Weekend Recap

Hubby and I had an awesome weekend!  But before I get into I just want to tell you that I tried to upload a post on Friday night but was having connection issues so will have to save that one for another time.

So here is a brief recap of our weekend happenings:

Friday

We woke up to pouring rain but it was Friday so it really didn't matter.  And because it was Friday, I miraculously got myself out of bed at 6:20am and got to work early which meant I got to leave early :-)

Normally hubby and I head out after work on Fridays but  I didn't feel like dealing with the rain or grocery shopping, and I really just wanted to get home and put on something comfy and relax.

So that's what we did, I came home and we decided on dinner (pasta, delivery) then I threw on some comfy clothes and took Milo for a quick walk during a break in the rain.  We got home just in time for me to pour wine and get settled before dinner arrived.  It was a lovely evening at home.

Friday's sipping pleasure was actually a rose called Hush from the Dirty Laundry Vineyard, a great vineyard to visit for the legend behind the name, the gift ship and of course the wine tastings - we got to taste 9 wines!!!  That never happens!

 

I also did some laundry and was going to fold it but someone made it his very comfy bed... so thankful he doesn't really shed!



Saturday

I woke up Saturday morning to more rain but all was made better by a Baileys Carolan’s coffee, and then hubby left me on my own for a couple hours so I lounged in bed with the dog and cat watching the PVR.

I had a Costco tripped planned with my SIL (I know, we’re crazy to step foot in there on a Saturday!!) and we ended up driving to the one 45 minutes away so we could look for shoes in a store right beside it… no shoes but my SIL ended up getting two coats at awesome prices.  Costco was a nuthouse and I managed to restrain myself really well but I did buy 4 types of cheese?!?!

After I finally got home (downpour still happening) and carried the Costco goodies into the house I planned to do the second round of grocery shopping for the usual everyday stuff we needed… but the rain was a bit off-putting.  Then to my wonderful surprise, hubby said he would go with me in a couple hours and suggested I relax with a glass of wine.  No arm twisting needed here!  We went grocery shopping and then hubby spoiled me with two pairs of jeans and a cast iron pot – it’s purple and I LOVE it!  Now I need to figure out what the heck I am going to cook in it… ideas anyone??



My purple pot :-)

Saturday night I got my bake on!  I poured some (more) wine and made coconut macaroons (recipe and instructions coming):



Coconut macaroons drizzled with milk chocolate - recipe coming!

Hubby loved them!!

Sunday

Another great day… I helped watched hubby do an oil change on my car and then cooked us a big tasty breakfast.  After that I tried out a recipe I found on another blog I love, Megan at Hello Newlywed Life, for frozen breakfast burritos.  She included super simple step-by-step instructions and they were so easy to make!  I had one today and they were delish.  I will post a link to her recipe and then show you my pictures in an upcoming post (I hope mine look as good as hers!).

We had a big family dinner last night to celebrate hubby’s grandparents’ 70^th wedding anniversary.  There were about 20 of us and it was the first time we had been together since the wedding.  Hubby’s grandparents are an amazing couple with so much love for each other and I only hope we are as lucky.



Love <3

Well, I'm off to get through the rest of this Monday!  How was your weekend, what did you get up to?

Sxxo.

 

Home Remedy DIY

I’m not sure why exactly but we have so many fruit flies in our kitchen and it’s driving us crazy!  We keep our bananas on the counter but I thought everyone does that?  Anyway I finally had enough and started looking online on Pinterest for something to get rid of them.

I came across this pin and many slight variations of the same process so I decided to give it a try.  It’s super easy AND it worked!!

I gathered my supplies: a glass beer mug (couldn’t find an empty glass jar), apple cider vinegar (I can't believe how cheap this stuff is!) and dish soap.



