Hey everyone! I posted a new YouTube video today and wanted to share it with you! I went thrifting with my friends, Ayla and Victoria, and we recorded the whole thing. I hope you guys enjoy it :))) If you would like me to share my videos on my blog more often, please let me know!
Hope you’re having a great week so far!
– Tiny ❤
We’re about three weeks into the year 2020. So, how does everyone feel?! Is your year going well so far? I would have to say that I’m quite happy with how things are going for me! I don’t want to jinx anything but I’ve felt super productive and in good spirits since January 1st. I know that nothing lasts forever but I’m enjoying it while it lasts. I’ve just recently booked a vacation to the Dominican Republic for next month! I’m excited to get some sun. Winter here in Toronto has started to get intolerable. I’m excited to have time to relax, sit on a beach, and read. Anyways, all in all, I think things are going well! I have quite the list of goals that I would like to achieve this year. I think fulfilling these new year resolutions will also be a great way to start this new DECADE. I can’t believe that by the end of these next 10 years, I’ll be almost 40! What?! It’s scary! This is going to be huge!!! I might be married by the end of this? I might have KIDS?! Holy moly… let’s move on to my resolutions, shall we?
1. Take better care of my skin/create a beauty routine – I think this is an easy but more expensive resolution. If I wanna take better care of my skin, I feel like I’m going to have to add a few more steps to my skincare routine. This means that I have to buy more skincare products and I think that might start to add up ($$$). Honestly, this is why I’ve kept it simple for so long! I really don’t want to take my skin for granted though. I need to treat it better. I would like a night cream and an eye cream. Maybe a serum? Where’s a good place to start? I might have to do more research on this stuff but if you guys have any tips, I’d love to read them in the comment section below!
2. Drink more water – This is one that is going to be on my list of new year resolutions forever. I think I could always drink more water. I probably managed to drink more water last year because water is cheap lol. But I really have no excuse to not drink more water than I do. I have been without a reusable water bottle for a couple of months now. It’s a long story but I think I’m going to start there. I need to get my hands on a new reusable water bottle. Once I have obtained said water bottle, I’d like to drink four of them a day! Am I ambitious when it comes to my water intake? Maybe? Probably? But I’ll keep ya’ll updated!
3. Travel somewhere on my bucket list – The list is huge so I won’t be sharing that just yet. However, I think if I were to pick two destinations that I would absolutely HAVE to visit before I die, it’d be Japan and France. They’re just places I’m always dreaming about! I can’t explain it. I just have a huge curiosity about life in those countries. I have this feeling that they’re amazing and an absolute dream come true. If I can control my spending habits, I think I’m going to set aside some money specifically for travelling so that I can make my dreams come true some day. I know that if I’m going to go to either of these places this year, it might have to be in September or some time after. Here’s to hoping this actually happens!!!
4. Work on my mental health – I don’t really share this with many people but I have pretty bad anxiety. I worry and overthink a lot. I worry about a lot of things that are beyond my control and I don’t know how to stop it. Sometimes when I’m worrying, I get really emotional and things start to snowball and typically get worse and worse. At times I don’t want to leave my bed. It gets a little out of control and I would really like to have better control of it. Like I don’t want to let it get the best of me, so I’m going to do what I can to tell myself that worrying isn’t going to change anything. It’s not worth it! I shouldn’t let it ruin my days. If you guys have tips on how to handle anxiety, please let me know. Telling yourself that there’s nothing to worry about and believing it are two separate things, and I’m going to do my best to work on that this year. If something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen whether I worry about it or not. So I might as well be happy and relax, right?
5. Get a new bed – As embarrassing as it is to admit, I am still sleeping on the same IKEA bed that I bought while I was in college. It’s been like, 6 years? I’ve been sleeping on a twin bed for over 6 years, guys. I think as a woman turning 27 this year, maybe I should buy myself a queen bed? Or at least a double? If you could see the condition that my current bed is in, you’d be shocked. The head board is no longer attached. Having my boyfriend (that’s really tall!) stay over is the worst because I feel terrible making him share such a small bed with me. I need a big girl bed! NEW BED 2020. I’m going to make it happen ASAP (after my trip to Dominican lol)!
