Unboxing: June Kawaii Box

I first heard about Kawaii Box from a post on Twinkie Chan's blog and immediately fell in love.

I am completely enamoured with the concept of subscription boxes. I love getting things in the mail and receiving a box of surprise items each month is THE BEST. Like having a birthday 12 times a year.

I'm always looking for new ones to try out. I've done ipsy for makeup and cancelled it in favour of Nerd Block for geeky related items. I have box commitment issues (and also I can't afford to keep subscribing to all the ones I want). As soon as I saw the Kawaii Box, I promptly cancelled Nerd Block and anxiously awaited the arrival of my box of Japanese and Korean goodies.

The wait is over. And I have photos.

When you first open the box, you see a thank you card with a hand written note on the back.

An octopus plushie!

A mini comb!

Some pink lace shoelaces!

A Rilakkuma phone charm!

A kokeshi doll pen!

A small pill case!

Strawberry Pocky!

Food themed stickers!

Phone stickers!

A moustache 2-finger ring!

I really don't know how they fit all this stuff in the small box. I sure can't get it back in!

I was not disappointed. I have a feeling this will be a beautiful relationship.... Until the next subscription box catches my eye...

What are your favourite subscription boxes?

Music Monday: Kiesza

If this doesn't get you pumped up for the week I don't think anything will.

MixTape: WHOA-MAN!

I created a little 8tracks mix tape of 8 of my favourite female/female fronted music acts to celebrate International Women's Day! Enjoy!

WHOA-MAN! from cosmicbrunch on 8tracks Radio.

Music Monday: HAIM

Hearts of the Month: February 2014

A monthly round-up of things I loved.

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Art: 12 Plus Size Disney Princesses

Article: 19 Frasier Comebacks To Use in Everyday Life

Life Tip: Song & Life Pairing: XO and moving into your first solo apartment

Adorableness: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE AUTHOR OF GAME OF THRONES MET THE AUTHOR OF THE LAST UNICORN?

Art: Grumpy Disney

Old but Still Good: Lana Del Rey cries during live performance. 

Beautiful: A Lonely Boy In The Freezing Cold Without A Jacket. Watch People’s Reaction.

Truth Bomb: Proof you can do or be anything

11 things on the 11th: February 2014

1. Eating chocolate covered coconut cubes.

2. Drinking cold green tea.

3. Craving movie theatre nachos.

4. Reading through my backlog of magazines I have on my iPad.

5. Listening to the few tracks I got when I pre-ordered Saint Vincent's album on iTunes. SO GOOD.

6. Watching Adventure Time. Finally caught up on this season!

7. Surfing a lot of Pinterest these days. Drooling over home decor ideas.

8. Wearing my blue hair proudly. It's my 2 month blue-hairiversary .

9. Making a mess.

10. Feeling excited for the local TEDx event I'm going to on Thursday! 

11. Lusting after this shower curtain. Is it weird to feel so strongly about a shower curtain?

Music Monday: Lana Del Rey

ON. REPEAT.

Weekend Wishlist: Dreaming of a Nordic Holiday

I've spent a lot of time recently daydreaming of taking a vacation touring in Iceland, Norway, Finland and Denmark....

'Dreaming of a Nordic Holiday' by AnnieDroyd

Travel photography - fine ar... photographybyk... $35	scandinavian architecture wa... POAST $900
Esja Mountain Ring 2.0 - Si... EddoDesign $32	Hygge - Holiday Cards (Set o... paperfinger $22
Søholm, teapot, made in Den... DanishRetroPot... $445	Swinging Home...Stoneware Pe... elukka $18
Repurposed china pendant - R... AvSusanne $35	Icelandic Wool Mittens, Warm... pureIceland $28
Art_no_11 - Size A3 Spenderbuks $150	Handmade Leaf Pendant ~ Oxid... MirielDesign $130
Oil painting "Dousing&... angelshaug $3395	Bjørn Wiinblad - SET of 12 ... danishmood $950
Handknitted design cardigan ... LOPIA $190	Bing and Grondahl / Kronjyde... DanishDesignVi... $295
DENMARK Beach Photography 12... PhotographyByA... $55	MOOMIN Wall Plate MOONSHINE ... FinnishDream $79

Sponsored by send bulk email from excel.

Music Monday: Sampha

Hearts of the Month: January 2014

A monthly round-up of things I loved.

