Internet Hiatus.

Alright, so I've been thinking about doing this for a while. And what better time than almost two weeks of posting every single day.

I am taking a short, one week online hiatus. No computer, no phone, nothing, for one week. I feel myself addicted to the internet, and I need to pull myself away a little bit, and get back to doing things I love. As you are well aware, there are a lot of things I want to do, and I feel like I never have enough time to do them. But if I take out the internet, I can get a lot of things done.

As well, my mental health has not been so great. Things have been hard, and I might do a whole post about my mental health story if you're interested, but it won't be happening until the far off future. There are things that I am not ready to talk about just yet.

I've also been struggling to come up with creative new ideas. I haven't been blogging for very long, but I find myself a little bit stuck as to where to go from here. I have no idea what to write about, I have no idea what I should share. I remember writing here and it was just me sitting and musing. I might go back to that a little bit. But for now, I want to get projects finished, and hopefully still have time to focus on my mental health, and seriously think about where I am going on this blogging journey.

So this week, here is the list of things I'll be working on.

1. Cosplays.
I've been neglecting this the most. I don't want to be that person who is trying to finish their costume the day before the con. I know I still have a lot of time, but I want to work on getting more of my costumes done. So hopefully this week I can finish something.

2. Book sorting.
I have a lot of books, and I keep adding to this collection. So, this week, I want to go through all of my books, and pick out the ones to either donate, or sell. I need to make more space for more books. I might do the same with my clothes, but I'm not sure yet.

3. Blog posts.
Now, this blog isn't neglected in the least, it's one of my most active forms of social media. But I want to have some more content out and ready to share with you. Whether it be another look book, or a book review or something. So hopefully, I'll be making more things to show you. And hopefully something more original, and creative.

4. Crafting.
As many of you are aware, I would love to start my own etsy shop. Through this week, I want to get a start on making somethings. It won't be much until the summer when I am in my home town, and not in class, but still, I'll do my very best to create as much as I can this week.

5. Read and write.
This one is very important to me. I love to read, and I love to write. But I am not doing enough of either for my liking. So, I'll be writing lots this week, and hopefully reading lots too. That'll mean more book reviews for you to enjoy.

So, I'll be leaving you, and the next time you'll see me is in the new year, that's crazy. January 3rd I'll be back. I hope you guys have a great week.

12 Days of Christmas Day 9: Christmas Baking.

Well, here we are almost done our 12 days of Christmas. And it's a little last minute, but I decided I needed to do some baking. As well as I have my grandmothers Christmas gift to make.

I love baking, it's always been something I've enjoyed doing. I like working with my hands, and creating something yummy. And Christmas time is when I do most of my baking. There is just something Christmasy about the kitchen smelling like baked goods. I don't know, maybe I'm just crazy.

This year I wanted to make breads and buns and stuff, so that's really what I focused on. And like yesterday, if you want a PDF file on how I made everything, I'll do my best to make it happen. The recipes I've gathered from all corners of the internet. And they all look really pretty, and they all taste really good.

Over the holidays, I feel like it's not Christmas without sweets, especially gingerbread. What are some of your holiday staples?

Happy holidays.

12 Days of Christmas: Gift DIY

So, every year because of my small budget I end up making quite a few gifts. It's a fun, and more affordable way to give this holiday season. If you want detailed instructions on how I made everything, let me know, and I'll make either a whole blog post about it, or a downloadable PDF file. But for now, here are the gifts that I made.

For my mom, I wanted to knit something. I always want to knit something. And any excuse to practice is a good enough reason for me. So I'm knitting my mom a set of coasters, as well as maybe some cloths or towels if I have time. For now, I know I can get the coasters done.

For my aunts, I've made an oatmeal bath soak. Sadly my mother took my idea for a spa kit, so I'll have to add my little gifts to hers. As well as I have some little hand made bags, and little tags that I made to go with them.

My dad is less of a home made gift, but a combination of some things that I bought. I got my dad everything he needs to make sushi. In this little package, I'll be including a way to make sticky rice with regular rice. That way he doesn't need to wait for me to come home with a bag of rice all the time.

And lastly my grandmother. My grandmother and I share this addiction to chocolate, and usually for every holiday I go out and buy her fancy chocolate. But not this year. This year I am making her truffles. I'll be sharing this one more when I do all of my Christmas baking tomorrow.

As well, I decorated the Christmas tree, so it's been a busy day. So you can have a bonus picture of the tree that I had to decorate by myself. I'm the only one in the house that is super excited for Christmas. And I guess that's okay. I'll spread the Christmas cheer all around.

Happy Holidays.

12 Days of Christmas Day 7: A Christmas Tag.

I feel like challenges like this aren't complete without a tag of some sort, so I browsed the internet, and I found a Christmas themed tag. I hope you enjoy! :) Just like the last tag, I'll post a link to where I got the questions down at the bottom.

1. Favourite Christmas movie?
My favourite Christmas movie is easily Elf. I'm not usually a fan of Christmas movies, the cartoon ones used to scare me as a kid, heck they still scare me. But Elf didn't scare me, and it's also hilarious. What's not to love about a fully grown man who thinks he's an elf?

2. Have you ever had a white Christmas?
Yes. I live in Canada, so a white Christmas usually comes around. However this year is not looking so great for the white Christmas thing, but there is still time.

3. Where do you usually spend the holidays?
Usually I spend the holidays at my parents place.

4. What is your favourite Christmas song?
I have a few... I'm pretty picky about Christmas music. I've been doing choir most of my life, and we sing the same few songs every year, and it gets tiring. The ones I love are Gabriel's message, and Last Christmas. They are the only two we don't sing over and over again. BUT if Michael Bublé is singing any of them, then all Christmas songs are my favourite.

5. Do you open any gifts Christmas eve?
Yes! Every year my family goes to my grandmothers house, and we have the big Christmas dinner, and open gifts and stuff. It's a lot of fun. Then Christmas day we are all too full to eat anything, so we snack all day.

6. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Uhh... dasher, dancer, something..., comet, cupid, blitzen, Rudolf... no, no I can't. I did try though.

7. What holiday traditions are you looking forward to this year?
I'm kinda looking forward to bringing some Norwegian traditions to my family for Christmas, last year it didn't happen, but this year I am feeling the holiday spirit, so that'll be fun.

8. Is your tree real or fake?
Real.

9. What is your all time favourite holiday food/sweet treat?
My moms side of the family is German, so my favourite is any sort of German Christmas cookie. It's not Christmas without them! As well, I love Rømmegrøt, and hopefully I'll be able to share that with the family this year.

10. Do you like giving, or receiving gifts more?
I like giving gifts. I'm pretty good at coming up with creative gift ideas, especially creative ideas on a budget. I also love making gifts, it gives me something to do to get excited for Christmas.

11. What is the best Christmas gift you've received?
One of the best gifts I've received was a book of Viking poetry when I was in Norway. I still read it quite a bit whenever I'm feeling homesick.

12. What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday?
Not gonna lie, I wanna go back to Norway, and bring my family with me. I think my family would love Norway. And I could celebrate Christmas with all of my families.

13. Are you a pro present wrapper, or do you fail miserably?
I try really hard, but I fail so miserably. I generally just stick everything in a bag.

14. Most memorable holiday moment.
I have two from the same night. I was celebrating with my host family in Norway, and the thing I remember most is giving grøt to the nisse in the barn. In Norway, they have nisse which are little elves that help the farmers. And every Christmas families give grøt or porridge to the little elves, and I remember watching the little lantern walking to the grøt and watching my host siblings being super excited about it. As well, as helping my little host sister make butter.

