Day 119: Homeward Bound

We’re hading back to the city today for most of the week. Sean’s dad is coming to spend some time up here. It’s gonna be nice to be home. i have a few dates planned with friends, at safe distance of course. Over the last few days, we really worked together as a family team to make the cottage look spotless. When we first came up here in March we packed up a few things we thought we needed and over the months we’ve made it feel more like home. This week we cleaned up some of the clutter we don’t need and packed a few things to take home. I’m really into this simple concrete/wood bookshelf Sean and I made. We also got some new chains to hold up the hammock, it’s very relaxing. Great for reading!

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Day 118: Cottage Friends for Life

The last few days have been spent cleaning the cottage top to bottom and doing odd around the place. Sean’s sister is coming up for the week with her family and we want to make sure it’s clean and ready for them to enjoy. I went over to Leslie’s place for a girl’s night in the evening and we boated around the lake a bit and hung out on the dock. It’s SO NICE to have cottage friends on the lake! This board suit has become one of my fav cottage outfits. Last summer I could hardly even fit into it! Huzzah!!!!

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Day 117: Stormy Weather

Sean called me outside when he was checking the boat after the storm to catch this family going by. We’ve watched them grow since the spring. I really love being up here in the words. I think it’s changing me for the better. For so long I’ve been running from one thing to the next, the next job, event, project, I didn’t realize how tired I was. This isn’t how we pictured our summer but I’m grateful for the opportunity to be spending more time here.

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Day 116: The Stingray

Sean has been cleaning up the Corvette (1982 Stingray) today. I love this car so much but it’s been sitting in the garage, unused, for years now. It’s been in his family since he was a teenager. I think he finally has a buyer! My parents used to have a very similar model when they moved to Canada in the late ’70s. It was the first brand new car they ever bought. It was really sunny today and I’ve been working on my tan. ? Always nice to end the day with a sunset boat cruise. We’ve had a bit of a tough time w/ Emily the last few weeks and after a few good family chats it’s was nice to see her smiling on the boat today. This quarantine and lockdown has been hard on kids, no friends, no school, and being stuck at home all the time. Let’s hope for a another day with lots of smiles tomorrow.

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Get Hitched at Love Shack Toronto! ???

Have you heard about Love Shack? It’s the coolest, cutest, and smallest wedding venue in Toronto located at Stackt market. My friend Nataleigh has been working on this idea for a little while and I’m so glad to see it come to life! If I was getting married, this is 100% something I’d be into. For the record, Sean and I have been together for 8 years but don’t at this time have plans to get ‘hitched! ? I’ve never been one to dream about my wedding but the idea of a quick & cute ceremony sounds ideal. Then you can have a party with the whole gang later (after COVID!). What is Love Shack Toronto? Love Shack TO is a pop-up wedding in a shipping container, the grooviest place to say ‘I do’. They call it ‘no fuss, all disco‘!  Everything you need is there including decorations, officiant, photographer, florist and even the rings! All you need to do is book a date & time, tell your friends, and show up w/ your one true love. They offer three package options and are open Wednesday – Sunday until August 13th, 2020. Bookings and inquiries can be sent to [email protected] or booked online at loveshacktoronto.ca . 

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Day 115: Kia Ora

Today we made our way back up to the cottage with Emily for a few days. In the afternoon I went to town and pick up supplies. This is one of my fav masks by Evan Biddell. Crazy how masks are a fashion statement now eh?! I chatted with mum and I feel like each day she has a new excitement about being retired. Yesterday she said she was looking into learning Maori again as she spoke it when she was in New Zealand. Reckon it might be a bit harder for me to learn but there are always a few things I remember from learning when I was little or talking with family. ‘Kia Ora‘ is the most commonly used Maori saying in New Zealand, a way to say ‘hello’.

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Day 114: That Childlike Feeling

Yesterday Sean went golfing with some colleagues and I spent the afternoon with Emily. We met up with my sister and Ryder to visit High Park then cool down at the splash pad near our place. We all got soaked in the sprinklers and it felt so nice to laugh like kids together. I braided Jenie’s hair in the park then we got popsicles. It was such a beautiful day! When we got home I tried on this dress I got from Lauren a couple of weeks ago, made dinner, and did some writing. I watched Crazy Rich Asians (again!) on Netflix and before I knew it, Sean was home. He said it was REALLY hot on the course, it feels like 41 degrees today.

