Monday, November 26, 2012

A little piece of history

Well, it's official! We can finally announce our big news.

Matt and I just made the biggest purchase of our lives (thus far), and we are happy to say we bought a little piece of history.

We have been wanting to buy a place for a while now, but things just didn't seem to be working out for us. Also, Matt and I have completely different tastes when it comes to properties. He likes unique ... I like new.

So we thought we'd compromise.

It was brought to our attention that the historic Town Hall in Conestogo was going up for sale, so Matt jumped on it.

I'll be honest, I never thought it would go through. But for whatever reason, everything continued to line up and we are now the proud owners of the Conestogo Town Hall.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, as we are renovating it for us to live in, but when all is said an done, it is going to be an awesome spot. Unique for Matt and new for me, as we will be completely gutting the place and working nonstop to get it finished and updated for a modern feel.

The township has given the hall a "Heritage Designation", therefore we won't be changing too much on the outside, but we get full reign on the inside.

Words cannot describe how excited we are to move to Conestogo!

We'll be posting pics along the way.

Check out the press release the Township of Woolwich wrote about the purchase: http://bit.ly/SnrSK2

Wish us luck!

Monday, November 19, 2012

It's a new year!

Well, I am officially 25. This past year has been a whirlwind, but I was reminded of my list I made a year ago: My 25 before 25 list.


I'm happy to say I was able to accomplish *most* things on my list ... but apparently I should've added #26: Start a family. 

The preparation and arrival of my new little man changed my life quite a bit, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Even with life changing dramatically, here's what I was able to accomplish over the past year!



1. Learn how to sew - well I am no seamstress, but I was able to sew my own crib sheets. Needless to say, after that adventure, I opted to buy the rest from Walmart!
2. Make a quilt - once I know how to sew :) - I started cutting out the squares ... that's as far as I got ...
3. Get in shape - Pregnant is a shape ... right?
4. Attend a triathlon to cheer on someone else - Yeah, that didn't happen
5. Go on a tropical vacation - We went on our "Babymoon" to Mexico! An amazing time together at the Occidental Grand Nuevo Vallarta in Riviera Nayarit. Would definitely recommend it! 
6. Host a successful event - Hosted the premiere for High Rise Studio's first feature film Last Run. Four sold out shows and people loved it!

7. Knit a unique baby blanket for our new baby! I started one ... but he was given so many new blankets, I gave up on mine.
8. Knit & finish a baby blanket - No, no, no ... not for myself. For a friend! - made for my cousins baby Lilah! She's such a babe.
9. Be featured in the media - ie. magazine, newspaper, TV, etc. - I was featured in The Record when I was one of the top three contestants for the Young & Free campaign. Check it out here! http://bit.ly/QNI4XQ
10. Make my own pie crust - this should've been the easiest one ... yet still on the list
11. Make damask pillow covers - chck them out here: http://jninaber.blogspot.ca/2011/10/like-kid-at-christmas-11-done.html 
12. Get a "Big Person's" job ie. a full time PR/Communications job - Got a job as a Marketing Strategy intern at Shaw Media in Toronto.  It was a full time contract position. Loved it!
13. Get rid of my debt - still working on that one
14. Get 1000 followers on Twitter - same answer as #13!
15. Train Hank to become a nursing home dog - or at least have him in the process of becoming one - Well he didn't get trained to become a nursing home dog, BUT we did put him in puppy training with Elite Dog Training in Kitchener. I would highly recommend them! They did wonders for our family and Hank.
16. Travel somewhere cool - We went to Mexico and Florida ... does that count?
17. Spend New Years doing something interesting & fun! Ummm yeah, we just stayed home. I'll be planning this in a few years!
18. Buy a new car I got a new (to me) 2010 Dodge Journey R/T fully loaded. LOVE IT! (And Matt got a new (to him) car too! A 2007 Saab 93 Turbo)
19. Have two+ of my press releases published - Two articles that I wrote for the DIY Network at Shaw were published in the Toronto Metro.
20. Learn how to make pesto - I learned that Costco's Kirkland pesto is the best pesto ever. Therefore ... no need to create my own!
21. Create a fabulous, culinary meal with a crazy, fancy name Well it didn't have a crazy, fancy name ... but I did make a roasted chicken for the first time with roasted carrots and potatoes ... and man was it delicious!
22. Reupholster our kitchen chairs - I decided I actually really like the chairs the way they are, so we are keeping them the same
23. Finish watching all of the seasons of LOST - We started Season 1 in September and finally finished the last season in March. I had never been so happy to finish a set of DVDs before.
24. Go on a spontaneous, yet semi-planned, road trip - Took a road trip up to Restoule with a 12-week old baby to visit my Memere & Pepere. What should've only taken 4 hours took 6, each way ... but it was worth it :)
25. See a Cirque de Soleil performance - Last fall we joined Rob & Stacey Musselman (nee Clayton) and Nelson & Kathy Dunk for an amazing performance of Cirque de Soleil Totem. If you ever have the opportunity to go see a Cirque performance, I would highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed!

Well there you have it. My last year in a nutshell.

Now to start thinking about my 30 Before 30 list! At least I have five years to complete this one ...

What's on your bucket list?