15. What shattered your truth about Santa?
Not gonna lie, I don't really remember what shattered my truth about Santa. My grandmother still likes to believe in Santa. So that's cute.

16. Do you make New Years Resolutions? Do you stick with them?
Every year I make them, and every year I fail. But hopefully this year I'll be able to stick with them.

17. What makes the holidays special for you?
I'm not really sure. Not gonna lie, there is just something warm and fuzzy I like about Christmas, and the holiday season.
Questions: here I couldn't find the original tag, but here is where I got the questions.

12 Days of Christmas Day 6: Gifts for Book Lovers.

So Christmas is almost here, and like me I'm sure most of you have some last minute shopping you have to do. And I know from personal experience that unless you know a person really well, it's hard to pick out books as gifts. Especially if they are a little bit picky like me. So I have come up with a list of things that aren't books for you to get the book lovers in your life.

1. Gift Cards.
The most obvious thing you can get them is a gift card to a local book store. That way they can go and pick out a book they know they would like. This is usually the go to for people who don't know what to get their reading friend. It's tried and true.

2. Book merchandise.
If you know your reader friend is into certain series, try looking online to see if you can find tee shirts, or jewelry relating to their favourite books and series. You'd be surprised what you can find if a series is popular enough. Usually a series will have merchandise if there is a movie, or a tv show to go with it. But be sure your reader does like the movie or show before buying something that is super involved with the show like a poster of the actors, or board game.

3. Tote bags.
If you reader goes and borrows books from the local library, then a nice tote bag might be something they could be interested in. They are long lasting, and come in lots of patterns and colours and designs. And of course these bags don't need to be for just hauling around books. You can even get ones that are related to series your friend loves, and they can use it for whatever needs they have.

4. Hot Beverages.
There is nothing like curling up with a hot beverage and a good book. Find out what your reader likes, tea, hot chocolate, coffee, or apple cider, and get them some of that. They'll thank you for it. Make sure you know what they like before buying anything though. For fantasy readers, you could also get them mulling spices. That way they can drink spiced wine (or grape juice) as they read.

5. A book themed mug.
Now, of course to go with the hot beverage you could get your friend a mug. But getting them any old mug is kind of impersonal. You can get lots of mugs with book quotes on them, or something like that. Even better is getting a plain white mug, and painting on it yourself. If your reader is really into Jane Austin style books, then you could get them a tea cup and saucer from a local thrift store.

6. BOOKMARKS!
As someone who looses so many book marks, I know that you can never have enough. So go into your local bookstore and pick out a nice book mark. These are a great idea for people you don't know very well. Just basic laminated paper ones will work, but if you want to take it a step further and you know your friend will like it, then of course try for something fancier.

7. E-reader cases.
I personally don't use an e-reader that often, but if your friend uses their e reader, and uses it a lot, then maybe think of getting them a nice case. You can get ones that look like real books for reasonable prices. And of course it doesn't hurt to have more than one case.

8. A snuggie.
Now, I am serious about this. It's well known that readers like to curl up with their books, and blankets aren't great for that. So try getting your reader a snuggie or a fleece poncho. Something to keep them warm, but still give access to their hands so they can hold the book. I have a fleece poncho, and I love it to bits.

9. Decorative book ends.
Find out if the person you are shopping for uses book ends first! Some people (like me) just don't have the space for them. But if the person in your life uses them, then pretty book ends look great on any book shelf. And there is a huge array of book ends to choose from. Check on etsy, or a local nick knack shop.

10. Book subscriptions.
If you have a little more money to spend on your book loving friend, then try getting them a subscription to a book crate service. Pretty much what these services do is once a month they send you a box with some bookish things as well as a book usually revolving around a theme. These are awesome for avid YA readers. Here are a few services you can check out: (Add some book crate services)

11. A signed book.
Now this is a little bit tricky, because getting a signed copy of a book isn't always easy. But it can be done. Usually it happens when a book is first released, or if the author has been to the book store. So keep an eye out for book tours. A lot of times these events are free. This is one of the harder things to get so don't worry too much.

12. A book light.
Is your friend a night owl? Think about getting them a book light so they can read late into the night. Usually these are pretty cheap things to get, and they aren't hard to find either.

13. Pretty editions of books.
Does your reader love pretty book covers? Well, you could get them a copy of a book they already have in a nicer cover. I find this works really well for those who love classics. A lot of covers look like they are text books. If you know your friend would be okay with it then maybe a nicer edition would be a great gift. Best place to begin looking is in used book stores, and of course the internet.

14. Audible credits.
This is kind of like the gift card idea, but instead it's for audiobooks. Be sure that your friend actually listens to audiobooks before getting them this gift. But it's a great way to share something different with someone.

15. Notebooks.
I feel like a lot of book lovers, even if they aren't writers collect pretty notebooks as well. Notebooks are just all around useful to have around. And especially if the book lover in your life is a writer too, then getting them a notebook might be a nice addition to their collection.

Here you are! Fifteen things to give book lovers this holiday season. Of course some of them are easier to get than others, but I hope you got some ideas from this list. But be sure your friend actually uses things before getting it for them as a gift. And of course if you know your book lover well, you can just get them a book.

Happy Holidays.

12 Days of Christmas Day 5: Giving Scarves.

So a while ago, I made this post here and I am proud to say that I have all of the scarves done! And today I went out to give away each of the scarfs I've made.

I feel so bad that I cannot do anything more to help these people. What I would love to do is get a big pot full of soup, and give that out as well. But I don't have the means for it. This will not be the last charity project I do, I can assure you of that.

So, I packed up all of the scarfs and headed down town. It's been such a heart wrenching day, and so harrowing. It makes one feel very thankful for what they have. They looked so happy getting something nice as a Christmas gift.

I think the favourite people I gave scarfs to were two guys sitting out with a banjo, they were out traveling around Ontario, and they had run out of gas. I sat down, and jammed with them for them for a bit. It was really interesting to sit an chat with them. So, I hope they made it home alright, and that they were kept warm.

I did ask to take photos, but most of the people didn't want their photos taken, and so I didn't take a lot of photos.

I know a lot of people didn't have mittens or gloves, so I think when I do this again next year, I'm going to knit mittens. I do want to continue this little project, and keep giving things to people who need them more than I do.

I hope you all had a good day, and I'll see you tomorrow.

Happy Holidays.

12 Days of Christmas Day 4: Cloaked Book Review.

So it's been a long time since I've read something that is very young adult. I've lost a lot of interest in the typical YA books. But once in a while they are a fun read, and lately I want to read something light and fun. So let's jump right into the review.

Cloaked by Alex Flinn follows the story of Johnny a teenage boy who works in a shoe repair shop inside of a hotel. One day a princess from a small country in Europe comes to stay at the hotel. And when she comes to Johnny with a broken shoe, she explains to him that magic is real, and her brother has been turned into a frog and is missing somewhere. She has chosen Johnny to go find her brother and bring him back so she can break the curse. In return she'll marry him.

Now, I did enjoy the book for what it was. A cute young adult novel, nothing too serious, based around obscure fairy tales. But there were a few elements of the book that I was not okay with. One of them is Johnny's thoughts on Victoriana the princess. She is a very smart, clever girl, and we don't see a lot of it. A lot of what we see is her party girl side, and how hot she is. And it's almost the same with the other female character Meg. However since Meg gets more page time, we see a little more of her spunk.

As well, the idea that this young girl is offering to marry this boy she has never met bugs me so much. But it is an interesting idea on the instalove trope that is seen in a lot of YA books. It's clear she doesn't love him, she finds him cute, funny, nice, typical things one thinks when they first meet a person. But still marriage is a huge commitment, and should not be dealt out lightly.

