I’ve finally managed to write a little post about one of our favourite places in the world, Cape Breton Island (in Nova Scotia, Canada). I have many fond memories of visiting the island as a kid and teenager and was so happy I could finally take my own family there last summer. Cape Bretoners are some of the kindest people in the world and will go out of their way to make sure your time visiting their island is the best it can be. Click over to Classic Play to hear more about what the island has to offer. And if you’ve already visited the island I’d love to hear what you enjoyed the most while there.
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Traveling With Kids: Cape Breton Island
23 MayGratefully Grateful *18*
14 MaySo much to be grateful for last week. Especially a surprise week-end away with some of my closest friends. It involved a famous flower market in Milan, lots of foreign foods, Pina Coladas and some charming little vintage shops. It’s amazing what a few days away from your daily grind can do to your spirit and energy level.
Throw in a relaxing Mother’s Day on Sunday including breakfast in bed and kid made art and poetry and I was (am) a happy woman.
Grateful to have been able to see and appreciate…
…carnations in every possible colour. Gone are the days of them being considered “grocery store flowers”.
…huge origami cranes and lilly pads in a lovely fountain in front of an even lovelier old villa.
…this little scenario that I would like to re-create in my own garden. So lovely.
…old metal watering cans filled with bright flowers.
Wishing you all a lovely week (it’s already half over!).
Gratefully Grateful
*1*, *2*, *3*, *4*, *5*,*6*,*7*,*8*, *9*, *10*, *11*, *12*, *13*, *14*,*15*,*16*,*17*
Moroccan Snapshots *5*
6 MaySome last shots of our trip to Morocco.
Stretching out a little injury. Afterwards the instructor turned around happily and informed me “Pretty sure nothing is broken”. Ummm, okay.
They just looked so cool dragging their surfboards down K17 beach (up the coast from Agadir). And these were the only clouds we saw during our entire 7 day trip. Made the Atlantic feel that much colder. 
While visiting the souks of Agadir we got trapped in a little shop that sold teas, creams, herbs, spices and everything else you could ever imagine to cure any ailment a person could be inflicted with. For me the packaging was more attractive than all the proclaimed health benefits. And yes, I did leave with a bag full of cactus cream, argan oil, teas and spices.
Mounds of colourful vegetables and striped columns at the Souk El Had in Agadir.
Making sand kasbahs on the beach.
One of my favourite images of Morocco is always the pyramids of delicious spices. I have already gone through half of what I purchased. Guess that means I’ll have to get back there soon to buy some more.
Moroccan Snapshots *1*, *2*,*3*,*4*
Gratefully Grateful *17*
4 May
As I sit here gazing out of the window it looks as though there is a blizzard happening outside. But instead of snow it’s a flurry of fluffy little poplar seeds (as captured by an IG pal here). I’m sneezy and have a piercing headache but I have to admit that it’s a really lovely site.
Yesterday I spent the entire day in the kitchen baking muffins for a local market today. We’re donating all profits from the bake sale to the Bianca Garavaglia Association which helps organise special activities and events for kids with cancer who have to spend months in the hospital. As some of you know, helping causes like this is something that is really near and dear to my family’s heart. So you can imagine how happy my kids were to sell every single muffin that we made (close to 100).
Earlier in the week a friend of mine and I organised a “Serata Americana” with our kids (the husbands had organised a meal of intestines and insects so we escaped). We prepared hamburgers, hotdogs and french fries. We drank lemonade and Coca Cola. And then we watched Grease (in Italian) with bowls of popcorn and M&Ms. My kids loved it and have since asked for poodle skirts and black leather jackets. Love evenings like that.
So, as you can see I had a lot to be grateful for this week.
And on top of all that I’m (also) grateful for… 
…my first bunch of roses from my garden. Oh and they smell so so lovely too!
…geraniums. And the fact that they are pretty AND can survive even though I’m a horrible gardner and that Birdie lays on top of them all day long.
…our Serata Americana that saved me from eating these cricket kabobs. See, I wasn’t exaggerating when I wrote about the husbands eating insects. Blech.
Wishing you all a lovely week ahead.
Gratefully Grateful *1*, *2*, *3*, *4*, *5*,*6*,*7*,*8*, *9*, *10*, *11*, *12*, *13*, *14*,*15*, *16*
Traveling With Kids: Flipboard Magazine
30 AprI can’t believe it but it has been almost 2 years that I’ve been writing my Traveling With Kids column for the creative parenting site Classic Play. I have absolutely loved writing these travel posts which have inspired me (and my family) to do some pretty amazing trips and activities around the world.
Our travels and adventures as a family over the last decade have been action packed. We’ve experienced everything from visiting some the world’s most iconic sites to seeing little corners of the world that have been barely touched by tourism. And we are 100% grateful to be able to do all of this.
Jen from Classic Play put together a super neat Traveling With Kids Flipboard Magazine with all of her site’s travel posts (full disclosure: I’ve written most of them). I’ve loved looking back and re-reading some of those old columns (the interview with my kids and the travel disaster columns are still my favourites!). So if you’re in need of advice for traveling with kids or information on many travel destinations around the world please check it out here.
**I just want to add that I receive many emails from people around the world with specific travel questions or that are in need of travel advice for traveling with their families. I’ve been trying really hard to get back to you all but am still a little behind!
Gratefully Grateful *16*
28 AprI can’t seem to get my GG posts up before my week is over. I always have big plans to post on Sunday evening but then as soon as I sit down on the couch after the kids are in bed I become useless. I can’t even manage conversation or full sentences with my husband. Anyone else out there afflicted by this?
