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Scotland 2019

Oh man, looking through these photos and reminiscing about this trip made me miss traveling so much. I can’t believe it’s just over a year ago that we were in Scotland – it feels like ages ago! But, while we’re waiting for everything to settle down, I’ll just be over here going through old photos and enjoying the memories.

Us on our way! We bid to upgrade our seats to Economy+, and got them! So we were extra excited for the flight.

One of many trips to the beach with Reuben. We saw these structures and Michael told me they were from the war, so I sent a photo to my brother because I knew he’d find them interesting. He let us know that they’re called pillboxes, and they were used for defending against amphibious attacks (I definitely just texted him to ask because I forgot haha oops).

In our fancy clothes for Michael’s cousin’s beautiful wedding! The venue was on a cliffside and had such amazing views.

Michael took me to the Peterhead Prison Museum. It felt a bit eerie walking around and looking inside cells, knowing that prisoners once also inhabited it. It felt so surreal and was difficult to remember that, until 2013, it was actually a functioning prison, and it’s not just a building built to replicate a prison that once existed.
Every time we came across one of the mannequins (like the ones in the top middle photo, and the bottom right photo), I got such a scare. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see someone sitting up in bed when I peeked into a cell haha!
In the bottom left photo, these are all pieces that were made by prisoners. I found that to be very humanizing. I think we tend to view people in prisons as just criminals, as if that’s their only identifier and they don’t exist outside of that label. But they’re people too, and they have skills and hobbies and interests just like the rest of us. I don’t know, I just found it interesting.

Millionaire shortbread, one of my favourite Scottish treats!

The photo on the right is a structure used for repairing ships. It reminded me of a concert stadium, although I don’t think those steps are wide enough to sit on!

A munchy box after a night out, and Reuben comforting me as I recovered from said night out.

My parents and my uncle and aunt were traveling around Europe at the same time we were in Scotland. One of their stops was in Edinburgh during the Fringe Festival, so Michael’s parents arranged for us all to take the train to meet up with them in Edinburgh! My dad’s grandparents were from Scotland, so he grew up with their traditions and carried some on with my family as well. Growing up, we’d have haggis for supper on Robbie Burn’s Day, but he always told us that it wasn’t the same as haggis in Scotland. So when we went out for supper in Edinburgh, and he finally got to try true, authentic Scottish haggis, I had to get a photo! And yes, he thought it was delicious.

The top left is a picture of Arthur’s Seat. We didn’t have time to climb it, but one day when we go back I’d like to! We also went to see Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is where the Queen stays when she’s in Scotland (I think). Michael helped me get photos by holding my phone through the bars of the gates, and I was so worried he’d drop it, and I’d never get it back!

Our views on our walk to Stonehaven castle. The war memorial was built following World War 1, and according to this website was made to look unfinished to represent the incomplete lives of those who died.

The grounds of Stonehaven Castle.

Inside some of the rooms of the castle. Because we don’t keep any historical structures here, I always find it so fascinating when I visit countries where their historical structures still stand. I just can’t believe so much of the design would hold up, like the triangular pediment over the fireplace!

Reuben enjoyed visiting the castle too, of course!

We treated ourselves to some decadent waffles in Peterhead that night! We don’t get the little Kinder Hippo in Canada, but I wish we did. They’re so good, I’m definitely going to be seeking them out so I can stock up next time we visit!

Our last night was spent in Glasgow, where we enjoyed a “tree” of Pornstar martinis.

Hopefully it won’t be too long before we can go back again. During this trip, we also went to London. I think I’ll do a separate post on that recap, though, since I have a ridiculous number of photos just from London!

Until next time,
Nadine

My Weekend in Photos (October 3-4)

Baxter and I went for many walks. He got leaves stuck to his feet, and was very proud of the piece of bark he found!

It was really nice out on Saturday, so Baxter and I sat outside for a bit and enjoyed the warm weather.

I watched the Paris Hilton documentary, and it was not at all what I expected. If you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend you watch it.

My mom recently gave me some monstrous carrots from their garden, so I used them to make carrot soup!

On Sunday we had a family supper at my parents’ house, which involved playing games and spending time with Murphy, our family dog.

I hope you had a great weekend!

Until next time,
Nadine

Aritzia Haul

Even though I’m working from home, I still like to use work as an excuse to dress up a bit (most days). I found that while I was stuck at home during this pandemic, I spent most of my time in athleisure, which is very comfortable, but also started making me feel a bit sluggish and just not great. Once I started my new job, I used it as an opportunity to go and buy some nice clothes, and as a reason to put together some nicer outfits every day.

