What a gorgeous Friday it’s been!

Days like these makes me grateful for the ocean and mountain views.

I could probably be persuaded to be rewarded for my work by watching seaplanes land all day.

I want to do a quick dash over the border tomorrow for my Trader Joe’s fix, and to take a peak at the Liberty of London collection for Target – all the cool kids are talking about it.

It’s supposed to be very nice this weekend; they’re talking summer temperatures here!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Here are four photos that match my mood today, enjoy.

This is a bus shelter for Bellingham, WA’s ‘Go Line’ colour coded bus system.

There’s no reason for this picture to be here, except in keeping with the theme and I love the colour of the building

I wear jeans to work on Fridays!

Wearing:
Short Sleeve Jacket: Joe Fresh Style
Blue Shirt: Jacob
Black Cami & Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Browns

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

Two entire blocks, including my office building was without power for the most part of the day.

We sat at our desks looking forlornly at the comatose monitors for hours.

By the time the power came back, I’d convinced myself that I could probably live life without electricity.

I took a very crowded Canada Line to Richmond this evening, and in what was one of those ‘only in Vancouver moments’; it smelled like we’d collectively been smoking pot.

On the way back, a girl gets on the train, she’s wearing a short little black dress with sequins, and it’s cinched at the waist with a glittery black belt.

She has on high platform heels and her hair is very shiny.

She’s laughing and talking on the phone loudly, “I’m almost there, you should see my dress, it’s awesome!” She says.

I think to myself… this girl really needs to get a blog, that’s what the rest of us did!

So there it is; my adventures in mass transit… at least it was a gorgeous day for fun.

And here are clothes… for play on a perfect day.

The blouse makes me feel a little like a superhero, I think it’s the sleeves.

I naturally have to make dramatic superhero poses when I wear this blouse.

I probably could fly if I try hard enough.

Wearing:
Grey Blouse: Zara
Black Shirt: The Gap
Black Pants: New York & Co.
Loafers: Cole Haan
Necklaces: ModCloth & Portobello West

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

It dawned on me that Easter was just two weeks away and I hadn’t made any definitive plans.

I’m looking forward to spending a few days in New York come Easter – it’s always nice to get away.

A work colleague said to me this morning;

“The older you get the more you realize that it’s easiest to travel when you’re younger”

This made me a little sad because there are still so many places I want to see and I’m not getting any younger.

So I’m sleepy and little out of it, thinking of happier well rested times…

Here are ten random pictures of tea things I love today;

The last time I was in the tea shop, I had one of those rare fulfilling episodes of contentment.

It’s a feeling I want to have over and over again.

I read on another blog this morning that everything tastes better in pink.

Surely, they’ve been to this magical place too…

Guy calls macarons ‘fashion food’, In our other life on universe parallel…

I bake delectable macarons and have two perfect kids called Esi & Kew, they were born potty trained.

More pink…

When I was a kid, the only foods I was interested in eating were the cute and colourful kind.

Colourful tea tins…

Teas with interesting names…

Assam tea isn’t as fancy and prized as Darjeeling tea, but it’s probably the most widely drank tea.

Tea at Granville Island…

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I got this jacket in San Francisco a few years ago.

It was foggy and misty the whole time I was there – which wasn’t at all the kind of weather I was hoping for.

I don’t know why I was expecting tropical weather in San Francisco in November.

That evening it got so cold I went into Macy’s and got this jacket just before dinner.

The fabric is lurex, so it has a bit of sparkle to it.

Wearing:
Jacket: American Rag CIE
White Shirt: Mexx
Pants: Next
Belt: ?? (came with a dress)
Shoes: Clarks

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

I’m still not sure how I feel about Daylight Saving Time.

I feel like an idiot for saying this, but I can’t figure out how to set my watch an hour ahead.

I’ve worn my Nixon Pirouette watch almost every day since I got it as a Christmas present, I simply love it!

The watch doesn’t have a crown (where most watch crowns are),

I’ve thrown the manual away and I can’t figure out how to change the time.

It’s silly because I know it’s probably very simple and easy to do.

This dress, like the watch was also a Christmas present – they kind of go together, don’t they?

It’s one of those dresses I wish I could wear everyday, but alas my other clothes would be jealous.

It’s comfortable and looks good with almost everything.

The website calls it the ‘Londontown dress’ because of the fog-like print

Wearing:
Dress: Modcloth
Apple Watch Necklace: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Tights: The Bay
Boots: Simply Vera
Bangle: Romy

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

I hurried home from work on Friday to catch the opening ceremony of the 2010 Paralympics on TV.

