JULY | A BACHELORETTE PARTY, FAMILY TIME, AND A QUICK VISIT TO BRIGUS

Hi, friends!  I’m back again for another monthly recap! I think it’s best if I just get right to it today. You can read my last post if you want to know why.  Actually, since this is a July recap in October, you can probably guess why!

Here’s a look back at July…

July is usually my favourite month of the summer, and that’s mostly because it’s usually the best month for weather here in Newfoundland.  I have to say, this year we had pretty good weather all summer long though, and that’s something that rarely happens here. Gosh did I thank the weather gods this summer for that!

The beginning of the month started off with me getting sick….again! (I had a cold with an ear infection the end of June). I was soooo miserable this time though. I’m assuming it was COVID. I had such a high fever, and oh my goodness the aches and chills I had. I was literally vibrating out of my bed for an entire day.  I was also stomach sick, had the worst headache, and had no energy.  It was bad, folks!

Once that week of hell was over and I was able to walk a few steps without getting winded, it was time to get a few things done in our backyard. Besides planting flowers, which we had done the previous month, we gave our backyard a little “refresh” (weeding our flower beds, putting down mulch, trimming some trees, etc). We usually aim to do all of this in June, but that month seemed to get away from us!

I love spending time in our backyard.  There’s nothing better than sitting outside in the warm evenings with a good book and having the gentle and peaceful sound of water coming from our fountain.  Ahhhhh! Relaxation!

For a couple of weeks in July, reading outside at night was part of my little routine on the weekdays, and I put a good dent in A Court of Wings And Ruin (the third book in the ACOTAR series).

We bought an outside projector a few years ago but only ever used it a couple of times while we were camping, so this year we decided to set it up in our backyard. SO FUN!!!  Watching a show outside before bed also became another part of our little routine that we loved!

During the month, the nights would be so warm …and that’s very rare here in Newfoundland!  Even if we have hot summer days, it usually cools down a lot at night.

Traitors was usually our show of choice!  If you like reality tv, I think you’d like this one!

I amped up my walking even more in July.  There’s a particular route near our house I like to walk, which takes about an hour and ten minutes. I tried to do that almost every day. Since Charley is getting older and her legs are not as great as they used to be, that walk is a little too much for her so then we would end up taking her for a shorter walk or swim after my own walk.  Lots of walking, but I loved it! I’d put on a podcast and off I’d go!

I have to say, I loved our little routine we had going on during the weekdays!  Can’t you tell I’m big in to routine?!

Speaking of being into routine, I apparently also gravitated towards a lot of the same foods too in July!  Lots of barbecues, salads, and BLT’s. Yes, BLT’s. I have no idea where that one came from, but it became a new obsession of mine for some reason during the summer.

Also, don’t judge me on my topic of conversation here, friends. You can thank my camera roll for reminding me of everything that took place in July. And I obviously mean everything!!!

I had a bridal shower and bachelorette party for one of my friends in July.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a bachelorette party, so that made me look forward to it even that much more! Her theme was “Barbie Cowboy”.

The first thing I thought of were cowboy boots!  Since I knew I’d be going to a Shania Twain concert later in the summer, purchasing cowboy boots became a must!  What’s a country concert and a barbie cowboy themed bachelorette party without cowboy boots?!  I ordered these from amazon.

While I was on the ball figuring out my footwear, of course I waited until the last minute to figure out what I was going to wear. I ended up finding something in my own closet that worked , and I bought a sparkly belt, a cowboy hat and handkerchief to complete the “Barbie Cowboy” look.

It was a great night, and I forgot just how much fun bachelorette parties are.

Apparently, I also forgot that I’m in my late thirties now and I just can’t recover like I used to! Thankfully these were given out at the party, because they definitely came in handy the next day!

I just realized after looking at the picture of me that I got my hair cut again the middle of July. I was feeling my hair was starting to be in that ‘awkward length’ phase, so I went even shorter from the original chop this time around.

We went to Saltwater for dinner one night with friends of ours. It’s been about ten years ago since I had been to that restaurant, so I couldn’t remember anything about it. I ordered the seafood risotto and, while it was good, it was made with a red sauce and I definitely would have preferred it with a white sauce.

Overall we thought the food was good, and it was nice to go somewhere ‘new’, but it didn’t live up to the price point. We both agreed there are better options in St. John’s.

Our favourite part of the night was definitely the company!!

While Todd was out of town on a bachelor party, my parents came to St. John’s (they live about an hour and a half away) and we spent the day and night together.

We started the day off by taking Charley for a walk and swim at Bowring Park and then we went downtown and walked around the Pedestrian Mall and got lunch at Blue on Water. Of course I had the exact same thing I had the last time I was there in June – the grilled brie sandwich!  I’m a creature of habit!  We finished off the day with some shopping!

