Best. Salad. Ever

My first recipe post! Huzzah!

My hubby and I LOVE this salad. So fresh and tasty. I'm pretty sure he would be ok if we had it at least once a week ;)

So here's what goes into it...

-1 bag of mixed greens (desired amount)
-1 cup of crushed feta cheese
-2 cups strawberries, washed, sliced
-1 cup candied pecans (or walnuts,) crushed
-Trader Joe's Strawberry Walnut Vinaigrette (or your own favorite vinaigrette)
-Two steaks, cooked how you like 'em!

Put it all together (it's salad, not rocket science) and enjoy!

 

 

handsome & gretyl

for my wedding in july, i was blessed with the amazing musical talents of dear friends from seattle. i met brett and gretyl several years ago at church...before they were even married and starting their musical magic together :) kinda special that my fiance also met them and fell in love with their music as well. 

when it came time to chose the music for the wedding, i had a very distinct idea of what i wanted: their song "sure" for my isle. but then i thought further, how COOL would it be to have them play it live? here's the thing tho, i knew that they were also about to have their first child, but i also knew it couldn't hurt to ask. well, they said yes, the date has passed, and everyone who attended said the wedding was beautiful, but the music MADE it. gretyl's voice is haunting and crystal clear, she really doesn't miss a beat. brett has an amazing talent for sound design and can play pretty much any instrument. together, they are handsome and gretyl and you should really give them a listen. you can buy their newest full length album here

SO blessed beyond belief for their gift of music on our special day.

here is a shot of handsome and gretyl from the wedding, taken by the lovely gillian stevens photography 

© gillian stevens photography

jasper, ab

sometimes, you just need a lil escape. what with getting married, then getting back from the honeymoon, settling into a "routine" has been a thing! marriage is an adjustment! it takes team work and grace. it was clear to my husband and i very early on that we would need to create special adventures away from the humdrum of the every day to keep ourselves sane. so, we dropped everything and took advantage of labour day weekend to run away to jasper.

beautiful, beautiful jasper. i had only been to alberta one other time. james took me home to okotoks to see where he grew up, last september and i loved it. the calgary area is so (flat! and) vastly different from what we're used to in bc, what with the rolling mountains and ocean so close. so jasper, being just on the border of bc and ab, felt more like home. driving through the rockies was majestic and awe-inspiring, boasting so heavily of God's infinite power and might.

in jasper provincial park, you are completely surrounded in the craziest jagged mountain peaks, combatted with the most crystalline, turquoise rivers,  and to top it off; so many variations of fir and deciduous trees. we stayed at pocahontas, the furthest camp ground from jasper the city. i was a bit freaked out from all the bear warnings, but we saw neither hide nor hair of the beasts.

all in all, being among such a serene and ever changing landscape was just what we needed. now i'm ready to take on september and cozy up for the fall. here are a few pictures from our time away...

this little activity book

 helped us occupy the time

amazing mountain view on the 

way to the miette hot springs

thanks for having us pocahotas, 

you were ruggedly beautiful

m.i.a

after a three month hiatus, i am back! in my defence, i have been a lil busy :)

our wedding was everything i dreamed it would be and more. being married is a beautiful challenge and like nothing i've ever experienced before. only people who are married will know what i mean. i couldn't have dreamed up a better adventure if i tried. this is just one amazing photo from the day. the lovely Gillian Stevens was our photographer and again, we couldn't have asked for better. you can see more of our day and more of her work here. in the next few months, i will pick up where i left off... posting about life, love, crafts, good food and adventure with a central focus on the joy of my salvation: jesus. if you are new to my blog or have gently followed along, i hope you enjoy.

pinspiration!

i have a constant inner bout of tug-of-war with myself regarding pinterest... on the one hand, its great! i hand made aaaaall of this years christmas gifts to my immediate family members from ideas i found on there. i have so many ideas for our new little home, because of beautiful homes i've pinned, and james and i have tackled a handful of pinned recipes... however, sometimes, i find it just causes this ache in me... a disastisfaction. wanting what you don't have is a thing as old as dirt, and it's so easy to get caught up in it! it's that fine balance between inspiration and imitation, the difference between coveting and admiring... don't lose yourself and your own wonderful imagination! make sure you are creating original ideas! on that note, here are some pictures from the afore mentioned site that inspire me today :) so springy and fresh!

feel free to follow along

 all images found on pinterest

playing house

james and i just finished puppy sitting for some friends. their house is super quaint and beautifully located in the middle of the woods. it was absolute bliss taking sid the puppy for walks amongst the smells and sights of spring. his schedule forced me to rise early, but after the first couple days, i got used to it and fell in love with those early mornings. the ornamental cherry blossoms were at their peak for the two weeks of our stay. the smell and look of those trees always makes me giddy.

now sid's loving parents are home. (oh, you should definitely check out their blog!) and james and i are moving into a home of our own! it is a very exciting time for us. james rented a big truck on sunday and i helped him carry all of our possesions into our new place. james will live there until we're married. but lets not kid ourselves, i will be over allll the time, nesting and decorating and cleaning and making him chilli for the week :) such an exciting new chapeter in our life! i can't wait until it starts to look like a home, that's when i'll post photos. for right now, it's a mess of boxes and bags.

i hope you are all enjoying this sunny, spring day.

this pups instafamous! #sidstagram

artistic motivation

i wouldn't consider myself an artist... in the pen and paper sense anyway. but once in a while, i get really motivated and decide to try my hand at something. this is one of those days! james and i want our wedding invites printed on craft paper, and to have a really rustic feel. then today, i signed onto pinterest and saw an invitation design that i really liked, so i decided to give it my own spin. lots of scanning, re-drawing, cutting and pasting (in a literal sense) resulted! i called up minuteman press in white rock, and explained what i wanted. for a fraction of the price by a typical design company, they are able to print and cut up my design! i am very excited to work it all out and see the finished product!

here is a little taste...