Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants ~Sisterhood #1~ (Book Review)

Synopsis: Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn’t look all that great: they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them.

But Tibby says they’re great. She’d love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think they’re fabulous. Lena decides that they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them.

Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Even Carmen (who never thinks she looks good in anything) thinks she looks good in the pants. Over a few bags of cheese puffs, they decide to form a sisterhood and take the vow of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . . . the next morning, they say good-bye.

And then the journey of the pants — and the most memorable summer of their lives — begins.

Review: Another book I have had kicking around for quite some time now, I originally read this book last Summer and finally decided it was about time I gave my review before I completely forget about it. I have watched the movie a long time ago, and have full intentions of re-watching it, so I can do a comparison of both the book and the novel together.

Four Best Friends that have never been a part during the Summer came across a pair of old worn out jeans and have decided that even though this Summer was going to be the Summer they spend away from each other, they will mail it out to each other (NEVER TO WASH THEM) and will wear them during the most important or scary parts of their Summer. The pants brought them good luck or even helped to keep them feel secure, kind of as if the friends were still together. What made these pants feel like magic was the fact that they fit all four of them, even though their body types were completely different.

Carmen ends up heading South to go visit her Father, which she eventually finds out that her dad is due to be Married to another Woman, and she also finds out that he has future step-daughters.

Lena and her sister go to Greece to visit and bond with their Grandparents. Lena also learns that not every guy is shallow and that just maybe someone is genuinely interested in her.

Bridget goes to Mexico for a Soccer camp and ends up falling for her coach, a forbidden love for a young girl like herself.

Tibby is the only one of the four girls that is stuck staying at home working her day job, when she meets a younger girl and becomes friends with her despite of the age difference.

I honestly did love this book, and I think it is a series I may want to introduce to my soon-to-be-daughter when she becomes of age to read young adult books.

The author for this book is Ann Brashares and she has written a total of 5 books for this series, which I own most, I cannot wait to get my hands on the last book or two. I will definitely also write reviews for the other books as I read them.

Overall book rating: *****

*~ATBW~*

April 4, 2022 0

R.I.P Josie

On January 8th we had to say our goodbyes to the best cat I have ever known in my life. He has always been Rob’s cat/baby since he was a little boy himself, but, when I started dating Rob, that also meant me being attached to his cat which made me consider him my fur baby.

Hogging the bed/seats on the couch, biting my toes anytime I moved the slightest in my sleep, the constant meowing, following me into the bathroom and nearly making me trip a few times was only a few of the memories.. but the memories I would never trade for anything else.

My favourite memories are the snuggles/cuddles when we watched shows, or waking up in the morning seeing him still in bed with me and any time I tried to work on the laptop, or use my phone.. I loved how he was either by my feet, or sitting beside me as I worked.. and then casually got in the way to scratch his head off my laptop/phone. Or how he would sometimes just come crawl into my lap when I was trying to read a book.

I also loved how Josie would always meow when both Rob and I were not in the room. His favourite place to be, especially in the colder months was in our bed room, and he’d just chill there meowing to get our attention. And if one of us was ready for bed and under the covers, it wasn’t enough, he’d stare at the door and meow till the other came into the room too.

It’s only just been over 6 years since I’ve known Josie, but, it feels like a life time. I love you so much buddy, and I know you’ll always be watching us.. just like how you’d always come comfort us if you knew one of us were sad or not doing well.

Miss you always.

January 17, 2022 0

Best of 2021

My Birthday was virtual this year. But my bestie drove by to greet me. Another one of my friends stopped by too and then my family and my Fiancé’s family came by. And then we celebrated virtually with my friends, my little bro was our place and we ordered Chinese food.

Work surprised me for my Birthday a couple of days after.

I personally think this year was a very good baking year… and you’ll see why as you go through the photos. This was a strawberry vanilla cupcake!

Vanilla cupcakes with Oreo frosting & topped with an Oreo cookie.

Got roses from my Fiance for Valentines.

Celebrating our God Sons 2nd Birthday 💜.

Made Tiramisu cups for my Dads Birthday.

Ordered Moxies for our “Would’ve been Wedding Day”.

All-you-can-eat sushi date w/ the Fiance.

Went to Port Credit with one of my Besties.

