Author: Jessica Moy

TAMARINDO, COSTA RICA

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Somewhere within the last two weeks of 2019 I woke up one morning and felt terrible chest pains. When the ache didn’t go away after 24 hours I went to a walk-in clinic. The receptionist led me to a small room where I sat on top of a plastic bed covered with that weird parchment paper that crinkled as I waited for the doctor to tell me WTF is wrong with me. A blonde lady in her mid-50’s quickly burst into the room with a clipboard, barely looking up. She asked me 100 questions, checked me out and asked, “are you an anxious person? Are you stressed?” Yes, to all of the above. She recommended I make an appointment with my family doctor, whom I visited a week later. He set up an appointment for me to get a blood test done and when the results came back, I was very low on white blood cells. As you may already know, white blood cells protect the body against infectious diseases. If you’re low on these …

AVEIRO & ÓBIDOS PORTUGAL

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First post of 2020! Woo-hoo! If you haven’t seen my first Portugal blog post, you can read about my adventures in Porto, here. After a few days sipping coffee and reading on cobblestone stairs until sunset, I said good-bye to the magnificent city of Porto and hopped on a train to Aveiro. This vibrant town is commonly known as the Venice of Portugal because of the pretty canals and gondolas. You only need a couple of days to explore Aveiro and if you get a chance I highly recommend renting a bike and peddling to Costa Nova Beach. I rented from Biclaria for 10€ and was given a bike (with a basket!), helmet, and security lock. I was also given a map to how to get to the beach but it was a little confusing so I used my phone to navigate. Costa Nova Beach is an hour ride away and when you see the colourful houses, you have arrived! The beach was a little cloudy the day I went but it was still so …

PORTO, PORTUGAL

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I got back from my Portugal trip in October and here I am in December writing about my adventures. It’s not a Jessica Moy blog post unless it’s a couple months late, AMIRITE!? *sigh* In early October I arrived in Porto, Portugal and was in awe of how beautiful the people were.. not just kind and helpful but, FLAWLESS ON THE OUTSIDE! Airport security lookin’ all fineeee and here I was after a six hour flight with bags under my eyes and hair disheveled. Cool. From the airport I hopped on a bus that took me right into the heart of Porto and was amazed by the beautiful architecture, cobblestone, artwork, and sculptures! OH, AND THE TILES! The famous blue Portuguese tiles properly known as azulejos (Arabic meaning small polished stone). These gorgeous pieces of art are built into most buildings, used as decoration in public spaces, and can tell stories about Portuguese history, religion, and culture. My favourite part of Porto was crossing the bridge and entering Vila Nova de Gaia. I sat beside …

SUMMER LIST 2019 | ACCOMPLISHED GOALS

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Monday was the first day of fall. AKA I’m late on this post, I get it, I know. *eye roll* Every summer I set goals. I try to accomplish them but sometimes life gets in the way and you lose motivation so you end up just feeling like a huge failure but what else is new (LOL, my mental state right now like, am I ok???). In this case I didn’t complete 1.5 of the goals I set out for myself, which isn’t THAT bad. You can read my initial Summer List 2019 post here but don’t bother because they’re also listed below (I need to drop this attitude asap)*. ANYWAY, let’s see how I did… 1. Be able to do the splits. Not exactly. I took yoga classes for a month to start myself off and learned a bunch of great stretch moves to help me out so I’m half crossing this off. 2. Film an apartment tour. As of today it has 700+ views, baby! 3. Go rock climbing. Nope, didn’t have the time but …

WHEN I FEEL MOST LIKE MYSELF

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Below is a list I put together during one of my “off” days to remind myself that sometimes when I’m thrown into situations where I’m uncomfortable or unfamiliar, it’s ok to not feel like, me. Forcing a smile sucks and shitty situations happen, but no matter what I (or you) go through, it will pass. For days when I feel like I don’t belong, below are situations when I feel like I do. When I travel Exploring and going on adventures make my soul smile. When I’m with family or close friends I can eat like a slob and not shower for three days and they will still look at me in the eyes. When it’s late at night and I’m watching Netflix, reading, or writing in my journal Bliss. When I spend time with kiddies All barriers and insecurities are let down because kids don’t care what you look like, what you do for work, or how many Instagram followers you have. They just want to hold your hand as you walk to the …

MILA TURNS TWO

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My wonderful niece Mila turned two years old this month! I swear yesterday she was learning how to roll on her belly and now I see her running, singing, eating an entire cob of corn (she can do this now because she has all her teeth), watering plants, and saying how much she loves you! I’m proud of this little firecracker and how kind and fearless she has become, except when it comes to airplanes.. and spiders.. and waterslides (lol, k but same). Below is a little weekend vlog I put together and it includes Mila’s super fun over the top backyard B-DAY PAR-TAY! Thanks for watching, love you more than Mila loves bubbles.

