49. Thanking Friday #4

I'm thinking maybe I should do these either more often... or once a month seeing as how I have skipped a lot of Fridays already. But anyways, I guess I'll just pretend I didn't skip and continue on!

Some things I've grateful and thankful for:
- I got a job at one of the places I have loved volunteering for!
- I got an executive (?) position at a club at the University that I'm super excited about
- All the awesome people who are courageous and funny on YouTube, giving us hours and hours of laughs and enlightenment!
- Beautiful weather we've been having! (As you can probably see by the dozens of sky pictures I've taken on both my blog here and on my tumblr!)
- Our home grown veggies! Because, without them, we would have to have done a lot of grocery shopping without knowing where our food came from! With our own mini home vegetable garden, we know exactly where and how our food came from! And the best part is that you can just pick and eat!

48. Nails and Fruits

I painted my nails again today since I'll be going out for the next few days... weeks... month! I'm so excited!

Products I used:
- Sephora by OPI Base Coat
- Sephora by OPI: Dear Diary...
- Sally Hansen Strengthening Top Coat

At first, I did the Dear Diary pink base coat with Flurry Up! silver glitter on my ring finger, and as a french nail tip for the rest. But I didn't want it to be so flashy or party-like, especially if I'm just going out normally with friends.

So, I redid my nails and just used the Dear Diary... pink nail polish for a simple, but cute look!

I also found out recently that the smell of grapefruit combined with strawberries is amazing. I want to try mixing them together next time... when I have both on hand anyways, into a smoothie! I wonder how that would turn out....

47. At UBC

I went to the University today to take care of some course registration business. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and fluffy clouds. Too bad it was cold and gray this morning so I wore my new Zara red stripped sweater with jeans. I regretted not wearing a simple tank top and lightweight cardigan in the afternoon when the sun came out. Anyways, I brought my camera with me and took some pictures!

I saw these beautiful flowers and they were all growing upright! It was my first time seeing these kinds of flowers and they looked so pretty! The pink hues of the flowers are just too pretty!

In standing formation!

More flowers! But this time, white coloured instead of pink, but still just as beautiful!

For the longest time, I couldn't figure out what this was until near the end of first semester when I read the sign at the bottom. Instead of a DNA strand, it was actually a tuning fork! Make sure to read all signs if you're curious! Save you time and makes you look smarter.

Outside one of the library, there lies these big white bean bag-like... beds? I wanted to try to sit on it but because my cleanliness freak was on high alert, I didn't. Maybe next time when it rains and clears up, I will go try (if it's not gone by then!).

And of course, the infamous clock tower. There were a lot of funny/cool/interesting/crazy things that happened at this clock tower. One being that a cow was led to the top and a helicopter had to go and get it down. Pretty crazy, right?

Wall art I came across! It's pretty amazing! But, I wonder what they drew it with?

Walking pass the SUB (Student Union Building), and saw this cute and creative "sign" for The Bike Kitchen. It's a place where you eat bike parts. Nah, just kidding. It's a place where food are made to look like bikes so people will be more aware of different transportation options and also of the climate change and whatnot. Okay, I kid. It's actually just a place where you can get your bike fixed. But, wouldn't it be cool if food were made to look like bike parts? But then it'll probably be pretty expensive because it'll take so much time to make it!

That's about all, I'll take more pictures when I go out if I remember to!

6 / 52

5 / 52

I totally forgot to do last week's drawing because I was busy... but, here it is now!

46. Weekend Wonders #3

These past few days I've been hanging out with friends at my house. It was a lot of fun! A very good friend of mine, Eileen, came over on Friday morning to help prepare for the weekend Harry Potter Marathon. We tried to make Butterbeer, but because we had the wrong extract (we got brandy) and colour (we got the pink cream soda instead of the clear cream soda), it ended up tasting... different (not that any of us had Butterbeer before, but we knew it wasn't it). So, in the end, instead of adding more things to it that could eventually make it even worse, we just called it "Umbridge Special", after the annoying Dolores Umbridge that appears in the Order of the Phoenix. We also made an ice cream dessert with crushed up biscuits on the bottom of a pan, layered vanilla ice cream on top, and some fruits for toppings. It tasted not bad! But, next time, I will have to melt some ice cream to mix with the biscuit crumbs so they stick together when cut up and eaten. After that, Eileen and I just caught up with things and went to bed for the big day the next day. We got up early the next day and had brunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I got the Chicken Parmigiana with Spaghetti with tomato sauce and it tasted so good!

