Home of the Olympics

Every day on my commute to work, I think that I am so blessed to live in the prettiest place on Earth! I was born and raised in the Howe Sound area on the coast of British Columbia. I live halfway between Vancouver and Whistler (the home of the downhill skiing events for the 2010 Olympic) in the heart of Games territory. I snapped the pic below on my way home from work today:

I took it on my Blackberry, and it was starting to get dark, hence the less than amazing quality. I think you can get the idea of how amazing my commute is. I get to drive the prettiest, most amazing highway every day. Only in beautiful BC do you get to drive along a mountainside looking at the sea. I am kind of a party pooper, and haven't been too stoked on the upcoming games for many reasons. I am starting to get in the spirit a bit as they come closer. I amgetting excited for the world to see how truly gorgeous Canada is! No we don't live in igloos, and no it doesn't snow all year lol! Vancouver really is one of the most gorgeous cities in Canada, if not the world, and I can't wait for everyone to see!

Dinner Tonight

Here is a pic of my tasty dinner I made tonight. I made vegetarian "chicken" parmesan with a Veggie Patch Chick'n Cutlet, homemade tomato basil sauce, and mozza with szechuan green beans and potato chips I baked in the oven.

Gah these last few weeks have been so stressful at work. It is so nice to come home after a long day at work and make a tasty dinner and have a glass of wine. Tonight I'm having a healthy glass of New Harbour Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. I have been obsessed with Kiwie wines lately and this one is great!

Bon appetite!

My Fave Soundtracks

I'm bored, so I'm going to share some of my favorite movie soundtracks:

*Go Motion Picture Soundtrack - Esthero, Natalie Imbruglia, Len (hehe), Leftfield, Massive Attack - it's just goooood!

*Can't Hardly Wait - such a good, funny movie! Run D.M.C., The Replacements, Blink 182...just fun!

*New Moon - tons of indie goodies on there! Eskimo Joe, The Editors, Anya Marina, Ok Go, Bon Iver... it's all good!

*Empire Records - cult favorite! It was the soundtrack to my youth lol!

Definitely teen movie related (lol), but I love fun, exciting, happy movies!

For Giggles...

More of my favorite music:

*Hearing Damage - Thom Yorke (yes from the Twilight soundtrack. He is wicked, I decided)

*Anything by Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor is a god lol! Hurt = best song ever!)

*Anything by Matt Good (yet another god! Seriously one of the most amazing (and Canadian) artists in the biz who does not get enough cred in the States - listen to him)

*54:40 - Crossing A Canyon (Brings me back to the good ole days of partying in Cael's garage when we were in high school, awesome!)

*Third Eye Blind - I Want You (straight up good song)

*Chris Cornell - Climbing Up the Walls (good song again lol)

*Dolly Parton - Jolene (just because it is awesome! Love me some Dolly!)

*The Pixies - Where is My Mind? (such a classic)

*Anything by Placebo (another amazing underrated band)

*Lykke Li - Possibility (hauntingly good)

*Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike (Eddie Vedder + Chris Cornell back in the day = good!)

*Eskimo Joe - Thunderclap (gah I like the New Moon soundtrack...nerd much?)

*Anything by Esthero (she's an amazing Canadian artist who has partnered with everyone from Timbaland to The Black Eyed Peas to her song "Song for Holly" on the Go motion picture soundtrack she is amaaaazing!)

Cure-All

Nothing too exciting but my week (ok whole month) has been hellishly busy at work. Between school wide awards, class re-registration, data entry, and managing my attendance duties, I am totally, utterly spent by the end of my day. I've never been this stressed work-wise in my life. Living alone, it isn't so easy to vent to Cael when I get home, so I've had to come up with my own methods. Lately I've found that a little bit of yoga with my Namaste DVD's fixes it all. Just one half-hour episode with the amazing savasana at the end stretches, breathes and flexes my stress away. Namaste I love you!

Random Loves:

Kind of a slow start to the week, so here are a few of my favorite things:

Eminence Organic Skincare. Eminence is a Hungarian beauty/skincare line that focuses on all natural, organic, fruit and veggie-based products. When I worked at the Rockwater Resort last year, our spa used Eminence Organics exclusively. I was lucky enough to receive a free facial while I worked there (oh how I miss that perk!). It was 60 min of pure bliss! The tech used masques, moisturizers, tonics, serums, exfoliators, chemical peels etc...I've never had anything like it! I absolutely love Eminence! I bought myself a delicious body moisturizer made from champagne and orange! Heaven! Here are a few examples of their exotic treats: Stimulating Lime Masque, Sour Cherry Whip Moisturizer, Tomato Summer Cream...I could go on! To see the entire Eminence Organic line, take a look at their webpage here:

http://www.eminenceorganics.com/products_creams.html

(image from www.eminenceorganics.com)
I recently discovered Michelle Phan, an amazingly creative makeup artist/blogger/Youtube goddess/entrepreneur. Michelle is a wonderfully talented makeup artist with a flare for colour and theatrics! She has done excellent beauty/makeup breakdowns for such characters as Sailor Moon, Lady Gaga, and the Na'vi of Avatar. She also creates stunning, ready to wear looks that are just as inspiring as her movie characters! I highly recommend taking a look at Michelle's Youtube channel to check out her dozens of really inspiring videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/michellephan?blend=1&ob=4 Not only is Michelle a wonderful makeup artist, she is now the co-owner of an up-and-coming skincare line called IQQU! What can't she do? Wow, this girl is so young and so inspiring! Check out IQQU's webpage here to take a look at some of their products:

http://iqqubeauty.com/int/index.php/

(image from http://ricebunny.xanga.com/)

Finally, my favorite new boots! I splurged (for me) and bought myself some comfy Ugg Cardigan boots a few weeks ago and I'm in LOVE! They are so cute and comfy! I wish this monsoon would stop outside so I can wear them, but alas the rain is supposed to last all week. Oh well, I guess I'll stick to my Hunter Wellies in the meantime.

(image from www.softmoc.com)

Avatar = Amazing Movie!

Before we went to Mexico, we went to see James Cameron's Avatar in 3D...What can I say? It was absolutely the most amazingly visually gorgeous movie I have ever seen. I am a huge fan of epic, action-packed, (and somewhat nerdy - think Lord of the Rings/Trandsformers) movies. From the first scene, the fluorescent images of the Pandoran jungles, the beautifully alien Navi, and the amazing special effects blew me away. I even loved the special 3D glasses we got! We even went back for a second time because I just had to make sure my sister saw Avatar in theaters! It was just as stunning the second time around. If you haven't had a chance to see this movie yet, I fully recommend seeing it! Just make sure you see it in 3D! Here is a link to the offical Avatar page where you can see an extended trailer and get a feel for the movie:

http://www.avatarmovie.com/index.html

And for some fun, here is a link to an Avatar-inspired makeup look by Michelle Phan. Michelle is a wonderfully talented and creative makeup goddess. She is just too cute with her excellent video tutorials! http://www.youtube.com/user/MichellePhan

(image from collider.com)