Life. And Bangle Bracelets.

We're not going to talk exclusively about bracelets today. Although we could. I think Alex and Ani bracelets are the cutest things ever. Charm bracelet meets bangle? Love it.





I warn you though - watch out for the mermaid's tail. It gets caught in all sorts of things. Including the nostrils of young children. True. It's awkward. And probably painful for the kid. Watch yourself.





Let's talk about other things, like life. We'll just look at photos of bracelets because I took them yesterday when I was in the mood to take photos. My poor camera didn't get much attention this summer and I missed it. What can I say?





It's late on Wednesday night right now and tomorrow my sister, Sally and I are heading to the beach. Camp has been over for a week now and after this escape to the sandy shores summer will officially be over. I'll pack up my bags, fly back to Maine and then finally pack up my car and drive back to Canada to start a new school year.





To me the end of summer is similar to New Years. It's the start of a new year. When you work in the education realm it truly is a new year. A time to start fresh. A time to set new goals. For me, I've basically been on a break from the real world for the past three months. Don't get me wrong, my summer job is far from low key and stress free, but it is a break from my daily life routine. It's nice to not grocery shop, to not run errands, to not worry about mowing the lawn. On the other hand, I miss those things. I miss my bed. I miss sitting down to dinner with TC every night. And God knows I miss Duck Dynasty. True. Jace is my guilty pleasure.





There is a lot to look forward to this year. First and foremost I'm looking forward to getting healthy. Nagging congestion and lower back pain have been my nemesis for months now. This extra twenty-five pounds I'm carrying? Time to hit the road. Healthy meals and the gym and I are about to become best friends again. Lucky you, you'll probably get to hear about it because as it turns out, I do better when y'all hold me accountable.

Fingers crossed, exciting things MIGHT be happening at work. Cross those fingers tight. I've been doing some shopping this summer all in anticipation of exciting job opportunities. Alex, I'll take "Fake It Til You Make It" for $800. Thank you very much.





My other big thought is to maybe start dabbling in portraits and family photography again. It's an overwhelming and exciting thought all at the same time. But it might be time to go for it. Time to put on my big girl pants and have some confidence. I think the time has come.





It's good to take some time and reflect. Sometimes taking a step back from life provides great perspective. I've considered what I liked about last year, what I want to change, and more importantly, how I can make changes.

For example, sitting on the couch with a giant bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and Duck Dynasty on the tube probably isn't the healthy life style I'm aiming for. Lazy weekends spent doing absolutely nothing isn't what I'm going for either. I want active. I want busy. Really, I want a life that is worthy of a million photographs and a million good times to write about. Funny how this silly little blog can be such a great motivation.





So many fun things to look forward to - cooking turkeys, cutting down Christmas trees, the hot air balloon festival, new sofas (?!?), new babies, Why Not Wednesdays, dinner parties, an exciting trip, bachelorette parties...the list is endless.

I'm excited for the new year. I'm going to take full advantage of this wonderful, spontaneous life.

*****

Apparently Alex and Ani bracelets have been around for a while and I just live under a rock. If you're not familiar, check them out here. You can also find them at department stores. Each charm represents different meanings, which makes them extra special.

Alex and Ani is all about positive energy and they're made in the USA. There are tons to choose from - basics, universities, religious, astrological, you name it. They're reasonably priced and come in gold and silver, which is cute to mix. Plus, they're adjustable as each side slides over the other side.

It's never too soon to start your holiday shopping. Or buy yourself a little treat to celebrate the new year!

(Pssst. They each come with three other tiny little metal charms that I take off to ease the bulk. Just use pliers.)

Photo Book By Blurb.

Remember how I went to Paris earlier this year? 

I took approximately eight million five trillion photos. TC's parents were doing their best to ignore my obsessive picture-taking. I'm sure they went into the trip expecting me to have my camera in hand at all times, but I think I managed to take it to a whole new level.

What can I say? I'm a little crazy. Maybe a bit obsessive too. 

On the other hand, I had a plan. I had a legitimate reason for taking all those bazillion photos. I knew the plan, TC knew the plan, but his poor parents were kept in the dark.

There were several times that I told TC that I wished we could explain my obsessiveness. Really, they were starting to think that their son was married to his own personal Saturday morning looney-tunes special. We just didn't want to ruin the surprise. 

