Friday Favourites

The Queen's funeral was on Monday which seems like a lifetime away, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention it in some way here.  I was up early anyway and since my flight was late in leaving, I was able to see the whole thing.  I really enjoyed it and appreciated seeing everyone together. The Day Thou Gavest is one of my favourite funeral hymns and was pleased to hear it.  

I was in Miami for a couple of days for work.  My hotel this room had a neat style with the art over the bed and the dragon lamps. 

I missed out a Cuban sandwich last time I was in Miami but I found one this time. I watched the Barstool Sports guide to Cuban sandwiches in Miami and took one of their suggestions.  I chose Enriqueta's Sandwich Shop and was not disappointed.

The sandwich place was near Norstrom Rack and Target, which is why I chose it.  It is also near the neighbourhood of Wynwood that has lots of graffiti spots.  Like this one I passed on my way to the shops.

I got a new bathing suit, some earrings, and a hand towel from the Magnolia Hearth and Hand line.  I could have bought more if I wasn't held to my carry on luggage.

I also got a couple of sweaters and shirts at Nordstrom Rack.

I went up to the gym at the end of the day and grabbed this photo from the pool deck. 

I love that American TV always has good movies somewhere, like "The Great Outdoors" that I watched on Monday night before going to sleep.  The next night it was "The Hangover".

I had meetings all day on Tuesday but I did get a chance to go swimming and luckily had my new Target bathing suit.  And my beer matched :)

While I was gone, Dave took the boys golfing one night. Nice to still be enjoying these September nights.

I saw a neat thing on Twitter this week that the NY Presbyterian Hospital has a Spotify playlist with songs that are 100 bpm that are the peefect tempo for CPR chest compressions.  Neat!  One of them is Stayin' Alive by the BeeGees (good one!) and interestingly when I was at the Starbucks at the Fort Launderdale airport this week, that song came on and everyone was bopping along in their own way, it hits with every demographic. 

Have a good weekend everyone, and if you're in the path of Hurricane Fiona, stay safe!!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Weekend Recap

 We kicked off our weekend with Q's first skating lesson.  I remembered to bring a coat and blanket as it was cold in the rink. 

Then we walked up the street for the Ukrainian Festival.  This happens every year, but of cousre not in 2020 and 2021 and with the current conflict in Ukraine, it was an extra special year to go out and support the festival.  I love seeing everyone with their embroidered Ukrainian shirts, and this year I even saw a couple of shirts with the famous quote "Russian warship, go f*ck yourself!!".  

We saw a couple of people and then grabbed dinner at Shakeys.  They had some special items on the menu for the festival so we got some pierogis.

Both boys tried the rock climbing. E is a pro at this, but it was Q's first time.  He was a little nervous but did pretty well.  We got a video but forgot to take an actual photo of him.

We didn't stay out too late since it was important for the boys to get a good night's sleep for E's championship baseball game in the morning. 

Q was all set with the sign and we all wore green.  The players and fans loved the sign!

Some good handiwork by the grounds crew (our friend Mike!).

Warming up in the outfield.  It was a beautiful morning for baseball.

They went to extra innings after tying it up at the bottom of the last regular inning but ran out of good pitches.  However, it was a successful season and the Green Beans definitely had fun. 

I photobombed this team photo with our sign in the back.

Ice cream truck treats for all.

E and many of his teammates chose a green slush to match their uniforms.

We went home for lunch and a bit of a rest and then went up to enjoy more of the festival.

It was hot!!

The kids did some rides, got some junk food, and then we went out for dinner with our friends.

Oh yeah, and we ran into Spiderman!

A Dark Horse, we were lucky to get a table for 8!

I made muffins on Sunday morning and when I came back from my shower, I said "okay, the muffins should be cool enough to eat now" and Q already had one, so he thought that was pretty funny!

We went to church while Dave went to the ski hill for the racing club AGM.  We had cake after the service.

