Monday, November 29, 2010

O Tannenbaum.

Since we were previously living in a condominium tower, where they have very strict Fire Safety rules, Nat and I have never been able to get a proper Christmas tree together.

So this past weekend, free of any regulations, we went out and "rescued" a small, skinny tree from the flower shop down the street.

Nat saw it and instantly knew that it was the perfect tree to represent our first "real" Christmas together, meaning the first time we get to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in our own home, just the two of us.

I must admit, I was a little put-off at first at the scrawniness of the little tree. But Nat's eyes were wide and shining with excitement, and that - partnered with his big beautiful grin - was enough to pull at my heart strings and agree that yes, it was perfect.


Our little tree, before the trimming.
That be Grimble Grumble the Garden Gnome next to it....


Nat prepares the tree to be trimmed.


How could you say "no" to that face?!


Putting on the finishing touches.


Et voilà! Our little tree in all it's glory!

Later that night I was making dinner, with a full view of the scene from the kitchen. I became very emotional looking at that sparkly, little tree.

Yes, it's small. Yes, it's a bit...lean. But it's our very first tree together, with many, many more to come in the future.

How many more will there be...40? 50, even?

Thinking about that, about all of the Christmases to come, about how every year our family will grow and change with the season, with children and eventually - God-willing - grandchildren, each one having their own moments with every tree...overwhelms me with such happiness and love.

Do others feel the same way? Do you get as emotional as I did thinking about it? I hope so...because it was too magical a feeling to keep to myself.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Ryan's F-Word

My brother is trying to raise money for a wonderful charity, and if he raises $2500 or more he can win a chance to cook with Gordon Ramsey.

Click HERE to donate generously, and enjoy the tribute video below.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Heavenly Honeymoon.

Figuring out where to go on our Honeymoon was proving to be the most challenging and stressful part of the wedding planning process. Everything else we had a fairly good idea of which direction we were going, and what to expect along the way. Like, after ordering the dress it would take 5 - 6 months to arrive at the store, then I would do some fittings and that would be it. And when we meet with Tracey, who is making our cake, we will taste different kinds and decide on a style and that would be it. All of the little things seem not only completely stress-free by now, but they also are fun!

Choosing where to go and what to do on the Honeymoon, potentially our last real vacation for a loooong time, was freaking me out.

At first we were thinking we'd love to go to Europe. Somewhere unique, with a culture we hadn't yet experienced...with a layover in London on the way there and back, of course. Croatia popped into my mind! During my time in the U.K., it's one of the few places I really wanted to get to but couldn't. I'd heard about their beaches and how everything was relatively cheap still since they weren't yet a part of the EU. So I thew that on the table and Nat loved it! We also thought of maybe traveling south to Montenegro, since it was there! I'd read about the history and the lifestyle, and it all seemed pretty interesting. We thought about hiring a boat with a Captain to take us down the Adriatic Sea, stopping along the way at different ports, eating at different seaside villages. Maybe stopping over for a few nights and taking casual, lazy bike tours through the hills.

But after some thought, that seemed like a lot of effort. Not only to plan, but to execute. It sounded like a fabulous trip, and it still does....on paper. But in practice, it felt like something forced. Like...we'd have to keep moving from place to place to place...when really all we wanted to do was plunk ourselves somewhere, and just STAY. After what will no doubt we a week if not more of craziness leading up to the wedding, we decided all we wanted to do afterward was RELAX.

Nat has never been on a week-long beach vacation. He's never been anywhere hot where he can lay around in his bathing suit and read and soak up the sun while sipping on cocktails all day long. I get the feeling that has never really appealed to him, laying around potentially being BORED, being at a resort somewhere south of the border filled with loud, obnoxious Americans complaining that "no one here speaks AMERICAN!" and "we don't get any AMERICAN channels on our TV!!" Blech, who can blame him for not wanting to experience that. I have, and it's not fun.

