the best of 2011

The year of 2011 was definitely full of those "BIG" moments for me. I traveled to B.C. to see my sister getting married, I traveled to Europe for a month in August, and was accepted into teacher's college, my next step towards my hopefully full-time career. But of course, there were also those little moments that made the transitions between those big milestones memorable and kept me smiling in a year plagued by illness (food poisoning and being ill for a month? Yeah, definitely not planning on doing those again anytime soon). 

Around this time last year I posted my 'year of 2010' review, and it's honestly amazing that two of my 'small' dreams (getting into teacher's college and Europe) came true. My dreams for next year? Go to Vancouver again to see my new niece or nephew and my family, hopefully graduating successfully from teacher's college and finding a job (pretty please?) and keep up the happiness with me and The Boy and my friends and family. As for my resolutions? That's for next post ;) 

What was your most memorable part of 2011?

What are you looking forward to next year?

And everyone wish the lovely Kathy at vodka and soda a Happy Birthday! :)
Now, it's time for a recap - backwards!

DECEMBER has tugged at my heartstrings; I had to say bye to my amazing grade 8 classroom, but am finally on a deserved two-week break and I've already gotten to catch up with my closest friends in the form of an Ugly Christmas Party (we're rocking 'em above) and getting to spend more time with The Boy and my family in the form of Christmas dinners and movie nights. I honestly don't want to go back to classes. And we finally got snow, whoopah!

And November-January are found under the cut! :)

Read more »

left a piece of my heart

I'll admit, I left a little piece of my heart back in British Columbia. While the rest of my life might be in Ontario (or Onterrible as some B.Cers call it), my heart remains back where my sister and my niece and my new brother-in-law are, where the sea meets the sky over a highway, where I can meet amazing people like Sarah and Kym (again!!) and do lots more jumping/levitating photos. There's so much to say about that one week in B.C. and I know I couldn't sum it up in one post ... so instead, here's some 'teasers' of what I've been up to :)

My sister & J said "I do"

The invite promised it'd be "anything but boring" and it delivered: a teary-eyed ceremony with a beautiful bride and groom, followed by a relaxed dinner with amazing food (and my dad losing a tooth, but more on that later! haha), then taken up a notch when all the 'adults' left leaving us late teens, 20s and 30-somethings to party it up and have the time of our lives (and dancing to BEP's "Time Of My Life"). I promise, lots more details to come (unless my sister wants to share them, in which case I won't spoil it!). Either way it was a beautiful night and I am SO happy for her and J!

Being vampires at the after-party :D

P.S. I've got The Boy hooked on The Vampire Diaries, bwahaaha.

All dressed up with my mamusia.

When I wasn't spending time with my family, I managed to meet up with two awesome gals; though I only got to see Kym for a bit, I loved every moment and wished we lived in the same city (or at least province!). We graduated to levitating photos, ate some yummy gelato, and got suckered in by U.K. accents (more on that here!). P.S. shameless plug, vote for Kym and her amazing t-shirt line here!

Bees + Kym! And trying out an Italian eatery with a southern name with Asian employees haha :) Love you lots Patty!

A British man held my camera to take this photo haha. 

Gah, Vancouver scenery is b-e-a-utiful.

This trip felt entirely too short - there's so much of Vancouver I wanted to rediscover and explore, but I'm psyched I got to see where my sister now lives (Squamish) and do the touristy things every tourist has to do while visiting Whistler! Plus, see how darling my niece is and how genius she is ... especially when pretending to be a raptor or a zombie :D

In Whistler, baby!

Since then, life has been about catching up with friends, reclaiming my summer school job, learning how to drive(!!!) and planning The Boy's upcoming birthday :) OH! And finding out that I now have 200 followers ... you are ALL AMAZING. I love following your blogs, love the friendships that have been made, and am definitely planning a proper way to say THANK YOU!!!! to come soon :)

Thank you for the well wishes for the trip - it's one I won't forget and I just hope I get to go to B.C. again soon. And now I just have to get back into the swing of blogging properly again, we'll see how that goes!

Is there a place that you've left a little piece of your heart to?

And any plans for the weekend? Hope it's great! :)

simple smiles #42

When two weeks go by without posting it means that either a) there's lots of stuff going on or b) I'm playing way too much Sims. Fortunately it was more of an a) mixed with me just feeling extreme gratitude for all of your comments on my last post ... you all made my heart warm and fuzzy with all your congrats. THANK YOU! :)

Since then, life has been about enjoying the quiet moments, trying to remain calm in the moments where you're in a hall for 25 hours with a bunch of hormonal teenagers and you tell them not to eat to raise money (craziness, I tell ya), and counting down the days until I go to Vancouver!

Strange to think that in a month I'll be celebrating mine and The Boy's three-year anniversary while standing at the front of a room, watching my sister walk up the aisle and marry her man :) And that in less than a month I'll get to meet Patty (/Kym) again! YIPEE!

For now, here are some moments of simple smiles or simple realizations that I've had over the past couple of weeks.

Simple Realization #1: I never really understood my sister and mama's fascination with footwear - until last week when I acquired three new pairs of shoes. On the left - the heels I'll be wearing for my sister's wedding. In the middle - shoes my mom purchased 3 years ago that were too small ... and which she (I would like to think, somewhat reluctantly) bestowed onto me. On the right - nude pumps for my size 9 feet. Looking at this picture, I tend to like neutral-coloured shoes, hmm.

Simple Smile #1: Snailmail in the form of a 'will you be my maid of honour' card from my sister (I responded with a resounding 'no', hehe) and a lovely postcard from Sierra courtesy of the postcard project! Annnd if you're reading this and haven't sent out your postcard yet - please do it haha. I promise I'll be sending out reminder emails soon :)

Simple Smile #2: Delicious food in the form of Subway with The Boy before seeing Your Highness (hysterically weird) and my latest creation in the kitchen - chocolate chip cranberry cookies (a modified version of this recipe!).

Simple Realization #2: How each bus trip adventure, each tickling fight, each hug can make me fall more in love /cheeeeesy.

Simple Smile & Realization #3: That nights with bubble tea and trying out Soju while watching Boys Over Flowers is a perfect way to spend a night with friends.

Simple Realization #4: That keychains don't last forever. A few months ago, yoyo (the green one) started to lose all of his colour, and then last week, hoops (the pink one) decided to breakaway from my house keys. 'Twas a sad moment ... and also made me realize I'm a tad bit obsessed with anything hoops & yoyo.

Simple Smile #4: Books. I love to read, and the library feeds that craving magnificently. I also borrowed The Book of Awesome which is, in a word, AWESOME! and inspired me to create my own little series ... if I can actually stick to it (this is a reminder for me to stick with it!).

Simple Smile #5: Two pigeons sought shelter on the ledge outside my kitchen window from the crazy weather this past Sunday - in the span of two hours it went from ice pellets and extreme hail to a thunderstorm to ... snow. In April. So two little pigeons decided to just hang out by my window, though one flew off when I took out my camera (my dad thought maybe he was camera shy).

So that's what I've been up to in a few random snapshots; this year seems to be going by more quickly than any other year, which only gives more leverage to that whole "time goes faster as you get older" idea. That could be part of the reason why I haven't updated here, but either way I'm excited for the weeks to come and promise to keep more in touch!

Now I must ask:
What's your simple smile or
simple realization of this past week?

Hope you had a great weekend!

why, hello there!

I'm dreaming ... of a warm spring. I look at posts like this from my teacups in peony and relish with the idea of sticking my toes in the grass without the possibility of gettting frostbite. Alas, Mother Nature isn't cooperating up here. So I've been spending my days indoors, but been up to quite a bit since my last update. And, if you haven't already, it would be amazing if you would sign up for the Postcard Project in the post below. Many of you have requested Europe, so any Europeans - sign up, merci beaucoup! :) And many many thanks to all the people who have recently followed my blog - once it hits 200, it's giveaway time!

