Girl Who Would be King, Health + LifeStyle

Healthier Pet Inspiration

LOVE is a four legged wordpawsforacause1

Just like us, our pets need and deserve to have a healthy diet too.

So happy to have found out about a convenient and holistic home (or office) pet food delivery service in Vancouver. Jia Jia sampled some of it at the West Vancouver Harmony Arts Festival Market recently.

The Riplee’s Ranchriplee1 premium dog/cat food is produced in a state of the art facility in British Columbia. The local and regionally sourced ingredients are all natural and contain no corn, wheat, soy or by-products.  They are naturally preserved with Rosemary and Vitamin E and C.  They offer a grain free line.  Fast & Fresh. He loves the treats too!riplee2

Visit Website at: www.citypetdelivery.com

This, along with the drops of *Rejeneril I’ve been adding to his food will keep him healthy for hopefully many more years to come.

*To find out more about rejeneril please visit: http://myultimatepet.com/

Cher & Trigger
Cher & Trigger

Yesterday we had a great time at Paws for a Cause, an annual fundraiser for the prevention of animal cruelty put on by the BC SPCA + Scotiabank. Here are some photos I took from the event.

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Everything went well except for Jia Jia stealing a hot dog from one of the food vendors.  I caught him with half a chewed up dog in his mouth.

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I fell in love with this tank top
I fell in love with this tank top
An end to a great afternoon
An end to a great afternoon

Do you have a pet food delivery service in your city? 

What kind of food do you prefer to feed your dog?

 

 

Girl Who Would be King, Health + LifeStyle

Healthier Lifestyle Inspiration

FACT: YOU CAN’T LAUGH & WORRY AT THE SAME TIME!
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SO LAUGH MORE! Or at least try to.  Watch a comedy, joke around and find humour in even the worst possible situations.   I did that with a friend last week who was going through something horrible.  It was so bad that I could have made it worse by laughing but instead we ended up laughing over how pathetic the situation was. The end result was she was still in pain…but from laughter.

Right now I’m like: “throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack.”  That’s a great quote but really….it’s true!  Don’t even stand in my way.  But first I’ll laugh about it all.

Because as hard as we try to make things right and turn things around for the better there’s usually a few setbacks and challenges.  I know this from living in general but especially since I’ve become a support person for someone very close to me.  Someone who is fighting to overcome an illness.  And it’s really difficult to see someone who is strong both physically and mentally go through a very weak phase.  Even though it strikes in a physical sense it still wrecks havoc with your mental state especially if you cannot do the things you’re used to doing.  Gotta stay positive because hope is what keeps everything going. But it can get discouraging and depressing nonetheless – that’s life.

A friend told me about a place called Inspire Health in Vancouver.  They are a team of professionals who help provide knowledge, tools and services to support overall health during and after cancer treatment.  Their doctors value standard cancer treatments, and will work with you, your family doctor and oncologist to provide the best cancer care possible.

They offer options for better health and a better recovery.  What’s to lose right?

Because as their website says: Growing scientific evidence confirms that stress reduction, eating a healthy diet, exercise and a positive support network can substantially improve health and well-being for people living with cancer and their supports.

INSPIRE HEALTH CARE APPROACH IS DIFFERENT – Cancer vs. Person-Based

Cancer-Based: from the perspective of the cancer-based model, the patient rarely plays an active role in their treatment or recovery. Since the focus is on the cancer, little effort is expended to support patients in exploring the benefits of healthful diet, exercise, spirituality and emotional support or other methods to enhance the patient’s well-being. Focusing solely on the cancer can leave patients feeling disempowered and unsure about how to contribute to their own health and well-being.

Person-Based: Although surgery, radiation and chemotherapy can play a very important role in treating the cancer, it is the person and their health – mind, body and spirit – that is the focus of care at Inspire Health.

They have a lot of things to take advantage of that you can pick and choose from like:  Counselling,  Gentle Yoga, Practice Meditation, Tai Chi, Acupuncture, Nutritional Learning and Cooking for Health.

