Gossip Girl has gone way downhill. I mean, wtf, Hilary Duff is guest starring? Ridiculous. The only thing that keeps me watching it is the relationship between Chuck and Blair. I've always loved their chemistry and banter together. Love Blair's bitchiness and amazing outfits, but come on, it's Chuck's fucking awesome pocket squares and suspenders and coordinated outfits that really take the prize. Pocket squares are sexy. And I was finding Chuck himself rather sexy in that last episode I watched... I can't believe I just admitted to that.

Labels: TV

posted by Maresa @ 8:04 PM 1 Comments

Getting ready for the Veggie Challenge. Bought some protein powder and a tiny hand blender that works surprisingly well today.

I just want to say that I eat the worst dinners in the world. I'm hoping this vegetarian thing and cooking blogging thing will inspire me to cook better dinners. Probably 90% of the time I eat a sandwich for dinner. Or cereal. Yep, I don't get home from work until about 6:45pm and by that time I'm starving and it's late and I have no patience for cutting up vegetables and steaming rice and putting chicken in the oven, or making some semblance of a decent meal. I need to change this. But how?

I'm also going to be joining a new gym (my previous membership at the YMCA expired at the end of August, and now I live too far from there) but I can't decide if I:
a) want to go to a lower-end gym that's a minute from my work, which I physically see on the way to the bus stop so that I can't avoid going after work, but will be harder to get to on weekends or anytime I'm not at work, and which has a less intimidating environment; or
b) go to a high-class "see-and-be-seen" gym that is five minutes from my apartment, for which I will have to get off the bus after work a stop early (which could be easily "forgotten"), but more convenient to go to on the weekends, which has better perks ie. a heated outdoor pool, spa, better drop-in classes (but would I actually use any of these things?)
Herein lies the dilemma. They will both end up costing me roughly the same. Basically, I just want somewhere that I will actually go to, and after work is usually when I work out.

Labels: fitness, food

posted by Maresa @ 10:49 PM 1 Comments

What I wore: to work

Inspired by LookBook and personal style blogs like Georgie Girl, WhatIWore, LizzieJeanne, and of COURSE The Sartorialist, I've decided to add my own style log. Not to say that I'm super stylin or anything, but my love of fashion is growing every day, I'm feeling the need for a style overhaul and what better way to document it?! Thus, we have:

Top: brown cowl neck, H&M
Skirt: denim, high-waisted, from the Barefoot Contessa in Vancouver
Tights: Simon's
Boots: brown suede, American Eagle for Payless

One of my favourite style quotes is this: "Fashion happens every morning when you wake up." I don't know who said this, but it's always stuck with me.

Labels: whatiwore

posted by Maresa @ 10:06 PM 2 Comments

Hello productive day!! This afternoon and evening I completely re-designed and re-coded my photography website! I love that blue colour (staying consistent with my business cards), and I especially love how it looks with the black & white photos. YUM.

Check it out! (And let me know if there's any bugs!)

Labels: photography

posted by Maresa @ 9:55 PM 2 Comments

I may have just eaten a tortilla filled with pink ground beef. It was sizzling away for a long time and all brown on the outside but still pink on the inside, and so eventually I chalked it up to the all the spices and ketchup I'd put in it and ate it anyway. Hmm. I'm hoping I don't regret this decision in a few hours.

These tortillas are one of my single-girl dinner specialties. However, I'm currently trying to eat up all the meat left in my fridge (and ground beef from my freezer), because as of November 1st I've decided to start a 30-Day Vegetarian Challenge. Yes, it deserves capitals. I've never tried to go vegetarian before, and I feel like it's something that everyone should at least try once in their lives, besides the fact that it's much healthier for you. I find that I don't eat a lot of meat anyway so I'm thinking it shouldn't be so hard, although I think I don't eat enough protein as it is, so I'm going to buy some soy protein powder and start having protein shakes for breakfast. My Vegetarian Challenge is not going to rule out fish, however - a girl's gotta start somewhere, plus it's my birthday in the middle of November and there's no way I'm not eating sushi for it!! I'm really interested in finding out how I'll do and if I'll miss meat at all. We shall see!

