Playing Catch-Up

I can't even. It's been like 8 months since I last posted. Let's play some catch-up...

There was a lot of stress planning our wedding but it all came together perfectly. That's right - I went through with it and I'm a married woman now.

                   I love this picture of us, even though B looks like he's sleeping :D


We didn't know what we were planning on doing about photography for our wedding until we attended our friends wedding (which I blogged about last year). They had this couple taking all their pictures, a man and a woman, and they were f*cking awesome! After seeing the photos, the decision was clear - them or nothing! We couldn't be happier with the results!

It had been raining for days on end, and that sucked ass for B's folks who were here for the wedding. Not only were we tied up at the venue getting everything in order & doing other wedding related stuff, but they were also stuck inside doing pretty much nothing because of the shitty weather. So much for Finnish summer... The weather's been crazy awful this year :( I was worried about going on our honeymoon in the middle of the warm Finnish summer, but I hear it was raining all the time while we were away enjoying the Caribbean sun :)

Our wedding was beautiful. The rain stopped and the sun came out. We said our 'I do's' and enjoyed a day full of happiness, laughter, tears, music, dancing, kisses and love. I couldn't have asked for a better day! The brides always say how the day went by too fast - that's true. It feels like the hours flew by and there just wasn't enough time to do more of everything - take more photobooth pictures,

                  eat more of our delicious, awesome, one of a kind cake

or maybe it was just perfect the way it was. So relaxed and happy - just eating, drinking and completely surrounded by love. Special thanks, hearts and kisses go to Ms I for all the help she gave us with the guests and the games and the program and and and - the list is endless. And my beloved sister - one of the most beautiful people inside and out - helped make this day perfect with her support, love, patience, care and her voice. She blessed us with 5 beautiful songs during the day - she sang as I walked down the aisle, our first dance and the special surprise song for B. She kept blessing us with more music later on in the night when we got the karaoke out. That's right - we had karaoke at our wedding because why not? We love karaoke and it seemed to be a big hit with everyone! Anyway, little sister - you are my light, my darkness, my soulmate, my heart, my life, my everything! I know I'm supposed to say all this to my husband but before him there was her, and after him, there will be her. I love you!

But husband - There is no one like you and you are perfect for me. We are perfect together. I love how my hand fits perfectly in yours. I love how you make me feel beautiful every single day.  I love you until death do us part and maybe even after that. Always and forever. I love you.

Photos by Kavilo Photography

Photobooth pics by L

Cake by Nonparellinurkka

No More Diets!

I've been reading a lot about different diets lately - how they work and what you have to do to lose weight. At some point I had to stop reading because of all the bullshit - I just can't believe people are actually doing these diets for real! They're usually like 'drink this miracle juice (and nothing else) for 4 weeks and lose an amazing amount of weight!'. I believe that. No, I really do. Of course you're going to lose weight if you don't eat anything and only drink juice. To be fair, the juice probably contains everything your body needs and nothing more, therefore making you lose weight because you're only consuming what you need to survive but what happens after the 4 weeks? You weigh less for a total of 1 week because you start eating food again? Obviously these only work if you learn how to eat right during those 4 weeks you're only drinking juice but I doubt anyone learns that without actual food involved. Go figure.

Why is it all about losing weight fast and RIGHT NOW, instead of 'let's get our lives in check NOW and do it RIGHT'. Learning what you're supposed to be eating aka what's the healthier option for what you're eating now, cutting back on fast food and gummy bears (or chocolate if that's you're choice of poison) and doing some sort of exercise will go waaaaay further than some fucked up soup diet. I mean, I really don't have anything against these diets, it's just something I don't understand.

I've been doing this slow but steady thing for a long ass fucking time and seeing some results. No huge drops on the scales, no 'lose 10 inches of your butt in 10 days' - stuff, but small changes. Rings fit better on my fingers (number 1 reason why we're getting our rings made closer to the wedding), I can fit into some clothes I didn't fit into before, I have more energy (although right now I'm suffering from this polar night depression which sucks out all your energy) and all around healthier. I have slipped into bad habits for a couple of weeks a couple of times and haven't always chosen the healthy option food wise but I am really trying. I'd like to learn to eat snacks during the day but it's proving to be more difficult to learn than it was to start eating breakfast.. Slowly but surely.. Baby steps.

I keep telling myself it will be fine and I have time but the truth is, I really don't have much time left. Six months have passed since we decided to get married and there are only six short months left until we say our I do's. Time to step on it is NOW! So from Jan 1st until Feb 28th, it's rabbit time! We're eating super healthy (this kind of detox being the only detox I believe in) - fruit & veg, fish, nuts etc. It'll be weird not eating meat but I think we really need to do this because (B says) we eat too much meat. We've tried being without rice, pasta and potato and many have said it helped them lose weight but we don't want to live our lives without those things so we're learning to work around that - no secret there, pretty much just eating less of them. We don't want to live our lives without meat either, but at the moment we eat some sort of meat at every meal and (for us) it's going to be easier being without it for a bit and then adding it to our meal plan instead of meat being the meal plan. It'll be fun, right?

