Engagement Photography - back in June

So back in June I promised to show you some of the photos I took of my good buddy and her fiance (at the time). It was my wedding gift to the couple.

I told you about the photo shoot: HERE

So just six months later here are some of my favourite photographs from the shoot for you to see. Hope you enjoy them.

Food Shopping Adventures

I love to eat and cook food.

And due to this love affair, I consequently love the grocery store, food markets, restaurant going, experimenting with new ingredients, following food blogs, and currently my most active Pinterest board is my "Recipes to Try".

Now I have been racking my brain as to what series I can do on this blog. I use to do "Last Week's Likes" and "Fun Photo Friday" but I find those posts hard to commit to. And my everyday is a bit routine now with school.

Then I had this brilliant idea of telling you about my food shopping adventures. I think it is brilliant because I grocery shop every week and I definitely throw things into my cart that are purely experimental.

Will I like everything - probably not - but at least I will find out.

And who knows - maybe you will be inspired to pick up the food item next time you head to the grocery store.

So last week along with my usual purchases I bought:

- Bosc pears

- Raw and unsalted pumpkin seeds

I bought the pears because they looked like they would be fun to photograph and back in Barbados you never just eat a pear (they are imported and are usual over ripe and mushy when they reach the tropics). So I decided to give them a shot. 

Overall I liked them... don't need to buy them again anytime soon... prefer eating an apple... and avocado pear still remains my favourite (in Barbados avocado is called pear).

Still many types of pears to try.

The next adventurous food purchase was raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds.

I chose this particular seed because my taxi driver to Halifax airport was a raw foodist and mentioned the amazing nutritional value of raw nuts and seeds. She made special mention of pumpkin seeds and how much zinc they have in them and apparently zinc makes your skin glow (but the seed has to be raw because once cooked it loses most of its zinc.... this is all according to a 3-yr raw foodist whose credentials I did not personal see). Nonetheless my ears perked up at this tidbit - so when I saw the seeds there was no questioning this purchase.

Every girl wants their skin to glow... no?

Success - I love them. I have had them as just a snack here and there to curve hunger between meals and I have sprinkled them on my morning greek yogurt with fruit and other goodness. So I definitely recommend!

And on a side note pumpkin seeds are really good for you - especially you fellows. Check out info about the pumpkin seed: HERE.

Christmas is around the corner

Is Christmas really in a month?

Woah!!!!

In the last 10 days I have seen Christmas Trees being sold, heard carols in the mall, ohhed and ahhed at shiny decorations, watched "Love Actually" and am currently being serenaded by Bing Crosby's infamous "White Christmas"... clearly I am feeling the Christmas vibes.

Now I need to start my Christmas shopping, maybe decorate my little apartment (twinkle lights are a must) and get excited about returning home to family, friends and home cooking.

Are you in the Christmas mood yet? Or is it too soon?

Halifax highlights

Last weekend I was lucky to be able to jet off to Halifax.
I was also lucky because the weather was superb. One day we were even able to play tennis outside without a sweatshirt. For Halifax in November that = AMAZING!

If you ever plan to go to Halifax at this time of year (ie. the colder months) look into the following activities. These are a few things we did and I enjoyed each one:

A walk through Point Pleasant Park.

This park is huge and has numerous paths for leisurely strolls (or I guess you could go take a jog). It has views of the ocean and in autumn there are lots of great colours and scenic shots. As far as I know there is no coffee shop in the park - so I suggest picking up your refreshments before you go.

 

Go see a play at the Neptune Theatre.

Neptune Theatre is a small and cozy theatre right down town Halifax. We went to see the cutest comedy about a middle age man who 3 years after his divorce decides to get an online dating account to meet some ladies. The play was extremely well done and very entertaining. I do not think it is on now but they are going to start showing ELF which will surely get you in the holiday spirit.

Dinner at Five Fishermen.

The Five Fishermen Grill (downstairs) is an Oyster and Wine Bar that is very warm and inviting. This restaurant is perfect for those looking to eat oysters at a reasonable price because between 4pm-6pm it is oyster happy hour - happy dance. 

