Friday's Letters

I enjoyed linking up with Ashley from Adventures of  Newlyweds for her Friday's Letter Link-up so much last week that I wanted to give it another go.  Because there is honestly always a few letters to be written. 

{Dear Husband}  Thanks for arriving home from your trip safe and sound.  I missed you so much. I however understand that you are jet lagged but please try to understand that I am extra chatty since I was stuck hanging out with the cat for eight days.  Humour me a little!

{Dear Weekend}  How did you get here so fast?!  And how can we make your arrival seem this quick every week (except on vacation)?

{Dear Time}  This letter might contradict my previous letter to the weekend - but please slow the eff down.  Seriously before I know it am going to be older and more jiggly.  I can't take it.  

{Dear Mindy Kaling}  Dude you're hilarious!  Thanks for sharing your comedic genius by writing "Is everyone hanging out with me? (and other concerns)."  I've seriously laughed all the way through it - I really needed that.  So thank you!! 

{Dear Christmas}  Please don't rob my bank account like you did last year - I really didn't appreciate that.  And please tell that fat guy that he is the reason most people forget the meaning of Christmas.

Check out other Friday's Letters here

Install Shelf And Then Fist Pump

I just enjoyed seven days of staycation.  It was awesome!  I slept. I read. I shopped. I napped. I watched movies. I stayed in my pj's (some days). and I did some home improvements - all on my own.  I wouldn't go as far and say that I was a super handy person - but I do know how to operate a drill (kind of).  I know how to use a screw driver.  and I know how to measure.  

On Monday I took a trip to Ikea with my mother-in-law and picked up a longingly sought Lack Wall Shelf.  Since Steve was away on business - and I was too impatient/anxious to wait for him to return to help me I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I rummaged around and collected the tools and I {literally} dusted off the drill and got to business.

I then pulled out the instructions and attempted to decipher the pictographs.  I realize the goal of having picture instructions vs. written allows Ikea to sell their product worldwide so peeps of all languages and literacy levels can buy, build, and install their purchases, it's pretty genius really.  But seriously - sometimes the pictures leave you terribly confused.  To the point that you might as well be reading Japanese. 

So I would suggest before you embark on this project that you first grab a bottle of wine and consult a foreman for some advice.  I did both. 

Foreman Basil assessing the situation

After the consultation I got to work.  The instructions suggested, at least I assumed  they did, that you need to find the studs in your wall.  Well that wasn't going to happen because a) I don't own a stud finder (well unless they are talking about me because I do have natural stud-finding abilities - have you seen my husband?) and b) even if I did find said studs I already knew exactly where I wanted to hang the shelf so why bother? So I didn't. Don't tell your husbands/partners (or mine).

I pulled out my sharpie, tape measure and level and measured and marked the drill spots. I plugged in the drill.  Screwed the bracket to the wall - as tight as my super human strength would allow. And popped in the shelf by matching the grooves.  This last step, however, took some patience and several attempts.  To be honest the instructions indicated that this was a two person task and this step definitely illustrated that.  I probably attempted to line up the shelf to the grooves for a good 20 minutes plus a break.  But after a few swear words and near misses I finally got it.  And then I fist pumped.  And finally tighten the screws with the notorious Ikea Allen Key. 

Once it was good and tight - I grabbed my level, closed my eyes, sneaked a peak and fist pumped again because it was LEVEL (well almost). 

You're impressed right?  Well so was I....

And no thanks to the foreman - because after the consultation he retreated back to his office for a cat nap. 

Friday's Letters

The cute and funny Ashley from , Adventures of Newlyweds, has been posting 'Friday Letters' on her blog for quite some time now.  I always enjoy reading them.  They are sweet, funny, and a great way to kick off the weekend.  I am so happy that she has decided to share the fun with the rest of us.  I am not sure I've got what it takes - but I have a few important letter's to write.

{Dear Husband} I am seriously envious that your job allows you to globetrot the world.  But I am proud of you and all your hard work.  But maybe stop working so hard so they don't keep sending you to explore all these great places, okay? Thanks! p.s. I miss you, terribly!

{Dear Basil} I know you really like the blanket that grandma knitted for us - but if you could please stop biting holes into it it would be much appreciated.

{Dear Pending Winter}  You can continue to take your time showing up - it's completely cool to be fashionably late.  Actually who invited you?  Don't bother showing up at all.  The party has been cancelled.

{Dear Staycation}  You're amazing.  I am completely smitten by you.  However you'd be even better if Steve were home to enjoy your awesomeness with me.

{Dear Sleep}  I am so glad we have had a chance to reunite.  I've missed you and hope we can continue to spend some more time together.

Now go to Ashley's blog and check out other {and better} Friday's Letters

What I am Loving Wednesday

Well it's Wednesday ... and even though I want to do a wedding recap I also want to share with you some awesome things that I am totally digging this week - because sharing is caring folks! And caring is my business.

{I am loving} that there is a new Marcel The Shell With Shoes on Two.  The first one cracked me up and this one didn't disappoint.  Marcel has an excellent perspective on life that in envy worthy.  If you haven't seen it - check it out:

{I am loving} this adorable, cozy, warm winter tuque {winter hat for those of you that don't speak Canadian, eh} I picked up at the mall kiosk, Big It Up, last night.  This girl isn't going to be cold this winter. 