Step 1: fill container about half full with apple cider vinegar:



Step 2: Add a good dose of dish soap (I probably squeezed in about 1.5 tablespoons)



Step 3: add water until it's foamy at the top of the container (I used warm water because I think it gives a better foam but I'm sure cold works too)



Step 4: put your container in the area where the fruit flies are, sit back and wait for the massacre (ok maybe not a massacre but it was getting them!)

After 1.5 hours this is what I had:



We got about 10 more but hubby dumped it before I could take a picture.  There were no more bubbles so he dumped the carcasses out and then added more water and it still worked!  We emptied a bit more and added water for a third time and even with the dilution we still managed to get the last couple that were hanging around.

Yay success!

This is my next DIY project: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/256845984971757939/

Don't ask me why I feel the need to do this, yes I can just buy it but I think it would be fun.  Or a disaster (my "projects" are either epic failures or major successes... usually epic failures, especially recipes).  I will let you know how it goes!

What is the latest DIY project you did?

Happy one more day til Friday!

Sxxo.

Hump Day

Ah Wednesday, better known as Hump Day, thank you for gracing us with your presence… just two more sleeps to the sweet delicious freedom of FRIDAY!

Let’s chat about sleep, or actually waking up.  Does anyone else dislike waking up as much as me?  And not just during the week – I really am not a happy person when I wake up on Saturday or Sunday (unless I’m going on vacation but I’m still a little grumpy) but at least on the weekend it’s not to an alarm and I can wake up slowly.

On work days I should leave my house by 7am so my alarm is set for 6am when it’s the middle of the night pitch black… I snooze it twice and then turn on the news… the morning headlines come on at 6:30am (can’t miss those) and then hubby starts asking when I’m getting up.  Today I was fairly good and got up around 6:40am, on Mondays I tend to reset my alarm for 7am so I get another whopping 15 or so minutes of sleep.

Basically 8.5 hours after I get to work, I can leave work so it’s not a huge deal if I sleep in, but the later I sleep then the later I work and the worse the traffic is to get home.  And I have less evening to enjoy before going to bed!!

What is going to make me get out of bed??

Two suggestions I have received:

1. Put my alarm clock across the room so I have to actually get up to turn it off.

My phone is my alarm and my phone is also my third arm so this isn’t going to happen!

2. Have a child.

Not yet.  I still need my sleep.  And my wine.  I am so screwed when we do...

Does someone out there have a magical solution for me?  What is it going to take to get me out of bed??!

Have a great Hump Day!

Sxxo.

P.S.  As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, Milo and I went for a walk/run yesterday and he was SO happy!!



A trail a block from our house :)

The Honeymoon is Over!

As I was cruising Pinterest last night (I am so addicted and it’s the first thing I do when hubby falls asleep!) I found a photo of Lauren Conrad and I. love. it.  She is a beautiful woman, wears gorgeous clothes that I know I never would and of course I watched her on Laguna Beach and The Hills and think she’s very classy and wish we could be friends.  But this picture?  I love it.  I love the outfit, the relaxed yet looks totally put-together look complete with brown boots (I love my brown boots, I feel sexy in my brown boots).  Normally I think she’s gorgeous but know I would never wear the same type of outfit but this one I would.  I don’t know why this picture speaks to me so much except I feel like it’s telling me that I need a change.



I love this outfit, the makeup, everything!!

Hubby and I have settled into a pretty good routine following the year of chaos joy of being engaged and planning a destination wedding (side note: most destination weddings come as a package and yes, you make some decisions but you have someone there who organizes all the details… I didn’t and did everything by phone and email!  Not that I didn't have help because I did!).  There are two major pitfalls of our routine: I eat whatever I want whenever I want and I don’t exercise enough at all.  It’s as if I got married and went PHEW, it’s over!  And sat on the couch with a bag of chips and a chocolate bar.

