I'm thankful for... songs on my travelling guitar

When I made the biggest decision of my life last summer to live by myself and work in Hong Kong for one year, the first thing I did after getting settled in was BUY A GUITAR. I had been looking for something portable and I had been eyeing all the mini-guitars in the store windows. But when I tried playing on the cheap ones, they would go out of tune after a few strums. So I made a slightly more expensive purchase, bought a Baby Taylor (which played MUCH better), and named it POTATO. I had Potato with me the whole year and he kept me company through the good and bad. (Did you notice I started referring to the guitar as "he"? Creepy...) haha! Potato accompanied me on many random adventures - on the bus, in cafes, in grassy fields - he even had a little cameo appearance in my friends' engagement shoot. Some of the greatest memories were made when my cousin and I would go out to the Tsim Sha Tsui area to look at the gorgeous harbour view at night and play on the guitar for hours. When I was with Potato, I pretty much looked like one of those travelling musicians lurking around public places without a busking license. While looking at my Hong Kong pictures, it turns out my cousin did document some of these little adventures...

*side note: Seeing these pictures of Hong Kong makes me miss the place so much. Isn't Hong Kong just gorgeous in the daytime and at night as well? 

 Then... one day... something happened to Potato!! =O

When I left Hong Kong, I didn't have enough carry-on space to bring back Potato so I asked my cousin to help me bring the guitar with him when he came back this October. But when my cousin got to the airport, he was told that he couldn't bring the guitar on the plane as a carry-on and that it would have to go into the cargo hold (even though my cousin didn't feel comfortable with that). The airline assured him that the guitar would be "safe" and put a fragile sticker on the guitar case. Well unfortunately, Potato did not survive the plane ride because obviously, the fragile sticker meant nothing and he arrived at Vancouver International Airport all cracked and bruised.

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Even though Potato was damaged, he still works! The day that I got my guitar back, I went to my friend's house later that evening and we were able to sing together and still have an awesome time. I figured I could probably duct-tape Potato but I decided not to, since I was thinking it would turn into that Mr. Bean episode where he ruins a painting and tries to fix it, but makes it worse (any Mr. Bean fans??? He's my hero).The best part is, my cousin happened to report the broken guitar to a SUPER NICE airport employee who did an awesome job following up on the case. Even though some of his other coworkers told us that "it was our fault" and were adamant that we couldn't get any compensation for the accident, this one employee made the decision to give us back the full amount that I paid for the guitar! So now, I could technically go out and buy a brand new Baby Taylor... but that would be cheating on my old one. Besides, Potato's a tough one and this little scar is just a battle wound. So I think I'm going to look up a luthier and see how much it costs to fix him up, and after that, hopefully there's a bit of leftover money to buy some ICE-CREAM or something. =) Thank God for understanding airline workers!! Now I can have many more adventures with Potato in the years to come. And now I will stop weirding you all out with my constant references to my guitar as "Potato".

The End.

I'm thankful for... scenic drives on the highway

I started my first day of work on Friday, and even though the following judgement may be a little premature, I have to say that so far, I love my job. It's really a blessing and I'm so grateful to be doing something I love. Now this may sound silly but I also look forward to the half-hour drive to and from work every day. I like driving (even though I've never owned my own car) and I especially love cruising along highways with scenery on both sides. My drive to work consists of mostly highway and on either side are wheat fields and meadows that stretch out for miles while the faint indigo outlines of mountains peek out from a distance. There's also the occasional cherry-red barn or grazing cow that makes me feel like I'm in a whole different era altogether. Since there's no city skyline, I love how I can see a huge expanse of sky; sometimes it's a rich aqua blue filled with fluffy sheep and other times it's a muggy grey laced with rain. On the days where it's ridiculously bright and sunny, I always feel like I'm in the Shire (yes, sorry, I'm obsessed with Lord of the Rings and have an undying tendency to reference it at all possible times) and then I imagine myself as a HOBBIT running freely in the fields.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this view since I drive alone and documenting this amazing scenery would mean I would have to commit some sort of heinous speeding/picture taking crime which I'd rather not attempt. So you'll just have to go by my wordy description and just imagine how glorious it is. I'm also really liking the area surrounding my workplace, since there are SEVERAL antique/collectible and thrift stores within walking distance and a whole selection of different pizzieras. Excellent... excellent...

And finally... just because I feel like a post isn't complete without some kind of visual, here is a picture I took while taking a nice nature walk in Langley. I love finding heart-shaped leaves!!!

