vanilla bean creme brulee

This past week was one of the most stressful weeks of my life.  Here's a recap:

Last Sunday evening we put an offer in on a new condo, which was accepted.

On Monday we officially sold our condo.

All week we worked furiously (on top of our already busy full-time jobs) to secure financing, arrange inspections, and read stacks upon stacks of documents for our new condo.

On Friday we had confirmation that we were 100% buying the new condo.

With all this craziness going on, Hubby and I were also hosting a dinner for some of our close friends on Saturday night.  Dessert is always my downfall.  I'm more comfortable cooking than I am baking.  I like to freestyle my measurements, rather than measure them out perfectly.  Dessert and I are not always friends.  I had originally thought of making meringues with fruit for dessert, but those thoughts were squashed when my mom bought me a cookbook called "Creme Brulee".  I admit that I was a little extremely intimidated by the thought of making creme brulee from scratch.  But after the week that I had just conquered, I felt like I could tackle anything.  And I did.

wordless wednesday - vancouver spring

dear 12 year-old me

Dear 12 year-old me,

Stop looking forward to the day when you'll finally be a grown up. Sure, being a grown up means that you can stay up as late as you want, that you can drive, and that you will be completely in control of your own life. However, when that time comes, you'll come to LOVE sleeping and going to bed early and you'll hardly ever get to drive your own car because you have to share it with your husband. Being grown up is overrated. Big time.  Just be a kid.

Love, 25 year-old you.

booked!

It's official, we're going to Europe!  The flights have been booked (and, more importantly, paid for!).  Most of our accommodations have been reserved.  Now we're researching what we want to do and see in these amazing cities.

Only 28 more weeks to go, but who's counting anyway?

All in all we'll spend 22 days away from our home and our meows while we explore three fabulous countries.  We'll spend 7 days in France (including Paris, Juno Beach, and Versailles), 8 days in Germany (including time with family in the Black Forest and a visit to Munich), and 7 days in Italy (Venice and Rome).

We're still not 100% sure what to do and see while were visiting and any tips would be most welcome!

sunday evenings

The fireplace is on, warming our home, as we spend another cozy Sunday night at home.  These nights are my favourite; just us, with nothing to do but enjoy our home together.  It's quiet, it's cozy, it's a peaceful last night of the weekend to saviour before the hectic week ahead.  Not talking too much, and surrounded in dim, warm light we let the quiet peacefulness fill our home.  I take a second and look around the room and let the moment sink in.  I'm home.  We're home.

As much as friends and adventures are exciting and fun, nothing feels quite like a quiet Sunday evening at home, just us two.

venezia

We just booked this hotel (it's acutally technically a B&B) for our three night stay in Vencie.

Words cannot describe how excited I am for this trip!

Note: All images courtesey of http://www.pontechiodo.it/.

sunday suppers - spaghetti carbonara

I don't know what it is about Sundays, but it seems that all I want to do is sleep in, curl up with a good book, and cuddle my kitties.  The only things that I actually feel like doing is cooking; making a comforting dinner for Hubby and I.

It took me a while to figure out want I wanted to eat tonight.  Naturally, I gravitate towards pasta.  Shocker.  I love this pasta because it's creamy, yet amazingly simple to make.  Plus, it's got bacon in it.  What's better than bacon?  Nothing.