Vacation!

Just saying goodbye for the next little while. Tomorrow morning I'm leaving on a jet plane! Destination, Florida.  I've been checking the weather like crazy and although it isn't quite as hot as I'd like it to be, I'll take this:

Over this:

ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.  

No offense Hamilton, I really do love you.  I'll be spending 7 whole days with my lovely cousin and her mother (my aunt on my dad's side of the family). I'd love it if all the women (mom/grandma/cousin-in-law) in my family could have come, but with work, operations and babies it just couldn't be done.  Maybe one day!

I'm looking forward to just relaxing on the beach, after such a hard few months.  

The place we are going to be spending our time is the resort my family went to every year when I was younger, so it holds some sentimental value for me as well as being a fun vacation.  I spent some great times with my little bro here, playing on the beach and visiting the pier.  And with my grandpa who passed away a few years ago.  And my Aunt is a pro-shopper so I can't wait to hit the stores with her.  

And it's Halloween while we are there, and I finally decided on a costume! I'm going to be Minnie Mouse.  How fitting, right?  I'll definitely post a few pictures of my costume here when I get back, maybe even a "how to" (I pride myself in my ability to put together a really fun costume, no pre-made costumes for this gal!).

Anyways folks, keep warm and I'll be back next week!  MWAH. 

Halloween, Florida Style

I'm heading to Florida at the end of the month with my cousin and my aunt for a little relaxing and fun in the sun! I love love love Halloween, it's my favorite holiday! Tied with my birthday. Yes, I consider my birthday a holiday. LONG WEEKENDS FOR ALL!
When I realized I'd be away for Halloween, I was really disappointed. I love going out in Hamilton with my friends and seeing everyone all dressed up. But I realized, Florida is warm in October! Warm Halloween! It's a Halloween miracle!
So I'm currently on the hunt for a Halloween costume. Requirements as follows: cute, not too unoriginal, warm weather appropriate and easy to pack.
I've had a few ideas so far, so I'm on the hunt to see which is easiest to put together.

Idea #1- Zebra.
This was my original idea and I was really pumped for it. I have a black dress that I can stripe with white duct tape already, so I went to Party Packagers to see what accessories they had.
This is sort of what I had in mind.

Awesome mane-style hair! (Jana's idea).

The zebra selection was pretty dismal. Some striped stockings and some cat ears that had black and white stripes.  Lame. I also tried out my own version of this zebra makeup and failed dismally (that may be attributed to the three glasses of wine prior to makeup application, so there will be a re-do).
Anyways, I don't have high hopes for zebra this year.

Idea #2- Peacock.

Again, I'm trying to keep it simple, but still fun. I already have an awesome blue dress, so I figure I can rig up some kind of tail, do some awesome makeup or even find a cool peacock mask.

This girl has the right idea with the tail!

I haven't gone out on the hunt for things I can use for peacock, so I need to do that this weekend. 

I also thought about Minnie Mouse, you know, in Florida? Cute, right? And just imagine the eyelashes I could wear. Love me some fake lashes.  Or a little too on the button? And does Minnie have a tail?  (I Goggled, she does).

I've always wanted to be Leia too, and that would be easy enough. And the wig- so fun. We know how I feel about wigs. And Rich would love this! 

Any other suggestions? I'd love some ideas! What are you being for Halloween?

Z is for Zoo

In these last few weeks of weather that is warm enough to enjoy time outside, Rich and I have been trying to do as many fun things as we can.  This weekend, after much debate, we decided that we'd go to the Toronto Zoo.  I haven't been to the zoo in year, maybe even since elementary school, so I was pretty pumped. After making Rich swear to stop calling it "The Animal Jail", we packed up a picnic lunch and headed out. 

I don't know why I was so excited, maybe it was such a throw back to being an innocent kid, or maybe it was knowing I'd see my favorite animals ever, the elephants, up close and personal, but I honestly was so so pumped. There may have been some excited running and pointing a few times throughout the day. 

 Rhinos are smelly, they also have awesome, armor plate like skin. So I forgive their smelliness. 

This is not a warthog. It is some sort of bush pig. However , the woman beside me clearly didn't read the sign because she kept singing all of the Pumba parts of "Hankuna Matta". Repeatedly. 

I don't know what it is about the elephants that I love so much. I did a project on them in grade four and I've loved them ever since. And honestly, that project was seriously kick ass.  I got an A.

A Harry Potter parsel-tongue Boa. That's the officially Latin name.

I'll have to upload the rest of my Gorilla pictures when I get a cord for my camera. They were so amazing. This big Silverback got his celery and came and sat right at the fence and chowed down, while watching us like we were the zoo animals. 

Giraffes are on my list of "strange but awesome" animals. That list also include the platypus.  

The grizzly bear, surprisingly, was one of my favorite animals this time. He was massive, and I read that they can run as fast as a horse over a long distance. Man. All of that stuff they tell you about what to do if you encounter a bear? Total garbage. If this guy decides he wants you for lunch, that is all their is to it. 

SLOTH!

I got to watch this little Kookaburra eat his cricket lunch, he was pretty friendly and posed like a boss for me. 

Watching the penguins under the water makes you not feel so bad they can't fly. Lovely.

Otter! They are so fun and playful. And also, totally my spirit animal.

Seahorses are pretty cool too, the papa seahorse is in charge of the eggs and the momma bails. Love it.

Rich's favorite are the jellies. 

The day really was great, and the cool weather made it perfect for walking. I even wore comfy shoes, and walked the whole time without my feet getting sore. That's kind of epic for me. 

If you haven't been to the Toronto Zoo in ages, you should go! Tell the elephants I say hi.

PS- Remember when I said I got an awesome new camera? Well I took a whole bunch of awesome new zoo pictures and when I went to upload them for this blog....turns out I didn't have the cable to connect the camera to the computer. Ugh.  So, again, camera photos in the works.