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Holiday

Do things with your mom

May 11, 2018 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
Makawao, Maui, Hawaii

"Could we have a day?" That was my mom asking my sister and me if we could spend a full day touring Maui together on our last family vacation. We were completely taken [Read more]

Posted in: Friends & Family, Random thoughts, Travel Tagged: Adventure, Family, Hawaii, Holiday, Maui, Photography, Travel

Ho! Ho! Ho! Yum.

December 13, 2014 by Kirsten Neil 2 Comments
Holiday baking

This year was full of holiday baking firsts for me. First time making shortbread (so crumbly), first time dipping stuff in chocolate (why you gotta fall off the toothpicks, [Read more]

Posted in: Food & Drink Tagged: Baked Goods, Baking, Christmas, Cookies, Foodie, Holiday, Oreos, Shortbread Recipe, Sugar cookie recipe

Cruising for sun and fun

January 11, 2014 by Kirsten Neil 1 Comment
Arriving at Iguana Island.

Yesterday, the family spent an amazing morning touring Providenciales by boat. And what a boat! The Kitty Kat Cruise is a gorgeous 65ft catamaran run by Island Routes.

Posted in: Friends & Family, Photography, Travel Tagged: Beach, Caribbean, Family, Holiday, Photography, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

Turks part deux

January 9, 2014 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
Cast off into the great blue.

Here we are again in Turks & Caicos! Our family thought it was so nice, we visited twice. We couldn't have come at a better time too. We left -30°C to arrive in +30°C. [Read more]

Posted in: Friends & Family, Photography, Travel Tagged: Family, Holiday, Photography, Providenciales, Travel, Turks & Caicos

It’s a critter-filled Christmas

December 10, 2013 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment

I found the cutest critter cookie cutter set at Crate & Barrel this year. So making eight dozen of these guys was a no-brainer, right? Especially since I had never baked [Read more]

Posted in: Food & Drink, Home, Photography Tagged: Baking, Christmas, Cookies, Holiday, Polar Bear

The holiday season is upon us

December 1, 2011 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
Maui, baby!

And when I say "holiday," forget Christmas, I'm talking Maui baby! Woohoo! Tomorrow, my friends, family and I will embark on an adventure to Maui to enjoy the beaches, [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Beach, Family, friends, Hawaii, Holiday, Maui, Photography, Travel, Wedding

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy

July 27, 2011 by Kirsten Neil 4 Comments
The laughing statues of Denman Street

Ahh, summer, the best time of year; the days are long, the weather is warm, and taking time away from work is sublime. This year Chuck and I took holidays to go on a road [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Adventure, Alberta, British Columbia, Canada, Holiday, Photography, Road Trip, Summer, Vancouver

Oh by golly, have a holly jolly

December 24, 2010 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment

Yay, Christmas is here! I love this time of year. My Christmas actually started last week out in the country at my mom’s. We had a wonderful brunch and gave and received [Read more]

Posted in: Food & Drink, Friends & Family Tagged: Christmas, Holiday

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Artwork by Kirsten Neil on ETSY

Top Posts

Discovering Naija's vibrant roots
Captivated by Cape Breton
Something wicked's lurking in the dark
A very English road trip
Tis the season?
Oh Hana -- Part II
Manitoba roadies
A lovely sunrise

INSTAGRAM

Madrid, in like a minute. 🇪🇸♥️ We only had one day Madrid, in like a minute. 🇪🇸♥️ We only had one day in Madrid, which was a shame as we found the city to be quite charming.

As we had so little time, our only excursion was a guided tour of the Museo del Prado, which houses the best collection of Spanish Art. We saw some amazing pieces both light and dark. 

Swipe to the end to see the two pieces from the Prado that floored me. The bright and chaotic triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, and the dark and fraught Saturn Devouring His Son by Goya. I’m still thinking about the room that housed Goya’s “Black Paintings.” They are gut-wrenching, harrowing masterpieces the public was never meant to see. (He painted them all on the walls of his home)
—
#ckvacays #madrid #pradomuseum #spain #kirstentravels
Short and sweet in Barcelona. 🇪🇸🐰🙏🏻 On our way ba Short and sweet in Barcelona. 🇪🇸🐰🙏🏻

On our way back to Canada this year, we stopped in Spain to see Bad Bunny’s show. We only had two days to look around this city that’s full of so much life and beauty. 

