We had a legitimate Christmas turkey dinner this past weekend at a nearby pub. This was truly momentous since all of us live in tiny little apartments without ovens. After ecstatically stuffing ourselves with turkey and pumpkin pie, we had a very merry evening! Yours truly even won a game of darts.

We didn't know a single person before we came out here and we are just blown away by the fun-loving, friendly, kooky group that we now find ourselves a part of. I feel sad just thinking about our paths parting one day...

Last night, we played Settlers of Catan in the park with friends. It felt exactly like something we'd do in Canada, which was really nice. We've met such good people here.

Mike recently made a music video for our friend Karla Adolphe.

About a year ago, Karla was privileged to be at the hospital when a dear family friend said goodbye to their daughter. In the midst of that beautiful and heart-wrenching day, Karla witnessed music play an important role in the early stages of grief.

Karla's solo project "Honeycomb Tombs" is an album devoted to the process and journey of grief.

Download this amazing album for FREE or support this talented songstress here.

My favourite place in all of Manitoba is Grand Beach. It seemed crazy that I hadn't been all summer. We've all been so busy and my friend Kd was leaving on her own adventure soon so it seemed like a quintessential summer beach day wasn't in the books.

However, someone suggested that we squeeze in a breakfast on the beach and we all agreed that that sounded like a fantastic idea. We woke up early, stopped for coffee, drove an hour, lugged our grill on to the beach...and then realized we had the wrong size propane tank... drove to a nearby town, got a new propane tank, lugged our grill back to the beach, and finally enjoyed pancakes with strawberry sauce, bacon, and fresh fruit.

My heart was happy.

Early last week, Mike and I went out for dinner with our best friends (for the last time!). I had been eager to try out Deer + Almond since it opened a few months ago. It's a great little spot! We shared seven different dishes, laughed and reminisced and then went out for cake.

I almost forgot to post these, but I can't let a stunning lakeside sunset go undocumented. Such a peaceful, majestic experience.

Whenever my friends and I gather, we always feast like kings and queens. It's one of my favourite things about us.

And yes, those are eggs in a muffin tin. You can cook them on the bbq that way... who knew?!

Swinging our feet in the water, trying to push each other off, swimming contests, snuggling in the sun, reading books, playing marco pollo, and eating watermelon...

*I need to give Mike full credit for that amazing first photo!

Friday night, Mike and I packed up our bags and drove to our friend's cabin in the Whiteshell. Last time we were there, the lake was just beginning to unthaw and so this was a completely different experience. While we were waiting for some of our friends to arrive, we couldn't help but pop down to the dock and enjoy the setting sun.

Mike and I just came back from five whirlwind days at Folk Fest. I have (of course) lots of photos to share from that, but I wanted to post these first. 

Six of us decided to camp together at Folk Fest, so we met a few days beforehand to plan. The planning meeting turned into a delicious front yard barbecue and fire. In the end, not much planning was done, but great conversation and food ensued.

Well, I don't know what to say about my blogging absence. I guess I could say we were enjoying the sweet summer days and I didn't feel like picking up the camera. But here I am again!

We had an impromptu evening in Sarah's sunroom last night. It's been hot as blazes lately, but it's well worth it by the time the evening rolls around. Nothing quite like a warm summer evening.

The school year ends today which means I'm officially finished subbing for this season of my life. A good experience, but I'm looking forward to a laid back summer! I'll be doing some nannying for a family nearby and getting ready for... well, hopefully I can tell you about that soon*.

xo.

*After rereading that sentence, I feel like I should add: NOT a baby! ;)
*Second and third photo by closet photographer, Kd!

Our good friends (finally!) came back from Europe and we were (finally!) able to have a proper spring barbecue with them. They've obviously been missing out (here, here, here).

Happy weekend! We're heading out of town for my cousin's wedding. Have a feeling we'll be listening to this a few times while on the road! ;)

While the boys tended the fire, us ladies went down by the riverside. We tried making flowered crowns (without much success) and enjoyed the soft, pretty light.

Another weekend, another barbecue. This time we went to a park not too far from our house. I didn't live in this area of the city before moving in with Mike, so I am still uncovering cool new spots. We managed to snag a picnic table overlooking the river, right next to a fire pit. I think we'll be back soon.

Saturday was such a beautiful sunny day. It seemed a shame to stay indoors, so a group of us helped Cayleen re-do her sidewalk (Mike was a huge help, me... not so much). We then treated ourselves to a fabulous barbecue outside at Assiniboine Park. 

Being cooped up all winter makes me appreciate spring and summer all the more. I was in a happy, sun-soaked euphoria all weekend!

Who doesn't need a mid-week ice cream break sometimes? BDI is a bit legendary around these parts. The protocol is thus: 1. Grab ice cream. 2. Walk over the bridge.

In other news:
I finished my final practicum on Friday. That night, I flew to Alberta to visit my cousins. Came home yesterday and am now subbing (!) and working as a research assistant for one of my profs. Hello, real life!

This past weekend, we went to the open house of our friend MacKenzie. She is graduating from the Environmental Design program at the University of Manitoba (yay!) and is more creative than I can wrap my mind around. Fun fact about MacKenzie - we met her through blogging! Mike knew her boyfriend from some weddings that he shot, but we both got to know MacKenzie through her amazing photos (example one + example two!). But now we've met a few times in real life, and I can confirm that she is just as cute and creative in person!

Mike was just enthralled with the whole open house. He is tossing around the idea of going back to school for design/architecture and this open house was very convincing. We'll see what happens!

We headed to my friend Kari's family cabin this past weekend. It was a bit chilly, but we had a wood stove to keep us toasty! We ended up exploring a bit outside during the warmer parts of the afternoon, but photos of that later.

It was such a great weekend. There was a lot of talk about Mike and I's big adventure that is (hopefully) coming up this fall (more about that later when it's 100% confirmed!). We are over-the-moon excited, but it's unfortunately going to mean time apart from our best pals. And they're the best, you know? We're so lucky.

My friend Sarah has this great apartment in a beautiful neighbourhood. The only catch is that parking is terrible. I usually circle around for fifteen minutes before I find a spot (admittedly, this is also due to my lack of parallel parking skills). But as soon as I get there, it's worth it.

She flung open the doors to the sunroom this weekend and we had the best time - s'more pie making, prosecco, hair braiding, + kitchen dancing.

Saturday morning we woke up and felt like brunch. So, at ten o'clock, we sent our friends a facebook message. By eleven, there was a crowd in the kitchen. We had a veritable feast of waffles and fresh fruit!

More friends kept coming and the temperature kept rising. I was very recently complaining about the snow, but it's all gone now! Not only that, we've also been experiencing unseasonably (worrisome?) warm temperatures of twenty degrees (sixties fahrenheit).

We brought our chairs outside and sat for hours in the sunshine. We drank iced tea, took an enneagram quiz (I'm a three, what are you?), and played football.

I still smile when I think about it.