Life Update
Hello friends and family!The past month has definitely been the busiest of 2017 so far, and I’m going to fill you in on all of it. Here is a summary in tidy, bullet-point form:
- August 20 – big move out of my condo :(
- August 21 – 29 – friends visiting from Sweden
- August 23 – friends from Sweden got engaged – and I was honoured to be a part of the proposal!
- August 27 – my best friend got married, and I was in the bridal party!
- August 31 – small move out of my condo
- September 1 – 10 – living out of boxes at my parents’ house
- September 10 – big move in with Azim :)
- September 16 – 18 – weekend getaway to Newfoundland
It was hard to have a lot going on all at once, and there were a few instances where I had to say “no” to hanging out with friends, or taking on new projects at work. If you’re a people-pleaser like me, you know the guilt that comes with saying “no” – sometimes that can be as stressful as overcommitting!In the end, the memories I was able to make from this summer have been incredible, and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
THE MOVES
Azim and I made the decision to move in together earlier this year, so my brother Travis and I had to end our rental agreement at our condo at the end of August. We both had commitments towards the end of the month (me with friends visiting, the wedding, Travis with classes starting again), so we decided to move on August 20 to try and avoid the stress of doing it later.The big move went well, with many friends and loved ones coming to help, and we ended the day with pizza and beer on my parents’ deck. Nothing went wrong, but my parents had to live with tons of boxes and extra furniture in their living room and garage for the next few weeks.While my Swedish friends were in town from August 21st – 29th, I stayed on an air mattress in my condo in order to be downtown and show them around, so on the 31st I had to do another “mini” move, and say goodbye to the condo forever! With my mom and uncle’s help, I packed up the air mattress, the rest of the kitchen, some other bits and bobs, and moved back home.The plan was to move into the new place (Azim’s brother’s place that he is graciously letting us inhabit), over labour day weekend…but things don’t always go as planned! Unfortunately, we ran into a few issues, and were not able to move until September 10th. This is of course, the glossed over version of events that I’m presenting to you. Those of you who know me well know that there were tears. Many tears. I was able to crash at my parents’ place for the time in between, but let me tell you, living out of boxes is not easy or fun! The saga has finally come to an end, and we successfully moved in without too many hiccups :)
LINDA AND ANDREAS
I was so happy that my good friends Linda and Andreas came to visit from Sweden! They were in town for our friend Laura’s wedding (we’ll get to that!), but also spent a couple of weeks travelling through Quebec and Toronto.
I had a great time playing tour guide! We went to Casa Loma to enjoy the summer symphony performance in the gardens, we tried lots of delicious food (I made Andreas try taro bubble tea, he is a good sport!), we had a fabulous time in Niagara-on-the-lake on a wine tour, AND managed to squeeze in a trip to the Falls.
But the highlight of the trip was Andreas proposing to Linda at the Toronto Islands :) I was so incredibly honoured that Andreas asked Azim and I to help out with his big moment! It involved a lot of planning, a lot of lying to Linda, some fun decorating, and some hiding in bushes!! I had butterflies in my stomach the whole time (so I can only imagine how Andreas felt), and I was bursting with happiness when he got down on one knee. So perfect <3
LAURA’S WEDDING
Being Laura’s bridesmaid was my first experience as part of a bridal party, and I can say with confidence that Laura truly outdid herself. The day was absolutely wonderful, with every little detail thought out, and love, laughter, and beauty in abundance.My good friend Marilee, also a bridesmaid, and I stayed over at Laura’s parents’ home the night before the wedding, in order to be wide awake for our early wake-up call for hair and makeup :) Laura’s family is so warm and welcoming, and they made us feel right at home!
On the day of, we were up at the crack of dawn, with coffees in hand, pink silk robes on, totally ready for action. It was such a treat to get our hair and makeup done by professionals – I think they may have actually been magicians. Without sounding too conceited, I must say, we looked AWESOME after they were done with us! And Laura – who always looks incredible – truly shone. She was a QUEEN!The ceremony was lovely – we all made it down the aisle without tripping – and seeing Mario take Laura from her dad’s arm was such an emotional moment! I was glad our dresses had pockets, and I had had the foresight to shove a few Kleenexes in.An icecream truck was waiting outside the church afterward (woohoo!), and we piled into the limo to ride over to the beautiful Guild Inn at the Scarborough Bluffs.
Next up on the agenda was bridal party pictures, and wow, what a setting for them! The Guild Inn has beautiful architectural artifacts from some of Toronto’s coolest old buildings. There are building facades, gargoyles, columns, and more. Laura truly looked like a fairytale princess as she walked along the gravel paths and posed beside the charming remnants.After the photos, we had our first glimpse of the hall, and it took my breath away. Laura had done all of the wedding planning on her own, and was secretive about many of the details so that we would be surprised, and enjoy ourselves on the day of. Well, she totally outdid herself! It was magnificent. The floral centerpieces were light and airy, and the head table had piles of roses for trim. There was a great big flower wall behind the head table, which tied everything together perfectly. It was magical.During cocktail hour we were treated with a live harpist, and the most delicious spread of appies! Azim arrived with all our friends in tow, and it was so nice to see them all seated together for this very special occasion. I was very nervous about my speech – but thankfully the open bar came to the rescue J The food was superb, and the dancing after even better. I don’t think I saw Laura leave the dancefloor once the entire night :) It was a wonderful celebration of love, and I couldn’t be happier for Laura and Mario! Thank you so much for reading! Stay tuned for my next post, recapping my weekend getaway to St John’s!