One of my very best friends was getting married in my hometown last weekend and Harper and I took a girls trip to Toronto to attend the wedding and visit with family and friends.
The trip was the most unplugged I’ve been for a long time, and it was much-needed! We were so focused on our daily activities, conversation and connection, that I barely had time to think about getting an outfit shot, checking Instagram or uploading a bunch of new content. I sometimes think that as content creators, we experience burnout from always thinking about creating. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE creating content, otherwise I wouldn’t still be in this space (it will be 10 years on Sept. 21st!!!) but it’s also necessary to take a break sometimes and this trip was one where I rarely checked email or social media.
We flew into Toronto last Wednesday and stayed with one of my best friends, Heather. The next morning, we took the kids to Centreville – we took the bus, subway, street car and ferry all in the same day! It was such a blast. One of my favorite things about staying downtown is being able to wake up in the morning, throw on some sunglasses and walk to get breakfast and coffee in the cool, crisp air!
On Friday we spent some time at Yorkdale and had lunch and macaroons from Laduree! So delicious. Yorkdale is one of the only malls I actually enjoy – such a good mix of stores! 
Saturday was my best friend Brianne’s wedding in my hometown and it was so incredible! It was such an emotional day – I got to see a lot of friends I hadn’t seen in some time and it was just such a fun and beautiful celebration! We stayed with Bri and her family for the rest our trip. Our girls are six weeks apart in age and our boys are 6 days apart – we were always pregnant and postpartum at the same time and our kids are obsessed with each other (we all went to Disney World together a couple of years ago!)
My dress is available here.
Over the next couple of days we spent more time with friends including Karen who’s son I met for the first time and Jamie who’s daughter I met for the first time.
And we had the most fun pool day!
I got a lot of questions about traveling with car seats – you can read an article on the topic, here. I rented a car at Pearson airport and purchased this car seat at Toys R Us. Be sure to check the weight limits on seats available for rent from car rental companies -they did not have a forward-facing five point harness seat that had a weight limit high enough for an older child. I bought the Evenflo car seat because it went up to 50lbs with the five point harness (it also converts to a booster seat when the weight limit is surpassed so we can use it for future travel). I used my rolling luggage to carry it through the airport and also carried it like a backpack at some points (see pic below!) It’s really not too tough to travel with car seats as long as you purchase one that is a little bit lighter (for example, I’d never travel with my Clek Foonf – it’s way too heavy!)
Here is this week’s Friday Five!
ONE
I’m just a few weeks away from starting my Invisalign treatment! To give you a little background, I have never had any kind of orthodontics – I actually always really liked my smile and its imperfections – it adds character! However, over the last few years, I have noticed quite a drastic shift in my teeth and they’re overlapping more than ever (I know this is a common occurrence as we age and it probably doesn’t help that I clench/grind my teeth at night). I learned through some of my colleagues that we are able to use the orthodontist at work and pay a flat fee for a full Invisalign treatment as part of our employee benefits, so I went for a consultation.
After talking with a few friends that have used Invisalign, I felt confident and decided to move forward with the treatment. It was crazy to see my computer-simulated befores and afters this week – wow! My orthodontist did tell me that due to the smaller size of my lower jaw, I will have a slightly larger overbite than I already do (it has never bothered me), but I think it will be worth the few extra millimeters to have really straight teeth – he was not concerned. I will be sure to document the process on my blog! If you have any tips for me, please leave them in the comments! I already have these cleaning tabs and a brushing/flossing kit that I plan to keep at work to brush after eating/drinking coffee. I am also ordering this wax, this cleaning case and this on-the-go cleaner.
TWO
My friend Heather, who we stayed with during a portion of our Toronto visit, made some iced teas with some caffeine-free David’s Tea flavors, and we were hooked! While at Yorkdale Mall, I stocked up on some David’s Tea (you can order online, but I love going into the store and smelling the different teas to decide what to purchase). I purchased their organic mother’s little helper, mango fruit punch, sunny c, grapefruit rose starburstandjust peachy. A lot of these make great iced teas also, so I also purchased their iced tea pitcher.
BTW – how amazing is this mug?! It’s on sale and it’s my new tea mug for work! Obsessed!
THREE
Stay tuned for another amazing amazon try-on session…but in the meantime, here are the amazing items I ordered recently (fashion and otherwise!)
- Button up long sleeve top (small)
- Utility jacket (XS – so flattering – total must-have!)
- Trench coat (XS)
- Navy blue work blouse (XS)
- Cropped paperbag waist pants (small)
- Hot hair styling tools holder
- Space-saving shelf
- UV resistant flowers (I can’t keep anything alive and they look great in our front porch planters!) I ordered three more bunches to fill in more space in both planters!
Speaking of Amazon, I cannot rave enough about this travel jewelry case. Having recently used it for my trip to Toronto, it’s now on my list of travel must-haves. What I love most about it is its slim profile and that is has the best storage systems for rings, stud earrings, statement earrings and necklaces. It’s truly the whole package – I’ll never travel without it!
FOUR
After finishing The Royal We on Audible a couple of weeks ago (highly recommend it if you love the BRF!) I’m now listening to American Royals by Katharine McGee, which just came out this week! I plan to dedicate an entire post soon to every book I’ve listened to recently. I freaking LOVE Audible, it has literally changed my life.
FIVE
I feel like I’ve recommended a few bras this year (True & Co. and this one from Soma come to mind) but I’ve got another one, my friends. It was a random Target purchase but I’m wearing it as I type this and it’s SO GOOD. It’s under $20, wireless and comfy to the highest degree. I wear a medium and am typically a 34D. Buy it here and thank me later!
ON MY WISH LIST:
- These scalloped sneakers
- This flowy FP blouse
- This leopard print lace trim tank
- This white puff sleeve top
- This yellow blouse (perfect for work or with denim!)
- This camel poncho turtleneck sweater
- This leopard print card case
- This floral embroidered bell sleeve top
- This tweed jacket with brass buttons
- This fringe tweed blazer
- These black slingback heels
- These leopard heels
Happy weekend!
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Your trip looked like so much fun! I can imagine how much fun Harper had with all the quality time with you! Such a fun mother/daughter trip! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston
Thank you so much we had an amazing time! We missed our guys back home but it was so nice to have a little extra time together <3
I started Invisalign a little over a month ago. Having to take them out to eat has cut down on my snacking as it’s cumbersome to have to brush after every meal! I too had never had braces or anything. The inside of my mouth did hurt for a handful of days until it got used to the aligners rubbing against it. (Is that why you purchased the wax?) Good luck to you on your journey!
Best of luck with Invisalign. My treatment was almost 2 years long after originally being told it would be 12 months. After 2 rounds of refinements, my orthodontist basically said my teeth were as good as they are going to get. Are they straighter? Sure, but I was definitely expecting to be thrilled with the results and that just isn’t the case.
Rachel – sorry to hear you are unhappy with your results! I actually prefer it when teeth have a little imperfection to them – I think it adds character! So I do think I will be happy with teeth that are more in alignment. Having said that, I don’t know how I’ll feel until I see the results!