Weekend |

August 18, 2014

Lopapeysas, Bacon and Blueberries

When I was growing up we would often go around the dinner table at night and share how our day was. Usually the response my parents got from us girls was something along the lines of, “ya school was good”… So to get us talking more my parents would ask us our high and low from the day. It is such a great way to share your day and H and I often recap our days sharing our highs and lows.

With that in mind I thought it would be a great way to recap my weekend by sharing my highs and lows from weekend. So let’s get to it shall we!

High

First work party of the new school year

Icelanders know how to mix work and play! We often have a party at least once a month and they all have a theme. This event was a lopapeysa theme (the traditional Icelandic sweater) and I was so happy to have one of my own to keep me warm all night. And sparkly bunny eyes just make the outfit complete:)

Low

Saying goodbye to one of my co-workers

The one in the middle of this fuzzy picture had her last day sitting next to me on Friday and I am sad to see her go. She has been so supportive and helpful to me with my Icelandic and learning the ropes of the new job. Hopefully the one to fill her spot will be just as wonderful.

High and a Low

The Reykjavik Bacon festival

All week I have been looking forward to attending the Reykjavik Bacon festival because, I mean really a festival all about bacon, it has to be amazing. I was so disappointed though with all the booths, their dishes did not do bacon justice. This event gets a high as well though because it was a beautiful sunny day out and I love walking this street with views of the church in the background.

High

My favorite salad made an appearance

This salad was the highlight of my Saturday night, it was a wild night. Fresh strawberries, avocado and spinach, a recipe for deliciousness! If only the strawberries weren’t ridiculously expensive, I would be having this salad all the time.

High

Exploring Heiðmörk

Sunday was such a beautiful day so we decided to try are luck at picking blueberries. It is a bit early for blueberries but we were hoping we would get lucky so off we headed off to Heiðmörk, a nature conservation area about 20 minutes away from downtown Reykjavik.

Low

We found no blueberries!

This little berries were about all that we found that were ripe enough to be picked. Looks like another trip to Heiðmörk will need to be happening in a few weeks.

High

Spending Sunday afternoon relaxing in the sunshine

Sitting outside, enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon is just what I needed to refresh before the start of yet another busy week.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Question of the Day?
Tell me your weekend high and lows?

posted by Kiki 32 Comments
Filed Under: Family, Friends, Iceland, Travel, Weekend Tagged: highs and lows, Iceland, travel, weekend

June 16, 2014

I Was a Cheerleader For a Night

Happy Monday Everyone!

Today is a Monday/Friday for me since tomorrow is Iceland’s Independence Day. I am really looking forward to joining seeing all the celebrations happening around the city, it sounds like quite the fun day!

First though let’s back up and talk about what an amazing weekend I had!

Friday evening we headed to H’s office summer party for an eventful night. I have met his co-workers a few times but anytime I am going into a group setting with lots of Icelandic being spoken I get really nervous. It was a good thing I had a bubble to stay safe.

Has anyone else played bubble ball before? It was so difficult standing up in those things after you got knocked over, which for me was every few seconds! This game was a blast though and is definitely one way to break the ice when getting to know new people.

After an eventful game of bubble ball I was recruited to teach everyone how to play beer pong. Apparently if your from America it automatically means your a pro beer pong player. Good thing I am!

H and I take our beer pong games very seriously, we have to keep our undefeated streak going!

Another thing others automatically assume if your a blonde from America, your a cheerleader and should have no problem climbing on top of the pyramid that all the drunk ladies think is an amazing idea.

This is what happens when H let’s me loose at his work parties:)

Saturday was a big day in our house, it was H’s birthday and I wanted to make the day extra special after he spoiled me on my birthday!

Birthday pancakes, an amazing birthday gift basket (I am quite proud of my creative skills for this gift;), and a nice dinner out, I would say my handsome guy had a great day.

Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to head out for a hike at Esjan.

This hike was extra special to me. Every year on Father’s Day ( a very happy Father’s Day to my amazing Dad) my family goes on a hike at my Dad’s favorite spot. This is the first year I was going to have to miss the hike with my family but I wanted to keep the tradition alive so I brought the hike to my Dad with lots of photos.

I hope one day I can take my Dad on this hike, Esjan is so beautiful. A big shout out to my amazing Dad, he is the best Dad a girl could ask for and I am so blessed to call him my Dad. Without his love and support I don’t think I would have been brave enough to make the move to Iceland, run a marathon, heck I probably would still have my training wheels on if it weren’t for him. I hope you had a wonderful day Dad, I love you!

An amazing weekend indeed. Now I have a case of the Monday blues after looking at all my pictures from this past weekend! Hope everyone had an amazing weekend and a Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there!

