Posted in Life + Living

Paint me a sunrise and I shall be content

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The sunrise was beautiful this morning. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it when I woke up this morning.  I’ve been laying on the couch, facing the window as pictured above, and watching the colors quietly shift and change.

When I first started watching, there was a bit of dark blue at the far corner of the window.  The blue has since retreated and been replaced with a lovely lavender color, pale and peaceful.  Though the foliage breaks up the scene, I can see that an orange the color of a summertime Push-pop or orange sorbet is starting to take center stage.

As I study the colors, and marvel at their beauty, the painter in me wonders how the purple and the orange can be right next to each other, but there’s no muddying of the colors.  There’s no hard line that says “this side is orange/this side is purple.” Then, as if to add to the illusion, a breeze stirs the leaves of the tree and they dance like glitter thrown across this masterpiece.

la vie est belle

Posted in Wedding Planning

The Shoes-ah!

I’m so excited. I knew there was no way I could be tottering around in my towering heels on my wedding day and so I went shopping on Zappos for the first time, looking for a back-up plan.  I was bummin’ around with my mom at the time so I used their mobile site.  It was super easy.  I bought a couple pair of back-up shoes for the wedding and I was really impressed with everything.  Zappos has an agreement of sorts with Amazon and so I was able to use the login credentials from that site. Since I was using my mobile phone to do all of my shopping, that made it super easy.  There’s nothing worse* than trying to configure a secure password that you’ll remember on a PC using a smartphone keyboard.  Ugh. (*there are worse things, but I like being mellow-dramatic).

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So yes, the mobile site was great. The shipping (even super fast ‘next-business-day’ shipping) was free and it’s free to send them back, too, which may come in handy… I saw a pair of purple heels that had my name on them – “Meg.”  They were kind of summery, strappy.. I thought, what the hey, they might work!

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First impressions were good–they were the perfect color, the style was pleasing…but wearing them around the house kind of made me realize that they’re a little cheaply constructed.  The sole was flimsy and the liner was pulling up near the toe bed.  Womp womp 😦  It’s safe to say I was kinda glad I ordered a second pair, and really glad that they have free shipping for returns, ’cause these aren’t going to make the cut.

The blue, oh my goodness.. the blue were beautiful!! Breathtaking, even.. I unwrapped them and inspected them for quality and was pleased with the stitching and the fabric, the construction of the sole and the heel…

2013-01-08_19-38-08_577I wore them around the apartment for a while and was pleased with the fit and the comfort.  It’s got excellent cushioning for such a low heel.  The only trouble spot is near the big toe.. unfortunately, these rub right near the cuticle in a way I can tell will cause a blister 😦  I’m going to try to find a way to break them in gently so that it’s not a problem.

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They are even a perfect match to the bridesmaids’ dresses ❤  I’m so thrilled!  I’m going to be showing the blue ones off tomorrow when I get to work to see if mom likes them.  Even if she doesn’t, I do, and they’re perfect.  *gush* The shoes-ah!!

Posted in Life + Living, Wedding Planning

Wedding Planning and stuff…

Purple is pinned all over my pinterest wedding board, but BLUE is all over my house.  Did you happen to see the shoes I picked out to walk down the aisle in?  They are from Etsy and feature a hand-painted Super Mario motif.

 

Jeff and I are gamers and these shoes are the one and only way that our shared hobby is being incorporated into such a formal event.  We’re about at the half way point and so far we have:

– Ceremony Space
– Caterer
– Photographer
– Videographer
– DJ
– Save-the-Dates
– Invitations
– Thank-You’s
– Wedding Dress
– Bride’s Shoes
– Bridesmaid Dresses
– Bridesmaid Flowers
– Officiant
– …other things that I’m probably forgetting.

The plan for our Canadian reception has not come together whatsoever yet.  We have received offers and gifts aplenty, but the planning for a fete across country lines is a little difficult.  I really need to focus my attentions a little more on *that*, though, or it may not turn out.  I dream of a beautiful tent strung with white lights… So far I have… a back yard.

 

I’m not sure if our wedding is going to feel cohesive or not.  We didn’t pick out a theme before we got started, we just keep picking things we like 🙂 Maybe our theme is just “us”

I could handle that 🙂

 

Posted in Life + Living, Self-Reflection, Wedding Planning

Canada Recap: Wedding Socials

“Women are like goats. It’s like . . . Well, reasoning with a woman is like sitting down to a friendly game of dice. Only the woman refuses to acknowledge the basic bloody rules of the game. A man, he’ll cheat you – but he’ll do it honestly. He’ll use loaded dice, so that you think you’re losing by chance. And if you aren’t clever enough to spot what he’s doing, then maybe he deserves to take your coin. And that’s that. A woman, though, she’ll sit down to that same game and she’ll smile, and act like she’s going to play. Only when it’s her turn to throw, she’ll toss a pair of her own dice that are blank on all six sides. Not a single pip showing. She’ll inspect the throw, then she’ll look up at you and say, ‘clearly I just won.’ Now, you’ll scratch your head and look at the dice. Then you’ll look up at her, then down at the dice again ‘But there aren’t any pips on these dice’ you’ll say.” ‘Yes there are,’ she’ll say. ‘And both dice rolled a one.’ ‘That’s exactly the number you need to win,’ you’ll say. ‘What a coincidence,’ she’ll reply, then begin to scoop up your coins. And you’ll sit there, trying to wrap your head ’bout what just happened. And you’ll realise something. A pair of ones isn’t the winning throw! Not when you threw a six on your turn. That means she needed a pair of twos instead! Excitedly you’ll explain what you’ve discovered. Only then do you know what she’ll do?”