Now, to take a leaf out of Patty's blog (haha), I'm going to give a glimpse of what I've been up to for the last couple of weeks:

I know that doesn't look like the most appetizing cake, but it makes me happy to see things I've made being devoured by my dad in a matter of days ... or maybe it's because he has a really large sweet tooth. Either way, I've been making loaves and a coffee walnut cake and hopefully going to bake another cake today! (by the way, smacznego means enjoy your meal in Polish)

Just last week, I did something that no twenty-something year old should do - spent four days in a basement of a building with a bunch of teenagers, learning about the rules of the road. Yes, I finally did driving school and am soon starting my in-car lessons and I'm a little terrified but ready to be like Jason Statham in The Transporter if I need to be. D'you like my drawing on my notes? :P On top of that, I've been trying to learn The Boy's mother tongue, which involves doing weird things with my tongue that I've never done before (as in the accents are a lot different than English, nothing dirty!).

After I finished up driver's ed, me and The Boy celebrated three years of knowing each other (for the story, click here!) in the form of homemade pizza and a DELICIOUS cake. He said he searched specifically for a cake with strawberries and kiwis since that's my absolute weakness :)

Finally I've been planning ... though more so daydreaming, I'll admit! My sister is getting married in just under two months in Vancouver and I'm SO excited to be her maid of honour ... plus head back to Vancouver, period! I am in love with city and can't wait to explore it again, and showing it to my parents (and hopefully The Boy if he can come)! I'm so unsure about vacations like Cuba, but at least this one's a given. Can't wait to see my sister & niece again, and I know I'll be the sobbing MOH.

On top of that, it's just been a lot of webdesigning, trying to see friends as much as I can, and getting excited to send a postcard!

What have you been up to lately?
And what's the last thing you baked?
[if you don't bake, what's the last great thing you ate?]

oh, the insanity!

Happy 1/11/11! Or is it 11/1/11? I've never been able to figure it out - on the one hand it reads January 11th, but the other reads the 11th of January, which one is more common? I'm never sure what order to put it in. Hmm, the things that are on my mind on a daily basis could fill a book ... or a blog (bwahahaha).

Also today? My sister's birthday (and my niece's birthday is this week, too)! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Make sure to wish her a happy birthday! right over here. Love you and miss you! Annnnd also today? A winds-so-strong-you-feel-like-you-can't-breathe snowstorm in southern Ontario. I exclaimed to my mama, "I hope there's a snow day tomorrow!" and she went, "But you don't even have classes to go to!" Ah yes, the sad reality of life.

 The snow coming down outside my window earlier this afternoon (looks a bit creepy, doesn't it), and two birthday celebrants this week: my sister & my niece.

So to fill up time, I've watched Tangled with my amazing friends (such an adorable movie, I want to own Maximus), cuddled with The Boy, celebrated another friend's birthday (my life is full of January babies) as well downloading this thing called the Insanity workout. And while it might not literally drive you insane, the level of intensity is insane. I tried doing the fit test and by the time the fourth move came around, I was crouching down, feeling like my chest was about to collapse, my ears were all plugged, and no amount of water could satisfy. At least I wasn't doing this workout in public. I definitely need to build myself up, yesiree bob. Wish me luck?

 I'd love if the picture on the left was part of my kitchen or something, but alas it's a restaurant I went to - and had a scrumptious salami provolone sandwich.

Other things this week - the lovely BonBonRose Girls are celebrating two years of blogging, KS from While We're Waiting... is officially becoming a lawyer(!), and I'm ... still on the lookout for a job. Wish me luck on that too, por favore. 

How's your week been so far?

If it hasn't been so chipper (and you like caffeine), then: 

 I've had the blessing of enjoying lots of coffee this weekend over amazing conversation, and hope you get to do the same this week (over your beverage of choice, o'course). 
'Til next time :)

wednesday wishes: back to the west

My bum, it buuuuuurns. Today marked my first day back going to my university gym (I've been working out at home for a year now) and realized that I'm grateful for their machines but not so grateful for the people who either hog them or the bunch of guys who stare at you as you're doing the butt machine - conveniently located by the water fountain. But anyhoos!

