lotus events inc.

our new home

2011-04-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

Some of you keeners have already guessed what is going on, but I figured I should at least post a little something about our news. As you can tell, we haven't been writing here much. This is partly due to the fact that the past two months have flown by and that since Rob and I decided to move the blog, there hasn't been much motivation to keep this alive. Yes, that's right. The blog is moving to a new home!

With the Got Craft blog, the one here and my occasional posts over on Granville Online, I just couldn't keep up anymore. So, instead of having one place sit dormant for long periods of time then me feeling mucho guilty and then blogging a few posts, we have decided to meld everything into one. A one stop shop for all things crafty, events and weddings, our work, our inspirations, our travels, random snapshots of life in Vancouver and London and really, anything that interests us. Although we will no longer be posting here and eventually, I will be deleting this blog; I will be reposting from the archives, so please do join us here! See you there!

Andrea + Robert

details coming soon...

2011-04-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

photo credit: Melinda Hawkins

Hello! As we mentioned at the beginning of the year, we have some big blog changes in store which is why it has been pretty quiet over here. Until we are ready to announce our plans, please join us over on the Got Craft blog. See you there!

march 20 to march 27

2011-03-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Figured out how to take the bus to Ikea... (bus = no extra charge for crossing zones)

Local parakeets outside our street...

V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green

Did you have a pound puppy? I loved mine! Check my personal flickr for more toys from the 80's including He-Man, Jem, Game Boy...

the Food Glorious Food exhibit... see the box of Allsorts in the middle?

The Vintage Furniture Flea has been one of the best vintage markets I have been to. Check out their website for dates and locations. Some things were a bit on the pricier side considering everything has been hand picked and brought to the City of London. I did pick up some goodies such as a vintage kitten drawing, a library catalogue drawer (single), a Kit Kat pencil case (probably not vintage, but still love it) and Robert picked up a cool keychain (with key!) from a Travelodge motel in San Diego (which apparently still exists). Will take pics soon! If you are looking for furniture, I would recommend paying the extra £1 for early admission. It was packed!

nom nom nom

2011-03-23T02:04:00.000-07:00

Lunch. March 22nd, 2011.

Homemade caesar dressing and veggie patties. Recipe courtesy of everybodylikessandwiches.com found on Poppytalk.

Verdict = yum.

brick lane to columbia flower market

2011-03-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

Journey from Bethnal Green Station to Brick Lane to Columbia Flower Market to Geffrye Museum to home. A day of wandering... checking out antiques...

buying bagels (love this place and for 25p a bagel you can't get better than this!)...

kitten watching...

maneuvering through crowds (typical Sunday at the market)...

checking out new shops...

melting over miniature food! ...

and discovering a row of 8 to 10 Vietnamese restaurants (not pictured)! Definitely headed back with empty stomachs.

Found out last night that a friend from high school is in London visiting her brother. Hopefully, we can meet up!

march 14 to march 19

2011-03-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

Today was filled with meeting new friends, coffee and croissants, picking up fabric remnants from Sew Fantastic and exploring Essex Road and Camden Passage Islington and a quick pop into the Make Lounge. Some images below from the past week...

(lunch at Hungs)

(Cleo enjoying the sun and the great outdoors aka roof terrace)

(hair clip order off to Bird on a Wire Creations)

(homemade yorkshire pudding)

(terrace looking down to the back yard <- belongs to downstairs neighbour)

london :: bus route 88

2011-03-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

Bus route 88 from Oxford Circus to Clapham Common. Instagram tilt shift feature. The amount of people in picture #1? Just a regular Sunday.

house tour :: bathroom + 2nd bed

2011-03-12T02:39:00.000-08:00

After receiving a gentle push from a friend * smile * on facebook to speed up the house tour, I figured I better finish up my picture taking.

I love my showers hot and for some reason, we can't get it hot enough to my liking. The boiler is on full and the water from the taps can get to a 'burn yourself' temperature, but the shower is kind of meh. That being said, it seems to be a warm and then fluctuate to the point where the flow dies down and then when it comes back, it's hot! hot! hot! for less than a minute. Chalk it up to it being an old house? Ideally, they should have placed the boiler closer to the bathroom and the kitchen and not at the top of the house next to the bedroom.

My plans is to make a curtain with the circle fabric pictured above to cover the shelf.

I can't believe I am even posting this picture, but here is the disaster area known as the second bedroom. We've been piling all the furniture that the landlord needs to pick up in here and then closing our eyes. Oy!

Well, that's our new place. So who wants to come visit?!

house tour :: reception room

2011-03-10T02:14:00.000-08:00

The first three pictures are the 'before' and the remaining pictures are the 'after'. The coffee table is going back to the landlord as well as the pictures on the wall. I am still waiting for the 'official ok', so that we can start hanging our pictures on the wall. We signed an agreement to stay here for one to three years, so I can't understand why somebody would say no to putting up additional shelving in the kitchen and pictures on the wall? There are hooks all over the place already (not the most ideal places though) and it looks like past renters had filled up previous holes in a few places.

Not to sound whiny, but we have been here exactly one month. The stove seems to be working fine again (apparently, water had got into the gas stove and we had to ignite it from the bottom which meant removing a drawer and reaching in each time), but it took 28 days for him to finally come over and look at it. We still haven't received our inventory list (when you move in, they charge you £100 or so for a person to come in and inventory the goods that are currently in the house - it's mandatory). As I mentioned, we are still waiting to hear about hanging things and removing the old furniture. * sigh *

We have unpacked all of our goods. The craft room and the bedroom still needs a bit more organizing, but the reception is looking good. I must have been tired at this point, because I forgot to take before pictures of the back corner.

I'm looking for something like this desk to fit in the back corner. In the meantime, that chair signifies where my workspace will be. I'm also hoping to do this to the sofa and grab some pillows from the pauhaus in May. Yes, Cleo loves warming herself by the radiator. They have these cat beds that hook over the radiator, may need to get one for her upcoming birthday in May!

The stand for the catalogue is temporary. Hopefully, we can raise it higher and find some cool armchairs to go on either side. The coffee table is being returned to the landlord, so thinking of something a bit less chunky and maybe replacing the mirror with a starburst one?

We found the tv in the attic. It picks up 5 channels, so it will do for now, but we found a new 32" one for a good price. Unfortunately, they are currently out of stock. Shelves are looking a bit empty as well, but I'm sure we'll find lots as soon as we start hitting the car boot sales. I also have a series of thrifted books I found for my Indie I Do display that would look great up there.

If we had extra money and think that we are staying for awhile, I would like to replace the curtains. Curtains don't come cheap though, so we will see. I will redo the bench seat. My plans are to pick up some foam and sew up a cover using this fabric.

Ok! Downstairs bathroom next!

move in

2011-03-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

Well, it wasn't exactly move in day, but our boxes from Vancouver arrived yesterday. I have been wearing the same 3 pairs of shoes since the first week of January and I can not explain to you how fantastic it feels to now have a choice!

We lost one mason jar (it was a good one too - huge with a glass lid) and the top piece of a library catalogue drawer snapped, but that should be fixable with some wood glue. Rob was carrying the catalogue from the kitchen into the reception room and one of the drawers shot out. Of course, the cat was hanging out on the stairs, so imagine the drawer sliding down while the cat is busy running up and trying to dodge it. It looked like one of those Japanese game shows! Other than that, it looks like everything made it. We still have things in Vancouver that we would like to eventually bring over, but we will figure that out in May.

We are still waiting for the management company to contact the landlord and get the official 'ok' that we are able to paint and put up some shelving. I can live with the colour, but I really want to put up some shelving to display my pyrex, etc. We are also waiting to hear back regarding when the landlord will be removing her furniture from the flat. It will be pretty empty for awhile, but hoping to make friends with a big vehicle soon. Boot sale road trip!

portobello road

2011-03-08T02:46:00.000-08:00

May need to head back there for a vintage cookbook that caught my eye, but not sure if I can stomach those crowds again. Better set the alarm and go early! MmMMMM... paella!

victoria and albert museum

2011-03-07T01:33:00.000-08:00

Was bored one afternoon, so we hopped on a bus and explored the ground floor of the Victoria and Albert Museum. That is what makes this city amazing. See that last image? That is a part of the V&A's original refreshment rooms, forming the first museum restaurant in the world.

brick lane

2011-03-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

Brief glimpses on a quiet afternoon in brick lane... Thanks to Shelf for the lovely German weather house! The lady "comes out" when it is dry and the other way around when it is raining.

house tour :: kitchen

2011-02-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

Ta-da! Here's our kitchen. I told you, this place is huge! Yet, from the 22 or so places we saw that day, this was within our budget and more affordable than the other properties. The places that we viewed were pretty interesting, one was a carriage house turned two floor flat and the other was a renovated flat in an old police station.

The walls are red / pink. Unlike Canada, the landlord does not need to paint the rental when new tenants move in and if you want to hang shelves / pictures, then you must get permission first.

The landlord will hopefully remove the kitchen table, chairs, bar stools and hutch. It's going to be empty for a bit while we settle in and find something that better represents us. I'm thinking our bench seat with a wood kitchen table and some retro wood chairs against one side and a teak buffet (my great grandma had this exact one!) on the other for some extra storage?? Perhaps some floating shelves to display our retro kitchenware and pyrex collection? Endless possibilities! Oh, and maybe a fresh coat of off white paint to neutralize it.

Gas stove, microwave / convection oven, a full oven and a dishwasher. Oh, and they love hiding their fridges here...

Surprise! Fridge on the left, freezer on the right. Due to the size, we are getting used to shopping more often!

weekend :: here and there

2011-02-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

Fruit and veg market by the Wimbledon stadium. Above is a meat truck where they auction off their meat.

Bus to waterloo station...

loving the old building in the background with the modern art installations...

stop in chinatown for noodles!!

mini-break :: birmingham

2011-02-25T01:53:00.000-08:00

We met up with E + M last weekend and took the train to Birmingham for the Designer Vintage Bridal Show which was amazing! Not only did I meet Rock 'n' Roll Bride and Love My Dress, but I discovered some amazing wedding suppliers such as Vintage Glamour Days specializing in afternoon tea and vintage china hire and Debbie Carlisle Bouquets that makes bespoke vintage wedding bouquets and accessories - beautiful! It was an amazing show, so if you are in the area, keep an eye on their website for the next event.

