Teagan in the T.Dot.O.: The Lakehouse

Weekend recap...so for New Years Eve this year me and my university girlfriends decided to rent a lake house. We were lucky to come across a BEAUTIFUL brand new lakehouse for a great deal so we moved in for the weekend to usher in the new year together. Turns out it was one of the models for a 38 eco-village being built. It was more than we expected and a perfect layout for us. Check out the artists floor plan...which gives you the overall layout before I share some pics of it (taken with a cell phone so the quality isn't that great. I was able to grab some professional pictures off of their website on http://www.whitewatervillage.ca/ which are a much better improvement over my cell phone pictures.

My weekend technically started on Thursday. After work I drove up to Toronto to meet up with Val where we made our grocery list and headed out to get everything needed for our dinner we were making. Our group does really good with sharing etc. So there was 9 of us and we decided to have basically two people cook each meal. Val and I were dinner for Friday night. So we got all our ingredients and packed up for an early morning drive.

We drove up Friday morning (it took about 5 hours to get there). When we got there we first drove right past it (the signs they said would be there weren't) so we pulled up to where a lady was sweeping a porch on another cottage and she pointed it out to us...and asked if we had the keys. I was like "ummm no they are supposed to be in a bucket beside the door (got to LOVE how safe Northern Canada is). She said "hmm I know they were looking for it all morning". Val and I looked at each other like "uh-oh". But when we pulled up to the cottage the keys were exactly where they said they would be. As we were unloading the car Brooke pulled up. So we quickly gave the lake house an exploration and room claiming commenced. It was nicer and bigger than we expected. We decided (Val, Brooke and I) to take the room with the Double/Single bunk. Gave the biggest nicest ensuite to the newlyweds Jane and her new hubbie. The other room quickly became Quinn's and her husband. That left a pull-out for Eva and her fiance. I felt bad about it but it was what we thought was best and I don't think they were too upset about it.

We three started the prep for dinner and poured some wine. Val and I even made it to shower before everyone else got there. Everyone slowly got there and by 8:30pm all nine of us were there. We first got to open our Christmas craft which is a tradition Sophie makes the BEST things for us at Christmas. This year we each got personalized mittens that she knit. The girl is so creative and talented! We loved them. Then Jane gave us a picture the we took where we held her up in her wedding dress all of us. It was really nice but all I could think of in the picture is that #1 I look big because I am like the most forward to the camera perspective #2 I could see my engagement ring perfectly in profile in the picture (and my heart sunk- of course I didn't tell anyone this!) So on to the food (which is always a HUGE part of our events!) Val and I made sweet potato fries with a curry aioli and then nachos (kind of random but we liked it). Then for dinner we made a roasted Pork Tenderloin, roasted potatoes and carrots and onions, and Steamed Asparagus. For dessert we made ice cream sandwiches with cookies we baked. Then we proceeded to have tons of drinks and play games to count down 2010. It wrapped up after a few rounds of dice and Wii bowling around 4am when we all headed to bed. AND...I didn't cry the ENTIRE day (THAT felt victorious).

The next morning we had another great spread thanks to Eva. She made 4 different quiches (1. spinch and feta 2. ham and swiss 3. mushroom/peppers/onions 4. mushroom/hot peppers/onions), bacon, ham, sausage, english muffins, regular muffins, fruit salad (with pomegranite seeds that I had for the first time and they were delishious!), 2 kinds of juice and coffee with baileys.

Then we slowly got started to relax, watch movies, play games and just hang out and enjoy each others company. Lunch was an awesome Chili made by Brooke and sandwiches made by Jane. They also made this DELISHIOUS Brie wrapped in phyllo and topped with mushrooms and onions that they sauteed in balsamic vinegraite which was amazing.

Before we knew it it was time to eat again...this time Quinn and her husband made slow cooked pork (we all laughed that we ate so much pork this weekend...everyone was trying to stay away from the usual group meals of spagetti or lasagna or steaks and in doing so we tried to be creative and all picked pork). Quinn made an awesome brown gravy, mashed potatoes topped with cheese and chives, and delishious potatoe/onion bread. Then of course we drank some more and played Wavelength game. Then back to Dice then onto Taboo.

I had a really good talk with Eva...the message I took away was just move on do something for a year...you can do just about anything for a year. When she moved to Toronto she thought she would hate it but then ended up loving it. I have friends and a support system there so just do it and then re-evaluate in a year...don't worry so much about it.

Then I talked to Jane and Quinn and the waterworks really happened (darnnit and I was doing so good). I poured my heart out and they listened and cautioned me about letting someone have everything of me and being more careful and guarded. They know I'm the type of person that falls hard and fast but they don't want to see me get hurt again and so I need to be more careful. They also let me know that I would be okay and they are here for me. After hugs and kisses and me being like ("DARNIT I was doing so good not crying!") we had a laugh and moved on. Lets see what are the other things that happened during the night...Jane "pantsed" her husband without realizing he had to underwear on, Eva's fiance dropped the flat screen TV onto his head when he was trying to adjust it (it wasn't adjustable), Quinn sat on her husband and he farted because she "squished his tummy", and other stuff that made it easy to laugh.

We eventually all made it to bed around 3am-ish. The next morning we woke up to another amazing breakfast along the same lines of the day before. We had a great couscous salad that Quinn forgot to put out at lunch the day before. Then we rallied to clean up the place so we could all hit the road by 12. Val and I shared some great talks on the way home. She first asked how my weekend was and if it was easier or harder to be around everyone on new years...hmm maybe I didn't do such a good job of hiding how I was feeling during some points? We talked about it and We stopped in Toronto so we could grab a bite to eat (Italian take-out) and then I headed home on my own.

So here is the quick recap of the weekend...
The Good: Great food, great friends, tons of laughs, starting a NEW YEAR, awesome lakehouse
The Bad: crying the one night, being jealous of my girlfriends (because of kisses shared between husbands&wives, wedding album sharing, Eva's beautiful wedding invitation that I couldn't bring myself to look at).
And The Darn Right Funny: NOTHING was ugly because I spent new years eve with GREAT GREAT friends, I would have to say that Jane's husband getting pantsed and Eva's fiance dropping a flat screen on his head was pretty darn funny.

Here are my cell phone pics I apologize for the poor quality.

Our view from the living room...the plasma Eva's fiance dropped on his head and the toasty pellet fireplace.

Upstairs hallway.

Loved the cute details in the lakehouse like the paddles on the lamp. This area is a great whitewater rafting region.

Val and her sign that said Happy New Years...she made it to put by our outdoor Canadian cooler. This was taken from the 2nd floor looking down to the first floor.

Upstairs bedroom that Quinn and her husband had.

The upstairs loft and pullout couch.

The upstairs rooftop balcony...and the snowy view.

Another view from the second floor down to the first.

Bunk beds! This was my, Brooke and Val's room.

Upstairs bedroom.

Upstairs laundry room (which I thought was genius especially if you are going to spend a week here or doing many outdoor activities (unfortuantely it rained the entire weekend for us).