long strange trip

i really do feel quite awful about my absence from the blog lately. i've been so busy that i haven't even had a moment to catch my breath. so here i am, comin' atcha at midnight on a sunday, on the second night in MY BED! my real bed, not dan's bed or audrey's couch or a hotel room in vancouver/nyc/chicago or mom's house in st. louis, or temp housing in vancouver or a cabin in whistler. my bed. in my new apartment. exactly 4 months to the day when all my stuff was packed up from my little GV apartment this past may. time flies, eh?

the last time we caught up, i'd just come back from a weekend in whistler watching the gran fondo and enjoying the last bits of summer. that next week, i dealt with some mild to moderate apartment issues (long story short: there were a few quality issues with the apartment condition when i moved in, and i chose to break my lease and find a new place to live rather than stay in an apartment with yucky quality floors) during the week, which left me scrambling to find a new apartment before my stuff arrived from c-bus this past week. luckily my dad came in town that friday, and was a major help in finding me a new place (and one that i LOVE...just wait for the pictures) in record time.

so dad arrived that friday, and we had a great time exploring BC! on saturday morning we drove up to squamish in the rain and fog (about 45 minutes up the sea to sky highway) to hike the chief with mattie. the hike is an awful lot more pleasant than the grind...although still plenty challenging (right, dad?); and the views from the top are incredibly gorgeous, especially when you're way up above the clouds. there's 3 peaks to hike, and the 2nd peak involves a cliff that you can scoot right up to and look straight down. super scary, but also majorly exhilarating. that and mountain air in general just make me a really happy camper. oh, and yoga poses in gorgeous places. that makes me really happy, too.

some views don't even need a filter. 

way way above the clouds.

my dad also had the privilege of a matt corker yoga class (you should all be so lucky) at my local lululemon store in kits. i'm actually starting to establish a routine here, which feels really nice. between hot yoga, spin, a few power yoga classes here & there and as many hikes as possible combined with to & from's on my bike, my weeks fill up with activity really quickly. and it was nice to have someone here on west coast time to share dinners with and talk about my adventures; even though my adventures seem less and less crazy as i get cozy in this routine.

kombucha of the day @ the farmer's apprentice's might need to be part of my routine

after a substantial 6-day visit, i sent dad off on the skytrain to the airport, biked off to work and had the best present ever delivered to the office that afternoon...

my faves.

more updates on these goobers this week.

xo,

caroline

hiatus.

annie & audrey are in town. just let me have this moment.

best buds take on the mountain #vancOHA

back next week...

xo,
caroline

whistler while you work.

last week was the gran fondo bike race from vancouver to whistler, a 122km ride straight up the mountain. jennie and i hopped in the jeep on friday after work and scoped out the route (aka headed up to whistler for a weekend of fun). we had a few co-workers racing on saturday, and were stoked to watch them cross the finish line.

after devouring some much needed breakfast sandwiches on saturday morning, we moseyed over to the finish, realized we'd missed scott (#goalcrush); and then decided to hang out in the yoga/stretch tent that work was sponsoring. man, is the view gorgeous in whistler. #punintended

more like gran FUNdo #lamejokes

we spent the afternoon drinking caesers in the sun, watching the mountain bikers fly downhill, and even squeezed in time for some valuable comp shopping.

that night in whistler we met up with friends for dinner, drinks, and then some more drinks...and debauchery.

and sunday morning - er, afternoon - we were up and at 'em to grab brunch and head down the mountain back to vancouver!

easy like a sunday morning

xo,
caroline

FUN.

last weekend i stayed in vancouver for the long weekend. i'd been craving some r & r, and had an even greater craving to spend some time in my city.

my apartment lease started on sunday the 1st, and i decided to have a little gathering of friends before my stuff gets delivered later in september. (i'm still in temp housing in yaletown for those of you who are concerned that i'm sleeping on a yoga mat on my floor. that only happened once, and it was a nap.) saturday morning scott and i drove over to north van to pick up a keg, because if you're throwing your first get together in canada, you better believe it's going to be as american as possible. as a compromise, i did agree to get canadian beer from a local brewery called red truck. i'll admit, canadians know their beer.

safety first!! #redtruckbeer

afterwards, mattie and i grabbed brunch, walked down granville street for some shopping and then spent the afternoon reading and napping by the pool. i've been running wild in vancouver since the moment i landed, and sometimes i wonder how my life will change when the adventure inevitably dies down. even if that happens, i've realized there so much to keep me busy in this city that i think it'll always feel like adventure. i can't wait to move in to my new neighborhood and have so many new restaurants, studios, bars and coffee shops to hang out at. that and the ability to get up to cypress mountain in 40 minutes to ski before work, i think i should be pretty set. (so, yes, vancouver friends...i will buy that cypress season pass.)

saturday night mattie introduced me to her favorite sushi place from last summer, a little hole in the wall sushi place that i'm now totally obsessed with, and then i turned in early to prepare for all the festivities on sunday. i picked up my keys sunday afternoon, then laid by the pool before going to the apartment to prep. the boys came by and built me a beer pong table out of a side table and a wooden plank they found in an alley. thank goodness for candian boys.

saturday night sushi. @annieclaggs @audbeens - get ready

these guys. #love them #BYOTable

we won't get in to details about the evening, but i can proudly say that my canadian friends have a newfound respect for americans.

we had monday off for labor day, which i spent recovering, relaxing and hiding the evidence of the night before.

it was a quick quick work week, including a day long merchant/planning/allocation off-site day with a team obstacle course/relay race and a taco truck lunch delivery; hot yoga and an awesome awesome spin class, beers in yaletown with mattie after work on thursday, and a game time decision to drive to whistler for the weekend to cheer on the gran fondo.

get ready for some rad whistler updates this week!

