Winery Wedding- Jess & Chris

I'm super tired right now, but I needed to keep my posting streak up, plus I'm enjoying the daily posting myself. I'm tired today because Brandon and I went to our friends Jessica and Chris' wedding in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia. It was held at the Grand Pre Winery and it was a perfect setting for their perfect day. The weather turned from a grey day to a beautiful sunny afternoon. I took over 150 pictures, so here are just a few fav's from the day!

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I should let you know, the day wasn't all smooth sailing for us, we arrived at the ceremony 10 minutes late because we took one stupid wrong turn, it was a combination of bad moves on both mine and Brandon's part and we lost about 20 minutes from our time getting to the wedding. Let's just say both of us have a STRONG dislike for Sackville, if you get off the highway it seems to be almost impossible to get back on. I was very bummed I missed Jess' grand entrance, but I made it for the rest of the ceremony, so I can't complain too much. Standing actually allowed us to have a good view and take some great pictures!

This was the picture we walked into at the beautiful winery, the terrace was all stone and they were surrounded by vines and plants, it was perfect. The wedding colors were perfect, I love the brown and green and the boys and the blue on the girls. Jess has some awesome wedding style!

They are ready to be pronounced husband and wife, look at the love that both of them have on their faces, it was so wonderful!

The priest marrying them almost forgot to give them a first kiss, but they made sure they got it in... don't they just look picture perfect!

making their exit as Mr. & Mrs.- they looked so great

Glad I was there to catch the shots as they walked down the isle

Brandon and I were lucky to get to spend some time with the girls from the B.Ed program. Brandon took this shot and it turned out really awesome. These are the girls, minus the bride, wish we could have gotten her in... Back- Krista, Aleah, Amy, Julia and Andrea. Front- Meg and Me!

After the ceremony they had a cocktail time, with drinks and delicious appetizers, we had to be careful not to fill up on them too much. I enjoyed the brushetta the most, it was so fresh and light for the summer, delicious!

We ventured up with Meg and Andrea to look at the growing grapes, and take some pictures, I thought this one turned out nice of Brandon and I in our shades!

Me and my two red head B.ED girls, they are both so funny and sweet, glad I was able to spend some time with them!

I LOVED the boutiner that the guys wore, they were made of material, so they guys can keep them, instead of having real flowers that just fall apart and die. Jess had a similar flower in her hair... such an awesome idea!

we ran into the happy couple while they were finishing up their photo shoot, so we stayed and took some too... just beautiful!

seriously this location was amazingly beautiful for pictures

I loved the wooden arches and trellis' I had to get a picture of this table of beautiful ladies!

Brandon was in his glory... so many dates for him!

The tent where the reception was held... it also looked awesome with all the lanterns in their wedding colors

The beautiful bride taking in her reception

Me and the Bride... she is probably my best friend from the program and I'm so glad I was able to celebrate her special day with her. Love you Jess! ( Yuck why do I look so fat!)

The food tonight was AMAZING! Brandon and I started with this root salad with horseradish which was very different but delicious. They they served this little scoop of gelato, that was grape and tea, with fresh mint, to clean the palate, which was delicious... the mint made your breath amazing. They we had Beef with vegetables, which was so delicious, Brandon said it was probably the best beef he'd ever had. Then there was an apple tart for dessert. We didn't get to try the cake since we had to leave early :( But it looked delicious as well!

Chris and Jess had a little table for two, and then their wedding party and their significant others sat at tables on either side of them... thought that was a great idea! loved their little banner too!

This was one of the best ideas I have ever seen for a guest book, and wish I had of done it, they used an actual book as their guest book, a story book, I don't know which one, but it was a cartoonish type book, and the guests wrote at the beginning and end. Laura I thought of you for this one... you could have a pictorial nova scotia book and a washington one, and have guests sign them, and then when you are living in Utah you have a memory of both! or something similar to their idea- LOVED it!

Jess and Chris cutting their cake, loved that they used barrels as tables- so creative- the seating chart although I didn't get a picture was made up of all corks to continue the winery theme, I don't know if they made it or if it was provided... either way it was cool!

The Bing's enjoying the reception

They played the cute game where they hold up the shoe to answer a question- there was some great laughs from this game.

Jess being so sweet, made sure that our seats didn't have wine glasses, since we don't drink which I thought I was super cute. The servers forgot towards the end and brought everyone at the table these glasses, I didn't drink mine, but I thought it would make a great picture!

