Runs on Coffee and Cream

When we first moved to Sudbury in June, we attempted a walk through the nearby conservation area. Well we didn't make it far in because of all the mosquitoes! A week ago we decided to go exploring there again since all the mosquitoes have disappeared. We walked all the way to the other end of the conservation area. The trees were gorgeous! Glimpses of red leaves were peeking out all over the place. It had rained the day before so the trail was a bit mucky and we encountered a snake, frog and a big fuzzy caterpillar.



Birch trees are everywhere up here!




We passed a man walking with two dogs. Adam was using a walking stick and this dog kept nudging Adam's hand until he passed over the stick. Then the dog took off with it.



Look at those red and orange colours peeking out!



My recently dyed hair matched some of the trees.







I would love to live in one of these houses at the end of the conservation area. It'd be nice to be so close to a gorgeous walking trail.



After seeing all these trees turning colour at this conservation area, we're hoping to check out a couple more places in the next few weeks. One place on our to-do list is the French River. It's supposed to be gorgeous there!

It's only Monday, and I'm already dreaming about future weekend plans ^_^
xo Jen

So this past week I finished my Divergent audio book. The entire book was great. The characters and setting are described so perfectly. I got into the book really quickly and by mid-way through, I was very addicted. I ended up staying up later than I should have finishing the book the other night. Damn. The last 1/4 of the book is crazy! I'm so excited to go onto the next book, Insurgent. And I'm also really excited for the movie next year.



I cannot wait to get my hands on her full length album, Pure Heroine!

What have you been watching, reading and listening to?
xo Jen

Back in the summer, I received an amazing package from Emily (@frogmellaink)! When I picked it up at the post office, I probably looked like such a dork as I grinned like a fool when I was handed the box. Look at how it was decorated!!



I was so excited to go home and open it! Oh, and how cool are the Royal Mail postage stamps?!?

Emily completely spoiled me...



There were greeting cards, postcards, notebooks, stickers, candy, chocolate, a beautiful cat necklace, a lovely pin and the cutest ring. The sweetest thing was the adorable 'New Home' card she sent.

I will admit all the sweets disappeared pretty quickly. The Love Hearts brought me back to my childhood because my Mom used to buy these for us at the corner store. And I thought Fizzers would taste like Rockets (or Smarties in the U.S.) but they don't! Oh, and Curlywurlys are delicious and I would not be opposed to having them mailed to me regularly!



I've been planning and brainstorming up a list of items I want to get together for my Autumn packages that I'm going to send the other IGGPPC ladies. I want to fill up a box with Halloween and pumpkin treats!

A couple weeks ago I also received a package from a best friend from my hometown. It was completely unexpected and surprised me. It was the perfect gift to brighten my entire week.




The Tropical Pocky was yummy! It didn't have an overpowering taste. It was just good. And I'm so excited for the note pads and sticky notes! And look at that TMNT cup!!

I seriously can't explain how much I love not only receiving post but also sending it. It's the perfect way to cheer someone up or surprise them. There's just so much thought and kindness in every parcel I receive. I truly love it.

xo Jen

What's your favourite thing about the Autumn season?
xo Jen

Autumn is in full swing here... at least in our place. I have apple and pumpkin scented candles burning (not at the same time though) and pumpkin scented air room fresheners. Cardigans, knee high socks, and flannel pajama pants have become a staple most days and nights.

I have a package at the post office that's waiting for me and I'm pretty sure it contains some Autumn-themed goodies for me to bake with!

I'm also drooling and loving these other Autumn recipes I've found online. I'm hoping to try most of them over the next couple of months.

This summer was filled with big movies as usual, but I really liked so many of them! It felt like every week there was a new movie out that we wanted to see. We saw almost everything we wanted to see and most of them lived up to their hype and some even surprised me because I liked them more than I expected.

This Is The End was one of the movies that surprised me. The trailer made the movie look hilarious but I was afraid all the funny parts were in the trailer but I seriously laughed through the majority of this movie. I really, really liked it.

