Two sweet years....

Two years ago yesterday, this happened....

 Thank you Jack for being the best thing that ever happened to me. You're the love of my life, my best friend, my partner-in-crime and now my co-parent to be.... As Kelly Clarkson said 'my life would suck without you'.

Here's to many, many more days of watching bad TV, figuring out what to cook for dinner, living in a constant state of renovation and teasing each other for all the little things. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Youth is Bliss

Happy weekend to you all! I hope you had a memorable one. I had one of the best days I've had in a long time on Saturday, when three girlfriends and their kids came out to visit Gus and I in Gimli for the day. We had hummed and hawed over the not-so-great forecast but decided to make the best of it. It turned out to be a fantastic day, a little cooler and very breezy but still lovely. We bbq'd, hung out, took a trip to the beach and floated in the giant lake-turned-wave pool. The kids squealed at everything - from chasing Gus around to finding rocks to dipping their toes in the massive waves. It was truly joyful! 

Here's a few pics to share with you...

Doesn't seeing things through the eyes of a child make everything brighter?

How was your weekend friends?

Birthday Baubles and Bites

Birthdays are awesome. This morning J surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of yellow lilies, a lovely card and a sweet little package from my absolute favourite jewellery shop Silver Lotus. Their unique packaging is almost as good as what's inside! Nestled in the box was the prettiest pair of simple, brushed silver heart earrings....perfect!

I have a nice collection going of cute earrings from Silver Lotus. I'm usually a 'dangly' girl, so it was nice to mix it up with a more 'everyday' pair!

We also stopped by local bakery The Cupcake Corner to taste some yummy cupcakes for the wedding. They did not disappoint and owner Derrick sent us home with lots of tasters. You know, to make SURE we really like them! I think you know the answer to that.

I've been collecting vintage cake stands for my mini-cupcake dessert table - here's a little sneak peek of one with the cupcakes we took home. I think it's going to work just fine, don't you?

Hope you're having an amazing weekend friends!

Blog Hug

{image via CoffeeShop}

There's no doubt about it friends. I'm in a serious blog funk. Maybe it's because it's the dead of winter? Maybe it's a Christmas bustle hangover? Or probably it's because there's just too much going on and I'm only one woman. But the truth is I'm really missing it. I love chatting with you all and not having those regular conversations is really starting to get to me. So I'm just going to keep writing, even when I don't always have something to write about. Hopefully it will keep me going during the dry spells so I can ride them out better. Plus we just got our new macbook and router so I'm writing this post in bed while watching the Golden Globes - how cool is that?

The truth is that I really love blogging. It's changed my life in so many cool and amazing ways. Even with my wedding planning alone, most of the cool contacts I'm made and ideas I've found have come from blogging. I found my venue when it was featured on the Martha Stewart weddings blog. I found my photographer through a referral from an old acquaintance via Twitter. And a lovely local reader hooked me up with her wedding seamstress to possible my my dream dress.

So tonight I'm giving a big Sunday night hug to blogging, bloggers, blog readers and all the amazing thoughts, words and ideas we share with each other each and every day.

What does blogging mean to you? I'd love to know if it's enriched your lives as much as it has mine.

Rest up friends and have a wonderful week ahead! 

Snug

Sigh.  The rain continues to pour and all I can think about is curling up into one of these...

{Image via}

I'm thinking plenty of duvet time will be in order this weekend. 

What's the weather like where you are friends?  Do you love to sleep in or are you an early weekend riser?

Family Weekend

Happy Friday friends!  What are you up to this final long weekend of summer?  J and Gus and I are headed to the lake after work today and we've  invited my mom, sister, brother-in-law, neice and nephew.  It will be a weekend of sleeping in, fishing, crib tournaments, bbq dinners, reading in the afternoon and smores.  Mostly it will be about hanging out together and enjoying the peope who are always going to have your back in life.

{Image via}

What are you doing this long weekend? I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and take some time to truly relish the important people in your life.

Talk to you Monday!

Merci Beaucoup!

That's french for 'Thanks very much!'...because today I hit 50 followers and I'm feeling incredibly grateful!  Thank you!

{Image via Little Sketchy Cards}

It's only been a few months and I'm so blessed to have met so many new friends in blogland.  I was at a family barbeque on Saturday and telling people how this is truly the most creatively fulfilling period of my life to date - with the blogging and my new business and even my day job as an ad writer.