I have never been an avid exerciser but I understand the benefits of it and yes, I do actually feel better when I do it.  I did a ‘learn to run’ program a couple years ago with a friend and did really well although I realized I do not like running for long periods of time.  It’s just not fun to me.  Around that time I also tried Weight Watchers and did quite well on that but I never went to the meetings so didn’t really see the point in paying the monthly fee for someone to simply weigh me.  But I lost weight. And I had more energy.

Before the wedding I was going for 50-60 minute walks on my lunch break and really watching what I ate, counting calories.  Every once in a while I would do a Jillian Michaels video and of course I took Milo for walks with our friend and her dog, he loved this because he got walks AND he got to play.

Now the only time I do anything is when I take Milo out for a walk but those have gotten shorter and I’m doing them solo because they are not part of our newlywed routine.

And food… food is the devil.  I like it.  Actually I love it.  If it’s fried and covered in cheese then I will most likely devour it.  Croissants with butter and jam? Yes please!  Chocolate chip muffins?  Watch out!  I am horrible.  My only saving grace is the spinach and fruit smoothie I have every morning Monday through Friday.  But my jeans are getting a bit tight.

 

So basically, I need to get my shit together because this newlywed’s honeymoon is over!  Well not the newlywed and honeymoon parts exactly, just the extreme lack of exercise and not caring what I eat.

My plan so far:

• I downloaded an app called C25K (couch to 5km run program) and am starting it tonight… of course I read about this on Yoga Pants


• I am going to dig out my Weight Watchers calculator and start counting points again


• I am going to start bringing salads to work again and be active 3 lunches per week


• I am going to limit wine/alcohol to weekends only

Do you have any advice for me?  What helps you stay motivated?  And if you have any tried and true recipes for hearty/tasty meals and snacks please share!!

Sxxo.

Weekend Recap

Hello Monday, goodbye weekend… and such a great one you were, please hurry back and if you want to magically make Monday through Thursday feel like a 24 hour time warp, I am totally down with that!

Our Friday evening got off to a late start (my fault because of an extremely busy day at work – how does it always happen on a Friday?!?) and so not exciting, we ran a couple errands to start the weekend.  We went grocery shopping and succumbed to every craving we had (it really is a bad idea to grocery shop while hungry) and then we picked up dinner (butter chicken YUM!) and headed home to pop in a movie.

    

My Friday night treat :)

Hubby chose the movie Jack Reacher and I chose to pour wine instead of putting up a fight.  The wine was perfect and the movie was actually pretty good.  I always get bored near the end of any type of action movie because the shootout scene goes on for way too long! I know the bad guy has to put up a bit of a fight but come on, we know the girl is going to be saved so can’t you shave a good 5 minutes off and let everyone enjoy?  Anyway, I digress…

On Saturday I got to sleep in and then indulge in baileys coffee courtesy of my love while watching the finale of Masterchef (I LOVE Gordon Ramsay but would never let him taste my cooking!).  I finally dragged my butt out of bed, ate a bagel for brunch and took Milo out to enjoy the last day of summer.  Then hubby and I dropped Milo off at the groomers and ran a couple errands before heading home where I decided to make not only a banana cream pie but also red velvet cupcakes.  I apologize for not taking a single photo; I really need to remember to because they were both amazing!!  But I do have a photo of Milo after picking him up from the groomer:



Our fluffy guy with a fresh haircut

We had dinner Saturday night at my parents’ house for my sister’s last night before moving to join her fiancée far far away from me (and the rest of my family).  I am now the only one of three left living in the area and have already received a phone call from my stepdad asking me to visit and reminding me that this is, in fact my duty as the only remaining daughter.  This could be really good for me or really bad, we’ll just have to wait and see…

Sunday was perfect because we woke up to rain, rain and more rain.  It was gray and stormy and chilly and I was a bit down due to my sister leaving (and maybe also the headache from all the wine I drank the night before), so it was the perfect day to snuggle up in blankets and have a family day on the couch.  I did manage to make a pretty awesome dinner of baked ham, cheesy scalloped potatoes and steamed broccoli/cauliflower/carrots with cheese sauce.  Again no picture L  And we had banana cream pie for dessert.  Delicious!  And I really need to go on a diet.



