 

Zombie Walk

I know, I'm an awful blogger. I haven't written in over a week and I would like to say it's because I've been super busy at school and work, but that would be a lie. Honestly, I've just been having one of those past couple of days where all I want to do is stay in and watch Doctor Who nonstop. I haven't felt very inspired lately, which is really disappointing. I've done quite a few things in the last few weeks, I just need to push myself and write about them. So, I'll start by the most exciting bit, and that's the Montreal Zombie Walk that happened over the weekend. I was very excited to finally go, because I couldn't attend last year. 

Eurotrip: Cardiff & The Doctor Who Experience

Warning, this post will contain a large amount of fan girl.

During my last trip to Wales, the boyfriend and I had a quick day trip to the lovely capital, Cardiff. It's probably one of my favourite cities in the entire world, it's so beautiful. Besides, where else do you find a castle that is centuries old in the middle of a city? It also has an insane shopping district where I could probably get lost for hours if someone let me. This is the kind of city I'd love to live in one day. It's our compromise, the boyfriend and I, because it's not too busy (like London) and not too small (perfect for me).

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Last Thursday, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts for a school assignment. My partner and I were tasked with exploring a museum in the city and we settled on this classic. I'd been to the museum before, but it's always such a fun experience. Honestly, Montreal is full of fascinating places like this one. Best of all, it's free! You only pay for the temporary collection. Right now, there's a showing on glass art called Chihuly, which is why there's a great glass art piece right in the front of the museum. Isn't it beautiful? I'm hoping to go see Chihuly before it ends, because it looked really awesome.

My favourites: September

So my favourite month of the year is already underway (it's my favourite because it's my birthday month), so I thought it would be a good time to introduce my September Favourites. Basically, it'll be a list of all the products I've used obsessively over the last couple of weeks, or movies I've seen, or music I've heard, or anything I've been adoring. This list is completely random, but here it goes.

Montreal Comiccon 2013

It's become a tradition of sorts that every year, me and cousin attend the Montreal Comiccon. I still remember when the 'Con was set at Bonaventure and how small it was. These days, it's a major event in the city where all geeks and nerds unite for a full weekend of activities. They had events happening Thursday night! We went on the very last day of Comiccon, because neither of us could get time off work on Saturday. Nevertheless, it was a really fun day. We showed up bright and early, and hardly waited in line at all. I remember last year we waited almost an hour to get inside. Oddly enough, we had also bought our tickets in advance last year. 

Don't put dreams aside.

I think a lot about the future.

Like a lot.

And I love making lists. Lists what I want to accomplish, where I want to travel, and what I want to learn. There are many lists and sometimes I think I should write those lists on my wall to keep me inspired. Sometimes, life can be a little mundane and it's hard to remember what you're looking forward to. That's why I make those list, because I don't want to lose sight of what I want to do. It's almost like when Ellie in Up made that adventure book? It motivated her to go on her own adventures. I have my own version of that, it's a small notebook where I write whatever goes through my head. Quotes I like, ideas I have, pictures that inspire me. It's an everything notebook.

Tell 'em that it's my birthday

So although my birthday was last weekend, I didn't get a chance to celebrate with my friends until the next week. I would have put up the pictures earlier, but as expected, I woke up very hungover and didn't do much for the rest of the day. Excuse my lack of updates, I have a couple of posts written up but I have no picture yet. Plus, it was the first week of my last year of university, so I've been busy, busy busy.

Anyway, click below for the drunken debacle that was my 22nd birthday.

If we just keep dancing like we're 22

I'm turning 22 in less than two days.

Twenty two.

It's crazy fast time flies, doesn't it? I don't feel 22. Sometimes I think I'm still 18 mentally. I always thought I would be in a completely different place at 22. I thought 22 was an age where I knew where my career was going, I lived on my own, and I would be happy. One out of three ain't so bad, now is it? I am happy. There are a lot of circumstances I would change if I could, but I can't right now. I have to be patient and let things work themselves out.

