March in Instagram

We were up at the lake for Easter Weekend so I took some time to catch up on blogging & photo editing. The photo editing went well, but the combination of a slow computer, large photo files, & slower than usual internet made putting a post together a pretty slow process. Blogger has been frustrating in other ways lately too. As much as writing your own blog code can be great, I'm looking to spend the bulk of my time writing. I'd also like an easier interface for working with photos. 

Keep an eye out for what I think will be some positive blog changes. In the meantime, here's what we got up to last month according to Instagram!

1. We took advantage of the mild weather & borrowed N's brother dog, Korra, for a hike up Sulphur Mountain. It's a quick little hike up & in the winter you can ride the Gondola back down for free!
2. We celebrated our friend's birthday with a centurion & an epic dance party.
3. I chopped a big chunk of hair off & for the first time ever, it's shorter than D's.
4. N & I had a beautiful lamb dish at Wine-Ohs for Big Taste this year.
5. Long runs are back! I also scored these wicked lululemon leggings & a cute top when my number was drawn during an evening of spin! The awesome pattern is a new favourite!
6. We joined a bunch of friends at Grape Escape again this year. We tried a lot of beer & wine, while checking out a bunch of food trucks!
7. Enjoying a Flames game thanks to my parents. Even though we lost to Dallas in overtime, I have no complaints about watching live hockey.
8. We took advantage of a very warm early spring day to sit outside at Container Bar. We're pretty sure they ran out of beer, thanks mostly to our large table of friends.
9. Celebrating a friend's 30th Birthday with a hike up Mount Lady MacDonald. She's merciless, but the views are incredible. I'm excited to have checked another summit off our list so early in the year even if my legs have only just forgiven me.

Hope you got to spend some time with family & friends for the long weekend. Happy Easter!

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February In Instagram

No matter what, this recap seems to sneak up on me. Granted, February is the shortest month,but it still amazes me how quickly time can fly by. We got up to a lot judging from my Instagram feed. The unseasonably warm temperatures have resulted in much less hibernation than usual. We got outside more than you'd normally expect. It's a nice change, but I'm a little bit wary about what this means for our Spring & Summer. 

We also booked some exciting things. We've decided to go to Big Valley Jamboree this summer & we're officially going to Mexico again next February. As we continue our house hunt & hold off on big trips, it helps to have a couple vacation plans to look forward to. 

Here's what we got up to this month according to Instagram: 

1. Once again, we headed out to Panorama for a ski trip with some friends. Despite a rocky start, it was a great weekend. We even ventured into Taynton Bowl - a backcountry-style part of the resort I'd previously found intimidating. Overcoming that fear meant skiing some of the best powder & terrain I've ever encountered. 

2. Now that they've settled back into daily life after 3 months of travel, we presented our friends with a homemade (slightly risqué) calendar we made while we had access to their house.
3. H, Z, N, & I attended a wine tasting at Metrovino. We learned quite a bit & picked up a couple beautiful bottles of wine. This wine shop continues to impress me with every visit. 

4. N & I had a lovely Valentines Day. We started with oysters & cava at the recently opened Rodney's Oyster House followed by an incredible dinner at Cucina. Their Chicken Liver Parfait is one of my favourite appetizers. 

5. I took in a Flames game with my dad. Always a fun way to spend an evening. 

6. N & I decided to take advantage of our proximity to the mountains & put our Banff Park Pass to use. Our first adventure was a leisurely hike at Johnston Canyon. It's a bit icy due to our warmer winter, but still an easy hike with some unique sights. 

7. Another welcome addition to the food scene is The Nash, Michael Noble's latest restaurant venture. N's brother got us a gift card for Christmas so we decided to check it out with some friends. A week later, I'm already looking for an excuse to go back (despite it being a definite splurge).  

8. H & I got a sneak peek at some of the eggcellence going down for Beakerhead this year. We were visibly eggcited to learn downtownfood is involved. (Confused? Keep an eye on Twitter for more info!) 

9. Night riding with some friends at YYC Cycle to cap off the month. Glow in the dark paint, lululemon giveaways, Juice Because samples, & an amazing workout with two incredible motivators = a fantastic Friday night! 

