west side wanderings

hi!

the last two weekends were jam packed with adventures!

first a trip to LA to visit one of my best buds. much needed girl talk with a best friend + warm, sunny weather = a californian oasis that i can't wait to get back to.

we beached, we shopped, i ate a cheeseburger. what more could you want?

then last weekend a bunch of us rented a cabin on Mt Baker in Washington, for a weekend ski trip. what a blast! after a much needed stop at Trader Joe's on the way, we cooked big dinners, Cards Against Humantie'd, drank delicious coffee, snowshoed (YES! i snowshoed!), and spent a great day on the mountain before heading back.

i'm loving spending time with new friends from vancouver, and i'm finally starting the get the hang of this skiing thing. just in time for a trip to whistler with dan next weekend!

xo,
caroline

vaminos

sometimes we go to whistler on a whim on a saturday and i get home too late on a sunday to download you on the full scoop.

here's a spoiler:

i am going to be SO sore tomorrow.

xo,
caroline

west coast winter

another quick week, as interrupted by a mid-week celebration of new years! which was a quiet night on the west coast, by the way. i'm used to spending NYE celebrating with my sistas in chicago, so this time was a bit different. i finally broke free of those silly open bar parties that we used to go to in the past, and stopped by a couple of house parties to ring in the new year. the funniest thing is that we actually missed midnight, as most people in vancouver choose to spend their money on snow & water gear instead of televisions (myself included).

this weekend was absolutely gorgeous in vancouver, as the clouds parted and the sun was shining! sadly, this means our lack of snow hasn't been resolved, and there's no fresh powder on the mountain (save for whistler, who got a foot over the weekend). this week we have plans to get to cypress, so here's hoping we get a bit of what my family and friends in the US got this week :-)

friday was prime for some delicious pizza & beet juice cocktails before turning in early. on saturday the sunshine was just screaming for me to go play outside, so i dusted off the old bicycle and hit the seawall for a ride.

a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

this might be where i almost hit a tree.

i'm getting so good at bike selfies!!

honestly, i could fill a whole post with these photos.

after a quick coffee date with jennie & melody, it was off to a friend's for a delicious dinner he threw a bunch of us in his amazing apartment!

photo cred: @jennie

after dinner we wandered around main st for a few drinks. nights in vancouver are awesome since the west coast is so laid back. it's totally in line with how i like to spend my evenings: good friends, good conversation, & a few beers...all before midnight :-)

just how i like 'em: short and, uh...stout.

xo,
caroline

'tis the season...

...for family, friends, food, & fun.

so i did all of those things this past week.

i spent xmas in vancouver this year; and while i definitely missed spending the holiday at home with family, it was nice to have a low-key week. i went to a slow hot yoga class on xmas eve, and then went over to matt's house for dinner with his sister and two friends. don't get me wrong, my fam makes a mean xmas dinner, but this was a feast unlike anything i've had in vancouver to date. (granted, the majority of my meals are either scrambled eggs or sushi take out from the place across the street). matt's friends emma & josh did an amazing job prepping a local, organic, gluten-free menu of lamb, sauteed kale salad, smashed sweet potatoes, etc etc. not to mention our charcuterie appetizer or my very favorite chocolate diablo cookies. after that, i could hardly stay up waiting for santa i was so full! we all slept over at matt's and woke up early (ok...everyone else woke up early and i slept it) to open presents!

it's beginning to taste a lot like christmas!

i went home before xmas brunch to skype with the whole family. the little ones are legitimately the cutest things on the planet, and it was so adorable to hear them talk about their new gifts :-)

the rest of the holiday flew by, and it was back to work on thursday to finish out a short week. this weekend was awesome and low-key as well. there hasn't been as much snow as in previous years (so i hear), so we didn't make it back up to cypress again this weekend, but i'm looking forward to more snow in the new year!

the ski boots were lined up by the front door with care...

this saturday, matt, melody & i took the jeep down to bellingham, wa, for a day of USA shopping! we were able to mail some packages, have a delicious lunch (& ice cream) in downtown bellingham, and do some major damage at trader joe's and target. oh how i missed them.

americaaaaaaa, the beautiful.

kid in a candy shop!

this is better than a shopping haul.

this morning i turned off my alarm for the first time in forever (what a great feeling!) and then tried out a new brunch place with my friend james. although it was a bit out of the way, we were delighted to discover chorizo eggs benedict and pulled pork pancakes. all these yummy destinations have me very excited for my half marathon guests that are coming this summer!

see you next year :-)

xo,
caroline

up, up & away...

on account of the mild flu that kept me stuck indoors with no adventures last weekend; i'm excited to say that i'm finally caught up on the blog! as much as i'm sure you'd love to see selfies of me napping and eating chicken soup while looking miserable, i'll save them for another time.

quiet saturday from my sick bed.

so...let me tell you about THIS weekend!

thursday we had a little potluck for my team at work at a co-workers house. i made my mac n cheese for the first time in canada! it was delicious, with all of it's dairy-laden, meaty, gluten heavy goodness! also, side note: i work with the greatest people. 

on friday morning i woke up to my first vancouver snow!!! (!!!!!!!) it snowed ALL night, and all the fresh powder was SO beautiful outside my window when i woke up. plus, my winter commute is like TOTALLY awesome when there's snow outside. i seriously can't believe that less than 6 months ago i had a 25 minutes highway drive to work, and this week i threw on snow boots and walked for 12 minutes to the office. it's just the best life.

