Changes

Are you a person that thrives on change or are you happiest when you are surrounded by familiarity?

I'm definitely a person who loves change - for me it keeps me on my toes and feeds my curiosity. I'm happiest when travelling to a new place, camera in hand, discovering things for the first time. I think that's why every year I make myself a list of places I want to see, things I want to try, accomplishments I hope to achieve. That's why I love new destinations, new restaurants, mixing with different people, taking classes, devouring books, trying new recipes - it keeps everything feeling fresh, invigorated - gives me a sense of renewal. Do you categorize yourself as someone who loves change or do you feel happiest with more of a routine? Does it scare you to try new things? If there's one certainty in life, it's that you cannot stop change. Try to do something that is out of your comfort zone - it's the quickest way to grow as a person. 

The Great Pumpkin Patch Caper

This weekend we headed to the Country Pumpkin Patch in Richmond to get our pumpkin fix on. It was a lot of fun seeing the animals, taking wagon rides to the pumpkin patch (each wagon is equipped with knee slappin singers), mucking our way through the corn maze and combing the fields for the best carve-worthy pumpkins we could get our cotton pickin' hands on. Word to the wise: remember to pack your rubber boots and a change of shoes for afterwords. I actually saw a woman attempting to climb through the mud in a pair of ballet flats (I guess common sense really is a gift).  If we hadn't fuelled up for a delicious brunch at Brown's Social House first, I would have been ALL OVER the pumpkin patch's mini donut stand. It was so much fun spending the afternoon watching our friend's little bambino react to everything. I can't wait to show our little baby days like these. I hope you had a great weekend!

Ensemble

Have you been to Vancouver's Ensemble restaurant? Home of Canada's Top Chef winner Dale MacKay? We gathered our own ensemble of ya-yas to share some tasty tapas. My personal favourite was the Gnocchi: Ah-mazing. It's a great spot to sample a wonderful mix of appie size plates. We tried: Roasted Beet Salad, Herb Risotto, Cornmeal Crusted Scallops, Black Cod with Thai Broth, Poached and Crispy Chicken, Potato Gnocchi, Fries, and for dessert we chased it all down with Raspberry Souffle, Strawberry Pavlova and Chocolate Fondant. Actually, looking at this list, I'd say we hit that menu pretty hard. Everything was extremely tasty. It's a little on the spendier side for the portion sizes, but the food was delicious. My baby and I give it four thumbs up :) There's nothing more fun than catching up with great friends over amazing food. 

a beautiful addition to the world

Today I had the amazing honour of meeting one of my dearest friend's new baby girl. They are still working on her name and once they finalize it, I will update this posting. She was born yesterday and weighs 7 lbs, 7 ounces. She has two beautiful moms and will definitely be surrounded by a lot of love. I teared up as soon as I saw her for the first time. I have shared this pregnancy journey closely with my friend and now that her little one is here, I'm just so overwhelmingly happy for them all. It really blows my mind to think this perfectly formed baby was all cozy in her mom's belly, just a few short days ago. The human body is truly remarkable. I am so excited for them that they finally get to meet her, to carry her, to hold her little wrinkly hands and to look into her eyes. I think our baby is going to be so lucky to have this sweet little girl as a friend.

the best part about birthdays

This birthday marks my last nail scratching effort to desperately cling to my 30s. I definitely think as I get older, my favourite part about birthdays is just seeing all my loved ones during the week surrounding my birthday. Okay, okay, I also love cake. Last night we had a fun visit with our sweet friends who threw a lovely cozy birthday shindig for eight. I was so happy to have everyone together around the table. They really are the funniest crew. This year was really cute, it definitely was the first time I've ever been on a cake, (usually I'm just jumping out of them (just kidding, I'm not a stripper, although I would love to have the body of one right about now). Do you like to celebrate your birthday? Or are you happier to hibernate and let is pass quietly?
Last year I made a list of 38 things I wanted to accomplish while I was 38. Even though it wasn't completed, I was pretty happy with how many items were checked off. Of course I was truly happiest that the first item, my dream of all dreams, was finally crossed off: Here's my 38 things.
I think today I will work on a new list for 39 - because as you know, a lot can change in a year. I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Tap Restaurant, South Surrey

Pictured above(Caesar salad, Malaysian prawns, Parmesan Risotto, Baked Brie)

My birthday falls on Sunday but Craig and I celebrated it early with our own date night. He picked out Tap Restaurant for us and I couldn't have loved it more. The food, the ambience, the service were all top notch. I think it's my new favourite local spot. The Caesar salad and Creme Brulee were the best I've had. We had planned on seeing the late show of the Ides of March (some of my all time favourite acting chops are in it - Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Ryan Gosling, and it doesn't hurt that Clooney shows up either).  But it turned into one of those amazing nights where we had dinner at a leisurely pace, great convo and after two+ hours realized we had missed our movie. I love dinners where you completely lose yourself in the experience, don't you? If you're ever in White Rock, you really should check out Tap Restaurant, nestled Rosemary Heights - I highly recommend it.

project 365 catch up

Thursday, Oct 13 - Yes, Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year - mainly due to the plethora of mini chocolate bars available. They seem so guilt free and innocent with their dainty come-hither size, until you realize you're re-stocking on Halloween treats yet again, and let's face it, the kids won't be knockin for a few more weeks. There is no way the latest supply in our house will last until then. The stores are genius for loading up their shelves early. They know that people like me exist. I curse them and applaud them at the same time.