Invitation sample

A couple of people have asked to see what projects I've been working on lately - so here's one. This invitation/reply card was done for a couple getting married in Rome. Honestly, I have to say that it's not my best work - but it was what the couple wanted, and they put a HUGE rush on me to get it done. In the end, they were happy with the result (despite the fact that they changed their minds and are no longer getting married in Rome...too bad the rush was for nothing!)

You might not be able to see the details in the photo here, but the invitation and reply card were printed onto high quality, textured paper. The invitation has an image of the Colosseum (for the Rome-theme) that is printed onto the white textured paper; the text is printed on a vellum overlay. The three layers are held together with a grommet/eyelet. The bride requested that burgundy be incorporated into the design, so that's why we opted for the burgundy background.

Note: I learned a lot from this job ... for example, never again will I be rushed when it comes to completing a design! I too need to be completely happy with the final outcome ... don't get me wrong, this design isn't terrible - but I could have done it better. :)

St. Patrick's Day - the pics

I'm happy to report that we all survived St. Patrick's Day. :)

The party at John's was a lot of fun (as usual) - as always, there were some "interesting" characters there (who made for some good entertainment). Unfortunately, I seem to only have pics of the usual gang. I was too busy chatting for most of the night to take photos - until late, when I remembered to start snapping (after many people had left). :) Ah well, some photos are better than none! (btw, sorry there are so many of me ...)

Need I comment?

John & Kimberly

Me n' Angela

Some of the best entertainment of the night came from these two ("Liz Taylor" & Todd) ... eep!

Me n' John

John & Dan ...

Hee hee! Meet Kristian (with Ang). This guy ... he was another great source of entertainment that night. Ang & I found out that we went to high school with him ... too funny. This guy was d-r-u-n-k. And he took a little liking to Angela. ;)

Me & Dan

About to go home ... 4am - lights out.

Green day

Happy St. Patty's Day! We're off to a party tonight to celebrate. John is hosting the event, which only makes sense (as he's of Irish blood - and proud of it!). I'm sure it will prove to be a little too fun ... more often than not, we tend to get ourselves in pretty deep when we're partying with John. ;)

I've been trying to figure out what my drink of choice will be tonight - obviously the right thing to do is drink something Irish. I haven't drank Kilkenny in AGES (I always opt for Belgians when it's a beer night), so I think that'll have to be the one for tonight. Now here's hoping the liquor store is well-stocked.

And, of course, it's quite likely that Guinness will get thrown into the mix at some point. :)

Here's hoping ...

Here's hoping this rate holds (or gets better, of course) - it's the best it's been in a loooong time!

On 13 Mar 2006, 1.00 UK Pound sterling(s) = 2.01 Canadian dollar(s), at an exchange rate of 2.0110

Yeah, seeing as we'll be spending an entire 7 nights in London, it would be nice if the exchange rate stays somewhat decent (well, this isn't very decent, but as compared to how it's been in the past, it's pretty good).

I can't believe that we're finally going to London! (this will be our 6th Euro-trip and we've never been there)

Caring for your introvert

I've never really thought about it much, but I guess this sort of sounds like me ... for the most part, anyway.

Introverts often have quiet energy; listen more than talk; think quietly inside his/her head; think, then act; feel comfortable being alone; prefer to work "behind-the-scenes" ; have good powers of concentration; prefer to focus on one thing at a time; are self-contained and reserved.

An introvert’s essential stimulation is from within the inner world of ideas and impression, thoughts and reflections. Introverts think things through in order to understand them. Introverts process internally first, and then come out with the conclusion. They prefer written communication.

They like alone time, and thinking before they speak. I's energy is more directed inward, towards their own thoughts, ideas, perceptions, and reactions. They trust their own judgments and perceptions more than those of others, and will think an idea through before expressing it.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200303/rauch

Happy

Not a whole lot is going on this week, but I'll give you an update anyways (or I'll start getting emails, asking why I haven't...)

The highlight (by far) of the week was on Sunday. I went to an Oscars party for a bit, and when I got home there was a voice mail from Daniel. We got on the phone and talked for hours - lotsa reminiscing about the old days. Almost 3 hours later, I got off the phone and went to bed a happy girl. It was a great conversation - and the great thing was that it was just like we had talked the week before (and not at all like it had been over 10 years!). :)

Aside from that, the rest of my week has been pretty mellow. I've decided that the time has definitely come for me to get back at exercising more - so I've been really good so far (2x since Monday!). It's amazing how much better you feel when you move more ... it's just a matter of me actually scheduling time for it. It'll be hard during really busy times, but I'll do my best.

Yesterday was my flex day, so I had the day off from my day job (I get one every other week). I did something on Tuesday that I never do - I went to bed super early (9:30pm!!) and listened to music for about an hour (so I ended up going to sleep way earlier than normal) - but then I made the mistake of letting myself sleep for too long. So when I got up yesterday I felt like shite! Too much sleep = feeling terrible. I was all headachey (blah) and so I didn't have a very productive day. I beat myself up when I don't have productive days ... ah well. I managed to at least get out for a bit and went to the music store. I picked up An American Prayer by Jim Morrison/The Doors. I had the cassette years ago ... and I guess after talking to Daniel, I was feeling all nostalgic so I thought I'd pick up the CD. :)

I guess that's about it ... over n' out.

Back to Paris in June! I took this pic last year - on, you guessed it, on rue de Rivoli. :)

Revised itinerary

Remember that old friend (Daniel) I mentioned a couple posts back? Well, we were talking last night and we came up with the idea that it would be a lot of fun to meet up in London in June - seeing as we'll both be in the "neighborhood". So - why not meet up?! It involves mixing up the original itinerary a bit, but I think it'll be well worth it. :)

Unfortunately ... it looks like the original plan for the Belgian Beer Tour no longer stands. Instead we'll "tour" the Belgian pubs in London. ;) The revised itinerary is as follows:

May 17: fly Vancouver to London

May 18-22: Sleep London (UK)

May 22-26: Sleep Siena (Italy)

May 27-29: Sleep Florence (1 or 2 day trips to Rome) (Italy)

May 30: Sleep Pisa (Italy)

May 31-June 2: Sleep Barcelona (Spain)

June 3-4: Sleep Arles (France)

June 5: Sleep Carcassonne (France)

June 6-8: Sleep London (UK)

June 9-10: Sleep Paris (France)

June 11: fly Paris to Vancouver

Yep, so I guess there won't be any meeting up with our Dutch friends in Belgium after all (but! At least we'll see one of them - Bart is going to join us in London and Paris - very cool!). Sorry to those who were planning on hooking up with us in Belgium ...