I've been in Australia for almost a whole month now... how crazy is that?! I am absolutely loving it here. I just started at my new uni last week and I love that as well. I know it is going to get a bit hectic and stressful soon, but it would be the same if I were still in Canada. At least here I can go to the beach in between assignments. It is a bit "cold" at this time of year (coldest it has been so far during the day is 12 degrees Celsius.. and that's like extreme cold here), but it's really not bad at all. I've already been to the beach twice and it's the middle of winter. I mean I'm used to negative temperature for 3 (or more) months straight. I think I'll survive this "chilly" time of year.

It's literally the middle of winter. What is my life?

I definitely miss everyone back home, but I know for sure that I made the right choice moving here. I have been genuinely happy every single day. There is no sense of regret at all and I am just so glad that this is all working out. 

After I arrived I had a with chat Giftbuzz about my move. You can read it here. Giftbuzz is a website where you can make wish lists for any occasion. Clearly one of my top wishes in life was moving to Australia, and although it isn't a tangible wish,  I still really like the idea of creating lists and putting your wishes out there. There is so much power in spoken word that if you truly want something you have to make it known. 

I know this has been a super brief post, but I will definitely be on here more once I start exploring the country and doing exciting things. But for now it is time to read a textbook and do my uni work (or watch Netflix while i neglect my uni work)... 

So I have been in Australia for just over a week now, and I have already crossed one thing off of my bucket list... COCOWHIP! You guys... if you are ever in Australia, look up cafes that serve Cocowhip because it honestly changed my life. It was amazing. It's vegan soft serve made from coconut water and it's not even bad for you. How much better can it get?

Salted Caramel Cocowhip

On Thursday my Aunt and I went on a little trip to Sydney to attend a raw vegan cooking workshop at Sadhana Kitchen. The workshop itself was amazing. It was so inspiring. The owner of Sadhana Kitchen, Maz, was so knowledgeable and passionate about what she does. It was so great to learn more about the way that I eat, to encourage me to keep going in the direction that I'm headed. My Aunt also learned a lot, and it opened her eyes to vegan eating, and some of the reasons that people choose to eat this way. Everything we learned cleared up any misconceptions about the nutritional value of a vegan diet. I really wish I was filming it so that I could send it to everyone who asks me if I get enough protein.

Of course, before attending the workshop, we had to try Cocowhip. Sadhana Kitchen offers three different sundaes... Tim Tam, Wagon Wheel, and Salted Caramel. We both went for the Salted Caramel and I am so happy about that decision. It's crazy because you would think a salted caramel sundae has to be super unhealthy, but it wasn't at all. The caramel sauce was made out of superfoods, and the caramel slice on top was fully raw, made from all natural ingredients and no refined sugars. It is so much easier than we all think to find nourishing foods that will meet our sweet, sugary cravings.

I also ate 3 meals at Sadhana... Vegan Lasagne, Vegan Eggs Benedict (made with avocados instead of eggs), and a Coconut Curry. Everything was delicious and it was all packed with nutrients so I didn't have to feel guilty about anything that I ate. I always get so excited at vegan restaurants because there is so much to choose from, rather than a menu at a regular restaurant where there are usually only one or two options.

Avo Benedict with Coconut Bacon

I am literally so obsessed with Sadhana Kitchen, I will definitely be going back to try everything else on the menu. Also going to travel Australia just to try every flavour of Cocowhip that the different cafes offer. If you are ever in Sydney, whether you're vegan or not, I really recommend that you check out Sadhana Kitchen.

Just a disclaimer before I start I'm writing this quickly between flights as I am literally on my way to Australia right now so if there are any grammatical errors or the writing just sounds really bad... I am so sorry. 