Question of the Day?
Have you ever played bubble ball? Does your family have any traditions they do on Father’s Day?

posted by Kiki 36 Comments
Filed Under: Iceland, Weekend Tagged: Birthday, hiking, Iceland, weekend

June 9, 2014

I Got Sunburnt in the Arctic

Happy Monday!

Our weekend was spent outside taking full advantage of the amazing weather we have been having. Iceland may not be the hottest place but when the sun shines it sure is strong! I will just say it is possible to get sunburnt in the Arctic.

Since the sun is streaming through my windows this morning I can’t focus long enough to write a post so instead I am letting the pictures from my phone do the talking. From a wedding in the South of Iceland to sunny days in Reykjavik it has been one wonderful week.

Our cabin we stayed in last weekend in the South of Iceland. Such a beautiful area, the views are stunning.

A real Icelandic countryside party, complete with an old barn, guitar playing and everyone in traditional Icelandic sweaters.

The old church the wedding was in. In traditional Icelandic weddings men and women sit on opposite sides during the ceremony. The bride and groom also sit on opposite sides next to their fathers while the ceremony is conducted by the priest and not until the end do they come together and stand in the middle. It was an interesting wedding experience!

The beach behind my work. If the sun is out this place is packed.

I love walking around the harbor on sunny days and looking at all the boats.

An evening run with views of the always beautiful Esjan.

My neighbor has the most beautiful flowers in her yard!

On windy days this part of the sea is full of windsurfers. Not sure if I would ever be brave enough to try windsurfing here in Iceland but the are fun to watch.

The midnight sun setting at 2am over downtown Reykjavik. If only I could stay up this late all the time so I could always watch this gorgeous sunset!

I am off to enjoy more of these amazing views of Reykjavik before I have to head back to work tomorrow. Have a great week everyone!

Question of the Day?
Have you ever experience wedding traditions different than the ones you are use to? What is your favorite way to spend a sunny day?

posted by Kiki 43 Comments
Filed Under: Iceland, Travel, Weekend Tagged: Icelandic traditions, South of Iceland, weekend

May 19, 2014

Just Say Yes

Happy Monday Everyone!

How was your weekend? On Friday morning my only plans for the weekend involved my sweat pants, Parks and Recreation and pancakes. Somehow though I ended up having a super busy weekend but it was a ton of fun so I am not complaining.

Friday at work I was invited to a party with my office for later that night. Even though my lazy side really wanted to say no I said yes and goodbye to my sweat pants.

H and I had such a fun night with my co-workers and ended up staying out way later than my original Friday night plans. Is it just me or do last minute plans usually turn out to be some of the best times? The only picture I have from the night is of the food table, goes to show where I spent a lot of my evening at:)

Saturday morning we woke up exhausted and ready to resume our lazy weekend plans. It was a rainy spring day here in Reykjavik which meant it was perfect weather for some experimenting in the kitchen.

Not to toot my own horn but I nailed these recipes. The raw date balls were inspired by all the dates we had in our pantry that needed to be used up. I experimented with two different recipes and am really happy with how they turned out. The real show stopper though was the pasta dish I made for dinner.

When I try out healthier versions of recipes they often turn out to be a major fail. This one though was such a total hit and H couldn’t stop raving about it. The pasta uses cauliflower sauce as a replacement for alfredo sauce! Trust me, try this recipe and you won’t be disappointed. And its good for you so you can help yourself to seconds, or thirds, guilt free.

After spending a afternoon cooking I was ready to go to bed nice and early. By 9pm I was all cozy in my sweatpants ready to eat fro-yo and pass out when some of our friends called us to invite us to go to a Meatloaf tribute concert put on by Icelandic performers. H and I decided that we can’t be that boring couple so off we went and it was yet another great last minute decision.

Basically all our pictures together turned out like this, thank you awesome lighting.Before the concert we weren’t really sure what songs Meatloaf sang so when I recognized a bunch of them it was a bonus surprise. I was so pumped when some classic songs like “I’d Do Anything For Love” played and I had a blast signing along. The band did such a great job performing, Iceland always amazes me with how many talented people they have in this tiny country.

Sunday morning H had to go into work for a few hours so I took full advantage of my quiet time to eat pancakes in bed, catch up on my shows and be completely lazy, finally! The sunshine was back after a week of rain so I couldn’t keep indoors for long and took off for a bike ride around my neighborhood.

It seems like over night things have defrosted and turn beautiful bright colors so finally I can share a different side of Iceland!

All the bright colors almost makes me forget how dark and dreary things look around here in the wintertime, almost.

Such a great weekend but now we are back to another work week. I have some fun plans tonight with girlfriends though so this week is starting off on a good note. And at least I still have Parks and Recreation to catch up on and keep me going this week when things get stressful.

via
This show just cracks me up! Have a great week everyone.