Last January, I wrote out a full page of goals for 2013, which I haven't looked at for, oh...362 days? I just went back to read my list today. Some of them I succeeded at (going for two massages! yes!) Some of them were partly successful - I read seven books, not 12. And some were complete fails: I didn't run my longest run to date or redo our little bathroom. But I definitely made some positive changes in 2013 that I'm proud of, so rather than focusing on the misses, let's highlight the good things. 

1. L'Oreal Youth Code BB Cream covers flaws, moisturizes, and provides SPF all in one product. It doesn't get any easier than that.



2. LUSH Santa Baby Lip Tint is super concentrated, but you can apply just a little for a sheer tint of colour or layer it on for a party look. It also works as a cheek tint too. (I have been using only three products on vacation this year: BB cream, this tint, and black mascara. So easy.)



3. Black leggings have been my holiday staple so far, as I refuse to wear "real pants" when I'm on vacation. I have been pairing them with tunics, sweater dresses, chambray shirts and today, an oversized plaid shirt. Comfort & joy.

5. Quesadillas are so easy and quick to whip up for dinner and a nice alternative when you're sick of turkey, gravy, and stuffing. I often just root through the fridge and throw in a bunch of cheese and random produce - avocados, peppers, mushrooms, anything goes - but if you're feeling slightly less lazy these grilled chicken and pineapple quesadillas from the Pioneer Woman are my favourites.



Hope you're having a merry and lazy holiday!

I ran four miles on the treadmill at lunch yesterday and logged them on DailyMile, checked my stats and realized that run brings me to 1,000 miles on the nose for 2013, with just shy of two weeks to go before the year is over.

Running this year has been a love/hate relationship. I completed one of my goals (to finish three races in 2013), but failed at my secret goal (to go for my longest run ever to date). I didn't go on any runs longer than 12 miles in 2013, and that one was a disaster. My races were a 10K, a 6K Mud Hero, and the 7K Lucky 7 Relay - all shorter distances than last year's BlueNose half. I feel like I got a little speedier, but lost a lot of endurance. It was an injury-free year, which, after 2012's IT band debacle, was a blessing. I struggled to get long runs in and was mostly miserable during them. Goals that used to seem attainable in terms of distance seem very daunting now. I had toyed with the idea of running a full marathon this fall, and now, that feels downright impossible. There were ups and downs is what I'm saying.


On the bright side, it was a fun year. I didn't kill myself training or force myself to run if I truly wasn't feeling it. I enjoyed each of my three races and didn't go nuts training for them. I also started doing strength training a lot more regularly, and even though I'm not breaking any records for mileage, I like feeling more balanced in terms of weight training + 'other' cardio + running.

I don't have any goals for running or fitness for 2014 yet. I would like to build up more endurance again and do another half-marathon, or longer. But I also don't enjoy my life revolving around making sure I get my long runs in. Lately the only goals I've been setting are to make it past 10:00 a.m. without eating a Christmas cookie (rarely happens). In two weeks, when I no longer fit into any of my pants, I'll have some fitness goals to share. For now? Just trying to get to the gym amidst all the merrymaking of the holiday season and not gain an obscene amount of shortbread poundage. And pretty happy with my 1,000 miles two years in a row.

It snowed last night. Just a light dusting, enough to make the ground white and turn our quiet street into a Christmas-card scene. The kind of fresh, early-December snow that makes you think, maybe, just maybe, you could learn to be a winter person after all.

After dinner, we all bundled up to take a walk around our street to look at Christmas lights. Being out at night, when he's usually home getting ready for bed, seems to be a major adventure for Eli, and he makes a big deal about the rare occasion when he's outside after dark. He loved seeing the lights on our neighbours' houses, pointing out a snowman here or a reindeer there, and kept saying, "I'm walking in the snow! I'm kicking the snow!" Something Pete and I have done tens of thousands of times, but for Eli, it was such a huge deal.

It really was a magical little outing. Trudging along looking at the holiday lights, holding the wee man's hand, and listening to him chirp with so much wonder and excitement was pretty special. Seeing things through Eli's eyes - the holidays or the first snowfall - is one of my favourite things about being a mom. Noticing things I would overlook otherwise. Thank you, Eli, for reminding me to get excited about the little things and to appreciate the beauty around us every day.