St. John’s opened the downtown pedestrian mall during COVID in 2020.  The main street is closed from traffic, and all restaurants and bars have outside patios on the street. It was first introduced as a way to entice people downtown and to help businesses during the pandemic. It became such a hit that it’s continued every year.

Walking and eating on the pedestrian mall downtown is one of our favourite things to do in the summer, and we always try to take advantage when we can. The street becomes so lively, and I love sitting out on a nice day with a good drink or a good meal (or, often times..both!!), and people watch!

What else did we do in July?  We spent time at our cabin. We only made it to our cabin one weekend in July, but we were happy we even got there for a couple of days.

We spent the majority of the time staining our deck, and let me tell you, that deck is no joke to stain! Even though I always complain about how long it takes, believe it or not, I enjoy staining it. I love doing things outside on summer days, even if it involves doing something that kills my back!!!  Plus, it looks so much better after that fresh coat of stain!

Relaxing by the fire at night certainly helps though!

I just saw the picture below on my phone of me playing tennis, and I had to share it since it was the time I finally beat Todd.  After losing many tennis games over the years, this one deserves to have a permanent spot here, wouldn’t you agree?

That’s the smile of a winner right there!!!

The most exciting thing that happened during the month was my sister and her husband, and my niece and nephews coming to Newfoundland for a 10 day visit.  They live in Ontario, and haven’t been back “home” for a couple of years, so we were excited for them to come. Me and Todd took some time off work to really enjoy their visit and to be able to do all of the fun things they were going to be doing during their trip. FOMO is a real thing, my friends!

We stayed the first few days in St. John’s and then we headed out to our parents cabin near our hometown and stayed four or five nights there.

We spent one full day on the ATV’s, stopping at a brook for a swim.  We had 4 bikes in total for 9 of us.

Another day we did the Baccalieu View trail in Red Head Cove.

This is a pretty easy walking trail, and it’s only 3.7km in and out. It’s a great way to get some amazing views of the Bay De Verde Peninsula, and they have a fairy well and fairy gardens that’s located about half way in which is nice for the kids too!

Then it was off to the Bay De Verde Brewery for some food and beers. This brewery opened in the spring of 2023, but it was the first time any of us had been.

We ended the day with picking some strawberries at our aunts Strawberry U-Pick in Northern Bay.  Mmmm fresh strawberries!!

Another day we went to Western Bay overfalls for some more swimming.  This is such a fun spot, I’ve always loved it here!

Another day was spent at Northern Bay Sands doing, you guessed it….more swimming!  Gosh these kids love to swim!

On the last day at our parents cabin, we played a version of a scavenger hunt and it was so much fun!

A few weeks beforehand I came up with 40-50 items of things we either had to find or do, and each one of those things had a different number of points assigned to them. Some things were easy to find, some were a lot harder, and others were just silly and complete fun!  We divided into two teams and set a timer for an hour and a half. The first team to have the most points at the end of the hour and a half won. Oh – and the catch was that every item on the list had to be photographed or on a video for proof that you completed it.

I think we all had a lot of fun with this!  Not only was it hilarious while doing the game, but the funniness continued when we got to watch the other teams pictures/videos. We had so many laughs, and I still look back on some of those videos and catch myself laughing (sis, you know I’m still laughing at the one of you giving instructions and a demonstration on how to tie your shoe laces in a British accent!!!).

I’d highly recommend this if you’re looking for a fun activity for all ages!

Here’s a little snip of some of the items in our game…

After having a fun few days, we headed back to St. John’s so we could do some things in the city for a few days before my family went back to Ontario. On our drive back, we decided to stop into Brigus first though for the afternoon to do some exploring and to get some lunch.

Brigus is such a cute community. If you’re in St. John’s, it’s definitely worth making a visit, especially since it’s less than an hour away.

How cute are those two?!

My sister brought her dog to Newfoundland with them. The cousins took a little while to warm up to each other, but luckily they were civil to each other by the end of their visit!  Murphy loved all the walking and hiking that he got to do while he was in Newfoundland. And Charley loved it when Murphy stayed away from her mom and dad!!!

While walking around Brigus, we were all very excited to see blueberries! Normally we don’t see blueberries in Newfoundland until mid to late August, so it was a nice surprise to see them the end of July.  The kids loved blueberry picking….as did the adults!

And that brings us right up to July 31st.

Woah, I am exhausted now after this recap! Ha! Normally I’d chat all about anything I watched on tv or bought, etc., but I’m just way too pooped! And I actually don’t think I can remember that three months later anyways! I’m so glad I tried to take more pictures during the summer because it definitely came in handy during this recap!

I’ll be back (hopefully) soon to share all about August! My sisters visit went into August so I’ll continue on with that too!

Until next time, friends!