A Lovely Weekend

Hello Lovelies!

My bestest friend in the whole entire universe works at camp all summer, which is wonderful for her because she loves it there, but sad for me because I don't get to see her. For years now, she's been asking me to come up and visit her and this year, I finally did! It's absolutely beautiful up there and I thought I would show you guys some of its beauty.

When my friend Lili and I arrived, the three of us went down
to where the boating stuff was kept. There were trees and a
lovely wind. It was sunny and warm and very peaceful.

This is my gorgeous, amazing, incredible, loving, patient,
wonderful bestest friend Hayley. 

I must have taken like 30 shots of this canoe, trying to
get the lighting and angle and everything right.

The paddles by the boat house.

The light coming through the trees was so pretty. 

I don't know if it's just me, but I just love wooden stairs.
Especially on trails or at camps. 

These golden flowers were so pretty and they made me
want autumn to come quickly.

Walking to the fire pit.

And this is my beautiful, talented, smart, funny friend Lili.

The gorgeous sunset at the fire pit. 

So this was probably one of the best experiences of the summer. I loved being able to get away with some great friends, out to a place that was so peaceful and beautiful. I hope you all have had a wonderful summer. School starts next tuesday for me. Part of me is looking forward to it, the other part... not so much.

Song of the Day
Currently obsessed with this song.

The Sunshine Award

Hello Lovelies!

I was just nominated by Rhiannon from A Little Red Notebook for the Sunshine Award! Thanks Rhiannon. :) I went on google to find a "Sunshine Award" picture since there was none on her blog.

The Rules:

1. States 5 facts about yourself
2. Answer the 5 questions asked by the person who nominated you
3. Create 5 new questions and nominate more bloggers for the award.

The Facts:

1. I don't mind big groups of people but I prefer to spend time with just a few people at a time. I would choose five or six friends getting together over a party any day.
2. My favourite song is 'September' by Daughtry.
3. My first crush was on Disney's cartoon Robin Hood.
4. I have a memory box where I keep things from important or special times in my life; ticket stubs, photographs, programs from plays, old friendship bracelets that have snapped, etc. 
5. Songs get stuck in my head so easily, it's not even funny.

Rhiannon's Questions:

1. What's the last book you read, and your thoughts on it?

The last book I read was 'Mockingjay' by Suzanne Collins. I'd read it before and recently picked it up at a used book store so I decided to give it a rereading. I quite like this book. I enjoy the political fight and the survival aspects to it. I know that Dystopian books with teen girls who have to save the world are fairly common and mainstream right now, but I actually really like them. I find Katniss a relatable character and I like that she's not... wimpy. However, I get very frustrated at the end of the book every time I read it because she ends up with the wrong guy!

2. What's your favourite quote/saying?

Ooh, tough question, eep! I'm pretty sure that out of all my favourite quotes, this one's my favourite favourite. 

"She will love deeply - she will suffer terribly - she will have glorious moments to compensate-" - Emily of New Moon 
I feel like this sums me up in so many ways. I've had amazing moments that I still remember years later. I've gone through some awful periods of my life but I've had people who I've really, really loved who have helped me through.

3.  When are you at your happiest?

I had to think a bunch about this one and I think I've finally decided it's when I'm with close friend(s) and we're all happy. Recently, my friend and I visited my best friend at her summer camp where she works. I was fairly nervous that I was going to be the odd one with her group of friends but I actually had so much fun. I have one specific memory of seven of us sitting around a camp fire with guitars singing Disney songs and laughing as we all got the lyrics wrong. Moments like these, I don't think I could be happier.

4.  What is your party trick/unusual talent?

I don't really have a party trick or unusual talent, unless being able to find a song to fit any occasion counts. Oh! Actually, I know how to spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious if that counts. 

5.  Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
Ideally I'd like to be married and maybe have a child. I'd like to be doing something I love career wise, most likely musically related. I would like to have lived in Tennessee for a period of time. Other than that, I really don't have a five year or ten year plan. I did, but then I had a concussion for six months and that kind of put things into perspective for me. I still have goals, but they aren't time stamped. You never know what's going to happen and I feel like it's best to hold things loosely.

My Nominees
Ali from Aliology 
Andrea from Sempiternal Reader

My Questions
1. What ice cream flavour best describes you and why?
2. Spongebob or Scooby Doo?
3. (stealing Rhiannon's here) When are you at your happiest?
4. Gale, Peeta or Finnick? Why?
5. Biggest pet peeve?

