2011 wrap up

i spent most of the year not writing here. but ill do a little wrap up to capture what the year brought me. 

• wonderful trips: road trip to ottawa to visit friends, louisville with my mom and brother, hawaii with my family and man
• additions to my family - a dog (rufus mcfly!) and a beautiful niece (madeline)
• attended 2 weddings and countless babies were born
• cottage weekends
• lots and lots and lots of visiting with family and friends
• foo fighters in concert
• beerfest
• went camping, rock climbing and to canada's wonderland
• co-hosted 2 baby showers 
• found out my blood type is A- (i didnt know before!)
• tried turkey poutine for the first time (my man's creation - and it was delicious)
• took A LOT of photos. 

the end of 2011 brings new possibilities for a year of fun adventures in 2012...
will post some 2012 goals soon.


i cant believe its almost 2012. 
xo.a

white christmas

well christmas has come and gone so quickly. 
it always happens so fast. 


but our tree is still up and the lights are still bright. 
hopefully for another week or so. 

in ottawa, it snowed for christmas! 
we had a wonderful time with matt's family celebrating the holiday. 
we were lucky to stay at his aunt's house which is by the river. 
sometimes being a dog owner can be a pain with the twice daily walks ...
especially in the cold rain (that has been many a nights here in toronto)
so taking rufus for walks along the paths by the river was a wonderful treat. 

the trees were covered, steam on the river and the bright sunlight pouring through. 

it was such a fabulous weekend. i am sad it came and went so quickly. 

xo.a

Merry Christmas

it's that time of year. 
the last day in the office for this year. everyone is feeling a little anxious for the end of the work day and the beginning of holidays / christmas time!


it just won't come fast enough. 



so i will spend my day trying to get some work done. 
and thinking about the upcoming fun adventures. 

(source)

and wishing people a Merry Christmas.
enjoy your time...whatever it is you do during this time of year.


xo.a

gwen

yesterday i went to my friends house to visit her 11 day old baby.
she is the cutest little lady. 
i took a few pictures of her while i was there. 
i am by no means a photographer - but i enjoy taking pictures, especially for people i love. 


here are a few shots. 

she is sweet. i cant wait to watch her grow up. 
xo.a

i might start posting again....

well it has been a long break - but i think i might start posting on this little corner of the internet again. 


im not going to hold myself to a schedule or put any pressure. but i miss writing somewhere. and i think i would enjoy having this place to come to once again to capture the happenings of my days. 


it's Christmas time - and although we have no snow (i have been praying for snow!) - everything else feels like 'the most wonderful time of the year'. between parties, shopping, decorating, excitement for time off and spending loads of time with family and friends - there is a lot of Christmas cheer to go around. 


Christmas was never an exciting time for me. growing up it was filled with some good memories but often it was a hard time in my family. the last few years i have been able to create fantastic memories with those around me and i find myself getting into the spirit a whole lot more. Christmas music has made a debut onto my ipod and i have been driving matt nuts with it. less than a week and it will all be over matt. 

this past weekend was my family 'Christmas'. as we wont all be together on Dec 25th, we spent the weekend doing Christmas things (putting up the tree, exchanging gifts, eating WAY too many calories). 

it was a wonderful time. and i look forward to the rest of the festivities over the next week. 


xo. allison

there are so many good and not-so-good things happening these days. 
between babies (5 in the last 2 months!), illness/disease and the holidays
...its hard to stay focused on anything. 


in the end...it all helps me appreciate the people and love i have in my life. 


and i look forward to some time away from the desk with camera in hand to capture family and friends making memories. 

Hawaii...

well a lot has happened since i last posted. 

life has been great. busy. wonderful. tiring (at times)!

but i am headed out to hawaii (!!!) tomorrow. 

so i might do some updating along the way. 

free wifi is fabulous!

we dropped off the dog last night

(oh i got a dog!). 

it was hard to leave him after being together for 4 straight months. 

i cant even imagine what parents go through the first time they leave their little ones. 

but i know he is in good hands. 

and we are off for a fabulous adventure!

ALOHA! 

blogging end...

blogging is fun. 
but i think its the end for this shortly-lived blog. 
i like doing things well (not half-assed). 
and i dont feel like i am doing this blog well.
i cant seem to find the time and energy into making it what i want. 
so it has become a jumble of randomness {which is fine}, but not really what i wanted out of it. 
this past week of not blogging has been nice. 
so i think i am going to try that for a while.


doesnt mean i wont be back here. 
but for now...i think this is best.


thanks for anyone who read any of it.
xo.a

currently, i am in the busiest week. 

pin*love

today i am going to start a 3 part pinterest

about my younger boy crushes. 

i think all of them deserve a post to themselves.

part one.

adam brody.

hello delicious. 

obviously i started watching him on the oc.

i caught the very first episode and was hooked. 

i ended up watching all seasons...even though it was terrible at the end. 

so many good things. 

the stubble. the shaggy hair. 

the nerd. the ties. the dark brown eyes.

just...oh so good. 

xo.a

(image source 1, 2, 3)

april date night...

so matty planned our april date night. 

it was a blast. 

we went to the ...

festival

(its a festival that shows all documentaries)

to see...

its a documentary on the "original" jackass. 

he had a show on cable tv niagara in the early 90s that was jackass'esque.

this documentary covers his story. 

it was funny but also sad and thoughtful. 

all he wanted to do was make people laugh by doing silly things. 

and he did. then he broke his neck with one of his stunts.

the fun parts of festivals is that he (ralph) was there. 

and it was the first time he had seen the full documentary.

he answered some questions, 

and handed out popcorn

at the beginning of the show from a pink bag (pillow case) 

that he called the hairy bag of popcorn.

made me laugh. 

(ralph is on the far right)

after the screening we went out for a late dinner at hemmingways.

date nights are the BEST.

xo.a

may goals...

may goals!

i will repeat what i am hearing everywhere else. 

its may already!?!?!

this year is FLYING by!

so a new month means new goals. 

(i am going to try and blog about all the goals

so its more fun for me and you!)

~ adventure to high park cherry blossoms

~ run outside 2x per week

(regardless of the weather...its still not very nice in toronto)

~ finish reading my book

~ get 2 books from the library

~ start/finish a photo project for the apartment

~ go to {at least} 1 patio to enjoy sunshine and drinks

xo.a

april goal wrap-up...

april goals

~finish reading my book

~go rock climbing

~eat a poutine

~reconnect with an old friend

~finish research project 

~re-paint a room in my moms house

~go on {at least} 1 photo taking adventure

(i linked the 2 goals i blogged about)

well...i did pretty well this month.

i almost reached all the goals. 

it was a good month. 

ill be back tomorrow with may goals. 

xo.a

 

random updates...

well over easter i didnt pick up my camera once. 

it was a lovely long weekend. 

that i just enjoyed without thinking of taking pictures. 

these days seem to be filled with... 

1) the royal wedding!

i am not all that excited, but its all over everywhere. 

2) the canadian election

ill be voting on may 2nd.

3) hockey playoffs!!!

this is the most exciting for me. 

some of the games have been nail-biters. 

a few things i am looking forward to...

~ the high park cherry blossoms!!!!

it is one of my favourite times of the year. 

they are so gorgeous, i love walking around and just sitting

amongst the gorgeous blooming trees. 

(ill be sure to get some pics!)

~ MAY!!!!

its birthday month for matty and i :)

there are so many fun things to look forward to.

(birthdays, family time, opening the cottage for the season!)

~ no more wearing the winter jacket!!!

i *think* i can put away the winter jacket for a while. 

finally! it has been a long transition into spring this year.

~ date night on friday!

matty has planned a nice date night for us this friday. 

all in all. things are pretty good around here. 

i hope things are good around your parts too.

xo.a

much love mondays...

today i am loving...

easter chocolate!!!

pretty predictable for this weekend. 
but its true.


my vices are usually salty (chips) not sweet (chocolate).

but this time of year, i love easter chocolates. 

mini eggs, cadbury cream eggs - all of them. 

yum yum yum!

i had to work today. 
so the chocolate helped get me through. 

i will try my best to portion control them out

and not eat them all at once.
try...we'll see how i do. 

see more much love here

xo.a

easter.

