Goodbye Montreal

It is pretty insane to think that I'm leaving Montreal *forever* in just 7 short days! So weird to be holding a one-way ticket (literally!) with my name on it ... that's the kind of thing you hear about in songs and movies and novels, but you never really imagine that it will ever happen to you.

People have been asking me what I think I'll miss most about not living here anymore. I'm not sure. Obviously, I'll miss my family and my friends. I'll miss my morning coffee dates at Starbucks with Jessica. I'll miss my scrap days and chick flick afternoons with Catherine. I'll miss the 45-minute drive into the city with my mommy each morning. I'll miss the frozen fried ice-cream at 3 Amigos restaurant, the third floor of the Concordia Library with its rows and rows of theology books, the breath-taking sight of the rows of golden cornfields near my house in the fall, strolling through the Old Port in the summertime, spontaneous road trips to Applebee's, family BBQ's every weekend in the summer. I'll miss the familiarity of it all.

I know that I will make new memories and traditions in Vancouver and I'm crazy crazy excited to find out what life will be like once I've settled into my new home. But, tonight, I'm just going to take a little time to be nostalgic and think about all I've been blessed with over the past 23 years.

Goodbye, Montreal.
You've been good to me, but it's time for us to part.

xox

The Great Pumpkin Ball

As promised, here are some of the photos I took at The Great Pumpkin Ball at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. I don't celebrate Halloween, so traditional jack-o-lanterns don't really do anything for me ... but these pumpkins were so uniquely decorated I couldn't help but be inspired.

A little background info on The Great Pumpkin Ball .... it's an annual event here in Montreal hosted by the Montreal Botanical Gardens. Anyone can participate and individuals (young and old), schools and groups get together to decorate a pumpkin. The pumpkin cannot be carved, but you can use whatever you want to decorate it - paint, glitter, fabric, clay, etc.

All the pumpkins are then put on display for the public to enjoy!

You can see more photos here.

Isn't this a great activity to do with kids??! Pumpkin carving is so messy (not to mention dangerous) but this is totally safe and you can get as creative as you want. And if you don't celebrate Halloween, you can still get in on the fun and make something totally non-Halloweenish. AND ... because the pumpkin isn't carved, it will last longer.

Yup, I'm a fan of The Great Pumpkin Ball. :o)

xox

One Enchanted Evening

Last night, I treated myself to an evening at one of my absolute favorite places in the city - the Montreal Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are lovely all the time, but every autumn they put on an extra special exhibit where they feature dozens of life-size lantern characters (dragons, birds, people, etc) ... each lantern is carefully handcrafted in China and they take months to create! When they're ready, they are flown to Montreal and put on display. In addition to the stunning life-size lanterns, there are hundreds of "regular" lanterns scattered throughout the garden. It's breathtaking and really, really magical.

Here are some photos I took ~


If you live in Montreal, you should plan to go this week ... the last day is on Saturday. The Botanical Gardens also have a Pumpkin Ball exhibit where you can see hundreds of uniquely decorated (not carved) pumpkins. I saw them too & will post my pumpkin photos later this week.

Good night everyone! :o)
xox

Thanksgiving Tradition

In case you're unaware, it's Thanksgiving Weekend here in Canada - one of my favorite holidays! We've been busy preparing for our big family meal ... pies are baking, the turkey is cooking and the house smells like a delicious blend of nutmeg and cinnamon! I just love this time of year!

One of my favorite Thanksgiving Weekend traditions is going to the farmer's market near my house to select a pumpkin. I went today after church and had so much fun - the weather was just *perfect* .... here are some photos I managed to snap ....


And here is a sneak peek at some of tonight's desserts .....

