boston

Boston is a lovely city!

Last month, I went there alone, on my first solo business trip, and had a wonderful time. As I wrote while I was there, I walked and walked and walked, and ate. When packing for the trip, I realized that I don't actually own business pants (you know, pants that make a girl look like she means business,) so I nerdily went out and bought a pair and wore them two days in a row with even nerdier cardigans to make myself look "conferency." When I arrived, I was only one of five people wearing dress pants. But I digress.

I needed and loved the alone time this trip afforded me. At the end of each day of the conference, and during lunch breaks, I skipped out of my hotel and explored the city. I've gotten into the habit of consulting Design Sponge city guides before I visit any new place, and the Boston city guide did not steer me wrong. Although these guides direct visitors to design and decor districts, I find that beautiful shops and great restaurants are usually good neighbours. Using these guides, I can shop and eat in cool neighbourhoods with ease. My friend Sara, a local, was also a huge help, and I followed her "must do" instructions religiously.

So, Boston...

After the short flight from Montreal, I landed in the middle of a beautiful sunny day.

After checking into my hotel, I went out walking in the North End.

I stopped for dinner at Neptune Oyster and ate by myself at the bar. The food, atmosphere and service here were all incredible.

Then I walked to Faneuil Hall, upon Sara's suggestion.

The next morning, the sun was bright and the day was hot! I spent my lunch walking around Boston Common.

In Beacon Hill, I stopped in at Good and  20th Century Ltd. and bought some charms.

When I asked if I could take a photo of their store, the two gentlemen working there whisked me to the back of the shop and insisted that they take a photo of me, wearing this crown. They were the coolest!

In my very short time in Boston, I grew to really love the city. It's safe, walkable, and friendly, with great restaurants and shopping. I'd love to go back soon and explore the many other neighbourhoods I didn't have time to reach this time. Good thing it's only a short flight or a 5 hour drive from Montreal!

look up

Chances are, if you catch me during the day, I'm staring at my computer screen, through my camera's lens, at the tv, or at some girl's awesome outfit on the metro. My eyes are always fixed on something straight ahead.

Now I'm a city girl at heart, and have grown accustomed to being surrounded by all sorts of great buildings and neighbourhoods here in Montreal, but this city is fairly low (with most buildings in my 'hood not exceeding 4 storeys) and I'm always gaping at my surroundings.

One of the countless things I love about New York is that it encourages a visitor to constantly look up.

I forget about trying to look like a local, and walk purposefully on my path. I leave aloofness and looking cool to my fiancé (who is mistaken for a local in every city we visit). Subtlety is not my game, and my face is full of wonder as my gaze sweeps upwards, to the very tip of each building.

new york, je t'aime

Hello friends! I'm travelling between cities and will be tied up for a little bit, but will have lots to share once I'm back.

While in NYC, I searched high and low for a fancy dress to wear to my engagement party. For once in my life, I was trying to spend lots of money on something. I ended up finding the perfect one at a vintage store in Williamsburg for $15. Those faux vintage frocks and Anthropologie couldn't hold a candle to my bargain find.

Now I'm tapping away from a motel room far from the Big Apple, and prepping for conferences, wedding venue explorations, and a VACATION!

my 2-day summer vacation

Any guesses as to where these photos were taken?

new york, at a glance

Just as I knew I would one day live in Montreal, I know now that I will eventually be moving to New York. I'm not sure how it's going to happen, or when, or why, but I am certain (or at least really hopeful) that it will.

I got addicted to walking, and couldn't stop. With each step, I felt like I was one bit closer to being a teensy part of the city, and that I was some how absorbing a little bit more of it. I breathed deeply, and that smoggy, smelly, hot dog smoky, city air gave me the special kind buzz derived from equal parts pollution and city energy. We walked so much that I wore out the soles of my shoes, and could barely drag myself out of bed today. It was awesome.

We took in the Manhattan skyline over beers and wraps from a Brooklyn rooftop, got our fortunes told (and waited half an hour for hot dogs) at Coney Island, ate pierogies at a Ukrainian festival, danced at what we dubbed a "hipster grinding bar," rode the carousel in Central Park, salivated over cupcakes at Magnolia, swayed to calypso music at a block party, drank a good amount of wine, and bought the world's tackiest dress.

My 26th birthday was exceptional, marked by a fabulous excursion, true friends, and an elderly gentleman with gold teeth saying "mama don't look it!" when he saw my age after I handed him my ID at the wine store.

a fantastic combination

It's a long weekend, it's my birthday, and I'm in New York for the first time in my life with some of my favourite people in the world. I feel very lucky at this moment.

why every man in vermont has a beard

Getting out of the city for a breath of fresh, mountain air is oh-so necessary at the end of this winter that seems to go on and on and on and on...

