whoalansi, Author at WHOA lansi

Author: whoalansi Page 6 of 35

Storm Mountain Lodge

On January 12, 2017

We’ve been driving past this little mountain oasis, a little over an hour outside Calgary, for the last 8 years. We were always in a hurry to get to the lake, so I’d never stopped before. This summer I decided to change that & pulled into the little driveway at the top of that first hill on highway 93. I’d heard so many great things about the food, & was wowed by the beautiful surroundings & rustic little cabins. It wasn’t hard to convince me, I wanted to spend a night at some point. When I told N about it later, we both agreed to take advantage of it in the coming months.

The opportunity presented itself not long after this discussion when I realized I had a half day on the Friday before Christmas. We decided it would be a great time to spend the night at the lodge.

The day finally arrived & we set out from Calgary after work in some pretty gross conditions. We’d been having a particularly snowy December so traffic was slow due to accidents, & we arrived, in the early evening, to a perfect winter wonderland.

Our little cabin for the night

Another charming cabin on the property

We checked into our little cabin – number 15 – & got ourselves settled. Before the sun set, we decided to take Odin on a little walk & stretch our legs after the drive. It was a lovely opportunity to explore the property, & gave me ample time to slow down & take photos. I love having the opportunity to spend a little extra time focusing on photography, so I took a lot. It helps that it was truly breathtaking. I loved staying there while the lodge was under a blanket of snow, but I also hope we can visit someday on a clear day & take in those mountain views.

Our sleeping quarters

After our little walk we still had some time to kill before our 7:30 pm dinner reservation. Typically, we’d packed board games & beers, so we settled in for a couple rounds. Before long, it was time to make the 30 second trek to the main lodge.

They had requested we either kennel Odin or leave him in the car while we were out for dinner – they’ve had issues with dogs clawing at the doors. It was quite cold out, so I’m glad he’s kennel trained & mostly slept while dined.

Pork Rillette

Lamb Chops

Trio of Crème Brûlée

I was really excited for dinner & it did not disappoint. We decided to share a pork rillette dish to start, but before that arrived they brought some delicious bread. The restaurant itself consists of maybe 15 tables, but there were two servers on that evening. Both were extremely attentive without being overbearing. I’m always a sucker for lamb, so I knew that’s what I’d be ordering for a main as soon as I saw it on the menu. N went with the Bison Tenderloin. Both were fantastic, & the presentation was beautiful, as you can see in the photos above. We chose the crème brûlée for dessert, another menu item I can never resist. It came as a trio. I think my favourite was the vanilla bean, but all three were delicious.

The menu at Storm Mountain is on the smaller side, which I appreciated, being rather indecisive. I find large menus intimidating. My parents had stopped for lunch earlier in the day, & highly recommend that option if you can’t stay overnight. I might try to convince N to stop again soon – that Charcuterie Board to Share has our names on it!

One perk of staying next door is you’re allowed to take your wine back to your room to enjoy. We packed ours up & took the “long” route back for a few extra photos of the lodge by moonlight.

Playing a new board game

N made a fire when we got back & we spent the rest of the night playing games, having a few drinks, & snuggling Odin. I think it’s safe to say he loved our little cabin just as much as we did. It was a truly incredible night, & the perfect escape from our normally busy schedules & distractions. There’s just something so lovely about taking a break from it all.

We slept in a bit the next morning, took Odin for another walk around the property (he loved playing in the snow & meeting a friendly resident Burmese, Rosie), & then headed in for another fantastic meal.

the main lodge

Eggs Benedict

Our night at Storm Mountain Lodge is one of my favourites overnights to date. I know I won’t forget it any time soon, & would like to thank them for their incredible hospitality. Every aspect of our stay was wonderful – I truly can’t say enough good things about it.

If you’re looking for a rustic mountain getaway with incredible food & unparalleled charm, I highly recommend looking into staying. I know we’ll have a hard time driving through without at least stopping in for a bite to eat.

