Exploring central park

I was in need of an adventure. So Mark and I decided to take on the streets of New York City, yet again. But the city has yet to dull with each trip. We set off first to SoHo. We went in the little shops and walked around for a bit. Easily arguing over when to cross the streets in our attempt at becoming skilled and natural New Yorkers.

I was treated to a lovely lunch at macbar which is absolute heaven if you're a mac'n'cheese fan. They offer an assortment of mac'n'cheese in different flavors. It's the best place to get your favorite kind of comfort food. But if you plan on eating here, make sure you call in and get your order in early! Otherwise you might have to wait 15-20+ minutes.

After getting food, we headed to the upper east side where we visited this cute little bakery right after Park Ave called Bel Ami. I googled this bakery because I'm always craving macaroons as a small dessert when walking in the city. I got Jasmine, Green Tea, and Lavender&Honey flavors and the green tea was my favorite! Macaroons are so good.

We walked a couple blocks to Central Park where we visited the Central Park Zoo for the first time! I was kind of impressed by this little monkey I have pictured below haha. We grabbed from yummy dippin dots and enjoyed the rest of our stay from there. A lot of the zoo was still under construction which kind of made the zoo a little smaller than it is usually.

Boy, do I love the city.

Catching up

Here is my past couple weeks in pictures!

 Since early March/April, I've been growing sunflower seeds in my small dorm room in a tiny pot. When I got home from the summer I planted them in my front yard and they just began to sprout into beautiful baby sunflowers! 

 As mentioned before, in an earlier blog, I was incredibly overwhelmed with juggling my summer activities and finding time for myself and people I wanted to spend time with. Mark took me out on a spontaneous kayaking adventure that was super fun and a great way for me to de-stress.

 This was our view as we kayaked around. It was really cool and something I have never done before that day!

 I enjoyed some CPK pizza!

 This is the transformation picture of my sunflowers! They started off as little sprouts of green stems and grew into these beautiful sunflowers! Although the seeds I planted was of the Sunflower Dwarf species, they only grew to about 4 feet tall. Which isn't that impressive for the regular sunflower because they can easily grow up to 6 feet. But they were incredible to watch and it gave me a gratifying feeling that I know how to plant and grow beautiful living things. :)

Some delicious shrimp scampi, white rice, and platanos that I ate at a colombian restaurant. 

Lovely surprise

Lately, I've been more overwhelmed than I have ever experienced in a long time. I haven't been this stress probably since my first arrival at college my freshman year. I've been busy balancing multiple things and it's been tough on me physically and mentally. Last night, it took a toll on me and I sort of lost it. I broke down, my thoughts began to snowball, and basically catastrophe happened.

I typically like to isolate myself and calm myself down whenever something like this happens. I push others away until I'm alone with my thoughts. Which usually, isn't the best thing. I begin to think that I'm left to deal with my problems alone and that's usually where I reach a dead end.

But today I was reminded that I don't have to do anything alone and I'm very grateful that I was.

Another Soho trip

This past Friday, Mark and I headed to Soho to spend time together and shop around. Around this time of summer, a lot of stores mark down most of their clothes. So we visited stores like Zara, Topshop, Aritzia, and a couple of boutiques in hopes of scoring some really good deals. Surprisingly, I couldn't find anything I really loved in the sales this year. I ended up just making a couple purchases at the new Brandy Melville on Broadway.

The highlight of our trip ended up being the food we ate. We had some pizza covered in vodka sauce which was good but nothing too extraordinary. Then we headed to the infamous Rice to Riches and Mark had some mascarpone flavored rice pudding with some cherries. It was an interesting flavor but I'm not sure if rice pudding is really my dessert of choice. I opted for some delicious cupcakes from baked by melissa instead!

Easter Weekend

This past weekend I made a last minute decision to spend Easter at home. Which I'm pretty glad I did but it turned out to be the well worth the trip. It's always a long and rough trip home but I ended up spending a nice relaxing Friday night at home. I can't even begin to explain how much I miss home food.

