6 months to go... DUN DUN DUN!!!

A huge thanks goes to our dear friend Raymond (who is the talented photographer behind the lens of these photos... and a huge apology goes to him as well for ruining his usual pristine and professional photography style with our weird poses and my token burger quote)... thanks for still being our friend after this. HAHA. As I continually promise, a few more of these photos will be coming soon but for now, why don't you head over to Raymond's site at Vivid Moments Photographers for some amazing shots of other couples =D. 

By the way, in my opinion the best part of this photoshoot was finding those two branches lying on the ground and putting them on my head as deer antlers... and my fiance being okay with that. Although he did veto the idea of me crouching over like a grandma and using the branch as a cane. Oh well, a relationship is all about compromise, and saving each other's dignity once in awhile. =P

In other wedding related news, I've been busy trying to design our invites lately... and it's been tough! I've realized I'm very indecisive about this sort of thing because when it comes to my own art, I'm very critical about all the minor details and it's never quite up to my ridiculously confused and ambiguous standards. haha. I don't even know what I want. Currently, I'm trying to hand-draw a sketch for our invites and I'm finding it hard to infuse all the different elements we like - "woodsy with a vintage flair with some cute cartoons but still professional and simple-looking" - without giving into the fact that realistically a perfectly harmonious blend of said elements does not exist.  In the midst of all this confusion, my tendencies for artistic perfectionism are kicking in. haha. HELP. 

There have been small victories though - mainly, the mint-green website banner that I designed (above) with those quirky little birds. I'm also quite happy with that random font that I came up with for our names which was my take on "woodsy + cute". Anyway, if you have any ideas for wedding invites using kraft paper (you know, the woodsy brown paper that looks like glorified cardboard), send me some links! I'd really appreciate some design inspiration right now =D.

DIY sweater scarf & thrift-store treasures

I realize I haven't posted a DIY in a long time, so here's a quick and easy one. It doesn't even really require you to do anything. Hahaha. Those are the best kinds of projects, am I right?

Step 1: Go to the thrift store and find an OLD-MAN VEST in a pattern that you fancy.

Step 2: Throw the whole old-man vest over your neck and wear it as one of those circle scarves that still seem to be pretty popular this winter season (until people start shunning them a few seasons later, like UGGS). But when that happens, you can take it off your neck and start a new trend by wearing it like the old-man vest that it was always meant to be.

Optional (and recommended) Step: If you really don't care for the old-man sweater trend anyway and don't mind permanently ruining the vest, you can turn the thing inside out and hand-sew a line down each side of the vest to close the arm-holes and basically transform it into one long tube. This way, you can wear it as a circle scarf without people asking you why there are weird holes jutting out the sides. 

Speaking of thrift stores, I also have not blogged about my recent thrift finds in awhile. Well, actually I have not been shopping much lately (saving money for greater and more important things!) but here are a few items that I've accumulated over the past few months. 

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I found these gold & pearl earrings at a thrift store and even though I would totally just wear them like that, they are a bit heavy so I think I'm going to cut them and make a few separate pieces of jewelry instead. The gold chain necklace in the back was $1 and I like that I can wear it with both casual and formal outfits (versatility!).

 Sometimes, I also use jewelry for other purposes... haha...

 Another interesting piece I got was this white blouse that was only 50 cents. Although I will have to sew the sides to make it more slim fit, the collar of this blouse caught my eye and I could easily wear it under sweaters and cardigans. 

 The shirt below I actually got from Value Village awhile ago, but since I haven't worn it that many times I suppose it's still "new". I like the black and white chevron print and the material is super silky. I would probably pair this shirt with a cozy-grey cardigan, gold necklace + watch, a high-waisted large-floral print skirt, and bright teal shoes. Can you imagine that? Sounds random but I swear it would work. How would YOU style this shirt? 

I saved the cardigans for last because I always think they're the best finds and I definitely wear them the most often! I found this cute doily-looking scallop-edged grandma cardigan at Value Village and even though I have another similar cream-coloured cardigan, I justified my purchase because this one is 3/4 sleeves and the other is long-sleeve. Yes... help me validate my reasoning. haha... 

And finally, my favourite recent purchase: this was the only clothing item I bought in the month of December so I guess it was a Christmas present for myself. It was $5 and I found it at the Vancouver Salvation Army on Granville Street. I saw it and said, "this will make me look like GINGERBREAD!!!" and immediately pranced to the cashier. 

I actually decided to wear this sweater the very next week during an engagement photoshoot with Mr. Potatohead. As I said before, I will be posting those pictures soon... but for now, here's a preview:

Haha... that tagline was just to shock my parents. Hi Mom & Dad. =) But they probably didn't get shocked anyway since they're used to my jokes by now. 

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this random post! =)

-Laura

Happy New Year =)

Happy New Year everyone!!! 2012 was one of the most exciting years of my life to date - I traveled a whole lot, worked a whole lot, ATE a whole lot (of McDonalds, sadly) and generally kept life interesting with many random adventures. I also made many new friendships, and continued to strengthen old ones. For me, it was a good year and I hope 2013 continues to bring many new beginnings (Mr. Potatohead and I are getting married this year!). Speaking of that, I'm so excited about our engagement pictures that we shot a few days ago. I'll be posting about that NEXT time.

But first, here are a few pictures from January 1st when Mr. Potatohead and I decided to kick off the year with some... EXERCISE. And... (shocker!)... it was actually my idea. haha. Coming from the girl who loves burgers, fries, and apple pies, this was quite out of the ordinary. But although I don't exercise on a regular basis (or at all), I love camping, the outdoors, and extreme sports. In Grade 9 and 10 I went to a small school that focused on outdoor activities - I got to go camping, skiing, white water kayaking, sailing, scuba diving, windsurfing and a whole bunch of other fun things - and I realized I really missed those days. So this year, I decided to make an actual resolution of EXERCISING REGULARLY. Dun Dun Dun... for those of you who know me, this is a big challenge since exercise usually requires some sort of bribe like going for ice-cream afterwards. 

Recently, I decided that I wanted to climb more trees, hike up more mountains, take up different forms of "fun" exercise, and do more outdoor activities. So on New Year's Eve, I turned to Mr. Potatohead and said, "I want to go snowshoeing tomorrow". So the next day, I put on my mom's dollar-store toque, and since I didn't own any ski pants that weren't full-on OVERALLS, NEON, and from the 90's, I wore.... jeans. It was pretty sad (as in pathetic) because they got soaked all the way up my legs so that it actually looked like I had peed in my pants. Needless to say, I got a few odd glances... haha. But aside from that minor awkwardness, the day was awesomely amazing!!! =) 

The Hollyburn Lodge (below) had the BEST hot chocolate ever!!!

Here I look like a poser but in reality I lost my balance and ended up on the ground with mangled legs.

(below)... awkwardly wet pants!

To all my overseas friends sweating away in tropical countries, this is what a Canadian winter looks like from the top of a snowy mountain. =) And below... this is about as Canadian as you can get: Exploring the outdoors in the freezing cold while wearing a Canucks toque and sporting red Olympic maple-leaf mittens haha. Now all we need is that stereotypical igloo...

I know for a fact that I can't bring myself to go on treadmills or work out at a gym, but I think when exercise is made into some sort of fun outdoor activity, then I'm much more motivated to do it. So, let me know - will you join me in exercising more this year? Or, if you are already an avid athlete, what are some motivational tips that you have to keep yourself going? Hopefully this resolution lasts longer than a week. Haha.

 

Help keep me accountable!! =P