Lest we Forget the Daisies

With all the tweets about Easter and chocolate goodies, it's sometimes easy to forget what this holiday is all about. Religious or not, it's a good time to connect with family and friends even if for a night of drinks (or tea). It's nice to kick back and reminisce on your youth (and have those people in your life remind you of the times you may have forgotten about) both good and bad.

Today is also Anzac Day in Australia/New Zealand and I had the honour of experiencing this first hand last year when I was in Melbourne. I remember waking up at 4am to head to the dawn service where hundreds of Aussies gathered around a monument for the ceremony and two minutes of silence.
I have never felt so solemn as I did that morning watching the sunrise...

Making Tracks

Came across this video series and completely fell in love with the concept:



I've been fortunate enough to spend time in these two places in Australia. By the time I left Tasmania, I felt exactly how Jasmine did. There is something about this country that brings a warm smile to my face.

Scoring the Best Travel Job Ever

As I sit here writing a blog post for Flight Centre about my love affair with Couran Cove in Australia, I have to stop myself for a second to take it all in. I'm sitting here getting paid to write a blog about my travels and then share it with the world.

To say I scored a sweet gig would be an understatement. I'm on cloud nine and I'm thrilled where life has taken me. I never imagined myself here two years ago when I decided to quit my job at MTV and travel down under. Since then, I have met so many amazing people and truly 'found myself' if you will. It's true what they say about Australia, 'sometimes in order to find yourself you need to walkabout'

Love at First Flight

As Social Media Week comes to an end here in Toronto, things are just getting ramped up again. Tomorrow I'm super excited to be starting my new gig at Flight Centre.

I've Got Something to Tell You...

SO. This time last year I was dancing my face off at Big Day Out completely enjoying my life down under. One year later I am dancing my face off here in Canada with the best news ever :)

Thanks Steve

I'm at this incredible crossroad in my life where I have a bunch of opportunities thrown onto my lap and choosing one could completely change the course of my life. It's crazy exciting because I love each and every one of my options. I just wish I could do them all at once. Alas, my cloning machine isn't quite up to par yet (my Star Trek transporter has taken priority).

I remember blogging about this crossroad last year before I made the decision to travel to Australia and was scared shitless at how one decision could affect the rest of my life. Now I live for these moments.

What have I learned? It's important to surround yourself with good people, positive energy, and most of all people that inspire you. For me, it was Steve Jobs. Have you met him yet? Dude's got some serious advice to lend...

So with that, I leave you with a very inspiring speech and in particular my favourite quote from it:

"You've got to find what you love. And that's as true for work as it is for lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking...and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."  -Steve Jobs


Now it's time for me to get back to work. I have a website that awaits it's launch :) 

What I Ate With My Mate

Content. 

I love creating it. Reading it, but most of all sharing it.

After recently travelling Australia for six months, I've started writing for various websites including Travel with a Mate, MTV Fora, Chickadvisor, and of course my own Aussie blog. But what I love most- is meeting all these other great people producing content as well. I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by some seriously creative and brilliant minds who offer nothing but support and encouragement. By the way if you haven't met the tribe, I highly suggest you get to know them ;) 

I've really enjoyed being on the road- it's allowed me to write and completely produce my own content outside of a cubicle. I'm really proud of my MTV Fora pieces- the team has given me so much freedom to write whatever the hell I want, produce video, and even have a say in the design layout of the pages. If you haven't read 'From YYZ to SYD' I highly suggest you do so ;)  

This month, I am pleased to give you: 'What I Ate with my Mate ' 

Stay tuned for my next article on Aussie fashion. I hit the streets of Melbourne to dissect the street style and try on some different hats-literally.  

By the way- only one week left to vote for me in the 'Best Travel Job Ever' competition. Send some goddamn love my way would ya? 

An Ode to the Caesar: Part 2

For those of you who missed My Ode to the Caesar's 40th Birthday last summer, basically I'm obsessed with this cocktail. Known to many Canadians as the hangover cure, this cocktail is my staple summer drink at the Cottaggio and a perfect patio drink.

