tiramisu: weekend pics, part 1 (coffee and snow)

the coffee shop ritual - on my own, i go in and grab my chai to go. stefan, on the other hand, enjoys his beverage on the premises. i think i finally understand why. for me, i think it's because it takes you away from the weekend to-do list, you are on a mini vacation when you're sitting and sipping and munching. it feels indulgent and i like it. i especially felt it at a new coffee shop we visited this weekend, matchstick roasters. it was minimalistly decorated, very scandinavian-like. stefan gives their coffee a two thumbs up. they had good-looking baked goods and their carrot ginger muffin was delicious. it is located on the east side of vancouver on a block with other very cool shops - spool of thread, collage, and faux bourgeois restaurant. if you live in the area, take a holiday and visit them (or one of the other two coffee shops we visited this weekend - keep reading)!

image from the website

we also visited marche st. george, a coffee shop but also a high-end grocer. the space is teeny tiny and big on rustic charm. it sold gorgeous tea towels, bowls, and gourmet butters, oils, jams and more. we left with a bit of goodies. loved it.

again, we visited soirette, the macaroon shop i posted about here. stefan had never been and it was perfectly located on our way home from the mountain. of course, we indulged in macaroons!

you can take a peek at the bakers making the macaroons through the round window!

the local vancouver mountains have seen a lot of snow over the course of this month. to awe in its prettiness the three of us snowshoed on cypress mountain sunday morning. preferring to be without snowshoes, kai did brilliantly keeping up with us. he probably ran most of the hike! that is, when he wasn't sliding down hills, rolling in the snow, or digging a snow cave (he had to give up on the latter one).