Santa Claus Parade Photos

Last Sunday we made it out to the Toronto Santa Claus Parade. The photo above is my favorite from the day. The chatting Christmas Trees totally crack me up and their seemingly unimpressed pal in the background makes this scene totally hilarious to me.



This lovely clown was happily handing over a teddy bear to a little baby next to us. It was a really special moment.



Official peppermint bearers just chillin'.



The cutest Little Red Riding Hood ever.




I have such fond memories of being a kid at the Santa Claus Parade, atop my big brothers shoulders. How excited I was to see Santa Claus! My kids were equally excited this year. We didn't realize that Canada Post would be there last weekend, collecting letters for Santa. Next year we'll bring our letters for Santa for sure.

One month to go! We're so excited for Christmas in the city this year. How about you?

♥ Andrea ♥

A Small Town Ontario Adventure

Last week we went to visit our dear friend in a little town just north of the city. On our way, we had to make an emergency stop at the side of the road. When I stepped out of my car I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the scene around us.

*thank you to Madisyn for taking this great photo*
Madisyn lives in the loveliest little home and her backyard is simply amazing. While playing in her yard, we found a sweet wee frog.

We were really hungry and decided to go to the nearby town of Alliston to eat at one of our favorite restaurants.

If you are ever in the vicinity of Alliston, Ontario, do yourself a favour and pay a visit to Spring Basil restaurant. The food here is so amazing! Although we had three kids in tow, we managed to have a very civilized lunch :)

Then we drove into downtown Alliston for a coffee and a little thrift shopping.

I picked up just a few little things.

There are so many great little towns in Ontario. I really love exploring new places I've never been before. Especially, with a friend. It's a great bonus that the kids enjoy our small town explorations too! Oh, I just found this list on Trip Advisor of Quaint Small Towns and Villages in Ontario. I've been to many of those towns but not all of them. I think I should make an effort to visit all the recommended places there. And check out this list of Central Ontario Ghost Towns! I've only been to Ball's Falls, which is beautiful. If we get a chance in the next couple of weeks, I'd like to visit a local ghost town.

I hope you're having a great week! I started my new job this week and I really love it! And each day our new house feels more and more like home.

♥ Andrea ♥

What I've Been Up To Lately...

We may have ended up back in Niagara Falls again.


This time we went to the Guinness World Record Museum. Have you been? I do love Guinness World Records but the museum in Niagara Falls is completely lackluster. I liked this big image of some world records that was at the exit of the museum though. It makes me think of The Twilight Zone.


I made these Johnny Cakes (posted by my friend, Christina) for the family as a special brunch treat last weekend for Canada Day. They were particularly delicious. I kind of love anything with cornmeal and I couldn't resist making Johnny Cakes for my Johnny Cakes :)


I spent two hours putting together this cardboard skeleton for Eamon last weekend. He tried to do it himself but this thing was complicated. It didn't help that the pieces were all numbered on the sheets they were attached to but they all got punched out and scattered before the assembly got started. I took photos because I knew this wouldn't last long. It didn't make it through the day! But it was well played with and even went to bed with him that night.


Here's Elycia's new baby, Milo! Isn't he so little and sweet! The kids and I were delighted to meet him this week and to visit with the happy new family! I am just so happy for them.


I made up an herbal sitz bath for Elyica last week. You can see the post partum herbal sitz bath recipe on my homeopathy and natural remedies blog if you like.


I also made a few little cats for Milo to play with.


Finally, I learned how to make my own amazingly delicious raw chocolate. I think this could prove to be very, very, very, very, very dangerous.

Have a wonderful weekend!

♥ Andrea ♥

A Visit to the Reptile Store

I had the great pleasure to visit the Reptile Store with the children's class last week. We had such a fun time. The presentation was fantastic.

