Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Future is FULL of Possibilities!

Sometimes its easy to get trapped in what was and not what is or will be... don't fall into that trap, there is so much to look forward to!






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Friday, June 28, 2013

Happy Canada Day!

Well this weekend is a long weekend for most here as it is Canada Day! Unfortunately that doesn't mean much to us even though we are here because Jason will work all weekend and Monday and truth be told I'm not feeling too hot these last two days! I had a post planned for today but I'm not sure I'm up to it today, so I thought I would stop in and wish everyone a Happy Canada Day and share something that made me smile today!

Check it out!




In a matter of days we are seeing a HUGE difference, as of Wednesday we couldn't have been 100% sure that we were going to be on schedule for our predrywall walk when we got down there but this really gives me hope! I am always super excited to see pictures and this is the first time seeing pictures that actually look like a house! YAY! Its really coming together!

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!





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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Luck be a Lady Tonight.. Well actually Last night!

Well I'm pretty sore from the gym today, but let me tell you I am not at all sad we went last night.

Jason hasn't been having the greatest week with the Bruins losing, the Aaron Hernandez situation (its not looking to be a good season for the Patriots), stuff at work, etc! But turns out last night might just have been his lucky night!

I haven't blogged a ton in regards to our apartment at this point, and truthfully I get all worked up and therefore I would just rather not. But I will say that the parking situation has always been pretty tight and having a full size truck helps nothing, we had been pretty lucky that one of the spots next to us was reserved for maintenance and never used, until we got back from vacation and maintenance wasn't using his assigned apartment parking spot anymore, he was using the maintenance spot.. no big deal, just a little bit of a tighter squeeze! Since we've been home that truck has not moved at all, until yesterday!

Jason got home from work late and had a quick dinner, and laid on the couch second guessing our plan to head to the gym! In the end we went because we take Thursday nights off to run errands because it seems that everything in town is open later only on Thursday! As we headed out the door to the truck we noticed the blue truck that parks beside us was gone!

We headed to the gym and for some reason this week every night it has been absolutely packed in there! We had a quick workout and were home about an hour later... well when we pulled into the parking lot it was blocked off by a ton of cop cars and fire trucks.. Jason started having a small stroke thinking the apartment was on fire and with all personal information in the apartment, not to mention cash Jason had got that day to pay rent he was freaking out a little.

Well it wasn't our apartment.. check this out... (WARNING: the picture quality isn't overly fabulous)...













That's the blue truck we park beside! With the tight parking our truck is usually about a foot, if that away from that truck! I guess in the time that we were gone to the gym the gentlemen who owns that truck came back and the truck somehow caught on fire! I don't know if something exploded or it burned for awhile but in that short amount of time the damage seemed to be pretty extensive! 

Thankfully no one was hurt and thankfully our truck was not there because I have a feeling the damage would have also been pretty extensive and really that is the last thing we need to be dealing with!! I guess luck was on our side last night! 

I was meaning to post this much earlier but I have been having problems with my blog for the last two days, thankfully the lovely Paula Vaughan fixed everything with the suggestion of Google Chrome! 

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday!




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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Relevant to Me this week!

(Ignore this link - Bloglovin' told me to do it - <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7691727/?claim=q8nzv2jgx24">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>)


Happy Hump Day! It is Wednesday and you know what that means, the week is half over! I thought I would make today's post short and sweet and just tell ya'll what is relevant to me this week!

1. Maxi dresses are a girls best friend when the weather is hot and sunny like its been here!

2. I really want another tattoo! I have two and I love them, absolutely no regrets and I always admire other peoples tattoo's where ever we go. Unfortunately Jason is morbidly against it as he hates his and assumes I too will eventually feel that way about mine (not so the case).

