Friday Favourites

Happy Friday! Everyone in our house is over our colds, which is good timing for Dave as he departs on his golf trip in Scotland today.  

We had a couple of warm days at the start of the week so on Monday we took the opportunity to bike to the ball diamond to practice some baseball. It was such a nice evening to be outside. 

Last week OJ Simpson died, and I was reminded of how big his trial was. I was glued to much of the trial, and I remember exactly where I was when the verdict was read.  Everything to do with that trial, including the fame of the Kardashians, is so fascinating. I enjoyed the various tweets about this (and one them said, now we know what Twitter would have been like if we had it in 1995), and I came across this clip of Dave Chappelle talking about the times he met OJ.  I love Dave Chappelle, good content.

I started a new notebook at work this week which is always a favourite.  Yes, I still use a paper notebook to jot stuff down in, and I have a paper list.

We went to the Blue Jays game last Sunday, and I posted about that here.  We were also happy to see the Jays win the series against the Yankees. 

We got our taxes done this week, yay for us!  We are expecting a refund which is always nice :)

In case you missed it, I also shared my favourite Canadian TV shows, a pretty niche topic, but some of you will appreciate it.

Have a great weekend! We have Q's first ball hockey game and the cherry blossoms in High Park will be out!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Friday Favourites

 

Friday! It was a short week for us, but lots going on and next week we are going on holiday!

Adding to this week's activity is the current events in Israel and Gaza, it is a lot to take in. Someone posted this yesterday and I thought it was worthwhile to share.  It seems like everyone and their dog has something to post, even to the point of organizations/businesses who I feel are only posting something because people have said "why aren't you saying anything?".  Myself, I don't typically post a bunch on current affairs or share links to what others post, but it certainly doesn't mean I don't care or have an opinion. I just prefer to learn on my own, and listen, rather than just talk for talking's sake. That said, I'm glad for many of the voices out there that are sharing important information and views.

The Grade 7 students get three vaccines this year, but since Public Health is scheduled to come to the school when we are away, we booked a separate appointment for E to get his shots.  He was a good boy and didn't cry once ;). I remembered when he was a baby, he never really got too upset getting his shots, mostly just a shriek but could calm down pretty quickly.

We watched the mini-series on David Beckham this week.  I loved it. I must have said several times (maybe out loud) "he's just so good looking!". It was striking, every haircut, every outfit, just hot. Plus he seems like a genuinely nice person, despite being the superstar that he was. 

On Wednesday I made Lauren's soup recipe. I have had this saved since she posted it a couple of years ago and I finally made it.  It was very good, even without the onions that I forgot!

Insensitive by Jann Arden is just one of the best songs. I got to attend an event last night where Jann was the speaker. She sang a few bars of “Good Mother” at the end, and sounded so good. If you know and love Jann, you’ll be happy to know she did the impression of her mom’s voice :)

The Maple Leafs started their season this week and we all gathered around to watch the game.  We even treated ourselves to some beer.  Great start to the season, we will try to watch more of the games, along with the Raptors of course.  

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Friday Favourites

 

We had a big week of sports related favourites.

E and Dave went for a run on Tuesday morning before school.  E is practicing the 3K he needs to do for cross country.  He got to wear Dave's Apple Watch.

E also got in a round of golf with some friends.

Q started his off season baseball training. He will do a 6 week session for the fall, and then we hope to get him signed up for the winter session too.

Dave was one of the co-captains for his golf club's mens' league, and his team won the league!

I had a celebrity sighting this week - Jillian Harris was at Alobar Downtown when I was there for lunch on Tuesday. She is just as tiny and pretty as you think she will be! I did not talk to her.  She was in town for her new cookbook promotion with her co-author Tori.

On Thursday I gave an update on our renovations, not much progress, but some.

I also talked about my experience with Invisalign.

More sports ahead this weekend.  I'm golfing this morning. Dave has two golf games planned, one with E, and Q has his last soccer game on Saturday.

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Friday Favourites

 

This is a bit of a food heavy Friday Favourites post, so I hope you enjoy it.  I know many of you like to eat, like me, too.

Earlier this week I mentioned I have been recovering from a medical procedure.  I was finally feeling better this week and I was inspired to make this cheerful smoothie bowl for breakfast.  It is an @EarthyAndy recipe (check her out on Instagram).

The next day I had another colourful breakfast with her green smoothie and a slice of toast with blueberry jam.

I made one of my favourite pastas this week, Sausage Carbonara. Carbonara is a popular dish at restaurants, but since I love my version so much I rarely order it when I'm out. 

Speaking of Italian food, a new store opened up near me recently, Apulia Gastronomia, and I finally got there to try something.  I picked up a small lasagna for Q and I to eat yesterday (Dave and E were at the golf simulators), and I couldn't resist a bag of almond cookies. 

Another local treat - pierogi, a babka, and poppy seed roll.  Everyone loves the pierogi for supper from one of the Ukrainian shops.  We like them panfried with onions and dipped in sour cream (or plain yoghurt more likely for us).

Influenced again by Instagram!  I bought a Christmas shirt from this boutique so the showed up in my ads for Valentine's Day.  I could not resist these adorable tops, and I knew the quality would be good.  

And I got matching ones for the boys.  Grade 6 isn't too old to wear a holiday theme shirt for boys right?!?!  E's a good sport, I'm sure he'll go along with it.  And Q loves a theme.

I know lots of you follow Chrissy Teigen, weren't you just so happy to see she had a healthy baby girl this week?  I love the Teigen-Legends.

Happy weekend!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

July Book Review

Just two books this month, I rode my bike to work a bunch of times so that cut down on my subway reading time.

