Top Three Thursday

This weeks top three Thursday topic over at Keeping up With Kelly is Top Three Vacation spots. I'm going to alter it slightly seeing as I don't really go anywhere and make it Top Three DREAM Vacation spots.

1) Venice, Italy: Such a beautiful city that is so rich in history and architecture. I would love to spend a week just exploring.



2)Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I'm pretty much addicted to the history found here as well. I would love to go and visit the area where the World War II attacks took place, and visit some of the ships that still lay there. This (as well as the Hawaiian beaches) appeal to me.


3) Paris, France: Again, such a beautiful place. I think the Eiffel Tower should be on everyone's must see list. A friend of my left for France on a two week trip today. I'm VERY jealous.


So there you have it. Hopefully my wonderful fiance will take notes about these potential honeymoon destinations! If you want to play along, head on over to Kelly's blog.

Another mid-week weekend update

I just can't seem to get these weekend updates accomplished early in the week. I think I'm just going to stop trying and make the mid-week weekend update the theme of my blog.

Anyways, for all of us Canadian residents this weekend was Victoria's Day weekend (better known as May 2-4) which gave everyone a well deserved three day weekend. I was SO busy, I feel like I didn't have much of a break at all.

Friday: I worked, and after work C and I went to check out some florists. The next bog thing on my list, at the moment anyway, is our centerpieces, mainly because there are quite a few "pieces" to them, some of which I want to get bought and out of the way now. I can't say our florist trip was all that helpful. It's kind of hard to get them to commit to a price for two years from now. That and I really didn't find anything even close to what my vision was, so I got slightly annoyed and discouraged. Which meant going home, flicking on the computer and searing the internet for the rest of the night for the perfect images of my exact centerpiece idea. So now, for next time, I will go prepared with said pictures and hopefully get farther.

Saturday: I worked. But after work was Taylor Swift! I have to say this concert was awesome. I went with some girlfriends:

Here we all are outside of the stadium ( I really have no idea what I'm doing with my arm and why it looks so awkward). It was fun going to a concert with just the girls. I love C, but I can't say that he is exactly the biggest Taylor Swift fan, so it was fun to go with a group of people who I knew were enjoying it just as much as I was. Here are some pics from the night:

Gloriana and Kellie Pickler were the opening acts. Kellie Pickler is the third American Idol contestant that I have seen this year (The other two being Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hick) and I love her. She is so cute.















Then Came Taylor:

You Belong With Me:

Teardrops on My Guitar:

Love Story:

Should Have Said No:

I took about a million more picture, those are just a few of my favourites (Songs and Pictures)

Which brings me to Sunday: The bestest had a small May 2-4 party at her house with a few close friends. I went there determined not to drink, not sure why. But of course we got there, and the first drink got handed to me and the rest is history. Details.....
It was fun though. V was there, and this was the first time since I saw her since the wedding, so it was nice to catch up. Between all of our busy schedules we don't get a whole lot of chances to all be together in one place anymore, so its always nice to just sit back, relax and catch up with good friends.

Monday: This was SUPPOSED to be rest day, but it turned into cleaning day. My room desperately needed it done, and my OCD was starting to trigger, so I had to do it. I'm happy I did, I can find everything now. I also got around to hanging a picture frame that I got for Christmas.....two years ago....I love it. It looks MUCH better on the wall then it did on my floor. My next goal is to get my engagement pictures developed, and placed in the frame that I bought forever ago and hang that up! Monday afternoon I saw Letters to Juliet (yes....again!) Apparently I told my mom that I would see it with her, but I don't recall the conversation and went with C instead. But I loved the movie so much I told her I'd go again. I will not gush this time, but I will let you know that even after the second viewing the movie did not disappoint.

Yesterday C and I saw Robin Hood. I didn't like it. I was confused and lost for a good portion of the movie and I found it WAY too long (I was bored roughly by the half way point). But don't take my word on this one. I was never a big Robin Hood fan so I'm not going to even pretend to be the best critic.

Which brings me to today! Today is exactly two years until my wedding day. This is exciting for me because it means that tomorrow I can say that my wedding is only 1 year and 364 days away, which sounds SO much better than 2 years. Agreed?

Other than that, right now I am sitting in my sisters house, in which her AC has crapped and its 30 plus degrees. This makes for very miserable children. So I'm thinking when K gets home from school and B wakes up from her nap, its outside, in the sprinkler and some prime tanning time for auntie, until it is time for the manicure with V and my mommy.

This post turned WAY longer than initially planned. If your still here, I apologize.

Hope everyone had an equally awesome weekend and an even better week!

Letters to Juliet

Hello All!

I'm back from a slight blogging hiatus. I just feel like there hasn't been much to write about these past few days. It's like my life went from crazy busy to really boring in a matter of minutes. But anyways, all that aside, I'm back.

Yesterday, C decided that he was going to take me to see Letters to Juliet. I have been talking about seeing this movie for months, all the way back to when I saw the first preview, so needless to say I was very excited. It definitely did not disappoint.

