#and then of course i did 24 hour cinderella a couple times and got to watch the associated montage

[yo9urt]

another compliment for y0 that i forgot to mention last night. it's a smaller/simpler thing but i really love the imagination cutaways that happen during karaoke :)

[whatyouandihave-makesmefree]

How to say “I love you” without actually saying it - or 137 Milkovichy ways to say “I fuckin’ love Ian Clayton Gallagher”.

1. Kiss me, and I’ll cut your fucking tongue out.

2. I’ll meet you there in 20.

3. You say that again, I’ll rip your tongue out of your head.

4. Take your hand off the glass.

5. You wanna chit chat more or you wanna get on me?

6. Fuckin’ tough guy, huh?

7. Jesus Christ, you want us to spread a blanket out and look for shooting stars next?

8. Sorry, I gotta go kill your dad, but I’m doing a lot of people a favor, including you.

9. -I missed you-  You did?  -Yeah, man.-

10. So, uh, what you going down for, then, huh?

11. Don’t know what you see in that geriatric viagroid.

12. -You fuck anyone in there yet?-  God, no.  -Wise choice.-

13. Hey, my dad took my brothers on a run out of town for a couple days, so you wanna ditch that dump and crash at my place, you can.

14. Fuck you, is what you were invited to.

15. What are you hoping, I tell you not to go? I’m gonna chase after you like some bitch?

16. -Don’t.-  Don’t what?  -Just…-

17. -You seen him?-  Why do you care?  -Don’t.-

18. You heard from Gallagher?

19. Not fucking Frank. The other one, the redhead.

20. I like fucking carrot-tops, like, with the freckles and the pale skin and fucking alien-looking.

21. He in trouble? What kind of trouble?

22. You wearing cologne?  -No. It’s Kenyatta’s perfume soap shit.-

23. I gotta take care of something important.

24. No, I’m not having fun. I spent the whole day looking for your coked-out ass.

25. You coming back?

26. I’ll do it.

27. Those fingers go anywhere near that cock, I’m gonna break every knuckle in your hand, all 15 of them.

28. Together.

29. That all you think he is? Some twink?

30. Probably best if you don’t, tough guy.

31. Of course we are.

32. You want me to go?  -No, I don’t want you to go.-

33. I’m not lying to you.

34. Ian, what you and I have makes me free, not what these assholes know.

35. Well, good. Leave. What the hell do I care, bitch? Fuck.

36. Hey! Excuse me! Can I get everybody’s attention, please? I just want everybody here to know I’m fucking gay. A big old ‘mo. I just thought everybody should know that. You happy now?

37. Fuck you! Don’t worry about it! I’ve been staying at Ian’s since you’ve been in the can, bitch! Guess what we’ve been doing, daddy! We’ve been fucking! And I take it! He gives it to me good and hard, and I fucking like it.

38. You’re a fucking dick. Yeah, there. That’s what you get.

39. You love him?  -Maybe. I don’t know.-  Because he has a real penis?  -Yeah, I guess.-

40. Rise and fucking shine, Cinderella.

41. Yo, sleepy-face.

42. Hey, you okay? Feeling sick or something?

43. All right, you want me to bring you back something to eat?

44. Ian, are you high? You take something?

45. Fuck’s wrong with him?

46. Before, he was fine. He was happy. He’s staying up all hours of the night, dancing, telling fucking jokes. He kicks my ass every day. I can’t keep up with him.

47. No, no, look. He– he’s low… We cheer him up.

48. What do you mean, hos– Like a psych ward? No fucking way! No fucking way! He’s staying here.

49. I can– I can take care of him. Okay? Let me take care of him until he’s better.

50. Don’t fucking tell me what’s impossible! We’re taking care of him here. You, me, us. His fucking family.

51. He’s not going to some fucking nut house. You hear me? He stays here. He’s staying with me.

52. I’ll be there.  -Better be.-

53. All right. I guess I’m going with you.

54. She’ll send him to a fucking shrink. No. We fix this ourselves.

55. I came out for you, you piece of shit.

56. What’s your type?  -Redhead.-  I am downstairs.  -Batshit crazy.-  Check.  -Packing 9 inches.-

57. I got to take you to a hospital, Ian.

58. I’m worried about you.

59. His partner. Lover? Family? You know?

60. At least he’ll be getting some kind of fucking help.

61. Relationship to the patient?  -Sister.-   -You?-  -Uh, boyfriend.-

62. Hey. Sorry I’m late.

63. We gotta get you to a fucking clinic. Get some meds. Today.

64. Hey, it’s okay. It’s all right.

65. He’s not a fucking lab rat.

66. He’s got me.

67. Hey, Ian’s sleeping in there.

68. All right, breakfast of champs. We got your mood stabilizer, anti-psychotic, anti-depressant. Gatorade.

69. Shut the fuck up. Take the pills, bitch.

70. Hey, no caffeine on your meds.

71. Eat it. Take all those pills on an empty stomach and you’re going to have diarrhea real bad.

72. I didn’t know which Bs to get, so I just got all the fucking Bs. I got B-complex, super B-complex, B-12, B-6.

73. The hell happened to your hand?

74. Did a doctor take care of that?

75. You can’t go anywhere unless you get that looked at, man.

76. Your hand, man.

77. No, no. Look, you’re not supposed to drink on lithium. It makes your blood fucking toxic, and it gets you hammered in like two seconds flat. You can’t-

78. You look like a fucking wet rat.

79. We’re going on a date.  -Fuck, yes, we are.-

80. Where the fuck are you?

81. Where the fuck you been? 

82. You okay?

83. It means we take care of each other.

84. It means thick and thin, good times, bad, sickness, health, all that shit.

85. You look good.

86. Got a new tattoo. Did it myself. Hurt like a son of a bitch.

87. Been thinking about you. You ever think of me? Gonna wait for me?

88. Will you? Wait?

89. You like the high school bleachers? Our spot, man.

90. Look, I’m, um I’m getting some new IDs, some cash, and heading to Mexico.-  Wow.  -You should come.-

91. Thought a lot about you inside. You’re under my skin, man. The fuck can I do? Hmm? Can I do?

92. Knew you’d come. 

93. Come here.

94. I’m gonna see you again?

95. The fuck you looking at?

96. It’s what kept me going in the joint. The beach. Us.

97. Oh, check it out. Ian Gallagher putting his big boy pants on!

98. You never fucking visited me.

99. What am I leaving behind? My family? Who cares I never see those shitheads again. You had my back more than they ever did.

100. You ever think about me? When I was in the joint?

101. Fuck, I missed you.

102. What the fuck is that? I don’t want your fucking money! I want you to come with– me.

103. Don’t do this.

104. Fuck you, Gallagher.

105. I rolled on the cartel I was working for, and in exchange, guess who gets to pick where he gets locked up?

106. No, I just did it ‘cause it was the right thing.

107. Would you be fucking happy?  -Yes, fuck, yes!-

108. I guess I need some advice. It’s about my partner, Ian.

109. You’re not throwing your fuckin’ parole for me. We need to get you the hell outta this shit-hole.

110. You don’t belong in here, Gallagher.

111. I shouldn’t have asked you to stay.

112. FaceTime your brother. See the baby.

113. You seen Ian?

114. About time, man. Your Panda Express is getting cold.

115. Eat your Szechuan beans.

116. Chill your fucking tits and eat your noodles, man.

117. Let’s get out of here, get some Pinkberry.

118. No. No. I’m not running. I need to protect him.

119. Jesus Christ. You proposing to me over fucking patty melts?

120. Fuck it. I do.

121. When you know, you know. You know?

122. No, just saying you don’t love me enough now. And that’s fine. It’s cool.

123. Jesus Christ, save the fucking speech, you pussy. I’ll marry you. Of course I’ll fucking marry you.

124. You must really love cock.  -I definitely love one.-

125. You ever try to get me to move to Milwaukee, I’ll fuckin’ murder you.

126. Hey, I like the blue ones.  -Yeah?- 

127. You sure you still wanna go through with this?  -Yes. Why?-

128. You’re a sneaky bastard.

129. -Take your meds?-  Yes.  -Good.-

130. The son of a bitch is never gonna let me be happy. He needs to die today.

131. Well, there’s plenty of strays wandering around the neighborhood. I’m sure we can pick one up for cheap.

132. Yeah, well, at least I don’t have to hide in a coffin till the sun goes down.

133. Damn straight, Gallagher.

134. I, Mikhailo, take you, Ian, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,  to love and to cherish you till death do us part.

135. Good morning, Mr - Millagher?

136. You hungry?

137. You wanna go again?  -Absolutely.-

[melyaliz]

Yellow Umbrella pt 1

Fandom: Marvel 

Summary: Demon Lord Loki needs distraction from the mundane life he lives. You need to figure out who you are now that your boyfriend left you. (AU where Loki is a Demon mafia lord.) 

Pairing: Demon!Loki x Reader 

Warning: This is NSFW - lots of sexual content 

Story notes: The character’s name is Yue because I hate Y/N I feel like it takes you out of the story. (This is my creative way around that) 

My Notes: Loki won the contest! But that doesn’t mean Jason won’t show up… I have some saucy plans so don’t you worry. I also tagged everyone who liked/commented on the post. If you don’t want to be tagged just let me know and I will remove you. 

All Masterlists @melyalizarchive

Connect with me! AO3 / Instagram / Pinterest

DONATE or REQUEST

------

Every story has an ending. That moment when you are sobbing on your best friend’s bed asking her why this happened. He was supposed to be your everything, he had promised you forever. He WAS your everything. You couldn't picture your life without him. Without his morning text, checking in during the day, his opinions on your life. 

He had promised you forever.

How could he just leave like that? 

As if those 3 years of constant meant nothing. 

As if you meant nothing.  

In those moments it feels like it’s the true ending. What could possibly happen next? How could life even go on? What would it even look like? How does one go on after such a shift in their reality. 

The problem is this is life. There is no ending, no rolling credits. No large THE END on the last page of the book. The beginning to life is when you are born and the end is when you die. During that time there are a million different shifts and changes.  

And even then people have lived before you and will live after you. 

So when moments like this happen, how do you start over when your entire life has ended? 

When your entire life breaks up with you. 

-----

Loki sat in his boardroom. And he was bored, bored in his boardroom. 

Someone come kill him.

Too bad he was a demon and couldn’t really die.  

The king of demons actually. 

Well A king really. The world had gotten just a bit too big for one organized faction and demons had never been very good at the whole “following a god” sort of things so many hundred years ago they had given up and did their own thing. The most powerful ones taking weaker demons and building factions to rule over. 

Think of it like an underground mafia 

And Loki was lord of one of the largest powerful territories.

Which was great, unless you had to be stuck in these endless meetings. Sure they were important, he needed to know what the werewolves had been up to and if the vampires were starting to group again. 

But it was all so trivial. (Just send an email or something.) 

That was why he had underlings. To deal with these things. 

“We have a few spies among their ranks so we will keep you updated.” the man, Yash,  droned on, did they intentionally get the one demon with the most boring voice to run these things? Where was the pazazz? They were demons after all.

Next to Loki his secretary Clover shifted. Her black mini skirt pushed up under the boardroom table so that the demon lord could draw lazy lines up her leg just brushing over those crotchless lace panties she had dawned just for this meeting. 

She was a good secretary. 

 “But… the good news is souls are up and our borders have never been stronger.” 

“And on that note,” Loki gripped Clover’s inner thigh  before standing. Taking his beautiful scepter that his assistant Jeff had gotten him as a gift last year he tapped in against the floor. The sound echoing across the room. “Let’s take the rest of the day off and celebrate!” See Yash, pazazz 

The room erupted in cheers as he added “drinks on me.” 

Which is was what led them all to a beautiful speakeasy in the heart of San Francisco. The drinks were strong and the bartenders hot. 

Just how Loki liked it. 

One in particular caught Loki’s eye. A busty blonde who smiled brightly as he walked in. Leaning forward Loki licked his lips as the woman matched his stance, showing off just a bit more of her beautiful cleavage.

“You’re new.” 

“Just helping out for the night.” 

“Well I would love to learn more about you before you must leave Cinderella.”

“I'll be here past midnight don’t you worry.” she said shaking his drink. Her body bouncing with the rhythm of the movements.  

Loki licked his lips, “Perfect” 

She smelled of tequila and seltzer as he fucked her in the back. The cold night air coming out in little clouds as he lifted her up pushing against her. She was impressed by his super strength, humans always were, and the cold night air made her nipples perky as he let his tongue run lazily over them.

“God your beautiful.” she said running her fingers over his thick black hair. 

“God’s got nothing to do with it baby” he growled thrusting into her again causing her to let out a cry of pleasure. 

“Adriana?” 

“Shit.” 

Loki’s fingers gripped the curvy girls ass digging into the soft flesh. “Friend of yours?” 

“Boyfriend…” 

Turning Loki instantly knew why she had cursed. The boyfriend wasn’t alone. Four of them stood there and they didn’t look nice. 

He had send his own men home assuming he would just have one quick fuck and then leave. 

After all everything about that woman had screamed single and desperate.

I guess you never judge a book by it’s cover. 

Not that this wasn’t his first time dealing with a jealous lover. 

--------

It was raining out. Thick sheets of torrential downpour as Yue walked home. Her soft yellow umbrella taking the brunt of the storm as she sloshed down the street. She really shouldn’t have even been out in it but when you wake up at 4am with a cough that won’t let you rest there is nothing you can do but run to the local 24 hour mart and grab some NyQuil. 

This cold air and rain wasn’t helping the cough but there wasn’t much she could do. 

After swigging some of the blue liquid Yue started her trek home. And that was when she saw him. Leaning against the wall heavily. At first she thought maybe he was throwing up but as she got closer she realized he was bleeding.

“Are… are you ok? Do you need me to call 911?” 

Her phone was out to show him she could call the police even if he tried something.

“Not much good they can do.” he said turning to her. His dark lined eyes smudge from the rain, black hair flat against his face giving him a very emo boy band look. 

Welcome to the Black Parade anyone? 

Holding out her umbrella the man took a step under it. “Nice boots” he said pointing to the matching yellow boots Yue had on. His eyes lifted up meeting hers with a wiry smile. He had a split lip and a few other cuts and bruises on his face. He also had a few previous scars on across his left eyebrow and one that was under the same eye down his cheek.

That coupled with the way the light of her phone seemed to make his pale skin glow gave him a little unworldly look. As if he was some fallen angel right out of a Gothic comic. 

“So little yellow boots where are you taking me?” 

“A hospital?” 

“That’s no fun.” he drawled, running his thumb over his split lip.  

Her response was a few muffled coughs eyes watering. He studied her taking in her flushed cheeks and red nose along with the 7-11 bag she was holding. “Sounds to me that you need  it more than I do.”

“Well I was about to take some NyQuil and pass out.” 

“Well I won’t keep you.” 

She took a step forward about to leave him. She didn’t owe this mysterious stranger anything. But something nagged at the back of her head. Pausing she turned to him, “If you walk me to my door I’ll let you take my umbrella wherever you need to be.”

“What?” he looked down at her surprised. 

“I’ll let you take my umbrella.” 

He looked her over, his breath thick with the smell of whiskey. “Ok.” 

They walked in silence, the only sound was the echo of the rain hitting the little sunny covering over them.

Once they approached her small apartment complex she stopped turning to him. His eyes lazily looking around, hands in his pockets giving him a very laid back look. She had no idea how he had gotten beaten up but it really didn’t seem to affect him much. 

Holding her umbrella up she flashed him a slightly painful smile. Her mouth was so dry from this dumb cold. 