Odin \\ 9 months

By whoalansi

On January 5, 2017

In Family, Personal

I’m a little behind on this month’s Odin update. His 9 month “birthday” happened to fall on Christmas Eve, & I thought I’d have time to pull together a video & edit some photos while I was out at the lake, but we spent time playing games, going for walks, skating, hot tubbing, skiing, & eating instead. No complaints.

Odin & Jake watching football

Pre-haircut

Sunny naps

December was a particularly great month for Odin, since N was home for pretty much the entire month. Hanging out & playing with dad everyday? No pen time? I think it was pretty amazing.

Odin & Rudolph

Hanging with a reindeer

Someone’s got a new haircut!

Bed hangs

Unfortunately, we did run into a couple little setbacks because of this. For one, he had more access to his stuffed toys than he normally would, so Molly, Garth, & Ned all bit the dust despite my attempts to sew them back together.

Christmas Parties

Bring your dog to work day! 😉

Please play with me, Akela.

Playing with Rosie

Family Photo

He also got used to being out of his pen all day so going back is an adjustment. That’s a story for next month though because December was all about playtime, cuddles, & relaxing.

Storm Mountain naps

a fluffy new toy

Odin’s favourite things this month include: walks, ear scratches, belly rubs, aggressively chewing his toys, playing, making new friends (humans or otherwise), snow.

Odin’s dislikes: when mom & dad leave him, jumping into the back of the car, puppy teeth.

Of course, I also have a little video compilation from Odin’s 9 month of life. Unfortunately, the original had some issues, so the We Edit free logo is on this version. You can still see his cute face though. 😉

Welcome to 2017, bud!

Love,

Mom & Dad

Our Holiday Traditions

By whoalansi

On December 23, 2016

In Family, Personal

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. The whole month of December is just one of the best, & I think that has a lot to do with how steeped in tradition it is. Everyone has their own slightly different way of prepping for Christmas, & I love hearing the different stories.

I like to wait until December 1 to get into Christmas mode. When I worked at Starbucks, we switched our displays over on November 1, & that always brought out the Grinch in me, so now I hold off until well after Remembrance Day. The only thing I do before then is take a family photo & order Christmas cards. We did this particularly early this year since N’s schedule was so crazy, but that gave me extra time to procrastinate on my cards (I’m still writing some this week! Ha!).

The first real Christmassy thing we like to do is decorate. I added another stocking to our mantle this year for Odin, & I can’t wait for him to figure out what those silly socks hanging from the fireplace mean. I’m a little surprised he hasn’t pulled his down yet – I wrapped up his little treats just this week!

Step one for decorating: Odin meets Rudolf.

Most of our Christmas decor is straight out of the 80s. I’ve inherited so many things from my parents, & although they’re a little on the tacky side sometimes, I actually love them. They’re all great memories from my childhood. I’m a sucker for something with a story behind it, & almost every single one has that. We even have some handmade wool tree & snowflake ornaments that my Nana made years ago.

He really wanted some of Nana’s tree decorations

Odin helping decorate

Waiting patiently

Next, I like to hit the Scouts Canada Christmas Tree lot. We’ve gotten a real Christmas Tree the last two years, & I don’t plan on stopping this tradition anytime soon, even if we aren’t always around for the holidays. A real tree makes the whole house smell like Christmas like nothing else can (except maybe mulled wine). They’re definitely more work, but I think they’re so worth it. My family almost always bought their trees from the Scouts lot. I love watching the kids get involved in the whole process and enjoy supporting our local Scouts, a program my brother & I both grew up with. We go to the 31st group’s lot at the Holy Cross Anglican Church on 19th Street NW.

Picking up our tree from the lot

Letting #TreeMcTreeface settle in

Pre-decor

Helpers

It wouldn’t be Christmas without at least a couple parties. This year, we kicked things off with my office holiday party. It’s always a lot of fun. We book a room at the hotel so we can thoroughly enjoy the night. It’s always filled with lots of wine & even more dancing.

L & I

After a few drinks

Coworker friends

My handsome date

My parents also always host a cocktail party. My mom puts out an awesome spread. It’s a great evening filled with the best people, lots of drinks, & some delicious appetizers. My mom always puts out the best spread. No one ever goes hungry at her house. We always stay overnight because another tradition kicks off early the next morning: the Banff Ski Trip.

