A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to check out the fantastic roof top patio at the X Hotel.
Valarie is boasted as Toronto’s newest nightlife concept with an innovative Japanese menu, inspired cocktails amidst unparalleled views the six.
What we ate: Cocktails: Single Malt on the rocks, Espresso and Cosmo Martinis Food: Truffle Fries, Maitake Mushroom (bowl) & Truffle Teardrop (sushi roll) Food Menu
The mushroom item was delicious. Crispy and with a truffle flavour.
And the martinis were perfect (flavourfull and strong!)
The entire rooftop is lined with a glass balcony – so you get views of the lake, Mississauga, the downtown core and the lake of course.
And of course I only got pictures of the CN Tower.
The views and cocktails really made it for me, although I wish they had more food items.
Over all it was a great experience (we tried to ignore the early 2000s clique vibes between patrons and the restaurant staff).
We got reservations through OpenTable, but I think a walk in is worth a try!
Yes I am one of those people who has no idea when amazon prime is so makes purchases on the days leading up to it.
I’m very curated with my purchases because Amazon can be dangerous (both from a consumer perspective as well as an environmental perspective). But sometimes you just have to treat yourself.
Sharing a tiny review of my experience at Collision Conference 2022 in Toronto
What is Collision Conf: It’s the leading tech conference in North America. The conference is made up booths, several stages for speakers/panels/fireside chats, master classes and workshops. The topics are wide ranging from human centric AI, diversity in tech to purpose-led products.
What I like best about the conference? The energy by far was a vibe. Idea sharing, Innovation and creativity was everywhere from the conversations between people, the talks on stage or the information learned at booths.
My favourite master class/workshop: I attended a talk about table talk exercises – which delivered both standard IT practices but also innovative testing methods (great information for my current role). I also really really enjoyed a talk about purpose led business (good people doing good people).
My favourite booth? The Women in Tech lounge – obviously! Although technically not a booth it was just a great space to hang out, grab a coffee, meeting people or catch up with colleagues. It was my home base!
Give yourself a goal. Give yourself a deadline. Give yourself a challenge. Give yourself a nudge. When you’re acting with a purpose you’re acting with clarity, discipline, and effectiveness. When there has to be a way, you find a way. Want to get more done? Give yourself more to do. Give yourself some ambitious and realistic expectations. Give yourself the effort, discipline, passion and persistence necessary to meet those expectations. Give yourself a clear and compelling direction. And discover for yourself just how much good you can do.
— Ralph Marston
Even the most organized and inspired individuals feel demotivated and overwhelmed at times. I love setting goals (yearly, quarterly, even daily), I get excited to reach milestones and check things off my list. One thing I’m learning to appreciate more – is the journey.
Today is one of those days … I just didn’t feel productive or excited about what I had set out to accomplish. Well …..that’s not entirely true – I’ve been feel like this for a few weeks now.
So I’m writing this post as a reminder…
It’s not about the destination, but the journey. I’m reminded to enjoy the process, both the highs and lows.
It’s totally okay to have quiet days, off days or days where your feel like you are just in a funk.
On those days, learn to take a break, find rest and lean into your emotions. When you don’t want to work, instead journal, try meditation, take hot girl walks, listen to podcasts and make art. But if that’s too much, read in bed, drink lots of coffee (++ water) and binge your favourite show.
I’m trying a new thing with my workouts, including using a paper journal to write down my fitness routine. Staying optimistic but hoping that using a different strategy to track my workouts (ie: not digital) will keep me more honest and consistent with resistance training and challenging myself.
And I feel that holding power over my workouts, romanizing it and even disrupting my usual exercise regime (within a controlable “blast radius) makes me feel like I have a little moe control in my life given the current socio-economic-politico environment…
But it’s more than my workouts, I feel like I have control when I take the time to put on a cute outfit to have dinner with the fambam. Annnndd because I loved all the depth and texture of the outfit, I took a little more control by taking a whole bunch of pictures of me in said outfit #FashionBlogger :)
May sound a little cheesy but it’s all about that #MainCharacterEnergy – and we all need to acknowledge that energy in our own life now and then…
If you are feel like not yourself, that something is just off or need to change things up a bit because you feel like you are just being tossed around …consider taking control of what you can to feel more like yourself…and to start…here are some ways:
Your thoughts: Replace negative self talk with the action of writing down positive affirmations or statements about about yourself!
What you eat Eat When was the last time you ate healthy whole foods, drank a full glass of water or switched up your coffee with an herbal tea.
How we spend our spare time: Give you mind a break from work/Netflix/unproductive activities (scrolling, gossiping etc) and do something creative, active, journaling (ie: to do lists, gratitude, brain dump)
How you react to things: Before immediately giving someone or a situation your attention give yourself a moment to pause before immediately reacting, it might actually change how you respond.
What content you consume Put down your phone and pick up a book. Unfollow and mute accounts that don’t lift you up. Learn or study instead of mindlessly watching. Create more than you consume.
Who you spend time with Surround yourself that build you up and inspire you. And it’s OK to spend time on your own as much as you need.
How we treat others Don’t waste energy treating people badly. Use that energy to focus on improving your well being or hanging out with people who matter to you.
This reminds me of blogger me circa 2011
Boots – Amazon | Dress – Joe Fresh | Vest – M Boutique | Purse – Aldo
Well I took it a little easier with February and decided on a fiction read that I knew was already streaming ;)
Little fires everywhere by Celeste Ng
Usually when I start a book, it takes me a few pages or at least a chapter before I start to connect the dots and actually start to “listen” (read: pay attention) to what’s going on. Which means I don’t always get the story line right away. I also didn’t follow the story until Moody was watching Pearl from afar after biking to her new home. What really drew me to the story initially was Mia’s story line. I loved that she is a mixed media artist and a photographer in the truest sense. This book was full of little twists and turns but in a way that wasn’t too abrupt or aggressive. Seeing the juxtaposition between privilege and humble family lives was both lovely and painful. I enjoyed how the author made little links between Mia and Elena’s life (as mothers, women creating careers/pursing their life’s work and as humans living a traditional and not so traditional North American life). Another small detail I love about this book – it’s set in the 90s!
In my head I imagined Mia/Pearl to be Asian (in the book their race is unspecified but not in the show adaptation). And it wasn’t until we learn that Lexie is in an interracial couple that I noticed that race was an underlying theme of the book. I really appreciated that the novel talks about race, biases and the way a community my think they are “doing better” than the rest of the world/country.
If you need a weekend read or a vacation read. Or just a break from the business/strategy/self development books (like me) I would definitely suggest picking this book up!
