livingfamilytravelmediahome decor

“Month of Me” post #02: Celebrating with my Mom

The "Month of Me" project that I first told you about here is coming together mighty nicely! On October 5th, I will be toasting a happy birthday to my mother in New York City ... here's a little more on the that ... On this day 40 years ago, a young woman was seven days overdue to give birth to her first child. Due on September 15th, there was no doubt in her mind that this baby was conceived during her husband’s short break during army boot … [Read more...]

DIY Design: A Reading Nook In Progress

reading nook

In continuation from the DIY Design of Stella's Bedroom, I've been trying to create for her an awesome reading nook in her bedroom. It is taking a long time to find just the right things for it though. Here's what it looks like so far: For the lounging part of a reading nook, I was originally thinking of bean bags. But I've found them to either be crazy-expensive (seriously, $400 for a beanbag?!) or perfectly priced but not the right … [Read more...]

Breaking up is never easy: Bye-bye Canadian Business magazine

sept issue - cdn business

When trying to choose between two equivalent products, I will buy Canadian. It just seems like the loyal thing to do. This also applies to magazines. I like to buy Canadian parenting, travel, and business magazines. So I've been a regular reader of Canadian Business magazine for a while now. In fact, I currently have an annual subscription. I read through each issue, and then I bring them in to my office and leave them in a communal reading … [Read more...]

DIY Design: Stella’s Bedroom

stella room

I really never understood people's fascination with home decor and design. I scoffed at the prices people would pay for hip furniture. I rolled my eyes at my mother's love for Home Sense. But I am now "in the club." And let me tell you ... it's fun! Since we bought our new home, I've spent every free minute dreaming of ways to decorate it. I just love it and I just love dressing it up (let's face it, it is way more fun than trying to dress … [Read more...]

The Back-to-School Outfit

outfit

Back-to-school is here! As usual, summer has whizzed right by and we're back into the busy fall season (both at work and at home). This summer was a milestone for us -- we moved houses for the first time in 14 years and we enjoyed a special visit from overseas relatives. But we're ready for routines again, I think. That's one bonus of school-aged children; it helps the whole family get into consistent routines. Not to be outdone by Valentine's … [Read more...]

“Month of Me” post #01: There’s a hashtag, so it must be real

A while back, I decided that I'd really like to attend Blissdom Canada, which is a blogging conference taking place in Toronto next month. I thought, hey, I love blogging and it's my 40th birthday in October, so why not? All the tickets were sold out ages ago, but I was able to buy a ticket from someone who wasn't going to be able to go. (Although I am still hoping to win a ticket so that I can recoup my cash. Keep your fingers crossed for … [Read more...]

The Project Priceless Wedding: Was this social experiment a success?

IMG00477-20110822-1756

It's 6:30 am and the house is quiet, and I am fully dressed and ready to walk out the door. Normally, I would just head into the office and catch up on some things, but this morning I want to take some time to tell you about the Project Priceless wedding. I've already told you a little bit about why I was invited to this wedding, and the hoops I jumped through to get there. But there is more, so much more. ******** Here is how Jordan and … [Read more...]

Getting Myself to the Project Priceless Wedding

before outfit

So yes, I did get invited to a virtual stranger's wedding, as I shared in yesterday's post. (Although, theoretically, she's not a "virtual" stranger because we chit-chat virtually, I just don't know her in real life.) When Jordan sent me the details about the Project Priceless wedding, the only thing that registered in my head was the date: August 22nd. I couldn't recall anything already scheduled for that date, so I just replied "yes" right … [Read more...]

The Project Priceless Wedding (alternate title: I’m going to a stranger’s wedding tonight and will have my face in my BlackBerry the whole time)

calendar-pprwedding

Hubby is, how shall we say, an "analog" man. By choice, he does not use a cell phone, uses email only sparingly, and does not engage in any social media sites. So, needless to say, he finds my fascination with my BlackBerry, blog and twitter account somewhat baffling. But I think this latest development really takes the cake in his mind. Tonight, I'm attending a stranger's wedding and I'll be live-tweeting it the entire time. Here's how he … [Read more...]

The Rolodex: To keep or toss?

rolodex

A Rolodex is a rotating file device used to store business contact information (the name is a portmanteau word of rolling and index). The Rolodex holds specially shaped index cards; the user writes the contact information for one person or company on each card. The cards are notched to be able to be snapped in and out of the rotating spindle. Many users avoid the effort of writing by taping the contact's business card directly to the Rolodex … [Read more...]

