{ halifax etc. }

My MIL had a dentist appointment in the city the other day, so E and I tagged along to explore, have lunch and explore some more.

First stop was the public gardens. I don't think I even knew this existed in Halifax and I've been there a few times. It was absolutely beautiful and the perfect place for E to get out of the stroller and get some exercise. Oh, I should mention he now walks on his own (though it's not reflected in these photos).

We had lunch with my MIL and then we all went over to the Hydrostone Market which reminded me a lot of Europe.

There's a great store called Liquid Gold that sells tons of great olive oils, balsamic and wine vinegars among other epicurean delights. The best part is, you get to taste everything before you purchase. This trip, I settled on some Tunisian olive oil, basil infused olive oil and strawberry balsamic vinegar. 

Our time in Chance Harbour is coming to a close. Next up, we're off to the Annapolis Valley for a wedding. I met up with the bride in Halifax this week and spent some time today sewing some bunting for her picnic wedding on the shore.

Going to miss the view of the ocean every day and watching the sun set over it at night.

{ two if by sea }

 

This is the view from my in-laws deck - it's breathtaking!

Last Friday morning, D, E, and I got up at the crack of dawn to head east to Nova Scotia for a visit with D's family and to attend one of a few weddings we have out here this month. Since I'm still on mat leave, E and I are staying here while D flies back and forth for the wedding festivities.

Our days have been filled with sun, sand, surf and playing with cousins. So far, the only thing that's slowed us down is E developing his first fever and the runs. But that hasn't slowed him down. His favourite pastime right now is using his walker and running around the main floor of the house, and back and forth on the deck.

{ summer so far }

To say this summer has been busy would be the understatement of the year!

We worked with a consultant to find a nanny to share with a friend until E goes to daycare in January (when he's 18 months). It took a bit longer than expected when the candidate we wanted to hire found withdrew her application because she found out she and her husband were expecting a baby themselves. We were, of course, delighted for them but then had to begin our search again. But we've now found someone really great.

Construction has been completed on our shed!

We absolutely love it. Now we're just working on the interior and the doors need to be painted but we'll likely work on the doors in the spring.

We celebrated E's first b-day - it's hard to believe a year has gone by already!

I made a pennant banner thanks to this printable I found.

We just had a simple BBQ of burgers and salads after some appetizers.

I also printed a photo for each month of the year and hung them from a tree in the backyard for people to have a look at.

A friend loaned me this awesome sun shade for the kids to play in.

I wish I'd had a chance to do this before the party...I power washed the deck and the transformation is amazing! Here's a "during" shot.

Apart from all that, we also attended my family reunion, saw the Wizard of Oz and spent time with friends and family. 

Looking forward to the rest of the summer and the rest of my maternity leave. I head back to work in 22 days...

{ rain, rain take me away }

It's a rainy day in Toronto today...it seems to be doing a lot of this lately. On rainy days I get thinking about other places I'd rather be in the rain and today, it's France (let's be honest, it's always France).

Here are some pics from a rainy day we spent in Versailles at the grand trianon, petit trianon and Marie Antoinette's estate a year and a half ago...

{ wine country }

Recently, D and I attended a wedding in one of Canada's wine regions, Niagara-on-the-lake. We decided to make a weekend of it - our first without our tot in tow. Nana and Grandpa were more than happy to help us have a weekend off and we made the most of our mini-vacation.

We started out by visiting Reif Estate with a wine and cheese tasting. 

Then it was off to the Pillar and Post Inn to check into our room and have a nap before our dinner reservation at Ravine Winery.

This was by far the best meal either of us have had in a while. We had the prix fixe dinner which consisted of 4 courses for $44. We topped it up with wine pairings for $25 which gave us a glass of wine paired with each of the four courses.

We called it an early night and then had a leisurely morning before going off to a few more wineries in the early afternoon. The wedding didn't start until 5:30 so we had plenty of time to explore and then get ready for the festivities.

Before heading home on the Sunday, we had brunch downtown and then checked out some antique shops.

While it wasn't the greatest weekend for weather (it was supposed to be an outdoor wedding), it was a lovely event, a nice mini-getaway for us and a good experience for our wee one to spend his first weekend with Nana and Grandpa. We missed him a lot but it was nice just the same. 

{ interest for pinterest }

I had been steering clear of pinterest for a long time because I thought I might get addicted. But I recently caved, joined...and I've been too busy with everything else going on to get addicted (so far, anyway).

Would love for you to follow along! 

{ freshly picked }

Still busy with the shed construction and hiring a nanny but I was doing some gardening today and thought I'd give myself some flowers from the garden. A nice way to bring the outdoors in.

It also gave me the opportunity to play around with a new iPad app for photo editing ;o)

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful weekend!