On a sorta similar note, thank you guys for 20 followers! :D Whether you guys have been here since the beginning or you've just recently found and joined my little corner of the internet, thank you. You guys are amazing and beautiful and put a smile on my face.

50 Shades of Awkward

Hello Lovelies,

It's story time with Sarah! Gather round to hear yet another incident that proves that Sarah should not be allowed out in public.

I was shelving at the library downstairs in the adult section just minding my own business. I was most likely singing Disney, being the lovely awkward person I am.

So I'm shelving my books when all of the sudden, I see the most beautiful guy ever walk in. I mean this guy was a slice of pumpkin pie. He looked like Zayn Malik, who in my mind is probably one of the best looking guys out there. It was like in those cheesy movies when the guy is in slow motion and he runs his fingers through his hair and smiles and there's music. Except the only music was the Disney song I was currently singing. Probably Hakuna Matata.

Let's make something very clear. You know those girls who flirt effortlessly and just seem to ooze confidence and... flirtiness? I am not one of them. So I was perfectly happy admiring him from afar.

But does he stay afar? Nooo, he walks right over to me and I inwardly hyperventilate.

I'm fairly sure my train of thought went something like this.

Is he walking towards me? Oh gosh he is. Oh wait, maybe he's going to walk past me. Ah crap he's coming closer. What am I wearing? Ah crap! I'm wearing a Sesame Street shirt. Why do I even care. Oh look, he's talking to me and I have no idea what he just said.

"What?" I say, hoping that my mouth isn't hung open and I'm not drooling on my shoes.

He doesn't miss a beat.

"Do you know the book '50 Shades of Grey'? He asks, maintaining his smile.

What?

"Yes?" I manage to reply.

"Is it a sexual book?"

"Yeah."

"Like how sexual?"

My brain has exploded and I'm unable to reply in anything more than one or two words. I am also rapidly starting to resemble a tomato.

"Umm, pretty sexual."

"Oh, so it's like an erotica." He's still smiling. At this point, my daze has started to clear and I'm wondering if he actually knows what the book is about and is just enjoying watching me squirm.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Can you help me find it? I'd like to read it."

This was probably the only moment in the entire year I've worked at the library that I wish I didn't. I desperately wanted to get out of the conversation but because I worked there, I had to go help Zayn Malik's look alike find 50 Shades of Grey.

So off we go! Through the nonfiction, DVDs, CDs and paperbacks to the other side of the library where the book is.

I'm walking pretty fast. but he's tall and I'm a hobbit so my genius plan of outwalking him didn't really work.

"So have you read it?"

My brain engine sputters again and comes to a stop.

"No." I was actually pretty proud of myself for not sounding like a mouse.

He stops and looks at me with this smirkish smirk on his really attractive face.

"Do you want to read it?"

"No!" Any accomplishment of not sounding like a mouse has been replaced with the mortification of sounding like I'm on helium.

I show him where the book is and bolt out of there.

Later I come back to where the book was, shelving in that section.

The stupid book is still there.

Darn you attractive, cocky, perverted person.


Lovely Post of the Day

Recently, the lovely blogger Andrea wrote a post on her blog that just amazed me with its honesty and realness and relatableness and I really wanted to share it all with you.
It's called I Wrote This For You.

Along for the Ride

Hello Lovelies!

I've only noticed now that I've started almost every blog post with this greeting. Haha, I'm just a liiiiittle slow.

Yesterday was a fairly long day. I didn't get much sleep the night before due to a cold I've been fighting and then I had to work from 9 to 5 at the library, which admittedly, isn't the worst spot to work for a book lover. ;)

Lately, as I've mentioned, I've hit a bit of a book block, I just can't find a book that really captures my interest. But I now have a fairly good sized list of new books thanks to all of you beautiful people and some of my friends. Today I took out 'Along for the Ride' by Sarah Dessen. I'm sorry to all the Sarah Dessen fans out there, but she really doesn't do much for me. I've read 'What Happened to Goodbye', 'This Lullaby' and 'Just Listen' and found that her books are fairly... flat, in my opinion, which is why I was doubtful when a friend recommended I read 'Along for the Ride'.

But it was on my cart to shelve and I didn't have any other new reading material, so I figured why not. I took it out and figured I would read it later that evening.

I actually really, really enjoyed it. I'm not going to try and review it because I either end up giving you all way too much information, or deliberately try to avoid giving a lot of information which then results in a very vague awkward paragraph. So I'm just going to give you my opinion and go from there. But be warned that I might end up giving you spoilers. I swear it's not on purpose!

