road trip: deception pass, whidbey island & seattle

our little family needed a road trip so we packed our bags and headed south. first stop was deception pass for coastal hiking and beaches. a drive across whidbey island where i spent my summers growing up was like a trip down memory lane. we took our time: thrift store stops for stocking up on teacups and doilies and quaint little coffee shop breaks. a ferry ride took us to seattle where we stayed with family. the next day was spent exploring the city: shopping, coffee shop pit stops, and roaming the market full of flowers, fresh produce, art, souvenirs and sampling delicious local peach slices around every corner. it was a much needed short and sweet little trip.

thank you chelsea and crystal for you hospitality and tour guiding!

xx

the bridesmaids dresses

earlier this summer i was asked to sew all the bridesmaids dresses for a wedding. my friends mitch and amada got hitched last week and it was a beautiful wedding on a beautiful day. i was fortunate enough to get to spend about 10 minutes with the bridesmaids to get some pics of the dresses, here they are!

and of course i had to make a little dress for aya to wear to their wedding as well. this one is made out of all recycled materials. most of the laces used on it are antique or vintage and i drew the butterflies and screen printed them.

thanks charlene, clarissa, and kassy for looking gorgeous in the dresses and thank you so much amanda for having me contribute to your very special day! congratulations mitch and amanda, hope you're livin it up in maui!!

super simple banana coconut smoothie

i love that this summer's been nice and cool a lot of days. cool breezes and cloudy skies... it feels more like spring than summer. the other day on my walk with a warm chai tea to warm me up i saw a bunch of fall leaves, what is going on?! that being said on the days it is hot, it's really hot! how have you been keeping cool? i've been blending up coconut banana smoothies. aya loves them and they're super simple!

1 frozen banana

1 can of chilled coconut milk or cream (use less for thicker smoothies)

blend and enjoy!

since i'm an avid chocolate lover i scoop out half for aya and add more frozen banana and a few scoops of cocoa powder to the remaining mix. the banana acts as a sweetener and it's like a vegan chocolate milkshake!

spring

so spring has come and gone…and quickly too, it was lovely though. we filled it with walks, picnics, puddle jumping, the zoo, mini road trips, picking flowers and much more. we knocked most of our spring goals off of our spring wishlist. like the aquarium, a day trip to squamish, coffee dates, and many picnics...

here's a little of what went on this spring...

the cherry blossoms where out which is my favourite part of spring

aya's been getting so good at walking around our neighborhood

and she loves picking flowers for mommy...

we've been taking trips out to my mom's farm every once in awhile, it's so beautiful there in the spring, it's surrounded by gardens and fields of flowers. aya loves exploring there and she especially loves the cats 

goodbye spring and happy summer!

♥

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!

♥