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.

settling, finding work

I asked Hunter what he wanted to say about finding work and working in Vancouver and here is what he wrote.

"Working as a door-to-door salesperson for Unicef seemed like a great opportunity at first. I was a couple weeks in when I realized it wasn't my cup of tea. I felt bad going to people's homes during "prime" hours when family's would gather around their tables and indulge in a meal together. Don't get me wrong, Unicef does a damn good job helping children in need around the world, but a large portion of that money goes to us, the door-to-door's. In my third week I was sent to North Vancouver to do the week's work. Long story short: I had a discourse with an older fella named John on the front steps of his home. For a good twenty minutes we went back and forth. John concluded with, "Son, you can do better than this, you really can." That was the last house I pitched to.

The very next day I was offered a job at 1-800-GOT-JUNK. I'll be working in their call center (no cold calling). The Junktion (that's what they call their office) had good vibes, and everyone was smiling and seemed to be enjoying themselves at work. I start the 1st of April."

Relaxing at home, not expecting a photo- hence the horrible mix of burgundy sweats, red shirt, and purple scarf!

Before i even began packing my things to move to Vancouver, i joined this site offhandedly (i.e. I was probably procrastinating). I was a little worried about finding "meaningful" -or at least enjoyable- work once in Vancity, and i felt like a skill i could always fall back on was babysitting (thank you siblings for the lifelong training!).

I didn't think the site would actually get me a job, but soon i was receiving frequent messages from parents asking me for an interview. I was surprised, but i didn't agree to meet any of the parents because i hadn't found the right fit.
About a month ago i received a message from a mother and father looking for a nanny for their 1-year old daughter. They said they lived right near my neighborhood, needed childcare 30 hours a week (in three day increments) and wanted to meet me. Everything seemed to fall into place, and now i bike to their house and care for their adorable little girl!

I am happy with my work, and Hunter feels optimistic about his new job.

I'd love to hear about enjoyable or horrible jobs you've all had/have!! Leave us a comment, we appreciate each one. Xoxo

mornings

I've never considered myself a morning person because letting yourself fall back asleep in the mornings has always felt like a big treat. But i've always wanted to be a morning person. I want to be someone who gets up early with lots of energy, i've always loved the light and the stillness in the mornings. So, having to be at work by 8am didn't seem like such a bad thing. And once i started to got the early morning rhythm down it became enjoyable! Apart from those days when it's raining and cold and still dark.

Over the summer Hunter and i got into the routine of having porridge for breakfast almost every morning- we'd also have eggs but since i've found out i'm allergic they are off the menu. We played around with smoothies for breakfast, or cereal, but found porridge is really the only thing that keeps us full for hours. Plus it's quick and economical!

I have mine with a tiny bit of salt and goats milk. Hunter like his with cranberries, dehydrated blueberries, hemp hearts, cinnamon, honey or brown sugar, and this time fresh strawberries.

I'll wake up before Hunter to open all the blinds, wash my face, and get breakfast started. Hunter will get up and put away the dishes that were drying from the night before. We'll sit down and eat together, quietly, enjoying our little space.

Then i'll rush to get dressed and hop on my bike to work. Soon Hunter will be joining my morning commute - we get to bike together for a while each to our separate work locations.

What are your morning routines?

sick days

I haven't had a single flu, cold, virus or other sickness this whole winter and I was so proud of my immune system until last week. When you're working with toddlers it is easy to be contaminated with their sneezes, kisses, and little hands covered in saliva baring all sorts of lovely bacteria. The second day of work i woke up with an ominously sore throat. I stuffed myself with all the remedies i had in the house but i still got hit with a flu.

That first Friday i came home ready to throw myself into bed. Hunter had other plans, plans that involved delicious soup. He bought this Old Fashioned Beef Barley soup mix and the ground beef from our local butcher's, and had it slowly simmering on the stove when i walked through the door. I was so happy he found an equally comforting alternative to chicken noodle soup since i've found out i'm allergic to chicken.

The soup mix, Mitchell's, is made on The Island from local and organic ingredients. It's wildly popular in this area and i can see why. It was delicious and exactly what my tired body needed. Thank you Aunty K and family, I'm sure it tasted better because it was cooked in my gorgeous dutch oven!

Since then we've bought three more mixes (the butcher was having a sale): Fully Loaded Potato soup, Ginger Coconut Dahl, and West Coast Seafood Chowder. I'm excited for a rainy day when we can try them!

We drank obscene amounts of ginger, honey, lemon hot water and i was better in three days! Equal parts fresh chopped ginger, honey and freshly squeezed lemon juice in hot water and repeat until you're better. It also helps to have a warm body to snuggle and a good tv show/movies to watch.

