Let Me Paint You a Picture

Today I looked around my bedroom and decided I had to finish some of my half-done or partly dreamed up projects before I get to start any new ones... So the top of the project box had these frames on it. I got the frames around Christmas from my most amazing aunt. Claire and I were really excited and quickly realized that perhaps we needed to put them in a different place since we had so many and they were so great. So I thought-and thought about it, and they gathered dust in my bedroom project pile box.
And after I decided that they did need to go above the table I then had to figure out how to place them eclectically but still neat and orderly; hip and trendy yet still traditional to go with the rest of our decor. So I thought-and thought about that too.
NOW is the time. I have purchased the hangers for every frame and when the weekend rolls around I will hang them! on the wall!

So here I need some help.

I arranged them in a million different ways, if I were better at math I could tell you the count for the countless possibilities of arrangements.
Instead I will show you some of the ones we like. And by we I mean the 1 yr old, 3 yr old and the designer duck that I consulted with for this project.

Which do you like best? The more responses I get the more likely it is that Monday will arrive with these hung on the wall, and pictures of this completed project on here. So suggest away-

What do you like? What don't you like?

Which do you like best?
I thank you, Claire thanks you, Nick thanks you and the duck thanks you.

Where Was I? OH Yes, Canada!

So we drove for a little bit before we crossed the St. Lawrence into Montreal. (yes that's the lovely picture above that I took of the lovely city on our approach) We arrived at our hotel and got settled after some overflow issues. (overbooking so we got one bed instead of two, and parking further away since the regular lot was full) The kids went right to bed and didn't wake up until 8am. (This was a GREAT vacation) We took some time getting ready and spent a lot of timelooking out our 25th floor window, who knew bendy buses and commuter trains could be so fun?!
After an overpriced buffet breakfast we set out. First stop the Biodome! (a very large greenhouse or similar structure with a controlled internal environment in which plants and animals from regions are kept in conditions similar to nature or much warmer or colder) The biodome in Montreal was a big hit. The animals were right there for the kids to look for and find and there was plenty of room to run around (surprisingly it was not very crowded).

The puffins were the cutest, they would come right up to the glass and follow the kids, Claire was making faces at one of them and every time she would make a face it would puff up it's feathers. :)
Also they had capibaras and I got to sound all informed (thanks Sara!). I was really surprised to see just how big they were. The kids had a blast seeing everything and 'using' the binoculars.

But our adventures weren't over yet. Montreal also boasts the tallest leaning structure in the world. Conveniently it is located right next door to the biodome. So UP we went, WAY up!

In that second picture is the botanical gardens, the second largest if I remember right. But we didn't do that this time, cold weather and all. Largest bonsai collection according to my friend Steph's research.

After this much activity we just wanted to sit down and eat, maybe a nap?

Baguettes for all!

After lunch we wandered around in what we think was the underground city. But everything seemed to be closed (it was a Sunday?).
Time to think about home. Claire really wanted to go back to the hotel and swim, too bad we had already checked out. :(
On our way out of the city we caught a bit of Old Montreal. Just enough to make us want to come back again when it is warm so we could wander the streets and explore the little shops and things.

Home again, Home again. So soon. Even though I was apprehensive in the beginning it turned out to be the perfect little weekend excursion.

French Road Trip

So I looked up brioche, I found a recipe- but also a review that said it was a gooey, messy and fattening bread. While delicious I decided to go a different direction to explore my French-ness. How about Canada! They speak French there.
OK so it happened like this. Jimmy woke up and said 'what should we do today' then he sat down at the computer and about 5 min. later he says 'let's go to Montreal'. Any other person might have discounted this as just a dream out loud. But with Jimmy I knew he was serious. I protested, worried about the long travel time, the not knowing what we would even do up there with two kids and so forth. He persisted and I started packing, because when he gets this way if you don't pack you'll end up in a foreign country with no underwear or toothbrush or worse, no diapers. After a quick google search for things to do in Montreal- and a check of some logistical things you need to do in order to leave the country.
We hit the road! For Canada!
On the way up the kids were wonderful, sleeping, playing together, just spectacular.
And when dinner time rolled around we were looking for a place to stop and I saw signs for Glen Falls, I thought to myself that my friend Steph lives there... oh wait that's Hudson Falls... oh well. The next sign said Hudson Falls! YAY. So we called them up and met them for dinner. It was so good to get to visit with friends and see their little girl, who is adorable. At that point I could have just turned around and gone home, my weekend was significantly full of good surprises. But onward we went.
When we crossed the border the crossing agent was surprised we were coming to Canada... in the middle of winter... when it is -4 with the windchill. But that's how we are.
I missed most of the entry into Canada because it was about 1am and I was fighting sleep; Jim was driving cause he loves me like that :)
This is getting really long. I'll continue our adventures later... I promise the next one will have pictures.

Totellini Soup

For Christmas my loving husband got me a genetics test. (yeah it's kinda like the car seat covers) But I spit in a test tube and sent it away anyway (thanks Ami) and now many weeks later I get the results. It tells me what drugs may work best or not at all for me. It tells me that Nick had only a 22% chance of having blue eyes (and confirms once and for all that he's my son, so Jim will finally let it rest) (I guess it was a gift for me after all) :)
It also tells me where 'My People' come from. This is very important to my husband and his family... and most of NYC. I never gave it much thought before I got married and then I moved here and everyone, and I do mean everyone, wants to know 'what you are'. A question that would offend many elsewhere in the country, but here it's like asking what someone does for a living.
And everyone has an answer.. except me. I admit the first time I was asked I might have pretended not to hear the question cause I didn't know how exactly to answer. Then I went with a simplified 'German/Polish mix' answer... but then they wanted to chat about what that meant.. like what special holidays, customs, traditions we had... and they didn't appreciate the 'dancing in a pig trough' answer and since I have never been to either Germany or Poland I had little to add and felt almost embarrassed.
So now I can just tell them that I am English, German, French, a little Swedish and wait for it....

Italian.

Now I am not convinced of the accuracy of these tests since it also discounts any Native American connections. (If you have info about this I'd love to hear it) (like that I've been lied to for years about my ancestry)
But it's interesting none the less and I have chosen to explore what it means to me though food. So tonight we explored my Italian roots (which this test seems to think comes from my grandmother) (Does Gram Lane strike you as Italian?) (Weinzierl--sounds Italian to me).
I made Tortellini Soup! It was really good. I will make it again.
I think I'll try French next-- Brioche anyone?