Category Archives: Personal

November 14, 2014

Ultimate Ginger Cookies

Well my friends, baking season is upon us! To be honest, I bake year-round. But this time of year I start in earnest. Usually I begin in early November by baking 1-2 batches per week. I keep 1/3 for Rob and I to eat while they’re fresh, and freeze the rest for the holidays. I make these cookies year-round, but the gingerness of them is particularly yummy as the weather gets cold, and it really nice with a mug of tea. They’re soft and chewy and they go way too fast, so I always make a double batch.

November 11, 2014

Travel Tuesdays | Auschwitz, Poland

I thought about not doing a Travel Tuesdays post this week since it fell on Remembrance Day. But then I realized that there’s one place we’ve been that is particularly fitting to share today. Auschwitz-Birkenau was a difficult place to visit. Visit isn’t even the right word; it was an experience, but to say you’ve “experienced” Auschwitz feels like belittling those who were imprisoned and died there — and in all concentration camps. It was a place that I didn’t really want to go to, but that I felt I needed to. I left my camera locked up in the hostel because I couldn’t stomach the thought of taking photos. Rob is an avid World War II scholar, and he offered to bring his camera for some memories. And I’m glad he did, because every time I look at them I’m reminded — and that can only be a good thing.

November 4, 2014

Travel Tuesdays | Vaduz, Liechtenstein

We popped into Liechtenstein while we were in the neighbourhood. You really can just pop into Liechtenstein, since it’s only 160km² and has only about 35,000 people. The tiny country has Switzerland to one side of it, and Austria to the other. There’s just a mountain range in between. Everyone Most people seemed to live around the train station, it seemed. Castle Vaduz, where the Prince lives, overlooks the capital. We went for a walk up to it, but you can’t go in or even around the property, since the Prince and his family actually live there.

October 28, 2014

Travel Tuesdays | Mount Robson, Canada

What do you do when you only have four days off between getting married and going back to work? You take an express honeymoon! Or, as we like to call it, a “mini-moon.” Three years ago I took my two weeks vacation from work to travel to Ottawa with Rob to tie the knot. We had to get there a week early for important things like getting a marriage license, meeting our Deacon, and — of course — the bachelor and bachelorette parties! Then there was the wedding day, and a couple days after the wedding to tie up loose ends, enjoy newly married bliss, and see our families. Which left us with just four days.

October 18, 2014

Fresh Scones and Hot Tea

It’s a rainy fall weekend, the kind that I spend wearing comfy sweaters and oversized wool socks. After a great Friday night spent celebrating the wedding of friends, this morning Rob and I took Meadow for a long walk around Bruce Pit dog park. It was cool and a little drizzly, and when we came back I had the urge to bake, so bake I did! Bacon was on sale last week and inspired me to finally try making scones. I used a basic recipe and then added crumbled bacon, green onions, and shredded sharp cheddar for the ultimate comfort food. This may just be my new favourite easy/impressive thing to make! Flaky on the outside and moist on the inside. I love it when baked goods look like they’re really challenging to make but are actually very simple!