changes

my oh my it's been quite a while since i've made a post. i've been rather busy these past couple of weeks. i finally got a job at a great place that does school photography. being an art graduate, i think this is a great place to work to at least get my foot in the door to greater art opportunities. unfortunately this position is just temporary but i'm glad i was able to work there the time that i have. i've met some amazing and interesting people and that's always a great thing. although this position is just temporary i was still going to interviews in the first couple of days of working because i wanted to try and find a position for when i would eventually be out of work once again and to my surprise i got another job with great pay, so thumbs up for that! i'm sad i'll be leaving the job i have now because i'll miss some of my co-workers but i'm excited for what this new job will bring me.

in other exciting news my mom and her boyfriend bought an amazing new home together. well, actually it's not new at all, it's an old century home but it'll be new to us! it is stunning and i am so excited to move in, have some amazing times and make new memories there. i feel like my life has been in a sort of upheaval in the last five years of my life, moving from place to place, but you learn to love the ride.

i'm going to try and make some more posts in the next month with some stuff that will actually interest you guys haha! i'm going to get a psychic reading on wednesday which is pretty neat! i've never done one before so i'll let you guys know what she says! i'm kind of nervous!

have a lovely week cheeky chatters!

stay cheeky!

graduation

i finally graduated!

most of the pictures are blurry courtesy of my mother.

stay cheeky!

october shots

hope everyone is having a lovely october.

friendly horses

pumpkin picking adventures

farms

pumpkin picking adventures cont'd

mom and sister 

crunchy leaves are the best

hello mr. goat

thanksgiving dinner

rockton fair

brad paisley concert

stay cheeky.

MY WEBSITE

hey guys!

i've talked about the fact that i am an art graduate and i don't think i've ever shown any of my work on here or talked about it too much but i've got myself a proper website now! please check it out that would be awesome!

alexjallan.com

show it to your friends and spread the art love.

stay cheeky!

new kicks

i may or may not be suffering from a shopping addiction...

$60.00 CA

i've been wanting a pair of vans for a while now and i fell in love with these black and burgundy ones so i just went for it. 

what do you guys think?

stay cheeky!

help a sister out!

hey guys!

my older sister has entered addition elle's contest looking for plus sized models. please like her page so she can have a better chance at winning it would mean the world to her!

http://bit.ly/18K53ak

thank you so much and stay cheeky!

i finally found some!

hey cc readers!

so i have been on a hunt for a matte top coat for a while now and just haven't been able to find any! but today i was at a local wal-mart (of course it would be there) and i found some! jackpot baby.

i'm obsessed with it right now. 

stay cheeky!

happy turkey day!

happy thanksgiving everyone!

i know it's not thanksgiving everywhere but in canada it's thanksgiving weekend and i'm stoked to get some turkey lurkey in my belly. anyways, i thought i should make a little post of all the things i'm thankful for since it's our day of thanks!

i'm thankful for my family

i'm thankful for my friends

i'm thankful for their support in everything i do

i'm thankful for food and clean water

i'm thankful for my education

i'm thankful for the roof over my head

i'm thankful for the opportunities life has handed me thus far

i'm thankful for all the love i'm surrounded with everyday

i'm thankful for my experiences

i'm thankful for my cute little orange kitty

i'm thankful for my health

i'm thankful for my happiness

i'm thankful for everything and everyone i have in my life

and i'm thankful for all of you lovely readers!

have a wonderful day everyone!

stay cheeky!

photo from sharelike.me

st.ives mineral clay firming mask

hello cheeky chatters!

so i was out shopping with my older sister and i picked up this mask by st.ives. there are two reasons i got this mask, number one: i have an obsession with masks and anything that may have the potential to make my skin beautiful. number two: it was on sale. i am always making masks at home with things i have in my house already, but sometimes this gets old you know, i want a "real" mask once and a while. this mask isn't for getting rid of zits or making your pores look smaller, this one is for firming your facial skin. i know what your probably thinking..."why does a 21 year old need a firming mask?..." call me crazy but i have wrinkles, although my mother and other women her age would be flabbergasted to hear that i think i have wrinkles but, i do, just a little. anyways, i liked the look of this mask and it's supposed "firming" abilities so i snatched up a bottle.

