easter fun.

[yes we are sitting on the kitchen floor- we used the timer. abby quite enjoyed this]

[more camera fun]

[the darling abby]

[abby's totally cute hair: a big braid with a cute little side bun! so adorable.

I think ange will be a hairdresser in her next life :)]

[moms beautiful easter set up]

[the easter tulips I gave to my parents: the lady wrapped them so nicely while

we had a conversation about the canucks]

speaking of the canucks.. seriously!? I'm so sad for them. hope they can pull through in game 7. hope everyone had a great easter! we had a beautiful spread of food including croissant baked french toast, fresh fruit, homemade dessert tarts and easter treats! a great morning. I also loved hunting for my little goodies that my mom hid(I'm a child at heart)

--m

spring has sprung.

after a long day of homework, we got out for some sunshine last night. following some errands we went down to the waterfront for a walk and found ourselves starving. we hit up ginas for some mexican since we were in the area. so delicious! I had fish tacos which hit the spot(and provided leftovers for lunch today!) and we of course had to indulge in their awesome margaritas. it was a nice break from this stressful week. three.more.days. we relaxed for the rest of the evening and I finished up some studying that I was working on during the day.

stay tuned for a recap of our wonderful easter morning. my mom put on an amazing spread of food and an easter egg hunt for all of us! she is such an amazing host. I spent the rest of the day in the library plugging away.

hope everyone had a great weekend.

--m

breakfast treat.

since friday was a holiday(sort of) I wanted to make something a bit different for breakfast..

I found this recipe and decided to try it out. I didn't make the frosting/drizzle because I figured they would be sweet enough on their own:

[a sweet breakfast]

[first step- butter, cinnamon and sugar]

[roll em up]

[bake em!]

it was a nice treat! unfortunately, the rest of the day was busy. derek spent the day working and I spent the day in the library writing a take home exam. I'm on the homestretch now but the final push is going to be rough. so much to finish before wednesday but I managed to be fairly productive today. going to spend all day tomorrow in the library as well. ugh. not much of a long weekend. did get the chance to squeeze in a fab yoga class this morning.

hope everyone is having a good weekend! happy easter!

--m

playoff eats.

first things first. on my walk home from school today I stopped to take a picture of a heron but it flew away just as I took the picture. can you spot it? I love herons- and they hang out at this park by our place on a regular basis.

now for the food:

jalapeno popper dip-

[i love my mixer]

sweet potato fries:

I have attempted these fries SO many times. I always feel as if they just aren't quite right. I have tried several temperatures, cooking times, spices, yams and sweet potatoes. FINALLY, I got it just perfect. use sweet potatoes(which I recently learned taste better and are more nutritious if you leave the skins on) cooked at 450 for 30 mins. flip them half way through. I simply put olive oil, salt, pepper and chili powder on them before baking. sweet potato fries are now the perfect side to any meal. I love them!

another tip: yams and sweet potatoes are often mislabelled at the grocery store. yams are larger and usually darker in colour.

the dip was great! although, very very spicy. I think next time I would use green chillies instead as they aren't quite as hot. but derek quite enjoyed it! for dinner we shared the dip, sweet potato fries and I also had half a red pepper chopped up for some extra veggie goodness. a delicious appy dinner!

yay for long weekend! although mine will be a long weekend of homework. five.more.days. ugh.

happy weekend!

--m

dreaming of summer..

with school being so crazy right now I find myself periodically(okay maybe more than periodically) day dreaming about summer..

things I am seriously looking forward to:

*long summer evening walks

*long summer evening walks with ICE CREAM!

*summer bbq's with friends and family

*corn on the cob-mmm delicious.

*farmers market produce

*weddings :)

also, a break from the books will be just lovely! but I am really looking forward to my course in bamfield that starts in July. and my awesome summer job! should keep me very busy. derek and I are also planning a little trip to the sunshine coast which I can't wait for! I haven't been to that area before.

hope everyone has a great week. I am still finding myself swamped with school work but it will all be over in ONE short week! thank goodness. looking forward to yoga helps me get through my day. had a great class yesterday that left my hips a little sore and a vinyasa flow class today. yay for yoga!

--m

sunday fun.

what a great weekend! but incredibly busy.  basically no down time for this girl.  oh well- it was wonderful.  after a busy day yesterday of yoga and work, derek and I went out to grab some dinner and stopped at pipers lagoon for a very brief walk(it was freezing!).  a couple shots of the sunset and the moon..

this afternoon I went to a beautiful wedding shower for a great friend of mine.  she is so amazing and it was lovely to share this occasion with her and see her spoiled to bits! (she more than deserves it).  half way through we had some surprise entertainment- a belly dancer! after she strutted her stuff she attempted to teach us to belly dance.  very entertaining! here are a few photos from the afternoon..

 [the bride-to-be in her bali temple]

[the crew] 

[some girls with our belly dancing gear]

[cuties!]

 [court & I]

I can't wait for the wedding!!

hope everyone had a great weekend.  this week is going to be a busy one!
--m

yoga day.

a local yoga studio that I go to on a regular basis hosted a yogathon to raise funds for amnesty international.  what a great cause- I wanted to thank all the lovelies who sponsored me to participate in this event.  derek, mom, dad, teddy, les, bucky and gramma, meg and tye.   thank you all SO much. the studio appreciated every penny.  

they had a great set up: lots of drinks, fruits, snacks and I brought these double banana chocolate chip breakfast bars.  apparently they were good? I didn't taste one because I wanted to leave them all for the participants.  every class you entered you had the chance to put your name into a draw for some wicked prizes.  they had it so well organized and everyone was so upbeat and the atmosphere in the studio was fantastic.  there is something to be said about a room full of yogis all there to share their energy and raise awareness for equality and rights of women and children. 

unfortunately, I had to work today so I could only participate in three classes.  the three I participated in were: rise and shine yoga, vinyasa flow and then the last class of the day was fun, flight and funk vinyasa.  GOOD TIMES! what a great way to spend a few hours.  next year i'm in for all 8 classes!!