The characters I feel are a little bit flat, especially Meg. We do see more of her, and we see more of her spunk. But the thing we see the most is the obvious crush on Johnny she has. She seems to only be there to help out our male protagonist. So the girls in the story, not so great. However I did enjoy Johnny's love for something that is typically feminine, and that's shoes.

However, there were some things that I found really interesting about the book, and it makes the story stand apart from other fairy tale retellings. One of those is it's not just one tale that is referenced, but several. And they aren't your "typical" stories. The most obvious one that is mentioned is the elves and the shoemaker. It's refreshing to not have yet another retelling of Cinderella.

As for the romance in the book, there isn't a whole lot of that. There is a little, but it's clear that the characters are focused on their goal to save the prince not on romance. The girl Johnny ends up with is a little predictable, but endearing all the same.

Johnny is an interesting character, and easily the most well developed character in the whole book. The choices he makes are to not only help his mom, but him as well. The reason he agrees to help the princess, is because of the money he is promised. I know being selfish isn't a great character trait, but it's real. And the author doesn't shy away from that. I think that's what I loved most about Johnny was that he was real. Granted I didn't care too much if he succeeded or not, but he was much like your typical teenage boy, and I could appreciate that.

Despite having a lot of negative things to say about this book, I enjoyed it. It was the break that I needed. I've been reading Game of Thrones, and I just needed something light and fun, and Cloaked was it. Do I recommend it? Kinda? I recommend it to people who need a break from serious books, or who want something that isn't super challenging to read.

As well if you are looking for a gift for your young reader this holiday, and they like the cute books like this. Then this is something to add to their book shelves this holiday season.

Happy Holidays.

12 Days of Christmas Day 3: Christmas Shopping.

Alright, so living in the city, I have a bit of an advantage when it comes to Christmas shopping. And I wanted to get a dear friend of mine, plus my dad something really unique for Christmas.

For years my family has talked about making sushi. My dad and I both really like it, and making it is a lot of fun. But nothing has been done apart from talk. So I decided to get my dad everything he needs to make sushi. I picked up the  and the bamboo roller from the Pacific Mall, and I'll be picking up the proper rice and the nori paper from the grocery store later on.

The next gift I needed to buy was for a dear friend of mine. We've been close ever since grade ten. And I wanted to get her something very special for Christmas. She's talked about travelling to Japan for years. But due to money, and stuff, she hasn't been able to go. So I'll be bringing her a bit of Japan. Now, I did ask her about what she specifically wanted when it came to these gifts.

I picked her up a tray of assorted flavoured mochi, a bottle of ramune, and a poppin cookin set that her and I plan to do together. This girl is a sweet heart, and she has been through so much. Right now she has degenerative disk disease in her back, on top of all of other health problems she has. So hopefully this will cheer her up a little bit.

But this trip wasn't just made for others, I also decided that I needed to try bubble tea for the first time. Since I went up with a friend who's had bubble tea, I got her to pick for me, and just drank it. Bubble tea is a milk tea with tapioca pearls in it, and honestly, I was really impressed. I didn't think I would like it. But I love it.


Of course I have more gifts to give people, but those I'm making, so you'll have to wait and see what they are.
I hope you guys enjoyed this, and I'll see you all tomorrow.

Happy Holidays.

12 Days of Christmas Day 2: 15 Gifts for Nerds.

Alright, so I'm sure we all have that nerd in our life who is just impossible to shop for. Well, I have come to juggle some ideas in your brain, and get you started on shopping for you nerd or geek. So let's jump right in.

1. Fandom merch.
Of course if you geek is into the big fandoms, then merch will be super easy to get online, or even in a book or movie store. Of course somethings are easier to find than others.

2. A sewing kit.
Do you have a cosplayer, or j-fashion enthusiast? Maybe a small sewing kit is something they would like. I know as a cosplayer I feel almost a little naked out on the con floor if I don't have a needle and thread on me. It doesn't have to be huge, just something they can carry around in their con bag or purse.

3. Books!
Does your nerd have books to go along with their fandom like Sherlock, or the Hunger Games? Well, maybe you could get your nerd the book. Make sure they either don't have the books, or there is a special boxed set you've had your eye on for them. As well there are guides to video games and cartoons that have really interesting concept art that your friend might enjoy.

4. Game cases.
Have a handheld gamer? Well, a new game case might be just what they need. They are a variety of colours and styles for you to choose from. As well as game holders. These are great for gamers on the go.

5. Hogwarts acceptance letters.
I know this kind of goes along with the merch, but getting your Harry Potter fanatic an acceptance letter to Hogwarts might be the ticket to their heart. Even better is if you get it framed ahead of time. That way they don't have to go to the trouble of framing it.

6. Board games.
A lot of shows and movies have board games to go along with their series. Or if you have a LARP or RP friend, then maybe a table top RPG would tickle their fancy.

7. Recipe books.
This one requires a little more personal effort, but it super cheap. If the person you are shopping for loves fantasy books, movies, games, and all things like that. Then maybe search the internet for recipes from their favourite series and put them in a book. This of course isn't just for fantasy enthusiasts, it's just a little easier. This way they can enjoy butterbeer, and lemon cakes as they sit and read, or watch their shows.

8. Fingerless gloves.
This one is more so for the ladies, but men, no fear you can totally enjoy them too. Try getting your geek artists or gamer some fingerless gloves. They keep the hands warm, and as well keep the fingers free to kill zombies.

9. Replicas.
A lot of series have little replicas for their characters like Dobby from Harry Potter, or BEEMO from Adventure time. Sometimes these figurines can cost a little bit of money, so be warned before getting these for your geek.

10. Science stuff.
If your geek friend is really into science then why not get them a little science kit. Even the ones for kids can be a lot of fun. You can get prints from the hubble space telescope if that's what your friend is into, or even a star map could be fun.

12. A movie marathon.
This isn't so much a physical gift, but you can totally make it one. Gather up all of the things you might need for a movie marathon. Popcorn, candy, chips, pop, stuff like that and give it to your friend as an invite to spend all day bingeing tv shows and movies.

13. Comic books.
If your nerd loves superheroes, then maybe get them some of the comics from their favourite series. These sometimes can be pricey, especially if you nerd is already a comic book collector. But if you know they'll be happy with anything, flipping through the bargain bin at a local comic book shop isn't a bad idea.

14. Cosplay sets, or fabric.
Cosplay can be expensive, but if you know your cosplayer is looking for either a certain cosplay, or fabric to make one you can help them out. If you don't know the first thing about buying fabric, have no fear, a gift card to either the local fabric or craft store will work.

15. Anything signed/event tickets.
If you know your friends favourite creator is coming to town then try to get something signed. Or even event tickets for you and your friend to go do something. This way you get to share with them all of the wonders of the geek universe.

I hope these ideas jog some ideas. I tried to pick things that would appeal to a large range of people in a large array of price ranges. Hopefully this made shopping for your friend a little bit easier.

Happy Holidays.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 1.

Well, it's 12 days before Christmas, and I wanted to give you guys a little treat for the holiday season. I hope that whatever you celebrate you have a safe holiday season. But I've been thinking about doing a post like this for a while.

So this little gift to you is a post everyday for the next 12 days, most of them being Christmas themed. Hopefully you all can enjoy these posts, and maybe get into the Christmas spirit if that's what you celebrate. However, not all of them are Christmas themed, but a few of them are.

Christmas is one of my favourite holidays, second only to Halloween. There is something that fills my heart with a warm fuzzy feeling over the Christmas season. This year, I want to combine a few traditions from my home in Norway with my home here in Canada. And those are going to be some things you'll get to see.

