Latte Moment | This is my 100th Blog Post + Giveaway?!

I think it is time I invested in a lens with a larger aperture so I can get quality pictures that are not blurred :( 

Hey Dolls!

Can you believe it? This is my 100th blog post! This is really exciting for me as I did not know if I would even make it past one month as a blogger. But Blogging has become a really big & fun part of my life! I wonder how many of you have been following me since I first started blogging not too long ago this year. I think my blog posts & pictures have come a long way since I first started. 

Blogging would not be fun if it were not for all my wonderful readers and supporters. To show you my appreciation, I am doing a 100th post giveaway! I am really excited to do a giveaway because I get really happy when I give someone a gift because they get excited and happy. Needless to say, I am one of those gifters who will get you to open your gift the moment I hand it to you because I want to see your reaction! 

This 100th post sort of just snuck up on me during a very crazy time. I am going to be honest, I have not had time to organize this giveaway. You will need to be patient with me! Give me a week and I will have all the details on what you will win and how to win the goodies! If you have any ideas for the giveaway, I would love to hear it in the comments below :) 

Do keep in mind that I am not a popular youtuber who can afford to give away MacBooks and Louis Vuitton bags! But when I am able to do crazy cool prizes, I definitely will :) 

Thank you again for all of your support and love dolls! It really means a lot to me!!! Blogging would not be fun without all of my readers. 

BYES

Savvy Student | Hallowe'en Costumes that Add to your Closet!

Hey Dolls!

Gosh, can you believe it, we are almost at the end of October which means Hallowe'en! True, I may be too old to go trick or treating, but you are never too old to dress up! I think it is absolutely silly to invest a large amount of money into a costume that you will only wear once because it is a total fashion faux pas to wear that exact same costume again next year. 

Be savvy this October 31st and use dressing up as an excuse to add new pieces to your wardrobe! Unless you really want to dress up as a fat pumpkin (aka me!). Pick a recognizable character or pop-culture icon and you will be surprised how easy it is to dress up like them. You may even realize how many items for the outfit you already have. 

Cute Minion | a pair of denim overalls + a yellow shirt + black gloves + cute pair of glasses 
Yup, an excellent excuse to add some denim dungarees to my closet. 

Wednesday Adams | little black dress + collared white shirt underneath
If you use an oversized white button up collared shirt, just slip on some white socks and you are Tom Cruise from Risky Business! 

Lady Gaga from the Telephone Music Video | black pleather leggings + black shirt + black leather jacket + empty coke cans to put in your hair
This is probably one of the only outfits of Lady Gaga's you will be able to do with a regular clothing because I am unsure if you will be wearing armadillo heels and a balloon dress to class. 

Ballerina | tulle skirt + cute top + ballet flats (that are criss-cross ankle lace ups!)+ do your hair in a bun
YES! I have been wanting to get a tulle skirt for so long and this may just be the perfect excuse to finally go out and get a fun tulle skirt. 

And if all else fails, just do it the mean girls way. 

Image taken from: http://www.polyvore.com/mean_girls_icon_regina/thing?id=26608435 

Be prepared to sacrifice a white tank! "How many of you have felt personally victimized by Regina George?" Classic movie! I think I will be watching it this Hallowe'en! 

Let me know what you go as this hallowe'en! 

BYES

Gurly's Life | Pictures of the Birthday Table Setup

Hey Dolls,

Firstly, thank you for all your sweet words and birthday wishes on my instagram.! They really made me super duper happy that I am having a hard time putting it into words!  

I took all of these pictures on my Nikon DSLR Camera. I will get back to you on exactly what model the body is and the lens I used.  

I was really happy with the set up (the vision was completely mine and no one helped me with it)! Thank you daddy for helping me move all the things and set this up with me early Sunday morning. As well to my fabulous neighbour who allowed me to borrow his tree that morning! 

The only thing you dolls will not be able to get your hands on from these pictures is the vintage re-painted vanity I got from L'Atelier Home! What can I say, I was a lucky duck! I will have a post coming up on the vintage vanity itself very soon and how to care for painted furniture! You do not want to ruin a fabulous one of a kind piece like this by some careless mistake. Now that would be devastating. 

My cake was made by the head pastry chef at Liberty, my gorgeous friend Georgine!!!! It was a chocolate sponge layered with fresh raspberry buttercream (there were whole raspberries in there yummy), mint infused ganache and decorated with gold leaf EEEEKKKKK I feel so special like a princess. 

The two beautiful flower arrangements were from Balconi Florals. I wanted to be a little different and have one arrangement be all white and the second arrangement be the gorgeous pinky lilac colour I am obsessed with. I thought it would be a great juxtaposition versus having both arrangements be the same mixture of colours and flowers. Because I love roses, hence why I got mostly roses haha. I will have a post coming up on how to care for your fresh cut flowers so they last as long as possible! I love fresh flowers so it always makes me sad when they start to wilt :( The clear hobnob jar vases are from Balconi Florals as well. They did the arrangements in the vases for me. 

