from the island

For as long as I can remember, my family have visited one of the small gulf islands off the coast of Vancouver island. Over the years I've been there with my parents, my brother, old boyfriends, and friends, old and new.

Now when I go there, it's to visit my dad who has since made the island his home. But this being a long weekend, it seemed that everyone I knew was there at the same time! It was so wonderful to spend quiet time in the bush (as we would say in Australia), but also to reconnect with old, old friends.

Of course, it was also nice to hang out with my dad at his favourite cafe. He's so Canadian - always wearing some variation of jeans and flannel.

One of my oldest friends is also living on the island right now, with a cat and 4 chickens. This is one of her chickens.

There's something so refreshing about spending time with old friends, hearing their news and sharing yours.

side note: this is my favourite photo that I've taken on this trip home. It just screams pacific northwest to me.

I just read this post on the beautiful blog, Andrew and Carissa, and I kept thinking "yes! that's exactly how I feel about being home." I would have to say that the word grounded perfectly describes how I feel here.

wanted (canadian edition)

One of the things I'm really looking forward to when I'm home is having access to good stores that aren't crazy expensive. Life in Australia is so bloody steep that even after several years here I still regularly experience sticker shock. Seriously, those of you who live in North America/Europe have no idea how good you have it!

Here are a few things that I've been coveting but that are super pricey here in Oz. Canada here I come!

to buy in canada by thislittleport featuring v neck tops

1. A mustard cardigan. Have any of you seen any lately?
2. Toms
3. NARS lipstick in heatwave
4. A Jade yoga mat
5. ANYTHING from Anthropologie, my most favourite shop ever
6. A gingham/plaid button up shirt
7. Another chambray top
8. Dr Hauschka face stuff
9. Red jeans. Again, any tips on where to get some would be much appreciated :)
10. OPI nail polish
11. Hunter boots. This probably won't happen but a girl can dream...

Getting my Christmas on

As a Canadian, I find it near impossible to get in the Christmas spirit here in Australia. My family's not around, it's the middle of summer and all of the traditions that I've grown up with just aren't here. And it doesn't help that this year we won't even be home for Christmas (we'll be in New Zealand) so we won't be getting a Christmas tree or decorating at all...

But ever since I've been back from Bali, the weather here has been oh so crappy and I decided yesterday to take advantage of it and try to get my Christmas on. I spent the afternoon making gingerbread and listening to my favourite Christmas music of all time, Sufjan Stevens' Songs for Christmas. And I dare say, I did feel a bit more festive.

How have you been getting your Christmas on this year?

Smores!!!

I am just going for my life here, sexy

One of the best things to happen to me in the last month is the arrival of Nicole, who brought with her one of my favourite treats from home: graham crackers! I seriously have not eaten a smore since I moved here, 3 years ago.

You cannot find graham crackers in Australia, and what's more, should you try to explain what a smore is to an Australian, they will openly mock you. So for my Aussie/Kiwi readers, here's how you make a smore...

1. Get someone to bring you graham crackers from North America. They are biscuits.

2. Sandwich chocolate and 1 marshmallow in between 2 graham crackers.

3. Put this sandwich into a hot oven for about 5 minutes, or better yet, wrap this sandwich in tin foil and put it on top of a fire. Smores are camping food.

4. Thank your friend for bringing you graham crackers.

♥♥♥

Do you have an accent?

Source: Uploaded by user via Gabriela on Pinterest

That's a silly question because the answer is, of course, yes. We ALL have accents. So what I mean is this: where you live, are you the one with the accent?

It's something I've never given much thought to, until I moved here that is. Here in Australia, my Canadian accent is an ever present part of my life. Anytime I meet someone new, the first thing they say is "Where are you from?" And quite often when I'm just taking part in a boring transaction like buying a coffee I'm asked "Where are you from?"

Sometimes it's nice. It's been pretty easy for me to meet guys here (hello, I married one of them!) and to make new friends because people are curious about my accent.

But on the other hand, sometimes I get sick of having the exact same conversation over and over again. And sometimes I just want to buy my coffee and not have a conversation about the person's great aunt Mildred who may or may not live in Windsor, Ontario and perhaps I know her?

So I'm curious... do any of you live somewhere where you're the one with the accent? And if yes, how do you feel about it?

Thanksgiving in July

one of Amanda's friends iced this cake to be a perfect replica of the american flag, cute hey?

This weekend, my lovely yoga friend Amanda hosted a thanksgiving in July dinner party. She's from Chicago and figured that celebrating thanksgiving while it's cold outside makes more sense than waiting until November when it's boiling. So she made the most authentic thanksgiving feast: turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie.

My contribution: cornbread muffins. And boy oh boy is it hard to explain cornbread to

Aussies :) Pumpkin pie is equally perplexing; most Aussies seem to expect it to be savoury and when they realize it's sweet they either love it or hate it. Of course, I love it and I love finding ways of adapting traditions with my fellow expats!

A very Canadian playlist

I was teaching a yoga class the other day and I had a student who came up to me at the end of class and said: "That was a very Canadian playlist." And I realized that she's right, it just so happens that many of my favourite musicians are Canadian. What can I say? Canadians make some pretty great tunes. Today I thought I'd share a playlist of some of my all time favourites, I hope you find something new to love!

p.s. this post was inspired by Kate at O My Heart!

My favourite podcasts

via, via

via, via

One of the little rituals that grounds my week is listening to my favourite podcasts on Sundays. While I listen, I potter around the house, tidying up and doing chores. And it is seriously one of my favourite ways to spend a morning. My four favourite podcasts are: the Vinyl Cafe, Definitely not the Opera, This American Life and the Dirtbag Diaries.

The funny thing is that when I was a kid my dad used to take my brother and I on drives and he would always listen to the CBC. His favourites were the Vinyl Cafe and DNTO and I resented both massively. I just wanted to listen to my crappy top 40 radio stations. But now that I'm an adult, and I've moved to the other side of the world, I so appreciate the gentle, simple, canadianess of both of these shows. They remind me why I love Canada, and they make me feel like I'm still connected, silly as that may sound. Do you guys have any favourite podcasts?

I miss...

... the mountains. I miss snow, evergreens, and snowboarding. I miss my family and my friends. I miss the neighbourhood where I grew up and the tiny island where my dad now lives. I miss my dad's dog, Scout, who I've mentioned in this post. I'm sad that the Canucks are finally in the Stanley Cup finals and I can't watch it. I miss home. And don't get me wrong, I LOVE where I live now, but sometimes, well sometimes I get homesick. xx