Best Breakfast Ever!!!!

This morning we met up with Bne and his friend at Barb & Ernie's Old Country Inn. It's a German restaurant that's been the mainstay of Edmonton for over 30 years. I can't believe it's taken me over 2 years to discover this amazing weekend breakfast joint.

Bne was in town, and we decided to get together for Sunday breakfast. I didn't want the usual - Denny's or Ricky's, so Bne suggested Barb & Ernie's. I remember hearing about the place, and did some research before deciding that would be our place to eat and visit this morning.

AMAZING!

First of all, there menu is large and diverse. You've got the regular bacon and egg, pancake, french toast, Eggs Benedict flair, but with a German twist - can't forget the bratwurst, or how about German Bacon Pancakes!?

I decided on the french toast with wild berry topping and whip cream. I was thoroughly impressed. It was delicious, and I managed to eat every last bite. Bne tried the German Bacon Pancakes - which were quite tasty, and Mr. J had the 3 Hotcakes with topping order.

He was for warned by the waitress, 'you know, there as big as a plate!' Mr. J paused momentarily, and placed his order again, 'I'll have the 3 Hotcakes with Strawberry topping.'

Now, granted we all thought that was quite a bit, but if anyone could handle it, it would be Mr. J. Although, I think we were all thinking of a fairly round standard size plate (8 inches). Still large, but nothing more that. We'll were we all surprised when the orders came.

The plate was a large oval sized plate, and his 3 pancakes not only completely covered the entire plate, they were spilling over the sides. And these pancakes weren't flat (as we all know when we make pancakes at home, they don't always turn out as fluffy as we'd like), they very fluffy - perhaps a good 1/2 inch thick.

We were continually amazed through our meal at the size of the pancakes. Bne's comment definitely captured the essence of Mr.J's eating experience: 'You've definitely broken the rule: Don't ever eat anything bigger than your head.'

Mr. J managed to eat 1.5 pancakes, and he took the rest home. We got some advice from Ernie on what to do and what not to do if Mr. J decides to re-heat the monstrous pancakes.

It was a fantastic way to spend Sunday morning. The next visitors who come, we'll be hitting up Barb & Ernie's, so be prepared.

Our First Holiday Gathering

My family arrived on Friday for the weekend. My parents and brother drove from Saskatchewan to spent Thanksgiving with Mr. J and myself.

I was absolutely elated that they came to visit. It's been over a year since they had been to Edmonton to visit, so I think everyone figured another one was due.

We cooked and visited all weekend. We did a little shopping on Saturday, but relaxed mostly with football, movies and the Wii.

I cooked my 2nd turkey dinner (my first being when I was 17 and still at home), and it turned out great. My mom said, 'this is better than any turkey dinner I've ever cooked.' I think that compliment pretty much speaks for itself.

Bne was able to join us for supper, which made the evening complete. I was happy that he came, even though he continued to give me a hard time for not telling him our 'big news' sooner than I did. Sorry Bne!

My family has left already....my brother was anxious to get home to watch the 2:30 football game...so we are going spend the rest of the weekend taking it easy.

I plan on getting back on my exercise bike after a 3 day hiatus. I definitely ate more than I usually do, and I've only got 5 days left until I have to wear a bathing suit.

Tonight, after Heroes of course, we are off to our friends to pick up our Mutants and Masterminds game.

Spa Day

I spent Saturday with the girls - Farm Girl, Baby Mama, and Cable Chick - enjoying a day of pampering.

We started off with a stroll through the farmers market in St. Albert, before we headed over to The Rock Salon for our noon arrival. We spent the entire afternoon at the spa getting pedicures, facials, massages, and haircuts. It was definitely a nice treat for ourselves.

For the next couple of hours, we shopped West Edmonton Mall. We didn't have a whole lot to shop for, but we ended up leaving with a few shopping bags in tow. I managed to pick up a few things for our upcoming tropical vacation.

We capped off the evening with drinks and dinner at Rics Grill. The food was delicious, as usual, and the girls and I had a great visit. Alas, the final member of a group, my BFF, is 'stuck' (resides) in Dallas, and couldn't make it for the weekend.

It was a nice escape from the day to day home organizing that has been occupying us for the past couple of months. Ahhhh!

"...the happiest I've seen you..."

Comments like that just make my day, and the day is only half over. It's been fantastic.

I was awoken this morning with a phone call from my BFF in Dallas. She had forgotten about the time change, but it was great to hear from her. We've been so busy that we haven't spoken on the phone in a couple of months. Weird. We only had a chance to speak briefly, as their new furniture was being delivered. Nevertheless, it was great to hear her voice.

