Uncategorized Archives - Page 6 of 17

noël

On January 7, 2014

The new year is in full swing. We’re back at work & I’m finally getting back into our routines. Even though I had plenty of time to edit photos last week, they sat on my camera until tonight when I realized it was about time I posted about Christmas!

I don’t have a whole lot to say. We had a lovely Christmas; we got crazy spoiled as always. N & I spent Christmas Eve until Boxing Day at hiss parents house this year: eating everything from lobster & chowder to turkey & stuffing. We went skating, taught his siblings a new board game, & watched lots of movies.

After N finished work on Boxing Day we loaded up the car & headed out to Columbia Valley. We stayed overnight with a friend of mine in Invermere so we could ski Panorama in the morning. I always enjoy staying in Invermere overnight; the drive up to Panorama is so quick. Not to mention we were served a lovely breakfast & coffee before hitting the slopes. My girlfriend has this great new place near the lake & we weren’t in a huge rush to get up the mountain so we took our time catching up over eggs, bacon, & hashbrowns.

The skiing itself was pretty good – nothing spectacular, but nothing to complain about for December either. That night we headed out to my parents’ place further down the valley. My dad make his incredible pizza & we exchanged gifts with my family. The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying the country: skating, relaxing, reading, & enjoying each other’s company.

It was great to spend time with each of our families & get away from the city for a bit. It always feels like a bit of a holiday even if it’s just for a couple days.

Happy New Year all!

December in Instagram

By whoalansi

On December 31, 2013

In Uncategorized

It’s been a bit of a slower month for blog posts, but I think overall I’ve been more consistent than ever before. It wasn’t a real resolution to post more, but I did mention that it was a goal for this year and I think I can successfully check that one off. My other resolutions were a little more hit or mess, but I’ll talk about that more when I make this years’.

Like all years, this one has its ups and downs. When I think back though, there were so many great moments. It’s hard to trump our engagement, but we also made some great memories in the states, spent lots of time out at the lake and in the mountains, and ate our way around the city. I can’t complain. Thanks, 2013. I think 2014 should be a pretty great year too. We’re off to Mexico at the end of January, we’re getting married this summer, and we’ve got plans for a pretty fantastic honeymoon. I hope you all can look back on 2013 with a smile and I wish you all the joy and happiness for this brand new year. Here’s a little recap of what December looked like for us.

1. N participated in Movember again this year. It was his best mustache showing to date, but he still looked like a bit of a creep at the end.
2. N’s family dog, Lucky, celebrated his 15th birthday. They let him lick the icing off a cupcake. When you’re 105, you get to do whatever you want.
3. KC & I at the hockey game. It was me & the boys that night. Things got rowdy, as all hockey games should.
4. Fitness at work continued. We did a squat challenge this month & sometimes these types of ridiculous outfits make an appearance. Always need to be prepared for squats.
5. My company Christmas party was a blast. We had the best time and took a lot of great photobooth photos.
6. The snow this December has been pretty great so far. We spent the weekend before Christmas in Banff- skiing, drinking, snowshoeing, and hitting the hot springs.
7. We stayed in Calgary for Christmas this year and spent the holidays with N’s family at their house. His mom’s fireplace is just adorable.
8. Skating on Christmas Day with family and friends.
9. We skied Panorama after Christmas and then headed out to spend some time with my family in the Columbia Valley. It was beautiful!

See you in 2014, blog friends! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

By whoalansi

On December 24, 2013

In Uncategorized

Christmas has arrived! We’re working out last few hours before packing it in for a few days. N & I are spending Christmas with his family this year & then heading out to the Columbia Valley to spend the weekend with my family. It promises to be a wonderful week filled with family, friends, and food! Sounds more or less perfect to me!

I just wanted to take a minute to wish all those of you who read this little blog from time to time a very Merry Christmas – filled with family, friends, and all your wonderful Christmas traditions. I am very grateful to all of those who stop by, letting me share a little bit of my life with you. It’s been a great year of blogging for me & I’m looking forward to an even better 2014.

Meilleurs vœux pour un Noël plein de joies et une nouvelle année remplie de bonheur,

A & N

xx

(PS. Just some of my favourite silly photos from my work’s Christmas Party. I have great friends & coworkers!)

Currently

By whoalansi

On December 14, 2013

In Uncategorized

Reading
Game of Thrones. Still. I’ve been reading this forever and really need to finish it. Perhaps doing a currently post with motivate me to get back on the reading train. It’s embarrassing to post the same thing every time. I also have a subscription to Runner’s World so I monthly put books on the side burner to read my magazines.