“Here” 

He leaned forward looking down at her, taking her in for a moment that same lazy smile on his lips that he had worn their whole walk back. His fingers wrapped themselves over hers for a moment, the cold steel of his chunky silver rings sending shivers down her already sensitive skin. 

“Thank you love.'' His voice thick and smokey. Dangerously sexy, sending a shiver down her spine that wasn't from the cold. 

“Good night.” 

“Night” 

And they parted. Him down the street disappearing into the stormy night and her into her complex to drug herself into a peaceful slumber. 

Little did they know on that rainy night under a sunny umbrella that a new story was about to unfold. A moment that shifted in time changing the course of their lives forever. 

--------

-GET TAGGED!- 

Forever tag:  @the-shadow-of-atlantis @coffee-randomness @0hmydeku @xx3fsxx @daisyboobear  @jason-redhood @hello-i-lovespiderman-blr  @pinkwitch21 @tomhncharliep  @cdwmtjb8

Loki: @wayward-hell @winterssoldierrs

Story:  @irwin-hood @hit-th3r0ck @cruel-kitten @boofrarti @i-miukimiuki @mmimagine-40 @mynameofuser @pia-1000 @angelgl16 @the-fifth-marauder03 @plutos-deamonchild @frenchfrostpudding @carydorse @neverleturheartshow2 @sebhiddleston @probsjosh @dracaryspowpow @andrea20967 @saiyanprincessswanie @olive-tini @albinotigerpython

[lightlorn]

SHIZUKA + POP (feat. @katamekyoken​)

you know, there were a lot of great idol groups when shizuka hit their teens. star tanjo! turned out icons like akina and yukko, and all our young ‘tomboys’ friends were gushing over heartthrobs like the bad boys of shibugakitai or the mind-searingly successful solo act masahiko, while seiko was just starting her eternal reign. in this world of infinite pop music choices, shizuka... turned up their nose. sure, the music was fine, and they thought a number of female idols were quite pretty, but no act really stirred them to the level of adulation their peers had for pop acts.

it was just another way gensai was the weird kid at school, meeting most musical discussions with a shrug and ‘it’s okay, i guess.’ where most of their female classmates were moving away from deep female friendships to start fantasizing about the boys on the radio, shizuka never managed that. their friendship with their best friend yui kept the same edge most considered childish. their parents, as ever, despaired that their eldest was an oddity who didn’t connect with ‘her’ peers over shared age-appropriate interests.

then it happened. white day, the year they turned 13. a new song premiered that would become inextricably linked to the holiday in popular consciousness and, in shizuka’s, with absolute joy. 24 hour cinderella was an overnight success, and shizuka. went. ape. 

anytime the song came on the radio, they would scramble to reach forward and turn it up. they had the dance reviewed by heart. they would tune in to every interview with the group that made it -- majima jingi. and therein lies every explanation for why shizuka went so hard for their first idol group. the yakuza angle they presented, especially through their lead singer, was like catnip to the teen. in an instant, a silver-suited, roller-skating fool became the center of their entire reality.

their parents were overjoyed. at last, their kid was acting like other kids, with what they took for a crush on some pretty boy idol and an obsession with his work. they could weep for joy. their ‘little lady’ was finally interested in men and connecting with her classmates over it. they wasted no time in buying their teen the first album, and encouraged their fascination with it.  the gensai parents took care to note when the group would be on television or interviewed, though shizuka was always one step ahead of them. distracted as they were by their new baby, the couple didn’t have time to properly research why their oldest was so attracted to this group above all others, or why certain other parents in the neighborhood refused to let their children listen to them. goro-kun, as shizuka called him, seemed to be the salvation that shizuka’s parents had long prayed for.

(that shizuka was still the weird kid that called the local radio station daily to request 24-hour cinderella, or got into schoolyard fights not out of place on modern kpop stan twitter with their upperclassmen over their love of goro-kun, was immaterial. ‘girls’ would be ‘girls.’ ‘she’ would outgrow it, her parents decided, just as they outgrew whatever they were before that song dropped. their parents had to stay hopeful. it was all that they had.)

with part of his yearly bonus, the family patriarch purchased to tickets to majima jingi’s only live show. shizuka and yui would take the train to tokyo, attend the show, then stay the night with one of shizuka’s aunts. the show itself went fine, though our intrepid fan did scream themselves hoarse trying to convey to their idol just how much they loved him. the after show, however, went a little sideways, as shizuka decided to sneak around back and try to meet the band. it failed, of course, and yui and shizuka made a run for it when confronted by security, but it was a fun night overall.

shizuka stayed a ride or die for the group even after they dropped off the map. no other singles ever hit the heights their first did, and the group was one of those one hit wonder idol acts that were a dime a dozen in the 80s. they disappeared completely by 1985. and yet, our hero keeps a carefully preserved poster from that first and last show tucked away in their childhood bedroom in isesaki, and that first album lies in wait in that same room. at any moment, shizuka can call their parents and have either shipped directly to their apartment -- and they will not hesitate, should their boss ever need a reminder of the dirt they have on him. in fact, the ticket from that show is kept in a lockbox in a local bank, a constant threat that they could make or break the older man.

life is funny like that. at 13 you can fall hopelessly in love with a celebrity. at 33 you can want to beat his ass for making a terrible dad joke. they are so glad they got to know their idol as a person and not as a subject of adolescent worship.

[heyyyharry]

The Wedding Planners

(from ‘Couple in Flat 102’)

…in which Harry makes sure Y/N gets the wedding of her dreams, and Y/N finds the perfect wedding dress.

wattpad link

.

Harry thought weddings were overrated, he always had. People like his cousin Mason and Mason's fiancé Stephanie, used wedding as an excuse to show off what they called 'love' because they wanted to prove how happy they were and make the lonely people feel miserable. If you were gonna marry someone, it should be about you and them and no one else, right? So why threw so much money and effort into planning a whole ceremony only for people to laugh in your face, if  you ended up signing the divorce papers and she walked away with half of your fortune and the kids? (Although Harry was pretty sure his cousin's marriage wouldn't last until the kids part).

Harry could just go on about how overrated and unnecessary weddings were. Even when he bought that proposal ring for Y/N, even when he asked her to marry him and she said yes and he put the ring on her hand, his opinion was still the same. But the thing was, he loved Y/N, more than anything he'd ever loved. His unconditional love for this girl had made him do a lot of things that the him before her would never do. Many years ago, had anyone told him one day he'd be sitting on the bed with his future wife, debating over roses or calla lilies for their wedding, he would laugh in their face and call it bullshit. Now, he was literally sitting on their bed and trying to convince her that calla lilies were a much better option.

She was the love of his life, so he'd make sure she'd get everything that she wanted, even if it was a massive wedding or an expensive wedding dress that she would just wear once (hopefully) and tuck it somewhere in the back of her closet.

"Who's Gilbert?"

"My cousin."

Harry snorted as he stared at the unfamiliar name on the guest list. "You've never mentioned a cousin named Gilbert."

"So?"

"So why are we inviting him?"

Y/N heaved a sigh as she reached for the notebook from his hand and uses the pen in hers to point it out. "So Gilbert is dating Jessie, who's super close to my brother Darren. I want Jessie to be at the wedding, and of course, I cannot tell her to not take Gilbert with her. In fact, she'll just assume that because Gilbert is related to me, he'll be invited."

"So we have to invite Gilbert."

"Exactly!" She exclaimed and rewarded him a peck on the lips. "You're doing such a great job with the guest list, baby."

Though Harry found that compliment very flattering, he still felt like he needed to be more helpful. "Can I do something else other than the guest list?"

His question surprised her at first. "I thought you hated wedding planning?"

"I did. I still do. But I don't want to be the useless husband who lets his wife do everything."

"Aww, my love." She sighed and rested one hand at the back of his neck to press his forehead against hers. "I like it when you call yourself husband and me wife."

The radiance on her face made Harry feel whole in his heart. He brought her left hand to his lips and laid a kiss on the ring he put on for her himself, then he said, "we don't need to get married so I can call you that. In fact, I'm gonna tell everyone you're my wife from now on."

"Okay." She nodded biting her bottom lip. "Then since you're such a good husband, can you help me come up with a better wedding theme?"

"Better than Alice in Wonderland?" He faked a gasp. And she scrunched her nose playfully at him. "Better than Alice in Wonderland. That's a lot of pressure, can you handle that?"

"Sure, wife, you can count on me!"

That was how he ended up here, sprawling on their couch on a Saturday morning, with Niall by his side, a notebook in his hand and a pencil behind his ear.

"Niall, we need a theme!" He declared, pointing a finger to the ceiling while looking dead serious, as if he was planning a war battle and not simply his wedding anymore. Niall, on the other hand, didn't bat an eye as he carried on texting with his eyes glued to the screen.

"Why is it always me that you ask to come up with something, when you always ended up coming up with something yourself?!" He questioned without looking at Harry, who propped up on his elbows with a displeased grimace on his face.

"Because you would say something that makes no sense, but it actually turned out to make a lot of sense!"

Niall scoffed at Harry then scooted closer to see what his best friend had already got on the list, which, predictably, was all blank. That was an entire first hour for him. So Niall gave him a questioning look and he responded with a shrug, saying he didn't know where to start.

"I bet it'd be more fun if I'd gone with the girls," Niall droned. "And Ben. The girls and Ben."

Harry agreed. However, he knew he couldn't see his girl in her wedding dress before their wedding, which was doubtlessly irritating because he'd been imagining her in a white gown ever since her brother's wedding (not constantly, because it'd be weird). So he patted Niall on the back and told his friend to help him this time, and made a promise to buy Niall a big lunch later.

.

.

.

"Are you sure it's safe to leave Harry and Niall alone in your flat?" Layla mentioned as she ran her hand across the line of wedding dresses hanging on the racks, feeling the material of each one while waiting for Y/N. The bride-to-be was still in the dressing room where a chuckle comes from as she heard Layla.

"Are you worrying about them?" Y/N said loudly. "They're 24 years old, they aren't babies!"

"They nearly set your flat on fire before and it was just two years ago!" Layla rolled her eyes when she thought about that night and she could still recall the heavy smell of BBQ from Niall's clothes. "Maybe I should text Niall to check on those two idiots."

"Maybe you should! Then come in here and...help me...with...this zipper! Ouch! Nevermind. Got it! Hope I didn't tear this dress though!"

Layla snorted in response to her best friend's clumsiness then sat down next to Ben on the couch with her phone, just in time Y/N's sister Maisie returned, looking overjoyed as she held up the wedding dress she'd just found somewhere in the corner of the room. "Hey, how about this one?"

"A big no from me." Layla shook her head fast without taking a second look. So Maisie turned to show it to Ben, who also shook his head, giving her a painful grimace. And the girl had no choice but to put the dress back to where she'd found it on the rack.

The curtains of the dressing room was finally drawn to one side and Y/N stepped out in a dress which she thought was similar to the one Cinderella wore on her wedding in the classic animated film. She bit back a smile and asked her friends and her sister if it looked good. Maisie seemed unimpressed, Ben was unsure, and Layla just looked very...offended.

"This dumb bitch," she muttered, causing Y/N's jaw to drop as she looked down at the dress she was wearing.

"It's that bad?!"

"Yes, the dress is bad on you, but I wasn't talking about you!" Layla scoffed and nodded her head forward, signaling Y/N to turn around and see for herself. Another customer had just entered the store, and she was talking to one of the staff with a happy look on her face. It seemed like this wasn't her first time being here. It took Y/N a few seconds, but eventually she recognized that face. That was Rose.

Y/N had never met this girl in person before and had only seen her from the photos on her Instagram account, therefore hadn't expect her to look exactly like that in real life. And she was right. Rose didn't look as pretty as she was in those Instagram photos. She looked even better. Even though Y/N was the one wearing a wedding dress, looking like a Disney princess, she couldn't help but feel self-conscious still.

"Is that—" Ben questioned just as Rose turned her head and spotted them, so Layla gave him a slight nudge as she said, "don't make eye contact and it'll go away."

"Oops, too late." Ben awkwardly puckered up his lips and turned his eyes to the floor when the young girl started making her way to where they were. She seemed overly cheerful and Y/N honestly couldn't relate to such enthusiasm when meeting the people she'd never actually met before.

"Hi! I'm sorry if I interrupt anything but...are you Harry's fiancé?" Rose asked, pointing at Y/N, who happily nodded her head and told her she was correct before shaking the girl's hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Y/N."

"I'm Rose. I'm a friend of Harry's. I've heard so much about you! Are you shopping for a wedding dress?"

"Oh what gave that away? I'd loooooove to know!" Layla's sarcasm made Ben snort, even Maisie couldn't hide the grin on her face. Y/N knew her best friend too well to say anything about it, so she went ahead and introduced Rose to her friends and sister.

"We've met before," the girl said to Layla, who threw on a fake smile as she replied by saying she remembered, in a forceful way.

Rose told them she was here to try on the dresses for the photoshoot tomorrow, since she was modeling for their PR campaign, and as Y/N congratulated the girl on it, the others stayed silent and were all on their phones. Y/N thought Rose could feel the unwelcoming atmosphere around here, so she quickly excused herself, saying she needed to get back to work.

"It's nice meeting you all!" She waved at the other three before turning to Y/N. "Nice dress by the way."

"Thanks," Y/N told her with a beam.

As Rose made her way back to the staff who'd just talked to her earlier, Layla didn't hesitate to speak up immediately, "I told you she's evil."

"She just complimented my dress!"

"Exactly! She's so evil," Layla pointed out, rolling her eyes, but she didn't want to talk more about Rose when this moment was supposed to be about her best friend only. "Let's just forget about her and see you try on the other 23 dresses I just picked out for you. Chop chop princess! we haven't got all day!"

And so the hunt for the perfect wedding dress began.

Y/N must admit that it was fun and exciting, because she hadn't tried on gowns like these since she was a little girl. Nevertheless, as time ticked by and she'd tried on around thirty different dresses or so, she barely could feel the same joy she had when she first walked in anymore. She could make out the frustration on the other three faces as well. It almost seemed hopeless. And now they were debating over going home empty-handed, or settling down with a 'pretty but not remotely close to perfect' dress then calling it a day.

Then, a miracle happened.

Y/N flopped down on the carpet like a rag-doll and blew up her cheeks, looking like she was drowning in that tea-length dress she had on. She scanned her eyes across the room, tired and slightly disappointed, yet not until now that she spotted it in the far corner of the room. This ivory A-line wedding gown, with a crystallized bodice and a full tulle skirt, had been hidden among many other dresses, no wonder why her and her friends had missed it before. The future bride pushed herself up off the floor and came to get the gown from the rack, then brought it back to show Layla, Ben, and her sister, looking like she was carrying her own trophy.

When Layla saw the dress, the girl immediately sucked in a breath, she was nearly frozen for a second before reaching out, and running her fingertips across the illusion jewel neckline and the lace appliqués on the top-skirt. Y/N knew Layla too well to tell the difference between her "I can't believe a peasant like you is my friend" look, and the "I'm so proud of you" one (they were pretty similar), so she knew for sure when Layla looked at her like that, she definitely had done something right.

"Go! Try it on!" Ben urged the girl while squeezing his fists in enthusiasm. Y/N didn't have to be told twice. She took the dress to the dressing room while everyone standing outside was pacing back and forth in anticipatory.

It was all worth the wait once Y/N stepped out in the gown she had handpicked for herself. The girl swore she would never forget the reactions from her two friends and her sister. Never had she witnessed Layla that emotional before. The brunette hurriedly walked up to her friend and held onto her shoulders tightly.

"You have evolved," she said with a straight face, making Y/N burst into laughter. "Now give me a swirl!"

