tokengifts

Weekend Diversions

We actually enjoyed a 2 day weekend like a normal family this past week, thus is the life of a retailer.  So, when we have this rare opportunity, we don't relax, we jam-pack it with every thing possible with a pre-schooler in tow.

We went to our favourite small town in Ontario - Cobourg.

We feared a cool, cloudy day with rain, but we all sang "sunny" songs during our car ride to the beach.  My favourite is one Kevin used to sing as a child in England.  And it goes something like this:  The sun has got his hat on, hip, hip, hip, hooray.  The sun has got his hat on, and he's coming out to play!

And what do you know?  It worked!!!

It's in my blood to love the water, as I was born in a sea-side town.  I could spend days by the water, preferably the ocean, but the lake was beautiful.  We spent the day building sand castles and lounging around the beach.  Kids were aplenty, so Alice was never bored.

So much to do.  Alice having a pony ride on Snowball.

A fun fair along the boardwalk, complete with rides and cotton candy.

This was Alice's energy level all day long!  I wish I could bottle it up and replace my caffeine in-take with it!  Haha!

This is about as close as I get to wanting to live in a small town in Ontario.  I will take living in a small urban dwelling forever, if I can get a chance to live in a house like this, sitting on my porch with the sound of children in the park, the lake lapping at the beach.

Just in case, we were checking out the main street real estate.  I guess I have a thing for white porches. 

We had a glorious Canada Day weekend, albeit short. We always know we can get to this oasis in an 1 1/2 hour drive from the city.

Happy Canada Day!

We spent the day at Harbourfront Centre celebrating Canada Day after a leisurely BBQ lunch
at home with family.

It was really amazing being among this sea of people of all ethnicities, ages and creeds - the real beauty of being a Canadian.

What a way to experience "Canada".  That's Alice's Canadian flag that she made at an event hosted by the AGO.

The Bunch Family always put on fun events for families.  I had to drag Alice away from the dance floor and the dancing doughnut and moose, who were, by the way, the best dancing Canadian icons I've ever seen.  Their renditions of the "David Suzuki" and "Margaret Atwood" moves were endearing and entertaining.

Happy Canada Day Everyone!

Weekend Diversions

I know I normally post "Weekend Diversions" after the weekend, but this week was a bit hairy.  Looking at my calendar, I realized that this upcoming weekend is the first weekend of summer!

So I was hoping these photos from this past weekend
would inspire you to do something outdoors and enjoy the beautiful weather ahead.

Fresh produce from the Liberty Village Farmers' Market.  Meals are so easy when the produce is good.  The baby zucchini was delicious sauteed in olive oil and some garlic. We planted the dill, the flowers are so pretty in bloom, so wispy. It made a great addition to a cole slaw recipe I found in Domino Magazine.

It's so hard to buy strawberries at the supermarket after eating these just-picked berries.

Some images you just have to capture of your kids, like this one of Alice perched atop a tractor, trying hard to muster a smile, thinking "oh, mom..."

A hike to the stream to see if the fish would bite...

Only frogs around...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Weekend Diversions

I'm making a concerted effort not to focus on the shop every minute of the day.  I think I'm better for it.  No emails, no blogs, no mindless tv, just down time making the most of the warm weather and the summer season to come.

Even my magazines have been piling up, barely flipped through.  Although another Cookie Magazine suggestion, Montessori Services and an email from Kids Craft Weekly prompted me to buy a kids' clothesline stand for Alice.  I take a lot of cues from the Montessori methodology, Alice seems wired that way.  She had the biggest smile on her face when we told her this was for her and not another gift for yet another birthday party.  Kids love mimicking their parents, but it's even more special when everything is kid-sized.  I've never seen anyone wash a few washcloths and socks so exuberantly!

It's always nice having a small patch of outdoor space, living downtown.  We're trying to make ours as green as possible, it's still very much a work in progress.

I have to admit, it's fun having a little girl and getting to do girl-y things, like braiding hair and playing dress-up.  Enjoying a soda at the local cafe.

Never in a million years, would I have imagined that children would spark this kind of inspiration to just... be. Inspiration comes from everywhere, and you'd be amazed where it comes from when you're not looking.

Happy Summer Everyone!

Weekend Diversions

Our birthday-filled weekends...

Birthday cuddles for Daddy...

Post-birthday revelry...

Checking out the loot-bag goodies...

Weekday Diversions

We survived the weekend of birthday parties, FOUR, to be exact. Each one different and each one enjoyed by Alice. Funny thing, from all accounts (I only attended 2 of the 4), each one was different and special in its own way - a small, intimate gathering doing crafts to a rented party place, complete with bouncy castle to a large family gathering at a restaurant to finally, the crazy, frenetic party of Alice's best friend, Amelia (to which, we would have expected no less)!

My posts have been heavy on the parenting side lately, and I apologize to those carefree, childless people out there reading this blog. Parenting is so all-consuming. We were warned, yes, we were warned. But at the same time, Alice is at such a fun age right now, we're really enjoying these years.

This coming weekend, we will be attending the Bunch Family Salon. We are so excited, we had so much fun last year.

So parenting is always on my mind, especially days like today when everyone is out enjoying the arrival of the warm weather and I am stuck in the shop, I come across things like this interesting article. I can't believe they do studies on things like this, isn't parenting supposed to be intuitive?

And I don't know what I would do without my Cookie Magazine subscription. It is the ONLY family magazine I pick up lately. They've all been thumbed through multiple times, book-marked and dog-eared, NEVER thrown away.

The coolest dollhouses...

Drool-worthy denim for kids...

During my regular afternoon lull (does everyone on Queen St. go for a siesta at 3 o'clock in the afternoon?), I checked out this article and these recipes. Alice used to shovel soba noodles into her mouth as a baby, now she looks at it (as with all her meals) with disdain. So I will be experimenting with these recipes in the coming days.

We are also trying to plan our trip to New York in May for the National Stationery show. I'm hoping this show will not be as consuming as the NYIGF, so we're hoping it will be a mini-break for us (we like to idle our time in the city) and use it for inspiration, although a more restful break is definitely also in order. Kevin was recommended this place, how can we resist?

Fashion has been on my mind lately too, I am scouring for Spring looks - did you know Marc Jacobs did a kids' line? Ahem...maybe next time I will come up with some more grown-up content...

Weekend Diversions

An hour spent in the dark during Saturday's Earth Hour was not so bad. Lots of cuddling and making shadow puppets with our flashlights, listening to our radio (I would like to say solar-powered, but no, battery-operated). The lesson worked. The next morning I was reprimanded by Alice for leaving the light on in the bathroom for a brief moment.

On Sunday, we had a hankering for some Jumbo Empanadas in Kensington Market. It's such a great neighbourhood, so lively and boisterous, such a mix of people from the young and old, all the ethnic shops with the multitude of smells and flavours. Go hungry because you can get a taste of everything. We feasted on empanadas and Chilean salad, great coffee, the girls got treats of dried fruits and nuts (not one packaged, sugary confection in sight...okay, except for the square of home-made Turkish Delight that Alice had spied and the nice lady behind the counter gave to her) and a trip to the market is not complete without a visit to Global Cheese.

You want a sense of Toronto, head down to the market...