I have lived 10 minutes outside of Toronto my entire life, and I have truly loved living there. It really is one of my favourite places in the world, and I really wish it was hot all year round so that I could stand living there forever. But, unfortunately the Canadian climate just does not agree with me, and it is time for me to go somewhere that doesn't experience negative temperatures very often (or ever). After deciding to move to Australia, I realized that there was a lot of Toronto that I had never seen before. So, I dedicated my last few months in Toronto to exploring the city as a tourist would. My mom decided to join me on most of these excursions, as she wanted to spend time with me and explore the city as well. 

Earlier in the Spring my friend, Ko, invited me to do the edge walk at the CN Tower for free. It's normally really expensive so this was such an awesome opportunity, I couldn't say no. It was so cool. Like I probably wouldn't ever pay to do it but it was a really amazing experience. I could literally see all of Toronto from the highest point in the city, and I was outside, on the edge of the CN Tower. I was definitely apprehensive at first, and it was quite cold and windy which added to my nerves and apprehension, but I am so glad that I did it. I know that I will never get an opportunity like that again. It's also awesome cause they film the whole thing so you get to watch yourself scared out of your mind as you lean over the edge of what once was the tallest building in the world. 

The first thing that my mom and I did together was a city sightseeing tour. It was so interesting to learn about history of the city that I had never known. It also gave us the chance to see many different spots in the city that we wouldn't normally have gone to before. I really love sightseeing tours, and I think it's so important to do them in your own city. We are all so used to living where we live without seeing it from the perspective of a tourist. The tourist perspective made me appreciate Toronto so much more. 

The ticket to the sightseeing tour also gave us the opportunity to take a tour on the Toronto harbour. I will admit, it wasn't the warmest day, and the harbour cruise was super windy and cold. But, it was my first time ever taking a boat onto the harbour, through the Toronto islands. It's a whole side of Toronto that I had never seen before. I also loved being able to take a picture of the classic Toronto skyline shot. I'm definitely gonna make my own postcards with it. 

While we were on the tour, we drove through old Toronto where the St Lawrence market is located. I realized that I hadn't been there since I was about 8 on a class field trip. So a few weeks later my mom and I took a little trip to the market. I love markets. I love the local feel of them. Everyone just seems so happy and appreciative of the town or city that they are in. Literally right when we walked into the market there was a stand for vegan strudel. I was so excited. So naturally my mom bought a massive wild blueberry vegan strudel for me and over the course of the next week I ate all of it without a single regret. 

I love Toronto, and am going to miss it so much. My entire life has been there and it really is hard to say goodbye. But I know that my heart is in Australia and I would regret it forever if I let this opportunity pass me by. Who knows, I could move back to Toronto one day... once winter disappears forever.

I have never moved from one country to another before, so I am clearly not an expert on the topic. The furthest I have moved was literally to University an hour away... so I mean this is a whole new experience. But as I go along, preparing myself for the move (less than 2 weeks to go!!!!), I have come up with a few good tips on what to do as you prepare to move. I know it's not really the most common thing to look up tips for, but if you ever do find yourself moving from one country to another, I hope this can help.

1. Use up any health care/benefits you have.
If you are lucky enough to live in Canada, use up as much free health care as you possibly can. You really don't want to get to a different country without free health care and have to make a simple appointment that you could've had for free. Also if you have benefits of any sort, use them!! In the last few weeks I have had my wisdom teeth removed, I got new glasses and I've filled basically every prescription that I have ever had prescribed to me. And the government covered all of it. Bless the Canadian government.

2. Stock up on your favourite products.
It is very likely that the country you are moving to will not have the same products that you love in your home country, or they will just be more expensive where you're moving to. I know for a fact that drug store make up is like double the price in Australia, which means I am going to go on a shopping spree at Shoppers before I go. That brings me to number 3..

3. Redeem all of your rewards points.
If you have rewards points with any stores that don't exist in the country that you're moving to, redeem them!! As I said before, I am going to go on a shopping spree at Shoppers, and I am going to use all of my Optimum points to do it. Don't waste free money!