I also received a package in the mail today, from a very good friend who is far away right now.  We've been encouraging each other's creativity and I was so touch and honoured that she took the time to mail me her first creations.  It just reminded me how easy it is to get caught up in the work and forget the human part that connects us all overall.

You all play such a strong role in keeping me motivated every day, your lovely comments and words of encouragement have meant the world.

{Image via artzink}

 So today's post is to simply say thank you thank you thank you!

Scatterblog

Do you ever have those days where your brain is completely overwhelmed with 'stuff'?

 {Image from Fanpop}

I do.  Today is that day.  Actually, it's been like that all week.  It invades my head at work, distracting me from the important tasks at hand.  It crawls into my mind subconciously while I am sleeping...forcing me awake.  It points and pulls me in every different direction and I can accomplish nothing!  And it's mostly good things, so I'm riding this rollercoaster of exciting ups and downs and highs and lows.

What is doing this to me you ask?

I will try to explain.  But this is a brain dump, so bear with me.

1 - The time of year...As spring rolls the corner and summer gets closer than i appears, I find myself in typical 'trying to get everything done mode'. This includes scheduling required summer activities like weddings, family weekends, trips up North, etc.  I tackle more DIY projects than I can finish and I dream big about things I'll probably never do, like gardening and taking a class.

2. The blog...I'm several months into this blog and I'm loving every minute of it.  Plus I am super close to unveiling the new blog design, which has been consuming me for a while.  Because I'm such a newbie and I want to learn so much, I think about it ALL THE TIME.  Crazy I know.  It's just a blog.   But I'm at the most creative I've ever felt in my life and juices are flowing and ideas are rolling..

3.  Love...Reality is setting in that J and I are in it for the long haul.  We're coming up on 2 years and I can fully admit equally that 1 - he's the love of my life and 2 - this is the hardest thing I've ever done.  Being single for my twenties in no way prepared me for the realities of co-habitation and the blending of two lives.  We're two very different people with very strong personalities.  But we're exactly the same where it counts - 120% effort each and every single day to make it work.  Go love!

4.  The Gimli condo...As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm dipping my toes into renting out the Gimli condo as a vacation property.  With that has come a HUGE learning curve on advertising, taxes, insurance, responding to inquiries, being patient with the tire-kickers, cleaning and sorting, making schedules...and so on.  Like anything with a huge reward, it comes with huge amounts of work!

Do you believe we create our own opportunities? 

In the midst of all the condo stuff, I found a teeny little ad posting for a 'young, professional woman looking for a place to rent in Gimli from September to June'.  So, so perfect!!  I don't use Gimli during that time, I could use the money and I could keep it fully furnished.  I don't want to jinx it...but Emily is the new Gimli art teacher at the high school on a one-year contract and she's coming out from Ottawa this weekend to check the place out.  Kismet!  Wish me luck!

So forgive me if I seem scattered, because that's the only way to describe it!

But it's Friday, I'm happy, I'm grateful and I'm lucky to have readers like you.

What's your state of mind on this lovely Friday?

Written with love,
Lenore

Shades of Gray

May long weekend has come and gone and as usual, with less than desireable weather!  But it was great to get away and take the year's inaugeral boat ride. 

Gus the Fisherdog taking his first boat ride!

Gray, gray and more gray!

The boots I had to buy at the Bargain Store because I foolishly left my cute rubbers back at home...

The hat I had to buy at the Bargain Store to keep my hair under control in the wind...

Crashing waves on a lake that NEVER sees waves!

The sun poked its head out the next day but the hurricane force winds meant no boat rides.

J put a wood floor in the cabin this year and what a difference it makes.  Years and years of god-knows-what's-in-here nasty carpet was pulled up and J installed a salvaged gym floor maple mixed with a few tigerwood boards.  It lightens up the whole place and the floor design is quirky and unique.  Love it!

I found a fab used couch set on Kijiji for a major bargain and it's got the perfect rustic, retro cabin feel with very comfy cushions!  They were put to good use with all the movie watching we did during the rain!

As always, it was good to go but it's good to be home.

What did you get up to for your weekend?  Do you love coming back home after a getaway?

Written with love,
Lenore