Fashion Friday: Featuring Nina Dobrev

Can I just say that Nina Dobrev is absolutely gorgeous? She is a Canadian actress that most know her from Degrassi: The Next Generation and The Vampire Diaries. Nina is one of my favourite actresses and I am continually jealous of the outfits they put her in both for The Vampire Diaries photo shoots and in the show itself. While doing a project for class one day I came across this photo and fell in love with the dress. Everything about it just screams something I want to wear or that I want to design. She is constantly stylish and she's just all around amazing!

Throw Back Thursday: There is no greater bond than that of a girl and her puppy

Me and Teddy 

Me and Shadow

Me and Kasey

In my life I have had the fantastic chance of owning dogs (or well my parents bought them and I just got/get to live with them). I can and will probably never be able to live without a dog because they are the cutest things and great pets to have. In the middle picture above of me and Kasey this was taken years ago when I was much smaller and when Kasey was still around. Sadly as I got older and as he got older he got sick and passed away. I was heart broken when we lost him but a few months after he passed my mom got word of a lady who breeds poodles and she had one left, male and he was black (the exact qualities my mom likes in poodles). Her and my dad debated about it for a while and then one night while my brother was at karate we went on a drive. To my great surprise that drive was to go pick up Teddy (top left picture). I was thrilled to have another dog in my life.

That night as a family we debated what to name him, my mom suggested Rudy cause we got him around Christmas but the rest of us didn't agree and so I suggested Teddy. I have no idea where the name came from but when we got home my dad looked up names and as it turned out Teddy meant divine gift which basically means if we weren't meant to have him we wouldn't. From then on the name stuck (as he was originally named tiny because he was the runt of the litter) and we learned that a few days after we had gotten Teddy calls came in about other people wanting to get him.

About a year after we got Teddy my mom got word again that the same lady we got Teddy from had another litter of pups and she was keeping one just for us. Me being the dog lover that I am always begged my mom for another dog but got struck down. Until one night my mom told me to get dressed because she had an avon customer coming over, I didn't think an avon customer coming over was a big deal and so I didn't get dressed. That's when Grandma Michelle (the poodle breeder) showed up carrying a box and inside it was a black little fluff ball with some toys. Being the naive kid that I was I thought he was just coming for a visit but low and behold he was coming to stay. That's when Shadow came into my life, my cute little skittish puppy that sometimes has more personality than we give him credit for.

No one will ever understand the bond that I have with my two dogs currently or the one I had with Kasey unless they have a dog too. To me there is no greater bond than that of a girl and her puppy(ies)/dog(s). I love my little fluff balls!

Wacky Wednesday: Silly Faces

So for those of you who don't know, this above picture is me!

Alright let's get down to business... to defeat the huns, did they send me daughters when I asked for sons? Ignoring my wonderful Mulan song reference let's actually get to today's blog post! As the post entitles it is WACKY WEDNESDAY! And do you know what that means? Yes it means you get to be as crazy as you want. Or if you're like me it's just an excuse to explain why you act the way you do.  Today's featured wacky Wednesday topic is silly faces! I am the kind of person who is continually making a silly face and people will look at me like 'what the heck is she doing?' but I can't help it. 

I grew up with having my mom constantly taking pictures of me and so as I grew up I learned to be a little brat and make a silly face in the pictures. I can pose pretty if I want to but most the time I just look like the picture above or some variation of it. I love making faces and I just can't help it. My best friend Nikki and I even made this deal with each other where if either one of us gets a boyfriend the requirement is we sit them down in a room and make faces at them, if they don't make faces at us then we kick 'em to the curb. I know that sounds crazy and probably really dumb right? But that's just us and luckily for us we end up with people who 'make the cut' so to speak because they make faces back.

Nikki and I aren't the only ones that make silly faces because Keisha does too. Me plus Keisha equals silly facial expression wars because we're awesome like that. Exhibit A:

I think it's safe to say that I won this one but I don't always win. 

Stay wacky my friends stay wacky! And be sure to always stay true to yourself because only you can be as fantastic as you.

