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Showing posts from 2016

Blog Goals: 2017

Hey all. Here's just a smaller post outlining what I want to accomplish in 2017...it was too much to fit into one post so I thought I'd break it down into two. Two posts in one night! Damn daniel, I'm on fire! :P I want to inspire people. I want to make them smile. And I want to push myself too - that was the main reason behind this blog's idea: I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone to try new things every week. That's harder said than done. So I am going to make the focus of this blog different, to make it a little easier on myself haha. And so I can get more posts done :) I want to write more inspirational posts this year. I like making people feel good about themselves, think that they can do anything they want. That it doesn't matter who they are or where they came from, as long as they are willing to work hard. So this blog will mainly be...I guess, lifestyle? Tips and tricks to stay positive, or be fit, for example. I also want to try posts ...

Looking Back: A 2016 Reflection.

Hey all!! So my original plan was to post a "How To Start The New Year Off Strong" post. I wrote the whole thing up, and was super happy with it. I pressed save. I pressed reload, as my laptop had stopped working. It reloaded... AND EVERYTHING HAD DISAPPEARED. ALL MY HARD WORK FROM THE PAST HOUR DISAPPEARED. JUST. LIKE. THAT. That was two days ago. I was super upset, and didn't have the energy to redo it in that moment. Then yesterday, I went shopping with my mum, which was super fun, and I got some pretty cozy clothing, magazines...and a new book!! So that was super fun, but needless to say, I didn't have time to rewrite it then. And now today, is New Year's Eve. So I thought instead of doing a starting the new year post, I'd do a 2016 reflection. Cause you know what? This year hasn't been as bad as everyone made it out to be. Well, at least not for me. I had my difficult moments, sure, but that's life. I'm not going to write off the w...

My Top 5 Holiday Films | Blogmas 2016

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YOO. Merry Christmas!!!! Sorry I'm a day late :( Lost track of time yesterday, and spent the whole day with da fam :) Super fun. Ate lots of good food, played lots of games (Just Dance, anyone? It's honestly so fun when you get everyone involved), and lots of good conversations had, too. But today, for the last-a-day-late-Blogmas post, I bring you...My Top 5 Holiday Films!! So, leggo!! 1. Elf. Okay I had to include this one. It's a classic!! We watch it legit every year, and it is amazing and hilarious. I could probably quote half the movie out loud, haha. If you haven't seen it, stop reading this. Go watch it. Then come back and comment what you thought!! 2. Polar Express. This is another classic, that you must watch if you haven't!! Again, I've watched it quite a few times, as it is a typical Christmas movie, I think. 3. Love Actually. Love Actually...is, all around. Hehe. This one's really good. I just started it a couple days ago (it...

5 Things To Do During The Holidays | Blogmas 2016

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Ahh, the holidays. A time of joy, a time of fun, a time of laughter, and a time to be with those you love. But there are times when you just don't know what to do on these couple weeks off. If you run into one of these times, never fear! I am here to help. Today's blogmas is 5 things to do during the holidays. Enjoy :)    1.  build a snowman. "Do you want to build a snowman? Cmon let's go and play! Do you wanna build a snowman?" "Go away Anna." "Okay." No, I did not have to google the lyrics. I've just sung the song one too many times😬😂 anyways, this is a super fun activity, if you have snow at home. Packing snow, to be exact. If the packing snow is good, you're golden. Make it classic, or as creative as you like. It's most fun with a bunch of friends. You can even turn it into a competition!! That's super fun, I've done it before. I think we won😅😅     2.  have a snowball fight. ...

Holiday Routine | Blogmas 2016

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HEEEY y'all!!! How are you?? So for today's mini blogmas, I thought I'd do my typical holiday routine :) So without further ado, leggo!!! 1. First things first. I LOVE waking up late. As someone who usually has to get up pretty early for school, I really love taking advantage of sleeping in. I typically wake up around 10-10:30ish on a holiday. There are times when I have to be up at a certain time, so I set my alarm, but it's never before 8am. 2. I then normally go downstairs, and go on my phone for a few minutes. You know, scrolling through email, snapchat, texts, and catching up on everything I missed from the night before basically, haha. As well as occasionally Pinterest or YouTube. Pinterest is great for motivating quotes to get you to start your day! Check out my quotes Pinterest board if you want some inspiration :) 3. Then, breakfast. YUM. Breakfast is my favourite meal, tbh, because of all the good food available!! Waffles, eggs, pancakes, granola...I...

