Paris Fashion

When I prepared to go to Paris, I read a few things I found on Pinterest like "How to dress in Paris", "How not to look like a tourist in Paris", and "Things Parisians do not wear".   You have to take those posts with a grain of salt.  I mean, I am a tourist and I will be walking around all day, and Parisians are not necessarily doing that.  Plus they aren't super into air conditioning there, so they may be used to being hot, but I am not, and there have to be adjustments to what the locals wear.  That being said, I did want to look nice and while I was there, I did find that many tourists were trying to look their best.  

Comfortable shoes - For me, I need to wear sneakers if I am walking around all day, I need the support and I don't like my feet to get dirty from the streets.  I wore brand new white Nike sneakers.  I have a few pairs of these.  Many people were wearing clean, good condition sneakers. Some of those Pinterest posts say "don't wear flip flops".  I would agree but that's less about fashion and more about being practical; flip flops will not provide the best comfort and support you need to walk around all day.  I also brought Birkenstocks to wear if we were going somewhere close for dinner. 

Crossbody Bag - All of us girls had a crossbody bag from Poppy and Peonies (all different colours so we weren't too matchy matchy, mine is cognac). This bag was a good size to carry our wallets, phones, sunglasses, etc. and not too big to hurt my shoulder.  I really didn't feel threatened by pickpockets, but when we were in a crowd, I felt safer with this bag as I could keep it close to me. When Dave and the boys came, we did bring a backpack since we had waters, umbrellas, and sweaters.  The Pinterest posts say "don't wear a backpack" but whatever, if it works for you, do what you want.  

Striped shirt - You must have a striped shirt if you're over a certain age and going to Paris. I got mine at Athleta. 

Dresses - I like a dress, it elevates your look and is usually comfortable for walking around all day, and can transition to a dinner. I got my dresses at Aritzia and Athleta. Cindy got some of her dresses at RW& Co. Something that was absolutely necessary for me to enjoy wearing a dress all day were the Original Shorts from Thigh Society. 

White Pants - White pants are a great way to look put together. I wore mine with t-shirts and sneakers.   

Linen blouse - This was a great purchase from Aritzia. It's a perfect item to look put together and keep warmer in the evenings. I had also brought an oversized blazer that would have gone well with a few different looks, but it was too hot for a blazer most days.

Pashmina - It has recently come to my attention that the "young people" don't know about pashminas.  I don't often wear a scarf anymore, but I still think they are a good thing to bring along when travelling. I needed mine one day when it was raining, another day to respectfully cover my shoulders when we went to Notre Dame, and it was also useful as a picnic blanket at the Eiffel Tower. 

Shorts and Tanks - This is another 'no-no' according to Pinterest, but guess what? I wear shorts and tank tops when it is hot out, and it was hot on a few days.  My shorts are from Athleta and kept me cool.  

Kids - My kids just wore their normal clothes, but something fun we picked up for Q was a Mbappe France soccer kit.  A Messi kit is standard issue with his friends, but it was fun to get a Mbappe one too.  

Let's Look - Things I've Changed My Mind About

 

Linking up today with Shay and Erika for today's Let's Look. 

Today we are talking about things we have changed our minds about.

Disney World - I did not want to go to Disney World when we had kids. I thought we could do better for our holidays instead of the cliched family vacation to Disney, we were going to the family that goes to Europe! (That's right, I was being a snob about it.)  Then I reluctantly agreed we could go when E was 7 and Q was 2 and it was the best!! I loved it so much and even cried when The Fairy Godmother opened Magic Kingdom on our first day.  We went again when E was 12 and Q was 7 and we will go again in a few years.  You can read all of my Disney posts here.

Non-Alcoholic Beer - I always thought if you wanted a beer, drink one, and if you were an alcoholic or someone who doesn't drink alcohol, then drink something else.  However as people are tending towards drinking less, we too often have some non-alcoholic beer at our house.  We like the Athletic brand but there are lots of choices.  Sometimes I don't want the alcohol, but I want to taste and experience of a beer. I had one on Monday after golf!

Working Out At Home - I was never good at working out at home, I wasn't motivated enough to keep up a good routine.  The pandemic changed it all however, and I haven't been to a gym for years.  I am quite happy working out on our Peloton bike, using our free weights, and running outside. 

Video Games - When E was about 8 or 9 years old some of his friends started playing Fortnite and I said absolutely not, he is not playing that game. I thought it was too mature and violent. He had a few games on his ipad and we had the Switch at that time where he played wholesome games like Mario Kart and Zelda.  When he was 10 we let him get the game, and then Q started it playing it when he was like 6 years old.  Little brothers always get to do everything sooner!

Packaged Snacks - When E was a baby and small child, I made all of his baby food and snacks for school.  It was rare we bought granola bars or other packaged snacks.  I still made most of Q's baby food too, but I wasn't afraid to buy the odd store-bought pack when we were travelling.  I am still mindful about what I buy but we have plenty of those packaged snacks in our cabinet now and the kids get them in their school lunch on a regular basis. 

Protein Bars - Like many people I am trying to find ways to eat more protein.  My parents introduced to the Pure Protein brand they carry at Costco.  Sometimes I grab one if I'm running out the door and don't have time for a real breakfast or lunch.