Saturday was dedicated to a much needed shopping trip which I picked up some spring essentials. I watched Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier which was absolutely AMAZING. I went in without any expectations, hardly seen any of the trailers, and any knowledge about what is supposed to happen next in the comics. Despite Mark's subtle spoilers throughout the movie, I enjoyed it a lot. I don't think you necessarily need to have seen the first captain america, but you should have seen The Avengers in order to have a pretty good understanding of what is happening.

We went to our usual spot after the movie for a simple meal.

Easter Sunday was nothing too special. I ate with my family and spent time together as usual. I don't even know why I was strongly considering not going home this weekend. Any occasion and any time that I can spend with my family should be an opportunity that I should take. I used to think that spending time away from home on holidays wasn't a big deal especially because I'm always seeking freedom that isn't always given to me at home. But especially now that I see how disappointed some of my relatives become when they stop seeing some of my cousins because they're out living their lives, makes me realize that even if I don't go home for myself, I should go home for my family. Because even though I may think that I have plenty of time to spend at home, I know some of my family don't.

5 Ordinary Things That You Make Extraordinary

This weekend was probably the most enjoyable weekends I had in a while. But if you were to ask me what I did this weekend, I'd say I didn't really do anything special. I did what I usually did. I ate, watched TV, and casually perused online stores. But I spent my Valentine's Day weekend with someone special. It's the small moments that I enjoy the most. It's simple things

1. Walking in the snow

Normally, walking in the snow is a nuisance. Similar to a rainy day but different. It's cold and it takes extra effort to get around non-plowed walk ways. But instead, walking through snow had a magical touch to it that day. The snowflakes seemed to slow down just as they were about to reach us and gently floated onto our coats taking their respective places. The snow seemed to put everything on mute around us making it almost soundproof. The crunch of my footsteps synchronizing with yours.

2. Movie dates that never get old.

A movie date is a timeless date that couples of all ages use as their go-to for date night. But I'm not complaining. Going to the theater, picking seats, and just watching a new movie will never get old for me.

3. Breaking out in song.

"Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Fuckin' right. Fuckin' right. Fuckin' right."

4. Watching TV

Whether it's a basketball game, cartoons, or even your regular overplayed chick flick I love just kickin' back and mindlessly watching while intertwined.

5. Eating meals

It's not so much the thrill of ingesting food, which I don't mind either. But it's the table conversations we have. It's when we sit face to face and the looks we give each other in between bites of food and sips of water.

All these things I try to not take for granted. Because in these small moments are the moments that I feel the connection most. For other couples. it's probably different things. It might be the extravagant weekend getaways with hotel stays and five star restaurants. It could be exploring the beaches, oceans, and hiking ranges. Even though I wouldn't mind all that, I don't need it to appreciate what I have. It's in these small moments that I enjoy time together the most.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Wolf of wall street

Yesterday, Mark and I went to Wolf of Wall Street and it was such an amazing movie. Although my attention span started to deteriorate after 2 hours, the entire movie was just riveting. I absolutely loved Leo DiCaprio and it was just done so beautifully and tastefully - just wonderful. Afterwards, we ate at our usual spot at California Pizza Kitchen. I had two rewards that we used which saved us a lot of money.

I have yet to still pack for school. But I can't wait to get back to the routine of the things. I just can't wait for the weather to get warmer and summer to arrive. I've already got my eyes on a few dresses from Free People that I can't justify buying the in the cold weather! 

Craving for fries

The last few days have been kind of slow. A lot of my friends are leaving for school for the spring semester and with a week of break still left for me, I'll only have packing to look forward to. I've been pretty good about not spending my money even though it is hard not to. Especially on really good sales that are just begging me to spend my money. But I took a good look at my closet and I was shaking my head at the fact that I've only been wearing my most recent clothing. Too much in my closet are trendy tops. I need a lot more classic pieces that I can keep in my closet for basically a lifetime.

I've been craving some good fries lately. Mark and I stopped by Smashburger to satisfy my craving. They were alright. I dislike how thin they were though.

The rest of my night will consist of me watching Blogilates and the Incredibles, drinking some tea and having some ramen to sooth my sore throat. I've recently been perusing the Free People website and love their spring line. So beautiful. They might very well be the sole reason why I break my new shopping resolution.

Christmas Tree in NYC!

