Troye Sivan has arrived!

During the 2014 VidCon back in June, actor, singer and YouTuber Troye Sivan announced that he would be dropping his EP titled "TRXYE" in August! A few days ago, he dropped his first single front the EP, title "Happy Little Pill" vis his Tumblr page and announced it would be released on July 25th! When I first heard the song, I was blown away by just how amazing it was. I'm not even quite sure how to describe the style of music this would fall under,  but I think that's what makes me like it so much. The beat, the words and Troye's smooth voice combine to create an almost majestic song. I have no shame is admitting that I have played "Happy Little Pill" a total of 77 times (according to my iTunes play count) since I bought the song the minute it was released on iTunes (about 26 hours ago). The last time I was this obsessed with a song was probably when Fall Out Boy released "Sugar, We're Goin Down" back in 2005. Needless to say, I don't get extremely infatuated with songs quite often.With that said, EVERYONE needs to at least listen to this song if not buy it and pre-order the album. I have already pre-ordered my copy and will be anxiously waiting for release on August 15th!

Now if you've read this far and are thinking "who the heck is Troye Sivan?", then you should pause right now and go watch some of his YouTube videos here! Troye is a 19-year-old Australian YouTuber, actor and singer. His YouTube channel has accumulated nearly 2.5 million subscribers with a total video view count of over 91 million. He has also starred in  major motion pictures such as Spud and Wolverine. For someone so young, he has quite an impressive resume. 

With Troye's success and artistic skills, it's no surprise that in just the first day of the "Happy Little Pill" release, the song is already at #3 on the iTunes charts in the US while his album pre-oder is currently the king at #1 on the iTunes album charts in the states. As if that wasn't impressive enough,  Troye announced via Twitter that"Happy Little Pill" currently is #1 in 17 countries while his album is #1 is 13 countries. See, I'm not the only one obsessed with it!

Needless to say, got listen to the song if you haven't already! Also, pre-order his album because I am sure that it will be just as magical as his first single!

Listen to "Happy Little Pill"

Buy "Happy Little Pill"

Buy TRXYE

TIME wrote an article about Troye! Read it here! :)

Blissful Wishes,

                  Lyss

The perfectly imperfect toast.

     The story begins on a beautiful spring afternoon in 2013. I was scrolling Twitter while binge-watching Netflix as I typically do during my downtime. After reading hundreds of insignificant rants and catching up on all of the latest celebrity gossip, I was just about to log off of Twitter until something caught my eye. Upon my feed read a tweet that simply stated “greatest maid-of-honor speech of all time” with a link to a YouTube video. This immediately caught my attention seeing as my sister had just asked me to be her maid-of-honor. I clicked the link and I instantly realized why this woman’s speech was so epic. In this video, the maid-of-honor and younger sister of the bride rapped her speech to Eminems’ song “Without Me”. I was blown away by this speech and immediately texted my sister half-jokingly asking her permission to recite my speech in this manner. As my sister has a great sense of humor, she agreed, thus beginning my year-long plan of creating a rap for my toast.

     For months, I searched for just the perfect song to rewrite for my toast. It wasn’t until April of 2014 that I discovered the perfect song, “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX. The reason that this song was so perfect is due to the fact that my sister and her fiancé call each other their “fancy boos.” If you want the whole story behind the nicknames, you’d have to ask them.  So after choosing the song and finding the instrumental version of it online, I went to work writing the rap.

     Here’s the thing I discovered while writing the rap, it’s very hard to write a rap. Seriously, I have so much respect for the rappers and songwriters of the world because finding words that rhyme AND make sense together is as challenging as trying to get to the Shrine of the Silver Monkey (many have attempted, few have succeeded). After many, many rewrites, I finally my completed rap. Now, if you have heard “Fancy”, you’ll know that Charli XCX sings the chorus and a verse of the song. Although I was willing to make a fool of myself with attempting a rap, I was not willing to hurt everyone’s ears with my singing voice. So, to help save myself from further embarrassment, and to make the rap even more special, I recruited two of my sisters best friends and fellow bridesmaids, both of which have AMAZING voices, to sing the chorus’.