Y/N held the sides of the skirt and spins around as she could hear her sister say 'aww' and Layla gush about how beautiful she looked. Ben acted like a true fashion critic as he put a finger to his puckered lips and tilted his head to the side to comment on the sexy cutout back and how good ivory looked on her skin tone.

"Ladies, I think we've found our gem!" Layla declared, which basically summed up their whole shopping experience today.

Y/N hadn't been this happy since the night Harry had proposed to her. The poor girl had been completely heartbroken when Stephanie stole her wedding theme, but now that she'd found the perfect gown for the most important day of her life. She couldn't wait to see Harry's reaction. If Layla could be so moved by just one first look at it, Harry might probably burst into tears.

"How much is it?" Maisie's question brought everyone's fever pitch down to zero all at once. That was normally what happened when the topic of money was brought up when. From the way it looked, Y/N'd already expected this dress to be expensive the second she'd seen it on the rack. However, when Layla checked the price tag and read out that specific number, Y/N could hear the sound of her dreams shattered like glass.

"This is the price of the gown alone," Y/N mumbled as she pulled a face. "There are gonna be alteration fees, post-wedding dry-cleaning and other kind of fees. I cannot afford this! Let's put it back!"

"Calm the fuck down, okay?" Layla held up both hands, looking seriously annoyed as she inquired her panicked best friend, "do you love the dress?"

"Yes."

"A lot?"

"Yes."

"Then cut down some other expenses, change to a smaller venue, cross some people off the guest list, and take the fucking dress! Goodbye Gilbert and Gilbert's girlfriend!" Layla smirked as she flipped her hair, mentally applauding herself for being such a genius. But Y/N still seemed so unsure.

"Hey, it's okay, you don't have to make the decision right away." Maisie wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulder and gave her a sweet encouraging smile. "You can sleep on it and come back here tomorrow morning, if you still want the dress. If not, then we'll try on some other ones until we find one just as good, yeah?"

"You're right." Her sister's words really did make Y/N feel better. "I'll talk to Harry about this and come back tomorrow."

So the four of them put the dress back to where Y/N had first found it, then left the shop, after thanking the staff for being so patient with them and promising they'd come back tomorrow to make a decision at last. What they didn't expect when they walked out the door, was Rose.

"Emily, did they buy the last dress the girl tried on?" Rose stood in the way of the red head who had just sent the four customers out of the door.

"No, Ms. Davis. They haven't decided yet, but they'll be back tomorrow morning."

It only took Rose a second to make up her mind, and instantly declared that she would take that A-line wedding gown and pay for it right now.

"Ms. Davis...I..."

"I'm serious." Rose felt like her words weren't enough to convince this girl, so she took out her credit card and handed it to her. "I'm taking the dress."

"Do you want to try it on at least?"

"Nope." The brunette shook her head, a wide smile displayed on her red lips as she insisted, saying she knew what she wanted.

.

.

.

Y/N explained the dress situation to Harry after their dinner, and didn't forget to mention that if she was gonna buy that dress, they'd have to cut down some other expenses in order to afford it. When she finished, she expected him to advise her finding a more affordable wedding gown, in order to not make the wedding planning more complicated than it already was. If they wanted to reduce the costs they'd have to sit down and go back to the beginning, meaning all of their effort in the last few days would all go down in the drain.

"I want you to have that dress," he told her to her surprise, placing his hands on the small of her back, pulling her in. "First thing we're gonna do is getting rid of your cousin Gilbert and his girlfriend."

"You sound just like Layla!" Y/N threw her arms around his neck as she giggled. But he didn't think she took his words seriously.

"I mean it, love. If you love this dress, you should buy it, I can—"

"Don't even think about it!" She stopped him halfway through his sentence by placing her forefinger against his lips. "I'm paying for that dress myself."

"I'm just suggesting tha—"

She shushed him once again. "Harry, no. I'm gonna pay for that dress with my money, okay? You have a lot to spend on, it's not like you're gonna be naked at our wedding!"

"Wait, am I not allowed to be naked at our wedding?" He raised an eyebrow and received a playful eyeroll from his fiancé. "Jokes asides." He sucked in a breath. "Promise me you're getting the dress that you love?"

"Promise." She put on a big smile for him. "By the way, how's the wedding theme?"

"Still struggling." Harry groaned in frustration as he ran his fingers through his chocolate locks, but then he assured the love of his life that, tomorrow when she came home with her perfect wedding gown, she'd also get her perfect wedding theme.

It sounded so easy.

But it was really not.

Y/N, for the second time, received an entire ice bucket in the face when the red-haired lady she had just spoken to yesterday told her somebody else had already bought her dress. How was it possible that in less than 24 hours, another bride'd also come in and tried on that exact same dress and decided that it was also the perfect dress for her?! Y/N didn't believe it, she could not believe she was that unlucky! So she asked the girl again if she was mistaken. This girl, Emily, was so sure that she wasn't.

"I sold the dress myself," Emily said with certainty. "To Ms. Rosaline Davis."

"Rose Davis?"

"Yes, I saw you talking to her yesterday so I thought...she bought the dress for you."

Y/N could feel her blood start to boil. She clenched her fists, politely thanked Emily for her help, then stormed out of the shop. She was so mad because Layla'd been right about Rose all along. No, she wasn't mad, she was furious. And for a second there she nearly called Harry to ask about Rose so she could speak to the little witch in person. Just a few steps away from the store, she bumped into Jack, her boss. Even though Jack looked so delighted to see her, the girl quickly excused herself and straight off told him she was in a hurry.

"Hey, hey, hey, Y/N!" The older man grabbed the girl's elbow to spin her around to face him again. "What's going on? Are you on your way to kill someone?"

"As a matter of fact, yes!" She turned away from him again, but his grip on her arm wasn't loosen one bit, leaving her no choice but to stay and hear him out.

"This is so not like you. Whatever you're mad about, you need to calm down first." He furrowed his eyebrows at her. And she knew he was right. Layla would've done the same, but the thing was she wasn't Layla. Acting before thinking wasn't smart, and surely going to see Rose with this rage would only make the matter worse and might affect Harry's relationship with his boss, who was Rose's father.

Jack pressed his lips into a soft smile once he sees that she'd cooled off now. "Good girl," he said, sliding his hand down to hold onto hers. "Come with me. I'll buy you a coffee and we'll talk about whatever it is that's bothering you." Having nothing else better to do now that her day was officially ruined, Y/N sent him a nod and followed the man wherever he was taking her to.

They ended up sitting in a lovely café down the road, which was apparently Jack's favorite go-to place, because he told the waiter to get him "the usual". Y/N ordered a cup of Jasmine ice tea, for her day was already too bitter for a black coffee like Jack's. She usually didn't confide in just anyone, but now she wasn't really herself. So Y/N ended up releasing all the frustration she'd had ever since her wedding theme was stolen, saying now that her dress had been stolen too, she began to think...maybe the universe didn't want this wedding to happen.

She knew he was...Jack, but she expected at least something like 'don't be sad', though it sounded pointless and insincere, it was still encouraging. Instead, what she received from him was a slight chuckle.

"You find this funny?"

"No." The man shook his head, showing her a sweet grin as he ran his fingers through his hair, same way her Harry did when he was nervous. "Though I do think you're overreacting."

"I am not!"

"You are. If you see not having everything go your way in the process of planning this wedding as the sign from the universe that you shouldn't get married, then maybe you don't want to get married."

"I do!" She argued, frowning at her boss. "I love Harry, and I love what we have, and I...I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

"Then a perfect wedding shouldn't matter this much." Jack sighed, now he seemed completely stolid. "Look, my parents got married on their own, without their families' approval. She didn't even have a wedding dress or even a diamond ring. But she told me it was the happiest day of her life. She still has that hideous gown hung in her closet, and she loves it more than anything, just not as much as she loves my father." Then Jack began to smile again, Y/N thought this one was the most genuine she had ever seen from him. "So if you're saying you love Harry and you want to spend the rest of your life with him. Don't let a dress make you doubt your decision."

The conversation actually ended there, with Y/N being quiet, not knowing what to say, and Jack finishing his coffee while letting her pondering over his words. There was still a lot more that he wanted to say to her, starting from the fact that he just couldn't stop thinking about her since Valentine's Day, to how much he wished she had ever really doubted her decision to be engaged so soon. However, Jack knew better than trying to change this young woman's mind. He didn't know Harry personally, yet by the way she had always talked about that man, Jack was more than certain Y/N loved Harry unconditionally. So despite his own feelings suggesting him to do otherwise, he honestly wanted the best for her. And sadly, in her words, Harry seemed like the best.

Y/N took Jack's words home with her and replayed it over and over in her head. She didn't know what to say to Harry, whether or not she should just rant about the dress, about Rose, and demand him to stop associating with that girl because she, just like Mason and Stephanie, had ruined their wedding. Y/N carried those thoughts from the lift, to her front door. But as soon as she unlocked it and stepped inside and saw the excitement on her love's face when he came to kiss her...

"Niall and I came up with so many cool themes! I just can't wait to show you!" he said.

...and just like that, she didn't feel upset anymore. She was actually happy, more than she'd ever been, more than when she put on that dress, if she must admit. Because Y/N knew, no matter how terrible her day'd been, she was always gonna come home to this face, to this man, whose one single 'hello' could turn her frown up side down instantly. All of a sudden, a fairytale wedding, an extravagant wedding ceremony, or even the most expensive wedding gown, just couldn't compare to her Harry.

"Okay, so I have Wizard of Oz, with the yellow brick road," Harry began as he picked up the notebook and a pen from the coffee table. "Harry Potter, The Great Gatsby, Zombies, Game of Thrones, but nobody has to die of course, or any Disney classics really, I've always loved Beauty and The Beast..."

"Harry."

"...what else? Oh, who put Twilight in here? Probably Niall, but yeah, Twilight, and—"

"Harry, we don't need a wedding theme anymore," she cut him off instantly, leaving him speechless for a few seconds and just staring at her.

"W-Why?" He asked her at last, looking so worried. "There are better ones towards the end—"

"It's okay." She took the notebook and the pen from his hands and laid them back down where they were before. Then she intertwined their fingers and tiptoed to kiss the tip of his nose. "I don't need a wedding theme anymore, I don't even need a dress."

Her words really shocked him because his eyes nearly fell out of his head as he gave her that dumbfounded look. "Do you still wanna get married?"

"I do, I do!" She giggled, nodding fast. "But let's just make it a small party, invite a few friends, your family and I, to a small candlelight dinner in a garden somewhere, under the fairy lights, or the stars. I can just get a wedding dress from a thrift store and...we'll save that money to go somewhere far for our honeymoon, explore the world, like you'd always wanted to before we got together."

"Is this what you want though?" He furrowed his brows at her. "You don't have to change your mind for me. I'm fine with anything."

"Yes, this is what I want," she reassured him with a vibrant beam. "I think both of us will be happier with this plan."

"Yeah?"

"How many times do I have to tell you yes?" She grumbled and  grabbed his face to kiss him passionately. Who was Harry to argue with his girl's decision now? In fact, he was overjoyed to jump on board with this new wedding plan, and actually felt very relieved since he'd expected her to hate all of those themes he and Niall had come up with.

When they broke the kiss, she kept her hands on his cheeks, and looked him in the eyes, Harry suddenly remembered one thing and immediately told her, "I'm down with the small party and a few guests, but please at least get yourself a wedding dress. I don't want my girl to get married in a thrifted gown. Just buy that dress you wanted, baby."

Speaking of the dress...

"They sold it to someone else."

"Noooooo! They DID NOT!"

Y/N burst into laughter at Harry's dramatic reaction. "But don't worry, I'll find another one."

"You will, love, you will!" Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her feet off the ground, causing Y/N to die of laughter while clinging onto him. "It doesn't matter what you're gonna wear though, you're still my princess, with or without a beautiful dress."

"Please, I know you just prefer me naked."

"I do." He lifted an eyebrow. "Just when we're alone though, for my eyes only."

His cheeky grin never failed to cheer her up. And as they fell backward onto the couch while kissing and laughing like children, Y/N was once again reminded why she had never once doubted her decision to marry this man. With him, everyday, every moment, every second, felt like the happiest.

.

.

.

Rose came to her father's company again on Monday and stops by Harry's office to say hello as usual. Normally Harry would just greet her with a smile and ask how she'd been. This time, he didn't even turn around when she knocked on his door, which was already wide opened. He carried on tidying his working desk and paid no attention to the girl.

"Harry?" she spoke up after about five seconds with just utter silence. "Good morning?"

She waited, patiently, and eventually Harry had face her. However, the the pucker between his brows and the way his lips formed a firm line really frightened her, this was actually the first time she'd seen him like this, almost as if he was angry at her. Maybe he was, and she knew exactly the reason why.

"Why did you do it?" He went straight into the point with no further ado. The girl seemed perplexed at first, but he knew for sure she was only pretending. "Why did you have to buy that wedding dress? Is there soon to be a wedding that I don't know of?"

"I—"

"And don't even think about lying to me."

"How...Did she say something?" Rose snorted nervously but she wasn't surprised, because Y/N seemed to her like the kind of girl who would come crying to her fiancé about the dress she'd failed to get.

But Y/N hadn't. She hadn't mentioned a single word about Rose to Harry, because she didn't take this girl seriously or consider her as a threat to her relationship with Harry. After Y/N had told him about someone else having bought the wedding gown of her dream, in the afternoon he went straight to that shop without telling her. His initial intention was to ask whether or not there happened to be another one that's similar to the one his fiancé loved, only to find out from the employee named Emily, that the person who'd bought that dress was Rose. Emily seemed to hate Rose a lot, she said Rose had been friends with the owner of that shop for years, so she came over very often and wasn't always nice to the staff there. Then she didn't forget to include the fact that Rose bought the dress only so Y/N couldn't. That really drove Harry up the walls.

"She didn't have to tell me anything," he claimed, staring her down. "Why did you do it?"

"I needed that dress...for a class project."

"Really? Out of a hundred dresses in that shop, you must have the same one that you saw Y/N try on?" Harry chuckled humorlessly as he crossed his arms and shook his head slowly. "You're unbelievable. I actually thought you were nice."

Rose couldn't say a word, she couldn't even look him in the eyes.

"You once told me about the girls who bullied you back in high school," he said after releasing a long heavy breath. "Does this make you any different from them?"

"I'm sorry, I—"

"Don't apologize to me, if you really are sorry, you should say it to my girl. Please keep the dress and do whatever the hell you want to do with it, but I don't want to speak to you again." Then he sat down at his desk and opened his laptop to get back to work, that was when Rose took the cue from him and left his office immediately. A lot of Harry's co-workers began to wonder why the girl was crying on her way back to the lift, nobody dared to ask though, even if they knew, even if her father knew, Harry would still not take back what he'd just said to her.

Unlike Harry, Y/N had an ordinary day at work. She wanted to thank Jack for the drink and the pep talk yesterday, but when she arrived at work this morning, his personal assistant said he was on a business trip and therefore wouldn't show up today. So Y/N left him a text, which he still hasn't replied. She finished work early (because Jack wasn't here to assign her more tasks to do), then took a taxi home because Harry had a late meeting he couldn't pick her up. She was definitely in a good mood, humming her favorite song as she walked into the lobby and said hello to Nam. But before she could make it to the lift, the doorman stopped her just in time.

"Come quick!" He waved at her, looking so suspicious as he took a few glances around them before whispering to her that she'd got a 'special delivery'.

"Nam, why are you sounding like you're selling me drugs!" She laughed, but the Asian man didn't seem to find that joke funny. He bent down and lifted up a big white box from underneath the counter. Y/N thought if she tried she could just fit right in there. It looked like huge Christmas present wrapped around by a ribbon with a cute little bow on top.

