Happy New Year!

Do you sense a theme around here?

You know the one where I say I'm a bad blogger? Alas, it's true...I am a bad blogger.

Since my last post, my life has truly been a whirlwind, which has turned 2012 into both the best and worst year of my life. I'm hoping that 2013 turns out to be a little calmer because I don't know if I can handle another year like 2012.

That being said, I'm hopeful heading into 2013 and have set lots of goals for myself. I don't really think resolutions work for me, but this year I resolved to start setting goals again. You see, a couple of years ago I got into the habit of breaking my life up into a bunch of categories and then setting goals  and a plan of action for myself in each category. At the beginning of each quarter I revisit my goals and evaluate how I'm doing. It might seem a bit cumbersome, but I find it makes me a better person because I look at each area of my life for a moment. Let's be honest, there are plenty of areas in our lives that we prefer to avoid because they aren't fun or are hard to deal with. Even if I don't accomplish a goal, I'm consciously thinking about it which is a huge step in itself.

One of the quotes that the beginning of my notebook that I write my goals is:

Big goals get big results.

No goals get no results or somebody else's results

~ Mark Victor Hansen ~

 

I'm planning to post more this year and as I hope that my blog will capture my progress.

 

Do you make a new years resolution? Do you set goals regularly? If so, how?

An Extended Hiatus

I've been a horribly negligent blogger.

Sadly, when I look past the last month I don't really have an explanation. My hiatus started out with a week of wedding preparations at my parents complete with wedding crafts and meetings with the photographer, caterer, cake baker, etc. To be honest, I don't really enjoy talking about the wedding. Don't get me wrong, I love the craft projects and occassionally the planning too. However, I always feel awkward talking about the wedding, particularly with those that aren't invited.

Ever since then I feel like I've been playing catch up on everything else in life and just when I feel like I'm getting a grip on reality some wedding task comes up. For example, over the Victoria Day weekend I did gardening and made 100 wedding invitations. I'm hoping that this weekend is more productive in terms of regular life stuff.

Hopefully I'll have some nice posts starting next week!

Master Bedroom: Photo Catch Up

I know I've talked about the master bedroom off and on since November of last year. Things are finally together that I can show some pictures.

These are from before, when the previous homeowners had the house:

After:

The West Elm bedding we got for Chirstmas from Panda's parents.

The mirrored bedside tables that I got for Valentine's Day.

The new lamps!

How do you think we did? The paint colour  and the colour of the bedding don't come off nearly as pale in person. The pictures seem to be missing the richness of the room.

Over the weekend I was really focussed on the living roon/dining room/stairs/hallway for some reason. Maybe that should be my next project? Although doing it properly would involve new flooring, new windows and a new front door. Sound doable? What kind of budget do you think I can make all of that happen with?

Hmmm, the wedding money would certainly pay for that...sigh.

One Day at a Time

As mentioned before, I've signed up to run a 5K at the end of May. Not being much of a runner means that I really do need to train for this race. My goal is to complete it and not embarrass myself, doing that in a decent time is even better.

Since Panda has been in California, Molson and I have been out training. Panda left on Friday and we've gone out Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday (today). I used to try to run on a treadmill and it was brutal, I was terrible at it. Now that I'm running outside and going out with Molson, it seems so much easier. Amazingly enough, I'm actually enjoying it so far.

Let's see if I can keep this trend going and head on either Friday or Saturday.

Bathroom Renovation: Our First Renovation is Complete!

Admittedly, the major components of the bathroom renovation were done at the beginning of March. However, it is the little things that make a room feel finished and so I waited until they were in place before doing the recap. Overall, it was an amazing learning experience. I feel that we did well in selecting the finishings and that this was the easiest part of the whole thing. Sure, it was time consuming but maybe that's why it went so well. In terms of hiring a contractor and communicating with them, I feel like I definitely have some room for improvement there.

I didn't think to take pictures of the room before construction began, but I've learned my lesson on that front. At least I have some photos of the room from when the previous homeowners still lived here.

Before:

And, here is the after:

Clearly we still have some work to do outside the bathroom, but the door and trim are in and completely painted.

 

So excited to finally get my paintings from Barcelona framed.

And, some of my favourite details:

Faucet and Concrete Counter

Schoolhouse Light from Restoration Hardware

Sconce that matchs the faucet

Doorknob that ties in with the rest of the house.

It feels so good having everything come together. I have to admit that even though we chose all the pieces ourselves, it still was a surprise when it all came together.

Now, what should our next project be?

Wedding Planning Recap - What Easter Weekend?

Due to being busy, I haven't had the chance to post about wedding planning in awhile. I will definitely say that it feels like wedding planning is ramping up, whether I like it or not. Easter weekend was the perfect example of this.

Over the Easter weekend we had lots of wedding stuff planned. Saturday we registered at one of my favourite stores, picked up some cupcakes from the baker we are considering for our wedding cake (Panda is travelling for work when we have our tasting appointment) and a bridal shower for me hosted by my aunts on my mom's side. Sunday we met with the minister that will be performing our ceremony. Monday we had our engagement photos. Oh, yeah plus Easter dinner and about 12 hours of driving. Amazingly enough it didn't feel too rushed though.

The bridal shower definitely made me realize how lucky I am because everyone was so generous. Since it was my first bridal shower, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I was amazed at the turn out and the gifts that I received from everyone. I'm actually still trying to find a home for everything. I have realized that we don't have nearly enough upper cupboard space.

We definitely had a realization over the Easter weekend that a farm wedding is not the same as having a wedding at a standard venue. So, we are hiring a day of wedding co-ordinator to make both our lives and our parents lives a little, but hopefully a lot, easier on the day of the wedding. 

Up and coming are some wedding DIY projects and engagement photo proofs.

I'm hoping to having Wedding Wednesdays return this week! Well, as long as I'm not working overtime...sigh

One is the Loneliest Number

What can I say, today has been all about recovery. Yesterday I drove Panda to the airport since he has to work in California next week. It's nice that he has a work destination that allows to him visit his family, which is probably why he was so excited to get there around lunch time. However, it also meant that he wasn't thinking about what time he needed to leave Ontario. So, I was up at 3:30am on Friday and walking the dog at 4am in order to have Panda to the airport for his 6 something am flight. I also discovered that the parking garage at work doesn't open until 6am...sigh.

So, it is a little lonely around here. Thankfully I have Molson here with me, although Molson has been high maintenance since Panda left. I swear he knows to act up just for me.

I know I've been a bit negligent about posting, but work has been busy with the hearing and decision writing. Just when that ends it is wedding planning road trip time, so that will be exciting. However, I need to get organized in order to make the most of the time I have down there.

This weekend I'm hoping to get some wedding projects done and some photos taken for some renovation posts.

What have you been up to?