His/Her Valentines Day Gift Guide

Tomorrow is February 1st and that means Valentines day is just around the corner. Although it’s a holiday of love…it’s more a holiday of gifts, followed by a little cuddling. To be honest I actually really despise the day. Why can't we just love each other everyday why do we need one day to celebrate love. Since I can't fight em I guess I'll join em!

 here are a few gifts for the ladies

http://forchicsake.com/valentines-day-gift-guide/

Men can be very hard to buy for so you need to listen to them through the year, when they mention things they would like make a list or even Christmas gifts they didn't receive would be a good idea.

 For the men

http://pinterest.com/pin/111253053266882745/

A&J

We're on a plane, in a Car, on a Boat

Lets just say this past weekend has been full of travels. Late Friday night we flew from Toronto to Windsor then drove to Chatham so we could spend a bit of time with ours families. Saturday we spent the morning running around doing banking and such because ... We got the condo downtown!!!! Woo whoo! After an exhaustive search and bidding war stresses, we have found a cute little condo {with just enough space } in the heart of downtown. Soo excited now let the packing fun begin!
After that we went to visit my uncle who's been very very sick, It was a nice visit we got to show him our wedding photos because he was in the hospital and couldn't make it.
Saturday night my in-laws took J and I out for supper to Blazzin BBQ Ribhouse with a friend of theirs and his son. The food was awesome!! I had a beef briquet and J had beef ribs OMG mouth watering deliciousness.

Sunday we drove to frankenmuth, Michigan with J grandparents. I had know idea how far away our grand adventure was but 3.5 hours {YES, three hours} and ferry ride later we had made it! We shopped at this place called Bronner's its the worlds largest Christmas store. I was soooo overwelhemed this store literally has every kind of ordainment you can think of from coloured balls to a hanging alvacodo or sock monkeys, anything you can think of they have in an ordainment form. The store is so big they have maps of each section in the store. J and I bought a Christmas ordainment with our wedding date on it and we also bought a pizza because we love pizza that much. haha

We wanted to shop at the other stores in the village but it was so ridiculously cold out that day, we embraced the indoors and had a nice cozy dinner at a family style served restaurant called Zehnder's. It was very delicious and filling and I even got my picture with the mascot a big chicken.

And of course you have to buy booze while your across the boarder so we picked up six bottles of some pretty strange looking beers.

A&J

Bidding Wars

As y'all know we've been apartment hunting these last couple weeks most of which have been complete duds either, WAY too pricey or WAY to small or no parking! Do people really pay $1,600 {OR MORE} for a 300 square foot box? Has Toronto gone that insane for location? Seriously its completely crazy!!!
We set a budget before we begun this hunt however, with each disappointing place the budget seems to grow more and more because we cant seem to find all our requirements in our price range.
The other night I went to look at a place that is located just west of the Rogers center and the CN Tower prime location I know right! Well I wasn't the only one interested and the other person looked at it at the exact same time ... Awkward... the other women looking made it clear at the time while I was standing right there that she wanted this place, even more awkward I wanted it as well. So I asked the realtor representing us how we go about this with more than one person interested. The words BIDDING WAR!!!! came out of her mouth. Like are you seriously kidding me?!?!? First off this 480 square foot condo is already over priced and secondly ITS A RENTAL! Without a parking spot. {so we'll have to rent one on the side} Now you want me to up the rent with a bid... At first I was like omg I WANT this place we NEED this place!!! {also note J hasn't seen the place because he was working nights} so I called him immediately to discuss our bid. We settle with one then I came back down to reality an and backed out of the bid. {was I really going to feed into this game its not like We're buying the place.} but I really really want this place! So we once again discussed a bid and settled, we signed all the documents, placed our bid and now we have to wait 24 hours till the owner decides who has the lucky winning bid! and hope they chooses us!!

A&J

Saw it, Pinned it, Did it!

Candle jars!!

Step 1: Once you've burned the candle completely, it'll have a little bit of wax left at the bottom. Put the jar in your freezer, leave it for at least an hour or even over night.

Step 2: The cold temperature will cause the wax to shrink and loosen from the sides of the jar. Using a knife carefully poke the wax to break it apart some may even come out whole.

Step 3: Peel off the label. If there is a label on the bottom of the jar, peel that off as well. They should come off very easily.

Step 4: Clean the remaining wax and glue out of the jar using a paper towel with a small amount of vinegar or olive oil on it. Rinse out with soapy water and dry with a paper towel.

Step 5: Now you have a cute jar to store jewelry, cotton rounds or anything else you want. Enjoy!