Doesn't it feel like Christmas is being such a sneaky dickens this year, creeping up out of nowhere? Christmas Eve is three weeks from today - THREE WEEKS. How is that possible? Where did that come from? I love Christmas, but I definitely set my holiday expectations way too high and inevitably end up somewhere north of disappointed and just barely south of full-on basket case. Last year, Christmas was a disaster. We were struck by the plague at our house - three weeks of just feeling like absolute ass which peaked the week of Christmas through New Year's. It was awful. I rarely get sick, and never for more than a day or two. My mom pointed out that sometimes, trying to do too much and not getting enough rest takes its toll on your immune system, and while I just snapped some snotty response at her, I think she was right. I crammed my plate last December and skipped things like sleeping and eating well, and paid the price. Lesson learned.

This year, I'm scaling back, just a wee bit. I won't be hand-crafting cards and making six flavours of fudge every weekend. I want to have a fun holiday with my family - but I don't want to kill myself doing it. That's the goal. Holiday cheer sans hospitalization. Shooting for the stars in 2013!

Some people say you start making new traditions when you have kids of your own, but I disagree. I was as single as single gets when I started watching the SNL Christmas special every year, and the fact that I was watching and laughing at it by myself (while drinking a shit ton of Baileys that I didn't have to share) made it no less enjoyable for me. Peter and I were shacked up but not married when we started spending Christmas Eve making obscene amounts of nachos and watching A Christmas Story and It's a Wonderful Life (which we've never managed to stay awake for, probably thanks to all the nachos). What I'm saying is, regardless of your family situation or marital status, Christmas can be a special time.

This year, I'm looking forward to lots of things with Pete and Eli. Eli is two now so Christmas is pretty new to him. His first Christmas, he was a blatting lump, and last year, he was one, so he was kiiiiiind of taking it in, but also pretty neutral about the festivities. This year is different. He loves seeing Christmas lights. He's afraid of Santa. He's feeling the feels, good and bad. And it's so much fun to see the holidays through his eyes!

I'm super excited to bake cookies with Eli and let him decorate his own little gingerbread man. To witness his momentous freakout at the mall when we take him to see Santa. To watch him help his dad put up Christmas lights outside, and to decorate the tree with him. I'm excited to spend time with our families and friends, and even to make merry with my coworkers at our office party. And I'm pumped to sit by the tree by myself, just enjoying a little downtime and unwinding from 2013.

Above is a list of some of the things I'm looking forward to over the next couple of weeks - carried out in a very relaxed fashion, of course. What's on your must-do list for December?

[1] Old Navy's Black Friday Sale, specifically for their Active line. This morning, I made my one and only Black Friday purchase and ordered some of their workout gear for cheap. $11.50 sports bras and $14.50 compression leggings? Be still my heart. 

1. Eli has started calling us by our first names. "Amy, GET OVER HERE!" and "Where's Peter?" I don't know how he even knows those are our names. Then he cackles hysterically.

2. We made a batch of wine for our anniversary. The fourth-year anniversary gift is traditionally fruit and flowers, and we were like, fruit = grapes = wine. So we went to visit a winery and made a batch of wine. But here's where it gets fun. We thought our batch was going to make 10-12 bottles. It actually made 30. So now, we have all the wine. And homemade wine is like, knock-you-on-your-ass wine. I'm drunk writing the post and I'm not quite done one glass. It should be an extremely festive holiday season.

3. I started making a wreath on the weekend and ran out of burlap halfway through, so now I have this:

I bought more burlap and I would finish it now but I'm drunk.

4. Pete and I and some friends ran the Lucky 7 relay on Nov. 17! It was three legs of 7km. My running goal for 2014 was to complete three races, and this was my third. My secret goal was to run my longest run ever in 2014, which hasn't happened yet, and OOPS now the cat's out of the bag, this wine is really going to be a problem. I haven't run longer than 12 miles all year. Get off me. Anyway...Lucky 7 was a lot of fun and I'm excited to have three new t-shirts in my drawer from this year's races.

5. I took last Friday off to do my Christmas shopping because I thought it was Black Friday. All day long, I was buying things and thinking "these don't seem like Black Friday deals but just go with it, tightwad, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU." Realized this week I took the wrong Friday off.

