{a blog award from splendid willow...}

I am long overdue to thank the lovely Monika over at Splendid Willow for honouring me with a very sweet blog award. I have been oggling Splendid Willow for months and was delighted to see little lovelyvelo appear on her list.

Now, I am tasked to share 7 things about me that you don't already know, so you won't find anything in this list about pretty hotels, lovely bicycles, paper, or reclaimed wood ;) Hope you enjoy these random little facts.

1. I was born in beautiful British Columbia. Although I love living in Toronto, I am a West Coast girl at heart and miss the ocean, mountains and stunning forests.

2. Maybe because I hail from Vancouver, I feel happiest when it's raining and I have a killer collection of umbrellas!

3. Rain or shine, I love a good game of cards. I grew up playing cribbage with my grandpa and a night with my cousins rarely ends without a game of Traveling Rummy.

4. I speak Chinese. I went to a High School for the arts where most of my classmates were from Hong Kong. They got to take Mandarin, so I decided to join! I lived in Beijing and think China is one of the most fascinating countries in the world. These characters say: Women dou shi yi jia ren... We are family.

5. When I travel to China, I can't come home without pillowcases. I have 2 antiques made by the Naxi women of Lijiang in southern Yunnan province. These pillows with my posing kitty Boomer are from India.


6. I absolutely can not go a day without chocolate. The best chocolate cake I've ever had was in Zhongdian, China on the border of Tibet!

7. I have traveled to 29 countries. I was aiming for 30 before I turned 30, but I'll have to set a new goal. I'm turning 31 next month.

In the past year, I've stumbled upon so many lovely and inspiring blogs. I'd like to pass this lovely award to this list that always make my day a little brighter. Folks below, feel free to share 7 unknowns with your readers and to pass along this beautiful blogger award ;)

416cyclestyle

An Indian Summer
Cannelle et Vanille
Cookie Cutter
Copenhagen Cycle Chic
La Maison Boheme
Lanalou Style
Life in the Fun Lane
London Cycle Chic
Pacha Design

Riding Pretty

The Flowerchild Dwelling

Photos: Capilano Suspension Bridge; Girl in the Rain; Playing Cards; Chinese Characters; Boomer photos by me; Chocolate; Me in Cuba by C.

{the weekend...}

I was so excited to find this ayurvedic tea at Chapters on Friday, the perfect way to kick off my much needed weekend of relaxation. This particular tea is meant for balancing Vata - which is my dosha type - something I had the great joy of learning at the Ananda Ayurveda Spa in Northern India. Learning about your dosha type helps you find ways to balance your lifestyle, I've tried it and it works! A fun quiz - learn your dosha type here!

Oh, and this is just a great picture I snapped of my kitten yesterday, I couldn't resist sharing it!