The Search For Home, Part 2

Ladies and gentlemen I very pleased to inform you that less than a week into apartment hunting, we signed a lease on an amazing 2-bedroom place. It's not the place we *thought* we wanted (see post below) but it's definitely the place we were meant to have and we couldn't be happier.

As I mentioned in my last post, on Monday evening we filled out an application for the apartment with the fireplace and started the waiting game. We were pretty sure we'd be offered it, but we went ahead and scheduled a few more appointments just in case things didn't work out. On Tuesday, we went to visit a place in the same neighborhood, just a few streets over. As soon as we walked in, we both knew. This apartment is in a slightly newer building, so it doesn't have the same character as the other place, but the layout is more convenient and the bedrooms are bigger and the views ... oh, the views! The windows look out over a nice quiet street lined with trees and the natural sunlight in the place is amazing. It doesn't have a fireplace (boo!) but it does have a fairly large balcony - which, if I'm being honest, we'll likely use and enjoy more often than we would a fireplace. 

We asked the landlord for an application and filled it out right away. She glanced over it quickly and offered it to us on the spot! It's signed, sealed, and officially ours! 

I can't tell you how grateful I am to have found such a lovely place to build a love nest. Now the packing frenzy begins. Exciting times ahead! :)

Have a great weekend xo 

The Search For Home, Part One

We started apartment hunting this past weekend, looking for a place to build a little home.

Our goal is to rent until we can afford to buy a place ... a goal we're hoping to accomplish in 3 or 4 years but, given Vancouver's insane real estate prices, may take a little longer. With that in mind, we're trying to find an apartment that is not only a perfect fit for our newlywed life but also a perfect fit for us longer-term. We want a place that can accommodate a growing family ... not an easy task, since we've got our hearts set on living in one of the nicest (and, therefore, most expensive) neighborhoods in the city.

Apartment hunting in Vancouver is brutal. Many places in Vancouver don't require that tenants sign a year-long lease and places are rented out on a month-to-month basis. What that means is that places that will be available to rent for June 1st are usually only listed on May 1st ... so you've got a month, ONE MONTH, to find your dream apartment. If an apartment is a good price, in a good location, it's often rented out within days of being listed. Once you find a place you like, it's not a matter of just saying "we'll take this!" Oh, no. Not that simple. Everyone who is interested in the apartment has to fill out a lengthy application ... sometimes a landlord will get a dozen applications or more ... and once you've handed in the application, the waiting game begins. Waiting to hear back. Hoping to be chosen.

We saw an apartment last night that we both love. It's exactly what we wanted, in exactly the location we wanted, for exactly the price we were hoping for. Not only does it have all the necessary requirements on our checklist (2 bedrooms, decent kitchen, nice large living room) but it also has all the little extras we were secretly hoping for - a fireplace, a dishwasher, exposed brick! We filled out an application right away and I think we stand a good chance, but this waiting game is killing me. I really, REALLY, want this place.

We have a view more appointments lined up this week, just in case last night's application isn't enough to win over the landlord. Fingers crossed that by Friday we have a place to live! 

cheese and other goals

A few weeks ago, I told a friend of mine that my only goal for the new year was to eat more cheese.

I was munching on a slice of cheddar at the time and my comment was more of a joke than a serious reflection of what I wanted to do in 2011 ... but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it really would be fun to eat more cheese. After all, I like eating cheese and I live in a city full of gourmet cheese shops. It wouldn't hurt anyone (except, perhaps, my waist line) to get into the habit of eating cheese on a regular basis. As I pondered this, I began to realize that I really don't know much about cheese other than the basics: you put mozzarella on pizza, cream cheese on bagels and feta cheese in Greek salad. If I was going to eat more cheese, then I might as well invest some time learning about cheese, right? Being the kind of girl who enjoys approaching things with a "go big or go home" attitude, I decided that if I was going to eat more cheese and learn about cheese, then I might as well learn everything and anything there is to know about cheese. And, with that, my goal of becoming a cheese connoisseur was born.

Earlier this week, I used some of my Christmas gift money to buy a book on cheese (Laura Werlin's Cheese Essentials) and have been happily reading about fresh cheeses, semi-soft cheeses, wash-rind cheeses and the like ever since. In fact, I'm getting into this whole cheese thing so much that I think I'll take myself on a little weekend trip to a dairy farm in the Okanagan Valley this spring. Maybe I'll host a few wine & cheese nights or, better yet, start my own cheese tasting club! The options are endless here people and I do believe there may be a tiny cheese obsession brewing.

