Tired but This is Awesome

I may be a little incoherent today because Little Prince hasn't been sleeping again and in my attempt to keep him quiet, I haven't been sleeping either.  This morning we went to bed when my neighbors were getting up for work.  At this point, we are both feeling the effects because parenting is hard without sleep.  I am personally doing my part to keep the coffee industry on the go.

That being said, I when I am tired I sometimes like to get out of the house for a little break and today I did go for a drive to my favorite market here in town.  I love the Dayton Red and White.  It has farm fresh fruits and vegetables.  I love walking up to the store and seeing all those lovely bins filled with so much yumminess.

The inside it is so bright, airy and organized.  And I can always find amazing deals in there (especially on meats) and the whole atmosphere is friendly and welcoming.

To me it is a fun place to be.  I sometimes drive out there just for fun.  I truly love that place!

My favorite

Anyone who knows me knows that I love coffee.  It makes me happy, sooths me when I am not well, wakes me up in the morning, helps with my headaches and is generally yummy to me.  I love the smell, the taste, and the feeling of a warm cup of coffee in my hands.  Over the years, I have become picky about my coffee.  I know a good cup of coffee and I know what kind of coffee I really like.

So I wasn't sure what to expect when decided to try the coffee food truck, Cafe x Clarke C2, I saw outside of Canadian Tire here in Yarmouth between 7 and 2.

I will say that I had heard of their daily supply of fresh baked lunch pies.  From the way people describe them, I can only assume that they are all kinds of yummy!  The man behind me in line that I spoke to said that he gets one every day for lunch!!  I find it interesting that they sell out of the lunch pies every day when the day I went they weren't even on the menu - they must be good!!

Now I can't have flour but I brought Prince Charming with me and he tried the apple cheddar scones and he was amazed at how delicious they were!

I got a medium sized, medium roast (they also offer dark roast) black coffee and it was wonderful!  It was definitely the sort of fabulous coffee I could see myself becoming addicted to!  It was so good.

The man who served us was really friendly and informative.  He provided service with a smile (actually he made laugh too).  He remembered the customers around me which is always lively to see.

This is definitely the sort of place that I love and I will be going back for a coffee on one of my trips to the many stores nearby.

Such a Wonderful Discovery!

It is such a beautiful day that I had to get out and enjoy the warmth for the sun.  And so after I walked around the Yarmouth Farmers Market, I decided to pop into the Yarmouth Visitor's Information Center.  Now to preface this, I have been to a LOT of visitor's centers over the years and most of them are fairly simple.  They are simple places with piles of brochures and informative people.  So I expected a similar smallish type place with a few brochures I could pick up to go through.

Even the outside was impressive.  There is a viewing deck where you can get a wonderful view of the harbour and Cape Forchu Lightstation.  As well as a seating area and a screen that can be seen by incoming boats!

The parking lot in front of the building is really convenient because it has designated spaces for RVs or motor coaches, and a bowl of water in a shady spot for hot doggies.   But when I walked through the doors, I was stunned!  I was truly speechless.  It was simply the most beautiful visitor's center I have ever been too.  It was bright, airy, immaculate, beautiful and so very organized.

Inside the door is a HUGE screen with an informative video playing.  And outside the door was a cute blue picnic table.  This would be a great place to sit and take a break from the hot summer sun.

I LOVED this!  I found it on the wall beside the screen, informing visitors how to tag their pictures so that they can be shared with other visitors!  How very thoughtful. 
#VISITYAS

Down over the stairs, there wasn't simply a small shelf with a jumble of brochures but there were many many shelves with brochures organized  by the area of the province you would be interested in exploring (which is perfect for a town with a ferry from the USA that brings visitors to our spectacular province.  It is completely wireless and has C@P computers and tablets available for visitors as well!!!!

I loved addition of a lighthouse that held more brochures that was organized into the types of things you might be looking for all across the province.  The lighthouse was a great addition!

Almost as soon as I walked down the stairs, one of the ladies approached me to see if she could help me find something that I might be looking for.  She was thoughtful, helpful, informative, friendly and welcoming.  And after I had explored a little, I got to chatting with all the women who work there.  They were so helpful and full of information!  They were even able to tell me about local programs that might be helpful for my autistic daughter and son!  They really were the perfect ambassadors to welcome visitors our beautiful town and a our lovely province.

I even discovered that there is a Mayor's Tea every Tuesday through July and August from 2-3pm for sweets and baked good provided by local Senior's Groups! That takes place at the Yarmouth Visitor Information Center.  How cool is that??

As I said when I started this post, I have been to a LOT of visitors centers but I have to say, this was by far the most beautiful, the most organized, and the most informative visitors center I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.  I highly recommend the Yarmouth Visitor's Information Center to anyone who wants to find out about our lovely town or our wonderful province!

So Very Much Awesome!!

