*shakey fist* ash cloud

last weekend i was supposed to go to london for four days - arrive friday, leave monday. instead, being cautious about the ash cloud, they closed heathrow between 1am and 7am on monday, which resulted in a lot of cancelled flights for that day.. (if no planes were able to come in, then there are obviously no planes to take us out!) i was rescheduled to fly out on thursday; earliest they could get me out *sigh* oh well, i'm home now.

is it sad all i could think during the extended portion of my trip was that i was losing 3 days towards getting wedding things done? ugh.

the biggest thing though.. got my wedding shoes! actually i bought two pairs. one to bedazzle, and one as a back-up in case i ruin the other pair. we'll see how it goes. i've already bought the crystals off ebay, so i just sit and wait with the trusty glue gun.

because i was stranded in london for a few extra days, my masi's daughter took pity on me and took wednesday off work. we wandered around london. going on the eye was ridiculously boring.. maybe the champagne pod would have been more interesting *hic*. i went a bit crazy in primark. had delicious dessert at a place i don't remember the name of. then 50% off drinks at on anon for happy hour :)

kind of glad she didn't bring a veil with her (she considered making it into a sort of bachelorette).. thanks sister from another mother!

silly sophisticated'ness

*sigh* busy, busy. we'll finish delivering all the invites over the next few weeks i hope!

my really good friends back home organized a weekend of sophisticated silliness! there was nothing raunchy all weekend, which i really appreciated:

	wild oat - fantastic vegetarian food. as you're walking towards this place, all you can smell is yumminess!
	hotel indigo - quaint boutique hotel with an awesome glass ceiling. we found the voyeur window from the room into the shower a little disturbing. thank goodness there were blinds!
	sir john a pub - home of the banana mothership connection! a "friendly" drink the bartender served on the house. banana liqueur, amaretto, orange juice, and one other type of alcohol i can't seem to remember.. tasted like banana medicine - yum :)
	canada science and technology museum - this was one of the fun field trip spots growing up! super cheap: $9/person entry. it's not very huge.. really, you're paying the $9 to walk through the crazy kitchen! it's totally worth the $9 for the silliness :)
	midway family fun park - so much silliness. cheesy'ness to the n'th degree :) this is the place you go to play games with tokens to win tickets; then redeem the tickets for prizes. we redeemed our 400+ tickets for four shutter shades shaped liked stars! class i tell you, real class :)
	beau's all natural brewing company - mmm.. beer. the beer's rather delicious! unfortunately our bottles did not travel well.. :S
	chateau laurier - BEST SURPRISE!! their standard rooms are the size of a suite. their beds are so comfortable. i could live there if i was rich enough.
	social restaurant and lounge - we tried a variety of martinis and cocktails here. some good, some super disgusting. at one point i left my drink full to the top, only to come back to it empty.. *raises eyebrow* the girls were obviously thirsty. :|
	elgin street diner - home of ottawa's yummiest poutine! one serving could feed a family.. they use mushroom gravy too, which is a definite bonus.
	cora's - my favourite place for breakfast. huge servings, fresh fruit, deliciously greasy and deliciously healthy options.
	le nordik spa en nature - the perfect ending to a great weekend! hot and cold baths. sauna. steam rooms. massage. hammock swings. serene environment. *sigh* i'll have to go with kiwi at some point.

this was definitely a MUCH NEEDED break from life! i owe these ladies big time :)

champagne bar

i love this idea.. champagne & cider bar!  this idea is from a baby shower, but it could totally work at a wedding reception.  guests start with either champagne or sparkling cider, then choose from an assortment of mixes to enhance their drink.  what's great about this is that everyone can indulge: drinkers, non-drinkers, and designated drivers.

i would do this for the reception if it weren't for the cost of champagne for the number of guests we're having.  perhaps we can do this for one of the pre-wedding events, sans-champagne.

from hostess blog

POPS!

growing up we had popsicle molds to make juice popsicles over summer break. i have no idea what happened to those molds.. when we go home i'll certainly have to do a search. mum or dad probably chucked it out when we moved houses back when i was in high school :(

anyway, back to POPSICLES! i love popsicles. especially the frozen yoghurt kind.. maybe i can convince someone to make some for the mehndi night.. or make them a few months in advanced and wrap them individually in wax paper?  i'm seriously tempted.

banana and coconut frozen yogurt popsicles

mmm.. does this remind anyone else of a pina colada? perhaps with a little rum ;)

easy, creamy lemon dream popsicles

this sounds deliciously fresh for a summer day and evening. i wonder if substituting the buttermilk for yoghurt would taste good..

kiwi ice pops

of course an ode to the kiwi..

et la pièce de résistance..

peach riesling and coconut cream popsicle

one half peaches and riesling.. the other half coconut and bailey's.. excuse my drool for a moment.

if i make any of these well in advance, will they keep?  i suppose most things in a freezer stay okay.  however some of these recipes say to consume in 5 days.  i guess if you used fruits from the frozen food section this wouldn't be such a concern.

from hostess with the mostess

inspiration board

a big thing around wedding blogs are inspiration boards. basically it's piecing together ideas you've found anywhere and everywhere to create your wedding vision. so.. i've created mine!



as much as i love the patterned flower petals, it wouldn't be practical.. since the groom has to walk down that same path before the bride.  and it's not just the groom, it's the bride's mother and the groom's family.   however, if loads of people mess it up, then does that mean it will just almost even itself out into a straight aisle of petals?

the cake stand is awesome.  cakes are interesting.. cause the less people you're feeding, the smaller the cake, right?  plus cakes are ridiculously expensive!  so the more people you need the feed, the faster the price rises.. so why not get a two or three tiered cake and raise it on a dressed up pedestal?

from home india, dinaz noria, raise the cake, mayra, nisie's enchanted florist, aisle talk, jessica's country flowers, martha stewart weddings

fruit cubes

it looks like it's a drinking kind of day for me! *kidding* this is something more for the ladies then the guys.. icy fruit cubes to put in your drinks. the actual picture is for sugar cubes infused with a fruit flavour. since we're prone to diabetes, i figure that wouldn't be such a good idea.  but what about purée different kinds of fruit, stick them in ice cube trays and let them freeze?  even crush up some mint and freeze that with water.  this is totally a fantastic idea for those who don't even drink alcohol!  sprite, vodka (optional), and a fruit cube.. so much fun!

from marthastewartweddings.com

frozen treats (for adults..)

this idea i love! not necessarily for the actual reception, but for the pre-wedding events.  it would be fun to have a few different kinds of alcohols and bottles to do this with and dual purpose: keeps it nice and chilled on a hot summer day!  not that the alcohol won't already do this, but the way it's presented would help keep the events fun and lively :)

from marthastewartweddings.com