Summer Mix!

Posted in Style, Travel by alex mcdonald

This poor little blog has been long neglected! I have been so busy working, visiting, working out, and travelling that I have left this little pet project of mine just sitting and collecting dust. This is a small collection of what I’ve been up to over the last while. Hope you all have been enjoying the start of summer!

In late May we went to the wedding of a friend and colleague of Ryan’s. It’s always tough to decide what to wear, every venue is different with a unique vibe and all weddings are individual. This wedding was at the art gallery and I have never been to a wedding there before so I went with cocktail style. It gave me the chance to pull out one of my favourite dresses of all time, an oldie but a goodie.

I got this dress for my bridal shower a few years ago and it’s from one of those designer capsule collections for Target, this is Prabal Gurung.

The weather was quite warm but pretty windy that day, it still felt like spring, not quite summer heat.

Congratulations Dylan and James!

Shortly after this wedding my very good friend Breanne gave birth to her second child, a baby girl named Marlee. She hadn’t found out what she was having until she was born so I was holding out until the shower to buy any presents. I baked some cookies to take for her night in the hospital and they got really good reviews from the Mama!

These are Banana Walnut Coconut Cookies! Very easy, very moist and really yummy!

3/4 cup butter softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
3 small ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups quick oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut

Beat first 4 ingredients. Add milk and bananas, mix in sifted flour, soda and salt. Fold in last 3 ingredients. Bake in 350 degrees for approx. 12 minutes on greased cookie sheet. So simple!

My birthday was in June and my Mom just recently moved to Osoyoos, as a gift for my bday she flew me out for a visit in their new house and a little mother daughter QT. That’s coming up later in this post but I spent the weekend before with the hubby as a little pre birthday. We wanted to try somewhere new for dinner so we went to check out El Cortez, a Mexican place just off Whyte Ave. We really liked it, very unique and fun with great food!

Drinking the Veronica, so good!

TACOS! We tried three different kinds, the lime chicken, chorizo and potato and cinnamon braised pork. I liked the chicken best and Ryan was all about the cinnamon pork. We also had the tortilla soup (amazing!) and the trio of dips. I’ve been on a pretty restrictive diet the last couple months so this was taste heaven!

They have these fun neon signs randomly in the restaurant and the downstairs lounge and they make a great spot for photo ops!

I was thinking of returning this romper because I showed it to my Mom and she said it looked like a Star Trek costume, lol, and my husband wasn’t a fan either. But now I love it, it’s cute and really comfy and breezy.

Romper is H&M, bracelet Stella and Dot, shoes are from Spring (on sale!), bag is Gucci.

So for my actual birthday I was off to Osoyoos for some major heat! One day it was up to 42 degrees. I did some paddle boarding, wine tasting and a lot of relaxing. Ryan and I are headed back there at the end of July. All the pictures here were taken with my iPhone and the quality did not transfer very well onto here.

My Mom`s place is right on the water, what a view!

They have a lot of cute little restaurants in town, and this evening we went to Dolci which I definitely will take my husband back to. I had a quinoa curry bowl, next time I am dying for the bacon grilled cheese!

I loved the rustic feel in there.

My gorgeous Mama.

For my actual birthday we went to Nk`mip winery for lunch and the Silver Sage winery for a tasting and finally for ice cream!

Nom nom! Don`t tell my trainer!

We are off to Vegas on Friday for some fun, sun and relaxation!

2May2015

California Dreamin’

Posted in Travel by alex mcdonald

I went to Vegas for the stagette, which was a raucous good time, then a month and a half flew by and it was time for the wedding! My husband and I had originally talked about taking a two week California tour, but ultimately Ryan’s work was too crazy to go at all so my darling Erin came with me for a whirlwind California girls trip! We left Edmonton at 6 am and while I hardly slept, my adrenaline was keeping me energized along with a few road pops (plane pops?)!