I have surprisingly put a lot of work into these posts, and some of them did take a little bit of planning and a little bit of work to make happen. I really hope you all enjoy these posts, and perhaps it'll become a yearly thing.

So here is, my first day of Christmas post. It's short, sweet and just an intro, but there will be some nice surprises in store this Christmas.

Happy Holidays.

Yoga Practice Update.

So, I've been doing a 30 day yoga challenge on top of writing through out the month of November, and I feel like I've done a pretty good job with keeping up with it.

I only missed one day, and for me doing any sort of challenge is difficult. I have a bit of a short attention span, so me doing something every day is a little bit tricky. Once it's a habit I'm fine, but it's getting to the stage of making it a habit that's tricky.

But I managed to complete this challenge too, again despite being sick. But being stuck in bed for most of the day, it felt really good to get up and move my body just a little bit.

The challenge was an at home yoga practice video series on youtube through Yoga with Adriene: here. And I love the way she teaches. Adriene is fun, and doesn't take herself too seriously, plus throughout the practice she gives you a lot of options based on where you feel your practice is for the day. And options are always a plus.

Some videos she moves through the poses pretty quickly, other days you sit in a pose for a while. And it's something I really enjoy. On her website you can find a link to this free 30 days of yoga signup, which she sends you an encouraging email along with the video and I believe a link to download the video as well. But to be totally honest, I'm not sure. I just follow all of the videos through youtube. If you do take the email subscription route, let me know how it went for you.

On her website she does have other yoga challenges, but those all cost a bit of money. But if you have the money, I would say why not give it a try.

I do plan on keeping up with the yoga every day thing after this challenge. I love yoga, and I one day would love to get my yoga teacher training. But that's very far off into the future. For now, I'll stick to my beginners yoga, and keep moving forward on my own journey.

I hope you all have a great day. Namaste.

Reading Tag.

So, not gonna lie, I just found this by searching 'book tags' and I found this, so I thought it would be fun to do a book tag! So let's jump right in. I'll post a link below to where I got the questions.

1: Do you have a certain space at home for reading?
I have a chair that I love to curl up and read in. But right now it's covered in clothes. I have a desperate need to do laundry.

2: Bookmark, or random piece of paper.
Random piece of paper usually. I always lose book marks, so I don't want to spend a lot of money on them. A random piece of paper is just easier for me.

3: Can you stop reading at any spot, or do you need to stop at a certain chapter, page, ect.
I like to stop generally at the page closest to the front cover. But other than that I can stop reading at any point.

4: Do you eat or drink while reading?
I make myself a cup of tea, but I always forget about it. As for food, I like having little snacks to nibble on while I'm reading.

5: Can you read while watching tv or listening to music?
I'd rather not have a lot of distractions. I'm okay with reading to instrumental music, but most of the time I would rather read with just white noise. I get distracted too easily.

6: One book at a time, or several?
Several! I love having different stories to jump around to. And if I get blocked on one, I can just jump to another.

7: Reading at home or everywhere?
I take my books with me pretty much where ever I go. I live a little ways out of downtown, so reading on the bus or train is something that keeps me entertained.

8: Reading out loud, or silently?
Silently. Are there people who still read out loud? Hmm, that's not something I've heard of.

9: Read ahead or skip pages?
I often times read the very last page. I don't know why, but it's a weird quirk that I have. I'm generally pretty okay when it comes to spoilers, so I guess reading the last page adds a little bit of mystery.

10: Breaking the spine or keep it new?
I keep it new. Not for any reason other than the fact, I don't need to break the spine if I'm reading. I'm not picky about it, it's just the amount of space I need to read.

11: Do you write in books?
NO! That is my one thing I don't like! I hate writing in books. For classics, and reviews I'll jot a few notes down on a scrap of paper, but I will never write inside a book.

I hope you guys enjoyed this little tag. I may actually do more of them in the future this was fun.
Questions: here

Welcome to Night Vale Book Review.

This book. Oh this book. If you haven't seen it yet, I did a post about the tour event and you can read it here. And with this review, I am going to try very hard not to gush too much. But I loved this book. As well I don't want to spoil it. I'm still trying to find a nice balance of giving you guys enough information, and not spoil huge things.

The book follows two lesser known Night Vale characters Jackie Fierro the owner of the local pawnshop, Diane Crayton a member for the PTA and Josh's mother, and a mysterious man in a tan jacket and a deer skin suitcase, and a paper that says "KING CITY." I am not going to say too much about the plot. But, I will say it's brilliant, and rooted in Night Vale weirdness. The story is mostly about Jackie and Diane trying to solve the mystery of KING CITY, and Josh trying to find his father.

I feel like the book would be better appreciated, and understood by those who are familiar with the podcast. It's not necessary, but as someone who knows the podcast, I think it helps. There is a lot of really long sentences, that make the book more difficult to understand. But once you get the language, it gets easier. The language is quite rambley, think Douglas Adams in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

There are a few short chapters with the podcasts leading men, Cecil and Carlos. And it's so cute. I love them so much, and it makes me happy that they are in the book for a bit. But of course the story doesn't revolve around them. I feel like they didn't need to be included in the book. They were just there for the fans.

Though the book doesn't focus on Cecil's story, and I like it. It gives the reader a fuller look at the world of Night Vale, and the people inside this weird town. And it makes the town seem a little bit more real.

There isn't a lot of world building in the book. But a lot of the world building is done through the podcast. But there is enough to understand, and imagine the world. Just go into the book with an open eye, and the attitude that really anything can happen. The world that is described is however very interesting. A little unrealistic in terms of accepting other cultures, and sexual orientations. It's more of an ideal rather than how our world actually is.

The characters in the book are very well written, and there is someone that every can identify with. Diane Crayton is a single mom who is trying to provide for a son who is constantly changing, and Jackie is a mix raced teenager trying to find her way in the world. And of course there are the characters podcast listeners know and already love like John Peters, you know the farmer, and Cecil and Carlos, and Dana.

There is just an acceptance in the world of Night Vale that is just kind of there. If you are a fan of the podcast, this book is a great thing to accompany it. If you nothing about the podcast other than what I wrote about, then it's an interesting journey for you to take. As well as an interesting introduction to the world of Night Vale that just kind of shoves you into it.

Thank you so much for reading the review of a book that has very quickly wormed its way onto my favourites.

International Lolita Day Meet up.

So, yesterday was the big international day meet up here in my city. For those who don't know, international lolita day is an event that occurs twice a year, in the summer and in the winter to celebrate lolita fashion. A lot of girls and guys go all out with their coords. Now, I'm not predominantly I lolita, I am more into mori kei, but I like lolita as well.

So my community organized an event at a Christmas craft market that opens up every year in downtown. And this event was a blast. I since I am still kind of new to the city, I don't know a lot of lolitas. So this was a great way to meet lolitas.

The market itself was jam packed with people, but there was music and rides. Things were very much over priced, but with those types of things, especially food and drink is going to be over priced. I did manage to get my hands on mulled wine which is something I haven't drank since Norway. 

After walking around the market for a few hours, a large group of us went out to dinner. This has been the first time I have gone out since I have gotten here. So it was nice to go out and hang out. The food was amazing, and the service was great. I didn't want the evening to end.

I do wish I remembered to take photos. But my hands were so cold, I didn't want to take my phone out. 

I hope you have a wonderful day. 

Future Projects.

I've always loved having projects on the go, I love having things to do. Last month I had NaNoWriMo. This month, I have cosplays, more scarfs, and a few other things that I am going to share with you.

The first project is an etsy shop. I want to be start making things, and share them with you. So, through the month of December, I'm going to make things. I'm going to knit lots, I'm going to start making jewelry, and write more. There are a lot of things I want to make, and hopefully with my holidays, I'll have lots of time.

