1- It’s like kismet – you seem to be in the slow lane during traffic, so you switch lanes and then that lane becomes the slower lane. FACK!

2- I’m so happy football is back… CFL and soon NFL. I can already feel the cool fall breeze wafting in my windows while Mike and I nosh on nachos, homemade club sandwiches and apple crisp curled up under a bankie…

3- I love putting my hair in braids when it’s wet and then taking them out the next morning to reveal kinky locks. I look like a different person with my wavy hair. It’s like when I used to crimp my hair… it makes me look SASSY!

4- If I were rich I’d hire a driver. Not a maid or a cook – a driver. I hate most things associated with driving – traffic, finding parking, dealing with morons. It would just be easier to sit in the backseat of a car updating my Facebook status.

5- Why is it that everything I love is bad for me? Whipped cream, salt and vinegar chips, Willy Wonka candy, Hungarian salami, McChickens…

I can’t tell you how much time I spend perusing blogs and magazines in a week (I can’t tell you because I try not to think about it)… but it’s for work. After all, I need to know what’s trendy and being talked about (at least that’s what I tell my husband when he sees how much I spend on mag subscriptions!).

And boy, do I see some beautiful stuff. So many inspiring, unique decorating, entertaining and wedding ideas. So, just for fun, I thought I’d share a few of my faves…

STUNNING Vogue spread with the always-lovely SJP courtesy of Little Bits of Lovely

Wedding photo booths are always fun… especially these:

Simple and pretty, via If I Weren’t So Lazy

Very cool, via A Cup Of Jo

Eeek love this! How creative, via A Realistic Wedding

Fun props that I heart, via Kauai Wedding Photography

I’ve always loved this dreamy white candy buffet, from DM Wedding Rentals

And one day I will have this in my home office…

Wall of books… amazing, via Almost Never Clever

We all do it… “UGH I am SO busy,” as if being busy is a punishment. There’s this to do and that to do, this person to see and that person, deadlines, birthdays, weddings, meetings, appointments, etc., etc., etc.

But what’s the alternative? Crickets? No one to see, nothing to do…

So really, being busy is a blessing.

I have plans on every single weekend until the third week of October (and it’s not even August yet). There are weddings and extended weekend getaways, dates with our niece and visits from out-of-town guests. And although I may catch myself penciling something else in with a brief exaggerated sigh, I realize that I am very lucky to have such a jam-packed schedule.

There are several older people in our building who live alone. If they’re not just sitting out on their balconies watching cars and people go by, they’re hanging out in their apartments. And while I do sometimes think about how nice it would be to have loads of free time like that, in the long run, it must get pretty lonely.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed with a calendar that is scribbled on more than a ladies bathroom stall door, take a deep breath and really think about what that means – it means you have friends and family, you have the means to go to appointments and receive dental or medical care, you have meetings for work because you’re lucky enough to have a job, it means you have milestones to relish in, it means you have a life and a life that requires living!

(And that’s my “Good to know” moment for the day…)

My husband and I are looking to buy our first house. When I left home to go to university in Montreal years and years ago I only took the essentials – clothes, toiletries, etc. I didn’t bother dragging my boxes of photo albums, yearbooks and other treasured mementos. Even when we got out first apartment I still didn’t retrieve all my belongings from my parent’s basement because of restricted space.

But now, with a house in the very near future, I can’t tell you how excited I am to have all of my things under one roof. There’s boxes of knickknacks that lined the shelves of my childhood bedroom – white owl bookends, music boxes, a red velvet-lined jewelry box, and more.

I have all of my middle and high school yearbooks, with long scribbled messages attacking every blank space, from the inside covers to designated “signing pages” at the back, head space above group shots and even across actual photos. “K.I.T.” “143 forever” “BFF” – that was the extent of our abbreviated chitchat!

I have a big plastic Rubbermaid container filled to the tippy-top with general keepsakes – lucky pennies, crowns from Burger King inscribed with the occasions in which they were worn, movie tickets and concert stubs, fortunes from cookies that promised great and wonderful things to come, deflated mylar balloons signed by dear friends in thick permanent marker that’s barely legible anymore, homecoming ballots, menus, postcards – things that can illustrate all of the milestones throughout my school years.

I also have a Doc Martens box packed with letters I passed to friends during classes – they were once folded into all sorts of origami-like configurations, however after opening them to read them over the years I’ve forgotten how to refold them to get them back to their original shape. The writing is so faded and I barely recognize the big bubbly letters that I apparently wrote more than (gulp!) a decade ago. And I can’t understand half of what the letters are about, even though they were so important at the time that it was worth ignoring my teacher and writing it down instead – we had more “code words” for guys we thought were “fine,” or things that we found amusing, or inside jokes only we understood (and are now long forgotten and seem like nothing more than jibber jabber). I could never part with these letters… they’re a fantastical documentation of my teenage life, and I love having them.

