Fall Face Off 2012 - Albany, NY

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What a crazy day. 5 events. RX and Scaled divisions. Crossfit has become a part of my life that I now love and learn to enjoy. In teams of four, we battled it out with 200 other Crossfit athletes and boy was it intense! As my first competition, competing in the RX division was like diving into a shark tank - I was so nervous that I had no idea if I could pull it off. Although we finished in 5th, we had so much support from our fellow Crossfitters (not just our other teammates but box members too) and we were very happy with the result. Our two scaled teams did a fantastic job and were so inspiring to watch. I might have been the youngest in the competition, but that didn't stop me from having fun and giving my all that day. Man, was I burnt out at the end of it. NOTE TO NEW CROSSFITTERS: never do Fran after 4 events... and I had never even done Fran before in my LIFE (she's a b*tch). I am so happy I got to go through this experience with my boyfriend, Mel and Victor who were just so supportive of me and of each other. We all set PR's (personal records) that day and the emotions were so raw it was such an incredible time. I was kicking myself for not finishing in the last event and stormed out of the building, but I was reminded that I did my best and even though I was in tears, my boyfriend was still proud of me. I am so thankful to have such great friends and family in my life - that they support me through whatever I go through or attempt to do like this competition. I guess there's no going back now that I've let myself experience what it's like to swim with the sharks. Enjoy the photos taken by myself and Maria Silva Fleming.

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Summerlicious Photo shoot 2012

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This year, I took on the challenge of only photographing one model as oppose to 4+ models... and it was a lot of fun! The theme of this year's was garden tea party and Kayla Liu picked out some of her fun, chic outfits out of her wardrobe. We were lucky to be able to shoot in the home of the Gerrard family, who own a beautiful house and gorgeous garden. The tire swing, the hedges to the fountains, it is a wonderful garden. The scenery just makes it feel like you were not in Vancouver but definitely in paradise. With the sun shining, a fun and quirky model, summer was in full swing this August. We miss it!

Check out some of her style picks: Lush, bow shirt by Jessica Simpson, black lace skirt by Forever 21, tea dress by American Eagle, blue sequin top dress by Silence and Noise, wedges by Sam Edelmen, necklace by Tiffany and Co., bracelets range from Fossil, Marc Jacobs to Ralph Lauren.

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Thank you to Kayla Liu, Denice Wong, The Gerrard family.  :)

Oh Paris...

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"city of lights and romance..."

A gorgeous city... it's amazing how you can hop onto the Eurostar and be in Paris within a couple hours from London. We spent a weekend in the Parisienne town, and boy did we get our money's worth. We ate, drank, shopped til we dropped, it was a lot of fun. We spent the first lunch at an all you can eat steak and frites house - this was the only thing served! We also caught the tail end of Le Tour de France, which was fantastic to watch! The athletes biked like there was no tomorrow at Champs Elysées. It was wonderful to be a part of the event by just being there!

We stayed at The Georges V - Four Seasons hotel and it had such a grand entrance - filled with flowers beyond your imagination. The chandeliers in the entrance and the view of the bar which had hanging flowers from high above the bar/lounge area was just stunning, along with a waterfall in the background.

Because it was sunday, nothing was open so we decided to check out the spa which was very serene. You were approached by a hostess who gave us a tour of the spa. The pool was very calming, although the hot tub was unfortunately not hot but the steam room, sauna and lounging area or the "quiet" room was  relaxing and calming. With tea and a mini bar service, the spa in the Georges V was quaint and a great place to hideout from the hot sun.

The hotel's restaurant, Le Cinq, featured a great tasting menu. We ate a 7 course meal provided by the chef and had a few glasses of wine and bubbly to go along with our dinner (we had some in the room before heading down.) The petit fours came out on a large cart and we could pick as many different ones as we'd like - chocolate, nougat, marshmallows... you name it!

On our last day we went shopping, and to La Durée for breakfast (although disappointed as the main restaurant was not open due to renovations so we tried another one that couldn't even make a proper poached egg...) We visited Chanel's original store (and home) and Michael found a bag labeled with Victoria Beckham's name. We thought maybe she was in town... we also visited a coffee shop selling Kopiluwak (look it up you'll be surprised) and found the Truffle House which I swear was by far the best lunch I've ever had! Everything was to do with truffle - truffle oil along with the bread given, you got to pick if you wanted white, black or the seasonal truffle with your course (appetizer AND main course.) IT WAS SO DELICIOUS... truffle pasta... ohmygosh.

Funny enough, as we boarded the Eurostar one last time, we were held up because of the one and only... Victoria Beckham who was late for our train!!! I was in shock and at the same time amazed at how petite she was. Fashionably late, she boarded the train with (I believer her eldest son) Romeo and off we went. It was quite a fabulous trip even though it was short and sweet.

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