Runs on Coffee and Cream

Considering the time of year, Christmas music has been playing non-stop around me. I listen to tunein radio or AccuRadio while I'm on the computer. And most radio stations are now playing a Christmas song at least a few times every hour so even at work I'm listening to Christmas music.

Last week, me and Mary went to see Meaghan Smith again at The Pearl Company here in Hamilton. It was the 'It Snowed' tour so it was extremely Christmasy. The venue had twinkle lights up and there were decorations hanging from the ceiling. And Meaghan played a bunch of her Christmas songs. It was such a great show. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy haha.


Work has been getting very busy and my free time has been spent preparing for Christmas or working on Sparklegirl-business things. I've been making a point of getting into bed a bit earlier everyday though. Even if it's just to read and shut my mind off before going to sleep. I just finished the first Sailor Moon manga. It was so good and cute. I'm excited to continue reading the series. It was a very fast read.



I do own the second Sailor Moon but I thought I'd break up the books with Ultimate Spider-man. I bought the first 2 volumes of this Spider-man series at Big B Comics a couple of months ago. I've been told by a lot of people that I'll enjoy it so I'm excited to start it tonight.



I recently started Season 4 of Supernatural. Oh man, is it good! If you don't watch this show, you should and when you get to Season 4 you'll be even more hooked than you previously were. It doesn't seem possible but the story gets so good. In between Christmas movies, I'll be watching as much Supernatural as possible over the next couple of weeks.



What are you obsessed with at the moment?
xo Jen

Last Friday, me and Mary went to check out the IlluminAqua concert. They have it on a floating stage along the Welland Canal, which is about a 5 minute walk from my building. Meaghan Smith was opening and we absolutely love her. This was the fourth time we were seeing her live.

Well, being cheap, we didn't buy tickets. We assumed that we'd be able to get a bad view of the stage, but we'd still hear the music perfectly. It was a gorgeous evening and when we walked over we realized there was NO good spot to stand to try to sneak a peek of the stage. I didn't really care since it was so nice to be outside and we'd still hear her.

After about 3 songs in, a woman came to the fence and asked us if we wanted tickets for the show. I assumed she was selling them but she explained she won them and didn't realize she was getting 4 so she had 2 extra. I don't know if we were just the 2 closest people to the fence (there were a lot of people sitting and standing on the outside of the fenced in area) or she noticed us dancing to the music, either way it was so incredibly sweet and nice of her to offer us the tickets. We pretty much ran around to get inside the fenced off area and from there we had a lovely view of Meaghan Smith and we watched the rest of her performance. We were even able to meet Meaghan yet again after the show.




Our initial view.


Our view once we had our tickets.



The 'audience' across the canal.




The 'audience' in the water.


Me and Mary

I'm still blown away that we lucked out that evening and had the opportunity to watch Meaghan Smith play for free and then meet her again. When things like that happen, it makes me realize that there are some pretty great people out there.

xo Jen

Do you have a singer and/or musician that just fills you with happiness and inspiration when you listen to them? I found this when I first listened to Meaghan Smith's album, The Cricket's Orchestra. I was lucky enough to see her play at a small club in Toronto over a year ago. It was so magical. There were no more than 30-40 people in the audience and since it's just her and her husband performing on stage, it was so intimate. Plus her voice is incredible live and I left that concert feeling so good about life.

The back in July, a few days prior to my birthday, I was able to see her play again in Hamilton. This time the crowd was a bit bigger but once again the show felt magical. Meaghan's stage presence, stories, and the way she performs are just adorable. I want to have her confidence and outlook on life. The best part, though, was I got to meet her afterwards. She autographed my cd and took a picture with me. She was a sweetheart but I'm so awkward meeting any sort of celebrity. I felt speechless.

This Fall she released a Christmas album, It Snowed. She ended up coming back to Hamilton last week to play a holiday show. She performed almost every song from her Christmas cd and threw in some of her songs from The Cricket's Orchestra. Her love for the Christmas season put me in such a festive mood. The stage was decorated with Christmas lights as well, which definitely helped with the mood too. Again, after the show we met Meaghan and got her to autograph our holiday albums. I felt like such a nerd being awestruck yet again by her. She complimented my hair colour and I just smiled. Mary made fun of me later for my lack of response to her. Oh well, hopefully in the new year I'll be able to see her again and I'll have to plan something to say.



xo Jen