virtual reality check

Hello there world, it has been a really, really long time.

I can't quite seem to get around to blogging anymore, and I'm not entirely sure why....
Yes I'm busy... as a mother of two, preparing for my return to a career as a family physician. Life is very, very full.
But I've always been busy. I've always managed to (over)fill my time one way or another, regardless of how many babies I have around me. So I don't think that's the real reason.
No. The blogging world has changed a lot over the years. And I'm not sure it's really for me anymore. I wish I had more time to blog, as I truly did (and do) love it. But I can't seem to make it a priority these days. Truth be told, maybe I've just outgrown it.
Or maybe it's the ease and immediacy of sharing on other forms of social media (I'm looking at you, Instagram), that makes blogging seem like so much more effort. It is infinitely faster to share a quick photo than to craft and edit an entire blog post.

But I can't say goodbye-forever just yet. I've been doing this long enough to suspect I might get another wave of blogging enthusiasm in the future, or come across a recipe that is simply too good not to share.
So until then....

Lots of love,
Vanessa.
(and ya, I'm still very active on instagram, so please follow along and stay in touch!)

Recent Favourite things (family edition)....

Here's a little list of what we are currently loving these days, according to each member of the family...

Noah (6 months): So while Noah is still a bit young, he does have a few favourite things...

• this teething necklace (even though he's not actively teething yet)
• Eating sweet potato out of one of those mesh feeder bags
• Being carried around in my new Didymos baby wrap (see below)
• This Oball rattle is probably his favourite toy
• watching his big brother run around and be his crazy self

Zachary (32 months):

• Favourite books: Room on the Broom & The Snail and the Whale (anything Julia Donaldson writes is gold)
• Homemade green smoothie pops (we use these adorable round mini pop molds). And going out for ice cream.
• Riding his bike (with training wheels) around our basement, and riding his mini four-wheeler around our backyard. 
• Doing anything his little brother is doing, like wanting to be worn in the baby carrier, wanting to sit in Noah's high chair, or to lie in his crib (Regression? We're definitely going through another phase of jealousy now that Noah is more interactive and playing with Zac's old baby toys). 
• Barilla Plus pasta - I bought these accidentally the first time, and when I got home I was delighted to discover that these standard looking noodles are made from a blend of grain & legume flours (lentil, chickpea, oat & wheat) so they are high in protein and fibre. And they taste pretty close to regular pasta too. Zachary can't tell the difference anyway! I feel so much better about serving him pasta for dinner now! 

Adrien: So my wonderful husband is probably the most un-materialistic person I know. In fact, he hates "stuff"! But I did manage to think of a few of his current favourites...

• Marrakesh Mint Tea - one sip of this delicious tea instantly transports us back to our time in Morocco... when we didn't have kids and life was so simple!
• Apple Music -  we signed up for that 3 month free trial and we have been really enjoying it, especially Adrien. I love the curated playlists.
• screen-printed T-shirts from this local Montreal artist
• Charcoal grilling! We bought our fist ever barbecue this summer and Adrien has been channelling his inner Bobby Flay every weekend. He's becoming quite the grill-master.

Vanessa:

• My woven baby wrap is definitely my new favourite item. After I attended a baby-wearing workshop, I was sold on purchasing a beautiful & ethically made woven wrap. I still love my sakura bloom ring sling and my ergo carrier, but there is something magical about these woven wraps - I have no clue what it is - but I LOVE using it. 
• Green Kitchen Travels Cookbook - I have been cooking from this cookbook all summer and it is so good!
• High rise jeans + a slightly cropped top = my go-to summer outfit
• Guilty pleasure: a handful of frozen milk chocolate Chippits straight from the freezer (why are they so much better frozen?!)
• doyogawithme.com - this website offers FREE yoga classes for all levels (Also, that 7-minute workout app?!! I hate-love it!).

What are your recent favourites?

Life lately - escaping to Naples, Florida

Well we have been having an absolutely delightful week in sunny Naples, Florida. I was a bit nervous about travelling with a 6 week old, but the flight went really well and I am so glad we didn't let our fears stop us from coming here.... because I really needed this sunshine!

We are very fortunate that my in-laws have a second home here in Naples, so it makes for a relatively inexpensive and very convenient getaway location for us. Plus, we get to hang out with family, and having the extra hands around to hold babies and entertain toddlers is a major bonus!

At 28 months old, Zachary can finally fully appreciate this little winter escape for the first time. On prior visits here he had been too scared to go on the beach or swim in the pool, but this time he has been having an absolute blast in the water. So much so that we are having to deal with minor melt-downs at meal times because we can't convince him to get out of the pool.

^^ Zachary insists on holding little Noah's hand when we go for walks in the double stroller. It is seriously the sweetest thing in the world. Especially considering the many other times of the day when Zac is trying to smother him (with well-intentioned but highly aggressive toddler love) ^^

We have been going out for lunches almost every day, which is such a treat for us. Thankfully both of our boys have been on their best behaviour. Dinnertime is a totally different story, mind you. Noah is at the peak of his fussy period and Zac is usually cranky and tired and resisting bedtime with force and fury. All this translates into rather stressful suppers, tepid food, and utter exhaustion by 9pm. 

