if I could only slow down time......

Our little peanut is nine months old today. Whenever I used to dream of being a mom, I never imagined I'd have such an extraordinary little girl. I've never learned so much about life and love as I have these past nine months.

sock buns

*image courtesy of projectcaptured.com

Now that I have longer hair, I'm quite smitten with beautiful braids and buns. What do you think of the sock bun shown above? Stylish? Or, should buns be saved for ballerinas and librarians?
Click here if you want to steal this look.

Happy Weekend!!

Hello Friends! What are you up to this weekend? This morning we're off to a private park that only open to the public a couple times a year. The photographer in me is completely hyped.
Tonight I'm going for dinner with a large group of women. Do you enjoy a girl's night out or do you prefer a mix of men and women? I admit, sometimes getting a word in is a sport itself with women, but I recognize the importance of girlfriends
12 fall activities for the family to get you in the spirit
pumpkin pie, love it or hate it? I, for one, am a HUGE fan.
Love this list of 25 things Tom Matlack wants his son to know
dreaming of a destination wedding?
I have always wanted to visit the picturesque Croatia, especially after seeing these waterfalls
the last song I bought
I am so inspired by this winner of Masterchef
a laugh for all you moms out there, from the brilliant tina fey

Savour your time with your loved ones! Chat soon xo

Hola! Fish Tacos!

These fish tacos are from Weber's Way to Grill cookbook. Our friends first made them when we were up at Whistler a few weeks ago and I was blown away. I cooked up a batch last night - they are delicious and really easy to make: 

For the Rub

• 1/2 teaspoon pure chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 halibut, salmon, or tilapia fillets (I used halibut and it was delicious!)

For the Slaw

• 3 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 c mayo (light mayo works too)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon canned chipotle chile in adobo, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

6 flour tortillas (10 to 12 inches) (I warmed mine in the oven in aluminum foil)

1) Mix all the rub ingredients together in a small bowl.  Brush or spray your fish fillets with oil and apply the rub evenly over each fillet.  Cover and set aside in the refrigerator. 

2) In a large bowl, combine all the slaw ingredients and toss to make sure the cabbage is evenly coated.  Set aside until you are ready to build your tacos.

3) Prepare the fish.  The cookbook calls for grilled fish, but I pan sauteed mine.

Break the fish into large chunks once cooked.

4) Build your tacos with slaw and fish. Enjoy!

images from the weekend

I hope you had a lovely weekend! I went to Seattle for a friend's reception (they had their ceremony earlier in the year). It was such a gorgeous, relaxing setting  - six acres of property done up with beautiful lights, plenty of room for guests to camp, delicious food - they even had wood fired pizza on site - yum scrum! I'm pretty sure I celebrated with a cupcake (or six). Throughout the night, whenever I spotted Cathy and Ty, they had beaming smiles on their faces, what more could you want for your friends? I wish I had taken a photo of them at the reception, but I left the camera turned off most of the night so that I could just soak it all in. Plus, I'm pretty sure I was too busy juggling delicious food and wine to hold a pesky camera. xo 

Happy Friday!!

Hi friends! How are you? Do you have fun plans lined up for your weekend? I'm going stateside for a friend's reception while the hubby takes care of little miss. I can't wait to visit some friends I haven't seen in a long time. I'm also really excited for my husband and little girl to have their own time together. She just lights up around him and thinks he's pretty much the funniest man in town.
Do you have little ones who returned to school this week? If so, please give this article a read. I'm not a religious person, so even thought the article has a bit of a religious slant, the message it sends to kids is spot on. The focus is on being brave and standing up for kids who you see being teased or bullied for being different.
This is an excerpt from it:

"We do not care if you are the smartest or fastest or coolest or funniest. There will be lots of contests at school, and we don’t care if you win a single one of them. We don’t care if you get straight As. We don’t care if the girls think you’re cute or whether you’re picked first or last for kickball at recess. We don’t care if you are your teacher’s favorite or not. We don’t care if you have the best clothes or most Pokemon cards or coolest gadgets. We just don’t care.

