Honorary Halibloggers

As you may have noticed, I haven’t blogged in a few days. That’s because I’ve been too busy having an absolutely freaking fantastic time with the Halibloggers and our honorary members – Jen, Amy & Cat!

I just want to say how truly lucky I feel to have such a wonderful group of ladies (and their hubbies) in my life. It’s not often a big group of 17 can get along so well and are extremely fortunate that everyone seemed to click almost instantly. We have developed some life long friendships and being from all over the country makes it that more special. Love you ladies!

Since Angie had to work all week and I had the time off, I ended up staying at her place so that I could show people around and help make sure they got a true Nova Scotia experience. I don’t have as many pictures as I’d like because I spent the past few days having a good time instead of worrying about taking a bazillion pics.

The first night was, of course, a lobster boil. I don’t really have too many pics from that night at all because I was pretty busy cooking the tasty things! Both Jaime and Angie have great re-caps though.

Unfortunately, it has been raining for most of their trip here. Our plans for Thursday were initially a day trip to Mahone Bay & Lunenburg, instead Jen, Amy & I went for some tasty brunch and picked up the Thanksgiving groceries. We spent the afternoon driving around the city and were able to get an hours walk along the waterfront when the rain finally decided to let up.

That evening was our Keith’s Brewery tour. Before we left Jen straightened my hair – I’m in LOVE! My hair has never looked this good. Even in the misty air it held out.

One Of My Favourite Places

For a while now I’ve been wanting to show you one of my favourite places in the entire world. When we went for a leisurely walk on the Musquodoboit Trailways this past Sunday with Holly & her hubby, I was sure to snap tons of pictures to share! I’ve been using this trail for at least 12 years, even before it was officially part of the Trans-Canada trail system.

This post is very picture heavy.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day… Group shot just starting out.

For all you Nova Scotian’s out there, the Musquodoboit Trail is only a 40 min drive from Halifax and is 13km of beautiful scenery. It crosses the river and passes by a gorgeous lake. Plus there are a few “rugged” trails that lead to magnificent looks offs.


As you can see, the trail is very pedestrian friendly. It’s great for running, biking and I’ve seen tons of families with strollers and doggies.

One time we actually saw a doggie in a stroller, which I thought was hilarious! :)



Fun Fact: Nine years ago (OMG doesn’t seem that long ago!) I had a summer job working for the trail – website design and weekly on-site trail maintenance. Maintenance=cleaning the outhouses. ;) At the time I was close to 300 lbs and it took absolutely EVERYTHING out of me to bike the 2.5km to do the maintenance. Now when I walk by it, I just have to smile because it’s SOOO different. My how life is changed.


I’m trying to convince the Halibloggers to come out her sometime for a group hike, maybe one of the rugged ones? Would make for a fun day! AND I know all kinds of random fun facts about the trail that I could entertain you with!

Isn’t this little foot bridge so cute?


The lake was choppy but still so peaceful.

Sometimes I will just come up here to get away from life. This is one of the most relaxing places in the world and I’m so lucky that it’s only a 20 minute drive away.

Was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Sushi & The Symphony

Evenin’ everyone, I’m blogging a bit later than usual today because I just got in from a fun evening out with Angie & Jaime. A few days ago I mentioned that Jaime and I won tickets from Symphony Nova Scotia, well tonight was the show.

In true Haliblogger fashion we made it a night out and met up for dinner beforehand. After hearing Jaime’s review of Doraku, I knew where I wanted to go…
But the inside was just lovely. The first place we hit was the bathroom. There were candles and all kinds of yummy smells throughout the building. :) After powdering our noses our waitress took us to our seats - we actually had to take our shoes off and walk up the table. It was so neat!


While we waited for Jaime to arrive we browsed the menu and decided on a bunch of rolls to split.


I like to have green tea when I’m having sushi, ours came in a beautiful teapot.

We decided to start of with a cup of miso soup and a few bowls of edamame for the table. The miso soup really hit the spot on this cold, damp day.



And of course, the best part, the rolls. We ordered a few different ones to share including - Sweet Potato Tempura , Philadelphia Roll, Spicy Tuna and a Spicy Scallop. It was the best sushi I’ve had in the city. I’m definitely not an expert but better than the other 2 places I’ve been. :) (Excuse my poor quality pictures.)




After dinner, we made a dash for the Cohn and arrived just in time to get a few ticket issues sorted out (the staff were great and very accommodating!) and got to meet two other Halifax Twitters - @TammiHayne and @AliceinParis. So cool to meet other local twitters! I may have snuck a few pics once we got inside…




We enjoyed the sounds of “Brushstrokes and Bows.” Over all I liked it. I just wish I hadn’t have been up since 5am because I was pretty tired. It was my first time going to a Symphony though and it was pretty amazing! Thanks again to Symphony Nova Scotia for the tickets! I can’t wait to go back in December to see the Nutcracker!

Time of my Life!

