Monday, April 30, 2012

Wedding Music

Wedding music is such an integral part of your wedding day. It helps set the mood and tone of your ceremony, and can get the party started and lasting at the reception. With so many choices (i.e. DJ, instrumental, band, Ipod, etc) you really need to be aware of the formality of your wedding, your budget and the tone you want to set. You wouldn't want to see an Ipod at a black tie wedding of 400 people, nor would you want a 12 piece classical band at a 20 person barnyard wedding.

For us, budget was a big factor in choosing our wedding music. We looked into live music for the ceremony and it was just to expensive for the whole 20 min the ceremony was going to last. Even a DJ was a little more money then we wanted to pay for such a short amount of time. For our ceremony, we ended up getting one of our musically inclinded guests to put together a track of music we selected for pre-ceremony, during the ceremony and afterwords. It ended up working out perfectly and was an inpensive way to have music encorporated into our ceremony.

Since our ceremony music was DIY, I did a lot of research into music suitable for ceremonies. We wanted traditional music, so it wasn't to hard to get a list of music together. For the pre-ceremony music, we used some upbeat "love" related songs to keep the mood light.

For our reception, we went with a hired DJ. Again, we werent into having a band, and after researching an Ipod reception, we felt it would just be too much work. We loved the idea of having people being able to request songs and having the DJ interact with the guests and change up the music according to the mood. I don't remember exactly how much we paid for our DJ, although I do know we got an amazing deal as he charged us less then $800 for 7hrs of music and he also was our master of ceremonies. We went with Pauls Music Service, and for what he charged, compared to many other Dj's he did an amazing job. (He doesn't have a website, but if your interested in using him please contact me and I will forward his phone number).

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Wedding Flowers

I always knew that I wanted flowers to be part of my wedding day. I wanted flowers to be at the reception and ceremony. Picking the type of flowers and colors was harder then it looked (So many types and colors and styles). I kept going back and forth on colored flowers vs white flowers for myself and in the end a mix of white and colored flowers won out. I also ended up going with more of a cascading look for my bouquet instead of the stick like look that seemed so popular when I got married.


Hubs had a pink rose boutanere and the groomsmen and important male guests all had white rose boutanere's. I used a fake white rose hair clip in my hair with white crystals (to match my bouquet) and white feathers.

My bouquet consisted of white lilies, white freesia, pink roses and some greenery, along with white crystal picks. The girls had creame and pink roses, white freesia and greenery. All our bouquets were wrapped in chocolate brown ribbon and had a crystal initial brooch for each girl (The girls initials were the first letter of their name and mine was the first initital of my new last name).

Our cake had white crystal sugar orchids hand made to match the orchids in the centerpieces

We used white orchids in our centerpieces. We decided with white, so they would provide a contrast to the darkness on the tables

Closeup of the pink roses and freesia in my bouquet

Closeup of the lilies in my bouquet

Sunday, April 22, 2012

SleepOut 120

In a little over 14 hrs my best friend Kathryn will be participating in SleepOut 120.

The following has been taken from the website to provide you with more information:

Sleep Out 120 is a 5 day, 120-hour-long campaign during which participants commit to living “homeless” on the streets of St. John’s, Newfoundland, to raise awareness on the issue of youth housing and homelessness. The campaign aims to raise funds for its recipient charity(s) that supports youth in the St. John’s metro area. By encouraging our city’s young people to sacrifice their comforts and stand up for those less fortunate than themselves, this campaign supports a vision of social responsibility through youth supporting youth.

History:

Sleep Out 120 was created by a group of Child and Youth Care students at Eastern college. It all started with conversation amongst students who wanted to create change within the St. John’s area surrounding the youth housing and homelessness issues. Initially the initiative was to follow the national campaign called Five Days for the homeless, (www.5days.ca). As a group, the national start date didn’t work for the student, so as a group they decided to ask Five Days for the Homeless if they could guide our rules and guidelines by their campaign. Five Days gave us permission and we decided to create our own campaign, Sleep Out 120.

