I feel like I have way too many things to share. So many exciting things have happened in the last little while! Or at least it feels that way (I just tried listing all the things and in total, there were 2 items…). I guess it just feels like I’ve been doing lots of exciting things lately even if they are perhaps abstract things that are maybe only in my mind. Sometimes I accidentally count things like “Internally becoming excited for Christmas” as actual events.
Especially SNOW! DID you know it’s snowing in Toronto now? Historically speaking, I’m a little late for my annual “OMG SNOW” post, but it’s because I’m maturing, guys. (Don’t worry – Sparkly Christmas Decor post is coming soon!!!).
But let’s pretend that actual events are defined as real places I go with other people outside my head: A couple such events have occurred recently! My friend, Kari and I went to see Swan Lake at the National Ballet of Canada and it was incredible! It was also the only pre-performance talk I’ve ever attended and I thought it was very insightful and not at all boring (the speaker was a very attractive former male dancer with a faint Swedish accent). I actually really liked hearing the synopsis before the show because I had never really bothered to find out the exact story line of Swan Lake. And if you’ve ever seen a ballet, you know that it’s not always easy to decipher what’s happening in the plot. All in all, a very classy night with a lovely lady in a very classy building (so sparkly).
Then, last weekend I went out with the gang (and wore my sparkly shoes out on the town for the first time) to the Royal Ontario Museum where they hold weekly parties on Friday nights called Friday Night Live. You basically get to check out exhibits, eat yummy food provided by various food truck vendors form across the city and have a couple drinks to wash down all the dancing and culture. I will say this: For the love of all that is warm and fuzzy, by your tickets online beforehand. And you have to do this like a week in advance. If you don’t, you have to buy your ticket at the door, but before you even get to the door, you have to pass the sacred test of worthiness entitled: You VS. The Line: Death Match to Hypothermia. We may have won this time, but it could have gone south very quickly. After the hour of waiting in the line to get in, the line for coat check and the line to buy your ticket (grumble grumble, flu season, etc.) it was a very nice time! I had mushroom and goat cheese buns from HotBunzzTO (Same people from La Carnita I think) and Delicious pierogis from The Saucy Pierogi, I didn’t see too many of the exhibits (they close at 9:30) but I had several white wine spritzers which helped me to put my sparkly shoes to good use on the dance floor.
I definitely felt like a city dweller these past few weeks – seeing a ballet at The National Ballet of Canada and drinking and dancing at the ROM are not things everyone can do on a whim. Feeling very lucky to live here and with such great people so close by 🙂
UGLY: LINE-UPS GOOD LAWD (read: not being able to feel your ankles)
AWESOME: Finally knowing the plot to Swan Lake (Don’t worry – NO SPOILERS). Also: My shoes being so dang sparkly.
Two ladies enjoying a classy evening at the ballet
Don’t tell anyone, but this is actually one martini split into two glasses #dealofthecentury
I’m thinking at some point I need to do a face swap with this shirt…
People watching over the balcony
I love this building at night!
Following the crowd into the theatre
Intermission sparkles
ROM Friday Night Live Outfit: Lesbian Magician
My shoes distracted me from how cold I was.
Official couple photo
BETTER CANDID LOVE PHOTO
Oh hai, Futalognkosaurus, I didn’t see you there.
Jamie + Large Crowds = Happiest he’s ever been.
Bad lighting, amazing photo-bombing!
He’s definitely back-lit.
Monica and Kari being cultured.
Danica and the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man
The Saucy Pierogi!
Jamie handling the claustrophobia like a champ.
Jamie drinks with the cowboys (not at all historically accurate)
More bones!
The main lobby with all the DJing and the Fancy lighting.
Each ROM Buck gets you 1 drink or 1 food item
And I happened to know the DJ – Robin! (Maybe he has a cool DJ Name, but I don’t know what it is…)
Photobombing champion of the evening goes to Chris.
Last weekend, I participated in a time honoured rite of passage for modern women – a ladies weekend in Vegas.
I put on the heels, I squeezed into outfits too tight and my friends showed me how to do makeup properly (actually they just did my makeup for me…this man still can’t fish).
For one weekend, I transformed into “Toni with an I”. I was classy, put together and I liked to party. A lot. I learned so much about the underbelly of the Las Vegas club scene – for example, did you know that if you have breasts and know how to talk politely to strangers on the street, you can get into to all the clubs for free and also mostly drink for free too?! CRAZY, I KNOW! It all sounds very shady, but my lady friends were Grade A negotiators and knew how to make deals with the club promoters. The deal being, we show up – we get in for free. I bet you thought we’d have to do more, didn’t you? Nope. This is why I loved going with these girls – they knew the way. If I had been there alone, I would have payed full price for a “ticket to the club” like a chump, not knowing any better. (This reminds me of the time someone called in to my friend who works at TIFF and asked for “One ticket to Yorkville, please!”) Well, now I am experienced – a lady of the land, if you will. Let me take you through a brief (I’ll really try hard…) account of how I came to be such a wise and tenured Vegas soul.