     During the year leading up to the wedding, I had been repetitively telling my sister and her fiancé that I was not going to be doing a rap during my toast. I decided that it would be much more fun if I was to surprise them.

     My sister’s big day finally rolled around in June 2014. I woke up the morning of the wedding with the wildest butterflies in my stomach but had to ignore them, as I instantly had to begin preparing for the afternoon ceremony. Throughout the day, the hustle and bustle from the festivities made my anxiety skyrocket. So with this, my nerves were unsettling that day, setting me up for a not-so-smooth wedding toast.

     After the ceremony, the first dance and dinner, it was finally time for the wedding toasts. When the best man stood up to give his toast, my anxiety washed over me like a tidal wave. After his very sweet speech, it was finally my turn.

     One thing to know about me is that I love public speaking. I love performing, giving speeches and talking in front of crowds and it has never once made me nervous. Yet, when I began to give my toast, my nerves stung me and I suddenly felt as though I was watching myself give the speech rather than actually delivering it. So, I’ll just cut to the chase. By the time the music had come on (due to a secret cue from the DJ), I completely forgot everything that I had been working on for months and basically froze for the majority of the rap. After it was over, the only thing that was on my mind was “it is so hard to rap in front of people”, which I ever-so-kindly and awkwardly let the guests know. Yet after all was said and done, I knew that I had surprised my sister and new brother-in-law and if nothing else, gave them, and the wedding guests a good laugh. I’ve only been able to watch the video of it once, seeing as it makes me just cringe, but if you’re interested in having a good chuckle, I’ve added a link to the video below.

     If you’re ever given the honorable title of maid-of-honor, I highly suggest putting together a rap. Even though I wasn’t able to perform it perfectly, it was so much fun to put together and made my sisters wedding even more memorable.

Blissful wishes, 

                      Lyss

A magical weekend trip.

     I met my best friend back in 2003 in core class. When I first saw her with her long blonde hair in her denim J.Lo dress, I knew right away, that she would be my rival for "smartest girl in class." However, who I thought would become my biggest enemy, turned out to become my dearest and truest friend. Now, being the silly children-at-heart women we are, we like to celebrate our "friendship anniversary" by doing something fun every year. In the past we have gone to amusement parks, concerts, city trips and so many other fun places, but this year we decided it was time to celebrate in a big way; we decided to go to Disneyland. Now both of us are Disney fanatics, so it's always been strange to us that we had never before taken a trip to the happiest place on earth together. So at the end of 2013, we began to make plans. Jayme is a member of D23, a Disney club which offers some pretty awesome benefits for the fan of all things magical. Now with this super awesome membership, she was offered the chance to tour the Disney Studios in Burbank, CA. Naturally we both decided that we just had to go and decided this was the perfect time to take our Disneyland trip.
   
     After months of planning, the trip finally arrived. At 4 o'clock in the morning, I rolled out of bed, loaded my luggage into Jayme's car and we hit the I-5 south giddy with excitement that we would be in Anaheim by breakfast time.

     When we finally arrived at Disneyland, we were so excited and we immediately made our way to Fantasyland. Peter Pan has always been my favorite ride, so we decided to ride that first! As the day continued, our excitement never dulled. After the early morning and long day of running around, we decided to end the day in the early evening so we could get plenty of sleep for day two.

     Day two began even better than day one. We started off the morning opening the park and getting on all of our favorite rides before the crowds came. We spent a good chunk of our day over in California Adventure. After a few rides, we decided to go into the Disney Animation building. If you've never been inside of there, you're missing out. The main room is filled with huge screens that play different Disney movie snippets and show some pretty awesome animation sketches. It's also a very lovely air conditioned room, which feels great on a summer day in LA. ;) One of the most entertaining attractions in the animation building is the "which Disney character are you most like" game. Jayme and I both took the quiz and I think her answer turned out to be a bit more accurate than mine... at least I hope so.

Jayme, the lucky gal she is, turned out to be most like Cinderella!

I myself, turned out to be most like the Evil Queen!

