weddings, sisters, mothers

 (george street wedding planning)

(las vegas wedding dress shopping)

there is a truth about wedding planning that i wasn't expecting. it has brought me even closer to my mother and my sister. we have always been a close trio, but for the past year we text and talk every. single. day. i love it. when i could not look at one more pair of cream/white slightly wedged sandals that would suit all my bridesmaids, my sister was able to find something perfect. when i made the decision to keep the wedding really small, inviting only my most supportive and positive friends and family, mom was all about that. when j and i wanted to go paperless, they were on board. feeling pretty grateful for them, and looking so forward to marrying j.

side note: j played our "wedding song" last night, and we cried. well, i cried, and he looked more emotional than usual. love him so much.

healthy chocolate banana pie

this pie is the best thing ever. i used this recipe for the crust, this recipe for the chocolate amazingness, and i layered in some bananas. this should be made.

chocolate banana pie:

crust:
2 cups almond meal
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey

heat oven to 350. mix ingredients in the pie plate. add a tiny bit of water if it is a little dry. push into pie plate and up sides with fingers. bake for 10 minutes or until browned. cool.

filling:
1 package silken extra firm tofu (must be silken. i have tried regular tofu, and it does not work)
1 tsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp almond milk
tiny shake of salt
1 and 1/3 cups chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar, melted on the stove or in the microwave
2 tablespoons honey
1 banana

place all ingredients except the banana in the food processor. slice the banana and spread the slices on the almond crust. pour the chocolate filling on top of the bananas. smooth it. i drizzled some extra melted chocolate on top. put in the fridge for at least an hour.

gander's coffee scene

the coffee situation in gander is the most major issue j and i have with living here. so this is what is up: there is this one little coffee shop that used to be an extreme pita. they have not changed the decor, so when you go in, you feel like you are in the extreme pita, not the coffee shop. there is coffee, some saran-wrapped baked goods, some wraps. this one coffee shop closes at 4:30 pm, and is closed on sundays. this is all not great, but ok. BUT. the very first week we moved here, we visited this coffee shop. the tap at the sink by the cash was going full blast for no apparent reason. j asked about it, and the owner/manager said that it was broken and they just never bothered to get it fixed. we have stopped in every month or so since then, and the water is always running. today we walked by and the water was still running. that is a lot of water. 10 months of constantly running water. SO. we go to mcdonalds for coffee now. the coffee is good. and we use our bodum all the time. i really miss sitting in a coffee shop reading on a saturday afternoon though.

on this weekend

 (j at a lobster restaurant near Summerford, NL)

(what i am assuming is lobster catching paraphernalia outside the restaurant)

 (dad recently gifted us this album. my absolute favourite album of childhood)

(the situation in the backyard) 

(post 5K run sunday morning) 

(medals. ps: j came in first, i came in 25th or so) 

(the latest book we are reading to each other)

it was such a good tiny town weekend. saturday we drove a few hours to check out a lobster restaurant that recently opened for the season. we listened to cheap trick on the way. i grew up listening to this record, and i know every word, even the little comments they make between the songs. sweet road trip music. soo the lobster restaurant was pretty cool and we will totally go back even though it is two hours away. sunday we did our 5K, which was a breeze for j, but a struggle for me. it felt awesome to finish. i was trying to keep pace with this one 10 year old girl. she totally beat me. then sunday afternoon we did a little reading out of our latest book. i am looking forward to watching the movie now.

when we drove by the airport this weekend (which is at least twice a day since this town was basically built around the airport) we both looked longingly. there's nothing quite like jumping on a plane to somewhere. our next trip is our costa rica honeymoon, which i am basically already packed for. quite looking forward to that one.

happy weekend

i think this is the weekend that gander is finally going to have a bit of warmish weather. j and i have big plans to eat outside a lot and go hiking. and we are running a 5K tomorrow morning. this is a big deal for me, not so much for j. i am even a little nervous about it. and as the wedding gets closer, i get more excited. how often do you get all your favourite people in one place? my florist sent me pics of a trial bouquet with peonies, hydrangeas, roses. i am completely in love. distance wedding planning is not so bad.

on the weekend

(cooking with soba noodles) 

(crispy polenta+poached eggs) 

