On the hunt for some gum!

Ooooo I saw this ad for Extra Dessert Delights gum in the Instyle December 2010 issue last night

Where have I been?!  I'd love to get my hands on this!!! 

OMG I'm one of the few people I know that love mint chocolate chip

Ohhh I'll be checking all those racks of gum sold near the cashiers until I find it LOL

Have you tried this gum or seen it in stores? 

Do you have a favourite chewing gum? 

Guess Ads

I've always loved Guess Ads

I think the models in Guess Ads ooze so much sex appeal and glamour - it's really an inspiration for me

Scanned image from Lou Lou Magazine Vol 7, issue 8

And here are my favourite ads which I scanned from the Guess Spring 2011 Catalogue 

Do any magazine ads inspire you? Which ones? 

Quick re-cap of my 2010

2010 was a great year for me :)

My family and close friends were in good health and we spent some great times together

 I spent a lot of time with my best friend Evgueni (I'll always love you)

Rarely a day has passed in the 3.5 years I've known him that we don't keep in touch or see each other

He knows everything about me, is always supportive, motivates me, loves me, is there for me and he's such a wonderful person. My life would never be the same without him

............

I also spent a lot of my spare time at Brant House nightclub with Jasmin the first part of the year

.........

I had met Dale just over a year ago - December 2009

He's become a very close friend and important person in my life

I've been so fortunate of all the things he spoils me with & to be given the opportunity to travel with him

He brought me on my first trip for 2010 - it was to visit him in Calgary/Canmore in May (it's ~3.5 hr flight away from me). Dale taking me on my first helicopter ride was one of the memorable moments :)

In June my parents took me to Las Vegas

It was the first time I travelled alone with just my parents where neither of my sisters came along

I love my parents so so much & it was really nice to spend time with them both

One of the highlights was my visit to Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, and the skywalk

The same day I flew back from Vegas, Dale took me on a trip to Kansas City Missouri

He took me to my first baseball game 

And during the second game he took me to, the umpire threw me a baseball - best souvenir everrrr

My younger sister Jenn lives ~3.5 hr flight out West, and for the past 3 years she's visited our family in Toronto twice a year annually - once in the summertime and once over Christmas Holidays

This past summer when she was in Toronto late July-early August, my whole family did a road trip to Grove City Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh  

The highlights? Shopping of course haha & spending time with the whole family :)

Lets not forget two very cool dudes that introduced sheesha into my life back in August - Dani & Branko, who were visiting from Serbia 

..............

Then September 25th was the start of a 9 week vacation...

The first part was going to Asia with both my parents - again! I was super lucky in 2010 to not only travel alone with my parents for the first time but for a second time. Home base on this 4 week trip was Kuala Lumpur Malaysia - where 95% of my extended family lives and the country my parents were born/raised in. 

My parents and I visited Thailand for 5 days during this trip

Highlights included river cruises, visits to Tiger Temple & Grand Palace

One of my aunties took my Dad and I to Shanghai & other cities in China for a week 

Highlights - Shanghai skyline at night on a cruise, visiting a couple of tea plantations, various old cities with beautiful architecture and of course the horrible food :P

Yeah, whoever said London England has bad food never ate in China dude

And my Dad took me to one of the most beautiful places ever for 2 nights - Redang Malaysia

Highlights were making friends with the lifeguards, going snorkelling for the first time and seeing so many beautiful fish and a sea turtle (!), and of course the gorgeous beachside resort

Then I came back for a week in Toronto late October - celebrated Halloween 

And then I was off again for another 3.5 weeks to Thailand! 

This time I went with Jasmin to celebrate her friend Oi's wedding

The traditional Thai wedding was really neat to experience

It was my first wedding actually - yeah I live under a rock okay! LOL 

The bride looked beautiful.And I really liked the pink bridesmaids gowns we chose out 

There was also the modern wedding

 I'm so happy for Oi & Josef and I truly wish them the best in their lives together

And, there was a lot of partying at Spasso Nightclub at the Grand Hyatt in Bangkok

.............

I came back home to Toronto for not even a week, and then Dale took me on my Birthday trip to London England, Paris and Stonehenge 

It was my first trip to Europe  

I was sooo lucky that Dale took care of everything as he always does

It's really beautiful - the food in London is pretty darn good (like, who made the rumour on bad food in London?), the people seemed friendly & both Dale and I agreed there would be lots to see if we went back again 

The past 2 weeks has been full of yummy food at Mom and Dad's for the Holiday season, catching up with my younger sister Jenn who is in town, planning out a fun trip up North with Dale in 1.5 weeks, catching up with work and a bunch of other stuff. 

So that brings us to here

And I do look back on 2010 as being a fabulous year for me 

I hope it was for you too :) 

What were some of the memorable moments and highlights in 2010 for you? 

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays :)

I'm at my parent's house now and it's so nice to spend the Holidays with them :)

My younger sister visiting from out West, had helped my Mom put up our Christmas tree a few days ago

I feel blessed to be spending the Holidays with my family....relaxing and munching on all the good food here haha

I want to wish you a very wonderful Holidays!! 

And for those celebrating, a very Merry Christmas :) 

xx Karen      

I'm 26

It's my 26th Birthday today

I feel so happy, blessed and thankful for so many wonderful people & things in my life 

Waiting for my baby.....I wouldn't have it any other way
Red babydoll from La Senza

Many thanks to YOU for reading my blog and for all the lovely comments 

Here's a toast to you and I - to many more fulfilling fantastic years in our lives ;)

xxo Karen

Walmart Canada - 50 free 4 x 6 prints

To my fellow Canadians - sign up for an account at Walmart's Photo Centre online here and you automatically get 50 free 4 x 6 prints (for pick up at whichever Walmart you want) :)

It works! I just did it today.