Last week was a good one. A lovely day shopping in Antwerp (adore that city), a delicious sushi dinner with old friends, a lovely bike ride in the Belgian countryside, a serving of my daughter’s homemade lava cakes (they are so good) and a sunny return to Italy. On Saturday we spent the afternoon lunching with friends outside in the hot sun followed by an evening aperitivo with other good friends (including a few IG acquaintances!). Life is good (even if we just found out that someone in London spent 2000 euro on a limousine rental with our credit card – I hope they had a good ride!).
This week I’m grateful for…
…the Urban Jungle Blogger series. It’s so much fun to integrate more green plants into my house and be part of a community of fellow urban gardeners. And for once in my life I’m succeeding in keeping them alive (knock on wood). 
…the sweet smell of these Lilly of the Valley flowers. And the sweet skinny legged girl holding them.
…that they still love to blow the dandelion seeds (me too!).
I wish you all a wonderful week ahead!
Gratefully Grateful *1*, *2*, *3*, *4*, *5*,*6*,*7*,*8*, *9*, *10*, *11*, *12*, *13*, *14*, *15*
Gratefully Grateful *15*
23 AprRadio silence over here for the last week. I’ve been enjoying time with family and friends in the land of chocolate, waffles and square pillows (Belgium in case you hadn’t figured it out). I can’t even think about how much chocolate that has been ingested into my body the last 7 days (or french fries for that matter). But it has been good.
Easter was a large family affair with a house full of happy cousins running around my mother-in-law’s house and garden. And (as I mentioned on IG) it has been sunny EVERY SINGLE DAY. Now that my friends is not normal. Not in the least. But I’ll take it and am extremely grateful.
This (last) week I’m grateful for:
…beautiful hiding spots for the Easter Egg hunt.
…a day visiting the cemeteries from World War One in Flanders Fields. And teaching my kids that ever important poem that all kids in Canada have to learn by heart.
…fancy cocktail umbrellas that I put in my flower bouquets and mocktails. (yeah, I prefer mocktails over cocktails)
Enjoy your week everyone!
Gratefully Grateful *1*, *2*, *3*, *4*, *5*,*6*,*7*,*8*, *9*, *10*, *11*, *12*, *13*, *14*
Moroccan Snapshots *4*
16 AprA few more shots from our trip to Morocco. 
On our road-trip from the mountains to the sea we passed this extremely bizarre American style gas station in the middle of nowhere. And when I say in the middle of nowhere I mean that there were only rocky mountains and stone fields in every direction as far as the eye could see. It seems that it is the leftovers from the film set of the movie “The Hills Have Eyes”. Slightly (very) creepy.
Lovely blue door and tiles in our hotel in the small city of Taroudant.
I wanted to bring home every single one of those colourful carpets from the Souk in Taroudant.
Coca Cola sign and sky-blue taxis. A perfect colour combination.
Our first moments on the beach just north of Agadir.
Moroccan Snapshots *1*
Moroccan Snapshots *2*
Moroccan Snapshots*3*
Gratefully Grateful *14*
13 AprSo much to be grateful for this week. Some lovely friends came to Italy for an action packed five-day visit. We had so many interesting conversations, visits to the Design Week in the city, leisurely walks along the lake, delicious meals in restaurants (and cooked by my husband and kids) and even an impromptu jam session singing old Cindy Lauper songs in my living room. All moments that have lifted my spirits and made me feel so happy to know these talented, creative and funny ladies. Soon I’ll have lots of photos to share but for now here are a few little images that caught my eye.
This week I’m grateful for…
…all the beautiful and colourful exhibits and products we saw at Milan Design Week. And for my friends who introduced me to some amazingly cool new designers, brands and shops (even if I kept getting them all mixed up in my IG feed).
…the gorgeous warm sunny weather we’ve had. And these intoxicatingly lovely smelling wisteria vines that are covering the local landscape (as well as the city landscape).
…the fact that I’m actually succeeding in training Birdie The Cat to sit in my bicycle basket while I cruise around. How cute is that?
I wish you all a great week ahead!
Gratefully Grateful *1*, *2*, *3*, *4*, *5*,*6*,*7*,*8*, *9*, *10*, *11*, *12*, *13*
Gratefully Grateful *13*
7 AprI had my son home ill all last week and although I felt terrible that he was feeling so sick I have to admit that our long lazy days around the house together were so nice. We played poker, watched movies, ate pancakes at 11am and went for short walks in the sun. All his favourite things to do all and all very reminiscent of his baby and toddler days (minus the poker). He returned to school this morning and the two of us were feeling pretty melancholic about it all. But no worries, the tag-team-stay-at-home game between siblings is on and I now have one of my daughters home to fill the void. So far this morning we’ve done some line drawings, spent too much time looking at Pinterest and discussed what we’ll bake this afternoon. So here’s my GG post (a day late!).
This (last) week I’m grateful for…
…my camellia bushes. These flowers only last a short while but we greatly appreciate every single blossom.
…all the people I met yesterday (at a local event) who were so enthusiastic about the Days For Girls project. And, of course, my lovely friends who spent their Sunday afternoon helping me spread the word.
…the fact that even though they are 12 years old they still love to pile up on my lap and tell me all the details about their day.
Have a great week!
Gratefully Grateful *1*, *2*, *3*, *4*, *5*,*6*,*7*,*8*, *9*, *10*, *11*, *12*
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