Note to self / no.6

I saw that quote on pinterest and it really stuck with me which got me to thinking about the way I (we) act daily not to my friends and family but to people I don’t know.

I consider myself to be a pretty happy person most of the time but the other day I wasn't in the best mood...I didn't really feel like talking to anyone about anything.  I went to the store to buy some things I needed and a lady bumped into me with her cart hitting my leg (ouch!), she apologized profusely.  I had two options.  One, get sassy.  Two, smile and say no problem. The quote popped into my head and so I took option #2.  I said no problem and smiled...genuinely!  As I walk away my mood suddenly slightly lifted.  No reason to make someone feel bad for nothing just because I'm feeling off.

Always be kinder than you feel

I'm not trying to say smile at a stranger and your bad day will disappear and suddenly you'll find yourself in a meadow of roses and all things good and beautiful......uhh. No. But, you will feel a bit better having been kind to someone instead of feeling guilty at your bad behavior later on.  

The world would be a better place if people always acted kinder than they felt.  Happiness is a state of mind and guess what? Being kind feels great.  Let's all practice it more often!

Enjoy! xo

Quote of the day:

"Your beliefs don't make you a better person your behavior does" - unknown

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Ipodography {take 17}

Find me on instagram @annawithlove

As of lately on the iPod.  Just a few more months and the iPhone will finally be mine, talk about practicing patience!

Enjoy, xo

Quote of the day:
"A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything" Irish Proverb
 

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Domesticate Me // Rainbow Cupcakes

When I started this series I wanted it to be honest and actually help other domestically challenged people like me.  A place on the web where you can come learn a trick or two and see what not to do.

At the beginning I knew there would be some ups but mostly a lot of downs.

Remember my mention to the bunt cake massacre of 2009? Well, I give you the rainbow cupcake massacre of 2012.  Visually more appealing, same ol' mess.

I not only burnt these innocent cupcakes but I also...forgot the Pam...again.

I wish I was making this up.

I'll start from the beginning...round one.

I found this recipe a few years ago from this blog, it's such a fun idea to swap in the normal ingredients for some diet pop.  Head over there to see the rainbow cake!

Ingredients:

Cake mix

Diet Sprite or ginger ale (1 can per cake box)

food colouring

frosting

 (yup, that's it! follow the photos for the directions!)

What I learned (round one):
1. Food colouring, oh man does it ever stain (my fingers were Ty-dyed)

2. So as you saw above I forgot the pam, I thought I was okay with the non-stick pan and all but nope.  Then I burnt them (the fancy yellow mix tricked me, it looked like it was still doughy but was cooked...the extra 5 minutes did those poor rainbow cakes in)...and THEN I realized instead of pouring 255mL into the mix (one can per box) I put in 355mL.  Sticky burnt paste. Oh what a glorious texture.

3. To remove food colouring from counter use Mr. clean magic eraser (woah works wonders!)

4. I now understand the importance of planning ahead and measuring.  TIP: Pick your base colour this bowl should have more than the others, the second colour a little less. Turns out I was wrong to make all the bowls equal (see below). Sounds like a no brainier...but yes I did not anticipate this, I crossed my fingers hoped for the best...living and learning. 

and so...onto round two

 I wasn't taking any chances this time, so hello cute little cupcake cups!

 already learning from round one, same patterns and proper amounts!

 yayy!

Baking instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees for 18 minutes (safe bet: follow the boxes instructions is

What I learned (round 2):
1. Don't worry if things don't turn out the way you hoped.  It's a learning experience and every mistake will get you closer to perfecting it the next time!

I'm about to get after school special on you all....Learn with me, grow with me & we'll soon be domestic goddesses..and with that my domestication continues ;)

Hope you all enjoyed this

Lots of love,

Anna

xo

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Life in photos

quiet moments at work | really into my new sharpie collection | good ol' CN Tower | Will be wearing this comfy sweater all year | Bridal shower invite I created for my best friend (sometimes I pretend I'm a graphic designer) | Looking through mom's old recipes | Old family photos that need to be organized...winter break project 2012

New week, fresh start

Ready. Set. Go!

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend, I'm becoming a bit obsessed with trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer.  How will you be spending the last few weeks?  

 Any great ideas?

Quote of the day:

"The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age" - Lucille Ball

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Note to self / no.5

Today we talk about lists.  I know I'm not alone and there are many more like me who need to make lists to function...like oxygen. Right? Right.

Making realistic lists is something I struggle with all the time.

Every day I write new lists filled with all the tasks and general to-dos for that day.  I re-write these lists if I think they are too messy or if I run out of room (fellow Virgos you get me right?). I got to a point not long ago where my lists started to stress me instead of helping me find organizational bliss.  

I'd write down everything I needed to do, big/small/important/not important.  I realized that this wasn't helping me at all quite the opposite.  It was making me less productive and pointlessly overwhelmed.

 Let me break it down for you, here is what happens

One: I have my morning coffee or afternoon coffee which leaves me feeling awake, motivated and over ambitious.

Two: I start jotting down everything I'm going to get done when I get home from work..I try to keep in mind to be realistic but somehow that goes out the window and before I know it I have a list with 15 things on it.

Three: Expectations - get home. power through the list, looking fabulous while I do it...work it girl

Four: Reality - get home...6pm.  Look at the list. Feel overwhelmed. Waste an hour doing nothing trying to figure out where to start until inevitably I give up and waste time on bloglovin to trick myself into thinking I'm being productive...there I said it!

Five: Review my list at the end of day, realize I got extremely little done and feel guilty about letting myself down.

And so, my journey to making a conscious effort to make lists I can actually finish began.  When I'd catch myself starting to get list happy I'd stop take a moment and ask myself “Anna are you really going to get this done today? Do you have time for it?” Think woman, think.

TIP: I also started breaking things down more.  There is something magical about crossing a task off your to-do list, it's a mini serge of energy and you feel productive and ready to tackle the next task...bring it!

Instead of saying 'Edit Emily Photographs' it would now be: Upload, back up, choose selects, edit in lightroom, final touches in Photoshop.  That’s five things instead of one.

When you're trying to get through a to-do list and you've been working for 5+ hours and you STILL can't cross something off, that's going to quickly make you feel deflated....this is usually when I write something on the list that I already did just to cross it off. From doing this many times I now generally write something on my to-do list even though I did it already just to cross it off and feel freaking amazing...

It’s not cheating its productivity insurance my friends.

Hope this helps all you list happy people just like me :)

Enjoy, xo

Quote of the day:

"Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen" 

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Artist on the street

His name was Victor.

He didn't say much, just that they were there to create something beautiful for the people to see and that hopefully it would brighten their days.

Mission accomplished.  Seeing bright, sparkly art every morning on my walk to work put a huge smile on my face.

A bit thank you to these uknown artists
 Quote of the day:

"True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new" - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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Behind the Scenes: Emily

A little behind the scenes coming at ya today

I love watching the BTS to anything (especially my favorite movies), so wanted to share a few snapshots from the photoshoot with Emily

Enjoy! xo

Quote of the day: 

"The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well!" -  Joe Ancis

 

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Life in Photos

It's such a great feeling starting the new work week on a Tuesday

I had a lovely long weekend filled with cottage time, getting crafty, having fun with my Paris stamps from Papyrus and all around taking it easy.

Ready to tackle a new (busy) week

Enjoy! xo

Quote of the day:
"When it seams impossible, when it seems like nothing is going to work, you're just a few millimeters away from making it happen" - Anthony Robbins

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