By now, some, if not most of you, have heard of The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha. A book filled to the brim with seemingly mundane and trivial things that are, well, awesome. (‘The other side of the pillow’ is a personal favourite.)
The book does what it is undoubtedly meant to do—remind us of the simple joys that surround us everyday. (‘Finding an old mix tape given to you by your old boyfriend’ another goodie.) Neither complex nor earth-shatteringly renegade (‘high fiving babies’), it brings about giggles of agreement and good cheer.
So it is with this simple feel good intention in mind, that I list 25 things that bring a silly grin to my face in this city I love. (I was recently inspired to create my own personal list of 101 awesome things, but I’ll keep that list under wraps for now. Insight into my simultaneously twisted and cheesy mind forthcoming.)
In the mean time, enjoy, and let me know what your favourites around town are.
1. Fresh flowers from Blue Hydrangea.
2. Lemon tarts and passion fruit macaroons at Nectar Desserts. *Nectar is sadly closing its doors on Sunday August 29th. Indulge your sweet tooth while you can!
3. Lacy, frilly n' pretty underthings at SHE.
4. Skating hand-in-mittened-hand at Olympic Plaza.
5. Limoncello gelato at Uptown Gelato.
6. Long walks along Glenmore Reservoir.
7. Crave-o-licious cupcakes from Crave.
8. The Village Greek Salad at Alloy.
9. When the staff at Espy ring the bell cause you look too awesome for words.
10. Trying on hats at Zsa Zsa’s Hat Salon.
11. Finding that diamond in the rough at Danielle’s Consignment Boutique.
12. Root beer milk shakes from Peters’ Drive-In.
13. Raspberry pedicures at Urban Venus.
14. Soaking up art in all its forms at Art Central.
15. Nights out at the [Alberta] Ballet.
16. Strolling through Kensington, window-shopping.
17. The Christmas tree displays and ornaments (that make me glow with glee!) at Rubaiyat.
18. The winter drives to Banff.
19. Browsing the card wall at Joints.
20. Poolside drinks at the Raw Bar with girlfriends.
21. Winter walks through Fish Creek Park—when the trees freeze just right and shimmer like they’ve been dusted with crushed diamonds.
22. Lattes and chit chat at Caffe Beano.
23. Zoolights, and general latte-in-hand drives through countless neighbourhoods in November and December admiring Christmas lights.
24. Movies (and previews, and popcorn) at Scotiabank Theatre Chinook.
25. When the Calgary Tower gets lit for special occasions.