The soft green milk glass cake stand I got from Cross Designs. the diameter is 10inches for my 8inch cake. I explain why in my earlier post. 

All my cute pumpkins are from my adventures at the Richmond Country Farms Pumpkin Patch. 

The Birch Wood Cake Topper that says "Birthday Girl" is from PaperFelt. They really mean it when they say this cake topper is delicate because it broke when I was pulling it out of the packaging :( another bummer to add to my bumbum filled things leading up to my birthday dinner. The confetti I used on the table was actually the packaging for the cake topper --> Savvy Student! 

The giant 40inch coppery gold 2 balloons are from Confetti and Sparkle! These balloons were huge!!!! Gosh they were like the size of me! Made them even more awesome! Because they are Mylar balloons, you can have them filled a day or two beforehand and they can last for almost 3 weeks! 

The tin candles are from my favourite candle company, Vancouver Candle Co. I got all of the scents, but Fairview which they were sold out of, major boo! Fairview is my favourite, but I am sure they will have them in stock soon! 

The Fluffy White Pouff decorations are from the dollar store. I really love them and still have all three. I want to put them up in my room; however, they will collect far too much dust. 

Lastly, the globe string lights are from Urban Outfitters. My daddy hung them far too high in the tree so they did not get caught in the pictures... derp. 

Let me know if you love my pictures! I have been working really hard on my photography. Also a note - I used completely natural sunlight for these pictures and did NOT edit these pictures (aside for resizing and writing my name on them). I know some people are into editing their pictures, but I want to capture the moment and let it show through as it is in my pictures. 

BYES

Gurly's Life | 22nd Birthday that should have been fun

Hey Dolls!

Gosh I cannot believe it, I am now 22 years old. I wish I could still be a young child who could be carefree and have fun, but unfortunately, I need to start being a mature women! That being said, I will always be a kid at heart since life is too short to take things too seriously! Enjoy your days, live it to the fullest! Do not be concerned of what others think or let them bring you down, have fun - be safe and appropriate to not offend others of course! 

I had a lot of plans for my birthday and had spent many weeks planning it all out; however, sometimes plans just do not go the way you intended them to go. 

I had a great photoshoot planned with my friends. I had gone out and invested in some fabulous props and pieces, picked out my outfit and had a clear vision in my mind! I had three photographers drop out on me :( leaving me without a photographer on the day of my birthday. I am comfortable taking pictures, but it is a bit tough to take pictures of myself and I did not want selfies :P So the morning of my birthday rolled around, no photographer so I had to make a decision and cancel the shoot with my friends. However, I had spent a great deal of money, time and my own sanity planning this so I set it all up and took shots of my setup. The pictures turned out great, but I am bummed I did not get the cute shots with my friends and me :( 

It is not secret that I LOVE cake and I spent weeks planning out my cake with my friend Georgine, the head pastry chef at Liberty Bakery. My cake was a layered chocolate sponge cake with mint infused ganache, fresh raspberry buttercream and decorated with gold leaf! Oh the cake was absolutely perfect when I saw it.... my friend dropped it on the way to the car .... I think I spent the entire day crying because it just made me crack from all the stress I had been under from the last few weeks. Georgine did a great job of patching up the cake, but it was just not the way I imagined things turning out. 

Because I did not get any pictures of myself and friends, I was planning on getting cute pictures with my friends at the dinner with the giant "22" balloons I had gotten from Confetti & Sparkle. But of course, things needed to go sideways, my dad let one of the balloons fly away :( so I was left with only one 2. I was so upset that I ended up just sleeping the afternoon. 

Prior to dinner, I had planned on getting my makeup done so I could at least feel pretty. I wanted to FEEL pretty. When I got there, my makeup artist was fumbling around and kept telling me five more mins, then tried to pass me onto someone else. I ended up just leaving and going to dinner in Keds and no makeup. You do NOT want to feel irrelevant unimportant on your birthday. Especially when you worked so hard to plan fun things, and nothing worked out. I also did not get to have my nails done or my hair. I think anyone at this point would feel pretty bummed and upset. 

I showed up the restaurant and broke into tears since they told me they could not write Happy Birthday on my cake because of this whole whack explanation of cross contamination - which meant I was not allowed to cut and consume my cake on their property either. 

Thankfully, I have the greatest friends anyone could ask for. My gorgeous friend showed up, we get lead up to our table. The amazing waitress and my friend consoled me, got my face cleaned up and it only got better from there :) 

Glowbal did such a fabulous job at making my evening great. They really did make the effort to make up for the fact I was not allowed to eat my cake there and I think because I came in crying, they tried a 110% even harder to make my birthday dinner the best! 