my first impression of the stuff was "wow, what a pretty colour," it's a lovely mint colour with a lovely mint scent to match. the mask itself has a real smooth texture, it goes on the face easy and almost instantly cools the skin. it has a nice refreshing sensation. as the mask dries it's the neatest feeling, it goes super freaking tight. i've used masks before that go tight as they dry but never as tight as this one. i left it on for maybe half an hour just because i was watching a movie and was too lazy to get up and wash it off but once i did go to wash it off the washing process took a while. it's pretty difficult to get off your face once it's dried on there. once it was all off and my face was clean it did feel tighter. my "wrinkles" are still there but it made my face feel nice and it didn't make me break out which is a plus. i'd give this mask a 7.5/10.

stay cheeky!

yet another forever 21 haul

i have a problem guys.

got these two dresses as options for my graduation/graduation party. my sister likes the black one and i like the cream and black. so, since i valued my sisters opinion sooo much i bought both. 

$18.80 CA

$23.80 CA

$6.00 CA

I also really liked these triangle earrings so i got them as well.

what do you guys think, which dress do you like better?

stay cheeky!

instagrammy

if you haven't already done so, add me on instagram to follow me on my little everyday adventures!

@al3xallan

october

well, my favourite month has arrived. fall is here!

fall is by far the most relaxing and comfortable season to me, and i love everything that comes with it! sweaters, earth coloured leaves, crisp weather, and pumpkins! since i know there are many others out there that also love fall, i thought that i'd do a semi-fall fashion post by showing you guys some of the things that i'm loving this fall. 

the first thing i'm going to mention is something i've always been sort of obsessed with but is more of a fall fashion item. DENIM SHIRTS. i own way too many denim shirts but i just can't help but buying another to add to my collection when i come by one. just a week ago i bought this super cute denim shirt from none other than forever 21. i'm totally diggin' it.

$35.80 CA

the next thing that i've just recently gotten into is double coloured nails. i came across a picture of some nails like this in the past couple of weeks and fell in love. here are my nails, the colours i tried out are black and copper (although they look gold in this picture). what do you guys think?

i always have this weird thing in the fall where i feel the need to make copious amounts of crafts and knick knacks, is that just me? i'm not sure what it is, but fall makes me feel extra creative! two nights ago i decided to knit myself something. i used to knit all the time but i sort of gave it up because i had made enough scarves to wrap around the earth twice...but i thought i'd make something a little different this time. i noticed last winter that knitted headbands had made there way into the fashion world, everyone had one! i wanted one so bad, i thought they looked super cute but i couldn't find one that fit my head right or that i really liked anywhere! so, i thought, why not make my own? i chose black yarn because you can match black with everything and knitted away for about half an hour, then i  sewed the two ends together to make the band. after that i knitted a smaller piece to cover up the ugly sewn part as well as to make it sinch in a tad, and voila! i now have myself a cute little headband for fall and winter! i might add a couple of cute little buttons to give it some flare but i'm not sure yet.

                            

hope everyone's october is going lovely so far and stay cheeky!

jobs and grown up life

how's it going everyone?

as some of you may know i've been rather unsuccessfully searching for a job. i thought i wouldn't have any problems finding one seeing as all the university students have left for school and high school students are at school during the days. but it seems i was wrong with that assumption. WHERE HAVE ALL THE JOBS GONE!?

i'm still on the search but in the mean time i'm literally doing nothing productive during the days. my parents are cool with it and say it's actually a great opportunity for me to sit and think about what i actually want to do for the rest of my life since most people my age don't have that opportunity. my sister for example didn't go to university but got a job at my mom's work as a general admin. right out of high school. she's worked her way up to office manager which is amazing but she is really unhappy at her job! it pays her bills but she wishes she had gone to university or college so that she would have had more opportunities to try something different. she also moved out at 16 and has had two homes, mortgages, and other such bills to pay for which i never really experienced. when i left for school i was 18 and i came home to visit rather often and my school bills were basically payed for through a scholarship and my granddad's help (thanks granddad!). my sister had help from my granddad for her houses as well since that wouldn't be fair if i got money for school and she didn't. but it was still a struggle for her to stay afloat. it is just funny to see how our different choices have put us in such different places right now. the funnier thing is, we're both jealous of each other right now! i wish i had a job to make some moolah and she wishes she wasn't working so she could test the waters with different job options. although my parents are cool with this, i think my grandparents are panicking a bit haha they're concerned for what my future is going to look like (40 year old me living in my mom's basement is probably what's floating around their heads). so, that, my sister should be thankful she doesn't  have to deal with.

