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photos taken at Elk/Beaver Lake in Victoria, BC (my new home!)

Well, I'm here.

There are good days and bad days. Most days I feel so happy to be where I am; I love the people, I love the fresh air, being close to forests, lakes, mountains, ocean. But there are those moments...

...those moments where I wonder what I'm doing, when I feel I can't possibly live up to everyone's expectations, where I miss all the people who know me best.

Thankfully these moments are rare, and school has kept me so busy that I don't have much time to dwell on the fact that I miss Toronto every day. I'm also thankful that I have a group of new friends that are in the same position, who understand this lonely transitional phase.

Today was a wonderful day and it has reminded me that I made the right decision; that I'm lucky to be doing exactly what I've wanted to do.

Over the weekend...food edition

 lemon shrimp crepes

grapefruit & champagne parfait 

southwest burger with grilled zucchini

the best fries + white bean & tofu quesadillas

Saturday brunch and dinner with great friends in town from Montréal. Not pictured: Pitchers of margaritas and endless laughs. 

seagulls

Not the prettiest looking bird, but quite graceful in flight ;)

Shot by the sea lake (with my amazing Minolta 50mm f/1.7 lens).

Spring forward

The dark uncertain days of winter are finally behind me; I'm so ready (and excited!) to enjoy the warmth of spring. I love those first sunny days in the city, when every person on the street is beaming, and parks and patios are full of people celebrating the turn of a new season.

Some things I'm looking forward to:
- Finally taking my bike out for long rides by the lake
- Picnics on the Island (before it gets too crowded!)
- Spending a full day walking around midtown for good Italian eats and thrifting
- A photo trip to the Distillery District capped off with a nice pint of beer (or a few)
- Maybe some bouldering outdoors?
- Asparagus finally hitting the farmer's markets
- Baseball, baseball, baseball!

Happy Spring to you all!!

New Beginnings

Apologies for the blog silence, the past month has been full of work deadlines and wonderful developments, which I am still wrapping my head around.

I am so anxious and excited to be considering grad school options for the fall! I know this will be one of the most important decisions that I will make, so I'm trying to carefully examine each program thoroughly. To be honest, it's still somewhat surreal to think that I will be picking up my life and moving thousands of kilometres away in a few short months. I've lived in this big city for so long , I really can't imagine what it will be like to say goodbye. On the other hand, I am so excited to move to the coast, to live by the ocean (!!!), amongst forests, mountains, and limitless wilderness to explore. I have always loved the great outdoors and I'm confident that my new home (whichever coast it may be on) will provide the best inspiration and motivation for 5 tough years of school.