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January In Instagram

It always takes me at least a month to get used to writing a new year & even then, I still do a bit of a double take when I see it. I've said January 2014 countless times this month & considering how quickly it went by, I'm not sure that's going to change anytime soon. I do the same thing with my age right after my birthday. I'm sure my friends won't let me forget how old I am turning this year though. Yikes! As usual this month was filled with friends & food. Surprise, surprise! Welcome to our lives. Here's what we got up to:

1. We rung in the New Year with our closest friends & a lovely bottle of Prosecco.
2. Taking advantage of one of my best friends being in town. Her visits are always too quick, but we saw a lot of eachother & I'm so grateful for that.
3. My MOH celebrated her birthday on the first Friday of January. We took the day off to celebrate, grabbing brunch at a favourite spot in the morning, getting manicure, & chatting on my couch over wine & cheese. Happy Birthday, D!
4. Fratello opened a new restaurant where the iconic Melrose Bar used to be so we met up for brunch to check it out. Corbeaux is quickly becoming a favourite. We highly recommend...everything.
5. Putting a Wedding Shower gift to good use with a trip to Peasant cheese shop for some abondance, roquefort carles, & duck mousse with pink peppercorn. New favourite spot for cheese or
pâté - they'll even let you sample before you buy!

6. The days are getting longer so my walks home aren't in the dark anymore. This skyline is my favourite part of my walk home. 

7. We had some unseasonably warm weather last week - so warm, we did a 10 km walk that ended with beers on a patio. Yes, it's still January.
8. I've been including the Crescent Heights on every walk home from work in hopes that they'll get easier to run. I registered to run the Calgary Half Marathon at the end of May & despite the course being flat, I find hill/stair training helps. 

9. Testing my arm strength at Wurst with a stein holding competition. A litre of water gets real heavy, real quick!

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December In Instagram

Twenty Fifteen. We're here. December is officially last year. It always sounds a bit odd to refer to something that happened so recently as last year. This year has some big shoes to feel. I mean, last year we got married & went on our first trip together to another continent. It was a big one. Nonetheless, I'm excited for what 2015 has in store for us. I wish I could say we had another big trip planned, but we're keeping closer to home this year. We're looking for a house, putting down roots, trying that on for size. We'll see how it goes. (Don't worry, I've already got 5 more trips planned for the years after this one...) This year will be my fourth back in Calgary. In some ways it feels like a long time to be in one place. But I digress, this isn't a 2014 recap. Let's get on with it! Here's what we got up to in December according to my favourite social media app:  

1. I can't believe it took us this long, but we finally went to the new Anju. We shared all of our favourites (they added pork belly to the crispy tofu. It's perfect!) & I'm already itching to go back. We rounded out the evening at ATP's performance of Charlotte's Web. It was a wonderful date night.
2. My work Christmas party lived up to its reputation & we had a great time with my wonderful coworkers. There were many drinks & lots of hilarious dance moves.
3. Our good friends returned from South America just in time for Market Collective & an outdoor winter pop up at Container Bar. H & I snuggled under blankets, enjoyed mulled wine & shared crispy crepes, while chatting with her bar manager. Such a cool group of guys running the show over there!
4. Dad & I enjoying my parents annual Christmas Cocktail Party. Good food, festive drinks, my favourite people.
5. We enjoyed our first day on the slopes at Lake Louise for our friends' annual Ski Trip. It's shaping up to be a pretty good year if this snow continues!
6. I started this Christmas Day 5 km Tradition a few years ago. The three of us are still the only participants to date.
7. We spent the holidays at my parents' place in BC. Thanks for finding the weirdest Christmas crackers, mom. This picture is so greasy.
8. Boxing Day Skiing trumps shopping in our books. We spent the day at Panorama with my family. We're the three best friends that anybody could ever have and we'll never ever ever ever leave each other. Right guys?
9. & the final day of the year. We started our evening with a steak dinner & ended it at a house party with some of our closest friends.

Happy New Year everyone!

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November in Instagram

I'm using a different method to post this month's Instagram recap. You'll have to let me know if you like it. It's significantly less time consuming than my previous methods, which I'm always a fan of. It might not be the best quality though. I really wish tables with photos weren't such a pain in blogger. It takes me back to my first website, when I almost always chose to write in html. Now, I'm the complete opposite. I find I'm much more motivated to blog about what's going on than to write a bunch of html to get those thoughts up there. Maybe one day I'll get back into it, but for now I'm still wishing on a better way to add tables. You hear that, blogger! Get on it. We like tables. & while you're at it, I'd like to put two photos side by side & have them look nice, without using photoshop. Consider it my blogging Christmas Wishlist. I'm sure I'm not the first to want these things!