I also tried the wet sock treatment on my landlord's recommendation and even though it felt weird the first night it wasn't that bad and i think it helped me speed through my flu. If you're interested, google it and you'll find lots of info! Socks need to be at least 90% cotton and wool, respectively. My cold socks weren't dripping wet and i didn't use any essential oils, but it seemed to help and my bed was completely dry the next morning.

What does your family do when someone's sick? Secret home remedies? Go-to cough syrup brands?
I hope you're all staying healthy.
xoxo, a+h

lately, food edition

Pictured

1. Hunter's baked yam fries with home made chipotle mayo (thank you G for the spices!). Sooo perfect. Crunchy on the outside and sweet and soft on the inside. I love yam fries, more than potato fries i think. Although i'll never really pass up any starch in frie form.

2. This chickpea salad and some framboise (raspberry) lambic. Simple and delicious.

3. Blue potatoes, my favourite kind of 'tater. One day i will finally make blue mashed potatoes and it will look fantastic next to some asparagus and corn on the cob. Eating gorgeous food seems to enhance the whole experience and make me more grateful and present during the meal.

4. Hunter is a master at kale chips. I request them almost every night.

5. The hand-made colander i wanted! So happy with it, it holds my fruit and the odd piece of ginger or avocado so cutely. Thank you Mamma and Georgia!

6. A close up of a classic dinner in this little house: roast veggies (here we had cauliflower, rainbow carrots, shallots, brussels sprouts, garlic, tossed with olive oil + fresh thyme + asian nori salt mix). We ate them over a medley of wild and brown rice but honestly i kind of wished i just had a heaping plate of these veggies.

7. Gluten-free apple rhubarb pie (and fresh strawberries) that Hunter surprised me with after my first week at my new job (a post about that in the future!). It's safe to say pie is my favourite food.

8. Hunter convinced me that we should bring up his vitamix from home and now i don't know why i ever resisted. Or how i enjoyed smoothies before this. I'm a huge texture person (i couldn't eat bananas for many years) and this blender whizzes veggies and frozen fruit into the best texture ever.


Not pictured
Every other meal we eat because it looks too boring to grab the camera or we are too busy and hungry to bother taking a picture.

What's a classic meal in your house??

watch: tv shows

Hunter's never been a big tv show watcher but i looove them. Maybe a little too much. It started out in middle school and highschool when my girlfriends and i would get together, snuggle under some blankets, snack on crackers 'n cheese or dulce de leche ice cream and watch shows like Gilmore Girls and Friends. Since then i've watched many shows but only really loved a few.
When Hunter and i moved to our little place, Hunter brought his old tv from home. Our living room is too small and so we've tucked it in a corner of our bedroom. I felt like that location is perfect for tv show viewing and began my hunt for our first tv show as a couple! We've watched shows together before (Game of Thrones, the Wire, Freaks and Geeks, etc) but i wanted something new that we could start together. And preferably something on Netflix.

We settled on House of Cards.

My first impression was not good. I hate when characters break the fourth wall and talk directly at you. It's so annoying, i feel like it's what little kid shows do to get the children to participate in the action, and it seems like a cheap way to get the audience invested in the show or to give them knowledge that would be awkward to put into character dialogue. Anyways, the main character is the only one who does it, and he never stops doing it but it sort of gets more tolerable. It's a dramatic, political show. The main character is evil, but the show is set up (Breaking Bad style) so that you want to empathize with him. My favourite character is his right-hand man. If your looking for a grown up drama that gets it's edge from something other than sex I'd recommend this series (i think that sentence will make sense if you watch it. Obviously there is still some sex involved in the show but it isn't a main theme at all and that was refreshing to me). Hunter and i enjoyed curling up together after our separate long days and trying to figure out what crazy power-play Francis was going to pull off next. Currently there are two seasons on Netlfix with the third season is out late next year.

We gobbled up House of Card, so to speak, and had to find a new show to accompany our evening wind-down routine.  A few years ago I was introduced to Twin Peaks, the fantastic genre-bending tv show by Lynch and Frost. I watched both seasons with my girlfriends, and later with my sister. I've talked about it a lot but didn't think to ask if Hunter would like to watch it. He brought it up, and i was eager to watch it again. I recommend it to everyone. It's weird, but give it an earnest try and you may end up joining the cult following.

What tv shows do you enjoy watching, if you watch any?

February through my phone

I promise I'll have a more substantial post up soon. Hunter decided he wanted to get more involved in the blog (yay) and so he'll edit the photos he and i have taken before i post them here. However, his schedule is crazy right now because of his job and that means no photo editing has happened yet. Soon though, i'll tell you all about what i've been making/doing with the many gifts i've received, I'll tell you all about our weekend in America where i celebrated my 21st (a little too much celebrating), what i'm doing academically this month, Hunter's new job, and other tidbits about our lives.

