Happy Holidays

Friday's Letters

I've missed the past few weeks but I've got some letters to write!

{Dear Husband}  Thanks for entertaining the fact that I still want to remember our dating anniversary.  I appreciate your effort - so much that I even offered to dine on chicken wings and beer.  p.s.  This isn't happening on our one year anniversary - please make note of this.

{Dear Winter}  Even though I enjoy balmy weather in the mid of December - it still feels wrong.  Shouldn't we be knee deep in snow?  And why haven't I had to wear mittens yet this year.  This frightens me?  Please explain.

What happened to winters like this?

{Dear Howard Stern} Thank you for accepting the position to judge Americas Got Talent.  You've made my husband a happy man.  I hope America knows that deep down you're not what you've been made out to be - I kinda like you now (a lot).  I am excited for the new season.  I will be a new viewer.


{Dear Bank Account}  I am sorry that in the next few days I will abuse you.  Please don't be alarmed.  In the New Year I will promise to take better care of you.  Well at least I will try.  Please remind me that I don't need a new pair of shoes for every event I attend.  That's just crazy.

{Dear Basil}  I am jealous of your sleeping abilities.  Please teach me.  I beg you!  Seriously - I'll buy your tons of (more) treats.

Blurry iPod pic.  Still awesome even blurry.  You all want to sleep like this dude - right?!

Check out other lovely letters over at Ashley's blog!

Scrooge

I have a confession - I am not a fan of Christmas.  I mean - I like it but I don't all at the same time.  I like the lights, the music, the pretty decorations.  But I hate the shopping. And the spending. And the stress to find that perfect gift.  I usually end up giving gifts that I like and I know they probably just end up stored away in the receivers basements and/or possibly re-gifted.  I mean why would that person want something I picked out for them?!  Something that I obviously wanted instead. 

The whole gift buying is so much work.  So much work that I get irked when the receiver doesn't make a big fuss when they open my gift.  The gift that probably took me  more than one shopping trip to pick out.  Anyways I am basically a scrooge. 

But I don't want to be. 

So this season I am trying to be festive.  I am trying to find the Christmas spirit.  It's our first Christmas as a married couple and this year has been about starting new traditions.  This is our tree.  It's small.  It's mini. But it's lovely.  Steve and I decorated it together, with love.  Steve is a better tree decorator than me.  I like to sit in the dark, drink tea, and look at the lights.  Christmas is pretty.  Christmas -1 Emily -0.

This past weekend my friend Caitlin and I decorated some holiday wreaths.  It was so much fun.  So much fun like I want to decorate wreaths every weekend.  But that's just silly. 

Don't they look awesome?! The wreaths not the lovely ladies.

Don't I look like a giant next to Caitlin?  And note to self - time to get those roots looked after and those bangs trimmed.

I wish Christmas was more about this stuff and less about the need to find that perfect gift.  Don't get me wrong - I like the giving and getting part of Christmas.  I just wish it was more like Thanksgiving.  Now that's a great holiday.  Get together with loved ones.  Eat a ton of food.  Enjoy each-others company. Eat some more food. And insert looking at the pretty lights.  Listening to some Christmassy music.  You get the idea. 

What I am trying to say - in some ways I am Scrooge but deep down I am just like Charlie Brown. 

9 Years

Today marks the 9 year dating anniversary for Steve and I.  Basically we starting 'dating' at some point in December 2002.  We decided to mark December 12 as the official-unofficial date since the number 12 falls between our favourite numbers, I like 13 and Steve likes 11.  So it was the most logical decision.

Steve has informed me that since we are now married we no longer need to celebrate this date. I don't agree with this.  Those years were so monumental in shaping us as a couple that it doesn't seem right to no longer reflect back and think about all and celebrate the awesome experiences we have shared together. 

Steve and I are masters at taking the self taken-couple shot.  We take this picture anytime we go somewhere new.  Over the past nine years we now have quite the growing collection.  I love them all.  Each picture is a reminder of how we got to where we are today.  And lucky for you - I am ready to share a few snippets of memories with you. 

