Monday, December 31, 2012

2013


As I'm sitting here watching the party in Toronto on TV (because Vancouver is too lame to do any kind of event for New Years...) I am thinking how crazy it is that it is 2013. How was 2012 for you? Mine was full of some downs in the beginning and then halfway through definitely had some nice steadyness to it. I know steadyness isn't a word. Nothing too exciting happened in 2012 but 2013 is definitely a different story. Here is what I have to look forward to:

February 3rd: My Birthday (who cares if its every year right?!). I'm turning 21 this year so I'm planning on crossing the line to go spend the day in Seattle and go up the Space Needle!

February 7th: Taking a trip to Toronto for a long weekend to attend my cousin's wedding and have some visit time with my family as well since it was too expensive to go during Christmas!

There could POSSIBLY be a trip to Vegas in March during my spring break ... I think that is still up in the air but that brings me to my next thing to look forward to...

This is my veryyy last semester of school which is crazy right?! I finish classes in April and start an internship after that for 4 weeks (which I need to set up asap.. shame on me). So...

April: Done classes which means.... we move! To Toronto to crash at my Dad's until I'm done my internship and get a job. Once I'm in Ontario I will be able to jump full force into Wedding planning and this blog will have way more content on that (also it will be the 1 year mark before the wedding yay =D )

And the biggest thing I'm looking forward to this year.... a paycheck!

 2013 should be good!

So yes, Happy New Year to you. I hope whatever way you have to decided to spend your night, you stay safe and do anything you won't be able to leave behind in 2012 ;)

Gizmo is watching! lol


Friday, December 28, 2012

Guest Book

I had pinned a mass amount of different ideas for a guest book on Pinterest. I knew I wanted something different than the regular book people get. I did come across someone using Mixbook a while back but I didn't want to go that route. 

Well one day I was on Mixbook playing around putting photo albums together and I started putting together a guestbook with all our engagement pictures. I ended up really liking it so, I just ordered it. It was a really reasonable price too. It wasn't anymore than just getting a regular book from the store. We got it really fast too (I found out later it was shipped from Calgary or somewhere near there so that explained that... lol)

Here is a couple pages from it:


On the front page it has our names and the date we got married and all that and I didn't realize it at first but my Mom soon pointed out that it said May 24th, 2011. Oops... I thought that I was foobard because Mixbook wouldn't let me return this.. its not like they could resell it. But I decided to contact them anyway and they told me I could get a corrected copy, just had to pay for shipping. That was fine by me! So I was pretty impressed!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Adios Muchachos!

I am off to sunny Mexico tomorrow so my blog will be on a little hiatus! I will be back Christmas Eve and don't worry... I will take tons of pictures with my brand spankin new Nikon J1!






See ya! 

Sunday, December 09, 2012

DIY Coasters

Perusing through pinterest I have found many tutorials for coasters so I thought I will try this myself. And so I bring to you my version of handmade coasters! 

This is a very cheap project. The supplies that cost the most money last a really long time.


 So to start you need supplies... Some supplies in the picture I ended up changing.
  • Some kind of craft mat to protect your counters from the glue. I use the back of my cutting board because I don't have a craft mat at this point. 
  • The print for your coasters - this can be paper or napkins. I picked up two different patterns of Christmas napkins from Superstore 
  • Mod Podge. I had matte finish on hand but if I were to do it again I would use the glossy finish.
  • 4x4 tiles. 4 for each set or however many you choose to have
  • Sponge Brush
  • Scissors
  • Pencil
  • Marker
  • Felt
  • Fabric Adhesive
  • Polyurethane


To start, one napkin makes 4 different coasters as seen here. So I cut along the fold lines and then traced the coaster with the pencil. Don't worry about being too exact. 

Then I went over on the inside of the pencil mark with marker. This you need to be steady and straight and hold your napkin straight too because it will move. 

I then removed this white fabric from the back of the napkins and cut along the inside of the marker line. I keep mentioning the inside because it is better to have your design be short and have a white frame than the design overlap the edges of the tiles.

Apply the mod podge with foam brush...

Place the napkin on to the tile and put mod podge on overtop. Because the napkin was wet from the mod podge before, it wrinkled a bit but it ended up with a cool design in my opinion. You won't be able to see it in these pictures though. Leave to dry.  After it dried, I took them outside and sprayed 2 coats of the polyurethane and let thoes dry.