Odin was ready to greet everyone

Mom’s awesome spread

Tree Substitute

SIL & Odin, two of the best

Mom, Sar, & I

The whole crew

Tequila!

Unfortunately, this year, it was insanely cold for our trip. Nonetheless, we got up, put on our gear, & drove to Lake Louise. A couple others from our group were planning to meet us in the afternoon. We purchased Louise Plus Cards, & headed up the mountain on the chair lift. A blustery – 41 greeted us at the summit, & we decided it wasn’t worth getting frostbite over & took advantage of their offer to issue us a snowcheque for anytime in the next year.

FIrst chair

Top of the Word: -41C

Instead, we headed into Banff for some lunch, followed by a dip in the hot tub at the hotel. We started the drinking festivities earlier than any other year, which made for a hilarious gift exchange before we headed out on the town.

Drinks at Park

Delicious cocktails instead of skiing

Hotel Time

11th Annual Ski Trip

Having a moment

Girls photo. Oops.

Aww

& that brings us to the final week before Christmas. We’ve got a few evenings with friends planned before the big weekend, but that’s about it for our pre-Christmas traditions.

How do you prepare for the holidays? Do you embrace the crazy December schedule, or do you like to hunker down?

Odin \\ eight months

By whoalansi

On November 30, 2016

In Family, Personal

Odin Report Eight Months

Eight months! Man, eight-month-old Odin is a trip.

His personality has really started to shine over the last month. He’s also become so much more protective of me lately. He alerts me to every noise & is much more keen to snuggle on the couch. N has been away a bit longer this rotation which makes me wonder what he thinks is going on there – maybe that he’s the little man of the house.

Odin at the office

Odin Naps

Odin Cuddles

Majestic Odin

Odin Snuggles

Majestic Odin

Lately, he’s been doing really well while I’m away at work so I’ve been leaving him longer all the time. Unfortunately, we jumped the gun a little & paid the price for giving him too much freedom last week. We’ve now got some couch cushions to patch. He’s back in the ex pen during the day this week & that seems to be going well. I feel a little bad leaving him with such limited space, but it gets easier as he handles it better.

Odin Halloween

Odin & Adam at Halloween

Odin getting some snuggles

A walk along the bluff

Majestic Odin

Recycling makes great toys for puppies & babies

Barking at the head on the mantle (“protecting me”)

I splurged this month & bought us a little pre-christmas gift. Pajamas! They are better than I could have ever expected. I love matching Odin so much. He seems fine with them too. I’m pretty excited that he doesn’t try to chew them like he does his harness!

Odin Christmas

a very comfy watchdog

Only slightly embarrassed to be matching with mommy

Once again, I’ve got a little a video. This time I compiled it on my computer so it’s a little bit better quality. I can’t believe how much he’s grown since we got him. Looking back at photos from when we first got him is surreal.

Love you, little guy!

SeaWheeze 2016

By whoalansi

On November 15, 2016

In Fitness, Travel

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This run was a long time in the works, & I don’t just mean in the sense that we signed up almost a full year in advance. I started talking about someday running it with my friend Zoe back in 2013. We wound up setting our wedding date for the day after the 2014 race though, so it wasn’t in the cards that year. I figured that was ok though, & I’d run in 2015. Foiled again, as registration opened while we were on our honeymoon & Zoe didn’t have enough of my personal information to sign me up. Darn!

So last September, I put all my information into Eventbrite before registration opened & was lucky enough to score one of the coveted few spots in the run (if you can call 10 000 spots few). I then proceeded to forget about it until about May, when I realized I should probably start training.

I’d had grand plans to PR, given that I’d be training at altitude & racing at sea level. Summer got in the way of that goal a little bit though, & I didn’t end up training anywhere close to as well as I should have. When it came time to fly to Vancouver for the weekend, I had decided I’d just have to be happy with a finish.

