I was having a conversation with someone asking them what would be 5 recommendations they would give of places to go, things to do & places to eat in their city. They gave me a good list & I added some of them to my list to check out next time I was in their city, but realized I wouldn't have a great list like that to give for Ottawa. So I have thought a lot about it and this is my top 5 things for Ottawa; food, places & things to do.

1. Tomo is my must-check-out restaurant, especially if you love sushi. I can't & never will stop raving about them because it's such a great restaurant that got added into the Byward Market which is full of restaurants but not all as good as Tomo. Their food is bomb; they have events going on in the evenings a few times during the week & their washroom is the spot for selfies: comic book walls...need I say more.


However, if you're not a sushi person, they do have other foods you can get from them but another restaurant you could check out would be Pure Kitchen.

Pure Kitchen is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant that came around a few years ago; I wanna say maybe 2015 it popped up in Ottawa. Since then, they have two locations & have the most bomb healthy food I've had plus it helps that they have dairy alternatives such as almond chocolate milk, cashew cheese, so much more.



I've been a few times & I tell everyone who goes that they HAVE to have  the cauliflower wings. They are like chicken wings but made out of cauliflower, a healthier alternative but still kinda taste like chicken wings and may I say BOMB AF. They are kinda awesome too because if you get a sandwich/burger you can have both salad & fries instead of having to make that difficult choice. They got a variety of things so there is something there for everyone & if you feel like food without meat is not filling, you are very wrong. I leave there stuffed but like a healthy stuffed where my body still feels good compared to places where I feel full but full of shitty foods. Enough of my blabber, here are some pictures of the times I have gone.



2. The Loft or Level One is a chill spot to play video or board games. They started off as having The Loft upstairs & it's been a hit since it's opened with huge long lines to get a seat to play board games from the many they have filling the walls. I'm so happy they have expanded to Level One which is downstairs in the same space & more food is served down there. There is video games there & there is way more space. So when The Loft is full you just go downstairs & get a seat at Level One. It's the best place to test out your friendships because board games can ruin friendships with games such as Catan & Monopoly and you're bound to learn more while there. Sometimes I will come in & just ask the server for a competitive game for however many people there are & they will choose anything, bring it over & explain the game so you definitely won't get bored. If you do, you are always welcome to change your game to anything else that's more entertaining for you.



3. The Prince of Wales bridge is an abandoned railroad bridge over water near Bayview Station. It's my go to spot when I'm downtown & just want a place to chill. In the summer you will see people jumping off the bridge into the water below. It's nice during the hot days to sit there & feel a nice breeze while just chilling. It's kind of a mission to get to & I don't know if it's blocked off because of the construction that's happening there right now but get to Bayview station & find the bike path. When you see it, walk towards the water & you will see the bridge & the way to get up to it.







4. Cool events in the city are always a good time to go to & we have a fair share of them that happen every year. I go to different ones every year but I'll attempt to go to them all this year. Some of the ones that are totally insta worthy & a fun time are: Tulip Festival, Ottawa ComicCon, House of PainT, Winterlude, & Dragonboat Festival. People come down to Ottawa for these events because they are a good time & you won't be able to find it else where, such as Winterlude where you can skate on the longest canal/skating rink in the world I believe, as well as seeing some pretty cool ice sculptures.







5. My 5th & last thing I would say is food spots around the city. Ottawa is very undervalued especially different areas that have great food that a lot of people don't know about so a different food adventure around a part of the city you haven't been to is an adventure in itself especially if your busing there. So go ahead & check out Elgin St, Westboro Bia, the Glebe area & Lansdowne because there is some good food spots hiding there that you won't find downtown.

Puerto Puerto Plata. Oh how beautiful your views were even on your rainy days, making this most definitely a #tripofalifetime as well as a #jobofalifetime. When the rain stopped for a few days and the sun finally started shinning, I could finally see the water and the palm trees as they were in the hot weather, so beautiful and tropical. This trip has been a very eye opening trip, to see how reserved I have become in the past few years and how I would like to be more open so I can experience the endless opportunities & meet great people.



I was nervous about coming out to do this job because of the amount of time I would be taking off from work & didn't know if it was worth it at the time. Looking back now, I'm so glad I ignored that voice in the back of my head because it was one of the greatest experiences I've had in a while.

So the company I went with is called S-Trip which stands for student trip and is a company that helps students plan grad trips with their schools that are way cooler than a weekend in Toronto (which is what we did) or whatever it is that they do for grad trips. I Love Travel is the big brand and then they are divided by winter ski trips and summer grad trips; S-Trip, Campus Vacations, Stoke Travel and many more. Check out their website for more information: http://www.ilovetravel.com/.