a couple days ago i actually had a great entrepreneurial idea. it's a secret for now though muahaha;) anyways i've been like a mad scientist in my kitchen experimenting with different things. if it turns out, which hopefully it does, then i'll share it with you guys. i hope to sell it when it's perfected:)

stay cheeky!

twitter handle

hey guys!

for frequent updates of what's going on in my life or just for some of the random thoughts floating around this noggin of mine, add me on twitter!

@alexandra_allan

how to make your hair dye last longer

so, as some of you may know, i reverse ombre-ed my locks a week or so ago and i loved it! well, actually i still do, but i have a little problem...it's almost all washed out! i was warned by my hairdresser that red hair is actually the hardest to dye because of it's bright colour, bright highlights and just it's over-all red tone! apparently it just doesn't like to hold on to dye. *sigh*

anyways, i'm pretty cheesed that it's basically washed out in only 6 days seeing as it was done with permanent dye! i was hoping my hair would hold it's colour. of course, i can go back to my hairdresser and try it again but she's pretty busy and i'm pretty poor...post university problems :/ so i've been sort of bummed about that but i now know that i have to do certain things if i want my hair to keep it's new colour for when i get it done again next time!

here are my tips to have your hair dye last longer:

1. don't wash your hair as often. however, if you are like me, that's not really an option. i have extremely greasy hair. i can shower in the morning and my hair will be greasy by 5pm. it's horrible. i've always been that way though so don't tell me it's because i shower too often, that's a myth my friends--greasy people need to shower daily. but i have a semi-solution to this problem, try using baby powder or spray in shampoo like batiste to buy yourself an extra day. or just wear your hair up and hope no one comments on your unwashed hair :).

2. wash your hair with cold or tepid water.

3. use colour enhancing shampoos or shampoos that protect dyed hair.

4. use hair dyes that have little or no red tone to them, those are the ones that wash out fastest! (that includes auburn and warm browns).

5. use permanent dye not semi or demi permanent they won't last very long at all.

stay cheeky!

20 few things travel has taught me

1. walking is the best way to explore some place new. your feet can bring you to many cool places that a car can't. it's also good exercise.

2. the popular "must-sees" around the world are great, but it's the places that nobody talks about that are cooler.

3. if your bag is so heavy you can't lift it, you have a problem. only pack what you need, odds are you probably won't wear half the clothes you packed!

4. bartering with someone is a skill. a skill you should learn.

5. people hearing about your travels are as inspired by them as they are envious. just remember that.

6. sleeping on airport floors is gross and extremely uncomfortable but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. who knows it could be more comfortable than the bed you may get in your hotel room.

7. postcards may seem lame, but trust me, anyone who receives one will love it and probably keep it forever. it's the thought that counts!

8. try and learn the language of the place you're staying in. you don't have to be fluent but it can really help you out if you get lost, are ordering food or just trying to say a friendly hello.

9. write about everyday. believe me, there are some things you forget, no matter how fun they were in the moment!

10. you'd be surprised how small the world actually is.

11. go with the flow, don't let anything stress you out. everything always turns out.

12. if a street performer made you stop and stare, they deserve a couple bucks.

13. deep fried cactus is actually pretty good. slimy but good. but then again, everything deep fried is good.

14. be careful of the water where you are. it can mean sickness if you're not careful.

15. always carry snacks.

16. coconut water is like water of the gods. it can cure anything. it will give you diarrhea if you have too much though.

17. lose your passport, you're fucked. guard it with your life.

18. home sickness comes as fast as it goes.

19. sunscreen is a necessity.

20. celebrate always.

10 travel tips

1. pack lightly-- if you can get on a flight without having to check your luggage, that's a major plus!

2. bring a refillable water bottle and be sure to carry it with you everywhere, you never know how long you'll be without seeing a place to buy or get some water.

3. bring your camera everywhere and pack loads of batteries!

4. suncreen is your friend.

5. make sure you have more than one bathing suit, it's just better to have two, trust me.

6. wear comfortable footwear.

7. sleep as much as you can whenever you can.

