Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Bok-bok-bok

Ever feel like you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off?

Sorry for the carnivorous analogy, but that's me this week.

Places to be, assignments to complete, chapters to read, concepts to study, people to see, birthdays to celebrate (happy January 30th birthday shout-outs to Mom, Kinsey, & Leah!), workouts to rock, desserts to bake, classes to attend, meetings to moderate, and the like. It simply never ends!

All this to say, so many exciting things have been going on at 1900 Tupper the past few days, and I can't wait to share.

Just let me track down my head first.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Solemn Update

There will be no more butter chicken at 1900 Tupper. Food poisoning.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Taste of Thali

It's been two weeks since our last trip to Thali, the Indian restaurant just around the corner. After a long week of homework, rain, and snow, we decided it was time to pay a little visit to Gurpreet and our friends at Thali. Famous for their $9 take-out special, Thali provides the perfect Friday night dinner. Obviously we all ordered combos as we couldn't resist both the butter and curry chicken dishes, alongside piles of rice, divine naan bread, a chintzy excuse for a salad, the vegetable dish of our choice, and free samosas for befriending the owner!



After enjoying our dinners and attempting to calm our flaming taste buds, we got to thinking-- how funny would it be if we tried to learn the Jai Ho dance...


Pip-pip Thali-ho! 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Candle Walk

Often when people visit our apartment, they comment on how many candles we appear to have.

You've heard of cake walks and quilt walks. You've heard of power walks and sidewalks - oh, and walks of shame. Maybe you've heard that Jesus walks, or you've seen Walk the Line. But have you ever heard of a candle walk??!!!

I conducted a candle walk in order to quantify our obsession. I walked around our apartment and photographed every candle I saw... I found at least 45. It's like we're out of control or something.


Those allergic to scents need not apply.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Ingrid

Also, you should all know that  Ingrid Michaelson's new album Human Again came out today! AND the girls of 1900 Tupper most definitely have plans to see her in concert April 9th, right here in Montreal! Ahhhh.

Here's one of our favourites. Enjoy :)

Sammy Squirrel

In the fall we had a regular visitor to our window. It had been a while since I had seen this little guy.


But today he came back!


(At least, I'm choosing to believe this is the same squirrel...)

New Life

This past weekend I had the opportunity to babysit for our pastor Dwight and his wife Jess (as Kinsey already mentioned). Little Nehemiah and baby Malachi. What a delight! Hangin' out watching Curious George, eating pizza and playing basketball and then feeding Malachi when he woke up. It couldn't have gone better! What bundles of joy those two are!

Then on Saturday evening I had my hands full looking after 5 kidlets (from 2 families) between ages 2 and 7 while their parents were out at a church event. I had a helper so that was nice when trying to get everyone to bed at the same time but the kids were great. It was fun to play games and eat ice cream with them.

On Sunday it was my week to be in the nursery at church so I hung out with little Ollie who I'd looked after the evening before. We coloured and played with trucks and watched VeggieTales (you're never too old for VeggieTales. That is for sure.)

By the end of nursery I was absolutely exhausted but I joined Katie and Kinsey for the end of the service during which they were doing baptisms. Little 5 year old Ben (who I'd also babysat on the night before) declared his desire to live for God and his dad and pastor Dwight submerged him in the kiddie pool (yes, a kiddie pool) and to see him come up out of that water brought so much joy to the entire congregation. The place absolutely erupted. Two others were baptized as well and to see their families and friends surround them with encouragement and love brought tears to my eyes. It was such a great reminder of Jesus' life and sacrifice and how he is working in people's lives. Jesus offers us the gift of new life in Him and all we have to do is accept it. Amazing.

For anyone wanting some awesome worship music I'm currently listening to The Ember Days and loving it! Check it out!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Groceriezzz

After our morning of studying and cleaning, we had to fill the fridge. Katie and I headed off to Provigo, our not-so-friendly neighbourhood grocery store. It's always crowded and there is way too much cart traffic by the fresh produce, not to mention the mops they have obnoxiously placed at the end of the aisles.

Getting everything home is a whole other battle. On second thought, we probably should have paid for delivery because carrying those babies was not easy. Nonetheless, it had to be done, and after coming home and re-loading our kitchen we realized how blessed we are. We so often take for granted everyday luxuries in our lives; having a full fridge is definitely something to be thankful for!

Dream Couple

This has the ladies of 1900 Tupper buzzing today: rumor has it hotties Zac Efron and Taylor Swift (eeeee!!!) have been spending a lot of time together...


If they need a wedding planner (or three) I know some of the best in the biz (cough, us) who are available. Or, if the romance turns sour, at least we know Taylor will write another sappy ballad about it in time for her next album, which, I might add, we are eagerly anticipating.

This is a win-win situation, really.

Good Morning!

