this weekend was full of fun things. saturday morning i went out for breakfast with my brother & mom at one of my favourite local spots: wendell’s cafe. i was supposed to have an engagement session that afternoon but it poured rain so we cancelled. then i opted for a treadmill run at the gym instead of in the pouring rain: in preparation for sunday. [see below] saturday afternoon i went to another favourite spot: bellingham with my dear friend leah. we did a little shopping: buffalo exchange for leah, trader joe’s for me [grocery shopping is soooo much better than shopping for clothes] before heading to woods coffee for a game of scrabble by the fireplace. it was restful and wonderful.

sunday morning, i had signed up to run the fort langley 10km race. why? i don’t know. spontaneous decision. i saw on my friend tania’s facebook that she was running it and next thing i knew i was messaging her asking if i could run with her. the things i do, sometimes. i’m not a race-girl. i like running alone, on my own time. running with hundreds of other people at 8am on a sunday morning in the rain is not always my idea of a good time. in hindsight, i legitimately did have fun and i’m glad i ran. i was really proud of my time [1 hour, 2 minutes] and i even got a medal…. along with everyone else. [the last time i ran a timed 10km race was back in grade 12. i also ran a 15km once.]

a big thanks to everyone who entered the uppercase journal giveaway! wow, lots of entries. that’s fun. the random number generator said #61 — Felisha Perez! send me an email with your mailing address and i’ll get your magazine sent out as soon as i can. finally, one last thing to round off this totally random post — friday afternoon i photographed a super sweet couple named becca + austin. i love their images and can’t wait to share more soon! have a beautiful monday.

my mom grew up in vancouver, my dad moved to vancouver for work [from alberta], they met at a church in downtown vancouver, they got married at the vancouver hotel, i was born in vancouver general hospital. we lived in vancouver until i was a month old [i think] and then we moved to a nearby suburb. then we moved to a farther suburb. then a farther one. then a farther one. and now we’re in langley — about an hour from downtown on a no-traffic day. most kids that grow up in the ‘burbs have no concept of the city… and i would have included myself in that category until i started my business. one of the coolest things about shooting weddings/engagement sessions for the last four years has been the opportunity to work in a place i don’t live. i have never experienced city life. eleven days in downtown montreal without a car is the closest city-livin’ i have experienced. [which i adored, by the way. take me back.]

in the last four years, i have come to learn vancouver. i’ve almost explored every part. i can drive without a GPS. i can tell you fun things to see and do in every area. i am far from a “local” but i feel proud of my knowledge for a little langley girl! through business connections, i’ve had the pleasure of making some really awesome friends in the city as well — which equals a lot of “let’s drive into vancouver and coffee-date three people back to back today” days. i really, truly love the city. not downtown, but the outskirts of the city. commercial drive, main street, granville island. some of my favourite spots.

yesterday, i drove into vancouver to visit my friends annie & spencer and see their brand new coffee shop that they opened. CRAZY. i’m so proud. i met annie through my friend jess — and it’s soooo cool to see a dream her and her husband spencer have had for years come to pass. they opened matchstick coffee roasters with their friend aaron, a month ago,  in the mount pleasant area of vancouver. fraser and 15th avenue. i dropped by, snapped a few photos, caught up a little with annie over coffee, answered some emails and… ran into two clients. ;) this happens to me SO much in the city! i love it. i saw sophia + her lovely mom having coffee, caught up with her about her & jamie’s june wedding and then i saw laura, whose birthday party, engagement session and wedding day i shot a few years ago!

i spent the afternoon catching up with robyn for the first time in six months. her and her husband andrew have been traveling all over the world the past few months — they moved to paris and managed to find time to squeeze in a whole bunch of incredible trips. scotland and morocco, to name a few. loved hanging out in her cozy olympic village apartment. robyn makes the most incredible food. finally, i was off to meet cat watson, a friend of my friend kristen from maryland, who had just moved to vancouver with her husband matt. the four of us, cat, myself and her two cute kids, walked to whole foods for some food & coffee and chats.

after a long day in the city, i got in my little car and drove an hour and a half home on highway 1 in traffic. ever since replacing my radio last month [i can now listen to my iPhone and not just the radio!] i really don’t mind the drive. absolutely in love with hillsong united’s live in miami album. check it out. it makes every long drive better. hope you are all having a great thursday!

i know there are a few of my blog readers out there who always like to know what i’m reading — i’ll get emails or comments asking for book recommendations and i’ve been wanting to compile some posts for a while. i read in sprints. on vacation i can easily jet through one book a day and i love that, but at home, i read about one book a month. the hardest challenge for me, quite honestly, is that i want my bible to be my number one source of reading material — the idea of devoting ten minutes a day to the bible but two hours a day to a novel is hard for me. when i do read, i choose christian authors or psychology/sociology/business-y type books. non-fiction. rambling aside, here are six faith-related books that have had a huge impact on my life.

1. mere christianity by c.s. lewis — hands down, favourite book about faith. c.s. lewis is my favourite writer, brilliant man. i love how he can explain potentially complicated doctrinal concepts in such a straight-forward though-provoking way. i’ve read this book at least five times and try to re-read once a year.

2. fresh wind, fresh fire by jim cymbala — the first time i read this book, i was on a plane [typical] flying somewhere to visit someone. who knows. all i remember is being in an aisle seat & having three or four tears trickle down my face as my spirit was in awe of what God wants to do in our lives if we’ll simply ask. some of the stories cymbala writes about, as their church began to seek the Lord together in a tuesday night prayer meeting weekly, can make me cry to this day. not kidding. i was telling leanne about this book a few months ago and teared up while talking. read it.

3. blue like jazz by donald miller — my beloved donald miller. i love his writing. i know he’s not a theologian, i know he’s not always spot-on in his illustrations and examples but hey, i write about faith in funny little metaphors and i’m not a theologian either. his books make me think and dream and really do give me a greater picture of the love of God. this is his best book, but i’d also recommend “searching for God knows what,” “a million miles in a thousand years,” and “fatherless fiction.”

4. the screwtape letters by c.s. lewis — second favourite book of lewis’. i love the perspective of the narrator, written from the side of “evil,” which initially, i assumed could be odd, but turns out it’s not. it’s interesting to read about all the arguments and reasons why we could choose to not believe in Christ… and ultimately, stand encouraged in my decision to believe.

5. the circle maker by mark batterson — this is a really recent book and my newest read. seems pretty new to be introduced on a “six greatest faith books everrrr!!!” list, but that’s not what this is. these are books that have made an impact on my faith and prayer life and boom, this book did. once again, challenged, stretched, my spirit was brought to a place that whispered, why am i not seeking the Lord’s face more? why am i so incredibly ignorant sometimes? God wants to hear us and i want to be the kind of woman who prays unceasingly.

6. sun stand still by steven furtick — another newer book; i read this early fall of 2011 and challenged me to write down a prayer list of “audacious goals and dreams.” steven also mentions how impactful jim cymbala’s book, fresh wind, fresh fire [book #2] was in his life — i love how the two were connected! i have been praying since october for about 10 audacious dreams. it has been incredible to see God’s faithfulness in completely fulfilling some, seeing progress in other areas and believing for answers in the “unanswered” ones.

that’s all i got! have you guys read any of these before? what were your thoughts?