Weekend Away + The Works for Dinner!

So awhile back I went for a little weekend away which included some roses, selfies with my dog, dinner and a facial (which I couldn't take pictures of for obvious reasons..) followed by The Works (one of my fav restaurants) for dinner with my family once I returned home :)

Couldn't resist taking pictures of this gorgeous rose; it was like a sunrise!

Selfies with my puppy hehe

My dog was cold, so I wrapped her in my blanket.. I don't think she was very impressed

Can't remember what this cocktail was, but boy was it delicious!

Amuse Bouche - Beet with Goat Cheese and a Beet Chip

Starter - Caprese salad with blond frise and basil ice cream

Sorbet - Buttermilk

Pasta with Rose Sauce, Vegetables and Cheese

Dinner Cocktail - Something chocolatey and delicious!

Mum & I split the two desserts.. First up sorbets 

Second - something chocolatey with a lemon chamomile sorbet

After dinner view

Dinner selfies, can't resist

Winter.. Brrrrr

This place is so beautiful! 

Daytime view 

Tea & Gluten Free toast with raspberry jam

Winter Winter Winter

Obsessed

Very Casual OOTD; Michael Kors Black Hamilton Bag Silver Hardware, Old Navy Plaid Shirt, Random Leggings, Steve Madden Combat Boots

Strawberry Daiquiri MMMM

We all split Fried Pickles.. My weakness!

The Grand Finale.. My burger! SOOOO good. Strange combos work!

xLB

Summer Goals

I've been awful with blogging lately, and I'm really sorry about that. Between working full-time and trying to catch up with old friends who I'm now around to see, it's quite difficult to find time to sit at a computer and write away! But I'm hoping for that to change. With that, I present to you some summer goals!

1. Run More: I've been trying to get back into running again, but it's hard to find time. So my goal for myself is to run at least 5k at least once a week, and hopefully to develop that into even more. I'm having trouble getting the stamina to run and can't run 5k straight, so that is ultimately my goal. However the first step is getting out running!
2. Get Back to my Skincare Regime: Lately with working early in the morning and passing out when I get home, or working late and passing out when I get home I've been slacking on my skincare regime. I just never have the energy to do it when I get home from work, so a goal for me is to get back into and find the time!
3. Drink More Water: I've always had a rule where I could only have 1 glass of something other than water or tea everyday. With being at work all day in range of juices and pops and other fab drinks I've had a hard time sticking to that, so a goal is to get back into that as well.
4. Save More Money: Being back at home, a main goal is to save money. However that isn't going too well.. but mainly because I've maxed my Visa a few times and had to pay that off along with paying off student loans, but now that those are on track it's time to save!
5. Post More Food Journal Posts: The thing I love most about this goal is that if I'm posting these posts it encourages me to eat healthier since it would be a little embarrassing for me to post fat-filled caloric nightmares instead of healthy, tasty treats! My goal for this is to start doing Food Diary posts once a week!
6. Post More OOTDs: Fashion is one of my passions, especially having gone to school for it, so I love styling so a great outfit makes me feel so wonderful and accomplished. However, unfortunately the only clothes I'm seem to be wearing are my work uniform and sweatpants.. not very glamorous, but I'm hoping to change that! 
7. Blog More: In general, just to start blogging more! I've gotten off track and have been posting in a month what I would post in a week, and for that I apologize, but here's to hoping I get back to posting!

Okay sooo those are a few of my goals to work on! Do you have any? If so, what are they? Let me know :~)

Since my blogging is a little all over the place lately, follow me on my other social media handles to keep in touch until the blogging regulates!

twitter - instagram - tumblr - pinterest - bloglovin - ipsy

keek/vine/snapchat: lbechkos17

xLB

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred: Level 1

Since it is officially March (YAY, winter is almost finished!!) I've decided it's time to buckle up and shed the horrid inevitable winter weight, and prepare for a summer beach bod!

