Heather Windsor Photography

I have a lot of catching up to do on this list, it seems! So let’s rewind to October 2010 for a moment, which is when I managed to cross items number 58 through 65 off of The List in one big swoop. The secret? I got married.

But before we could say “I do,” there were a few pressing things that needed to be taken care of first (I probably could have filled an entire 101 list with just wedding stuff, but that would be cheating).

First up was finishing the wedding registry (#59), which we’d seriously procrastinated in doing. There were some long discussions about towel colours and plate patterns, but we got ‘er done. And to say that we were incredibly spoiled by family and friends would be a serious understatement.

After finding my dream dress, the next daunting wedding ensemble-related task was finding (and buying!) the perfect wedding shoes (#58). I wasn’t keen on wearing white shoes, and I wanted something a little bit quirky. So in the end, I actually wound up with two pairs of fabulous purple shoes that were just perfect for the day. There was a pair of “traditional” heels for the ceremony, and then ultra-comfy purple slip-on Converse shoes for the rest of the night. Wedding tip: Dancing the evening away in runners? All kinds of awesome.

Our officiant, Gary Faris, from All Seasons Weddings, was amazing. We’d contacted All Seasons Weddings to book our officiant (#63) because we’d seen one of their officiants in action at a wedding the year before, and they put us in touch with Gary. I couldn’t imagine a better fit for us. From the first day that we met Gary, he put us at ease and made us laugh, and we knew that he’d bring all that positive, friendly energy to our big day. We can’t say enough good things about him.

Making the bouquets and the boutineers for the entire wedding party (#60) was quite the project, as they were handmade using wire and crystals. We were lucky to have lots of help from our bridesmaids and groomsmen to get them all done. You can see my actual bouquet and the step-by-step instructions for making it over at Weddingbells.ca.

“Making” the centrepieces (#61) is a bit misleading. Originally, we’d intended to make rustic centrepieces for each table using vases and tree branches, but in the end, we opted for something a little less complicated and grouped pillar candles in lanterns that we found at Canadian Tire (driving all over Toronto to find enough for each table was an adventure all on its own!).

When it came to #62, making the guest favours, it was definitely a labour of love. I baked tray after tray of shortbread, using my Nana’s famous shortbread recipe. With the help of our wedding party, each cookie was wrapped and tied with purple ribbon, complete with a copy of the recipe and a thank you from me and B-rad, a.k.a. the dashing groom. Being able to give our guests such a personal token meant a lot to us, and was a way for us to pay tribute to such an important person in our lives who wouldn’t be with us on that day. Every time that I get a message from a friend to say “I’m making Nana’s shortbread,” it makes me smile.

Choosing a honeymoon destination (#64) was fairly easy—we knew that we wanted to travel to Costa Rica. Eventually, we settled on Rancho Pacifico, where we spent the week in a “treehouse” suite. It was incredible, and really deserves a post all its own, so stay tuned for that.

As for #65: Get Married!!!, I think it’s safe to say that of everything on my list, nothing will be able to top that one. It was a day full of so much happiness and love, made all the better by the fact that we got to share it with family and friends. It was the biggest, most fantastic party that we will ever throw, and we couldn’t have asked for a better day. You can check out more photos from the big day over at Heather Windsor Photography.

The List is 28/101 complete. Still a long way to go!

(Thank goodness I work well under pressure—there is a lot left to do!)

Some of the things on my list are year-long feats, and that includes the 365 Day Photo Project. I’m a fan of photography and I take a lot of random photos, but I’ve never made a conscious effort to take at least one photo every day—little snapshots that will remind me of all kinds of little daily events and show me just how far I’ve come in one year. I’m looking forward to the challenge!

I’m going to (finally!) set up a Flickr account to keep all these images in one handy place. But to get things started, here’s a quick pic that I took last night (December 10) with my iPhone, standing on the front steps of our new house as the sun was setting. It’s a view that I look forward to seeing often.

Is anyone else doing a 365 Day Photo Project? Leave me a link in the comments so I can follow along! For tips on how to start “Project 365,” check out Photojojo.

