It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Today, Arabella and I decided that we would start some of our Christmas decorating. She was so excited to help me put up the "fake" Christmas tree in the dining room. It looks so pretty and we had a fun time decorating. I decided to go with a theme on this tree - I used the pretty deep red, deep green and brown ornaments with brown velvet ribbon and it looks so beautiful! Arabella was careful when she was unwrapping the ornaments and was so happy to be helping me.

The Holidays Have Arrived In Montreal

It is official...Christmas has arrived in Montreal! I have noticed since a few days after Halloween that the Christmas lights were starting to go up in our neighborhood. (I supposed the warm weather helps get people to put up their outdoor decorations earlier than they would if it was colder out.) I have been debating on when to bring up the Christmas decorations and with Jack's arrival and the burning of my Be Jolly candle, I am starting to get in the mood for Christmas. I know, I know, back in the States they haven't even had Thanksgiving...but here, there is nothing to fill the space between Halloween and Thanksgiving so Christmas seems to start earlier. All I can think is that my poor Arabella will be so confused when we do end up back in the States...her holidays will be all off! Anyway, this morning, we bundled up and met the Blais/Bergeron's for some (early) holiday fun in Montreal! It was the annual Santa Parade and we had so much fun! We had great front row seats and Arabella and Allyson loved the music and dancers and floats. We even had good weather - not too sunny, but not windy or too cold - perfect for a parade. It was nice to spend the morning in the fresh air and now I am in the holiday mood and could do with a little snow! I may even do a little decorating tomorrow and I think Arabella would be in the mood to help since she asked if we could decorate! I just love how excited she is about Christmas, it truly is the most wonderful and magical time of year!












They were so excited to see Santa!

Thursday's Thoughts

Hearing: Arabella reading her stories to herself when she should be napping.

Tasting: Warm water with a little lemon juice...warms me up and keeps me hydrated.

Seeing: Barren trees and a early Winter sky, and dare I say wet snow flakes in between the light rain drops.

Smelling: The new Be Jolly Yankee Candle that is burning. Not too festive, but just festive enough to get me in the Holiday mood.


Feeling: Sore muscles - I started my training routine on Sunday with a killer Bikram yoga class and have been up every morning this week at 5:30 to hit the treadmill.

Leaf Fun

Yesterday, we took our family picture for our Christmas cards. It was a little chilly outside, but we made it through, I think that there is at least one good shot in the 100 or so that we took! Towards the end of out shoot, Arabella was getting silly as it was close to nap time and she was overtired. She decided to have some fun in the leaves. It was adorable! And, I know I have said it before, but I LOVE my (new) camera...there is no way I would have been able to grab these shots without it!

Jack Is Back

You might remember that Jack the Elf came to our house last year during Christmas. He was in a new spot everyday and then on Christmas Eve he would go back to the North Pole to tell Santa if Arabella has been a good or bad girl. I am happy to report that he is back...at little early. Normally, I would wait until Thanksgiving, but what can I say, we live in Canada and already celebrated Thanksgiving. Besides, Christmas decorations are popping up all over the place and Arabella knows what that means - Santa is coming! I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Jack around, he helps out with making sure she stays on her best behavior.

She was so excited when she woke up on Saturday and Jack was at the bottom of the steps to greet her.

Veteran's Day

I just wanted to thank all the Veteran's past, present and future who protect our freedom and make our Country a safer place. Thank you for your sacrifice, dedication and loyalty. The world is a better place because of you.

And thank you to my family members who have served in the armed forces - Dad, Poppy, Grandpa Jack, Uncle Will, Uncle Bill, Dennis and my great, great, grandfather Braxton Bragg who fought in the Civil War. Your service to our Country will not be forgotten. Thank you!

Girl's Weekend

Last weekend I joined 9 of my friends for a Girl's Weekend in Burlington, Vermont! My friend, Ayse coordinated the whole weekend and it was so much fun. We had a great time shopping, eating, drinking wine and staying up too late...I guess a suite with a fire place will do that to you! My friend Laura picked my up Friday morning and we headed to Plattsburgh, New York - after crossing the Border, we hit Target first. It is hard to believe, but we spent about 3 hours there...it was wonderful to be able to shop without any interruptions and to take our time. We had full carts by the time we reached the registers! After Target, we stopped at Panera Bread to keep our shopping stamina up and then headed for the ferry that would take us from Plattsburgh to Burlington via Lake Champlain.




After the ferry ride, we went straight to Burlington to meet the rest of the girls for a pedicure party and then dinner. It was so much fun and dinner was great.

Sadly, I forgot to take out my camera to take pics almost all weekend! We slept in and then had a day full of shopping on Saturday. As you can see from this picture, we all did some damage (I am happy to say that I came in under budget!)
We relaxed in front of the fire with a few glasses of wine on Saturday night...we didn't have energy for anything else since we used it all up on shopping!

On Sunday, we slept in again and then packed up everything for the trip back home. We hit a few more stores on the way back to the ferry. We had no issues at all at the Border...I think it was one of the easiest crossings ever, in a car full of shopping bags, the agent didn't even ask us how much we spent...and we were both (way) over our $400 allowable limits!

Laura's car packed to the gills!
I didn't just shop for me, I picked up a few things that Arabella needed - socks, hats and mitts - and a few Christmas gifts too! In case you wanted to see my haul, it is below - Jay you might not want to look any further...
Books I scored at Once Upon A Child - they were 50 cents or a $1...seriously, too good to pass up when Arabella loves to read!
Two of my favorite scores - shearling lined Ralph Lauren driving shoes for $30 and a fun winter hat that I can't wait to wear...now if it would only get cold!
Most of the haul...it includes Christmas presents - a few staples from Target are missing from the pictures - overall I did a great job shopping and staying under budget! Now I just need to clean out some space in my closet!

Thursday's Thoughts

Hearing: Teenage Dream by Katy Perry playing over and over in me head...it was the song playing when I started the car this morning to take Arabella to school...and she told me that it was a good song, which it is, so we played it loud and now it is STUCK!

Tasting: Jamaica Me Crazy KCup...yummy coconut flavored coffee

Seeing: Rain falling which means the last of the leaves on the trees are falling too.

Smelling: The Leaves Wallflower that I just plugged in...so pretty.

Feeling: Tired...I think daylight savings time and my girls weekend are catching up to me!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday