montreal!

it just dawned on me as i sent an email to a friend with montreal recommendations that i still haven't blogged about our trip!  it was such a wonderful weekend fulled with smiles, snow, hockey and poutine.  pretty perfect for me. 

our first day, we spent the late morning and afternoon walking around old montreal, filled with churches, colorful buildings, great shopping, and wonderful food.  some of the best we found was mechant boeuf bar & brasserie and taverne gaspar - what foodies those canadiens are!

our second day, we spent some time walking through montreal's underground city, which was basically like giant connected malls one after the other, all underground.  then we took the metro to poutine la banquise, which makes over TWO DOZEN kinds of poutine.  that's right.  two dozen.  we sample a few, and each one was more amazing and guilt-filled than the last.  that evening we had our hockey game - which was the main point of our trip to montreal.  centre bell is definitely worth seeing whether or not you are there to see a canadiens game.  the history of the team is amazing, and being into the team made it all so worthwhile and meaningful.

canadien beer at la banquise

me + guy lafleur!

our last day we stumbled upon the most amazing place for brunch - griffintown cafe, and explored the area around it.  we didn't spend too much time reading guide books or researching where to go.  besides the bell centre, we ate our way through the city and wandered wherever we felt like it, spending most of our time in old montreal.  it was such a great trip, being only five hours from us, and i would happily go again [but maybe in the spring]! 

pretty awesome birthday gift, if you ask me :)

the little things.

sometimes, after a rough day or two, it's the little things that make you smile.

like flowers...

courtesy of my awesome mom.

or a vanilla latte from dunkin donuts [hey, i'm a bostonian now]...

thanks to my loving husband : D

or a goofy band-aid after getting pricked by a needle...

thanks to urban outfitters

or everybody loves raymond on netlix...

thank you netflix!

or my comfy couch bed...

all of my favorite pillows and blankets.

i've been under the weather and hung up on the couch yesterday and today, but am hoping to make my departure from the couch sometime very soon!  i have a very important plane to catch on friday morning to celebrate the wedding of PI's uncle out in vegas... and while there is no possible way i will be bikini-ready by this weekend, it will be very nice to leave my couch this weekend.  but for now, i will just hang out and enjoy my little things.

til next time...

well hello there.

hey friends.

it has been way to long in my book, since i try to blog on here at least 3-4 times a week (and usually much more!).  but here i am, out of touch for over a week now.  the truth is, i have been super busy with some side writing and editing i've been doing.  there's also been some other things going on i am not ready to blog about just yet.

anyway, how here in boston spring is coming now and then.  bursts of sunshine fall on our snowdrifts from time to time, before being tucked away behind the clouds once more.  it will be a while still before we are graced with spring breezes and patio drinking, but i a getting more and more excited for those days to come. 

one happy announcement i am so very excited to make is that wedding plans are going well - and have changed!  the big date for my mom & her love has been moved up to june first, and we are going to be holding a backyard shindig.  here's a first peek at some of the details we've been hard at work on:

possible bridesmaids dresses... long and flowy at j. crew

jars, ribbon [or twine] + candles

upside down balloons

return address stamp via etsy

mimosa bar to greet the guests via la mia vita

the invites via minted

planning is in full swing now that the date has been moved up - and i can't wait to share all the details! 

til next time [and it won't be as long - i promise!]...

pinspiration #8: ribbon bobby pins

i am always running out of ideas of what to do with my hair.  i see so many cute ideas on pinterest - but some are nearly impossible for me, because i have pretty low skills when it comes to styling my hair.

when i came across this pin, it looked so easy i just had to try it.

not only was the hairstyle super easy and cute - but mine came out just like the picture.  except for that little ribboned bobby pin.


so i got out my trusty glue gun [MAN does that thing come in handy!], some ribbon, and went to town.

i threaded the ribbon through the pin, tied it in a bow, and then dotted the hot glue over the knot to make sure it stuck.

