it's my girls' world

This little day trip from the summer totally fell through the blogging cracks and as this weekend was a quiet one filled with family time and sunshine, I wanted to slide it in.

Back in July when we headed to NYC for #Bergalloo 2, we ventured to New Jersey to head to Ellis Island and to see the the Statue of Liberty. Side note, the parking to get to the ferry from NYC is more than $40 whereas if you just head to New Jersey, it's $7. 

First stop, the historic Ellis Island. Yeah, my little one had Cheetos for lunch #slimpickings.

Clearly, they are excited to be here.

The Peopling Centre and the Ellis Island Gallery was so interesting, exploring the immigrant experience and telling the story of how America became what it is.

 Lining up for the ferry again.

And there she is in the distance....

 On Liberty Island. We didn't know we had to pre-book tickets to go to the top of Lady Liberty- they were booking in July for September :-s

 After we took the ferry back, we headed to a park with the girls.

Such a great day out for our little crew.

Linking up with the lovely Biana for weekending

Hello Friday.... I've been waiting for you for a looong time. Here's what we've been up to...

1-So a death cold happened this week and I did what most people do when they're sick-- decide to take on some long overdue household projects like my bathroom drawers and cupboards. #thatshowiroll #butreallytho'

My room looked like a tornado for a couple days, I felt like I was going insane with the mess and my dry cough and I threw out a couple bags of stuff.

But I'm okay with the progress made :-)

I put all my makeup together in compartments in one drawer to take serious stock of all that I've amassed over time and to remind myself to reduce future consumerism.

2- We headed to a Day in the District in our old city. Lots of activities for the kiddos, live music and local eats and treats. Such a beautiful day out.

Aren't these mascots made of balloons genius?

The pizza in the shape of a cone.... also genius!

 Us waiting 1.5 hours to get the kids' faces painted-- not quite so genius. (the rose we embibed while waiting made it easier for the mamas though)

3- C and I also headed to Toronto with a friend and her daugther for the first ever Girl Expo Canada, an event celebrating all that girls are, can do  and can become. Lots of different shows, activities and workshops for the girls to attend with a focus on empowerment and esteem. 

Loving that the sports weren't total 'girl' sports.

 She met an author whose books she read previously.

Girlfriend tried her hand at skateboarding!

And then demolished some pasta that they were making in a parm wheel.

4- I made these pineapple glasses  and filled them with the fruit blended with yogurt for the girls on Monday as a little after school treat. Mom was the coolest--- for one hot minute.

5- And in case you missed it, this week's blog posts included:

Disney Fantasy Cruise Part 3

Summer Recap

Coconut Red Lentil Soup.

I've been loving red lentils lately. So good for you- high in protein and fibre, chock-ful of B's and a great source of iron. They cook really fast as well and are so delicious. Just as we're entering fall, here's a delicious soup bursting with all sorts of different bright flavours.

1 tablespoon of 2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small onion 

1 inch of ginger, minced

2 carrots, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 cup of red lentils 

1/2 tablespoon of tumeric

1/2 tablespoon of cumin

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne (optional)

2 -3 cups of chopped vegetables (I used zucchini, butternut squash and mushroom)

4 cups of water or vegetable stock

1 14 oz of coconut milk

Optional Toppings:

Toasted coconut flakes

Chopped cilantro

Chopped Jalapeno

Green Onions

Jasmine rice

1- In a large pot, add the oil and over medium heat, add onion, ginger and then garlic. Cook for a couple minutes

2- Add the other vegetables and spices. Stir well and cook for 3-4 minutes.

3- Add red lentils and stir well then slowly add water/broth

4- Cover the pot and cook for about 25 minutes.

5- Add the coconut milk. 

6- Depending on how creamy you want the soup, use your immersion blender/blender to puree the soup (I wanted some texture still)

7- When serving the soup, ladle a couple cups into a bowl and add the desired toppings. A couple spoonfuls of rice makes it just a little more filling.

This delicious concoction is also vegan and a great way to sneak all the different veggies into my kids' bodies. We have been trying more meatless meals recently and this one will definitely be on repeat in our house. 

Day trips galore

St Jacobs market was our go to this summer. 

Lots of pool time

I squeezed this one in a couple days ago and the girls loved it!

We didn't get to a couple of the things- mostly the food like picnics, s'mores, nice cream and herb cocktails. Oh and some of the outdoor things like outdoor scavenger hunting and back yard camping because of the Lyme disease epidemic in Ontario (ick). Oh well, there's always next year!

As a side note, the summer sunshine is still shining strong here in September! We'll take it :-)