life Archives - Page 4 of 6

Tag: life Page 4 of 6

Calgary Strong

On July 8, 2013

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while and then got wrapped up with other things. Story of my life…Sometimes I’m the best blogger!

I took these photos almost two weeks ago now, when Calgary first flooded. Thursday night, we’d gone to bed knowing the river was going to be pretty high the next day, but I never would have guessed that it would rise as high as it did. To think that so much of the downtown core was flooded still doesn’t seem real to me.

As we were all off work, we went for breakfast with a few friends Friday morning and then took a walk to check out some of the flooding and water levels. Here are some of the shots I got.

A block from our house, unusually full of cars

Lower Centre Street Bridge is covered in water

Prince’s Island Park was also under water

High River Evacuee

Flood pants and Keds. I really have no rain wear.

The Police coming to tell us to get to higher ground.

Water rushing under the 5th avenue flyover.

Very fast Bow River

The Langevin Bridge

One of my favourite building and favourite places to run

East Village

Langevin

East Village and Saddledome in the distance.

It was incredible to see the flooding in person. We are so high up on the hill that it was hard to understand how bad it was near the river. I still can’t get over the shots of the inside of the Saddledome – full of water past the 10th row.

In the days that followed, Calgarians came together to help each other out. I am so proud of how this city responded to this disaster. Mom, N, and I volunteered in Bowness the Tuesday after the flood and it felt so great to be able to help even if it was just for one day. My friends spent their long weekend helping strangers in some of the hardest hit neighbourhoods.

Things have slowly started to return to normal. There is still so much work to be done and it will be a long time before we’re back to where we were before this flood, but the progress that has been made so far is awe inspiring. The fact that the Stampede is currently happening, despite the ground being under water two weeks ago is crazy! (In the absolute best way possible).

Here’s to everyone who came together and helped out in whatever way they could. You amaze me.

June in Instagram

By whoalansi

On July 3, 2013

In Uncategorized

I have been seriously neglecting this blog lately. I’ve taken so many photos and planned so many posts, but it just hasn’t come together for me when it comes to actually sitting and blogging. I’m even a few days behind on my Instagram recap here!

Calgary was recently hit with some major flooding. It was unbelievable. I never thought it was possible for so much of the city to end up underwater. Luckily, we live up a huge hill (as do most of our friends) so we were virtually unaffected. Instead we volunteered our time to the families who were and I’m so proud of our city for coming together in such awesome ways.

I have some flood pictures so let’s move on to the recap. I’m sure we’ll be talking about the Alberta Flood for a long time, but there were so many other great things that happened in June so I’m going to focus on those for now.

1. We kicked off the month by climbing Ha Ling Peak. It was great start to the hiking season and I really hope it continues. There are so many great hikes in the area and sometimes there’s really nothing better than standing on top of mountain.
2. Fiasco Gelato opened a pop-up in the Bridgeland Market near our place. They gave out free scoops, so of course we had to check it out.
3. N and I celebrated 4 years together this month. We had a fantastic dinner at Cucina. I can’t say enough good things about this restaurant or about this amazing guy I’m with. Happy Anniversary!
4. Stumptown Coffee has opened up at Luke’s Drug Mart. It’s a stone’s throw from our house so it’s quickly becoming a Saturday ritual to stop in for some coffee and a treat.
5. The burpee challenge went on throughout June. I don’t love burpees. No one loves burpees. I hope I at least inspired some people to move a little bit more.
6. The flood. The photos are unreal, the damage is heartbreaking, the way the city came together is so inspiring. #CalgaryStrong.
7. I’ve been hanging out at Mission Fitness once a week, doing CrossFit. We did rope climbs last week and I loved it. (Obviously!)
8. Flood party with my Liver. She’s pretty freaking awesome. We played an #calgaryflooddrinkinggame cuz we’re…terrible people.
9. We spent the long weekend out at the lake with my parents. Lots of sun, boating, and wake boarding. I can’t get enough of it and am definitely disappointed to be back.

Alright, summer. Let’s do this. I’m more than ready for July, Stampede, my birthday, and all the awesome that comes with my favourite month!

Summer To-Do List

By whoalansi

On June 21, 2013

In Uncategorized

Columbia Lake

Considering yesterday Calgary and its surrounding communities and cities declared a state of emergency due to flooding from heavy rainfall, it’s hard to believe summer has arrived today. Inspired by a couple other bloggers and the first day of one of my favourite seasons (who am I kidding, I love them all!), I put together a little summer to-do list of some of the things I’d like to do.

