Instagram

Just sharing a few Instagram photos from the last month or so. You can follow me @iiilyana. I have the same twitter username as well. Cheers!

Lovely message on my Starbucks drink from my former assistant manager. 

Girls' night at Fireside

Green tea ice cream from Arirang Korean Restaurant

Stone Bi bim map from Arirang Korean Restaurant

Music Monday

WISHED FOR SNOW & GOT SNOW

American Eagle toggle coat, H&M scarf, J. Crew shirt, Levi's jeans, Sorel Joan of Arctic boots

WHAT'S IN MY BAG?

Since my classes are resuming tomorrow, I thought I would take pictures of all the things that will be coming with me to school tomorrow. With the exception of this semester's books, which I have yet to buy, and a reusable water bottle that's in my kitchen, here's the list of things I keep in my school bag.

Since first year, I had a working Dell. It held up pretty well for three and a half years and ran all the programs I needed. However, the battery conked out early last year and the only time I could use it was if it was plugged in, which is highly impractical if I were using it in class. By November, I needed a computer that could travel easily and could run programs faster. I was debating between the MBP and the Dell XPS 14z, but in the end I chose Mac because of all the hype about its OS. So far, I've been impressed but I'm nowhere near the state of Steve Jobs idolatry.

I got my iPhone December of 2010 and I can safely say it's the most practical and worthwhile purchase in the history of my consumerism. It's my watch when I don't have one, my alarm clock, my internet when I just want to stay in bed, my primary news source, and my phone. Also, FaceTime is the most amazing thing for long distance relationships.

You've seen this on the blog before. This is the Amazon Kindle 3 with wi-fi, and I use it to read books on the bus or just right before I go to bed. I've also used it to store PDF files of readings, which I prefer over reading on a computer screen or printing off on paper. It's less strain on the eyes and better for the environment. 

Food! I need to constantly have food in my system or else I get really light-headed and pale; not to mention, my stomach growls (and it increases every time I get more anxious about it). 

The matches are not for "reading a magazine" as the cast of How I Met Your Mother would describe it. I got it from a smoke shop in Toronto and figured I'd keep it in my bag in case of a Zombie Apocalypse. As for the bag of girly secrets, it's made up of monthly necessities and makeup. 

Angry Little Girls wallet that Dan bought for me in Banff. He said the girl reminded him of me, so clearly there's some sentimental value there. 

Where do I keep all this stuff? In this overly-edited (colours are way off) Fjallraven Kanken backpack in the Frost Green colour and classic size. It's a perfect size for my small frame but it's just large enough to fit a 13" MBP in the inside sleeve. It comes with two side pockets/sleeves which are just narrow enough to fit an iPhone, keys, bus pass and ID for easy access. Oh, and I've also got a Brip, the Ugly Doll, keychain because I love it. Don't you?

NEW YEAR & NEW RESOLUTIONS

I wrote this post on a new blog over at Wordpress. I'm not quite sure whether I want to stick with this one or start a new one over there. Ideally, I'd get a wordpress.org account and self-host, but I can't justify paying for it when I'm so indecisive about blogging platforms.

It’s officially 22 hours into 2012 where I live. Last night, my brother told me not to spend anything on the first day of the year or else I would continue to spend frivolously throughout the year. The day isn’t over but I guess it’s fair to say that I’ve accomplished that small feat. If that should give any indication to my ability to follow through on goals and resolutions, then I’m stoked for 2012. This year, I graduate from university, I visit the Philippines after four and a half years, I plan to move out west, and I hope to figure out what I really want to do for the rest of my life. The only thing that can turn this year of infinite potential into a complete bust is me.

To usher in the new year and get myself motivated about getting shit done, I thought of coming up with a list of resolutions that address all aspects of my life (original, right?).

