The Day I Caught Pipsi Red Handed

Would red pawed be a more appropriate term?

We have one of those automatic waterers for the Pipster.  It is kind of like this:

Except ours didn't come with a Jack Russel.

So once in a while, ours appears to completely empty out all over the floor.  I thought it was because it was cheap and I bought it on sale, so it must have been defective.  But this was concerning, because what's the point of having a waterer so that we can leave her alone for the week, if it empties out and she has no water left by the second day. 

So I'm down in the basement today, and I go into the furnace room and Pipsi is frantically running around, there is water everywhere.  It's all over the rug that is in there that serves no purpose, it's underneath the litter box, it's mixing with litter that Pipsi has kicked all over the floor.  It's disgusting.  So I just throw some towels on it and walk away.  I didn't really have time to deal with it any more than that.  Nor did I care. 

I'm on the other side of the room, steaming clothes, and I hear it gurgling again.  I think to myself, "What the heck?"  I go back into the furnace room and see Pipsi, paws splashing around in the water, sticking her nose in it, splashing water everywhere.  And as she splashes water out, the waterer thinks that it needs to fill up and more water comes out.  So it's not defective at all.  Our kitten is defective.  Needless to say, I have taken the waterer away from her.  She can have it back when she learns to behave herself.

Note: I may or may not have invented the word waterer.  I don't know what they are called.

Please, Mom?

So I was on a roll this morning.  I have to be out at Ryan's parents house by 11 to start the preparation for his sister's wedding.  Once I leave the house I'm not coming back until the wedding festivities are over. So I woke up earlier than I would prefer on a day off, worked out, hopped in the shower, grabbed some breakfast and sat down to read blogs.  Well that's where the efficiency of my morning ended.  Everyone posted something last night so I was all giddy on blog updates.  So this little post is all I have time for now, because really, this girl needs to get some stuff done now.

I have been craving decor lately, which if you have read any of my past posts you may have figured out.   I discovered West Elm on Young House Love and I want practically everything they sell.  But I'm cheap, and I have issue with paying for shipping.  However I found out that they have a store in Toronto!  So my maw maw and I are going to travel down there, someday, when I have time....maybe in 2013. 

So these are some of the things I want so desperately:

I feel that this pillow might match my basement.  My basement has a green carpet with blue in it. I don't really know, but I don't really feel like matching decor to the forest greenish carpet.

I love these hive vases.  Aren't they neato?  I don't know what else to say that could explain how I feel about them.

Oh this little owl.  Isn't he cute? I don't know where he would live but he must be mine.  And he is only like $10 or something.  Probably in the Canadian store he will be $30.  That's what they do to us up here.  Even when the exchange rate is awesome, they jack up all the prices.  And then they wonder why we go to the states to shop?

I just think these are cute.  I'm pretty sure they were only a few dollars too.  And they don't look too big, so maybe they would actually limit my ice cream intake.  Or maybe I would just keep refilling it. 

Ok, I better get on with my life now.  And get my stuff in order. Nobody wants a bridesmaid with a wrinkled dress, do they?  Side note: I find it hilarious that when I spell check my posts, blog comes up as an incorrect word.

{all pictures taken from West Elm}

Babies

One thing that marriage brings to your attention, is babies.  When you are dating, people ask when you are getting engaged.  As soon as we got engaged, people asked when we would have babies.  (To which I respond, can we get married first).  Now that we are married, the baby talk continues.  And it goes on in my head now too.  Because it is a serious consideration.  We want kids, so the when is definitely a question.  But it's also not one I can answer for anyone, or even if I knew when, that I would tell them.  (Well we are going to start trying on this date, and then hope to be pregnant on this date, and the baby will be born on this date....I don't think that's how it works).

