23 | Places I'm Going to Visit

Originally this post was going to be things that inspire me. But I felt that was too open because a lot of things inspire me (books, movies, a hundred million quotes, craft spaces, everything on Pinterest, etc.) so I'm saving that one and maybe I'll do multiple "things that inspire me" posts in the future. I realize that I'm going away from just the crafty things I used to post, and more into Lifestyle/Creative blogging, and I find myself enjoying it. I enjoy sharing glimpses into my life as well as my creative projects. I've been thinking a lot about changing my blog, and possibly moving to another platform (like typepad), doing some rebranding, and possibly opening a small shop where I could sell some of the projects I make and would love to share with the world!

1. Ireland | Not any particular part of Ireland, I want to see as much of the country as I can. My sister was fortunate enough to go to Ireland earlier this year (in April) with her band group and I was so jealous! I could have signed up to go as a chaperone, but couldn't afford it at the time of the payments. I've agreed to make her a scrapbook of her trip (she can fill in all the journaling) but living through her experience isn't enough for me. I need to see the country firsthand and enjoy every second of it!

2. Scotland | Again, not just one part, I want to see as much of the country as possible. I love their accents, and of course the red hair that my Scottish (and Irish) ancestors gave me. Maybe it's all the styled and edited photos all over Pinterest of various parts of the country, or the fact that I have a thing for castles and wide open country side, or my love of learning the history of various places, but Scotland is one place I NEED to visit. It's been on my bucket list since 2012.

3. London, England | The accents, the red phone booths, the double deck buses and THE Royal Family are just a few reasons I want to see London. The architecture, and the history are a few others!

4. Germany | I literally can't narrow it down to one place in Germany I want to see. I want to see a lot of the country, and after following Paige Evans on Instagram and seeing all her beautiful photos, I could possibly live there! I want to see the history, the colourful architecture, and the country. I know that to most people WWII was far too serious for them to ever visit Germany (or Austria) but I still want to go, and I want to see those things. It's not the same reading about something as it is seeing it.

5. Austria | I don't think it makes me a terrible person that I want to see the concentration camps from WWII. I'm definitely not a history buff, but I've enjoyed plenty of historical fiction, and learning about it all was so interesting to me in school. WWII was the one subject that I actually cared to learn about.

6. Italy | The food and the architecture are the two main reasons I want to go to Italy. It looks BEAUTIFUL there, and after reading Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, I NEED to go to Italy and eat some real Italian food. I also want to take in the architecture while we still have the opportunity.

7. Greece | The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants opened my mind to the idea of visiting Greece. While I don't particularly like hot, humid places, I want to see a lot of the history of Greece. I love the architecture, and it's something I think everyone should experience while it's still there.

8. Australia | As much as I dislike hot climates, and bugs the size of small children, I still want to visit Australia. A friend I met in college spent a month in Australia and loved it. I burn easily, but I'd absolutely love to visit some of the wonderful ladies I've met online from there, including my penpal from the One Little Word Facebook Group.

9. China | Jon's dad's family is from China, and him and his parents went a few years ago. They enjoyed it, and I absolutely want to see it. Their architecture is so incredibly unique and I can't imagine being around for millions of years and losing a lot of your history. He talks about their trip a lot and it makes me want to go more every time!

10. Tokyo, Japan | I'm not as interested in Japan as other countries. I'd be fine with just seeing Tokyo, even though I know that's probably not the best way to take in the culture of the country. It is, however the only part of Japan that has piqued my interest.

11. Russia | Even with all of the unrest in the country, it's somewhere I want to visit. I don't know a ton about Russia, but I know that it has incredible history that I'd love to learn more about, and see pieces of for myself.

12. Canada's East Coast | I've never been further than Manitoba, and I want to change that. I want to at least see a portion of every province and territory in Canada, and while I've seen from BC to Manitoba, that's not even half the country. I'd like to start by seeing Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. It looks beautiful out there, and I think it would be a wonderful trip!

13. Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Like I said, I've never been east of Manitoba (Winnipeg to be exact) and I definitely need to see Toronto. A friend from England has been in Toronto since December or January and seeing her exploring the city and sharing her photos on Instagram makes me want to visit it ASAP.

14. Niagra Falls, Ontario | A few people I know have been there and said it was amazing. I've seen pictures, and all that and I need to go! I love waterfalls, and magnificent things. It's something I think everyone should see if they have the chance. I'm not one for tourist-y things or places (this list says otherwise) but I want to see the world!

15. San Fransisco | Thanks to Full House, and the Golden Gate Bridge, of course this would be on my list. I'm clearly very much impacted by the media and my love of bridges (seriously though). At this point it's almost safe to say I just want to see every major tourist attraction around the world.

16. Paris, France | I don't speak any French (except maybe Bonjour, merci and counting to 10) but I want to see the Eifle tower and all the beautiful architecture. My cousin and her husband honeymooned in France and their photos were beautiful. I clearly live vicariously through my family and friends and their travels.

17. Amsterdam, Netherlands | The beautiful architecture more than anything is what draws me to this place. The colorful houses are so beautiful and I need to see them all!

