New Obsession - Wreaths!

When I moved in to my house, my mom bought me a gorgeous wreath from Pier1 Imports that was somewhere around $80.  I cherish it! I keep it in a box all wrapped up and wait until the first sign of cold weather at the end of August and then I take it out and hang it on my front door. A wreath for every season would be amazing, but not at $80 a pop! Then, I realized, I can make my own! How brilliant. I set out on an online search to find a wreath How-To and came across a lovely yarn wreath at happyserendipity.com that totally inspired me to create my own version.  Winter is just around the corner, and after Halloween this lovely wreath is going to be hanging proudly on my front door.  I wanted to keep it simple and chic without too much going on.

Finished Wreath

Wreath Materials - Foam Wreath - Yarn- Scissors, Felt, Rinnob and a Glue Gun

I started by covering a foam wreath with a ball of yarn.  I tried to keep the coverage even but I wasn't too worried about making it perfect.  Then, I created fabric flowers out of felt.  To do this, cut your felt into a circle.  Once your circle is cut out, you cut a spiral all the way through the centre of the circle until you're left with a little flap at the end.  This is going to be the end of your flower.  Start rolling the felt from the outside of the spiral in towards the centre and use the flap to glue it into place.

I added a little ribbon to the side and found a nice pin at the craft store to pin into the flowers.  I wanted it to look like the one on happyserendipity.com with my own twist.  I'm pretty proud of this little guy and almost.... ALMOST.... can't wait until it's finally winter and I can hang him on my front door.

If you're inspired to make a wreath of your own, there are many different styles you can create.  Check out my DIY Home board on Pinterest if you'd like some inspiration.

:)

Up up and away!!!

This year for our wedding anniversary, my fabulous in-laws got us a one-in-a-lifetime gift! A hot air balloon ride :)  I couldn't believe it and I was so excited as this is something I've wanted to do since Dorothy returned to Kansas!  We went up with a company called Skyward Balloons that's run by a family out of a small town near Woodstock, Ontario.  They were amazing!  What I liked about this particular company was how safe I felt.  We had previously booked a flight with them that was cancelled due to low visibility - they don't want to take your money for no reason! They wanted to make sure that we had the best view, the best experience and the safest flight.  My kind of people :)  If this is something you have on your bucket list, I would highly recommend going.  Especially on a crisp October morning :)  The day couldn't have been more perfect and I am so thankful. 

Hallowe'en Invitations

This year I decided I would have a little get together with some girlfriends on the Sunday before Halloween.  What gets you in a spooky mood better than some fun themed snacks, a little fortune telling and some spiked punch? Well to start, the invitation should set the tone of your party.  I was inspired by a Martha Stewart invitation that consisted of a severed finger with a little rope tied around it that said "don't forget to r.s.v.p" but, unfortunately, I was a few years late on that DIY kit and I couldn't find it anywhere.  I had to be creative and come up with the next best thing which consisted of witch finger cookies, a DIY coffin box and a printed invitation that I dyed with a tea bag and rolled into a scroll.

 Baking Supplies

 Recipe (Found on allrecipes.com)

 Fingers (and one toe for goodluck)

 DIY coffin box (made out of bristol board)

Finished Cookie :)

Invites

Halloween is and always has been one of my favourite Holidays! I love searching thrift stores and craft stores for new things to spookify my house with.  What are your favourite DIY Halloween ideas?

Happy 6th Birthday Honey

Call me crazy, but every year I have a little celebration in honour of my Chihuahua Honey's birthday.  Born on February 1st, my little Aquarius is true to her sign with her loyalty (believe me!).  Today we decided to sleep in together, watch the Kardashian's (our favourite show) and wait for daddy to come home from work so we could celebrate with a card and presents (we bought her a rought-iron bed with little doggy bone embellishments).

Normally I'm a pretty level headed girl but when it comes to my Honey, I admit, I go a little bit crazy.  Nothing is too much for my little Mexican Princess!! Here are some pictures of our little celebration, as well as links to my favourite online doggy stores where you can pick up something for your own furbaby.

 Daddy presenting Honey's new bed

 Honey waiting for her present!

 Birthday Girl

 Trying out her new bed

Strike a pose!

My favourite online doggy boutiques!

GW Little

Glamour Dog
Posh Puppy
Bark and Fitz

Check them out! But please remember a dog is not an accessory, it's a living creature.  Don't even think about bringing an animal into your family unless you are committed to taking care of it and giving it a loving home.  Also always adopt a pet in need!

Winter Blues and Kleenex

Snuggled on the couch with my fluffiest blanket, softest pillow and my little one (my chihuahua Honey) on this freezing cold Thursday.  My head is full of pressure, my throat is on fire, but none of that matters when my husband is home early to make me chicken soup.

I am a lucky, lucky girl!

Our Wedding

On August 22, 2009, in front of 100 of our closest family and friends, Gary and I became Husband and Wife.  We had our ceremony at a Golf and Country Club, in a little gazebo by the river.  We celebrated inside afterwards.  The party lasted all night with many guests dancing even after the DJ left.  It was everything I imagined it would be.  Our photographers (www.stillmotion.ca) put together a lovely video edit to share with our guests at our reception.  With only a few hours to edit, they created a memory that I will cherish forever.  Check them out, they do amazing work!

After spending months of ebay and etsy and pulling it all together, I am happy to say that if I were to do it all again I wouldn't change a thing (except I'd have my dog there).

Our Love Story

I have a fuzzy memory of leaving my classroom in junior high and seeing a short, baby-faced, blonde hair-blue eyed boy leaning up against the lockers across the hall.  If somebody told me in that moment that I would marry that boy, I wouldn't believe it. 

Fast forward to our grade nine french class and we sat two rows apart.  We never said a word to each other but I knew who he was.  He had grown up to be about six feet tall.  His hair was darker, his eyes were still blue.  My girlfriends gushed about him when they would run into him at school.  I still never had a conversation with him and would still never believe he would be my future husband.

After highschool, we were officially introduced by a mutual friend. I had the weirdest feeling about him.  It wasn't love at first sight but I just knew that he was where I was supposed to be.  I asked him out a few times and each time he made an excuse. He said he would call and wouldn't.  One day out of the blue he called and asked if he could take me to a movie.  He talked so fast I could barely understand him.  We had a great time and he wasn't like any other guy I've ever met.

Four years later on my twenty-third birthday, Gary handed me a birthday card.  I opened it.  Inside was a surprise trip to Disney World - my favourite place in the entire world.  I had no idea that about a month earlier when I asked him to pick me up (I accidentally took a train to the wrong town on my way home from work) he couldn't because he was picking out my engagement ring.  I had no idea that he told his family I would soon be one of them.  I had no idea as I reached into his backpack on space mountain, that my engagement ring was in there - probably next to where I placed my sunglasses.  I had no idea that he was about to propose in front of Cinderella's Castle but was interrupted when the steam train was heading in our direction.  I had no idea why he kept asking me to walk back to the castle (and then would chicken out).  On our fourth trek back to the castle, I had my video camera out as we ran into a talking garbage can named Push.  

This was the beginning of our year and a half engagement that would lead to the happiest day of my life.  Stay tuned for our wedding post.