heritage festival

Happy long weekend, friends!

I'll be spending all three days at Hawrelak Park with 300,000 of my closest friends, enjoying the sights, sounds and most importantly, the tastes of the 36th annual Heritage Festival. This three-day cultural extravaganza is, hands-down, my most favourite festival in the city.

62 pavilions representing 85 cultures. This festival is what Canada is all about - multiculturalism.

Check out the amazing menu, but be prepared to drool. This is a foodie's dream.

My first stop? Poffertjes at the Dutch pavilion. Poffertjes are tasty little pancakes dusted with icing sugar. After inhaling the lil'cakes, I'll go wherever my nose leads me.

Hope to see you there!

Dajana 

p.s. Please don't forget your non-perishable food donation for Edmonton's food bank! This weekend is their single largest annual food drive. Let's help them reach their goal.

staying dry and stylish

Edmonton certainly has had its fair share of rain this summer. It's been torrential downpour after downpour.  Is this current deluge getting me down? Nope, and how can it, when I'm wearing my lime green Joe Fresh wellies and carrying my humongous Big Bird brolly (I just love British words). These two items have the power to turn a grey, grim day into the most fun puddle olympics.

"The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful."
  E.E. Cummings

Although I'm a true puddle-lover, I'm hoping the sun makes an appearance soon as I'm taking in two outdoor events this weekend - the Edmonton Horticultural Society's Garden Tour and the Taste of Edmonton. I've never been on the Garden Tour before and am really looking forward to snooping in people's gardens (but with permission - ha!). I'm also excited to get my eats on and try some of the new items on the Taste of Edmonton menu, in particular, the lamb tostadas, seared bocconcini and grilled quail with pomegranate sauce. And, if I have any room left, I'll wash it all down with a mango lassi. Can't wait.

Have a lovely weekend, friends!

Dajana  :)

p.s. Check out these fun wellies and this Edmonton Journal story about brollies.

it's the little things...

 ... that make me happy. Like walking our choco-lab Lucy in Edmonton's bucolic river valley.

Surprisingly, I'd been deathly afraid of dogs for most of my life. And then I married a boy, who as a child, had dreamed of owning a labrador retriever. Ack! What was a girl to do? Well, this particular lady thought about it, dog ownership, that is, for quite some time. It took me about five years to feel comfortable with the idea of a dog. During this period of contemplation, every dog owner I knew would tell me that getting my own puppy would help me to get over my fear. And guess what? They were all right. Adding Lucy to our family was the best thing we could have done, and in fulfilling Scott's childhood dream, I also gave myself two incredible gifts - unconditional puppy love and freedom from a paralyzing fear!

To this day, I still wonder how it is that I - scaredy pants Dajana - became a dog owner. While walking Lucy, I'll often think to myself, "Holy cow! I can't believe I'm walking through a dog park, with my dog. This is so flippin' cool!"

Life can be full of such happy surprises when we're open to the possibilities.

Dajana 

shop talk: j.crew's coming to edmonton!

J. Crew devotees! It�s happy dance time for you. The iconic U.S. fashion retailer is set to open its doors in West Edmonton Mall in the summer of 2012.

For those who aren�t familiar with the J. Crew brand, here are some of the looks you will find.

Classic, polished, all American.

Indira Ikat Dress

Schoolboy blazer

Amie stripe maxi dress

Interestingly enough, some JC lovers may not be over the moon with this news. I was perusing the blog, J. Crew Aficionada and happened upon this comment: I love the fact that I don't see my clothes coming and going when I'm in Canada. The "exclusivity" factor is a big plus for me.

Whether you're feeling a happy rush or not, you can continue to shop the retailer's chic & casual wares online - until their #yeg arrival next year.

For more deetz on JC's second north of the border move, check out today's Edmonton Journal article.

Happy Monday friends!

Dajana

p.s. I'm really loving ikat lately, can you tell? ;)