...it's off to work i go!

oh right, the weekend. friday night was really low key with sushi and drinks. saturday morning i got up for a sweaty spin class for the first time since being sick. gosh, did it feel good to sweat. matt and i did some shopping in the afternoon on south granville, and then i met up with jennie and melody for drinks and dinner at alibi room...where they have the most delish burger (that they cooked to my desired temperature...shhhhhh!!!). this morning we woke up early(ish) to head up to cypress mountain. 

cypress!

the mountain is about a 40 minute drive from the city, just a bit of the way up the sea to sky highway. jennie, melody, & i all have season passes; so it was a great opportunity to get some turns in...i needed the practice!

my fave ski bums!

i'm feeling much more confident in my ski skills after today! cypress is a little less scary and intimidating than whistler, as the runs (the green ones, at least) are a little less steep. 

i'l be up, up, & away...

our skis cuddling on the lift...as stolen from jennie

this week will be a short one with xmas falling on a wednesday. while i'll definitely miss over-eating and opening presents with my blood-related family, i'm so grateful to have such an inclusive vancouver family to spend the holiday with. (don't worry mom, i wont be sitting at home waiting for santa all by myself!)

xo,

caroline

downhill from here

sometimes (and it seems like almost all the time these days) you've got to take risks. 

exhibit a: your friends tell you that you'll need to learn to ski this winter if you'd like to see them, and you decide to commit, full speed ahead. the gear procurement was easy: one pair of skis, some boots and bindings, a new coat, some snow pants, socks, gloves...must i go on? re-visiting the impact on my canadian bank account is making me a little dizzy. 

quite a lucky duck to have such a patient ski instructor!

i digress. it turns out that it takes more than just cool gear (and great spelling skills) to be a skier. you have to actually get up a mountain and back down to be legit. so a whistler pass and one very patient friend later, i found myself on top of blackcomb mountain with only two narrow wooden sticks to get me back down.

all smiles at the top of the hill :-)

word to the wise: it takes an awful lot of hard work to learn to ski when you're no longer 8 years old. but in the afternoon after a morning of aggressive snow plowing, i finally (somewhat) picked up the skill set! and i am very proud to report that i'm not a complete failure! it will take a lot of practice, but luckily i have a season pass to cypress to work on it. and it turns out that skiing is a lot of fun and not actually really that scary at all! as long as i stick to the greens :-)

caught in the act!

looking legit but probably internally freaking out.

xo,

caroline

home for the holladays.

i ventured back to america last week to visit my buddies in chicago, and to swing home for american thanksgiving. per ush, chicago was a blast. dan flew in from columbus and we stayed in a suite at the public hotel chicago, with the most amazing view of the city from our balcony.

lake shore walks are only made better when...

...accompanied by your favorite people in the freezing cold.

city view from our awesome balcony.

clear blue skies in chicago <3

a chilly walk down lake shore drive, enough bbq to feed a small country, a million trips to yogurtland, and a flywheel class later, it was off to STL. but not before the biggest brunch known to mankind.

like seriously...this is disgusting. #america

i had so much fun with the fam, and was so lucky to have the gift of time. i don't think i've been home for longer than a weekend since college. i'm a lucky duck to have had the whole week to catch up!

xo,
caroline

while i was out...

november was filled with new adventures! thanks for your support while i took a little me time. i feel re-energized, and i'm back...hopefully better than ever.

while i was out:

dan came to visit, and we climbed two (yes, two!) mountains - once on a romantic grind date for two, and again with two lovely friends on the morning of thanksgiving (canadian thanksgiving, that is).

we look much happier than we felt. #almostpuked

post-grind happiness brought to you by starbucks.

heads in the clouds on top of the chief.

we went to spin, danced our hearts out with a gaggle of teenagers at a rave (yes, that actually happened), and rode bikes around the seawall. and, wild as it was for two lovers of routine, we tried a bunch of new restaurants (with some old tried and true favorite for good measure).

one of us wore enough USA garb for the both of us :-)

pretty solid backdrop for a bike ride.

mom visited vancouver too! we shopped, lounged, drank coffee on my rooftop, and ate at my favorite breakfast spot in the world...vancouver has truly nailed the eggs benny :-)

venti rooftop view with a side of coffee. 