Top Ten Tuesday: Television Series

My top 10 Television Series:
1. Friday Night Lights
2. One Tree Hill
3. Veronica Mars
4. The Vampire Diaries
5. The Originals
6. Teen Wolf
7. Chicago Fire
8. Chicago PD
9. Rizzoli & Isles
10. Reign

Fun Facts:
1. I only started watching Friday Night Lights because I found Taylor Kitsch attractive and then actually ended up falling in the love with the show. I have probably watched each season at least 3-4 times now.
2. I don't even remember how I came about watching One Tree Hill but I absolutely love this show and have even learned some things from it.
3. I'd watched a few episodes of Veronica Mars on my television when there was nothing else on and ended up liking the show. I have lost track of how many times I have watched each season and I am beyond excited for the movie release on March. 14th, 2014.
4. I started with the books long before the show came out, fell in love with L.J Smith as an author and then when they show was created I fell in love with the show. My favourite character would have to be Damon not only because of his attractive qualities but because he is so sarcastic.
5. This show is a spin off from The Vampire Diaries and I was excited to hear about it because I wanted to know more on what they were doing with Hayley's pregnancy with Klaus' child.
6. I love any show to do with supernatural things and so naturally I was drawn to this show. I found it funny that as I was watching I realized that Tyler Posey who plays Scott McCall and Tyler Hoechlin who plays Derek Hale were actually in two shows I watched as a child and they were my childhood crushes.
7. Ahh the great Chicago Fire, I started watching this because Taylor Kinney (who plays Kelly Severide) was originally a character in The Vampire Diaries and Jesse Spencer (Matt Casey) was originally in House so it became a must watch series. It also helps that I have been to Chicago and loved the city.
8. Chicago PD is a spin off of Chicago Fire but my main reason for watching this one would be because of one Sophia Bush. She is most definitely one of my favourite actresses and I first came to know her as Brooke Davis in One Tree Hill. So seeing her in this completely different role just makes me that much more of a fan.
9. This show started off as a book series that my mom had read and I'd never heard of. It is because of my mom that I started watching this show. The show is pretty amazing with some rather hilarious lines.
10. I started watching Reign because I love history things and this one is based on Queen Mary of Scots. I also started watching it because the lead Adelaide Kane played Cora Hale in Teen Wolf.

Music Monday: James Swearingen

James Swearingen

In high school I was in band and that is where I got introduced to this composer. For those who are close to me they know that I am a complete music nut inside and out. I had been in choir from grades 1 to 13 (I did a victory lap), was in band from grade 7-13, got the chance to play the alto recorder in grade 6 which had completely different fingering from the soprano and tenor recorders, as well as I had piano lessons from about grades 1-8. Any who long story short I am a music nerd. If I ever get frustrated just listening to the pop music I have on my ipod I will flip to old choir pieces I have sung or any old band pieces or performed or just any instrumental music  and will instantly feel better.

James Swearingen is probably one of my favourite composers along with George Bizet, and Robert W. Smith. I would have to say my favourite composition by Swearingen so far (I'm still discovering more) would be Flight of Valour. I don't know what it is about this piece but it makes me happy and I love listening to it. He is a brilliant composer and I enjoy playing his pieces.

Fun Fact Friday: Lemurs, Madagascar and Zoboomafoo oh my!

"Hi, my name is Amy and I'm a lemur-a-holic."
"Hi Amy."
"So I first realized I was a lemur-a-holic when I was a kid and could not stop watching the television show Zoboomafoo with the Kraft Brothers. I couldn't help but love the little talking lemur that bounced everywhere, met new creatures different from him and lived in Zoboo land. I mean who wouldn't want to live in Zoboo land?

                                         "I was leaping along, leap, leap, when I came across..."

Eventually I did grow out of Zoboomafoo and stopped watching it but the love of lemurs continued. 2005 is when it all came back. For the love of lemurs they released the movie Madagascar! Four animals wound up in Madagascar where they meet King Julien....

"I like to move it, move it."

The lemur addiction came up again in grade nine when I went on a field trip to Cleveland and as part of the trip we got to go to the zoo, what was I most excited for? The lemurs, of course! Sure enough we get to the zoo, my friends and I make it to the lemur part and I got beyond excited. There in its new habitat in the zoo was a ring tailed lemur a.k.a the kind of lemur Zoboomafoo is! So naturally I took pictures.

How can you not love this little guy? He's too cute!

I love lemurs! And that is your fun fact Friday! Tune in next week to see what random thing I post for Fun Fact Friday! :)

Throwback Thursday: Goofy Goggles

This is a picture of me when I was younger being a goof wearing goggles. I am as my friends call me 'part fish' and if I could I would most likely live in the water. My mom first had me in the water when I was 3 months old and from then on I became addicted. I love water, I love swimming and if I were to ever give it up then I just wouldn't be me. I did swimming lessons all the way up until the completion of my bronze cross and have the intention of getting my lifeguarding done within the year. This picture of me at Christmas wearing goggles is just one of the many things I did because I loved pretending to be under water, and I'm sure at the time I thought I looked cute. My goofiness with goggles has still continued over the years as that's just who I am, a goof.

