Stumble Upon

So I finally stumbled upon StumbleUpon and let me tell you, I love it!

Something interesting I stumbled upon yesterday: The 10 Best Places to Live for Escaping World Conflict aka. the top ten most peaceful places on earth.

Guess what? Canada was #7 on the list! Reasons why were things like having only one bordering country (and that's a peaceful border) and because we have few enemies in the world. How lovely!

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Other countries on the list: 
The obvious: Switzerland and Iceland (hello, in Iceland they leave their babies in carriages outside restaurants while they go in for dinner, that's how safe it is).

The secluded: Tuvalu (no idea where it is, never heard of it, but it looks gorgeous) and Seychelles.

The somewhat surprising: Costa Rica - although having traveled there, I can vouch for how peaceful I felt there, I was just surprised because it borders some pretty dangerous places.

I'm proud to live in one of the most peaceful counties on earth - Happy (almost) Birthday Canada!

xx E.

Ps. happy (almost) long weekend!

Two Random Things

I'll start by saying that neither of these two things are related. I just felt like telling you about them.

Random thing #1. 
Yesterday, I was wrapping my hair in a towel, and it seemed like there was a little towel fluff floating around. All of a sudden it landed in my mouth. Ew. so I pulled it out...only to realize that IT. WAS. A. SPIDER. Super ewww! It was a baby spider, but still, I almost died.

Random thing #2.
Over the weekend we were walking down the bike path that runs near our house. When on the bike path, you always have to keep your wits about you because bikers come out of no where (and don't ring their stupid bells until they're about to run you over).
Anywho, all of a sudden, behind us came a skateboarder. But not just any skateboarder, the coolest boarder I've ever seen because he was also playing a ukulele. It was as if his ipod was broken, so he brought the next best thing for music on his travels. The expression on his face was priceless - not a care in the world.

this cool drawing: via

One not-so-lovely and one lovely :)

xx E.

Ps. Happy hump day!

Stress

I would say I'm a pretty low-stress person. I'm good at helping other people relax, or get some perspective in a stressful situation. I'm not immune to stress though. Things are getting pretty busy at work, and I'm starting to feel the burn. 

My typical reaction to stress? Sleep. It takes everything out of me. In university, I would begin studying for an exam, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up with my textbook on my bed.

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So since I can't take naps while in the office (despite how much I love that idea), I'm going to have to come up with some other ways to de-stress. 

So far one thing that helps is music.Quiet relaxing music is nice, but loud party music or rock are kind of cathartic. I definitely try to rock out in the car when I'm travelling between offices.

Another is laughing. If you can take a quick look at the situation and see the humor in it - even if the humor is because it's just an insane amount of work for one person - it can really help. Other people are in the same boat, so laugh it off together.

That's all I've got so far - I'm not a miracle worker!

xx E.

Ps. oh ya, eating is another thing I do...wouldn't recommend that as a great solution...

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Weekend Snaps

We had the luxury of having no real 'plans' this weekend. It was nice to be able to just go with the flow.

Friday night, we had our official celebration of our dating anniversary - with pints and sushi, of course.We found a great sushi place within walking distance of our house. There's nothing better than having such great places to eat and drink on your doorstep.

sushi boat; picone's groceries; frisbee (no, we weren't on toronto island); beer and pub food for watching the game

Saturday, husband worked and I puttered around the house. Then we ventured out to a little Italian grocery store to pick up some food for dinner. FYI - the cannolis were sooo yummy!

We headed over to the park with the pup for some running around (for Rocky) and Frisbee (for us). After dinner we decided to catch a movie - we saw Men In Black 3, which was actually pretty good.

After a lazy Sunday morning (my favourite kind of Sunday morning), we headed down to our local pub to watch the England/Italy Eurocup match (with more pints, obviously). What an intense game - overtime, into penalty shots. Suffice to say, both the Ashleys and Joe Hart let us down. We finished the day off with a family dinner (and ate until we couldn't move).

For a 'no plans' weekend, we managed to pack a lot in!

xx E.

ps. notice how much of the weekend was about food? yiiiiikes.

4 Years

Today marks the fourth anniversary since husband and I started dating. You know, the date where we officially declared each other boyfriend/girlfriend. We went out for Sushi (my choice) followed by pints of Guinness (his choice). We were each introducing the other to something new. It turns out, I really love Guinness (even after sushi).

So, lovely husband, happy (dating) anniversary! To say 'I love you' is an understatement.

xx E.

Ps. this picture is from our engagement photoshoot done by the one and only, Diana Scott :)

Summer!

Happy first day of SUMMER everyone!

Have a watermelon smile :) Nothing like watermelon to bring on those good summertime vibes.

Enjoy this warm sunny day (if you live in Ontario, at least)!

xx E.

Ps. Some Summer plans and Summer music

Bachelorette - Ep. 6 recap

Well last night's episode wasn't quite as exciting as we had all hoped, but it still delivered.