On Halloween day, we arrived in beautiful Las Vegas, and we head over to our hotel, The Aria. I’ve stayed here before for work, so I feel like I’m getting to know my way around this part of the hood. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the pizza restaurant where we did an official Vegas cheers and Monica ate a pizza with clams on it. Then we set out to the strip to stock up on necessary items for the weekend: wine, pre-mixed margaritas, hard iced tea, bottle opener, cashews and gatorade. And a toothbrush. Back at the hotel, we twerked around to hip hop and started getting ready for what would be the first of many late night excursions to “the clubs”. Halloween night, donned in our costumes (my “Sexy Pizza” dress) we went to Hakkasan at the MGM Grand where Calvin Harris was playing. We also witnessed a costume contest with a $10,000 grand prize. This was my first time in a club of this epic-ness. It was big and crazy and the lighting was awesome and there were SO many people there, I felt like I was in a sardine can full of sardines at a costume party. We danced and danced and then cried cuz our feet hurt (or was that just me…) and then we stumbled back to the hotel for sleeps. By that time, with the time difference it would have been about 6am Toronto time. It’s a miracle I’m still alive. (Also, in my mind, I’m 90 years old).
The next day, we explored the Las Vegas strip – we walked up and down, stopping in to various fancy hotels (and not so fancy hotels…Pink Flamingo) and basically just took in all the giganticness and impressiveness that is Las Vegas. I think my favourite indoor parts of the strip are The Venetian for all it’s fun indoor gondola rides, etc. and the Bellagio fall display which had a talking tree for goodness sakes. That night, we had DJ’s Taco’s for dinner – a favourite of mine from the ole working days. Consistently delicious. We then prepared our faces and feet for another amazing evening. First we went to a Cirque Du Soleil show, “O” at the Bellagio. It was awesome, but (and I feel like a terrible person saying it) I was not as impressed as I was with KA. But people tell me it’s because Ka was my first Cirque show ever. Could be true. One of the promoters we met earlier in the day, got us into a club, “Surrender” at Encore for free and also set us up with a booth, bottle service and open bar for a couple hours. It was my favourite because there was sitting (I am 90). It was my favourite though, I think because it was easier to talk to each other and have fun with each other. There was a costume contest here as well, although I think the prize was a measly $5,000. Hardly even worth it. By this time, however, we were sick of Halloween and were dressed like normal night people, not zombie night people. That night was my most memorable and my favourite of the trip – We danced, we befriended a group of 21 year old cats, we met the Spice girls, I sat on a piano while a lounge singer serenaded a room. All in all, top Vegas memories all around.
Saturday – This day was reserved for shopping. We went to the Fashion Show mall and perused the sparkly things until I found the one and only souvenir I bought for myself – a pair of Kate Spade sparkly, gold Keds. I love them. When I look at them, they cry Vegas. And my feet cry with happiness because they’re super comfy too. That night was all about STK. It’s a steakhouse at The Cosmopolitan hotel. We had read really things about it, and we were not disappointed. It has a very young vibe – a DJ was playing and everyone was kind of half sitting/half dancing at their tables. The atmosphere was great and the service was great. Especially one very attractive employee in particular who had no real reason for coming to our table so many times except to flirt with everybody and dance to N Sync. But none of that compared to the food which was heavenly. I got the beef carpaccio, skirt steak with truffle butter and a side of carrots which I could only eat 4 of because everything was GIGANTIC. It was one of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life. I definitely want to go back there again. At 10:30, the DJ announced that since it was 10:30, that meant free shots for everyone at the restaurant! The girls and I think this should be implemented at all restaurants and will now be celebrating “10:30” on a regular basis. And then it was off for our last night of rambunctiousness at Marquee at the Cosmopolitan. This club had kind of an indoor/outdoor thing going on. There were heaters outside by the pools so you could hang out there, or you could go inside to dance and generally get pushed around by all the people who are bigger than you (I stayed outside most of the evening). On our way there, a guy on the street had told us DJ Pauly D from The Jersey Shore would be at our hotel that night, so we left Marquee early to fist pump and get spray tans. The spray tans was a lie, but we did fist pump to DJ Pauly D like a true Italian American. And to be honest, I really liked the set he played – it was diverse and I had a great time there. Although, that also could have been my delusional euphoria after having removed my heels in favour of flats I hid in my purse, but who’s qualifying?
On our very last day, we took advantage of our hotels’ gorgeous spa, complete with outdoor hot tub overlooking the “common people” pools, indoor hot tubs plus a “cold dip” pool to refresh yourself. It had a steam room, a sauna, a hot stone room and a Himalayan salt room. I really have no idea what most of it’s supposed to do for you, but it doesn’t really matter – we stayed there most of the day and became utterly relaxed. Then we hopped on a red-eye to return to chilly Canadia. I slept most of the morning we returned, worked from home for a bit in the afternoon and then did what all people must do when they belatedly appear in Canada after November 1st – I went to Starbucks to order a Cranberry Bliss bar and a Peppermint Mocha in a red cup …WINTER IS COMING.
Ugly: My feet look like someone stabbed them several times and then sewed them back together only to slowly crush them in a pasta maker.
Awesome: This weekend fulfilled my annual quota for partying. It was exhausting, but it was so much fun. It was such rare treat that I could only have done with these special ladies who lead me through the looking glass to a strange world of House Beats and Body Shots. Thanks girls.
P.S. There are 4 galleries below, plus videos! Don’t accidentally get to the end of the first Gallery and stop. That would be a mistake.
Another hilarious spelling of my name.
Monica is the cutest.
Arrived at The Aria – First Cheers in Vegas!
Getting ready for Halloween Night
Pizza and Pirate – match made in Vegas
Mobster and 2 Chainz
2 Chainz looks suspiciously like a sexy librarian…
$10,000 costume contest underway…
The other balcony of saucy costumes.
At Hakkasan to see Calvin Harris
Dancing!
Purple Dancing!
2 Chainz bathed in Sizzurp
The contest winner holding her gigantic cheque
Calvin Harris takes the booth
So sparkly!
