Happy New Year!

Well firstly, Happy New Year to all the readers out there!  Don’t worry, I’m not going to start with a new years resolution that I can not keep like actually regularly posting my blog.  Truth is, with two kids (under 4), a husband (who may as well be a third kid),  a career, family and friends who I try really hard to keep up with, making time for a blog does end up on the bottom of the pile.  Since my last post, I have returned to my full time job (coming off of mat leave) and have been the energizer bunny since.  I’m averaging about 5-6 hrs of sleep a night and honestly take no brakes from the moment I wake up until the time I hit the pillow.  And every night, I wish for more time in my day, like I haven’t done enough!  Though I usually accomplish plenty in a day, I always feel as though it would have been nice to get that one more thing done, like wash those floors, or get the top of the gas oven cleaned, maybe get one more run of hand me downs to the salvation army bin.  And what about that presentation I thought I would have time to  work on as I will not get a chance to actually focus on it when I return to work due to how crazy it will be when I get back. Yes, of course I’m trying to get this all done on my holidays!  Who does that!!!  Believe me, I’m working on trying to let go of the dirty floors and piles of laundry to enjoy more time with the family, but the reality is that it needs to be done eventually right?

Anyway, no one wants to hear about my lame problems so I’ll cut to the chase!  Although, I guess if these are my problems, I should be happy right?  I should be thankful that I have two wonderful and healthy kids,  a kind and loving husband, a good paying job and the material things that make me work hard to keep clean!  So, yes, I am very thankful for these things!   Notwithstanding, I do hope that my readers understand that although I have been continuing to explore the city with my wonderful family taking pictures and writing notes on what my next blog topic will be, I just haven’t got around to sitting down to write about it. 

So, I leave you with nothing more than a stay tuned for more stories and a big thanks for checking out what I have to say :-)  I do enjoy writing and do hope that I can make more time in the future to put on “paper” fun stuff for all to read.  

Here's a sneak peak of a few things I've been up to... 

     





Before pics of our bedroom

After!!

So maybe I did take some time for myself ;-)
Vaca in Cabo!

   

Stratford Culinary Festival, Mmmmm good!

I’ve been looking forward to this event all summer and I was pretty stoked to go.  Unfortunately, my husband had to work all weekend and they were calling for rain both Saturday and Sunday.  Nevertheless, I decided that I should take my two little kiddies, my double stroller and our rain accoutrements and make the 2 hr plus drive to see what it’s all about. 

I must say, on my way there, I doubted my decision through out the drive as my trip ran close to 3hrs to due a stop for gas, a drop off at the library and oh, my 3 year old threw up all over herself just before we got to Kitchener so had to stop for a clean up.  It poured the whole drive through our west end drive out of town.  It’s a good thing I was motivated to go because everything this morning was telling me to turn around, including all the crazy drivers! 

Anyway, as soon as I got to this beautiful scenic town, I parked for free no problem and the kids and I had a fantastic day!  Enjoy the pictures!

So many sweets! Must chose wisely which one to get :-)

Pig skin... kinda wierd

Look!  It's Rod Stewart!!

Making paint with food

Making salad at the kids tent

Ending the day with an organic crust oven baked pizza! 

I like to pretend I’m an interior designer!

I had a “day off” yesterday.  My husband hung out with the kids while I spent the day by myself enjoying a day with me :-) It was fantastic!  I got dressed in the same colors I want to decorate my bedroom in for some inspiration and head out the door in my husband’s pick up (thinking I would actually need the truck….  I hate driving that thing!).  I have been thinking about how to decorate my bedroom for a long time (years!).  I want to decide on a very classic and timeless look that I will not get tired of.  I am going for a cozy French country look and something that is soft but not too feminine for my husband's comfort of course.  I must say it takes an art to decorating and it has not been easy.  I had to shop and explore with an open mind in order to allow creativity and fresh ideas to set in. 

