Is that a four?

I'm sitting here staring at that four. I haven't been below 155 in a very long time. I'm thrilled and excited even though I'm only like .2 away from 155 it's still very satisfying to see that four appear.

I started the Wild Rose D-tox on Monday. I thought it would be harder and that I would be starving and craving and grumpy. But I'm not. Nope I feel amazing.

In the past 5 days I have slept better than I have in ages, I've got more energy than I know what to do with and I'm eating foods I really enjoy.

As part of the "moving is losing" regime I've started doing squats after every time I go to the washroom. Weird I know, but why not? While I'm drying my hands I do 15 squats if there is no one else in the washroom. Luckily I only work with 6 other girls so there rarely is. Since I drink a lot of water, I'd say about 15 SIG bottles during work, I use the washroom A LOT. At least 8 times a day. Which means I'm getting in 120 squats a day and it takes about 30 extra seconds or so.

I'm also stretching a lot more. For about 30 minutes in the evening while watching tv.

I do The Reg that I mention last week then I do a bunch of tricep moves then lots of stretching. Everyone should stretch, it's really important, probably more than we know. It keeps us limber and makes our muscles less likely to spaz out and cause us pain. It also lenghtens our muscles, it's one of the reasons ballet dancers and yogis always look so amazing! So if you do one thing this week stretch!

Let them eat cake!

One of the easiest choices to make was to get a cake or cupcakes from Cocoa Locale in Montreal.

The last time we went we trekked up to this bakery with intentions of getting some cupcakes, instead we got a wee cake! It was beyond delish and our intentions of saving some for the ride home were quickly thrown out the window! I think we had a banana cake, but I remember for sure, we are suckers for a good banana cake! It's a one woman show at Cocoa Locale, everything is baked fresh each day and once she's sold out the shop is closed..and apparently she sells out often!

(Both photos from Google images.)

Look at how cute the shop is too! It's beyond adorable! Obviously some photos need to be taken in there! I hope they aren't sold out by the time we get there!

Waiting and waiting....

I'm sitting here compulsively checking my email and cellphone waiting for the folks up at the Montreal Bureau de Mariage to tell me if we are getting married and if so at what time!

I had a dream that they called me and asked if I wanted 9am or 2pm, I picked 2pm. Except they won't ask me what time I want they will just give us the slot that is open. Every day that passes makes me more anxious. We are at the mercy of a civil worker!

AAAAAH!

One of the things that I think is quite cute about getting married in Montreal is that the courthouse has a room called the Salle de Celebration! Literally the Celebration Room! Who wouldn't want to get married in a room called that?

September is tumbling towards us at breakneck speed. In fact if everything goes to plan I will be married in 53 days. Five Three! Woah. Funnily enough I didn't even realise how many 9's were in the date. 9/19/09!

I admit that I've had some jitters. As we all know I'm a bit of a flake sometimes, most of those times seem to happen after seeing a beautiful wedding on a blog with photos that are stunningly beautiful. Then I snap back to reality when I remember that a) those weddings cost pots of money and b) I'm still having a reception at some point(most likely next summer)

The fact that it's all in someone else's hands (for now) makes my shoulders fall back from my ears.

I do know some things that will be happening in Montreal. I will eat all my favorite things! I will be happy to be in my favorite city! I will drink many different beers! I will sleep in the same hotel that John and Yoko did so many years ago!

I want it!

Several weeks ago I attended one of my bff mom's 60th birthday. It was at this party that her older sister let me take a look at her camera. It was at this party that I started mentally trying to justify going straight to the nearest camera store and buying it. Let me introduce you to my new obsession.....

The Canon G10.

It's 14 megapixels! It has a manual option! I can buy different lenses and filters for it! It has a hot shoe! It's like an SLR without the neck pain!

Oh and it's over 500 dollars. Wahhh.

Now I have a digital camera. One that was really good when I bought it 4 years ago. I held out for a long time on the digital camera so I did a lot of research before actually buying one. But recently it's been acting crazy. It seems to zap the power out of batteries in a New York minute and some times the photos are just not there or the memory card acts like a jerk. So many signs that it's nearing the end of it's short technological life.

