Engagement Photos ... A Quick Peek

We had our engagement photo session with the lovely Mikaela of Mikaela Ruth Photography on Saturday. I think her work speaks for itself but I'm gonna say it anyway ... she is CRAZY talented. So excited & so blessed to have her documenting our special day.

For more of Mikaela's work (and to see more photos from our shoot) visit her blog -

http://mikaelaruthblog.com/

Pacific NW Road Trip

I know you're all just dying to hear about my little road trip through the Pacific Northwest, right? (Right?) Well, let me tell you - it was glorious. The weather was the absolute pits ... it poured the entire time ... and there were a few unexpected bumps along the way but overall it was bliss. We drove. We talked. We browsed. We shopped. We stayed at the fabulous Ace Hotel and we ate the most delicious food. Salmon chowder - where have you been all my life? So, so good. And don't even get me started on the delicious-ness that we discovered at some food trucks in Portland. I'll gain 10 pounds just thinking about them.

I took hundreds of photos, all of which I can't wait to scrapbook. My point and shoot camera isn't doing so well these days. The zoom is broken, it's hard to get a clear shot because even the slightest movement causes everything to blur and the grey, overcast weather didn't help either. I played around with different settings and angles and was quite pleased with the results. Despite the crappy camera, I managed to get some really fun shots during our travels. Here are a few of my favorites -  

As much as I enjoyed my time away, it feels great to be back in beautiful Vancouver. I know I'm beyond biased, but British Columbia truly is the best place on earth. *happy sigh*

one last weekend of autumn

Remember my last post about how November is starting to grow on me? Well, folks, after this past weekend I think it's safe to say that I am officially smitten. Despite weather reports predicting rain on Saturday, we were blessed with blue skies, crisp air and glorious autumn colors. 

I was sure we'd get rain on Sunday instead - I mean, 2 beautiful days back to back in November? Impossible! - so imagine my surprise when the good weather carried over and Sunday was just as nice as Saturday, if not nicer! I'm not really an "outdoorsy" kinda girl, but even I knew that we had to take advantage of the gorgeous weather while it was here so we spent our weekend enjoying the beauty of the wilderness and snapping a few photos - 

{boyfriend looks irritated in this photo because it was self-take photo attempt #360}

Sure enough, the beautiful weather didn't last long. It's cold and pouring rain today. *sigh* But that's okay. I got one last, unexpected taste of autumn and I'm now ready to welcome winter.

Snapshots of Summer

Summer in Vancouver is all about lazy days at the beach with my favorite girlfriends. Sipping root beer and eating sushi. Laughing. Lots and lots of laughing. Staying up late and sitting under the stars. Planning road trips. Gushing about boys (mine's the best, hands down!). Buying pretty sundresses to wear on dates with the boys we gush about. Eating gelato. Going to farmer's markets. Soaking up the sunshine and breathing in the sea breeze.

I heart summer. I heart my city. Ain't no city like VanCity. ♥

What are some of your favorite summertime things to do in the city where you live?

xox

dreaming of a fireplace mantle

My friend Meaghan has a fireplace in her bedroom. This makes me ridiculously jealous because I LOVE fireplaces and to have a fireplace in the bedroom of all places would just be a home decor dream come true for me! The real kicker, though, is that her fireplace has a mantle and on the mantle she has, among other things, a large framed black and white photograph of Miss Audrey Hepburn taken during the filming of the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. *Oh, be still my heart.*

I've been daydreaming about my own fireplace mantle - which, mark my words, I will someday have even if I have to buy one of those "fake" fireplaces from Home Depot - ever since and trying to decide which black and white photo I'd embellish it with. Today I was browsing through blogs and stumbled across a post by Roxy on photographs taken from the New York Times (see here). One thing led to another and I soon found myself on the New York Times Store website where you can actually buy "exhibition-quality" prints of photos that have appeared in the newspaper throughout the years. Being the proud New Yorker at heart that I am, I immediately fell in love with several of the shots especially the one of the Brooklyn Bridge at night, taken in 1971 by John Soto (here). Unfortunately, the print sells for $199.00 and that is just WAY out of my budget.

Luckily, I've taken some pretty great shots of New York over the years and London Drugs will blow up a photo for less than $20. I'm leaning towards having this one blown up to 11 x 14" and putting in a simple white frame -

It won't grace a fireplace mantle anytime soon (boo!) but I'm sure I can find a temporary home for it in my living room. Maybe I'll even pick a few favorite travel photos and make a cluster of photos, like this -

Photo Credit - Mekorah.com

I could put the taxi photo in the middle and then four smaller photos from other cities I've visited on either side. Don't ya just love it when you find creative ways to get the decor look you want at more than half the price?!?