After lunch we biked to E's friend's house to drop him off for a birthday party.  Poor Q fell off his bike twice, the second time requiring a band aid, which we had to procure from E's friend's mom and Q was feeling pretty poorly as we biked home in the rain.  But he made it and when we got home, we put on dry clothes, made popcorn, and watched the Blue Jays.  Dave got home mid-afternoon and E came home around 5:30 from the birthday party.  We had a good dinner of Korean short ribs from Rowe Farms, the kids showered and we watched The Great British Baking Show and Handmaid's Tale.

Since I'm away for a couple of days, I'll be back on Friday with some Friday Favourites. 

Fall Songs

Back in July, I posted about some of my favourite songs for the summer.  It's funny that as much as I enjoyed them, as soon as it started to get cooler, I didn't really feel like listening to them as much, and instead craved a different sound.  Here are some of those songs for fall:

(This is from a couple of years ago, our leaves aren't that colourful yet!)

Jesus Etc. by Wilco - I haven't seen many bands in concert but I have seen Wilco.

exile by Taylor Swift (feat. Bon Iver) - I remember exactly where I was when I heard this song for the first time, driving up to Northwestern Ontario in the summer of 2020.  I loved the song immediately.

Vagabond by Caamp - This is one of this bands that was suggested by us by Spotify and indeed we do like this music.

The Night We Met by Lord Huron - This is a sad song and it reminds me of the tragic 13 Reasons Why show, but it's still beautiful.

Rivers and Roads by The Head and the Heart - The kids have known this one for years and could identify it as one of Dave's favourite songs. 

Sign of the Times by Harry Styles - What would a playlist be without Mr. Styles?!

Coastline by Hollow Coves - I took the recommendation for this artist from Lauren.  She suggested it for early morning, and it was perfect for those camping mornings and it transitions well into fall. 

Last Dance by Sarah McLachlan - This is a throwback, and really the entire Surfacing album is excellent, but this one had a great sound, including the musical saw.

Everlong (Acoustic) by Foo Fighters - I've been on a bit of 90s rock kick and this acoustic version fits the bill for a fall song. 

Linger by The Cranberries - Another throwback, another gem. 

Ophelia by The Lumineers - This is another band from Dave's favourites so it shows up often in our playlists.

When We Were Young by Adele - Really any Adele song could go onto this list, but I think this is my favourite one.

Mountain Sound  by Of Monsters and Men - This one is more up tempo than the others but it has a haunting quality that goes with fall.  I remember hearing this group on a CBC radio interview years ago and quickly embraced their music. 

Friday Favourites

First full week of school in the books, and despite some additional commitments, like eye doctor and dentist appointments, we liked being back on a schedule of sorts.  Extra-curriculars start next week with skating, piano, and tutoring, with swimming to follow shortly, so we will soon be back in the full swing of things.

We don't go to many concerts but I saw that one of my favourite artists, Noah Reid, is doing a live show at the Danforth Music Hall in November, so I'm going to try and get tickets today.  I have been listening to his new album since it was released so I will actually know the music.

I bought this dress when I went to Montreal but since it was a thicker material, I hadn't worn it until this week as the weather is turning cooler.  It's very comfy.

E has a big baseball game on Saturday and he and Q wanted to make some posters and flags.  This is their handiwork.

I have been interested in the various events surrounding the period of mourning for Her Majesty The Queen.  I will be on a plane during the funeral, but I am hoping I can watch it with the help of the airplane's wi-fi and a VPN.  But I will still record it and watch it at some point even if it's not live.  

Last time I was in Miami I didn't get a chance to find a Cuban sandwich but I'm going to rectify that this time.  

Yesterday I posted about three things going on with each of us at the moment, so click over there to see some more fun stuff.  And you can see why I have a band-aid on my face.