Hope you all had a great weekend! If you have time, leave me a comment and let me know what YOU'VE been thankful for lately... =)

 

 

I'm thankful for... my wedding dress!

As you can read from the title, I found my wedding dress this weekend!!!

I'm actually really thankful that I finally found a dress because to tell you the truth it was hard going wedding dress shopping and it was a relief to finally be done with it. Let me explain. First, I want to share with you that even though I obviously wanted to find something gorgeous to wear on my wedding day, I also felt strongly in my heart that I did not want to spend an extravagant amount of money on a dress. Now, $1000 may not be extravagant for some people (after all, the average wedding dress price at most Canadian boutiques I went to was $1200+) but for me that's too much. Don't get me wrong - I know many girls who have gotten dresses around that price range because everyone has a different budget and I'm not here to say what anyone should or shouldn't spend their money on. But it was my own personal choice that I wanted to find a wedding dress that was cheaper and I wanted to share with you the reasons why.

It all started in Hong Kong last year when I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine about money and how we spend it. At the time, his fiancee was wedding dress shopping and we talked about how dresses were so overpriced because stores knew that people were willing to pay, and how that money could be put towards necessities or other good causes. This mentality contrasted so differently with the way many bridal magazines and websites promote the message that one of the most important things for the wedding is to find that perfect dress, and how "as a bride, you deserve to spend a huge amount of money on the dress because you only get married once". But after that conversation with my friend, I remember thinking that I wanted to make it a personal goal to be mindful of how much my dress would cost, even if it meant wearing a dress that was not as "nice" as what I imagined my wedding dress to be. 

Well, a dress budget in Asia would have been easier to stick to since everything is cheaper over there. However, when I moved back to Canada and actually began my own wedding dress search in Vancouver it was much harder. I started struggling with my budget because all the dresses I liked were around $1500 CDN. To be honest, it was pretty hard to try on all these gorgeous gowns and walk away instead of whipping out my credit card and taking one of those dresses home. I started bargaining with myself - for awhile, I thought maybe I did "deserve" to spend a bit more on my dress because of course every girl wants to look beautiful on her wedding day. But then I started thinking, "exactly how important is it for me to "look good" on my wedding day? Will Mr. Potatohead love me any less if I don't meet his expectations of a beautiful bride?" And then of course I realized that those expectations were obviously self-imposed and looking pretty on the wedding day was nothing in comparison to the bigger picture of our MARRIAGE. Besides, most guys have no idea what the difference is between a "satin sweetheart A-line gown with diagonal ruching" versus a "white chiffon sheath dress with a corset back" (haha... yes... I just tried to throw in as much wedding dress lingo as I know). On the wedding day, all a groom will see is how wonderful his bride is, and no matter what kind of dress she is wearing, he will think she is beautiful. I started to think how silly I was, complaining about  not being able to find a dress when really, that was such a "first-world problem" - realistically, not a real problem at all.

I decided that maybe shopping at Canadian bridal boutiques was not the best choice since everything seemed so expensive. So this weekend, I drove down to the States (to David's Bridal) because I knew a few other thrifty brides who had bought their dresses from there. I was actually hopeful and I had a good feeling that I would come back with a dress. Well, I was right because I finally found a beautiful gown that I could actually see myself wearing down the aisle. My consultant told me that the gown was $800 but when I went to pay for it, it was actually $660! Even the consultant was surprised! Don't you just LOVE cash register surprises? 

I wanted to shared this dress-buying experience with you all, because it really made me rethink a lot about the way I spend my money - not only with this particular "big purchase" but with all other everyday purchases as well. Around half a year ago, I really started feeling strongly that I had way more "stuff" than I needed and that often, all those material things just blinded me from other more important issues like caring for those who are in need. Part of this feeling came from living by myself in Hong Kong as I discovered how little I could live on and how much I could live without. Deciding to spend less on a wedding dress may not seem like a big deal, but for me I'm realizing that it's in my little everyday choices (like choosing which necessities or luxuries to spend money on) that truly reveal where my priorities lie. After all, the things in this world will pass away and material possessions don't last forever. So anyway, I guess that's a little personal note on how I'm continually learning to manage my finances and decide where I want to "invest" the money I have.