i even went out and bought some big, pretty ribbon to make a few additional pins.  but the ribbons were so pretty i couldn't bear to glue them to anything.  i'll just leave them alone so i can wrap them around a ponytail or sock bun any old day. 

pretty much the easiest thing i have ever found on pinterest ever.

gettin sentimental.

i had to take PI to the airport tonight for another business trip.  we are kind of getting used to these little trips, and it's a little less weird now when i drop him off at the airport.

but when i got home tonight, i was getting changed for bed in our room, and i was thinking how much i miss him already.  he's only been gone a few hours, but i miss him being around so much.  i looked over at his side of the bed, which is pretty messy.  and i thought how lucky i am to have his mess around.

see, we did the long distance thing.  and i don't mean we lived a hour away from each other - for almost half of the first year we were together, we lived on different continents.  he was in LA, and i was in prague.  not exactly easy to handle.  and there were times when i didn't know if it would work, if i would ever see him again.  and there were times when i didn't think i could handle the distance anymore, and didn't know what we would do once we were on the same continent, since we would still live in different states.

needless to say, we worked it out.  he graduated and moved to denver so i could finish school, then we moved together out east.  and here we are, almost seven years later.

it's not our anniversary, or his birthday, or anything else.  it's just a wednesday in march when i remembered what it was like to never have him around.  when text messages from him were something special, because it cost so much money to send international texts.  and it's funny, because even if i wanted to get annoyed about his messy side of the bed, i couldn't.  because the truth is it makes my heart so happy to see his stuff lying around on the floor of the apartment we share together.  nothing could make me happier. 

ok, i know that was kind of sappy... but all you couples out there who have struggled with distances, you know what i am talking about.  sure, it's difficult.  but it was also one of the best things to happen to our relationship, because we had months to get to know each other [you really have to be creative to come up with things to talk about] and to build up that trust, and i know our relationship is all the more strong for it.  sometimes we joke about if we would even be married now if we hadn't had months of time apart. 

but even after all this time, somehow i love my husband more now than i ever have before.

alright, that's enough from me for tonight!  go hug someone you love : ] 

falling in love... venice, october 2006

high high #34

look what's comin my way...

yahooooo!  i've been lusting after these for a while, and when i did my usual price check online today, there they were.  inexplicably on sale, with free shipping, and in my size.  a whole $56 less than just a few days ago!  my brother will hate them.  he has this theory that as soon as we get a sprinkle of rain or a few flakes of snow, boston females break out their rain boots.  i've promised him i won't be that girl - but let's be honest.  with boots this cute how can you not want to wear them any chance you get?

besides online shopping, i haven't been doing much lately.  actually, i've been a little under the weather and just haven't had much energy to do anything [nor is anything interesting going on around here to share].  we have been back from montreal for over a week now, and i still haven't put any pictures up - but i will try and get to that tomorrow or thursday.   

but for tonight, i am going to go back to listening to the rain and snuggling on the couch with my love :)

til next time [which won't be far off again]...

pinspiration #7: tea tin magnets

i made another pinspiration today!  and i am so excited about it.  i've been wanting to do this for a while, because i have a ton of tea tins i've been saving.  my fave tea in the world is harney & sons, which come in these beautifully delicate brightly colored tea tins.  my love of these teas go all the way back to when i was living in prague.  during my 2nd semester while pi was living in la, we would catch up via skype in the afternoon for a bit after my classes and while he was just waking up in the morning.  there were a few internet cafes by my apartment, but my favorite [and the closest] served up harney's dragon pearl jasmine tea.  it's jasmine tea serve in little sachets filled with pearls of loose jasmine leaves, and they explode in your tea to look like flowers, smell like a garden and taste like heaven.

but come on - how adorable are those tins?

since i fell in love with the jasmine, i've come to love quite a few of their others, including paris.  it has the most enchanting aroma but a very subtle taste.  the tin for that tea is the gorgeous deep blue... i had been keeping the eye-pleasing tins for a while with no clue what to do with them.  then one day i saw this pin and thought i'd give it a shot.

pin from bippity boppity  boo, but i can't find where.

