Winter Essentials: Lip Care

Hey Y’all! Now I know what you’re thinking, “why would you be going to a Hindu temple if you’re not Hindu?” And you’re right, I’m not going there for worship, but I have always been intrigued by religions outside of Christianity, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that architecturally, the temple is a sight to behold. So what was it like? Well I’m glad you asked… While vacationing in England, I was looking into what activity to do for the day when I set my sights on a picture of the Hindu temple and it piqued my interest. So one mid afternoon, my friends and I decided to go see it in person. We had no clue where we were going. We actually got lost on the way there because public transportation, at least from the direction in which we started our journey, didn’t stop exactly outside of the temple. So after approximately 20 minutes of bobbing and weaving through traffic and alleyways (no exaggeration- lets just say Google Maps can’t always be trusted), we could see the promised land ahead. View of the mandir from the street Hindu temples are referred to as Mandir. Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is nestled in a small town in Neasden, London. As a matter of fact, Neasden is a suburban area outside of the city, which hides itself from tourists. Take Note 1. Admission into the temple is free of charge. 2. If you are 16 years of age or under, you must make sure that you are accompanied by an adult or else you will be denied entry. 3. It is important to note that food, drinks, bags larger than a wallet, phones and cameras are prohibited inside and will be confiscated before entering the building. 4. You’d also be surprised to know that if you are chewing gum, you will be demanded to spit it out as chewing gum in the temple is a sign of disrespect. 5. Additionally, as one might suspect, they have a very strict dress code. If what you’re wearing doesn’t fit into their guidelines, you will be given a wrap to cover the necessary area(s). We found this out the hard way which resulted in one of my friends being given the wrap due to her skirt not being long enough to fully cover her knees. 6. Because it is a sacred space, shoes aren’t to be worn within the building. After our belongings were safely stowed away, we were handed a ticket (sort of like the ones provided at coat check), and cleared to enter the temple. Entrance doors of the temple As soon as we stepped foot into the entrance, we noticed a room on the left side containing numerous cubbyholes for visitors to leave our shoes. At first, I wasn’t so keen on taking off my shoes to walk barefoot, but the temple was impeccably clean- which eased my mind. Inside, we found numerous rooms dedicated to worship, each more beautiful than the next. One significant feature to note is that each room was filled with so much character through their use of color. It was then explained that Hindu temples are extremely colorful not because of design preference but because of many different reasons- one of which, is that it helps to keep a person cheerful. Once we were satisfied with our self guided tour throughout the temple, we reclaimed our shoes, collected our belongings by the front gate where we initially entered the premises and proceeded to wander the grounds. During our visit, we were made aware that there were 1200 exact replicas of the mandir across the globe. We were also told that if we thought this temple was a beauty, we should definitely try to go to Robbinsville, New Jersey as there we would find the largest and most grandeur Hindu temple the world has to offer. Strolling through the grounds was therapeutic because not only did it turn out to be a beautiful day (it had rained earlier), but the atmosphere was incredibly peaceful, which in part, lends itself to the spectacular views, and the sounds of the water surrounding the temple along with the chitter chatter of birds in the distance.  It was as if my friends and I were relaxing in our very spacious and well manicured backyard as there wasn’t a crowd of people to distract us from the beauty that was within those gates and it left us alone with each other and our thoughts. Whether or not visiting a Hindu temple is on your list of places to go, I say do it. You don’t have to convert religions, but you may very well end up enjoying your experience. As usual, thanks for taking the time to check in with me. Xoxo, CandyQane 💕

Hey Y’all! Raise your hand if you love taking vacations… Now raise your hand if you want to be on a vacation at this very moment. Okay, okay, I may not be able to actually see if you’re raising your hand or not, but I do know one thing, I love taking vacations and if you don’t; well I simply cannot relate to you. But what do you consider your perfect vacation? Is it flying to a Caribbean island, checking into an all inclusive resort, laying down on a towel in the sand or on a beach chair while drinking a cool beverage with an umbrella stuck inside? (Let’s pause a minute so I can catch my breath after that extremely long winded question… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, okay let’s continue…) Or do you prefer to specifically fly somewhere that can satisfy your sense of adventure where you can go exploring? Enjoying a “chill day” at my resort in Thailand Well I’m the type of girl who loves both- at the same time. I can’t have one trip where I do nothing more than relax, only to fly home and then plan another trip just to sight-see. I mean, that could change in the future, but right now I view that as a wasted opportunity. Whenever I go somewhere new, my priority is seeing the differences in culture, architecture and food before I even think to relax. If I’m being completely honest with myself– and by extension with you– I can stay in a resort which doesn’t require me to leave at any time, but the hotel staff would be lucky to even see my face more than one or two days of my trip. This sometimes leaves me returning from vacation more tired than when I left. What can I say, the world is an intriguing place. Can you spot me in this picture roaming the steets of Malta? Aside from the obviously most desired type of vacation, which is going to the Caribbean, there are also other types of vacations that one may want to embark on that is very different than going to a tropical island. These include but are not limited to: 1. Road Trips 2. Stay-cations 3. Camping Trips 4. City Trips 5. Ski Trips 6. Cruises Road Trips Road tripping in Canada with the girls Give me a good playlist and the right people and I will be up for a good road trip any day of the week! My longest road trip to date was driving from Toronto to New York to Maryland to Georgia (only quickly stopping to pick people up) and that was