Happy New Years Eve!

Happy New Years Eve from my living room this morning at 7 o'clock am where I felt the need to document the sparkles I'm wearing to work. I may be completely unimpressed that I have to sit in an office until 4pm today but at least I look festive doing it.

We fly out at 8am for Florida tomorrow morning, which may really put a damper on our New Years plans tonight but hey, I think I'll try to make the best of it and enjoy a night with friends any ways. What's not to enjoy when you know you'll be sitting in the sun in a little over 24 hours? Nothing, that's what.

Here is my go to New Years Eve song for your listening pleasure:

Stay safe my friends and I will see you next year!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Sparkle Enthusiast

2015: A Year in Review

I won't lie to you, 2015 was a challenging year. Not in that there was some major disaster that I can pinpoint all my problems to, but in that I had to struggle really hard to make good things happen this year. It was the amazing things in my life that made this year hard, which I guess you could say is a good thing!

This was my first year working a full time job and it definitely had it's ups and downs. I definitely find the office life very confining but at the same time I do recognize all that my job has afforded me to do. I bought a car with this job, and a house too, I went to Europe with this job, and I am a very lucky person who gets benefits, sick days, personal day, and vacation days. So I can't be too mad at it.

The year started off with a whole lot of house hunting and an unexpected trip to Florida, which was very nice and welcomed considering I had already reserved my entire vacation allotment to go to Europe in September so the idea of actually getting a vacation between the 1st and 9th month of the year was a treat!

House hunting was very emotionally trying for me. We had a very specific house in mind since we were planning on turning it into a duplex so our hunt usually took us to places that had "potential" but mostly places that seemed to be inhabited by serial killers. We finally found our perfect home in April after spending countless hours in danky basements, shivering our butts off on driveways discussing pros and cons, and an eternity crowded over paperwork.

We moved into our home in June and that's when the real fun began. I started a part time job at this time too so my entire summer was spent renovating while working 7 days a week. I kid you not, I spent a lot of time crying in our basement while scraping up tile and pulling up nails. If you can't tell yet I'm pretty soft, but hey, I get things done regardless.

By the time September came along we NEEDED a vacation and it was FINALLY time to go to Europe. Even though we were up to our eyeballs in stress and we spent the week before our vacation killing ourselves to get things done we ended up having the vacation of a lifetime. This was the first time I really travelled, as opposed to vacationed. It really changed my perspective and put the travel bug in Jordan and I.

By the time we got back we had some finishing touches and A LOT of painting to do but on October 31st we welcomed our tenants in and christened our new house with a Halloween party.

Two of our friends ended up being our renters and it's been working out wonderfully. It's nice to have some built in pals to have drinks with and watch movies with. I'm so glad we chose who we chose to be our tenants!

Now as the year is closing I'm looking forward to a trip to Florida in the first week of the year. This will be the first bit of relaxing we've done in a long while and it's well deserved.

For this coming year I'm very excited to start reaping the rewards of all our hard work. We can finally relax and really focus on ourselves this year. Some of my most anticipated plans for next year include:
- Doing some renovations of our own upstairs so we can finally make the place exactly how we'd like it
- Making a garden in our back yard and getting to enjoy our space this summer with bbqs and parties on our deck
- Getting to spend lots of time relaxing and making memories with friends and family

Hoping this upcoming year finally bears the fruits of our labours!

Happy new year!

I'm Dreaming of Child's Christmas

Christmas is probably the weirdest thing in the entire world once you become an adult. You start asking for home decor, grocery store gift cards, and cold, hard cash. You actually have to work up to and all around this glorious holiday, instead of getting practically a month off like you used to in high school and university. I can't believe there was a time when I used to complain that I had exams until the 20th of December. Now I complain about working between Christmas and New years...as everyone else does. My sister actually said "It should be a crime to be working the week before Christmas," which I found rather funny seeing as she's a stay-at-home Mom but hey, we've got supporters on the other side I guess.

Despite the fact that I'm a full on adult this year who is opening presents at her own house on Christmas morning (so weird), and mostly just celebrating the fact that I'm getting a 4 and a half day weekend (it's the little things, guys), and that it's going to be a GREEN Christmas, I'm still finding time to get into the holiday spirit.