That's about it. Going to go have a glass of water and put some Gatorade by my bedside for tomorrow morning, not even joking. Happy Tuesday kids!

[+] flannel sheets, because it's not already hard enough to get out of bed in the morning.
[+] printed compression capris, because if you're going to be stuck in the gym, you might as well have cute pants.

Lately, I have been oddly drawn to things that are making me feel very confused. I can't decide whether these new things I'm seeing are modern marvels and I want them - if I NEED them - or if they're actually horrifying and/or fugly and I should run, not walk, away.

Part of me is curious. Part of me is appalled. I don't know who to ask for advice, so I turn to the internet. Here are just two of many recent examples:

I am a girl with straight hair, SUPER straight. Like I'll go get it cut and the stylist is all, "do you flatiron your hair every morning?" in a disapproving tone, and I'm like, playa, PLEASE. I would kill to have hair that curls. If you look under my bathroom sink, it's like an As Seen On TV graveyard of hair curling apparatus which all garner the same results for me: zilch. My hair holds exactly two looks well: greasy seaweed and frazzled horse tail. I have been trying to have curly hair since I was about nine years old.

Which is why, when I saw the Curl Secret commercial on TV, I was intrigued. "A revolutionary new way to create one beautiful shiny curl after another." It certainly looks effortless in the ad. Will this actually work for me? I wondered.



Then I read some online reviews. Like this broad's, who claims her hair got caught in the motor. This is the stuff of nightmares. The Christine of styling tools.

Don't these just scream apres-ski? Don't you want to build a roaring fire, get your Bailey's-and-coffee day-drunk on, and lounge in a pair of these suckers all day long while a snowstorm howls outside and your man brings logs in from the woodpile shirtless but wearing one of those ear flap hats?

"Why yes, honey, I could absolutely go for more caffeine and booze and shortbread cookies. But first, why don't you come over here and give me a peek at that yule log?" But this is real life, and in real life, where do you wear Fair Isle leggings? Are they for ski bunnies only? Are they like Crocs or going braless, i.e. not permissible outside of your own yard? I don't know what to do with all this.  I mean, I wouldn't show up to the office wearing what is essentially a pair of patterned long johns, but could you make it work with boots and a long sweater? And is there an age limit to these things?  These are the things I think about when I'm not obsessing over work, food, sleeping, whether or not Eli is in danger, if that sound I'm hearing is the dog throwing up as I'm falling asleep, or whether I can get one more day out of my chipped nail polish. Any thoughts?

Your second birthday was cloudy and drizzly, a lot like the day you were born. You came downstairs and were greeted by a new train set (which you were thrilled about) and some new clothes (less thrilled). You ate Mickey Mouse-shaped waffles for your birthday breakfast and put on your "I Am 2" shirt, in case anyone wasn't sure why the house was full of balloons and tissue paper.

As our latest move in our quest to obtain the World's Worst Parents title, we've decided not to have a birthday party for Eli when he turns two years old on Sunday. At least, there won't be a big, themed, invite-everyone-we-know affair. We're going to keep it simple and invite his family over on his birthday for pizza and cake. There will be balloons and a few presents, but there won't be themed decor and corresponding invitations and treat bags. We are taking low-key to the max.

There are a few reasons for this. The biggest is that his birthday falls on the Remembrance Day long weekend this year, and a lot of people are going to be out of town on Sunday and just getting back on Monday. The following weekend, the local Christmas parades are happening (does November 16-17 feel obscenely early for Christmas parades to anyone else?) so a lot of families will be running around to those. And doing it two weeks late just seems pointless.

Plus...he's turning two. He's going to see his family and get a few presents and hear everyone sing him Happy Birthday - this is exciting for a two-year-old. It's not as though he's going to suffer PTSD because he didn't have a second birthday party. He knows, like, seven kids total and he hangs out with four of them at the sitter every day. Basically every day is a birthday party for Eli.

So there you have it. Worst, meanest, laziest parents ever. Instead, we're hoping to get together with some of Eli's little friends over the next few weeks so he still gets to hang out with his buddies, just not in a wild birthday bash scenario (but probably one that he'll enjoy just as much.)