A rainy Sunday being lazy at home



Hubby thinks I take too many pictures of Milo... um obviously - he's adorable!

So all in all a great low key weekend spent with family!

What did you get up to this weekend??

Sxxo.

Countdown!

I have been following a few blogs for a while now and although I can’t remember how I came it across it, I am now what one might call obsessed with I wore Yoga Pants.  Whitney is awesome and I am basically reliving my 20’s vicariously through her fun times.  And she’s witty!  And super cute.  If she reads this she is going to be so creeped out… but yeah, I kind of have a girl-crush.

Then reading IWYP led me to reading Two Thirds Hazel and BAM!  Another funny, cute, witty chick named Erin!  Of course Whitney and Erin are BFFs.  I am not much of a beer drinker but I would chug Miller Lite and shoot Fireball to party with them!  (Keep this in mind ladies!)

Anyhoozle, one of their posts this week was a type of countdown and because I have a crazy day today I thought it would be fun to do it too!

Here we go…

Five things I'll be doing over the next week:

1. Writing thank you notes after our wedding (I will likely be doing this over the next few weeks…)


2. Unpacking more of our wedding gifts… our guest room has been taken over!


3.  Making pancakes on our new griddle (I have only used one at the cabin and I’m hoping it brings a bit of cabin feel to the city :)


4. Wear a scarf because it’s rainy and chilly outside


5. Making a banana cream pie!! (never done it before)

Four items that I need to purchase:

1. Lululemon wunder under crop pants… I wore my BFF’s and they were SO comfortable!!


2. A tire pressure gauge… the never-ending highway construction/random paving patterns are wreaking havoc on my tires and I’m pretty sure I now have a slow leak in one.


3. A box of (cheap but tasty) wine… last weekend my sister and I drank 4 bottles of wine – pretty sure we didn’t even taste the last 2.


4. Work clothes… I have super casual clothes for home (not going to lie, pj pants are my favourite) and business clothes from when I worked downtown, but where I work now has no dress code and so I need the ‘in between’ clothes.

Three shows I can't wait to have come back into my life:

1. The Big Bang Theory


2. Revenge


3. Hart of Dixie

Two reasons I'm excited for fall:

1. Scarves… I love wearing cute scarves :)


2. Knee high boots!  I have my favourite boots ever in both black and cognac (my SIL hates it when I buy the same thing in different colours)

One thing that's currently bothering me:

I feel like I’m searching for what I am meant to do.  I like the company I work for and the people I work with, it’s a very relaxed environment and most people have been here for 10-25 years so there has to be something keeping them around right?  But I don’t jump out of bed in the morning excited to be going to work and I would really like to know what that feels like.  I was talking to hubby about this and he agrees, I’m happiest baking in the kitchen on a weekend or napping… I have no desire to work at a bakery (or wake up at 3am!?!?) but I will admit I googled “mattress testers”.  Turns out they do exist but I couldn’t find any vacancies in our area.  So I guess I’m still looking.

Do you love going to work every day?  How did you discover what you are meant to do, what your ‘passion’ is?  If you have any tips, please share!

Sxxo.

Thank You's

Last night I started the dreaded but fairly overdue task of writing our thank you cards following the wedding.  We got married 6 weeks ago so I don’t think they are actually that late but I have had them for a week… I think I may have been putting it off because once the thank you’s are gone, the wedding is officially over.  We had such an amazing wedding and I just don’t want it to be over.  But it’s time.

I wanted to do something special for our thank you’s so my sister made a banner (so thankful that I have crafty people in my family!!) and our photographer took some photos of us with it.  Milo even made it into the shots… he may not have looked into the camera but we think he looks pretty cute anyway.

I designed them as a postcard (but we are sending them out in envelopes)...