     We rode all of the rides in California Adventure excluding California Screamin', as I in no way fancy roller coasters. We unfortunately found ourselves in Disneyland the same night as one of the many Disney Grad Nights. Both parks were filled with teenagers eager to ride thrill rides and who seemed to be very excited to be seniors as groups randomly broke out in "SENIORS" chants all day. As more and more teens piled into California Adventure towards the late evening, Jayme and I decided it was time to head back over to Disneyland for the rest of the night. Disneyland in the night is truly magical. The lights, the atmosphere and just the magical feel of the park at night just instantly fills you with childish bliss. The castle at night is one of the most beautiful sights. Here's a picture of the castle that evening. (Sadly, my camera skills aren't very strong, so I could never capture the true beauty of the castle.)

     One of my favorite pictures of the trip came from this evening in Fantasyland. As anyone who has rode the teacups in Fantasyland can attest to, one must attempt to take a picture while spinning like a mad person whilst the ride is in motion. I'd say that for Jayme and I, mission accomplished.

     As our fun at Disney came to a close, I felt a bit sad to be leaving my favorite place in the world. Suddenly, I remembered that the next day I was going to tour the Disney Studios and I instantly regained my excitement!

     The next day we ventured out to the Disney Studios in Burbank, CA. It was amazing to see just how much history was hidden in the walls of those magical buildings. On the 2-hour private tour, we were able to see some of the original drawing from some of the most popular Disney classics including Sleeping Beauty, The Lion King and my personal favorite Alice In Wonderland. On the tour, we were also able to see some pretty awesome movie props from movies such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Saving Mr. Banks and A Christmas Carol.

     The highlight of the tour was getting to meet Dave Smith, the man who created the Disney Archives. He began working for Disney back in the 1970's and spent thousands of hours exploring basements, garages, desks and closets of the Disney homes, offices and studios piecing together what is now today the Walt Disney Archives. Mr. Smith has written a total of six books about his Disney knowledge and expertise. At the studios, I was able to purchase his book Disney Trivia from the Vault: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered, which you can purchase here if you wish. he signed my copy and took a picture with me! It was so awesome to meet someone so vital to the Disney company!

     While we were waiting for Dave Smith to sign our books, we were able to see some pretty cool memorabilia! We saw Walt and Lillian Disney's marriage certificate, a parking pass from the first day Disneyland opened and the COOLEST piece of memorabilia, the very FIRST ticket to Disneyland!

I was also lucky enough to be able to hold one of Walt Disney's Academy Awards! Eek!

     I had such a wonderful and magical time in Disneyland and at the Disney Studios! What a way for Jayme and I to celebrate so many years of friendship! It was such a bummer to have to come home and leave the happiest place on earth, but I take solace in knowing that I will be back sooner rather than later.

Blissful wishes,

                      Lyss

A very special bridal shower.

     My sister got engaged in December of 2012 and in the spring of 2013, so kindly asked me to be her maid-of-honor. As one of the maid-of-honor duties, my mother and I threw my sister a bridal shower at one of our local wineries. Now since I am not the best party planner, my wonderfully creative mother did the majority of the planning. By majority, I mean she did all of it and I approved colors and decorations that she stumbled upon. It was held on a beautiful April day in the most beautiful garden winery setting. We kept the decor very simple and classic (my sisters preferred style) and used pinks and grays which were also the colors for the wedding. The venue and decor came together quite lovely and looked like a very pinterest-esque bridal shower.

The decorations for the tables were simple. We had a vase of random pink and purple flowers for a flare of color. We had two framed pictures from my sister and her fiancés engagement pictures, all on top of gray and white chevron print napkins.

 

We also put a few of the party favors on the table. In the boxes were heart shaped wine stoppers. Along with the wine stoppers were pink lollies with a picture of my sister and her fiancé on them.

At the venue was a darling gazebo which we decided to turn into the gift area. My sister-in-law is one of the most creative and craftiest women I have ever met. In just a short amount of time, she made this cute penner gift sign.

For drinks, we decided to sample to wine from the winery at which the shower was held. Since most everyone would be having wine, my mother ingeniously came up with the idea of wine glass name tags. She found tags that could wrap around the bottom of the glass on Etsy.