8. grab a little souvenir from every place you go, and when i say little i mean little. grab something like a cool rock or buy a small button from a local shop, you can make cool travel memory boxes with these! (i collect buttons personally, i have a backpack absolutely covered)

9. talk to as many locals as you can, they're usually friendly, and always have the best advice for local places to eat and sights to check out. or, they could just be an interesting person to talk to!

10. try and see and do every single thing that you can when you're there, you never know if you'll be back again!

contests!

don't be fooled by the title of this post, i am not doing a contest for you guys just yet. but i've come to realize lately that my blog which i sort of started off as and hoped to be a beauty blog has turned into more of a travel blog, which i personally think fits me better since i travel lots and i love to blog about it. so i thought what i am about to talk to you all about is quite fitting for a travel blog! one of my friends just entered this contest run by Free and Easy Traveler called "100 day giveaway" on facebook and i thought it looked pretty rad. they're giving away 100 days of travel to a lucky winner and you can pick from a number of places like Indonesia, Peru, Thailand and Greece! *hearts in my eyes* so here's the thing, when you enter you get this url and if people click on it to enter as well, it gives you more chances to win, pretty sick, right? so i thought i'd post it on here for all of my lovely cc readers to check out and enter as well ;) and then get your own url's and post those on your facebook, twitter, and possibly blogs if you chose! it's free, why not enter?

here's my url
https://fnez.com/dream-trip/9ol2yfvd1qb37ch8

if you enter through my url thank you so much and good luck!

stay cheeky!

new hair

what's going on cheeky chatters?

on saturday i went to get my hair done for the first time in a year...i know, gross. i had been thinking about doing something a little different with my hair since i haven't really done anything fun with it in years. when this whole ombre fad became popular it intrigued me. i love the way it looks and it's a style i could do on my ginger hair. i've always wanted to dye my hair but knew that i just wouldn't be able to deal with the up-keep of constantly dying my orange roots. ombre has no up-keep which is sweet. so, i have been going back and forth for the past two weeks deciding whether or not to go with the ombre or to just leave my hair the way it is. but also if i did end up doing ombre, would i do dark or light on the ends. i looked on the internet for pictures to see what either would look like and i honestly had so much trouble finding either! especially pictures with dark on the ends. so, at the last minute, after talking with my hair dresser i decided i wanted to do reverse ombre. not only because i felt like blonde on my ends would make my gingerness stand out more but also because i really haven't seen reverse ombre on anyone, and i like being the person who takes something popular but changes it slightly to make it unique ;). i also had my younger sister beside me getting BLUE put in her hair, so i felt like maybe i should be a little more adventurous like her haha anyways this is how my hair turned out!

i love it, it's so different from what i'm used to but i like the change! it's just what i was hoping it'd look like so props to my hairdresser, she's awesome. 

excuse my horribly messy dresser...

here's another picture to give you a better look at it. what do you guys think of it? i want to hear your honest opinions!

beautiful flower

also my hairdresser's daughter who is around 5 or 6 years old and is totally into art and knew i went to school for art, gave me this amazing painting she did! honestly how good is it!? that was probably the cutest/sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. i was so flattered. 

as always, thanks for reading:)

stay cheeky!

l'oreal true match foundation review and life update

hello my cheeky chatters!

my, it feels as though it has been forever and a day since i have made a post. i wish i could say it was because i'm too busy with stuff in my life lately but i really don't have any excuse as to why i haven't posted in so long. anyways i've missed y'all!

now that i am finished with university and supposed to be starting my "grown up" life i feel overwhelmed by the pressure to get myself a good paying full time job, get a boyfriend/husband, and start a family. maybe i'm getting a little ahead of my self but i'm not one to stay relaxed and let all the pieces fall where they may. i am also being pestered by a mother who got married at 19, had her first baby at 22 and had two more by 26, to get my life going. most 21 year olds aren't thinking about having babies just yet but i've always wanted kids in my early twenties as well so that i'm not too much older than my children haha. i'm a tad nuts aren't i? i digress. yesterday i dropped off a few resumes at some local restaurants as i am looking for a waitressing job and while doing so i had the pleasure of meeting one of the restaurants manager's. he was very nice but leave it to awkward me to make an otherwise normal conversation into an uncomfortable one. when he first came over to me he had his one hand out, as if he was going to shake my hand, but i had my resume in my shaking hand. so as i went to put my resume into my other hand, it looked like he was going for my resume so then i got flustered and went to hand him it but then he went in for a handshake again! ugh. it was just awkward, but i guess that was on both our parts haha. i hope i hear back from them in the next couple of days, but if i don't, i'll know why! *hangs head in awkward shame*

let's get to the l'oreal true match foundation review shall we?

