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!