Last night, Mark and I decided to take a spontaneous trip to the city to see the tree. Traffic was absolutely crazy and there was a ton of people milling about, taking pictures, and seeing all the extra lights and decorations that get put out during the holidays. It was hard getting a picture by the tree just because everyone was moving but luckily, we found another couple that needed a picture as well and we did a sort of trade off. The weather was absolutely perfect with a nice breeze. We saw a street performer that jumped over four people with no help from a trampoline or anything but his own momentum and skill. Which was pretty impressive to say the least. It was a lot of fun and I finally was able to grab some chicken and rice which I more than satisfied with. You simply can't beat street food sometimes. It was another long trip back home because of the never ending traffic but it was worth it. :)

First time hiking!

Yesterday, Mark and I set out to hike for the first time! We ended up hiking for 3 hours and saw a lot of scenic spots. Towards the end, we lost track of our trail somehow and had a short panicking period where we didn't know how to get out but we eventually did. We even stumbled upon another lake on our way out. I loved hiking and how it felt to get away from everything for a short while. It was great exercise and we always stumbled upon friendly fellow hikers. Afterwards, we ate a late lunch at Panera which was nothing short of satisfying and delicious.

Later on in the day I mustered up enough energy to hangout with a friend before she set off this Saturday for school. It was reminiscent and a little sad. It's been a whole year since we all were first scared of the first day of college and going away. That last week full of empty promises of seeing each other throughout the year. Not that there weren't any efforts. But... well yeah.

Today I saw Kick Ass 2 with a couple friends which was amazing. I never had an interest in Chloe Grace Moretz aka Hit Girl until this movie. She's definitely a bad ass. Afterwards we hit up the bowling alley and spent the time in between turns catching up. With nearly a week left of summer left, I'm already feeling the pang of depression as summer slowly ends.

Les Miserable Deluxe Edition and Steel Book!

What a day! I woke up early this morning with Mark to go out to Target and Best Buy to grab our own copies of Les Misérables! If you are a frequenter of this website or know me in real life, you would know that this movie is my obsession! Since Mark is a blu-ray connoisseur and is currently building an impressive blu-ray collection we were out to Target at 9am to snatch one of the few Les Misérables Target exclusive and then afterwards we went to Best Buy to grab the steel book. My Target exclusive came with 6 character cards and that's why you see Anne Hathaway on the cover rather than little Cosette and you can change the character cards based on your own preference!

Afterwards I went out to Noches de Colombia with my family for the first time and it was delicious! The portion size were enormous! Then we ran an errand and headed to the mall to make returns and of course, made a couple buys! Then I went out with Mark again to spend some time together before I head back to school on Sunday. We grabbed some ice cream and Starbucks and watched the behind the scenes Les Misérables dvd that was found in my deluxe edition.

As Sunday quickly creeps up on me I'm dreading my return back to school. Breaks at home are so great and relaxing and I just want it to last forever. Which makes summer that much more tempting. I can't wait til I'm carefree for three months straight before I go through another school year again!

Snow during my spring break!

I have been very thankful waking up alone in my own room with no one to disturb my slumber as someone usually does at college. Today was busy. I accompanied Mark to pick up his Avengers box set which is a nice addition to his growing blu ray collection. Then I went to my eye doctor's appointment to update my glasses. I have been wearing the same pair of glasses since 7th grade and honestly, they aren't flattering. Wearing the pair I currently have didn't really matter until recently because no one really saw in glasses and I never wore them out. But I've been hearing that corneas can eventually deteriorate or be irritated by constant contact lens use so I want to be able to have a fashionable alternative. I also miss having the convenience of throwing on my glasses and going out in public with confidence. I hope the pick I made today is enough to at least last me a couple years fashion wise.

Later in the evening I caught up with a couple other friends and watched Wreck It Ralph, a second time for Mark and I. I can't get over how cute that movie is. I realize that a lot of movies are making strides in integrating 3D into the movie experience and I hope it turns into an additive to creating a realistic motion picture rather than only a "cool it looks like it's going to pop out" effect. I hope that in the future the requirement of 3D glasses gets exacerbated to the point where it pushes innovators to somehow make the glasses obsolete. Then we'll be able to watch movies, lens free.

