Going back to cali........

Once a year, the girls and I try to have a getaway for a long weekend - where we can have quality time together and share in new adventures. This year's trip was to L.A. We stayed in Santa Monica where there is plenty of great restaurants and shops to choose from.

If you're planning a trip to Santa Monica, I'd definitely recommend staying at the Huntley Hotel, having an Aperol Smash cocktail at the rooftop Penthouse resaurant, dining at Tar and Roses or venturing to Gjelina in Abbot Kinney. We definitely savoured a lot of amazing cuisine, sampled several cheese platters, and walked every square inch of the area. 

We're all so uniquely different but I am so appreciative of the time we were able to share together.

Fun fact: celebs spotted: Cathy saw Mike Tyson at the airport, we spotted Laura Innes from ER shopping in Brentwood  and Empire of the Sun were on my flight from LA to Vancouver.

41 things for 41

Tomorrow I turn 41, so I wanted to make a little wish list of 41 things I want to accomplish this year - some big, some tiny, but all of importance to me.

Before I begin this little list - I want to give thanks to all of the people who have made my 41 years on this lovely planet of ours so wonderful - I was actually going to list everyone by name, but then I had this terrible fear that there'd be one important person who I accidentally left off the list because I am that absent minded. Over the years we are shaped by the amazing people we meet and I honestly believe that some people, for some unexplainable reason,  you never really click with no matter how many times you interact, then others can come into your life, and as soon as you start talking, you feel like you've known them forever - they make you feel like you're home.
So to all my forever friends, I love you for who you are, and all that you bring to my life. And to Craig & Stella, as long as I'm with you, I feel happiness and peace within my soul.

41 things for 41: (the order is as random as my thoughts)

1. travel to a place I've never been to before in BC
2. do a family photo shoot with a pro
3. treat myself to a new camera lens
4. lose 15 pounds
5. read 12 books
6. do (at least) 12 random acts of kindness
7. volunteer with the SPCA
8. bathroom reno (see results here )
9. make funny christmas cards
10. stanley park christmas train  (see photos here)
11. van dusen gardens christmas lights
12. get a mammogram
13. paint a picture for our kitchen
14. have dinner parties mixing and matching different friends
15. take another photography class
16. write a funny screenplay with smiley
17. enter a team race with friends
18. find an amazing pair of jeans
19. make Stella a birthday cake from scratch
20. take our parents somewhere overnight
21. have something published in a newspaper or in the Huffington Post
22. donate to the food bank
23. do a 365 photo project for 2014
24. enter a writing contest
25. enter a photo contest
26. run half marathon distance again
27. take stella tobogganing
28. wine tasting trip with friends
29. get a tattoo
30. spend the night at a hotel in the city and have a big drunken night out with friends
31. take a big trip
32. go to an outdoor concert
33. throw my parent's an awesome 50th anniversary bash
34. take another class with stella
35. pack lunches to work for a month
36. go on a cruise
37. plant bulbs for a pretty spring garden
38. throw a themed dinner party (French, Indian, Italian, etc)
39. sell something I create 
40. go camping with friends
41. go on a spending diet for a month

pumpkin patching!!

I hope you're having an amazing Thanksgiving weekend so far!! 

Happy Friday!

Hello friends! What do you have on your weekend line up? In Canada, we're celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend, and you know what that means, time to break out the stretchy pants! I probably should just buy some duct tape and stick the yams right on my thighs now, because we all know that's where they're headed. My friend said her family sits around before dinner and has to each say something they are thankful for. What are you thankful for?
I was going to be all serious and list off things like health, my family and friends (but those are ALWAYS on top of my list) so I thought it'd be more interesting to list off things you might not know I'm thankful for:

• q-tips (my name is kelly and I am an addict), chocolate chips (I always intend to bake with them, but they never seem to make it...), funny people (I collect them as friends), hairdressers (those miracle workers who always give me the false hope that I'll be able to re-create what they've done), the interior of my car (because it allows me to sing like it's the concert of my life when I'm commuting), people who make Naan - (I will never make it from scratch, but am always more than happy to eat it), whoever made wearing buns popular right now (my low maintenance morning routine thanks you), animals (in all their fuzzy adorableness), the creaters of: iphone cameras, netflix, tim horton's coffee (you know who you are), free food samples (I will always line up - what is this you say, bread?), pedicurists ( or those artists who can turn my gnarled feet into something that won't scare the general public, some still look away), my passions (music, photography, dancing), artists ( for staying true to themselves in a world that challenges them to), gay people (for the same reason as artists), hot yoga (the only place I work out in micro shorts and a tank because it's either that or die of heat exhaustion), greek yogurt (it's not dessert, it has yogurt in the title!), showers with great water pressure (one of life's biggest treats), google (for inevitably answering every "riddle me this" question.....), school supplies, Makers Mark, a freshly made bed, Javier Bardem's parents (for their beautiful genetics), people.com (very important news site), hot springs, toques, a perfectly hot cup of tea, perfectly hot sex. 

gratitude day#21

Today is the final day of the gratitude challenge. I hope that you attempted it and found it helpful. I honestly am going to keep it up on paper, because I've noticed how great I feel at the end of each day recapping the best moments- it really helps you reframe how you think of things. It honestly makes me feel really lucky for all the quality people I am continuously surrounded by.

Here's today's top three standout moments for me:

• Seeing this little face wave at me when I pull into the driveway and throw herself into my arms. Best greeter ever.
• breaking bad - we've almost caught up - only two episodes left- I think I've been dragging it out because I don't want it to end.  The episode we saw tonight, was some of the most brilliantly acted television I've ever seen. Bryan Cranston is a genius in tighty whities.
• time to exercise - the endorphin rush at the end is worth every drop of sweat.

gratitude day#20

Hello friends! I hope you had a great day! One more day to go, and then this will stop being the gratitude blog it has become lately. Here are three things I'm grateful for today:

• A friend finally receiving the great news we've all been hoping for. I'm so excited for the next chapter in her life.
• My hubby walking through the door with a beautiful bouquet of flowers just when I needed them.
• making my daughter laugh

gratitude day#19

Today I got some sad news - my parent's dog passed away. His original owners didn't give him any attention, and he definitely got adopted by two people who truly showed him a great life. I know my dog will be blue next time she is over at their place and discovers that her beloved buddy is gone. He was a giant sweetheart who will be missed.

Today I am grateful for:

• knowing Mowgli for over 13 years and seeing how remarkably gentle he was - especially with children
• having a beautiful walk in the sun with my friend and our old dogs
• having the day off: private time to grieve and to spend the afternoon with my family was just what was needed today