The Black Keys live at Festival d'Été de Québec

Québec City has a great music festival called ''Le Festival D'été De Québec''. It is Canada's largest outdoor musical event. This year, I got the opportunity to get myself a pass. 

On July 6, I headed downtown Quebec City to see one of my all time favorite group, The Black Keys. I'm a big fan of their album Brother and El Camino. At 9:30 PM,  Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney took the stage and opened up with my all time favorite song, ''Howling For You'' followed up by another song from ''Brothers'' , ''Next Girl''. The show was a blast. They are absolutely phenomenal live. 

Flashcardlet!

Hey guys,

     Today I have another great app. to show you! Let's face it, it's the end of the year, even copying off someones homework seems difficult. Well, I have a great tool to help you study and get you to pass your year. It's called "Flashcardlet".

     I'm a very visual person. I used to write a bunch of colourful flashcards but they could take days to write. The concept of this app is the same. You write flashcards and then you study them. However, it takes no type to write since you type it!

The Host; a movie review!

 

Movie: The Host

Release date: March 29, 2013

Genre:  Sci-fi, Action, Adventure, Romance,

Director: Andrew Nicool ( known for In Time)

Writers: Andrew Nicool and Stephenie Meyer (known for Twilight saga)

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger

Stars: ★★★★ 

Storyline: The Host takes place in a futuristic world where a new specie has taken over human bodies and erasing their memories. Wanda (Saoirse Ronan) has taken over Melanie's body. But, Melanie's soul is still there. Two minds in one body. Together, they make Wanda work with the human race to try to make Melanie reconnect with her past.

Review:

  I decided to go to the cinema and finally see "The Host". It's a book adaptation by Stephenie Meyers. I remember trying to read the book back in six grade with no success. Not only was it too complicated, but the first 100 pages were dull.  However, when I saw the trailer, I freaked out. It look like a great movie. But, was it?

California; Part 1!

Downtown Los Angeles

     I love to travel. I can even admit that it's a passion, a need. I need to travel. To get away, to escape. Each time I leave, I come back different, happier & with great memories. Today, I wanted to blog about my favourite road trip so far; California!

The truck in Arizona!

    My passion for traveling comes from my father. He's been driving trucks and exploring the North American continent ever since he dropped out of high school. He's been to every province/territory in Canada and to every American state (except Alaska and Hawaii). I admire him for that. I use to take his Atlas and name some random cities and he'd tell me in what state those were located. Having a truck driver as a dad could be pretty hard at times. I was basically raised by my mom as I would only see him every two weeks and for a short period of days. Back then, I couldn't understand his job. I would beg him to quit his job and get a job at an office so I could see him more often, like a normal father. Kids at school would even tell me that the reason why he's not home every night is that he doesn't love me or care about me. Cruel much? But, in the end, when he would come back from his trips, he had so much too tell and I would listen to him and hoped that one day, i'd go to the same places. Today, I can understand why he became a truck driver. I would myself become one if I wasn't so afraid of the roads. Like I said above, having a dad who drives truck can be hard but, it can also be great. I'm 14 years old and I can proudly say I've been to over 30 states while, half my classmates never even left the province or the country!

   

Great view in Ontario, California

   He always knew California was my all-time dream. Don't we all have this place where we're attached to? Where you envy the people living there and want to have their lifestyle? California is a common place where people want to establish their lives because it's probably one of the most popular state (and every celebrity has a house there). My sister had gotten the opportunity to go with him and I would always look at her pictures and wish that one day, i'd be standing with those cactus too. In December, I was washing the dishes (again) with my father when the subject came up. He had a load of lobster to bring there in a week. I couldn't help but think about it every day. Where would we go? What could we visit?

Songza; Good music makes good time!

   

     If you look back 10 years ago, I think we can all agree that technology has grown. Big time. Who looks in the phone book anymore? Isn't there an app for that? Or just ask Siri, your personal assistant! Today, there's an app for everything. Whether you own a smartphone, an iPod, a tablet etc. you have millions of apps available at your finger tip to make your life easier. On my iPad, I have an app that can calculate my algebra operations, I even have an app to track my period, to calculate tax & one to see when my favorite movie will be available on DVD!

     One of my all time favorite app, that I wanted to write about today is Songza. It won't help you remember your grocery list or calculate your math homework but, cleaning your room, doing homework and working out will just become better. Songza is a music app. It has a playlist to fill your everyday mood and activity. It's Tuesday morning and you want to wake up with energy? There's a playlist for that! It's Monday afternoon and you're saving the world.

Chocolate chip cookies & oreo.

Ever since discovering Pinterest, I've been on the hunt for cool recipes. From a lasagna dip to quesadillas with spaghetti sauce, to brownies in a mug etc. I wanted to share with you probably one of the most easy but tasty recipe I've ever tried. Perfect for last minute dessert!