I'm slowly trying to get back into the whole "themed" posts I did way back when. Because when it comes to mid-week, hump day, whatever you want to call it, all I can think about is a) the weekend; and b) all the places I'd rather be than my city right about now.

My last post was all about mellow Autumn and I'd honestly much rather be lying on some warm sands getting my (safe) tan on, but the place I'm daydreaming of is only about 2 degrees warmer than here and has rain in the forecast for the next week. 

I want to go back to British Columbia. When I hear amazing news like Kym's engagement, or realize that I miss my sister and niece like crazy, I miss how easy it was to just see them. It's been two months since I took a trip out there and now I just want to be back in the west. I think this is my danger in wanting to travel the world - I get so attached to the few places I've been, namely Poland and Vancouver. I'm going to try to apply to teachers college in Vancouver and regardless of what happens, I know I want to visit again soon.

Here are just some things I miss - or some things you should see if you ever take a trip there:

I love how it feels like you've stepped into a different time in Gastown.

I love that I could take pictures of my niece anytime I wanted to.

Bowen Island = amazing, and Daiso is the best dollar store around.

Trying out new places to eat and jumping like a madwoman with Kym in Steveston.

Seeing an amazing mixture of ancient architecture with new architecture.

Taking a dozen water taxis with my sister to explore Granville Island, Yaletown, and KOOZA!

And I'm pretty sure if I lived here as a student I would spend half my days at that library, and my "party" weekends up at Whistler. Ahh, delight.

What places have you been daydreaming about lately?

live from vancouver!

You know you're in Vancouver when all the ads on the Internet keep talking about day trips to Whistler and Groupon tickets for Vancouver restaurants. Such smart advertising robots! I AM HERE AND ALIVE! And currently dealing with a problematic off-on Internet situation ...

... But on the plus side, I'm here with my sister and my niece (and my bro-in-law) in a beautiful city whose "humidity" feels like a soft breeze compared to my city. I've only been here for a couple of days and am just starting to get over my jetlag, a jetlag which means I'm up at the crack of dawn-ish (6:30am) every morning.

It's amazing looking down at the hustle and bustle of the city, the boats making their constant trips, the runners who work out at any time of the day, the other fellow camera-obsessers who have MUCH nicer cameras than I have, and relishing in the fact that I have yet to be carded here in Vancouver (which is also a relief because I kept forgetting to stow away my ID in my wristlet). There's so much to be explored still, and I am stoked to see it all.

But enough chit-chat for now: here are some pictures from my first couple of days in Vancouver. And today I'm meeting up with KYM! I'm so excited and by the sounds of some comments I'm getting, you're all going to seriously hurt me if I don't take lots of pictures with her haha. Never fear, my camera is with me wherever I go :)

Reunited and it feels so good :) And a mere twenty-four hours later, we may or may not have dyed our hair (it's what us sisters do!).

With my adorable niece (who always wants to hold my hand, cute thing) on a water taxi.

Eating scrumptious gelato next to an artsy-fartsy (and I mean that in the kindest way possible) building. I've come across tons of public art, much of which I don't understand, but it's refreshing to look at compared to my lack-of-public-art city.

Standing next to the Olympic torch! It wasn't lit but y'know, it only costs $3,000 to light it up on special occasions. And my birthday is the very last day of this month. Any donations? ;) 

In a nutshell my days have been full of gasping at the amount of Starbucks here, trying out new foods, singing B-B-BENNY AND JETS loudly on the patio at a restaurant because it's our song (ever since 27 Dresses) and trying to catch The Boy on MSN whenever I can. And now it's Friday - time to take care of my niece, meet up with Kym(!!!), and take in more of this place.

What are your plans for the weekend? :)

Hope you have a great one!