Happy Canada Day!

To all my fellow Canadians, happy Canada Day!

[via Wikipedia]

Really, that's pretty much all I have to say. That, and also today's Top Ten Tuesday will be moved to tomorrow because of time restraints (as in barbecue with the family in honour of the birth of our dear Canada).

For my Canadian friends, here are some interesting posts related to Canada. Let's laugh and nod in agreement together!

• Buzzfeed wonders how stereotypically Canadian are you. (Oh God, I can't even tell you how much I relate to this quiz. YES TO EVERYTHING.)
• And also, which Canadian stereotype you are. (Haha, zero degrees is nothing to me.)
• If you don't live in Canada, take this quiz to find out if maybe you should. 
• And because we like to laugh at Americans not knowing anything about us, here are some failed attempts by Americans at labelling a map of Canada. (But honestly, I don't think I could label more than four US states: Texas, California, Hawaii and Alaska. I did, however, used to be able to name all 50 of the states because it was required learning in sixth grade. And I did it the fastest in my class so yay!)
• But here is also a fun post about Canadians drawing the outline of Canada without a map.
• Here are 36 facts about Canada. (That are mostly true.)
• Things no one tells you about leaving Canada. (Mostly in relation to moving to the States.)
• 20 awesome Canadian things.
• 79 actors from Canada.

Well, I got a bit sidetracked there. But honestly, just thinking about Canada Day and being Canadian gets me a bit overly patriotic. 

Anyway, happy Canada Day guys and I'll see you all tomorrow on my blog!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today's February the 14th and I'm pretty sure we all know what that means: Valentine's Day! Though typically it's viewed as a celebration of romantic love, I think Valentine's Day is also a swell opportunity to say words of appreciation to people you love in general.

Okay so maybe that might partly be to cheer me up over the fact that nothing even slightly romantic has ever happened to me on Valentine's Day. BUT. I still stand by what I said, regardless of the intention behind it. Why should Valentine's Day only be limited to the romantic? What about the platonic? Or the maternal/paternal? I don't know about you, but for me all the love in the air - romantic or not - is enough for me to start feeling an overwhelming gratitude and appreciation for everyone ever who has given me their love.

I've already made sure to say my I Love You's to my family and (some of) my friends but now I want to take the time to send my gratitude and love to you guys. I've probably said it a thousand times already - how wonderful you all are - but I don't think I'll ever be able to express the mass of my emotion in words. I know I'm being pretty vague right now but basically thank you to everyone who has inspired me to grow my blog and strive for better (even if you're not sure who you are), who has commented on my blog, who has ever talked to me or read one of my posts or said something sweet or made me happy with one of the things you posted. Thank you to everyone who has ever written something totally life-changing or totally helpful or just totally awesome. YOU are the reason why I love blogging and why I will continue to keep it up. I love talking and meeting with every one of you and honestly, without all you wonderful people out there in the blogosphere, blogging sure would be a bore.

Looking back on the year and a half I've blogged, it's great to see how far I've come and how much I've accomplished and I'm so so proud of myself because I never imagined it would have become so big to me and I definitely did not imagine that it would have lasted so long. Where at first, I enjoyed blogging solely because I liked sharing my thoughts now I have to say that the community is pretty fantastic as well. And without al you wonderful people, I don't think I would have managed to have stuck with blogging a few months ago when everything was just bleh.

So yeah, basically I love you all and thank you so much for helping fuel what I now know as a tremendous love of mine and just being someone for me to talk to and/or look up to! Tons of hugs to you all and CHOCOLATE. Oh, and a valentine made with love from Tumblr.

Hope you guys had a terrific day and celebrated with your loved ones!

Thoughts on Gifting Books

The holidays are coming soon so I'm sure most of you are starting to think of presents to give. I'm really excited to start gift shopping but the problem is, I have no idea what to get! I'm just SO BAD at buying gifts that I almost always end up buying mine at the last minute. So thank goodness I have a back-up plan for when I really, TRULY cannot find anything: books.

Books are always my absolute last resort and I have to say, it's a last resort I'm pretty comfortable with! I have an abundance of bookstores nearby so I know I can always get a book in dire situations, if need be.

As a person who loves books and someone who would be MORE than happy to receive a stack of books for Christmas though, I get asked a lot (or at least by my parents) why I don't often gift books. And the answer to that question is actually quite complicated so I thought it'd be interesting to break it down in this post.