 

 

Pictured
1.  Lunch at Whole Foods before heading back to Squamish while we were moving all our stuff at the beginning of February- crazy more than a month has gone by of us living in our little Vancouver place!
2. The remnants of flour-less brownies. Make 'em with black beans and no one will know!
3. Planning dinners for the week.
4 & 5. Hunter and i at Bestie for my birthday dinner.
6. The Tuna Tataki lunch set at Basho cafe. The most adorable little family run cafe and it is so close to our house! We've already been there a few times and they just opened mid-February.


Not pictured
1. The bounty of gifts I received for my 21st.
2. Hunter getting a job!
3. Our trip to Bellingham.
4. Getting an internship!
5. Giving our landlords a cheque for our second month. Our lease here is month-to-month so every month they still want us to live here and we still want to live here is exciting.
6. Snow in Vancouver! The first day of our three day snow "storm." I miss real winter snow that is dry and sticks to the ground for months and makes the cold temperatures warranted. Also, snow makes winter brighter which makes me happier. Without snow winter is grey and flat.

In retrospect: B.C., Oregon & California

During the summer of 2013, Hunter and I lived on Quest's campus and worked for different university departments. We loved our roommates, the Squamish sun (when it appeared), and our leisure time but we still itched to get away and explore someplace new. Preferably some place that had a beach + the ocean. We booked our vacation days and went on a road trip to Nelson, B.C. then down the Oregon and California coasts.

Along the coasts we camped in our little tent in beautiful state parks and, if we were really desperate, we would sleep in the back of the subaru. One night we couldn't get a spot at a park and decided to splurge on a beach-side hotel room in Manzanita, Oregon. Definitely worth it, it was adorable and the town had a great beach and a charming vibe. Our trip flew by, but we will definitely be camping on the West Coast again.
 
The trip tested us as functional road-tripping partners. I was still hobbling around on my fractured foot and Hunter's back gave him serious grief if we drove for too long. We didn't make solid plans before we left which sometimes led to spontaneous discoveries (like the best coffee, pie, breakfast, pottery, and fries along the coast) but it also made us anxious and irritable when we suddenly had to change plans. It made me appreciate the patience Hunter has, and it made me try and be more accepting and present. What frustrated me wasn't worth the energy and time, something i am slowly learning.

 A fancy dinner with my family in Nelson

Nelson B.C., my hometown

Packing up the car

A delicious dinner of leftovers at our campsite in the Red Woods

 Awe inspiring trees, Avenue of the Giants, CA

A Cafe in Mendocino County, CA

 

The Green Salmon Cafe, OR

It was so cold and I didn't pack warm socks (I don't know what I was thinking!) 

so we had to stop at a Target and buy something to keep my poor legs warm.

 My handsome love, on the beach in Manzanita, OR

 Trying to look presentable while battling gale force winds

 I thought I packed smart for this trip: one small duffel, a few dresses and sweaters, sandals and vans. But I was wrong, I wore about three outfits the whole trip, and what I really needed was a pair of pants (dresses get cold and awkward when it's windy, which it always is), some good layering tops for the temperature change between day and evening/night, and lots of wool socks. Hunter packed pants, t-shirts, a hoodie, and most importantly socks! Next time I'll follow his example.

Have you ever traveled along the Northwest coast? What were your favourite spots to stay/eat/explore? Do you have packing tricks you've learned the hard way?

Dreaming of Tulum

My sister has always been my better half. She is my best friend in the whole world and throughout my whole life- so far and i have no doubts about the future. We are ridiculous together, lazy and whiny or motivated and fabulous, i feel infinitely loved and understood when i am with her. Which is why she is my favourite person to travel with. Although we've never done any solo traveling as adults i imagine we'd be a formidable team. Scotland in '04 (was it that long ago??) was our first experience globe-trotting as a duo and that trip will be hard to top.

So, when Kate asked me if I'd go on her impulse trip to Mexico in the spring of 2014 i couldn't really say no. We haggled over destinations and to-do's of our trip but we've decided we are going and we will drink and eat and see and explore and be lazy and return to Canada with glowing tans!

I would love to go to the little beach town of Tulum. We've been using Airbnb to scope out accommodations (how about staying in a tent, or a tree house??).

Has anyone been to Tulum, or Mexico before and have recommendations?
We have small budgets, and we don't want to feel too much like "privileged-tourists" while we are there. Things to do and places to stay that have strong environmental tract records are ideal.

(All images via google)

Right now it's snowing in Vancouver (consistent snow for the past three days!), but I'm dreaming of warmth and beaches and time with my sister.