Spring

I worked in Pittsburgh this week and was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to see spring. I was welcomed with big wet snow flakes on Monday and thought surely spring might come soon. It snowed a bit on Tuesday and I hoped this was the last of winter. Yesterday morning my rental car was covered in an inch of snow and realized spring was nowhere near.

And then today, well today, I come back to the hotel from the office to find the hotel staff doing yard work!!! They were spreadsing top soil. Trimming bushes. Cutting grass. Spring - is that you? With your tulips and daffodils. Easter eggs and pastel easter dresses. Sunshiney afternoons and crisp mornings. Peep toe shoes and a glimpse of a fresh pedicure. Spring - is that you?

Please do come and stay a while. I am most certainly ready for your visit.

The fantastic weekend didn't stop there

It continued on with a fantastic shopping date with Susan. We have had it on our list to wander through Inglewood and Sunday afternoon was the perfect time. She wasn't working, the guys weren't playing hockey until later and Calgary finally saw a sunny break.

Other than the lovely conversation my favorite has to be the Silk Road Spice Merchant:

Doesn't the store front scream 'come in come in'! So we did. And I picked up a few new spices to try.

A little lavender vanilla sugar. I was thinking sugar cookies or shortbread and Susan was thinking coffee. Just might need to bake a little something and invite Susan over for coffee to compare:

 

Next up, some Sel de Provence and oooh is it tasty. This would taste delicious with a homemade bagette (found a fantastic recipe here at Dinner with Julie for just the thing) drizzled with olive oil and some homemade ricotta (Dying to try your hand at ricotta? Patent and the Pantry has a fabulous recipe here)

 

And finally the spanish smoked paprika. The smokiness smelled and tasted delicious. It was the perfect compliment for these lamb wraps (my brother and sister are getting into sheep for all those interested so Jimmy and I figured we need to figure out how to cook this meat so we can be supporters of the cause) that I found in a delicious new cookbook that mom gave me for Christmas (thanks mom - there are so many good recipes in there; excited to try some more!).

Thanks Susan for the delightful end to a perfect weekend!

The Perfect Day

I had such a lovely brunch with a dear friend today. It was so nice to just sit, ramble, cover all the little details across many topics, laugh, complain, eat and above all just be.

Thanks Shan for such a wonderful time!

And a big shout out to the Big Fish:

I would highly recommend the Wild Mushroom Scramble!

Love you my friend! Thanks for being you and always being there!!

p.s. this delicious bite to eat was after I came from the optometrist which included new contacts (oh my gosh they feel so nice), new specs ordered (and they are pretty fun - a little geek chic if you will) and after discovering they had mis-interpreted my prescription last time and had my one eye with a much higher prescription than need be . . . hmmmmm . . . could that be why my other eye has been giving me grief and why I was getting headaches a little more frequently . . . not to mention they gave me 'monthly contacts' that are actually bi-monthly. Really Calgary Optical???? It's only my eyes - one of the most important things that we need to take care of. Oh well - all is rectified now . . . and new glasses - long overdue and so excited!