Pointe-à-Callière is an archaeology and history museum in Montreal. What makes this museum so unique is that it is located right where Montreal began. As part of your visit, you get to walk around underground seeing the actual remains found in the archaeological digs in that spot.
There is lots to explore, with many exhibits as you walk through the ruins.
You even get to walk through the old sewer system which is lit with colorful lights.
My daughter’s favorite part of the museum was the exhibit on pirates. It included a big pirate ship to play pretend on. She had a great time running around, pretending to be the captain.
There was also a temporary exhibit on the history of French cuisine. I walked through this exhibit quickly on my own, as my husband and daughter were tired.
I recommend a visit to Pointe-à-Callière if you are interested in history. Children will especially love the pirate exhibit, but they will also like exploring all of the tunnels and areas under ground.
One of the most popular tourist sites in Montreal is La Basilique Notre-Dame. It is located in Vieux Montreal. We headed straight there on our first morning in the city. We had to wait for a few minutes in line to get in, but I noticed that later in the day, the line had gotten much, much longer. So I definitely recommend heading there in the morning to minimize your wait.
The church’s construction began in 1672, in the earliest days of Montreal. In the early 1800’s, the old church was torn down and construction began on the current basilica. It is a beautiful church, rich in historical significance.
The elaborate altar pictured above is gorgeous. The pulpit, pictured below, is also quite ornate and beautiful.
The stained glass windows tell the story of the early days of Montreal, which makes them quite unique and fascinating.
There were many places throughout the church to light candles for prayer intentions.
This was the first of many Catholic churches I visited in Montreal. My husband and daughter are not quite as interested as I am, so I went to several of them on my own. I love visiting beautiful churches and seeing the different ways artists and architects have chosen to honor God.
The organ
Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys
This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. ~John 15:12
For our recent trip to Montreal, we stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel. We had a great stay, and I would definitely recommend this hotel. It was very pretty. I love staying in luxury hotels for the service and the design. We usually never eat in the restaurants of nicer hotels or order room service, however, due to the cost.
We were greeted warmly at the reception desk upon our arrival and were surprised when he upgraded us to the Tourelle suite, even though we had booked an ordinary room. He also gave my daughter her own Intercontinental bag, which had crayons, coloring sheets, and her very own teddy bear. The teddy bear was especially appreciated since all the toys we had packed were in our lost luggage.
The Tourelle suite was spacious with a bedroom, sitting room, bathroom, and hallway. We had two TV’s, a separate shower and bathtub, and lots of seating. The towels were large and fluffy and the bedding was comfy.
The location of the hotel is very convenient. Not only is it in easy walking distance to both Vieux Montreal and downtown, the building is connected to the World Trade Center. That means that we could walk straight to a food court (during business hours) and to the metro, without even walking outside.
Breakfast
World Trade Center
World Trade Center
Our suite was conveniently located right next to the pool and terrace on the dixieme etage (10th floor). My daughter and husband swam several times in the lap pool. We had to go buy new swimsuits at the mall since we were without our luggage.
My family and I have just returned from an amazing trip to Montreal, so this will be the first in a series of posts about our travel! Our trip started and ended with lots of delays and travel issues. It took us three flights, a long day, and lost luggage both on the way there and the way back! Each trip was on different airlines. Despite all of our travel issues, we still had a great time in Canada. We went shopping for new clothes and made the best of it.
Montreal is a big city in Canada, so of course, we did a lot of walking. It was manageable though, and even my less adventurous husband and 5 year old survived. I did do some exploring on my own, when they felt like resting. The metro system is easy to navigate. Everyone in Montreal is bilingual, so even though you will almost always be greeted in French, everyone quickly switches to English when they realize you are American. I read French pretty well, but I’m not so great at speaking/understanding it.
Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal) is a great place to shop for souvenirs, art, clothing, etc. I collect Christmas ornaments from every place I travel, so of course I had to stop at Noel Eternel! A shop selling authentic Amerindian art and goods had this stuffed polar bear for sale! My daughter was excited to buy a Kinder Surprise egg at the drugstore.
The majority of our trip was spent walking around Vieux Montreal and Downtown. Our hotel was conveniently located right between the two. I’ve included a few pictures from around town below.
Pug and
Poodle Statues
Place d’Armes
Monument to the founders of Montreal
Place Victoria
a restaurant called Baton Rouge!
Montreal’s Jazz Fest
Downtown
This is only the first in a series of posts about my trip to Montreal. Stay tuned for much more!
This afternoon, I brought my daughter to visit the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens. We have been before, but I wanted to take some pictures in the sunflower fields that have recently bloomed.
I wish that I could grow flowers. Flowers are pretty and full of color, and I wish that I could grow some at home to look at daily. But I have quite the black thumb. I should probably keep trying.
