Testing testing 123

I bought an iPad Mini this week (YAY!) and thought I'd test out blogging from it so I can see what it'll be like once I move to England. I'm hoping to not have to bring my laptop with me. So far, still getting used to the typing on it. My fingers aren't used to trying to do regular typing on such a smaller keyboard. They want to do the same thing as on my iPhone, but that's so much smaller!

I'm hoping to put up another blog post tomorrow, I've got some ideas of what to write about, it's just figuring out which one to use! I'm also planning on doing another YouTube video hopefully! So definitely check back to see if that's done or if I've gone into my "procrastination hole."

Time to sleep though for me! Had a great afternoon up at the local ski hill. Got a few runs in before I had to make it up to one of the private cabins for a coworkers wedding. It was so sweet! A total Canadian winter ceremony. Uh oh, I feel another blog post coming out! Alright... I'll write about that tomorrow!

Madelaine

the past few days

This photo makes me dream more and more of Brighton,
and England in general...

Why hello there!

I'm sitting here in bed thinking over the past few days. I've been busy working, meeting up with Nadia about England, and resting from crazy days. It doesn't seem to be anything compared to December where I only had one day off other than Christmas holidays, but still!

On Thursday afternoon, my UK visa was issued to me and sent to my front door. I'm not going to lie, I fan-girled a bit just about getting my visa! How am I going to live in sanity in England with everything 1D, Sherlock, and tea going on around me? Oh dear me...

I've somehow managed to get myself back into a horrible routine of not waking up until 10 or 11 on my days off. It's making me a lot lazier when actually getting to work on days I'm supposed to go in! I don't like it. Bad, Maddie, bad! I was planning on waking up early today, but I've been feeling pretty sick the past few days. And after the Neo Citran I took last night hit me, I was out like a light!

I made my first Youtube video which was an insane step for me! You can read my last post about it... so nerve-wracking getting in front of that camera, though! But I've been receiving some lovely comments from other Youtubers on it, giving me lots of hope for the future of me on Youtube, haha!

My Dad and I bought tickets to see Owl City and Echosmith in Spokane, WA at the Knitting Factory. We also booked our room at the Davenport Hotel for the night before my planned flight to England! It's scary how close the move is getting... wow! My younger sister, Clare, is in love with Owl City, so it will for sure be a great weekend! Not to mention the massive brunch at the Davenport on Sunday morning, mmmmm.

I spent Saturday and Sunday working at my Dad's café and it was crazy busy! We've had so many people in town the past week for ski races and other events. Sunday was insane, just three of us and our biggest Sunday yet! I ended up coming home afterwards, immediately stepping into the hot bath, lit some candles, and started reading Pride and Prejudice. I then broke Whole30 (I've been doing it a second time with my Mom, we completed it really well last October!) and had a bowl of ice-cream  I had never had such an insane, hectic, frustrating day at work.

And today, I slept in, went to the café to talk to my Dad about my flights (we're booking them tonight), & picked up Insurgent and three DVDs from the library (The Brothers Grimm, Downton Abbey season 1,  and In Her Shoes). Afterwards, I met up with Nadia and we looked into homesharing with some other people our age in Brighton. Phew! At least now I feel like I had a semi-productive day off. Somewhat.

Well, time for dinner and then I think I'll pop in one of the movies!

Madelaine

-- photo from Pinterest page found here

I'm on Youtube?

Well hey there! I recently decided that I was going to pluck up the courage. I was just going to do it! So I did! Here it is, folks, my first Youtube video/vlog/thing. Oh my!




Cool, well, that was super weird and unlike anything I'm used to! But isn't that the point to this blog too? For me to step out of my comfort zone and just do things. Do things I haven't done before!

I've been wanting to make Youtube videos for years and years. But I've always been nervous about making them and scared them people I knew would find them and think of me differently. Although, honestly, I've been caring less and less of what people think of me over the past year. So this is definitely the right time to do it!

Hope you guys liked it, and I'll definitely be trying to post more soon.

Madelaine

a year of reading...

I gave myself a goal this year that is a pretty big leap for me! I absolutely love reading, but I found that I just don't read all that much. So this year, I've challenged myself to read 50 books this year... I know! I don't know what I was thinking but holy crap, I hope I do a decent job. I have a feeling like I'm going to end up reading like... five. But we'll see how I do! So here's my list...

