Things you thought would happen as Teen

The other day someone asked me how old I was, and it always takes me a moment to remember and then swiftly answer "19." (For some reason I can never seem to remember how old I am, and then my birthday is back around and I need to remember a new number. The struggle!!)

Later that day my mom said to me "you're almost 20, and you will no longer be a teenager," which came to me as a bit of a shock. Although I could have easily realized this myself, it really hadn't crossed my mind. While I was trying to fall asleep that night the thought slipped back into my mind, as these things normally do. I continued to ponder on that one line my mom had said and I began to realize how many teenager-esc things I seemed to have missed out on. Although these are not life threatening and things could obviously be much worse, but it still sort of sucks.

I did however go to prom, but I was too scared to ask anyone and everyone I talked to was shocked I was even going (which I don't blame as the reason no one asked me, but still no one asked me, which in a way was a relief.) I have been to at least one high school party and have been once specifically invited to a party by someone (which is very rare for me), instead of just being dragged along by a friend, so I haven't missed out on everything. I seemed to have hit the major teenager-esc things off the list. Although I've been to parties I've never actually been drunk (I take too long to drink anything and then I get bored. I've been told shots would be better for me? Maybe? I haven't tried yet...) I've also never had a boyfriend or been on a date what-so-ever. I know for a fact these things are not uncommon for many, there's tons of girls and guys that haven't gone on a date that are going into their early 20s so it doesn't really bother me, it will happen when it happens and right now I'm happy.

To be honest I don't feel the need to rush and ask someone out just so I can say I went on a date before I'm 20. As things like this don't really matter in the big picture of things, they happen when they happen. There is no one way to live your life, so if you're like me and still haven't went on a date or missed some other teenage-esc experience that you expected to happen, don't feel like you're missing out, don't worry about it, it will happen when it should. Just know you're not the only one, you never are.

-leelou

Update on Spidey

So if you're anything like me you probably have already heard the news about the casting for the new Spiderman movie, which was announced a few weeks ago and to everyone's dismay (including myself) Tom Holland was chosen. Not that I have anything against Holland himself, I'm just disappointed that he was chosen to play Peter Parker/Spiderman, meaning no Miles Morales/Spiderman story. Holland who is 19 years old seems to give an idea on how the franchise may be going, as it seems that this time around it will be starting at the beginning of Peter's High School experience. One of my biggest issues I have with this decision is the fact that Miles Morales was announced to be the official new Spiderman mere weeks before. Another issue I have with the continuation of the Peter Parker story is that everyone already knows it, and as I said before in my last Spiderman post I'm really not interested in seeing the same story for a third time! To be honest I feel like the movie is going to be geared towards a younger audience, seeing as Holland is 19 and each time they do a reboot of the Spiderman movies the Peter they chose gets younger. The story of Peter Parker is also not as relevant as it was when it was originally written. The character of Peter Parker was suppose to be an outcast, a nerd, a loser and a bit of a loner. However people with the "Peter Parker" nerd esthetic are no longer outcasts or losers, they are the guys the girls want to date, instead of looking the other way. I just feel that these guys are now the cool guys, and it's just not how it use to be when the story was created. Therefore, now would be the perfect opportunity for a change, it's time for Miles Morales.

-leelou

Future

Recently I have been putting some thought into what I really want my blog to be about and why I started it in the first place. I've realized that along the way of starting it a got a bit confused. Blogs are suppose to be an extension of yourself, a place where you can share your inner thoughts, and place where you can just be creative. I started this blog because I wanted to be creative, and try writing about things I care about. I know I'm not the best writer but I took a creative writing course in my final year of high-school and I loved it. I was inspired to continue this new found passion, by creating this blog. I quickly found a ton of bloggers that I loved everything about and I wanted to do what they did. Looking back on early posts I think I drew too much on others esthetics or what they wrote about. It didn't feel like it was me. I did posts that have probably been done a few hundred times (Example A, Example B) and it didn't feel new, it just felt boring. Come to think of it more than half of my posts are not me. Although I don't like most of these posts and I'm definitely not proud of them, I will keep them posted, as they will be a good reminder to do what I want and not what I think people expect from a blog. I hope that in the future, that the reason anyone may choose to read my blog is because it's different and entertaining not because it's like everyone else.

And so here it begins...

Again.

