STACKHOUSE

my friend nasim and i went to stackhouse burger bar on 

granville street after a long day of shopping!

nasim tried the pancetta(fancy bacon)burger

 and i tried the portabellini(fancy mushroom)burger.

the table next to us had ordered a bowl full of 

delicious looking onion rings. 

we gave into temptation

and also decided to give them a try.

no regrets.

they were super.

the restaurant itself is modern,

or should i say rustic hip?

give this place a try if you're into 

good burgers and a good vibe!

and check out nasim's blog here:

nasimbagheri.blogspot.ca

:)

VANCOUVER AT IT'S FINEST

this summer has been a good one for vancouver.

the sun has been shining non-stop for most parts,

which is quite a rare occurrence.

my friends and i took a stroll along the olympic village which is located right by science world.

it was beaaauuutiful.

it's got this modern/laid back feel to it;

a perfect place to chillax and enjoy the good vibes.

if you're visiting vancouver or even if you're just a local,

the olympic village is a great location to go check out.

only a 3 more weeks left of summer vacay until 

school starts again!

where did time go?

enjoy what's left of this fine season

:)

SUNNYSIDE

this past week i was given the opportunity to

to volunteer as a primary teacher at sunnyside camp in alberta.

the long 18 hour drive to get to this 

magical camp was well worth it.

i encountered my first sighting of hay bales in alberta.

i didn't know that massive roles of hay that are probably double my hight could exist.

it looks so awesome when 100+ hay bales are scattered randomly across a large field of green.

the best part of the trip was being able to meet a ton of talented and beautifully crafted people.

there were musicians of all ages who could play their instruments like beasts.

there were dancers who could flip and pop to each beat in a song.

there were artists who used their imagination and soul to move their pen.

i saw so much love and support in this one week, it was no surprised that some people have been attending this camp for 30+ years.

i hope i'll be back for year 2 next summer!

xox

:)

ISLAND LIFE - PART 3

on gabriola island, there is a farmers market

held on saturday mornings.

my friend is obsessed with this bread stick that is stuffed with feta and sun-dried tomatoes.

so naturally, our first stop at the farmers market was 

the slow rise bakery stand.

there we bought 5 sticks of this feta/sun-dried tomato bread, 

and just for kicks we got a pumpkin/white-choco/raison scone.

after taking a stroll around the market, we quickly booked it to this beach and dug into this scrumptious bread.

my friend is right, this bread is definitely one of a kind.

(the scone was delicious too)

after heading back home, we decided that we will attempt to make this feta/sun-dried tomato bread by the end of this summer!

hopefully it won't be some catastrophic disaster.

stay tuned...

:)

ISLAND LIFE - PART 2

1. this is an alpaca

2. sunset at it's prime

3. two hooligans on a rock

4. dreary eerie morning

5. abstract?

6. bff's?

is it true that the older you get, 

the faster that time goes by?

this summer has literally been slipping 

through the ends of my fingertips.

i can't seem to get a grasp on it.

it's making me realize how fast-lived our lives our.

we are just like water particles running down a river bank;

there's no stopping us.

i fear that one day i’ll get old and

realize that there were more things that

i should have done, should have seen, or should have said.

so i guess all i can do right now

is make the most out of each day.

-learn and grow.

-enjoy and savour.

-laugh and smile.

:)

ISLAND LIFE - PART 1

1. coolest lamp i've ever laid my eyes upon

2. nothing better than some german yodeling

3. thrifting at it's finest

4. look at that fine view

5. dayum

i went to my friends cabin on gabriola island again this summer.

this little island is packed with a ton of mesmerizing views and quirky attractions.

what we did:

-we took embarrassing videos of us dancing hcore 

and squashing spiders (how cruel of us)

-we went to this recycle depot and found 

heels and booties for $1!! (best day ever)

and i got memoirs of a geisha for $0.50!! (p.s. great book)

-we had a lovely quinoa dinner by the ocean accompanied by some bumping tunes

-we strolled along the beach with this random kitty-cat on a rainy morning and sang low by flo rider in a 

very obnoxious manner

-we took a 2 hour nap just because we could

-we visited some alpaca's and miniature horses

-we watched our fav movie he's just not that into you for the bagillionth time and went gaga over 

ben affleck and jennifer aniston

it was nice being able to get away from the city

with my hommie, and spend a carefree weekend not having to worry about work.

