iPhone Stand from Etsy

Remember I talked about mindless spending? Well, I did purchase this stand recently, but I wouldn't really consider it mindless. It's actually quite useful.

My iPhone has those privacy screen protector which means you can't see the screen from any angle unless you're staring at it straight on. Which means, whenever I'm at work I can't tell if someone text, message, or calls me. I have my phone on vibrate and so does my coworker which sits literally right near me, so we always look at our phones when we hear a buzz. It would make more sense to invest in a phone stand so I can just see the screen whenever I hear a buzz.

I was contemplating on where to purchase a phone stand because I want it to be sturdy and looking pretty at the same time. I turned to Etsy since that's where I also got my phone case. They have really great selections on Etsy and a lot of their items are handmade.

I landed upon Hannah's Ideas in Wood shop and instantly fell in love with the items. Majority of the items are made of wood and it looked so chic and sophisticated. There were other lovely things such as iPad stands, vases, pens, combs, and even key holders. But all I need was the iPhone stand so I quickly placed that order before I mindlessly start adding other things from Etsy into my shopping cart.

The package came within a week which wasn't bad at all. The packaging was really pretty though, it took me 3 days to open it because I just couldn't undo the bow (I know, pretty lame). The stand is pretty light and I love how you can just combine the pieces together. It's also cable friendly which means you can charge your phone while it sits on the stand, really nice feature. I figured since I can take them apart, I would just put them in my bag and carry it around, in which I would rather not keep it at work.

I have to say, this was one of the better purchases I've made in a while. I've got compliments already.

Love,
LN

I am not affiliated with or sponsored by Hannah's Ideas in Wood; the item was bought on my own and my opinions are honest.

Long Hair Short Hair 123

I haven't had a haircut for a year and a half already. My splits ends were starting to form in the worse way possible and the tips of my hair were getting irritably dry.

I knew that I had to chop it off some time this year and I was searching around to see which haircut I would want to live in for a couple of months before it starts growing out again. I've dyed my hair in the past which is probably why my ends were drying up.

Uber long hair. Thin also. I'm so jealous of those girls that has thick luscious hair, I feel like I'm thinning out or something.

I have to admit, I do like that "ombre" effect that it gave me since my natural color was growing out. I had it dyed in late 2011 and it took a good 1.4 months to grow out. I was at a point where I was completely ready to get rid of the nasty hair.

So, I was searching around and I remember watching a TVB series where the female actor's hair caught my eyes.

Tavia Yeung in Friendly Fire had this mature bob cut and I thought, wouldn't it be nice to try that out? I had short hair before, more on the A-line bob side but this is just a regular bob. Plus, I always like short hair in the summer, so much easier to manage and take care.

I went to my usual salon and told my hair stylist exactly what I want. Actually, I just showed him a picture of Tavia and he knew what to do. Within a blink of an eye, he took off a good foot of hair with an electronic hair shaver/razor. It hit my shoulder and from there he started trimming and forming the shape of the hair.

Result?

I really dig it.
It a bit lighter and I love it when the wind blows through my hair. The best part is always washing my hair and having it dry within the half hour. I also don't have to worry about having it caught when I wear light jackets or have my bag sling onto my shoulders.

At time it gives me this "cute" look that everyone at my office would tell me. Other times, I can look really mature (but apparently a lot younger) depending on my outfit. I love pairing this hair with my leather jacket, kind of a bad ass chick haha

I might want to keep this length until autumn comes, which means I would need to go back and get it maintained. Do I miss my hair? Truthfully, not at all. Plus, I think I'll stick with my natural color for a while. Coloring my hair is cool and definitely pretty but it eats away my hair which is quite creepy...

Montreal - Last Day

The end has come but it's not the last of it

Felt so surreal when we woke up on our last day in Montreal. And to think we only arrive to Montreal just 5 days ago, time sure does go by quick when you're having fun. Before our trip, I told J that the last day will be the day where we decide which place we want to head back to have their food again. I bet you all thought it would be Frite Alors... but you'll see.

J went down to get us our last hotel breakfast. It was nice, breakfast in bed. I'm going to miss this kind of treatment from the boyfriend.



I really liked their waffles and J likes the toast. Simple breakfast, something to keep our tummy happy before heading to our final stop.



Our room cards. I didn't realize there was a map on the card all along. Boy, wouldn't that make it easier for us to find the hotel when we were walking like crazy the first two days.



The amount of metro-cards we bought. If we were well prepared then we would've only gotten the 3-day pass with a 1 day rather than pay for all the single rides. We learned out lesson, must do research and be extra prepared next time wherever we go!

After the quick breakfast, we packed everything we need and checked out of the hotel a little before 12pm.

Took the metro to our favorite restaurant in Montreal, Papillon.

It's official, we love this place. Whether it's the fabulous escargot they make or the great service, we love it. The restaurant wasn't pack, as a matter of fact we were the only customers for lunch. You might think that's crazy but that's how Montreal roll. A lot of restaurants barely have people in there and it became the norm for us.