And for me, being so on top of things nutritionally (and otherwise) spent part of the afternoon yesterday taking a cooking class on how to make SuperSnacks.  The head nutritionist demonstrated six different recipes substituting what you would normally use for something healthier but equally tasty.  Now the fun part: you get to test everything.

I have to mention at this point that I had already made half the recipes before (I know but I had to say that anyway) but this was NO cooking class for dummies.  It was interesting, inspiring and I did learn something new.  You always do.  I registered for a bunch more.  I want to hear all they have to say about food and learn more about healthier baking, fermented foods,  their version of bone broth and mindful eating in general.  Knowledge is power.

And THAT is no laughing matter!

YOU define what is important to you by what YOU dedicate your time to.inspire1

*An Important Sidenote: Today Jia Jia (my BFF) & I are off to Paws for a Cause – by BC SPCA to help fund cruelty prevention and education programs, and the enforcement of animal cruelty laws. Cruelty to animals needs to STOP now!

Thoughts?

DESTINATIONS, Girl Who Would be King

Fly by Night

Do something that scares you!

 You’ve heard that saying before right?flying5

Up in the Air
Up in the Air

When I saw it scribbled on a Lululemon bag I questioned why on earth is this advisable (like why would anyone want to scare themselves?) but in any case I actually did something that scares me last Sunday.

Ready for Take-Off
On a Wing & a Prayer

Considering I’m claustrophobic, don’t like small planes, have a fear of heights and am always up in the air about flying in general……I conquered my fears (temporarily perhaps) and embraced my private flight from Vancouver over to dinner in one of Vancouver Island’s best kept little secrets.  It’s not the first time I’ve been on a small plane but like anything else what you tend to fear is fear itself. It helps to have an experienced pilot who is also a friend who previously ran a chartered airline business with a bigger plane to fly movie stars around.  When he decided to downsize to a four seater he made sure the seats and headsets were very comfy.  Luckily the flight was very smooth both ways.

The flight began at 5:00 p.m., lasted about one hour on the way over (as the pilot decided to take us a different route and fly between two huge rocks we refer to as “the lions.” Four of us enjoyed spectacular scenery along the way, a great dinner and another enjoyable flight at dusk which took less flying time to get back.

Photos: d. king

Flying in between the Lions, Vancouver
Flying between the Lions, Vancouver

flying3flying

Girl Who Would be King, STYLE

Style: bootie call

BREAKING OUT THE BOOTS

Stuart Weitzman ($728)  photo: Lauren Crew
Stuart Weitzman ($728)  photo: Lauren Crew

Oh what a change from flip-flops and open-toed strappy sandals one day to boots the next. A shock to the system after the last three months. Gotta take it sloooow starting with little ankle boots and work my way up (waaay up) from there.

Some women cannot wait to step into some stacked-heel boots (mostly because the pedicure bills were skyrocketing) but not me.  I just had my first and last pedicure of the season yesterday believe it or not.  I went the whole summer doing it on my own and actually ignoring my feet for the most part deciding to concentrate on other things (not related to body parts) but after a nice relaxing foot massage and glossy red toe polish I feel a heel of a lot better.  I’m ready to step it up now. And boots are a big part of my Fall wardrobe and something to look forward to for what’s springing up quickly season.

Not sure you can pull boots off quite yet? Try sporting a pair with your favourite sundress to make the transition on a somewhat sunny day.

Here are some easy to wear styles to consider from Talbots in a reasonable price range:
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From top: Talbots Wren Ankle Boots ($219), Talbots Tish Pebbled Leather & Stretch Riding Boots($269), Talbots Tish Grommet-Strap Riding Boots ($279), Talbots Tish V-Gore Ankle Boots ($189)

Are you looking forward to Fall?

 

 

Food + Drink, Girl Who Would be King

Fun for Foodies

Have you seen Chef’s Table?

 I’ve been watching the series on Netflix. It’s not your run of the mill cooking show.  It’s so much more because in each hourly episode the series focuses on a particular chef that will inspire the hell out of you.

From Chef Meets BC Grape
From Chef Meets BC Grape

You find out their story: what drives them, how they shop, about their relationship to food and their style as they prepare a culinary specialty.  And it all looks so pretty….even something so simple and singular as a carrot.  But it’s not just a carrot, it’s a carrot from the chef’s family run farm that tastes unlike any other carrot.  And it makes everything you make seem so……...well, ordinary?

