I can’t believe that its been a year since I started Small Home Big Start! I’ve enjoyed it so much and I thank every one of you who comes to visit my blog. Not just those who follow or comment, but all the “silent readers” too. Checking my stats in the morning to see all those who’ve read about a recipe I’ve posted or what Whiskey and I have been up to really motivates me to keep going. So, from the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU.
The great thing about having a blog is that you can go back and see the things that you have done and how you felt about them at the time. Last night I started looking back at some of my previous posts and I realized that I’ve been a busy girl the past year:
- Started Small Home Big Start
- Broke up with my boyfriend of two years (On this day. Funny to go back and read how I felt that morning) Don’t worry, we stayed good friends. All is well.
- Made Whiskey his first costume: a Taco!
- Went to the Royal Winter Fair with two of my favorite people in the world.
- Celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Save the Oak Ridges Moraine on a Historic Train Ride
- Got up ridiculously early to make 163 boxed lunches for said Train Ride.
- Made Homemade Applesauce. Frozen it. Enjoyed it all winter. Can’t wait to do it again this week.
- Met the cutest Weiner Dog in existence.
- Showed the world what Baby Werewolves look like. (Okay, they are really racoons)
- Killed a plant. Unintentionally. I swear.
- Played Paintball for the first time…and had the bruises to prove it. For weeks.
- Made my first Christmas apron. Its saved my pants from many a flour handprint.
- Did holiday shopping at the Toronto One of a Kind Show
- Finally went to the Dark Side and got a Blackberry. (And, yes, I am addicted)
- Ate my weight in Peppermint Bark over the Holidays
- Celebrated our first anniversary of having Shadow, the crazy rescue doberman, in our life.
- Cheered on all the Olympic Spirit!
- Got back into swimming after a three year hiatus.
- Helped my parents renovate their kitchen and nook.
- Said goodbye to a good friend as they moved on to new adventures in British Columbia
- Enjoyed Winterlicious in Toronto, including a Morrocan night!
- Visited Unionville, Ontario (where they shot part of the first season of “Gilmore Girls”!)
- Shared an Evening with Kevin Smith.
- Put on my best cowboy boots and went to a hoedown.
- Welcomed a new member to the family
- And celebrated the 90 years that another family member has been making us laugh.
- Christened my long awaited Le Creuset Dutch Oven with amazing Chunky Beef Stew.
- Shoveled an ice rink on the river and played our country’s national sport – Hockey!
- Escaped the winter blues for a little getaway in Florida
- Went through the memories of kitchens past.
- Spend a lot of time playing with puppies. Here, here and here.
- Attended the 10th Kingston Canadian Film Festival
- Walked through my old university campus.
- Visited my sister at university and remembered what it was like to be a student again.
- Celebrated St Patrick’s Day with leprechauns, friends and Irish Soda Bread.
- Went on a road trip to Boston to watch the Toronto FC
- Remembered the importance of spending time with family. Especially when there is good food involved.
- Shared my office with this pup.
- Used Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to eat copious amounts of Tex Mex.
- Attended a bridal shower in my hometown. And remembered why I’ve been friends with these ladies for so long.
- Reminisced about my time at the Cannes Films Festival
- Celebrated my Quarter Life Crisis (25 years old! Yikes!)
- Enjoyed the Victoria Day Long Weekend with friends.
- Played hooky for cupcakes.
- Went on a Girls’ Road Trip back to Kingston for our faculty’s 40th anniversary.
- Dealt with Whiskey and his need to attack small animals in the city. (Its an on-going battle)
- Attended not just one, but two gorgeous weddings.
- Drove to the biggest car show in Canada and watched American Graffiti at the drive-in.
- Celebrated my one year anniversary with Whiskey.
- Learned how to run.
- Failed at making a chocolate cake.
- Survived the G20 Summit in Toronto
- Celebrated Canada Day with an extra long weekend at the cottage, including cliff jumping.
- Road-tripped down to Philadelphia to watch Toronto FC and run the steps like Rocky.
- Saw my first Brad Paisley concert and fell in love.
- Spent many lazy Summer days out in the boat.
- Went to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake and found the joys of roadside stands.
- Enjoyed a concert in the park.
- Started the Fall Fitness Challenge.
- Maintained the small town tradition of going to the Fall Fair.
- at the
Toronto International Film Festival
- Walked through the Queen West Art Crawl.
- Found a new boyfriend
- Celebrated a big Thanksgiving feast with the family.
- Ran my first 5km race. (More on that tomorrow during my weekly Fall Fitness Challenge post!)
Phew. Thats alot. But I’m looking forward to continuing on and improving as I go! So thank you again for stopping by.
On a final note I had to show you this picture, but its the love and bane of my existence right now:
This morning I made French Toast again using the Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread I made. There are two reasons why I can justify this:1) I wanted to celebrate one year of Small Home Big Start
and…
2) How can you resist having fresh Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread in your cupboard? I sure can’t, as evidenced by the crumbs all over me. Its just too dang good!
Happy Blogiversary! I love the recap and your enthusiasm! What fun!
Happy 1 year! Can’t wait to read more and drool over all of the recipes!
Happy Blogiversary! I just went through your blog a bit and I love it. It’s so fun to find other bloggers from the same city and see what they’re up to. There aren’t too many of us around here.