(image - weheartit)

I've heard plenty on the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred video, so I figured I would give it a shot. The video is divided into 3 Levels, the breakdown is essentially 10 days for each level. So I figured instead of daily updates, I would update by level. Another huge reason I'm going to blog through this is I feel it will give me more motivation to complete the program. I've also included a youtube link to the video below if you're interested in following along with me, or saving it for a rainy day! So onto the workout!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

• Appropriate workout wear
• A yoga mat, or a comfortable surface (you will be doing floor work)
• A set of weights - if you're ghetto like me, feel free to use water bottles or other household items

LEVEL ONE

Day 1

• Initially, I quite liked how she also had someone there doing modified beginner versions of the moves, the options were great to have. 
• The warm-up portion of the video was very easy to keep up with and to do, I quite enjoyed this segment as I love a good warmup - really sets the tone!
• I've always done modified push-ups so I decided to go all out and it was a bit challenging as I was trying to work on form, but definitely something I'll be adjusted to.
• When I first heard about the video and that it was Jillian Michaels I was instantly worried, but for me personally, I found that it was very easy to keep up with and this level is definitely not too much of a challenge for me.
• Towards the end, the ab work got a bit difficult for me, but other than that all was well for my first day.
• That being said, I feel as though my thoughts on level one won't change much since it isn't much of a challenge for me on day one.. so I'm just going to post this level from a one day perspective since I don't think there will be much more to add. Anything changes, and I'll keep you lot posted!

Now I'm off to go clean up and drink some water! Let me know if you've done or are interested in doing this video, I'd love to know your thoughts! Happy health endeavours!

P.S. I found it very difficult to find fitspo images.. anyone have any ideas or know of any blogs where I could find some? 

xLB


* bit of a disclaimer here, this is for fitspo purposes, not thinspo purposes, I'm sure you all have rockin' bods, and personally I'm using this to tone up, not necessarily to "shred" weight off. Make sure it's all healthy fun :~)

#BellLetsTalk

Today, 12 February, Bell Mobility (A Canadian service provider) is holding their third annual Mental Health Awareness day. What's so great about this is that for every tweet (on twitter) hashtagged with "#BellLetsTalk" they donate 5c (which converts to ~3p for you brits) to Mental Health Programs! 

In the past they have raised MILLIONS with the initiative.

As you may or may not know, this is a cause I hold very dear to my heart, so to me this is absolutely incredible. There has been an overwhelming response so far, and halfway through the day we are at 1.5M which is incredible in itself! BUT how about we raise even MORE!?

For the next 10 hours hashtag ANYTHING you tweet on twitter with #BellLetsTalk so we can get the word out and raise awareness for mental health, while also raising money for such an incredible initiative! 

I also did some Q&A with CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) so hopefully you can check that out too! In the meantime check a blog post we did here.

Thank you in advance, and I really hope some of you are able to take some time out of your day to support an issue you, or someone you know, has gone through.

xLB

twitter: @bell_letstalk
my twitter: @lbechkos17
some of my mental health story here

DIY: Depotting/ Reusing Candles

As you may or may not know, I'm super into decorating/organizing my room, as well as DIY stuff! Something I've been loving to do lately is reusing the pots from used up candles. I tend to buy my candles from the same place, Bath & Body Works or Yankee Candle, so they always end being the same glass containers. Personally, I love the consistency, but obviously you can use multiple shapes and sizes! These are such a great way to organize beauty and hair things I've found, and it's a great way to use up the adorable jars which accounts for majority of the cost when you buy candles.

1. The first step is obviously to burn the candle as far down as possible

2. Once your candle can't burn down any longer (or you're impatient!) Pop it in the freezer. Now personally I don't think there is any given time, I've done it from anywhere from an hour to a day and I've still found the same results, so it's all up to what you've got on the go - I'd recommend at least an hour though!

3. After taking it out of the freezer you'll likely notice a few cracks. The more cracks in one area you see the easier it will be.

4. The next step is to grab a household knife (any kind, except a butter knife), and pry a little more at the already existing cracks. Since the wax is hard, once you get the cracks deep enough the pieces will start popping off.

5. Keep doing this for as much of it as you can - some of them get really tricky as you get close to the (glued in) wick, so if you have some left, no worries!

6. Next, boil some water and fill up the candle jar completely. This also helps to clean up the edges. Once it's full, you'll start to notice some of the wax surfacing which will look a lot like oil in water.

