Last year for our anniversary, my husband and I decided to go on a weekend getaway to Quebec. We selected a lovely place to stay and also treated ourselves to a day at the Nordik Spa in Chelsea. We spent the day enjoying the thermal pools and relaxing in hammocks amidst nature. As a treat, I also booked us each an outdoor massage.
It was amazing and so relaxing. As I spoke with my massage therapist, she strongly advocated for the importance of bringing the relaxation, gratitude, and care of the spa back home to our daily lives. She mentioned little self care things we can do for ourselves, like drinking lots of water and going for a walk in the morning, and she said that if I could listen to music while I walked, even better. Eating a handful of nuts everyday and stretching your body were also additions to a healthy self care practice. Her final advice was a reminder to be kind to myself.
These words, spoken to me over a year ago, were powerful–more powerful than she would ever realize. When I got home from our trip last year I made a note in my phone that I look at every day. I titled it: ‘Cecile says…’ and then I listed all the reminders and suggestions that she gave to me that day.
I have looked at my ‘Cecile Says…’ note every day since last August. It serves as a reminder to check in with myself and it fills me with gratitude when I look at it. I certainly am not about to say that I follow all these suggestions everyday, but I acknowledge that they are there and it gets me back on track.
This past week the stars aligned and I was able to go back to Nordik Spa and yes, I was able to book a massage with Cecile. I shared with her how important her words had been and what an impact they had on my daily life. She was overwhelmed and gave me a big hug. Through our conversation, we also realized that she and I share the same birthday! What are the chances?
Today I am thankful for all the Ceciles in the world!
The sunflower is such an epic flower, so big and beautiful. There are so many varieties of sunflowers available now. Within our local community, farmers have started to plant fields of sunflowers in mazes that they then invite the public to enjoy. These fields provide a great opportunity for people to come and learn all about sunflowers!
I have done the ‘Sunflower Experience’ at Pingle’s Farm Market every summer for the past few years. The tractor ride to the field allows you to see it from a different perspective. It certainly builds the anticipation of its beauty. At this farm they have done such a good job of setting up props for photo ops throughout the sunflower field.
Bees buzz from one flower to another collecting pollen, busy at work. The giant sunflowers tower tall above your head while others are more petite in size. It is incredible to think about each tiny seed growing into this grand flower. Then the middle of each sunflower is filled with hundreds more seeds. These seeds can then be dried and ready to grow next year to start the cycle all over again.
This year we created a pollinator and bee garden in our front lawn. We hand planted about 30 to 40 sunflower seeds of different varieties in the soil. Today, we have one sunflower that survived, and it’s almost ready to bloom. Needless to say the bunnies thought sunflower sprouts were a delicacy and they enjoyed them very much! This gives me a much deeper appreciation for all the hard work involved in growing acres of sunflowers, and being able to provide this wonderful experience.
If you get the opportunity to visit a sunflower field, I strongly recommend it. What could be better than soaking up some sunshine among the sunflowers?
Summer is in full swing and we are now able to enjoy many fruits grown by local farmers. This time of year is amazing because everything tastes so fresh and delicious. I enjoy going to farmer’s markets and fruit stands at the side of the road.
I am usually a creature of habit and like to have the same breakfast every day; however, the last week or so the fresh fruit has been calling me.
With so many choices I decided that making a summer fruit yogurt bowl would be a nice breakfast alternative to my normal bagel.
I started out with a few large spoons of greek yogurt in the bottom of the bowl. I find that greek yogurt has the protein you need to feel full. Next, I cut up a variety of fresh fruit. There are so many combinations that you can experiment with. One of my favourites is strawberries, bananas, and blueberries. Another combination that I enjoy is bananas, blueberries, peaches and yellow plums.
Topping your bowl off with homemade granola or store bought adds the necessary crunch. Adding a final drizzle of local honey or maple syrup adds that touch of sweet.
Will you try this breakfast bowl?
As an Early Childhood Educator, I am always looking for new ideas and innovative methods of presenting educational content. Inquiry-based learning is especially important in our classroom. One of my favourite ways to discover new approaches is by exploring how different communities embrace educational opportunities. Sometimes it’s a library, a park, a garden, or other community spaces, and in this case, a museum.
