We're Waiting For You, Baby Girl

This upcoming Sunday I'm so excited to be attending the baby shower my mother, grandmother and wonderful family friend Nancy are throwing for my cousin's wife, Kate. Patrick and Kate will welcome their (undoubtedly) beautiful little girl next month and I can't wait to meet her (and find out what her name will be)! In the meantime, I'm so excited to see what heartbreakingly adorable goodies everyone will bestow upon the impending bundle of joy!

If money were no option then this nursery would be lovely for a little girl. The palest of pink walls, antique cane back chair and pretty white crib are sweet and soothing, while the flowered pendant light is a genuine show stopper. Nurseries should be just as stylish and creative as the rest of any decor lover's home and this room is perfect for any budding girly girl.

I can't wait to see you, little one!

(Photo via The City Sage)

Christmas Movie Marathon

Well, it's almost December! When the calendar finally turns to the 1st the nonchalant pretending that I don't care in the last few weeks of November turns into a full on Christmas love fest. Christmas decorating, Christmas baking, Christmas shopping and Christmas music... I adore it all. One of my favourite traditions is my month long marathon of the absolute greatest Christmas movies. Movies dedicated to the holidays always hold wonderful sentiments... family and friends, love, hope, dreams and generosity of spirit. I have a long list that I watch every December, year in year out. I could not do any countdown, because I love them all. However, number one?

1. It's A Wonderful Life~ Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed are magical together and I cry like a child every time. One day I imagine a marriage like theirs for myself. The most beautiful Christmas movie I can imagine.

2. Love Actually~ Not a Christmas movie per se, but it's set during the holiday season and is a wonderful testament to the power of love at this time of year. Plus, many of my girlfriends agree on this~ the cue card love scene between Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Mark is one of the most romantic movie scenes. Ever.

3. Scrooged~ Bill Murray at his finest as the vicious Frank Cross in this modern day (well, 1980's) re-telling of Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. My first favourite and it still endures for me. I never get tired of it.

4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation~ Chevy Chase? Check. Weird family visiting? Check. Hilarious scenes involving Christmas lights, a squirrel in the tree and Elaine from Seinfeld? Check! A ridiculously funny classic and a must see for
many laughs out loud.

5. The Holiday~ What can I say? Jude Law as a yummy single dad and Kate Winslet in her first romantic comedy role are enchanting. Again, not a veritable "Christmas movie" but set during the holidays, it is wonderful and heart warming. Eli Wallach as Kate's 90 year old neighbour steals the film, to be sure.

6. Home Alone~ Childish, I know. I first saw this in the theatres when I was ten years old and it still resonates with the kid in me. Although Kevin's hijinks when he is left behind are sweet and funny, the true heart of this movie lies within the importance of family, between the McCallisters and the family reunion of Kevin's mysterious next door neighbour.

7. The Family Stone~ Beautiful, touching and sad~ my favourite combination. Diane Keaton as the Stone matriarch is magnificent (with a touch of malice) and the bevy of Stone kids? Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson and Rachel McAdams with Sarah Jessica Parker and Claire Danes also in the supporting cast. A big, dysfunctional family Christmas. I love it.

8. The Family Man~ I'm not normally insane about Nicolas Cage but he is lovely and endearing in this role as a man who, while living a purely selfish life, is given a "glimpse" on Christmas Eve of what his life would have looked like had he married his college love. A beautiful, simple movie about family and the things truly worth having in this life (hint: it's not money and success). I watch this on Christmas Eve after all our family has left, in bed, nearing midnight.
I usually fall asleep to it.

9. How The Grinch Stole Christmas~ The 1966 cartoon version of this Dr. Suess tale is the one I love. A magical half hour about how a person (or creature) can truly change through the wonder of this holiday season. Boris Karloff's iconic voice in itself is worth watching the film for. Perfect for Christmas lovers of all ages.

10. A Christmas Carol~ My dad's absolute favourite, this 1951 black and white classic features Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and is the most famous and enduring tale of this holiday season. This is always on in our house late Christmas Eve and I watch (part) of it with my dad every year while we drink champagne or rum and egg nog. Half an hour into it my adorable daddy is usually snoring happily
and so I retire to bed.

What are your favourite Christmas movies? Is there anything I have missed that are must sees?

Dreams

Sometimes I dream of a little girl named Lyla. She has red hair and a loud laugh and she is full of joy and dreams. And then I wake up. 

