Birthday pressies.

Oops!  I thought I'd already made a post about my birthday.  Well, over a month ago I turned 22.  I was really sick so I didn't do anything special.  Or anything at all actually.  Buuut, I have for you today photos of what my family gave me.

I got that cupcake cross stitch.  I didn't take a picture of it before I opened it, so I figure there is no need to post the same picture I've already posted...

These are the cards from my parents:

A super adorable necklace:

S&P shakers:

In Mexico!!!

Hey ladies!  Sorry, I just assume that no men read this...  But if you're out there reading this and you are not a lady, say "HI!" so I can acknowledge you next time.  Anyway, stop distracting me so I can get on with my post.

As you read this, I am laying on the sunny, hot beach at my resort in Mexico.  Hopefully.  This is a scheduled post so who knows for sure.  I may have had some bad food and am actually in the bathroom half dead.  Or sunburnt and passed out on the cool tile floors.  Maybe I don't even have cool tile floors!  Oh no! 

Just wanting to let you all know that I'm thinking of you.  I bet you've already noticed that I've scheduled a few posts for you while I'm away.  Anyway, I just wanted to say: write me a comment about how much you hate me right now, while you sit in the rain being grumpy that I didn't ask you to come with me.

What I Bought. As always...

This is what I found at the thrift shops last time I went:

Strawberry Shortcake cushion

Eeyore

Vintage dress from Sears.

Old Polly Pocket things.  The cute tiny ones!

Kawaii/Kitsch Decor, part 3.

Another way to kawaii-ify your kitchen is with tea towels. 
Scour thrift shops for vintage ones. These should be cheap enough that you won't mind using them, or just drape over your oven door if it's too cute to risk ruining.

Another good way to get cute tea towels is around the holidays. I've found cupcake towels on sale for super cheap after Valentine's Day and Easter. I got one set from Target last year after Easter, and one set this year just after Valentine's Day.

To find tea towels online, I suggest trying paperchase.co.uk, fisheddy.com or modcloth.com for cute ones. Try Ebay for cheaper ones.

Oooor, if you are really awesome (which I'm sure you are) you could cross stitch your favorite kawaii object onto a towel that's MADE for that sort of thing. I can't remember where, but I saw some towels that were meant for cross stitching on. They had a little grid on them to make it easy. I should have bought some, or at least remembered where they were, damn...

Driving to Calgary to catch our plane. Yay!

Kawaii/Kitsch Decor, part 2.

The next time you're at the dollar store or your favorite craft store make sure to add "magnets" to your shopping list.  I buy mine in rolls, but I don't recommend them.  The rolls are hard to keep flat, they curl at the ends, so they don't stick very well.  You wouldn't have this problem if you buy the ones that come in strips or the small circular ones.

What do I want these for you ask.  Weeeeeeeell, with these you can dress up your fridge (or locker) with just about anything.  Just peel and stick a bit of magnet to Barbie accessories, old jewellery or hair clips, small toys, anything really, and you have a cute, personalized magnet.

My fridge has a Barbie-sized lunchbox, Hello Kitty Shrinky-Dinks, a tiny guitar, and small wooden garden tools to hold photos and my shopping list.

I suggest hitting the thrift shop for vintage kid's hair things, brooches, Barbie shoes, puzzle pieces, board game bits (Scrabble tiles to spell out messages?), or buttons. 

Kawaii/Kitsch Home Decor.

Need ideas for cheap home decor?  Who doesn't?  I have tons of ideas for you that come from my own house, which I'll slowly be introducing you to.  First I'll start with the kitchen.  This is probably one of the rooms your guests see the most.  For me it is anyway.  So I like the kitchen to have lots of personality. 

Personally, I like color.  And vintage.  I assume you do too, or you probably wouldn't be here reading my blog.  Anyway, one thing I like to stock up on at thrift shops is vintage aprons.  They come in handy when you are cooking, baking, cleaning, or gardening.  Or dressing up like Alice.

 But they are too cute to keep shoved in a drawer when you aren't prancing around in one.  So, you could try hanging them on a hook on an empty wall in your kitchen.  Or a number of hooks if you have more space, as I do.  There is a small bit of wall beside my fridge where I hang my collection of vintage aprons and my cute potholders.  Here they are on display, AND super handy.

You could also hang cute potholders from strong magnets on your fridge.  I have another Care Bears one on my fridge...

Fort Steele, part two.