Glowbal gave my party a private room that you would expect in a penthouse suite in Las Vegas. It was gorgeous! We had couches, tables two TVs and fun pictures on the wall. Not to mention we were on the second floor with a great view! BTW - this private room is generally booked by people and is an extra cost, they gave it to me for FREE. The manager at the restaurant that night oversaw everything and got us all fruity delight shots. At the end of the night, they brought my cake out with lots of candles with Happy Birthday on it and then brought me out another dessert so I could eat it there :) The waitress was so sweet and took her time and took lots of pictures of me and my friends so we would have them for memories. She was into photography so loved using my Nikon DSLR. Thank you Glowbal! But it definitely showed on my face that I was tired and none of the pictures turned out cute. I wish I had those fun giant gold 22 balloons for the pictures. 

Even though things did get better because of my friends and the great staff at Glowbal, I am still bummed by all the awful things that led up to it. No one deserves to feel not special or pretty on their birthday. I cannot express how excited I had been for my birthday, but it was a shame that I only feel miserable when I think of my 22nd birthday. Be sure you make any friend of yours feel special and important on their birthday. No body deserves this. I should not have been the one running around trying to make things awesome for my guests. The day should not have have been about others, it should have been about me. This not me being narcissistic self-absorbed, it is the one day I deserved to be treated awesome. 

Let me know in the comments below on your thoughts. 

BYES

7 Lattes + Wishes | Setting up an Amazing Birthday Table

Just a sneak peak of my birthday set up for October 25th, 2015! 

Hey Dolls!

If you browse instagram or pinterest, you have probably seen those gorgeously amazing birthday setups. I sure have been envious of them in the past, but no longer since it is not difficult to make your own birthday display. 

There are 3 elements:
1. Table
2. Cake
3. Decorations

TABLE |

It is important to get a table that is striking and charming for your display. Using a regular fold up table will take away from your beautiful decor. I suggest going to your local antique or vintage stores to find a unique old desk or console table. For my setup, I picked up a gorgeous refurbished, painted white vanity from L'Atelier home. When I walked by it in the store, I knew it was the one! Needless to say, I snatched it up instantly! 

CAKE |

A birthday is not a birthday unless there is a birthday cake! Since I am a huge sweets girl myself, the cake has been my priority! I think I have put in more planning for my cake versus the rest of birthday. 

This is definitely a more personal choice. I prefer one tier multi layered naked iced cakes with minimal decorations. Others may prefer a tiered square cake. However, every cake needs to be displayed on cake stand! My pick is the milk glass cake stand from The Cross Design. I am in love with this cake stand and want to get it in every colour and size. For my set up, I have chosen the jade colour in a 10inch. As well I got the cutest "birthday girl" birch wood cake topper from Paper Felt. This cake topper is actually made in Canada! 

TIP: always get a cake stand that 2 inches larger then your cake. My cake is going to be 8 so that is why I got a 10inch cake stand. It accounts for one inch for icing and another inch for good spacing on the stand. 

DECORATIONS | 

To really bring a setup together, decorations will be your best friend! I sort of think of decorations in two subgroups: background decor and regular decor. For the background, it is what will be behind your set up. Think of it as almost a the background set you see when you go to musicals and plays. It needs to embody your theme in a way! There are many fun ways to go about it such as ceiling to floor streamers, lots of balloons, but I have chosen globe string lights from Urban Outfitters. The lights are unique and I plan on hanging them from the tree. You will see what I am talking about when I post pictures of it! 

For general decor, there are endless choices. You can use cute mason jars for your drinks or elements that you think really bring your theme together. I am having a whimsical fun birthday so I am going to have lots of birthday crowns and confetti. 

What are the elements for your perfect birthday display?

BYES

Gurly's Life | Starting off my Birthday week with my Bakery Picks for Cake!

The Mint Chocolaty Chocolate Cake from Liberty Bakery. So mouthwatering to look at. 

Hello Dolls! 

Today marks the official start to my birthday week! I turn 22 on Sunday October 25th, so the seven day countdown has begun! This week is going to be full of fun birthday related fun; where to get the best tasting birthday cakes to setting up a gorgeous birthday table! Plus outfits to make you feel like the queen of the day! 

Since I am a huge pastry lover, today will be all about my picks for getting the yummiest birthday cake from. For me, it is all about the taste, the cake can be breathtaking, but if it does not taste great, it is not a winner for me. My Yellow Pages Smart List on Where to buy the perfect Birthday cake in Vancouver is live! 