I spent the first few days asking myself if it was real & if I was really in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic or if it was a dream; the resort & all the palm trees had me thinking I was on a movie set sometimes. Eventually it sunk in that it was real & I needed to enjoy it before it was over. The staff & students just made it a great trip & had me cracking up to their shenanigans; some of these students would have some hilarious stories for me & I most definitely won't forget them.

This trip was work & vacation in one to make for a great & well needed week away. The days were consisted of an excursion or day off the resort as well as a night event so in our meetings we knew who was where the night before & spread the word to the students if they needed to be up early to go surfing or for volunteering. I got to volunteer and then all the trip leaders went on the city tour which was great because volunteer was one of the ones I wanted to do.


Volunteer day consisted of three stations where we would spend about 45 min before switching to the next one. We got to hang out with the children at a community centre, pick up garbage on the beach & then help build houses or repainted houses that needed a touch up. We took two groups of students to do the three stations & got to participate in each station with them. With the first group, we mixed cement, sand & water to make that gooey cement to put on the walls inside of a house that was being finished and with the second group, I became a smurf, getting paint all over me while painting this one house blue. The whole day was a very eye-opening and rewarding experience. From the laughs & smiles of the children we hung out with and played basketball or just interacted with; to seeing the difference between our beach on the resort & the way theirs has been ruined because of the recent flooding & brought all the garbage onto their beach, making it unrecognizable; to helping paint houses & making them vibrant & beautiful once again.



The city tour was great because we got to see the real Dominican & what there was besides what we saw on the resort. We got to get off the bus & walk around and interact with the locals while buying some pretty sweet souvenirs; everyone is so nice & friendly. I got some pretty souvenirs for myself & peeps.



I don't know why I never just planned a trip out here but now that I've seen it, I will most definitely be back with friends to lounge by the pool with some pineapple juice (my best friend all week alongside some passionfruit) & hanging out in the ocean and on the beach. No matter how much rain there was, it was an amazing trip & I feel blessed to have been able to come experience all the great things I did. Speaking of, I went horseback riding on the beach which was amazing even though I almost fell off my horse before it started moving because my saddle was sliding off it's back but the views were just....check out this picture because words can't do it justice.



Here are a bunch of more pictures of my trip.

Spring has been teasing it's way into Ottawa with nice sunny days or weeks sometimes & then have a freezing cold day right after to remind you winter isn't over quite yet. Nonetheless, stores have started to bring out the spring clothes, bathing suits, shoes and I've been getting some of them.
Bodysuits are my go to tops when I went to make some effort but also be comfortable. These two I got from Sirens who was having a buy 1 get 1 for $10 sale which made me want to get many but I told myself I'd come back. I've been wanting a long sleeve one that was basic so I can dress it up or down as well as white goes with everything. As soon as I picked this grey lion one, it was already a hell yes for me. When I tried it on, it fit so snug & perfectly I could not leave it behind.

I haven't had Bath & Body Works candles in a bit & my room hasn't been filled with such wonderful aromas anymore so I decided to bless my nose & room with the beauties that Bath & Body Works sells. I got the Midnight Blue Citrus & the Black Teakwood & I've been going back and forth between the two scents because they are just too good I don't want to burn them one at a time.

 I have been into bright & bold lip colours lately so another one that I added into my collection is one from NYX called Foul Mouth. It looks like a bright purple from the bottle but its actually a bluish purple colour. I'm wearing it in the picture above with the cat ears.

2017 is going to be a year of adventures & travels to places I haven't been before. At least 5 new places is the goal before end of December Inshu'Allah. Travelling a lot is going to teach me one thing I really need to learn which is how to pack properly & the important things I need to have with me in a carry on & on my trip. I have pulled many weekend missions to Toronto & either over or under pack.

From the two flights & many road trips I've taken, I've realized that you want & need to have your essential items as close to you as possible. I can't tell you the countless times I had to pull over the car to grab something I need from the trunk when I should have just had it in my purse next to me. On flights, you want to minimize your must haves because you don't want to be carrying such a big bag. You also need to realize that you won't need all the things you think you do, that way you can be chilling the whole flight.

I have prepared a flat lay for what I will be having in my carry on for the trip I'll be taking in a few weeks. Not pictured is a sweater & scarf because I know you know how cold those planes are, hundreds of thousands of feet up in the air and the blankets aren't enough.



Portable chargers are an ABSOLUTE necessity for vacations & concerts because as well as you preserve your battery your phone will die & you know it will always happen when you need it the most a.k.a when the main singer is right in front of you singing to your face. I got my Mophie one from Future Shop when it was a thing but you can find it at the apple store. My model is an old one & doesn't exist anymore but they have thinner colourful ones. Get the one with 2 ports & 4 full battery refills so you & your friend can both fully charger your phones at the same time.