I hardly ever wear loads of make up and i was always a little hesitant to buy a foundation because i was fearful of it being too heavy and giving me the dreaded cake face. but i was watching one of BeyondBeautyStar's youtube videos called Watch Me Get Ready (video below) and she used l'oreal's true match foundation. it looked like it went on really nicely, it looked light and most importantly it looked natural!

so after watching this and seeing how good it looked on Claudia i went out and bought it, in a much lighter shade though because i'm as white as a piece of paper. my first impression of it was "wow, this looks too dark for me" (i got it in porcelain W1). but, surprisingly it went on very light in colour, light in weight, and made my skin look absolutely perfect. it stays on all day and you can't feel it on your skin at all. overall, i was very impressed with it and would encourage anyone looking for a light, natural looking foundation to try it! 

                                        

stay cheeky!

small charlotte russe haul

while i was in las vegas my mom and her boyfriend's daughters, my sister and i decided to do a little shopping. we went to a store called charlotte russe which i had never heard of before. maybe i just live under a rock, but they don't have them where i am from. it reminded me very much of a forever 21, lots of styles, clothes, colours and all for reasonable prices. 

i only picked up three things but here they are!

(from left to right)

taupe coloured knitted hat - $7.99 US

black and white crop top - $9.99 US

neon orangey pink tank - $17.99 US

stay cheeky!

past travels part 3!

i'm back everyone!

although i have called this post "past travel part 3," the trips that i would be talking about in this post, i have already talked about with you guys (exuma and las vegas) as well as Spain but i thought i'd spare you from the boredom. so i thought that i would use this post to tell you guys why i'm boring you all with these stories of the trips i've taken in the past.

my intention with these posts was not to brag or tell you about all the things you are missing out on, but instead i was hoping to encourage you to travel. you will never find anything more exillerating and satisfying than trying new things in new places, seeing new faces and living a different way of life - even for just a little bit!

the world you live in is so much more amazing than you can even imagine, why not explore it? i just got home from arizona last night, after staying in las vegas for a week prior to that and during the drive home from the airport i looked around at the city i have been living in for my whole life and i realized just how, well, boring it is! of course there is no place like home, but i've come to realize that there are so many interesting places surrounding me that need to be explored!

my family and i stayed in sedona, arizona for the past week and i can honestly say that i have never visited such a beautiful place before in my life. everywhere you look there are these amazing burnt red mountains encircling you. whilst in arizona, we visited a place near our rental home called the devil's bridge. i thought this was just an interesting name for a trail, but i later found out why it was named so. this "hike" was  much longer than we had anticipated and you could say we were a tad ill-prepared. with no water, no sunscreen and blistering heat, i'm pretty sure we all thought we were going to pass out and fry up under the sun. but after about 2 hours of walking (yes 2 hours!) we reached the end of the hike and made it to the devil's bridge, which a number of fellow hikers who passed us by had told us we "had to see!" i then realized why this trail was named devil's bridge.

when we got there i was totally blown away, all that walking and thinking that i was about to die was completely off my mind and worth it after seeing the view. i turned around to my mom and said 'isn't it amazing that we could've gone on living our lives at home, never have come on this trip and had no idea that this place was even here?" it was breath-taking.

all in all, you'll never know what's out there if you don't go out and look for it! travelling is truly eye opening.

hope everyone had a wonderful last two weeks and is ready for the month of september!

stay cheeky :)

past travels part 2!

 so let's pick up where i left off.

