My husband and I were invited to our friend's Jeff & Kerri's wedding in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We stayed at the amazing Majestic Elegance resort, which I would HIGHLY recommend. The place was so huge it was like it's own busy city. The service was fantastic, the room was gorgeous, and we met some amazing people. The resort was over run by Canadians which was awesome! Nothing like seeing dozens of bubba kegs everywhere!

This photo is one of the many of the gorgeous Kerri. Oh and you're not so bad yourself, Jeff! ;)

Thanks to you both for the invite and the awesome trip and experience! xo

A few years ago, my sister moved up north, to Yellowknife NWT. At first, like some of you, I wondered why. What would she possibly do up there for fun? I had no education whatsoever of the north. I pictured it being a baron town, with nothing more than a county fair mall ( for you valley folk, you will understand this! ). I followed her photos, blog and talked with her frequently about what it was like there. I had so many questions!

In February, 2013, I got to experience Yellowknife in the flesh. After a long day of layovers and airports, I was itching to get there. To hug and hold my sister. To see this wonderful place I had heard so much about. To take amazing photos. Well, I got to do all 3 of those and more! It was dark out when I landed in Yellowknife. After jumping in Heather & Chris's truck, I stared out the window and couldn't believe I was there. I was in Yellowknife!! The first thing I noticed was how different their snow was. That may sound strange, but those of you from Nova Scotia know that our snow comes, melts and turns black on the side of the road. The snow there was white, and falling from the sky like a movie. There was no insane wind that takes your breath away the moment you step outside. I could feel the cold in my teeth, even though it wasn't even that cold for the north. The week I was there, the temperature hovered around -15C. Perfect weather for all the amazing things my sister had in store for me!

There were 2 things I absolutely HAD to do while I was there. #1? Meet the amazingly talented Dave Brosha. After thinking he was going to be away the week I was there, I was over the moon happy to see his studio and gallery with my own eyes. I was even happier to meet him. It was like meeting a celebrity to me. My sister's boyfriend, Chris, is Dave's assistant ( Can you say LUCKY?!!! ). I had, just HAD to have a photo taken with Dave! Anyone that has not heard of him, check out www.davebrosha.com. So, after the excitement of this, my #2 was to shoot the northern lights. Since the weather was so nice, most nights were cloudy, which means you can't see the aurora. It killed me to know that it was up there, I just couldn't see it. My second to last night there, Chris checked the Yellowknife aurora camera and said they were out. We all jumped off the couch, put lots of layers on ( it was -30C that night! ) and drove to a frozen lake- just outside of the city so it was nice and dark. ( A little back history- my sister bought Chris a workshop with Dave Brosha shooting the northern lights about a year ago. That's how Chris and Dave met- so Chris had learned from the best. ) After pushing the shutter for the first time- pointing up at the amazing, green aurora- I saw the image I just took. WOW! I had an incredible teacher. I was so giddy I couldn't stop smiling and yelling. LOOK WHAT I JUST TOOK!!! LOOK YOU GUYS, LOOK!! I will never, ever forget these 2 experiences up north. There are no words.

In between those two things, we filled our days with hanging out, cross country skiing, dog sledding, shopping, hiking, driving around getting tours, going to Old Town Glassworks for a workshop, snowmobiling, ice fishing, playing on the ice road and taking many, many beautiful photos.

A HUGE thank you to my sister and Chris. They really went above and beyond to make this trip a once in a lifetime experience. I love you both- and I WILL be back!

Thanks for reading everyone!

Cheers!