Liberty Bakery on Main St. |

I am slightly biased here because I am getting my own birthday cake made by the head pastry chef at Liberty. But there is a reason as to why I chose Liberty, it is because they make mind blowing tasting cakes! Not to mention their cakes are beautiful. I love that they are naked iced cakes with minimal decorations. The simplicity is what makes the cakes so beautiful. I will reveal to you my cake flavours on Sunday, but I promise it will be worth the wait! 

Butter Baked Goods |

If you want a traditional birthday cake, Butter does it best. The fact that their name is Butter only tells you that their cakes are the real deal. Their butter cream is soft and melts in your mouth while the sponge is fluffy and airy. 

Thierry Chocolates |

I have had a Thierry birthday cake in the past years and gotten it for my friends birthdays too. Honestly, they do alcohol in cakes best. Take my word for it, the tiramisu cake well give you a happy buzz while delivering on exceptional flavour and texture. Not to mention the cakes are works of art! 

Faubourg |

This french patisserie are experts in making cake. With every bite, you will feel as though you are in Paris sitting under the Eiffel Tower. 

Beta 5 Chocolates |

Cream puffs are done best by Beta 5, but did you know that Beta 5 does a Cream Puff Cake! It is layers of their decadent pastry cream, sponge and covered in cream puffs. I cannot wait until the holidays, I bet they do a fabulous croque en bouche! 

Bella Gelateria |

When I was younger, the cake to have at your birthday party was a DQ Ice Cream Cake. However, now that we are older and have sophisticated palates, it is time we had a frozen cake to match. Bella Gelateria does Gelato Cakes with their many award winning gelato flavours. You cannot go wrong with a Sorbetto cake either! Plus Sorbetto cakes are vegan and gluten friendly; therefore, everyone can enjoy a slice! 

These are my go to places for a birthday cake. You can go either traditional with Butter, boozy with Thierry, fancy with Faubourg, creamy with Beta 5, complex flavours with Liberty or stay a child at heart with Bella Gelateria. 

Where do you love getting your birthday cake from? Let me know in the comments below!

BYES

Gurly's Life | Pumpkin Patch Fun at Richmond Country Farms

Hey Dolls!

Fall is not fall unless you visit the pumpkin patch! My friends and I went on over to Richmond Country Farms to their annual pumpkin patch! This has to be my favourite farm to visit since I have been going there since I was a little girl. Plus, they have so many cute adorable farm animals - ah I want a baby goat! 

If you have not checked out my Pumpkin Patch Chic Outfit, go on and check it out because that is what I wore. The key thing is to wear rubber rain boots! Vancouver is a rainy city and when you are going to a farm, things can get mucky! If you do not want to ruin your shoes, wear rain boots so you can wash the mud off easily. 

It was really fun since they had a little stage with a giant dancing corn on the cob and pumpkin of course. It is really great for the children! Plus a little train that went around the property. My favourite part was the food, they had poutine, mini donuts and fish + chips! Like yummy! It was like a carnival! 

We got really lucky that the day turned out to be so sunny and beautiful. I do not think I would have had as much fun if it were raining. To get to the pumpkin patch, we board a trolley that is pulled by a tractor! So amazing! Love John Deer! hehe

Pumpkin Orange Elephants roam the fields of Haunted Houses! Best Trolley Ride Siting Ever! 

Once we got to the pumpkin patch, it was pumpkins for miles! Gosh they had three fields full of pumpkins. For the first little while, my friends and I pretty much ran around the fields till we spotted the corn maze. Now that was a lot fun to run around in. We did however cheat and decided to create our own exit out of the maze, but the point is, we had lots of fun!

Pumpkin Fields for miles!

I ended up being really ambitious.... I got 8 pumpkins! Yes you read that correctly EIGHT PUMPKINS! Good thing I had a friend to help me carry them all back to the trolley and then back to the car. But they did not tell me how many pumpkins I was allowed to take and there were just so many cute pretty pumpkins. You will see them all in my birthday shoot coming up next weekend! 

Let me know if you love going to the pumpkin patch and which one you like going to!

BYES

Chic Life | Pumpkin Patch Style

Cozy Socks | Burberry RainBoots | Light Washed Denim | Red-Black Plaid | V-Neck T-Shirt

Hey Dolls!

Today I had such a fabulous day at Richmond Country Farm's Pumpkin Patch! Gosh, I was so excited to go that I woke up at 8am (my friends and I were meeting half past noon) and practically just got ready and watched the minutes ticked by until it was acceptable for me to leave! Haha from all my excitement and running around the pumpkin patch with my friends, I am practically running on fumes at this point. 

I thought I would do fun post on what I wore to the pumpkin patch! Funny enough, many of my friends and I dressed quite similar. So you can say, this is THE look for the pumpkin patch! 

