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Canadian Museums for Your Next Family Road Trip

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Our family loves a good museum visit. And any time we visit a big city -- from New York City to Toronto -- we'll make sure to carve out time to check out that city's premiere museum. But we also like to find the smaller, hidden gems that don't make it into the tourist guides. These are often run by faithful locals who are just as interesting (or more so!) as their collection. We've even been known to visit a city solely because of its museum, … [Read more...]

And … We’re Back!

A pic from the University of Melbourne campus.

It's been six weeks, more than 32,000 kms in the air, and another 6,000 kms by car since I announced that we had landed in Australia. I had great plans for blogging as we travelled, since I prefer to write while it's all fresh and exciting. But alas, I ran into troubles accessing WiFi and paid outrageous amounts of $$ to my cell phone provider for service and then finally just had to give up and accept that I would not be "connected" with all … [Read more...]

Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Australia

Despite the winter weather, there were some beautiful buds.

It's hard to believe that these amazing grounds in the Victoria state of Australia were once unusable swamp land outside of the city of Melbourne. Now, these beautiful and calming gardens, which are the Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne, are the perfect place to raise the spirit of the groggy, jet-lagged traveller. While the locals will tell you there's not much to see in winter (June to August in this hemisphere of the world), we … [Read more...]

Our Epic Adventure: 6 Weeks in Australia

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Wondering what's up with the radio silence around here? I've been itching to write and share .... but just haven't had a spare moment to do so between end-of-school events with the kids, packing, and then actually doing the travelling bit! And, now -- yes! -- we are here in Australia for our epic adventure. It's something we've been wanting to do for some time now. But as you can imagine, it takes a lot of planning and saving to actually pull … [Read more...]

Taking the Kids to NYC: Our Top 5 Highlights

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NYC with kids? Yes, it's do-able and we did it! We are fortunate enough to have friends in NYC, so it makes taking a last minute trip a whole lot easier. Usually, however, it is either Hubby or I taking a solo trip. This time, we took the kids. With Max now 5 years old and Stella now 11, travel is also a whole lot easier. So we felt that the Christmas school holiday break was a window we couldn't resist. We left on December 30th and drove … [Read more...]

Historic Hotels: The King Edward, Toronto

the king edward hotel, toronto

The King Edward Hotel opened its doors in 1903. One hundred years later, I had my first stay here. I can't believe I hadn't stayed in this hotel before! The place is magic. It has hosted dignitaries, celebrities, and artists the world over. From Mark Twain to Margaret Thatcher, the Beatles to Britney Spears -- this hotel has stories to tell. And I suspect many of these stories are rolling around in the Crystal Ballroom. Closed down in the late … [Read more...]

Downtown New York City with Kids (Part 2 of 2 of NYC with Kids)

Chelsea Highline park in NYC.

In Part 1, Sarah shared so many awesome things to do with kids in Midtown New York City with kids that I'm not sure I'd ever even make it out to Downtown! But all that means is that I would need to schedule another trip to NYC ... darn, I would hate that. ;) Here, she share her favourite spots for kids in the Downtown region of New York City.  DIGGING DOWNTOWN NYC WITH THE KIDS (by guest poster: Sarah McCormack) Depending on what part of … [Read more...]

Midtown New York City with Kids (Part 1 of 2 on NYC with Kids)

Herckscher park in NYC

I really admire people who not only manage to travel with their kids but to do it on a reasonable budget (because let's be real, it's easy to do amazing vacations if money is no option!). Sarah is just such a person. She just amazes me with how she is able to plan fabulous trips for her family. This year, she went to New York City with her husband and her two boys. But it wasn't the first time she'd done this -- it was the 5th time she and her … [Read more...]

Top 5 Strange Facts about Ants (+ Ottawa Giveaway to see “The Hidden Life of Ants” at the Canadian Museum of Nature)

Weaver ants

Most of us have heard of some strange facts about ants. They are a curious species, with their queens and workers. But you can learn some of the lesser known facts about ants at an exhibit opening in Ottawa TODAY, July 26th, at the Canadian Museum of Nature. For the first-ever stop in Canada, an exhibit on loan from the Smithsonian that features 39 captivating large-format images from Mark W. Moffet's body of work. So, if at this point in the … [Read more...]

Saturdays with Stella: Have you been to Halifax?

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Stella is my 10-year-old daughter and on Saturdays, I let her rent this space from me because she thinks blogs are cool. It is her hope that her writing will appeal to kids her age as well as to the adults who read here too. (For the intro to Saturdays with Stella, click here.) This week, Stella wants to tell you all about Halifax, which we visited last summer on our holidays. source Halifax: A Wonderful Place to Visit! If you ever go to … [Read more...]

