4 Years and Counting

At the end of March, Stephen and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. I’m amazed that so much time has gone by, yet it feels like it was just yesterday that we had met. We didn’t have anything particularly special planned to celebrate, just dinner and a movie. I should have known better though, because this year, Stephen has been on a roll with getting me awesome gifts. I’ve been downright spoiled!

Stephen likes to watch me look at Pinterest every so often. Normally, it’s so he can insist that I need to make every delicious looking recipe that I come across, but sometimes, he’ll point out a cool project. It all started with this project that I pinned:

{Project via Our Fifth House}

Since Stephen and I have moved around a lot since we first moved in together, we both agreed that it was a neat idea, so I pinned it with the intention of making it someday.

In the weeks leading up to our anniversary, Stephen alluded to the fact that he had an awesome gift planned out for me. I could hardly wait to find out what it was, but I tried to push it out of my mind so that I wouldn’t go crazy. When Stephen got home from work, he presented me with my gift. He had gone downtown one day to take pictures of the first two places that we lived, then put it all together for me.

We decided to hang the frames up by the front door, so that when friends and family come to visit, they can reminisce with us about our old places. I blocked out our current address in the first photo, by the way.

What I love about Stephen’s version of the project, is that he stuck pictures of us from the time we lived in each of those places.

This was back in the first place, which I only lived in for roughly 6 months. Stephen had a roommate, and we knew that we wanted to live on our own. The apartment wasn’t fantastic, but it was my first time living away from home, so I have fond memories of it.

This is from the condo. We both loved that place, but quickly realized that it was just much too small for us. That, and it got so unbelievably hot in there, that we didn’t turn on the heat until it hit –10C outside.

The last place, which I have mixed feelings about. It was our biggest place so far (at the time), so I loved that about it. I also loved that we finally had laundry in our own house, and we had a large kitchen. That was about it. We didn’t intend to move from there after only 1 year, but our landlord decided he wanted to renovate and charge more for the place.

Our current, and most favorite place. It’s the biggest, and the nicest. We don’t plan on moving from here for a long time, so keep your fingers crossed that no one has other plans for us.

I’m a ridiculously sentimental person, so this was the perfect gift for me. It didn’t cost a lot to make, but to me, it means more than an expensive gift. I’m excited to see how the pictures will change in the years to come. (Hopefully we only have one or two more frames to fill!) Stephen sure knows the way to my heart.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

Ten on Tuesday

#125 at Roots and Rings

1. Would you rather give up pedicures or flat/curling irons?Pedicures, because I've never actually had one. Crazy, I know. 

2. Does your middle name have a family meaning?Technically, no. My middle name is after the family friend that was supposed to be my God Mother. She passed away just before I was born though. I'd say that she was family though. 

3. Do you like to sneeze?I'm indifferent to sneezing. Never really thought about the fact that some people may enjoy it!

4. Do you think kids should need to learn cursive?It didn't kill me to learn cursive, so I say why not?

5. When you go to the beach for the day, what do you take?I don't ever get to go to the beach for the day (no beaches around here), but I assume I would take a towel, swimsuit, sunscreen, a chair, food and reading material. 

6. Which decade had the best music?The 90's, clearly. 

7. Are you a good hand-shaker?I'd say that I am. I can't stand the limp handshake that a lot of women seem to do, I'd rather not shake hands with a limp fish, thank you very much! 

8. Do you have a go-to meal for when you are at a restaurant and you can’t decide?Some sort of pasta dish, usually tortellini. 

9. Do you have slippers?Yes. I get over heated quite easily if my feet are hot though, so I don't wear them often. I'd love to find a cooler pair then the giant purple ones I own. (Cooler in both senses, ha!)

10. Are you easily grossed out?
Most times, yeah. Then again, I am a nanny, and when I'm at work, I'm the only one there to deal with the gross issues, so I just suck it up and do it. I've got a few gross stories that people groan about when I try to tell them. So...maybe I'm not actually that easily grossed out. 

Lately...

Just a quick little update for you guys...
My laptop randomly decided to quit workingthis week, so I don't have much access to a computer, other than on my phone. Luckily, my nanny family lets me use their tablet, so I am still able to read a few blogs during nap time. My only complaint is that I have to read blogs in Google Reader, and not with the Google Next button, which I've come to love. Google Reader is just so plain!
Stephen and I had been talking about getting me a better laptop in the next few months, so he went ahead and surprised me by ordering me a new one while I was sleeping. He's a keeper.

I can't rember if I talked about it here yet, but I've started my nanny share. It's going well, and the extra money is always nice. The warm weather we've had lately meand that we've been spending a lot of time at the park. I can't even tell you how nice it is to get out of the house and meet new people.

There won't be any new blog posts from me until the new laptop shows up. When it comes in, I do believe I owe you guys a post about my anniversary present. It's a good one, trust me.

Tell me, how have you been? What's new in your life?

Ten on Tuesday

#123 at Roots and Rings

1. Do you prefer fabric or plastic plasters? (or Band-Aids if American)
Plastic. I don't know if it's just me, but when I wear the fabric ones, I seem to get them all dirty and gross.

2. Do you prefer gel pens, biro or fine liners for everyday writing?
Fine liners. Sharpie pens are my favorite at the moment.

3. Do you have a fear or needles/dentists/blood (if all three, which is the worst) and is there a story behind it?
I get a bit anxious at the thought of needles, but nothing too bad. As for blood, too much of it icks me out, but as a nanny, it's just a natural part of my job. Dentists though, well, they give me major anxiety. No story behind the reason why, they just do.

