the start of summer

this weekend jay and i were a little late, but still took advantage of kensington market's first pedestrian sunday of the summer.  first, we found a few spanish markets that sell everything we love and miss from los angeles and costa rica, including our latest addiction from this past costa rican christmas, lizano salsa!  

in search for our friends, ESCALATE!, who play at kensington's the emabassy, we found a restaurant recommended by a friend that i thought was too good to be true.

its called the grilled cheese on nassau street and is solely dedicated to perfecting the most amazing grilled cheese you could ever have. 

.   .   .

another reason why i love toronto so much!

jay wanted his phone back...or maybe just wanted me to stop taking so many photos of the best place ever!

.   .   .  

3d tv + me

i have to admit, since the 3d tv came out i had been dying to give it a test try.  not sure why i expected it to be the greatest thing in the world seeing as i have already seen a lot of 3d movies and such, but still, something about it was thrilling. 

.   .   .

 last night jay and i went shopping for a new laptop so i finally got to try a 3d tv out! it was a little less thrilling then i had imagined it would be, making my desire to own one fade out.  even though owning a brand new piece of technology would be out our financial existence anyway, another reason i probably wouldn't want one is because i couldn't look like this each day while i watched tv.

.   .   .   

ray ban should design the next pair of 3d tv glasses. 

a bit of our weekend

the girls....

...the boys...

...the view.

* * *

thanks again meg and dave for beautiful weekend getaway!

 

2011: year of the birthday beach cruisers

* * *

* * *

* * *

who's next?

summer dreaming

last summer jay and i decided that unlike the summer before, we would try to cram as many fun things as we could into summer's 3 month span.  we kept to our word which ultimately resulted in the best summer ever!

from beach volleyball to cottaging, the urban crawl and back yard bbq's, this summer has a lot to live up to in order to be better then last year.  and with the first day of summer just over a month away and my sickness of the perpetual rainy days and rainy forecasts, i find myself looking through last years summer photos more and more often.  this is one from a friends cottage last year, and definitely one of both jay's and my top favorite places we went to!

...hurry up sun.

baby viv turns 1: in photos

and to finish a perfect weekend...

. . .custer city drive-in!

baby viv turns 1

this past weekend we traveled down to pennsylvania for our baby niece's first birthday.  baby birthday girl was adorable in her pink tutu and birthday shirt!  it was crazy to see my older nieces and nephew, who will forever be babies in my mind, helping the little one learn to walk.  they are maybe getting bigger then i want to admit. 

other things i realized; eric and i should only travel across the border if jay is doing both the driving and the talking; custer city drive in is always worth it; and, most importantly, i love being a part of four generations of family who come together for one great weekend.

...more pictures to come, but for now, I chose to share my favorite! 

Derailed Cinco de Mayo

My original plan was to post pictures of our mini de mayo from last night, but we got a little frantic bottling jay's batch of beer and packing for our trip to pennsylvania this weekend, that our nachos pretty much turned into corn soup after the beans soaked in.  

however, before the chaos began, something amazing happened!  

it was the first ice cream truck of the season and i held it up at a street corner until jay met me for a mini de mayo ice cream appetizer!

i love ice cream trucks!  maybe too much.

birthday alternative

when lemon bars have already been made and the birthday boy doesn't like anything else; things get creative with skewers, Pepperettes, and a hungry group at 2am.

going...

 ...going...

...gone.

(i signed my name in the dirt)

great beginings

for months i have wanted to create this blog and excited that i am finally taking this cloudy day to do it!  to kick it off i am keeping with with the l.a.a.v. theme by featuring the people who hold the biggest spots in my heart (and who will probably show up more times then not on the this blog) .  i welcome guest bloggers to the site, sharing what makes you the happiest be it Friends and family, gelato, or clouds in the shape of animals, share it!

. . .

to start: handsome.

handsome man, love of my life, and the jay to our jaychel.  i am by far the luckiest girl for meeting someone who has the biggest heart, is the funniest person to be around, and cooks the best breakfast in the world (like the egg, cheese, onion scramble we just had in bed- he brought me coffee too.)

. . .

big sister

easily one of the most beautiful people in the world both in heart and in looks.  oh, and she is funnier then all get out too.

. . .

parents

my mom.  the most vibrant person i know.  i have learned a lot for her perseverance and youthful spirit.  

my dad.  world traveler and dashing extraordinaire.

. . .

the bestie

beautiful lady and number one optimist, if only L.A. and toronto were right across the street.

. . .

family

(sorry for the wedding photos, it's the best time to get people into groups)

there are a lot of them and i love them all.

i promise much more to come, but for now this is a small teaser or what i hope to be the start of something amazing.  

love. R

. . .