Day 2: Michelle at The Bellagio after seeing “O”
The Fall Display at the Bellagio
Ladies in front of scary trees
This tree was wise and his lips moved when he spoke…
Scarier tree man
On the way to Surrender at Encore
In our fancy booth (sitting is a luxury in Vegas)
Toni and Monique 4-Ever.
Enjoying the velvet couches.
Look Away, MOM!
Gillian is a happy girl!!
Monica and Michelle enjoying the open bar
2nd costume contest of the weekend – $5,000 prize.
A Butterfly!
A butterfly showgirl?
Unicorn! (All you need is body paint for a good Vegas costume)
The Winner! “Sexy Bumblebee”. Notice the heels…
Bumblebee’s boyfriend, Optimus.
Bunnies obvs.
I made this GIF to share my feelings:
Monica meets the Spice Girls in the bathroom!
Day 3 – at STK at The Cosmopolitan Hotel
Ladies ready for STK!
Gillian loves this restaurant.
Michelle loves this restaurant.
Caitlin loves this Dirty Martini (and the restaurant).
Monica loves this restaurant.
Dranks.
Atmosphere was fun and young!
Beef Carpaccio of my life.
The Birthday surprise for Michelle that came when G and Mon were in the bathroom – more icecream for us!
After one of the best dinners of my life.
With our new friend, “Flirty STK guy”.
Outside at Marquee in the Cosmopolitan.
The Hip Hop room at Marquee.
Yes, they are.
Crazy Day of The Dead parade.
Gillian is astonished.
At Haze in The Aria for DJ Pauly D
Weirdo Halloween Dolls were the best.
After 3 days, I finally removed my heels.
And enjoyed my last free drink in Vegas…or two.
Last night of debauchery.
Goodbye Pauly D.
And now, for the out of order Daytime photos!
Flamingo at the Pink Flamingo!
Monica loves her new friends.
Paradise.
What is this? I don’t know.
Inside the Pink Flamingo – this is Fear and Loathing at it’s best.
OH HAI PICTURES.
Michelle on our way to The Venetian.
Lady Gaga stopped by to say hey.
The ceiling of the Venetian.
Fancy Glass and Light Store. Reminds me of Return to Oz.
The ceiling in The Venetian – that’s right, it’s not real sky!
Indoor Gondolas!
These Gondoliers were professional singers
This square reminds me of real life Barcelona.
European Ladies.
Leaves in The Palazzo.
Exploring Caesar’s Palace.
Gillian and I exploring Rome.
The Wynn – fancy shmancy.
The Pirate Ship at “The New TI” aka Treasure Island.
I love artichokes. They are some of my favourite things to eat. I do not do this often because, although they are vegetables, the traditional preparation and consumption of an artichoke requires some… additional calories…
Many times when I’ve spoken about my love for the artichoke, people will tell me not only have they never eaten an artichoke but they would have no idea how to cook or eat one anyway. Therefore, I share with you, the time honoured tradition of the artichoke: How to prepare and consume (Instructions are the photos below).
Prepare yourself. You’re about to eat an unhealthy meal. This is a treat. Like a 1,500 calorie Saag Paneer Roti from Ghandis. You know it’s bad for you… but sometimes you just have to TREAT YO SELF.
UGLY: Your face when you eat an artichoke. Just go with it.
AWESOME: The fact that you are about to embark on a journey that will leave you satisfied, knowledgeable and thirsty.
These beautiful babies are artichokes. And Imma eat them.Get a big pot, big enough that your artichokes can sit inside with the lid on, fill it with water and boil it.First peel the teensy leaves off the stem. Aint nobody got time for those.Cut off the stem, leaving a delicious half an inch poking out.Plop your artichokes into that boiling water.Put the lid on your pot and set the timer for half an hour (can be more or less depending on the size of your chokes). About half way through roll them around in case they’re stuck with one side facing up.While waiting for your artichokes to boil you can…admire your nails……Look how nice they would look in a scary movie……maybe read a book…
Or you could dance around to Bollywood music.
Once a half hour is up, take a look at your gorgeous green broth.remove the artichokes carefully (don’t raise the choke above your hand or boiling water will drip into your palm like a handshake from Satan.Admire your steamy wonders.Take a stick of butter (don’t judge me) and chop it up.Put it in a bowl.Use your lazer beam eyes to melt the butter.PREPARE FOR EATING!You’ll also need a big bowl for all your discarded leaf carcasses.HOW TO EAT: STEP 1. Pull off a leaf from the outer most leyer.Step 2: Dip the non-pointy end in your bowl of fat.Step 3: Scrape off the flesh from the inside of the leaf with your teeth and eat it. The smaller leaves (the beginning ones) will not have a ton of “meat”. Wait till you get to the middle. You just wait.Step 4: Discard the pointy part of the leaf into your carcass bowl.FYI, that’s what it looks like post-scrape eat.FYI this is what it looks like when a monster eats an artichoke.Congratulations! You’ve eaten many leaves and you’ve made it to the heart of the artichoke.Look at the destruction you left in your wake.OK, HOW TO EAT THE HEART: Pull off all the silly leaves that no one wants.All that will remain is the heart with some weird furry stuff sticking out. DO NOT EAT THE FUR.Take a spoon and spoon out all the furry bits, while trying to keep as much actual heart as possible.This is the heart, post fur removal.Take that sucker and dip it in the butter like it’s your job.Put it in your mouth and thank the baby Jesus you have taste buds.Give yourself a pat on the back. You ate an artichoke! And you gained 7 lbs. HURRAY!