Baking Ginger Cookies | Blogmas 2016

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Hey y'all!! So I'm back for day 2 of my mini Blogmas!! My mum and I have been baking up a storm this morning, since we have time, and we need baked goods to bring to various people's houses. So I thought I'd share a recipe with you all for today :) The recipe I'm sharing is a favourite among our friends and family, so we usually make it to take places. I would absolutely, 10/10 recommend! We doubled the recipe, to make even more, but I put the normal amounts here haha. Also, we change some things to make it healthier, if it's bolded on the recipe list then we changed it. I didn't change it in the recipe though, so if it's bolded and italicized, then it's the original ingredient. If it's just bolded, then it's what we changed. (if you have any questions, just comment them haha. This is my first time doing a recipe post so please bear with me) Double Ginger Crackles For this recipe, you will need: 1 1/4 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour...

Holiday/Winter Haul | Blogmas 2016

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Heeeey peeps!! Welcome to my first post of my mini blogmas!! So for the first day, I thought I'd do a holiday/winter haul, which will basically be just a bunch of things I've bought or received lately that I think are appropriate for the wintertime :) Light Up Beanie | American Eagle Outfitters So the first item is my light up beanie. Can I just say, when I found out these existed, I kinda flipped. I was like OMG WHAT THIS IS A THING????? So if you're like me and love this type of thing, I would totally recommend it. Plus, nothing happens to it in the rain!! I ran a race with it on and nothing happened, since all the electrical bits are tucked inside the hat. It's super comfy and warm too👌🏽👌🏽 Maroon striped sweater | American Eagle Outfitters I absolutely love this sweater. It's so comfy, soft, and looks really nice paired with some dark jeans, and short boots or something like that. Add a beanie/toque and a jacket and you're all s...

Sticky Situation Story Series Pt. 1: The Time I Got Stuck On A Bar

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HEYYYY. (OMG, Iris is posting on a Saturday again? Shocker. Tbh I just sat down to write and just really wanted to post it now cause I'm impatient so yeah.) I have decided to start a new series on this blog! I'm not sure how long it will last but I have many stories to share...so it could go on awhile. It's basically going to be a bunch of different funny, embarrassing, sometimes cringe-worthy stories that have happened to me. And this first one, as you can tell, is the time I got stuck on a bar. I think I must have been about 9 at the time when this story takes place. So let's just go with that. I was playing on the playground with my friends during recess. We're fooling around, when for some reason I get it in my head that I'm going to climb on top of this bar. It's not a big bar or anything. It's one of those ones on a playground, not monkey bars, but just single bars. But I mean I was short (still am tbh), so it was about my height. I climbed o...

Life Update + Study Inspiration

HEEEY PEEPS. How are you all? Yes, yes I'm posting on a Saturday (this is instead of Sunday since I'm more free today haha). I am so, so, so sorry I haven't posted in so long!! School has just been so hectic, getting even closer to the holidays, that I just haven't had the time. So I thought I'd do a quick life update for you all, as well as study tips (which is just as much for me as you lol). So, I have joined the swim team. This isn't a new thing, however, I didn't do it last year, so I guess that's cool? Haha. I'm not the fastest swimmer, but I'm workin on it! It's really hard though, and I think it's gunna make me super fit :) We had practice today, and it was really tough. I was exhausted by the end, but my hope is that it will make me stronger!! Yeah? No? Maybe so? Lol. Okay it's been like a month since I last posted and tbh not much has happened. I started this post with the intention to update you all on my life thinking ...

Top 5 Apps on my phone!

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HEY PEOPLE!! I am so, so sorry I haven't been able to post these past couple weeks. I've just been so busy :( Luckily, I am on a break right now!! 4 day break, so still enough to relax me a bit, haha. Today, I thought I'd do a little post on the top 5 apps for me on my phone (usually I would have liked to do 10 but I don't have a lot of apps sooo...) Alrighty, let's get started! (in no particular order) 1. Candy Crush. I LOVE THIS GAME. I would say I'm kinda addicted to it, it's actually super fun. I once spent like three months on a level, which I finally beat and got WAAAAY too excited. But you know what, I was proud, okay? And relieved, since I had 'rage quit' many times over the previous months, just done with the game. Well, more the level. That "You failed!" pop up became my enemy. So beating it had me super excited lol. 2. Ultimate Guitar Tabs. This app has saved me from boredom so many times. If I just grab my guitar, t...

