when can i join?!

ok more on Italy soon!


but stumbled on this website today... when can i join?!



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community-supported_agriculture

Rome

ahhh Rome... the eternal city. i love you already.

well am i ever glad that i booked our flight a day early before our 12-day tour! Josh and i got off the plane yesterday at 11:00am (Rome time!), and really it was only an 8-hour flight but boy were we happy to get off since we both were not able to sleep.

my own online research paid off in full, as we made our way through the Rome airport to our first hotel. the concierge at the Rome Airport Hilton Hotel kindly upgraded our suite to an executive suite!

while getting settled in our room there was a knock on the door... they had come to bring us our very own face cloths! you may not know this but face cloths are not often offered in Italy, and honestly i could live without them... but it was a nice gesture from the hotel.

i had already purchased the Executive Lounge package, which allowed us access to free food and drinks ~ the best plan possible for us after such a long flight. we were able to sleep, then make our way to the Executive Lounge for our supper. and of course we took a few items back to our room for later.

then there was another knock at the door... and they had come to bring us a bottle of champagne and flute glasses! wow, we felt so spoiled! needless to say we polished off the entire bottle to celebrate our first night in Italy :)

it is now the morning of April 16, 2012, we woke up and had a lovely complimentary buffet breakfast. the food was amazing, and we had our own server as well which was nice. after breakfast we packed our bags and checked out.

after check out we walked back to the airport to meet our tour transfer at 9:30am. it is time to start our very first guided tour with Insight Vacations. our tour is called Treasures of Italy, and today they took us to our first hotel called La Griffe. the hotel is so modern, they even have the lights activated by our door key card! i thought that was genius!

Rome... ahh Rome :) i can't believe i am really here. thank you God! this is truly a dream come true!

tonight we meet the rest of our tour group at 5:30pm for included drinks and supper. and we just found out that our tour is going to have only 23 people ~ the maximum number of people on our tour was supposed to be 40, which is actually rather small for most tour groups, but this may work out in our favour for extra or optional interests with the smaller number of people!

right now i hear live music playing in the streets! i'm off to start soaking up every minute of Italy that i can :) xoxoxo

A quick stop

A quick stop at the Toronto International Airport... Hopefully!

Josh just walked around the corner and confirmed that our flight is still on time, so that's reassuring :)

Next flight will hopefully take us safely to our dream come true!

At the Gate

At the gate!

Finally.

We are here at the Edmonton International Airport, an patiently waiting to board our flight to Toronto.

Thankfully our pilot didn't call in sick today LoL - God answered our prayer!

Josh and I so need this vacation... And we paid for everything in full up front so we would have lost lots of money... Anyway we just heard them call our flight number, so we are off to start our adventure!

Friends share their love

our friends recorded some lovely memories to share with us and our guests at our Wedding Reception, where this video was presented!!!

when Josh listened to his friends share their stories, he laughed and thought it was pretty amazing what his friends had to say :)

and when i listened to my friends share their thoughts, i was so touched that, yup you guessed right ~ i cried... which should explain itself!

Josh and i are thankful to have so many good friends in our lives!

Part 1 contains Josh's friends, and Part 2 contains my friends :)

FREE television

FREE television is the ONLY way to go!

i actually have not had cable, or paid for cable, since i moved out of my parents house in 2006!

we mostly borrow items from the public library, but the links below provide instant entertainment when nothing else is around ~ and it's fabulous!

...you can click these links and it will take you directly to the appropriate website - i'm not sure why they aren't highlighting properly :)

1. CBC
2. Slice
3. Global
4. Global News
5. Showcase
6. CTV
7. CTV News
8. W Network
9. Food Network
10. HGTV
11. City-TV
12. OLN
13. MuchMusic
14. MuchMoreMusic
15. MTV
16. A&E
17. Bravo
18. Discovery Channel
19. Space
20. Spike
21. TVtropolis
22. Family
23. YTV
24. Teletoon
25. Treehouse

i know there are more links out these in internet land... but these are the ones we tend to use :)

my Wedding Dress - Genova by Pronovias

my Wedding Dress was 100% perfect! it was exactly what i had envisioned for my walk down the aisle :) thank you Pronovias for designing Genova for me!

the search for "the dress" took quite some hunting since i had very specific requirements ...such as no bling, a beautiful crumb catcher, and the right amount of ruching!

when i found the 2011 Pronovias line of wedding dresses, i was thrilled because finally there were dresses that came very close to meeting all of my requirements :) then my next trial was to see if the dress shop would be willing to order it in for me even if i didn't want to buy it in the end... since not many wedding shops are willing to to that!

