In honour of Neilson’s birthday we suprised him at the Stanley Park Pitch and Putt. However, I forgot to wear “appropriate footwear” for the event and the line was endless, so we opted for an equally as summer themed event - Fish and Chips on the beach!
The sun was out, for once, and we were mere blocks away from the legendary Mr. Pickwicks Fish and Chips. And so, we sat by the water, watched people jog and bike and rollerblade with far more energy than us, and we indulged in transfatty seafood. A great time was had by all.
I also couldn’t resist taking far too many photos of the apartment monstrosities / delights that dot Pacific and Beach avenue. So much concrete, so little time.
Published by Carolyn June 8th, 2008
in monette mackay.
This day, June 8th 2008, marks the day that Neilson Mackenzie Mackay turns 28 years old.
When not cruising the streets of Vancouver in search of custom fit diapers, Neilson enjoys test driving assisted walking devices, having his blood pressure checked and practicing clean eating.
Congrats Neilson, for making it this far in life.
On Thursday we went to Bistrot Bistro for a celebratory dinner. Jake was just snapped up by Blast Radius! They do some really innovative brand and web work for all kinds of businesses - EA, Nintendo, LG, BMW, Starbucks, Nike .. to name a few. The office is in Yaletown, making the commute a cinch. But what excites Jake the most? That there’s a 7-11 mere steps away, and he can get a Big Gulp for lunch. I foresee his nacho cheese consumption going up again as well.
This morning I got up early and hit the gym. Kits Workout has gotten all these new machines in, and I’m addicted. You can’t keep me out of this place. Even though I have a nearly unlimited supply of workout clothes thanks to my generous lulu discount, I’ve been working out so much I don’t have a single clean Power Y tank! They’ve got me good!
We also managed to have a productive post workout morning. Neilson and Meliss were out shopping for cars (they’re getting a new Bayou Blue Yaris SR hatchback) - so we met them on Commercial and headed to do some more shopping at Costco. We spent a few hours there, and Neilson got to try out the HUGO he’d been eyeing. We spent far too many hundreds of dollars on useful things like bulk gyozas and salmon jerky.
After our bulk buying and poutine eating at Costco, we headed to Cucina on West 4th, to celebrate Jake’s job again. This time over Italian fare rather than French. The food was decent and the portions of a reasonable size unlike White Spot. Last time I was at White Spot they gave me salad the size of a serving platter. I complained and got a $30 coupon.
Post-pasta we played another rousing game of Scattergories. There was far less fighting this time, though far more cheating. I still stand by the fact that salmon are found in some zoos. C’mon!
Published by Carolyn June 4th, 2008
in vancouver and lululemon.
Last week our department won the lululemon Sweat Off Challenge. The top three departments that worked out the most per capita, per day, for some insane amount of weeks won a day up in Belcarra. Since most of my closest co-workers are gym rats, yoga gurus, and / or obsessive compulsive, this worked out well.
Ella, Darren, Momo, Nic and myself high tailed it up to Deep Cove where we met the Store Ops, Design, and Training teams for a day on the water. We took a water taxi to the Vancouver Water Ski Club and ate, drank, and wakeboarded ourselves silly. Dave cooked us up some of the best pieces of salmon I have had in my entire life and Darren treated us to wet suit trade secrets.
The day was a bit chilly, but nothing a nice fire and a bottle of surprisingly good Yellow Tail couldn’t fix. The day also afforded us a good opportunity to get to know people in other departments. We were lucky enough to have a really inspiring chat with Jenna Hills, who, for the first time in my year and a half at lululemon, made me really really understand what this brand is about. It’s amazing how a simple conversation can do that.
All in all, it was a day well spent, even if I had to leave my heels behind.
Published by Carolyn May 24th, 2008
in jake, monette mackay, the cottage and travel.
For the May 24th long weekend we had planned to head to Tofino and rent these little a-frame huts that we had stayed in in summers past, but the logistics of it all seemed too exhausting, and the ferry was already booked. So, we took the lazy man’s approach and rented a cottage on Bowen Island.
The beauty of Bowen Island is that it is so close to the city. A lot of people on the island even commute into town each day - as the ferry ride is only twenty minutes. And for a long weekend with great weather, the island felt surprisingly deserted.
Our cottage was cute - very small, about the size of an elaborate shed. It was located right into the ‘downtown core’ across from the Village Baker, and had a view of the harbour.
It didn’t take much to keep us occupied. We cracked a few too many bottles of wine, ate about my body weight in red meat, and fought over a few games of Scattergories. For a girl who hates board games as much as birds, I had a great time.
On the Sunday we went to Crayola Beach, a gorgeous little beach lined with wooden crayon shaped posts. Clever. Jake and Neilson played frisbee. Melissa and I suntanned. We took a picnic lunch of salmon and felt altogether West Coast - thought I still didn’t wear sandals.
Monday morning was rainy so we stayed in, cooked dream-a-pancakes and then headed back on the ferry home. In case you are wondering, dream-a-pancakes are a delight I came up with while squatting with Neilson and Jake in the wet apartment. You layer pancakes with peanut butter (or nutella), then add icecream (preferable with chocolate chunks), and then crumble other items such as digestive cookies or skor bars on top. It all melts together into a big plate of diabetes. Sadly we didn’t have a chance to cook dream-a-roni - my meat and cheese and salsa concoction. On our next island vacation I suppose.
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