long live the queen

Oh, London. I love you. A few months ago another flight attendant swapped my trip for their London at the last minute. Not complaining. I immediately picked up the phone to call my mom and asked if she wanted to join me. Within 30 minutes we had booked her on my flight and she started preparations. Elated at the thought of our first mommy/daughter trip together, we started planning.

In September, the Queen was away from the palace meaning the general public had access to tour the state rooms. An incredible opportunity that I'm so amazed to have been part of! This was our first stop...

Unfortunately, they didn't allow photos inside the palace but in the gardens? Well, they didn't specify so I went for it. We had tea and cakes at The Garden Cafe. It was superb.

I mean...how cute is this?

And the obligatory phone booth picture.

And street music. In every city I find a street musician. This man was unbelievably talented. What a privilege to stop and enjoy his music.

For the very few of you that follow this blog...I have a lot to update you on. This post was drafted in the fall and so much has happened since. If you're still following along, wait just a bit longer. I can't leave this book unfinished. This crazy, exciting, wonderful flight attendant life of mine is coming to a close and I promise to tell you more about why, when, and what's next. 

XOXO

a grandmother's love

I apologize once again for my hiatus from writing. A few weeks ago, my grandma lost the battle with cancer. During the weeks surrounding that time, I was busy traveling to and from Ohio to be with family. I have a couple of drafts that I could've posted to fill the gap but it didn't feel right to resume normal programming without paying homage to this incredible woman. I've been racking my brain for what to write...how can I be so vulnerable and put these types of emotions on the internet for anyone to see? I also know my mom is going to read this and because of that, my deepest desire is to bring her joy through this post. Mom, I love you. Thank you for your picture of humility and servanthood throughout the last few months. Know that grandma cherished you caring for her more than you or I will ever know. Be reminded of God's sovereignty over all things and that He will be your greatest source of comfort as your mourn your loss.

Growing up, I lived within 15 minutes of my cousins and grandparents. We would often congregate at Boo Boo and Papaw's and play red light-green light, Simon says, and hide and go seek in their front yard. As we got older, our parents would tell us mischievous tales of their own childhood...my favorite story? The time my mom and Aunt Sandy threw raw hamburger meat on the kitchen walls to see if it would stick. Needless to say, my grandparents had their hands full with 4 girls and 1 boy.

"To my husband, with all the deepest
love and devotion for eternity and then forever, I give as,
Your adoring wife."

My papaw was the linchpin of our family. Authoritative yet loving, strong yet gentle. He kept everyone in line with constant care. He passed away 4 1/2 years ago. This man, while wonderful in all his own ways, would've been lost without my grandma. I wish I had more time with them to see and experience the love they had for one another.

My grandma was a remarkable woman. If I had more time, I would ask her so many more questions. Where all did you live growing up? How did you manage raising 5 kids and taking care of your husband? What was your favorite thing about being a nurse? Tell me something I never knew about you, or a secret you've never told anyone. I want to have a vivid picture of what your life was like and record it through your stories and feelings.

I would also thank her for infusing our family with a love of music. Music is in many ways the heartbeat of our family. Every gathering is filled with time spent around the piano singing and laughing. As a child, I would listen in awe of my grandma and her children harmonizing together hoping to one day be able to make such a beautiful sound. She graciously taught all the grandkids to play Heart and Soul and in turn, we will now teach our children and grandchildren, and so on. That will forever be part of our family thanks to my grandma.

I am incredibly blessed. I have an amazing family. We love intensely, care deeply, and laugh loudly. No matter what, I know they will be there for me. It's more than I could ask for. Sadly, there is now a void in this beautiful mess of a family. But I know that due to their love and devotion to all of us, we will continue to sing, laugh, and live life together so that generations to come will know the love that we experienced growing up. 

pancakes, parents, & a pup

My mom and I have shared a lot of things throughout my life. Shoes...scarves...jewelry...and medical problems. It’s how we bond really. One of the lovely medical mishaps that we have in common is gluten intolerance. So, when I told her about Another Broken Egg, she was dying to go! Instead, to save money and be able to stay in our pajamas, I suggested we make breakfast at my house. Who am I kidding though? I basically live in pajamas and probably would've gone to the restaurant wearing them. Either way, we met at my house on a Saturday and whipped up a delicious, gluten free breakfast for three!

Gluten free blueberry pancakes...the best.

Our helper for the morning. The sir.

Turkey bacon. Enough said.

Mom and dad dropped by the local Farmer’s Market to pick up some peaches before coming over. They were incredibly good! We initially planned on visiting the Farmer’s Market after breakfast, but it was raining so we chose to stay in our pajamas dry.

My parents know me well. Peanut butter and chocolate is necessary for my survival. They purchased this delicious treat before coming over. It was heavenly. 

Aren't they adorable?! Love them to death.