Here's what we got up to this November:

1. We started off the month with Banff Winterstart. It's an 8 km night run up Banff's Tunnel Mountain. N & a few of our friends dressed as penguins. I highly recommend this run. We had a great time!
2. Rouladen has always been a winter favourite for my family. I wanted to share that with N, so I made a paleo version. It was delicious!
3. Saturday morning coffee in bed has become a staple lately. N gets up at 9:30 & puts coffee on. He likes to get up & play games, while I sit in bed & read. I like these kind of slow starts.
4. I've been writing Thank Yous all month. I really wanted them to be genuine so I took my time. Sometimes wine was involved. My desk is messy.
5. I've been making an effort to workout more this month. As soon as the temperature dropped, my motivation evaporated, but this month I made an effort to get my butt moving at least four times a week. Many burpees were involved.
6. We got a beautiful Staub Cast-Iron Grill Pan as a Wedding Gift & christened it with some delicious grass-fed beef. This is my kind of Friday evening at home.
7. Brunch at OEB is a monthly thing for us. Their breakfast poutine is by far the absolute best way to start the day. I literally compare every breakfast to theirs. It's always worth the wait.
8. D & I had a girls night with some of her coworkers last week. We grabbed dinner & drinks & then hit the mall for some shopping during the 'Twas the Night event.
9. My awesome optometrist (& friend!) hooked me up with some awesome Ray Bans. I'm really excited for longer days so I can more wear out of them.

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October in Instagram

So here's a new tradition for you: posting my Instagram recaps late. Does twice in a row make it a tradition? It's probably happened more than that in reality.

It's tough to ignore winter now. Daylight Savings was last week & I always forget how much this little change affects everything. I think most of us are playing catch-up still (keep the coffee flowing) & my walks home are getting increasingly dark. I think that's the worst part of winter: walking to & from work in the dark. It feels lonely. Luckily, it doesn't last long & there is something so wonderful about realizing the days are getting longer. I guess it would be tough to appreciate one without the other. (That's the theory I'm going with this year, anyway. Roll with it.)

Let's talk about October. It was a good one. Here's what we got up to:

1. For YYC Pizza Week, we decided to check out Posto Pizzeria. This little restaurant, sister to Bonterra, Cibo, & now Scopa, is fast becoming a favourite. Our visit coincided with Porchetta Thursday, which I can't recommend enough if you love pork even a little bit.
2. I changed my name on my licence. I'm slowly changing it on other things too, but for now I'm in this strange in between phase. Sometimes I use my maiden name & sometimes I use my married name. I just like to keep people guessing.
3. We picked up another eight of a cow this year, so we've been working through last year's order. Now that we have a meat thermometer, we're all about the roast. This one was particular delicious.
4. My lovely friends got married at the River Cafe & we were so excited to celebrate with them. They had perfect fall weather, beautiful full, & one of the best dance parties. Congratulations, J & J!
5. We spent Thanksgiving out at the lake with my parents & brother. It was gorgeous & we ate some incredible food. I blogged about it here.
6. Our travels to France & Italy this year have carried over a little bit into our lives here in the form of charcuterie, wine, & cheese. One of my favourite ways to spend an evening is with a beautiful bottle of wine, some nice cheeses, & salami. Europe knows what's up.
7. My sommelier friend introduced me to Metrovino this month & it was such an incredible wine shop. I'm already predicting I'll be upping my wine game very soon.
8. A girlfriend & I met up on the new St Patrick's bridge for Feast in the East. We shared Taiko Taco & Waffles & Chix.
9. Halloween. My coworkers are a lot of fun & we had some great costumes. I went the easy route & dressed up as a scarecrow. L was an adorable Olive Oyl.

On to November. Please don't talk to me about Christmas yet, guys. We have a full, blissful month of non-Christmas activities & I fully intend to be a grinch until at least December 1.

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Summer in Instagram

Whoa, three months of Instagram in one little recap? Yup, that's right - I'm putting the whole of summer into this post. I majorly slacked off with this series over the summer & it's time to get back on track, even if that means some of these are close to 100 days old. Let's not dwell on that fact though. Here's what we got up to in July, August, & September.

1. One of my bests, Gaux, came home for Stampede week. I love it when this girl comes home & especially when it coincides with Stampede week. She's my best Nashville North buddy (next to N). 

2. My bachelorette party was the weekend after Stampede week. It was an incredible weekend. I am so blessed to have such an incredible group of girlfriends. We had the best time. 

3. My birthday also happens to fall in July so N took me out for dinner at Model Milk. This restaurant continually impresses me with their creativity & phenomenal execution. Thanks for a great birthday dinner, MM!

4. My MOH, D, threw me an amazing Wedding Shower in her parent's stunning backyard. Her & her mom put on a beautiful shower with delicious food, a fantastic signature drinks, awesome lemon shooters, & friends & family. 