“No idea, Mat.”

“Then she’ll reach over and rub the blank faces of her dice. And then, with a perfectly straight face, she’ll say, ‘I’m sorry. There was a spot of dirt on the dice. Clearly you’ll see they actually came up as twos!’ And she’ll believe it. She’ll bloody believe it!”

“Incredible.”

“Only that’s not the end of it!” “I had presumed it wouldn’t be Mat.” “She scoops up all of your coins. And then every other wonam in the room will come over and congratulate her on throwing that pair of twos! The more you complain, the more those bloody women will join in the argument. You’ll be outnumbered in a moment, and each of those women will explain to you how those dice clearly read twos, and how you really need to stop behaving like a child. Every single flaming one of them will see the twos! even the prudish woman who has hated your woman from birth – since your woman’s granny stole the other woman’s granny’s honeycake recipe when they were both maids – that woman will side against you.”

“They’re nefarious creatures indeed.”

“By the time they’re done, you’ll be left with no coin, several lists worth of errands to run and what clothing to wear and a splitting headache. You’ll sit there and stare at the table and begin to wonder, just maybe, if those dice didn’t read twos after all. If only to preserve what’s left of your sanity. That’s what it’s like to reason with a woman, I tell you.”

Wandering through the bookstore and stumbling across new and wonderful literary adventures is one of mine and Jeff’s favorite ways to spend time.  More than a few times we have gone for a quick bite to eat and then spent two or more hours just perusing the shelves looking for a new book.  When I was a girl, I used to dream of having a library like the one in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.  Now that I know just how expensive books and shelves are… I think I’ll settle with a small, robust, private collection.  Jeff and I were on one of our literary dates this evening and I picked up an old favorite – The Phantom Tollbooth.  It’s a book aimed at sixth graders, but my niece is coming over this weekend and I thought it might be nice to start reading to her.  She won’t appreciate it until she’s older, but perhaps she’ll enjoy the adventure.

Speaking of adventures… Let’s go back to last month when Jeff and I embarked on our adventure to Canada.  Whilst there, we had the opportunity to attend a Wedding Social.  Now, from what I gather, this is a Manitobian and maybe even more specifically a Winnipeg’er tradition.. According to the Manitoba Socials Guide:

A social is a particularly Manitoba-grown concept. It’s a fundraising party, often for a wedding, charitable or community organization. Usually held at a community centre or a Legion hall, it can be known as a “Manitoba Social”, “Winnipeg Social”, “Wedding Social”, “Fundraising Social”, or just simply a “Social”.

When it is run for a wedding it is traditionally run by the wedding party, although it is sometimes run by the bride and groom. A wedding social gives people a way to include friends and relatives in the wedding when you could not invite them, and allows friends and family to support the couple financially for their new life together.

It was a fun night of music, raffles, 50:50 drawings, and snacky foods.  It was the first social that I had ever been to and I thought it was really cool.  There were two things that stuck out to me about it – first, that “gay-marriage” (aka: marriage) is legal in Manitoba.  I didn’t know that.  People make such a big fuss about it here that it was refreshing to see that it was just another happy couple getting married and that their gender was not the highlight of the evening.   The other exciting thing is that Michelle and Jen picked the same colors as Jeff and I, so, we got to see them “in action”

They served deli meats and cheeses, crackers and bread around 11pm and the party carried on into the night.  There were a lot of people who Jeff got to reconnect with, and a few who didn’t recognize him since he’s changed so much in the past few years.  We didn’t win any of the drawings, but that’s okay because we were able to contribute to our friend’s wedding and help out with just a little of the cost.  It almost makes me wish that there were more of our friends and family local so that it would be worth throwing a fund-raiser such as this.

As it turns out, Olive Garden and the like only do fund-raising for non-profits.  And we don’t qualify.  Drat.  I guess that means I will have to consider leveling up my crafting abilities and try my hand at raising money that way.

Posted in College, Fitness, Warrior Dash

Flowers and a mini-update.

I found this cute little library as Jeff and I drove to breakfast.  We had helped a family friend with a task and then we met up with my parents for waffles at Ihop.  It was a great morning!

I’m still swamped with school and work, so I apologize for neglecting updates.  In fitness type news I figured out that the problem with my back is a rhomboid muscle strain/spasms.  My doctor has got some stretches recommended for me and hopes to see me up-and-at-them in about 3 weeks or so.

The Warrior Dash is on Saturday and I found myself a jogging partner–his name is Mario and he’s fine with going slow 🙂

Class ends on 7/22.  I sincerely hope to update before then, but this course has a higher work load and is much faster paced than my previous courses.  As always, I appreciate your taking the time out of YOUR busy schedule to stop by and see what I’m up to 🙂

take care!