Friday was my 30th birthday! The big "30", and I celebrated in style. All I wanted was to spend it with close family and friends doing what I love. Eating great food with drinks galore and deep conversations. I got that and so much more. It was the best birthday yet and I feel so blessed. What many people don't know about me is that I'm a planner. 

To celebrate my 30th, I had brunch at Maman Tribeca, one of my favorite cafes. The french style decor makes this spot super cozy and the food is amazing. Brunch kicked off with a delicious assortment of pastries that were sweet and savory. Yum! I also ordered the "oeuf a la coque", with toasted homemade breads and spreads. It's not what I normally go for but I wanted to try something new. It peaked my interests with the spreads, which happened to be the best part. 

I feel grateful to celebrate my birthday at Maman and share the kinds of foods I love with those around me. Brunch was exactly how I imagined and more. My cake turned out perfect and the decorations warmed my heart. I'm so excited for my 30s and what opportunities I will encounter going forward. This is my decade to celebrate life and simply live for me. 

       

"Namastay in Bed", my mood for the entire week. This room was my favorite at WinkyLux and for good reason. It was fun being inside here and having a good laugh. How are cool these fluffy pillows? I secretly wanted to one home with me.

Before you enter, you're greeted by a fountain of lemon and ball pit. I immedately jumped in and couldn't contain my laughter. How could I? It was so much fun. Everyone there enjoyed this pit. I enjoyed it because it made me feel like a kid again. 

 I continued my birthday weekend at WinkyLux pop up shop in Soho. I found this amazing store through Instagram and knew I had to visit before the day was over. It's a Instagrammable playground for makeup lovers like myself. Each room has a specific theme that represents their makeup product in the store. In between trying makeup on and taking pictures, there's also a disco room to loose in. When you go inside you're surrounded by a wall of mirrors with the disco ball in the middle. I broke out in a dance and was singing Lady Gaga's "Love Games", in my head. HAHA! It was so much fun. 

I had a blast at WinkyLux. The experience was great. The products are beautiful. I'm glad I discovered this space so I can put it all on Instagram. When there are places like this in the city, it makes life that much sweeter. 

From the Menu

Maple Glazed Donut w/ Charcoal Vanilla Chai Latte

Venturing into the city has its perks when you find new local cafe to obsess over. I happily found Saltwater Coffee on Instagram when I was browsing through my feed. Inside the minimal decor matches the  atmosphere and makes it super inviting. It's a neighborhood gem with some of the best Australian coffee flavors to savor over. 

During my first visit, I tried one of their most popular drinks, the Charcoal Vanilla Chai Latte. Oh boy, was I panting over this drink the moment it hit the counter. I ordered it with the Maple Glazed Donut to have a balance of something savory with something sweet. The amount of flavors together was overwhelming, but in a good way. I never experienced anything like this and I had a lot of coffee. The charcoal latte was so delicious down to the last sip. Paired with this donut and I was in heaven! 

My next visit to Saltwater Coffee was an afternoon treat. I was in the mood for some serious coffee. So I decided to try their Mocha Latte! This drink has a powerful dose of flavor in it. It's so much coffee but very creamy and delicious! Mocha isn't for everyone and somehow this drink was exactly what I needed. 

What's been on my mind lately? Traveling across America. Exploring one major city as I go and blog about it. It's the best way to be in the moment without being so consumed by social media. I find inspiration from other bloggers who travel to places I've never been. Cartagena, Columbia. Seattle, Washington. Tulum, Mexico. Paris, France. San Francisco, California. Miami, Florida. It excites me. The travel bug has hit me and here's what I plan to do about it. Solo travel over the next few months. The first city I will visit is Chicago. My itinerary will include a tour of historical landmarks, the best foods locals love, Millennium Park and the Chicago river. Most importantly, the best coffee shops in town. I've included a few on my list to visit: HERO COFFEE, Dollop Coffee, Sawada Coffee, and Do-Rite Donuts & Coffee. 

American City Tour

San Francisco 

Seattle 

Miami

Sedona

Las Vegas 

Portland 

New Orleans

Charleston

Boston

Niagara Falls

Palm Springs

Los Angeles 

Savannah

Each city with be accompanied with a travel guide. It will have recommendations on where to eat, where to stay, museum visits, and where to find entertainment. What's beautiful about America is that each city has something wonderful to offer. All you have to do is go out and explore it!  

After much anticipation, Jackie and Son, has arrived in South Orange. This was much needed in the area where I live because the only place to get coffee is Starbucks. So I was curious to try out this new cafe that served coffee, tea, and Mediterranean style food. Inside you'll find an open space concept that invites a conversation. The atmosphere is light with a warm, minimalist decor to match. On that alone, I knew this cafe is what I need. Great food and even better coffee! For drinks, I wanted something hot. So I ordered a matcha latte and my mom had a non-fat skim latte. Immediately, when I saw my drink it was almost too pretty to drink. Well, almost! I love the taste. Very smooth and definitely left me wanting more from Jackie and Son. 

On Sunday, I crossed another goal off my bucket list. I attended my first Dessert Goals in Long Island City, NY. Of course, both weekends is sold out but I made sure to get mine early. It was deliciously sweet being around all that dessert. For the first time, a theme was introduced, 'Spring Disco'. Think the 70s, flower power, and flare pants. There were 23 vendors bringing the best sweets- macarons, cake pops, milkshakes, and unlimited coffee. With a limited time, I narrowed my choices to few vendors I had to try. 

For something savory, I went for a milkshake from New Territories. The Vanilla Bean milkshake with marshallows was a dream. So delicious and very creamy. It was definitely worth the wait at Dessert Goals. OMG! For nostalgia purposes, all I could think about is cotton candy. I always loved cotton candy as a kid so this was a treat. The best part was the gold glitter sprayed over it for that extra factor, lol. 

Overall, I had a great time at Dessert Fest. The vendors all had something different to offer. The venue was small, but cute, and I adored the decorations. The 'Spring Disco' theme was everywhere and I love the disco balls. I will be at the next Dessert Fest this summer to cross another tasty dessert off my bucket list. 

It was truly, SWEET AF.

It's Wednesday, ya'll!

A few weeks ago I went shopping at Old Navy. I bought this cute shirt because it reminded me of Spring. Anything with classic stripes I love. So that combined with the bumble print is such a cool combination. Even though Spring is next week I haven't really shopped for the latest trends. I find it bit overwhelming at times. What I like to do is shop by category, blouses and cute sandals. You can shop similar shirt below from Old Navy that's just as cute. The boots are from H & M, previously seen here, and go perfectly with this color combo. I love it! 

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