...December Wrap Up

Okay yes, we get it. I'm THE WORST at posting here with any kind of regularity. BUT, I figure with Christmas coming up and this pretty f*cked up year being almost done, I might as well use this opportunity to share some of the things that have gotten me through this year. As per usual, there were definitely ups and downs of this whole year, but I definitely found a few things that were worth keeping around. SOOOO without further ado, here are some of my favourites from the year.

This year started out pretty strong tbh, but took a turn, as we all know when COVID hit. I think for a lot of people, the beginning of COVID was DEFINITELY a wake up call. I mean, COME ON, the different phases we had throughout COVID was absolutely hysterical. First, banana bread, then it was Chloe Ting's workout challenges (which kicked EVERYONE's asses let's be real), and then we had the different tiktok phases (I apologize to any older readers who have no idea what I'm talking about...maybe don't go looking into it. You might be appalled at some of the 14 year old's....how do I put this....dance skills.....).

Anyways, I have to say that the first thing that got me through the beginning of quarantine somewhat bearable was music. Yes, I know, I think every blog post I have includes my playlist, but as someone who LOVES music, I feel like you can never have enough suggestions. Before I jump into this, when I started writing this blog, I only had one album to talk about now I have two.

For most of you that know me, you know that I'm the BIGGEST Taylor Swift fan you'll probably ever meet. In July, she released an album called Folklore (I talked about it in this blog ). This album was exactly what I think everyone needed after the year that we had had. It was an album that she wrote completely in quarantine, and I think that says a lot about her as an artist.

But anyways, she announced she was releasing ANOTHER album. A sister album, this album is called: evermore. Let me tell you that I have had this album on repeat ALL THE TIME since its' release and am 100% listening to this album while I write this. It is EXACTLY what she described it to be. So for those of you who don't care, you can skip ahead, but for those who do care; hi, welcome to the show, here's my ranking right now for the evermore. First, I'd like to say that her writing has always been impeccable, but this album is really mature and exactly what everyone needs to listen to.

1. no body, no crime (ft. HAIM)

2. dorothea

3. 'tis the damn season

4. gold rush

5. willow

6. coney island (ft. The National)

7. tolerate it

8. champagne problems

9. closure

10. ivy

11. marjorie

12. evermore (ft. Bon Iver)

13. cowboy like me

14. long story short

15. happiness

Please don't come for me haha, but all the songs on this album are really close in their ranking. I found that my bottom songs are just going to grow on me more and more as time goes on that we have this album. I'm really excited to see what new easter eggs I pick up from the songs.

Taylor was not the only favourite artist of mine to come out with an album recently. Shawn Mendes also came out with his fourth studio album. The album is called Wonder and let's be real, it's a fat love letter to Camila Cabello, but it's f*cking adorable. The album is a really new, but also familiar sound for Shawn. The whole album flows really well, from one song to the next. I definitely have some favourite's but I figure it's only fair to rank them with how I feel about the songs right now. If any of you listen to his music, I would love to know what you guys thought of this album, because let me tell you that the first time I listened to this album, I definitely cried.

1. Teach Me How To Love

2. Dream

3. Look Up At The Stars

4. Song For No One

5. Higher

6. Monster (ft. Justin Bieber)

7. 24 Hours

8. 305

9. Call My Friends

10. Wonder

11. Intro

12. Always Been You

13. Piece Of You

14. Can't Imagine

As per usual, apart from some of the artists that I frequently have on repeat, there are definitely a long list of songs that have helped me through the fall and have made it MUCH more enjoyable. Below you can find my Spotify playlist for the fall. Yes, it has the whole folklore album on it, don't come for me hahahah.

Like the last blog post, if you click on the photo, it'll open Spotify and bring you to the playlist :) It's a long playlist, but it's every song that I've had on repeat all fall.

Within this playlist, I've discovered some new artists and new songs. I'd have to say that my favourite songs right now off that playlist are:

Get Over Yourself | By: Kelsea Ballerini

Under The Weight | By: Bobby Bazini

Holding Onto The Feeling | By: Bobby Bazini

Together People | By: Bobby Bazini

When I'm With You | By: Align & Martina Lynn

deja vu | By: Dalton Mauldin

New | By: Daya

WITHOUT YOU | By: The Kid LAROI

Hailey | By: WRENN

Okay, so yeah you get it, I'm a big music person. Now let's talk about some movies and tv shows. Let's be real, with us being in month 10 of COVID, I don't know about everyone else but I'm ALWAYS looking for a new series, or new movies to watch. Over the past few months of being home, I've been watching some really good movies and shows that you all need watch, like, now.

So Disney+ just released this movie and it was amazing. I'm a big Mackenzie Foy fan (Renesmee in Twilight) and to see her grown up and act with more than just two lines. The story is a really interesting perspective of a classic tale but with the secondary character being a female. It's definitely worth the watch if you grew up reading this book.