"Aww, Nam, it's not my birthday!"

"It's not from me!" He snorted and tapped his hand on the box, smiling at her. "I'm so glad Harry didn't come home with you. I don't think he should see this."

"What is it?" Nam's words really made her curious. She just had so many questions right now. What on Earth was big enough to be in that box? Why shouldn't Harry see this? Who was it from?!

To answer for all of those inquiries in her head, Nam handed her a white card, telling her to read it herself. She hesitated for a while, not knowing what to expect, and she was actually afraid of surprises after all the unfortunate events lately. Her hands were trembling as she unfolded the card, and as soon as she saw the neat handwriting in black ink, she knew just who this present was from.

Thanks for your help with the perfect PR campaign. I think you deserve your perfect wedding dress. Cheers, J.C.

"J.C," she said the words aloud with a snort. Jack Coleman, how extra could he be? But wait, did he really write 'wedding dress'?! He's giving me a freaking wedding dress?!

Y/N widened her eyes at Nam, who urged her to open the box and saw the dress because he was just as equally excited as she was, probably more. "I've been waiting the whole afternoon for you to come home and unbox this! I don't want Harry to see because the dress should be a surprise to the groom!" He told her while crossing his fingers. "Please let it be beautiful."

Nervous, excited, impatient, Y/N had her eyes shut when she slowly lifted open the box. Only when she heard a loud squeal from Nam did she finally took a look to see what it was. That was not just a wedding dress, it was the dress, the one she was still trying to convince herself that she didn't need, the exact same one that Rose had bought two days ago! As elated as she was to finally see it there again, Y/N was still so confused about this unexpected present.

"Who delivered this?"  She quickly asked Nam, who was still gushing over the pretty gown. "Was it Jack?"

"Who? The hot guy who came to see you the day before Valentine's?"

"Yeah, the one who looks smug all the time."

"Nope, the deliver guy brought the box here," Nam told her as he shrugged. "He told me it was a wedding dress, a gift from someone to you. I didn't read the card so I assumed it was from Layla or your sister. Now you say it's from your hot boss, and I'm so confused."

"So am I." She sighed. Now Y/N had even more questions than before. Why did Jack have the dress? Was this the one Rose bought or is it another that looked the same? How was Harry gonna feel about Jack giving her this? Most importantly, should she accept this gift or return it to him?

.

.

.

"Jack Coleman! I need to speak to you right now!" Rose barged into Jack's home office even though his butler followed her inside, begging her not to disturb the man when he was working. It was too late, Jack was already disturbed. Rose's presence took his attention away from his laptop screen as he stood up, removed his glasses and told his butler to leave him alone with her.

"Can't you see I'm in a middle of work here?" He asked, sounding annoyed. He'd just got back from a business trip and was physically drained, but what was the point of explaining the situation now, when clearly this younger girl couldn't care any less. Anyway, he knew exactly why she was there.

"Did you sneak into my studio to take that wedding dress?!" She raised her voice, pointing to the door. Her rage was the opposite from his composure at the moment.

"No, your father let me in, and I bought it back," he spoke calmly, hands in the pockets of his trousers.

"What did you say to my dad?"

"Don't be a child, Rosaline."

"Just because our parents are best friends, it doesn't make us best friends! You can't just waltz into my house and take my stuff without my permission!"

"Why do you even need a wedding dress anyway?" He scoffed, lifting his shoulders, eyebrows pulled together as he stared at her. "I've known you since you were five, so don't fucking lie to me."

"It's none of your business! Did you say something to Harry?"

Jack cracked up but he fought her being here and saying these stuff far from funny. "I didn't say anything to him, but maybe I should because you are being a brat. His fiancé, the girl you stole the dress from was a friend of mine."

"Stole? I bought it first! It was mine before you stole it for her! How do you even know her though?! Did you find out from her?" Rose panted, placing both hands on her hips, only to receive an eye-roll from the older man in the black polo shirt.

"No." He shook his head, still keeping a straight face. He didn't feel the need to explain his relationship with anyone to Rose. "You expected me to not find out that you bought a wedding dress from my sister's shop? Grow up Rosaline." The girl didn't say a word so he carried on,  "are you obsessed with Y/N's fiancé? Was why you pulled this kind of stuff?"

"You should really speak for yourself," Rose finally spoke, now crossing her arms defensively even though she was the one attacking him with her words. "Don't lie and say you're not already in love with her." She paused to see what he was going to say next, knowing he was now all tongue-tied, because not a single word she'd just said was false. She knew him from inside out.

When Rose saw herself out of his home office, Jack sat back down at his working desk and stared blankly at the laptop screen. Suddenly, the screen of his phone lit up with a new text, another one from Y/N.

Hey, I don't know why you're not answering my calls and texts, but thank you for the dress :) I'll pay the money back! Have a good night!

That one short paragraph alone could put a smile on his face. And that was when Jack realized, he'd got a big problem.

[sunshinekarliekloss]

Conquering fashion and crushing tech, Karlie Kloss is just getting started

Taking an Australian to an Australian restaurant is a very Karlie Kloss thing to do.

Heartily recommending dishes (green goddess salad! Avocado toast!) and knowing everyone who works at the joint (Two Hands in N.Y.C.’s TriBeCa neighborhood) is also très Karlie Kloss. Almost 10 years in, her modeling career has encompassed more runways than JFK, more covers than a ... cover band, and more campaigns than some presidents (Swarovski, Express, L’Oréal, Adidas). But the St. Louis–raised Kloss remains a Midwestern girl who was brought up right. She’s two years into Kode with Klossy, her 10-city (and growing) program to inspire young girls to learn coding and enter the tech world, and over a year into her feminist studies at NYU (complemented handily by today’s look: a Dior T-shirt that says “We Should All Be Feminists”). But right now she’s just going to extend her illegally long legs under the table for a chat. LAURA BROWN: At the British Fashion Awards in London last December, you were posing away on the red carpet in a sparkly Swarovski thing, and it was freezing. I just thought, “How does she keep turning up and doing that?” KARLIE KLOSS: First of all, I’m a Leo, so when I need to turn it on, I do. I enjoy the adrenaline—not just when I’m walking the red carpet but also when I’m on set or in a runway show or even in the small film things I’ve done. I don’t know; I’m going to throw it to being a Leo because I have no other explanation! But I also know the feeling of being spent. What happens when you’re spent? I book myself out. I take time. I shut off. I don’t post to social media for a couple of days, and I find that to be really rewarding and healthy. It actually reenergizes me to be able to turn it back on and have fun. We’re multitasking women; we all have a lot going on. But you also have to protect yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally and give yourself time. “Book yourself out”: I know that’s a model term, but metaphorically, it’s a good idea too. Yeah. Because you know what? It’s not a matter of being lazy—the returns are tenfold: You’ll be able to show up with more energy, more drive, more focus. It’ll pay off. Are you type A? I don’t know if I’m type A. I’m super-driven, but I’m not a perfectionist. Women are always told we can have it all, but acknowledging your limitations is a wonderful thing too. There’s a beauty in knowing what you can’t do. There’s also a beauty in not trying to figure it all out. Things like Kode with Klossy happened because after graduating from high school, I was fully focusing on my modeling career but at a certain point was uninspired. That’s why I started taking a coding class. When you sat down for that first coding class, did it feel like, “Oh, great!” or “Oh, s—!”? I only got myself into that first coding class because I was genuinely curious about it and I met someone who started the Flatiron School … I am someone who if you tell me I have to do something, I’m less inclined to do it, but I took that class because I was really interested in how all this works. It’s how the world is actually built. Code is the secret language that builds all the digital architecture of everything that we rely on. And pretty much a fraction of people know about it, yet we all use it. I’ve always been intrigued by the direction nobody else is going in. Not following the herd. If anything, the herd is following you, especially when you’re, like, 7 feet in heels. Honestly, I never owned a pair of heels until I became a model. I remember buying a pair of black high heels from Target in St. Louis because I had to practice learning how to walk in them. OK, set the scene for me, please. I had just turned 15—now 18 is the minimum age to model—and started high school on a Monday, and by Friday I was on a plane to New York for a casting call. I thought, “There’s no way anyone is going to book me for New York Fashion Week, but it’s good to go and see people.” I had my high heels from Target and a little black dress from Macy’s that my mom bought me. It became my lucky little black dress that I continued to wear again and again. That was the outfit I was wearing when I walked into Calvin Klein in 2008 and got cast in the show that launched my career. I look back at photos, and I’m like, “How and why did anybody book me?” I was a child! But I was a very tall child. I’ve always been kind of an old soul, I guess.

You’ve always read older. I’m still surprised at how young you are. I really loved those years. And it was so different. The whole digital situation was different. Do you think social media makes it harder or easier to succeed? I think it’s a different ball game. You have to have a strong presence on the runway, schlep around the world to build a book for editorial, work with the right people, and be in the right campaigns. You also have to have a digital presence and brand yourself. Maybe it’s easier to break through now because it’s democratized. It’s not like there are three important people in the fashion industry who are going to say, “Yes, you’re going to be successful.” It’s the people’s choice. Right, and that’s what’s really interesting. Something can become successful if it’s a good idea or if it’s going against the grain. It’s hard to predict. It’s important to have constants in all this, right? How do you manage a relationship with all your travel and everything else? [Kloss dates venture capitalist and health-care entrepreneur Joshua Kushner.] You make it work. We’ve been together almost five years. Time flies. It’s crazy. He’s a super-solid dude. Is it nice to know someone’s there? Yeah. I’ve always been super-close with my family. They are my rock. There’s so much uncertainty in every direction, like, “Are you gonna get this job?” So having a solid crew, whether it’s your family or a partner, that’s a big part of being able to function. What does being a feminist mean to you? Actually, I’m taking a feminism class at NYU right now. It’s about the political history of feminism, really, since the ’60s and ’70s. The term “feminism” means different things to different people; a lot of people throw it around without really understanding the weight of it because it is layered. Two women can identify as feminists and have wildly different ways of living their lives. I love what Maria Grazia [Chiuri] is doing at Dior. She’s such a powerhouse. Having women in leadership positions is so important. Hopefully it will happen in the White House someday. Would you ever consider making a run for the White House? Never say never, right? So, we did a superhero shoot together for InStyle. Who’s your real-life superhero? My mom, for sure. She battled really aggressive breast cancer when my three sisters and I were young. She survived by the skin of her teeth. I’ve grown up completely idolizing her. She’s so strong. Were you ever into superheroes? Wonder Woman, of course! First of all, she’s got great style, hair, and accessories. And I love that she’s fearless. She doesn’t need a man. She’s so independent. Where would you go if you could fly an invisible jet? I would love to be able to fly, period. Being invisible would be amazing. I’m 6'2", so it’s hard to be invisible, but at times I love just being a people-watcher, whether it’s in a café or the places I travel. Do you have days when you’re not recognized? I put on a baseball hat and jeans and a T-shirt and nobody pays attention to me. It’s great. I hope that never changes. Maybe when you hit 25 and get real old. Hopefully I’ll start shrinking too! When was the moment you knew you’d made it in your career? I haven’t hit that moment yet, but when I bought my apartment in New York six years ago, that felt like a major milestone. So you had a mortgage at 18? Yeah. All my friends were, like, just getting their driver’s licenses.

What do you spend your money on? I am very ambitious as an entrepreneur and as a businesswoman, but it doesn’t matter how much money I make. I am frugal. I spend money on experiences. I like to take amazing vacations with my loved ones. I like property. I just bought a beautiful home in St. Louis. That must be wonderful—coming back home with such success. You know what’s crazy? I bought the house I used to babysit in. My only job before modeling was a $6-an-hour babysitting gig, which, by the way, was great. I feel like I have this Cinderella story, and I’m really grateful for it. It was not the path I was anticipating. Anyway, it’s come full circle for me. I always loved that house. What’s something you do every day that would surprise people? Indulge in chocolate in some form. Chocolate is my weakness. It’s my Kryptonite. If you’re really on a bender, what do you do? What’s your “f— it bucket”? Halo Top ice cream. It’s lower in calories. I’ll smash a whole pint. I have a sweet tooth. That’s how Karlie’s Kookies happened, because I love sweets. You’re super-diligent about working out. Do you try to keep it to a certain time every day? I like to work out in the morning and get it out of the way because it changes how I function the rest of the day. I feel more awake and am more aware of what I eat. Since I’m always traveling and in a different place, I started running. I love running in Paris and upstate New York. I also love strength training. If I work out, it doesn’t immediately change my body, but it changes my clarity, focus, and emotions. My job right now is reliant on my body, but that’s genuinely not why I work out. What’s your favorite thing to do? Do you cook a lot at home? I love to cook. I love going to the market and getting fresh stuff and just getting creative. How ambitious are you? I want Kode with Klossy to grow. Last summer we had three camps with 20 girls in each one. This summer we have 15 camps in 10 cities and 20 to 25 girls in each class. All of this and you’re not type A? I’m grateful that I’m successful at 24 in a way that I never imagined I would be. I feel lucky I started working at 15—it’s been almost 10 years. I feel like a geezer! What was the last thing you bought for yourself? I bought this sick handpainted Gucci leather jacket. It was from a special collaboration. My frugal self broke the bank on that one. And also the house. [Laughs] What’s your favorite thing that you’ve worn out lately? It was this cute little Dior sleeveless dress that was just way sexy and athletic. I loved it. Most important, where are the Target shoes now? My mom has the first crayon drawing I ever made, so I’m sure those shoes are in a box somewhere in the Kloss attic. (x)

[junker-town]

Bracketology 2019: Bubble trouble lurks as conference tournaments reach full swing

Nearly every remaining conference tournament will have stories to tell before the real field of 68 is announced.

With 2018-19’s regular season in the history books, it’s all elimination basketball from now until someone cuts the nets down in Minneapolis on Monday, April 8th. This morning’s bracket is largely unchanged from Sunday’s version, though I did shuffle some teams around (as noted on the seed list). Most notably, I switched the positions of the LSU Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers on the No. 2 seed line. I also added the Atlantic Sun champion Liberty Flames and Big South-winning Gardner-Webb Bulldogs to the field, which led to a few adjustments from lines 12 down.

Before things start to pick up tomorrow, I wanted to take the opportunity today to look at the biggest seeding and selection storylines to monitor over the next seven days and nights. But first, here’s today’s full bracket.

Note: Auto bid holders in this section are noted by the conference names in parentheses. Arrows indicate movement up or down seed lines relative to Sunday’s projection. New entrants are marked with an asterisk. Teams that have clinched bids are in all caps.

1. East (Washington, D.C.)

Columbia, South Carolina (Fri./Sun.)

1. Virginia (ACC) vs. 16. St. Francis (Pa.) (NEC)/Norfolk State (MEAC) 8. UCF vs. 9. Utah State

San José, California (Fri./Sun.)

5. Maryland vs. ↑12. New Mexico State (WAC) 4. Kansas State (Big 12) vs. 13. Hofstra (CAA)

Hartford, Connecticut (Thu./Sat.)

6. Marquette vs. ↑11. Texas 3. Purdue vs. 14. Old Dominion (C-USA)

Tulsa, Oklahoma (Fri./Sun.)

↓7. Iowa State vs. 10. Minnesota 2. LSU (SEC) vs. ↑15. BRADLEY (MVC)

4. Midwest (Kansas City, Missouri)

Columbia (Fri./Sun.)

1. North Carolina vs. *16. GARDNER-WEBB (Big South) ↑8. Baylor vs. ↑9. Seton Hall

Salt Lake City, Utah (Thu./Sat.)