I have my Polaroid for any outing I go on because I need some more snaps to add to my scrapbook. I used to have a baby blue one but that stopped working one unfortunate day & then my lovely friends got me a new one as my graduation gift-- I think they knew how obsessed I was with it.


I got the cutest bathing suit from Garage & can I say, finding a swimsuit in stores before the hot season is here is the hardest thing to do because stores barely have some and when they do they might not be styles you like. I happened to be in Toronto & you know that if you search the same stores but in different cities they always happen to have different things. I was originally looking for a bikini but this one piece was looking too nice & it says #beachsquad on it.

I'm sure you guys are wondering where I'm planning to go with all these gear for hot weather but I guess y'all will have to wait for my post on it or check out my insta to see the sneak peaks I'll be posting on there.

This place is a pretty bombtastic place that I haven't been to in a while, so I've come back to see if it was a just fluke the last few times I came or if Datsun really do work up magic in their kitchen.

Datsun is an Asian fusion, small plates type of restaurant that opened up right next to El Camino. So when you've decided you don't want to wait in their ridiculously long line you can go on over to Datsun on the other side.

The first time I came, half the menu wasn't available because they were about to close soon so I got their steamed chicken buns with the most amazing virgin cocktail one has ever had; I can't even tell you what it is because it was just a random concoction that was whipped up then & there, and you're just asked if you want sweet or sour. The steamed chicken buns are life & the cutest things ever! It's just all the right kinds of textures of everything paired together to make perfection.



Second time I came I got a few different things & split them with a friend so we could try bits of different things. We got the cod lettuce wrap, chicken skewers with peanut sauce & I believe we got the shrimp burgers. Yeah, they made burgers out of shrimp. Don't ask me how because I could care less I just want to eat those again. Look at that crispy cod lettuce wrap thou mmmm.



I went back another time & we got a bunch of things again but I don't really remember so I'm back again to try new things & update my brain on what I think of this place so I can recommend to friends looking for places to eat. Also can I say that all of Ottawa is taken for granted when looking for good restaurants because all everyone knows is the Byward Market & that's where you can find Ottawa's pretty shitty restaurants. Don't get me wrong, there are some good spots there but EVEN BETTER spots in Lansdowne, the Glebe, Wellington, Elgin and so many places around the city. Broaden your reach & expand your palette people.

Today I'm here to give you guys some tips on planning events because if you didn't know, I'm an Event Manager; finished the program last summer & graduated in October. There is a lot that we learned but for smaller scale events such as a wedding shower, baby shower or even a birthday party, there are tips that can make planning your event easier. These tips can also make sure you don't get charged those fees in the contract you glanced over before signing.

Planning any type of event is gonna be hard work if you want it to be successful & want to make sure everyone has a good time. You can have an event that you pull off quickly with minimal effort but it won't be as great as the one you planned & put effort into; the difference between a great & average event.

There are a lot of things that I've learned in this program that I would've never known before if I wanted to plan an event. Also, before this program, my extent of planning events was arranging birthday parties for my friends a.k.a dinners of like 8-10 people, maybe more. So now that I've gained quite some knowledge, let me let you in on some of it.



#1. Clean up charge 

If you are trying to throw confetti, glitter or something of the sorts, you will most likely see a $500 charge on your bill & wonder what it was for. I don't know about you but if you've ever tried to clean glitter up off carpet or hard wood floors but it takes a lot of effort & products. In this case, the venue will most likely tell you to not do it & if you do, you're looking at a fat bill.


#2. Picking a venue 

When you're planning a wedding or a baby/bridal shower, you probably will come to your event planner with a place in mind that you want to do it at. You'll be all excited about it & that's great, but don't be rushing into anything too quick. You want to choose your venue after you have the basic questions about your event answered such as: how many people are coming, are people dancing/moving around, what equipment do you need & how much space will that take up? You want to plan your venue around your event, NOT your event around the space because nothing makes your job harder than trying to fit everything you want into a smaller room. However, still tell your event planner about that place you're obsessed with because it could possibly work. They'll also have it on their mind and hopefully will find similar types of places that will fit for your event.


#3. Contracts 

This is where people get too excited & sign everything too quick, eager to move on to the next step. Hold up real quick thou! Do you know whether you just signed your life away or what all those papers actually say? Always stay informed & know what is going on because you don't want to be that person complaining about charges they got, after you've signed everything. Ummm I'm sorry....it was all written in that contract you glanced through & didn't take the time & effort to actually read!

I have so many more tips & tricks such as how you should calculate food & drinks depending on the people who are attending your event. Find these tips and more on my Planning Pinterest board.