Category Archives: Things I Love Thursday

sunset sitting by marine drive, photo doing no justice

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cloudy afternoons that make for gorgeous sunsets • squirrels scampering outside my window • my Musqueam language class • success with recipes • popping bubble wrap • the sound of laughter • Chris Medina’s ‘What Are Words’ • the breathtaking weather we’ve been having lately • Love Actually • free lectures • giving hugs • Advent calendars • buying a new book • the Christmas lights twinkling across Vancouver • the full white moon at two in the afternoon • friends and siblings who make food and medicine deliveries

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it’s never nice to be sick, but at least I’m ill at a time when I have no exams or pressing deadlines and can focus on getting better!

my friend enjoying her apple yesterday could easily challenge this little guy!

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anticipating the Musqueam community potluck tonight • listening to Christmas tunes on the radio • old-fashioned fudge from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory • the sound of reading aloud • seeing beautiful Marine Drive residence all lit up when walking home at night • the dark chocolate bar that magically appeared on my office desk • any song from Les Misérables • Kazuo Ishiguro • stocking my freezer with cheddar and parsley scones • really beautiful Latin dancers • pretty dresses • pretty pictures • painting for the first time in six years • guitars • making dreamy plans for the future

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I want December to be so lovely I leave two thousand and eleven laughing, don’t you?

I wish I knew who took this

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fast-paced West Coast Swing • baking popular brownies • friends who stay late at work to walk me home • my kettle • hot showers • spoken word poetry • the Terry Global Speaker Series • thick, long-sleeved sweaters • catching bubbles while doing dishes • creamed cinnamon honey • having my own living space • the sound of the wind at night • Ellen DeGeneres • white hot chocolate at Blenz • a sunny day after a string of rainy ones • clear nights when you can crane your neck and see stars spread across the sky

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Continuing on the theme of graduation speeches…

Whether you loved him or hated him, the commencement speech that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford in 2005 is one of the most thoughtful ones out there. This has probably been reposted a billion times (particularly this year), but I wanted to share it again because it’s the one that got me started on listening to these kinds of things (click for full transcript):

stay hungry. stay foolish.

my friend's dog (aka possibly best puppy in the world) in the car, hong kong

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cookie dough ice cream • Bridget Jones’s Diary • dinner party with friends • playing Apples to Apples in the dark • girls’ sleepover • bacon with maple syrup • food certificate to The Point Grill • the sweet server who struck up a conversation with me • pasta at Anton’s • talk about travel dreams • being safely indoors when it’s hailing • Kana Nishino’s ‘Best Friend’ • hearing an old friend’s voice on the phone for the first time in two years • bringing birthday happiness to a much loved heart • warm, colourful scarves • the people who regularly check up on me • making mulligatawny • tramping through piles of dry leaves • reading poetry

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a new format this week in honour of all the recent good changes in my life, including acquiring my third and final co-op term for January — hurray!

Most interesting tip learned this week: If you want to melt chocolate, don’t use a double boiler. Steam can affect the quality and workability of chocolate. To melt, place chocolate in a metal bowl and blow dry the bowl. Now that’s something I’ve got to try!

Things loved this week:

♥ The chocolate-tasting workshop given by XOXOLAT (pronounced sho-sho-la) through the AMS Minischool on Tuesday night was delicious and informative. I’ve decided I’m definitely an 80%+ cocoa kind of gal.

♥ One of the awesome things about your parents being in town is that they buy you all the things you really want but haven’t got, like a rice cooker, blender and working toaster. There’s now so much more that I can eat!

♥ West Coast Swing is possibly my favourite form of social dancing right now. I’ve been learning swing for a couple of hours every Thursday night for the last while and it’s my newest way of being happy.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3ZxiPKmacg]

Tessa Cunningham and Myles Munroe dancing improvised West Coast

♥ Grateful thanks go out to my lovely Speakeasy volunteers who trooped off campus with me into the dark last night to search for my lost phone. After peering at the very, very black ground for an equally black phone, we found it and ended my hour of distress. My brother just got me this new phone, too!

♥ Kana Nishino’s ‘Alright’ is my feel better music on repeat for the week.

♥ Lastly, a picture a friend recently shared of a quote from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: