it's the most wonderful time of the year...

December 25, 2016 Arlene Giddings

today could not have been
a better day...
picked up my girl in moncton yesterday
and took her home...
Christmas Eve with carols and
melted popsicles in a glass of sprite
(which is sooooo good by the way)...
family and friends and lots of laughter.

the yearly tradition of
singing "total eclipse of the heart"
at the top of our lungs
in the car.

my mother in law's eagle brand squares.

acknowledging that our kids are getting older
and christmas traditions
will shift a little
but that's ok...we just have to
adapt and overcome...
so this morning we ate breakfast
BEFORE presents
and it was fun to torture them and make them
wait just a little bit longer
to dive into stockings and santa presents...
and yeah...maybe it's not every year
that we have to trek out to the shop
to see where santa left
our girl a living room couch & chair
and a kitchen table and chairs...
and where he left our boy
a transmission
(that's what he wanted...really...weirdest christmas ever)...
but it was so totally worth it.

an hour long nap on the couch.

christmas presents and dinner at my mom and dad's...
an exciting game of minion "pie in the face"...
dart guns and wrestling matches,
tickle fights and so much laughing...
hugs and teasing and telling stories...

coming home to a beautiful wreck of a living room...
tired and full and so content.
pajamas,
after eights,
cold can of diet coke,
my new slippers,
a fuzzy blanket and a movie
for us both to fall asleep to...

today could not have been a better day.

merry merry merry christmas... ♥ ♥ ♥
now bring on 2017!

random gratefulness...

October 11, 2016 Arlene Giddings

thanksgiving is over...
but in the spirit of thanksgiving,
here is a very random list of things
that i have recently been
thankful for...

my family and friends
a warm cozy orange house
fall leaves
dirt roads
marshmellow bananas
3 day old chicken fricot
tylenol
youtube yoga videos (especially those specific to calming raging headaches)
hot apple cider
pjs with feet
maple french toast bagels
trips to moncton to see my girl
jasmine thomspon
hazelnut cream candles
secret weddings

tragically hip
a huge flock of geese that flew right towards my window at work
pigs
judge judy
tomato soup with basil

getting lost on dirt roads and finding my way out of trails in the woods

sugar doughnuts
forehead kisses
the song emma wrote

polka dot rain boots
people so sweet and supportive at the bullet journal session i did
watching almost famous again
that campbell knows all the words to tiny dancer
talking to my mom on the phone
bonecrushing hugs
early morning mist in the fields

at the end of the day...

September 18, 2016 Arlene Giddings

this has been such a great weekend.

i have already told you all about our
lunch trip to fable tearoom
but when i got home
from there, my girl
texted me to talk
about laptops
and how she needs to get one
for this weekend
so she can do a paper.

now...i know my girl has every
capability and ability to
purchase her own laptop
but under the guise of
"but she may need me"
i quickly offered to "pop" over
and help her.

yes. i know i am pathetic and
will not be able to visit her once a week
for the rest of my life
but whatever...i can admit my issues.
:)

the rest of the weekend has flown by
with naps and editing,
laundry and blog-reading/writing,
emails, doodles and ice cream sandwiches.

we made this...well...stirling made it...
i just dictated what should not be in it
(namely NOT peas...and NOT carrots...and that we should
add potatoes)...
and it was SO good.

and i didn't get this on the weekend
but have not had a chance to share it here.
i got to work on the day after leaving Emma in Moncton
and was admittedly dragging my feet a little
and still feeling a bit sad...
and this
absolutely ADORABLE mushroom house
was waiting for me on my desk.

it literally made me laugh out loud
and i may have even clapped my hands a little.

there was no note attached
but i immediately had a "suspect" in mind...
when i asked her about it later
she started to deny
but the grin gave it away.

people can be so damn kind and awesome and talented...
♥ ♥ ♥
i can't wait to do a photo session with the smurfs!
thank you, Lisa!!

happy weekend! :)

fable tearoom...my new island favorite place to be...

