a natural wonder.

niagra falls may not technically be one of the seven natural wonders of the world (victoria falls in africa takes that prize), but it was absolutely mind-blowingly amazing. we went to niagra on our last day in canada, and it was as cool an experience as you could hope for. whenever i go somewhere that everyone says is amazing i am a bit skeptical - i always think there is no way it can live up to the hype. but there is something undeniable about being around such an awesome feat of nature.

toronto.

woah this is late. oh well, what can you do? sometimes i don't like being on my computer. since our trip i have spent a lot of my free time cooking, baking, biking, and doing yoga. all awesome things, but i have neglected this blog a bit. sorry bloggy!

over the long labor day weekend paul and i drove to the beautiful city of toronto. we had such an amazing time! it's a great place - super multicultural (50% of the city's residents were born outside canada!) and incredibly vibrant. it felt similar to chicago, but with a touch of new york. here are a few highlights.


this is a plaza that was right across the street from our hotel. on our first day there we sat down with coffee and just did some people watching. it was awesome how torontonians (?) seemed to really engage with their public spaces. so often in american cities people just pass through parks and plazas, but in canada all different types of people were spending their time in their public spaces.



there were phone booths everywhere! it was one of the first things we noticed. for a while we were confused, but then we realized that with such a large international population there are probably a lot of people who use phone cards. we had fun playing around with them though.


chinatown in toronto is jam packed and super cool. we were walking around this part of the city when it was super early so we didn't really get a chance to try any food, but there were still a lot of sights to see.


meat on a truck.


a store front in kensigton market early in the morning.


(pretty much) the national dish of canada - poutine. fries + gravy + cheese curds. how is this not in chicago? that is a hearty midwestern dish if i've ever seen one.


exploring a city greenhouse.



a beautiful cemetery we spent an hour or so strolling around.


a kick-ass mural on an otherwise nondescript street.


the distillery district - a foot traffic only little neighborhood that is full of markets, boutiques, food, and theater. a touch touristy and odd because of that, but still really cool to see.


one of the first ever flat iron buildings.


a touching aids memorial.


an ever so perfectly canadian traffic sign. so polite!

tomorrow... niagra falls.

lake geneva

yesterday paul and i returned from a much needed and completely wonderful trip to lake geneva, wisconsin. we went with two of my very closest friends, and it was nothing short of perfect.




we made sure to stop at farms and antique stores as we drove up. the corn, cantaloupe, and strawberry rhubarb pie were super delicious.






our days were spent on the lake and pier, boating, tubing and swimming until we were exhausted.





and our evenings were full of yummy snacks and lazy board game playing.







the sunset from the pier was unbelievable.







on our second day there we walked along the lake to look at the gorgeous mansions that dot its shore. some of them you simply can't believe! there is also an incredible amount of absolutely charming 60's and 70's bungalows and cottages (which i much prefer...although these mansions are stunning).



i'm already itching to go back.

seattle cntd.

pike place market was without a doubt one of our favorite things about seattle. there was so much to see and so many beautiful edibles! i love my food, and the sights and sounds here were pretty incredible.

the lobby of our hotel. it was so sleek and minimalist, but still super welcoming and warm. we will definitely go back whenever we are in a city that has one.


top pot donuts. this is a bit of a sad admission, but we ate here 3 times in our 4 1/2 day trip. but look at them! look at the delicious, homemade, perfect donuts! how can you blame us?

a quick jaunt.

last week the bf and i went on our first ever "just the two of us" vacation. with each of us having family living in varying cities, it feels like we are always using our vacation time to go visit them (not that we don't love them to pieces). well this time we took our miles and went to seattle. it was beautiful! very low-key, with a lot of walking around. one day we walked 20 miles!! take that cars and bikes, we don't need the likes of you to get us around a new city! anyway, here are a few pictures.
this is the great little hotel we stayed in, the ace. they also have locations in portland, palm springs, and brooklyn. the general manager there, ed, was the absolute sweetest man, and we looked forward to seeing his face every morning when we left our hotel.
this is within the city of seattle. i mean, c'mon, seriously? that is so much nature! so beautiful. we kept commenting on how wonderful it smelled as we were walking around, i'm not accustomed to fresh flowers and huge trees surrounding me.
this is our cute little block. the neighborhood we stayed in is called belltown, and it's pretty great. just a few minutes from pike place market and there are a ton of cute restaurants and coffee shops in the area.
oh the water, it's just everywhere you turn. so calming and beautiful. we have the lake here, but it seems like water just becomes part of seattle in a different way. everywhere you turn you see it.