Friday Favourites

Back to the weekly link up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favourites!

I thought I would share some of the favourite Christmas gifts that I received this year.  Not that everything wasn't great, but here are the top 5, in no particular order.

1.  I am finally one of those Toronto people. I have Uggs (you East Coast people know what I mean, especially if you went to Dalhousie).  But they are so comfortable, and it is nice to have a warm boot to wear when I walk down the street.  I have not adopted the messy ponytail, nor do I regularly leave my house in sweatpants, so maybe there is still hope for me yet!

2. This was a surprise.  Dave and I had discussed getting a computer as a family gift but then we never mentioned it again. I have always had a Dell laptop (and desktop before that), but I am enjoying this Mac.

3. I have had a cross necklace for a long time, but I saw this style and liked it right away.  It is from Stella and Dot.

4. I had a lot of books on my list this year.  I am looking forward to reading them, and trying recipes from the cookbooks.

5. Now that we don't have an en suite bathroom, I am back and forth from our room to the bathroom more often.  I thought it would be a good idea to get a robe, for all involved, haha.  This one from Victoria's Secret is so cozy!

I do look forward to opening my own gifts on Christmas morning, but I am more excited about seeing people open the gifts I got for them, hoping they like it, and seeing their reaction.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to you all.  I wish you a happy and healthy 2015.  I know, for us, we are glad to see 2014 close out.  This was a year in which we lost my grandmother, I had surgery, Dave ruptured his Achilles, and we seemed to be sick a lot.  But there were many happy memories as well - we took E skiing for the first time, we travelled to visit family and friends, Dave started a new job, and we moved into a beautiful new home.  Seeing E grow up over this past year has been so much fun. Three year olds are so chatty and active.  They absorb knowledge so quickly and we laugh so much at his little antics.  He is consistently sleeping in his own bed at night, is potty trained (even at night), and loves to help us out with anything and everything.  I'm sure this next year will bring more joy in watching him grow and become even more independent.

A few pictures from this past year:

Celebrating New Year's Day at the Drake. (a tradition we are continuing this year)

Skiing in February at Mansfield

Dave and I skiing at Blue Mountain and spending every available moment watching the Olympics

Cozy winter mornings

Sledding at High Park

Travelling to Nova Scotia for my grandmother's funeral

Visiting the Ontario Science Centre

Playing at the playground

Celebrating Easter

Vegas in April. I loved spending time by the pool at the Venetian.

Oh yeah, and I met Juan Pablo

Dave went to some Raptors' playoff games

Mother's Day Brunch

Hanging out in High Park

We celebrated our 5th Anniversary

Patio Brunch

Travelled to my home town to celebrate the wedding of one of my oldest and dearest friends

Travelled to Manion Lake to visit family

Dave's injury was not good, but he dealt with it very well.

Moved

Celebrated E's 3rd Birthday

Enjoyed Christmas in our new home

We'll take a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne

A Fresh Start

Every year I start out with big plans for healthy eating, exercising, and organizing our lives.  For the most part we are pretty healthy and active throughout the year, but after the holidays, when I have indulged in rich foods, sweet treats, wine, etc., I feel like I need to start all over again.

Last year I started a Pinterest board for New Year's Resolutions.  Basically I want to:

- Drink more water

- Make smart food choices - I don't follow any sort of "diet" other than Canada's Food Guide. I try to pick foods that "mean" something.  If they aren't going to provide some benefit to me then I don't want them.  I like "power foods" like whole grains, colourful fruits and vegetables, and low-fat meats.  And if you want an alcoholic drink, at least wine has some antioxidants in it to make it somewhat useful.

- Exercise. I am going to continue the pattern of getting up three mornings a week before work and working out.  We have our stationary bike, some weights, a ball, and now a kettlebell (a Christmas gift) so I'll be finding some more home workouts.

- Organize our house. Since we moved in we have been busy.  First with E's birthday, then our electricians, and of course Christmas.  We still have a number of drawers, closets, etc. where things are just thrown in and in need of some help.

- Clean our house. I am not good at cleaning, and while our house is certainly not a pig sty (thanks mostly to Dave), I do want to step up my game.

- Spend more time with family and friends.  It is easy to just hide away in our house, especially during the winter months, but I want to get out more and make more plans. E loves being with other kids, going out to eat, and exploring our city (and we do too), so I hope we can make lots of plans.

- Do something out of my comfort zone.  This has been on my list for the past few years, and usually there is something I've done that accomplishes this.  I don't plan what it will be, but usually something comes up that I can take on as a challenge, so we shall see what this year brings.

What is on your list of resolutions for 2015?

Or maybe this is all I need to focus on (the phrase, not the phone!)

Christmas Recap

Phew! What a whirlwind of activity over the past few days!  Enjoying our new home, our visiting family, and creating memories.

We had lobster on the Monday before Christmas.  What a treat.  E tried some this year and enjoyed a couple of bites.

On Christmas Eve we walked down the street for some last minute gifts, some bread for Christmas morning, and some oysters.  After a light lunch I worked on our Rockefeller Center puzzle we got in New York last year, while the boys watched some TV and Mom wrapped gifts.

I made a couple of salads for an early supper before church.

Our church had a wonderful "orchestra" of some professional musicians along with some children, and it was so nice to hear them play.  There was a little girl with the smallest violin I've ever seen.

Then we went home to make some appetizers - Oriental Pack from M and M Meats, oysters, baked brie, and cookies.

As soon as we got home from church E set out a carrot for the reindeer, and a cookie (only one!) and a glass of milk for Santa.  He was ready to go to bed so he told us it was time to get in his pyjamas and after one story he was asleep.  We stayed up a bit longer, finished the puzzle, played crib, and watched part of a movie.

Making sure his stocking is ready!

We "slept in" until 7:30 on Christmas morning, and then had a full morning opening gifts.

E's stocking and Santa presents.  Empty plate and cup.  Note, Cuddly Pal is part of the festivities of course!

My stocking.

Dave's stocking

I got many nice gifts, including a new lap top that I am typing on right now.  The other one was getting a little sad.  I'm hoping I can do some new things with this blog in the coming months and maybe this computer will help.

E got 1600 pieces of Lego from Santa, and a bunch of other fun toys and books from family and friends.  We (being the parents) got him some clothes, shoes, and a new snowsuit.  He was excited about his new coat though since it is orange, his favourite colour.

Someone is excited about the Lego!

Our new whirligig from the Dory Shop Museum in my hometown.

We rounded out the day with a walk/bike ride to the park, and a turkey dinner.

On Boxing Day we started another new tradition of going to the movies.  I had taken E to the movies when he was a little baby for the Mommy and Baby showings, but this was his first real movie experience, and he loved it.  We took the subway downtown and saw Big Hero 6.  This is a great movie by the way; very enjoyable for parents as well.  After the movie we got some snacks and drinks at a restaurant and then headed home.

We were so happy to have family with us to help celebrate the holidays.  We were missing those that were not with us, both those living and those who have died, but we enjoy and appreciate what we have.

One of my favourite things was hanging out with this guy!