It’s that time of year! Which for me is like every month because my room gets real messy real FAST. Sorry mom.
Today I’ve got a new video where I’m sharing some DIY Room Decor ideas that’ll help get your room clean and organized without spending too much money. And by too much money I mean more than $10 because ain’t nobody got money for that, right? *Stay silent you trust fund kids*
Anyways hope you all enjoy the video below!
The holidays have always been my favourite time of year. Like why wouldn’t it be when Elf is playing on tv like every single day?! But seriously, everything from the music, decorations and even the snow (who’s totally standing me up this year, like where you at?) makes me feel so happy. But what I love most about December is that people come together in the spirit of giving.
Which is why I’m so excited to work with My Giving Moment, a campaign led by the Rideau Hall Foundation and the Governer General of Canada, that encourages millennials like you and I to get involved and give back!
I think we can all easily predict the type of pictures we’ll be seeing on our Twitter, Instagram and even newsfeeds this season: shots of Christmas trees from every angle possible, nicely wrapped presents, maybe a few ugly christmas sweater selfies and of course lots and lots of food. But this year I encourage you to instead #SnapSomeGood and post a picture of you doing a good deed! Whether it’s making cupcakes for a charity bake sale or a big pile of clothes ready for donation. Why? It’s simple: when we see good, we do good and when we do good, we feel good! Mygivingmoment.ca has a ton of ideas of some great volunteering activities you can try your hand at this year, and for some more things to do especially when you get bored this winter break (because let’s face it it’s bound to happen after you finish binge watching that show on Netflix), be sure to check out my latest youtube video below!
It’s been six months and a bit since I left the continent of Europe to come back to my own homeland of North America. And so here I finally am, in true procrastination style, to write about my travels. Travels that I quit my job to experience, might I add. For those of you who don’t know, my three other gal pals and I went on a “backpacking” trip to Europe, exploring 8 countries within the span of 25 days. Backpacking is in quotations because well, we totally cheated and brought along a giant check-in luggage. Which we shipped back home while in Spain, and came home with two more check-in luggages. Girls, right?
Backpacking Europe are two words that, when put together, are most often found on bucket lists and dreamt about in the minds of youth. For the lucky ones, it can be seen as a right of passage, usually experienced after a high school or university graduation or during a gap year. We weren’t privileged trust fund kids, but instead your average post grads with student debt living under our parents’ roofs. As soon as we booked our first flight from YYZ (Toronto) to KEF (Iceland), I used the research skills I learned for thousands of dollars in university and read every single Thought Catalog, Elite Daily, Huffington Post, and every other millennial targeted article out there in order to gain some unrealistic expectations of how this trip will pan out. I wanted to know exactly what crazy adventures I would hopefully find myself in. But things don’t always happen like expected.
Things that didn’t happen:
-“Finding” myself or learning more about who I am
I honestly came back the same person, just with a hundred pictures of churches on my phone and some envious selfies to post on instagram.
-Falling in love
I suppose it’s kind of hard to bump into Mr. Perfect when you’re in a country for just two days.
-Meeting new people and learning about new cultures
To be fair, we obviously did meet people. But were they life changing encounters? Nah.
Things that did happen:
-Getting lost in Iceland. Because what’s a road trip without ending up in the middle of nowhere surrounded by mountains and sheep?
-Crashing a stag party and hanging out with a bunch of Brits from Liverpool who broke my dreams and told me my faux English accent was too posh.
-They say you never forget to ride a bike, and I tested that theory in the crazy, ridiculous, scary streets of Amsterdam. They don’t kid about the bike culture and while there are many lanes, try riding it through crazy traffic or crowds bigger than one you’d find at a One Direction concert. Ride a bike or die trying right?
-Eating Laduree macaroons while having a picnic in front of the Eiffel tower. This. is. what. European. dreams. are. made. of.
-Eating a lot of random “exotic” food. I made a pact to avoid worldwide fast food joints, and pretty much stuck to that the whole trip. Though I’ll admit, I did eat McDonald’s once in Berlin.
In conclusion:
Was Europe the life changing once in a lifetime experience I read about and hoped it would be?
No.
Do I regret quitting my job and going on the trip?
Hell no.
But do I wanna try at it again?
Definitely. Yes please. 100%.
While I didn’t come back a changed person with a whole new perspective on life, I did come back with a bunch of really awesome photos. (See instagram).
But I must remind you that life isn’t perfect like the photos above. You have to put in effort and try, sometimes real hard, before finally achieving your goal. As you can tell by the vlog above, we had an amazing time, and the main message I want to share to anyone reading is that if you have the passion for travelling do it. Go for it. Make it happen. Because as cool as these places may seem in the vlog, they’re even cooler in person. Your trip may not end up as the stuff Hollywood teen movies are made of, but you’ll definitely come back home with one thing, whether it’s a changed outlook on life or one too many souvenir shot glasses.
When in Europe, one must always be totally and completely serious…
Until the next trip! (Which, oh right, happens to be in two weeks. Miami, here I come!)
xo Naomi
My room has always been a special place. My own little cave filled with my treasures, the most comfortable bed and wifi. Getting grounded and sent to my room when I was younger? Best. Thing. Ever.
Seeing how I still live at home with my parents (in a city I despise), it’s basically where I eat, sleep, breathe and live my life. Growing up in a three bedroom house with five family members, and because my younger sister copied me and came out as a female, both of us shared a room while our younger brother got a sanctuary of his own. And at 8 years old, I doubt he even appreciated it. I swear he spent most of his time in the living room throwing punches and fighting with the air and jumping from couch to couch because the floor was lava.
Anyway, sharing a room was a fate worse than death (or so I assumed as a dramatic pre-teen), and I campaigned long and hard for a room of my own over a couple of years before my parents finally gave in, kicked my brother out and moved his bed into their master bedroom.
Do you see how important my room is? It wasn’t handed to me on a silver platter, I worked tirelessly for it! Now, almost a decade later, though the location of the room hasn’t changed (unfortunately, remember, city I despise), everything else has, from the colour of the walls to the décor. And so today I’m giving you an in-depth look into this woman cave of mine with my room tour. Hope you enjoy!