I couldn’t even guess how many quotes I read on my Instagram feed about not settling. I’ve seen countless listicles shared on my Facebook timeline with ways to prevent yourself from settling. These days it seems like everyone is telling us that we need to keep striving. Striving for the perfect love or the perfect job or even the perfect bowl of bolognese, for god’s sake. People are obsessed with the idea of not “settling.” But what even is settling? The quotes, articles and lists I mentioned above sell settling as a bad thing. It’s described as if settling on something means you’ve given up. You’ve stopped working and pushing. Or you don’t think you deserve anything else. Hearing these versions of settling will do one of two things: it will motivate you to strive for what you really want, or it will cause you to feel like a failure. For me, it’s often the later. Settling can be described another way, though, and it’s often overlooked. Think about a dog doing circles in his ...
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When Michael Scott was making everyone cringe and giggle in 2005, I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to show The Office . It wasn’t until I re-watched it at 27 years old that I realized how many lessons it was teaching me. This show is somehow constantly relevant. It’s been off-air for a couple of years, but the memes and Tweets about it are still constant. People are always re-binging it. That’s the sign of a great sitcom. The comedy has taught me more about love - and all the different versions of love - than any other form of media in my life. While Pam and Jim are a big part of it, I even learned from Dunder Mifflin’s hilariously-inappropriate manager. But we’ll start with the obvious… 1. Friendship first Pam and Jim have a love story that started out as a friendship and there’s no better way to fall in love. Falling for someone who is honestly your best friend is scary, exciting and just downright weird. It comes with a lot of risks, but if it works, it’...
The Tragically Hip - Man Machine Poem Day 3 in Toronto, ON Armed with will and determination...and grace, too. Gord Downie, lead of The Tragically Hip, embodies that line from the song Grace, Too. Those words have never been felt deeper than they were these last few weeks as the band takes the stage in multiple cities across Canada for what has been deemed their farewell tour. In May, the band released a statement letting their adoring fans know that frontman Gord Downie - a Canadian treasure on the same level (or above) as icons like Don Cherry and Wayne Gretzky - was suffering from terminal brain cancer. The news hit Canadians hard. But the love for The Hip was never more evident as tickets to their Man Machine Poem tour (named after their most recent album which dropped in June) sold out in no time. Fans of the band wanted nothing more than to be alongside Gord and his band during these difficult times and to experience an incredible performance by them just one more ti...
As I search for my third apartment in Halifax, I'm faced with the same thoughts I had last time I was apartment hunting. Halifax has everything - including lots of cool pads, but that doesn't mean there won't be a struggle to find the perfect one. Here are 15 thoughts you'll probably have if you've ever searched for an apartment in Halifax: How far North is too far North? Maybe we could just move to Clayton park and save money? Nah I don't want to be that far away from Argyle Street. I think I came to a party here once. Nope, that street has mice. Is it better to be close to a grocery store or close to a coffee shop? Am I cool enough to live on Agricola though? I'm not. I'm not cool enough for this street. I don't want to be in the student ghetto though. Looking on every page on Kijiji and then considering craigslist, only to realize that Kijiji is where it's at. GOD DAMMIT THERE'S NO PARKING AT ANY OF THESE APARTMENTS. M...
One of the challenges of being someone in their mid-late twenties in 2016, is finding that balance of having one-too-many drinks, but not falling into that drunken university student routine we spent 4-5 years of our lives doing. For some people, when you get to be a certain age, you stop frequenting the places you used to frequent. I.e. that club that never has paper towel in the bathroom becomes a little less appealing. You start craving establishments that cater to the "casual drinks and music" atmosphere and not the "bumping into people and spilling your drink" atmosphere. One thing, though, that I don't think all 20-somethings tend to lose, is the desire to get slightly tipsy. Yes, we want to be classy and semi-grown-up, but YES of course we want to let lose on a Friday evening. So here are five places in Halifax that makes you feel like a classy adult even though you're just chugging whatever is in your glass. 1. Lot Six There are so many wo...