A&J

Date night

Yesterday was J last day off before he switched to the night shift so we decided since it was raining and gross outside we'd stay in and have a date night. We rented 'Bourne Legacy' from the Zip kiosk and picked up some deserts. J prepped some cheeses & meats we poured some wine we had leftover from our wedding while I cleared out our living room and set up some blankets for our picnic and lit a few candles to set the mood. :) A&J

Cheap Tuesdays

We're going to the movies!!! We call it cheap Tuesday because its half price to see a movie, is it like that at all movie theatres?
My mama gave J { us } movie gift cards for Christmas so we've been using them up. There are so many good movies out right now that I decided to make choosing more fun we'd draw the names from a hat to decide which movie to watch. Last Tuesday we saw 'This is 40' it was good however I did cry, I know who cries during a comedy?!? This girl does! Anyways last night we watched 'Django' it was such a good movie although the shooting seen was far too long it felt like a family guy scene being dragged out but other then that it was pretty good. If you are offended easily I don't recommend it as they use the 'N' word quite often also make sure you take a trip to the washroom before you find your seats as this movie is looong, like 3 hours long!

A&J

Apartment{for rent}please

We really need a change of scenery as well maybe a little extra cash in our pockets & shorter commutes { meaning more cuddle time with my sweetie bear }... but the thought of trying to find an apartment in the city makes me cringe maybe even break out into hives.
You'd think I'd have this moving thing down pat seeing as most of my childhood my family moved quite often which I actually enjoyed, I loved always getting a new bedroom and making new friends. As I get older though I've grown to hate it more and more. My 4 years of college I moved to a different student house every year seemed pretty routine pack up my room and move, simple! Now we have an ENTIRE apartment to pack up...ugh I dred the thought of it then the stress of the actually moving day!!
Yesterday I thought I would make the first move {no pun intended} and start our search, I called at least 7 places only 1 person actually answered the phone and the price was way higher then advertised... Its pretty frustrating but Its just the beginning of this journey so wish us luck!!!

A&J

Gotta get down on Friday

TGIF!!! This was my first week back to work, mind you it was only 3.5 days this week because of New Years but seriously... Trying to recover from the holiday's, although I crave consistency and schedules its has been sooooo hard getting back into routine thank goodness we've made it.

Yesterday J came down to my work to surprise me after his shift and brought me Chipotle Mmmmm so sweet of him it sure was delish!!!! After I was done work we took a little stroll around Yorkville in search for a pair of boots for him, you'd be surprised how hard it was to find a nice good quality decently priced pair of winter boots for a men! He finally settled on a really nice pair of Timberlands from The Hudson Bay Company we even scored a boxing week sale of 40% off!

A&J

We've been around

I cannot believe were nearing the end of the first week of January already where is time going?? Its been quite nice getting to spent all this extra time at home with the husband over the holidays, We're not use to seeing each other as much with his day & night shift changes. For Christmas J bought me a juicer and we've been experimenting with different fruits and veggie recipes. If you guys have any please share in comments we'd love to try them out.

While we were heading downtown for NYE we stopped at Aroma in the Eaton's Centre to grab a quick bite. We had searched most of the Entertainment District looking for a good sandwich shop but most places had closed up early because it was New Years Eve. Needless to say our two half sandwiches and what appeared to be day old mushroom soup were so not worth the $19 bucks a roos spent! We wont be returning!!

Also we got to a see quick Disney on Ice performance while waiting for the Citytv NYE bash to begin it was honestly the coolest thing ever! I felt like a kid again. My face lit up and I couldn't get the smile off my face, ducking and peeking around others trying to get a glimpse of all the characters skating around I think I may have to look into taking my 'nieces' to see the real show.

Enjoy a few of the photos from the rest of our night.

A&J

Look on the bright side

Five things I’m thankful for.

1.) We both have good jobs in a really crummy economy. Somehow we’re supporting ourselves. Okay, not very well, but we are!

2.) I have friends and family I can call who care about me and will listen to me vent anytime of the day or night.

3.) I have a husband who is working his cute little bum off so he can take care of me and our little family we will one day have.

4.) We have a nice, reliable car with a good, strong heater. We have underground parking meaning in the winter we don’t have to scrape ice off the windshield.

5.) We have a fantastic family who we love so, so, so very much (and miss almost constantly!).

A&J

Goodbye 2012 hello 2013!!!

Well well well what can I say 2012 has been quite the ride with many ups and downs being pushed, pulled and molded testing our relationship. It definently hasn't been an easy year but It hasn't been all bad there has been many good memories as well as good heath, great family and friends.

Although we've been hit with some pretty hard challenges I'd like 2013 to be about growth and balance. I'd like to learn to live without fear or shame, or embarrassment, or of judgement. I want to live purely in the moment, effusively and wholly.

Cheers to creating even more awesome memories with my husband :) maybe this year we can check a few things off our bucket list

Jeff & Ashley's bucket list
•Canoe together
•Go to a comedy club
•Hike
•Camp together
•Skinny dip
•Horse back riding
•Fishing
•Sky dive (maybe just watch Jeff from the ground)
•Disneyland!!!
•Have a honeymoon

Cheers to a New Year!!!

Here are a few of our favourite memories of 2012.

A&J