One thing I want to establish with Eli from a young age is that holidays are about experiences, not huge 'dos and a million presents. Halloween is about carving a pumpkin, putting together a costume, and watching scary movies, not just about how much candy you can cram into your bag. Christmas is about baking cookies, listening to Kenny and Dolly and going for a drive to get hot chocolate and look at neighbourhood lights, not how many presents Santa brings.

That's not to say we are putting the kibosh on birthday parties - not at all! But right now, while he's so young, and this year in particular, with the long weekend throwing a wrench into things, I think we can make sure Eli still has a happy birthday and tons of fun without stressing too much over a Pinterest-caliber bash.

What do you think? Are we being horrible people?

I've seen this Friday feature on a few different blogs lately, namely here and more recently, here. This feels a lot easier today than waxing poetic about gratitude or sharing the picture of Eli in his Clark Kent costume yet again. 

Let's tell scary stories, because it's almost Halloween time! On the radio this morning, they were talking about childhood fears. Mostly the irrational, absurd ones. For example, one guy called in and said that when he was a kid and his dad put the car in park, but left it running, he was terrified it was going to roll away. Which is maybe not such a ridiculous fear.

Myself? I was terrified, TERRIFIED, of beaver faces in my quilt. I had this patchwork quilt on my bed, made up of different squares of patterned fabric. NOT ONE BEAVER, mind you, but one night, I was laying there in the semidark trying to fall asleep, staring at the quilt, and I imagined one of the squares had a beaver face in it.

Cue shitfit. I started screaming bloody murder. My parents came flying in the room thinking I was being abducted. I was hyperventilating, but eventually managed to make them understand that there was a beaver face in my quilt. RIGHT HERE.

They argued: there are no beavers on this quilt. There are no animals, period. No groundhogs, no muskrats, no gophers, no beavers. Beavers don't even have scary faces. I can see if it was like, a spider, or a shark face, but a beaver face is not remotely frightening.


In the end, my parents flipped the quilt around so the alleged "beaver face" was hidden and down by my feet. Great problem solving...so now it's down where I can't see it. And it's going to rip my feet off with those beaver teeth.


What were you afraid of?

"Meal planning" is one of those things that you can't really talk about with your friends, because as soon as you cop to planning out your meals for the week ahead, people stop inviting you to hang out. Admitting that you plan your meals is like wearing a sign across your chest proclaiming "I AM LAME" or "I H8 FUN".


Except: meal planning can help you maintain a sense of sanity in a world that's otherwise gone mad. My life may be in a complete shambles, but goddammit, I know what I'm having for dinner on Thursday and that's something to cling to. Plus, it helps you save money on grocery shopping as well as make the most of the ingredients you already have on hand. Fewer impulse buys + less wasted grub.

There are all kinds of different approaches to meal planning. Mine is not at all scientific. Every Sunday, I make a list of dinners to eat for the week ahead, and next-day lunches to correspond with dinners (this allows me to make the most of leftovers and to avoid eating pasta twice on Tuesday) (not that there's anything wrong with that). Then, when I go grocery shopping, I know exactly what I need to pick up and what I already have at home, so I'm not aimlessly trolling the junky aisles and throwing all sorts of snacks into my cart.

Recently I found this idea, which basically makes the idea of meal planning even simpler by designating a different theme for each day of the week. While this might sound boring and predictable, there's still enough variety here that it's never as if you're going to eat the same thing over and over ad nauseam. It just makes the planning aspect that much easier. You choose a theme for each day of the week and stick with that.

Our 'themes' are going to change from season to season. We aren't big winter barbecuers, just like we aren't going to gather around a piping-hot soup cauldron in the blazing heat of summer. Here's what I've come up with as our tentative themes for the next few months:

Mondays: meatless. On Mondays we're just getting into the swing of things for the week, and making a big hearty dinner is not likely to happen. Mondays are good for things like stirfrys, veggie burgers or sausages with sweet potatoes and carrots, a quick soup-and-grilled-cheese situation, or some kind of quinoa salad.

Tuesday: international. At first the only thing I could think of for "international" was Mexican because TACOS. But international can be a lot of fun things: pasta (Italian), sushi and edamame (Japanese), perogies (Polish), pad Thai, chicken fried rice.