5. The wedding selfie makes another appearance. I can't help it - it's pretty rad. & yeah, we got married (nbd). It was the best day. 

6. Standing in the middle of the Champs Elysees. If you look really hard, you can see the Arc de Triomphe in the distance. I love Paris. Enough said. 

7. Sitting in my former neighbourhood (Croix Rousse) in Lyon & fulfilling my dream of showing N my French home. There are no words for how happy that makes me. 

8. Enjoying the sun deck on our first ever cruise. We loved it & are already planning our next trip. 

9. Vernazza, Cinque Terre. Oh what can I say about Cinque Terre besides - go. Please visit this incredible region someday. Eat the pasta. Drink the wine. Hike the trails. Jump off the cliff. It's breathtaking. Promise me you will.

You can follow me on Instagram @whoalansi. It's probably my favourite app, so I post a lot. 

Here's to being back at blogging, friends! Happy Thanksgiving!

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June in Instagram

Remember when I did a journal response about how life was hectic. Well we're seven days into July & I'm only just posting this recap, so I think that's still quite accurate! I feel like I just did the May recap. Where did this month go? Judging by my instagram, all we did was eat. Seriously, we ate a lot of delicious food this month. Or at least that's what I mostly posted about. Nothing wrong with that right? We're just a couple of foodies over here...

1. The first of three Anju meals. This one was a 13 course collaboration for the Chinatown Flood Rehabilitation Fund. Anju was one of three chefs who put on this delicious meal.
2. H & I went to a few early-morning spin classes. We grabbed coffee together at Analog afterwards. Definitely a wonderful way to start the day!
3. N & I celebrated five years together & what is probably the last time we'll celebrate this date since we'll have a new anniversary after this year. We went for a lovely dinner at Black Pig Bistro (the new kid in Bridgeland).
4. Anju dinner number two. I actually have some real photos of this & plan on blogging about it soon. We headed down to Test Kitchen for this wonderful meal with some lovely ladies. (That bone marrow risotto. Daaaaamn.)
5. Village Ice Cream recently celebrated two years! I couldn't resist bringing home a half scoop of Root Beer with a half scoop of Salted Caramel. (My favourite combo!)
6. I won a Bridal basket from the Bay, which included this very sparkly (messy) bottle of Champagne.
7. The last Anju dinner. I know, we're ridiculous, but we couldn't pass up the chance to get our Gochujang fix.
8. The weather didn't really cooperate for the "long weekend" , but we launched the sea doo anyway. A little cloud cover can't stop us!
9. Of course, the day we were leaving, it was gorgeous. Isn't that how it always works?

This weekend kicked off our crazy summer schedule with the first weekend of Stampede. From here on out, it's go go go until we're gone to Europe!

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May In Instagram

Wow, this Instagram Recap is late this month! I have a feeling things are only going to get busier in these next couple months, leading up to our wedding. We've got lots of crafts to pull together, plans to finalize, & parties to throw, so I apologize in advance if my posts fall off the wagon a bit. Here's what May looked like according to Instagram. 

1. We're all giants. A bunch of us bought tickets to Beer Fest. Always a fun night!
2. Envelope addressing party! Things are getting real - invites went out & RSVP is live on our website. Every time I see an email notification that someone has RSVPed I get very excited.
3. We had my parents over for dinner on Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day, maman!
4. N celebrated his 27th birthday in Kelowna. I had a hair & makeup trial & then we headed out to dinner at the Hotel El Dorado. Beautiful!
5. Cheers! We did a few wine tastings at our venue. The Cipes Brut is one of my new favourite sparkling wines.
6. The weekend in Kelowna was incredible. I already blogged about it, but this was a big highlight this month.
7. We picked up muscles from Billingsgate Seafood Market & have decided we may now have to make Seafood Sundays a thing. Quick, easy, delicious.
8. Another half marathon in the books! I ran it in 2:00.49 this time. I guess I'm just really consistent around that 2 hour mark. Pretty happy given the limited training I did, but next time I'll be faster!
9. N's birthday coincides well with lobster season. We celebrated it a bit later than usual. As always we had enough lobster to feed an army though! Best tradition!

I think spring it actually officially here. It's refreshing to finally be able to get outside & enjoy the parks & festivals that come with this time of year!



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April In Instagram

Whew! I'm probably going to say this every month until about September, but where has the time gone?! This month seemed to fly by again. From the looks of my Instagram, we did a lot of eating this month. A ridiculous amount, really. I've got so many blog posts in the works & I definitely meant to contribute a Journal Day over the weekend, but Sunday night seemed to come pretty quickly. I'll get to that though! For now, here's this months InstaRecap! 

