hanging with the girls

Have you played Cards Against Humanity? It is a Riot. We had a ladies night - ordered in yummy Indian food, played the game and had tears of laughter down our cheeks. Perfect way to spend a Friday night.

and the funniest combo of the night......

songs to check out....

Some of my favourite tunes I'm spinning these days. xo

togetherness

Day 2: I am grateful that I am surrounded by these beautiful faces who make me feel seen and loved. 

2014!

Happy New Year friends! How did you ring in 2014? At a big bash? Surrounded by friends? A cozy night in with your loved ones? We had some close friends over for cocktails and appies - it was the perfectly sized intimate gathering that I truly enjoy. This morning my loves and I went for a crisp, fresh walk through the park to let the wintry air rejuvenate us after a late night.
This year I've decided to tackle another 365. I haven't successfully finished one before - but now that I have an iphone I carry with me, there's no reason I can't snap a photo at  whim. This year I chose to do a 365 based on gratitude. I want every daily image to reflect something special within the day- whether it's a person or a moment - I want to celebrate each day for its own uniqueness.
I usually have a list of resolutions that I make for the New Year, you know the ones - get fit, read more,   etc. but because I already created a lengthy list to do when I turned 41, I decided that instead of creating resolutions, I'm going to select a word to live by for 2014.  I picked Love.
I chose love because it is all encompassing. It is a choice we make each day - to tackle the day from a place of fear or a place of love. I want to show more love for myself, in my choices, in my thought processes, in my behaviour from everything to the food I select, the exercise I do, to the people I choose to surround myself with. I want to show more love for others - being a better mother, wife, friend, daughter, citizen - to look at people from a place of love, and not a place of judgement. I hope my 365 will reflect this and show you that it's sometimes the littlest things from our day that make our year so extraordinary.
I don't know about you, but I find that the person who really needs my love the most is me. I am great at giving my love away to others, but I need to silence that inner dialogue that doesn't show me a whole lot of compassion. I love the phrase: Fire the judge and hire the witness. Isn't that fantastic?
So it's fitting that my first photo of this year's 365 is my daughter because for me she epitomizes all that I am grateful for (dreams realized) and she has taught me a love like I've never experienced before - one that is wholly selfless, completely vulnerable and continuously evolving.
Here's to 2014 - I wish you nothing but giant love, wonderful health and peace. xoxo

a few favourites from 2013

Hello friends! With the year drawing to a close, I like to take the time to go through my photos before clearing them off into an external hard drive. I always find it such a heart warming undertaking to see everything we've experienced in a year. I pieced together some of my favourite images from the year:

Because sometimes you just need to photograph things from a different perspective, and I think children's shoes are simply adorable.

These photos are so special to me because they capture those pure, spontaneous moments of friendship.

The above photo is from one of our yaya nights - it just serves to remind me how lucky I am to regularly feast on such delicious food with an amazing group of gals. The image below is of a red velvet cupcake which I buy simply to photograph. Just kidding. 

The diversity of weather in this province is breathtaking. The shot above was taken snowshoeing at Seymour Mtn. The photo below is a beautiful summer night at Crescent Beach. I love BC.

These two shots were my favourite portraits of my daughter because they capture how I always think of her: (top) wild hair, bunny sidekick in hand and below her colourful, fearless self

These images celebrate buying my first iphone and rejoicing that I always have a great little camera on hand. The photo above was taken using my iphone at White Rock beach. The shot below was from our trip to San Diego. I love how Instagram can make photos look like polaroids from the 70s. 

These two photos capture some of my favourite weekend getaways from 2013: the above photo is on top of Mt. Baker, where we rented a cabin with friends. The shot below is from a girl's weekend getaway at Pender Island - nature is my playground. 

The beauty of blue. I love how these images bookend the year - the photo above was from Jan. 1, when we took Stella to the aquarium. The shot below was taken at Stanley Park at Christmastime. 

I hope you have had a tremendous 2013!! xoxo

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas friends!! I hope you had the most extraordinary day! My belly and heart are full - from the amazing feast and from sharing so many great laughs with these loves. I honestly couldn't sleep last night because I was so excited for this day. Time to slip into the stretchy pants. Goodnight! xo

Stanley Park

One of my favourite Christmas traditions - Bright Nights at Stanley Park