17 January, 2016 will forever be etched into my memory for a number of reasons.

First off, and probably most majorly, I shot an actual rifle at an actual shooting range. I can most excitedly check this off my bucket list of 250 things I want to do before I die. The adrenaline, the smell of gunpowder, the little burns I have on my arm from this whole experience, were more than amazing reminders of just how exhilarating a new experience can be (especially when it's shared with someone kind of special to you, shhhh..). To try and put all my emotion into words would be an epic fail, what I can say though is that I don't remember the last time I had such a thrill. All the tension and nerves that kicked in upon entering the shooting range quickly disappeared with every go.

(I'm still rereading that last sentence; it just doesn't seem real!)

I can remember a time not too long ago in my life where any new experience would quickly be turned down by me for the sake of normalcy and not wanting to go outside of my comfort zone. With this experience, I can quite proudly reflect and notice how significant of a change I've made in my life by embracing new experiences, such as this! And to an introvert, that perhaps is one of the most amazing realizations and unconscious discoveries that one could make.

My second reason was slightly hinted at before, and perhaps in essence, that's all it is: the fact that I shared it with someone I find sort of, kind of, really, special (among many other positive adjectives).

At any rate, definitely being able to check this off my bucket list and add "with someone hella attractive, into-the-same-nerdy-things-i'm-into, and doesn't mind holding my hand every now and again", was the best, if not perfect way, to start off the week, the new school year, and 2016.

Bath and Body Works candles *sighs dreamily*.

To say that I have 'quite a collection' of them would be downplaying the true matter at hand, which is the fact that I'm pretty friggin obsessed, and this obsession doesn't seem to be going anywhere for quite some time.

The holiday seasons are always the best time for lighting candles (however, if you're me, the best time is quite frankly all the time. I mean, who doesn't want to have a room (or rooms) smell like 'Brown Sugar Allspice' or a 'Caribbean Escape'?). Above are a few (using that term loosely) candles that I collected during the holiday season, more specifically during the months of late October - early January. These candles range from subtle scents such as 'Thankful', which has more of a fresh, herbal, clove scent to distinct scents. A very minty distinct scent probably has to be the 'Twisted Peppermint' candle, which - brace yourselves - smells like a peppermint candy cane (the most delicious and festive scent you will ever experience). More sweet scents come in candles such as 'Brown Sugar Allspice', and 'Gather' - which is honestly like roasted marshmallows in a glass jar.

Quite surprisingly, and to my greatest pleasure, there were also some sweet almost floral-like scents. One such scent was 'Cheers', whose description is simply 'mulled wine'. Honestly, though, this candle smells like a spa!

Although I enjoy and love all my candles, there are a few that I love quite especially.



Sticking with the holiday vibe for just a bit longer, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Frozen Cranberries' as a sweet and slightly fruity scent. This was actually my second purchase of this candle (*mischievous grin*).


Again another holiday candle, which I feel is just a staple candle to have around that time of year is 'Evergreen'. This is honestly a Christmas tree in a bottle. This candle is such a fresh scent, and one that I could personally see being used in a living room. As you can see, this one is pretty much on its last leg :[ which only goes to show one of three things: how much I loved this candle, how much I adore the smell of Christmas, or both. (It's both)



Moving along, out of the holiday season, I picked up this candle as an 'early spring' candle. Yes, I give candles seasons, and no, that doesn't mean it won't stop me from buying a Christmas candle in September, or a Spring candle in January. At any rate, this 'Limoncello' candle is such a lovely sweet scent. Personally, this smells like lemon frosting or lemon meringue pie, and if that doesn't just scream deliciousness to you, I have no idea what will.



Lastly, but certainly not least, is perhaps my favourite out of all these candles, which is 'Caribbean Escape'. I love this candle for so many reasons. Firstly, it smells like a delicious fruit bowl contained in a tiny jar. Secondly, being the Cyaribbean gyal (Caribbean girl) that I am, this candle reminds me so much of home. If I could only smell one scent for the rest of my life, it would have to be this one. I feel like this is quite a fruity, sweet sort of scent best for maybe spring/summer months. This is definitely a repurchase/buy 500 of this exact candle sort of candle for me!

It does seem a bit strange to devote an entire hour and a half to discussing candles, but whether or not I care entirely about that strangeness is a completely different matter. :) #proudlycandleobsessed Xx

One of the most delicious things about moving to a new country definitely has to be sampling every single food plaza that exists. Such an experience could only lead me right to Chinatown, to a quaint little Japanese Sushi restaurant by the name of Hokkaido. With my own gang of misfits (aka my fellow low-tolerance-for-retail-customers coworkers/friends), we ventured on to have a day full of laughter, gossip, and of course, delicious sushi. (which unfortunately could not be featured here as a video :\)

Everything about the quaint little restaurant was perfect - from the serving platters, to the traditional utensils, bowls, etc. It was like walking right into an anime (which is totally a dream of mine). Of course, being that it was an authentic Japanese restaurant, as specified by Jared, who is essentially a Chinatown guru, it was the best sushi I have ever had!

Surely, the day might seem superbly normal - a group of friends hanging out, enjoying some sushi. That's the best part of it though! It's been so long since I've been out with friends by my own volition, by my own choice, without having someone blowing up my phone with a million speculative questions. It was a nice day to just sit back and enjoy the company of people. I swear to you, I hardly even touched my phone (with the exception of snapchatting and instagraming every aspect of our lunch). It's far too easy to get swept up in the work and school life, in our own problems, that we sometimes forget that the best part of being apart of this world is actually taking part in this world.

Adding this to my list of new experiences (and I'm talking about a literal list) excites me too greatly to put into words!




Makeup:
Face: Lancome Paris Teint Idole Ultra 24 H foundation (410 Bisque W), Maybelline New York Master Concealer (Light/Medium)
Eyes: Stila - Spirit palette (Jezebel, Oasis, Pigalle) eyeshadow, Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara, Marc Jacobs Highlighter Gel Crayon (Blacquer) eyeliner
Lips: Marc Jacobs (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) lipstick

Outfit:
Jeans: Super skinny high waist jeans - H&M
Top: Hogwarts graphic baseball tee - Hot Topic
Accessories: Rose gold watch - Forever 21

I wish I could tell you that this was the first and only blog I'd created in an attempt to document my day-to-day life, but it isn't. I also wish I could tell you that by this time around I should know how to blog properly, but that isn't the case either.

The truth is that this is perhaps my third attempt at creating something that at least resembles what a proper blog should look like. But this isn't a proper blog, or at least, I never intended it to be. This is something of a journal for me, for lack of having a physical one to write in. Here I intend to write on everything under the sun; my day-to-day life, my wants, my dreams, my hopes, my geeky and nerdy interests, and potentially even share some of my writings on here.

...

It's already been five minutes, and I've absolutely run out of things to say. A fantastic foreshadowing of what will become of this blog, isn't it?

Well, here's to hoping that this blog lasts a little more than three months.

Xo