My Ideal Outfit for a Night Out with the Gals

Night Out with the Gals by aineoneill featuring platform booties

Fever vintage black dress
$165 - frockaholics.com

Blazer
topshop.com

Prada platform booties
prada.com

Yves Saint Laurent chain jewelry
ssense.com

Basic Grey 12X12 Paper Soleil Collection Lavender Lemonade
franticstamper.com

I Love You This Much - Modern Original Love Art Print - Pink Blush Red...
etsy.com

University Fair!

Last Saturday, I attended a University Fair with my dad and brother in Toronto. Yes, I was nervous but also so fricken excited at the same time. I would have to say that it was such a great experience and I would recommend for every grade 12, 11 or even grade 10 and 9 students to attend. It's such a great way to learn more about what universities are best for what you want to go into career wise, and what other universities are out there.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect which made me nervous. Thankfully my oh-so-brilliant father helped me out for what questions to ask the volunteers, but overall, it was very informative.

Heres some advice about upcoming University/College events: GO TO THEM! I would absolutely, positively go to least one or two of them to get a sense of what to expect at all the schools you want to attend. Go to your guidance office to find out about all the upcoming university/college fairs and university/college open houses. It's well worth it. They have lots of information about scholarships, housing, courses, careers and they are all very friendly.

If you're like me and had no clue what to ask, let alone what schools to ask, the internet is your best friend. Research is key. Just like me, I had no clue what sort of courses I wanted to go into.

This is what I did to figure out what a rough idea of what career would be best for me: 

-Figure out your interests; What do you like doing? Hobbies? Do you enjoy art? Are you do well in maths? Are you athletic? These are the sort of questions to start asking your self in order to figure out what sort of field you want to get into. It's best to go into a career that you ENJOY doing. Don't force yourself to do something because your parents want you to do it (unless it's a career you know you will enjoy) or what your friends think will work best for you. It will help you in the long-run. Trust me.

-Research what kind of careers that include your interets that you would enjoy doing; Now, after thoughtful thinking of your interests/hobbies, it's time to find out how to incorporate these passions into a career. Search using Google (or another search engine that you prefer) careers or courses that include your hobbies. Also, make an appointment at the guidance office to talk to one of your guidance councilor about your future. Ask them about what kind of careers that would suit your personality, interests and the courses you have taken over the past 4 years in high school. If you have a slight idea about what career you want to go into, I would also go to the library to go more in depth about the career. The internet is a quick way to find information, but nothing beats informations like at a good book from a library. Plus, the internet today has so much false information that it's hard to see what's real and what's not. This is probably one of the most pain-staking processes and will take the longest out of these 5 steps, but it's the most important step. For me, I LOVE art and I also feel that maths is one of my strongest subjects. I found out that architecture or industrial design sound like great careers for what I enjoy doing. Not everyone will find exact careers for ALL the things they like doing, but you will eventually find something that satisfies you to a point.

-Then start researching universities that have courses or programs that attend to your interest needs; At this time, you will have to start researching Universities that you would like to go to. I researched the Universities that were rated the highest for my career goal in order to see the highest requirements needed to get accepted. Then I found so many other Universities with other great offers as well. I then started to build up a list of questions that I would bring to the fair to as each of the University representatives. REMEMBER TO SEE THE LOCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY! Residence is another thing to keep in mind because if it's away from home, then you will have to live on or off campus with other students or by yourself. You have to be comfortable with where you live.

-Go to a University Fair; Now go out there and ask many questions! I do advise going to multiple fairs just in case you do have followup questions, or you forgot to ask an important question. It will be hectic and a little nerve-racking to go up there and bombard them with questions, so I guarantee that you will forget to ask a few. I feel that going to one of these fair is better then email the university itself or just by looking off their website because you get to speak to a real person face-to-face who knows the University first hand.

