Category: Entertainment

I am a sucker for Christmas movies; my all time favourite of course is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, however, I have been know to indulge in what my husband refers to as the, “cheesy Hallmark,” type movies. Streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix and Disney+ all offer an extensive collection of them and others. For the month of December I’ll be reviewing a Christmas movie.

Movie: Christmas in Vienna (2019)

Source: Amazon Prime

Synopsis: “An American (Amy) looking for a change of scenery heads to Vienna for Christmas. Taking ballroom dance lessons with the hope of getting into the city’s biggest ball of the season, she finds herself falling for Lukas, her dashing European dance partner.”

My Thoughts: First off, there is another movie with Sarah Drew with the same movie; however, that leading lady is a concert violinist who lost her passion. “Googlers” beware! Anyways, THIS version, was sweet and cringey as to be expected.

Within the first five minutes Amy is dumped by her boyfriend in the most humiliating way. She shows up to dinner expecting a marriage proposal but he has another “proposal” for her instead. There is the typical fast decent into love for the leads while they dance together, navigate her tendency to clumsiness and decorate his stunning home for Christmas.

No movie like this would be complete without the CLASSIC MIX UP! This being whether she has a boyfriend and the possibility of him getting back with his shrew of an ex-girlfriend. We all know it will be AND EXPECT it to be resolved so they can live happily ever after. One thing that was a bit distracting was the horrible attempts to dub some of the characters. I am not sure why there was dubbing; but someone was asleep in post-production.

Rating: 6/10

Normally every month I set three small goals for myself, but my coworkers and I are participating in a 20 Day Mental Health Challenge –so I think 20 small goals trump 3 small ones.

1	Go to bed 1 hour earlier than usual.	11	Enjoy the sun. Eat lunch outside.
2	Journal 10 things you’re grateful for.	12	Unsubscribe from unnecessary emails.
3	Take a walk outdoors.	13	Send an encouraging text to 5 people.
4	Call someone you love today.	14	Wake up 30 minutes earlier to reflect.
5	De-clutter your room or desk.	15	Plan a tea/smoothie date with a friend.
6	Take a social media sabbatical.	16	Go the entire day without complaining.
7	Make a list of short term goals.	17	Buy yourself flowers.
8	Make the most epic, creative salad you can think of.	18	Make time for a wholesome breakfast.
9	Slow down; sit and watch the sunset.	19	Do one thing you have been putting off.
10	Get rid of 5 things you never use.	20	Don’t overthink; practice being present.

Every year at work we do a whole staff costume. This year we decided to switch it up and divide into groups of 3 or 4 and then compete against each other. Some of us are VERY competitive –so it should be interesting. Our group decided on GUESS WHO characters. We has Claire, Maria & Robert!

1. Cut the center out of a heavy weight poster board; to make the “frame”

2. Use a projector to trace the “Guess Who” logo at the top with blue and red markers AND the names on the bottom

3. If your character is female; buy a red shirt and if your character is male; buy a buy shirt.

4. Use a Cricut to apply a large white question mark to the front of each

5. Source character features from places like Amazon and Dollarama

-I got a knit hat (Amazon) and used a glue gun to apply ribbon and flowers (Dollarama)…

My other “Claire Essentials” include:
-Blush
-Red lipstick
-Pearl earrings
-Cat eye glasses
-Red curly wig

My bestie has a swimming pool; we spend a lot of time floating while we sip fancy drinks and talk for hours to decompress. Here are the BEST floaties…

Canopy Island

Unicorn

The Classic Gator

Pool Lounger

Donut Floatie

If you stick these four party planning basics you’ll ensure that your “summer kick off party” a crowd pleaser…

1. Sipping on Summer
   Rather than having your guests dig through an old beat up cooler; elevate the party experience by setting up a ‘bar’ this can feature pre-made concoctions (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) or those in which some assembly is required by guests. To beat the heat I suggest: “fancy water” (fruit/herb infused), iced tea, lemonades and fizzy drinks.
   
2. Summer Snacks
   No one wants to eat a heavy meal in this heat! Base your menu around SNACKS, people get a chance to mingle more while they graze on your delicious offerings all night. This informal approach to the menu is much more relaxed and suitable for the season. Guests appreciate both variety and volume. Be mindful of budget and palate by sticking to what is in season.
   
3. Summer Shenanigans
   Make the most of the weather; don’t sit around be ACTIVE! Playing games is good for the soul –it generates lots of laughs and memories. I can’t tell you how many parties I have been to where we just sit around and talk; which is great but nothing beats a game of badminton, croquette, volleyball, ladder golf. Set up a few game stations and to sweeten the pot; buy a few silly prizes to give to the winners!
   
4. Serving Up Summer
   Ditch the paper plates and plastic cups and utensils. There are a ton of excellent summer soiree servingware. Little touches like this really up your party game!

Summer is all about kicking back. I love music and creating playlists for myself and sharing them with friends. This is one that I made for summer featuring hits from all ages.

1. Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by Brian Hyland
2. Surfin’ U.S.A by The Beach Boys
3. School’s Out For Summer by Alice Cooper
4. Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves
5. Livin’ La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin
6. Don’t Stop the Music by Rhianna
7. Summer by Calvin Harris
8. Dance the Night by Dua Lipa
9. Under the Boardwalk by The Drifters
10. Kokomo by The Beach Boys
11. Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac
12. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
13. Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz
14. Like A G6 by Far East Movement, The Cataracs & DEV
15. Club Can’t Handle Me by Flo-Rida (Feat. David Guetta)
16. Karma by Taylor Swift
17. Sugar, Sugar by The Archies
18. Do You Believe in Magic by The Lovin’ Spoonful
19. Waterloo by ABBA
20. Paradise City by Guns N’ Roses
21. Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera
22. California Gurls by Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg
23. Where Them Girls At by David Guetta, Flo-Rida & Nicki Minaj
24. Havana by Camila Cabello (Feat. Young Thug)
25. Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake

Public opinion is divided on fidgets in the classroom; but it makes my kids happy and they follow the ‘rules’ associated with their use in my classroom; ultimately –don’t throw them, don’t hit other kids with them, no fighting over them and put them away when finished.

Fidgets aren’t cheap; however, if you wait for sales, conventions or buy multi-packs, its not so bad. Also, lets face it, we are teachers we will spend whatever if it helps our kids. And, we’re well aware of and used to funding our classrooms with our own money.

Here are my kids’ favourite fidgets…

Tangle
Mini Loopeez
Boinks
Liquid Motion Bubbler
Theracubix
Sensory Slug
Senso Sphere
Snake IQ Cube
Stress Relief Magnet Rings
PopIts
Stressballs

It had been MONTHS since my best friend and I were reunited. We work opposite schedules and this year she was planning on spending Christmas abroad. We decided to have our “Best Friend Christmas” early.

The weekend was full of fun, movies and belly-laughs. I had had a really difficult week; the death of a beloved pet, battling an illness and then the death of a family member. I was 100% in need of time with her. The weather was super cold so we decided to stay put!

We started by setting up the Christmas tree and decorations while sharing some delicious Strait & Narrow gin beverages and catching up on all the recent gossip. We tried out the latest Instagram hack of stringing the lights vertically rather than wrapping them horizontally around the tree. I was skeptical but I’m not going to lie, it looks so much better and is sooo much easier! Once the tree was fully decked out in all its glory we sat beneath it and exchanged our gifts. For her a pair of cozy reading socks and a book (101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think). For me a pair of Sparkle Ball earrings from Hillberg & Berk. We feasted on Chinese food while we watched Blood, Sex and Royalty on Netflix.

You’d think on the weekend we’d sleep in! But, no, we tend to get up super early to maximize our limited time together. My best friend introduced me to Wayne Gretzky Salted Caramel Cream; we added it to our coffees. We sipped probably one too many coffees while we watched Lady Chatterley’s Lover on Netflix. And, like always we have our avocado toast for breakfast and I introduced her to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Cooking is an activity that we absolutely LOVE to do together, what better way to spend a Saturday than making sugar cookies! While they cooled we watched Falling for Christmas and A Castle for Christmas on Netflix and made use of her Sephora masks (eye, face, hand & foot).

Lunch consisted of delicious croissant-sandwiches. We thought we needed even more Christmas cheer so we made a festive cocktail, put on Spotify‘s Xmas 2022 Playlist and danced around the kitchen as we decorated the sugar cookies. Our decorating skills were slightly impaired but at least they were yummy. A classic meal we always shared at university was chicken fingers and Caesar salad, so that was a must for dinner.

Still feeling pangs of nostalgia we decided to watch Mrs. Doubtfire on Amazon Prime. Which seems like an odd choice based on all of our other activities this past weekend. But, when we were doing our Bubbling Face mask, we bust out into fits of laughter because it felt and looked like we both had taken a pie to the face. Which of course caused us to simultaneously reminisce about and imitate the scene in which the late, great Robin Williams sticks his face in frosting to hide his identity from the court appointed liasion, Mrs. Sellner. We couldn’t not watch it after that!! That moment between us, really goes to show how connected we are, how similar we are and how we just “get each other.”

Sunday mornings are always tough for us, because we have to say good-bye. We always ALWAYS have Kraft Dinner for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day binge-watching The Big Brunch on Crave.

In honour of this day; which I have no idea was even a day to be celebrated; I figured it was time for a photo dump. A photo dump of all my favourite pics!

Next weekend, a friend and I are hosting a Baby Sprinkle! We have relished very much in the planning of it, so I thought I would share what we have in store in case you need or want some inspiration. 

Number of Guests: 12

Theme: Sprinkle/Confetti

Decor: Rainbow Confetti Plates, Cups, Napkins  AND Multicolour Confetti Balloons from Party City

Food: Crudite & Dip Tray, Fruit Tray AND Panini Sandwich Tray from The Italian Centre Shops 
 Sugar Cookies (with SPRINKLES) from Confetti Sweets
Mini Confetti Cupcakes from Safeway
          Sparkling Grapefruit Party Punch 

Entertainment:
1. Guests will write funny sayings and messages on diapers to amuse our Mom-To-Be during those late night changes
2. Celebrity Baby Name Game
3. Price is Right Baby Edition Game
4. Guess how many Sourpatch Kids are in a baby bottle game

Prizes: The winner of each game with get a foaming hand soap from Bath & Body Works and a 3 pack of chocolate hedgehogs from Purdy’s

Favours: Monogram Mug from Indigo with a tea sample from David’s Tea

Gift for the Mom-To-Be: Ella Ola Essential Baby Bundle