Goofy Goggles and Smiling Braceface 2007

Goofy Goggles and Silly Face 2010

Wacky Wednesday: Flash back to Europe

In the summer of 2013 I got the chance to go on the trip of a life time, two weeks travelling Europe with one of my best friends, Keisha! We visited Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. It was a crazy and exhausting trip going non-stop pretty much all day every day, long days, late nights, early mornings but it was definitely worth it. While on this trip Keisha and I became really close with three other girls Chelsea, Chelsey and Courtney and together we created 'The Spice Girls' who were travelling Europe in a tour bus with a rainbow on the side. And because we were/still are crazy to make our Spice Girls thing more fun we came up with theme days while in Europe. One of them was Wacky Pants Wednesday.

This is us in our wacky pants. It was an early morning, we were dead tired, everyone else on the trip was dead tired but these pants are what made things better for us and everyone else. The others on the trip thought this was entertaining and kept asking us what our next theme days were. We had Dress Like a Dude Tuesday, Dress Classy Thursday, Hat Day Friday and a few others.

close-up!

 Wacky!

Try Something New Tuesday: Kick Boxing!

Today I tried something for the very first time... KICK BOXING! And can I just say that I absolutely loved it? I had been waiting to do this class since I heard about it last week and was fortunate enough to get a spot. I have always been one of those girls who will protect her friends, family and anyone she cares about but that comes with a price. I can be very hot headed at times if I get pushed to my limits and kick boxing happens to be a fantastic outlet! You get to hit things without anyone getting hurt, it's perfect!

Unfortunately, there are only 18 spots in the class each week so I can't go on a weekly basis but I do plan on going as often as I can. The class is so much fun and it helps build confidence about if a situation arises where you need to defend yourself and being able to know you can do it. Kick boxing is the empowerment for woman kind. Now that's not to say that kick boxing is the only thing that gives women a sense of empowerment but it is definitely one of the top things (at least for me any way). If you haven't tried it yet, do so. You most definitely won't regret it. What's your Try Something New Tuesday?

Top Ten Tuesday: My Top 10 Favourite Songs This Week

Top 10 Favourite Songs This Week:
1. Radiation- Gavin DeGraw
2. Counting Stars- One Republic
3. Back To You- The Marrieds
4. Make A Move- Gavin DeGraw
5.Oh If I Catch You- Michael Telo ft. Pitbull
6. Danza Kuduro-Don Omar and Lucenzo
7. What Will Become Of Us- Passenger
8. Poison And Wine- The Civil Wars
9. Almost Is Never Enough- Arianna Grande ft. Nathan Sykes
10. Neon Lights- Demi Lovato

Fun facts about these songs:
1. About a week ago I went to get groceries and while at the grocery store I'm In Love With A Girl by Gavin DeGraw came on and it reminded me of how much I love Gavin DeGraw. This memory led me to buying three of his albums one of which being his Make a Move album and I have since fallen in love all over again.
2. I went home for the holidays and that is when I first heard this song. I instantly loved it and found that I enjoyed it that much more when I discovered that it was One Republic who sang this song.
3. Back To You by The Marrieds is actually by my old high school teacher and his wife who are soon to be taking 7 months off from their teaching jobs to go on tour!
4. Refer to #1.
5. This song my roommate and I first discovered when we were doing zumba at the gym. We absolutely loved this song and decided we needed to download it, only when we got back to the room neither one of us could remember the lyrics to be able to find it. Then a few nights later I woke up at like 2 in the morning to have the song going through my head. Afraid I was going to lose the lyrics I got up, blinded myself by going onto my laptop and found the song.
6. Danza Kuduro is featured in one of my all time favourite movies series, The Fast and The Furious (R.I.P Paul Walker). My best friend and I adore the series and this song made us happy so of course we just had to have it in our Itunes.
7. I had never heard of Passenger until I heard a cover done by one of my favourite people on youtube that is known for his covers. Of course the cover led me to checking out the original which by default led me to more songs by them that I enjoyed. I don't know what it is but this one just stuck out and I love it.
8. I first heard this song in an episode of The Vampire Diaries and found it was different. The lyrics, the way it was written, everything just stood out to me. As a musician myself I couldn't help but have this song in my Itunes.
9. I have the guilty pleasure of loving The Wanted, the group in which Nathan Sykes sings in and so when my best friend told me to check out this song with him in it, I had to do it.
10. I was bored and browsing things on youtube when this song came up. I figured I would check it out because I do like Demi Lovato and it turned out that I liked this song.