#bffandredtakeyvr - Favourites

I could post so many more moments, and memories from this trip, but I thought I would close it out with my favourites.

I am a beachcomber at heart. This sight makes my heart sing.

BFF likes dead-people-benches. Some of the benches in Stanley Park are advertisements for when you have a dead person who needs a bench.

I have a version of this very photo from about 4 years ago with mine and Dude's feet.

Rose garden in Stanley Park. The light and shadows were perfection.

Historic buildings covered in ivy with old neon signs are my jam.

 This sculpture outside of Stanley Park made me smile!

The view from our balcony was a happy surprise. English Bay on the left, Stanley Park at the end, and rainbows everywhere. I took loads of photos from this spot.

The bright white dot that appears to be floating above the buildings in the centre of the frame is this glorious tree atop a residential building. And the floating dot to the right is a ski hill!

 This store was full of expensive "chic" items (boring), but at the back there were all these beautiful drool worthy succulents and they all had names!

This is where the cruise ships come. There weren't any, but it's still neat-o.

 MacLeod's Bookstore. Not for the faint of heart. But if you are a fan of used bookstores, you must stop in. Be warned, they have no Le Guin.

The Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown. We got the rundown on the train and the history of the neighbourhood from a gentleman born in Wetaskiwin. Alberta Represent.

xo

#bffandredtakeyvr - Obligatory Food Post

BFF & I spent last weekend in Vancouver, BC for a little rest and relaxation....and food. To be very honest, I had nothing planned for this trip other than our hotel, and a Distillery Tour (see below), but I had high hopes to eat a lot of tasty food over the weekend.

We arrived at Brunch Time on Friday morning, and headed straight for The Twisted Fork, on Granville.This was a place I found on the internet when I googled "best brunch in Vancouver." And it was a gem. So warm in there though, holy doodle! Our coffee came in a french press, my veggies and eggs were done just right. And the whole thing was served with giant pieces of sourdough bread and homemade jam. Yum.

We literally spent almost the entire rest of the day wandering around Stanley Park. It was glorious, but we were exhausted and famished when we finished up, and didn't want to make a big deal over dinner. Essentially, we wanted quick food that was close by. Enter The Capital. This little pub was about a block away from our hotel, and advertised "all food on the menu is $4.95". Now, you might be cringing at that number, thinking what on earth would be worth eating for that measly amount, but it was delicious! I mean, truly scrumptious, and good portion sizes too! I had the veggie burger with added beets. Any place that offers beets as an addition to your meal is A+ in my books!

We found ourselves near the waterfront around lunch time on Saturday, so we started watching out for somewhere to eat. Steamworks is a brew pub in what appears to be a historic building neighbouring the main train station downtown. There is a restaurant (minors allowed) upstairs, and pub downstairs, which is where we were seated. Varied menu, with their craft beers on tap. I tried their Golden Coconut Ale, and it was flipping amazing! I cannot fully explain to you how surprised and delighted I was at how the coconut complimented the brew...I am on the lookout for a six-pack in town now! We started with this enormous pretzel covered in melted cheddar and served with some sort of horseradish mustard dipping sauce. My veggie burger was nothing special, but the patty was stuffed with cheese, so they get bonus points there.

As I mentioned above, the only activity I really planned for this trip was an afternoon distillery tour on Saturday. And while it wasn't precisely what I was expecting, it was still a lot of fun! We stopped at three different distilleries around Vancouver, and sampled whatever they happened to have for us. There was no real talk about what we were drinking, which was slightly disappointing, but we did learn more about the distilling process. And tasted some fine fine alcohol. So fine. Who knew aged vodka was a thing?!

Bruch (again), this time at The Distillery Bar + Kitchen in Yaletown. Voted best distillery kitchen in the world or something? Whatever. We heard they had bottomless mimosas for $10, so we were ready to deal with whatever they were serving for food. And let me just say, we got our money's worth and more in mimosas! There was a football game on (loud...) and 90% of the tables had reserved signs on them, which was really lame, but we were in and out in an hour.

Overall, lots of tasty experiences had that weekend. I forgot to mention the late night pizza delivery we got on Saturday night! We passed a couple of Goldie's Pizzas on our wanderings, and BFF took down their number just in case. We ordered a LARGE vegetarian, and it was possibly the most perfect pizza. Thin and crispy crust, spinach, tomatoes, and cheese, and enormous! And they delivered right to our door!

I have simple tastes. If you bring a perfect, thin crust, vegetarian pizza right to my door, I'm yours forever.
xo

Lay it all out

Started on a couple of layouts last night. Messy ones. Just the way I like it.

Used that chipboard as a stencil.

Why do all my spray inks hate me?

Feel really pretentious when I try to write about my scrapbooking layouts.

The end.

Notes From Hollywood

This trip was two months ago. Shuttup. BFF & I went to Hollywood for the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival. Old movies, in old theatres. So many fun times.

This was a #bigdeal for a variety of reasons, some of which I hope I captured in these layouts.