7. After having the water sit in for awhile, dump it out and then the glued in wick with the surrounding wax should just pop out with a little force from the knife. After that, clean up the candle jar to your satisfaction just using warm water and soap.

8. After your jar is all cleaned up, you're good to go and ready for cute organization! I like to leave the labels on - I think it gives them a nice touch, but the choice is yours! In terms of storage, I like to keep things like hair bands, hair grips, cosmetic rounds, cotton swabs, elastic bands and in my larger ones I keep some beauty tools and brushes.

I know there is a lot of information regarding how to do these, but I've found this is just what works best for me! If you have any other tips or tricks comment below! x

xLB

❤ 25 Things I Love..

It's all about the little things.. :~)

1. ❤ Poptarts
2. ❤ Cats
3. ❤ Floral Print
4. ❤ Stationary/Notebooks
5. ❤ Pyjamas
6. ❤ Candles
7. ❤ My iPhone
8. ❤ Peonies
9. ❤ Smiles
10. ❤ The internet
11. ❤ Pizza
12. ❤ Reading
13. ❤ Instagram
14. ❤ Baths
15. ❤ Makeup
16. ❤ Netflix
17. ❤ Hot Chocolate
18. ❤ Baking
19. ❤ Nail Polish
20. ❤ Big Jumpers
21. ❤ Pastel Colours
22. ❤ Tea
23. ❤ Disney films
24. ❤ Shopping
25. ❤ Warm Weather

xLB

Music Monday

Happy Monday! This is a compilation of a lot of the music I've been listening to a lot recently.. some of them are a bit all over the place, I don't think I can pinpoint specific genres I like, I actually listen to almost every genre (how cliché!)

Also, the first one just so happens to be by one of my super talented friends who has just released her EP on iTunes which is super thrilling! She's trying to break into the music industry and needs 500 likes on her new Facebook page before she can release her music video, so if you have three seconds and wouldn't mind, her page is here and I would love you forever if you could give it a like!

Now onto the tunes! Links below x

1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7

xLB

The End of a Legacy.. "New York, I Love You XOXO"

Tonight marked the very sad, but true ending of a legacy. The series finale of Gossip Girl. *tear*

Gossip Girl has been with me for years on end. The books started in 2002 and continued on end until 2011. And when the show started in 2007 I have religiously watched it until it's end, tonight. That being said, it's been a huge part of my life for the past 10 years. 10. Years. That's an entire decade! That's half of my life-time! Thus, a huge part of my life. There were legitimate tears down my face watching this episode, knowing it is the end, and their are also tears as I'm writing this. EMOTIONS!

For those of you unfamiliar, Gossip Girl centres around a group of high school (then college.. then post-college) students from Manhattans Upper-East side in New York City. The series chronicles their lives, romances and scandals for years. Somehow I could never seem to put down the books or pause the episodes, the plots were that enticing.

* warning: spoilers may incur from here on, so if you've yet to see episode 6x10 and don't want any spoilers s t o p right now
** a heads up, the main storyline I'm concerned about is Chuck/Blair, and the ending of the series. So if you're looking for some 'Dair' loving, or a review on how fabulous Serena is, this might bore you.

So, last week's episode ended up with poor (sarcasm) Bart Bass hanging off a New York building, dangling for his life with 'to be continued..' scrolling across the screen. Onto the continuation..

The episode starts with the aftermath of Bart falling from the top of the building. Chuck and Blair leaving the scene in a frenzy while cops arrive to the building after a call on a body. Then cuts to Serena taking off for Los Angeles with Dan's 'Serena' chapter in hand. Then cue to Nate and Sage looking into Gossip Girl, followed by Lily getting the ultimate phone call.. Chuck and Blair then work on sneaking away from the scene. Then, we see the return of our first guest star, Jack Bass! 

The prospect of Blair and Chuck getting married in order for her not to have to testify the death case is decided upon.. with that CHUCK PROPOSES! (by this point some very inhumane noises are coming from my mouth..) Even though they have to get married it's still super romantic and they would obviously get married at some point, so I'm BEYOND happy! 