Things That Make Me Happy

HEY Y'ALL!!!!!!!!! Ayyyy look who's posting on time!! MEEE!!! So earlier today, I was mowing the lawn, jamming out to some music, when a post idea hit me: what makes me happy. 'Cause through all the stress in life, it's important to recognize that not all of it is bad, and there are many things that you can do to chill out, and be happy. Finding those little things that make you happy is a good thing to do, cause then you can do them more often!! SOO. WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S GOOOOOO!!! 1) Music! Music is super important to my every day life, and no matter where I am, it comes too!! You can usually find me plugged in with my earbuds, listening to some of my favourite tunes. So I thought I'd list some of my fave artists, with my top 3 fave songs by them for each one!! -ONE DIRECTION!!! Fave songs: Through The Dark; I Want To Write You A Song; If I Could Fly -T-SWIZZLE!!! Fave Songs: Our Song; A Place In This World; Hey Stephen -SHAWN MENDES!!! Fave Songs: ...

The Universal Language of Dance

HEY!! So, I am SO, SOOO sorry. I did it again, didn't I. I'm late to post. For the 45793750154574957th time in a row (fun fact: I just pressed a bunch of random number keys for a few seconds to come up with a huge number). I mean, nothing interesting enough to blog about was happening in my life, really. I was thinking of blogging about fuzzy socks, but then life and homework and tests took over, like usual. I hope you'll understand. But this post is something I experienced today, actually. And that's the power of the universal language of dance. Dance connects us in a way that only dance again. I myself am NOT a great dancer at all, my dance moves consist of the box, and moving my hands in weird and random motions to make me look like I'm dancing. And I did ballet once. For a year. When I was 6. (It just wasn't my thing I guess. I'm not very coordinated, so that probably has something to do with it haha. Music is much more my speed, but I do enjoy roc...

Blogger Recognition Award!

Hey all!! So I recently got nominated, by the lovely #sweettreats  (definitely go check her out, she posts a lot about baking and deliciousness!) for the blogger recognition award!! I was kinda in shock and happy haha I was not expecting that and it's so cool!! So thank you!!! Anyways. So the normal protocol for the post is to create a post about the award, and in said post you must... -thank the blogger who nominated you, -tell a little bit about how you started blogging, -give two pieces of advice for new bloggers, -and finally, nominate 15 other bloggers. WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S GET TO IT! Okay, so I first got into blogging because of Zoella's book, Girl Online. Cliché, I know. I'd always wanted to do it, but this book just really encouraged me. So I did! In June 2015 I started up my blog. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do then, I just wanted to blog. So I came up with this trying new things concept. Yeah, I'll admit, my posts aren't always...

Q & A!!

HEEY!! I'm so sorry I didn't post this earlier. I seriously need to stop making promises I can't keep! I'm just gunna say "it'll be up when it's up" from now on haha. So, the other day, I put up a post, and at the end asked you guys if you had any questions. I got two, from the lovely Ella ! So I'll answer her questions, and then I made up some of my own as well haha, to make it a little longer. 1) Who is your biggest inspiration online? I would have to say Zoella, probably. I know that's super cliche - for bloggers especially - but she started on the internet blogging, and turned it into something big. I think that's really cool, and she's a super great person as well :) Check out her youtube channel and blog if you haven't! 2) Who is your biggest inspiration offline? Ooh, that's a tough one. I've never really given that much thought. I'm gunna do a more general one for this question. I'd have to say peo...

AUTUMN IS HERE!

HEYY PEEPS. OKAY I'M SORRY I DIDN'T POST SUNDAY. I got super busy. It was just a really busy weekend for me. I'm trying to get better, I swear. Okay so I've seen a lot of people doing fall themed posts and I think it'd be super cool so I'ma try one. Fall is probably my favourite season. It's cool enough to have a choice: you can wear shorts if you want, but you can also wear cozy sweaters and hats and super nice things!! As you can probably guess, my preference is the latter. I get super excited for the cozy clothing, haha. So I'm just going to post 5 of my favourite things about fall! 1) COZY HATS. I am a HUGE lover of beanies. I'm not sure what it is, but I absolutely love them. I recently got a new one, and even though I'm inside, I'm still wearing it, I love it so much. It's cozy, and warms up my ears, which is awesome. But I have a rather large beanie collection. I also have quite a few snapbacks, haha, from the places I've v...