3. Ive decided being back in Canada I miss 5 things about living here permanently...
    - My Family
    - Fries & Gravy (although I'm staying clear of this as I am trying to lose weight.. its a true test to my will power)
    - Ketchup Chips (why they don't have these in the States absolutely blows my mind
    - Over apologizers (I am one and I appreciate this quality in people, better to be polite right?)
    - Good Grammar (HAHA!)

4. Growing up in a major city I have never really understood the concept of "small town charm" and although I have visited small towns my feelings have never really changed, and this place we are currently living makes me feel like like I am right, and there is no such thing!

5. Everyone seems to have this obsession with pink peonies and I completely understand why! They are beautiful and every time someone posts a pictures of their office or home so beautifully decorated I cant help but smile ear to ear... when will our house be done so I can buy pink peonies in abundance and spend my days wandering Trader Joe's to stock up on all their other fab deals!

6. I would like to drink more cocktails. I don't have my wine glasses here (we didn't have room to bring them), alcohol is RIDICULOUS expensive here and Jason works so much we never really get out for dinner or anything. I am in desperate need of upping my summer cocktail intake! Is that too much to ask??

7. House building is still stressful, good lord being so far away doesn't make it any easier. As of the beginning of the week we were on schedule to be there in July and do the predrywall walk with an inspector but with all the rain Raleigh has been seeing, its now questionable.

8. Question: As we get older do we really get wiser or do we just forget more? Truth be told I feel like I just forget more!

9. I am no longer a good sleeper! I use to be able to to nap, sleep 10 hours a night and now I just cant! I can never fall asleep, I never get a good sleep and wake up feeling rested and I absolutely cant nap. Its quite possibly the saddest thing ever. Sleep is wonderful, and necessary!

10. I haven't had my hair this long in awhile, and I absolutely LOVE IT!

11.Bloglovin' is Genius (and unfortunately trying to link to it isn't going to happen because my blog is acting up and I feel no need to push the limits and lose all I have already written).
  
12. I have an unhealthy obsession with guacamole, I make my own and could sit and eat it all day. Obviously I don't, but don't think the thought hasn't crossed my mind.

13. I'm counting down the days until we fly home - 2 weeks from tomorrow!

14. Today is Jen Lianzakis's birthday, and although she is stuck at work I am hoping she has a FABULOUS day!

15. All this week I have been craving Fire Tap Alehouse (in Anchorage, AK) sun dried tomato pine nut pesto pasta...I'm waiting anxiously on Tanya to replicate the recipe and then give it to me.

16. I hope you are all enjoying fabulous Wednesday weather! :)




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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

What not to Wear?

Good Afternoon Lovelies!

This post is a little bit of a continuation from last weeks post Summer Fun...Summer Style! Ive been leaning towards posting more about fashion and clothing as fashion bloggers seem to be extremely popular! Truth be told I absolutely love fashion, but if you saw my closet you may not believe it! First of all in my defense generally where ever we are living at the time I don't have even close to all my clothes, we generally have to pick and choose what we bring as Jason and I both have a ton of clothes and we have limited space when moving!

As I previously mentioned at this point in my life I am really making the effort change up my wardrobe to make it more (as much as I hate to say it) "age appropriate"! I am a lover of yoga pants as I have said, I own NINE... no I'm not kidding you, nine Lululemon scuba hoodies! When we visit new places I often get a sweatshirt or an over sized Tshirt that I will most likely wear to bed. Its not that I don't love the way other people look in cute little shorts and a dressy top, Ive just never thought I could pull it off...until now! Im working hard at having a body image I can be happy with, so why not show that off in the clothes that I wear!

In trying new things, outfits that I would have never thought I could have pulled off, I feel so great! At this time in my life I am more focused on how something makes me feel when I put it on rather than what other people will think of me wearing it. I don't look at things anymore and think "I wish I could pull that off" I look and think, "I want to try that".