First things first - RAIN BOOTS! It is super muddy at pumpkin patches because it is farm land, not paved concrete. Furthermore, Vancouver is pretty rainy causing the soil to become sticky mud. Keep those feet dry in rain boots which are also easy to wash the mud off from! I took it a step further and wore my Burberry rain boots - I thought I looked pretty cool! hehe

I find rain boots always make my toes really cold because it is plastic which do not insulate your feet at all. So you must have some cozy knit socks to wear. I am obsessed with the knitted cabin socks from Roots Canada. Oh gosh, I must have almost 5 identical pairs, but they are life savers in the winter! 

Since I knew I would be running around the pumpkin patch outdoors, I wanted to dress warm, but also wear layers that I can take off as the warmed up. As a base, a basic white v-neck. Nothing beats a good v-neck! Topped off with my favourite plaid flannel button up of course! Nothing screams fall better then plaid! I like to button mine up and then unbutton it as I get warmer. 

My plaid button up was already pretty dark; therefore, I wanted to wear lighter toned bottoms. I chose skinny light washed denims. Skinnys are always easiest to tuck into boots! Plus they hug my curves so well! 

Let me know what you like wearing to the pumpkin patch! Hope you all get lots of pumpkins! Ill be posting pictures from the pumpkin patch most likely tomorrow as I am just too popped to do so now! 

BYES

Working Gurl | My First Set of Business Cards!

My first set of business cards! Designed by me! Digitally rendered and printed by Made In Print! 

Hi Dolls! 

If you have not noticed already, exciting changes have been happening on my blog - well specifically I have a new logo! I am so excited to share with you my experience of designing, working with Made in Print, and my final business cards!

I did not realize that being a blogger was more then just posting online and sharing cool things on my social media. Practically without a fail, every business or person I spoke to about my blog asked me for my business card?!? At first, I thought they were all just joking and giving me a hard time since I am still a new blogger; however, after asking them why, it became apparent that they expected me to have my own business cards. Most bloggers in Vancouver all have business cards with their blog information on it.

The notion of a blogger having a business card seemed a bit absurd to me. I have always associated business cards with a "business" to give out to potential clients. However, business cards have now evolved to a marketing tool. One of my favourite examples would be Bando's business cards. Their business card is no longer a white card stock with the company name in one corner and the employees name and information in the bottom right corner. It is an eye-catching piece of art that embodies their fun outgoing company that is passionate about having fun! 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/60869032439134290/

I wanted to design my own card and not have anyone telling me how my card should look. 
The card needed to be a reflection of my blog with is ultimately a reflection of ME! Prior to even going in to talk to printing companies, I spent several weeks sketching designs, looking at designs online for inspiration and figuring out how I wanted my business cards to look. 

Once I knew the direction I wanted my business cards to go in, it was time for me to find someone to print them! It was important to me that I meet the company in person and have a consultation as I did not have the time to graphically render my cards myself. Plus, just like clothes, when you order online, you do not know what you are going to get. This was also a great opportunity to support another Local Company! 

I had walked by Made in Print's Broadway location many times, so they were the first I checked out. With the fabulous customer service that they gave me, I did not even think to check out another printing company. Not to mention how impatient and eager I was to get my cards printed and in hand! 

They were super sweet, I sketched out my design for them and Lily, from Made In Print, gave me some really great pointers on how I can improve my logo and design. She also showed me all the different options I have for type of paper, type of print, style etc. It was nice to see the examples in person and feel the paper. That is something you cannot do online! After that, I just went home, re-sketched it and emailed the design to them. 

Probably within 24hrs, Made In Print sent me two digital proofs to pick from. We probably went back and forth a couple of times before I was happy with the design. From there, they printed out four colour proofs for me. I had to go into the office and select the colour I liked best since colour on our computer screens does not necessarily print out in the exact same shade. With their speedy service, I had my business cards in hand in two business days! 

Overall, the whole process of having my business cards digitally designed, proofed, and printed took a week. I would say that is pretty darn amazing because I am a hard person to please! 

I definitely recommend checking out Made In Print for your first set of business cards. Not to mention, Students get a discount ;) They are really great with being informative and have really talented graphic designers to make your vision come true!

I will be doing a second post on how I came up with the design, what changes I made and some really helpful tips by Lily from Made in Print on branding. 

Let me know if you are thinking of getting business cards?

BYES

Edible Obsessions | Brunch at 33 Acres Brewing Co.

what a gorgeous matcha latte?!

Hey Dolls!

Even though I have a nasty cold, I refuse to let it hold me back from going out for Sunday Brunch! This weekend, it was my friend's pick and he chose 33 Acres Brewing Co! Personally, I think he chose it because he knew how badly I wanted to try their waffles and since I was sick, I guess it was an attempt to cheer me up! Yay for fabulously amazing friends. No one can ever replace friends like him! 

