Maps

Inspired by our honeymoon travels, Ryan bought a giant antique-style National Geographic map to hang in our living room. When we unrolled the package and laid it out on the floor, I couldn't help but sit right on top of it, totally immersed in how big the world is. I felt that same feelings I got back in my earliest geography classes - excitement, wonder, the desire to learn more about each tiny place. Maybe it was that excitement, or maybe just because the map was so big, that made me feel like a kid again.

The plan is for that excitement to inspire us to visit somewhere new each year.

We just got back from a 9 country European honeymoon - Holland, Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Greece, and Turkey.

Where should we go next?

Long Time No Talk

Thought I forgot about you? Well, you wouldn't be that wrong. This past year was incredibly busy - full of ups and downs and twists and turns. It's kind of perfect that my last post was "We're Engaged!", because up until recently, my wedding occupied the majority of my time. With our celebration in Kingston, and having just moved to Toronto, our weekends were spent driving back and forth negotiating with vendors and finalizing details. Not to mention, the weekends we spent writing guest lists, attending showers, writing thank you cards...

I've learned that when you say "yes", you're really saying "no" or "maybe later" to everything else in your life until you finally say "I do".

Our wedding was beautiful, everything I imagined and more (check out the amazing photography by Toronto-based Odd Sparrow). That being said, I'm glad that it's over. I'm glad that we can return to everything else that I've missed over the past year. Reading, writing, painting, baking, traveling, and more.

I'm glad to be back.

On our honeymoon, leaving Turkey

We're engaged!

Since I was a little girl, I've always dreamed of going on a hot air balloon ride. On October 23rd, a Saturday, Ryan surprised me with a flight! We were lucky to get up because the weather was calling for wet snow. Fate must have been smiling down on us, because the day ended up being beautiful and we got the last flight of the season. In the back of my head I thought, wouldn't this be a romantic proposal? But, as we quickly learned, hot air balloon rides are not as romantic and easy breezy as you'd think. Our take off was chaotic, with our Aussie pilot having to jump up on the basket and cut the incorrectly tied knot holding us down with an 8 inch knife (later referring himself to Crocodile Dundee). We were up in the air as high as 2200ft for about 40 minutes. There were 6 other passengers with us. Our landing was even less graceful than the take-off. Our best option for landing was a construction site - the only alternatives were a bog and an angry farmer's field. We dragged in our basket on our side for 20 very bumpy feet. All in all though, a great experience that I'd gladly do again! It took about an hour for the team to find us and load up the equipment in the trailer, after which we had a champagne toast.

Image via Flickr (Pip Johnson)

By this time, I was sure that my proposal hunch was just that - another hunch. It's not the first time I thought... hmmm.. maybe?? So, I wasn't surprised or disheartened to be "wrong" again. Ryan had plans to go to a team-only baseball party that was being hosted at his place. I suggested we go out to dinner first, so we could get the most of our romantic hot air balloon date before I would go home for the evening. He didn't like the dinner idea - he explained that the boys were cooking hot dogs, so dinner wasn't necessary. As consolation, he suggested we stop at our park bench in Strathcona Park. I thought this was a good compromise. We grabbed some hot chocolates and biscotti and headed on our way.

When we got there, we were disappointed to see another couple on "our" bench! (I suppose I should first explain why this was "our" bench, and why we couldn't just sit on any other. This is the bench where Ryan and I had our first kiss three years ago! It's also the bench where he took me after I got back from a four month work exchange in Norway to give me a candy ring, explaining that since I now had a ring, I was taken.) After carefully observing the situation, it seems the other couple was in the midst of a rather ugly break up. Rather than just leaving (as I suggested), Ryan was persistent that we'd wait for our bench. About 20 minutes later, our bench was finally cleared. We walked over there, sat down for a while and chat, and when we were about to leave, he stood me up and gave me a big hug. I could feel his heart pounding through his chest. He started talking about our first kiss on the bench, and then about the candy ring he gave me. He said, "remember how back then, I gave you a ring, and told you that now you have a ring you're taken?"...(this is when I caught on, and began giggling and nervously and excitedly saying, "shut-upppp, shut-upppp!!! shut-upppp!" He went down on one knee and did the formal, romantic proposal - "Sarah Jane Jones, I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you! Will you marry me?" Obviously, I said YES!

