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  1. Winter Wonderland at Fort Edmonton Park

    Saturday, December 15, 2012

    (Sorry for the unimaginative headline. Now that I'm an online journalist, I have a bad case of SEOO - Search Engine Optimization Obsession - and like to make sure stuff like this is easy to find online. So if you came here by way of the Google, welcome!)

    Despite feeling unprepared for the holidays this year, I still freakin' love Christmas. Miss Bee and I made double-date plans to go to Christmas Reflections Fort Edmonton Park with our fellas waaaay back in November, and so when we finally went on Thursday we were both pretty excited.

    Christmas Reflections is something the park does every year around this time. Most of the summer stuff at the park is shut down, but you can take a wagon tour through the park, do a little shopping, make crafts, sip cider and even visit Santa.



    I was also excited that Ian brought along his camera and newly-replaced lens to take fancy photos. I love having a professional photographer for a boyfriend. That said - Ian is a photojournalist, and therefore is all about the candid shots. Be prepared for a lot of derpy photos of me (which is my default/ neutral look, unfortunately).

    Ian took ~60 photos, so I've narrowed it down to my favourite 23. Yup. 23. This is a picture heavy post.

    We started things off with a little stroll down 1920s street, where we wished the Capitol Theatre didn't falsely advertise that they were showing Clara Bow films. Jerks.





    Then, we popped into a store to make a Christmas craft.


    Scissors are hard, I need to concentrate.

    I was wearing a $9 Christmas sweater and my great-grandma Callsen's brooch.


    Socializing. Just not with each other.
    I made a Santa button. I'm very passionate about Santa.

    EHRMAHGERD SERNTAH CLERSE!
    Carrying on...


    Look at the mini tree with its ittle topper! SO CUTE.

    More derpy pointing action. Aw yeah.
    Those cards are seriously awesome. For $2.50 you get a bunch of Christmas cards to cut out yourself. That's cheaper than one modern card!

    I'm not the only weirdo.
    Writing my letter to Santa, asking for a muff, petticoat and a 54 convertible too (light blue!) 
    Boom.


    These two are adorable.
    It was a really nice night weather wise - hovering around -8 or so (I'm not sure) but we still took a chance to warm up with some cider.

    Looking normal.....


    I call this one "The Canadian Flasher" 
    Yum, cider.
    At this point we had a discussion about the best Christmas songs. Thomas and Ian suggested Christmas in Hollis, while Bee and I waxed poetic about how much we love Sleigh Ride. Then we both admitted that we do a little bouncy Sleigh Ride dance whenever we hear it. This is why we're friends, people.




    We ended the night with a bonfire and a wagon ride tour through the park.






    XO Laurie



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  2. 4 comments:

    1. I love your picture heavy post! So many adorable faces, and I love your candid faces too -- the Canadian flasher may be my favorite pic though, lol.

    2. Gorgeous photos! I adore your Christmas sweater! What lipstick are you wearing by the way? It is stunning!

    3. Ooohhh, now I have yet another reason why I really (really!) want to visit Edmonton one day. I've heard tell of this park before, but hadn't seen pictures (best I can recall) and wasn't aware of their festive going-ons. It looks like guys had an absolute blast! Thank you for taking us along on this delightful Christmas outing.

      ♥ Jessica

    4. Dan said...

      You guys get real real Christmas up there. I envy you every inch of snow. Here in NY we'll get just barely freezing temps for Xmas, but no precip. On the other hand, today is the Vintage Subway ride, with a 1931 subway train running all day, and swing bands riding the trains, and everybody dressing vintage and dancing. That is always a total hoot. And you missed Santacon yesterday! Imagine THOUSANDS of people , all dressed as Santa, (or Mrs Claus, or elves, etc.) drinking their way up and down Manhattan. At midnight hundreds of bedraggled Santas wandering around the streets, vomiting in the gutter. Charming.
      Merry Christmas, Laurie! Oh, and I LOVE the sweater!
      Dan Hermann

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