I will undoubtedly spend the first few weeks in our new house curled up on the floor pouring through my many forgotten boxes, absorbed in the 80s and 90s, a time of discovery and firsts and ups and downs and learning and such a fantastic time in my life. And I will undoubtedly share my reminiscing with you…

Just a quick note: Sorry I’ve been MIA- my site got hacked and was down for quite awhile… but no one can take down Wordaddict!!

I am back and starting another weekly feature – Fridays I present RANDOM THOUGHTS… and going forward, every Monday, I’ll write a blog themed around “Monday morning memories…” about a specific time or event in my life that I hold dear to my heart. Hope you enjoy it.

A weekend in The Keys

Every winter my aunt and uncle would come down from Montreal to our place in South Florida for a week or two. And one year, they decided to come with my cousin Kelley. We took two cars and drove down to The Florida Keys for a long weekend. The drive alone was a riot – as we passed each other on the narrow ocean-sided highway we held up goofy signs and laughed the whole way there. We went banana boating and stayed at this incredible hotel, Hawk’s Cay, where they had lagoons with dolphins and pools and hammocks and it was this amazing oasis of a place. One night just me, my cousin, my aunt and my uncle went out to a fancy dinner, and Kelley and I took turns dancing with our uncle (who passed away several years ago). I remember my aunt just watching us and I could tell she was thinking “awwww” by the expression on her face. He was an amazing dancer – he made it look so easy and effortless, like when he skied or ice-skated, and he twirled us and dipped us and we threw our heads back giggling. Later on, with the girls in one room and the boys in the other, me, my aunt and my cousin jumped on the beds and ordered room service dessert and watched “Grease” and prank-called the boys next door. We sang “Look at meeeee I’m Sandra Deeee” at the top of our lungs and would collapse on the beds in heaps buckled over in hysterics.

It was one of those “perfect weekends” where you only have good memories of laughing and experiencing new things. It was one of those trips that you wish you could do over and over again. It was one of those moments in your life that you hold on to forever, relishing in the memories and smiling each time you remember that time, so long ago, when we were still together, unattached to grown-up life, having nothing but fun.

I had a dog growing up, Dillon, and he was an absolute doll… he may not have been the brightest crayon in the box but boy was he loyal and loving! When we finally had to put him down at 13 years old, I don’t think any of us were prepared for how hard it would be – he’s only a dog right? Wrong! He was a member of our family inside and out, and that loss was a surprisingly hard one to take.

So I was reluctant to get a pup myself… while I knew I’d (hopefully) get years and years of good times with him/her, I also knew that the inevitable day would come when he/she would leave us too. I toyed with the idea of getting a dog for months and months. Mike got me a stuffed dog for my 30th, and I was kinda relieved he wasn’t real. But then one day, like a tall skinny girl being drawn to Double Stuf Oreos, I saw a pic of a puppy posted by the SPCA and I fell in love. This is why…

It’s ridiculous how much I love Theo in the three short months we’ve had him. And while I remind myself (in a sick kind of way) that he won’t always be with us, I wouldn’t trade watching him roll in the grass or burrowing in our bed pillows or lying on my chest and letting out that one big sigh like “ahhh, I love it here” for the world. There’s no better feeling than coming home and having someone who is always overly excited to see me… don’t get me wrong – Mike piddles in excitement when I come through the door too (lol), but Theo makes me feel loved and needed no matter what. And while there’s a certain sense of worry and pressure about being needed that much, it’s awesome.

I’ve had other pets… in fact, I’ve had almost every kind of pet there is! It started with Barney the bird that Santa brought me when I was 10. He was super sweet and obedient, which we later found out was due to the fact that he was sick, so we had to trade him in for another bird, Barnie Part Deux, who bit anyone who came near his cage (we later gave him to our babysitter, who renamed HIM Peaches and taught him to whistle and stay on her shoulder). Then I had guinea pigs, appropriately named by the skinny girl “Biscuit” and “Oreo” – they lived in our spare bathroom and pooped six times what they ate. I don’t know what we did with them but they didn’t last long in our house. Then there was the hamster, Goldie, who bit my mom and scared me, so he was out. We had fish (several Bert and Ernies when I was little and then another batch when I was a teenager) – I think the fish tank was finally sold in a garage sale in the late 90s. And we had two turtles, who were cute but who also smelled to high heaven and really didn’t do much but suntan and swim in circles.

The only pets Mike and I had were birds… again, I asked for two finches and got them from my parents for my 23rd birthday. I enjoyed them for about a week, but quickly realized that finches like to sing and NEVER SHUT UP. We put a nest in their cage thinking they’d curl up and sleep inside of it (and therefore be quiet) but instead they laid eggs… and suddenly we had five finches, all tweeting up a storm. I’d put them in the bathroom so they’d think it was nighttime until it was too much and we traded them in at the pet store… for a budgie. I named her Charlotte. She would fly around the apartment and quickly learned to mimic the sounds of the birds outside – making it sound like an amplified surround-sound jungle. We left Charlotte, her cage and her food in the lobby of a retirement building across the street with a note that said “I need a home” and checked back an hour later – and someone had taken her. I vowed NO MORE PETS from thereon.

