Warm Wishes From A Frozen World

The past few days have been snow and ice. It's been incredible to see everything completely covered in ice. Many people in the city have been out of power for days. We've been fortunate in that only our internet has been down. I went out yesterday to take some photos of the beauty of the frozen world before it melts away.








The sunset last night sparkling through the ice on the tress was so gorgeous. This photo doesn't do it justice, it was absolutely magical.

I'll be back in a few days, once the busyness of the season dies down a bit, with some photos of some of the sewing projects I've been working on- a new cat stuffie, a beautiful pom pom trimmed pillow and an adorable little girl's nightgown that I'm completely in love with.

Whatever holiday you may be celebrating this season, I hope you enjoy it tremendously.

♥ Andrea ♥

Autumn Cottage Photos

The Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend is always bittersweet for me. It is hands down my favorite weekend of the year. But it's also the last time we go up to my brother's cottage until the spring. I always love to take and share photos from this weekend. The light this time of year and the changing leaves always make for incredible images.

We very much enjoyed our long weekend. Saturday was just the perfect day. I am so thankful. I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

♥ Andrea ♥

Happy Honey Bee Day!

A very happy Honey Bee Day to you! Whether you are planning to do a little something or not, if you have a moment today, think about how much more awesome life is because of our friends, the honey bees!

I had hoped to share a video in celebration of Honey Bee Day today but I had to admit defeat this week. John and I had big plans for a video, but with so much more organization needing to happen in our home, we just couldn't manage it.

Just like the wee bee above being rescued from dehydration with raw honey when he was away from the hive for too long, the honey bees really need our help going into the future. You may not be able to be an urban beekeeper, but please don't forget that even just planting some native flowering plants in your yard is a great contribution to nourishing and supporting our much needed allies! Please check out the HoneyLove blog for more great ideas on what you can do for honey bees!

Yay, bees!

♥ Andrea ♥

Weekend in Ontario Cottage Country

The weekend before the one that just passed was dreamy. We got to spend a couple of days relaxing at the lake and adventuring in beautiful Ontario cottage country.






I told you about the bees at the dock. Have you ever noticed sometimes that a bumblebee will spend a really long time on just one flower? Sometimes they are quick like other bees, but sometimes it seems like they're having a nap on them. This one stayed on this one echinacea flower for hours. I really enjoyed watching him.



Whenever we visit my mom, we always take a trip to the little pond near her house to visit the ducks. I took the opportunity to photograph some plants and flowers around the pond.



Hello chamomile!




I'd love to know what these white wild flowers are. Does anyone know?



Milk thistle flowers are so pretty. Silybum Marianum is a wonderful herb for healing and protecting the liver and also as a liver supportive plant, it is superb for calming anger and assisting the body in flushing out toxins. I think I will write more about it on my homeopathy and natural remedies blog soon.



It's fun to visit the same place every year and take photos and then look back and see the kids changing so much and yet finding joy each year in the same way.

This past weekend we stayed close to home and tended to a cat with an infected wound he got from a fight with a neighbourhood cat (I'm trying to forget about the vet bill) and a little girl with a flu. Everyone around here is on the mend now.

Happy Monday!

♥ Andrea ♥

Do the Waggle Dance for Honey Bee Day!

I spent some time this past weekend at my brother's cottage where I got to enjoy watching bees, like this one, getting covered in pollen while collecting nectar from a patch of echinacea flowers right next to the dock at the lake's edge. I took a ton of photos of them but I am experiencing technical difficulties here at my house along with internet problems so my photos will have to wait for another day.

Did you know that Saturday August 17th is Honey Bee Day? I think it's so great that honey bees have their own official day. It is certainly well deserved for all the hard work they do for our beautiful planet. This year is your chance to celebrate your love for bees in a really fun way. Our friends at Honeylove have made this adorable video of the Waggle Dance so you can learn it and announce your bee joy to your community on the 17th. Lush is hosting flash mob waggle dances at locations all over North America at 2pm. Here's more information on National Honey Bee day and how you can get involved.



♥ 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 ♥

A New Life in the City

Slowly but surely we are settling into our new city home. When we first came to see this house, these two little wooden birds were sitting in the front window. These birds seemed to represent the extra specialness of this house. The kids asked if we could live here the day we viewed it, and the house just seemed like it would be such a good fit for our family.

Upon moving in, we found that our house is also home to house sparrows. I think it's really lovely that they are here.

The day after we moved in, two little sparrows were fighting and fell onto the driveway. The driveway here is nice and long and has been getting a whole lot of use as a canvas.

I love this new kitchen. It's bright at any time of the day. I'm looking forward to it being really organized. Every room is out of order right now. Getting everything sorted feels really great. Though last week, by the end of the week, I got really tired of moving.

I was happy to find mint growing through the fence along the driveway.

Our neighbour has the loveliest rose patch. Last night we ate our dinner on the front porch. As the sun was getting low in the sky, these roses looked so incredibly gorgeous.

The number of cats in our neighbourhood is unreal! This handsome fellow keeps coming around. Marvin doesn't like it. Not one little bit.

I feel so blessed to have found a little oasis in the city. We love our new backyard. We have a pear tree and a cherry tree! And we also have what looks to be an old chicken coop. I've always wanted to get some chickens... Sadly, it's illegal to keep chickens in Toronto.

A great thing about moving back to the city is getting to see so many of our friends and cousins! We've been having a whole lot of fun discovering new parks and spending some time (in between unpacking boxes) with people we love.

♥ Andrea ♥

Orchid Macro Photos

I received some orchids from my thoughtful father-in-law for Mother's Day this year. I took some photos of them recently that I wanted to share with you.








I think orchids are so beautiful. Each one looks like a little flying angel, don't you think?

♥ Andrea ♥