Coffee With A Friend

This morning while Sydney was at preschool, I got together with my friend Lianne for coffee.  It was such a treat to sit and have a coffee and chat with a friend on my own. I actually can't remember the last time that I had such a lovely, leisurely visit and it was such a nice change of pace from the frantic errand-running that I usually do during this free time!

I was commenting to Lianne about how easy it is leaving Syd at preschool these days.  She is getting more and more comfortable each day she's there and this morning I literally said goodbye and gave her a kiss and she waved at me and walked off to start playing with the toys.  It was awesome!  I have been helping her feel less sad about me leaving her there by promising to bring her a treat when I come to pick her up.  Every time I leave, I tell her that I have to go and get her treat, which is, most often a chocolate chip cookie.  This trick seems to be working like a charm, when I come to get her, she often is happier to see the little baggie with her cookie than she is to see me!  Too funny!

Sydney's speech has been developing in leaps and bounds the past week.  It literally is like a light switch has gone off in her head and she is suddenly saying so many more words than ever before, it's fantastic!  She is getting really good at parroting me, today I was trying to get into a parking spot at Paul's office which was a bit too small and said, half to myself, half to her "Oh Shoot, it's too small!"  She spent the next ten minutes saying "Oh Shoot!" loudly in the backseat and laughing at how clever she was.  It was very funny and very convicting, we are really going to have to watch what we say around her going forward!!

We spent a couple of hours at Daddy's office today helping out with some things and poor Syd fell asleep before I could get her home so she had her nap on the floor of Daddy's private office with my coat and pashmina as a blanket!  She slept really well actually, and it gave me the chance to go out and run a couple of errands on Broadway while she was dozing.  Worked out well for everyone!

Zach's Mom happened to be at Paul's office today, and gave us this yummy jar of Italian Pesto Alla Genovese.  I can't wait to try it!  It reminded me of this great recipe that I have for Sun-dried Tomato Pesto that I've been dying to try and haven't gotten around to!

Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try, although it hasn't been tested in my kitchen, I'm pretty confident that it's going to be delicious! Let me know how it turns out if you do try it yourself!

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

4 ounces Sun-Dried Tomatoes
2 TBSP chopped fresh basil
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
1 TBSP chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped pine nuts
3 TBSP chopped onion
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP tomato paste
1/3 cup crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste 

Place sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with warm water for 5 minutes, or until tender.  In a food processor or blender combine sun-dried tomatoes, basil, parsley, garlic, pine nuts and onion; process until well blended. Add vinegar, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and red wine, and process. Stir in olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt to taste.

A Jump on Christmas Shopping

 
Today I had my new Mother's Helper here with me for a few hours to help out. I decided to take full advantage of her being here, and took her and Sydney to run some errands with me to get some early Christmas shopping done.

Each Christmas, for many years  I have put together recognition gifts for Paul's office to thank our referral sources.  I used to spend at least a month shopping for the gifts and put together the most exquisite baskets filled with decadent treats and then spend an afternoon driving around delivering them to the recipients.  It was great fun, I always had one room in the house that looked like Santa's workshop where I would keep my stack of empty baskets, cellophane, wrap and cards and would spend countless evenings huddled away putting them all together until they were perfect.

Then I had a baby....and being huddled in a room wrapping baskets suddenly didn't seem like my way of spending a quality evening!  So this year, I sourced out some amazing baskets that were already put together and looking beautiful and today Sydney and Eryn and I headed out to pick them up.

It feels great to have gotten a head start on the Christmas shopping and to have a few gifts that I can scratch off my list.  I still have a few more to go, but at least I've started, that's something, right?

When we got home, we found a little envelope addressed to Sydney in our mailbox from her friend Aaro.  It was his birthday invitation, the last birthday of the year for her little group of buddies.  His party is going to be a truck theme so we ran with the theme and found him this very cool gift:

It is a riding dump truck with noise-making buttons to push and a little concrete mixer in the back filled with Mega Block pieces.  Very cool, we hope he'll love it! We are so looking forward to his party, his Mom, Andrea, knows how to put on a party better than anyone I know!!

It was a great, productive day and I am feeling quite festive after having spent some time in the stores all decked out with holiday gear!