1. Enjoy cocktails with friends. I want to host a cocktail party but I envision this being outside and that’s not an option for us due to our lack of outdoor space. Elsie of A Beautiful Mess has been posting a ton of amazing sounding cocktail recipes that I am dying to try!

2. Take advantage of the mountains. Go hiking and backpacking. The rockies are too close not to take advantage of!

3. Experience more Calgary events. Street Festivals, Food Truck Events, Fun Runs…Take advantage of some of the fun local things happening around Calgary. Play tourist at home a little bit.

4. Take a road trip. I can’t wait for our trip to Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, and Kelowna. I love a good road trip and I love visiting new cities.

5. Attend an outdoor concert. I bought tickets for Folk Fest. I’ve heard great things about it so it’s about time I did a full day at Prince’s Island.

6. Nail a handstand. I’ve been practicing and I’m determined to nail a decent handstand. The summer I was nine, I had a similar goal, but with cartwheels. What I’m saying is that I’m an nine-year-old at heart.

7. Get away with the girls. Boys will be boys, so let’s leave them at home and have our own fun. I’m thinking some lake time is in order. Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone and make up some cocktails too!

8. Rock a flip flop tan and some freckles. Nothing says summer to me better than sunkissed skin and tan lines from my havaianas. Come on Calgary, bring on the sunshine!

9. Bike to work as much as possible! We live in the perfect neighbourhood to take advantage of biking to work. It’s such a great way to start the day.

10. Spend time outside daily. Summer always flies by. I’ll save my hermitting for winter, when darkness sets in before I leave work and the ground is frozen for months.

Enjoy the first day of summer! What do you plan to do this season?

Nashville North

Wedding Shower

Wakeboarding

Ha Ling Peak

By whoalansi

On June 19, 2013

In Uncategorized

We kicked off our hiking season by conquering Ha Ling Peak a couple weeks ago. The rain finally let up for a day so we took advantage of the sun and pilled into my car to head out to Canmore for a day in the mountains.

Ha Ling is a great beginning of season hike. It’s not too long and even with snow, it’s hike-able. They used to list it as a beginner scramble, but the word beginner throws people off. It can be daunting for an actual beginner, so they’ve since changed it to a moderate hike.

You don’t really get any breaks on Ha Ling. It’s starts out pretty steep and never really lets up the whole way. The nice thing is that it’s relatively short and the views are pretty awesome. You can see all of Canmore just before the final push to the summit. It really reminds you of how lucky we are here in Alberta.

We started out in the late morning and took our time, pausing for lunch before the summit and taking water breaks whenever we wanted. It probably took us about 3 hours round trip. It was a great first hike of the season. Since it’s still quite early in the year, there’s lots of snow once you get past the treeline, but we managed to find a way up relatively unscathed.

The next day I wasn’t too sore but I could feel my muscles. For me, this is always a sign of a hike that I was well prepared for. It was definitely nothing like our beginning of season attempt at Middle Sister several years ago She left me waddling for days afterwards. (And yet, I still want to hike her again sometime soon. Masochist?)

I’d definitely recommend Ha Ling, even if you are a bit of beginner. Take your time and enjoy the awesome view at the top. It’s well worth the burning calf muscles!

Happy Anniversary!

By whoalansi

On June 14, 2013

In Uncategorized

The first summer we were dating. Bowview Pool Kegger.

Today marks four years of dating for N and I. It is also the first time we’ll be in the same province on June 14th since our first date. Somehow we’ve always managed to be apart for our anniversary.

After dating all summer and before I moved to Montreal

Visiting me in Montreal

The first year, I was living in Montreal and N in Calgary. He had just left for a Euro Trip with a bunch of his friends. I think we celebrated during one of his trips to Montreal earlier in the spring.

My second year in Montreal

Quebec City for Carnaval

The second year we were dating I was still in Montreal. Since we weren’t together, we both didn’t even think of it until the following day when I was sitting on the patio at the Starbucks where I worked and one of the girls asked me how long we’d been dating. Suddenly, I realized it had been two years and a day. Whoops! I texted him to make fun of him even though I was equally guilty of forgetting.

Supporting me at my first half marathon in Montreal

Skiing

Last year, we thought we’d be together and were pretty excited. Then N was sent to the Richmond office for work for a month and we missed it. We celebrated once he was back at the end of June.

Nashville North. Aka our favourite.

Stampede Week. Double fisting like champs.