it was the most amazing news i had heard all year when my store said that the Calgary location actually had Genova in stock, and in my size! it was like it was meant to be :) the store then shipped the dress overnight to Edmonton just so that i could try it on! which is truly all thanks to owner, Jackie at Ethos :)

Genova arrived in Edmonton, and fit a little big to my surprise! but that's what happens when many people try on a sample dress i found out... back to my first thoughts on the dress, well to my delight the dress looked and felt great on!! Genova was officially MY dress :)

so i order a new dress to come directly from Spain, which took a good 7 months to arrive at the Edmonton store. and when it arrived that's when i learned, that even though you order the dress in the same size as the sample, it will fit differently when you are the very first person to try it on! yup, it was a little tight, but my plan of action to alter my body to fit into the dress began! and although i wished i had of lost more weight before the wedding, i actually lost the perfect amount so that the dress fit perfectly on the wedding day!

here is what Genova looked like on the website when i discovered it last year!

Wedding Ceremony

our Wedding Ceremony on July 23, 2011

Part 1

http://vimeo.com/vanessabussey/ceremonypart1

Part 2

http://vimeo.com/vanessabussey/ceremonypart2

Part 3

http://vimeo.com/vanessabussey/ceremonypart3

Wedding Song Selections

our Wedding Song Selections are listed below :)

Ceremony

Roslyn {friend of the bride} to play Piano Wedding Music, finishing with

• Glasgow Love Theme - Craig Armstrong

while Dana and Lindsey {friends of the bride} light the candles

Groom's Grandmother, Mother of the Groom, Mother of the Bride, Pastor Tim Cook, Groom, Groomsmen, Bridesmaid and Matron of Honour walk out - Gospel Choir singing

• Unfailing Love - Jimmy Needham

Father of the Bride and Bride walk out, and meet Mother of the Bride at the altar - Gospel Choir singing

• God Gave Me You - Dave Barnes

Bride and Groom sign the Marriage License - Gospel Choir singing

• Make Me Whole - Amel Larrieux

Declaration of Married Couple - Gospel Choir singing

• This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) - Natalie Cole

Reception

Bridal Party's Grand Entrance at Reception Song

• Ojos Asi - Shakira {the first 37 seconds only}

Reception Dinner Songs

1. Glasgow Love Theme - Craig Armstrong

2. D & E - Jazz

3. The Way You Look Tonight - Tony Bennett

4. Captivated - Stefani Germanotta

5. Somewhere over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwole

6. Lucky - Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat

7. By Your Side - Sade

8. Can't Take my Eyes off of You - Lauryn Hill

9. My Love - The Bird and the Bee

10. Destiny - Zero 7

11. De Camino a la Vereda - Buena Vista Social Club

12. Candela - Buena Vista Social Club

13. Guayaquil - Don Omar

Cutting the Cake Song

• Cut the Cake - The Average White Band

First Dance Song

• On Your Arm - Schulyer Fisk

Father and Daughter Dance Song

• I Loved Her First - Heartland

Mother and Son Dance Song

• The Man You Have Become - Gloria Sklerov & Barbara Rothstein/Molly Pasutti

Bridal Party Dance Song

• What is Love - Haddaway

Everyone Joins Dance Song {especially Mother of the Bride!}

• Dancing Queen - ABBA

Garter Toss Song

• Get Low (clean version) - Lil John

Bouquet Toss Song

• Let's Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez

Reception Dance Songs

1. Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) - C & C Music Factory

2. Beware of the Boys - Punjabi MC

3. Break the Ice - Britney Spears

4. Exercise Yo' Game - Coolio

5. Roll - Flo Rida and Sean Kingston

6. Hypnotize - The Notorious B.I.G.

7. Down on Me - Jeremih and 50 Cent

8. Ms. New Booty - Bubba Sparxxx

9. Deport Them - Sean Paul

10. Mueve la Cadera - Reel 2 Real

11. Pobre Diabla - Don Omar

12. Medley: Bamboleo/Volare/Djobi Djoba/Pida Me La/Baila Me - Gipsy Kings

13. Dile - Don Omar

14. Drop It On Me - Ricky Martin and Daddy Yankee

15. Tonight I'm Lovin' You (clean version) - Enrique Iglesias

16. Hey Mama - The Black Eyed Peas

17. Get Busy - Sean Paul

18. Toxic - Britney Spears

19. Numba 1 (Tide is High) - Kardinal Offishall and Keri Hilson

20. You Can Do It - Ice Cube and Mack 10 and Ms. Toi

21. California Love - 2Pac and Dr. Dre

22. Gimmie The Light (remix) - Sean Paul and Busta Rhymes

23. No Letting Go - Wayne Wonder

24. Hold My Hand (I'll Be There) - Sean Paul and Keri Hilson

25. Erase/Rewind - The Cardigans {was supposed to be Last Song ~ instead DJ played "On Your Arm" by Schuler Fisk again}

On Your Arm

our First Dance song was chosen by my wonderful husband :)