This movie has every element in it to make a very happy Leanne.

It made me laugh.....

....and cry.

It was set in one of the most beautiful places in the world: Verona, Italy.

Italy is definitely on my list of must see places. My dream trip would actually be Venice (TRYING to talk C into this for the honeymoon, but that's another blog for another day.) But Verona is close enough, and no less gorgeous.

It had a not to shabby looking boy, with a hot English accent (yeah I have a thing for accents..)

It ties into Shakespeare, and I am a major Shakespeare buff (I'll openly admit it, even if it makes me a nerd.) Not only does it relate to Shakespeare, it directly references one of my absolute favourite plays.....

...What can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic.

And last, but certainly not least it has Taylor Swift on its soundtrack (Love Story, of course) who, have I mentioned, I am going to see next Saturday with some girlfriends!!!

Anyways, I think you get the point that I love, love, LOVED this movie.

It's a predictable chick flick of course, but I'm into those kinds of movies. So if you are like me and you like the sappy, happy ending romantic stuff then I give Letters to Juliet five stars out of five and definitely recommend that you go and see it.

Crossing off the Checklist.

I guess the best way to begin this post is to explain my slight problem with OCD. I tend to tell people that I am borderline OCD. No, I don't have to enter a room by flicking a light on and off 15 times, I'm not OBSESSIVE about cleanliness (I don't have to scrub my floor a million times a day). I do have little quirks.

I HAVE to be in control. I like to confirm things a million times, just to make sure. I like people to confirm things with me. When planning something (like a wedding?) I get very anxious about the fact that other people are in control. Yes, I can tell the limo driver 5 million times that he needs to show up at 11, but that doesn't mean that he will. Same goes for the venue. Chances are, I will be the bride that is at my venue the night before setting things up just so I can rest easy that night that it is done correctly, and that everything is there, where it's supposed to be an looking perfect.

On top of this, I also have a bit of a problem with making decisions (I'm sure you got that from the million venue posts). I question everything, I look for flaws and then I fixate on them. When I FINALLY make a choice (which usually is initiated by at least 3 other people telling me that they like it) I then go home and question it in my head some more. This causes nightmares, stress, a possible change of my mind and so on....There is a reason I haven't even started looking at dresses yet.

..And then we can talk about the way I deal with stress. I don't. I cry, get upset, yell, scream, throw things, blame people and become impossible to live with.

So ultimately, what this all boils down to, is why I am planning a wedding over 3 years and getting everything done SO early. At first, it was because I got out voted by C and my mom. Now, I'm well aware that I need this time to drive my vendors crazy with my obsessive phone calls and questions. I also need to reduce the pre-wedding stress so that C doesn't go crazy listening to me.

This being said, last week we got another wedding detail crossed off our list. We bought our rings! I realize it's still 2 years away (look above for the explanation...again!) but we got an AMAZING deal (roughly half off of the quoted price, which was already half off of the original price. I don't have any pictures yet because I haven't brought them home yet. When I bring it home, I will post pictures. I'm pretty excited to get this done. I think it's one of those minor details that most couples leave until RIGHT before the wedding, when all of the other deposits are due. Doing it this way, C and I were able to get rings that we love, and were able to spend more than we would right before the wedding.

Now the only challenge is remembering to not put it on until the wedding.

Jack and Jill

First of all, I hope everyone had an awesome Mothers Day.

C and I took both sides of our family to our venue for a mothers day brunch, something that I was actually really nervous about. Our families have met before, but only in situations were the chance to socialize was minimal, so this was the first time in which actual conversation would be allowed. Despite my fears it went well. Everyone seems to get along, and the all LOVED the venue that C and I worked so hard to find, so all in all we had a good day.

Moving on to the actual purpose of this blog.....

From the day C and I got engaged, his family has been pretty persistent about the idea of having a Jack and Jill. I need to say right away that I'm not a fan of these kinds of parties.....at all....
I generally find them tacky, and an obvious cash grab on the part of the bride and groom. I have only attended Jack and Jill's that are hosted in a dingy rec hall, in which you have to pay 20 bucks to get in the door and listen to Uncle Bob play oldies on his ipod, while you eat Grandma's homemade treats and spend a fortune on booze just to ensure that you survive the night.

So yeah, each and every time this topic was attacked I pretty much just sat there nodding and smiling while thinking in my head that there was no f-ing way I would ever be a part of one of these.

This exact thought was running through my mind last week when C's parents suggested the party yet again. I sat there nodding and preparing to drift off knowing that there was nothing they could say that would convince me in the slightest to go over to the dark side. That's when they came out from left field with the idea of hosting said party on this:


All of a sudden they had my undivided attention. C and I actually considered having out wedding on a cruise ship, so this is definitely right up my alley. We went from discussing a tacky party in a dark, depressing rec room, to a classy event. I much prefer having the guest of my Jack and Jill get something out of the money they are spending. With this option, my friends are not blindly handing me money to sit and drink in my backyard, but a rather getting a full night out - 4 hours on a ship, a full dinner, and DJ and dancing. To me, this is a much better option.