Anyways, I was at Starbucks yesterday, because that's what I do, and as I was coming out, a mother was chasing her son across the parking lot.  She was screaming his name and he was running into the next row as a car was coming.  She caught him, and the car saw him and stopped, but it was scary for a minute there.  Then she pulled him away as he screamed.  I never actually felt like he was going to be hit, but it scared me because someday that will be me.  She probably thought he was old enough to walk on his own.  Or she let go of his hand for one second.  Who knows.  But it's scary to think that someday I will be responsible for a little human's life.  I need to make sure I feed them enough and that they don't get hit by a car.

Are you ever ready for that? Whether you are 20 or 35?  I doubt it.  I think now, my mom was a year younger than I am when she had me.  I thought they were such great and responsible parents.  Now I look at myself and think, if I had a baby, I wouldn't have a clue what I was doing. So I can assume that my parents were clueless as well.  At least I turned out ok!  I hope my future child turns out okay as well.

All this to say, children scare me. I will have them anyways.  But I am terrified.  So I might wait a little bit, OK?  But not 5 years like my sister wants me to.  (And on that note, does anybody know somebody who wants to date my sister so that they can get married and have babies at the same time as me?)

She is a lovely girl

What is Real?

I'm supposed to be doing a reading in a friend's wedding in a couple of weeks, but she hasn't provided me with what I am reading yet.  So I googled readings just to see what I could come up with.  I found this one.



EXCERPT FROM THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
~ By Margery Williams ~

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."



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This children's perspective on love just made me smile and I wanted to share it.  Love makes all of us real.  I'm just glad that Ryan hasn't loved off my hair yet (though he might beg to differ, I do tend to shed), or that my eyes haven't dropped out.

Love It/Hate It

Hate It: Cleaning
But I did vacuum last night

Love It: A Clean House

Hate It: Parties
I just like me time.  I don't like to over socialize.  A party every once in awhile is doable, this summer has exhausted me though.

Love It: Food at Parties
I'm a food whore.  I had two plate fulls of food and three desserts at the engagement party on Sunday.  We won't even talk about what I ate at the parties on Friday and Saturday. Shhhh

Love It: Bachelor Pad
Oh crap TV, where would my life be without you?  I love Bachelor Pad because the competitions and strategizing add so much interest to the show!  It makes it seem so much more worthwhile than the Bachelor/Bachelorette.  I'm so excited that it's back for the summer! So now I have Big Brother on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday and Bachelor Pad on Monday.  I should be set. 

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Weekending

This was our weekend off.  We have two weddings this summer (coming up the next two weekends) and this was the one weekend where there were no showers, bachelorette parties etc.  Well for me anyways, I guess Ryan has had a pretty free summer but I have been busy busy.

So what did we do on our weekend off? We went to a grad party on Friday, a wedding reception on Saturday and an engagement party on Sunday.  I guess it wasn't really a weekend off.

I did take a picture taking break though.  So all I have pictures from is the wedding reception.  And those pictures were minimal.  And not very good.  It was a very small wedding, for two of my parents friends, who my mom happened to set up.  Yup my mom is the next Millionaire Matchmaker.  We have been friends with Terry our whole lives, he is like an uncle to us.  So we were invited out to their place for a little gathering after the wedding meal.  And because I feel the need to post something about my weekend, here are a few (most) of the pictures that I took.

My sister and one of the groom's sons

The happy couple

Ryan and Tali enjoying the party

The Bride and Groom

It was pretty dark, as you can see by my pictures.  Due to a fire ban, we were circled around a tea light.  But everyone had a good time.  I'm so happy for this couple that have a second chance at love.  I wish them many years of happiness.

Baking FAIL

I had to do some baking today for a party that we are going to tomorrow.  So I decided to make Red Velvet Cupcakes.  I had one box of mix in the cupboard, but it's Saturday and I have some time so I figured I would make them from scratch.  I was using the same recipe that I used back here.

Everything was going well.  Besides the fact that my hands were stained with red food colouring that did not want to be cleaned off.  Then I leaned into some food colouring and got it on my bathing suit.  Ya I bake in a bathing suit, don't you?  So after I threw my bathing suit and cover up in the wash I realized that this is why people wear aprons.  Duh.  I got to the part where the directions said to add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour.  Add the first half and mix and then add the second half.  So I added a cup and a tablespoon, and then added another cup and a tablespoon.  Then I wondered why my mixer kept getting stuck and they were so thick....

