Happy New Years

5 to do items for 2008

Cook more and eat out less
Hold bi-weekly lotus coffee and breakfast meetings
Make more time for crafts and learn how to use the sewing machine
Study and work hard!
Bike, walk or take transit more often / Use car less

Wishing all of you the best for 2008!

kisses and hugs.

Ps. These super cute ceramic loaf dishes (oven safe) are on sale at Michaels for $0.75 each so I had to whip up some lemon cake to go with them.. ta da!

pet sitting

I have currently relocated from Kerrisdale to the heart of Kits until December 31st. My friends are back in Alberta celebrating the holidays with family, so I agreed to watch their flat and look after their 4 pets. Yup. FOUR! 2 teddy bear hamsters and 2 chinchillas. The chinchillas are pretty active during both the day and the night, but the hamsters just eat and sleep.

Anyways, it is great to be back in Kits. Oh, how I missed you!

Attached: pictures of the kids, but I could only get a picture of one chinchilla and one hamster before the camera died.

christmas = good times

My family celebrated Christmas last Friday since my aunt had to work at the hospital on Christmas Day. So this year, Rob and I decided to make our own Christmas dinner with the whole sha-bang and a bag of potato chips!

This is what we had waiting for us under the tree...

For me: My first sewing machine! I headed down to the 50% off Dressew Boxing Day Sale today to get myself some cheap fabrics to practice on.

For Rob: A crepe maker and a jar of Nutella (not pictured).

Anybody looking for some sewing and crepes? Please inquire within.

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This is a picture of my new guest Lawrence. He is here for the holidays and then heading back to his cabin on Mayne Island.

c is for cookie

christmas cookies actually. What's on the menu? Almond thumbprint cookies with a dallop of raspberry jam, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and Shortbread. Yum!

christmas list

I was on a mission in Portland and that was to buy all the crafty books on my list. After requesting them from the library a bazillion times, I decided that there were a few that I just needed to own! Anyways.. Portland + Shopping = No Tax!!

Two of my favourites include the ones pictured above. My second mission is to teach myself how to sew and be one with the sewing machine. I figure that if I can teach myself how to crochet and knit then this is the next step. Which means that all I need for Christmas is a nice beginner sewing machine and some quiet time *wink* *wink*.

PDX

Do you know how happy I was to find out that I was going to be in Portland during Crafty Wonderland's Holiday Sale? SO HAPPY!!
I have been wanting to see Crafty Wonderland forever! It was worth waiting in the freezing cold to get in and then manuevering through the crowd shoulder to shoulder to see all the handmade goodies Portland had to offer. The picture above shows the line up to get in and this picture was taken from the corner so it doesn't even include all the people from the door of the building to the corner where we were. The first 100 people got swag bags and now I understand how it feels to be the first 25 at got craft!

Other than Crafty Wonderland, we visited Pittock Mansion to see their Christmas displays and took the free train out to the Saturday Portland Market. Met an awesome lady who made the cutest duct tape wallets. I didn't take a picture of her, but wish I had a picture of her wallets. I don't know.. is it ok to take a picture of somebody's crafts eventhough you have no intention to copy it, but just because you love their work?? hmmmm....

Also went to Powells Book Store. I swear I have never seen so many books in my life! That place was like a maze of booky goodness. Thank goodness, each area was colour coded or I would probably still be there. Picked up a few sewing books and I am definately hoping for a sewing machine this Christmas. I am positive that if I can teach myself how to knit and crochet then I will conquer my fears of sewing!

Oh yeah.. forgot to mention that we ran into Darth Vader, Obi Wan and some Storm Troopers ringing their bells for the Salvation Army. You don't see that on the street everyday!

i love breakfast

Breakfast rocks! Going out for breakfast is always super special. I'm not sure why I like it so much, but it's probably because I am never up and ready at that time of day!

So when Brina and Albertine from Blue Skies and Daisies (2 in the middle) invited me out to breakfast at Paul's on Granville... I could not resist! By the way.. they have the best bennies in town.

Thanks for the invite! It was great to finally meet other coordinators (Erin from Fuego Events and her cute little girl Chloe - on the right) plus it was great to catch up with Angela from Angela Hubbard Photography (on the far left)!

Can't wait for the next one... drool.

wedding bells

This blog has definately been more of a glimpse of what we are up to rather than being work related. Hmm... maybe we should add that to our list for 2008.