5. Mississippi State vs. 12. Temple/Indiana 4. Texas Tech vs. 13. UC Irvine (Big West)

Tulsa (Fri./Sun.)

↑6. Auburn vs. 11. TCU 3. Houston (American) vs. 14. Georgia State (Sun Belt)

Columbus, Ohio (Fri./Sun.)

7. Buffalo (MAC) vs. 10. Arizona State 2. Michigan State (Big Ten) vs. 15. Omaha (Summit)

2. West (Anaheim, California)

Salt Lake City (Thu./Sat.)

1. Gonzaga (WCC) vs. 16. Iona (MAAC)/Prairie View (SWAC) 8. Louisville vs. 9. Washington (Pac-12)

Hartford (Thu./Sat.)

5. Wisconsin vs. 12. MURRAY STATE (OVC) 4. Florida State vs. *13. LIBERTY (ASUN)

Des Moines, Iowa (Thu./Sat.)

6. Villanova (Big East) vs. 11. Florida 3. Kansas vs. ↑14. Montana (Big Sky)

Jacksonville, Florida (Thu./Sat.)

7. Wofford (SoCon) vs. 10. Syracuse ↑2. Tennessee vs. 15. Colgate (Patriot)

3. South (Louisville, Kentucky)

Columbus (Fri./Sun.)

1. Kentucky vs. 16. Sam Houston State (Southland) 8. Oklahoma vs. ↓9. Iowa

San José (Fri./Sun.)

5. Nevada (MW) vs. ↓12. Ohio State/Clemson 4. Virginia Tech vs. 13. Vermont (Am. East)

Des Moines (Thu./Sat.)

6. Cincinnati vs. 11. St. John’s 3. Michigan vs. 14. Harvard (Ivy)

Jacksonville (Thu./Sat.)

7. VCU (A 10) vs. ↓10. Ole Miss 2. Duke vs. 15. Wright State (Horizon)

Last Four Byes: St. John’s, TCU, Florida, Texas Last Four IN: Temple, Indiana, Ohio State, Clemson First Four OUT: Belmont, NC State, Lipscomb, Creighton Next Four OUT: Oregon, Alabama, UNCG, Furman

New Today: Gardner-Webb, Liberty Leaving Today: Lipscomb, Radford

Bids by Conference: 9 Big Ten, 8 ACC, 8 Big 12, 7 SEC, 4 American, 4 Big East, 2 Mountain West, 2 Pac-12, 24 one-bid conferences

Bubble trouble lurks

With mid-major conferences taking center stage on the Monday and Tuesday nights of Championship Week, it’s typically quiet on the bubble front, as only the WCC Tournament usually worries those teams competing for the final few spots in the field. And with the Gonzaga Bulldogs not only a tournament lock, but a likely No. 1 seed, that applies again this year. But 2019’s event in Vegas has a couple of wrinkles that make it a little more intriguing. For starters, the WCC bracket returned to a ladder format, meaning both the Bulldogs and second-seeded Saint Mary’s Gaels enter the fray tonight at the semifinal stage (9 p.m. ET, ESPN and 11:30 p.m., ESPN2) — after having last played on Saturday, March 2nd. Then, thanks to the BYU Cougars’ “no play on Sunday” rule, the tournament took yesterday off. That means Saturday’s quarterfinal winners, the eighth-seeded Pepperdine Waves and seventh-seeded San Diego Toreros, got a day off before taking the floor again tonight.

Yes, two teams that started the WCC Tournament in Thursday’s first round will be looking for their fourth consecutive wins in the event. And if that happens bubble teams everywhere will be panicking because that means an at-large bid is about to vanish. (No. 1 seed contenders, on the other hand, would be rejoicing over Gonzaga’s misfortune.)

The more serious threat to the at-large pool comes earlier in the evening, as the Southern Conference’s top seed, the Wofford Terriers, takes on the second-seeded UNC Greensboro Spartans in that league’s title game (7 p.m., ESPN). If the Terriers win and complete a 21-0 SoCon campaign, an at-large spot is preserved. But if the Spartans pull the upset, someone’s bubble will pop.

And the drama will only continue as the week goes on.

The Buffalo Bulls, currently a seven seed in this projection, open MAC Tournament play on Thursday at 12 p.m. Eastern (ESPN+ ($)) with the Toledo Rockets and Bowling Green Falcons their main threats for the title in Cleveland.

The Atlantic 10, consistently a multi-bid league in recent seasons, has only one at-large threat, the top-seeded VCU Rams. If Mike Rhoades’ squad falls at any point between Friday’s quarterfinals and Sunday’s title game, an at-large bid will vanish.

The Nevada Wolf Pack have long been an NCAA lock, despite a lack of Quad 1 wins. And with their win over the Pack in Logan last Saturday, the Utah State Aggies also put themselves in prime position for a bid. Bubble teams will have to hope for the two to meet in Saturday night’s final in Las Vegas, though an early loss for the Aggies could see them find late trouble.

Of course, a surprising Cinderella run in one of the multi-bid league tournaments could throw a further wrench into the picture. Let’s take a quick look at the most intriguing storylines in each.

Big East Tournament

With four of the conference’s 10 teams finishing at 9-9, four others at either 8-10 or 7-11 and the Villanova Wildcats and Marquette Golden Eagles having fallen back to the pack over the final two weeks of the season, this is the power conference most likely to produce a surprise winner. Making matters worse, the favorites’ respective slides mean they’re going to have to win out at Madison Square Garden to have a real shot at a protected seed, most likely on the four line.

Pac-12 Tournament

While both the regular-season champion Washington Huskies and second-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils are present in today’s projection, a slip-up in Las Vegas, particularly early on, could put them in a world of hurt. And like the Big East, the Pac-12 also has a bunched-up middle class. Just three games separated the third-seeded Utah Utes with the trio of teams that finished eighth in the standings. The worst case scenario for the bubble? A surprise team winning the final on Saturday night over either the Huskies or Sun Devils, with the eliminated favorite having been competitive in the semifinals.

American Athletic Tournament

While the Houston Cougars are playing for a possible No. 2 seed and the Cincinnati Bearcats and UCF Knights are both NCAA locks at this point, the third-seeded Temple Owls will probably need to win at least a game to secure their spot. Complicating the picture, the Memphis Tigers — currently on the bubble’s fringe — host the tournament. Only Cincinnati was able to defeat Penny Hardaway’s team on its home floor during conference play. But there’s a caveat — Houston didn’t travel to the Mid-South during the regular season. But the Cougars and Tigers could meet in Saturday’s semifinals.

ACC Tournament

Once you get past Tuesday’s opening round that features six teams that finished under .500, things will be popping in Charlotte. First up, the league’s bubble teams will take the floor on Wednesday with the Clemson Tigers and NC State Wolfpack playing a virtual elimination game in the afternoon session and the Syracuse Orange and Louisville Cardinals both looking to avoid the dreaded late bad loss that night. The top four seeds then hit the floor for the first time in Thursday’s quarterfinals, with the Virginia Cavaliers, North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils all very much alive in the race for No. 1 NCAA seeds and the Florida State Seminoles (and fifth-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies, for that matter) trying to jump above the four line. Friday night’s second semifinal could be the third UNC-Duke game of the season — but quite possibly the first to fully involve Zion Williamson.

SEC Tournament

Travel a few hours west of Charlotte and the picture is similar in Nashville, but with a twist — the SEC’s No. 4 seed, the South Carolina Gamecocks, aren’t a real at-large threat, as they’re 15-15 in Division I games thanks to some woeful non-conference performances. Again, early action will feature bubble teams, with the Florida Gators taking on the Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday afternoon in a game Mike White’s squad cannot afford to lose after a three-game skid to end the regular season. In the evening session, the Alabama Crimson Tide, currently projected on the outside looking in, could improve their stock by topping the Ole Miss Rebels. Quarterfinal Friday will feature the Gamecocks and the league’s three No. 1 seed contenders, the champion LSU Tigers, Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers.

Big Ten Tournament

While both the Michigan State Spartans and Michigan Wolverines have featured in the race for No. 1 seeds throughout the season, it might take others stumbling for them to return to the top line at this point. (The Big Ten title game’s pre-Selection Show finish further complicates matters.) So, both are jockeying with the Purdue Boilermakers for spots on the two line. Plus, a spot on the NCAA Tournament’s four line could be on the line when the fourth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers and fifth-seeded Maryland Terrapins meet in Friday’s second quarterfinal. Then there’s the bubble, with both the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Iowa Hawkeyes needing wins in Thursday’s second round to feel safe and the Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers meeting in yet another possible NCAA elimination game to start that day’s quadruple-header.

Big 12 Tournament

For starters, the Oklahoma Sooners and TCU Horned Frogs both must play in Wednesday’s opening round, with the potential of a loss being the most harmful to the Frogs’ chances. Then on Wednesday, the most intriguing quarterfinal is the nightcap, as the Texas Longhorns will face a serious challenge as they attempt to avoid the 16th loss that would knock them to .500 and likely eliminate them from NCAA consideration. What does Shaka Smart’s team have to do to avoid such a fate? Merely beat the Kansas Jayhawks on their de facto alternate home floor, Kansas City’s Sprint Center. Easy peasy. The Jayhawks currently feature on the No. 3 seed line nationally, while the conference’s co-champs, the Kansas State Wildcats and Texas Tech Red Raiders, are on line four. The highest finisher of the trio in K.C. is likely to end up as a three, with a chance for a No. 2 seed.

Tomorrow, I’ll be back to talk about the cases for and against the teams closest to the cut line.

[kristawashere]

4 u

Ask some questions, get some answers 1. Favourite colour. Maroon 
2. Number of people you’ve slept with. 16
3. Cake or ice cream? What are my options? Probably cake. Moo
4. If you were a superhero what would your power be? I could pull up stats on anyone, for anything. 
5. Ever been in a fist fight? No. Some day 
6. Do you live in the country or the city? City
7. Biggest kink? When my partner sees me as a human being 
8. Favourite video-game? Tony hawk pro skater 3 
9. Words you live by? You are responsible for the way your own heart beats 
10. Best book you’ve ever read? Fight club, or the bell jar 
11. Favourite film?
12. Horror or romance? Horror 
13. Biggest fear? Being kidnapped
14. Best memory? Osheaga weekend 2012
15. Worst memory? Learning that my friend had died
16. Where are you from? Ur mums house 
17. Ever done anal? I poop from there
18. Would you prefer to be Mary Berry’s grandchild or Paul Hollywood’s bitch? Wut
19. Favourite outfit? Pants with a cardigan and dope boots
20. Snapchat or Instagram? Insta
21. If you could freeze time what would you do? Snoop through my loved ones personal items 
22. Best LUSH product in your opinion? Shower bombs 
23. Should people wear red shirts or brown pants in your presence? Brown 
24. Favourite television character? Michael Scott 
25. Do you have a nemesis? Is that like a type of neopet
26. Are you a hard-worker? I'm a hardly-worker
27. What’s the best holiday you’ve ever been on? Christmas holidays 
28. What’s your dream? To be happy 
29. Where do you see your life ending up? In the toilet 
30. Describe your last sexual encounter. Woke up to my girlfriend being frisky 
31. Cake by the ocean or sex on the beach? Why not both 
32. Ever done drugs? Drugs are bad mmkay 
33. Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings? HP
34. Are you a jock or a nerd? Class clown 
35. On a scale of 8 to 34.7, how gay are you? 35
36. Do you live for Tumblr discourse or hate it? Um
37. Favourite trashy television show? Trashy tv is boring
38. Last time you watched porn? I have it penciled in for this weekend 
39. Do you have a recurring sexual fantasy? My mind is always in the gutter 
40. Weirdest dream you ever had? I dreamt my mom said she loved me 
41. Ever had mental health issues? Oui
42. What’s the answer to the question you wish someone would ask you? Mushroom, red pepper, bacon
43. Do you wish people paid more attention to you? No
44. Do you have anyone who you’d happily slap right across their chops? Sure
45. Dog person or cat person? Meow meow meow 
46. Sneakers or heels? Sneaks
47. Favourite cocktail? Meh
48. Day or night? Night 
49. Pokémon or Digimon? GOTTA CATCH EM ALL
50. How big is your dick? 240 pounds
51. Favourite musical? Couldn't say 
52. Favourite song? That's too hard 
53. Are you secretly a goblin/alien/android? It's not a secret 
54. Why are you like this? I didn't get enough attention as a child 
55. What’s your guilty pleasure? Eating pb out of the jar 
56. What would you say if I said ‘I love you’? Why?
57. What’s the story behind your URL? I was here, once 
58. Tell me something that worries you. That I'll never be happy with myself 
59. What have you been worrying about today? My fat gut 
60. I’m only sending you these questions because I have a crush on you and I’m too tragic to actually just say it. Gross 
61. Hot dogs or burgers? Burg 
62. Nintendo or the other trash-consoles? Get a life 
63. Which fandom ruined a show that you used to like?
64. What do you wish you could tell your best friend? That I miss her 
65. Tell us a deep dark secret. I pick my nose 
66. Are you curious about having a man in leather spank your botty ‘til it’s all red? What's a botty 
67. Favourite Tumblr couple?
68. Do you have any dietary quirks? Eating is hard 
69. Do you want to have someone pleasure your genitals orally while you do the same to theirs? Yep 
70. How old are you? 255555555
71. Which Buzzfeed listicle sums up your existence? Stop
72. Do you have any pets? A cat and a cat 
73. What colour underwear are you wearing? Pink OUUUU LA LA
74. Boxers or briefs? Briefs
75. Fuck me, Ray Bradbury? My name is Krista 
76. Which television show do you want to last forever? I don't care
77. In a zombie apocalypse how long would you last? 1 hour 
78. Do you have good internet connection or do you want to punch your router every ten minutes? What's internet 
79. Would you find it somewhat saucy if I sent bawdy nudes in your direction? Mhmhm 
80. Which country has the best flag? MURICA
81. Do you consider yourself *iconic*? Ironic 
82. Most overrated food? Tempura anything 
83. Most overrated film? I'm in no position to answer that 
84. Most overrated television show? Each and every one
85. Most overrated type of cheese? Blue
86. Which brand would you never shop at? Omg who cares 
87. Wisdom, courage, or power? Courage 
88. Would you prefer to travel in time and stay in the same spot, or travel in space with time elapsing as normal? The first one 
89. What’s the best birthday present you ever got? Everyone got me bottles of wine one year. That was dope 90. What present do you wish someone would give you? An anklet 
91. Do you have an ex? Why did you break up? Bad breath 
91. Why does 91 appear on this list twice now? Someone screwed the pooch 
92. Spare a thought for the humble creator of this list, it’s difficult to think of this many questions. I simply don't have a thought to spare 
93. Do you prefer anons or non-anons? 
94. Who do you wish you could have sex with more than any other? Ur mum
95. What is your spirit animal? Kimmy gibbler 
96. Do you have one word that you really love the sound of? Hush 
97. Do you still have any of your stuffed toys from when you were a kid? Of course 
98. What makes you super nostalgic? Chicken soup with crackers 
99. Give me an answer to a random one of these questions. (But don’t make it a shit answer like ‘yes’. Don’t be an asshole.) no 
100. What’s your favourite cocktail? U AXED ME DIS 
101. Sonic screwdriver or Ron’s shit broken wand from the second Potter book?
102. Laptop or PC? Lappy 
103. What’s the sexiest accent in your opinion? Dirty dirty English 
104. Would you let Donald Trump tickle your nipples for an hour for £6,000,000? Hell ya 
105. You should check out a great little British website called Pretty52. Kk
106. If you could dye your hair any colour, what colour would you change to? Dirty blonde
107. What would you change about your body if you could? I'd exchange it for a new one 
108. Do you prefer to be hot or cold? HOT
109. What’s your favourite way to orgasm? With a partner 
110. Are you a mermaid or a unicorn? I'm just a regular girl 
111. What’s the name of your favourite pet when you were a kid? Jackal 
112. What was your favourite class at school? Math 
113. Are you superstitious? I'm a little stitious 
114. What do you think happens when we die? People are sad af
115. Pie or pi? Talk nerdy 2 me 
116. Your followers a question.
117. Lick my genitalia. Kk
118. What’s your favourite number? 11
119. Do you ever look up at the stars and feel small? No 
120. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Sure 
121. Tell me about a quirky personality trait. Anal af
122. What was your favourite story when you were younger? Cinderella 
123. Are you old before your time or young at heart? Ive heard both about myself 
124. Why do you do the things you do? Please. Tell me. - I do wut I want 
125. I hope you enjoyed these questions. No
126. Which Tumblr blog would you recommend to all your fans? Ur mums

[athingortwoblog]

Wow! It has been an AMAZING year! There’s so much that has happened this year that I almost forgot that all of it happened this year. God has done so many wonderful things in the lives of each of my family members. He has pulled me further outside of my comfort zone than I ever thought was possible in only 365 days.

