MIMM #13: Fall Reading Week

Happy Monday! Was anyone else thankful for the extra hour this weekend? I definitely found it earlier to wake up this morning for my 8:30 a.m. Chemistry lecture, although I must say the commute back to London last night was dark and dreary since when I arrived at 8:00 p.m. it was theoretically 9:00p.m. As I mentioned on Thursday, Western incorporated a Fall reading week into this year’s timetable, although I would hardly call it a “week” given it was only 2 days long! Regardless, it was marvelous to be home and I managed to get a lot accomplished.

Thursday was Halloween! Initially I had been planning on taking Lottie to Oakville’s Halloween Parade but the rain-washed away our plans. Instead, I got some homework out of the way, followed by pumpkin carving, Halloween decorating and of course some other festive activities such as Trick-or-Treating. I was amazed that Lottie wasn’t afraid of the spooky and loud decorations in our neighbourhood. She has a brave little soul! She even clung on to her Coffee crisp chocolate bar (Her favourite block is of similar shape, size and colour) the entire night which ended up melting in the palm of her hand!

Friday started off with homework again, but by mid-afternoon I headed to Hamilton for a coffee date at Red Crow. It’s a family owned café which provided a marvelously welcoming  atmosphere. I love when coffee shops have unique mugs, electric furniture and a bookcase full of novels to borrow. Joyce and I spontaneously decided to frequent Limeridge mall because I had some time to fill before catching the go-train. We settled on Yoguen fruz as a snack despite the temperature being almost below zero. There are barely any Yoguen fruz’s left in the GTA so whenever I see one it’s an automatic “purchase”. We also got matching charms so that we will “Owl-ways” be together… Pun very much intended 🙂

Saturday morning I got great customer service at Apple, which is always marvelous. A button on my iPhone was broken and since I have Apple care I was given a new phone free of charge. My dad and I squeezed in some grocery shopping just before I met my mom, my sister Caitlin and Lottie to attend the Holiday Marketplace Craft Show at my old High School. It’s always such a treat to support local businesses and it definitely starts the holiday season off with a cheer. It’s crazy to think it is already November and that I will be home from Winter Exams in about 40 days! One of my favourite teachers who is essentially a second mom to me organizes the craft show so it was lovely to see her and her daughter! It was the first year I wasn’t helping out so I really got to explore the vendors. While I didn’t buy anything, Lottie got the next size up in one of her alpaca wool sweaters and my mom got a necklace that looks like it could be right out of the catalogue of Anthropologie.

More studying happened on Saturday (I am a student after all) but it was pleasantly interrupted by a trip to Starbucks with Caitlin! I was greeted by marvelous red and white décor because Starbucks is ahead of the game in bringing back their holiday beverages and merchandise. I helped Caitlin finish her boyfriend of three year’s anniversary gift (She made a trivia game filled with generous gifts), which was a wake-up call that I am seriously lacking in the department of boys. I guess that’s what attending an all-girls University does to you! 

Sunday I woke up “early” because of the time change, so I finished the last of my studying before adventuring out to Michaels with my mom. I was definitely in a crafty mood and ended up getting some supplies for knitting and scrapbooking. I think they’ll both provide nice study breaks and maybe I’ll be able to make a few Christmas gifts. My dad drove Marissa and myself back to University, and generously helped me carry up my laundry (Thanks mom!), textbooks and what not. I’m not a light packer, nor is Marissa, to say the least. There are still no working elevators in our residence, which makes for a tedious trudge up to the fifth floor.  I’m pretty sure I have accumulated more books, clothing and craft supplies in my University room than I have back at home. My dad also stocked my fridge with some essential healthy study snacks (yogurt, apples, oranges, 5 lbs of carrots, celery, big tub of hummus, beans, chickpeas, lentils and oatmeal) which is pretty marvelous to say the least.

Marvelous is so many things, including feeding Lottie, hugging Lottie and just being around Lottie (If you meet her you’ll know what I mean). It’s getting marks back that reflect the amount of effort you put into studying (which in my case was a lot), listening to new upbeat songs (Today’s Pop Lite is my favourite on Songza), being in the company of family (I love my parents and siblings), figuring out what I hope to become career wise (with the advice of my mom), studying (while enjoying what you learn), eating (Without guilt) and even taking naps or sleeping (because your body needs it). Thanks Katie for hosting Marvelous in My Monday so I could reflect on how fortunate I am to have had such a marvelous weekend. Can’t wait to share what is in store for November later this week. What marvelous events do you have planned for this new month? ♥ Molly

“Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” –H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Halloween Recap

Happy Belated Halloween! Is that even such a saying? Well it is now since I disappeared from the blog world long enough to miss one of my favourite celebrations… Or what used to be!

Lottie’s pumpkin is her twin complete with a bow and soother since those are her signature accessories! 

I’m pretty sure I could still pass for a trick-or-treater but I gave up being greedy in grade 10 when I declared myself “too cool” to dress up. I was never the child with a pillow case (my mom always sewed me cute bags) but don’t be fooled I still collected my fair share of candy because it was a competition between my brother and I who could run the fastest and accumulate the most chocolate. Afterwards we’d sort and trade, organizing them in rows based on their colour and variety. 3/4 of my haul went uneaten considering most chocolate wasn’t nut free, but it was fun nonetheless. I still remember getting chocolate milk or pop from the house on the corner, gum from the dentist, and full sized chocolate bars from the family who worked at Mars. One year we gave out Dips bars because my Dad worked for Quaker, but nowadays we give out mini play-doh!

I bet you could have guessed I’d carve an owl pumpkin! Thanks to my mom’s rubber gloves I finally didn’t react to the seeds!

This year the spark of Halloween was recreated since I took Lottie out trick or treating. As a child my costumes were always homemade by my mom and she continued the tradition by sewing Lottie her red cape. We called her Lottie Red Riding Hood and I think she stole the hearts of many homes that we visited. 

… and then she got scared by the big bad wolf

I celebrated Halloween as both Madeline (A throwback since Halloween was on a Thursday this year) and Eloise. While I didn’t attend any dances, on Tuesday our residence had a mini party with candy apples, punch and a pumpkin carving competition. It was a perfect ending after 6 hours of classes! I threw together a last minute costume (Thanks Kelsy for the suspenders) which had me looking pretty close to my favourite six-year-old character. Did anyone else use to envy Eloise who lived in a Plaza with her “rawther” British Nanny, cat-look-a-like pug Weenie, and turtle Skipperdee? I sure wish I had room service or at even just a flat in New York City. I also decorated miniature pumpkins with sharpie markers thanks to the Brescia student council. Definitely a good way to de-stress mid week and a perfect alternative to carving pumpkins since I get welts from the seeds. 

Western’s 2 day fall “reading week” could not have come at a better time. Although I have two midterms, a test and a Food handler’s certificate to study for next week, I look forward to catching up on some much-needed rest, family time, friend gatherings, blogging and coursework. It was nice to be home to celebrate Lottie’s first Halloween. Do you have any fond memories from Halloween? What was your first costume and what did you dress up this year? Do you get scared by Haunted houses or graveyards? ♥ Molly

What is a mummy’s favourite type of music? Rap music

What is a skeleton’s favourite instrument? The trombone

Where do movie stars go on Halloween? MaliBOO

What does a bird say at Halloween? “Twick or tweet”

What is Dracula’s favourite fruit? A neck-tarine