Spring has sprung!!!

Spring is officially here! I think in the past week and a half we had 2 days of sun. Hey, two days is two days...I'll take what I can get! I'm totally the girl that wears capris and skirts without tights at the first sign of sun.
But my favorite thing about spring? Cherry Blossoms!!
The trees are in full bloom and look amazing! I always imagine Dave and I riding our cruisers down the street as the cherry blossoms fall on us. We're on our way to have a picnic of course ;)
A picture of my street would be a good right here ------->
But I don't have one :(
Maybe tomorrow!

I made my first spring wardrobe purchase the other day. Well about 2 weeks ago.
I never shop online -  I hate not being able to try things on. But I saw this dress and had to have it! When I finally got around to buying it, it was 60 or 70% off. Score!! Another reason why I don't shop online is because I hate waiting for it to come! Maybe tomorrow it will come....

http://www.citychiconline.com/ 

So now to complete the outfit I need a new pair of red heels!

I also kind of want a pair of nude heels.
Like these (minus the skulls)

http://www.ironfistclothing.com/

What's on your spring wardrobe wish list?

"Big Girls Need Big Diamonds"

I chose the title of this blog for a couple reasons....Well it started out as one reason, that being, "Big Girls Need Big Diamonds" is one of several famous quotes that the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor once said.
As I'm sure everybody knows she passed away this morning.
There are many more deeper things she has said, but that one makes me laugh a little (we'll get to that later!)
Elizabeth Taylor was so lovely. Of course I didn't know her, but from what I've read, she did great things for AIDS related charities, she spoke her mind and she was very passionate about what she believed in. I admire passionate people who aren't afraid to speak their minds.
One thing that sticks out in my mind is that Elizabeth Taylor once said that she would rather be remembered for the humanitarian work she did over the awards she had won or the movies she made. Beautiful!

When I started to look for wedding dress ideas she was one of the first people I googled. Seriously she was a professional bride - 8 marriages!!

Rest in Peace  Dame Elizabeth Taylor:

Even when she was older and sick she still looked amazing!

There had to be at least 1 wedding picture and why not from the 80's??!!

So the second reason why I named this post "Big Girls Need Big Diamonds" is because it totally makes me laugh. Here's why. When future hubby bought my engagement ring he was dealing with this amazing woman - 10 pounds of makeup, bleach blond hair, tonnes of jewellery (I got to see when we went to get my ring sized ;) She asked what size my finger was, he had no idea (neither did I) but he said something like "Oh, she always says she has big fingers."
The lady's response, "Big fingers need big diamonds"
Every time I read the title, I think of her saying that. In all reality, it's probably only funny to me and Dave....

Mr & Mrs

Every now and then our tiny 1 bedroom 750 square foot apartment looks like a bomb has gone off. Right now it's at that point. It's messy. Not cluttered or unorganized, but full blown messy. Of course I'm not proud to admit it, but it's the truth.  We have both been so incredibly busy that cleaning is not a priority. Over the last few weeks it's really started to bother me. Maybe it's the fact that it's spring and I'm excited to be able open my windows & blinds and let the sun in or maybe I'm sick of us living in something that resembles a frat boys dorm. Ok, it's not that bad!
Then it hit me today that maybe I'm starting to nest.
In a few more months, (ok, about 5 1/2) we're getting married. I'm going to be a wife. I'm going to have a husband. We're not kids anymore...we're grown ups and taking the next step in our lives and I'm more than ready! It's a pretty great thing to realize that. It just feel right.
Is this something that that all engaged/soon to be married couples think and feel? I truly believe being married will feel different, in the best way possible.

Now, this picture/article kind of ties into everything I'm thinking about today.

 I know there's a chance this may be fake, but could you imagine if it was real? I'm all over the whole domestic 50's housewife thing, but come on. I grew up in a very old school house - my mom stayed home and took care of the kids and the family business, while my dad went to work.
From a young age, I knew if I ever got married, my marriage would be different. I'm stubborn and independent, what can I say?? ;)
That last sentence totally contradicts my statement about "being all over the 50's housewife thing". But it makes sense to me. I can totally do it - I can work a full time job and be successful at it, have a tidy house, make delicious suppers and raise a family. I already know how I'm going to do it. I wish that I had some great world changing secret but it's actually quite simple....marry someone that you know is going to help you. Simple right??!!
I think so! Finding that person can be a challenge, but once you do find them, easy peasy!