I’m the type of person that “needs” to know everything about a situation, especially a new one. I want to know what to expect before leaping headfirst. I’m not an out-of-the-box type of person. My comfort zone is comfortable and I like to stay in it. However, I’ve found that sometimes trusting God and stepping outside of my comfort zone can be a really exciting process.

Here are just a few things that have made this year amazing…

January

Our grandparents came to spend the new year with us and we took a trip to the beach for some of our favorite fish and chips. We also had a snowstorm and Adam built a HUGE snowball. He then practiced his archery in it and later chopped it apart with a machete. He had a lot of fun.

I joined a friend for a Mary Kay party and ended up winning a spa trip! It was pretty awesome! I did a live workout series on my Instagram which ended up being a lot of fun. Maybe I’ll do it again this year?

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February

Julia and I hosted a Galentine’s Day tea party with our girlfriends. We watched Letters to Juliet and played a game called Mystery Date. Dad sent us flowers because he was out of town.

We also rock-climbed for the first time at Rise Fitness. It began a love of rock-climbing in all of us.

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March

In March, we worked hard on the yard and garden. I got ready for the baseball season in style. The boys were great and helped me film a video for my YouTube channel which led to an injury and I never uploaded it. I also made cream puffs to celebrate 200 followers on Instagram.

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April

Our first trip of the year was to Florida to see our family. We spent time at the beach, ate some good food, and watched Shazam. It was a nice reprieve from the cold weather and it was nice to see all of our family again. We stopped in Savannah on the way home. It was my first time there and I absolutely fell in love!

Easter was quietly celebrated at home and we enjoyed the Avengers: Endgame movie. I went to my first bridal shower, as a bridesmaid, and met an amazing friend. It was totally outside of my comfort zone to go alone, not knowing anybody, but I gained a wonderful friend out of it and I didn’t regret it at all. Throughout the year, this friend – Heidi – and I have done so many fun things together and have truly become best friends.

Finally, I was finally able to use my spa day tickets and received a facial, massage, mani-pedi, and spent the entire day with a friend. It was wonderfully relaxing!

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May

May was a big month for me! It had been a long-time coming to celebrate the wedding of one of my dearest friends. I finally had the chance to be a bridesmaid and I honestly think that it was the most memorable moment of the whole year for me. It was the most perfect day and I was one of the first people to congratulate the beautiful bride and proud groom.

We traveled to Boston to visit with our Grandma, go to a Red Sox game for Dad’s birthday, tour around our favorite places in the city (including Boston Harbor), Plymouth, ate some incredible foods, and I even visited my favorite book store which is officially closing…so sad.

Finally, we got two of the cutest little baby animals to add to our family; Lulu the Guinea pig and Lola the bunny. Oh! We also set up a home gym for Father’s Day.

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June

The first day of Summer brought a 50’s party. Our friends arrived dressed their best and we watched an outdoor showing of Arsenic & Old Lace. It was a fantastic way to welcome the best season ever.

We discovered an antique store that I’m absolutely in love with. It’s like a huge maze of amazing items. Adam got a bird named Jose, I made homemade strawberry jam, we went to the beach with a friend, and we discovered a beautiful greenhouse cafe with delicious pastries.

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July

For Independence Day, I broke out the face paints and we went to see the new Spiderman movie; Spiderman – Far From Home. We hosted more friend get-togethers, one of which included a handmade water slide and an intense water gunfight.

I cut off my hair! I actually love it! Our uncle came to live with us for a while. Lulu grew two sizes and we ventured to the state fair where I got many compliments on my Trump 2020 shirt.

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August

August was Julia’s month. She turned 18 and graduated! I can’t believe how grown-up she is. I gained three beautiful students, we had family come and visit for the graduation, Julia and I gathered some friends together to go see the Dora movie, and our family found a new biking trail that we keep going back to.

Julia and I combined our birthday parties again this year into a 20’s soiree. It was fabulous! I went to another friend’s bridal shower!

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September

I’m 24! When did this happen? I celebrated by attempting 24 things in 24 hours…it didn’t really work out but I did get to spend the day with my siblings and watched my favorite movie (the live-action Cinderella). My sweet, dear friend took me out for ice cream for my birthday because she couldn’t be there to celebrate with me.

Julia and I planned a surprise, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea party for Adam’s 16th birthday. He didn’t suspect a thing!

We took Heidi with us to go mini-golfing at the beach. We went to 8 different mini-golf courses, visited the beach, and then got snow cones. Heidi got a hole in one on the final hole…it was awesome! Another one of our friendship meet-ups was to go rock-climbing. It was a great day!

The last day of Summer was spent on the beach (of course) and I purchased a Gilmore Girl’s t-shirt. One adventurous day was spent kayaking at our state park and then biking at the beach. It’s safe to say that I was sore for days afterward.

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October

My book was published! I received the official printing of my book and was able to finally hold it in my hands after a year of writing and re-writing. I went out for my first job interview and nailed it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the job.

We went to the state park for some Fall fun. More biking and more beach time. Julia, me, and a few friends began our book society! We’ve already grown so close and I cannot wait to see where this goes.

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November

Our final trip as a family was to Orlando. We didn’t go to Disney, but we were able to spend some time at the Disney resorts and in Disney Springs. The weather fluctuated between perfectly warm and chilly. We also met up with our family for a day and rode the Skyliner for the first time. We ate some delicious food, saw MANY palm trees and Christmas trees, took lots of sibling pictures, laughed a lot, biked, walked, ate some more, and just had the perfect vacation.

I did end up canceling my book launch party because we weren’t able to sell as many tickets as we needed to. This worked out for the best, however, because I was able to enjoy Thanksgiving with the family. I did end up selling ALL my books anyway so it ended up not mattering so, so much.

The pastor of a church we love in Thomaston, Georgia passed away. It was a very unexpected and sad experience, but we know he is with the Heavenly Father. In addition to that, before he died, he was able to ordain both of my parents as pastors under the Hope of the Generations Church. It was a very special experience for both of them. We got our roof redone and I signed tons of books.

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December

One of my favorite months. We did a lot more than we usually do for Christmas this year. We went to a local play of A Christmas Carol and saw a musical performance by a choir and Adlan Cruz. They were both great.

Us siblings went to a cocoa crawl at the beach. It was so empty! It was fun to bundle up and get different kinds of cocoa and cookies from various businesses. The moon looked so cool that night. Julia did a small photoshoot with me to highlight my book for the holidays. She did a great job!

I was invited to do my very first radio show on our local radio. I was able to go in and interview about my book. It was out of my comfort zone but totally amazing! I shipped out the rest of the books I had on hand and was left with only 1 copy for myself. It was so perfect that it could only be attributed to God. I prayed that I’d sell enough to cover publishing costs and I did!

Mom brought Heidi and me to a gingerbread house decorating event (Julia wasn’t able to join us so Mom took her place). The room was full of kids but it was super fun to spend a holiday night with a friend.

CHRISTMAS! Christmas was wonderful! Because of the renovations we did on the house, the four of us knew that our parents were only getting us 1 gift each. They surprised me and Julia with tickets to the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway! I can’t wait! It was fun to finally see the reactions to the homemade gifts Julia and I made this year. I didn’t sleep very well (it was like I was a little kid again) because I couldn’t wait to see how everyone liked the gifts. We also partook in our traditional breakfast of bacon, sausage, cinnamon rolls, eggs, mimosas, and coffee.

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General Overview

I tried my hand at online dating. It was an interesting experience, however, not altogether a bad one. I met a wonderful guy that I almost dated (we were getting serious about meeting each other and had talked on the phone and through video call but it wasn’t meant to be) and a couple of other great guys. Unfortunately, it didn’t end up working out but I’m glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone enough to try it.

I was thrilled about how well my book did. I sold all 25 copies, was featured on the radio, and even inspired some other writers through an author interview. It was a good year for authorship. I even started writing my second book which will take place in the Summer (Independence Day). I’m already on chapter 3!

Looking back, God did so many things that have made me more confident in my capabilities as a businesswoman, author, believer, and person. He renewed my hope in people as they supported me and encouraged me; something I struggled with when I published my last book. I’ve done things I’ve dreamed of doing but never had the courage, I celebrated, I was positive, I dreamed, I learned, I taught, and I grew.

2019 was fantastic but I’m excited to see what God has in store for both me and my family in the coming year. There are a lot of things that I would love to accomplish but I’ve learned that sometimes God has other plans. So, my ultimate goal in 2020 is to have an open mind and an open heart to whatever God has for me.

With love,

Amanda

2019 in Review Wow! It has been an AMAZING year! There's so much that has happened this year that I almost forgot that all of it happened 

[rebeccahpedersen]

Who Really Wants To Move, Anyways?

TorontoRealtyBlog

Renovate or move?

It’s an age-old question, one that a lot of people in Toronto ask themselves, and a tough one to answer no matter how you look at it.

Renovate or move?  In a perfect world, it would be neither.  The current abode would be great, the inhabitants would be happy, and the “bother” of moving or renovating would not be necessary.

I don’t know anybody that actually likes moving, although I suppose if you were moving into a bigger, better home in a premium area, there would be no qualms.

Unless, of course, if you were me.

Throughout childhood, my parents had this weekend ritual whereby they went and looked at other people’s houses.  I didn’t quite understand it at the time, nor why they always went with this guy named “Richard.”  This went on for what seemed like my entire childhood, but since things always seem longer, bigger, or more substantial when you’re younger, perhaps it was only a short period of time.

In any event, I didn’t really understand what they were doing, but my sister informed me that they were looking to buy a home.  “Cool,” I thought, not really grasping the idea of moving.  They never did buy anything anyways.  Life went on, and they’d go see more homes with Richard thereafter, and it went on, and on.

One night in the spring of 1992, my father was out late, and when I asked where he was, my mother said, “He’s working on a house.”

Of course, I assumed this meant he was putting on a new roof or something, but it wasn’t until my sister explained, “He’s going to buy it for us, and we’re going to move,” that my heart started racing.

Move from 128 Parkhurst Boulevard?  My home of 12 years?  Never.

I don’t know if children really get anxiety, but I do believe I had it that night.  I wasn’t interested in playing Super Mario II, I didn’t want to watch Family Matters on TV, nor did I have the appetite or wherewithal to take the white icing out from in between a dozen Oreo cookies to make one, massive, disgusting cookie-sandwich.

The phone rang later that night – the home phone, back when that was a thing; back when you would answer, “Hello?” and not actually know who it was.  My Dad said, “Hey buddy,” and I asked him, “What happened?  How did it go?”

I’ll never forget the words, the tone, and the pause before he answered: “We bought it.”

I dropped the phone.  My pink phone; the one my sister handed down to me when she got her first cordless.  I dropped it right on the floor, right out of my hand, and I started to cry immediately.

My sister picked up the phone and was elated.  She was in Grade 8, ready to start high school in the fall, and the idea of moving up to Bessborough Drive, into a bigger house, was exciting.

I was curled up in the fetal position in the corner of the room, crying, one step from sucking my thumb.

I was 11-years-old, and this house was all that I ever knew.

My bedroom was tiny, the window stared out at the house next door, but it was my bedroom.  It was my domain.

Actually, I think I have a photo of that somewhere, believe it or not.

Here we go:

Yup, that’s my bedroom in 1992.

That’s a “ghetto blaster” on the bed.  And I can see my “Casio” keyboard sticking out from behind what I always thought was a massive wooden headboard, but is actually like doll furniture considering that’s a single bed.  That’s what I meant about how everything seems larger in your mind.

Anyways, that’s about 80% of my bedroom.  There was a window on the other side, a shelf above the bed, and a small closet.  It was “home.”

I didn’t want to know which house my Dad had purchased, where it was, or what it looked like.  I just knew that I didn’t want to move.

It was irrational, but so too are children.

I wrote in my “Diary” that week at school that I wanted to set my new house on fire, and Mrs. Withers wrote back in her cursive-writing comments, “Oh, that would be too bad.  Your family has purchased a very nice home.  I think you’ll enjoy it.”

A few weeks later, I was walking down Parkhurst Boulevard and from afar, I could see a sign on the lawn.

I got closer, and there it was: “FOR SALE.”

I was so angry.  I drop-kicked it, but the sign was on a swivel, and it merely swang back a little as I fell to the ground.

I took my Easton baseball bat out of my backpack; all 30-inches, 24-ounces, and swung it at the sign.  It made a huge dent, but one that only I would notice.

That weekend, we went to the “new house” at 96 Bessborough Drive, and I wasn’t impressed.

It was a huge home, and my Dad was going to renovate and add-on, but I didn’t care.  I didn’t even know where we were (ironic, since it was like 8 blocks away), the street was way too busy (even though it wasn’t), I didn’t like the look of the neighbours (even though I almost never played with the kids on Parkhurst), and the owners had a dog.  And I didn’t like dogs.

I told my Mom and Dad, “I’m not moving.”  But my Dad simply said, “Will you come visit us though?”

My sister was already making party plans for that fall, and she and her friends would ride their bikes by the new house at lunch-recess, but had never really ventured to the other side of Millwood Road.  In fact, it now dawned on me that if we moved to this house, I wouldn’t be able to walk home after school with my friends!  Fraser and Jeff both lived north of the school, as did I.  We walked home together every day after school, for years!  Chris too!  Who was I supposed to walk home with now?  Who lived down that way?  What the hell was down there anyways?

Leaside is tiny, but at 11-years-old, the idea of going in the other direction, eight blocks “thatta-way” scared the crap out of me.

And living in somebody else’s house?  That was so unappealing.

From birth, I only knew one home.  I knew every square inch of it; even under the back patio, where I would venture to find tennis balls that had made their way under the bottom step, or to find quarters that had slipped through the boards.  I knew the roof of my garage, where I almost blew off my fingers with M-80’s the year before.  I knew behind the clubhouse (we had a clubhouse, but the raccoons sort of lived there) where I was obsessed with digging.  That was my hobby, seriously.  Digging a large hole, for no reason.  Just digging.  And I had really worked on it!  It was eight feet, and I needed a ladder to get in and out!

The concept of moving was difficult to grasp, and the concept of selling our house was something else altogether.

My mother made us pack up our toys, clean our play areas, and even get rid of a lot of our clothes!

The kicker came one day when I came home and found my hole, my precious hole, had been filled in with dirt.

