Goddess of.. Scored Big at Beyond The Rack!

Beyond The Rack was having its first warehouse sample sale in my City this weekend.. and being the bargain whore that I am, I simply had to go! It was a long time of waiting out in the cold, rummaging through messy tables with piles and piles of stuff, and trying on clothes in a shared changing room.. but overall, it was worth it.

I managed to find two items I really liked and scored some great deals.

A nice green silk top by Wish Collection for $10.. 

and a wonderful navy blue maxi dress by linQ for $30 (original price $148).

The dress was apparently, bought and worn by both Eva Longoria and Annalynn McCord.

Although all that really matters is that I think 

it looks even better in navy blue 

and I love the way it fits and feels on me :)

Goddess of .. Writing a 50,000-word novel !?

Well, there's a blog post title I never thought I'd write.
Holy moly, I actually just signed up for NaNoWriMo without fully realizing what it entailed.

So, uhmmmmm.. for those of you who, like me, don't know what 

National Novel Writing Month 

(NaNoWriMo for short) is: 

It's a pledge I just took to write a 50,000-word novel, over the course of 30 days.

That's right, the challenge is to write roughly 1,666 words a day, for a whole month .. and it has to amount to something potentially readable. I might as well pledge to give up sleeping and eating, because I don't see how I'll fit that into my schedule.

The busier the bee, the more honey you'll get.. right?

Okay, I just made that up, but you catch my drift.

Help me pick a topic / idea.

Please.

P.S. This is going on my 30 before 30 list. Woah!

Goddess of .. The Girl with the Pink Umbrella!

Pink umbrella, pink phone, pink ipod.

Black coat, black boots, black mood.

I was a walking contradiction this morning.

You know you're having a bad morning when..

• It's raining cats and dogs outside, yet you still have to wake up early to go to work.
• You make coffee but it tastes more like dish water than anything.
• You're having a bad hair day because of the rain.
• You leave the house later than you should because you were trying to fix your bad hair day.
• You find a soaking wet parking ticket on your car because you forgot to move it last night.
• You move your car, pick up the dripping ticket and drop it back inside the house.
• You walk to/from the bus in the rain (blowing wind), fighting an umbrella that keeps flipping.
• You get to work late, all wet, with your hair a completely ridiculous mess.

That's a sucky morning.

Fortunately, bad moods have a hard time sticking on me. 

I'm SO over it!

Happy weekend bloggies!

Goddess of .. The Little Things !

I have been blessed with a lot of work recently: my new job (I'm over a month in now, YAY!), my freelance work and now, additionnal contractual writing work for my employer !

That makes for some busy weeks.. doing full-time during the week + freelance & contractual work on the weeknights and weekends. Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy about it, I love being busy and getting a little more money.. but it doesn't leave much room for other stuff (i.e. sports, friends, dating, sleeping in, etc.).

Thankfully, tonight I ordered in for dinner and took pleasure in the little things (i.e. sushi + heineken).

Sushi in the living room (because I was working on the kitchen table), 

with a little Diana Krall jazz music playing in the background 

and a cold Heineken..

.. and THIS is how I roll when I'm working from home on a Saturday night!

Exciting, uh ? Alright, I've procrastinated enough for one night :)

Ciao bloggies,

Goddess of .. Zen living: Oh Happy Day !

Do you ever look up at the sky and just feel happy ?

I've been doing that every day after work for the past three weeks. I love to look up at the beautiful blue sky and feel the light Autumn breeze on my hands and face.

I get out of work, turn on my ipod, plug it into my ears and start walking. I walk to the nearest subway and meanwhile, I marvel at the wonderful neighborhood where I now have the pleasure of working.

And that's just after work.

My work day is just as great. I love what I do, it's challenging, fast-paced and fun. I have a lot of liberty and responsabilities in my work.. and I get to see the results of my efforts every week. The people I work with are awesome, so awesome that I've hung out with a co-worker one night, just because. She's my age, likes the same things as me (the same tv shows, local bars, restaurants, types of people, designs/decorations, etc.), she's also a blogger and she's always fun & happy. That's my new requirement for friends: Must be positive.

What does it take for you to happy? A little or a lot?

I am happy with very little, although I enjoy luxury.. I believe that I'm a positive person from the inside-out and not the other way around.

Since I started working full-time (actually, having two jobs is more like working overtime), I've been looking at condominiums for sale recently and I've realized that I would be happy with just a small efficient pleasant space. 

What are some of the things you could live without? 

I don't need or want two bedrooms. I don't need a giant kitchen or a large dining area. I don't need a breath-taking view of the city. To me, it's comforting to know that even if there ever comes a time when I am less fortunate or lucky in life (*knock on wood*).. I won't be miserable because I am fundamentaly happy. 

When it comes to your living space, what do you really want?