Baptism with la Familia

So last Saturday was my cousin Xavier's baptism. It was a lovely day, super sunny and warm. I honestly had no clue what to wear because I hate feeling stuffy and sweaty on a special occasion. I finally settled on a dress from Nasty Gal, which I absolutely love. It isn't pictured above because I have a horrible habit of rarely getting in front of the camera - the shame. Anyway, everyone looked beautiful. It took place in a beautiful church in Longueuil, where my aunt also got married. 

Paris, Part II

On our second day in Paris, the boyfriend and I met up with my cousin Sarah who was on her own Eurotrip with her friends. It took us a few wrong turns and a lot of arguing but we managed to randomly bump into her on a random street of Paris. How perfect was that? We didn't have any set plans for the day except to follow her and her friends around. 

It feels like home.

I never planned on living elsewhere. Montreal has always been my home, until about two years ago when it simply didn't feel like home anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love this city. I always will. It's exciting in its own ways and it's beautiful. It's my family and friends and everything I've ever known. But for the last few months I've been toying with the idea of moving to the UK to be with my boyfriend and now it's not really a vague dream? We have plans. We're saving up. I'm reading about visas, getting ticket updates, and trying to adapt my CV for another country. It's very scary.

Paris, Part I

Paris. I've been dreaming of going there ever since... well I don't actually remember. Maybe it was since Anastasia when all she could say was, 'we'll meet in Paris?' Perhaps. Either way, the city has always fascinated me and I was lucky enough to spend an entire three days there. Here is day one, which was spent exploring our neighbourhood after a long day of traveling from Johnston to Swansea, from Swansea to London, and from London to Paris. It took a few trains and one plane, but we got there in the early morning and jumped on the metro to get to our apartment. Renting an apartment when traveling is ideal for me, because you are free to come in and out as you wish, it is private, and you get a better feel of the city when you almost live there. Plus, it is a lot cheaper than a hotel, and much nicer than a youth hostel. 

La Chilenita

Last wednesday was my dad's birthday, so I decided to treat him to one of his favourite restaurants in the city, La Chilenita. There are two locations: 152 Rue Napoléon and 64 Rue Marie-Anne Ouest, both in Montreal. We went to the Marie-Anne location which is near Mont-Royal. I absolutely love this restaurant, it is everything I could ask for. It's a sit-down restaurant, although you can order to take out as well. It's a tiny shop that specializes in Chilean dishes, such as empanadas and sandwiches. They also offer a variety of mexican dishes.

Eurotrip: Disneyland Paris

When I finally came around convincing my boyfriend to go to Paris with me this summer, the winning argument included one word: Disneyland. Both of us are avid Disney fans (I grew up wanting to be Belle, he loves Aladdin), so it was only natural that we would go see where the magic came from. It might not be the original Disneyland, but it was pretty awesome. Nothing was about to ruin my day, not even the rainy weather that hit us in the morning. Luckily, by the time we were done with our first ride, the sun was out.

Gay Pride Weekend

I had such a great time at Montreal's LGBT parade and Community day. My parents and I drove early into the city to make sure we didn't miss a single thing. The day was bright and sunny, which was perfect for such a joyous parade. Everyone, from children to retirees, had come to support the LGBT community of Montreal (and the world). It was a fantastic time and I definitely recommend you check it out if you're ever in the city for that time.

Le Roy Pendu

Last friday evening, I was leaving work when I got a call from my best friend, Val. She invited me out to try out some tapas at the bistro Le Roy Pendu. I had never heard of this place before, and with an "all-you-can-eat" menu from 5 to 8, it seemed like a deal I couldn't pass up. So I took the metro to Montreal and ended up in Plateau Mont Royal for some delicious food.

Books and Ramen

I spent my last day off work hanging out with my friends for a bit. We didn't actually do anything particularly interesting, we mostly hung around Indigo for a few minutes before trekking to a tiny Korean restaurant whose name escapes me. The food was delicious, as always, and very cheap. Winning combination? Obviously, for any college student with a budget. I had some beef ramen, which was just spicy enough so I didn't have to hog the water from everyone else. I'd definitely order that again. 

This is the dreaded introductory post.

BLANK.