I can't imagine life without yoga- most recently it has taught me so many amazing things.  patience, awareness, gratitude and an appreciation for my whole self.  I have really gotten into my practice lately and it helps me get through each day.  I love that when I am on my mat, I know I have nowhere else to be and can completely indulge in a little time just for myself.  

I dedicated my practice today to:

a.) equality and happiness for all beings (human and otherwise) don't forget those whales!!

b.) to all the lovelies who sponsored me!

here is the process of making the double banana chocolate chip breakfast bars- which are vegan because the recipe uses dark chocolate.  great vegan treat!

 

hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I'm exhausted to say the least and still alice is calling my name. busy day tomorrow!

--m

crazy week.

what a week! I am so thankful to finally be relaxing and watching the canucks rock it out.  I managed to make it through this week alive- wrote a midterm today and feel like it went pretty well.  this week felt like a bit of a marathon, going from no school and then jumping right back into it was a huge adjustment.  I didn't have a spare minute the past four days.  I managed to squeeze in a couple yoga classes- a great vinyasa flow on thursday served as a fabulous study break.  unfortunately, the marathon doesn't end here.  the next two weeks will be equally as crazy while all our teachers squeeze in as much material as possible for the time we have left.  then a few exams and summer time!!  regardless of how busy it has been I am SO thankful to be back on campus and finishing my semester while collecting all the credits I deserve! thank goodness for no more strike.

just a few updates on my vegetarian adventures..

[vegetarian quesidillas- with purple onion, green onion, red 

pepper, banana peppers, franks red and cheese]

here is a delicious stir fry we make on a regular basis:

[lotsa veggies]

[4 simple ingredients for a delicious peanut sauce]

 [doesn't look very appetizing but it is fabulous]

[stir fry with peanut sauce and fried tofu]

peanut sauce recipe: 

compliments of: meg!

1 or 2 gloves garlic

1 T. olive oil

1/3 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter

-heat oil in saucepan.  add garlic and sauté for 1 minute-ish.  make sure not to burn.  add hoisin and peanut butter stir and simmer.  turn down heat and add water to adjust thickness if necessary.  serve over delicious steamed veggies, rice or rice noodles, and tofu(or chicken, shrimp etc.)

enjoy!!

hope everyone has a great weekend!

--m

a non-guilty pleasure

heyyy everyone! so even though i have recently been on a blogger’s hiatus, i made these cupcakes today and hadddddd to tell someone about them! 

i seen this recipe on the show, cook yourself thin and decided i needed to try them.  i LOVE cupcakes, but always feel so guilty making them. i cannot say enough good things about these:

- they have little sugar, little flour and no butter or oil.

- they have a heaping cup of sweet potato in them, so you get a vegetable serving!

- the recipe only makes 12, because who really wants, ahem, i mean, needs, 40 cupcakes.

- AND best part- they are delicious and do not taste like some phony, bland weight watchers treat.

anddd they look adorable!

*cA

snickerdoodles.

this simple cookie came together in a flash with help from my fantastic mixer.

check out the recipe here- I just made a half batch considering I really don't need 3 dozen cookies in my house. they turned out fantastic! so soft and delicious- satisfied my sweet tooth perfectly.

back to the books and then a yin yang yoga class tonight.

--m

sniffles.

hope everyone had a great weekend.

unfortunately, yesterday I woke up with a cold which is so disappointing because sundays are my favourite day to enjoy with my friends and family. still managed to enjoy a breakfast with my sister but basically was on the couch for the rest of the day. I powered through love the one you're with which I actually quite enjoyed- a nice little love story. after finishing, I picked up still alice which I have been dying to read. I have heard so many awesome reviews on it and couldn't wait to get started. I am thoroughly enjoying it already :) I have a feeling this read will be slightly more intense than the last.

on another note- one of the reasons I love spring, cherry blossoms!! so gorgeous. took this photo on my brief excursion out of the house. now, back to the couch. have to review some ecology because I am back to school tomorrow! thank goodness I didn't miss out on an entire semester.

hope everyone has a great week!

--m

a morning in ladysmith.

first some more vegetarian eats:

[crackers with cream cheese and salmon]

[pierogi casserole]

yesterday morning I went to ladysmith to check out the awesome bakery. oh my goodness- it was amazing. about 6 different flavours of cinnamon buns(I brought home derek a peanut butter cream cheese cinni), so many different muffins, scones, croissants, cookies- the list goes on! and so reasonably priced. they had amazing looking loaves of bread as well.

[ladysmith trolly]

[moms raspberry cream cheese muffin]

[my delicious cheese scone]

yummmy! then d and I had a date night and went to see the movie the lincoln lawyer. we had gift certificates from christmas that we still hadn't used yet. I enjoyed a delicious frozen yogurt- my favourite!! the movie was fantastic, neither of us had really heard of it but it turned out to be awesome. I haven't been to a movie in theatres in forever that I was actually wishing for it not to end. I definitely recommend it!

happy weekend!!

--m

more photos from the park..

compliments of steff a wonderful little photographer.

--m