Cloudy skies on my flight

Coming in to Vancouver

I’d made plans to meet my friends at the ridiculous Lululemon Showcase Store on Friday morning, so I flew out Thursday night & stayed with a girlfriend in Mount Pleasant. Hotel Sasha is my go-to accommodation when I visit. I feel pretty lucky to be able to fit in a visit with a great friend & be staying in a fantastic neighbourhood.

I’d been wanting to try Vij’s for years, so I took myself for a later dinner after I arrived. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend stopping by as it ranks high on my list of best overall meals. I arrived around 9 pm & was told there was an hour wait (yes, there’s pretty much always a wait. It’s worth it). There was space in the lounge if I wanted to enjoy a drink & some appetizers while I waited, they told me. I thought that sounded great, so I found a cozy spot in their beautiful lounge & ordered myself one of the best sours I’ve ever had.

My whole twitter feed was basically a love letter to Vij’s that night. They had me at that Cambie Sour. Every few minutes, they came around with a different snack to try. I was in heaven; sipping my cocktail & watching the kitchen prepare naan (it’s mesmerizing to watch).

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the lounge at Vij’s & my cocktail

Making naan

It wasn’t long before a server came to take me to a table, or at least it didn’t feel long given my fantastic drink, the snacks, & my view of the kitchen as entertainment. I decided to get a glass of red wine to go with dinner & quickly decided on the wine marinated lamb with fenugreek cream curry. Generally if there is lamb on a menu, I’m all over it. This ranked very near the top of best things I’ve eaten. The flavours were incredible, the naan was perfect, the lamb was cooked beautifully. It was bliss. I left the restaurant smiling ear to ear.

My perfect lamb dish. I will dream about this for years.

The next morning came early. Luckily I was on Alberta time & Sasha was up early to start setting up at the expo for work so I was able to catch a ride to the convention centre. When I arrived people had been in line since the night before, & it looped around the building already. It was 5:30 am. I ended up making friends in the line (my other friends were an hour behind me & too scared to budge with me) & picked up a few nice items. I’m not sure I’d line up that early if I run again, but I’m glad to have had the experience for my first SeaWheeze. For the rest of the day, we hung out around the expo, getting temporary tattoos, having our hair braided, enjoying some great snacks, & taking fun photos together. It was one of the best expos I’ve ever been to, & the weather was fantastic.

Watching the sun rise

Expo line up at the back of the building

Showcase Store Haul

PARTY crew!

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Treats while waiting in line!

A messy braid that actually stayed for the whole race

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That night, after we’d checked into our hostel, we headed down to Kadoya Sushi for dinner. Sushi is probably my favourite pre-race meal, & Vancouver has some of the best. Afterwards, we were pretty tired from our day in the sun, so we headed to bed pretty early. That 5 am wakeup call comes pretty quick.

pre-race sashimi

We were staying at the Samesun Hostel on Granville, which was only about a 15 minute walk from the start line, so we all walked down together with a few new friends who were also staying the hostel. Most people in the SeaWheeze facebook group were staying in nice hotels near the start, but we decided the hostel price was right for us. We had a private room & significantly more money to spend in Vancouver.

For the race, Zoe & I felt we would be running around the same pace & would stick together, at least in the beginning. If you’ve ever run Seawheeze, you know how epic the cheering stations are. I’d heard rumours about them, but they far exceeded my expectations. My friend, Sasha, was on the Burrard Street bridge with Clearly, & when she saw me, she gave me the biggest hug & ran a few steps with me. It was definitely one of the highlights of the race for me.

Morning walk to the start

race ready!

Start Line

Sea wall

Sea wall (& amazing photos while running! 😉 )

Zoe & I ran together until about 18 km, when I had to walk for longer than expected & we lost each other. Not only was my training not quite there, but it was also really hot, so I had to slow down. There isn’t a whole lot of shade along the route, & even though I felt like I drank a lot of water, I was really struggling by the end. I ended up finishing with a time of 2:08, which isn’t as far off my personal best as I was expecting. I guess training at altitude really does work wonders. The competitive side of me is really wishing I’d training better so I could have really taken advantage of altitude training.

Zoe pulling me along the seawall

Thanks for keeping me going, friend!