The first book is the one that everyone has been talking about - Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens.

This is just as good as everyone says it is.  It takes place in the Southern US and goes back and forth between past and present.  It tells the story of a young girl that lives in the marsh having been abandoned by her family at a young age, but who has survived and thrived.  It sort of reminded me of the other books I read this year (those ones true stories) of women growing up to with remarkable and extremely challenging childhoods, but that go on to be scholars and authors of books.  This one is fiction and interestingly I thought it seemed much more likely to survive this childhood than the other true ones I've read.  Here it never really felt like her life was in danger and she did have a support system.  This was another book where I did not want to put it down and where I was trying to solve the murder mystery the whole time.  I think I would even read this again someday. 

And the second book is one I found browsing at the library - Amy Poehler's book, Yes Please.

I typically don't pick up a lot of autobiographies, it seems like everyone writes a book these days, but I saw this at the library and I am an Amy Poehler fan so I decided to pick it up. I really liked it, and then I realized that I usually do like autobiographies when I read them so I should try to pick more.  I was a Parks and Recreation fan and also loved Amy on Saturday Night Live.  The book is funny, of course, but I also enjoyed hearing her behind the scenes stories from SNL and Parks, and about her friendship with Tina Fey and Seth Meyers. I also liked learning about her career; you think that these people are just actors, but they do so much more, are so talented and work really hard. I can't seem to find anywhere to watch Parks and Rec but I want to rewatch that series.  

Seth Meyers wrote one of the chapters of the book and reminisced about the rap that Amy performed on SNL for Sarah Palin.  Seth reminds us that Amy is 9 months pregnant and is actually rapping.  So here it is for your viewing pleasure (I tried to skip over the Fox News anchors intro of this clip, so hopefully that worked).  

Why I...love the Royal Family

In honour of Harry and Meghan's wedding this weekend, I thought I would write about Why I love the Royal Family....and the answer is easy, I just do, okay?! But seriously, I don't have a really good reason about why I love them, but I have been interested in them for my whole life.  So here are a few possible reasons:

My grandmother always loved the Queen; her parents originally came from England so she had an affinity to the royals.  My grandparents were married in the same year as Elizabeth and Philip, so I think she felt connected to them in that way.  We always listened to the Queen's Christmas Day message.

Charles and Diana got married the same year I was born, and apparently I got up early with my mom to watch their wedding (at about 7 weeks old).

Although I hadn't moved to Shelburne yet, Charles and Diana visited there in 1983.

I always loved Sarah, Duchess of York, for obvious reasons.

Since William is a year younger than us, my friends and I would always dream of meeting him somewhere and marrying him and becoming a princess.  And even though Harry was a few years younger, we always loved him too.

I of course remember vividly when Diana died and since I was in high school, it was very dramatic.

I will be up at 4:00 am to watching the wedding on Saturday morning.  I'm also very excited to see who the guests will be; the Mulroney children are in the wedding which I think is just so cool!

I know there are probably several reasons to not be supportive of the Royal Family, but I am not interested in them.  I think they have done a good job of changing with the times and supporting various causes.  Their pomp and circumstance is a refreshing change from the doldrums of politics.

Friday Favourites

April is more than halfway over, I can't believe it! That means we are in the midst of spring, despite the weather, and that, dare I say it, summer will soon be here!  I love Toronto in the summertime and I can't wait!

I ordered a couple of books from Amazon this week including this one.  I read the comments on Erika's post on Tuesday about raising a grateful child and this book was recommended several times.  I don't think E is ungrateful, usually quite the opposite, but I didn't think it would hurt to read the book and learn a few things.  

I also wanted to order this book but it was going to arrive too late for a gift I want to give, so I will try to find it at Chapters.  

Because of that book, this book was suggested so I put it in my cart.  We saw the episode of This Week Tonight when they talked about it and it looks good.  

I always loved Dawson's Creek and so I of course follow Joshua Jackson on Instagram and Twitter.  I saw he was on Q last week so I downloaded the interview.  He is starring in a Broadway play right now and so the interview as mostly about that, but also about his Creek days.  He seems like a very intelligent and passionate about his work. Listening to this reminded me how much I like Q and Tom Power is a good host, I will try to listen more often. 

My workouts always end with savasana and the instructor always sprays this around the room.  It is so nice, and it also doubles as a yoga mat spray, so I want to pick up a bottle the next time I am at Saje.

Yesterday I asked for recommendations for Chicago.  I need more!

Enjoy your Friday and weekend!

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favourites 

and The Blended Blog for Friday Loves. 

Friday Favourites

December is here! I am linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favourites.

On Tuesday E and I went to see the CP Holiday Train at Runnymede and St. Clair. We missed the train last year so this year we made sure we went.  E had so much fun dancing, enjoying the hot chocolate, and seeing the train lights.  It was too late for Q but maybe he can go next year.

I put him up on my shoulders so he could see. 

Then we found a spot by the firetruck and E stood on the edge and danced there.

Dave is the best all of the time, but this week I worked late most nights and he did everything else.  Here was one meal he cooked for himself and the boys (with leftovers for my lunch the next day). 

I love reading and I put together my reading list for 2018.  I've resigned from my book club but I still wanted to put together a list of books to check out. 

I am so excited that Prince Harry and Meghan Markel are engaged.  I think they are just the cutest, and I love that they met in Toronto, and that she is an actual real person who gets to be a princess (or whatever).  I mean, I love Kate Middleton, but you know her parents groomed her for that position, Meghan is a real commoner.  

We are off to get our tree tonight or tomorrow morning!  Can't wait to get it up and decorated. Happy Friday everyone!