We stayed in the super walkable Eixample district and also made our way to Sagrada Família to be wowed by the most amazing church that’s over 150 years in the making…so far! And also dealt with celebrity Chuck posing for photos with all his fans. 😂 

We also ate so well here. Not one miss. 

On concert day, we bused it over to the pinchos area where we walked the street going from place to place noshing on little pinchos and drinking beer before walking up the hill to reach Estadi Olimpic for the concert. 

What a gem Barcelona is. We didn’t get nearly enough time to discover all her charms, but consider us completely charmed nonetheless. 
—
#ckvacays #barcelona #sagradafamilia #spain #kirstentravels
Bad Bunny! 🐰🔥 Most joyous concert ever! I said I Bad Bunny! 🐰🔥 Most joyous concert ever!

I said I wasn’t going to take video because I never watch concert videos after I see a show. Couldn’t help but take many. It was such a spectacle. And I’ve been watching them all on repeat since last night. The artistry of the camera work and lighting was a thing of beauty. Benito was as good a showman as they say. The vibe was unreal. 

The reason we visited Spain on our way back to Canada was for this show. I was hoping it would live up to the hype. Boy, did it ever. 

Also, not one word of English for the entire show. Not one. And it didn’t f’n matter. 
—
#ckvacays #badbunny #barcelona #badbunnybarcelona #kirstentravels
March & April in Lagos. 🇳🇬♥️ — #ckvacays #kirstent March & April in Lagos. 🇳🇬♥️
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #lagoslife
What a morning at Oshodi Market in Lagos looks lik What a morning at Oshodi Market in Lagos looks like. @ezechalzz 
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #lagoslife
Jan & Feb Lagos photo dump. ☀️🇳🇬♥️ — #theckhome #l Jan & Feb Lagos photo dump. ☀️🇳🇬♥️
—
#theckhome #lagoslife #awoyaya
Golden sunsets, golden sunrises, wind-whipped dune Golden sunsets, golden sunrises, wind-whipped dunes, gassy camels, desert camps, deep gorges, high mountain peaks, friendly Berbers, an even friendlier tour guide, all contained within a terrain that screams “STUNNING!” around every bend. What more can one ask for on a three-day journey? How can one fit all that in in just three days? 

Hands-down, the biggest highlight on our Moroccan adventure (besides AFCON, but that’s sports) was a journey from Fes to Marrakech via the Sahara Desert.

We found a highly-rated three-day trip from @moroccofabuloustravel via @tripadvisor. I didn’t know Morocco’s beauty could stun even more after our first few days in Fes, Chefchaouen and Tangier, but boy, did it ever. We were left enchanted…

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #morocco🇲🇦 #moroccofabuloustravel
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A petit taste of Tangier. 🇲🇦 Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A petit taste of Tangier. 🇲🇦

Tangier was not originally on our agenda for Morocco. But once we saw how pretty Chefchaouen (see previous post) was, and that it was conveniently situated between Tangier and Fes, we altered our plans to visit the coastal city that’s situated on the Strait of Gibraltar. 

We actually didn’t do a heck of a lot in Tangier as we were already spinning from a hectic first few days in Fes. Instead, the city became a place where we could slow down, relax and breathe in the fresh sea air.

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #tangier #morocco🇲🇦 #afcon2025
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Madrid, in like a minute. 🇪🇸♥️ We only had one day Madrid, in like a minute. 🇪🇸♥️ We only had one day in Madrid, which was a shame as we found the city to be quite charming.

As we had so little time, our only excursion was a guided tour of the Museo del Prado, which houses the best collection of Spanish Art. We saw some amazing pieces both light and dark. 

