#2....✔ and boy does it feel good!

Is it too soon to be nesting? When there is something that needs to be done I usually like to get down to it and not stop until it's done but this urge to prepare our house for baby has become even stronger now that I am almost 5 months pregnant! So I think that nesting instinct has definitely kicked in and has made me even more obsessed with starting and finishing a task as quickly as possible. I have always been the type of person that comes home from a trip and immediately unpacks, starts a load of laundry and then goes grocery shopping to restock the fridge with food.....I have also been know to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning on moving day so that I go to bed with everything in place and wake up feeling settled and at home. I guess I really like to limit the time that my life is in chaos so if the task involves ripping the house apart, organizing and rearranging then it needs to be done all at once....like list item #2 for example! I have been itching to organize our storage room and filing nightmare corner for months and finally one weekend I just couldn't wait any longer and I just had to get it done. All weekend long my husband and I purged, sorted, rearranged the house, shopped for storage containers and organized.....I think I drove Ty crazy (he was so busy with school I am sure this was the last thing he wanted to be doing) and I definitely overdid it (I was in bed by 8 on Monday night and my back was aching for 2 days)....but boy does it feel good now that it's done!!! 

Before: In all the chaos I forgot to take a before picture of the filing nightmare corner....but picture 3 file boxes jammed to capacity stored inside an old tv stand with our phone on top and pens, papers and other miscellaneous items strewn about. 

After: So we got rid of the file boxes and tv stand and got a real grown up filing cabinet....
I  streamlined the computer desk area, organized all our office and art supplies and  finally put up our degrees that we had framed over a year ago! And......Voila.....
from filing/office nightmare corner to our fabulous new, organized 'office space' in the corner of our living room. I love it!!! 

Before: Our storage room in a nutshell? A mess!!! 

From snowboards, golf clubs and two sets of hockey equipment, to camping gear and luggage....not to mention Christmas decor, crafting supplies, yarn, material, purses, shoes and coats....phew! Where do you put it all? You jam it in the storage room of course......and this is the result of that 'solution'!! Not exactly a thing of beauty right?!?

After: With a few purchases like a new shelf and some storage containers, a little bit of purging and a lot of organizing....we were finally able to create a much more usable (aka....you can now easily go in and out to access the items in it) storage room! 


 Is it just me or does organizing not give you the most satisfying feeling ever!?! This was a BIG list item and it feels so good to check it off!


♥ Lindsay

Amendment to my list

So I came across this list of 15 things to do before baby according to The Nest Website and thought it was worth checking out....just to see how many things I have already done, or how many I can still accomplish etc. 


I was happy to see that there were plenty of items like Road Trips, Boozy Lunches with friends, being the last to leave a party and taking a Wine Tour that I had already checked off (what kind of Okanagan girl would I be if I hadn't been on my fair share of wine tours right!?!). Others would be entirely inappropriate since we are expecting already and not just thinking about adding a baby to our lives....for example I am pretty sure there is a rule against pregnant women skydiving or bungee jumping. And many of the items that I haven't yet done are luckily also items that I don't really have any interest in! But there was one item in particular that had me wishing I had seen this list before I made my 2012 list!

# 9: Spend an entire day in bed together watching movies??...Ummm, yes please!!!

When are we ever going to be able to do this again? Never!! I must make an amendment to my list!! Is that allowed?? Well, I made it.....so I can change it right!?! So, since I was starting to feel depressed about the idea of going to Whistler without being able to snowboard and we already have another weekend getaway to Seattle planned anyway....#3....you are being replaced! Can't wait for a rainy day to snuggle up with my hubby and have a luxurious, uninterrupted day of watching movies and snacking on popcorn. Perfection :) 

♥ Lindsay

#4....read 5 books....what was I thinking??

Ok so I just realized that I have less than 5 months before baby.....which means just 5 more months of luxurious, uninterrupted reading time!! 5 non-baby related books in 5 months....no problem right?!? After all, I did read a book a month last year as part of my no-shopping project. I love reading....so it shouldn't feel like a chore but I guess it may have slipped my mind that there are a few slight differences this year.... not only am I working full time but I also have millions of other things left to do to prepare for baby!?! Not to mention the fact that I also have these 7 books (that my fabulous Mom friends have so graciously lent me...thank you ladies) to read along the way too!! 