Wednesday: Wine Wednesday/date night. On Wednesdays we just drink wine for dinner. Kidding (usually). Every Wednesday Pete and I take turns making or ordering food and having a glass of wine as a little "hurray, we made it through the first half of the week!" type of celebration, so Wednesdays are kind of up in the air. The good news is, I only have to worry about Wednesdays 50% of the time.

Thursday: slow cooker. By Thursday we're just over everything, so throwing some stuff in the crock pot in the morning and coming home to a nice warm meal at the end of the day sounds perfect.

Friday: pizza. We have pizza every Friday, and it is the best.

Saturday: miscellaneous. Saturday is the day we're most likely to be out running errands and grab dinner out, or else we've been snacking all day and don't really feel like cooking, so Saturday is a bit of a freebie, depending on what's going on.

Sunday: roast, casserole or soup. Sunday is generally a lazier day with more time to prepare something a little more time-consuming, whether it's a roast beef or chicken dinner, a homemade stew or chili, or a more complicated dish. Yesterday we made chicken stew, and it smelled so good simmering on the stove in the afternoon while we hung out at home.

There are all kinds of templates and apps and software that can help you plan your meals, but I just use Reminders on my iPhone and make a good old-fashioned list. 10 minutes on a Sunday, a quick boo through the flyers, and I'm ready for the week ahead.

Do you meal plan? If so, are you fancy about it? Any tips to share?

[eating] We made this for dinner tonight and there are lots of leftovers...and I'm OK with that. Making this dish couldn't have been easier and it was so nice to come home to a hot dinner all but ready (just had to make the rice!) I see a lot more slow cooking in my future.

[drinking] Less coffee, more water and green tea. I'm trying to stick to a cup of coffee a day. That said, I got a soy pumpkin spice latte this morning because I was feeling very treat-yo-self-esque.

[moving] More weights (2x/week)...I try to do a BodyPump class mid-week and a good solid weights day on the weekend and I feel more balanced doing more weights and less straight cardio all the time. Running probably 3x/week. Plus, lots of walks with the boys since this weather is perfect.

[making] The never-ending superhero cross stitch that I've been working on for a year and a half off and on. Carving pumpkins this weekend! That counts, right? I haven't been very crafty lately.

[baking] I made an apple pie with a lattice crust on the weekend and am thinking some pumpkin doughnuts this weekend sound like a pretty good idea.

[reading] The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner. I signed it out from the library and had to renew it this week. I just can't get into it and cannot get through it. Suggestions for what I should read next?

[watching] The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad season 1, the World Series, and the occasional scary movie. Tis the season!

[wanting] The Red Sox to win the series. Beards > birds.

[needing] More sleep. A day to do nothing. A haircut. A dentist appointment. I need to get two pairs of shoes fixed, take the dog to the groomer, and finish Eli's Halloween costume. Also need to buy Eli's snowsuit and boots. NO PRESSURE!

[craving] Special K Popcorn Chips - the sweet and salty flavour. I have to hide them or I'll eat a million.

[wishing] I had more days in the week and more hours in the day. Doesn't everyone?

[waiting] for Christmas. Ho-Ho comes two months from RIGHT NOW!!!!!

[wearing] skinny jeans, ankle boots and sweaters. And a lot of comfy things around the house. At this time of year more than any other, I cannot get out of my "real clothes" quick enough the second I get home from work and into something cozy.

[loving] B&BW Pumpkin Caramel Latte candles, iPhone white noise app, colouring with Eli, walking on crunchy leaves, infinity scarves, Cards Against Humanity.

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary. Four years feels so established. Three years still sounds like newlywed territory. Four years sounds like A WHILE. Even though it's still a relatively short amount of time, four years feels like a rock, in a good way, the strong and sturdy way.

As far as marriages go, I'd say we're doing really well. We have fun, we're best friends, we still like each other and still get genuinely excited to hang out. Those are the markers for success, right? Here are four lessons about marriage I've learned over the past four years:

1. Rituals are important. Early on, we started taking turns cooking dinner for one another every Wednesday night and we still do it and look forward to it. More recently, we've started having pizza every Friday for dinner, and we get insanely excited for it. It's not just the face-stuffing, it's the company. Making little traditions, sticking to them, and looking forward to them is fun. And rituals or traditions are not the same as a rut! Not as long as you're enjoying them. Which we are. (28 hours until our next pizza date, BTW).

