The Lumineers

Sometimes an album comes along where after the first 5 seconds of the first song, you just know you're going to love the whole thing. For me, some of these include Kings of Leon's Aha Shake Heartbreak, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's Howl, The Black Keys' Rubber Factory, Mumford and Sons Sigh No More and now the self titled album from The Lumineers.

Love, love, love.

Village Ice Cream

After writing yesterday's post, we had a little cyclepalooza of our own. Let's call the event 'The Grand Tour of 10th Avenue.' You see, after circuit on Saturday, I saw a sign for the opening of Village Ice Cream. Never able to resist the sweet treat, we decided to ride our bikes over and check it out. I figured it must be near the gym, so off we went. When we got there, we couldn't find it anywhere. I looked up the address, quickly glanced at it, and said "Oh, it's 4th Street Southwest, not Southeast!" We turned the bikes around and rode all the way back to where we started and, again, we couldn't find it anywhere. This time I looked at the address thoroughly and it turns out we were only a block away when we were by the gym, so back we went. We finally found it and let me tell you, it was worth the trip.

Eric had the seasonal special, oaxacan chocolate, and after sampling a few kinds, I had the salted caramel. Oh. My. God. It might be a curse that I ever found this place. The ice cream is incredible and while I'm usually not a cone gal (cup please!), when the guy at the counter said he had just made the waffle cones an hour earlier, I couldn't say no.

I hesitate to share this gem, because as soon as word gets out, it's going to be lined up down the street. If you're ahead of me in line, can you order me a single scoop? Any flavour is fine :)

Cyclepalooza

Cyclepalooza is a 10-day bike festival throughout the city with tons of great events for all ages and skill levels. It on now until July 2nd.

Some of my favorite events include a toga wearing (which can't be comfortable on a bike), caesar drinking ride to Wurst, a brewery tour from Village Brewery to Wild Rose (are you sensing a theme here?), and the East Village Glow and Show where you ride at night with glow-sticks to the East Village to watch an outdoor movie (The Goonies!!) on the side of the old Simmons factory.

For a full schedule of events, check out the Cyclepalooza website. Calgary is so much fun in the summer!

Happy Birthday Elena!

My niece, Elena, turned 1 this weekend! I can't believe how fast the year went.

It's funny, you buy kids a million toys and all they really need is a balloon.

Sled Island

Sled Island, Calgary's only indie music festival, is in full swing and continues all weekend. You can see the full lineup and schedule here.

Are you seeing any shows? Even though I missed Hayes Carll last night, I'd be into seeing Timber Timbre, Samantha Savage Smith, The Dudes and Feist.


Have a great weekend filled with bike rides and live music!

Happy Summer Solstice!

I read somewhere that the first day of summer was actually yesterday, but someone told me it was today. Google has been no help- it also says both. So let's just enjoy celebrating the first two days of summer!

I Couldn't Help Myself...

I had a food post all lined up for today, but then I saw a video of Ryan Gosling dancing in hammer pants to C + C Music Factory. After that, nothing else seemed important.

Have you seen these all over Pinterest? They crack me up every time.

The Wilderness Retreat

The weather didn't really cooperate, but boy did we have fun! 14 great ladies, 1 house boat and a whole lot of shenanigans. A lot of the pictures were NSFB (Not Safe for Blog), but here's a general overview. We drove out to Sicamous early Friday morning to board the Wildness Retreat. Friday afternoon was pretty much the only sun we had and we were sure to take it all in. We suntanned on the upper deck until we docked for the night and had a campfire. While the rest of the days were rainy, we'd sit in the hot tub or play cards inside. Saturday night, the rain let up and we danced for hours. Someone (if not everyone) was brave enough to jump in the freezing cold lake every day. The general rule was: the first time is awful, the second time is worse and the third time is awesome!

Lindsay (captain and bride) and Carly (co-captain) were amazing. Sunday brought some rough seas, but they navigated us to safety like true pirates.

On our way home we saw bears, elk, mountain goats and these guys:

 It may not have been sunny, but we certainly made the best of it and had an absolute blast.

Sleep!

House boating is far more exhausting than one might think. I'll have a full update on our adventures tomorrow, but right now all I can think about is sleep.

source

Fashion Friday- I'm On a Boat

I'm off to the Schuswaps to go house boating for a girlfriend's stagette this weekend- hence the nautical themed Fashion Friday. Have a great weekend! See you on Tuesday.

shirt,  hat, sunglasses, bathing suit, bangle, sandals, shorts

Father's Day Gift Guide

If your Dad is anything like mine, he's impossible to buy for. Here are a couple fun things he'd like, but might not get for himself.

