This week we made a trip over to my favorite little tea house – Cha Yi. They have their summer menu of cold teas and ice cream/sorbets and I took total advantage since it’s SO hot these days!

I started with a Matcha Frappe – nice and cold for a hot day!

With a strawberry and cream scone and strawberry-kiwi sorbet. Delicious!

I wasn’t disappointed and as always really enjoyed my time at the tea shop and all the tasty treats!

Last weekend we went out to the Wellington Gastropub for a little birthday dinner – it was our first time at this fun little pub and we enjoyed the delicious food and good conversation.

Above is the B.C. Albacore Tuna Tartare

I had the beet, rockets and strawberry salad – it was really fresh and flavorful. The figs were great and I loved the microgreens and bruleed cheese!!

We each had a different started as well. Above is the Salmon with potatoes and greens.

This was the ribeye with garlic mash and mushrooms.

This was supposed to be pasta with chanterelles but it was risotto for the night. It was good and there were lots of chanterelles which are my favorite mushroom so I really enjoyed it.

The desserts were definitely my favorite course. I had an amazing chocolate cake with caramel and ice cream.

My husband had a summer pudding with mixed berries – also very good!

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and will definitely look forward to going again!

U2 Night Three ended our four day, 3 concert tour. We ended up in the inner circle in a great spot with another crew of U2 fans we met in line and who were sitting/standing near us. Here are my favorites, many of all the photos I took this round.

This is probably the best photo I’ve gotten of Larry, in my opinion.

This is my favorite of all the photos I took!

After seeing Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge we went over to one of my BFF’s house for a fabulous Canada Day BBQ!

Normally we go to a Mexican restaurant for Canada with my friend and her husband but this year we mixed it up with a BBQ. We were invited for smoked chicken and ribs, salad and trifle for dessert. Total YUM!

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So on Canada day we decided that we wanted to see Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. It was a real experience and fun to see all the crowds. We arrived early and headed up to see the hill but decided to stay  by the corner of Rideau to see the Royal couple before heading off to some other Canada day events.

We waited several hours but it was well worth the wait to see the excitement of the crowd and see to see the Royal couple so close.

Once they passed we went to Major’s Hill Park and Jacques Cartier Park.

The Snow Birds

On our way back to the car, Sussex was closed as the Royal couple were leaving the hill on their way back to the GG. I got a photo of Prince William as he passed by.

“You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.” ~ Joseph Campbell

On our recent trip to Austria we had the great pleasure of eating at the Landhaus Keller, the restaurant where my husband’s father did his apprenticeship when he was just starting out on his journey to become a chef.

The food was delicious and the service was excellent!

We sat out on the patio in the sunshine and enjoyed 3 courses of Austrian-styled dishes.

I started out with a mixed spring salad with asparagus, goat cheese and pumpkin seed oil. YUM!

My husband enjoyed beef carpaccio with asparagus.

Even though it was not the special of the day, the owner had the chef make up the vegetable strudel for me which was really nice and delicious!

My husband enjoyed a braised leg of Styrian lamb.

As you can tell asparagus was in season and wonderful! Everything was so flavorful and it was nice to be eating food fresh from the Austrian countryside.

The dessert was a real treat – pumpkinseed oil creme brulee and Styrian layered strudel with vanilla sauce.

If you are in Graz I would highly recommend this amazing restaurant!

When we were in Austria I brought along my Golden Half (my go-to travel toy camera these days) and took some photos in the Austrian hills and in Graz and Vienna.

One great spot for food is the Landhaus Keller in Graz. My husband’s father worked there for 3 years when he was an apprentice chef. The food is great and the service is excellent. I will post more information on the Landhaus Keller in a separate entry.

When we were in Graz their soccer team had just won the championship and were preparing for a huge street party. Lots of people were already out on the patios when we arrived in the morning.

They were setting up the stage and beer stations.

Locks of Love

Vienna – my favorite European city. The Dom Cathedral in the ring.

Vienna is always current with interactive street art and other cultural events going on, like Lang Nacht der Kirches (long night of churches) similar to Long Night of the Museums that we attended 2 years ago.

A sculpture near the Albertina

There were lots of horse and carriages out the weekend we were there. I’ve never done a ride but they do look like fun!

In June I will be going to a tea party with NR and everyone is supposed to wear a hat and the best hat wins some kind of prize. Since I’ve recently gotten into feather headbands I figure the next natural transition is to hats. I am going to try and make a small hat with fun accessories for the party.

Until then I’m still playing with feathers and rhinestones for feather headbands. I made a small one over the weekend.

So as a Royal Wedding Weekend project LS and I decided to try our hand at making facinators. Why? I really like them. With my short hair a hairband can add a little touch of something.

Now I’m working on other feather hairpins and combs – a little touch of hair fun!