Welcome back to Hayley Lately. Each Monday, this is where I share some happy moments from the previous week: what I’ve blogged, read, watched and done in beautiful Vancouver. 

♥ Adventuring. If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen that I visited Vancouver Island for the first time last week. My friend and I headed over early Friday morning to Victoria, and then returned late Saturday night from Nanaimo. I am SO glad I got to experience the island before I left Canada. We had beautiful weather both days and Victoria is the cutest town I’ve seen in awhile. The architecture and the flower baskets had me practically drooling on my camera. Can’t wait to share many (many) photos on the blog soon!

♥ New presets. I decided I want to change up my photos again, so I ordered some new presets. They have a totally dreamy feel to them and are definitely different to my usual style, but I’m excited to experiment.

♥ Accessorising. While out shopping with a friend a couple of weeks ago, I spontaneously bought this hat from Old Navy (probably my favourite North American store). I loved how it complemented my outfit in Victoria and, you know, kept me sun safe. Expect to see it in many photos, like this one ;) I also ordered a pair of Allbirds runners after reading about them on a few different blogs. I took the woollen runners for a test run on the weekend and they felt so comfortable.

♥ Writing. I was so productive the first few days of the week, completing quite a few articles before my trip. I loved learning more about BC’s Discovery Islands and compiling the best day trips from Vancouver. This was an idea I pitched to the publication.

♥ Eating. We ate very well on the island. Highlights include waking up early to eat breakfast at Jam Cafe before the line started. We also had fish and chips at the popular takeaway shop, Red Fish Blue Fish. We had to wait about 40 minutes for our lunch, but the serving size and crispiness of my meal made it worthwhile.

In Vancouver, we headed out on Thursday night to North Vancouver for a change of scenery. We sat outside at Tap and Barrel for a dinner of burgers, and then went to Earnest Ice Cream for dessert. Their North Vancouver location had a chocolate hazelnut brownie flavour that I’d never tried before and it was to die for.

♥ New hair. I visited the salon at Vancouver Community College for the first time last week. I really wanted to get my hair professionally dyed before I left on my trip and this was the cheapest option. My student hairdresser had nearly completed the course, so she did everything with minimal supervision. It took a bit longer than normal, but the colour is awesome. It’s a little darker but has this warm tone to it, which suits my fair complexion. It also turned out to be 25% cheaper than expected thanks to a September special. Score!

♥ Sunsets. When we were in North Vancouver for dinner, we caught the sunset from the Shipyards. This was on my list of things to do before I leave, so I am glad I got to tick it off on the most perfect night! The views were spectacular looking across to Vancouver. Here’s a sample.

♥ Watching + Reading. I didn’t have a lot of time last week to watch TV and read. I did watch a few episodes of Designated Survivor. I also caught the premiere of The Good Doctor. I am unsure how another medical show will go, but the storyline about an autistic surgical resident is intriguing. I am also currently reading a Sophie Kinsella book, which is a totally-clichéd chick lit novel, but I kind of needed it after too much fantasy.

♥ Finishing. Yesterday was my final shift at Rogers Arena and the first hockey game of the pre-season. Overall, it was a fantastic job with a great team and I will definitely miss the atmosphere. But hopefully I’m moving on to bigger and better things when I return to Australia.

This week is going to be hectic, with plenty of packing, publishing and planning to do!

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