our new town.

on the weekend,

paul & i made a little excursion downtown

in the rain

to explore our new surroundings.

what we found was a teeny-tiny

downtown core

that reminds me of a cross between
a little european village (like a mini-florence)

and the main strip in an old western
where all the showdowns take place.

the streets were filled with ancient stone churches,

three-story brick buildings

whose sides all touched

and lovely looking independant shops.

apparently, the law in downtown guelph

is that no building may be higher than

the "church on the hill",

which is actually called

the church of our lady immaculate

(modeled after notre dame in paris)

...so nothing downtown is too high,

making the town seem even smaller than it is!

all in all,

i found its quite a cute little area,

although definitely more miniscule than i was expecting.

it will definitely take some adjusting to the realization

that deciding to "spend the day downtown"

won't really take up a full day anymore.

the vancouver art gallery cafe

one of my favorite spots in all of vancouver

is right in the center of our downtown core...

the vancouver art gallery cafe.

it's pretty much a peaceful little haven in the middle of

the hecticness that is downtown vancouver...

~a little garden~

~scores of outside tables and giant white umbrellas~

~a clean modern interior~

~a fantastic view of downtown~

~wonderful classical music~

~the most delicious food & treats you can find anywhere~

i spent the afternoon outside here,

enjoying a yummy cup of coffee

and listening to the pouring rain.

tuesday inspiration

today i'm inspired by my city.

~the twinkling lights in robson square~

~the backdrop of mountains over ocean~

~the long boulevards and seascape views~

~the trees... everywhere~

~the friendly people who say good morning!~

~the kitschy neighborhoods~

~the endless stream of cafes with delicious baked goods~

~the plethora of runners, walkers, lululemon wearers~

~my beautiful university campus, virtually empty for a change~

~the smell of seasalt in the air~

~the 12C weather in february~

vancouver is the perfect mix

of bustling metropolis, laid back college town,

quirky neighborhoods, and ocean-side relaxation.
what other city has that?

and now, while the world is watching us

(even if i don't necessarily agree

that the olympics have been -or will be- the best thing

for our fair city)

i am very proud of vancouver and its beauty.

even if i have to move away one day,

i know i'll always come back to the west coast of british columbia.

"vancouver is the most wonderful place.

I put it up there with san francisco and sydney

as a kind of magic sort of harbor city"

~~ Terrence Stamp ~~

photos from here&here&here&here

holiday magic

tonight is

christmas eve

...in my opinion, the most

magical night of the year.

tonight we'll be heading out with paul's family 

to midnight mass

and then we'll come home to much delicious wine

and fantastic gourmet foods.

we'll chat until late at night and open all our presents!

then tomorrow is christmas, which we'll spend with my family...

we'll make an enormous brunch, then trade gifts and have

a marvellous time cooking all day

before our extended family arrives for turkey dinner!

christmas is truly the most wonderful time to be with family

and surround yourself in love.

happy christmas everyone!

i hope you have a wonderful time!

with lots of love and joy,

meg

image from weheartit

the perfect place to pass an afternoon

there is nothing better on a quiet afternoon

than heading into a little independantly-run cafe

that has its own unique charm

and reading for an hour or more.

recently a cafe called "simply french" opened up in my neighborhood

and i am absolutely in love with this little french-themed cafe.

almost all their goodies are homemade and look delicious

and their interior is airy and homey at the same time.

take a look...

we munched on spinach & feta croissants

and sipped americanos and hot apple ciders

but i plan to come back soon for the homemade cakes and macaroons...

yum!

 

wishing for snow

although i do adore the rain

(which you know if you've read my many posts about it)

i'm a little sick of it today.

i've been perusing photos online

and my eye has gravitated towards scenes

of wintery wonderland.

it hardly snows here in vancouver,

but when it does, it's gorgeous.

here are some photos i took last year of our campus in the snow...

the first building i ever had class in

benches outside the science student center

our beautiful new library

our oldest library, undergoing major renovations

students on their way to class...

a beautiful snow covered tree.

oh snowy days, please come back soon!