Saturday morning daydream

house beautiful, via tinywhitedaisies

I can just imagine spending an entire day in this spot... reading, writing, dreaming, maybe even napping a little? The sunlight, the flowers, the sound of the water and that gorgeous archway... Looks like heaven to me! All that's missing is a little table on the side, to hold a pot of tea and a plate of biscotti. Bliss.

Flowers for your Friday {and some gratitude too}

via hgtv {don't you love flowers in tea cups?}

Happy Friday, and Happy First Day of April! The boys are getting up to all sorts of foolishness for the 1st, but I'll leave that for another post. Right now I'd like to give you some festive spring tulips and share my gratitude for the beautiful things in my life this week {I love Kimbirdy's weekly list, and Micaela's "happy things to end the week with," too... Go take a look, I guarantee they'll make you smile}. Here's my list of way more than 3BT this Friday:

* finally, finally feeling better {my cough is almost gone! hallelujah!}

*all the letters and cards and packages that came in the mail this week, and it's not even my birthday yet!

* the daffodils in my garden have quadrupled in the past few days

* a really great, long phone date with Em where we made an excellent plan regarding our blogs, discussed all sorts of fun things, and laughed a lot

* making some plans to skype with a few of my favourite blogging friends {Brandi and I have to discuss our summer visit!}

* have I mentioned my fairly new, yet deep and abiding love for Parenthood? man, that's a good show!

* our cherry trees are all bloomy

* getting a new surgery date that doesn't interfere with any of my fun April plans {birthday party, Easter egg hunt, Royal Wedding are all still a go!}

* having a really good job where I can take a week off to recover from the aforementioned surgery, and still get paid

* the help I know I'm going to get from family and friends on {and after} surgery day... I'm a lucky girl to be surrounded by so many wonderful, supportive people

* several sunny afternoons to warm up the house and cheer up my mood

* collecting shells and stones on a windy beach with my boys, admiring the snow-capped mountains and bright blue ocean waves

* Alan is really good at foot rubs, which is handy because my feet are killing me lately

* Michael proposed to Holly!!!

* reading The Forgotten Garden... epically complicated, but oh-so-good!

* all your awesome ideas for my birthday party {thank you, girls! I knew I could count on you}

* minty bubble baths

There's more, I'm sure. I've got a journal filled with lines like this. But right now I've got to get ready for school. Fridays in the first grade are craaaaazy!  I'll be back tomorrow with a Saturday morning daydream. In the meantime...

via words & eggs

Party planning advice needed!

via weheartit

So I found out yesterday that my surgery has been rescheduled for next Thursday. One week from today! Yikes. I had been planning on getting a group of girlfriends together next weekend to celebrate my birthday, but I don't think I'm going to be up to it now. I'll likely be sound asleep in my bed most of the weekend. My birthday is this Tuesday! I don't want to miss out on having some sort of a party. That would just be sad. So, I quickly sent out an email, inviting the girls I love to come to my place this Saturday night for a drinks, appies, movie evening. Most of them have replied and can make it {whew! I was worried, since it was such short notice}. Now I need your help!

If you were coming to my impromptu birthday shindig this Saturday night {I wish you could! wouldn't that be fun?}, what would you want to eat and drink? Should I attempt to make fancy drinks with umbrellas in them {I don't have a blender, but maybe I could borrow my mom's} or just get a few bottles of wine? Would a dessert buffet be fun or should I make an assortment of appetizers and have one dessert for after? Can you recommend some tasty treats that are quick and relatively easy to make, but also appropriately festive and delicious? And finally... what's a fun, light-hearted, girly movie that we're all going to enjoy?

Advise away, my friends! I know you're full of fabulous ideas. It's just one of the reasons I love you.
xo

A date with Wills and Kate

Are you at all excited about the Royal Wedding next month? I must confess that I am! I remember quite clearly the day that Charles and Diana got married. I was a little girl, and I was enamoured with the whole idea of a real-life fairy tale wedding. I had the commemorative paper dolls and everything! Of course that wedding didn't lead to a happily ever after, but I've got a good feeling about Prince William and his soon-to-be princess bride. They are older and wiser than Diana was, and Kate has had a good long taste of what lies ahead. I think she knows what she's in for, and she's as ready for it as she can be. It seems pretty obvious too, that these two actually really love each other. No arranged marriage here!

These two make a gorgeous couple, don't they? Love their engagement photo...

So, because I'm a wee bit of a Royal watcher {what with living in Victoria, and being married to a Brit}, I've gone ahead and made some seriously crazy, but super-fun plans for celebrating the big day! On April 29th, my friend Shannon and I will be attending "Rise and Shine with the Royals" at the elegant  Fairmont Empress Hotel.