Pumpkin Spice Waffles + Cream Cheese Butter + Cooked Raspberries

Of course I got their weekly feature waffles Hehehe. This weekend, 33 Acres Brewing Co whipped up Pumpkin Spice Waffles with Cream Cheese Butter (I want them again now). 
You would think we would all be over the pumpkin spice creations, but pumpkin spice will always remain a classic! I generally love my waffles and pancakes with some fresh berries. They did not have fresh berries, booo, however, they offered me cooked raspberries which is used in their parfaits. It was pretty funny because it looked like I had started a trend. The table beside us then asked for berries with their waffles too. Super flavourful, that smelt amazing, I hope they make the pumpkin spice waffle a regular fall flavour at 33 acres brewing!  

The Avocado Smash Toast with a poached egg

My friend got the Avocado Smash Toast plus a poached egg (go protein!) on sourdough from Nelson the Seagull and some hot sauce in the adorable little pitcher! the moment you took a bite of the avocado smash, you just taste freshness in your mouth. I said it tasted like EARTH, but it really did taste as if the ingredients were only picked moments before being cooked. Unfortunately, the one piece of toast is not going to fill you up. We honestly thought there would be two pieces of toast. 

To accompany my brunch, I had a matcha latte. Super creamy and it warmed me right up. I felt as if I was cozied up to a fire place while it poured outside. I liked how it came in a clear glass versus a traditional cup with handle. Just a little change! 

I wholeheartedly suggest you go check 33 Acres for Brunch. It was absolutely delicious and it is also a perfect opportunity to get your growler topped up! 

BYES

Gurly's Life | I am now a Smart List contributor for YP

Taken from YP ... I have a BY LINE! Plus a Profile Picture and a BIO!  

Hey Dolls!

I am so excited to finally announce and share this exciting news with all of you....two weeks ago, Yellow Pages Canada's Vancouver editor got in touch with me and asked me to be a Smart List contributor for Vancouver. Needless to say, I said YES! My very first smart list is now live on YP: Where to find cold-pressed juice in Vancouver. It was posted on Thursday October 8, 2015!!! 

There are so many fabulous YP Smart Lists to check out in Vancouver written by other local bloggers and celebrities. 

For my very first Smart List, I was tasked with the best cold-pressed juice bars in Vancouver. I chose six of my favourite cold-pressed juice bars across the Vancouver Lower Mainland. Each and every cold-pressed juice bar I listed, I have visited in person! Therefore, I know these places are absolutely fabulous! 

MELU Juice & Health Bar made the top of my list. No surprise there as I love MELU's adorable cozy setup and their to die for overnight oats. Plus, they are the one of very few to offer cold-pressed juice in two sizes. 

As well on my list are The Juice Truck, Nectar Juicery, Rain City Juicery (post coming soon!), Krokodile Pear, and The Juicery! 

My YP profile can be found HERE and soon there will be more YP Smart Lists up from me! The next one will be my Pasta Favourites in Vancouver. 

As this is Thanks Giving long-weekend in Canada, I want to say that I am extremely grateful for this opportunity from Yellow Pages Canada. I am thankful to know that handwork and perseverance will always be recognized. Never give up Dolls! 

BYES

Desk Goodies | Maurelle Calligraphy + London Fields Shoppe

Good Morning Dolls! I feel like I am just drowning under a giant mountain of work; however, I will persevere and succeed! So with me being just overwhelmingly busy, I am a little behind in posts, as in, I should have posted this probably three weeks ago! OOPS! None the less, it is here now for all of you to enjoy and read!

Around mid-September (too lazy to pull out my agenda and check the exact date), on a Saturday morning, I headed down to London Fields Shoppe in Gastown to attend Maurelle Calligraphy's modern calligraphy class! 

Modern Calligraphy differs from traditional calligraphy as that it has far less rules. It works on the basis of traditional calligraphy, such as down strokes should be bolder compared to up strokes, but aside from that, it allows your personality shine through! Unlike traditional calligraphy which expects you to write horizontally in a straight line, modern calligraphy allows you to make your writing more free form. I love varying the heights where each letter begins! Gives it so much more personality and fun! 

Maurelle is such a sweetheart and makes learning modern calligraphy fun. I appreciated how she continuously walked around to every participant after she explained a new letter. It really made the class of 12 feel more of a private one-on-one class. This individual attention was great since she could show us on our papers how to improve our letters and show us how the pen should be held. Her focus was on making everyone feel comfortable as well as boosting everyones confidence! 

If you have browsed through my blogposts, it is apparent that I am a hungry student who loves to eat. Probably partway through Maurelle's class, I was starving! Me being me, I announced it out loud! haha, thankfully Maurelle being such a caring sweetheart immediately went to the back to inquire when the food would be set out. Thank You for looking out for my belly Maurelle! 

