My Favourite Season, The Fall

For a second week in a row, I am bunking my blogging pattern. I'm supposed to continue on with my New York stories and visits but somehow I really have not gotten to writing the last bits and pieces of it.

Instead, my head is conjuring up all kinds of fall stuff. So before it explodes with all of autumn, I think I need to unload with a list of why I love fall in Canada....

(In no particular order)

1. Forever chasing the perfect fall colours. Okay, so I have not really gotten the perfect one yet. I've been in Canada for 3 years and so far, the above photo is my best one yet. But there is always next year. Every year is an opportunity to catch that perfect moment as the leaves change colours.

2. Extra hour of darkness - Daylight Savings here we come once more (more sleep, yay!)

3. The perfect season for hoodies and jeans (to hide that not-so-bikini body)

4. Thanksgiving....and I think there goes another idea for an extra blog post this year, hehehe....

5. Pumpkin-ize everything in your path.... (from decors to pies to lattes to faces to beers to etc.)

6. Raising the dead (It's Halloween season y'all!!!)

7. Getting lost in corn mazes (be a maze runner for a day)

8. Curling up on the couch watching fall premieres (and for a binge-watcher like me, that's heaven!)

9. All the more reason to stop by Starbucks....and have coffee, cocoa, latte, mocha....

10. Walk in the woods among fallen leaves

James Corden Keeps Me Up Late

Photo credit

Okay, so I don't really stay up that late every night. Well, I am a bit of an insomniac so I do tend to have bouts of not being able to sleep. But I don't normally spend the wee hours of the morning watching TV. I am trying to sleep after all so......

Anyway, it started when I heard that the Late Late Show was getting a new host last March. Craig Ferguson was being replaced by James Corden. Now if you had said that name a few months earlier, my interest would not have been piqued even the slightest. But James Corden stuck to mind.

I had only ever seen him once in a movie, the star-studded musical, "Into the Woods". And in it, I found that he was really quite a brilliant comedian, without appearing forced or unnatural. My favourite scene in the whole movie, involved James Corden's character, The Baker, jumping onto a moving carriage with a cob of corn in his hand. He proceeded to ask permission from The Stepmother and The Step-Sisters if he could compare their blonde hairs and see if they were as yellow as the corn. "Please if you will be so kind. May I compare this ear of corn to your hair?"

He was called a savage and a mongrel, and was ultimately chased away from the carriage by the stepmother and stepsisters, of course. But that scene.....really put him on the map in my mind! And James Corden became the man from thereon.

I cheat, of course. I don't watch his shows when it airs late at night. I tape them on my PVR and watch them the next day in the afternoons when I get home. Somehow though I seemed to have become attached to some late night shows without intending to.

I've taped all his shows since it started and I must say, that he has made me appreciate late night shows more. I especially like when he has a Carpool Karaoke segment on the show. Carpool Karaoke is when he drives to work, carpooling with a popular/known/famous singer in the car. James would then offer to turn the radio on and the played songs would be that of the singer's. James and the singer would then sing karaoke style in the car amidst a bit of chat interview.

I also like it when he has a veteran actor as a guest on the show. He does a segment called Role Call where he and the veteran actor re-enact 5-8 minutes of scenes from as many movies that the veteran actor is known for. It's engaging, and looks like they really have a lot of fun.

So far, his shows have been entertaining to say the least. I think I'm gonna keep on watching the Late Late Show with James Corden as long as he's around. Roll the title!

NYC Trip - Liberty and Her Island

Up close and personal with Madam Liberty

Well, well, well......

No trip to New York is ever complete without seeing Madame Liberty on her pedestal. One of the most iconic woman to ever grace this world, she stands for freedom, hope and America.

The Statue of Liberty is one of UNESCO's heritage sites. She was dedicated to the United States by the people of France in 1886. Sculpted by Frederic Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel, she is based on Liberty Island, standing at 305 feet from ground to the top of her torch. (Wikipedia says so)

Those aren't ants, they're the visitors to Liberty Island...

So it was really an exciting day for us when we ventured out to Liberty Island. It felt very much like an appointment with the royalty of some sort, like she was the Queen of New York. More than 3 million visitors take the trip to Liberty Island each year to see her so we knew it was going to be jampacked with people. That day, being summer as well, it was no different.

We got to Liberty Island at around 11am and proceeded to take photos with "Liberty". We only had grounds passes as the tour only offered access to the ground. Access to the crown needed to be booked way in advance and I had not done so in the earlier months so it was too bad for us.

Touchdown on the grounds of Liberty Island

Even on the grounds though, she looked majestic as she towered over us, waving her torch way up to the heavens. We took photos in all angles - as we approached the island, as we got on the island, as we entered her personal space, as we walked past underneath her pedestal, and on and on.

All hail the Lady of New York.... :-)

On Lady Liberty's feet

It was such a beautiful and glorious sunny day as well, which made me wish even more that I had booked those crown tickets beforehand. Tsk, tsk. It would've been perfect but oh well....another thing to do for the next trip to New York.

Enjoy the photos!

Liberty around the bend

Thanksgiving 2015

So I thought I'd take a break from my New York travel stories to just get a breather and give thanks. It's the week before and come Monday, it's finally Thanksgiving in Canada.


This will be our 3rd year celebrating this Canadian holiday. We don't necessarily follow traditions by having turkey, making pumpkin pies, and the whole shebang of a feast. To tell the truth, I can't even remember what we did last Thanksgiving. We are still trying to find our groove and make our own Thanksgiving traditions at the moment, but we are getting there.


It is that time to give thanks...formally. I say this because I have been thankful ever since arriving in Canada. For every single day that we are here, it is a thankful moment. It may seem cliche to say this but our lives have forever been changed.


There are just a lot to be thankful for. On this third year since immigrating, one simple thing that I am grateful for is that life finally seems to be settling down, normalising. It might seem boring that I talk about life becoming more subdued but it's true. A lot of upheavals may seem exciting at first but it can become too disruptive if it goes on too long. I'm glad we seem to have past that now.


So that's what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?