fourth annual

as i may have mentioned a million times, i am leaving right after work saturday to meet up with my mom and sister for our fourth annual vegas trip. we all have birthdays in may, so this is a present that my dad can give us and know for sure we will be thrilled. i have to say that vegas gets better every year. we get to know the hotels better, which pools are good, which casinos have the best drinks, etc. this year is a little different because we have a task. we have to find my wedding dress! wish me luck

mom's famous oat squares

so these are only really famous in our family. many relatives request these when visiting my parent's house. i grew up eating these, and they never ever lasted more than 24 hours, and mom would always make a triple batch. i am always trying to avoid using butter and sugar in my recipes, so i made my usual substitutions, and they were still amazing. just as good as i remember. and they are soo easy!

mom's oatmeal squares

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar or 2/3 cup honey (i use honey)
1/2 cup melted butter or melted coconut oil (i use coconut oil, melt it in the microwave)
1 tsp vanilla
optional: 1/4 cup flaked coconut (mom and i both love this)
optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips (this is not optional in my mind)

preheat oven to 350
mix all ingredients up
press onto cookie sheet
bake 10-12 minutes (make sure you don't over-bake them)

notes: mom sometimes added secret healthy ingredients like seeds. also, make a double batch if you want a full cookie sheet.

bike and basket

(patio eating at the sprout restaurant in st. john's) 

(j's new fav) 

(road tripping) 

 (first time out on the bikes)

(careful packing for vegas. i like to avoid checking baggage) 

(giant basket i am loving)

j has had a new bike on his mind for a long time. he rides every day through the spring/summer/fall, and usually competes in at least a few triathlons each year. after much research, this was the weekend we went to pick up the new bike in the city. i know nothing about biking, but i do know that money is well spent on things you love. and it's finally starting to feel a tiny bit like spring around here. we biked to a barbeque across town on sunday. felt amazing. 

happy friday

this week has been a little long. some things i do to help get my mind off my sometimes stressful job: text about fun wedding plans with my sister, have a beer when i get home, go for a run, bake something, plan a trip, pack for my vegas trip next week, watch one tree hill. so glad we are at a weekend!

loving lately

(amazing bowls made by my godmother-now used at least once a day. hand made. i'm not even sure how you would make a bowl this cool) 

(addictive and disturbing little book-to be honest i pretty much always like Oprah's selections*)

(the ice coming in twillingate. this is apparently sealing season**, which seems crazy dangerous to me)

(perfect juice mix: 1/3 carrot and 2/3 orange. carrot all by itself is a little too vegetable for me)

*excluding Anna Karenina, which i found really dull.

**where the fisherman see a seal chilling on the ice, jump on to the sheet of ice, club the seal, then drag it back to the boat. i am not an animal activist, but this seems dangerous for humans to do. 

skirt from a dress

i love google. you can just type in anything, like "how to thread an old singer sewing machine," and you get super clear directions. i liked this dress, but i am not really a dress person. so i cut the top off, folded and sewed down the cut hem, and threaded an elastic through. easy and now i have a new maxi skirt!

sweet little weekend

(enjoying our back deck on sunday)

 (chocolate chip banana muffins-this recipe)

one of the best things that happened this weekend: i found my wedding band. well, i found a jeweler who is going to make it just how i want it. there is a lot that goes into planning a wedding, but this is the fun stuff. also this weekend: i made muffins that were awesome, we took a pound pup for a walk, i bought thread for my sewing machine (which takes me one step closer to actually using it). and j took me to the fifth fanciest restaurant in gander (mediocre food, good company). life is good.

happy friday

this week flew by. because it is fake friday for j and i, we don't have huge plans for the weekend. our town got a new sauna, which is big news. we are going to check it out. and i am leaving for las vegas in 16 days, and dreaming of the beautiful hotel pool.

loving lately + almond butter

(coconut hot chocolate) 

(homemade almond butter) 

(spinach in my smoothie) 

(a huge new glass apothecary jar for my beach finds) 

(avocado toast with honey and black pepper)

almond butter:

roast 2 cups of raw almonds at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until dark and fragrant (in my oven it took 15 minutes)

let cool, then blend in the food processor until smooth (it took me about 2-3 minutes with some scraping  once in a while)

so simple, so good. i think it would be even better to add a little honey, but i usually just drizzle honey on top on my toast 

engagement picture

j and i were talking about engagement photo sessions while walking around gander yesterday (it is actually getting spring-like!). planned photos are not really our thing, so we took this picture right then and decided it could be our engagement photo.

scenes from easter weekend

(harley getting his weekly bath) 

(j and lou lounging) 

(little lucy after a cold walk) 

 (boys playing makeshift golf)

 (foils while drinking fresh fruit cocktails and browsing for wedding dresses)

(a typical scene at my parent's house-some type of dancing game) 

(little lou- snow covered) 

(j and emma on easter sunday) 

(tiny commuter plane from fredericton)

we really enjoyed a super relaxing weekend at my parent's place in burton. we had so much amazing food, and got to hang out with friends and family we rarely see. we did some major wedding planning as well

highlights:

visit to the market for fresh orange juice and running into old friends

cocktails made from coconut vodka and frozen strawberries (very strong)

practicing our short game in the backyard (i was on the golf team in grade 9 :)

a reunion with a high school friend i hadn't seen in 10+ years

hanging with the pups (we wish we had our own)

salon treatment in my mother's kitchen (my stylist sister is a pro)

3 ingredient macaroons

the other day i was about to buy j his fav store-bought, individually-wrapped macaroons. when i looked at the ingredients i realized there were only 3: coconut, honey, egg whites. i figured i could make them at home, and i did, and j loved them. they are toasty on the outside, and moist and chewy on the inside, just like the store bought ones.

simple macaroons:
1 and a half cups finely shredded coconut
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons honey

1. beat the egg whites on high in a super clean bowl until they get frothy, then super stiff so you could flip the bowl over and the egg whites would not move
2. beat in the honey on low speed
3. fold in the coconut, starting with one cup, then adding a little more until the mixture is wet, but not too wet
4. drop the mixture by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet with oiled parchment paper
5. place in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes, but check on them every 5 minutes to make sure they are not too dark
6. when they are golden browned, take them out and take them off the parchment paper right away to cool.