We began working on the campaign in January 2010 and built our committee at the beginning of February. Ther start date of the campaign was April 5, 2010. The 2010 Sleep Out 120 campaign raised awareness through major media outlets and raised over $9500. We showed that we had a group of young people who were not only interested but extremely passionate to create change in St. John’s concerning youth housing and homeless.

The committee was assembled in September 2010, as the months went on, new members joined the committee. The committee consisted of participants and employees from the Housing and homelessness Network, Choices For Youth and For The Love Of Learning. We had a participant team of 20; all of the participants have educational and work backgrounds in either Social Work or Child and Youth Care. The Friendship centre and The Murphy centre provided a talking circle at their youth centre which consisted of the participant team, employees and the youth. At both of these circles, we had the opportunity to meet youth who are at risk, to hear their voices on the issue of homelessness and to give us the understanding for the need for the Sleep Out 120 campaign and other campaigns that help to create change on homelessness because it will not change overnight.

The media helped to cover the three aspects of our key messaging which were the 5 barriers that youth face (LGBT, Aboriginal, substance abuse & addiction, sexual exploitation and aging out of care), the lack of affordable and supportive housing and when affordable, the housing units tend to be inadequate..
The 2011 Sleep Out 120 campaign team had tremendous passion and worked productively together. The involvement from the community and community services was much appreciated. The awareness of youth homelessness was presented well by the main stream media outlets and we raised over $15 000.

Please check out the website if you would like to Donate, volunteer, or learn more info about getting involved with this great cause.


Saturday, April 21, 2012

Packing tips

Since Hubs and I will be leaving on our 3rd trip to Mexico soon, I thought it would be a good idea to do a post on packing tips (this post is a little more geared to packing for a sunny tropical destination). I know packing can be a daunting task (especially if your heading to another country) if you aren't sure what to pack or what you will need.
The basic foundation to packing is having a good set of luggage and a great travel/carry on bag. Hubs and I bought our luggage at Bentley and its been going strong the last 4 years. You dont have to spend a lot on luggage either, often times it comes on sale for 60% off, so just keep an eye out. My carry on bag is from roxy and I paid $20 for it at our local Costco. It's great, because there is lots of room for me to put my purse in the bag (so I'm only carrying 1 bag instead of 2). It has lots of pockets for quick access to passports, headsets, snacks and any other items you like to keep handy while traveling. I like to write my name, address and a phone number and put it in a pocket of my carry on and suitcases in case they get lost. I also tie a grocery bag to the handle of my luggage so I can identify it quickly when at the airport (You dont realize how many suitcases look exactly like yours until your waiting to pick up your luggage).

When traveling I like to write out a list of all items I think I need to pack (that way I dont forget anything) and mark them off as they're packed. Usually I like to have everything packed a few days before, and then the day I'm leaving I pack the last minute items I'll need just before we head out.

Carry-on Bag

*Passport
*Snacks (nothing liquid or gel)
*A lipgloss (make sure its under the allowable liquid limit)
*Headphones
*Cards/book
*Light sweater (I find planes get quite cold)
*Extra hair elastics
*All travel documents
*Medications (This way if your bags get lost you aren't without your meds)
*Phone charger
*Gum (I cant fly without gum or else my ears hurt when the plane takes off/lands)

