Goodbye Summer, thanks for the memories!

All good things come to an end; saying goodbye to Summer is always a sad time for me because I’m a summer kinda girl. I love the long days and warm nights. I enjoy day trips around Southern Ontario as well as relaxing at home in our garden room, it’s my summer place where we entertain friends and family.

This summer was a special one because my third grandchild was born in August. I’ll reminice and post some highlights.

July 1st kicks off the summer with Canada Day.

Car shows are a part of our summer fun and we enjoyed another nostalic event at the annual Crusin’ on King Street in downtown Kitchener seeing all the classic cars from yesteryear.

A road trip to a lavender farm was pleasantly intoxicating!

My first time to the annual Elvis Festival in Collingwood, Ontario was very entertaining.

The nearby beach is the longest freshwater beach in the world.

We don’t need to venture far to enjoy day trips to small towns to go shopping and blueberry picking.

There’s always time for a walk in the woods to just breathe fresh air and appreciate nature.

An afternoon shopping in Port Dover (I’ll show you what I bought in my next post) …

and a walk along the beach is always a perfect way to end the day.

Dear Summer,

thanks for the memories, see you next year!

 

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Cherry Wrap Dress and a Wicker Purse

While visiting my daughter in January, I had the opportunity to attend my first Fashion Trend Show in Seattle. It was so interesting and I watched how Jean chose and ordered clothes for her eco-boutique Drizzle & Shine.

She let me choose this dress but I would have to wait for it because all the clothes, jewellery and accesories were only samples for ordering.

I love the little cherries on a black background and this dress will take me into autumn with a black or red cardigan, and black tights with booties. Do you buy clothes that transition into fall?

This wicker purse was a gift from my dear friend Roxanne. It’s my favourite summer purse.

Life is a bowl of cherries!

Enjoy!

Tea for Two: Be my Guest!

Maggie and I are twins born of different mothers. We never miss a chance to dance and have a passion for fashion. On our way home after class one day, we stopped to shop. We both bought the same black wrap pants. The ruffles and flounce hem makes these pants so feminine and a perfect flare for dancing. They feel light as a feather and very cool.

Maggie styled hers with this fabulous two-toned top (thrifted) it’s a perfect match! It has cute side zippers and I love the jewellery she chose for this outfit. She finds the treasures in seconhand shops! I would love one like this!

I styled mine with a boho-chic blouse from Anthropologie. I love this romantic style: white chiffon with tiny black velvet dots and elastic midriff.

Twinsies!

Maggie suggested we try another top and I just happened to have the exact same one! She’s an expert thrift shopper and found this top recently. I bought mine at Ricki’s three years ago. I also bought one in black.

I live in sandals during the summer. I love quality (to last longer and reduce waste). My strappy stilettos are nonleather, my favourite high heels that I wear when I don’t have to walk anywhere.

We were both in a fashion show in May and Maggie was also chosen for the top 10 model search for women over 40. She is a beautiful and elegant lady!

I’m delighted to have Maggie be my guest! We had such fun doing this photoshoot together and enjoying time in my tea room. I served peppermint tea and croissants with my I love Lucy dishes.

Thank you Maggie! You inspire me!

What’s Pink and Lace and Thrifted?

This pretty pink top!

I bought this pink lace top at a secondhand shop. It was brand new with the tag still attached for only $6. (new $30. made in USA). I love the bell sleeves. It was perfect for our Fun Fashion Friday that we’ve been doing for two years in my Friday afternoon dance classes. Last week was Pretty in Pink and the ladies wore every shade of pink from dusty rose to fuchsia.

Enjoying my new grandson (three days old!).

It’s become a Labour Day tradition for me to wear white after Labour Day too.

Happy Labour Day!

Blue skies, blueberries and a blue denim dress

What I wore: blue denim dress to go blueberry picking.

I love blueberries, one of my favourite berries. These delicious berries are high in nutrients and low in calories. This superfood is the King of antioxidant foods!

I decided this blue denim dress would be suitable for blueberry picking. We went with friends to enjoy a lovely morning in a blueberry patch and picked about 10 pints of blueberries.

I make oatmeal almost every day and add fruit: sometimes banana slices, apple chunks or strawberries, but my favourite is blueberries! I add blueberries to smoothies and fruit salads and also love them for snacks.

Fancy leggings are thrifted for $2.50. Blue nonleather sandals made in Italy.

Have you ever gone blueberry picking?

❤ carmen

It’s a BOY!

We are excited to announce the birth of our third grandchild!

Having a grandbaby is a lot easier than having a baby! No morning sickness, no labour pain and I didn’t gain a single pound! But I did gain a beautiful, healthy, 9 lb 10 oz grandson!

Gone are the days when a mom could rest in the hospital for a week (when I had my three children) my daughter-in-law came home the same day the baby was born! These photos were taken a week ago on the day of his birth.

I wore my ArmedAngels Polkadot top from Drizzle & Shine (my daughter’s eco-boutique in Seattle). ArmedAngels make sustainable fashion with the highest respect for humans and nature.

