much love monday...

this above is a lovely print from annawithlove etsy shop

check out her blog

her photography is excellent! 

today i am loving my mom!!

i went to visit her on saturday/sunday.

it was so nice spending time with her. 

she is a such an amazing lady. 

who has done SOOO much for me and my brothers.

in my younger years i did not appreciate her

and everything she did for us

as much as i should have.

so i am making up for it now.

she is amazing and i love her today and everyday.

what are you loving today?!

play along with anna & friends here

xo.a

goals...

well - its time to update on my feb. goals.

i didn't do a great job at accomplishing my goals this month...so some of them will carry over to march.

february goals

~pay off visa

(almost! just a couple more weeks and it will be done!)

~try 3 new recipes

~go skating

(hopefully will be going this saturday in ottawa

- as long as the weather stays cold)

~go on 2 photo-taking adventures

see photos here

~host matts friends (tomorrow!)

see photos here

~workout 3x week 

i did 3x / week for 2 of the 4 weeks

it wasnt a great workout month

~knit the mini ninja i got for christmas

didnt even start this....move it on to march

~finish my book (one day)

i finished this book and another - secret daughter 

both really great books

stay tuned for much love monday post

and my goals for march

xo.a

people in my life...

since i have mentioned my man a bunch. 

i figured i should introduce him!

this is matt

(also known as matty, glav, glavin or matty g)

i met matt at our cottage.

he was (and still is) a good friend of my brothers.

we grew up together during our summers at the cottage.

he is a fun loving, and very respectful man. 

he is the most easy going person i know. 

and so loyal to his friends and family.

matt LOVES his sports. 

hockey and golf are his favourites. 

but he will watch any sport.

we are both ottawa sens fans

which works out well when watching hockey games!

he is an amazing cook.

and is very good at taking care of me.

or knowing exactly what i need, when i need it. 

matt makes me laugh everyday.

and is always up for an adventure. 

i am lucky to have him in my life.

xo.a

pin*love

it has been a much better week around here. 

maybe that's because i only was in the office for 3 days!

we had a holiday here in canada on monday. 

and today is my compressed work day!

woop! 

so here is my weekly pin*love from my hair*love board

such AMAZING hair out there!

(source)

ive always loved this look and wish my ultra-straight hair could achieve those curls!

(source)

very pretty braids and hair colour!

(source)

bangin'

(source)

sometimes i think about cutting my hair short like this...

happy friday!!!

xo.a

photos*

some pictures from the past week...

{valentines dinner that matt made - delicious!}

{valentines day flowers - beautiful!}

{toronto lakeshore}

{toronto}

{relaxing}

{hockey hall of fame}

{ceiling gorgeousness in the great hall}

{cutest little hockey player!}

{brother & man}

{the cup!}

xo.a

8 step plan

well things are looking up. 

matt makes me laugh. 

he started an 8 step plan 

to get me out of my funk. 

he is amazing.

parts of his plan included 

~ bringing home roti for dinner ... SO delicious

~ going to see a funny adam sandler movie (better than i expected!)

~ talking about getting a dog...we are starting to save :) 

the rest of the weekend has been great. 

we went to the hockey hall of fame with my brother. 
(my brother and i had never been!)

then out for dinner to c'est what!

spent some time with matts family 

(parents, siblings, aunt/uncle, cousin and gpa!)

took lots of pics. 

(movies that i watched this weekend...so far)

today - we are going to take it easy and relax.
i want to finish reading my book, 
and maybe go for a walk - it snowed last night.


and ill be back later with some weekend adventure pictures. 

i hope you are having a great weekend!!

xo.a

much love mondays....

(source)

today i am loving...

a day off!!

its family day in Canada - and we get a day off from work. 

it has been a great weekend...

i will post more about my weekend later today!

what are you loving today?!

play along with anna & friends here

xo.a

pin*love

its been a tough week around here for me. 

ive been in a little bit of a funk. 

not sure if its the winter weather, things at work or just

one of those days (turned into a week!)

so this week's pin*love are inspiring words.

         

 

(click on the picture for the source)

going on a movie date with the man tonight :)

hoping a light movie and popcorn will help lift my spirits!

xo.a

100 things about me...part deux

ok so here we go with part deux!

