L I F E // Kensington Market

This week was the start of my third term at school, where I study Fashion Marketing & Merchandising. I've been super duper busy the last six months, and have barely had time for anything except assignments - sometimes including food which horrifies me.

But the days have been getting warmer, and with the warm air a feeling of freedom (if slightly exaggerated) has come as well. So of course when yesterday my old friend Christina invited me to go downtown to Kengsinton Market with her, Sina and Jelena I said yes - I desperately needed a break.

But first we got food - how can one not? We went to Fresh, on Spadina, a vegetarian restaurant. Good Lord, I can't even begin to rave about the food. My mom is a vegetarian, but didn't raise my siblings and I to be - she wanted us to choose on our own. Trust me, I've tried to be a vegetarian.. I've got half a year and then give up. But let me tell you, if Fresh had a location within a half hour of my apartment, I would be a vegetarian no doubt.

I got the picnic burger with sweet potato fries and garlic mayo with kale slaw on the side (the first picture). It was like heaven in my mouth. I did not miss meat one bit. My other companions also raved about their food choices, especially the clubhouse wrap. It had crispy tofu and fake bacon, which Jelena says tastes exactly like the real thing.

After our little trip to food heaven, we went to Kensington Market. I especially love this place because it's so full of Toronto culture. Everywhere you look is handmade items, food markets, graffiti'd walls, and every type of person under the sun. One of my favourite places we'd visited is a small shop called Tribal, which features handmade beauty products from lotions, to hair oils, to scrubs and candles. I bought black soap, which helps with acne and uneven skin tone - both of which I've got on some level. I'll review the product once I've been using it for a while, but for now I'll just tell you that from the one use I've had, my face felt so much cleaner. Fun Fact about Tribal: it was featured in the New York Times  - so you know it's good.

Oh, I got this cute little ring from one of the places in Kensington where the man and his wife (with their adorable little boy) run a jewellery/vintage book store. The man makes the jewellery right in front of you. I wasn't allowed picture-taking but trust me, if you're ever at kensington market you'll know the place immediately - it's seriously fantastic.