So the pressure was on for us to find somewhere a) warm; b) interesting; c) with activities; and d) not too expensive. Seems like an easy criteria, right? Well as it turns out, it was pretty hard finding a place that satisfied all of those points. Most places we found online that peaked our interest were waaaaay over our budget. From Tahiti to the beaches of Mozambique....all of the romantic places we found were just too damn expensive. I was starting to get even more frustrated, and beginning to think that we were going to miss out on going anywhere if we kept striking out.

Then by twist of fate, we found it.

Mark Belknap was my first real boyfriend, we were together for 3 great years and then, as it happens when you are young, you part ways. There was never any ill-will between us, and I consider him to be one of the greatest people I've ever known. I am still very good friends with his sister, and occasionally bump into him near my office. He got married in the spring, and it wasn't until a month or two later I remembered I hadn't yet congratulated him. So I sent him a nice, short email congratulating him, saying how happy I am for him and his new wife...then went on to ask if they had taken a honeymoon yet, explaining that we were in the middle of planning ours and how stressful we found it to be. He wrote back a day or two later saying that yes, they had. And it was somewhere that Nat and I should most definitely look into.

So we did. And immediately knew that it was the place we were dreaming about. The place we had been searching for:

Petit St. Vincent.

A paradise resort taking up an entire island in the Grenadines. Softly rolling hills and white sandy beaches, there are only 22 "discreet" cottages on the property, carved out of the cliffs overlooking the sea. There is no internet, no televisions, and no telephones in any of the cottages. Everything is run on a "flag" system. You have to take 2 planes and a boat to get there, and once you arrive you can be totally, completely alone. It is quiet. It is private. And according to every review I've read, it is sheer bliss.

You have the option to socialize, the island has a communal dining/bar area. And there are tons of activities, like water kayaking, deep-sea fishing, and wind-surfing. So you have alternatives to isolation.

The price tag is also pretty reasonable, considering the whole package. So we decided to really splurge and maximize our trip by staying a night in Bridgetown, Barbados on either end of our time at Petit St. Vincent. In Bridgetown we're staying at Sweetfield Manor Historic B&B, which also has some of the best reviews of any accommodation I've ever read. I mean you get a home-cooked 3-course breakfast made by the owner! I've seen pictures of this breakfast, and I'm almost more excited for that than anything else!

The wedding is on Saturday the 23rd, we'll have a "Thank You & Goodbye" brunch at our favourite pub on Sunday, to be weepy and wistful with our out-of-town guests who will be leaving us. Then we depart for this amazingly exciting adventure on Monday, April 25, 2011.

PLUS, Nat just received Elite Status on the airline we booked with, so fingers crossed we get upgraded on the way down! Entering into married life IN STYLE. Now THAT would be icing on the already super sweet cake :)

But for now, I get back to concentrating on all of the other things, the little things that will make the actual wedding (hopefully be) the best party I've ever thrown to in my life.

On with the show, everyone! 6 more months to go......







This is Nat and me exactly 6 months from now.
Don't we look happy?
:)

Monday, October 04, 2010

Interlude: Ryan's Kitchen - Episode 2

Footage of Ryan's Kitchen has been untouched and unedited on Nat's laptop for nearly a year.

With him being away over the weekend on a camping trip, it was the perfect opportunity not only to edit and finish my London/Amsterdam video, but also the much overdue, second installment of the series!

So with that, I'd like to present to you Episode 2 of Ryan's Kitchen!

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Interlude: 5 Months In The Making.

I apologize for 2 things here:

1) The lateness of posting this video. I should have had it done months ago.

2) The swearing. It just seemed to pour out of us. We're not proud, but it happens.





...okay. I also apologize for how abruptly it ends. But I didn't have much else to go with aside from an impromptu Boyz 2 Men tribute concert.....

For maximum viewing pleasure, make sure to maximize the video before viewing.

Enjoy my 14 minutes in London/Amsterdam.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Interlude: 48-Hour Kelowna Adventure.

One of Nat's best friends/groomsmen got married last weekend in Kelowna, British Colombia. For those of you unfamiliar with Canadian geography, British Colombia is the most western province in the country. And flying from Toronto with a layover in Vancouver, takes about 8 hours to get to. So minus 16 hours of travel time from the 48 hour trip, we only had 32 hours to make the most of it.