50 things...
51. i love felt tip pens
52. i prefer cross country skiing to downhill
53. i have travelled to the following places: london (england), bali, new zealand, singapore, malaysia, thailand, cambodia, laos, mexico and various places in US and canada
54. as a little/grown up girl i have never dreamed about my wedding and what it would look like...i am starting to think about it now that i have someone amazing in my life though
55. a few years ago, i lost 25 pounds without having the intention of losing weight....
56. i have maintained that weight
57. when i was a kid, i wanted to be a marine biologist
58. in new zealand i crossed "swim with dolphins" off my bucket list
59. the olympics are my favourite sporting event
60. i am afraid of heights
61. but i went sky diving once, got the video tape to show my family because they never would have believed me otherwise. it was the first time my mother heard me swear repeatedly. but we have since lost the tape :(
62. i had a reoccurring dream as a child - i was at the dinosaur museum with my family when all the doors closed and i was stuck in the room with the t-rex bones. it came alive and started chasing me, eventually i was able to get out and ran to my family (who were already in the car)...when i got in the car, they were aliens (3 heads, lots of eyes etc.). then i would wake up.
63. last week i was a book worm and read A LOT
64. i have no grandparents left and miss them all terribly
65. my degree is in human kinetics
66. i was once a page at queens park (in grade 8 i lived in toronto, stayed with friends of the family and worked in the parliament for 6 weeks - its a pretty big {nerdy} deal!)
67. one time in florida - i almost drowned in a lazy river. the current was moving pretty fast and these boys were goofing around and somehow i got stuck under all these inner tubes and couldnt get to the surface for air. i panicked almost drowned (probably just in my head - but it was realllly scary!)
68. my family used to spend 6 weeks of every summer at my cottage
69. most of my closest friends now are friends i grew up with at the cottage; we only saw each other for 6 weeks of the year but have formed very strong friendships
70. i met matt at my cottage (he was/is one of my brothers bff's)
71. i have never dated anyone my age - always younger or older...usually younger
72. there is a chance i will be taking a trip to hawaii in october!!!!!!
73. i play sudoku 
74. i only have 4 cousins; 2 aunts and 2 uncles
75. my favourite quote and one of the easiest ways to make me smile is from the movie finding forrester "an unexpected gift at an unexpected time" ... 100% believe that (doesnt have to be big, expensive or cost anything at all)...i am lucky - matt brings me unexpected gifts :)
76. the words i live by are "its all about balance" 
77. when i was little, every year for christmas i would ask my mom for a golden retriever puppy in my stocking. every year i would get a gund stuffed animal retriever, but never got the real thing; i would just die if that ever came true
78. how the grinch stole christmas is my favourite christmas book/movie
79. i own a honda civic; it is a stick shift
80. i am left handed
81. i wish i could be on the amazing race - i have looked into all the fine print, i need to find myself an american...
82. my all time favourite season is spring, but i also really love summer and early fall days
83. i have a really hard time trusting and opening up to people, but once i do...i will be a loyal friend for life 
84. one thing i cannot stand is when people say they are going to do something and dont do it
85. if i had a lot of money - i wouldnt buy lots of clothes or things, but live modestly and travel as much as possible
86. i loathe bonnie brooks the president of the bay and her commercials...i have to turn the radio station immediately
87. currently, matt and i are watching all of the bond movies from start to finish. 
88. i ran in the city chase (like a mini amazing race) twice and have been dying to do it again
89. i really miss riding my bike to work (like i did when i lived in ottawa)
90. this year, matt gave me the most thoughtful and beautiful valentine; i cried. 
91. in high school after my parents split up, i went years without crying; i probably should have gone through counselling but didnt
92. i had a livejournal account since 2002...i just recently made a fresh start here in blogger
93. i LOVE big, fun earrings, but rarely change my simple silver hoops 
94. i have a super high arch in my foot
95. i am 5'6'' and a 1/2 - apparently above average for female height
96. nature is far more beautiful than cities to me...i love sunrises/sunsets, woods, fields, open space etc. more than buildings, architecture etc.
97. before matt, i wasnt sure i ever wanted to have kids....but now i am sure i want to have a family
98. my favourite number is 8; my favourite animal is a turtle (and dogs!)
99. my ideal outfit is a pair of comfy jeans, a nice shirt with a sweater or jacket, a light scarf and some comfy flats
100. everyday, i think about how lucky i am

ok - wow. i hope i didnt repeat anything! 

thank you for sticking to the end ... if you made it!

xo.a


ps...link to part one if you missed it

much love mondays...

...it so happens to be valentines day!!!

(source)

today i love....

all of the people in my life that are so special to me:

matty

my mom

my brothers - andrew and colin (his gf and little one on the way!)

my bff's - erin and jenny

my friends from the cottage, uni and peterborough

i have so much love for all of them.

and i am loving this new place to blog&share with other bloggers! 

so thanks for stopping by and i hope you have a wonderful day.

join anna and friends and share what you love ♥

xo.a

weekend magic.

i have had one of the BEST weekends.

friday

i finished my book

had a girly evening with my bff - erin. 

we ate ice cream sundaes, had girly chats and watched the kids are alright. 

(source 1, 2 {me}, 3)

saturday

i met up with my bff jenny and we got massages and pedis, drank tea and 

generally just goofed around. 

i had a delicious dinner at one of my fav. restaurants with matts

parents and grandpa. it was lovely. 

after we watched the social network. 

(source 4{me}, 5{me}, 6)

sunday

we had a nice sleep in. 
a delicious brunch and watched toy story 3. 
went to the tim burton exhibit downtown. 
his art is really imaginative and creative. 

 

(source 7, 8 {me})

now we are settling in for a night at the grammy's. 


oh my. it was so lovely! does it have to end?! 


how was your weekend?!
xo.a

weekly feature....

 

im thinking this will be a weekly feature of things from my pin boards.

this week i will feature from my 'just awesome' pinboard

source 1, 2, 3 - dont know source...if you know please leave it, 4

xo.a