When I recently travelled to Australia I was heartbroken to discover they don't sell Clamato juice there. The only thing close to a Caesar was a Bloody Mary. I tried... but it doesn't even compare! We had an Aussie friend visiting Canada who asked us if we'd like anything brought back. My Canadian friends and I jumped up in excitement and said 'CLAMATO JUICE!'  She looked at us funny... but alas our mate pulled through and showed up at a party in Melbourne with two beautiful Motts jugs in hand.

Which lead to this... An Ode to the Caesar:


Did you know that more than 350 million Caesars are enjoyed by Canadians each year?
Help make the Caesar Canada's National Cocktail by signing the petition here!

The MIM (Melt in Mouth) Series: Part One

Follow my blog with bloglovin

After spending the past six months in Australia, I came across some really great food dishes that made my experience that much better. But there is one recipe in particular that still makes my tastebuds water just thinking about it. So I decided to share it with the world by writing an article for my dear friends at Chickadvisor: 

Be sure to check out the full recipe on Chickadvisor's Website.

Big thanks to my Melbourne mate Gill for her amazing cooking skills while I snapped away. 

Feel free to check out more of our food experiments on her blog as well :) 

Meet the Tribe

During my time in Australia I met a lot of really great people. 
Some I've introduced you to, some I've kept all to myself... but alas 
I'm finally learning to share. So with that I would like you to meet 
the Sydney Travel Tribe! 

Every month the tribe gets together to share ideas, business tips and 

chat about their one true love: Travel.

I found out about the group through Graham who has been supporting 

me on my Best Travel Job Ever journey. When he saw that I was leaving 

Melbourne and heading back to Sydney, he immediately suggested I 

come out for some beers and meet the tribe. 

I’ve never been to a tweetup before 
in my own country, let alone one on the 
other side of the world… but I thought to 
myself, what have I got to lose?

The moment I sat down and started 
chatting with some of them I realized 
how much we all had in common. We are 
young entrepreneurs with nothing but 
endless ideas spilling out of us the more 
we got to know each other. 


These my friends are the people of the future. 
So with that, I would like to introduce you to the tribe:

 @aussie_ian: The mastermind behind this whole thing,
Ian is also the founder of a realtime Q&A service called Travellr. 
He’s also in the know of everything that goes on in the social media 
world of travel and someone you should definitely be following on Twitter!

@brookeschoenman: A perpetual nomad, Brooke 
has an awesome blog called Brooke Vs The World. She also sends 
out a monthly newsletter called Female Travel Underground that covers 
off-beat topics for the off-the-beaten path female travellers. Ladies I highly recommend you sign up now. 

 @grayum_ian: Founder of Project Wander, this dude 
never sleeps. He devotes an obsessive (and impressive) amount of time 
to following current travel news and trends via Twitter, podcasts, 
conferences and personal experience. He’s totally crushing it… 
oh and did I mention he’s Canadian?

 @kevlippy: Kevin is one of those uber cool dudes that
 has so many ideas in his head he can barely contain himself. 
He’s been working really hard at launching his website Brokepacker.com 
so keep your eye on this one if you want to save some serious cashola 
while you travel. 

 Alicia and Katrina from World Nomads: These ladies were 
kind enough to offer me some desk space and free (high speed) WIFI 
at their World Nomads office in Sydney so I could upload some vids. 
Big thanks to Ian for the hook ups as well :) 

 @trooperlauren: Co-founder of Globe Trooper, Lauren 
came up with this brilliant idea to create a forum where people can 
create their trips online and find like-minded travellers to join them. 
I highly recommend you follow them on Twitter as well.

  @vagabondquest: This cute backpacking couple 
Dina and Ryan have been on the road for over a year now and have
a great blog VegabondQuest that offers tips, tricks, and awesome stories 
from the road. 

But these are just a few of the awesome people you will meet if you 
ever attend a Sydney Travel Tribe. Their numbers are only growing, 
so I highly recommend you check out their website. If you’re a 
travelling vlogger/blogger like myself and ever in the Sydney area, 
be sure to stop in and enjoy some beers with the tribe. 
I can’t wait to reunite with them again in the future! 

