Week 51: Best Friend Adventures (Anissa): Christmas Celebration

MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FELLOW BLOGGERS

This was my FIRST every Christmas by myself! So, I was invited to my bestie Christmas Dinner! I had lazied around the whole day and fell asleep. Woke up JUST in time to quickly get dressed, do my makeup and go to my friends house for some good food!!!!

I must say My Makeup was ON POINT! I dont think I'm really good with makeup (my skin tone really helps me achieve many bright colors for eyeshadow esp) but I really think I did pretty good job today for this evening makeup! I was really debating on my dress. It's a beautiful dress but very revealing due to the lace top! I couldn't find anything better to wear and I decided "you know what, WHO CARES" Its not like I'm exposing my boobs (I wore a nice Black Bra). So, I wore that dress with pride (something I would probably not be able to do before)

When I got there, many people already there (I was late) but I came in just in time for them to start so I was grateful! We said a little prayer, Thanking Lord for the privilege of having such food and people around us and being alive to recieve such blessings and forgiveness.

SO MUCH FOOD

The Food was AMAZING, the Cake esp was SOOO adorable and for my amazing bestie for accomplishing her goals and dreams!

Such a Beautiful Cake!

We had some white wine and played some video games, watched the tourist and it was just really enjoyable celebration!

My Partner in Crime <3~

Anissa LOVED her gift (got her a Kate Spade Wallet) and I LOVED MY GIFT! It had so much meaning (even when I was drunk). She defiantly knows my likes :D (well blog about it later)

For my first Christmas, with my precious family far away, my best friend made worth while and I met new people and made new friends! Can not be more grateful for such friends <3 Since I was SOOO drunk (not even funny, I was GONE), I stayed over and went boxing day shopping in the morning (didn't have a hangover, thank goodness).

Summary of my Night

Merry Christmas Everyone and Hope you All Had a Wonderful Day <3~

Till Next Time...

Yumoyori <3~

Week 51: Best Friend Adventures (Noah)- Sushi, VIP Theatre, Hobbit

December 18th, I chilled with my bestie Noah!

Since we been delaying our movie hangout for the LONGEST time, decided to go to the VIP theater at Shops at Don mills which recently opened. One benefit of that location is free parking and its surrounded by many high end shops such as Michael Kors with many restaurants surrounding the area including Jack Astor (my favorite).

We went to Matsuda Japanese Sushi for lunch. My favorite part of this location or sushi place in general is their dessert!!!! They are absolutely AMAZING! I LOVE THEM! Me and Noah went there once before when we first began our friendship and I swear we ordered like 10-16! So today I wanted to make sure I saved enough room for that portion.

The service is never an issue with this location at 1300 Donmills Road. The Servers were super friendly and we got seated pretty quickly (in the EXACT same spot as last time).

Miso Soup with some Dynamite Sushi

Menu has VARIETY to choose from esp for AYCE!

Accidentally gave us this but it was Good =D

AMAZING Desserts!!!! We even asked for more since they gave so little

After Sushi we headed to the Theatre. My old coworkers and General Manager had transferred there so it was nice chatting and seeing the progress in the last year. Left Cineplex last year. 3 years of interesting experiences (both good and bad) and changed my calm personality to a very straight forward, no tolerance person, but it did help me or at least shape me for who I am today >3>.

We ordered some drinks and relaxed a bit in the lounge before heading into the theater to watch the Hobbit.

Noah and his Drink (I totally forgot what it was called)

Frozen Blueberry Lemonade- VERY good

Hobbit was indeed good. It really was touching esp if you've been waiting every November for all the movies to come out. Had a valuable lesson on friendship and to never forget who you are, no matter what temptations you must face.

Till Next Time...

Yumoyori <3~

Week 50: Best Friend Adventures (Anissa)- Sushi One, Christmas Tree, DIY Phone Case, Michael's Art Store

On Friday, I chilled with my best friend Anissa. I originally was suppose to have a work meeting from 9-12pm but that got cancelled (YEAH). Since it was pay day, why not get some good food and do a little shopping while catching up.

Yes, me and my bestie hangout quite often and chat probably every day or within 3 days, but its nice to have face to face interaction, especially if your talking about certain topics that are much easier to discuss in person than thru text or Facebook. Also, I needed some craft stuff to make my phone case that I'm designing and some other items, so having her there is a bonus.

