Thursday, July 21, 2011

Mother Daughter Crafts

9:04 PM | Posted by Anne | | Edit Post

It has been a while since my last update. I have been busy going to the cabin, visiting with friends & family, playing soccer, shopping, organizing, preparing for visiting family and of course crafting.

My mom and I have been crafting for my niece and nephew who are coming, TOMORROW! 

The first weekend I was home we finished decorating the little reading nook in the kids room at the cabin. The room is white and green and my mom bought a really cute stencil to brighten up the little corner. Oh and I broke my nice camera so the pictures are not the best quality, sorry!

 I forgot to take a true before picture so here is the best I have.

 It turned into this. How cute are these little flower trees. 

 Yep flower trees that's what they look like to me

The second craft we did was more my style. A quilt! Yeah you heard it we finished a quilt already. But I tried something I have never done before. A rag quilt. It is a much quicker way to get a quilt done, and since it is made of flannel it is super cozy. I had my first trip to the fabric store and it was fun! Just looking at the flannel was exciting but that section was not even a tenth of what the store had to offer. I wish I had more time to shop but I will have to go back again, darn. Anyways back to the quilt.

 We loaded a cart full of kid friendly flannel.

 Set up my grandma's sewing machine (because mine had not come in yet) and put my mom to work. 

 Within 24 hrs we had this. It was all sewn together but then we had to snip, snip, snip. 

Then wash, wash, wash. 

 Sophie tested it out for the kiddos. She thinks it's nice. 

I love the ruffled edges

I hope the kiddos like it too!  

When my sister gets here my life will be turned upside down. So I will either be crafting up a storm and have a lot to share, or I will be busy chasing kids and you may not hear from me for a month. Only time will tell. 

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Kim's Wedding Weekend!

12:51 PM | Posted by Anne | | Edit Post

It was sooo much fun celebrating Kim and Kevin's wedding this weekend!

The celebration started Thursday with a party that included ice cream cake, junk food, flowers made out of underwear, a baby and Dance Dance Revolution. A lot more exciting then a Thursday night on Saba. 

Sunday was the big day.

It was beautiful and I took lots of pictures for my Saba friends to admire.

Heaven knows there is a lack of "pretty" things there. 

The wedding was outside and the weather was beautiful. 

They had large glass containers of lemonade, and ice tea. 

Lawn games to play between the ceremony and the reception.

Hors d'oeuvres to munch on.

And there was even gorgeous gift shop on site to browse. 

The bridesmaids were so cute with their matching parasols. 

The bride was as gorgeous as ever. 

I even got to feel tall standing beside my twin Lesley. 

This picture is for Lauren because I know she loves mason jars. 

The tables were set perfectly.

They had personalized menus and candy.

There were even a pile of table topics if you needed help getting conversations started.

Not that we needed that at my table, I never run out of things to say.  

The tent was incredible.

Kim thought of everything. 

She painted this herself.

And yes I am the groom.

Even the dessert was gorgeous. 

It was so great to get to spend time with all my friends and celebrate the day with Kim and Kevin.

They really are an amazing pair. So thoughtful, kind and funny. 

So funny they even announced me as an out of town guest. 

Silly.

Thank you again you two for inviting me to celebrate with you.

It was one of the most beautiful and thought out weddings I have ever been to.

Congratulations!!!!

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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Goodbye

12:05 PM | Posted by Anne | | Edit Post

Goodbye

Goodbye to Saba.

Goodbye to my friends. 

Goodbye to Joel.

Goodbye is a little sad so how about thank you.

Thank you Saba.

for welcoming me with smiles, waves and honks

for teaching me to live with less

for showing me beauty like I have never seen

for teaching me to be creative with what I have

for helping me appreciate my home

for entertaining me on a daily basis

for the adventures you provide on every hike and scuba dive

for showing a prairie girl what real hills are

for showing me that even though you are little, you have a lot to give

and most of all for bringing us all together

Thank you to my new friends.

for making me feel welcomed, always

for accepting me for who I am

for always being there for me

for helping me find the humour in our situation

for inspiring me to try new things

for providing support just when I needed it

for beng honest with me

for teaching me how to sew

for the amazing memories I will never forget 

and the life long friendships with the most amazing women

Thank you to my husband. 

for bringing me with you on this adventure

for making me so proud

for making me feel appreciated

for being honest with me

for putting me first

for supporting me

for sharing your dreams with me

and for loving me 

I have enjoyed every minute with you over the last 11 months

And what is a post without any pictures.

The amazing friends I have made. 

One thing Sophie and I are going to miss, our walks with Joel. 

