In retrospect: Portland, Oregon

Right now I'm with my sister, probably on a beach on the Caribbean sea, but until I return home and share that adventure with you all, you can take a little peak at an adventure Hunter and I had last summer!

While on our road-trip in August, 2013 we stayed in Portland, OR for a couple nights. All you have to do to enjoy yourself in Portland is walk down the street with an open mind and jump on the first adventure that presents itself!

We spent our days walking, eating, drinking delicious coffee, and napping in the gorgeous weather.

 Canteen, a DELICIOUS vegan restaurant

 The best veggie bowl I have ever had (we got the Bangkok Bowl). I'm getting hungry just thinking about it

 Writing love notes

 Stumptown coffee (big hype for a reason), and Rilke from Powell's Books

 Awkward nap selfie in the park

Have you ever visited Portland? What is your favourite U.S. city on the West Coast? Where should we go on our next trip? I love exploring the West Coast! It's so accessible and so beautifully wild.

Mx bound

I'm writing this post from a coffee shop in Nelson!

I'm home for a week, and I couldn't be happier.
Coming home lets me relax and also focus on work in a way that I haven't been able to achieve in Vancouver. A week of siblings' birthday and school plays, the spa, homework, Mamma-cooked meals, early nights, and good old-fashioned time with family. A good balance, and a nice little breather before I go back to Vancouver for the last crazy week of school and then Kate and I are off to ... MEXICO.

It's happening!! After negotiating dates, endlessly searching for the best flights (i.e. cheapest with the shortest travel time), finding accommodation on Airbnb, and figuring out transport in Canada and Mexico, Kate and I are finally set for our first sister vacation!

I am very excited to relax and unplug for TEN DAYS. Oh baby, we are going to have a blast. I haven't decided if i'll be bringing a camera or just snapping pictures with my phone- either way I'll be sharing stories after we're back. And again, if anyone has tips for what to do/see in Cancun and Tulum, please share in the comments!!

living and loving

I really love this man.

Life has been crazy stressful and flying by lately! I am kicking myself every day for procrastinating so much and leaving all my schoolwork until the last few weeks when I could be focusing on planning for my sister trip to Mexico and enjoying the occasional phenomenal-weather day in Vancouver.

But Hunter keeps me grounded, properly fed, and happy. I don't know what I'd do without my love. Through calm and frenzied times, through sunny and rainy days, through free-time and busy-time he is there for me always caring and keeping me true to myself and my goals. I love him with all my might and am thankful every night I fall asleep next to him and every morning I awake beside him.

Cheers to love and living together!
Today, tell everyone you love in your life how much they mean to you, we never say it enough even though we feel it constantly.

mini vegan cheesecakes

I was originally going to make these vegan mini-cheesecakes in my new food processor so I could show it off and thank my Grandparents for my birthday funds, but i realized that my food processor was just a bit too small to hold all the filling (since then I've made a few batches of humus and a delicious "Alfredo" sauce that i'll share with you all soon. So thank you Grandma and Grandpa for helping me stock my kitchen!). I still took some pictures and will share the recipe with you all, because they were delicious!!

For filling i added frozen blueberries and extra lemon juice to some, and peanut butter and chocolate chunks to others- but you can get creative and put whatever you want in/on them!

Keep reading after the jump.