4. Plan get togethers with your friends and family.
As much as I said that I would take the time to see every single one of my friends and family members before leaving, I really have not had the time. So, I decided to plan get togethers with all of them at once so that I won't miss saying goodbye to anyone, and I don't have to panic over not having enough time. Leaving my friends and family is the hardest thing about this transition in my life, and I want to make sure that I get the chance to see every one of them before I go.

5. Renew all important government documents.
I have been at more government offices in the last two months than I have in my whole life. I have had to renew my driver's license, health card, and passport. It is so important to make sure you get all of these things renewed because you really don't want them to expire while you're in a different country. Also, it makes it easier for you to get new documents in the country that you're moving to. Do research as well to find out what documents you qualify for in the new country. Australia is awesome and will let me get my full driver's license automatically because I have my full Canadian license.

6. Work and save as much as you can.
I have no idea where or when I am going to work when I get to Australia, so I have been working as much as possible to save as much as possible for when I get there. This is the main reason that I haven't had the time to see my friends and family as much as I would like, but it is really important to have money so that I can survive when I get to Australia.

7. Explore your city.
My mom and I have been going on a bunch of little day trips to different parts of Toronto in the last few weeks. I have lived just outside of the city my entire life, but there is so much of it that I haven't seen. It is so awesome to explore your own city as a tourist. When you live somewhere, you don't see as much of it as someone who has come to visit it. I have learned a lot about Toronto and have seen parts of it that I had never seen before.

8. Pack ahead of time.
Okay.. this is something that I haven't even started yet, and this is why I am putting it on the list. People have been asking me for the last two months if I've started packing yet, which I always laughed at and thought, "I have so much time what are you talking about." Well, time has come and gone, and I am leaving in 2 weeks and have not even thought about how/what I am going to pack. So, as a person who is currently freaking out about how/what I'm going to pack... get started early and you will be cool, calm, and collected in your last weeks at home.

This can be a really stressful time. I am currently feeling every single emotion as the days creep by and my departure date gets closer and closer. I know that at the bottom of my heart this is 100% what I want to do, but obviously I am starting to feel apprehensive and sad about leaving the country I have lived in my whole life. I have been reassured that it is so normal to feel like this. I just need to remind myself that yes, I am going to be homesick, I am going to be sad, but this is just a new chapter of my life and I just have to take it on day by day. I just have to remember how so incredibly excited and happy I am, and how proud of myself that I am that I'm actually doing this. Less than two weeks to go!!! I really can't believe it.

I have been working nonstop and haven't had a chance to write my second, and final New York post. But, I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday so now I have nothing but time. So, here it is.

Day 2, technically the last day of our trip to New York, was the day that we explored lower Manhattan. We woke up bright and early and set off to the subway and made our way to The High Line. If you don't know what The High Line is, it's a park built on an old railway line that runs on top of the streets of New York. It has a great contrast between nature and the city. One of my favourite things about New York is the parks amidst the city, and this is one of my favourite. As we walked through the park, the life of the city was happening below us. It was also a great way to get a birds eye view of the streets of New York, without being too high up to see the streets. 

Some of the plants planted in the railway tracks with NYC cabs in the background

The High Line took us to Chelsea, where we went to the Chelsea Market. The Chelsea Market is, of course, a market. It had many restaurants and a cute little flea market that had me wanting to spend all of my money. We had lunch at the market, where I discovered Beyond Sushi, an all vegan sushi restaurant. I was extremely happy because a) I am vegan and b) I LOVE sushi.

I had the Sweet Tree Roll (6-grain rice, avocado, sweet potato, and alfalfa sprouts)

The Chelsea Market also had the prettiest little walkway with all of these sparkling lights. I think I stood there for a good 5 minutes taking pictures. I just really like sparkling lights, okay?