Watching
Love Actually, Home Alone. I’m trying to get into this the Christmas Spirit like everyone else. It’s not Christmas until I’ve seen Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Miracle on 34th Street. N grew up with the 90s version of Miracle on 34th Street and I grew up with the original 1947 version. Personally, I can’t get into the newer version. Natalie Wood is the only Susan Walker in my world.

Making
I’ve tried to be creative with our meal plans lately instead of falling back to the same old recipes time after time. There’s been a fair bit of experimenting lately. I should also make some cookies again soon. I tested this recipe recently and I can’t even tell that they’re paleo. Win. I’ve started making my usual Christmas Cards. At least my lack of Christmas Spirit isn’t coupled with a lack of creativity?

Feeling
Ready to escape this winter weather. We’re finally out of the deep freeze for a bit, but I’m very ready for our trip to Mexico at the end of January.

Loving
The next few weeks full of family and friends. We’ve got my Christmas Party, family dinners, cocktail parties, and a weekend in Banff coming up and then it’s Christmas. It should be a fun few weeks.

Thinking
Too much. All the time. & wishing I’d learn to stop overthinking everything all the time. Maybe someday I’ll actually get it. Until then I’ll be here, driving myself crazy with my hypothetical scenarios.

Craving
Everything I know I shouldn’t eat. I think my body wants to add an extra layer of fat to keep me warm in these subzero temperatures. I’m especially craving anything involving melted cheese. Raclette and Poutine top the list. How French of me…

Struggling
Things have felt off lately and I can’t quite put my finger on why and what to do about it.

Wearing
Pants. Way too often. I don’t particularly like wearing dress pants, but it’s been much too cold for dresses and tights lately so I’ve had to suck it up. I hope the temperatures rise a little bit so I can get back to my usual winter wear.

Catching up
On blog posts and taking pictures and posting. Maybe someday I’ll get this down?

for the coffee obsessed

By whoalansi

On December 10, 2013

In Uncategorized

I know I just professed my love for Fratello Coffee Roasters yesterday, but this is a little different. I wasn’t kidding; it’s still my favourite coffee. & they make a beautiful cup of coffee, in my opinion. I’ve always been a latte or cappuccino girl (how can you go wrong with latte art?), but they make an amazing pour over as well. If you really love coffee, I highly recommend checking it out.

Fratello posted a lovely little video yesterday, which is what had me posting my love of both their cafe (Analog Coffee on 17th Avenue SW) and their coffee. I regularly convince N to grab a coffee there with me on the weekend. It was even one of my picks for our engagement session with 3Haus last month. (I’ll do a post about that lovely experience soon, I promise – here’s a couple teasers shots from Analog Coffee for now).

Source: 3Haus Photographics

If Fratello were on my way to work in the morning, I would undoubtedly stop in from time to time. Sadly, my commute doesn’t venture anywhere near their lovely establishment. Luckily for me, Calgary’s got a pretty decent coffee scene so it’s not too upsetting (although I really wouldn’t protest if they happened to open up a cafe on the northeast side of the city…).

Enter deVille Coffee and their Nutella Latte. Yeah, you heard me right, Nutella Latte. Since leaving Starbucks a few years ago, I’ve lost my taste for anything overly sweet. When people get excited about Pumpkin Spice Lattes or whatever current Starbucks coffee craze (abomination) is going on now, all I can think is sugar. Much too sweet for me.

Nutella Lattes, however, are something I can get behind. The combination of a great coffee (deVille brews Intelligentsia Coffee from Chicago), steamed milk, and a bit of Nutella is a great way to start the day. Nutella is deliciously chocolatey without being overly sweet, so it’s the perfect treat for those of us who aren’t into super sugary coffee. (Now I know that Nutella also has a lot of sugar in it and is no more healthy than Starbucks in that regard. I just can’t stand coffee that doesn’t at least mildly taste like coffee and it seems like sbux gets more and more ridiculous every year.)

I once did the math on what I was spending per month and it completely turned me off buying coffee every morning. Even when I only spent $3 a day on coffee, it added up to almost $100 a month so I try not buy coffee on my way to work very often. With Calgary being so cold lately though, I’ve needed an extra little something in the morning, so I’ve been stopping in to deVille sometimes as I walk past.

I haven’t been able to get into Christmas yet (does that make me a terrible blogger? I feel like all the bloggers are super into the Christmas Spirit and I’m just not there yet. I tried watching Love Actually on Sunday night to get into the spirit, but that only last until Monday morning.), but I can definitely always get behind good coffee on a cold day.