We went to Sushi One at Sheppard & Yonge since its pretty much the only close Sushi place in that area that is "All You Can Eat". There is one literally one block from my house but seeing as we were going to do some shopping anyways, it seemed like a better option (since all the stores I needed to go to are literally 1 main intersection from each other).

The restaurant was pretty nice overall, though you wouldn't know that they have All You Can Eat since its not advertised properly. We had to ask the waiter after giving us the normal menu, if they had A.Y.C.E before they provided us with a totally different menu. I think that's their way to save money in a sense cause if your new to the restaurant and didn't do your research (which I noticed with many of the customers that entered) they would just order from the main menu.

Together, the cost was $40 dollars (14.99 each plus tip) but we got A LOT of food, compared to many of the dishes they were offering individually (hand roll for 6.99-8.99 etc)

Always start with some Miso Soup and Green Salad

Beef Teriyaki

Chicken Teriyaki

Whole bunch of Sushi!! Was honestly SO good

Salmon Pizza (Anissa recommendation): Yummy 

Dessert: Green Tea, Red Bean & Mango Ice-cream

The Sushi was AMAZING! You can tell that compared to other A.Y.C.E, the food is made properly and with delicacy. Though this place is busy, the food is made well and appearance is really good. Though it was difficult to get a server when we wanted to reorder, when bringing the food the male cooks were very respectful. They organized the food nicely as well which makes it even more appealing. It was way worth going to this restaurant and I wont hesitate to come back.

Once our belly's were full, we walked up to Michael's Art/Crafts Store. 

I ordered a flip case online from AliExpress and decided I wanted to decorate it myself. Ive always been one who loves glittery cases but it is almost impossible to find a FLIP hard cover case that is designed properly. All my bling out cases are plastic covers (front-back clip on). Also, with the flip cases (which I personally prefer since they have credit card slots which I need when I go to work since I don't like bringing my wallet) the ones online that have probably a LITTLE bit of design and diamonds on it (fake obviously) are totally OVER PRICED! I remember when I had my Iphone and went to Pacific Mall and spent $45 dollars to decorate my case. So far, this case with all the materials is about $25 bucks! 

My Phone Case
This is merely a General idea. Still waiting for remaining materials to come in

So, I realized, why don't I just make my own -__-? I ordered most of my materials from ebay for REAL cheap. MAX amount I paid for the gems were 2.99 but that was for a more stand out piece or a popular statement piece such as Hello Kitty. I needed to go to Michael's for some super glue and if they had any mini christmas trees.

In the end, I got a Christmas Tree, Lights, Ornaments, and even more Phone Decor for $50 bucks

Yes, I used paperclips to hold the Ornaments #dontjudgeme 

I'm in LOVE with my Christmas Tree! This is my first Christmas on my own, so having a little christmas tree to lighten up my room and mood is always exciting! Did I mention Michaels was doing 60% OFF!!!! Uh WHY NOT? So for example my tree normal price was $32 bucks but with the discount, I got it for $13 dollars! For that kinda tree, totally worth it.

I set it up before my night shift and I love staring at it whenever I attempt to sleep or nap. Its another nice edition to my desk.

Multi-Colour Lights were $2.50 >:D! Talk about Savings 

After our little shopping adventure, I just went to the bank to get some cash and that was the end of our chillage since I had a night shift and I need my nap time :3

Till Next Time...

Yumoyori <3~

Week 48: Best Friend Adventures (Anissa)- Chipotle, Shopping, HungerGames

On Monday, I chilled with my bestie Anissa. I was so exhausted in the morning (I guess due to my night shift) but I went to bed around 0940am and woke up literally at 2 exact (which was the time we were considering to meet one another). I stayed in bed literally till 430 when I forced myself up to shower, change, and leave my house =_=.  Once I met up with my girl, we made our way downtown to Toronto Eaton Centre!

Since I just woke up, we decided to buy our tickets for the movie, HungerGames-Mocking Jay Part I, and find something to eat. Since Anissa is also my lovely gym motivator, I originally wanted Jacks or Kenzo Ramen Noodles but my bestie was like "Nope, you gotta eat healthy!" So we made our way to Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Steak Bowl filled with everything I ordered (except for Guacamole) 

I've been to Chipotle Mexican Grill before with Noah, so I understood the ordering system. They're really popular and fast! When we got there, the line was pretty long (about 7 people ahead of us) but in 2 minutes, BAM were up to order. The place was pretty crowded too but we were able to get a place to sit after ordering. I got Steak Burrito, with like everything (tomatoes, black beans, brown rice, guacamole, chilli, sour cream and cheese). It was SOO DELICIOUS! I was actually surprised how amazing it taste. I didn't  bring water with me -3- so I got some lemonade bottle drink instead of getting pop. It was just so good! Defiantly going there again!!!

