Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in, so shame on me now.

I wish that I blogged more.

I always say that, and I will continue to say that until I actually do something about it.

See, there's a little problem though. For me to blog, I have to be inspired.

The smallest things can inspire me. This time I was inspired while sitting on an airplane toilet while filing my nails (people don't actually pee in this things, do they?). I was sitting there thinking, man, I really hope I don't accidentally push the flush button and get sucked through the airplane, out of the toilet, to infinity and beyond. That's my biggest fear - being sucked out of an airplane toilet. I mean, I guess I have a few other fears as well. Deep water, because I can't swim. Monsters under my bed that survive off eating people's toes, because I feel like being toeless wouldn't be a good look for me. Not being able to do what I love in life/not being successful/not finding someone who loves me and is as adventurous and curious about the world as I am/the fear that I'll never wake up as a natural blonde and will have to deal with bad roots every two months for the rest of my life.. You know, typical fears.

Every year, I write a blog near New Years, in hopes of bettering myself and the people around me - and this year I want to include you in on it. 

Yes, you. 
 
Maybe we've been friends for years, in that case, hey, thanks for sticking around! Maybe we've met once and you simply only know me from my Facebook status's and blog posts, in that case, feel free to say hi! Lets grab coffee and exchange stories. I love re-meeting people that I've technically 'met' but have merely only scratched the surface with. Maybe you just stumbled across my page and dont even know who the hell I am, and in that case, I'm Devan, nice to meet you!

Whoever you are, I'm going to challenge you to do something with me over the next year. You've already read this far, and there's no turning back now.

I challenge you to choose one fear to overcome and one goal to accomplish in the New Year. I can't set a limit on how many things you want to tackle, I can only give you this little piece of advice, don't choose so many that you half ass them and stress over getting them done. This is for YOU, no one else. They can be as big or as small as you decide. Make them at least somewhat realistic. By this I mean, if you don't have a job or any money, owning a 2013 Ferrari may not be realistic. Or, you can say fuck the police and Devan and go steal one and prove me wrong. I'm totally kidding. And you can not use this as a reference saying that I told you it was okay to steal it when you get caught! Something I have on my bucket list is 'Be someone's Maid of Honor' - I can't MAKE one of my close girlfriends get married this year, so that one will just have to get crossed off when the time comes. Get where I'm going with this? Daydreaming is the most magical thing in the world, so daydream and pick something, anything! And you know what, It's not even wrong to be choose something unrealistic, just don't kill yourself trying to get there, or anyone else in the process - and make sure you rub it in everyone's face who told you you couldn't do it once you do.

Next step? I want to hear what you're going to do! I don't care if what you're planning to do is far fetched or super simple - I want to hear it. Have me on Facebook? Send me a message! I don't bite, promise. And I'm not kidding, whoever you are, you, whoever's reading this, I want to know what you want to face and accomplish this next year! Don't want to leave your name? Thats what for formsprings for! Be annonymous as fuck if you want!

www.formspring.com/devanrylee

I always find that when I tell someone im going to do something, I try so much harder, as though I don't want to let them down as well. And if you ever struggle along the way, here is my formal invatation, telling you to reach out to me, message me, give me a call, or if you can find another way of communication, use that (Just don't stalk me down at the mall or 7-11. That's just creepy!) I'm not willing to be your therapist, but sometimes an unbiased opinion is exactly what you need to succeed, and that, I would be more the happy to give you. The one thing I won't do is judge, I'm in not in the position to do that, and neither are you. ;)

Since I'm asking you to tell me your deep dark dirty little secrets (ok, being afraid of toilet seats isn't exactly juicy gossip, but I do what I can) then I suppose it's only fair that I tell you what I intend to do in the next year. If you know me well, you'll know I have a bucket list that I hold dear to my heart and want to achieve everything on it someday. A few are things pulled from that. A few aren't. Either way, here's my list.
 