This morning certainly has been a good morning! I woke up bright 'n early, put on my parka and went for a Starbucks run! I came back with fresh Montreal bagels and coffees for all, courtesy of the most generous Kayla Benfey who had visited us last semester and lovingly sent us a Starbucks card as a thank-you for hosting. The three of us sat around our tiny kitchen table sipping our extra hot coffees and got right to work! In preparation for a first time visiter, Miss Kelsey Bowyer (and just for ourselves) we took a study break to clean, clean, clean! Our cupboards are now perfectly organized thanks to Katie and our bathroom is sparkling! There's nothing like a Starbucks coffee to get us started in the morning! What a productive day it has been already! THANK YOU KAYLA!


Friday, January 20, 2012

Ice, Ice, Baby

The sky may be a beautiful blue today, but I am longing for the days when it was positive 15 Celsius, not negative. Minus fifteen is no big deal, till you add some wind chill and subtract another fifteen degrees. I'm bundled up in my bed thawing with a book and some tea. C'est la vie froide.

Free The Children

Hi everybody!

Today I had a great, great day and I want to share a little bit with you! There were so many good parts so I'll start from the beginning.

#1 Before I left for class this morning I got an email from the volunteer department at the Montreal Children's Hospital (just down the road from us on Tupper) offering me an interview! I've been wanting to volunteer at MCH for quite some time now so this is very exciting news!

#2 One of my closest friends in Montreal asked me today if she could come church with us!!! :)

#3 Tonight I had the privilege of attending the Desautels Business Conference for Sustainability. Craig Kielburger was the guest speaker and he was phenomenal. It was an honour to sit three rows away from someone so influential in international development and positive social change. He spoke of the day we will no longer need charities because, with enough support, countries and villages will be self-sustaining with sufficient sources of alternative income, clean water and sanitation, health care, and education. Craig encouraged us to consider our purposes in life instead of only our pay checks, and to recognize the influence and ability each one of us has to make a difference in our world today. Check out the video below to see how the Free The Children movement got started. I challenge you to take the time to look at their website and search for a way to get involved because we have the power to make a difference.


#4 Finally, I finished the night babysitting with Emily for our pastor Dwight and his wife Jess. They have two little boys, Nehemiah and Baby Malachi. There is something so wonderful about holding a new baby and I loved every minute of it!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Daily Grind

Disclaimer: We're a goofy bunch.

If you were to show up at our apartment late one evening, this is (a slightly dramatized version of) what you'd find us doing... Alternatively, if our across-the-street apartment neighbors were to peer in our windows (I'm convinced they do), they'd get an eyeful...

You see, we are on a serious fitness kick; every night we do a series of strengthening exercises to supplement our gym workouts. Crazy music, crazy hair, crazy outfits-- they're all part of the deal.

But since most of you faraway readers will never have the opportunity to invade the push-up party (too bad for you), we have chronicled it, below.


As I said in a previous post, we take exercise seriously (clearly), and life less so! Hope you enjoyed our silliness.

PS - Mom, don't judge my form. I'm workin' on it.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

A Tribute to Morgan Baker

We had a very special visitor this past week at 1900 Tupper. My old roommie Morgan came to stay with us! She now goes to school in Wisconsin and since they don't go back to class until the end of January  it was perfect timing for a visit!

Morgan brought lots of excitement and energy to our little apartment and it was so great to have her here. She has a way of getting me out of my comfort zone and I've missed our adventures so much. Last year we went tobogganing on cafeteria trays, ice skated, ran around town looking for Starbucks to eavesdrop on people's conversations-- the list goes on.

This year, in the four short days she was here, we managed to crash a Physics, Math and Computer Science party, taste yummy margaritas, bake chocolate chip cookie bowls to fill with ice cream, and hit up Igloofest (a giant outdoor winter concert). We also ate at our favourite restaurants Santropol and Cora's of course.  Morgan also got to run on Mont Royal (despite the -20 degree weather) and she even came to church with us for the first time!

Morgan has a very special place in my heart and she always will. She was my very first roommate and first year would not have been the same without her.  I am so glad we've been able to keep in touch and I hope that we will continue to. I'm so thankful for her friendship and it meant so much to me that she flew out here for a visit! Hopefully I can return the visit soon!

Igloofest in Vieux-Port

Think Pink!

Today after school, Katie and I made very pink cupcakes in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Society. With breast cancer being the second most common cancer in Canadian women today, affecting 64 new victims everyday, we decided to take action!

Katie and I are proud members of “Think Pink” McGill, hence the reason we were eager to make themed cupcakes for the upcoming bake sale. (For all of you McGillers, come on out and support a great cause from 10:00-3:00 tomorrow in Bronfman!)