Battling Writer's Block

HEY PEEPS!!! OMG I AM SO SORRY I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IN WEEKS!! To be honest, my last few weeks haven't been particularly interesting so there hasn't been much to write about. School, school, school, mostly. SO busy. But today is a chill today, homework and hanging out. So recently, I have been battling a little bit of writer's block. If you found this blog from my wattpad account, you'll note that I haven't updated since July. Early July. And I am SO sorry. I haven't had the inspiration, and I want my chapters to be good quality ones, so I've been trying to make it really good. Cam and Jess' date is surprisingly hard to write, even though I've been looking forward to writing it for a SUPER long time. If you have any ideas...feel free to let me know haha. I think I generally know what I'm doing now, but any ideas are greatly appreciated. If you haven't read my story and want to, here's the link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/4579804...

Positive Playlist

HALLO!!! So I realize that this post is a bit later than I intended...okay a lot later...I'm sorry!...but here it is!! So, a quick update on resolutions: I DEBATED AGAIN GUYS!!! It didn't go as well this time, since I didn't exactly reach the time limit...but I did have extremely short notice (like two minutes worth haha) so I think I did okay under the circumstances. But yeah, that was cool. Anyways. For my positive playlist! Here are some songs I have put into it: 1) Drag Me Down - One Direction: This one is just a really good pump up song, and it has some good messages. YES. NOBODY CAN DRAG ME DOWN!!!! :D 2) Never Enough - One Direction: This one is just a really upbeat song, that's really fun. 3) Feelin' It - Scotty McCreery: most of the songs on my positive playlist are pumps up songs, as I'm sure you can tell :) this is another fun song.  4) Show You - Shawn Mendes: This is just a really inspirational song I think, about doing you no matter...

Music Covers Post #2!

HEYYYY. I am a day early!! YAY!! However this is not the actual post haha. That'll come tomorrow (hopefully). SOOOO. I actually got around to posting a cover on the interwebs. So...go check it out maybe? :) I did Fly by Maddie & Tae. I know it's probably not the best cover you'll ever see, but I did work hard on it, so I would really appreciate if you could check it out and let me know what you think! Thanks guys!! Till next time! ~Iris OH WAIT LOL I ALMOST FORGOT THE LINK OOPS. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuGiIImXF2g Thanks!!

School Supplies Haul/School Essentials!

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HEYY!! So in light of school starting super soon, I thought I'd do a school supplies haul. Who else is pumped for school? CAUSE I AM!! I always am at this part of the summer haha. I'm ready to get back into it, and start seeing everyone more often. SO without further ado, LET'S GET ON WITH THIS POST!!!! ALRIGHTY! So the first item on my list is obviously...binders. That is an essential for every class. I have used the same binders for a few years now, and they're just the clear plastic cover ones, all different colours. I have blue, black, pink, orange, red, purple and white ones. And what's really exciting to me is that I HAVE MATCHING NOTEBOOKS!!!! (Well...for most of them.) THEY ARE THE SAME COLOUR!!! For example: Blue notebook=blue binder. IT'S GREAT.  OKAAAY FOR THE NEXT ITEM. Highliters  and pens. I just got a fresh supply since mine are running out.  I use these so often, so it's great to have even more. I like to colour c...

Music covers

Hey y'all!!! OKAY I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON I KNOW. I HAVENT POSTED THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS. I was taking a first aid course last week, but I'm back again. And first aid certified :) SO. I have another post planned-involving pasta ;)- but I wanted to get this one out there first.  So since I've started taking singing lessons, I've started to feel a bit more confident with my voice. So I've decided to start doing music covers, on YouTube. I got a new guitar for my bday (I love it omg I've legit been playing it every day since I got it) and so I'll play and sing. It'll mainly be country music, with a bit of pop maybe. And I may play the piano for some. So I have three questions: 1) would anyone be interested in watching? 2) does anyone want to start with me? We could start and support one another as we go. It always helps to have someone who is working on the same goal, doing it with you, so if you have ever wanted to do this, hit me up with a comment or email,...