I like to think that I took the high road here by staying silent. I really took one for the team. 

So, why was I doing all this? 

Well, mainly because I like taking photos. I like to document everyday life so it stands to reason that a fabulous trip to Paris would warrant a little extra attention.

The real reason though, was the surprise. It's such a simple idea, but one that I'd never taken advantage of before. A BOOK! Yes, a photo book - a novel idea, I know. 

There are plenty of companies and ways to go about doing this. Originally I was just going to pop the photos right from iPhoto to iBook, which by the way is super affordable and easy. 

But then TC and I decided we wanted something a little fancier. After all, this was our way of saying thank you to his parents for taking us on such an amazing trip. 

Enter Blurb. It's a free website that lets you create your own photo books. You can choose from lots of different sizes and styles too. It was just what we were looking for.

Blurb came with good reviews and I had a great experience with it. First and foremost, it is user friendly. It took me less than thirty minutes to get a feel for the software. Secondly, there were tons of cool layouts to choose from for each page. Plus, if you are technically inclined, each layout is easily customized. Since I had so many photos, I needed layout options that let me have anywhere from one photo to sixteen photos. 

I chose a square 12x12 book and organized the book in chronological order and included some text that listed out our daily agenda. 

I read mixed reviews about the quality of printing, but I loved how well our book turned out. The colors were vibrant and the paper quality was great too. 

Truth be told, my favorite part was the cover. You're given the option of a dust cover and I totally went with it. How could I not? Everyone knows that only real and fancy books that belong in libraries have dust covers. People, this will probably be the only time in my life that I create a book that has a dust cover! I couldn't pass it up. 

Plus, one of my favorite photos of the trip graced the back cover in all it's glossy glory. 

Here's my point: consider making a book for either yourself or someone else who is especially cool. Is there a better way to commemorate a special trip? Or maybe a baby's first year? Or maybe just make one to document all the fun things you did over the summer. The ideas are endless!

There are plenty of routes to take, plenty of sizes, styles and price ranges too. It's pretty easy and actually really fun to make. 

Let your creative juices flow, man.

(Oh, last thing. If you make a book on Blurb, at the very end of your purchase they'll offer you a second copy of your book for 50% off!)

Have a great weekend, folks. Make sure to do something fun.

*not a sponsored or paid post. i wish it was...blurb, contact me! we can work something out. 

*i just like blurb and wanted to share!

Around The House.

TC and I live in an ancient old house. Actually, it's a house that has been divided into three apartments. We rent out the top and bottom apartments and we live in the second floor apartment. 

When I first moved here, I thought it was kind of weird. But as it turns out, its fairly normal set up in our downtown area. 

We won't live here forever, but its a great little place for us right now and will eventually be a nice income property.

Even in college, when I knew I was only renting an apartment for the year, I would still put in some time and money to make it homey. It's important to me to feel comfortable in the place I call home, even if it isn't my forever home. 

But it's a tough line. Balancing time, money, practicality, function, form and reality isn't easy. There is a lot we don't do around here because it just isn't worth it to us. Eventually our apartment will be a rental so we save our pennies to, hopefully, do fun upgrades to our nonexistent future home.

This is the point where I should ask all of you to start sending positive real estate thoughts our way. If you're the praying type, you can help out in that way too. I need some support here, folks. I need a real house in the next century.

In the mean time, I make do with what I've got. I don't want to buy anything too big or bold, just in case it won't suit our nonexistent future house. On the other hand, for my own sanity I need to love where I live, so I try to do a few little things every now and then.

While we were in Paris I developed a minor obsession with all the cool doors and door knobs. I swear, that country doesn't have one boring knob. 

It was getting a little embarrassing for TC as I obsessively stopped in the middle of crowded sidewalks to duck down and photograph each cool door that we passed.

He would just nod at the people as they stepped around me.

Then he would shrug at them as if to say, "Yeah, I don't know what the hell she's doing either."

He's supportive like that.

Meanwhile, I just kept snapping away because I had a vision of hanging them in the hallway.

And it turned out pretty well, I think. 

Cheap dollar store frames suit me just fine, thankyouverymuch.

While we were in France we also picked up a few fun door pulls.

The originals were boring. 

And also, could someone please come scrape all the excess paint off the glass? I'd appreciate it. I'll pay you in cupcakes.

