All my life, I've never been particularly lucky. As a result, I've learned to make the most of a bad situation. Not to be overdramatic, but here's the "bad situation" that lead to the topic of this blog post: the soft opening of Soft Peaks. For those who aren't in the know, a new organic soft serve shop has opened in Gastown, and the hype over it has been overwhelming. (As of now, it's officially opened already, but as always, I've procrastinated, and this post is rehashing an event that happened months ago.) You know how I am when it comes to ice cream...so of course, I wanted to be there on the first day of their soft opening to give it a try. Alas, when I arrived after class, this was the sight that greeted me....

Apologies for the bad phone pics. I have to heft my laptop around for school which makes it impossible to bring my camera too :(

As you can see, they definitely don't skimp on the custard. Mmmm....I'm craving one (or two) now....

So terribly sad that this is my last hot chocolate fest recap for the year- it's been a sweeeeet month!

Managed to round up my friends for a small after-school date at Bella Gelateria...which is an excellent excuse to order everything on the menu ;D (technically, they were kinda coerced into this decision.... "you can't order the same thing as me!!!! roz needs pictures for her blog!!!!)





Matt chose 'Erin Gone Bananas', I had the 'James Brown', Anna had 'Earl Goes Boom', and Christina had 'La Dolce Vita'. Of the bunch, 'La Dolce Vita' was definitely the best! You can't go wrong with dulce de leche.  'James Brown' was very rich, and the addition of spices is definitely an acquired taste and not for everyone. On my instagram post, I wrote about anise and nutmeg....and on second thought I'm not quite sure where I got the info that these were the spices in the hot chocolate? Did I make that up? I have no idea, haha. Anna and I weren't terribly excited by the cookie- Anna doesn't like ladyfingers, and while I don't mind 'em, the ones we had were a bit dry with not enough fior di latte gelato inside. Super sadface about it, since fior di latte is one of my favourite gelato flavours. I was hoping it'd be the same gBARs as last year :(

This is the same day I got a shout out from Cityfood Magazine- thank you!

"I really like mine."- Christina

"It's quite sweet but not diabetes sweet."- Anna 

Last but not least, I had to end the festival with a bang of course (and on the last day itself, no less.) Glenburn Soda Fountain & Confectionary is yet another place I've wanted to try since I first heard it was opening, but due to their location, I've never been able to make the trip. As I had Saturday free, and it finally decided to stop raining, I hopped on the bus and made my way out to Burnaby.



It was every bit as cute as I imagined- the shelves filled with candy from my childhood was one of my favourite touches, and of course, the interior itself was precisely what you imagine when you think of retro diners. Not to age myself (haha), but soda fountains and diners always remind me of the Archie comics that I used to read in elementary school!

I got so distracted while taking pictures that I didn't think of the obvious problem: how quickly ice cream will melt near a hot drink....oops.

1. French Made Baking
2. Butter Baked Goods
3. Glenburn Soda Fountain & Confectionary
4. Gem Chocolates
5. Koko Monk Chocolates

I really love skincare and make-up samples, but have never tried out any subscription services (aside from Julep) because while I love surprises, I'm not willing to spend money on a box where I'm not entirely sure just what I'm going to get.

Now, I've known of the Holts beauty bags since I first saw their spring 2013 bag in-store. I'd eyed it every single time I walked in, but in the end, never purchased it since I wasn't sure if I'd use all the products. Looking back on it now...I really regret not buying it, haha. Since then, I've kept an eye out for new bags, but was never really completely sold on the samples they were offering. However, that all changed when I received an email about their spring 2015 bag....

Here's a look at some of the samples out of their boxes.