Sorry it’s taken me so long to update! Now that it’s been so long since I wrote anything, I feel like I have so much insignificant/very important information to share! In an effort not overwhelm myself and my memory, below is an account of some things that have occupied my brain since my last post:
– New Year’s Eve happened! Jamie and I were in Kingston and we had a lovely dinner with Brodie and Ashley followed by dancing (specifically dance battling).
– My Mom’s Birthday! Happy Birthday mom!
– I took down all our Christmas decorations and have been having fun thinking about normal house decorating. Wish I could visit Houston – a blogger lady who I’ve been following for years just opened a new store called Biscuit full of awesome junk: www.peppermintbliss.com
I’ve been getting inspired by all her crazy colour combos.
– I cut my hair real short and bleached it all! I’ve been thinking about making a change for a while (I’ve had basically the same hair for the past several years) so this weekend I took the plunge! It’s still a teensy bit yellow (we couldn’t do the toner because my scalp was unhappy with me), so I’m going back next week to make it even whiter! Betty White will be so jealz.
– Dance class! After the break, my super friend, Kate, told me about a dance studio near both of our houses. We tried a ballet class together which didn’t work out so great (the teacher was…unstable), but since then I’ve gone to a contemporary class and a Lyrical class which I love! I’m jumping in with both feet and joining the performance class so I’ll have a recital in April. Personal goal of the year: Try to take it seriously and not make fun of it. It’s really hard, though. There’s lots of “emotion”…
– I went on an amazing Value Village shopping spree. Among other things, I bought a Cristian Dior skirt for $6 and a sweater that has a bedazzled satellite on it…probably the best thing I’ve ever purchased.
Well, I guess that’s it till next time! I’ll try to post more often and with less weirdness…
UGLY:
My mom bought me an electric toothbrush for Christmas which is awesome, but it does not match the stylings of my beautiful peach and blue bathroom.
AWESOME: The DIY Electric Toothbrush cover that I made out of a can of cashews…That’s right, I’m crafty!!! So proud of myself…
Hanging out with Jamie’s family for the Holidays!
New coffee maker! woo!
My Holiday Hapiness gives me the strength of a thousand bulls.
Brodie and Ashley at our New Year’s Dinner!
Yummy food at The Grizzly Grill.
Mushroom Crustini things…
Portabello mushroom in Tomato Sauce
Happy New Year!
Spinach Salad
Appetizer of some sort…
Steak for all!
Caramel Cheesecake delicious.
Brunch on New Years Day!
Me and Uncle Kenny!
Breakfast of the Holidays.
Yes berries.
Grandma and Grandpa Noel having a staring contest.
What a handsome couple!
Mimosa time!
Happy Birthday Mom!
Three Generations of cool ladies.
Grandma, Mom and Me 🙂
Clearly, I was bored with my look.
One day when I was sick, I did this as entertainment.
It reminded me of the nineties.
Before my hair chop!
After the hair chop and bleach!
After a little personal styling…
My lovely bathroom shelf.
Is it weird to post pictures of your toilet on the internet?
My new toothbrush!
Not super ugly, but not very visually appealing.
Starting to craft my toothbrush holder!
I love excuses to use my glue gun!
Recycled cashew can!
So pretty now!
Okay, maybe it’s not a revolution, but it’s an improvement!
Oh hi, scary bathroom twin #1.
Scary bathroom twin #2 is staring at you…
Our new fancy teapot!
Half moldy flowers and new pieces for the bar tray!
Why, hello $6 No Frills flower arrangement!
New martini shaker and decanter for the bar tray!
New home for the Anchor box we bought in Spain. Yay decorating!
Friday night, we celebrated Emily’s birthday at Bambi’s. Lots of sweaty dancing followed by terrible snack decisions at 7 Eleven. As I recall, I ordered a hot dog and so did Celeste. When my hot dog came, I put an enormous amount of ketchup on it. Except it was hot sauce. Celeste offered to trade hot dogs so I wouldn’t have to throw mine out. But it turns out hers was not so much a hot dog but a cheeseburger rolled into a hot dog shape. For some reason, this story amuses me.
Then on Monday, Ryann and I went to West Elm in Liberty Village for a book signing. Ryann got me on to this blog a couple years ago called “Young House Love”. It’s written by a funny and endearing couple, Sherry and John Petersik and it’s all about them renovating and redecorating their house. They have a fun style which I like and their posts are full of knowledge and funny business.
While we were standing in line for them to sign our new books, the West Elm employees handed out post-it notes, telling us to write down what we wanted our inscription to say. Basically, we were only really supposed to write our names down so they would spell them correctly, but the instructions made it seem like we were supposed to write our own inscription. My inscription from Sherry and John says “Dear Caitlin, Thanks for saving us from the apocalypse. You rule.” so I think I used the situation to my advantage in the end. Anyways, it was a super fun outing with Ryann, complete with yummy dinner after a the Brazen Head and it was fun to meet bloggers in real life who you follow so frequently that you forget sometimes they don’t actually know you at all. That’s kind of my goal in life. To be internet famous enough that someone will say to me one day “I feel like I know you but you don’t know me at all”. ARE YOU OUT THERE, BLOG FAN?! I LOVE YOU!
Ugly:
My completely transparent desperation to have internet fans. Even just like 5 of them would be cool…
Awesome:
The photo of Sherry, John, Ryann and I throwing up yuppie gang signs. Dream Come True.
David at Bambi’s – the light hurts his basement eyes…
David and Celeste prepare for sweaty dancing.
Chillin in the basement.
Darlings! Emily requested no photos – I obey you, Birthday Girl!