i went to whistler (again)! this time on a ski gear procurement mission. my friends convinced me to buy a ski pass to cypress mtn (about 35 minutes out of the city), despite the fact that i haven't skied since the 7th grade ski trips to hidden valley. which doesn't count, btw. here's to hoping that i actually love skiing as much as i loved selecting my gear, otherwise i'm doomed to a life of being an apres rockstar.

caught the first whistler snow!

ski bummin'

last but so very not least, we went to tofino for jennie's birthday! a trip full of firsts for me: first time on a BC ferry, first time to the island, and first time on a surfboard. with two amazing coaches who helped me learn the basics (while eagerly pushing me out to sea), i was able to get up on the board in no time! it was so so so much fun and i cannot wait to get back out there!!

sunset ferry ride!

obsessed with everything surfboard-centric 

surf hair since '86

just a short week later i headed to chicago and STL to visit the very best of friends and family...and now here i am back in vancouver ready to start december (and 2014) with a new focused energy on creating my happy. stay tuned for details.

xo,

caroline

commit to commit.

i hate to say it, but i need a break. not a breakup, just a break. just for a month. it's just that our relationship is starting to seem like a chore...and it's not you, it's me. 

i used to love waking up on a sunday with a cup of coffee & pouring my guts out to the computer. but between moving, dan's visit, adventuring with my vancouver buds, and all the travel i have coming up this month...i just need a little bit of space to choose sunday hungover brunch instead of my computer. or maybe a slow hatha class to shake my body out when a weekend of hiking has me sore in all the right places. and i know i'm going to want to hit the surf in two weeks in tofino instead of lugging along my computer to post an update before (wet) suiting up.

it's nothing personal, it's just that i'm really busy having a whole heap of fun.

but i'll be back...on december 1st. i promise. and in the meantime, i'll give you a peak in to the last week so you have something to look forward to:

chasing the sun around the seawall.

lazy sunday mornings on my rooftop.

xo,
caroline

the best.

i'm really just the luckiest kid. this fall has been full of visitors, and i'm just loving being able to show the people i love all around the city that i'm falling in love with.

annie & audrey landed in the 'couv (thanks annie) on thursday afternoon and skytrained their way to my temp housing in yaletown, grabbed some food, and then wandered to the office to visit me. truth: we squealed and hugged and jumped so loud/hard/high that i think i truly frightened my poor co-worker who decided it was a good idea to walk out of the office with me when i went to retrieve my faves. i haven't seen the girls since july when i visited chicago for lollapalooza; and it seems like a million years ago. needless to say, it may as well have been yesterday with how quickly things pick right back up. it just is that way with soul sisters, ya know?

not wanting to waste a moment of "fun" in the city, i took the girls to cadence to catch a spin class before an amazing dinner at fable. (spotted: more than one member of the #vancOHA vacation sticking her finger in one of our three desserts to ensure that not a drop of lemon meringue went to waste).

sweatin' with the besties #thesweatlife

as much as i would have loved to stay up all night chatting & braiding each other's hair, i had to go to work on friday so our slumber party was cut short around 1am when i finally was able to calm my excitement down enough to fall asleep. the girl's adventured around south granville street on friday morning and then met me at the office for a yoga class & lunch with matt (lucky duckies, double whammy with that guy). the day flew by, and we met up with a bunch of people from work for drinks by the beach, and then did some shopping before yet another amazing dinner (this time w/ 3 appys and 3 desserts) in gastown.

cheers to fridays & thumbholes!

saturday morning we packed up for an evening in whistler, and had a quick brunch before hitting the road. squamish is mid-way up the mountain, and we stopped to hike the chief and grab a bite of lunch before heading on to whis. it was so fun to take the girls hiking; it's such an awesome experience to be up in the clouds, and isn't really something you can fully explain until you're on the trek up.

they were both a liiiiitle pissed at me at this point

it's just so beautiful when you're up above the clouds.

it's hard not to be balanced when you're all alone up here #breathedeeply

real life.

these two, i just love 'em

sunday morning took us to a much needed brunch at elements, one of my new fave spots with the most delicious eggs bennys. we also found purebread, which might possibly be the best bakery in the world. this discovery gives me hope that i'll at least be able to entertain myself on weekend ski trips even if i don't pick up on the whole skiing thing. #sconeloversanonymous

i'm a sucker for a pretty espresso machine & anything stumptown

sunday night was sushi night after we made it back down the mountain and had some much needed relaxation time. it was back to work for me on monday, and the girl's rented bikes to ride around the seawall and did some (more) shopping before meeting me at the office to walk to another community yoga class taught by (guess who!?!?) matt. what a gem, that one.

we grabbed an awesome dinner at a new restaurant that recently opened down the street and then cried about the fact that they couldn't stay forever (yet). luckily for us, i'm headed to chicago the weekend before american thanksgiving, so at least it won't be long until we get to do it all over again!

xo,

caroline