Consumption Saturday

Three more 'Must Do's" were checked off my list yesterday, and they made for a day full of consumption!

After hitting up the Seaport Market one last time Greg and I hopped on the ferry to Dartmouth and made our way to Two If By Sea (CHECK!) to eat the most incredible, rich, filling croissants of all time! Their coffee was also pretty tasty:

Check out the SIZE of that croissant!
Greg and I really should have shared...lesson learned.

I agree.

This is the building that Two If By Sea lives in, there is also a restaurant, Nectar Social House, which I've heard good things about. (Warning, there is very cheesy music on the Nectar website - I just though I would warn you before you go clicking all over the place).

Founders Corner

To walk off the GIANT croissant we wandered around Dartmouth - another CHECK!

Hilarious!

I didn't know there was a large Irish population in Dartmouth,
there must be if there's a sign like this right?

A look up Queen Street

An awesome (large) fish in the window of Oceanic Art
on Queen Street.

Back down at the Dartmouth Waterfront, just about to go into
the ferry terminal. There's a nice little park just to the right
heading towards the water.

Back to Halifax, on Lower Water Street just outside of
Historic Properties, they are still taking old buildings down.

Little and old vs. TALL and new

After a nice (and necessarily small due to the large croissant hanging out in my tummy) lunch with Greg and his family I spent the afternoon packing up more of my apartment which isn't on my Must Do list, but is definitely a Must Do.

Finally, dinner at the Brooklyn Warehouse (CHECK!), we wanted to go on Friday night but since it was the last day of camp I didn't get home until pretty late. So we made it - hooray!

I really wanted to try their Arctic Char dish with risotto but it had cheese in it - sigh. So I went for Halibut instead ... which I seem to keep confusing with Haddock - they both start with H? I also had their Brooklyn Dark beer which is a blend of Propeller Honey Wheat and Porter, it was AWESOME! One of those dangerously easy to drink beers:

                                               

And since we had a starter as well I was pretty full by the time I got to the end of my meal. Thankfully Greg could lend a hand, making sure things didn't go to waste:

I'm pretty sure that I'm still full from all of that eating, but it was well worth it.

Thank you Halifax & Dartmouth!

Last, Last Day of Camp

After 4 summers of working with awesome individuals at SuperNOVA I'm happy that my last, last day of camp was an awesome one. Things went smoothly, kids left earlier than early, the team worked together as they have been for the past four months and things came together with pizza, cake, awards and a sing-a-long (Smash Mouth and Britney Spears among the songs).

It's flown by, but this has been hands down the best summer ever!

The team minus 2 with the "We Made Friends With Science" cake!

The team (again minus 2) but this time with Mara and I !

Note the medals the staff are wearing around their necks -  I have a post coming soon with the details of their creation!

Like I said, it was an awesome summer, an awesome day and I even received AMAZINGLY thoughtful presents from the team.

BEST SUMMER EVER!

Reason #247 To Love CBC Radio

I had one of those moments this morning where I stayed in the car long after I parked it to listen to the radio.

After hearing an awesome cover of (I can't get no) Satisfaction by Otis Redding, Hanson's new song came on the radio - HANSON! A strange combination, but an excellent one.

You might be rolling your eyes right now, thinking Ali - this isn't 1997 and Mmmbop isn't what the cool kids are listening to anymore, but this song is great!

After I parked I stayed in the car to listen to not only the song, but what Bob Mackowycz (the host of CBC Radio 2 Morning) was going to say about playing it. He didn't say too much, just introduced the name of the song (Thinking About Something) and then asked if we, the collective radio audience, knew who that was (of course I answered a loud all by my lonesome) and he proudly said "Hanson - they've come a long way since Mmmbop".

I'll agree with you Bob, they have come along way. There was also an excellent song called Penny & Me. And you might disagree on that one but I still like it!

Old Timey Hanson - SO MUCH HAIR!

Current Hanson - so much dreamier these days,
check out that scarf and scruff!