One of the projects, I want to work on is a poetry book with a CD to go with it. I may or may not start up a donation site to help fund this project. There are a few things that I know I'm going to need, like an external mic, and someone to print it. December is going to be for writing the book itself. The rest of the future will be for putting together the book.

I want to write a lot more, and even begin drawing more. Since Nano ended, I have a few ideas for short stories that I want to write, and I have things I want to create. So on top of the poetry book, I want to write more in general. I think it's important for me to get my writing out there if I seriously want to write for a living.

I as well have cosplays to work on. The things I know I'll need to make this month are the cape and hat for Wirt from Over the Garden Wall. The top hat for Bill Cipher, as well as getting the embroidery on the shirt done.

The final project isn't so much a project but more of a challenge of sorts. December begins my three week holiday from school. And one of those weeks, I will not be on the internet at all. I am finding myself addicted to it, and I spend far to much time on the computer. So, I'll be taking a week off the computer. This way I'll be able to read a lot, write a lot, and work a lot. I have so many things I want to do, and I cannot afford distractions. I will let you know more about the hiatus a few days before.

Hopefully there will be more projects for me to be apart of, and when I get more projects, I'll let you know.

So what do you guys have planned? Any exciting projects?

Nanowrimo wrap up.

This is it, my final post about Nanowrimo until next year. And I am very happy with what I managed to accomplish. This year I wrote a total of 52,057 words, and my novel is still not over. I still have a little less than 10,000 words left to write.

So the big question is, am I going to edit this and try to publish it? The answer is yes. I am going to finish the first draft, and edit it. But I will not be trying to get it published. I know the idea is not original enough for publication. However there is no rule that says I can't publish it online for you guys to read.

So when then novel is finished, I'll be putting it on my figment account and you all can read it there. When it's ready which won't be late into the new year, I'll let you guys know, and I'll give you a link to where you can read it.

After Nano was done I began to realize something. I really want to be a writer. I want to write novels, and stories and stuff for the rest of my life. Due to personal circumstances I am unable to return to school next semester, so the next semester will be focusing on writing, and getting my work out there.

Once I have a lot more pieces finished to my liking, I'll begin posting them onto a tumblr that I will be creating, and I'll give you guys the link to it when it's ready and has something on it.

But back to Nano. This year has been a lot of incredible firsts. I went to my first write in, I won for the first time, I wrote alongside other people for the first time. It's been amazing. I never knew how much I loved being able to have other writers to communicate with, and to work with. I hope to keep those friendships that I made through the course of this month.

It's a little bittersweet Nano being over. I came home from the write in, and I wanted to write more. Instead I went to sleep because it was like two in the morning. But I'll keep plugging away at this novel and who knows. It may be my first finished manuscript. I do have a ton of other ideas I want to write, with more time, those ideas will be my focus.

I hope you all have a wonderful day, and happy writing to you. :)

December TBR.

With Nanowrimo, and all of the other things I've wanted to do this month, I had very little time for reading. So there are a lot of books that are being moved from November's TBR pile, to December's.

December is the time of year that I usually get a lot of reading done. I have no school work to do, not many huge projects. Just me curled up with hot chocolate, or tea and a good book. And this December won't be much different.

For this month, I would like to finish A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin. I love this series, but the books are so large that it takes me a while to finish them. I will not be doing a review on this book.

And to (hopefully) start and finish this month will be Cloaked by Alex Flinn, Hexwood by Diana Wynn Jones, The Dante Trap by Arnaund Delalande and Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

This month also looks to be the month of book reviews seeings as I want to do a book review for all of these books.

I've been so busy lately that reading hasn't been a huge priority. Now that I have more time, I do want to read a lot more, and do a lot more book reviews. Maybe even a book tag.

So, let me know what you guys are reading, and what you think I should read? I hope you all have a great day. :)

Nanowrimo Week 4 Update.

Well, we have come to the end. the final stretch of nanowrimo. And if you follow me on twitter or tumblr, you'll know, I WON!! I did it, I finished Nano, and I hit 50,000 words. It was incredible, and I was super excited.

This is the first year out of the many I've been doing Nano for, and well, I finally won. It's a great feeling having accomplished something so huge as writing 50 000 words. I can assure you that they are all terrible words though.

But, my novel isn't done. I'm not sure if I'm going to finish my book. But I'm going to keep slowly plugging away at it. Since I've won, my word count has dropped like crazy. I think by the end of Nano, I would like to be at maybe 55,000. It's an easy goal, compared to some of the goals I've set this month, but I am very happy all the same.

This month has not been the easiest for me, for reasons I am not sharing. But I did manage to accomplish something, and that's a huge feat.

For those of you still struggling to get to that word count goal, don't give up! There are a few days left, and I know you can do it. Even if you don't finish the 50,000 words, you still wrote something, and it's more than what you had at the beginning of the month.

Good luck with the rest of the month! :D

November Favourites.

This month has been insanely busy, so I haven't had a chance to try a lot of new things. But I'll list what I can.

The first one is an event that I already wrote about: the Welcome to Night Vale book tour. Every time I think about how awesome that even was, I smile a little. If you want to read more about that, I'll post a link: here. I finished the book in a matter of days, but you'll have to wait for the book review.

The second thing I've been loving is Nanowrimo write ins. Before I moved to the city, I've never had a chance to attend any write ins. Now, I've gone to several, and I love going. I've met some awesome people, and wrote lots of words, and it's been awesome.

The third thing I've fallen in love with is: Adventure Time. Adventure Time is a cartoon made by Cartoon Network. And it follows Jake the Dog and Finn the human on their adventures through the land of Ooo. It's weird, and silly, but don't get me wrong there are a lot of dark elements. And the characters are really interesting, and who doesn't like bright colours?

And the final thing that I've been loving through the month of November is the idea that I get to travel home soon. I love the city and everything, but I am missing my home town a lot. I miss being able to see stars, and go out in the middle of the woods and be able to pretend that you are as far away from people as you can get. It's a good feeling, but no matter where I go, I am always reminded that the city isn't that far away.

This month has been a little bit crazy for personal reasons, so I don't have a lot to say. But I promise December is going to be filled with awesome surprises, and some things I'll hope you enjoy. So for now, I hope you have a great day. :)

5 Things I Missed About Cosplay.

Up until quite recently, I was on a big cosplay hiatus. Due to personal reasons, I left cosplaying, and I wasn't sure if I was going to get back into it. Well, last year I did slowly begin to go back into the world of cosplaying. And now that I am officially on the bandwagon again, I found there are five things that I miss. These are in no particular order, just five things I missed about cosplay.

1. Making things.
I've always been really happy creating things. Either through writing, or drawing, or sewing or really anything. Making things made me so happy. When I stopped cosplaying, a lot of my desire to create things went with it. Cosplay for me was the perfect reason to work with my hands to make beautiful things.

2. Learning new skills.
This kind of goes along with making things, but I learned so many skills while I was cosplaying. I learned how to sew, how to knit, how to do makeup. But when I stopped cosplaying I stopped learning new skills. Now that I am back into it, I want to learn more about prop and armour making. As well as making the skills I already have a lot better.

3. The Community.
I left behind an amazing community of so many talented people. Most of them I knew in real life, so I never really lost touch with them, but the online community I lost touch with. The cosplay community can have elitists but so does every community. In the cosplay community, I find there are a lot more accepting people. The big thing cosplayers stress is that cosplay is for everyone.

