Beauty Review: Bumble + Bumble Surf Spray

I know that summer is gone and autumn has arrived but that doesn't mean beach waves are out! I heard great reviews on Bumble and Bumble surf spray, minus the cost (man is it expensive) I bought a little, tiny, miniscule bottle of this stuff for $18 and it's literally the size of my palm, it's insane! When purchasing the bottle from Sephora, I also got a sample of their Shampoo and Conditioner. 

See how the bottle is literally the size of the sample package, pff. Anyways, I have used the surf spray by itself before and I wasn't hugely impressed, I definitely don't use it everyday (plus I try to savor the little bottle that I do have). It makes my already coarse hair even coarser and the waves aren't a HUGE difference. I thought maybe the shampoo and conditioner working with the surf spray would work together to make the waves softer. 

This is my hair naturally. Washed with my regular shampoo and conditioner: Moroccan Oil. 

My natural hair already has a bit of natural wave to it, let's see if B&B was able to define my waves a little more. 

Washed with Bumble and Bumble Shampoo and Conditioner. Sprayed with Bumble and Bumble when hair was damp. 

My hair actually looks flatter in the first picture than it does my natural hair. The second picture you can see some of the defined waves. I ended up putting my hair up because I didn't even like the way my waves turned out. Overall, not worth the money. My hair was (sort of) smoother using the shampoo and conditioner together with the surf spray rather than using the surf spray by itself, but not drastically. I won't be buying a big bottle of surf spray anytime soon, it's just not worth the money. 

How To Travel Across the Country With a Cat

I've made it back to Ontario safe and sound! After a long 40 hour drive across Canada, with zero leg room, I'm back in Ontario. I wish I took some pictures to share with you the beautiful country of mine, but we didn't make many scenic stops. One of the obstacles we had to endure during out roadtrip was travelling with a cat. If you're a cat owner, you know how difficult it is to travel with a cat. Unlike dogs, cats don't spend their afternoons poking their head out of car windows. Cats don't like change, and being put into a car is something unknown to most of them. We discussed how we were going to travel with Duke, and most of our decisions were made during the trip. Here are some tips if you will be traveling with a cat.

Duke is lying comfortably on Mommy.

1. A (big) pet cage

I hated the thought of having Duke in a cage for forty hours, but in order to travel as safely as possible, it needed to be done. We purchased a medium-sized dog cage for Duke. Small cat cages would of given him no room at all, the dog cage was a little bigger, provided more air (especially in a packed car), enabled him to relax comfortably and had enough room for food (and later a litter box). When we would stop, we would let him out of the car for twenty minutes to stretch his legs. We felt bad having him in a cage for so long we attempted to let him out while we drove, but cats are curious animals and wanted to explore the whole car and jump on the driver's lap (not safe). As sad as it is to see your little guy stuck in a cage for a long period of time, it would be worse to have an accident because your little guy was jumping around everywhere. A pet cage is extremely necessary. 

2. A good music playlist 

Summer, what does music have to do with a cat? Well, it has to do with your sanity. Unlike dogs, cats aren't used to sticking their head out of the car window on sunny afternoons. Cats don't like change, and therefore are scaredy cats when it comes to driving. They will meow, this is inevitable. But the good news is, they won't meow forever. The first hour they will meow, and they will cry, and you will try and give them attention, and give them lots of treats, but it won't work. They are scared, because they are not used to driving in cars. After an hour or two, they will get used to the car motion and they will quiet down and relax. But for the first hour, you are going to need a good music playlist to try and drown out the sound of the meowing. 

3. A litterbox (in the cage if possible)

Referencing back to the first tip, we got a bigger cage for Duke so he could move around, but he pooped everywhere in the cage. By the time we found a safe spot to pull over and clean his cage out, he got it all in his fur. After this disturbing incident we decided to put the litter box in his cage. This makes it much easier to clean out. We cleaned it out as soon as he went to the bathroom so he wouldn't be sitting in his own filth. It saves you, and the cat a lot of time cleaning up. Trained cats are also hesitant to go to the bathroom without their litter box, we realized this is a big reason Duke was meowing so much because he had to go to the bathroom and he didn't know where to go. Just make sure to clean it out asap! 