(Sometimes I dream of Lyla's daddy too, but I can't see his face yet. Sometimes I think I can hear his voice but it's never quite clear.)

What I Miss Dearly About Childhood on My Favourite Things

My lovely friend Chloe of My Favourite Things has been revisiting her childhood this week in the most wonderful way. She has been reminiscing about her favourite things when she was a little girl and asking her friends to do the same. I was happy to regress a few years and think of what I missed most about being a child. There were so many happy memories swirling in my brain but I managed to narrow my list down enough to post. 

Here is my list...

10 Things I Miss Dearly About Childhood

1. Barbies. My Little Ponies. Gem and the Holograms. Care Bears.

2. Gymnastic "competitions" with two of my neighbours; two of us would compete and one would judge but I could do a back walkover so I basically always won. Oh, the good old days.

3. Elaborate and sweet birthday parties thrown by my amazing mother. 

4. Patent leather Mary Janes with white knee socks. The love of fashion started early.

5. Eating all my trick or treating candy in a week flat. I was (and still am) a sugar fiend!

6. Decorating the Christmas tree with Bing Crosby on the tape deck (yes, tape deck) and drinking egg nog while my Dad swore as he untangled the lights and my mother soothed him and then basically did everything herself. Sigh.

7. Cabbage Patch Dolls. I had two. I rocked.

8. Sticker collecting, for sure. I was beyond obsessed.

9. Splashing in puddles with my gumboots and playing in the rain endlessly. I still love rainy weather.

10. What I miss most~ looking at the world with child's eyes. Everything was so big, endless, possible, easy, simple. I miss that childhood innocence most of all.

Thank you, Chloe, for asking me to take part on your wonderful blog! It is an honour. Please read My Favourite Things for more of these charming lists!

New Life

The next generation is beginning. 

There is going to be new life in my family and I couldn't be happier. My beautiful cousin is going to be the most wonderful of mothers~ she is kind, thoughtful, patient, nurturing. Her husband, my first cousin, I have known since birth~ we were born a month apart and our parents were inseparable when we were babies. How lovely that now he will have a baby of his own. This is the first new life to be brought into our family in our generation so it is amazingly exciting. Congratulations, my beautiful cousins! I can't wait to meet your sweet little one!

Crossroads

Yesterday was an off day. It was great in many aspects but I still feel at odds with the world. My best friend and I spent quality time together and it was much needed but I found myself with tears rolling down my face as we drove back into the city after our fun, girly excursion. It was an overwhelming few moments (no longer) of frustration and I couldn't talk myself out of it. Luckily I have a wonderfully supportive bff who calms me down~ and the cry was cleansing and cathartic at least. 

There have been so many "life" questions lately and in that moment, there were too many. I am a very introspective person but all this quiet contemplation only serves to make me miserable and stressed! Perhaps it's best to deal with one thing at a time, something small that I can handle and something that I do have control over (like, hmmmmm, what to do with my life? not small but in my control at least). Taking on too much at once is simply too overwhelming. I need to simplify, breathe, make some decisions, take care of myself. 

Changes to come in the future.

I was driving home late last night and I was nearly stopped dead (in my car, um, not a good idea) by a billboard on the side of the road. I grabbed my phone, not wanting to forget it, and tapped it into my message pad at a stop light. 

"We are not made to understand life but just to live it."

How wonderful. We don't have to comprehend this whole crazy thing we share called life. Just live it. Simplifying. I love it. 

Lasting Distraction~ Out Now!

Lasting Distraction is the new album from Vancouver band Elias and it is my heartfelt recommendation that you buy it. Immediately. You see, this is my brother's band, but aside from that these are three guys that are passionate about their music and inordinately talented to boot. The new album was released today and you can find it on iTunes as of right this moment. Do yourself a favour and buy it. My faves? It is a toss up between Dropouts (sorrowful and angst-y), Thousand Pieces (if only boys wouldn't break my heart into so many pieces) or Awake Tonight (sexy as hell). Buy now!

 

(Band photo via Cohene.com)

Thanksgiving

Over a chilly Thanksgiving long weekend all I want to do is this: 

Eat pumpkin pie. Lots of it. Or pumpkin cheesecake. I'm down with that too.

Be cozy. Spend time with my family. Wear fuzzy socks and an oversized sweater. Lose myself in a good book. Relax. Hole up in front of the fireplace above (sadly not mine, but the one in my dreams). 

