All done outside except for lighting the candles, all done inside with treats in two bowls - 1 with peanuts and 1 without, just waiting for the kids now! Who will be first? Three little pigs won the dress competition at the ice hockey on Friday ...
and my little granddaughter home in England was a purple owl!!
We all have our own favourites. If you were asked to name 10, my guess is that the one I am passionate about wouldn't be on the list at all. And it really should be because I can almost guarantee that it has touched your life. It's Action Medical Research. If you had polio drops on a sugar cube - that was down to research funded by Action. If you took, or know anyone who took, folic acid whilst pregnant - that was down to research funded by Action. A rubella jab? That, too, was down to Action.
It is COMMITTED to raising money to find ways of making sick children's lives better. I could go on for pages but really the best thing I can do is direct you to their website.
As you may have realised, I am very lucky. I love this job and because of it, I get to spend a lot of time in Canada. This is good because if I make enough trips with Air Canada in a year I acquire a status - this gets me into their airport lounges, to the front of the queue when boarding, sometimes eligible for an upgrade to business class if economy is full. But the BIG plus is ...
it comes with an extra bagagge allowance!
Yup - that simple, 3 cases each allowed to weigh a max of 32kg. So what do I use this 'extra' allowance for? Magazines, wedding magazines to be precise [and stuff for the babies as well, I admit] but it's the magazines that I really need the weight for. They are glossy, thick and heavy and I can't get enough of them!!!
I LOVE Wedluxe which is Canadian and Real Simple Weddings and Martha Stewart Weddings. The real weddings are so amazing.
Some time ago now, Martha [bless her] featured the wedding of Laura and Ben in Brooklyn. Now despite this wedding being a little orange [which you'll rememeber from earlier in the month, I didn't really like at that time!], it took my eye. It was quirky, cute and individual. But it went further, the bride reminded me of Hannah's friend Helen. She doesn't look like her and I can never remember Helen having her hair as short but there's something... Maybe the way she holds her head, maybe the way she smiles, maybe the way she looks as if she would have fitted into the 50's/60's ... really couldn't and still can't tell you what it is. Told Hannah and she did the Hmmmm, maaaaybe bit. Obviously with all the excitement of Helen's upcoming wedding, it came back to me. Does anyone else who knows Helen see it? I don't know what it is but here are the images.
Style note: Love the fabric covered cufflinks matching to the tie
and pocket handkerchief.
Wonder what she's thinking?
Know a place in Toronto where they make fab paper cranes, butterflies,
flowers etc. Note to me: Do a post
Can you write beautifully? Wish I could
Nice to have a favour that will grow
So there you have it - quirky, cute and individual. And Helen? D'you know, it could be the shoes or the bicycle! There's just something that shouts Helen. I do hope she doesn't mind or I could be in trouble!
I'm sorry but you'll have to indulge me a little. It seems that every image I look at is either bridal parties or flower girls. Can't imagine why but it may have something to do with a post earlier this week - suggestions on postcards only, please.
So today's all about ... Flower Girls !!! Are these ones cute or what?
Always good to have company at a wedding, wouldn't you say. He's a bobby dazzler for sure - and don't you just love his bow tie and the green trainers, not to mention the cap!
Now ... it's time to use your imagnation to turn this little poppet
With some pratice - "Follow me - it's easy"
into this
or this
or even this
Hope you enjoyed. I did!
Next week, we'll use Mummy as inspiration and see what can be found for her!
Last weekend at the Wedding Show, I saw one of my daughter's friends. We did a bit of sqealing and hugging and chatting. I hadn't seen her for some time although when they were still at school, I saw her a lot. There was this tight group of friends, most of whom went to Leeds to university when they left school and they are still regularly in touch. In fact, this coming weekend they are all off to Centre Parks with their respoective partners and 2 'babies' Think Nars is almost 1 and of course, Ivy is almost 2. Tt was so lovely to see Helen after such a long time and she got the usual - "Have you seen Ivy lately? I have some photos on my phone". Then we chatted weddings for a little while and off she went, having told me that she was going to call and see Hannah, Alex & Ivy on the Sunday.
Why is all this exciting? Helen had a secret! She was going to see Hannah for a reason. To ask if IVY could be a flower girl ! AND, as if that wasn't enough, would Hannah be a bridesmaid along with two others from the school posse !!! There will be two other little bridesmaids/flower girls as well. She knew all along what a poppet Ivy is!! She has subsequently told me that it was very hard not to say anything. But good on her - it will be her day and why should a chance meeting with me change her planning timetbale.
There is actually a moral to this story, as well as my excitement ...
Thought I would re-post this from earlier in the year as it gives the answer to the question Why Canada? There are lots of reasons but these are the main ones.
- there are no citizenship or residency requirements;
blood tests or medical certificates are not required;
- you can get married anywherealthough you will need your feet on dry land to sign the marriage license!
And yes, that does mean outside in the open air is legal without the need for a civil ceremony before or after. Choose from parks, gardens, castles, forests, boardwalks, bridges,
in a canoe on the lake, a deserted beach, in the Skypod of the CN Tower,
on the ice rink at Nathan Phillips Square, overlooking Niagara Falls
- literally anywhere;
- the ceremony can be held at any time.
- you can write the entire ceremony yourself. The officiant will ensure that the words required to make it legal are incorporated. If that seems too daunting, you can add some special words into a standard service;
and lastly, but not least
- same sex weddings have been legal in Ontario since June 11th 2003.
And that is weddingsnot civil partnerships.
