A New Name!

As you can see, I have made the (not so) life altering decision to change the name of my blog. I know. Shock and awe. But we're going to try this out, if we don't like it, we change it back! A trial period.

Concept of the name you ask? Anyone who knows me well enough can probably figure it out, but a) I'm of the female persuasion (hence "daughter") and b) my father's name happens to be Earl ("as in the Duke of..." as he so wisely tacks on on occasion). I thought it all sounded fun, and perhaps appealing. Thanks for having a neat name, dad.

a year ago today...

A year ago at this time of the year I was spending a blissful time in England. In fact, last year today I, along with my now-husband and his sister and brother in law, would have been touring the Royals home, Windsor Castle, and Oxford (including the likes of Christ Church College, Turf Tavern, and The Eagle & Child).

O what I would give to be back there again!!

I dream of the day to be walking those character filled streets and soaking up the history again...

*le sigh*

yorkshire pudding

So for my mom's side of the family, our Christmas gatherings always have themes. One being the gift theme, and in the last 5ish years, we started meal themes. Last year was Hawaiian (truthfully, that one won't rank in my top favourites...). But this years meal theme was ENGLISH. Obviously I was over the moon. You see, I have this *cough*small*cough* obsession with the UK. I've only spent close to 9 days in the magical land, but it was enough for me to know that I could easily see myself living there (just the confirmation I needed for my fantasies prior to that trip).

Anyway, each family attending the gathering is in charge of bringing a dish. I placed myself in charge of making yorkshire puddings. I had only heard that they were a fussy little species of pastry. Like a soufflé. But I knew I thoroughly enjoyed them and they were a British staple.

Long story short, I made two muffins tins worth (24). Enough for everyone to sop up the gravy on their plates (it went well with the rabbit my sister prepared). The first tin I trial-and-error'd on the timing of when to change the temperature halfway through and they fell a little too much after taking them out. But the second pan were fluffy little goddesses in their own right. They were perfect!

This isn't a cooking blog. No. I'm pretty stuck on my forté's (i.e., stir fry, simple pasta, and cereal). I just like showing off when something turns out well in the kitchen for me.

christmas time!

It's Christmas Eve! My first Christmas as a Mrs with my Mr! We decided on cheap gifts for each other this year since we're hopping off to MAY-HE-KO on January oneth which is a pretty slick gift of its own.

May your Christmas be filled with peace, love, & joy and may it continue into the new year and throughout.

Merry Christmas!! xo

On the day of { 10 | 13 | 12 }...

(Photograph by Dave Fretz)

As it goes, time has passed and much has happened. Namely, my last name! The time came a week and a half ago, on October 13, 2012, where I finally got married to my guy!

I can tell you I plan on never getting married again (Lord willing) as planning of the wedding is the downfall of stable women everywhere (okay, not the only reason, I assure you). I can also tell you, though, that all the headaches and few emotional breakdowns all lead up to the most memorable day. My family & friends went above and beyond in making sure I was not worried about anything on the day but getting my "Mrs" on. And I thank them for the many sacrifices they gave to make it so perfect for us.

It's true, all that they say: the day flies by and you look back and wish it could go on. On the day specifically, I do remember that during the bits of downtime before the ceremony, my adrenaline began to pump and all I wanted was to walk down that aisle to hold Dallen's hand.

Now it's been a week and a half of marriage, and it still feels surreal. I still feel like one of us is visiting and we'll have to leave for the night...but neither of does! It's truly a blessing. He is a blessing.

And remember, friends, I'm promising that just because I'm married now, doesn't mean I'm not up for a good time. Yeah, I may cook up a beefy dinner for my man once in awhile, but last night we locked ourselves out of our house while having a pipe on the deck and we had to break in.

The adventures begin...

pine cones and scones

Autumn:

Changing colours of the leaves

Pine cones

Pumpkins

Pumpkin flavoured things at Starbucks

Tea time because it's actually necessary

Snuggly sweaters

The colour palette for fall fashion

Candles

Smell of campfires around the neighbourhood

S'mores

Flannel plaid

Generally, the layering of clothing (in moderation, of course, since it's not winter yet)

Reading cozily on the deck

Movies on the rainy days

How unbelievably fresh the air feels (personal taste season to season, I suppose)

Not sweating 24 hours a day

But also not freezing 24 hours a day

Finally being able to sleep more comfortably (no a/c)

Season premieres of shows (Downton Abbey, here we come!)

Crepes with roommates

For some reason, fresh bread is always better in fall

*crunch, crunch, crunch* (self explanatory)

The back to school feel (even though I'm done)

Coffee

Wooly socks

Feeling God in the incredible nature around me

&

Getting married!

(31 days)

These are a few of my favourite things.

brass from kenya

Bought the necklace this morning from Ten Thousand Villages. Made of brass by women in Kenya. They also have free fair trade coffee as you shop, what a good start to my Friday.

89 days

Monday saw me accomplish a few things off of my to-do list...finally. I managed to find a few things I had been looking for for my wedding. It's beginning to get into the detail stage: collecting decorations and worry that your ideas that you have in your head aren't going to look nearly as neat as you had blueprinted in your minds eye. Here's to hoping it all turns out within budget and okay-looking!

And despite my protestations to doing yard work on the field of weeds that have rampaged my garden, I do enjoy the raspberry bushes that have been yielding sweet-ass berries! I went to my friend Stacey's the other day for a waffle brunch (white sauce included!) and I brought fresh rasp's for toppings. (Those lilies are slowly dying off though, quite possibly due to the Winnipeg heatwave this past week).

Also, yesterday I actually was off work before 7 o'clock which meant I was finally able to go to church again at St. Ben's. It was so refreshing. Sometimes I feel like I lack a peaceful environment (even though I live alone) and it was nice to feel a little more at peace in a community of others. A good reminder to live a life of love and acceptance even though I live and work in a very secular society that often make me forget to be a grace giving person that I'm called to be.

Here's to 89 days til I'm a hitched woman!

Cheers!

long weekend wishes

It's July long weekend. Tomorrow is Canada Day, but Monday is vacation day. I enjoy my job working fashion, but one thing I really am looking forward to at some point in my future is actually having my weekends available to take that little extra needed time off (at the same time as other people). People are headed out to the lake to relax, enjoy the sun, and be free of all cares. I will stick around and work.

Today all I can think about are hot dogs over the fire, s'mores every night before bed, sitting on the edge of the lake just watching the water, aimlessly drifting along in a canoe...

My sister and brother-in-law moved away from Winnipeg yesterday. It makes me a whole lot of sad because now both of my sisters are on polar opposite ends of the continent (Anchorage and now Toronto). It's tough to see your best friends living so far away, but at the same time you are happy for them because they are young, married, childless and living a life of opportunity! I am super excited to begin my adventure with my top notch best friend whom I get to marry in 105 days (yes, I have a countdown on my phone). I'm daydreaming about when I'm married and I'll actually have weekends to spend with my guy and spontaneously take off to relaxation nation.

(Photo taken in Salisbury, England)