1. We registered! Woohoo! It was actually a pretty funny process to me. We don't need a lot of stuff so it only took us about 10 minutes to get it done. (Thankfully. N hates shopping!)
2. All the ramen! Two new ramen places opened up recently in Calgary & I had to have them both. They are both amazing, welcome additions to the restaurant scene.
3. I've spent more money this year on my hair than ever before & I haven't even coloured it. Just trying to keep the ends looking good for this summer.
4. Keeping up with long runs & trying out new routes. I definitely miss my training partner (who's still out with his injury) so new routes make things a little more interesting.
5. H & I went on the Poutine Crawl this year & it was amazing! I also have a blog post coming about that at some point. Oh man, I'm so behind!
6. Checking out the Black Pig Bistro (replacing DeVille's Bridgeland location). Should be delicious!
7. Tuesday Yoga at lunch at work is a thing & I'm really excited about it.
8. N's brother is back, which is awesome for many reasons - one being that I'll get my chocolate lab fix. Kora's so gorgeous!
9. One of my bests was home for Easter. As always, it was far too short of a visit, but we did have some fun at National.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, friends! Have a margarita for me - I'm at work tonight!

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March In Instagram

This month's Instagram Recap was this close to being only food pictures. It was a good month for eating, guys. A very good month. Between Big Taste, birthdays, ski trips, & dinner dates, we got fat & happy in March. I decided to throw in a few non-food photos though since not everyone is as into shoving food in their face as I am (Blasphemy! FYI - we could never be friends).

Now that April is here though (& everyone keeps reminding me I'm getting married in less than 5 months), I should probably think about eating better. Maybe. I probably won't, but it's a nice thought.

Anyway, here's what we got up to in March according to my Instagram.

1. We weren't able to ski for N's work trip (boo broken ankle!), but we did enjoy some time in Banff. Love this little town.
2. If you've never experienced Big Taste YYC, you really need to check it out. Restaurants all around town put on set menus for $15 - $25. Duck Fat fried Brussels Sprouts were just one tasty piece of our week. Check it out next March!
3. I've registered for the 50th Annual Calgary (Half) Marathon! Got some new shoes & started my training runs. Let's do this!
4. N's brother came to town so we had brunch at noTABle again. It was incredible again. That steak. Those hash browns. I'll go there anytime!
5. Drinks with the future SIL for St Paddy's Day. N's brother was in town, working at the Earl's Tin Palace for the re-opening, so we hung out there for a bit.
6. We headed out to BC to ski Panorama for the weekend. This mountain has one of my favourite views from the summit.
7. This was taken last week. Yes, you read that right. As in the end of March. Thanks, yyc.
8. We tried a new pizza place with a couple friends. Our first time trying Chicago Deep Dish & that is too much pizza for this girl. My california style was delicious though, as were the meatballs. They've got some kinks to work out with the service, but the food is delicious!
9. I haven't been practicing my handstands as much this month, but I think I've gained some strength doing the open. It doesn't look like much, but that there is handstand push-up progress, people!

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February In Instagram

Sometimes I'm really on the ball with these Instagram recaps, but more often than not they come a few days after the start of the month. Despite posting more than ever (Ten times in this short little month), this recap is coming a few days late. Busy beavers, we are over here. & it's cold. My motivation goes down the tube when it drops below negative 25 celsius. Here's what we got up to this month according to my Instragram account. 

1. Our friends hosted a potluck to watch the SuperBowl. I don't like football, but I do love getting together with my friends for a potluck. It was delicious as always.
2. I've been working at the Bow Building a lot lately. I don't think I'll ever tire of this incredible view of the city.
3. Cafe Gravity is not only a great coffee shop, but they also serve wine, craft beers, & delicious food. I've been stopping by with various friends or my mother frequently this month. I'd forgotten about it, but now that I've rediscovered this gem, I can't seem to get enough.
4. The perfect Valentines gift is a meal out with N. We celebrated a day early this year with a lovely dinner at Yellow Door Bistro. That's a lovely foie gras and rabbitte terrine. Yum!
5. We can't drive through Canmore without stopping at La Belle Patate. On this particular occasion, we shared one that was bigger than my head. It was ridiculous & awesome.
6. We spent the Family Day Long Weekend with my parents at the lake, celebrating dad's birthday & tasting this delicious Cipes Brut Sparkling Rose.
7. My dancing partner has been out of commission of late. Luckily his friends are willing to step in for now.
8. We woke up at 4:15 am to watch Team Canada win the Gold Medal in Men's Hockey. There was Beer. There were tots. & there was this moment of pure joy.
9. The CrossFit Open is back. & I'm participating. The first WOD was Friday night so I headed out to Airdrie to complete it.