So I am SLOWLY letting myself get excited. We are still in the process of ironing out the details, both with the cruise company and C's parents who will most likely be hosting, so stay tuned for updates!

Favourite Friday: Favourite Animated Movie

This weeks Favourite Friday Topic is Favourite animated movie.

I have posted before about my obsession with Disney. Narrowing down my absolute favourite is pretty difficult as there are SO many that I could watch over and over and over again.

But because it is Favourite Friday, I will force myself to make a decision.

It would have to be Beauty and the Beast.

Its the ultimate rags to riches love story. I laugh, I cry, and it always leaves me happy.

I have watched the movie thousands of times (can't wait until K and B hit the Disney stage so I can have an excuse to watch them all more often). I dressed up as Belle for Halloween one year and I have seen the Beauty and the Beast play. Definitely one of Disney's bests.

Head on over to Jen's blog if you want to play!

Top Three Thursday

Kelly over at Keeping Up With Kelly has a weekly Top Three Thursday Feature, and I thought this weeks topic (Favourite three things about your mom) was nice.

So the top three things that I love about my mother are:

1) Our relationship: I have SO much fun with my mom. It's almost like going out with friends. Whether we are shopping, eating, going to a movie, or just hanging around the house it is always fun and there is typically a story that will come out of it.

2) The Relationship she has with my dad: I have always said that I would be so lucky to have a marriage like my parents. My mother and father have been together from the time my mom was 13. She got pregnant young (16), and my dad stuck around (and fathered two more children) and they are still happily married and more in love then any couple I have ever seen. They have mutual respect for one another, they talk things through and they never take the other one for granted. If C and I are capable of building even half of the life that my parents have worked so hard to provide for us then I would be blissfully happy.

3) Her honest yet loving attitude: I can always count on my mom to tell me the truth. Even if it may not be the nicest thing in the world, she will not lie to me and I find that refreshing. I know that if I ask my mom for her opinion, she will not lie to spare my feelings, but would rather be honest and save me from any further embarrassment.

So there you have it. Head over to Kelly's blog if you want to play!

This has been a crazy week, with me working crazy hours (between the girls and my other part time job). I have a bunch of news (most of it limited to the wedding, of course) but I will save that for another post (one which I may or may not post later tonight, after a well deserved nap).

Until then!

Surprises

My wonderful Fiance came home with this lovely surprise for me last night:

It's actually funny because I literally just posted on Cream and Cotton's blog yesterday afternoon that I stay away from expensive sunglasses because of how abusive I am to them.

But then C brought home these beauties
and I am head over heels in love. So I am going to try my very best to be very careful.

I love random, just because surprises.

Weekend and Wedding.

So lets begin with the fact that I am sick, and have been so since Friday (the wedding was Saturday).

Thursday, before I got sick, we began the day with mani/pedi's for just the bridal party.
This was fun, and a nice way for the girls to just hang out and relax before the craziness began. Thursday evening we had the rehearsal dinner. This was a little less formal than any other rehearsal that I have seen. We basically ran through the order we would be in when walking down the aisle, and the venue co-coordinator went through our positioning and timing for the ceremony for both the outdoor and indoor settings (just in case). We then headed back to V's parents house for a mini BBQ and some fun conversation. We also did gifts at the rehearsal dinner. The boys got watches with the wedding date engraved on the back, and the girls got out necklace and earrings for the day, as well as a cute collectors bell with the word bridesmaid engraved on it, and our money back for our shoes.


This is the entire BP at the rehearsal, and probably the best picture of all of us that I have.

Friday was a rest day. I watched the girls, but I was definitely sick, and beginning to get very worried that I caught the strep throat that my sister had earlier in the week while also praying that it went away before the next day.

It didn't, but it did get a little better. By Saturday morning I was positive it was not strep, but just a minor cold that I probably caught from one of the two cute little girls that I spend three days a week with. So I sucked it up, fed myself some cough medicine and made myself useful.

Saturday morning did not go EXACTLY as planned. There were a few very minor problems (the limo didn't show up to take us to our hair appointment, the photographer was an hour late getting to the house, and then left before us but got to the venue 20 minutes after us, and the DJ lost her itinerary for the whole day) even so, V was probably one of the calmest brides I have ever seen. She didn't let anything get to her all day, and handled it with stride. She says that the only thing that would have upset her was moving the ceremony inside. This was a concern earlier in the day (it was pouring) but by the time we got to the venue and were ready to go the sun was shining, it was warm and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. All in all, even though the morning was rough, V got to marry S the way she planned, so, for her, the day was perfect and that's all that really matters.

So with those intellectual thoughts, I will leave you with some wedding photos!

The Beautiful Bride

Bridesmaids

V and S - Officially Mr and Mrs.

The love of my life and I

Hope everyone else had an awesome weekend!