an ode to august

Oh August - how I love you. I might be a little biased since my birthday's on the 31st of August which is  tomorrow(!!!), but I've always found myself enjoying the days more, taking the most pictures during this month, and reveling in free days, planned nights, and spontaneous Skype dates. The air is not as humid and muggy as July in southern Ontario, and there's a slight crispness in the air in the evenings as the sun sets earlier; but it's a nice reminder that layered knits and pumpkin spice lattes are right around the corner.

My simple smile for this week - besides finding sweet birthday cards and surprise packages in the mail from dear friends - is finding my own little bit of paradise this month in the form of a road trip to Bruce Peninsula National Park. We drove through towns that had a higher population of cows than actual people and made it to crystal clear (and freezing!) waters and exploring a grotto (and coming up with a song called "Otto the Grotto").

The waters looked all Caribbean-like but were so cold.

The Grotto and my freshly dyed strawberry-blonde hair! (:

When I haven't been searching for or enjoying paradise, I've been baking a lot thanks to my parents' friends who have a ton of fruit trees in their backyard. Two weeks ago I made plum cake, and just last night made a peach cake, all using the same basic recipe (which I'll probably share soon)!

The times that I'm not baking, I've spent catching up with schoolmates from university and teacher's college, either at a restaurant, cafe, or a 10km hike which kills my legs but feels so good at the same time. There's this trail that my friend introduced me to that has running streams, crazy hills, and close encounters with deer and I wish it was closer to my home so I could walk it every day.  

Two of these lovely ladies are leaving me for London; 

I unfortunately could not fit inside their luggage.

The times that I'm not catching up with schoolmates, I've spent doing an overdue reunion with two of my workmates - and crashed a TV set in the downtown for a show called Bomb Girls. Lots of 1940s garb, fake snow, and posters for 5 cent burgers and trendy fashions.

WOMANPOWER -- we can do it! We can ... cook things over a stove?

And when I haven't been doing all that, I've been trying to plan out as much of my fall as I can while also working in The Boy's soon-to-be-open shop! While we'd love to get our ideal jobs right away, this is kind of our back-up/let's-make-ends-meet route for now, and it's pretty nerve-wrecking and exciting at the same time. 

I find that I can look back at every August of my recent years with fond memories; it'd definitely be my month of choice to relive over and over if I could.

if you could choose a month to relive whenever you wanted, 

which one would it be & why?

and if you haven't yet,

please mosey on down and join the postcard project!

Tomorrow involves a surprise day from The Boy (all I know is that I have to bring my bathing suit), and then hopefully a beach day with my girlfriends on Saturday. Hope you all have a great rest of the week! (:

a look at may

A month's absence either means (a) I've been having a busy but awesome month; (b) I've been too lazy to update; or (c) a combination of both. I'll admit, it's been (c): the last few weeks have been full of amazing memories and getting way too much water in my ear from swimming, and also full of much needed downtime after finally finishing my "career" as a student. Now, I'm just unemployed (but looking!). The job market is slim pickings, but when my mama was away in B.C. for two weeks (more on that later), I applied to six school boards and might be even thinking of going to England(!!!) next year if teaching in Ontario doesn't work out. 

After a couple of weeks of all this though, I noticed that I have missed this blog and all the incredible people that I get to interact with and talk to, and I definitely want to revive this space here (and after this post, my next on the priority list is changing this look up a bit!). 

For now, here's a look at what I've been up to in May! I have been absolutely horrible and not catching up on you but please let me know what you've been up to in May, and what you're looking forward to in June!

this may...

We completely owned a claw machine at a carnival ...

... marveled at all the goodies available inside food trucks during an event before deciding on a chicken burrito, wood-fired pizza, and a Beavertail, which was delicieux ...

... fed my addiction for caffeine with 1/2-price frapps before seeing The Lucky One (Zac Efron, you have grown up well) ...

... celebrated birthdays & didn't get the memo of pulling a Zoolander face in a photo ...