We arrived in San Francisco and headed straight for Paso Robles, in order for me to make it to the rehearsal on time we didn’t have any time for San Francisco stops on the way out. The landscape from San Fran to Paso reminded me so much of British Columbia, we even stopped at a fruit stand just like the many you’ll see dotting the roads on long B.C. road trips.

We made it just in time for the rehearsal, then the bride and groom hosted a welcome party for all the guests at Graveyard Vineyards. It was beautiful there, a great way to meet people and the wine was flowing!

The beautiful bride to be, my friend since twelve years old!

I had many, many glasses of wine so going to breakfast the next morning I really had to nurse the coffee and water. We went to a little bistro called Panolivo in quaint downtown Paso Robles.

It was soon time to head over for the wedding at Hammersky Vineyard. Such a gorgeous setting, I can see why they love it so much. The sky was very threatening all morning and early afternoon but by the time the ceremony began it was perfect.

The bride getting beautified!

A bunch of maids with the girl of the day!

The ceremony went off without a hitch and was followed by a fab cocktail hour with appetizers and signature drinks, this was a perfect pinterest wedding! The was amazing food for the outdoor reception and a barn dance. It was picturesque venue to say the least and a stunning and joy filled wedding!

Dream date!

Picture perfect Leigh Ann

She had mismatched bridesmaids dresses following a theme which we all chose on our own, mine is from Asos.

Congratulations to my beautiful, hilarious, fabulous and kind hearted friend, you deserve all the happiness in the world and I hope your day was perfect for you! I love you!

Next stop, the Bay City!

19Mar2015

Ooh Las Vegas

Posted in Style, Travel by alex mcdonald

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a deep and ever lasting love for Las Vegas! When a very good friend of mine who I have known since I was 12 decided to have her stagette in Vegas I knew that I had to be there! Unfortunately I had to miss the first night of the party because of work, but an added bonus was my husband came to Vegas when all the girl’s were heading home and we stayed a few days to relax and get in some quality pool time. I love planning my outfits for each trip I take there – but first the fun stuff!

That night we went to STK at Cosmopolitan for dinner, went to Marquee for a while and ended up at XS in the Wynn which was pretty crazy and packed because David Guetta was playing there that night.

A motley crew of characters!

Bit of a long sleeve lace trend we were feeling!

My little bride to be!

I’m wearing a dress from Express
Shoes from Aldo
My bag is Louis Vuitton

The next morning I was definitely not feeling my best, I seriously over did it the night before. Luckily the next night was much more laid back, we went to dinner and did some gambling.

Drink for 8 at Peppermill!

Just busy losing all our money!

Skirt: Express
Top: Victoria’s Secret
Shoes: Aldo

My husband Ryan arrived early the next morning and since I was feeling much better that morning we went straight to breakfast and then to the pool at Vdara. Sadly, I had to say goodbye to my bridal wonder Leigh Ann that morning as she was heading home, but her wedding is next month in Paso Robles California.

I love the pool at Vdara, it’s so chill with great cabanas. Ryan and I rented day beds each day we were there and it was so glorious. Even though it’s starting to feel like spring at home, there is nothing like hot pool weather to lay out and relax all day.

That night we went to dinner and to the cigar bar Casa Fuente at Caesar’s for a few drinks and a cigar for Ryan. I got this jacket that I love around Christmas and I haven’t had a chance to wear it until now, I think I like it even more now that I have seen it in pictures.

Jacket: Abercromie and Fitch, similar here
Tank: H&M
Shorts: Express
Shoes: Aldo
Necklace: Stella and Dot
Clutch: Indigo

Love my hubby!

Horse and sparkle, what a glorious combination!

We had our final pool day, so relaxing. The pool time on this trip was some of the best I have ever had in Vegas.

We had a really relaxed last night. We went to dinner at Wicked Spoon, which is the buffet at Cosmopolitan – where dinner comes with bottomless wine, now we’re talking! We did some gambling at Cromwell and lost every hand we played!