The delicious dessert, seriously check out the presentation... the little flower is a beautiful added touch

Brandon had to work tonight so we had to leave the reception early. Where the meal was a four course meal it took a little longer, and so we didn't get to see the first dance, which I was so bummed about, I told my friends though to snap lots of pictures, I hope someone did. This was on the drive home at about 9:15 pm, we were driving into some thick fog.

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I didn't post the picture but Jess' parents got up and spoke, and her dad did a beautiful job, he spoke about how his children were his best accomplishment, and how he and he wife joked when they got married that they would have a basketball team, which they did when they had five children, Jess' dad continued on to say, that since he is a good coach, he knew that they needed one more person on the team, a spare person for substitution, so they had to complete the team and have one more child... he was much funnier telling the story, I'm not doing it any justice.

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One other funny comment was that they were talking about how Jess and Chris have been together since 11th grade, and that they were high school sweet hearts, and that they have a lot in common, Jess is the oldest of six and Chris is the oldest of one... it was a HOOT!!

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To make the couple sing tonight you had to sing a song about love, all the tables were really getting into it which was a lot of fun. Being a table of teachers plus two of Chris' friends, we felt a Lion King song would be appropriate, so we sang the Timone and Pumba version of Can you feel the love tonight... it was awesome!

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I'm sure that there is more to share, but I'm just so tired I can't think about it. It was a beautiful day for an amazing couple. They are off on Monday on a dream honeymoon to France, Italy and somewhere else. They'll have a blast I'm sure! I'm hoping to get all the other pictures posted on facebook tomorrow so check them out.

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One last thing before I go to bed... loved the world cup today... watched the live Uraguay Korea game which was awesome.. Uraguay won 2-1 and had some awesome goals. Was shocked to come home to find out the Ghana beat the US 2-1, I really thought the US was making it through to the next round. I have to say though, the US had a sweet free kick, the goalie was no where near the ball, the kicker (Donovan maybe?) had such a nice curve on the ball, it sailed where he wanted it to, hit the post and went in- it was perfect!! England plays tomorrow, I do love them, so fingers crossed. My main team is Spain though with Torres!! Anyway off to bed, I can barely keep my eyes open.

Things that made me smile tonight...

I love a day when you come home tired from work, and suddenly get a boost of energy, and your ready to get things done... that is me tonight and I'm loving it. I'm in such a silly happy smiley mood and it's GREAT. Want to know some of the things that are making me smile... here we go...

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1. I came home from work tonight and went to the gym: Brandon bought me a gym membership for my birthday (don't worry I wanted it) and I've really been trying to go at least 4 times a week, if not more. I'm usually there for about 90 minutes, and it makes me happy. I feel better when I go to the gym, and slowly the results I want will come. I love when I can read a good magazine at the gym or watch some world cup soccer- it's awesome!

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2. I love the card that I'm currently working on for a wedding tomorrow: I first made this card a few years ago and loved it, and then I evolved it into my own creation for Jeremy's birthday card and then I'm doing it again, with this wedding card. It's super adorable and fun, and I'll share it with you after the wedding tomorrow. I'm a LOVER of stampin' up punches, which I need more and of googlie eyes... they make cards so much more fun, and I plan to use them on many cards in the future

3. Fernando Torres: Don't tell Brandon another man is making me smile tonight, but he is and he's a new favorite of mine. I first noticed him tonight at the gym (my gym is all women) he was on the tv screen, playing my favorite sport (soccer) and he was looking adorable doing it... then he moved and his skill made me smile that much more. He is playing in the world cup for Spain, but he normally plays for liverpool. He's 26, and wears my favorite sports number 9... hello he is meant to be my fav, right!? His team won today, with some GREAT goals... hello open net... but he was injured a little, see he just had surgery on his right knee in April, so fingers crossed he'll be a-okay for the next game. I'm a BIG fan!!

4. SYTYCD Ashley and Mark's routine this week: I like Ashley this season, i do, and this week I think her routine was awesome. I could be biased because 1- I love Mark from his season, hello bleedin' love routine (youtube it!) LOVED IT! and 2- I also love Travis as a dancer and choreographer which he was tonight, (see the bench routine from his season, and the locket routine that he choreographed for Mark and Jeanine-amazing). I don't know what it was about this routine but I loved it and it made me smile... probably one I will reference in future seasons of this show.

