A perfect day?

My fabulous non-obligatory cousin friend came for a visit this weekend.  She is also my second bridesmaid (other than sister Kaeli).  Usually, we have a great but predictable weekend.  Shopping, Sugarbowl, drink, shopping.  This weekend, for some random reason, we ended up doing slightly different things and having pretty much a perfect day.  Reagan-ing, if you will, for those of you who watch 30 Rock.

When she arrived on Friday night I was in my bed fighting off a nasty headache, so Kaeli, Joel and Mel made nachos and caesaers while I lay there being pathetic.  I managed to get up and we had a nice evening anyways, but then the next morning I slept in while Kaeli and Mel cleaned my kitchen from the night before. 

We almost went to Sugarbowl for our traditional breakfast, but we called Joel and he was all "hey what about the Elm Cafe and the Christmas market downtown?".  So we went to the teeny tiny Elm Cafe and were about to order breakfast sandwiches but then the owner, Nate (who is also going to be our food-master at our wedding in June and we are soooo excited), told us that they had lunch sandwiches that were about to be put up on the board and one of them was a pumpkin sandwich and the other was pulled pork.  Delish, and pretty much created with Joel in mind.  So we tried them and stood along the bar (there are only two stools along the window bar).  It was so crammed in there with the four of us that the fun conversation we were having was echoing off the walls and amplifying to be a DOUBLY FUN conversation.  Joel chatted with Nate about food plus science, which I think they both liked.  I never thought another Edmontonian could have a similar fascination with the chemistry of food as Joel does, but I think he's met a kindred.

*shit, I just lost my whole post with only three minutes to spare.  Part I of perfect day will have to suffice for now. UPDATE: I rewrote it to finish the post below but left this in to mark the spot where it changed...

Then we dropped our vehicles off at Joel's house so that we could go to the winter market at Churchill Square, but first we went into Joel's house to pee and had a nice/hilarious conversation with Nay-Nay, who hadn't seen either Kaeli or Mel in a long time.  Then we walked over to the square to check out the market.  It has been so wonderfully and unseasonably warm and dry and I have been appreciating it.  It's like a little reward for the not-so-warm summer we had this year and that early bit of crap weather this fall.  Yay Edmonton. 

At the square we came across the Eva Sweet waffle truck at the square and Joel bought some waffles for the ladies. If you go to their website, you can read that "The story of Eva Sweet is a story of international intrigue.  It is a story that involves love, drama, family, loss and a dream coming true.  It is a tale of crossed borders,  migrant workers, secret meetups, family tragedies, forced separations, and bittersweet reunions. More importantly, it is a story about waffles.  If you yearn to know more, we just might tell you over a waffle and some coffee."  And it's totally true.  The guy gave us free coffee and told us how he was the top waffle seller in Brussels (think delectable Belgian waffles) and moved here when he married a Canadian woman, although the waffle truck is named after his sister Eva, who passed away and whose son works with him in the waffle stand.  This guy's legit and his waffles are great.  Go buy a vanilla one and talk to him.

After that, we browsed the market and bought a bunch of great stuff.  Joel's backpack was so heavy and stuffed with frozen meat that it was hurting him on the walk home.  And as a bonus, the market's also in City Hall so I saw Mayor Mandel getting on the elevator.  He looked sheepish, or at least like he didn't feel like being recognized.  Ha.  

Mel and I split off for some hard core craft supply and thrifting shopping after that.  We found everything we needed so that Mel could make a Christmas wreath, and had some EPIC thrifting luck.  We found great stuff at Goodwill and Value Village, but also came across a legit thrift store where every single item was $1 or less.  I found some awesome vintage metal milk crates.  For a buck each.  I was buzzing from the thrifting high.  Seriously. 

Then at the thrift store we ran into Heidi (my sister in law) who invited us over for dinner.  They fed us and Mel got to see their house and the cuties (niece and nephew) and then we came home and crafted up a storm.  LOVE IT. 

Thank you Mel, Kaeli, Joel, Heidi, Thrift stores, Edmonton, and basically everyone, for a GREAT weekend.