I started writing this post as I was heading home from the show because this show was too good that I needed to post about it quick (ps. the show was Dec 13th).

Winter has finally arrived and I think it's here to stay because it hasn't rained away yet. Winter here means cold weather & warmer clothes which means it's time to go shopping. I absolutely dislike shopping hence the reason I spend all my money eating instead of on clothing to keep me warm but I've been inspired lately to find nice & warm winter clothing.


I usually find my inspo via bloggers I follow like The August Diaries & SS Life & Style (they live in Toronto so their outfits are realistic for this Ontario weather) as well as Pinterest (this is my clothing board). They say you never know who your gonna meet when you leave your house so look good at all times; I believe that is a possibility but realistically some days we will be looking like we just crawled out of bed to run quick errands like some groceries or to get gas so future Prince Charming, look away if you see me looking like a hot mess. My 2016 new year resolution was to make more of an effort to dress decently & i've been mostly sticking to it but come next year i'll be putting it more into effect.

I've been buying things here & there & piece by piece that are totally winter friendly and things that are meant for any season but winter. A few weeks ago I went out & showed my mom the winter gear I got myself, slip on Vans & pyjama shorts. She looked at me & laughed like good luck in the snow you clearly think winter is a joke. I have been really wanting some slip on Vans & I knew winter was coming but sometimes when you want something really bad you will get them no matter what but i'll take the L on that because it was definitely not the timing for it AND they are half a size to small *face palm*.

My best purchase would definitely have to be my blanket scarf that I live in; it's multi-purpose & can be transformed into a blanket when one is in need (i've done it before & it kept me warm). I have shaped up a bit now that the snow is here, I bought winter boots and ripped jeans (haven't shaped up completely). Slowly but surely I'm expanding my closet to have some comfy & fashionable pieces for winter.

The pieces I have been enjoying the most & I keep buying are bodysuits. Bodysuits are easy pieces to throw on with a pair of nice jeans & scarf/sweater/cardigan/flannel if your always cold like I am or just with whatever bottoms. I currently have 6 that I just want to be wearing all the time because they can be dressed up or down depending on what you feeling. The three are below are some of the ones I have; I have the red one but in a royal blue colour.

• a comfy, not itchy knit sweater
• long cardigans
• flat almost knee high boots
• leggings, leggings, leggings (crucially bottoms for lazy days & winter)
• few NOT ripped jeans so my knees can be warm

TV shows are a universal thing that is like an ice breaker question to see if I can make conversation with people or to see how cool they really are. My TV show roster is filled with many shows like:

• Gotham - currently my absolute favourite show
• This is Us - such a heart wrenching show that just shows storylines that all relate 
• Grey's Anatomy - the one I've kept up to date with every week & am in love with #TeamMcSteamy

• The Flash - I'm a season & a half behind on this show because i decided to start Grey's from season 1 one day
• New Girl - i'm like a good season behind on this show it just slowly died for me & other shows were just more worth my time but i can never just leave a show unfinished so ill catch up one day, maybe
• The Mindy Project - season 5 has started & i just need to watch them. there should be no more than 5 though
• Modern Family - this show is absolutely jokes & always got me laughing. i'm a few episodes behind but just need to binge one day & get caught up with tv
• Arrow - i've fallen behind on this show & desperately need to catch up because it's one of my favs (seen like 1/2 the cast IRL)
• Nashville - coming back in Jan YAAASSS fave country music show & the reason I need to go to Nashville
• Mistresses - it's slowly just not the same as it was in the beginning but the drama is crazy & steamy & it's like an updated version of desperate housewives
• The 100 - this show is absolutely crazy & I'm ready for it to come bacon Netflix soon

So I've been watching two new shows that I'm obsessed with & loving the black community making it out there & doing their thing. It's great to see more black people on tv & shows that black people can relate to. 

Coffee shops are my place to work & I like change in my life so I decided to start a segment of the different ones I check out around my city and/or in different cities & post about it under #beantrail. I will post reviews of the different places I check out while getting work done there because the only way I get work done is if I leave my house & go to a coffee shop.

