Back From Ottawa & A La Carte

My family went to Ottawa this weekend for my cousin Kristin's wedding. It was lovely. There aren't a lot of weddings in our family. Including my own, I've only been to five in my life. I packed a lot of sight seeing in around the wedding. I'd forgotten how much I love Ottawa. It's hard not to feel patriotic and weirdly Canadian all the time. I'm sure there's a better word than weirdly, but I'm car lagged right now.

I love that Ottawa's so much more French than Toronto. You actually hear people speaking French on the street and there's a lot more French signage going on. In Toronto, you buy a croissant at the supermarket and that's about it. I exaggerate only slightly. Hey look, it's a Salvation Army Magasin D'Économie sandwiched between a sports bar and a hotel. My sad story is that we schlepped all the way out to this store and there was very little there. Duncan got a muddy VHS copy of Space Jam ("Pump up the jam...") and I bought this cute little vintage tourist plate from Banff, which got smashed in Duncan's backpack. D'oh! I guess we're all entitled to at least one smashed vintage treasure a year.
In the process of decluttering Duncan's room, I had to move this lovely cart out. I got it at a garage sale a few streets down from us last year before I began blogging. It cost me no more than a couple of dollars. I think it's so cool. I remember pushing it up the street and resisting the urge to call out in a Brooklyn accent, "Cigahs - cigarettes!" I'm going to have to take it into my classroom. I'm sure it will add warmth and vintage charm to the room.

That's all folks. I'll be posting more pictures of Ottawa on Five Ways to Disappear soon. I'm loving the Pyrex Collective. If you want to contribute to it, or if you haven't received your blogger invite that I requested on your behalf, please email me at monkeyintherocket@yahoo.ca and I'll try to work my wonders.

Erin