While I could write more about Hason's Thinking About Something video I will stop here, but encourage you to check it out (linked above) and enjoy it's dancing and hilarious nerdery!

Forever Banana

I spotted this at the corner of Queen and Clyde Streets.

I actually slipped on a banana peel on the road recently, not one of those arm flailing fall on the ground types, but my balance was definitely lost for a moment.

So I much prefer this sidewalk banana, safer for everyone:

NB DIY Project

I imagine I'll have a bit more time on my hands than I do now when I move to Fredericton - or at least until school is in full swing.

That coupled with the small amount of furniture I'll have in tow has inspired me to make a POUF! Yea it sounds lame. But it's definitely super cute and potentially comfy (and it comes with step by step instructions):

This picture doesn't quite show it's largeness

But this one certainly does. Goodbye couch, hello cushion?

I spotted this on a wonderful design blog called Design Sponge a friend posted a link to on Facebook (thanks Nancy!).  In fact I like it SO much that I posted it in my Sites To See link list on the right - serious, I know.

There are also DIY curtains which I'll also be trying my hand with. I'm so happy there is a Fabriville in Fredericton!

Side of the Road Find

At the corner of Cunard and Robie, just in front of Jane's on the Common:

Space Invaders!

I'm not sure what these little circle guys are
about, but I like them!

Hamachi House

On Thursday we had dinner at Hamachi House - om nom nom!

Despite the loud DS playing child at the table next to us, the slow to start service (we were really neglected) and a pretty bad tummy ache afterward it was great!

Maybe I'm too optimistic?

So much yummyness, we couldn't wait until a picture to eat some :)

Over coming crappy table neighbours and
a wait for service with smiles and thumbs up.
I didn't know the tummy ache was on its way.

Market Trip

I've crossed a few things from my "Halifax/Dartmouth Must Do List" so far - hooray!

Unfortunately, I've been bad at recording them - my apologies.

This weekend Greg and I visited the Seaport Market and I was happy to find it less busy, still very busy, but we were actually able to get what we needed without too much hassle, so that was a bonus.

Failing to take photos of the yummy things we made and consumed quickly I managed to remember on two occasions:

Super tiny (and tasty!) tomato

Local bacon - we don't often eat bacon but I was determined
to find some local stuff at the market. It was worth the hunt.

We also got haddock, bread, veggies and fruit but it was enjoyed already!

Halifax/Dartmouth Must Do List

Thanks to a post on Facebook asking for people's favorite things to do in Halifax/Dartmouth I have complied a nice to do list to tackle before I leave in a few weeks.

1. Halifax Seaport Market visit - buy things for breakfast and make a tasty local meal
   
2. Have coffee and treats at Two If By Sea in Downtown Dartmouth
   
3. Wander around Downtown Darmouth
   
4. Gorge on sushi at the Hamachi House
   
5. Visit the Forum Flea Market (Lovesey)
   
6. Walk along the waterfront (McEvoy) and maybe take in a Beavertail (Brian)
   
7. Candy pit stop at Freak Lunchbox (Brian)
   
8. Dinner at the Brooklyn Warehouse (modification of Lovesey's since I've already had their yummy breakfast)

Inside the Brooklyn Warehouse

Other suggestions I appreciate but might not get the chance to do:

1. Eat Alexandra's poutine after a night out at a trashy bar (Chantal) - too much cheese for a lactose issue lady such as myself
   
2. Pizza at Vinnie's Pasta Bar (Brian) - cheese issue
   
3. Donair and joint - just not my cup of tea, although the ride across the ferry is a great idea (Daniel)

I will be sure to take lots of pictures of my mostly eating adventures to share - because that's what the internets are all about, right?

Thanks again for the ideas everyone!

Not Since Moses

Greg and I participated in the Not Since Moses 10km run this past weekend - I'm still a bag of sore muscles!!

It was an awesome time and it was great to spend two nights camping and not have to rush off in the morning.

As usual I took lots of photos to document our weekend adventure.

Due to work we didn't leave Halifax until about 6:30 or so but the traffic was light leaving the city so we at least lucked out there.