After brunch, we went back to wait for people to arrive. Two friends were running late, so the three of us (one came on time somewhat) and played Monopoly to start. I didn't win... maybe next time! After everyone got here, we started the movies. It was almost four in the morning when we decided to pause midway through the Goblet of Fire and call it a night (or early morning?). We continued the next day and had waffles with maple syrup, whipping cream, and fruits for breakfast. We finished the Goblet of Fire, and Eileen had to leave shortly after we started the next movie, the Order of the Phoenix. After watching the fifth movie, we decided that it was impossible to finish today, so we agreed on watching it together again once University starts again.

Overall, it was a lot of fun! I remember watching Harry Potter when I first starting learning English, so I couldn't really remember much of what happened, except for the really memorable (in other words, scary) scenes. It was great being able to re-watch the movies and spot the foreshadowing and whatnot for the ending. I can't wait until we get together again to finish it off!

45. Nails and Art

The sky today was really pretty. And I painted my nails as well.

I used a base coat from Sephora by OPI, then the base colour is from Joe Fresh's cosmetic line. The lavender colour is called Lilac, and I added some sparkle from Sephora's Flurry Up!. Then, to keep it from chipping (and to get it to dry faster), I used Sally Hansen's top coat.

I've also been filling more pages in my sketchbooks. 

This is an ink piece of a kitchen scale (that I bought from Daiso) with a girl inside. I tried to draw the girl as famished, like not having enough to eat. The piece is titled "Weight", and it is what I depict my diet like. Going on a diet is really hard, but I will do my best to get the body I desire! Anyways, this girl, and the next two pieces of girls are inspired by this artist, and the eyes are inspired by Otani Issei.

The cylinder object the girl is hanging from is just a cut up piece of plastic water bottle. I was using it as a substitute for putting my paint brushes in for a while. At the bottom I put rocks to stabilize the weight of the brushes. This piece is called "Hold" to show how the girl is holding on onto the paint brushes, which are representing her creative process.  

This piece was just a fun one I did with a girl dancing (ballet?) on top of a pop can. As you can tell, this piece is really meant to be comical as it is titled "Thirst". My mom doesn't really like me drinking pop (because it is bad for you) so whenever I get the chance, I feel like it is a very floating feeling, somewhat like a celebration - so a girl dancing was used to represent that. Also, thirst can mean both craving food or drink, and craving an object.

These two are part of my "Soul" collection. The one to the left (fish) is "Soul I", and the one to the right (deer) is "Soul II". I got this idea from a CD cover (but I forgot which band it was) when I was at HMV. I have always loved patterns and these pieces are just combining lots of different geometric and free form patterns. I titled them Soul because of the  pattern right in the middle of their body. It does not seem grotesque, but it has this sort of magical element to it. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I really like these pieces, so I'm probably going to do some more similar ones in the future.

This piece was inspired by an manga I read ("Alice in Wonderland (Anthropology)"). Because it's a compilation of different artists using the story of Alice, I'm not sure which author it was. But I really liked the idea so I created my own. Instead of a normal chimney, I used a diamond instead, which is funny because a chimney is nothing like a shining, bright gem. I tried a new style of drawing hair and I quite like it.

Anyways, that's all for now. I'm heading out tomorrow to pick up some movies for the weekend. Hopefully, it won't be scorching hot like how the past few days have been!

44. S/S 2013 Wardrobe: Gray

These are my gray wardrobe essentials for the season! I've started taking a liking to gray t-shirts, so there will probably be more in the future. Gray is a very versatile colour to wear. Like white and black, it can match with almost anything! It's one of the basic colours that goes well with a simple pair of jeans and belt.

This cardigan is from XXI and it's lightweight, but still keeps me warm on those cold summer nights. I like the stripes and the big buttons. This was purchased back when I was really into stripes.

I bought this at Gap's outlet store in the States and the material really surprised me! Aside from when I was very young, I haven't shopped at Gap until this purchase. The material is very sturdy (it keeps its form) and I really like the button details! I substitute a spring jacket with this cardigan because it does the job nonetheless.

This t-shirt was bought online and the material is quite decent for an online purchase. I really like this t-shirt because it's very simple, but still has that fun factor. It actually came in three colours: white, gray, and lavender. I wanted to get all the colours but I thought that it might have been an overkill if I did that. Nevertheless, I wear this a lot because it's just so easy to throw on and match with jeans.