Same day we went to Port Credit we went to this restaurant neither of us have ever been to.. and I had the most bomb steak salad (sadly last time having blue cheese).

Went for All-You-Can-Eat sushi with two of my Colleagues. Last time having sushi.

Found out I was Pregnant. This was also the same day as my cousins Bridal Shower, so got to see some family I haven’t seen in a long time.

First time at a Beach in 2021. Also first time ever going to Bluffs Beach.

Always need a photo of the water when going to the Beach.

One of my favourite photos of myself at Sugar Rush.

Of course, ended up at Sugar Rush with the Bestie! 💜

Went to my cousins Wedding. I love guests books like this with photos.

First time ever going Apple Picking with a good company.

We then ended up going into the Farmers Market after photos.

One of my Besties Baby Showers! Went for High-Tea!

Made Nutella Cupcakes topped with Furrero Rocher.

Celebrating our friends Birthday and Halloween together.

Went for a decent amount of walks with one of my Besties.

Was debating on giving out candy for Halloween. Decided to give it all away to our God son.

Rice Krispy Balls, also made in green and white.

My first time going to a Christmas Market.

Movie date with the Fiance! ❤️ Our first time going in two years.

Went to our friends wedding. Love this photo. Photo bombed by their photographer (aka my friend from College).

Did a Christmas baking day with one of my besties. S’more Bars!

Gingerbread Bars. These were delicious!!

I just love Christmas and decorating! I also love seeing other peoples decorations when I go on drives.

Christmas! So much food. Got to spend time with both sides of our family, which felt really nice, we weren’t able to do this in 2020.

Also first time seeing a 🦊 in person! Sooo much prettier in person.

Ended 2021 with a couple of our Besties and rang in the new year! Stay tuned for a post with what my hopes are for the year of 2022!

January 2, 2022 0

The Great Book Debate

All these years I have been so fixated on physical copy books, I just loved everything about them. The smell of a new book, feeling the pages, being able to use my favourite themed book marks for it, seeing the books on the shelves and just physically browsing the libraries or book stores for a new story to read.

I was also completely against the idea of e-books, with my day job I am constantly looking at a computer screen, and even with my obsession over social media and trying to run my Direct Sale businesses, not to mention watching TV or playing video games and texting people… I honestly have far too much screen time for my liking, and if I had to depend on an electronic device to read a novel, I just felt like it was a bad idea for my already sore, dry eyes and just doesn’t look as appealing as a physical book. However, I also do understand the concept of them, e-books are cheaper and is probably a minimalists best friend.

Audio books, I have honestly never considered before. I have tried getting into podcasts, and I either find the person talking incredibly boring, or I just couldn’t get into it. If I had to listen to something, I’d rather it be music. I also would’ve hated if they made me feel anything like a podcast did.

Look at me now though, now have one physical book I’ve been reading whenever I have time to step away from electronics and can enjoy it with a cup of tea, an audio book I’ve been listening to occasionally while I am working and an e-book I read when I’m out and about OR when I am laying in bed. I overall still do preference physical books out of the other two options, I do want to increase my bookshelf with more books (as much as I also do need to declutter what I already have as well). Being able to allow myself to enjoy the beauty of all three reading styles has increased the amount of reading I can get done in a single week, and I guess that is one thing I am happy about for sure.

Which one is your preference in reading? Physical books? E-books? OR Audio Books? I would also love to hear the reason why you love that specific reading preference.

~*ATBW*~

December 16, 2021 0

Holiday Baking ~ Christmas 2021 Edition!

One of my all time favourite things about the Holiday season is the amount of different things that we can bake to help get ourselves in the Holiday spirit. Not to mention I just love baking and also a complete foodie.

The top of this photo is Christmas Rice Crispy Balls. They turned out super yummy, and honestly, I find the homemade ones better as they don’t have as much sugar in them.

In the bottom of this photo is Elf sugar cookies, these were not made from scratch, but they were the Pillsbury Dough Boy cookies.

One of my Best Friends ended up coming over to do some Holiday Baking with me, she made 4 different recipes and I made three, the photos below you will see the three items I chose to bake. All thanks to Pinterest (I absolutely love that site!)