November in Instagram

By whoalansi

On December 3, 2013

In Uncategorized

November ended this weekend and took our beautiful chinook weather with it. A storm blew late Sunday night and half the city is stuck in snow drifts this morning. The wind has caused white-out on most highways surrounding our frozen city and we’re all bundled up like it’s the arctic. Welcome to Calgary. Welcome to winter.

December is always one of the busiest months and it’s no different for us this year. We’ve got something going on every weekend between family dinners, christmas parties, and trips to the mountains. It’s the best kind of busy though as we’ll get to see the majority of our friends and family at some point this month. Sadly, if we haven’t already made plans, we probably won’t have time until January now. I’m very busy and important, you know.

1. I posted this photo to Instagram and it was featured in a Women’s Health Fitness Friday roundup. I thought it was pretty cool: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/fitness-friday-november-1
2. My girlfriends and I volunteered at Avenue’s Top 40 Under 40 event. It was great meeting all the recipients and we had a great time at the after party.
3. N and I hosted a Halloween party at our place. We dressed up as the Paleo Police.
4. We’ve been working on headstands and handstands as well as getting back into strength training this month. We’ve both improved a lot and plan to continue this month.
5. We celebrated H’s birthday with bowling, beer, and delicious food at National Bowl. Happy Birthday, H!
6. We bought an eighth of a cow from one of N’s coworkers. It’s all grass-fed beef. We were obviously very excited.
7. We got our engagement photos back and they are beautiful. I love every single one and am so happy we’ve booked 3Haus for our wedding as well.
8. Treated outselves to pizza at Famoso before seeign the Hunger Games. Their pizza is just delicious! We hadn’t seen a movie together in ages; this one was well worth hitting the theatre on a friday night.
9. Movember is over, which means this lovely stache is just a memory.

Happy December, everyone!

a moveable feast

By whoalansi

On November 13, 2013

In Uncategorized

I follow a lot of blogs – fashion blogs, lifestyle blogs, design blogs, cooking blogs… I love them all for different reasons. I’ve been following Megan Gilger of The Frensh Exchange for a while now and her post today got me thinking about a lot of things. One of those things is Paris.

It’s funny because Paris is both the reason I first found Megan’s blog and part of the reason I’m blogging today. Her post struck a chord with me for a few reasons. I love her and her husbands work and the way she talks about creating always inspires me to be better creatively. Following through on that is a work in progress, but it’s the kind of work in progress I’m happy to be doing. I’m learning it’s important to me to create things as well as tell my story and I think she hit the nail on the head today. It isn’t all business and we are definitely more than just our work. That’s what I want this blog to be about. My story. And my story should definitely include Paris.

So back to that. As Megan said in her post,

The biggest thing, if anything you should take from this whole chat, is that you never should say no to Paris….ever. Paris is always a yes no matter what. Never say no. (Megan Gilger)

I couldn’t agree more. We’re in the process of planning our wedding and, as a result, our honeymoon next year. While Paris was never my home, I adore it. J’adore Paris! I know there are many people who would disagree that this city is great, but I am not one of them. I don’t know what it is about Paris and I’m not sure I can properly put it into words. It’s just a feeling. And maybe you just have to feel it. Maybe you just have to find your Paris, your France, your place that will always feel special to you.

France in general makes me feel so many things. It’s such an inspriring place for me. I can wander around Paris or Lyon for hours, people watching and taking in every detail. I can’t imagine ever feeling differently about either one. Even after living in Lyon for 7 months, walking down the same streets everyday, catching a glimpse of the Basilica on Fourviere at the end of my street every night, I was still taken away by the humble beauty daily in that country.

I want to share this with N. I want to show him my Lyon, show him all of the amazing things I love about Paris, Lyon, France. Share this feeling I get while I’m there.

I hope he’s as excited as I am.

If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast. (Ernest Hemingway)

October in Instagram

By whoalansi

On November 6, 2013

In Uncategorized

We had a beautiful fall this year. It was amazing so I’m trying really hard not to complain now that the temperature has severely dropped and the snow has arrived. Here’s a little recap of what we got up to this month.