                                                                         

My mother prepared all of the food for the shower. She had a delicious layout of fresh sandwiches, pasta, potato and vegetable salads. She also prepared hor d'oeurves which included vegetable, cheese and meat platters. My favorite part of the dishes were how they were labeled. My mother found these cute mini chalkboard signs that clipped right onto the bowls and platters.

My mother also set up a dessert table which included a chocolate fountain, brownies and these adorable personalized cookies. Unfortunately I did not get pictures of the entire dessert table, but I did capture of picture of the cookies!

It was truly a lovely day and my sister loved the shower! She, as usual, looked absolutely gorgeous! My sister-in-law also make a cute countdown sign for my sister!

Blissful wishes,

                        Lyss

                                            

Describing the indescribable.

     The saying goes “from the outside looking in, you can never understand it. From the inside looking out, you can never explain it.” For every sorority girl, this is about the only way you could ever begin to describe what sorority life is. Over my three years as a member of Alpha Phi, I can sum up my experience into one word, indescribable. Now I realize how vague that sounds, but I truly cannot describe to you just how much Alpha Phi meant to me during my collegiate years.  There are many things that I wish I had done or not done, within my college experience, but never for one minute have I regretted going Greek. For anyone on the fence about Greek life, I encourage you to at  least give it a shot. It’s not for everyone, I realize this but I guarantee it’s nothing like what you think it is. My entire life, I have been a bit of a loner, which I am completely content with. I could have never imagined joining an organization of 75+ girls and finding friendship in each individual. Yet somehow, with Alpha Phi I did. I found a home I never knew I was missing. I found a group of women that I received (and still do today) unconditional love and support. I found women with whom I would share some of my most favorite memories with. I found a family that I will cherish forever. I had been a bit absent from my sorority in my last semester of college, for various reasons. I never got the chance to tell my sisters what they mean to me and to thank them for everything that they have given me. So right now, I would like to give you all my gratitude.

~ Thank you to all of my sisters for standing by me through the tough times.

~ Thank you for accepting me even when I can be the most stubborn, idiotic and daft girl.

~ Thank you for encouraging me to stay true to myself and for allowing me to be the honest, outspoken and super sassy woman that I am.

~ Thank you for still loving me even when I hurt feelings and disregard serious situations. (Sorry for not being an emotional type of gal)
~ Thank you for the endless silly laughs and the late night conversations that bonded us for life.
~ Thank you opening me up to new experiences and cultures that I would have never known if it weren't for you all.
~ Thank you for helping me with countless things when I had a broken foot, not once, but TWICE!
~ Thank you for embracing my nerdy Harry Potter & YouTube obsession and thank you to those who even joined me with my obsessions.
~ Thank you for being there for me any day, any time and in any situation.
~ Thank you for giving me the best college years I could have ever imagined.

You all have meant the world to me. I love you all more than Martha loved rituals.

I think I’ve hit my emotional limit for the year.

aoe to the dipper and back.

Blissful wishes,
                        Lyss

The beginning of my post-grad life.

    

     As of May 2014, I can now say that I am the proud owner of a piece of paper worth thousands of dollars that indicates I am now educated and qualified to work in the field of communication. After countless all-nighters, hundreds of quizzes, exams, essays and an innumerable amount of caffeine for early days and long nights, I feel accomplished and proud to say I now have a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. Yet, what is supposed to be the beginning of endless opportunities and open doors, I find myself unsure of my next move. While the unknown would typically scare the majority of people, my type-b personality is very content with where I am in life. Within my twenty-something years of life, I have concluded three simple rules to live life by. The first rule: live life for happiness. If you're not happy in a situation, job, relationship, move on. Life is way too short to not be happy. The second rule: don't take anything too seriously & don't stress about small things. Why bother sweating the small stuff in life? Is stressing over the littlest things really going to make us live a happier life? Probably not. The last rule I live by is that you are responsible for you life. You can't rely on others for your happiness. The only person that can make you happy is you. You are the driving force in your life. You can make your dreams come true. You just have to go out and make it happen. I live everyday of my life with these three rules in my mind, and on most days, I'm a pretty happy and content gal. So here I am, a peaceful, cheerful post-grad semi-adult, beginning a blog to share with the world the little bits of my life that make it so blissful.

Blissful wishes,
                        Lyss