6. Be smarter with my money; save more, spend less, and think ahead – I’m awful with my money. I’ll admit it. I have a terrible spending habit and I’m not great at prioritizing the necessities. I have a lot of stuff I don’t need so I’m going to make sure that I stick to buying less each month. I also want to make sure that I’m contributing to my savings account monthly. I’m realizing that most of the stuff I love is the stuff I spend less on. I also find myself going back to a lot of pieces that I’ve had for years. I don’t need anything else! I know I’m talking the talk and need to walk the walk or whatever, but I really do want to try to save my money for more important things. For example: travelling! Or any other experience that is worth as much as an expensive handbag! I also still have school debt that I need to pay off so I think this resolution would benefit me in a lot of ways.
7. Read 30 books – I feel like this isn’t a surprise to those of you that know me. I’ve been giving myself yearly goals in regards to how many books I’d like to read throughout the year, and last year I read 20. It’s the same amount of books that I read the year before so I really, really would like to read more than 20 this year. I’m specifically aiming for 30 books? I think an extra 10 books would be very satisfying for me lol. As a side note, I’d like to try my best not to give up on books that don’t interest me right away. I’d like to try harder to push through them because I think I can learn a lot from books I can’t relate to. I need to push myself when it comes to broadening my perspective and my interests.
8. More self-love – I’m really hard on myself. Growing up my mom was pretty strict with me. It was hard to get her approval/”be good enough”. I know she just wanted the best for me but it’s made me really critical of myself in almost every way. I’m always aiming for that 10/10 in everything I do. I get really down when I make a mistake. The mistake could be an actual mistake, like forgetting or losing something, or it could be something like the way I reacted to something. I’ll get mad or disappointed with myself for getting upset or being mean. I need to realize that it’s okay to have emotions. It’s okay to not be happy or positive all the time. Sometimes I won’t get it right and that’s okay. It’s an opportunity to learn and to grow, and for the most part, I think I’m proud of who I am. So this year I’m going to love every bit of myself.
9. YouTube Channel/editing skills/more content – I’m actually loving creating videos. It’s so rewarding and fun to put together these memories and have a place to share them! I’m trying to be consistent with either recording a video for YouTube or posting a little one on IGTV. I want to keep practicing because I know that once I’ve created enough videos, I’ll be more comfortable to experiment! I can maybe invest in a better editing software? I’d like to work on more blog posts as well. I’m a little annoyed with my Instagram and how it’s outfit picture after outfit picture in either my bedroom mirror or one at work. I mean, I guess it’s kind of my brand? I just would like to do something different and more creative. It’s not the end of the world but I’d like some better quality photos mixed in there as well, if possible. I think in general, I just want to have more fun with this stuff and create more of a variety of content.
10. Get a driver’s license – Yes, I don’t drive. Yes, I don’t even have my G1 license. I’m surprisingly not as embarrassed as I used to be. In the small town I’m from, it’s the way of life. It’s the only way you’re going to go anywhere! If you don’t have your license, you must be staying at home and rotting away. Mind you, I am partially doing that here in the city anyway lol. But all the methods of transportation here make it so unnecessary to have a license or a car. I’ve been putting off getting a license forever because I just haven’t had the need for it anymore. As I get older and start to look more towards my future, I do think a license would be very beneficial in the long run. It’s just good to have and I might as well just get it over with.
Alright, there you have it! Thank you for reading my 2020 New Year’s Resolutions. I’d love to read what you guys would like to accomplish this year! Again, if you have any tips or tricks for me, I’d love to read those as well! Leave a comment below!
Until next time,
– Tiny ❤
I am writing at 1AM because I just finished a book that’s making me feel all different types of ways. “Normal People” by Sally Rooney was a trip and a half, lemme tell ya! I really, really, really enjoyed reading this book and if life didn’t get in the way, I wouldn’t have put this book down until I finished it! Like some of the reviews on the back said, this book is wildly insightful. I know that for some people, fiction is a lot harder to relate to. But like all the books I’ve read, “Normal People” taught me something. It shared the importance of a child’s upbringing and how your past can shape your present!
The story surrounds Connell and Marianne and their evolving relationship. They’re two unlikely friends that meet in high school due to unusual circumstances. Connell, is really intelligent and liked by everyone at school. However, unlike most of the other students that attend his school, he doesn’t have much money. His mother is a single parent and works as the cleaning lady of Marianne’s household. Marianne is not as charismatic and likeable as Connell. Although she has money, she is kind of an enigma at her high school and everyone seems to find her weird. She’s also really smart though. Her and Connor are the top two of their class.