5. SYTYCD- Lauren and Dominic: They did lyrical hip hop, and it was a story centered around getting the message out, about abuse, and it was beautifully done. Dom, who is usually joking around and so funny, did a great job being serious, he's a CRAZY awesome dancer (he was on and won America's best dance crew-youtube it) They would be such a cute couple.. I think that made me like it more for that reason too!

6. SYTYCD- Kent and Courtney: although this wasn't a fav routine of the night, this guy just makes you smile and laugh. Tonight he had to do this sexy routine, which was way out of his element. He's a small town country boy who is 18, to watch him dance with courtney was great, he was too cute and funny! Check him out!

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There are lots of other things that made me smile today, but those are just a few. One more quick one to mention is that the Downeast Basic's dress that I ordered for my friends wedding arrived today and I think it's going to be PERFECT for the wedding in July!

Hope you all had a GREAT Friday and that you have an awesome weekend.

Question: What do you love today??

Oh and still looking for more book recommendations... the more you share with me the more I can read and share with my customers!!

My head hurts...

Oh today has been a long day and my head HURTS! Nothing went wrong today, I just went into work early and didn't drink enough water, so I became dehydrated and got a splitting head ache. I recommend to everyone to drink enough water in the run of the day, it makes a huge difference. As soon as I got home I started drinking water and my head ache is pretty dull now. So friends, stay hydrated!

Brandon took my computer with him to work tonight, so I've been waiting for him to get home to do my daily update. The picture above is how I wish I was right now, sound asleep, so tired and asleep that you fall asleep while you were in the middle of doing something. That's when you know your tired. I thought it would be fun to share some pictures from the past, this one is mine and below is one of Brandon. Wasn't he a cutie!!

This wasn't very excited, but I wanted to share my advice about water. I'm working tomorrow, which should be fun, there is something about shelving books that I really love. I'm being 100% serious, I love working at a book store, you get to organize and talk books with everyone you meet. I love the feeling of having a customer searching for a book, and then you find it! Seriously you feel useful and it's awesome. I've also been recommended so many books, that I hope to start reading soon. I plan to start sharing the books I'm reading and if I liked them or not. Why not share the books I love with everyone, so you can feel the love.

Here is a question for tonight: What books are you reading right now, that you would recommend? or... What is your favourite book?? Leave a comment and let me know!

Today as I ran on the eliptical machine at the gym, while watching world cup soccer, I realized just how much I LOVE watching soccer! I love watching the talent and skill that the players have and the precision that they use when passing the ball, it's fun to see the triangles form between players as they pass the ball around. I think I may have even shouted out loud a few times during my workout. England won, and I was PUMPED, I've always loved the England team and they play well today. Hope there is another game on tomorrow when I go.

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A little blast from the past for all my blogging friends. The reason I love watching soccer so much is because I played for years, I think from the age of six until the age of twenty one or two. I stopped because I was taking summer courses and they were just interfering with soccer, and I needed to get through university. For my last few years of playing, I was on a team with the same group of girls and we all worked so well together. We played well, and I miss them so much. I hope maybe next summer to start playing again. I know that I'll play again, and that any children I have in the future will play soccer... it's the GREATEST sport!

The picture above is of my soccer team back in the year 2000... I was going into grade twelve, and I think this shot was taken at provincials. I'm in the front on the ground and dad was my coach then... he's standing if you couldn't tell.. that was a GREAT season!

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The following pictures were taken a few weeks ago at a Bing Girls night. Since Meaghan is expecting, and Jason was doing some painting at their house, she needed to get out for the night. So she stayed at the Marriott down town since Peter gets rooms with his travel points there basically for free, anyway so we headed down there to hangout and chat for a bit and then when the other gals arrived we headed out. We went to Salty's on the water front and had a nice meal and some fun girl talk. It was great to hangout with my sister-in-laws and some of our friends, we've planned to start doing this on a more regular basis, we love the guys in the fam, don't get us wrong, but it's always good to have some sister time!

Me and my sister-in-law Sarah... we're going to play soccer together next year- hopefully! My hair looks blah in this shot!

My sister-in-laws Meaghan and Brittany... Chelsey had to miss out on the fun because she was working.

Our good friends Stacey and Akayjah... we saw them at soccer, see the post below!

Sarah's sister and our friend Hannah and her daughter Gabriella, she is just too cute!

