#ThrowbackThursday... One Year Ago We Got Married!

One year ago today I married the most wonderful man. It was been an amazing year, full of love, laughter, challenges, struggles, smiles and tears... and I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

I have one of the best husbands out there. He loves me so much and is always concerned about my needs. He would do just about anything to make me happy. He is not only ok with my silly/crazy moods, but he jumps right in there with me and acts crazy too. He is a man of God who challenges me with his passion and dedication. He is going to make an amazing dad one day. 

We said our vows on July 11, 2012 and it was (so far) the BEST day of our lives! Everything went according to plan (for the most part) and it was SO much fun. 

Here are some of my favourite photos that highlight our day:

One of my favourite things that we did before the ceremony was that we met up, but without seeing each other. It was such a great time to connect, talk and pray about our big day together. It totally calmed whatever nervousness I was experiencing.

         

        

 Cool hey?

            

My bridesmaids and I were up to midnight on the night before making these programs!

The cutest flower girl!!

The look every girl hopes that her future husband is going to have on his face.

Me and My daddy

Pumped!!

The bridal party. Check out the handsome brides guys on the far right!

           

 

The reception was held at Saar Banks Farm in Abbotsford, and was one of the last wedding's to be held there before they were shut down. 

To make the seating chart a little more exciting, each table was numbered with a significant number and a story or fact to go along with it.

2010 was the year that we started dating. 

We had an ice cream bar instead of a wedding cake. Best idea ever!!

The ice cream was from Edaleen Dairy. They have THE BEST ice cream!

Pics from the rest of our day...

My husband is a huge fan of glass bottle Cokes, so we had to incorporate them!

 Happy one year anniversary to my amazing husband!! Love you!!

List of vendors:

Photographers: Shauneille and Leanne from Elle&R Photography
Ceremony Venue: Southgate Church
Reception Venue: Saar Banks Farm in Abbotsford
Dress: Mori Lee
Bridesmaids Dresses: various
Groomsmen's attire: RW&Co
Catering: Design by Desire Catering (so YUM!)

Happy Last Day of School!!

It's my last day of work for the summer and I couldn't be more excited. Here's a little something to put a smile on your face!

Happy summer!

- Lindsey

A New York State of Mind

On May long weekend, husband and I had the privilege of visiting one of the greatest cities in the world! It was an incredible, adventure-filled four days and here is my take on some of the places we visited.

#1. Top of the Rock observatory.

This is one of two places that tourists go to see New York from above (besides going on a helicopter tour). The other place that people often go is to the Empire State Building. It is much more well known that the Top of the Rock building (thanks to Sleepless in Seattle and King Kong), but apparently the theme of that building is "wait". Wait in line to get in tickets, wait in line to go up the elevator, wait in line to go up to the second floor, and then once you're finished with the view, you've have to wait all over again to get down. Not for me.

What we loved even better than not having to wait, was the fact that our pictures of the New York skyline included the Empire State Building in it!

Win.

#2. Brooklyn.

We did not spend the amount of time here that I would have liked to, but what a cool place. If it was it's own city, it would be the fourth largest city in the States. It's the birthplace of so many artists, from authors, poets, painters, musicians, you name it. There is also an amazing pizza place in Brooklyn called Grimaldi's. YUM!

#3 Times Square

The first time you see Times Square you think it's quite cool. So big, so flashy. The 2nd, 3rd, and all other times you have to come across it, whether to transfer to another subway line, or meet up with a tour group, it becomes quite annoying. Do yourself a favour and go there once, look around, go for a walk around the block, buy something tacky, and then determine that you never need to go back.

#4 Central Park

Central Park really is a beautiful park. Set right in the centre of the city, it really is an iconic New York attraction. So many movies have filmed scenes here, and it's easy to see why. It's a garden oasis from the busy New York streets. Rent a bike, go for a walk, plan a picnic. Plan a visit to Central Park in the middle of your trip so you can take a minute to breath and relax, while the rest of the city moves 100mph around you. 

#5 The Museum of Modern Arts (MoMA)

If you're super into all things art, you could probably spend a whole day here. However, if you're like me and you just kind of enjoy art, make a list of your favourite pieces at the MoMA, blitz through the museum to find them, stand back and enjoy for a minute or two, then head on out of there because there is so much of New York still to see!!

The above picture is a piece by Andy Warhol.

Below is Van Gogh's Starry Night

Monet's Water Lilies (LOVE this one)

#6 Yankee Stadium

My husband and I LOVE going to baseball games. It's just so different than watching a game on TV (which I find to be quite boring actually). Going to a Yankees game is pretty expensive, especially if you plan on eating there. I think we spent $10 on two hot dogs... eek! But the atmosphere in that place is so exciting. If you go, don't worry about getting a good seat, anywhere in the stadium is a good seat. Get into the game, sing the songs, stand up for a home run, buy a pennant. Don't just sit there, get into it!