It's so pretty honestly I could live in this walkway

After the Chelsea Market, we went to Washington Square Park, the park in the middle of the NYU campus. Once we began to see people our age walking around, we knew we were in the right place. I had never been to Washington Square Park so I was really excited to see the Washington Square Arch, which is the star of many of the establishing shots in Friends. It was so interesting walking around this area, because we are all University students. It was cool to see the lifestyle of people who go to school in New York City. 

Washington Square Arch

We then made our way to SOHO. SOHO is full of higher end stores, so we were definitely there just to observe. Out of all the neighbourhoods we went to in New York, SOHO definitely had the best Snapchat geotag. (The entire trip I was obsessing over the geotags because in Toronto we only have like 2 and I have yet to be in the right place to get them). I just realized I didn't save a picture of the geotag so now you'll just have to go to SOHO to see what I'm talking about. 

After walking for hours, we decided to go find a place to get some coffee. I had heard of an Australian cafe in New York called Bluestone Lane, so I pleaded my case to walk a few (maybe a bit more than a few) extra blocks to check it out. I had been craving Australian coffee since I got back from Australia in January, and it was so worth the walk. I got myself an almond milk flat white and in that moment I was the happiest little Canadian/Australian girl in the world. If you are an Australian in New York, you must go to Bluestone Lane you will feel totally at home. And if you aren't Australian, go do yourself a favour and try Australian coffee it will change your life. 

Have I mentioned how good this coffee was?

Okay, enough about Australian coffee, I promise. After SOHO, we headed back to Midtown to go back to our apartment to sit down for a bit and refresh from a long day of walking. We then headed to Bryant Park, which is officially my favourite NYC park. I just love the views from the park. It has a good view of the Empire State Building, and the Bryant Park Hotel is definitely where I dream of staying one day. It is a black and gold building who doesn't want to stay in a black and gold building. 

SEE?! Such good views. Let me live in the Bryant Park Hotel please

After a long day two days of walking, I think it is fair to say that we had a wonderful time in New York. My legs hurt for a few days after, but it was all worth it. I don't know when I will be back to New York, as I am moving to the other side of the world, but I do hope to be back one day. But for now, Australia is calling my name. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you would know that I recently went on a trip to New York City for a couple of days. If you don't follow me on Instagram... what are you doing? After 3 years of "we should go on a trip together," my friends (Maddie and Tori) and I decided to go on a quick trip to New York City. We had all been to New York before, so we wanted to have a trip that allowed us to see parts of the city that we had never seen before.

Maddie, me, and Tori (left to right) with Central Park in the background

We also decided to try out using Airbnb for this trip as the hotel prices were a bit out of our price range. I am like the number one Airbnb fan, I spend so much time looking at places around the world without actually having any travel plans. Our experience with Airbnb was wonderful! We stayed in a cute little studio apartment on the edge of the neighbourhood Hell's Kitchen. It was walking distance from just about everything that we wanted to do, as well as close by to a few Subway stops if we needed to go anywhere a bit out of walking range. It was really a great experience and I will totally use Airbnb again. (If you are interested in signing up for Airbnb, please feel free to use my link for a $30CAD travel credit).

To start out the first day we went to Sarahbeth's for brunch at their Central Park South location. On our way, we bumped into Spice Girl, Melanie B (Scary Spice). An unexpected celebrity sighting made it very clear that we were in New York.

Mel B/Scary Spice!! My 6 year old heart was very very excited

After brunch, we decided to take a walk through Central Park. It was a beautiful, hot day, which was absolutely perfect for exploring the park. There were tons of people out in the park enjoying the day. We walked all the way up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we decided to leave the park and explore the Upper East Side. The Upper East Side gave us a dose of the lifestyle of the wealthiest New Yorkers. We saw countless nannies and dog walkers, and began to feel extremely poor and irrelevant.

Me in Central Park 

On our way out of the Upper East Side we made a pit stop Sprinkles Cupcake shop. I got the vegan red velvet cupcake as it was the only vegan option on the menu for me. It was REALLY good. I'm not used to eating sweets anymore, so it was a bit too sweet for me, but it was still a really good cupcake and I would definitely recommend it for a yummy vegan sweet treat!