Turkey turkey turkey. But more importantly, stuffing. 

Sleep in. Wrestle with my purr monster. Have late brunch. 

Bake something fall-ish. Maybe something with apples and cinnamon. Then eat it. 

Best of all, give thanks for all the wonderful people and things in my life. I am truly grateful this year. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

(Photo via This Is Glamorous)

Elias Back Onstage at The Biltmore

My gorgeous friend Chloe and I hit up The Biltmore last night to see my brother's band, Elias, as they opened for Pilot Speed (read previous posts here and here). The boys had just returned from a quick tour hop in Alberta to play Vancouver and are already back on the road as of this morning. Having not played together live in a year (I last saw them last October at the now defunct Richards on Richards for an Oxfam benefit), I was both excited and nervous for the show, especially as there is new material I hadn't yet heard live. Suffice it to say, the night kicked ass. I know, not very eloquent, but nonetheless true. It was a fantastic comeback show and the boys sounded tighter than ever. The new songs are beyond amazing and I can't wait to get my hands on their new album Lasting Distraction next Tuesday, October 13! Although one would think a sister could get an advanced copy..... hmmmmph. 

Congratulations, boys! Have a great tour! 

Click here to listen to new Elias. I highly highly recommend Awake Tonight. I've listened to it about twelve times today already. Amazing.

(Band photo by Mark Cohene)

Niceness

Parisian Style At Its Best

I am madly in love with this Parisian apartment. I adore everything about its charming quirkiness. It looks so unstudied and casual yet it is elegant and hip at the same time. This is what I always hope my future home will look like. It exudes the fun of the young family who lives in it. I especially love the oversized mirror above the fireplace, the wall of books and the amazing amazing herringbone floor~ swoon! 

Love love love it. 

A fantastic gallery wall above another gorgeous mantle. 

The simple home office area~ fantastic art and stunning 

architectural details! 

A heart shaped polaroid wall above the bed~ sweet, fresh and original! 

Display at its best~ books, art and white fairy lights! All my favourite things! 

(Photos via A Cup of Jo from Cookie Magazine)

Reconnection

The most amazing thing happened to me today. I am giddy with it. I woke up to a typical Sunday morning. My roommate/brother is touring so the apartment was mine alone. I was blissfully lazy, laying in bed while on my laptop. Facebook. Oh, Facebook. Such a love/hate relationship. Today I am grateful for it. 

I had a friend request, intriguing in itself. The name was so familiar. Unfathomable. I blinked in shock, genuinely stunned. My childhood best friend. A friend I only knew for a year in grade 4 before she moved away and I was left behind, devastated and heartbroken in the way you can only be when you are a kid of nine. This was long before the advent of computers in every household, email addresses and convenience. It was not like it is now, where people can maintain daily friendships from across the world. I never saw Sarah again. I think there was one letter and one phone call in the ensuing twenty years. Until today. 

We have been reunited after two decades and while in reality we are utter strangers, we have a hazy past that binds us, fuzzy memories that connect us across this continent, from Vancouver to Florida. I have one photo stored away in a box where I keep special things. It is her birthday party and we are doing a dance routine in poodle skirts (was it a dress up party? I guess so). I am doing the splits. The photo is fuzzy, in the way all photos were then. I must find it. Life has sent us in completely different directions but I don't think that matters. We are still those little girls somewhere inside us. The gift of technology has given us the chance to be friends again and I am beyond thrilled at the amazing opportunity. Hi, Sarah! 

Take that, Facebook doubters. 

Alone

Sometimes it is okay to feel really alone in this life. It's kind of true. We are, in fact, alone. Before you think I'm crazy, I need to say this isn't as depressing a thought as it sounds. We can fill our lives with people and places, but at the end of the day we are alone in our own minds. We are the only one who understands us. We are the only one who knows what goes on in our heads. We are the only ones it is safe to tell everything and anything to. It is okay. At times in this life I have felt really alone, in the worst sense, like maybe no one would ever understand me on a profound level or want to know me on that level. There are still days I am frustrated by how surface life can seem, how nothing seems to be real. Why are some things so fake? 

It's hard to learn these lessons sometimes but they are also incredibly valuable. Friends and family are wonderful but I am getting to be okay with myself. I don't particularly like feeling alone (despite loving and needing "me" time), but I'm getting to be more and more okay with it. As I grow (up? scary thought) I'm getting to like the person in this head more and more and that makes it easier to be solitary in these thoughts. Alone. Why is it such a scary concept? Why does it freak people (me) out? It doesn't have to be such a depressing concept. We are our own person. We need to like who we are, first and foremost. Get to know who you are when you are alone sometime. Be comfortable with yourself. It's not so bad. 