Swipe to the end to see the two pieces from the Prado that floored me. The bright and chaotic triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, and the dark and fraught Saturn Devouring His Son by Goya. I’m still thinking about the room that housed Goya’s “Black Paintings.” They are gut-wrenching, harrowing masterpieces the public was never meant to see. (He painted them all on the walls of his home)
—
#ckvacays #madrid #pradomuseum #spain #kirstentravels
Short and sweet in Barcelona. 🇪🇸🐰🙏🏻 On our way ba Short and sweet in Barcelona. 🇪🇸🐰🙏🏻

On our way back to Canada this year, we stopped in Spain to see Bad Bunny’s show. We only had two days to look around this city that’s full of so much life and beauty. 

We stayed in the super walkable Eixample district and also made our way to Sagrada Família to be wowed by the most amazing church that’s over 150 years in the making…so far! And also dealt with celebrity Chuck posing for photos with all his fans. 😂 

We also ate so well here. Not one miss. 

On concert day, we bused it over to the pinchos area where we walked the street going from place to place noshing on little pinchos and drinking beer before walking up the hill to reach Estadi Olimpic for the concert. 

What a gem Barcelona is. We didn’t get nearly enough time to discover all her charms, but consider us completely charmed nonetheless. 
—
#ckvacays #barcelona #sagradafamilia #spain #kirstentravels
Bad Bunny! 🐰🔥 Most joyous concert ever! I said I Bad Bunny! 🐰🔥 Most joyous concert ever!

I said I wasn’t going to take video because I never watch concert videos after I see a show. Couldn’t help but take many. It was such a spectacle. And I’ve been watching them all on repeat since last night. The artistry of the camera work and lighting was a thing of beauty. Benito was as good a showman as they say. The vibe was unreal. 

The reason we visited Spain on our way back to Canada was for this show. I was hoping it would live up to the hype. Boy, did it ever. 

Also, not one word of English for the entire show. Not one. And it didn’t f’n matter. 
—
#ckvacays #badbunny #barcelona #badbunnybarcelona #kirstentravels
March & April in Lagos. 🇳🇬♥️ — #ckvacays #kirstent March & April in Lagos. 🇳🇬♥️
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #lagoslife
What a morning at Oshodi Market in Lagos looks lik What a morning at Oshodi Market in Lagos looks like. @ezechalzz 
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #lagoslife
Jan & Feb Lagos photo dump. ☀️🇳🇬♥️ — #theckhome #l Jan & Feb Lagos photo dump. ☀️🇳🇬♥️
—
#theckhome #lagoslife #awoyaya
Golden sunsets, golden sunrises, wind-whipped dune Golden sunsets, golden sunrises, wind-whipped dunes, gassy camels, desert camps, deep gorges, high mountain peaks, friendly Berbers, an even friendlier tour guide, all contained within a terrain that screams “STUNNING!” around every bend. What more can one ask for on a three-day journey? How can one fit all that in in just three days? 

Hands-down, the biggest highlight on our Moroccan adventure (besides AFCON, but that’s sports) was a journey from Fes to Marrakech via the Sahara Desert.

We found a highly-rated three-day trip from @moroccofabuloustravel via @tripadvisor. I didn’t know Morocco’s beauty could stun even more after our first few days in Fes, Chefchaouen and Tangier, but boy, did it ever. We were left enchanted…

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #morocco🇲🇦 #moroccofabuloustravel
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A petit taste of Tangier. 🇲🇦 Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A petit taste of Tangier. 🇲🇦

Tangier was not originally on our agenda for Morocco. But once we saw how pretty Chefchaouen (see previous post) was, and that it was conveniently situated between Tangier and Fes, we altered our plans to visit the coastal city that’s situated on the Strait of Gibraltar. 

We actually didn’t do a heck of a lot in Tangier as we were already spinning from a hectic first few days in Fes. Instead, the city became a place where we could slow down, relax and breathe in the fresh sea air.

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #tangier #morocco🇲🇦 #afcon2025
Follow on Instagram

Top Posts

Discovering Naija's vibrant roots
Captivated by Cape Breton
Something wicked's lurking in the dark
A very English road trip
Tis the season?
Oh Hana -- Part II
Manitoba roadies
A lovely sunrise

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