I had watched Charmed for 3 hours before this. I don’t know why that matters.
Weird eye happenings…
And I ruin another another photo. Again.
Sir Perry’s Pear cider makes me sooo happy!
Michelle and “the look”.
Was Lauren doing a dance? I forget. it was hot.
She did not mean to expose her dancing skills.
On our way to the book signing!!!
Too excited!!
Maybe one of the worst pictures ever taken.
First thing after arriving at West Elm – touch furry pillows.
This photo was taken mid-falling on the bed.
We lucked out on a perfect spot in line with a bed for sitting on!
Pretty things!
More prettiness!
Our little group in the lineup was us plus 3 babies and their makers.
After an hour in line…
Pretty table things. By this time the lineup went around the room!
BABY.
A DIFFERENT BABY.
Christmas treees!
Random picture of a tattooed lady cutting meat…sexxay.
Our first glimpse of Sherry and John!
Soooo close! This is when we decided about the gang signs.
This is us and Sherry and John. You know. Just hanging out.
Normal photo!!
My signed book!!
One day an alien with find this and they will know why their first try didn’t work.
We have just returned from an amazing weekend in Columbus Ohio, where we were lucky enough to celebrate the wedding of Jamie’s cousin, Liz and her new husband, Trent.
The wedding was gorgeous, the reception was very lively and went on into the wee hours of the morning and the entire weekend gave Jamie and I a chance to hang out with his family – something we don’t get to do very often and always ends up being super fun.
We didn’t get to see too much of Columbus, save for the Marriott where we stayed, the First Congregational Church where the ceremony took place and the beautiful Franklin Park Conservatory where the reception was held, but the church was beautiful, the Conservatory was a pretty cool, unique venue and the Marriott was…a Marriott.
Both drives, the one to Columbus and the one back, were harrowing journeys through pouring rain, and I’m happy to now be relaxing and watching football on my gigantic couch – I need all the rest I can get after all that dancing.
Ugly:
This concludes our 2012 wedding season and I’m kind of sad. I’ve been to more weddings this year than in my entire life and I’ve really had an awesome time at all of them…I’m going to miss them…
Awesome:
Loved celebrating something so personal and special with two lovely people and their lovely family.
Also – Looking forward to a fun girly Halloween hangout on Wednesday and a romantic getaway next weekend with Jamie for our 7th anniversary. Fun things!!!!
They’re here! The photos of the actual wedding have arrived!
Now that I look back at them I realize that potentially I was having such a good time I may not have stopped to take as many detailed shots as I should have, but what I do have, I love!
Kari and Will were married on May 19 at Chateau de Roussan in Saint Remy. That’s right, they got married in a castle. And it was just as incredible as you might imagine.
Although I didn’t capture as much as I should have in pictures, I’ll give you a brief play by play of the day. The guests arrived at the Chateau by way of a magnificent driveway lined with gigantic trees that appear to be hundreds of years old. At the Chateau, everyone mingled in the gorgeous lobby and on the grounds until we were ushered towards where the ceremony would take place. The chairs had been set up on this little plot of green garden beside the chateau. It had a stream running behind it which was home to swans. SWANS.
The ceremony was beautiful. It was very personal and their officiant, Karine, told the story of Kari and Will as if it was a fairy tale, using each of their unique perspectives to pepper the story with plenty of real life quotes and confessions. It was actually very entertaining to listen to, unlike several other wedding ceremonies I’ve heard (on TLC…). There were also readings from Will’s best man, Rory and Kari’s Maid of Honour, Laura.
After the ceremony, we took pictures in front of the Chateau and let Kari and Will go off to take their own pictures while the rest of us sipped on Pink Cava and stuffed our faces with amuse-bouches (which included mushroom, green bean and tomato mousse in shot glasses…YUM)
Then we filed into the reception area which was a lovely outdoor tent behind the Chateau with a dance floor and a French band that sang classic love songs and French diddys. We had a delicious dinner which was Kari and Will fancy (super fancy) and yummy dessert all the while being entertained and touched by speeches from various loved ones, a photo slideshow made by Kari’s sisters and a very sweet video made by the best man, Rory (with help from his lady, Brandy). They also played the shoe game where the Bride and Groom sit with their backs to each other, each holding one shoe from the Bride, and one from the groom. Then they are asked questions such as “who does more housework” and “who hogs the sheets” and they answer by raising the shoe of that person. It proves to be quite hilarious.
After lots and lots of wine, the dance party began with the traditional first dance between Kari and Will. They were so wrapped up in their own romance that they didn’t even notice the disco ball had been set to flash multicolour lights around at a much faster pace than the slow song they were dancing to. It was almost as special as when the French Band/ DJs played Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” during the throwing of the bouquet. These were my favourite wedding moments. The dancing went on laaaaaaate into the night, and I believe I can speak for everyone when I say the whole night was pretty awesome. Will and Brodie even performed an encore performance of their man dance. The icing on the cake, however, was the late night cheese table that came out with crackers and baguettes and every kind of cheese imaginable at around 2am.
Jamie and I rolled ourselves into bed around 5am, with our alarms set for 7. The next day, we would be racing to the airport to catch our flight to Barcelona, Spain.
Ugly:
Absolutely nothing. Except the sunburn I got yesterday but that has nothing to do with the wedding.
Awesome:
Everything about the wedding! It was so lovely and I feel so lucky to have been a small part of it. Thanks Will and Kari for asking us to be a part of your day (week)!!
Danica did Brandy and my hair because she is awesome!
A true professional.
At the ceremony!