Next, we went shopping around Eaton's. I love high class expensive stuff but man, CLOTHING IS EXPENSIVE! I'm more of a Handbag, Accessory, Shoe type of girl, so I don't focus on clothing for a number of factors but we decided to get a pair of pants that would be like motivation tool now that I've hopped back on the workout train. We stopped by Sport Chek since I need a GOOD sport bra for my gym workouts cause Walmart bras don't do shit (like literally). I have 3 different types and all of them don't do the primary job of HOLDING YOUR BOOBS IN PLACE! So frustrating! I tried on the underarmor bras since they're utterly amazing and if I buy one, I'll never need one for 1-2 years which is what many individuals state when they buy it (I use to work at Sport Chek). Now that I know my size, I'll probably pick it up on Friday before I start the gym on monday (SO EXCITED)

The Best recommend Sport Bra by UnderArmor 

We than made our way to jean shopping. So why would I possible go shopping for jeans that wont fit me? Well, there are many ways for someone to motivate themselves and I believe getting a pair of pants that "I hope" to fit in, within a certain period of time is a good motivator. So we went to Blue Notes, which have really nice jeans. However, $50 price tag was not very motivating, especially for the fact I wont be wearing these babies until I reach my goal which can be between 4-6 months. So, moved onto Old Navy. Their jeans were also expensive ($44.50) dollars for a pair BUT they were doing a 30% OFF sale, so I decided to take advantage of that and got them from $31.50 (so with tax $35). This was a good price for some nice regular jeans. I could have honestly waited till Friday, but since it Black Friday and I don't want to be murdered in crazy lines for 50% off, I decided to pick it up today.

My Motivation Jeans in Size 12

LOVING THIS WATCH

I had to choose between size 10-12 which was really difficult. My goal size is between size 6-10 (if I reach an 8, I'll probably be satisfied. A perfect size if I lose weight or gain) but decided to get a size 12 to start with. Anissa didn't want me to get 14 (which is the lowest I was able to get the last time I lost weight) since its a size I've achieved once before AND its a size that you can easily gain back to size 16-18 that I am now. So size 12 it is!!!! I have from December 2014- April 2015 to try and get down to this size! So hopefully with dedication, perseverance, and some sacrifices (SHE FORCING ME TO HAVE BUBBLE TEA ONLY TWICE A MONTH!!!!!!!!- ...World Ends....) hopefully it will be worth it! All my close friends (Lina and Noah) our encouraging me to eat better so Im excited to try and achieve this.

Weight loss has always been my goal but now I think I can achieve it. I've achieved all my other goals in the past, so this is the one main goal I have left. I also want my mom to come back from vacation and be like "What happened to my Daughter" hehehehe. Anyways, we watched our movie (was REALLY good, so excited for the final movie) and moment I got home, I worked out (at 2AM....). Felt really good about it.

It was a nice motivating day. I always feel motivated or inspired when I hangout with Anissa. She such a unique, hardworking individual which is hard to find now a days =D! Im excited and glad she helping me on this journey both physically and emotionally. Good to have friends that want you to succeed and don't judge you like the rest of society.

Till Next Time...

Yumoyori <3~ 

Week 47: Best Friend Adventures (Noah)- Distillery District, Food, Big Hero 6

On Monday, I and Noah decided to chill. I hadn't seen him since previous Saturday (we try to chill once a week or within two weeks when I get way to busy with work).

When I entered the car, Noah was like "Alright, pull out that GPS were going to lakeshore!" Im like WTF. SOOO Random but Hey, its my day off, I don't care where we go!! So we ventured off downtown on the DonValley highway, all the way down to Lakeshore. It was snowing so if we went by the lake it would be totally nice for pictures, but MOMENT we got there it started raining instead -_-.  Talk about bummer.

So we ended up at the Distillery District. There was a lot of construction going on since they're getting ready for Christmas. They did put up the christmas tree which is almost complete but still had lots of caution tape around and huge logs. I wonder what there making? We took a few pictures since we both never been in this area and walked around. Many of the shops were either closed or very empty. Also noticed the shops were pretty expensive. One clothing store we entered had mostly Canadian goose branded items, Nobis and other Fall/Winter gear, not the normal clothing you usually see at the malls, and WOW the prices were crazy. One jacket was $2,000, another plain sweater-> $300. We left pretty quickly (U-turned to the exit).

