Falalalala Lala Lala

This year I hosted my very first Christmas dinner, complete with turkey and Claire's sweet potato soufflé! E grew up celebrating Christmas, but I basically took in the festivities at friends' or cousins' houses since we didn't really celebrate in my house, so it was a big deal for me to begin traditions for our little family.

We combined Indy's birthday with Christmas since E's mother, father, sister and her husband were all here visiting from the States.

The house was festive, the food was delicious and the air was full of love!

Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas too!

oh christmas tree my christmas tree...

indy's first words christmas morning: "what is THAT?" as he pointed to the bounty under the tree.

sleepy-eyed: you know i love you when i'm willing to post a bed-head family photo!

the fabulous chocolate/vanilla/pudding birthday cake made for indy by my bff, jenn

indy now equates birthdays with cake...guess it's better than thinking it means "presents"

Read more...

'Twas the night before Christmas...

Wishing you and yours a fabulous Christmas full of love and joy!

Read more...

Second trip around the sun

Two years ago today our little boy was born and our lives changed forever. The passing of time is always so bittersweet because I want to savour every minute of it but I love watching Indio grow. As he learns new things and navigates his world he reminds us everyday of how lucky we are to have such a beautiful, caring, smart and vibrant boy.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Indio!
We love you more than words will ever be able to describe.

new to the world

world explorer

Read more...

Ornament Swap 2010: My Bounty!

This year is the first year I will have an official Christmas tree in our house and I thought what better way to adorn it than with an ornament from Micaela's Ornament Swap 2010! I was lucky enough to be paired up with a wonderful swap partner, Erin, who is a fellow Canuck [she's out west in the beautiful land of British Columbia] and has such a fantastic blog!

Yesterday, I received a wonderful package from Erin containing the cutest, most adorable little additions for my soon-to-be Christmas tree! I can't begin to thank her enough for her thoughtfulness [she read I loved elephants in a comment I made on Micaela's blog!] and originality [they were handpicked from an Etsy artist: MaiseyHandmade.]

love the twine and teeny tag.

I can't wait to put these guys up on our tree when we finally get it! Thank you so much, Erin! I hope you receive your ornament soon, if you haven't already! Canada Post promised me it would get to you safe and sound this week!

how perfect are they?

erin knows soft ornaments are best with a toddler exploring everything!

Read more...

Snapshot Sunday: weeks 49 & 50

Two weeks of photos and the only two weeks of 2010 before we're onto the next decade of this millennium! Are you ready? I'm not...at all.

[day 338: Dufflet's chocolate banana cake--perfect for an uncle's birthday!]

[day 339: Taking advantage of a child-free Sunday morning with brunch at the Lakeview.]

[day 340: Woke up to rooftops ready for reindeer.]

[day 343: Dino dinner.]

[day 345: Road trip indulgence--the McGriddle is sweet and savoury at its best!]

[day 346: Unplanned outfit coordination.]

[day 347: Hostess Carla cooked up a delicious veggie meal of broccoli slaw-stuffed tofu with soy chorizo & quinoa...I swear to all you carnivores, it was spicy and delicious!]

[day 348: Yes, that's my son in a bar in his pajamas being mauled by an older woman.]

[day 349: Celebrating at Grandpa's with homemade cake while mama is sick in bed.]

[day 350: Seems I always snap a bridge pic when leaving NYC. Makes me yearn for it even more.]

[day 351: Red curry and pyramid rice from Spring Rolls.]

[day 352: Post-movie Blizzard...made the flick more palatable.]

[day 353: The union of two of my favourite foods: poached eggs with guacamole and avocado...that blackened thing over on the right was well-done potato rosti.]

Read more...

Snapshot Sunday: week 48

Woah, it's December and almost 2011??? In 10 days my baby turns 2. TWO! As exciting as this is, I'm feeling pretty bummed about it actually because I want to stop time and keep him little for a bit longer. I finally finished his "first year" photo book and ordered it from Blurb. I'm trying to finish year two before the end of the year. It's a lofty goal, but I think I can do it.

This week's photos are missing day 338 [yesterday] for the mere reason that I'm too lazy to wait for my photos to upload right now, but the rest of the week was pretty colourful.

Hope you're all enjoying the last month of the year. Are you preparing for the holidays? Have you received snow yet?

[day 332: This restaurant reminded me of a friend who shares its namesake.]

[day 333: Washing dishes or just making a bigger mess?]

[day 334: Crazy-beautiful sunset filtered through a dirty windshield.]

[day 335: 'Tis the season for a festive CN Tower.]

[day 336: Would you accept a kiss from this yogurt monster?]

[day 337: Funky mural on west Queen St West.]

Read more...

Well Fed: Columbia, MO

After a week filled with Midwest hospitality and deliciously over-sized meals, I'm shocked I haven't gained 10 lbs! We had a great trip visiting E's mom and baby sis, Addie, in Columbia, Missouri, and eating to our hearts' content! Our meals consisted of some great home cooking and these worthy takeout meals:
First stop: Smokin' Chick's BBQ, Original Missouri BBQ. Now, growing up in Canada, I didn't fully realized there was a cuisine called "BBQ" until I met my Midwestern husband. He has taken me out a few times in search of authentic BBQ in NYC [didn't happen] and in Kansas on previous trips to visit his family. But it was only on this trip that I fully understood why people salivate at the mere mention of baby back ribs. Chick's baby backs were tender, fall-off-the-bone tasty. I did find the St. Louis ribs a bit fatty, but the baked beans and potato salad didn't disappoint. I'm officially a BBQ convert...