S’mores Bars! These turned out pretty good, I find they taste the best at room temperature or after being heated up in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Gingerbread Bars! I was honestly so happy with the cream cheese frosting, it tasted so delicious, the bars also taste amazing. Could be eaten cold, room temperature or heated.

Originally I was supposed to use Christmas sprinkles for the Gingerbread bars, however, the grocery stores I went to did not have any Christmas themed sprinkles.

Oreo Balls! Originally half was supposed to be coated with milk chocolate, and the other half was supposed to be white chocolate. I had a chocolate melting malfunction and they did not turn out how they were supposed to, nevertheless, the actual Oreo Balls tasted great, almost like Oreo Cheese cake! They tasted good even without the chocolate coating, but, the chocolate coating does make it look nicer.

Cannot wait to share other baking plans I have for next year!

~*ATBW*~

December 14, 2021 0

This is What Has Been New For Me…

I know I have not been posting anything since the Summer, things have started getting a bit hectic, plus been dealing with something we have been keeping a secret for a while. We only recently (a couple of months ago) been open about it more publicly.

WE. ARE. EXPECTING.

YES… EXPECTING.

For the first while, the pregnancy symptoms were very mild, did not get any morning sickness and mainly just experienced nausea if I was waiting a bit too long to eat. Honestly, if it was not for the pregnancy test, I wouldn’t have even known I was pregnant.

Just this past month, I have been experiencing more pregnancy symptoms, my sinuses are very bad, especially when I’m at home (we live in a basement, so I hear the air tends to be more dry), I ended up getting a humidifier to help it. Headaches come from time to time. And the ultimate worst of it is the heart burn I’ve been getting, and that only started about two weeks ago, especially any time I eat something deep fried (which sucks, because for a while I was craving French Fries), today it happened more so when I was hungry and didn’t eat, and after eating. Oh yay… heart burn.

I am currently at my 22.5 weeks mark. So just more than halfway there.

The more time that goes on, the more real it all feels. The more excited I am getting, we are getting.

As much as we have a lot of time to prepare, it also feels like time is already flying by and that time just feels so tight.

I also frequently feel the flutters, and it feels funny, but, so magical at the same time. I cannot wait to actually start seeing the little baby kicks.

I honestly cannot wait to meet this little bean and be their Mama.

*~ATBW~*

December 14, 2021 0

Fashion ~ Black Leggings SUMMER edition!

We have come a long way when it comes to leggings. Especially in 2020-2021 leggings came back in style, when a lot of people have become more dependent on comfort clothes.

Not sure about you, but, for me… I swear I depended on my leggings. From going to the office to going out and even chilling at home. I went from not owning any, to owning probably over thirty pairs.

I have lots of different patterns, solid colours and even different lengths (She’s Got Leggz.. which I am a consultant for has legging, capris and shorts length.

My ultimate favourite colour is our Black Onyx. The ones in this picture is not from She’z Got Leggz, they are actually just random photos from Google images, but wanted to show you how versatile black leggings really are.

Would love to do this! But yet to find boots that’ll fit me.

I do something pretty similar to this. It’s great for the cold Summer nights.

I need shoes similar to this, and then I’ll be ready to rock this style.

I have actually done this before, I even own a tee dress similar to this.

This one here is my least favourite. Honestly not a fan of that vest.

How do you wear your leggings? What is your usual to go to style? Which style is your goal to try? Comment below with answers.

~*ATBW*~

July 30, 2021 0

Black Widow ~ Movie Review

MOVIE REVIEW ~ BLACK WIDOW

Release Date: July 9th 2021
Duration: 2hrs and 13mins
Genre: Sci-fi, Action, and Adventure
Rated: PG-13

*NOTE* this review will have some SPOILERS!!!!!

This movie originally was supposed to release May 1st 2020 but was postponed not only once, but three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I can personally say as much as I hated the fact it got postponed so many times, it was definitely worth the wait.

“Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) also known as Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.” — Disney Plus

For anyone that watched Avengers Endgame, I’m sure we all know that Black Widow ended up dying *insert cry emoji* and that this Black Widow film will most likely be the last time we ever see Natasha Romanoff. In my opinion, she should’ve had at least two solo films and they should’ve been before Endgame ever happened. I suppose this is better than nothing though, and better late than never. With how this movie was placed although it was about the past, I felt like it was more of Yelena Belova’s (Florence Pugh) introduction.