September 17, 2016 Arlene Giddings

this image really has nothing to do with this post
other than to say that i am still in love with my anniversary flowers
and i needed a photo for the start of this post...
:)

i had the chance to visit
the adorable and charming
fable tea room
in bedeque
on friday.

it is just as sweet and whimsical
as its name
would have you imagine.

and if you know me at all,
you know that i am a bit of a picky eater
(not really because i'm actually picky
but more because i am intensely fearful
of trying something new
and always tend to order the same thing)
{chicken fingers, if you must know...heh...}

obviously a tea room
would likely not have
chicken fingers and fries...

instead i had
a beautiful grilled cheese
(and yes, if you know me well,
you are probably thinking CHEESE!
you don't eat cheese! you won't even eat
cheesecake
because you insist you don't like cheese!)

i like melted cheese.

i hate the texture of not-melted cheese against my teeth.
i can't explain any better than that.
you should probably just accept that answer
and we'll move on.

so...the grilled cheese was literally
beautiful...please don't ask me what kind of
bread or what kind of cheese...
but i can tell you
that there were thin apple slices
IN THE GRILLED CHEESE
and i was like THAT IS THE BEST IDEA EVER!
so
damn
good.

and cucumber all thin and curly and pretty
with a flower on top
which my best-friend-partner-in-escapades ate
and i wished i was that brave
but instead i settled for cheering her on
and telling her i'm sure it must be edible.
well.
not sure but pretty sure.

ok but i haven't even told you about dessert yet.

my best-friend-partner-in-escapades (BFPIE for short)
always tries to make me eat things...
i can't tell you how long she has
tried
to make me eat cheesecake...
(it's just not going to happen, by the way)
(but please don't stop trying, it's cute when you make that annoyed face & sigh in exasperation)
anyway...she suggested the
blueberry bread pudding with pecan caramel sauce
and i was like
yeah, i'm totally with you RIGHT UP TO THE BREAD PUDDING part

i just couldn't wrap my head around that idea.
bread.
pudding.
my brain was picturing soggy mushy wonderbread
with some blueberries on top...
but we agreed to share one
and i cannot tell you
how wrong i was.

what i will tell you is that
i will never share one of those again...
i will eat the whole damn thing myself,
in fact, i might order two or three
and eat them all...
in one sitting
it was that good.

and it came in a teacup!!!!!!

seriously, this is a dessert
that i would have thought only lived in the imaginations
of lucy maud montgomery
and roald dahl
in the lands of raspberry cordial and
scrumdiddlyumptious bars...

i am totally smitten with this place.
they are open year round, by the way,
and do tea leaf readings and have lots
of interesting events coming up as well
like traditional full moon ceremonies
and guest chef nights...

and there are items for sale also...
cutest little displays of jewelry and stuffed owls
and full moon wishing powder...
and maybe, possibly, hopefully, someday
there may be some little robot cards of my own
in that mix...
(which is equally exciting and scary for me...
it would be my first time putting myself out there
in that type of work...big breath...you can do this)

and i apologize for the quality of the photos...
i had fully intended to bring my actual camera with me
but then was running late
and so only had my phone...
but the truth is
i wanted to take photos of EVERYTHING...
oh...and if you are going to go,
you should probably call about a reservation...
we didn't and we were just lucky to catch a table.
:)

but you should definitely go.
you'll love it, too.
i know it.
and eat the BREAD PUDDING!

DISCLAIMER: i do not proclaim to know how to write a review of anything
and have just realized this would probably seem like a very weird review
as most of it is about me and my food-quirks...
heh.
(hence the disclaimer).

bullet journal sunday

August 28, 2016 Arlene Giddings

no weddings this weekend
meant spending time with family,
meeting up with friends home from away,
waffle breakfasts with whipped cream,
sleeping in,
popcorn with garlic & pepper mixed into the melty butter,
a movie night (mother's day...loved it),
editing and catching up on neverending laundry
and
finally cracking the spine open
on my new bullet journal
the purple leuchtturm 1917.

the truth is
i was a little scared to start that new book.
the fresh blank page is so
new...so crisp, so clean...
so open to possibility.

and i was scared that i would mess it up.

but finally,
i just bit the bullet (haha...see what i did there)
and started...and about 8 hours later,
i stopped.
so damn addictive...and fun...and
in all honesty
a little time consuming...heeheehee

here's how the first few pages are looking:

thank you Revision Guide for the inspiration for the "don't be normal"
which is, by the way, the way i have pretty much lived my whole life...
even when I didn't think I was trying to be anything but normal...
being weird has obviously always just come naturally for me.
:)

I liked the idea of a key/legend...
I think I am only going to use the index for collections though.
I didn't really use it in V1.

2016 goals and plans...carried over from V1
happy is my focus word for 2016
so I tried to pick out a couple of goals
that would make me feel happy
and focus on those...
:)

I am loving the leuchtturm 1917, by the way.
so far, I have used pencil crayon, markers, watercolors
and no bleeding through...a little crinkling from the
watercolors but I expected that.

Now I can't wait to start some challenges in September...
September is a preview for January for me...
it feels like a fresh start with new routines...
:)