Memories of Our Wedding Day

bring me gratitude!

We got married a year ago today.

We didn't want a long engagement so we had only a few months to plan 'the big day'. My Uncle Peter and Aunt Flo were generous enough to offer us the use of their home and we couldn't have dreamt a better place.

It was grey day. They were calling for rain but we were not going to let that get us down. There was nothing we could do about it anyways. So we got ready.

And then it rained. Actually it poured, then it hailed. A lot!

But not for long. Soon enough the skies cleared to a brilliant blue sky.

It was a little muddy but it didn't matter.

It was so special! My grandmother and father walked me down the aisle,

my sister and niece were right up there with me,

my cousin, Lena, read an Inuit love poem,

and 6 and a half years after we met and fell in love (immediately), we said our marriage vows,

witness to our family, friends and people whose company we enjoy most.

Nick's family came from Virginia,

my father and his wife came from Budapest, Hungary,

and my brother and his wife came from Iqaluit, Nunavut

all to celebrate our love... and the coming together of our families.

My girls were there... It was the first wedding amongst us... who'd have known!

Craig was Nick's best man.

The sun was setting into a perfect evening

and the celebration began...

Nick's cooks from work

prepared the food

and it was the best wedding food ever!

(that's hail that the oysters are set on - my brilliant husband...)

Nick's chef buddy, Mike, gave us the charcuterie platter as a gift,

my work buddy and pastry chef, Tony, made our cake,

and kindly made our sweet table too. Sooo sweet.

and we were so honored to host everyone. Everyone was so kind and generous and we are forever grateful to the evening host's.. It meant the world to us.

The day was an absolute dream... It has been a truly amazing year... full of lots and lots of love, awe, growth and many, many blessings.

I love you, my Love. Always.

Thank you!

So Many Blessings

bring me gratitude!

I started my Saturday with my walk to the St. Lawrence Farmer's Market,

enjoying the landmarks

along the way.

Picked up our weekly needs. Yum!

Went for a walk to Kensington and got caught in yet another torrential downpour.

I stopped by a coffee shop to read (The Seeker's Guide), enjoy a coffee and wait for the rain to pass. Well, it lasted longer than the usual torrential downpour... and sitting in the coffee shop, reading was absolutely delicious! I don't give myself enough time to read so it was a true indulgence. The book is life changing and moved me to tears at times...

When the rain ended a couple of hours later I picked up our first year wedding anniversary gift

waited for my Love to come home and put on one of my favorite movies.

Love. Love. Love.

We got a last minute visit from Nick's family. They recently moved back here from Virginia so it's ALWAYS nice to see them!

They brought us these spectacular Gladiola's! WOW! Absolutely stunning!

My Love made some sushi and we enjoyed a night in.

I am... So blessed! So grateful! So happy!

Thank you!

Evolution of an Egg

brings me gratitude.

Food is life.  

The simplicity of the perfect, pure Ontario egg  

is absolutely delicious!

No Hellmann's required!

Thank you!

My Saturday Morning Farmer's Market Run

brings me gratitude!

We all know that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is great for our health but I think we forget this in the busyness of our lives. 

After some health issues (not majorly serious but enough for us to shake us up) we started seeing a naturopathic doctor 

and 'remembered' how important diet is to our health.

Now, don't get me wrong I absolutely love to indulge in all kinds of food (see post below), I am married to a Chef afterall and my office is located in one of the busiest kitchens in the city.   But I do not believe in depriving oneself.  What I do believe is that moderation is key and the fact that we do choose our health.

My husband works early now so my new Saturday ritual is to go to the farmer's market at St. Lawrence and purchase organic (whenever possible) and local foods.  The end result is absolutely delicious food, while supporting our local farmers (90% of the purchase goes directly back to them as opposed to big corporations), and feeding our bodies the nutrients that it needs for optimum health.  

Our food has never tasted better and it FEELS SO GOOD!

A whole day off with my Love

... after a long, hard day's work brings me gratitude.

I work as an event coordinator at a great venue in the city.  We do mostly corporate events but this weekend we hosted 2 family events.. a first meeting and coming together of 2 families and a large wedding reception.  The personal events are my favorite.  A get together of family and friends, delicious food and drink... this is life!

Well, it was fulfilling, fun filled and very late night.  After a good, albeit short sleep - (I didn't want to sleep the day away) and after some nudging on my part, my husband made us a delicious breakfast... oh, have I mentioned that he's a chef?  Oh yeah!  

It was a perfect summer day so we ate it on our balcony.  

 

Heaven!

After some lovin' we went for a long walk to the waterfront where live African and Brazilian bands were playing, we sampled some Indian and Mexican food and strolled through The Music Park... I was exhausted but the fresh air and nature rejuvenated me.

And then home for dinner...

My personal chef : ) made another delicious (vegetarian!) meal.

 

We love the simple life, my husband and I, and today was a perfect day!