Yes, I'm aware the cover looks
incredibly teen cliche. Bear with me.

   

     So the basis of the book is this girl goes down to visit her father, her stepmother and their new baby. Her parents had split a few years back and due to the amount of pressure on her to do well academically and the responsibility she felt for her parents' fighting and eventual split, she never had the opportunity to be a child or teen. Because of the stress she continually feels, she's an insomniac. She goes down to visit her Dad for her summer and meets people, namely Eli who is also an insomniac due to some issues of his own. They bond over their inability to sleep and together they recreate a childhood for her...ish. So that's kinda the book in a nutshell. 

     The reason I really liked it was because I found the characters had depth in this book. I didn't feel like I was reading Cinderella with a faceless prince for the billionth time. Eli isn't perfect but he's not the  'bad boy'. He's a normal guy who's had issues and comes across as genuine. Auden (who's the main character. I don't think I mentioned that. Oops) isn't a damsel in distress who can't do anything for herself and she isn't the perfect 21st century strong, independent, young woman who "doesn't need no man." She's hurt and broken but real. 

Their relationship as it develops is... different. Has anyone ever read 'Dash and Lili's Book of Dares'? It kind of reminded me of that. They bond over the oddest ways. Like, when he learns she's never been bowling and they bowl at 3 am. Or when she says that she's never had a food fight and they do that too. When she ends up having a breakdown one night, he doesn't sooth her with his 'beautiful words' or 'gentle kisses'. He's just there listening to her cry and telling her that it isn't her fault. When he deals with his pain from his past, she's there for him as well, not as a lover or fairy godmother, but as a friend. 

Oh! Oh! And they don't sleep together! Boom! I'm sorry, that's a big pet peeve of mine. I hate reading books where these seventeen year olds know each other for like maybe a month and are madly in love and then end up sleeping together.

She doesn't change her dreams for him. She still ends up doing what she was planning on doing at the beginning of the summer and they still keep in touch.  There was still crappiness at the end in both their lives, they knew things weren't going to be perfect but they were willing to keep going. And maybe even get some sleep. 

I don't know, I guess I was just taken away by the realness of this book. I like reading real things. Real things make me happy.

Picture of the Day

This picture continually shows up on my Tumblr dashboard and every time I see it I think, "I really like this picture. I should grab it and save it to my computer." And I finally did it! Gold sticky star for me!
I don't know if it's the colours, the font of the words, the actual photograph or the use of the word 'darling' (which I absolutely love), but something about this picture just gets to me. There's no particular reason why I'm sharing it other than the fact that I really like it.

It seems we just can't win.

Hello Lovelies!

I'm assuming that 99%, if not all, of my readers are fellow females. So from one girl to another I want to ask, does it seem to you that no matter how hard we try, we're always wrong?

I know everyone tells us to just be ourselves, don't try to fit society's standards, we were meant to stand out etc. etc. And I agree with this wholeheartedly.

But at the same point in time, there seems to be no "good" true to yourself.

Let me try and explain.

If a girl is curvy, she's "fat" or a "pig".
If a girl is slim, she's "skinny," a "twig" or "toothpick".

If a girl goes for a more natural look, she's "ugly" or a "hot mess".
If a girl puts effort into her appearance, she's "fake".

If a girl is kind, she's a "suck up" or "teacher's pet".
If a girl speaks her mind, she's a "bitch".

If a girl wears long dresses and covers herself, she's "frigid".
But if she wears shorts and a tank top, she's a "slut".

If a girl has standards, she's "Missy Goody Two Shoes".
If she doesn't have many, she's a "hoe".

If we're emotional, we are told to "suck it up" and to "stop being such a girl".
But if we then try and hide our emotions, we're "cold" and "robotic".

There is something very, very wrong with this. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of it. I'm sick of having whatever I do, be "wrong". I'm sick of being treated like somehow, I'm less than everybody else.

Because I'm not.

You're not.

We're not less than everyone.

We're different but that, in no way, makes us less.

What's awful is that this name calling, this insulting, this judging, doesn't just come from guys. It comes from the other girls around us. Almost every girl I've talked to about this says that they've struggled with feeling like they aren't good enough, that they can't measure up, no matter what they do. Why, then, are we hurting each other? C'mon girls! We're all fighting this! We're all on the same side! Why do we have to put each other down? Why can't we all stand together rather than fight like it's every girl for themselves?

Now understand, I'm not trying to point a finger at anyone. Not guys, not girls. Instead, I want to point out the ridiculous amount pressure that is being put on girls by our society to be inexplicably perfect. It seems to be something that we've just accepted as being normal.