Weekend Recap

 

We had lots of summer fun this weekend.  I started out on Friday morning working from the backyard and these little guys scurried by on the fence.

E went to the movies with his friends and Q was at baseball camp. Dave golfed later in the day.  I had a glass of rose and watched some Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders while I made dinner. 

On Saturday morning I decided to pop over to Freebird Market first thing to get a few things for our day.  I got some muffins for breakfast, some pretty salads, and some pizzas. 

Then E was getting ready for golf so I sat out with him for a few minutes. 

When Dave got back from golf, we biked with Q to High Park to swim.  We ran into some friends at the pool and they invited us over for supper, so that was nice!! We went home to get cleaned up after the pool and then biked to their house.  E biked over after he got home from golf. 

They have a nice big backyard with a trampoline, fire pit, TV, and chickens!  We enjoyed a lovely evening with them.

We were on the road on Sunday.  First I drove E and his friend to Kitchener so he could meet up with another friend to go to their cottage for the week. They will have a great time!

When I got back, we hit the road to go north and drop Q at camp for the week. 

He was excited!!

Getting set up in his bunk.

One of his buddies will be there this week too! (In the hat, not sure who that other kid is! Haha)

After we left Dave and I had a lovely dinner at Crossroads which is just the loveliest spot.  We had never been there before but it was so nice and hopefully we will get to go again. 

Friday Favourites

 

Happy Friday! We had a short week with Canada Day on the 1st.  We had a special breakfast on Canada Day morning, some waffles with whipped cream and fruit. Q asked why we were having a "birthday breakfast" and I said I guess it was for Canada's birthday. 158 years young!

Q and I ate outside,

Dave golfed in the morning.  I took the boys over around 11:00 and we did some practicing for about an hour and then met Dave for lunch.

One of the members took some nice photos of us in the practice area.

We went home after that for a little rest and then we went to the movies.  There are so many great movies in theatres right now and the kids chose How to Train Your Dragon*shrug*. Q has a Toothless costume so he wore the hood part.

On Wednesday night I had gifted ticekts to the Blue Jays-Yankees game. Since Q got to go to the box a couple of weeks ago I brought E along with me.

Grub Tub!

We were behind home plate about halfway up the first level.

The roof was closed when we arrived, then it opened, and then it closed again before the game was over.

We like Barger!

It was an exciting game!

And the Jays pulled out a win!

This week we got a new car!! It was time to get rid of the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe.  It did not owe us anything, it was a good car for many years, our first SUV type car and what we brought E home from the hospital in. We got an electric car this time around, with plans to make this our day to day car and use the Volvo for road trips and carpooling when needed.  

Q and Dave picked it up on Wednesday night. It's an Audi Q4 E-Tron.

Hope you have a nice weekend!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Weekend Recap

A little late on my weekend recap but we were enjoying a day off yesterday for Canada Day.  Going back to Friday morning, we sent the boys off for their last day of school.  

Traditional last day photos for the side by side comparison (check my insta for those posts - @smacto).

Then I said "stand up straight!"

There they go for their last walk to school together - this is their last year at the same school.

After school E went to his friend's house for some pizza and video games.  And the rest of us piled everything we own into the car to drive to Hamilton for a t-ball tournament (E would join us the next day with Dave's parents).

Our hotel was in downtown Hamilton, and if you know, you know, it's a rough spot.  The hotel was nice though!  We did find a great spot for supper, we love a brewery - we hit up Merit Brewing.

Cool mural across the street.

The tournament was in Stoney Creek, with the first game at 8:30.  It was a beautiful day!

Last time these pants were pure white, haha!!

Pre-game meeting. 

Fans!

My view for three games that day - 8:30, 1:00 and 3:15. 

Between games 1 and 2 we hung out in the shade with our picnic lunch. Coach Ben gave out some baseball cards and Q loved looking through those.

We should be sponsored by Easton!

The team did a great job winning two of three games.  We went to Kelsey's for a team dinner before convening back at the hotel for some pool and iPad time for the kiddos...

And patio drinks for the parents.

We had an 11:15 game on Sunday morning so we got to sleep in a bit, have breakfast in our room, watch Happy Gilmour, and then get to the field.  It was another beautiful sunny day.  We really lucked out with the weather, and it was hot, but not humid.

We played our semi-final on the small field.

Some good looking kids and coaches! And generally just really great people.

We had a break in between games so we set up in the outfield to watch the High Park 7s team play in the finals (which they won!), and enjoy the shade.  

These are the brothers of the tournament, keeping themselves entertained. 

Our team did not win the finals but they kept their heads up and graciously took second place.  

We had a little tailgate before hopping in the car to go home.

The raccoon hat is for player of the game, as we are the honourary "Trash Pandas", a nickname for raccoons given their prevalence in Toronto.

We were disappointed to lose to our rivals, Ancaster (said like Jerry says "Newman"), but the kids played pretty well for their first tournament and only having a few practices.  Coaches learned a few things to work on and how to tweak the lineup, and most importantly everyone had such a good time!  They were dancing along to the walk up songs, cheering their teammates and even fist bumping their opponents.