I just you check out Maurelle's workshop page if you are interested in taking a modern calligraphy class from her. This was a BEGINNERS Modern Calligraphy class, so no experience is necessary! I know her next one is on Hallowe'en, October 31st!

During our food break, YAY, we had a chance to finally explore London Fields Shoppe's inventory. So many cute goodies that it was next to impossible not to get anything. I did end up picking up some more LePens as well as some super cool gold wired binder clips. 

As well, London Fields Shoppe holds other fabulous workshops like Piñata Making Class and Word Press Classes! So be sure to visit their workshop page as well because who knew you needed the Food Styling class to make your pictures that much more scrumptious looking! 

Hope to visit London Field Shoppe soon again as I know I am going to need some more desk goodies from their fabulous array! As well, I am looking forward to doing a little one-on-one with Maurelle in the coming months (when my crazy life allows it) so there is still more to come on that! 

Also, I have gotten sick, boo for the common cold, but I am going to hopefully bounce back soon because I have just soo much to share with you this October! 

Love you all!

BYES

Latte Moment | My Adventure to Krause Berry Farms in Langley!

I made it to Krause Berry Farms! SUCCESS!!!!

 Hey Dolls!

Yesterday I went on an epic adventure to Krause Berry Farms in Langley. What made this adventure epic is the fact I decided to take public transit from Richmond to Langly to the farm! The bussing part was easy, take the skytrain, get off at Surrey Central and hop on the 503 express bus. However, when we got off at Frasery Hwy and 248th Street --> it was a 6km trek to the farm.... whoops ... 1hr of walking! 

It was so worth the trek as Krause Berry Farms is absolutely gorgeous and is such a fun farm. They had the official giant pumpkin weigh off yesterday, the pumpkin patch, a barley maze, their winery, plus lots of yummy goodies! 

So many fresh picked berries! Wish I could have taken them all! You could smell the berries - thats how fresh they were!

I am really upset that I missed the fresh waffles with fresh berries. We were just so hungry and tired from our trek that we headed towards the first food in sight. I had the fresh corn pizza. It was amazing! The corn was sweet and juicy and with a little bit of pizza sauce on a pizza crust, this was a mind blowing creation! I hope to get back there soon to have more of the corn pizza and also to try their waffles! 

Corn Pizza - Why is this not a regular pizza flavour? It was delicious! 

After my friend and I got some energy in us, we went on to explore the property. We got really lucky that it was a hot sunny day out so it was fun to explore! We checked out all the berry plants, explored the barley maze and even got a bit of wine tasting in! I cannot believe I forgot to grab a little pumpkin home with me, but it would have been a large journey home. I ended up leaving with a delicious fresh pumpkin pie. It was so fragrant with all its spices. It was a struggle to not give in on the bus ride home. I also brought home some fresh strawberries and raspberries. Made a delicious smoothie of it this morning! 

Fresh pies in progress! These were Raspberry! 

Thankfully we were able to get a taxi ride back to the bus stop as I do not think either my friend or I were up for another 1 hour trek back. All in all, a fabulous trip and I hope to get back out to Krause Berry Farms soon!

BYES

Edible Obsessions | Sunday Brunch at the Flying Pig Gastown

The Flying Pig sign is so darn cute! Love the pig with a balloon tied around his abdomen!
Fly little piggy fly!!!!

Hey Dolls!

Gosh this week has been an absolute nightmare as it has been non-stop busy for me! I am just proud of myself for keeping up with everything, but I have been practically collapsing into bed each night. Hoping things will calm down and go back to normal life pace for me this week! 

Trying to keep a little tradition going with my friends by grabbing some yummy Sunday Brunch with them at different places each weekend. This weeks pick was by my friend he chose The Flying Pig in Gastown. They have a second location in Yaletown, but you would be missing out on the gorgeous view from your table.  

The perfect view for enjoy my fresh seasonal fruit smoothie

You know what they say, you eat with your eyes! So if you have a beautiful view of historic Gastown on a gorgeous sunny day like today, there is no way you will not enjoy your brunch! We were also lucky ducks to be seated on the second floor at the corner table by the window overlooking Abbott st and Cordova! 

I had the seasonal fresh smoothie, an attempt to cancel out the hearty cheesy deliciousness of the Wild Mushroom, Asparagus, Chèvre Frittata I had. I also learned from my lovely server that Chèvre is a goats cheese and it brought a fabulous creamy texture as well as a tangy taste to the frittata! Super yummy! It came with a side salad, unfortunately I did not like the vinaigrette it was tossed in. I always forget to ask for dressing/vinegrette on the side since I tend to not like most house dressings. I need to remember for next time... hopefully! 

