After a long hiatus brought on by just not having an iota of energy left to blog (little r has been ill.... again. sigh!), I return to the blogosphere with renewed commitment. While I will spare you the details of what was wrong and what pursued (ear infection double-whammy, numerous trips to the doctor + ENT specialist), I will say that little r has been a trouper and is now back to his happy, cheerful, funny little self and we have a couple of milestones to celebtrate. The first as mentioned in the title is the learning of a new word (though to be fair, he seems to remember and forget this one at will) - CAKE. I love that his C word is cake. It just seems right that this child of mine should embrace cake early in life :)
Next milestone: just this last Saturday, little r (wait for it....) walked his first steps! Hurrah! Maybe this means dirty knees and endless worrying about him sticking dirty hands into his mouth are at an end... then again, maybe not. Maybe the dirty knees and clothes and hands are just the modus operandi of a little boy.
Last week was bumper week in much-needed me-time for mama. After over 2 years (yes, you read correctly) of having it in my hot little hands, I finally used the gift certificate to Stillwater spa. This was the exact antidote to my recent spate of stressful days. A massage, a leisurely dip in the jacuzzi, detoxing in the steamroom, a cup of Earl Grey and biscotti and a time to actually peruse a magazine at leisure. Ahhhh! I need to make a habit of this for sure! Then on Friday evening, a few friends met for some drinks and nibblies after which two out of four of us went to watch Sex and the City 2. Now while the movie wasn't exactly life-altering, it was such fun! Like meeting old friends but with way cooler shoes than your own... and way richer - I mean, who can afford to have an apartment in Manhattan sit empty for days when you need an escape? But I digress. Reality is not an option when you sit down with Carrie and the girls. More than the clothes or shoes in this movie, I was salivating over the interiors that they showed! The richness, colours and sheer over the top opulence of the interiors were fantastic.
Okay, I admit it. I do have home decor on the mind. It all started in February when I sent T a link to this amazing and cheap facelift of a fireplace that I found on the blog, the Lettered Cottage. Hmm... he said, let's see. I have also been hankering after a new coat of paint in the living/dining area and kitchen. The colour of choice, a nice grey. Amazingly, T seemed open to the idea. So maybe, just maybe, this might actually happen! Plus, now, I'm obsessed with roman blinds and want to do two for the living/dining and one for the bathroom. And the blogosphere is not helping! So many inspiring ladies with amazing projects that they pulled off for what seems like pennies. Must - give - home - facelift - NOW! More to come on this.
I have also been thinking about the afternoon tea that I posted about a little while ago. It's this Sunday! The options are endless but I think I am going to settle on something savoury and something sweet and leave the other options for future tea parties. I am an endless planner and ditherer when it comes to menus. I love it. It's half the fun if you ask me! My issue is what was neatly termed by a colleague of mine as "analysis paralysis", something I suffer from in other facets of my life as well. I like perusing all the options and knowing as much as possible before making a decision. This makes T crazy, especially in restaurants when I spend forever mulling over the menu :) For this weekend's party, I am trying not to go overboard. I want to do scones because they are so traditional to a tea party but I am also tempted to do carrot cake. Then for the savoury, it's between these two tea sandwiches: salami with herbed mayo (zingy) or cucumber with cream cheese (traditional). Also, something else that I tried on little r and is quite delicious is cream cheese and sliced strawberry sandwiches! They are good... trust. Any thoughts? Help me decide!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
It never ceases to amaze me how children learn, develop and grow and the rate at which they do all of the above. Little r has just learnt a few new words: Apple + Book. Mama is convinced he is working his way through the alphabet. He was saying "apple" a few weeks ago but one morning, he just woke up and started crawling towards his books saying" book" - just like that, out of nowhere. It's like the word fairy blessed him while he was sleeping. I love that "book" is one of his first words given how precious they are to me. He seems to know what it means too though I think he thinks "apple" is just any fruit. Also, the way he says apple is too cute - it sounds like "aeh- poh" which sounds in turn like a tibetan pola (old man) saying it. He has also learnt "homa" which means milk (but sounds like "ama" when he says it), "mum-mum" for food and "nya-nya" which means sleep. That covers all the essentials I think. Food, drink, entertainment and sleep - check. He's set for life.
I was just thinking this weekend of some other things that make me happy. First on that list, quick wins. Things that you can get done quickly, easily and feel good about having accomplished something. Example: This week I went to Dollarama, our local dollar superstore, (shopping spree came to $16. Sweet! Something else that makes me happy. Also on the shopping spree the cutest mock-crocs in the happiest red for little r) and picked up two pieces of 3-D foam art at $1.50 each. What's that you ask? Foam art is basically a picture on a cardboard that you stick foam sticker shapes on according to instructions and at the end of it, you have a 3D (not in the James Cameron "Avataar" way but in the layered sticker sort of way) piece of art. A kind of stick-by-numbers. Along with that, I also purchased two white frames for $1.50 each. By the end of that night, I had made 2 piece of art, all framed and ready for display. Quick Win. Happy. Love it!