I think they look pretty spiffy next to the ancient encyclopedias that we found in the basement.

My last little find came from this little shop on Etsy. 

Really, how did any of us function before Etsy?

Our bathroom is a brilliant blue that I just love. Honestly, it's my favorite room in the house, despite the horrible mirror that I intentionally left out of this shot. If this were my forever house I'd replace the mirror, but again, it will be a rental one day and I'm just not willing to do it.

How great is this quote? I read it every morning and it makes me smile. Katie Daisy at The Wheatfield has pages and pages of her illustrations that are beautiful and bright. They'd look gorgeous in a little girls room. Or my bathroom, obviously.

_________________________

In other news, thank you so much to Kelly of Fabulous K for the shout out on her blog today. You can read it here. She's fabulous and you should definitely check out her blog. I would love it if she would give my whole life a makeover. 

Also, those breakfast cups she posted? Yeah, I still eat them everyday for breakfast.

Makes Me Happy.

This sweatshirt makes me soooo happy. The giant anchor. The loose and comfy American Apparel fit. It just begs to be warn with yoga pants. Come summer, its going to be perfect over my bathing suit when the sun starts to go down on the lake.

Also exciting, not only does Happy Family have this anchor design, they also have a T. Rex t-shirt that Sheldon has worn on three episodes of Big Bang Theory!

God bless Etsy.

I'm all about shopping from and supporting online boutiques. Shabby Apple creates their own line that is full of vintage inspired pieces. Everything is super cute with great colors and textures. I stumbled on this necklace and immediately sent TC the link. Ya know, just in case he ever needed a gift idea. He surprised me with it for Valentine's Day. My mom has a similar one in gold, which inspired my search, so this makes me feel just like her.

UPDATE: The necklace just broke after three wears. It no longer makes me happy, but the idea of TC buying it for me still does. (PS: Dear Shabby Apple,  please tell me you're going to pay for the return international shipping on your faulty product or I'll be forced to not like you anymore.)

We're all aware of my obsession with photography. My camera goes everywhere with me. Because of that, I like to keep things simple. I don't generally carry a camera bag or an extra lens. However, I constantly find myself wishing I had a mini tripod that could easily fit in my purse. I just needed something to take the occasional picture of TC and I - nothing too fancy. The problem is finding one that is strong enough to hold a big camera and big lens.

Again, TC to the rescue. He found a super strong Gorillapod to solve my problems. It comes in several sizes and this is the SLR-Zoom that holds up to six pounds. It bends at each ball joint so it's perfect for uneven surfaces, wrapping around a fence post or curling around a tree branch. Really, the best part of the bendy legs is how easy it is to point it up or down so I can get the perfect angel.

Also, Thor took it on a joy ride through the snow the other night when he mistook it for a new toy. It survived without so much as a scratch.

Now that, that makes me happy.

The Mini Land Rover.

Every year it's a struggle to find the perfect present for TC. I scour the internet, I rack my brain and I even make notes throughout the year of ideas as I stumble upon them. He's a man of many hobbies but none of them are very shoppable. And of course, TC is absolutely no help. I, on the other hand, make it easy for him. Here honey, this is a link to exactly what I would like under the tree. Oh, I don't do that every time, because that wouldn't be fun, but I help him out every now and then.

Last year for his birthday I tried to find a local woodworker to build a mini toy Land Rover for him. Several years ago we had seen toy Jeeps at the market and TC had mentioned how cool it would be to have a Land Rover like it. The idea seemed simple enough so I went back to that booth at the market where the nice little man promptly told me, "Sorry, I don't have a Land Rover plan."

The man did suggest a few other local guys to ask. A few phone calls later, I gave up and ordered TC a new pair of sunglasses for his birthday.





As the holidays were gearing up, I was staring at yet another gift guide online. It was mid November and I had no Earthly idea what I could possibly get him. But then, out of the clear blue, it came to me. I could try to make the Land Rover thing happen again - but this time I was going through Etsy. I swear I could hear angels singing.

A simple search for 'woodwork' on Etsy turned up a long list of artists. I scrolled through shops and photos looking for someone who specialized in cars, airplanes, boats, or anything else that was detailed and intricate. I jotted down a list of 7 artists and emailed the first three. I explained that I was interested in a custom built mini Land Rover based on photos of my husband's beloved truck. Within a day all three of them wrote me back and politely declined. Too hard, too time consuming, too bad they all said.  I emailed the next three artists on my list the next day. Same response. So I emailed my 7th choice. His shop mostly featured wooden pens, with the exception of a beautiful river boat that was intricate enough that I was hopeful.

