The Cottage

One of my absolute favourite places to be during summer is at camp. When I was younger I lived there throughout the entire season. I had always found something do to no matter what kind of day it was. The lake is absolutely beautiful. It is one of the most peaceful places I've ever been too. Cars are rare on the road, the lake brushing up against the sandy beach is insanely calming, and the wildlife is pretty well interesting. Here are a few photos that I snapped while venturing amongst the beach. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to fish as it was a bit too windy (and at one point, too rainy) to go out on the lake on a small boat. I will make a point to create a bit more adventure on my next visit!

Sunset #1

Every night is beautiful like this, and I've never seen an ugly sunset!

While walking along the beach, my grandmother and I found patches of both blueberries and raspberries! That night, we decided to make fresh raspberry pie... And let's just say I had more than one piece... Ha!

Saskatoon berries are also quite popular while going on adventures.. They sit right along the beach, and can be found in many more places!

Sunset #2 - One of my favourites... I love the vibrant orange!

This is the view walking along the path towards the beach! Love!

The rest of the photos are particularly of my view on the beach. It's always really quiet as there are few people that are out and about on the property! As you can now see why it is one of the most peaceful places I've been! 

Hope you enjoyed these photos. I love that I can share my favourite things with you. I miss visiting here all summer, but that's what happens when we grow up!

Much love,
JessicaLynn

MoRoCo - Chocolate

A few years ago, I (again) was in Toronto and had visited a restaurant called MoRoCo. Not only do they serve great food, but they specialize in chocolate desserts. I am definitely one of those people who is a sucker for chocolate. This past trip that I visited the city, I came across this little place in Yorkville again. The second I saw their sign that pointed towards a cute little pathway, I was practically drooling.

MoRoCo serves all kinds of desserts and drinks that surround the name of chocolate. They serve any kind of chocolate that you can think of. The atmosphere of the place is really calm and collected. It's busy, but not the kind of busy that you have to yell over one another. This posh restaurant has so many different options that I'm determined to try them all. On my recent trip there, I shared a delicious dark chocolate fondu that came with homemade marshmallows, macarons, grapes, strawberries, banana and pretzels. It was everything. My parents and I demolished the dish, and funny enough to say, my dad licked the chocolate bowl... We couldn't stop laughing when he did that, but we were lucky enough that it was somewhat dark enough with the dimmed lighting that no one noticed...

The list of things on their menu were endless and sounded heavenly. They even had a dessert in which they bring an open flame to your table to cook your own luxury s'mores! It was the coolest thing I've ever seen for that kind of atmosphere.

Yorkville is definitely a great place to explore in downtown Toronto, but if you come across this restaurant, definitely take the time to pop in! You can even purchase chocolates to go (so you REALLY have no excuse).

Here are a few photos that I took on my last visit!

Delicious.... No need for any more explanation!

I was thrilled to be back!
What I'm wearing:
Blazer - Bedo
Playsuit - Aritzia

This was in the little boutique area where you can purchase things to go!

This would give great gift ideas to those who have friends who are expecting! Nothing that relates to me, but its adorable!

If you'd like, you can check out more of the restaurant here on their website! It even has the menu so that you can decide a little bit faster when you go there!

Hope you are all having a great day!

Much love,
JessicaLynn

Dineen Coffee Co.

It's been far too long since I've last blogged, and it's time to get back on track. I was first distracted with exams, and then after that, I got stuck in a big rut with nothing to talk about - no new product reviews or anything of that matter.. I had done nothing but school; then I got a little bit lazy with it all to be honest, but I am no longer giving myself any excuses! Roughly two weeks ago, I went on a little trip to my dream city. It's nothing special, but it is my absolute favourite place to be; Toronto!

Dineen Coffee Co.

My love for coffee has grown so much in the past few years. I've tried quite a few different brands, and I think I found my most favourite place to be: Dineen Coffee Co. It's a cute little coffee shop on near Yonge and Queen and has the best atmosphere ever. Everything is homemade, they have the cutest little breakfast foods and treats and the most delicious freshly squeezed juices! My favourite would have to be the kale one. It was so refreshing and tasted delicious. I went there only twice because I discovered the place on the last two days that I was visiting the city. Both days I had the Vanilla Latte with almond milk, then I switched up the little treats I ate. I tried both the blueberry muffin and the Almond Croissant which were literally the best things ever. I've never had a croissant before, but it was so light and tasty and the muffin was amazing as well. Anyhow, here are a few photos that I took while I was there. I highly recommend this coffee shop if you're in the area, or are ever planning to visit the city!

Also, check out their website! It has such a cool vibe, and I guarantee you that it'll convince you to take a stroll down to the Financial District in Toronto!

The Atmosphere

Dineen Coffee Co. had the neatest atmosphere and really cool vibes. The music was great, the service was great, and even the other customers were friendly. I felt like it was my calling. Everything was perfect.

Dineen Coffee Co. from a different angle..

Surprisingly, there was a lot of seating and so many neat antique looking decorations!

The booths were my favourite, though!

The Coffee and Food

Both days that I went for a latte, I got heart designs, but they also do different ones like swans and leaves... 

 

And like I said, the food was out of this world!

Almond Croissant - I highly recommend this one!

The only photo that I got of the blueberry muffin. It was homemade and delicious!