4. Do you like jelly? Do you eat it at any time other than when poorly?
Jelly, as in Jell-O? I rarely eat it. I don't find anything wrong with it; it just doesn't excite me. I also don't eat it when sick. Just chicken noodle soup for me!

5. What are your Easter traditions? (if not Christian, insert your own meaningful festival here and tell us about that instead)
Other than the family getting together and having a turkey dinner, we don't have any. As kids, we did wake up to find Easter baskets filled with chocolate and a small gift. I can't wait to have my own kids to start our own Easter traditions!

6. What’s your favourite book that you have read so far this year?
I am seriously slacking when it comes to reading; I've only read Bossypants by Tina Fey. I plan to remedy that soon and start reading more. I miss it.

7. Do you have any magazine subscriptions or recommendations that we should know about?
I've never really been one to have a magazine subscription. I did subscribe to Martha Stewart for a little while though!

8. Favourite etsy store (if you know the owner IRL, also include your favourite that you didn’t originally know IRL)?
I browse Etsy every so often, but don't have a favorite store. I did recently buy some washi tape from here though.

9. If you had play money (£100/$150) that could only be used on shoes, what shoes would you buy?
I need a new pair of every day runners. Not sure what brand I would buy, just whatever catches my eye.

10. If you were going pet shopping tomorrow, what would you choose?
A dog. I've been wanting a dog for so long that it's driving me crazy. We're not allowed to have pets in our townhouse though, so I'll have to wait a few more years.

A Peek Around My House

Several weeks ago, I promised that I would share some glimpses of my home (after Stephen bought me all of the awesome new furniture). I never got around to that, but I’m hoping you don’t mind, because I’m going to do it right now! If you’re friends with me on Facebook, then you’ve probably already seen these pictures. Sorry for the repeats.
Let’s start with my living room, shall we? In my opinion, our living room is rather long. In one corner, we have our couch, loveseat and TV, along with end tables and a coffee table. The other end of the living room was quite bare when we moved in, so Stephen and I decided that we wanted to fill it with a desk and bookshelf. A sort of mini office, if you will. Well, Stephen, being the amazing gift giver that he is, picked out a desk for me for my birthday.

On the left, is the bookshelf and on the right, is another shelf that houses our printer. The desk, is obviously in the middle. The wall above it is rather and tall and obviously empty. Our plans are to buy some shelves to put above it. You know, when we get around to having enough money to do so. Our house is a work in progress.

Here’s a better look at the bookshelf, where it becomes painfully obvious that I love all things French.

My parents took me shopping for my birthday, which is where I picked up this candle holder. I picked up last minute on a whim, yet it has become one of my favorite items. I adore it!
Now onto my bedroom. Stephen also surprised me with two nightstands, a bedframe, and a dresser for my birthday. Yes, I was spoiled rotten. And yes, we were broke after that. Also, yes, it was totally worth it.

So that’s a pretty awful picture, but when I was going around taking pictures of the new stuff, I forgot to take a new one of the bedframe. Since this picture was taken, we’ve hung a map above the bed, and cleared out the junk on the right. Just so you know, it’s been a year since we’ve had a bedframe. Our last one broke in the last move.

The new dresser! I had originally wanted the taller version of this one, but I love this dresser so much more. I just wish I had fresh flowers on there all the time. Those were my Valentine flowers from Stephen. Oh yeah, he takes good care of me.

Last crummy picture. The lighting in the hallway is bad, and my photography skills (plus lack of photo editing knowledge) means that this picture is rather yellow. I still wanted to show you my ampersand though, I’m quite proud of it! As you can see, we have this funny little ledge over our stairwell (that’s the messy kitchen below!), so I stuck a couple of things up there. I didn’t even notice this ledge until February, which is 2 months after we had moved in!
So there you have it, a few glimpses of my home. Pretty soon, I’ll come back and share my anniversary present from Stephen. That deserves a post all on its own.

Ten on Tuesday

#122 at Roots and Rings

I'm sorry that all of my posts lately have been ToT's. I've been in some sort of weird funk lately, that I believe had to do with the winter weather. Now that there's a lot more sunshine, and the weather has been warmer, I've been feeling more like my normal self. Hopefully that means more blogging in the near future!


1. How do you feel about April Fool’s Day?
I think it's lame. The Facebook/all other social media jokes are over played and boring.

2. Do you like birds?
They're ok. I'm not a fan of Magpies and Crows though, they're just loud and annoying. While I don't mind birds, I'm not interested in having one as a pet.

3. How often do you wear your hair in a ponytail?
Every day. I'm the worst at doing my own hair.

4. Do you believe in love at first sight?
I used to think I did, but I'm not so sure anymore. Though I do have to admit that the first time I saw Stephen, I knew there was something pretty special about him.

5. What is your favorite appetizer?
Nachos. Or spinach dip. Or potato wedges. Or all the food, really.

6. What is your favorite brand of heels?
I don't wear heels, so I don't have a favorite brand.

7. Are you a picky eater?
I like to think I'm not, but I don't eat any seafood. I think everyone's a bit picky, really.

8. Is there a tv show you like that nobody ever talks about?
Nope. I like what everyone else seems to like. Although Full House and Who's the Boss have become favorites once again. It's on every morning, while at work!

9. Do you prefer hot tea or cold tea?
No tea. I used to like hot tea, but when I started drinking strong coffee, I lost my love for tea. I haven't liked iced tea since I was a kid.

10. Gayle or Peeta? (If you don’t know how to answer, read The Hunger Games.)
I still haven't read The Hunger Games.