I found Zoe at the finish line afterwards & we weaved through the finishers stations to get our swag. I swear this stuff is half the reason a lot of people run this race. Not only is the medal sweet, but Sage was there with cooling & pain oils, there are some great snacks, a finishers hat, & lots of other cool things. The runners brunch after was a delicious breakfast sandwich, & we were lucky to have finished before they ran out of water (I can’t imagine that’ll be a repeat mistake by lulu. Big oops!).

FINISHERS!

We eventually found the rest of our crew & headed back towards our hotel in search of some drinks. We were all pretty ready for a drink after our run, & it was shaping up to be a gorgeous day! We found a pub & had a few before heading back to the hostel to change & shower.

A few weeks before the race, I’d started a twitter convo with the Seawheeze account & wound up telling them our proposal story. They thought it was so cute & wanted to give us something special during the race, but since N wasn’t coming, they treated me & the girls to pedicures. It was such a lovely surprise! Thanks again, Lululemon!

Pedicures. Thanks, Lululemon!

The sunset festival was that evening, but beforehand, we headed over to Gringo in Gastown for dinner. It’s this little spot (in a slightly sketchy alley) where the waiters learn your names, the drinks are delicious, & the food is awesome. I would go back in a heartbeat. I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had a festival to get to. The shuttle picked us up from the convention center & took us to the festival, where we joined the Clearly girls on the grass for some drinks & music. The festival was really fun, especially once we found a system for getting more than a single beer at a time. I really hope they change that rule for next year. The last thing you want to do after running a half marathon is wait in a really long line for a single beer.

Gringo tacos!

Sunset Festival

Yoga mats for miles

Courageous Blondes & fresh pedis

SeaWheeze 2016

Tomorrow is registration for Seawheeze & you can bet I’ll be trying to get in. It’s one of the most intense processes to get into a race I’ve ever experienced, but we’re all going for it again. Wish us luck, & hopefully we’ll see you at the start line next year.

Lest we forget – Remembrance Day 2016

By whoalansi

On November 11, 2016

In Personal

Remembrance Day 2016

Thank you to our veterans and current soldier for your sacrifices & your service so that we can have this wonderful freedom. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we spend a moment in silence to remember you.

Today, Odin, N, & I walked over to memorial drive Remembrance Day ceremony. Every year they set out crosses to honour the fallen soldiers from Southern Alberta. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony. I was impressed by the number of people who turned up. We met up with a friend who is a second lieutenant in the army from lunch after, & he said there were over 10,000 people at the war museum ceremony.

Remembrance Day 2016

As we walked back up the bluff afterwards it was hard not to feel incredibly grateful for this life we lead.

Remembrance Day 2016

Thank you for protecting these freedoms. We are so very grateful.

Odin \\ seven months

By whoalansi

On November 4, 2016

In Family, Personal

odin-2 As I type this, Odin is snuggled against my legs on the couch. He’s becoming so much more cuddly lately & we are enjoying it so much. There’s nothing better than settling in to relax for the evening & having him join us. I just love it.

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I had thought his growth had totally slowed, but I saw a few recent photos of him in my arms & he’s definitely still growing. I’m so curious how big he’ll end up being. This month, he’s almost spent more time with my parents. He’s behaved himself so well, which they attribute to how hard we’ve been working on his training. I think we’ve also gotten really lucky with his personality. He’s a pretty chill guy after he says his hellos (I mean, for a puppy). He’s also so friendly & happy. It’s so great.

Odin & Mommy

Playing with a new toy

odin-seven-months-3

We’re still working on him going full days on his own. It’s been hard to completely doggy proof his area of the house, so even though we have a doggy gate, he hangs out in his ex pen when we’re away. I know we have to pull the trigger eventually, but he’s been going through a bit of a digging phase lately. He also chews his soft toys to death so I’m curious if he’d go for other things when we’re away. I’m going to start trying to leave him in the back of the house for short periods this week. We’re hoping he’ll have an easier time being alone if he has a little more space. Fingers crossed.