Check out the post by Rock 'n' Roll Bride here for more pictures (<- much more amazing than mine!).

This church was across from the Bullring (one of the largest shopping malls in the UK). Love the teeny balcony on the bottom right hand corner. You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

Across the street is the Bullring Open Market which pretty much has everything - food, curtains, fabric, haberdashery, electronics, underwear, clothing, shoes... you name it! All for pretty reasonable prices too. That entire bowl of lemons, tomatoes or oranges for £1 or approx. $1.58 CDN. I could never find that in Vancouver!

london :: randoms wk 2

2011-02-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

(ASDA - aka Walmart)

(Antiques at Spitalfields)

(crazy how skinny some of the buildings are)

Since we didn't have a reliable internet connection last week, here are some random snapshots from around London. Here are some things that we have learned recently (check out week one here!):

We live near East Putney station which is at the end of zone 2. If we want to head to Wimbledon, we need to upgrade to zone 3 (just like in Vancouver). However, if you travel by bus, there are no zones. Saves money and you see more!
Eggs are located in the middle of the grocery store and are not refridgerated. This through me for a loop a few visits ago. I just kept circling the shop.
Car insurance is ridiculously cheap here. Think £200 for the year. Cars are more affordable here as well.
If the shop states that they are open 24 hours, they do not mean on Sunday's. Sunday hours are generally 11-4pm or 11-5pm.
The largest tub of catnip I can find is 2oz. For all those wanting catnip toys, I will be busy stuffing when I get to Vancouver for the Spring Got Craft event.
Cornish pasties have been given a protective status. To call the pasty Cornish, they have a long list of rules they must meet which include:

must be prepared in Cornwall, but can be cooked elsewhere
must only be made with beef (at least 12.5% beef)
must have the distinctive 'D' shape
must have a robust crust that survives baking and cooling

van city kitty :: meet cleo

2011-02-24T01:45:00.000-08:00

In case you missed me showing off Cleo like a proud cat momma, I thought I would send her some extra love on the blog. Cleo is this week's Van City Kitty over at Vancouver is Awesome. Think she's a cutie? Leave a heart for her at the bottom of the post!

... and we are back

2011-02-23T14:34:00.000-08:00

(walk from Aldgate East to Spitalfields Market)

Our internet was installed this afternoon which means that we now have a reliable connection! Regular posts to commence shortly!

happy valentine's day

2011-02-14T01:59:00.000-08:00

image from a life through the lens

Happy Valentine's Day! It's beautiful out today, crisp and sunny. Planning on a field trip to Clapham Junction for a few more house items (seems like it never ends!), lunch and then we will head home to finish up some work.

Do you have special plans? Would love to hear about them!

xo andrea + robert

house tour :: top floor

2011-02-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

Down the hall from the craft studio and up a small flight of stairs (below) is the main bedroom. Please excuse the mess. I was too lazy to tidy up before snapping the pics! I am happy to announce that I found a nice, metal bed frame from gumtree (UK version of craigslist) this afternoon which will be delivered to us next Sunday. Originally a £500 or so frame for £120 from Habitat. Score!

Don't get me started with UK mattress sizes. Omg. Apparently, our double (north american) is classified as a king size here, but it also depends on the retailer as they all have their different sizing charts. To top it off, Ikea makes one size of mattress for North America and then another size for EU which are both different from the UK sizes, so if you want an Ikea bed frame then you have to purchase a mattress from them too.

Why yes, that is my bowl of cereal on the stairs! hehe

Between the craft studio and the bedroom, there is a small bathroom with a toilet, sink and washer / dryer (it's a combination, but the dryer part never works).

Here is a picture of me lying in the bed looking up. We have 3 skylights in the bedroom and one additional skylight in the hallway. Fantastic cross breezes! After sweating up a storm each summer at our old place, I can't wait for the summer here. There are also two speakers to the right of the room where the little window is. You can see one of them in the top picture. Have no idea what these are connected to. Seems so random.

This is the other half of the room. It's awkwardly shaped, but after looking at 22 different flats, this isn't uncommon. First floor pictures coming soon... may need a few days to take some proper pictures. Internet is finicky too. Our internet won't be properly installed until February 22nd or 23rd, so we purchased a temporary BT Openzone account for Rob's work.

Overall, things are coming along slowly. Missing Vancouver on and off... lots to learn.. sometimes feel like I'm living in a country of opposites... adjusting... can't wait for our boxes to clear customs... excited to visit Birmingham with e + m this Saturday!

PS. For those that are interested, I started a separate flickr account to post random London pictures. It's only visible to friends and family, but you can search for andreatongtucker.

house tour :: craft room and terrace

2011-02-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

Here's the cole's notes version of us finding our flat...

Feb 1: leave vancouver

Feb 2: arrive in london

Feb 3: viewed 22 different flats, found "the one" - signed papers, offer accepted, listing removed

Feb 4: deposit paid, waiting for references, move in date finalized

Feb 7: reference approved, landlord is coming to the city to sign the papers on Wednesday

Feb 8: received call to say that since we don't have an UK income (eventhough they knew we didn't have this at the beginning), they need 6 months rent plus 6 weeks deposit. On a side note, it doesn't matter how much money you have elsewhere, they only care about what you have in the UK. Lots of back and forth. We negotiated 3 months, 3 months and then a monthly contract.

Feb 10: 30 minutes to us leaving to meet the agent for the keys, we receive a call to say that the boiler is broken and we are banned from the premises until who knows when.
(5 hours later): Finally moved in! Apparently partially furnished can be deteremined differently depending on the person. Let's just say, I started the next morning eating cereal with a plastic fork that I stole from the Waitrose deli.

(keys onto the terrace - love the skeleton keys here!)

We spent the last few days settling in and shopping for all the necessary staples. I know that a few of you have been asking for photos, so here is the first set. Our new place is technically called a maisonette (little house) that is split over three levels and built around the 1930's. We have a private entry with our own mail slot, two bedrooms, one full bath, one half bath, a craft room / den and the best part, a private rooftop terrace (see above)!

We had a few peaks of sunshine this afternoon, so here are some quick snapshots!

To get onto the terrace, you have to walk through the third bedroom which I have turned into my craft room (it's way too small for a bedroom!). In the UK, you can rent flats fully furnished (very popular!), unfurnished or partially furnished. We chose partially furnished, so that we could add our personal touches which is why it's looking pretty empty right now. We are still figuring out the furniture bit, so I will post "after" pictures when we are ready. Anybody know of any car boot or thift stores I should check out here?

Photo taken with the terrace behind me looking in. Not sure what they intended to do with the two display areas they made in the wall (picture above). Thought I would make some cute roxypop displays. ha! Suggestions?

Main bedroom pictures coming soon!

week one

2011-02-08T12:04:00.001-08:00

via shelf

We left Vancouver one week ago and arrived Wednesday afternoon UK time. We've been busy adjusting, but here are some things that we have noticed during our week one...

When crossing the street, lights do not matter. Just start walking / running whenever you see a free moment.
When searching for flats, they still use carpet in the bathroom and separate cold / hot water taps (as much as we wanted to avoid this one, we have one in our bathroom)
Party walls = a wall that separates two buildings belonging to different owners.
If you purchase property in a certain distance of a church of England, you may be responsible for maintanence fees.
Everyone in customer service (e.g. banks, transport) works behind glass and speaks through a microphone.
They sure like sandwiches here!
Television shows start at awkward times - e.g. 18:05 to 18:58
The UK first floor is what we (Canada) call the second floor
Animated, talking animals (think bumble bees for vodafone, meerkats for insurance, etc.) are very popular in Commercials.

#10 is the biggest hurdle that we are overcoming. It seems that everything here is a catch 22 and if you speak to anybody that has relocated here, they completely understand, because they went through the same thing you did.

Cell phone: We have the phone, but need a new SIM card. We can't get one unless we have bank statement with our UK address listed which means that a) you need to have a UK address b) you need to wait a month or so to receive one in the mail. We ended up getting a cheap (£7 pay as you go phone) as a temporary number.

Banking: We signed up for offshore accounts prior to landing and are hoping to move them to a local branch this week. If you arrive here without a bank account, you can't open one until you have a job no matter how much money you are trying to give them.

Coming up... I will tell you how everything went from "the flat is yours" to "the flat is only yours if you do X and X" to "the flat is yours again" in 24 hours. And yes, I will post pictures as soon as I can!

real weddings :: jeanette and cassian

2011-02-07T04:44:00.000-08:00

Came across this the other day and realized that I had never posted it. Better late than never! Here is a same day edit of Jeanette and Cassian's wedding by Cloud Nine Creative. Thanks to Nicole from Down the Aisle for helping out with this one!

one (small) bathroom

2011-02-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

We are currently staying in a studio apartment rental in Wimbledon while we finalize the plans for a more permanent home. Pretty decent space that is super close to the high street for a low price. However, I do want to show you the bathroom. I think it's the smallest one that I have ever experienced! The picture pretty much sums it up. Shower on the right... toilet on the left... It's also kind of drafty in there, so the key is not to touch anything with your bare skin. Brr.

events :: bridal swap

2011-02-04T02:09:00.000-08:00

After many trips to the floral wholesaler looking at vases and visits to Ikea, I am so happy to tell you about Vancouver's first Bridal Swap! Connecting past brides and brides to be, Bridal Swap is the place to buy and sell gently used wedding items. Perfect opportunity to clean out your closets, re-live some of the wedding excitement, make some money and give your treasured items a new home!

Here are the event details:

Where: Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street Vancouver

Date: Sunday, February 20th, 2011

Time: 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Cost: $10 in advance, $12 at the door

Interested in selling your goods? Tables are $75 to $125. Early bird rates available. Contact Dreamgroup for details.

Cleaned out your place already? Only have your wedding dress left? No problem! Click here for more information about consigning your dress.

found :: one flat

2011-02-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

Just over 24 hours after we landed, we were picked up by our relocation agent and taken on a tour of 22 properties. They guarantee finding a flat for us by the end of the day, and sometime around 3:30pm (UK time), we found 'the one'. Two bedrooms, separate craft room, own mail slot at our door, two bath, cat friendly and private roof top terrace. All in our budget. Isn't that crazy!? It's a freaking house! The listing has been taken off the market and the owner has accepted our offer (prices can be negotiated here). We placed a deposit and are now waiting for a reference check. If it comes back positive, we move in February 10th where we will meet our landlord and go through the house to let them know which pieces of furniture we want and what needs to be removed (most flats come furnished, but you can request for it be unfurnished or partially furnished).