Polkadots with checked pants–a little pattern mixing, something our mothers’ generation taught us not to do. I started mixing patterns a few years ago, inspired by my daughter Jean. Monochromatic is my favourite.

My newborn grandson

His big brother

His big sister

We thank God for another miracle!

Lazy Days of Summer

We enjoyed a day trip on the country roads of Southern Ontario. It’s so relaxing to stay off the highway with no particular place to go, just breezing along at a slower pace, no rush, stop when and where we want.

I’m wearing wrap pants that look like a skirt, very lightweight and flowy. Turquoise and white are one of my favourite summer two-toned outfits. I added a wicker purse and a turquoise sun hat, which are very special to me because they were gifts from my dear friend Roxanne.

Elora

It’s an artsy town we always visit every summer, besides the beautiful scenery, there are places to enjoy hiking and biking … and … shopping!

Fergus

This Scottish town reminds me of our time in Scotland. I discovered an eco-boutique like my daughter’s store in Seattle, Drizzle & Shine: everything ethical, fairtrade and eco-friendly, as well as vegan. I bought a cute little dress that I can wear this summer and will transition into fall with a cardigan, tights and booties. Did I say the 4-letter F-word — FALL? I don’t even want to think about that yet, not while the weather is so beautiful and I’m enjoying every day!

new dress

We checked out some consignment and secondhand shops

Fergus, Ontario

Shelburne, Ontario

Singhampton

Just a dot on the map and a place I’ve never even heard of before, but there’s a great little antique shop where we found this vintage enamel cookware set made in Germany. It just happens to match the dishes which I bought in Germany in 1982.

Driving through the countryside, we stopped at a farm to buy potatoes, veggies and berries.

Turquoise jewellery to go with my outfit

We are waiting for the arrival of our third grandchild!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Georgian Bay has beautiful beaches, in fact, Wasaga Beach is the longest freshwater beach in the world, just minutes from Collingwood, Ontario, where we enjoyed a few amusing days at the annual Elvis Festival.

It was great to get away from the madding crowd for a leisurely stroll along the beach. I bought this pink lace cardigan in Collingwood and it was perfect for this pink and white outfit which I wore to the concert that night.

These wrap pants are so cool and comfortable. I recently bought three wrap pants in a similar style: white, turquoise and black. I’ll show the turquoise ones next time.

Pink sunglasses: Bartell Drug Store, Seattle
White top: over 10 years old
Pink lace cardigan: Madison Clothing Boutique, Collingwood
Pink belt: gift from Jean
White wrap pants: St. Jacobs market
Pink sandals: non leather

We stayed in a lovely condo by the Blue Mountains. This is the view from the living room balcony. It’s a popular place for skiers in the winter.

View from the bedroom loft balcony

There are things in life that we never grow tired of: views of the ocean and sunsets, just as we never grow tired of fresh air and love. I love to walk along the beach at sunset!

Summer wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the beach.

Linking up with Nancy at FANCY FRIDAY

Elvis Festival: Collingwood, Ontario

We enjoyed a 4-day weekend getaway in Collingwood, Ontario. My dear friend Marilyn invited me to the annual Elvis Festival. It’s the 25th year of this event (with international Elvis Tribute Artists) which attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world.

The centre of town was closed to traffic and became a pedestrian zone with a stage for over 60 Elvis’ to perform. The sound of music echoed through the streets. Street vendors selling Elvis memorbilia–everything from T-shirts to umbrellas. Stores were ready for the shoppers. I bought a pink lace cardigan, just perfect for the outfit I brought to wear to the concert which I’ll show next time.

The Friday night concert featured very talented performers; besides Elvis there were other tribute artists as well: Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Frankie Valli, Buddy Holly, Neil Diamond, Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. 

My daytime outfits were casual and cool. Three tops in different colours and capris.

Black, white and a pop of red

Red, white and blue

Gray, white and a pop of pink

Collingwood is situated on the southern point of Georgian Bay. Shopping and walking around town were all part of the fun.

The highlight of this event was attending the Elvis Gospel Service (at First Baptist Church) which began with the congregation singing several Elvis gospel songs, followed by an inspirational sermon by the pastor and then “Elvis” (Corny Rempel) singing classic gospel songs. Afterward, Corny signed autographs, what a friendly guy! He was the winner of the 2015 Elvis Festival. (He also does Johnny Cash and Conway Twitty.) What a powerful voice he has!

Time to go home. Waiting for the train.

The train is never coming, this station has been converted to a library!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy August!

It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood

Our neighbourhood has a myriad of lovely homes, splendid for a stroll on a beautiful day. We had to stop to admire this charming house with a white picket fence. Reminds me of Mr. Roger’s song and his show I used to watch with my children.

This is one of those (many) times I can’t decide on which colour to buy and so I bought one in black and one in white. These cotton eyelet tops are so cool for the heatwave we had.

So, let’s make the most of this beautiful day!