#7 9/11 Memorial

This one doesn't need a lot of explanation. It's a very humbling experience. They built fountains where the two towers stood, and the rushing water is supposed to drown out the sound of the city. The names of the deceased surround each of the fountains, and if they were from a certain fire hall or paramedic team, that info is included as well. The fee to get in is by donation, with a suggested amount of $10/person.

#8 Statue of Liberty - Harbour Cruise

I was SO surprised how small the Statue of Liberty was. I remember hearing about it, but it's kinda crazy when you finally see it in person. The harbour cruise is beautiful and relaxing. 

Ok, hubby and I are on our way out the door. Maybe more later!

Build-a-Library Baby Shower

Earlier I posted about a blue ombre cake that I was testing out for my friend's baby shower, and now, a couple weeks after the fact, here are the details of the shower! It was so much fun to plan and was a great success!

Her little boy's room is painted aqua with orange accents, so we wanted her shower to match! Since our theme was "Build-a-Library" we tried to match book names with the food we served. 

You might notice an empty bowl in front of the "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" picture... yea we forgot to put the meatballs in before we took the photo. I trust you all have imaginations and can pretend it's there.  :)

Like the chalkboard sign in the background? Here's my tutorial on how to get a professional look by doing it yourself!

My cake didn't turn out too bad either. I found the cute cut out cake toppers from The Pretty Blog. Such a cute addition!

I was in a bit of a rush to decorate the cake, so it's definitely got its flaws. Notice how the top goes in a different direction than the sides? Oops. Oh well. I was still happy with it, and I know it could have looked even better if I would have taken my time with it. 

Wanna know how to decorate a cake using the petal technique? It's super easy, check out Bird on a Cake's tutorial. 

Like my cake stand? I love this one from Amazon and it's only $17.50

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Easy DIY Chalkboard Art

For the past few weeks I have been working on a gift for a friend, that I gave to her this past Saturday at her baby shower. I was quite happy with the finished product, so that I would share it with you all, and give some tips and how to's on the way.

I have recently discovered a super simple technique for creating beautiful chalk art, and after having successfully made a piece for my home, I wanted to give a gift to a friend. I asked her if she had a favourite quote or verse for the baby, and she gave me Psalms 139:13&16, 

"For You created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb, 

you saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. 

Every moment was laid out, before a single day had passed."

Beautiful. 

So I started planning out my design by using photoshop, and tested out a whole swack (that's definitely a word) of fonts that I found on the internet. After finalizing the layout, I went garage sale hunting for a frame that I could paint... that's when I found this gem:

Why someone would give this treasure away is beyond me. It only cost me $2. :) 

Since chalkboard paint on canvas didn't have the desired effect I was looking for, I went to Home Depot and purchased a 2' by 2' piece of hardboard that I had cut down to size. I still had a can of chalkboard paint that I had leftover from the wedding, so I got straight to it, and I didn't prime the board or anything. 

Yes, I did paint indoors, and on top of our beautiful rug. But I was careful... I promise. 

TIP: After you paint with chalkboard paint and it's dry, you need to take a piece of chalk and rub it over the whole thing. You can use a wet rag to wipe it all off after, but you need to do this in case you want to use your chalk sign more than once. If you don't, and then you decide you want to erase your first chalk sign for another, "ghost" marks get left behind and it's not useable. 

Now here's the real trick. To get your desired image on your chalk board, without having to rely on your steady hand and fourth grade knowledge of drawing with chalk, you follow these simple steps: 

#1. Print your template to size. My chalkboard was obviously larger than a letter sized piece of paper, so I "cut" the image in photoshop into small pieces so that I could put them back together, like a puzzle, once they had been printed. Google helped me on this one. Just look up "printing a large image onto multiple pages in photoshop".

#2. Tape or glue all your images together so you have a combined image that is exactly to scale.

#3. Cover the back of the paper with your image in chalk. You can use the side of the chalk to make it go quicker. 

#4. Carefully place your image on your chalkboard, so that the smeared chalk is on the chalkboard, and the image sits where you want your chalk image to be on the board. 

#5. Tape your image onto your board, and then, using a pencil, carefully trace over the letters. Be careful to stay within the lines. The chalk on the back side of your paper will rub off, leaving you with an outline of your image that you can easily go over with a fresh piece of chalk. 

Here's what my image looked like after I had traced over the letters: 

It's not perfect, but it is WAY better than if I did it all by hand. 

Step #6 would be to go over your image again in chalk to brighten it up and fill in any spots that you missed... then...

#7 ---> best tip <--- use a q-tip dipped in water to clean up the smudges. 

Doesn't the finished product look professional? Or close to it? 

I cleaned the image up a bit more before I presented it to her... but I was quite pleased with myself. 

My friend's nursery colours are aqua and orange, so I purchased some aqua spray paint and gave my garage sale frame a make over. 

Once it dried, I put my chalkboard art into it's frame and voila!

Feel free to email me or comment if you have any questions!

Lindsey