Fingers crossed...

If there isn't much happening over here, then check out the Got Craft blog.

this time next week

2011-01-30T17:38:00.000-08:00

(images from the past week)

This time next week we will be busy getting ready to start our first full week as residents in London! The past few weeks have been filled with friends, eating, packing, working, cleaning, re-packing, cat sitting, more eating - wash, rinse and repeat.

I'm looking forward to cooking meals at home and stop wearing the same two outfits, because I'm not sure where anything else is. Oh, the joy to be able to actually find something!

We fly out on the evening of February 1st, land February 2nd and will be picked up by our relocation agent (he just happens to be Canadian!) on February 3rd. Our agent will show us 15 to 20 properties in one day depending on what is available and the goal is to have us find a new home in one day. Keep in mind that it is a competitive market. This is how it's done over there. Plus, we have Cleo (cat) and they don't usually advertise if pets are allowed even if they are and if you really like a flat, you are able to offer the owner more than the asking price to guarantee getting it. It's pricey (one month's rent), but for us, the agent is the way to go. We want to settle in as quickly as possible and want somebody on our side to negotiate all the details on our behalf.

The plan is to tweet and blog as much as I can, but it may get a little quiet while we transition into our new surroundings and get the internet and phone set up. Some days will just be pictures of everyday life... some days will include more. We'll be staying in Wimbledon the first week we arrive. Any tips on where to eat, drink, shop or see? What would you do if you were visiting London? You can find posts from our last visit in Oct 2009 here. Bon voyage!

indie i do :: lotus events

2011-01-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

Indie I Do took place last Saturday and, as always, it was a complete blast! Not only did our Principle Day-of Coordinator, Witty, come hang out with us all day, but we bumped into so many familiar faces and met so many new ones! Sometimes you spend so much time going back and forth over email, that it's good to put a face behind that address.

Here's some sneak peeks of the lotus events booth display which I am completely in love with. I have to admit that I do struggle with booth displays. Usually, we are so busy coordinating vendors and making sure that everything is being crossed off of our to do list for the show, that our display often gets pushed to the bottom of the list.

(our mini notebook giveaways for writing all of your wedding planning notes!)

Thanks to Studio Jeanie, Mélanie and Kevin, Flower Factory and Delovely Creative for letting me borrow all of your goodies!

Yes, those are screen printed place settings. Thanks Blue Olive!

Sorry librarians and book lovers, but you have to admit, this is a super cute way to mark your guest tables.

Bride and groom pennants made of felt and strung together with bakers twine. Oh, and my favourite piece, check out the lotus events sign above (first image). We borrowed a chalkboard frame from Studio Jeanie, but 'my handwriting + chalk + being 1:00 a.m. before the show = not happening', so on to plan B - logo + blender pen = genius!

rockin' the props

2011-01-19T09:54:00.001-08:00

Renting a photobooth? Props are a fun way to make sure you end up with some really memorable photos. Stumbled across these little goodies from the Little Retreats shop on Etsy that will be sure to spark your guests' creativity!

wedding feature :: poppytalk

2011-01-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

images by Ophelia Photography

The new Poppytalk market launched their Wedding and Valentine's event "Love Transforms" yesterday. To kick off their featured wedding series during this month, they posted Aaron and Jay's wedding from last July. Hooray!

Check out the full details and more images here or see our past blog post here.

a prepping we will go

2011-01-17T08:23:00.001-08:00

We have been busy prepping our booth space at Indie I Do this year. Want a little something of your own? Come visit us and pick up your own mini notebook. Perfect for jotting down those wedding plans and as an added bonus, there's a little coupon code for those looking for some extra hands to bring together their special day!

Whew. Booth designing is exhausting. Especially when you realize that half the items you could be using is traveling across the world right now to our new home. So, a thrifting we will go! Hoping to find some hidden treasures for a few final touches.

See you there I hope!

Etsy Finds Friday

2011-01-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)

Top: Vint Condition, Erica Hammer Calligraphy, kmalinka vintage

Middle: Nervous System, Joanna Rutter, Mignonne

Bottom: Magnolija Dress, No. 144, Topsy Turvy Design

vendor feature :: Lions Gate Designs

2011-01-13T06:12:00.001-08:00

For all you lovely brides looking for a way to incorporate family jewelry into your wedding or want an alternative to fresh flowers, check out these lovely vintage brooch bouquets by Lions Gate Designs. You can check out more of her work on etsy.

eat :: toad in the hole

2011-01-12T08:14:00.000-08:00

found on A Cup of Jo via Grapevine Twine via Oh Joy

Toad in the hole is the process of breaking an egg into a slice of bread with a hole in it and frying up the result. Although, it's not the traditional definition of toad in the hole (dish made with sausage and baked in Yorkshire pudding), it's often mixed by those unfamiliar with British foods.

All I can say is eggs + toast + avocado? Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my face .... YUM.

Funny thing is that when I was little, my uncle from Peru gave me my first taste of avocado and I hated it. I actually went downstairs to the basement, spat it out and hid it behind the shelf. (Sorry to the person that found it!).

style me pretty

2011-01-11T08:56:00.001-08:00

I have been a big fan of the Style Me Pretty blog. It's chock block full of wedding design, inspiration and pretty pictures! The wedding industry went into a bit of a buzz earlier last week when SMP launched the Style Me Pretty Magazine! If you already follow the blog, you may recognize some of the images as the first issue features the best of 2010.

Don't let that stop you though. Just keep turning those pages back and forth and ooh and aahh along with the rest of us.

events :: indie i do

2011-01-10T11:34:00.001-08:00

An alternative to the cookie cutter wedding ....

Where one size does not fit all ...

Encouraging you to think outside the box ...

Join us for Vancouver's third annual alternative wedding show, Indie I Do, which pairs the traditional with the non-traditional.

Here are the event details:

Date: Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location: Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street Vancouver

Tickets are $15.00 in advance which can be purchased here or $20.00 at the door. You can find more information about the show including a list of exhibitors at www.indieido.com.

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Want to attend as our guests? Email lotus events here and enter to win a pass for two! Limited free passes available. Contest ends Friday, January 14th at 5:00 p.m. (PST).

♥ cat love ♥

2011-01-06T14:04:00.001-08:00

I love my cat. Here's a few snapshots from our impromptu photo shoot a few days back when it was still sunny.

on the radar

2011-01-05T16:33:00.000-08:00

found via the other side of the shelf by Paul Octavious

My brain still wants to be on holiday mode. MmmmmMmm.. how were your holidays?

Feeling better these days. Was hit with a fever half way through Got Craft back at the beginning of December which then progressed to strep throat due to stress and a virus that turned my eyes bloodshot. My eyes cleared up in a few days, but the throat persisted through Hawaii and left me with a cough that I am still experiencing. One more trip to the clinic today confirmed that something in my throat was still partying it up, so hopefully this more powerful and $$ antibiotics will clear it once and for all. Better to nip it in the bud here then overseas.

As for our move, the apartment is emptying out and we are starting to hear echos. Apartment viewings started earlier in the week... my mom came back and rummaged through a bunch of stuff that she wanted ... international shipping company picked up our 7 boxes and 2 pieces of furniture that are being shipped. Next on the list is photographing and listing everything for sale and tying up some loose ends.

A lot of mixed emotions coming from me. I have also been tossing and turning a lot these last couple of nights. Stress? Sadness? Fear? Excitement? All of the above? Time is just w-h-i-z-z-i-n-g by!

happy holidays!

2010-12-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

photo credit: My Fine Garden by SLG Designs

As the year comes to an end, we are grateful to all of our readers, followers, friends and family. We wish all of you and your loved ones a happy holiday season and a happy new year.

We have a few new things in store for this coming year including a new blog and of course, a big adventure to the UK! Looking forward to a bigger, and even better 2011!

Andrea and Robert

aloha

2010-12-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

Guess where I am?

Back to regular programming soon... I promise.

xo

Got Craft this Sunday!

2010-11-30T11:43:00.000-08:00

It's been q-u-i-e-t on the blog as I'm busy prepping, and restocking, for the craft fair season. It's a sweat shop made of love over here. Next up, Got Craft! See you Sunday, December 5th at the Royal Canadian Legion at 2205 Commercial Drive from 10-5pm.

We've been busy bees over at the Got Craft blog, so hop on over for crafty events, handmade news and local artists.

check out :: Gentle Hands Art Auction Fundraiser

2010-11-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine is moving to the Philippines at the end of the year to continue her work with Gentle Hands. Located in Manila, Philippines, Gentle Hands is a welfare agency that help at-risk children and youth with their medical, social and educational needs. Caring for children all in various stages of rehabilitation from abuse, neglect and / or poverty, it is the only center in the Philippines that will take children with physical disabilities and the only registered facility that will take undocumented children.

Tracey is an amazing friend that always goes above and beyond. Being a photographer in the wedding industry, she was able to organize photographers and other creatives to help her raise funds to begin the building expansion project of Gentle Hands. The expansion will house many more children, have classrooms and nursery space, along with administrative rooms for the increasing size of the orphanage.

Only 5 more days to preview the fine art auction pieces, so take a look. Bid on your favourites. Support Gentle Hands and spread the word!

sugar cookies

2010-11-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

Made these for a friend's going away party on the weekend... We heart the hepp!

Etsy Finds Friday

2010-11-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: Something's Hiding in Here, Jumi Felt by JurgitaMi, LBC paper

Middle: Fink Shop, Topsy Turvy Design, Stemellina

Bottom: Tuliya, Sarah Anntiques, Swank Under Pinnings

life :: craft season

2010-11-11T15:21:00.001-08:00

For anybody thinking of visiting the apartment, just a warning... it's craft season. There is fabric, thread, tables, tags and all things craft fair related absolutely everywhere. See that tiny brown coffee table in front of the big purple one? That is where we currently eat while sitting on the floor and the ghetto part is that we lost a part of the leg, so it wobbles and we have to keep any cups that are super filled on the floor in case of spillage.