Danica tries to escape the photo, while Ashley and Brodie embrace the picture.
Pretties!
Brandy is a knockout.
A schedule of events.
Will and Rory discuss man things.
Waiting for his lady.
Misha is ready to attack!
Cue the French music! The best man and Maid of honour arrive!
My jamie and a lovely bridesmaid.
He’s so dreamy.
Kari’s sister, Brittany and her husband, Zach.
The Bridesmaids are tearing up already.
The Men in Black.
First glimpse
Get the tissues!
That’s a good lookin family.
Kari is gorgeous.
tear.
Down in front.
I have a thousand of this picture. haha They are adorable!
Kari’s mom is also a babe.
Karine begins the tale…
I took pictures when I should have been listening to the story.
They were sneaking whispers in the back!
Rory performs his reading. Very sweet poem chosen by Will.
I believe it was called “Love is like a Dog”. Am I right?
Boys love weddings. This is le fact.
You can tell they were about to cry at any moment.
Karine is a funny woman.
LOVE.
Even grooms get itchy ears sometimes.
Laura performs her reading which was a lovely excerpt from Le Petit Prince.
She also did a very good job.
And then it was time for the good stuff.
Do you?
I do!
Does Misha? He does!
And they’re hitched!
The witnesses sign the paper in blood!
Emily looks too happy to have just signed in blood…
This makes it legal, folks.
KISSES!!
Post wedding pictures! This is the nice one.
But this is the natural one.
I snuck these pictures from a window inside the Chateau…
I don’t think I was supposed to see them. haha
Almost a jump picture!
Will’s Dad takes pictures from above.
The Ladies. I miss those gals!
Showing some leg…for better or for worse…badoomboom.
The gentlemen drinking their pink cava as gentlemen do.
The lovely English gals all gussied up!
Jeff catches me sneaking a photo!
Rory takes his first breather of the day (it seemed like)
Brandy mingles with the owner of the Provence Paradise cottages where we were staying, the lovely William.
My name looks so fancy here.
Brodie looks like he could blow at any moment.
Sparkly things!
The exact same picture except without Ashley’s soothing touch…
Fancy gals.
Jeff and Jen are beautiful!
Ashley is also beautiful…haha
Fire hazard.
Just the first course!
Signing the special book of sweetness.
The shoe game!!!
It was actually pretty funny.
Tooth inspector: You look like a chipmunk.
Suspicions confirmed.
First dance after the disco ball settled. aaaw.
So sweet.
Rory and Brandy give it a whirl
luuurve.
Brittany and Zach dancing up a storm.
Natalie before she started to bust a move.
LOVEBIRDS.
Gross, Mom, look away!
Super fun!
Chris and Danica are sweet.
We are disgustingly cute. haha
sleepy.
Brodie takes good pictures!
Another gem from Brodie. I believe this was after the mixed drinks started being served.
I just want to pinch their cheeks!
Preparing for the man dance! No captions to come…just experience it…
Jamie told me to pick the man dance song and I chose the fitting “Total Eclipse of The Heart” not realizing it’s 9 minutes long. Sorry guys. haha
You can’t see it very well, but Brodie actually climbed the castle here.
Spoiler: Justin Bieber wins. And I am not proud of that. But I also don’t think I made the wrong choice. Allow me to explain.
It is a constant personal struggle I have, trying to balance the part of me that loves classical music, ballet and fine art with the part that loves Justin Bieber, The Superficial and The Girls Next Door.
I was raised in a family that has a very high regard for theatre, music and art. I grew up loving classic films, plays, books and general nerdy things. I was also raised in a family that has a very high regard for comedy. I learned to appreciate the finer things in life whilst never missing an opportunity to laugh at whatever I wanted, regardless of how stupid or immature. There’s something to be said about the joy you feel when hearing the crescendo of your favourite piece of classical music, but there is an equal happiness in a perfectly executed “that’s what she said”.
Which brings me to my story. Last week, my lady friends (most of whom are die-hard Beliebers) organized a movie-going date to the 3D Justin Bieber movie. I have never loved Justin. Nor have I ever hated him. I like to think I am fond of him by association because I’m around so many Justin lovers all the time. I was excited about the movie, but mostly I was looking forward to spending time with my ladies.
The day before the movie, I was notified that the Swan Lake tickets I had asked the Sony Centre about earlier in the year had finally gone rush-price and I could see it the next day for a price I could actually afford. But I weighed my love for fancy Tchaikovsky ballet with a night of laughing like a fool with my friends and that’s how Justin Bieber beat the pants off Swan Lake.
And as luck would have it, two days later my friend, Alex invited me to The Artist Project at the Ex. It totally satisfied my nerdy need for beautiful things, plus there was beer! What I liked about The Artist Project was that there was a lot of contemporary, mixed media stuff that I really love and not so many boring landscapes which I don’t love. Alex and I mused about art, had lady girl talk and brushed past George Stroumboulopoulos. It was a super fun day and I even dressed like a girl (which most of you know is a rarity).
So when it comes down to it, I try not to judge anyone for their taste in entertainment. Someone else’s Golden Girls is my Gilmore Girls. Someone else’s Yoko Ono is my Erik Satie. People like what they like and in my opinion, you’re lucky if your interests are widespread. The more widespread the better. That’s what she said.
Ugly:
That snappy lady at the Art Show who yelled at me for almost taking a picture when everyone else had been fine with it. She demanded I delete the photo, which I hadn’t actually taken. After that I asked everyone for permission and they all said yes and were all very nice about it! She needed a beer.
Awesome:
The 10 year old kid who is certain she and Justin will one day be betrothed.