I know becoming a cheese connoisseur is a completely random goal to have and I'm well aware that you probably won't find "eat more cheese" on many resolution lists. But you know what? It makes me happy. The idea of eating lots of yummy cheese and learning all about it, as crazy as that sounds, makes me deliriously happy. And, at the end of the day, isn't the whole point of a resolution to make the new year a happier one than the year gone by?

I'd love to know what resolutions you all have - especially if they are as random as mine! And if your list is full of oh so boring traditional resolutions like "lose 10 pounds" and "pay off debts" then I hereby challenge you to add one crazy, just-for-fun, makes me happy resolution to your list. I guarantee it will end up being the first one you cross off as successfully accomplished! :)

xo

You Gotta Have Faith ♥

My mommy arrived in VanCity this morning. I was really sad that I couldn't get the morning off to go meet her at the airport (my boss is in Las Vegas on a business trip and he really wanted me to hold the fort down at the office while he was away - a huge compliment, of course, but a bit of a bummer). But anyways it all worked out for the best ... Mom took a taxi from the airport to my office and dropped her bags off with me, and then headed down to the beach where I'll join her later this afternoon. And yes ... I'm blogging at work. It's a quiet morning, so shoot me! :oP

I'm so excited that Mom is here. Of course she helped me move back in December, but it was such a bittersweet experience and I'll never forget how horrible I felt when I watched the skytrain pull away from the station with my mom inside, knowing that I was literally being left alone in a big huge city. The six months that followed were incredibly "touch and go" - those of you who know me really well probably received an email or two from me telling you that moving here was the worst decision I ever made and that I wanted to go back to Montreal, pronto. Back in February and March there is NO WAY I would have imagined my mom flying in for a visit and me having all these things to show her ... favorite hotspots, new friends, an apartment I love.

There were two conversations that changed things around for me. The first was via long-distance telephone with Catherine, who told me: "The decision to move out west is not going to mess up your entire future. Even if you decide to come back to Montreal, you'll come back with a million lessons learned. You haven't wasted anything by taking a chance." The second conversation was with my new Vancouver friend, Jen. We were walking along the seawall on a foggy Sunday afternoon and she stopped me. She pointed across the water and said: "Look at all that fog. You can't even see the mountains. If someone had never been to Vancouver before and they looked out over this water, there is no way they would believe us that there are huge mountains just on the other side of the shore. It's kind of like that with God sometimes, too. Right now, everything is all foggy for you. But God can see through the fog. You just have to trust Him."

When my mom walked through the door of my office, I was really overwhelmed with emotion because I know that this was a moment that almost didn't happen. So many times I wanted to quit, give up, pack my bags and go back to the life I had left behind. The only thing that kept me here in Vancouver was my faith. Faith that this was where God wanted me to be, even though it was breaking my heart. Faith that greater things were on their way. Faith that God would provide a new apartment (check) ... a Christian roommate (check) ... a wonderful church community (check) ... loving friends who have become my west coast family (check) ... experiences that would make me grow (check).

There was an online crop over at the Scrapbook Star message board over the weekend, and I made this layout:

The journaling says: "I will sing of the Lord's great love forever. No matter how lost I feel, I will faith." I think that pretty much sums up where I am in my spiritual walk these days.

I'm signing off now so I can wrap up my work and head out to meet my darling momma. I have to show her around my city ... my new hometown. And yes - this lovely city by the sea really has become home. It's amazing what 6 months of walking by faith can do!

xox

Lessons in Compromise

I love my roomie and we get a long really, really well .... but sharing a tiny apartment with another person has certainly been a lesson in the art of compromise, particularly when it comes to home decorating. Katie and I have very different decorating styles. I'm very urban chic and I prefer things to be streamline and open and super organized. My roomie, on the other hand, prefers a hippie-vintage look. She's into mixing and matching and likes furniture pieces that have a bit of an antique flair to them. Needless to say, it took a little bit of compromise on both sides in order for us to finish decorating our apartment. This is a layout I made documenting that process:

That's Katie's table (and her artwork and her tomato plant) in our kitchen. I wasn't crazy about it at first, but it's starting to grow on me. :)

Speaking of layouts ... my super sweet friend Catherine scrap-lifted one of my layouts. I had no idea she was doing it, so it was such a surprise to swing by The Everyday Scrapper and see my layout up there! I love Catherine's layout so much ... especially the two different colors on the title. Gotta try that sometime! Be sure to swing by and leave some love!

Anyways, it's a beautiful summer day here in Vancouver. I was at the beach this morning and came home for lunch, and I think I'll head back down to the water this afternoon. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

xoxo

MOVING DAY * take 2*

Yay! February 1st has finally arrived!!

