Happy Sunday, everyone! I recently made these absolutely amazing pumpkin pancakes, topped with maple butter and wild blueberry maple syrup. My mom found the pumpkin pancake mix and blueberry syrup at Winners and my aunt bought the maple butter when we took a trip to Niagara Falls this past summer. 

Let me tell you, these pumpkin pancakes are incredible. The pancakes tastes just like pumpkin scones from Starbucks. The wild blueberry maple syrup adds a fruity sweetness and the maple butter makes each bite rich and decadent. It's the perfect autumnal treat and the best breakfast dessert! 

As a bonus, if you want your house to have the permanent smell of this delicious treat, definitely pick up the Blueberry Maple Pancake candle from Bath and Body Works. It's also incredible and smells good enough to eat! 

I hope you enjoyed today's little post. I wanted to keep it short and sweet and I just had to rave about these pancakes! I hope you get to try these pancakes for yourself. Have a wonderful day and week ahead! 

love xena

Hello everyone! Long time, no see. I said in my last post that I wanted to post more frequently on my blog and that post was over a month ago! I failed to do what I said I was going to do! I'm so sorry. I need to start making more realistic goals, especially now that I am in college 😂! College is actually the main reason you haven't heard from me in over a month. I promise to post whenever I can and I hope you don't mind the sporadic posts. Today, I just wanted to talk about what has been making me so happy recently. With all the busyness of school, I am in definite need of some mood-boosters. Anyways, let's get into the post!

#1

As you may have read in this post, the movie adaptation for To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han came out on August 17th. I had been feeling the inclination to reread the first book before watching the movie to refresh my memory. However, I forgot how addictive this series is. After reading To All The Boys I've Loved Before, I immediately read P.S. I Still Love You followed by Always and Forever, Lara Jean. 

Rereading this series was the best and worst thing I could have done to myself. It's the best because I loved it even more than I did reading it the first time--if that's even possible! It's also the worst because during and after reading Always and Forever, Lara Jean, I was sobbing everyday, multiple times a day (I'm not exaggerating). It literally left me an emotional wreck. I couldn't believe that after three years of reading the first book I was still so emotionally invested in these characters! Lara Jean and Peter's relationship is honestly the most beautiful love story I have ever read. Something about these two characters together resonates with me so much. By the third book...Peter, aka my dream guy, deserves all the applause 👏👏👏 Cue "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green and "If You Were Here" by the Thompson Twins (did you get the reference? btw I cried so hard during this part of the book 😭).

I'm so looking forward to rereading this series again in the future. If you have not read this book, please do. It's sweet, relatable, and emotional--in the best way.   

Now, onto the movie. I have watched this movie three times now (just watched it for the third time a few days ago). As expected it didn't reach my high expectations because it would be nearly impossible to tell Lara Jean's story as well as Jenny Han, herself. However, that doesn't mean it was bad. It was super cute, totally rewatchable, and a definite mood-booster if you're in the need of one. I enjoyed it enough to want a sequel and if we were ever get an adaptation of the third novel...oh my poor heart...get the tissues ready. I would most likely die from crying. It seems that a sequel is very possibly as this movie blew up when it came out and the response has been incredible. So, fingers crossed!

#2 

After rereading the To All The Boys trilogy--which has a ton of Harry Potter references--I had the urge to continue reading the Harry Potter series. I've only read the first three and that was a year ago. I tried reading the fourth book, Goblet of Fire, but I realized that my memory was a bit foggy on the events that took place in books 1-3. So, I reread the first three books! It filled me with joy every time I read about the adventures Harry, Ron, and Hermione embark upon. Also, it lets me escape the world for a little while. I'm 160 pages in Goblet of Fire now, but I have actually paused my reading as I borrowed some books from the library that I need to read soon. Hopefully, I will soon pick up where I left off and finish this series before the end of the year!

#3

As soon as I saw the first official trailer for this movie, I knew I had to see it on the big screen. As a romance fan, I have to say there has been a major lack of movies in the romantic comedy genre over the past few years. It really breaks my heart because they are my favourite movies to watch. Fortunately, though, Crazy Rich Asians might just be the revival of the genre that romance fans have been waiting for! 

For those who were not aware of this book-to-movie adaptation, it is about Rachel Chu (right) who has been dating her boyfriend, Nick (left), for a while and he invites her to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. She soon learns that Nick is Nick Young, extremely wealthy and one of the country's most eligible bachelors. Rachel soon finds herself in the spotlight and has to deal with jealous socialites, his relatives, and his disapproving mother. 
To put it simply, this movie is fantastic. It was funny, charming, endearing, and heart-breaking all at the same time. I cannot wait to watch it again and again and again. Dare I say it's become a new favourite! 😍 And I hear they are filming the second book, China Rich Girlfriend, so I am beyond excited!!

#4

As you have probably seen me mention in a few of my posts, The Paper Kites, one of my all-time favourite bands, has been releasing new music from their newest album, On The Corner Where You Live. Well, I am happy to announce that the wait is finally over--the album is here! AND. I. LOVE. THE. ENTIRE. ALBUM. Every song is so beautiful and the INSTRUMENTS, don't even get me started on the instruments. 
Even though I love the entire album, I do have some favourite songs I rewind every time I hear them. Those songs are: Mess We Made, Don't Keep Driving, When It Hurts You, Give Me Your Fire Give Me Your Rain, and Red Light. Please check them out! They are absolutely incredible and their music is so soothing and I believe can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of which genres are your favourite. 


Thank you so much for taking the time to read today's post. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and week ahead! I'll see you soon with another post! 

love xena