Hiking on my Birthday

H & Z’s Wedding

So this year, our fourth year together, we plan on grabbing some drinks after work and then heading over to Cucina for dinner. I’m really excited to spend the evening with N at a restaurant I love. He’s never been so I can’t wait to see if he loves it as much as I do.

Happy Anniversary, N! I can’t wait to celebrate with you tonight. I hope you enjoyed the little photo recap of our relationship. xx

Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon

Christmas Ski Trip

Hockey

Our house

Birthday Pizza

By whoalansi

On June 9, 2013

In Uncategorized

N loves pizza so it was an obvious choice for his birthday meal. It doesn’t hurt that my parents have an incredible pizza recipe that they love to use. When I suggested we make it for N’s birthday, my dad was more than happy to oblige.

Like most recipes I love, this one just takes patience, practice, and some delicious ingredients. The sauce is Jamie Oliver’s quickest tomato sauce. It’s simple and full of flavour. You can’t go wrong with this one. We usually substitute Roma tomatoes for San Marzano type and I would highly recommend doing this if you can get your hands on them. They have a really distinct flavour and it’s become what I look for in an authentic pizza sauce.

The dough is a bit of a hybrid. My dad is always the one to make it, but I’ve borrowed his recipe and was gifted some semolina flour so I plan to try it out. You’ll have to wait for that to happen for me to post my take on the recipe, but there are hundreds of great recipes out there. I really think a lot of baking is getting to know your oven and your region anyway, so be adventurous. Experiment. I mean, the worst thing that’s ever happened to me was that I ate the ingredients off my pizza. They were still delicious even if my crust was a bit of a fail.

As we waited for the dough to finish proofing, we made up a tray of appetizers, grabbed some beers, and headed out to the deck to relax. This is something my family does often, especially out at the lake, and I love it. Olives and cheese are two of my favourite things. I’m not one to get overly excited about sweets, so to me these little appies are way better than desert. Unless it’s crème brûlée. I can’t say no to that deliciousness.

We made two large pizzas that night. The first was very traditional: tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, caramelized onions, and basil. It’s probably my favourite pizza. The flavours seem to come together perfectly without competing with each other.

My dad named our second pizza The Kitchen Sink. Basically it had “everything but the kitchen sink”. We took a bunch of stuff we had in the fridge and piled it onto the pizza. There was asparagus, spicy capicola, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, and a couple different cheeses. I’m sure I’m forgetting some things too. It turned out delicious! I still love our simple pizza, but this one gave it a run for its money.

We chatted well into the night, enjoying our pizza and wine. That’s another thing I love about making pizza with my family: with one oven the meal lasts for a few hours, so we sit around chatting and enjoying each other’s company as we wait for the next pizza.

Weekend Wears

By whoalansi

On May 24, 2013

In Fashion

I want to wear dresses all the time. Rain or shine, I’d prefer a dress to pants any day. I was pretty excited to find this one online. A coworker introduced me to Tobi (the website I bought it from) and it’s full of cute, dangerously cheap clothes. This is one of those perfect summer dresses. Easy to slip on for a casual date or for work. The back is open, but I can throw a blazer or sweater over top and since it’s such a great length it works.

At five foot nine, length is a big thing for me. For the longest time, the trend was super short dresses and I could never find anything appropriate for work. I actually had a hard time finding dresses that I felt comfortable wearing at all. Luckily the trend has moved back towards longer dresses and skirts now. I still get pretty excited when I find something that comes to just above my knees.

The weather lately has been so sunny and warm. It’s been lovely. I’ve been wanting to spend as much time as possible outside, which has been great. The only downside is that we haven’t done any spring cleaning yet and our condo desperately needs it. We haven’t even lived here a year yet and somehow it feels like we’ve accumulated so much stuff. I’m really feeling the need to de-clutter and reorganize some things. I haven’t really lived in one place for a year for a while so I haven’t really done the spring cleaning thing in a while. Moving tends to accomplish that to a certain extent.

It’s supposed to get pretty dreary tomorrow and continue for the rest of the weekend. Unfortunately, I doubt we’ll have much time to get any of the things on my To Do list done. We seemed to have made plans for every minute of the weekend. This is something I have a knack for doing. I’m not saying I don’t like it, but I know I’m going to need a few days before summer hits.

We’ll be making plans and trying to get outside as much as possible the minute summer hits. I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.

Greek Style Salad

By whoalansi

On May 14, 2013

In Uncategorized

I literally brushed dust off my laptop when I grabbed it tonight. Lately I’ve been doing lots of things that don’t really involve being on my computer.