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Three Things

Three things going on with each of us at the moment:

Q

1. Q enjoyed the online art classes last year and this year they are back in person at the school, so he's signed up for the fall term and he will do them on Tuesdays at lunchtime.

2. He is also signed up for skating lessons.  He did a very brief intro to skating in the spring where he greatly improved on the skating we had done throughout the winter on the outdoor rinks.  This is for the full season and he has a couple of friend is his session. 

3. Q started out the summer a little nervous about going downhill on his bike, but he got comfortable with it and can do pavement or gravel hills. I see some fall bike rides in our future.

E

1. E lost a tooth this week, a molar, with the new one right there to come in.  The Tooth Fairy is on double duty in this house now as Q will be getting more loose teeth soon too.

2. His teacher suggested he get a wipeable wall calendar (which I will say I had already thought of as being a good idea, but nice to know it is sanctioned by the teacher) so he can keep track of all of the things. 

3. E's baseball team is in the Championship game this weekend against the team they played last week when they had rallied from being down 4-0 in the last inning, so it will be a good rematch.  Go Green Beans!

Dave

1. Dave's year end is coming up on September 30. If you are in sales or are married to someone who is, you know year end is a time for a roller coaster of emotions. 

2. Although the summer golf season, including men's night is over, Dave is hoping to get a few more rounds in before the club closes. He's hoping to take the boys out tonight.

3. He's also signed up to curl this winter.  We love watching curling but have not really had much opportunity to play, so I know he will enjoy it.

Me

1. The biggest news for me is that I have Invisalign now.  I got them on Monday so it's only been a couple of days, but it is definitely an adjustment.  I find them difficult to take out to eat so once they are back in that's it, no snacking.  I can drink coffee with them in, thankfully :)

2. I have some work trips coming up that I am excited about - back to Miami next week and then in a couple of weeks after that I'm going to Timmins (speaking of Timmins, I recommend the Shania Twain documentary on Netflix). 

3.  A couple of weeks ago I went to the dermatologist for a skin check, and I asked them to specifically check a mark on my face that I was concerned about.  She said it could be an age spot, sun damage, or basal cells (skin cancer) and to be safe she removed it and sent it for a biopsy.  They phoned yesterday to say it was just sun damage, but it was nice to know. 

Let's Look - Organize Your Closet

 

Listen, there are often link up prompts that just don't seem to fit, but this one is truly off brand for me!! My closet is one of the least organized things, and it's not for lack of trying, it's just that the space is ridiculously small.  Some of you people will really get a laugh at what we live with (by the way, this is such a first world problem, I am aware).  To give some context our house was built in the 1920s so I suppose I should be lucky we have closets at all.  

This is my closet:

I know, pretty embarrassing right? 

Half is mine and half is Dave's.  The top is a jumble of sweatshirts and pants (most of which I don't wear).  The bottom has some shoes (again, most of which I don't wear) and bags.  You can't really tell, but the entire back is missing the plaster so we have just put an old piece of wall art up against the wall to block the slats of lathe.

In terms of "organizing", I do hang my work dresses at the front as I wear them so I can somewhat cycle through them.  That's the extent of how I organize my clothes.

Now, all is not lost, we have plans to do some renovations and included in that is a closet.  Our room is pretty big so there is space to add this.  Perhaps then I can hang up more clothes and see what I own.  I know Dave has been dying for a real closet since we moved in.

Looking forward I intend to organize my closet in the same way, not by colour necessarily, but in a way that I can determine what I wear and how often, so I can more easily weed out the things I don't need to keep.  I would also like to be able to have all of my clothes in the closet, rather than having to rotate the summer and winter items each season. 

I was checking out Pinterest to get some ideas for our closet and I came across these two photos.  Does this shoe collection seem slightly ridiculous to anyone else?  I know I am on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of clothes and shoe ownership but this is over the top.

Same with this collection of jeans/jean shorts? 

Long story short, my new closet will not look like these ones! Haha

Linking up with Shay and Erika.