The pumpkin pie (the one with the criss-cross design & the heart) was made by yours truly (aka me). The little apple tart was made by my mom. A blueberry pie is currently being baked, too. Mmmmmm! Cannot wait.

xox

Wide Open Spaces

My sister (who lives in Whistler, BC) came to visit for two weeks, and while she was here we decided to go on a little road-trip. By little, I mean we drove around our tiny hometown and the other small towns nearby. While on the road, I snapped these shots ~

All I could think about as we drove around was a line from the movie Love Comes Softly, where Marty says: "What a beautiful country the Lord has made for us!" As much as I love and appreciate the city, there is something magical about rows and rows of cornfields, majestic mountains and apple orchard valleys. I am so glad I grew up surrounded by so much beauty!

xoxo

PS - Don't forget to enter the giveaway. Only 5 days left. :o)

Stevie Wonder was ... WONDERFUL

I was very lucky to get to go see the free Stevie Wonder concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival on Tuesday night. Jessica and I arrived around 5:00pm and were able to walk right into the venue and get ridiculously close to the stage. We arrived just in time because within a half hour of us being there, the place was packed. We had to STAND there ... not sit, stand ... crushed up against one another, until the show started at 9:45pm. It started to rain around 8:00pm and we didn't have umbrellas with us so we got soaked ... it was insane but absolutely worth it.

This is how close we got to the stage. No need to watch him on the big screens, we could see him in the flesh:

And here are the crowds behind us .... this photo doesn't really do it justice, there were 200,000 people there!

He started the show by giving a little speech/tribute to Michael Jackson and he dedicated the whole evening to Michael. He then went on to play some of Michael's hits as well as all of his own hits. Superstition (one of the last songs he performed) was absolutely my favorite! The crowd was awesome, too ... everybody sang and danced along, even though we were totally crammed together like sardines in a can. He even had us doing vocal warm-ups like we were in a choir, lol. Here's a video of some of the greatest moments in the show.

I didn't film this, but whoever did was really able to capture the atmosphere and what it was like. Enjoy! :o)

This was absolutely, hands-down one of the best shows I've ever been to ... I'd do it all over again in a heart beat, rain and all. Here is a photo I took of Stevie Wonder at the piano ... I still can't believe how close we were to the stage! Amazing.

And I must give a big shout out and thank you to Miss Jessica for standing in the rain with me and keeping me entertained. She's not a hard-core Stevie Wonder fan, so she was doing it for me and I SUPER appreciate it. Thanks honey!

xOxOx

Cupcakes & Andy Warhol

Minus the freezing winter weather outside, today was the perfect day ... one that began with delicious food and ended with amazing art. Jessica and I had breakfast this morning at Orange Bistro, which is this new contemporary restaurant on Stanley Street downtown. It certainly lives up to its name - the decor is orange and white, and modern art covers the walls. (Jess and I ate our meal under a giant ceramic nose .... it was kind of awkward, actually). The food there is absolutely delicious, but it's pricey and the service is reallllllyyyyy slow. I'll go back, but I'll be sure to do it on a day when I have lots of time on my hands and extra cash that I'm willing to splurge.

Anyway, moving on ... we ate at Orange Bistro and then headed over to Cho'Cola for some cupcakes and java. Originally, we wanted to check out Cocoa Locale (another cupcake place on the other side of town) but it turns out they're closed for the month of January so that was a no-go. Cupcakes at Cho'Cola never dissappoint, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed my peppermint chocolate cupcake and toasty warm latte. Yummmo.

After a morning of eating and girl talk, Jessica headed off to class and I headed off to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to *FINALLY* get to see the works of Mr. Andy Warhol. Those of you who know me know that I've been excited about this exhibit since I first heard of it back in August, and today I finally got to see it for myself. I was impressed. His paintings are huge and the colors are even bolder in real life. I also didn't realize how involved he was in music, film and dance. A few months ago, I ordered a book called The Warhol Economy: How Music, Film and Fashion Shaped New York City. I hadn't had time to read it, but I think tonight I'll curl up with a nice tea and read through it. It'll be the perfect way to end a pretty perfect day.

xOxOx

GO HABS GO !!!!

Everyone in Montreal will be watching "THE GAME" tonight. It starts in less than 5 minutes so this post will be short and to the point: GO HABS GO!! Here's a little tribute to our favorite hockey team:




Off to cheer for the Montreal Canadiens! See you all tomorrow.

XoXo Stephanie