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24 hours in Banff

March 31, 2016

24-hours-in-banff-3124-hours-in-banff-1Last weekend we travelled to Calgary (about 2 and half hour drive from Edmonton) for some work and on our way back decided to visit a town called Canmore ( just over an hours drive from Calgary). As soon as we entered town it started snowing lightly and the weather was just perfect – bright and sunny and just partly cloudy. We were surrounded by huge snow-clad mountains all around us  and the view was just mesmerizing. So we decided to stay back for a day and stopped to get necessary supplies for the night. Just there I got talking with a lady at the store and was asking her if she knew any good places to stay around town and she suggested a few. She also told us that the information center would be able to guide us better and the next thing you we were right there in their office. By this time it was about 2 pm in the afternoon. The lady at information center told us quite a few places worth a visit in Banff which is just a 20 min drive from Canmore. So that’s when thought it would be best to stay in city of Banff itself so that so that next day we could walk around to places instead of driving. We stay in Banff for one day but it felt like we were there for 3-4 days. Follow along to see our journey, places to visit, places to eat and more. And let me just say that these 24 hours in Banff were one of the best road trips and mini vacay we’ve ever been to.

24-hours-in-banff-11 24-hours-in-banff-2024-hours-in-banff-224-hours-in-banff-14 24-hours-in-banff-16By the time we reached Banff it was about 3:30 pm and we were starving. Quickly checked into this cozy comfy and a steal for the price at YWCA Banff Hotel. Since it was easter long weekend following day, our options were limited. But this place was just perfect. Walking distance from the main town with all shops and restaurants and located right on the banks of bow river. We grabbed lunch at a southwestern grill cafe called Coyotes. The mediterranean pasta was delicious. After lunch we decided to visit Lake Louise ( 25 mins drive from Banff town). The lake was frozen and we could walk on it. The sun was hiding behind the clouds and creating this diffused lighting in which the scene looked even prettier. Suddenly it started snowing and it felt like everything around was happening in slow motion. This place is so beautiful that it made gasp, literally ( take a look at the slow motion video to see how I felt :)) If this place looked like this towards the end of winter, I can only image how it will look in summer when the snow melts and lake will have blue water surrounded by these huge mountains and fir trees.
24-hours-in-banff-5 24-hours-in-banff-3 24-hours-in-banff-4 24-hours-in-banff-33On our way back to the town we stopped at Johnston Canyon falls. This is a hiking track of 3 miles in the mountains. We had no energy to do the whole trek but we did climb up to see the first of the upper water falls. We also saw the castle mountain and lots of other scenic view stops on our way back to town.

24-hours-in-banff-6 24-hours-in-banff-7 24-hours-in-banff-8 24-hours-in-banff-21 24-hours-in-banff-22 24-hours-in-banff-23We spent the evening walking around the main town area looking at all the cute shops and restaurants. There is also a museum in the town which is very informative. We decided to retire early that day since we were up from 4 am and had driven down to Calgary from Edmonton. Had dinner at Earl’s Kitchen restaurant and walked back to our hotel.

24-hours-in-banff-17 24-hours-in-banff-18 24-hours-in-banff-19 24-hours-in-banff-15 24-hours-in-banff-10The next day we were up early and excited to begin exploring Banff national park. Although we did not get to see any wildlife, the views compensated for everything. First we went to visit Banff Upper hot springs. Honestly I was a little disappointed cause I though it would be natural hot springs but it turned out to be a spa and hot water swimming pool. I’m sure it would be fun to visit here when you have planned out vacation. Unfortunately the gondola ride which is just next to this place was also closed for maintenance. Next stop was Cave and Basin historic site which was one of the best things we saw at Banff. This place has natural occurring hot springs and a cave which has been converted into a museum. This place has deposits of hydrogen sulphide and minerals brought by the naturally occurring springs. So don’t freak out with the smell. You may even get this smell al over town or in your hotels but that’s not because its dirty or anything but because of then minerals and sulphur mixed in the water. Some people also consider this as healing water curing various illnesses. This place is also said to be the birthplace of Canadian national parks.
24-hours-in-banff-26 24-hours-in-banff-28 24-hours-in-banff-29 Next stop was Bow Valley falls. Truly beautiful place like torn from a magazine. Since the banks of the river were still frozen you could walk up to the edge and see the falls from closer distance which was super fun. We spent some time there took lots of pictures and then headed to our next destination, Two Jacks lake. This is also a campground. Beautiful location to camp during summer. And just next to this site is another lake called Johnson lake ( this is different from the canyon falls mentioned above). All of these places are just about 10 to 15 mins driving distance from each other. We are definitely planning to go back in summer. There are more activities to do and all the trails and treks are open. You can plan an elaborate vacation of a week to thoroughly enjoy all the activities . But if you are looking for a quick weekend getaway too, this place is not going to disappoint. In fact it’s natural beauty is so amazing that you leave feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. If we could see so much in just 24 hours that too without rushing, I’m sure a week here will be so much fun. Will definitely go back in summer.