If you're looking for creative, inexpensive ways to showcase your photos, I found this post really inspiring! Photos are such a great way to decorate a place and make it "yours" without dropping a small fortune and if you happen to change your mind a lot (as I do) you can just print out new photos for a whole new look! Love it.

more sneaks ...

I'm so stoked about how these turned out, I just couldn't wait to share ...

All photos by CBR Photography (see previous post)

love, love, love 'em! xo

sneak peek

To celebrate my weight loss and the fact that I've survived (and thrived!) during my first year living in Vancouver, I booked a photo shoot with Chelsea Roisum of CBR Photography. The idea was to snap photos of me around my neighborhood to showcase and celebrate my fabulous west coast life. Chelsea was sooooooo awesome to work with; I really couldn't have asked for a better photographer. She was loads of fun and made me feel totally comfortable and her photos are just gorgeous! Here's a sneak peak ....

That photo was taken down by the beach, right near my church. You can see some of Chelsea's favorite photos from our shoot here. (And yes, those photos were taken in December ... on Saturday, to be exact! As you can see, no snow here)

Be sure to leave her some love and let us know which one is your favorite. :)

xox

Photos

Happy Wednesday everyone! Can you believe that we're already mid-way through the week? I don't know about all of you, but I find my weeks are just zooming by. With a full-time job, campus work, church commitments and friends/social life, it's hard to find some time just for "me". But, tonight, that's exactly what I'm doing. I've got the Food Network playing and I plan to spend my evening reading food blogs ... and maybe eating a cupcake or two! :)

Speaking of cupcakes, here are some photos from Sheena's surprise birthday party. Thank you, Jessie, for snapping these while the rest of us enjoyed the food:

Dinner was done pot-luck style, and everyone brought such yummy treats! Sabina brought a delicious egg cake dish (traditional Korean), Jessie brought an Asian stir-fry, Sylvia brought a rice dish and I brought garlic bread and dipping sauce. It was an interesting combo of food, but somehow it all worked and tasted fantastic!

Desserts included an array of cupcakes (from Cupcakes by Heather & Lori, of course!) and strawberry tarts (made with love by Jen) and brownies and chocolate chip cookies and fondue ... mmmmm. Yes, the ladies at The Bridge church sure do love our desserts!

xoxo

O Canada ♥

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Canada Day on Thursday. I sure did! The city was a buzz of patriotism and I was up and out at 9am to take it all in. Here are a couple of snapshots of my day (the rest are all up on Facebook) ~

Canada Place down by the waterfront was where most of the festivities were. The Olympic flame was also re-lit in honor of our country's birthday.

The parade downtown

Celebrating diversity. These Persian dancers were AMAZING.

Tara-Jean and Vincent from So You Think You Can Dance Canada performed.

The Young Executives (a band) paid tribute to our troops with an awesome rendition of The Killer's song, All These Things I've Done.

My favorite "secular" band, Five Alarm Funk, performed. They were fantastic, as usual.

Last but not least, fireworks by the water with a group of my favorite church peeps.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

We are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful, beautiful, free country!

xox

Queen Elizabeth Park ♥

Today I went to Queen Elizabeth Park ... one of my favorite places in Vancouver. The park has the most beautiful gardens and incredible views of the city. It was the perfect place to usher in the month of May. Here are some photos:

Hello, spring-time. You are wonderful.
xox

A Room With A View

The beautiful spring view from my bedroom window right now.

How beautiful is that tree?! Love it.

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

.. it was a good year ...

2009 Highlights

*************************************
Life is not about the number of breaths we take,
but the moments which take our breath away ....


Catherine, my best friend since the 8th grade, got engaged!

Getting to worship with the amazingly anointed Chris Tomlin.

Learning to truly appreciate the beauty of my hometown.

Visiting Quebec City for the first time.

Meeting Franklin, the little snail
who crawled out onto my hand at the beach in Maine.

Going to the Montreal Jazz Festival,
and seeing Stevie Wonder perform!

Hysterical laughter, inside jokes and all of those
"you had to be there" moments.

I hope it was a wonderful year for all of you, too.
May 2010 bring you health and joy, and may we all learn to
recognize every blessing we receive (no matter how small) and take the time
to thank God for it!

Happy New Year !!

.. some photos ...

Just thought I would share some photos we took today up on the mountain. Whistler might just be the most beautiful place in the country! It's like a magical winter wonderland here.

No boxing day sales for me ... just the Rockies, snow and lots of trees!

xox