SOMA Chocolate Factory:

Noah encouraged me to enter this place since it really did look interesting, but I was hesitant to go in there since I didn't know what to really expect. When you walk in, your greeted with the smell of hot coco.  There's a lounge area with tables and high stool chairs for you to sit and enjoy coffee or treats you ordered. As you take a look around, you can see them making the chocolate and other baked goods which I thought was so cool but probably intimidating for the workers as well. You really have to be precautions with everything you do especially with cleanliness since eyes are watching you all the time.

Noah bought us some Chocolates to nibble on (Coconut/Almond Clusters), and we both ordered their Classic Hot Chocolate with Milk. It was HONESTLY SO GOOD. The temperature was perfect, not to hot that burns your tongue but not to cold. It was literally, perfect drinking temperature. Noah asked for it to go but I wanted to stay and drink it cause it was SO cold outside and we had all day, so why not sit and chat for a bit (was on my phone editing pictures half the time :p). This was my first time in real life seeing someone actually do a design with coffee and milk so I was really impressed (honestly, I sounded like a tourist -_-) but it was a nice design!!!! Probably some people would say its easy but I could never be able to do that so I give the guy high five (and he was cute -///-). We tried out the coconut clusters and it was delicious! From its appearance, you would assume its pretty hard but it was the complete opposite. Soft, chewy and the coconut flavour was a perfect match. Very addicting indeed. Total cost was $18.

Mill St Brewery:
After Soma, we went to grab something small to eat, since we would probably eat later on. We ended up at Mill St. Brewery Pub. The environment was nice and gave off the old cottage look. The bar was pretty popular, and had many different beer choices, as well as the option of you making your own beer. We ordered Calamari with original organic lager aioli with chipotle marinara ($12.00) and Pull-Pork Carnitas which included smoked pull pork, avocado, creme fraiche ($13.00). 

Pulled Pork Carnitas- SO GOOD

The service was pretty good. Calamari was a pretty good size too ,which is hard to come across so I was impressed. I've never tried Carnitas before so it was something new to me, but I enjoyed it and was pretty filling (I had two).  The only thing that was annoying was the roof was leaking from the booth we were sitting at. It was irritating when cold drops of water would hit our backs (wasn't wearing my jacket). Overall, I wouldn't mind going there again. Total cost with tip was $30.25

We continued to walk around and I bought a book and pack of pens so I can start writing stories again (another little hobby I do to pass time, especially during my night shifts). We decided that we would come back probably when its nicer out or when more events were going on. We than headed to Fairview.

When we reached Fairview, we picked up our tickets first for BigHero 6, which I kept on hearing was really good. I used my scene points since it wasn't a tuesday and the movie was in 3D (Now that I don't work at the movie theatre, I only spend scene points on certain people, since its pretty hard to stack those up but I dont want to spend $15 bucks/ticket cause its 3D). We walked around a bit, Noah bought some sexy dress pants from ZARA (so expensive, like $60 dollars but I guess thats common for a nice set of pants). Than Noah bought us Sushi ($10 thanks to the 'End of the Day Special'), and I got bubble tea from TenRen, Taro flavour (FREE- Thanks to my points card). We went to the food court to  have our little dinner and off to the theatre.

BigHero 6 was AMAZING! 10/10!

It was truthfully better than Frozen! Sure, Frozen was nice cause its a musical and had a good message (cant marry people you just met, and family is always important and will be there for you), but BH6 had MORE than just that! It really gives you a life lesson on so many topics. Family, Lost, Grief, Acceptance, Hatred. It was funny and almost made be shed tears. I now understand why its been so popular! I wouldn't mind watching it a second time around. It ended our hangout really nicely! Baymax is my FAVOURITE character! So cute!

Today hangout was just awesome! Had so much fun and a nice adventure. I don't go around toronto often but I want to explore my city more in the upcoming months.

Thanks again Noah for spoiling me <3 

Till Next Time...

Yumoyori <3~

Week 46: Best Friend Adventures(Lina)- Unexpected Day Off

Happy Early Birthday Lina

Saturday, I originally had thought I had work (normally scheduled Saturday nights). However, when I received my DSP (its a document sent to our work email a day before each shift with the client information and a number we use to log in before our shift) and it only stated I worked Sunday. I called to confirm and make sure my client had a nurse for that night and ended up having the day off =D! So instead of staying home, I arranged to chill with Lina again!!!