{2003} Steve and I first starting dating while living in South Korea.  At this point things were pretty casual.  We both had plans to do other things that resulted in us not being in the same country.  We mutually decided that we would takes things one day at a time and see where it went from there.  After a few months apart we decided we liked being together and Steve came back to South Korea from a stint of backpacking around the globe.  I was happy with his choice.  This picture is from a day trip we took to Suwon {you can read about it here if you're interested}.  This is one of my most fondest memories of living in Korea and I am really happy this picture captures the awesomeness of the day so accurately.  At this point we were just learning all about the 'self taken couple shot'. 

{2003} OK so 03 was a big year.  Isn't every couple all mushy and gross in the first year?!  This picture is from a vacation we took from South Korea to Vietnam.  It was my first time visiting, Steve's second.  At this point I think we both knew it wasn't going to be our last.

{2004} This was also an exciting year.  This is the year we decided to move to Vietnam, best decision ever!  This picture was taken right after picking up our business visa's from the Vietnamese embassy in Seoul.   2004 is also when Basil joined our family.

{2005}  At the end of 2004 we took our first trip home to Canada together in between a pit stop in Thailand and Laos.  This was around the time of the 2004 Tsunami.  Our original plan was to spend the holidays on the Southern beaches of Thailand.  Thankfully for a last minute decision we decided to scrap that plan and go home for the holidays.   On the way home we bused it to Laos where I was blessed with a wicked bout of airplane food poisoning and we were graced with rainy and chilly December Laos weather.  However, Laos was beautiful and if I could I would move to Vang Vieng and retire I wouldn't complain.

{2006}  A trip down memory lane is not complete without a mention of the best.place.on.earth.  Yes I am talking about Mui Ne.  In 2006  we decided that it was time to leave the fun and sun and head back to Canada to start building a future.  I applied to college.  Got accepted.  And booked a flight home.  But first we made one last jaunt to our favourite beach.  Our smiles in this picture are probably fake because we both knew that soon we will be forced to wear parkas and winter toques.  Oh and also consume a lot of junk food to put on a layer of fat to keep our tropical adapted bodies warm. 

 {2007}  The year we both turned 27.  The year we came to the realization that we were officially in our late twenties.  The year that Steve started his job and I went to Cuba for three weeks.  The year we knew that life in Canada was a lot harder than in Vietnam.  The year we moved to Toronto.  The year we took a break from school, work, commuting and went to Niagara Falls.  The year we decided that we never needed to visit Niagara Falls again. 

{2008} The early part of 2008 we lived the lives of poor students.  We lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment in Toronto.  It was small - but we made it work.  I worked one day a week.  Steve worked full-time and got us through.  I graduated in April of 2008 and got a full-time job in June.  We celebrated our employment with our first all inclusive vacation to Varadero, Cuba in December.  In true fashion we spent the majority of those seven days not on the beach but by renting a scooter and booting around the neighbouring towns of Varadero.  After two long years it was needed.

{2009} The last year of our twenties. The year we became adults and work consumed our lives. Early in the year Steve won two first class tickets at a work event to any location in the US.  We decided to take full advantage of this and go to the furthest {and warmest} location.  California was the perfect choice. We drove from San Francisco to Los Angles.  This was our first road trip together.  It was a short trip but one that I will never forget.  I am still plotting how we can uproot our lives and relocate to California, Santa Cruz preferably.

 {2010} Umm?! Probably the second best year of our relationship. This is the year Steve asked me to marry him. Moments before we were about to gallivant around Vietnam for three weeks. Just 8 days after my 30th birthday (4 days after his). It was the perfect way to kick off our thirties.

{2011}  The year we sealed the deal. Just days before our 31st birthdays. On a beautiful beach. With our closest friends and family. On the most perfect day in March. 2011 hasn't been the best year - but it definitely has had some of the happiest moments in our relationship. {Can you believe that we forgot to take a self taken couple shot on our wedding day?} However this picture is on our first morning as Mr. and Mrs. It's just as good.


I am excited for what the future holds and all the new memories we are going to create. But today I will reflect on all these past moments that we spent with each other. Getting to know one another. The moments that created us.

The Hooded Scarf

Last Sunday I finally got a wave of ineedtosewnowitis.  It was more than welcomed since I have been on a long term sewing hiatus since just after the wedding.