For the final part of the day we went to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and Top of the Rock (rooftop of the Rockefeller Center). We got a good package deal for both attractions which helped us save about $15. I had never been to the MoMA before as the line was huge the last time I tried to go. I am not even going to pretend that I have any knowledge about art, so all I'm going to say is that it was a really cool museum. I really enjoyed it and I think I took pictures of everything in it.

Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein (1963)

The Top of the Rock was really really cool. It was kind of like going up the CN Tower in Toronto (not as tall) but it was a good opportunity to get a view of the whole city. I had been up the Empire State Building before, but after waiting two hours to get to the top it was not something I wanted to do ever again. The Top of the Rock gave us the chance to have that rooftop view of New York with the Empire State Building in it, which is a really great view if I do say so myself. I honestly think it is so much more worth it to do that than going to the top of the Empire State. Real talk you need the Empire State Building in your pictures of New York for a good Instagram post. It is a must.

View of the Empire State Building from Top of the Rock 

After a long day of travelling and walking, we finally decided to head back to our apartment with a quick stop in Times Square for some classic tourist pictures. And then we all fell fast asleep preparing for day two in New York.

Us ft. the bright lights in Times Square

I decided that since I am moving to the other side of the world, I should make a list of things that I would like to do when I move. Some things are quite big, and others are very simple. But still, they are all things that I really want to do. There are only 2 months left before I go, so I thought now was a good time to get thinking about what I want to do when I get there, and as I figure my life out. I could only come up with 8 things right now, so here is my really short bucket list.



1. Travel Australia.
I proclaim that I love Australia, but I have really only seen about 1/8th of the country. I would love to travel across the whole country to see how beautiful it really is.

My sister and I on Cambewarra Mountain, NSW. 

2. Visit the Save A Cow Sanctuary.
If you have no idea what I am talking about, the Save A Cow Sanctuary is, well, a sanctuary for cows rescued from factory farms. It is located in Queensland, and is home to 150 cows. They are able to roam free in this sanctuary without having to worry about any slaughter houses. The sanctuary has an open house every month, and I would love to visit and interact with these beautiful animals.

Photo from: @save_a_cow

3. Travel Southeast Asia.
So this is one of the big ones on my list. I have a few friends who have travelled Southeast Asia and their Instagram posts have made me want to go SO BAD. I really want to explore more of the world. It is a lot cheaper to travel to Asia from Australia than it is from Canada, so it is something that I definitely need to do.

4. Go to a Cricket match.
Ever since I was little, I always watched the cricket with my Pop when I was visiting Australia. I have never been to an actual match, so that is something I would really love to do. I know he would've loved to come with me, but I will just have to go in his honour.

5. Learn how to drive on the opposite side of the road.
If you didn't already know, Australians drive on the opposite side of the road than Canadians. I haven been driving in Canada for four years now, and think of myself as a good driver. But now I am going to have to learn how to drive all over again. I have my full license, which means I can just transfer it over to an Australian one, but I will definitely need to do some lessons before I drive on my own.

6. Travel New Zealand.
As I said before, I really want to explore the world. Since New Zealand is Australia's neighbour it only makes sense that I do some travelling over there as well.

7. Try Cocowhip.
Okay... if you don't know what Cocowhip is you seriously need to check out their Instagram right now (@cocowhip). It is coconut soft serve (completely vegan) and looks so so so delicious. It is available at a few cafes throughout Australia. It better be the first thing I cross off of this bucket list.

Photo from: @cocowhip 

8. Keep up with this blog.
And finally, I really want to make sure that I am keeping up with this blog. I don't know how often I am going to post, but I hope that I will keep up as much as I can. And of course, as I begin to cross things off of this list I will keep it updated. And I hope I have readers that will keep up along with me.