Relieved To Be Home

The last three days have been far from fun in my world. Without going into too much detail I spent the last few days in the hospital, first a grueling ten hours in the emergency room at St. Pauls (horrific), followed by two nights overnight after being admitted (much much better). I have two blue hospital bracelets on my arm and numerous pricks in my skin where I had an IV and three rounds of blood tests. Morphine and I became totally best friends. I have had it before but this time as it was injected into my IV and I could feel it drip into my veins and rush through my body in seconds, I was thoroughly grateful.

Pain is a very defeating thing. It can take you and throw your life upside down in moments. It makes you weak, can make you see things that perhaps aren't there when you feel "normal". Sitting and waiting for a diagnosis is also beyond frustrating, like waiting for your judgement day. What will happen next? I never was a good one for living in the moment. I was released this morning and felt liberated to leave the grim walls of the hospital. Despite the misfortune of the visit, all is well (or will be well). The nurses were beyond wonderful, giving comfort when I needed it most. The doctors well meaning and efficient. My mother sitting by my side for twelve hour stretches, my saviour. I am glad it is over. Almost 9 o clock? Time for bed.

Daddy

When I'm down the best thing in the world for my spirits is to get in my car and drive the twenty five minutes to my parents' house. I adore my mother (hi mom!) but my father is my endless source of entertainment. We are two peas in a pod; I am truly my father's daughter. He is ridiculous and charming and engaging (actually, I don't get that from him at all!). People are drawn to him and adore him because of his natural zeal for life. 

Things I am crazy about in my amazing dad: 

1. He giggles. Like a child. And oh, very very loudly. His laugh, though sometimes like a sonic boom, is always infectious. When he giggles, I giggle. It's pretty fab.

2. He makes fun of me like no other. And I adore it. He calls this blog Ally I'm A Redhead and continually pitches guest posts to me. He wants me to write endlessly about The Beatles. And to post the 11 minute car chase from Bullit, his favourite movie. 

(Fine, fine. Click here to watch it.)

He pretends my brother is his fave to drive me crazy. He tells me I'm wearing too much make up when I go home bare faced and tells me I'm pale when I go all glammed up. 

He keeps me in line. 

3. He has nicknames for all my friends. You aren't loved until you have a ridiculous nickname. Currents are Vonda, Marilyn, LP and the little one from Regina 

(not very inventive, that last one).

4. We have inside jokes that never cease to bring a smile to my face. 

5. We go to lunch, just the two of us. Often to the neighbourhood pub, where the old cougar servers bring his Stella without asking and I feast on grilled cheese and yam fries. It wouldn't matter where we go~ we laugh, he talks about music and tells me stories. It's the best. 

I am incredibly grateful to have the father I have. Today I woke up with a cold, sneezing like crazy. I had to go to their house to renew my car insurance and my Dad was waiting for me. He took care of it while I sneezed and sniffled inside. Then he took me to lunch and he made me feel normal again and then I slept the afternoon away in their bed, while he was careful to be quiet. Then he gave me a $50 bill and I came home. Aren't parents wonderful? 

Nie Nie Dialogues

What I have loved most about entering the blogging world is not my writing itself but instead the discovery of other people's lives through their own insightful and charming blogs. Very quickly you can feel like you know these people because they allow you into their days~ you meet their spouses, children; see their homes and friends; the parties they attend and the events (big or small) in their lives. Even more wonderfully you are able (invited even) to peer into their dreams and hear their hopes for their lives. Bloggers share freely their hardships with their good fortune and it is this I love so much, because it allows others to relate and not feel alone, even across a continent. 

I was moved today. Hugely. Today was a lovely and lazy Sunday where I huddled with a cough and a sore throat in bed, nursing Halls (cherry) and reading Wuthering Heights as the late summer sun streamed through the window. Taking a break from the book, I began browsing through some blogs and alighted onto the Nie Nie Dialogues, which I had visited briefly once or twice before. Today reading these entries entranced me and soon I was lost in the life of Stephanie Nielson (Stephanie Nielson), her husband Christian (lovingly referred to as Mr. Nielson most of the time) and their four insanely cute children~ Jane, Claire, Oliver and Nicholas. However, this is no ordinary family. A year ago Nie and her husband were in a plane crash and very nearly killed. After months and months in the hospital (where she was in a coma and suffered burns to 83% of her body) Nie is now home with her family, recovering slowly and transitioning back into her daily life, despite repeated surgeries and chronic pain. This woman is a true survivor and hero. She has lived through what most people cannot even imagine and she is doing so with grace and good humor. She has bad days and shares them, and good days that she is grateful for. 

