2 months left in Tuk, What would you like to see?! (Also a brief Edmonton)

Hello! So I arrived back in Tuk on Friday after a 3 day journey (Edmonton-Whitehorse. Whitehorse-Inuvik. Inuvik-Tuk) to wonderful food and my nice warm bed.

The ice road has officially closed down today, so from now on, all our groceries and everything will be coming via plane. Prices will be going up accordingly. It also means no more day trips to Inuvik for this girl. (Not that I went on very many.)

I have 2 months left at the top of the world. My job with these wonderful kids comes to an end on June 30th and then I'm back to Edmonton, July 2nd, and in Portugal, July 10-25th! In September, I will start working at my new position in Joussard, Alberta teaching kindergarten. It's a beautiful area, right on Slave Lake, but probably not necessarily blog worthy. (3 hours from Edmonton and DV. 45 mins from a Walmart. I know who I am now and what I need.)

When I went up North, I thought I was a certain kind of person, one who can do without and enjoy that lifestyle. While I can certainly do without with a smile on my face, as my 3 months without a working smart phone shows, I don't necessarily enjoy it. Not the way I enjoy Winners or Bulk Barn or Simons or Whyte Ave or West Edmonton Mall or even Walmart.

My mom says that it's good I found myself. But usually when people do that whole Eat Pray Love garbage, the point is finding out all that they can do without and that they are less materialistic than they believed. And it was the opposite for me... So that's ironic. But... I did used to go to Winners or Bulk Barn as my happy place in university. When I walked back into Bulk Barn again, the level of calm that descended over me was like a Xanax. So it's true. I love shopping, I love stuff. I love Ikea and Costco and McDonalds. I love that I got to splurge on my hair and throw out my cheap cosmetics in favour of a shopping spree at Sephora. i love that I got to have my unicorn frappucino and utilize my 2 day Amazon prime shipping. I love going for ice cream or nachos or burgers or sushi with my friends. I love going to Yoga with my DV bestie and hanging out with my YEG besties and the world's cutest freaking dog and going shopping on 124th. I love walking across town for ice cream and catching up with my little sister and all the TV we've missed. I have to remember that I do have a diploma in Fashion Marketing and that I love it. I'm not Laura Ingalls, but I'm not Becky Bloomwood either. I'm a small town girl with big city tastes. But that city is more Edmonton than NYC.

I love Edmonton because no one will ever say Edmonton is the greatest city in the world, or Canada or even Alberta. It's not a city that people are snobby about. A best selling t-shirt reads "Still in Edmonton". People don't take it so seriously like Vancouverites or Torontonians. It's a weird little city with ridiculous architecture and horrendous city planning, but there is always something to do and amazing restaurants appear out of nowhere. And if you're in Edmonton, my favourite restaurants are on top of each other: El Cortez and Have Mercy. I also love the Sugarbowl like most former UofA students, and Maki Maki and A-Plus for cheap quick asian eats.

City girl in my city clothes in my amazing airbnb. If you want to go to Edmonton and want an amazing home base close to Whyte Ave (like 5 minute walk) You need to rent Brett's Airbnb! If you don't have an airbnb account already, sign up with my referral code so we can both get some travel credit!

I'm clearly a mallrat. I need my side pony and scrunchie to really complete the look of a girl who genuinely enjoys wasting time and loitering at the mall even when she's not shopping...

My Whyte Ave haul. Books, dress, vest, sorbet and kombucha.

Unicorn Frappucino at the Edmonton airport on the way back to Tuk.

Blueberry and Lychee ic cream from the new ice cream store in Drayton Valley.

So with 2 months left here, what would you like to see or hear about? Keeping in mind that I'm a teacher and have to maintain a certain image. (So no bikinis on the Arctic Ocean, unfortunately.)

Please comment below using Facebook comments or through the contact page and I'll use you suggestions to guide my photos and adventures!