Life Lately: Family February Edition

Hi friends!  I took a week off from social media and spent the week enjoying my family.  One of my goals was to prioritize spending tine with the girls, my husband and friends.  Last week was a school holiday, so we all had the week off.  It was very cold again, like -30C, so unfortunately we didn't play outdoors as much as we would have liked but we did make the most of it and we just allowed ourselves to slow down and relax around the house.  Here is our week and what our family has been up to.

Saturday, Feb. 18th 

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband Logan!  We celebrated by going up to the cabin.

Sunday, Feb 19th

Halie's boyfriend joined us at the cabin for the weekend.  We skated, got outdoors on the side-by-side and sled, and enjoyed some walks.  We played games, Halie and BF cooked us a delicious pasta dish for supper, and we even got a visit in with three of our friends from the lake.  Oh and we saw a Lynx just strolling by.

Monday, Feb. 20th

Back home and we got together with some of our oldest friends.  We were supposed to go out but due to it being  Family Day, a holiday, the place we were going to go to was closed so they just came over.  We had the BEST time.  We laughed so much and had a blast catching up, reminiscing and just full-on laughing out loud. 

Tuesday, Feb. 21st 

We recovered from the night before and stayed at home.  A lazy morning.  Mail day!!!!  Look at what I got in the mail from a local jewelry, Isla! Rae Jewelry?!?  I am so in love with these huge hoops!   Make sure you check her out, she ships and these are a great price at only $22.

Wednesday, Feb. 22nd

Coffee date with my friend Kandice to start off the day.  Driving the girls to and from the barn, job, friends.  Basically a full-time Uber!

Thursday, Feb. 23rd 

We went to watch AVATAR and Halie decided to come along.  Anya had already seen it and opted to hang with friends instead.  It was a really good movie and even though I never did see the first one, I really enjoyed it.

Friday, Feb. 24th

Cooper day!!!!  For our nephew Coopers 7th birthday we decided to give him an experience gift.  When he arrived we had a waffle and sausage breakfast, then played numerous games of Loop n' Louise, Guess Who and Go Fish. We went to Ruckers and played arcade type games, followed by going to a hockey game.  Luck would have it that the game was our city, Blades,  vs. the city he lives in, Raiders.  A really intense game, including a power outage, and an overtime  win for Coopers team!!!  

Saturday, Feb. 25th 

After a morning hot tub with Cooper, Logan drove him home and Anya wanted me to teach her how to clean the bathroom.  I've given both girls opportunities to learn to clean the bathroom properly and I am willing to pay them for that chore.  It's a win-win!  After Halie was done at the barn, the two of us went to the mall as I needed to pick up a few items for a new collaboration I am working on.  Stay tuned on those details.  

Sunday, Feb. 26th 

Last day of vacation means a slow morning coffee before working out and starting the day.   The weather lifted and we spent some time outdoors with Oreo.  We also hosted my family over for an afternoon visit, coffee and cake for Logan's birthday.  Check out the new winter coat Logan bought with his birthday money.

Overall, I spent a lot of time just hanging out with the people I love the most.  Also, I dug into planning our Disney World trip in 6 weeks and we feel set and ready to go for the most part!  The countdown on our adventure is on.  If you have any tips or tricks, let me know!

Have a great week and thanks for taking the time to stop by.  

Best of 2022

Hello friends.  Before I dive completely into 2023, I wanted to look back on 2022 and reflect on some of the happenings over the past year in my personal life.   2022 was a breath of fresh air after the previous couple of years were so loaded with uncertainty and worry.  Here are some personal highlights from 2022:

• Both my husband and I turned 40 and we were able to celebrate with so many of our friends in early summer!
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• My dad turned 65 but then chose not to retire yet.  Maybe in 2023, but nonetheless we were so excited to celebrate this milestone with him at the start of the year. 
  
  
  
• We went on a adult only trip to Italy, exploring Rome, Lake Como & Milan.  This was an incredible opportunity for us and something we are extremely grateful for.  Part of the trip was just the two of us and the other part was with my sister and BIL.
  
  
  
• Anya turned 13 and officially became a teen and now our home no longer has little girls.  This was bittersweet for this mama.
• Family time at the lake is always treasured and this summer was extra special when all of the Dautbegovic family could come together.  It's the BEST thing that happened in 2022!
  
  
  
• Halie continued to explore her love of horse riding and entered and won a jumping show!
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Anya continued to fall more in love with dance and was thrilled to get back onto a stage and enjoy competitions with her dance group.
  
  
  
• I continue to enjoy my job as a vice-principal and early childhood educator and you can follow along with my teaching adventure at bosprek on IG.  
• Logan is still working fulltime from home and loves it!  He plays ball hockey once a week and has gotten into working out with the Peloton app.
• A&H Snapshots had lots of growth in 2022 and I am excited to continue to learn and grow my photography skills and side business in 2023.  Please follow along ahsnapshots on IG.

Since Mondays are my fashion blog post, I am also including the top 10 most popular outfits from the blog, in no particular order.  As I went through my stats I realized many of the posts came from the Ageless Style Link-up parties that happen every third Thursday of the month.  One of my 2022 goals was to collaborate and connect with more bloggers so I am thrilled that a few ladies reached out and I was able to do that.  Finding community online has been the best part of my blogging journey and I hope to continue to grow friendships and build community in 2023. 