Old Friends

Today was a fantastic day.  Sydney and I spent the day visiting with my friend Janice and her husband Brent who were in town on a layover on their way home to Alberta from a three week vacation in Australia.  Janice and I haven't seen each other since a few days before Sydney was born, she hadn't had the chance to meet my sweet girl until today.  It was so awesome to be able to introduce the two of them!

There really is something about old friends.  Janice and I have been friends since we were very little girls.  Five years ago, she got married in Las Vegas and asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding party.  Here's a shot of she and I celebrating on her wedding day:

Janice has the most amazing long, curly, red hair just like my Sweet Syd.  I totally chuckled to myself today when Janice leaned down to give Syd a kiss, their hair is identical, it looked like one giant mop when their heads were pressed together!  Too sweet!  Janice is expecting their first baby, a little girl, on March 24, 2012.  She is exactly half way through her pregnancy and it was such a treat to see her little belly today!

We spent the day visiting at our mutual friend Georgina's house.  Georgina just had her third babe two and a half weeks ago, a very petite little girl, Rachel Rose.  I spent the better part of the morning cuddling with wee Rachel, she is so precious.  Even though it was only two years ago, I really couldn't believe that Sydney was once that small!

It was a lovely visit with everyone, I left with an ache in my heart, I always miss Janice so much when we've recently spent some time together!  I promised her today that Sydney and I would make the trip to see her and her new babe during the year that she's off on mat leave, will look forward to having a visit then and seeing Janice in action as a Momma.

Janice and Brent got Sydney this fabulous dress from a great Australian store called Pumpkin Patch.  It is so cute and will totally fit Syd next summer, can't wait to put it on her and get some great pictures to send Jan!

When Sydney and I got home from Georgina's, we found a very special parcel addressed to Sydney waiting for us on the front porch.  My dear friend Brandie, who I have also been friends with since we were four years old, had sent Sydney a birthday present!

Brandie is an amazing person, she is so talented and creative, can make almost anything and loves doing all sorts of crafty things.  I knew that this package would hold something special and it really did!  Brandie sent this Create Your Own Lovable Huggable Friend.  It is a little bunny all ready to be personally stuffed and dressed with all of the accessories inside the box! So cool!

Just to make my point about how amazing Brandie is, she enclosed a little baggie of home grown dried lavender along with the bunny to put in with the stuffing it to make it smell good.  In one word....amazing!!

But more than the gift, what I will keep for Sydney in her memory box and treasure forever is a hand written note to Sydney that she enclosed.  It read:


Sydney:


Happy 2nd Birthday!  While searching for the best gift, I found this little bunny with your name all over it!  It reminds me of a little pink and white bunny that your Mom gave me when we were kids.  One year when I was a young adult, I got my very first dog.  His name was Shylo and I loved him more than anything but one day his name was mud when he chewed up your Mom's pink and white bunny!  I stitched the bunny back up and to this day she sits on the end of Joey's bed keeping him company while he sleeps.  I hope you enjoy your bunny as much as we enjoy your Mom's bunny!


Love, Auntie Brandie

I actually have no memory of having given Brandie a stuffed bunny but we have been friend for so many years and exchanged countless numbers of gifts that I couldn't possibly remember them all!  I am so touched by Brandie's words and how much she works to be a part of Sydney's life even though we live hundreds of miles apart!

So it was a day of treasuring old friends, I feel so blessed to have both Brandie and Janice as lifelong friends and look forward to creating many more memories with them both in the years to come!

Catch Up Day

I love Sundays.  There is something so awesome about a leisurely day stretched out before us with no plans and nothing pressing to do.  I love nothing more than waking up on Sunday morning with the three of us snuggled in bed in our jammies and asking the inevitable question: "What are we going to do today?"

We decided to do a Costco run this morning, couldn't believe what amazing things they have in stock this year for Christmas!  I am feeling in the mood to spend money, clearly any subliminal (or completely obvious!) messages they are trying to send are working on me!

After Costco, we headed to Starbucks and had a coffee with Syd.  She was so cute, sitting in a giant leather chair chattering away with us and eating her gingerbread loaf.  I am starting to get hooked on the Skinny Peppermint Mochas this season, haven't broken down and gotten an egg nog latte yet as the thought of having to wear a bikini in Hawaii in a few short weeks is making me a little more calorie conscious than normal!

