a chilly local day!

With my kids all home last week for March Break I had to be extra intentional about planning outings, or we found ourselves all at our wit's end by lunch time. We all get cabin fever if we don't leave the house at least once per day, and it's not always easy in the colder months. So, on this particular day we made a plan to do a bunch of local activities in our 'hood. We started out at a bakery down the street from us where we got 6 mini patisseries for $5. It was fun to try so many, but guys, croissants and their counterparts make a lot of crumbs! Warning! After cleaning up, we headed a few doors down, on the same street, to local shoe store, Piétine.

Piétine is a local shop at the corner of Querbes and Laurier Ouest, in Outremont. They invited us over to check out their new Spring boots and they were so cute!  I really admire stores like Piétine, who have been serving the neighbourhood for 40 years. These days, many big shopping streets in Montreal are full of "For Rent" signs because of ridiculously high rent fees and a decreasing tendency to shop local, so I really appreciated visiting their store, hearing their heart for the neighbourhood, and for revitalizing local commerce. Piétine carries a lot of ethically made brands from Germany, France, Spain, and Canada, and their employees know their stuff! I talked for 20 minutes with the gentlemen who was helping us about sizing, kid's growth patterns, and orthopedic needs for shoes. Honestly, I hadn't had my kids sized professionally in ages, and it was so helpful. Piétine's prices are comparable to online shops but the experience was above and beyond what any online shop can offer. We chose the Aigle boots for Lily, which are made in France, and we LOVE them!

To finish off March Break with a bang, we headed up the mountain for a little adventure. Every time we are up at the top, overlooking our beautiful city I swear I'll come up more often. Like most great cities, Montreal still has a lot of green space and nature, you just need to know where to find it. Most New Yorkers aren't wishing they had a back yard because hello, CENTRAL PARK. And while we have tons of cool parks nearby too (Laurier, Outremont, Lafontaine), the thing that pops into my mind whenever I get lost in the suburban daydream of having a yard is this place. WE HAVE A MOUNTAIN, guys. Now, if only I could send my kids out there while I make dinner, ha!

It was cold so we didn't stay too long, but we did take our time hiking from the parking lot/bus stop area to the look out. We saw a police officer riding a horse and stopped to chat with her and pet the horse. When we were up there we also saw a couple taking wedding photos and the kids were transfixed.  They've been talking about getting married a lot lately! Currently Chloe wants to marry Uncle Mike, Brad, my grandmother "Ga", and me, in that order, haha! Some small details to iron out, but at least she understands that she wants to marry someone who she loves and trusts a whole lot :)

Such a fun day in our 'hood to close off March Break. 

This post is in collaboration with local shoe store, Piétine.
(See Pietine's Facebook and Instagram pages, or visit their store!)

All opinions are 100% my own. To book a collab, see here.