In the meantime, we wanted to feature one of our wedding couples from 2007. We first met Candace and Ricardo back in the summer and we are so pleased to have had the opportunity to be a part of their wedding. Now you can read all about their wedding at Wedding Bells and check out the gorgeous photos from Erin Gilmore Photography.

Congratulations Candace and Ricardo!
http://www.weddingbells.ca/articles/slideshow/love-first-sight/0/

aislewalk 2008!

Last Thursday, the lovely gals from blue skies and daisies joined us for an evening out at the Pacific Palisades Hotel to celebrate the launch of the new issue of Aislewalk Wedding Magazine and to celebrate some of the best people in the Vancouver wedding industry. Kudos to Erin and Tammy for the lovely invite and amazing soiree! We look forward to next year and of course, a BIG thank you to all of our super awesome wedding couples. We heart you!

Cheers!

i heart occupied

do you like my new tea set? I do!

This is my favourite shop in Gastown and maybe the entire city.
http://www.occupiedshoppe.com/

They have the cutest items, nicest staff and a cute little tabby cat named Luke - bonus!

so mosey over and come have tea with me.

PS. There are two designs available and the shop is cash only.

west end community craft fair

can you believe that this whole craft business is officially one year old and it started right here at the west end community centers winter craft fair!

a stroll by Main Street

I have a birthday EXTRAVAGANZA hangover. Ohhhh... so much eating!

So to detox, we decided to go out for a walk in the sunshine. It was like summer out there today! Of course, I love taking pictures of random cats that I meet and how could you not fall in love with these two? 100% cute!

happy birthday to me!

it is my birthday! hooray!

thanks for everybody's birthday wishes! i love u guys!

MmMmMmmmMMMmmm.... cake....

An Apple a Day...

Thanks Moo and Trevor for coming out to play at the UBC Apple Festival this afternoon! It was a beautiful sunny Autumn day as we stuffed our mouths full of apples, apple pie, apple chips and apple juice. The Festival is held at the UBC Botanical Garden and will be open from 11am to 4pm tomorrow. Admission is $2 and $3 extra if you want to sample 50 different kinds of apples!

a day to play

Ms. Moo called this morning after a BIG bad morning so Rob and I ditched work and went to her rescue. We had a great lunch in the sun, some bad frozen yogurt and then parted ways a few hours later.

I had purchased two tickets to the Home Show this weekend as we love to watch Colin and Justin on HGTV. We scooted downtown and sat down for their 3pm show. They are just like on tv! Sorry the pictures are not the best. Bad camera + bad lighting = so so pictures.

Stay tuned... Apple Festival at UBC tomorrow!

"Working from home can be lonely, and the days can run together. Keep your spirit and mind fresh, and your work will continue to be inspired." - Nicole Vasbinder from queenpuffpuff.com

catching up on some crafts

Group Picture!

My favourite... serious monkey!

Turkey Day on Mayne Island

Happy Turkey Day everyone!!!!!!

lotus events is on holiday visiting family on Mayne Island. (I use the term "holiday" loosely, as I have separation anxiety with my laptop and email.) Rob's parents just moved over here so we thought it would be a perfect time for them to make me a turkey to visit .

The trip over was a rough one! I was trying hard to keep my breakfast down and we hadn't even left the station yet! Things got better when we hit Active Pass - thank goodness! Rob's dad than picked us up from the terminal and gave us a short tour of the island. Things are soo quiet here. I am definately 100% city girl, but island life is definately a nice change of pace. Of course, I forgot the cable to load up pictures, but will definately post some when we return tomorrow morning!

Plenty of exploring and crafting was had by me this weekend! Can't wait to show you!

Thanks Moo!

Oh the lovely buttons we received from Moo!

5 things you may or may not know about Andrea

1) I am an only child and only have 1 first cousin that is 11 years younger than me.
2) I do not like beer or wine.
3) My maiden name is Andrea Tong.
4) My favourite flavour is mint chocolate chip.
5) In Kindergarden, I dressed up as Boy George for Halloween and won first prize (that's my mom as Charlie Chaplin)

muffin top

Rob and I enjoyed a semi day off today. Although it rained for most of the day, we got a chance to run a few errands and grab a quick bubble tea.

Rob had a hankering for some pumpkin treats so I whipped up some muffins for him. I love the smell of pumpkin, but not the taste. Such a wierdo... I know.

a hard day at work

we're baaaaaaacccckkkk

Congratulations Cassidy and Angel! I miss you guys already.