Front:



Back:



This is what I have learned so far about writing thank you notes:

1. Technology really is ruining the ‘art’ of handwriting… I wrote 8 last night and my hand was throbbing! I have about 50 left…


2. Husbands are useless for this type of thing and basically think we should just say “thank you for the crockpot.”


3. Even though I am writing every card individually, I hope no one reads anyone else’s because they all end up sounding the same


4. I am used to being able to delete after typing the wrong thing so don't always think ahead... not the best look to cross our words so I need to think ahead!

How long did it take you to get your thank you's out?

Sxxo.

Weekend Fun

And another weekend flew by way to quickly!

Friday’s book club was so much fun and I am very proud that we had some quality conversation on our book!  I am also happy to report that I finished the book!!!  I managed to finish it on my lunch hour so didn’t have to google a summary of the end.

Book Club started on the deck with blueberry lemonade cocktails and chips with dip:





Blueberry vodka and lemonade... refreshing and yummy!

Once we had all relaxed a bit and stuffed our faces with homemade guacamole made by my sister-in-law (DELISH!) and ordered sushi for dinner, we went through the questions in the back of the book that are included for book club discussion.  Some good discussions were had and I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s perspective on different parts of the story.  The questions gave us a good starting point to work from so I think they should be included every time!

After two blueberry lemonades and the sun going down, we made our way to the dining room and the sushi finally arrived (after 1.5 hours – NEVER ordering from Gen Sushi again!!!), we switched to wine and jumped into important conversations about Thursday’s episode of Big Brother and how much we love Duck Dynasty (seriously hubby and I love the show, and my favourite is Jase).





Salmon roll, asparagus roll (first time, LOVE), dynamite roll, chicken wings and salad.  I was full after 4 bites.

After two bottles of wine we called it a night.

Our next two books are Night Road and Gone Girl… when is the Shopaholic series going to come back??  I need some chick lit!

Saturday was pretty quiet.  I did some stuff around the house and then grocery shopped, and then my sister came over for dinner, wine and a tv marathon – we watched New Girl season 2.  Hubby went to his friend’s and let us have the house to ourselves, such a sweet man.  My sister B is moving east next weekend while her fiancé is in law school and I am going to miss her so much.  She is my bestest friend, my rock.  So it was nice to spend some quality girl time with her.

I have a busy week at work but hopefully it just gets me to Friday that much quicker!

How was your weekend?

I hope Monday isn’t too painful for you!

Sxxo.

Friday's Feature

 

Tonight I have book club and this time we read a book!  At first it was just an excuse to get together and have some drinks and catch up but then we figured it is a book club so we kinda need a book portion.  The late summer heat wave is still holding strong and steady so my girlfriend’s patio will be perfect for some cold cocktails!

The first book we’ve read is Love Anthony by Lisa Genova (ok I haven't exactly finished it but am going to try my best between now and 6pm, I’m ¾ done).  It’s a story about a woman who lost her autistic son and another woman whose marriage falls apart, and something brings these two strangers together.  The book is pretty good, I loved her book Still Alice, but this one hasn’t been quite as gripping for me.  I like to lose myself in a book and I haven’t connected to Love Anthony in that way.  Maybe it’s because I haven’t had kids and would like to, and selfishly I am scared of dealing with autism.

Because it’s a Friday and everyone works, we are going to order sushi and drink blueberry lemonades (main ingredient = blueberry vodka) and of course, wine.  I think I will take Blasted Church’s Mixed Blessings:

I get to suggest the next book choices and I’m hoping for something a bit lighter but with some substance.  I guess I better start looking…

Does anyone have any good book suggestions?  What are you reading right now?

Happy Friday, Cheers!

Sxxo.

Indian Summer

We have been ‘blessed’ this week with prime summer weather… not on the weekend when it can be enjoyed but starting on Monday, right after all the air conditioner and all but the bedroom fan were put away.  Leaving the bedroom windows open for a cross breeze doesn't work either because this has also been the worst week for skunk spray at 2am that I can remember!  I know I shouldn’t be complaining because soon it will be cold, wet and gray (maybe even some snow?!?) but I can’t help it, it’s HOT.