We had two different oysters: one was from Rocky Bay and the other was from Sober Bay. If you like oysters then definitely get Rocky Bay (they were juicy and fatty, scrumptious and are pictured above). If you are trying oysters for the first time or not the biggest fan then get Sober Bay because they are smaller and not overwhelming.

Live music at Rock Bottom

It is always nice to go to a bar that has live music. We went to Rock Bottom two nights in a row. You can check out their weekly lineup on the website.

And then there is always the Saturday/Sunday Market. I already wrote it and other activities: HERE

All photos in this post were taken with the new iPhone 5.

favourite healthy quick breakfast at the moment...

Lately I have been enjoying the following for my healthy go-to breakfast:

Oat bran hot porridge
Greek yogurt
Half of a juicy peach
and a sprinkle of brown sugar (because clearly I am not sweet enough)

What has been your go-to healthy fall breakfast?

falling in love with autumn colours

So despite the fact that the warm weather is leaving the northern hemisphere we have been lucky to have a superb autumn season here in Canada.

We did have a ton of rainy days (so maybe describing it as "superb" is a bit over the top) but the sun came out yesterday and everything rainy has been forgiven.

As I mentioned before - I am enjoying taking photos of this vibrant, colour-explosion of a season.

Here are some shots taken right in my neighbourhood.

Enjoy!!

I am off to Halifax this weekend!

So so so excited :)

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

decisions decisions...

We make decisions everyday.

To sleep in or not to sleep in.
To eat the french fries or to substitute it with salad.
To go out for Italian or Greek.
To watch a RomCom or Drama.

Some decisions are bigger than others.

Like today is a big decision day in the US.
Let us hope that everyone is making an informed decision today (I hope they didn't decide to skip breakfast or worse skip the polls).

Over the weekend my mum and I went out on a MODA date (MOther & DAughter). We watched a movie and went for dinner. Making the decision about what movie to watch was easy... we saw "The Intouchables" at the Kingsway Theatre (because once we saw the trailer we had to see it despite the subtitles... you will see what I mean). After the cinema we decided to go to a french bistro called Merlot. The decision was made based on proximity to the theatre (it was very chilly outside). The restaurant was superb!

So back to the movie... if you are looking for a real feel-good movie to watch - I highly recommend: The Intouchables (2011). Check out the trailer... soooo good!

But if you are headed to the theatre check out: The Sessions (now playing). I am planning to see it this weekend and dare I say I am more excited to see it than 007.

Now the movies are both about quadriplegic men and both movies are based on true stories.

What a coincidence!

The Intouchable (The Sessions I think will be) is such an uplifting movie that reminds you about the value and beauty of life and relationships.

So hopefully I made your movie decision making a little easier this week.

Donate your wedding dress to a good cause...

Happy Monday!

This morning I sent my mum off to the airport in a white Escalade (the airport limo company sent him = quite over-the-top really!). At least it was roomy and comfortable.

While my mum was visiting we finally unearthed her wedding dress that was happily cooling out in my grandmother's storage room for a mere 28 years.

It was time.

My mum had the dress professionally cleaned and boxed up after her wedding day but before the big reveal (28 years later) we had no idea what it was going to look like. Yellow?? Holey?? 

We are happy to report that the dress is in immaculate condition and only has wrinkles to show for its time in exile storage.

We are also happy to report that the dress will be given to an amazing cause (and no longer waiting in vain). 

My mum stumbled upon The Brides' Project: a Toronto based organization that collects wedding dress donations, sells the dresses to new brides and all profits go to cancer research. 

How amazing is that?

Before we gave it away - we had to play dress up. It was a little surreal to try on my mum's wedding dress and have it relatively fit. 

As much as I would love to say I wore my mum's wedding dress - I am happy to know it is going to a good cause and hopefully will be there for the start of another successful union.

Also the puffy sleeves and satin finish are not my taste. I will cross that bridge when I get there.

Has anyone wore or would like to wear their mum's wedding dress?

Or are you storing your wedding dress for a rainy day?