Back in October, being the avid athletes that we are, Katie, Emily, our dear friend Tori, and I, all took part in the annual CIBC Run for the Cure. What an exciting day this was! After waking up to a wet and windy fall morning with tummies full of nerves, we made it out to Parc Maisonneuve and met up with the Think Pink team. To our surprise, the 5K was a piece of (cup)cake and we were ready to celebrate. (I realize I’m talking about this as if it were a marathon, but trust me when I say this was a big deal!) To celebrate, we hosted a pink brunch right here at 1900 Tupper. This was my kind of party! I am not exaggerating when I say EVERYTHING was pink! Pink pancakes, pink lemonade, pink tea, pink cupcakes, pink candles, pink balloons, pink streamers, pink flowers, pink cutlery, and of course, a pink dress code. We invited a few friends over to enjoy brunch together in the hopes of raising further awareness about a cause close to our hearts (literally). Both the run and the brunch were a huge success!

The best part is, armed with leftover pink decorations and an excessive quantity of pink food coloring, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner!




Monday, January 16, 2012

Fitness Frenzy

Today my lunch break was spent in the spinning studio at Club Mansfield. In exercising my legs (and abs and arms and back apparently), I was also exercising my new gym membership, part of a personal semester-long (and beyond) goal to increase my cardiovascular activity level. It was a fantastic experience, but hours later I am already feeling the soreness setting in. "Man up, Katie."

The reason I mention my fitness "resolution" (I use this word with disdain) is because us girls at 1900 Tupper have been in a rather athletic mood since we returned from the holidays... Expect an audio-visual masterpiece in the days to come. For now I'll simply say that we take working out seriously, and life, well, less so. It must be the endorphins.

Back to the books. Happy Monday.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Beginning

I am currently sitting at our kitchen table listening to Ben Rector (a favourite musician of ours), with peanut butter cups and an ice tea, reflecting on our beginning: how we all met and how we ended up here in 1900 Tupper.

Kinsey and I met on one of the first days of our first year. We were both waiting in line to see an academic advisor and as I glanced back at the line behind me I saw her sitting there with a flyer for the Christian orientation weekend (Fish Frosh). I quickly gathered up the courage to ask her if she was going to be attending and told her that I would be. Instant friends. :)

Kinsey informs me that she saw Katie at the Fish Frosh pancake breakfast and here I quote, “I thought she was soooo beautiful, so instead of being intimidated, I asked her to eat breakfast with me!” They quickly realized they lived in the same residence and so they began to accompany each other to many of the events. Through Kinsey I met Katie. And that was the beginning of our friendship.

When March rolled around, we discussed living together. At the time I was waiting to hear from my roommate (the lovely Morgan) as to whether or not she would be sticking around for the next year. For a few weeks, I wasn’t sure our dream of living together would become a reality.

Finally I was able to tell Katie and Kinsey they were getting another roommate! Practically the next day Kinsey informed me of our appointment with Mansoor (a man you will hear much more about in the future). Thankfully my mom was visiting that week so she was able to see the apartment as well, which was completely under renovation at that point.

We instantly loved the apartment—especially the exposed brick! With the swift signature and chequebook of Mama Neuf, the place was ours!


So that’s the story of the girls of 1900 Tupper and how we came to be!

On the Bright Side of Montreal

Sometimes when it's cold and snowy (i.e. today) I like to look back on photos I've taken to remind myself of the beauty of this city. I'm not always all romantic about this place (the weather, the drivers, the hipsters, the smokers, the hockey team, the distance from home), but today I'm taking a break from all those nasty thoughts and choosing to look on the bright side!


On the West Coast, we have nothing that compares to Montreal's historic architecture. For one, I just love the pervasiveness of brick here. The aging cathedrals are beautiful as well.

In Vancouver I've tried and tried to find a bagel--and cream cheese--that compare to those of Montreal, but frankly, it's hopeless...

Another thing Vancouver lacks is a helpful transit system. Unless you're commuting into the heart of downtown, you may find yourself transferring multiple times along an inefficiently loopy route. In Montreal, you can hop on the metro and arrive at your destination in a (sweaty) flash. If hot underground tunnels aren't really your style, the bus network is pretty good too.

Finally, the colors of fall are just incredible here: Mont Royal turns a deep shade of orange, fallen leaves sprinkle McGill campus, and eventually leaveless tree-lined streets beckon winter.

"And some places you been before are so great that you don't ever mind going back. Some places you been before you don't ever want to go back, you know, like Montreal in the winter." (Morgan Freeman)

Mr. Freeman should have visited Montreal in ... any season other than winter, really!

Our Home Sweet Home!



Kinsey's room

Katie's room

Emily's room

Welcome!

Thanks for taking a second to check out our new blog! After months of good intentions, it's finally here! :) We hope to document the big and the little, the serious and the silly. Come back soon!

For now, to commemorate the new semester, here is a little video:


"And walk in love, as Christ loved us" (Ephesians 5:2)