Pumpkin Fun

I grew up carving pumpkins a few nights before Halloween, it was always a tradition in our family. The last two seasons I’ve spent living in Europe I’ve discovered Halloween barely exists over seas. We were lucky enough to find ourselves some good looking pumpkins at the market on Thursday; so we spent our Friday night teaching the Swedes how to carve!

We had planned to have a few couples over, have some wine and desserts and carve some pumpkins. Unfortunately one of the couples backed out last minute, leaving us with a lot of left over desserts. We still had lots of fun with Jenny & Joachim; it was Joachim’s first time carving a pumpkin and he loved every minute of it, in fact they’ve decided to carve pumpkins and make it a tradition every year from now on.

Here are some pictures from tonight:)

                                               Before the fun started

                                                    Snack table

                            Chocolate cupcakes with Nutella icing..Mmm!

                                                   More treats

                                                 The carving begins

                                                  Digging in

                                       Joachim with his proud pumpkin:)

                                                 Carving crew

                              Happy Halloween from Sweden to Canada!

Ps: Happy Birthday to the most important lady in my life… my Mom! Grattis from Sweden! Puss och kram xoxo

Tasty Treats

I came across this tasty recipe and made it yesterday, with this sweet tooth of mine it definitely was worth it:) (I wasn’t the only one who dove in before breakfast…I caught the culprit with a fork in his hand) so I know it passed the test and thought I would share! I found it on another blog, you can find it here. http://www.lovintheoven.com/2008/12/day-11-smores-cookie-bars.html

The recipe calls for marshmallow crème/fluff (not melted marshmallows) but I couldn’t find it in Sweden, so instead I used marshmallows and cut them in half. It’s a super easy recipe and highly addictive!

Treat yourself today, it's Thursday!

October 19th- "Gift Yourself"

It’s here, the first National Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day! The event my Mom and her beautiful friends have been working so hard on is TODAY! For my friends and family who are in Kelowna check out the city buses around town, as the “Gift Yourself” photo will be on the buses as a wrap around banner. Check out the website for events around your city. http://www.bra-day.com/index.php

Wishing everybody a happy day, be grateful for what you have, I know all these special ladies are!

                                             my Mom with her bow<3

                                                 Kelowna City Bus

Another Saturday

After spending the week cooped up in our apartment with a bad cold (thanks to Ty for looking after me and putting up with my whining), I figured it was time to get out and get some fresh air! We bundled up and headed into Kalmar for a few hours, even though I’m not feeling 100% it felt good to get out. Fall has definitely arrived, the crisp air and frosty mornings give it away. Tomorrow I’ll spend the afternoon at the Victoriahallen cheering on the Vikings and hoping for another win.

Here are some pictures from today:)

                                               So happy to be on the train

                                               Kalmar train station

                                                       Out and about

                                                  Indoor mall

                                                 Taking a break

                                                           Coffee!

Sending best wishes to my Jennabelle as she fly’s to St. John’s tomorrow; I’m so excited to hear all about your adventures on the “Rock” for the next 8 months! xo

Ps: For any of my readers who were receiving emails from my blog (to notify you of new posts) I have gotten rid of that gadget. You’ll have to check back for new posts, or sign up for an account and follow me. Sorry for any inconvenience!

Thanksgiving has come and gone

Just like that Thanksgiving is over, it was a fun night with the boys and everything went as planned. After the little incident we had trying to bike home with the bird, I wasn’t sure how everything was going to turn out.

We picked out a nice 12 pound turkey, walked out to our bikes tried to put the bird in my basket (of course it wouldn’t fit), so Ty tried to secure the 12 pounder onto the back of his bike. He peddled just a few meters when the frozen turkey fell off and skidded across the cobble stone in the middle of the town square, I was speechless. It should have been a scene on Sweden’s Funniest Home Videos. We picked the bird up, secured the bike latch over it’s wing and peddled home..killing ourselves laughing. Only in Europe would something like this ever happen! Maybe this is why the Swedes don’t eat turkey?

Here are some pictures from tonight’s dinnerJ Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everybody enjoyed the long weekend.

                                                  My festive table

                                        Name cards with turkey facts inside

                                                  Prepping the turkey

                                                   Cooked bird

                                                Carving

                                                 The boys enjoying dinner

                                       Apple crisp with ice cream for dessert

                                               After dinner..tired turkeys!