I have a film SLR which The Mister bought me for my birthday one year and I was a film purist up until the digital. I used to even develop my own film in a dark room and everything. I can still smell the weird vinegary scent of the chemicals! I like that film is film, I never had to buy a new camera because it became obsolete after a year.

Then one day I was going on a trip. There would be hiking and lots of walking and maybe it was wiser to just get a small digital camera. My analog days were numbered.

I still love film. I have several vintage cameras and a medium format camera and toy cameras that make photos look really cool. I miss the days though when I carried a camera around with me all the time.

I would really like to have this for Montreal. A good camera makes all the difference.

So I really want the Canon G10, maybe I'll luck out and it will go on sale for half price!

It's back!

I didn't take a pic earlier this week but it read 159 on Monday. This week I have cut back on the sugar, sodium, flour, coffee and processed foods. I clocked in at least 10000 steps a day each day, one day I even came in just over 15000. I read somewhere the quote "If your moving your losing." and I keep repeating this in my head. Which is probably why the mister is giving me weird looks because I'm doing squats and crunches while watching tv! I feel better already, although I swear if you opened my fridge you would think I was nuts! I've got about 10 containers of berries in there right now and several containers of nut butters and so much fruit!

One of my best friends is back in town and I'm hoping to cheer her up with some physical activity outings. Some girls need ice cream and a bottle of wine but Savs is basically a guru of healthy things. She's a Kundalini yoga teacher, extremely talented tarot card reader, fitness buff and all around awesome woman. She's the one that taught me "The Reg".

What is The Reg? Well she learned it from when she was taking Gatka (seriously she's a ninja!) and it's pretty much awesome!

You start at 10 reps and each round you do one less.

So you do 10 squats, 10 push ups, 10 crunches, with no stopping between.

Then 9 of each, 8, 7 and so on, at around the 7 or 6 mark you want to cry then once you hit 4 your like "this is cake!"

It takes about 7 minutes or so and when your all done you've done 55 of each.

The Reg is the reason I can do push ups on my toes now!! I decided last night to do it every day maybe even more than once or I might tweak it a bit and do two sets of each number. I added weights to it last night doing squat presses etc. I highly recommend it to everyone, it's simple, fast and you don't need anything but yourself to do it!

That sound you heard...

If by chance you heard a noise last night that sounded like a mix between growling/sighing/despair it was probably me. I decided last night to try on my dress.
I hadn't tried it since I bought it so I thought I would.

It didn't fit. It didn't zip up and it wasn't just me being awkward with the self zipping of a dress there was no way in hades that it was going to zip. AND my hips looked like two giant shelves. My waist looked tiny but the hips were like I shoved two extra loaves of bread up under the dress, giant loaves of yummy italian bread..mmmm. um.
My waist was itsy bitsy though. I kind of looked like this....

image from Google.

Which really isn't the look I want at all.

Honestly though if I've gained weight since then it's been very little, maybe a pound or two, but I've gained muscle and things have shifted around a bit and the dress...it doesn't fit or look nice at all.

My first instinct was to burst into tears. Because that is the rational thing to do right? I didn't though instead I took the dress off, swore under my breath, hung it back in the closet and gave it some thought. Then I watched Coraline in 3D which took my mind off it for a while.

Then I laid in bed coming up with a plan. That's all I need right?

I've got just under 2 months. I work well under pressure!

This whole week has been spent just weaning myself off coffee and eating incredibly healthy. I've barely had any sugar, flour or processed foods. I'm preping myself for the detox kit next week. I'm going to continue eating this way for the next two months. I'm going to hit the gym more and start doing some exercise in the morning. I'm going to see where I am in terms of the dress in one month.

If I still am not feeling it I'm going to start looking for another one.

The main thing is that I don't panic. Instead I need to let this kick my butt into high gear.

Two dreams...one comes true!

Last night I had my first wedding dream......

The Mister and I were in Montreal at a Marche shopping for cheese and suddenly I realise that we are suppose to get married that day! I ask for the time and it's 4pm and I know that the last civil ceremony of the day is at 4:30pm so I go "Well I guess were not getting married!"
Then suddenly I'm thinking "I don't even have a bra to wear! Oh well I just wear the one I'm wearing, even though it's dirty." I woke up and instantly thought "Oh yeah I have to buy a new bra!"