Luggage

*I like to pack clothes that work well with one another (this way I'm not packing competely different outfits, and the items I do pack can mix and match)
*Bring a few basic pieces (I.e. black pants, a neutral sweater, black skirt) so it works well with anything you have on
*Keep anything liquid or powder in ziplock bags, that way if they leak or break then it wont get all over your clothes (definitly saves the headache of a cleanup as well). This also makes it easy if they want to search your bags at customs.
*Bring the least amount of footwear (1 pair sneakers, 1 pair dress sandals/shoes and 2 pair flip flops (in case one gets lost or breaks) possible, you never really wear as much as you think you do.
*Pack a couple bathing suits (again its great if you can mix and match them)
*Always bring extra medication because if you don't have it and you need it then you will be shelling out big bucks (last trip to Mexico we forgot the reactine and the airport was selling it for $25 for 8 tablets, when we could have bought it at Walmart for the same price for over 40 tablets).
*Meds I suggest bringing are reactine, bug repellent, tylenol or motrin, eye drops, polysporin, solarcain (in case of sun burn), sunscreen (the higher SPF the better since the sun is super strong in the tropics), a SPF lipbalm to protect your lips, Pepto bismal (we bring the chewable tablets), birth control pills, any meds you might be on, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, makeup wipes (I brought wipes the 1st trip to Mexico and loved them, it saves the hassle of carrying the liquid remover and pads, its all in one), bandaids (you never know when you'll get a blister from all the walking or a scrap)
*I also like to bring a cheap tooth brush (we just dispose of the toothbrush on our way home) and travel toothpaste, floss, mouthwash, swimwear cleaner (especially if your in the pools alot), Q-tips, nail clippers/file, razor with extra blades since you will be shaving more often, shampoo and conditioner (the first time we went to Mexico we werent provided with conditioner and your hair definitly needs it with all the salt water, chlorine and sun)
*Pack an alarm clock (Our first resort didnt have them in the rooms so we had to depend on wake up calls when going on excursions)
*I like to pack the stuff like shampoo and condition in travel size bottles to limit the amount of space it takes up (We brought home a bunch of the shampoo bottles from the resorts, they are the perfect size and saves you the money of buying them)
*Water shoes are a must have! Even though the beaches are gorgeous, they can sometimes be rocky and hurt the feet. You can pick up a pair cheap at walmart (we did for $8.50 each) instead of buying them at the resort for $20 a pair.
*Pack extra hair elastics as I found I lost some and they wore out quicker from being in the water
*A travel book of the language of the country you'll be in can be helpful (or learn some before you go)
*Thank you gifts (we bought a few items with the canadian flag on them, stickers, post cards, fishing items, etc) to give out as a thank you to hotel staff and people we meet on excursions
*Currency-We bring a few hundred dollars in the countries currency so we can tip and buy items
*Make sure you pack a semi-formal outfit or 2. For women its nice to have a dress slightly fancier then a beach sundress for dinner. For men khaki's and a nice dress shirt are a must for dinner (its actually required dress for dinner in many of the fancier resort restaurants). My hubs packs a nice pair of shoes as well for these dinners.

In the end if you forget something you can buy it at the airport or at the resort, just be prepared to spend top dollar. Also when your buying things at the resort it wont always be in English. We bought the Mexican form of reactine and it was completely in spanish.

Have fun and enjoy your trip!




Friday, April 20, 2012

5 Health Benefits of Limes

Having lived with a family who encorporated quite a few limes into their regular cooking and having a love for Mexico (we've already been there twice), Hubs and I have grown quite fond of limes.

When an article came out the other day about the health benefits of limes, I was excited to read about how good for you they really are.

                                                     

The lime is the sweeter cousin of the lemon with a distinctive flavour reminiscent of the Caribbean.

1. Limes are good for women's health. They contain calcium and folate. One fresh lime contains 22 milligrams of calcium and over 5 micrograms of folate.

2. Lime peels can combat aging skin.
The peels of citrus fruits contain an inhibitor of melanin production.    

3. Limes are anti-carcinogenic. The limonoid compounds in limes have been shown to prevent cancers of the colon, stomach and blood. Scientists have observed that antioxidant limonoids also cause cancer cell death. Lime limonoids also stay active longer in your bloodstream, mopping more free radicals than green tea or dark chocolate.     

4. Lime juice can help prevent formation of kidney stones. Lime juice contains more citric acid than orange or grapefruit juice. Citric acid is a natural inhibitor of kidney stones made of crystallized calcium. Go for fresh lime juice squeezed into water, as opposed to commercial limeades, for maximal benefits.  

5. Limes may lower cholesterol. The primary flavonoid found in the limes, known as hesperidin, has been shown to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels in animals fed a high cholesterol diet.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Hello Mexico....

Thats right, Hubs and I will be going back to Mexico on Vacation. Can't wait to see the below view again. For safety reasons I wont say when we are going, but I promise to post pictures and a review when we get back.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Happy Birthday

Happy 20th Birthday to my brother-in-law. Welcome to your twenties

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Homemade Cleaners

I came across these recipe's for homemade cleaners on the blog jollymom. I haven't tried them yet, however I would love to give them a try soon, especially with spring cleaning coming around.