And I think we did a pretty good job of that.

Since I've managed to lose three cameras in just as many years (one was nicked out of my purse at London Bridge Station so totally not my fault), I caved and bought a shiny new Canon Powershot to celebrate the trip. I can now post pictures again! Huzzah! Fingers crossed this one stays put.

So now, please enjoy the beautiful vistas and pure emotion from Huw & Kathryn's west coast wedding.


Working, working, working away.


The beautiful view from the Star Alliance Members Lounge, while laying over in Vancouver.


Erm...yes, this is the cuisine we were offered in the lounge.
...at least it was free!


About to board the teeeeeeeny, tiny plane that will take us to Kelowna.
Sugar rush is in order.


A rare shot of Nat actually looking and smiling at the camera.
So dreamy :)


The teeeeeny tiny terrifying plane.


Don't you ever wonder, "Gee! I wonder what's in a Vanity Kit.."?


TA-DAAAAA!!
2 cotton balls and an ear bud!
SO vain.


I may or may not have inserted the cotton swab into my ear canal...
...but only out of spite.


Dreaming of mountain living.


Our hotel....AND Liquor Store!
All jokes aside, some incredible British Colombia wines were purchased in El Liquor Store.


The Groom-to-be, enjoying a pre-wedding bloody caesar.
They used steak spice rub as the rim on the glass.
Uncomfortably delicious.


A local, and total "d"-bag driving his annoyingly, angrily loud boat in circles near the patio we were sitting on.
The boat is called, "Wicked, Wet & Wild".
Total "d"-bag.


YUMMY TURKEY SLIDERS!!!


Such a lovely picture, aside from the cheap thumbs-up.
Behind us is the view we had during the ceremony.


J.O. & L.O.
All of the ladies were encouraged to wear a dressy hat to the ceremony.
Sadly, I did not get that memo :(


Carrie & Couch: Hipster Wedding Go-ers.


Chris & Kristi, showing off another cute hat!



Nat & Japan Dan.
Handsomest of the Handsome.


The winery was selling these empty barrels for $40.
I wanted one so bad, but ultimately figured the shipping cost would greatly outweigh the spontaneous purchase of a cheap wine barrel.


The bride, in Vera Wang.




You seriously can't beat that view.


Getting a bit misty there, Nat??


Seriously wicked arty shot.


Mr. & Mrs. Huw Evans!



Emily and Carrie. Bringing the "hot" to cocktail hour.



More cheap thumbs up with me and Naomi.




The view up the hill at the winery.
Nat swears he saw a cougar lurking....


I ate one of these grapes hoping it would taste like wine...
...it tasted like a grape.


This Jaguar belonged to the bride's father.
Nat and Mike drooled over it while we waited for the taxi.


Mike equating the front of the car to breasts.


...I can see it.

Now, according to legend, there is a lake monster living in Okanagan Lake called Ogopogo.
There have been sightings of him since the late 19th century, and the town of Kelowna decided to immortalize it by slapping a stencil of it on the side of taxis.




I like the pictures I found on Google images better:



...although I doubt the authenticity of the last two, the first one looks a little weird...


On the way to the reception in an Ogopogo Cab.


Mike enjoying the front seat company of the driver.


Gorgeous view from the golf club where the reception was held.




TABLE 9!! WOOT!!


Showcasing the selection of beverages after consuming more than a few of said beverages.






Emily and Ryan (a.k.a. McLovin'), Nat's Best Man.


It's official. I am a cow.


Mmmmm....cow......


Over exposure + sepia tone = no need for airbrushing or Botox.



This picture sums up how I felt for the rest of the night: Blurry.





That be spun sugar on his head.



Hilarity ensued!!






J.O. & L.O.
Cutest of the cute!


I kept telling Emily that the beer label matched her dress. I just had to capture it on camera!!





Oh dear.....


Aaaaaand, that's all she wrote, folks.


Ryan takes the lead on the drums!
Fact: Ryan was the drummer and Nat was the bassist for The Salingers.
Dreamy :)






The next morning, steak spice bloody caesars were most definitely in order.


That be BACON on my turkey burger.
I love Kelowna.