Aritzia is one of my favourite stores, and such a great place to buy versatile staple pieces that will last you a long time. Here are some of the items I’ve most recently purchased from Aritzia!

P.S. Baxter wanted to help with photos this week.

I normally wouldn’t go for this style of trousers, but when I saw them in the store I was feeling adventurous and figured, why not? I was anticipating them to look a bit silly, but I actually really like the wide-leg look! I also saw this sweater in the store but never bothered trying it on. For the next few days I couldn’t stop thinking about how nicely it would pair with these trousers, so I ended up ordering it online. It also goes really well with jeans for a more casual look. Unfortunately these trousers don’t seem to be available on the Aritzia website anymore, but I’ll list a similar pair.

Sweater: Wilfred Darling Sweater
Trousers: Wilfred Effortless Pant (similar)

I hadn’t originally picked out this turtleneck in the store – a sales associate put it in my fitting room to try on with the other items I picked out. I ended up getting it though because you really can’t go wrong with a simple white turtleneck! I ordered these pants online as well, which were also a bit out of my comfort zone – I’ve never owned a pair of light-coloured trousers like this before. But I love the way they look. They make my outfits feel so chic, and for a dressier style of pant, they are so comfortable. They’ve got a decent amount of stretch to them, so I don’t feel restricted in my movements at all.

Top: Wilfred Only Turtleneck
Bottoms: Ten By Babaton Supernova Pant

This skirt feels so flowy and elegant, and the style and colour make it such a great transition piece from summer to fall. You can style it with tank tops or short sleeves when it’s still warm out, or pair it with a fitted sweater tucked in or a thicker sweater when the seasons change and the days get cooler. I had this item on my wishlist for a little while, and had the goal of seeking it out when I visited Aritzia. The sweater was a gift from last year, but I found one online that looks so identical it actually might be the same one! I can’t say for sure though, so I’ll mark it as ‘similar’ just in case.

Skirt: Wilfred Twirl Skirt
Sweater: Wilfred Free Essential Chenille Sweater (similar)

Until next time,
Nadine

My Weekend in Photos (September 26-27)

Baxter found a stick on our Saturday morning walk and carried it alllll the way home.

Bought this nice bench for our front entrance. It said it required two people to build and, while it took me a while, I’m proud to say I did it all by myself!

I was originally growing beets in our garden so I could pickle them, but then somebody (Baxter) dug them all up. But yesterday I finally got around to buying some and pickling them!

A lovely Sunday dinner at my parents’ house.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Until next time,
Nadine

Air Fryer Fish Tacos

I owe this week’s blog post to Michael. Not only did he cook the fish tacos, but he also very kindly took all the photos for me. So, I got a delicious meal out of it, and I only have to do half the work to make this post happen!

In case you didn’t notice the title of this post, I’m going to be sharing Michael’s fish tacos recipe with you all! You can easily make the fish with an oven instead of an air fryer, but we found that the air fryer does a better job of giving the fish a crispy coating.

I’ll list the ingredients and recipe first, and then if you want to see some photos of the process, you can keep scrolling!

Ingredients

Because Michael is such a star in the kitchen, he doesn’t need to follow a recipe when he’s cooking (unlike me). That being said, there aren’t really any specific measurements for this, because he just eyeballs everything – sorry! Just use your judgment and season everything to taste.

Cod
Seasonings of your choice (Michael used chipotle seasoning, cajun, onion granules, chilli sea salt, cumin, and black pepper)
Breadcrumbs
Oil (if you want to get fancy you can use infused olive oil – Michael used harissa infused for the fish, and blood orange infused for the veg)
Red onion (sliced)
Red bell pepper (sliced)
Coleslaw or other salad mix
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Small flour tortillas

Instructions

Cut your fish into small bite-sized pieces. In a small bowl, mix the fish with the seasonings and oil. Once evenly coated, add in the bread crumbs and mix.
Place your fish into your air fryer. Cook it at 200 degrees celsius for 20 minutes.
Heat your oil in a frying pan. Add the onion, bell pepper, and salad mix. Add chipotle seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft.
Heat your tortillas in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Assemble your tacos with the fish, veggies, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, and whatever else you might like in a fish taco!
Enjoy!

Visuals

Cut your fish into small bite-sized pieces. In a small bowl, mix the fish with the seasonings and oil. Once evenly coated, add in the bread crumbs and mix.

Place your fish into your air fryer. Cook it at 200 degrees celsius for 20 minutes.

Heat your oil in a frying pan. Add the onion, bell pepper, and salad mix. Add chipotle seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft.

Assemble your tacos with the fish, veggies, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, and whatever else you might like in a fish taco!