This last one, I had a lovely breakfast with my parents.. Thought it would be cute to add this!

Me

DAY 1 - I honestly couldn't have been more excited to have found this place!
What I'm wearing:
Blazer - Bedo
Dress - H&M

DAY 2 - I admit to looking a little sleepy in this one.. We stayed out late this night before and this was the morning that we had to leave, sadly! (As you may see all of our luggage!)
What I'm wearing:
Coat - H&M
Tee - Forever 21
Trousers - RW&CO

Hope you enjoyed this post and are convinced on visiting this place soon!

Much love,
JessicaLynn

Plans for 2014

As I sit here by my fireplace, I decided to plan a few things for this year. All in all, a lot of it involves travelling. I thoroughly enjoy travelling and living life to the fullest. I stayed in my hometown to go to university for a few reasons. My main reason was so that I could spend money on certain luxury items that I truly enjoy. In this case, I have a few plans to go to a few concerts and possibly travel to Europe at the end of the year if the odds work in my favour. I also want to do a lot of in-the-moment decisions. Whether I say yes to more positive things or just think of something fun to get out of the house, I want to make this year better than any other.

I have high hopes to actually do what I say I'm going to do. Visit family more often, travel more often and everything in between. I don't want to sit around and complain that I'm bored or that I have nothing to do. Whether you live in a big city or small town, there's always something to do. All you have to do is make the effort to think of something and do it.

I feel that I could be a better person if I do these kind of things. Maybe I'll be happier. As of right now, school is starting again tomorrow. It's going to be busy, but I need to ensure that I make an effort to do something extra.

Do you have any fun plans for 2014?

Much love,
JessicaLynn

The Weekender - A Home from Home

This past weekend I went to a lovely city called Toronto. Toronto is one of my favourite cities. There's always plenty of activities to do, and it truly embraces the culture of the world. You see a different form of art everywhere you look and after all these years of visiting this city, I still never get bored of it. Each journey is new and today I would like to share my most recent visit.

My first day of the trip was on Friday. Technically not the weekend, but I wanted to spend a full three days there. I was there to visit one of my best friends and it was truly a blast. I flew to Toronto early in the morning and was exhausted, but it was well worth it. When I got there, I dropped off my luggage and decided it was time to shop. And truth be told, we did a lot of that. I stayed on campus with my friend, and the view was gorgeous. I really wish I had that view where I live (but maybe it will happen someday soon). Before shopping, we decided that I should walk around the campus a little bit. After all, University of Toronto is stunning.

A beautiful view from my friend's room!

The Hidden Tree

On our way to more adventures

Having a chat with my bud!

A part of Victoria College
These beautiful colours can really capture one's eye.

 As I said before, we did a lot of shopping! I had the chance to shop in the Eaton Centre, all down Queen Street West, Yonge Street and Bloor Street! I had so much fun! I did not buy as much as I expected, but I am quite happy with my purchases! Here are a couple of photographs that I took while shopping in the Eaton Centre! The Christmas lights were stunning and I was officially brought into the Christmas mood!

A three-story-tall Christmas Tree. Absolutely gorgeous!

These reindeer were everywhere! As you can see, they were quite large...

After shopping, I also went on an adventure in the nightlife of the city. Again, Christmas was everywhere. I love the effort that city workers make to imp rose the overall view of Toronto! It allows it to be so much more mesmerizing. It ties both Christmas spirit and family and friends together. It is just breath-taking!

A secret park near Bay Street Subway Station.
 Can you tell I love Christmas trees?

Indigo Christmas tree!

Bloor Street lights? Yes please!

And finally.... the food. I am never disappointed when I go to any restaurant because there is always a large amount of selection to choose from! I decided to pick a couple of favourites (Fickle and The Loving Hut) and a few new places to eat such as The Pickle Barrel!

The neatest Thai restaurant on Yonge Street! Delicious food and great prices!
If you are in the area, I would STRONGLY suggest to check it out!
Fickle

Casually sitting behind a MASSIVE chocolate milkshake!
Might I add it was delicious?
The Pickle Barrel

At my favourite organic restaurant
in the Queen Street area!
The Loving Hut

And last but certainly not least I spent the majority of my time on Sunday at the Christmas Parade! It was so much fun and very interesting to observe the huge variety of floats and costumes! Believe it or not, the parade was about two and a half hours long! I was there about one hour early to get a good spot and it was quite fun to spend the time waiting with my friend! We had good laughs and good chats. At the end of the day I wanted to spend my last hour on Bloor Street admiring the Christmas lights on the street. I'm still mesmerized and can't wait to visit again!

Waiting for the Parade to begin, admiring the fall leaves
and beautiful weather we had!

Me and Tim Hortons work well together.
It was the perfect touch while waiting outside!

As I said before, they had many interesting floats passing by! One of my favourites in particular was the One Direction one! It was so much fun as they were playing their music. (And I secretly wished they would pop out of no where.....)

After the two and a half hours of watching the parade, we finally saw Santa!
I am definitely still a child at heart.

So as you can see, this post was quite picture-heavy. I'm glad I had the opportunity to visit this city and my friend. I hope to go back soon! There are so many different and unique things to do in a city so large. I enjoyed myself down there and it was a good break from the reality of university. It's definitely worth treating yourself to a small trip if you have the opportunity to do so.

Much love,

JessicaLynn