Glass Cleaner
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2 cups water
1/2 tsp dish soap
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

All Purpose Cleaner
1/2 tsp washing soda
1/2 tsp liquid Castille soap
2 cups hot water
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Disinfectant
Hydrogen Peroxide
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Hardwood Floor Cleaner
4-5 Tbsp Murphy's Oil Soap
2 Cups Water
Spray Bottle

Furniture Polish and/or Stainless Steel Cleaner
2 cups oil (vegetable or olive)
1 squeezed lemon
15 drops of lemon essential oil

Air Deodorizer
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp vinegar
2 cups water
10 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Crib Rail Protector Tutorial



I found this idea on Navigating the Mothership and thought it was so cute and easy to do, and definitly had to save it to the bookmarks.

Crib Rail Protector Tutorial

Supplies: 2 yards fleece fabric and decent scissors. That's it. Seriously.

Step 1: Wash fleece fabric. Drape it over your baby for peek-a-boo purposes a couple of times.

Step 2: With fabric folded in half, drape the fabric over front rail (the longest length of fabric should be parallel with rail). You want to leave about 10-12" of the doubled fabric hanging down in the front; enough so that the strips will be long enough to tie.

Step 3: Using your trusty scissors, snip away the extra fabric along the front bottom. The fabric will extend too far along the top of the crib, but that's OK. It will all get figured out in time, my grasshopper.

Step 4: Starting at one end, line the fabric up with the first slat opening. Cut the fabric from the bottom up to the base of the crib rail. Take care not to cut above where you will tie it. Do the same on the back side.

Step 5 and 6: Tie the front and back flaps together TIGHTLY with a sturdy double knot. Move on to the next slat opening and repeat step number 4.

Step 7: Keep going until you reach the end of the rail.

Step 8: Snip away the strips of fabric in between the bows.

Step 9: Trim up the bow ends to make them look uniform and neat.

Step 10: Repeat steps 2-9 on both side rails.

Picture Courtesy of Navigating the mothership

Updated 101 in 1001

This is my second version of 101 in 1001. I finished most of the things on my original list sooner then I had expected and so I decided to make another list.
Not familiar with the 101 Things in 1001 Days project? Check out this website.
The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable, or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of effort on your part).

Start Date: November 14, 2011
End Date: August 10, 2014

Marriage & Family
1. “Date night” with Hubs once a month (18/33)
2. Have a baby
3. Celebrate 2nd Anniversary
4. Talk to home every weekend (40/132)
5. Visit Halifax for my brother's grad (Completed June 2012)
6. Buy a 2nd house
7. Get pregnant
8. Celebrate our 1st Christmas in our New House (Completed Dec 25, 2011)
9. Go on a vacation with family

Mind, Body & Soul
10. Lose 10 lbs (Hope to do so by May)
11. Learn to cook a new healthy meal
12. Complete some form of exercise at least 3 times per week (Completed Jan 2012)
13. Read at least one book per month (11/33)
14. Give up soda for a week
15. Learn a new recipe and cook it at least once a month (9/33)
16. Get a hobby (Does going to the gym count??)
17. Have a bubble bath (Completed Dec 21, 2011)
18. Get a library card
19. Spend a day at the ocean
20. Declutter (Completed Jan 2012)
21. Go on another trip
22. Do something for myself at least once a month (18/33)
23. No dessert or cookies at work for 2 weeks
24. For one week, go to bed at 9:00 p.m. just to read
25. After baby, get back to pre-pregnancy weight
26. Go for a walk with Hubby every night for a week
27. No eating after 8:00 p.m. for a month

Home Is Where the Heart Is

28. Get spare rooms organized (Half way there)
29. Buy a dresser for spare room
30. Hang wedding pictures
31. Cook our first turkey (Completed December 24, 2011)
32. Get a new dresser set
33. Reno the main bathroom (Completed March 2012)
34. Empty entire fridge, clean it, then put everything back in (Completed Jan 2012)
35. Reorganize kitchen cabinets
36. Defrost freezer twice a year (2/6)
37. Repaint shed
38. Buy blinds for the house

