It’s time to #MeetWilden. Meet Wilden Resident & Higgins‘ Momager, Amanda!
1. What is your name?
Amanda Haeusler
2. Which Wilden neighbourhood do you live in and when did you move here?
My husband Ben and I moved here in October from Red Deer, Alberta, and now live in the Hidden Lake neighbourhood along Long Ridge Drive.
3. What do you do for work and where can we find you online?
I am a Professional Planner, which means I design neighbourhoods, complete community plans, and write Zoning Bylaws. I am also an engagement specialist; I design and facilitate extensive stakeholder and community engagement for different planning or engineering projects. I work for Stantec Consulting and am currently working from home but have active projects in many communities across the country: BC, the Yukon, NWT, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and even Quebec. My husband also works for Stantec as a Transportation and Infrastructure Engineer.
You can find me on Instagram at @a.n.haeusler, or as the ‘momager’ of @higgins.the.norwich.
4. What is a fact about you that nobody would guess?
Ben and I love travelling and exploring new areas! So far, we have been to over 20 countries and hope to get back out there when it’s safe to do so. Although we can’t travel abroad right now, we’re excited to travel around BC and see some new things.
5. What are some of your favourite things about living in Wilden?
Where do I start? We love walking around the Hidden Lakes: looking at the ducks and turtles, watching people skate on the ponds in the winter, and seeing all the lights reflecting off the water at night. I also love all the rich colours on the trees in the fall and flowers in the summer; we love it here.
6. If you were an animal living in Wilden, which one would you be?
I would like to be one of those adorable little turtles, just basking in the sun and floating in the water all day; what a dream.
7. Do you have a favourite tradition, perhaps even in Wilden?
We love bicycling around the community; stopping at new restaurants, breweries, or wineries; and exploring the trails around Wilden. Since the day we drove into the neighbourhood, before we had bought our house or moved to Kelowna, we knew this was the place for us. We took our dog Higgins for a walk around the Hidden Lakes, and even had to carry him up the Long Ridge Drive hill because it was so hot that day, but already were imagining our lives here.
8. What are some of your favourite local Kelowna businesses you like to support and more people need to know about?
My friend Saskia is a cookie queen! You can find her amazingly beautiful cookies on Instagram or Facebook (@sweetsbysask), pick up some pre-themed cookies for an upcoming holiday, or order your own custom cookies to help celebrate any occasion. The best part is that, in addition to being visually stunning, they are truly delicious.
I’ve also been following some other amazing female artists in Kelowna that I can’t wait to showcase in our home. In the meantime, I would like to support them by highlighting their Instagram accounts: Aimee Baerg (@aimeebaergpaintings) and Liz Ranney (@lizranneyart). They are both incredibly talented; everyone should look at their pages.
And finally, I would like to recommend Antonio Berdón aka Okanagan Installations (@okanagan_installations) for any of your tiling needs. Antonio is so talented, organized, and detailed; he did a fantastic job helping us renovate our house.
9. What does a perfect weekend in the Okanagan look like for you?
This isn’t seasonally appropriate but any weekend that includes a day snowboarding up at Big White, a flight of beer, and an evening spent chatting with friends in the hot tub is perfect for me.
10. Tell us about one of your greatest memories/experiences in Wilden so far.
I have been very lucky to have met some fantastic people in the neighbourhood that have become good friends –namely Brittany aka @Simply.Saari and her Golden Retriever sidekick Darcie.
11. If you could choose anyone to be your neighbour, who would you choose?
We have great neighbours already, but I do feel compelled to say Mr. Rogers.
12. If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
“Didn’t have to sleep”?! Oh my gosh, no thank you. I love sleeping so I’ll pass on this question.
Big thank you to Amanda for participating and answering these questions. We love to get to know our Wilden residents better and we hope so do you. You can read her dog’s Higgins interview here.
For more #MeetWilden interviews click here.