Now, we live on the West Coast, which means we are a full 8 hours behind England-time. But that's not going to stop us from joining in the fun. The Rise and Shine tea and breakfast starts at 3 a.m.! We're going to be watching a live broadcast of the Royal Wedding on big-screen TVs in the Empress tea lobby, while we enjoy a full English breakfast {eggs made to order, crumpets and jam, fruit, pastries, tea and coffee, and even- for those who enjoy that sort of thing- the traditional kippers and baked beans!} It should be a lot of fun. I can't wait to see Kate's dress, and to watch the royal procession make its way from Westminster Abbey back to Buckingham Palace where they'll kiss and wave from the balcony. It makes my girly heart feel giddy.  I think I might wear my tiara {yes, I own a tiara... don't you?}

Do you have plans for celebrating the Royal Wedding? Do tell! {What time will it be where you are? Hopefully something more civilized than 3 o'clock in the morning!}

"Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps." ~ Saul Bellow

via flickr

So it's probably pretty obvious that with all the sickness that's been in our house this past month, my running has fallen by the wayside. It's true. So far by the wayside! And I am so disappointed. It's been more than 4 weeks now since I've been well enough to go to my running clinic, and I'm still not up to it {coughing + running = no fun at all!} And so, I've had to quit. I hate that! I didn't want to tell you about it. It is the last thing I wanted to do. But there's no way I'll be able to catch up with the group now that I've fallen so far behind. Who knows when I'll feel healthy enough to get back into it? And of course sometime in the next few weeks, I'll probably be going for my surgery, and will need time to recover from that as well. Sigh...

I called Frontrunners the other night and they very kindly said I could defer my clinic membership until the next session {which I think starts in June- I've got to be better by then, right?!} and I'll train for the 8K which is part of the Royal Victoria Marathon in October. I'm relieved about that. It's not really quitting, right? It's just rescheduling. I'll be able to do my training runs outside on summer evenings, which I love, instead of on the treadmill at the gym. That's always motivating, the evening light.

Anyhow, despite the fact that I've had to totally bail on one of the important goals I set for myself, last night I decided I'd sign up for the big Victoria 10K run on May 1st! So I went online and joined my school's team {there are 11 of us on staff who are participating}. Even if I walk more of it than I run {and I know that I will walk quite a lot of it}, I still want to take part. It was an amazing experience last year, being out there by the ocean with 13,000 other people, and I was so proud of myself for doing it. Why should this year be any different? Well okay, it will definitely be different. But it can still be great. I can still be proud. And it'll be good practice for October. That's what I told myself when I hit the "confirm registration" button, anyway...

Much Love Monday {mail and other stuff}

via here

Hello, and welcome to the last Monday in March! Soon it will be April. I love April, and not just because it is my birthday month, but because it means warmer days and tulips and Easter, too! Other things I'm loving this Monday include:

• spinach and ricotta canelloni, made by me
• my friend Shannon, whose birthday is today! I have something exciting up my sleeve for her birthday present {stay tuned...}
• all the letters I've managed to write lately- it's fun to send off lots of love in the post
• this gorgeous little bird that I bought as a present to myself for getting through the miserable month of March {March isn't usually miserable, but this one has been particularly bad for illness and injury and plague-like symptoms!}

I obviously couldn't resist him

• Parenthood, Season 2 {am powering through episodes at breakneck speed! Love that crazy Braverman family}
• watching Dylan carefully follow the directions to construct another Lego vehicle {we've got an entire city of Lego taking over the playroom} and seeing how proud he is of himself when it's done
• reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the boys each night. Dylan's face, when he discovered Alan was alive again... pure joy!
• making plans for my birthday, which is a week from tomorrow {I'm thinking afternoon tea with my favourite girlfriends sounds fun}
• the letters I received this week from Gracie, Kelly and Kim {Kim's contained a silly LOST joke that totally made me laugh out loud!}
• the fabulous and completely unexpected package I received from Bethany a few days ago... {thanks, Bethany! I love it!}

Beautifully wrapped, lovely card, amazing fabric flower

 It took me ages to open... didn't want to ruin the pretty packaging!

Fabulous London calendar, full of gorgeous vintage prints like this one

The flower is actually a brooch which I will be wearing soon {Easter Sunday, maybe?} but Sawyer just couldn't resist trying it on. "Do I look beautiful, Mum?" he wanted to know!

* * *

Hope you have found loads of things to love this Monday, too!

Scenes from the weekend

The last few days of spring break were the best ones. I was finally starting to feel better {except for the pulled-muscle pain every time I cough, which is still far too often for my liking}. We got out of the house into the sunshine. A lot. Because hey... sunshine is so good for you!

Sunshine + daffodils = springtime!

Pretty purple crocuses beside the house.

Whispered giggles between Alan and the boys, after a trip to the Trick & Joke Shop.

Sawyer heads for the longhouse at the Royal BC Museum. See the cherry blossoms overhead?

Emulating the work of Emily Carr, with watercolour pencils and wet paintbrushes

An Emily Carr painting in the new exhibit

Boys and friends, enjoying the view of the harbour from the top floor of the museum.

Mom's birthday party at Goldstream Park. The menfolk lean on the fence and eat their cupcakes.

My sis and my mom, really enjoying the fudge cupcakes with cream-cheese icing. Yum!

Sawyer goes for a run by the river.

Saturday afternoon at the school playground. Dylan perfects his climbing-wall skills.

Bob blends in to the living room rug during an evening nap. 

Warm Fuzzy jars, almost full. This time we're working towards a reward of a trip to Miniature World. Or a picnic at the beach. All depends on the weather.

Tea and raspberries and a good book make for a lovely Saturday night.

It's Sunday afternoon now, grey and raining {sigh}. In a little while we're going to head over to the mall to mail a stack of letters, and to sit a while in Starbucks with some hot chocolate. After that, it's home to construct some Lego and make a big pot of broccoli soup. Should I make some baking powder biscuits to go with it, or just pick up a baguette while we're out? Decisions, decisions...

Hope you had a lovely weekend, dear friends. See you back here tomorrow for Much Love Monday?

E xo