Photo Journals: A Brief Taste of Eastern Canada

Reading Week is a magical time where students have the chance to catch up on readings, catch up on sleep, and/or go off and do something that breaks up the ol' routine. We elected to do the latter. To visit family and friends who are on the other side of the country, we planned a whirlwind trip out to Ontario and Québec (then back to Ontario).

Heading out on a red eye flight, we made our way to Toronto, quickly departing to make our way to Ottawa on a record-breaking day of snowfall (51cm in 24 hours, beating an all-time record from fifty-some years prior!). We arrived at our hostel, which was modelled as a place for travellers to sleep after being created as a place to hold criminals.

Landing in the snowy east and traveling to our first stop.

The snow continued to fall and the wind blew with gusto (ha) as we sought out a place to eat on a budget after realizing we had not eaten any real food (save for two shared granola bars) for the last 9 hours or so. We found ourselves at a familiar-but-unexplored restaurant called WAREHOUSE, which also has a location in Vancouver and other major cities I have visited. The entire menu has a baseline price of $4.95, which adds up depending on what you want to add to your dish. The food was great, especially considering the affordability!

Exploring the parliament buildings after dinner on our first night.

Ottawa in the daylight was beautifully sunny and snowy (but watch out for melting snow on the roofs of buildings)! I tried my first Beavertail and hiked through freshly-fallen (and densely packed) snowy fields to the Parliament buildings, the Supreme Court of Canada, and eventually an Uber driver (my frist time), who took us to the bus station. From there, we made our way to Montréal.

Upon arriving in Quebéc, we quickly established our place of rest for the night before heading out to dinner. When it was confessed that we had a vegetarian at the table (me), the waiter, knowing there were no meatless menu options, exclaimed, "Madame, I have a plan!" and dashed into a back room. Apparently, this is where they hide the vegetarian menus, and I enjoyed a superb meal with a wine that I found slightly better than tolerable (I'm not a wine person yet; the wine was very nice, I'm sure).

After a short evening of exploring followed by sleeping, we climbed Mount Royal near McGill university and enjoyed spectacular views of the city from atop its wee mountain (it is wee, please don't take this as an insult if you are sensitive to the topic). We then meandered through the city streets, covering whatever skin we could so as to defend ourselves against the seemingly docile but harshly cold air. Our time was short in this city, and before we knew it, we had arrived at the train station, where I would hop on to my first train for a ride!

A portion of the view from the lookout on Mount Royal.

We arrived late in Toronto and wasted little time getting to our destination for sleep. We hiked across the city with our suitcases, this time enjoying an easier stroll than when we arrived in this part of the world a few days ago in the newly snowy conditions. By now, the streets were drying, and we found our way to rest. After a very late meal, we slept in preparation for a full day of being welcomed to the University of Toronto's law school (I attended as a guest of a new admit). Following our full day, we explored the city, saw a movie, and walked in circles before selecting a place called Kit Kat('s?) for dinner - margherita pizza and delicious Mediterranean salad (so many olives <3).

Another late night after hiking back to our sleeping place.

Another day of city exploration and a new restaurant called WVRST where I tried my first bratwurst (vegan) and was thoroughly impressed. The restaurant, from what I was told, is modelled like a traditional German beer haus, and fosters communal eating and meeting new friends. Too soon again did we make our way to a vehicle to leave the city, and we flew back with relative speed to Vancouver, landing to meet old friends and enjoy even more random food in abundance.

HoCho Fest 2016: 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 + Farewell!

Each year, the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival brings together cafes, confectionaries, and restaurants to create specialty hot chocolate beverages to fundraise for a great cause. This year, proceeds of the festival will be going towards supporting the Downtown Eastside Women's Job Training Program of the PHS Community Services Society and East Van Roasters. Each year, I join this win-win-win situation by dropping in to every possible location, tasting delicious drinks and snacks, reviewing my stops, and supporting this superb cause.