-leelou

Thoughts on Spiderman

Lately there has been a lot of talk about Spiderman, a topic that I myself am quite fond of. A few months back there was talk about ending the Spiderman movie reboot with Andrew Garfield and taking it in the direction with alternate universe Miles Morales who appears in the monthly series "Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man" and first appeared in Ultimate Fallout #4 in August 2011 following the death of Peter Parker (No worries in other universes Peter Parker is alive and well.) Miles Morales is of African American and Latin descent, drawing on inspiration from U.S President Barack Obama and American actor Donald Glover. Back in 2010 Donald Glove became the online face of Miles Morales after fans saw him wearing a Spiderman costume on TV and began tweeting "#donald4spiderman." At first when I heard about all of this, I thought it would be hard to imagine seeing anyone else other than Peter Parker as Spiderman, but I think that if a third reboot were to happen Miles Morales could bring something new and exciting that the franchise hasn't had before. Plus, who really wants to see the origin story of Peter Parker Spiderman any way? We all know that story. I'm pretty interested in seeing the story of Miles Morales, something we haven't seen before. The whole point of Spiderman is to imagine him any way you want, so why not have a Spiderman that is not a nerdy caucasian male. Although this new direction sounds promising, I have also read some snippets about starting Spiderman again but with another nerdy caucasian male and significantly younger than Andrew Garfield (Example A, Example B.) When I read this I was pretty mad and to be honest I hope it's not true. I don't see the point in starting all over again with a new Peter Park/Spiderman to essentially tell the exact same story for a third time! If Andrew Garfield is no longer going to be the face of Spiderman then why not take it a new direction. To be honest I would be pretty mad to see another nerdy caucasian male Spiderman when the choice is there to have Miles Morales. I say either continue with Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spiderman or start something new with Miles Morales/Spiderman!

-leelou

First year donee!

I recently finished my first year of college for Graphic Design and I'm thrilled to have a long four months to take a break before getting back to school life. However having a break has not been as awesome as I've hoped. For the past few weeks all I've done is sit around and watch movies or youtube, and as relaxing as that sounds it gets pretty boring after a few days. I feel like I am lost without homework or assignments to be worrying about. Hopefully things will turn around soon and I can find something a little more productive to do.

-leelou

Last Minute D.I.Y Christmas Gift Ideas

I am a bit of a D.I.Y fanatic myself, and I'm constantly on Pinterest finding new and fun ways to make something old into something new. I take awhile to get around to making a lot of the things I pin, but I will hopefully get around to making a few. Since Christmas is nearing, I decided to compile a list of my top 10 last minute D.I.Y ideas to make and give for Christmas (in no particular order.)

1.  Pine Cone Bow Ornament

Super cute and very quick to make! All you need is a pine cone, some ribbon and some string!

2. Christmas tree in a Jar

Get some cotton balls, a little plastic tree or even a branch from outside and add a cute animal or a little present.

3. The Pamper Jar 

Add anything you would like, nail polish, cream, candy! Make it fun.

4. Chalk mug

Get an old mug, and paint on some chalk paint! (maybe write a cute Christmas message)

5. Dipped Glitter Jar

Cute for your glitter lovin' friend.

6. Camera Strap Scarf

Takes a little more time, but a super cute idea.

7. Owl Pine Cone Ornaments

Make these sweet little guys in a quick few minutes.

8. The Modern Mix Tape

Warning! This one will probably be pretty tricky if you're following the link I posted above. This one is a bought version.

 9. Custom Journal

All you need is a gold sharpie and a plain journal!

10. Homemade Christmas Trees

These will take by far the longest, but you will end up with a beautiful gift for someone!

I hope you enjoyed reading my list. Let me know what your favourite is or if you're making one of these for someone special to you.

-leelou

Res. Room

Since I was taking about college in my previous post, I decided to take a few quick snaps of my room to throw up here. (sorry about the quality, I did say "quick snaps" haa) Any way, enjoy.

 -leelou

Hello again Blogger

Hello, so it's been a busy past few months, as I've just started my first year in college! (woot woot!) I'm studying Graphic Design and so far it's been great. I love my class, got some pretty cool people. Any way, I'm going to try and actually keep up with this blog, as I've been slackin' on it, mostly because of school work. We'll see how it goes.

-leelou

Pink Lemonade

A few days ago I went HomeSense and found a set of 6 milk bottles. When I  first saw them, I thought they were the cutest little things and I just had to buy them. Ever since I bought them, I have been dying to try them out, so I decided that today I would fill one up with some pink lemonade. I'm thinking that in the near future I will make some strawberry and banana smoothies, so I can drink it out of a cute little milk bottle on a hot summer day (I'm craving one just thinking about it!!) I'm also on the hunt for some cute paper straws like these ones and then my little milk bottles will be complete!

Milk Bottles: Circleware from Homesense

♥

A Day of Thrifting

So many chairs!! 

Vinyls...♡

The beautiful and large selection of jars. A D.I.Y dream.

Fell in love with this chair.