... took a road trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a chicken breast panini with goat cheese(!), and mouth-watering and completely satisfying gelato ...

... but mostly, we went there to celebrate four years together! :) 

The day was full of happy moments, even when a bird pooped on me (at least it didn't poop on my gelato), and it reminded me of how happy I am to have this man in my life!

And last, but not least ...

This little prince was born! See my sister's announcement here about it :) Not only do I have a gorgeous niece, but now I have an adorable nephew whom I can't wait to meet! I just want to pinch his little cheeks. My mom went to visit for two weeks to help out and see the little guy for the first time which meant, for the first time ever, me and my dad living alone in the same house - and though there were times where we wanted to rip each other's heads off, we got along for the most part (and that's a good thing). 

I hope your May has been chock-full of great times & good moments!

What was your favourite part of May? 

What are you looking forward to in June?

I'm off to go camping for the weekend for The Boy's birthday, but I'll update soon! :) 

between two cups of coffee

Lately, I've been on a little bit of a caffeine fast (and I feel like admitting that on a blog whose title relates around coffee is a bit blasphemous!). In the past week I ended up having two cups - one in a moment of weakness, and one yesterday in a moment of celebration - and they felt like bookends to some amazing days in my life.

Bookend #1 - A Moment of Weakness
in the form of a Second Cup Chillatte

This past Wednesday I realized I've become something of a hermit who hadn't left the house in almost three days. So I took a journey to the mall - a little bit of a fresh air on the walk, and then letting myself get distracted by a building full of people and clothes. I was feeling nauseous and on edge - in a matter of days I'd be finding out if I got into teachers college, and I was wondering if I was jinxing myself by not really preparing any back-up plans in case I didn't get in.

Before I left the mall, I stopped by Second Cup. I was the only one in line and decided to order something cold - a Chillatte. Even though her co-worker was right next to her, the barista still wrote my order on the cup. When I got my order, I was surprised to see the cup read Chill. And for some reason, that word worked. I realized I can't control all the outcomes so, until I find out the results, I should just chill.

The Amazing Days in Between

Thursday was a day full of seeing The Boy, catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while, indulging in a massive burger + pint deal at a restaurant we've never tried before, and then accidentally getting a pitcher of sangria when I only wanted a glass (though the pitcher was awesome). That was followed by dancing in the car, and then picking out delicious candy from Bulk Barn to munch on. It helped take my mind off of things, and almost felt like a pre-celebration now that I look back on it.


Friday is going to be forever dubbed as THE DAY - not because it was April Fools Day (and it seems like a really cruel joke to give out offers of admission on April Fools) but because:

I GOT INTO TEACHERS COLLEGE!

I spent the wee hours of the morning hovering over a computer, just waiting - and I got into all three that I was waiting for results from. Oh, happy days! To finally be awarded the chance to become what I've always wanted to be ... ahh, made me happy that I decided to chill.

Saturday was full of more catching up with friends by helping out on a short film set and being a clapper which was a ton of fun, then eating yummy celebratory burgers with The Boy (my idea of healthy eating went out the window this weekend).

Bookend #2 - A Moment of Celebration
in the form of a Cinnamon Dolce Latte

And then Sunday was spent in Starbucks, celebrating mine and my friend's good news over a cup of cinnamon dolce latte and a deeeelicious red velvet whoopie. Followed by watching adorable videos, like a baby being scared of his mom blowing her nose. You must watch it.

I'm starting to feel like it's worth it to take little coffee breaks, because amazing things can happen in between two cups of coffee. /cheesy blog is cheesy

And a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who joined in on the Postcard Project! I'm so excited for everyone to swap and hopefully share on their blogs once they get it. And since I was so late in sending everyone their postcard partners, I'll send out reminders this Friday to anyone who hasn't sent theirs yet!

Now, I have to ask:
How was your weekend?
Did anything make it amazing? :)