The School Lunch (aka “Kill me now”)

I know some moms who literally rejoice at the start of summer vacation solely because it releases them from the morning grind of the school lunch. And who can blame them? The school lunch really is a tedious task. And it’s fraught with pitfalls -- pitfalls that are just waiting for me to fall into!  So, with school just around the corner, I thought I'd gather some tips for myself. And hey, I might as well share while I'm at it! Pitfall #1: … [Read more...]

Fun new necklace, by What a Novel Idea

novel idea package

Although Chantelle Wilson is now best known as founder of The Maisies -- a singing trio that brings to life the vintage harmonies of girl groups from the 40s and 50s -- my daughter will forever know her only as the girl from Treehouse TV's 4 Square, and for my part, I will forever know her as one of the cool girls from my Drama club in highschool (think white-blonde hair and dark red lipstick) whose mother let her host all of us gleeks for … [Read more...]

Do you fold your underwear?*

underwear drawer

There are so many domestic subtleties that I am clueless about. For instance, Hubby and I toss any kind of dirty laundry into the washing machine altogether. But apparently, whites are to be separate from darks (but is this really necessary if your clothes are already pre-washed and there is no risk of the dark colours leaking out onto the light colours?) and then I recall my friend rolling her eyes at me when she saw me putting towels in with … [Read more...]

Toilet-Training: Trials, Tribulations … and Tears?

Our boy Max, who is three, is our second child; our second round at this potty training business. The first round was about 6 years ago now, and more of a faint memory. What I remember of the experience was that I had timed it for when I would be on holiday, I showed our daughter Stella some Dora the Explorer underwear as bait, I covered the sofa with a towel and there was only one accident that I can recall. Easey-peasy, right? Right. Now, … [Read more...]

#SoCapOtt: Ottawa’s first (annual!) Social Capital conference

SC-logo-pos-350

  I spent one of my only free days of the week at an all-day conference, paid for out of my own pocket. Insanity? My Hubby might agree. But I, for one, was certainly not going to miss Ottawa's first social media conference! Organized by a smart group of folks who I all consider to be my friends due to our connections on Twitter and via blogging, I was also there to support their efforts and help keep the attendance numbers high. Well, I … [Read more...]

A Visit to The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto

chrystal

For our family, a museum visit is often a highlight when we're travelling. In fact, I think Hubby and I have taken in at least one museum in every large city we've ever visited. And last weekend we were in Toronto to farewell our out-of-town guests before they hopped on a cross-Canada train trip. So before driving home on Sunday, we decided to squeeze in a tour of The Royal Ontario Museum, or "the ROM." We debated whether we should bother or … [Read more...]

Guest Post! “Harry Potter crafting” by Andrea Tomkins

It's not that I don't have a bazillion things I'd love to write and share with you,  it's just that I haven't had two moments to myself lately. (I'm not exaggerating, honestly. We've had guests from Australia for the past three weeks. It's been busy but soooo amazing to have them here!) Things will be calming down soon, but in the meantime, I have called upon my bloggy buddy Andrea to help me out. I call her my "bloggy buddy" because we both … [Read more...]

Relieved and so very happy

So, after 14 years of planning and then stalling, and then debating whether we should renovate our charming little place, we decided to move. Since Hubby builds houses regularly, he was going to be the main force behind the reno. But so many years later, we now have two children and two full-time jobs and we even manage to have hobbies and interests now and then ... all of which we realized would be sacrificed in some way or another if we spent a … [Read more...]

Photos from Canada Day in the Capital

canada1

View from Parliament Hill, with the waiting crowds for the evening show View from street, outside of the Chateau Laurier Hotel View from the water, on a boat moored on Rideau Canal beside the National Arts Centre … [Read more...]

Teachers’ Gifts: The Bi-Annual Conundrum

whatyouneed

Every Christmas and end-of-year, there is the conundrum: What should I give my children's teachers? I like to give a little something as an expression of thanks, but what to give is often a challenge because I don't want to be giving something that will end up in the lunchroom with the tag "free!" on it. And, well, I also don't want to go broke either. Max has three teachers at his preschool and Stella has two teachers at her elementary school … [Read more...]

School for Bloggers: QR Codes: Like a Bar Code, but Better! (#BWENY)

Have you noticed these black and white boxes showing up everywhere these days? From magazine advertisements, to business cards and even on massive outdoor signage, these boxes are called "QR Codes," which is short for Quick Response code. Like a bar code, but with the ability to hold up to double the number of alphanumeric characters, QR codes are rapidly becoming the latest marketing darling. I recently had a chance to learn more about these … [Read more...]