PARKSVILLE

So I'm trying to soak in every last bit of summer. Usually by this point, I'm longing for fall but this year, I'm clinging on to summer. And I have a firm grip. 

I know I was just in Whistler but what do you do when the holiday fairy calls your name and whisks you away to a happy place? You let it happen, that's what you do!

Especially when said fairy takes you to a beach front condo with your bffs.

My goodness we had sooooo much fun. It was definitely a weekend of excess. 

So much food.

So many episodes of Veronica Mars.

So much reading.

So many laughs. 

Here's what we got up to...

Now doesn't that look fun?

Hope you're soaking up the last bit of summer! James and I are headed for one more quick getaway (I know!!!) for our 2 year wedding anniversary this weekend.

The place we're going has no wifi and no cell phone service...insane hey??!!! I am soo excited.

Happy Tuesday.

xo,

s.s.♥︎.

WHISTLER FAMILY VAYCAY

Last weekend we had the pleasure of going to Whistler with James' family...it was AMAZING!! Surprisingly both James and I had never been to Whistler before. Let's just say, I'm a fan.

Except for bears....yes, I saw A FREAKING BEAR ON MY RUN. Thank goodness James was with me, but it was SOO SCARY..I bolted away into nearby townhouses and refused to go running again..ha.

Whistler is crazy beautiful. The mountains, the glaciers, the lakes. And the village is such good vibes...except for the slow, relaxed snowboarder/biker service you receive in coffee shops...but hey, maybe that was the universe telling me to sloooooow down and enjoy vaycay mode.

We stayed at Cascade Lodge. It was perfect. Nice outdoor pool and soo close to the village.

We hiked two days and did peak to peak! It was so glorious. 

Insanely beautiful.

Makes me in awe of God's creation. Those mountains!!! Swoon.

Seriously stunning hey? That last photo is a pic of the guys swimming in a glacier pool...crazy boys.

So other than hiking and staring at majestic mountains, we enjoyed an afternoon at Lost Lake and hung out in the village.

We had ice cream at Cows (honestly, tasted like Island Farms...it had NOTHING on Salt & Straw), family dinner for James' birthday at Dusty's in Creekside (best nachos ever..pulled pork come on!!), dinner date at Mongolie, and lots of coffees. We got to meet up with our good friends, the Normans which was SUCH a treat because we hadn't seen them for ages! Walking through the village reminded me of walking through towns in Europe...people and food everywhere..and accents! It was so nice to hear so many accents.

We also had great family bonding times. I am madly blessed with amazing in-laws!!

I know it won't be our last trip to Whistler!!

Have you been to Whistler before? If so, I'd love to hear what your must see spots are!

Happy Wednesday..I'm off to Parksville for a girls' trip right after work...SOOO STOKED!

xo,

s.s.♥︎.

WARDROBE // 6

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If you follow me on instagram, you'll know I was in Whistler this past weekend with James' family. We had an incredible time and I have A LOT of pics to show you but for now I have a long overdue wardrobe post! (I'm very thankful for understanding family who were so patient while we snapped these pics mid-hike...ha!)

Her- 

Headband  // Top // Jean Shorts (similar) // Plaid (similar) // Bag // Watch // Nail Polish // Bracelets // Silver Bracelet

Him-

Hat // Jean Jacket //  T-Shirt // Tank // Jeans (cut into shorts) // H&M Sunnies

You may notice that we aren't showing you our shoes. That's because we were both wearing bright neon nikes....ha! We don't own hiking shoes and did not want to hike in something that would mess us up, so bright neon nikes it was.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend, can't wait to tell you all about Whistler!!

Until next time,

s.s.♥.

GRILLED PEACH SALAD WITH HONEY GOAT CHEESE DRESSING

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Mmmmmhmmmmmm.

Yes, I have a salad for you that is going to win hearts.

Seriously, it will win you friends.

And it takes a whopping 10 minutes to make.

I know right? #rejoice

I made this salad for a family bbq last weekend. Things usually take me a loooong time to make. I don't like to be rushed in the kitchen yet because I never give myself enough time, I often find myself rushed in the kitchen.

I (as per usual) didn't give myself a ton of time that afternoon and I found myself rushing to the grocery stores (yes stores, I like to get my veggies from one store and all the rest from another, ha) to get all the ingredients. I got home and realized I had 30 minutes to make the salad and get ready. #storyofmylife

But you guys. 

I was able to assemble the salad (with a little help from James on the grilling of the peaches) AND get ready with time to spare. #winning 

So there you have it. A quick and easy AND delicious salad.

