THANK YOU VANESSA

My friend V sent me this picture of these beautiful Jessica Swift rain boots- Waiting for Rain...

Super Sweet addition to Welly Wednesday!

LOVE DAY

We had an amazing family Valentines Day. Connor performed 4 ballads that he had been practicing all week for us. Chocolates, cheese, flowers and lego were exchanged and Steve made Beef Welly & Chocolate Cake.

After accepting an invitation to be my valentine, Connor and I went for a huge walk around the city hoping to give the baby some incentive to join us on love day- no luck, he's a patient little guy and a true "Walker" meaning he will come in his own time not when anyone tells him to.

As promised here is a picture of my gift for Steve, heart shaped cheese from the Olive Shed on Gloucester Rd. The perfect gift for my culinary genius husband to go with the 12 hour no knead bread that he made this week.

Happiness Adds and Multiples as you Divide it with Others

Valentine’s Day is a favourite holiday of mine; I think mostly because growing up my parents  made a point of showing their love for their children on Valentine’s Day. This in turn, has made this holiday about showing love for family and friends, in addition to that special someone. So whether you’re single or spoken for, I encourage you to share your love…and hopefully happiness today.

My lovely friend Christy, has shown me the love by giving me the opportunity to guest blog today. I thought I would share my review of a book I read recently called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. This should tie in nicely with my heart-themed post – with love and happiness being so closely connected.

The Happiness Project

This book was a happy affirmation of the abundance of good in life. It created an environment for reflection on various elements of life – love, work, and play. I was notably drawn to the following statement several times: the days are long, but the years are short. This statement, for me, is a reminder to appreciate – people, moments, and feelings – yet in the same breath, a coping mechanism – to fail, to hurt and to heal. As an enticement to delve into this worthwhile read, here is a compilation of items for reflection that caught my attention:

“Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.” ~ William Butler Yeats

Love:

•  Vulnerability is the new strength
• Long-term happiness requires you to give up something that brings happiness in the short term
•  If I can enjoy the present, I don’t need to count on the happiness that is (or isn’t) waiting for me in the future
•  “The best way out it always through” ~ Robert Frost 

Work:

• It’s okay to ask for help
• If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough
• If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly
•  If your willing to take the blame, people will give you responsibility

Play:

• Realize, experientially, that life is way too short NOT to follow your passion
• I grieve for my limitations, but my passions give me such joy
• Find happiness in circumstances of poverty as well as in circumstances of plenty
• If I wanted to find happiness, I have to carry happiness with me 

I recently met a new friend, and long story short; it is the brevity of life that motivates her. I found the significance of this statement overwhelming at our first meeting. However, this sentiment remained with me, and The Happiness Project, in a kind, less overwhelming way, brings the brevity of life home for me. I have a greater appreciation for my new friend’s motivation.

I would love to know your thoughts if you’ve read this book…or if any of my musings attracted you to read the book…

Have a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

xo

WELCOME BACK

It has to be said....Welcome back Adele- An excellent performance at the Grammy's last night, as well as gorgeous style! Although I wasn't able to watch the Grammy's, I woke up very early this morning to catch up on all of the top performances I  missed. Amazing! xoxo

LOVE FOOD

Steve took me to the Love Food festival over the weekend.

There were so many delightful foods on showcase some of which I wasn't able to test out like sushi,  Cornish oysters by ‘Mangez Moi’  & champagne at the Champagne and Raw Chocolate Lounge. I did sample some of the sweets and enjoyed mulling over the heart shaped pork pies and so many fancy cupcakes. If you were looking for ideas for your valentine this was a great place to get them. I know exactly what I'm getting Steve, although I didn't see it at the festival- it should have been there. I'll let you know what it is tomorrow, just in case he's reading this later. ;)

  I've really been missing sushi during this pregnancy. I just said to Steve the other day, "Do you think when I go into labour we can go out for sushi, would it do any harm then?" I might have to question my midwives about that!

 Halifax, NS (Canada) has the most amazing farmers market with so many great local businesses. When I would venture there over the weekends, I loved sampling the Oysters for a dollar- perfect breakfast- if you were indulging the evening before, that is.

Sampling all this amazing fresh local food makes me want to have a garden so bad. I can't wait to get settled in Canada this fall and hopefully start working out my green thumb before the frost hits Ontario.

I hope everyone had a sparkly weekend loving all their favourite things! xoxo

thestorecupboard@yahoo.com -Maggie Hughes

BLOOMERS

How sweet are these knitted bloomer's? Oh, if only I could knit more than an on-going scarf.......

AND I QUOTE

DON'T KISS TOADS

LOVE

CANADIANS PREDICT EARLY SPRING

Happy Ground Hog Day friends!

WHAT MAKES TRUE LOVE

Happy February!!! TRUE LOVE STORIES - To kick off February I found this amazing link to Tiffany & Co's True Love Stories.... enjoy.

REAL FRIENDS

Wear wellies together!

Ha!! In a perfect world, but SOME of my closest girls scoff at my obsession with rubber boots & that is OK I love them anyway. xoxo