I am so thankful to live close enough to my parents to be able to plan an impromptu breakfast on occasion. What a blessing it is to have two Godly parents that urge me towards Christlikeness in all I do. Love you guys!

gluten free finds: banana leaf malaysian cafe {vancouver, bc}

While I was in Vancouver with my brother and his family, we ate at a little Malaysian cafe before biking along the coast. Banana Leaf Malaysian Cafe is a beautiful restaurant located about 5 minutes from Stanley Park. 

I ordered the Pineapple Fried Rice with Seafood and Chicken. It was the most affordable option on the gluten free menu. That, and I love pineapple so it was kind of a no brainer for me. It's fried rice mixed with seafood, chicken, egg, raisins, corn, and sunflower seeds, served in a half pineapple boat. It was surprisingly a little bland, but adding salt brightened the flavors a bit.

Ryan and Bethany's meals were sadly not gluten free. Ryan ordered the Malaysian Spicy Papaya Seafood Soup (Malaysian soup made with tamarind juice, chili, ginger, and lemon grass with tomato, cilantro, and fresh seafood). He said his soup was also a little bland but after adding some Sriracha, he loved it. Bethany's was deemed the favorite. She had the Singapore Laksa (rice noodle in coconut soup base made of dried shrimps, chili, garlic, lemon grass and turmeric with bean sprout, cilantro, tofu, egg, chicken, fish-cake, squid and shrimps) along with an appetizer plate. It was a special they had going on that afternoon, so unfortunately I don't know if it is still available.

Overall, we really enjoyed the cafe! I wouldn't say it's somewhere you've got to go when in Vancouver, but if you're gluten free and want somewhere tried and proven, head there.

In other news, Bethany got me obsessed with this easy, gluten free snack. Vanilla yogurt with frozen blueberries. You might be thinking, that's a parfait Bri, but no. It's so much better than a parfait. Why? The frozen blueberries are why. When you combine your yogurt and blueberries, the yogurt begins to freeze, making it, well, frozen yogurt. There's just something about it friends. It's so, so good. 

ohh canada

A few months ago, I spent a weekend in Tennessee with my family, enjoying time with my brother and his family before they moved to Vancouver for a business internship. This summer, they are moving to Central Asia to become English teachers and I couldn't be more excited for them!

The day before they left for Vancouver, all 4 of them came down with a nasty stomach bug. We had planned to spend that day together, but being that it was so contagious, I couldn't risk going. I was scheduled to leave for flight attendant training the following week and couldn't afford getting sick right before leaving. We quickly made plans for me to visit them in Canada before they headed overseas.

I arrived in Vancouver around 12:30pm and waited for Ryan at the airport. When he got there, we hopped on the train and headed to their apartment. Halfway through the hour long ride we had to switch trains, so we decided to stop off and grab lunch then. Located just outside of the train station is a street corner with a bunch of food trucks, so we had plenty of options to choose from. The best gluten free meal I could find was from Korean Mama Express. I ordered a beef rice noodle bowl crossing my fingers that there wouldn't be any gluten in it. Ryan opted for the Kaboom Box ordering the Salmon "Salmwich" with a side of Poutine. My dish was a little bland, but I still enjoyed it.

Sadly, when I got there, this little guy was sick. As the days passed, he only got worse and Josiah ended up catching it too. Evidently my timing is terrible when it comes to this family getting sick.

Later that day, we walked to a nearby park, talked, and played with the boys. It was wonderful.

The following day, we slept in, ran some errands, and headed into the city. Ryan and Bethany have had a few visitors in Vancouver since they've lived there so they quickly learned the best places to take me.

I can barely handle Isaac's face in this photo.

Vancouver has an abundance of bike trails along the coast, so we rented some bikes and set out on an absolutely stunning ride through Stanley Park!

I was feeling a little sick myself at this point, so I rented an electric bike to make the ride a little easier on me. Seriously, that thing was a rocket.

I've been dying to go biking for a while now. Clearly, by this ridiculous photo, you can tell I was stoked.

The view was incredible. Mountains and the ocean? Probably my favorite nature combo.

At one point, Bethany pointed towards the ocean and said she saw a sea otter. Ok. Those of you who have known me for a while know of my LOVE for otters. I nearly dove into the water to go find the little guy. Thankfully, he recognized my voice, popped up for a minute, waved to me, and went on his merry little way. It was bliss. God bless otters.

I don't know the story behind this so I did a little googling. To my surprise, I discovered that rock stacking has been around for years. Artists will stack them, oftentimes leaving no signature, allowing us to enjoy the artistry until wind or water knocks them down. Crazy huh?

Being that the boys were feeling poorly and the weather for the next few days wasn't the best, we stayed inside a good bit. I loved every minute of it. We talked and caught up the majority of the time but of course squeezed in a couple games of Carcassonne after the boys were asleep.

I am beyond thankful that I was able to go and visit them before they headed overseas. Our time together is so precious and sanctifying. I'm excited for their move and can't wait to visit them across the pond!