And now we have Theo. Dogs really are a whole different breed – literally and figuratively. He has personality, he’s smart and I know he really loves us. There really is nothing like having a dog and I am so glad that I saw the post about him and adopted him.

Now this proud pup-mama has to share more pics…

1- The best part about being on vacation is escaping real life. You don’t have to think about whether the Hydro bill was paid or about how you’re out of sugar… you can just be blissfully naive to all things “grown-up” related.

2- Even if you have a super comfy bed on vacation, there’s nothing like that first sleep in your very own bed.

3- Sometimes, after eating a lot of heavy meals and junk food, I just want a salad and a glass of milk. That usually happens on vacay around day 4 or 5.

4- Without fail every time I pack for a trip I wonder “should I bring this tank top?” or “should I bring this pair of shoes?”, and then I don’t, and then I inevitably need them.

5- I love using mini shampoo/conditioner bottles and toothpastes… it makes me feel like a giant in a storybook.

I just got back from a trip to Nashville and Alabama for 4th of July weekend and to spend time with some of our dear friends. My husband Mike and I drove down with another friend to see his cousin Andrew and wife April. We all hung out, our friends and April’s, at their destination wedding in Ft. Lauderdale a few years ago and have since become very close. I think this trip solidified that.

It was an incredible five days of fun, laughs, rich delicious Southern food, country music and historic landmarks, lake-living with cookouts, fireworks and boating, and all-around southern hospitality. We had a blast. Here’s a rundown of our experience…

- After a 17-hour drive there, us three traveling Canadians got caught up on sleep and ventured into day 1 by starting things off with a massive lunch at Martin’s BBQ, where we gorged on brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and baked beans. BEST BBQ EVER. Hands down amazing – no wonder they’d been featured on so many Food Network shows!

That night we hit downtown Nashville to check out the honky tonks (country bars), hopping from place to place to watch amazing musicians perform for tips in hopes of being spotted and consequently signed by label scouts. We also spent at least half an hour “playing” in a gift shop with our friends, trying on guitar-shaped glasses, racoon hats and riding ponies on sticks.

- Day 2 we were off to Alabama and a lakefront property owned by April’s sister and husband. Every 4th of July they have a huge party and are joined by neighbors, friends and family, and we were SO LUCKY to be a part of the celebration this year. The two days went like this: spend afternoon on a pontoon boat lounging on the lake, floating on lifejackets in the water to cool off, spraying each other down with SPF300, drinking, and swinging on rope swings, followed by lots of barbecued steaks, burgers and dogs, an amazing fireworks display launched from a man-made raft in the middle of the slue, little ones playing on blow-up waterslides while grown-ups soaked their hot feet in kiddie pools, drinking, pie and smores, breakfast at Waffle House, riding 4-wheelers and golf carts up and down the long hill of the property, fishing off of docks, drinking, dogs running here and there, sleeping in a cozy camper amongst pink flamingos, American flag lights and dear friends (who make random noises that I won’t get into), drinking, and having an all around BLAST.

- Day 4 it was back to Nashville to finally shower and then we toured the incredible Opryland Hotel, where we noshed on another fantastic meal at the Jack Daniels restaurant.

- Day 5 half of us woke up and caught up on some work (ahem… moi) while the other half slept in, and then that afternoon we wandered around the little downtown centre of quaint and historic Franklin County. We had a delicious lunch, checked out a few little shops and even went to the site of a famous Civil War battlefield where there was a cemetery and an original plantation house that had been converted into a hospital during the war. A man wandering through the cemetery told April and I that he had visited the site one night and had seen the ghosts of soldiers wandering the green battlefield and sitting on the porch of the hospital.

We topped things off with one last dinner amongst friends at a fun place called Whiskey Kitchen, stopped off at the Flying Saucer for one last beer and then we bid adieu to some of our Nashville friends. A quick souvenir shop stop later and we were turning in early, preparing for our 3am wake-up call and 17-hour drive home (which turned into 20).

Want to know what they mean by “southern hospitality”? Then go to Nashville! And ask for Andrew, April, Fanci, Carl, Christel, and the whole Gareri gang!

In honour of my Nashville/’Bama trip these are some RANDOM THOUGHTS… about the south…

- Sometimes smoke bombs and fireworks will not get a skunk out of a hole.

- Great alternative modes of transportation include golf carts with police lights and four wheelers decked out with diamond plating and monster truck wheels.

- If you have no feet but can still do “jerky jerky” you’re doin’ alright.

- Come to Nashville – Elvis IS alive… on every street corner.

- “Heaven’s to Betsy” is a great expression to show how much you love blackberry cobbler.