Summer Reads

Reading is one of my favourite summer activities. I think that about 90% of the reading I do happens in the summer. Summer and reading just go together. We have made bi-weekly library trips lately and I have been loving it!

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I have already read a few goodies this summer, and thought I'd write some recommendations. Click on the title to see it on Amazon. 

1. Forever Lily by Beth Nonte Russell.

I found this book at my Mum's and her hubby's cottage and picked it up out of boredom. Then, I read it in a DAY! I couldn't put it down. It is a personal memoir about adoption from China. It was an easy read, but also one that gets you thinking. Warning: It may make you want to adopt a child.

2. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis.

Oprah said to read this book, so I read it. I even got it from the express 7-day loan section at the library, where there is a $5/day penalty for overdue books. It wasn't as quick of a read as some of the others, but was a great book about a woman (Hattie) from the perspective of her children. It is better than I just made it sound. Luckily I finished it in the 7 days.

3. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

A book about a lighthouse keeper and his wife who decide to keep a baby girl who washes up onto their shore, and the consequences. Very suspenseful. I definitely recommend this one! Another one I could not put down.

4. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

I am still in the process of reading this one, but I have maybe NEVER laughed out loud so many times while reading a book. Seriously, Joe gets a kick out of me reading it because every so often I burst out laughing. It is a story, as the title suggests, about a 100-Year-Old Man who escapes his old folks' home, and the hilarity that ensues. Great writing, and I definitely recommend it.

Next on my reading list: 

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini.

The same author as The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns... two memorable books that I loved! Unfortunately, there are about 80 holds on it at the library. So I need to wait my turn.

And if you're looking for some other good reads from my past (many that you have probably already read...but they are must reads!), I have loved:

The Birth House by Ami McKay

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson (If you haven't read this, do!)

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins (Again, if you haven't read this, it is worth the hype)

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (The book is always SO much better than the movie!)

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill 

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

What have you been reading?! I would love some more recommendations to keep me going. 

Summertime, and the living is easy!

Moving day is looming. Just over two weeks until closing day!

But... it has been hard to get much of anything done! The weather has been scorching hot, and the pool claimed our past week :) It was the first time I truly enjoyed our pool. And of course, it is right before I will say goodbye to it!

Henry wasn't so sure about the pool at first, but quickly learned to love it! It has been a lot of fun, and we have had lots of friends and family over to enjoy. 

Not so sure...

Ok, this is FUN!

We have also had more-than-the-usual time on our hands, so you may wonder what else has kept us busy!

Well, we have been making lots of yummy food. We even tried our hand at our own sushi. It was a lot of work, but sooo worth it!

Sweet potato, avocado, cucumber and sesame seeds. Yum!

And of course we have started packing. Henry has learned to love the Jolly Jumper, which has helped us to get some work done!

I also got my hair cut short. Henry was getting too good at grabbing it.
This is the only picture that shows it. And also my nephew, Braden, is the best 2-year old swimmer. Ever.

Last but not least, I have been doing a LOT of reading. I think I shall write a completely different post about some of my summer reads and recommendations. 

That is life lately, in a nutshell. 

Henry at 5 months

Whoa... where did the last month go?! Nevermind the last five months! As usual, it is hard to believe that our little guy is a whole month older.

This has been a really fun month, and Henry is really starting to develop his personality. We have been enjoying our time with him, and are excited that Joe has 2 months off for summer holidays!

Making one of my funny faces

This month was an exciting one; two of Henry's uncles, Bob and Mike, moved back to Ontario after a long time being away. Henry also started sampling some foods (just tasting so far, not really eating), enjoying the summer weather, rolling over both ways, grabbing things more deliberately, making funny faces and laughing a lot more!

Cucumber feels good on my gums!

It has been fun watching him change. I am excited to see what the next month brings!

Spending time outside

Playing with my cousin, Spencer. Check out my Kramer hair!

Stay tuned for more photos from my first visit to the cottage!

New House: A Few Highlights

One of the best things about this new house deal is how SOON we are moving! It is only 6 weeks away! I need to wrap my head around this (and everything that needs doing before then!) since my last two house purchases had long closing dates - about 5 or so months. It's so exciting moving into a new place, and even better when the wait is short. 

I thought I would post a few photos of the new place that I took with my iPhone during our home inspection. I don't want to show TOO much since the house is obviously still filled with someone else's stuff, which seems wrong to post for some reason. I will just show a few things that I am excited about. 

1. The Outside: The outside is lovely. I love that the gardens are really low-maintenance. When I used to landscape for my summer job, I swore I would never live in a home with hedges or shrubs that needed pruning. Well... I remembered why when I moved into our current place. Shrubs/hedges galore! Needless to say, I'm excited to live somewhere where I will have little use for my pruning shears.

