Taste of summer
Until recently, the weather hadn't really given us a decent taste of spring with mornings usually in the single digits, and afternoon temperatures not going much beyond 12. However, last Thursday, someone flicked on the summer switch and wham! Sunny and warm weather for the next few days. I had forgotten how hot 30-degree weather can be. Nice.
This is a long weekend in BC, even better to fully enjoy the beautiful weather. On Saturday, I did a bit of shopping in the afternoon. I hit Main street which has a combination of thrift and second-hand stores, in addition to being home for several local designers. If you are looking for some unique frocks, this is the place to shop. I walked up and down Main from Broadway to about 23rd. I stopped by a few designer shops, including twigg&hottie and Narcissist. twigg&hottie have beautiful asymmetric clothes which fit perfectly if you are a small size, but don't necessarily translate well to a size 9-10. Narcissist has wonderful dresses and I tried a few, but somehow wasn't sold on any. I then visited Devil May Wear on 21st. There, I fell in love. Not only does Devil May Wear have wearable designs, but the clothes are also made of eco-friendly fabrics: organic cotton, bamboo, even some bamboo from Canada (as opposed to grown in China, as is most bamboo used in fabric). I had a chance to chat with the designer, Steph Ostler, who is such a lovely woman. You can tell she's really excited about what she does and the clothes she designs. She picked a few items from the rack for me to try, as she was describing where the fabric was from, how she came up with the ideas for the design. I settled on two items: a brown tank top with a seafoam lace trim and straps, and a black tube-top summer dress in soft bamboo. I also picked up a few pairs of earrings, not from Steph but from other designers she showcases at her boutique. If you have never visited the store, not only are the clothes affordable and carefully sourced, but they also look fantastic. I'm a fan!
Saturday night was dinner at Monk McQueens. This restaurant has one of the best patios in town and a decent selection of seafood. I won't say great seafood because their menu doesn't seem to follow the Ocean Wise guidelines. I should have asked questions about where the seafood was caught and how, but I forgot. I need to build that into my dining etiquette. It's true that not being part of the Ocean Wise program doesn't mean you don't serve sustainable seafood. However, Ocean Wise is a great promotional tool so I would wonder why a restaurant wouldn't sign up if they qualified. I had dinner with Scott, Sherri and Brian. We ordered some mussels in a spicy tomato broth to share, and I had grilled sablefish with a ratatouille side and mixed-seafood cake. The food was delicious, the sun was coming down over False Creek and the temperature was still warm at 9 p.m. Simply dreamy. After dinner, the gang came back to my place for a drink or two. We intended on going out, but my midnight, everyone was ready for bed.
Sunday morning started fairly early, as I wanted to eat a decent breakfast before my spinning class at 10:45. I went to class, then rushed back home to shower and grab a bite, because Sarah was picking me up around 1. We had plans to go for a hike, along with Sarah's friend Candice. Around 2, we picked up Candice and Charlie, her Pug-Boston Terrier mix dog. Charlie is quite the adorable little creature. He's a small dog but he has a lot of personality and always greets everyone he meets with a wagging tail and so much enthusiasm.
We drove to the North Shore, to Deep Cove as we were going to hike the Baden Powell trail between Deep Cove and Lynn Canyon. One way, it's approximately 13 kilometers on well-marked, fairly-easy terrain. The first part of the trail gains a bit of elevation until you reach the lookout, so it's a good workout, but the rest of the trail is very walkable. We set out around 2:45. Unfortunately, we never made it to Lynn Canyon as we took an unfortunate detour which added almost an hour to our trip. By the time we backtracked onto the Baden Powell and reached the crossing in the residential area, we realized that we still had over an hour of hiking to do and it was getting late. I uploaded a few pictures from the hike on Flickr.
Needless to say that I slept quite well last night. Today, the weather is cooler and it's raining, so I'm going to take it easy. I was going to take the level 2 climbing movement class tonight, but my legs and knees are a bit sore, so I decided to pass. The class is all about using your legs when you climb, and right now, my legs don't want to be used!