My happiest moment? When she finally got rid of Ryan {the manipulator}. I can't believe how hard he tried to talk her into changing her mind. I was so relieved when she said no and sent him packing!

I also wasn't too sad to see Travis go. Meh...he just wasn't that interesting.

The Highland Games piece really didn't make any sense to me since they were in Croatia, not Scotland. Unless I'm missing something about Croatian culture...

Some of my girlfriends were giving me a hard time about liking Jef (with one f) the most, I'm still pulling for him. I know he's the underdog, but he's still adorable. I'm wondering if I can convince husband to start dressing a little more like a hipster...

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Now I have to say, asking for the extra rose? Brilliant. Although I'm pretty sure that Emily and Doug are never going to get out of the 'friend-zone', it's nice that she wants to explore it further until she really knows for certain. High-five to the producers for not forcing her to make a decision when she wasn't ready to.


Can't wait for next week when all the drama about Arie dating the producer gets out. If we thought Emily was mad about Kalon, I have a feeling she's going to go all "West-Virginia-Hood-Rat" on Arie, the producer/friend...or both!

It's the only good thing about Mondays :)

xx E.

Ps. Next week they travel to Prague - so jealous!

all show photos via ABC

Weekend Snaps

Well that was a beauty of an almost-summer weekend. In Burlington, we had the Sound of Music festival (aka Canada's largest free music event). There have been many years where I've missed out on some of the great music, but this year, I did pretty well. I made it there Friday, Saturday and Sunday, for three different shows (Big Sugar, Carly Rae Jepsen and Walk Off The Earth). It's so amazing to be able to walk 10 minutes from your house to a free concert.

big sugar; carly rae jepsen; husband & i at wote

 Of course because Carly Rae Jepsen was discovered by Justin Bieber, there were all kinds of rumors flying around about him making an appearance at the show. We stood, surrounded by little girls and their parents, and waited for the Biebs to show. He didn't. One of the event organizers even had to take the mic and announce the fact that he wasn't coming, and that everyone needed to move along.

Walk Off The Earth are an amazing local band, who have become really well-know, really quickly, especially because of this little video:

They even re-did this for the encore. I hadn't heard much of their original stuff before, but they are the perfect summer tunes band.

On top of all the music, we also had a bachelorette party to go to in Niagara Falls. So there were 15 of us in total, celebrating the upcoming wedding of a friend of ours, by embarrassing her in various ways (not necessarily blog-appropriate). It was a great girls night out, happily finished off with delicious after-bar food.

out dancing; after bar eats - the
beautiful bride is second from left; delicious poutine

As if there wasn't enough action already, we also celebrated Father's Day. It wasn't quite as involved as Mother's Day, but we did have a great family dinner, burgers and sausages (as chosen by my dad), and my mom pulled out all the stops to deliver my dad's favourite dessert: Weils buns (aka sweet buns with an obscene amount of chocolate inside and inches of icing on top).

dad, about to start in on the bun

Needless to say, it was a fantastic weekend, but I'm saturated with food and booze and I'm ready for a detox (at least for a day or two).

xx E.

Ps. I didn't get a chance to do an official Father's Day post, but I would like to single out my Dad and my Father-in-law Bob and let them know how much I appreciate them!

Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn

As you may have noticed (at least I hope someone noticed), I haven't really been posting this week. That's because I was away on a three-day training seminar for work.

Going away for work usually means one thing: I get to stay in a hotel.

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I'm always sad to be away from home, but there are some nice things about staying at a hotel.We don't have a TV in our room (I never have), so watching TV in bed is my all time favourite part. Also, they deliver the newspaper to your room. They make your bed and fold your towels. They cook for you. It's like a mini-holiday.

There are also some things I don't like about staying at a hotel. Every night, I wake up startled and confused, because I have no idea where I am. This particular trip, the ice machine was right outside my room. Who needs ice at all hours of the night? Apparently everyone on the 12th floor. Nothing like the sound of ice tumbling into a bucket to keep you up at night. And even though TV in bed is awesome, the cable at hotels is never that great...they didn't even have the Food Network. Now that was disappointing.

It was an interesting trip, but I'm so glad to be home. There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed.

xx E.

Ps. how amazing is this tree-house hotel? and 8 other cool hotels from around the globe.

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Summer Tunes

Finally, it feels like summer is here. What a gorgeous weekend we just had. Every summer, I compile a playlist. Back in the day, it was on mixed tapes (that I taped from the radio). Then it was CD's, then it was my ipod, and know I've moved on to my iphone.

Here's what I have lined up so far:

Pitbull - Back in Time

Lady Gaga - You and I

Plain White Tees - Rhythm of Love

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

Train - Drive By

Dragonette - I Get Around

Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker - Anti-Venom

The Tragically Hip - Bobcaygeon

Jack Johnson - Better Together 

Vampire Weekend - A Punk

It's always nice to have a mix of brand new songs and some classics that everyone can sing along to.

Nothing like having a great playlist to inspire a cottage dance party...