Sometimes I tire myself out when I re-read my posts. So I apologize if my crazy ways tucker you out too. I just have so many thoughts - one thought leads to another and then another. You get what I'm saying right?

So all of that being said, I should finish cleaning so we too can have the kind of place where our friends can "pop" in for coffee :)

Happy Sunday!

To Do VS. Done

We bought a dry erase board the other day to help get ourselves organized and see what's left to do for the wedding.
We decided to have to have 2 columns: TO DO & DONE. I was shocked when I saw how much stuff was on our To Do list. (here's a crappy picture taken on my iPhone)

Yeah....We thought we were ahead of the game - oh we're so naive!
But we do have all the big things done like catering, my dress, shoes, venues, hair & makeup. And today we ordered our favors :)

Yep, two peas in a pod salt and pepper shakers! I have been in love with these since my brother got married 3 or 4 years ago. He really wanted these but his fiance wouldn't let him they chose something different. So brother will finally get one!
These are silly and cute and quirky - that's pretty much me and Dave.

Well, my Martha Stewart Weddings magazine is calling me :)

Good night!

Made for TV movie/life?

Wow...what a weekend! It's Wednesday now and I'm fully 100% recovered!
I started writing this last night and at that point I was almost recovered....yes almost! Apparently I'm old and recovering is not as easy as it used to be.

I really did start writing this last night, unfortunately some major drama occurred and I lost all my inspiration (and my mind). Everything is good now and really that's all that matters!

When I started to read over what I had written last night it made me think about being in school and having to write a "My Weekend" or "What I Did on Summer Vacation" essay.
Then it hit me....I have never actually done that. I always wanted to, but in real life it never happened.
I guess that's more of a made for TV movie kind of thing.
Maybe to most people those are boring topics, but I was always the kind of kid that was super animated and dramatic (not a drama queen, just dramatic!). I loved telling stories and lived in a fairytale world. Everywhere I went I made up stories for people I met and saw.
And really, not much has changed - I still make up stories for people I don't know, tell giant tales, try and get people to laugh and still live in a Happily Ever After World :)


So here it is.....
My Weekend!

Just kidding ;)
The weekend was so long ago.

Today my mind is on our wedding. Flowers in particular.

Here's the story -

On Saturday afternoon I was at home hanging out and hoping to watch some bad/awesome Saturday afternoon movies.
The Wedding Planner was on....score!!! I've always thought that  Jennifer Lopez movies were made for Saturday afternoons.

Oddly enough, as I'm watching it my mom calls. I could tell something was up cause she was being kinda quiet. Soon enough I found out....My mom is a travel agent and she is part of this wedding networking group. Basically she recommends photographers, decorators etc. to her clients that are getting married and in return the other professionals recommend her for travel.

So she's at this meeting and the chair of the committee is talking about this flower shop that has recently stopped operating. Long story short, it's the flower shop that we had planned on using. And by planned on using I mean we had already had an hour meeting with them, worked out arrangements and left a deposit. I was bummed because I LOVED the place and the lady was awesome. She totally got me. She filled in the blanks, she finished my floral sentences, she was my flower soul mate. Ha ha ha! No really....
It's been a dream of mine to open my own flower shop since I was about 5 (thanks to Janet on Three's Company!).

So yeah, that kinda sucked :(

The plus side is, that we have lots of time. But I really really really wanted flowers from them. Boooo!

*Update - I talked to the floral director of the place today. She told me a little about what was going on. The flower shop is a non-profit organization and at this time their funding has been cut and they have no grants. The plan is to re-open in the next few months. They truly do amazing things! One of which is that they help unemployed women get back on their feet and put them through floral design school. And their work is beautiful!
So anyways, the director and the lady I met with are still going to do the wedding flowers if we're interested. They have rented design space at their wholesalers and will be doing contract work to do the wedding flowers.
I'm kinda excited that it may happen....It's something to think about for sure!

So flowers.....*sigh*
Our flowers are going to be pretty classic/vintage  - 3 shades of white roses with vintage brooches incorporated. Something like these:

 I found this on http://www.angelahubbard.com/

Kind of like this, but with a vintage brooch on the ribbon

 

Again, kinda like this bouquet, but white roses and ivory ribbon

The dress hunt continues!