I'll finish my nuts and raisins and go to bed, the gym really killed me today.

They Said I Do!

So, I've now had the pleasure of attending a beautiful wedding! It was an unforgettable experience and now a deeply cherished memory. The fact that I had never been a part of a traditional wedding before, made the evening even more valuable. I've never seen the bride and groom so happy! The food tasted heavenly, the music was amazing, the details perfectly thought out and everything moved along smoothly. Even with a couple of rotten apples in the bunch, the day was magical. I cannot thank the couple enough for letting me be a part of their special celebration. They just got out of the Caribbean sun and are now enjoying the beautiful autumn in NYC. My best wishes and a lifetime of happiness for the couple!

 The Newlyweds outside the church after the ceremony with autumn leaves falling...

We actually asked someone to take a picture of us - what a rare moment!

B scored himself some liquid courage for his help with the wedding and boy was it needed!

It's all in the details, and all the little personal touches were immaculate. 

We had some other beautiful, happy couples at this wedding - one of them my sister and her boo.

Everyone got some sheet music and a task to be performed at some point during the evening. B had to make a speech for the newlyweds in a Scottish accent. Thankfully he got that liquid courage..

Like I said, the food was heavenly and we ate our fair share of it. B might have ate a bit too much...

B made this amazing dessert for everyone and it came out even better than the trial run!

No doubt about it - our table, number 5, was the most fun table of them all!

The ever so gorgeous bride in her ever so magnificently beautiful wedding dress! All smiles!

Some of the funny games from the hen and stag dos made it all the way to the wedding.

Amazing. Beautiful. Wonderful. Peaceful. Love. Kindness. Tears. Laughter. Happiness.

Quick Update

Saturday I worked out with S. The gym was as awful as always. I did the horrible routine where you don't use any machines, just your body. After the gym we decided to have a sophisticated drink at our place with like candle light and jazz.. So obviously I got super drunk and we ended up going to the bar! I had such a fun night and that doesn't really surprise me because I usually always have fun with my sister :) B was out on a Stag Do and had a lot of fun. He had to work on Sunday so he came home earlier than usual..

Sunday I woke up in pain. The hangover wasn't that bad when I got up, but all my muscles were hurting. Muscles I didn't even know existed. It was hell. Aaaand then came the hangover, which lasted all day long, all the way to bed that night. I was fine as long as I stayed on the couch but as soon as I got up for any reason - death by movement. I did get up for a little bit, managed to get dressed, leave the house and eat. Healthy food of course. I mean, there's nothing unhealthy about a burger right? :) I was supposed to go swimming but was so hangover I feared I would drown so skipped it. Good decision.

Monday I was gonna go swimming since I didn't go Sunday. Well, I didn't go. I was super sore still and we instead went for lunch with S and did some other super important stuff (read: drank coffee and gossiped). We picked up our mother and drove out of town to hit some flea markets. We love those places! You can always find awesome things at the flea market! And boy did we find some real winners.. But we also found stuff we actually liked - story book for J, some clothes, Halloween decorations, these super cute dried-up-stuff-in-nice-little-frames for the kitchen.. It was a really fun day! And S managed to get this Gothic looking iron chandelier for a super bargain. Awesome!

Yesterday I was supposed to work but didn't because there was a bit of a mix up with the shifts. So I had another awesome day with S. We went for lunch at 10.30. Yes, that early. We were there earlier than that and actually had to wait a while before they started serving lunch. Hungry Hippos. We thought about hitting the gym since we skipped it on Sunday and Monday but we lazied out. Fucking pussies. And now I won't be able to do the 3+1 routine I decided on - 3 x gym and 1 x swimming / week. I'll be too busy for the rest of the week.. Shit. Fuck. Fuck. Shit.

Today we tried going to the gym in the morning before work. We've never done that before and were very skeptical about it working aka us surviving the work out. But we did. And it wasn't at all as bad as I thought it would be! I was actually quite awesome to do some moving around so early and it gave me energy for the rest of the day which was awesome because we were quite busy in work today. After work I went to Subway with B and from there we drove straight out to our friends wedding venue to help set everything up for Saturday. Got home for 10. I wouldn't have had any time to hit the gym today if I hadn't gone in the morning and I was thinking about doing the same tomorrow, but we have a meeting in work which kind of puts a dent in my plan. If I wanted to go to the gym tomorrow, I would have to go after the setting-up-the-venue-business and that will be too late. Unless.. it's not. And I just do it. Hmm..