Last night, Rob and I borrowed a 6ft folding table which is now sitting in the middle of the living room. It's my "practice" display table. Yup. It's that crazy. Please feel free to visit, but don't be surprised if I tell you to start cutting something. Tea and left over halloween candy will be supplied!

Oh, and yes, see that black chair in front of the window? We placed the cat bed on top, so that Cleo could enjoy the heat. So very pampered indeed!

unicorn love

2010-11-10T09:08:00.001-08:00

There's been a lot of unicorn love circulating the internet lately, so I thought I should share this with you. Rob and I were over at a friend's place the other day and she had a huge coffee book about design and hotels around the world. Of course, with over 3000 pages, I had to flip to the one hotel that has 14 "life" sized unicorn heads mounted to the walls of the lobby.

That's right. Next time you are in Buenos Aires, Argentina, you to can stay at the Faena Hotel and Universe and enjoy some unicorn love.

london :: visa applications pt1

2010-11-09T08:38:00.000-08:00

photo credit: ellemoss

I thought that Robert had submitted our Visa applications last week, but apparently, we are waiting on one more thing before doing so. Nothing mandatory, but a nice little addition to beef up the list about how great we are. You know ...
For those interested in applying for British citizenship or one of the many Visa's that are available, here's a little breakdown:

British Citizenship: From what we understand, you must have a parent born in the UK. Unfortunately, neither one of us fell into this category, so we haven't thoroughly researched this option. Here are some links for more information - Home Office- UK Border Agency and Right of abode.

The UK immigration system is divided into two main components - 'non-points baseda and 'points based'. Some of the non-points based options include:

UK Ancestry Visa: Good for 5 years and the cost is 230GBP per person <- this is the route that we are taking. You will qualify if you can show that:

You are a Commonwealth citizen
You are aged 17 or over
You have a grandparent who was born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
You have a grandparent who was born in what is now the Republic of Ireland before 31 March 1922
You are able to work and intend to do so in the UK, and
You can support yourself and any dependants without needing any help from public funds

If you or your parent (who you are claiming ancestry through) are adopted, you can still apply for entry to the UK under this category. You must show evidence of the legal adoption with your application form.

As a spouse, I can apply for a dependant visa which allows me to live and work in the UK for five years. Robert and I can either apply for a Visa at the same time, or, since it is his Grandfather with the UK ties, he will apply first and myself second. If you apply for the dependent visa first, it will be automatically rejected with no refund. There isn't much information online regarding dependent Visa's, so if you are going this route, visit this blog for step by step instructions.

Several other non-points based Visa's are available. Some options allow you to work abroad and some don't. Each type of Visa has it's own requirements, restrictions and special circumstances, so make sure that you research everything thoroughly.

Stay tuned for part two where we'll briefly talk about point based visas!

vendor feature :: Hello! Lucky

2010-11-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

(image via Hello! Lucky)

Have you heard of Hello! Lucky Stationery? If not, you should really step out of your cave and get ready to check out some of their amazing stationery designs. Hello! Lucky is a specialty letterpress print and design studio that creates wedding invitations, greeting cards and personalized stationery.

With offices in San Francisco and in London, UK, they have an amazing client list including Anthropologie, Kate's Paperie and Liberty of London. If that wasn't enough, they are also the authors of Handmade Hellos, a card crafting book featuring fresh greeting card projects from first rate crafters and have a second book called Handmade Weddings coming out in January 2011.

You can check out Hello! Lucky's portfolio here or be inspired by their blog found here. Interested in adding a DIY touch to your special day? Check out their easy to follow guides and templates as part of Martha Stewart Weddings to make your own projects such as the crepe paper flowers pictured above, donut hole bags, glass glitter crowns to name a few. Enjoy! Happy making!

Etsy Finds Friday

2010-11-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: Timeless Vixen Vintage, The shop at no 144, MagnolijaDRESS

Middle: Bayan Hippo Handmade, Lions Gate Designs, zwzzy

Bottom: Sparky Jones, hey chica, silvia66

it's only november third

2010-11-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is already November. Time seems to be flying by. Everybody already seems to have their holiday decorations ready to go. This year, Robert and I will not be getting a Christmas tree since we will be gone to Hawaii for most of December. I'm a bit sad about that, but we'll still do everything else and hello! Hawaii!

Found this on Jenny's blog yesterday and spent mucho time decorating my gingerbread house rather than replying to emails. Whoops. If you haven't tried it yet, click here to make your own version.

london :: driving

2010-11-02T09:50:00.001-07:00

photo credit: k e n c h i e

So while I plan on getting a fantastic job in London with a driver (just kidding!), Rob is going to attempt to learn how to drive. We have no plans on purchasing a car, at least not yet, but we will be looking at rentals and possibly trying out Zipcar.

A unique element of the UK driving system is that you can either have an automatic only licence or a standard/automatic licence. The vast majority of cars in the UK are standard, even the ones from rental agencies and Zipcar. While in the UK, Canadians can drive using their current licence for a period of 12 months. After 12 months, or sooner, you can choose to do a direct exchange for a UK licence. The only restriction is that by exchanging your license, you can only operate an automatic vehicle. This is due to the fact that in Canada, we do not normally test on standard vehicles. If you are interested in starting this process, you can read more on Directgov.

To help prepare Rob with obtaining a full license, he ordered an assortment of training materials that you can find online including the official DSA complete learner pack and the official highway code. Which, by the way, took over a month to get here, so we contacted them and they resent the package to us. Of course, the day after, the original package arrives followed by the new ones a day after that which we then give to friends who are also thinking of moving abroad.

Overall, the rules of the road are pretty similar to what we have here in Canada. Some odd facts include:

No yellow centre line to divide traffic travelling in opposite directions. They just go with a white line in the UK.
Pedestrian crossings are named after the zoo: Zebra- Standard crosswalk, Pelican- These have a button at the sidewalk and a walk signal that appears on the other side of the street, Puffin- These have a button and a walk indicator at street level and Toucan- Same as a Puffin, but includes controls to allow cyclists to legally cross.
Sidewalks are called pavement.
Curbs are spelled 'kerbs' and during your road exam, you must be able to back up along the kerb and around a corner without striking the kerb.

Two driving schools that I am currently look at are the Automobile Association and the British School of Motor.

Wish us luck.

wedding :: aaron + jay

2010-11-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

(image by Ophelia Photography)

Sometimes it takes me absolutely forever and back to post about weddings that we have coordinated. Partly due to the fact that a) I always forget to bring the camera b) My pictures are not the greatest c) I'm bad at following up on wedding pictures.

So here you go, my friends .... and if you missed it, you can see more images and Aaron and Jay's feature on Rock n' Roll bride!

Believe it or not, Jay and I met a few years ago when we both worked in the parade at the PNE. That's right. 17 days straight of parade goodness times two times a day for a total of 34 parades together. Fast forward a few years and I run into him at Got Craft where he and his wife Aaron (Locomotive Clothing), would later become vendors at.

Think gingham table cloths, Petunia on stage, Pop Shoppe soda, tons of bunting, fresh flowers in mason jars and tons of handmade charm! Check out these hand written name tags to encourage guests to keep their glasses and reuse them throughout the festivities.

Aaron and Jay wanted a ' Vancouver Special' themed buffet, so food included viet subs from a local mom and pop shop that they often visited, honey doughnuts from Deep Cove, sushi from Nikkyu Sushi - the place they first met and of course 160 cupcakes by the lovely Coco Cake Cupcakes!

You can check out Lynday's pictures and post here! Happy! Happy! Congratulations!

what time is it mr. wolf?

2010-10-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

These O Clock watches remind me of candy.... Designed and made entirely in Italy. The center faces even pop out, so that you can buy different straps... and for the low price of $39.00, you should start thinking double rainbows people!

Cute packaging too! Available at Walrus on Cambie.

make :: handkerchief wedding invites

2010-10-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

Have you seen these vintage handkerchief turned DIY wedding invites from Bird And Banner? You can see the samples that Bird and Banner made for Grace Bonney of design*sponge for her wedding invitations. To make the wedding even more personalized, many male guests arrived wearing their handkerchief invites as pocket squares. Cute!

You can read more about their wedding at design*sponge and Martha Stewart.

Psstt... Etsy Finds Friday will begin again next week!

wedding ideas :: buttons

2010-10-25T22:03:00.001-07:00

photo credit: Tracey L. Heppner

Loving these button boutonnières spotted on @traceyheppner 's twitter feed a while back. Interested in finding some of your own for your upcoming wedding or just to add a little "wow" to your outfit? Check out Laurie Cinotto's website here and if you are a kitten fanatic like myself, you can also check out her kitten website here.

it's my birthday!

2010-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

photo credit: HeyZee

Well, it was my birthday, October 22nd and yes, I did go ahead and schedule to work on two event programs to boot. Money is money and I want to squirrel as much away as possible for the upcoming move. So, we are off to Seattle for the day tomorrow. I'm on a moccassin hunt. My friend purchased a lovely pair, but unfortunately the store here no longer has any and apparently, Nordstroms has some in stock. Fingers crossed.

I'm feeling heaps better. Thanks for all of the good wishes. I'm still a-ok with a meal a day, so I know that I'm not 100 yet, but getting there. Oh, and I am SO over the beef, chicken, fish entree. I don't know if it was the number of dine arounds that I went on this year or the number of weddings or my sickness last week, but I can't do it anymore. As tasty as I am sure it is, no thank you. The last two evenings I went on dine arounds to Blue Water Cafe and Goldfish Kitchen, but had to skip the meal.

Oh yes, before I forget, we bumped into R & S at Angel Cafe this afternoon. CONGRATULATIONS! Need a coordinator? hehe.

london :: mini cooper tours

2010-10-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

found via London Relocation blog

Robert just got his UK driving books in the mail earlier this week which often lead to the question of, "Am I going to drive in London?". Which is then followed by "No, way!". A) Almost everything is standard B) I'm driving on the other side of the road C) I barely drive in Vancouver and that's probably a walk in the park compared to downtown London. I know that some of you that have done it before say that it is easier to drive in London than Vancouver, because even though drivers move fast, they have a level of order. You know what my plan is? To get a REALLY good job with a driver. Yeah, wouldn't that be ideal? :) HA!

This is where smallcarBIGCITY comes in. Although, not a commuter service, they offer tours around London by chauffeurs dressed in period '60s attire, set to a '60s music and the best part, they scoot you all over town in a mini cooper! I kind of feel sorry for the two people stuck in the back seat, but we are so doing this! Cars are also available for mini hire - weddings, events, film and for private hire.