01.) Drive to LA this summer.
02.) Learn to snowboard.
03.) Get a personal trainer.
04.) Enroll back into dance classes.
05.) Make more eye contact with strangers.
06.) Teach Ryley how to shotgun.
07.) Blog more.
08.) Pay it forward. 
09.) Be a sunshine girl (no judging!)
10.) Get a tattoo.
11.) Forgive, forget, let go, move on.
12.) Give life a chance again.  
13.) Reconnect with old friends.
14.) Volunteer.
15.) Inspire someone. 
16.) Send a letter I've been putting off for the past year. 

And just to prove that it's possible.. these are the things I crossed off my Bucket List this last year!

- Go on Tour. (Went across the states with a Rockband. Dream come true!)
- Crash a Wedding. (In the most polite way possible)
- Go to the Calgary Tower. (Beautiful.)
- Trash a Hotel. (I don't think I'll be staying there anytime soon)
- Get 1,000 twitter followers. (You guys are AMAZING)
- Go to a Nude Beach. (Thank you to my awesome gf Shaka for joining me on this crazy adventure!)
- Go Ziplinning. (In Jamica. Unreal.)

Until next time, keep dreaming, anything is possible.

xoxo - Dev

While you're here, check out my new video, it's a VLOG and gives you a little bit of a glimpse into my life.. <3

Keep on dreamin', even if it breaks your heart

Hello lovers!

So, I haven't been around for a while. I hope you noticed and missed me. If you didn't, just lie and pretend that you did so I feel good about myself.

I have so many summer updates that I can't wait to tell you about, but let's face the current facts, I have cookies baking in the oven right now, and, well, blogging vs. cookies.. take a wild guess at which one is going to win tonight.

BUT, I promise I'll have the cookies eaten in a few days (jk, they'll be gone by midnight tonight while I watch a sappy Zac Efron flick) and I'll be doing tons of fashion video's & blogs & vlogs, and update ya'll about the tour I was on for most of the summer. No, I didn't make it to Texas this summer. Yes, I still feel it's acceptable to say ya'll regardless. 

So, without further adue (I've always wanted to say that) - here is my latest video! It's short, and sweet, and gives you a little bit of an update of what I've been up to, some amazing bronzing products thats going to make you look like a total bombshell this fall, and a GORGEOUS braclet giveaway. Check er' out!

All the products I mentioned are listed below! Talk to you guys & dolls soon! xo

- Devan

 The gorgeous braclet I'm giving away this week! Watch the video, and enter! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MarisaLeeDesigns

http://www.youtube.com/devanrylee
http://www.facebook.com/devanrylee
http://www.twitter.com/devanrylee
http://www.formspring.com/devanrylee
 

Products used 

  

Sun Laboratories Tanning Kit - http://www.sunlabsonline.com/

St.Moriz Tanning Lotion - http://www.amazon.com/

BC body collection bronzing beauty book - Limited Edition
  

Femme Couture Mineral Effects Baked Bronzer - http://www.sallybeauty.com

I wanna live, not just survive.

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. 

Ever wonder if what you're doing, is what you're supposed to be doing with your life? 

I do. Everyday. Sometimes more then once a day. Sometimes I spend an entire day thinking about it.

Don't wonder. As good, or as bad as your life seems at the moment that you're reading this, it's how your life is supposed to be.

But alas, never get too content with happiness, or too stuck in confusion, because however you're feeling is only temporary. When life starts to spin out of control, you find balance, and when life seems balanced, life spins out of control. For some reason, even the most brilliant people in the world haven't been able to successfully solve a few of life's biggest mysteries.

1.) Why we haven't caught Big Foot - He has such.. big feet, shouldn't his tracks of led us to him by now?
2.) Find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - Leprechauns have tiny legs. Surely someone can outrun them.
3.) Make a pig fly - Birds fly. Breed a pig and a bird. Duh.
4.) Figure out life.

Maybe some things aren't meant to be captured, though. And maybe some things aren't meant to be figured out. (But seriously, how have they not found Big Foot yet?!)