We don’t send you to school to become the best at anything at all. We already love you as much as we possibly could. You do not have to earn our love or pride and you can’t lose it. That’s done.

We send you to school to practice being brave and kind.

Kind people are brave people. Brave is not a feeling that you should wait for. It is a decision. It is a decision that compassion is more important than fear, than fitting in, than following the crowd.

Trust me, baby, it is. It is more important.

Don’t try to be the best this year, honey.

Just be grateful and kind and brave. That’s all you ever need to be."

Were you ever bullied in school? I was bullied by two girls who I thought were my friends, named Tejinder and Muriel, in grade 3. They would stay after school and sabotage my projects, rip apart my art work, pull my plants out of the dirt that I was growing for science class, scribble in my notebooks, anything they could to try and make me cry. They would sneak up behind me and shove me face down on the ground (I still have a scar to remind me), call me names and get into fist fights with me(of which I held my own in). It wasn't their behaviour that upset me (well, it kind of sucked), but it was the fact that I kept waking up each morning hoping that they would act differently and be my friends again that saddens me the most. I didn't recognize that I deserved better. I was like a dog who wags her tail each time her owner comes home even though the owner is abusive. A wonderful set of girls took me in as their friend and it seemed to throw Tejinder and Muriel into a tailspin. They tried their hardest to lure me back. It seemed like their purpose, of having someone to  project all of their anger upon, was now leaving them lost. In hindsight, I am fearful of how Tejinder and Muriel's home lives must have been that bullying was part of their agenda. Teach your kids kindness. Teach them to be brave and stand up for those who need help. I was so thankful for my new circle of girls who treated me like a friend instead of a proverbial punching bag. Kids shouldn't go to school in fear or make one another feel inferior because they  aren't pretty enough, smart enough, athletic enough. Just be kids. Play. Laugh. Learn. Repeat. 

decisions, decisions

I hope you had a fantastic long weekend! Did you get out of town or stick around to enjoy the sun at home? I don't know about you but I still get that "back to school" feeling after every labour day, even though I've been out of school a LONG time. I still get those panicky dreams that I'm late for class and I have no idea where my classroom is. This weekend we decided to stick around town since we've had a lot of weekends away lately and have a more few coming up.  It was blissful. I didn't realize how much I needed a weekend of complete relaxation. We watched old movies, went on beautiful walks and I had a chance to catch up with a fantastic group of co-workers who I hadn't seen in 8 months. The photos above were taken at Burns Bog, one of my favourite spots to take the pup.

This afternoon I met with my mom's group and the biggest topic on the table is whether or not to have a second child. It seems to be forefront in everyone's mind. We haven't decided yet. I know you are reeling in shock right now, because if you know me well, you know I'm excellent and extremely speedy at decision making. I found it interesting that a higher percentage of moms in our group have decided that one child will be it for them. Some of the reasons were: affordability - they'd rather give their one child the best possible life. Some women are worried about their age - a few of us are nearing 40 (it's like an eclipse, I can't look directly at the number 40). Some women had a tough experience with their first pregnancy and can't imagine enduring it again. Some can't fathom the energy because they find one child all encompassing. It's such a personal and difficult decision. I'm torn in the sense that I'm older (again, I know you are shocked!) and simply do not know if I have the energy to go through the trials and tribulations trying to get pregnant again. I am also worried about the health risks involved with older pregnancies. Growing up with a sibling is amazing. I have nothing but awesome memories of having my brother as a sidekick on our backyard adventures and family getaways. (Except for the time he thought it'd be funny to hit my head with a hammer, but that's neither here nor there). But, I also know enough amazing "only" children who squash the lonely/selfish stereotypes.  They take friends along on family vacations, play team sports, get together with friends often - it just works. 

I just know that I am crazy about being a mom, which makes me think more children to love would be so life enriching, because Stella has been the best decision we've ever made. Did you find it hard to decide if you were going to have more than one child? What tipped you in one direction or another? I know there are also readers who have opted to have no children and I think, if you know in your heart that it's not for you, then good on you for not having children "just because."