{off to the great white north}

Sorry for falling so far behind on my blogging! I hope this doesn't happen next year :/ I will try and keep you all updated on my exciting life in Montreal. The move begins tomorrow. So excited/stressed/sad...so many feelings. I really never thought i would get sad, but saying so many goodbyes and just thinking about the day to day things that i am used to, and how that will all change is strange. Good strange, but strange none the less. Moving to a foreign country is way harder than expected. Phone companies, bank accounts, visas, keeping in contact with friends back home, ALL way more complicated than it seemed about 6 months ago when i made my decision.

But, now my bags are packed and there is no turning back (not that i have thought of that at all). 6 suitcases, 2 boxes, and 6 carry-ons. My parents sure do love me :) I love them too.

Updates on my goodbyes with friends soon! Hope you are all having a great back to school season :)

Next time i post it will be from a different country!

{instagram weekend}

I haven't really pulled out my camera this weekend, but here are a few shots! My sister came home on Saturday! I love when she comes home, i miss her so. I am prepared for a week full of adventures and bonding with the sister. She is only home for a bit so we must cram! Tonight we are having a youth dinner so my mom and i went out to buy spinach, sun dried tomatos (my new obsessions) and pasta for a delicious light summer dish to bring to the dinner! Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

{adventure is out there}

A few days ago i spent a lovely evening with a very special person...(this is sounding like a date, but you all should know by now that my life is not near that exciting....) Megan! We had a picnic and great plans to paint while sitting by the lake, but it decided to rain on us, which we did not complain about because of we are in some serious need of rain and what is an adventure without a problem arising? Nothing. That's what. Megan made some delicious wraps with feta, tomatos, cucumbers, olives and other delicious things and we also had apples :) I brought some blackberry tea (my favorite). On our way to the picnic spot we saw some beautiful sunflower fields and needed to take some pictures there, of course! I only had my film camera and one of the rolls i brought was from the 70's, bad idea. But we still got some great shots and I am super pleased. I love days like this.

sorry for the photo overload, but they were all so wonderful! I love having such beautiful, sweet friends.

{sun dried tomato pasta}

Two recipes in one week? I may just be getting a little crazy. I mainly just wanted to show you all another recipe i created while messing around with different ingredients i found in the kitchen! Did any of you all try the quinoa salad?

Here it goes.

{Sun dried Tomato Pasta}

Whole Wheat Pasta

Sun dried Tomatos

Capers

Pesto Sauce

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Parmesan

And all you have to do is cook the pasta as directed on the box, then saute the tomatos, pesto and capers in a bit of olive oil. After about 3 min, add in the pasta to the pan with the sun dried tomatos. Let the pasta sit for a few min, then transfer to a bowl, spice it up with any spices you choose (i chose salt, pepper and parmesan) and enjoy!

Let me know what you think!

{move.eat.learn.}

I saw these beautiful videos on vimeo the other night and just had to share them with you all! They are so inspiring.

"3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.....

= a trip of a lifetime."

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

I really like the idea of traveling to gain knowledge about other cultures and to help the people of that community rather than the tourist traveling that aims to take rather than give.

{quinoa salad}

Recently I have been trying to get back into healthy eating and cooking a lot more, which is actually really fun and I have missed it a lot. I have been trying out a lot of new foods and mixing them together, basically making art in the kitchen. While creating, I came up with this beauty. Quinoa salad. For those of you who have never had quinoa, TRY IT. You will not regret it. I hadn't tried it until about a month ago and now I can't stop eating it. Quinoa is a great grain that also has protein, which i try and seek out due to the fact that I do not eat meat. So here is the recipe. It's not too complicated and only takes about 15 min :)

{Quinoa Salad}

Quinoa

Spinach (or other lettuce of your choice)

Carrots

Onions

Celery (or other vegetables you have at the house)

Bread (home made croutons)

almonds

Salt

Pepper

Basically all you have to do is cook the quinoa, chop the vegetables and mix it all together. You can make a single serving or you can make a batch to keep in the fridge! It's all about convince. Plus, you can change it up depending on what you want that day. And to make the croutons, chop up a piece of bread into square pieces, put a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper into a sauté pan and toast until the bread turns a bit brown! All done. And you have yourself a delicious and healthy meal!

What have you guys been cooking lately?