 Now you see here, the coasters are done. To the next step...


 In the first picture I put up I showed the supplies. Among that were these felt furniture protectors that we had on hand. I thought I could use them but when I placed them on, they were way too thick. It looked silly. So I went off to Michaels...


Bought some felt and some fabric adhesive. One felt sheet will cover a set of 4.

Gizmo decided to help out.... 
I just basically used my eye to cut, it doesn't need to be perfect, we aren't machines! Haha
As long as it serves as protection from the tile than its fine.  One day when I get one of those straight cutter things I'll be able to acutally measure and make it stellar :) 


I applied the fabric adhesive to the outside, you don't need to apply too much because this stuff is strong and it will seep out the edges.

 The coasters with the felt on the back!


And here is the finished and wrapped product! I gave a pair to someone at school for our secret santa. They were a big hit. It's the perfect DIY Christmas gift because you can actually use it and people appreciate the fact that you made it yourself too. It shows a lot of thought went into their gift :)


Thursday, November 29, 2012

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas...

Alright quick update. I literally put up my Christmas tree the day after Remembrance Day! Unforunately the only decorating we are doing for Christmas is the tree... I'm trying not to buy more crap that we will have to move with us across the country. Anywhooos ... here is our tree! :)



Yes we are already done our Christmas shopping. I like to get it all done nice and early so when boxing day rolls around...we have money to shop!!




 If you are wondering, no my cats have not knocked down the tree or gotten a hold of the ornaments. They have been good this year. It's probably because I squack at them everytime I hear the rustling of the tree. Gizmo did knock over the tree once last year and my Mom's giant tree the year before when I lived with her.... Maybe having it on a table helps haha ... 



Monday, November 12, 2012

Student Life

I have something embarrasssing to admit. Things are getting very interesting over here at my casa. This happened around this time last year as well... and this time about March too. It is the time when big projects are going down at school. 

Here we go...

Yes... there are no more bar stools.. just piles of jackets and yes... there are hats on the island... and grocery bags under it...  and boxes and frames with no pictures in it......
Some how Gizmo still finds room to jump up there.... 


 Christmas stuff getting ready to be put out... piles of papers, empty chip bags.....
The desk was organized a while ago though and has managed to stay that way... Hurricane Lauren doesn't use that area that much.... that is most likely why. 


Well, we attempted to put the laundry away... last week it ended up staying in the baskett and then the dirty clothes went on the floor... eventually making the switch when it was time to do laundry...

And my hair stuff at some point got moved into the bedroom because Brandyn was doing his business in the bathroom and I needed to get ready.... it ended up staying there.

So as we can see... things have got out of hand... and my attempts to clean don't last that long because I have way too much going on.. just like the end of every semester.

This week in particular is going to be a doozy. 
  • I've got a major sales presentation Friday, that actually hasn't been started
  • A 45 minute feature to produce (x3)... 
  • And on Monday my group is presenting a documentary. 
Not to mention my regular classes. And no.. my semester isn't over after this week sadly. I have more shifts and classes to do after this week but most of them aren't as big of a deal as these. Well at least I hope no new projects will be sprung on us last minute... they did that last year. 

At least at the finish line.. end of this week, a sleepover with my best friend will be waiting for me. 

While I was taking these pictures, Gizmo was also murdering playing with his feather toy. 







He actually did rip one of the feathers off... little brat! 
Anyway yes, so please forgive me if I'm a little MIA for a bit.


Saturday, November 10, 2012

Welcome Table Design

I haven't done a wedding post in a while, there hasn't been much to update until recently.

I realized that since we are doing all the decor for the wedding, we also have to buy all the decor so I started making a list so I didn't forget anything. Then I realized I should probably make a diagram of the way I want certain things set up. So.. I got started on the Reception. 

Here is the diagram I did up on paint of what I'm thinking. 


This is basically going to be in the lobby of the hall to the right of the door. The one on top is when people first arrive. I want to do this for the seating charts:


This is an extremely easy project which will require very little money which makes me happy. I'm going to need two so I put 2 in my diagram but I could also do one longer board as well. I also am going to need to find an easel or something to stand them on and I have no idea where to get those. I will consult my wedding board when the time comes to make those haha! 

That will be the last thing that the guest walks by before they get in the door so I think its appropriate because then they will find their name and go find their table!

