Tattoo by Jennifer Lawes - My tattoo appointment was on June 30th, but I would say this is more of a July favourite. Jennifer did an amazing job on my sparrow. It was a cover-up for my second tattoo-gone-rogue. Far less delicate than my first tattoo, it's a beauty and I'm in love.
Tommy in Montreal - On the third weekend of July, I was in Montreal with two of my old roommates. On the last day, we still hadn't visited a café and it's usually a goal of mine to try out the coffee wherever I visit. Tommy did not disappoint. The café is beautiful, so lovely. The shop design is so thoughtful and whimsical. The shop paired with its location in Old Port, it feels like a space from a different time period. Beautiful, highly recommend.
Kampai in Montreal - An Asian inspired tapas bar with to-share pitchers. Another space is thoughtfully designed, a lot of creativity in its aesthetic and feel. This was a very hip spot. When we left the place around 9PM, there was a line of well-dressed folk waiting to get in. We sat on the terrasse and didn't see much of the busier bar scene, but it looked like it was going to get loud.
Birkenstock Arizonas in white - There has been a lot of travelling this month and a lot of moving around. A lot of walking. While I'm used to walking, I find that the amount of walking and being on my feet that happen during my trips gets very harsh for my feet. The support and airiness provided by my Birks is a true saviour.
Bullet Journal - Another mention of my bullet journal. I think this has already made it on a 'favourites' list, but with the amount of travelling I've been doing, my bullet journal has helped so much. It is supposed to be a spot to dump everything, and it is. This bright blue book contains my travel details, plans for each city, my month overview, week overview, day-to-day tasks and activities. It is what I use on vacation in lieu of bringing my Moleskine with me too. Because the pages are numbered, it is so easy to use and navigate.
Vancouver - There is so much to say about Vancouver, about this trip. I think it is everything I needed, everywhere I needed to be. This trip offered such beauty, such a force for creativity (toward creativity). It offered such peace. Often I find my version of vacationing to be more of exploring, which gets so tiring when you're trying to put so much of a city into a few days. A week. This trip was a good balance between seeing new things, exploring new spaces and moods, but still relaxing and finding a kind of soothing. I cannot say enough good things about my trip. I think I fell in love with Vancouver.
Wreck Beach in Vancouver - I don't have many photos of this space. Hardly any at all given that it's a nude beach, and I imagine not many people may be open to being photographed. It is a stunning place to be. The water meets sand, meets trees, meets mountains off the horizon. The beach is also sparsely covered with long logs that create a kind of partition between groups of beachgoers. My friend tells me that this is a part that doesn't quite feel like Vancouver. Down the long stairwell, it feels something like Alice going down the rabbit hole and into a different dimension. Of course, it should also go without saying how wonderful it is to be on a nude beach again.
