A Perfect Day....

Today was Stephen's and my first wedding anniversary. We started making plans for it yesterday....a little late, I know, but you see, we didn't even know if we were going to be celebrating it much this year. There were other possibilities: we could have been in the hospital, or at home....with a two day old baby! Since neither of these situations presented themselves, we decided to make plans for today.

We started the day off with breakfast....after sleeping in. :) I had so much fun preparing a special breakfast....bacon, eggs, toasted blueberry bagels, milk, coffee. And of course, conversation. :) It was so delightful to sit and talk, talk about the past year, talk about what we hope to do in the years to come....we were late for church because of it, but everyone was forgiving. (I'm sure more than one person thought we were heading to the hospital this morning! :P)

This evening, we drove to Kelowna to the El Dorado Hotel dining room where we had made reservations for tonight. It was a beautiful evening, raining off and on, with the sun shining between rain bursts...

We had the most incredible meal there, starting with an appetizer of assorted cheeses and meats and vegetables. Our enthusiastic server even brought us a plate of focaccia bread with vinegar and oil to dip it in - one of my favorite appetizers! :)

My entree consisted of an absolutely amazing steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and some delicious vegetables! Every bite was truly amazing. It was my first "professionally-cooked" steak in my life, and totally, one hundred percent worth the wait, and the price!

Stephen, being more adventurous than me, ordered a seafood linguine, with salmon, mussels, and shrimp. I actually tasted my first mussel, which is something I never thought I'd do! :P

When we made our reservations, we asked for "a private table, with a nice view" and this is what we got! The picture really doesn't do justice to the vibrancy of the flowers. They were so beautiful! It was this beautiful little garden, tucked away for the enjoyment of those who were walking by, or, like us, dining above it. It was such a beautiful evening, with the sun shining over the water!

They put these beautiful fresh flowers on our table, to help us celebrate our anniversary. (ours was the only table with flowers :) It was just one more touch to make the already wonderful evening a little more perfect.

For dessert, we ordered cheesecake, and wondered why it was taking so long, until our server came to the table with this beautiful creation! He even had a sparkler on top, but it was gone too soon for us to take a picture.

It was amazing cheesecake!

I saw this rainbow outside just after we had finished eating, and I had to capture it.

Stephen took me to this park after we were through dining, and we enjoyed the sunset from the beach. He's so good at making things special, and planning things out. I've never met anyone else who's as good at planning surprises as he is! This dinner wasn't a surprise, but he still planned it, and it was perfect. :)

I have a love for lamp posts.....someday, when we have a house, and a garden, I want there to be lamp posts everywhere.... :)

Me and my man, on the beautiful evening of our first anniversary. :)

A Cup of Tea

If you were here with me, I'd invite you to stay for a cup of tea. I'd fill the kettle with fresh, cold water, I'd bring out my favorite tea pot.

We'd have scones and cheese and jam. I'd put freshly baked cookies on a plate, and canned peaches into a bowl. We'd get out the cream and the honey, because that is the best way to have a cup of tea.

Finally, we'd sit down together, just you and me. And we'd talk. About what? About everything. You'd tell me your news, I'd tell you mine. We'd laugh over things that no one else would get. We'd share some of our struggles and our victories, we'd encourage each other in our walk with God.

We'd talk about our hopes and dreams, even the crazy, unrealistic ones. I'd make a fresh pot of tea, and we'd talk some more. I'd tell you about the books I'm reading, about how I love reading books about decorating. I'd even confess to you that half the fun in reading them is not reading them at all, but simply in looking at the pictures and finding inspiration within their pages.

I'd tell you about the other books I'm reading, and then I'd listen as you talked about the books you were reading, and the ones you wanted to read.

We'd talk about new authors we've discovered, new things we like, things we're learning.

We'd talk about being a mom, what it means, the responsibilities, the joys, the laughter, the tears, the fears, and the hopes.

(This post is dedicated to my sister Breanne, whom I have not had tea with for a very long time, but whom I will see in just a few weeks!)

Kalamalka Lake

I have to say, in spite of being a country girl for the past eight years or so, I am very much enjoying living in the city! Part of it is simply the convenience of everything, I love being able to ride my bike to the grocery store, or walk to Stephen's work, or drive fifteen minutes, and end up in an amazing setting like this! I love, love, love beautiful scenery! I love being surrounded by nature, and I love driving around, seeing different parts of the country that I never knew existed. Much as I would love to travel more broadly, it's so much fun staying in one spot, and exploring it to it's fullest!

I think it's beginning to kick in that very soon, taking off and just doing fun stuff together won't be quite as simple and uncomplicated as it's been up till now.

Not that we'll mind it that much, I'm sure. :) Things will just be different than they are now.

We decided to go to Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park to do a little bit of hiking….emphasis on the "little bit." It's about a 20 minute "hike" up to the top where you have the most amazing view of the lake!

The smell of pine needles and pine trees always reminds me of my childhood, it's funny how much a smell can mean to you, how many memories it can bring back.

The sweet and slightly tangy smell of pine combined with the heat rising off the path brings me back to the days that my dad used to direct a girls camp at Morning Star Bible Camp. I remember how thrilling it was to discover trails through the bush and run on the little paths that seemed to trip over one another. I felt like I was an explorer, discovering it for the first time, or finding it after years of disuse. I still love little paths that look as though they've almost been forgotten, somehow they're a little more fun to walk on than paths that look like they were perfectly planned out and maintained. :P

Welcome to My Blog

I'm assuming that since you're here, you already know me, so I won't bother introducing myself. If you don't know me, and you're still here, I hope that you'll be able to get to know me a little bit through what I write and share with you through these....pages. :)

Why did I start this blog? Well, there are a few reasons. One: I love writing, but I'm one of those not very disciplined writers who write mostly when they feel "inspired", as oppose to a good writer who writes regularly, inspiration laden or not. :) So therefore, I thought that starting a blog would be a wonderful incentive to me to keep writing regularly, about all sorts of things!

Two, I think blogs are such a wonderful way to keep in touch with all those friends and family that you can't seem to write often enough. I know I love looking at pictures and seeing what my people are up to, so I wanted to do the same.

The biggest thing in my life right now, is the anticipation of our first baby! Our little junior is due in less than a week, so you'll have to forgive me if my writing slows down drastically before it really gets going. :)

I hope you enjoy what you read here, that you find things that make you laugh, challenge you, are just plain fun to read, and that you feel like we're not so far away from each other after all!