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January in Instagram

It's February! Hurrah! The last month that is truly cold. We may not get much of a spring, but at least it feels within reach once we hit March. It's the light at the end of the tunnel. I've already noticed the days getting longer and this month is so short that it feels manageable. 

This post is pretty late for a January recap. We got home from Mexico late Friday night and spent the weekend attempting to get back into the swing of things. Of course, the first day back at work is always a bit nuts, but this month is busy on top of that. So it's February 4th and we're going to talk about January, ok? 

1. I had my heart set on New Years Brunch at Wurst even though the boys were super hungover. I never have mimosas but it seemed like a great way to start 2014.
2. Ice cream after skating just feels right sometimes. Especially when it's salted caramel from Village (don't question it, just do it).
3. This paleo butter chicken & naan is a game changer. I will definitely be making this again (& again & again).
4. We saw a couple warm days in January. I managed to get in a few lunch runs to prepare for the beach. When the sun shines, this city is simply breathtaking.
5. Two of our good friends got married in Hawaii this fall. They hosted a post elopement party - we danced, ate, & drank the night away with some of our bests.
6. I'll be hanging out in the massive Bow Building for the next couple months at work. It's one of the coolest offices in Calgary, if you ask me.
7. We'd been planning this Mexico trip for almost a year and it finally arrived. This was our beach for the week (I know, right?).  N's rocking a sick tan.
8. The dusty, dirty, rugged streets of La Manzanilla won me over. I love this little Mexican town & already am daydreaming of going back.
9. The view from our villa was spectacular. I couldn't get enough of it and took a sunset photo almost every night. (Can you blame me? Look at this view!)

That's it for January. I'm working on some great posts as well as trying to edit my Mexico pictures. I took that take more photos resolution to heart. Prepare yourselves.

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December in Instagram

It's been a bit of a slower month for blog posts, but I think overall I've been more consistent than ever before. It wasn't a real resolution to post more, but I did mention that it was a goal for this year and I think I can successfully check that one off. My other resolutions were a little more hit or mess, but I'll talk about that more when I make this years'.

Like all years, this one has its ups and downs. When I think back though, there were so many great moments. It's hard to trump our engagement, but we also made some great memories in the states, spent lots of time out at the lake and in the mountains, and ate our way around the city. I can't complain. Thanks, 2013. I think 2014 should be a pretty great year too. We're off to Mexico at the end of January, we're getting married this summer, and we've got plans for a pretty fantastic honeymoon. I hope you all can look back on 2013 with a smile and I wish you all the joy and happiness for this brand new year. Here's a little recap of what December looked like for us.

1. N participated in Movember again this year. It was his best mustache showing to date, but he still looked like a bit of a creep at the end.
2. N's family dog, Lucky, celebrated his 15th birthday. They let him lick the icing off a cupcake. When you're 105, you get to do whatever you want.
3. KC & I at the hockey game. It was me & the boys that night. Things got rowdy, as all hockey games should.
4. Fitness at work continued. We did a squat challenge this month & sometimes these types of ridiculous outfits make an appearance. Always need to be prepared for squats.
5. My company Christmas party was a blast. We had the best time and took a lot of great photobooth photos.
6. The snow this December has been pretty great so far. We spent the weekend before Christmas in Banff- skiing, drinking, snowshoeing, and hitting the hot springs.
7. We stayed in Calgary for Christmas this year and spent the holidays with N's family at their house. His mom's fireplace is just adorable.
8. Skating on Christmas Day with family and friends.
9. We skied Panorama after Christmas and then headed out to spend some time with my family in the Columbia Valley. It was beautiful!

See you in 2014, blog friends! Happy New Year!

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November in Instagram

November ended this weekend and took our beautiful chinook weather with it. A storm blew late Sunday night and half the city is stuck in snow drifts this morning. The wind has caused white-out on most highways surrounding our frozen city and we're all bundled up like it's the arctic. Welcome to Calgary. Welcome to winter.

December is always one of the busiest months and it's no different for us this year. We've got something going on every weekend between family dinners, christmas parties, and trips to the mountains. It's the best kind of busy though as we'll get to see the majority of our friends and family at some point this month. Sadly, if we haven't already made plans, we probably won't have time until January now. I'm very busy and important, you know.