Firs stop: West Elm (Liberty Vilage, Toronto)

I love this store!  It is a more conservative version of the pottery barn.  They have decent sales and their prices are reasonable.  I bought a beautiful cozy wool rug.  They were out of stock though so I’ll have to go back to pick it up (what a shame ;-)  The bedding is nice there but I decided not to spend too much on bedding as I may regret it with the kids.  I’m also choosing to put my money elsewhere like in window treatments and nice fabric!

Next Stop: Designer Fabrics (Queen West)

What a great place for fabric!  This is wear my inspiration grew to a whole other level as I walked through hundreds of design fabrics and colors and really became overwhelmed with the options.  After a good hour of searching I finally found the perfect fabric combinations and colors.  I got a deal on it too! 

Had lunch at Rustic Cosmo Café on Queen West which was delicious and taste home made.

I ended my day back up the north end of the city at Ikea where I hoped to find my 45$ duvet cover but again they were out of stock.

Hopefully my few trips back and forth to pick things up won't cut into my budget much with the gas I’m spending to get there!  The last few times I’ve gone to Ikea, I was kidless and very observant to all the other shoppers.  I found it funny to see so many couples disagreeing on each others choice of furnishing and all I can think of was how often my husband and I have walked out of there unsuccessful with our plans because we could not agree on anything.  Our solution to that  (well, my solution to that) is to simply let me take over decorating!  “Trust me dear, our house will be comfy and cozy and all you have to do is help me install it”

So the truck came back home with nothing else in it but a small bag of fabric.  Nevertheless, my idea for a bedroom came together yesterday and now I can start working on it.  Stay tuned!

Finally made it to Bloor West!

Been meaning to check out the west side since I moved here. Today was a beautiful day to stroll through Bloor West Village.
A little disappointed with lunch at the Firkin. We were hungry and had to find something that would be huge stroller friendly. They also had free brunch for kids but not really worth while. Next time I will try Dr Generosity. That place looked pretty good (just not with a stroller).

Went into Chapters which was once an old theatre. What a beautiful book store. They kept the original brick interior and open stage. I do want to mention however how annoyed I am of trends that come out over the top and then disappear. For instance, what's with all the owls?? I think it's cute and all. In fact, I recently bought an owl measuring cup set at West Elm. But seriously, they've gone a little crazy with it. Now, I purposely don't want to buy anything with an owl on it!

Spot the owl!

You Are What You Eat!

As I continue to learn more and more about our food supply, where it comes from and how it is manipulated, I have become pretty choosy in my choice of food consumption.  My eating habits per say have not really changed much over the years but the way I shop is certainly starting to.  I’m not going crazy over restrictions like solely organic or anything like that (not yet!).  Nevertheless, the organic packaged food option is often a better one I find because it tends to have less additives, GMOs  (Genetically Modified Organisms) and other foreign substances in comparison to it’s non organic competitors.  I’m also trying to buy meats from local farmers that are free of hormones and that are grass fed (as opposed to grain fed) and I don't buy cheeses that contain modified milk ingredients.  This of course comes at a cost and I’m hoping that the long term benefits will pay off.  Besides, I'm thinking that with better quality we will also appreciate smaller quantities thus avoiding over consumption.  We’ll see how it  goes :-)

Here are my comments on a few of the places I’ve explored.  Common to all undoubtedly is the higher prices you will pay for food so I will not talk much about inevitable higher costs. 

 

The Big Carrot – Danforth

Very quaint and well placed on the Danforth, The Big Carrot has a nice variety of foods and is definitely a nice grocery store to shop in.  Although they carry organic and local meat, if you’re looking for grass fed, you’re better off going somewhere else.  My pet peeve with many health food stores is the amount of supplements they carry and all the advertising that goes with it.  Supplements do have a small role to play with smaller specific populations but I am a firm believer that most of us do not require supplements as long as you are following a well balanced diet.  In fact, I would argue that with the quantities of food we have available at our disposal, the copious amounts of fortified foods on the shelves and of course the true uncertainty of the need for supplements, taking nutrients from a jar can actually become very dangerous.  This is a whole other blog topic in it self!  All in all, it's a nice little store to shop in if you have the doe.