4. Treats!

Give your cat treats. Especially if they have been a good boy/girl. They aren't used to driving in cars, or being enclosed in such small spaces. They deserve one!

5. Give them love

Let them out of their cage once in a while, lots of kisses and petting. Duke calmed down a lot after the first time we let him out, he realized we didn't hate him and this wasn't punishment. He was such a good kitty on the trip!

6. They need exercise

Again, they are not used to be enclosed in such small spaces. And even though cats aren't as active as dogs, they need to stretch and walk around just as much. Being in a cage for as long as they may be isn't fun. 

Overall, we thought Duke would be meowing the entire way, and we would need to invest in top of the line ear plugs. He was actually the most amazing kitty. Of course during the first hour we thought that's what the rest of the trip would be like, but it was the complete opposite! Sometimes we were like "Duke, Duke, why are you not meowing, are you okay?" and we would stop to make sure he was alive because he was so silent, but he was just relaxing and being a "bro" as Paul would say. 

Beauty Review: Moroccan Oil

A few days ago I posted a review about my disappointment with Wen products. I received some comments which were half and half, some people have noticed results, and others haven't. I guess this product really is a hit and miss. The next product I'm going to review is Moroccan Oil.

Products purchased:

- Moroccan Oil Hydrating Shampoo

- Moroccan Oil Hydrating Conditioner

- Moroccan Oil Hydrating Styling Cream

- Moroccan Oil Treatment

- Moroccan Oil Intense Hydrating Mask

- Moroccan Oil Dry Scalp Treatment

- Moroccan Oil Lumious Hairspray

One thing is for sure, these products are not cheap. For my usual frugal self, this was a lot of money to cough up (ALTHOUGH I do get a 30% discount on these products from where I work so that helped out with the damage to my wallet). I realized that there are some products that you need to splurge on (this is hard for me to admit). I have extremely intangible hair, and after years of drugstore $3 shampoo's, it was time for a change. 

Wen is an expensive product too, so I was a little nervous to be spending this much on hair products knowing that the last expensive hair product I used did worse to my hair than better. I have been looking through my computer and phone for pictures of my obnoxious hair but I usually just throw it in a bun. Sorry there are no before and after pictures for you to compare with, but just take my word for it!

I love Moroccan Oil. I can't express to you how much I adore their products. My hair has never been smoother or healthier. I rarely get knots, and if I do they don't take that long to brush out. My hair smells aaaamaamaamamazing. I can't believe I have gone so long without using their products, it's worth every single penny. The products I find most beneficial is the hydrating conditioner, Moroccan oil treatment, and intense hydrating mask. I'll definitely be purchasing those products again, although I think all the products are fantastic. If you have uncontrollable hair like me and are willing to spend a few extra bucks for that beautiful, post-salon feeling hair, I highly suggest getting your hands on Moroccan Oil. 

Ink Love

It's no secret that I'm terrified of needles, so there is a slim to zero chance that I will ever get a tattoo. "Summer the needles are different" yeah.. still not happening. Also I'm a pretty indecisive person I feel if I got a tattoo I would hate it the next day. Even though I don't plan on getting a tattoo that doesn't mean that I don't like them. I do however think a lot of people just get a tattoo to have a tattoo and never put any thought into them, if I like your tattoo you're one of the lucky ones because I'm pretty picky when it comes to body art (especially tribal tattoos.. do not get started on tribal tattoos) Here are some tattoo ideas that I like

Such a neat idea for sister tattoos! 

Constellation tattoo instead of the overused zodiac symbol

Do you have a tattoo? What kind of tattoo would you never get?