Once we got home, I took advantage of our free afternoon to get a load of things done around the house, cleaned out the freezer, did loads of laundry, organized Sydney's room, un-packaged and put away heaps of birthday presents.  It felt good to get some things done that had been on the back burner for a while.  The house feels clean and in order, what a great feeling at the start of the week!

While I was doing some cleaning in the kitchen, Sydney heard me unloading the dishwasher.  Sydney absolutely loves the dishwasher, if she hears me unloading it from anywhere in the house, she will drop what she's doing and come running to help me take the dishes out.  Today, after I had unloaded all the dishes I was vacuuming in the family room and could hear her rattling around in the drawer that holds all her plastic bowls and plates etc.

When I got to the kitchen, this is what I saw:

She had unloaded her entire drawer into the dishwasher, it was so cute!!  She was very proud of herself, even started digging out the dishwasher detergent to get the load started, this girl is going to be a great housekeeper!

Being that it was a cold and sleepy kind of day, I asked Paul what he wanted for dinner and he didn't hesitate, "Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes" he replied!  So I whipped both up, it was a delicious and hearty meal on yet another perfect Sunday.

Paul loves Caesar Salad too so I decided to make one for dinner as well, it is my standby recipe and makes a delicious and classic Caesar dressing, here's the recipe if you want to give it a try:

Caesar Salad Dressing:

6 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar
1 TBSP Lemon Juice
1 Egg Yolk
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp anchovy paste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix together well.  Set aside and toss lettuce and croutons with it just before serving.  Sprinkle salad with additional freshly ground pepper and Parmesan cheese before serving.

I pulled up a bottle of wine from the basement that Paul and I had gotten years ago when we were visiting Red Rooster winery in the Okanagan to have with dinner tonight.  It was their 2005 Bantam, I wasn't sure if it was even going to be any good after sitting in my wine fridge in the basement for six years but it was absolutely delicious!  Such a nice way to end my day with a lovely glass of wine.

And so ends our long weekend together, it was so nice having Paul home with us for three straight days and we had a good mix of getting things done and having lots of down time too!  We are feeling rested and ready to face the week ahead!

Circle Craft

This morning I took a couple of hours on my own and headed to the Circle Craft Market downtown at the new convention centre.  I have been going to this craft fair for years, it happens but once a year in November, so I had been looking forward to it for many months!

I feel as though this event gets more spectacular every year!  It was so festive with lit Christmas trees, ballet dance performances, blown glass demonstrations and almost three hundred artisans all set up with the most amazing booths.  You could literally get anything from pottery and knitting to candy and clothing, all hand made and truly one of a kind.  I love having the chance to meet with the artists and chat with them about their creations and have gotten to know a couple of them over the years as I've purchased things from them year after year.

One of the jewellery designers that I absolutely love is Chi's Creations.  This year I bought two pieces for myself from her, this lovely pair of drop earrings and a gorgeous hammered gold twisted ring.  I am so excited to have a couple of new pieces of jewellery for myself and will look forward to wearing them over the holiday season for some special occasions.

 
Each year for the past several years, I have gotten a piece of pottery for myself from L'Atelier de Poterie, handmade pottery by M & JM Claret.  I am getting a nice collection of their speckled blue line and decided to blow the birthday money that my parents had sent me this year on this beautiful teapot and mugs:

Can't wait to have a friend over for tea to try it out!  The potter tells me that her teapots are guaranteed to be drip-free!

I couldn't resist getting a couple more pieces for my collection too, so picked up this garlic keeper and baguette serving tray as well, I love them!

I also got these beautiful hand painted cards made by artist Bob Harrold from Westbank, BC.  Each one is unique and so beautifully painted in water colours!

While I was out enjoying the craft fair, Paul took Sydney to his Mom's house so that Syd could have a little visit with her Bubbie.  They came home with a very special present for Syd from Emma, the very sweet lady who lives with Paul's Mom.  She wrote Sydney the sweetest card, inside it said: "We love you Princess Sydney!", adorable!

Sydney was thrilled to get these "babies", as she calls them!  She kept pointing to them and saying Emma's name, trying to tell me that she had given them to her.  She couldn't have chosen a more perfect gift for Sydney right now as she is so into being a Mommy to her own babies, it's very cute! 