i love herbs, i love my tea tins.  what could go wrong?   if you have cats, you can guess where this story ended.  my cats, trying to eat the herbs and knocking them over.  no go.

so when i came across this pin, i knew it was for me.

thank you, martha stewart!

for these bad boys, all you need are the tea tins, magnets, and something magnetic.  done and done.  i did go the extra mile of hot gluing the magnets on to the back of the tins.  this way, if you take the tin off of the fridge, the magnets stay with the tin and not on the front of the refrigerator, which i found annoying.

my paris tea tin turned out lovely!

pen holder, front and center

since i am not a huge pink fan, i made my second tin out of an herbal peppermint tea with a green tin.

more storage on the side of the fridge

i love them and if i had more magnetic surfaces i'd make six more.

til next time! 

wedding inpsiration.

so, i am now an unofficial wedding planner.  since my mom is getting married at the end of the year and i am not working full time, i am taking on the tasks of planning the nuptials as the maid of honor.  i am so excited [pinterest wasn't around when i got married] and starting to make an idea board, so we can plan just the right event.

here is a little of what we have so far.  the inspiration is largely coming from the time of year of the wedding - fall - and also from my mom's bedroom redo.  she is in the process of remodeling her bedroom, which used to be a rich plum color and very dark, to be light and airy.  it's been repainted white, with little chandeliers dotting the room and light linens everywhere.  very airy and romantic!

simple flowers, simple jar.

perfect for grown up couples!

simple and classy cake.

jar and fireflies invite.

very woodsy - and small.

candle and wood, very rustic.

it's all in the details.

i never planned a wedding before - including my own!  we had wedding planners, so i am very honored to be able to do this for my mom.  it's kind of the opposite of what most mothers & daughters go through i guess :)

happy thursday!

california sunshine medicine.

there is nothing quite like escaping the dreary greyness of a boston winter for a quick trip to sunny california - especially when your time in california is dotted with trips to the beach and kisses from your adorable nephew.  it's pretty much the best medicine for the mid-winter blues i could ever imagine.

PI holding our new nephew, james, for the first time

i LOVE little james' face here as he looks up at his uncle!

kisses from ryder, now two [!!!!!]

the cutest little goof ever

spending our last day hanging out on the beach

my two great loves - the ocean, and PI

our pants were pretty well soaked from standing in the waves

i could get used to tagging along on business trips with PI... relaxation, family time, and nephew kisses.  what's not to love?

as for us here in boston, we are supposed to get anywhere from one to twelve inches in the next few days.  you'd think they would be able to narrow it down a little more than that. 

hope your week is going as well as mine!  :)

high high #33

what can i say, i am easily amused.

it's a silly little thing, but my cat moussie destroys just about everything.   he enjoys eating fresh flowers, knocking over my vases, dragging his tail through wet paint, eating straws, stealing twisty ties to hide in shoes, and dipping his little kitty paws in everything from coffee to V8 splash to my water.

so when i was at my wit's end today, pi made me this.

it's basically a grown-up sippie cup (he drilled a straw hole through the lid of an old mason jar).  but it's almost totally cat-proof.  he can still eat the straw, but that isn't so bad.  but this is my high high today because it's just one of those totally small but incredibly meaningful things my husband does that remind me of how much he loves me - and how much i love and appreciate him :)

he's pretty much the best.

but the cat...

not so much. 

for tomorrow - i am super backed up on photos (i haven't even posted pics of my last trip to nyc to visit my little captain!) so i'll get on that.

happy monday! :)

lovepost p. 2

greetings from montreal!

it's soo beautiful and snowy here. the beer is great, the people are friendly, and the food is amazing (hey, we are talking about the city that invented poutine here!). but perhaps the best part of montreal so far is that my cell phone is turned off - no calls,
no texts. emails only, and even then only when we are at the hotel.

but today i am writing to share that the second post of mine is up on LOVEPOST! so go and check it out... and then think again about remodeling your bathroom.

happy march everyone!