creativelykate

    On Sunday my grandfather turned 100 and we had a beautiful celebration.  I promise to post photos from the event once they are ready...I can hardly wait to see them!  Today I decided to share my speech completely unaltered.  If it sounds like I'm talking, it's because I literally recorded myself talking to myself about my grandpa...then I typed out what I said - almost word for word.  It truly helped me to speak from the heart and talk about the memories I'll have forever...   For my grandpa on his 100 th birthday…   My grandfather was born on February 18 th , 1918…fast forward about 64 years, and that’s when I came into the picture.   And that’s where I’m going to start.   My grandfather has been a part of my life as far back as I can remember.   At a very young age my mom and I moved into a neighbourhood in North Mississauga.   Not long after my grandparents moved into their home just one street over.   They were always right around the corne

    So a couple weeks ago I talked about snack time in our house and that particular blog seemed to draw in quite a bit of interest.  You guys enjoyed some of the photos and ideas I shared but even more exciting...some of you shared your ideas and I love that!  For me, that's one of the things I enjoy most about my blog - hearing from all of you.   One of my readers and a friend I went to school with, shared a photo from snack time in her home (she's a busy mom of 3).  She also went a step further and told me who inspires her creativity.  Here's the link: https://weelicious.com/ .  Be sure to check it out!  Her snack boards are out of this world.  So colourful and healthy - they look like edible masterpieces.  If you follow  Weelicious on Instagram - you'll see what I mean!   I am grateful to my friend for sharing her ideas and some new inspiration.  I've had so much fun the past 2 weeks creating "snack boards" for my own family to enjoy!

    Yay! Valentine's Day is just around the corner and that makes me so happy.  I love Valentine's Day...I love all Holidays but this one in particular comes at just the right time.  Christmas is now well over, the New Year has began and just when I'm feeling so done with winter, they throw in Valentine's Day (followed by Family Day)...in my opinion both are the ideal excuse to spend time with family and friends.  They're also the perfect pick-me-upper combo needed to beat those winter blues.   Some of our Valentine's Day traditions include: A yummy meal with a heart-shaped theme (either breakfast or dinner).  We've tried so many ideas over the past few years from pink and red smoothies to heart-shaped pizza .  The local Dollar Stores are always a good place to find baking and cooking supplies - perfect for the Holiday! We always decorate the table and usually ask the kiddies to help.  In terms of other décor...this year I'm going with

    As many of you already know my husband built the very first "Minderlein Pond" this year.  We call it that because it seriously has the equivalent of that much water...It really is our own (not so little) frozen pond. Building it has been an adventure like no other - when it comes to building backyard rinks.  It was back in September when I first ignited my husband's imagination.  I went on and on (for days) about how great it would be to have our own rink ..."just imagine all the fun we would have and how convenient it would be" .  Together we envisioned the kids coming home after school and heading outdoors to go skating on their very own rink, just a few steps from our back door.  Inviting our friends and family over almost every weekend to enjoy it with us and finally being able watch Jack, Georgia and Hudson all improve their skating skills...It was definitely a wonderful thought, but it certainly didn't come easy. We had several peopl