It took a day or two, but my new friend Woodworker Jim wrote me back. He sounded positive but wanted to play around in his shop before he made me any promises. He also needed a few more photos of the Land Rover to look at...and sent me a list of different angles to get.





Well, that was just the beginning. Jim spent the weekend researching the specs of a 1971 Land Rover Series IIa and fiddling with dimensions, proportions, materials and tires. The man logged as many hours in the decision process as I expected him to for the whole thing. He sent me a list of the details he wanted to do and wanted to know if it sounded satisfactory. Yes, Jim, yes it does. I told him he was the creative genius and that I trusted his judgement completely.





The way his emails were worded made it obvious that Jim is the nicest and kindest man of all time. Throughout the six week building process we sent countless emails and photos. I stalked TC's truck while it was parked at his work, while it was parked outside of his friend's houses, even when it was midnight and I was armed with a tape measure and flashlight. Countless photos and dimensions later, the truck started taking shape.





Jim poured his heart, soul and every woodworking skill he had into it. His emails said things like, "The truck is like my child - it brings me so much joy and frustration." In the end I think it pained him to work so hard and then ship it off to a complete stranger. Although, he did say that he was glad to know that it was going to a good home. He even typed up miniature notes for each of us that he attached to the seats. Oh! And his wife created mini cookies as snacks that he stashed in the compartments underneath the back seats. He truly went above and beyond.





The truck is unbelievable. It is a perfect miniature replica, down to the license plate. And as wonderful as it is, the best part was the experience of working with Jim. He was patient and kind with me. He didn't stop just because we had blown the budget out of the water. He did the work because he was passionate, he cared and he loved it. Especially during the holidays when everyone is so frantic, Jim was the picture of calm and kindness. I think that's really what makes the gift so special.

Anyway, long story short, if you're looking for a custom built wooden something, or even just a pen, puzzle or helicopter, then my friend Jim is your man. You can check out his shop here.

Some Catching Up To Do.

Last night I was having some technical difficulties. Safari was suddenly shutting down every time I opened it. Weird, but fixed now thanks to my ingenuity and mad googling skills.

It's late Wednesday night right now, which means you're probably reading this on Thursday, which means that the countdown to leaving for Maine will be in hour long increments. I'm a bit manic right now because there is so much going on that my head is about to explode.

I hate it when that happens.

I have to take a second and show you the awesome gift that The Canadian gave me for my birthday. These green tahitian pearl earrings match the beautiful ring he gave me last year. 

He knows me so well.

I didn't give him one iota to go on this year either. All by himself, he thought to call up my favorite pearl jewelry designer, La Vie Est Belle, and special order these works of art for me. 

God, I love him.

Remember this nonsense from last week? I had to get a photo of me playing in a public fountain for the Michael Todd Challenge. 

Yeah, well I somehow managed to advance to the 4th round (of 5) and now I have to get a photo of me - you're not going to believe this - brushing the hair of a person that is over the age of 70!

It has to happen tomorrow and I don't even know where to begin. How awkward is it going to be when I walk into an old folks salon and have to explain why I need to brush someone's hair and get a photo?

Speaking of hair, guess who went to the beauty parlor today! 

That's right. I'm $80 poorer but girlfriend smells like a flower. She's so clean that I could actually pet her and rub her ears. She doesn't even have elf feet anymore. 

Money well spent.

Friday morning I'm heading down to Maine where I'll be spending my whole summer working at a camp. The Canadian has to finish up work and will be joining me at the end of the month.

Because of this, I spent all evening packing. It's truly amazing how much crap I own. What is even more amazing is the sheer amount of that crap I need to survive for an entire summer of living in a cabin on the lake. I'm taking everything from flip-flops to Uggs, from wool sweaters to tank tops, from alarm clocks to bottle openers. You'd think after doing this for ten summers I would have packing down to a science. But I don't. Guaranteed that I forgot socks or toothpaste. Guaranteed.

I've been working on giving the living room a little face lift over the past few weeks. I should show you a 'before' picture - but then I'd blind you. So, let's just focus on the mantle that I just fixed up this week. New vases, new rocks, new reeds, new mirror, new white ball thingy-things, and a new black mantle (that is has an odd glare and is kind of blending in with the brick - trust me, it's black black black).