when i was in grade 10 (around 15 years old) i had the opportunity to go to europe with a few friends of mine. it was organized through our school but it wasn't like a normal school trip. the teachers that came along didn't really chaperone us, they just came along to be there in case any of us needed an adult. we had lots of freedom to go and do what we wanted which was great. this was the first time i was going on a trip without my parents and it was to a crazy and far away place, excited doesn't even begin to explain what i was feeling before i left. i was so young that i was almost too daft to be scared about it. i mean i was going to friggen FRANCE AND SPAIN! the flight to Paris was  9 hours and felt like an eternity. i tried to sleep but failed miserably. it was sort of a disaster when we got there because of the time difference and everything our tour guide decided it would be best it we just stayed up for the whole day and went on our first few excersions. if i remember correctly i was up a total of 40 something hours, you could say we were dead. i actually started to go a little bit insane during that day, i felt as though i had been drugged and still to this day believe that haha. but i was told it was exhaustion which i guess makes a bit more sense. i don't know why it affects me more than most people, but it does. we visited so many places in Paris, like Versailles, Museum de Rodan, Notre Dame,  the Arc de Triumph and of course the Eiffel Tower. we went to a few other places in France, like orange (pronounced or-rawn-sh) and nice (pronounced like niece).

my friends and i went a little wild and tried to do and see everything we could in between going to the museums and such, that we actually got lost in France at one point! we had an hour break to do whatever we wanted and we separated from our group (the group of students from our school, our chaperones, and tour guide). we had absolutely no. freaking. idea. where we were, and to top it off none of us to speak french. just the odd word here and there is all that we could speak. luckily my one friend had a map and knew where our group was headed to after our break was finished. but, unfortunately we were in a very quiet part of what ever town we were in, there were no people to try and ask directions to! we found a woman after about half an hour of wandering around and tried saying how do we get here? to her in french and then attempted to piece together the few french words we knew that were coming flying out of her mouth a million miles a minute. we thought we were doomed. my one friend knew that she told us to take a right at the end of the street we were on and to turn left after passing a certain shop. so we tried doing just that. but our group was no where to be found. at this point we had a serious conversation as to what we were going to do, seeing as we were lost at large. i was starting to get that nervous tummy ache because it was getting kind of scary, it had been two or more hours and we had no idea where we were or how to find our way back to our group seeing as they were constantly moving from place to place and potentially moving farther and farther away from where we were. this is when the luckiest moment of my life happened, our group appeared out of seemingly no where across the street from us. so, of course, we ran over as happy as can be screaming OH MY GOD WHERE WERE YOU GUYS!? OH MY GOD! this is also the moment we realized they had no clue we were even missing! all three chaperones started to laugh saying that they had done numerous head count and some how managed to miss count FOUR MISSING HEADS everytime. how does that even happen? real reassuring eh? anyways once we were with our group again we stayed pretty close for the rest of the day, until the next day when we went crazy and wandered again, we didn't get lost on the trip ever again though! haha. but a few days later we went for a night walk up this chapel in Paris, it was gorgeous and especially beautiful at night! after the walk we went in to this little town and walked around there and got some mcflurries (we were so surprised they had mcdonald's in france but i guess there's no reason there wouldn't be since they're everywhere) and then we walked through the town and watched people on the merry-go-rounds and all the passers by. this is when i almost got kidnapped. i was approached by a sort of scary man who asked me directions to somewhere, which is when i told him i didn't speak french and couldn't help him and began walking away. as i started to walk away he grabbed the strap of my backpack and pulled me back to him, i screamed and my friend ran over to my rescue, karate chopped his arm, and then we both ran. it scared the beegeebies out of me! but other than getting lost and almost getting kidnapped, France was an absolute blast. i'm going back there for sure.

stay tuned for part 3 where i talk about Espana!

stay cheeky!

past travels part 1!

hey everyone!

i promised that i would make a post about my past travels a few days ago, and to be honest, i forgot to post the first part, so my apologies! i've just been a little busy the past couple of days, so here you have it.

as you all know, i have a habit of rambling on and on and making my posts much longer than they possibly could've been, so i am going to try my hardest to keep this post short and sweet.

i thought since i have talked a bit about my past travels and travels to come that i would talk about all my past travels. i have been very lucky and have travelled to a number of awesome places. travelling is awesome and i love it, but i must admit i am a horrible traveller. the whole process of getting to the place we're travelling too, the waiting in the airports, flights, adjusting to the time changes, all that jazz, turns me into an extremely grumpy bunny. i don't do it on purpose i swear! i just don't function very well on lack of sleep, and that seems to be a thing you have to be able to deal with while travelling. but, aside from that, once i have adjusted to everything, i am extremely excited and ready for adventure!