1. About a Boy
2. The Alchemist
3. The Amber Spyglass
4. The Art of Racing in the Rain
5. The Book Thief
6. Bridget Jones' Diary: A Novel
7. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
8. The Catcher in the Rye
9. Cinder
10. Divergent
11. Geek Love
12. The Giver
13. The Golden Compass
14. The Great Gatsby
15. The Handmaid's Tale
16. The Help
17. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
18. The Host
19. Insurgent
20. Into the Wild
21. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
22. The Joy Luck Club
23. The Kite Runner
24. Les Misérables
25. Life of Pi
26. Little Bee
27. Little Women
28. Looking for Alaska
29. The Lovely Bones
30. The Marriage Plot
31. Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store  A Novel
32. My Sister's Keeper
33. The Night Circus
34. One Hundred Names
35. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
36. Pride and Prejudice
37. The Princess Bride
38. Push
39. Stardust
40. The Subtle Knife
41. Tales of Beedle the Bard
42. To Kill a Mockingbird
43. Treasure Island
44. Tuesdays With Morrie
45. The Virgin Suicides
46. Water for Elephants
47. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
48. Will Grayson, Will Grayson
49. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
50. A Wrinkle in Time

Most of these books I already have on my Kindle which is super handy. It'll be great because I can continue my challenge while I'm living in England for four months. The others, I either own or are at my local library. I've also added a GoodReads widget on the side of my page so you guys can see which one I'm on! I'll try to keep this post updated too and cross off each book as I've read them.

Madelaine

-- photos from Pinterest pages found here, here, and here

an evening spent

I've just spent my evening catching up on one of my absolute favourite blogs: Design Mom. I came across her website almost two years ago when I watched their family's episode of House Hunters International. Gabrielle Blair and her husband, Ben, along with their children moved from America to Normandy (the Northern portion of France). As soon as I saw the episode, featuring the home they were moving into, I fell in love. At first with the house, and then with their family. I became an avid reader of her website but, as per usual with me, I slowed down, forgot to read it every once in a while, and eventually stopped. But here I am tonight after finding her blog again for the first time in almost two years! And I've fallen in love with it once more. The children have grown and two more have been added to the bunch. Ralph, Maude, Olive, Oscar, Betty, and Flora June (but you can just call her June). As I was scrolling through Gabrielle's Instagram photos, Pinterest page, Twitter feed and Facebook timeline, I came across "Olive Us." I was curious and decided to check it out. It was a secondary website of Gabrielle's. I site completely dedicated to the most beautiful and timeless movies of their children. I watched the first three I found on their page and then came to the realization that I had started in the wrong order. I quickly found "season one" and dove in. Lo and behold, I was drawn like a bee to flowers! I'm now sitting here on my bed, who knows how much later, still captivated by the adorable children and the stunning filmography that the makers (Tiger in a Jar) created.

Here is episode one for your viewing pleasure. Click on the HD button, turn up your volume, make it full screen and enjoy the captivating beauty of the Blair family.



Olive Us Episode 1: Garden Day from Olive Us on Vimeo.

But of all of the episodes, my favourite probably has to be "Christmas Tree Hunt." The little bits of editing flare, the forest scenes, and all of the kids looking like they've stepped out of a Gap Kids photoshoot. I have a soft spot for well dressed children, you see. Honestly though, it was so hard to pick a favourite!

I hope that those two videos were enough to pull you in and have you craving for more! Here's the link to season one, filmed in France, and season two, filmed in Utah. I'm anxiously awaiting season three now!

Madelaine

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moving to England

I'm moving to England! Hopefully. I'm still anxiously awaiting my UK work visa acceptance, but my fingers are permanently crossed! But that means a shit ton of planning, pardon the language. I'm moving there with a girl from my town, Nadia. She and I are both SO ready to get out of our small Canadian ski town of 3,500 people and move to the big city for a while!

So, I'm spending the afternoon in a local café (not my dad's, it's way to crazy in there right now for pizza day!) writing lists upon lists. Researching my first move EVER is difficult enough, but doing it half way across the world from where you're moving!? Oh no... way tougher...

Cities I'm looking at moving to:

• Brighton - the fact that it's on the coast just makes me giddy with excitement! I miss living on the ocean, I miss the salty breeze and everything it has to offer. So this smaller city is definitely at the top of my list!
• London - I fell in love with London the first, and only, time I went there (last summer). So it's only fit! I know I would love living and working there. So much to see and do! It's completely different from my current lifestyle, which scares me a lot, but it also excites me! I need to scare myself, I don't do it often enough.

Then there's the problems of flat (or apartment) searching. It's fairly pricey to live in England, especially London. So trying to find a 2 bedroom flat that's reasonable compared to the amount of money that we'll be making it work? Difficult! I've tried a couple different websites: Flatland London, Zoopla & Gumtree. Along with some others. Nadia and I are getting to the point where we've seen so many, it's painful! Guh. No fun. If anyone has tips for finding decently priced 2 bed places in London or Brighton, please let me know!!!