I am always on the hunt for the perfect dress. I LOVE dresses! I have 2 that I wear regularly. Only 2...it's quite sad actually....I am really picky when it comes to buying clothes, especially dresses. I can only wear certain styles - classic, straight, kind of 50's style (not poofy or circle skirt bottoms, more like pencil skirt bottom).
My seamstress, (I call her mine because she made my maid of honor dress last year and she's making my wedding dress!!!!) said it best, dresses that poof out make me look stumpy! It's true!
Pencil skirts/pencil dresses make me feel good! I like dresses that accentuate my waist and cover up my wobbly bits ;) I am also particular about length. I have very muscular calves, thanks to 20+ years of highland dancing, so if dresses hit a certain length it looks all kinds of bad!

So, I have several reasons why I need some new dresses:

• My Wedding Shower
• My Stagette maybe?
• Rehearsal Dinner
• Gift opening maybe?
• Bar openings - my fiance builds and does bar/pub/restaurant renos, so we need go to the openings and I have to look good right??!! That makes me sound so important. Trust me I'm not!

Here's some cute dresses I like. Most of them are from www.polyvore.com

www.modcloth.com

 

I love the shape of this dress and the fact that it's plaid!

Vivienne Westwood

Gucci

 

 

 

Hoss Intropa

 

 

 

Rodarte

So question of the day - what's your favorite style of dress? Do you like dresses?

Doppelganger Thursday?

Several months ago we were watching How I Met Your Mother and it was about doppelgangers.
That made me start the hunt for my doppelganger. I always hope that when I see mine she will be awesome - like super fashionable and artsy and interesting. I say that because sometimes I feel like I am boring. Before I "grew up" I always had fun hair & makeup and wore whatever I wanted. That being said I am totally ok with having a grown up job and being an adult. I wouldn't change it for anything.

My fiance has like 37 doppelgangers. Seriously I see them EVERYWHERE!!!
I saw one of his today. I also saw my secretary's doppelganger. Two within a matter of minutes....crazy??!!


Here's one of my shoe doppelgangers ;-)

Do you believe that everyone has a twin? Have you seen yours? What happened when you did?

Mail day!!

There is something so satisfying about opening the mailbox and having mail! I don't mean bills, I mean mail..like parcels! I love getting mail!
Remember the days of pen pals? Writing letters to friends and families? Oh, the gold old days....
Of course now, I'm like everyone else, all about emails. I'm that girl -  the one is always checking her iPhone to see who emailed. It's even worse now that we're getting married!

The point I'm trying to make is that today was one of those juicy mail days! I opened my tiny mailbox and it was bursting with goodness - magazines and flyers!

Is it a little sad that we enjoy flyers as much as we do?
We have a system. Dave starts with the Home Depot flyer, me with the London Drugs flyer. Then we swap and do this until all the flyers are done. It's tiring....ha!

I enjoy that we are already that little old married couple :)

Well, I'm off to read magazines and eat some supper....I am HUNGRY!!!

The hardest part of blogging - thinkng of a title!

I really doubt Dave will see this, but if you're reading this Dave - DON'T!! There's wedding related pictures!

Today I wanted to blog about something other than food, clothes, shoes, music or weddings.
I got home after work and made the mistake of sitting on the couch and watching shows like Rich Bride, Poor Bride and Wedding S.O.S. 
I had good intentions....

All of my interesting and dare I say deep ideas were gone.
*I spend my entire work day talking about real issues and things that are truly important (I work with children with special needs and their families - I help set and meet goals, I find resources (grants, childcare programs, therapists etc.) for them and help the children with their social and emotional development). That's the short version of it :)

That led me to think about why I started this blog.

• I was looking for a creative outlet where I could share my ramblings and nonsense
• I needed something to clear my head after work
• And honestly I quite enjoy talking about shoes, clothes, hair, makeup, food, music and weddings!
• Maybe I could give someone else ideas like so many other bloggers have given me
• And - maybe one day I will get paid to do this - ha ha! I'm half joking...

And that was that....I realized that this is supposed to be fun for me!

 So with that being said....I CANNOT WAIT TO GET MARRIED! September seems so far away.
We had almost everything planned by the end of January. Now we just have all the small things to do when it gets a little closer. I think that's why it seems so far away!
And there's some things that I don't even want to think about. Like decorations and transportation. Dave is in charge of decorations. He is carpenter/general contractor so he has an eye for decor, which is great, cause I don't!

