Week Eleven.

This week was just lovely! We finally booked our hotel in Vegas for April which is super exciting. It will be a nice stop off on our long journey home from Coachella. It's right on the strip and we got an awesome deal so I cannot wait. It's just a shame that we aren't there the night Britney Spears has a show on, that would have been out of this world! I'm contemplating doing a sky dive there if I decide I've got the balls, I think that would be pretty God damn cool.

Most importantly Danny got a promotion this week. I am so frickin proud of him! He has never worked as a chef in an industrial kitchen before in his life, and now, after 6 weeks he is the steak chef in a steakhouse! So so impressive, and now he can come home and cook me awesome dinners. I am a lucky girl!

We all headed out on Thursday night to go watch the Red Bull Rail Jam. Basically the entire centre of the town was shut down, a load of snow was dumped on the road and they popped a rail there for loads of crazy people to showcase their snowboard tricks on. As there was no ramp a wench was used to pull the guys along, and they then had to jump onto the rail and do some kind of snazzy trick to get the highest points. It was not the most enjoyable thing to watch. Everyone was stacking it so hard; Danny hurt his knee, some guy landed on his head, another one smashed into the DJ deck and knocked it to pieces. Craziness.

To recover from the ordeal we all went to Mel's which is apparently the drinking hole of choice on a Thursday, where we drank lots of beer and wine and listened to live music and rolled home to bed for possibly the best nights sleep since I've arrived in Canada. I think it's fair to say we all felt pretty hideous for the entirety of the next day but it was worth it.

It is my boss's last week at the Body Shop this week so we had a little leaving do for her with all the girls at Bear Street Tavern. They do the best pizzas that I have ever tasted. It was honestly incredible. It had goats cheese, pesto, spinach, chicken, bacon and onion on it and then it is served with honey and chili oil dip. Sounds strange I know but it just works. A million times better than ketchup on mayo that's for sure.

On the note of food I have recently discovered Wildflour Bakery. It's the cutest little coffee shop with the most incredible array of cakes you have ever seen. Their chocolate and almond croissants are sensational and their maple lattes have officially made me a coffee fan. This week we were introduced to lamingtons. Sponge cake covered in chocolate and desiccated coconut. Apparently they are a delicacy in Australia, according to our friends. Danny certainly enjoyed his!

Banff Ambassador Tour.

I mentioned a while ago that I attended the Banff Ambassador Course part one at the Whyte Museum, so today was the day that we finally got ourselves booked onto the second part of the course which was a lovely little tour around Banff. Unfortunately it meant getting up at 7.30am but it was nice to take a visit to parts of the town that we haven't yet managed to see in our time here.

We started off at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel which always looks incredible. We found out that the hotel was actually accidentally built backwards. So the man who designed it could not be there for whatever reason when it was built and the contractors ended up building it facing the complete wrong direction. Therefore rather than the superior suites having stunning views of the mountains, it was actually the chefs and kitchen staff that were treated to such scenery. Pretty funny I think.

We then went up to Surprise corner, up to the Banff centre, tried to find some Elk lurking around but to no avail, and then off to Lake Minnewanka which is so beautiful. Apparently it is one of the best places to see the Aurora Lights so we shall have to venture there next time Twitter alerts me that they are active, but today we just had a walk on the completely frozen river. It always makes me a little nervous but it is just so bloody cool. You could never walk on a frozen river back home, not a chance!

We had a hot chocolate and some maple syrup biscuits, of course, then off to Norquay and Vermillion Lake. There is a little lay by kind of thing on the way to Norquay which has such a cool view of Banff, I'm hoping to get a lovely picture there when it isn't quite so cloudy. Everything is just so beautiful over here you cannot help but take a picture of absolutely every single thing you see! I really want to try and find a good camera on eBay to get some proper shots. My rather outdated Nokia just does not do the trick.

At the end we got presented with the 'Banff Passport' which is basically a little leaflet full of free things to do in Banff. A free gondola ride, a free trip to the hot springs, a free curling lesson and so so so much more. Freebies worth over $500 - not bad for a tour which cost 10 bucks (and that was discounted from $60) - would you look at me being a savvy saver!

