Woman in Real Life

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I love to head into the heart of Toronto on weekends to explore neighbourhoods and visit restaurants. Some of our most enjoyable experiences as a family have come from exploring Toronto neighbourhoods like High Park, Kensington Market, Harbourfront and Queen Street West.

Happy Insta-Friday! I hope you are all recovering nicely from the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

I am sharing a look at our family cell phone photos from the past week, beginning with our "date" last Saturday. As I mentioned before, my parents were staying with us, so we took the opportunity to have them babysit. We saw the Frida and Diego show at the Art Gallery of Ontario and then went for dinner in Kensington Market.

We decided to catch the Picasso show at the Art Gallery of Ontario for a second time. This time, my husband's sister and her girls came with us.





Trying to photograph four children can be difficult.





We headed back to the AGO for Family Sunday. One niece tagged along. Here she is demonstrating "planking" on a bench in the gallery. I had never heard of this.

Wikipedia says Planking (or the Lying Down Game) is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. Both hands must touch the sides of the body. Having a photograph taken of the participant and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game.

I'm not sure about the arm rule, but I guess I have helped them with the Internet part of the game.


Here is my daughter planking.


They created Picasso-inspired art.






And saw some other cool art. (The images are painted on these TVs.)


We had a great time, and my niece was inspired to do some more research at home.

Have a wonderful weekend!


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Don’t you think this photo makes this guy look like a bobblehead doll?


This is me and my husband, trying to figure out where you are supposed to look when you take your own picture.


The next day, we took the kids to the Art Gallery of Ontario for a members’ preview of the Picasso exhibition. I love all of Picasso’s artwork—the sketches most of all.





The kids got their own audio guides. This really helped to occupy them as we went through the show. They started to complain of hunger, but we were close to being done, so that is a small victory.


We rested briefly after the show and reviewed the kids' activity sheets.


Then we headed to a nearby restaurant for all-you-can-eat sushi. I had never had banana sushi before. Amazing how they sliced the banana so thinly and artfully placed it on top. It was delicious too!


Here we are with the art gallery and the CN Tower behind us.


Here is my son in front of a graffiti-style wall. He is very artistic and he loves this sort of thing.


After we got home from the gallery, it was time to head to our friends’ house for dinner, and, as you can see, drinks.



After dinner, it’s usually time to break out the guitars.


I don’t play an instrument, so I am one of the “groupies.” I also enjoyed the cozy ambiance.

I have lots of cell phone photos to share this week. I threw together some collages as quick as I could, because today is a PA Day and the kids are home from school.

My son is content with his portable video game, but I can’t let that go on all day…or can I?

No, I think we’ll make some goodies to occupy them…maybe some muffins or some peanut butter cookies…maybe both.


Last Sunday, we went to the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Family Sunday again.


This time, the kids made zoetropes—devices that produce the illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures. The family area has a visible vault so that you can see the sculptures being stored. My son is standing in front of a giant hockey player. We also did a little tour of some other areas—see the “igloo” covered with a giant quilt…how cool is that?


We bought a poster of Gerhard Richter’s “Helga Matura.” My husband and I both love that painting—and the poster was 70% off. You can’t beat that! The picture on the right is a portrait that my husband made.


My daughter really wanted to celebrate Chinese New Year, so the kids decorated the house with some Happy New Year posters and we ordered some delicious Chinese food (above left). I am a bit tofu-obsessed, which might seem strange to some people, but have you tried the extra-firm? The two photos (middle and right) show a tofu recipe from Nava Atlas’s Vegan Express—“Spicy Tofu Triangles on a Cool Bed of Lettuce,” with a side of potatoes and sweet potatoes in an olive oil vinaigrette.


My husband’s students had exams this week, which gave him time to go for lunch—all you can eat veggie sushi. I want more every time I look at the photos. I never used to like sushi—now it’s an addiction.


I already had two blenders, and yet I went ahead and bought a Magic Bullet. I don’t regret it though, because the kids can make their own individual smoothies now. They make it right in the mug, put on a lid, and they are ready to go anywhere with a smoothie in hand.


I went to the library this week, and what did I get? Cookbooks. See that picture on the right? That’s the cookbook shelf in my kitchen. Clearly, another addiction of mine. I read ‘em while I watch TV.

 
Have a great weekend!

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We had another busy week, with the four of us still home for Christmas vacation. Here are some of our cell phone photos from the past seven days.

This makes it look like we were very productive, but there were several days spent in pyjamas too.

Although, like most parents, I get a lot done even when I'm in pyjamas. Let me see, there's laundry, cooking, dishes, baking, tidying, cleaning...I could go on, but you know what I mean.

I headed to a local yarn shop for their post-Christmas sale. I took an introductory knitting class there last February and have yet to finish the scarf I started then. Some ladies in the waiting room at my daughter’s ballet class have suggested we work on a lovely scarf project each week while we wait. I picked up the supplies for that and some needles for the kids. Every time I want to knit, they do too, so I figured they should have the right equipment for the job.

For the first time ever, we celebrated New Year’s Eve just the four of us. We ate some Chinese food (yum), played some games, threw some blankets and pillows on the floor and just vegged together. Believe it or not, the kids said this was the best New Year’s Eve ever. Just goes to show you once again, all they want is your undivided attention once in a while.

On New Year’s Day, the four of us went to the Art Gallery of Ontario for Family Sunday.



We saw the Chagall exhibit, and the kids were given companion activity guides, which kept them busy looking for images in the paintings. Very helpful, as they would normally be “bored.”



We also participated in art activities related to The Adventures of Tintin. My son had just seen the movie, so it was good timing.



The kids made boats and attempted to float them in a pool of water. They also created treasure maps and the (foil) “bottles” to put them in. A Cape Breton fiddler was on hand to provide entertainment, along with some step dancers. Back at home, we made an arugula salad with sautéed mushrooms on top, inspired by one we had at Bar Italia the week before. Delicious with a light olive oil vinaigrette.






I noticed my ice cream maker sitting lonely in the cold cellar, and decided ice cream in the winter wouldn’t hurt anyone. I made a cookies-and-cream recipe from Lick it! Creamy, Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. We sandwiched it between the few remaining chocolate chunk cookies I had made before.

 

We made this “15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta” from Oh She Glows. I was hoping it would be terrific, but not really expecting it to be, since it’s so easy to make. I doubled the recipe so the whole family could have some. Turns out, it’s delicious. Next time, I have to put a little bit less of my brother-in-law’s home-grown garlic, though. I loved it, but the kids found it a bit much for their tastes. Bloglovin Have you tried subscribing to your favourite blogs through Bloglovin yet? I like the way they send daily email updates to show when bloggers have shared new posts. Plus, if you go to their website, you see a little summary with enticing photos so you can quickly choose which entries you want to read. If you want to follow MY blog ;) you can go HERE. I so appreciate people taking the time to follow me with Bloglovin, email or GFC. It truly makes my day!