Let's just say I don't think I will be taking this batch to the party.

So I got out the Duncan Hines mix and whipped it up.  I had the whole batch in the oven in about a quarter of the time, it made twice as many cupcakes and I'm fairly certain making it from scratch wasn't actually cheaper than the $2 I paid for the box.  I think from now on I would rather drive to Buffalo to buy some more Duncan Hines than to do this whole "I'm a baker, let's make stuff from scratch" thing.

Nothing I did could make these look or taste any better...

I did also make these Rice Krispie roll ups, and they turned out awesome.  They are a go for the party!

Friday Letters

Time for a link up with Ashley for some Friday Letters.

Dear Husband: Thank you for putting up with me lately.  I have been a real downer.  I'm going to try and turn my frown upside down.  Dear Pipsi: You are a crazy rascal.  That is all.  Dear people getting married: Don't do it in the summer (sorry friends who are getting married in the summer but it's how I feel).  Dear Summer: Slow down and give me a weekend of peace so that I can enjoy your sunshine Dear Saturday: I have a lot to do, but really need a tan.  Please be the slowest day ever so I can fit it all in. Dear Body: It's so nice outside, why don't you like to run? You force me to workout inside and I don't appreciate it Dear Starbucks: You make my world go round

Happy Friday to all!

Hair Today....Gone Tomorrow

I preface this post with a few disclaimers:

a) There is a reason why I don't do fashion posts (besides the fact that I'm not very fashionable), my pictures are beyond awful
b) Ryan took the after pictures and may or may not have been slightly inebriated, I legit don't know
c) Apparently the lighting in my house sucks
d) I'm too lazy to set up a tripod
e) Taking these pictures made me angry but I just had to share

Oh, sorry about your head Kaileigh

Pips says: "You are a weirdo"

So anywho, I got a haircut.  And I'm pretty darn excited about it.  I had been letting my hair grow since before my wedding, because I knew I wanted to wear it down.  I am in my sister in law's wedding next weekend, so I didn't want to cut it until I knew what style I wanted.  My hair was long, and draggy, and I never did anything with it, because I'm lazy.  And it was hot and looked awful on me.  So was I ever excited yesterday when the hairdresser told me that an up do would be easier with shorter hair.  I gave her some pictures from here, and voila.

It's so light and bouncy and alive.  I loves it.

Ryan got home and said I thought you were getting your hair cut.  Well what does he know

anyways.

 I feel like it looks really dull in these pictures, but I swear I'm a ginge.  Again, I am very sorry for the incredibly poor quality of these pictures.  It's almost embarrassing.  Between the unnatural light of my house, me trying to take pictures of myself and Ryan taking pictures, it just didn't work out for me.  I will try harder next time.  Or I just won't do it again.

Digging Through the Basement

Once in a while, I wander down to the "Garage Sale" section of our basement.  I mean this in the least negative way possible.  We got a lot of wedding and shower gifts, and I just didn't open all of the boxes at once.  Our cupboards are pretty full, so we have some shelves in the basement that hold everything from our wedding that hasn't been opened yet.  I'm just waiting to see whether I need it or not before I get all excited and open that box. 

Note: I feel really awful saying that we don't use everything we got, because I appreciate every single present.  But sometimes you just don't need 9 metal mixing bowls in your cupboard.  Or more than 5 cookie sheets. And by garage sale, I don't mean I'm going to sell it in a garage sale, I mean that it's like a garage sale when you go through it and find new stuff that you need.

Anywho, I was actually looking for a box to wrap a gift in, and I came across these beauties. 

These little guys absolutely did not belong in the garage sale section.  I had put a donkey on my registry as a joke (some people took it seriously).  Who doesn't want a donkey? So cute! Well my grandma's dear friends looked high and low for these.  They are donkey salt and pepper shakers.  It was so sweet of them to find them and they were so excited about giving them to me!  So now, they live up in the china cabinet.   I think they are much happier there than in the bottom of a bag in the basement.