Although at this moment I may have lost sight of why I thought this list item was a good idea, I am sure I will appreciate it when I am sleep-deprived and the only books I am reading are of the children's variety (not that I mind, because I kind of love *kids books....I think all elementary teachers do)! Since last year I didn't buy any books and I finished reading all the books on my shelf that I hadn't yet read, I thought it might be nice to reward myself with a few new books for this list item. I got 2 new books in my stocking for Christmas, so that left 3 spots in my '5 books in 5 months' project. So I headed to Chapters, gift card in hand (Thanks Josh and Robyn) to find 3 more books to get me excited about list item #4. 

Here is the final list.....

I am officially ready to go and enjoy my last few months of relaxing, reading time!

*Side note: speaking of kids books there was a tiny impulse buy that I couldn't resist....this adorable boardbook is too cute!! It's never too soon to start (or in my case...add to) baby's first library right?

 

♥ Lindsay

Visit from Friends and #7

I love when friends come to Vancouver, but I love it even more when friends come to visit in January and it is actually sunny! My fellow Vancouverites know that sunny days are few and far between during the Winter months....maybe it's just me, but I view the rainy days as the price we pay to live in such a fabulous city :) So my point is....it's always nice to show off your city to friends when it's at its best weather-wise. Because she has a young family, it's been a very long time since my best friend Erin has come to Vancouver to visit....once was in 2005 when she was pregnant with her first baby and we were shopping for my wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses etc and then in 2009, she came for my birthday.....but this was the first time the whole family came for a visit!!! We have been pretty good with alternating visiting each others cities, so I think we see each other pretty often considering how far apart we live, but it is always soooo nice to get some good, quality best-friend time :)

We had decided weeks before that since the Crawfords are also huge Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives fans (in fact, I believe it was Erin's husband who first introduced me to the show) we had to make sure we hit up one of the only Guy Fieri recommended joints in Vancouver Jethro's Fine Grub to check off #7 on my list and let me tell you it definitely did not disappoint!!

Guy's stamp of approval

I ordered the strawberry pancakes.....I figured two pancakes would be perfect for me, little did I know they were an inch thick and larger than the plate they came on!!! 

Clearly they are going for shock value more than appropriate size portions....but boy were they tasty! Not only did they have strawberries cooked into the batter, but they were topped with real whipped cream and fresh strawberries. YUM!

What did I get myself into?

 I would love to tell you that I finished them....or even that I put a pretty good dent in them....but embarrassingly enough I barely finished half....of just one of the pancakes.

 In fact, the leftovers barely fit in the takeout container. 

Don't worry though, they didn't go to waste, my hubby and I shared the rest for breakfast the next day and they tasted just as delicious! Maybe next time we go for breakfast at Jethro's, we should share....


♥ Lindsay

Who knew?

So my friend Erin suggested this when I was cutting up green onions for Nacho Soup. She saw it on Pinterest, so I thought I would give it a try. You leave a bit of the end of the green onions and then put them in a jar with a bit of water....and get this...they grow MORE green onions!! Who knew? It doesn't even take that long either. The picture below is after a few days and they grew 5 or 6 inches. It's like getting free green onions....ok, ok maybe I am the only one that gets excited about little things in life like a few inches of green onions growing in water....but the way I see it is.... free stuff is free stuff right?!? No? Just me? 

♥ Lindsay

#9a....check!

Before going to Peru I had the best intentions to make some multi-purpose clothing items to round out my travel wardrobe, but in the end I simply ran out of time! So in my closet sits a few yards of lovely coral jersey material, just waiting to be made into a versatile maxi skirt....that can also be worn as a tube dress. Now my sewing skills are a bit lacking (I usually stick to the odd pillow cover here and there....you know mostly straight lines) so I wasn't sure if a skirt would be a little ambitious, but hey the material cost around $8 so what's the worst that could happen right? I did, however need some guidance, so of course I googled maxi skirt tutorial (oh what did we do before google?) and voila...I found this fabulous blog Elle Apparel. Leanne gives step-by-step instructions on how to make this adorable skirt! The best part is she is pregnant too....how cute does she look in the skirt with her little bump?!? 

Here is my final product.....I love how comfy it is with the foldover waist band!

Plus you can wear it was it as a dress. 

