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