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Article: bill murray and a lesson on slowing down

Moment: Emma Thompson Ditches Heels At The SAG Awards To Be A Flats Advocate

Video: Dad Freaks Out Over His Son’s Higher-Than-Expected Grades

Article: How NOT to Facebook: Vaguebooking

Photos: These "Up" Inspired Photos For A Couple’s 61st Anniversary Will Probably Make You Misty-Eyed

Web Experience: What Planet Are You On?

Quote: Your goal as an artist is to...

Haiku Review: Ion Color Brilliance Brights in Sky Blue

It's been over a month since I went blue and I thought it was about time to touch up my colour to bring me out of seafoam territory and back to the deeper lush colour it used to be.

I also thought I'd save myself some money and do this touch up at home rather than go back to the salon.

I have never in my life encountered such a thick formula for hair dye and well, here is my haiku review.

I love the colour.
Pain in the ass to apply.
I'll leave it to pros.

Music Monday: will.i.am (f. Miley Cyrus, French Montana & Wiz Khalifa)

Sorry Not Sorry

I don't know how it happened but I am obsessed with a track that features Miley Cyrus

Like, I have purchased both the explicit and clean versions of it on iTunes so I can listen to it appropriately in any circumstance.

This however is NOT the clean version so I wouldn't click play at work or around your grandmother (unless she's cool).

Cosmic Bliss Life Tips: #hottits

It's cold out there, yo!

Like "Feels like -40 Celsius" out there.

I am telling you something that has rocked my world this week.

PUT HAND WARMERS IN YOUR BRA.

I have never felt cozier.

#hottits

Theme Music for 2014

For the past few years, at the beginning of January I've been picking a theme song to represent the coming year. 2012 was Shake it Out by Florence and the Machine. 2013 was You Can Dance at Any Age by Broni. This is this year's.

2013 RoundUp: Favourite Albums of 2013

2013 was a great year for music. I think I actually bought more albums than the past couple years combined so it was really hard to come up with a top 5!

Honourable mentions go to:

Pure Heroine by Lorde
The 1975 by The 1975
Sing to the Moon by Laura Mvula

My top 5 albums of 2013 are:

5.The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCHES
4. If You Wait by London Grammar
3. Cannibals with Cutlery by To Kill A King
2. Days are Gone by Haim
1. Bad Blood (/All This Bad Blood) by Bastille

(Hilariously, although it is without a doubt my favourite album, it wasn't until I was finishing this post up that I realized Bad Blood came out in 2013 not 2012 like I thought. It wasn't originally on the list at all - with Haim at #1 and the Laura Mvula at #5.)

2013 RoundUp: Most Listened Music

According to last.fm my top 10 most listened to artists of 2013 were:

10. David Bowie
9.  Grimes
8.  The 1975
7.  London Grammar
6.  Alt-J
5.  CHVRCHES
4.  Lorde
3.  To Kill A King
2.  HAIM
1.  Bastille

Not a single artist from last year's list!

And my most listened to track of the year was:

2013 RoundUp: Favourite Movies

I'm going to switch it up this year, because I'm crazy like that. Hold on to your hats because I'm posting my least favourite movies FIRST.

My 10 worst movies that I saw this year:
10. Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)
9. Man of Steel(2013) (yes. I preferred a Katy Perry documentary over a Superman movie. That pretty much sums up my feelings on Man of Steel...)
8. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
7. Road House (1989)
6. That Guy... Who Was In That Thing (2012)
5. The Dictator (2012)
4. Zardoz (1974)
3. Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie (2013)
2. The Abominable Dr.Phibes (1971)
1. Blubberella (2011)

It really was hard to narrow my favourites down to 10 this year. When trying to fill in my final slots, I decided to ultimately go with "what do I want to keep watching more than once or twice" which is why some films made the list that may not be as technically "good" as others I left off.

My 10 favourite movies that I saw this year:
10. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
9. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
8. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
7. Blue Jasmine (2013)
6. Eraserhead (1977)
5. Fantasia (1940)
4. The World's End (2013)
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
2. Frozen (2013)
1. Grey Gardens (1975)