Anyway….just wanted to tell you about two upcoming chef inspired events in my home town, Vancouver because I really feel that Vancouver is becoming a world class dine out city.  So much so that I just found out about a dine out week taking place next month that is very inspiring (UPS – upcoming post soon).  But in the meantime:

#1 – Chef Meets Truck:

Roaming Dragon Pan-Asian Food Truck
Roaming Dragon Pan-Asian Food Truck

On September 13, the Chefs’ Table Society of BC, in partnership with the Yaletown BIA and the Streetfood Vancouver Society host the inaugural event Chef Meets Truck in Yaletown at the intersection of Hamilton and Nelson. The event will run from 6:30pm-9:30pm and consists of Vancouver restaurant chefs hopping on board local Food Trucks to serve up the foodie event of the season. This collaborative event brings Vancouver’s hottest restaurant and food truck chefs together for the first time ever.

Purchase tickets to the inaugural event for $69 + taxes and fees here. Tickets include food samples from the eight participating food trucks, as well as, wine and beer samples from Nichol Vineyard, Lock and Worth Winery and Brassneck Brewery.

A portion of the ticket sales will be donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.

Participating food trucks and chefs include:

Community Pizzeria with guest chef Angus An (Maenam)

Feastro with guest chef Lucais Syme (Cinara)

Fliptop with guest chef Vikram Vij (Vij’s)

Kafka’s Coffee Truck with guest chef Christophe Bonzon (Chez Christophe)

Mom’s Grilled Cheese with guest chef Travis McCord (La Pentola)

Roaming Dragon with guest chef Scott Jaeger (The Peartree)

Tacofino with guest chef Frank Pabst (Blue Water Cafe)

Via Tevere with guest chef Phil Scarfone (Nightingale)

This event would not be possible without the support of:

Bella Gelateria, Biota Fermentation, Brassneck Brewery, F.I.S.H (Fresh Ideas Start Here), Kins Farm Markets. La Grotta Del Formaggio, Lock and Worth Vineyard. Nichol Vineyard. Windsor Meats

#2 – CHEF MEETS BC GRAPEchef2

Thursday, September 15
Vancouver Convention Centre East
999 Canada Place, Ballrooms A, B, C
7–9:30 PM

Tickets are selling fast to the largest tasting of BC VQA wines in Vancouver! This popular fundraiser is a unique opportunity to taste a selection of more than 300 wines from 90 of BC’s top producers.

A tasting event for both novice wine tasters and connoisseurs—you can expect to sip and savour vintages of established labels, and find new favourites from an abundance of up-and-coming, family-run, and boutique operations. Guests will also have the opportunity to taste specially prepared pairing dishes from 12 BC restaurants!

Participating restaurants include:

  • Chicha Restaurant
  • Fable Kitchen
  • Hart House Restaurant
  • Lift Bar and Grill
  • Miradoro Restaurant
  • Provence Marinaside
  • Torafuku Modern Asian Eatery

Tickets are selling fast—buy now to avoid disappointment!

  • $90 Regular
  • $75 Groups of 10 or more (by phone only)

Bon Appetit!

Film Reviews

ART/Culture/FILM – Window Horses

“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” – Edgar Allan Poe

Everyone knows that Poe is a Poet but we all have different viewpoints of another person’s image.  That is called perception. What happens when someone doesn’t fit into the “usual” image we form for something they represent?windowhorses7

What is Window Horses?

Window Horses is a new Animated, Multi-Cultural, Unusual, Smart Feature Film with a Message. I find it inspiring. It is written, directed and produced by someone I know, Ann Marie Fleming, who has been making award winning films for over 25 years. Because she is such an unusual & inspiring person herself I knew that at the very least it would be interesting and worth checking out.  So….

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Rosie Ming is a mixed-race, 20-something, introverted, closet poet who dreams of going to Paris.  She doesn’t know a thing about her parents.  Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy, Sideways, Under the Tuscan Sun, etc…) is Rosie. Her work is about transformation!

