melbourne.

Not sure how long I can be consistent with blogging again, but giving this another go. 

It's been a little over 3 months since I've moved to Melbourne and even now, at times, it feels so surreal. Doesn't feel like home, but also doesn't feel so foreign anymore. 

1. Travel: 

In the first 2 months of moving away from Vancouver I'd already travelled to Auckland, New Zealand and then basically all over Australia: 

• Adelaide, SA 
• Brisbane, QLD
• Sydney, NSW
• Perth, WA
• Busselton, WA 
• Collie, WA
• Bunbury, WA 

Can't say I can get tired of travelling, there's really no where I feel more at home than up in the air. But for the first few months of moving to a new city, I was barely in the city which kind of made it difficult for me to settle in. Well that and... walk around with out Google Maps #FirstWorldProblems

2. "The Apartment" 

I'd never actually rented a place before, so this was an interesting experience. I'm sure some people have had worse experiences, but mine was no walk in the park. 

At first, I looked at 2 flats and I was thinking to myself "Gawd, I'm going to die here". Basically these apartments looked like the size of a college dorm room and were 350-380AUD/per week for rent (How is that even possible?). But then third time's the charm right? I actually found the most ideal building and although it was a little more expensive it was doable. So you would think once you've found the flat, all you need to do is fill out some paperwork and pay, right? Nope. Even after confirming that the flat was mine, another realtor from the same firm was so dodgy he signed the apartment off to another tenant! After multiple panicked emails and calls, they found me a flat in the same building, a little bigger but also a little pricier. Though, beggars can't be choosers, after all I really needed a place to live. 

Yet, after that whole mess with the realtor, all I did was sleep on the floor for days because I had no time to buy furniture #FirstWorldProblems. And if  I didn't already feel homesick, an empty cold apartment with no internet in Melbourne Winter definitely did the trick:( 

But I have to say... 3 months later. I'm pretty darn happy to come home to my #crib! 

3. Friends: 

I really thought I was going to be chilling in my apartment by myself forever. Making friends when you're still in school is easy. But when you've hit adulthood, it's a whole new ball game. Especially when I always travel, it's hard to make strong connections with people and expect to find them again after a week. 

I'm typically not shy, but when I'm in a new group I can't help but feel a little out of place. I think it's normal, I mean friends talk about shared experiences and all I could really talk about was myself. Let's be honest here, it's pretty lame to talk about yourself all the time. 

But somehow I lucked out and found an insanely awesome group of friends :) I really can't believe they've accepted me into their group. Especially since on multiple occasions I'd fallen asleep sitting up #lol. My work is really important to me, but it makes me hella tired. I'm so grateful that I've met these amazing people who accept a half-asleep Canadian girl into their group. Jokes aside, I'm really not sure how I would feel about this city without them:) 

4. Food: 

So #noshame, I'm a foodie. And it's just not satisfying eating stuff you can't also take a good Instagram pic of #lol. For the first few weeks I basically cooked anything with less than 5 ingredients, and definitely nothing impressive. Almost felt like my taste buds were dying...

But after settling into the city, I've checked off a lot of restaurants on the top of my list:) I've even gotten use to eating sushi rolls go-the-on. This might seem quite normal to some people, but we don't typically eat sushi rolls uncut in bags. Although I have to say, I do like a good roll for a light snack while i'm shopping around.

What you won't find here is Japanese food that's comparable to Vancouver. They have high end restaurants like Nobu, but nothing really too amazing.  I'll definitely be bingeing on izakaya and aburi when I'm back in Vancouver.

But there's definitely no shortage of good food in Melbourne. Great coffee at every corner and a surplus of brunch places all over the city. Also absolutely in heaven with all the varieties of South East Asian food. Can't believe how many Malaysian and Thai restaurants there are just around my apartment!

5. Night Life: 

I think you can always have the time of your life when you're with the right people. I'm actually not sure if the night life in Melbourne is much different than what I'm use to, but it feels different. It might just be because I'm new to the city and you don't feel like everyone knows each other. My experience so far has partly been amazing because of the friends I've made, but also because people here are so approachable and friendly. I think Vancouverites are friendly, but also very cliquey. Here, people are just more open to chat with anyone and everyone. 

One thing, I'm not too fond of though is dressing up every time we have to go out. I'm all for dressing up nice, but there are times (many times in Vancouver) when I just want to dance and dressing up is just a hassle #AintNobodyGotTimeForThat

Expat life isn't as glamorous as it looks on television, but it's a life experience. It's pretty exciting not knowing what friendships you'll make or places you'll discover. 

new york city | photo diary

The city that steals my heart every time. 

New York is kind of like this never-ending story.

Every moment seems like a new chapter.

It sounds super cliche to say that I've fallen in love with this city because how can you really 'fall in love' with a mass of land. But how else can I really explain my racing heart every time I step foot into Grand Central or walk 20 blocks down 5th Ave or finally hail a cab like a true New Yorker. 

This trip, like my photo diary is short, but sweet. 

Although a very work-focused trip, I managed to slip away for two much needed shopping excursions. 

If you've never been to Woodbury Outlets, I would highly recommend it. Probably some of my best buys to date were at the Chloe and Balenciaga outlet stores. 

Honestly, you will not find the world's best customer service here because the products pretty sell itself and the sales associates have an attitude that reflects exactly that. 

But if you're quite an intense shopper, like myself, you won't be phased at all.

I also ended my trip (after my meetings of course :)) with my first sample sale experience.

I'm not sure if all sample sales are as AMAZING as Club Monaco's, but Aritzia's warehouse sale could learn a thing or two. 

At first when I walked in, I was pretty overwhelmed, but also taken by the lure of the 'hunt'. 

You could even say I shopped the s*** out of that sale:)

But in all seriousness, there was some great shopping, but my work was the real highlight of my trip.

I organized my first Agency Dinner and really saw for the first time how far I'd come. 

I'm always looking for more and reaching for the next step in my career, but for the first time I basked in the present.

Who could have guessed I'd be lucky enough to have these opportunities. 

Excited for what's next. 

Keep hustling.