Ive been following a plethora of fashion blogs, and lets be honest everyone post pictures on Instagram of their daily outfits and I find myself wanting to feel that confidence in what I wear everyday. This feeling is only enforced by my love of TLC's What Not to Wear!! Ive always had a love for this show, I get quite a kick out of Clinton and Stacy and their antics! If you are familiar with the show you know that they really do focus on how clothes make you feel, not just how they make you look.

 


Lets be honest, you wake up in a bad mood, not feeling so great, bloated around that time of the month (TMI?) you want to throw on a pair of sweat pants and a Tshirt and go about your day? Am I right? I know I do! But how do you feel in sweat pants and a tshirt? I know I feel blah, I obviously don't feel like I'm going to conquer the world, hello I'm in sweat pants and tshirt!! But if you get up, try and forget your mood and glam up a little it can put a whole new spin on your day! I'm not talking red carpet, but there are many ways to dress up your day without being over the top!

There are also so many affordable ways to dress up your wardrobe! For example check out one of my favorite blogs by the designer of my blog Aubrey Kinch and her post today all about prints! Click HERE to take a look! The cute shorts that she is rocking in her fun pictures are from Old Navy, and she got them for a whopping $12.50! Steal? I think so!

Pinterest is also a GREAT way to get ideas and then make them your own, check out a few items from my Pinterest board My Style!

 
 
 
Note that one item can dress up a whole outfit, take it to a whole other look! For example the ensemble in the first picture of the second collage, jeans...that I might I say look mighty comfy, a casual tank and she dressed it up with a blazer and pumps! Cute, great for so many occasions!
 
Its important to wake up and feel confident, and by no means am I saying that what you wear defines you! But what you wear can change how you feel, BE CONFIDENT, BE HAPPY, put yourself out there in the most positive way, SHINE!
 
Think its time to shop a little? I DO :)
 
Ps- If you're looking for a great place to find the maxi dresses you've been looking for, check out... Kiki La' Rue
 
 
 
 



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Monday, June 24, 2013

Snail Mail... a Dying Art!

Why does no one write letters anymore? Hand written cards seem to be so foreign! When did we stop taking the time to sit down and put pen to paper for those who mean something to us? Lets be honest, we stopped when it became WAY more convenient to sit down at the computer or pull up a blank note on the phone already in our hand and shoot a quick email or text message off.. we got trapped, in the modern conveniences of life!

I personally love snail mail, I love to send and receive it! I look forward to checking the mail everyday if I know something is coming!! I'm not one bit ashamed of this because I bet I'm not the only one as receiving mail isn't all that common anymore. How often do you go to the mailbox and get anything more than bills, junk or something you have ordered for yourself or someone else online?
 
Over the years I have tried to maintain letter communication with friends but truth be told most people don't find the time to write back, the letter writing will go back and forth possibly once or twice and then its over! I completely understand that people have busy lives and that its not always possible to take the time to sit and write a letter, therefore what starts out as something nice generally diminishes! Because this is generally the case I very much look forward to cards, letters and parcels that are unexpected!
 
 
 
 
As I have mentioned with Jason's profession we travel a lot, and often we travel with the same group of people, but on occasion we all end up on different jobs like now and therefore daily visits aren't possible. When things like this happen its not easy, I miss my friends but we have to make the best of the situation and hope the next job we reconnect! In the mean time I'm lucky to have a great friend like Tanya McMann who sends me surprise parcels like the one I received today!
 
 



 
 
Being the self proclaimed Starbucks lovers that we are, we collect these Starbucks mugs from where ever we go! So right now I am currently in Saskatchewan which is where Tanya is from and unfortunately I am in a place where there is no Starbucks (trust me, its against my will). But Tanya is in Peru.. no I'm not kidding you, you cant order these cups online.. she sent it from her current homeland! I was SUPER excited to get this cup, we get these cups all over Canada and the US, but to have one from Peru is pretty special! I am super grateful that wherever Tanya is, she sends me cards, post cards, parcels, and it means so much! You see Snail mail isn't just about getting something in the mail, its about knowing someone took the time to make you a priority and do something nice, that's rare!
 
