I might have a problem...

Today I went to my usual tea spot, Teavana and the guy working says "Back again, we need to get you a frequent customer card!"... does this mean I might go there too much? But really my first though was, omg do they have those cards? I'm all for discounts. I settled for signing up for the e-mail list to receive a 10$ off coupon. 

Tea has become my treat lately it brightens my day (and my mind) when I'm overwhelmed or just relaxing, any occasion calls for tea. I've come a long way from buying the poorly stored loose leaf I found at Bulk Barn! I've got 5 cute little glass jars (hello Dollorama!) that I keep my tea in, they hold 50 grams perfectly. I've got a constant rotation going, so whenever I empty on I can go buy more! It's like a little gift to myself. Being as obsessed as I am with tea, so much so as to put it in my blog title I wanted to share the teas I'm drinking right now...  

 This tea is great with a little honey if you like things sweet, Jeff loves this tea without the honey so it's really up to you! You get the kick of a green tea and the sweet flavour of the cherry. To tell you how much I love this tea, I can say it's the first one I bought 100g of, that's commitment. I officially recommend it to anyone looking for a new tea to try and am officially calling it my favourite! Did I mention it smells like a fruit roll-up? YUM. 

I only just bought this tea yesterday and I've had one cup and I'm already sold! I picked this tea by name I figured, hey I like peach and I could use some tranquility in my life... I was right! The first thing I noticed was, wait, fuzzy peaches? Yep, it smells like one of my favorite candies! I usually drink white/green/herbal teas with honey but the first time I try something I like to get the natural flavour and it turns out this tea is sweet enough without any honey. This one is going to be great to wind down with at the end of the night

Well, now I really need a cup of tea. Hopefully you're craving one too, next time you're out try one of these teas! I doubt you'll be disappointed. 

You should nap.

If you read my last tweet, you'll know that my eyes are slowly drooping and my bed is starting to feel more like a cloud than a proper work desk. I've been hard at work all day, cleaning the house with the help of green tea and songza, and now finally sitting in my room doing homework. Part of this homework was to write a speech, a persuasive speech so after some thought I realized... who doesn't like to nap?! I could probably persuade my class to do that, and in the process I totally persuaded myself. So, if you're looking for a reason to nap, look no further! Here's a few reasons you should take a nap, right now... or when you can... 

• An ideal nap lasts 20-30 minutes, but napping is personal so go with what best suits you.  

• A nap of 60 minutes can improve alertness for up to 10 hours

• Siesta cultures (afternoon nap) have a lower rate of coronary heart disease 

• 1% or 1.9 million car accidents are cause by fatigue, don't be tired... take a nap!  

• More than 85% of mammals are polyphasic sleepers, humans are in the minority of monophasic sleepers, meaning with have one distinct sleep period and one distinct wakeful period

• A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness 100%

Tips for taking the perfect nap(s): 

1) Find a cave, aka make sure it's dark. Your body responds to light so you'll have a harder time sleeping the brighter is, suck it up and get a goofy eye mask! Or make your own like this... 

2) Take a blanket. Your body temperature lowers slightly when you sleep, so don't risk waking up because of a chill. Or you could wear this really cool Harry Potter snuggie, ten points for gryffindor!!

3) Set an alarm so you don't oversleep. Make yourself laugh and give yourself some motivation while you're at it.. 

Well, if you're ready to take a nap now I've done my job. Sweet dreams!! 

sources: http://michaelhyatt.com/why-you-should-take-a-nap-every-day.html 

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/napping

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/press-release/19-million-drivers-have-fatigue-related-car-crashes-or-near-misses-each-year

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/ss/slideshow-worst-jobs-for-sleep

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/video/health-benefits-napping

We've set a date!

And then all of a sudden everything became that much more real, and I couldn't be happier! 

JULY 12th 2014

I'll marry my high school sweetheart and the love of my life... CRAZY!

Being the Pinterest freak that I am I love the idea of save the date cards and can't wait to get an engagement shoot done so I can send some out!! I love the idea of a fall shoot but I don't know if I can wait that long... patience isn't really my thing.
I'm thinking something cozy and out in the country, having the dog involved is a must! Maybe some plaid? I'd love to wear my Hunters. Heck, I paid enough for them I might as well show them off a little!
Here's some of the ideas I like so far for a cute, cozy, country engagement shoot.. 

[Click on the pictures for the full shoot, if available] 

     

I love London, England.

I must say there is only one thing that I didn't like about my trip, I didn't have enough time there. Oh, and everyone thought we were American... at least they were happy when we told them, uh... no. 

The first thing everyone asks me about my trip is what was your favorite thing? My first answer was well, everything. Just the place itself is beautiful. Even the McDonald's there is housed in a historic and architectural building. But after some though I realized my favorite place was the Horse Hospital Antique market, the one place I don't have pictures of... what? Lauren not take pictures?! It happened. Basically it was a giant flea market, shoes, clothes, food, home decor, and everything is just so unique. I'm a sucker for flea markets pretty much anywhere, but this one was even more than I could have imagined. The floors were cobblestone, the walls made of aged brick, and around every corner was another statue of a horse or something to do with equine culture. Okay, you get the picture, it was gorgeous. 

The first day I was introduced to this lovely thing called jet lag. We took a red eye flight from detroit straight to London, and as soon as we got there we were on the go. I almost fell asleep on our first bus tour, and then again at supper, and while unpacking at the hotel, despite Jenna (my trip roomie and teaching partner) yelling at me not to. The first night in London we came to a terrible realization, pubs are only open until 11pm, WHAT?! Despite this, we still had a good time. The days there breezed by, as did the historic sites: Buckingham palace, the tower of London, trafalgar square, theatre royal, the globe theatre, tower bridge, abbey road, the Albert and Victoria memorial, Marble Arch, St Paul's Cathedral, the old Roman wall, and a bunch of other places whose names I don't know and/or remember... oops. As part of our trip we also got to see four plays, all of which we're really good! My favourite had to be Shakespeare's Twelfth Night that we say at the Lion and Unicorn theatre which happens to be above a bar which means we got to drink throughout! But then again all the theatres we went to had bars and offered ice cream that you could bring in the theatre, FOOD AND DRINKS IN THE THEATRE! The show was classic Shakespearean text with a modern twist, the audience was small, intimate and the actors got right up in your business... it was great.
Overall it was a trip that I'll never forget and I can't wait to go back some day!! 

... But it wasn't tea ;) 

The Marble Arch 

 

  

This crazy thing hapenned and we we on a hidden camera tv show! It was only the pilot, but how cool is that?! A busker asked some of our group if we could watch his stuff while he went to the loo, and of course they said yes. I heard music and then realized I KNOW THEM! It was my friends, so I grabbed a tambourine and Seth grabbed a guitar and we sang some Beatles for people walking by on the waterfront... one of the coolest things I've ever done! Soon enough the busker came back and some guy was telling us we were being filmed for a pilot for a show about Random Acts of Kindness! How cool?! The whole group was beaming for the next couple hours! Go do a random act of kindness, I promise you'll feel good about it. 

The tower of London 

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Went to Hogwarts...

Candle I lit in St. Paul's