2. Go to bed angry. People never advise doing this, but sometimes, it works. Sometimes, the last thing I want to do is hash it out until the wee hours. I'm tired and I want to go to sleep. And when we wake up, we have a fresh perspective, and whatever was so big the night before doesn't seem like such a big deal.

3. Give each other space. We have pretty different interests: I don't care about Grand Theft Auto (except for the soundtrack. The music is pretty great), and Peter would rather go to the dentist than make Christmas tree ornaments, so we try to take an evening each week to just go do our own thing, outside of the house. It might be going to the gym, meeting friends for drinks or to see a movie, or even just taking an hour to do errands without being rushed. It helps break up the daily work-chores-bed grind and it gives us something to talk about. I honestly don't understand couples who spend 24/7 together - what do they find to talk about?

4. Not everything has to be 50/50. This probably doesn't take four years to figure out, but splitting everything 50/50 isn't necessarily the way to go, whether it comes to bills or chores or closet space. I end up doing most of the chores around the house; Peter does things like mowing the lawn and shovelling snow and fix-it type things. We have our bills and expenses split in a way that makes sense for us without being too nitpicky. We delegate who's picking Eli up from his sitter's and dropping him off day by day, whatever is most practical that particular day, rather than making it someone's responsibility 100% of the time. I know a lot of people who get hung up on things not being 'fair' because they end up washing more dishes or buying more food or whatever, but sometimes splitting those responsibilities right down the middle just doesn't make sense and may actually create animosity. Sometimes you take on more of what you're good at and you pass on what you're not (example: I don't even know how to turn on the lawnmower). Being able to go with the flow a little is important.

Four years in, we love each other as much as ever. That hasn't changed, as much as our circumstances have, with the whole having a kid, house, and dog now thing. Everyone craps on being comfortable and familiar, but let me tell you, there are worse things than familiarity. Having someone who knows everything about you and loves you regardless is not the worst thing that could happen. Having someone who you can be like, you know what, it's going to be a sweatpants kind of night - not yoga pants but bona fide huge grey baggy sweatpants - and they don't bat an eye is awesome. Just as long as it's not every night. That wouldn't be so awesome.

It's funny how "family" takes on different meanings. It used to mean my parents, sister, and brother. Then I met Peter, and he became part of my family. I love my friends like family. And now we have a little guy and a dog in the mix, and again, the word 'family' feels different. I tend to think of my family as the four of us - me and the three boys who live under this roof. 

Here's our September in a nutshell.

1. My happy place.
2. Photoshoot with this guy.
3. Casual Friday = team colours at work.
4. Sunny Saturday afternoon in the public gardens.
5. Road trip nappin'.
6. Checking out some tractors at the fall fair.
7. Going for a ride with dad.
8. Last ice cream of the season!
9. Mums for days.

Welcome October, AKA the best month of the year. Thanksgiving, our wedding anniversary, and Halloween? Come at me.

[via]

When I hear, speak, or type phrases like 'love language', I projectile vomit, basically, because love language. I mean. It's right up there with saxophone solos and bodice-ripping novels.

But I cannot resist the siren song of an online personality test. (I'm an ESTJ; if I were a Led Zeppelin song, I'd be Tangerine; if I were a dog, I'd be a golden retriever: all things I know about myself thanks to online quizzes).

Anyway, love language: how we express our love to one another through actions. According to the book "The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman, we primarily show affection using following five tactics - words of affirmation, spending quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, or physical touch - and different people respond to different love languages. One person feels loved when they receive lots of gifts. Another person needs physical contact to feel loved. This quiz shows you which love language resonates the most with you.

I was a little nervous to do this test in case I got "receiving gifts" as my number one love language. Nobody wants to be that guy that needs all the presents, right? But I know I like presents. So I was 99% sure I was going to score highest in the gifts department, and if that was the case, I wouldn't post about it. Or I'd re-take the quiz until I got a more satisfactory answer. (You KNOW you do it too. You took that YM quiz until you got Justin Timberlake as your NSYNC dream date. NOBODY got Chris Kirkpatrick and didn't take that test again.)