Rules For Being a Modern Lady

I prefer to wear floral dresses, boys must open doors and pay on the first date, I cross my legs, I will put a napkin on my lap, I chew with my mouth closed, I am obedient, I hate people who spit, I floss my teeth, I say please and thank you, I give up my seat on the bus for the handicap and senior citizens, I always tip at least 15%, I say excuse me, I am overly emotional, I like to dance, I am never tardy, I don't put my elbows on the table, I love wearing lipstick, I love fashion, I constantly watch chick-flicks, flowers make me smile 

I have a bad temper, I hate tea, I prefer beer over wine, rum over vodka, I swear like a sailor, I burp a lot and think it's funny, I fart and I think it's funny, I think farting noises in general are really funny, I like action films, I know how to throw a punch, I have kissed too many boys, I should probably shave more frequently, I don't brush my hair everyday, I only wear make up on special occasions, I don't cook, I don't clean, I am extremely messy, I bite my nails, I chew my lip, I crack my knuckles, I can rap "Superman" by Eminem off by heart, I eat too much fast food, I hate fruit, I stopped playing with Barbies at 6. 

Clearly I am not the typical 17th century lady and nor should you be. This is the 21st century ladies! And if you're confused what it means to be a lady well it doesn't mean you have to wear pink, cook meals for your husband when he comes home from work or even have children. Here I have created for you rules to being a modern lady. 

10 Rules For Being a Modern Lady 

1. I will not call another woman a slut, whore, tramp, slag or prude:

If a girl is sleeping with the entire football team good for her for challenging sexual norms. After the sexual revolution you'd think that these terms would have disappeared. It's time that "player" isn't known as a positive term and "slut" as a negative term. If you want to have sex, do it. If you don't want to have sex, don't. It's a females right to wait for the right person if she wants to and if she wants to lose her virginity to the guy she met at the bar with the awesome beard let her be. If a girl is sleeping with your boyfriend (also refer to rule #10) and she did not know that he was in a relationship LEAVE HER ALONE. If she did know that your boyfriend had a girlfriend well she is not a modern lady and should be burned at the stake (kidding) you are dating him not her. If she isn't your friend she probably doesn't owe you anything and the only person you should be getting mad at is your boyfriend, who clearly is a douche canoe and you should dump him immediately. If she was your friend then it's time to yell a few curse words and drop her as a friend.. pronto. 

2. I will not call another woman ugly or fat

If you have ever been called ugly or fat please raise your hand (I raised my hand as well). I have been called every word in the book and it doesn't feel nice. I'm sure at least once in your life you have been called ugly, even Megan Fox has! I'm also sure at least once in your life you have called another female this. Stop. If you know how much it hurts to be called these words will it really make you feel better if you say it to them? All women are beautiful and all women have beautiful bodies. A lot of people have misconceptions about obese women. Not every woman can help that they are overweight. Some have thyroid problems, some it's nearly impossible to lose the weight no matter how many times a week they go to the gym or how many Big Mac combos they skip out on. Stop thinking that these people who are visually overweight aren't healthy. Even if they aren't trying to lose weight, who cares! It isn't your body so stop judging theirs. Everyone's body is beautiful even your friend with the webbed toe has a beautiful body so stop thinking otherwise!!! 

3. I will love my body no matter what the scale tells me

I personally have had issues with my weight. I was a chubby toddler and would be told constantly how fat I was, not fun. When I grew up I was always curvier than most girls, I had hips when I was 11 and people would call me the girl with the awkward huge hips (birth will be easier for me!) In Grade 7 I was around 125 and by the ninth grade I only weight 98 pounds and for my height and body type my BMI was not healthy. I then gained weight over a few months and jumped to 130. I knew that I wasn't overweight but I knew that gaining that much weight in a few months wasn't healthy so I went to the gym. The trainer told me that I was 10 pounds overweight. I'm 130 pounds and you are telling me I am overweight, is this a joke? After that, I do not trust gyms. I like to eat what I eat and if I don't feel like working out that is my choice. I recently went to the doctor and stepped on the scale and I'm currently around 140 and my doctor told me that for my height and weight that I'm at a perfectly healthy BMI (Take that Gym Brat!) 