If you guys have read my blog post about the things I require in a coffee shop then you will know the things I will be looking for & what I need to keep me coming back to your establishment (read the post here). It's the little things usually that make or break it for me & the deciding factor if I will give the place another chance or not.

I have been to a few places in the city of Ottawa but know there are way more than I've ventured out to check out but that shall change now that I need to get back into a weekly routine of working on things. I'm excited to to start this segment because it will be the reason I stay motivated to post on my blog & get other work done like fixing my resume because I can't work anywhere but a coffee shop that is loud with my even louder music plugged in eating and/or drinking some good stuff.

So stay tuned fellow readers as I embark on my coffee shop adventures & tell you the good spots we have in little ol' Ottawa. Make sure to follow me on Instagram where I'll usually post right away how the place is with a cute picture of whatever I order.


The places I hope to check out in the next bit are: Morning Owl Coffeehouse, Little Jo Berry's & Black Squirrel Books. These are three places I have been eyeing their Instagram pages & dreaming of going there but always get too lazy or don't make time in my weekly schedule to go check em out. Next week I have Thursday off & will be near one of them so I hope no other plans deter me from check out this spot & try some new goodies & drinks. Fingers crossed they are as good as I hope & their wifi is amazing.

I've been trying to check out new places as much as I can because I have been wanting to come up with a list of 5 top places to eat in Ottawa that is a priced decently and is a place where everyone can find something good off the menu. It's a really hard mission when I don't get to try as many new things I want and don't go out for certain meals such as brunch, aka the best meal to go out for. My list goes on for days and things keep getting added to it; sometimes i'll even go out somewhere new to find out it wasn't even on my list.

Salmon Poke Bowl from Bento Sushi

So far the places I have been loving that I frequenting at would have to be:



My top 10 must go to restaurants would have to be:

Hey hey, it's been a while since I've done an update so here we go. I've been hunting for a job because I'm slowly trying to get out of of the food industry and into a retail position or job where I can dress up on a daily basis. Indeed has become my best friend and I hope to find somethings soon that can fund the lifestyle I love to live, food, travels and concerts.



MUSIC:
I've been checking out new music and looking for artists of R&B and hip hop genre because I really enjoy that type of music. I would also like to be able to go to concerts that aren't punk/alternative rock because that's not the only type of music I enjoy. It would be easier if their concerts were at smaller venues because then I could get up front & possibly meet the artists compared to bigger venue. I am however going to start getting tickets to shows at big venues to see the big names because, I feel like if you are with a great group of friends that the show will be fun no matter where you are sitting, it's not always about being the closest it's about experiencing live music.

Some new albums coming out that I'm excited for are:

Travelling is the best thing to do because it shows you that the world is a big place & everyone lives a different way in a different part of the world whether it be a different city, country, province than you; people in Ottawa live a different way of life then people in Toronto. Every other day I'm always craving an adventure so I can go see things in this big world we live in & be able to grow as an individual through travel; I have at least 5 trips planned right now.

The first trip I ever took overseas was to Oromiya in 2011 & out of my province was in 2007 to Montréal. Oromiya was the one that hit me the hardest because I was older (I went when I graduated high school) & when I came I realized the life of traveling was the one for me. I would spend hours looking at places I would like to visit, searching up flights to see how much it costs and learning airport codes (I know so many it's ridiculous; MSP, ORD, YOW, YYZ, YYC, OSL, RYK).

So since then I tried so hard to go on another big trip but it was so hard because it's so expensive & you can't usually find people to come with you. Many years went by and I think the next trip I took after that was the New York Trip I took Feb 2015 which brought back my travel bug & gave me the motivation to make more trips happen. After NYC, I went to Halifax in June 2015 & then back to NYC in Nov. 2015.

We are in 2016 now & I haven't gone anywhere yet and am CRAVING an adventure. Travelling just gives me life & I love getting to experience life in different places; eating, shopping, scenery. I have about 4 trips for the end of this year but haven't really saved up for it yet. I really really want to go to them so I think now I am going to start getting into that saving mode so I can post about all of them, best believe NYC is one of them because I am obsessed with that city.

So watch out for those trip posts!

Here are some pictures from trips I've been on in the past.