It was a lovely and inspiring show; I look forward to the next two weeks

The Paralympics are going to be a mellow and calmer affair than what the Olympics were

I’m sure this image has been making its round on the internet.

The boss sent this in an email; the first picture is Granville Street on the last day of the Olympics and the one beneath is Granville Street a week later.

Pretty amazing huh?

One other thing to come out of the Olympics is this video for Haiti recorded in Vancouver during games.

A group of Canadian artists dubbed Young Artist for Haiti recorded K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag.

Proceeds from the song will go to Free The Children, War Child Canada and World Vision Canada.

Here’s where you go to find out more about getting the single and contributing towards a worthy cause.

PS: I have a picture and video heavy post coming soon from the K’naan concert last month.

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

Seriously, it’s been a fantasy of mine since… forever

I doubt I’ll ever live on a farm though, because I know first hand how trying to live out your poorly thought-out dream can become a nightmare.

I don’t know the first thing about farming, I hate the smell and I don’t like dirt.

Maybe I’m just in love with the idea of living on a farm.

I took these lovely and dreamy pictures on my last trip to the States last month.

Another reason why I love the Aldergrove-Lynden Border Crossing are the farms that dot the way.

And the mountains with their snow… they were just being begging to be captured.

The silo in the picture on the left has a neon green star at the top (click to enlarge), I wonder what the story is behind that.

So I can’t live on a farm, I think I’ll settle for living in a converted silo… in the city.

Colourful farm equipment makes me happy.

Church signs in Lynden always makes me smile; even when it’s about crying.

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When I was in London last year, I got not one, but two large circle scarves because the lady who sold them to me convinced me it could be worn as a dress, a skirt, halter top, a vest, a blouse and more.

She showed me how to contour the scarf into these creations, I brought them home and I haven’t worn them once.

In the mean time I’ve forgotten all the ways the nice shop lady showed me to wear them.

I got a grey cable-knit circle scarf from Joe Fresh, but it never got cold enough to get much wear from it.

So the other day I was watching Lifetime’s Coco Chanel movie when I saw this;

A cable-knit circle scarf as a vest!

What a simple, doable yet brilliant idea!

I tried it and I loved it.

Initially I thought it would be constricting, but it’s not.

It’s just like a vest, it stays put and it’s warm.

I wonder why we don’t wear looped scarves like this anymore.

I was watching Emma on PBS (Masterpiece Classic) and one of characters also wore a looped scarf as a vest, but this time it was a lighter and softer fabric.

An aside: Emma has some very beautiful costumes

…flowy gowns, gorgeous hats, trailing ribbons and the boots worn by Jonny Lee Miller’s Mr. Knightley was nice!

I’m inspired to wear ribbons as belts this summer.

Wearing:
Cable-knit Circle Scarf: Joe Fresh Style
Shirt: Banana Republic
Pants: H&M
Shoes: Clarks

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

This morning I saw cars driving around with heaps of snow on them!

The cars looked like they were from a magical snow land far, far away from here.

And so it looks like we’re back to bundling up again.

And yet I’m dealing with mad allergy issues like you wouldn’t believe it.

Wearing:
Purple Shirt: Uniqlo
Dress: Old Navy
Cuffed Jeans: Gap
Boots: Espirit

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

“I don’t know why you think you lived in some hippie fairytale… those were really hard times” she’d say

The truth is, I don’t remember much about that part of my childhood and yet, it’s a much talked about and probably the most pivotal time of our past.

In theory, it’s an idealistic story – a young large family move into the wild, determined to live off the land.

The art installation on Georgia Street reminds me of the old house from my childhood.

Our house, a similar shack, was wide and painted a cheery yellow on stilts.

It looked forlorn and out of place in the middle of the tall lush greenery.

My father built it with his ‘bare hands’ and we would live in it for years.

The art installation on Georgia Street by the Shangri-la Hotel is by artist Ken Lum.

It’s a scale model of three squatters’ shacks that used to be in the Maplewood Mudflats in North Vancouver.

Lum recreates the cabins of renowned writer Malcolm Lowry, artist Tom Burrows and Greenpeace leader Dr. Paul Spong.
Propped up on stilts over the surface of the Offsite reflecting pool, the huts strike a sharp contrast with the surrounding downtown architecture. ( Vancouver Art Gallery Offsite)

I went with my mom to see the shacks; she admits it reminds her of our little house, it’s much like it.

She stares at it wistfully for a long time, as if it’s the actual house.

“It looks so beautiful here among these tall buildings, cars, and the shiny pool…

If you took one and placed in a forest in the middle of nowhere, it wouldn’t look so beautiful” She says.

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