It's (Almost) the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I've already been getting into the festive spirit, in fact I've been like this for the entire month of November. My Christmas shopping is almost finished, and I have a few stocking stuffers left which is pretty impressive, considering I always leave it until December. I guess after a bit of snowfall a few weeks back, it got me in the Christmas mood!


I went over to Alaina`s on the weekend to help her decorate her Christmas tree as well. She bought herself a new pre-lit tree from Canadian Tire at a really good deal, and we decided it was a good night to decorate. I got there after work, and Kandi was already done 2 strings of popcorn garland, with few battle wounds. I was quite impressed considering I would`ve stabbed myself more than a few times if I was on popcorn duty. Alaina had all sorts of different ornaments and decorations, so we didn`t exactly have a theme, which is what we preferred. It still turned out great.

The next tree up for decoration will be here, which will hopefully be sooner than later. It`s crazy to think that today is the last day of November. This year has really flown by.


Tonight I`m headed to a women`s hockey game in Brantford with Alaina as well. We are going to watch some of the women that were on the Olympic Team, so it`s going to be like meeting some celebrities which will be a lot of fun. I`m definitely looking forward to a night out tonight!


xo

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving weekend this year was fantastic! We lucked out with some amazing weather, as well as had lots of people around the table to visit with and have a lot of laughs.

Here are some photos from the weekend. 

This is the set up before all of the food. We had 13 people this year which was awesome! The only people missing were Nathan and Carrie. :(

Aunt Dianne, aka Lois, trying to figure out how to use her new oven. She must have looked at the manual about 100 times! It was definitely more complicated than any of us expected.

Here is Daver cutting up the ham and pepperoni. Marc, he remembered to take the casing off this year. LOL

A few pics of my cousin Stephanie's house she is renting. She sold it to a couple living in the middle east who are moving back in June to flip the house, and in the mean time were looking for tenants, so she gets an amazing view and a cute little house for the same amount of money she paid for her 2 bedroom apartment. 

And this is her crazy cat Sage. :) I don't think this cat ever stops moving. I mean, look at her face! LOL Sketchy!

Dad and her were playing. She was trying to catch his finger and pounce from around the corner. 

After we went to Steph's place, Elise and I made a trip to the grocery store to get some ingredients to make a baked brie and some roasted garlic and caramelized onion dips. This was what we snacked on while vegging on the couch later that evening.

And of course, this was our breakfast the next morning. Uncle Dave cut up some left over meat from our dinner, and we had scrambled eggs, 3 different kinds of bread for toast, garden tomatoes, fruit and of course, champagne and orange juice. 

It was definitely a fantastic weekend. The weather was gorgeous, and everyone was in great spirits. It's just too bad it ended so quickly, since its my favourite holiday of the year. 

xo

Shopping in the USA!

I had such a blast last weekend shopping with the family. It was such a nice getaway! We had a ton of laughs, spent way too much money, and came home with some fabulous finds.


We left on Friday around noon from Goderich and headed straight to Sarnia to cross into the states. Aunt Dianne, Steph and I had a great visit while taking back roads to get to the border. Unfortunately it was raining, but we didn't let that get our spirits down. Once we got to Sarnia there was quite a wait to head over the bridge. 

We sat there for almost an hour, and then once we got to the other side they started to open more lanes and it went quite quickly. Aunt Val, Elise and Andrew drove down separately, and once we were at the bridge, they had just come up to the toll. Their wait time definitely wasn't as long as ours, because we met them at Hobby Lobby almost 20 minutes after we had arrived at the store. I guess once those lanes opened up it went super fast. Either that, or Andrew has a lead foot.


We spent a lot of time looking around Hobby Lobby including their incredible Christmas section. Stephanie was on the hunt for the ugliest ornament she could find for her office Christmas party this year. Surprisingly, she didn't get this one:

Talk about the ugliest thing you've ever seen! LOL She actually went with a crocodile wearing a tuxedo jacket and shoes on all 4 feet. Trust me, its pretty ugly as well. Andrew and Steph also found this awesome sign that I was soooo tempted to buy:

I just had to make Andrew pose with it. Now that's my kinda turkey! LOL


Our hotel was really nice as well. We stayed at the Springhill Suites, which is very much like the Staybridge Suites or Hampton Inns. The room was quite nice and trendy, and the beds were comfortable. Elise, Steph and I shared one room, while the other 3 took the room across from us. We stuck all of the snorers together.

We ordered a pizza for dinner, and then we headed over to Target to check it out. By the time we got back to the hotel it was almost 10 pm, so everyone headed to their rooms to hang out. Elise and I stayed up talking until around midnight while Steph was passed out. It was really great to spend sometime with her to find out how everything is going.


The next morning we got up early and got ready for a day of shopping! We first hit up TJ Maxx and Marshalls, as well as Burlington Coat Factory. It took us 3 hours to do just those 3 stores, with a few other stores in between. We decided to eat before we bought some more stuff, so we headed to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill. I decided to have a "half plate" of Nachos...

Yep, everything is bigger in the states! I didn't even put a dent in them, however, they were the best nachos I think I've ever had. They had real nacho cheese on them, as well as grated cheddar, and it was topped off with chilis and pulled pork! I was in heaven!


AI fter lunch we were ready to start shopping again and hit up every store we could. I found some clothes, some gifts and a few things for Marc. I got some great deals on the clothing especially and was really happy with my purchases. Great Lakes Crossings is the biggest outlet mall in Michigan, so the family wasn't kidding it was going to be an all day event! We didn't leave the mall until almost 8:30 pm.


Here is what all of our stuff looks like grouped together:

We went back to the hotel, and got some food from a cool little place called Culvers. They had amazing burgers and were insanely cheap. I decided to have a salad since I had eaten complete junk since we had got there, but even the garden salad was awesome. 