4. I will not look down on people who are less fortunate than me

I'm not rich. I'm a student who has to pay rent, who pays groceries, who is steadily increasing in debt but I still know there are people out there less fortunate than me. I will not judge them because they have to pick up a welfare check, I do not know what they have gone through or what their circumstance is. A huge reason I started this blog was to help people who don't have a lot of money in their bank understand that you can too look nice and feel great without spending a lot of money. I love Value Village and GoodWill they have amazing pieces that you can find and I want to encourage those women that just because you don't have a choice where you shop that you can find great pieces anywhere

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Flickr Favourite

Today I want to show you one of my favourite photographers I have had the opportunity of finding on flickr: Chris Arnade. I usually like to keep my posts positive and light-hearted but what this man does is too amazing not to share. His work really has me believe that my life is truly blessed compared to what these people have to endure. I hope sharing with you his beautiful photography will have you thankful for your life as well. 

Chris Arnade isn't your typical street photographer. He is a previous wall street trader with a PhD in Physics and has left that previous life to pursue story-telling of the harsh realities of living and addiction in the ghettos of New York. 

I myself coming straight from a suburban, conservative border-line sheltered community, I have not the slightest clue the extremities these people have to endure everyday just to get by. I have been fortunate enough to live a blessed life and I in no way have the right to judge anybody else's story. A photograph can say a 1000 words and you can truly sympathize with these people just by staring into their eyes. Some of these stories are truly heartbreaking; I have come to tears in many. He also follows closely to a few residents in these communities where you become deeply sympathetic to their personal conditions. Many of the people featured have drug addictions, sexually transmitted diseases are homeless etc., My personal favourite photo stream set of is The Transexuals of Queens. This set focuses on the night-life of transexuals on the streets of Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. My favourite person to follow in his photos is this beautiful woman named Egypt. 

This photograph is titled Egypt in rain: Hunts Point, Bronx

The background story Chris Arnade provides:

Egypt was cold, tired, and hungry. She stood disoriented in the rain, her hand clutched hard a few dimes she had begged.

“I kicked my husband out. Now I got to worry. He racked up all these debts with dealers. The niggers want to collect from me. I am cutting him off. He can’t buy on my name no more.”

We moved inside a deli to buy her a sandwich. She ate it in my car, shivering. “Only time he comes to me is when he is dope sick, for me to suck some dick, for me to cop him some drugs. I say to him, ‘Why don’t you suck dick? Why don’t you sell your ass? Hell, let men fuck you.’ I am sick of it. Sick of getting beat by him.”

“My mother died in 2002, Dec 23rd. Anniversary is soon. Heroin overdose. My dad? Don’t care. Hopes he rots in hell. Started raping me when I was three. Did my mom know? Not about him. She knew about my uncle and cousin. They did the same.”

I asked her, has a man in your life ever treated you right, ever not beat or raped you? She looked down at her sandwich, her face blank. “Yes. One has. God.”

I myself am not an extremely religious person or follow any organized religion but I do clarify myself as a spiritual person. This story of Egypt and what she has had to overcome in her life is tremendous. The fact that this woman has any faith in anything at all is truly remarkable. A beautiful and strong woman is an understatement.

Thanks to Chris Arnade for sharing with the world the true realities of their life. I hope his work helps society think twice about judging the lives of others.

Etsy Love: Modern Girl Blitz

A blog that I recently stumbled upon and fell in love with instantly is a feminist themed store Modern Girl Blitz. The owner of the shop Midge Blitz (awesome name) is a feminist herself and has focused her life on the empowerment of women. She creates buttons, zines, tote bags, patches etc. The design of her items are targeted for all of the outspoken feminists. Her items are extremely inexpensive for all you frugal feminists! Here are a few of my favourite items:

1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Femme Power!