At first, I thought they had tours in London given by a group of local hipsters. Well, not quite. Upon closer inspection, I guess the guys pictured would need some skinny jeans.

sweet valentines high tea catering

2010-10-19T09:56:00.001-07:00

I came across Sweet Valentines High Tea Catering on facebook the other day. Their mission? "To serve a superb high tea while you and your guests relax and enjoy each others company". Tea with scones and devonshire cream on vintage china? Yes, please!

Sweet Valentines High Tea Catering is an old fashioned high tea experience filled with vintage china, sweet treats, pin wheel sandwiches, homemade scones and loose teas and coffee from all over the world.

Check out their website and put on your high tea fancy. Have some little girls with birthdays coming up? They also do childrens high tea birthday complete with invitations and party hats!

check it out :: day forty nine

2010-10-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

illustration and design by mélanie kimmett

I have some kind of cold bug / flu, so I'm taking it easy today. However, I did want to pop in and just mention that day forty nine of Mélanie's a poster a day project was dedicated to us. If you haven't seen her work yet, you can check out my full post over at the got craft blog here or go directly to her website here.

Thanks Mél!

london :: blogs to follow

2010-10-13T00:17:00.001-07:00

photo credit: Liamatom

I have insominia, so I figured that this would be a good time to post about London. Ha! Being 8 hours ahead of Vancouver, London is just starting their morning.

If you are thinking about moving to the UK, here are some blogs that you may want to check out.

Expat Blog: People blogging about their experience living in the UK wth a heavy London focus

Canuck Abroad: A forum travel site about Canadians living in the UK. Focuses more on Visa / passport information, getting set up in a new country, shipping belongings - logistics of moving.

Canadian Expats in the UK: Another great forum covering everything that goes into a big move such as immigration, emotions, fun things to do, pets, food, driving, etc.

Do you have a blog or forum about moving overseas that I should check out? Let me know!

pastries ... life ... things to come

2010-10-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a week since I last posted. It's been a bit crazy with contract work, weddings and the upcoming Got Craft holiday show. Not to mention that I have 12 days of craft fair shows to prepare for this year. Yeah, what was I thinking? Gah!

Yesterday was the first day off that we had for a long time. I'm proud to say that the only thing we had listed in the calendar was dinner at Vij's with friends moving to Vernon next week, but my goodness, we fail at doing nothing! With lotus events, there seems to always be something that can be worked on and I'm so used to doing multiple things at a time, that I just don't know what to do with myself when asked to relax. Well, besides napping. I'm a champion napper.

Hoping to post some past weddings, tons of wedding inspiration, our plans to move to London and life soon. There is plenty to share, but if you do encounter a long period of silence from this blog, check over at Got Craft and if you still don't see any new posts, then I'm most likely buried under a pile of fabric and paperwork.

Psst... New Town Bakery in Chinatown has the best butterfly pastries in Vancouver. I've been eating these since I was a little girl when my family would go shopping in Chinatown each Saturday. So flaky, buttery and the edges are dipped in sugar giving it an extra crisp! For 85 cents plus tax, you can't go wrong.

wedding ideas :: paint chips

2010-10-05T07:29:00.001-07:00

via Martha Stewart

We had a bride and groom use this idea for name cards for their wedding last month at the UBC Boathouse. Their weddings colours were turquoise and red, so she picked up paint chips in different shades of those two colours.

Brillant!

london :: cost of living

2010-10-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

photo credit: field_tripz (images have been polarized)

Whenever we mention that we are moving to London, usually the first response, is "wow, it's so expensive there". Yes, London isn't cheap, but neither is living in Vancouver.

We went grocery shopping the other day and after that Sainsbury has online grocery shopping, Rob decided to hold a little experiment of his own. So how much would our groceries cost us in London? Here's the results!

(this is what the grocery shelves sometimes look like if you go shopping after the lunch hour - seriously)

Below are some price differences:

Avocado- $1.89 vs £1.19 ($1.92 conversion)
Broccoli Crowns- $1.70 vs £0.61 ($0.98 conversion)
Block of Jarlsberg Cheese- $5.49 vs £1.45 ($2.35 conversion)
Organic Eggs- $5.99 vs £4.00 ($6.47 conversion)
Gala Apples - $2.86 vs £1.00 ($1.62 conversion)
Chicken Thighs- $6.67 vs £3.00 ($4.85 conversion)

At the end, our Save On Foods bill was $128.83 vs £75.00 ($121.32 conversion) from Sainsbury. Pretty interesting, eh?

Etsy Finds Friday

2010-10-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: Sweet Knitting, Art Deco Dame, Coco Rose Couture

Middle: Skippy Designs, Mrs Eliot Books, Sparky Jones

Bottom: Three Blue Bee, Timeless Vintage Vixen, Vintage 50's Eyewear

wedding ideas :: photo centerpiece

2010-09-30T08:01:00.001-07:00

found via indie fixx from Martha Stewart.com

Great idea for incorporating your family photos into your wedding decor. Black and white photos are printed onto ecru coloured vellum paper set around voltive candles to highlight the images. You can check out a full tutorial over on the Martha Stewart website found here.

inside vancouver feature

2010-09-29T07:53:00.001-07:00

photo credit: Tracey L. Heppner

Hey! We have been featured on Inside Vancouver. As part of the Tourism Vancouver website, the Inside Vancouver blog is an insider's view of Vancouver that provides information, stories and opinions from the local's perspective. You can read the full article here. Thanks to Tracey for the photo and Ehren for the great feature!

cook :: Peruvian Potato Salad

2010-09-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

In the summer, our apartment is like a fiery inferno when it becomes super hot outside. So, during the heat wave last month, there was no way I was going to turn the oven on for anything. Good thing, we had some a good mixture of home grown and farmers market vegetables to whip up some homemade potato salad! Potatoes are in abundance right now at the market or even from your own garden, so this can be enjoyed well through the Fall.

This recipe was passed down to me from my Peruvian Uncle who says that it is a Peruvian recipe. The shade of the salad will differ depending on the type of beet you use. Red beets = red salad (and red fingers!).

New Potatoes (choose the small ones)

Beets

Mayonaise

Carrots

Peas (I didn't have any that day)

Boil potatoes and beets. Chop potatoes, beets and carrots into bite sized pieces. Mix in enough mayonaise to make it creamy. Add peas.

It's that simple! Enjoy!

london :: relocation pt 3

2010-09-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

photo credit: Living, Etc. UK

Welcome to our final installment of our interview with Colleen Wagner from London Relocation in preparation for our move overseas next February. Hopefully, these Q&A sessions have given you a clear idea of what the process is in setting up shop overseas. Missed the first two interviews? You can find them here and here.

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R: When applying for a flat what does the management company or owner look for? Do we need to see our Visa, employment records, submit a credit check or show proof of savings?
C: Letters of reference from one’s employer and previous landlord, passport (well, hopefully you’d have this with you!), and bank account details (including a statement showing you’re good for the funds) is necessary.

Once your offer has been accepted and the lease signed by both you and the landlord, you will be expected to pay your deposit and first month’s rent upfront. The deposit is equal to 6 weeks’ rent, so—barring students—the typical upfront amount totals 2.5 months’ rent, plus any added admin fees the agency may charge (again, London Relocation clients do not pay these fees). We have a blog post offering guidance on facilitating international bank transfers along with some pros and cons of different payment methods.

R: When should an Expat make initial contact with a relocation agent?
C: It can never be too early, really, for getting initial questions sorted out as you try to brainstorm the above key housing questions. It is often easiest to schedule the appointment, though, within a couple months of the actual viewing date when chances are better that your arrival dates are confirmed and you know there will be no hang-ups with the visa. While we can accommodate last-minute enquiries if we have availability, it’s best that we have at least a week’s advance notice to go over the terms of service with you and start researching.

Property searches themselves can be scheduled for as early as 6-weeks prior to the desired move-in date, as by this time existing tenants should have given notice as to whether they’re staying or leaving a flat; thus, we have a clearer idea of what properties will be available. If you can look in advance like this, that’s always great as it helps you beat the competition; however, many of our clients view properties within the same week as moving in—some have moved in as soon as the next day.

R: If someone decided to take up the home search alone what should they look out for? Are their common scams or hidden fees that catch people by surprise?
C: I briefly mentioned earlier the infamous Craigslist scams. These may occur on other classifieds sites as well and basically entail a “landlord” or “agency/property manager” offering a flat for an unrealistically low price (don’t count on finding much for under 200 GBP per week) and then asking you to transfer funds for the deposit/rent without having even seen the place in person. NEVER DO THIS! Always, always view the property in person or at least have someone you trust do so if you can’t be there—money should never exchange hands otherwise. I also mentioned before the absolute sketchiness of a situation where you’re required to pay upfront in cash. No legitimate agency/landlord would ask this.

It is typical for lettings agencies to charge an administration fee for handling the paperwork, and they may charge another fee for performing the reference check. The amount of these fees are not regulated within the industry, so there is no rhyme or reason as to what an individual agency might charge—it could be one to a few hundred pounds in all.

Another aspect of doing it on your own (which I did, oblivious to the relocation agent option…and it took me 2 weeks to see 23 properties) is that it takes a lot of legwork to many different agencies to see an exhaustive representation of what’s out there in your budget and desired area. Any one agency will have a few to show you any given day. They do not use MLS (multiple listing systems), however, so the particular office that you step into only has listings in that immediate area. So you will want to educate yourself on the different neighborhoods and narrow down your preferences straightaway.

R: How does one go about figuring out their monthly rent due to the fact that everything is quoted pw?
C: As a bit of trivia, London rent prices are quoted on a weekly basis because residents used to also be paid weekly; thus, the outflow was scheduled to coincide with the inflow. Why they continue quoting it that way now? No idea ☺ People are paid monthly, and you’ll pay your rent monthly as well (the monthly amount will be specified on your lease).

In any case, to achieve a monthly rent figure, multiply the weekly figure by 4.33.

Why not just by 4? Because not every month is exactly 4 weeks long. So, multiplying a weekly figure by the 52 weeks of the year and dividing by the 12 months is the equivalent of just multiplying by 4.33 (i.e., 52 divided by 12).