Week Ten.

This week has probably been one of my favourites so far! Everything has completely slotted in to place and is pretty much perfect. I can honestly say with every fibre of my being, that the decision to move to Banff was the best decision I have ever made. It was either going to go one way or the other, and I'm so, so glad that this is the way it has turned out.

I've still been working an awful lot, as always but luckily I have actually found time to do other things and socialise and spend some time with Danny which has been lovely. We went ice skating and out for some drinks, I had a snowboard lesson with him, and I managed to get up the hill three times this week so I'm pretty happy. So far I've stuck to that resolution, here's to it continuing.

Work has been really good. I am now serving 90% of the time which is great as I am actually enjoying being at work and making a decent amount of money. Our savings to travel to America are going to be spot on if things continue this week which excites me. I've never been good at saving money, so the fact that things are right on track at the moment is great. Danny is definitely a good influence on me when it comes to money that's for sure.

I'm off out for dinner tonight at the Bear Street Tavern which is a really nice pizza place in town, for my bosses leaving do. It will be nice to spend an evening with all the Body Shop girls away from the craziness of the January sales and constant shipments and visual merchandise flips etc. Plus they have the coolest cocktail list so I'm sure it's going to be an awesome night!

I'm in the middle of a split shift at the moment and just had my hair cut which was so lovely. Fingers crossed my hair is nice and long by the time I've returned to England. It's taken me 5 years of growing to get it past my shoulders so I think it's about time. Speaking of time, I better get myself in gear and get off the couch and get ready to go back to work.

Snowboarding Lesson Three.

This morning we overslept. We overslept big time. I'm talking like two hours after the alarm first rang. There was never going to be enough time to go up Sunshine before we had to be back for work, so Danny decided to take me up to Norquay for a snowboarding lesson.

I'm not going to lie I was pretty apprehensive. One because I haven't had a lesson for over a month and I was probably going to be terrible, and two because everyone knows that it's pretty risky when couples try to teach each other to do things. It's bound to end up in an argument and never wanting to speak to each other ever again. Luckily that was not the case. I loved it!

For a start I actually managed to get off the chairlift on the first attempt, and every time after. That was an achievement in itself if you ask me! I managed to do a hell of a lot better on my toe edge, thank God; AND by the end of the day I could just about do a couple of turns down the hill. It's nothing spectacular but it was a huge step for me from the last lesson. It's always nice to end the day feeling positive about how everything went. Now I cannot wait to go for another lesson on Thursday. I'll be smashing a black run in no time...

Date Night.

Danny and I FINALLY got a night off together this evening, our first since Christmas Eve so we decided to make the most of it! We have both been working so much that we have pretty much just seen each other in passing and fleetingly at work, so it was really nice to be able to spend an entire evening just the two of us!

We went down to the hire shop in town, picked up some ice skates and headed to the rink down the road. It is so cool to have a free ice rink, right round the corner from our house that we can go to anytime that we want. You would never find anything like that in England, in fact quite the opposite. It often costs a small fortune to ice skate, and it's mainly in London; so yeah, pretty darn cool!

Of course I was terrible and Danny was excellent, but I managed not to fall over so I count that as a win. It was super fun to skate in the moonlight, whilst it was snowing and other people were playing ice hockey. I love ice skating, it's just a shame I am terrible at it. I definitely need to up my game before we head to Lake Louise. That's for sure!

We then headed to Saltlik for a couple of drinks. The cocktail list is awesome, and Danny had never had a Caesar - pretty much something you have to try in Canada and Saltlik do the best! The "Steakhouse Caesar" consists of gin, clamato juice, hp sauce, valentina hot sauce, pepperoncino juice and horseradish with a beef jerky and jalapeno garnish. Obviously I went for something much less spicy in the form of a "Flatliner" which is simply Kahlua, Baileys and Espresso. Yummy!

By this point we were surrounded by people eating so we popped to the Indian takeout, grabbed a couple of currys and ate those in bed, washed down with a beer. Who the hell says we are not classy!?! It was great. Roll on next month's night out...