24-hours-in-banff-25
24-hours-in-banff-24 24-hours-in-banff-30Hope you enjoyed the pics. All the pics were taken on my iPhone since this was an impromptu trip and I was not carrying my camera. But like always, it did not disappoint at all 🙂

http://designforsoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/24-hours-in-Banff-32.mp4
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10 Comments | Category: Life, Travel

To New Beginnings !

January 19, 2016

Hey there! It’s been a while since I connected with you guys. If you were following along the previous posts, y’all know that I am right now in Edmonton, Canada and have been exploring the city for about three months now. I had to break away from my set routine and that has affected my blogging too. This new environment has definitely been a challenge to continue with my DIY & ART blog posts. I don’t have access to all the stores I had, you know like when you have a set rapport with certain people and certain places, you kind of are lost when you have to move away from your comfort zone.

to-new-beginnings1However, I am taking this in a positive way. It’s also given me time to think on a new perspective for the blog. I completely took time off for about two months. I am adapting to the new city, the weather (hate the cold though), the people and the surroundings. I will admit that these past few months have made me think a lot about life in general. What I really want from it, where I see myself a couple of years from now, is it okay to venture into a lot of things creatively, weather I should think about starting my own business, will I be able to pull it off, where I want to live in future, what are the things that really matter to me as a creative person, these are just a few questions I’m trying to find answers for.
Meanwhile, I did get a chance to write blogs for an organization called the Old Strathcona Business Association which is basically an organization that looks after, promotes and maintains all the businesses of the old starthcona district (one of the oldest) parts of Edmonton. This definitely gave me an opportunity to explore around the city and write about whatever I found interesting.

to-new-beginnings2I hope to be back with a fresh new perspective and have decided that I ‘am going to write about everything that I like and everything that excites me. I used to think a lot about blog posts before. A lot of people say “you won’t be successful if you do not have a specific direction or focus for the blog” (no offense to those who do have focused blogs and who know exactly what they are doing. Kudos to them! This is just for people like me who find it difficult to wrap their heads around one particular interest). Keeping that in mind I think I started restricting my thought process. Like for example, does it fit in the category of diy or fashion or interior or food? I wanted the blog to be a lifestyle blog, which centered on these main categories. Sometimes some blogs, which you love and read regularly, or some websites and tumblr sites, which you follow, can create a certain bias in your mind along with the inspiration they are giving you. You can get caught up in the ‘internet trend’ so to say.
And so I think it is important for any creatives to time and again distance themselves from the routine, take a step back and evaluate their work. I will be writing about the above mentioned categories however I will ALSO be writing about random inspirations, thoughts, doodles, photography, images basically anything that strikes an emotion with me. After all, I have to be true to the title of the blog ‘designforsoul’ and never forget the reason why I started it in the first place.

Thank you so much for reading and following along!

love,
varsha

 

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Moving To Canada

September 6, 2015

Moving to Canada 1Finally!!! Here it is .. the news that I said I would share with you guys soon.. We are moving to Canada. That is also one of the reasons why things are a bit slow here right now. We have been trying to figure out the move and all the hoopla that goes with it. transferring, packing, moving, trashing, cleaning and everything. My husband’s got a work assignment in Edmonton,CA for a one year and we are super excited to take on this adventure. I have never been to Canada before but I’ve heard its very beautiful. I do plan to continue blogging from there. You guys are in for more of travel posts as we plan to explore this country in the limited time that we have. Yes! all those national parks, mountain ranges, hikes, camps and more.Continue Reading

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New Hair Color

August 30, 2015

New_Hair_ColorJust tried this cinnamon brown shade new hair color from wella over the weekend and I’am loving it! It’s always been difficult to choose a hair color which would go well with my dark hair. But I really like this one. I read somewhere that you should always match the hair color to the color hues found in your eyes. But I really don’t know how much of that is true. A lot of websites give you shade options depending on the type of skin you have too.
Experimenting with my hair is something I’ve always been open to. Some how I just feel if something goes wrong you could re-color it or even chop it off. And if that goes wrong too, you know its gonna grow back, right?. I mean I would anytime choose coloring my hair purple as opposed to getting a tattoo. That is bit scary to me since I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of commitment as yet. Maybe someday I will. But seriously for those of you who really want to get new hair color or highlights or streaks with a bit bolder color choices, go ahead and do it. And to all my friends who have asked me this before, yes it does dry out your hair a bit but if you condition them properly, you are good to go. Just use the right shampoos, conditioners and serums out there which are specially made to take care of colored hair.
Until next time…
xx,
varsha!

