Welcome Fall

This past weekend I pulled up a giant Rubbermaid tub from the basement filled with all of our fall decorations.  Our house has been a construction zone for the past seven weeks or so as we were getting our new hardwood flooring installed and we were finally getting things back to where they were meant to be.  So it was time to decorate. 

As soon as Sydney saw me carry the bin upstairs she squealed with delight "Fall Decorations! Yay!"  This girl loves celebrating a season as much as her Momma.

We had fun finding new and old treasures and finding spots for them around the house.  It feels festive and like all things Autumn around here!

I just love this orange hurricane vase that I got on clearance last year at Crate and Barrel which has now found a new home as a centerpiece on our dining room table filled with fun sparkly balls.

Sydney is really settling nicely into Grade 1.  She absolutely loves her teacher and seems to be feeling more at home with each passing day.  Her teacher is amazing, has done so many incredible things with the kids already including a science experiment with milk, food colouring and dish soap which Syd had to recreate at home.

I met up with my friends Amanda and Gretchen the other day for lunch and they gave me such a thoughtful birthday gift, a gift certificate to our collective favourite store, The Latest Scoop.

We have a shopping date planned for sometime next month to hit up this very cool pop up shop together.  Can't wait!

Sydney's school had their annual Terry Fox run last week.  Sydney was paired up with a Grade 11 student to run around the school's neighborhood.  She was given a sticker that read in French:

"Terry ran for me and I'm running for...."  She sweetly wrote Mommy and Daddy in the space provided.  What a girl!


I am heading to San Jose in a few days with my friends Angela and Susan to run my first ever 10K race in celebration of my 40th birthday next Wednesday.  What a way to kick off a new decade!

Celebrations

I love September for many reasons:  the start of the fall season, a new beginning with a fresh school year, my birthday, the Jewish high holidays, the list just goes on.

We've had three celebrations in a row around here in the past few days and it's feeling very festive.

This past Saturday night my beloved group of Dunbar Mommas and their husbands took me out for a birthday celebration dinner at La Pentola restaurant.  It was the first time that the entire group has gone out for a lovely dinner together as couples and we so enjoyed visiting with each other and having a few kid-free moments! 

I was so touched by many things that night, my friend Lori who had her sweet baby boy, Ryan, just three weeks ago, came out with her babe in tow.  Nothing like a friend who will sacrifice sleep with a newborn to come out and help you celebrate a milestone birthday!

The girls gave me a lovely gift too.  When we were together in Suncadia earlier this summer I saw the most beautiful cake plate at an antique shop in Roslyn.  I left without buying it, thinking I didn't need another one but couldn't stop thinking about it so I sent Christina a message asking her to pick it up the next time she was there and that I would pay her back for it.

Well wouldn't you know it, when she went back to get it for me it had sold already.  Or so I thought....sweet, sweet Christina bought the cake plate for me and surprised me with it as a lovely gift from the girls for my birthday along with a gift certificate for The Dirty Apron cooking school so that I can take a class and learn some new techniques.  So thoughtful!

It was a wonderful evening and memory together.

The very next day was the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.  We joined Paul's nephew Danny and his wife for dinner at their home to celebrate together with extended family and friends.

As is my tradition, I always make a beautiful fruit platter to bring along for dessert.

We spent a beautiful, peaceful day together as a family at the synagogue and at Paul's sister's home for lunch afterwards yesterday.  It was such a special time together and nice to start the week on a relaxed note instead of the rush that it usually is.

When we got home from lunch we toasted what would have been Paul's Dad's 99th birthday by having a shot of scotch, his favourite!

Lots to celebrate and feeling ever so grateful for all that this month holds!

September

I feel as though I am exhaling today for the first time in many weeks, finally able to sit down at my computer and reflect back on the fun weeks of summer with Sydney and what the fall will look like. 

Sydney's first day of Grade 1 was yesterday.  It seems hard to believe that she is already in first grade!  She had an amazing first day of school, said goodbye to me without a hint of hesitation and was bubbling with stories to share when I picked her up at the end of the day.

She most enjoyed getting to know her new teacher, Miss Nicole, better and her three class pets, two guinea pigs and a bunny all named after famous artists, Picasso, Monet and Frida.

Here's hoping for many more great days ahead for this school year.

Sydney and I took some time to make a fall display the other day to welcome September.  In the center is a gourd that we got at a market in Comox Valley where we went at the end of August on a very special trip with Auntie Liane and Grandma.

We stayed at an 80 year old farmhouse while we were there tucked away in a quiet and peaceful area of the valley.  It was beautiful!  We arrived to find a welcome basket filled with handmade goodies for us to enjoy.

We spent some time at Miracle Beach, the most beautiful beach and Sydney enjoyed exploring and catching crabs and collecting shells and rocks and other interesting treasures.

We visited a winery, ate some yummy meals and had a wonderful time relaxing and visiting together.

We managed to squeeze in another couple of little getaways before Sydney headed back to school.  We went to Whistler for Labour Day weekend.  Sydney tried the "Kiss the Sky" bungee trampoline for the first time, she loved it! 

Sydney and I also spent a very fun day together in Bellingham shopping for the day.  Sydney's love for clothes and fashion is growing by the day and she absolutely loves choosing a heap of clothes to take into the change room and trying them all on by herself and then coming out and showing me what everything looks like and deciding what she wants or doesn't want.  She's got a pretty keen eye for fashion and what looks good on her!  Syd especially loved these new gadgets on the table at Red Robin where she could play games and order right on the screen!

I've just spent some time looking back at the photos from the summer.  Here are a few memories from Summer 2015:

Take Off Fridays

Sydney loves riding the skytrain so she and I took a little trip out to the airport on the train and happened upon Take Off Friday there.  This special event took place every Friday of the summer at the airport and there were all sorts of special things going on for kids from concerts to face painters to games and activities.  Sydney enjoyed getting her arm painted and checking out the sights there before we headed to the new factory outlets to do some shopping together.

Liane's Birthday


Syd and I so enjoyed spending a sunny Sunday afternoon celebrating my sister's birthday at Rocky Point Park.  It was so fun to spend the day with Liane!

Playland


Sydney and I took in both Playland and the PNE this summer only this year we did each on a separate day which worked out really well.  We so enjoyed seeing the Peter Pan show at the PNE and Sydney had such a blast trying her hand at the rock climbing wall at Playland and enjoying all the rides with her friend Elizabeth from school.

Pickles

Syd and I spent many a wonderful Wednesday morning at her school garden.  The school gardener made a batch of refrigerator pickles with the girls in the garden one day so Sydney and I tried our hand at making our own batch at home.  They turned out pretty well!

Pure Nails

Syd and I spent a few fun times at Pure Nail Bar getting our toes done this summer.  It's one of our favourite things to do together!

Golf

Sydney's love for golf continues.  She and Daddy spent many a day this summer at the driving range together.  I love watching her swing a club!

Hardwood Floors


The last six weeks of summer were spent with a house under construction as we went through the painful task of installing hardwood flooring in our home.  Let me just say that I am so done with renovations for the next long while and tired of my house looking like this!

New Car


One of the most exciting things that happened this summer was getting my new car!  I traded in my beloved Lexus for a brand new Infiniti QX60, it is awesome.  I am loving having more space and a bigger car and breathing in that amazing new car smell once again!

It was a wonderful summer filled with such great memories along the way.  I so loved the time with Sydney and the chance to deeply reconnect after having her at school for full days for a year!