THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life ~ January Edition
- Jan 7
- 6 min read
Another holiday season has come and gone! I am currently in recovery mode and am using this first week back in "real life" to recalibrate myself. Christmas is a long and busy stretch! However, I hope that yours was wonderful and that you were able to soak in all of the magic. <3 December was a whirlwind of holiday events! Tim and I attended the Irvings Farm Swine & Dine Feast at the Edmonton Christmas Market which was a very fun chef-farm collab. We enjoyed the tasty food!
Tim and Archie ran in the Santa Shuffle Fun Run 5k again this year (I did not) and they did great!
I loved getting to see the giant Grand Budapest Hotel gingerbread house that Duchess Bake Shop built!! The details were absolutely mind-blowing!
We had our annual Christmas Girls Day and it was just the best!! First we had a wonderful lunch together at Vicky's Bistro followed by a visit to Greenland Garden Centre for their Country Christmas event. It was the MOST fun day and we had such a special time together. <3
We spent a day at the Edmonton Christmas Market, which has easily become our top favourite annual tradition. They do such an amazing job with this market and it's really memorable.
We celebrated an early Christmas at home like we always do and this is when Santa came to our house!
And we also attended the IKEA Julbord Buffet Swedish holiday dinner!
It was such a busy month of holiday events - and this was all before actual Christmas!! There was also some non-holiday stuff that happened as well. Lacey and Dallas came to visit from Canmore and stayed at our house for a weekend! We had such a great time with them!
I also had a really exciting Hotel Mira day (this is the band that I am using to fill the Hedley-shaped hole in my life). First I won entry into the SONiC Taproom Session during the day with the band, then I had a ticket for the Pre-Show VIP Meet & Greet... And then there was the concert itself. I LOVED IT!
This month's awesome food writer victories came courtesy of Patricia Street Deli and Drizzle Ice Cream! Patricia Street Deli has re-opened in Edmonton after their building was damaged in the fire in Jasper. They have a donor wall in the restaurant that lists all the names of the people that donated to help their re-opening and my name is on the wall! I was also invited to Drizzle's Taste Test Tuesday and got to try a bunch of their delicious ice cream treats! I was also awarded my Yelp Elite badge for the 7th year in a row!
Then we were off on our holiday travels! The first stop was to London, where we spent two nights with the Golems. It was a really nice time and felt surprisingly relaxed even though there are so many people involved! The kids always absolutely love their time together which is the main reason why we prioritize getting together. Tim and his siblings also went to visit their dad (who is no longer able to come join the rest of the family).
We had almost an entire day in Toronto before our next flight so we also visited the Distillery Winter Village (which is Toronto's big Christmas market) and it was nice but very crowded.
Next we were off to Regina for a week with the Domanskis, which is where we spent actual Christmas. It was a really wonderful and cozy family time! We also celebrated the January family birthdays together like we always do.
I was also so glad that I got to have such great hang outs with a bunch of you! It was so wonderful to catch up and to spend some time together! <3
AND THAT WAS ALL OF CHRISTMAS!!! It was busy and it was the best. I loved every minute of it but I'm also relieved for it to be over. I'm ready to move on and to start a fresh new year! Thank you for being with me this year! <3
I got some truly excellent Christmas/birthday gifts this year!!
Once we arrived back home from Regina we jumped right in the car the next day and headed off to Jasper! We decided that if we were going to be home for New Year's that we wanted to do something extra fun! We spent the day of New Year's Eve snowboarding on the slopes - just the best way to end a great year!
We went out for a delicious New Year's Eve dinner at a restaurant called Aalto and then we had a hotel room pajama party to ring in the new year!
Aaaand now I just get to be at home for a while! Life with Archie: First of all, we finally got Archie's grade 3 school photo, which took a lot longer than usual this year.
Archie had his Investiture at Cubs and is now officially a first year Cub!
Archie completed his fall round of swimming lessons but he did not pass. So It'll be another round of Swimmer 3! He also put on a mini performance with his Intro to Piano class and he did such a great job! We are gearing up for winter programs which will include snowboarding, more swimming lessons, and continued Intro to Piano and Cubs.
Archie built a Holiday Cocoa Mug at the latest Kids Workshop at Home Depot.
Archie spent a great month enjoying all of the holiday fun and experiencing the season to the fullest!
He was very thrilled about our Christmas at home and still fully believes in Santa, which I love. This year the big presents that he wanted were LEGO and Labubus.
The last week of school before the holidays was a spirit week where each day had a different theme. There was Winter Headwear Day, Red White & Green Day, and Pajama Day. Organizing his outfits for these days is fun for me!
There were also two appropriately themed lunches in the last week; one for red, white & green day and a Christmas one for his last day of school.
Archie flew on his 78th, 79th, and 80th flights!
He absolutely adored all of the incredible cousin time that he got to enjoy in London. <3
Archie loved playing chess with grandpa in Regina and of course was so happy to get even more presents for Christmas and his birthday!
I was also very impressed with how well Archie is doing with snowboarding!! He's very confident and can handle just about any run - we even did some black diamonds! We're living the family mountain dream that we always hoped for!
And now it's JANUARY! We made it! It's 2026 and a whole new year!!! We started the year still in Jasper, which was not a bad way to wake up on the morning of a new year, let me tell you. I'm very excited to be starting something new this year; a Broadway Jazz dance class at J'Adore Dance! It's an adult dance class that I think is going to be very fun, challenging, and a great way to get some cardio! January is a big birthday month for us, starting with mine and I'm turning 44!! I'm very excited to have dinner reservations at Bar Trove (the restaurant that Connor McDavid's wife Lauren opened), then spending the night at our favourite hotel; the JW Marriott. The next day I'm having a Doctor Babor Wellness Facial at the Spa by JW. I'm looking forward to it very much and it sounds like an absolutely perfect birthday for me!! I'll also get to celebrate my birthday with a Birthday Girls Night at Partake as well! Next up is Archie's birthday and he's turning 9!! He had a bunch of birthday requests this year and we're gonna try to cram them all in! On his actual birthday we're having dinner at Le Petit Chef, an immersive animated dining experience. Then we have his birthday party which is being held at the Alberta Aviation Museum and we're serving the kids poutine to eat. They're gonna learn about planes! The rest of the month should be fairly quiet. It will be nice to have a few chill weeks! Welcome to 2026, friends! I hope that you're able to make this year everything that you've dreamed of! Trust the process and find joy in the now! Steady steps will take you where you belong. <3 THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!: January 30th is Enobong Antsey’s 44th birthday!
You have become such an important part of my daily life and I am very grateful for the long and close friendship that we share! I'm wishing you the most wonderful day and year, that your living room is finally finished being decorated, and that you shall feast upon steak and lobster! Love you so much always, my friend. <3
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