Madelaine

-- photo from Pinterest page found here

earworms

That's right, earworms. A German girl I worked with last year said this once and it's stuck! Stuck in my head, that is. So here are some of my absolute favourite songs of the moment that I just can't stop listening to!

"Let Her Go" - Passenger

Such a beautiful song, and his voice is so interesting!

"Hold On" - Wilson Phillips

cheesy, I know, but it reminds me of my friend

that I made while on my Europe trip last summer!

"I Knew You Were Trouble" - Walk Off the Earth ft KRNFX (Taylor Swift cover)

I just found this song today and I'm obsessed!

I already have a guilty pleasure for the original T-Swift song,

but this is way too awesome not to share. Guh, acca-awesome!

Please check out all their other videos as well, so talented!

"How to Be a Heartbreak" - Marina and the Diamonds

I. Love. Her.

That's all I have to say! Between my love for this song

and the almost-naked men all over her? Love.

Hope you love my current "earworms" as much as me! :)

Madelaine

evening spent in

Good evening! I'm currently curled up on my makeshift couch (my twin bed with pillows all along the side) with my dogs as I type this. I just spent the evening watching Mirror Mirror (absolute cheese, I love it!) with my 11 year old sister, Clare, while drinking tea and eating candy. It's been so long since we've had some good sister time together. I'm 19 and she's 11, and I've always wondered what it's like to have a sibling closer to my age. But honestly, I can't imagine it! I love having a sister who's this much younger than me. It's so cool seeing her go through things I went through almost 10 years ago. I'm relating ways she acts now to how I acted at her age.

Speaking of tea, mmm I love tea! I used to be completely against tea and coffee. But just last year I started drinking both and I have a newfound love for them! I mainly drink Twining's earl grey (with cream and sugar to help my sweet tooth), but my two other go-to teas at the moment are the Brazilian Green Yerba Maté (so amazing with honey and milk!) and Davids Tea Coco Chai Rooibos. I've actually met the amazing group of people who make the Maté tea, that's how I came across it. But be forewarned  you become addicted! And my friend Alyssa who I volunteered with for 6 months introduced me to Davids Tea, where she used to work. She had my try a few different flavours, but I'm hooked on the Coco Chai Rooibos! And then there's coffee. Because of my sweet tooth, I can't do straight, black coffee. But since I work in a café, I get to experiment with drinks. Different flavours, different types of milk, you name it! One of my absolute favourites is an extreme hockey mom mocha.

Loose leaf Yerba Maté!

Earl Grey tea in the moustache mug I stole from my Mom

Take your regular drip coffee (in my case, locally roasted and freshly brewed), and pour until about a third of your cup is full. Next, steam (or warm up if you don't have a machine to steam) up some almond milk, chocolate syrup and hazelnut flavouring. Pour it over the drip coffee and add a hint of cinnamon sprinkled on top. Heaven in a cup, I tell ya!

Steaming up some almond milk!

Now it's looking all yummy in my to-go mug!

Well, that's enough for tonight. I've got one more day of work before my day off, woo!
Hope you had a fantastic weekend. Time for me to log off, watch Zoella's newest video, and start up a new book!

Madelaine

Friday Favourites!

Hello, hello everyone who may stumble across my little blog! Today is Friday and I think to celebrate this joyous day, I'll tell you some of my favourite things from this week! Oh, and a sidenote, Fridays usually aren't my favourite days of the week anymore because I tend to work weekends. Mondays however seem to be my normal day off. Yeah, I like Mondays over Fridays now.

1. Pitch Perfect - I know I'm a little late on the band wagon, but seriously? This movie is everything I love rolled into one. Cheesy romance, fantastic comedy, and then the best soundtrack! And believe me, soundtracks are 1/2 of what makes a movie for me, so I've got a massive list of favourites! This one is definitely at the top! Anyways, I finally watched the movie a couple days ago and I'm in love. I need to buy a copy asap so I can watch it every single week. Fat Amy is far to fabulous, Jesse is way too sweet, and Aubrey needs a good pitch slap every once in a while. It really is pitch perfect! Pun inteded.
   
2. Going back to work - True, true, a weird one. But I've been working so much for the past few months, that even when I was away for Christmas holidays, I almost missed it! You get so used to the routine, and I missed all the girls I work with as well.
   