String Games & String Figures

I was just thinking the other day about these string figures/games I use to play when I was young - the most common series called cat's cradle.

Image source here

I wonder if they're still popular now with young kids? ;)

Did you use to play these string games?

Do you even know what I'm talking about LOL?

Aside: I'm currently on vacation. This was a scheduled post I made prior to my trip. I'll get back to your comment when I'm back/have internet access :) Thanks!

String Games & String Figures

I was just thinking the other day about these string figures/games I use to play when I was young - the most common series called cat's cradle.

Image source here

I wonder if they're still popular now with young kids? ;)

Did you use to play these string games?

Do you even know what I'm talking about LOL?

Aside: I'm currently on vacation. This was a scheduled post I made prior to my trip. I'll get back to your comment when I'm back/have internet access :) Thanks!

How to: Basic Cable TV with no monthly fees

Okay, this product did not work for me.

But it worked for my parent's tenants and also for my older sister - and it was through them that I tried this TV antenna in the first place.

It was a surprise to my older sister & myself that you can buy this $15 Phillips TV antenna from Walmart to get basic channels that you would usually have to pay a monthly fee for through your TV provider

It's easy set up - there's no instructions. Just align the dish somewhat like this - and you can move the antennas around to help you get better signal once it's plugged to your TV

Only one plug involved. Plug it into the cable plug at the back/side of your TV

If you're paying monthly fees to get a few basic channels, get to Walmart (if you're in America) and try out this Phillips antenna. It's worth a try since Walmart has a good return policy.

I seriously wished it had worked for me.

Just thought I would share this since maybe it could help someone :)

Aside: I am away on vacation right now. This is a scheduled post - I'll get back to your comments when I'm back :) Thankss!

How to: Basic Cable TV with no monthly fees

Okay, this product did not work for me.

But it worked for my parent's tenants and also for my older sister - and it was through them that I tried this TV antenna in the first place.

It was a surprise to my older sister & myself that you can buy this $15 Phillips TV antenna from Walmart to get basic channels that you would usually have to pay a monthly fee for through your TV provider

It's easy set up - there's no instructions. Just align the dish somewhat like this - and you can move the antennas around to help you get better signal once it's plugged to your TV

Only one plug involved. Plug it into the cable plug at the back/side of your TV

If you're paying monthly fees to get a few basic channels, get to Walmart (if you're in America) and try out this Phillips antenna. It's worth a try since Walmart has a good return policy.

I seriously wished it had worked for me.

Just thought I would share this since maybe it could help someone :)

Aside: I am away on vacation right now. This is a scheduled post - I'll get back to your comments when I'm back :) Thankss!

DIY Mugshot

I really hope I got a bit of a chuckle out of you rather than any worries from my last post....

I would not have posted my last post if I thought it would worry anyone. Plus, I don't think anyone would worry about me LOL

I'm glad to see I made some of you laugh :)

So here's a DIY mugshot post! The website I used for this is FantasyFelon.

It's free, just click "Browse" on the left of the website to start.

The reason my picture looks authentic is because I used a passport photo that I took at Japan Camera on Saturday. This is for my visa application to enter Shanghai, China for vacation on October 8th....you need a recent passport style photo for your visa.

This will be my first visit to China.

And my family always jokes that passport style photos are like mugshots, because you can't smile, you have to show your ears (if my hair was down, I would have to tuck it behind my ears), you have to remove prescription eye glasses (hence I wore my contacts), photo against light background...etc....

Just hope now that China embassy/consulate doesn't find my blog post - I don't think such a serious country would find any humour in my jokes hehe :S It's okay, I'll be on my best behaviour when I'm there for a week....basically means I'll won't be talking much at all!

Will you make a mugshot for fun using FantasyFelon?

Have you ever visited China before? Do you have any interest to?

To be honest, I am worried about visiting China but I figure it's only for a week and I'll be with relatives.

Plus we will only stay in Shanghai....which I have been advised is very very modern.

Beautiful sunrise & I'm on green team

There was a beautiful cast of sunrise on the clouds this morning when I looked out on my balcony.....

And I was munching some green grapes this morning.

When it comes to grapes and apples, I only like the green grape variety and Granny Smith.

My Dad and older sister are opposite and favour red grapes and Red Delicious apples.

Like Mommie, Bobo is on the green team ;)

(above): Bobo with lettuce this morning

(above): Bobo with a green grape this morning

What do prefer when it comes to grapes and apples?

Green team or red team? ;)

Hanging out at Evgueni's studio

I took a 15-20 minute stroll to Evgueni's place yesterday evening.

I really love the city lights at night. And for a big city, Toronto is so nice and quiet on a weekday evening in the Yorkville area (downtown Toronto's high end boutiques/condo living). Especially in windy/chilly weather like last night.

Since there were very few people around last evening, I took a few pictures.

(above): Bloor Street downtown Toronto. Just east of Yonge. You can see the Marriott hotel

(above): I love wide sidewalks and the lights through the trees.

Private residences on the right hand side

(above): The beautiful trees and lighting on the property of Manulife Insurance

(above): Evugeni at work :)

(above): me in a slightly blurry photo

(above): Evgueni's precious (not me!! His speakers LOL)

Thank you again to everyone who took the time/effort to vote on my blog poll :)

My OOTD: striped nautical inspired top from Forever21
Dark wash skinny jeans from Guess

Sandals by Matisse

(above): haha - a tired out Big Foot ;P

Do you enjoy going for late evening strolls? Or do you prefer daytime walks?