rainbow cake

Something to ponder ...


(found in my computer folder and I have no idea who to photo credit)

Yummy or gross? Would you do this for a wedding cake?

a bit of crazy

I can't believe it is Monday already! This is what happens when you work all week and do craft fairs all weekend! I'm pretty exhausted, but with Got Craft coming up this Sunday, it means wonky sleep patterns. The day of our very first show, 3 years ago, I woke up at 6 in the morning and started baking banana bread for no apparent reason. Trust me, I'm not a morning person! Rob didn't know what was happening.. haha!


Portobello West was on the weekend and although, I didn't have high hopes for it as I wasn't too pleased with my table location, I did extremely well. Robert (I'm so camera shy!) also did a feature on my teacup candles with Eco Chic International, a website that provides tips on going green.

Of course, as I am writing this, I am sitting amid chaos. The house is a complete disaster with a mountain of Yudu's and swag bags. Not to mention, all of my craft stuff which is literally all over the entire apartment.


(For you keeners out there, yes, the swag bags are larger this year and stuffed with even more awesomeness. For those that want one of these coveted totes, I have spoken from some that are planning on being there no later than 7:30am!! Will be posting swag pictures soon over at the Got Craft blog.)

No craft fair is complete without a little shopping! Table neighbours, Note + Emote has the cutest stationery and this is the ceramic bowl that I picked up from gabriEllephant Design.


Lastly, for a little fur cuteness...


... this is how I found her the other night on the sofa. She loves that pink blanket and just burrowed her way through. Of course, she has also taken up some human traits including laying her head on the pillow. What a pampered princess!

luna

(my fur baby, cleo, enjoying a sweet lick)

My friend's cat past away earlier this week. I love visiting their studio, because a) it's always good times and b) two cats would always come to greet us at the door. Ok. Ok. One would greet us at the door if she saw us and the other one would go in hiding. I miss her chirp chirp purr and her head twisting. I miss how she would gently nibble your fingers and pat your chest if you weren't paying attention to her.

She wasn't even my cat nor have I ever cat sat her or really spent long periods of time together. Yet, my heart broke when I heard the news. Loudly gasping while I checked twitter messages in the middle of Starbucks. I was sad all day and the day after. I know I talk about the pair of new kittens that I would get when Cleo passes away, but I'm just talking smak. I would be completely devasted. So if you have a fur baby of your own, make sure you go and give it a big hug and kiss.

Giant Punchbowl!!

Ok, so I posted this on twitter and facebook earlier, but only received one comment (thanks MK!). People! This is a giant punchbowl that you can row in!! I'm giddy with the thought of it and have half a mind to hop onto a plane back to London just for a ride * sigh *

more Alycia and Chris

We have been so lucky this year to have the opportunity to work with an amazing list of wedding couples and vendors! The best part of this wedding? It was probably a tie between the surprise Polish dancers ....

... and the most awesome choreographed first dance ever!

The Park Ballroom at the Four Seasons

Beautiful sandlewood hand fans for the ladies




Orchid centerpieces with LED uplighting by Proline Trading


A two tiered head table is a perfect fit for a large wedding party

Photo credit: Daniela Ciuffa Photography

london flat

Here are the very last photos from our London trip.



Presenting our one bedroom rented London flat! We often rent apartments while on vacation as some are the same price as a hotel and you have the convienence of a full kitchen and more room. I find that often with hotels, I end up doing everything on the bed as there is no other place to sit. With a rented apartment, you have the luxury to watch tv on the sofa in the living room and then take a nap in the separate bedroom.




Located in Putney, this place was a few blocks away from the shopping center and included a private garden at the back which the bedroom doors also open up to.

more Melissa and Chris

(love this photo!)

When they told me that the theme of their wedding was 7-11 and that they were holding it on July 11th... it was true love. SO much fun!

PS. Happy Birthday M!


(look at the shoes!)


(coco cake cupcake)






(love this one too!)

photo credit: Angela Hubbard Photography

more Gail and Eric

Cleaning out the drawer the other day and found these three beauties from Gail and Eric's wedding last July!




photo credit: Raymond and Jessie Leung Photography

on the mend

(photo credit: bluewinx15(Away)'s)

For those that follow me on Twitter, Facebook or read the blog, you know that I haven't been well lately. I am generally a healthy person and do not get the flu / cold very often. This Fall though? BAM! I don't know what's going on. Rob came home with the flu mid September which he passed on to me. I was down for the count and had a cough that just wouldn't go away for a week or two after the sickness had left.

and then....

BAM! The cough hadn't even completely left yet and then I was hit with the flu somewhere between Cambridge and Belgium. First it was this horrible dry cough, then the fever, more cough and then nausea. I thought I was going to die. I do not like doctor offices and do not visit them unless I am at death's door step. Since I was in Belgium, I really didn't know where to go, so I did the next best thing... hit the internet! I looked up remedies - medicated and herbal, H1N1 symptoms vs flu symptoms and everything in between. Of course, being stuck in a hotel room together, also meant that Rob caught the same flu shortly afterwards. I'm still coughing * cough * * cough *

of course, if that wasn't enough...

Some kind of weird 24hr stomach bug hit me. If I thought I was going to die during the last round of flu, I knew I was dying on this take. I was almost begging to go to the doctor's, but to be honest, didn't even think I had enough energy to go there. Rob said that there was nothing that the doctor could do for this and suggested for me to just stay home and rest. I couldn't sit up. I couldn't eat. I would read twitter / facebook and be nauseous at any words that mentioned food in them and no, I'm not pregnant. Trust me.

