Romanticizing Diary | Your Drink Your Aesthetic

In my journey to achieve the peak romantization my life, I decided that this week I would converge the following: outfits, reading, and drinks, into a cohesive venture for personal exploration. An ambitious idea, considering the weather changes its mind faster than my moods during a cycle. 4 different outfits, books, locations, and a coinciding pouch to tie it all together. Which I hope to complete in a span of four days… Well, quadruple the challenge means quadruple the reward, right?  You’d think that I’d feel tired or complain that “this is a lot of work”, but honestly, I never said that this journey of self-delusion and romanticizing was an easy quest. Hence, if I put my mind to it, surely I’ll succeed.

Coffee

Coffee is one of the many drinks I used to consume quite frequently. As a coffee girl, you consume them in different forms, iced, latte, mocha, or americano. Each coffee bean archetype has its own history and character. As a latte drinker, you align with comfort, are always social, and are ever-patient. I've had my fair share of lattes, and they bring comfort and make me feel like a socialite, but my patience is somewhat less stretchy than I would like it to be. For the heathens (me), who prefer an iced coffee in -40℃ weather, we are spontaneous, highly adaptable, and have an undying ambition for whatever it is we set our minds to. So please join me, I give myself a perpetual brain freeze with each sip, as the stormy winds of snow tread forward. For day one, my outfit attempts to define a “warm autumn night’’. I took inspiration from the infamous Rachel Green, from the layering of different garments and finishing off with my "I'm gonna get coffee boots" boots. The book that I selected was a recent pick-up called A Study in Drowning. A fantasy book that piqued my interest, and franhkly, I think it matched the vibes for this coffee session. As for location, I chose a new cafe that opened on Whyte Ave called Gathr Cafe. It's a Filipino-owned cafe, with a dark academia-vibed lounge and a cute photobooth. I got the iced mocha, which was delicious and kept me awake throughout the night. Although my eye bags didn't appreciate it all that much, it was a good sacrifice that satiated that caffeine craving.

Tea

Tea, is that the recent gossip that your asian auntie is dying to tell you at bingo or that warm beverage that combats the insistent migraine that tags along as I navigate the inconsistencies of my schedule. As much as I want to tell you it's the first one, we are here to talk about the healing powers of tea. As a tea it girl, you tend to be mindful, calm, and live a chaotically artistic yet slow-paced life. Now, like tea, you can take that statement with a spoonful of salt, well, sugar actually… As it might not be 100% accurate. But for as long as the steam from that cup of herbal essence rises, you can steep in that bliss. For day two, I wanted this outfit to give spring and light-hearted waves. A brand I gravitated toward was Muji, which is where my skirt is from. Keeping it simple I paired it with a cardigan and a classic white top that I’m pretty sure everyone has. Tea does make me feel like a fancy girl living in Europe as I gaze up at the sunrise upon the horizon from my Victorian-esque balcony. I decided that a book from the classics was the right choice, therefore little women was on the chopping block. As for location, I drove a mere 12 minutes to my favourite cafe, but not for matcha this time, oh no, but for a delicate cup of herbal goodness. Thank you to Common Ground Cafe for providing a calm, peaceful atmosphere as I sip my tea and try to conquer a book so thick my hand has begun to cramp.

Matcha

For the third day, we have the infamous matcha, my favourite out of the four. Matcha has taken over, and you see it fused with everything: ice cream, cakes, drinks, various other desserts, and even butter. As a matcha girl, most are aesthetic-driven, intentional in daily aspects, and calm. All things considered, I’d like to think I am one of them. However, how the people I align myself closest with would beg to differ… if given the chance to answer such a daunting question as to what type of person I truly am. I decided to pull from a simple and delicate yet transformative styling choice, layering. Lately, a very trendy thing these days is to level up an outfit by layering a lace cami under sweaters or cardigans. As my “matcha-forward” clothing is limited, I managed to find something that’s worth the 300 inspirational pins on my Pinterest board. This day is topped off by my daily dose of matcha from my top choice cafe, Common Ground Coffee. Because where else would I be? For my choice of literature, I found it very difficult to choose one that spoke of MATCHA. I landed on one of many heartwarming books called A Healing Season of Pottery. This book is perfect for the current weather that’s decided to plague my surroundings for the last few months. As I take a sip of my hot matcha latte, I’ll continue to flip through the pages, and hopefully, I’ll find myself calm and ready for the obstacles to come.

Chai

Chai, if I am being honest, is my least favourite out of the four beverages. I wanted to branch out and be adventurous. Well, as adventurous as I could get with a drink that is quite literally a global staple for many.  Although it’s tempting to fuel myself with the ever-reliant matcha that I’d 100% enjoy any day. The banana chai latte sounded just as intriguing. I associate chai with something chic; therefore, my outfit choices were minimal yet sleek. I chose a top that was unique in silhouette, but the colours were earth-toned and simplistic. Following the theme of spiced but classic, my book choice was The List of Suspicious Things or The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I felt that it was the perfect book to complement the spice and sweetness the banana chai brings.

Pouches

As seen in all the photos presented, accompanies my very own book pouches from Iyanna Studio. All handmade with three new colours for spring and summer. As someone who brings everything and anything during my café trips, my books tend to get roughened up by the scary abyss that is my go-to bag. Therefore, the best next thing is cute book pouches to protect my books and provide a cute design to stare at whenever I get distracted by gossip from those who are mere tables away from me. All three new book pouches will be available at upcoming markets and online for purchase. If your bag is anything like mine, it might be time to get an adorable café-themed book protector to shield your books from accidental open lipsticks, the hand cream that’s bound to pop open, and the water bottle that somehow loosens and spills.