On a recent visit to the small town where I grew up, I made such a discovery. The local museum, which is housed in a heritage home next-door to what used to be my grandparent’s house, had put together an amazing inquiry filled outdoor space. Under a canopy of oak trees on the museum’s lawn, there were games like ping pong, skee-ball, and giant jenga available to the public for young and old to play. There were also different seating arrangements scattered around, including picnic tables, muskoka chairs, iron butterfly benches, and stumps to sit on. There were people reading books and having picnic lunches while enjoying the shade of the old oak trees that I grew up with.
The space that I found most interesting was the many hands-on opportunities for children. There was water exploration tables, a huge sandbox, a giant bubble maker that you could stand inside of, small world play with sunflower seeds, and many more. The children visiting these stations had huge smiles on their faces as they explored their curiosity and made discoveries.
The centrepiece of the museum’s outdoor space was a community garden. Local varieties of flowers and lots of different vegetables filled the garden beds. As an avid gardener, I found the unique ways they used trellises for the climbing vegetables particularly inspiring. The potting shed had information for the public on tips and tricks for pollinator and native plant gardens as well.
I would love to meet whoever led this incredible community project. The rich content and attention to detail that went into it was admirable. There was also a sign with all the local businesses and volunteers who contributed to make this special project possible. What an amazing attraction to have as part of this small town community! Stay tuned for another post, when I have time to visit the museum inside.
As a family we enjoy going antiquing and looking for treasures. It’s a great way to learn about history from past perspectives. Being able to embrace the simple beauty in found objects is a gift.
Some of our greatest finds have been from antique stores and vintage shops. We love to repurpose old items in our home or refinish old furniture pieces to give them a new life. My husband’s personal love is refurbishing old technology and restoring it to what it once was. I like hunting for things that I can re-use for a different purpose. Some of my most recent ideas were to turn an old metal ladle into a flower vessel, and use vintage buttons to create art.
Our most recent visit was to Legacy Vintage Building Materials in Cobourg, Ontario. This shop was brilliant. Wandering through it almost felt like a museum. They specialize in architectural salvage, vintage doors, hardware, lighting, and home design elements. We wandered throughout the shop, from room to room, upstairs and downstairs. Each type of object was carefully curated and presented, as if they were pieces of art.
The first thing that caught my eye was a box of vintage buttons. The beauty of all the shapes, sizes and textures was incredible. Outside, there were amazing iron panels, rusted from time and weather. Stacks and stacks of wooden shutters of varying sizes and colours lined the walls of the basement. Key hole plates were delicately stamped with intricate patterns. The attention to detail in these pieces was simply beautiful. It was a great opportunity to appreciate fine craftsmanship.
This place is definitely well worth a visit. If you are wanting to add any true vintage pieces to your home or looking for unique and one of a kind items from the past, this is the store for you!
If you ever get the chance to visit a lavender field, I highly recommend it. A few years ago, my daughter surprised me with a yoga experience in the lavender fields at Laveanne Lavender Farm. It was a great outing and it was beautiful to look out and see a sea of purple. Another local farm that is now doing a lavender experience is Pingle’s Farm Market and you can also pick your own lavender bouquet. If you get the opportunity to go I strongly recommend going!
When we moved to our home we decided to add some gardens in our backyard. We wanted to be able to enjoy lots of colour throughout the summer, especially perennials as they would come back year after year.
My Aunt graciously offered to help us plant the gardens and she brought a lot of extras from her own established yard. One of her many contributions was two lavender plants. They started off small but this year they are so spectacular. The smell is wonderful and they are getting so big. Next year I will definitely be able to split them and share them with other parts of the garden. Now I have a little bit of lavender in my backyard that I get to enjoy year after year.
Have you ever driven past a box that someone has made on their front lawn that is full of books? As the summer starts I am looking for unique things to do in my local communities that don’t necessarily cost a lot of money. I drove past a little library today and decided to stop.