I think it looks pretty cute belted....just add flip-flops for an easy, casual summer look! 

Now, if only summer would come sooner.....I can't wait to wear it :)

 ♥ Lindsay 

My 2012 Project

I know we are a week into 2012 already, but I have finally decided on my 2012 project. I had a few ideas floating around in my head, but in the end I decided to join my blogging friends, the J Sisters, in their 30 before 30 lists. Now, I know I already turned 30, but apparently that is not a problem since many participants have adapted their lists to be 30 before 32, 30 before 30 something and even 30 before crazy :) So just like age is just a number....the 30 list items are just that too...a number of things I want to accomplish in the next year!

As I sat down to come up with my list I was reminded of a similar list I found last year in an old journal of mine....it was a list of things I had written at the age of 12 that I hoped to accomplish by the time I was "old...like 30".Yep...it actually said that. I guess 30 seems a lot older than it is at the age of 12! The list consisted of things like.... be famous, marry a rich man, have 3-5 children, have a large house, beautiful wardrobe, and a vacation home on a private island. I think this was more of a fantasy list than a realistic expectation of where I thought I would be at 30, so I definitely won't be using any of those list items! 

Then, when I was 25 I had a bit of a quarter-life crisis and ended up writing a bucket list of things I wanted to do in my lifetime. That list was not only less shallow and more meaningful than the list made by my 12 year old self (I guess I matured a bit in 13 years...thank goodness), but also more attainable. That list has 95 items and I have checked off 45. Not bad.... but that means there are still 50 things left, so I borrowed a few from that list and combined it with more specific ones to where my life is now to create my 2012 list. There is also a bit of a theme for the list I came up with....life, love and baby!! Yep...one of my big list items (both from the 12 year old version and the one I made at 25) involved having children....and we are thrilled to be expecting our first baby in June 2012. So, that is kind of a big change in our lives that has shaped my list for sure!!! Since baby is coming right in the middle of the year, I decided to divide the list into pre-baby and after baby. I love the idea of using the list as a reminder of what I want out of life, to help me focus on what I find important and to do what I enjoy.....both as a part of a family of 2 and as a family of 3.

After all that is what my One Life to Love project is all about!

So that was my extremely long-winded explanation of how I came up with my list of 

30 things to accomplish while I am 30 (I turn 31 in December) 

and of course I will be blogging all about it along the way! 

The List

Before baby:

1. Host a dinner party 

2. Purge and organize storage room and dreaded office/filing nightmare corner

3. Whistler Weekend getaway with the hubby

4. Read 5 books

5. Do a belly photo shoot

6. Get a new car

7. Visit one of the Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives recommended restaurants in Vancouver

8. Outfit the house for baby for under $5000 

(do lots of crafting, DIY, borrowing, craigslist and second-hand store hunting)

9. Finish the craft projects I started or bought materials for and never got around to 

a) make a maxi skirt

b) Vancouver Photo Wall Art project

c) crocheted blanket for baby

10. Continue craft and Bachelor Mondays with Jill and Corinne

11. Seattle Shopping Weekend Getaway

12. Decorate the Baby corner (since we have a 1 bedroom apartment, baby gets a corner)

13. Take a prenatal yoga class

14. Go to the Museum of Anthropology (Ty won free passes at his Holiday Party)

15. Movie Date with hubby 

After baby:

16. Blog at least twice a month

17. Learn more about photography and take lots of photos

18. Go to a FreshAirCinemas outdoor movie

19. Do a Family Camping Trip

20. Take Family trip to Ontario to visit extended family

21. Family snowshoe adventure

22. Try and stick to doing family date night once a month 

(take advantage of free and cheap activities in Vancouver)

23. Bowen Island picnic and hike

24. Do the 12 Dates of Christmas in December (idea from the Rockstar Diaries blog)

25. Cut down our own Christmas tree

26. Buy a condo (hopefully)

27. Have a beach BBQ

28. Start and continue exercise program to lose baby weight

29. Host a waffle brunch party

30. Learn how to make baby food

Now that you have seen my list..... who wants to join me? You can make a list too and send it to onelifetoloveproject@yahoo.ca so I pass it on to the J Project Girls. 

Then we can track each others progress and create a community of support and encouragement to check off those list items!!

Good luck and Happy List Making!

♥ Lindsay