Oh, poo!  Blogger was being so good for a while there and letting me post pictures.  I finally caught up on adding photos to the back log of posts I had saved as drafts.  But I supposed I shouldn't have pushed my luck and tried to make a few new posts, because it's stopped working again.  Not before I uploaded three pictures, take that Blogger!  :)  Here they are:

Such a cute building.  During the tourist season you can go in, get dressed up, and have old-looking B&W photos taken of you.  Last time I came here this was a librarian's house or something of the sort...

 Methinks this lady was the town prostitute or something...  She just wandered around and harrassed all the poor men while they were trying to work.  Just kidding!  I think she was the one in charge of the "Gossip Tour".  When we first arrived the lady at the entrance told us about this "Gossip Tour" where a young lady would take you around Fort Steele and tell you about the people who lived there.  But since this is the off season, we were pretty much the only people here, and she had nothing to do.  (We should have went on the tour, damn!  Oh well, next time.)

Sheep have such creepy eyes...  This dude wouldn't stop following me for some reason.

Wildlife Center, June 2011.

Here are some of the pictures I took this past week when Laura and I went for a walk at the Wildlife Center.  Lots of the paths were super flooded and there was a school group there, but it was still a good time.  We didn't see any frogs, which made me sad.  I love frogs.  We did see LOTS of snakes, which also made me sad.  I HATE snakes...

pretty swamp flowers

My awesome photography skills show when I try to take a picture of Laura and I...

Giant slug, so cute!

The swamp is so pretty!

Can you see the snake?  Ick.

Another snake.  Can you see him?

This is the most sun we've had in months...  Sad but true, we haven't begun to have warm weather yet.

Want to go for a walk?  Errr, a swim I guess...

I've discovered that I can post pictures I've taken with my camera...  Hmmm.  Blogger must have something against iphones...

Royal Villas Resort, Mazatlan Mexico.

Here are a few pictures of the resort we'll be staying at:

Yay!  Soooo excited!  I won't be on the internet while I'm away, but expect a few posts of awesomeness when I arrive back in Canada. 

The answer...

... To a crapola summer (the weather here is horrible) is to cancel our camping vacation and...

FLY TO MEXICO!!!

That's right ladies and... Ladies... My man and I changed our vacation plans at the last minute. No more Vancouver Island in the rain for us, we get SUN. Neither of us have been to Mexico, or even been on a plane for that matter. Actually, if we didn't live 10 minutes from the US border, we both probably wouldn't have left Canada. So yay for us, and yay to you if you have any tips for what to bring, or what to expect flying and in Mexico. Help, I'm nervous!

Sorry for the boring, pictureless post- I'm on my phone at work.

Change of Plans.

My man and I are most likely are NOT going to be going on our lovely, well-planned vacation to Vancouver Island.  But we are not saaaaaad, find out why very soon.

This is us quadding this past weekend.  Vroooom!

Pulling some drunk girls out of the ditch in the middle of the night. Don't drink and drive people!

At the bar watching hockey. Go Vancouver!

Probably the coolest giveaway ever.

In all my years of blogging, I have never come across such an awesome giveaway.  Drop Dead Cute and Bzzz Buddies teamed up to bring us...  Kawaii vibrators! 

Haha, I just love the octopus and the frog (both not pictured...) so cuuute!  I think these are so cute that I followed them on Facebook even though my parents and siblings and uncles will see.  Oh wells, methinks it's worth it.  Head over to Drop Dead Cute to enter.

Outdoor Dining Made Easier.

Sick of having to run back inside your house when eating on your porch or in your backyard because you forgot something?  Tired of having to make multiple trips back and forth carrying arm-loads of dishes, seasonings, and napkins?

Trrrrrry buying a cute (and huge) picnic basket!

Buy a big basket and shove it full of paper plates, napkins, and plastic utensils for eating around a fire or the barbeque.  Or do as I have, and hit up the thrift shops for some cheap (but still gorgeous) vintage dishes.  I bought up some mismatched forks, knives, cups, and plates from a thrift shop that I keep in a giant basket on a shelf beside the barbeque.  That way when it's time to eat, all the dishes are handy.  We also have all our bbqing spices and sauces in a basket that's easy to grab when it's time to eat outside.  You can also shove in your hot dog supplies if you have a bonfire pit like we do.  As I said, this basket needs to be HUGE!

You could also line the basket with some summery material for added protection and cuteness.

Fred Flare.

One of the coolest websites ever is Fred Flare.  It has the most unique, kawaii, and of course kitsch, home decor, clothing, and accessories.  You really must check it out, it has something for everyone.  Below are some of my favorite home decor items:

Unicorn corn holders.