R: Are there pet friendly buildings and owners out there? This is very important element to us and one of the reasons we plan to work with a relocation agent.
C: Finding a building that allows pets is indeed an obstacle to flat-finding. If the building doesn’t allow them, it doesn’t matter if the individual flat’s landlord doesn’t mind them. If the building says no, it’s a no. If the building says yes, but the landlord says no, that might rest at a no as well.

However, while many landlords may not be keen on having a dog or cat in their owned property, they may be willing to negotiate. Ways to sweeten the pot for them when negotiating your lease is meeting the asking price rather than trying to haggle it down, if not offering more than the asking price (indeed, some landlords may require an additional fee). In addition, they may be inclined to allow it if you are able to offer them additional months’ rent in advance as a way of bypassing additional costs.

Though having a pet versus not is more of a property-finding challenge, it IS possible, and employing the services of a relocation agent will give you extra backing thanks to their contacts. Beyond flats, London is a very pet-friendly city!

R: What does council tax get you and how much can you expect to pay?
C: Council tax pays for city services like waste disposal, maintenance of sidewalks and streets, social services, etc. It can be paid annually or on a monthly basis and is a cost that the landlord always passes on to their dear tenants to deal with.

How much it costs will vary property-to-property. Each residence falls within a “band,” which is based on the property’s appraised value and in which borough it’s located. In the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, for example, annual council tax ranges from several hundred to a couple thousand pounds depending on what band the flat falls into.

********************

Thank you so much to Colleen for taking the time out of her busy day to speak with us. For more information about Colleen or to read her blogs, you can check out London Relocation and London Living. Stay tuned for more UK goodness as we move closer to the big day!

Etsy Finds Friday

2010-09-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: Lisa's Retro Style, Minx Shop, Sprout Studio

Middle: MXM Jewelry, Cosas Minimas, Lisa's Retro Style

Bottom: Golden Ponies, The Clasp of Isis

can my next ...

2010-09-22T07:30:00.001-07:00

found via bash, please| photo credit: our labor of love

... wedding couple please do this for their bridal entrance? FUN!

wedding ideas :: chilling out

2010-09-21T10:07:00.001-07:00

image and tutorial via martha stewart weddings

Looking for a new way to keep your drinks icy cold? Encase them in icy, fruit-filled molds!

Place a full bottle into a fully opened cardboard half-gallon milk carton. Insert flowers or thinly sliced fruit (we've used nasturtiums, lemons, and limes) around the bottle, filling one third of the carton. Pour water into the container, just covering the fruit and flowers. Place the carton upright in the freezer. When the liquid is completely frozen, add another layer of fruit and very cold water, and freeze. Repeat, filling and freezing a third of the carton at a time, which prevents all the fruit and flowers from floating to the top until the water reaches the bottle's neck. Remove from the freezer when it's time to serve the vodka: Cut away the milk carton with a utility knife; wrap a dinner napkin around the bottle's base, and serve the vodka with slices of lemon zest tied in knots.

london :: relocation pt 2

2010-09-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

photo via Living, Etc. UK / found on from london with love

Here's part two of our three part interview with Colleen Wagner from London Relocation. If you missed part one and are thinking about moving to the UK then you should definitely take a peek!

**************************

R: What are the signs of a reputable relocation agent or estate agent?
C: Well, it certainly helps if they have their own car ☺ They would also never require you to make a deposit and pay your first month’s rent upfront in cash—I’ve heard of this happening, and no reputable agency/respectable landlord would ask such a thing; bank transfers, checks, or credit cards should be accepted. Similarly, being asked to transfer funds to secure a flat without your (or someone delegated on your behalf) having seen the property first in person is the sort of thing Craigslist scams are made of, so beware. Okay, so, yes, there are reputable agencies out there that will allow this per the tenant's request (upon which the tenant must sign an agreement confirming that they did not see the space and based their decision solely on the photos provided on the agency website), but you won't want to try this with an agency that has a sketchy website that may be suspect (see below).

If many of the listings you enquire about through an agency are no longer on the market, yet still being advertised, this could be a red flag as well—they may be boasting more properties than they actually have or at least aren’t on-the-ball enough to respect the accuracy and timeliness of their own listings (cut them some slack, though, if a flat has only just gone off the market in the last day or so, as property does move very quickly here, especially in summer!). It can be discouraging if an agent insists you’ll find nothing in your budget, but you may need to also take this with a grain of salt, as more often than not, flats are more expensive than people anticipate, so the agent may earnestly be trying to help you develop more realistic expectations. That being said, do your research in advance to get a good idea of average rent prices to make sure you aren’t ripped off.

Agencies with various branches (an agency with at least 3 different offices is likely a safe one to try) are obviously quite successful and may observe stricter codes of professionalism to maintain their reputations—e.g., Foxtons, Marsh & Parsons, etc. This is not to say that the smaller boutique agencies offer any less in service—indeed, because larger agencies may take for granted that they’ll have a steady stream of business, this runs the risk of breeding apathy toward individual clients. So give the little guys a chance, too, if their office looks presentable and organized, their listings comprehensive, and their staff personable and professional. My husband and I found our flat, for example, through FiveSevenTen (a single-office boutique agency that only services postal codes SW5, SW7, and SW10), and their approach was kind-hearted and truly looking out for our best interests. I appreciate when agents can be honest about the flats they represent, especially if it’s pointing out their shortcomings—then I don’t feel like I’m being schmoozed and promised perfection when they can only under-deliver.

Agency websites can be a good indication as well. You know a good website from a bad one when you first look at it. Does it look like a respectful amount of thought has gone into its design? Is it user-friendly? Are there any client testimonials? A blog or something that provides value-added information and shows some personality? Is their contact info clear and thorough (address and phone number should be there at the very least—raises a lot of questions if they’re not! A web form is nice, too)?

R: What are your thoughts on "Dreams vs. Reality" when looking for a place?
C: Because managing expectations really is a big part of London Relocation’s job, I was inspired to write a mini-series of blog posts a while back called “What to Expect in a London Flat.” Basically, Dreams vs. Reality will part ways when it comes to size, space, and amenities (e.g., older buildings without elevators, having smaller washer/dryers or perhaps only one or neither, no air-conditioning, etc.). That being said, there are new-construction options in areas like Canary Wharf, which is more commercial, though, than residential. London landlords also furnish their flats as inexpensively as possible, so you’ll see a lot of IKEA ☺ Even newer renovations may reveal a compromise in materials over time—there are a lot of quick-fixes that may not be built to last but at least to survive until the next tenancy. Be prepared to wait on maintenance services as well…there’s not much quick turnaround in London.

That being said, there is a tremendous amount of character to these buildings which offer a different type of aesthetic trade-off. Taking the stairs is good exercise, and narrowing down what you actually move to London in view of the space/storage issue is a valuable lesson in learning what you really need. At some point, one has to view this as an experiential phase of life (taking advantage of the history, culture, and travel by virtue of living here) rather than a material one.

R: Does a relocation agent work for us or the flat owner? Will they be on the look out for unfair contracts or illegal acts by the property owner?
C: Absolutely. The advantage of having a relocation agent watching your back is that YOU are the client; the fees are paid by you and not the landlord or lettings agency.

Lettings agencies, on the other hand, are compensated by the landlords—when you sign on with them, you may pay an admin fee (which London Relocation covers for its clients), but otherwise the money you’re putting down upfront is for your refundable deposit and first month’s rent. The lettings agency’s commission comes from the landlord, and I’ll be honest—I’m shocked how much of a landlord’s market it is here. Tenants have many rights by law, but you’d never realize it because unless they’re proactive in researching/asserting them themselves, you won’t see anyone else going out of their way to make them aware.

Anyone else, that is, except for the relocation agent. In our case, the agent is with you through all of the viewings and the entire lease negotiation and signing, ensuring everything is stipulated in your best interest and raising important points that might otherwise get overlooked.

R: I suspect that many people would consider relocation and estate (lettings) agents to be one in the same. What does a relocation agent offer that an estate agent doesn’t?
C: While there are exceptions, one primary difference between the relocation and lettings agent is that the lettings agent holds property listings whereas the relocation agent does not. The lettings agency is consequently paid their commission by the landlords of the properties they list, whereas the relocation agency is paid a fee by the tenants it represents.

What relocation agents offer beyond the lettings agency is more personalized service in their client’s best interest (as explained above) as they do participate in the viewings and lease negotiation making sure terms are fair to the tenant. They also do all the extra legwork to seek out available properties to shortlist for the client’s viewing. An individual lettings agency may have a handful or less of properties meeting one’s specifications on any given day, but the relocation agency coordinates with all the area lettings agencies to compile all eligible properties across their combined listings, resulting in more extensive coverage and with the added benefit of having the same point of contact with you along the entire way.

What distinguishes London Relocation Ltd. from other relocation agencies as well is that we compile a portfolio of approximately 20 properties for viewing in a single day, so our model very much centers on cutting to the chase for an efficient turnaround (without sacrificing quality for the quickness)—other relocation agents that charge by the day have more incentive to drag the process out. I mentioned earlier that London properties can fly off the shelves, so the relocation agent also has the resources to reschedule as necessary on the fly so that it’s business as usual. And as I also related above, our empathy as expats brings an intangible quality that overall helps put our clients’ minds at ease by fielding all of their questions from their perspective and managing their expectations to optimize their London relocation experience.

R: Are there common mistakes or issues that you encounter with Expats?
C: Definitely! And, to be fair, I was a naïve expat, too ☺

To start, we receive a surprising number of enquiries from folks who are not even aware they need a visa to live here. It doesn’t fall within our realm of expertise to sort this out for them, but we’re happy to explain the different visa tiers they can apply for and redirect them to the UK Border Agency for more information and application forms. It’s imperative for expats to already have this in place before officially finding a place to live.

We sometimes encounter issues with people’s work assignments falling through or changing as well. That is usually not the client’s fault, however, as much as the company’s. Situations like these sometimes simply can’t be avoided, but nonetheless, it is helpful if you can provide as accurate a confirmation on your relocation timeframe as possible.

Proper documentation and funds for signing on to a flat is also critical, and sometimes expats do not arrive prepared—I will discuss this in more detail in a later question. Another big stumbling block for students is typically being required to pay 3-6 months’ rent in advance, as they will not be earning a steady income to otherwise earn the landlord’s trust. This may be waived, however, if the student can provide a letter signed by a UK-based guarantor of the funds, along with evidence of their financial ability to cover that amount if need be.

