The Buffet, River Rock Casino Hotel

Who had an extremely busy two weeks and just had time tonight for a quick blog post? ME!

It is my Mom's birthday today (technically it was forty minutes ago) and we took her out for lunch at The Buffet in River Rock Casino Hotel. Last midnight, me, my sister and brother surprised her in her bedroom with a bouquet of yellow roses, a love letter, and two cakes. Yes, mom loves her sweets a little more than normal. I hope she liked it ♥

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE ONLY WOMAN I CANNOT EVER LIVE WITHOUT!

We did not know that The Buffet opens at 11:30 so we had to wait a good ten minutes to get in. Quite a number of people were already lined up. I paid 99 bucks for the five of us which makes it almost 19 bucks per head. It is a cheap to a decent price for an all-you-can-eat place, if you ask me.

I took photos of the food bars, at least what I can, considering I was already famished and ready to fall in line because I purposely did not eat breakfast for this. Haha!

Salad Bar

Here are the sets of ohmygosh-can-I-just-go-straight-to-the-last-course desserts! I apologize if anybody's mouth waters for sweets after scrolling down this part.

That chocolate cake, lychee cocktails and panna cottas though

Egg-looking thing which I did not try, mango pudding on the right, creme caramel and cheesecakes on the left, aaaah!

You know what those are! ♥

Mini ice creams!

Rum balls, tarts and mini cupcakes!

These desserts not only looked delish but tasted like it! My personal favorites were the lychee cocktails and the mini ice creams! They're even better than they look!

WHAT'S ON MY PLATE/S:

I do not know why I showed the desserts first but here's what was on my main plate... Cod with lemon and basil was not my fave. The cream of mushroom soup was okay. Fries tasted good as well as the pizza-tasting wraps they had! I also wasn't a fan of their dimsum. What satisfied my palate were the veggie spring roll with the sweet sauce, the shrimp noodles and the beef meatloaf with mushroom! The beef one was, no doubt, the bomb out of all! I'd say I have had better buffet food selection before; hence, I give The Buffet 3 out of 5 stars! Pretty good but not amazing ♥

Obviously enjoying their picks and the view, of course!

Gotta #groupie after eating

We were so full, we had to walk around the terrace after devouring our respective plates. Mom was, indeed, blessed with a lovely weather. Way to celebrate a well-deserved birthday weekend!

Parentals

Sibs: Ella and Micko

Now that what I ate is done and over, here's what I wore:

I was clearly on an all-white ensemble mood. I love how my deep red nails and lips contrasted the whites.

How adorable is this hair tie?

I personally cannot wait for autumn-colored leaves and the need for layering clothes! Maybe not so much on the latter because that would mean chillier weather but hey, got to embrace four seasons! Not everybody's lucky to have it. 

I hope you have kickstarted fall time with a bang! I also hope I am not writing phrases that are already too old for blog usage! Hahaha!

'Til the next,

Macy

5 Things I Would Never Get Tired Of Doing

I do not know if I ever mentioned it on here but in my list, there are only 5 things I would never get tired of doing (taking sleeping & eating aside lol):

WATCHING FILMS/TV SERIES: I love me a good action thriller or a psychological one. Although I love psych thrillers, I dislike ones that portray people with mental health issues in a very negative light. It is the advocate in me, I know! Media often does that, that is why when I see one, I try to stray away from watching it although truth be told, there is something great about getting the goosebumps even from a crappy suspense film. I also love love love RomComs especially if Drew Barrymore or Rachel McAdams are in it. Maybe a little bit of Zac Efron and Dave Franco too.
Regarding TV series, my top one is Breaking Bad and next to that is Orange is the New Black. If you have not seen those two, there is a ninety percent chance you are missing half of your life. Haha! Kidding aside, those two shows are incredible. However, since BrBa is over and OITNB Season 3 is not til next year, right now, I am into Once Upon A Time because of my fave OTP at the moment who are real life couple, Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas. Aaaaah #thefeels! Pretty Little Liars is also a guilty pleasure of mine. Oh, I should not forget, The Walking Dead! I love me some Norman Reedus and Steven Yeung!

RIDING PLANES: I know a number of people who very much dislike plane rides. Ironically, I do experience panic attacks (rarely now) in enclosed crowded areas yet I love plane rides. It is bizaare but I actually like being inside an airplane and the thought of flying makes me child-like giddy. More than that, I love flying because if I get on a plane, I know I am going to be transported somewhere. I make it a point to go out of the country one or two times a year. Last January of this year, I have been to NYC, NJ, Pennsylvania and Orlando, Florida. I am guessing I already went over my quota of once or twice a year but just this afternoon, my aunt and I planned to book some tix for Los Cabos in Mexico this Christmas. A lot more thinking will be put into that by the rest of the family but I am already so pumped as early as now. I cannot stress how much I love traveling! In my opinion, it is the next best thing to sleeping and eating. Haha!

SHOPPING: Clothes, shoes, makeup, home decor and appliances, even groceries; name it, I enjoy it. This one can be a little more on the superficial side for some people. However, being a style enthusiast, I would never get tired of buying and styling clothes. For me, it is a great avenue for self-expression. I remember I once dreamt of being a designer when I was little and my mom used to tell me how good my gown sketches were at age 10. I still want to pursue it somehow. For that reason, one of these days I am purchasing a sewing machine and maybe enrolling myself in a short dressmaking course. Who knows!