Taken from the Website:

This film is our small effort to try and add a little more peace, love and understanding to our increasingly complex and conflicted world through art, poetry, history and culture. Heady stuff!

Not to give too much away but….

It’s about love (it’s always about love…) – love of family, poetry, history, culture. Here’s the story: Rosie Ming, a young Canadian poet, is invited to perform at a Poetry Festival in Shiraz, Iran, but she’d rather be in Paris. She lives at home with her over-protective Chinese grandparents and has never been anywhere by herself. Once in Iran, she finds herself in the company of poets and Persians, all who tell her stories that force her to confront her past; the Iranian father she assumed abandoned her and the nature of Poetry itself. It’s about building bridges between cultural and generational divides. It’s about being curious. Staying open. And finding your own voice through the magic of poetry.

Rosie goes on an unwitting journey of forgiveness, reconciliation, and perhaps above all, understanding, through learning about her father’s past, her own cultural identity, and her responsibility to it.

WATCH the Trailer:

“Window Horses hits all the things that are important to me: it’s pro-girl, pro-tolerance, pro-diversity and PRO-ART!! My nieces are mixed race and it’s very important to me that they see themselves represented in this society.” – Sandra Oh

Heady Stuff Indeed!

Window Horses will be playing during  VIFF (September 29 – October 14, 2016).  For program & tickets please visit:

https://www.viff.org

 

Girl Who Would be King, Health + LifeStyle

Feel-good Friday: Change

Welcome September!

september2“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year – the days when summer is changing into autumn – the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change.”
―E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web  (As a child adult I loved the book & animated movie).   I am proud to say I’ve never killed a spider.

Doesn’t it feel different already?  We’re in that in between stage – not quite summer (even though it is officially still summer) but not quite fall.   Temperature is a bit cooler and it gets darker earlier.  Just giving us a little glimpse of what to Fall for.  I actually don’t mind it as much as I thought.  I’m all for a little change as long as it’s not too too sudden or disturbing.  I’m trying to embrace change.  Not crazy life changing change….just little changes here and there that are healthy and positive.

What I’m Falling For this Year:
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For starters exercise and diet – and it’s not even New Year’s Eve!  I’m starting early.  That’s not to say I don’t look after myself  by getting proper exercise (I do) and eating as well as I can but I’m making an effort to do it better and more effectively.  I’m kick starting this because I’m of no use to the important people in my life or anyone else if I’m not in top notch health myself.

I believe in looking after yourself as best you can and keeping your house in order.  Otherwise things can get out of control.

I’m exploring some alternative methods of relaxation like meditation to help improve sleep and anxiety.  I’m looking into acupuncture….just because I believe it can help with a multitude of symptoms.  Not just for myself.

Getting back to reading.  By that I mean….books.  I have too many gathering dust up on the shelf.

Getting rid of excess.  Going through clothing and other items that I no longer have use for.  A few of these are bigger ticket items like condos & cars (possibly).

Dancing for exercise, enjoyment, expression, social and fun.

Language for communication & the mind (it is said to help prevent alzheimers).

Philanthropy because it feels good to help those more “in need”.

I’m researching some things on my own.  I will look forward to sharing them with you in the upcoming months.  I hope to bring more inspiring posts to this page over time.  That is the main purpose of having this blog.  By keeping track of things that inspire, make a difference and improve life mixed in with the usual fashion and fun.

Style is always inspiringseptember1

Only make sure they’re GOOD surprises!

 

FUN, Girl Who Would be King

Feel-good Friday: FUN

Highlight of my week in photos:

Starting with…forblog24

On the ferry ride over to Victoria we were lucky and so delighted to spot from a distance a pod of Orcas – not once, but twice!

Church + State Vineyards
Church + State Vineyards

We were joined by others for tastings and a great outdoor lunch with a view at Church & State Wines:1445 Benvenuto Ave, Brentwood Bay, BC.  Then off to…

De Vine Vineyards: 6181B Old West Saanich Rd, Saanichton, BC.

Simply Devine
Simply De vine
Sitting on the grass outside
On the grass outside winery wearing my gingham picnic shoes.  Aren’t they cute.. or at least quaint?