1. I posted this photo to Instagram and it was featured in a Women's Health Fitness Friday roundup. I thought it was pretty cool: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/fitness-friday-november-1
2. My girlfriends and I volunteered at Avenue's Top 40 Under 40 event. It was great meeting all the recipients and we had a great time at the after party.
3. N and I hosted a Halloween party at our place. We dressed up as the Paleo Police.
4. We've been working on headstands and handstands as well as getting back into strength training this month. We've both improved a lot and plan to continue this month.
5. We celebrated H's birthday with bowling, beer, and delicious food at National Bowl. Happy Birthday, H!
6. We bought an eighth of a cow from one of N's coworkers. It's all grass-fed beef. We were obviously very excited.
7. We got our engagement photos back and they are beautiful. I love every single one and am so happy we've booked 3Haus for our wedding as well.
8. Treated outselves to pizza at Famoso before seeign the Hunger Games. Their pizza is just delicious! We hadn't seen a movie together in ages; this one was well worth hitting the theatre on a friday night.
9. Movember is over, which means this lovely stache is just a memory.

Happy December, everyone!
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October in Instagram

We had a beautiful fall this year. It was amazing so I'm trying really hard not to complain now that the temperature has severely dropped and the snow has arrived. Here's a little recap of what we got up to this month. 

1. Fall colours and light on one of my walks home. This season can be so gorgeous.
2. Coffee and wedding planning with my mom. Things are coming together quickly!
3. Fall lunch runs are my favourite. I hope we get a few more warm days before winter really sets in so I can do a few more outdoor runs.
4. We spent Thanksgiving out at the lake with my family. The in between season are so relaxing! Good food, good company, good drinks.
5. A friend helped me make some beautiful cards to ask my girls to be my bridesmaids. We got wine and chatted. It was lovely!
6. Med balls at Fitness Friday? Might as well have been Christmas. (My coworkers may have slightly disagreed!)
7. Me and my King of Hearts. Dressed up as Rosie the Riveter and the King of Hearts for Halloween.
8. I'm back at the Y twice a month. A little extra income and a gym membership is worth a couple long days a month.
9. Doing some CrossFit style workouts at the Y. The 24" box is tough, but it's pretty satisfying to stick with it for an entire workout.

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September in Instagram

September was a crazy month - a crazy, awesome, incredible month. We started it off on vacation. I've written a little bit about that so far (there's so much more to come! It was a fabulous trip.) and a little bit about N's beautiful proposal (more on that later too), but here's a little Instagram recap that includes a little more than just the beginning of the month. There was more to September than vacations and proposals (I think...I'm still living in those moments a bit!) 

1. Cannon Beach. I know I already blogged about it, but we just loved it so much.
2. Pok Pok's famous wings. If you're ever in Portland, eat the wings (but maybe not the green papaya salad. I loved it, but it kicked N in the mouth) and try a whiskey sour. Game changers.
3. Seattle and the famous Pike Place Market.
4. The recreation of N's proposal, signs and all.
5. Checking out wineries on Lake Okanagan. Quail's Gate is my favourite!
6. N heading to his first day of work, looking good!
7. Celebrating the marriage of two close friends (and taking awkward engagement photos cause we're kind of awkward people).
8. Friday night drinks and toasts with both our families. Wonderful to all get together! It was a lovely weekend full of family.
9. We played tourist in our own city and went up the Calgary Tower for #doorsopenyyc. (It was my first time!) I'm not going to lie, it's a bit scary standing on that glass bottomed floor and looking down for the first time!

Life is busy and wonderful. We're getting into the swing of this whole planning a wedding thing (or at least I am...), Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and fall has officially arrived. Bring it on October!

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August in Instagram

It's vacation time! Woohoo! I feel like I've  been waiting for this all summer and it's finally here. I don't usually do scheduled posts, but I didn't want to miss out on an August Recap! When this posts we will hopefully be having a glorious time at a Wedding in Vancouver. Here's what we got up to this month:

1. I'm always cooking (or at least it feels that way!) This recipe was fantastic! Paleo pork burgers topped with yam noodles. You can NEVER go wrong with yam noodles. I also made yam chips by deep frying yams in bacon fat. Yum!
2. I already posted about Color Me Rad, but it was seriously fun!
3. I went out to Columbia Lake and hung out with my folks. I love that spot.
4. N was away for a few weeks. I hated it, so we went for brunch at one of my favourite restaurants, Ox and Angela, to celebrate his return.
5. We went backpacking along Lake Minnewanka with some friends. We ran into bears and it was terrifying, but we made it out alive. It was a fun trip overall!
6. We experimented with a new paleo crust from one of my new cookbooks, Gather. It was delicious.
7. Fitness Friday is still happening every Friday. It makes me incredibly happy to see how much stronger all these people are getting. Our little group is growing and it's amazing!
8. We hiked Grizzly Peak with T. It was a wonderful way to spend a sunny Saturday.
9. Mom treated me to a manicure and my first pedicure. I could definitely get addicted to having pretty nails!