 
 
In being out here and having time on my hands I have stocked up on fancy stationary and try to make an effort to send out letters and cards! I really enjoy new and creative way to decorate letters, making them fun and exciting to write and receive! I have spent quite a bit of time on Pinterest as well filling my new board Snail Mail with tons of ideas I plan to utilize in my future snail mail ventures!
 
I know life is busy and sometimes the days get away from you, but take the time to even jot a little note to a friend and put it in the mail, I promise it will mean a lot more than an email.
 
Before I take off I will tell you that my weekend was pretty great! Truthfully when I tell you why you will probably think its silly... humor me!
 
Saturday was low key, Jason worked and the weather was miserable so really we didn't do a lot. When Jason got home we went to the gym and came home to curl up and watch a movie! This time it was my turn to pick the movie as we don't often watch movies and the last movie we watched was Jason's pick and absolutely TERRIBLE! This week, although the power was completely in my hands I chose to watch the movie Parker, who doesn't love a good Jason Statham movie? Well it was excellent and I went to bed feeling vindicated about the fact that for once a movie I picked was a hit!
 
Yesterday Jason only worked until 1:00pm which is a rare occurrence, I truthfully cant remember the last time he only worked half a day! We went to the gym when he got home, came home and showered and headed out to do some running around. I know its stupid but it was great, we never get to go anywhere or do anything but the gym and grocery shopping because Jason works so much! We came home and just hung out, Jason made home made pizza for dinner, it was fabulous!
 





Lately I find myself being as grateful as possible for all the small things, finding good in everything I can because life is short and you should spend as much of it as you can being happy! Yesterday Jason got home early and we spent the afternoon together made dinner and it was great!




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Friday, June 21, 2013

Words to live by...
 
 


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Summer fun... Summer Style!

It is officially the first day of summer, how excited are you?!? I'm not going to lie I look so forward to summer every year, for someone who is always cold summer is the perfect time of year!


Summer to me is summer dresses, camp fires, bright and sunny fun! There is something about summer that bring out the fun in people! Summer is the time that everyone gets together for barbecues, drinks by the fire, plan vacations... there is nothing not exciting about all of that!

Jason is a little nervous about spending some of our summer in North Carolina as it is quite hot down there during the summer months. Truth be told I checked the weather network earlier this week and they were calling for it to be 126 degrees Fahrenheit which is 52 degrees Celsius, I'm not even sure what that feels like! So when you don't want to focus on the heat, what is the best thing to focus on?

HOW TO DRESS FOR IT!!

I love clothes, what girl doesn't? But as I (dare I say it) get older I have come to the conclusion that I really need to make some changes to my wardrobe! I am a lover of yoga pants, I could seriously live in my yoga pants! I know that is so taboo to a fashionista but as much as I have always loved fashion I'm also a pretty big fan of comfort!

Growing up I was never happy with my size, so my clothing was more of a way to hide my body not draw attention to it. As I got older and worked hard to lose weight I made some changed but not enough to be age appropriate probably. So in the last 6 months in making some life changes one of the things I have been focusing on is my wardrobe! YAY FOR SHOPPING! Obviously this is not a good thing for Jason.. haha!

I have made quite a few changes in regards to what enters my closet but my latest focus has been shoes! Anyone who follows me on Pinterest has probably recently taken note as to where my pinning focus has been... shoes! In high school I had knee surgery, and did years of physiotherapy to get back to normal, during this time wearing heels just didn't seem possible. Overall I was never the girl to have a closet full of shoes, it just wasn't my interest.. until recently!

I'm in love with wedges, I recently purchased my first pair of nude heels that I am absolutely in love with and via the other blogs I follow I cant wait for our July trip back to North Carolina so I can check out the variety of cute shows at Target!

If you have some spare time, check out my Pinterest boards, My Style and Shoe Love!