The next morning we headed to Kohls and DSW. I really enjoyed looking around Kohls, since I had never been to one, but I didn't find anything for me. I did find an awesome pair of shoes from DSW. Here is a link to the shoes:


http://www.dsw.com/shoe/moda+spana+paula+pump?prodId=231868&category=dsw12cat1290018


Definitely one of my favourite purchases from the trip!


We ate at TGIFridays for lunch, and I had an awesome chicken club sandwich with sweet potato fries. The Foerster clan decided after lunch they were going to head back to Canada, so we headed to Wal Mart, and Meijer for alcohol and a few odds and ends. Mostly I found some more makeup to add to my collection. :) I only bought stuff that I can't find in Canada, and it was drugstore brand, so I behaved. 

By the time we got through the border and back to Goderich, it was around 7:30 pm. All of us were completely exhausted, and ended up going to bed early after showing Uncle Dave all of our new stuff. I headed home early on Monday, after taking a peek at the house on the lake that Steph and Jamie are renting out. Such a beautiful spot, its too bad they won't be there permanently. I'll take some pictures of it when I go there for Thanksgiving.


It was definitely a busy, but fun filled trip, and I can not wait to go back. I would love to get Marc there this summer as a little vacation away, and now that I know its so easy to get to, it would definitely be worth it! 


xo

Spending Some Much Needed Time With Family

I went to Brantford to drop off my ring to be resized, and alas, the jeweler is on vacation. The girl told me that my ring wouldn't be sent out until Sept 24th. I decided there was no way I was going without it for that long. So, I went to Claire's and bought a ring snuggie. Its a little piece of clear plastic tubing that has a slit to fit over the ring. Apparently the ring from Marc is a size 7, and my ring finger was sized to a 5.5! I guess my cousin Steph and I were right - we both got the 'carni hands'. Must be from the Pratt side. Ha! I'll take the ring back to Brantford in October, but until then, I'd rather have it on my finger, than sitting in a safe at the jewelers.


Afterwards, I headed to Hamilton to spend some time with Noelle and Chloe! I got there earlier than expected and we had a lovely visit together. Noelle showed me all sorts of really cute outfits she has accumulated in the last while, as well as some great toys. We grabbed some takeout for lunch, and had a really great visit. I forgot to bring my camera, but wanted to get some pictures of Chloe sitting in her new Bumbo, so here they are! 

Best smile ever, too bad its blurry.

Much better! She's definitely going to break some hearts!

She's such an incredibly happy baby. Hardly any fussing whatsoever, and shes constantly moving about and talking up a storm in her blabbering baby talk. At 3 months old, I've already noticed her huge personality, and cannot WAIT for her to get old enough to really have some fun with her. I totally plan on living up to my 'Cool Aunt Ashley' name. :) Christmas is going to so much fun this year!

New Tires and the Sunshine!

Today I got my new tires put on my car! I am so unbelievably happy with them. They're a great pair of all seasons, and ride so smoothly. My other tires were so worn that even after my alignment 6 months ago, they still pulled when I got over 80 km/h. Now I feel like I'm on a cloud. I was so giddy on my way home! 


Its a gorgeous day out as well which always helps. A lot of fields have bare stalks which is so weird to see. I can't believe its already the middle of September. Before you know it, it'll be Thanksgiving which I can't WAIT for! Some leaves on the trees are already starting to turn as well. I plan on getting some pictures once I see a tons of shades of orange and red out there.

Yesterday...

... could've possibly been the best day ever? Ha! I wouldn't go that far, however it was a pretty fantastic day. 


I spent the morning dying my hair. I decided to go for something a little more intense, and had nothing but compliments from complete strangers my entire day. Talk about a confidence boost! It really just turned out the colour it normally is, however just dyed hair looks that much better. I'll give it a few days, and no one will say anything I'm sure. 


So, as it was time to head to work, I left a few minutes early so I could go over to Danier Leather. I had seen a really cute little messenger bag online for $49, and was curious to see it in person. Little did I know that when I walked in, my DREAM BAG would be displayed right at the front of the store!!!! I have always wanted a Balenciaga bag, and know that I could never afford it. Even if I could afford it, at a hefty $1800-$2000, I would have the biggest buyers remorse of my life. That being said, I am constantly on the lookout for "inspired" bags that are still great quality. I have been looking online for months, and low and behold, she was waiting for my in Kitchener. I hummed and hawed over getting the bag, as I went back and forth and looked at other items in the store, but my eye kept wandering back to it. I tried it on in different colours, and finally decided to bite the bullet. I looked at the price tag - $149. I put it back down until I realized that was the SALE price, as she was originally $349! Thats when I picked her back up and ran to the cash desk. I cuddled with her all day... :)

Definitely was the best part of my day! I feel giddy like a school girl! Who knew a bag would make me so happy! Teehee!


I worked with some fantastic clients last night as well. I had a few $100-$300 baskets leaving our store, and really great clients to work with. I even had a client pull my boss aside and tell her how amazing I was with her. That will make anyone's day, that's for sure. 


To finish the night, even after my shift I stopped by Tim Hortons to get a small French Vanilla Cappuccino to warm me up in this cold soggy weather. The gal at the drive thru was complimenting me on my hair colour and cut, told me that it really suited me, and that the boys should "watch out". :) 


And that was my yesterday. 
xo

Today...

... we dropped Marc off at the airport for his excursion to the great white north. We stopped off for Dim Sum at the Cultural Center in Mississauga and had my first go at a Dim Sum restaurant where they brought it around on carts. There were things I had never seen before that other tables were snapping up like they were going out of style. It was definitely a new experience. I've been trying to master my skills using chopsticks, and still am an embarrassment at the dinner table. I guess its a never ending battle. :)