Best of: Canton, MI

Here are some superlatives from our past 3 years of living in Canton.
("Best of" from our 3 years in Plymouth here.)

FOOD 

Best Ice Cream: 

This one is still Dairy King in Plymouth, MI. Sorry, Canton.

I guess if I'm forced to choose one in Canton, I'd go with DQ.

Best Japanese Food: 

Ichiban

Best Chinese Food: 

Szechuan

Best dish: chicken fried rice

Best Breadsticks:

Antonio's 

Best Restaurant That Isn't A Chain: 

Ummmm... is there one?! 

Just kidding. I guess I'd go with Szechuan. 

Best "Coffee House": 

My go-to is Starbucks in either Kroger or Target. 

Village Coffeehouse opened in CHV, but I've only been twice.

Sorry, local businesses.

Best Pizza: 

Jet's buffalo chicken or Fat Chef's pepperoni

Best Subs: 

Penn Station... also in Plymouth. Sorry again, Canton.

Best sub: Philly cheesesteak with banana peppers

SERVICES

Best Haircut: 

Aimee Whipple!

Best Eyebrow Wax: 

Redhead Salon

Best Nail Salon: 

"PCA Nails" - it's right next to PCA and I never remember the real name.

Best Swedish Furniture Store: 

IKEA

LEISURE

Best Place For A Walk:

trails on Michigan Ave & Morton-Taylor

Best Place To Get In Touch With Your Inner Athlete:

Arctic Edge ice rink.

I've heard Sky Zone is pretty amazing, but I've never been... 

LIVING

Best Resident Professional Athlete: 

Apparently a Green Bay Packer lives in our neighborhood?

Best Place To Get Scolded

For Walking On The Wrong Side Of The Sidewalk: 

Cherry Hill Village

Best First House: 

590 Roosevelt Street

Best Community Group: 

Ours.

We will miss you guys so much!

color our world

Our church is hosting their annual women's event on

Friday, April 19th.

I'm so excited about this, because all the proceeds go to World Orphans 

- the children in Ethiopia & Kenya that we partner with.

Not only is the event for a great cause, but it's going to be a ton of fun!

There's going to be an amazing dinner catered by Jeff Zak

(he's amazing - if you're having an event in metro-Detroit, go with him).

Our speaker is Julie Gumm - she adopted two children from Ethiopia

and wrote the book Adopt Without Debt. 

AND.

What would a women's event be without shopping?

We are going to have an amazing boutique full of home decor and accessories.

I've already been drooling over some of the samples that we've seen at our planning meetings.

So go register now! 

It's going to be an awesome evening.

find the tree & put it in your house

Hood up, boots on - we're ready to go!

 We'll search the trees, high and low.

 Skeptical glances of trees too small

 and snuggles with mommy behind trees so tall.

 Holiday smooches received with glee

 though sometimes mom and dad smother me.

 Despite distractions that abound

we've got the best Christmas tree around!

we like walks

And cute pumpkin hats.

bo's room

Welcome to Bo's nursery!

This is, by far, my favorite room in the house. Every time I walk in, I feel so happy.

We didn't originally plan on having an elephant theme - we sort of fell into it.

I knew that I wanted gray walls and then decided on accent colors of blue and orange.

I wanted something that was boy-ish, but still fun and childish.

(What you don't see: the ghetto Scotch tape holding up the paper fluff balls.)

And Doug agreed readily, because blue & orange are Detroit Tigers colors. 

I've always adored baby elephants, and slowly we started accumulating more & more elephant items.

As Doug said after I came home with an elephant shower curtain, "I hope Bo likes elephants."

How could he not?!   

Look at all these sweet little elephant details:

 

This one's not elephant themed, but it sure is adorable.

There are still a few things I'd like to do 

(add a shelf above the changing table, do a photo collage of Ethiopia pics)

but we are completely functional!

Thanks to all our family & friends for all the delightful homemade touches to our sweet boy's room!