One day, Connell comes a bit earlier to pick up his mother from work at Marianne’s house. He spends some time with Marianne while waiting and finds himself attracted to her. Scared of what his friends might think, he keeps it to himself and continues to come earlier to see Marianne/get to know her. They end up hooking up and it becomes this huge arrangement where none of them want to fully admit their feelings but it’s obvious that they have a special connection. Connell doesn’t want to ruin his reputation at school and Marianne could care less because she doesn’t even have one. It works for a period of time. For a long period, actually. Because of his feelings for Marianne and her influence on him, Connell and Marianne end up attending the same college/university. There’s a lot of drama that happens between them and there’s a lot of “on again, off again” action. Their communication with one another sucks. No one says what they really feel. They both have very different lives at home (Marianne’s family is verbally and physically abusive towards her), and they both are trying to figure out who they are and what they want in life. The only real thing that is constant is their love for one another and I’m going to leave the story at that.
However, I think if you do read this, I should warn you that you might get a little frustrated while reading. I found myself smacking my forehead a couple of times because to the reader, it’s so obvious that they should be together. Without each other they’re lost! I was constantly rooting for them to finally get together and have an actual relationship but something always happened or got in the way. Like I said earlier, this was a trip.
If you don’t want to be yanked around, I promise you that I still enjoyed reading this book so much! It was worth it! I learned that communication is so important. I also learned that everyone is dealing with something. No one is perfect. Everyone’s got something going on behind closed doors so don’t ever think you have someone fully figured out. And whatever’s going on behind those closed doors has, in some way, made them who they are. People are complicated so don’t be ignorant and don’t judge.
If you decide to pick up this novel and read it, let me know what you think!
Until next time!
– Tiny ❤
I already know a lot of you are not going to understand this post or my overall excitement over a handbag. If you’re a bag lover like myself, help me out here! I totally understand if most of you find this ridiculous but I work hard for my money and purchasing this bag was a really important thing to me. Chloe is probably one of my favourite designers. I have always wanted to own something from Chloe but anything from that brands costs over $1,000. I went to Nordstrom one day and the guy working in the bag department saw me drooling over the Chloe handbags. He totally understood me and was a complete gem in letting me know that they came out with a miniature purse that retailed for less than $1,000. I was like, “GTFO.” Since then I’ve been trying to put aside the money to get one. Since I was making this huge step of leaving TOPSHOP after 5 years, I thought this was the time to treat myself. To own something from Chloe is still hard for me to believe. I absolutely love this new bag. She’s my new pride and joy!
The bag I got is called See by Chloe Small Joan Crossbody Bag in the “Caramello” colour. I think it’s perfect for Fall/Winter. This creamy orange colour will definitely transition well into the Spring and Summer as well. It’s also the perfect size for a tiny young woman, like myself! Now it won’t carry any of my books but it will carry all of my other essentials! If you’d like to see what I carry in this new purse of mine, check out my “What’s In My Bag?” video that I just uploaded onto my YouTube channel!
Let me know in the comment section below what you think of it! Or let me know if you have any other questions about my pride & joy ;))
Until next time!
– Tiny ❤
While I have all these fresh feelings and thoughts after JUST finishing this book, I thought now would be the best time to write a book review for “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I don’t even know where to begin. This book took me on a trip that I would gladly take again, and again. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from beginning to end! I finished it in less than a week! I couldn’t put it down! I think if I had an entire day to read, I would have definitely finished this book in one sitting.
The book begins with Monique. She’s recently going through a separation. Basically, her husband left her (and took their coffee table with him lol). In terms of her profession, well that doesn’t really exist either, but somehow the Hollywood movie icon, Evelyn Hugo, wants Monique to write her biography. She said that she’s read some of Mo’s previous work and wants her to write it and take this opportunity to jump-start her career. Although she’s confused as to how this is happening to her, Monique agrees to it and learns all there is to know about Evelyn. She comes over to her fancy house every day and listens to Evelyn tell her story. They start at the beginning, from Evelyn’s upbringing to her first husband, and the six after that. Evelyn Hugo’s life was full of adventure and all different types of love, and it’s clear that she had a lot of ambition. As the story progresses, you learn that there is much to Evelyn that no one knew. A great forbidden love that she never shared. You find out who her greatest love of all was, and it wasn’t any of her husbands.
Without ruining the story for you, you’ll also find out that Monique and Evelyn’s life are connected in a way that you wouldn’t expect. Evelyn has many regrets and you realize she’s doing this for Monique as a way to ask for forgiveness. I’m honestly not giving this story much justice. I know it doesn’t make much sense right now. I’m only explaining it this way because I’m trying not to ruin the whole thing while still trying to get you to want to read it! I strongly suggest that you guys pick this up! I can’t tell you enough that I enjoyed reading this so much. I love these old Hollywood stories and Taylor Jenkins Reid did a great job portraying the harsh realities of that time (not that I know what it was like to live back then, but it gave me a pretty good picture).
