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

take a hike

my favorite part of living in BC is the amount of outdoor opportunity lingering right at my fingertips. i also have the good fortune of working with some pretty incredible people who fill my 'say yes to adventure' mantra with limitless possibility. so when the offer of a camping trip to pemberton arose a few weeks ago, i was obviously shaking in my space boots with excitement.

jennie, melody, tash & i hit the road last friday after work, top down (the car, not us) and bikes strapped to the back. we made it up to whistler (about 1.5 hours away for those of you who are planning your visits for this winter) just after dark, and hit up the village for beers. lucky for us, crankworx (the mountain bike festival) was happening in whistler last weekend, making the scenery even more beautiful than usual (read: studly bmx boys). we grabbed brunch the next morning before heading up to pemberton to hike joffre lakes.

saturday morning mountain view

we met up with kate along the way, and hiked the 21km to catch all three lakes before dinner time. i've hiked a few times in my life, including the intense trek up the grind, and i have never ever ever seen anything like this in my life. each lake was more beautiful than the next, and well...let's just let the pictures do the talking:

this way to terabithia

up up & away

greetings from a glacier #postcardworthy

chasing waterfalls

after our hike we grabbed dinner in town and then set up our campsite on lillooet lake (#glamping). we woke up early the next morning and sat by the lake with cups of fresh brewed coffee (camping gadgets these days are out of this world) before driving in to downtown pemberton for the slow food cycle.

pemberton itself is an adorable tiny farm town with an incredibly mountainous backyard; and one weekend a year the local farms set up shop and sell their wares to people as they bike up and down the main road for a total of approx 21ish km.

we stopped along the way for pemberton beef burgers and the most delicious gelato i have ever had in my entire life (white chocolate lavender helloooooooo). and the fresh tomatoes and zucchini we grabbed as well are easily the most delish i've tasted.

why not wear a micro-stripe onesie when the opportunity presents itself?

pardon me for nerding out for a moment, but i am like SO obsessed with my bike and the ability to get around everywhere on it. i'm so happy it was my first big purchase in vancouver, as it has quickly become an integral part of my day. having the jeep is a wonderful luxury, don't get me wrong - but this city is so accessible that it makes unnecessary to use anything more than two wheels.

i digress. we hoped back in the jeep in the late afternoon on sunday and made our way back to vancouver before dinner time. as much as i've become adverse to driving, i promise i'll take you up to the mountains when you come visit. it's hard to believe we made it home in one piece since i could barely take my eyes off the unbelievable views on our way home.

xo,
caroline

(sea)wheezy, baby

phew. another week in the books, and i'm headed to whistler tomorrow after work for crankworx, then off to pemberton for hiking, camping, & biking on saturday/sunday.

i just got home from climbing with friends at a climbing gym near work, and i've got to pack tonight before my trip tomorrow, so this week's update will be a quick one!

last weekend was one of my favorites so far (and that's saying something). the lululemon seawheeze half marathon took over the city for 3 days of yoga, running, & partying and it just created the most amazing buzz around the city. i volunteered for the set-up of the showcase store last thursday, which was a great way to meet even more awesome people in the city & be involved with the race at the same time. the company puts out exclusive seawheeze swag (which i managed to score a few pieces of), and people rock it all weekend long. it cracks me up when you can give that head nod to someone sportin' the same crazy bright speed shorts as you :-)

over 10,000 people signed up to run, and vancouver was chock full of athletes and their families & friends. i volunteered to work at an aid station on saturday morning, and had so much fun handing out water (& high fives, obvi). not only did i see a bunch of co-workers FLY by me (seriously, i work with some insane athletes), i also ran (pun intended) in to my favorite run ambassador from the store in chicago, and a friend from college who i had no idea was going to be in town!

#voluncheering (check out my sweet shorts!)

the energy of the half was INCREDIBLE, and i'm super inspired to participate next year. it'll be my first half marathon! check out the link i posted above for an awesome video & pictures, and then let me know if you want to sign up with me!

afterwards, athletes, volunteers, & guests got access to the sunset festival, an awesome party in stanley park with a humongo yoga class, beer garden, food, & a sick concert by xavier rudd. unfortunately, i did miss the yoga class since i was busy celebrating jennie's half marathon finish with the most delicious caeser of all times. (caeser = canadian bloody mary, made with clamato juice instead of tomato. trust me, it's delish...and this one had bacon.) it was the most awesome way to end race day, and i'm so lucky that i got to spend it with awesome friends.

this is my reason for being. #bacon

used & abused the sunset festival photo booth #overserved #kickedout

things slowed down on sunday, and i was able to hang out with my friend mattie, who'd been super busy working the seawheeze all weekend. she had a friend in town, and we took him to granville island brewery where we had delicious beer flights, and then wandered the island to a little fish shack called go fish. YUM.

perfect little #sundayfunday

have a great weekend...

xo,
caroline

summer in the cit[ies]

hi! i missed you! it's been a little tough to make time for blogging since there's so much fun stuff going on in my life - both in and out of vancouver. AND my commitment to blogging stands, so i promise you'll hear from me at least once a week!

so, to recap:

i was in chicago last weekend having a blast at lollapalooza with the crew! music festivals have never really been my jam (pun intended), and it was a great way to see and spend time with my peeps without having too much fomo about missing any shows. in addition to mumford & sons, ellie goulding, and band of horses, i got to see the lumineers - and they were freaking amazing. if you ever get a chance to see them live, DO IT. i almost cried, and you guys know i don't feel human emotions, so that's saying something.

rad sunset from the lumineers concert

mad love for this city.

some things never change #soulmates 

as fun as lolla was, i was pretty stoked to spend some time with annie in the gold coast, since we didn't overlap while i was doing my store shifts in chicago. we obviously hit up our favorites - went to q for bbq with audrey, and elly's pancake house for brunch after a power walk along the lake. if you feel like you've read this same post somewhere before, you haven't - i'm just 100% a creature of habit.

awkward attempt at a selfie on lake shore drive

much better.

i also got a chance to hang with the girls from the store on rush st, my little chicago family. i hit up a class with them at sweat on state as soon as i landed (and i was sore for two days afterwards), and then made my way to a juice bar before meeting dan at the hotel. of course we also made time for some shopping & an AMAZING class w/ erin at fly wheel (p.s. someone might be a convert...)

best recovery beverage ever #greenstuff

aside from my travels, life in vancouver has been so busy! i finally, finally got a BC phone # before i left for chicago (email me if i haven't sent it to you yet!) i traded in my MO driver's license for a BC one; and my car arrived this week, so i'll be taking it to get registered in the next couple of weeks. i also picked up my bike when i landed back in vancouver last monday, and i am totally obsessed! it's really great to have a feeling of permanency in this city...now i'm just counting down the days until i move in to my apartment!

new wheels!!

i'm really happy to have some roots in vancouver, since i never really committed to these kinds of things in columbus. it's great to have a feeling of permanency. speaking of permanency, i'm off on a camping trip next weekend, and to seattle the next, so stay tuned for some fun updates!

xo,
caroline