Roe Farms – Queen East & Roncy

I stopped into the one in the beaches and it was very welcoming and clean.  The butchers are also chefs which makes them not only very knowledgeable but you can tell they are passionate about what they do.  We learnt to watch for the way things are worded for instance.   “Antibiotic and hormone free” does not mean the same thing as “Raised free of antibiotics and hormones”.  For more info on definitions check out http://chicken.ca/on-the-farm/from_the_farm_to_you/understanding-your-choices/

I must say, the chicken was very good but my husband and I both found that the rib eye steak was lacking a little flavor and we’re not sure why.  I plan on going back to talk to the guy and see why this would be…

After reading this: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2011/superbugsinthesupermarket/healthcanada.html

I am better convinced that we need to look out for ourselves because the government sure is not going to!

Beef Connections - Ordering directly from local farmers (no middleman)

http://www.beefconnections.ca/Product_Home.html

We're trying this out for the first time so more to follow on how this works out for us!

 Alex Farm Products – Danforth

Great place to buy good cheese!  My friend and I spent a good 30 minutes in there trying and exploring some delicious cheese.  I also got a great tip on how to make pumpkin fondue!  Let me know if you want details on that one :-)

Toronto Money Spending Going Wrong!

City Select - Great Stroller!

The day started with a decent work out followed by a stop at Moms to be on Bayview (http://www.momstobeandmore.com/contactus.aspx) where I had to return a faulty piece on my stroller in exchange for a new one.   Luckily, I had 14 days left on my 1 year warranty and it’s not going to be an issue.  That makes me happy!  I am quite happy with my Britax double stroller which I purchased there however would recommend the City Select for any one who is comparing.  It has better options with the changing of the seats and also has better wheels.  However, it’s probably more expensive so if those items aren’t a deal breaker for you, the Britax is pretty good.I stopped in for a loaf at Cobs bread.  The cranberry sourdough bread is very good.  I would have bought a croissant but they did not look as good as the ones I am used to on Mt Pleasant or Queen St so I decided it was not worth the extra calories! (go big or go home right!)

Great Place on Queen St for all kinds of goodies!

What I found interesting today was what I heard on news radio this morning however.  Turns out the police have selected today to be the “Get moving Toronto day”.  They are apparently going to come down hard on traffic and parking in the city (specifically downtown) and ticket drivers aggressively over infractions related to clogging up traffic.   Now, I don’t see how traffic is affected by basic parking infractions like going over your paid parking time limit, nevertheless the parking guy I saw today on a small side street (near Bayview south of Eglinton) anyway was seriously on a mission!  I wish I had my camera to video tape this guy speed walk to each car with his huge piece of chalk, very clearly mark every front passenger tire.  Perhaps it was just a coincident that I got there when he did but I don’t think I was even there for 60 seconds before he got to my car and put a line through my front tire!  As I walk out with my coffee and loaf of bred I see him again on Bayview this time checking every car, then boom starts to write out a ticket for one that of course merits one.  During this time, he is eyeing the lady at the parking pass machine (which are so NOT user friendly BTW if you’ve ever used one) as he ensures her he realizes she will have a parking pass very shortly.  

As cbc’s interview will show on http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/ID/2262691565/ 

Apparently busy traffic in downtown Toronto according to Toront police is caused by things like:  “People’s work places being stretched out… we’re trying to modify a certain behaviour… people parking on the side of the road blocking traffic…”cbc radio, Aug 2012.

Really?  Is that what it is?  What about the problem we have with our outdated subway system?  How about the fact that we have really done nothing with our transportation system (public transit or highways) to compensate for the huge population of people moving into the overly exaggerated number of high rise condos in downtown Toronto?  What about the simple fact that there is ongoing construction everywhere in the city making it harder for drivers to get around?  You’re going to ticket UPS because it’s dropping off mail?  I bet if they were dropping off  the city council’s cheques, they would get off with no ticket!  This is not going to help keep people moving!  This will only piss everyone off!

