Stockholm

Quite the city, Stockholm is not just clean but a beautiful place to be in if you're wanting to just take in the sights and the view. Just on the water, the Old Town is a great place to walk around in as there is much to see and do - plenty of shops on all the small, cobbled stone streets. You can smell the waffles from a mile away, and the cafés are a great hangout. The locals are very friendly and can tell you pretty much everything about Stockholm from its history to getting directions to any place. The food is great but definitely hidden. My family passed by a restaurant attached to a small hotel in the Old Town and was only open during certain seasons of the year - in this case sumer time and winter time. In the summer, the restaurant venue is on a rooftop with a barbecue and few tables, serving mainly meat dishes. Every night is different - the night we chose to go had Pork, so the entire pork was served from chops, to loins, to belly and more. It was a fun night with great food and family.

It wasn't hard to keep ourselves busy as there were so many cultural things to do - museums are a big thing there and a few palaces/castles too. The Archipelago was definitely a hit with the tourists. People would take a ferry that would come pretty much every hour or half hour on the hour/half hour. It was great as we got to travel through the Archipelago. We stopped on an island called Voxholm, which was a tiny town but was about an hour's away from Stockholm. We stopped at a hotel restaurant and ate the herring which reminded us of Amsterdam and it was tasty!  Try the local beer too. We also went to the museum that held an old shipwreck - The Vasa, which sunk in 1628 and has since been brought back up to the surface and is being preserved in the Vasa Museet.  It was a grand exhibit and worth seeing whilst in Stockholm.

We also celebrated my aunt's birthday at a restaurant called F12 - 1 michelin star - and it was a fantastic meal. The wine pairings were superb and we just had a lot of fun. The duck confit in our set menu was delicious and the butter and various breads tasted  The staff were very accommodating and the food was a lot of fun. Also, afterward you could take a stroll into the Old Town if you were feeling full, the summer is a great time to be in the city but it does get chilly in the evening as you are right on the water.

Stockholm definitely was a unique place to visit, be sure to find out what Tem Toms are and to have a look at the food market there (for you Vancouverites, it's an upper class version of Granville Island).

[gallery columns="4"]

Amsterdam!

"bikers and bitter-ballen"

That's all you need in Amsterdam - but if you're a tourist, I'd recommend not cycling through the streets of this small city. Life in Amsterdam is so very different than to anywhere I've ever been to before. The people are real nice and tolerate tourists - especially when you're looking for a café and cannot make up your mind about what you'd like to try next (if you know what I mean.) My family spent 4 days in this cobbled stone town, and it was a great way to start off our five week trip in Europe/UK.

You'll find that everywhere looks similar. I definitely felt like I was going in circles at one point as every road was attached to a canal. The upscaled food was scarce but we managed to find a couple intriguing restaurants such as the Five Flies and Le Garage, where we had memorable suppers.

Get to Amsterdam before that law is in place! The poor tourists are no longer going to be able to purchase the "good stuff" for long! Guess it's a good thing? Then again, you're in Amsterdam... what else are you going to do? Oh right... the red light district. THAT was definitely a once in a lifetime "moment."

And whoever came up with them deep fried, meat balls?! Ingenious!! I spent a couple days searching when all I had to do was walk into a bar and look at the menu - only to find the one and only bitter-ballen! Oooh were they delicious. I then made sure that I would have a bitter-ballen or two before leaving the city. Luckily our hotel made extra delicious ones - ballen with fish! Stick to the meat, that's the best.

Amsterdam proved to be a fun city - there was much to see: the house of Anne Frank, the Picasso museum, the Heineken factory and much more. If you're in Europe and are looking for a weekend getaway, Amsterdam is the place to go.

[slideshow]

Father's Day Brunch

What did you do for your father on his special day? This past weekend, my sister and I made breakfast for our dad. Some sausages, bacon, and the ingenious ebelskivers were a hit! They are delicious balls of dough with cheese and scallions inside. We used a regular batter mix for the ebelskivers recipe and they are super cool and easy to make.  Make sure you invest in an ebelskiver pan if you're really into quick and easy breakfast bites - they are great for morning-after parties!

"Originally from Denmark, ebelskivers (pronounced "able-skeevers") are snacks or dessert traditionally served during holidays and celebrations. Today, cooks offer these puffy, sphere-shaped, pancakes with a wide range of sweet and savoury toppings and fillings, varying them in countless creative ways. They require milk, eggs, flour and the special seven-welled pan that forms the pancakes' unique shape."

-  Ebelskivers: Filled Pancakes and Other Mouthwatering Miniatures by Kevin Crafts

[gallery columns="4"]

L'abattoir

Also known as a slaughter house, this chic and funky restaurant in Gas town, Vancouver is a hot spot. Cocktails are super unique and fun to drink as their bar tenders are very friendly - if you're not sure what to do drink, they'll for sure help you out. Food is superb and very well presented. Service is great and you will be wowed the second you walk through the doors of L'abattoir with its original structure - a bar downstairs and the restaurant up top, as well as in a deceiving back room behind the bar with large windows. It's almost like a house that you walk into. Enjoy the photos! Cocktails, Bread basket, Sturgeon carpaccio, Pork shoulder, Watermelon infused with tequila cocktail, Coffee and custard, and Caramelized pain perdu with lemon parfait.

[gallery columns="4"]

Sentimental Value

These days we're sending emails, texts, and hardly ever cards. You get the occasional "happy birthday" or "get well" sentiments, but how often are they expressed through cards? After having found out my mum has gotten into creating beautiful and fun crafts, cards have been one of her favourite past times. I've now gotten the jist of how to make a good looking card - whether it be an invite to a party or a birthday. The fact that people put the effort into making such detailed cards, it makes it that much more special for whatever occasion.  As I was making my best friend's birthday card today, I felt like blogging a bit about what I feel as a human being and receiving cards - they really do hit the heart! Happy birthday Jaclyn xoxo