It's been smokey around the West coast lately, because of all the forest fires in the Northwestern region of the US (really not a good year for our neighbors down South...). Makes it a bit difficult to get outside, but we're good at finding those gaps of fresh air and seizing the moment when the wind blows in the right direction. 

Also, I would starve if I could not get out of the hotel and pick up food.

One of my favourite ways to discover new restaurants to try is from the foodies on Instagram, because sometimes, it's easy to miss a suggestion from Google or Yelp. While browsing through my feed the other day, Foodgressing's pastry post really caught my attention. She was in Victoria recently, and had picked up some delicious looking baked goods from a cafe called Fol Epi. I packed up Baby S in her stroller immediately for a walk to the closest location.   

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Another walk with Starla! This time we visited @fol.epi on Yates. I was glad the smokey air had cleared up so we could enjoy the sunshine with her new shades from @babiators, and I could get my pastry fix. . . #walkswithstarla #babyfashion #baby #momlife #3months #cartersbaby #babyclothes #pegperego #instababy #instababygirl #foodielife #babiators #canadiangirl #tourismvictoria @tourismvictoriabc

A post shared by louisa (@luwesa) on Sep 10, 2020 at 5:33pm PDT

We had to wait in line for a few minutes before ordering, but it was worth it to stand around in the sun! I picked up a nectarine danish, a blueberry danish, and a pain au chocolat, and the total came to just under $16. A tad expensive, but no regrets, because the blueberry danish was delicious. Crispy and buttery, with just enough tartness in the berry jam to cut through the sugar. Will go back for sure to get more berry danishes.

Nectarines were too sour. Pain au chocolat was not flaky. 

Smokey air, smokey future. Will we really be happier when we own more property? Will the solution to our problems be a more costly renovation? Or would we enjoy each other's company more while on the road, exploring new paths? I'm trying to not let the smoke dictate how much I enjoy this trip, because we're only here for a few more days, but please, help me be patient during this Mars retrograde.  

We're still in Victoria, and after the first coffee adventure to Habit and too many days staying indoors watching television, I've ventured outside of my bubble to try to find more interesting coffee joints.  The coffee scene is actually flourishing here in Victoria!  

Discovery Coffee, one of the local coffee chains, appears to be more popular than Starbucks. The one close to our hotel has had line ups every single time that we walk past. Is this because they are that popular, or their service has slowed down due to extra COVID-19 precautions? 

I've had the oat milk latte three times now. The first time, I did not like the burnt taste of their espresso. I also felt that their oat milk was missing something (not enough oats? how is oat milk made anyways?)   

The second time, it still tasted burnt, and the oat milk was still not flavorful.

The third time... Well, they're consistent if nothing else. 

Why do I keep going back? It's just so convenient for a short walk, and the quality is not horrendous. It's just not the same as the more flavorful oat milks and coffees in Vancouver... 

I do like that they've partnered with Yonni's Donuts, offering fresh baked goods that are large, dense, and photogenic (straight up my alley!). Their selection changes fairly frequently, so we won't be bored on our frequent visits. Baby S loved the blueberry twist that they had a few weeks ago: 

Today's apricot donut could have used more apricot flavor, because it basically tasted like a regular donut with a thick coat of frosting on top: 

Expect more posts about my Vancouver Island coffee experiences in the future, because we'll be here for a couple more weeks. After 3 weeks of island life, and no progress on the home front, I'm starting to feel the monotony of the same daily routine.  H has been more patient than I have been with all of this, especially as he also has to put up with my postpartum moods. I do appreciate when he brings home the bacon, cooks the bacon, and then washes away the bacon grease from the pan afterwards. 

H, baby S, and I are now living the island life! We hopped onto the ferry last Thursday right after baby S's first shots, and we're now in Victoria. People kept telling me that it'll be a nice vacation getaway, but they clearly don't understand that taking care of a 2 month old is a full time job with over time every night. 

Luckily, Victoria and the surrounding areas have become more populated, and there are now more options for dining out compared to many years ago when it was just a sleepy retirement town. UNLUCKILY, we chose La Taqueria for the first night, and it was not the best experience.   

Maybe it was because we ordered take out, instead of eating in the restaurant, but I don't think food could become so mushy after just a 15 minute walk to get it home. We had the nachos, three tacos (atun, pastor, and mole), two burritos (baja and carnitas), and added a side of guacamole (photo is our hotel room coffee table with all the food in takeout containers - we'll be ordering take out for a while, because COVID). The beers are from a different liquor store, because we didn't want to pay restaurant price for liquor.  

