why do I do this to myself...

Recently, I have had too much time on my hands. (I'm not sure if I'm just more aware of it now that I'm unemployed, or if this used to happen all the time and I just didn't notice it... if so, I want my ignorance back!) I constantly feel as though I really should be doing something, but... most of the time I just end up browsing food blogs.

Do I actually ever make anything?... no. Usually I just drool.

So, today I thought I would make this hobby (can it be called a hobby? sure. Let's go with that. It sounds more legit that way) semi-productive and share some of my favourite discoveries with you!

Maple Pecan Granola with Dates.

(source; all her photos are so artistic!)

I love granola. And dates. And pecans. And eating breakfast at all times of day or night. (Who doesn't?) So... I'm going to make this tomorrow night. (Maybe if I write it, I actually will?)

Blueberry French Toast.

(source; seriously this entire list looks delicious)

My greatest worry when eating French Toast is that I'm not eating fruit at the same time. (...lies. Usually I only think of that after I'm done enjoying it.) This recipe is a great way to get both! (And yes, best of all, I actually have tried this one and it is delicious as well as being surprisingly pretty.) Next project: raspberry?

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie.

(source... so maybe I'm a little obsessed with breakfast)

I've seen several 'Green Smoothie' challenges floating about... and while this is obviously not green, it's still healthy! And it has 'pie' in the name... my heart is won.

Raspberry Vanilla (Coconut) Breakfast Cake.

 (source... everything here is delicious and healthy, oh my!)

This looks simple... but within it lies an ocean of raspberry-vanilla goodness. (Yes, I made this too! I also put in half a cup of coconut... because I was cleaning out the cupboard... and oh my it was good.) Funnily enough, it tastes just like Fantasy Island black tea from David's Tea... so you could just buy that instead? (Or wait for your amazing friend to send it to you.)

Earl Grey Vanilla Pancakes.

(source... let's face it, I could probably eat that whole stack)

Speaking of tea... why not infuse it into pancakes? We recently bought the kind this recipe uses, so I'll have to make these soon! (...before I drink all the tea, that is. I never claimed self-restraint as one of my qualities.)

(shh I know it's Tuesday but this is still appropriate) 

..okay, I just realised that all of these are breakfasty recipes. I suspect that when I live alone, that is all I will eat. (Plus popcorn. Popcorn should be in a food group all its own.) 

Is there anything you've been longing to cook recently? 

you know you're overthinking it when

I was never the type of girl who had imaginary friends. To be honest, even at five, I thought the idea was... kinda silly. (Why make up a friend when you could play with your Beanie Babies?... okay, so maybe my logic was a little faulty, seeing as it amounts to the same thing... but I was five okay?) However, the older I get, the more I find myself taking refuge in imaginary worlds and, if not pretending that their characters attend my every move, imagining that they do exist. (Somewhere. Parallel universes totally exist. Just watch Doctor Who.)

My thought process goes something like this...
-omg I love this character!
-why do they not exist in real life to marry me or to be my best friend
-...let's face it, I'd probably be too antisocial to hang out with them anyway (...while I'm confessing)
-BUT THAT'S OKAY, I can pretend
-next time I make cookies, I will totally make extra for them and eat them (calories don't count after midnight or when they are consumed for imaginary friends)

...I think we can agree I might be a little obsessive. My current read: Dracula. (I know. I'm a teenage girl reading about vampires. How very cliché.) Why do I love it so much, you might ask? Because of the characters. (Again, no, I am not in love with Dracula.) I find them very vivid; I can totally picture Jonathan Harker as that quiet shy kid in hipster glasses and cardigans who you later discover has a black belt in karate. Or John Seward as the know-it-all who everyone's in love with.

Something else I love is when I find an actor who's played in several shows or movies that I enjoy. Right now, Jonny Lee Miller tops that list (having played an antique dealer who kills vampires, Sherlock Holmes, and Mr. Knightley, a love interest in a Jane Austen adaptation... swoon) with Billie Piper coming a close second (Rose, my favourite Doctor Who companion, as well as Fanny, the main character in a different Jane Austen)... really, if the two of them were together in a show my heart might explode from fangirl excitement.

Does anyone else ever do any of these things? If you've read Dracula, what were your impressions?

Happy Sunday, blog ninjas!

dear spring

There are robins on my lawn.

You know what this means... all the worms are being eaten. I do pity them. When I was younger, I used to run around the playground, trying desperately to save them before all the mean kids stepped on them. (I like to see this as a sign that I have a tender heart. My friends, for whatever reason, prefer "weird".)

These days, I don't do that anymore. (I do, however, wince whenever I go driving in the rain... am I running them over? Please ooze out of my way, little worms!) These days, I prefer to take robins as a sign that spring is, finally, here.

Is this a good thing? I'm not entirely sure. There is sun now, which means that the world will expect me to...

1. Be tanned. You've seen photos of me... but they don't accurately capture my glow. My skin tone, at the darkest of times, is a cross between "half-ripe strawberry" (freckles as seeds, and just generally red) and "friendly neighbourhood ghost" (except I'm not always friendly, and we don't live anywhere near each other, so let's just go with 'ghost')... and yet people still ask me why I don't go tanning.

2. Have a job. This isn't entirely a bad expectation- I could use some money to go on wild shopping sprees (...for tea. Shh. Pretend I said something crazy... like chocolate!) but, seeing as I'm going away for five weeks this summer (details later) I highly doubt anyone would want to hire me.

3. Leave the playgrounds to the little kids. They, like the robins, seem to be sprouting everywhere... and now, whenever I try to go on the swings, I am greeted with major suspicion. Is it really that unbelievable that I want to go on a playground? Do I look like some kind of criminal?