School & Career

• Get involved in more extra-curricular and volunteer activities
  • Take pictures again for the school newspaper, get involved with the new NGO, seek other projects and organizations in campus
• Improve your GPA – kick ass this semester
• Graduate in Fall 2012
• Apply for grad school 2013-?
  • Build relationships with your profs so you can get those letters of recommendation
• Gain work experience – apply for a legit job that relates to your degree

Finances

• Save up for pocket money and travel money to use in the Philippines
• Pay off at least 50% of student debt by December 31, 2013
• Save up enough money for the big move

Life

• Summer vacation in the Philippines
• The big move
  • Move to the bigger city (Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, or Vancouver)
  • Save up enough money to cover the costs for 3 months
• Whatever happens and wherever we go, we are making this relationship work ♥
• Gain life skills – driver’s license, cooking, handiness, taxes, etc.
• Improve creative skills – photograph more; write more
• Exercise and eat better
  • Eat healthier, less processed stuff
  • Gain weight!
• Start a blog, stick to it, and update frequently
• Prove those Mayans wrong and make it out alive

It’s a rough list and it definitely needs to be developed more as the year progresses. Looking at it all laid out is so completely overwhelming that I just want to crawl under the covers and never leave. But I have to constantly remind myself to start working on the list and finishing them. If I keep doing, I avoid the likelihood that this list becomes nothing more than a meaningless blog post on New Year’s day. I probably need to set this post as the homepage on my browser, screen cap it and set it as my desktop wallpaper, and print it and tape it to my wall. It might be excessive, but it might just be the kick of motivation I need.

Chrismukkaholidays

Topshop sweater, Forever 21 pants and necklace, Joe ankle boots

Happy holidays to everyone who might chance upon this blog. Here's a simple outfit I wore to Christmas eve mass and dinner with the family.

New Year's resolution: more blog posts and more detailed blog posts. For now, I have to get back to my holiday break.

Christmas Wish List

It' been a while since my last post. Honestly, I just haven't been very motivated to take pictures or write. It was finals week and then I had my first week of vacation, and I just wanted to spend the time away from an eye-straining screen and a keyboard.

I know it's a little late for a Christmas wish list, but I thought I'd share it anyway. I got most of the things I wished for this year, thanks to my own hard work and perseverance (heh) and my loving friends and family. It's weird, because I had such a difficult time coming up with a wish list. It wasn't that I had a hard time narrowing things down. It's just that it was so hard for me to come up with things I really, really wanted. From no particular order, here's a list of eight things I would love to see under the Christmas tree.

One of these two pairs of boots will most likely be Dan's Christmas gift to me. We haven't gotten each other presents yet because he's been so busy that we agreed to order each other's presents after New Year's, when he gets back to Halifax. The boot on the right is Sorel's Joan of Arctic Winter boot, which is the most practical choice in terms of keeping my toes warm and frostbite free this winter. The boot on the left is the taupe version of Betsey Johnson's suede Daynaa boot. It has scalloped edges, an optional fold over style, and a Marilyn Monroe print on the bottom of the shoe. 

The next two things on my list are bath and skincare stuff. For months now, I've been trying to make the shift to more natural bath and skincare products. I now only use sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner and Lush moisturizer. Speaking of Lush, a few nights ago I took a bath with the Comforter bubble bar, and it reminded me of Lush's awesome bath bombs and bubble bars. I take showers more often, so a Lush bath to me feels like an in-home spa experience every time. For soaps, I recommend Honey I Washed the Kids and Alkmaar, for bath bombs, I recommend Butterball and Twilight, and for bubble bars, the Comforter. Recently, I got a sample of the Josie Maran Argan Oil from Sephora and I love what it did for my dry skin. For almost $15 for a 0.5oz bottle, I figured there had to be a cheaper alternative. I found the site natural.ca which sells natural, organic, and local skincare products. My first order will probably be the Skin Management Program and a generous bottle of their Argan oil. 

MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium because my dry skin loves it and I'm almost out, and Roots wool socks because they are the socks of your typical Canadian (I'd wear these for luck during my family's citizenship test) and they look super warm. 

Now we're talking the more expensive things on the wish list - things I would not feel comfortable having people buy for me. On the left is Dannijo's Hixson necklace, a gorgeous silver plated peter pan collar necklace adorned with colourful Swarovski crystals. To be honest, I would take anything from Dannijo because they're tough, man-repeller-inspired jewelry is right up my alley. On the right, we have Soia & Kyo's Collette Toggle Coat, a camel-coloured pea coat with fur trim and roomy pockets (I love pockets). This isn't necessarily the coat I want as it was the first thing that caught my eye when I searched for wool toggle coats. A toggle coat in navy or camel with wood and leather details would be absolute perfection. Link me if you've seen something similar to what I've described.