Tomorrow after the meeting and all day in work, I'll be taking B to the shop to get all the stuff for this desert he'll be making for this wedding and then we'll drive straight to the venue, stay there a couple of hours doing anything and everything we can to help so you know, less stress for the bride. Then home and maybe gym? But if coming home equals 10 pm, I'll fuck the gym off. Ain't nobody got energy to work out that late. Nothing exciting will happen tomorrow because the whole day is full of work, but at least the day should fly by with no boring moments! Here's to hoping!

Friday will be equally as busy as Wednesday and Thursday. I might actually have time to go swimming after work, depending on how much there is still left to be done at this wedding venue. But if we get a lot done tomorrow, I'll only go in for the finishing touches on Friday and pick up B who'll be there making the desert. Since I'm pretty sure I can't make it to the gym tomorrow, I could go Friday morning.. But gym and swimming both on the same day? Shit. I can do it! Maybe. We'll see. We're thinking about starting this thing properly again on Monday because a lot of these things that have taken up time will be over then. We'll have more time to concentrate on making a routine for ourselves that actually work.. Can't wait!

Saturday we'll be going to this wedding we're helping set up. It'll look awesome. It'll be awesome and I can't wait! I'll get up super early to do my hair and make up, get dressed, drive to my mums and do my sisters make up (and hair if there is time) and then it's off to the church. I'll get home for about 4 am. So that's about it for my Saturday :)

Sunday I'll be super hangover and dying on the couch again. It's like I have a date with my couch every Sunday! I don't actually drink every weekend but when I do, it usually always ends up with me dying on a Sunday! I probably won't update this blog for the rest of the week, and that is the reason for this quick update and sum up of my week. Will probably rave about the wedding with some photos for my next post...

No pictures today because this feels like a no-pic post. Good night!

Calling Off The Wedding..

..would be easier than going to the gym. I finally got back to swiping my gym card today and I'm not gonna lie - it felt like death. I survived the 10 minutes on the Cross Trainer and actually did it on a harder level and managed to go 400 m further, so I was super pleased with myself! Especially since I haven't been to the gym for a couple of weeks due to a nasty case of bronchitis. I also got through the whole program without dying or vomiting. I really need to go the 3 times a week or maybe even 4 times. Need to add something to it though.. Like after the actual program I'm meant to do. Maybe some rowing. Perhaps. We'll see. Tomorrow I can't go because..

...I have a meeting with the dress maker :) Today I seen one dress design but it's not exactly what I want, so I'm gonna bring some pictures and my imagination to this meeting and hope she'll understand what I mean! I kinda know what I want but I also kinda need someone to tell me what's possible, what will look good and what would suit me. I'm not really known for my impeccable taste in clothing or fashion in general. Material for dress - €€€, getting it custom made - €€€, having someone who knows what they're doing make it (plus it being someone I know) - priceless.

I've also been in to the jewelers again. I was doubtful about this diamond she ordered for my wedding band but it was perfect! It was exactly what I had imagined and not too sparkly at all! It'll be perfect! We want B's wedding band to be made by the same jewelry maker so we told her about B's idea for his ring and she's going to make some magic happen. Hopefully B will like his design as much as I love mine :) I'll be happier once the rings and the dress are sorted out - can focus more on the gym and getting healthy..

..which is why I quit smoking! I was going to quit as a new years resolution but decided fuck it - and smoked my last cigarette on Sunday. A friend of mine also quit a week ago today (!) so I thought why not. This is one huge step towards a smoke free wedding (for me, others can smoke) and a life - obviously. The only time I really feel like having a smoke is after lunch or dinner, and it's more like I used to smoke after food so having one after lunch or dinner is a logical thing to do. Now I just do nothing. Oh well, save money, become healthier, smell better...

Number one priority should be getting my ass into gear and doing something about this weight. So been helping out at mums with what ever they needed doing - because I want to help ( = got some exercise). Helped out E and S move house - because I wanted to help ( = got some exercise). Now I will start walking to work because fuck it, I need all the help I can get plus I need some fresh air now that I quit smoking and won't go outside as much. I walked to work for a year and then there was that one summer I rode my bike to work but other than that, it's been car all the way. Fucking lazy ass. I'll change that! But not tomorrow, because of the meeting.. First thing Friday morning. Right after brushing my teeth. And breakfast. And an episode of something. And right after I almost chicken out because it's probably snowing Friday morning.. Good luck to me!

