month in review | march

I always look forward to March as the light at the end of a tunnel after a long winter, and this year I was looking forward to it even more as I had a trip to California booked!

My first flight of the day set off bright and early and we rose up into the air along with the sun. I'm such a sunrise/sunset enthusiast as is, but sunrises and sunsets from the sky just can't be beat!

Flying into San Francisco, where I had a short layover before my next flight to LAX.

Two flights, a bus, train, and car ride later, and I finally made it to my destination of Big Bear Lake in the beautiful San Bernardino mountains. This was my 3rd or 4th time visiting Big Bear and it has become one of my favourite destinations. Although I've been a few times before, this was my first time visiting while there was snow on the ground, so I was excited to see all that this Southern California mountain town had to offer!

Murray's Saloon and Eatery is a must visit every trip. It's always a good time with Cowboy Russ and karaoke!

Cute little cabin in the woods I stayed at.

We went to Dank Donuts multiple times over the six days I was there for delicious donuts and stuffed croissants!

Big Bear is a skiing village, and has two different mountains you can hop between throughout the day. I hadn't been skiing for over five years, so I was a little nervous to get back on the slopes, but we ended up having the best day and I didn't even fall once! Something I'm super proud of since I have always wiped out multiple times in the past. The view of the lake and the mountains from the top of the chairlift were so stunning. I hope to get out skiing a whole lot more in the future!

After a beautiful six days of the perfect combination of adventure and relaxation, it was time to head home.

Coming home is just as good as vacation when you live in a place as beautiful as this!

My sweet Olive babe invading my personal space always and forever.

A quick mirror shot when Madi and I realized we were unintentionally matching. We do this often, and I think it's pretty hilarious!

A sunny day at Mount Tolmie.

The Teacup Tree!

A beautiful Sunday at Moses Point.

These beautiful blooms grow near my work every year, and I can't help but pick them. I went on an intense google search to figure out what they are and they're grape hyacinths! They smell and look so sweet!

Some shots of our sweet home in a rare moment of cleanliness.

March was a lovely month from start to finish!

month in review | february

February was a very cold and snowy month this year. 

Mom and Barb came to visit the first weekend of February and we played tourists showing Barb around Victoria since she hasn't visited in years. We had a really fun visit and these face masks were one of the highlights since we were all laughing so hard at how ridiculous they are.

After dropping Mom and Barb off at the ferry on Sunday, I headed towards Moses Point for my usual weekend beach hang. I stopped at this little produce stand on the way there and picked up a big bunch of kale and a cabbage. These produce stands are all over the peninsula, especially in the spring and summer, and are one of my favourite things about where I live.

This was a cold, cold day at Moses Point, but I had the beach to myself and it felt good to breathe in the frosty winter air. It even started to snow a little when I was there!

After the beach I went hiking on Horth Hill in search of higher grounds, hoping that there would be more snow up there. The snow ended up stopping partway through my hike, but once again, I had the trails to myself and enjoyed the silent solitude of nature.

Winter sunsets are somewhat of a rarity when you live on the gloomy west coast, so I always make sure to take a snapshot when the sky puts on a show. 

All of the photos above are from a major snowstorm that hit Victoria in mid-February. We don't get much snow here on Vancouver Island, but this year we got a big old dump of it over the span of 3-4 days. We ended up with over 2 feet by the end of it, and I had to miss three days of work since the busses had stopped running and I couldn't get my car off of our street since they never plow it. It started out super fun, but by the end of it, Madi and I were going a little stir-crazy being stuck at home for so long. It was quite the adventure though, and we made a lot of fun memories walking to the store for groceries and supplies, sledding on garbage bags down the trails in Centennial Park, and digging out our vehicles and going for a big long drive to appreciate the beauty of a snow covered city.

Some Olive cuteness from February.

Sunrise scenes on my morning commute to work.

Overall, February was a pretty good month! It went by soooo fast, which I guess is understandable since it's only 28 days long, but it feels like every month flies by faster than the one before and I just don't know what to do about it!