-Go to an open house; This is just another add on that might give you a sense of the atmosphere located in and around the University. If the learning environment isn't working for you, then the University might not be that great of a choice because remember that you will be learning there for how-many years for your course. You have to be comfortable with your learning environment. You can also check out the campuses, residence and ask more questions about University life to the representatives on tour. This is another great way to learn more about what career you want to go into, and gives you a sense of  University life.

But remember, don't be nervous (like me) because you have nothing to be afraid of. No one is going to jump out at you or anything, or scare you away from the booths. You don't even have to impress anyone there at this point in time, especially at University Fairs. At these kind of events, they are trying to impress YOU to come to THEIR University. Not the other way around. That comes later when you apply for these schools. Their trying to draw you into their University with all the great success they've had in the past and with the great courses they have. For now, you're just trying to see what's out there, and what school is best for your educational needs.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you can always change career paths down the road if you change your mind. Everyone will always have second thoughts about their current decisions, which is normal. It's because you feel as though you must go through with your initial goal all the way through until the end of university and live your life through that same career until you die. But that's not always the case. Many people go trough various careers or variations of their initial careers in order to find a job that they enjoy doing. It's a process that everyone goes though and you can always ask for help on the way. Asking LOTS of questions will help you understand what career is best to your likings.

Well, I hope my advice helped. University seems so exciting, but it's the process getting there into the program is what's the hardest and strenuous at the moment.

Excitingly, I'm going to an open house in Ottawa tomorrow! It's going to be a 5 hour drive, but my  parents are willing to help me find out what University would be best for me :)

Thankyou and good luck :)

-Aine Lasagna

xx.

OOTN

My first outfit of the night! Okay, so, last night I went out with a few friends to Alice Fazooli's to celebrate my friends 17th birthday. It wasn't suppose to be dressy, but my friend and I decided to dress up a bit. Just cause we love dressing up. :)


For my dress, its a beautiful vintage dress from England. I really don't remember the price, but lets just say it's a designer dress and it wasn't cheap. It's a deep blue with a white floral pattern with leaves. I really think that this dress is classy and has a older appearance to it do to the high neckline and sleeves. It's what makes me adore wearing it. It also has slight padding on the shoulders which makes me love it even more! SHOULDER PADS! ahah.

The dress is flowy, and has a tie to cinch in the waist, but i put a belt on top because I thought it was more my style. It's one of those dresses that aren't tight so it just slips over top of you. Even though it ties up in the back, it isn't that tight either and makes your waist look so tiny! It's unbelievable! I want to make a dress like this one day. I will. Eventually ;)

I also wore sheer black tights to have a more modern feel to my outfit. And because I love wearing tights :).

For shoes, I wore my black suede 6 inchers I bought from StyleSense 2 years ago. They are surprisingly comfy to wear and easy to walk in. I consider them my party shoes! I just love wearing them unexpectedly to places. But honestly, I don't like wearing them when I know there are a lot of people around, like in large public areas. I feel very self-conscience about it and makes me feel a little uncomfortable feeling so tall. I know, it's a bit weird, but that's just me. I wear them only around my closest friends.

I wore my nearly-everyday birdy necklace from H&M and gold cross earrings from FOREVER 21. Nothing special because I didn't want to take away from the dress.

 

My hair was parted in the middle, like usual, and curled loosely for some loose waves. The top part of my crown was also clipped back with a clear hair clip. Nothing special again. Just wanted to create something that was soft and natural.

And VOILA! My outfit of the night! I had a lot of fun last night, and great food to eat! I was stuffed.

Thankyou and good day!

-Aine Lasanga

xx.

Concert Outfit

Finally, so, this is my outfit I wore to the City and Colour Concert last Wednesday. It's quite plain, but I know I was going to be jumping around quite a bit so I kept the outfit on the comfy level.

The outfit consisted of a soft-pink sleeveless top I bought from H&M for about $20 two years ago, black jeggings from AMERICAN EAGLE for about $50 (a bit pricey, but very well made), and a electric blue cardigan from ZARA I bought a few weeks ago for $30. All-in-all, it was a very practical outfit to wear for a concert, comfort and style wise.

For jewelry, I wore golden cross earrings from FOREVER 21 for only a few dollars and my everyday birdy necklace from H&M for about $7. For shoes, I just wore my grey low-top converse. Very minimal and yes, quite a boring outfit, but i was very comfy.

I kept my hair down, mostly because I just got it cut the night before and wanted to show it off ;). It was very soft and flowy, and I was feeling it all night (hehe). Well, I also kept my makeup minimal, like I do everyday. Like I said before, it was such a great concert! 

CITY AND COLOUR! Hey, it's Dallas Green!

-Aine Lasagna

xx.

My Hair

Eww hair

So recently I did get my hair cut. My hair is naturally stick straight and has no volume what-so-ever. It was so drabby and rugged that I NEEDED a cut. I did dye the ends of my hair back in April for that "ombre" affect, and I really do like it because it creates some drama to my oh-so boring hair.
Before I got it cut, my hair was so long it touched my belly-button when I put my hair down my front, which it about an inch and a bit above my tailbone down my back.  I decided to get about 2 inches off. I was a little sceptical, but it needed to be done.

I asked my hairdresser to keep my hair in a middle part with some shorter pieces in front from my pre-existing fringe because I felt that it frames my face quite well. Now my hair is an inch or so below my "boob-ige" area. I honestly don't even notice that it was cut, until I let my hair down front. But, it does feel good to get that extra weight off my head. My ombre did stay in tact and it looks as though it's lighter on the ends now then before in real life (the pictures aren't doing any justice to my point). But I didn't re-dye it, so I don't really know what's going on there.

My hair after cut

My hair length before cut

I really do LOVE my hair now and it suits my face a lot better then before. It's also a lot softer and I guess i could say that it's more my style now too.

Anyways TTNF!

-Aine Lasanga

xx.

City and Colour 2012

My friend and I waiting for Dallas!

In a previous post, I said I was going to the City and Colour concert on September 12 at the Molson Ampatheatre. Well... it was such a great concert! Dallas Green is a beautiful man inside and out. He really does care about his fans and stays true to his music. He reminds me of a kid with big dreams who's trying to get the best of life with his love of music. Oh wait, that's exactly what he is! He really created music to his liking, hoping that there would be other people who enjoy it as well. Dallas honestly sounds great live and I would totally recommend that everyone to go to one of his concerts just to hear his passion for his music. It was such an incredible experience, I couldn't contain myself throughout the whole concert.

Anyways, my best friend and I got there 2 hours too early, which surprisingly wasn't that boring. We watched all the different people come into the ampatheatre, took pictures and talkled about how exciting this experience was. We also bought some chicken strips to eat ;)

My dinner and belongings

I was so glad to have a seat this time round instead of being on the lawn, like at the One Direction concert in May, because first of all, we were closer to the stage and could see more, and secondly, we could put our bags down in front of us without worrying about stepping on them. I really loved where we sat, even though it wasn't that close to the stage :) But it was close enough to make out what was going on!

The opening acts started at 6:15pm. There was bands such as The Grey Kingdom, whom were personally picked to open for City and Colour by Dallas himself, and The Avett Brothers. They both had such great music and I had such a great experience listening to other bands! I really need to check out their music later because I thought they were so good live! So much energy and dedication in their performance! Hopefully their albums will have that same dedication in them.

I totally flipped out when they finally came on like 2 hours later! They played my all time favourite City and Colour song first called Casey's Song! I was freaking a bit. Well, maybe just more than a bit. I was freaking a lot! I truly love that song with a passion and it was a great start to such a wonderful concert.

