LUXOMME

I've only really had one good tea in my life, and that was in London so long ago that there's barely a wisp of memory left in my mind. Obviously I can't just hop on a plane and venture across the Atlantic just for some afternoon tea, so I called up Crystal (which is a tea connoisseur) and she suggested we hit up one of her secret gems.

The only time we could schedule each other in was on a Wednesday, so when we arrived, the place was practically empty. Crystal and I had the ENTIRE place to ourselves, what a treat!

After choosing our teas (which was hard, mind you), they were brought piping hot in the most deliciously carved ceramic pots. I went for the champagne tea, while she opted for the peach.

There's a few different afternoon sets to chose from here, which is nice to have that option. Both her and I went for the Savory Tea [19] despite being teased by the thought of the full afternoon set. We just couldn't since both of us had dinner afterwards.

 l

I can't remember the names of the individual sandwiches, but I assure you, they were delicious.

The whole set comes with a little fruit bowl, six finger sandwiches, two scones (one plain and one blueberry), fresh strawberry jam, and a gentle squeeze of mascarpone cream. Although I wish the cream was a little less gently squeezed, I practically spooned that stuff into my mouth.

I practically finished my set, although we both had leftovers - so the savory tea was more than enough, even for a full meal.

I don't know about you, but what an absolutely tea-lightful way to spend the afternoon, with scrumptious refreshments and lovely friends.

naomi

Google tells me that today is the first day of Fall.

You know what's my favorite season? That's right. Fall

As we gradually transition into this cooler season, things that I've been loving have also slowly changed. Things that I'm obsessed with (in no order in particular) are warm hazelnut lattes, nude matte polishes - anything in beige actually, printed pieces, creamy leather jackets, and anything I can get my hands on in the perfect shade of maroon. Yes, you know what I am talking about.

Even though I'm in school now, and most mornings consist of me picking between black yoga pants or blue yoga pants, I still have the weekends to indulge my other interests - namely clothes. Thank goodness.

But let's cut to the chase, and get to things that I've been loving!

My EXTRA favorite things are in bold.

Makeup and Skincare Products

LIMECRIME Velvetine in Wicked | KATE Eyeliner in Coffee Brown | NYX Lip Liner 

LUSH Sikkim Girls Body Butter | Tresor by Lancome | Benefit's They're Real! Mascara

MAC lipstick in Velvet Teddy | Tarte Contour Brush | Clinique Lash Primer

MUJI face mask pills 

Clothing and Accessories 

J.Crew Nude Sweater | ALDO Chain Necklace | BCBGMaxazria Leather Jacket

Oversized Zara Scarf | Prada Nude Lambskin Tote | Zara Printed Crop Top
Club Monaco Perforated Leather Shorts

My daily routine is almost at it's bare bare minimum right now. I've come to appreciate the concept of quality over quantity, and I practically use the same things every single day. Also, cutting down on the number of choices I have really saves me a headache when it comes to decision time.

What can I say? It's back to basics for me.

Stay Warm,

naomi

Today's restaurant we're heading to is Marion Street Eatery, which has been highly recommended on Zomato. There's tons of diverse options here, but not enough to confuse you.

I hear their mac n' cheese is delish.

While you consider your options, let me tell you why I haven't been posting alot lately. 

Some of you may remember my post about changes back in April. I was going through the motions of a path that I was set on taking, and then May came along and threw all my plans out the window. 

In a good way though.

I made some major life choices, which aren't as traumatizing as I make it seem, and decided that I would stay in Winnipeg for school instead of heading back to Queen's [Yes, that was the plan]. I spent most of my Summer traveling to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Toronto, which has been documented on this blog. Everytime I read back on my posts though, it all of it looks like way more fun than it actually was because a lot of unexpected personal things came up - so here's a lesson on not taking things at face value.

But don't get me wrong - it was still an amazing time.

While you nibble on your Cajun Chicken Caesar Salad [13.75], which has been cooked perfectly, I'm going to start on my Fish Tacos [10.95] because I'm absolutely famished, and food is always a good idea in my world.

