Montreal

So last week I took a vacation from this sweltering Chicago summer we've been having, packing up and drove to Montreal to visit family. Although my family usually makes a habit of heading north, I haven't been in a LONG time with how I've been trying to put UMG on the map. With how this year has been going so far and how much I've missed my family up in Canada, I figured it was about time to break that streak.



One of my cousins (Nick) has become quite the chef of late and it was the first time we've gotten the chance to sample his talent in the kitchen. He definitely inherited my aunt's raw talent for the culinary arts and manages to combine those skills with a unique, knife-edged precision (no pun intended) and scientific power punch that leaves your taste buds yearning for more...even if you weren't that hungry in the first place. I'm not even kidding.





My cousin Christina actually got a new dog (Oliver) recently and he's one of the cutest dogs I've ever seen. He look exactly like a miniature, more affectionate version of Obi. Definitely wanted to sneak him into my bag and bring him home.

King Oliver posing with his (Canon 35L f/1.4 hood) crown

My aunt's dog, Oreo being a jokester.

It was kind of a bummer, but it rained a majority of the time we were in town, so I didn't get a chance to bust out my camera 95% of the time. A real shame because Montreal is an absolutely beautiful city and we got to explore a ton of amazing places. Nevertheless, I had a GREAT time hanging out with my family and doing a fair share of sightseeing (and great eating...NOM). Visiting Montreal makes me really wish my family lived closer, though I can see my cousin(s) and I making our way out to New York eventually.

Anyway, on one of our last days in town, my cousin Alex, his gf, my sister and I decided to hit up the Festival Mode & Design where the "street is the stage". It was an especially big celebration considering it was their 10 year anniversary.

Montreal’s Festival Mode & Design is North America’s largest fashion and design street party and takes over McGill College Avenue this week (August 4 to 7, 2010, festivalmodedesign.com). The supersized 10th anniversary of the design, fashion and music festival features four jam-packed days of scheduled international and Canadian designers on the runway, the latest DJs, homegrown top models and the best of Canadian industrial design.

The fashion shows are a mix of international brands (Forever 21, Guess), national retailers (the Bay, Jacob, Aldo, Le Chateau) and independent Canadian designers (Juma, Karv, Philip Sparks). [read more]

Despite a little bout of rain, the show went on and I was able to snap a few photos.

On our last day, we actually surprised my mom for her 50th birthday since more than half of her siblings came to visit in Montreal. The menu was jam packed with deliciousness, I had to take a couple photos of the lamb my uncle had rotating on the spit. Kind of looks like a dinosaur doesn't it??

Smiling for the camera

Afterwards, I winded down unlocking some new characters on Disney DDR with my little cousins. I've got the Suite Life theme song embedded in my head after that game. UGH.




I have to say, despite the rain and all the work I had to bring with me, I had an amazing time. Huge thanks to my family in Montreal for being such great hosts and showing us all a great time as always. Can't wait to see you guys again!