Enjoy!

Until next time,
Nadine

Colleen’s Chocolates

If there’s one thing you can trust my word on, it’s chocolate. I love chocolate. I don’t remember the last time I went a full 24 hours without consuming chocolate in some form. If it’s not in solid form, I’m drinking a hot chocolate. I can’t get enough of it, ever.

When I’ve traveled to Europe, half of my suitcase was filled with chocolates when I came back. It was one of my favourite parts of traveling, because the chocolates there are so delicious and not like anything I’ve had here.

Until I discovered Colleen’s Chocolates.

Colleen’s Chocolates is an Edmonton-based chocolate company, and I feel so blessed that we have this local company here in Edmonton. I had high hopes for these chocolates to be good, but I didn’t know just how good they would be. I wanted a proper sample of different flavours, and I wanted to see the different sizes, so I got quite the variety!

I ordered the Strawberry & Biscuits, Salted Caramelized Chocolate & Biscuits, and Coffee in the small size.

I got the dark chocolate Coffee in the medium size.

And I got the Cookies & Cream in the large size because I’ve never had a cookies & cream chocolate that I didn’t like.

I think my favourite flavour was either the coffee ones or the salted caramelized chocolate & biscuits. Or maybe the strawberry & biscuits, because it was so refreshing. But then I also really liked cookies & cream because it was like an elevated version of a classic flavour. You know what? I just love them all.

These chocolates are so decadent and just melt in your mouth. They’re creamy and rich but without feeling too rich. You can tell they’re made with care because they taste high quality, and are on a different level than most chocolate manufacturers.

Seriously, just go order yourself some chocolates from here, but try not to blame me when you get addicted. I’m so glad I found Colleen’s Chocolates because now I can get my quality chocolate fix without having to wait for my next trip abroad. My only regret is that I didn’t order more.

Oh, and if you’re looking for something fun to do while social distancing, she’s doing virtual chocolate tastings!

Anyways, I’m going to go finish eating these chocolates now.

Until next time,
Nadine

Weekend in Photos (September 12-13)

On Saturday I went shopping with my mom for some decor items, and then decorated, tidied, and organized my house. Sunday I just had a chill day and didn’t really do much!

Finally a place to store our Nespresso pods instead of having boxes cluttering our pantry.

On Saturday I put together a little pumpkin autumnal display I was proud of. On Sunday, Baxter decided that’s just one too many pumpkins.

Picked up some cute little Halloween decorations too!

A little autumn themed spoon rest.

Maybe not the most exciting, but felt so good to organize these cupboards in our laundry room. Can’t wait to do the rest!

Baxter kept digging in the garden when we had vegetables in there, so we covered it in chicken wire to deter him. But he was not deterred.

Just chillin’.

A slow cooker supper on a Sunday.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Until next time,
Nadine

Homeware Haul

One of the most exciting (and expensive) parts of owning a new home is going furniture and decor shopping to fill your home! Michael and I are lucky that a lot of the items we have now are pieces we already owned, or hand-me-down items that fit nicely in our home. However, we have still been slowly but surely filling all the other empty spaces, as well as buying some other smaller items for our kitchen.

Today I want to share with you all some of the most recent homeware items we’ve purchased (and love).

I’ve had this as “my colour” ever since I started collecting kitchen items in my hope chest years ago. So when we saw these Le Creuset salt and pepper mills at Crate and Barrel, we had to have them!

Okay, these maybe don’t really count as “homeware” items, but they were still an exciting purchase! I’ve wondered if infused olive oil really made enough of a difference to be worth it, and now I can tell you that it does. We bought these Blood Orange and Harissa infused olive oils from evoolution, and then used them that night while cooking fish tacos for supper. And, oh man, they really transformed that meal.

We bought a giant bottle of olive oil to keep in our cold room. We figured we could just use it to refill our smaller bottle of olive oil instead of buying new stuff every time we ran out. Well, we quickly realized the impracticality of trying to refill a plastic disposable bottle, so this oil bottle from Crate and Barrel was a must!

We had some empty wall space in our cozy little sitting area, so we decided to get a nice bookcase from IKEA to put in there. I think the doors give it a more sophisticated feeling, as well as opening up the option to potentially use it to display some more delicate decor pieces. Either way, I’m just excited to use this as an excuse to go buy more books!

Speaking of delicate decor pieces, I’ve got a few that are quite special to me, and I didn’t have anywhere to display them that also kept them safe from Baxter’s reach. He’s big enough now that even if I did put them up on a shelf or counter, he could still jump up and accidentally knock them over! So we got this nice display cabinet from IKEA to hold these items, and it’s even got a door on it so Baxter can’t get to them!