As it turns out, my number one love language is quality time, followed up closely by acts of service. So what does this mean? Spending a little one-on-one QT with my husband is when I feel most loved. When we're driving somewhere and Eli is asleep in the backseat and we're just chatting, or when we're talking about our days at work while out for a walk, or catching up over dinner. Runner up is when he puts gas in my car or cooks me dinner. Who doesn't love that? I agree with my outcomes, 100%.

Receiving gifts, the embarrassing Chris Kirkpatrick of test results, was number three for me, which makes me feel slightly less of a greedy pig than I was worried I'd be. Physical touch and finally, words of affirmation rounded out my list. Again, not a shocker. I'm not a real hugger and I'm definitely not a person who speaks a lot of lovey words (I threw up just typing 'love language', remember?)

If you're curious about which love language speaks to you, the assessment can be found here. For shits and giggles, get your partner to take the test. At the very least, you'll know whether you need to be doling out more hugs or more presents.

It's officially fall. I haven't pulled the scarecrows out of storage or broken out the boots just yet, but it's almost that time. There's a little nip in the air in the mornings and it's dark at 7:30. There aren't going to be any more beach days. I feel like the next Yankee Candle Car Jar I buy is going to be the pumpkin spice one.

1. Leather leggings. Is this my midlife crisis? I don't know. But I'm seeing them all over the place and I want a pair. Or at least five minutes in the changing room with a pair. I mean, look. With the big soft sweater and such? How can you not?

We had a really nice Labour Day weekend in Boston. It was a busy few days exploring Boston Common and the Public Gardens, browsing around Back Bay, eating amazing food, touring the zoo, and taking in a Red Sox game. It's one of my favourite cities, so I was a happy camper the whole time, and Eli had a blast checking out all the sights. Here are a few snapshots from our trip:


top, l-r: relaxing in our room after we arrived; taking a break to colour; Eli's big escape.
middle, l-r: where I want to live; Eli and the mama duck; the boys on Charles Street.
bottom, l-r: happy place; best lunch; a little rainy day time-out.

Have a great weekend!

This was my third time participating in Downtown Halifax's Big Day Downtown event, and each time I've done it, there's been a new twist. At this year's launch event at Noble, participating bloggers drew three "experience" cards and were asked to plan a day based on those experiences. We were then given $150 prepaid Visa cards to complete our tasks. The cards I chose were cheerful, authentic, and refreshing.


I can't think of anything more refreshing than a spa visit, and I was badly in need of some TLC, so my first order of business was to book a massage at Spirit Spa. I scheduled my appointment for the end of my last work day before vacation, and what a way to transition into holiday mode! By the end of my hour-long massage I was feeling totally relaxed and refreshed. It was my first visit to Spirit Spa and I will absolutely be back.

When it comes to things that make me cheerful, an afternoon of shopping downtown is high on my list. Even if I'm not buying anything, there's something nice about taking some time to browse through racks of pretty things. I visited J&R Grimsmo for the first time and oohed and aahed over the perfect grey sweater dress before continuing to Biscuit, probably my favourite shop downtown, and discovering that all their summer clothing was on sale - 30-60% off. That only upped my cheer quotient. I ended up choosing two new tops for fall, mostly because I couldn't decide between the 500 dresses I picked out. One of the designers, Against Nudity, is from Montreal so it's nice to be able to support Canadian talent as well.


Downtown Halifax is busting with authentic experiences so I debated my next location pretty carefully. My sweet tooth took over, and I headed for the waterfront, winding up at Sugah! While they may be best known for their hand-paddled ice cream, Sugah! has a fabulous selection of locally-made chocolate bars, which are my weakness. Chocolate with sea salt, chocolate with chili peppers, chocolate with wasabi - eating chocolate with things added to it is probably my number one hobby. I was tempted to try a chocolate bar with seaweed...



...but ended up choosing this guy instead, which I devoured on a bench outside the shop people-watching in the evening.



As far as truly authentic downtown Halifax experiences go, taking in the sights and sounds of the waterfront is right up there, and it was the perfect way to relax and unwind. Sitting on a bench watching boats in the harbour and feeling the warm breeze was an ideal combination of refreshing, cheerful, and authentic! And best of all - FREE!



Thanks, Downtown Halifax for inviting me to take part in this year's Big Day Downtown!