Week Nine.

This week has been a pretty basic combination of work and skiing. I've mainly been working doubles and stacking up the cash to save for our summer travels, though luckily have still managed to get up the ski hill three days this week which is good.

I definitely feel like my skiing is improving a lot. I now feel pretty confident that I can get down any run, and by any run I mean a piste. Off piste is something I am yet to attempt. I still find powder days pretty hard work, but great fun once I get the hang of it. Confidence is something I really need to try and improve on which is so much easier said that done.

My lack of confidence stops me from trying some of the really simple boxes in the park, and improving on my snowboarding and it is just so incredibly frustrating. Next week for sure I am going to go and have a snowboard lesson as it is something I really want to be able to get the hang of by the end of the season so I need to be persistent. The park however is probably going to have to wait, I'm just not convinced that jumping on and off rails and boxes will end well for me. Not well at all.

We all got given our make up belts at The Body Shop this week so now we actually have to act as if we know how to do other people's make up. It's been pretty quiet in store after the chaos of Christmas so I've pretty much been getting paid to go into work, stock up the shelves a bit and then play around with the products for the rest of the afternoon. Kirsten did my make up this week, in a completely different way to how I would normally do it which was fun. She used BB cream, blusher, eye shadow, eye liner and very little mascara. Polar opposite to how I would do it but I actually really liked it. Nice and subtle everyday make up, it didn't help me to stop spending money that's for sure!

Today we went skiing at Norquay which was brilliant. It was toonie day today, so everyone who doesn't have a lift pass can go for the day for two dollars, which is over 60 bucks of savings - safe to say it was pretty damn busy which was interesting. It's pretty steep and icy there at the moment so it was a learning curve for me, especially having to avoid the masses of people on the hill at speed, it was good practice that's for sure.

Week Eight.

The past week has been a good one. Boy has it been a good one! I had my first servers shift at work, FINALLY, we went skiing at Norquay and we got tickets to Coachella!!!

Despite the fact that I have been a waitress for over six years, it has still taken me seven weeks to be moved off the hostess stand and onto the floor, and I am so bloody happy about it! I made some good tips and it was nice to actually be doing something other than standing around all night! I'm looking forward to having my own section and making some money. Though saying that I have started at the worst possible time, as it's so so quiet after Christmas. But hey ho, it's still a step in the right direction.

As you will have seen in my last post, one of my New Years resolutions was to go skiing or snowboarding AT LEAST three times a week and more if possible, so it's been really nice to have been able to do that now that work has died down. I went to Norquay for the first time with Danny, Will and Georgie on Sunday and after I got over my initial strop at getting up early it was actually really good. It's so nice and quiet there compared to Sunshine and the runs are lovely. It's the perfect place to go if we've only got a couple of hours to spare as it is so close.

And today, a small miracle happened and we managed to get our hands on four Coachella tickets. It's something I never even thought I'd have the opportunity to go to. Palm Springs is just so far from England, when you add all the costs together it's just way out of my league. Yet now we are here and can road trip it's totally on. Luckily my friend who I work with was selling her tickets due to travel arrangements changing so we didn't have to go through any of the hassle of trying to get through online. So now I'm just super excited to go on a road trip across the US and end it with an awesome festival and stop off in Vegas. It's going to be incredible. And we get to share it with our awesome housemates Luke and Ella.

Pretty awesome week I think you'll agree. I need say no more.

Roots.

Fashion isn't exactly a big thing over here in Banff. Half of the time it is so cold that the only thing you think about when getting dressed in the morning is how the hell you are going to stay warm, looking good just goes out the window. Layers is key. In this town there is no such thing as Topshop or Urban Outfitters and online shopping is almost impossible; so I have found a new life love in the form of Roots.

It's pretty much a sweats store. Sweatpants, sweatshirts, tees, hoodies - you get the picture. Pretty standard stuff but by God is it good. Danny got me a pair of sweatpants and a sweater for Christmas and I swear they are the cosiest and warmest items of clothing I have ever worn. My Jack Wills joggers have well and truly been forgotten. I love that the material isn't the thickest, in fact it's pretty thin so doesn't bulk up when you layer it up, yet it is still so warm.