On other days in the hustle and bustle of life I probably wouldn’t have stopped. But today it was summer vacation, so I did. I actually got out of my car and lifted the latch of the little library and perused the books. Inside was a wide selection of books, from preschool reads, to YA, and adult fiction. I was impressed to see that there was even some non fiction and a magazine, in this particular little library.
I then got the itch and wanted to find more. As I was driving up and down the streets of the town I was in I began to find more. The next one I found was the similar replica of the house that stood behind it. The detail and attention to the wood working was amazing. The little house that was created was an incredible match to the stone home behind it.
Some were more simplistic and decorated to the home owners aesthetic. This is for sure a fun way of giving back to the community through literature, by offering free books to the public. Some had signs ‘take a book, leave a book’, while others actually had a tag. Little Free Library.org was one of the tags that was on one of the little libraries that I discovered. Upon further research, this is a non profit out of Minnesota. Their mission is to increase access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds, and to spread the love of reading.
As an Early Childhood Educator, this really sparked my interest because I recognize the importance of reading. Each year I get the opportunity to educate children and have them develop the love of reading. This is such a privilege. I value the importance of students having the foundational elements early on to develop the skills necessary to learn to read.
If you get the opportunity to go on a hunt for a local little library; I encourage you to do so. Maybe you will find a great book! Happy reading!
This fantastic set up caught my eye as I was driving through the Port Hope community. What a brilliant idea to build community and offer up shared resources to be used by others.
A set of scissors are hanging from a hook, with the simple instructions on how to use the community herb box. This warmed my heart and was a great example of how we can provide for others and share within our community. Take only what you need, and leave some for others. If the plant looks like it need to grow, let it grow. Such a simple message and a great way to combine your love of gardening and supporting your community.
On a recent Pinterest search I discovered The Hammered Flower by Michelle Moore designs. Michelle has created pieces of clothing and art using the hammered flower technique. Her items on Pinterest and Instagram are simply beautiful and inspiring.
The actual process of hammering flowers onto cloth and fabric requires a pre treatment of an alum wash to improve colour and longevity. I however wanted to try this technique on paper. I choose watercolour paper for this application.
My Mom brought me some of her pansies to give it a try. The process was quite simple and the results were amazing. I simply lay the flowers on the water colour paper one at a time. I then covered the pansy with a piece of doubled over paper towel and then used my hammer. It was easy enough to pull back the paper towel to see what spots still needed to be done. There were a few spots that I had missed but I just had to put the paper towel back down again and repeat the hammering.
The exact flower shape and colour transferred onto the water colour paper and then I just had to carefully peel off the pounded flower to discover the print. A recommendation would be to use a pair of fine tweezers to remove the flower remnants as to not smudge your work. It was so exciting to see how well this worked! I am hoping to try it with leaves and other flower petals as well.
My plan is to transform these prints into handmade cards with a simple ‘thank you’ or ‘happy birthday’ message on them. I am also thinking about maybe outlining parts of the flower with a thin lined art marker.
Will you try flower hammered art? This art project is a great combination of my love of gardening and the creative process.
So, the summer has begun and the school year has come to an end. It is a time to rest, renew, and get inspired for the new school year to come. At the beginning of the summer I like to reflect on things I would like to do, projects that I would like to try, and places I would like to go to. This is just a little list of some of the summer things I hope to get the opportunity to do.
- Read at least four books
- Have a picnic with wonderful things to eat
- Go strawberry picking
- Go on a wine tour, maybe in Prince Edward County
- Go to a spa and have a day of complete relaxation
- Learn to use my Cricut with finesse
- Create labels for our classroom using said Cricut
- Organize my craft room
- Create content for my blog
- Walk daily
- Have banana frozen yogurt in a waffle cone
- Visit IKEA
- Spend time with the ones I love
- Afternoon naps
- Make homemade pizza dough once a week
- Have breakfast for supper
- Go to a farm-to-table restaurant
- Go to the farmer’s market weekly
- Woodworking in the garage
- Flower arranging
- Have coffee on the patio
- Complete a felting project
- Kayak
Maybe one of these items sparked your interest and you would like to try it. What items would you have on your list? Happy Summer!