READING BOOKS: My book taste is quite eclectic; hence, I can never answer the question "what's your book genre?". I just enjoy a good novel no matter what kind as long as it is captivating and well-written. At the moment, I am reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I am on chapter V and I am already liking it. It is quite like the Divergent book, at least up to the point I have read. I have yet to give a full review on it once I finish it!

Last but totally not the least...

LEARNING: Whether that is by going to school, exploring the world through traveling, simply having an insightful conversation with someone, or just reading a book or watching a film, learning about various things from various people is probably my favorite thing I would never get tired of. I do not ever mind going to class if it means I will be educating myself on something that interests me like human behavior or mental health or designing or strategic communications and all other personally enjoyable things. Education is also one of the major reasons I am in love with visiting different countries, I am very eager to know about other cultures, architectures, language, food, fashion, etc.



To you, lovely reader, do you also have a list of things you enjoy and will never get tired of? Care to share?

It is 2:41 a.m. on my desktop clock as I type this and so time to hit the hay! I hope you are having an amazing day if the sun is still up where you are. If you are about to sleep like me, I hope you have a good and restful one.

'Til the next,

Macy

Squamish Camping 2014

Hey, hey, hey, hey! I have been M.I.A. for a good couple of weeks and now I am back with an overdue post from my family camping trip in Squamish. Yes, I was in Squamish again because for one, it is a beautiful place and two, I am officially naming this season, Squamish Summer. I am not complaining at all considering how amazing the nature attractions are in the district. When in British Columbia, one has got to go there and maybe drive up to Whistler for more outdoor activities and endless nature beauty.

For this particular trip, we had to choose between Cultus Lake and Alice Lake, and just because we have been to Cultus already, we decided to drive up north for Alice. Our reservation was 3 weeks to a month before the actual trip because everybody knows BC people love to camp especially in summer. Hence, if you are planning to go, have your reservation ready at least a month prior.

Soon as we arrived at our camping spot, before we even got to settle with our tent and stuff, I got a hold of my camera and took photographs right away. Hashtag camwh*re!

How'd you like starting this post with outfit shots? I know nosy little fashion enthusiasts love this part, or at least I know I do when I read other personal blogs!

Now that the OOTD section is done and over, let's move on to the purpose of this trip... Haha!
We got spot 55 and I  think it was a good decision because it was one of the spots nearest the lake. If one has little kids though a good choice would be spot 18 which is right across the washroom and there are also a couple more spots near one. The maps are all on the website. Here it is if anyone's interested: BC Parks Discover Camping Reservation Service

Since we arrived at lunch time, we had to get our grill on right away! Well, it was mostly my parents who did the bbq-ing. Lol. We were not complete brats though because we took care of putting up the tent and unloading.

After eating and setting up, we had to re-pack any of our bags with food in it in the car before we went to the beach. Every camper knows that that's one of the most important rules when camping. Nobody wants wildlife animals rampaging through their food ya know! After all, whatever food you pack is all you have so better safekeep it! Not to mention, good campers are all for animal safety.

They had canoe rentals and the like. We did not go for it because we have done it a million times before so we just walked around and took on the trail around the lake.

It wasn't a long trail at all so I'd say one can trek it in approximately 10 minutes.

There are benches on certain trek spots and even if it was a short trail, it was still nice to take a break just to admire the greenery and the calmness of the water paired with the breeze that brushes through one's skin. It was the perfect weather. Well, I, for one, is a big fan of the August to September transition weather (summer to fall). I love season transitions because it is always not too cold and not too hot.

My definition of natural beauty

To be honest, we were not very active in terms of activities one can do when camping. However, we really opted to just be laidback because camping, for us, is a little getaway from the urban life. Basically, pure relaxation away from the city noise.

What's a Danzil family bonding without poker, eh?

Night came and it was pitch black. Even our handy flashlights was not able to fulfill their purpose. It was all good though because we were forced to be tucked in our sleeping bags way earlier than usual.

Day 2! We woke up to the smell of dad grilling my own homemade burger patties. There is probably nothing better than having burgers for breakfast out in the woods. Yes or yes? Lol.
Check out was at 10 or 11 in the morning so after breakfast, some zumba exercises with my sibs and packing, off we went! We would have stayed for one more day or even two but my parents' work just won't let it happen.
To anyone who has plans, I would totally recommend more than an overnight, maybe 2 nights at the very least.

Since it was still early to be heading home, we took a detour to Shannon Falls.

To be truthful, I never enjoyed nature other than the beach until this summer. I am so glad I took a chance with hiking because it started there. Now, I truly appreciate it!

From Shannon Falls, we took the trail going to the Sea To Sky gondolas. 

Just how cool are these tree branches? Yes, I really do love nature now.

The gondola ride was more or less 30 bucks. I would not say it was worth it because we just stayed up for a good hour. However, I think it is worth it if you were to take on the many trails and the tour they had to offer.

Believe it or not, my mom was scared even in riding a gondola. Haha!

SUSPENSION BRIDGE

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That's about it, folks! This is probably my longest post but hey, I was not able to for a long time so there ya go!

My past few weeks were mainly venturing into my new job as a mental health worker/advocate, some other job interviews, and a couple of family hospitalizations. Of course, summer getaways here and there too.

So you who read this, what have you been up to? How was summer? Should I say 'was' or is your summer vibe still on? If yes, I hope you're having a blast!

'Til the next,

Macy