Tell me what your favorite summer style is!





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Thursday, June 20, 2013

Thunder... Lightening...the way you love me is frightening!

Oh sing it.. you know you want to!! I FINALLY got my thunderstorm! I knew it was coming, via feverish warnings from Mrs. McMann who yes is currently residing in Peru! I checked the weather network and I was so excited! Living in Alaska for so long, where they just don't get thunder or lightening, I couldn't wait for a good storm! Well Ive been waiting a long time because truth be told since being back from the good ol' 49th state Ive heard thunder once and nothing like the show that was put on this morning! I know you probably think its crazy but there is something about a thunder storm that makes me smile, summer thunderstorms call for from porch sitting and watching if possible.. but I will settle curling up by a window with a tea! I just love a good storm! The louder the better!

In sticking with the good things that have happened in the last two days I am very excited to share with you some pictures we received from our builder yesterday! We now have a foundation!!!! YAY!

Truth be told we've had a few hiccups to say the least with our builder and unfortunately some of those have to do with contending with the fact that we are in another country while the build is taking place, and then some of those hiccups are directly related to someone not doing their job... which yesterday I felt the need to rectify!

I live my life in thinking that I would never expect anything of anyone that I would not be willing to do myself, and I believe when you give someone your word you need to follow through, especially in a professional capacity. We chose not to start the building process of this house prior to moving to Alaska knowing that it wouldn't be a hop, skip and a jump to get back for the things we would need to be there for. The terms and conditions of this job are a little different and although its still not overly convenient to travel back and forth it is much more manageable.

In signing papers and what not we explained our unique situation and were promised the sun, moon and stars to keep us as updated as possible, in the loop and made to feel as much a part of the process as possible. Its not the most ideal situation to be in, so far away while this amazing process is going on but we felt confident with our travel plans and promises of emails and pictures that we would be able to work with everything.

Well truth be told until yesterday we weren't receiving the communication we had been promised at all and to say we were getting frustrated is a little bit of an understatement! Long story short I sent a few emails yesterday and we absolutely saw results... that included pictures! Here they are!!







I know its just a cement frame that looks like nothing right now but I cant tell you the amount of joy it brought me to see these pictures, to see our dream coming together! Its really hard to look so forward to something and not to be able to be apart of it in the way you want to, so receiving pictures really meant a lot.

We were a little confused yesterday as to weather or not we were on track in regards to the building process and schedule we were provided yesterday but Jason spoke with Tony our contractor and he assured us that when we arrive in July we will be on time for the predrywall inspection! Being an engineer it is really important for Jason to be there for these inspections and be able to check things out on his own. Jason is however a mechanical engineer and electrical isn't necessarily is forte and therefore we would like to hire a professional to do the walk with Jason and make sure everything is in order and done correctly before they put the drywall up!

Its almost hard to wrap my head around the fact that the house will be done at the end of August! I'm having a really hard time with the fact that Jason will probably have to be out here in Saskatchewan until at least October and I will be in North Carolina in our new home alone. Hazard of the job I suppose but sometimes when it comes to things like this its a little harder to accept!

But for now we are focusing on this exciting thing happening in our life and I am so happy to be able to share it with all of you!

I'm pretty excited, tonight is date night which NEVER happens! Jason works so much that our major outings are generally the grocery store and the gym so tonight will definitely be a nice treat!

I hope everyone had a fabulous day!



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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Laugh a little!



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Tonsurephobia - Fear of haircuts.

No I'm not kidding it has a name... Tonsurephobia.. the fear of hair cutting!

Truth be told I was going to blog today about my long time fear of hair cutting, and the fact that I got a hair appointment booked yesterday for when I go home... BUT... I need you to bare with me for a few minutes before getting to that so I can tell you why I'm about to pull my hair out today and probably wont even need that appointment.

