The 5 Week Challenge

The 5 Week Challenge was born shortly after a period of deep funk. I am currently away from my lovely home city of Toronto and studying for my masters degree in Barcelona. Most people think "Barcelona, Wow, you are so lucky!" and the truth is, yes, I am lucky. But for a number of reasons, that I may delve into in later posts, I have not been able to come to fully enjoy the experience.


After days, weeks and now months of convincing myself that things will get better and that I will like it here and pretending and pushing myself hard to ignore myself, I broke.  I crashed and was mentally, emotionally and as a result physically unhealthy. I have managed to upset and hurt my uber supportive boyfriend with my negativity and I looked like death for about a week (not a good look for a fashionista).


Long story short, I have come to terms and accepted the fact that my environment and surroundings will not change. I will not necessarily fall in love with my lifestyle here and there is little I can do to change the situation here, but what I can do, is change my attitude towards a shitty situation.

Enter the 5 week challenge.


The reason for 5 weeks is- in 5 weeks from today, I will be going back home to Toronto to visit my lovely sister, my amazing boyfriend and wonderful friends for a full 3 weeks (where else but in Europe can you have full 3 weeks for a Christmas break).  My challenge is to make those 5 weeks a time to focus on positivity and health through the following:


1)Keeping Busy with school and organizing outings for the week


2)Exercise- I love working out and so being hopped up on endorphins at least 4 times a week is not really all that hard


3)Health Food- I always try to eat healthy, but because I have this bad habit of "sharing a kitchen=not my own kitchen, therefore not gonna cook/ I don't want to cook for myself only" I have fallen off the wagon. I neglected fruits and vegetables and ate really random stuff.


4)Appearance- Who cares if people in Barcelona don't dress up or care to look good? My appearance is for myself.


5)No Drama. A promise I made to my boyfriend. I am lucky to have the most supportive man i've ever met by my side and I do not want my negativity to hurt him ever again. Even if I get sad, Drama will not be allowed.




Please join me and support me through my challenge. It is day 1 and I feel great.

The new move

My recent move to Barcelona to do my masters has been a huge step of my plan to focus on my personal development.

This move proved to be a bigger challenge than I had anticipated, but I am planning to go through these and DOMINATE with hopes of coming out a "better" person at the end of the program.

My First step is to embrace the positives of this new experience- and with that in mind, here are a few pictures that I snapped in my first month that put a smile on my face. 

On my first week, I was still looking for a place to live and therefore, Internet access was a privilege. I used to go spend hours at a cafe with wifi access and they would give me a cappuccino with funky designs.  

On a particularly beautiful Sunday, I went with some classmates for a hike in Montserrat. 

Serenity is a perfect word that describes what I felt once we reached the peak of the mountain at 1249m high. 

I am in love with this cafe/bakery that is way too snooty for most people- myself included. But I cant help but lust over their outdoor patio. I keep thinking of a nice autumn night spent with my boyfriend cuddling over a nice cup of warm tea.

Gorgeous French Women

I have been in France a little over 2 months now, and even though Paris is infested with people (mainly tourists), an elegant french woman is never hard to find. It is amazing how french women managed to maintain this reputation for beauty, elegance and above all grace.

When I think of french women, I can't help but have these gorgeous ladies pop into my head.

My athletic wishlist

Being active is something that has become a part of my routine. I love working out and I love the way it makes me feel and the energy it gives. I seriously love getting hopped up on post workout endorphins. I am usually the person at the gym who is never really well dressed (with the exception of my hot pink adidas runners), and lately, I have been itching to buy new workout gear. Here's whats on my wishlist so far...

It is essential to stay hydrated, and what is a better way than to do it using a high quality BPA free stainless steel Kleen Kanteen bottle? 

Super cool Runners.

Really cool hoody to wear on the way to the gym.

Opposite to my love for humongous purses, I really prefer small gym bags. This Stella McCartney tote is almost perfect

Lately, I've been into long sleeve workout gear. 

Cutest running shorts ever!

I Love TinTin

Timeless Art

Some pics from my last trip to the Louvre.

(This is probably my favourite piece at the louvre)

(This one is a close second)

Hotel Le BelleChasse - Paris

This week, we stayed at La Bellechasse in Paris steps away from Musee D'orsay. A friend had booked the room for her and her boyfriend but the boyfriend did not end up making his flight on time. She offered us her room for free and since I was already in Paris that day, we accepted.

We owe her a really nice bottle of wine for this amazing hotel. Its modern and oh so quirky. The toiletries were so nice and they had everything a girl needs- from a manicure set to make up remover pads. Here are some pics that I took of the room and the lobby- Taken with an Iphone, so quality is not that awesome.

(The Room's ceiling)

(The Lobby)

(Chandelier in the Lobby)