Today, Katie and I move into our new apartment. I am so excited to

get all my stuff moved in and unpacked ... and I'm so anxious to make the new place feel as much like "home" as possible. I think I'm going to swing by the cupcake shop and get us some cupcakes to celebrate the occasion! WOOT. :o)

In other exciting news ... the Olympics start in just 12 days!!!!!

I'm particularly excited because I have February 28th off work ... and the gold medal men's hockey game is on February 28th. I hope it's another Canada-USA showdown and that my boys dominate! *hehe* But I guess I still have a long way to go before game day so for now I'll just look forward to seeing the torch come into town.

Anyways - lots and lots to do today so I best be going.

I'll post photos of the apartment as soon as we're all settled! *smiles*

xox

Missing My Friends :o(

Today ... after a really rough morning with lots of stress ... I found myself missing this lovely lady:

It's days like today when all a girl wants is a friend who will gladly give her shoulder for you to cry on ... who will buy you a whole tub of ice-cream and not judge you for eating it all by yourself ... who will let you have a complete pity party and never once tell you to "snap out of it" or accuse you of being selfish. When all of your closest friends are miles and miles away, you realize how precious and important they really are and lucky blessed you were to have them living just a short car ride away.

Tonight, I'm feeling mopey and wishing I had my best friends around. So do me a favor. Give YOUR best friend a call and go out for coffee or go catch a movie. Do it for me and all the people like me who are missing their besties.

-xox-

some updates ...

Wow! January has been such an insane month for me ... a real roller coaster month with some incredible highs and, unfortunately, some incredible lows. I'm glad the month is almost over and I'm hoping February will be better! Much better!

I've finally started to make friends here. I go to an absolutely incredible church called The Bridge and the people there are just the sweetest, kindest, loveliest people I think I've ever met in my whole life. They really embody what it means to be a family of believers! A few nights ago, I was invited over for dinner by Jen and Roland - a super great couple who moved to Vancouver in October from London, Ontario. We talked for hours and played board games (I lost miserably) and it was just great to connect with people. We're even making plans to go see some of the Olympic festivities together and I'm so excited about that!

In more exciting news .... I have found a new apartment! I move in on February 1st with Katie, my new roomie. It's a cozy two-bedroom place in the same neighborhood I'm living in now. The best part is the view! I can see the mountains from my kitchen window! The sink is right by the window so whenever I'm doing dishes, I'll get to look out and see the amazing snow-cap mountains off in the distance ... it's so incredible! Katie and I both feel so blessed to have found this place *and* it's even cheaper than the apartment I'm currently staying at!

With all these changes, I haven't had much time for scrapbooking lately. Actually - I've had NO time for scrapbooking. I'm really hoping February is a little bit calmer so I'll have time to document my experience here and work with some of the great photos I've taken since arriving in Vancouver.

I hope you all have an awesome week!

xox

Exploring!

Greetings from beautiful Vancouver!

I've been busy spending these last few days exploring my new city, getting familiar with my neighborhood and, of course, taking tons of photos! There are just way too many photos to upload them all to my blog, so if you're interested you can swing by my Flickr and check them out there.

Whistler Christmas vacation photos are here.

Photos of my new neighborhood are here.

I'm nowhere near done exploring my neighborhood, so you might want to check back over the next few days to see what new things I stumble upon. I haven't taken any photos of my apartment yet because I don't think it's photo-ready ... I still need to decorate a little and put my artwork up. Once I feel the apartment is really "mine" I'll take tons of photos and post them. Promise. :o)

xox

Greetings from Whistler!

Hello everyone! Our flight arrived safe and sound in Vancouver last night, right on time. I was so excited - Julie and Julia was one of the movies being shown on the plane. It was good, but totally not what I expected. My sister and brother-in-law were waiting for us at the airport and the drive up to Whistler (where they live) was smooth sailing! Above is a photo that I took on their front porch. That is the incredible view we are blessed with. It's truly breathtaking.

This morning we opened presents and had a delicious breakfast feast. After breakfast, we went for a little stroll through Whistler Village and there are signs on all the houses where the Canadian Olympic athletes are living ... so neat to see! Now the turkey dinner is in the oven ... I can smell it from here and it smells absolutely delicious! Tomorrow we'll be going skiing and will probably take the Peak to Peak gondola ride between the two mountains to see the incredible view. Also on the agenda for my week here in Whistler - a trip down to Squamish (the closest city to Whistler) to check out their local scrapbook store, an afternoon of reading at Starbucks, snow-tubing, games night, fondue dinner, yoga class with my sister (maybe!) and LOTS of time with family!