 #1 Winter White with a Splash of Periwinkle

#2 Ponchos, Puppies & Sweater Dresses

#3 Sweater Weather

#4 Pink Power Suit

#5 Dancing in the Rain

#6 Sleeves vs. Sleeveless

#7 White Tops & Linen Shorts

#8 The Bikini

#9 Day to Night: Leather Pants

#10 Thanksgiving 2022

It's your turn now!  Tell me a few  of your personal highlights from 2022.

Thanks for stopping by and following along.  

Exploring Tofino 2021

As summer holidays are winding down for me and school start in quickly approaching, I am finding myself reflecting and reminiscing about how we kicked off our summer holiday season with a trip to British Columbia to see my sister and family.  After over 2 years of not stepping foot into an airport, I was equal parts excited and anxious.  But when  the day finally arrived and we sat into those tiny seats, with limited leg room, and a airplane wing view, I quickly realized it was the best kind of uncomfortable that I had experienced in a long time.  Arriving and seeing my family after such a long time brought overwhelming joy to all of us, reminding us all how lonely and isolated we all truly have been.  

Family time was definitely the best part of this trip.  We spent 10 glorious days together, laughing, hugging, celebrating graduations and birthdays, and making new memories together.  Although we spent time in Victoria, BC, this post is going to focus on a new place we explored, Tofino, BC.

Celebrating my nephews graduation from high school!

My nephew, sister and brother-in-law.

4.  

    Tofino, B.C.

I LOVE Tofion!  It immediately felt like a good fit.  Small community that’s vibrant and offers outdoor adventure galore.  I could have spent many days here although my wallet would not agree, LOL. 

 

Accommodations  

We rented this house via AirBNB.  The house had everything and more that we needed, including 3 bedrooms, a hot tub, amazing patio, kitchen and the location was perfect for exploring the town as it’s minutes from all the little businesses, restaurants, and walking/biking paths.

Surfing 

This was a bucket item for me.  I have always dreamed of trying surfing so this was a MUST.  Logan, Anya and I had a private lesson through Long Beach Lodge Resort.  Honestly a private lesson although expensive gave us the time that we needed with the instructor to all be able to get up.  Our instructor was okay, very technical which meant that she was able to help us gain the skills but lacked people skills and wasn’t overly invested in building a relationship with us, or our child.  That being said I would still recommend the school as the location was great, the other people we interacted with were friendly, and ultimately we came to learn some basics and have fun which we did!  We would go back but we would try a different instructor.

 

Road Cycling

If you are a road biker there are many trails to explore and to ride.  My sister and her husband are avid bikers and they went of a few rides while we were.  and the one day we went with them for 30km.  The trail starts in town and goes for many many miles.  We ended up riding to Long Beach, the largest beach on Vancouver Island.  When we arrived mid-morning it was full of vans, people camping out and getting ready to surf.  It was a scene straight out of Blue Crush.  The sand on the beach is so packed that you can run on it or bike on it!

Another place that we explored on bike was the new hotel Zed.  Built by bike lovers, you can ride through the lobby and explore the hotel on foot or bike.  How cool is that?  They also feature several unique decorative pieces that throw it back to the 70’s including rotary  dial phones, psychic’s den and a mini-disco room that have a light up dance floor!  This would be a great party place. 

 

Shopping & Restaurants: 

So many cute little shops that feature locally made entrepreneurs and artifacts.  We spent one afternoon just strolling the streets with the kids and exploring tourist shops, clothing stores, book stores, etc.  We walked away with several little gifts for cousins and grandparents, a few shirts and a few books from the cutest little bookstore called Mermaid Tales Bookshop.

New coffee mug named The Raven from a local little shop.

We also went out for dinner at  The Schooner Restaurant after trying to find seating for a while.  So glad we went!  The service was amazing.  The host was friendly, the server knowledgeable and joyful, and even the chef came out to chat  with a table nearby that was celebrating something.  Not only was the service amazing but so was the food.  I give it  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!  

 

We also ate lunch at the SandBar Bistr.   It felt so good to grab drinks and food, and enjoy the views at this outdoor, totally casual, little beach-side patio.  I ordered a poke bowl that did NOT disappoint.  It was so refreshing and tasty, and perfect to accompany my glass of wine while resting after a couple of hours of  learning to surf. 

 

Beautiful Sunsets.  We stumbled onto the pier the first night and witnessed a magical sunset.  It was so breathtaking that we gathered the kids the next night and repeated it.  You don’t want to miss the magic of watching the sunset against mountains and water.  It’s what dreams are made off.  This picture below is engraved in my memory.

Couples Sessions

It was totally on a whim that we decided to take some beach pictures of my sister and BIL, and they are absolutely gorgeous because the people are beautiful. This is a couple I look up to as an example. They love spending time together. They role modeled for Logan and I how to put our relationship first even while raising a family. They respect, push and celebrate each other accomplishments and truly complete one another. We would all be so lucky to find a love like theirs.

Photos by A & H Snapshots

My sister and I.  I will hold on to our memories until we get to see each other again.

And that’s a wrap.  Tofino will forever be a favorite place to explore.  I don’t know when we will be back but you can bet that it’s on my wish list for another time.  Now that we can dream of the possibilities of travel once more my list keeps growing.  What’s on your list of priorities?