Spring Cleaning: Exploring Your City

We continue our series on refreshing routines. I'm an advocate for exploring and shaking things up. I love my routines, but I also love adding in elements of surprise, fun and adventure. I mean, who doesn't? Something that I've noticed recently is that I have been going to the same fitness classes, eating the same recipes, and going to the same places in my city. So, it was time to shake things up. And spring is the perfect time to do it.

Two weeks ago, we talked about how to refresh and spring clean your diet. Last week, we talked about revamping workout routines. This week, I want to talk about adding some adventure into your daily life. Trust me, I know how easy it is to get comfortable in our busy routines, but intentionally adding in something new can be exhilarating.

When you live in a large city, it's easy to stick to what's close to home. The coffee shops, grocery stores, recreational facilities. I get it. It's your little community. But there's so much more to discover!

So I decided to be a tourist in my own city in a way. One of my friends (you'll recognize her from the Eat For Your Health series) and I spent an afternoon in one of Calgary's neighborhoods drinking double shot espressos, taking in the neighborhood sights and swinging on monkey bars. It was a lovely afternoon discovering a new part of town. This was our little tour of Bridgeland.

Stop 1: Luke's Drug Mart

We started the day by getting lost and going to the wrong Luke's Drug Mart (thanks, Google and poor directional skills). We made our way to the correct one, looked around the store, were pleasantly surprised by the entire food market on the lower level and finished off our sweep and browse with a latte for Brit and con panna for me.

Side story: I am not a straight espresso drinker. I do Americanos and the occasional latte. The con panna looked very interesting, so I thought I'd give it a shot (see what I did there...). Bad idea. Never shoot a double espresso and whipped cream. It doesn't end well.

Stop 2: This Wall

Because we are both bloggers, we like pretty walls. Enter this photoshoot.

You can't tell, but to the right of this wall, there is a crossfit gym offering membership at $1 per week. Just FYI.

So please enjoy these photos of unsuccessful jumping and awkward posing. We own it.

Stop 3: A Playground

I may be 24 years old, but the 12 year old in me comes out often. Especially when there are slides. I mean, who doesn't love a playground? I loved these moments of just being goofy and living life abundantly.

Stop 4: Cru Juice

We ended our tour of Bridgeland on a healthy note. We spent a few minutes in Cru Juice. Fun fact de Brit: This location is Cru's flagship store and is home to the juicery. I'll never forget this part of our tour because Brit and I had the most encouraging chat about life, perspective and staying content in this season of waiting.

Hope you enjoyed our experience of Bridgeland. My challenge to you: pick a new area of your city, town, country range road and go exploring. You never know what you might discover.

until next time,