Thursday, January 29, 2015

Riversdale Deli and a Toddler Tea Party

This past weekend was absolutely wonderful. It was a perfect mix of being busy or having places to go and relaxing with people that fill me with joy.

Saturday was especially enjoyable. My friend Maria (whom you've met before) and I made plans to meet up for a visit in the Riversdale area of Saskatoon. There are so many unique restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops (and soon a juicing storefront - Thrive) in the area that it was difficult to decide where we should go. After running late and then assisting my neighbour who was locked out of both her house and her car I finally met up with Maria - over an hour late. She's super patient, that woman!

riversdale_deli_saskatoon_sweet_spontaneity


We settled on the Riversdale Delicatessen & Market on the corner of Idylwyld Drive and 20th Street. I had the Motherlode Sandwich and a cappuccino and Maria had the Oven Baked Trout sandwich. The food was great! Both Maria and I really enjoyed what we had ordered. I had never had a sandwich quite like the Motherlode and I'm excited to go back and try the other sandwiches. It turns out that I know one of the partners, Chef Darby, who is the brother-in-law of a friend that I went to school and dance with. He caught me snapping some photos for Instagram and pointed it out - yes, I might have been standing on the rungs of the bar-height chair to get a good angle; please tell me I'm not alone in this?! Anyway, if you ever have the chance you really should visit the Riversdale Deli and let me know what you think!


After lunch with Maria I went to my boyfriend's brother and sister-in-law's place for his niece's 2nd birthday party. His sister-in-law (who recently started blogging over at Joy Observed!) decided she would like to try having a real tea party with the little ones; as in, using the real china. It was so much fun, absolutely beautiful, and the children all did so well! Head over to her post about the afternoon to see some more photos of my boyfriend's nieces and nephew being oh-so-careful while using their tea cups!

I know we're closer to next weekend than last weekend already, but how was your weekend?

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Take It All In

That feeling I sometimes get when I realize that I'm seeing my city through different eyes - it's not just the daily, the mundane. I'm seeing it as I would see a new city, one that I am exploring and taking in through a much deeper way, not necessarily for the first time, but differently for sure. It's much more intentional. I appreciate every building, every street corner. That bench with the man and the dog, the beautiful clock that looks like it was placed there for a movie. This morning I was walking to grab coffee for a mid-morning break, and on my way back to the office I was struck by the still, calm air, the birds chirping, the crisp coolness, outside of my warm, cozy coat. Maybe it was because I'm used to bracing myself against the frigid January temperatures and the strong, chilling wind and instead had pleasant spring-like temperatures and absolutely no wind to contend with that I could move my focus to something else, something more.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Liebster Award, Round Two!



Back in August I was nominated for the Liebster Award and I was recently nominated again by Marissa Clair at Clair With Charm. Since I was already nominated once, I decided to do it a little differently this time around. I'm just going to answer Marissa Clair's questions, since they are created by her and different from the original ones I answered. Feel free to check out my original post and to check out Marissa Clair's post too!

Marissa's questions (and my answers!):

1. How did you decide on the title of your blog?
I actually named my blog a couple different things when I first created it. It was the first month of university, I was living on my tiny campus (there were only 6 of us living on campus, so lots of alone time), and I had just learned about blogs and was reading them constantly so I decided to create one. I never thought I would ever have a reader and so for quite a while the name kept changing with my mood. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I actually got into posting and maintaining my blog and finally chose Sweet Spontaneity.

At the time I was really into alliteration and I also had an extremely wandering heart. All I could think about was going on grand (and not-so-grand) adventures, but I was also in a very transitional part of my life where I was learning that it’s great to have an idea of what you would like your future to look like, but you really can’t fully plan it because it’s ultimately God’s plan that will happen and not your own. Before this I had my whole life planned. I was very attached to it and had placed a lot of my identity in how that plan was supposed to work out. That plan was completely shattered. I couldn’t be more thankful now, but at the time I was completely devastated. So, with this new understanding, I was really embracing the excitement of the unknown and the idea of (responsible) spontaneity. When Sweet Spontaneity came to mind it gave me the same feeling that the phrase “The sweet taste of freedom” gives me… The sweet taste of spontaneity.

2. What made you decide to start your blog?
I just realized that I kind of answered this in number 1, but I’ll explain a bit more. I remember having Googled “what to wear to college” while in my first month of university, and I came across College Fashion back when the Editor Zephyr was the only person contributing content and was still writing under the pen name Briana. From there I found Cupcakes and Cashmere, Fashion Toast, and a bunch of other blogs. My love of blogs kept growing so I thought I should make one too. It was kept secret from absolutely everyone in my life for a really long time before I finally told my first year house mate Jackie about it when we were studying one night a couple years later.

What made me decide to start blogging regularly and actually sharing it was seeing so many awesome people just sharing about their lives, their faith, their travels, and whatever they saw fit! I love how you can make your blog your own and I wanted a place that I could share about my adventures, big and small.

3. What is your favourite food?
Dill pickles, hands down (only dill will do!). Pulled pork and Ukrainian beet rolls are next in line.

4. Where is your favourite place to shop?
This is a little harder for me to answer, because I’ve been very conscious of what material items I bring into my life for several months now and at the same time my mindset has been shifting in regards to supporting local businesses versus grabbing a deal online. So where I would shop now (even though I haven’t really been shopping much) is different from where I loved to shop when I shopped a bunch.

Short answer: I really like shopping at the local stores in Saskatoon (where I live), but I also shop online too.

5. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be & why?
My heart is set on doing a North America road trip where I start at home in Saskatoon, drive through Canada to British Columbia, drive along the West Coast, make my way across the Southern States, travel through the Eastern States, and then dip under the Great Lakes on my way back home. I have no idea if this will ever pan out, but I would definitely be sharing about it on here if it did.

6. What’s your guilty pleasure?
I never totally know what to answer when asked this. I guess there are a few: 5 cent candies (and lots of them), Red Bull (I know, so bad for you!), and Home Renovation Shows.

7. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
Five years is so far away, yet not. I see myself owning property, advancing in my career, and still living in Saskatchewan.

8. A long lost relative gives you a large sum of money, what do you do with it?
I would set some aside for fun, like a trip or an event/experience, a portion would be donated to one or more worthy causes (definitely Autism Services of Saskatoon), and then the rest I would either put towards debt or if I had no debt then I would invest it or put it towards a down payment on a house or condo.

9. What is your all-time favourite movie?
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and I don’t even totally know why!

10. Where do you see your blog going in the next year?
In the next year I hope to keep creating posts that I enjoy writing. Maybe I’ll collaborate with other bloggers or professionals, but what I want to do most is overhaul the design of Sweet Spontaneity and add in some new aspects that have been on my to-do list for a while.

11. Where does your blog inspiration come from?
My blog inspiration comes from my day-to-day life as well as my personal hopes and dreams. When I’m not feeling particularly inspired I usually turn to other blogs to see if the posts that I read spark something within me (they usually do!)

Thanks so much for the nomination Marissa Clair!
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