Which brings me to my next topic. I'm going to start rounding out this blog and adding some more features. One of which will be blogging about cooking, complete with photos! Well, it'll be about vegetarian cooking for a while... and I'm likely going to be using the Internet for a lot of resources and recipes. I foresee lots of tofu!! I may also throw in a bit of fashion (as I get more and more obsessed every day) and some more photos and who knows what else. I think the layout could use an overhaul as well, and I'm thinking about possibly switching off Blogger...


This is me today, drinking coffee and scribbling about website stuff. Yep, big nerd right here.

Labels: food, website

posted by Maresa @ 6:55 PM 0 Comments

Saturday morning bliss

One of the best things in the world is waking up on a Saturday morning when you have nothing really planned for the day, it's raining outside, you're under some extremely cozy blankets, a cup of tea next to you, your laptop is resting warmly on your legs, and you're browsing fashion sites and updating your blog.

Yes. This is what I'm doing right now and it's amazing.

Labels: fall

posted by Maresa @ 11:38 AM 1 Comments

One of the main reasons I came to Montreal was to develop my independence. And to me, that meant pushing everyone away and being on my own, and either sinking or swimming.

It's funny, because living completely on my own here, without a safety net of friends and family, I do feel more independent, but I've come to realise the opposite: that having close friends and family in your life and in proximity is very important. I also never really realised how important having close girl friends are. People to talk to about anything, who will listen to you say anything, no matter how stupid, and still love you.

I think before I came to Montreal I had this problem about letting people in too close, and I felt the need to run away and put distance between me and people I cared about. I was afraid of letting people in, of losing my independence which I had so carefully started to cultivate, worried that I couldn't learn about myself if people who cared about me were still so attached to me. Now I know that this is completely silly.

More than anything, I've learned to lean on people if I need to. I've learned that I need close friends and family, and that this won't take away any independence. I've re-learned that I have amazing friends.

And I feel like I know now what I want out of life.

Labels: thoughts

posted by Maresa @ 9:42 PM

New layout

It was about time for a change, don't you think?

Labels: website

posted by Maresa @ 9:38 PM 7 Comments

Comparing Montreal with BC

I honestly didn't think the two places were that different. Probably because I've gradually grown used to how things are here in Montreal that I kind of forgot what living in BC was actually like. But I was definitely re-reminded when I came back to visit for Thanksgiving.

Firstly, people's personalities are different. People in BC are much more laid-back, friendly, and easy-going. I was actually surprised at how friendly people were being to me the first day I arrived back. Examples. I arrived into the Vancouver airport and was waiting at the bus stop for my bus, which, little did I know was not going to come, now that there was the new Canada Line skytrain. It felt so easy to approach and talk to the people waiting at the bus stop, who then informed me I needed to take the Canada Line instead.

Then, I was in line getting my ticket for the Canada Line. A girl I had been talking to at the bus stop noticed I was paying the measly $2 with my Debit card, and offered to give me a toonie to pay for my fare, since she "got out way too much change and didn't need it all." A stranger offering me free money? What?

Then, I was eating in the cafeteria on the ferry, and struggling trying to maneuver my giant suitcase and juggle my garbage and purse in both hands, and the guy sitting beside me offered to help me out, to which I said thanks, but I was okay. But noticing I was still struggling, he offered at least to take my garbage for me to throw out after he was finished eating. Wow. So I gave it to him, thanking him profusely.

Does this kind of nice stuff happen all the time? Have I just become a little hard and jaded living in a bigger city? Or are people in BC just friendlier than those in the East? Or maybe it was all karma. Who knows.

And then there's the way people in BC dress. It's definitely more casual and laid-back. I guess it just goes along with the whole easy-going, outdoorsy lifestyle. And it's so weird that I was never really conscious of it before. So many guys in BC wear hoodies and toques and skate shoes, with brands like DC, Etnies, Element, and of course my favourite West coast brand, Sitka. And of course girls wear their LuLu pants and hoodies too.

