coffee dates

welcome back to my foodventure!

i know i know.. it’s been a while, but i’m back at it and here to share my experience at the mast coffee cafe.

mast coffee cafe is located on 68 shuter street, downtown toronto. they are known for their contemporary coffee and their minimalistic space. their menu is quite small as they focus on the approach that “less is more.” this place is all about the quality of their drinks  rather than the quantity of items on their menu.

i discovered this place as i was randomly looking for spots to sit down, do my assignments and have a sweet treat. due to the short distance this cafe is to my school, my friend kathleen and i decided to give it a try and to our surprise, we enjoyed it! the aesthetics of this cafe is what caught my eye. i tend to gravitate towards simple, open, monochromatic places so this was definitely the place for me.

i ordered a large caffe mocha – $4.65 (a drink that i have just discovered my love for) which is a blend of coffee and chocolate/cocoa. i’m not much of a coffee connoisseur, but i enjoyed it. to top it all off, i also ordered my favourite, ginger molasses cookie – $2.60. the tip here is to always ask for it warmed up. kathleen ordered her basic chai tea latte – $4.35 (because she’s basic af) and a wild blueberry crumble – $2.85.

overall, my experience here was great and this is definitely going to be a coffee shop that i’ll be attending regularly.

 

jo

thrift haul

hey guys! welcome back.

last week, my friends and i decided to go thrifting. this was my first thrifting experience and it was definitely a fun one! i found a few items and i decided to share them with you through video! so feel free to check out both of my new youtube videos.

thrift haul: this video is all about the 4 items i found at value village. the first piece that i found was a pair of denim 7 for all man kind jeans! i was really excited to find these in my size because they’re usually realllllly expensive jeans and i got them for only $14.99 with an additional 30% off. the second item that i found was a roots flannel for $9.99. all of the items i bought were an additional 30%. i’m not usually the type to wear flannels or colour, but my friends liked it so i decided to give it a try. the third item that i found was a black button up from dynamite for $5.99 and last but not least, i found a pair of trousers for also $5.99. thrifting was definitely a fun experience and i really recommend trying it out. you never know what you’ll find!

also,

check out my may haul/fav video where i talk more about my thrifting experience as well as other items that i bought during the month of may! enjoy.

look good, feel good
jo

allan gardens

a few weeks ago, my new friends and i decided to visit the allan gardens conservatory, located on 19 horticultural ave, downtown toronto. this place is a very popular place known for their conservatories and green houses. it has a huge collection of plants and flowers. i would definitely recommend visiting!

i decided to go with the basic black and white look. i paired my white button up top from aritzia with some high waisted black jeans and black booties from zara. i completed the outfit with a black leather jacket from zara and that was my finished look! you can never go wrong with sticking with the basics.

glasses: gucci
leather jacket: zara
top: aritzia/wilfred free
pants: forever 21
booties: zara
bag: matt and nat

feel free to check out my friend lyn’s vlog, capturing the entire day fresh start: vlog | allan gardens conservatory, and shoutout to lourenz for the pictures.

check them out on ig:
@freddielynnn
@ljaay_

look good, feel good
jo

step 2: stepping outside of your comfort zone

step two: stepping outside of your comfort zone.

welcome back.

so here we are, step two.
step two is where we step out of our comfort zone. enough of the old, mundane, daily routine. it’s time to put ourselves out there. it’s time to create new positive memories. it’s time to stop living in the past, and start living for the future.

i want to start this off with a bible verse that really stood out to me while reading, daily readings from your best life now, by joel osteen.

the eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. if then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! matthew 6:22-23

this verse really spoke to me. it reminds us to be open to seeing ourselves rise from where we are or where we were. it reminds us that everyone has an image of where we’d like to see ourselves in the future and that image of ourselves depends on our mindset. it’s easy to always expect the worst and to see ourselves stuck in the past forever, but it’s also just as easy to see ourselves happy and living life to its full potential.

in order to start living our lives to its full potential, we need to start believing that good things are coming our way. through this, we are then capable of putting ourselves out there and stepping out of our comfort zones.

stepping outside of my comfort zone is something that i am still working on, but through this process, i have been able to create new relationships, new memories and a new image of myself. anyone who has known me in the past would definitely know me for someone who doesn’t enjoy reading, writing or even talking to people i am not familiar with, but since then… a lot has changed.

this is me, learning to be open to new experiences. this is me, learning more about myself. this is me, stepping outside of my comfort zone.

i’ve never really been the type of person to go out of my way to create new relationships and bonds with people. i always thought that, “if it happens, it happens.” i was always so afraid of stepping out of my own bubble because of how unfamiliar or uncomfortable it would make me feel, but i’ve realized that doing so can lead to great things.