Also watch this video. The poem, We Are More, was "recited?" - or should it be slammed - at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
SO inspirational and just LOVE the closing line - "We didn't just say it, We made it be". That's Canada. Thanks Shane
Despite only starting a week ago today, it seems like FOREVER since the show. It wasn't a good idea to fly in from a business trip that included a wedding overnight on the Wednesday to land mid-day Thursday and need to be at Earls Court for 7.30 on Friday morning and be alert and happy and helpful. I think I did the happy & helpful but the alert bit was a struggle at times - please forgive! However, we had a great time and met some lovely people and got some interesting enquiries for both weddings and honeymooons - snow, ski-ing, sailing, fishing Autumn, Summer, Winter ...
Here's a couple of shots of the stand. Taken by your truly NOT a professional.
The back wall was all images of real weddings and the end wall was images of Ontario Experiences
More of the back wall. Whoops - sorry about the rubbish boxes.
Looking from the open end into the stand over the "bar"
The coat is designed by a lady called Justine Horrocks and the style is Sophi and I SO want one! What you can't see is the train at the back which is long enough to be long but not so long as to be over the top. It also comes short - obviously without a train although someone did ask me if the short one had a train. We couldn't quite work out where she was going with that one!
The Sparkling Ice Cuvee Wine from Peller Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake was FAB and very well received by all who tasted. You can buy it in this country. Our favourite supplier is Harper Wells from near Norwich who will ship just one bottle - but who only needs one bottle? Mention Maple Leaf Weddings if you enquire.
We also had some fab cupcakes in typical Canadian colours and styles, also minicakes which were made for us by Tulip Hill Cakery - Noreen is amazingly creative and will supply the cakes as fantastic displays, in presentation boxes or just in plain boxes.
Presentation box with chocolate cup cakes
Four tier stand - can go up to seven
Close up of the tiny edible flowers on top of the mini-cakes
Think they are all very cute and Noreen so talented to be able to create them. Oh - yes, they do taste GOOD as well!
Will explain about some of the other bits and pieces next week. I'll also elaborate on the wedding that was on the Wednesday before the show & should have some images by then.
And some very exciting news [for me] that a visitor to the stand knew all about on the Friday but kept secret and didn't tell me. But, Helen, you're forgiven - you did the right thing!
Once upon a time ...there was a person who didn't like yellow - me. I never really understood what it was about the colour but I didn't like it, nor orange. Blue was really MY colour. Never had yellow flowers in my house, or in my garden for that matter, plenty of blue. And this dislike has carried on until about three years ago when I began to realise that there was something about reds turning to russets turning to oranges turning to yellows - the colours of Autumn. One of my favourite pastimes has always been kicking the leaves. Is that not why they fall off the trees? Digressing, that's one of the things that gets to me about Canada in the Fall. There are all these trees and as the leaves fall, they are collected up! Almost instantly!! They just don't seem to get the concept of kicking the leaves. I don't do my garden, much to the neighbour's annoyance - she really thinks I leave them to blow on to her lawn so she has to sweep them up. Of course, I don't - I leave them so I can kick through them when I go to the shed or take the washing out or have fun with the boys if they're around. See what I mean?
Even Daddy joined in!!!
And then there're flowers. Again never been a yellow or orange flower person [Most certainly DON'T do marigolds] or a chrysanthemum person until ... those lime green spikey ones started appearing and that led me to others. Now come Fall, the front deck pots are full of "Mums" all in shades of - you guessed it - yellow, orange, russet red. Real autumn colours and I love them! Never been a fan of dahlias [too many earwigs] but have seen them lately in bridal party and bride's bouquets and gradually I am being converted. Part of it, I guess, is the fact that they are different. Not seen too many in wedding flowers across here. I'm all for finding something different and that's getting harder and harder. So many of the emails that I get and blogs that I see just recycle the same old, same old. Today, the Martha Stewart Weddings email that came through actually had some different bouquets in Autumn colours ... and yes, there is a dahlia bouquet, and yes, I do like it - you might also note some yellows in there too!
Not sure quite how I managed the past 5 weeks - but I DID! Now I have so much new and exciting, it's difficult to know where to start.
So ... I think we will take it slowly.
S-L-O-W-L-Y, Pennie, S-L-O-W-L-Y.
I have found new venues, watched a wedding take place in Niagara-on-the-Lake [the bride & groom will be back home tomorrow- beat them by 6 days - but I CANNOT believe that right now, they haven't even been married a week!] and exhibited for 3 days at the National Wedding Show in London, UK.
It has all been SO exciting. I just kept going until yesterday when, back in the office, I found myself falling asleep at my desk! Today has been better and I'm sure I will be back to normal [whatever that may be] very soon. SO ... the blog. What do I start with?
Nothing to do with any of the above. But a nudge that Christmas is on the way. I had a reminder email earlier this evening from The One of a Kind Show. I try to time a trip to Toronto at the end of November / beginning of December so I can go. It's a really great show for buying unusual christmas presents. Last year I fell in love with "The Family of Misfits". This is them.
and they are explained by their creators as
"representing a specific characteristic or trait of an undesirable nature. But with the attached storybook each doll explains why their trait is actually great and how you too can grow to love it. They are on a mission to solve a world of insecurities, one felt doll at a time."
They are used a lot in schools to explain to children how it's ok not to be the same as everyone else. Could be a good idea to introduce them into our primary schools. Psychology aside, I just fell in love with them last year. I have fat friends, thin friends, dotty friends, friends with no boobs, friends with big boobs ... watch out - you could all be getting one for Christmas this year! I did bring just one home last year for a special friend. I'm not saying which doll it was or who I bought it for - but I know she loves it !!!