We are estatic that we had the opportunity to work on such great weddings this season. Ohmygoodness... there were soo many favourites that I don't even know where to start! We also had the opportunity to meet and work with so many wonderful vendors and sample so many delicious wedding cakes! Yum!

We wish all of our couples much happiness and hope that they stay in touch.

Picture - we dropped off some delicious cupcakes to C&A at the Opus and treated ourselves to some mini treats!

We made it!

We arrived in Hollywood last night - literally! The great folk from the Great American PitchFest (thank you so much for bringing us down here!) put us up at a great hotel right behind the Mann Theatre. This place is great!

We moved over to the Sheraton at Universal this morning and Signe and Bob brought us chocolate milkshakes! Have I said that this is the best event ever!? Yay!

The Great American PitchFest is completely sold out this year and will (maybe) be moving to the Mann Theatre next year. Rob will be arranging a site visit this Monday and we will get a private tour of where the Oscars take place! Hope my hip gets better!

Pic #1 - Coast drive down to LA. We stopped to see the Elephant Seals on the beach. They beach here (somewhere near Santa Barbara) each year to mate.

Pic #2 - View from our hotel room at the Sheraton

Ghirardelli

Need I say more? Sorry for the bad picture... we were probably drooling too much and wanted to get to the treats right away!

San Francisco

San Francisco is one of my favourite cities in the world! This is my 7th or 8th time here and I love it! Weather is much cooler here. Pretty windy, but plenty of sunshine. After the heat of Vegas and Anaheim, I'm not complaining! We spent the day down at Fisherman's Wharf yesterday, stopped in at Boudin for sourdough bread and took the cable car back to the hotel. We took the street car over to Castro this morning and stopped in at Clubcard to say hi and check things out.

Well.. not much to report here.. just plenty of relaxing and sleeping in! Catching up on some work and trying to find a cheap and tasty sushi place in town without much luck. Vancouver has got to be the cheapest place to eat ever!

Going to do a little shopping now....

Pic #1 - sea lions by the wharf.
Pic #2 - picture of alcatraz from the pier
Pic #3 - this is the line up while the park was opening to race to Nemo, the new ride at Disneyland. Basically, this is the line up to line up and with 1.5 hour plus wait throughout the entire day, we decided that we really didn't need Nemo that badly

Disneyland

We made it to Disneyland... the internet is finicky.. so I will post what I can.

The weather is so very nice. Hot, but not a raging inferno such as Vegas. Rob and I enjoyed a few rides through the park and then finished our evening with some fireworks. Is it wierd that we get excited watching the AV and production set up for the shows?

Picture 1: My frozen monkey tail!
Picture 2: Self portrait while spinning in a teacup

Leaving Las Vegas

Good Morning Everyone.....today we leave Las Vegas and make our way over the mountains to California. It should be a short 4 hour drive which will be a nice change from the 8 to 12 hours we spent on the road getting here.

I wanted to post this last picture



This is your view from the hotel when you are not a gambler and you buy cheap online.

World's Largest Chocolate Fountain

Although I am not a fan of the chocolate fountain... I had to post this!

Pic #1 - chocolate fountain
Pic #2 - a picture of where the chocolate is being poured from (ceiling)
Pic #3 - details

Ack.. it's hot

5.5 hours later and 43 degrees celsius, we finally made it through Death Valley. Ohmygoodness, it was hot hot hot!
The wind was hot. Our car was hot. The ground was hot. It was so dry and hot in some areas that there was nothing except rocks. However, if you have never been to Death Valley, it is absolutely breath taking. It is amazing to think that this area was once covered by the ocean to the tips of the mountains. You can still some of the areas where they mined for silver, zinc and calcium. We felt like a car commercial driving through the winding paths against the mountain with no car insight behind or in front of us. We needed a tag on the frame that said "Do not attempt. Professional driver. Closed course."!

Arrived in Vegas later in the evening. Walked over to the Bellagio and caught two fountain performances - my favourite! This is my 3rd or 4th time to Vegas and everytime I come here it is a little different. The new monorail is up and running from the MGM to the Sahara and the Aladdin has now become the Planet Hollywood. Then still it is the same vegas with the cheesy themes, shows, drunk people, smoke.... oh well.. you gotta love it!

Pic #1 - gopher type animal from Yosemite
Pic #2 - driving with a long road ahead of us and no vehicle insight
Pic #3 - this was once the ocean bed
Pic #4 - fountains of Bellagio facing the Paris Hotel