4. Going to events.
Now, when I was cosplaying, I didn't go to that many events. I didn't have the money, or the transport, so I had to stick to local events. But the few that I did attend were so much fun. I got a lot of advice about anything I could have asked for. And just being excited for going to an event was half the fun. In 2016 I am going to my very first big convention, there will be more on that in the future.

5. The feeling of satisfaction.
Lastly was the feeling of satisfaction when I was finished with something. I usually worked really hard with what I had when it came to cosplaying. And when I finished something, I felt really proud of what I had done. I find I missed that feeling a lot. Granted that feeling comes from a lot of other things too. There is just something so special about making something with your own two hands. Especially when this thing doesn't exist in real life like an anime or cartoon character.

Cosplaying is a very special art form that holds a lot of stereotypes, and misconceptions behind it. But for those who do it, cosplay is something that I believe never really leaves you. It'll always be a part of your life in one way or another. I have no idea what my cosplay life holds in store for me, but I am very excited to find out.

Cosplay Updates.

I've been working hard on cosplaying, and all of the sewing I've had to get done. Right now, I'm working on human Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls. There are a lot of human designs of this character, and all of them are a little different.

I've taken a lot of inspiration from different designs. I wish I could draw, then I would show you exactly what I had planned.

Pattern for the tail coat design.

There are still a lot of things that I haven't figured out yet. I want to be able to do the blue flame coming out of his hand. But at the same time I want to be able to take it off when I want to.

I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete yet. When the cosplay is more wearable, you'll be sure to get some (hopefully) awesome photos.

Here is the base of the eyepatch. 

I've started planning out a few other ideas as well, but so far nothing made yet. For Wirt from Over the Garden Wall, I have most of the outfit finished, but I need to make the cape and     the hat. As well as get a wig. 

The final cosplay I've done, and have sort of finished, but not at the same time is Cecil Palmer from Welcome to Night Vale. I did a post about that cosplay: here but there is a lot I want to change to make it a little better. I want to get a long sleeved purple shirt instead of that one. Maybe a better vest, a bow tie, and some face paint to do the tattoos. But for a closet cosplay, I was pretty impressed with what I had. 

The first tail for the tail coat. 

Finally, for those who follow me for most cosplay, and geek reasons, I am thinking of setting up a Facebook fan page. Of course all of my blog posts will be posted there, as well as a lot of update photos that are just cosplay and geek related. I've been asking around, and it seems that a Facebook page might be a good idea. But it's not going to happen until probably the new year. I have a lot of things I need to be working on, but when those are done, I will for sure consider getting the cosplay fan page up and running. 

I hope you all have a great day, and good luck with your projects. :) 

Nanowrimo Week 3 Update.

Well, week three and we are almost done with Nanowrimo, and though my word count is soaring higher and higher, I find my energy getting lower and lower. This week, and a bit of last week as well has been a little tough for me, as I am kind of, well really sick. And each time I go to the doctor I'm told something different. But with being so sick, I have a lot of time for other things, like writing.

This has been an amazing week for me, my average words per day is over 2000 which is great, and according to my Nano stats, I need to write less than 1000 words each day to finish on time. I've really been working hard, and all of my woken time is spent writing.

I found I love going to the little coffee shop, getting a hot chocolate and sitting down to write. Especially when I am stuck on something, or just need a change of scenery.

This week my goal was to hit 45,000 and as I type this I am at 43,000 so not quite there yet, but I am not done for the day. It's still early, it's not even noon yet so I have the rest of the day to hit that goal.

Plot wise I am just beginning to enter Act III which is where all of the exciting things happen. Battles shall be fought, characters will die (or not I haven't decided) and the fate of the world is decided. This novel has taken so many different turns that I didn't expect and I love that.

This is the furthest I have ever gotten in a first draft. I usually abandon projects right at the beginning of Act II, but I finally powered through that slump and I am getting into Act III. I have never been more excited to finish something.

Before Nano, I was in the big writing slump where I could think of nothing to write, but now I am beginning to get a lot of different ideas. There is a youth literary magazine that is taking in submissions, and that is my next project to work on. What I'm going to write I have no idea, but it'll be a fun project to work on.

So, since the last week of Nanowrimo is coming up, my goal should be pretty obvious, by the end of this week I want to have at least 50 000 words. If I get more than that, awesome that would be ideal. The Nanowrimo counter can be a bit odd, and count things weirdly, so it's better to be safe and have more than 50 000 words.

I'm not sure if I'm going to wait and validate my novel on the last day of November, or if I'm going to validate it when I hit that mark, but we'll see. For now, I need to keep writing, getting to the 45,000 words is not going to happen on its own.

I hope you all have a fantastic day, and happy writing.

Being a Happy, Healthy Cosplayer, and General Geek.

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Now, as a disclaimer, this is my personal opinions on geeks, and geek culture, and there is nothing wrong with them. But I know there are people within the geek community who want to be healthier, and happier. I want to help them out. This is not about weight loss, this is about being a healthy person.

I want to start with being a healthy cosplayer. Being a cosplayer often involves late nights working, and a lot of being hunched over projects. And these tips can be applied to anyone in the geek culture, and anyone outside the geek culture. 

1. Get up and move. 

Now, as geeks, we like to spend our time sitting and watching tv shows, or reading, or working on cosplay projects, but your body needs to move. At least for a half an hour get up and do something. Laundry, a walk, some gentle yoga, anything. Just move your body a little bit. It'll help your back, neck, and it'll give you more energy. 

2. Drink water. 

I feel like this is my advice for anything health related, but it's super important. No one drinks enough water, but still, we all can use a little more water. So instead of drinking red bull, or pop... or ramune (my guilty pleasure) get some water, and drink that up. I know water doesn't have the best taste to it, but I can promise you will get used to it. Until then, you can infuse your water with fruit, and a million other things. There are tons of ways to infuse your water to make it taste better. 

3. Take breaks. 

When you are marathoning tv shows, or working to midnight on cosplays, please take short frequent breaks. This will prevent strain on your eyes, your brain, and your body as a whole. These breaks can be anything from going to the bathroom, to making a snack, to just getting up and stretching a little bit. Trust me, when you take these breaks, your body will thank you. And as a side tip for the book lovers, make sure you have good lighting to read. I don't want you to strain your eye balls. 

4. Healthy eating. 

Now, I'm not talking eating super clean, and super strict diets, no not at all! Please, don't do super strict diets. Instead, replace junk foods with some healthier options. In the summer, my favourite snack is frozen grapes, and it has taken the place of ice cream for me. Just dried fruit, or unsalted nuts instead of chips. Just simple little changes to make you feel a little bit better. 

5. Sleep! 

Now, I know this is super difficult for a lot of us. I am no exception to this, I know I need to sleep more. But we should be getting between 6-8 hours of sleep. So get some sleep tonight. If you are struggling, then turn off your screens for a half hour before bed. Try and go to sleep and wake up at around the same time everyday. You need to sleep. 

I guess this advice could be applied to anyone, but for me I want to talk specifically to the geeks and nerds of the world. Please, look after your bodies. We do not have robot technology to build you a new body just yet, so look after the body you have. I plan on doing a post specifically on convention health a little later, so stay tuned for that. 

So, to all of the nerds and geeks out there, what do you guys do to stay healthy? 

5 Knitted Scarfs.

I've been thinking for a while now on ways to help people, and the different ways we do this. When I first came to the city, and even now after I've been here a few months, the sight of the homeless still tears at my heart. And I just want a way to help even one person. And I may have found a way to help even one person.

What I want to do is knit at least five scarfs before my winter break. I plan to go out to downtown, and just give one to each homeless person I see as like a Christmas gift of sorts. Winter here in Canada is cold, and the homeless have such a struggle keeping warm. This is one little thing I can do to help.

