Wednesday 26 November 2014

wise word wednesday - believe in yourself


i know it may seem like i'm quasi-obsessed with tori kelly and that's because i am but when i came across this video she posted in honour of hitting 1 million subscribers on youtube, i got low-key emotional.

i might be alone in this but this little montage of her journey thus far reminded me of what amazing things can happen when you truly believe in yourself.

so, to whoever may be reading this...
i'll try and do the same...

:)
vanessa

Monday 24 November 2014

music monday: mark ronson feat. bruno mars

anyone who knows me knows that i am a huge michael jackson fan!
obviously, he can never be replaced but i honestly feel like bruno mars is our generations' answer to MJ.
everything bruno puts out is "fuego" and his new song "uptown funk" with mark ronson is no exception.
"don't believe me, just watch."


:)
vanessa

Saturday 22 November 2014

fall fashion show

about a week ago (ayyyyye!!!), my friend avery and i attend a fashion show hosted by the cocktail crawl social club
it was held at the spoke club in downtown toronto and featured designs by canadian designers narces and caras.
despite being a little out of our element (aka. out of our houses past 9pm), we had a great time and rubbed shoulders with some very interesting people.

i tried to take photos but my iphone was not co-operating in the least.
however, i managed to steal score some snapshots from various online galleries!


the photographer told us to take another shot as this one looked a tad awkward.
i see it now, lol.


take two: he told me to put my hand on my hip, lol.

some of the dresses that captured my heart but allude my bank account:
narces
narces
*if i were betrothed to be wed, this would be my dream bridal shower dress.
lace on lace on laceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
  
and then there was this garment:
caras 

i don't know where i'd go in it but if i was a rich girl, this would be among my first purchases!
*swoon.
after the show, we were all given a swag bag containing random beauty products, macroons (yum!), magazines, etc.
all in all, 'twas a great night andddd, i still managed to squeeze in a couple episodes of buffy the vampire slayer (new obsession, bdw) on netflix before bedtime.
i should leave my house more often, haha.

:)
vanessa

Monday 17 November 2014

music monday: winter wonderland/don't worry (be happy)

is it too early to start listening to christmas music because this song has been on the heaviest of rotations for the past couple of weeks.
y'all know that my love for both tori kelly and pentatonix runs deep.
so, whenever they join forces, i'm a very happy girl.

winter wonderland - pentatonix feat. tori kelly

37 days 'til christmas, y'all!
:)
vanessa

ps. y'all know, i'm a HUGE tori kelly fan (please see here and here).
so, when this happened last night, i can't lie, i lowkey fangirled.

#mamawemadeit
#weaintgottalivelikedisnomo

Saturday 15 November 2014

lost in life?

^ nothing.

i remember being in high school and having a very vivid idea of what my life would be like in the future.
blame it on the hills, naivety or whatever but i really thought i'd, and excuse my french, have my sh*t together by now.
i remember sitting back, watching lauren and co. live out their fabulous 20's and dreaming of the day.
lauren lived in an amazing condo in downtown la (though, i know realize MTV may have foot the bill) and had her dream job at teen vogue.
there were endless nights outs on the town, designer handbags, cute boys, luxury cars, blah blah blah.
though not as luxurious, these were things i, too, expected to have in my 20's.
welp, i'm a couple years into my 20's and can honestly say that the hills was a damn lie.

thus far:
  1. i don't live in my own house fully furnished by pottery barn.
    hell, i'm no where near being able to purchase my own place, especially not in toronto.
  2. i don't have my dream job.
    to be quite honest, i don't even really know what it is i truly want to do...
  3. i would have sworn that i'd have at least fiancé if not husband by now but alas, i only attract crazies.
    #partyofone
  4. i don't have a large group of girlfriends with whom i paint the town red every weekend.
    now a days, most weekends are spent with the bae.
    bae being netflix.
but you know what i do have?
  1. a roof over my head and a bed to lay my head down every night.
  2. hands down, the most amazing family this world has ever known.
  3. a small number of friends whom i truly consider family.
    quality over quantity, guys.
    quality over quantity.
  4. the opportunity to challenge myself both academically and artistically.
  5. a job that not only provides me with the income to support my interests but also, the opportunity to spend quality time with seniors who continually provide me with a wealth of knowledge.
  6. my health.
    i mean, the fact that i'm just sitting here, breathing, is something to rejoice over as this is a privilege i know many will have taken away from them today.

when i look at things from this perspective, i realize how blessed i am.
yes, i am no where close to living the life i thought i was going to lead when i was in my teens.
and sure, sometimes i get a little down when i think about it.
but i wholeheartedly believe that where i am right now is exactly where i'm supposed to be and that brings me peace.
that and this image i came across earlier this week:

so, to anyone who's in their 20's and  may be feeling just as lost as i am...*group hug.
yes, we may not be where we intended to be but as long as we're working towards whatever it is we want, we'll achieve them in good time.

*vitrual cheers!

:)
vanessa


ps. on a completely unrelated note, as a fan of MTV's the challenge (my not-so-guilty pleasure), i was truly saddened to hear about the passing of diem brown.
on the show, diem was always very open and candid about her battle with cancer.
i didn't know her personally but i always admired the positive attitude and strength she exuded despite her illness.
though, she left the world yesterday, she leaves behind her legacy and medgift.com, a crowd funding site she created to provide both financial and emotional support to those going through medical experiences.

i'm not one for cursing but fuck cancer, for real. 
rest in paradise, diem.

Sunday 9 November 2014

school blues

people: "how's school going?"
me: 

a little dramatic but this is a pretty accurate representation of how i've been feeling the past couple weeks.
the side effect of non-stop midterms, assignments and research papers, gahhh.

i did come across this image online that may have just given me the second wind needed to finish this semester:
i sure hope so, gahhh.

to any readers that are also in school: pray for me and i'll pray for you, lol.
Godspeed.

:)
vanessa

Saturday 1 November 2014

"i do not wear polyester hair, okay? unlike some people i know like shawana!"

it's been a while since i dressed up and went out for halloween.
so after weeks of non-stop assignments and exams, i was adamant that this year would be the year i do just that.
with both limited time and money, i was able to pull together this outfit and channel my inner dionne "dee" davenport:
dress found here; knee high socks found here; headband found here; nose ring found here;
similar shoes found here; white blouse found in my mother's closet, lol.
lipstick - studded kiss by mac

dionne is easily my favorite character from clueless (tai, a close second) and it was fun to channel her for a night.
hope you all had a safe and happy halloween!

:)
vanessa

ps. in reference to the title of this post...


pps. nico was batman this year and my sister sent me this pic and i nearly died:
"little boys are just superheroes in disguise."