Ooooh...I ordered my shoes the other day!

Assuming that they fit and I like them, here they are:

These were the runner ups:

 

I wish!!
Too bad Christian Louboutins aren't in the budget!

I am way too tired to read this over, so I apologize if there are any grammar/spelling mistakes.
That's how you know I'm tired - grammar and spelling mistakes are my pet peeves, so the fact that I'm ignoring it means something!
I'm sure I'll edit later!!

Good Night!

Tonight when I got home from dance class I parked my car and saw my future hubby standing on the corner "making friends".
Making friends is what he does when he's had a couple too many pints ;)
He becomes very social and friendly - more so than normal!
Anyways, I was trying to get his attention so he could help me bring my stuff in, but that didn't happen. As I got closer I saw he was bent down petting a dog. I walked a little faster. (I love dogs. I'm like that kid you see that wants to pet every dog that passes by. The only reason we don't have one is because Dave is extremely allergic to dogs.)
When I crossed the street I almost stopped in my tracks....he was making friends with a Shiba Inu!! A shiba inu is kinda my dream dog. They look like little smiling foxes. Who wouldn't want a smiling dog??!!
I got up to the puppy and he was amazing! 5 1/2 months old - so sweet and well behaved. We chatted with the owner a bit and I fell in love :)

Dave later told me that he asked the owner to wait for me to get there so I could see the dog.
Dave is just that sweet! He is one of the only people I know that would ask a complete stranger to wait just so his fiance could pet his dog. I know it's a pretty small thing, but I thought it was pretty great.

Maybe I'm just rambling....I am pretty tired.
I had the worst sleep last night. And bad dreams. Every now and then I have these dreams where my teeth hurt and fall out. I always wake up with a sore mouth. What does that mean???
I haven't had one of those dreams for awhile so I googled it tonight and came up with 3 different answers.

1. I'm insecure
2. I'm stressed out
3. I'm stressed about money

Hmmm....I'm not really feeling any of those.

Well I think that needs to be it for tonight! Hopefully tomorrow will be more interesting!

Good Night! 

Why do I have so much to say today??

I was just watching the countdown on Much More Music and I saw the new-ish Nicki Minaj & Drake video Moment 4 Life and was mesmerized!
Now, I'm not the biggest hip hop/r&b/rap fan, but I adore Nicki Minaj. I love seeing what she is wearing and what she's done with her hair and makeup she's just so beautiful and quirky, and fashionable.

Anybody who knows me well knows that I tend to obsess over things - and this video is my new obsession :)

Fairy godmother Nicki - I love the dress!

Diamond encrusted Christian Louboutins *sigh*

Baby blue chiffon dress by the blonds

This doesn't even need a comment!!

And a wedding...of course ;)

Here's the video:

Horray for Saturday...part 2

Well, shopping was unsuccessful...kinda.
I went to the sample sale and there was a huge line, so I decided to skip it. I drove away kinda bummed.
I went to Michaels and bought a bunch of bubbles for the ceremony or maybe the reception. We had a 50% off coupon so why not!
After Michaels I made up my mind to go go to the sample sale. I got to the warehouse and there was no lineup. Score!
I went in and.....it was kinda disappointing. There were tonnes of little favor boxes and bags, guest books, t-shirts that said Bride in rhinestones, silk flowers etc. I'm a sucker for books and magazines and there was a huge selection for 50% off. I ended up getting some Martha Stewart Weddings magazines for $3 -$4 each. They're older, but brand new and have lots of good ideas. Plus I LOVE Martha Stewart!

We don't really a theme going for our wedding, but it's turning out to be very heritage/traditional/vintage/rustic/old Hollywood glamour. Which is actually a perfect mix of me and Dave.

Here's a few pictures of some wedding related stuff:

Our Venues:
When it came to wedding planning, I never thought I would care about where we got married.
I found the following two places while googling "wedding venues". I pretty much had my heart set on them from the first time I saw them. It was all of a sudden important to me to make everything feel very family oriented and bring my childhood into it. And since most of Dave's family is from out of town, I really wanted them to see where I grew up.
I guess this is what you call the first stages of nesting :)


The Chapel:
This chapel has amazing story.
Here's an shortened version of it:
In 1885 a local farmer wanted to marry his girlfriend and her father said that if he was going to marry her there needed to be a place of worship. So he saddled up his horse and went from Mt.Lehman to Delta (which is probably 40 minutes by car!!) every day to get wood to build the church. That's how it got the name "A Church Built On Love". So sweet!

