What Animal are you?

I was etsying (the art of searching etsy.com for amazing products) and came across some very cute cake toppers. You can pretty much be personified...animalsonified into any animal you wish. From dogs, to mice, to flamingos. Since I am a huge animal lover, especially a dog lover I think it's an adorable idea. My boyfriend doesn't share in my excitement. I don't think he wants to be animalsonifed into a Golden Retriver. Go figure...

Here are some of these cute, adorable, funny and sweet cake toppers.

No monkeying around!

Butterflies...in an Alice in Wonderland setting

Flamingo Love Birds

MICE!!!

Sheepishly Cute

Puppy Love!

Little Miss Piggy and her Pig Charming

Birdie

And... for the grand finale...the Golden Retrievers 

TLC - Ace of Cakes

I'm going to admit something that I might be slightly embarrassed of...

I love watching Ace of Cakes and The Ultimate Cake Challenge. I love it! I love the creativity, the tight deadlines, the unique requests. I also think that Charm City Cakes has the coolest work culture and I love how much fun they have at work every day.

I do not like watching Cake Boss. Sorry Cake Boss.

This post is dedicated to Ace of Cakes (Duff Master of the Cake Universe) and some of their amazing creations I have found online. I suppose I'll probably have a pretty "normal", "traditional" cake with a couple of quirks, but that's not to say that taking a risk, thinking of something super cool and meaningful isn't the way to go. Be brave people; be a little spontaneous. If these pictures don't convince you start watching Ace of Cakes on TLC and you might change your mind.

PS: Do you think they would deliver a cake to Calgary from Baltimore?

Duff surrounded by the Charm City Cakes creations

Destination Wedding - Invitation Ideas

Recently visiting Cabo San Lucas and being surrounded by 30-40 wedding guests on the plane...who were (in mild terms) excited and up for a good time really made me think WOW, what an awesome idea. I wish one of my friends would have a destination wedding.

I suppose for me, if I'm near water (preferably the Adriatic or Mexico or the Caribbean...etc) I'm going to have an awesome time. Not only do I love relaxing by the water, attempting to surf, the smell of the sea, the sounds of the waves...I also love being in a bikini.

If people are going to have an out of town wedding and I have to pay for a flight, hotel, rental car, meals etc they might as well do it somewhere warm. They might as well provide me with a reason to make a vacation out of it :).

Now, I understand that my definition of vacation destinations (especially for typical destination weddings) is different than other peoples', but generally I'd prefer it to be on either coast of the US, Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, Caribbean, Cuba, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Croatia, Greece...otherwise I don't consider it a "vacation", but rather a trip. To make it a trip worth while you should be forcing me to get on a plane and visit one of the world's most metropolitan cities (NYC, London, Tokyo, Paris, Rome, Sydney..etc) or a really cool country I haven't been to (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, Russia...etc).

I know...I'm pretty demanding, but you're asking me to spend my hard earned cash and this is the type of trip I'd prefer to spend it on. However, if you're special enough and I really love you I'd probably go anywhere for you for your special day.

Now if I was planning my own beach destination wedding these are the reasons it appeals to me:
1) The Beach, need I say more
2) A Vacation; we all need a little fun, a lot of relaxation and (if you live in Calgary like me) a TAN
3) A Small(er) Wedding
4) Amazing Photographs
5) Lowered Costs...maybe

This post is actually about destination wedding invitation ideas...and not suggestions for resorts and wedding locations (maybe in another post). Hope you get some great ideas for your own wedding...and if it's in one of the destinations I mentioned above, message me and I'll send you my address. I'd love to attend :)

Vintage Travel - Wedding Invitation

Formal Vintage Ticket - Wedding Invitation

Boarding Pass Destination Wedding Invitations - Blue Beach Theme

Boarding Pass Invitation (Damask and Floral, Orange / Purple)

Passport Invitation 

Save the Date Postcard 

Absolutely Amazing

Custom Hand-Drawn Keepsake Map Wedding Invitation Suite

Personalized Artwork Keepsake Wedding Invitation Suite

A Perfect Pear

Everyone has an image that evokes a special, happy feeling or memory. For me it's a pear.

Our coat of arms includes three pears. I've associated with the imagery of the fruit all my life. A bouncer at a night club on Korcula used to call me his little pear (the nickname wasn't welcomed, at least not coming from him).

A pear reminds me of my ancestors, of the pride they took in the family symbol, in our family. It reminds me of all those times I've run up and down the stairs of our family house and looked up at it and felt the sense of belonging. I often wondered if the individual who started our coat of arms could have ever imagined that it would hold such a special place in my heart centuries later.

To say the least I've decided to provide you with some ideas of how you can incorporate pears into your special day.

ETSY Finds: 

personalized pear - LOVE

3 Pear Card Tags

Original Pear Watercolor Painting

The Love Pears. plush toy for grownups

To The Perfect Pear

Perfect for wedding favours: 

Fresh Pear Shea Butter Bath and Body Bar

Gingered Pear Shaped Goats Milk Soap

Pretty Pear 'Ugly Soap'

Pear Candles

Mood Board: Pink+Peach+Aqua

http://greenweddingshoes.com/real-wedding-tahni-josephs-bohemian-french-inspired-wedding/

Bridal Showers

Alexis' Bridal Shower

A few weekends ago we celebrated my bff's bridal shower in Penticton, British Columbia. As the MOH I felt a great sense of responsibility regarding the bridal shower, and a great deal of stress since I live out of town. I am so so so thankful for Maria's (mother of the bride) help. She was fantastic! From increasing her emailing/Facebooking to keep in touch with myself and the groom's sister (Suzanne = bridesmaid), to everything she did, organized, arranged, ordered etc.

Surprisingly, the day went without a hitch...well unless you count that my evite was for an hour later then we agreed on. Ooooops. Otherwise, the day was perfect. The bridal shower had a theme of a "Tea Party". The bride's sister (Jackie = bridesmaid) made perfect&delicious tea sandwiches. Maria's aunt from Vancouver sent traditional Italian pastries/cookies, while Maria found enough pretty tea cups and ordered a variety of tea flavours for the event.

Needless to say, I think Alexis really enjoyed herself as did her guests. The gifts she received were very thoughtful. They followed the theme of "for each hour of the day", which turned out really well. I had an awesome time; any time I get to spend with my best friend is a great time.

Here are some photos from the shower. Enjoy!