TAYONTHEMOVE
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
DIY Flower Crown
A Fall Brunch – Potato Skillet & Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes
New York City in 2 days! – Part 1
Sunken City – San Pedro, California

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Central America

DIY Flower Crown

DIYs

A Fall Brunch – Potato Skillet & Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Recipes

New York City in 2 days! – Part 1

Tay Explores

Sunken City – San Pedro, California

Beaches

Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago, IL

Indoor Activities

I have this random obsession with conservatories (as you will notice while following along my blog). When my friend was visiting me last March, I wanted to find some things to do that were different than just going into the city. I was on Instagram and found some beautiful posts of the Garfield Park Conservatory and kept reading that it was FREE so that was a no-brainer. I think one of the reasons why I love going to them is because especially in the winter months when all you see are dead trees everywhere, all the colorful flowers and greenery is refreshing for the eyes. Plus it’s indoors so you won’t be freezing your butt off! The room with the umbrellas was my favorite. This was the spring installation from last year called “Sun Showers”. The art installations change seasonally and I’m pretty sure they have a new piece now which I am going…

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Blackberry Market, Glen Ellyn, IL

Eating Out

One thing that I’ve liked about the Chicago suburbs is that they all have downtown areas that are unique. And Glen Ellyn is no exception. I really enjoy walking through it and going to all the small boutiques, restaurants and cafes. A place that I go to often is Blackberry Market. They make things fresh in house and try to get most of their ingredients locally. I come here and do my work, drink hot chocolate and occasionally have lunch. I love the colors used in the interior as well as the art all over the walls. I’ve tried three of their sandwiches (Grilled Cheese, Grilled Gouda and Caramelized Onions and Braised Beef Brisket). Everything has been delicious so far. There is a tomato chutney that is inside the grilled cheese which is phenomenal! In addition, you can find a variety of fresh salads that are changing throughout the year. My favorites are the Southwest Salad and the…

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Lincoln Park Nature Boardwalk, Chicago

Tay Explores

As sad as I was to move out here, I do have to say that Chicago ended up being a really awesome city. It’s clean, easy to get in and out of, there’s tons to eat and most of all so much amazing art and architecture everywhere. In particular, I immediately fell in love with the Lincoln Park neighborhood. And I make it a point to bring friends and family here whenever they are visiting. With winter break coming to an end, I took my nieces by the Lincoln Park Zoo and Nature Boardwalk this past weekend. They have an outdoor ice skating rink here during the winter months and thought they would enjoy it. In case you were wondering, its $5 for admission and $5 for skate rentals. It’s right outside of the zoo (which is free) and in between the barns. In this area, my favorite part is the…

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Southern California – More Food Adventures

Eating Out

More food! This is going to be another quick and short post about some delicious places I dined at. Mediterranean Cafe – Pasadena, CA Who doesn’t love Mediterranean food? When I went to school in Norhridge, Pasadena was halfway between my house and school so I often stopped here. This is one of my favorite cities to go to when I am back in California, especially Old Town. Anyway, a friend of mine who lived here introduced me to this cafe and I love her for it! I like getting their beef kebab plate. SO GOOD! You will not be disappointed here. Everything is tasty and fresh! Tom’s Farms, Cheese and Wine Shoppe – Corona, CA This was such a cute and fun place to walk around at. There were a few outdoor pop up shops that were selling jewelry and other types of art. Anyway more about the food! We had a vegetarian pizza full of…

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Fish Tacos in Southern California

Eating Out

This week it’s all about food! Brace yourself because you might end up feeling hungry by the end of this post and I would like to apologize in advance for it. While in Cali, food wise, my intentions were to have as many fish tacos as I possibly could have! I’m going to name some places in order of my preference. 1. Oscar’s – San Diego, CA Although I did not get to go to Oscar’s this time around, I have to mention it because it’s my all time favorite fish taco place so far. And I would like to tell you that if you are ever in this area, you HAVE to stop by here! The tacos are a perfect size and the perfect crunch with the perfect amount of flavor in every bite. You just can’t stop eating them! A friend of mine says there is another place…

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Claremont Loop, California – A Hiking Trail

Hiking

Besides sitting at the beach for countless hours, my other favorite thing to do is hiking which is something I really miss in Chicago because it’s pretty flat here. My recent visit to California was for a wedding but I decided to stay for two weeks and make a mini vacation out of it. Trying to pack everything I wanted to do and see in that short time was very difficult. And so, for some reason I thought it was a good idea to go hiking the morning of the actual wedding. And because of that, the other crazies (my lovely friends) and I decided we would do a less intense hike so we can all stay alive when the actual time for the wedding came around. One of my friends lives in Upland and suggested we do the Claremont Loop hike which I had also heard about before so…

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Laguna Beach, California

Laguna Beach, California

Beaches

I don’t know if you are tired of seeing numerous beach pictures but this will be my last beach post for a while…or will it? This is actually one of my favorite one’s that I’ve been to in Southern California (well, besides La Jolla, San Diego but I didn’t get to go there this time around). I went here as soon as I got off the plane. I landed at 8am and was out of the airport by 9am. I left behind freezing temperatures along with snow fall in Chicago and landed to an 80 degree sunny California. So it was only obvious that the first thing I do was hit the beach! One of the reasons why I love Laguna Beach is because it has sandy, rocky, and grassy areas. All these options on one beach are pretty awesome if you ask me because you don’t always want to…

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Abbot Kinney Blvd Venice CA

Venice Beach, California

Beaches

Another beach post? Yes. And still there might be another because it’s my favorite place to go to in Southern California. In all of my 10 years living here, I never went to Venice Beach. Mostly because it is one that is near Los Angeles and it’s just a hassle to get in and out of due to the traffic that it’s famous for. My friends who know me well are always telling me that I needed to go here and that I would really like it. I was told that I should walk on Abbot Kinney Blvd as well as go to the Venice Canals and that is exactly what I did! We parked in one of the Marina Del Rey Public Parking Lots and walked towards Abbot Kinney Blvd. This was such a cool street with a lot of very artsy shops and restaurants. My friend and I…

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Corona Del Mar, California – A Beautiful Evening

Beaches

Okay, more from Chicago later because now I am in CALIFORNIA and too excited to share what I have been up to so far. One of the best parts of being here is the fact that I left right when the snow started in Chicago. So I win! (If you couldn’t tell I am not the biggest fan of winter and snow.) As soon as I got here, I knew I wanted to go to the beach. So I planned a bonfire for the very next day, which is one of my favorite things to do. For this, so far I have found that Corona Del Mar Beach is the best. It’s located in a residential area and not too crowded. There are several pits located on the sand to make bonfires. For a bonfire you need: coals (and or wood but in Corona Del Mar you aren’t allowed to…

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Exploring the GE (Glen Ellyn, IL) – Blackwell Forest Preserve

Tay Explores

This post should probably have been about the actual city of Chicago. And although the city is one of the first places I ventured out to when I got to Glen Ellyn (which is a suburb of Chicago), it’s not the first place I researched before moving. Before coming, I looked at the map of the area around my town. Being someone who LOVES being outside and enjoying beautiful weather, I looked up parks and hiking spots (for those rare winter days when the sun comes out). Much to my surprise, this area is pretty flat and doesn’t really have many hiking spots. (If I am wrong and someone out there knows of some, please let me know.) As I began researching I noticed that there were a lot of forest preserves around here and a lot of which featured lakes. The closest one I found was Hidden Lakes. As soon as the…

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