Friday, July 29, 2016

Friday Favourites

Linking up with AndreaErika, and Narci for Friday Favourites.


This week was filled with my favourites - holiday from work, hot weather, Toronto attractions, etc.  This is what we've been up to.

On Monday E practiced his fishing skills off the deck


Then I grabbed a venti iced coffee and we headed to the splash pad and playground at Marie Curtis Park.


On Tuesday, we picked up one of E's friends and we took the ferry over to the Toronto Islands.  I know people know about the Toronto Islands, but I also feel like they don't know how great it is.  There is a beautiful beach where you can swim, a big playground and splash pad, bikes and boats to rent, and of course the Centre Island amusement park, and there's more!

An absolutely beautiful day!




This is Dave and the boys on the flume ride.

Dave's view of the ride.



E's favourite part, the pony ride.

And another highlight, the roller coaster that they could go on by themselves.  And it wasn't that busy so they got to go on five times in a row!

Train ride

After Centre Island we went down to the beach.  We want to come back and just spend the day here.  






On Wednesday, Dave's parents and sister came through town so we got tickets to the matinee Jays game.  It was H-O-T!! Luckily, at about the 6th inning, we got some shade from the lights behind us and it was bearable.  It was still really nice to be out and enjoying the summer weather.  



On Thursday, we did some things around the house in the morning and then Dave went golfing.  E and I went to the Dufferin Grove Park where I have been wanting to check out for awhile.  The play area is fabulous.   A huge sand pit complete with real metal shovels and bridge building supplies, not to mention a playground and wading pool.  E spent most of the time in the sand pit.  They also have a farmer's market on Thursday afternoons so we walked over to check it out, no peaches though.   It was a pleasant afternoon in the shade. 

A lot of people, but no problem finding a spot to set up our towels.




Just a little muddy!


Today we are going to the zoo, I'll share that trip next week in Weekend Recap.

Thanks for stopped by!


Thursday, July 28, 2016

August Goals


My goals for July were:

1. Start going through the baby stuff.  
Done.  I sorted out the clothes, blankets, bedding, etc.  We will need to buy a few new things and some replacement items, but we are in pretty good shape!

2. Plan our week off.  
That is this week and we have done a good job at filling our week with fun things.



3. Try a new restaurant. 
When E was at his grandparents', Dave and I went to a few new places, and some old favourites.  We went to Bandit Brewery, Pizzeria Defina on Roncesvalles, and Buca on King West.  All were great, but Buca is in a league of its own.  I would say it is the best restaurant in the city.



4. Decorate our guest room.
Done.  I got the bedding, mirror and headboard from Homesense, and reused an old dresser.  We have hosted a few guests so far, and we are looking forward to welcoming more!





5. Empty out the closet in the baby's room and sort the clothes.
This hasn't been done yet but has to be done soon.  The plaster guy is coming in to fix up the walls in the next couple of weeks and the room needs to be emptied out.   

My goals for August are:

1.  Enjoy the last few weeks as our family of three.  

2. Build the crib, buy a dresser, and wash some baby clothes.

3. Make some pies with the fresh Ontario produce. 

4. Get E ready for Senior Kindergarten.  

5. Book a hair appointment.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

What's up Wednesday


What we're eating this week...
Monday - BBQ'd chicken, fresh corn, boiled potatoes.
Tuesday - Homemade tomato soup, cheese nachos
Wednesday - Out somewhere for Thai food
Thursday - Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Friday - Hamburgers

What I'm reminiscing about?
Some of my family members are up at Hyatt's Manion Lake Camp this week, and some were there last week. I am reminiscing about our trips there.  Hopefully we can get up there next year!  I posted about the camp in a previous here.


What I'm loving...
Our new TV! We got a 55" LG TV this week.  Our old one was near death, it had lines on it and is was starting to flicker, particularly during important sporting events.  We also replaced our receiver and speakers with a sound bar that makes everything much cleaner.  After our fireplace is installed, we will mount the TV and sound bar on the wall beside it, and then we can also replace our Ikea TV table (not that there is really anything wrong with it, but we've gotten our money's worth out of it!).

Picking it up from Best Buy. E is excited!! Or at least pretending to be.



What we've been up to...
This week we are on vacation and staying in our own city.  People travel to Toronto for their summer holidays, so we wanted to enjoy it for ourselves.  Our plans have included (and include) Toronto Islands, Blue Jays game, Zoo, and a city beach). 

We love our city!!

What I'm dreading...
Not really dreading anything, I just know that I will have a busy two months at work before I go on maternity leave.

What I'm working on...
Figuring out what I need to buy for the baby.  I've been through everything that we have and we have so much.  At first I was a little disappointed that we were not having a girl only because I wanted to buy new things, but now I'm happy that I don't have to buy a bunch of new things.  We are pretty set with what we have. And we are also lucky that the baby will be born in the fall just like E.  

We still have all of these things!

What I'm excited about...
The PGA Championship this weekend.  I'm even more excited to watch it on our new TV.  