for example, throughout this last month alone, i’ve been making plans with people i never thought i’d ever make plans with. i’ve also been reading a lot more, i created this blog page and i even decided to apply to new jobs. these are things that i would have never thought i’d be doing because i was so set on living my life the way i’ve always lived it. i had a routine, i worked, i went to school, i saw the same person every week and that was really just about it. of course i tried new things here and there, but it was never enough for me to change my entire life and the way i saw myself around. my life was a routine. don’t get me wrong, i was happy with my life, i was happy with where i was, i was happy with the people i surrounded myself with, but i never really entertained the idea that there was a lot more to life than just whatever i had in front of me. i was too comfortable. there’s definitely nothing wrong with that, but in order to learn about yourself and in order to live life to its full potential, you need to be open to stepping outside of your boundaries.

i think that it’s safe to say that through stepping outside of my comfort zone and through trusting the process, i am on the right path to creating a better version of myself. having a positive image of myself and where i want to be in the future really helps in this process. for as long as you see yourself doing well and living well, that’s what you will continue to work towards and will later on achieve in the future. it’s a slow process, but it’ll definitely be worth the wait.

i am very thankful and blessed to have the people i have in my life and without them, i wouldn’t be where i am right now. without pushing myself to step outside of my comfort zone, i would have never created the friendships i have. so thank you to those who have stuck around and to those who encourage me every day to continue this positive journey. you guys know who you are. thank you for helping me and watching me grow.  thank you for always reminding me to trust the process.

 

so with that being said,

stay tuned for step three: communication.

thanks for coming on this journey with me, there’s a lot more a head of us.

till then, don’t forget to trust the process.

 

jo

 

 

step 1: acceptance

step one: acceptance.

acceptance is not always easy.

the first step to a fresh start is acceptance.

of course this is always easier said than done, but accepting that the things in life are constantly changing is where it all begins. change is inevitable. sometimes it’s something we can’t control. it’s a normal part of life. so the question is; what are we going to do about it?

this could go two ways.

  1. choose to reject the fast moving pace of life.
  2. choose to accept change and move forward.

although crying about how sad life can be is soooooo much easier in the moment, choosing to accept change leads to greater things later on. be willing to see yourself grow. be willing to see yourself doing something new. acceptance is stepping outside of your comfort zone so dare yourself to step out.

my mindset wasn’t always like this.

speaking through my own experiences, accepting the idea of change was definitely the last thing on my mind. some days, it still is the last thing i want. it’s hard to wrap my head around it. one day, everything’s “normal” and the next, it’s an entirely different story. why do things change so quickly? why can’t i just turn back time? question after question, but the only answer is …”life,” that’s just the way it is. without acceptance, people tend to lose themselves. i lost myself… i was so focused on the past and what i could have done to change things, change outcomes and even change myself that i ended up losing myself in the process. i did everything i could to stop any sort of change in my life from happening, but the truth is… i couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. things change, people change and that’s just the way it is. change is inevitable.

it took me weeks to start believing in the idea that change can be positive. i couldn’t see it. i was so blinded by my past memories that i wasn’t able to see a positive future for myself. i needed help to learn how to accept change. i needed help to understand that sometimes, starting over means accepting that people are no longer the people they said they were… accepting that i am no longer the person i said i was.

through acceptance, i’m able to picture a positive future for myself. i’m able to think about things that i want for myself. i’m able to finally be selfish, even if it’s only for a small amount of time. where we are right now may not be where we thought we’d be or where we want to be, but it’s definitely where we’re supposed to be. it took me a long time to get to where i am right now and i know i’m still a work in progress. it’ll definitely take some time to grow, but as cliché as it sounds, time heals everything. just trust the process.

my goal is to make myself whole again. through acceptance, i know i’m making some form of progress.

i’m leaving you with a quote from a cute little book called, milk and honey by rupi kaur.
all you own is yourself.

let it go
let it leave
let it happen
nothing
in this world
was promised or
belonged to you
anyway

all you own in yourself – rupi kaur

stay tuned for step two: stepping outside of your comfort zone.

thanks for coming along this journey with me. i’m excited to see where life takes us.

till then, don’t forget to trust the process.

jo

part 1: fresh start

welcome to a new beginning, a fresh start.

i’m here to share my personal progress and growth with y’all and to find ways to strengthen my soul. i hope you enjoy this journey with me. it’s going to be a long one.

part one: fresh start.

my fresh start begins with a simple question; “where do i see my future self?” lying in bed for days, feeling sorry for myself, thinking about all of the things i’ve done in the past, all of the things i thought i could have changed… those thoughts were draining me. physically and mentally, it’s exhausting to constantly think about the “what ifs,” or “what could’ve happened,” so instead, why not think about “what can happen,” and this.. this is where it all begins.

throughout my life or even throughout this past month, feeling sorry for myself was always so easy. it’s easy to question why bad things are happening. it’s easy to consume my mind with negative thoughts. it’s easy to overlook life’s blessings.

but

the challenge here is learning how to enlarge my own vision… learning how to trust the process. learning how to trust in life’s process. thinking about where i see myself in the future is my fresh start.

so stay tuned for step one: acceptance.

till then, don’t forget to trust the process.

jo

 

 

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