Enjoy the long weekend! Excuse me while I dance the night away! We'll be on the road tomorrow exploring the Pacific Coast Highway on our way to Portland. I can't wait!


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July In Instagram

Summer is by far my favourite season and it always seems to just fly by. It's already half over and it feel like it only just began. We've got lots planned for August and September, but not nearly as much as we did for July. I'm kind of excited to just slow down a bit and enjoy this season. I'm looking forward to sitting outside on patios, having barbeques with friends, and enjoying the long days before they're gone.

The end of this month has felt slightly out of control. Anyone who knows me know that I'm not a fan of feeling out of control. Work has been full of deadlines, I've been trying to cram long runs into already hectic weekends, and N has been away for work. I think the last one has been making life feel particularly hectic. N and I are a pretty good team and he's been in Northern Saskatchewan for work since July 25. He's there for at least another week. It reminds me of when we did long distance, except at the time I was used to doing everything on my own and now I've been spoiled by having the extra help. Anyway, it's only another week so we're almost back to everyday life.

Here's what I got up to this month:
1. Started off July with a long weekend at the lake. Nothing more relaxing.
2. Stampede Parade kicked off one of my favourite weeks in the city! Enjoying the parade with my lovely co-worker.
3. Camping in Drumheller. The sunsets on the hills are unreal.
4. Spaghetti Western 2012: L and I enjoying our company party and the awesome sillybooth.
5. Weekend at Columbia Lake with N and some great friends for my birthday. D and I look related and it's really weird.
6. Nothing beats a calm, hot day on the lake. Seriously.
7. Folk Festing. I finally attended a full day at CFMF. It was full of great music and shenanigans.
8. D and I in the beer gardens at Folk Fest.
9. I finally got my last wisdom tooth out. And I bit the bullet and did the ombre thing. Turns out I love it!

Here's to a wonderful, hot, sunny, dry rest of the summer! Happy Long Weekend, everyone!

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June in Instagram

I have been seriously neglecting this blog lately. I've taken so many photos and planned so many posts, but it just hasn't come together for me when it comes to actually sitting and blogging. I'm even a few days behind on my Instagram recap here! 

Calgary was recently hit with some major flooding. It was unbelievable. I never thought it was possible for so much of the city to end up underwater. Luckily, we live up a huge hill (as do most of our friends) so we were virtually unaffected. Instead we volunteered our time to the families who were and I'm so proud of our city for coming together in such awesome ways. 

I have some flood pictures so let's move on to the recap. I'm sure we'll be talking about the Alberta Flood for a long time, but there were so many other great things that happened in June so I'm going to focus on those for now. 

1. We kicked off the month by climbing Ha Ling Peak. It was great start to the hiking season and I really hope it continues. There are so many great hikes in the area and sometimes there's really nothing better than standing on top of mountain.
2. Fiasco Gelato opened a pop-up in the Bridgeland Market near our place. They gave out free scoops, so of course we had to check it out.
3. N and I celebrated 4 years together this month. We had a fantastic dinner at Cucina. I can't say enough good things about this restaurant or about this amazing guy I'm with. Happy Anniversary!
4. Stumptown Coffee has opened up at Luke's Drug Mart. It's a stone's throw from our house so it's quickly becoming a Saturday ritual to stop in for some coffee and a treat.
5. The burpee challenge went on throughout June. I don't love burpees. No one loves burpees. I hope I at least inspired some people to move a little bit more.
6. The flood. The photos are unreal, the damage is heartbreaking, the way the city came together is so inspiring. #CalgaryStrong.
7. I've been hanging out at Mission Fitness once a week, doing CrossFit. We did rope climbs last week and I loved it. (Obviously!)
8. Flood party with my Liver. She's pretty freaking awesome. We played an #calgaryflooddrinkinggame cuz we're...terrible people.
9. We spent the long weekend out at the lake with my parents. Lots of sun, boating, and wake boarding. I can't get enough of it and am definitely disappointed to be back.

Alright, summer. Let's do this. I'm more than ready for July, Stampede, my birthday, and all the awesome that comes with my favourite month!


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