My lovely friend Tracy, just a test shot for an upcoming school assignment.
ps. how is it February already?

poinsettia

week two

It's late and I took it last week. This week was way too busy, I'm so glad that the holidays are finally over. I'll do better next week, I promise.

quote

"Look like a girl. Act like a lady. Work your heels like a boss."

52 weeks

OKAY. I know I said I would start like two weekends ago but I've been working everyday pretty much, holiday season in retail is far too busy. A miracle happened today though and my shift at work got called off so I got the day off, the house to myself, and the time to finally take a photo for this project. So here it is plus a little extra. I uploaded a different version of the same photo onto my Flickr so check that out as well. I just really liked this close up crop, but I liked the other one too so I figured I'd post them both. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this. I know Alexa has been completely up to date with her project so you should go look at that...I'm still so jealous that she's living abroad right now.
Well..wish me luck!

p.s. anyone else think it is absolutely crazy that Christmas is two days away? I don't know about anyone else but it definitely does not feel like Christmas here in Toronto.

topshop

I went to Yorkdale in order to try and find a dress for new years a little while ago. I didn't have any luck finding a dress so instead I spent too much money in Topshop. I think I'll always be able to justify buying things from there. I'm not sure if its good that they finally brought it to Canada, but at least its no where near as impressive as the department-store sized location on Oxford St. in London, with at least 4 massive floors, because then I'd be in serious trouble. I'm absolutely in love with this top right now though. The zipper detailing, suspender like straps, sheer mesh fabric along the bust, and the cut out bits at the waist....its so perfect to throw under a blazer. They also have quite the collection of nail polish colours and I want them all but at $11 each I definitely had to resist. The first one in the photo though is my favorite right now. It's a barely there nude colour with a hint of grey, so perfect for the winter season.

sidenote:

A little while ago I organized my Flickr account. Uploaded 2 years worth of photos that I liked and I finally plan on keeping it updated so you can check it out here. I also added a link to my profile on the right side of my blog, just under "Topics".

you're no good for me

but baby I want you, I want you 

    Fall semester is finally over and for the first time in two years I don't have an exam on December 23rd. In fact I have no exams this semester, I'm completely done. Can't tell you how pleased I am about that! I'm planning on starting my 52 week project this weekend...wish me luck.
    Also, this picture was frustrating. Really bad lighting and bad auto focus meant a huge pain when it came to editing. I actually took this a week ago and only today decided that I liked it a little bit, just enough to post it I suppose. It still bothers me a lot though, oh well.

'tis the season

   It honestly seems just like yesterday that November had started and I was hoping for a calm month. November was definitely hectic...life wise, school wise and of course work wise. At the beginning of the month my doctor told me that I was far too stressed for my age which I suppose wasn't a huge shock for me but was definitely something I needed to work on. Things have finally calmed down a bit and after making some big changes in regards to school I finally feel a sense of relief that had been much needed. 

   I've also realized that I hardly have time to do things that I actually enjoy, like spending time taking more photos, outside of just school assignments, reading for fun and writing. I've mentioned before a few times now that I would really love to start a 365 project but with the amount of free time I really get on a daily basis it just isn't a realistic possibility at this point in my life, I don't think I'd even be able to finish a week of photos without getting frustrated and giving up.  So instead, Alexa, my lovely friend that I met in Thailand this past summer, and I have decided to try to tackle the far more feasible 52 week project: one photo a week for the whole year. Seems doable right? Alexa's project will be a documentation of her year abroad in Korea teaching English, which I am so incredibly jealous of right now but you can check out her photos and her blog here. We said we would start ours at the same time but the last two weeks of school were really busy for me with the semester coming to an end so I'm a little behind but I'm really aiming to begin by the end of this week or next! I already have so many ideas in mind that I just need to find some time to get things started.
   I really can't believe it's already December though, Christmas and New years will be here in no time. I mentioned once before that I was supposed to be spending NYE in Miami but that unfortunately is no longer the case, things just didn't work out as well as they were supposed to so instead I'll be celebrating it with a few lovely ladies from work. Also, on another note, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do next summer. Having been somewhere every summer for the past three years I definitely feel the need to go explore somewhere new this summer as well. Originally I had been looking at an internship in South Africa that Elena had showed me but my mom recently found a photography internship in Barcelona, Spain which has me very intrigued. I think Europe will always be my favorite place to travel to with its cobblestone streets and all the history that every European country has to offer. Spain has also been close to the top of my list of places to go to next anyways,  I really miss Europe and I feel the need to go back there as soon as possible. If I were to do this internship I'd get to learn Spanish (which is something on my bucket list) and I'd get to revisit Prague and maybe even make a short trip to London to check out the 2012 Olympics. So I guess this is what's currently in the works...we'll see how things work out though.

almsgiving

Luang Prabang, Laos