After a few minutes of letting it all soak in, we decided we'd go for dinner at the restaurant where we had our first date, Pilos (a delicious Greek restaurant). This is when all the texting, phone calls started, and the excitement really set in! After barely being able to eat anything because of our excitement, we left the restaurant. We wanted to bring the wine bottle so we can save the label as memorabilia. As Ryan thought would happen, the server stopped us on our way out explaining that we couldn't take the bottle. All I had to do was flash my new ring and explain that we were just engaged. Her eyes lit up with excitement and she ran inside to fetch us what she called, "the nicest cork we have!"

All in all, it was a great day that I'll never forget!!! The ring has a rose gold band and a round cut diamond! I love it!!

On top of the world in Norway

Three years ago, around this time of year, I ventured off to Norway to do a work-term exchange. I was fortunate to have a connection at Kvitfjell Ski Resort -- one of the sites of the '94 Lillehammer Olympic -- where I would work on the marketing team for the destination.
I remember being completely overwhelmed by how beautiful it was there. On my first day, we went offroading to get to the peak. I was asked to take pictures of the new lifts for a local newspaper. To my Norwegian colleagues, the scene was nothing out of the ordinary. The new Canadian intern, on the other hand, was speechless. I remember being disappointed by how the pictures turned out. They didn't seem to capture the magnitude of the landscape's beauty (looking at them now it's hard to believe). It was completely surreal. At 854ft above sea level, I remember literally feeling 'on top of the world'. There were some days we drove through clouds on our way up the mountain, just to get to work. Looking at these pictures again has brought on a huge wave of nostalgia. I loved my time there. But what I love even more is the fact that I had the guts to make this adventure happen. I can't wait to go back.

Sometimes we let the little things prevent us from seeing the bigger picture.

the view from my apartment, 2 ways

Boldness

A friend just told me that a quote I have in my profile is the same she used in her high school yearbook. I had to double check to see what quote that was. As soon as I saw it, I immediately remember why I like it so much:

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

- Goethe

Simple, to the point, and exactly what I needed to remind myself.

What I do late at night

Typically when I'm home alone at nights, I end up staying up way too late, eating one chocolate too many, and inevitable getting lost in the whirlpool that is my mind.

What do I do at this juncture in my life? Is it okay to say, "I don't know?" Is that a fair response? I don't feel like it is... There are so many things that I want in life, but none of those "things" really matter. I want a home, I want a family, I want a great kitchen, nice wine glasses, good shoes... what girl doesn't want these things? But, behind all these wants, there's this great big feeling inside my gut that tells me I need to spend less time working towards these things and more time working towards figuring out what I really want.

The big question - what do I do with my life? My big answer - I don't know! It's so hard pin pointing it down. I'm 24. I'm afraid that if I stop what I'm doing now, I'll lose my steady paycheque, my "progress" in the business, my ability to buy the aforementioned "things" for myself... At the same time, I feel like my "progress" in the industry isn't bringing me closer to where I want to be. One thing I know for certain is that what I'm doing today is not what I want to be doing a year from now. So, based on this assertion, shouldn't it be easier to say, "okay, then do something else!?" I'm afraid that I'll spend time and resources figuring out what that "else" is. I'm afraid of taking a step back, being further away from the conventional indicators of "success". I'm afraid to take a chance and try something new, something that I think I might enjoy and might be good at.

I think we live in a society where fear guides too many of our decisions. We're afraid of what people might think. I'm afraid of losing some security. I'm afraid that I might not choose the right path for myself. But why am I not afraid of inaction? My little self assignment this month is to let go of this fear. "I don't know" doesn't need to be scary - can't it be exciting?

I'm listening to...

Illustration Fridays

Ever heard of Illustration Friday? It's a website where every week, participants are invited to illustrate a new word, phrase, or idea. You have to upload a link to your illustration before each Friday of every week. This week's word was "double". Since it's my first contribution to the site, I had trouble picking exactly how I'd illustrate the concept. There are so many ways... the obvious first came to mind - double decker bus, double decker sandwich, twins, seeing double...

...double headed monster...

...double peanut...
...rolling a double......seeing your "double", i.e. reflection......double scoop......and, probably what I'll need this Friday.

I enjoyed this little exercise - I think I'll make a habit of it.

Sure, I'll work here...

From Find Splendid via design*sponge

This is pretty close to what I want my home office to look like, maybe with a little less clutter and more shelves. But it's darn close, and cute.

Deep Breaths

In the midst of this period of self discovery (i.e. freaking out about what to do next), it's important to take a few step backs, a few deep breaths, and enjoy the scenery... the view from my balcony last night (and pretty much every night) is amazing. It reminds me that even though I'm a little "unsettled" right now, I'm still in a very beautiful place.