Rant/Rave: Best TV Intro's

Hope everyone is having a swell Saturday. Today is the last day of my Frost Week which means I'm going to have to get serious about school (sigh). I'm taking some pretty interesting courses this semester, I love learning about different cultures and I'm hoping to get a minor in Anthropology so I'm taking a class called Religion, Magic and Witchcraft, thus far it's been extremely interesting and I love the professor, I've had him for an Anthro class last year and he's phenomenal. Another interesting class that I'm taking is Music in Television and Film where we study music in popular films such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars which I'm pumped about. 

For today's post I want to share my favourite television intro's of all time. Some shows barely have an intro at all and other shows have intro's that you just want to skip. I'll share with you some of the show's where I actually look forward to watching their intro's.

1. Freaks and Geeks

This show encompasses everything a show should. Although the show had an amazing concept, it only had 1 season back in 1999-2000. I hadn't even heard of the show until two years ago where I watched the entire season in probably three days. It was voted one of the top shows in that year but failed because NBC hadn't advertised it properly. The concept of this show is fantastic and the actors portrayed their characters flawlessly. I'm a huge Jason Segal fan (celebrity crush) when I heard he was a character in it I had to watch. James Franco, Jason Segal and Seth Rogen are all talented actors who star in this show. The setting is in a mid-western town based in the late 70's early 80s. Freaks and Geeks had a popular cult following partly because of the awesome music frequently playing Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Joan Jett and many more rock n' roll legends. The intro to the show is one of my favourites because it portrays each of the character's to a T. They have all the characters take their class photo's and you have Ken Miller (Seth Rogen) who plays a sarcastic jerk not smiling at all and then you have Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr) awkwardly smiling not knowing what to do like the typical geek would. The music playing during the intro is Bad Reputation by Joan Jett, they honestly couldn't have chosen a better intro song for this show since it follows former geek Mathlete Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) who starts hanging out with the freaks who are known to have a bad reputation. Overall, the show rocks, the cast rocks, the music obviously rocks, and the intro rocks. 

2. True Blood

For those who haven't seen True Blood I'm sure you are aware of the plot. A small town in Louisiana that frequently endures supernatural activity from werewolves, witches and of course, vampires. I used to be a huge fan of the show for the first three seasons (how hot is Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) but then I just got disinterested as the show went on. It used to be one of my favourites, and still is a great show don't get me wrong, but for some reason I just stopped. The show's intro though is AMAZING. I can't go on about how fricken' fantastic the intro to this show is. The cinematography of the intro encompasses everything you would picture Louisiana to be with dirty ol' rednecks and black women preaching and fainting in church. I have watched the intro over and over and over and over and over again it was probably my favourite thing of the entire show to be honest. The song they chose for the intro, I Want to do Bad Things With You by Jace Everett was the perfect choice for the intro. If you don't feel a little bad while listening and singing to that song, something is wrong with you. Overall, the show is okay but the intro is flawless. 

3. Friends

I'm not going to give you a synopsis of Friends since I'm sure everyone including your turtle has seen this show. It's easily the greatest sit-com of all time. The reason I love the intro so much is because it is so memorable. I don't know anyone who wouldn't be able to sing CLAP CLAP CLLAPALCAP LCAPCLCAP ILL BE THERE FOR YOUUUU ILL BE THERE FOR YOU TOO ILLL BE THERE FOR YOUUUUU clapping somewhere, now ILL BE THERE FOR YOUU clap clap ill be there for you. It goes kinda something like that. The only reason you wouldn't clap along with the intro was if you were busy knitting yourself a scarf for winter and even then you'd probably put the yarn down and clap along. 