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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Quilt Roundup

6:40 AM | Posted by Anne | | Edit Post

Since September when Sally introduced me to sewing/quilting it has kind of taken over my life. Between searching for fabric and patterns I have spent hours on the internet dreaming and finding inspiration. I know I am kind of a loser like that. But because of Sally I have now finished 4 quilts. With many more requests to work on when I get home. So I thought I would give you a little round up of my work because I know you all care so much.

My first wonky pot holder. I love the retro feeling fabric I found in Sally's scrap bin.

My first full sized quilt! The obsession begins...

My quilt for new baby Alex. I love the zig zag but the animals on the fabric got a little amputated. Oops! 

My quilt for Alex's sister Emma. I had a little trouble putting it together but only I can see the flaws now.  And if you can see them please don't tell anyone. 

 The new baby quilt for the cabin. The babies needed a blanket, I came to the rescue. 

I even make a striped back. I am kind of in love with this quilt which I designed as I went. Yep I'm turning pro. Now if only I could get my corners to match up..

Hope you enjoyed this round up. Next week I am back to real life so I think my sewing is going to slow down. But my fabric buying might increase. Real fabric stores here I come!!! 

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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

My Chef Experience

12:26 PM | Posted by Anne | | Edit Post

I guess I have changed since I came to Saba. I could barely make dinner for Joel and I when I came, and then last week with the help of some lovely ladies I made dinner for 14 adults and 3 children. Who saw that coming? 

I am proud (well Winnipeg proud) to have introduced perogies to a lot of new people. I love perogies and am always so sad when people tell me they have never heard of them much less tried them. So I got to work with the help of Leslie and Lauren assembling about 8 dozen (I think it was more but we lost count) potato/cheddar and sauerkraut/bacon perogies. Of course I had all the fixings: sour cream, bacon and sautéed onions. I could only find turkey kielbasa so I passed on that, and there was no rye bread. So it wasn't the full experience but I tried. The meal was topped off with a huge salad and my other favourite, apple crisp. I had a fabulous time and was so happy to have Leslie and Lauren there to help. I am also thankful for Lauren letting us use her house, because I know my 342 sq. ft. of cottage could not accommodate that many people  

The only disadvantage to doing the cooking is that I have no pictures of the event. So if you want to see my masterpiece and all my friends chowing down head over to Lauren's blog, http://fromourfrontporch.com/2011/06/14/sos-cooking-night/

I did take these pictures last week though....

Sophie watching geckos run across our screen at night

The other Sophie. The dog we have been fostering for a few days. 

She loves treats, walks, sleeping and getting pet. 

She is up for adoption if anyone is interested....

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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Snorkel Break!

10:04 AM | Posted by Anne | | Edit Post

Prior to this week the weather has been constantly beautiful. It was hot, sunny, the water was extremely calm and so inviting. Joel and I even went on a night dive. We saw a lobster half my size and about 3 nurse sharks swimming around and feeding. It was amazing! Perfect way to finish off my diving here. 

Since the weather was so beautiful on Sunday, when we left for church Joel decided he was willing to take a break in the middle of the day and go snorkelling. I was beyond excited! So we headed down to The Cove to see what we could find. The water was gorgeous, so warm and calm.

There was a huge school of pretty blue fish

There were also other things lurking in the water.....

And sea turtles

And more scary things..

I love how crystal clear the water looks in this picture. And that my mask is slowly filling with water.

After snorkelling we headed over to the tide pools. This is one of our favourite places. They look so different every time we go. The last time we went the tide was really high and the sea was rough. Meaning you can't go in very far for risk of being swept away. But when we went on Sunday the water was soooo low and calm we got to explore places we had never been before. 

Joel got a great close up of this "thing" (I don't know what it is). He knows but he's not here right now...

I think closes and sucks things into the rock or something like that. 

And this really cool sea urchin on the right. There are hundreds down there that look like the one on the left but we only saw one of this kind. It looks like it is made out of metal. 

And when I say there are hundreds of sea urchins I mean it. And they come in so many different sizes. This one is probably the scariest one I saw. Look how long those spikes are. They were probably somewhere between 5 and 10 inches. Wouldn't want to step on that one.

On a side note I learned something interesting last week. If you step on a sea urchin you cannot pull the spikes out. They are too delicate and will just break. They have to work their way out and it can take over a year! Talk about uncomfortable. So a note to everyone, watch where you step! 

This picture is from the same view as a painting we bought. Minus the fact I am in this picture. Opps! 

Aren't the colors beautiful. These pictures do not this place justice. 

Barely even a ripple in the sea. 

This picture was taken in January. We are looking down at the place Joel is standing in the picture above. We couldn't get down there because the waves were too big and the pools we really full on that day. What a difference! 

I'm sorry for the delay in posting. Not much happened the last couple weeks. But hopefully I will have more to update you on after this week of activities! Stay tuned! 

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