The Perfect Summer Bucket List 2016

Summer is right around the corner and what better than to make a bucket list of all the stuff you’re gonna do during it. Here we go!

1. Take a road trip

2. Find a waterfall

3. Go to a festival

4. Attend a sports game

5. Get a tan

6. Have a bonfire

7. Go to a country you’ve never been before

8. Have a pool party with friends all day

9. Go camping 

10. Go cliff jumping

11. Sleep on a beach

12. Go to Disney World or Harry Potter Land

13. Go to the Zoo

14. Go to a drive-in movie

15. Learn to do something new

16. Go boating

17. Spend a day at a water park

18. Watch the sunrise/sunset

19. Have a photoshoot for fun

20. Make new friends in far places

 

Love Christina xo

Youtube?!!

So I decided to start a Youtube account. I love blogging, but Youtube seems so fun and right up my alley so follow me on my journey of vlogging! (Still going to blog don’t worry)

Here is my newest video, it would help if you could like and share each video I begin to post. Would mean the world to me xo

Don’t forget to subscribe as well, new videos coming soon!

Trip To Montreal

So as most of you know I just got back from Montreal on Saturday night. I spent only 5 days there but it was great! I went with my boyfriend, and best friends. We stayed pretty much right downtown so everything was walking distance – it was nice not having to drive at all while there. Weather was cold and snowy but it was a nice change having snow because Windsor has had none so we didn’t mind.

Most of the time we went shopping and tried to find some good places to eat! The first night, Brandon and I and our friend went our for food and drinks at a place called McKibbin’s Irish Pub (I believe this was the name??) and it was really good. I had the fish and chips…. (as I normally do) but was very impressed. Drinks were good as well.

And during the day we went sight seeing and went into the Notre Dame church which was pretty amazing.

Making maple syrup taffy in Old Montreal!

 

We also tried a good old authentic Poutine while were there. Delicious. On New Years Eve, Brandon and I decided to go off on our own and after venturing around for a while to only realize EVERYTHING was closed (we should have known) we found a place called Diablo’s. SO YUM. We ordered a 60oz pitcher of Sangria that consisted of White Wine, Blue Curacao and Brown Rum.. so strong but worth it. We also had a lot of pulled pork and cajun fries.

Our whole trip I was dying to try this place called Juliette et Chocolat. We passed by this place our first day and it was crazy busy but I could just tell I would love it by the appearance and the atmosphere. It has this old chocolate bar vibe. I needed to go there. We went the day after New Years Eve while everyone was hung over and dying. It was my favourite part of the trip. Everything on the menu was amazing. They had so many desserts and vintage hot chocolates as well as regular dinner food. I didn’t know what to order… I wanted it all. Also this day we went to dinner at 3 Brasseurs and I will forever recommend it to anyone. If you go somewhere with this restaurant.. GO. I have no pictures from here because I was too busy loving every second of it but make sure to try it.

BEST gourmet vintage hot chocolate ever

 

For our New Years Eve celebration we went to Escapade at Theatre Berri… it was not good at all to be honest. We were all disappointed especially with how much money we spent on bottles and booth. The service was atrocious… and I work in the industry so I normally am much more lenient to this kind of stuff. The waitress didn’t grab us anything we ordered initially and then didn’t come back for 2 hours during our night.. even led to us having to go behind the bar to grab things we needed. My heel also broke.. well the strap did, which ruined my night immediately. Thank god Brandon found a stapler and stapled the strap back on so I could walk. We also weren’t big fans of the people in the bar. Our bottles ended up stolen after nearly being stolen on 2 other occasions. One of the bottles was actually taken by a group of younger 18 year olds in the booth across from us as well, which was even more annoying. End of the night, no cabs were available, which I understand, but it was so cold and we waited almost 2 hours and still couldn’t even get through to a cab company. At this time my feet were broken so Brandon and his friend alternated carrying me home for a 22 minute walk. Not the greatest night but at least I lived through it with the greatest people.

Thanks for reading!

Christina xo

Cozied Up in Montreal

During Winter Break from school and New Years Eve, my friends, boyfriend and I decided to head over to Montreal for a little get away. The city is beautiful and amazing. It gives off a New York and Toronto vibe but with much more historic-looking architecture. We all really enjoyed ourselves and the French culture in the city. The only downside was how cold it was, although we expected it. Walking around was still nice as long as we bundled up so here are photos from one of the days we went exploring town!