The Reception Hall:
 A heritage hall built in 1928. This hall has a lot of family history too. My grampa helped work on it, my mom and aunt used to come here to square dance in the sixties and my brother and I used to play in the neighborhood.  There was this candy store next door that my grampa used to take us to and buy us candy. I have THE best grampa!!

I am having my wedding dress made and it's going to be amazing!! I can't post pictures of what it's going to look like just in case anyone sees it. But I can say it's inspired by Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner and a little bit by Bettie Page...

 Seriously, how beautiful is Ava Gardner??!!

I wonder if I will ever be as sophisticated and classy as Grace Kelly?
Doubt it ;)

 Gwen Stefani - always a fashion and hair & makeup inspiration

 I am currently obsessed with this sign that can be found here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/thebackporchshoppe

 

 

 

 

 

Have a good weekend!

Horray for Saturday!

I'm actually enjoying blogging more than I thought. It's quite fun!
I'm actually excited for the day when my blog is like other peoples - you know the ones with all the great pictures, DIY tips and ideas? I think I'm doing good though, considering I'm only a week in!
And more importantly...I have some followers!! YAY!!

So today might be a double (or triple???) post day because I am doing wedding stuff today! Fun!

I wish I was more organized and decided that I was doing wedding stuff earlier this week, because I would've made my lovely maid of honor* Darcey come!! Or had I know that Davey was working today maybe a shopping trip to Bellingham with her would've happened!
*just a side note - Darcey is married, but I refuse to call her my Matron of Honor....it sounds too old!

Well that's it for now....shopping time!!

Six

We are getting married in 6 months...half a year....183 days - crazy!
Am I freaked out? No.
Am I getting cold feet? Nope.
Am I excited and wish we were getting married right now? YES!!!!!
That's pretty much all for today!

Oooooh....check these out....

How amazing is Le Creuset right??!!
So nice, but soooo expensive!

Music....

I usually  always have something to something to ramble about, except today I was feeling completely unmotivated. It was just one of those days - nothing was wrong it was just blah.
That was until I heard the fantastic news that one of my favorite bands was coming to Vancouver..... NOFX!!!! Awesome!!
I have to admit it made me reminisce a little about the good old days when I was in my late teens/early twenties. Going out every night, punk rock bands every weekend, tattoos, booze, mosh pits, black eyes....
It made me feel excited and old! Seriously, how did I do it? I want to know!!!
I CAN'T wait to see NOFX again and be able to be that awe struck 20 year old punk rock girl again. This time I get to go with someone that likes them as much or me than me ;)

It's not NOFX related, but I have been obsessed with The Pixies 'Here Comes Your Man' and this video is the total package - here comes your man and 500 days of summer in 1!!

Thanks You Tube!

What if?

Last night I asked my future hubby a question...It was just a random thought I had come up with earlier that day.
I said to him, "Have you ever wondered about what your life would be like if your parents named you your middle name and not Dave?"
His response, "HA HA HA!! What are you saying???"
I was shocked that he had never thought about that...Weird!!
He thought I was crazy as usual....
This question actually started a little conversation.

I had lots of what ifs:

• What if my parents named me my middle name? 
• What if I was blonde and not brunette?
• What if I gone to university right after high school and became an elementary school teacher and not waited a few years to get my ECE and specialize in Special Needs? Would I have a totally different philosophy? Would I think the best way to teach small children would be through academics? Or would I think the way I do now - kids learn through play and their social & emotional skills/development are more important then if they can read or not?

And trust me it went on and on and on.....In all reality, I really don't care about the what ifs. At all! They mean nothing to me. I was just curious if Dave had ever thought about that.

He asked me if I had any regrets. Without any hesitation I said NO! I have zero regrets. Sure I've made some bad/dumb choices in my life, but that's how I got to where I am - by making mistakes and learning.

I pretty much live by this:

In the end I told Dave that no matter what, we found of found each other regardless of hair color, names, careers or anything else.
And that's that <3