You read that right. I've got some scrapbooking to share with you today. Go figure. I need to make kits for TM all the time...that's the only way I get anything done!

The El Capitan theatre can hold almost 1000 people! And there is an organ that comes up through the floor! This place was spectacular...

Had a couple of beers, had some time to kill before the next movie. Probably danced to imaginary music...you know how it is.

And then there was finger moustaches. Yessirree.

I exaggerate. We didn't take ten photos in front of Graumann's Chinese Theatre. Maybe we took 5-8. But seriously, what the hell is wrong with us. Oh that's right. We're fricken awesome, that's what.

On Sunday we decided to skip the daytime movies, and head up to the Griffith Observatory instead. Free space stuff in a lovely park, with a view of LA and the Hollywood sign? Yes, this was a no-brainer.

I hate this page so much. I look at it and think "what the hell was I thinking?!" Sigh...

And what trip to Hollywood would be complete without pictures of your hands and feet with celebrity hands and feet? No trip, that's what.

And that's that. What do you think?

Lisa

Photos lifted from the TM site...thanks guys...

Dinosaurs, Exploring, and Being Awesome!

Some photo highlights from our family trip to Drumheller on the October long weekend. Too bad my camera battery died on Sunday! After falling 10 feet or so on Saturday...yep...

The boys are doing their best dinosaur impressions!

Dude loved all the exploring and wandering we did off the beaten path. I didn't love getting across this bridge.

There are dinosaurs every where in town. This one is a Dapper Dino. Bow ties are cool.

Gotta love the museum! Well...everyone but Dude loved the museum!

My favourite dinosaur. Go Steg!

I've been to Drumheller loads of times, but never made a stop at the Atlas Coal Mine. We had an awesome "tour guide", and had fun wandering around through all the old mining equipment.

Next time I want to get down there in the badlands....and just wander.

later loves

Re-living Our Montana Road Trip

And this is me trying to be clever...hiding my journaling behind my photo. I sure have a lot to say, and it's got to go somewhere.

More of me being clever. And a dork, a giant dork. Yes this is a photo I took. It is awesome. Shut up. And can I just say what a fucking awesome journaling card?!

K. I think that's enough for now...

later loves

Mexico...Pool Time

So you have already seen some of my Mexico pool pictures, but here are some more! For good measure!

I think Dude could go swimming everyday, and not get tired of it. Wait...we did that!

My sister & I are both pool kids. Her more than me, I think. So even after the little boys were tired and wanted to get out, her & I (& my Dad) kept going.

Just another day in Mexico.

later loves

p.s. Happy Birthday Amy! I LOVE YOU!

It's Bikini Time

And pat-on-the-back time, because I wore one everyday! Except the first day. As soon as we got registered, and the porter brought our bags to our room, Dude & I put on our suits and jumped in the pool that was literally right outside our door. Let the vacation begin with a bang! I put my regular suit on, my backup suit, because I still wasn't sure. I still wasn't feeling 100% confident.

But by day two, I thought: "I am in Mexico with my family and a bunch of drunk buddies of my brother. I can do this!"

(I was photo-bombed many times...I love my family...)

And I think I pulled it off with aplomb. I felt great, beautiful, and I got an amazing tan! HA!

My boobs & ass only popped out once. Well, twice, because I didn't learn my lesson the first time. Getting out of the pool is tough when you are only wearing a smattering of fabric. Yep.

And I didn't leave the dork at home. No sirree...

I survived my first bikini test run! And now I am looking for any excuse to wear it again. Anyone planning any backyard pool parties in the near future?

I'm halfway decent at canonballs!

later loves

Mexico Teaser

I have so many photos to go through from Mexico. And most of them are amazing, if I do say so myself. I thought I would leave you with this one, which kind of sums up the simple awesomeness of this vacation.

And don't you worry. There are lots of bikini pics to come...wink!

Good night friends

xo

So Flippin Excited!

I thought I would share some photos and thoughts about our upcoming Mexico vacation. My brother is getting married - MY BABY BROTHER PEOPLE!! - and he and his gorgeous fiance have decided to celebrate in Mexico. We are staying at the Azul Sensatori in Puerto Morales, just south of Cancun. It is going to be a family vacation, with loads of kids, so the excursions will probably be kept to a minimum (aka "none"). But after seeing the map of the resort, and reading some of the website materials I don't even care!

Also, they have a fricken Mojito bar. People, that's like my favourite drink!!! So expect to see lots of Instagrams of that particular location. Oh my! Did I mention they appear to have WiFi?!

And I know Lucas is excited as well. When we told him what to expect - chips & salsa for lunch, lots of pools, swimming in the ocean everyday - he asked if we could move to Mexico! HA!

In case you can't tell, I am so dang excited to go back to Mexico! Veronica & Alexander's wedding was one of my best vacations of all time (this may or may not have anything to do with a getting to know a certain BFF there....) and I have been itching to get back ever since. And since I haven't heard that there are any V+A Wedding Reunion plans in the works (somebody should get on that...) I have to take what I can get!

I must admit, that it's really fun to be excited about something!

I should really start packing...

later loves