[via We Heart It]

The truth is, I don't like gifting books. I LOVE recommending books and forcing people to read books but when it comes to giving them as a present, I'm a bit more...hesitant.

For starters, I'm never quite sure what my friends or relatives - let's call them giftees - have read or haven't read which obviously, makes book shopping a bit more difficult. I can usually make a rough assumption based on books I've heard of through the newspaper or the blogosphere and my (sparse) knowledge of what the giftee has read. Most of the time though, this method is basically as good as closing my eyes and randomly picking a book which is reason #1 why I don't gift books.

Reason #2 is that I always end up picking books for myself instead of the giftee! What happens is I get frustrated by my complete uselessness in the bookstore when I'm not shopping for me so I start doing...just that. It's easier! Honestly, you should see how annoyed I get when I'm shopping for books and especially when I'm browsing in the Teens section, I just get distracted and forget about the person I'm buying the book for. Oops.

And then sometimes, I just feel like maybe the person won't be able to appreciate the book as much as a blouse, for example (reason #3). I have great friends and relatives that do enjoy books but I feel as if it's more enjoy as you would a glass of orange juice in the afternoon. Good but perhaps it wasn't necessary or something else might have been better. So I don't gift them books unless I have no other idea. Books just feel so insubstantial compared to everything else they might like better and I know that if I were to get a book for some people, they'd be really bummed.

And obviously I know that it's the meaning that counts and not what you get them or how much you spent but it's just nice to know that you're getting them something they'd REALLY like. It's the holidays after all! If I can, I'd like to shell out a bit more to treat my loved ones to something nice.

How about you? Do you like giving books as presents for the holidays? Or are you like me? Do you get distracted when shopping for books too? I bet it's hard not to! Tell me in the comments below! 

Halloween with The Runaway Reader 2013

I never did anything special for Halloween at Random Reads so I really wanted to whip up something cool for Halloween over here!

Halloween has been one of my favourite days for as long as I can remember. I mean, who doesn't like free candy and dressing up? And getting scared! I don't know about you, but I love getting frightened out of my wits. But above all, I feel like Halloween is really the one and only time of the year you can really, wholeheartedly let out your inner child. No matter what age you are or who you are, Halloween can be celebrated by everyone (mostly)! It's just THAT kind of day which is why I really wanted to pay homage to it!

For the longest time, I could not think of anything unique and original to do to celebrate Halloween. And I can't say that my new idea is very unique or original at all. It's more a combination of multiple ideas that have probably already been done but it's the spirit that counts, right? So without further ado, below are some ideas to help you celebrate and/or get into the Halloween mood!

It's probably a little to late to be talking about what to wear for Halloween since all of you have most likely already decided on a costume, given that you were planning on dressing up. If you're like me, you want a cool and unique costume but the idea of putting in more than five minutes' worth of effort is deterring. I find a good go-to whenever you need to think of something last minute is a cat. It's easy and still cute! All you need is a black top, black jeans or leggings, cat ears, and black face paint. You can even use a scarf as a tail to add the final touch! 

Topshop Petite Fluffy Crop Tee//Modcloth City Adventure Crushed Velvet Leggings in Black//Wet Seal Sugar & Babe Cat Ears Headband//Manolo Blahnik Soussaba Leather Pointed Toe Flat//Topshop Fur Pom Cable Scarf

There are so many creative things you can make for Halloween but a personal favourite has always been devilled eggs. I've been making them each year for Halloween for as long as I can remember. They're quick and yummy and so versatile. You can customize them any way you want! A good starting point though, would be these devilled eggs as seen in the Everyday Food magazine in 2007.

I often like to read a horror novel to celebrate Halloween. I didn't get to one this year but I reccommend Dracula by Bram Stoker. The original vampire story and very scary. 

To be honest, I had a hard time thinking for a movie to watch for Halloween. I haven't watched a Halloween or horror movie for a long time so I'll share one that's been on my To Watch list for quite a while!

I just know this one will give me the creeps and I can't wait until I finally watch it! It looks so good. Have any of you watched this? Share your thoughts in the comments! I want to know!

And now to end with a song that's sure to get your spirits up for Halloween! Every time I hear this, my face lights up. There are so many great impromptu dance memories attached to this song! If you're playing this song, you better get up and dance (or sing along, that's great too).

With that, I conclude my Halloween celebration! I hope you guys have had a fantastic day. Tell me about your costumes, your Halloween traditions, what candy you got or really, anything else. You know I love hearing from you guys so SPEAK YOUR MIND. Happy Halloween! Cheers!