(a up-close of the  above chair 's pattern, which I absolutely loved!!)

Love this orange and yellow chair as well. Very 70s.

Some old sewing machines (in their boxes.)

Made a new friend at the shops. This is Louis. Not going to lie, I spent a good amount of time playing with this little fellow.

Yesterday I went on a little adventure to the local thrift shops downtown. I had a peak in each of them and I was able to find some pretty cool items.

The first two items that I got were some really cool old glass jars. They had glass lids with the labels punched into them. I thought they were so pretty, and so bought 2 of them. When I purchased them, I was intending to paint them, tinting them a nice mint green or orange, but I'm starting think other wise. I feel they are far too old to use for a D.I .Y craft. I think for now I'm going to leave them the way they are, as they are far too pretty already and I'm worried I'll ruin them. I think I will just have to make another trip back to the shops and buy a few more jars that I wouldn't mind painting.

The next piece I got was a plan white mug, as I'm planning on drawing on it with sharpies (another D.I.Y craft.) Right now I'm thinking I might draw a cute little lil Bub face on it, as I am sort of obsessed with lil Bub, as I'm sure many others are. She is honestly the cutest little cat. I hope that if I draw her on my mug and can do her cute little face justice.

The last item I picked up was an old photograph of a man with a long suit jacket on, a top hat and cane tucked under his arm. I thought it was such a lovely photo, and although it may seem a little creepy to have this random man's photo, I still had to buy it. I just thought it looked so cool and since I'm super into photography myself, I thought it might not be too creepy. haa. I'm still not really sure what I'll do with it yet, but I'll figure out a way to put it to good use.

♥

Etsy Obsessed

So if you haven't already guessed by obvious title choice, I have officially become obsessed with an online shop named Esty. If you still happen to be in the dark about this little beauty, let me tell you few things before we continue.

Etsy is a website that allows people to get creative and make some money in the process. On the Etsy community you can find a variety of handmade and even vintage items (eep). If you're anything like me you are already drooling at the words vintage. Basically, you can find anything from photography, to clothing, to food, to beauty products, to toys; anything you want somebody is bound to be selling. So if you haven't already checked out Etsy before, I encourage you to go create an account, make a few dollars or just add some things to your favourites to buy later. Currently, I only have account to favourite, browse and buy, but I am considering creating a shop very soon...I do have a few ideas up my sleeve.

Also, (side note) but check out the awesome work space the Etsy staff get to work in. How cool would it be to work at the Etsy headquarters?

A total 512 items, and I want to buy them all! ugh. Here's to saving up and supporting some cool artists.

Some of my favs. A bit of a theme here...mint and pink...

I think Etsy is such a great idea for artists to be able to share their work with such a wide audience. It really is such a great opportunity for people and I'm so glad it has taken off. Hopefully some time soon I can open up my own shop and start sharing some of my creativity. I really enjoy browsing Etsy and I just felt the need to share it and spread the word.

Go check out at Etsy at https://www.etsy.com, and feel free to follow me on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/ca/people/Elou2?ref=hdr. 

What are your thoughts on Etsy? Let me know in the comments! 

♥

California

It has been a solid few months since I went to California and on my first plane ever! (wow) So, I figured it's about time to tell any of you that may in fact be reading or interested what so ever, in what I did on my trip. 

So here it goes: A visual journal of my trip to California.

First Stop: San Francisco

Alcatraz Island Jail 

Lombard Street in San Francisco, one of the most curved roads. There was honestly a line up of cars to go down it! 

The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory running since 1962. I'm obsessed with fortune cookies, so you can imagine the excitement. They even give freshly backed samples to every person who visits!!

San Francisco Street Car museum. This is how the famous Street Cars of San Francisco are powered. 

A lovely over view of the City! 

Los Angeles:

The Chinese Theatre!

Wax Conan O'brien! Next Goal: Meet real Conan. 

The Biggest Troll EVER. 

Rodeo Drive. (Where super fancy people shop. Honestly everything was designer!) 

Venice Beach. Honestly the most chill beach I've ever been to, graffiti on the trees, skate parks and street performers! 

San Diego:

Seals!

Some pretty palm trees. :) 

A statute of the famous picture of a sailor kissing a women on V-J Day in Times Square, NY in 1945 located in San Diego.

San Diego Zoo.  

Overall, it really was a fantastic trip. It was a little rushed and stressful at times, and my lack of sleep and the early rising didn't help, but I'm extremely glad I took the opportunity and went. California is a beautiful place and it was so nice to get away from the ice and snow in Canada for a week in March. I would jump at the chance to go again, but for now Canada is what I call home and what I hope to call home for a long time coming.

♥