I found another amazing place here in town.  It is called "The Wooden Buoy".  It is an incredible place filled with so much old world charm!!  Around every corner is a cute vignette with the most marvelous antiques, collectibles, and recycled and/or hand-made art.  It is a like an extraordinary museum where you get to purchase the exhibits!!!  And the prices were so great!  I mean when I see an antique, I expect the price to be way outside of my reach, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that all these things were priced in such a reasonable way!  I can totally outfit my house with items from this store and not break the bank to do it!!  I was so awestruck that I couldn't even take in everything and I am definitely going to be making more trips to this wonderful shop!!

Here are just a few of the wonders that caught my eye:

This cute guy greeted us at the door.  It was all I could do not to take him home with me.  Isn't he just the cutest???

When I stepped through the door I was caught off guard by the sheer vast size of the space inside.  I hadn't expected that!  And the more I explored, the larger the space seemed to be. 

The first things that caught my eye on the inside were garden art, one if a kind art, vintage, repurposed, and garden decor like this super-cute flower made with vintage dishware and the bird feeders made with vintage teacups!!  I just loved them!

In that sections of the store there so many wonderful art-pieces that I just loved. 

This crab just made me smile! 

Prince Charming fell in love with this section will all the old-time hand tools!  It spoke to his heart!  I can totally see some Christmas presents for him coming from here!

I just loved this little Indian statue.  It brought me back to my childhood and had me humming, "Kaw Liga" as I wandered further through the shop.

There were even working spinning wheels!!!

And this rocking horse was so beautiful.  I could just imagine small children enjoying him in years gone by.  Wouldn't he look sweet in the corner of a living room or by a fireplace?

This Chess set was carved into African Characters.

There were a couple of gramophones!  I wanted to take one of them home so badly!

Someone obviously worked really hard to set up these intricate, adorable vignettes!  I could totally see this as a room straight out of the past.  

The quality and selection of items in this shop was unbelievable!  Look at these toys!

I LOVE Campbell's collectibles!  Are they cool?

This top hat stopped me in my tracks!  I adore it!

I could totally see this dress-maker's form in Princess Belle's room!  And this globe belongs on the top shelf of my classroom!  It really does!

This entire shelf needs to come to my kitchen!  It is simply perfect!

These canes caught my attention too.  I would love them just like this in then entry of my home.

The uniforms were like moments of history stepped right out of the past.

I would love this in my home!  I can almost hear the children laughing.  

These guys were sitting by the door on my way out and you all know how much I love old books of all kinds!

New Discovery!!!

I love discovering new places. And I love discovering new parts of places I have previously visited!  It is wonderful to find hidden treasures!

This week I went to a store here in Yarmouth that is called, "Sandy's Gifts".   I had seen the store from the front before.  It has a super-cute storefront and looks lovely.

But I wrong assumed it was more of a souvenir shop.  Well this time, I happened to be behind the store, waiting for Prince Charming to get out the bank when I noticed the back door to the store and decided to explore.

I was thrilled to find a whole section of wonderful things for my kids!

I saw things I could use to teach my kids, things my kids would LOVE, and things that sparked my imagination.

In the front of the store, there were wonderful things for adults, but in the back of the store was a wonderful treasure trove of fabulous things.

The staff was wonderful and so very helpful and I had so much fun as I wandered through the store taking pictures of things that I want to buy!  There are just so many, but here are a few: 

This will be bought to teach the girls to tie their shoes!

A MONKEY PILLOW!!!!   Little Prince will have a backup in case anything happens to his beloved monkey pillow.  When Autism is getting the best of him, his monkey pillow soothes him. 

I will be buying this to use with the little girls!!

I have to say this is a store I am definitely going to be spending a lot of time in.  I will be shopping there for homeschool, for birthdays, and for Christmas!!!  I am so excited!!!

Book Review: IMAGINARY THINGS by Andrea Lochen

Title: Imaginary Things
Editor: Andrea Lochen
Publication: April 15, 2015
Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions

I was really excited to get the chance to read Imaginary Things by Andrea Lochen.  I have to admit, I was totally caught up in this story.  I took the book to the laundry mat with me and by the time I was done my laundry, I was also done my book!!!  I just couldn't put it down.

Imaginary Things is unlike any story I have ever read. When I picked it up, I expected a simple, magical story about a little boy and his make-believe friends. But, I found it to be so very much more than that. Anna is a young mother who is trying to do the right things for herself and her son, all while trying to protect her young child from the evil in their lives. But sometimes it's not so easy to differentiate between good and evil.  As Anna tries to understand what David's imaginary friends want and what they are trying to tell her, she has to work through what her own childhood imaginary friend meant to her. And who were the good guys in her youth? Who were the bad ones?

I truly loved this novel, it was filled with imagination.  I kept turning pages just to find out more bout the little boy who can see and talk to his imaginary friends, (big extinct lizards) and his mother who also can believe in his imagination. I also loved the themes of the book; motherhood, returning home and how at times it is so important to be fearless and how they were dealt with in such a realistic and profound way.

The book is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and you can check it out on Astor + Blue’s site. Add it to your TO READ list on Goodreads! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it!  Also pick up her other book ‘The Repeat Year‘ and add it to your reading list too! 

You may find out more about the author, Andrea Lochen at her website HERE!