3. Reading - Yup, hadn't read in a long time and then this week I sat down and read Divergent (I'm so behind on these band wagons) in one day. Man it felt great! I've now compiled a massive list that I want to complete: 50 Books to Read in 2013! PHEW!
   
4. Bloglovin' - I never realized how many blogs I read until now. And it's way easier now that I follow them all on there and can read the updates easier. Why didn't I find out about this till now?
   
5. The "12 Days of Christmas" app - I tried to remember to download the free gifts from iTunes every day last Christmas... definitely didn't remember. So this year I decided to get the app, now every morning I get the little reminder to download my freeeeeee stuff. Yay free things! I missed the Sherlock episode though, sigh. I didn't have enough space on my laptop or phone to download it onto. Grr.

Well, I hope you're all having a fantabulous Friday! Whether you're going out with friends or just relaxing at home, make it a great one.

Madelaine

-- top photo from Pinterest page found here

good morning!

Good morning readers! I thought I'd write a quick, little post before heading off to work. And in case you're interested, I currently have two jobs. The one I'm going to today is at my Dad's café. All of us who work there are baristas, cooks, waitresses, etc. And since I live in a little ski town, this is our buuuusy time of the year! Winter is here and everyone is looking to come in for a hot drink and some soup to warm them up. Take a little look at some photos I've taken at work! And don't forget to have a fabulous day!

Madelaine

My view on my walk to work everyday.
This was taken before the big dump of snow we had, but it's beautiful none the less!

My Dad's delicious pizza on Pizza Friday! I named this one: the POW!
It has pears, caramelized onions, toasted walnuts, goat's cheese and a balsamic reduction.
This one's on a gluten-free crust too, yummy!

Beautiful snow falling onto our back deck at work.

A little but of latté art.

Mmm, these blackberry and white chocolate scones are to die for!

hello twenty-thirteen!

As the first post of this blog, it sort of makes sense to have it also the first blog post of the year. Most of you won't know a thing about me (Hi, my name's Madelaine, by the way. You can call me Maddie though if it's easier on you.) and therefor won't know that last year was possibly the most amazing year of my life! I know there will be many more amazing years ahead of me, but last year was the year that I really started finding myself and realizing more of my hopes, dreams and realities even. But enough about that. I don't even know why I'm writing this blog in the first place. I guess to document what I hope to be many more fabulous memories ahead of me, an online memory jar perhaps. Oh! And I know the about me section (or tidbits section) doesn't really explain much about myself, so here's a few more random facts about myself.

1. I am a recent lover of scented candles. Sadly, there's not many places near my small town to buy them, so I stock up on lots when I get the chance!
2. I'm a firm believer of taking time off before going to college/university straight out of high school. I'm on my second year off between high school and college and I couldn't have done anything better! Although, you can't sit around doing nothing, get out there! Travel, volunteer, work odd jobs. You'll learn some amazing life experiences and more about yourself!
3. I have two English Springer Spaniels. Emmy Lu aka Whitetrash Princess: a 7 year old purebreed, acts like she's twice her size (she's very small for her breed), and loves to eat her own poo. But well, she's my baby! And then there's Albert aka Albert Chewbacca Snuffleupagus Wigglebum III: a 4 year old rescue we got from the States almost two years ago, we're fairly sure he's part Basset Hound. Reasoning behind his name? Chewbacca was his original foster name because of the noises he makes when he's excited, very Wookie-esque. Snuffleupagus for the 2 inch long eyelashes and the fact that he doesn't lick with his tongue but "snuffles" with his nose. Wigglebum, self explanatory. He has a large derriere and doesn't really wag his tail, just his butt. And "the third" just makes it sound more mysterious, almost like we had two before him.
4. I have more books than I can count and I've probably read 1/20 of them. Sad I know, but I start reading one and then find a new one at a bookstore or the library and never finish it. My goal this year is to read 50 that I own this year!
5. I can't finish the bazillion ideas that I have swirling around in my head. Well, maybe I can, I've tried though and it doesn't always work out. For some reason (similar to my not-finishing-a-book dilemma), I can't seem to complete things. I'll buy materials for making art or doing a DIY or whatever and then they sit in my room, or the basement, just piling up.
6. And as a side note from fact #5: my parents nicknamed me the "Clutter Queen" when I was around... 11 years old. I even have a pillow with the name stitched on. I love a clean space but it takes me ages to get to that point and then 5 seconds to destroy it. We've been living in our current house for over 5 years and my room has never been completely cleaned. Sad, I know.

Well, I think that's enough about me for the night. Now, let's see if I can continue this blog and actually keep it going unlike most projects I start!

Madelaine

-- photo from Pinterest page found here