All Work, No Play
39. Get a new fridge
40. Get a new dishwasher
41. Stay on top of the house cleaning (23/33)
42. Start a wedding planning business
43. Help Hubs achieve his work goals
44. Get a new job, closer to home or clerical
45. Take another course at work
46. Learn to speak Spanish

Hit the Open Road
47. Take a spontaneous road trip
48. Travel to Hawaii
49. Visit Newfoundland
50. Visit friends in Winnipeg
51. Go camping at least once each summer (2/3)
52. Have a picnic in the park we got married
53. Visit the Buchart gardens in the winter
54. Visit Hubbs friends in Alberta

I ♥ Food
55. Update my recipe book with new recipes (At least once a month (18/33)
56. Try a new restaurant (Completed December 19, 2011)
57. Try making a new cultural food (Completed Feb 2012, Make Vietnamese Pho Soup)
58. Don't eat out for an entire month
59. Make homemade pasta
60. Put new recipe's on the blog (3/3)
61. Make tapas

Friends Are Forever
62. Email my best friend once a week (8/146)
63. Send Christmas cards each Christmas (2/3)
64. E-mail friends at least once per month (3/33)
65. Catch up with an old friend
66. Have a party or dinner party
67. Send birthday cards to all friends/family in 2012

Pinching Pennies
68. Save for another house
69. Set up retirement savings

Cha-Ching
70. Make a budget
71. Put more money on the house
72. Put more money on the car payment
73. Save for a rainy day

Pay It Forward
74. Donate to charity
75. Volunteer for a good cause
76. Buy something from a thrift store that supports a charity
77. Donate money to a children's charity (3/6)

Just for Fun
78. Go skiing
79. Go to a hockey game
80. Go to the fall fair
81. Buy a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch and carve it
82. Rent a hotel room for a night to get away
83. Take more pictures
84. Have a Christmas cookie exchange (1/3)
85. Buy a new Christmas tree and decorations

Hobbies & Skills
86. Blog once a week at least (19/33)
87. Learn to cook more things
88. Get some family tradition recipes
89. Make a scrapbook
90. Read a book a month (11/33)

Capture the Memories
91. Get wedding album (Completed May 2, 2011)
92. Print photoes of each year's events and put in photo album
93. Get photos printed to hang in home
94. Take more pictures
95. Complete 101 in 1001
96. Send more pictures to family

No More Procrastinating
97. Lose some weight
98. Deweed garden
99. Start an excercise routine (Completed Jan 2012 with gym membership)

101 in 1001
100. Start a new 101 Things in 1001 Days list once this one is completed
101. Get friends in on this project

Monday, April 2, 2012

Baby Related Page

As you may have noticed, I have decided to add a Baby Related Page to my blog. No I am not expecting, nor are we planning on a child in the very near future. However, I am at a point in my life were Hubs and I are talking more kids (Hubs has a daughter from a previous relationship) and I have to admit I've been more into thinking of baby related things. If I come across a cute idea on another blog, I\ve been saving it to my favorites. From now on I'd like to post these ideas and thoughts to my blog.

Sometimes the grass is greener....

On the other side, and sometimes it isn't. Hub's brother came to stay with us in January and after a couple of trying months he just moved out yesterday. I haven't really blogged about it because I felt it was a personal issue and didnt really want it being out there. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother-in-law dearly, however I cannot live with the guy. He's just days away from turning 20, and is in need of learning about the real world and keeping house. Thank god he worked and paid rent while he was living with us. Back to the reason why I decided to blog about this issue.....
The brother-in-law has been on his own for exactly 24hrs and already he is near broke (as in maybe $20 in his bank account) . I have no clue how he can be broke already, based on what his expenses were after he paid us rent.... he must of went on one heck of a spending spree to furnish and fill his new home.

All I can say, is you don't always realize what you got till its gone.....

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Happy April Fool's Day

April Fool's Day is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness. The day is marked by the commission of good-humoured or otherwise funny jokes, hoaxes, and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, teachers, neighbors, work associates, etc.
Little known fact: Traditionally, in Canada, the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool" and taunted "April Fool's Day's past and gone, You're the fool for making one".