My friend had the Chef Croque Madame - sour dough, 3 cheeses, ham + fried egg. Oh it looked like the most heavenly cheesy goodness! It was a thick and scrumptious Croque Madame with the crustiest sour dough bread! 

We had the crispy hash browns to share amongst us. IT HAD A GIANT MOUND OF GRILLED ONIONS ONTOP OF IT! I have never liked grilled onions. In fact, if I ever get grilled onions in my food, I will sit there and pick them out one by one with no intention of eating until it is grilled onion free. I will eat raw onions. In fact I love having sliced red onions in my salads and sandwiches, but if there are cooked - no thank you! Of course we did move them over to his end of the hashbrown so I did try some. Crispy greasy fabulousness like how a good hash brown should be! SANS THE GRILLED ONIONS! 

Do you see the pile of villainous caramelized onions on top of the hash-browns?!?!

Overall, a very delightful experience. It was also because we had the most fabulous server who even gave me some photography tips on my Nikon DSLR! She was so lovely and down to earth. The food was great; however, it could do with more seasoning. Something to give it a little more oomph since it was a little bland leaving us not too wowed. None the less, great food where you can taste the freshness of the ingredients! 

Be sure to get a seat on the second floor balcony so you can spy on everyone who is on the first floor! 

Let me know if you have ever been to the Flying Pig and what you thought about it? As well, where should my next Sunday Brunch destination should be!!! 

BYES

7 Lattes + Wishes | October Wishlist 2015!!!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 

Hey Dolls!

October is my Birthday Month - I turn 22 on October 25th  EEEEEKKK - so I am allowed to be a little crazy for this month's wishlist since it also ends up being my birthday wishlist! Plus, I am allowed to be a bit more eccentric this month! 

If you have been following me along on instagram {@pinktealatte} you already know that I picked myself up the Lemon Drop hair brush from the Dry Bar in the new Nordstrom that opened up in Vancouver! I am completely obsessed with it since it makes my hair unimaginably smooth and shiny {blog post on it will be coming soon with pictures of how shiny it makes my hair}; therefore, I must get Dry Bar's Buttercup Blow Dryer! It is a bit of a splurge item since it is a steep price tag for a blow dryer, but It is such a cute yellow with an equitably adorable name and if it makes my hair shiny and smooth = definitely worth every penny! While I am at it, I might as well pick up the Dry Bar Double Pint Round Ceramic Brush. 

This season, I have been seeing so many girls rocking a leather jacket and it is might as well time I got in on the action! I have always wanted a nice leather jacket made from buttery soft lamb skin with a diagonal "ninja" zipper because it is so chic! Mackage is my pick for a leather jacket, Daddy, if you are reading this, I need it in an XS please! 

This one might be a weird one for some, but I am a huge vest lover. The North Face or Arcteryx Goose Feathered Down "athletic" company vests. My pick is a snow white vest from Canada Goose! They are just so darn comfy and are far less bulky than carrying around a jacket. I find them perfect for days that are cold, but not cold enough for a parka. A vest keeps my chest warm - very important so you do not catch a cold - and my arms open to regulate temperature if it gets a little less chilly. Plus, I hate having to lug around a giant parka just because the temperature went up 2 degrees, making me a little too warm in my parka. 

The Nocturnal Workshop Backpack was on a  past wishlist of mine and it still remains a huge WANT for me. Adding it back onto this months wishlist as the semester is in full swing and the sun is setting sooner. A fully reflective backpack is a priceless investment I can make in making myself more visible to drivers when I am walking home in the dark from the bus stop. You can never put a price on something that is for your safety, plus Nocturnal Workshop knew chic mattered so they made all their backpacks stylish to rock! 

I really want to get a felt floppy hat to add to my Fall Wardrobe. I think its a fun accessory to wear on a semi-chilly day. Plus, I think it would make me feel so dramatic and chic. As well, I NEED to get myself a blanket scarf already! They are ingenious since if I am cold in lecture, I could just drape it over me as a blanket! No duh Gurleen, hence the "blanket" scarf haha. 

Lastly, I need more decor for my room as it is academia overrun with textbooks and notes and nothing cute :( . I find Bando's gem speaker to be so cute and an unexpected pop of colour for my room! Plus, it is functional and I can blast some music when I am in the mood for a solo dance party in my room! Sometimes I am just feeling my jam and need to rock out to it! Its a great stress reliever and there is nothing wrong with being silly!

Really excited for October to unfold because there is a big chance I might be getting a couple of the items on my wishlist for my birthday! Well hopefully! Regardless, I am going to treat myself to one splurge.

Let me know what is on your wish-list plus if you too are an October Baby!

BYES!