July flew by in the way summer months do — slow mornings, sticky afternoons, and somehow still not enough hours in the day to do everything you want. Looking back through my photos, I realize we packed in a lot of sweetness and fun this month.
A Quiet Canada Day
We had big plans for Canada Day this year — a full day downtown Ottawa, soaking up the celebrations, the crowds, the fireworks. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. The heat was intense, the humidity even more so, and with storms building on the horizon all afternoon, we made the call to stay home instead.
Honestly? It turned out to be exactly what we needed. The three of us keeping cool and marking the day at our own pace. Sometimes the best celebrations are the unplanned, low-key ones. Don’t you agree? 🙂
Of course, as I mentioned in my last post, we’ve been cheering hard for Team Canada in the World Cup all season – see below!
Still Playing With Our Lovevery Favourites
Lily has grown out of most of her Lovevery toys, but there are a handful of games that came in her old Lovevery Play Kits that we still pull them out for family game time and genuinely love playing them together.
If you haven’t come across Lovevery before, they’re a company that designs toys and play kits based on child development research, organized by age and stage rather than just by “toy type.” Each box — called a Play Kit — is built around the specific skills a child is developing at that exact point in their growth, and everything arrives thoughtfully made from natural materials, with a little guide explaining the “why” behind each toy.
I can honestly say I don’t regret a single box we got. If you have little ones, I can’t recommend them enough.
From The Garden To The Table
Our little garden really came into its own this month. The tomatoes and greens have been so generous, and there’s something so satisfying about walking outside, picking what we need, and turning it into dinner that same evening. I love it.
As always, we did a fair bit of cooking and (not really) baking this July — here’s what was on repeat:
– Homemade pizza — we actually cracked the code nowadays on rolling the dough thinner so that made us happy, lol
– Homemade burgers — with our own patties, simple and always a hit
– Poutine — Lily’s favourite
– A no-bake cake — this one is close to my heart, a recipe I remember from my own childhood, made without any baking at all. It came out perfectly, and honestly, it made me so happy to recreate it for my little family
That’s July in a nutshell — a little slower and quieter than planned in some places, yet full of flavour and family time.
Find me on social media, because it’ll be great to have you there and follow me 🙂 :