Well the G2G is just about over. I am tired, a bit hung over and sick as a dog but am still smiling because this whole week has been just amazing! I never thought a group of 16-18 people could get along as well as we all did, but apparently it can happen. FYI: I’m trying to put only flattering pics of everyone in this post but it might be a little tricky because we were all having quite a “good” time. :)

Our Thanksgiving dinner was yummy, we had a huge 21lb free range, organic turkey complete with all the trimmings – Cat & Jen made the yummy garlic mashed taters, Amy made her famous sweet potatos, Lesley and I both made different stuffing, there was sweet potato casserole and corn, Jaime made awesome roasted brussel spouts, plus mashed carrots & turnip, and Tash brought over yummy pumpkin & apple pies from Pete’s. It was a huge feast! I only have one pic from the actual meal and it’s of the bird. :)


To be honest I can barely remember the rest of the evening. I’m not a big drinker by any means but this was certainly a night of indulgence. hehe. I know I started off with wine but then Jen brought out her the jello shooters and it all kinda went fuzzy from there! Of course you end up with lots of cameras when bloggers unite.





Meanwhile, the men were getting to know each other the usual way – with beer, video games & sports, hehe!


Oh and Lex’s b/f Dave is a rubix cube genius and he spent part of the evening sharing his tricks of the trade!

Saturday we had a yummy brunch – bacon, scrambled eggs, hash & toast then J & I snuck out to attend a memorial service. J was really hurting so I took him home after the service and then headed back into the city to meet up with everyone at the Halifax Feast Dinner Theatre for a hilarious evening of entertainment. We saw High School Reunion - The Musical. I had a blast and can’t wait to go back for another show! After that we wandered up to Maxwell’s for a few drinks (and so the guys could watch the hockey game.) Ang & I got this crazy idea that we needed something to commemorate the G2G. We snuck out and after a bit of running around (there’s not that much open at 1145pm on Saturday night) we got a group shot printed and had everyone write on each other's.

It was another late night with some yummy butterscotch shots and a game of “What.” I think I finally hit the sack around 4am. Eck.

Yesterday we packed up and Jen & hubby were off to the airport, they got their flight info wrong so they made it just in time. It was a short but sad good bye. Miss you already chickie. I headed home sick and in desperate need of sleep.

One finally gathering this morning at Cora’s for brunch where I said my goodbye’s to Amy & Cat. Really can’t believe it’s over already. Can’t wait to see what we come up with next though.


I’m not even sure how I managed to drive there to be honest. My body is simply going through the motions and I plan to spend the rest of the day on the couch getting some much needed rest.

Once again ladies, this was truly one of those experiences that I will never ever forget. I’m just in awe of it all. I love you all from the bottom of my heart, thanks for some wonderful memories! xoxo

PS. DETOX STARTS TOMORROW!

Yes, It’s True

The Prince George Hotel self proclaims to “have the best brunch in the city” and I’m not about to argue. We`ve done them all - The Westin, The Delta, The Citadel, The Holiday Inn and up until now The Westin was my venue of choice.


Going for a wonderful Holiday Brunch with the extended family has been become an annual tradition. This year after hearing several positive reviews I knew we had to check out the Prince George!

Their huge spread includes:

a waffle bar an omelette station a pasta station an espresso/capp station sushi station cold meats & smoked salmon variety of cheeses

pastries & muffins fruits seafood variety of salads hot entrees carving station yummy desserts

I phoned about a month before and they were happy to take reservations for our large group of 16. When we arrived, we found out we actually had an area specifically for our group, just off the main dining room. Its nice to have that extra bit of privacy. I really loved the decor too, very modern.

Hubby patiently waiting…


For my first round I chose a bit of everything. Smoked salmon, cheese, pineapple, turkey breast & stuffing, asparagus & a little piece of raisin bread. (I ate about half of everything on this plate.)


And believe me, there was A LOT to chose from:

Of course, I made a big dent into this particular station…………twice. *blushes* It was fantastic sushi and also really easy to track, point-wise.

Saving, the best for last – Dessert. Like the rest of the brunch there was a huge selection; cakes, sweets, mousse, fruits and pastries.



This was Peanut Butter Crème Brule. O.M.G. ;)




Don`t worry, I was a good girl…mostly. It was my birthday after all, so I had a little taste of that divine looking Crème Brule. It did not disappoint.


Finished up with an espresso shot. I left feeling just right, very satisfied and like I’d eaten the perfect amount. :) I love being able to chose from a variety of yummy foods and know that I’m able to to on track too.


The Prince George definitely earned their bragging rights. I will be back.

Healthy Monkeys

In case you didn’t pick up on it from my last post, after our OptiMYz Live adventure we went to the Wooden Monkey for a late lunch. :)

“We are focused on providing local and organic food, while offering fair trade organic coffee, locally brewed beers and wines, and providing a venue for local artists and musicians.”

It was pretty busy when we arrived but luckily we only had to wait a few minutes. We had a corner table and the beautiful, warm sunshine was streaming in on us the whole time.

Free-range chicken, onions, mushrooms, peppers, garlic, melted mozza, mayo, lettuce, tomato. Mmm mmm, I devoured every last bit of this tasty sandwich.

Plus a bowl of delicious maple squash soup.

It was the perfect amount of food, I left filling very satisfied. If you’re from the area and haven’t been to the Wooden Monkey, definitely add it to your list of restaurants to try, you won’t be disappointed.