(treats i made and hid for people)

its easter weekend. 

and to me that means family time. 

this year is a little different. 

my brothers and i usually have a crazy easter egg hunt.

yes, even in our 30s. 

since none of us have kids yet, we kept the tradition alive. 

mom would hide chocolate eggs and we would find them.

it was usually fast, physical and oh so much fun. 

(at the end we divvied up the eggs so everyone has equal chocolates)

this year everyone is very busy. 

one brother is working. the other brother is with the other side of his family. 

so its my mom and i for a couple days. 

lots of mother/daughter bonding.

until we join matt and his family for a nice joint family dinner. 

whatever you are doing this weekend, 

whether its a holiday or not. 

i hope you enjoy. 

xo.a

rock climbing...

last sunday i went rock climbing with some friends. 

it was a fun morning activity. 

i have climbed a few times before, a few years ago.

i am also afraid of heights. 

for some reason, on sunday...it was really getting to me. 

3/4 of the way up the wall

my hands would start sweating and shaking. 

and i had trouble going any higher. 

even though it wasnt as successful for me 

as i would have liked. 

i still had a fun morning with some great friends.

 (erin)

(caryn starting the super high wall)

(caryn succeeding the super high wall)

another april goal crossed off the list!

xo.a

much love mondays...

(via weheartit)

today im loving....

short work weeks!

its a short week because of easter. 

i have friday off and am taking thursday as a holiday. 

3 days of work & 4 days off in a row is bliss :)

i am heading to see my mom wednesday night. 

we have some fun plans for our couple days together.

so that is what i am loving today. 

see more much love here

xo.a

pin*love

i have been trying to do these weekly - but the week goes by so fast!

i might just make them a random post every now and then. 

but today ill post a couple things that i like from my 

for the home board. 

things i would love to have in my home.

(from here)

i love this idea of a calendar chalkboard! 

i love calendars and this one is fantastic. 

(from here)

i have seen this floating around on many blogs. 

i love the love headboard. 

matt loves wood...so maybe he would like it!

(from here)

my house neeeeds one of these!

i love it!

ok. thats it for tonight. 

its been a busy week - lots of late nights. 

looking forward to working from home tomorrow!

xo.a

afternoon rambling...

saying sorry. making excuses.


we all seem to know those words too well.
we all say sorry ... for not blogging enough, for not visiting enough, for not calling enough, for not doing enough. 
we all make excuses ... for being too busy, for being absent, for not calling or visiting. 


there always seems to be something. 


what if we just stopped. 
stopped saying sorry. 
stopped making excuses. 


what if we just let our lives be what they are - and enjoyed it that way. 

don't feel sorry for not seeing or calling the friend that lives across the country...just enjoy the visits (even if they are short and far between). 

don't make excuses for not getting back in touch with that "old friend" you ran into and talked about getting together to catch up. sometimes people move on and friendships should too. 

don't feel bad for not doing what others thought you were going to do.

just enjoy what you are doing, when you are doing it. 
enjoy who you spend your time with.
enjoy what you spend your time doing. 
if you aren't enjoying it - then acknowledge that and take steps to change it. 


personally, i think i enjoy my life and live in the moment as best i can. 
i am a planner at heart, and sometimes look to the future too often instead of enjoying the present moment. i learned this about myself in my late teens and have worked on that ever since. however, i still make excuses and say sorry. 


and i want to get even better.
i want to own what i spend my time on...all the time. 
not feel sorry. not make up excuses.


these are my thoughts for the day. 
xo.a

much love mondays...

today im loving....

(source)

takeout!!!!

(my dinner looked much like the meal above)

for those days when you have no groceries

and no drive to cook anything.

take out can be amazing and delicious. 

tonight, we got thai/vietnamese from a place near my work.

lots of food at a good price. 

which means leftovers for lunch tomorrow too!!

BONUS.

what are you loving today?

check out more much love here.

xo.a