This band truly has so much talent, and are very genuine to what they like and believe in with their taste in music. Honestly, I thought it was so cute how Dallas dedicated all of his songs to something in his life, such as his parents, or his uncle who gave him his first guitar, or just past experiences that created great impacts in his life. Unlike artists that make up songs about fantasy parties, or getting drunk on friday nights that consist of clique, meaningless lyrics, they created music that has a back story and genuine emotion behind the lyrics. Not trying to disrespect other artists, but the kind of artist such as City and Colour and Dallas Green really have a special place on my respect scale for what they do and what they've accomplished with their passion for music. It's sort of hard to explain the respect I have for them because this fan base is so different from other fan bases, such as from the One Direction fans. The fans are so much different then those of 1D, and I'm so happy for it. Not to mention that I am so so soooo glad that the fans didn't scream throughout the whole concert (unlike the 1D concert). Instead, we sat back and enjoyed the music like how we're suppose to at a concert. Listen to the music live, and see your favourite artists perform their hearts out with what they enjoy doing the most. Music is artistic, creative, and imaginative. Full of emotion, dedication and respect of one's self. It's an masterpiece.

Dallas Green and City and Colour near the end of the night :)

One thing I did regret was not staying right to the end of the encore. They played 2 or 3 encore songs and my friend and I left at the end of the first one to miss the mad rush out for the train. We did see him play Comin' Home though! Great song! Another one of my favourites. But, we just made it on time for the train and got home just before midnight. I don't think I could have asked for a better way to start off my first week of grade 12!

City and Colour concert T-shirt!
It's so awesome looking!

-Aine Lasagna

xx.

P.S. I will be posting a Concert Outfit post soon to show my "stylish" outfit I wore to see City and Colour ;) aha! TTFN

City and Colour

I'm ecstatic for next Wednesday! Why? Because I'm going to see City and Colour in concert! My best friend and I bought C&C tickets back in April/May, and we've been waiting for September 12 to finally come. I know it hasn't come yet, but the day is so close now, I can almost hear the roaring crowd already!

I've been to a total of 4 concerts before in my life. For some reason, people are surprised that I haven't been to more, especially because everyone I know has been to more then they can remember, but I just don't have the money or time to do it. I've tried to get tickets for artists that have come to Toronto, but they come the days when I know I'm busy or their tickets are just out of my reach. But yes, I would love to see more of my favourite artists before I finish Grade 12!

Anyways, my first concert was No Doubt back in March of 2009. It was a birthday present from my dad. I am very grateful to have a father whom loves going to concerts with me! I think he was more excited then me at some points! He's a riot to be around. But, it was one of the best experiences I've ever had for my birthday. My second one was back in March of 2010 for The Back Eyed Peas. It was the most unbelievable thing to witness, but the most expensive tickets I've ever bought. I bought the ones down in the pit, right in front of the stage, which makes them even more expensive, but they were totally worth it. Once again, y dad and I went together to see them and he actually believed that Fergie was staring at him during her performances ;). Oh dad! You're amazing! For my third concert, I went to see Mumford and Sons with 2 of my friends last October. Once again, it was incredible. I really think that they sound so much better live then on their album. I think that City and Colour will sound similar when I see them next Wednesday. You know, better then their album, kind-of deal. So much talent! I just can't handle it! My fourth concert (if you haven't already guessed by read my previous posts) was One Direction. I know. After my other concerts, this one seems out of the blue and out of place (my friends keep saying that), but it was also a great concert. It was so highly energetic and they actually sound really good live. Not saying that it was surprising, but it was great to hear them live for once and how they interact with their fans. I also bought these tickets for my birthday as well, and if you haven't already read my previous posts, the concert was on my 17th birthday too.

Favourite City and Colour Album: Sometimes 

I have been to small, free concerts before too, like the one at Niagara Falls for New Years this year and saw the Sheepdogs! How incredible is that?!

Now, I'm just waiting for Wednesday to come so I can add another ticket into my ticket album! I haven't been too up to date with their recent music though. I have a feeling that their concert will be mostly songs from their more recent albums, but I hope that they will play some of their old ones. Those ones will always be some of my favourite songs of all time. Ahah, but I should listen to the newer ones so that I can at least sing along at some points ;) SO PSYCHED!



I've never seen them in concert before, and I hope they sound as good as their albums, or maybe even better then their albums. I can't wait to see Dallas Green!

-Aine Lasagna

xx.