Birthday Travelganza Part 3: Sydney

The official halfway point on my birthday tour, Sydney embraced me with open arms. I didn't realize how much I missed the smell of the ocean until I arrived back in Bondi. I'm seriously going to miss going for morning runs along the beach...big time.

It was so great to see old friends again and say a farewell to this beautiful country of Australia.

Had a nice big dinner at Bondi Pizza with both my Canadian and Aussie friends 

Enjoyed many open bar nights on the rooftop patio of Diageo (the nights got a bit blurry)

Had a good old fashion Aussie BBQ with the Whalley Family- my long lost Aus relatives. 

How cute is this little munchkin? I'm going to miss her big time

Another thing I'll miss about Australia? THE COFFEE.

 None of this drip business- everyone here is a barista even in their own kitchen.

I find it rather fitting that I'm ending my time here in Sydney where it all began. Over the past 6 months I have learned so much and met some really great people. I couldn't think of a better way to ring in my 25 years of living than by going out and actually living it. 

Goodbye for now dear Sydney... I will most definitely be back.

Next stop: NYC

Travelganza Part 2: Melbourne

As if Hobart wasn't a great way to kick things off, arriving in Melbourne really kept the momentum going. If you're not up to speed, I'm travelling over the next two weeks to five different cities to ring in my 25th birthday. 

Melbourne reminds me a lot of Toronto, but operates much more effectively. 

The transportation system is brilliant weather you're driving, tramming it or riding your bike. My friend Erin snapped this photo out of the sunroof of our friends car as we drove through the city and I think it captures the beauty of Melbs perfectly:

I love cruising around Melbourne and checking out all the cool buildings. The architecture here is unrivaled with colours and shapes that will put anyone in awe of it all. 

Hands down this is the culture capital of Australia. The people here don't have to try hard to be cool- they just are. You won't see girls running around in hoochie dresses and heels like they do in Sydney (and Toronto). Instead, you'll hear a live band jamming on the corner in a warehouse jam space or local pub. If you love music and beer gardens, then you'll LOVE Melbourne. Sidenote* sometimes you have to walk down a sketchy alley to get to a great bar, but trust me when I say the reward is always a great one. 

I said my goodbyes to my roomies and our awesome Melbourne pad.

I'm REALLY going to miss Gill and Shannon. We had some of the best nights in Melbourne together and all piled into Shannon's warm comfy bed on our last night (yes we spooned and we're okay with that). 

If you ever make it out to Melbourne, check out my Aussie Adventure Blog post 'Must Do's in Melbs' 

2 cities down. 3 more to go. 

Sydney: brace yourself! 

Riding on a Dream

Meet my friend Rob. 

Rob is one of those rare people you meet in your life.
The kind that puts others before himself and inspires me on a daily basis
Over five years ago, Rob started an organization called Skate4Cancer 
which has grown into a supportive community for young people
affected by cancer. 

Although he does so much to promote cancer prevention, one thing he does
every couple of years is traveling to a country and skateboarding across it.
I made a documentary about his very first skate from LA to Toronto when I was
in Uni and will never forget the day Rob crossed the Canadian border with
Martin Streek by his side. I cut together a shorter version for Youtube-
but if you want to see the full doc. contact me :)

Since then Rob has boarded across Canada, New Zealand and has just skated
a major chunk of Australia. Unfortunately he was injured on this skate and
needs to take some time off to recover but there is no doubt in my mind
he will be back to conquer to remainder of Australia. When he starts
something, he is determined to finish it. 

Rob started his Aussie skate in Sydney where I embraced him and the rest
of the team. I introduced them to my favourite spot in Bondi to watch
the sunset- a place that has played a significant role on my journey. 

I met him with open arms again in Melbourne where the skate community
came together at Prahan Skate Park for a good old Aussie BBQ. When two
teenage boys came up to him and asked him to sign their boards I couldn’t help
but smile :)

It is so amazing to see how Rob has inspired people on a worldwide
level now. They are not only following him, but open their homes up to him
and the team anywhere they go- offering beds, showers, etc. It’s times like
these you realize how beautiful the world really is :)

So be part of the movement and support Rob on his journey.
Check out the website, subscribe to their Youtube Channel and join
their Facebook page to stay updated with events. 

Lets Dream. Love. Cure. together :)