This is a long weekend in BC, even better to fully enjoy the beautiful weather. On Saturday, I did a bit of shopping in the afternoon. I hit Main street which has a combination of thrift and second-hand stores, in addition to being home for several local designers. If you are looking for some unique frocks, this is the place to shop. I walked up and down Main from Broadway to about 23rd. I stopped by a few designer shops, including twigg&hottie and Narcissist. twigg&hottie have beautiful asymmetric clothes which fit perfectly if you are a small size, but don't necessarily translate well to a size 9-10. Narcissist has wonderful dresses and I tried a few, but somehow wasn't sold on any. I then visited Devil May Wear on 21st. There, I fell in love. Not only does Devil May Wear have wearable designs, but the clothes are also made of eco-friendly fabrics: organic cotton, bamboo, even some bamboo from Canada (as opposed to grown in China, as is most bamboo used in fabric). I had a chance to chat with the designer, Steph Ostler, who is such a lovely woman. You can tell she's really excited about what she does and the clothes she designs. She picked a few items from the rack for me to try, as she was describing where the fabric was from, how she came up with the ideas for the design. I settled on two items: a brown tank top with a seafoam lace trim and straps, and a black tube-top summer dress in soft bamboo. I also picked up a few pairs of earrings, not from Steph but from other designers she showcases at her boutique. If you have never visited the store, not only are the clothes affordable and carefully sourced, but they also look fantastic. I'm a fan!
Saturday night was dinner at Monk McQueens. This restaurant has one of the best patios in town and a decent selection of seafood. I won't say great seafood because their menu doesn't seem to follow the Ocean Wise guidelines. I should have asked questions about where the seafood was caught and how, but I forgot. I need to build that into my dining etiquette. It's true that not being part of the Ocean Wise program doesn't mean you don't serve sustainable seafood. However, Ocean Wise is a great promotional tool so I would wonder why a restaurant wouldn't sign up if they qualified. I had dinner with Scott, Sherri and Brian. We ordered some mussels in a spicy tomato broth to share, and I had grilled sablefish with a ratatouille side and mixed-seafood cake. The food was delicious, the sun was coming down over False Creek and the temperature was still warm at 9 p.m. Simply dreamy. After dinner, the gang came back to my place for a drink or two. We intended on going out, but my midnight, everyone was ready for bed.
Sunday morning started fairly early, as I wanted to eat a decent breakfast before my spinning class at 10:45. I went to class, then rushed back home to shower and grab a bite, because Sarah was picking me up around 1. We had plans to go for a hike, along with Sarah's friend Candice. Around 2, we picked up Candice and Charlie, her Pug-Boston Terrier mix dog. Charlie is quite the adorable little creature. He's a small dog but he has a lot of personality and always greets everyone he meets with a wagging tail and so much enthusiasm.
We drove to the North Shore, to Deep Cove as we were going to hike the Baden Powell trail between Deep Cove and Lynn Canyon. One way, it's approximately 13 kilometers on well-marked, fairly-easy terrain. The first part of the trail gains a bit of elevation until you reach the lookout, so it's a good workout, but the rest of the trail is very walkable. We set out around 2:45. Unfortunately, we never made it to Lynn Canyon as we took an unfortunate detour which added almost an hour to our trip. By the time we backtracked onto the Baden Powell and reached the crossing in the residential area, we realized that we still had over an hour of hiking to do and it was getting late. I uploaded a few pictures from the hike on Flickr.
Needless to say that I slept quite well last night. Today, the weather is cooler and it's raining, so I'm going to take it easy. I was going to take the level 2 climbing movement class tonight, but my legs and knees are a bit sore, so I decided to pass. The class is all about using your legs when you climb, and right now, my legs don't want to be used!
Labels: Baden Powell Trail, dining, hiking, long weekend, shopping
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