My mother had to do that herself, by the way.  Today, I feel awful thinking about my mother outside with a shovel for two hours, filling in a hole that, for some reason, her son dug.  But she told me, “We can’t have buyers falling into some random hole behind the garage, which, for some reason, you filled with spikes last week!”

True story.

I tried my best to hold up the sale.

I had this rubber-vomit that dated back to my “gag” days, when card tricks, flash paper, and those packs of gum with the snap-like mouse-trap thing were all the rage, and I would always make sure to come home at lunch and put the fake vomit in the front hallway so it was the first thing that buyers saw when they came in.

I could always tell when somebody had been in my room too.

My light switch was covered with my “baseball player” wallpaper; a nice touch by my mother.  And one day, the switch, and the player, were upside-down.

My Mom said, “It must have been the Cinderella’s,” which I suppose was the early-90’s term for Realtors.  I actually haven’t heard that term since.

I remember when “offers” came in on the house, and I remember my Dad arguing with Richard all the time.  I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have my Dad as a client, wow.

The house was listed at $399,000, and then $389,000, and then $379,000.  Once it was listed at $369,000, it eventually sold for $362,000.

The house we purchased was a whole other story!  $999,000, then $899,000, then $799,000, then $699,000, then $599,000, and my father bought it for $565,000.  Different market, right?

Once the house was sold, it was just a matter of waiting for D-Day.  That was what I called moving day, anyways.

The summer was our last in that house, and starting Grade 7, with an influx of kids from Bennington & Rolph now invading our quaint Bessborough, I was distracted from the September 30th move date.

Seriously.  Twenty-seven-years later, and I remember the date.

I remember my mother wanting me to “stay out of her hair,” as the saying went back then, and giving me about ten bucks in quarters to go up to Pizza Pizza and play Mortal Kombat for a couple of hours.  This was when arcade games were everywhere.

We had the world’s worst movers, and they literally put our crap anywhere in the house.  I’m talking mattresses for the bedrooms, in the basement or kitchen.  It was absurd.

It seemed to take us three months to fully unpack, and some things just stayed right in their place for more than a decade until the house was eventually sold.

Two weeks after we moved in, we went back to the old house for a “goodbye,” as the three of us kids had been pestering my mother to go back.  After we walked in, separated, and went to our own special places, my Mom found me on the floor of my room, hugging the carpet.   “Oh Lord, I knew this was a mistake,” she said, and then shuffled us back into the station wagon to pull out of the driveway for the very last time.

Over the next couple of months, it became very apparent that moving was not such a bad thing.  I had a larger bedroom, the house was bigger, the yard was bigger, and there was more space for us kids to get away from one another, and have our own time and place to spend with our friends.

It wasn’t long before I would look back and ask, “Why didn’t I want to move?”

But it’s not easy to pull the trigger, whether you’re the one buying, or you’re just a naive kid who doesn’t know any better.

You know what?

I was going to talk about this “Move vs. Renovate” article I saw on a mortgage broker news site this week, and provide a brief, one might say, “folksy” intro.

But then I felt like writing.  And sharing.  And it bodes well with my laid-back Friday theme, so it became a blog unto itself.

Here’s the article, albeit somewhat lackluster after my brief childhood fable, but enjoy!

  “Most Canadians Prefer Renovations To Moving If Given A Windfall – Survey” Mortgagebrokernews.ca

A recent survey found that most Canadians are satisfied with their current neighbourhood and would rather renovate their current home than move.

According to a poll conducted by online rate finder RateSupermarket.ca, if presented with a $50,000 windfall, 50% of Canadians prefer to stay put and renovate their existing home while 30% would choose to move.

“Given the current real estate market and tightening mortgage rules, renovating your existing home makes a lot of financial sense for many Canadians,” said Janine White, vice-president of marketplace and strategy at RateSupermarket.ca. “Our survey shows that Canadians understand and appreciate the value of their real estate investment.”

The survey also found that 40% of respondents felt that renovating will increase the value of home, and 32% reported that moving is ‘too much hassle.’ More than a quarter of respondents (28%) stated that they would stay put because they don’t think they can find a house right now within their budget.

Almost eight in 10 (78%) of respondents said that they like their current home or neighbourhood, with almost six in 10 reporting this as their top reason for staying in their home. Additionally, the RateSupermarket.ca survey indicated that rural and suburban Canadians would prefer to stay in their homes, with 54% of suburban and 59% of rural dwellers saying they’d renovate, against 44% of urbanites.

The survey also revealed a split between younger and older respondents. In fact, 43% of Canadians aged between 18 and 34 say they’d move, while only 15% of Canadians over 65 would leave their current house. Less than 20% of Canadians aged 55 and over say they’d buy a new home while 43% of millennials felt this way.

“The desire to stay put by older Canadians may stem from them being more established in their current homes,” said White. “Those in their 20s or 30s are looking to acquire some equity and build their financial portfolio, which translates to their greater willingness to move. Additionally, the added transfer tax, moving costs and general hassle of moving houses might deter some Canadians.”

  The post Who Really Wants To Move, Anyways? appeared first on Toronto Realty Blog.

Originated from https://ift.tt/2FD1qeD

[davemerritt]

Dave...how is your loaf winner this morning?

Two thousand and eighteen. It’s frightening how fast the years seem to be disappearing so quickly, but as always on new years eve (and now new years day) I take time to look back over the last 12 months and all the things that have happened that make me appreciate how lucky I am, even if the months do seem be passing by right in front of my eyes.

So no better place to start than January 2017 and to begin the new year in a traditionally festive fashion I went down to Saint Marys to watch Southampton. I rarely get to go to the football these days, simply down to cost more than anything, but when I do get to go it’s always a joy, even if we lose more than we win. Steve and I also made the most of the gorgeous winter sunshine by walking our way along the Purbeck coast. After completing my runs for charity I’ve still kept up and entered a few events in 2017, but an issue with my foot meant I couldn’t compete at the same level, however in January I dragged my friend Jack out to Pipley Woods in Bath and we took part in the ‘Mud bath’ event which was exactly what you think it was, a rather messy start to the year for running indeed. Back at work we had the pleasure of welcoming Jim Parkyn to the art department for one day to run a workshop. Jim is one of the team behind Aardman’s ‘Shaun the Sheep’ and a wonderful nice chap and the whole day was fantastic. On the social side of things I caught Seaway at the Fleece and went to a Q&A with David Seaman and Lee Dixon that was a great little evening for the Merlin theatre.

The Westway cinema has always had it’s rustic charm and I’ve always been a true believer in supporting it, but it closed it’s doors all of a sudden one day but thanks to a small group of people at S&B cinemas in Burnham the Westway was saved and a conversion took place that saw the cinema split into 3 smaller screens, meaning the building could have a wider variety of movies on offer. Since it reopened in 2017 I’ve been multiple times (twice in the last fortnight just in December) and it is a wonderful asset to the town. There is no pretention, no gimmicks, no ridiculous coffee and no sky-high prices and the town should be forever grateful.  In February Jess was somewhat between jobs as her maternity cover at LTS came to an end and as a way to help pass the time whilst applying for new work she managed to find two little dogs that needed a walker and company during the week. These two little puppers are called ‘Diggory’ and ‘Pippa’ and I got to meet them this month and although Jess now sees them less than she did before, they are still a  lovely part or her life and it’s hard not to fall in love with them if you ever got to meet them. Not too much was going on around my own theatre work at the start of the year but Frome College put on a production of ‘We Will Rock You’ which Steve and I took ourselves along to in support and what a night! Frome really does have some of the most unique and wonderful talent for theatre and shows like WWRY are the perfect celebration of that talent.

At the end of 2017 I was lucky enough to get some photos published in Vintage Life Magazine and in March I finally got hold of my physical copy. Whilst the photos are certainly not my best work, I am extremely pleased with what myself and my model were able to get in such a short time and I am proper proud to see my work in print. Whilst my foot was giving me issues, we got the small group back together and took to the Battle of Lansdown course again to get wet, muddy, cold (oh so very cold) and exhausted whilst having a good laugh. It was brilliant as always and later in the year we had the sister event to conquer. Lucy from work turned 30 in March and had a Disney costume party to celebrate. Jess and I decided to go as 101 Dalmatians with myself taking on the role of ‘Cruellea Dave-Vil’ and Jess the 101st Dalmatian. Jess is so good at doing make up and costumes and I think our idea went down very well.

Heading into April and Spring (probably my favourite season if you’re wondering) Steve, Emma and I (plus Buddy the dog) made the most of the rather warm weather and take a long walk all the way to Nunney, Whatley and back again. I took a week off work in March and Lamb came to visit and so, in true local pride fashion, I took her (and Jess) to Wells to see the Cathedral and City. I left uni 7 years ago and I really don’t see my Solent friends enough, but Laura and I always do try and see each other even, if it should be more regularly, and days like the one we took to Wells are so important. Amy’s Tri Art dance showcase of ‘The Golden Key’ was this month and I was lucky enough to be asked to take photos of the performance. I never really get to see live dance and this was a real treat and a genuinely pleasure to photograph; some of my favourite pictures I took this year were from that show. April was such a busy month in 2017 and regular events such as The Mells daffodil fair were coupled with exciting new celebrations with the wedding of Ben and Becky and a new arrival for my friend Craig after he became the father to a wonderful sweet young man called Fletcher. My Frome FM journey is still very much in full swing and in April we moved into what is now our permanent (and still being improved) new home and the Town Hall, it really is a stunning building and it’s great for FFM to finally feel like it belongs somewhere, especially somewhere that is such an important local landmark to the town.

Slam Dunk. I know I sound like a broken record, but truly May only means one thing and that is the best day of the music calendar for myself. Slam Dunk was another triumphant success and I already have my ticket for this year and it is with a wide smile that the South date has returned to the Saturday and at a new home. Whilst still in Hatfield the event is moving, this is exciting but I really hope the festival doesn’t lose it’s up close and personal feel that makes it so special, only time will tell… So after months and literally hundreds of applications Jess managed to secure a new job last month with the outdoor pursuit wear company ‘Orvis’ and I went to visit her at her store in Bath in May. Jess defied the odds and worked night and day to secure that job and I am beyond proud of her. She is happy and successful in her new job and I can’t tell you how amazing it is to see her land this dream role. It’s also great because I get the chance to buy lots of great practical outdoor wear too. Five months into the year and the boys and I managed to get the first poker game of 2017 up and running, we’ve somewhat dropped the ball on how many games we get together and play but when we do they are always a great night, so here’s hoping to more in 2018. This month I also went to the Cinderella awards (we didn’t take home any trophies but it was a good night) and Jess and I also took Pip and Dig, who were now like members of the family, down to Lyme Regis for the day that was just perfect.

As part of Jess’s new role at Orvis she organises free fly fishing 101 sessions and so in true support I rounded up a couple of good friends and headed over to Bath where a wonderful gentleman named Simon taught us how to cast, all about flies and other skills in fly fishing, it was brilliant and we all had a blast. My first Merlin challenge of the year came in the form of our 24-hour production that was ‘Soho Cinders’. This was a hard process but another great success for the theatre and just means that yet again we’ve set our own bar to meet with future shows. Jess has become quite the keen Muay Thai boxer and in June she took part in a boxing demonstration at the Bath Thai festival. This was a really great day but the event was on the hottest day of the year, so hot in fact that jess and the other boxers came away with blisters where the floor of the ring was so hot. Yet again though Jess did herself proud and put on a great display for young and old. A couple of party’s took place in June too where we celebrated Amy’s birthday as well as Martin’s surprise party at the Grain where we were treated to an up close show from up and coming band ‘Bad Sounds’, they’ve gone on the great things and looking at a very good future in 2018.

Despite a pretty miserable end of summer, we were treated to some scorching weather at the start of the season. To start the month of July though we celebrated Jess’s birthday and did so by going to Airhop (please go if you haven’t before, and take me and let’s play dodgeball) and then watching Despicable Me 3. I think it’s important to have a very serious and mature set of celebrations and I think Jess would agree. I had a little job in July taking photographs at the Writhlington Sports Awards evening which was actually really good fun and quite inspiring too, on the way home though I had my first ever flat tyre, but to my luck Roxy who was with me stepped up and despite being dressed all snazzy (I had a white shirt on, this was note the time to change a tyre) assisted in getting the damn thing changed. We also had the good fortune of a kind Samaritan passing who was a mechanic who offered to save us getting dirt on our finery and put Alice’s spare on, a very kind gentleman indeed and full praise to Roxy too. I���m really lucky to have the best friends surrounding me and in July a few of us took a day trip down to Portsmouth whilst the sun was still on our side and had a bit of blast on the coast. I got up to so much in July on the weekends so here goes a quick (this won’t be quick) round up; Firstly Anne encouraged myself and a few others, including Simon and Steve, to take part in the Frome Fashion Show. This might actually be one of the best things I did this year, as we (with full on nerves) strutted our stuff down the catwalk. I never thought I’d do something like that ever and all I can say now is that I can’t wait to do it again this year (if Anne will have me). Secondly The Rood Rampage, sister event to The Battle of Lansdown, took place and the same group who had beaten TBOL got even muddier and wetter running around, and through, Rood Ashton Lake. The Rampage might actually be the best running event I’ve ever taken part in and despite it falling on the same day as the Frome 10k I will 100% run it again this year, and hope that my team will join me once again. Next this month Jess, Sarah and my sister went to F.R.I.E.N.D.S fest in Cardiff which was good fun and also Steve and I took ourselves off to the Breacon Beacons for the day, which was good fun but the wettest day of the year, the rain though did mean that when we found Henrhyd Falls it was in full flow and so impressive. A real treat for Frome this summer saw Michael McIntyre come to the Merlin stage and perform a work in progress show, I was lucky enough to be in the front row and it was a very special evening indeed. Finally, in July I decided to go for my first ever audition and try for a part in ‘The Vicar of Dibley’. I was fortunate enough to land the role of ‘Hugo’ and can’t wait to take to the stage in my first piece of theatre outside of a musical.

The Kairos show of ‘It Shoulda Been You’ was starting to get real in August as we only had a matter of weeks before we had to put this show in front of an audience. It had been a great journey so far and there wasn’t long at all to go. Anyway, in August I had a couple weeks off work as the college wound down for the summer and whilst it’s lovely to shut down, I get massive cabin fever, so this year I decided I would fill my days as best as possible, so days out this year included a trip to Old Wardour castle, the Durdle Door, Dyrham park and a real highlight was the day I took myself to the Bombay Sapphire Distillery in Hampshire which was a great day out and for anyone that likes gin as much as I do, you should definitely go and treat yourself to a little hour or so there. In August there was a good meteor shower promised, and so, myself and a bunch of great friends braved the cloudy looking weather and took ourselves up to the top of Cley hill in the hope we might see something, and in true perseverance we did and it was a great evening. Great things in the town this month were the annual comic con and Ash taking to the stage at the Cheese & Grain. Jess’s new job role was in full swing and she had to travel to Scotland this month for work and whilst she did I had my troublesome foot seen to and therefore couldn’t wear any shoes for a few days, so whilst I felt sorry for myself she was off earning the beans in Banchory. August also saw the youth production of ‘Les Miserables’ at the Merlin and I cannot even express into words how good this show was, it was a showcase of pure youth talent and ultimately moving and breath taking from the young people of Frome. Another real highlight in August though was a little holiday we took with Jess’s family down to the south coast. We stayed in an air BNB on this beautiful old farm and we held a family sports day, went to the beach and they even threw me a little surprise early birthday party, speaking of which…

I turned 30 this year. 30. Now I know that’s not old, but my word it’s weird. It’s weird to still feel like I’m 22 and living the dream at uni with not a care in the world and my whole future ahead of me, but actually now I’ve hit this milestone I might not have the kids I thought I would or own a mansion and drive an Aston Martin, but you know what? I’m a very happy man, with a beautiful girlfriend, a bizarre and wonderful little cat, the best job, a fantastic life full of fun, music, theatre, football and th best friends you could ever imagine. Annual events in September of course were the cheese show and the carnival, but the biggest thing to happen this month was that we were to open ISBY at Cooper Hall and what a pleasure this was. The show got funnier every time we performed it, the music was wonderful, the venue stunning, the (sell out) audiences fantastic and I fell a little bit in love with Albert. I truly can’t get enough of the Kairos theatre group and can’t wait to see what we do next, but you’ll have to wait until 2019 to find out what that is. September is also the start of the new term at work and, as you all know, my job is one of the best things in my life and I’ve felt I’ve always evolved within work and been given exciting and new challenges and this year was no different as I was given more teaching responsibilities, this has been incredibly demanding but I am loving every second and get the chance to work with some of the best young artists, a true pleasure.

