Snapshots of My Weekend

I'm back. What a hiatus. I need to be more dedicated!

friday: i spent the morning with jess and two other bridesmaids getting our nails "did", eating at a greasy spoon for breakfast (amazing), and singing whatever songs popped into our heads. after a quick and delightful grilled cheese at the wedding venue (a golf course in my hometown of niagara) we went to work, setting up for the wedding and practicing our walks down the aisle. needless to say, the two flower girls were better behaved than us bridesmaids. whoops.

after the rehearsal, we headed to jess and her fiance justin's house for an incredible dinner made by a groomsman (also a head chef at a restaurant). beanbag tossing, some wine, and an adventure in packing the bride's honeymoon luggage followed - and then off to a hotel for the night. we fell asleep early because we were le tired!

saturday: wedding day! hair done, makeup done, and lots more random singing! i tell you, bridesmaids in three part harmony never sounded better. after getting photos of the gals, we headed out limo-style to the wedding. the ceremony was beautiful! i did happen to bawl my eyes out.

the reception was peacock-themed, so we bridesmaids wore little feathers in our hair that matched the centerpieces. ooh la la. after an incredible speech by the father of the bride that made me burst into tears (yes, again - he's a writer, i couldn't help myself!) it was my turn to speak. i was a bit nervous at first, but managed to pull myself together and deliver a few good laughs AND i didn't cry! yay!

there was a fog machine... some beverages followed by a lot of water... a lot of dancing (some choreographed)... a photo booth for which my husband nate was the photographer... and at 1:30 am, our desig"nate"ed driver took myself, the bride and the groom back home. we dropped them off, and headed to my parent's house where i had spent my week at "wedding camp" and hit the hay.

sunday: after only one more time spent crying (listening to the song jess walked down the aisle to, from the movie pride and prejudice), nate and i headed back to brampton. we spent the evening catching up on the glee project (yes, i'm a glee nerd) and eating our wedding favours - apples covered in caramel and chocolate from the rocky mountain chocolate factory. yum! we chatted with nate's brother and his wife, and heard our little niece talk for the first time! so sweet! they live in BC, and its so great to catch up. read for a bit, and headed to bed.

this week will be busy getting ready for another wedding - i'll be playing all of the music at my friend's wedding in two weeks, so i have some practicing to do! enjoy photos from this past weekend. hope you all had a great weekend, too :)

we're better together

the ladies hit the photo booth

a fancy kiss!

just some wonderful friends

practicing our photo booth poses

Eat, Pray, Love

So I just finished Eat, Pray, Love (note: yes, I know... better late than never though, right?)

I thought I'd share an idea that I love from Elizabeth's story. Though I don't share many commonalities with her, I still learned from her spiritual journey.

The first thing that I took away from this story was Elizabeth's outlook on thoughts. She likens them to ships on the sea, and her mind to a harbour. This harbour is the gateway to your island - your body. When good ships come in, you welcome them with open arms. When bad ships want come your way, you do everything in your power to turn them away.

I recognized immediately in myself a need to adopt this mindset. I am a very emotional person, and I love to listen to people and help them talk through their problems. The only negative aspect of this trait is that I tend to worry about their hardships, which in turn affects my mood and thoughts. My mother said that I was born wringing my hands. Those little seeds of worry do tend to invade my thoughts at times, and I need to train my mind to turn those thoughts away.

Something to think about for sure :)

Snapshots of the Weekend

This week went by so quickly, with virtually no plans at its beginning... we made the most of it.

Friday: After work, Nate and I ate a huge dinner in preparation for the fasting that we had to do for blood work early Saturday morning. Its funny how when you know you can't eat, you want to even more. Regardless, we filled up on water and went to bed relatively early for an early wake-up call the next morning.

Saturday: We spent a couple of hours at the lab getting our blood work done so that we can have a good baseline for our new doctor. Nate has a family history of heart disease, and I have extremely low iron that has seemed to rear its head in the past year... results coming soon.

Then, we decided on a random shopping spree. After naming the Banana Republic Outlet Store near us as our favourite new place to shop, we went to Costco in search of a new desk.

New desk was purchased and almost completed - then we realized it was missing some parts. Rush delivery requested - should be done this week!

Out to a late dinner at Canyon Creek for Nate's promotion (yay!) Delicious and amazing conversation - I love my husband.

Sunday: After procrastinating by doing some necessary office organization, I began a nine-hour report card haul. Because of this, nothing else about Sunday is worth commenting on. Though I did learn that I work better when I'm in our office - desk was a smart purchase.

Sites to See

Check out the following websites that I love:

1) www.decor8.com

If I wasn't a teacher, I would be a decorator of some sort - home or weddings, perhaps. I love putting things together, making "it" myself, and getting new ideas, and this site is a staple!

2) http://afieldjournal.blogspot.com/

The photos catch me every time - and then I read all of the ideas. Just beautiful.

3) http://www.joe.ca/en/

Joe. Obviously. My fashion hero and the clothing I own that receives the most compliments.

4) www.mls.ca

Ok. This is embarrassing. But I love scanning the listings for new homes popping up in my dream neighbourhoods.

5) www.goop.com

I think that Gwyneth Paltrow has that certain self-deprecating appeal, and plus she just seems to really have it together.