The kid at the movie theatre who ran around shoving grapes in his cheeks causing squirrel-face and would then spit them on the ground instead of eating them. CUTE! He also stared at me on the streetcar.
The fact that Alex and I make the world happen around us with our minds. True story.
Wolf Pack Shirts.
At “Never Say Never” with the gals!
Who needs popcorn?
Apparently Beliebers make this heart sign a lot.
Everybody heart sign!
Can you tell I have double glasses going? Only one pair is 3D though.
We spent a long time perfecting that heart on the left.
Is Sonia happy to be here?
She sure is! Justin love.
Our impression of sobbing Justin fans.
Jazzy. Perhaps the biggest Belieber of them all.
Trickery…
Sonia’s feet do not touch the ground.
That means I am bigger than her.
Which means that clearly this should happen.
The gang. So cool.
At The Artist Project! Alex is wearing a man’s shirt and she still looks more ladylike than me.
These were old safety deposit boxes
Purty.
Surfer’s colours.
I love me some pinup ladies!
Inspired by old metal wind-up toys
Fine Art should always light up.
I love the texture. She used wax- so many people did!
Beer time!
Egg Art.
This sculpture had lace intertwined in the…papier maché?
This elephant came off the canvas and was made of tree bark.
More Egg Art.
I loved this one. So scary.
This piece of art was made from fabric!
She printed photographs onto fabric and then sewed it all together like a quilt.
FABRIC!
I loved these designs but I coined him the Hipster Artist.
Hipster Artist. I wonder if he’ll design my next tattoo…
Mr. T art.
She-Ra Art!
Nerds!
I like this guy.
This one’s called “Recipe for Disaster”.
“Survivor: The Island of Misfit Toys”
MOOSE
hahaha so weird, I love it.
Our names are Dietel and Frederic. We want to be friends with you…
We will share our drinks with you…
You will never leave us…
Bambi.
“We put birds on things”
There’s me in a tree.
This tree is made of stainless steel.
Emo hot.
This will go in my bedroom. When I buy it for $2000.
Classy Elephant Mobile!
Classy Unicorn Mobile!
This reminds me of my mom’s art!
Another Bird.
So many birds.
Bear. Just kidding! Bird.
Fairy lady.
Reminds me of Moulin Rouge and Kylie Minogue.
Bang.
Full Moon.
Wax is the new paint.
Tiny wax flowers- the painting smelled like beeswax…mmm
So pretty!!
Love.
Reminds me of Dr. Doolittle (the original- figure it out)
Culinary Art – my pho dinner from MiMi’s on Gerrard.
Last weekend was full of old friends and new friends and creepy clowns and creepy cupcakes and pink hair and prizes.
It was the Meeko party at Cheryl’s house and it was awesome/scary at all times. This party consists of clown related activities, children’s food such as pogos and jello molds and it was filled with party games for children. I got to see a bunch of my Kingston friends including some I hadn’t seen in years and years and all around I had a lovely/creepy good time.
This week was pretty average. I went to the gym, I ballerina’d my ass off, I bought The New York City Ballet Workout on DVD so I could ballerina my ass off at home too. Today Jamie came home to me making cauliflower soup in my kitchen/prancing around to Vivaldi in a black leotard. I was born to ballerina.
On Friday Celeste and I hung out and watched movie trailers/ YouTube sensations whilst I enjoyed my new custom cocktail, Lime Smirnoff with PC Cranberry Lime Cocktail and club soda. I feel very fancy when I drink it. (Although at Celeste’s I was drinking it from a Gatorade bottle so that lessened the classiness slightly). Then we met up with Abra and company at the Savoy and danced around all night. At one point a man from Finland game me his business card while seducing me with his Finnish dance moves (pulling his sweater hood over his head and flailing his hands in a figure eight pattern a la David Bowie in Labyrinth). Needless to say, I was entranced.
Yesterday Jamie and I cleaned our apartment, went to Dufferin mall to try on shoes and buy sweaters, got my glasses tightened and took ourselves out to dinner as a reward for being so productive. Today we went for brunch, I made soup and worked for a tiny bit on my “film”. Oh, and I also pranced around to Vivaldi while making cauliflower soup. I think I covered that already but I’m so proud of it.
This week looks like it could get busy but I’m excited for Friday when I get to nerd out at Snakes and Lattés playing board games with the gals! woot! Until then…I DANCE…
Ugly:
All clowns. period.
Awesome:
I feel stronger. Like if a muscular man lifted me above his head, I’d be able to tense long enough for him to place me down gently as opposed to dropping me on my face because I squirmed with pain.
Pogos at the Meeko party!
Dave puts BBQ sauce on Pogos.
For relaxing times, make it Pabst time.
First and last taste of Pogo.
aaaah the clowning begins
Playing the “Musical present” game- Kate first!
Another layer!
Giddy with excitement!
Everyone is so happy to unwrap a layer.
double unwrap!
Sherman wins the prize! Pink hair.
Sherman in the Emerald City.
This reminds me of his Dog the Bounty Hunter costume.
Sad clowns.
Naz hearts Zac Ephron.
soulmates.
sad
happy?
Everyone gets a turn with the hair!
And anyone can pull it off.
Completely natural.
A wise man.
Pinky piggies!
Wise man less wise.
Naz prays for more pink hair.
How is this so classy?
This is after Blain ate a unicorn.
This is how he scared his prey.
Clown cupcake time!
I love Cheryl’s evil laugh in this photo.
Meeko vigil.
John Wayne Gacy cupcake. Terrifying.
I hate his candle nose!!!
