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

ethans birthday...

this weekend i had the chance to re-connect with a friend. 

it was her sons 2nd birthday - and oh my he has grown!

i haven't seen her in quite some time, 

with our busy lives we just didn't make time for each other.

and before we knew it, too much time had passed.  

so this was step 1 in getting back in touch. 

(mom, dad, birthday boy (ethan) and birthday girl (cousin avery)

they had a huge play place rented out for the birthday boy and birthday girl. 

even the adults were able to break out their inner child. 

i hope one day when i have kids they will be

close like these cousins are! 

the hugs they were giving each other was soo cute.

happy birthday ethan (and avery!). 

what a fun saturday morning. 

xo.a

oh i am EXCITED about this movie. 

ryan gosling - so hot! 

julianne moore - love

steve carell - so funny

brilliant.

pin*love

some yummy men from my boy crush pinboard. 

droooooool. 

(both images from google images - don't know original source)

(from here - don't know original source)

xo.a

things...

a random collection of thoughts...

random #1

finished my book last night!

(i read the help)

6 days into april and finished a goal already! 

random #2

its a busy week, but i have friday off. 

so i am looking forward to running all my errands and having a productive day off. 

random #3

i got my toms in the mail yesterday!!!

(see this post for more details)

i think in the near future i will post some of the *new* things i have gotten. 

random #4

me & matty at the jays home opener.

i love this man more and more everyday.

any random thoughts for your day?

xo.a

much love mondays...

today i am loving...

grandparents!!!

(unfortunately, i dont have grandparents pictures...need to scan some in)

i lost all my grandparents when i was relatively young. 

the one i was closest too passed in 2003

i miss them all terribly. 

grandparents are such a wonderful link to your family and your history.
there's nothing like them.


last night we were able to spend some time with matty's grandpa. 
he is the sweetest man with so many amazing stories. 
he is an engineer and built so many bridges and things in ottawa.
he recently lost his wife of 56 years. 
i think its incredible that there are people who can say they were 
married to the love of their life for 56 years! 


so today...i remember my grandparents...
and smile.


xo.a


play along with anna and friends at her amazing blog much love! 

goals...

april goals

~finish reading my book

~go rock climbing

~eat a poutine

~reconnect with an old friend

~finish research project 

(i am part of a research project - it ends this month!)

~re-paint a room in my moms house

~go on {at least} 1 photo taking adventure

im reaaaally looking forward to april. 
spring is my favourite time of year!!


xo.a

goals...

march goals update! 

here is the monthly update on my goals. 

~pay off visa - going to do it this month! - SO excited about this one!

~go skating - weather didnt cooperate!

~knit mini ninja - omg, its SO hard! think im going to need some help with this one!

~visit my fav. pub in ottawa

~go for a walk 1x/week 

~workout 3x/week

~go to 2 shows during canadian music week

so all in all - a pretty good month. 

ill post new april goals soooon. 
maybe tomorrow because today is BUSY!


xo.a