Hello 2018!

Welcome to 2018! I celebrated my New Year's Eve in Toronto this year. We enjoyed an excellent three course dinner at Milestones and afterwards we went back home to watch the ball drop on TV. We had -18 degrees in Toronto on New Year's Eve so watching the fireworks by Nathan Phillips Square didn't feel like an interesting option at all.

The state of our Family Room in the morning on New Year's Day. The team at Times Square may have stayed up until 4AM in the morning to finish the cleaning of the city, but in our house we let the confetti be. You can't celebrate and clean up on the same day if you ask me.

It's Almost Christmas!

On Thursday last week my husband and I went on a two-day getaway to Waterloo,ON. It was very nice to go on a relaxing getaway in the middle of the hectic Christmas season.

We stayed at Delta Hotels by Marriott in Waterloo.

I did a swim workout at the hotel and enjoyed relaxing in the hot tub in front of the fireplace after my workout was done.

We also enjoyed some healthy and very tasty meals at Proof restaurant.

On Saturday we spent the day in downtown Toronto.

I needed to get the last of my Christmas shopping done on Saturday so most of the day was spent at the Eaton centre.

The Eaton centre is so cozy at Christmas time with Christmas decorations all over the mall.

On Saturday we also took the time to stop by Louie cafe in Toronto and enjoy some very tasty Vanilla soy lattes. I'm glad I was able to buy my last Christmas gifts on Saturday because on Sunday I got a fever and ended up spending most of the day sleeping. Good timing on that visit to the mall!

The Weekend

A moment of stillness. One of my favorite relaxing things to do during this season is enjoy a big cup of coffee and read some new magazines in our family room.

I also enjoy looking at our pink Christmas flower, it lights up my world!

My weekend diet included a couple of bags of popcorn. White chocolate & peppermint flavored kettle corn and two episodes of Big Little Lies made my Saturday evening relaxing and enjoyable.

Saturday morning was all about fun and games at our house. Who's hiding behind the couch? Hubby has energy for some Hide and seek right away in the morning, I'm impressed!

On Saturday afternoon we needed to run some errands in downtown Toronto.

Running errands always becomes more fun when you add some toffee hot chocolate.

As we were driving past the CN Tower I thought of all the sweet memories I have from this tower. We celebrated Mom&Dad's 30th wedding anniversary in the CN Tower restaurant and my husband proposed to me in this tower. Seven years ago Toronto was a brand new city to me, today this city is filled with happy memories. God is so good to me!

The First Snow

This morning I was surprised to wake up to a snowy landscape here in Toronto. The first snow of the season is always a joyful surprise. I wouldn't want to live somewhere where there is no snow, the snow is what makes winter fun and beautiful!

The "Today's Outfit"-picture from Sunday. You know you are having a slow Sunday when you spend most of the day dressed in your pyjama pants. We focused on decorating the house for Christmas on Sunday. The tree is up now and this week I plan to decorate it, I just have to shop a few more Christmas ornaments first.

On Sunday evening I ordered a white chocolate mocha and then we took a stroll in the neighborhood, admiring the fun and beautiful Christmas lights that people are starting to put up. 

The Weekend

The last weekend of August had to include a trip to the beach, of course.

On Sunday morning we went to church and afterwards I enjoyed going for a walk in the park.

On Sunday afternoon we took a drive out to Cobourg where we enjoyed the downtown area.

I love what a cozy little town Cobourg is.

Cobourg Coffee House (in the background) is my favorite little cafe in this small town.

On Saturday evening my husband and I went on our first Date Night in Toronto in a long time. All our Date Nights during summer have consisted of a burger and a beer at home, no make up and a very casual dress code. It was fun to get all dressed up for each other again after a long break during summer.

We enjoyed dinner and drinks on the rooftop patio at Milestones.

How blessed we are to get to live here, I love this city! Next weekend it's Labor Day weekend in Canada and I'm already looking forward to the long weekend. This is the last week of summer break for all the kids, then the school year starts again.

A Slow Weekend

The main event happening in Toronto during the weekend was the Taste of the Danforth in Greek town. It would have been fun to attend, but this weekend we felt like just taking it easy at our house. On Saturday we had a slow day at home and I was able to enjoy reading a book for a few hours. It was rainy on Saturday so it was a perfect day for summer reading.