I'm so happy I got to go on this trip! I learned so much about these animals and I even got to hold a python. We saw many more animals but my camera ran out of batteries half way through the show. The children got to touch many of them. I've never before seen a room full of kindergarten children sit quietly for so long. They were truly enthralled with the show.

♥ Andrea ♥

35: A Perfect Day

*image courtesy of ♥Elycia*

I just turned 35 at the end of October. And I have to say, I'm pretty freakin' happy! I am so blessed in this life. 35 feels like a big deal to me. A bigger deal than any other birthday and I think it's because my frame of mind seems to have shifted in a rather dramatic way in the last five years. 

On the day of my birthday, I had pretty much the perfect day and I wanted to share the adventure with you. It all started bright and early when I swung by my friend Elycia's house and picked her up. We headed over to the local Starbucks where we spent a fortune on Pumpkin Spice Latte's and enjoyed every last drop of them. Then we went to check out the Thrift Store and it was a magic day there for us. I sang this song several times while we were there. I'm telling you, it really was f#@king awesome :)

After our thrift store adventure, we went for falafels and then drove over to my kid's school to see my wee daughter accept an award for caring. Isn't that the sweetest thing ever? Then we were off to my house for a nice cup of tea before taking the kiddies to the local farm where we picked a pumpkin and played in a huge pile of leaves.

*image courtesy of ♥ Elycia*

This day was truly wonderful and I feel so grateful to have been able to share it with such a special friend. I only got a couple of Instagram photos from the day but luckily Elycia took some splendid pics at the farm.

I'm going to post some photos of some of the lovely things I received for my birthday this year and of Elycia and I wearing some of our thrift store loot and playing with dolls real soon. Because as you can tell, now that I'm 35, I'm a proper grown up.

For the last many days the weather has been cold and rainy. I miss fall already. My favorite time of year never seems to last long enough. But I guess these incredibly beautiful fleeting days that can only exist in the fall, is what makes it the best season of them all. Hey look, I'm a poet and I didn't know it :)

♥ Andrea ♥

Etsy Craft Night

Last week I went to an Etsy meet up in Hamilton. And I had a really nice time.

*image courtesy of EtsyLabs*
I met a friend right away. Vera, who makes gorgeous recycled silver jewelery, just lives a few blocks away from me.

*image courtesy of EtsyLabs*

*image courtesy of EtsyLabs*
I had the opportunity to meet a bunch of really great people including Nada who was sweet enough to pose for a couple of photos with me.

*image courtesy of EtsyLabs*
This silly picture is by far my favorite from the night.


I don't get out very often so I'm especially glad that I made it out to this event. Everyone crafted and chatted until the sun set. It was really nice to see. Hopefully there will be more craft nights in Hamilton to come!

These are the little quilt pieces we all made for an installation being planned by the beehive collective. I'm looking forward to seeing a building downtown covered in these little hexagons later this year!

♥ Andrea ♥

A Night Out and a New Cape

I was a lucky lady this Valentine's day to have had a night out in Toronto with my hubby. We went for a delicious sushi meal at Yuzu (I would certainly go again- food and service were perfection). Then we met up with our friends at the Pheonix to see Die Antwoord. The show was really great and for us the evening was also filled with  adventure and a sprinkling of mayhem.

The night out gave me an opportunity to wear my favorite new item of clothing, this incredible Carnival Raven Cape by the very talented Scary Kerri of Black Orchid Designs. I met Kerri when we did the Bazaar of the Bizarre Frost Bite show in December. I fell in love with this upcycled sweater with gorgeous feather detail as soon as I laid eyes on it. And let me tell you, I have never been approached by so many people wanting to compliment me on a piece of clothing in my life!

While all of her work is one of a kind, I'm sure that Kerri would love to hear from you if you are interested in having a piece custom made by her. Pop on over to Kerri's Etsy shop to see her work or to contact her for a custom piece. Her work is excellent, her prices are incredibly reasonable and she is a lovely person.

♥ Andrea ♥