This past Saturday, I spent the afternoon in Oceanside. Living in San Diego without a car, I sometimes forget just how pretty California can be. (Yay people with cars who don’t mind listening to me talk about my cats the entire car ride). Located just north of Carlsbad, Oceanside is definitely a beach town worth checking out.
It’s that time of the year again when instagram fills up with people in flower crowns and crocheted tops (check out my etsy!) Unfortunately I didn’t get tickets to Coachella this year despite my 2.5 hour distance from San Diego. (I definitely need to plan it properly to go in 2018) Feeling in the Coachella spirit, I thought I’d share my experience spending the day at the Saguaro Palm Springs.
Being from Canada, spring means the snow is melting and plants actually start growing. Its weird for me to hear “Spring is here!” in California where it is beautiful year round. However, I have noticed warmer weather and flowers everywhere (from deserts to purple blankets covering the sides of I-5). Feeling in the spring mood, I decided to check out one of the most spring to-do places near San Diego; The Flower Fields in Carlsbad.
After seeing many posts being shared all over my timeline, I decided to check out the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to see the big super bloom. Thanks to the crazy rain thats been happening all winter, the wild flowers had their biggest bloom in decades. Being from Canada, wildflowers aren’t the biggest deal. (They are treated as weeds in cottage country.) However, something about seeing the desert floor lit up by bright flowers was so unique and definitely worth the drive.
One of the best things about traveling to the Riviera Maya is the mayan culture and the proximity to ruins. When you’re staying in an all-inclusive resort, it can seem “wasteful” to spend a day away from the resort. However, it would be even more to not go out and explore some sites. If you aren’t down for a full day trip, Tulum is the best in between option, only being an hour drive from Playa del Carmen.
Living somewhere warm definitely has it perks; like being able to wear summer dresses in February. Last year for Valentine’s Day I went to Disney World, so I got to wear a dress. However normally I would be bundled up with sweater tights, a cardigan and probably ugly (but warm) boots to deal with the Canadian winter. One piece of clothing you can’t quite wear in winter are rompers. (I’ve always felt weird wearing them with tights.)
The Mayan Riviera has always been one of my favorite destinations to escape winter (Even though I live somewhere warm now). The resort strip is long, just south of Cancun going all the way down to Tulum. Right in the middle is Playa Del Carmen. It has gotten a lot of bad attention in the news lately, however it is still a great place to spend an afternoon away from the resort.
This year I got to spend the time leading up to Christmas in warm and sunny San Diego. While everyone back home was dealing with blizzards, I was dealing with the “cold” 19 degree Celsius winter. There were so many holiday events within San Diego that I wanted to go to. However, with my crazy workload in grad school and my lack of a car to get anywhere, I only made it out to the Holiday Market at Quartyard in East Village.
Every year, the distillery district puts on their annual Christmas Market. Thankfully, I was home just in time to catch it during the American Thanksgiving long weekend. It is probably one of the most photo-op location in Toronto during the holiday season. Here you can find every walks of life. From families to groups of friends, all the way to the awkward couples on a first date. Whoever you end up going with, it is not an event to be missed.
When the Kenzo x H&M collection was revealed, I wasn’t all that interested in the beginning. I am not the biggest fan of animal prints. However, the bright and bold prints managed to finally grab my attention. Along with the sleeveless dress, I also managed to pick up is this off-the-shoulder blouse.