3/20/2016 2 Comments It's Spring!!Spring officially arrived today and we are getting prepped for another summer of home improvements and gardening. A trip to Edmonton, Alberta for the weekend was much needed to stock up on a few essentials. Gardening Last year, I planted far too many leafy greens (salads are rare in our home). This year we'll focus on vegetables we actually eat. Normally we get our seeds from Costco but on Saturday morning took the opportunity to go to Apache Seed Limited. They have a great non-GMO organic seed selection. Our haul included:
In the afternoon, we went to the Edmonton Home & Garden Show to get ideas for flooring and bathrooms. Renos Our master bathroom ensuite is classic 1984. Grey ceramic features (bathtub, shower, sink and toilet) with chips. Here is our upstairs bathrooms as it is today. In addition, you can see the carpet which is grey but in the lighting looks blush pink. I'm looking forward to using the master bedroom! Right now I use the bathroom on the far right because it has more storage space. Truthfully, I go back and forth between the two. At night, I start my evening with my R+F Reverse Cleansing Mask and pack up my regimens in a basket and walk over to the master bedroom. Then in the morning I use R+F Reverse Deep Exfoliating Wash in the shower in the master and finish up in the other bathroom. One day I won't have to cart around as though I live in Lister. One day I say! We saw some wonderful ideas at the trade show. Here a few snaps: Our next stop was Memory Express for a custom gaming computer. I didn't understand anything they said but Ralph was happy and I got a chance to listen to last Sunday's R+F team call while they discussed the size of video cards and gigabits. Computer engineer I am not. Food We love our trips to Edmonton, not only for the shopping, they have great dining options and live music. We made sure to frequent Blues on Whyte, Russian Tea Room (with a reading), Von's Steakhouse & Oyster Bar and Billiards Club (not our age demographic). The fresh oysters were amazing at Von's! Highly recommend! Wine & Beer Making We make our own wine and beer so a trip south means a chance to see what's on sale at Winning Wines. We are trying out:
We got our feet wet with the kits from Save On Foods, which are good, but only have grape concentrate. We're ready for the grown up wine & beer kits with their quality ingredients (real grape juice). AirBnB
We stayed at a little condo on 149th and Stony Plain Road. It was quiet and clean, lots of parking and had all the necessaries. Best part was the affordability, two nights totalled $132, which is a steal of a deal! Normally we would stay in a hotel that would have costed twice as much and wouldn't have had a kitchen. We are total converts, even became hosts ourselves! Headed back north. We are ready for home to get started on our many projects. Happy first day of spring!
2 Comments
Verna Murphy
3/20/2016 05:30:43 pm
I didn't know a) you had a blog and b) you guys were opimian members as well! I will be looking for your posts now! And I will be looking into the accomodagion recommendation for our next trip to E-town.
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Elena
3/20/2016 05:38:51 pm
Thanks Verna, just starting out! I'd love your advice over a glass of wine :)
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About me
I grew up in Athabasca, AB and have spent the majority of my life in Northern Alberta or Montreal, PQ. My husband has been in Fort McMurray since the 70s and continues to love this town and all that it has to offer. We are avid outdoor enthusiasts, spending our summer weekends quadding and camping. As Opimian members we thoroughly enjoy wine pairings and tastings and are working on our wine collection. Ralph is a carpenter by trade and has framed more houses in Fort McMurray than I could count and knows the city inside and out. I work all throughout the region from the NWT to Janvier for the tribal council. My passion is doodling and photography which is featured throughout the website (various mediums), writing, Indigenous studies, and learning in general. Categories |