Stephanie is an inspiration and I am delighted to read about her family and peek into her life as she heals, everyday. Without knowing it, she has also given me enormous perspective on my own life, as I evaluate what I am grateful for and what I see for my future. It is hard to worry about insignificant details when someone so hurt is so strong and brave. 

Thank you, Nie, for sharing your life with your readers. Thank you for teaching me today to be grateful for each day and live for each moment. I can't wait to read more about your life. 

Nie Nie Dialogues

ps- If you love Nie's site as much as I do you can add a "button" to your own blog, like the one I have in the right hand column. 

Eight Years Later

How can I blog as normal today? I can't. It is September 11 and though I won't go into a long post my silence is in respect for those that lost their lives and those that lost loved ones. The world changed that day and we are still feeling the repercussions radiating outwards eight years later. My heart goes out to everyone on this day. 

ps- Tell someone you love them today. Kiss. Hug. 

(Photo via Paper Tissue)

My Dirty Thirty

My amazing best friend Leah organized the sweetest of birthday surprises for me yesterday. Despite my constant protestations that I wanted to do exactly "nothing" and that it was my "un-birthday" (very Alice in Wonderland) she lovingly ignored me and threw me a surprise birthday party! Held at Yew at The Four Seasons Hotel, I cocktailed and dined the evening away with my closest girlfriends, the loveliest and kindest of women, and felt utterly spoiled and loved. I haven't had a birthday party since I was a little girl so it was truly wonderful to be surrounded by the people I love most in this world! To Leah and my incredible friends~ thank you for making my birthday so special and even more, for being in my life! To my amazing and supportive parents~ thank you for being who you are and making my concept of family so wonderful. I love you all.

xoxoxo

Resolutions

Okay, okay, by now you've got it. I'm officially 30. This new decade has made me want to turn over a new leaf and have a fresh start. Life has been weird lately and I refuse to do "weirdness" anymore. It's time to be smart, make better choices and wiser decisions. It's time to follow my head and my instincts instead of ignoring those gut feelings and being careless about my life and my feelings. In other words, it's high time to have that fresh start as a more together, directed person. This birthday has made me come up with a few resolutions for my life (which I never come up with on New Years Eve) and here are a few:

1. Be a more consistently thoughtful person to the people in my life. Selfish is lame and it's a narrow way to live. To see how my friends and family went out of their way for me, above and beyond, for my surprise birthday party yesterday (more on that later) made me cry like a child, again and again. No amount of money on earth can buy that thoughtfulness. I'm determined to be a more present and accountable friend, daughter, sister, etc. and try to make the lives of the people around me as lovely as they make mine. Small gestures, big ones~ whatever it takes.

2. Be patient, live my life a day at a time, get out of my head so much and enjoy every little step. Sometimes I try to run before I walk and then I make a mess of myself when I fall. Be present in the everyday.

3. Don't put up with junk I know I don't deserve and be prepared to walk away from lousy situations with integrity.

4. Focus on the future, career wise. It's time to think and decide what I'm going to do with myself, be it writing, Education or something else I may stumble upon that I love. I need to stop ignoring it because it scares me and chase those dreams.

5. Work at being happy, because there is truly so much to be happy about. Life is good.

Break Up No More

Have you ever had a friend break-up? They are sad and angst-y and often ridiculous and far harder than any break-up I've ever had with a man. But girls are girls and things happen, feelings get hurt and people drift apart. It's inevitable. Luckily, when girls truly care about each other deep down anything can happen and reconnecting, even after months and months, is possible. I feel incredibly lucky today to have one of my best friends back in my life. We could have yelled and screamed and blamed each other for what went wrong, but we did not. We giggled and gossiped~ things girls do! She is one more reason I feel wildly fortunate. 

If you've ever gone through a friend break-up and still think of that person, do yourself a favour, swallow your pride (saving face is unimportant next to having a true friend) and contact them. An email just to let them know you miss them in your life could be what changes everything. It's so worth it.