I moved to Toronto to figure out my life, and I think that's where I made the mistake. Life is meant to be lived - not figured out. And while I was busy trying to figure it out, I think I forgot to live the past few months. Needless to say, I didn't accomplish what I came here for, but I did make some valuable realizations.

 

I'm a wonderer, and a wanderer, and that's how I've always been. I've packed up my life and moved so many times, and I always claimed it was so easy to do - and it always was. I guess that's because I was young. It wasn't until I moved to Toronto that I really realized what I left behind this time around. My family. Friendships. The comfort of my bed. The smell of outside in the summertime. The familiarity of driving on the same roads and passing the same street signs on my ride home every day. All the things that I forgot to appreciate, because I saw them day after day, everyday. All the amazing, little moments in life that you've had the privilege of enjoying everyday, you start to take for granted. You start to expect them, instead of being thankful for them. You start to question whether the grass is greener on the other side. That's when you need to pack up and leave town for a bit to see if it really is. 

Sometimes you don't know when you're taking the first step through a door until you're already inside. - Ann Voskamp

The grass isn't any greener, nor any less green here. I mean, if you want to get all technical, there's not even a lot of grass in Toronto, it's mostly concrete. I left Edmonton because I felt like I had tackled everything that that I needed to there, and maybe Toronto has a little too much to tackle at this point in my life. I love the city. I love the sand between my toes while I lay on the beach, and I even love that my nose is burnt to a crisp right now. I love what I could possibly accomplish in this city, which is what I won't likely be able to do anywhere else in Canada. Some people say I belong here, and a part of me believes that. But, another part of me can't see myself having to spend $600 everytime I want to see my family and friends, or drive 4 days. Maybe I was just meant to experience this city for a few months, maybe I was meant to stay here forever. But at this point in my life, I feel like I'm meant to continue to wander, so I've taken a job opportunity that will allow me to do that for the month of July. After that, who knows? Visit Zimbabawa is on the bucket list, think they'll have a job for a tiny blonde girl with big dreams, and a bigger imagination?

Not all that glitters is gold, not all those who wander are lost.

The one thing that I've noticed a lot the past couple years, is constant questioning from people. I alway felt that people perceived me as someone I'm not, based soley off what I do, how I say things, facebook pictures, other social media, etc. I always felt like I had to defend myself, to prove that I wasn't the person they thought I was. I was wrong, though. All that shit you think I am - you're probably right. The difference is, is that there's so much more to me the JUST that. I find myself trying to downplay my life, hoping people don't hate me just because I've got to experience some pretty amazing things. Fuck that. My life is an absolutely, amazing, beautiful, mess. Everything I do blows up in my face. The harder I try, the greater I fail, as soon as I take one step forward, I instantly end up taking 5 steps back - and as much as I wish things would work out every once in a while, I would not change the course of my life for anything in the world. I've never been handed something, I've had to kick and scream and prove myself more then anyone ever should ever have to, to get to where I am today. But having to work my ass off for all that I've gotten, has made me such a sympathetic, understanding, and loving human being - and the fact that I can wake up each morning and know that I am a damn good, great person, means that not a single second in the last 6 years of working my ass off with my career, friendships and relationships, has been a waste.

The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday. 
 

I'm almost 25. This just hit me today. I'm pretty sure yesterday I was 19 and graduating from college. Sometimes I wonder where I'd be if if I had chosen a different path, but life's not meant to be rewound and debated, because while you're wasting time daydreaming about the past, life is passsing you by and moving forward - with or without you. That being said, make moments count. Never waste your time on people who wouldn't waste their time on you. Fall in love, fall out of love, and let nothing damage your spirit. Instead of trying to figure out things that have been said and done, or things that haven't happened yet, just live - you'll figure out what you're meant to along the way. 

Wither will my path yet lead me? This path is stupid, it goes in spirals, perhaps in circles, but whicever way it goes, I will follow it. - Hermann Hesse