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.

Our 1st Anniversary!

One year ago today....

We said 'I do'! 

For our 1st anniversary, we got all dolled up....

....to enjoy the Fort Garry Hotel's Grand Brunch (you gotta love a man who doesn't blink twice when you load your plate with 5 desserts!) and reflect on a year of ups and downs, highs and lows and an even stronger relationship for making it through everything. We renovated our bathroom, added Henry to our family, I changed jobs, we took our honeymoon in the Florida Keys, lost a beloved family member, bought another rental property that we renovated and rented in 36 days....whew! I get tired just thinking about it all. 

I'm so glad I have Jack to go through this journey called life. 

Pretty flowers to mark the occasion...

And here's a peek at what I wore for our brunch....

dress - ASOS Curve (on sale, shop here)

Graceful Nomad necklace - Stella & Dot (shop here)

bronze flats - Coach (picked up on sale at Winners)

ASOS Curve is having an amazing sale and I picked up a few basic dresses like this one (only $26 plus free shipping!) to pair with tights and cardi's all winter long!

Hope you have an amazing long weekend friends! What are you doing to usher in the fall season?

Dapper Men

Thank you muchly for all your amazing comments and votes about my engagement outfit styling. It's obvious you love the navy green combo and so that's how I'm leaning. But I did have to tell J that the shirt he had picked out no longer matched (oops), after which he kindly responded 'Why don't you just go into my closet and pick out what you want me to wear?' (oops again).

Which brings me to today's post...my J likes to start lively little debates with me just for fun (he's a bit of a stubborn one). So when I told him my wedding dress had pockets, he told me that he would be wearing a hat. A case of casual for casual. Well, considering his fave hat is a sweaty, crushed up fishing hat, this put me into slight panic mode.

We've been needling each other about this little issue for months, until today. When I saw this oh-so-handsome man on the Ruffled blog....

 {images via Ruffled} 

Dapper, non? I texted the pics to J and he loved the look! I loved the look! Yay we agree! Two stubborn halves make one solid whole! So now we're on the hunt for the perfect gentleman's topper.

What are your thoughts on wedding dressing for men? Did your guy have any outfit non-negotiables?

Things I heart...

In honour of the big V-day, here's a short but sweet list of things I heart! (hint...you're on it!)

  
My sweet fiance J of course...for those who missed it, here's our love story that I entered in a local contest. We didn't win anything but of course, I have my guy so I am a winner! Schmoopy I know, but I spent many Valentine's alone gals, so I'm going to revel in it! 

It took a long time to get back here…Our love story started in the hallways of high school, circa the Nirvana grunge era. One bad boy, one goodie-two shoes girl, one locker filled with love notes. First love is sweet but youth have a way of messing things up. He moved away, I wanted to travel the world. After crossing the globe from Ottawa, Churchill, England and Calgary - I found myself in Winnipeg after 12 long years. Older and a little wiser, we found each other again. The music’s not as good now, but our thirties have made us smarter. We recognize a good thing when it pierces your heart and gives you a second chance at love. After requesting my father’s permission (I’m still his little girl!), he proposed on Christmas eve with our pup Gus as the witness. Love is sweet.

 All of you and blogland...Valentine's is all about love and I love love all of you! I love searching myself for creativity every day. I love posting and sharing and (hopefully!) inspire. Most of all, I love hearing from you, talking to you and just knowing you're there. 

My dog Gus...just cause I love him so much!

 

Happy Valentine's to you all! Any special plans lovers?

Santa's Engagement Surprise!

I'm so thrilled to share my big news with you all...Santa brought me a ring this year!!  Jack (my J I always refer to) asked me to marry him on Christmas Eve and I of course, accepted happily. Then we got to stop in at all our family holiday parties and share the news with out loved ones. It was truly a Christmas I will never forget!

For those of you who don't know, our love story started 19 years ago. I was 15, Jack was 17 and we caught each other's eye in the hallway at our hometown high school. Teenagers in love, we dated off and on for a few years before Jack moved away to Winnipeg. I continued to pine for him and as we got older, we stayed in touch with bursts of dating during the summers I was back from University. Call it age, call it bad timing, call it immaturity, but we never quite got it together...

Fast forward 10 years later, after I had spent my years working and going to school in Ottawa, Churchill, London England and Calgary....I found myself back in Winnipeg. I came across a newspaper article about a hardwood flooring company owned by a couple of young entrepreneurs and there he was in the grainy black and white photo. I held onto that article for months...then finally sent the friendly email.  That was two and a half years ago and the rest is, as they say, history!

I'm so excited to have found a person to share my life with. Jack has taught me so much about love and trust and most of all, he makes me smile, laugh and feel wonderful. I can't lie, I'm nervous about marriage - after all, I waited 33 years to commit to someone. But I know that he and I will figure it all out together.

So as a giddy girl, I had to share some shots of the hardware! We had the ring made, so I knew the proposal was coming - but Jack made sure to make it as unexpected as possible and surprise me with the big question. I'm a bit overwhelmed with what comes next, so I'm trying to savour every moment. Here's a few more pics of me showing off my ring!

Thanks for letting me share my big news with you all and I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as mine!! Was Santa good to you?