And this isn't a project I want to stop either. I want to continue it as my knitting gets better, and eventually knit a scarf, mitts, and hat set. Maybe even socks if I can manage to learn how to knit them. During the winter season, it's hard seeing people who have no where to go. And who are freezing. I don't care how they got to this place, as a compassionate person I want to help make their struggle a little easier.

I know I cannot help everyone on my own. And there are possible plans in the works to help keep something like this going. I would also love to be able to send things like this to Native reservations where they also have next to nothing. But those are in the possible far off future.

Knitting is a hobby I have grown to both love and hate. It's frustrating, and my hands hurt a lot. But at the same time, it's fun and I get to make something with my own two hands.

For now, I am going to start with just these five scarfs, and if the project gets bigger than awesome. I will of course let you know if my little project does get bigger. If it doesn't, even then I am happy with the knowledge that I have made ten people just a little bit warmer. And hopefully made them feel a little less hopeless.

If you have a shelter in your area, or something, please ask them what you can do to help. A little goes a long way. Things like socks, toothbrushes, sanitary pads, little things like that can make a huge difference in someone's life. You don't have to give a lot, just a little. Thank you.

On Writing A Memoir of the Craft audio book review.

A while ago I did a post about audiobooks, and my general feelings about them. If you want to read that post, you can read it here: link. And I decided that maybe I should do a review of an audiobook, and the one that I had was On Writing by Stephen King, and read by Mr. King himself.

This will probably be the only review I do on a Stephen King book. I do this because his books are so iconic, and most people know what his books are about, and you can easily find reviews on his books.  There is nothing I can really add to those reviews. But, I figured it would be interesting to do a review about this memoir. 

King writes about his personal life, particularly his writing life, and his teenage years. And he paints such vivid images of the movies he loved, and the world he grew up in. As well as his addiction, and some of the darker moments of his life. He doesn't talk too much about his books, but if you are familiar with his works, then you can pick up some of the inspiration. The more iconic books (Carrie, The Shining,) have a lot more detail about how they came to be. 

I really enjoy listening to Kings voice. He is calm, and clear. I have no idea if other memoirs are read by other people other than the author, but they should be read by the author. It makes it feel a lot more personal. 

The first half of the book, is a lot of autobiography, but when you get to the middle of it, then he talks about writing. I feel like his advice is such good advice. He compares the art of writing, to a tool box. And each part of the box is a different skill writers need to have. From grammar, and language structure, to style, and voice, to vocabulary. As a wannabe writer, I take his advice to heart. Especially his advice on talent, and where talent comes from, and the importance of reading a lot and writing a lot. He talks about practice isn't really practice if you love what you do. 

King's life is such an incredible thing to learn about. I don't want to spoil any of the book, but I will tell you, within the first chapter, you'll learn how weird his childhood was. His life is just super interesting, and has a lot of goofy moments.

This book does have a little bit of 'bad' language, if you are sensitive to that, just be aware.  When listening to the book, I could easily imagine him just kinda hanging out and telling me the story of his life. It's super casually written, and doesn't beat around the bush for any of the topics. It's very real, and I really enjoy that aspect of it. I don't know a lot about King's personality having never met him, but I feel like this book really reflects the personality I expect him to have. 

I really don't have a lot of complaints about this book. However, I still don't like the audiobook, but you guys know my feelings about audiobooks. I would totally get a physical copy of this book to read. I feel like I would get more out of the story if I am able to read it. But I feel like that's because I am very visual, and need to see things in front of me. 

I hope you guys have a wonderful day. What are some of the things you're reading or listening to? 

Nanowrimo Week 2

Alright, I'm going to do something a little different from last week, because I kept forgetting to record throughout the entire week, so I'm just gonna summarize.

This week has been good writing wise, I've been getting ahead, and it feels good. I'm not super far ahead, but far enough so that I can relax a little bit and not feel too stressed out.

Mentally there have been somethings going on that I may write about in another blog post. But that's for another day.

The first day this week started out super strong with 5,000 words, but I did trail off to about 2,000 each day. Which is still really good. I want to start doing weekly goals as well on this little blog, so the goal I wanted to hit this week is 30,000. And at the end of each post, I want to share with you my word count goal for the week.

I actually feel really good about this year. I don't usually write to win, but this year that's changed. I want to have written the 50,000 words. And I feel much better about getting to that large goal. I've found a schedule that works really well for me, and that's awesome.

Friday I also went to my first write in. I grew up in a small town, and the closest region was still an hours car ride away. This year living in the city, I have been actually able to go do things. It's been a blast.

I was easily the youngest person at this write in, I think I want to go to one of the teen write ins next. At least that way I would have more people to connect with. But despite being the youngest person there, I had fun, and I got a lot of writing done. I also ordered my first Starbucks, and I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't impressed.

Even though I don't get as much writing done in the same span of time as I could on my own, I find I really enjoy going to write ins. Being new to the city, it's a great way to meet people who are into the same things.

So, at the end of this week I hit 30,006 words at the time of this blog post.
This week I want to see if I can hit 45 000 words. I think I can do it. It's a big jump, but there isn't a lot going on at school this week, and I think I can do it. Looks like it's time to get back to writing.

Mori kei lookbook.

I've been kinda wanting to do this for a while. I love fashion, and I love dressing up. My style is very much Mori kei inspired. And I thought this would be kind of fun to show and model. Just as a disclaimer, I am not a model. I'm actually kinda camera shy. Okay, very camera shy, so there is only one photo for each look.  And before anyone asks, everything I'm wearing is either thrifted or a gift. So, this is my very first lookbook. If you are interested, I'll of course do more, but for now enjoy the photos. I wanted to do a blend of both dark mori, and mori. As well as a blend of feminine and masculine looks. I don't own anything really in white, so the regular mori look wasn't really what I wanted. But all the same, I love the looks I came up with. All of the photos were taken with my cellphone, so they aren't the best quality, but I did try. 

Perfect Mornings.

As you guys know, I've been dealing with a few things. But I've been trying something new. I've been trying to arrange perfect mornings. Mornings to make me happy, and to ground me. And I am finding these mornings are really helping. They help make my days a little easier, and more productive. And I wanted to share some of the small moments with you guys through mostly images and captions, because I don't have a lot to say.

Reading, Sunrises, and Coffee. 

I kind of want to start making more image heavy posts. They are fun to make, even if they take a little more time to do. And I don't have a decent camera, all I have is my phone, but hopefully you guys will like these anyway. I hope you all can arrange some perfect mornings.

Coffe, and a walk. Nothing could get much better.

Stunning Fall Weather and writing. 

        

Beautiful Picnic Breakfast.

Welcome to Nightvale Book Tour.

I meant to post this on the day of the event, but I came home and I was just so tired. I bet you're all sick of me talking about Night Vale. And one day I'll stop talking about it. Today is not that day. I went to the Welcome to Night Vale book tour event here in Toronto, and I had a blast!

I've never been to an event made for fans of a thing. And I had never felt so at home. I met so many incredible people who love the same things I do, and who have just as much passion as I do for the things they love.

There were a few cosplayers, and I'm cursing myself for not bringing any parts of my Cecil cosplay back from my reading week. But there is always anime north and fan expo (if I can go this year.)

The event for me was rather large, and I did get to the event later than I wanted to, but my bus decided it needed to take a detour route. But I got there, and had an all around blast.

Listening to Joseph Fink and Jeffery Crannor talk about the world of Night Vale, and the characters of Night Vale is so interesting. After the event ended I had a million questions I wanted to ask about the world. Hopefully one day I'll get to ask my million questions.