School is finally over & I'm spending the last few weeks of summer hanging out, working extra hours and finding a job for the next chapter of my life, adult life. It so scary going out into the world looking for full-time work in the field I just went to school for or something related to my field that will lead me to my field.



Some things to remember during the hard times of finding a job when you finish school is:

• don't stop looking! it might take a lot of time and effort but it's worth it to get the job you want

• if you need to work any other job, a job you may not like or one that isn't related to your field, work the job. bills and life doesn't wait for you to get the great job in your field so work what you can and handle the important stuff

• volunteer, get yourself out there. involve yourself with people in your field. you never know who can help get you a great job and/or where that person can get you in your field; connections is the pathway to unexpectedness 

• apply for jobs you think you don't fully qualify for because you never know if can still get a call for an interview or perhaps even the job

Another year, another Warped Tour. It's been almost a month since I went to Vans Warped Tour this year but just haven't had time to get around to writing this post as well as didn't want to because that means I need to accept that it's over till next year; Warped Tour is still going on in different states but nowhere close by that I can go again. We attended the show in Syracuse on July 7th which was a 3 hour drive away so we had left at 4am to be there for 8am, there was some confusion finding the parking then had to walk over to the venue.

I got to see all the bands I came out to see as well as discovered some new bands that i've heard of but never listened to & ones I've never seen & heard of before. I came out to see Tonight Alive, We The Kings, Set it Off, State Champs, Emarosa and The Maine. The bands I got to stop by and listen to was Broadside, Issues, Yellowcard & Sum 41.

We started our day off with We The Kings which we got to see side stage because we were Warped Reporters for the day, got in the festival for free because we showed up early & got people in line to complete surveys about the event. We got to watch one band side stage & got to walk around the venue before anyone else which helped us know where everything is & where the tents that we wanted to stop by were.

We had about 15 minutes before We The Kings show so we spent most of it looking for the ATM machine since we came to the States cashless but could not seem to find one set up yet. Thank god for technology because most booths had Square Readers which made it possible for us to buy things with our cards which is what we ended up doing all day.  After We The Kings, there wasn't much stopping because the shows just kept coming after one another. State Champs was next up & they had a great show with a pretty cool bubble machine which I wish could have cooled us down but was just a pretty sight. After their show, I ran for some food because I was ready to pass out from how hot it was.

After food, we had some time until Tonight Alive so we walked around to see different bands playing such as Broadside who were pretty cool. We didn't get to check them out long though because Tonight Alive started not long after we finished eating. We had wristbands to go the meet & greet but couldn't make it because their was a set time at the same time. Tonight Alive I was excited to see especially after discovering them in March & learning majority of their new album BUT Set it Off was starting right after Tonight Alive & we needed to get in the front for their show so we ended up watching half the show from the side.

Set it Off was amazing of course because they know how to put on a show & Cody always knows how to keep the crowd alive. It was so great to hear them singing both of their new singles & I can't wait to hear the new album which comes out October 7th which means a tour is coming soon. As soon as Set it Off was over I ran to the Poseidon stage to see Emarosa. I have missed Emarosa multiple times when they were close enough for me to walk & see them so I could not miss them again. The crowd wasn't as big as I thought it was going to be which sucked but it didn't matter cause Bradley Walden knows how to put on a show. I was like one of the few people going wild right at the front but I didn't even care because I waited so long to see them that I was going to enjoy every moment.

After Emarosa we had a couple of hours before The Maine which was the last show I wanted to see & Sum 41 was the last show of the day & the one my friend wanted to see. We went to all the booths during this time to catch whatever meet & greet and signings we could as well as buy whatever merch or CDs I absolutely needed to have. I bought Emarosa's new CD of course because it came out the day after I saw them play, State Champs CD so I can jam to it in the car & because I know almost every song on that album, The Maine's American Candy which was $5 and came with a covers cd as well which was worth it and then I went back to the Emarosa tent to get a shirt because they looked comfy & was something I would wear everyday, I got the helpless crop tank. I wanted a shirt from State Champs as well but the American conversion finished what I had to spend and the rest was for dinner and gas to get home.