Wednesday, 16 September 2015

My 10 best summer moments of 2015

One of the greatest things about blogging is that it makes you pause, reflect, and appreciate life. I believe that a beautiful life is made up of countless little moments, not of the few big ones that are always documented. Graduations, weddings, vacations, birthdays and births are worth celebrating for sure, but they are few and far between. This summer we didn't go away, yet it was one of the best summers we have ever had. Let's take a look back and see what made it so, shall we?

10. Juicing
I bought a juicer back in April on the recommendation of a co-worker. Until then I had never even tried vegetable juice, let alone ever juiced myself. My main reason for giving it a try was that I was fairly sure we didn't eat enough vegetables on a daily basis. 
I can't tell you how happy I am that we started this habit. Rich lost 20 pounds, looks younger every day, and has a ton of energy he didn't have before.
My skin has never looked better. I used to get breakouts regularly, and those are completely gone. Also, it may be my imagination, but does my skin look less wrinkly? I think it does. Anyway, we are devoted juicers now, drinking a big glass every morning. A Beautiful Mess just did a post about beet juice two days ago, their recipe is similar to what I make most days. You can check it out here. For more juicing recipes, you can take a look at my Pinterest juicing board.

9. Donald Duck
We adopted a duckling this summer, because he was so small that we were worried that he wouldn't make it. Hanging out with him is so much fun! He is now fully grown and lives with the other ducks and geese on the pond, but he's still way smaller than normal for his breed. No problem though, he is a resilient little guy and holds his own amongst all the bigger birds. Rich swears he listens to his name ("he turned his head when I called him!"), but I'm not so sure. Either way, it's great having a pet duck around and we are so happy he made it!

8. Road trips
Even though we didn't go on a vacation this summer, we did go on three different road trips. They were all memorable in their own ways: 
In April, we drove 2,500km to pick up a puppy (she gets her own mention in #2 on this list). It was pretty wild, because finding the place where her breeder lived was much more complicated than we expected. But it all turned out great in the end, and we couldn't be happier with her.
For Richard's birthday we went to Oregon to pick up rabbits (we don't go anywhere without bringing a few animals home) and spent the night in Portland. It was a great, quick trip with the most delicious dinner we could have asked for.
The last trip was our Salt Spring Island adventure, which was much better - and much more unusual - than we ever imagined. See also #4 on this list. 

7. Lunch dates
Since Rich is semi-retired and I work mostly in the evenings, we have started to go regularly for lunch dates. Sushi is a favourite, but we have also tried out this tiny, hole-in-the-wall Mexican place that's situated in an industrial area close to our car mechanic. The owner has achieved the seemingly impossible: Brought a little piece of Mexico into an old garage and made it look festive and authentic. The food is delicious, he is colourful, and the place is ghetto in the best possible way. We love it. He doesn't have a website (of course not), but you can take a look at the yelp reviews. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend eating there!

6. Parties
We were lucky to be invited to some special parties this summer: A surprise birthday party for our son-in-law; a casual wedding celebration; and a 20th wedding anniversary last weekend, that was one of those special nights where everything was perfect and you didn't want the night to end.  

5. Walk Off The Earth concert
source
In May we went to my all-time favourite concert to date: Walk off the Earth. Everything about it was brilliant: The location (Vogue Theatre), the balmy pre-summer night, and of course, the band itself. They have so much energy, are so talented, and the show was so good! I loved every minute of it.

4. The dance temple
Sadly, I don't have pictures of the dance temple. But we went to this cafe beforehand, so I'm using this picture. The cafe has a tree inside!
Remember our experience at the dance temple last month? It was epic. Definitely something we will never forget!
( If you haven't yet, read it, click  >> here.)

3. Yoga
No summer recap is complete without mentioning yoga. It has become a big part of my life, and something I was fortunate enough to have been able to do outside nearly every day for the last six months. What also makes it special is that I started my practice during our Hawaii vacation this spring. I will always associate our beautiful trip with my yoga journey!  

2. Nina
This little girl has brought so much joy into our lives. She is extremely affectionate, loves to jump and run, and has a ridiculous amount of energy. She follows Rich everywhere, which makes him love her even more. I never thought the day would come where we have two dogs in the house, and still can't believe it some nights when the four of us all hang out in the living room, watching TV together.

1. This guy
"This moment, with her, having coffee." Johnny Cash famously said this when asked about his definition of paradise.
Spending any day with my man, surrounded by our animals, is paradise for me. He is my number one any day of the year.

What were some of your favourite moments of the summer?






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