First Days of Winter

Even tho the first day of Winter is still quite a ways away, these -20+ days are MY first days of Winter. In my world, anything colder than -15 warrants me to move the start of Winter up, whether Mother Nature agrees or not.

Now that we have a wee one in tow, I think we'll be spending more cozy cold days in front of the fireplace instead of galavanting around town, which is exactly what we did this morning. I haven't had the chance to do any baking since Alexis's big arrival into this world, so I took advantage of daddy being home and did just that, while they played and cuddled on the couch.

I made one of my favorite cookies, and I realized that I only seem to make this cookie around Christmas time. I don't think I'll change that, as to much of a good thing, ruins the appeal. You can find the recipe for these Soft Chocolate Gingersnap Cookies over on the Picky Palate Blog. It's one I found last year, and I didn't alter it all, it's perfect just the way it is! Enjoy!

Soft Chocolate Gingersnap Cookies = Yumm!

Daddy & Lexi Playing

Snuggle time on the couch

Hope you are all keeping warm!

Our Baby Girl - (Better late than never)

It's safe to say that life has been BUSY this past month, with the arrival of our baby girl and getting to know her, and our new life. It's also safe to say that life has never been better, this whole mommy thing is far better than ever imagined.

Alexis Nicole Cremers
Born in Calgary, AB on October 12th 2011 5:12m
6lbs 12oz  20.5inches

Just hours old...

Daddy and Lexi...

Mommy & Lexi...

Priceless (6 days old)...

Boo!...

One month old...

Waiting...

While waiting for my little lady to arrive, I have been doing a good job of filling my days with things I enjoy. Walking around this beautiful town with friends or the puggle, tea dates, sleeping in (slightly) & baking.

Last week I made about 12 dozen cookies to freeze for the times ahead when baking will be the last thing on my mind. I also make some brownies for the hubby, and some S'mores cookie bars for my co-workers. I didn't take any photos of either, but I'll attach the S'mores recipe below as it was a huge hit. The brownies were a hit too, but I cheated on those and used a package.

This week I got a little more creative and made some English Muffins & Pretzel Balls. Yumm! Both were super easy, and super delish.

My English muffin skills need to be refined a little to make them a bit bigger, but otherwise they are fantastic. I made two batches, which made 24 in total, and I froze the majority of them. The whole recipe cost well under $5, if you already have everything on hand, which I did. I found the recipe for those here:

ENGLISH MUFFINS

The Pretzel Balls were equally as cheap, and even easier. They took only about 2 hours, including rise time. The recipe says to dived dough into 6 balls, I did 7, but next time I would do about 12, as they are pretty huge for a single serving. Having these in the freezer will be great for when a soft pretzel craving sneaks up on me, which is more often then one would think. Recipe below:

PRETZEL BALLS

And as promised, here is the recipe for the S'mores Cookie bars. They were tricky to make I must say. I told Joshua I would never do it again, but since receiving the reviews, I've changed my mind. The only thing that was tricky about them was the cooling and cutting of them. Because it's real chocolate, and fluffy marshmallow I let them cool before removing them from the pan for 6 hours (!!) and they were still a mess to cut. I think next time I'll put them in the fridge for a few hours before cutting, after they are done cooling.

S'MORES COOKIE BARS

Happy Baking!!

40 weeks pregnant...

Beautiful Fall...

Maternity Photo Shoot

Last November a girlfriend and I attended the Bow Valley SPCA Fashion Show at the Banff Springs in Banff. The show was to raise money for the Bow Valley SPCA, and no, it wasn't animal fashion, it was people fashion, and it was a really great night.

Anywho, there was a silent auction, and at the time, being in the frame of mind that we were trying to get pregnant, and I would love some amazing Maternity photos when the day finally came, I bid on a photo package from Eric Daigle, a fantastic local photographer, and I won! If it wasn't for winning, I'm not sure we would have invested the money, but, now that we've had them done, I know I'd do it again. It's well worth the investment to capture this moment forever in stunning photography we can be proud of.