Arriving into Chicago

Reception - Hotel Sax Chicago

On Saturday, I flew to Chicago. I am attending a trade show on Tuesday for work, so I thought I'd arrive early and see some sights. I've never been to Chicago, and I always feel like it's a real shame when one travels for business and never gets to see anything but the hotel and the meeting rooms. So whenever possible, I try to book a vacation day before or after and take in a little bit of the atmosphere. Before arrival, my knowledge of … [Read more...]

School for Bloggers: Snapshots from last week in New York City (#BWENY12)

I was in NYC to attend Blog World and New Media Expo (which has just been renamed to New Media Expo, since it's about far more than blogging. It was a very full schedule with something for everyone!

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School for Bloggers: I am in NYC to Stuff my Brains Silly (#BWENY)

Hi friends! I travelled to New York City today to take in BlogWorld and New Media Expo (#BWENY). I got a lot out of this conference last year, so I've come back again for more. Plus, The Bloggess is going to be here. Icing on my cake. Here's what I will be up to for the next three days. (Sadly, no Broadway Shows are on this agenda!) BlogWorld Show Directory View more documents from Scott Barrett … [Read more...]

Sightseeing in Seattle

Seattle folks *really* love their city!

It's Sunday evening and I am sitting in an airport waiting. Although actually seeing new places keeps me alive, the travel to get there is so tedious. And I seem to dislike it more with each passing year. I'm returning from Seattle. I flew in on Wednesday afternoon for work, and despite a busy schedule and it raining cats and dogs the whole time I was there, I managed to get to see a lot of the city's sights. It's a cool city. Sort of feels a … [Read more...]

Beautiful Book Stores: McNally Jackson Books, NYC

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I've been meaning to tell you about this book store for ages. Ever since I returned from my October trip (Month of Me!) trip to New York City, that is. I already told you about Spoonbill and Sugartown Booksellers, but Kerry and I also visited another independent book store by the name of McNally Jackson Books. Photo credit: Yvonne Brooks. Photo source: McNally Jackson Books. McNally Jackson Books is in the NoLita district of Manhatten, … [Read more...]

Impractical Purchasing, NYC edition, part 1

Trying to do my best sexy librarian look.

As of late, it has come to my attention that I am an impractical girl. I have been stubbornly resisting this label. I like to consider myself a practical person -- getting what needs to get done done, leaving the rest; buying sensible, well-priced things; leaving the rest. Sadly, I think this might have been a case of living in suspended disbelief. My first hint should have been the fact that Hubby does not let me do the grocery shopping. His … [Read more...]

Beautiful Book Stores: Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers, NY

I can remember my father telling me that when he was young he dreamed of having a house full of books and art. I can also remember the look of contentedness he had on his face as he sat in his own home telling this to me. You see, I can never remember us living in a home that wasn't full of books and art. Granted, there were always far more books than art. Much of the artwork that we had on the walls when I was a kid was of his own creation. … [Read more...]

“Month of Me” post #07: Why yes, I am at another blogging conference

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"Month of Me" is a little ol' wild and crazy concept: In October, the month I celebrate my 40th birthday, I will do a whole slew of things that I love. Just because. You can read the kick-off post here.  Okay, so I'm back in Toronto. Again. For a blogging conference. Again. I know ... to most of you, this just sounds coo-coo! And I certainly don't blame you for thinking that. But hey, it's my month and I do love me some bloggers and some … [Read more...]

“Month of Me” Post #06: NYC Street Art — the fabulous and the just plain strange

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Wandering around Brooklyn and Manhattan, it is impossible not to notice the street art everywhere. Some of it could rightly be called the more derogatory term of "graffiti" but a lot of it is truly "art." If you could spray paint on the surface, then in all likelihood, someone had. I am more interested in street art these days than I used to be, and I attribute this to the documentary-styled film "Exit Through the Gift Shop." I've embedded a … [Read more...]

“Month of Me” post #05: Here are 9 things that I had never seen or done before yesterday

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  #1:  Stayed in Brooklyn, New York. I've never visited Brooklyn before. But I would encourage anyone to do so, it's very vibrant and there are a ton of interesting neighbourhoods. Williamsburg, in particular, is quite "hip." #2: Baseball played on concrete. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that there is no sliding into home plate. On this large concrete are, two teams were playing back to back. #3:  A store … [Read more...]

“Month of Me” post #004: Photo Recap of the Fun Stuff from Day One of the She’s Connected Conference

racing

Howdy everyone! So yesterday started off very bright and early (actually, why is it "bright" and early because, really, it's "dark" when you need to get up early, isn't it?)! Me and my bloggy buddy Andrea (otherwise known as @missfish and she is AWESOME  and she totally didn't lock the keys in her car) drove to Toronto to attend the first day of the She's So Connected Conference. We had planned to arrive just in time to hear the opening … [Read more...]