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Road trip '13: Day 4

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Saturday was the day we did our loooong drive from Halifax to Quebec City - we spent over 10.5 hours in the car!!! But first we checked out the Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market. We planned our trip specifically so that we would be in Halifax on Saturday because Hayley said I just had to see this market.


And of course she was right - I was in heaven! There were local fruits and vegetables, freshly caught fish, handmade soaps, vegan truffles and energy bars, fresh artisan breads, ethnic food stands, arts and crafts, and more. It was amazing!


We browsed for an hour and left by 9:30 am to begin our road trip. Our first stop was in Moncton, New Brunswick for lunch because we wanted to go to the Tide and Boar - a gastropub that was featured on You Gotta Eat Here.


They are famous for their boar poutine, so my sister got an order and we all helped her eat it. It was so good - the boar was so tender and there were huge chunks of cheese curds in it!


For my main meal I got their black bean and date veggie burger with spicy mayo, as per the recommendation of our waitress. It was pretty good, but it didn't really blow me away. The side salad was awesome though - it had roasted root vegetables, parmesan cheese and a shallot dressing. It was also supposed to have granola in it, but they had to leave it off because of my allergies.


After lunch we got back on the road and drove. And drove. And drove some more. I spent a good chunk of the time catching up with good ol' Alton Brown. His books are like a food geek's dream - I love how they explain some of the science behind cooking.


8 hours and 760 km later (that's not including the 250 km we drove in the morning!), we finally arrived in Quebec City. We checked into the Loews Hotel Le Concorde and then headed out on foot in Old Quebec in search of food. It's been almost 10 years since I was last in Quebec and I forgot how much I love it there - it has such a European feel to it.


We finally decided to stop at Bello Ristorante. Even though we just had Italian the night before, this place looked really good! Also we were just happy to find a restaurant that could get us a table since it was almost 9 pm and the rest of the restaurants nearby were full.

Bread with olive oil and balsamic before the meal:


For my appetizer I had an arugula salad with fresh market vegetables, parmesan cheese, and a white balsamic vinaigrette.


My entree was gemelli pasta with mushrooms, truffles, arugula, white wine and pecorino cheese. It was simple, but good - it really let the flavour of the pasta be the focus. I'm not sure if the pasta was made in house, but it tasted like it!


By the time we were done our meal it was past 10 so we just headed back to the hotel room and crashed - we were exhausted after such a long day in the car!

What is the furthest you've ever driven in one day?

Have you ever been to Quebec?

mothers day, a missions trip and a winner!



hello, friends!
first off, i just want to say thank you, thank you, THANK YOU so very much for your sweet and encouraging words about our new little shoppe
we are completely humbled and BLOWN.AWAY. by your kindness and love.  
super excited, too!  i'm not gonna lie!

taking the plunge to hang the open sign on the door was a scary one, but you have all made it SO fun and such a blessing!
i just keep saying, "to God be the glory!", because it is what it is and it's ALL HIM!


now that i said all that, i would like to give a little something back to YOU!  
it started like this...
this morning i was sitting at the dining room table(my work space) while the kids were (supposed to be)doing school, picking at each other, begging for breakfast(at 9:30am...YIKES!), emptying the pencil sharpener all over(loathe), and sprinkling eraser shavings to kingdom come.
i had ORDERS TO FILL!  i had INSTAGRAM to check!   gah!
basically i was getting a little stressed out and i started to grumble, but the Lord quickly reminded me
NOT TO MAKE MY BLESSINGS A BURDEN.  do you ever do that?
i mean, i am SO blessed in so many ways, but i always seem to find the negative! yuck!
i had to repent  for being so silly and selfish and the Lord is always so gracious to forgive.
 then HE gave me the thought to do something fun for you guys.
because you bless me so, so much, i am offering 15% off all items currently in the shoppe
with the code::::YOUBLESSME!
just enter it in at checkout and there ya go!
how fun!!!
(i also fed the kids hash and fried eggs, so they did actually eat)
shop til your little hearts content so that i can fill it right back up!
yay!




did you have a nice mothers day?
we sure did. 
my kiddos and honey spoiled me GOOD! 
i even survived the elmers glue-a-thon in my KINDERGARTEN sunday school class. 
 it was a close one for sure.  ;)
we also managed to squeeze in a few pictures of me and my brood.
there WERE tears from a certain little red headed person in the group whom will not be named.
even so, i'm so blessed to be their mama.





now, let's get onto the giveaway/missions trip/win-win situation all around! 
my friend, jami, from Call Me Blessed, is raising money to help send her husband to uganda on a missions trip happening VERY SOON!
when God calls, we have to answer, and they are taking that step of faith in a BIG WAY.
i'll let jami take it from here...

