Style file: Aditi Rao Hydari

Aditi Rao Hydari's style can be defined as romantic, elegant and effortless. Time and time again Aditi has shown us exactly how to successfully carry off a red-carpet look whether she is dressed in a gown or in traditional Indian wear. She has this ethereal beauty to her which is accented by her amazing taste in jewellery and subtle makeup. I rarely think she chooses the wrong thing to wear, even when she is wearing something I don't personally like, I can objectively say that she pulls it off. I'm not sure who her stylist is, but they are doing one heck of a job! It is no wonder why she is also a popular choice for show stopper at fashion weeks and also delivers amazing editorial spreads. For this post I wanted to focus on her traditional wear in particular as I feel she does traditional the best!

Aditi does traditional:

Style File is a series on footnotes and finds where we feature a person who we believe has impeccable style.  

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is a series that Footnotes and Finds runs every friday where we share interesting, informative and fun finds/links from around the web.  Follow along!

1. Check out this awesome new magazine for girls who love science and climbing trees!

2. I love black and white photography, that is why when I came across this article highlighting Serena Chopra's black and white photography centred around the people of Bhutan it captured my attention to the point where I found that I wanted to share the incredibly human and breathtaking photos with you all! Not a lot of people travel to Bhutan or know much about it and that is why I find projects like this very important.

3. As a person who is all about the details I loved this article laying out the difference between a "road" and a "street"...well...I found it interesting...

4. Checkout this, this and this cardigan in time for Autumn!

5. This is hands down one of the most beautiful love letters to a city I have ever seen. In this video, a man expresses how is hate of Bombay (Mumbai) turned into love and what Bombay means to him. Visual stunning and beautifully written, do not miss it!

This week on footnotes and finds

1. My three favourite fiction books right now
2. Hiking Joffre Lakes
3.

From the archives

1. What to look for in a travel companion
2. For the love of florals
3. My May playlist


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Hiking Joffre Lake

Joffre Lake is one of the most beautiful hikes in British Columbia and it is quite accessible as well. The hike consists of 3 beautiful turquoise lakes: lower lake, middle lake and upper lake.  There is a camping ground at upper lake which is also a great viewpoint of Matier Glacier.

Joffre Lakes Provincial Park Hike details:

• From Vancouver: 3 hours drive, just past Pemberton
• From Whistler: about 1 hour drive
• Difficulty: Listed as difficult on Vancouver Trails website
• Time needed: 5-6 hours
• Washroom: toilets located at the beginning near parking lot and then on Upper Lake (bring your own toilet paper)

Joffre Lakes Provincial Parks Hike tips:

• We would recommend doing this hike on a weekday if possible. As of lately this hike has become really popular so on the weekends it is packed.
• Get there early - the parking lot is quite small and gets packed real quick! On weekends there are cars lined up all along the highway with people having to walk to the park.
• There are couple of toilets at the bottom where the parking lot is. There are no washrooms at Middle Lake. There are more toilets up at Upper Lake. Bring your own toilet paper!

So let's begin with a confession: I have not done much hiking in my life before BUT it is something I have always wanted to incorporate into my lifestyle.  We are so lucky to live in beautiful British Columbia, Canada - surrounded by beautiful nature. The reason hiking hasn't been a significant part of my life is because of my health.  But before that in my younger highs chool years I did manage to do that Grouse Grind a few times. If you are from British Columbia or Metro Vancouver, or a tourist that visits you have heard of the Grouse Grind - it is known as the stair master from hell - one of the most difficult hikes here.

So back to Joffre lake. Given my snowboarding mishap which led to a horrible back injury and concussion let's just say my mobility has been limited.  But when my sisters were planning on a hike to Joffre Lake I was starting to get serious FOMO (which is something I don't get too often).  The photos don't do it justice.  Just a mere 3 hours drive from Vancouver, so a day trip, it's hard to resist. The lakes are glacier fed lakes and on good days the glacier is also visible.