43. Yellow Things

It has been a while since the last Colour Thing, so here is another one: The Yellow Edition. Most of these yellow things were given to me as presents or souvenirs.

1. Sephora x OPI nail polish in Cab Fare
2. Miffy necklace from a friend for my birthday
3. Camera with ribbon necklace from Chenyue for my birthday (but the thread connecting the ribbon and camera came loose and I keep forgetting to fix it, sorry Chenyue!)
4. The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Soap from a friend for my birthday
5. Bracelet I received from an aunt
6. Star necklace from XXI (this is actually backwards, but I like this matte side from than the blinged out side)
7. A Hawaiian flower necklace from a friend (she got me this as a souvenir when she went to Hawaii and had lots of yummy food)
8. Dried up dandelion wreath I helped a friend make (I gathered the flowers and she did the hard tying up together of the flowers)
9. Stash's Citron Meyer tea
10. An "Ask Me" button I received from a conference at the University (it was more like a presentation of our work)
11. A music box's music maker (?) I bought from a community vintage shop (I'm not sure what the actual name is)
12. Sparkling yellow lead pencil from a friend (all the way from Korea!)
13. Staedtler triplus fineliner in yellow
14, 15, 16. Reeves watercolour in Yellow Ochre, Medium Yellow, and Lemon Yellow, respectively
17. Yellow Miffy highlighter from a friend (all the way from China!)
18. A small Coach card wallet from a friend for my birthday
19. Cute bear fan from an aunt (all the way from Hong Kong!)

42. S/S 2013 Wardrobe: Skirts

These are my skirts for the summer! They're mostly high waisted because that's my favourite style. You can wear high waisted bottoms and they'll look good because not only do they accentuate your waist, but you can also hide your belly after stuffing yourself!

I bought this skirt online and still haven't wore it yet, but I'm planning on wearing it lots this summer because I love the realistic flower picture for the fabric and the colour scheme. I would probably wear it with just a plain tank top or t-shirt on top, maybe with a cardigan if there's some wind or clouds.

I also bought this online and I just love the fabric. The colour palette is so summer-y with the pinks, reds, yellows, and mint! I wore this to my brother's commencement with a blank tank top and black blazer, matched with black tights for some modesty at such a formal event. But, it can also be wore casually with just a white tank top for a breezy and girly feel, and paired with a denim shirt.

This is one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe! I have only ever bought one thing from Aritzia, and this is my second purchase. But! I bought this particular skirt from a community thrift store for less than $20! It is a full out A-line skirt (which I have been fawning over recently). The skirt is somewhat loosely pleated and because of the simple, but elegant blue shade fabric, it can be dressed up or down! I really, really love this skirt. I'm so glad I was able to snatch it at such a great price!

I bought this skirt last year from Forever 21. The fabric is very flow-y and romantic. It is a lace layered cream coloured skirt with a waistband, so I can wear it as high waisted with a cute polka dotted loose black tank top and a casual blue stripped blouse. This skirt feels great against my skin when I wear it and because of the lace, I can doll myself up without feeling awkward (as compared to wearing a leather jacket with skinny black jeans).

I bought this skirt two years ago, I think, from the kids' section at H&M. I had to get the biggest size or else it would be too short, but it is slightly loose (nothing a nice black belt won't fix though!). I wear this skirt for dates or just to an informal event. I usually just pair it with a white tank top, black cardigan, and a nice black belt with black tights and black flats. It's a pretty simple coordinate, but it works!

I bought this skirt online as well, but it was two or so years ago during my crazy online shopping phrase. I look back to those days and I think I was very outrageous, to a point, going crazy with the online purchases. Anyways, I have already outgrown that and I do not regret it a bit! Anyways, I usually wear this skirt as I would the skirt above. Basically the same coordination, just different skirts. It's pretty simple, but my favourite part of this skirt (aside from the cute cherry fabric), is the lace underneath, which gives it a cute and romantic feel!

And, of course, a black leather skirt! I bought this for a cheap price at Sirens, so the quality isn't that amazing. But, it works. It flares out like an A-line skirt should with pleats. The structure is very similar to the Aritzia skirt, but just different fabric material. During the winter, I wore tights underneath and a red sweater on top. But, now that it is summer, I would switch out the tights and sweater for just a nice white blouse with details on top. Maybe accessorize a lot to give the coordinate more attention and glam.