Bachelorette - Men Tell All Recap

I did my own little recap as I was watching the Bachelorette Men Tell All Special last night.  Just because I have been wanting to comment/make fun of this show all season.  So here are my little thoughts.

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• Chris (not Harrison) is crazy
• Wolf is wearing pink track pants? After what he wore on his one on one date with Emily I don't know why I'm surprised.  He needs a woman ASAP.
• Doug's son was mentioned very rarely in this episode!
• The only thing I like about Ryan is that he calls out Chris
• Is anyone getting in line to date Ryan? Anyone? No? He seems like such a catch
• Chris is insane.  Have I mentioned that?
• Is Chris a ginge who dyes his hair? He gets really angry.
• Everyone seems to like Sean.  I guess that means my sister's chances of dating him are slim.
• How awkward must it be for Sean to watch his exit interview while on national TV.  I feel bad for him.
• When Emily walks out, all the guys ant to jump her bones
• Seems like they might be plugging Sean for the Bachelor? I hope so
• I think Emily actually has a great personality and is very funny but they are awful at editing her and don't show it.  They want everything to be so romantic, but part of romance is having fun with a person and goofing around.  I wish they would show bloopers all season.
• This show made her tough.  She isn't a pushover
• Chris Harrison says this is one of the best seasons ever.  Really? I disagree. Wasn't the worst though either.

So there we have it.  My little play by play.  Once I fast forwarded through the first half hour where they just showed recaps and talked about Bachelor Pad it wasn't bad.  Just one more episode until we find out that Emily is most likely single! Something weird is going to go down that's for sure.  I can't wait to get my Monday nights back.  Oh wait, then I have to watch the Bachelor Pad.

This post would be incomplete without a picture of Sean

Big Plans

I wish everything could be done all at once!  I've been thinking about the house a lot lately, and have come up with some great plans for the entry, the laundry room, the rec room.....but I have these time constrains and money constraints...

I wanted to decorate more.  But even though decorating items may not be overly expensive, they add up.  I want a bench, or a hall table for the entrance way and some sort of art above it.  I want to make the laundry room pretty.  Flip the door so it opens the opposite way and add some organizational shelving in there.  I want to make the rec room more homey, add some nice bar stools, art, side tables. 

Homes aren't decorated in a day though.  We did a pretty good job turning our house into a home in a couple months.  It's just these small details that I just want to get done.  Realistically, it will probably take years. 

But here are some things that I am dreaming about for my home.


A bathroom redo




Huge book shelves, I have a lot of books




A console table for my entry. This one is from Sears.




A gallery wall




This exact kitchen




Organization for my laundry room




This comfy chair for my basement from Pier 1




This sectional for all my (I mean Ryan's) friends in the basement from here

All other pictures are from my Pinterest.  Oh Pinterest, you make me want all the things that I don't have.
Oh and an area rug for under my kitchen table.  But a 6x8 area rug seems to be hard to find.

So it's only a few items that I desire! Is that so much to ask for?  I think not. 

15 Day Challenge - Day 15

{Day 15} - What's the best compliment you've ever received

Here we are, the last day of the challenge.  I have done pretty well I think and only missed a few posts.  Ryan says that if I don't post something today then I am a failure.  And I don't want to be a failure.

It's hard to think of a specific compliment.  I guess overall it was a huge compliment when Ryan asked me to marry him.  It's kind of a big deal when someone says they want to spend their life with you.  You can't get more complimentary that that.

So there we have it.  I pretty much completed the challenge.  It's a lot of pressure to have to post so frequently, but it's not too bad when you are given the topics. 

Conversations

Not so much a conversation as an observation:

Ryan walks into the living room.  I'm at the end of The Time Traveller's Wife.  Which, by the way, I have seen before and I knew what was coming, but still....

