#origina

Three Shots X Utah & Colorado

An old char im never going to draw again lol. This was done in 2014 but i really like it. The pose (at that time) was really hard for me to make, and it came out so nice im kinda proud-

Oui Mais Non

Location: 72 Rue Jarry E 

Metro Station: Jarry

 It’s 1:30 am and I should probably be sleeping because I need to wake up early tomorrow to go to a career fair my University is hosting. It’s 1:30 and I should be sleeping but instead I am here, writing about coffee because I prefer spending my time thinking about happy memories and sharing them with 800 of you lovely souls.

That’s right, I just hit 800 followers and I still don’t believe it. To think that even a couple of people read my posts is already heartwarming enough, but 800?! Thank you guys, really.

I am here because I love to talk about my favorite experiences (that obviously involve coffee). I am here at 1:30 am because I want to push away the anxiety of reality for a few moments. And because I dream of coffee. Always. Please tell me I’m not the only one who still wants caffeine in the middle of the night… There must be some other crazy person like me out there. Or maybe not.

This next cafe is special to me because it’s one of the few that enabled me to connect with the ‘atmosphere’ so deeply. I’m going to be honest, this isn’t a very well known coffee shop - certainly not on Instagram or social media. But it’s showed up once on my “nearby cafes” on google maps and I’ve heard about it from one of my friends so it ended up on my list.

I’m not one to look at too many pictures of the location I want to go to because I do like that surprise factor when walking in the shop for the first time.Going here, I wasn’t expecting anything. I didn’t know what Oui Mais Non was all about.

But once I walked in, it’s as if my whole reality shifted to this whole different world. A warmer, colorful world. A more unique reality. A place in a child’s imagination. A safe haven that was real and there and in front of me and smelled like coffee and pastries and … warmth. Looking around, I saw so many various vintage furniture items that decorated the cafe. Some of them looked seriously gorgeous and some of them were hilarious (especially the “it’s Britney Bitch” banner).

The shop was pretty small. It had few seating and was a bit crammed towards the back. But wait. Don’t scroll through my post now in disappointment! Not yet - because the cool thing about this place was what I discovered next. As I was sitting in my little corner with my latte, I saw a little passage way in the middle of the cafe. I left my seat in curiosity and walking towards the passage, I saw that it lead to a whole other section of the cafe. More seating, more decor, more unique details, further into a child’s imagination. More people working and talking and being happy. They all looked at me as I walked in on them enjoying their coffee and good company. I looked way too excited and might have overwhelmed them with my excessive picture taking. I’m sorry…

I went back to my seat, opened my Calculus 3 notebook and attempted studying for my midterm. After about 5 minutes of reading equations, I decided to go the bathroom as a form of productive procrastination. I looked around for the bathroom. I noticed a door that looked like bathroom door but on it, it said “Not a bathroom, it’s the efls’ hiding place. Obviously.” Ah well, better not disturb them. I then saw stairs that went down so I automatically assumed the bathroom was there. I started going down and with each step I took, I was getting more and more convinced the basement wasn’t only for the bathroom. I heard voices and glass clinging… and suddenly - before me was yet another dimension to the cafe. A basement. I invite you to please look at the huge photo set I have provided because no combination of words can describe the originality of this space! Each corner was picture perfect. I made that a point by obviously taking a billion pictures. There were so many people downstairs! How could they have known? Were they looking for a bathroom as well and suddenly stumbled upon the basement like I did? There were no signs pointing downstairs… it was as if it was the cafes secret.And now I was in on it.  

This whole experience made me realize how powerful a place can be. I realized how much a beautiful environment with friendly people can affect my mood positively. At that second, I knew my week was made. My MONTH was made.

And just as I got back to my seat, closing my Calculus notebook, I saw a sign on my table that said: “Ici, on encourage les rencontres entre inconnus. Tasse donc ton sac pis invite quelqu’un qui se cherche une place. Ca va te donner des beaux points karmiques.” This means “Here, we encourage meeting strangers. So push your bag to the side and invite someone who’s looking for a place. It gives you really nice karma point” in French. What a beautiful concept. In all aspects, this coffee shop has made me feel so welcomed and amazed.

I invite all of you to try this cafe. And please - take the time to cruise around and look at every detail possible. There’s a surprise in every corner.