The baja burrito was just a mouthful of chipotle sauce and mayo. Is that really a piece of deep fried fish, or is it just sauce disguised as fish?

Not the best start to our tour of Vancouver Island, but I am hopeful for better reviews to come! 

 

A few days before leaving Vancouver, H convinced me to start sleep training and try the cry it out method with baby S. He had learned about this from various friends, who told him that after a week of leaving their babies in their cribs and letting them cry themselves to sleep, their babies could now sleep on their own for a straight 12 hours, which would be magical. 

So that evening, as she was munching on her pacifier and dozing off in my arms, I popped her into bed, and walked away. Immediately, she started bawling. 

She would take breathing breaks once in a while, and we'd think, "OH SHE'S FIGURED IT OUT." But no, there was no end to her tears and screams. 

One hour later, I went to pick her up, and she was completely drenched in sweat, soaking through her cute little polka dot onesie. Crying is a heavy workout. I was actually worried that she had lost the weight that we worked so hard to put on her fragile body this week! 

After that experience, I came to the conclusion that 2 months is too early for sleep training, and went back to the three fundamentals of baby sleep - white noise, sleep sack, and pacifier. 

    

So far so good. 

After all that coffee, we were in dire need of lunch. Huong Lan was conveniently located close to both Regard Coffee and the Buzz Coffee House:



We found this place to be fresh and delicious, but we would not go back to the “best asian food of the city” because it was too overpriced. Over $11 for a bowl of pho that wasn’t even that filling (see Pho Lan for value comparison). They were also reallly busy, which resulted in slower service. 



I was excited to go home by then, and the ferry ride back seemed so long and tedious. The end of this trip really signified the end of Summer 2017, and seeing the leaves with their orange tinge, I had to accept the fact that fall was on the way.



Go back to:
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 3

After Regard Coffee, we went to The Buzz Coffee House for more coffee!

Great latte art, but coffee quality not as good as Regard, so maybe we should’ve gone here first, and then Regard… Either way, I was coffee-ed out. C1 had one of their “special lattes”, which turned out to be a raspberry truffle (too sweet).

They serve Moja coffee… I remember trying this in Vancouver, and not finding it particularly enjoyable. There are lots of seats for guests to work or hang out. A+D and the 2C’s and I hung out for over an hour there, no dirty looks from the baristas were sent our way.

It’s great catching up with people once in a while and find out that they’re doing great. Gives me faith in the world…

Go back to:
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 3

While I was still trying to get over the drone, the 2nd day of the Vancouver Island getaway, we went to Regard Coffee in Nanaimo:



This must be one of the best spots in Nanaimo. Clean, relaxing vibes, nice healthy looking plants on the counters, and great smooth coffee. They also have an espresso and tonic water drink that I’ve never heard of before, but it’s a pretty cool combination. It comes with a slice of lemon. Barista was cool to chat with too. I don’t think I’ll be back soon to Nanaimo, but if I ever come back, this is a go to.



We then made our way over to the next Nanaimo tours spot, to meet with A and D…

Go back to:
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 3

Lost the drone, but I tried so hard to keep my spirits up. One of the best ways to do this was to go for beers at the Cumberland Brewing Co.:

We each had a flight of their fresh beer, from the Fog (Foo?) to their darkest stout. I usually like dark beers best, but their IPA was gold. Their stout was just average, but C2 really liked it. Everybody certainly does have different tastes for beer!



I think Cumberland was interesting, but I was ready to head home and really lick my wounds.
The next day…

Go back to:
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 3

This is where I lost Sparkle the Drone:

We were supposed to have a relaxing weekend on the island, find Nymph Falls (above), but it ended up being VERY stressful because Sparkle got stuck in a tree and we could not save it. It all started off with us finding out that the coffee shop that I wanted to go to was closed for staff holidays. Luckily, their shops are all along the same street, and 2 blocks down, the Cumberland Grind was open:

They had some interesting flavors available. I had the turmeric latte, which was a bit on the sweet side for me because it was drenched in honey. The other 2 had no complaints about their coffees, nothing too special about what they had. There were other options that were loaded with whipped cream on top, and none of us felt like it was that type of day. 

To be honest, I would not come back here for the coffee nor the hike.

I've been very tired this week, mostly because it is extremely draining to try to stay positive and forget about losing Sparkle. All my energy is focused onto remembering that there is no point wasting even one second on being sad over a material object. I'm OK now, but I'll need a bit more rest to recover. Also, I have not gone to yoga in 2 weeks, so that's probably contributing to my grumpiness.

Go back to:
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 1, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 1
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 2
Cumberland, Day 2, Part 3