Furniture Shopping - Ugh!

One of the most important people in my life (my sister) is an interior designer. I've always been in awe of her talent and ability to throw together a room (and an outift, for than matter). Well, until now, I did not truly appreciate how good she really is - and how inept I really am.

Mark and I moved in to our new home three months ago, and our living room has been sitting empty (except for a beautiful Crate and Barrel bar) since then. Whenever our doorbell rings, I cringe at the thought that the neighbour, Chinese food delivery man, or welcome wagon lady will think we're strange for having an empty living room! That being said, I've been putting off decorating the room, but we finally bit the bullet and decided to start some furniture shopping. We've been browsing for a few weeks, and decided that we would purchase a sofa, arm chair, and area rug this past weekend. Well, eight hours later, we came home exhausted, having only purchased a sofa. Ugh - I am indecisive and incapable of visualizing what things will look like together.

So far, this is what we have:

Kenton Bar - Crate & Barrel

Petrie Sofa - Crate & Barrel

I think we're going for a mid-century look (can you say, Mad Men). If anyone has any ideas for area rugs or arm chairs, feel free to let me know. Please keep in mind we have white walls, light hardwood, and a red kitchen that can be seen from the living room.

For now, I will spend hours on the internet, obsessively looking for exactly what I need. After all, if the internet worked for finding my husband, I'm sure I can find a stupid rug!

Good Times in the UK

After our once in a lifetime trip to Eastern Europe, we spent a little time in the UK. Dad, Tara, Mark and I explored London for a day, before Mark and I headed to Northern Ireland for 5 days.

Tara, Dad and I at Trafalgar Square

Dad and Tara had never been to London, so it was a day filled with sightseeing, and more importantly shopping! I'm pretty sure Tara was in her element, and will want to go back again.

Westminster Abbey - just a few weeks late for Will and Kate's big day

Parliament and Big Ben - my very favourite building

 I learned something very interesting while walking around London. Mark admitted to me that our trip to London just before our engagement was a very important one - if I hadn't fallen in love with the city, and more specifically Parliament and 10 Downing Street, he may not have proposed. All jokes aside, somewhere deep down, my husband still wants to be Prime Minister of Great Britain.

After getting Dad and Tara on a flight back to Calgary, Mark and I headed to Newcastle, NI to visit the Annett clan. We attended a lovely wedding of one of Mark's old school mates. And, Mark's Mom, sister and sister in law planned a 'homecoming/wedding reception' for us and all the relatives that couldn't make it across the pond for our wedding last year. It was a wonderful evening, and I was lucky enough to get to meet several Annett relatives that I had yet to meet. Mark has a huge family - something I'm not used to!

The sign that our nieces (Emily pictured) made for our party

All in all, it was a great trip, but a tiring one. It was nice to get back to Canadian soil (especially because Toronto temperatures have been soaring since we returned). Hello, summer!

The Pallays (and Annetts) do Hungary

Well, we're back in Toronto and have mostly recovered from the jet lag. We had a fun, busy trip - we covered a lot of miles!

Budapest was beautiful. We spent lots of time walking around both the Buda and Pest sides of the city, took a bus/boat tour, visited a museum, an art gallery, the central market, the opera house, and ate some delicious Hungarian cuisine.

A view of Pest from Buda

We also rented a car and spent some time driving through the countryside, both in Hungary and Slovakia. We visited both of the towns that my grandparents came from. A dream come true for my Dad!  We stayed at a lovely winery hotel and enjoyed tasting some of Hungary's finest.

A lovely hotel, with beautiful rooms and delicious wine!

On our last day, we enjoyed a bus tour out to Lake Balaton. It was a warm day, and we soaked up some sun and took in all the sights.

Lake Balaton

Finally.... before we left, we had to enjoy another cone of gelato! The trip was unforgettable (especially for Dad). I would highly recommend Budapest as a vacation destination.

My three favourite people

That's all for today! I'll post more about the Northern Ireland portion of our trip later.

Europe Countdown

On Friday, Dad, Tara, Mark and I are heading to Europe. The four of us will be spending 10 days in Hungary exploring some of my Dad's heritage. I'm really looking forward to seeing the sights, as every person I mention the trip to, has stories about how amazing Budapest is, and how much we're going to love it.

We'll spend most of our time in Budapest, but will travel to two small towns (one where my Grandma lived, and one in Slovakia where my Grandpa lived), and hopefully spend some time at Lake Balaton (a resort area).

