Grab a chocolatine, a cuppa tea and start your engines!

So, while lovely, there were ups and downs along the way.  Puking out the car window as we drove away from a campsite one morning may top the list. (Life checklist – complete! ) Making Chris pull the car over all day so I could get snacks and drinks and pastries, etc. Actually, that’s pretty normal, but this time it would be imperative that we stop. Now that I look back, most of the trip was spent looking for places to get drinks and snacks. I’m awfully lucky Chris is so patient.  And what were some lessons learned?

* morning sickness during a record heatwave? Not so fun.

* morning sickness and heat stroke on a ferry ride to Vancouver Island? Not recommended.

Oh well. But really, the trip was fantastic. We went to the Vancouver Aquarium, swam in lakes on the side of the highway, visited with Frank, saw helicopters putting out forest fires. And tried the new Very Cherry Dr. Pepper slurpee. Maybe one of the highlights.

More pics on Flickr soon, te prometo.

xo Sarah

I’ve decided to grab the ‘ol binoculars and head down to the Cave and Basin marsh and check out the magpies, crows and the little fish caught in the swamp.

If you’re in the city today, or stuck at your desk, why not check out Paul Morstad’s bird paintings instead?

Have a lovely Monday,

Sarah

I think I’d like to simply get things done this year. Pure and simple. Turning 30 might also be to powering this list – I was supposed to be living in California and fluent in German by now. Mach schnell!

So, one obtainable goal I’d like to set I’m going to set for this year is to try to make breakfast at home more often. Instead of coffee and a croissant every day from the coffee shop at work, as much as I love them, I’ll whip something up at home. I found a flickr set not long ago that has the tastiest set of photos taken at breakfast every morning. This picture in particular kills me:

If I could stop hitting snooze so many times and hurry up and get out of bed, this is what I’d like to have for breakfast in the morning. I’d also love to be organized enough to make homemade scones, freeze them, and heat them up in the morning. But that seems to much to ask at this juncture.

Hmm… I’m still not sure this plan is feasible. Maybe I’ll hope for this Christmas miracle instead.

Here’s hoping your Christmas is tasty and delicious, too!

xo Sarah

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris has lots of little caramel nuggets of ideas, just like my Mum’s. It’s a big hunker of a book, filled with lots of recipe ideas and hosting ideas (like hiding marbles in your bathroom cabinet to trick nosy guests.) I wish Amy was the next door neighbor who would invite me over for fancy themed dinners and stop by with cupcakes and homemade lemonade on Sunday afternoons. In Montreal we had Mr. Piedlourds as a neighbour, and in Alberta most of our neighbours are strangers. Would you take cupcakes from a stranger?

Actually, I might. But they’d need to have a LOT of colourful icing.

If I can’t sway you to buy the book  (for yourself, a friend… your grandmother), maybe Amy can. Here she is in her own deliciously wacky promotional video.

Amy talks about two things a lot in her book: cheese balls and her rabbit. Maybe you have some time this weekend to make a cheese ball for your family. You can follow along as she makes them on Martha Stewart right here. I wish I had both these things, except I am poor and can’t afford cheese at the moment, and Chris is allergic to every conceivable animal. So, in honour of Easter, let’s take a peak into the world of Amy’s Easter Bunny-ish cupcake store. If I lived nearby I would visit every single day.

However, since I do not live nearby I decided to celebrate Easter another way. I visited every single candy store in town, and bought something gooey from every stop.Wooo! There are pics from the Sugar World Tour right here (and to your right if you click that little Flickr image.)

Hope you all have a great Easter weekend eating hams, perogies, cakes and cookies with your Mums!

xo Sarah