(biking in Lewisporte)

j and i had a quiet long weekend. we have been so busy for the past few months, it was nice to relax at home for a few days. we went bowling, played pool, got in some serious sauna time, went biking. i also planted a container garden. i am trying for radishes, beets, carrots. here in central newfoundland, you need to keep gardens inside until late june when the chance of frost is mostly gone. it was seriously cold all weekend. i am sooo over the cold weather. also, i would totally recommend the polenta recipe linked above. it was awesome. 

outdoor eating + dill potato salad

(our back deck) 

(lobster + potato salad + beer) 

(in action)

the lobster season just started last week in twillingate. j and i took advantage and got some straight away from one of the fishermen. also, we are actually having sunny, awesome weather! it has been around 17 degrees C lately, which is perfect for eating outside (with a jacket, hat, etc). eating outdoors is soo much more fun than eating inside. it's just a fact.

dill potato salad:

3 cups boiled potatoes (i like using those tiny ones)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp mayo (i use vegenaise)
tsp dill (this makes it really dill-y, which we love)
a few chopped chives
salt and pepper

mix it all up, adding the potatoes last. very good. add more mayo if you want...

vegas part 5 (return home)

(latte at wired monk in halifax) 

(my airport scene)

it was the best trip. i am never going to be able to thank my mom and sister enough for organizing it, and our friends for coming. and then j and i spent the next 3.5 days in the airport. i think we logged 30+ hours of standby time in the halifax airport. it was insane. we drank way too much booster juice and starbucks. fyi, the fresh squeezed juice at booster juice is actually squeezed right in front of you. the beet/apple juice is amazing. i also had intense jealousy for everyone at the airport who had an ipad. and for a not-so-sweet mocha at starbucks, get it with soy milk instead. very good. 

vegas part 4 (in which we found bridesmaid dresses)

(bellagio fountains) 

(slots and chocolate martinis) 

(aria casino) 

(more pool time)

what a perfect bachelorette...for anyone planning a bachelorette party, you can't go wrong with a surprise party in vegas. my mom and sister did so much planning for this trip. the trip made me feel even more excited for my wedding weekend. and we actually found bridesmaid dresses that all the girls were happy with, which is pretty amazing, i'd say. success.

vegas part 3 (when my girls showed up)

(pics by the pool with our drink-fairy-godfather) 

(pool time)

(slots time)

so then my girls showed up. i don't even know how to explain how insane this was. the night before mom and krys were acting kinda weird, so when there was a knock at the door in the morning i was thinking, maybe special room service breakfast? but instead i opened the door to 5 of my favourite people in the world! i was speechless. it is a really long, expensive trip to make for a friend who is getting married, and i feel so lucky. the following days were such a blur. we had an amazing time. we: hung by the pool a lot, had drinks all over the place, gambled a bit, went to an awesome show, went to a special class, ate at cheesecake factory a few times, shopped, visited the top of the faux eiffel tower, got bridesmaids dresses, suntanned, went to a club. we didn't sleep much. more pics to follow

vegas part 2 (searching for a wedding dress)

(sister loving her giant aria pool drink) 

(the best drinks were at the pool bar) 

 (dipping in to the minibar)

(candid/mirror pic)

the first day or two of our trip, i was still thinking this was a normal birthday trip, though we were looking for my wedding dress. we shopped hard, and i ended up with a dress that i had seen online and loved. i tried on a handful of dresses while sipping champagne, but kept coming back to the first dress. we stayed at aria for the second time. we love that hotel. and the pool. 

vegas trip part 1 (aka just another birthday trip with m and k)

(first of 8 flights in one week) 

(feeling happy on a flight) 

(plane presents) 

(birthday AM screwdrivers)

vegas is pretty far away. so you really need to treat the travel time as if it is part of the vacation. so we always get drinks on the plane (no matter how early the flight is) and mom always gives is some gifts en route. we bring lots of fun magazines, order food (like pretzel dogs) and just have a really good time. actually, the airport time is one of my favourite parts of the trip. 

screeching in

so it is official. j and i are newfoundlanders now. before i left for my vegas trip, we got screeched in with some close friends at the local bar. we had to kiss this fish, eat some extra hard bread, and take a shot of something that made me feel very warm inside. it is all very official with a certificate that is definitely getting framed. loving newfoundland...

stand by

this last week has been insane. i don't even know where to start. right now, i just need to sleep because j and i just spent three days in standby at the halifax airport trying to come home. our original flight was supposed to leave at noon on saturday, and we just got home today at noon, just in time to head straight to work. i love airports, but i have had enough for at least a month.