9/10

Going along with the Disney+ films, they also released their take on Zach Sobiech's story. He passed away in 2013 from osteosarcoma (a really deadly form of bone cancer). There aren't many movies that have made me cry in the past, and let me tell you, when I watched this late at night, I have never cried over a movie more than that night.

10/10

I mean I couldn't not add this to the list. This came out and I think I've watched it about 20 times. The way that she was able to talk about each song, and give us insight was exaaactly what her listeners wanted. Also, can we talk about the fact that Joe Alwyn is William Bowery?!?!!?!?!

10/10

I think we all can say that this coming onto Disney+ is one of the greatest things to have ever happened. I have been listening to this soundtrack allllll the time and everywhere. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a writing GENIUS. Long story short - watch this.

10/10

This movie was another one that I've watched now about 5 times. The chemistry that Troian and Patrick J. Adams have is outstanding (they are married to be fair), but they are both very talented actors. The movie is about space, and finding a planet, which is something I know very little about, but it is still worth the watch. It was filmed in Toronto, so it was pretty cool to see some familiar spots.

9/10

This movie will make you cry. This is another movie that has managed to make me cry a lot. I haven't seen Cara Delevingne in anything to date, but she was outstanding in this movie. Jaden Smith is also, like, a real grown up in this movie.

8/10

So, I know Joey King from The Kissing Booth and Ramona and Beezus. To see her in a thriller is REALLY cool. This movie is a little messy and REALLY f*cked up. BUT nonetheless it's a good movie. Joey King is the only actor I recognized in this movie but I would definitely recommend it.

7/10

This movie was HIGHLY anticipated on my list of movies that were coming out in 2020, and I was only slightly disappointed. I think a lot of the audience that read the book version were disappointed. I can see why, but its DEFINITELY steamy. For a movie series that went from PG to R, it definitely increased in explicit material.

7/10

The only TV show on this month's post. But LET ME TELL YOU, this show made me miss Paris so much. For those of you who don't know, I lived there for a month on exchange a couple summers ago and have been a few other times, and I LOVE that country. This show is hilarious and toooootally worth watching.

10/10

I wanted to add a new segment to this blog that shows a few new kinds of coffee that I've been enjoying recently. I think this might appeal to another audience, and I always have people asking me what kinda coffee I've been drinking. No, none of these are dark roasts (that doesn't exist in my world), they're all a medium roast. But DEFINITELY worth trying. For all of you who don't believe in medium roast because you think it's "too weak", you're not brewing it right. You can click on any of the photos, and it'll bring you to the website that you can order the coffee from!

This holiday blend from pilot is probably one of my favourite's. Its' tasting notes are: baker's chocolate, candied orange peel, and a creamy body. The baker's chocolate comes through instantly. This coffee is really good for those of you who are looking for something a little bit more adventurous than your typical mundane coffee tasting notes. This coffee is really good if you're looking to expand your coffee palette.

This pilot coffee is also a recent favourite of mine. Its' tasting notes are: fig, roasted hazelnut and round. The fig really came through in the espresso that I had. It's a more adventurous coffee if you haven't gone beyond the typical chocolatey, nutty tasting notes. It's definitely worth a try.

49th Parallel is a Vancouver based company and their coffee is really good if you're looking for something slightly out of your comfort zone, but still maintaining a strong bodied flavour. This holiday blend has tasting notes of: berries, root beer and syrup. This sounds unappetizing but I PROMISE it is worth it. The balance of the berries flavour and root beer are a combination that you wouldn't otherwise pair together, but with the balance of the syrup tasting note it makes for perfection.

This company is one that my work only gets once a year. This year I was able to try it and holy shit. It's AMAZING. If you can get your hands on some of this stuff, you won't regret it. It's roasted by a company in Berlin (Germany) and although slightly pricier, it is worth every dollar you'll spend on it. If you don't want to order it directly from the site, for those of you in Ottawa, you can stop by the: Wellington, Elgin or Beechwood Ministry of Coffee locations to buy a bag. There's a limited amount so make sure you stop by soon!

The Himalaya Bourbon coffee tastes like bourbon. I know this sounds bizarre, but it's SO GOOD. Definitely worth a try. It has more simplistic tasting notes (chocolate, and cacao nibs), but also has a very distinctive bourbon taste to it. The Christmas coffee on the other hand, has tasting notes of: blueberry, cookie dough and honey. This coffee is perfect for the holidays.

If you take anything away from this post. It should be to BUY THESE BEANS.

Alright, well that's all I've got for you now. I hope everyone has a SAFE Christmas (for those of you in Ontario, PLEASE follow our lockdown restrictions), and a really good New Year's eve/day. I know this one might not be as festive as every other year, but take time to spend with family, or on zoom with your friends (let's be real, zoom has been everyone's best friend recently).

Lot's of love,

-K