All the nursery really needs now is BO!

crib: target

glider: borrowed from family friend

changing table: ikea

toy chest: my mother-in-law found it on the side of the road. i re-covered the cushion.

ottoman: meijer clearance

bookshelf: target

bedding: pottery barn kids

curtains: homemade

pillow cushion cover: homemade - thanks, katy!

africa/michigan prints: adapted from pinterest printable

elephant mobile: the red bird shop

bonsa pennant: homemade - thanks, ellie!

a pleasant morning run

Subtitle: Ah, Suburbia.

This morning I decided to go for a run - stop laughing! - with Zooey. I mean, it is an amazing morning. It was like 70 degrees, low humidity, beautiful sunshine... what's not to love?!

So Zooey & I are just trotting along, enjoying the gorgeous day - getting close to my favorite part of the jog where I can take Zooey off her leash and run by some little ponds.

At this point, I see an elderly gentleman jogging toward us. And I'm thinking, hey guy, kudos to you for running at your age! I quickly assess the situation because I don't want Zooey to annoy this guy. She's traipsing along at my left side, so I stick to the left side of the pavement to keep myself between her and this approaching runner. Zooey has the tendency to um, over-enthusiastically greet people we encounter on walks.

So as we get closer, I look at the ole chap, give him a big smile and warmly say, "Good morning!"

And he responds in a cantankerous voice, "You're on the wrong side!" 

To which I reply, "Settle down, Scrooge!"

No, I'm just kidding, Mom. I was yelling that in my head, but I just ignored him and kept jogging, as he grumbled to himself. But seriously? SERIOUSLY?!

Let's break down the situation further, shall we?

First of all, this is a wide path. Doesn't really look like it in the picture, but dude had plenty of room. Second, hello! The path is surrounded by grass (albeit very poorly kept grass). Not like I'm edging you out into the street! Third, I was BARELY even on the pavement! Dude essentially had the whole sidewalk to himself. Okay - the red arrow is a tad bit deceptive. I had probably my right foot on the pavement. Fourth, REALLY?! Is my offense really that heinous that you had to point it out? (At this point I fully expect all serious runners to be like, "Yeah, Rachel, everyone knows you stay to the right, unless you're in Great Britain.") Fifth, I was saving you from the zealous energy of my dog! Sixth, I greeted you so nicely! RUDE.

He's probably at home right now, grumbling to his wife (or cats or whomever) about the young whippersnapper who's ruining society by JOGGING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE SIDEWALK. ANARCHY!

Next time I'm just letting go of Zooey.

I will say, in defense of the elderly in this neighborhood, that on my way back to take a picture of the spot (yes, that happened), I crossed paths with an old woman and decided to give it another go. I looked at her, smiled and said, "Good morning!"

And she responded, "YOUR DOG IS POOPING IN MY YARD."

No, I'm kidding again. She said pleasantly, "Good morning!" and returned my smile!
And thus, my faith in old people was restored.

I think the real lesson to be learned here is to avoid running.

michigan shower

Some pictures from my baby shower, thrown by my beloved small group! 

Thanks to Ellie, Patti, Mandy & Andrea for all your hard work &

thank you so much to everyone who came and joined in celebrating Bo's life!

I felt so loved and had so much fun with all of you!
(Thanks to Mandy for taking all these pics!)

chatting with my hosts:

adorable table decor. an elephant-themed party with our nursery colors!

even the favors were elephant-themed! little hand sanitizers with elephants on them!

yummy, yummy food. asparagus wrapped in roast beef, asian noodle salad...

... mini pita pockets with chicken salad & grapes (LOVE)...

... and baguettes with cheese & apple. 

DESSERTS. Mini lemon & blueberry cupcakes. 

Chocolate-dipped "peanuts". Chocolate covered Ritz & PB cookies.

And fruit pizzas. 

Such an awesome night celebrating my little boy...

...THIS DUDE!!!!

(Picture from our official referral)