Instead of coffee, we both had Earl Grey tea. J made milk tea with his but I like mine plain.



Greek Salad. I tried avoiding the olives like crazy. Overall, a good salad.



We both forgot what this soup was, but it tasted soooo good. This is why I hate it when J always picks the better dishes. UGHHHH... I want to kick him.



I had the salmon which was cooked perfectly. The vegetables were quite amazing also, I usually don't like the accompany vegetables because they taste bland, like they just boiled it. But for Papillon, they actually sauteed it and gave it some flavor. Man, I love the French!



J's braised rabbit. He loved it. I liked it also but that maple sauce was a tad bit weird for me. And why did he have more mushrooms than meee???

We also ordered the escargot, but since I already had so many pictures of that I didn't bother retaking it. Our last meal in Montreal was lovely. We had window seats and the restaurant was quiet enough for us to enjoy our food and chit chat before we had to head to the airport.



Montreal is beautiful in its own aspects. I'm glad I got the chance to really explore what Montreal had to offer again with the boyfriend. I definitely seeing myself coming back, either for the escargot or the poutine.

When we were done with our meal, we lugged our baggage to the train station and took the metro to the airport. It's so much easier and simpler than NYC. There was a bus that ran directly to the airport, so we caught that bus and held hands thinking about the great times we had in Montreal.

Some silly pictures on the bus before heading home.

And the next thing we knew...

We're back at JFK waiting to head home.

This trip was definitely one of those test. It's a lot different than our trip to Cancun where everything was handed to us and we didn't have to go anywhere for anything before it was just so convenient. In Montreal, we had to travel around in the city hoping that our directional skills will take us to our destine places. J and I did argue during this trip, it's totally normal even though I wished we didn't. After this trip, I'm sure we can tackle any other trips since we already had a language barrier here which was French. I'm looking forward to our future trips which I'm sure would be a lot more challenging and fun.

Montreal - Day 4

Appreciating the simple things in life

Our last full day in Montreal. J and I definitely got that sad achy feeling since we didn't want the trip to end, but everything has to come to end.



Our balcony view. It's nice waking up knowing we had a balcony which we didn't use since it was mighty chilly out. Not the best balcony view but it comes in handy when you rent or have a car parked in the lot.



I wanted to go to Jean-Talon Market. Ever since watching Bizarre Food and No Reservations, I always wanted to visit the market of each place/city I go to just to have a little taste of actually being a local. J suggested we go on a Monday since a lot of the restaurants and museums are closed on Monday. The market was pretty big. We were so indecisive about lunch that we practically made 3 entire loops of the inside and outside of the market.



Pretty empty huh? Can't expect much since it was around noon on a Monday. We finally settled down and ordered some food.



Salami sandwich. Simple yet tasty. It's all about quality, not quantity. I liked how the person behind the counter that took our order told us to sit down and that he'll bring us the food. Sort of not use to that kind of behavior.




J got a meat pie and some wings. The meat pie was pretty good but we both wished that it came with a little gravy cause it was getting a bit dry as we continue eating. But one thing, the meat pie was flavored quite well. The wings looked mouthwatering, but it was a bit dry.



Our half full apple juice that tasted extremely fresh. Looks dark and heavy but the flavor was just pure apple and that was truly fresh, I could drink this all day long. While in Montreal, Naya was our go-to water bottle that kept us hydrated.



Stopped by a pastry shop and bought 2 little things plus this tiramisu ice cream. It was good, nice and creamy with tiramisu flavor. Now if only all ice cream came like that.

The market was really colorful. There were so many fresh fruits and vegetables. There were some stalls that had samples for you to try before deciding if you want to buy anything. I ended up getting some blueberries because they were fresh and I didn't even spot one bad one in the bunch, plus I love blueberries. J bought some cherry tomatoes, they were so plump!

After the market we decided to head back to the hotel but before going back there, we wanted to stop by the supermarket to get some steak for dinner. Since we had a full kitchen in our hotel room, we wanted to use it before out trip ended. Back at the hotel, we were just enjoying our evening with watching TV and being lazy.

I nearly forgot about this...

Tim Hortons! How can our trip be fulfilled if we didn't get any Tim Hortons?! The best part was they had the French Vanilla Cappuccino for only $1 and because I saw munchkins somewhere (I don't remember where) I had J get me some also. Boy, I was feeling so spoiled since he went out and I stayed in the hotel. He came back and told me everything cost around $3ish. I was like - really? Are you sure? Dammm

Great deal! He got 10 little donuts which Montreal-ers call Timbits. How adorable! They're frankly quite good. I would choose these over Dunkin' Donuts any time because they weren't overly sweet. Plus, the chocolate one was amazing. Oh, and they had a strawberry one! I wonder if the Tim Hortons in the states would taste the same as Montreal.

So content with our snack. 

Finally, dinner time. J was the chef tonight. I was just too lazy and he seems confident enough to cook up some foie gras and steak.

