Daily, Fitness, Photos, Vacation

Lake Tahoe Weekend

No Comments

I’ve had an annoying cough since the end of October. It settled down around Christmas and got better in January. Antibiotics or an inhaler wouldn’t work as it was just a viral infection, so like a regular common cough, thankfully without the sinus issues. However I caught the annoying cough again from my husband and I’ve been feeling pretty tired lately. So, okay so I don’t really have anything to add to the blog this morning, because our weekend was pretty ordinary and laid low for the most part.

Oh. Except for the fact that we went to Lake Tahoe yesterday. I know hey? Aren’t we done with snow for a while? I told The Guy I didn’t want to see snow until next year but he suggested we go because he wanted to cross-country ski one last time this year.

We had planned on leaving Saturday, even though Jessica warned us that the traffic would be heavy. But errands on Saturday took much longer than expected, and we didn’t want to leave after dark. So we left bright eyed and bushy tailed yesterday morning at the crack of dawn. A four hour drive no less. Hey, nothing compared to what we did during the Canada to California move.


He spent a few hours skiing at Royal Gorge in Sugar Bowl. They didn’t have a good season with snow apparently, and this is what he was left to ski on. Luckily for me there was a cross country ski race going on, so I got to watch part of that.

Lake Tahoe OlympicsDrove past the signs from the 1960 Winter Olympics. I jokingly asked The Guy if that was still the Olympic Flame ;)

Vikingscholm Emerald BayAfterwards, we took a drive along Emerald Bay and stopped to look at the Vikingscholm and Mrs. Knight’s Tea House.

Vikingscholm_Crazy right?

Scott the photographerThe Guy took a bunch of photos — including one of me sliding down on my butt on part of the rocky steep area. Even though I’m a climber, I’m still afraid of heights and falling! Fear is sometimes a good thing lol.

Vikingscholm Three Monks stopped by just as we were leaving. MonksI’ve never seen Monk’s before, so I took a few photos of them when they arrived to go up along that rocky cliff a bit.

Mountains near Lake TahoeEven though the mountains around Lake Tahoe are similar in height to the rockies in Banff, they just didn’t seem as high or as impressive. Mostly due to the fact the roads were also built up on the mountains.

I’m going to go rest my cold for a bit, and tackle the living room. Our furniture and surroundings still aren’t set up the way we want them to.

Have you ever been to Tahoe?

Or how about Banff?

Continue Reading

Food, Photos

Capitola Beach

No Comments

I have so much to talk about and tell you guys that I want to blog 7 days a week. I think that’s a little too much, so I’ll spread it all out, even if I’m a little behind.

Our friends from Guelph Ontario are here on vacation as they have family in San Jose. The Guy and I ate out at Chevy’s Mexican restaurant with them the other night, and on Wednesday I went with them and their two cute little girls to Capitola Beach.

We arrived around 11am and the beach was completely empty, and gusts of wind chilled us a little.

Capitola Beach, California, Bay Area, NorCalKinda reminded me of Newfoundland… due to the wind. :)


I wore my $8 jeans from Forever 21 (lightweight) and a tank top, so I was pretty comfortable.

We all hung out on the beach, building sand castles (I seriously nearly typed snow forts?!) and dipping our toes in the Pacific Ocean, then squealing and running away when the waves would catch us — it was chilly!

A few hours later the beach became busy with surfers (can you spot them?!) and people laying down on the beach.

It was hot enough at that point during mid-day that people could wear bikini’s and lay in the sand which was as soft as flour. I wanted to bring some home with me. But then I remembered I’m no longer a tourist, and I can probably go any time I want to grab some sand.

To be honest though I kinda wished I brought a plastic baggie so I could take some for my plant. Ha ha.

After grabbing some pizza for lunch, re-applying sunscreen, the kids went back to the beach with their father and my friend and I browsed around the little town and shops of Capitola.

St. John’s Helpful Shop! For those that don’t know, I’m from St. John’s, Newfoundland so it was pretty awesome to see that!

We spent over half the day in the beautiful town then finally deciding on grabbing some ice cream. Or our case, Gelato, from this amazing authentic Italian gelato spot in Mountain View called Gelato Classico. I’ve been there twice already, and the gelato is just tremendous with unique flavours like Honey Lavender, Green Tea. I usually stick to my old fav, Chocolate Hazelnut. Luckily, it’s not too far of a drive from where we live.

When’s the last time you went to the beach?

Do you prefer beaches, or mountains?

What flavour ice cream or gelato do you go for?

Continue Reading

Daily

Bar Keepers Friend

9 Comments

As much as this is going to sound sponsored, it’s not. I’m very excited about this new-to-me cleaning product.

If I suggest one household product you get your hands on, it’s this container of Bar Keepers Friend.

I first heard about it through an old co-worker, in fact it was Julie’s Mom (Hi Barb!!!). I was over to their place for supper one night before we left for California and I noticed that all of her pots, pans, and sink looked immaculate and in mint condition as if she had just purchased everything new. I decided to wait to purchase the canister of miracle powder when I arrived and settled away in our new home in California, because who really wanted to pack one more thing in a box? Certainly not I.

Luckily for me, I spotted Bar Keepers Friend (BKF) when we went to grab a ton of groceries at the two story Target. I know. Two stories. Insanely good. I don’t know how much the powder retails for in Canada, but I thought it was around the six dollar mark. At Target here in the states, it was two bucks. Sweet. Thanks for letting me save my pennies, USA.

Anyway. Let me show you how wonderful this thing is. I was way ahead of myself and scrubbed every pot I had in the house. Unfortunately I forgot to document it all until I got to the last tiny pot and scrubbed it a bit. Then stopped and took some photos to blog about. Here’s the pot.

  • Dampen your stainless steel item (pot/pan/sink)
  • Sprinkle a smidge of powder onto stained item
  • Rub stains away with a sponge
  • Rinse item thoroughly and towel dry

You need just a tiny amount.Make sure both the pot, and your scrubbing sponge is wet, and whisk that dirt away. Sounds like such a commercial.

Look how friggen clean it got.

It literally required no elbow grease. I was on the verge of getting rid of a few pots and pans because of the discolouration and thought they were on their way out. But they honestly look like brand new now that I’ve given them a little love. In fact, I love the darn powder so much that I’ve been cleaning the kitchen sink every night after supper. I can’t stand to see water spots or anything on it now. Oh how times have changed.

I’ve been using BKF in and around the bathroom too. It works well on the toilets, and sink. Haven’t cleaned the shower yet. We’ve only been here a few weeks. The powder (and other forms of the cleanser) also works on cooktops like our ceramic top oven. I haven’t been brave enough to try it on that yet, but I may. There’s a few water stains or maybe the oven top is just “worn out” and I’d like to get it back to tip top shape. If I do happen to get the stains out from the stove, maybe I’ll blog about it.

Bar Keepers Friend retails for $1.99 at Target. And probably a lot of other stores.

Continue Reading