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A frog hopped on my skirt, looked me in the eye and asked for a kiss.  I’m sorry little froggy but I already have my prince.  You’ll have to jump on someone else.forblog6

We went via private boat to stay at this Rustic  Oceanfront Cottage on a remote Gulf Island.forblog27

Cruising by Moonlight (this photo does not compare to how gorgeous it actually was). The night before the moon was red & I could not capture its incredible brilliance.forblog7

I heard scratching at the door around midnight.  Turns out it was the next door neighbour.  He was cute so I let him in and he made himself at home…right next to me in bed.forblog15

I woke up to this.  Unfortunately my little friend went home shortly after sunrise.  Guess he just wanted a warm body to curl up with.forblog12

Everyone seems to enjoy themselves when they have the freedom to do exactly as they please…..or just enjoy the peace and quiet.forblog13

And nature on the island.  Looking towards the beach with 4 deer and 2 fawns.

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This is grocery shopping island style at the local Sunday market.  The honour system is alive and well and besides everyone knows where you live.forblog16

But I picked these myself –  literally from several different trees.forblog19Then it was off camping in an even more rustic fashion.  I can’t pretend it was glamping.  At least by gorgeous waterfalls and lots of hiking trails.  No time to makeup.
forblog28We bathed in this calm crystal clear river.

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More island shopping at Coombs Old Country Market (they have everything you can imagine) even goats up on the roof.forblog18

This one is saying “p…. off”forblog23Then a visit with my one & only sis on return with me sitting and her lying down on her lovely deck with a fluffy friend named Rufus – a lambadoodle.forblog22

She gifted me with tickets to Gwen Stefani last night at Rogers Arena.  My friend and I & millions of millennials among us really enjoyed the energy in that stadium.  Gwen is not even real – at 46 she rocks in every single capacity!  My friend asked “where have we gone wrong?”

The week is still going strong!

Photos: d. king

 

THINKAboutit

Think: mean girls grow up to be mean women

It has to start somewhere……meangirls4

This might be a little off my regular subject matter but it has a lot to do with life and how women treat and regard one another.  I’m questioning why some women are intentionally not supportive of other women, why some will go behind your back, deliberately try to make you look bad and play one against the other in a sneaky manner.  And think they can get away with it.  It’s so high school!  Speaking of which…meangirls1And you have to wonder where it all comes from. Why do some women purposely work against you instead of with you? Why are women so competitive?  Maybe the same way men are?  It’s a competitive world no doubt.  But you don’t have to be nasty about it.

I don’t relate to this type of negative behaviour but I’m willing to bet most women reading this have experienced some type of purposeful hurt caused by another woman with the main intent to make you look less than, embarrass you or try to one-up you.  Yeah, you know what I’m talking about right?  It’s not a feel-good feeling.  Here is a recent example of an unpleasant experience of mine:

A woman I know but who is not a close friend  (even though it seemed like she wanted my friendship) was starting to call me on a regular basis to complain about another woman we know who did not treat her in a very respectful manner.  I listened to her and it seemed that she was being treated unfairly by adult bullying (sadly, there is such a thing). I offered my opinion in that I suggested that she not come down to the mean womans level. It felt uncomfortable but I thought she was a little shy at standing up for herself so tried to help as best I could.  Well….

In a strange twist of events the next time I saw these two women together they appeared buddy buddy and the woman who was calling me to complain ended up turning around in front of the one who bullied her and ended up acting just like her.  She behaved in the exact manner which bothered her – she put me down right in front of this other woman. This happened shortly after I listened to all her complaining and offered the best advice I knew.  And it was so unnecessary and immature of her to do so.

Did she perhaps think that by acting this way she would gain some respect?  Who knows?  I stepped away from the matter a little befuddled.  But…at the same time knowing who not to trust.  And…

This is all to say…..what gives girls?meangirls7

Let’s rethink how we want to be regarded.  Stop playing silly games.  Your boyfriend, husband, friend, whoever will eventually get to know the real you.  It may take a while but believe me…mean girls who turn into mean women never end up winning in the end.

End of story

Respect Ladies!meangirls5

Thoughts?