home sweet home

Hello friends, I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. Even though I worked all day yesterday, I would still consider my weekend a hit! And plus, I'm going to Brighton tomorrow for the very first time, eeeek! 

This post is a pretty big one, I am not gonna lie. Instead of breaking up my whole trip I thought I would just give it to you all at once! Why not, right? So here are some of the highlights from my time at home. You may have noticed a handsome man in these photos, that's my guy Remi, ain't he sweet! He came all the way over from Edmonton to visit me and my family on Vancouver Island. 

The first thing we did when Remi arrived was head straight over to a vineyard that he had read about. My family and I can't thank him enough for introducing us to Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery. It was a family affair as we all piled out of the clown car. We had a fantastic time tasting the different wines, it was especially funny to do so with my little sister. We all picked our favourites and by the time we left we were up about 8 or 9 bottles of wine. If anyone lives on Vancouver Island you must make your way up island to sample some of their amazing vino. Our standout favourite was the dessert wine, Solera, a gold metal winner at the 2012 All Canadian Wine Championship. We drank a small glass every evening with a bite or two of dark chocolate and sea salt. The lush life, indeed. 

 This comic book inspired Scandal Ale, our drink of choice when the family all chipped in and made our very own fish'n'chips. I definitely chose this beer because of it's fantastic style and marketing. This organic beer is from Prince George, BC, if I am not mistaken. Inside each box is 6 or 8 playing cards. If you drink enough beer, you'll gain enough cards to play your very own game! How much fun is that. I am not a huge beer drinker myself, (unless it's some sort of radler), but Remi really enjoyed it and even used it as part of the fish batter.

 I made my very first pavlova! Usually, my Mom is the pavlova master, but since she was out of commission with her brand new knee, I took over. Everyone gave me a big thumbs up. I was very proud of myself!

I also attempted a key-lime pie for the very first time. And once again it was a success. I did spend ages on Pinterest deciding which recipe to use and from that I learnt a fair bit about key-lime pies! I used this recipe here. 

 Being back home after many months away is always the best reminder of how lucky I was growing up in such a beautiful enviroment. It has definitely shaped a lot of who I am today. There will always be a little bit of hippie in there, no matter where I go and however big the city is.

 One of my best friends, Micah, has been telling me about this little boutique in Parksville called, Wilde and Sparrow. I finally had a chance to check it out with my friend Kendra after our sushi date one afternoon. It is such adorable shop and very reasonably priced, which is always something I lookout for! Such great stuff, make sure you get to check it out if your in town!

Here are some of my favourite finds while sorting through some of my old memory boxes. My ticket stub from when my Aunt Joan took me to see the best dance movie of all time, Centre Stage. The second photo is a birthday card that my mom made me for my my 7th or 8th birthday (and yes that's correct I live on road named after a melon). She is such a sweet lady. 

Old fashioned maple syrup from Coombs Country Market. A classic.

Our pond at home is currently being overrun by these giant toads, my mom makes hilarious facebook updates about them. It cracks me up. My mother asked my sister to pick some water lilies to add to a bouquet, Nicola came fleeing back to the house from spotting one of these toads. The first picture is Remi casually strolling back, lilies in hand and unscathed by the beasts. The last picture is of a bee saying "holla". So funny. 

Remi and I made quite a few trips to different beaches around the island. As Remi hails from Alberta, going to the beach is still a very exciting adventure. We have some big news coming up, but it's not quite official yet. I'll let you know as soon as I can. That last shot there is of Remi holding a crab for the first time, very exciting indeed!

I hope you've enjoyed this post, I sure had fun writing it!

Love,
CP