My 'Hooded Scarf' pattern arrived a few weeks ago and I decided it looked like an easy project to ease in to.  So I picked up some fabric.  Pulled out my sewing machine {I missed her - we really should spend more time together}.  Grabbed my sewing-counterpart and got to business. 

So my sewing-counterpart is as interested in sewing as he is in home improvements. However I like his company - so I am not going to complain.

He looked so cute just lying there that I had to break for a mini photo shoot.  Because if there is one thing Basil and I agree on - it's photo shoots where he is the star.

Seriously - his looks are deceiving! 

Making sure he looks top notch

After two sittings, and many photo shoot breaks, I finally finished.  Probably in total this project took about 3 hours.  And I am super pleased with the results.  I plan to use this baby for future camping trips.  For now I will just model it around the house.

Me and the assistant.

Dear Santa,

I'm still here - however December arrived and then things got all busy. And I purchased the Scrabble app and it consumed my evenings, middle of the night wake-ups, mornings.  Oh and I pulled out my sewing machine and to get some practice on my holiday sewing - and guess what that left me with zero time to blog.  But I am alright with that!  Because I am working on designing a few {two for me and one for my ever-so-trusting sister-in-law}.

In the midst of all that  - I have been online-window-shopping for holiday gifts.  Of course as I browse - I naturally find more gifts for myself. Then I wish I had more money.  But I work too much to take a part time job - and since Steve and I don't buy each other gifts {seriously our love is gift enough} I am left to dream about the wonderful things I want {err need}.  My friend Randalin at Harvesting Kale laid out her wish-list for her son so beautifully that I had to follow suit.  As the CEO of my work would say "R&D - Rob and Duplicate"  there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

Here are a few things I am wishing for ..because there is always a bill that needs to be paid that makes these things unreachable.

But first, before you go explore, turn on this to get in the mood.  Because what's sweeter than Zooey Deschanel's voice?!

1. {Camp Cooking - The Black Feather Guide: Eating Well in the Wild}
   For those of you who have been around here awhile you know that this past summer Steve and I morphed from non-camping-apprehensiveaboutbears people into camping-whocaresaboutbears people {read about that here}.  We plan to get in much more camping next summer.  But we can't just eat burgers.  And bacon.  And french toast.  Well we could - but I want to experiment. I need to fine tune my outdoor cooking skills. 
2. {Bodum - FYRKAT Picnic Charcoal Grill}
   Because sometime cooking over the fire just isn't practical - or comfortable.  And hopefully if I have this I can convince Steve to picnic with me. 
3. {TNA - Classic Flannel}
   Because sometimes camping is cold.  And the woods requires you to wear flannel.
4. {Adobe Photoshop CS5 - Classroom in a Book} 
   I like to pretend that I know how to use Photoshop - but to be honest it frightens me.  There are so many buttons and functions that I have no idea about.  I know how to level, brighten, and apply lenses.  That's it.  I need to learn more because I have a gazillion vacation pictures that need some loving.  
5. {Sony Compact External Flash}
   Well because doesn't every wannabe photographer need a flashy-flash?!  And also I would like to one day retire and assist my sister-in-law with her budding photography business.  Oh and if I could just take better photos - maybe I wouldn't need to rely so much on Photoshop.
6. {Photo a Day Photo Album}
   Because I need somewhere to showcase my new skills.
7. {TNA - Cropped Deerfield Duffle Coat} 
   This will be my third season wearing my winter coat.  It's black.  It's warm.  But it's old.  The lining is ripping.  The pockets have holes in them which has resulted in coins and who knows what else to become trapped between the lining and jacket.  But most of all it's boring.  This pretty red coat would really make my day - everyday. 
8. {Sorel - Winter Carnival} 
   Well because first of all I don't own a pair of winter boots.  The last few winters have been mildish that we haven't got the snow we usually get.  So I have made it through without ever buying boots.  By the way - I live in Canada. And my feet get terribly cold and then I get grumpy.  It's time to end this.  I actually do NEED these boots. 
9. {Twilight Convertible Bella's Mittens}
   I haven't read or seen Twilight - but these mittens are amazing.  All mittens should be this long.  Arms get cold too. 
10. {Initial Necklace} 
    I have been eying this baby for over a year.  I don't know why I have never bought it.  But I want it - badly.  With an E and an S.