The book event was pretty standard I think. There was an interview, and an audience q and a, then a book signing. And in my hands I hold the book, and it's beautiful. Eventually I would like to download the audio book, but that'll have to wait for a bit.

I cannot wait for another event like this. And the next event I'm going to is a lolita meet up in December, which I'll of course share with you all.

Until next time, good night readers, good night.

Nanowrimo Week 1 Update.

Well, the first week of Nanowrimo has flown by. And right now, things have been pretty okay. I've been keeping up with the word count, and that's all I can ask for. I have no idea how I'm going to structure these blog posts, so I'm just gonna wing it with a day by day summary. I have no idea if I'll keep doing that, but let's just see.

Day 1.
The first day, I started at midnight, and wrote a bit, but I fell asleep, and couldn't do more than I believe a thousand words. When I woke up, I wrote a ton more, and ended up with over 7000 words. By the end of that day, I was exhausted, and couldn't do anymore writing. So, I left it there.

Day 2.
Ah, day two. Day two was not my best writing day. I only wrote a few hundred words. It wasn't because I didn't have time, I just didn't want to write. But since I was already so far ahead, I didn't stress too much about it.

Day 3.
Day 3 was actually pretty good. Early that morning, I got up, and started writing. Since I didn't have any classes that day, I took advantage of the free time I had to write, and get lots of school work done. Alright, there wasn't a lot of school work being done. But there was a lot of writing done.

Day 4.
Another not super great writing day. The weather was beautiful, and I wanted to spend all morning outside, not at my laptop. So instead I went to the park and did yoga, then went to do some grocery shopping. By the time that was all done, I had class. So not a lot done.

Day 5.
This is one of the best writing days I've had passed the first day. I got a little over the standard word count. Now, my goal was 15000 but I didn't get to that goal. But I was happy with my words.

Day 6.
BEST WORD COUNT DAY! I went down to a cafe, and worked for a bit, then I worked in the park for a bit. And by 1 I had over 14,000 words. But I was not finished. I kept writing! By the end of day 5 I hit 15,000 words.

October Favourites.

So, I wasn't sure if I was going to even do an October favourites this month. But then I realized there is a lot of things that I really wanted to talk about, and rave about. So here it is, my October favourites.

Last month, I put all of my favourites into categories, because I could do that. This month I can't do that, so I won't. Here is just a list of random things I really liked through the month of October.

1. Welcome to Night Vale.
I cannot get enough of this show! I did an impressions of Welcome to Night Vale earlier this month you can find that post here. And now I am obsessed with it. My new dream is being a guest voice on the show, but I doubt that'll ever happen. It's funny, it's weird, it's all around just amazing. I just need more Welcome to Night Vale in my life.

2. Knitting.
I have fallen in love with knitting. When I was on exchange, a dear friend taught me the very basics. Now, I have gotten back into it. It's the perfect thing to do while listening to podcasts, or audiobooks. It's relaxing once you have a handle on it.

3. Cosplaying.
Just the whole art form in general. I've done a few posts about my cosplaying life, and some of the small things I've been working on. If you want more updates on this, there is a mobile app for both android and iPhone that is free called Cosplay Amino. It's pretty much a cosplay only social media app. If you want more of my cosplay progress, then follow me there at Prince Basil.

4. Yoga.
With all of the crafting, and stuff I've been doing, I find myself getting really sore. So, I hopped back on the yoga bandwagon. It feels really good to actually get up and move, and stretch my body a little bit more than usual. And it works out all of the kinks from a day of sitting at my desk, or in my chair.

I believe that's everything I have to share with you for this month. November is going to be a very busy month for me, so I'm not sure if there is going to be a November favourites or not. But if there is, you'll be sure to know about it right away.

November TBR.

This month, with all I have going on, I doubt I am going to read very much. But in any case, I am going to try and read a little bit. There is only going to be one book on my November tbr pile, maybe two.

The first book is The Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. I've read this book before, and I want to reread the entire series. I love these books, and I've been slowly collecting the books. I am not going to do a review on this book simply because you can find reviews for it everywhere and so many people have read it. I don't feel like I would have anything new to add.

The other book I hope to get to this month is the Welcome to Night Vale novel. Yes, more Welcome to Night Vale. I do not have a copy of the book yet, but I will be getting one when I go to the Welcome to Night Vale book tour. Of course I'll be writing a blog post about the event, so you can be sure to see that. This book I will be reviewing, so that is another thing you can look forward to in either November or early December.

The third book I have to read for English class, but I might do a 101 post about it. The third book is The King Must Die by Mary Renault. I'll be reading it as part of an essay, but I'm still unsure if I'll review it. We'll see.

Once November is over, my reading pile will get bigger again I promise. But for right now, reading isn't a huge priority when I have so many other things I need to do. School has taken up a lot of my time, and with NaNo, I'll have even less time to read. But I do hope to get some reading done on the bus, and subway commutes to and from school.

I hope you all have a wonderful day, and let me know some of the things you're reading.

More Changes.

I'm still trying to figure out a good schedule for me to post. But I'm beginning to think twice a week just isn't enough. I have 15 drafts, and pretty much all of them ready to be published. So, I've decided to as well publish on Sundays.

That's really all I have to say. So expect posts from me on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. I have so many ideas, and projects. These are all things I hope you are going to love. I have a cosplay series type thing, Nanowrimo updates, book reviews, and some other special surprises that I hope you'll love.

I'll figure this thing out eventually, thank you for dealing with these changes that are happening so quickly. Hopefully this will be a bit of a better flow for me. Right now I have everything all scheduled out, so hopefully it all works out well. It's odd, I've never been this organized about anything. Hopefully you guys enjoy all of the content that I'm putting out.

Nanowrimo.

November is a month filled with the smells and tastes of fall. However, for a lot of people, myself included, it is a month filled with writing. Nanowrimo or National Novel Writing Month is an event that takes place all over the world, and people challenge themselves to write a 50 000 word piece of fiction in a month.

I have participated for so many years, but I have never won. But I have never wrote to win. This year, I am participating again. I did think about not participating, but reading about all of my friends planning their novels made me want to join them. So here I am.

The challenge is always a lot of fun, even if I have never won. It's a great way to push yourself, and actually come out with a first draft of a novel. Despite studying journalism, I have always wanted to be a novelist, and that is still the goal. I still want to make a living by writing, but I know that I need a side job.

As well, I want to do a blog post every week updating you with my nanowrimo progress. So on top of all of my other blog posts that I have been working on over the last few months. I'll be adding just a bit about my progress, with probably some tips and tricks along the way.

This years novel is a fantasy novel called All the Shattered Worlds. And is about young Kellan, prince of the fauns, who has become bored, and plain done with his life as a prince. He is forced to sit though boring diplomacy lessons, get married to some faun his parents picked out for him, while outside there is a conspiracy going on. Long extinct creatures are returning to their world, and humans are travelling into faun villages. After sneaking out to follow the humans on his quest for adventure, Kellan learns to be more careful what he wishes for. Trapped in the Lord's castle, Kellan meets Fyn the lords son. Fyn knows nothing outside the castle, and the little he does know is very distorted. It falls upon these two boys to save Kellan's people from human invasions and quest for power.

If you want to be buddies with me you can find me on the nanowrimo website here and search wanderingforestfairy.

I encourage everyone who loves writing to take this challenge. It doesn't matter if you hit the 50 000 words, you have more words than when you started.  I do want to create a secondary challenge for myself through the month of November. So, I am as well posting an image everyday on my instagram dictating my word count, and my goals.

If you are at all interested in seeing my word count, and challenging me to word wars, feel free to follow me @fairyprincebasil on instagram or at basil_boultbee on twitter. Happy writing.