When I was a little girl I was obsessed with what is now known as the Fairmont chain of hotels. In Toronto it's the Royal York, Quebec City has the Chateau Frontenac and in Montreal the Queen Elizabeth. I don't remember who but someone told me that when Royalty comes to visit that is where they always stay! I was in awe of these hotels because they were giant beautiful old buildings that had balls for important people and in my mind were the fanciest hotels in the world. I desperately wanted to stay at them. I tried in vain to get my parents to stay in them for just one night, but we never did.

Where am I going with this? Well I have been looking for a hotel for the last week or so trying to find a good deal. For some reason Montreal is one of the more expensive cities for hotels. We got every year and every year I find a deal for a room for under a hundred dollars. We don't spend much time in the room so we don't really need to have much more than a bed and a washroom. Thing is we also tend to go during off season, so everything is cheaper.
Nothing was coming up. Or more correctly lots of horrid hotels were coming up. As much as I would love to stay in a one star hotel with reviews of dirty linens, mean staff and loud neighbours.

Then last night I was on hotels.ca and I organized my search from low to high in price and what should come up? The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth! For 95 dollars a night! It was some timed deal so we booked it right then and there!

So finally I get to stay where at one of my childhood dream hotels! Not to mention this is the hotel where John Lennon and Yoko Ono had their famous bed in! This is the hotel where they recorded "Give Peace a Chance"! Best of all were saving over 250 dollars on our stay!
That's 250 dollars I can spend on shoes!

Red shoes!

Type Z "Jade" $39.55

RSVP "Lexi" $15.62(on sale!)

Promiscuous "Celebrate" $59.00

Delman "Sema-T" $184.30(on sale, normally $354.00)

All photos and shoes from Zappos.com
All prices in USD.

After realising that my dress wasn't made of crocheted rope I instantly started focusing on accessories. Because I know I'll have a hard time finding them I started my search for the perfect red shoes. Just like finding the perfect red lipstick, finding the perfect red shoe might be a difficult task. Do I want a deep red or a bright red? I thought I was going to go with satin, but I'm also drawn to the suede shoes at the top!

I have to admit my biggest crush is on the Delman. First off they are practically 50% off, I'm not sure I could spend 354 dollars on shoes, but 184 for shoes that are worth 354 well that's a deal that I dig.

I've never bought shoes over the internet, I have a hard time buying shoes in person. My foot fits shoes from size 8 to size 10! I know most sites offer no hassle returns so that makes me feel slightly better!

Here is the Delman from the front and top, just so you can see the detail on the toe....

And I exhaled and all was well...

Funny story....

I picked up my dress and saw it for the first time since the previous posts photo was taken.
For some reason in my head I had transformed it into a thickly crocheted lace dress, probably because The Mister mentioned a doily and I started thinking about how doilies look and how thick they were and how they were never white they were always off white and I transformed that dress in my head into a sort of ropey thick crocheted thing that I was sure was going to be off white. So I was actually surprised when I pulled back the garment bag and saw that it wasn't thick crochet lace but very thin delicate silk threads that made the lace and it was diamond white. I don't know how I could mutated it in my head so badly! Oddly enough I don't think it really looks like it does in that photo! I literally sighed with relief when I saw how beautiful it was! Phew!

As both The Canadian Bride and Always a Bridesmaid commented it doesn't need any embellishment, which I knew in my heart, but when you get on Etsy you suddenly become irrational and want practically everything! I doubt I'll wear the organza lab jacket or convert it into something else. I might pick up a nice light summer cashmere sweater because it could be chilly in the evening and my body temperature is always out of whack!

The only jewellery I'm going to be wearing is going to be my Nanny's charm bracelet. I'm not sure if I'll wear it on my wrist or wrap it around my bouquet but I need her with me. It makes a lot of noise but every charm on it has a story and it was my favorite thing in the world when I was small and I'd beg her to show me the charm bracelet and tell me the stories of each charm. She gave it to me the year she died and I've never actually worn it in public, I'm terrified I'll lose it but I always knew I'd wear it on my wedding day no matter what my outfit.