But don’t you worry, Toronto has it all figured out.  To help generate more income, it plans on investing in a huge casino that will be built on what used to be a great place for kids to have fun outdoors; what we will remember as Ontario Place.  In this time of economic hardship, what a great idea huh?  Let’s create a place for people to randomly gamble what little money they have.  Most of these people have families that they have to support.  There is no way the cost of this casino will outweigh it’s benefits for anyone living here unless of course you are running the place.  Way to go Toronto!

Busy Summer!

I know, I know, it’s been a while.  It’s been such a busy summer so far with so much going on and still lots for us to do.  We’ve been going to bed pretty late most nights and of course never with the luxury of sleeping in.  To top it off, our little one has been teething and is thus very needy and a little restless.  The good news is, he’s also moving around like crazy now (standing & crawling) and is consequently finally sleeping a little more during the day (hence why I have the time right now to write J).   Needless to say, we are combating the heat by incorporating plenty of water activities and definitely successful at tiring the kids out every time!  In keeping with the condensed ways of a  blog, I will try to keep my blurb short and sweet.

Cedar Park Resort – It’s not really a resort.  I would call it “Cedar Water Park & Campground”, nevertheless, what a great place to take the kids on a hot summer day!  It’s a short drive just north of Bowmanville and is basically a mini Wild Water Kingdom but in a campground.  There is plenty of space to set up, have a picnic or play soccer on open grass.  The water park is a good size and there is a huge park on sand for kids’ entertainment.  I would recommend it for small children (up to about 12ish – until their ready for the bigger parks like Wonderland and Wild Water Kingdom).  It was only 10$ per adult and kids under 3 were free.  It is also a great place to throw a b-day party.

Cobourg on Canada Day – It was HOT, busy, and there was plenty to do!  I would definitely do it again!  My daughter and her cousin tried the carousel ride for the first time and cried the whole way through.  It was hilarious!  We made up for it at the splash pad and ice cream later J

Long Point (Lake Erie) – Fantastic sandy beaches with great shallow water for the kids.  I prefer the more quiet and private setting when I’m camping and felt this place was a little crammed but I’m told that’s what campgrounds are normally like.  There were some good spots near the beach though (far from the big campers and trailers).  You're compromising electricity for privacy though so Imaybe we’ll go for that option once the kids are a little more self sufficient.  Lets be honest here, camping is no holiday with a baby and a toddler!  We still had fun and the kids loved it.

St-Clair Ice Cream Factory Outlet – Yes, there is an outlet for ice cream!  It’s quite a dive actually located on the Danforth just west of Victoria Park but the ice cream is good and cheap.  I must say, it’s not the best ice cream I’ve had but they may have something to do with the ridiculously hot weather we’ve had, making the ice cream melt faster than you can get to it and possibly affecting the freezers.  You do get lots for your money and the variety is huge so the trip is  worthwhile.  I would definitely go again especially because they carry SuperKid!! I thought that was exclusive to Lora Secord (they call it something else though)!

St-Lawrence Antique Market – Always a hit on Sundays!  I bought 2 pairs of sunglasses in mint condition for 120$.  D&G and Prada.

Fernbrook Resort – O.k. let’s not kid ourselves here… It’s a trailer park!  It’s actually been around for many years and was probably your typical trailer park at one time.  It’s gone through many changes in the last few years however including new ownership and improvements to the main building and I’m sure will become an up and coming for generations to follow.  Although we had fun visiting and enjoyed the great pool (that we had all to ourselves), we decided trailer living is not really for us.  Having lived in the country with acreage, we still chose property over community resort living.  Nevertheless, for anyone who is looking for a good deal to get in on a trailer park, this would be a good place.  It is in its early stage of change and so might be a good option for a new family.  Bonus: There is a great Antique market a couple of kms from it too that is totally worth checking out!