"On Your Arm" by Schulyer Fisk

You always felt like home

You knew my favourite song

And I love the way you say my name

I love just about everything

Wake up to your morning face

Love you a little bit more everyday

Love the way you walk into the room

It's just the little things

Cause on your arm I could fall asleep

And on your arm it's the best of me

And on your arm I go anywhere

Cause I know that you'll be there

Counting a million ways to stay

On your arm

I can't believe you belong to me

I guess I must have done something right

How did we get here and where did we start

You follow my heart

And on your arm I could fall asleep

And on your arm it's the best of me

And on your arm I go anywhere

Cause I know that you'll be there

Counting a million ways to stay

On your arm

Oh my love could you take me

Oh my love just take me on your arm

On your arm

Cause on your arm I could fall asleep

And on your arm it's the best of me

And on your arm I go anywhere

Cause I know that you'll be there

Counting a million ways to stay

On your arm

On your arm

On your arm

http://vimeo.com/vanessabussey/firstdance

Wedding Day Photos - July 23, 2011

without me knowing Josh had been constantly checking our photographers blog for the moment they posted our Wedding Day photos!

well at 6:00am this morning his moment arrived, and he woke me up just so that we could look at the Wedding Day photos together :)

we will hopefully be meeting with the photographers soon to view all 3000 photos captured on July 23, 2011 ;)

here are some of my favourites from the blog post!

Engagement Photo Session ~ June 10, 2011

today i was happily surprised to see that on our photographers blog some of our Engagement Photos were posted!!!

Josh and i plan to meet with our photographers very soon to go over all the photos from our Engagement Session that happened on June 10, 2011, and decide which are our favourites!

here are my favourites from the blog post :)

Day 30

so this is Day 30 :) ...it's not Christmas Eve, but my last day for this fun little get to know me thing!



and this is a photo of what was under my Christmas tree this year... well it's a baby tree and things are technically around it :)

hoping everyone had a Merry Christmas!!!

Day 29

so this is Day 29 :)


and this is a photo of something that i would like to do before i die...

have a family :)

Day 28

so this is Day 28 :)

and these are my hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days...

be healthy and full of joy, and the best part ~ get married!!!

Day 27

so this is Day 27 :)

and this is a photo of someone that i couldn't live without... well actually there are 4 people and 3 pets that i cannot live without :)

my family and fiance!

and

Lila {female ~ 1 year & 3 months},

Angel and his brother Smokey {both males ~ 7 months}!!

Day 26

so this is Day 26 :)


and this is a photo of where i live... Edmonton, Alberta, Canada!

Day 25

so this is Day 25 :) ...and it is Christmas Day!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

and this is my worst habit... um i think it's saying "um" to much LoL :)

Day 24

so this is Day 24 :) ...and Christmas Eve!!!

and this is a recipe that i would like to share... it's pretty simple to put together and i actually prepared this for my Christmas Eve family get together that's happening tonight!

so that means i don't have pictures right now of the finished or cooked product, but maybe i can snap a picture tonight if i have time :)

trust me this is so delicious!!

all you need is some apricot jam {this one is Smuckers

and has No Sugar Added}, 1 jalapeno, 1 brie cheese circle, and some pine nuts.

FYI ~ i don't know the exact measurements since i always do this by eye...

cut the jalapeno in half and remove

the inside core and seeds.

then finely chop the jalapeno.

i used my mini electric food processor to save time!

then add the apricot jam.

i used less than half the jar, since it was almost empty LoL!!

{you can always add more jam to taste the way you want it, but i do like it more spicy!}

then cut your brie cheese circle in half.

i bought a bigger circle to serve some plain brie cheese with crackers for

the people who might not like this deliciousness ~ just in case!

place a layer of brie cheese in the brie cheese baker pot thingy.

{my mom gifted this to me a couple of years ago!}

these next few pictures are actually of the second layer, since i got working

and almost forgot to take pictures LoL!

then on top of the brie cheese you add a layer

of the jalapeno and apricot jam mixture.

then sprinkle a layer of pine nuts.

next put the lid on the brie baker pot thingy!

then place in the oven at 180 degrees celsius, or 350 F

for about 15 minutes, or until melted to the consistency that you like!

once cooked, i serve it with Cranberry Pumpkin Seed crackers by Margaret's Artisan Bakery :)

enjoy!!!

Day 23

so this is Day 23 :)

and this is a photo of something that has changed my life drastically...

this is the night he proposed to me!!!