As for my wedding dress, I won't reveal anything because Mr. Potatohead won't see the dress until I walk down the aisle and the poor guy has spent the whole weekend abruptly walking away from conversations I have with friends who have been asking me what my dress looks like. By the way, it looks nothing like the dress below in case you're wondering if there's a resemblance. That's just a little paper gown I made out of a doily lying around my room! :) And on that note, the thought did come across my mind to attempt making a wedding dress out of doilies... or TOILET PAPER. haha. Wouldn't that be awesome?

So what do you think about all this? You definitely don't have to agree with me but I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on wedding-dress shopping, wedding budgeting, or just money in general. Don't be lazy - leave me a comment and let's keep this conversation going! :) 

I'm thankful for... Mikey!

Last Sunday, I decided to start a weekly post where I would write about one thing I'm thankful for.  It's quite appropriate this particular weekend too, since it's Canadian Thanksgiving! So today, I'm thankful for Mikey!

Our bunny Mikey has been with me and Mr. Potatohead for around 5 years now. He was actually given to us from a friend who had two brother bunnies, Mikey and Marcus. I remember Marcus was an adorable dust-bunny grey, while Mikey looked like a COW with his white and brown speckled fur. I have to admit, I didn't like Mikey all that much in the beginning. He bullied his brother Marcus and would always try to bite him. But when Marcus died suddenly from choking on a fur-ball, Mikey became our lone bunny for awhile. I learned to appreciate him and his stubborn little personality.

Later on, we went to the SPCA and adopted another little bunny with straight pointy ears and coffee-brown fur. Her name was Mia and she was Mikey's new companion for awhile. But unfortunately, I think Mia had been traumatized by something before and she was always skittish and very afraid. A few years later, she also passed away from sickness and possibly stress, because she was such a weak little bunny. When Mia died, Mikey was standing next to her limp body trying to nudge her awake and he was hopping around wondering why she was on the ground. 

In the end, Mr. Potatohead and I both realized that Mikey was just the strongest bunny of the bunch, and he seems content living on his own. Nowadays, he's quite the spoiled obese one, with a cage the size of a dog-pen and plenty of pellets, treats, and fresh vegetables to consume. I wanted to feature good ol' Mikey because he deserves a bit of credit for being such a resilient lardball of a bunny. So... here are some pictures of the little bugger. Enjoy! :)

 As you can probably tell, Mikey likes to rest under his plastic stool, nibble on carrots, explore in bushes, and hide in cardboard boxes. Even though he can be quite messy at times, I'm thankful for this little guy!

I'm thankful for... relaxing walks in the neighborhood

Today at church, the sermon was on thankfulness. The pastor talked about how one woman who had experienced many tragic events in her life started slowly writing a list of 1000 things that she was thankful for and how practicing an "attitude of gratitude" is something that can positively affect all other areas of our lives. It was a great reminder for me. A few years ago, I did start writing a random list of everyday things I was thankful for but it was on a scrap piece of paper that I probably accidentally threw out. So, I want to start a new list... and there's no better day to start than TODAY. I've decided that every Sunday I'm going to try and post about one thing I'm thankful for.

So, here's THING #1:

One of my favourite activities is to take walks in my neighborhood... or anywhere outside really. And today, I got to do just that with Mr. Potatohead. It's getting colder these days in Vancouver, but if my parents can take daily outdoor walks all-year-round, so can I! hahaha. So I brought my coziest grandma sweater, my favourite potato-sack backpack, and my trusty camera on a nice stroll outside. After only taking a few steps out of my house, I found some wildflower bushes by the side of the road... here's my favourite shot of these gorgeous coral flowers!

Afterwards, we followed the yellow concrete curb that ran all along the side of the street. I like how Mr. Potatohead is on his iPhone while I am... just... happy to be outside! (a little too happy)...

Oh and in case you're wondering about outfit details (even though you're probably not), here they are:

me: grey cardigan - Forever 21 // floral shirt - Uniqlo // maroon pants - Zara // canvas backpack - Baggu // oxford shoes - random Hong Kong store

Mr. Potatohead: jacket - unknown // jeans - unknown // shoes - unknown // style... unknown. HAHAHA.

Near the end of our stroll, I picked up two rocks from the side of a construction site. And yes, I brought them home because I intend to paint on them. I almost wanted to take a whole pile of branches home too, but I refrained. One project at a time... haha. Oh and by the way, did you notice the tree had a big eye? creepy...

Anyway, that's one wonderful little thing that I love - going on outdoor walks! :)

What's one thing you're thankful for?