The Day I Took a One-Way Flight Home // Life Update

Hello all! It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?

After my last post, I decided to take a short break from blogging until after most of the chaos from our move home was behind me. Over a month has passed since then, and I’m very happy to report that we made it safely back to Missouri, and I am sitting in my old bedroom as I write this! Since it’s been a while since you last heard from me, I decided I owe you all an update on the past couple crazy weeks of my life, including the day I flew home for good.

The End of an Adventure // My Story + 5 Lessons I Learned Living in Canada

Wow. I have so much to say about the past couple years, but I hardly know where to start. The more I think about it, I realize that I haven’t written much about my Canadian experience on this blog, and I don’t mean traveling – I’ve written plenty about that. I mean the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of this journey. How the past 2-and-a-half years have challenged me, pushed me, strengthened me, and rewarded me. There’s a lot to say, and this post is gonna be long, so pull up a chair and get comfortable. I think I’ll start at the beginning, which I’ve heard is a very good place to start.

My Sweet 16 // Riding Crazy Roller Coasters at Canada’s Wonderland!

 Hey everyone!

Since the beginning of the school year, my high school co-op class has been talking about taking a trip to Canada’s Wonderland. (In case you’re unfamiliar with Canada’s Wonderland, it’s a super fun amusement park located near Toronto with great roller coasters and rides.) We had been wanting to go for so long, so when my 16th birthday rolled around on August 17th, I thought it would be a great way to celebrate! The plans were made, and last week the 5 of us girls headed to the park where we spent the entire day riding crazy roller coasters, screaming, and smiling. Oh, and laughing. A lot. :)

A 24-Hour Trip to Detroit

Hey everyone!

This weekend, the Kansas City Royals played a series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Michigan. Since we’ve been living in Canada for the past 2 years, we’ve only been able to see the Royals once or twice when they visit Toronto to play the Blue Jays. My brother is a huge baseball fan, and one of his “life goals” is to visit every MLB ballpark in North America. Detroit, Michigan is only about a 4-hour drive from Toronto. Add all that up and what do you get? A 24-hour trip to Detroit to watch our home team play! #ForeverRoyal

Lord of the Flies – A Book Review

“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” – Piggy, Lord of the Flies

We have owned a copy of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies for as long as I can remember. As a young child, I always enjoyed  going through and looking at every single book on our big bookshelf…except one, that is. I always avoided that small, worn-out, paperback copy of Lord of the Flies. The cover art always freaked me out, and I never took it off the shelf for fear of seeing the scary guy in the jungle on the front. I had never even read the summary until just recently, when I was re-organizing my bookshelf over 10 years after originally seeing the book. When I finally picked up that old copy of William Golding’s masterpiece after avoiding it for all those years, little did I know that I would shortly be entering into one of the most haunting and powerful stories ever written.

I Tried Following 3 Bob Ross Tutorials…

“Hi, welcome back. I’m certainly glad you could join me today!” – Bob Ross

Recently, a trend went around the internet where people accepted Bob Ross’ invitation to paint along with him, and proceeded to follow one of his tutorials while documenting the results. I enjoyed watching a few of these videos, but never thought I would try it myself. However, I recently caught the painting bug. When this happens, I usually hop over to Pinterest and paint a canvas or two that I’ve saved for such an occasion. But this time was different.

A Visit to Montmorency Falls – Quebec Trip Part 3

As promised, I’m here again with the final installment of our Quebec Adventure series. On the last day of our trip, we left the heart of Quebec City and headed to the Montmorency Falls.

The Montmorency Falls are 272 feet high, which is almost 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls! We were able to take a cable car to the top, and walk along the bridge that suspended us right over the water!

Exploring Quebec City – Quebec Trip Part 2

Hey there! I’m back again today for Part 2 of our Quebec adventure – exploring Quebec City!

After celebrating the Raptors victory and getting a good nights sleep, we hit the road again and drove to Quebec City – about 2 hours east of Montreal. Once there, we checked into our hotel and headed out to see the sights.

A Quick and Rainy Stop in Montreal – Quebec Trip Part 1

Hello everyone! I hope you’re having a lovely day!

Today, I’m kicking off a 3-part series about my recent trip to the Canadian province of Quebec! Our trip was a total of 4 days. We walked beautiful cities, ate delicious food and had so much fun! The first stop on our road trip was a quick visit to Montreal. Even though we only stayed there for one night, we enjoyed walking the Old Port of Montreal and seeing a small part of the city. Do you want to see it, too? Keep reading! ;)

Q&A – Your Questions Get Answered!

Hey, hey, hey!

A few days ago, I announced that the Artsy Arrow hit 100 followers! In honor of that milestone, I decided to host a Q&A, and today I will be answering your questions. But first, we interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you a small request.

I recently re-designed several elements of my blog, including my header and blog button. I would really appreciate it if anyone who has my old button on their page would update it with my new one below. Thank you!

And now on to the questions!