Then it cuts to Serena and Dan talking.. which then led me to believe Dan was Gossip Girl. Then Dan reminisces on his earliest memories of Serena.

Then cue Blair and Chuck in the courthouse.. GETTING MARRIED TADAAAA. They get the marriage licence and since Chuck isn't willing to compromise Blair's dream wedding off they go to retrieve friends/family. Then, everyone gathers at the Met, Blair walks out in a GORGEOUS Elie Saab gown and on we are! The most beautiful wedding of the century..until the police come thanks to a tip off from some 2 star peasants who called the police after a sight of Chuck. 

Somehow, despite being pulled together in only hours, this was the most beautiful, perfect wedding and I couldn't be happier. Forever a 'Chair' shipper. My feels are in overdrive! 

THEN ALAS GOSSIP GIRL IS REVEALED.. none other than lonely boy himself, Dan Humphrey! Which I'm surprised, yet not surprised at one bit! I was right! Muhahahah! Then our loves Chuck and Blair Bass (eek!) return to the Waldorf residence for a reception, as a innocent man and wife! BEAUTIFUL! 

"It's all over now, we can all grow up and move on.." - Blair says upon the revelation of Gossip Girl (that sounds weird now that we know it's a boy.. lol) which I thought was such a suiting, powerful quote. It really put their high school lives behind them, and finally they were able to get on with their lives! 

Next, a look forward. Nate hopping off the spectator plane with allegations that he is running for mayor. Next, we see Chuck and Blair with a child, Henry Bass. AW. I'm melting, are you? Then, a quick Eric and Jenny cameo as everyone gathers for *drumroll* another wedding! This time of none other than lonely boy and S herself! A Dan/Serena wedding!! At the wedding we also see Rufus with another woman, and Lily back with William.

We don't actually see this in the episode, however here is Serena's wedding dress.. not sure how I feel.

And we end with 'Gossip Girl', "there will always be someone on the outside wanting to get in" with that.. XOXO

xLB

Random Little Things

Hi beauty bunnies!

Sorry I've been a tad MIA lately, but it's been finals week YIKES. Needless to say, between cram sessions and work I haven't had much time for my best friend, the internet. That changes today! Tomorrow I don't have work OR an exam, so I have a free day! YIPEE! So I figured I'd do this tag.

You are to post 10 random things about yourself! GO!

1. I put peanut butter on absolutely EVERYTHING possible
2. I can't go without curling my eyelashes.. even if I'm not putting on makeup
3. I eat pizza from the crust down
4. I can wiggle my ears
5. I'm currently in school studying fashion (business)
6. I eat burgers in circles
7. I love to read
8. I currently live in southern ontario, but I'm of Greek and British ancestry 
9. My favourite music to twerk to is Beyonce
10. I currently have a massive list of things to purchase in my phone because I'm constantly adding things after hearing great reviews from beauty bloggers!

okay, that was a tad interesting! Quite fun. I'm sure you learned some interestingly random things about me! 

I tag anyone and everyone to do this, I'm thrilled to learn some unique things about you lot xx

xLB

Depression..

I have a tendency to write deeper, more detailed posts late at night. Albeit relatable, this is a very personal post, so if you're not into personal you might as well stop reading now (it's okay, I'll forgive you). Here goes..

Depression is a growing pandemic in young adults which doesn't receive enough attention. 1/5 women can expect to develop clinical depression at some point in their lives, and 1/7 men. A Canadian statistic found was that 6.5% (>1/4 million) of youth/young adults in Canada met the criteria for major depression within the past year.

Depression is defined as

1. Severe despondency and dejection, accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy
2. A condition of mental disturbance, typically with lack of energy and difficulty in maintaining concentration or interest in life

I found this alarmingly accurate to how I constantly feel when I get these feelings.