over a 24 hour drive. What I love about road trips are the fact that you have time to think while being on the open road, you have time to bond with those you are traveling with and you get to see a new side of family/friends- because best believe being cramped in a car for hours will show some people up! My #1 thing about road trips is the spontaneity. If you’re driving along and see something fun to do or you see a piece of nature that one can only describe as breathtaking, as long as you’re not on a time crunch, you can stop and check it out- no hassle. It’s also something you’ll always remember because it wasn’t planned. Damn, now I wanna go on a road trip. Stay-cations Enjoying an evening by the lake Let’s get real, stay-cations are sometimes necessary. Being the ‘homebody’ that I am, this is my second favourite type of vacation. You don’t have to wake up super early to go anywhere (can you tell I’m a night owl and not a fun loving early riser?), you can easily have an enjoyable girls night in your city without fear that not everyone can make it, and the best part is that you can discover spots close to home that you never even realized existed or never took the time out of your busy day to day schedule to experience. It’s also much cheaper than jet-setting off to an exotic country millions of miles away. Often times we see the gems in far away lands and bypass what is right under our noses. Camping Trips Enjoying the serenity at a cabin in Quebec, Canada As an ex Master Guide pathfinder (this is sort of like cadets but in the Seventh Day Adventist denomination of Christianity it’s called Pathfinders), I can fully admit that camping and I aren’t always compatible with each other. I mean, let’s not get it twisted, I find nature to be so peaceful and relaxing but I am more so the glamping type of female. Glamping, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, is defined to be “the activity of camping with some of the comforts and luxuries of home.” Now I won’t deny that I have always been the bougie female you have grown to know so how did I manage camping before? Well that’s a question that only Jesus himself can answer because I am still mystified. But if you invite me camping today and I know I don’t have to assemble a tent or catch my dinner or use a filthy bathroom, then I’ll have no problems going. If not, I’ll be happy to go glamping with you and I promise we will all enjoy it. But hey, some people love a good ‘ole fashioned camping experience and if this is your cup of tea, well start planning your next camping trip because summer is coming! City Trips Wandering through the streets of London, England  I am a city girl through and through so these kinds of trips always make me excited. I remember when I was living in New York and my family was thinking of moving to a lovely gated community in Pennsylvania. Sure the home they were looking at purchasing was massive and we’d have a lot of yard space, but I begged them to re-consider (which they did) because I would no longer hear the noises associated with the city, ie, police sirens, firetrucks, loud music booming from cars in the summer time, loud motorcycles, etc. Not the fact that I’d miss my friends but rather the perks of what was easily accessible to me by living in the city… priorities, right? Haha. So even now when planning trips, the city is a must for me to see. Most people love the tranquility of staying in a quiet place, and I wont knock it because there is a time and place for every kind of trip, but I love the hustle and bustle of city life. And if I can afford a nice hotel in the heart of the city, well I don’t know if I’d ever want to leave and go back home. Ski Trips Random selfie in the snow here in Toronto Skiing has never been my idea of fun but that’s not to say that I completely oppose the idea of ever doing it. Millions of people enjoy this past time simply because it provides good, clean, family fun. It’s daring and provides a thrill that seems to be addictive. Here’s the thing, I like snow but it’s too cold for me to even entertain the idea of doing any activities which involve it.  I consider being somewhere warm, with my toes hidden snugly under a blanket, while watching the snow fall outside as my perfect winter activity. I have several friends who have asked me to do various winter activities such as skating, snowboarding and skiing– I mean, I do live in Canada so this is to be expected– but until I’ve changed my perception of fun to exercising as a frozen popsicle, I’m forced to take a rain-check. You are, however, welcome to check back with me in 10 years to see if I’ve taken the plunge yet. Cruises Imagine being in one of those cruise ships behind me taking in this Grecian view! The fact that I have yet to go on a cruise baffles me. Think about it, lots of food and activities all in one spot, while visiting multiple countries in “one trip” and I don’t have to worry about planning excursions? That’s a lazy girls ideal trip. Do I sometimes have invasive thoughts that while on a cruise we will have the misfortune of slamming into an iceberg, bringing me to my untimely death? Sure! Or that someone might accidentally push me overboard? uh yea! I cant swim! Or that a disease will break out and leave me stranded far from dry land; which could also lead to my untimely death? Maybe what also gets me is the possibility that I could be enjoying one of the countries I’ve stopped on so much, that the time slips away from me, causing my ship to leave me, and knowing that my mother would in due time get her hands on me for being stupid enough not to be a responsible adult and that would also lead to my life being cut short. Hold up, this has taken an ugly turn. *smooths out my hair and slaps myself in the face, while straightening my shirt* My apologies. Cruises seem like so much fun. There are also people who only go on cruises so really, how bad could they be? Maybe one day… “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust Tweet Ever since I was a child, travel was my favourite past time. I was a 1 year old the first time my mom took me on a plane and I have been a frequent traveler since. I am a firm believer that we shouldn’t only experience life from a book or through a television screen. Travel helps us to leave some of our ignorance behind by allowing us to see and understand things we wouldn’t have if we hadn’t lived it. If you can’t afford to fly off somewhere, there are different types of trips you can take that do not require a passport. Get into it. Not all of us enjoy or can afford the same things but there is so much life to be lived, lessons to learn and fun to be had. Hopefully my list helps you to see that. As usual, thanks for taking the time to check in with me. Xoxo, CandyQane 💕