Milo and I went for a walk after work and even though I tried to stay in the shaded areas, we were both roasting the whole time and felt gross when we got home.  Milo got fresh cold water and a couple treats and proceeded to pass out on the kitchen floor:



I needed a shower and to somehow cool myself off for the evening before I got things ready for the next day and watched Big Brother with hubby.  It took me about ten seconds to pour a large very cold glass of wine, take a quick cool shower, rinse the tub and then run a cool bath.  I sat in a cool bath with my glass of wine and watched Hart of Dixie on my iPad.  It was lovely.  It might not be the normal way to do things but it worked for me!



Sxxo.

My Obsession with Jillian Michaels

I have never watched a full season of the Biggest Loser, I think I have maybe seen 4-5 episodes total.  I knew who Jillian Michaels was and I knew she was a tough-ass trainer because those few episodes that I did watch showed her going mental.  But I never really cared about her the way I care about what Kaley Cuoco (from The Big Bang Theory, slightly obsessed with this show!) ate for breakfast.

I’m not even sure when it happened.  When I started driving 30 minutes to work I discovered podcasts but listened mostly to marketing topics and This American Life… and then somehow I came across the Jillian Michaels Show.   I figured, why not?  I’m getting married in a few months, maybe she can motivate me (because for some reason a husband wasn’t doing it, all I wanted to do while engaged was eat, drink and CELEBRATE!), so I decided to check it out.  And I downloaded her podcast, all 120+ shows.

I was instantly hooked.

I have no clue why I love them SO much.  They are structured in three basic sections:

1. Jillian talks about something in her life (stories about her kids are hilarious) and makes fun of her producer, Janis


2. Then Jillian has a health or wellness bit, or she has a specialist on to talk (an endocrinologist, Dr. Van Herle, is my favourite)


3. The last part of the show is when Jillian answers questions previously emailed in by the public.  She usually calls two people and chats with them about whatever their question may be.

For some reason I really connected with her show and listened to the podcasts all the time… while I was driving, while I was walking on my lunch break, while I was weeding the garden.  And then I became THAT GIRL, the one who started everything by say, “Jillian says…” and I drove my friends crazy!  I even sent in a question!!!  I didn’t get picked though.

And then it happened.  I listened to all the episodes available and I had to wait for them once a week like everyone else.   I panicked.  What was I going to listen to now??  I started asking everyone to recommend podcasts so I could get my fix.  I have tried a few and I’m surviving, but I still haven’t found another Jillian.

What podcasts do you listen to?

Sxxo.

C-Man Turns 1!

My nephew turns 6 today!  C was the first baby to be born into our family and I remember falling in love with him instantly.  When he was about two weeks old I went and stayed with my sister for a couple days to help out (who am I kidding – I wanted baby cuddles!!) and a soon as I got there, she gratefully handed him to me and went to lay down for whatever sleep she could get.  I found a movie on TV, cradled C onto my chest and started rubbing his back while inhaling sweet baby.  C promptly fell asleep and I sat like that for about 2.5 hours.  It was heaven.

Now C is in grade 1 and big brother to A, and he is such a sweet little man.  I don’t get to see him as often as I would like (my sister’s family moved for my BIL’s job so we see them about twice a year) so I am very thankful for my iPad and FaceTime!  I get carried all around the house and show the latest toys, the fish in the tank and sometimes their dog.

C loves to build things and is fascinated with all things superhero and Lego (preferably superhero Lego).  He talks a mile a minute and, when I’m there, still wants his Auntie to sit with him, play with him and read to him.  He was a ring bearer at our wedding this summer and surprised hubby with a sign saying ‘Uncle M, here comes your girl’, although now he never wants to go to another wedding because there is “too much kissing!!”  It has been amazing to watch him grow from a little peanut into the person he is today.



