mothers day

this mothers day was so completely wonderful thanks to my sweet little family making my day. we started the day early, had breakfast and packed a picnic. we packed the car and took the sea to sky highway to our first stop, shannon falls. we went on a  mini hike, ate lunch and watched a spectacular waterfall splash down the rocky mountain side. then explored the quaint little town of squamish. checked out the flea market and antique shops. had tea. bought a blanket for our picnic. stocked up on more food and treats and took off for alice lake. we had a picnic on the grass and aya played in the sand and made friends with fellow family picnickers. it cooled down after dinner and we took off home bound. aya napped the whole way and jamie and i made plenty of rest stops to photograph the gorgeous scenery as the sun was setting. all in all it was a great relaxing day. it was pretty much a 'do what rebbi wants day' and it turned out close to perfect. it kind of makes me want to make a 'lets do what rebbi wants day' for one day out of the year for our family. just a little excuse for a little extra adventuring. because we could all use a little more adventuring. and it was one more thing checked off our spring wish list! actually a couple of things if i include the picnics! so here's some of the photos we took on mothers day...

it's so good to escape city life now and again and remember the way we're meant to live. or the way we're meant to relax. it's so easy to get caught up in it all. now we've just got to figure out what to do for fathers day!

♥

stanley park seawall bike ride

a good friend of mine from art school & nelson back in the day came to visit me this week. the cool thing is we both have babies around the same age! i hadn't seen cara since mexico when we were both pregnant. it's quite fun meeting up with an old friend when you've both traveled down slightly similar paths. we did coffee dates, shopping, sushi & a bike ride around stanley park. it was ayas first time on the back of a bike and she freaked out (i mean, really freaked out) when  she was put in the seat. but after a few minutes of riding we both loved it! i may have to get another bike, i sold my awesome vintage bike when i left for europe because i didn't feel like storing it. we made a few stops along the way for the beach & a picnic...

a coffee shop was a much needed stop. see my tea to the left on the table? i obviously forgot it there & had to run two blocks back to get it. a group of people laughed at me. maybe i run weird? then cara got shit on by a seagull which is apparently good luck?

aya rain & roady wild

love these two!

♥

gluten free vegan pancakes

have i ever told you i eat pancakes almost everyday? they're ayas favourite! to cut down on my time i have started making a dry mix so it's almost all ready to go when i get up. here's my recipe for wheat free, gluten free vegan pancakes.

dry mix:

2 cups flour substitute (brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa, or amaranth flour are all good choices, my favourite is equal parts brown rice flour mixed with buckwheat flour)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

mix ingredients together and put in a jar 

labels with directions

directions:

1 cup of dry mix

1 heaping teaspoon golden flax seed (ground up)

1 cup milk substitute (brown rice, almond, soy or hemp are all pretty great, my favourite is unsweetened almond milk)

1 tablespoon soy sour cream (optional)

mix together the dry mix with the flax seed. add the milk substitute stirring slowly. for thinner pancakes add more milk. the soy sour cream is optional, it will make buttermilk pancakes. heat your pan with oil and keep the pancakes small. they cook faster and better.

enjoy!

♥

a trip to the aquarium

this christmas my mom got jamie and i tickets to the vancouver aquarium, we wanted to wait until it was nice out to go so may was the perfect time. jamie and aya had never been there before and i have so i had fun photo documenting the trip. and we brought aya's little friend alice along with us. here's some photos from out adventure!

the belugas were the girls favourite part of the aquarium trip. they were looking at each other and squealing so loud for the most part they were missing the belugas floating by! people were watching them over the sea life, they are pretty entertaining...

so there's another little adventure checked off my spring wishlist. & tomorrow we're going on a day trip to squamish for mothers day!! i have decided to make mothers day MY day. i've earned it and want to make it a family tradition to go on a mini trip every year.

happy moms day all you moms out there!!

♥

spring wishlist

i was so ready for spring when winter was coming to an end. im not a winter person. to me it just starts to feel a little stagnant near the end and i start craving adventure, fun and new beginnings. i was longing for spring to hit so i could get on with life. not that there's anything wrong with relaxing, i love it. i just need balance. relaxing with fun and adventuring. so right before spring hit i started dreaming up the different things we can do as a family before it gets too hot. have i mentioned i'm not a summer person either? so here's what i came up with. 

 

there's other things i left out and thought about later...like a trip to the zoo! so i'll be posting these adventures as they come up.

happy dreaming and manifesting!

♥

upcoming craft projects

every spring i get super inspired, i become more productive as an artist/ crafter than any other time of the year. so i've been taking on new projects. i was going to build aya a dollhouse from scratch but when i saw this handcrafted one at an abbotsford thrift store (mcc) for $20 i decided to do some doll house reno's instead. it's now one of ayas favorite things ever, it entertains her for hours. we have filled it with all sorts of animals (mostly mamas and babies) and it's the 'animal house'. it needs a serious paint job (inside and out) and all new flooring. i will be posting after pictures once it's finished, i'm pretty excited about this little/big project i've decided to take on!

and i had been putting off fabric shopping for quite some time. it's one of my guilty pleasures. i find beautiful fabric and know exactly what i want to make out of it and then don't always find the time. so my fabric collection goes back quite a few years (seven years give or take). so when i got it more organized, cleared out some of what i'd probably never use, and finished some old projects, i decided to reward myself with a trip to fabricana. i picked out some fabric for some baby dresses i'll be making aya this spring/ summer. i looove the butterfly fabric. i got tons of it so i can do upholstery with it or whatever.

i've been buying some shirts for aya as well to alter and turn into baby dresses. i love altering more than design even. i just love turning something ok into something great. these aren't something i would personally wear but i think they'll make super cute baby dresses. i've almost finished the owl one. when they're finished i'll be posting a diy on how to turn a shirt into a baby dress so when moms grow tired of old shirts they never wear, their little girl can have something cute & 'new' in a few simple steps!

 

happy crafting and happy spring!

♥