It looked like a big piece when it was raw but once cooked, the foie decrease in size magnificently. I have no problem with it since I'm not a crazy foie gras person. I gave most of it to J since he loves this stuff.

Steak for two and only $4.84.

The boyfriend at work! Looking quite pro there. Food always taste better when the person you love cooks it.

Our feast for our last night in Montreal. I wouldn't have spent it any other way. I had the best dinner ever and nothing would have been better than this. A meal that was cooked by J, everything we picked up together. It just seemed perfect.

It was hard to believe that we would be leaving the next day. Everything happened so fast. We tried to cherish our last hours of the night together. Nothing better to end the night with than Ice Cider, something new.

Montreal - Day 3

Feeling like kids in a candy shop

Sunday was a dreary day so J and I wanted to spend some of time indoors. We plan on going to a museum/zoo/aquarium thing, it's an all-in-one spot. But before going out, we need to check out the continental breakfast that our hotel offered.



A sufficient breakfast. They had a lot of carbs and starch-ie food, no meat at all. The orange juice was pretty good, coffee wasn't so great. I really liked the waffles, actually it's the maple syrup that I really like. It's not extremely sweet and tasted just perfect, slab on a little whipped butter and that's a perfect waffle for you.



After breakfast we chilled a bit in our room until we felt like getting our asses up to head out. We thought we probably should get something to eat before heading to our destination. Of course, we went to Frite Alors and got some poutine. Can you see how much we love Frite Alors? J was eye-ing the pulled pork since day one so that's exactly what we got. The pork was a bit on the sweet side so it actually tasted better without the meat.



The train ride wasn't long, within half an hour and we were at the Biodome. Pretty excited.



How do you like them apples? We got a student discount with our NYC student IDs. Totally surprised that they even accepted it.






Biodome incorporates 4 different physical atmosphere to educate the public of the animals that lives in them. The killer was the forest, it was so humid and hot. Truthfully, I gave after a couple of shots because there were way too many people and I could hardly take any photos.



A birdie roaming around. J was telling me how they pop out of nowhere and if he wasn't paying attention he would've kicked one when he walked.




And that's all I captured there. These things are so high up in the trees which makes it so difficult to capture them, not to mention they move also -_-"

The Biodome wasn't bad, nor was it that amazing. I guess we both expected a lot more but when we looked at the price again, it seemed about just right. Right across the street from the Biodome was a movie theater. It was ginormous. Rather than go see a movie, since most likely they're all in French we just zoomed right into the arcade section.

We found the air hockey table! I don't know why, but I love air hockey and I'm sure J took an interest in it also. The scoring was weird, I mean c'mon 37? In the states, we only go up to 7 points. The price was insanely cheap, a $1 a game. I thought I was hallucinating.

It was extremely tempting...

After killing some time here, we finally decided to head back to the hotel and rest. Since our dinner reservation wasn't until 9pm. It was either 5:30 or 9, I'm not rushing to the restaurant at 5, that's just way too early for dinner. As we got back into the city of Montreal, we found the shopping area near our hotel. But guess what we bought... more liquor! Gosh we are insanely alcoholics on this trip.

Remember these photos? I took them on day one in daylight and I told J that wouldn't it look great during the night. He dragged me here after we got some liquor which was heavy! But the sight of it was worth it.

We lugged our heavy bags back to the hotel. During the stay in Montreal, I have to say we watched a lot of Discovery Channel. Never knew they had such interesting shows and educational also. Finally, it was 8ish and we left the building for our anticipated dinner.

We were finally there. The hype about this place was over the roof. It's nice to be able to experience it.

We started off with a sample platter. There was tongue, sausage, terrine, and pate. I loved the pate, totally different from the usual pate I usually eat. This had flavor and texture, not mushy at all. My least favorite was the terrine, that black blob. It wasn't the texture issue, it was more of the intense flavor that filled my mouth and nostril that made me want to gag. I'll remember to avoid that. And did anyone hear of pickled egg before? I mean, pickled like a pickle... so good!

Bison tongue. So soft and tender. J and I love tongue - yes pun intended

This dish was certainly an eye opener. Little balls of liquid foie gras in the center. Crunchy on the outside and once bitten, the warm gooeyness of the foie just melts in your mouth. Genius! But I'm not changing my mind about foie gras.

Condiments for our entree.

So, J was really disappointed that they were out of pig's head. We initially wanted to indulge in the pig's head since it's a two-person meal. The waiter said they were sold out, and boy did J expressed a big reaction. Seeing him so upset, the waiter said he'll whip up something that off the menu. That deep dish consisted of tongue, quail, duck, ribs, pork belly, foie gras, and bone marrow. When I saw it, I was going to die. We somehow finished the entire thing, ok more credit to J since he's a beast.

The meal was satisfying. We're definitely going back to Au Pied de Cochon to get the pig's head even if that means we have to reserve it.

Heading back to the hotel we were stuffed and quite content. Looking in the fridge made us more content.