The next big Merlin challenge came in October as the autumn production of ‘Guys & Dolls’ came to the Merlin. Now we don’t often tackle a classic musical, but Director Daisy really did a marvellous job of making this show come alive. It may have been the most draining and demanding show I’ve ever worked on, but the result spoke for itself and again, The Merlin can be proud of the people that give countless hours to keep the theatre alive. This month I also got my first taste of golf again for the first time since Frome shut it’s gates, as Mr Hynds took me to Orchadleigh’s driving range, which led to a full round in November. A great gig this month was the chance to see The Rocket Summer at the Fleece where Bryce played the whole of ‘Do you Feel’ in full. For Halloween this year too, I decided to go to the party as Alan Partridge in full ‘Zombie’ wear. Nobody actually got the costume, but I was pretty pleased with myself.

4 years I’ve been lucky enough to be with Jess and to celebrate Jess booked us a nice weekend away across the border in Wiltshire visit the STEAM museum and getting outside over a lovely hill fort. If there’s one thing that tells you someone’s a keeper it’s that they get that you’ll love a trip up a grassy knoll and around a museum all about trains. As said last month I tried the driving range and in November I played my first round of golf in an age. I was a touch rusty to say the least, but it was brilliant to get back out on the course. This month saw the rehearsal process for The Vicar of Dibley pick up pace as well as a great gig at the Komedia in Bath to see Deaf Havana on their tour of ‘All These Countless Nights’.

So December. My last gig of the year was a trip back to one of my favourite venues, the Joiner sin Southampton to see Ryan Key of Yellowcard perform a solo show as well as a band new to myself, Normandie, play a great set. The main reason to be there though was to see Grumble Bee, a wicked solo project from the nicest man called Jack, I implore you to check him out and I’m sure you’ll like his music. Outside of the usual Christmas antics, December saw a nice birthday night out for Davey, Jason Manford took to the Grain stage in what was probably the best stand up I’ve seen live and I went to my first professional panto to see Aladdin at the Hippodrome in Bristol. December also always means the Christmas musical at my second home of the Merlin and this year we put on another original script in the form of ‘Hansel & Gretel’. It was a fantastic show and yet again there were some really unique set pieces and outstanding performances, including some beautiful contemporary dance from Amy’s Tri Art performances, that despite being so young, put on some stunning examples of live dance theatre that many in the audience would never have seen before, the future really is bright for the young cast and performers of the Merlin Theatre trust me, names like Patrick Withey, Conny Hunter, Georgie Rose, Cordelia Tarbrooke and Dylan Berry (to name only but a few) are sure to be regular features in our programmes and who knows, the West End some day…

It’s safe to say that 2017 has been a blast. I’ve done some wonderful things and have so much to be thankful for. I’m loving still being part of Frome FM, I spend most of my days giving all I can for the Merlin, I’m enjoying my football again as we’ve moved away from the horror that is the pitch at the Frome sports centre and I’m still loving my work. 2018 has a lot to compete with but there are still lots to look forward to.  I’ll start the year the same way and go and see Seaway live, with lots of other gigs including, Don Broco, Lower than Atlantis, Tonight Alive, With Confidence, The Gospel Youth and of course Slam Dunk coupled with tickets to go to a night with Brian Blessed too. For Christmas Brillo got the family tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and I’ve got lots of things from the Merlin to work on including opening The Vicar of Dibley in February and I can’t wait to see ‘Saviour by the Amethyst’. Personally I’d like to take myself to the Edinburgh Festival this year, compete in a stack of running races and get as many little breaks away with Jess as I can. I’ve had a great year and I can’t wait to see what this one brings, so right now I’m going to finish watching the PDC darts final (come on Cross!) and bid you all a very happy new year

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Album of the Year // Deaf Havana – All these Countless Nights (It’s a masterpiece)

Movie of the Year // Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Other highlights included Get Out, Lego batman and The Greatest Showman

Game of the Year: Tom Clancy’s: Ghost Recon Wildlands. Not the most polished of games, but a total blast none the less

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[rebeccahpedersen]

Who Really Wants To Move, Anyways?

TorontoRealtyBlog

Renovate or move?

It’s an age-old question, one that a lot of people in Toronto ask themselves, and a tough one to answer no matter how you look at it.

Renovate or move?  In a perfect world, it would be neither.  The current abode would be great, the inhabitants would be happy, and the “bother” of moving or renovating would not be necessary.

I don’t know anybody that actually likes moving, although I suppose if you were moving into a bigger, better home in a premium area, there would be no qualms.

Unless, of course, if you were me.

Throughout childhood, my parents had this weekend ritual whereby they went and looked at other people’s houses.  I didn’t quite understand it at the time, nor why they always went with this guy named “Richard.”  This went on for what seemed like my entire childhood, but since things always seem longer, bigger, or more substantial when you’re younger, perhaps it was only a short period of time.

In any event, I didn’t really understand what they were doing, but my sister informed me that they were looking to buy a home.  “Cool,” I thought, not really grasping the idea of moving.  They never did buy anything anyways.  Life went on, and they’d go see more homes with Richard thereafter, and it went on, and on.

One night in the spring of 1992, my father was out late, and when I asked where he was, my mother said, “He’s working on a house.”

Of course, I assumed this meant he was putting on a new roof or something, but it wasn’t until my sister explained, “He’s going to buy it for us, and we’re going to move,” that my heart started racing.

Move from 128 Parkhurst Boulevard?  My home of 12 years?  Never.

I don’t know if children really get anxiety, but I do believe I had it that night.  I wasn’t interested in playing Super Mario II, I didn’t want to watch Family Matters on TV, nor did I have the appetite or wherewithal to take the white icing out from in between a dozen Oreo cookies to make one, massive, disgusting cookie-sandwich.

The phone rang later that night – the home phone, back when that was a thing; back when you would answer, “Hello?” and not actually know who it was.  My Dad said, “Hey buddy,” and I asked him, “What happened?  How did it go?”

I’ll never forget the words, the tone, and the pause before he answered: “We bought it.”

I dropped the phone.  My pink phone; the one my sister handed down to me when she got her first cordless.  I dropped it right on the floor, right out of my hand, and I started to cry immediately.

My sister picked up the phone and was elated.  She was in Grade 8, ready to start high school in the fall, and the idea of moving up to Bessborough Drive, into a bigger house, was exciting.

I was curled up in the fetal position in the corner of the room, crying, one step from sucking my thumb.

I was 11-years-old, and this house was all that I ever knew.

My bedroom was tiny, the window stared out at the house next door, but it was my bedroom.  It was my domain.

Actually, I think I have a photo of that somewhere, believe it or not.

Here we go:

Yup, that’s my bedroom in 1992.

That’s a “ghetto blaster” on the bed.  And I can see my “Casio” keyboard sticking out from behind what I always thought was a massive wooden headboard, but is actually like doll furniture considering that’s a single bed.  That’s what I meant about how everything seems larger in your mind.

Anyways, that’s about 80% of my bedroom.  There was a window on the other side, a shelf above the bed, and a small closet.  It was “home.”

I didn’t want to know which house my Dad had purchased, where it was, or what it looked like.  I just knew that I didn’t want to move.

It was irrational, but so too are children.

I wrote in my “Diary” that week at school that I wanted to set my new house on fire, and Mrs. Withers wrote back in her cursive-writing comments, “Oh, that would be too bad.  Your family has purchased a very nice home.  I think you’ll enjoy it.”

A few weeks later, I was walking down Parkhurst Boulevard and from afar, I could see a sign on the lawn.

I got closer, and there it was: “FOR SALE.”

I was so angry.  I drop-kicked it, but the sign was on a swivel, and it merely swang back a little as I fell to the ground.

I took my Easton baseball bat out of my backpack; all 30-inches, 24-ounces, and swung it at the sign.  It made a huge dent, but one that only I would notice.

That weekend, we went to the “new house” at 96 Bessborough Drive, and I wasn’t impressed.

It was a huge home, and my Dad was going to renovate and add-on, but I didn’t care.  I didn’t even know where we were (ironic, since it was like 8 blocks away), the street was way too busy (even though it wasn’t), I didn’t like the look of the neighbours (even though I almost never played with the kids on Parkhurst), and the owners had a dog.  And I didn’t like dogs.

I told my Mom and Dad, “I’m not moving.”  But my Dad simply said, “Will you come visit us though?”

My sister was already making party plans for that fall, and she and her friends would ride their bikes by the new house at lunch-recess, but had never really ventured to the other side of Millwood Road.  In fact, it now dawned on me that if we moved to this house, I wouldn’t be able to walk home after school with my friends!  Fraser and Jeff both lived north of the school, as did I.  We walked home together every day after school, for years!  Chris too!  Who was I supposed to walk home with now?  Who lived down that way?  What the hell was down there anyways?

Leaside is tiny, but at 11-years-old, the idea of going in the other direction, eight blocks “thatta-way” scared the crap out of me.

And living in somebody else’s house?  That was so unappealing.

From birth, I only knew one home.  I knew every square inch of it; even under the back patio, where I would venture to find tennis balls that had made their way under the bottom step, or to find quarters that had slipped through the boards.  I knew the roof of my garage, where I almost blew off my fingers with M-80’s the year before.  I knew behind the clubhouse (we had a clubhouse, but the raccoons sort of lived there) where I was obsessed with digging.  That was my hobby, seriously.  Digging a large hole, for no reason.  Just digging.  And I had really worked on it!  It was eight feet, and I needed a ladder to get in and out!

The concept of moving was difficult to grasp, and the concept of selling our house was something else altogether.

My mother made us pack up our toys, clean our play areas, and even get rid of a lot of our clothes!

The kicker came one day when I came home and found my hole, my precious hole, had been filled in with dirt.

My mother had to do that herself, by the way.  Today, I feel awful thinking about my mother outside with a shovel for two hours, filling in a hole that, for some reason, her son dug.  But she told me, “We can’t have buyers falling into some random hole behind the garage, which, for some reason, you filled with spikes last week!”

True story.

I tried my best to hold up the sale.

I had this rubber-vomit that dated back to my “gag” days, when card tricks, flash paper, and those packs of gum with the snap-like mouse-trap thing were all the rage, and I would always make sure to come home at lunch and put the fake vomit in the front hallway so it was the first thing that buyers saw when they came in.

I could always tell when somebody had been in my room too.

My light switch was covered with my “baseball player” wallpaper; a nice touch by my mother.  And one day, the switch, and the player, were upside-down.

My Mom said, “It must have been the Cinderella’s,” which I suppose was the early-90’s term for Realtors.  I actually haven’t heard that term since.

I remember when “offers” came in on the house, and I remember my Dad arguing with Richard all the time.  I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have my Dad as a client, wow.

The house was listed at $399,000, and then $389,000, and then $379,000.  Once it was listed at $369,000, it eventually sold for $362,000.

The house we purchased was a whole other story!  $999,000, then $899,000, then $799,000, then $699,000, then $599,000, and my father bought it for $565,000.  Different market, right?

Once the house was sold, it was just a matter of waiting for D-Day.  That was what I called moving day, anyways.

The summer was our last in that house, and starting Grade 7, with an influx of kids from Bennington & Rolph now invading our quaint Bessborough, I was distracted from the September 30th move date.

Seriously.  Twenty-seven-years later, and I remember the date.

I remember my mother wanting me to “stay out of her hair,” as the saying went back then, and giving me about ten bucks in quarters to go up to Pizza Pizza and play Mortal Kombat for a couple of hours.  This was when arcade games were everywhere.

We had the world’s worst movers, and they literally put our crap anywhere in the house.  I’m talking mattresses for the bedrooms, in the basement or kitchen.  It was absurd.

It seemed to take us three months to fully unpack, and some things just stayed right in their place for more than a decade until the house was eventually sold.

Two weeks after we moved in, we went back to the old house for a “goodbye,” as the three of us kids had been pestering my mother to go back.  After we walked in, separated, and went to our own special places, my Mom found me on the floor of my room, hugging the carpet.   “Oh Lord, I knew this was a mistake,” she said, and then shuffled us back into the station wagon to pull out of the driveway for the very last time.

Over the next couple of months, it became very apparent that moving was not such a bad thing.  I had a larger bedroom, the house was bigger, the yard was bigger, and there was more space for us kids to get away from one another, and have our own time and place to spend with our friends.

It wasn’t long before I would look back and ask, “Why didn’t I want to move?”

But it’s not easy to pull the trigger, whether you’re the one buying, or you’re just a naive kid who doesn’t know any better.

You know what?

I was going to talk about this “Move vs. Renovate” article I saw on a mortgage broker news site this week, and provide a brief, one might say, “folksy” intro.

But then I felt like writing.  And sharing.  And it bodes well with my laid-back Friday theme, so it became a blog unto itself.

Here’s the article, albeit somewhat lackluster after my brief childhood fable, but enjoy!

  “Most Canadians Prefer Renovations To Moving If Given A Windfall – Survey” Mortgagebrokernews.ca

A recent survey found that most Canadians are satisfied with their current neighbourhood and would rather renovate their current home than move.

According to a poll conducted by online rate finder RateSupermarket.ca, if presented with a $50,000 windfall, 50% of Canadians prefer to stay put and renovate their existing home while 30% would choose to move.

“Given the current real estate market and tightening mortgage rules, renovating your existing home makes a lot of financial sense for many Canadians,” said Janine White, vice-president of marketplace and strategy at RateSupermarket.ca. “Our survey shows that Canadians understand and appreciate the value of their real estate investment.”

The survey also found that 40% of respondents felt that renovating will increase the value of home, and 32% reported that moving is ‘too much hassle.’ More than a quarter of respondents (28%) stated that they would stay put because they don’t think they can find a house right now within their budget.

Almost eight in 10 (78%) of respondents said that they like their current home or neighbourhood, with almost six in 10 reporting this as their top reason for staying in their home. Additionally, the RateSupermarket.ca survey indicated that rural and suburban Canadians would prefer to stay in their homes, with 54% of suburban and 59% of rural dwellers saying they’d renovate, against 44% of urbanites.

The survey also revealed a split between younger and older respondents. In fact, 43% of Canadians aged between 18 and 34 say they’d move, while only 15% of Canadians over 65 would leave their current house. Less than 20% of Canadians aged 55 and over say they’d buy a new home while 43% of millennials felt this way.

“The desire to stay put by older Canadians may stem from them being more established in their current homes,” said White. “Those in their 20s or 30s are looking to acquire some equity and build their financial portfolio, which translates to their greater willingness to move. Additionally, the added transfer tax, moving costs and general hassle of moving houses might deter some Canadians.”

  The post Who Really Wants To Move, Anyways? appeared first on Toronto Realty Blog.

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