This post features: Railtown Cafe, Gem Chocolates, 49th Parallel and Lucky's Doughnuts, Chez Christophe, Schokolade Artisan Chocolates, and Glenburn Soda Fountain & Confectionary

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HoCho 24: Pandance With Me, Railtown Cafe

This was my first visit to Railtown Cafe! Tucked away in East Vancouver in a corner I didn't know existed, I found my way one Wednesday at dusk to "Pandance With" their cocoa.

I could use your help to win!

Shameless self-promotion and chocolate/worthy cause devotion: 

This photograph has been featured by City Food Magazine in their Hot Chocolate Festival photo contest! If you "like" this Facebook post and/or this Instagram post, you can support my future hot chocolate adventures and reviews! The person with the most "likes" across the two platforms will win a free pass to all of next year's festival flavours.

HoCho Fest 2016: 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Each year, the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival brings together cafes, confectionaries, and restaurants to create specialty hot chocolate beverages to fundraise for a great cause. This year, proceeds of the festival will be going towards supporting the Downtown Eastside Women's Job Training Program of the PHS Community Services Society and East Van Roasters. Each year, I join this win-win-win situation by dropping in to every possible location, tasting delicious drinks and snacks, reviewing my stops, and supporting this superb cause.

This post features: French Made Baking, Butter Baked Goods, Chocolate Arts, Diva at the Met, and Bella Gelatería.

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HoCho 17: Magic Beans, French Made Baking

On a grey Saturday afternoon - which also happened to fall on National Croissant Day! - we made our way to French Made Baking for a cocoa! FMB changes their flavour every day, cycling through 4 for this year's festival, and Sunday's flavour was "Magic Beans", a white hot chocolate with tonka and vanilla-bean flavours accompanied by a rosemary and sea salt puff pastry twist.

HoCho Fest 2016: 13, 14, 15, 16

Each year, the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival brings together cafes, confectionaries, and restaurants to create specialty hot chocolate beverages to fundraise for a great cause. This year, proceeds of the festival will be going towards supporting the Downtown Eastside Women's Job Training Program of the PHS Community Services Society and East Van Roasters. Each year, I join this win-win-win situation by dropping in to every possible location, tasting delicious drinks and snacks, reviewing my stops, and supporting this superb cause.

This post features: Terra Breads, Koko Monk, East Van Roasters, and Thierry.

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HoCho 13: Honey Buns, Terra Breads (4th Ave)

SPICY.

HoCho Fest 2016: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Each year, the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival brings together cafes, confectionaries, and restaurants to create specialty hot chocolate beverages to fundraise for a great cause. This year, proceeds of the festival will be going towards supporting the Downtown Eastside Women's Job Training Program of the PHS Community Services Society and East Van Roasters. Each year, I join this win-win-win situation by dropping in to every possible location, tasting delicious drinks and snacks, reviewing my stops, and supporting this superb cause.


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HoCho 6: Mumbai Meets Paris, Thomas Haas

On Thursday morning, PSYC 325 reading in hand, I made my way to an annual all-star for the festival: Thomas Haas.

HoCho Fest 2016: 2, 3, 4, 5

Each year, the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival brings together cafes, confectionaries, and restaurants to create specialty hot chocolate beverages to fundraise for a great cause. This year, proceeds of the festival will be going towards supporting the Downtown Eastside Women's Job Training Program of the PHS Community Services Society and East Van Roasters. Each year, I join this win-win-win situation by dropping in to every possible location, tasting delicious drinks and snacks, reviewing my stops, and supporting this superb cause.

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HoCho 2: The Bananarama, The Last Crumb Bakery & Cafe

On this rainy Sunday, I grabbed an amiga and headed east to sample a drink from a location that I have enjoyed visiting each year of the festival, The Last Crumb.

HoCho Fest 2016: 1 + Welcome!

My friends, it is the time of year I wait for months on end, the time when my budget is devoted almost wholly to one single cause, a time of tickled taste buds for four glorious weeks. It is time for the 6th annual...