Originality Is Overrated

So we've been  thinking about wedding food a lot. We don't really know what we're having for our meal but we have an idea for the evening snack. We want to do mini foods, which apparently are 'in' right now. I've never been one to join the masses and do what everyone else is doing but I fell in love with the idea of having mini foods like sliders etc. I was excited about that idea but really nervous at the same time, because I never thought I'd be able to find an easy way to make all them mini foods, but I was wrong! Finland does get into what's 'in' and have supplied me with the necessary tools to make sliders! The help came from Clas Ohlson so technically it's Sweden to the rescue but who cares about the small print anyway? :) Now that we got that one mini food sorted, it's time to decide on everything else - nearly there now.. not. Happy regardless!

We also started trials on some of the stuff we're serving. Like these Cookie Cups. They're going to be amazing, as soon as we figure out the perfect combination of flavours. Cookie dough and marshmallow together sounds like an out-of-this-world orgasm for your taste buds but it was actually quite awful. Maybe it was just the store bought DIY French marshmallow mix but they ended up being as good of a fit as using a fucking tampon as a raincoat. No go. We'll keep working on that one. Other ideas included these cake lollies, but we're not sure about those yet. Maybe, maybe not. Shouldn't really have too many different things but then again, they usually serve bigger items at weddings right? What would be an acceptable amount of mini foods? Keeping in mind that we also have the sweets buffet and dessert as well as the cake and and and..

I joined Pinterest just to get some help with learning what I actually want at our wedding. I'm not artistic at all and I feel like imagination and being artistic go hand in hand, and that's why I needed some (read: LOADS) help with planning. I'm not one of those who have been planning for this special day for years or since they were little, so all I had was a big fat nothing to start with. But Pinterest has helped a lot. And I'm pleased to find that I actually like a lot of the things I see and want to find more (read: still trying to lazy out on doing anything original). It's all coming together slowly but surely. No stress yet.

I also downloaded an app for my phone that tells me exactly how long I have until the wedding. I'll start stressing when it says 1 month left. I'm still in denial and think I'll get all this done with the least amount of stress possible. But it's good to live in hope right? :)

We're going to the venue on Friday to make all the food that can be made like salad, so there would be the least amount of work to be done on Saturday (read: least amount of things to go wrong) and then we have a chef coming on Saturday to do all the rest of the cooking and stuff. We also have this super efficient girl coming to help with serving and plating and everything else but I felt like we need to have two people because there's still quite a lot they need to do, so I asked this other super efficient girl today, if she was willing to work then and she agreed! What a HUGE weight off my shoulders to know it's all in good hands and I can just enjoy that day knowing that even if things go wrong or something gets fucked up, I'll never know about it because these people are so fucking amazing at what they do! Lucky me :)

So originality. Turns out, not too important to me when it comes to my wedding. I'm super comfortable taking other peoples ideas and dreams (Pinterest) and making them a part of my special day. But that's what Pinterest was created for right? I think I'll be original enough wearing a wine red dress instead of white! It'll be great. I feel like I keep telling myself that a lot. Maybe some stress creeping in after all...

Summer Hols

We were off for the whole of June and decided to go to England. We managed to surprise B's folks once again! It worked even better this time - got there in the morning so B's mum was still sleeping and he went up to wake her! She got the surprise of her life. It was super funny :) We stayed at B's parents house but actually left it every now and then. I obviously took some pics as well..

OK, so we didn't really stick to the diet but who could say no to this? Or KFC? I could say we only ate there once but that would be a lie. We ate there many times... like at least 4 times in two weeks. Fuuuck. 'It'll be ok because  we're going back on the diet as soon as we get home..' - famous last words.

I didn't really take many photos in England because we lived there. Do I need to say more? But Rome on the other hand....

I took loads of pictures and these are just a few of them. So, the Colosseum. HUGE! And super old obviously. They said it's constant pain in the ass trying to keep it in one piece and they're doing work on it all the time. It was also very beautiful and full of history, We walked through all the galleries and took pictures of all the historical objects and read about it all. It was an awesome experience! The Vatican - 8km of hallway, need I say more? We didn't walk down all them hallways but we did do shit loads of walking. I made the Vatican part of that day a miserable experience for myself by choosing to wear the wrong type of shoes. I was so pissed off with myself and couldn't really take my shoes off because that would've been really disrespectful. But I did my best to enjoy it anyway :)

It was actually a really nice trip even though it only lasted two nights and one full day. We saw a lot of the sights and ate some Italian food, which we didn't take any pics of because we had no phones with us! Yes - we left England and traveled to another country without any phones on us. It was heaven! No technology - just the two of us. And the hotel was just around the corner from the train station where the airport bus dropped us off. And every morning you get this awesome breakfast :) I would totally go to Italy again but probably go to some other city like Venice. Rome was pretty fantastic, but I think I'd like Venice more. Less cars and more water.

Possible honeymoon destination? I think not. It'll be Caribbean all the way!