4. Dexter

Dexter, everyone's favourite serial killer. Dexter never ceases to amaze me, I literally have a panic attack every time I watch this show. The show is so influential that some guy in Alberta decided to re-enact the show and become Dexter himself (he was not as stealthy as Dexter since he got caught after I think two murders) THANK GOD I mean Dexter is a show we don't need more serial killers it's just entertainment people! Anyways, back to why I love the intro so much. The intro is pretty lengthy and the music wouldn't be the first song I would dance to at my wedding, but the cinematography of the intro is flawless. We see how a serial killer wakes up and starts his morning ... just like everyone else. Makes eggs and bacon, flosses his teeth, washes his face just plain old normal things that you, me and a serial killer would do in the morning. It embodies the fact that Dexter is a person just like everyone else, except he has a secret that nobody knows or could because he lives a normal life (other than the fact he kills people at night)

5. The Simpsons

The Simpsons, our favourite all-American suburban yellow family. The longest airing show ever, Bart has been 10 for about 30 years or something? This is the show that your parent's wouldn't let you watch when you were little even though it actually has many historical themes in a lot of their episodes. The intro is one of the best things about this show. The intro changes every single episode, Bart writes something different on the chalk board, the family sits on the couch differently every time. How Matt Groening has thought of a different intro for every single episode is beyond me, that man is a creative genius. The Simpsons intro is  probably the most creative and well-known intro of all time and definitely on my list of favourite intros.

What are some of your favourite TV intros? 

Rants/Raves: Room

Happy Hump Day everyone! I haven't done a rant/rave in a while so I'm excited to share my opinion a book I had just finished recently, Room by Emma Donoghue. 

I have been meaning to read this book for sometime after my Grade 12 English teacher had recommended this book to me. Since I was one of the very few students he had who actually read leisurely we enjoyed giving each other book recommendations and this is the one he had for me. I had searched for it in the library, and asked friends if they had owned it (I'm frugal I tend not to buy books if I don't need to) so I had kind of slacked on actually being able to read this book. I was in Jasper where I finally decided to let go of my frugal ways and buy the book since I would need something to read anyways when I was flying back to Ontario.

This book is about a woman who had been kidnapped and locked into a room when she was 19. The woman was raped numerous amount of times by the man who had kidnapped her which resulted in her giving birth to a boy named Jack. The story's narrator is the five year old son Jack where he talks about life in the Room with Ma. I thought having the book narrated by the 5 year old was extremely clever and she did an incredible job with having you actually believe it was a five year old talking (bad grammar, how he would ask questions, behaviour). It was an emotional, funny and thrilling book. For Jack's first 5 years of his life, he had not been outside, all he had known was this Room. His only human friend was his Ma, but he had made friends with Rug, Wardrobe, TV, Mouse. The author would give proper nouns to objects because to Jack they were his actual friends, he had become friends with objects since he had no human contact other than with his Ma. I thought the author executed the book very well, my only criticism of the book was that the climax of the story was in the dead middle of the book instead of nearing the end of the book which I probably would have preferred and would have been kept more interested in. Other than that, I would strongly recommend reading this novel. 

I was surprised to see that the author Emma Donoghue actually lives in my hometown of London, Ontario. I always get really excited when I hear people are from/live in my hometown (Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, etc). She is an extremely talented author and I'm excited to read more of her books.

What books have you read recently? 

Recipe for a Successful Long Distance Relationship

Hi everyone! I hope everyone’s weekend is going well. It doesn’t feel like the weekend for me since I have had three exams in two days (exhausted is an understatement). But I’m excited because It’s officially FIVE days until I’m in Jasper and get to see my incredibly handsome and amazing boyfriend Paul. Which brings me to introduce to you the topic on today’s blog post: Long distance relationships. Paul and I are in a long distance relationship about 4000 km away from each other. We get to see each other about once every two months for a few days. I have been in two long distance relationships, one with Paul (which has succeeded) and the other with my ex (which was terrible). I wanted to make a post for those who are in a long distance relationship, or contemplating in being one and show them that long distance relationships can work.