But I can't complain. Beause we're in Florida. And not in deep snow like our friends and family back home. 

 ^^ key-lime pie, I never believed I liked you before. But I do. Oh I really do! ^^

 ^^ taking pictures in a mid-afternoon rain shower ^^

^^ finally letting his feet touch the ocean waves for the very first time ^^

We have a few more days here and then it's back to reality.... one busy week in Montreal (in which we have to pack up our entire apartment in preparation for moving), and then we fly back up north for the next 6 weeks.... back to full-on winter!

I hope March is treating you well so far :)
oxo
Vanessa

Happy Valentine's Day (and my favourite love song)

Whether you're a Valentine's lover or hater, I'm sending lots of love your way today :)

We don't have any Valentine's Day-specific plans, but we are planning on baking up Gorden Ramsey's incredibly indulgent Mississippi Mud Pie for a real chocolatey treat.

And now, I'll leave you with two of my favourite love songs...

Have a great weekend!

oxo

Vanessa

(Top image via Free People Blog)

Weekend Links (new clothes, new cookbooks, and the commercial that made my husband cry)

• I'm loving all the spring fashion looks coming from Madewell (above photo included). Now that I'm not pregnant anymore I can finally start wearing real clothes again. Hooray!!
• This post, about the first year with a new baby is honest and very beautifully written.
• The most important question of your life (a brilliant read)
• I'm dying to try out this cookbook... watch the "cookbook trailer" below, it's hilarious!

• And speaking of new cookbooks (something I'm openly obsessed with)... I pretty much want a copy of all the cookbooks on this list
• Grapefruit mojitos for two. Yes please!
• Adrien will probably kill me for saying this online, but this Dove Men's commercial which aired at the Super Bowl totally made him tear up (obviously it made me cry too!). We'll blame it on the sleep deprivation, honey :)

I wish you a wonderful weekend!

oxo

Vanessa

Welcome Winter...

Remember....

It just keeps getting brighter and brighter from this day forward.

Happy winter solstice, everyone!

Serenity now....

Oh my my, it has been a while since I've given this blog any attention. There has been so much going on, and so many times I've thought to myself "you should take a picture of that and blog about it"... but I just can't seem to. 

Being a doctor and the mother of a toddler, it sometimes feels like I have no free time at all. Or that there is just enough time for the basics, but none to spare. I'm not complaining, and I'm certainly not looking for pity. I love my life. I chose a demanding career, and I chose to have a family, and it is all so incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. But it isn't always easy either. And it certainly isn't always easy to find the time to blog.... but whenever I do, it always gives me something. So I guess that's why I keep doing it, or why I keep trying to.

But thankfully my present whirlwind has come to a temporary and much needed standstill. We are officially on vacation for the next week, and I have finally found some free time to myself (albeit at 11:30pm on a Friday night) to sit down and write a post. And on Sunday morning we are flying to Florida for some sunshine and hopefully some warm weather. Polar vortex be gone!

I hope you are doing well out there.

oxo

Vanessa

Veggies and dip trick (and how to avoid double dippers)

While we were in Toronto my mother-in-law hosted a little party in Zac's honour... sort of a pre-birthday/meet-the-baby party for her friends. Anyway, at this little get-together they served veggies and dip in such an adorable way that I just had to tell you about it!

Instead of serving all the veggies on a platter around a giant bowl of communal dip, the veggies were served in individual little glasses with the dip already at the bottom. Adorable, right?!

But all cuteness aside. there are two very important improvements with this method: one, you avoid the grossness of other people double dipping, and two, you get to double dip all you want (and I love to double dip!). It's genius!

(also I finally found a use for all my old shot glasses that haven't seen the light of day since my college years)

if you're curious to see a few more photos from the party, read on after the jump...

Taking stock...

A little inventory of my life at this very moment....

Making : a special gift for the family this Christmas with my mother (details to come!)
Cooking : from this cookbook. Clotilde is my make-believe Parisian friend ;)
Drinking : chai tea and honey... and it really feels like autumn again.
Feeling: terrified about returning to work in October and having to be a doctor again.
Reading: a frenzy of medical stuff to try and whip my baby-fried brain back into shape.
Wanting: the transition into daycare to be a little smoother.
Looking: at the beautiful northern sky at night. It never gets old.
Playing: all afternoon, with Zac, with everything. Our time together feels so precious now.
Wasting: valuable free time tearing through season 2 of GIRLS. That show is so awkward, and raw, and real.
Sewing: not enough really.
Wishing: Zac would sleep all the way through the night more often.
Enjoying: that time in the early morning when I take Zac into bed with us, and we all snuggle under the covers.
Waiting: for this season's Kinfolk magazine to arrive in the mail (it's en route!)
Liking: meeting other mom's at daycare.
Wondering: how long we will be able to sustain this remote northern lifestyle.
Loving: the beautiful friendships I have made up here in the north.
Hoping: to reconnect with dear old friends more often.
Marvelling: at how fast the first year of a child's life goes by.
Needing: a weekend away with my wonderful husband, sans bébé.
Smelling: Labrador tea in the cool autumn breeze
Wearing: cozy sweaters and leggings all day... and really milking my final few weeks of mat leave.
Following: my almost-walking 10 month old everywhere. He barely holds on to one finger and pulls me around the house... but is too afraid to let go. Physically, he doesn't need me, but he's not ready emotionally to be that independent. It's really sweet actually.
Noticing: the leaves changing colour.
Knowing: that even though I'm terrified to return to work, that I will be fine.
Thinking: about the future and where it will take us. And if we should have a second child one day... or not.
Bookmarking: too many recipes that I want to try, and knowing that I'll probably never get around to them.
Opening: my mind to new kinds of music.
Giggling: with Adrien about how crazy cute our son is, and how did we create such a little character?!
Feeling: truly happy. And fulfilled.