Beyond that, any issues primarily center on unrealistic expectations. We never enjoy being the deliverer of bad news when we respond honestly how much they should expect to pay for a certain flat size or neighborhood, so the best clients are the ones who trust that we know what we’re talking about and approach the discussion/process the way we do for a reason. A London move is full of trade-offs—recreating one’s home environment and/or culture is nearly impossible and unfair to expect. The way to embrace it is just appreciating it for the new adventure that it is.

R: What questions should people moving to London ask themselves about housing? i.e. budget, needs etc.
C: Key questions are:

1. # of bedrooms
2. Budget
3. Neighborhood (bearing In mind desired environment as well as commuting distance to work/school)
4. Need-to-have vs. nice-to-have property specifications (e.g., wooden floors, balcony, etc.)
5. Bringing pets?

When these are known, the rest starts to fall into place.

**************************

Will be posting the final installment next Monday. Stay tuned to what Colleen has to say in her final wrap up.

Etsy Finds Friday

2010-09-17T20:57:00.001-07:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: blueberry shoes, MXM Jewelry, Darlingtonia Moccasin Co.

Middle: Whimsy & Spice, Perty.ful.Tings, Heidi Creations

Bottom: Carol Hannah, little pretties, white owl

shop :: tucker by gaby basora

2010-09-16T12:01:00.001-07:00

(Left to Right) Button-Front Dress in Little-Flowers Print, $34.99′ Tie-Front Blouse in Lawn Bird Print, $24.99 / Signature Dress in Diamond Print, $39.99

Tucker by Gaby Basora for Target collection became available at Target stores and target.com last Sunday. Known for her quaint prints in bold colours, Gaby's clothing focuses on wearability with simply cut dresses, trousers and tops. Loving the combinations above and below.

(Left to Right) Ribbed Sweater Dress in Orange, $39.99; Sweater Vest in Floral, $34.99 / Woven Tee in Magenta, $24.99; Shorts in Green Herringbone, $34.99

I'm going to miss my road trips to Target. Oh, how I love you! So, who has an extra seat in their car?

thanks union photography!

2010-09-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

Robert and I had the pleasure of working with Holly and Roger from Union Photography last year on this wedding (not their photos!). Holly and Roger are super fun, super professional, super fab photographers and Holly's laugh, I swear, is contagious! I bump into Holly every now and then at various handmade markets around Vancouver as well as a few times over Twitter, but was super surprised to receive a package in the mail from them.

A package for us!? What could this possibly be? Well, let me tell you what was inside!

A wedding hero survival kit complete with:

A squeeze doll - Squeeze any stress away!
Epsom Salts - to soak your weary toes in!
Chocolate - For those times when you don't get the chance to eat!
Champagne - Celebrate a job well done!
Ear plugs - In case the band plays too loudly!
Tylenol - Enjoy responsibly!

Thanks Roger and Holly! Such an original idea! Love it!

london :: relocation pt 1

2010-09-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

photo via pink lemonade / found on from london with love

One of the most daunting, yet exciting, tasks related to moving is finding a new place to live. This is especially so when you consider the size of London, the cost of rent and you have a fuzzy feline moving with you.

The housing market in London, while similar to Vancouver, has it’s own unique nuances.

Estate Agents: The vast majority of the London rental market appears to be controlled by them. Private rentals can be found on Gumtree and Craigslist, but with websites such as those, these are no guarantees.

6 week deposits: Whoooaaa, you want how much? When signing a lease, you need to pay the first months rent plus the 6 week deposit.

Pets: No one indicates if their flats allows pets.

To help us with our move, we have been in discussions with a relocation firm. These firms specialize in assisting people moving to London and helping them find a place to live. After some research, we discovered London Relocation Ltd and decided to hold an interview with Colleen Wagner who handles the social media for LR and blogs for London Living, to help others interested in using relocation firms or are moving overseas.

Since this is quite a lengthy list of questions, we decided to make it into a three part series.

Hope you find this helpful! Thanks to Colleen (C) for putting up with Rob's (R) many questions.

**************************

R: Tell us a bit about London Relocation

C: London Relocation Ltd. is a personalized destination service provider that assists with an otherwise arduous flat-search. Founded by Anthony Gallo, an American originally from Arizona, our entire staff is comprised of expats from the States and Australia—we therefore bring a special empathy to the table because we’ve undergone the international move ourselves and understand all too well the special challenges that come in tow with such a decision.

Finding a new home is a particularly stressful factor that can be very time-consuming, expensive, and, quite frankly, confusing in an unfamiliar property market, which just compounds the issue when one already feels displaced. London Relocation Ltd. is all about making the process quick, efficient, and, dare we hope, fun ☺

R: Tell us a bit about yourself and London Living.
C: I myself moved to London from Chicago in 2008 as an accompanying spouse. My husband had accepted a new position that brought us here; however, as he wasn’t transferring through an existing employer, we weren’t entitled to any form of expatriate support outside of a monetary moving allowance. As I consequently found the move to be a difficult, isolating transition in the months to follow leaving behind family, friends, and career (I taught high school English at home and am on hiatus for various reasons), when I started working for London Relocation, I wanted to enhance our flat-finding service with helping expats find some social footing as well.

As our London Living members do include both current and future expats, their participation has broadened the ability to field any number of questions, and it’s essentially become one-stop shopping for some of London Relocation’s own social media efforts (i.e., the information we share through our blog and Twitter) as well as London events and advice from our “Londonistas”. First implemented in January of this year, it has grown into a lovely community that has already established close friendships. I am hoping to organize a social event later this month to give Londonistas the opportunity to meet each other—we keep it casual. It doesn’t matter whether London Living members use our service or not—this initiative Is purely about camaraderie and reestablishing a support network far from home.

R: Can you provide a list of online tools for researching London?

Robert's personal favourites at the moment are:

Foxtons Estate Agents
A fantastic map showing the geographic location of the tube stations
The London Rents Map is a great site to learn about rentals prices around London.
London Relocation Ltd.

Colleen's Additions:

Beyond my pet London Living, other good practical, interactive guides on moving to London I’ve encountered are:

• Canadians & Americans in the UK
• Moving 2 London
• Yankee Landing

For a mix of the practical and the fun-n-quirky London goings-on, I also like:
• Anglotopia.net – the ultimate source for Anglophiles!
• Londonist.com
• Little London Observationist

And for getting around London, the Transport For London site is positively awesome (you can read up on the brand new cycle hire scheme here, too!)—a great way to research your commuting possibilities in advance, which in turn can help in deciding on where to live.

**************************

Stay tuned for the second part where Colleen covers basics such as finding a reputable agent and why everything is quoted pound per week.

Etsy Finds Friday

2010-09-10T11:08:00.001-07:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: Peppermint Cloud, Chouettes, Vigilante Laboratories

Middle: Sapti, Pasaii Paperie, Mia Beads

Bottom: Chloe and Maddie, Faith and Franny, A.J. Machete and Sons Clothier

make :: paper ribbons

2010-09-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

(found via Twig & Thistle)

I thought that this would be a cute alternative to a boutainnaire. Follow this simple tutorial to make you own paper ribbons and show your loved ones who's number 1!

london :: banking

2010-09-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

photo credit: Frank Songbird

Money, money, money….

One of the biggest hurdles for us when we first tried to move to the UK in 2004 was banking. Oi! It's making my head hurt already. Being twenty, I guess I could have done more research at the time, but basically, I closed up my bank account in Vancouver and asked for the bank to issue me a cheque with my remaining balance. The cheque was in Canadian funds which brings us to ...

lesson # 1: If you show up to a British bank with a cheque in Canadian funds, it will be mailed back to the bank that issued it and a new cheque with the amount in British pounds will need to be sent. This could take 6 to 8 weeks. The bank failed to tell us this and we spent a lot of time wondering where our money was.

lesson #2: If possible, get an account before you leave. I strongly advise this. When I wanted to switch bank accounts in the UK, I originally was not approved due to bad credit even though I had never missed a payment nor had any debt at the time. The bank finally figured that my papers were shuffled to a random bank teller back in Canada. They may have not known what to do with it and declined it or decided not to approve it because I had closed my account with them earlier in the year.

Earlier this year, Lloyds TSB offshore made bank accounts available to those who wish to open a foreign current account, live / work overseas or even if you just travel frequently. So far, the customer service has been great - super helpful and friendly and the nice thing is that they have staff based in Vancouver and Toronto.

Other possible banks to consider are:

Barclays (This is where we originally set up our accounts on our first trip in 2002)

HSBC

If you decide to work / live abroad or just want to spend a good chunk of time traveling, having an account in place with some cash in it, will, in the long-term, make your life a lot easier. Trust me. I can't tell you enough how happy I am that this has all been taken care of. * whew *

summer garden life

2010-09-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have pretty much killed every single plant that I have ever owned. When Erin gave me a beautiful orchid earlier this year, it went straight to my friend's boyfriend, aka the orchid whisperer, where it is living a happy life. Trust me. It was for the best.

This is our third year with the community garden. We have a plot over on West 16th Avenue and Oak Street. Last year was kind of a bomb. With summer wedding and event season, Rob and I seem to struggle to find enough energy to go and pick weeds and harvest our work. This year, we made a conserted effort to revive our little garden plot. Although, it's not exactly something that I would write to Canadian Gardening Magazine about, it is an improvement from the last. Check out our strawberries above and the potato plants below from earlier in the year.

summer times

2010-09-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

Even though Fall hasn't officially arrived, it feels like it's time to kiss the warm days of sunshine goodbye. Summer went by super fast for us this year. We were expecting it to though. With a super packed schedule and knowing that it would be our last Vancouver summer for a year or two, we knew that we had to cherish as much as we could.

Yes, we did work a lot the last few months. Um.. remember July? Summer hiatus on the blog due to 8-12 hour work days for the entire month. So crazy good with an emphasis on crazy. I remember wrapping up my last day finishing up a contract and realizing "Woah, I don't have to put pants on today" - hehe.

Armed with flip flops, slushy drinks galore, we spent the last summer BBQing... becomine an aunt and uncle... gardening... getting bitten by mosquitoes... meeting new friends... road tripping... eating berries... enjoying an annual cotton candy feast...