Paul and I’s relationship is straight out of a movie. No, literally. If you have watched Going the Distance with Drew Barrymore Justin Long, that is literally Paul and I’s relationship to a TEE. Switch the New York buildings with mountains and there you have it. Paul and I only knew each other for six weeks before I moved back to Ontario and we decided that we wanted to pursue a long distance relationship (best. decision. ever)

Long distance relationships are difficult but worth it if you are with the right person. Paul makes long distance extremely easy whereas my past experience with a long distance relationship wasn’t so great. Paul and I both had been cheated on in past long distance relationships so deciding to pursue our relationship to be long distance was a very difficult decision for both of us. Even though we live thousands of miles away from each other, this relationship has been the healthiest and most amazing relationship I’ve ever had. 

Here are 6 steps to a successful long distance relationship:

1. TRUST: I cannot stress trust enough in not only a long distance relationship, but any relationship. I think that trust and loyalty are probably the biggest factors in a relationship. With Paul, I know if he decides to have some beers with his friends that he is going to be smart (I actually encourage him to go out and socialize more because he is such a homebody). With my ex, I hated when he would go out because I didn’t trust him. I knew he would be flirting (or going further) with other girls, it was a constant fight with him about going out. Paul respects and loves me and I trust him with all my heart. If you do not trust the person you are with, long distance won’t work because you will have no idea what they are up to and will constantly be worried. If you are a jealous person and trust is hard for you, I wouldn’t recommend a long distance relationship.

2. COMMUNICATION: Paul and I have a three hour time difference between us (not that bad, right?) Wrong. Paul likes to sleep... a lot. He works nights and he used to sleep in until 3 PM - 4 PM (not exaggerating). This became tough because 4 PM his time was 7 PM my time, meaning I’d go my entire day without hearing from him and that was tough. Not to mention he would start work at 5 PM his time so I literally would only get 15 minutes to speak to him a day. We realized this was effecting our relationship and had to fix this. We made a deal that he would get up at at least noon,that way we would have time to talk to each other. I’m not saying that you need to skype for five hours everyday, but to be able to send texts to one another, and have a skype date that lasts at least an hour every couple days. My ex for part of our relationship lived a 12 hour time difference from me and that was extremely difficult (mainly because he would rather party than make time to talk to me, he didn’t even make time on Valentine’s Day to skype me). Communication is a two-way street. If one person isn’t making the effort, it won’t work. If there is an issue, you will have to fix it like Paul and I did. 

Paul and I at Pyramid Lake in Jasper 

3. SEX: Okay, yes let’s talk about sex. Clearly you aren’t able to physically have sex with your partner since they are away from you. But you need to let them know that you still find them desirable. Sending flirty or sexy text messages to your partner will help the relationship grow and remain faithful. Were humans, we like sex, and we like to have our ego’s boosted. If you and your partner aren’t reminding each other how desirable you find each other, you or your partner will stray off and find someone who does and someone who lives conveniently closer.

4. BE STRONG: Fighting with each other is inevitable. You are far away from each other, you’re lonely, you’re sad, you are going to have disagreements and you won’t be able to have face-to-face contact to sort your arguments out. Realize that you will fight and that long distance isn’t exactly a perfect situation, but it will get better. Also, people will tell you that long distance isn’t going to work. People constantly told me that I shouldn’t be doing long distance because I’m too young, you’ll cheat on each other, you’ll fight too much, blah blah blah (although my good friends who know the guys I have previously dated are thrilled about Paul and could care less how far away he is). I have been told but numerous amounts of people that it’s not going to work. Guess what? IT HAS, and yours can too. 