I have been thinking about my first (very own) living space.. for years now.

I am still living with my mother but I feel much better about it than I did a year ago. I know it's only temporary and I am seeing the bigger picture: I am saving up to buy a place of my own rather then renting out.

My basic requirements: About 500 square feet (or more), could be a loft but I want a bedroom with a door or some kind of division (so that I don't hear the fridge when I am in my bed), a bathtub (I am looking forward to long relaxing baths) and a balcony (it doesn't have to be huge).

Optional things I would love: Granite countertops, a U-shaped kitchen (I just prefer that layout), big windows with lots of light and a brick wall in the living room. But really, I don't need any of this to be happy . I'd rather spend less on the place itself and have more money for other projects such as travelling & an overall better quality of life on a daily basis.   

What are the small things (or people) that make you smile ?

Goddess of .. My Little Miracle Workers !

Bloggies, you guys ROCK !

Thanks to everyone who crossed their fingers, toes, hair and eyes.. 

.. said a little prayer .. 

and knocked on wood for me ...

I GOT THE JOB !!!

  

I start on monday :) 

Hahaha, so amazing, I'm actually making a living as a writer now !

Full-time job as a web editor 

for a company that publishes a newsletter weekly

featuring the very best travel deals available

online for that week !

It's awesome, 

I was basically spending my days

 comparing travel deals online anyway :)

So now I get to search & write about the deals I find 

& I'll be getting paid for it !

After a year at a crappy job that I really hated &

8 months of (semi)-unemployment, I finally found something that I think will make me happy !

YAY me !

 

Goddess of .. Cross Your Fingers & Toes !

Hey Bloggies,

Please send some good thoughts my way, 

I have an interview @ 3pm today for a writing job 

at a company that publishes a weekly newsletter 

with the best travel deals available :)

I'm very excited !

Fingers crossed,

Goddess of .. My Big Fat Indian Wedding !

Finally, I'm posting about the awesomeness that was the Indian wedding I went to last month :)

The bride is a friend of mine from college and also a long time friend of some of my close friends from High school. The event lasted two days and it was wonderful, colorful, bright, especially full of love and I got to attend it with my close girlfriends ! What more could you ask for ?

The first day was the pre-wedding ceremony where everyone gives the bride and groom their blessing and the women get hennah tattoos (mehndi) on their hands and / or feet. 

The 'Mehndi' : Personally, I wanted the full experience and would have wished for tattoos all over my hands and feet !  

However, so many girls wanted the mehndi and there just wasn't enough time to have more than a hand done per person. 

I loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat. The paste they apply is in a tube with a tiny opening, allowing the artist to make some pretty detailed drawings. 

And it smelled so good !!! I know a lot of indians hate the smell because they're used to it or are sick of it, but I loved it. It smelled minty fresh to me :) 

You leave the paste on your hand for a few hours until it dries completely. They also recommend that you dab on some lemon juice with sugar to help the tattoo set and last longer. 

Eventually, the paste dries and falls off .. or you can rinse it off.. and it reveals a dark reddish-brown (in my case) hand tattoo. The tattoo can last anywhere from one week to three weeks. Mine lasted a week, I guess I wash my hands pretty often .. :( Boo !

The bride, of course, had mehndi done on her full arms, both sides and on her feet as well :) She was a trooper because it took forever and then, she had to spend most of the evening without bending her arms because the henna paste was setting in.

The blessing : One by one, every guest gave the bride and groom their blessing. To bless the bride & groom, you dipped a finger in turmeric paste and smudged it on your own forehead. Then, you would smudge some on the bride's forehead and then, the groom's. It was a tricky thing, considering that the bride and I were both wearing bindis (forehead decorations). 

Also, I was grateful that one of the bridesmaids had babywipes in her purse because turmeric paste is babypoop green ! Note to self ... always carry wipes.

After the turmeric paste, you had to hand feed the bride and groom some sweets. It was really cute and I thought it was a great way to show your approval of their union and to literally "feed" their love for each other.

The 'saris' :  The very generous bride had arranged for all bridesmaids to have matching saris (dresses) which she had bought in Toronto beforehand.

During the afternoon of the pre-wedding, my friend and I went to the bride's parents' house and picked out our saris for the evening.

All saris were made of stiff (cheap) cotton, rather than silk, because according to my Indian friend, the Holud  (pre-wedding ceremony) is supposed to be hosted by the village (poor) women. The Holud is a Bengali tradition (Bride's family is from Bengladesh) that takes place before the actual wedding.

The colors were red, dark red, orange and pink .. I was pretty happy to get the pink one ! And especially happy that we got to keep the sari and take it home :)

And now, I have an awesome Halloween costume !

The food :   It was delicious ! The bride's family hired a caterer for the pre-wedding and wedding.