2013 RoundUp: The 67 New-to-Me Flicks of 2013

1. Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening
2. Beasts of the Southern Wild
3. Hope Springs
4. What to Expect When You're Expecting
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. Moshe Kasher: Live in Oakland
7. Numb: Simon Amstell Live at the BBC
8. Girl Walk // All Day
9.  9
10. Still
11. Warm Bodies
12. Miss Representation
13. Aziz Ansari: Dangerously Delicious
14.  Brian Posehn: The Fartist
15.  Grey Gardens
16.  Spirited Away
17.  Quartet
18.  Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
19.  Road House
20.  Craig Ferguson: I'm Here to Help
21.  Zardoz
22.  The Abominable Dr.Phibes
23.  xanadu
24.  Iron Man 3
25.  The Aristocats
26. The Sapphires
27.  Bridget Jones's diary
28.  Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
29.  Star Trek into Darkness
30.  Attack the Block
31.  Louis C.K.: Chewed Up
32.  Zach Galifianakis: Live
33.  Bert and Dickie
34.  The Comedians of Comedy: The Movie
35.  Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie
36.  Eraserhead
37.  Wreck-It Ralph
38.  The Beales of Grey Gardens
39.  This is 40
40.  Katy Perry: Part of Me
41.  The Dictator
42.  That Guy... Who Was In That Thing
43.  Howl's Moving Castle
44.  Jay & Silent Bob Go Down Under
45.  Blubberella
46.  Kiki's Delivery Service
47.  Princess Mononoke
48.  Despicable Me 2
49.  Man of Steel
50.  Fantasia 
51.  Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
52.  Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
53.  Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
54.  Monsters university
55.  The 39 Steps
56.  The World's End
57.  Blue Jasmine
58.  A Fantastic Fear of Everything
59.  The Mighty Boosh on Tour: Journey of the Childmen
60.  Die Friseuse
61.  Bottle Rocket
62. Rushmore
63. Hotel Transylvania
64. Thor: The Dark World
65. Mulan
66.  Frozen
67.  Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

2013 RoundUp: Best of (my) Instagram

January


February


March


April


May


June


July


August


September


October


November


December

2013 RoundUp: Favourite Moments

2013 was by far my favourite year thus far. So many great things happened!

January
4th - arrived in New York
5th - saw works by VanGogh at MoMA / ate at Becco / saw my first Broadway show (Matthew Broderick!)
6th - boarded my first cruise
9th - arrived in the Bahamas
22nd - installed an art piece in a gallery

February
22nd - saw Bat Boy: The Musical
24th - hosted annual Oscar party

March
2nd - saw Seussical
24th - saw the Book of Mormon
30th - International TableTop Day

April
4th - attended Parade of Chefs
22nd to 26th - took part in Live Below the Line

May
2nd to 4th - stage managed my first play -  Beyond a Joke
11th - peformed "All the Men in my Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons" from Evil Dead: The Musical at a cabaret show
19th - Party! - Sangria Spring
21st - saw Kevin Smith & Jason Mewes live for Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie
24th - attended a talk by Neil Pasricha, author of The Book of Awesome

June
2nd - held the Cosmic Brunch club beta test
22nd - Colour Me Rad 5K
23rd - auditioned for world premiere musical The Littlest Rockette
28th - my sister & neice moved back to my town
30th - played Dungeons & Dragons for the first time

July
13th - Went geocaching for the first time & ate at o.noir
17th - saw Tegan & Sara live
21st - saw my first live Shakespeare play - Measure for Measure
27th - held my Superhero Soiree
28th - Turned 27
31st - saw Spamalot

August
16 to 18 - had an amazing time and met lots of my 'friends from the internet' at DAWN-A-PA-DREW-ZA 6
21st - put an offer in on a condo
22nd - hosted Cornetto Night where we watched Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and episodes of Spaced on a projector.
23rd - The World's End opened!!

September
5th - Fashion & the City event
14th - TK 35th Anniversary party
15th - first ever hangover
25th - saw my favourite band, BASTILLE, for the first time & stayed at the Drake Hotel
26th - went to the David Bowie IS exhibit at the AGO

October
1st - got the keys to my condo
4th - saw Whose Live Anyway
14th - party! - Sangria Cornucopia
19th - threw a wedding shower for my HLP (hetero life parter)

November
9th to 10th - took part in Extra Life
16th - HLP's bachelorette in Toronto - saw Evil Dead: The Musical & stayed at the Drake Hotel again (hotel manager likes me so he upgraded us to the suite for free and gave us free champagne!).
21st to 23rd - world premiere performances of the Littlest Rockette as Dancer the Reindeer
29th - HLP's Bridal PJ Party

December
7th - met a real life reindeer, went to a Santa Claus parade
11th - dyed my hair blue
13th - HLP's wedding day
20th - party! - Sangria Christmas
25th - actual Christmas!
28th - sisters' birthday
31st - mom's birthday and New Years festivities!

If 2014 is even half as good, I'm in for a great year, but I have a feeling it's going to be even better!!