Car Rides

Playing with friends

New furrrrniture

with Daddy’s shoes, for scale.

Right now Odin loves snuggles, his family, playing with friends, digging up paving stones, chewing the faces off squishy toys, canned dog food, shoe laces, kisses, belly rubs, & long walks.

Odin doesn’t like when mommy leaves for the day, when daddy has to go back to work, jumping into the car, having his teeth brushed, the blender, & the vacuum.

Odin & Garth, best buddies

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Once again, I have a little video compilation from his last month. I love looking back on these so much. I’m a little late with this seven month check in, but I know I’ll enjoy looking back on these as he continues to grow.

We love you, Odin!

Love,

Mom & Dad

October in Instagram

By whoalansi

On November 2, 2016

In recap, Social

I think this is the earliest I’ve posted an Instagram recap in years. Success! If everything goes according to plan, I’ll finally get my SeaWheeze post up this week too. Registration is coming up pretty quickly, so my goal is to get it finished before that. Sometimes I just need to give myself deadlines! The new bullet journal moleskine I picked up this week is really helping in that department too. I am a sucker for a new notebook, & I even got some coloured pens to keep it fun! We’ll see if these doodles last. They’re fun right now, but one of the best things about bullet journaling has been its simplicity. Only time will tell!

Anyway, here’s what we go up to in October according to Instagram:

At the beginning of the month, I took a roadtrip out to Invermere with my favourite Paralympian, Morgan Bird. We helped out (& swam a little) with their training camp & fun meet. She gave a fantastic talk to the kids of CVSC & GGSC.
This slow cooker chili has quickly become a favourite of mine. It’s like eating hot wings, but it’s paleo. Throw everything in the slow cooker the night before & come home to this delicious chili. I’m obsessed.
Our first snowfall came pretty late this year, by Calgary standards. Odin didn’t really know what to make of it, but I think he ended up loving it. I can’t wait til we get a really good dump so he can play more. It’s hilarious!
I made my second turkey all by myself. This year, I went over to my parents & used their incredible kitchen. Seriously, their range is a dream. Thanksgiving dinner turned out fantastic too. 😉
I’m totally hooked on November Project. What started as part of my Healthy Living Challenge in September has turned into something I look forward to every week. If you’ve been on the fence about checking it out, I’m there every Wednesday (& some Mondays). Come drink the kool-aid!
Some version of this sausage & vegetable noodle “pasta” in on the menu every week at our house. Usually it involves tomato sauce (my go-to recipe here. Sorry about the terrible photos!), but this time I simplified with roasted red pepper, goat cheese, & herbs. Simple & delicious!
Our Bitches be Brunchin’ crew hit Batl Axe this month. We had a great time! If you’ve been thinking about trying your hand at axe throwing, I’d highly recommend it.
We made huge strides with our house this month & it’s really looking like our home. We painted a lot of the main floor, hung vintage shelves from my grandparents, & bought a media console for the record player & our games. I love how it’s coming together.
For Halloween this year, we dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz. I made my costume from scratch (putting my grade 8 sewing skills to the test) & N pulled a tin man costume together on short notice. Odin went as himself, our little lion man. It’s going to be hard to top this year!

Do you like to dress up for Halloween? Do you make your costume from scratch or buy one from a store?

A Pizza Date

By whoalansi

On October 25, 2016

In Food

Beef carpaccio pizza

I was feeling really fantastic after my September Challenge, so I decided to continue into November. N was going to be away at the beginning of the month, so we made a date to check out a new spot, Full Circle Pizza, as motivation to keep me going. I’d been hearing really fantastic things about their menu, & since pizza is N’s favourite food group, he was more than game for this plan.

I walked over & met N after work. We made it in time to benefit from their happy hour cocktails & oysters, which was an unexpected bonus. I went for a Caesar, which was basically an appetizer on its own, with an oyster, salami, a huge hunk of cheese, tomato, anchovy, & aranchini. I would totally go back for happy hour to order another one. N went with a local Calgary beer, & we set to work deciding which appies to order.