so, let's start from the beginning shall we?

my very first travelling experience was in the 6th grade (age 11 or 12) and it was to New York. i was unbelievably excited as i had never really been anywhere other than up to Muskoka to visit my cottage. since we live pretty close, my parents decided it was probably easiest to just drive there. if i remember correctly it felt like the longest drive ever. my sisters and i were on the verge of killing each other from being in such close vicinity for so long and my parents wanted to kill us for being so annoying. once we got to our hotel, which was actually in New Jersey we were quick to throw our bags in our room and jump on the ferry that would bring us over to New York City. it was like nothing i had ever seen before, people were so...well...crazy! everyone was so themselves! that is the only way i can describe it, they weren't like the "cookie cutter" people i would describe where i come from. nobody there cared what anyone thought. i loved that about it, it was so free. also the shopping there, absolutely unreal. the stores were huge and sold everything you could ever imagine. i was so young that i only bought stupid things like stuffed animals but it was still an awesome experience just walking through the stores and feeling the atmosphere. we visited time square, the place where John Lennon was shot (sad i know), and spent one day in central park. sadly i can't find one single picture from the trip to show you guys!! i'm always the photographer on trips but i wasn't really into taking pictures back then so whatever few pictures that were taken are m.i.a. right now.

the second trip i ever went on was to Florida when i was 13, we drove there also. yeah, that trip to New York which felt like the longest drive ever didn't even come close to the length of the drive it took to get to Florida. that was by far THE LONGEST i have ever been stuck in a car with my family, i mean i love them and all but i hope i never have to be trapped in a car that long with them or anyone for that matter ever again haha. it was the first trip to a warm place i had ever been though and i loved it. except that it made my freckles come out like they never had before haha! our next couple of family trips were to Florida as well. i've been there a total of 3 times (2007, 08 and 09). all were great but the last time i went, we got to go to DisneyWorld and i felt as though my life was complete after that.

Tampa, Florida 2007

Orlando, Florida 2008

Orlando, Florida 2009 pictures i cannot find :$

in 2008 i also went to Cuba for the first time with my cousins, and thankfully this time we flew. we went to Cayo Coco, Cuba and the resort was awesome. the beach was close and there were plenty of places to just sit and relax. this was the first tropical place i had ever travelled to and i thought it was pretty cool being on an island. i'm really close with my cousins, they're basically my siblings we all grew up together and even lived together for a little when we were younger, so it was especially fun to have them on the trip with us.

me and two of my cousins

as much as i loved cuba, i got the worst sunburn there and was a lobster most of the trip. 

lobster me

after travelling to all these wonderful places i was bitten by a bug...the travel bug muahaha. i got urges to go to places that i never really thought about before, places much further than New York, Florida or Cuba. but you'll have to wait until part 2 to hear about that!

thanks for reading

and

stay cheeky!

food times

happy friday everyone!

so, last night my family and i went to an awesome little place near my house called Fazari's. it's an italian restaurant and although they are small size-speaking, they have so many foods on their menu it's insane. i went the non-adventurous route and just got a calzone with double cheese, green olives and pepperoni. IT WAS UNREAL. by far the best calzone i've ever had. it was the size of my head (maybe bigger) and surprisingly only $10!

the restaurant itself is small, as i mentioned before, so they call it a "take-out restaurant" where you can only get the food to go. no sit-in eating because honestly there was just no space! this was no problemo for us though, there was a beautiful park near by and it was a nice evening so we decided to grab a picnic bench and feast there.

back to the restaurant's location though. it's right in the middle of this residential area which i thought was a little odd, but since the homes in that area are neat old houses it didn't look too out of place! the houses surrounding all had their original stone walls, they're were sick. i love old houses, they have so much character.

my overall thoughts on this place are that i'm definitely going to be craving it's calzones on the daily and i can't wait to go back again!

have you guys discovered any amazing little restaurants where you're from? let me know!

stay cheeky!

another collective haul

bedo: $14 CA

forever 21: $14.95 CA

forever 21: $21.83 CA

h&m: $21.50 CA

forever 21: $7.50 CA

aritzia: on sale for $11.95 CA

sorry for the weird colours the lighting in my house made some of the colours look a little off!

stay cheeky!