Paul and I as King and Queen of Hearts for Halloween when he visited me in October

5. TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE: This is something Paul and I do all the time. Talking about your future with your partner makes you both excited to be with each other. I’m not saying you have to plan your wedding and talk about baby names (guilty) but talk about things you want to do with each other when you see them next. “We should go see The Sheepdogs next time you’re here” “I can’t wait to take you to this restaurant when you are here”. Paul and I are moving in with each other next year so we like to discuss how we want to decorate our apartment, and restaurants we will try in the area. Talking about the future helps you look forward to seeing your partner next. 

6. HAVE AN END DATE: You NEED to set an end date for when you two will be together permanently. Long distance relationships can’t go on forever. If neither of you are committed to being in the same city together eventually, it won’t work. This was a huge issue for Paul and I. I’m currently at University in Ontario and I would like to finish school at McMaster but Paul hates Ontario (I don’t blame him). He didn’t want to move to Ontario, but he weighed out the consequences and realized he may not like the location, but he would be happier with me in a shitty province than without me in a beautiful province. We also made plans to move to Alberta after I’m done school, so we both know that Hamilton isn’t going to be home forever. 

Paul is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. He is the sweetest, kindest, trusting, most handsome man I have ever met. Long distance is difficult, but he makes it totally worth it. People will tell you long distance relationships won’t work, but I’m here to tell you it can. 

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Happy hump day everyone! Can’t believe its Wednesday already. This officially means it’s one week until I’m finished exams, yay! I can’t wait to be done. But seriously how am I supposed to study for exams when I know I’ll be in Jasper with Paul in a week? Ugh, studying is difficult when all you can do is be excited. It’s been almost two months since I’ve seen him and I’m getting impatient!!! 

Last night I’m sure most of you turned in to watch the Victoria Secret Fashion Show. Whether or not you like it, these girls are smokin’. They’re who every guy wants to date and every girl wishes they could look like. This was the first time I have ever watched the show and I was curious what all the hype was about skinny girls in bras walking down the runway (and also a good excuse for me to ignore the fact I have a million exams this week). I grabbed some popcorn, turned into the live stream and started watching.

Personally, I believe that Victoria Secret Fashion Show is better than majority of fashion shows. Victoria Secret is about confidence and being comfortable in your own skin. These women promote healthy living by eating well and working out versus majority of models who are known to sport eating disorders. I was reading up on their bios and most of them said they had bacon for breakfast (I was shocked to say the least). These models welcome healthy living and make it okay for women to be sexy and feel sexy. As a friend of mine tweeted, “tomorrow is the day that every girl in the world has the motivation to hit the gym after watching the Victoria Secret Fashion Show”

A lot of women were saying “why can’t I be her”. Well, you can’t be her because she’s an alien from perfect land and unless you're from there unfortunately you can’t be her. This show isn’t supporting wanting to be perfect, it’s trying to support being comfortable in your own skin. They created an app for girls to take a photo of themselves so they could show off their own Angel wings. I think that idea was brilliant for other girls to be able to believe they're an ‘Angel’ too. 

Of course there will be people saying that there should be more average looking women as well, but that’s just not how the world works. I’m just thrilled about a company who supports models into healthy living rather than supporting bulimia. I would love to see a fashion show with more normal looking people but that just won’t happen. Another friend of mine tweeted, “After watching the show, I actually still feel pretty damn good about my body” and that’s how ALL women should feel after watching the show. 

Here are some of my favourite outfits from the show:

Apparently this Floral Fantasy bra was an estimated 2.5 million dollars. Not sure if I'd invest in a bra that expensive, but it sure does make her breasts look fantastic.

This just totally reminded me of Princess and the Frog (not sure if that was the intention) but I loved it.

I don't know what else to say about this outfit other than: fierce

This was by far my favourite outfit of the night. Maybe it's the secret cowgirl in me but this outfit was amazing. Love the lasso design, the shoes, the hat. This outfit was just SPOT on.

What were your thoughts about the Victoria Secret Fashion Show?