The dynamic duo between Natasha and Yelena was AMAZING! Honestly having both of these amazing actresses in this film made me fall inlove with the movie and I was not a single moment where I felt bored of the movie. Not to mention that I honestly lost track of how many times Yelena made me laugh and I felt like out of all the characters in the film, she had the most character development.

My other two favourite characters was Alexie (David Harbour) although I found him a little dull at times, he did have a lot of funny lines and overall good character. I also felt that the Taskmaster was pretty bad ass, especially with the constant growth and ability to learn other peoples moves before they can do the moves themselves.

When the end credit scene came on, I had a strong feeling of what was going to happen… and it did. I did cry… I felt like it was a little too soon for it to pop up on the screen again, although it has been over two years ago since Avengers Endgame, it still hit home for me, since Black Widow was one of my favourite characters in the Avengers.

I am however really excited to see what Marvel has in store for Yelena, and I hope they keep her personality and wont alter it too much in any future shows/films.

Here are some of my favourite quotes:

Natasha: You can’t just steal a guy’s car.
Yelena: So you want me to chase him down and unsteal it?

Yelena: Well, I doubt the God from space has to take an ibuprofen after a fight.

Natasha: Put your seat belts on.
Yelena: You’re such a mom.

Natasha: You okay?
Yelena: Yeah. Great plan. I love the part where I almost bled to death.

Yelena: You’re a total poser.
Natasha: I’m not a poser.
Oh, come on. I mean, they’re great poses, but it does look like you think everyone’s looking at you, like all the time.

Yelena: [Referring to the avalanche] This would be a cool way to die.

Alexei: Okay. Why the aggression, huh? Is it your time of the month?
Yelena: I don’t get my period, dipshit. I don’t have a uterus.
Natasha: Or ovaries.
Yelena: Yeah. That’s what happens when the Red Room gives you an involuntary hysterectomy. They kind of just go in, and they rip out all of your reproductive organs. They just get right in there, and they chop them all away. Everything out, so you can’t have babies.
Alexei: Okay, okay. Okay! Okay! You don’t have to get so clinical and nasty.
Yelena: Oh, well, I was about to talk about fallopian tubes, but, okay.

My rating: *****

~*ATBW*~

July 29, 2021 0

A Simple Favor ~ Movie Review

MOVIE REVIEW ~ A SIMPLE FAVOR

Release Date: September 14th 2018
Duration: 1hr and 57mins
Genre: Crime/Thriller/Mystery
Rated: R

It took me almost three years to watch this film, and when I finally decided to do it, I am glad I did. This movie is also based on a book that was only published a year prior (I am yet to read the book, I am hoping to add it to my Autumn reading list).

Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) a lonely single mother that runs a vlog about food, meets Emily (Blake Lively) one day after picking up her kid from school. The two kids had become friends and asked their moms if they can have a play date. That is when Stephanie tries to become best friends with Emily, they exchange secrets and conversations over a Gin Martini.

I honestly think that Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively did amazing on their rolls. The duo is what gave the movie the flow it got.

One day Emily calls Stephanie and asks her “friend” to for a little favor. That was to go over and watch her son. As time passes, Stephanie realizes that Emily may possibly be missing and eventually has been declared dead. But for a girl that is dead, things don’t quite add up. Why is her presence still so strong? How did she die if she really did die? Stephanie tries to put all the puzzle pieces together all while trying to keep herself sane, and getting herself caught up in her “dead friends” affairs.

I’m honestly surprised at how much bad reviews this film got, but, I guess to each their own? I truly did love every bit of this movie, and there was a lot that has happened that I would have honestly never would’ve guessed (I wont say what caught me off my guard, in case anyone is still yet to watch it).

Of course Emily (Blake Lively) would have a huge walk in closet with all these nice outfits and shoes… reminds me of *Gossip Girl* 😍.

I’m personally very behind on watching movies, so not sure how to compare it to other possible similar movies. It does really give me Gossip Girl featuring Pretty Little Liars vibes.

My Rating: *****

~*ATBW*~

July 23, 2021 0