It was a lovely morning, I always feel that the Circle Craft Market signals the beginning of the holiday season so I left feeling very festive and cheery.  It was a warm pick-me-up on a very dreary, rainy and cold day in Vancouver.  I couldn't have thought of a better place to be today!

Sydney's First Haircut

Today was such a relaxed day at home with Paul home from work.  It was a blustery, windy and cold day today, such a mixed bag of weather that we really didn't feel like venturing far from home.  We woke up and had breakfast together, it's beginning to be a bit of a tradition on long weekends for me to make lox and bagels for breakfast for us, it was yummy!

Paul spent tons of time in the garden today raking leaves and trimming trees getting everything ready for the winter season and Sydney and I headed off midday to go have her very first haircut!!

Sydney's hair is her signature feature.  From the day she was born, people have been commenting on how beautiful her hair is.  Here is a picture of her just hours after she was born with a full crop of blonde hair:

Three months later, her hair had turned to this beautiful reddish-auburn colour and was starting to swirl on her head, shades of the curls that were to come:

And come they did!  In two years time, they have grown into this fantastic mop of curly red hair:

I literally cannot go out for even one day without a perfect stranger stopping me on the street to tell me how beautiful Sydney's hair is, it really is amazing!!

So you can imagine with all of the fuss about her hair, how nervous I felt about getting her her first haircut!  I had heard from many of my Mom friends that the kid specific hair places were a bit hit and miss, so opted to take her to my own hairdresser Aimee who has many, many years of experience cutting hair and sincerely loves children.

Sydney was so great for the haircut, she kept chanting Aimee's name, it was very cute!  She sat in my lap and watched TV while Aimee gave her a good trim all around.  She looks so sweet with her new cut, like my very own Little Orphan Annie!!

On the way out the door Amy handed me a little piece of tin foil and wrapped inside was one of Sydney's little ringlets for me to put in her baby book.  I will treasure it forever!

Beef Stew

Today was another amazing day in Vancouver!  The sun was shining and the air was lovely and fresh.  I am so enjoying the fall leaves this year with this unusual bout of nice autumn weather!  The leaves on the maple trees have turned bright red and are absolutely stunning!  It seems hard to believe that it is almost mid-November!

Sydney had preschool this morning and it was the first time that I left her with absolutely no tears at all!  She is getting to be so comfortable in the classroom and with the kids and teachers, it's wonderful!  I am enjoying having a few hours a week to shop, picked up a few things at the mall today and then sat down for a leisurely lunch and my first peppermint mocha of the season from Starbucks.  It was lovely!

With it being such a nice day and all, it didn't exactly seem fitting to be making a big, hearty stew for dinner but I had bought a package of stewing beef and it had to be used up, so I pulled out the crockpot this morning and with Sydney's help in filling the crock, assembled the stew in record time!

I found this great and easy recipe on the Canadian Living website, click here for the recipe if you want to give it a try!

We have officially opened all of Sydney's birthday gifts.  She opened the last two today, her friend Alexis got her this great Boon bug pod, it is, of course, a ladybug!!  The bug pod is a scoop and storage bin for bath toys, perfect for us as the holder we currently have is overflowing!  Alexis also gave Sydney this awesome ladybug card, I just love how much she got our theme!!

Sydney's friends Aaro and Hattan once again spoiled her with a few very cool gifts.  This set from Melissa and Doug is a felt food 'Create Your Own Cookie' set.  Sydney really loves being in the kitchen with me, I have the feeling she is going to love using this pretend cookie making set!

She also got this Usborne book, we have a few in this series, was excited to get another title in our collection to add to our library:

We also got this Playfully Creative Dough which will be put to good use for sure, Sydney is really into play dough these days, we get it out at least once a day around here so this gift couldn't have been more timely!

I lined up all of Sydney's birthday cards in the window seat in our kitchen so that she can have a look at them, I caught her reading them a few times today, it was very cute.  She seems quite tickled that there are so many cards with ladybugs on them.  I love all things thematic and was so thrilled to get all of her lovely gifts, especially those in keeping with our theme!

We are looking forward to a lovely long weekend with Daddy home tomorrow for the Remembrance Day holiday!