{Via}

{I am loving} that I am off work for the next, count them, seven days!  And guess what - I am not even going anywhere.  This girl is going to finally enjoy a staycation. Heck yes to vacation!  My only plans are to get my craft on.  I have obsessively pinned an abundance of 'I want to make this' on Pinterest and I am finally going to sit down and tackle a few of my favourites. I am most excited about this one.

I told you this girl wasn't going to be cold this winter.  {The Hooded Scarf}  from Pretty Ditty I absolutely love Jamie Christina's patterns.  I just purchased this pattern on Monday and am hoping that it will arrive while I am off. Fingers crossed. {And just to be clear - I only half considered making the cat ear version}

{I am loving} that Steve and I have started the planning preliminary discussions about 'Honeymooniversary'.  Because nothing makes me happier than sharing in moments like this with the best travel companion ever. 

Check out Jamie's blog and see what others are loving on this wicked awesome Wednesday

Furparenting

Did you know that I am a published author?  OK - that's just an exaggeration but I do contribute every three months to my workplace internal newsletter.  I write a column titled 'Completely Off Topic'.  Originally it started as a question answer column but organically it has shifted into a column of complete randomness.  Basically a coworker will suggest a topic - and then I will write about it.  There is no theme.  Sometimes it's a question, sometimes it's just something they want to know more about. I have written about why mosquitoes like some more than others, how to rid yourself of fruit flies, the health benefits of asparagus, the magic of mustard - you get the idea.

When I was approached with the topic for the most recent newsletter I was ecstatic.  I was asked to write about the benefits of pet ownership.  Are you kidding me?!  Have these people read my blog?!  I happily obliged and set off to write about a topic that was extremely difficult to keep under 300 words.

Here is what I even write about - when it's not written about here.

Furparenting

I’m Emily a 31.5 year old, 7 year ‘furparent’ veteran. What’s a furparent you ask? Well let me tell you. This is a term that I would assume was coined by adults (probably in the
child-rearing demographic) who have opted to not [yet] have children. Instead they have chosen, in my opinion, a suitable replacement – a loving, faithful, always happy-to-see-you furchild.

Furparents like me who prefer the feline variety are often, mistakenly, called ‘crazy cat ladies’ judged by most to be lonely women who didn’t have children and are obviously crazy to love an animal that much. The stigma can sting – and it’s simply not true. Let me share my perspective on the key perks of furparenting.

Companionship: Furbabies are not only loyal but are great friends. They listen to your problems without offering up terrible advice. They are always waiting by the door when you arrive home after a long day – ready for some snuggles and the recent office gossip. Plus you can be assured that they will never slip up and tell your deep dark secrets. Simply put - the world’s greatest friend.

Responsibility: If you’re like me and one day plan to have
actual human babies – starting out your stint as a parent to a furchild is a marvelous idea. To be a responsible furparent there are certain things you need to consider: providing food; offering exercise; squeezing in quality time; ensuring safety.These are all key skills you will need to parent human babies, right?! Why not perfect them with an adorable playful little kitten? Or a cute high energy puppy?

Reduce Stress: This is probably the most beneficial perk to being a furparent. Nothing will put you to sleep faster than the sound of a purring cat or after a good game of catch with your dog (or in my case cat). Furchildren are known to improve your mood – because seriously doesn’t your heart just melt after your furbaby does something adorable? Don’t you want to take a photo and share it with the world? Is that just me?

So tell me – what’s so crazy about being a cat lady?

Seriously - wouldn't you write about this guy any chance you got?

Pink.

Did you all remember to set your clocks back this weekend?  I hope so because the best part of falling back is that you get to enjoy an extra hour on the weekend, and what's better than a 49 hour weekend? Weekends are always too short that we need every extra bit of time we can get. 

With the extra hour I was hoping to get a blog post squeezed in but instead I go lost in working on my personal blog redesign (yet to be unveiled).  You're intrigued, aren't you?  I want this one to be perfect.  I want it to look professional.  I want people to gasp at how beautiful it is.  That's probably unrealistic - but I can dream can't I?  I will however give you a sneak peak - of the colour scheme and that's it!

The last three redesigns have all consisted of the same two colours - blue and grey.  Don't get me wrong I totally love this colour combination (so much I used it as my wedding colours) but lately I find it just looks so bland. And cold.  And blah and boring.  I realized that the best thing for this blog is a total face-lift. 

To start this venture - I obviously took to Pinterest in search of the perfect palette.  I came across a few - but fell in love with one (OK maybe a dozen) from {Design Seeds}.  Have you visited this site before?  If not go over and check it out and get inspired. I could spend an entire day looking at all the beautiful colour combinations.   This was my final choice. 

 

I am still not 100% that I will stick with this scheme - but I really needed to step out of my comfort zone .  I am not really a lover of pink - but I have seen other blogs beautifully designed tastefully with a bit of pink inspiration so I thought I would give it a shot.  Go over and look at Kate's, from Stripes and Polka Dots, Blog Design Site  for an example- her colour combo is so clean, fresh and pretty.  I love it so much that I wish it were mine.  I have definitely been harnessing some design inspiration from her. 

I chose this palette because of the darker tones.  I also like the accent of green that breaks up the pink & grey combo. 

On another note, does anyone know where I can get my hands on a free download of the Delight Script font?  I want it desperately.

{Via}