Tuesday, May 31, 2011

What I'm reading: May

I must say, May marked one of the best months I've had in a long time in terms of books. 

First, it was The Help. I had seen it in Borders, and was intrigued, and luckily found it at the library bookstore in $3. Yesss. As soon as I finished it, I handed it over to my mom and said "You gotta read this." I rarely say that, but this was so good. Funny, sweet, heart-warming, with great writing and a interesting plot that kept me hooked through the whole book. 

Next, I borrowed Bossypants from my cousin. Seriously hilarious. You won't believe how funny and relatable Tiny Fey is. Fair warning - you may want to think twice before reading this in public, it's that funny.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

#5 (Part 2)

Ok, on to Canada! We spent 4 nights in Vancouver and 1 in Victoria. We started our time in Vancouver exploring Gastown (and the abundance of souvenir shops there). 



The next day we headed to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. I was psyched for it. My parents, not so much. But we all made it across fine!



Later that day, we headed to Stanley Park and Prospect Point. We wandered around for a few hours. We peeked over the wall of the aquarium and saw beluga whales! And I promptly sang the baby beluga song for the rest of the day. And now it's stuck in my head again...


That night was the playoff hockey game between the Canucks and San Jose Sharks. The entire city was cheering the Canucks on...they won!

The next day we headed to Granville Island. Loved it! They have a large farmer's market and tons of food. I had a bagel and a delicious raspberry and dark chocolate scone that I'm still dreaming of. We took a walk around the harbor there. 



Then it was onto a ferry to Victoria. Such a gorgeous ride (and pretty sure we saw a bald eagle on our trip!). 


Oh man, I loved Victoria. If I ever move to Canada, this is where I'd want to be. It's a really sweet town with gorgeous neighborhoods, and a to-die-for view of the harbor. Here is the Empress, famous for their $58/person tea. Really?! Yeah, we passed on that. 


The Parliament building. That they let people wander around. For free. No security checkpoint. No big deal. 


Victoria had a ton of good pubs to eat at. Which I was carded to go into. (P.S. Canada's drinking age is 19. I'm 23. Thanks Canada). But I digress. Lots of good food to be had! Wish we were there for longer than 1 night. 

The next morning we headed to the Butchart Gardens. The gardens were stunning. I've never seen so many gorgeous tulips in bloom.  




We booked a reservation for afternoon tea there (for $26/person, thankyouverymuchempresshotel!) Oh man...the tea was so fantastic. My mom and I had a ball! My dad was kind of bored, but he put on a brave face. All the food was good, their truffles were melt in your mouth heaven, and I wish I could have their ginger scones every. single. day. We ordered 3 pots of tea and they were all fantastic, but we loved the Rose one the best. I seriously couldn't stop that day. I finally clocked in at 6 cups of tea! Whew. But it was so fun. Highly highly recommended!


And that's it! We headed back to Seattle and then back home. Already planning a re-visit!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

#5 (Part 1)

I promise I'm alive. I didn't abandon you little bloggie! I'm back from vacation and just getting back in the swing of things. I miss getting to take a nap everyday. 

Anyways, we spent a week exploring Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria. I've never been to any of them, and it was so fun! Plus, it allowed me to cross off #5 on my 24x24 list: go on a fabulous vacation. I'll be splitting up my recap into 2 parts: Seattle and Canada. 

First, we headed up to Seattle. We took advantage of the sunny (but chilly!) day and walked around Pike Place Market. We managed to arrive during the Cheese festival (yesss free samples) and ate lunch down there. 



The flowers there are gorgeous!


Next, we headed up to the Space Needle. It was a little bit crowded because of the beautiful weather, but still fun! And we laughed a little bit because there was a Starbucks up there (it reminded us of that Austin Powers movie where the Starbucks headquarters is in the Space Needle!)




That night, we headed to Pioneer Square and had dinner. There was a Seattle Sounders game that night, so we were pretty much the only ones not wearing jerseys! The pictures start to die off here since the rain showed up to play for a few days. 

The next day we took the Underground Tour. I'm kind of a history nerd so it was really interesting to learn more about how Seattle started. That night we went to The Pink Door for dinner. It's kind of a hidden gem, since there's no sign....just a pink door. Food was delicious, plus they put on a trapeze show (random?). Afterwards, we hit up the original Starbucks! (I always thought there would be a ton of cute independent coffee shops in Seattle...nope. It's all Starbucks. Like one every block.)

The next day we drove to Canada for a few days, then came back the day before our flight out. We hit up Pike Place Market again and ate lunch at Beecher's Cheese. If you've been to Pike Place, this is the place where they have a big vat of curds being made in the corner window. We didn't try curds (um, no thanks), but we did enjoy some BOMB grilled tomato, basil and cheese sandwiches. Yum.


I'll be back later to recap Vancouver and Victoria! 

Friday, May 13, 2011

Get your pack on

So my family and I are heading to Seattle and Vancouver in a few days hours (can you tell I started this post earlier this week? and then procrastinated on it?) and I'm trying my best to pack. Or rather, I'm trying my best not to overpack. You see, my speciality is overpacking. I'm really really good at it. I'm staring at the duffel bag that is currently occupying half the floor space in my room, and all I can think is....nice try, Sydney. You're just not meant to be a light packer though. Good game.

So I'm off to lug my ginormous bag across 2 countries and I can't wait. See y'all in a week. 

Monday, May 9, 2011

#3

#3 on my 24x24 list was to donate my time or money to a good cause. A few weeks ago, while I was jogging at the gym, I was thinking how it would be interesting to challenge myself to do a 5k. A few days after that, a friend told me about the Revlon Run/Walk (sometimes it's funny how the universe responds to you). I convinced my cousin to walk it with me. It was the first time I had done anything like that, but it feel so good and inspiring to be a part of it. I would definitely love to try another one. 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Dotty


Oh man is it hot outside. I think we should all get an automatic day off of work if the temp is above 90. Cause it's way too nice out to be answering phones instead of laying out at the beach. And if I was at the beach, hopefully I'd be wearing this cute polka dot number. 

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Princess Bride


Ok seriously. These dresses are ridiculous. Ridiculously amazing. I think I need that maid of honor's dress in my life now. You know, just to wear around the house.