The Not So Curious Tale of the Bad Blogger Who Had a Lovely Day

I've been a bad blogging girl. I had such good intentions too! I remember thinking at the beginning of October that I was going to put in extra effort to publish a blog post every day or two. And now look at me. I haven't blogged in almost a month. So sad. But I'm not going to dwell on any of that. I came on here specifically to tell you how wonderful a day I had. It was fantastic really. And I didn't win the lottery or a cruise or anything ridiculous like that. It's the little stuff...

After driving Dave to work I went to run some errands. Did you know that Walmart opens at 8:00 am? Amazing. Also, Bulk Barn, Dollarama and Scoop and Save. Do you know how fun picking out toppings for a Sundae buffet is? It's REALLY fun.

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And then Lisa cut my hair. And I know you're not supposed to say this about your own hair, but it's amazing. Love. it. And she did it for me for a birthday present. Even better. And then she took me out for a birthday lunch to my favourite fine dining establishment for my favourite meal. Why can't days like today happen everyday?

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Lisa wanted to stop in to Michaels so I took the opportunity to check out my favourite aisle in the store which is not actually an aisle at all. The $1.50 bins. I love them. It feels like visiting a high-class dollar store. I maybe went a tad overboard but it was fun. I think that was the theme for today. Fun. Fun and love. Yes. I am high on life. Can you handle it? We're only at noon in my story of today. Keep reading if you enjoy all things positive and fun. And birthdays and sunshine and kittens.

Next up I had to drop Lisa back off and headed to get my driver's license renewed. Now this is a pivotal moment in the story of today considering that things could have really taken a turn for the worse at this point since I had to head to Service New Brunswick (need I say more?). First I got the parking space directly in front of the building. Second there were 50 minutes left on the meter. Third I went inside bumped into two people I like very much and didn't have to wait long at all. And then the lady that took my new information wished me a happy birthday. I got my fancy new license and the picture only took three tries. It was quite amusing. I just couldn't seem to get the 'stand still, look at this spot and smile if you want to' down. The first try I looked at the spot and after I saw a flash I looked away. Turns out it was the flash of the camera in the booth next to mine. On the second try the same thing happened again only this time I was actually walking away. It was hilarious. I saw the picture on the screen and I'm literally turned and walking out of the frame. The third one was a charm. And my shiny new license and I are embarking on a new four-year long relationship. We've become fast friends. I don't even think of my old license anymore.

With that chore turned fun-filled trip down, I had to head back up the hill for birthday cake at work. I got a couple cards, a dozen compliments on my hair and some chocolate cake. Yup, that happened.

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Okay, so this is getting long. The moral of the story is. I had a REALLY good day. Next I headed to Chapters, browsed and got a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks. I even said, "Yes" when approached by a dear older lady asking if I would participate in a survey. It was 20 pages long. I smiled a lot. She was cute. I might win a gift certificate. Wouldn't that be the icing on the cake? Pun intended. Always intended.

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I headed over to pick up David from work but he was running a little late. I left him a note telling him to meet me over at Winners so I could look for winter jackets. My last winter coat has holes in it and all I cared about was finding a warm coat. I was thinking down-filled because really what is warmer than that? Don't get me wrong, I love pea coats, patterned or coloured or classic black or navy but who started the rumour that they are warm? I have froze my ass off in cute winter coats for too many Winters. So funny that my quest to find a warmth first cute second coat ended in purchasing a  Soïa & Kyo parka. I always thought that if I ended up buying one it would be one of the previously mentioned cute ones with oversized buttons and an asymmetrical collar but I am so happy with this coat. Did I forget to mention that my fabulous fella bought it for me for my birthday? Yup. Love. It goes all the way to my knee, and is ridiculously warm and cozy. I couldn't find a picture of it online but it is very similar to this one:

Perusing their website has me convinced that I now need a "snood". I was thinking about a hooded scarf from American Apparel but held off not knowing what my coat would look like. This would be WAY warmer which if you hadn't noticed is the name of the game this year. I wonder if they have them at Envy. I wonder....

Okay, so it was a long day. A long fantastic day. And it ended with eating Pita Pit with my lover, talking about and watching UFO videos, checking out the dartboard we bought for the garage, putting away all my fabulous finds, blogging and heading to bed. Night night blog friends. Sweet dreams and happy days.

YAAAAAAYYYY! (New Running Shoes, Obv.)

The Mizuno Wave Creation Running Shoes cured me several years ago of terrible, horrible, very bad shin splints. Only two stores in my city carried them and at quite a bit more than the SRP. The Running Room has apparently decided to no longer sell them in their stores (or online) unfortunately. Since I'm well overdue for a new pair I decided to see if they were clearing them out on their website. I was in luck. I snagged them for about $100 less than if I'd bought them in-store. They're not the prettiest shoe but they sure do the trick.

