coconut goodness

liberte now makes coconut greek yogurt with 2% milk fat instead of their regular 10% milk fat!  this new discovery makes me very happy (thank you lyda!).  if i want, i can eat it daily - it's only 2% m.f!  everyday for breakfast or a snack.  every. single. day. 

i am obsessed with it.  not only is it delicious but i swear it also makes life better.  when i eat it i feel relaxed and light and content.  100 grams of coconut greek yogurt equals big satisfaction.

yet so many of you are unaware of it's rewards - and i know who some of you are.  it's like not liking sunshine or palm trees.  i'm flabbergasted.  please try it.  if you must, mix it with another flavoured yogurt or slice up some bananas to throw in.  i'm good with that plan.  just try it.  you'll thank me :)

weekend pics, cooking and racing

i'm not sure what made this weekend fly by... maybe it was because stefan left us on sunday for an out of town work engagement thereby cutting our weekend together short?  regardless, we did enjoy some highlights before his departure:

stefan's cooking is delicious. after a visit to the farmer's market, he got into the kitchen with his cook's illustrated magazines and lived in there for a few hours.  the end result?  

first, he baked the ultimate banana bread.  he grumbled a bit at the fussiness of the recipe - extracting and concentrating the moisture from the bananas.  but he knew the magazine never failed him, always producing happy results.  and of course this was the case with the banana bread; flavourful - yet not too banana-y - and perfectly moist, not wet. 



and then stefan cooked the most delicious shepard's pie. the creamed potatoes were seriously to die for and the filling nice and rich.  it made enough for two dinners; unfortunately stefan couldn't partake in the second round (he was on the road) but that meant more for kai and i.  thank you for feeding us stefan :)

 



 

kai participated in a tuff kids race - a 1.5km race that included hurdles, scrambling under tarps, running through a maze, getting across slippery rocks, and jumping over ropes but mostly running.  the obstacles were a brilliant idea and probably the only reason kai enthusiastically wanted to participate (good thinking distance runwear).  if it had been just a run i imagine he wouldn't have wanted to take part.  he loved it, i loved watching him, and our lovely friends darrin, alexia, and kara came to cheer him on with their baby rattles... so cute!  afterwards, we indulged in pastry and caffeine and had a fun play at the house.  such goodness for a sunday morning!



 

 



my favourite photo... moments before, he saw his dad (hence the smile) and quickened his pace to impress him :)



 





darrin was the only one who saw kai cross the finish line and cheer him on... so i made him run to the finish line again for this photo and i cheered him on :)

 









more post-race celebration with drumming and trampolining









kai's biggest fan... what a face!



other weekend pics:
 

race or no race, we're stefan is pretty liberal with providing kai with treats on the weekend





kai and i have started watching modern family; it's the one sitcom that gets me laughing out loud



belly rubs... jude is addicted to them



food art

a photographic tribute to food. 

malaysian artist hong yi committed 31 days to a creativity with food project.  it's so incredible, don't you think?  that farm scene was made using slices from a cucumber; and red chillies were used for the tulips!

 



have a lovely weekend!  you must take a peek at her carnations portrait.  amazing!

fabulous french fabrics

i picked up the latest issue of elle décor because ellen and portia are on the cover.  but what i loved inside was a feature about a french design studio; manuel canovas produces colorful, bold, happy fabrics that were inspired by travels in india.   ariane dalle, the design director, says about india, “Everything is inspiring there: the people, the streets, the gardens… They have maintained the savoir faire of 18^th-century embroidery, and they have an extraordinary, intuitive sense of color.  There is an authenticity in india that we have lost in our own modern countries.”  i would love to travel there sometime; not only would it be a feast for the eyes but also for my belly!

it’s easy to appreciate these gorgeous prints, especially if you love design and colour.  my ottoman could use a make-over with one of the canovas fabric but the price is probably beyond my budget… a girl can dream, right?

 

i love what ms. dalle had to say about fabric, “Textiles are a language to express emotions and a way to embellish life, a way to create beauty and a link between humans…”  i couldn't agree more.

 

weekend pics, victoria

we had ourselves a little getaway this past weekend regrouping with the lovely melanie and family.  our relaxing two days were punctuated by some awesome outdoor activity, namely two hikes. 

our first hike was located in sooke, victoria's neighbour to the west.  we played by the beach - crabs and dogs and scrambling on rocks - and hiked the trail that leads along the ocean which offered spectacular views of the west coast of vancouver island. there's something restorative about trekking in the rainforest; makes life good.

 



 

 

photo credit: ruben, 11 years old







our second hike was meant to be a leisurely walk on the beach - our destination was brunch at the beach house restaurant, located right on the water.  however, the leisurely walk very quickly turned into perilous climbing over jagged rocks for most of the way.  someone misread the tide levels... it wasn't low tide!  apart from the fear of falling off the rocks and injuring myself, it was actually quite fun (my whole body still aches).  

as i was choosing photos to post here, i got the giggles at the memory of us clamouring rocks over the ocean (holding on for dear life), ending up with wet sneakers, dog rescuing, and gentlemanly piggybacks (thank you craig) to cross the water when climbing rocks was impossible or too dangerous.  

the kids?  thankfully they - especially the boys - were way ahead of us adults (nothing to distract me from making my way safely) and everyone survived!  in retrospect, i wouldn't have this little adventure any other way; what a fabulous way to end our family regrouping weekend.

 







 

 

 

 



other scenes from the weekend:

 

 



 





photo credit: maya, 9 years old



 





playing outdoors in their pyjamas!



 





men in the kitchen...





stefan made risotto with asparagus and smoked salmon... yum!





craig made a rhubarb crumble... yum!