So guess what? I took the whole YOLO concept and ran with it (so clearly I scratched the FOMO!).  I don't know if it was going to be a good idea. I didn't know if I could even make it up to the middle lake, although I had said to my sisters I am not going to go all the way to Joeffre lake to see just the lower lake I would try to make it to Middle lake.  We left Vancouver early and stopped at Shannon Falls and Brandy Wine falls on the way. We made it to Joffre Lakes Provincial Park early afternoon. Altogether we were there for about 4-5 hours including the hiking, resting and taking many photos. 

Lower Lake Lake:

The lower lake is literally a 10 minute walk from the parking lot. There is barely any elevation on this part of the hike - it is mostly flat.  As you can see from the photo above lower lake is beautiful and also is turquoise in colour.  We stood at Lower Lake for a bit and then decided to head right to Middle Lake.   

Middle Lake:

This is the toughest part of the hike.  Most of the hike up to Middle Lake is steep and can be difficult at some parts. But there are also parts of the hike that are flat. Also be warned that there are a couple portions of the hike up to Middle lake that consists of steep stairs.   I stopped every few minutes during this part of the hike. It was best for my back to take rest here and there.  We sat and looked down and ahead to beautiful views. It was a great feeling to be surrounded by nature.  Finally reaching Middle Lake we were more than grateful for nature and the difficult hike was worth it! The photos above do not do it justice.  The water was so turquoise and beautiful it was almost as if it wasn't real. In the second photo above you can see the Matier Glacier in the background. We spent quite a lot of time here, enjoying different viewpoints of the lake and taking some photos.  We rested up and then headed down. 

 I didn't go up to Upper Lake. But just a 10 minute hike from Middle Lake is a beautiful waterfall and then a hike to Upper Lake. From what I know this hike is not supposed to be as hard or long as the hike up to Middle Lake.

If you are ever in British Columbia and decide to go up to Whistler I would highly advise to make sure you allot some time to do this hike.  It is one of the most rewarding experiences.

PIN THIS IMAGE FOR A QUICK REFERENCE TO JOFFRE LAKES HIKE:

My three favourite fiction books right now

Since graduating from my Master's I have had  a lot of free time which has resulted in an extensive and never ceasing to grow reading list. Why now? Well you see, I don't read when I'm in school because i get wrung out from reading for classes and research so at the end of the day I just want to watch TV and go to sleep. So when I do get free time away from school like the summer or now I actually enjoy reading. I have been trying to read all the major literary classics, so there is a lot to pick from and the recommendations I have been getting from friends and family have also helped. I thought I would share with you the three books I have enjoyed reading the most so far this year:

1. Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery

I read this book, like many children in Canada, in elementary school and was curious as to why it remained so dear to my heart as an adult when I hadn't read it since. Usually re-visiting childhood favourite books, movies and TV shows can be quite disappointing but upon re-reading Anne of Green Gables I felt the book just as lovely as it was in my memory. Anne is truly one of the most endearing characters I have read and you want to read the rest of the series to see how she gets on with the rest of her life. I was happy at the announcement of a new Anne of Green Gables Netflix-CBC TV series scheduled for release next year, so I guess my re-reading it couldn't have come at a better time!

2. A Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

I love the dystopian genre and after reading 1984 I set my sights on A Handmaid's Tale as a sure bet since I have been wanting to read it for quite sometime and it came highly recommended by my sisters. From the first page to the last, Atwood's grasp on the reader does not waiver and she delivers an intense, nerve-wracking, sad and hopeful narrative which had quickly become one of my all-time favourite novels. 

3. The Old man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway

I have been wanting to read this novel since high school. Its a short novel but it packs and unpacks a lot in its mere 120-ish pages. Hemingway has simply and brilliantly captured the experience of a man stranded at sea with nothing but his own thoughts and the fish he encounters in his struggle to get back to shore. Its beautiful and moving and his writing style also makes you, as a reader, feel as though you too have been drifting at sea helplessly fighting your inner and outer demons. 

What are your favourite reads of the year so far?

Duster coat: H&M, simlar here

Top: H&M, similar here

Skirt: Forever 21, similar here

Shoes: Topshop, similar here