            

xx E.

Ps. Any more suggestions? This playlist is a work in progress

Tea for two, and two for tea

Do you drink tea?
I do. My husband definitely does. My in-laws REALLY do (the kettle never gets cold at their house).

I have a really pretty girlie tea-set, and multiple teapots. I love green tea, black tea, and passion tea from Starbucks. I'm pretty sure tea can cure anything that might be wrong with you.

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One evening recently my dad offered to make tea for our cousins who were vising from the UK. He brought out a teapot, complete with a tea-cozy. For those of you who don't know what a tea-cozy is, it's like a wool hat for your teapot to keep the tea warm. See some here.

I'm pretty sure my cousins thought he was walking out of 1960. No longer is a teapot quintessentially English.In fact, I'm pretty sure if you said please make 6 cups of tea, they would make 6 individual cups with 6 teabags.

Just saying, individual cups is the new way. Adapt Dad.

xx E.

Ps. If you're really into tea, I highly recommend going for High Tea at the Prince of Wales hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Wedding Bliss

I'll start by saying that I hope I'm not stealing any thunder from all the wedding bloggers out there, but last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of two good friends of mine. Our entire group of friends couldn't have been happier to celebrate with them.

the beautiful brides

One of the brides works in the special event industry, so we all knew it was going to be a beautiful wedding, but I'm not sure we expected this. Every last detail was thought out.

the venue

The venue was decked out to the nines, including a lounge with sleek furniture and a photo booth. I've never been to a wedding with a photo booth before, but let me tell you, it was such a highlight! I would recommend getting a photo booth to anyone planning a wedding.

open bar + photo booth = this

group shot, lounging

It was a beautiful day/night with delicious food, good music and great friends. Congrats again to the happy couple who are currently honeymooning :)

xx E.

Ps. For your actual wedding needs (and not just my ramblings), check out my friend and wedding blogger, Jessica Kavanagh

Bachelorette - Ep. 4 recap

Well, last night's episode failed to disappoint (in my opinion). Everyone's favourite guy from day one (Ryan) is turning out to be a d-bag extraordinaire.

It seems like Emily is figuring out that he's not in it for her. Here's hoping next week is his last. Unless he isn't the guy that calls her daughter 'baggage'...from next week's preview it looks like Emily doesn't put up with that kind of talk. So pumped for her to kick someone out!



Doug, although seemingly wonderful, might just have something going on behind his curtain of perfection. It was like watching a job interview and when you ask someone their weakness, they say 'oh, well I'm a perfectionist'. It's those b.s. answers that you know aren't actually real. Side note: my weakness is that I talk too much. But I don't say that answer. I say that I ask too many questions because it's easier to spin that one into a positive :)


So my still-favourite bachelor (Jef) got some alone time with Emily. I was really pumped when his team won the sailing race. But did he capitalize on that one-on-one? No! No kisses. For the love of god Jef, make a move! I believe I may have witnessed them kissing in a preview for next week - crossing fingers!

Did anyone else wonder why she kept Alejandro? I mean, he seems sweet enough, but he's super young and clearly not the one for her. Why is she dragging him along (and in the meantime, sending poor Charlie home)?


Overall, she did a decent job last night. At least she continued to get close to Arie, my second favourite, and we didn't have to witness any conversations from that loser Kalon (although if he never spoke or did anything for that matter, I could like him based on his style).

Looking forward to next week for some of these boys to actually make a move and for the others to get whipped into shape.

xx E.

Ps. I love the sweater she wore on the group date. Does anyone know where it's from?

all photos via ABC

Permanent!

As I've mentioned here and here, I am married to an Englishman. And while I get to reap the benefits of a gorgeous accent and lots of trips to the UK, along with that came its own challenge of having him immigrate to Canada.

We have been working on this for a couple years now, and last Fall we finally completed all the necessary paperwork (including an essay of how we met, letters from friends and family in support of the application, over one hundred pictures documenting our relationship, multiple applications, criminal background checks, medical exams, you get the idea).

We had been waiting for some news; both assuming that we had a step or two left before he would get his Permanent Resident status. Then, last week, we got the call. The application was approved! We couldn't believe it; it was finally here. I knew 2012 was shaping up to be a great year, but this is the cherry on top for sure.

celebratory dinner!

After all this time and work, it was all worth it because he can finally call Canada home.

xx E.

Ps. Thanks to our families and friends for their tremendous support throughout this process!

It's Friday, and I'm in love

Happy Friday! I thought this week would never end. I'm really looking forward to this weekend.

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Tonight, we are celebrating some really wonderful news we got this week (more on that to come soon), and tomorrow, we're going to witness two of our friends get hitched! I've been looking forward to this wedding for quite some time, and am so happy for them. It will be a great celebration!

Cheers to the arrival of a weekend full of celebration!

xx E.

Ps. not celebrating anything this weekend? how about celebrating the rain (because we really need it and it gives you an excuse to snuggle inside and watch movies)