My daughter’s favorite part was the swing, of course, not the flowers. There is a playground in the children’s garden. We also visited the rose garden.
Spending time in nature has been shown to improve your health, mood, creativity, and spirits. I need to make an effort to do it more often.
Musical Theater. It is the absolute best. They take a story and tell it through song, and it goes from good to great. I think it is because songs tap into a deep emotional side of us. Add in some drama and dance and you are good to go.
Last night, I went to see Theatre Baton Rouge’s production of Disney’s Newsies. I had never seen Newsies before, neither on stage or the film. I know – I’m behind the times. It was excellent, like every musical I’ve seen at TBR is. There is something extra special about community theatre. Seeing all that amazing talent and knowing that these are the kids, doctors, teachers, etc. who reside and work right here in Baton Rouge.
The singing, dancing, acting, and production were all great. It is an inspirational tale of the Newsboys strike of 1899. If you haven’t seen it yet, they added two dates next week that still have tickets. I guess I need to get around to watching the movie now.
I love subscription boxes. It is so much fun to be surprised with different items that come to you in the mail. Over the past few years, I have used several different subscription box services. The problem is that it doesn’t fit in with the minimalist lifestyle that I am trying to cultivate. Over the past year, I have been making a concerted effort to reign in my spending and only buy things when I need them. Just because that store is having a sale, doesn’t mean I need to look online for all the good deals. Rather than buying a bunch of just okay stuff, why don’t I wait until a need arises and then splurge on something I really like? Overall, I would say that I am doing pretty well in this regard. One of my goals for 2019 was to spend more money on experiences than on things.
Back to subscription boxes. I have recognized that most of them are not a good use of my money and that they give me extra clutter. It is the definition of buying things just because and not related to a need. So, I have cut back on my subscriptions. I do still have a couple though. Oops. Causebox is one of them. I joined Causebox in the summer of 2017. So I have had two years of Causeboxes. One thing that makes it slightly more manageable is that it is a seasonal subscription, not monthly, like many others. So I get one box for each season. The other thing that makes Causebox fun is that each item is curated to expose you to companies that do good in the world. You can be assured that every item you receive in your Causebox has been ethically made by a socially conscious company. This makes me feel a little better about the splurge.
My past two years of Causeboxes have included some awesome items including jewelry, home goods, beauty products, apparel, and artwork. Some of my favorite items received include a Haiti design co-op keychain, a Mela artisans photo frame, a Krochet Kids pompom beanie, a Tribe Alive table runner, a Symbology kimono, Scentuals rosehip beauty oil, a Fair Seas supply towel, Zoya nail polish, a Tribe Alive foldover clutch, a S’well water bottle, an Idlewild planner, various specially designed prints that I have framed, and much, much more. One of the things that makes it nice is that the worth of the items in each box is usually much more than the cost paid. Sometimes, I like the box more than other times. Because there is diversity in the items, not every box will be a fit for each person who receives it. It has been worth it for me, however. You can also just choose to buy individual boxes. They do release the items that will be included in each box before they are purchased and mailed.
I wanted to share my most recent Causebox. I got the summer 2019 box in the mail today! Each box has special artwork on it that was commissioned specifically for the box. The artist always designs a postcard to include also. I have framed a few of them over the years. This Causebox art theme was designed by Antra Svarcs, and depicted women at the pool. Another really fun thing about the Causebox is that it comes with a little magazine. The magazine has an article about each item and company involved in the box. So there is an interview with the artist where she talks about how she hopes that her art can “inspire positive change and engagement.” The magazine also includes promotional codes to get discounts if you want to shop some more with any of the featured companies.
When unboxing a new Causebox, I like to start with the magazine. As I read each article, I pull out the corresponding item to connect it with the story of its creators and how that particular company works to bring about good in the world. The first item featured in this season’s box is a caftan that was hand-woven in India. It can be used as a swim cover-up or a towel. I have received a few Tribe Alive items in my Causeboxes over the years. They are all beautiful and of high quality. Tribe Alive is committed to ethical practices and empowering artisans. As mentioned in the article: “If more companies committed to providing sustainable work to marginalized communities, we could impact economic insecurity on a large scale.” Tribe Alive employs female artisans and managers in India, allowing women to provide for their families and show younger females women in a leadership role, which is not always common in Indian villages.
My next item is a swimsuit wet bag made from recycled polyester by Quagga Green. Like many of the items in the Causebox, there are multiple designs or options. These were designed by Melanie Johnsson. The one I received says “Today is a good day.” It is super cute, and an item that I actually need. I don’t currently own a wet bag, so now I will have something to throw a swimsuit in when out and about. I also received a super cute straw tote that could be used at the beach or just about anywhere. It was made by Altru, which is Causebox’s in-house brand. As part of the vision for this product, Causebox “partnered with global and local charities that are fighting to protect and conserve our beaches, oceans, and marine life through research and educational programs, as well as on-the-ground, community-oriented action.”