What you need:

-Oreos (you will need less than a box)
-Cookie dough (homemade or Pillsbury's!)
-Baking tray

Egg mask!

Happy belated Easter everybody! Today, I wanted to share with y'all one of my favorite homemade facial mask. Who knew a chicken fetus could not only be tasty but effective on your skin? I've been using this mask for about a year and it's still doing miracles! This mask is effective for both oily & dry skin. It will make your face soft and glowing. 

What you will need:

-1 egg

-2 small bowls

-Washcloth

-a fork

Spring is here!

Happy Spring dear reader,

     Isn't spring wonderful? The flowers come out, the snow melts and we can finally remove all those layers of sweaters. The air smells fresh although, most of the time it smells like a farm of cows has taken over the air. It's also the time for a change. A closet change, a big cleanup or in my case, a new room! It also means that school is (finally) over in just a couple of months. This morning when I looked out my window, I was glad that Spring was finally back. I could see some patches of grass poking through the little of snow we had left. On my way to school, I thought about what I did this winter. I realized I didn't go outside even once. That's crazy! Despite the fact that i'm not a very outdoorsy person, I usually go sliding with the school but, this year it was canceled. I also like to do some skydooing with my father or snowshoeing with my mother but, they both worked all winter and didn't have time. Well, on my second period the intercom went off telling us school was cancel for the rest of the day. You'd think that I would be happy. To be honest, I'd rather have a day of school than a snow storm in spring. Last week, I was wearing my toms to school and opening my bedroom window to let fresh air in and today, my feet got frozen by a blizzard. I guess I should of listen to Groundhog Fred and not get my hopes up on an early spring.

Happy spring, said no one in Canada.

Marjorie

7up and Pistachio cupcakes, great for St-Paddy's day!

    Even though St-Patrick’s day is not celebrated in the French culture, I always like to do something special to celebrate it. This year, I decided to bake some Pistachio & 7up cupcakes! Not only is it my all-time favorite kind of cake (I have it every year on my birthday) but, the icing and the cake is also green! If you ever decide to make it yourself, leave a comment below or tweet me (@xmarjooox) I’d love to hear your thoughts about it!

For this recipe, you will need:

Cake

• 3 eggs
• 1 box of white cake mix
• 1 cup of 7up or sprite
• 3/4 cup of oil
• 1/2 cup of walnuts or pecan (optional)
• 1 box of green pistachio pudding (Jell-o brand)

Beautiful Church!

    Today, a new pope was elected, Francis 1. I thought I should do a blog post about churches. First of all, let's make something clear; I do not go to church every week. Yet, I believe in my religion. I did not read every page of the bible. Yet, I went to bible camp. I pray. Yet, not everyday. I do not count myself as a very religious person. Yet, I try to get more involve in my church. I wear pieces of clothing and accessories with crosses on them. Yet, I wear them because it's a fashion statement. Religion to me is not a bad thing. I wish I could go to church more often because I feel so good when I leave. I feel relieved like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. One of the highlights of all my trips are visiting churches. Whether it's La Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Ottawa, the Mission San Xavier church in Tucson, Arizona, Église Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Old Quebec or Notre-Dame-Du-Mont-Carmel  my hometown church, they all have amazing architecture, history and not so original names (so many Notre-Dame).

    The church in Tucson, Arizona has to be one of my favorite. It didn't have a long spire like most, it was so different! The San Xavier Mission del Bac was my first Spanish church I ever visited. On the outside, they had different cactus planted and palm trees too! The inside was just as breathtaking. They even had tour guides that would explain us about the museum (outside the church) and about its history and artifacts. Did you know the original foundation was built with volcanic rocks?

    The cathedral in Ottawa was just as great. I've never been in such a big and beautiful church. The stained glass were really well made, even the ceiling fascinated me! The details were just as astonishing. At the end, we got the chance to hear an organ piece that made the visit a hundred times better (if possible).

    My hometown church was once demolish and rebuilt. I still remember reading in a book that when it was demolished, the bell was still intact and you could hear it ring when they took the church down!

    Churches are great because no matter how small your town is, there will be one. Usually in the middle of the town. I could go on and on about amazing churches and facts but I made this post so people could take a closer look their church. It could have the most interesting history! Churches are important. My new objective is too visit at least one church when I travel. It takes about thirty minutes of my time but when I leave, I feel better and more inform.

Encounters with Canada!

     When my school counselor first gave me the "Encounters with Canada" pamphlet, I could not have been happier! I have a passion for traveling, so I jump on every chance I have to visit different places! Spending a week speaking English in Ottawa sounded thrilling! As I was going through the pamphlet, I stumble upon this; "Encounters has changed my life". I thought that they were really trying to hard to sell the program. How can a week of camp change your life? I've been to camp before, made friends, told them i'd see them again, but never did. I couldn't understand this quote until Sunday when I left Ottawa after one of the best experience of my life.