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Finally, mom and laura stopped by tonight to pick up some cards I'd made for Laura to take to Utah, it was nice to have them here for a quick visit and I hope they'll come and hangout again sometime soon. I'll post the cards I made in a future post since they haven't been given to the people they were for yet, one of them was something "special". Laura goes away tomorrow and I hope that she has a VERY safe and fun trip. I'm going to miss her around here, she's pretty good at coming over to randomly hangout with me. I'm sure she'll be good and keep us all updated on her many adventures!

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Hope you've been enjoying the regular posts and if you haven't read the other posts from this week, continue reading, there are pictures involved... I try my best to always include pictures. Off to get some sleep, and do some reading before I fall asleep. I'm reading, Jodi Picoult, Second Glance, I'm a huge Picoult fan, I'm not sure if this book ranks in my top five... but I'll let you know when I'm done!

Spent some time outside..

I find that a lot of my friends spend a lot of time outside doing fun stuff and enjoying the sun because they have kids. I'm always jealous of them and their fun, since we don't have kids we have no reason to get up and go outside and do something fun. I find I spend a lot of time inside relaxing and being lazy. So today when my friend Jeff texted me to see if I wanted to go watch Kathy's kids play soccer I jumped at the chance! Brandon was at work tonight, so I would have spent the time inside alone, so it was a nice change.

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I worked at Roots for just over 7 years, when I left there this year, I took away with me a lot of Roots clothes that I've collected over the years and many good friendships, and Jeff is one of them. He worked with me when I was assistant manager, and filling in as acting manager over the holidays, he was a life saver then. We developed a great friendship, and found we had a common love in coronation street and reality tv shows. Even when Jeff left Roots we've stayed close, and I'm so thankful for him and his friendship. Kathy also got to know Jeff though Roots and we've had many fun wii nights and visits with the Nelson fam, we have a blast when we are all together. If you don't know Jeff you should, he's the best!

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Anyway so Jeff and I headed over to Cole Harbor tonight and worked the soccer circuit with Kathy... we started at Jacob's game which was fun. Our friend Akayjah was on the other team, I was excited to see them play each other, but when they split the kids up to play they were on different little fields, but I got to get some shots of both of them playing. Jake scored a goal tonight, and is a great little player. The other team had a little guy who was super pushy, it drove us CRAZY... he scored a goal, put his shirt over his head an ran down the field like an airplane... I think he's been watching the world cup a lot. Jeff won Cooper over tonight with his gadgets- digital camera and black berry- he bravely let Coop use them.

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We then headed over to the girls game and watched them both play a great game. I believe the final score was 2-2. We got some play ground time in too, which is always funny, especially when Miss G in involved. Due to the goal scoring and just a great time in general, we all headed over for some ice cream.... I got a waffle cone, double scoop, I know this sounds yucky, but I had one scoop of cotton candy and one scoop of carmel apple crunch... both were delicious! It was a fun night at soccer and a nice time catching up with my good buddy Jeff. Here are some pictures from the night.

Jeff and Cooper.... such a beautiful day out

the kid has a great BIG kick

Cooper was enjoying giving Jeff High Five...

He also checked his messages...

Our friend Akayjah... she's a cutie

The boys having some climbing fun, I'd climbed in there earlier... it was a challenge to get out of there

Jessica looking awesome in her uniform... so grown-up

Georgia being a monkey with some help from Jeff

Kathy and Cooper having a little swing... doesn't cooper look impressed

Sarah in the game...

Jessica getting in on the action

Sarah after the game enjoying some bubble gum ice cream..

Jake and Jeff... they are flat stanley buddies... Jacob sent a flat stanley to Jeff when he was living in the UK. Jeff took stanley all over London, to famous landmarks and took pictures to send to Jake... he was an awesome flat stanley friend!

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On a sad note... I was bummed today. I was supposed to have my first substitute teaching day tomorrow but the school had to cancel. I was so excited because it was at my practicum school, and I would have gotten to see my students, she felt so bad when she called to cancel, and said that everyone was so excited to see me. Much disappointment, but hopefully I can sub there lots in the fall! Also at the gym today I was reading people magazine from a few months ago and found out that Ceasar Milan's dog and sidekick daddy died, he was such a great pit bull, and him and junior made me fall in love with that breed of dog- Daddy had helped a lot of people, so I was sad to hear he'd passed away. I know I'm crazy, but I love that show!

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Hope you all had a Happy Tuesday, off to make some cards that need to be done by tomorrow!