Challenging myself to 15 blog posts in December 2019

Another December and another potentially failed attempt at Blogmas by me! In fact, I have already missed publishing a post on December 1st - Whoops! This year, I am going to be a little more realistic and aim to publish every other day. I like to do things a little differently and actually post for the entire month, not just till Christmas. The goal is 15 posts for the entirety of December! 

For December 2019, I am going to be publishing a diverse array of posts. There will be food - obviously - some skincare, clothing, gift guides and of course, lots of Winter adventures. I already have a couple lined up.

The first post is going to be my stay at the Four Seasons Resort Whistler! I have been working on it for over a week and cannot wait to publish it because I had the most amazing time staying with them and cannot wait to share it with all of you. 

Superfly Ziplining Adventure in Whistler

Superfly Ziplines base camp 10 minutes north of Whistler village 

Whistler is an outdoor enthusiast's dream destination. A two-hour drive north of Vancouver, Whistler is ranked amongst one of the best ski/snowboarding destinations; however, Whistler also boasts an incredible array of outdoor activities year-round. Initially, my 3-day trip to Whistler was booked with the intention of lounging in pj's in my room, order loads of room service and soak in the pools aka to relax, recharge and decompress. But when a wicked the wicked opportunity to go on a 3-hour ziplining excursion with Superfly Ziplines Whistler, you do not turn it down! 

Superfly Ziplines is 10 minutes north of Whistler Village on Cougar Mountain and offers a convenient shuttle from Whistler Village and several hotels. Their four ziplines are custom built and what makes them truly unique is that the ziplines are dual. This means you and a friend get to zipline down the mountain side-by-side but on your own individual wires. Two of the ziplines are over 1 KM in length making them the longest in Canada. Superfly offers tours all year round even if it is snowing. I can only imagine how magical it is to zipline while it is snowing! 

Four Seasons Resort Whistler Balcony Breakfast

Four Seasons Resort Whistler my balcony breakfast

Everyone has their "must-haves" for when deciding which hotel to stay at and for me, the hotel has to offer a killer breakfast because breakfast is the most important meal of the day! For my mini getaway, I stayed at the Four Seasons Resort Whistler because their in-room breakfast towers looked scrumptious and I have never seen anything like it before at a hotel. It is like a high-tea tower, but better because it is full-sized breakfast food!!!

The Four Seasons Whistler offers a few breakfast towers. The Power Breakfast is on the healthy side with a focus on lean meats, fruits, health bars and a spinach, chickpea & quinoa breakfast burrito as the main. The Express Continental Breakfast is for those wanting a quick and easy breakfast of granola & berry yogurt parfait, pastries and fruit salad. All of their towers come with tea or coffee and a chilled juice of your liking. The Power and Express Breakfast Towers both sounded delicious, but I wanted something heartier for breakfast as well as a bit of both sweet and savoury. 

My BC Transit Story: 13 Year Relationship

Only picture I have on hand of me in high school.... ahhh terrible Grade 12 pictures. 

I have been a regular transit rider since the second day of grade eight. I live in Richmond, but attended a high school in Vancouver, so I would take public transit every morning to school and then bus back home after. I still remember rushing out the door and piling into the car with my neighbour to catch the 7:18 AM 480 UBC bus. The 7:18 AM time will forever be ingrained in my mind as I caught that 480 bus 5 days a week for 3 and a half years before the Canada Line was introduced. 

I completed my Bachelors of Science in Food, Nutrition and Health at UBC and then too, I rode the bus to and from campus. Over the years, I have worked for several different companies and depended on the public transit system. Now I work in North Vancouver, but live in Vancouver, but even still, I wake up early, take the Canada Line and catch the 240 at 5:51 AM to make it on time for my 6:30 AM start time. 

BETA5 Cafe Opening Party including holiday flavour preview

BETA 5 Holiday Creampuffs: Christmas Tree | Rudolph's Nose | White Forest | Snowball

BETA5 is kicking off the holiday season with the opening of their very first BETA5 Cafe aka BETA5 2.0! The 900 square foot cafe can seat up to 16 patrons and is conveniently located adjacent to their current production. So if you are craving some BETA5 creations, you will still need to make the trek into the industrial neighbourhood near Science World, but rumours have been floating that a more central downtown location is also in the works. To celebrate their opening, BETA5 invited media and influencers (like me!!!) to preview their 2019 Holiday Collection.  

Co-owner and lead pastry chef, Adam Chandler, loves to experiment with new and unique flavour profiles and equally enjoys the newest technological developments. BETA5's Cafe has been outfitted with the latest chilled display. The L-shaped counter displays their chocolate as well as their signature cream puffs, but there are other non-cream puff desserts in the works. Fingers crossed for some cake! I am going to try my best to describe the refrigerated countertop in words, so bear with me. The more widely used chilled cases have a door that is kept shut, but this commonly leads to condensation to build up inside. The moisture from the condensation can affect the pastries. The new BETA5 showcase has been designed to be half-open so there will be no condensation problem. There are pictures at the bottom that give you a look at the case. 

Discovering Canada's Coolest Artisans at Circle Craft

I have been meaning to attend Circle Craft for many years and finally made it out there for the very first time. Monday, November 11, 2019 is their final market day, so I want to get this post up ASAP so anyone curious can check it out. Over the years, I have visited several craft markets in Vancouver, but none of them come close in size to Circle Craft. 

I believe there are over 300 different artisans and makers from across Canada showing at Circle Craft. While you peruse the row upon rows of intricately crafted goods, a string quartet played joyous holiday music. 

There is so much to explore, from delectable jams and preserves to whimsical ceramics. I wish I had a million dollars because I would have purchased everything. The quality and craftsmanship were impeccable! Some of the artisans were fairly new, only dabbling in their craft for just over a year; however, their work was indistinguishable from those who have been honing in their craft for decades. I reckon Circle Craft must have a selection process and only accept vendors that meet a certain level of quality. 

Potter's House of Horrors Scare-ific Haunted Houses

With Hallowe'en fast approaching, scare-tastic shenanigans have been taking place all across the Lower Mainland. Now I must admit, I am an absolute scaredy-cat and tend to gravitate towards non-frightening activities like going to the pumpkin patch or celebrating my birthday - I am an October baby!!! Anything that causes my heart to leap out of my chest is not my thing, so I am shocked that I loved Potter's House of Horrors.