GRILLED PEACH SALAD WITH HONEY GOAT CHEESE DRESSING

Ingredients needed:

for the dressing-

• 150 g Goat Cheese (at room temperature)
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 2 tbsp Water

• Dash of Salt & Pepper

for the salad-

• 8 cups Spring Mix
• 6 Ripe Peaches sliced in quarters.
• 1/4 cup Walnuts

Directions:

1. In a food processor, combine the goat cheese, honey, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, water and salt & pepper. Mix well. If it's too thick, add a little bit more water.
2. Heat grill to medium heat and then grill peaches until char marks appear (about 3 minutes).
3. Place salad in bowl. Add in grilled peaches and walnuts. 
4. Serve salad and drizzle dressing over top.
5. Enjoy!!!

Happy Wednesday!

I'm heading to Whistler for the FIRST TIME EVER tomorrow! I'd love to know your must see sights & restaurants & coffee shops! If you've been, please let me know in the comments :)

xoxo,

s.s.♥︎.

ON BIKINI BRIDGES & KICKING SELF LOATHING TO THE CURB

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Last month when I was in Redding I was perusing facebook and came across this article on "bikini bridges". My first thoughts were ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!? 

If you're wondering what a bikini bridge is, it's having a gap between your bikini bottoms and your body when you're lying down. The bottoms are supposed to just cling to your hip bones and not touch any part of your pelvic area creating a bridge…aka people are wanting a skinny pelvic area? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!??? Back when I was a teen the goal was having a flat stomach with maybe a line down the middle. Now it's about thigh gaps and bikini bridges. And the thing about bikini bridges that makes me so LIVID is, they are only attainable by starving yourself. You can't just lift some weights for a few months and see results. You have to starve yourself. How is this even a trend?

Heart breaking. 

To be honest, I wanted to find the person who coined the term bikini bridge and give them a real good shake…but then it occurred to me that what they really need is a big hug.

A hug that says you are loved, you are valuable, you are beautiful.

Now I'm going to get a bit real talk up on my corner of the internet…I have faced off with my body for far too many years. Growing up, I was blessed to have a dad who told me I was beautiful and I believed it to be true until I was 11. Some guys called me fat and from there on, that's what I viewed myself as. There were other negative voices too, I just would rather not get into them.

For years and years I was cruel to my body. I spoke harsh, awful words over myself. No matter how hard I tried, I could never be that warped version of beautiful that I so longed to be. For years I was able to hide this self loathing, this unhealthy obsession very well....until I got married. 

After our first year of marriage, James began confronting me about the way I spoke about my body. He started calling me out on the way I was viewing myself and he began speaking truth instead of lies. Although, I knew he loved me and I knew he thought I was beautiful, it still took time for me to shake those nasty shame-filled thoughts. 

Slowly but surely I started taking ownership of my mind. Last May I went to She Loves Conference and at the end of the conference we were given a gift. The gift was this beautiful book called She. (If you are a woman, you need this book. If you are guy, you need to go to that link and purchase this book immediately for a woman in your life. Your momma needs this, your wife needs this, your sister needs this!)

I opened it up when I got home and started to soak in the truth-filled words. As I read the statements, my eyes started welling up with tears. I so needed those words. In that moment, I asked God to transform my thinking and He asked me to start speaking truth over myself. So I did.

I made the decision that I was going to refuse to speak negatively about my body. That's right, I decided I wasn't ever going to speak a harsh or negative word about my body.

I started to counter act every lie that came at me with a truth from God and you know what? My whole mindset started shifting. I looked in the mirror and I was actually happy with what I saw. I actually started praising God for what I saw in the mirror. I started to love my body, the way I was created. My mindset on exercising even started to change! Instead of running to be skinny, I ran to be healthy. If I had a crummy day and ate a lot of sweets, I would plan to eat healthy the next day.

I refused to let shame be my motivation. And to this day, I'm still refusing. P.S. shame is THE WORST motivator.

My motivation is love. Because I love myself and love my creator, I will love my body and inspire others to love theirs too. 

Even though, it's gotten easier, I still have days when I want to let that comfy blanket of self loathing wrap its arms around me. I still have days where I'm tempted to get mad at that girl in the mirror.

But I refuse. As new lies try to creep in, I bring out the old weapons, those old truths with so much power. I refuse to conform to what the media says I should be. Instead I'll believe...

I am loved. I am valued. I am beautiful.

So friends, can we just vow to not even consider thigh gaps and bikini bridges?

Can we stop giving our bodies a beating and instead be kind, patient and loving with ourselves?

This Summer, I challenge you:

...to wear that two piece proudly...no matter what shape you are.

...to look in the mirror and smile at what you see. 

...to stop using shame as your motivation.

...to kick self loathing to the curb.

And to know with all your heart that you are so loved, you are so valued, you are so beautiful.

xo,

s.s.♥.