When we were first showing my parents our new home, my mom kept pointing out all the different places where a hutch could go. I kept teasing her about it, saying we didn’t need a hutch. Well, let this be a lesson to always listen to your mother, because guess what? We needed a hutch. We bought it from Structube, and according to them it’s technically a “sideboard“, but the important thing is that it provides us with more storage.
I’m absolutely obsessed with this piece. It goes so well with the mid-century modern theme we have going in our living room. On top of that, it’s just a beautiful piece of furniture, in my opinion. The doors also remind me of these big speakers my dad used to have for his record player when I was younger, so it brings a feeling of nostalgia, too!

So, those are some of the homeware pieces we most recently picked up – some big, some small! If you know of any great (preferably Canadian) homeware companies, let me know in the comments!

Until next time,
Nadine

Weekend in Photos (September 5-6)

This weekend was spent cutting down trees and playing games at the cabin!

Until next time,
Nadine

temper + lace

When you visit the temper + lace website, under the brand name it says different from the rest. And it’s true. temper + lace candles are different – they’re unlike any other candle I’ve ever had, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Most candles I’ve purchased, while they have a nice smell, are a bit overpowering. They’re very perfume-y in a chemical way, and they almost seem to attack the senses when you walk into a room. temper + lace candles are more subtle. The scents gently fill the room, and seem to envelope you. Think about when you walk into someone’s house after they’ve spent hours cooking a lovely dinner – the smell is warm, gentle, and inviting, right? That’s exactly how it feels to walk into a room after burning a temper + lace candle.

The Brand

When I shop temper + lace, I feel good about my purchase not just because I’m spending my money on such a high quality product, but because my money is going to a local business. temper + lace candles are handmade in southern Alberta. They’re also made with pure soy wax made in Canada, and the wooden wicks come from FSC certified mills. Not sure what FSC certified means? Basically, it just means that the wood comes from forests that are environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable. A local brand that sells high quality products that don’t weigh heavy on the conscience? That’s something I can get behind.

Want to know more about temper + lace, as well as the other great products they sell? Check out the about page here.

The Candles

Whenever I purchase from temper + lace, I’m faced with a very difficult decision: do I repurchase scents I’ve burned and loved previously, or do I explore new scents? Then, when I choose to purchase a new scent, it’s a lengthy process to narrow down with ones I should order. Before I even visit the website I have to give myself a limit so I don’t go overboard and end up ordering one of every scent!

In my most recent order, I purchased Magic, Loft, and Gold. I had very high expectations, and they did not disappoint. Have you ever had such a great experience with a product, that when you repurchased it you hyped it up too much for yourself and ended up being met with disappointment? That doesn’t exist with temper + lace. These candles will never disappoint.

Magic

Magic smells like a delicious, cozy fall concoction that I desperately want to drink. If someone took this scent and turned it into a warm drink, it would be my drink of choice for curling up with on the couch on chilly fall days. It makes sense that this candle is called Magic, because when I lit it for the first time, it conjured up the magical feelings that go along with transitioning from summer to fall – it made me want to put on my favourite fall fashions and go for a walk in a pumpkin patch!

Loft

Loft is basically my ideal morning in a candle. When I think of my ideal morning, I think of being on vacation, so I can sleep in until I wake up feeling refreshed. Then I go to my kitchen, and a gentle ray of sunlight shines through the windows. I sit at my table in a big fluffy housecoat and warm fuzzy slippers, and I get to slowly enjoy my coffee in the peaceful quiet as the day begins. That’s what Loft smells like, to me. A calm, slow-paced, cozy morning. Oh, and I love the two little coffee beans on top of the candle – such a cute touch!

Gold

When I smell God, it transports me to the excitement of preparing for fall festivities. It is the iconic and traditional slightly spicy autumnal scent. When I first smelled this candle, I was immediately reminded of going into décor stores at the start of the season to look for decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or even just for a general autumnal theme! This candle fills me with excitement for all the best parts of fall, and it makes me look forward to the leaves changing colour, brisk mornings in thick sweaters, and festive celebrations with friends and family. I already know this will be my candle of choice when Michael and I start decorating our home for fall this year.

I know the most important part of a candle is that they have a pleasant smell, but it doesn’t hurt that these look great, too! I love the neutral look of them. They won’t clash with your décor, and they won’t look out of place regardless of the season. And the wooden wick adds such a unique, homey touch.

If you’re considering purchasing some candles from temper + lace – and I highly recommend that you do – please check out the website here. Trust me, there will be no buyer’s remorse here.

Until next time,
Nadine