"sometimes the bestest of things, 

comes from the bestest of places." 

-some random kook

:)

more to come!

VANCOUVER STROLLING

many things are taken for granted in our day to day lives in vancouver.

for me, there are many times i fail to 

appreciate the beauty of vancouver.

"it rains to much"

"it's cold"

"etc."

then i go outside, and take a stroll, on a vibrant summer day

and i'm like ah, yes, this place that i call home is magnificent.

all those 8 or so months of rain is what keeps vancouver so green, lush, and beautiful.

the long and dreary months can be taunting but i guess the wait is totally worth it.

-cheers to vancouver, a special gem.

:)

JAPAN PART 12 - STEP BY STEP

i'm a dweeb.

i know.

who takes multiple pictures of their feet?

i do.

anyways,

this is the last post on my trip to japan!

it has taken me way longer than i expected,

and it is a relief that it is finally complete.

yes japan is an awesome place, 

and i highly recommend everyone to go visit.

however my opinion is biased.

the people who i spend my time with during my trips to japan make every moment memorable.

my cousins, grandparents, family friends;

they always find ways to make me feel like 

japan is my home away from home.

and i have lots of love for 

my momma who is a great travel partner.

this trip taught me that each moment of our lives; 

sad, humorous, exciting, etc,

 can make us grow and better ourselves. 

i also came to a realization that there is this certain unfathomable magical purpose in each brief encounter and simple conversation.

life is such a strange thing,

hard to put into words.

isn't there a saying called carpe diem?

well let's seize the day 

and walk this path called life with big smiles.

:)

more new posts to come!

JAPAN PART 5 - FUKUOKA

during my trip to japan, my mum and i

took a little trip to fukuoka.

we had to take a two hour train ride to get there, but i was in awe with view so the time flew by.  

oita is a crazy tiny city compared to fukuoka,

i can only imagine how big tokyo is. 

in fukuoka i ate my first krispy kreme donut (i give it an A+), went to a yatai which is a japanese 

food stall (shown in image four),

went to this marvelous store called the loft and bought

 a lunch-bag that is shaped like a mini backpack 

(this store literally has some of the coolest goods),

did some more shopping (yolo), 

and had black sesame soft ice cream (satisfaction).

more on fukuoka still to come...

stay tuned

:) 

ROSES

these were roses that my mama received from my papa a little while back.

bold, simple, and a token of love.

i still don't understand why roses symbolize love. their beauty is so temporary and then it wilts and dies.

woah that was quite cynical^

shouldn't love be symbolized by a tree? 

speaking of trees, spring is fast approaching and buds are beginning to grow!

school is quite hectic right now so i haven't had much time to post. hopefully things settle and more pictures get taken.

:)

XOXO

happy valentine's day!

<3

:)

ILLIN'

january hasn't been the most pleasant month. both sides of my mouth got infected after having my wisdom teeth removed (i literally had chipmunk cheeks on three different occasions in the span of less than a month), and i ended up getting the flu.

on the plus side, i got to take shiny blue antibiotics!

it felt like i was taking in punches one after the other. and what do you do?- well you get back up and keep on going.

through experiences like this you realize how important good health is. poor health enables you to do the things you gotta do, and want to do. and to put it bluntly- it sucks.

and the experiences i went through this month does not come close to hardship compared to what a lot of other people have to go through. 

  

in my day to day life i don't give enough appreciation to how much of a blessing it is to be able to go out of the house and engage in activities, to go to school, to socialize with friends, to enjoy food, and live without physical pain.

i am truly thankful.

through this month of aches and sicknesses, i have learned that true courage comes from finding strength through weakness.

i delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. for when I am weak, then i am strong.

 2 corinthians 12:10

-stay strong

:)

HAZY

here are some more pictures of vancouver.

it's easy to forget how pretty vancouver is during the monotonous rain.

we finally have been getting some clear days lately and they have been quite delightful!

this has reminded me that we need to enjoy and take in the beauty that we find in the simplest of ways.

:)

CITY LIGHTS

these pictures are of the vancouver city skyline.

it was my friends last night in vancouver before she went back to university so we wanted to take some memorable "cute" pictures.

the pictures of us clearly didn't turn out to be as pretty as we hoped but they still highlight some priceless memories.

the illuminated view of vancouver with the lights bleeding into the ocean made for a very spectacular backdrop.

despite a long rainy season, 

vancouver sure finds ways to impress.

:)