...and so is he!

Since first meeting E's familia, Dairy Queen has became a staple during our get-togethers, but this time we skipped the DQ and headed to Culver's for frozen custard. Addie tried to convince me that custard was just thicker ice cream, but after sampling the Concrete Mixer [a Blizzard in disguise], I'm pretty sure they're the same consistency and equally tasty! I had the banana/Reese peanut butter cup combo...Heaven! [Just a bit of warning: do not look up the nutritional info at Culver's if you want to enjoy your custard!]

[right before I devoured my 'Mixer]

Being in a *college town* [Columbia is home to the Mizzou Tigers] it's almost a necessity to have good pizza to keep the students well-nourished and Columbia didn't disappoint. Addie took us to Shakespeare's Pizza in the downtown district for some mouth-watering, whole wheat crust deliciousness [you didn't think "mouth-watering" and "whole wheat" could be in the same sentence, now did you?] Voted "Favorite College Hangout" by Good Morning America, Shakespeare's was packed to the rafters and had an hour long wait! Luckily, we called in our order and it was ready to go when we got there. Our pie was piled high with toppings that it was a balancing act trying to get a piece to my mouth without it falling apart in my lap! Paired with a yummy red wine, this pizza dinner was just about perfect.

^via

Definitely check out these spots if you're ever in Columbia. I'm still salivating reminiscing about our trip!

Read more...

Snapshot Sunday: week 47

Hope those of you south of the border had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We were in Missouri for the family feast, which was as relaxing as you can get. Lots of eating, playing and even some working out. Really! I have the photos to prove it!

What did you do for the holidays?

[day 325: Sitting behind first class still gives you lots of leg room...I couldn't even touch the seats in front of me. Too bad all the first class passengers were probably cursing our unhappy tot during the flight. Yes, we became that family.]

[day 326: Columbia, MO is full of lakes and ponds that Indy was eager to check out.]

[day 327: Working out at Wilson's, a chic boutique gym that costs less than the stinky gym-rat gyms I belonged to in NYC.]

[day 328: My after workout shake...Yes, I worked out twice on vacation!]

[day 329: Thanksgiving breakfast made by my little man. Authentic Canadian maple syrup too!]

[day 330: Midwest hospitality even extends to the airports: plastic baggies for your 3oz liquids and gels! They even made an announcement for a lost turkey lunch left at a gate. Makes traveling to JFK or LaGuardia that much more painful.]

[day 331: Happy at home...and sporting papa's hat.]

Read more...

Holiday Greetings: free from Shutterfly

I've always loved sending holiday cards since I heart all things *snail mail*. With the addition of Indio to our lives and the colossal number of photos we have of him, it only made sense to capitalize on his cuteness with the yearly seasonal greetings.

I've always preferred the quality of Shutterfly for prints to send off to the grandparents and family and photo books to commemorate our vacations, but only last year used them for their large selection of holiday greetings. I loved the simplicity of Shutterfly's site, from uploading and storing photos, to editing them for my card. Their cards are printed on thick card stock in either 5x7 folded or flat and the ever-chic 5x5 flat size.

last year's choice.

Of course, I couldn't limit my snail mail to just the end of the year. So this year, I also made Halloween and Diwali cards.

my sweet pumpkin

happy diwali: of course, I couldn't choose just one!

I still haven't narrowed down my choices for 2010, but these are a couple that I've already saved in my project gallery. [I don't want to ruin the surprise!]

yes, we've already done santa photos this year...i hate crowds so i decided to avoid them this year!

Visit Shutterfly if you're looking for traditional or modern, fun and funky, simple or ornate greetings to send all year long. If you're a fellow blogger sign up to get 50 free holiday cards for yourself! Shutterfly wants bloggers to review its new holiday card designs, no matter how big or small your blog is!

Read more...

Snapshot Sunday: week 46

This week is a bit of a blur. Indio was sick for a big chunk of it. E was under the weather and up to his eyeballs in work and apparently I only used my phone to take photos. I was desperately trying to get our holiday cards ordered, Blurb book completed and pack for our trip too!

We are probably mid-way to Missouri by the time you read this. We are headed there to visit E's mom and baby sister for American Thanksgiving. I'm excited to see them, explore Columbia, and eat turkey! Hopefully, I'll have time to blog from there, but if not, see you in a week!

[day 319: when mama runs out of coins for the fountain, Indy gets his own!]

[day 320: my fearless boy at the indoor playground, followed by his knight.]

[day 321: sbux holiday drinks taste even better when it's buy-one-get-one!]

[day 322: I ordered a Lactaid decaf latte and got sewage water. as much as I want to support mom-n-pop shops, at least with the big corporate guys, they get it right every time.]

[day 323: sticking grapes in his ear because his mouth was full.]

[day 324: our time at the playground is quickly diminishing as the weather gets colder.]

Read more...