Btw, I'm a neutral runner with high arches if you were wondering. :)

Joe Fresh Nail Polish

I love nail polish. And I really love the quality, colours and prices of the Joe Fresh line. I had been keeping my eye out for the Fall polishes to hit my local store all month. The display was sort of hidden so it took me a few visits to my local Superstore until I finally spotted them. In fact, there was only one bottle missing from the display so I had my pick of all the colours. I've started with the first one pictured, and the last two: Fog, Storm and Moss. I was most excited about Fog as I've been looking for a lovely grey hue for awhile but all three are nice Autumn shades. I'm so used to wearing vibrant Summer polishes, it's kind of nice to take it down a notch into some more earthy tones.

Laugh Lines

The scar on my face from getting bit (ripped apart) by a dog as a child has joined forces with a wrinkle in an effort to horizontally conquer the right side of my face. How dare you wrinkle-scar hybrid!

This.isn't.over.

Mom's 58th Birthday

We got together this week with my parents to celebrate my Mom's birthday. Dad made chocolate cake. It's from an old cookbook. It's called "Talk of the Town Cake". She's cute.

Office Chair Makeover

I've been on the search for a cushion for the office chair I scored on Kijiji for $20. So far I've bought and returned four. I think I'm going to sew one instead. I'll post pictures once I do. Until then here is a before and after on the paint job. And one with one of the silly looking little cushions.

FREX

Last week Dave and I headed to the FREX. It was the first time I'd been in ten years. FUN! We were excited to see the Wallendas high-wire act and they didn't disappoint although the fact that they do their entire act without a net made my heart race.

Bri, a twelve year old girl goes up an 80 foot sway pole and does a whole routine at the top. Thankfully, I didn't have to hold my breath and watch that since it was raining and she couldn't go up the pole.

We also caught a stage show where the highlight for us was the cat and dog show. It was dark so it's not the best picture but the dogs looked so cute walking around on their hind legs with their little tuxedo jackets.

It reminded me of the merengue dog which if you haven't seen yet you need to watch it. It is amazing and creepy all at the same time.

We ended up watching the high wire act again after dark. It looked neat under the lights. If it's possible I was even more nervous the second time around.

After the high wire show a lady shot herself out of a cannon. Seriously. Why have I not gone to the FREX in ten years? We got to see it twice and Dave managed to get it on tape. I have to say the video doesn't do it justice. She flies out of that cannon.

But I'm a bit of a homebody. Little things excite me.

I somehow forgot to mention the fact that we went on three rides and I felt nauseous afterward for six hours. I attribute it to general being an adult lameness.

Casinos and Cranes

We've been on vacation all week and have been keeping pretty busy. Yesterday we went on a little road trip to Moncton and went and checked out the new casino, went out to dinner, and did some shopping. I found the cutest little paper crane charm necklace. This isn't it, but it's very similar. I sort of love it. We came home sort of late and I immediately set up shop at the dinner table folding origami. Dave said I looked like a crazy person. I told him I was learning patience. We've been having fun.

Yee Haw!

Today I went horseback riding. Also today Gail changed her facebook status to this:

Sending a shout out to Natalie the newest bronc rider in Durham. Got bucked off today...landed well...got back on!! Underwear full of horse manure but handled it all with grace.

Is it bad that the first thought that went through my head as I was laying on the ground (after making sure I didn't get kicked or stepped on) was "that was fun!"?

The Best Caramel Sauce Ever.

I finally found a squeeze bottle for the caramel sauce I wanted to make to put on, well, everything. And despite the heat wave this week I've felt like cooking and baking. So tonight ignoring the sticky, hot weather I cooked up some sticky, hot caramel. I make it sound like I slaved over a hot stove all night. When really this recipe takes 5 or 6 minutes from start to finish. So easy, and so perfect. I can't imagine why caramel sauce recipes exist that are more difficult because I'm telling you, you cannot improve upon this recipe. I promise. Recipe courtesy of Food.com. I rarely buy frozen waffles but bought some tonight on a whim. I drizzled the caramel sauce all over them for a snack. I can't wait to get some vanilla ice-cream. So so so good. So good.

1/2 cup butter (no substitutions),

1 cup brown sugar,
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream, unwhipped,
1 teaspoon vanilla extract,

1. 
   
   1. 1In a small saucepan melt butter.
2. 2Add the brown sugar; whisk until combined and thickened (about 2 minutes).
3. 3Whisk in the whipping cream, until thoroughly blended (2 more minutes).
4. 4Mix in vanilla (if using) until combined.
5. 5NOTE: this sauce will thicken up more when refrigerated.