It's Almost Turkey Time

With Thanksgiving 4 sleeps away I’m trying to get my recipes in order. Since the Swedes don’t celebrate Thanksgiving it’s been quite the hunt for a good looking turkey..they aren’t cheap let me tell you! We’ve invited Brendan (our other Canadian) and Anton (my favourite Swedish guy) over for the feast. I had planned on just the 4 of us for dinner, but.. Ty came home yesterday and wanted to make sure it would be okay to invite another one of the guys…of course! The more the merrier, fortunately for him he’ll be at practise on Monday when all this turkey cooking is going down. Little does he know he’ll be helping prep the night before (so get your turkey hands ready!)

I’ve made Thanksgiving dinner twice before so I’m not too concerned. The Doctor I once worked for told me about covering the turkey in strips of bacon, to keep the meat moist and does it ever work! I have some of my Mom’s Thanksgiving recipes (hopefully I can find poultry spice) along with some new ones. Were looking forward to our first Canadian Thanksgiving in Sweden, we have lots to be grateful for this year. Pictures to comeJ

My girlfriend Nichole sent me some fun Thanksgiving desserts like these ones!
http://familyfun.go.com/thanksgiving/18-classic-thanksgiving-desserts-799741/

One Month

Its official I’ve been a resident of Sweden for exactly one month today. Here’s a quick reflection of all the things I have learnt about the country.. I’m currently calling home.

The traditional meal in Sweden is usually meatballs with potatoes and lingonberry sauce (kind of like Cranberry sauce). Swedish pancakes are also a favourite (thin like a crepe).

CANDY! Marabou, Berries, Swedish Fish, Wine Gums, Gum Drops.... Basically you name it, they have it here.  All grocery stores have a bulk section for candy, It's quite popular to have a huge bowl of candy in every household at all times (in our house the candy rarely makes it into a bowl before it’s all gone!)

Tubes (like toothpaste tubes) are used to package foods such as caviar, mayonnaise, mustard, and other condiments.

ALCOHOL- buy all your alcohol at liquor stores, they do sell beer and other alcoholic beverages at the grocery stores but with less alcohol percent.

Drinking water from the tap is safe! The water is clean, fresh, and ice cold, it’s highly encouraged to drink

water from the tap in Sweden.

Shopping: Ikea, H&M, & Bik Bok are just some of the Swedish retail stores. It’s quite common to see big department stores in Sweden like Media Markt and Bauhaus (Home Depot). Get your shopping done before 5pm many stores close early especially on weekends.

Swedish snus is tobacco, EVERYONE is doing it. There are two formats for snus, loose and portion packed. One bonus you don’t see guys carrying around water bottles to spit into (yuck) so glad the boyfriend doesn’t do this nasty habit!

It’s common to see lot’s of red Swedish houses

 December 3rd marks the opening day for Sweden’s Ice Hotel, a place to spend a night or two in an ice palace. http://www.icehotel.com/

December 13th is Saint Lucia this Swedish holiday is just before Christmas, can’t wait to get into the spirit early! http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Traditions/Celebrating-the-Swedish-way/Lucia/

I’m learning something new everyday about Sweden, it truly is a beautiful country and reminds us of Canada in many ways!

October = Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Since today is October 1^st I wanted to do a post about Breast Cancer Awareness. This is the special month when PINK is okay to wear everyday, when the Bay puts out their ribbon collection, when communities get together to do the run for the Cure (October 2nd for Kelowna & Calgary), and when charities all over North America pull together to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer. This is a special month and I always like to do my part somehow. Being in Europe tends to limit my options; fortunately I have found an organization in Kalmar that is putting on an event tonight to kick off Nationell bröstcancerdag. Tyler and I will go into Kalmar and help light up the Larmtorget (city square) with torches. We will light one in support of my Mom and the journey she is continuing to go through, and one in memory of my Grama Clifford and one in memory of Tyler's Grandma Mazzei. I’m looking forward to doing my part tonight even though I’m thousands of miles away. How will you show your support and contribute this month?

Mom & I the night before her Mob dance

                                                
A little note for my Mom if she's reading this, I love you so much and couldn't be more proud! Missing you every day<3