18. Las Vegas, Nevada | Not to gamble. Not for the food. Not because it's a tourist destination. There's a junkyard of old signs in/near Las Vegas, and I'd love to see it. I've also seen a lot of the city in movies, but I want to see it myself (always).

19. Tree House Point, Washington | Thank you Pinterest. It's full of all these cool places around the world, and Tree House Point is no different. I love trees, and camping (minus the bugs) and I think it would be so cool to sleep in a tree house. I always wanted one, but out here we don't have trees that are generally sturdy enough to support a tree house.

20. Banff National Park | Considering that I live in Alberta, and have only driven through the mountains twice (during the same vacation) is amazing. My family didn't do "vacations" when I was younger, so the first time I got close to the mountains I was 19, and was traveling with two friends out to Vancouver Island for two weeks. The second time, we were coming back from the Island.

21. Oregon | The internet is full of beautiful looking photos (of course) and that includes beautiful photos of Oregon. I love the trees and how green everything is in the warmer months. I imagine people who live there don't see it the way I do, but it's definitely on my list!

22. Iceland | It looks so beautiful! Growing up I always assumed that it was an island made out of ice (like the North Pole), but obviously it's not, but even if it was that would be so cool to see!

23. Norway | The internet makes it look so beautiful, but more than that, I want to see as much of the world as I can. I've seen so many pretty photos from Norway, and I think I might have some distant relatives there, so of course I want to see where my family came from (basically all over Europe).

Go ahead, make a travel bucket list. This may very well become a layout. I'm having a lot of fun gradually working through the Type Workshop from Ali Edwards, and it's definitely inspiring me to tell more stories, and document different things I'd never have thought I'd want to remember in the future.

Calgary Trip Recap

I had a wonderful weekend! It was sort of relaxing, but it was also really nice to see Nathan, Terri and their daughter, and Mike. It was nice to try a few different things this weekend as well.

Friday morning I woke up to Jon's dogs looking at me from the top of the stairs. They were waiting patiently for someone to come upstairs and let them outside. So adorable.

After we ran into work for an hour, Jon wanted to rinse the car off. Despite being at work for an hour, we still managed to get out of town at the time we had originally wanted.

Our snack on the trip were the new Lays flavours. The only one we managed to try was Grilled Cheese and Ketchup. They were okay. Nothing too special. It tasted like BBQ and Cheddar combined.

Halfway-ish into our trip, we hit a little construction on the bridge. Luckily the wait wasn't terribly long, and it didn't impact the trip time at all.

We made it to the city in good time, then programmed the GPS for Jon's friend's store. We had some fish to drop off with him, and ended up running into Nathan and Terri there as well, which was super awesome.

Here's the Calgary tower. We had planned to stop there during the trip, but ended up not having time. Maybe next trip! The view of the city is amazing from up there.

Not too far from his friend's store, we saw this. It's supposed to be a Bud Light bottle, but of course neither of us saw that when we looked at it. We also saw some pretty interesting people driving through the city. One guy was wearing a really heavy sweater, it was +30 degrees Celsius.

At Jon's friend's store we picked up some new boardgames. This one here is Tsuro of the Seas. We also have the original Tsuro which is really fun. This one is a lot more complicated (but also super fun). We also picked up Pandemic, Small World and a bunch of Small World expansions.

We picked Terri up after she finished her tattoo a couple of stores down from where we were, and we headed to Taste of Calgary to meet up with Nathan and their daughter. I tried bubble tea, something with octopus in it (terrible), and some amazingly delicious steak bites from Canadian Brew House. After we finished up there, we went to Nathan and Terri's house, and from there we walked to the park that was hosting Global Fest.

This isn't a very good picture, but above the tents/toilets, was a hill packed full of people. It seems that almost every single person was sitting over there. Just before the fireworks started, all you could see were people.

Jon stood in line for 20 minutes just to get some fresh mini doughnuts. It was definitely worth it. They were amazing! Especially when they were fresh and still warm.  

Saturday we went shopping, and then watched Roller Derby. Nathan and Terri were refereeing both games, and they got us tickets to watch. 

Of course I loved their stamp. I thought it was hilarious.

Jon bought some homemade red velvet cupcakes from one of the ladies with a booth. He also bought two t-shirts and an apron. After derby, we went out for a late dinner at Rush. It was amazing.

Sunday we went for Dim Sum, and that was interesting. It was the first time I'd ever had Dim Sum, and some of the food didn't taste very good, but I had a good time! After Dim Sum we went back to Jon's friend's store and he played a game of Warhammer while I read my book. Then we headed back to the hotel and just hung out and relaxed.

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Monday morning, we got up stopped by a little stationery and party supply store. It was so cute and pretty! Definitely want to go back there sometime. After that we headed to Ikea, where we had breakfast (above) and looked at things for the house. Picked out some fixtures, and a bed frame. So excited to move!

On the way home, we had a bee stuck in the window wiper. It was still alive, but couldn't get free. He ended up dying when Jon sped down a straight stretch of highway. Poor bee.

We managed to get home in good time, despite stopping for construction three times.

I'll share my shopping haul tomorrow.

Have a good day!

-Alex