.. and I have to hand it to him, wedding food is usually not impressive but he made awesome wedding food :) 

On the night of the pre-wedding, we had daal (lentils), another veggie dish, basmati rice (YUM !) and chicken jalfrezi that was just to DIE for. 

Actually, it's making me hungry just thinking about it now. The chicken was really well cooked and the whole dish was not too spicy .. it was just perfect !

I could eat it all the time :)

The dance :  Towards the end of the night, one of the Bride's Bengali aunties (or cousins..) performed a traditional dance for the Bride & Groom ! 

She's an amazing dancer, without a doubt, and a very pretty girl .. so I thought I'd post the video for you guys. It gives you a good idea of the overall feel of the pre-wedding celebration night :) and embraces tradition. I loved discovering everything that the Holud entailed and that's part of it .. so I hope you enjoy it !

P.S. I'm really sorry about the poor sound quality, I recorded it with my camera.

*You might want to lower the volume on your speakers before pressing play*

Wedding celebration re-cap.. to be continued !

Goddess of .. Flirty, Fun and Fabulous !

The three imperative "F"s :

Flirty.
Fun.
F*ckin' Fabulous !

That's my new motto, for the summer. Why you ask ?

Why not, I say. Because I can, Because I want to, Because I will be.

I'm tired of whining about stuff.

I'm tired of being depressed.

I'm tired of being tired.

It's time to be happy now.

I'm 25 years old.

I'm healthy.

I'm happy.

and I'm pretty.

Yay !*

*Fine, maybe I overdid it when I decided to have a coffee at 10pm. Oh well.

I have a new list up on Shoptopia :

Be your best Sunshine Girl !

That means following the three "F"s this summer, Bloggies.

If you're happily married : Flirt with your husband ! 

If you're self-conscious : Challenge yourself to act confident and have fun with it !

No more excuses, just be happy.

Just do it.

Yes, that means now :)

Goddess of .. Twenty-five candles !

On Saturday, May 8th 2010 .. I celebrated my long awaited (and kinda dreaded) 25th birthday.

Well, to be exact, I celebrated my very last day & night being 24 years old because my birthday is May 9th. Seriously, I wasn't going to just slip into my mid-twenties without mourning my early twenties an itsy bit. Except that it wasn't so much a "mourning" as it was a "celebration of life".. but I digress.

I definitely had a wonderful time on saturday and

I hope that my birthday celebrations are a reflection of

how much fun the next year is going to be

because I had a BLAST!

First, there were drinks and appetizers at my place. Lolita, Violet and the whole bunch of my girlfriends from high school were there.. about 10 of us crazies in all.

Mandatory rosé wine or sparkling pink lemonade for everyone.. alongside some delicious appetizers (arancinis, veggies & dip, all kinds of cheese, puff pastry hors d'oeuvres, etc.).

I was showered with gifts from my extremely generous friends (gift cards, beauty products, scarf, purse, chocolates, etc.).

By the way, I'm totally aware that posting pictures with stickers on everyone's face is pretty much pointless but I worry about anonymity.. so here goes. I hope it still gives you a vague notion of how much fun we had :o)

I was super happy that all the girls from the high school bunch made it .. because 3 of them weren't suppose to come until later.. but finally, they were able to make it !!!

It made all the difference in the world, I was so glad to have all of them over at my house because we rarely do this and mostly meet up in restaurants or at the movies.

I also got to spend some really fun times with Lolita & Violet. They hadn't seen each other since .. sometime in February or March.. when we went out to one of our favorite bars and ended up crashing attending a stranger's birthday party around 3-4 am.

It was fun to see them kind of catch up and mingle.

Afterwards, we headed to my favorite thai restaurant around 9pm, for a late dinner. I ordered one of my usuals .. the sweet & sour chicken (tomatoes, onions, red and green bell peppers & pineapple) with sticky rice. Lolita enjoyed my other favorite, the sauteed chicken with peanut sauce & crispy spinach .. so delicious !

I bought a delicious cake (tasted like Ferrero Rocher or Bacci chocolates) that I brought to the restaurant and they served it to us as dessert.

The staff was so nice and funny .. they were really young and friendly to us, they even switched my candles on the cake when they brought it out and it read : Happy 52nd birthday Aritza !!

They put them back in the right order when they served me my piece of cake thought, thank God.

I'm having a hard enough time dealing with being 25 .. there's no way I want to skip to 52 right away.

Once we were done with dinner, I said goodbye to my highschool friends .. who are not at all the type to go out to bars .. and Violet, Lolita & Myself headed to our home (the bar that Violet & I often go to on thursday nights). We've developped a sort of customer-friendship with the bartenders there .. so they were happy we stopped by for my birthday. I was offered a complimentary glass of bubbly from one bartender and another one offered us a celebratory round of shots (Jack Daniels topped with a slice of orange, the usual). All in all, a very good time !