Ventured to Jay Peak, Vermont this past weekend, for an incredibly affordable ski day. The day started off even better than expected, when I got a freshly-baked maple walnut cookie with my lift ticket.

The coolest part for me was the crazy difference between the sunny, gorgeous temperatures at the bottom of the mountain and the sub-zero, apocalyptic storm at its summit. A 5-minute ski lift ride felt like intergalactic travel. The weather changed steadily throughout the day, which was pretty cool.

In terms of the people, I have never seen more facial hair in my life. I even saw one man with what must have been the world's bushiest eyebrows. They were out of this world. I find it odd how Vermont is perceived as the arctic of the U.S, and how men seem to have genetically evolved to have crazy facial hair to survive the comparatively harsh climate. I have only been to Vermont four times, but every visit has been marked by ubiquitous beards and wool sweaters, and more maple syrup paraphernalia than I've ever seen up here north of the border.

(insert activity here) in the rain

Since my last post, I've been to Vancouver and back. The official "business" that brought me there was this year's Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences (basically the biggest conference for these disciplines in Canada), which was held at UBC. I presented my first paper (a summary of my thesis), and got some great feedback.

Throughout the rest of the conference, I listened to lots of other academics present their research (to the sound of rain beating on the window panes), ate as much free food as I could find, and tried to look as nonchalant as possible. It was intimidating being surrounded by so many profs and Ph.D students, especially when —as a Master's student— I was at the very bottom of the academic totem pole.

As luck had it, several of my friends Montreal and Winnipeg happened to be in Vancouver at the same time, which led to excellent times. After the conference, we were hosted by the very kind Andrew at his place just outside the city...


... and by Gill at Crescent Beach and in Coquitlam.


Despite the fact that rain soaked almost every day of the week's vacation, fun was still found in abundance. The natural beauty of BC is truly phenomenal:

the streets of philadephia

I will hereafter remember my latest trip to Philadephia as the time I nearly puked in my Sephora bag in the rental car on the highway.

Backing up a wee bit: Brian and I decided to take advantage of our free* weekend rental from Avis and head down to Philly for his sister's senior weekend. She plays college hockey, and the weekend featured the team's final home games of the season (and her career), as well as a lot of celebrations in honour of the eight seniors who will be graduating this year.

Now, not being much of an athlete** myself, I have never really had the opportunity to celebrate with a sports team of any kind, let alone an American college sports team. I was really touched by all the efforts put forth to make the weekend special for the players and their families. I actually got a little misty eyed while taking pictures of Brian's family standing on a red carpet on the rink while his sister's accomplishments as team captain were listed.

Then came the night's festivities. All of the players and their families (and me) headed to the local sports bar for dinner and drinks. I always forget how enormous American-size portions are, and yet, when a plate piled with enough food to feed me for days is placed in front of me, I ain't going to turn in away. Brian ordered this monstrosity of a meal for dinner:

Many, many American glasses of wine (read: double the size) later, I found myself dancing with all the proud hockey moms (Soulja Boy and JT being songs of choice), drinking from a tower of beer while feverishly entering a children's colouring contest, and later being weird enough to order Cointreau on the rocks at the hotel bar. Sick.

The next morning, Brian was unusually full of energy and excited to head downtown to do some sightseeing. I think the giant, cheese-soaked meal he ate made him immune to a hangover like mine. His sister was feeling low like me, and opted out of the daytime activities, only saying "OK, have fun, but make sure you don't get lost and end up in North Philly, West Philly, or some parts of South Philly."

Brian somehow convinced me to get in the car, and after a bumpy ride and the bright sun beaming in my eyes, I found myself dumping out my new makeup purchases and shoving my head in that Sephora bag, fighting the nausea with all my might.

Eventually the worst passed and I was able to enjoy the lovely weather and the downtown core of Philly.

Other trip highlights included:
- Tax-free shopping and dining in Delaware, which I just found out is the tax-free state. Makeup shopping has never been so guilt-free!
- Eating. A lot.
- Watching the Oscars in the hotel room. Sort of. Kind of a lacklustre show, but Brian and I had money on this year's awards, which upped the ante. He won $25. I was not so lucky.

On the note of Oscar fashion, I believe I'm the only person who liked Catherine Heigl's hair, Nicole Kidman's necklace and even Rebecca Miller's red bows on her dress (but only the bows). I do have a penchant for the tacky.

Another reading week has come and quickly passed. Stay tuned for review of my favourite new beauty products, coming as soon as I have a spare moment.

*Nowhere near free. Try over $300.

** Save for my brief sojourn as a wannabe swimmer, in which I managed to be pity-inspiring enough to win "Most Improved" two years in a row.