Caffe Bene

Last weekend I spent some time trying out a new cafe with a friend called Caffe Bene. I'd say their strawberry waffle was really yummy, especially their chocolate syrup. It was delectable with every bite. I didn't personally try any thing else on their menu yet except for this waffle. But the cafe had a good assortment of different kinds of coffees, smoothies, bubble tea, desserts, and Korean desserts. The atmosphere of the cafe was great and made me feel like I walked onto the set of a Korean drama.

Catching up with a good friend always rejuvenates me in a way. It reminds me that sometimes I can easily forget how blessed I am to have what I have when I get caught up in the things I don't have. I think it's important to have valuable friends that you know are worth keeping. The ones that keep you grounded and that you know you'll never get tired of.

S/O to you Alex because I know you'll be reading this. You're the best. :)

During this tete-a-tete, I realized there's something great about the act of spontaneity. Sometimes the most random of acts are worth doing especially if it means it'll make someone's night.

Always Tomorrow.

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. 

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.

Spring Break Treats

I apologize for my lack of updates. I feel so bad for neglecting my blog after keeping up with it for so long. Anyways, I wanted to share what food I ate during spring break! I love going out to eat but it can clearly get very expensive. More to come!

Last few days of winter break

The last few days of winter break has been bittersweet as always. That itself is an understatement. I finally got a chance to catch up with Alex, after being stood up twice for yoga class which I will forever tease her for. But she knows it's all good. ;) We had our usual date at Panera where we always spend at least two hours just talking. She ended up showing me a local coffee place where I fell in love with their green tea chai lattes after having previous bad experiences with chai lattes.

Today, my family and I decided to celebrate my 20th birthday a little early since I have to get back to school for the semester tomorrow. We went to an all you can eat buffet which was just delicious. I always look forward to their green tea cake which is favorite! I kinda hate how it's a buffet because then I can never take any food to go.

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.