Me and C on his first Christmas



"Please stop taking my pictures Auntie..."

Happy Birthday little man, I love you to the moon and back!

Sxxo.

Blogtember

Ahh Mondays… they never fail to give me the blues.  I am so not a morning person - hubby almost has to kick me out of bed (he has literally had to pull off the covers and push me out of bed a couple many times).  We had a pretty good weekend hanging out at home, doing some organizing around the house.  I also decided that 9pm on Saturday was a good time to haul down a bunch of our wedding gifts and unpack them into the kitchen… it had to get done at some point right?  Other than that, my sister came over for a few hours on Sunday to hang out (she’s moving in a couple weeks because her fiancé got into law school – I am kind of in denial so will have to write about it once it finally sets in).  Nothing super exciting though and I didn’t take any fun pictures.

Anyway it’s now Monday and I am still super new to this whole blog thing and I didn’t have an exciting, photo-documented weekend… so what do I write about?  Then this morning I came across #Blogtember and thought why?  So I’m jumping in!

Monday, September 9: Take this short personality test and respond to your results.

So I took a different version of this test last week and got the result INFP.  This time I got ISFP.

After reading them both, I think I am more of an INFP.  I see myself as way more fantasy-oriented than being spontaneous… I imagine an adventure and all it could be but I don’t act on it.  An INFP is supposed to work well with people and ISFP’s are supposed to be good in communications roles.  I work in communications (but stay away from sales) but I would jump at the chance to help someone.  I remember when an acquaintance called me a “helper” and I vividly remember not knowing if it was a compliment or not.  Oh well, it makes me happy so I’m not going to stop!

In the end I see myself as both INFP and ISFP, depending on the day, weather, colour I’m wearing… it’s interesting to take these tests sometimes but I also try to remember not to take them too seriously.

Enjoy your evening!

Sxxo.

Friday’s Feature

Friday nights are (unless something very important comes up) date night.  Not a fancy go-out date night, a night that hubby and I spend together doing super exciting things like grocery shop or get things we need for the house (tonight we’re heading to Rona for stakes because my sunflowers are falling over) and then we pick up dinner and head home to put in a movie.  And I open a bottle of wine.  Spring/Summer/early Fall it’s usually white and late Fall/Winter it’s red.  It’s early September so tonight a white is on the menu.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not by any means an expert on wine – I just know what tastes good to me and that after two glasses I am really happy.  And what makes me even happier is that I get to wake up sans alarm in the morning!  (This is because I rarely drink during the week, family dinners are the exception).  I also don’t spend a ton of money on fancy bottles… I stock up on Okanagan wines in the summer and then once they’re gone it’s whatever I like that fits in my budget from the liquor store.

So tonight’s wine feature is… White Stilletto from Ruby Blues Winery!



This was our white wedding wine and I love it and because this is the first time I’m doing this, I figure it should be special.

I also have a confession to make…

Hubby bought me a pair of Crocs.

And I LOVE them.

In my defense, they aren’t the normal design and I would never have know they were if they didn’t say it on the inside (and a tiny tag on the side).  I have worn them every day this week.  Every day.  Home from our long weekend at the cabin, grocery shopping, even to work!  I have them in black and I want a light pair as well!!



Cheers to everyone, happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!

Sxxo.

 

Full-Time Passion?

I have a full-time job.  I have a good full-time job with vacation pay and benefits and I enjoy all the people I work with.  I am lucky because there are so many people who can’t find a job or can only find a job working with a deep fryer (don’t get me wrong, I love those people because who doesn’t want (need) fries every now and then??)… but is this my dream job?  No.  What is my dream job?  No clue.