I'll be here in Whistler until January 3rd. Then, it's down to Vancouver to move into my apartment. I have big plans for my "vacation" week here so I'm not sure how much time I'll have to post on my blog but I'll try my best to keep you all updated!

Talk soon!

xox

PS - I hope you all had an incredible Christmas.

My Beautiful Family ...

I am blessed to come from the most beautiful family on the face of the planet! Last night, we had a pre-Christmas dinner and mini goodbye party for me, and they gave me the most BEAUTIFUL scrapbook ever! Every member of my family made a page wishing me good luck, documenting their favorite memories with me so far, etc. It was so precious and it really meant the world to me. Here are some of the layouts ....

My talented momma made that one.

My 89 year-old Nana made the one on the left, my daddy made the one on the right.

My aunt and my uncles made these two layouts.

My two best friends Catherine & Jessica made me these layouts.

MY FAMILY ROCKS !!!!! I am going to miss everyone soooooo much.

xox

Goodbye Montreal

It is pretty insane to think that I'm leaving Montreal *forever* in just 7 short days! So weird to be holding a one-way ticket (literally!) with my name on it ... that's the kind of thing you hear about in songs and movies and novels, but you never really imagine that it will ever happen to you.

People have been asking me what I think I'll miss most about not living here anymore. I'm not sure. Obviously, I'll miss my family and my friends. I'll miss my morning coffee dates at Starbucks with Jessica. I'll miss my scrap days and chick flick afternoons with Catherine. I'll miss the 45-minute drive into the city with my mommy each morning. I'll miss the frozen fried ice-cream at 3 Amigos restaurant, the third floor of the Concordia Library with its rows and rows of theology books, the breath-taking sight of the rows of golden cornfields near my house in the fall, strolling through the Old Port in the summertime, spontaneous road trips to Applebee's, family BBQ's every weekend in the summer. I'll miss the familiarity of it all.

I know that I will make new memories and traditions in Vancouver and I'm crazy crazy excited to find out what life will be like once I've settled into my new home. But, tonight, I'm just going to take a little time to be nostalgic and think about all I've been blessed with over the past 23 years.

Goodbye, Montreal.
You've been good to me, but it's time for us to part.

xox

Moving Chaos:

That's a peek of what our guest bedroom looks like right now!
Because I will be shipping my stuff across the country in the middle of the holiday rush, I need to get things out early if I want them to be waiting for me at the local post office when I arrive. Soooo, I have officially transformed our guest room into Moving Central. Everything I want to take with me is being moved into that room, where it will then be carefully packed into boxes and sent off to Vancouver. It's exciting but very tiring! I'll be glad when the boxes are on their way.
xox

PS - Thank you to everyone who left me sweet messages in response to my moving announcement. I really appreciate the kind words!

My Nana's Tea Cups ♥

Yesterday, I had dinner at my Nana's house and she gave me an early house-warming present: four of her vintage tea cups! The first one was a gift she received at her wedding in 1938! They are all absolutely gorgeous, with beautiful intricate designs and 14K gold around the rims .... so very lovely!

... This last one is my personal favorite!
I've admired this cup since I was a little girl:

Thank you *so so* much Nana! You are the absolute sweetest!
xox

some news. BIG news.

I have some very exciting news to share with you ... I have been bursting at the seams with excitement & would have posted this WAY sooner, but there were people I wanted and needed to tell in person first. But now that they know, it's time for you to know too ...

I AM MOVING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After Christmas, I will no longer be living in the comforts of my parents' home here in Montreal. I will be living on the other side of the country in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. The home of the 2010 Winter Olympics will be my new home, too. I was offered a job there and after a lot of prayer & pondering, I decided to accept it. This was *not* an easy decision for me. I have have lived in the same house my entire life and the most time I've spent away from my family is 5 days! As exciting as it is, the idea of literally moving to the other side of the country ... all alone, by myself ... is terrifying. But I've always been the kind of girl who follows her heart, and my heart is telling me that this is the right decision.

I am moving to an area of Vancouver called Kitsilano ... one of the nicest parts of the city. My apartment is 6 blocks from the beach and a 10 minute bus ride from downtown. I'll be 4 blocks from Broadway Street where there are tons of coffee shops, restaurants, stores, etc. My new church is a short bus ride away. I am *so* excited! Also, my land-lady seems like such a sweetheart. We chatted on the phone for an hour tonight and she reminds me a lot of my mom.

I am feeling really, really blessed tonight. I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for me!
xox