4. Drink Frappuchinos or Ice Capps instead of coffee. ...okay so this is my own expectation. This is so awful I can't even describe how little I want to drink a deliciously sweet and creamy iced drink... How horrifying.

5. Prepare for university. I'm not sure where this one is coming from. I have a popcorn maker! What other preparations do I need to make? I would far rather look at Cat Bounce! (click it. Now. It is so worth it.)

What kinds of expectations are you feeling this spring?

what a wonderful world

Sometimes, it's important just to remember the little things that make you happy. (Wow. I am the last person who I ever thought would say that. Let's face it, most of the time I walk around thinking "I HATE YOU ALL STAY AWAYYY FROM ME MORTALS") It's just... nice. Relaxing. And while I certainly wouldn't advise doing this all the time (might be difficult to keep serious in a business meeting if you're thinking about rainbow cupcakes) it's definitely the perfect thing to do when you have nothing else to do! (Aka French class. Or, as I like to call it, that space of time wherein we have no work ever.) Here are some little things that make me smile.

(source)

...This song. 

Chills.

(not my photo, if anyone knows the link thank you!) 

Is this not adorable? I'm pretty sure whenever I drink coffee I look like a cross between the extra-shot illustration and the Energizer bunny! (except with better hair...)

(source)

Right now that's Dracula... so it's neither new to me nor to the world, but I still enjoy it! 

(credit Kaja Słojewska)

Oh my. Florence + The Machine... in The Great Gatsby... all this and heaven too. (And it's actually coming out in two weeks! I've never been this excited for a movie before...)

(source)

Let's face it... all of us here are probably guilty of this. But it's just so fun!

(credit Chocolate-Covered Katie)

Chocolate Mug Cake. I actually haven't eaten any in a while, but the mere thought of it sends me onto a chocolate high! (Go make it now. My recipe is the best.)

(source)

Especially when there's tea and a cuddly blanket involved. (Or a cuddly person!) 

What are some things that make you happy? 

Oh, and always remember...

(source)

Happy Thursday, blog ninjas!

watch out.

Have you seen them?

You don't know.

The only way you can tell is through the tally marks on your arms.

Have you ever noticed any pen marks that seemingly appeared overnight? Any mysterious bruises?

...maybe now, you know why.

(this is just another reason I love the Bloggess)

And always remember... they're not invading. They're starting a revolution.

yes. I am actually leaving.

Reason #149 that I fail at life: I am unable to wave at people without looking like I am a) having a seizure or b) actually not human, but some giant whale creature that just discovered arms. (Either one works. Whichever is more evocative in your mind.) Aka, today I frightened one of my former coworkers so much that she nearly fell off a bridge...

But. This post is (amazingly) not about my enduring social awkwardness. A little while ago, I posted about how I really needed to get myself in gear (because I'm a bike? Or a car? That expression doesn't even make sense) and actually choose a university. (Sign you are a procrastinator: you get accepted to the university of your choice at the beginning of December and don't accept until the end of April... true story.)

However, I am pleased to announce that today, I finally accepted University of Waterloo: Arts & Business. (Yes. Future entrepreneur here. HAHAHA) Keep your eyes peeled (now this expression crosses straight through "nonsensical" and goes to "disgusting and grape-like") for the girl with the kitty ears and the dazed expression.

(I don't even know what this building is. We just saw a sign and went for the photo op)

(obviously the fact that I saw this gum stain in the shaoe of a head played a part in my deciding to go there)

I toured it over the summer (and didn't even post about it! You poor souls missed out!) and, needless to say, I loved it. Despite the lack of David's Tea and Sephora in the environs (yes, this is what I first consider, the proximity of shopping) I think we'll deal quite nicely. I'm most looking forward to the long discussions about literature... if no one's willing to have them with me, I will forcibly kidnap them. (Just kidding! Mostly!)

Watch out Waterloo... here I come.

(ok so this is my friend and not me but you get the point, we're both creepers)

(aka, I will probably trip and fall into many people...  And frighten them with my waving... And antagonise others by constantly talking about Doctor Who... are you still sure you want me?)

in which I talk about how I did nothing

Welcome to this week's edition of... Friday Letters! Are you surprised that I'm actually doing a similar post two weeks in a row? To liven things up, let's guess why. Is it...
a) because I like doing this linkup? or...
b) because I have really done nothing this week that is noteworthy and so I resort to imaginary conversations for blog fodder?

Yeah so... it was mostly b). But this is fun!

Dear World: I'm sorry for doing absolutely nothing this week. I'll try harder next week. (...LIES.) But, as they say...

(source)

Dear Chemistry Test: why did you have to be right before lunch? I think I failed some of your questions just because I was thinking too much about food...

Dear The Office: ...why are you ruining my life. Seriously. Pam and Jim are the TV couple I have looked up to my entire childhood as an example of sanity and utter adorableness... they can't break up. I'm begging you.

(source)

Dear Jesse: thank you for making me laugh so hard with your latest tea video! And for making me feel that I was semi-having a conversation with you and so was only semi-pathetic and antisocial. (Semi is about as good as it gets.) Loveee youuu, tea/DW/loner/too-many-things-to-count-buddy!

Dear Healthy Brownies:

(her photo, not mine)

Thank you for being so delicious! When I eat you, I feel both satisfied and healthy... so yay! (The recipe can be found here- I would definitely recommend you try them!)

Dear Weather: make up your mind. Are you in a good mood? (aka sun and warmth) or a bad mood? (aka rain and wind) So far you seem to be tending towards the latter, but since YOU. CHANGE YOUR MIND. LIKE A GIRL. CHANGES CLOTHES (#retrosongmoment) I really can't tell what's going on.

Happy Friday, blog ninjas!