I have so much work to catch up on and scholarships to fill out before this week ends and I already feel like the days are going by so fast! But fast moving days only means it is getting closer and closer to spring and warm weather. Although, you can hardly tell with the four inches of snow outside... I hope tomorrow is a little more productive since the snow will put most of my activities on pause for now.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since I was away at school on Valentine's Day I had to wait until tonight to celebrate it with my Valentine! Anyways Friday night reminded me how bad it was to travel home by bus. The bus is never on time, always takes longer than expected, and overall tiring! But that doesn't matter once I finally get to sleep in my own bed again :)

Anyways, tonight was perfect. Mark picked me up around 5 and we headed out to eat at Grand Lux Cafe which is a sister company of the Cheesecake Factory. But of course, we first made a stop at Best Buy on the way in because Mark has an obsession with collecting blu rays. Dinner was great and the restaurant was packed. I had my favorite cheesecake which is just the plain original cheesecake. We both finally got to watch Silver Linings Playbook after dinner and it was so good. I went into the movie without knowing anything about the plot and that is usually how I like going into these movies other than reading the book beforehand. But the camera work was really interesting. It almost had a home movie feel to it and the movie had an offsetting humor to its serious moments but I totally see that as just a characteristic of the movie. Overall I enjoyed it. Jennifer Lawrence was amazing and totally a natural. And I think the best theme that I got out of the movie was just finding someone just was weird as you can be the person you're meant to be with. Corny.

Afterward we got some bubble tea and went home. When Mark came to pick me up he got out of his car with a bouquet of flowers. I hate sounding like those girls that ABSOLUTELY love showing off their relationship and completely making single girls, especially desperate ones, pissed off or annoyed and hate the entire couple population. But I'll take Valentine's as my one day to show off. But when I saw him, I thought it was the sweetest thing ever and just perfectly what I imagine the beginning of a date would be like haha. I admit I was a little embarrassed because I thought my parents would peek out of the window and see him but oh well. I know Mark tries really hard to impress me because it's pretty hard to get a reaction out of me so if you're reading this right now, I was truly impressed.

Tonight I feel extremely blessed and content. I appreciate having Mark in my life and being able to celebrate our amazing relationship in moments like these. Good job tonight babe. I love you<3

Kendall and Kylie Fail

So despite the armageddon type of snow storm this weekend I managed to get home for this short weekend in one piece. This weekend I hoped to score some antibiotics to finally get rid of this menacing cough and hopefully be able to see Kendall and Kylie Jenner at my local mall. Although I was able to successfully see the doctor and get my antibiotics, I did not get to see Kendall and Kylie. :( I woke up a little too late this morning even though I had intentions of getting up earlier than that but it has always been impossible for me to wake up early or on time. Whenever my alarm goes off in the morning, I always find ways on hitting snooze until I really have to get up. When I finally did get to the mall this morning, they ran out of wristbands which would ensure me a guaranteed spot into the store once Kendall and Kylie arrived... However me and Mark found a line that was for non-wristband owners but within an hour and a half of waiting, we left the line. So I never got to see Kendall and Kylie. I learned that whenever I intend on going to these things, I need to make sure I stay hopeful and be an early bird.

Because of my disappointment today, I splurged on the following candles at Bath and Body Works. I love their entire tropical candle collection for this spring. I can't wait until I come back home again next weekend to actually go shopping. Anyways, heading back to school tomorrow morning and it'll be another long week!

Happy Birthday To Me! :)

Today I turned 19! Although it was a rough start to my day, I went to a local cafe with Daisy and Mark. We had a late lunch there and we ended up playing video games and watching The Possession the entire day. I particularly like scary movies unlike Daisy and Mark, but it didn't end up too scary. I love the gifts they got me! Although in the picture, the blazer looks coral, it's actually bright fuchsia. I've been trying to build my collection of blazers and Daisy got me a perfect pink one to add to my collection :) Mark got me a digital picture frame that is filled with pictures of us over the years! At first, I thought it was just going to be a blank picture digital frame that I would need to fill myself. But good thing he did it already. :)