Leslie Hardy, Shiny Sea, & Kusshi Oysters

Full Circle Menu

We decided on three types of oysters, two East Coast ones, & Kusshis from the West Coast. Full Circle is a pizza & oyster bar, so we couldn’t pass up the second half of their specialty. I think the Kusshis were my favourite, but I also really loved the two East Coast ones we tried. They take a lot of pride in bringing in fresh seafood & that was certainly apparent from their oysters. I’d been reading rave reviews about their octopus, but they were unfortunately out. I guess I’ll just have to go back sometime soon to try it myself.

Deep Fried Oysters

Fried Oysters

We also decided to order the deep fried oysters. They presentation really lovely. They arrive on tucked back in their shells with a little aoili for dipping. The breading is light & crispy, & the aioli was the perfect addition.

Full Circle Pizza & Oysters

Since we went straight after work, we got a window seat right at the front. It was nice to catch the last bits of daylight after having been inside all day, but I also think it’d be fun to sit near the ovens, & watch all the pizzas go in! There’s lots of great spaces for a big group, which I think would be fun to do something (who am I kidding? I’m just a sucker for more opportunities to sample lots of the menu!).

Flaming Moe Pi

Beef Carpaccio Pi

I had waffled back & forth between the Beef Carpaccio Pi & the Reuben Pi after the Dr. Octo-Pi was off the table. In the end, I just had to try the Beef Carpaccio Pi & I have no regrets! It’s probably not something I could reproduce at home, which is usually a deciding factor for me. The flavours were so good (I really love grainy mustard). If you like carpaccio, I highly recommend it! There’s not a lot of cheese to it, but I didn’t find that took anything away.

I could have told you N was going to order the Flaming Moe weeks before we’d ever stepped foot in Full Circle. It’s spicy & meaty, & that’s totally his jam. I really enjoyed the couple slices of his I tried too. The crust on both was some of the best I’ve had in the city. This pizza is quite spicy though, so make sure you’re ready for that. We both felt that it could have done without the sriracha, which kind of surprised me. I love sriracha!

The best part about pizza dates? Pizza leftovers!

Overall, we really enjoyed our night out at Full Circle. I’m already planning another trip back for more pizza (& hopefully some of that octopus too!).

Happy Thanksgiving!

By whoalansi

On October 10, 2016

In Family, Personal

Odin de Boer

Happy Thanksgiving! I feel so lucky to have more than I can begin to list to be thankful for. Most importantly though, I’m thankful for my wonderful friends & family. I only go to spend the day with one of my boys, but my family more than made up for it with a fabulous evening together.

I headed over to my parents house early in the day yesterday to start dinner. They were driving back from the lake that afternoon & joined in to help with dinner around 4. This was my second time cooking a turkey all on my own, & holy it’s a big job. I have to admit, I’m also thankful that my family is a once a year turkey family. I love to cook, but I don’t find turkey dinner a fun meal to cook. It’s a lot of waiting & basting, & hoping it all comes together well.

My parents have an amazing Viking range, which makes cooking a total joy!

Playing with Odin while Tom the Turkey cooks!

It wouldn’t be fall in Calgary without a little snow.

Thankfully, my skills held up well & dinner turned out fabulous. I also made a delicious butternut squash sage soup (from the Practical Paleo cookbook I’m always going on about). My parents took care of the mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, yams, & onions. Everything came together so well, & we were joined by my brother’s girlfriend & her father.

Table’s all set!

Bringing out the nice china

My turkey masterpiece

First course: Butternut squash sage soup

Dad carving the turkey

With one of my boys

Dad & his pal, Odin

Belly rubs from Uncle Adam are the best!

I hope your Thanksgiving was equally lovely, wherever you are (or will be, if you celebrate American Thanksgiving in a few weeks). From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

WHOA lansi

francophile, oenophile, logophile, turophile

Author: whoalansi Page 6 of 35

Storm Mountain Lodge

Odin \\ 9 months

Our Holiday Traditions

Odin \\ eight months

SeaWheeze 2016

Lest we forget – Remembrance Day 2016

Odin \\ seven months

A Pizza Date

Happy Thanksgiving!

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