A Few Good (Winter) Things

Like most people, my life has been a bit busier the last month or two. I've taken lots of pictures and done some fun things... but haven't had the time to blog about them! Consider this particular Few Good Things post a bit of a photo dump, and take a peek into my recent life in pictures. Also... it's more like "a TON of good things" than just a few, so... brace yaself.

I spotted some pretty colors and flora while out for a late-November walk...

The Lights of Hope in front of St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver:

.  lights of hope is an annual fundraiser  .

I walked down to the waterfront to see the Vancouver tree lighting ceremony on December 6...

This year I wrapped all of my family's presents in brown parcel paper, 

tied with hemp cord and red sparkly string:

A few random shots of our Christmas tree...

.  you might have seen me share this picture on my facebook page!  .

On December 8, Dave and I took a walk along the Seaside Bike Path...

.  this boat didn't appear to be doing well...  .

.  view of the tankers out in english bay  .

.  sunny december skies  .

It snowed a bit on December 9, and we took a walk through the quiet snow that evening...

.  kitsilano beach under a thin layer of snow  .

.  my buddies, the two bald eagles near my apartment, hanging out in the quiet snowy night  .

I found Smarties flavored candy canes at The Candy Aisle in Vancouver...

.  in canada, "smarties" are a totally different candy than the smarties in america - this was an import item!  .

On December 15, Dave and I took a nice long walk to Stanley Park...

.  pretty colors!  .

.  i spotted a hummingbird in the park  .

.  some of the trees in stanley park are huuuuuuuuuge  .
.  sorry, i couldn't resist putting this BIG picture in here!  .

.  sun rays through the woods in stanley park  .

On December 20 it snowed. On my palm tree. JUXTAPOSITION.

.  the palm tree on our porch, covered in snow  .

So that's just a random smattering of the things we've been doing around here lately. As I mentioned earlier this week, we went up to Whistler, BC for the 2 days leading up to Christmas. We did some hiking/snowshoeing on Monday and then enjoyed Whistler Village on Monday night and Tuesday morning before heading back to Vancouver. I'll share some pictures from our trip soon!

Did you do anything special on Christmas Eve? We ate grilled cheeses and rented Fred Claus last night - not a bad evening, if you ask me. Today we each FaceTime/Skyped with our families back on the east coast while our nieces/nephews opened presents. I love that the technology exists to let us all see each other, even when we're an entire country apart!

I hope you all had a merry Christmas and that Santa brought you everything that you wanted. Now, who is with me on leaving up the Christmas trees and decorations until January 25th?

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The Candy Aisle - Vancouver Candy Heaven!

I love me some sweets. I don't remember ever not being a huuuge fan of sugar. We didn't have much junk food in the house when I was younger (my mom bought us pretzel sticks for our school snacks, instead of Fruit By the Foot) (I effing hate pretzels, Mom), but we diiid have a sugar bowl. #WINK! My mom would catch me sneaking spoonfuls of sugar from that bowl alllll the time. And if you invited me over to your house to play, you just better hope your family didn't have a candy jar. Because if so, that's where you could find me chilling. Mmm... mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and M&Ms.... Also, obviously my allowance was spent on Fun Dips.

Well fast forward to zee present and ummm you still can find me chilling around the candy bowl at the party. Hey, some things you just don't grow out of. So when I come upon a legit candy store, it's like my Graceland. Even just looking at all the candy is a good time for me. Fortunately, there is an incredible candy store a mere .3 miles from my door! #Diabetes

The Candy Aisle on 4th Ave in Vancouver is the place to be, if you're looking to go into a sugar coma. You can find candy here from all over the world!

They've got a whole wall lined with those bins of candy that you can scoop out with a tiny shovel. Mix 'n match whatevaaaa!

(There is also a smaller section of $2.49/100g candies you can scoop!)

Here's one of those "candy store staples" that I find so fun to just look at - an M&M's mixing station:

 There's some pretty weird shit in there as well...

There's a fabulous selection of the English candy that David loves from his childhood -

Aero, Curly Wurly, Flake, mmm...

.  literal kid in a candy shop  .

Gummies, Jelly Beans...

These cute mason jars that you can buy and fill up with candy as a gift:

A substantial amount of Pez dispensers to choose from, plus a register area that's set up like a cotton candy fair tent: 

And if you go to The Candy Aisle be sure to look up...

You may be able to find some of these candies for cheaper elsewhere, but you're not going to have as much fun. I bop into The Candy Aisle when I'm feeling extra feisty. I love to choose a small bagful of goodies from the $1.99/100g wall - especially the mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Rockets (the exact equivalent of American Smarties), mini York Peppermint Patties, and those little pastel after-dinner mints. Mmm...

Alright, all this talk of candy is making me hungry. Excuse me while I go scoop myself some ice cream...

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