In the middle of August we arranged a date to meet up, and it was a blast, and the photos, they turned out amazing. I've looked thru them so many times, and can't for the life of me choose a favourite.

Below is a small sampling for your viewing pleasure.

Petey & Cricket

Petey & Cricket met when they were just young pups, in puppy class, in the spring of 2009. It was love at first sight (or hump), which ever came first. Over the months their bond became like none other & they were hooked for life.

Last summer, Cricket and her owners found opportunities in Barrie, ON, and off they went to live. Both pups were heartbroken. To this day we can't bring Petey to Banff (where Cricket used to live) without him crying and yelping for her.

All dressed up for their last date before Cricket moved to Ontario.

Before Cricket left for Ontario, she left Petey with a stuffed egg. Petey cherished this egg for about as long as his puppy self would allow, before destroying it completely. 

Cricket and anther egg in Ontario, hoping Petey will arrive at the window.

This week, Cricket and her owners Christine & Jason have been visiting. Their bond picked up just where it left off over a year ago. They were back to being pea's & carrots. They've enjoyed many walks, sleep overs and a little risky business.

Cricket was sad her first night away from her Parents, so Petey decided to join her in her kennel to console her. 

It's been so nice to have all three of them here, hopefully it can be a semi-regular thing. I'm sure these two will never forget each other.

Final Piece to the Nursery Puzzle

Besides the arrival of our little lady, the nursery is ready for business. It took me many hours of searching, many websites, many shops on Etsy, but I finally found it last month, and today, it finally arrived. The bedding!

Where would I be without Etsy.com?! Big thanks to LilSunshineStudio for your amazing service, and Mariah for your amazing talent.

Now, to wait for Miss Alexis to truly enjoy this space. 

Best Buds

For the past 10 days we've been watching Marley, a big lovable black lab mix that holds a very special place in my heart. Marley & Petey are, and always have been best of buds, so this week has been great. They are always by each others side, morning, noon and night. When Marley follows me to bed, Petey is right behind him, they have taken over the local dog park as their own, and have been taking turns tormenting Saber, our cat.

Marley's time to go home is tonight, and we are a little saddened (okay, more than a little) to be losing the big guy, but happy that he get's to see his owners whom we're sure he's been missing these past 10 days.

It's been great having you here Marley, you're more than welcome anytime. (You just might want to learn how to vacuum, because you sure do leave alot of hair lying around)

Marley & Petey playing in the river. Photo taken by Frank.

Turning 30 Rocks!

Okay, well I haven't officially turned 30 yet, but so far, the celebration has been pretty fantastic.

I have to admit, thru-out my 20's the number 30 had terrified me. I liked being in my 20's, it sounded so young and care-free and fabulous, and that's exactly what it was. As much as I loved my 20's and everything I have accomplished and got to experience, now that 30 is rapidly approaching, I'm extremely excited to see what the next chapter in my life has to offer. I will say, being pregnant has helped alot with that. While I'm entering my next decade (which is still young and fabulous!), I'm also entering into a whole new life that I can only right now imagine, and nothing could be more exciting than that.

Last weekend, after a fabulous baby shower with 25 or so of my amazing friends, hosted by my good friend Marianne, 20 or so of my friends, family and I went out for a really great dinner to Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. The day was fantastic and I felt really blessed to know the people that I do, and have them in my life.

Yesterday, my (no word I say could describe how truly amazing he is) husband as well as the Briden side of my family sent us up for a Heli-Tour with Alpline Helicopters. The views were spectacular, and the whole experience a little unreal. 25 mintunes felt more like 5. This is something I've wanted to do since the day I got to Canmore, and now I can say I have. It was really great to see what is actually around us, it truly is amazing how beautiful this land is.