I had noted on my list that family traditions make me happy. Actually, any personal traditions make me happy and on that note, a few friends and I are working on a new tradition. Monthly tea parties! My friends DT& LT came over on Sunday. I got to cook for them (first time making lo-mein and sweet corn soup to accompany it) and watch them enjoy it. Then later on, we went for a long walk in Leslieville, ducking into shops, browsing, laughing at somethings, marvelling at others and convincing each other about the absolute need to buy some of the things. (LT, if you are reading this, I need to see you in that dress, my friend!) On the way, we picked up some goodies (cupcakes from Sweet Bliss and vegan carrot cake from Pulp Kitchen) and headed back to my place to have them as the cafes were closing early on Sunday. Inspired, we brought out the good stuff - china quarter plates for our baked treats, china cups and saucers for our tea and all of it served at the dining table. The treats were yummy, the tea delicious and we felt fresh and rejuvinated as we enjoyed it all. Tea tasted all the better for being shared and being shared in nice china at that. The only thing missing were savoury tea sandwiches and some fresh cut flowers! This is when T had the brilliant idea of making this a monthly tradition. Yes! We decided to do this once a month, on a sunday afternoon (chores would be done and we would have the mornings to sleep in, prepare, etc.), potluck it (thereby taking the pressure off) and keeping it really small (3 of us plus one additional friend KS who also has a bebe) so it would be easier to coordinate. Now let's see if this keeps up. I have already sent out the invite and am dreaming of goodies that I can bake for the next party!
The other tradition that T + I decided to start last year was Thanksgiving dinner at our house with friends with babies in and around little r's age. This way, we figured little r would have a set of little ones to grow up with together and memories would be created of these Thanksgivings. I dream of the time when one of these kids would say to the others, "So, I'll see you at r's place. We always go there for Thanksgiving."
We also want to create a tradition of taking a week each year to go away to a cottage on a lake somewhere and expose little r to that most Canadian of Canadian traditions, the cottage life and the outdoors. I'm just imagining this and loving it already.
What are your favourite traditions?
I was just thinking this weekend of some other things that make me happy. First on that list, quick wins. Things that you can get done quickly, easily and feel good about having accomplished something. Example: This week I went to Dollarama, our local dollar superstore, (shopping spree came to $16. Sweet! Something else that makes me happy. Also on the shopping spree the cutest mock-crocs in the happiest red for little r) and picked up two pieces of 3-D foam art at $1.50 each. What's that you ask? Foam art is basically a picture on a cardboard that you stick foam sticker shapes on according to instructions and at the end of it, you have a 3D (not in the James Cameron "Avataar" way but in the layered sticker sort of way) piece of art. A kind of stick-by-numbers. Along with that, I also purchased two white frames for $1.50 each. By the end of that night, I had made 2 piece of art, all framed and ready for display. Quick Win. Happy. Love it!
I had noted on my list that family traditions make me happy. Actually, any personal traditions make me happy and on that note, a few friends and I are working on a new tradition. Monthly tea parties! My friends DT& LT came over on Sunday. I got to cook for them (first time making lo-mein and sweet corn soup to accompany it) and watch them enjoy it. Then later on, we went for a long walk in Leslieville, ducking into shops, browsing, laughing at somethings, marvelling at others and convincing each other about the absolute need to buy some of the things. (LT, if you are reading this, I need to see you in that dress, my friend!) On the way, we picked up some goodies (cupcakes from Sweet Bliss and vegan carrot cake from Pulp Kitchen) and headed back to my place to have them as the cafes were closing early on Sunday. Inspired, we brought out the good stuff - china quarter plates for our baked treats, china cups and saucers for our tea and all of it served at the dining table. The treats were yummy, the tea delicious and we felt fresh and rejuvinated as we enjoyed it all. Tea tasted all the better for being shared and being shared in nice china at that. The only thing missing were savoury tea sandwiches and some fresh cut flowers! This is when T had the brilliant idea of making this a monthly tradition. Yes! We decided to do this once a month, on a sunday afternoon (chores would be done and we would have the mornings to sleep in, prepare, etc.), potluck it (thereby taking the pressure off) and keeping it really small (3 of us plus one additional friend KS who also has a bebe) so it would be easier to coordinate. Now let's see if this keeps up. I have already sent out the invite and am dreaming of goodies that I can bake for the next party!
The other tradition that T + I decided to start last year was Thanksgiving dinner at our house with friends with babies in and around little r's age. This way, we figured little r would have a set of little ones to grow up with together and memories would be created of these Thanksgivings. I dream of the time when one of these kids would say to the others, "So, I'll see you at r's place. We always go there for Thanksgiving."
We also want to create a tradition of taking a week each year to go away to a cottage on a lake somewhere and expose little r to that most Canadian of Canadian traditions, the cottage life and the outdoors. I'm just imagining this and loving it already.
What are your favourite traditions?
Sunday, May 2, 2010
An ode to Lands End Canvas
I love Canada - there's no two ways about it. I lurve CANADA. This is a country that has adopted me, supported me, allowed me to have a voice (I cast my first vote ever on November 13, 2006 and it was a big day for me) and is generally a great country to call home. What I do HATE about living here however is the ridiculous banking fees (we pay to have them borrow our money and get rich? WTF??), the lack of online shopping and the lousy customer service - this is ofcourse as someone who lived in the US for a few years and was spoiled by the availability of these things. Oh Canada!
I have now found a way around atleast the last two things. Folks, I now have new favourite online store - Lands End Canvas (http://canvas.landsend.com/). The style is J.Crew'ish but their prices are more reasonable. It's a cooler Gap, it's a younger Banana Republic. Their clothes are comfortable and elegant and don't make me feel like a pre-teen poser. They ship to Canada at a reasonable rate, often offer free shipping, we can make returns at our local Sears store that have a Lands End shop and their customer service is unbelievable. Case in point - I purchased one shirt from them - a $22.99 purchase. Imagine my surprise when I receive a card - people, it was hand written! - in the mail saying Thank You, guaranteeing my purchase. I'm sold. Here're a few selections that I heart.
See why I love them? I guess how could you not. sigh! Lands End Canvas, you had me at Thank You.
Who do you love? Let me hear it!
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