I laid in bed for awhile longer, before it was time to get up and get ready for my brunch 'date' with AJ.

We met at 10:30 at the Urban Diner, off downtown Edmonton. I highly recommend this place to anyone interested in have a quiet breakfast/brunch with friends. It is in an little artsy area off of downtown, and very quaint.

Aside: One of the things that I love about Edmonton, there is definitely lots of quiet, unique places to eat, drink coffee, or just visit on a lazy Saturday/Sunday afternoon.

The food was amazing. I had the french toast, and AJ had the waffles. Both were superb. I will definitely will be returning. I must try that warm cinnamon bun they had on their menu.

The company was also wonderful. We chatted for over an hour and a half about baking, our busy lives, and City of Heroes. It was a great chance to catch-up and spend more time together. AJ & I have been friends for a long time, but have never had much opportunity to just 'chill-out' together. It was nice.

Now that December is finally here, Christmas is in the air....well at least it is in my house. I am making my Nuts 'n' Bolts mixture that I make every year, doing up some Christmas cards (I don't remember the last Christmas I actually did cards), getting out some of my decorations, and perhaps I will do some wrapping this afternoon. I haven't quite broken out the Christmas music yet, but it will definitely be playing when I put my tree up and decorate the house.

'Tis the season.

Odds & Ends

After a late night of partying with my ball team, I am ready for a relaxing evening. And no, not 10PM Marcia's gets silly late, more like 4AM.

It was a fantastic evening. Most of the team showed up with their potluck items in tow. We ate well on appetizers, steaks, and dessert. Our coach had some presentations to make. He did up little certificates for each of the players and MVP male and female awards. My certificate said, 'Biggest Mid-Season Acquistion." I am definitely looking forward to next season, and challenging myself. Perhaps I will even do a little pitching. As the evening wore on, people left, however the games came out. With 6 of us left, we challenged ourselves to a game of 80's Trivial Pursuit, Canadian Edition. Wow, was it ever hard. Even with most of the players being 30+. However, the coach and I managed to get all our pies to win the game. It was a great night.

I am surprisingly not as tired as I thought I would be, and managed to fit in a super-mega-awesome-cool workout this afternoon, vacuumed the house, did some laundry and cleaned up the kitchen. It has been a overly productive day.

A&K are headed over with Olive Garden take-away for supper and some movies. We all are looking forward to the low key evening.

Updates

My daily trip to the law courts continues to be interesting. It looks as though we may be wrapping up early, so it's back to work for me sooner rather than later. However, it is nice to know that my Thanksgiving weekend won't be ruined. I'll be back in Saskatchewan for a wedding and the family supper.

As for my social activities, my floor hockey team won't be playing this fall. It seems we registered too late even though I got a confirmation that we were registered for Thursday. Oh well, I still have volleyball on Mondays and bowling on Fridays.

I was in Calgary this past weekend with my friend Andy. We were visiting JC, as it was the last time we were going to see her before she moves far away to Dallas. It was a fantastic girls weekend, even though we ate way too much crappy food.

Heroes Season 2 starts tonight, and I am pretty excited. Although, I will have to be satisfied with only watching one episode a week.

Food Blog

Upon searching for quaint places to visit for coffee across the city, I stumbled upon this blog. She provides recipes, and reviews Edmonton eateries. And given how much I like to cook and try out new restaurants, I figured it was a good site to check out. I spent a good part of the afternoon reading some of her reviews and quite enjoyed everything that I read.

I think she'll go on my sidebar list. Looking forward to visiting Wild Earth Bakery and Coffee next Sunday.

Health Kick

With my sinus infection finally gone (mostly) I am back on my health kick. I have been to the gym everyday this week so far, and I eating extra healthy. I am trying real hard to eat foods that are good for all around health like fish, chicken, nuts, fruits and veggies. I am also working at controlling my portions without depriving myself of anything that I enjoy. This isn't really any different than how I usually try to eat, but I am definitely putting a lot more effort into the portion control.

I am really not looking to lose a bunch of weight, but whenever I miss the gym consecutive days in a row and eat crappy I always gain weight right away. At least 5 lbs. It is really annoying. However, as soon as I get back on track I usually lose it right away. Plus, I enjoy working out and I would still like to work on toning my upper body.

I'll share one of my new favourite summer salads that I have been eating over the past couple of days.

neuba's Summer Salad

Fresh Spinach
One Banana
One Apple - I have been using Granny Smith, and it has been delicious
1 Tbsp of Raisins
1 Tbsp of Cranberries
1 Tbsp sunflower seeds

Dressing:
1 Tbsp Miracle Whip Light
1 Tsp Milk
1 Tsp Vinegar
1 Tsp Sugar