just percolating...
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
So, after "going to the cave," "fulfilling my to-don't list," and living in "survival mode" last night, I woke up this morning feeling a bit more recharged already. I even put on a matching outfit today and that kind of perked me up a bit too. Which reminded me that I have a nice spring me-pick-me up to share with you! Remember how pleased I'd been with the selection and price of the clothes at Mark's? Well, I have $50 with your name on it to … [Read more...]
I was so excited to get my little package in the mail today! You see, I treated myself to a pretty little sparkler from Blend Creations. And here's a close-up: Um, yes, that is an "at" symbol. No, not for email, silly! While it's true that when I first joined twitter back in January, I really wasn't so sure I liked it ... or even "got" it. But now? Total addict. Yes, I am geek. Hear me roar tweet! … [Read more...]
I am really excited to bring you an awesome guest post today! You might recall that about a week ago, in a post titled "Consumption to the point of destruction," I wrote: I need your help. I’ve got a couple of ideas brewing for posts, but I want to know what things irk you about our over-consuming nature? Tell me (either in the comments or by emailing me directly) and together we can look at those things and dig a little deeper into them. One … [Read more...]
When I was a kid, I can distinctly remember being in the car on a weekend afternoon, usually in the spring, and asking my parents "What are we doing -- why are we driving around like this?" And the response of "Oh, we're just looking around at these neighbourhoods" never ceased to perplex me. I'd ask "Are we moving?" But, no, we weren't moving, we were just looking. Now, I am following in my parents mother's (let's face it, my father was … [Read more...]
The excitement in our house is really building ... My 8-year-old daughter is a believer and my 2.5-year-old son doesn't really know who Santa is but he sure likes all the sparkling lights and chocolate! Is it the same at your house too? I've been thinking about why kids love Christmas so darn much and I've decided it's really not the gifts. It's the anticipation of the gifts. This and a few other thoughts are being shared over at Life … [Read more...]
As a member of a new blogger network called the UrbanMoms, I was asked to blog what I would like for Christmas ... not what I was buying and ticking off my list for everyone else. Me, moi! What did I want. Here's what I came up with. I hope you enjoy! Just the other night, My sweetheart turned to me and said, Please dear, do write A little something before bed. What is this about, I asked him. To which he shared his doubts, Going on a … [Read more...]
Call me crazy, but there's something almost soothing about packing children's lunches ... all the little containers, and bite size bits, snugly tucked into a brightly coloured lunch bag. And yet, this does not translate at all to the act of actually packing a lunch for myself. There are countless good, solid reasons for me to pack a lunch: there is no convenient lunch spot near my work, buying lunch is expensive, I need the time to work-out … [Read more...]
Lately, I'm finding it tough to pick out gifts for my Mom. It's not that she's picky or hard to find things for ... it's just that I feel like she already has the things she really wants. With all four of her birds out of the nest, she has the freedom to buy the things that catch her eye. So for her birthday this year, I decided that I'd take her out for a night on the town. To come up with ideas, I did what now comes natural to me -- I asked … [Read more...]
It looks like I'm not the only one who fell in love with Mark's for women's clothing! You can check out other outfits and opinions at the following Ottawa blogs as well: Andrea at a peek inside the fishbowl has turned out to be my twin sister (albeit a 5' 10" twin sister with supermodel cheekbones!) with the almost identical outfit. Christine, on the other hand, over at Coffees and Commutes is likely in the petite sizes and I'm sure you'll … [Read more...]
When I was younger (and er, smaller), I loved clothes shopping. But now, I only like (love!) shoe shopping. Everything else leaves me feeling very, very grumpy. It is simply not fun to try on 10 pairs of pants just to find one that looks "okay." Not "great" and "fabulous" -- but just okay. And when you have very little spare time, I think you'll agree that this is pretty much the last way you'd want to spend it. To add insult to injury, you … [Read more...]
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I'm the kind of girl who packs the night before. Okay, sometimes even the morning of. So hubby reviewed the itinerary for my upcoming adventure to Saguenay, Quebec on my behalf and suggested that I'd better buy some hiking boots. And also, some waterproof pants and proper rain jacket. Seeing as how I don't think I'll be heading out on lots of adventures involving lots of rain over the next few years, I told him I'd buy some boots, but that … [Read more...]
Edited to Add: The New Mother & Baby package had a total of 5 entries and the winner via Random.org was Tracy! The winner of the Toddler package had a total of 14 entries and the winner via Random.org was Judy! Congrats to you both and thanks to you all for participating in the fun! I got back from the BlogHer conference in New York City late last night and I'm still processing everything -- it was non-stop activity from morning until … [Read more...]
Do you dare wear short-shorts? If you’re my age and can pull off short-shorts, all the power to you. If you’re a young woman with long tanned legs you want to show off, all the power to you. But please — let’s not dress our young girls in short-shorts. {click here to see why I'm such a prude about … [Read more...]
Good morning! If you don't normally buy an Ottawa Citizen newspaper, pick one up today to support not only your local paper but this caffeine-needy writer! In today's Travel Section, I have two articles for your morning coffee: #1: What a woman wants: how hotels can cater better to women business travellers and a list of hotels going all out to do so. Women entrepreneurs interviewed for this piece are Penelope Trunk of Brazen Careerist, … [Read more...]
It feels silly to admit that, at the age of 38, I still don't understand the nuances of tipping. I find the whole custom so uncomfortable. If I leave an enormous tip, then it feels like I'm saying that I'm wealthy -- so pompously rich that I can freely dispense with my money and share it with those working in the service industry. But if I leave a meagre tip, then I'm not just a working-class person -- I'm cheap. So I'm always trying to figure … [Read more...]
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