I don't really wear jewellery that much, even though I do have a really amazing pink pearl necklace that I got for Christmas one year. Which was really a surprise as I had seen it in a Birks ad in the Globe and Mail and just sort of randomly pointed at it(which I do a lot!) and said "Oh that's nice!" and then completely forgot about it! I also have a silver Tiffany's bracelet but I don't really wear that either.

I'm now on the hunt for shoes, definitely coloured shoes, that's something I always wanted no matter what! I'm also thinking I may need a pair of flats for walking Montreal in, I'm determined to wear my outfit all day!

I'm thinking of making my veil/fascinator but as I said Etsy lures me with it's Siren song!

I've got two months. Plenty of time right!

I feel like there may be some voting going on though because I like opinions and sometimes I'm easily led astray!

A little oh la la!

Remember this dress? The one I bought that the Mister saw and said it looked like a doily? The one I actually haven't seen since this photo was taken because it's been in the safe keeping of my bff?

Well I'm finally picking it up this weekend and bringing it home.

And I'm scared. I'm scared that I'm going to see it again and be underwhelmed by it. Although I keep scrolling up and looking at that photo and thinking "Dang I look hawt despite my mutton leg arms"

But I feel like I need to add something to it.

A belt that ties in a bow at the back? A pretty shrug? Some wrist length gloves? I'm completely unsure what but I feel it is lacking something.

It does come with an organza jacket that looks like a lab coat. A very pretty lab coat but a lab coat none the less. I'm wondering if I could rework it into something less....medical and into something more unique and sofisticated. Like this.....

From Etsy seller Modern Romance

Who also made this one which is simpler so it probably would look better with my dress....

That second one is all sorts of dramatic and I like that. A lot. If I'm going to elope I'm going to dress as eccentric and dramatic as possible! If I'm going to take that leap I'm going to do it my way!

You only live once right?!

Game changer.

I've probably mentioned it before but I LOVE Montreal. From the very first time I ever went when I was 14/15 I was smitten and have visited about once a year since then. It's "our" city, a place that is close to home but also seems worlds away and over the years we have become Montreal connoisseurs, trekking all over the city to find what we are looking for which in most cases is something edible. We routinely return home with our bags full of beers, bagels, cheeses and anything we have never seen in Ontario.

Le Cheval Blanche brewpub. Photo by me.

We visit brew pubs, bakeries, markets, churches and generally wander around in bliss. When we first got engaged we wanted to get married there but the requirements and laws sort of made it hard. You had to go in for an interview with a clerk before getting married and then they would let you know if your date and time were accepted. You could not change the date, place or time the ceremony HAD to take place when and where you said it was going to be or else! It was a lot of stress that was unnecessary.

Then I started planning something else, which as we all know didn't work out either. In fact the anxiety and misery wedding planning caused me was greater than I've ever let on here. It wasn't that I didn't know what to do or what I wanted, in fact right now I could easily plan out about 20 weddings if someone asked me to. As long as they weren't mine, it distressed me that the Mister had no interest in our wedding and I was left to do it all by myself without any feedback. I admit I was crying at work and in public, it was not a very good time for me. So I cancelled everything.

I cancelled it all and was instantly happier. Just last night a good friend even said "You know I said to my husband, haven't you noticed how much happier she is?" and he had.

So...uh...what was I talking about? Oh Montreal! This year for the first time we are going with another couple, who are excited to come with us because of our extensive knowledge and love of the city. We decided to go in September, too many festivals during the summer and the weather in September is usually always perfect.

I jokingly said to The Mister "Too bad we can't just elope then. Silly laws!" Two days later he forwarded me an email which had a bunch of attachments I opened the first one. "Dear Future Spouses" it read, "We have recently changed the laws and no longer require an interview"

Game changer! Yes there are still a bunch of rules and laws that have to be followed. We are still unsure about what were going to do. I have visions in my head of what I would want our wedding to be but I also just want to get married and get on with life, there are houses to reno and babies to be had and careers to work on. There are things that I'm not willing to wait for and things I am.

Will we elope? Were not sure yet. But it's definitely in the cards now.

Do the detox!(sung to "Do the Hustle")

Remember how I was taking photos every Friday of my scale? No? Well I was and then...I stopped. The lowest the scale said was 155.something but I seemed to be stuck at around 156-159.
I now rest at 159.