Cole Haan LunarGrand Wingtip- Keep Dad looking stylish without making his dogs bark
Stake 3-in-1 BBQ Tool- Grip it, flip it, serve it
Fossil 'Git Kit'- I have no idea why, but my Dad calls his shaving bag a 'git kit.' I'm not sure he's replaced his in the 26 years I've been alive. A new one might be in order.
Whisky Blender- Blend your Dad his own custom whisky and name it after him, or buy a gift voucher and let him make his own
La Quercia Bacon- No explanation required.
Happy Socks- Dads are weird (in a hilarious and charming way, of course). Let his freak flag fly with a fun pair of socks.


To my Dad- Thanks for giving me the 'life is about choices' lecture until I memorized it, for dealing with mechanics every time my simple flat tire turned into a major fix, and for still using the pen holder I made you in kindergarten. Most of all, thanks for being the best darn Dad a girl could ask for. I love you!

Date Truffles

Mmm these might be my new favorite.

Dates on their own are too sweet for me, but with a good amount of cocoa and salted peanuts, they make a delicious (and healthier than the real thing) treat.

Date Truffles
12 dates, pits removed
3 tbsp. cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. lightly salted peanuts
2 tsp. warm water

Place dates, cocoa, vanilla and half the peanuts in a food processor. Blend until mixed. If the mixture isn't getting smooth, add the warm water so it turns into a paste. Roll the mixture into balls and roll in the other half of the peanuts.

The Kings Take Home the Cup

The Stanley Cup final has to be one the most heart warming and heart breaking moments on TV. I felt bad for the Devils, especially Brodeur, but it was pretty amazing to see the Kings celebrate LA's first Stanley Cup.

I'm a Flames fan, but I'm happy to cheer for the team that took out Vancouver. And if it's good enough for these two (and Ellen Page)...

...it's good enough for me.

Way to go, Kings!

Ahh the Weekend- What We Drank

We really didn't do anything this weekend. We had big plans to go to Panorama, but decided at the last minute to stay home. I've been battling a cold for the last week and realised that we don't have a free weekend until the middle of July. I was happy to get caught up on laundry, get some baking done and drink some new, delicious wine. Wine helps get rid of colds right? Something about the alcohol killing the germs?

Goats In Villages- 70% Shiraz 30% Pinotage
From Wine Ink
Intense purple red colour. Dark fruit aromas dominate the nose, with hints of oak spice. Smoky notes show on the palate accompanied by dark berry flavours. The wine has a rich mouthfeel with firm tannins and ripe fruit on the finish.


First Drop Half & Half- Barossa Shiraz Monastrell
From Vine Arts
A complex nose of cherry, violet, earth and spice aromas and hints of chocolate. A wide, textured palate of grainy tannins support cherry, earthy, savoury flavours and an explosion of spice - sumac, clove, Asian 5 spice, Szechuan pepper.


During our trip to Portland, we picked up this wine finer from the very cool store Canoe.

It's one of the best purchases we've made and we use it all the time. It aerates the wine as you pour and the stopper saves anything you don't drink (a concept I'm not really familiar with).

I hope you had a great weekend. Cheers!

Fashion Friday- Mmm Sorbet!

Summer's comin'!

1, 2, 3, 4

Pistol Annies

Have you heard Miranda Lambert's band Pistol Annies? They're a bit of a throwback to old time, rebellious country. Think less Taylor Swift and more Loretta Lynn.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

Oh, GQ. First you fill your pages with stylish, good looking men and now you include a recipe for my new summer side dish. Is there anything you can't do?

Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Pecorino Romano
June 2012, GQ
Zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 C. finely grated pecorino romano (parmesan works too)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 C. shaved or thinly sliced brussels sprouts
Salt

In a mixing bowl, combine zest, lemon juice and black pepper to taste. Stir while slowly incorporating the cheese to create a slurry-like consistency. Finish with olive oil. Add brussels sprouts, tossing them with the dressing. Add salt to taste.

I'm thinking of adding some crispy prosciutto and a poached egg to this to make it a full meal. A full meal that I might just eat everyday.

Ahh the Weekend

Friday night, Jen invited us over to check out her new and completely stunning place. We enjoyed an incredible spread of food before heading out on the town. Check out these blackberry lemon goat cheese squares. Thanks Jen!

Saturday, we had some friends over for a BBQ. The original plan was to play bocce in the park, but the showers earlier in the day left the grass too wet. Instead, we had a potluck and played the hilarious game Sobriety Test. I'm not entirely sure how you win the game, but none of us even made it close (or maybe we did? It's all a bit hazy).

Lindsay and Trevor were kind enough to have us over for an engagement brunch (and a little hair of the dog) on Sunday morning.

On our way home we swung by Eric's brother's house for some rough-housing in the yard and a great family dinner.

Friends, family and really great food. What could be better?

Pianists in Paris

I love this! Seven pianists cover Jay Z and Kanye's N****s in Paris. It sort of reminds me of the Walk off the Earth cover of Gotye.

Have a great weekend!