We haven't planned out exactly what we're going to do each day, but have booked tickets on RiverRide for our first full day in Budapest. It's a bus that turns into a boat! So, we'll get a great driving tour of downtown Budapest, as well as a boat cruise down the Danube. Should be a blast.

Boat? Bus? Either way, it looks like fun!

I'll be taking lots of pictures, so will post an update when we return!

On our way home, Mark and I will be stopping in Northern Ireland to visit family and go to a friend's wedding. It'll be my first British wedding, and I don't have a hat or a fascinator - uh oh! Hopefully, they'll let the lady with no hat and a strange accent in. Cheerio!

Mother's Day

This Sunday will mark the first Mother's Day since my Mom passed away. On September 25, 2010, my wonderful Mom lost her 13 year battle with kidney disease. She was (and still is) my hero. The battle she fought was not an easy one. For 13 years she underwent four peritoneal dialysis exchanges each and every day. Due to the disease, she had to have open heart surgery, lost most of her eye sight and hearing, and in her last few years, had little energy and significant mobility issues. However, she did not complain - not once. My Mom was a tiny little lady (5 feet tall, and less than 100 pounds) but had a massive heart and a high level of perspective that never once wavered. Though most people would feel sorry for themselves and be angry that they had to live this way, my Mom was constantly thankful for all of the good things in her life. Every single day I strive to find just an ounce of the perspective that Mom had. She honestly was the most positive, kind, caring, selfless, beautiful person I have ever met. I am so very fortunate to be her daughter. I can only hope that I can be half the woman that she was.

Tara, Mom and I

In the days since she passed, I often feel sorry for myself and wonder why I had to lose my Mom at such a young age; but then I hear her voice in my head reminding me of all the amazing things I have in my life that I should be thankful for. While losing her will surely be the biggest 'rip off' of my life, having her as my Mom was my greatest blessing. 

On my wedding day - just 6 weeks before she passed

This Sunday I will take some special time to myself to remember her. I will remember her warm smile, her soft skin and beautiful blue eyes, her soothing voice and all of the wonderful time we spent together. In 31 short years, I shared more with my Mom than most daughters do in a long and healthy life. For that, I will be forever thankful.  

  

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I miss and love you.

A Wee Break for the Annetts

Mark and I decided to get away for a couple of days and head down to the Niagara region. Since we've moved here, the pull to continually work on house tasks (unpacking, organizing, gardening, paperwork, etc.) has been overwhelming, and we both were in serious need of a break!

The Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls

I've been lucky enough to see Niagara Falls three times before, but Mark the world traveler, surprisingly has never been. Over the last few years it seems that Niagara Falls has turned into a bit of a mini Las Vegas, so we decided to make the most of it and tried out a few of the tacky tourist activities (arcade games, glow in the dark bowling, a giant Ferris wheel), as well as taking in the main attraction.

 

 

Mark enjoying the scenery

We also took some time to drive around the region, and ended up in Niagara on the Lake. Both Mark and I loved the look and feel of this quaint little town... so much so that as soon as we got home, we called to book a night there in July. Looking forward to it already!

Main Street - Niagara on the Lake

Next break... a real vacation to Hungary and Northern Ireland. Less than 3 weeks until we leave. Mark has definitely infected me with the travel bug. Love, love, love it!

Hello from Markham

Well, it's been a long time since I last posted and lots has happened. Mark and I purchased a lovely home in Markham and moved in a month ago (the snow in the picture is from January when we purchased). We're still getting used to our new surroundings but spring has sprung and Mark is enjoying having a yard and garden to look after. We have met a lot of our neighbours, and they are all lovely. It's very strange to be living in a new place; however, so far, so good (other than the mounds of red tape that we are working through - insurance, license plates, health care, etc... in order to live in the exact same country - ugh).

I have been hired by BBW International - haven't started yet, but will be working part time assisting with conferences, trade shows and other events. The hours are very flexible, which will allow me to travel lots (with my hubby) and back to Calgary to see Dad and Tara. I'll also be working the upcoming federal election as a polling clerk. Should be interesting. Don't forget to vote!

Dad, Tara, Mark and I will be leaving for a trip to Hungary in May. Dad has always dreamed of going to see the country where his parents were both born and raised. When Mom passed away in September, we decided that we needed to help him make this dream come true! Thankfully, Dad speaks Hungarian, so hopefully the trip will go smoothly.

Mark and I will be heading to Northern Ireland for a few days on our way home from Hungary. We are looking forward to seeing lots of our friends and family. Unfortunately, it's a short trip, but we're going again in October, so we'll just count this as a bonus. Surely, it'll be some powerful craic.

Cheers, for now.