By the time we arrived at the Five Islands Provincial Park (where we were camping and where the run was happening) it was dusk and after waiting in a line to check in we finally made it to our camp site. The site was like a field/woods hybrid, we were really close to the water tap and the outhouses and the beach where the run happened was pretty close by.

We team-worked it up and settled in and did a little camp cooking by head lamp light. One of our specialties (we've only made it twice, but it's really yummy) is PIZZA! I have talents when it comes to making things from tinfoil, I think it's from camp. But I made a little frame and then laid a sheet of tin foil over top to keep the heat in and voila!

Trusty, trusty headlamps:

After a good nights sleep we woke up to see that our tent was under a crab apple tree. Not something you see in camp sites very often, I'm glad there are no hungry bears in the area!

Drying the fly out, it was SO hot out on Saturday that it dried in record time:

The great thing about camping (and Greg) is that you are forced to get up early, leaving lots of time for a lazy pre-run breakfast, and of course...coffee:

Then it was off to the race (this was a sign that was actually at the turn off for the actual park):

They had a kids run first which I'm SO glad we caught. It was definitely a preview as to how muddy we were going to get. It was also really cute:

Kids ran in all kinds of things, dresses, swimsuits, no shoes. I think adults should have taken the hint:

Check out her shoes!

This is the gate that we ran through at the end, and rather than run through it at the beginning we all lined up just next to it heading out towards the water. I believe the announcer joked saying we will be in the Guinness Book of World Records for longest starting line:

Here we are posing for our before photo, I love that the race shirts are white. They are just asking to be covered in mud!

Along the run we were visited by a man propelled by a fan on his back! We never figured out who he was or what he was doing, but he was awesome:

It's like that episode of the Simpsons where Moe saves Homer from the boxing ring...but in real life!

Although the run was only 10km, the terrain was nothing I've ever run before. I was so winded and muscle-hurting and happy that Greg wasn't his usual competitive self and was happy to stop and take a few snaps along the way. Here I am, being a nerd (with my eyes closed) under a trickle of water that other people went to go stand under during the race:

Here I am struggling to run through the mud. This wasn't even as bad as the mud we ran through on the way out - but it was still really slippery...there might have been a small mud fight at this point:

Finally, the end! We made it! In an amazing 1:21 (that's right, such a crappy great 10km time!!!). Gotta love fun runs. Please note the mud on our shorts, shoes, legs and shirts. There was definitely quite a bit in my hair and since my contacts don't like my eyes it got all over my glasses as well (I took them off for the photo):

Here is a picture of our before and after shoes. This was definitely the end of both pairs after running through foot deep mud, foot deep water and everything in between:

After our run, some relaxing and eating we went to Economy Falls, here's a Mario mushroom I spotted along the way:

The falls, after a long climb down, there were a bunch of people that kept coming out of nowhere from all of these rocks - it was kind of strange, but I was more jealous that they had their bathing suits with them:

A view coming back from the falls, looking out into the Minas Basin:

Another view of the basin:

I made a new friend on the drive home:

All in all, awesome weekend. Thank you Not Since Moses!

Moving Moving Moving

First, I just realized that I can add captions to my pictures - is this new? Am I just not observant? Regardless, expect captions!

My apartment is a sad state these days; little on the walls, odds and sods on the bookshelf, bins and bins full of stuff.

Things that I can't quite sort into bins yet

Lots of bins

And even more - and baskets,
how do I have so many of them!

I've moved enough times now that I have learned a few things - start early! I've been packing since the middle of July and I'm not actually leaving until the end of August. I've learned that that my crazy, busy summers don't give me much time pack at the end of August so the earlier the better.

I've also learned that packing the kitchen is hard and something I can't really do early. Although it does highlight the things I should get rid of because I don't use them often.

It's amazing how much stuff one person can accumulate in a few years - I didn't really reduce the amount of crap I owned in my last move since it was just down the street. This time I'm trying much, much harded since my goal is to fit it all into one mini van and make it to Fredericton.