November

November came and went. And so did my best intentions to post more regularly. This is it. A few blurry shots snapped with my phone to capture the everyday moments.

Days filled with basketball, homework, leaves and We Day. Days full of joy and some full of tears. 

Autumn

I love autumn. What a glorious time of year.






Yesterday morning bundled in a scarf and mitts, (but still no winter coat - hooray for that!) I walked over to pick up Little Miss from a friend's house.

The morning was bright with all it's glorious sunshine, the air crisp and the leaves. Oh, the leaves! Beautifully coloured. And falling, falling. All at once. The beauty of creation everywhere.

Today we went to the pumpkin patch. It's nothing fancy. Just pumpkins in a field. Simple. Real. Muddy. The kidlywinks pick out pumpkins for them to carve and one for Sneakers too. So fun choosing just the right ones.

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

Over the last couple of weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, my little family has been talking about being thankful. I love the changing seasons. And although I am sad to see summer go with all it's sweet, wonderful sunshine, it was time for a change. Time to focus on giving thanks.

That bright orange refuses to be ignored. Reminding me to give thanks. Insisting, really.  And I do have a lot to be thankful for. The paler repetition of give thanks over and over and over again in the background, whispers and urges me to be thankful for the little things, the day-to-day life, even for the things that aren't so welcomed. 

Inspired by this and above all, this.

Technically

Technically. It's a word Mr. Man uses. A lot. These days, most of his sentences begin with, "Well, technically...." And today I'm borrowing his favourite word. Technically, it's still summer. Even though the lazy days are gone, the kidlywinks are back to school and I've started a new job, it is still technically summer. For a few more days at least. So I can still say that I posted the summer snapshots  in summer. 

And what a fun summer it was! I didn't take an intentional break from blogging - it just happened. We were busy soaking up the sunshine and spending time with family and friends. It was a great summer. And when I look at these itty-bitty pictures, all the memories come flooding back: the cottage, NYC, hiking, making summer treats and the beach.

The Last Day of School

It's the last day of school! I wanted to take a picture of the kidlywinks, just like we do on the first day of school, but Little Miss was out the door and gone before I could find the camera and Mr. Man was still half asleep. Let's just say he's more than happy that this day has finally arrived.

For the teachers' gifts this year we decided that we would give them something that would induce  relaxation on the front porch. Organic beer for Mr. Man's teacher and a lovely bottle of wine wrapped in a flour sack tea towel for Little Miss' teacher. (You can find the tea towels here.) Here's to summer, fun and relaxation!

Chocolate Milk Mustache

I love this boy. Chocolate milk mustache and all. Mr. Man is a lover of video games, all things retro (that's my boy!) graphic novels and teeny tiny creatures. He draws them. Pages and pages. 

 And now he is sculpting them out of modelling clay. I think he is creating an army. Or universe. This summer he plans on creating more. And more. And more. And perhaps a video. 

And the only thing better than creating a gaggle, herd, posse of creatures is making them with your dad.

Ultimate

Little Miss loves Ultimate. She's been playing with some kids in the neighbourhood once a week arranged by a fabulous family. This family has been a real blessing to us. We are so thankful for them. 

And excitement of all excitement, Little Miss along with the other kids who have been playing weekly, made the school Ultimate team!

Today they competed against some other local schools.

 It was hot and humid, but they played on.

 So fun to see them play.

And cheer on their team from the sidelines.

Don't Forget the Cannoli!

A few months ago, Little Miss was given a book full of easy sewing projects. She set to work right away making sock monsters. This girl loves a project! Not to be out done by his big sister, Mr. Man got in on the action. He made one sock monster and named him Mr. Cannoli. Fast forward several weeks and Mr. Man asks, "What's a cannoli?" Realizing that Mr. Man had no idea what a cannoli was, Andrew arrived home with a box wrapped in string full of - you guessed it - cannolis.

Sweet Wonderful Sunshine

It was time to change things up. Time to add some summer to the living room. Even though, technically, as Mr. Man will remind me, summer doesn't start until later this week. We are enjoying the hot weather despite what the calendar says.

I love words. I always have. Words that remind me of the good things in life. Like sunshine. And to take time to enjoy it.

Oh, how sweet the light of day,

And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!

Even if you live for a long time, 

Don't take a single day for granted.

Take delight in each light-filled hour.

Ecc. 11:7-8

And a little chalkboard bunting full of sunshine.

The best part about this project is that I had everything on hand. A repurposed board and some paint left over from the previous owners is all that it took. 

And of course my little buddy that helps me with everything. We're counting down the days until school is done and when the all there is to do is enjoy the sunshine.

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Cocktail Party - Mad Men Style

Last weekend Andrew and I hosted a classic 1960's style, Mad Men cocktail party. Oh so fun!

We dressed up in 1960's cocktail attire. A little consignment dress and vintage cocktail ring for me and a 1960's tie for Andrew. 

And our lovely guests came dressed with 60's flaire as well.

Ali even had her hair done. Isn't it lovely?

And Cherolyn styled her own pin curls. Fab, eh?

After all the picture taking (because, really, when are we all dressed up this nicely?) the cocktails began.

Andrew was our bartender. He is good. Really. Andrew served up cocktails from the 1960's. On the cocktail menu: Lime Gimlet, Old Fashioned, Tom Collins, Mojito and a Manhattan. 

The bar cart normally acts as Andrew's bedside table, but for this occasion it was put to its original use. Complete with a vintage ice bucket.

 Although we have some rock and martini glasses, we were in need of more for the party. Thankfully kind friends lent us theirs. Using a china marker, we wrote Men Men on the bottom of our glasses so we could easily tell them apart.

As for the borrowed martini glasses, we simply wrote Mad Men on metal rim tags. It made returning the right glasses so much easier.

 And of course what is a party without food? I raided my mom's china cabinet for some authentic 1960's serving dishes. So fun!

Kind friends brought food. Thanks Marshal & Cherolyn, Leslie and Rik & Ali. They brought awesome 1960's inspired food. We ate Pigs in Blankets, Deviled Eggs, Salmon Mousse, Shrimp Cocktail, Chips and Dip, Jelly Rolls and other yummy goodness.

We kept the rest of the decoration to a minimum. A cocktail banner.

And Mad Men inspired hoop art.

A fun evening indeed.