1. Fall colours and light on one of my walks home. This season can be so gorgeous.
2. Coffee and wedding planning with my mom. Things are coming together quickly!
3. Fall lunch runs are my favourite. I hope we get a few more warm days before winter really sets in so I can do a few more outdoor runs.
4. We spent Thanksgiving out at the lake with my family. The in between season are so relaxing! Good food, good company, good drinks.
5. A friend helped me make some beautiful cards to ask my girls to be my bridesmaids. We got wine and chatted. It was lovely!
6. Med balls at Fitness Friday? Might as well have been Christmas. (My coworkers may have slightly disagreed!)
7. Me and my King of Hearts. Dressed up as Rosie the Riveter and the King of Hearts for Halloween.
8. I’m back at the Y twice a month. A little extra income and a gym membership is worth a couple long days a month.
9. Doing some CrossFit style workouts at the Y. The 24″ box is tough, but it’s pretty satisfying to stick with it for an entire workout.

September in Instagram

By whoalansi

On October 2, 2013

In Uncategorized

September was a crazy month – a crazy, awesome, incredible month. We started it off on vacation. I’ve written a little bit about that so far (there’s so much more to come! It was a fabulous trip.) and a little bit about N’s beautiful proposal (more on that later too), but here’s a little Instagram recap that includes a little more than just the beginning of the month. There was more to September than vacations and proposals (I think…I’m still living in those moments a bit!)

1. Cannon Beach. I know I already blogged about it, but we just loved it so much.
2. Pok Pok’s famous wings. If you’re ever in Portland, eat the wings (but maybe not the green papaya salad. I loved it, but it kicked N in the mouth) and try a whiskey sour. Game changers.
3. Seattle and the famous Pike Place Market.
4. The recreation of N’s proposal, signs and all.
5. Checking out wineries on Lake Okanagan. Quail’s Gate is my favourite!
6. N heading to his first day of work, looking good!
7. Celebrating the marriage of two close friends (and taking awkward engagement photos cause we’re kind of awkward people).
8. Friday night drinks and toasts with both our families. Wonderful to all get together! It was a lovely weekend full of family.
9. We played tourist in our own city and went up the Calgary Tower for #doorsopenyyc. (It was my first time!) I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit scary standing on that glass bottomed floor and looking down for the first time!

Life is busy and wonderful. We’re getting into the swing of this whole planning a wedding thing (or at least I am…), Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and fall has officially arrived. Bring it on October!

the little things

By whoalansi

On September 20, 2013

In Uncategorized

I know it’s a cliche. & not even an uncommon one at that. But sometimes it really is the little things that make all the difference in the world.

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in life: work, the gym, meal plans, cooking, cleaning, sleeping… & repeat. Sometimes I forget to stop for a second. I took a break for a second today and stepped back from all the craziness I’m creating for myself and was reminded of one of those little things that I love:

good coffee, in a nice space, with a book.

It doesn’t even really have to be a good book. It can be a mediocre book. It does have to be a good cup of coffee, however.

I needed a little break from the office today so I stepped over to one of my favourite restaurants for a coffee. They also happen to brew one of my favourites: Phil & Sebastian. As I admired their La Marzocco (I have an obsession) and stopped thinking about workweddingvenuesfitnessdinnercleaningsleeping for a minute, I remembered how important taking time out is to me.

I sat down for a few minutes with my cappuccino and read. It was a nice escape. I don’t know what it is about books in coffee shops for me, but I love it. Maybe it reminds me of being a student. Or maybe my love for frequenting coffee shops to read is why I have fond memories of being a student. Either way, it got me thinking about some of the other little things that make me smile. Here’s a little list for you on this lovely Thursday:

– dancing with N
– the first bite of a perfectly cooked piece of red meat
– well designed, aesthetically pleasing spaces
– random emoji-filled text messages
– dance parties with my girlfriends
– when a really great song comes on my iPod as I’m walking to work
– the first glimpse of Columbia Lake as you crest the top of the hill on highway 93
– photos of friends, food, travel (let’s be honest here: everything)
– the first day it’s warm enough to go bare legged after months of winter
– standing at the top of a mountain
– the few minutes before we get out of bed in the morning
– freshly washed and waxed Rula (my subarula!)
– a perfectly cut piece of salmon sashimi
– dancing with puppies
– driving a winding road with no one in front of me
– flip flop tan lines

What are some of the things that make you smile?

WHOA lansi

francophile, oenophile, logophile, turophile

Category: Uncategorized Page 6 of 17

noël

Merry Christmas

Currently

for the coffee obsessed

a moveable feast

ABOUT

whoalansi

Social Media

Archives

Blogs I Follow

Search

whoalansi

Social

Search

Subscribe to Blog via Email