MY SUMMER GOALS 2019

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If you’ve been living under a rock and/or don’t follow me on Instagram (how dare you), I officially bought a condo in Toronto and it’s.. a fuckin’ lot to digest. I’ve been here for two weeks and today is the first time I’ve had quality time in it without putting furniture together or tiptoeing over thingamajigs that don’t quite have a place yet. It’s still not 100% put together but it will be, eventually. But we’re not here to talk about new digs but rather my summer goals for 2019! Wait, hold on. Can I interrupt that point and let you know I’m currently watching Beyonce’s HOMECOMING on Netflix and this is literally me… IZZ SEW GEWD! Ok back on topic. You can read last years summer goals here. This year I’m going to keep it at five again because that’s a manageable number and now that I’m older, shit gets in the way more often. Here we go: Be able to do the splits. Film an apartment tour. Go rock climbing. Order a burger …

COZUMEL, MEXICO

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This blog post is WAY overdue, by almost three months. My bad. The last I left you I was in Flamouth, Jamaica and you should read that post before this one so go, right now. Done? Cool cool. Mexico was the last stop on my Royal Caribbean Cruise. I explored Cozumel mostly on my own and took time to walk along the colourful streets to appreciate the outdoor markets and street art at every corner. Fun fact: Cozumel in Mayan language translates to “Land of the Swallows” because during the months of April and May pretty little swallows can be seen in abundance during migration. The small city used to be a quaint fishing village but has now turned into a popular cruise ship port. You can’t go to Mexico and NOT have guacamole! Living my best basic life. A couple night prior we signed up for a fun excursion which included speed boating, snorkeling, and ATV-ing. It came out to be around $189 CDN each, not too bad for a full day of activities. It was an adrenaline rush …

FALMOUTH, JAMAICA

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Before you read this post, have you read part 1, Labadee, Haiti? GO! All caught up? Great. Time to talk about the next destination on my Royal Caribbean Cruise: Falmouth, Jamaica! Our second pit-stop on the cruise had us walking into a gated community with a plethora of souvenir shops and restaurants. I don’t love being confined into one place while on vacation so I ventured into town. I was immediately taken aback from the bustle, countless fruit markets, and colourful buildings. It made my travelling heart happy. Jamaica isn’t perfect, no country is, and I was advised numerous times to be safe and should not walk alone. I was with someone as I explored Falmouth but in the four or five hours we walked around, there was no moment I felt threatened or in danger. Locals were kind, did not ever try to force us to buy anything, and if we did have a question they would stop and help us out. My suggestion is to take time to walk around the city, try the …

LABADEE, HAITI

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After years of hearing my mother rave about the cruising lifestyle, I finally bit the bullet and joined her (and some of the fam) on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. Last month we all flew from YYZ to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and boarded one of the world’s biggest ship, Harmony of the Seas! If you love staying in resorts you’ll equally love being on a cruise ship. It’s not necessarily my style of travel because you are confined to one place for a period of time with a schedule of when and where to eat. But when it came to eating, I LIVED for the endless amount of American style buffets – mac & cheese, steak, curry, and brownies all on one plate. All. Damn. Day. After a full cruise day our first stop was Labadee, Haiti. This northwest corner of the country is leased to Royal Caribbean so it does resemble an amusement park filled with zip lines, water slides, and souvenir vendors galore. The best beach in Labadee (from what I could tell) is Columbus Cove. It is a …

LES PANTALONS MODERNITÉS

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Last year I was rushing through Busan Station to catch the KTX train to Seoul. It was early morning on a Saturday and I was on my way to the platform when suddenly, a young Korean lady tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and she kindly blurted, “I’m sorry to bother you but, what is your name?” “Jessica!” I responded with a smile, “what’s yours?” “I’m Rachel” she said shyly. “Umm, I’m a fashion designer, and I know you’re in a rush but I would love for you to model my clothes.” I was in shock, mostly because her English was flawless and that was something I wasn’t normally used to hearing. She mentioned she grew up in Busan, learned English in school, and now studies fashion design in France! I told her that I was actually on my way to Seoul Fashion Week and would love to work with her once I’m back. We exchanged Kakao info before splitting ways. A couple weeks later, Rachel set up a photoshoot at a classy French restaurant in …

I’M OFFICIALLY 28 – HERE’S EVERYTHING I WANT TO ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR

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It’s six days past my birthday (whoops) but I have to admit, turning 28 was the absolute BEST! Here are a few reasons why my b-day was incredible: It was on a Saturday which means I got to sleep in! When I woke up my mom made a cute little breakfast and even put a candle in my eggs (lol, it’s the little things). I hosted my first Get Up & Go Girl workshop which was such a dream come true. I bid on my first place in Toronto! I lost, but still, it was my first one and I’m moving in the right direction of finding my home. Went out to dinner with my best friends and then to a couple fun bars afterwards. My cousin Melissa baked me raspberry chocolate cupcakes and they were DIVINE! 💋😏 (hehe). As you know, I had goals I wanted to accomplish for my 27th year of life. Let’s see how I did.. 1. Start a career in a creative field I have the best job at rock-it promotions. So …

DR. FORD SPOKE UP TO PROTECT US

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“I will tell you something because I am a sexual assault survivor and the truth is, Trump the other day was speaking in a rally and said, ‘she has no memory of how she got to the party, should we trust she remembers the assault?’ And the answer is, yes. I’ll tell you exactly why. I also know this woman is smart because she’s a psychologist, she’s no dummy. If someone is assaulted or experiences trauma, there’s science and scientific proof, it’s biology that people change, the brain changes and literally what it does is takes the trauma and puts it in a box and files it away and shuts it so that we can survive the pain. It also does a lot of things, it can cause body pain, baseline elevations of anxiety, it can cause complete avoidance to remember or think what had happened to you but what I believe, what I have seen is that what this woman saw that Judge Kavanaugh was going to be possibly put in the highest position of …