R: Looks at me with a blank expression.  "What's wrong with you? You're a messasaurus."
K: A messasaurus?
R: Yes because you are crying and you left a mess of ice cream all over the counter.

How creative Ryan....

15 Day Challenge - Day 14

{Day 14} - If you were only allowed to watch one movie for the rest of your life, what movie would it be and why?

Back to the Future.  But I need all three.  Is that cheating?  Back to the Future is a classic.  It never gets boring in my opinion! All other movies have run their course but I have been watching Back to the Future for years.  I knew I should marry Ryan when he already owned the trilogy on DVD when we met.  Is that a reason to marry a guy or what?

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Runners up include Harry Potter, probably The Prisoner of Azkaban if I had to choose just one.  Or a good Disney movie, like The Fox and the Hound.

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Expect the Unexpected

I commute an hour to work each way, so I get pretty into my morning radio shows.  The other day they were discussing your go to summer TV show. 

In the summer most of your shows are on a wee break.  So you are left to your own devices and have to be more creative.  For me, Big Brother has always been my summer show.  Summer is the only time when I could possibly watch a TV show on three different days.  It's crap TV and is highly addictive and I'm so glad that it's back for another season!  The first episode was last night and boy oh boy am I pumped for a summer of expecting the unexpected!

My choices for the grand prize are:


Danielle

Ian

Ashley

Danielle because the cute southern girl usually wins her way into everyone's hearts (a la Jordan Lloyd).  Ian because he seems smart and easy going.  Hopefully he doesn't get annoying.  Ashley because I think she might come across as sweet but be very strategic.

Shane

I think that the best bet for a showmance is Shane and Danielle.  But I might just want to relive the Jeff and Jordan romance.  I wouldn't mind Shane winning because I would love for Britney to win the coaching prize.  Funny, each person I chose above is on a different team.  I'm rooting overall for Britney and Janelle's teams though.

(All photos are from the Big Brother website.)

Clearly this new season has won me over in the first hour.  I have gotten totally distracted.  I hope somebody else out there cares about this post.  If not, oh well.

I have also gotten into the Vampire Diaries.  I had never watched it before, but I got Season 1 on DVD for my birthday.  It started as a show to watch while working out.  Now I want to just keep watching.  It's dangerous.  Who has seasons two and three for me to borrow?

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15 Day Challenge - Day 13

{Day 13} - List your favourites: song, quote, food, vacation spot, photo

Song: Feels Like Home by Chantal Kreviazuk.  My sister and I fought over this for our first dance song.  She won, kind of.... So I used an instrumental version to walk down the aisle to and it was our last dance at our wedding.  She can have it for her first dance now.

Quote: I used to be such a quote person.  Everytime I came up with a good one, I would write it in my planner.  A guy at work made fun of me because my planner just had quotes on every page.  Now do you think I can think of a favourite? No of course not.  So I went onto my facebook and looked at what I have as favourite quotes on there.  Here are the three that I like.  They might not be overly meaningful or significant or said by some philosopher or important person in history, but I like them.

But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous.-- Carrie Bradshaw

The things that scare you the most are usually the most worthwhile -- unknown

 I think I'd miss you even if we'd never met---The Wedding Date

Food: Cheesecake

Vacation Spot: Any vacation spot is good with me! I really loved Jamaica, but I'm all for trying a new place every time we go away. There are so many amazing destinations in the world and I want to go to them all.

Photo: This one here

It was taken at Dunn's River Falls on our honeymoon.  It brings back so many great memories of our trip.

So there you have it.  That was kind of a fun one! 

15 Day Challenge - Day 12

{Day 12} - What are you most looking forward to in the next six months?

Christmas? Can I say that.  I love Christmas.

I'm going to be lame, I don't have an event that I am looking forward to more than anything else in the next six months.  We have a couple of weddings for friends and family, those should be good times.  I am looking forward to our anniversary, in hopes that we come up with something fun to do.

You know what I'm looking forward to? My vacation.  I'm exhausted.  I just want to sit and do nothing and have nowhere to go.  Cottage livin here I come.