Anyways, there are a lot of shockers. She keeps you on your toes! It’s a great love story. Fame isn’t as glamorous as it seems, folks. It was also one of @imjennim’s (I’m obsessed with her) monthly favourites. I forget what month it was but I had added it to my list and picked it up at the library. I’m so happy that I did!
If you end up reading “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”, let me know what you think!
Until next time!
– Tiny ❤
I picked up this book because it was one of Belletrist’s (@belletrist) YA novel picks and I just needed a break from all these thrillers. I don’t even know how I managed to read three scary/thrilling novels in a row, but it happened. They were full of crime, drama, and suspense that kept me wanting more. I couldn’t help myself! “Permanent Record” by Mary H.K. Choi was the book I needed to switch it up. It was SO GOOD, guys. Honestly, why do we not bother with YA when we’re older? What’s wrong with it? Sometimes you just need to read something a little more lighthearted! Sometimes you’ll end up learning more than you expected, like I did!
Permanent Record is about this 20 year-old boy named Pablo. He works at a 24-hour organic foods store or a “bodega” (I’m still unfamiliar with this term lol, but that’s what they called it) and he usually works the overnight shift. Pablo was accepted to NYU but he didn’t have enough money saved to attend. He ended up dropping out because he also didn’t put enough effort, so now he’s working to *try* to pay off some serious credit card debt that the NYU situation put him in. He’s really trying to get back into NYU before his chance is completely ruined, but he can’t seem to find the motivation. Pablo is one of those guys that’s great at so many things but has no idea what he wants to do in life. He’s also pretty scared to fully commit to anything. His parents are concerned about him. His friends are concerned him. Mr. and Mrs. Kim, the owners of the bodega, are also concerned about him. Pablo’s just coasting and living with his head in the clouds. He’s in denial and does not want to face the reality that he needs to buckle down and do something more. One night (or morning, since it was 4AM) during his shift, Pablo is interrupted by a girl that he recognizes but doesn’t recognize – you know those ones? Her name is Leanna Smart. The two of them click and hit it off right away. They bond over their love for snacks and the weird but tasty snack combinations that they come up with. It’s kind of an art to Pablo. He has an Instagram dedicated to it. Leanna finds him refreshing, especially since he doesn’t recognize who she is right away. The Leanna Smart has been famous and successful since she was eight years old. Pablo had no idea he would soon be dating a superstar. You can find her face EVERYWHERE (billboards, radio, TV, etc.). It’s actually kind of concerning that he didn’t recognize her right away.
From then, it’s a whirlwind romance. They are absolutely crazy about each other, and Pablo is introduced to this lavish lifestyle that he can’t even believe. He can’t believe it so he doesn’t even bother to tell anyone in his life about her or what he’s been up to. He just takes off in her airplane and doesn’t tell anyone where he’s going! It’s not just the fact that he doesn’t want to do anything to ruin what seems like a dream to him, but Pablo also can’t say anything because he’s had to sign a NDA.
Now without basically telling you the entire story, Pablo and Leanna don’t work out. I know what you’re thinking. No happily ever after? But Pablo gets the push he needs! Although they don’t end up together, Pablo learns a lot from his experience with Leanna, and everything that happens after they break up. I learned a lot as well. I learned that life is about doing and not waiting. Everything also happens at its own pace. To be honest, this book came to me at the right time. I was confused and very distraught about not knowing what my calling is. Am I just going to work in retail forever? I know I can accomplish more. I know that I am capable of doing more, but it’s okay to not know what “more” is right now. This move to Free People has been what I needed to clear my head. I love customer service (as crazy as that sounds) and I love styling and shopping. I know that one day it will all click. There’s a higher calling and I know it will come to me when I’m ready!
It’s actually insane how I got this sort of epiphany from reading a YA novel like this. However, if you’re going through something similar, I strongly believe that you shouldn’t give up on yourself. Also, don’t expect anything to just happen right away! If it’s meant to be, it will be. And sometimes bad things happen, and you fail, and it hurts, but that’s life! Everything will get better, you just can’t give up on yourself. You. Are. Awesome.
Please check out this book if you’re looking for something new to read! Like I said, you can learn something! Why not YA? Don’t judge a book by it’s cover! ;))
Until next time,
– Tiny ❤
Hey everyone! As promised, I’m here to update you on some big changes and what has been currently going on in my life. It’s quite a bit to unpack so I advise you make a coffee or tea, or something, and relax. Here we go.
