Listen, Look, Love: July

July 28, 2014
Listen

A friend at work shared this beautiful rendition of a Robyn song with me. Upon hearing it I vaguely remembered hearing it before, but knew that it was a faster song than the cover that I was currently listening to. I like when people take a song and make it their own, which is exactly what Lucy Wainwright Roche did, and sometimes you like it even more than the original.




Look

I really enjoyed looking through this selection of literary graffiti from around the world. Some of them I have read, while others are familiar because they are popular quotations, and some of them I have never heard of before, but I know who the author is and have read some of their other work -- or at least bits of it in order to pass a class in university. This quotation from this Emily Dickinson poem was my favourite.



Love

It's getting time for me to start looking at a new watch, and I really love this beautiful watch from Olivia Burton. All of her watches are so simple and absolutely stunning. I may need one of these in my life very soon.






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To the Mountains and Back: Our First Big Family Vacation

July 23, 2014

 

We just got back from our first big vacation with the Little Boy. It was a whirlwind trip to the mountains and back, and I loved every minute of it. We explored dinosaur museums and zoos; went horse-back riding on a pony named Popcorn; went on every ride possible at an amusement park; dipped our toes in a glacial lake; we even climbed to the top of a mountain -- with a gondola taking us half of the way up. It was an amazing time, and I cannot wait for our next adventure -- and with this trip we can cross two more things off of our Summer List!




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With the Gorilla

July 21, 2014


She was sitting with her back up against the glass, so I quietly went over to snap a photo of her sitting there when she suddenly turned around and looked at me longingly with these big bold eyes. I walked up to her and she knocked on the window. I knocked back, and we began this form of communication that lasted a few seconds and then she settled with her hand up against the window, looking down. She would look up at me periodically with those eyes. I knew that I'd eventually have to walk away and join my husband and son again, but there was a piece of me that wanted to stay. There is a piece of me that will always stay.



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Sunscreen for Sensitive Skin

July 18, 2014
I know I'm not the only one out there that has sensitive skin. Within a few days of using something that my skin doesn't agree with I start getting really itchy and have to stop using whatever product it is that's causing the irritation.

Sunscreen can be a tricky thing because you have to wear it on a daily basis, and sometimes apply it multiple times in one day, in order to protect your skin from the sun. I have tried three different sunscreens so far this summer, and I want to share with you which one is my favourite:



Both the Aveeno and Neutrogena sunscreens are quite thick, and don't spread as nicely as a lotion typically does. Surprisingly, I found that they left a white film on my body all day because they were not soaking into my skin properly, and then I had to scrub really hard in the shower to get the film off of my skin.

The Coppertone sunscreen has been my favourite, but, although it says that it's oil free, it does leave you a bit greasy until the sunscreen soaks into your skin -- which it actually does for me. It's easy for me to spread all over my body -- except for my back...can anyone actually get sunscreen on their back by themselves? -- and it doesn't leave a white film on my skin that I have to scrub off at the end of the day. The best thing is is that it's fragrance free, which makes my skin very happy.

What's your favourite sunscreen to use?



*please note that this is not a sponsored post, just my thoughts and experiences
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Road Trip: The Fabric Paper Doll

July 14, 2014
When I was a little girl, my family went on a very long road trip across to the West Coast. To help us pass the time my Mom made these cute little fabric paper dolls for my sister and I to play with in the car. There were so many little outfit options and bows or hats to put on the doll. I don't remember what we did when we played with them, but I have cherished this doll my whole life and she was perfect for keeping me occupied on long car rides.



You can purchase or make your own doll for your next road trip:

Fabric Doll Pattern from Baby Dear on Etsy
Fabric Dolls and Clothing from Curlytoe Creations on Etsy
Fabric Paper Doll Pattern from Butterick - free download
Felt Paper Doll Tutorial from Girl, Meets Wolf


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That Time We Stopped Making Fun of Each Other

July 11, 2014
A few months ago my husband and I made the decision to stop making fun of each other. It was such a simple thing, but it was so difficult to remember and to put into action. We would call each other on it as soon as the other person would say something hurtful, and we would immediately apologise, but it was a good test for us as a couple -- as well as individuals -- and as the time went on it became easier to say things positive to each other, or to bite our tongues when we had something cruel to say. Practice makes perfect, as the adage goes. Although we will never get enough practice to be perfect; cruel words slip through our teeth still, but I find that we are a lot happier than we have been in a long time because we are trying to be good to each other and not put each other down.



I found our experiment to be quite interesting after reading an article that was shared on a friend's Facebook page. It talked about how relationships that last a long time -- that are happy relationships, not just miserable people sticking it out together -- are based on kindness and generosity. There are a couple of experiments that were conducted to find out why some relationships thrive while others do not.

What really caught my attention from the study was the part where it talks about any situation a couple might be in where one person is really excited about something, and depending on how his/her partner reacts to that excitement will determine the happiness of the relationship. Is the partner going to shrug it off, or are they going to be really excited with them? It's pretty obvious which reaction is going to help the relationship stay together and stay happy, and that's what made me think of our experiment where we stopped making fun of each other. Kindness goes a long way.



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What I Wore: Cat Shorts

July 07, 2014
Friday was a stay-at-home day with a sick little boy, and I was making French baguettes for a barbeque dinner with my husband's siblings that night. It was a relaxing outfit kind-of-day, but I really liked how it looked overall. I had just washed my hair, and I'm not wearing any shoes or jewellery, just the shorts and t-shirt...casual at it's best.

 

T-Shirt: Coke Store in Las Vegas
Shorts: Harlow Cat Shorts at Boathouse



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The Summer List 2014: Live Music

July 02, 2014

1. Dancing around while listening to The Pistolwhips  
2. A graffiti artist making a sign for Parab Poet
3. He moves so fast that the camera can't catch him :)

As of last week we can now mark one of the things to do off of our 2014 Summer List. The Little Boy had so much fun dancing around at the two different shows that we went to during the local Jazz Festival. He has the music in him, and that's something that I really want to foster. We will definitely be finding more live music to check out this summer.



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