(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Last Set of Sister's Wedding Photos

Bridesmaid Shoes and Bouquet

Father-Daughter and Mother-Son Dance

Moi

First Dance Together (EVER!)

My strapping nephew

Last day of August today ... hard to believe!  

This wedding was definitely a highlight of my summer.

What was the highlight of your summer?

Getting Ready for the Wedding

The morning of my sister's wedding, she treated all us girls in the bridal party to manicures.  We then went to my cousin's salon to get our hair and makeup done.

My sister's hair was simply regal.

Once we were all beautified, we headed to the hotel to get our dresses on.  I snapped a couple pictures of before we left for the church:

Excitement and nerves were high as we drove to the church ...

Stay tuned for the final, and most beautiful wedding post and pictures.

In other news ...

The hubby participated in a bike race for palliative care yesterday.  

I was up bright and early to watch him start and finish.

The Hubby is on the right with his head up.

Also, I made Sophia's chicken soup.  The warm, comforting smell filled my house and the taste was unique with the flavour of a spice I hadn't cooked with before.  I loved it.

Lately I have been drinking a lot of green monsters:

And tomorrow kids start school - eeeeeeeeeek!  I hope they like me!

Have you ever cook/baked with star anise?

Wedding Recap: The Day Before

The day before my sister's wedding was a whirlwind.  We started the morning off by getting pedicures, and then heading to the reception site to decorate and meet with the DJ. 

The boys ran errands, picking up alcohol, flowers, and the cake, while the girls set out the candy buffet,  and other wedding must-haves.

After checking in at the car dealership, the girls headed to The Mediterranean Bistro for lunch.  

I ate this:

We were soon back at the reception site getting stabbed by thorns as we trimmed and arranged 44 dozen long-stem ivory roses. 

We left the hotel with enough time to run home and grab the rehearsal bouquet that I made for my sister, and then quickly head to the church.

The Pastor sat us down for a quick talk before running through the ceremony twice.  

My nephew added some much needed comic relief after a long, tiring day.

I barely slept, as I was too excited for the big day to follow ...

It's Over ...

Today is the last day of my summer holidays.

Tomorrow I go back to work, and on the 7th I go back to school.

This summer was the busiest I have ever had, with a July class, my sister's wedding in August (more pictures to come this week), and numerous house-keeping things to take care of.

We ended the summer with an epic 10-day camping trip to Clear Lake, Manitoba.  We arrived home yesterday relaxed and ready to take on all that fall will bring.

We cooked dinner on Sunday night, deciding that Monday (our last day of camping) would be restaurants only.  Our last cooked meal while camping was perogies and Ukrainian sausage.

On Monday morning we went to my favourite breakfast restaurant, "The White House."  I had the eggs Benedict.

Dinner was at a fabulous Italian restaurant called T.R. McKoy's.  

I had pizza and shared a couple pieces with the hubby.

We got home yesterday and had to do a big grocery shopping trip to re-stock our fridge.  I bought some stuff to make meals for the fall that I can freeze and just heat when we need something easy.  I plan on doing a big cook this week (starting today).  

I am also going to plan out our meals for the next 3 months.  

With a full course load of grad classes (3) and full-time work, I am going to need to be organized.

This morning I loaded up on leafy greens by having a Green Monster for breakfast.  

Time to get some vitamins after 10 days of crappy camping food.

My summer holidays may be over ... but I plan on having a productive, awesome fall!

Oh yeah, and I'll be heading to Vegas in a few weeks with about 20 friends :-)  That should help pull me through the start of a busy semester.

Does summer feel like it is coming to an end for you?  Do you still get those back-to-school feelings, even if you are not going back to school?  How do you prepare for fall?  New clothes?  Filling your freezer?

How We Camp ...

Camping is our chance to completely relax - to do absolutely nothing, and not feel guilty about wasting the day.  Camping in the summer helps me to recharge my batteries for a full year.  It is unlike any other type of vacation that we take.  We don't make plans, we don't schedule anything, we rarely even make it to the beach. A hike is probably out of the question.

Mornings are spent in our loungy lawn chairs with breakfast and French press coffee.

If we are feeling especially adventurous, we might drive to town for breakfast.

We usually have a late, relaxed lunch around 2:30.  Usually something highly nutritious, like Zoodles.  

Or cup-a-soup.

Lunch might be followed with some of this ...

After a tough day of R&R, we crack open a bottle of wine and start making a delicious dinner.  

We might make chili from scratch and top it with some old cheddar:

Or steak with mushrooms, sweet potatoes and asparagus:

Or mushroom Alfredo pasta with garlic bread:

After our long hard day we reward ourselves with a walk to town for some ice cream.  

I always get a kids' size pink grapefruit gelato. 

Our first walk of the day is followed by a fire and heated debates.

That, my friends, is how we camp.

Think you could handle 10 days of that? 

How do you camp?

Hamburger with Peanut Butter!

After a busy summer of school and wedding coordinating, I am really enjoying relaxing at a campground with my husband and 5 of our closest friends.

We are doing a whole lot of sitting, reading, and visiting.  I have read two books since Monday and am planning on reading a third today.  It is so nice to have nothing to worry about.  Work doesn't start back up until the 26th, and university not until the 7th ... so for now, I have no responsibilities.

We are enjoying some of the usual camping food, like bacon and eggs, and hamburgers.  

We did something crazy and put PB on our hamburgers!  

Ever since a friend told me about this a few months ago, I have been wanting to try it.  Then Diana tried it, and blogged about how good it was. 

I spread a thick layer of smooth PB on my hamburger along with the usual ketchup, mustard, relish and onion.  It got super melty, and tasted great.  I felt like the only thing it needed was MORE peanut butter - the taste didn't come through enough.

Have you ever tried peanut butter on a hamburger?  Would you?

What do you have planned for the rest of the summer?

My Baby Sister is Married!!!!

Yesterday my baby sister got married ...

 

I don't think she could have been any more beautiful.

Everything turned out as planned.  The ceremony was perfect and the evening was a blast.  

My sister married into the most wonderful family.  I felt like I too was gaining some new family members, as they are all so welcoming and friendly.  I love my sister's new family!

One of the groom's sisters was the photographer, and I cannot wait to see her photos.  

I will definitely be doing more wedding posts down the road.

The groom and his brothers are quite the crew ...

Little trouble makers I think ;-)

Don't worry - they are just pretending!

CONGRATULATIONS LEAH AND SALVATORE!!!!

Now we are off for a 10 day getaway before back-to-work time ...