Ria Mae is from the little-big city of Halifax, Nova Scotia and has had no problem packing venues - be it dive bars or concert halls - since her hit single, Clothes Off , hit the airwaves last year. Mae moved to Montreal in the winter in hopes of being inspired and courted by the city’s booming music scene. It looks like that’s exactly what happened as she released her self-titled album on June 3rd. While her sound is mostly pop, there are hints of alternative, hip-hop and even R&B that give her songs a sexy, Montreal-esque feel that has her fans dancing and sipping cocktails while jamming to her music. The new album features her two singles - Clothes Off and Gold - both with incredibly catchy beats and melodies. There’s so much sex appeal behind these tunes (especially Clothes, as you could’ve probably guessed) that it has probably become a regular in many club playlists. Many of the other songs on the album, though, have more of a pop feel which really showcase Mae’s voc...
I work an office job. Luckily, that office job is in the marketing and promotions department, so I'm not constantly tied to my desk. BUT there are days that I spend, like, 6 hours in a row on my computer. Aside from poor posture, this also gives me the opportunity to search the web and waste time discovering cool things like recipes and home decor and new bands!!! Usually when I find a new thing that I love, I annoy the crap out of my boyfriend or my iPhone group chat with details about said thing. So instead, why not plop them here? Here are 5 things that I've found while I should've been working: 1. couchseats.com This website is kind of like Pinterest - but for music. You can totally get lost in a deep, deep hole of clicking and listening. If you're a music lover this is absolutely going to be your best friend. It features endless videos of live music from super well-known artists like Dave Grohl and Ed Sheeran, to more indie musicians like We Are Twin. You...
I've been seriously MIA for a few months. Oops. I don't have a real excuse for why so let's just move on, shall we? If I were to give you an excuse, I suppose part of it would be because I began writing for a music magazine - Creative Control and so I've been busy reviewing albums and shows and bands (woo!) So I thought, why not share some of these with you?! Here's five undiscovered bands you should be listening to and why: The Deadline Shakes One of my favourite genres of music is folk. I think this is mostly because it's a genre that is usually pretty simplistic and pure, but can be either incredibly upbeat or really mellow. You can't always get both of those things in one genre. The Deadline Shakes aren't pure folk, but their combination of rock-pop/folk is brilliantly represented in their new album Zealots. Read more here... Skittish I love being surprised by a band. When each track on an album is its own unique adventure, that's wh...
I don't think I can consider myself even a wannabe blogger if I don't write a piece about the news that came out today. However, I'm going to keep this short because I think the whole story speaks for itself. The all powerful Kardashian Klan is no stranger to scandal and controversy. And though I don't consider the news about Bruce Jenner's new persona to be either of those things, much of the world does. Today, we met Caitlyn Jenner. She's the person that Bruce Jenner always was but has just recently revealed to the world. Caitlyn is the person that lots of people are hiding from their friends and family right now because she doesn't match what's on the outside. To say that the introduction of Caitlyn Jenner isn't somewhat bizarre and the most interesting thing on the internet recently is a blatant lie. Of course this type of transition is going to gather attention. But what's lovely is that we don't need to understand som...
Summer Shows in Halifax to get Excited About Summer time in the city is seriously awesome. There’s a plethora of patios to choose from, a ton of lovely beaches to hit up and an absurd amount of tourists to giggle at while walking downtown. Aside from that, though, there’s usually some pretty decent shows to catch in the summer. Whether an outdoor show at Alderney Landing is your jam or an intimate gig at the Rebecca Cohn, there’s a little something for everyone in Halifax this summer. Check out these 7 summer shows you should be excited about: Ben Caplan The bearded wonder that is Ben Caplan is a show every Haligonian should see. He’ll blow your mind with his raspy, folky voice and have you stomping your feet along with him in now time. Catch him at the Cunard Centre on May 8 th and the Rebecca Cohn on the 13 th . Counting Crows The Scotiabank Centre has recently been the venue of some big names like Bryan Adams and The Tragically Hip and this summer, it’ll be home...