We visited two fairs this year, the Oregon State Fair (pictured above) and the Pacific National Exhibition. Not to be a cotton candy snob or anything, but US and Canadian cotton candy seem to have a different taste. Just saying ... Oh, and that's the fair lift pictured above. For a small price, you can ride it from one end of the fair grounds to the next and back. It's a pretty length ride and yes, I did take my flip flops off. No way was I going to be the person to lose their shoes on the ride. Eek.

It's currently raining outside and I can't sleep. Looks like tomorrow will start with a nice lie in, a hot cup of coffee and maybe a bit of work. Need to get some organizing done before the zany starts again!

What do YOU have planned? Are you getting ready for the first day of school Enjoying the last of the long weekend?

happy anniversary!

2010-09-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

photo credit: Tracey L. Heppner

It's our sixth anniversary today! It looks like we share this special day with another fine couple we know. For lucky number six, it shows that our modern symbol is wood. Maybe that means that I will finally find a wood table that matches my library catalogue!

We are off to the Farmers Market for a new market bag, some fresh garlic and tomatoes and then off to a BBQ dinner with family. Happy long weekend!

&hearts portland

2010-09-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

Random polarized snapshots ... the last shot won me a gift certificate to Burgerville (a fast food chain based in South WA and OR committed to only using local, sustainable and fresh ingredients) - onion ring face!

Etsy Finds Friday

2010-09-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: Fox & Clover, Rabbit's Stop, Royal Buffet

Middle: Evelda's Neverland, Family Attic, Lily Lady Blue

Bottom: Lost & Fawned, Patkas, Kathleen Cavalaro

eating waffles

2010-09-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late post. We were busy eating dutch tacos from the Flavour Spot (yes, they include an 'u'!) food cart in Portland. I heard rave reviews about this place, so I thought that since this may be the last trip to Portland for a while, we better go and try it! Imagine a 7" crispy waffle baked to order wrapped around your favourite fillings - ham and cheese, mallow fluff and nutella, bacon and sausage, etc. You can their menu here. The one pictured above is the no.1 Sausage and Maple - sweet and savoury - 3 sausage rounds with maple syrup wrapped in a waffle. Tasty, but I think I'm going to pass on the maple syrup next time. It was a little too sweet for me.

We head back to Vancouver tomorrow, but I promise that I will post more Portland love soon.

make :: pin wheel love

2010-08-31T10:22:00.001-07:00

(found via La Belle Bride)

I am a sucker for these pin wheel bouquets. Follow these easy steps here to add a whimsical DIY pin wheel to your decor!

celebrate :: birthday at hycroft

2010-08-30T09:07:00.001-07:00

(found via Oh Joy! / images by Ryan Savella)

Nestled in an area called Shaughnessy in Vancouver, there is a beautiful Edwardian mansion known as Hycroft. The house was originally built for Alexander Duncan McRae, a leading businessman and politician in Western Canada at the beginning of the twentieth century and in 1962, it became the University Women's Club of Vancouver. Hycroft is available to rent for weddings and events, but make sure you book early as they are a very popular venue! You can see some of our past weddings here and here.

As one of my favourite venues to work in, I just had to re-blog about this party that I came across on on Oh Joy!. Adele, the marketing manager for the Canadian clothing line Dace, held an Alice in Wonderland themed party to celebrate her 10 year old daughter's birthday.

a tucker adventure

2010-08-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

We had quite an extraordinary start to the day yesterday afternoon. Did you see this on the news? Well, where it says "a woman", that is Robert's sister. Crazy, right!?

Robert's family is currently renting a place downtown while his dad finishes a work contract and his sister are in town from the BVI. We weren't there for the incident, but apparently it started out with cries of "help me" that could be heard in their suite. Robert's mom walked out onto the balcony to see what was going on and at the same time, his sister ran outside towards an apartment buiding that she thought the yelling was coming from. Once there, she couldn't see anything except for a garbage truck that was in the alley. Lo, and behold, the truck started up as well as the yelling which she then heard going down the street. Being a triathlete, she caught up to the truck, told the driver, banged on the back of truck and the person inside responded.

You know what was amazing? This all took place in the alley South of Robson Street near Denman and nobody came to help them. From what I was told by Robert's mom, was that there were a few people on the balconies looking around to see what all the commotion was about, but nobody approached them before or after to lend a hand.

Anyways, the ambulance was called and the fire department and police arrived. The garbage truck had to dump all the garbage that he had picked up in the alley to be able to free the man that was trapped inside. Statements and questions were taken. I don't think they ever figured out why exactly he got inside, but if the truck had picked up one more dumpster or if those wooden pallets were not in the back of the truck, he would have surely been crushed. He's one lucky person! It was truly an unbelieveable afternoon adventure!

wedding ideas :: hatch my house

2010-08-26T11:03:00.001-07:00

Maybe it was because I am Chinese, but when Robert and I got married, somehow we ended with 5 rice cookers. Yup. I'm pretty sure one of them was like a 60 cup cooker. 60 cups!?

Hatch My House is a non traditional twist to a very traditional element of any wedding, the gift registry. HMH is a new online gift and down payment registry which is open to anybody with a PayPal account or is willing to register for one. Once you complete the process and pay a $24.95 sign up fee, you have the opportunity to design a house, right down to setting (suburb, beach, city) style (brownstone, colonial) and colour, and invite your family and guests to help you pay for a down payment, home improvements or furniture for your new life together.

Easy peasy. No more awkward questions about how to ask for cash in lieu of bath towels. To register or find out more information, click here.

wedding :: alanna and ben

2010-08-24T09:05:00.001-07:00

(photo credit: Blue Olive Photography)

Alanna and Ben's wedding was the last one of the 2009 season. As you can tell, I have been saving the wedding pictures for a while. This was partly due to me having trouble choosing just 5 images to show you and partly due to our summer hiatus. You have to admit though, that it was well worth the wait!

I am all for couples who think outside the box. Hot pink and black wedding colours? Love it! Pulled pork and BBQ ribs? Sure! Individual bibs for guests to wear which you can personalize with a sharpie? I think my heart just skipped a beat!

Lyndsay from Coco Cake Cupcakes made the cupcake wedding favours and ~~the bride and groom made~~ the cute little monkey wedding cake topper too!

The Flower Factory did an amazing job on the floral centerpieces!

Thank for all of the fun times! Wishing you lots of happiness in your new life together. Thanks so much for the opportunity to be a part of your special day!

life :: the only rule is work

2010-08-23T09:27:00.001-07:00

(found on litherland via meet me at mikes)

You can click here to read the full rules. I especially like Rule #5. I like to think that this person and this person are my personal someone's.

Etsy Finds Friday

2010-08-20T10:15:00.001-07:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: Patkas, Bonzie, Cultivar

Middle: dlk designs, Sweet Blue Photography, Sadie Olive

Bottom: Savi, The Time is Now , Bonzie

wedding ideas :: beverage jars

2010-08-17T09:31:00.001-07:00

With a few back yard style weddings last summer, I went on a search for the perfect beverage dispenser jars. Nothing says summer like a cold cup of lemonade, iced tea or even a glass of refreshing iced water flavoured with fresh cut fruit like strawberries, orange, lemon and lime. To be honest, it was slim pickings here in Vancouver and there were not that many options that didn't cost a fortune.

Good thing I came across this article by Apartment Therapy rounding up 10 affordable beverage jars and dispensers. Look no further. There's nothing over $70 US here and that one pictured above? It's only $12.99 at KMart. I think some brides may be taking a trip across the border soon!

london flat

2010-08-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

photo credit: colchu

Robert and I drafted up a list of notes to help us shop for flats to rent in London.

pet friendly
location - close to transit and in a nice area
budget - £2000 or less

Things to consider:

2 bedrooms
outdoor space - garden or patio or balcony
has character
cottage or mews house
in flat washer
dishwasher (would be nice, but honestly have only experienced one in the past 2 years)
no shared or communal space
light - bright space / sun
air - good windows and air flow
2 bath - small master en-suite
lightly or un-furnished
wood floors preferred
clean

Areas:

district line - putney, fulham, wimbledon
highbury & islington
richmond
clapham junction

Etsy Finds Friday

2010-08-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: flores del sol, Your Fairy Tale Wedding, Addy's Vintage

Middle: April Hiler Designs, Cosas Minimas, Little Oven

Bottom: Pasaii Paperie, Falcon and Finch, Thread Rare

back on the wagon

2010-08-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

photo credit: masaaki miyara

I book marked this picture a while ago. Look at how fluffy those hot cakes are! The image doesn't really have anything to do with this post. I mean, I didn't even eat pancakes today, but I love her photostream!

*******

While lots of writing have been taking place on my other blog, the lotus one has been on a short hiatus. With so much going on during the Summer months, 3 blogs on the go, preparing for the holiday craft fair season and everything else. I had to step back for a bit and just breathe. I was also a bit stumped as to where this blog was headed and wasn't sure if I wanted to continue with it or just move over to the Got Craft blog for good. The more I thought about it, the more I missed coming "here". I have a bad habit of wanting to do it all, so for me, I couldn't quite let go yet. Things may change later on especially with the move. Until then, I drafted up a game plan. Outlined where the blog was headed and what my goals are.

Choose one or check out all three. Regularly scheduled posts have arrived!

Got Craft :: All things crafty, local handmade events, featured artists ...
DIY Vancouver :: Tutorials, handmade related shops ...
Lotus Events :: Life, weddings, wedding and event related ideas ...

summer

2010-06-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

photo credit / source: unknown (please comment if you know where this is from)

Summer has finally arrived and with it, brings change. Two blogs (lotus + got craft), plus my feature on Granville Online, Facebook and Twitter (@lotusevents), can take up a lot of one's time. So to streamline things, I have been going back and forth deciding to whether or not whip this one into shape or just to move the two blogs into one.

Not to mention that Robert reminded me the other day that I only have 4 mere months before the holiday craft fairs start up and I just received a rather large wholesale order that I need to start making.

With weddings in full force, blogging, summer events and making, this picture represents the hundreds of different ideas and items on our to do list that are escaping. Not necessarily out of control, but we are working hard to rein them in and grow each thought before they fly away and disappear.

So yes, I will be taking a short hiatus while I gather my thoughts and will return when I have something to say.