christmas

(Super easy using the Pate Brisee recipe from Martha Stewart)

This Christmas was one of the best ever! We made shortbread and nanaimo bars and I even (finally) attempted apple hand pies to great success! Rob and I brought home a tree for the first time and made a display for our Christmas cards. Plus, we actually put in some thought to our presents ... Rob received a belt buckle made from broken skateboards by Billy Would Designs. Do you know how hard it is to get a belt that takes buckles?! I looked everywhere in Vancouver and San Francisco. The only place that I could find it was at the Levi's Outlet in the US and through Naomi at Flight Path Designs... and I received a WII! Yes, it has been out for two years. So what? We are late adopters! This thing is dangerous I tell you! A huge time suck, but oh, so fun! Virtual hula hooping? Yes, please! The only sticking point is that we don't own a TV. So on Boxing Day, we went out and found ourselves a 22" flat screen for a good price especially when we still had our gift card from the previous Christmas.

Rob figures that this holiday was extra special due to us doing some planning instead of relying on others. You see, when it comes to Christmas, my family gets a C+. We have Christmas lunch where we show up at Noon, eat, open presents and leave. This year, it lasted for a total of 1.5 hours. Which, surprisingly, seemed longer than the previous year. It wasn't always like this. Growing up as the only child in the family for the first 11 years, it was pure bliss. We brought out the tree, made decorations, went to see the lights, made lists for Santa and so on and so on. Now, we eat off of paper plates and drink out of plastic cups which look like they are from the hospital that my Aunt works at. Of course, each holiday lunch is not complete until my Aunt tells us how much she wished that she could be called into work on Christmas Day so that she could make double time and a half and the rest of the family ooooo's and ahhhh's.

Don't even get me started on the presents which have included ... used hair gel (bottle opened), medical masks (since we travel so much), random sheets of cut scrapbook paper (I have never scrapbooked), used gift cards (with odd amounts such as $7.23 left), thrift store clothes covered in sequins or lace (both that I would never wear) and I'm pretty sure I received a hair crimper once from the 80's which was passed down to me when I was in high school and left downstairs when I lived with my family. It's the thought that counts right?

more San Francisco

Ok, here are the last pictures from San Francisco...

SF, I love you!

(this is * serious* good stuff!)

tis the season for giving

(photo credit: Angela Hubbard Photography / floral credit: Flower Factory)

Are you or somene you know engaged and are looking for a wedding photographer?
Do you have an inspiring story or have overcome great odds and hurdles?

The lovely Angela Hubbard is holding a free wedding photography give away. Tell her why you or a special couple you know should win. For full details, visit her blog.

The top three couples will be chosen on December 29th, so get your entries in! The official winner will be announced on New Years Eve.

Check out our past weddings with Angela including Melissa and Chris and Nicole and Jason.

San francisco polarized continued

san francisco polarized

Thanks to twitter, Jeanie and Tracey for showing me the Polarize application on the iphone!

One True Wedding Wish

Our friends, Studio Jeanie and Tracey L. Heppner, are looking for one couple getting married in 2010 and granting them one true wedding wish!

Here are the details (taken from Studio Jeanie) ... Good luck!

{this is what we are looking for}

…your wedding must be in 2010.
…one of you must be working for a charitable non-profit organization
…your story as to why we should consider you for complimentary photographic services on your wedding day
…you are willing to be featured on our blogs, website and magazines.

{this is what the chosen couple will receive}

…up to 10 hours of coverage on your wedding day
…2 photographers to ensure maximum coverage
…a DVD of all the images taken on your wedding day
…an online slideshow to see the highlights of your wedding day
…a fun two-hour lifestyle (engagement) session prior to the wedding day

selection made will be based on your story as well as our availability in 2010.

email us that story as well as a 450px by 600px JPEG of the couple to ourtrueweddingwish{at}gmail{dot}com.
all submissions must be received by christmas eve, december 24th at 5pm pacific standard time {no exceptions}

Update... due to the overwhelming response, the deadline has been extended to February 14, 2010. A few other changes have also been made to expand who qualifies to enter. You can check out the full details on Studio Jeanie's blog.

so email this link out, nominate a deserving couple, and spread the word (and cheer!)

san francisco

So Got Craft was super fab and I will load up my crazy photos soon. When I mean crazy, I mean me at 4:00pm (one hour before closing) going "hey, I should take some pictures for the blog!". Yup, it was crazy. I sold out of almost everything and was pretty much in a daze by the end of the day. If you are interested in picking up some items before the holidays, you can find me a listing here or drop me an email / comment.