Next to it, I will put a picture of Brandyn and myself to personalize it a bit. Then is a gap because that is where we will stand and place people. Then is our guestbook. 

Beside the guestbook will be the cardbox which I plan to make myself because I can't justify paying $80 to buy one. There are tons of tutorials and I will get my inspiration from Etsy (design wise)







And... a banner for the front






The bottom table is after the reception is well under way and it is closer to the time people leave. Then the wedding favors get put out. I am undecided between jars of honey or tiles that I will make myself using scrapbook paper. That is why one side has squares and the other circles.

With that being said, here is a list of things I need to get:


  • Seating Chart Board (easel(s), stand(s), ribbon, seating cards)
  • Guestbook pens x3
  • Cardbox Supplies
  • Banner
  • Favors
Things I have:

Guestbook ... :)

Haha.. I've accomplished so much with this table but then again... the wedding is still quite a ways away. I don't want to do any of the bulky projects because we will be relocating and thats just more crap to move and all the DIY will be pretty fragile...but I have started a box to hold wedding supplies because besides the guestbook. I have gathered more stuff. I will post later on about the guestbook and the other parts of the reception that I have thought about (and gathered supplies for).

Ta ta for now :) 


Thursday, November 08, 2012

Lists!

Alright so I am a big list maker. I tend to have a ton of things going on in my life and a ton of things I want to do so it can kind of get a bit overwhelming. Lists help.

My phone has tons of lists in them right now. 

I have a list of things I need/want to buy:

  • Hair scissors
  • A case for my Kobo Reader
  • Diary (serious venting is needed sometimes)
  • CoverGirl Blast Flipstick
  • Curling Wand
  • Sephora’s OPI Matte Top Coat
  • 3 11x14 frames

…because I have zero dollars at this point, I have to make a list of things 
I want to buy in hopes that one day I will be able to haha! 

I also make a list in my phone of bit ideas. In my daily life, I will come across topics, ideas, conversations that would make good topics while on the air. Problem is, I forget it by the time it is time to do my prep…sooo.. I make a list! Right now I’ve got nothing on it.. hmm

Now is my Christmas Wishlist 

  • Nikon 1 in Pink or White
  • Laser hair removal for either my legs or my pits (shaving is so annoying)
  • Spa Package (of any kind but a nice long massage is preferred lol)
  • Gift Card to Dynamite (my favourite store)
  • And the Remington Curling Wand

And of course the list of things to do
…these are long term and short term…could potentially become long term

  • Finish latch-hook project (this is definitely long term, it is a big project haha and takes a while)
  • Get a new picture frame for Brandyn’s Grad Picture (the one I have is cheap and ugly)
  • Get my brother’s present together and send it off with Christmas Card to him and my Dad (this one needs to be done by December)
  • Get a 5x7 picture of me and a friend for a picture frame I have.

These things are really small things that don’t NEED to get done like right away 
but that is why I’ve put them on a list… so I don’t forget 

I then have a list of my supplies that I need for a DIY project I am doing for Christmas presents. I will post that AFTER Christmas because I don’t want the present to be given away to the receivers ;)

I also then have a list of furniture and items in our house (because we are planning a big move within the next year and I want to make sure nothing is lost)… I won’t post that for your benefit and possibly for mine haha. I’m not even close to be doing. I’ve done like a corner of my living room ha!

I guess I’m a little OCD. 

I’ve got a wedding update coming up. It’s not anything big. Just a couple projects I’ve started and… more lists ;) Here is some cuteness and of course Christmas vibe!! 


Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Vancouver, from another perspective

Waay waay back in September, we went out on a friend's boat and instead of going up Indian Arm, we decide to go around the Burrard Inlet which is basically what separates Vancouver from North Vancouver. It was pretty rough seeing as it was the ocean and at one point I literally thought we were going to capsize (but then again I'm pretty over-dramatic) but it was cool to see Vancouver from a different perspective - from the water. So.. I thought I'd share the pictures :)


Leaving the boat launch in Port Moody

People learning on a sailboat


The Ironworkers Memorial Bridge that goes into North Vancouver. Also known as the Twin Narrows


Vancouver 




The Lions Gate Bridge which goes from Stanley Park into West Vancouver

North and West Vancouver


Heading into Indian Arm


And some person at the boat launch with no boat :)