Short Visit Home

I was lucky enough to spend some time home (near Toronto) this weekend for Easter. I got to visit with a few friends, relax and spend time with family. Pictured above are some old trees that line the driveway of my childhood home. After the ice storm this winter many of these trees lost their branches but they seem to be going strong now! This picture doesn't really put it into perspective but these trees are so tall and beautiful. We are lucky to have them.

 One of the best parts of the weekend was a visit to my old university town, Guelph. I met a friend there for lunch at one of our old favourite vegetarian restaurants and it felt so surreal to be back there. I hadn't been back to Guelph since I graduated almost 4 years ago! When we move back to Ontario I hope to spend more time visiting that area, it really is a nice town. 

Easter was great. My parents hosted 30+ of our family and I made these bird nest macaroons which turned out awesome! They were very easy and look so cute, I may make them again. We don't celebrate a big religious Easter, for me its more about welcoming spring and all of the changes that come during this time. It's also just nice to have a reason to celebrate with family and friends. 

After a long winter it felt really nice to get away from the city for a few days. I've been a bit frustrated with Montreal lately due to a number of things: ridiculous politics, the language barrier, unfriendly atmosphere, etc. I found myself desperate for Halifax numerous times, missing the friendly people and the ocean breeze. Everyone keeps telling me that the summers here are wonderful and will make me feel more at home. I really hope so! Coming home (back to Montreal) actually felt exciting this time. On the train ride home I read a blog post about a couple's trip to Montreal. They had never been before and were so enamoured with the city and all it's charm. They went to lots of interesting restaurants and shops in my neighbourhood, just raving about all they had to offer. This blog post really put things in perspective. I am so fortunate to be able to live here! I hope I can embrace this city like I was able to do in the fall during the summer. Things will be very, very busy with me wrapping up school but I know I'll find some time.

Hope you're all enjoying this lovely spring weather. It is so sunny here today and I went for a great, long run up the Mount for the first time since moving here. It felt amazing!

the ending of summer

Once again, summer is coming to a close. This summer has definitely been an interesting one, filled with lots of happy memories but also a lot of sadness and boredom (mostly due to the lack of full-time job thing).

 A few weeks ago, Alex and I went to PEI and it was an awesome get-away. Above is the famous Green Gables house, it was so lovely to see it in person!

My pictures didn't turn out so great, but let me tell you PEI is a gorgeous province. We spent a lot of time at the beach enjoying the perfect summer weather and swimming in the ocean. I find the ocean waters near Halifax to be too cold to swim in, but near Cavendish it was a lot warmer which was awesome! One of the highlights of the trip for me was when Alex and I were walking back to our room late at night in Charlottetown and we saw a silver fox! No, it wasn't an attractive older man, but a black fox (normally red) with a white tip. We saw the little guy or gal on our first and second night, it was very exciting, especially for a nature lover like myself.

Last weekend Alex and I went home to visit my family and it felt so good to see them. I hadn't seen my sister since April (for us this is too long!) and it was great to catch up. My parents threw a huge pig-roast (weird.... I know) party for my Mom's side of the family and I was able to catch up with lots of people I don't normally see which was really nice. As much as I love living out of province, I definitely miss seeing my extended family and immediate family more often.

Next week Alex and I move into our new apartment and we move in together. I am both excited and petrified. My close friend reminded me that I am indeed moving in with a boy! It seems strange to really think about but I can't wait to wake up beside him every morning and to start this chapter of our lives. We have been preparing for our new place, we bought some frames today to host these lovely prints, which we had custom made to showcase where we are from and the places we've lived (Alberta, Ontario & Nova Scotia). I'm hoping we'll be able to add a few more provinces to the lineup as life goes on.

I'm slightly stressed about how teeny tiny our new apartment is but reading up on Apartment Therapy and reading my tea leaf's survival tips has made me feel as though this new change will be a welcomed design challenge that I am ready to take on!

Updates and pictures of the new place will follow, maybe one day I will have some tips of my own!

canada day long weekend

This past weekend was Canada day long weekend and it was wonderful. I had to work Saturday and Sunday but was able to get Sunday night off just in time to see the fireworks at the Halifax waterfront. Last year, my family was visiting at this time and it being my first summer here, we coincidently had dinner right on the water and lingered just long enough to see a beautiful fireworks display. It was so beautiful! I had never seen fireworks like that before. I literally had to put my hand over my mouth because I kept gasping, quite loudly. This year did not disappoint. Its been extremely hot in the city for the past few days and after the night before which was filled with drinking and a day spent in the sun and then at work, I was pooped but we picked ourselves up, put on some red and white and marched with fellow Haligonians downtown. The waterfront was packed with people and it was so nice to see children taking in all the loud sounds and beautiful displays. I loved the sense of community I felt.

Its been a really great long weekend. It was especially nice to have Alex off work and with me for more time than we usually get on weekends. I am so proud to be a Canadian. Our country still has a long way to go in terms of equity and environmental appreciation but we definitely have a lot to be proud of.

In other news, in honor or Nora Ephron's passing, I persuaded Alex to watch When Harry Met Sally with me today. God I love that movie. The writing and dialogue is genius. Nora was an amazing writer and director and she will definitely be missed. I am such a fan of a romantic comedy that is done well, and she really knew how to write/direct them.

I teared up at the end which was a little embarrassing at first but then I decided to embrace it. Its fine to show emotion during such a heartfelt film! Also, I would kill for Meg Ryan's hair in this movie. She's a beauty for sure. Next up, You've Got Mail. Not sure if I'll be able to convince Alex to watch this one with me but I do love a solo movie night too.