DIY Rustic Cake Stand

My sister Kate is getting married next June.Her wonderful fiance owns a wilderness school. He and Kate are one of the most interesting couples I know. Take this, he hand carved her ring out of the deer antler he hunted by bow and arrow. I'll take it a step further - he also hand-made the bow and arrow that he used during the hunt, and carried the arrows in a deer hide carrier (also hand-made). Everything they do is as close to nature as possible. It's no wonder they want a rustic (but romantic) country wedding.

I'm helping Kate plan the affair and couldn't be more excited! Here's what we'll be doing for the cake stands, compliments of the creative team at Once Wed...

Go here for the DIY step-by-step instructions.

The Hive - Home of the Ritzy Bee

I've been a long time fan of the Ritzy Bee, but when I discovered this is where they house their business, I got even more excited about what they do. Check out Washington-based 'The Hive at 1511'. I love love love the idea of a "design house". The Hive is home to Ritzy Bee Events, SIMPLESONG Design, and Kate Headley photography. If I worked in this creative space, I think I'd be humming "zippity doo da" to myself every minute of every day.

So-balicious

Within a 5 second Google Search for a soba noodle salad, I stumbled upon this recipe. It's not too heavy (but is enough to fill you up), fresh with flavour (with mangoes and fresh herbs, straight from my balcony garden) and the best part - easy! It's the perfect summer salad. Leave it to Martha (& her talented creative team) to come up with this dish.

Asian Soba Noodle Salad - Serves 6

Ingredients
* 1/4 cup rice-wine vinegar
* 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
* 2 teaspoons tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
* 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
* 2 pinches cayenne pepper
* 4 tablespoons safflower oil
* 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
* Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* 12 ounces soba noodles (not 100 percent soba)
* 1 green mango, peeled and julienned
* 1 large red pepper, stemmed, seeded, cored, and julienned
* 1 medium carrot, julienned
* 3 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
* 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint
* 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
* Lime wedges, for serving

Directions
1. In a small bowl, mix together vinegar, ginger, tamari, fish sauce, lime juice, and cayenne pepper. Slowly whisk in oils until well combined; season with salt and pepper. Set dressing aside.
2. Fill a medium pot of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add soba noodles and cook according to the package directions, until al dente, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Transfer noodles to a large bowl and add mango, red pepper, carrot, scallions, mint, and basil. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine.
4. Drizzle with dressing; you may not need to use all the dressing. Serve salad with lime wedges.

Bizarro

Did anyone else in Ottawa notice how bizarro the sky was last week? I was lucky enough to be sitting out on my balcony with my Canon when the sun was setting. Eerie.

Backing & Forthing

[image via Audrey Hepburn Complex}

For those of you who know me well, you know I've been doing a lot of backing and forthing about where I want to go, how I want to do it, and when. In the past few weeks, I've been doing a lot of reading, hoping to pick up tidbits of inspiration that will make my decisions easier. But, the more I read, the more I realize that nothing can make the decision for me. Whatever I decide to do is bound only by the limitations I set upon myself. A couple of my favourite tidbits from Zen & the Art of Making a Living:

"Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves."
- Rainer Maria Rilke

"You can't depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus."
- Mark Twain

"Don't listen to friends when the Friend inside you says, 'do this'."
- Gandhi

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."
-Ambrose Redmoon

"The heart has its reasons that the mind knows nothing of."
-Blaise Pascal

Patience, please

If you haven't noticed, I've been playing with the html. Be patient with me. I'm learning. It's all part of my master plan. Changes coming soon!

Sunday

On Sunday I'm going to take some time to get back on track with things. May was such a busy month that I had no time to think, just do. June was a little less busy, which gave me time to recover from May. I find that the busier you are, the more you get done. I have nothing on my plate this Sunday, which gives me the time I need to refresh this idea, dust off the resume, do a bit of soul searching, oh, and lie on the floor of my apartment in sweltering heat. It's +40 degrees in the city and has been all week. Without A/C that's a problem.

I'm dreaming of the lake...

Today I feel...

Source: CREO zine

Wedding Hiatus

I've been on a little hiatus lately. This weekend was my sister's wedding. She was the perfect picture of a bride. She looked like she just walked straight off the pages of Martha Weddings. In fact, the entire day would've been Martha approved. It went so smoothly and in very Jenn-fashion, every detail added a little more character and charm. The weather was amazing, the scenery beautiful, guests happy, speeches heartfelt... I wish I could rewind time and do it all over again. Congratulations to my new brother-in-law and his beautiful (inside and out) bride.