xo,
caroline

yes and/or no

i'm calling it 'the year of the yes.' a year in which i dangle willingly outside of my comfort zone. the year where i say yes to adventure, move across the continent, start a blog, ditch the routine, talk to strangers & climb mountains. and yes to whatever else is next as this journey unfolds like one of those ridiculous rand mcnally maps that your dad used to bring on family road trips. and you know what? it freaking rules.

last week i did a whole lot of yes-ing and found myself crazy packed with fun activities, and very few photos to show for it. monday hot yoga with a new instructor left me feeling more powerful in my practice than the week before. and yes to the amazing italian dinner afterwards with two visiting friends was even better.

on tuesday i said yes to a night of wandering a new neighborhood with an old friend before the most yummy indian dinner of my life. and yes to staying up way past my bedtime for the sake of catching up with people that have known me for years & somehow still love me all the more for it.

wednesday was a big fat yes to a quiet private yoga sesh in the studio at work with a new vancouver friend who teaches me something new about myself every day (see below), whether he knows it or not. all this followed by meeting new people out for chai at a great restaurant in my new neighborhood.

i was finally able to catch up with mattie on thursday for an adventurous outing and dinner in gastown at a new mexican place we'd been wanting to try. one thing i've learned already about saying yes is the importance of being deliberate about my yes'. people in vancouver are so inclusive and friendly that it gets easy to fill up my social calendar and lose track of time to maintain relationships with my peeps. as easy as it is to get caught up in adventure, it's double important to make sure i don't lose track of the strong relationships i've already created, whether it be my fam & friends back home (hi mom!) or my US-bred neighbor upstairs.

then of course friday was a double whammy. early morning spin class with scott before work, and a 90-minute power yoga class after work; which led right in to an impromptu dinner with great people at an oyster bar down the street.

with all this yes-ing, you're probably wondering how i haven't collapsed from exhaustion already. or if you know me really well, you're concerned about the amount of caffeine i consumed to make all this adventure possible. lucky me, the same vancouver friend from above also shed some light on the value of saying no to saying yes. of taking care of me, and knowing that sometimes...just sometimes, saying no will actually yield a more balanced self. like saying no to an early saturday workout; because as much as i like to sweat every day, sometimes that sweat happens organically when i say yes to roasting by the pool instead. and like saying no to meeting new people for drinks; because every once and awhile, saying yes to a gluten-free brownie and a full night of sleep will actually yield a more productive me the next morning.

and its even ok to say yes to letting out a few tears in hot yoga tonight in a moment of clarity when i realize how much i miss my best friend with my whole heart & soul. because it means i've said yes to setting intentions, and yes to pushing my practice out of my comfort zone, and yes to finding my happy.

xo,
caroline

sleepless

last weekend i took a bus down to seattle for a weekend of eating, sightseeing, & sporting. there was a moment where my heart soared as we rode over the border in to the glorious US of A...aaaaaaand then i realized i'd have no phone service for the duration of the weekend. i met up with a friend who also recently left columbus to work for a tiny little athletic company in portland (#frenemies) in their soccer division.

since i took the first bus out last saturday morning, i arrived in seattle with plenty of time to explore. of course i insisted on an emergency stop at the first starbucks before venturing out in the city, and then we wandered through pike's place market, which was super cool despite the overwhelming amount of tourists. 

it's no vancouver, but it's not ugly

#stolengram of the first starbucks!

downtown has some really really pretty views of the water, and there are some great restaurants and cafes around pike's place that have awesome patio views and great food. we stopped for lunch at the pink door before heading to the hotel, and then we were off to do some exploring. retail prices are so high in vancouver, so i rarely do any shopping here (shocking i know) unless i'm picking up some new yoga gear every so often (/daily); so suffice it to say that i did some serious damage at nordstrom in seattle. i also haven't had to pay retail price for jeans in awhile; and as much as it stung to deplete my bank account, it's kind of exhilarating to be buying grown-up clothes again.

saturday night in seattle was SUPER fun. we hung out in capitol hill based on a recommendation from a friend at work. it's an awesome hipster area with great speakeasy-like bars and restaurants. we started off at tavern law for some awesome awesome cocktails and delicious macaroni & cheese (america, i <3 you). then we stopped next door for cocktails at the old sage (which, might i add, has some of the cutest bartenders in north america). the last stop i fully remember was quinn's pub, where i fulfilled my craving for a delicious burger prepared medium rare #heaven.

on sunday we had plans to go to the portland v. seattle soccer game, so we kept the day pretty low key. we stopped for brunch at my new fave restaurant, oddfellows cafe, in capitol hill before driving out to gas works park. the park is across the water from downtown, and is totally the prettiest view in seattle. you can see the whole skyline, and watch the sea planes take off!! (i am such a sucker for sea planes)

brunching with hipsters #kombuchaontap

pretty decent skyline, but i'm partial to my own :-)

afterwards we went down to university of washington and drove around to check out the campus. unfortunately school's not in session yet, otherwise i would have stopped in to say hi to my sisters:

gosh i wish we had sorority houses at WUSTL

prettiest house of all of the house #obvi #TIK

we drove downtown to the stadium a few hours before the game started just to check out the scene. the seattle/portland rivalry is huge, and downtown was packed with futbol fans. i realized i haven't been to a soccer game that i wasn't playing in since like - um, i dont know...middle school? the energy and the fans were awesome, and we watched this big tailgate-like parade through downtown.

we had awesome seats in my friend's company box, really the only way to watch a game. even though portland lost :-(, it was so much fun to watch good soccer, and totally worth not getting back to vancouver until 2 am monday morning.

life is tough.

sorry for the late post this weekend, life has been quite busy! i'll make it up to you with a few extra bonus posts this week - i've been up to exciting things!

xo,
caroline