A Few Good Things

DAT PRICE OF GAS DOE. Guys - I paid $1.95/gallon the other day. It's costing me less than $25 to fill my gas tank these days. Unheard of! And by that I mean.... not heard of since I was in college!

.  excuse me while i go swim in a pool of all my extra money  .

For my part in backing the Teachers Lounge webseries Kickstarter project, I recently received a cute t-shirt in the mail. Go watch the series on the Thundershorts YouTube channel now, if you haven't seen it already, or if you - like me - just want to watch it again. It's jam-packed with cameos from some fabulous comedians, and I believe they are trying to produce even more episodes now.

And on a note related to the above photo, I've been loooooving the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains lately. They were an old favorite but I started playing around with them again this past month. My current favorite colors are Honey (a natural, rosy pink) and Smitten (a beautifully bright, blue-toned berry). In the above photo I'm wearing a combo of Smitten and a Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm in the color Flirtatious Charmeuse.

.  smitten and honey  .

What are some good things going on in your life these days?
Have you tried the Kissable Balm Stains?

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A Few Good {Boston} Things

A view of South Station in downtown Boston:

Boston Wharf Company sign in the Fort Point Channel district:

America! While this is most likely just a seagull that was caught in some flattering lighting, I prefer to think that it's an eagle soaring past our star-spangled banner at just the right moment:

.  that's the moon, in the bottom right  .

Subway tracks near my house:

Copley Square in downtown Boston - 

When I moved from Vancouver back to Massachusetts, I promised that there'd be "pictures and adventures from a new city" here on my blog. This is just a tiny snippet of some of Boston's cityscape, and I can't wait to share more!

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A Few Good Things, My Workouts of the Week, and Fireworks

A couple of weeks ago there was a Sunset Beach Social going on along Sunset Beach. We walked across the Burrard Bridge to check it out. Here's the view of the party tents from the bridge above:

After walking around the social for awhile, we putzed around downtown for a bit until it was nearly sunset, then made our way back over the Burrard Bridge as the sun set behind the mountains:

 

It was the night preceding the July 12th Super Moon, so even though it wasn't quite super, the moon was still pretty big that night:

By the way, that photo above was taken at sunset - so at about 9:15 at night. That's how bright the sky still is at 9:15 at night around here during the summer. Isn't that nuts?

Moving along, here are all my workouts from this past week. My calves have been sooooo sore from the Thursday lower body workout I did (see below). I guess upgrading to holding 25-pounds in each hand (versus 15-pounds) really makes a difference to my muscles!

7/21 (upper body)

5 mins elliptical

3x:  15 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 rear flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 overhead press, 10 lbs each hand

3x:  12 deltoid flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 bent over rows each arm, 20 lbs

3x:  12 deltoid raises, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x:  15 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 tricep extensions on exercise ball, 7.5 lbs each hand

7/22 (cardio and core)

20 mins biking

40 crunches on exercise ball, holding 15 lbs

40 leg raises + reverse crunch

40 Russian get ups, holding 8 lbs

40 Brazilian crunches

40 weighted v-sit twists holding 15 lbs

80 side-to-side oblique crunch

40 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 8 lbs

40 plank knee to elbow

40 alternating weighted side bends, 15 lbs each hand

40 cobras

7/24 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x:  12 squats, holding 30 lbs

3x:  40 diamond clamshells each leg

3x:  40 jump squats, alternating wide and close stance

3x:  40 calf raises, 25 lbs each hand

3x:  40 bridges

7/25 (core)

40 alternating weighted side bends, 20 lbs each hand

40 alternating bird dogs

40 Russian get ups, holding 8 lbs

40 Brazilian crunches

40 weighted v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

40 leg raises + reverse crunch

40 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 8 lbs

80 side-to-side oblique crunch

40 crunches on exercise ball, holding 20 lbs
40 plank knee to elbow

The weather finally turned nice again this weekend, after a grey week. On Friday night after my core workout, I walked downtown to try to stretch out my sore calf muscles. While down there, I ended up grabbing dinner at a restaurant on Robson St. called Abode. Sitting out on their sidewalk patio and sipping on a sugar-rimmed cocktail called Summer Sandals...

.  summer sandals  .
.  vodka, grand marnier, raspberry liqueur, sparkling wine  .

... was a nice way to unwind after the work week. Unfortunately, the instant my pulled BBQ chicken sandwich was set down before me, an intrusive honey bee began dive-bombing my plate and my table till I was forced to say "uncle" while waving my white napkin and running inside to the dining room. No matter - they found me a nice booth inside their dining room next to a window, so my view was nearly identical anyway.

.  pulled chicken & slaw sandwich  .
.  slow roasted chicken, super slaw, fresh spinach on ciabatta  .

Yesterday I spent the morning getting some important things done around my apartment, and then headed out with a blanket and my iPod to catch some sunshine on the lawn at Kitsilano Beach for a bit. It's seriously so nice to have the sun back. It changes the vibe of the entire city.

.  mad peeps on the beach!  .

Speaking of the entire city, I got to check out the first night of the Celebration of Light fireworks last night, which was awesooooome... and it certainly seemed like the entire city was out for it. I was able to watch them right from my beach....

And there were so many people who came out for it! The fireworks were an awesome 25-minute display. Most of my pictures came out terribly, but this one was alright...

Well it's supposed to be another fabulous day today, so I hope to spend a good portion of my day outside. Have a great Sunday!!

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A Few Good Things

A couple weeks ago I went to dinner at the Cactus Club Cafe in English Bay with my friend Rose. This was our view of the Bay from our window at the restaurant...

We finished dinner just in time to head outside to watch the sunset:

July 1 was Canada Day, which means little to me other than "FIREWORKS!" Your girl loves fireworks, in case you weren't wise to that. We headed down to Kitsilano Beach to watch the 'works being set off from West Vancouver, across the Bay.