Just a few of the movies that I'm really excited for:
- Austenland (Jane Austen and Keri Russell <3)
- Thor: The Dark World (I really liked the first one and I'm so excited to see the sequel!)
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (I'm SO excited to see this movie since it was my favourite novel of the trilogy!)
- Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (I really love the first movie and the cast they've brought on for this one looks awesome!)

What movies are you looking forward to seeing?
xo Jen

September started off really busy for me. We spent the first day of the month at our local Ribfest downtown. We filled up on ribs and deliciously horrible for us fried foods. The highlight of the day was finding a little vendor selling Butterbeer!



Did I try it? Nope. It was $8 a cup. Yes, you got a reusable mug (though it was for the soda company, not a Harry Potter mug). But I didn't want to pay that much for a mug I didn't want and to drink something that might not be good. I want to save my first experience drinking Butterbeer for when I finally get to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Then the following weekend was spent back in Southern Ontario. We attended a wedding on Saturday and I spent Sunday in Toronto with some family looking for celebrities attending TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). We've been doing this for about 5 years now. We've seen numerous celebrities in the past... Kevin Smith, Jennifer Aniston, Steven Zahn, Emma Stone, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Gerard Butler, Hugh Laurie, Penn Badgley, Colin Firth, Richard Ayoade, Maggie Smith, Ben Affleck... 

We spotted quite a few celebrities this year - Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Thandie Newton, Bryce Dallas Howard (I almost walked into her as she got out of a car and I just said 'Bryce!' and she smiled and said hi and hurried away), Matthew McConaughey, Jason Bateman, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jesse Eisenberg! A lot of my photos were a bit fuzzy so these are a few of my good shots.

Jesse Eisenberg



Benedict Cumberbatch



Jason Bateman! When he left the hotel, he didn't hop in a car but he started walking down the street. Since all of us are huge fans of his, we followed him a bit down the street and luckily caught up to him at a stop light. He was so nice and posed for pictures until the light changed. Considering we were completely fangirling over him, he was a sweetheart.



Also, Round 7 of International Geek Girl Pen Pals Club opened yesterday! We're already half full! On September 19th, IGGPPC is 6 months old! So we decided to make it an 'Unbirthday Party' theme. We have a bunch of giveaways going on for it. Definitely check out the site and Facebook page for more info as the week goes on! You can also sign up for a pen pal here.


I hope you all had a wonderful first half of September <3
xo Jen

Over the last month, I was introduced to the amazing Ron Swanson. I started watching Parks and Recreation from the beginning and I have flown through the first two seasons. I feel like I could devour the entire series super quick but I want to space it out a bit. So I'm taking a small break to catch up on the first 10 episodes of Awkward. By a third of the way through season two of Parks and Recreation, I was completely addicted. I loved the characters and got right into the story. And like a lot of people, Ron Swanson is by far my favourite character on the show. I love Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) too of course. Her friendship with Ron is super cute and funny.

xo Jen

When I heard that wild blueberries were all over Sudbury, I knew we had to go find some! But we didn't know where to start looking and after an Internet search, I didn't find much help. So Adam got some advice from a co-worker and we headed out. We had no idea what to look for. After googling images of blueberry bushes and seeing none, we were close to giving up. But then we looked down. The blueberries were at our ankles!

Heading into a field like this made me a tad scared about meeting a moose or bear (which wouldn't be weird at all in our area). 





We found them!



The wild blueberries are pretty tiny but so yummy!



After searching two different areas and getting attacked by mosquitoes, we ended up with a decent haul.



We ate a lot of the blueberries with yogurt, in our cereal and just by the handful but I decided to make up a cake with some of them too. I threw some blueberries in the white cake mix and then when I made homemade lemon buttercream I added some into the mixer to blend into the frosting. It was so good!



A couple of week's ago, we had company up and we finally checked out Science North. It was incredibly cool. We watched a really interesting 4D movie about wild fires and there were lots of live creatures to check out! Spiders and other creepy crawlers, a room filled with butterflies, snakes, turtles, a porcupine, and a beaver.




So many beautiful butterflies!





I know this isn't the best photo but I had to show you this adorable turtle. He looks like he has a smile on his face!



Now that we're heading into Autumn and I'm working, I really want to plan some day trips and activities for the next couple of months. I want to take advantage of the amazing Autumn weather!

xo Jen