Ive decided that I need to work off a "to do" list everyday because Ive been having a hard time getting motivated lately. Generally there are a things that I need to do during the day and Ive been having a hard time getting myself to actually do them which generally isn't like me. I'm going to chalk it up to being sick last week and still catching up from lack of sleep during our vacation.

So this morning I got up super early having things to do and knowing that they were suppose to come in and check all the smoke detectors in the apartment which they said would start around 9:30am. If I haven't mentioned it before we've had a lot of problems in the two months we've been living in this apartment. When we moved in there was a list a mile long of maintenance issues that needed to be taken care of and let me just tell you that anything that has been attempted has really just been made worse! Finally on the weekend I sent an email to the property manager and said that we were extremely frustrated with the fact that nothing is getting done and basically if that continued that we would have to exhaust other means to make sure these things were taken care of, especially because I feel like some of these issues are sanitary! Well I never received a response to my email and today when the property manager and maintenance came in to the apartment to check the smoke detector they proceeded to walk around and diminish the requests that I was making. I was furious!

Its not like I wasn't completely aware of what we were getting into when we moved here, when we first arrived here the company had set up this apartment for us and I took one look, sobbed hysterically and BEGGED Jason not to make me live here. Eventually terms and conditions of the job changed and to make a long story short if we were going to stay here we had no choice but to live in this crap hole. Once moving in and getting organized, assuming the maintenance issues would be taken care of I figured this place could be livable for the short time we had to stay here, well that has just not been the case. On account of this apartment alone I count down the days until we leave this place forever.

On top of that its been one of those days where every little thing is going wrong and truth be told pulling my hair out seems like an extremely viable option.

So speaking of hair, shall we get in to my intended content of today's post?

I have blogged previously about hair related issues, and talked in detail about the mop that sits on my head... however I don't think I have ever expressed my fear of hair cutting.. and how much anxiety it gives me!

Since I was a child Ive had an issue with hair, I didn't like it touched or fussed with and being my mothers first child/daughter she was all about braids and matching elastics. In my being less than cooperative my mom finally decided to chop my hair off... herself... enough said right? I think it wounded me for life.

I guess really in my life time I have never had a hair cut I was completely in love with, or I get a hair cut and think I love it at the time and when I get home or 2 days later I hate it. Its funny because when I sit in a salon chair this random bit of courage and dare I say balls comes out of no where and I always want to go "just a little bit shorter" and although I always regret it, its as though the power is completely out of my hands because I do it every time!

My last haircut I went REALLY short, shorter than I have since I was probably a child and didn't have a say in how short my hair was. I liked it for awhile, longer than usual but eventually I got to the point where I just so badly wanted it to grow back! Its at a length that I actually like right now but summer and here and because I have so much hair I need to get some layers put in, and have some thinning done, this I know! So I arranged with my brothers girlfriend, Jen to have a family friend who does her and my moms hair to do mine when we are home next time, and although I love when she does their hair I don't have to wear it and I'm now officially nervous!

I don't know what it is, its not even just my hair. Jason was in DESPERATE need of a hair cut and I finally got him an appointment for last night and I just stood there watching and staring at the girl doing it, as though to intimidate her out of doing something terrible to it. In all fairness I'm usually not that bad but the last hair cut he has was HORRIFIC and it bothered me for weeks looking at it until it grew back! OK, I sound crazy, I know it.

Am I the only one? Can anyone else relate? I cant at all relate to these people who work on the theory of "its just hair, it will grow back".. Really? When? When will it grow back? and in the mean time what do I do with it while I'm waiting for it to "grow back"? Obviously I know its hair and that in time, probably more time than I care to deal with, it will indeed grow back.. but how frustrating to have to wait and deal with a mess!

I'm sure it will be fine, I'm sure everyone has had bad hair cuts and good hair cuts and moments when they wish their hair was longer than it is. So tell me your story!!

I leave you with the wise words of the oh so fabulous Coco Chanel!








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