You always hear if you can make your passion in life your job than going to work will be fulfilling and enjoyable and basically just amazing, AND you get paid for it.  So I just have to find my passion right?  I started thinking about what makes me the happiest and this is what I came up with:

• Mornings when I don’t have to wake up to an alarm but still wake up early and get to enjoy coffee (with Carolan’s) in bed watching a super cheesy show like Teen Moms that I recorded on the DVR
• Traveling to hot, sunny destinations
• Wine tasting 
• Going out to eat with my hubby
• Spa days
• Our date adventures with my sister and her fiancé
• Baking on Saturday night while drinking wine and watching Netflix on my iPad

I am one extremely happy lady when I am doing one of the above!

Could I really get paid to do one of these?  I know I could but who would??  Seriously, if anyone knows please fill me in on that little secret!

What started me on this whole rant is that I received a (spam) email at work with the subject line ‘The Right Careers For Your Personality Type’.  This led me to a webpage that said I need to take the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality inventory.  Why not? 

So I took this test: http://www.discordia-inc.co.uk/misc/mbtitest.html

I am an INFP. 

Introversion (I)
Intuition (N)
Feeling (F)
Perceiving (P)

Specifically I am a "Questor". A sense of honour - somewhat lost in life.  Huh??  The actual MBTI website defines it as:
Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them. Want an external life that is congruent with their values. Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas. Seek to understand people and to help them fulfill their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.

That tells me nothing.  I couldn’t be therapist (way too much school required and I would probably get too emotionally involved!) but I guess I will keep my eye out for ways I can help others.  And I will keep an open mind and look for my “passion job”.

Sxxo.

Last Summer Hurrah

On summer holiday weekends we always head up to Hubby’s family cabin on Lake Okanagan for extremely fun times and this past Labour Day weekend was no exception!  There are so many things I love about our cabin trips: listening to the waves on the beach, relaxing in the sun, eating way too much tasty food, happy hour, playing bocce ball with the family and… WINE TASTING!!

Okanagan Lake is huge and completely surrounded by wineries, which is insanely good news for my wine addiction.  I love touring around the area and visiting our favourites to see how the wines have changed over the years and it’s even better when I get to stock up for the Fall J

Our most beloved winery is Ruby Blues Winery (www.rubyblueswinery.ca) where ‘the tasting fee is a smile’.  The owners are amazing and the whole staff is so friendly, they are like a close family.  So of course we stopped in and picked up our favourites, it has become an annual tradition!  We also stopped at Lang Vineyards (www.langvineyards.ca) and after a couple ‘off’ years they have produced some delicious whites AND reds, even Hubby was impressed!



The super cool VW van in front of
Ruby Blues Winery

Other than the winery visits, we pretty much hung out at the cabin and relaxed until we had to drag our butts back home on Monday.  It always takes me a couple days to get back into the swing of things, I just need to focus on all the fun we will have next year.

Sxxo.

Hello World!

I am a wife.  I love wine.  I have been a wife for a total of… 32 days.  I have been a wine lover for more years than I care to say (even before I was legal!).  I love being a wife so far (insert laughs here)… and I spend my Monday through Thursdays counting down to Friday evening when I can crack a bottle of tasty wine and enjoy date night with my hubby.

Hubby and I have been living together for four years so getting married didn’t change a lot except now we have a legal piece of paper and we finally opened a joint chequing account.  Oh and now when one of us does something to annoy the other, our favourite thing to say now is “well you married me!”.

We have two furbies (yes, I have pets and call them furbies), Milo is our freakishly timid but loving puppy and Jinx is our old-soul cat.  Hubby already had Jinx when I came along but he quickly stole my heart, and we got Milo together.  We are a little family.



So why a blog?  I don’t have an answer except I have really always wanted one.  I like the idea of having somewhere to voice random thoughts and ideas, maybe even hopes and dreams, and if it’s in a blog – it’s ONLINE – then I can be held somewhat accountable right?  I enjoy reading certain blogs (names to come!) and wanted to try it out.  So, we will see where this goes!

S.xxo