Our hangout was suppose to be Saturday but due to my Friday plans being cancelled, I decided Friday would be better, thus us hangout with Anissa. It was good that we got to hangout again since we had to do a number of things!

Lina lovely boyfriend decided to buy the SAME bag for Lina as a Christmas gift, but since I beat him to it (MY BAD xD) I encouraged Lina to bring it and we would go exchange it for a different style/colour cause honestly, who needs two of the same bag?

We met at Eaton Centre and went straight to GUESS. The lady was pretty nice about it and honestly I bought it yesterday, so I didn't expect any major problems. We looked around the whole store and though Im not a MAJOR Guess fan (only love their watches) there wasn't anything that really attracted me that would look nice on Lina. We returned back to the bag section and was debating to get the White or Black Delany Mini Tote, but both colours especially white, looked like they would get dirty pretty fast (in the store they already had dust and the white had a little stain). Finally, a Black with the guess design and brown straps caught our attention (the white one got our attention first and we found out they had a black version which I preferred due to the decreased probability of it getting dirty).

This is the Delany Logo Small Classic Tote in Black. I felt this would be the best for Lina since its small, can still carry more than just a wallet and phone, and due to the material, if by chance it got stained, it isn't noticeable to the eye (unless u go all close and personal). Overall, out of all the choice, this looked more reasonable. The price was $98 dollars so with tax I paid about $34 dollars extra which was worth it compared to buying the medium size which was $120 and beyond "medium"  

It looked extremely well with Lina too so totally worth it. Lina TRIED to connivence me to allow her to pay for the difference but CMON what kind of friend would do that XD <3~

Once that was accomplished, we headed to Bath & Body Works and I went on ANOTHER haul (me and my mom honestly have an addiction to candles....I think I have a stronger one for scented ones than my mom) and I took advantage of the buy 2 Get, 2 free/Buy 3, Get 3 Free Deal. 

By the time we were done shopping, I was starving (only ate a McMuffin for breakfast) so we headed to Kenzo Noodles Japanese restaurant to have some Ramen. This location is pretty small, so we were lucky to get a booth seat when we entered. Lina treated me, so I ordered the King Ramen Bowl at lvl 1 Hot (spicy) and Takoyaki balls. We both enjoyed our plates and the service was VERY fast (literally within 5 minutes our food was served). 

The food was really good and filling especially on a cold winter day. The spice lvl was perfect and the Takoyaki was really soft and big pieces compared to other places such as Teashop 168. 

After Lunch-Dinner, we walked around Best Buy and Eaton's looking at electronic and dresses. TED BAKER opened up at Eaton's centre so we took a look. This made me laugh since ALL THERE DRESSES GO UP TO SIZE 3!!!!! Can you believe it! Talk about being excluded to the fashion train. Such beautiful high classes dresses that would be very classy and elegant to wear, yet ONLY designed for people Size 3 and BELOW! I was VERY dissatisfied by this. Even IF I lost weight, I would NEVER go that low. Size 6 is my LIMIT. If I did ever become smaller than that, it would ONLY be due to me toning my assets such as my butt and waist. We ended are hangout talking about the struggle of plus size or anyone past size 8+ getting clothing without a higher price tag.

Lina an awesome individual in general. She smart, thinks logically, and I love her passion for finance and saving money!!! She a perfect friend to have (and she thinks I'm crazy for buying so many candles as if they're going bankrupt or were going to have a blackout). She also got me my current RN job which I'm passionate about and allows me to have fun and support my Mama, so I'm always grateful to her. It surprising, cause the ONLY reason we met was through the CRNE Nursing Exam and she was sitting right next to me (this other girl was sitting in MY seat and thus I had to ask her to move; the seats in the examination room are numbered so if you don't seat in your designated seat you can be asked to leave the room for your stupidity). We chat for a bit, I wrote her name down on my envelop, added her on Facebook and our friendship started there. Weird how life works XD.

So far, Im very satisfied with the friends in my life (well one of them is concerning me but will see how that goes in terms of de-ranking on the friendship scale). Lina is a someone reliable and who you would want in you life. Also, she not afraid to tell me I'm spending too much (hehehehe which I do ALOT). It was a good day and I had fun. Hope to have more adventures with her and I still owe her a movie so thats next on the list (I really want to watch Dear White People...hehehehe)

Till Next Time...

Yumoyori <3~