The 2nd Annual 'Pacific Polo Cup'

On August 16th, Nicola and I packed our picnic and headed to the Pacific Polo Cup at The Southlands Riding Club. This is the second year that the event has taken place, and I was so excited to see Polo return to Vancouver!

Rainbow Bright.

The Pineapple Express sent an impressive amount of liquid sunshine to the Pacific Northwest this weekend. In twenty four hours, we had 80mm of rain.

Mrs Robinson(s)...

What a week. Back to work, and once again adjusting to a new sleep schedule after single handedly jet-lagging myself over the holidays. An amazing feat considering I never left Pacific Standard time.

The Baseball Bachelorette.

Last week (as you may have seen on Instagram), I attended a Stagette for a very good friend. As you'll see from the photos, the day was all about baseball.

Let me introduce you to the Bride-to-be...



We started at Nat Bailey Stadium (Sorry, 'Scotia Bank Field') for a noon hour game, had a picnic in Queen Elizabeth Park, headed down Main Street for some cold beverages, eventually ending in Chinatown at a Supper club for dinner.

Robert Mondavi 'White Party'

Last week I had a last minute invite from a friend to Les Femmes en Blanc (a White Party) she was hosting at her downtown Vancouver apartment.

A Great B.C. Day.

I call it a 'B.C. Day' whenever I find my friends and myself taking advantage of the magnificent geographical perks the city of Vancouver has to offer us.

This particular Saturday, we packed our swimsuits and hiked to Whyte Lake. It's a pretty easy hike, though unfortunately for us, that meant that the swimming float was very crowded. We ended up delaying our picnic (due to one too many, "Hi Miss Spencer's"...the downside of crossing the Lions Gate Bridge), having a quick bite of trail mix, and heading back down the mountain.

Mr. Baseball.

A week ago Sunday, I was cheering on my youngest brother at the Roberto Alomar & Friends Charity Home run Challenge (raising money for Jays Care's community outreach initiatives).

Two Roads (trails) Diverged.

Did Robert Frost have GPS when he took the road less travelled? We certainly didn't. Last weekend (in an effort to take advantage of the scenic recreational opportunities at our doorstep), the girls and I hit the trails in Lynn Canyon. We were hoping to do the 'Lynn Canyon Loop' as I had done it once before, and it seemed like a good place to start. Long story short, we missed one turn, and what began as a two hour hike, doubled in length. Nicola was less than pleased, and we were wet. What started as drizzle, turned into rain, we had no reception, hadn't seen a map in an hour, and only a handful of trail mix between the three of us.

Sail Past

For a number of years I have been fortunate enough to tag along on one of my best friend's sailboats, for the age old naval tradition of Sail Past. I'm usually dressed inappropriately. The first year, my friend 'H' didn't bother to tell me the dress code (navy blazer, white trousers).

McBride.

While we are on the topic of Katie's wedding, I may as well follow the events in sequence and show you a snippet of her Bachelorette party, or 'Hen-do' as I was accustomed to hearing last year in London.

That's Amore!

I'm Back. What do you mean you don't believe me? Ok, yes, once again, I begin by apologizing for the lack of regular posts. Truthfully, I'm still as excited about the blog as I ever have been, I'm just admittedly doing a crumby job of prioritizing this little hobby of mine. It seems BTBU has taken a back seat to the likes of PVR. Not acceptable. Noted.

I'm a few days into my Spring Break, and decided that one of my (many) goals for the time off, would be to put a little TLC into the blog, so hence why you're hearing from me.

Spring Break (unofficially) started a little early ('Thirsty Thursday' to be precise) for me, when Chris and Morgan initiated a family pizza party (sans parentals).


Morgan has a little secret cookbook, by Pete Evans titled, "Pizza"(aka. the best pizza recipes this side of Napoli).

As you'll see from the photos, Chris and Morgan had it down to an art. We feasted on delicious pies all evening long, washing them down with a few cold beers.

You can see the pizza bible on the counter.

This one (below) was my favourite...

Look at that technique...

As I probably don't need to tell you, the only down side to pizza evenings is the clean-up. I would say that despite this, it was worth it, but that would be an assumption, as I didn't help with the tidying, so I wouldn't know. Dishes became a 'blue job' while Morgan helped me store some of my unused apartment items in the crawl space.

Click the link to find out where you can purchase your own copy of the amazing pizza bible.

Stay tuned for more highlights from my Spring Break Staycation 2014!

For the sake of it.

Keeping the blog up when one is working (and also attempting to fit in some sort of exercise) is more difficult than it would appear. Though time constraints appear to be the most obvious reason, my greatest challenge is

Puddle Jumping

Let's talk about New Year's Resolutions....



Here are SOME of mine (I figured if I shared, at the very least, you can hold me to them):

Goodbye 2013!

Happy New Year!



I'd have to say, I couldn't be more stoked for 2014! I'm feeling settled in my new apartment, and the holidays have been wonderfully social. Perhaps I shouldn't admit this, but I've been out and about most evenings, and have had more catch-ups with friends (near and far) than I can count.

Southlands Stroll.

I spent Saturday with my good friend Nicola, and our SLRs down by the Fraser River. We took a little walk through Southlands, admiring the lovely homes, and their accompanying horse paddocks.

Eastside Culture Crawl.

While I know you are not holding your breath, I'm happy to announce things are (slowly) coming together. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. My coaching season is over, parent teacher conferences are done, and my report cards are (almost) complete. I also received an envelope in the mail from Goldsmiths announcing officially that I had completed my masters with merit. Phewf! Apart from all of these little milestones, the most exciting news is that I've found a new apartment, and am counting down the days until I can nest (December 1st).

September Showers.

I've just returned from the most beautiful wedding. Yes, I'm a little biased as it was the nuptials of my very best friend, but when you see the photos, you will quickly see how wonderful this weekend was. But not today. Today I'm going to show you an event the took place a couple of weeks ago. Exactly one week after my return from London. Kristin's bridal shower.

It was a lovely tea party with a derby theme (hence the hats). As you will see in the photos, the hostess went above and beyond the call of duty. No, it wasn't me. As self proclaimed 'Worst Bridesmaid Ever', I thought I'd stay true to my name, and keep out of things. Actually, I knew there was no way I could throw such an event, having just returned to Canadian soil, and being one week into work, flying by the seat of my pants, and still 100% in the red. Sorry Kristin. Insert Laurie.

Have a look at Laurie's amazing efforts. Now this is what I call a bridal shower!

The Bride and one of her 'Best Men'.

Some of the ladies.

Of course she received some 'special' items.

It wasn't a flat screen...

Flowers made by Nicola. It's nice to have talented friends.

More 'unmentionables'.

Meeting baby Kieran.

Tea Towels far too precious to use.

Kristin and Laurie.

Gift bags filled with vintage tea cups.

I was there, I promise...

Quite the spread hey? Wait until you see the wedding photos.

As I gradually get used to my new routine, I'm hoping I'll have some more time for blogging. For those who are getting frustrated when checking the site regularly, only to discover that I haven't posted, you may add your email in the space on the right hand side, and you will receive email updates when I submit a post. This all being said, in an attempt to 'take my life back' I'm hoping I will get back to regular entries very soon.