Outfit Details

Hat Forever 21 Red /  Blanket Scarf Zara (Men’s collection) / Poncho Sweater Forever 21 / Watch Michael Kors / Leggings Victoria’s Secret / Boots Forever 21 Red

How To Travel For Cheap

Travelling is one of my favourite things to do. I love the experience of exploring a new city and being away from home and work.  Many people shy away from trip planning because between travel, accommodations, and expenses once you arrive at your destination, it gets very expensive. Especially for a student.. it sucks. But thankfully I have had to opportunity to travel and at a great rate. Here is how (based on my most recent trip to Key Largo, Florida):

1. Visit a city where you have friends/family

This is one of my biggest selling points to people. If you are fortunate to have friends and family all around the world, go visit them! This gives you a free place to stay (if they have the room and are willing) and gives you a personal tour guide. I just got back in July from Key Largo with two friends and we stayed with my aunt who was the best host ever. We also stopped in Tennessee to see a friend I made earlier this year and had a great time. I am very thankful to have family all over the world, so this benefits greatly. If you aren’t in the same boat, no worries. There are other options..

2. Use AirBNB

This website/app is amazing. AirBNB allows you to rent other peoples rooms, houses, apartments, etc. Click Here to check out the website. The rates are awesome and allows people to stay in major cities for cheaper than hotel rates. My friends use AirBNB often and the host you stay with is sometimes very helpful in guiding you around their city and what not.

3. Drive instead of fly

When you can, take a road trip. My two friends and I that drove to Key Largo to stay with my aunt had an amazing trip and we did it all with my handy Ford Escape. We drove from Ontario, Canada to Key Largo, Florida. It cost us each $67 for one way. Much cheaper than a flight. This also allowed us to stop at Disney World on the way back home and in Tennessee to sight see and visit friends.

4. Fly Spirit 

Although my flight was delayed 3 hours on the way home, it was still worth my trip flying with Spirit Airlines. I flew with this company before and they always have the cheapest flights. I normally find a flight for around $230 roundtrip with them (thats including bags and fees). I don’t care if I’m not first class, I just want a way from point A to B and this does it for me.

5. Grocery shop

When on a trip, try to avoid eating out for all three meals each day. It adds up quickly. Try staying at a place with a kitchen that you are able to stock up with groceries and then pick a few nights out of your stay to dine out and splurge.

6. Try your best to search for discounts/connections

There are student discounts, group discounts and more for leisure activities in major cities if you look! Don’t settle for gate prices. Search online for group tickets and then base your trip around that (say for Disney, Orlando, Museums, Sky Diving, whatever!), perhaps getting a group large enough to do the group package. This allows you to enjoy the most and see the most things during your trip. Also, see if you can find any connections you may know. My aunt happened to have a friend with a boat who took us to a very popular scuba diving and snorkelling area and it was awesome.. and free! We also checked out Everglades National Park and rented bikes there for under $20, and my aunt lives in a community where members are allowed free access to paddle boarding and other activities so we obviously took advantage of that. Those are some of the awesome things we got to do this trip and I am so thankful for them. Again, not everyone has connections everywhere they travel, but try your best to look for discounted prices!

Those are the best pointers I can give for travelling for cheap! There are always all inclusive deals that randomly spring up throughout the year, but if you aren’t picky about when you are travelling, Mexico and Cuba type trips are super cheap during the summer months. I am leaving on another trip on the 29th and it once again is a road trip (I love them) and we are staying at a friend’s friend’s place so its overall a very cheap vacation. I hope you all have great and safe travels!

Christina

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New York City

Hey everyone! As my first post on my blog, I figured I would use this time to show you how beautiful NYC is, regardless of the cold weather. I went for the first time this February, and it was amazing. Mike and I only went for 4 days along with another couple, but we made good use of the time and got to see a lot. We were there for the end of fashion week, which totally excited me even though I didn’t get to go.. (maybe next year). What we mostly did was walk around and stop at every Tea or Macaron shop we saw, and I think that’s where I spent most of my money haha. My two favourite tea shops we stopped at were Harney & Sons and obviously David’s Tea. Definitely check them out if you’re in the Soho area. As far as macarons go… they’re all amazing. My favourite was the salted caramel mac from Bisous Ciao Macarons, I didn’t want to finish it because it was so delicious. They were expensive so I didn’t buy too many… currently regretting.

The subways were super neat in NYC, literally on every corner. Much better than Toronto’s. It was super easy to get to Times Square from our hotel in the lower east side. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Delancey street, and I’m glad we did. The location was further away from the touristy areas and we got to experience a lot more in that area and near by it.










Don’t mind his silly face..

As far as nightlife goes… boy is it ever expensive. Our hotel clerk gave us a name of someone at a bar he recommended and promised us cheaper cover with this name. Our most expensive cover in my hometown is $7 CAN if you don’t include strip clubs.. and to our surprise, the cheap cover was $30 each… drinks also included an auto gratuity and came to $14.40 for a vodka seven… Let’s just say it was a decently early night and all I wanted was to grab street meat and be back in my comfy hotel bed.