feel + flourish: follow friday: @adrianasinke

I don't even know where to begin when it comes to Adriana. I fell in love with her feed filled with coffee, portraits and forest many moons ago. But then I got to get to know this girl through pen & ink. She is one of the best pen pals ever, plus she sends jam. She makes the tastiest jam f.y.i.

when i went out to see kaitlin in february just so happened adriana and our friend monika were in town too. so we all met for drinks in ballard and the worlds collided as we all sat together. chatting with adriana felt like we had been friends forever. she is a treasure and i can't wait to come visit her sometime soon!

1. name // age // location // occupation:

Adriana Sinke/26/Vancouver, BC, Canada/Accounting assistant dreaming of being a coffee shop owner

2. okay so you are a coffee lover, I know this because your feed is full of coffee & two we got coffee together. what is your usual order?

I love coffee and everything about it! I usually make a thermos of brewed coffee (literally a Stanley thermos full of coffee haha) to take with me to work in the morning. We brew at home using a Chemex. We have probably tried every brewing method under the sun (french press, aeropress, drip, pour over, etc.) but this is what we have found to be the best. When I go out for coffee I usually order a latte or a cappuccino depending on where we go (if I know the espresso is good I always get a cappuccino). There really isn't anything too fancy about my coffee drinking, I just enjoy a good cup with good company!

3. you spent some time over seas last year, tell us a bit about your trip and your favorite spots!

Ahhhh it really was the trip of a lifetime, I still find myself daydreaming about it and wishing I could be back. We spent three weeks travelling around Scandinavia; Iceland, Norway, Sweden & Denmark. Every country and city we visited was so unique and so beautiful. Because we only had three weeks and a lot of places we wanted to see, we were always on the move from one place to another. My favorite country had to be Iceland. I have dreamed of going to Iceland for years so it was literally a dream come true to be there. We rented a car in Iceland and drove the southern stretch of the ring road to a town called Höfn on the east coast. There are mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, horses and all these unreal landscapes everywhere you look, it is truly amazing. I am so glad we rented a car because there is so much to see outside of Reykjavik.

Copenhagen was my favorite city we visited. We rented bikes and rode around the whole city, it was such a great way to experience Copenhagen. The architecture is so amazing and there is so much history everywhere you look, I think that is what I loved most about Copenhagen. There are also some really wonderful shops and restaurants worth visiting (our wonderful and knowledgeable tour guides definitely took us to the best spots. Thanks Young & Rasmus!). Our time in Norway, especially the side trip we took to the Lofoten Islands, is one of my fondest memories of our trip. If you have a chance to travel to Northern Norway/the Lofoten Islands DO IT, you won't regret it. We stayed in an old fisherman's hut right on the water and marveled at the breathtaking landscapes. It is so peaceful and beautiful there, I don't think I will ever forget it. Although I loved so many things about our trip, the thing I most cherish is the wonderful people we were able to meet along the way. We connected with a number of amazing people I originally 'met' on instagram. It was so wonderful meet some instagram friends in real life and have them shown us their favorite spots in their cities. We definitely returned home with some amazing memories from our trip and some new friends!

4. what inspires you?

I am easily inspired. I find inspiration in my surroundings, whether they be people, places, ideas, or things. We love in such an insanely beautiful part of the world, I have to do little more than look out my window to be inspired. Being surrounded by the mountains, the ocean, beautiful plants and plenty of wildlife is incredibly inspiring to me. I feel blessed to live here, I can drive 20 minutes and be in the mountains or next to the ocean, it’s a thing a beauty. Although I always find inspiration when I am outdoors, I think the thing that most inspires me is people. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. Everyone has a story and they are all so different, which to me is so exciting and so inspiring. I try to find beauty in all facets of life, and hope the wonder I have for the world will never die.

5. tell us your love story. how did you and your husband meet?

We met almost seven years ago (wow, time flies) on my husband's parent's horse farm. Ages ago I had a horse and it lived at Adam's parent's farm. Both of Adam's sisters worked full-time at the farm and were around my age so we became friends. Growing up in a family of horse loving girls was not exactly Adam's cup of tea so he had more or less distanced himself from anything to do with horses by that time. However, on one fateful Thursday evening Adam was at the farm and I happened to be having my weekly riding lesson. He noticed me and for some reason became interested in me. For the next couple of weeks (months? I'm not even sure), Adam made a point of being at the farm every Thursday night so he could observe me from a distance (it still makes me laugh to think about him secretly watching me ride my horse). Eventually he decided to ask his sister about me, and days later we were set to go on our first date. Our first date was supposed to be a double date with her and her boyfriend but they conveniently found a reason to cancel last minute, causing me to fall off my horse because I was so nervous to go on this date alone. Needless to say it went better than I could have hoped, we shared some thai food, went for coffee, and chatted the night away. We fell in love quickly and just under a year after that first date Adam asked me to be wife, the rest is history!

6. you’re a Canadian-American.. what are some of your favorite Canadian items you cant live without & your American? (restaurants.. shops.. etc)

I love so many things about both Canada and America! My favorite ‘things’ in Canada are all here in the PNW (minus our families, which are back in Ontario). I love all the wonderful restaurants, coffee shops, and stores here. Some of my favorites are: Matchstick (coffee), Earnest Ice Cream, Cartem’s Donuterie, Toshi (sushi), Revolver (coffee), Old Faithful Shop, Olive & Anchor (restaurant)… the list could go on!

As for America, I think we have found some pretty good spots on the West Coast! In Seattle we love going to Oddfellows Café, The Wandering Goose, Slate Coffee Roasters, Prism (shop), and the Volunteer Park Conservatory. In Portland our favorites are ¿Por Que No?, Pine State Biscuits, Lardo, Broder, Tasty n’ Sons, Stumptown, Barista, Schoolhouse Electric and Salt & Straw. We love going down to the States and visiting Seattle, Portland, and all the little towns in between. We are hoping to buy a camper van in the near future and go on a very long road trip across North America, I am excited to explore all corners of this continent!

7. what are some of your goals for this summer?
I try to make a list of things I would like to accomplish every season. Some things seem to get carried over every season because they don’t get accomplished, but you know how it is haha! Some of my goals for this summer are:

· Make a quilt

· Take a pottery class

· Go on a road trip to the interior, go peach picking, and make peach flavored everything

· Improve my knitting skills

· Do LOTS of camping

· Go to the drive in theatre (I always want to do this every summer, but it never seems to happen)

· Travel to Vancouver Island, Seattle, Portland, and all over the PNW

· Get photo books printed

· Meet lots of new people and go on lots of adventures!

8. if you were a season which one would you be?

I would like to think I am autumn because I love autumn.

9. who are some of your rolemodels? living/nonliving?

My parents (I don’t care how cliché that is). They are such wonderful and encouraging people. They always put my sister and I ahead of themselves and have shown me what it means to be truly selfless. I wouldn’t have had all the wonderful opportunities I had growing up if it were not for them. I hope I am able to show my (future) children the same love, encouragement, and selflessness that my parents showed me!