Two weeks ago, my CrossFit boxed suddenly closed. I had some free passes I was using so I’ve spent the last couple weeks trying to decide what to do with myself. I’m seriously addicted to CrossFit. I’m also playing soccer and will be training for a half marathon though so I definitely can’t justify the cost of joining a new box on top of both of these commitments. I finally made the decision today to sign up for a weekly outdoor CrossFit class. It’s run by CrossFit Calgary and is in the park a few minutes walk from my house. It starts tonight and I’m pretty excited about it.

The weather in Calgary has been fantastic, so I’ve been spending a lot less time inside on my computer and a lot more enjoying the outdoors. We’ve been getting back into running more and bought a Frisbee this weekend for sunny days in the park. I even got a mild sunburn on Saturday, which is pretty rare for me!

Work has been busy too. I spent most of last week down at geoConvention talking to clients about our software. It was lots of long days in heels, but I actually really enjoyed it. It’s nice to get out and talk to clients, put names to faces, and not be glued to my computer for a few days.

On to the point of this post, I guess! Greek Salad is one of my very favourite salads. Unfortunately, one of the best parts of it is the feta cheese. This month we were making a solid effort to eat Paleo at home so feta was out. I don’t even have any in the fridge right now, which is pretty shocking. Olives are the other delicious piece of the puzzle though, if you ask me. I took a really simple idea from Balanced Bites and edited my Greek Salad recipe a bit. I don’t even know if this counts as a recipe.

Greek Style Salad

In a large salad bowl. combine cucumber, grape tomatoes, and pitted olives. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Drizzle with olive oil.

Easy, Simple, and Delicious.

Weekend Wears

By whoalansi

On May 3, 2013

In Fashion

Even though I am more than tall enough and most of my friends are on the shorter side, I love heels. I feel so much more put together when I wear heels so I tend to wear them almost every day at work. So when it comes time to hit the Farmer’s Market on the weekend, I’m all about the comfy flats. Moccasins are currently my favourite. Not only are they the comfiest shoes I own, but they are adorable too! Thank you for being so awesome, Minnetonka.

I linked to that website and now I really want another pair of moccasins. Maybe in white for summer?

Life has been busy lately despite our lack of drinking and partying. Our office is undergoing renovations and I’m working on getting new manuals ready for when they are finished. It’s going to be a pretty busy couple months. I also have the opportunity to attend more events in my new role. It’s exciting to be able to put names to the faces of so many of the clients I’d spoken to on the Help Desk.

N’s mom brought me back this awesome yellow coach purse from the States and I’ve been wearing it at every chance I get. I just love it. It seems totally perfect for spring and is a nice change from my usual black, brown, or blue.

I’m pretty excited for the coming weekend. Cirque de Soleil’s Amaluna is in Calgary right now and N and I are going with my family on Saturday night. I’ve heard it’s incredible! We also plan to grab dinner all together before the show. Everyone knows how much I love going for dinner, so it should be a pretty great weekend!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Weekend Wears

By whoalansi

On April 22, 2013

In Fashion

Last weekend was full of food: farmer’s market, baking, cooking, and eating. It snowed on Sunday so we when we weren’t wrapped in a blanket, watching Prison Break on Netflix, we were cooking. Well, mostly I was cooking. Our kitchen isn’t really made for two.

It was a typical snowy spring day when we took these pictures – the beginning of the weekend snow storm. I bundled up in my favourite boots, a comfy sweater, leggings, and my leather jacket. Uncharacteristically monochromatic of me.

Our next few weekends will probably look a lot this this: cooking, baking, eating, and hanging out at the Farmer’s Market. I’m sure I’ll add in some CrossFit, running, and time with family and friends as well. Sometimes it’s nice to have a low key weekend.

I got N a nice new winter jacket for his birthday and it arrived really early. I just couldn’t wait to give it to him though so I did last week. I ordered it from Bridge and Burn and it’s even more beautiful than I expected it to be. Of course, I had to snap a photo too.

Doesn’t he look nice? Yeah, I thought so too!

WHOA lansi

francophile, oenophile, logophile, turophile

Tag: life Page 4 of 6

Calgary Strong

Ha Ling Peak

Happy Anniversary!

Birthday Pizza

Weekend Wears

Greek Style Salad

Weekend Wears

Weekend Wears

ABOUT

whoalansi

Social Media

Archives

Blogs I Follow

Search

whoalansi

Social

Search

Subscribe to Blog via Email