Now, I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea to do what I did next. But for some reason, I decided that I had outrageous sideburns and that they simply needed to go before the wedding. This curious line of thinking led me to a website for a spa in downtown Toronto that specializes in threading—a form of hair removal wherein an esthetician tortures you with a piece of string. It started with my eyebrows, but then, in some kind of pre-wedding state of delirium, I found myself saying, “Actually, can I get the entire face done, please?”

That’s right. Two weeks before my wedding, I decided to have every bit of peach fuzz removed from my face by a complete stranger, wielding a piece of thread that may as well have been made of barbed wire. Now, you’re probably thinking, “But Alicia, doesn’t that feel like a cheese grater on your face?” And the answer is yes, friends. Yes it does.

So when the esthetician asks you what the special occasion is for all this hair removal, and you say, “Oh, I’m getting married in two weeks” and she says, “What?! Married?! You need a facial!” you should likely say thank you, but no, as there is nothing in your pores that needs to be removed, seeing as how you’ve just had hair ripped from every. Single. One. Or, in a pre-wedding state of delirium, you could find yourself saying “that sounds great!” and smiling and nodding your way right into a “deep clean” facial.

And then you leave the spa looking like this…

Check the rosy glow!

On the plus side, I definitely didn’t look like Bert when I walked down the aisle! And hey, it’s another thing off my list. Next time, though, I think I’ll just skip the razor string and go right for a nice soothing facial instead. Aromatherapy, anyone?

In high school, I used to rock a new nail colour every week. Green with sparkles, blue with french tips, basic black. But the colour that Caitlin chose for me on Saturday was one that I have definitely never worn before…

Walking around with saran wrap on your feet for the better part of an afternoon? Not the most comfortable thing ever, I’ll admit… It’s a bit squishy.

But the end result? Totally worth it! And now I have fabulous, bright pink toes to welcome spring (whenever it finally decides to show up).

What’s a polish colour that you’d never choose for yourself? Why? (There was a Hi-Liter orange shade at Nail Boutique… Imagine my relief when Caitlin didn’t pick that one!)

via freakgirl, flickr.com

I can’t believe I started my list one year ago today! So far I’ve completed 23/101 goals, which means I’ve still got a long way to go… But it’s been a blast thus far. And my progress is still pretty exciting! This time last year, I had a different job, was still just in the planning stages of a wedding and was a heavier weight than I am now. I didn’t know how to play chess, had never run 5k in my life AND I was exactly one year younger than I am today. So Happy Birthday to me and Happy Birthday to my 101 in 1001 list… Can’t wait to see what I’ll accomplish at 28!

What do you want to do before your next birthday?

From lists that keep my life organized to lists of Awesome Things that make me smile and Top 10 lists that make me giggle, I am definitely a fan of all things organized by numbers and bullet points. The Book of Lists? Got it. Listography? You betcha.

So when a friend of mine explained that he was putting together a list of 101 things he wanted to do in 1,001 days, I was intrigued. So intrigued, actually, that I wrote a whole post about it. And then I decided to try it for myself.

If you haven’t heard of the “101 Things in 1001 Days” challenge, here’s the scoop: It’s a project that started over on Day Zero, which challenges you to complete a list of tasks in your life—concrete, measurable goals—within a set period of time. And I’m a big fan of this concept; challenging yourself to actually put your goals on paper and then see how much you can accomplish is a pretty rad idea. Some of the things on my list are things I’ve been meaning to do or try for a long time, while others are a bit more grand. The real reward will be on Day 1001, when I can look back at all the things I’ve done and feel pretty darn proud of myself.

I made my list one year ago tomorrow (my birthday), and I’m pretty happy with the progress that I’ve made so far. Completing each item on my list has led to some awesome stories, which is why I decided to start this space—not only as a kind of time capsule of my own memories, but hopefully to inspire other people to start their own lists, too. You never know what you can do until you get out there and try it!

Thanks so much for taking the time to check out this space, and I hope you’ll visit often to share in this crazy experience… I’d love to hear what’s on your list and the awesome things you’re accomplishing, too!

–ama