~

I loved this idea of taking a snapshot inventory of your life. It comes from here.

And his second word wasn't mamma... it was duck

Zac has been saying "dada" to Adrien for a few weeks now, and this week he said his second word... and it was, yes you guessed it, "duck". 

No, not "mama"... that would be too mainstream for this little guy ;)

I guess it's because we play with a rubber ducky every evening  during his bath, so I say the word "duck" a lot. It sounded more like "duck-ha" anyway, but it was a definite attempt!

Anyway, seeing this giant rubber ducky art installation in Beijing made me laugh. 

Apparently Zac's not the only one who really likes ducks ;)

(photos via CBC news)

Those lazy late summer days...

We are feeling pretty lazy these days....

Lazing around the apartment, lazing around in the parks, lazing around the city.

I guess that's how it's supposed to be in the last few weeks of summer.

We've been hanging out at friends' houses, and lazing over there as well ;)

We did visit a local organic vineyard next to my parent's place in the country...

Which essentially lead to the purchase of a case of wine followed by some drinking and a lot more lazing around ; )

Although there is one member of this family who is feeling anything but lazy these days. 

This boy does not stop moving!

Here's a little video of him giggling at (and trying to catch) the seagulls in the park:

~

I hope you are soaking up these final weeks of summer. 

Can you believe that we are already halfway through August?!

oxo

Random bits of life lately up north....

Lately up north we are enjoying the beautiful late summer weather and eating dinner outside.

Lately, we are making homemade ice cream (best. thing. EVER!), and celebrating the husband's birthday.

Lately up north, we are trying new things.... like riding in shopping carts and eating cheerios for the first time.

And lately I am also re-trying out old things... like my yoga routine that was somehow abandoned 8 months ago (coincidently the age of my son)...

Lately up north we are eating fresh fish, caught straight from the river (and then oh-so-deliciously breaded & fried!).

 And we are letting the boy experiment with finger foods too. 

It's a messy job but he certainly loves it!

 And lately we are simply enjoying the slower pace of life up here in the north... early mornings in the bed (Zac loves to stare at our dream catcher), building a little garden in the back yard, and playing with toys.... this boy is all about toys these days!

:)

Five things on my short list...

1. Make a pavolva ( it's such a lovely looking dessert and I've never attempted it)
2. Go on a little getaway with my love, sans bébé... even if just for a weekend... preferably by the seaside. (Realistically, this might have to wait until Zac isn't breastfeeding anymore, but I refuse to remove it from my shortlist)
3. Take a photography class
4. Resume my abandoned yoga routine (I've become so lazy!)
5. Take Zac camping for the first time this summer... even if this is kind of terrifying to me, we love to camp, so hopefully the boy will too!

So there it is. My short list. The things I want to do in my life in the very near future (not just some time before I kick the bucket!). Hopefully by writing it and putting it out there, I will make it manifest!

What's on your short list?

*top photo from Bon Appetit, June 2013

Morning Light

Is there anything more beautiful than the early morning light these days?

It's worth getting out of bed for.

Today, taking it slowly...

We are having a lazy day over here. 

In between naps,

and nursing sessions,

I am slowly packing up the house,

doing laundry,

drinking tea,

and giving the plants a good watering - they will be alone to fend for themselves for the next 3 weeks (don't worry, they always pull through).

I kind of love days like this.

Birthday Crème Brûlée & Macarons

We had a small dinner party last night to celebrate my friend Cat's 30th birthday.

I made my favourite chocolate macarons, and instead of a birthday cake I stuck a candle into homemade vanilla bean creme brulée (Cat's favourite dessert).

(I mean, who needs cake when there's creme brulée?!)

The best part about making your own creme brulée, in my opinion, is that you get to burn your own sugar topping with a mini blow-torch.
So I always let everyone burn their own - cause it's just so much fun!

It was our first time hosting a dinner since Zac was born, and thankfully he slept through the entire thing... even as people got louder and louder with every glass of wine they drank ; )

(I guess he's a deeper sleeper than I give him credit for).