This is me, in 2 weeks.....ahhhhh yes.....

Bathing it Up

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First of all, I'm not completing my 15 day challenge tasks, because I'm having a hard time coming up with good answers for them, and I don't want to post something just for the sake of it.  Plus I happen to have other things I can write about! 

This past weekend I attended a Bachelorette party for my friend, Michaela.  We did some wine tastings, had a dinner out, and went to the bar at the Blue Mountains in Collingwood.  It was a great time.  On Sunday morning, we went to the Scandinave Spa, and now I am craving going back. 

The Scandinave Spa is a bath spa.  There is a steam room, a sauna and a couple cold pools and hot pools.  You are supposed to spend 15 minutes in a heat source and then get into the cool pool to lock in the heat.  Then you relax outside on one of their chairs. 

It was a beautiful day and so we stayed for about three and a half hours.  We did the whole rotation a number of times, trying out each of the heat sources.  I may have gotten slightly sun burnt despite the fact that I did put on sunscreen.

It was uber relaxing though, and a great activity for a nice day.  You are cut off from the world with no cell phone to distract you.  I just want to go back with a good book.  Instead I'm sitting inside at work and time is moving slowly.

Pinterest Challenging!

I learnt from my past mistakes and decided to not tell everyone I was participating in the Pinterest Challenge until I actually completed my project.   Well I did one! Yay for me. 

First off, Pinterest challenging isn't as inexpensive as I would like it to be.  I'm kind of cheap, and I don't want my crafts to be expensive.  I think that maybe when Sherry and Katie do it, they are crafty and have most of the stuff in their house already.  Or maybe they are just more economical than me.  I wanted to do a challenge that required 3 different colours of spray paint, spray primer and some top coat.  That would be like $50! And I would probably screw it up huge.  No way. 

I found this project on glass etching. Now in this one, she was making them for portion control purposes.  I planned on giving my project, if successful, to my friend as a bachelorette party gift, and let me tell you, Michaela is not one to care about portion control when it comes to wine.  So I just wanted to make a nice design on it.

The glass from Pinterest

First of all, I headed to Michael's to purchase my necessities.  I bought some Armour Etch and some Over 'n Over creatable stencils.  This was just one big sticky sheet that I had to cut my own stencil out of.  They had real stencils, but they didn't really have what I was looking for.  I also bought a small paint brush.

First I tried sticking some circle stickers on a glass and etching around it, hoping for a neat design.  FAIL.

My first attempt - a big mess of etched glass

So I decided to try something new.  To create my stencil, I first cut out a circle, using the inside of some painters tape as a guide.  This ended up being a lot bigger than I expected, but what can you do.  Then I printed the letter W off of Microsoft Word in a font that I liked, and traced it onto the stencil.  I found out after I was supposed to use an exacto knife so that I didn't cut through the backing.  Oops.  Live and Learn.  I'm new to this arts and crafts thing.

I stuck my circle stencil on a glass, and put the W in the middle.  I was ready to go!

I just layered on a heavy coat of Armour Etch.  Make sure it's heavy or else it will end up looking streaky.  I figured that out with my practice glass.

It said in the directions to leave it on for a minute.  I think I probably left each one on for about 3 minutes, just to be safe.  Then you just rinse it all off and take off the stencil. 

I made up four of them.  They didn't turn out too badly either! I'm impressed for my first real craft attempt.  And I gave them to the Bride to Be later that day.  They aren't by any means going to be her good crystal, but extra wine glasses in the house are never a bad thing.

 Of course I had to throw in a picture of Pipsi photo bombing.  It's what she does best.

Oh and if anyone is interested in the cost of this little project, I lucked out in the shopping department.

Armour Etch - on sale at Michael's  $7.99
Stencil - on sale at Michael's           $4.99
Paint Brush - Michael's                    $0.89
12 Glasses - on sale at Zellers       $11.99

For a grand total of $25.86 plus tax.  And I have 7 glasses and some Armour Etch left over, so I can always make some more!