I've been meaning to do a diet detox for months now and just haven't found a "good time", but you know what? There's never going to be a "good time", there's always going to be something so next Monday I will start the Wild Rose Detox kit that has been sitting up in my cupboard, the same cupboard that currently holds every snack food known to man kind.

I'm not doing it to lose weight. I'm doing it to kick start my 21 days of clean eating. Why 21? Well they say a habit takes 21 days to form (and break!) The Wild Rose kit only fills 12 days but I'm going to continue to eat the same after I'm done the supplements that they provide you. I'm giving up sugars, gluten, dairy(oh sweet, sweet cheese I am so sorry for abandoning you...) and of course processed foods. Not to mention alcohol and caffeine. Yes my coworkers are going to LOVE me! I will probably bring back alcohol and dairy after the 12 days, but keep it organic! Seriously giving up alcohol during prime patio season in a country that has only 3.5 months of summer is suicide!

Summer is the perfect time to do a cleanse because the cheap local produce is abundant! There are farmers markets everywhere and grocery stores are bursting with deals like 3 pints of blueberries for 5 dollars!

I've decided that the rest of the summer is going to be devoted to getting in the best shape of my life, cleaning up my diet and having a really fun time.

Notes.

I have been keeping a little notebook so that when I think of something I can write it down. A majority of my note taking seems to happen on my commute each day. I highly recommend carrying a note book on you at all times especially if like me you are easily distracted by shiny things and instantly forget your amazing ideas!

Sometimes I write down single words, sometimes I write whole paragraphs and I have been looking at them and seeing similarities.

Here are some of my notes.

Opulent Rustic Intimate Entertaining Decadent Homey Elegant Fun Inviting

Long rectangular tables, local food served family style, vintage table linens, low over flowing centerpieces, simple homemade desserts, low lighting, vintage party games. Think about Noel Coward having a dinner party for his closest friends.

I'm slowly forming an idea. I'm trying not to be dazzled by all the amazing, lovely and stunning websites that somehow make me forget that we do have a budget(although were not sure what yet!) and that budget does not include having a team of planners come up with something really amazing. I think a lot of brides to be forget that a lot of what they see is not done by the bride alone but by a team of creative experts, yes occasionally there are some genuine DIY magical brides and I applaud them to the moon and back because by gum they are inspiring!

If you can drink it with a bendy straw then I'm in!

I know it's cliche but I adore champagne. Ever since my first sip which was on New Years Eve when the 90's started(which makes me feel très vieux! I wasn't drinking age but I was dating age.) I remember thinking "this should run out of the taps!" It's not something I drink very often but for celebrations I believe they are a must! I have some vintage champagne glasses like the ones on the record cover above they are also handy for serving desserts!

I remember the first time I saw a mini bottle of champers. It basically ticked off all the boxes on the list of things I like! Small! Cute! Drinkable with a bendy straw! Yes I am that easy to please! Sadly I've never actually had my very own. The few times I've set my mind to picking them up seem to be the few times they are all sold out! Boo! I love the bottles above with the little wrist straps just so you won't lose it! Hee!

The last time I popped across the border we went to this amazing liquor store the kind of store that I thought only existed in my dreams! It was the size of my local grocery store and it had another smaller store attached to it just for beer and gourmet foods. There I spied for the first time the Sofia minis. I hemmed and hawed over buying them and in the end decided that the 97 bottles of different beers we were bringing back would be enough! Next time though I'm not leaving without them! That and the pre-made martinis that came in a plastic martini glass! You peeled off the top and drank! Convenience at it's best!

I'm sort of in love with the packaging of the Sofia. I'd love to have a toast where every one has their own wee can, it's slightly cutesy and slightly trashy which I think is perfectly me!

The Nanette Lepore!

So...there it is! The Nanette Lepore in action! It looks like I'm gazing down at my cleavage, but really I'm listening to someone talking. I swear when I left my house my hair was BIG and blown out and giant rollered and sprayed, but the weather (above freezing) and my baby fine hair decided that less is more and instantly fell flat. Another funny thing is that I'm wearing my glasses. I tend to take them off for photos, even though they are one of the priciest items I own. Any how there it is! Now I just need some more places to wear it!