That kind of style just doesn't exist in Montreal. I have worn my LuLu pants outside when I haven't been going to the gym once and it felt so wrong. People here are definitely more fashion-conscious - no one steps out of the house in schleppy clothing. Not to say that hoodies and toques are dumpy, because they're not, they're just a part of West coast fashion that does not translate to the East.

And these are only two of the differences I discovered upon returning home to BC. What an eye-opening experience... and I've only been gone for 6 months.

Labels: BC, montreal, thoughts

posted by Maresa @ 3:41 PM 2 Comments

Sometimes I look at the "Missed Connections" section on Craigslist. I think I just like the idea of lives colliding. Of strangers thinking about each other. I like knowing that someone out there, at some point during their day, could be thinking about me. It could be a random stranger on the metro, or it could be someone I know. And perhaps all those random encounters you have with random people during the day maybe aren't so random. But just imagining and wondering about what other people are thinking is fascinating.

Last weekend I went home to BC for Thanksgiving. It was amazing. I felt so happy to see all my family and friends. And I realised a lot of things while I was there. Me with the girls:


I am really looking forward to this weekend. I have mostly nothing planned, which will be a nice change from the last two weekends when I've been out of town. On the agenda: edit photos and buy a winter coat. Yep, it's already cold here. Temperatures this week have been around zero, although it's been bright and sunny and beautiful and I haven't minded the cold at all.

Labels: photos, thoughts, travel

posted by Maresa @ 10:21 PM 1 Comments

I am finally feeling alive again after a weekend of sleep deprivation, overnight bus rides, fighting a cold, and sightseeing. NYC was amazing, amazing, amazing, but I kind of felt like shit the entire time. OH WELL. It was a pretty intense weekend.

To recap: my bus got into the city around 6:30am on Saturday. I couldn't check into my hostel until 3pm, so I dumped my luggage and then it was 8am and I was up and raring to go! Except that nothing was open. So I downed a giant coffee and ate breakfast in Union Square (it was a muggy and warm, yet cloudy day) and waited for stores to open. Wandered around, browsed Strand and its 18 miles of books, went shopping, took a tour of the NYC Public Library (so, so beautiful!), ate lunch, did more shopping, crashed for a nap at my hostel, met a cool roomie and other hostel people, went out with them for drinks, crashed into bed. WHEW.

On Sunday I met up with Jenn, we had breakfast, went to the Pickle Festival in Chinatown, ate Dim Sum with her aunt, wandered SoHo, then Jenn left to catch her train, and I went up and relaxed in Central Park until my bus left. I then had another overnight bus ride -- which, I'd like to say, are not easy to sleep on because the bus stops at various places and people get on and off, we stopped for a half hour in Albany, NY and had to disembark, and we had to get off the bus at the border at 2AM and go through customs.

Needless to say, when I arrived back into Montreal at 3:30AM this morning, I was pretty dead. When my alarm went off at 7AM for work, there was no way in hell I could get up. I felt like I'd been run over by a truck. Thankfully it was okay that I stayed home, and I'm feeling sooo glad I did because I think I finally kicked my cold and I feel oh so much better!!

To sum up NYC, PICKLES:

Labels: travel

posted by Maresa @ 10:04 PM 3 Comments

How to tell I'm not from 'round these parts:

Today was the first chilly day. I think it was 9 degrees. This being a place where there's actually a Winter, people are prepared for cold weather (although come on, 9 degrees isn't cold). So this morning as I'm walking to work, all the people I pass have big scarves and toques and big coats on. I'm walking around in a skirt, with bare legs, with my light Spring jacket. And a scarf. No one else I saw today had bare legs. It's like at the first sign of a bit of coldness, people think "Oh shit!" and freak out and haul out the Winter gear. Well, I'm from a place where people wear tanktops and flipflops into November, so don't mind my bare legs in October!!

Labels: fall

posted by Maresa @ 10:07 PM 0 Comments