Once we wrapped that all up, we headed to Portland for a few days of relaxation which felt more like a whirlwind of thrifting, meeting new friends and Crafty Wonderland. It was so much fun and I really didn't want to come home.


Of course, our travels didn't end there. Two days at home was long enough and we spent the last 5 days in San Francisco, one of my favourite cities! I love this place. I have been here enough times and blogged about it before, so I'm just going to let the pictures tell the story.... enjoy!




more to come ...

VanDusen Gardens

Growing up as an only child means that everybody wants to take you for the Christmas light tour each year! We used to load into the car and do the usual drive to VanDusen, Stanley Park, through the Crescent and then a general jaunt around the neighbourhood.


In the past few years, the full size gingerbread house (somebody decorated their entire house) on West 4th disappeared as well as most of the holiday scenes on the Crescent. Nevertheless, VanDusen is still a must stop. Vancouver had its first snowfall last week and we thought it would be the perfect time to take a stroll through the park. Of course, by the time we got there, the snow had turned into a wet rain / snow mix.


I love roasted chestnuts and often make them at home myself. I was excited to head out to the park and pick up a bag, but they were nowhere to be seen! Is this a thing of the past? Roasting chestnuts over an open fire? They were selling baked potatoes and wiener waffles, because that is what I always think about during the holidays * note sarcasm *.


VanDusen was also always a must stop as I grew up right behind it. When I say right behind, I mean we lived in the townhouses that shared a fence with the gardens (red dot). When I went to bed at night, I could sometimes hear coyotes from the park or teenagers that trespassed into the park. No, we never jumped over the fence and explored the gardens free of charge. As close as it looks on the image above, the gardens are huge and there is a lot of empty space between the houses and the gardens where VanDusen kept their supplies and garden machinery.

The Festival of Lights is on until January 3, 2010 except for Christmas Day from 4:30pm to 9:00pm. For more information and a listing of highlights, please visit their website and remember to bundle up! (I seriously wore 3 shirts, heavy winter jacket, gloves, scarf, knee socks, boots and two pairs of pants.)

doodles

I was cleaning out our files the other day and I came across this doodle. Albertine and Brina had given to us when they put together our website a few years ago.


Look familiar?

Brina now has her own company called Two Owls Collect that she operates out of Fernie, BC. To see more of her work, check out her blog here.

Aislewalk 2010

2010 issues of Aislewalk are now available at most venues in Vancouver and Whistler! This is a fantastic (and free!) wedding magazine that includes some of the top vendors in Vancouver as well as plenty of ideas for your big day. The best part is the size! The magazine is about 5 inches x 5 inches which makes it perfect for slipping into a bag or your wedding binder.


lotus events has been lucky enough to be a part of Aiselewalk for the past three years.


(lotus team hamming it up in the Pixstar Photobooth)

Congratulations to all of you 2010 brides and grooms! Now, let's get started planning!

Christmas

It took us five married years to finally get a Christmas tree. Remember the story? Well Rob's mom came over the other day with a tub of Christmas decorations for us to pick through. Rob chose the ones he made when he was little and those that had special childhood memories and I picked out all of the vintage glass ornaments. The ones below are my favourite.


For garland, we went to Daiso and bought four packs of pom poms that we strung together. Our tree was a bit sparse even with the two strings of lights we picked up, but it looked good!


We have our snowman from when I was a kid and the Christmas decorations (set of five plastic figurines that screws over the lights, but we just made hooks for them) that we bought from Green Hearts at October's Blim market.


However, a thrifting trip to Seattle and Portland and we are back with so much treasure! Wow. I had to start restraining myself.


Vintage bottle brush trees from Magpie Ethel. I only had a limited supply of cash at Crafty Wonderland, but I should have bought the big tree she had and more little trees. I can't find these anywhere in Vancouver and I love them!


Wooden ornaments for 19 cents plus 25% off. Dude! How could I resist?


My stocking. My aunt had a co-worker make this for me when I was little. Isn't it beautiful? Look at the detail. All of it is hand beaded. Amazing!


More vintage glass ornaments. I think I have a problem .... :)