her real world

I’m a little obsessed with picnics right now

I’m a little obsessed with picnics right now.

This photo doesn’t really inspire the kind of picnic I’m thinking of right now, but it’s a picnic table and I work with what photos I have. But this is the picnic table where my family and I have shared countless meals. Everything tastes better outside!

I’m going to confess: I’m a picnicaholic. There is something about eating alfresco that makes me quite gleeful. One of my all time favourite shows on the Food Network is Oliver’s Twist, and my favourite episode is where Jamie prepares a picnic in a tiffin tin. I have yet to find a tiffin tin that I like (when I went to Crate & Barrel there was a yellow one that I wasn’t very fond of), but I may have to turn up the heat on my search. Because picnic recipes are out in full force.

Because I’m not able to make a picnic *right this very moment*, I thought I’d share some of the lovely and inspiring recipes that I’ve found recently.

To me, a picnic has to be portable and not messy. Sandwiches, salads and cookies are pretty standard fare for me, unless I have access to a grill. But today I’m thinking about a secluded picnic on a rock near a lake, so nothing too messy or fancy. I also adore fresh herbs and the fact that I finally have all my little seeds in the ground makes me quiet joyous.

So here is a list of things I’d take with me on a picnic tomorrow, hopefully you find some inspiration to have a picnic of your own!

Drinks: A bottle of sparkling water with mint or lemon and lime or perhaps a bottle of nice wine. Or both!

Sandwiches: ahi tuna wraps with avocado, dijon-cilantro tuna salad sandwiches, any sandwich with green chili mayonnaise, bacon egg salad sandwiches with fresh basil

Salad: sour cream cucumber salad with mustard seeds, French potato salad, potato salad with radishes, cucumber and dill,

Dessert: coconut macaroons, lime meltaway cookies, white chocolate strawberry oatmeal cookies 

So who wants to come on a picnic?!

her daily photo – The Dishes are Done!

You can follow through and see more of an explanation, but this one is dedicated the lovely hangover I woke up with this morning. Last night I celebrated the anniversary of two of the best years of my life. I can assure you that I’m terrible at keeping up with having my dishes done, and I can assure you that I smile plenty of real smiles just like this one all of the time.  No joke.

If I could be…

I found this meme a while back, and I forgot to put down whose blog I found it on. I even tried google, but thanks to a song called If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight), I had a hard time finding it. I know I’m only supposed to do five, I’m going to do them all. Hey, it’s my blog, I can do what I want.

If you’re interested, you should do the same and give me a link to yours in the comments!

If I could be a scientist…

I’d specialize in the medical field, and work hard to find cures to things that might be able to be cured, especially things like cancer. I’d lobby the government and encourage everyone to contribute to medical research.

If I could be a farmer…

I’d grow things organically, but I wouldn’t over charge the people I sell my produce to for not using chemicals. I’d have a few horses, a few sheep, a few ducks, some chickens, and various other animals that I’d treat wonderfully.

If I could be a musician…

I’d play the piano, the guitar and maybe the harp. I’d want to be able to sit down at a piano or pick up a guitar and have a good time with the people around me without having to look at a piece of sheet music. I’d also want to sing along, and want others to join in.

If I could be a doctor…

I’d probably be too chicken to do anything but take temperatures and check blood pressure. Talk about a wasted medical degree!

If I could be a painter…

I’d want to be able to paint realistic pictures, and perhaps specialize in portraits. I love taking pictures, but I also love how even the best painted portrait doesn’t look exactly like it’s subject, and how there is a little bit of the artist included through their style.

If I could be a gardener…

I’d grow lots and lots of flowers, especially sweet peas and flowering trees. I love trees filled with blossoms, and how on a breezy day the petals fall to the ground.

If I could be a missionary…

I’d teach the other missionaries that just because we believe something, it doesn’t mean everyone else has to. Ha!

If I could be a chef…

I’d learn as much as I could about all the different kinds of food around the world, and would specialize in dishes that could be served “family style” as it’s always more fun to eat in groups.

If I could be an architect…

I would design beautiful buildings that were energy efficient. I’d love to try working with straw bales as insulation, as well as solar panels. I’d also use a lot of zen gardens and water falls, and would try and use feng shui.

If I could be a linguist…

I’d try and teach as many different languages as I could to as many different people as I could, and I’d encourage everyone to hold on to their language as best they could.

If I could be a psychologist…

I’d do my best to help people with depression, and I’d work hard to lift the stigma that society attaches to people with mental health problems.

If I could be a librarian…

I’d be the one who was happy and encouraged people to read, instead of the jaded librarian who sits behind the desk checking out books wishing she had something better to do.

If I could be a lawyer…

I’d pretty much have to be one that worked for beans and helped people for free because I wouldn’t be able to screw people over and still live with myself.

If I could be an inn-keeper…

I’d make sure I had room for Jesus, just in case he decides to drop by.

If I could be an athlete…

I’d want to be a swimmer or a diver, and I’d want to be able to make a good living at it and not have to turn to drugs or other performance enhancers.

If I could be a professor…

I’d want to have tenure and be able to teach whatever I wanted and have faithful teaching assistants who would do all my grading for me. I’d not make students do crap assignments just to keep them busy, but real assignments that they will want to do and therefore learn so much more from. I would not teach a ‘bird’ course, but I’d want my courses to be the ones that have waiting lists to get into.

If I could be a writer…

I’d live in a cabin (with electricity) by the lake, and email drafts to my editor without having to leave my desk that overlooks the water.

If I could be a llama rider…

I’d….uh….ride llamas? And I’d have a damn good time doing it too!

If I could be a bonnie pirate…

I’d surely want to be a part of Captain Jack Sparrow’s crew.

If I could be an astronaut…

I’d hopefully have gotten rid of my claustrophobic tendencies, and would enjoy the views of earth from space.

If I could be a world famous blogger…

I’d want to be one of those bloggers that the news people go to for the real story, and have millions and millions of readers a day so that I could blog from somewhere tropical and never work another day in my life.

If I could be a justice on any one court in the world…

Ideally, I’d be a justice in an international court, but only if that court had real power to make good changes. Realistically, I’d want to be a justice for the Supreme Court of Canada, because that’s where I’d be able to do the best work for Canadians.

If I could be married to any current famous political figure…

This has got to be a trick question. After looking over this list, I decided that I’d rather choose from this list. If I were going for power, I’d go for H.M. Elizabeth II of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Defender of the Faith, and Head of the Commonwealth. However, if I wanted a nice place to live, I’d go with Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand.

If I could be a dog trainer…

I’d train (and breed) cocker spaniels, because I think they are beautiful and smart. In a dumb kind of way.

Author’s note: Filling this out made me feel like a crazy lefty who wants to grow organic foods, live in energy efficient buildings, and marry women. Not that there is anything wrong with that.