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Day 113: You Might Fall But You’ll Be Ok

Drove back to the city after working most of the day at the cottage. It’s really hot out this week and I love this weather. Sean was on a call for a while before we left so I decided to set up the hammock. We need another piece of chain to make it fit properly but I got it set up for now. However, I was being cute and taking photos AND IT BROKE. I fell to the ground and got it on video lol. I wasn’t hurt or anything but I did have a good laugh. In other news, our kale forest is growing nicely alongside the peppers. We’re picking up Emily tonight and then heading back to cottage on Wednesday.

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Day 112: A Nice Lazy Sunday

Today I slept in and had a nice lazy day. It was really hot outside so we spent the afternoon watching Snowpiercer on Netflix and then started Unsolved Mysteries after dinner. I made a delicious vegan pasta with avocado pesto sauce. I found the recipe on Pinterest and it turned out great without the parsley (we didn’t’ have any!). In other news, I finished my new book ‘A Borrowed Life‘ by Kerry Anne King. I mostly read psychological thrillers but I saw this was available as an advance copy on NetGalley and decided to give it a go. I flew through this book! It starts with Liz losing her husband of 26 years (a pastor) to a heart attack and it documents her journey to self-discovery, finding the woman she was before she married him. It was a good read with a nice ending.

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Day 111: Unicorns in the Sun

Today we went to visit Talia & Nelson at their cottage on Lake Simcoe. We had lunch then went to Lagoon City in the boat. I had no idea this place existed! It’s a whole subdivision on the water lined with cottages, a restaurant, and a hotel. Such a cool little spot! After boating, we relaxed in the pool. Talia and I had a little photo shoot while the boys were out on their own adventure. It was really nice to float, eat chips, and have ice cream in the sun. Before our visit, I ran 4 miles for my NRC July 4th challenge. It worked out to be 7km which is one of the longest runs I’ve done yet. When I started, I thought ‘how am I going to do this‘ but then before I knew it, I was on the home stretch passing 5km. I’m really proud of myself and have learned to love running.

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Day 110: Full Moon Energy

Went to a garage sale in the morning and found a few treasures! I got a new mirror for the bedroom, a great picnic blanket, a couple of baking pans, and a super cute pair of black/brown cowboy boots. We met a few more neighbours who just purchased their parent’s cottage on our road. We’re really settling into cottage life and living in the woods. We drove to Haliburton in the evening to have dinner with April and her family at her aunt’s cottage. They have a great beach and we shared lots of laughs over dinner on the patio. We talked about taking this photo before we got there and couldn’t stop laughing when Sean was taking it. The moon was shining bright and the sky was so clear for our drive home. Looking forward to the hot weekend weather, lots of sunshine, and visiting another friend tomorrow.

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Day 109: You’ve Got A Friend in Me

Today I had a great day. I went to visit Talia at their cottage about an hour away and Elise was there too! We swam in the pool and it was so nice to have a girl hang. I was so excited I didn’t even take ANY PHOTOS. I don’t know what I was thinking! Over the past month, I took a step back from posting to give space to creators of colour and support Black Lives Matter. the ripple effect sharing and documenting less on social media has directly changed my behaviour. I’m spending more time enjoying the moment and less picking up my phone to capture everything for the ‘gram. I spent some time reading a new book in the afternoon and when Sean was done work, our friends surprised us with a visit on their boat. The boys went skiing and we listened to music on the lake. Sean, what a dreamboat! This has become my new fav outfit, I got it at Joe Fresh a couple of weeks ago and used Sasha’s SASHA25 code for a discount. It’s totally wild and so comfy. I love being here so much. We’ve been meeting more neighbours on our road and the lake, everyone is so nice. Tomorrow there’s a garage sale at the Mayor’s house down the road. ?

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Day 108: Canada Day ??

Woke up to find a copy of the Dockside Muskoka magazine left on the dock. I love that they’re delivered this way! Been doing some research on Canada and the history of today. I’d like to acknowledge we are on the land of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee territory. Treaty of Williams (1923), Robinson-Huron (Treaty 61, 1850). If you’d like to see the history of your land, visit native-land.ca. The day was pretty relaxed, Sean worked and I read outside for about 3 hours in the afternoon sun. I finished  The Three Mrs. Wrights by Linda Keir, it was so good! Felt a bit weird about doing fireworks given everything that’s going on in the world but then again, they bring joy to us and other people on the lake. Sean set up the camera to do some photos and only set off one before bed. I took these on my phone and ran them through the Huji Camera app. I am forever grateful my parents decided to immigrate to Canada and NOT the USA. Growing up here has provided us with a world of opportunity, education, safely, and healthcare. I am proud to be Canadian!

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