Some long overdue pictures from the much needed road trip poppy and I went on in May with Grammy. It was a week filled with beautiful Berkshire adventures, family visits, old farms filled with more animals than Poppy could hug and awesome parking lot carnival!  We love you Grammy. Thank you so much for these memories. We can’t wait for our next adventure with you! xoxo

This year we didn’t make it up to Gampy’s to get our pumpkin from the pumpkin patch at the farm down the road from his house. I was feeling bummed out about missing our little tradition and didn’t want to just grab a pumpkin from the grocery store. I decided to check out Whittamore’s  pumpkin farm instead. We packed ourselves up along with Granny and Grandad and made a morning of it. Poppy had a great time. There were a ton of fun things for Poppy to run around and do….there was also an 8 dollar cover…per person. I’m glad we went but hope that next year we can get back to our regular old, nothing fancy, pumpkin farm.

Kegan, Poppy and I were lucky enough to spend the week before Thanksgiving in the Laurentians. As you can see the colours, this time of year were stunning. We spent as much time as possible outdoors going for walks and bike rides or just exploring around the cottage. We ended the week off with a visit to our friend Anne’s sugar shack where we stocked up on enough maple syrup to last us the winter. After we packed up the syrup we were lucky enough to have Anne lead us on a beautiful hike around the lake. As much as I love summers at the cottage I must say I am absolutely in love with the beauty that autumn brings to the mountains.

It’s been a crazy summer filled with so many wonderful adventures. We have now been home for 4 days and are finally starting to settle back into our regular daily routines. Routines that no longer include big beautiful weddings or dozens of new friends around every corner we turn or boat rides and regattas or stunning cottages overlooking breathtaking views or visits with Gamp and Gram….we are home. Summer has come to an end. Hello friends we have missed. Hello neighbourhood walks with Marley. Hello swings and slides and sandboxes. Hello Fall. These are some pictures from the cottage we stayed at on Baptiste lake with Granny, Grandad, Great Grandma and all the dogs! Thank you Granny and Grandad for inviting Poppy and I to be a part of this. We can’t wait to do it again. xo

After close to 20 years I finally went back to visit my childhood cottage. I can honestly say my happiest childhood memories were made at Deer Lake. The cottage was designed by my grandfather and from what I understand my family also had a huge part in building it. My grandfather also painted this beautiful mural. Sadly he passed away before getting the chance to meet Poppy. I couldn’t believe my luck when I realized the family who has had the cottage for the past 20 years hadn’t painted over the mural. It was hard to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks as I photographed Poppy standing with Grandpa’s Deer. I will always love Deer Lake.

Last week was so much fun….even if it was super grey and cloudy from Wednesday all the way through to Saturday. These pics are from my favourite  family excursion. The farm on Magnificent road.  There were chickens a miniature bull and the sweetest goats who loved giving kisses! As if that wasn’t enough we also got to stuff our faces with freshly picked strawberries! LOVE this place.

*Note: I have a ton of pictures from our stay on Baptiste lake, however Poppy and I are now trying to settle into yet another week away from home. This week we will be spending at Gamp and Grams. Pics from Baptiste will be up in a few days.

Let me start by apologizing for my absence over here. It has been a crazy busy August. I think Poppy and I will be at home for a grand total of 5 days this month, the rest of which we will be gallivanting from cottage to cottage with a visit to Gampy’s at the end. Because of this my time in the kitchen and on my computer has become a rarity. That being said the rest of August will probably be a whole lot of Poppy posts with maybe a few recipes annnnnd I promise to be back with a ton of new healthy and delicious recipes in September! Here are a few from our time in the Laurentians. We had the most amazing time filled with the Lac des Iles annual regatta, Poppy’s first motor boat ride, a visit with Nan, lots of dancing in the wedding tent, dock time, some “fancy poses” and a beautiful wedding!

This was by far my favourite visit to High Park. We said hello to the animals at the High Park zoo, had a lovely picnic and explored some beautiful places in the park that we had never seen before.

So we finally made it to the Peterborough zoo! We have tried and failed on numerous occasions over the past year or so, due to poor timing or weather or or or…but this time we made it happen. We went on a week day so there were very few people. It was as if the zoo was ours! Poppy was particularly fond of the otters ( just like her Daddy ), the monkeys and the donkeys. We had a wonderful time. Poppy still talks daily about the animals she met at the zoo. I have a funny feeling it’s going to become a regular on our list of  outings when we are visiting Gram and Gamp.

In January I went on a mini road trip to N.Y to vist My stepmom’s family. It was a last minute invite and I was quick to say yes….on one condition, I was going alone. No Poppy, no Kegan just me and Erica! A girls’ roadtrip. I hadn’t been away from Poppy for more than a night so as one could imagine I was a little teary eyed as we drove off. Don’t worry, It didn’t take long for my tears to turn to excitment! 4 days of me time! I had a beautiful hotel room with a king sized bed awaiting me and I couldn’t wait.

I know this may sound crazy but spending that time with Erica ( 13 hours in the car ) was just what I needed. It was perfect. We had deep conversations and enjoyed the peace and quiet, both of us appreciating what a blessing it was.

After our arrival the days flew bye.We celebrated Erica’s parent’s birthday ( it was a big one for her dad) The family rented  a lovely restaurant for the ocasion. Friends and family chatted and ate the afternoon away. I hadn’t seen my cousin Thea in over 7 years…possibly longer so we took advantage of the time and caught up on as many things as we could think of. It was great to get to know her at this stage in her life. She’s one cool chick.

During my visit I was also lucky enough to tag along with my aunt Jess as she picked up some art in Brooklyn from the artist Elizabeth Huey for a show Jess was working on later that month in LA. To put it mildly I was overflowing with envy as we stood in Elizabeth’s studio stacked with more canvases and paint than my little heart could desire. Oh and did I mention her little dog got to hang out in it’s little shopping cart bed keeping Elizabeth company while she paints?….. Not a bad life.

I will add that on top of envy I was also super inspired to start painting again and that is a feeling I haven’t had in far too long.

Thank you Erica for the perfect little get away. I love you tons xoxo

p.s  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERICA!!