We then met up with Ari and his friends, Frantz and David, at another bar nearby.

Violet, Lolita, Myself, Ari, Frantz and David had a really really fun time and all of them made it a birthday that I'll never forget. I had met Frantz before (super funny and super friendly guy) and I had heard a little bit about David (funny and sarcastic, self-proclaimed asshole) before through Lolita.

At the bar, David proceeded to yell at the barman to get me free shots for my birthday .. it was super rude and I thought he was a real asshole.. but it worked and I think he actually knew the barman or became friends with him afterwards .. so no real harm done there. Dr.Frantz spoon-fed me Jack Daniels & Coke as a cure to aging.. and it was hilarious.

Frantz, David and I talked and joked all night long and it was really cool.

Anywowzer, that's it my lovelies. Oh and Frantz wrote his phone number on a coaster and slipped it in my purse.. lol, I really cracked up when I got home and saw this. I sent him a little text message to thank him for the great evening and I added him on facebook. Such great people, I've really been blessed lately .. I've met such funny people, it's wonderful !

That was my birthday night, bloggies !

It certainly lived up to my standards of fun :o)

and I hope it lived up to your standards of an interesting blog post !!

Goddess of .. The Mod Market Giveaway Winner !

I am preparing a long and detailed post about the celebrations that took place last saturday for my 25th birthday .. but before hittin' publish on that one, I want to announce the VERY LUCKY winner of the final (for this year) B'day Giveaway !

One reader will get this beautiful

Cream frayed rosette headband with pearl center

from my wonderfully generous sponsor : The Mod Market 

.. in the mail, very very soon !

And that The Mod Market winner is:

Congrats to the adorable

Siovhan @ The Siovhan Show !

Congrats girly ! This cream headband will look great in your gorgeous blond locks :o)
Send me an email with your home address and The Mod Market will send you your lovely prize very soon !

Thank you all for participating in My 25th Birthday giveaways !

I hope you liked the items that I featured here :o)

P.S. To my four lucky winners (Summer, Non Sequitur Chica, Sassy Chica & Siovhan) .. CONGRATS !

Oh ! And I just want to throw it out there, I am NOT receiving ANY kind of compensation for doing these giveaways. I support The Mod Market's etsy store simply and fully because I love every one of their items and I asked them to do a giveaway with me as a "Thank you" to my loyal followers.

Goddess of .. B'day Giveaway #4 - The Mod Market !

::: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED :::

Hey again bloggies ! The birthday weekend celebrations are about to begin but before I drop off the face of the blogosphere for a few days, I've got one last birthday giveaway for you :o) 

Yesterday, I revealed the winner of last week's NuvoNova gift. The winner will receive their choice of the seven necklaces offered , congrats !! Big thanks to Clara of NuvoNova for the wonderful giveaway :o)

**Click here to see who last week's lucky winner is !**

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

And now on to this week's giveaway :

The Mod Market is a brand-new Oregon based Etsy store, operated by the lovely Becca since April 2010. The Mod Market specializes in making rosette headbands for girls and women. If you remember correctly, I recently wrote a post about "Rosette" fashion for spring 2010, so I thought The Mod Market would make for a very fitting sponsor ! This Etsy store also sells cute crochet hats, sassy necklaces, stylish hairclips & belts .. all Rosette inspired :o) which makes me really really happy !

Let me share some of my favorite items with you :

I'd like my rosettes with a side of pearls, please ..

A gorgeous and trendy way to dress up a simple outfit ..

Flower headbands & little girls go together like peanut butter & jelly ..

The lucky winner will receive this beautiful rosette headband :

I love this headband so so SO much. To the future winner, I say : I am jealous !!

This cream colored headband is very versatile because of its color

and also, it is on a detachable clip, so it can be worn without the headband.

Fits most adults and children :o)

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

The Mod Market

Giveaway Rules

**Open to followers worldwide**

To enter this giveaway :

1. Follow my blog (through Google Friend Connect)
2. Visit The Mod Market's Etsy store and Tell me which item is your favorite !

For additional entries :

- Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry)

- Be my friend on Facebook (1 extra entry)

- Blog / Twitter about the Mod Market giveaway (2 extra entries)

- Buy an item from The Mod Market's Etsy store (5 extra entries)

That's a total of 10 possible chances to win, so get on it.. Stat !

The giveaway is opened from Friday, May 7th 2010 to Thursday, May 13th 2010.

The winner will be announced next Friday, May 14th 2010.

Good luck, Bloggies !

P.S. Please note that I am not receiving ANY kind of compensation for doing this giveaway. I support The Mod Market's etsy store simply because I love their items and I asked for them to do a giveaway as a "Thank you" to my loyal followers.