last day of school and mother angst

it was the last day of school yesterday. this is when i wish i was a full-time stay at home mom so i can just hang out for the next two months with kai.  instead he will go to summer camp for 4 weeks (the longest ever).  i am lucky to have a flexible job that i love and was able to take most of august off work (again!).  still, i feel bad that he is in camp for so long.  sure he will bike, swim, monkey around at the circus, and have adventures with his camp buddies.  he’ll be happy.  but i prefer that he sleep in, be lazy in his pjs, complain about being bored and have summer adventures with me and our friends.

i will have to be sure our july evenings are full of fun - watching movies, staying up late (kai loves this!), go for evening swimming at the local pool, eat ice cream every night and whatever else we can think up to have a proper summer vacation.  we do the best we can, right?

flowers for mrs. chau, according to kai the best teacher ever!

have a lovely weekend - we’ll be celebrating canada day and my in-laws 47^th wedding anniversary!  i hope to be back with weekend pics on tuesday.

summer shoe wishlist

i am currently coveting these lovely shoes. because you can never have too many shoes! 

from right here in vancouver (i am really considering them) 



 

 from here

from here

from here



from here (and already in my closet)

from here (sold out)

although not technically a summer shoe (well, okay it's not a summer shoe), these lovely booties will arrive at my doorstep later today. i wasn't able to find them anywhere in north america. so, when i found them in europe i (naturally!) had them shipped to my in-laws' home (this is the second time i have done this, anything for a pair of coveted shoes).

my in-laws, harm and marion, arrive today for a visit. my posts may be a little infrequent over the next couple of weeks but do check in.  i will be back to regular programming by mid-july.

weekend pics (part 2)

it was a lovely mix of relaxing and active activities this weekend - the perfect blend.  and, the rain stayed away except for a torrential downpour on saturday night. 

on saturday we spent a good 4 hours outdoors riding, playing, and eating.  we went into downtown to visit a recently opened cafe with a bike friendly focus, musette.  they serve 49th parallel coffee, make their pastries in-house - the sea salt chocolate chip cookie was very good, and have super friendly staff.  there is bike paraphernalia everywhere.  they have a racers bike stand outside and for those with more expensive bikes well, they can haul them right in because there's a place for bikes indoors too.  kai thought it was very cool.  we took the long route around the seawall home where there were places to stop and play and we ended up at the fish shack by the wharf for an early dinner.  a perfect afternoon.  if i can say so, we live in a gorgeous city when the sun is shining! 

musette is accessed via the lane



 

on sunday i ran my 5km race.  i wish i could write that i did exceptionally well, but really i did okay finishing just under 33 minutes.  i hoped to be quicker... maybe next time.  that afternoon, while kai was attending a make-a-bear birthday party, stefan and i spent some time visiting our friends alexia and darrin.  alexia is the best hostess, we arrived to a just baked blueberry crumble pie!  she also has a knack for finding fantastic deals, like the adorable dress she is wearing! her hubby is a runner and completed the half marathon today!  it was a chilled afternoon sitting on the deck eating pie, fresh fruit (local strawberries are finally here!), and drinking tea. lucky us, just before we left, kara woke up from her nap so i could get some cuddles.





my weekend ended with a fabulous dinner stefan organized with one of his favourite chefs, david hawksworth, to celebrate our 15 years.  still thinking about the 'kfc' (kentucky fried cauliflower), delicious. and he (who doesn't eat seafood) ate squid, he does love me!

weekend pics (part 1)

this photo of kai was snapped last night by stefan. as i was driving our sitter home stefan peeked into kai's room to find him asleep and snuggled up to his new teddy. he was invited to a build-a-bear birthday party - the little sister of his good friend invited him and kai is game for anything, including making a teddy bear, which i love.

the rest of the weekend pics to follow tomorrow...

i covet...

a picnic!  what gorgeous photos.  they make me want to pack a picnic basket and head for the beach.  we had a couple of lovely summer days in vancouver but alas, rain is forecasted for the weekend.  am i surprised?  not really.  am i disappointed?  very much so.











have a lovely weekend.  i hope it's picnic weather wherever you are.

we are 15!

this is a digital piece of artwork in which the words slowly spell themselves out.  "the gentle electric pulsing of the lettering gradually builds into a powerful potent red leaving the viewer in no doubt about the power of love."  happy anniversary stefan!

view here

the perfect summer dress

the maxi dress says summer has arrived, doesn’t it?  it’s the kind of dress you could live in all the summer.  it looks so comfortable, easy, and stylish without trying. i am loving the look of the first one but whether it looks good on my short stature is another story.  you see, i think that i am too short to wear the maxi dress but i would be silly not to try so i am on the hunt for the perfect maxi dress for my frame.  if you never hear mention of this again you can assume i failed.

 photos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

summer

summer is just a couple of days away. are you ready?  we vancouverites are so hoping the sun will show up and stay awhile.  fingers crossed.

beach romance



eating lots of ice cream, yum!



sea side (dressed exquisitely in a swimsuit)

flowers

raspberry picking and then devouring pints full

relaxing and lounging