HOT CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

Each year, the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival brings together cafes, confectionaries, and restaurants to create specialty hot chocolate beverages to fundraise for a great cause. This year, proceeds of the festival will be going towards supporting the Downtown Eastside Women's Job Training Program of the PHS Community Services Society and East Van Roasters. Each year, I join this win-win-win situation by dropping in to every possible location, tasting delicious drinks and snacks, reviewing my stops, and supporting this superb cause. 

Let's begin.

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Being Cognizant: New Year's Resolutions

A series about the ways I work towards being cognizant through decisions that make me more mentally engaged with various facets of my day-to-day life.

Cognizance (noun): Awareness, realization, notice, knowledge, perception.

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It's that time of year when small talk turns to the question, "So, did you come up with any new year resolutions?"

I like this time of year, because people often take some time think about themselves in a positive way, or at least with a growth mindset:

"I am going to start exercising regularly!" 
"I am going to have a green smoothie every day!" 
"I am going to stay on top of my readings this semester!"

(That last one was a joke, of course.)

While I do love goal-setting - a post on that is upcoming - I am not personally a fan of New Year's Resolutions due to the way that they are typically approached by the goal setter.

"Why, Katie, would you not support one's desire to make positive changes?" asked Seriously Irrelevant Holiday Cat.

Well, the thing is, I think that setting a goal with such a specific start date and not creating measurable steps to achieve it can be a dangerous activity, at least by way of achieving your goal and feeling confident in yourself.

New Year's resolutions often involve making a significant change right away at the beginning of the year, on the first day, and making that your new standard to meet (e.g., no more candy, or 30 minutes on the treadmill three times per week). This, in my eyes, is a recipe for disaster, for a number of reasons.

The dawn of the new year: What are your goals?

Firstly, you are not easing into your goal.
You may be introducing a change in your life without gradually doing so, and this can make it difficult to stick to in the long-run (or even the short-run). If you choose to go with a 30-minute treadmill jog for the new year, you might find that it is incredibly difficult to accomplish this even once if you are not regularly doing something in this realm already. It can be disheartening to feel that your goal is not accomplishable because you were unable to achieve it right away. Creating a plan that involves building up to your goal over time using baby steps is a more sure-fire way to eventually attain a specific goal with a measurable outcome.

Secondly, you have decided to start achieving this goal regularly on a particular date.
It's great to set a deadline for yourself to begin working on a goal, but if your goal is lofty or something you are not accustomed to, you might find that once your deadline has passed... the motivation to pursue the resolution has also passed. Setting a deadline to begin working towards a goal is a better idea, rather than setting a deadline to begin achieving this goal on the regular. Reframing your thinking to, "Over the course of this year, I hope to work towards X," is more powerful than, "Tomorrow I am going to begin regularly achieving X."

Thirdly, your goal may be based on a perceived defect in yourself.
I am particularly wary of any resolutions that involve appearance, such as losing X number of pounds, getting a six-pack of abs, or attaining a size 0 in clothing (for women's clothing, because apparently women should aspire to be nothing). These goals will lead to a sense of failure or incompetence if you are unable to achieve them and are based on physical attributes that may be outside of your control, which is a sign that you should not set the goals with this sort of language (or perhaps avoid setting these goals at all). If your appearance is going to be a part of your resolution at all, the goal itself should be within your control (such as healthy eating and exercise), whereas a change in appearance may be a by-product of that goal (such as increased muscle tone or loss of unhealthy fat). Further, any goals that are attempts to improve yourself for others? Make sure that you setting goals for yourself and that you are intrinsically motivated* to achieve them in the long-term.

If you are making New Year's Resolutions this year, consider these three common barriers to achieving goals that you set for yourself and take the time to make a plan of attack for eventually succeeding in making the changes that you want to see in your world.

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*Intrinsic motivation: Motivation that comes from within oneself, that originates from the individual, rather than coming from an external source (which would be extrinsic motivation).