And for all of those asking, yes, it is perfectly safe for a lady 5 weeks away from her due date to hop in a heli and go on a tour :) I just wouldn't do it if you are prone to nausea.

That's our house! 

Crispy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Yesterday I had an hour or so to kill so I thought I'd try out this recipe. It was super easy, and got RAVE reviews. The beauty of it is, I generally have all the ingredients on hand, so it can be whipped up anytime.

CRISPY CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal

1 3/4 cups milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease mini muffin cups with non-stick spray and add a scant Tablespoon chocolate chips into each cup. Melt in the oven for 5 minutes. With the back of a spoon, smooth out the top of the chocolate chips while they’re still warm. Set aside. (You could also melt the chocolate chips in q microwave or on the stovetop and spoon into cups.)

2. In a large bowl, cream together peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla, then mix until combined. Pour in crispy rice cereal and mix again until combined.

3. Drop heaping Tablespoons of the peanut butter mixture into each mini muffin cup. Smooth with the back of a spoon and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before eating. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

I didn't have a chance to snap a photo before they were all gone, but you can find one at the bottom of THIS POST, which is where I found the recipe, thanks to Pinterest. 

Strut your Mut

On September 10, 2011 the Bow Valley SPCA in Canmore, Alberta is organizing a Mut Strut to raise funds for it's facility. This is a fun 2km walk in town, you and your dogs. There are great prizes to be won, great awards to try to attain and learning tools such as agility & obedience demonstrations after the walk. Registration is free and super easy on their website. For all the details & to sign up click here.

If you're in Canmore or Banff and you've never visited the SPCA, you simply must. It's the first of it's kinda in Canada, a No Kill, No Cage facility and it's truly inspiring. The animals there are all very sweet and loving, the staff is fantastic and the volunteers are out of this world. Years ago I wanted to do something to help out, and realized, instead of helping them out in house with the animals as I'm sure they have plenty of people interested in doing, I could help out with my Graphic Design skills in bringing their advertising to a new level, and that I did, starting with the 2011 Calendar. Knowing the time and effort of some of the board members, doing up a few design projects for them here and there is the least I can do.

If you can't make it to the Mut Stuf, or don't have a pooch to strut down the street with us, consider giving a donation. This facility is amazing, and can only keep going with the help and support of it's community.

Visit the Bow Valley SPCA here - www.bowvalleyspca.org
Become a Fan on Facebook or follow them on twtiter @BowValleySPCA

Groupon Rules!

Incase you've yet to jump on the Groupon band wagon, I highly suggest you stop reading this blog post right now, head on over to Groupon.com and sign yourself up (then of course come on back and read the rest).

If your town isn't listed, sign up for the closest major city near you, you'll likely get some good deals in your own town. I've signed up for the Calgary Groupon notifications, but I've saved a bunch of mola in my own town, on hair cuts, restaurants, hotels for friends and family + sometimes there are national discounts for chain stores.

The other day there was a Groupon for Eddie Burger in Banff. I've been trying to get Joshua to check out this place for months as I've heard nothing but rave reviews, but he's so attached to the Banff Ave. Brewing Company that I've yet to succeed, until Groupon came along to help.

I purchased the Groupon on Thursday, and on Friday night we went for a date in Banff to check it out. For $27 we got an appetizer, two burgers & two beers (J had to drink both of them, clearly). That's less than the price of two burgers! The food was amazing, and the environment is so relaxing and chill. We enjoyed it so much, that on our way out, I opened up the Groupon app on my iPhone and purchased another one, so that we can go back and try something else.

I had the veggie burger, which was, by far, one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had. I gave J a taste and he even liked it. And that salad there, not just any regular house salad, AMAZING! I'm not sure what kind of dressing they use, but it was delish.

Joshua had the Red, White & Blue burger (yes, that's an english muffin instead of bun, genius), he said it was fantastic. The fries were homemade, which is the best kind of fry.

You can follow Eddie Burger on Twitter at @EddieBurgerBar.