To Travel is To Live

Well, we did it.  We finally got away from the house! It's been almost 12 full months since we went on any type of vacation.  Our wedding last October was our last excursion out of the city.  We've both had time off work for various reasons since then, but nothing longer than a week, nothing at the same time, and nothing that allowed us to clear our heads. We visited Canmore a couple of years ago and had such a good time that we decided to do it again.  This time, though, we brought this zoo! The condo we rented at the Solara Resort and Spa was perfect for Bryan, me, and the 3 pets.  We had a one bedroom unit on the ground floor that allowed us to easily let Tia (our dog) out at all hours of the day and night.  She had to be on her leash as the area behind the condo is not fenced (and there are small bunnies everywhere) so getting dressed at 2:30 AM was an adventure... The kittens fought in their carrier the entire way to Canmore.  Luc...

Wow!  It's been months since I added something to this blog!  I feel so guilty now! Over the past 9 months, I've started two new IT jobs, Bryan has started one new Process Improvement job, and I began working at a chiropractic clinic doing my holistic nutrition (my real passion).  Plus, I've been super busy getting my nutrition business up and running (check it out if you're so inclined here - I focus on helping women with adrenal fatigue, chronic stress and confusing sleep, concentration, hormonal and anxiety issues overcome them with the right foods and lifestyle). With everything that's been going on in our lives, I decided it was time to celebrate! Starbelly caught my eye at least 18 months ago (I think - I'm pretty sure they've been around that long).  I've been yearning to try this place and have suggested it a few times. I never won.  :(  Finally, I bit the bullet and booked Starbelly Open Kitchen for one of our 'new job' celebrati...

My wedding came and went...it's kind of sad that it's over, especially when I spent over a year planning for it!  But, at the same time, I was happy that I no longer had to worry about little details once I returned from Mexico. I could not have asked for a better day for my wedding.  We lucked out in the weather department - there had been a 90% chance of rain for our wedding for the entire week leading up to it, and the two days prior, there were afternoon showers.  However, our wedding planner said he and his crew knew the weather very well and were quite certain no storms would interfere.  Our wedding began at 4pm on the beach, and ended at 10:30pm on one of the outdoor terraces - at 10:32pm, it down-poured! Perfect timing!  Aside from the wonderful staff, no one got wet. This post is meant to be a piece of advice and guidance for anyone looking to plan a destination wedding.  So, over the course of 10 months of working with the wedding planner via ...

Lately we haven't been visiting too many exciting restaurants; we are trying to save money, and sure, Vietnamese food is really yummy, but this has meant a reduction in our regular dining out habit.  As a holistic nutritionist , I know this is better for both my health and my waistline so I am not complaining too much. However, my fiancé recently passed his PMP certification so I figured this meant a celebration was in order.  Since I went through the studying and process of getting my CISSP a few years ago, I completely understood how exhausting and stressful writing a 4+ hour exam can be. And he got it first try!  I'm so proud of him.  I use Open Table a lot to check out what's new and to book reservations for restaurants.  I have been using this app for a few years and I was 100 points away from my 10,000 point goal so luckily River Cafe was one of the many delicious options we could choose from for his celebration.  River Cafe is one ...

Well, 4 days ago the 4 month countdown to our wedding in Mexico began!  October still seems so far away but, looking through the checklist provided by the resort, I realized we are slightly behind a typical planning schedule. I don't have any exciting travel experiences to share today (we are, after all, having a wedding soon) but I hope that some our trials may be helpful to others.   Bryan and I are traveling to Puerto Morelos in October and we are getting married at the NOW Sapphire Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa.   The resort looks beautiful and belongs to the same family as chains like Dreams and Secrets, both of which are always gorgeous and well managed.  With decent reviews on Trip Advisor , including positive comments about food and wedding planning, the NOW seemed like a great choice (we shall see in October). Obviously, this is my first time planning a wedding, destination or domestic, so I was naturally quite uncertain about the whole process....

Canmore really was lovely this past weekend.  I feel so relaxed after only 2 days away from home, away from my usual distractions, and, I hate to say it, away from my wonderful pets who keep me up half the night!  Between Walker biting my chin and flopping across my face, Zeta purring up a storm and causing me to overheat when she lays across my neck, and Tia deciding it's a good time to scratch like it's going out of style at 3AM, there hasn't been a lot of sleep for me since, well, October! Anyway, Saturday night, after a couple of hours of vegging out in the condo, Bryan and I went to Tapas for dinner.  So many people have raved about this place and I really wanted to try it.  I was so excited that it was a Spanish-style, small sharing plate restaurant because that would mean we could try a lot of different dishes!  Right?  Well, we tapped out after only 3...I guess we weren't that hungry even after a good day of walking around.   What we d...

Bryan and I needed a weekend away from Calgary so here we are in Canmore for the weekend.  The weather is quite lovely for December and so far we have been able to walk everywhere quite easily.  The sun was out earlier today but it seems to set early (mountains are in the way).   We attempted to get a deal on a place to stay here in Canmore.  I spent many hours looking for a room here for a weekend away in the summer but most nights were around $200 each, which was a bit too much.  So, I was quite happy to receive a Groupon deal for the Lodges at Canmore for $99 / night.  I purchased the Groupon and picked this weekend...and then saw the actual charge on my bill.  Stupid Groupon is all in US dollars when you pay, but listed in Canadian on their site.  Very deceptive!  And, with exchange and other charges, we still ended up paying over $200 / night for this place.   Anyway, what can you do?  We are renting a condo for the we...