Buy

Moustache Corkscrew.

Buy

Saw cake cutter.

 Buy

Throwing star wall hook.

Buy

Cupcake egg timer.

Buy

Summer Vacation 2011.

I don't think I told you lovely ladies this yet, but my man and I are going on our first real vacation together this summer.  Our plan is to take a road trip to Vancouver Island.  We'll be stopping in Penticton for a day, hitting up a few different beaches and tourist spots on the Island, visiting the Vancouver Aquarium, camping in the Okanogan somewhere for a night, then coming home.  It'll be a busy nine days, but very worth it.

This is the plan:
Day 1, leave Creston at 6am.  Drive to Penticton (6 hours), spend the day at the lake.

Day 2, leave Penticton at 6:30am.  Drive to the ferry in Vancouver that'll take us to the Island (5 hours).  After the nearly two-hour ferry ride, we'll head to Parksville on Vancouver Island.  Spend the afternoon at the beach, then have a nice seafood dinner.

Day 3, leave Parksville around 11am.  Drive to Miracle Beach (1 hour) and spend the day there.  Camp at the ajoining campground.

Day 4, leave Miracle Beach around 10am.  Drive to Cumberland to visit some relatives quickly.  Drive to Coombs and spend an hour looking around there.  Drive to Cathedral Grove, spend an hour there.  Drive to Tofino.  Eat a nice dinner.

Day 5, Hang out on the beaches in Tofino.

Day 6, Leave Tofino around 8am.  Drive to Duncan (4.5 hours) and visit the BC Forest Discovery Centre (Logging Museum) and the Craigstreet Brew Pub (a pub that brews it's own beer on site).  We'll camp here too, probably eating dinner at the pub.

Day 7, Stop by the Duncan Farmer's Market at 9am, then drive to Sidney (1 hour).  Visit the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre.  Camp in Sidney, or head back up to Duncan area to camp.

Day 8, Be back to catch the ferry by 9:30am.  After the ferry ride back to Vancouver, we are going to go to the Vancouver Aquarium.  Then we'll drive towards home until we find somewhere that we want to stay for the night.

Day 9, Drive home and rest up because it's back to work the next day.

Fort Steele, part one.

Yesterday Laura and I went to this historic town/museum place kind of near where we live.  We forgot cameras (boo on us) so we took a bunch of crapola iphone pictures to share with you.  I took over 300, but don't worry I won't post them all.  But anywho, I'll shut up and get on with the pictures.

Laura's Fort Steele photo's

more photos

i admit i have a sweet tooth

cellphone + monster = good times

sweet jacket

this one put a smile on my face

awsome kitchen

i love luggage

Hey guys

Hi hows it going? The name's laura and i have no idea what to write to you about. I hang out with ros(d)lynn all the time because she is super awsome. Hmm about me lets see, i am currently british and almost canadian. I shall be sworn in in july which is nerve wracking. I appologise for my lack of good spelling, im working on it.

Big news x2

First, I am now an auntie!! My brother's woman gave birth just after noon today. They are 10 hours away in Vancouver because little Ace needs some special care for a while, but I'll post some pictures as soon as my brother sends us some.

Second, I have added a second author to my blog. My friend Laura that I always write about is going to be writing posts on here as well. I imagine she'll post about out trips, and anime, and shopping trips. But I guess I'll let her tell you what she's all about.

Actually, more news: I might soon be doing a guest post on one of my favorite blogs. I'll tell you more about that when/if that happens.

My new dress.

I also bought this when I bought the Sugarbunnies diary and the flamingo garland, but it wouldn't let me post this picture on that post.  I tried like 5 times.  Oh wells, here it is now.

There is a giant snake in my bedroom as I type this.  In my bedroom!  As in, inside my house.  Where I sleep.  I am moving.

My new hobby.

For my birthday my mum got me a children's cross stitching kit.  It was a cupcake, and I had tons of fun doing it.  I mean I didn't even go to bed until my needle broke.  (damn you needle!)  Soooo, I bought some more cross stitching stuff and got to work.  All the kits had stupid flowery patterns, or Santa Claus so I looked up "kawaii cross stitch" on Google and saved a few images.  Which means I must say that I'm sorry to whoever I am stealing these cute ideas from.  Annnnyway, here is what I've made so far:

This is what came in the kit.

This is the second one I made that I found on google.

And this is the one I was working on until I ran out of brown thread...  It's Deery Lou from Sanrio.

BIG NEWS.

I'm going to be an auntie today!!!

What I Bought.