I want to start by sharing some really tough news. It definitely has kept me away from creating content and from a lot of things in general lately. I had to say goodbye to one of my bestest friends almost two weeks ago. My dog that I’ve had since I was 10 years-old had to be put down. She had a heart condition and a really infected eye. The eye needed to be removed, there was no question about it. The surgery would have cost us $2,000. There obviously is no price on the amount of love that we have for Abby but we thought it would be best to put her down because with her heart condition, she may not have survived the surgery anyway. I never expected to hurt so much and to be so sad over a dog and to be honest, I’m not sure if I have the emotional strength to love and own a dog again. She was there for me through everything in the last 15 years. I felt like I could always depend on her to be there and pick me up when I’m down. She was a light in my life and I miss her so much. However, I know we did the right thing and I know it would have only gotten worse. I’ll always miss her but I think I’m finally starting to get back to focusing on everyday things. We ordered a mould with her paw print embedded in it, so we’ll always have a bit of Abby with us.
While this was going on, I also accepted a new position! I have a new job! It was such a difficult time trying to figure out what to do with Abby while also trying to figure out whether or not to accept this job offer. I have been with TOPSHOP TOPMAN since I was in college. I have been with the brand for 5 years and it became really comfortable being there. My position as Personal Shopper at Yorkdale was not fulfilling me in the way I wanted it to. There was no way for me to grow. I felt like I had stopped learning. Things were becoming stale and the job is really stressful. As a personal shopper, your responsibility is to create a clientele, a relationship with a bunch of different customers so that they keep coming back to shop with you. I also had really huge sales goals that I was struggling to meet. I lost the passion and I lost the reason I wanted to become a personal shopper to begin with. It just wasn’t fun anymore and I love styling. I love helping people put together outfits and I love when they leave confident and happy with their purchases. Although I was still doing that, I was always haunted by the fact that I had this huge sales goal and what I was doing wasn’t enough. To say that I gave up really upsets me, but I just feel like the job was demoralizing me as a whole. I was feeling like a failure and I feel like this new job creates growth and opportunity for me. I am happy to announce that I will be the Senior Stylist at Free People in the Eaton Centre! You can now shop with me downtown!! This position allows me to do the same thing I was doing at TOPSHOP TOPMAN but it doesn’t have the same amount of pressure. There’s also so many avenues to take with this job. I can become a part of management. I can consider visual merchandising. Free People is also one of three brands under the URBN Inc. company. I could also work for Urban Outfitters or Anthropology! Maybe I’ll work my way into a position in their head office? I’m feeling super optimistic and really happy with my choice. I’m really excited to work for Free People because I have always been in love with their aesthetic and their merchandise. Their products have always been outside of my budget but now I get a discount so I’m excited about that, too! Change is good. I feel like this move will open plenty of other doors for me. Just by being located downtown might even open some doors! The amount of traffic and the types of people that you can meet downtown Toronto are great! Who knows who I’ll meet! To everyone that I have met while working at TOPSHOP TOPMAN, thank you for contributing to my growth and to who I am today. Whether you’re a co-worker, a manager or a client, it was a pleasure working with you. I will always remember my time there but I am now moving on to bigger and better things.
Now that I have accepted a position that does not require me to basically run my own business, I feel like I have the capacity to work on more content! I was constantly stressing at TOPSHOP TOPMAN to find ways to make my sales goals, or ways to get clients to come back and shop some more, that I was too exhausted to be creative. I love to be creative and content creating has become one of my favourite things to do! Now that I’ll be styling at Free People with less pressure, I think I’m going to focus more on creating fresh and original content. I want to put more heart and soul into my blog, I want to be more consistent with posting new YouTube videos, and I want to partner with more brands! I also want to take more photos of my outfits. Hopefully I can get more comfortable and good at taking photos with a self timer. I’ve got a lot that I want to accomplish. This fresh start has made me very optimistic, happy and motivated to do more with my life! I just pray that I don’t get stuck feeling the same things I felt at TOPSHOP. But I don’t want to think negatively! I’m only hoping for the best!
I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I want you guys to know that you can’t grow when you’re comfortable! You only grow from uncomfortable situations and therefore I’m an advocate for trying new things. Don’t settle. If it doesn’t make you happy, why are you doing it? We only have one life so you gotta make the best of it, right?
Until next time!
– Tiny ❤