My summer Causebox also included a set of scrunchies from Banded2Gether. Scrunchies are newly back in style, and even though I cut my hair short today, I know that I will eventually get some good use out of them. They are a cute set with light, pastel colors. The company donates three meals to the hungry for every product sold. The box also included a bottle of All Good reef-friendly sport sunscreen. The brand grows its own ingredients in California. It is important to look at the ingredients in your sunscreen, not just for your own health, but also for the health of our ocean and coral reefs when you are at the beach.
The next item is a Hanalei aloe gel from Hawaii. It is made using natural Hawaiian botanicals and is infused with a cucumber essence. It smells nice, and I can’t wait to use it. When I went to Maui nine years ago, I fell in love with the smell of the lotion at my resort. I took the small bottle home and was transported back to the island every time I used it. The last item in the box is an insulated tumbler from Reduce Everyday. I use reusable water bottles every single day, and love the stainless steel that keeps your drink cold all day long. This is a cute little tumbler that could be used at the pool, beach, or anywhere. The magazine even included a recipe for a mint limeade to use in the tumbler. Please try to minimize your use of any single use products. I make this effort as often as I can. Reduce Everyday “partners with a local charity from Georgia called Chattahoochee River Keeper, to sponsor its mission and send volunteers to river cleanups.”
If I have piqued your interest into subscribing to this awesome box, send me your email address and I will send you a referral for $10 off your first box. It really is a fun way to find out about the myriad of companies out there that are looking to do good with their businesses.
District Donuts/Sliders/Brews is a New Orleans restaurant, but we have a location here in Baton Rouge. It is a fun little place to visit. They make all of their delicious food from scratch.
They offer different donut options each week, along with a couple staples. The donuts are large and cake-style donuts. The cinnamon sugar donut pictured below is always available. It reminds me of a churro. On my most recent visit, I got this smores donut. It was topped with a giant homemade marshmallow and was also stuffed with marshmallow filling. Yum!
On my most recent trip, I sampled a few of the tasty sliders. I had one each of the cheeseburger slider, pork belly slider, and roast beef slider. Each one is topped with some unique and tasty toppings. I could barely finish them, though, after finishing off that donut as an appetizer! As for the brews, I am not a coffee drinker, so I cannot comment on them. I’m sure they are delicious for coffee lovers. I did notice that they make their own sodas though, which is pretty interesting. I’ll have to try root beer or creme soda next time I visit. If you’re in New Orleans, I recommend stopping by one of their locations. The flagship is on Magazine Street. These pictures are from the Baton Rouge location. There is now a location in Las Vegas also!
My daughter and I went to the first showing of Toy Story 4 this morning. Like everyone else, I’ve been a fan of Toy Story since the release of the first film 24 years ago. Each of the films has been great, including this one. I think that spacing them out this much really ups the nostalgia factor, but they are each great movies on their own. (The trailer for Frozen’s sequel, however, is looking a bit intense.)
The movie is funny and full of all of our old loveable favorite characters. Several new characters are also introduced, including Duke Kaboom and of course, the loveable Forky! I thought Forky was just going to be a funny side character, but he actually turns out to be a major part of the movie.
Ultimately, this movie is about Woody, Andy’s original favorite toy. If you are emotionally attached to Disney movies (as I am), the ending is bittersweet. You may even cry.
I was the only person in the theater who stayed all the way until the end of the credits for the final post-credit scene. The four teenage movie theater employees stood by and waited for me to leave so that they could start their clean-up of the theater. There are several different scenes during the credits. The one at the very end is cute, but not worth staying for if you’re not really into that sort of a thing. It’s just an extra joke. But I like to get the full experience.
Now to just save my money for a trip to Disney World, so that I can experience Toy Story Land!
I have a collection of cookbooks, and I used to love trying out new recipes. Every time I make a recipe, I give it a rating, so that I remember what I thought about it. Recently though, I have stopped cooking as much. The time spent in the kitchen, piles of dishes, and cost of ingredients just doesn’t seem worth it most of the time, especially on busy work days. I love good food, but often fall back on easy and quick dinner options or eating out. I haven’t bought a new cookbook in a long time, because I’ve made a conscious decision to stop cooking to save time and money.
I have been home for the past couple weeks, however, recovering from surgery. I am finally starting to feel a little better, but I am still on a soft food diet. So I decided to pull out one of my cookbooks and try to make something. Today I made a Gruyère and Parmesan soufflé from a Bon Appetit cookbook. It was tasty, although the Gruyère tasted even better just shaved right off the block.
It’s not terribly interesting or creative, but here is my cheesy soufflé. The consistency and rise came out perfectly, which are unusual for me.
Looking on the Bright Side 