I'm definitely on the road to recovery... hopefully... finally... Heading to the Doctor tomorrow for sure just to make sure. Sucking a lozange right now for the cough that is more irritating than anything. I'm feeling thin... tired... lackluster. Sick + jet lag = really messed up sleep schedule. I've been up since 3:30am this morning! In the last 3 days, I have consumed orange juice, one smoothie, bagel w/ cream cheese, english muffin with egg and slice of ham and 2 potato latkes. Trust me, this is progress. I'm feeling much better than before.

Send me healing thoughts!

london vs. vancouver

(last snapshots of London - Natural History Museum - not a huge fan of taxidermy, but one of the most gorgeous buildings)

As some of you may know, there were 3 reasons why we came to London.

1) my birthday
2) we haven't been here in 5 years
3) we are playing around with the idea of moving here


(natural history museum inside)

Yup. My mom doesn't even know this (hi mom!). We are booked to work the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and are thinking of moving to London for the 2012 Olympics. Do we have jobs here? No, but we do have access to an unrestricted Visa which would allow us to work whereever we wished in the United Kingdom as well as own our own business if we choose to. So here we are, trying to decide if we can see ourselves living here.


(natural history museum inside)

I have been through a range of emotions with this City. When I got off the plane, it felt so good. I really felt like this could be home. As we got into the second week, the amount of people started getting to me. Holy! People everywhere! It got to be a little too much. Then when I got sick, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed with my cat and go home. I really contemplated about moving my flight up and just flying home, but then, who wants to fly when you are that sick. Of course, to make it even more confusing, when we returned to London for our last week, it felt so good to be back again. The shower was just right... the bed was perfect ... not the same as home, but it was so nice.


(Mimi - E&M's cat from Cambridge enjoying a snack)

So, what to do? What to do?

My biggest concern is what would I do here? Call me crazy, but half of me wants to work at a hotel. As a coordinator in the events industry, I have always worked closely with venues and hotels, but never seen it operate from the other side. That would be fun and interesting right? Plus, you get 3 weeks holiday to start off and if I work at a hotel, that means discounts on holiday! I have heard of some not so nice things from hotels i.e. long hours, chefs yelling(?) and I have noticed an odd working tier system where everybody seems quite departmentalized. It would be so different to go to work, do your stuff, go home and that's it. Oh, and if you are wondering, I would be looking into a Catering / Banquets position where I would assist people with their weddings and events - i.e. booking venue / planning their event. More or less what I do now, except in one venue.


(Christmas display on Regent Street and Oxford Circus - watch this video to see the event behind the lights)

Downside to this, is that I have not worked in an office or specific hours in over 5 years. Being tied to a desk and having to have permission to go on holiday does not appeal to me. I would probably also have to wear a suit and gah, heels? Ew.

Here's the other plan ....

Craft my little heart out. Take my crafting seriously and do more shows, contact stores, set up the Etsy store, etc. On the side, I would do DMC (Destination Management Company) work on a part time basis leading up to the Olympics. DMC work would familiarize me with the City, provide me with experience on new venues and set up, good pay, flexible hours.. it could be a good thing. Not to keen on the whole uniform thing though. Maybe hold Got Craft in another country?


(Display at Hamleys)

In Rob's words, what we have learned in 5 years can be done over there in a shorter time as we are now more experienced. Everything that we have always done, has been us jumping into it with both feet and sometimes, jumping a bit naively. No regrets. Learned / learning so much... met so many wonderful people ...


(Harrod's Christmas lights. 11,500 white bulbs changed into green ones for the Wizard of Oz anniversary)

This trip hasn't pushed me one or the other, but to be honest, I am leaning towards Vancouver right now. This may be partly due to the fact that I have not 100% recovered. I love what I do here, but I have to make sure that it's not fear / idea of not knowing that is holding me back. We have no family and only an acquaintance or two in London. Change is scary... but.. ohhh, exciting too!


(not sure what this is called.. a little bakery in a shopping arcade across from Fortnum and Mason... tiny little place, but the whole thing looks like a gold cave a la Snow White and the 7 dwarves... filled with macarones of all flavours)

Looking at the pictures, this is what I miss / love about London most. Museums... markets... exploring... M&S... cheap trips all over Europe...

I'll even take the fact that sometimes people don't understand my Canadian accent and I don't understand their British accent or when they advertise "insert TV show here" back to back episodes that they play the same episode.. the fact that corn and shrimp is an acceptable topping for a jacket potato, but not sour cream ... decisions, decisions ...

PS. Excuse the babbling... this post was started shortly before 4:00am! Jet-lagged plus sick in bed = crazy sleep schedule!
PPS. Don't worry. lotus events will still continue in Vancouver! :D

more Barb and Paul

Just popping in to show you some more pictures from Barb and Paul's wedding from last August. Everything about this day was absolutely perfect! You couldn't have asked for a better setting!







photo credit: Kim Christie Photography

London - Day 21

We are homeward bound this afternoon. Leaving London around 2pm Wednesday and arriving in Seattle around 4pm Wednesday. Wierd huh? Jet lag is usually easier going home, so fingers crossed.



There hasn't been much blogging since we returned from Belgium. Mostly due to us still recovering, but mainly due to us just taking it easy the last few days.



If you are wondering what these pictures are, they are upholstery shots from the tube.