Classes started pretty early for me - which is why I haven't been really active since August. I spent the first half of the month in Toronto, celebrating my Great Aunt's 90th Birthday, which was really special. 

She's more my Grandma than my Aunt though.

I also spent a week in Quebec City with my family and was completely BLOWN AWAY by the whole city. If I wasn't completely inept in French, I would actually seriously consider moving there.

 I even considered learning French for a good 5 minutes because I loved it that much.

The salad and tacos obviously aren't enough for us, even though the portions are pretty generous. My apetite is a little bigger than a rabbit's though, so let's move on to the Mac n' Cheese [13.95] and the Certified Angus Beef Burger [12.75]. Do you see how creamy and perfectly toasted the Mac n' Cheese is?! The burger is mine though. You can have the bacon if you want.

After a while though, I felt like Summer was dragging on and all I was doing was traveling just for the sake of burning through time - which is less enjoyable than traveling to relax and vacation. So, despite the wonderful Summer and being super thankful that I got to visit so many places - I was a little traveled out and ready for school.

So by mid-August, I got my wish and classes started again.

I've kept my personal life off of here in the past few years due to fear of oversharing (which is a weird fear since I have a blog?), but for those of you who don't know - I spent a year doing research. Transitioning back to school was smoother than expected, but still an adjustment - and my new program moves a lot faster than my Life Science/Microbiology degree. I'm still in the midst of getting into the groove of things, and carving out free time has been deliberate and sometimes difficult. I don't really do anything interesting during the week, but my weekends are a little more fun. Hopefully, I'll be able to put up SOME content, if things are exciting and picture-worthy enough. 

I'm sure no one wants to hear me whine about studying during studying, and that's all I do M-F, so I won't be posting much during the week.

But that's pretty much it, and you're caught up on everything that's going on now! I hope you enjoyed our little lunch talk, and if you actually want to go to taste these delicious things for yourself, I would definitely recommend stopping by MSE. They have a breezy little patio - which you should try to catch before the snow comes in - and it's a smaller scale restaurant, so they pay attention to the details. 

Maybe stay away from the salad if you are hungry though. 

naomi

The girls and I spent the Summer at the Lake.

Feeling a little under the weather due to lack of excitement, I called up the girls, and Shauntel suggested that we take a few days off at her cottage. Hera was quick to jump on the wagon, while I took a bit of convincing (mosquito problems), but I came around soon enough (thankfully) and we had a fantastic time speeding around on the lake, jumping on the trampoline, kayaking, and swimming in the lake.

After getting over the initial shock of how amazing her place was, the girls and I spent some time exploring S's expansive property. She's got over 10 buildings on the island alone, and we admittedly lost our way a few times. 

We spent the afternoon searching for crayfish on the dock and shooing away spiders, before heading over to the trampoline to get our daily exercise in. Quickly exhausting, we lay on the mat and watched the clouds go by.

Before we knew it, it was dinner time. 

Life at the lake is a lot different than life in the city. There's no grocery store nearby, so almost everything is made from scratch. On the menu tonight; steamed asparagus with fresh pesto fettuccine. 

I was in charge of the sauce while the girls worked on the pasta.

Feeling particularly stuffed after dinner, we lazed and Hera and I ran around the property looking for a cellphone signal. Shauntel is a little less addicted and retired to her room to relax for a bit.

Feeling slightly disconnected, we eventually found a pocket at the edge of the deck, where we stayed to watch the sun set before Shauntel called us back to the house. 

It's time for firepit and smores!

We took a few more snaps before quickly skipping back to the house, where we were tasked with helping load the wagon with wood. Gotta work for those smores, you know.

This is where I learned how to start a fire for the first time in my life, and while Shauntel imparted her wisdom upon me with tips and tricks to get the perfect flame going, Hera went snap happy and made a very impressive time lapse video!

And that's how we spent our evening. Talking around the fire while stuffing ourselves with smores. 

Delicious Summer nights.

naomi.