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| One fine day in September |
Without further ado, here's my September in a nutshell:
FITNESS - My September wellness goals, as posted here, kept me active every day. I'm very pleased with my progress and will share the details at our Wellness Wednesday link up on October 10. Feel free to join us, whether you just started working on your wellness plan or having been taking good care of your health for a while.
ENTERTAINMENT - After returning home from France, I took full advantage of the rich music programs in Toronto, and resumed my weekly movie nights with our neighbours. As a result, I was well entertained with:
- One outdoor concert by the DATU band, a modern Filipino music group. Four excellent indoor concerts performed by The Bedford Trio, Amijai Shalev, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Cello Section, and the Artists of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio. The variety of musical instruments used in these concerts was quite interesting, from classical piano, violin, cello, to Filipino gongs and drums, to bandoneón which originated from Germany and became popular in Argentina, to a saw played by David Hetherington. I also like the floor-to-ceiling glass design of one of the Canadian Opera Company amphitheatres.
- Two in-flight movies (Justice League and Tomb Raider), and four movies with our neighbours (Adrift, Ocean's 8, Tag, and Solo Star Wars). I liked the action-comedy movies but didn't enjoy Adrift and Tag which were based on true stories.
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| DATU band |
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| The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Cello Section |
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| Pre-concert at the Canadian Opera Company |
ARTS - In September, I enjoyed a number of artistic and creative endeavours:
- Admired arts in Paris while wandering here and here.
- Continued my online French and Spanish lessons daily.
- Wrote seven posts on my blog, and one guest post for October.
- Viewed five art exhibits in Toronto: Shadows of Flowers by Jamila Alhaib, Nordic Glass by various Scandinavian artists, art work collections titled Joint Efforts, On Any Given Day, and the fifteen finalists of the RBC Canadian Painting Competition 2018. Each of the art exhibits that I attended is post-worthy, unfortunately I don't have time to write them up so please see sample photos below.
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| Shadows of Flowers by Jamila Alhaib |
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| Vuori, 2018 Glass by Sini Majuri |
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| Hexagonal Cushions & Hanging Panel, Handwork Studio |
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| In the Morning by Amanda Boulos |
SOCIAL - September was an incredible month in that I had plenty of fun time with my family and friends, considering how busy everyone is. I'm now up-to-date with my friends' news. Aside from my cousin's wedding in Paris, I had:
- one big family BBQ/ gathering to celebrate my nieces' birthdays.
- five coffee dates with my friends.
- five lunch dates with my friends at different restaurants as posted here.
TRAVEL - I had a fabulous time with my family in France and returned home with lots of photos to sort out. There is at least one more international trip that I want to take before the end of 2018. I chose to visit Morocco in November so I'm now in travel planning mode. A new adventure awaits!
Overall, September was a splendid month for me. I look forward to making October a fantastic month, and enjoying the activities on my Autumn fun list.
How was your September? What good things happened? I'd love to hear your comments.
There's no doubt about it Natalie - you sure do pack a lot into your months and I so admire how you make sure you get a good balance of activities to nourish your every sense! Good luck sorting out all your France photos. I look forward to seeing them! #TeamLovinLife
ReplyDeleteThank you, Min, for your kind words. I'm motivated to have fun :) On my to-do list is to sort out some photos from Auvers-Sur-Oise.
DeleteNatalie I loved the flower art and glass (I'm a sucker for glass sculpture, stained glass, glass art....just pretty glass in general)
ReplyDeleteHi Leanne - The flower and Nordic glass exhibits were very nice. It's wonderful to see so many different art designs, colours, and materials.
DeleteI love how much you do - & Morocco sounds great. Bring on October!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jo, for your comment. I'm motivated to do activities that are fun to me :) October is looking good.
DeleteA wonderful event-filled and action-packed September for you Natalie. I also had a big month - moving house and my son's wedding. The wedding was amazing and I'm still on a high almost two weeks afterwards. #TeamLovinLife
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Kathy, on your new home and your son's wedding. They're huge and happy events. Have a terrific October!
DeleteWhat great experiences! Love the art and music you enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Juhli, for stopping by. I really appreciate the rich art and cultural events in my home city.
DeleteI wish I could do and see as much as you each month, I love how much you get to travel.
ReplyDeleteNice to hear from you, Emma. I'm motivated to go out and explore, specially when the weather is still nice here. I like to travel and try to weave that into my year.
DeleteWhat a great way to come home from vacation and STILL be so busy. I'm always ready to wind down after my trips!!
ReplyDeleteAlthough the outdoor concerts are so fun and you gotta get them in while the weather is still good!
XOXO
Jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
The good weather certainly motivates me to get out and about, Jodie. Plus the arts and concerts really bring moments of joy to my day.
DeleteI love September and October. The tourists are gone and it seems that there is a lot of activities - and great weather - for us locals. I have never considered visiting Morocco so I am anxious to hear of your travels.
ReplyDeleteSame here, Janis. The tourist crowd is mostly gone, the weather is still pretty good, and local Fall events are abundant. I'm looking forward to visiting Morocco and will share my experiences on my blog for sure. In the mean time, I'd love to read about your meet up with Donna and Kathy this month.
DeleteWow, so much travel.... I guess you're a little closer to Europe etc than us as the $2000 for flights alone kills me!
ReplyDeleteAnd as usual you've been so busy and active. And social! I'm not sure what I'm doing on the work front over coming months so want to be a bit more sociable and even just do more stuff locally rather than 'hole-up' when I'm not working. #teamlovinlife
I'm about 6-7 hours flight to Western Europe, with the first 2.5 hours still in Canada! There are lots of travel deals to Europe, US, Mexico, and the Caribbean for us.
DeleteI'm sure there are lots of things you can do for fun locally. Just play tourist and see what may surprise you from your own city.
Hi, Natalie - Your September does look like a splendid month indeed. Your posts continue to be very inspirational!
ReplyDeleteHi Donna, I try to savour moments of joy every day. I'm humbled that you find my posts inspirational. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family this weekend!
DeleteLove that flower art; I don't think anyone can top spending the start of the month in Paris. Oh la la!
ReplyDeleteParis is great. Niagara Falls as one of the World's natural wonders is awesome, too. Glad you and your family had fun visiting Niagara Falls. Enjoy October!
DeleteWhen the sky is blue, the outdoors calls me as well. So, my September was extremely busy with sightseeing and hiking on the sunny days and being social and running errands on the less sunny days. Now, it is getting too cold and rainy for us, though, so the South is calling. Will you visit Morocco on your own or with a tour?
ReplyDeleteYou sure have been very busy, Liesbet. I hope you'll have drier and warmer days soon. I'm planning to visit Morocco on my own and join guided walking tour(s) when I get there.
DeleteGreat. Have fun! I’m not sure whether you have been to Muslim countries before, but it’s a very different experience. You’ll probably get hassled a lot, but it’s part of the souks immersion, as is bargaining heavily.
DeleteThanks, Liesbet, for the heads up. I've been to some Islamic countries and have some ideas of what to expect in Morocco. I'm having fun learning by reading about the country at the moment.
DeleteFar out, you pack a lot in! My fiance keeps talking about wanting to watch Tag, and I keep holding out. After your sentence about it, I might just keep holding out! #LifeThisWeek
ReplyDeleteNow that I lowered your expectations about Tag, maybe you'll find it 'better than expected' when you watch it :)
DeleteI keep thinking, when I read your posts, that someday I might have a life as culturally stimulating as yours! You experience so many beautiful things through your travel and activities. The art you shared above is so varied and interesting. The textiles. The glass. The Shadows of Flowers paintings are tremendous!
ReplyDeleteI think you'd love the art and music shows here, Leslie. Best of all, the ones that I go to are free to the public.
DeleteIt sounds like you had an amazing month!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vanessa, for stopping by. September was splendid for me. Hope your October is going well.
DeleteThat's awesome that you had such a great month and it looks like great weather too. We've had nothing but rain for weeks. Good to hear about your fitness goals too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy, for your comment. September was great. October weather here has been cloudy and rainy on and off but the temperatures are still comfortable so I continue to go out and explore. Hope the weather improves where you are.
DeleteYour travels amaze me. Great to have the experiences and thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up for Life This Week. Next week's optional prompt is What I Have Learned Lately. 15/10/18. Denyse.
Thanks, Denyse, for hosting #lifethisweek. It's my pleasure to share my travel experiences.
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