The backyard is quite nice, and bigger than it looks in this picture. It has a gas fire-pit, which I am so excited about. Our campfire pit at our first house is the one of the things I miss the most. Many great times will be had here.

2. The front porch: Ah-mazing. 

3. The kitchen: When I read on the listing that the kitchen was updated (before seeing the place), I was a bit worried. I am very particular in what I like in a kitchen, and have seen some pretty low-quality "upgraded" kitchens during previous house tours. I was relieved and excited to find that the cabinets are shaker-style, and a quality maple. I love it. It is in a cherry stain. While I have always loved a white kitchen, the stain looks nice and will likely stay. 

4. The original details: There are quite a few original details in the house, including stained-glass windows, beautiful wood floors throughout, and even a pocket door!

5. The upstairs bathroom: Again, I have seen a few 'updated' bathrooms before that were not at all my style. Everything about this bathroom, however, is my dream bathroom - glass shower, beautiful tile floors and walls, heated floors, a low-flow toilet, storage... heaven. I wish I had a better photo, but you get the idea.

Of course, the biggest highlight is this house's location. It is a short walk to almost everything for us. I will be giving a more detailed tour in 6 weeks or so when we move in! I can't wait! For now I guess I should go and prune the hedges...

Downtown, Here We Come!

Great News!
In a crazy whirlwind of events, Joe and I bought this gem!

(Sorry about the bad quality photo... I borrowed it from the listing.)

Just a few days ago I was posting about how we were likely going to need to live in an apartment for a while during our search for a home. I wasn't really excited about this, but as I have said before, we were NOT willing to settle on just any home. It had to be perfect, or at least almost perfect (with potential to become perfect). So, I had spent some time searching for available 2 bedroom rentals near where we want to live.

Then, two days after the "Sold" sign was up on our house, we got an excited call from our realtor in the evening. A house was coming up right in our dream neighborhood, on one of our preferred streets. And, in a price range that showed us it was likely not a dump. We quickly drove by to take a look, and from the outside it looked perfect. I almost wanted to put the offer in then and there! But alas, we had to see it first. The next day we went to see it. It is a home with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms that was built in 1920. It is completely updated. It has a detached garage and a lovely yard. It even has a partially finished basement and a finished attic. Amazing.

When a house like that goes up downtown, we have learned, there are usually multiple offers. And they usually sell for over asking price. We knew we had to act fast! Our realtor wrote up an offer that same night and we signed it. Then the waiting game began. There was a 24 hour window where someone else could have put in an offer and started a bidding war. I don't think I slept.

The next afternoon, we got a call from our realtor. They had accepted our offer! And the closing date is even the same as the sale of our home! Too good to be true. But it IS true! I am still having a hard time believing we have had such luck.

We did the home inspection and, of course, there are a few things that need some work (I mean... it IS almost 100 years old!) We decided we are okay with that since we plan on spending many years here, and can fix as we go.

I will definitely follow up with more about the house soon.

2 Years

Today is our 2-year wedding anniversary! It is also 3 years from the day that we met. (In case you didn't know... we got married 1 year from the day we met.)

We have been the real-life example of the old childhood chant; "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!" Yep, that describes our 3 years together pretty much.

It is amazing how much we have accomplished in these 2 years of marriage.

- We have sold and purchased 2 houses! (Whoa...crazy! More to come on that...)
- We gave our entire home a face-lift
- We have travelled in 7 different countries (Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, France, Belgium, Germany, and of course, Canada)
- We had a baby!
- We both found our dream jobs at great schools where we plan on staying.
- We became committed to eating a plant-based diet.
- I'm sure I've missed something. Needless to say, we have been busy!

I have felt so happy and so lucky since meeting Joe. I still sometimes have to do a reality check that he is really my husband, and that we really have a baby, and that life is really this good. I don't know what I did to deserve this life, but I sure am happy in it :) I look forward to many, many more years together.
I love you, Joe!

On the move

It seems that a few of the home/decor blogs I follow are also in the midst of buying and selling their homes. I find it funny, since everything on their blogs is so relevant.

Three in particular are at different stages of the moving process.

Over at Making it Lovely, their are currently at the staging/selling stage.

At Little Green Notebook, they are in the "we've bought a house" stage.

And at Young House Love, they have just moved in to their new place! They also went over, in detail, the process of selling and searching for a new home.

I am definitely happy to be done the staging/selling stage, and looking forward to (hopefully) buying, and moving into a house! It is very exciting, and nerve-wracking, to be looking for a home. Regardless of what we find, we are moving in less than 7 weeks. Crazy!