Walking along Vancouver's West End on my way home from a walk to Stanley Park, I had to stop and take a picture of this ivy-covered building:

And just for a dose of self-deprecation, here's a picture David took of me falling off my paddleboard last week:

What sorts of good things have you been capturing lately?

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A Few Good Things & Workouts of the Week

Dudes. My arms are like limp noodles right now - I put myself through a doozy of an arm workout this afternoon. I'm still trying to recover, while simultaneously trying not to sob because I know that my arms are going to be even more sore and useless over the next 2 days. #RecoveryTimeCanBiteMyButt.

I've been so productive today - scrubbing our tub till it looked like Ajax was here (holler if you get the reference), finishing up a collage that I began yesterday, washing tons of dishes and bleaching the bejesus out of our kitchen counters (coffee rings: #takethattakethattakethat), kicking ass at the gym, AND just finishing one of those yummy orange honey banana smoothies. AND IT'S NOT EVEN 5PM YET.

So to keep this productivity going, I thought I'd post this blog with lots of recent pictures from around Vancouver, plus all of my workouts from the past week. Enjoy!

.  mountains behind the city - i get to see this view everyday  .

And here are all of my workouts from the past week:

4/21 (lower body)

5 mins biking, 1 mile

40 calf raises, 15 lbs each hand

60 bridges

20 deadlifts, 15 lbs each hand

60 alternating lunges

20 squats, holding 20 lbs

40 jump squats, alternating wide and close stance

40 diamond clamshells each leg

1:30 plank

4/23 (upper body and core)

3:10 jumping jacks

12 deltoid flys, 8 lbs each hand

20 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 8 lbs

12 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

40 weighted v-sit twists, holding 12.5 lbs

12 deltoid raises, 8 lbs each hand

20 Russian get ups, holding 8 lbs

12 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

20 crunches on exercise ball, holding 12.5 lbs

12 tricep extensions on exercise ball, 8 lbs each hand

20 leg raise + knee slaps

12 overhead press, 12.5 lbs each hand

40 alternating weighted side bends, 12.5 lbs each hand

30 alternating medicine ball flys, w/ 6 lbs medicine ball

40 plank knee to elbow

12 lat pulldowns, 50 lbs

1:30 plank

4/24 (lower body and core) - I did this with Jenn from A Beautiful Zen :)

3 mins jumping jacks

2x:

   - 40 calf raises, 12.5 lbs each hand

   - 40 weighted v-sit twists, holding 12.5 lbs

   - 60 bridges

   - 40 Brazilian crunches

   - 15 deadlifts, 12.5 lbs each hand

   - 40 alternating weighted side bends, 12.5 lbs each hand

   - 40 diamond clamshells each leg

   - 20 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 5 lbs 

1:00 plank

4/25 - 4 mile walk

4/26 - 7.5 mile walk

Have you gotten in any workouts or outdoor walks? David and I took a couple long walks this weekend to enjoy the sunshine and lack-of-rain. My feet were soooore by the end of the day yesterday!

Hope you're all having a great weekend! 

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A Few Good Things

The weather is warming and people are out in Vancouver, doin' they thannnng!

Every once in awhile, a small bird will land on my balcony, but it's rare that I have my camera beside me and can snap a picture:

After reading this blog about the "Japanese Dollar Store" last week, I was thrilled to find that there's a Daiso located one town over from me! I made a trip there on Sunday...

... And picked up three very awesome but very inexpensive boxes to store 

my nail polish and nail supplies:

.  top to bottom:  $2.00, $3.00, $3.50  . 

.  left to right: colored polishes, neutrals/glitters/top coats, nail tools  .

This funny idea for a meme popped into my head the other day, so I had to create it immediately. 
I tweeted it to Nelly on St. Patrick's Day. So far he hasn't responded.

(If you didn't get that meme, you need to refresh your memory of this little gem.)

I finally stopped into The Kings Head restaurant/pub to try out their breakfast... It's right near my apartment but I'd never been there before!

.  breakfast. ain't nothing wrong with that  .

The moss on the trees around here is really beautiful...

And I never get sick of these city and mountain views!

If you couldn't already tell, the grainier photos are from my Instagram account. Are you following me there yet? I'm still sort of new to Instagram and looking to follow some eye-catching accounts, so leave me a comment with your username!

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A Few Good Things

Here are some random highlights and snapshots from my life from the past few weeks!

This picture was taken during a sunny seawall walk with Rose, just before it started raining for 3 weeks straight. We took lots of ridiculous pictures that afternoon - here's one of the fun ones of me getting my "jump freeze" on:

Continuing my streak of winning things, I won this Avon Mega Effects mascara through a giveaway from Nicole at MomTrends. Review of this product coming soon!

We had 3 days straight of snow, which is slightly unusual for Vancouver. It's supposed to rain here in the winter, not snow! Even when it snows for 3 days straight, we still only had sparse accumulation, and there was still plenty of green everywhere:

I mentioned in this blog that I've been experimenting with a new breakfasty quinoa dish. This picture was snapped during my 2nd attempt at creating it... As soon as I perfect the recipe I will share it, but in the meantime, just know that this is quinoa being cooked in straight-up milk:

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DONUT. This delicious Cookies 'n Cream donut came from Lucky's Doughnuts on 4th Ave in Vancouver. A perfect teatime treat to share with my love. Mmmmmmm.....

I've also started getting pretty into Instagram - are you following me there? DO IT. Leave a comment with your Instagram handle and I'll follow along!

What have you been getting into lately? Any new recipes being thought up in your kitchen? Have you gone out for a nice seaside jump session recently? WELL WHY DON'T YOU?? HMM??

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