I'm not crazy about the wall color, but it is going to have to wait until the fall when I can repaint. I'm just going to focus on the mantle decor and how it is astronomically better than the junk that used to be there.

And please ignore the white lampshade. I know it is five inches too short. I'm working on it. Lampshades that are 16 inches long are not easy to come by.

After a crazy day, I took a minute to go meet up with some of the ladies for a quick drink tonight - it is Wednesday after all, and we meet every week like clockwork. 

Tonight my friend Laura gave me a birthday gift that everyone ooohed and ahhhed over. I, of course, had never heard of it. It's the American in my blood, I guess. 

She gave me a book that is a collection of stories. Stuart McLean hosts a radio show on the CBC called The Vinyl Cafe where he shares G-rated stories that he writes. Apparently, the stories are completely kid appropriate and all around awesome and hysterical. 

(Mandy and Sally, are you listening? This is probably a book you should check out.)

Does any other American know who Stuart McLean is? I'm worried this is a case of me living under a rock.

Happy Thursday! One more day until I'm back in my homeland on American soil.

Great Dinner Party: Raclette!

I spent all of last week excited for our weekend dinner plans. 

Saturday night The Canadian and I had dinner with some of our favorite people in the world. Typically we get together every month or so to have dinner and drinks.

Our dinner parties are always delicious and a ton of fun, but this weekend was even more fantastic than usual. Christina brought out the big guns.

Want to know the secret of having the greatest dinner party of all time? 

Raclette!

A Swiss tradition, raclette is a what can only be described as an interactive dinner.

Raclette is basically an electric grill placed in the middle of the table. 

Preparation is super easy too because there is no cooking involved...just chopping and cutting.

Our menu included plenty of meat: shrimp, scallops, chicken and beef.

Lots of veggies: broccoli, green peppers, red peppers, orange peppers and potatoes (that's totally a veggie).

Also important are butter, oils and spreads, like pesto and bruscetta.

An array of cheese is also a necessity. We had mozzarella, havarti, parmesan, gouda and brie.

And of course, enough sliced baguettes to feed an army.

So here's how this goes down.

Each person has one or two 'trays' to manage for their meal. The goal is to keep each tray loaded with food in a constant rotation.

First, you choose several meats and veggies and place them on the grill to cook.

While their cooking, you take a slice of bread and start melting some butter and cheese by placing it under the grill.

By the time your cheese has melted, the meat and veggies are done grilling too. 

You pile your tray with whatever combination of food sounds good to you and then heat it again so it all melts together. I started with chicken, potato, havarti and peppers on a baguette.

While you're waiting for the first tray to cool a bit, you get your second monstrosity started on the grill. 

But maybe this time you try a different combo, like brie and shrimp and pesto. That, by the way, was my favorite of the evening. 

While that cooks, you eat your first creation. This way you eat lots of mini meals throughout dinner.

Are you following me? You eat one or two baguettes at a time while you're next one is cooking. It's a process. An interactive process. Everyone makes their own trays and eats whatever they want each time, at their own pace.

You then repeat the process five or six or ten more times until you're so full that you just might explode.

By the time dinner is over everyone will need to be rolled off their chair and into the living room.

Mission accomplished.

I mentioned before that this is a fairly low prep meal. There is no recipe involved, no oven, no stove. Just a cutting board. The best part is that it is an easy menu to divide up so the hostess isn't stuck providing all the food. If each person brings a meat, a veggie and a cheese then you're in business. You can even cut up everything while chatting over wine and munching on appetizers. Really, it's brilliant.

I warn you of one thing: buy more bread than you think you will possibly need. Six of us destroyed about five feet worth of baguettes. We're animals.

Next time you can't think of gift ideas for your birthday or Christmas ask for a raclette! 

You won't regret it and everyone will be begging you to host dinner.

We had such a great time! Thanks to Mike and Christina for having us...and for owning a raclette!

______________________________________

Friday Workout: Rest. Much needed and deserved.

Saturday Workout: 8 mile run. Boom! The furthest I've ever run in my life. Felt good, too.

Sunday Workout: Cardio - 45 minutes, bike and elliptical; Weights - biceps, shoulders, abs