Oh these old glasses…
These were the first prescription glasses I wore.
The prescriptions may have changed a few times but these frames were my very first.
I got them about eleven years ago, and as I recall they were quite expensive.
They were probably the most expensive thing I purchased with my own money then – and it made me miss my dad for a second.

I’m one of those people who found out I needed corrective lenses by accident; I always thought I had 20/20 vision.
I went in for a routine exam and was shocked to discover I couldn’t see that well after all.
Things seemed so much clearer after I got my glasses, and I mean that figuratively too.

Suddenly, buildings, signs, landscapes, people all seemed clearer, crisper –
the scary part was these things looked fine to me back when I didn’t know I had poor eyesight.
The guy didn’t look anything like the guy I thought I was in love with, it really blew my mind and things were never the same again.
I recently read a story about the child who gets glasses for the first time; sees a tree and goes“So that’s what they look like”

Outfit Details: Grey Dress – Old Navy (I’ve had it since 2006), Tights – Hue, Rain boots – Benetton, Necklace – My grandma, Eyeglasses – Donna Karan

In other unrelated news, I’m debating running a half-marathon in June.
I seem to go through this every year…
I went to Eat! Vancouver and EPIC Expo over the weekend.
Can I just say re: Eat! Vancouver that the new convention centre is probably not the right location for this type of event.

The folks from Run to End Poverty were at EPIC, which got me thinking that maybe, just maybe… I could run the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon

Maybe if I took the next few weeks to train.
I’m giving myself until tomorrow to decide, it’ll be tough, training wouldn’t be easy; I haven’t ran (properly) since last October.
It’ll be a challenge, and maybe that’s just the challenge I need to start getting fit again.
We’ll see.

Bowen Island is what welcomed me when I got off the boat.
The small picturesque island town that makes my heart swoon.

Bowen Island is one of those super relaxed places where everyone is laid-back and looks happy.
It looks like the kind place where you live happily ever-after, and where perfectly well-adjusted adults come from.
I imagine I could be one of those people too if I lived there.

Bowen Island is for relaxing, and that’s exactly what I do when I’m there.
I linger and savour, I sit at the park and watch the boats at the marina.
I have a picnic, read, nap and try to do everything slowly.
I take nice long leisurely hikes and explore little shops and galleries.

Finally I make my way up to the Artisan Square, where more awesome little shops and galleries abound.

On this trip, I had delicious hot chocolate from Cocoa West; some of the best I’ve ever had
- if you’re here, try the poblano hot chocolate for a sweet spicy kick.
And if you needed a place to stay on the island, a special or romantic getaway try the ‘chocolate suite’, their ‘bed and chocolate’ inn
(p.s. they are not paying me to say this… I wholly think it’s awesome)

I had lunch at Artisan Eats, portobello mushroom burger with yam fries and a soda.
Nice views looking down and I thought the food pretty was good, or maybe I was just hungry -  It’s an uphill trek to the square.

Bowen Island is full of artists, it’s quite inspiring; everyone is an artist in some capacity.
I saw the MAMA exhibition at the gallery in the Square.
It’s an interesting undertaking – a travelling exhibition by a Bowen Island local, the project celebrates motherhood.
It’s very cool to see, it’s beautiful with a sense of calm and familiarity about it.

A woman came up to me at the square smiling and said “Please tell me you live on Bowen”
She explained that she was putting on a production that required ‘a young woman of colour’
For a second I felt that maybe, I too, could move here and become an artist.

While I was leaving Bowen Island later on in the evening, it dawned on me that this was the place people came to live their passion.
And for us just visiting, maybe it was the place to reignite our passions.

Here are a few more pictures, hope you likey…

And soon, we were ferried back to our realities.

The END.

I watched a depressing movie today.
Crackie is a small Canadian indie movie about a ‘broken’ girl trying to find some semblance of happiness in her dysfunctional life in her small Canadian town.
It’s a grim and lonely film that stays with you long after you’re done watching it.

I tried to see myself in Mitsy as I tend to do with protagonists I like.
Mitsy is bolder than I, she’s isn’t afraid to go after the things she’s convinced will bring her happiness.

Bold is what I try to be when I post these daily outfits of mine.
Bold is when I allow myself to act without hesitation.
Bold is when I take risks and challenge myself (which sadly isn’t very often)
Bold is when I’m true to myself.
Bold is when I’m not afraid to fail, to be different and to be laughed at.
I’m still working on being bold.

Outfit Details: Red Sleeveless Sweater & Teal Turtleneck T – Gap, Pants – Baia, Boots – Camper

I’m so incredibly jealous of those people with their pesky sunny days.
That was supposed to be me! We were supposed to have sunshine!
Instead it’s been drippy, grey and cold.

I miss real spring, I think it stuck around for just a week.

I don’t mind the rain so much in the fall or winter or April, but it worries me when it’s still rainy and cold and it’s almost summer.
I hear this is one of the coldest May on record, that doesn’t make me feel any better – maybe if we’d broken some records or something.
Even though we’ve had some nice sunny days, it’s just not enough to make it feel like it’s almost summer.

I’ve had to bring my coats out of storage and that’s not cool, at all.

Outfit Details: Coat – Vero Moda, Pants – Marks & Spencer, Shoes – Liz Claiborne, Tank – J Crew, Wrap Shirt – Van Heusen

I just got back from my long weekend of beautiful scenic train rides, wild discoveries and relaxing times.
I came home, shut myself in and watched the LOST finale – I was happy with the way things ended, I even cried a little.
While I’m working on the pictures from this weekend, I’m posting these pictures from February.
Hope you like them…