So when the Janaury sales hit - 70% off, I had to treat myself to just one hoodie. What I've learnt in my time here is that you have to wear certain things that are way too big for you so that you can have loads of layers underneath to go skiing. Well this hoodie is a medium but skinny fit so it stretches to accommodate additional layers - so I don't look like I can't figure out what size clothing I am. It had the little thumb hole things which I love as I don;t end up losing my sleeve half way up my arm when putting my coat on, and because it's long there's plenty of room to put the hood up when I'm wearing my helmet. It's pretty damn perfect if I do say so myself.

I cannot wait to take a day trip to Calgary and visit the outlet store. I better get making those tips if I'm to save money and treat myself once in a while. I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew...

New Years Resolutions.

So every year around this time, we all decide that we need to re evaluate our lives and make a few changes. Of course I'm talking about resolutions, and of course I jumped on the bandwagon and made a few of my own.

Go Skiing/Snowboarding Three Times A Week Minimum!
This is by far the number one resolution. I've been working so much and totally neglected going skiing which sucks. After all that is the main reason I moved here, so it would be silly not to take advantage of what is on my doorstep.

Learn to Snowboard
This is more of an aim than a resolution I suppose, but it leads on nicely from the above resolution. I know I'm not going to be anywhere near good, but if by the end of the season I can make it down a run without completely stacking it, I will be very happy!

Save Money.
There are so many things I want to do and see during my time in Canada, and travelling round the US is one of them. That will not be cheap. So I need to stop eating out and buying coffee and put away a tidy amount of money each month and the American dream can become a reality. This is something I am determined to achieve, even if just to prove everyone wrong.

Complete the 30 Day Ab and Squat Challenge Every Month.
I'm pretty rubbish at eating healthily and I cannot waste my money on a gym membership so I need to get my act together at home. These 30 day challenges are so easy and take only a few minutes of your time a day and really do give results. I've never stuck out one month yet so we shall see how it goes this time round.

Nothing crazy or out of my reach, but they are probably things that I'm not going to be able to keep up for the entire year. But I'll give it a good shot.

New Years in Banff.

Surprise surprise we all had to work at Saltlik on New Years Eve so there weren't really any plans in place as to what we would do if we finished before midnight. It was all a bit of a shambles really but it worked out pretty well in the end.

I managed to get out of work at 10 as we had way too many hostesses working so ran home, had a shower and a glass of red wine and went to meet my housemates Ella and Luke at a house party down the road. We drank a bit, played a bit of beer pong, did a little bit of dancing and then headed out to Banff Ave to watch the fireworks at midnight. I swear to God I have never seen so many people and cops on the streets here, it was absolute madness but super cool. It's pretty awesome to be somewhere so beautiful at this time of year, I had a little moment when the clock struck 12, popped along to work to say Happy New Year to Danny, Will and Georgie and then headed off home.

We waited for everyone to get home, played some music, drank some wine, ate some pizza and got the legendary 'Cards Against Humanity' out to play which is always a good laugh. I managed to make it to 3.30am and then just had to give up and pass out in bed stuffed and slightly drunk. I was not happy when Luke sauntered into our room at 7am to remind us that we had agreed to go on a sunrise hike up Tunnel Mountain. Not happy at all.

I reluctantly put on heaps of layers in an attempt to keep warm in the freezing conditions, made a humongous flask of tea and off we went on our merry way. I was a little put out when I asked if we were there yet and was told we had only just reached the base, but onwards and upwards and in about 40 minutes we made it. The view was spectacular and it was so cool seeing everything go from pitch black to broad daylight in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy so we didn't get that nice pink sky, but it was still pretty epic. I'd definitely love to do it again, maybe more towards summer and not after a party the night before.

So HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our lovely friends and family across the world, we hope 2015 is going to be as amazing for you as we expect it to be for ourselves! Lots of love.