Sunday was warm and sunny so after church we took a walk in the park and along the beach. I treated myself to a blueberry muffin and coffee for breakfast. My choice of breakfast during the weekends is all about enjoyment and not so much about health.

On Sunday Afternoon we packed our car full of bags and took a day trip to Cobourg beach. It became a wonderful slow weekend! Now it's only three weeks left of summer and I want to enjoy every moment of it! Today it's Monday and nothing exciting is happening. I think I will make some S'mores for dessert tonight, to make this average Monday a little bit more fun and enjoyable.

Canada Day

On Friday night I got all dressed up for another birthday party in the family.

Saturday was Canada Day and not just any Canada Day, it was Canada's 150th birthday!

We celebrated Canada's birthday by hanging out by the Harbourfront center in Toronto.

The giant rubber duckie was one of the most popular sights during Canada Day.

My Canada Day outfit. I should probably have worn something red and white for Canada Day, but I don't own a single piece of red clothing. Bright red is not my favorite color, but next summer I want to buy a red dress so that I can dress for the occasion on Canada Day.

I celebrated Canada Day with a slice of Saskatoon berry pie, but my favorite part of the day was the fireworks. The fireworks by the CN Tower was the most beautiful fireworks I have ever seen in my life! Well done Toronto!

On Sunday we took our first trip to Wasaga Beach this summer. I went swimming a couple of times and the water at Wasaga Beach was about 20 times warmer than in Cobourg. The water is always colder in Lake Ontario than it is in Lake Huron for some reason.

It isn't properly summer before you visit Wasaga Beach every year!

Sand in my flip-flops = a sign of summer!

I treated myself to a beavertail at Wasaga Beach. I had the Avalanche with cheesecake icing and Skor candy, it tasted amazing! I'm very grateful for how the weekend turned out, they had promised a lot of rain but in the end we only got a couple of hours of rain in total. It's July, my favorite month of the year, so I better appreciate every minute of it! :)

32

On Sunday I celebrated my 32nd birthday with a very tasty strawberry shortcake. I can't believe it's already ten years since I came to North America for the first time! Time does not stand still.

This stranger woke me up early in the morning on Sunday.

I was served breakfast in bed, which in my world means a BIG cup of coffee. I don't have much appetite early in the morning.

Later we went to Milestone's for a Birthday Brunch. I had a Mimosa and their Prime Rib Eggs Benny, probably the best Eggs benedict I have ever had! The weather was also perfect on my birthday, in other words it was +19 Celsius and pouring rain most of the day. Summer, where did you go?? Please come back before July when my family comes to visit us in Toronto!

From Spring to Summer

Tomorrow is the first official day of Summer in North America! I feel like Spring 2017 went by crazy fast, but I don't mind at all. I'm allergic to pollen so Spring isn't exactly my favorite season of the year. This year we also had an unusually rainy spring in Toronto with very high water levels in Lake Ontario. The black flies love the damp weather and this spring they put a stop to my biking workouts. When I happily went for my first biking workout in May I ended up getting these mini flies in my nose, eyes, mouth, everywhere. I decided that biking will have to wait until Spring is over and until all these tiny but annoying flies DIE! Thank God they only live for a short time during spring!

I took this picture on a beautiful spring day when I was so happy to be able to wear my spring jacket for the first time.

This was the year when I got excited about landscaping. I got a lot of inspiration during my morning walks this Spring, as I looked at my neighbors' beautiful front yards. I love the pink tulips in this front yard! Next year I want to plant tons of tulips in our yard. This is life after 30, the things that excite me today are quite different than ten years ago. Let's just say that gardening was not an interest of mine in my twenties.

Signs of Spring. When you can enjoy a good book and an iced latte without freezing to death.

Now Spring is over and Summer has arrived, I enjoy that everything in the suburbs is so green this time of year.

One of our favorite things that my husband and I like to do together is take walks along the lakefront just before sunset and catch up on each other's day.

We enjoy the beautiful sunset for awhile and then we go home and go straight to bed. The sun goes down around 9:30PM this time of year in Toronto.

Signs of Summer. I had my first glass of Sangria on our Date Night with my husband two weeks ago, it's officially summer!