Snouts are so hot right now.
Sherman wants his to be permanent.
Rockin the new trend.
PURE SEX.
I accidentally wore Sherman’s hair home. And then took pictures in every mirror in my apartment. This amuses me.
My 3am face.
Mirror 2.
Mirror 3. Done.
Friday in front of the Savoy!
The gals checking out my Finnish business card.
Real.
Trying to capture Calire #2 on film.
Got her!
Wall dance tutorial.
Step 2 of wall dance.
I appreciate a bartender who remembers my drink: Vodka Slime.
So the last couple of weeks has been filled with what I can only describe as a sudden panic that all I’ve been eating since the summer time has been chocolate and lard. Or at least that’s what is feels like. Like every other human being in January, I’ve begun the transformation into beautiful bikini butterfly by attempting to eat better and going to the gym.
In light of a certain recent extremely good psychopathic ballerina movie, I was motivated to take a class at my gym called ballerina bootcamp. If I wasn’t scared of getting my camera crushed between knuckles of steel, I would attempt to photograph my ballerina teacher who is a robot machine made of bone and sinew only. She literally can do power squats whilst balancing on what seems to be only 3 of her toes. I am in awe of her. And at the same time, I’m suspicious that all she eats is toilet paper and chalk like the gals on TLC’s “My strange addiction”. She’s that skinny. So there’s that, and I also started going back to my favourite hip hop dance class and a pilates class on the weekends. I’m so ready to be sinewy.
On top of all that, I am continuing to go to my singing group on Wednesdays (yes, I am 80), so I’ve pretty much scheduled myself to death a healthier me!
I was recently trying to psycho-analyze my obsession with extra-curricular activities and I came up with this: I am an only child. When I was young, I went to the Montessori school that my parents own and didn’t have too many friends in my neighbourhood. I think my parents thought after-school activities would be a good way for me to meet other kids instead of being a sad, only child in our house. And they were right! Not only did I love trying new things (I went through karate, gymnastics, soccer, curling, highland dance, Girl Guides and countless summer camps) but I made lots of friends, some of whom I remain friends with today despite no other connection apart from our childhood dance-bond. But now, as an adult who has lots of friends already, I can’t imagine a life where I don’t have activities to do after work. And I think thats weird. Other people do not feel like this. It has now been ingrained into my being that I should be participating in some kind of group or program during my free hours. Even though I would be perfectly happy sitting at home on the couch watching “Say Yes to The Dress” (which I still do often), I have a strange compulsion to go out and try new things, to meet up with these random people who you could have nothing in common with except that you’re all participating in this weird interest that brings you together. I like it.
So the pictures below are from my lovely pal Celeste’s birthday celebrations! We had a ladies-night style slumber party last weekend which was amazing and then a bar-style party at Unloveable for her and our friend Dave this weekend. Our friends brought two separate cakes to the bar which was awesome because who ever gets to eat cake at a bar? It perfectly complimented my new skinny drink of choice, vodka, soda and lime. There was nothing skinny about the cake. Sorry ballet teacher! I will do better this week!
Ugly: My toes. Until yesterday! Pedicure BOOM. (You never notice winter-time toe grossness until you start going to pilates again and become jealous of all the skinny bitches’ perfect feet. I’ll show you all!)
Awesome: The gym. I swear! I know it sounds like crazy talk after eating Christmas food and being really lazy for two months, but I’m not joking. I love the clean towels and the techno music and the giant showers and the “cold room” (my face gets very red after hip hop dance class). When I would rather eat an entire plate of nachos and sit on the couch, than move a muscle, my mind recalls the gym as a terrible place of woe and pain. But once I dragged myself back there, I realized that my memory had failed me and the gym is so much fun.
Claire Bear love!
Sara who made Pacman-shaped pitas for her famous artchoke dip!
Jazzy and Heidi. Sistah Sistah!
We watched a LOT of “For the Love of Ray Jay”
CUTE!
And now everyone’s doing it.
Jazzy shows off the Patron
Tequila! (With cinnamon and an orange instead of salt and a lemon- pretty good!)
presents!
Celeste loves Bacon!
Jersey Shore! Amazing!
BAHAHAHA identical.
Matching 80’s sweaters!
POW!
We are “Maid in Manhattan”.
They are “Biodome”.
Creepy snuggles!
shots with whipped cream on top. Always a good idea.
At Celeste’s for the dual/duel party at Unloveable
Jazzy’s LCBO muscles.
My ballerina bootcamp muscles. (I’ve only been once so far!)
Joyce hides!
FACE-OFF.
Friends forever.
Cute ladies.
Celeste. Fashionista/ waiter?
Caitlin Cameron. Fashion victim/ vampire victim?
LOVE FOREVER.
These friends were surprised by this photo.
So many hugs.
Dance time.
The gals playing Pacman.
Intense battle.
Oh no!
Wait for it…
Oh yes!!!
Michelle is shocked.
Ballerina Bootcamp in the streets!
Dave plays Star Wars pinball.
It looks good.
This does not look good.
Sonia and a very sick Maya.
Oh look, Maya’s awake! Yay!
Plaid vs. plaid.
Abra and I embraced in a finger hold.
Abra did not wear her glasses making me the only nerd of he night!!!
Group photo! Some guy yelled “gang signs!” and I obliged.
hahaha my favourite part of this photo is Jazzy and Vicky in the back. Love you!
The next morning for brunch at Brad’s!
I never reeeally looked at this logo before. Odd.
Jamie’s omelette.
My St. Urbain’s bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon, red onions and capers. Good lord.