I, myself, have suffered from depression for the past 5 years. And honestly, it's one of the hardest yet more rewarding things I have ever been through in my life. There are days where I feel so much pain and where I feel so worthless and just don't want to do anything at all. It sets me into a state of being numb. However, it has taught me how to cope and who is really present in my life. For me, I'm not always in a per say 'depressed' state. I'd say it's turned more into extreme mood swings, but not spontaneous mood swings. For the longest time I had no idea what was wrong with me, but the worst feelings would overcome me and it was just absolutely unbearable. I just wanted someone to tell me everything would be okay and for all of those feeling to just vanish. But for the life of me I couldn't talk to anyone, and just pushed people away.

I first started gets bits of it around 7 years ago when a very close relative passed away. It wasn't depression, but it was definitely buildup towards it. 2 years went by and I was still the same, I just had bits of sadness, but nothing extreme. Then 5 years ago when I was in high school it seems now as if it all just hit me at once. I want to throw out a little disclaimer; I didn't have a bad high school experience. I wasn't bullied, I didn't go to a school where there was a significant amount of it and I had a good life. Now you might be thinking I'm some pretentious drama queen. And that's somewhat okay I guess since it's your opinion, but hear me out at least. I promise I'm not. When I was in 10th grade it really just hit me all at once almost. I came to realization that there wasn't anything I was good at, or passionate about, I didn't really have friends and I couldn't get male attention for the life of me. These feelings all kind of snowballed at me as I continued through high school. In 11th and 12th grade I hit my all time low. It started not even being about the same reasons, I just always had this cloud over me. It affected everything I did those two years. I began doing poorly in school and not putting anything into my relationships with family and friends. This caused me to lose a lot of friends, but also realize who my real friends are. I felt so alone, which was the worst part of it all. Once I got out of high school and into post-secondary things started to get a lot better. I wouldn't say I had this epiphany where everything became better, but my head just clouded less and I realized that I was given life for a reason, and that I need to try to make the best of it. Don't get me wrong, I still have my moments. That's why I'd say it's now a mood swing type thing. I don't have the same cloud over me, but depression isn't something that completely leaves you. Sometimes I'll just inexplicably get in an awful mood. There won't be a reason or a trigger for it at all sometimes, it just happens. But I'm getting used to it, and I've really learned to cope.

Which brings me to my next point; coping with depression. For me, once I get into these states the first thing I need to do is get myself out of the situation. If I'm with people, I need to get out and be alone. The next thing I need to do is be in complete darkness and silence. If it's light or loud it often get trigger a panic attack for me, along with many other things depression has also caused me to develop terrible anxiety, especially socially. One of the best things for me is to take a nap and drink lots of water, I almost treat it like I would a migraine, which kind of makes sense.. Then once I feel slightly refreshed I vent about whatever it is I'm feeling, and if anything caused it what caused it. However one of my biggest things is I can't talk to people about these things. I always feel like I'm burdening them. So things I do are: 1. Write a letter 2. Write a post on my private tumblr 3. Write into the thoughts room (see this blog post) I've learned it's not healthy to keep things built up inside, so since I can't talk to people I try to find other mechanisms to cope.

By no means will these feelings go away over night, but the only things you can do is hope for them to go away, and try to make a life worth living for yourself. For me, it's the prospect of the future that gets me going. I constantly set goals for myself and map out accomplishments I'd like to achieve. By having something I really want there to look forward to it gives me so much more hope and motivation.

Another thing I really try to do is treat others the way I'd like to be treated. Even though it's not what I'm thinking/feeling I'm always smiling and giving compliments. Not because I'm being fake or any of that, but more so as wishful thinking. Maybe one day it will become how I feel, or maybe someone else is having an awful time and that smile could completely turn it around, you never know. If you continue smiling, and try to find more reasons to smile as time progresses it will become more genuine and real to you. You just have to keep at it and keep pulling through. Find things that make you happy and stick with those. If there is any negativity in your life, get it as far away from you as possible.

All in all, focus on the positives, not the negatives. There are always going to be negative factors in your life and I'm trying to tell you sadness will go away forever. But you were given life for a reason, so try the best you can to cherish it and make the most of it. Someone out there is so jealous that you're alive and well.

And finally, if you ever need anyone to talk to I'll always be here to listen. Don't ever hesitate to message me by any means of your choosing. I'll always be here because I know what it feels like to feel completely alone. I love you xx

xLB