Uganda

today is the day! the day you get to see all the goodies up for grabs.
aaaand, i'm nervous. there i said it. i feel better already.

if you read my post from last week you know that hubby is part of a mission team going to uganda this summer.
we are thrilled to be able to participate and can not wait to see what the Lord does.
the team will be traveling with children of the nations spending time teaching and loving on children in group homes. they will also be visiting refugee camps, building a laundry facility and planting fruit trees.

the children they will be spending time with have been displaced by AIDS and war.

just the thought of it is heartbreaking to me. so many children with no parents and without a home. i long to look into their little faces. to tell them Jesus loves them. to tell them i love them.
for the time being, however,  i feel called to send my hubby off with as much support and prayer as possible.

will you pray for him and the entire team? pray that everyone they come in contact with will see and feel the love they have come to bring.

we are also in need of financial support. some wonderful friends have rallied behind me to make this fun giveaway possible. i am beyond grateful for and humbled by their support.

please give what you can. a little. a lot. every dollar is appreciated.

here are all the entry details:

*all of these items were donated by the shops and persons listed. this giveaway is open to US residents only. anyone of course, is free to give, however the gift sets will be shipped to US winners only. everyone can enter this giveaway once by leaving a comment with your name here and telling me that you shared this giveaway via twitter/facebook/instagram.
after that? $10 per comment/entry. click the "donate" button at the bottom of this post to donate through paypal. donate $20 leave 2 comments. donate $100 leave 10 comments. easy peasy right?
**please leave your email address with at least one of your donation comments so i can contact you if you win. the winners will be chosen using random.org and announced on monday, may 20th.


ok! let's get to the good good stuff.


there are 2 sets of prizes. so 2 winners! holla!

set #1

set1aaly4set2d

set #1 includes:
- color pop necklace, feather necklace & aqua vintage inspired earrings from happy days
- gray and white polka dot infinity scarf form lovelylittlewhimsy
- 1 necklace from heathers happys, winner's choice
- 2 prints from blossom&vine, winner's choice
- 10" teal wreath with fabric flowers from small town joy
- $20 target gift card


set #2

maryugandaset2aset1c

set #2 includes:
-2 necklaces & 1 needlepoint from hope homemade, winner's choice 
- 1 print from blossom&vine, winner's choice
-1 7" twig & flower wreath from florero
-1 necklace from heathers happys, winner's choice
-1 print from katygirl designs, winner's choice
- key necklace from salvage517
-$20 target gift card

bonus set
ok, a little bonus for you. because we are so grateful for everyone's support there will also be a winner of these fabulous items!

-a custom designed blog header from danielle burkleo worth $35.
forjami

  - a custom made clutch from jenni carlisle{@ragamuffinbeauties on instagram}
jenni1

one more thing...
my dear friend carina has come up with another way you can support us.
for every arrow necklace purchased from her shop she will donate $10 to our uganda fund.
you can't really beat that.
carina3

well there you have it!

please visit all of these shops. these are some truly wonderful women.

and will you spread the word? tweet, facebook, instagram, blog about it? we would be super grateful.

thanks friends!

ok, it's mary again.  :)
we are thrilled to be a part of this, so if God is tugging at your heart to help in any way, head over to jami's and enter in.
our prayer is that the gospel will be shared in a big way and that lives are CHANGED by the transforming power of Christ!
amen.



and speaking of giveaways....the winner of the we walk by faith necklace is #16!
miss AMY!  i will be sending you an email VERY soon!
congrats!
now, remember, i didn't want the rest of you to feel left out, so head over and use the 15% off coupon
YOUBLESSME to snag your own 'frosting'.
hahaha...i had to say it.  sorry.
don't forget, we do customs orders, too, so bring on the ideas!  ;)



talk to ya soon.

xo
mary




 

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