Top 12 Bands Playing Festivals This Summer If you’re like me, your favourite time of year isn’t Christmas, Spring Break or your birthday – it’s festival season. Sunshine, music, flower crowns and crop tops – there is literally NOTHING bad about music festivals. Whether it’s the infamous Coachella or Canada’s love child, Osheaga, they all give you an insanely awesome experience and even better memories. As soon as the first lineup is released – the planning begins. Sometimes it can be tough to determine which bands are worthy of your attention (and your hard-earned dollars) and that’s what I’m here for! Here are the top 15 bands playing festivals this summer and where you can see them: 1. Alabama Shakes Genre: Blues rock Catch them at: Don’t worry if you missed them at Coachella, they’re also at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Squamish Why you should see them: female front-men are BADASS and this band are the epitome of music festival j...
The east coast has been continuously screwed by Mother Nature this winter. At first, we thought maybe she was going to go easy on us. We hardly experienced a sprinkle of snow from November-mid February. But then...she unleashed. Halifax has been hit with over 60cm of snow just in the last two days and the city is not handling it well. Also, we don't even know if Cape Breton is still there. We can't find it. It's buried under too much snow. If you live in Nova Scotia (or any of the other Maritime provinces, really) you know what it's like to be stuck inside for nearly 48 hours. You've probably also experienced these stages of going snow storm silly. Stage 1: Excitement At first, you're really excited to have the day off of work and to be able to lounge in your PJ's until 4pm. The idea of sitting on your couch and binge watching House of Cards or Orange is the New Black (for the second time) on Netflix sounds glorious. And it will be glorious, for a few...
Basic Bitch - a slang term in American popular culture used to pejoratively describe people who like popular, mainstream products or music. According to Wikipedia. I pride myself on not being incredibly basic. But I mean c'mon, we're all a little bit basic sometimes - like pass me a Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks and let me jam to Beyonce - amiright?! There's one day a year though that almost everyone lets their basic bitch flag fly and that day is almost upon us folks. It's nearly St. Patrick's day me friends! *say that with an Irish accent, ok?* In case you're not always basic and you're having trouble figuring out just how to handle this drunken celebration, I'm here to help. A Basic Bitch's Guide to St. Patrick's Day: 1. Buy the graphic Tee that every other girl between the ages of 19-28 will be wearing No one will know that you're celebrating St. Pats unless you have a shirt that says so. See below for information...
I've decided to make a big move. A big career move. One that I'm almost 100% positive will prove to be extremely beneficial to me. In order to make that move though, in order to move on to my exciting, new, better paying job, I had to quit my current job (one that I don't entirely hate). Now, I've never quit a job that wasn't a part-time gig that I used to fill a resume/for drinking money while in university or high school. Hell, I'm 24, I haven't had many real-people jobs yet. So needless to say, I was freakin' terrified. I finally did it though, and it was only about 86% as terrifying as I expected. So I've compiled a handy little list to help others out there get through this daunting task. Step 1: Nail down the facts - know when you'd like your last day at work to be and when your first day at your new job will be before you resign. You only want to have to have this conversation once, so you probably want to avoid a lot of I don...
I recently headed home to visit family and part of that family includes 2 nieces and a nephew. The girls are almost 10 and 8, the boy is 4. They're insanely cute and hilarious - sometimes they're even polite. But holy hell they can be weird. I know for the most part it's just their imaginations and lack of filter that makes them seem weird to me. Like when my nephew insisted on wearing Spiderman pajamas any time he left the house for like, a week and a half, all because he felt the coolest in those clothes. Watching my oldest niece tape pencils to a paper plate while my nehpew watched E.T. through the spaces in his fingers (E.T. can be creepy, I get it) and the middle kid repeatedly washed the same cup in the sink, I got to thinking. I was probably pretty weird too... So here are some of the weird things I either remember, or was informed I did at a painful family dinner. 1. Telling weird lies I've come to realize that kids lie. About really weird things. I wa...