What I'm watching/reading...
We just finished Season 4 of Homeland. We have also been watching the new show in HBO, The Night Of.  We need to start this season of Ballers, and continue with Bloodline.  And of course I'm watching The Bachelorette.  #TeamJordan

Love that hair.


I am reading our next book club selection, The Dressmaker.  It is also a movie starring Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth, so I will have to see that when I've finished the book.



What I'm listening to...
My playlist of choice on Google Play lately has been The Ultimate Oldies Party.  You can't beat the old tunes and they have me dancing while I clean the house.

What I'm wearing...
Basically the same five outfits on repeat.  Most of my maternity clothes are from Old Navy and I've been able to keep a few non-maternity items in the rotation.  

What I'm doing this weekend...
It is Caribana in Toronto this weekend so I want to avoid going East of High Park.  We do want to find a beach somewhere on Sunday.  We also have a 5th birthday party to attend.

What I'm looking forward to next month...
Our trip to Cape Breton, the Olympics, our office retreat in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and my mom's visit while she is here to look after E for a week. 

What else is new...
This probably is not a new product, but it is new to me and I love it!  Rather than drinking plain water all of the time, I like something a little "fancier" and I just found this club soda with lemon lime flavour.  It's unsweetened which is good, but has more flavour than just club soda. 



What is your favourite part about the summer...
The hot weather, seriously.  Our winters are long and even with extreme temperatures and humidity, I would rather have the summer heat than the cold winter any day.  Wearing just shorts, t-shirts and flip flops, instead of coats, boots and scarves, is so much better, I'll even put up with having to apply sunscreen multiple times a day.


Thanks for dropping by!



Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Weekend Recap

It won't sound like an easy going weekend, but it really was.  I forgot to take a lot of pictures though.

On Friday evening after work Dave and I drove to Sarnia to pick up E.  He had been at his grandparents' all week.  Dave's sister and her dog were also there which added to the excited for him. After we arrived, along with Dave's cousin and her boyfriend, we just sat around and chatted.

The next morning we got up to go for a sail.  It was a hot but a beautiful day.  This is leaving the yacht club before the sails went up. 


After that we went home, had some lunch and then went to a nearby beach.  The water was so warm and the beach had some shade so it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. 


We had some sausages and homemade ice cream sandwiches, inspired by this post.  I put E to bed and everyone else played Yardze, which is Yachtze with big wooden blocks for the dice. 


On Sunday morning we got up early to drive back to Toronto.  Dave and E were going to the Blue Jays game with friends and I had a massage appointment at the Four Seasons Spa.  It was so nice there (and I walked by Novak Djokovic, the tennis player, in the lobby.  I wished him luck this week at the Rogers Cup but he did not smile or respond).  I did a little shopping too and got some lunch at Pusateri's (when in Yorkville...).  

I took this picture from the roof. 


The Blue Jays game was great fun too.  It is always nice when E has a buddy to hang out with.




Our evening was relaxing too, we watched the rest of the Canadian Open (golf), Dave went for a run, and then we watched some TV.  


Monday, July 25, 2016

Let's Talk - July

Linking up with Andrea and Erika for Let's Talk.  Today's topic is School Days.  This is kind of weird for me because we are in the middle of summer, but in Texas where Andrea and Erika live, the kids actually head back to school very soon.


I have always loved school.  I remember being in elementary school and packing up my backpack days before school started and wearing it around the house; I was so excited to get back.  Shopping for new school supplies was always a favourite, and I still love the supply room in my office where I get to go and pick up a fresh pad of paper and pen anytime I want!  #smalljoys

I grew up in a small town, and there was only one choice for school.  My elementary school had two buildings, the little blue one for the grades primary to two, and then the big yellow one for grades three to six.  The yellow one was really old, I think we celebrated its 85th birthday when I was there, in the late 1980s.  I found this old picture of it from its early days.  It hadn't changed much when we were there, other than being surrounded by newer buildings.  It still had the old bell up in the tower that we would ring on special occasions.  There was one class for each grade, music, and a library.  We didn't have a gym or a cafeteria.  It has since been torn down.


When I was grade six a new school was built and we all went there along with two other elementary schools in the area.  Then there were three classes for each grade, a gym, a cafeteria with hot lunch, and a big field.  

Our high school held grades seven to twelve.  There were about 500 students in total; my graduating class had 60 people in it.  I took French Immersion throughout high school so the people in my class remained about the same for the six years.  In senior high (grades 10 to 12) we didn't take as many French classes so we had classes with lots of different people.   The tore down the high school a few years after I graduated.  I happened to be home that weekend so this is me sitting on the steps, behind me is what's left of the gym.  I wrote this post about high school last year.


I went to two different universities.  Dalhousie in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for my undergraduate degree in English and then the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton for my law degree.  I made so many great friends at both places and really don't have much but fond memories for both schools.  

Law School Grad


E started school last year and he got along well there.  He is excited to go back and start French Immersion for Senior Kindergarten.