 

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New York In Black And White

July 23, 2015

I have visited New York a number of times now but I still remember my first visit and how I fell in LOVE with this city. Although the reasons for travel have been  many including friends, work or even a travel pit stop or change of flights. I remember this one time when I had two days to myself just to wander around. There was no agenda, no meetings or anything and it was just me strolling the streets with my camera and clicking away. Most of the times I prefer doing non touristy things (unless it’s something very famous and worth seeing) and explore the streets of the city. So, I decided to do a little experiment and capture the city of New York in Black and White. Why, you ask? well follow along and I’ll tell you!
I did not have a blog at the time so I haven’t posted these pics before. But just the other day I was going through my photo archives when I came across them. And thought I had to share them with you guys and tell y’all about my experience.

New-York-In-Black-And-White14New York is an extremely busy city with all sorts of noises, traffic, people, buildings, graffiti, street artist, restaurants, billboards etc. Sometimes when there is so much going it’s easy to miss the finer details. As humans scientifically too, we are biased towards certain colors or our eyes get attracted to certain colors and unintentionally we may miss out on our other surroundings. This happens to me a lot, I’m attracted to pinks, reds and yellows and all shades of these colors before I even notice anything else. There is an exercise you could do with your phones to find out what you are attracted to. Just choose a random street and click lots of pictures of what you think are most attractive. Come home and print them out. You will definitely find a pattern.  Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong in being attracted to certain colors. That’s how we all are wired I guess. But when you remove the color and start seeing things in monochrome, that’s when the eyes are not biased and you start noticing shapes and structures, contrasts and brightness. I wanted to see this beautiful city with a completely new outlook. And did I succeed? you bet!

New-York-In-Black-And-White1 New-York-In-Black-And-White4 New-York-In-Black-And-White13 Continue Reading

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Favorite summer color

July 2, 2015

What’s your favorite summer color this year? I have been leaning towards this shade of summer yellow a lot. Pantone is calling it ‘Mimosa’. Last year I was more into pastel shades but this year somehow I have been drawn to bright warm hues. Wanted to share some of my choices with ya!
Last month at Alt Summit Summer 2015 (see full post here & here) , Sherwin Williams was one of our event sponsors and they were handing out these pretty swatch cards promoting their summer color collection. My eye just went directly to this ‘decisive yellow’ shade. Trust me guys if I had a renovation going on right now, I would be definitely be using this one.

I do however, plan on painting my coffee table with it or accent a chair.

Fovorite-Summer-Color-4Pic by designlovefest

Fovorite-Summer-Color-2Also last week I got these table napkins from Sur La Table. Shop them here!

Fovorite-Summer-Color-1

Got this dress from Forever21 too. Shop this dress here! They have a great collection this season and have collaborated with some cool designers.

Fovorite-Summer-Color-3A lot of my artwork has this color too!
Check these art posts here. 1,2,3,4. These prints are free to download too.
(All downloads are for personal use only and should not be redistributed or sold)

Have a lovely summer you guys! Would love to hear your color stories too 🙂

 

 

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Leave a Comment | Category: Celebrate, Design, Free Downloads, Graphics/Illustrations, Life, Trends / Style

Alt Summit (Summer 2015) – Part2

June 19, 2015

Okay guys so here is part-2 of my trip to Alt Summit Summer 2015 which was held in the beautiful Salt Lake City,Utah last week. As I mentioned in part-1 (in case you missed) there was so much I wanted to share about this super exciting conference that one post was not enough. So today in part-2, I’m talking about the classes/talks that I attended, sources, my learnings, experiences and takeaways from it. And just so that I don’t miss out on anything, I’m breaking it down by the days.
Just a heads up, this post has more content than my usual posts. But I wanted to share my detailed experience with you all. And also there are links to some amazing blogs and websites run by these super rock-star ladies who spoke at the summit and tips you might find useful for your blogs and businesses. So grab a snack if you like and enjoy!

ALT-SUMMIT-(SUMMER-2015)---PART2-1Continue Reading

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2 Comments | Category: Inspirations, Life, Travel

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