Tonight is my last night at home and winter break is actually over. It happened so fast, I don't know where the time went! I mean I'm already 19 and life seems to be going too fast... Tuesday, I'll be embarking on my second semester in college and it feels like just yesterday it was the summer before college before anything changed between friends and lifestyles. It's crazy to think that my first year at college it already halfway over. I hope spring semester will treat me as well as my first fall semester did. :D

Too much reading adds drama to my diction

Majority of my afternoon was spent with the lovely, Alexandria. 'Ello Alex :) It's always a good vibes, good times kind of day whenever I spend it with that girl. Whether it's on the phone or in person. I just always feel so enlightened and comforted after talking because we always just seem to be on the same page and we always have insights to share. And, my cheeks always hurt afterwards.

After dinner, I headed out with Mark to a local mall just to get out of the house again and spend some time together. The rain storm that I had to drive through terrified me but luckily on the way home, the heavens calmed down to a light drizzle.

I intend to keep the rest of my break like today. Although, I started butting heads with my parents today. Conservative strict parents are an obstacle that I constantly have to face. Even though I am on the verge of escaping and slowly locking away my teenage years, I am still treated as if I am just entering them. As I patiently await the day my parents finally recognize me as an adult I am stuck with the chains that most thirteen year old's bear.

The rest of my night consist of eating the rest of my Pillsbury cookies and watching Robin Hood while Mark keeps up 'til morning. :)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Spent my day with Mark today after staying up until 2am last night! So much for sleeping early.. Went out to get some more mint chocolate chip ice cream even though it's winter and picked up some new polishes from the OPI Germany collection that I've been wanting at Ulta! The green one is called Don't Talk Bach To Me and the redish/purplish one is called Every Month Is Oktoberfest. I can't wait to try oktoberfest because it was recommended by a beauty guru on YouTube.

I've been wanting to maintain connections with my cousins that I only see a couple times a year. Today a trending tag on Twitter was cut for bieber. One of my cousins is what you'd categorize a Belieber and a Directioner. Even though I know she's not the type to fall for that super, super fan crazy antics but I had to make sure. I remember when I was absolutely obsessed with High School Musical and Zac Efron. I was indeed, an avid fan. But I was never the type to go crazy over their actions outside of Hollywood. Yet, I was upset when Zanessa split up because they were THE PERFECT COUPLE. Call me ignorant, but I love them, miss them, and I don't care what anyone else says. And, I was upset when he smoked because I'm 100% against smoking. BUT what can you do. And someone like Justin Bieber who has a crazy, pre-teen fan base that are seriously self-sacrificing and obsessed to the truest meaning can never find resolve in what he does. Although he has all the fame he wants and all the money he could want, I feel sorry for him. I wonder if there will ever be a teen celebrity that isn't microscopically examined to the point where every action they did is magnified and is deemed selfish or "celebrity gone wrong". But apparently, the trending tag was just a hoax. Which.. is just plain dumb.

Anyways today is my dad's birthday! We're not doing anything special since we already went out for his early birthday yesterday at Cheesecake Factory. I hope I can see more people this week that I haven't seen yet during my break. It feels like spring semester is coming really fast and I just want things to slow down. I love being at home and doing nothing!

Woes of taking Christmas decorations down...

I honestly just wanted to stay home all day today. I was tired and Mark has been keeping me up 'til 3. But my parents insisted on eating out for lunch again. I was so irritated this morning that I was going to say no to Cheesecake Factory. But I went anyways and we ended up doing some more errands after lunch. Once we got home it was that time of year. It was time to take down the Christmas decorations. Taking off ornaments off a large tree is strenuous for such a short person. But it had to be done since my parents kept yelling at me to do it.

My favorite ornaments this year! The two Santa Clause ones I got free from doing a scavenger hunt at a mall and this gold bird I bought this year since I decided it was time for an overarching theme for our tree. I decorated the tree basically gold and red with the exception of the Santa Clause ornaments.

I don't know what it is but I have a craving to listen to the Les Misérables soundtrack! It's constantly running through my head. Again, another thanks to Mark. I plan on sleeping early tonight. Hopefully I can find time throughout the week to clean my room up a bit after all the Christmas shopping and gifts strewn about. I've hardly spent enough time at home to get things done!