Singing lessons pt. 2!!!!

HEYYYY. Okay so I've been waiting all week to post this, I kept saying that I'd post it on schedule but OH WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT I DIDN'T. I'm sorry about that :( It got late and as I was going to bed I remembered...oops. ANYWAYS DOING IT NOW. So I had my first singing lesson last week!!! It was honestly so fun. I was so nervous, but my teacher kept telling me to relax, which did help haha. We did the song "Fly" by Maddie and Tae (GO LISTEN TO IT IF YOU HAVEN'T ITS SO GOOD!!!!). So for this week, as far as practice, I had to work on that song, and on my breathing (apparently you don't get as much air if you move your shoulders to breathe. You have to breathe down). Which I did, and I have my second lesson today!!!!!!!!!!! SO excited I've literally been counting down the days lol. ANYWHO I have to go get ready for the day since I have been a lazy person and haven't. So I'ma go do that now. SEE YA! Till next time! ~Iris

Singing lessons

Guys hi!!! I know it's not Sunday but OMG OMG!!! I'm starting singing lessons!! Today!! I called to enquire and they said they had Monday and Tuesday's available, so I took both (I'm doing a 4 lesson plan just to try it out, then I'll do more if I can) and they said I could start today and you know what I said to that? HELL YEAH!! Okay jkjk. I didn't actually say that. But I did in my head. I've been wanting to take lessons for SO LONG and I finally am!!!! This is so cool. I hope it goes well.  I start in like an hour and a bit. So nervous and excited all at the same time!! I just couldn't wait to tell you all!! Have any of you taken singing lessons? Do you have any tips and advice for me? Cause I would LOVE to hear them, so please comment below haha.  Anyways that's it from me. I shall go fangirl to my cat now. (No seriously, she came over to cuddle when I was on the phone with the studio. Cats these days, I swear).  Anywho...OH I WENT TO THE BOOK S...

I AM BACK!! (Or Bach, cause I'm punny)

HAIIIII GUYS!!!! I am finally back. I know I kind of ditched you all in the middle of my Italy trip, and I am so sorry. We had a few full day trips and I was just way too tired after those to write up any posts. And then after the trip I got super busy, but now I am officially...Bach. Hehhe. I'll try and get around to finishing up the Italy diaries at some point, but for now...THE BLOG GOES ON. Okay. So for this post I'm listing 10 things I want to try this summer!!! 1) learn how to cook. This would be so helpful, considering I get hungry a lot, and I've been meaning to for awhile.  2) go for more regular runs and workouts. I need to get into better shape if I want to make sports teams this year! There's a gym near me that I've gone to once with a friend,  so I think I'll try to go more regularly.  3) learn a song by one direction by heart on the piano. This way I have a song that I can just pull out if I'm ever with friends and a piano!! So...

Small Note

YOOO. Okay so I know I didn't post yesterday's Italy Diary yesterday. Oops sorry about that.  HOWEVER. I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION.  I know I've asked this before but actually if anyone has been to Italy and has suggestions as to where to go they would be especially appreciated today...seeing as our tour just got rebooked.  So please please please tell meeeeee!!!!!!!  Thanks :) till next time!! ~Iris

Italy Diary: Day 3

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Ouch. That's all I can think right now. I think I bruised my butt from the bike tour yesterday. 😁 Haha. Anyways. Today started off...with my dad waking us up. Thinking that we were supposed to wake up at 7:30 instead of 7:45. I got a couple extra minutes of sleep though!! Our breakfast consisted of jam and bread, croissant, apricot, cherry yogurt and apricot juice. Yum.  Then, we got ready and booked it to our tour. We ended up being late (probably should have gotten up at 7:30...oops), but it was all good.  The tour was super interesting. I learned so much, seriously. And I took a ton of pictures. I'll put each picture here, then explain about it.  This was where we met for the tour. Tbh I don't have much info about it oops. The guide kinda just got to know us a bit more, y'know?  Now THIS is the biggest some in the world, in what was originally the biggest church in the world. Crazy. And huge. It's also self supporting!! Okay thi...