I don't remember where, but I saw something recently. One girl commented somewhere asking, "How can guys be so good looking without makeup?" That really brought this issue to my attention. Because somehow, we've decided that girls have to wear makeup to look good.

And within the past couple of weeks, I was out somewhere wearing leggings and a shirt, just walking into the grocery store and some guys drive by and shout out, "Nice ass!"

Let me tell you, I was this close to turning around and giving them a piece of my mind.

Another time when my cousin and I were down in Toronto, walking along one of the busy streets, a guy calls out, "What's a couple of pretty tarts like you doing walking by yourselves?"

It makes me sick.

I feel like I don't even count as a person.

Girls have somehow been turned into objects.

I really don't want to blame people, I don't want to become a crazy feminist who despises men. I don't want to become a hermit who avoids all contact with the outside world. I really, really want to change this. Cause I know I'm not the only one who deals with this and there have been girls who have  had to deal with situations much worse than me. But I can't do anything by myself. It has to be a group effort. We all have to come together to fight this image.

Picture of the Day

Float down, like autumn leaves.

Hello Lovelies!

Recently, I had the privilege of doing a photo shoot with my dear, dear friend Kara. She's really pretty and really sweet. We were up at my Grandparent's farm and decided that it would be a cool idea to do a photoshoot. So off we went into the wildness that was my Grandparent's backyard and shot some pictures.

This one of my favourite pictures
from the shoot.

I love the lighting in this photo and the contrast of the
background.

Laughter is the best medicine.

I feel like this picture should be on a country music
cover. 

Another one of my favourites. The warm lighting and the
grass looks so country!

For some reason, this song reminds me of the song Autumn
Leaves by Ed Sheeran, which inspired the title of this
post. I really like this type of picture where the main
subject is out of focus and something small is in
focus.

Her eyes are stunning. I'm jealous. 

*Insert Little House on the Prairie theme song*

Another one of the in focus/out of focus pictures. I really
like the vibrant green in the background.

She's so puuurrrttttyyy.

I really like the whimsicalness of this picture. 

Gahhh, I love this picture.

Is it just me who feels that black and white pictures hold
so much emotion?

In focus/out of focus. Again.

I'm actually kind of happy that
the barn is falling apart because it makes
a wonderful spot for photos.

I also really, really like this picture.

I dunno know about you, BUT I'M FEELING TWENTY TWO. No, just kidding. I dunno know about you, but I'm actually looking forward to fall. Not so much school, but the warm sweaters, the baking, the pretty leaves, the cool air, getting to start lessons with my songwriting and singing teachers again. And this fall I'm going to get to teach a class on songwriting in the family co-op I'm in for kids grade five to grade eleven, which I'm actually stoked about.
How have your summers' been?

Song of the Day

This is the Ed Sheeran song I was referring to up in one of the photo captions.

And We Danced All Night To The Best Song Ever...

Hello Lovelies!

My apologies for my absence, the last few weeks have been hectic! I had a wonderful friend over from Quebec for a week, I had another friend who was back from camp for a week and wanted to see me and I went up to visit my Grandparents.

However, by far the most exciting thing was going to see One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer down in Toronto. My cousin and I had been waiting since February to see them and the day finally came. It was incredible, probably one of the best nights of my life to date.

It wasn't just getting to see the biggest pop stars live, it wasn't just the music, it was the energy in the stadium. Everyone was so excited to be there, everyone knew the words to every song and everyone was having a blast. It was really cool to be a part of 56,000 people all there for the same thing you were.

Here was the stadium during Little Things. It was truly a beautiful sight, everyone with their lights, swaying to the time of the music.

And here's the stadium with the lights during Best Song Ever.

I loved it! The boys all joked in between songs and interacted with fans. Harry stopped to sing one fan Happy Birthday. They all stopped at various times to thank everyone for their support. They would randomly burst into song.

Then there were these moments that made the entire place erupt in frantic screaming.

The subtle-ish....

And the... less subtle.

This is probably going to sounds horrible, but something that surprised me was how well they can actually sing. I mean, I have heard lots of crap about how they are poor singers, but they're quite extraordinary. I was really quite surprised; their harmonizing was on point, Zayn's high notes were strong, they all sang clearly and were in key. 

I hope you all have been having a wonderful summer. I'm desperately trying to ignore the fact that school starts in a month. How can that be?! It seems like summer has just started. I'm not ready for school again! No, no, no, deep breath. I still have a month.

Ta ta for now!!