I decorated the house basically the day after Halloween, we bought our very own white Christmas tree this year, and I'm taking time to enjoy the people who actually do get a holiday and are coming home from school or wherever to be with their family and friends.

 << It's a Marshmallow World In the Winter>>

 << Making it a White Christmas whether there is snow or not! >>

 << I went a little crazy this year and decided to do a personalized advent calendar for Jordan. He's pretty happy being spoiled with amazing gifts on a daily basis >>

 << Taking any excuse I can to wear my new scarf from Erika, even when the weather doesn't call for it>>

 << My proud contribution to our girls night >>

<< Silly times with silly friends. So glad everyone is in one place!>>

There's a lot to celebrate this year, even if I have to celebrate it in between stints at the office.

Merry-almost-Christmas!

Renovation Motivation

Before we started looking for houses I warned Jordan that if he wanted us to get a house that needed renovations and if we were going to be spending all of our free time tearing things down, being covered in dry wall dust, and living a life where relaxation was nothing but an unattainable day dream then I was going to be grumpy. I warned him that I was probably going to cry. I warned him that he wouldn't be allowed to get mad at me, that he would have to tell me to work anyways and ignore my whining.

I was pretty spot on with my prediction.

Initially we had been renovating at a really great pace. We were spending every single night in the basement tearing things down and making a huge mess. Things have started to get a little slower at this point. There's a lot more technical stuff to do, I'm usually pretty lost when I go down there, and workers have started to come in and take over. At this point we're right in the middle of it and I am getting burnt out but this is the stuff we trained for. This is the stuff I warned about.

I'm definitely a bit of a grumpy gus and I will offer to do anything else helpful to avoid more renovating. I mow the lawn, I clean the house from top to bottom, I go grocery shopping. Anything to avoid it but also get other important things done.

Luckily I have an amazing person to do this with. Seriously, Jordan never stops. This is definitely his rodeo, I am just one of the clowns. He has set up everything, booked every inspection, met with every plumber, drywaller, and HVAC technician. And he has pushed me through all of this and been totally patient at the same time. This thing would be no where without him.

But honestly, you need to know what you're getting yourself into when you start a reno. I'm talking about how much time, energy and $money$. Like a lot, of money. Take how much you think it will be and then times that by 3. OYE!.

The great thing about it? We're working toward something together that is completely for us. We're doing it all ourselves and it will pay off in the future. I can't wait for it to be over, I'm not going to lie, but I can't wait to see how amazing everything is when we've finished.

Thank you for listening to my mid-renovation ramblings while we're right in the thick of things. Ask me how I feel in two months.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Construction Cry Baby

What Life Looks Like Now

Moving in with Jordan has been one of the biggest changes I've ever made in my life. Sure, I've lived out of my parents house before but it's been nothing like owning my own home. I went from letting my parents completely take care of me to having to work with Jordan so we could take care of each other. I'm so glad that we did it and life, it's looking pretty good now.

Here's what I've been seeing lately:

 << Bills, Bills, Bills! >>

 << Saturday morning breakfasts featuring a few too many chocolate chip pancakes. (We've had to put a stop to this ritual seeing as our chocolate chip bag was getting used way too frequently)>>

 << Nesting >>

<< Learning the fine art of cooking >>

 << Dancing and cleaning every weekend >>

 << Market dates with my parents >>

 << Walks downtown to explore our new city >>

<< The fridge says it so we don't have to >>

 

Not pictured: a wonderful evening where we warmed the house with our friends, renovations upon renovations, many Netflix documentaries over glasses of wine when we just couldn't work any longer.

Life is looking pretty great. I can't wait to see what there is to take a look at next.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Mover and Shaker and a Novice Dinner Maker

What They Don't Tell You: About House Shopping

House shopping looks SO fun on t.v. Seriously, who wouldn't want to meet up with their hot realtor- or hot duo of realtor's, tell them a wish lists and then have that realtor show them three houses and in a week, bing, bang, boom, you gotta house!

Well, that is not what happens okay, not even close!

First things first, find a realtor. Jordan's brother had bought a house the previous year so we went with his realtor. Done.

So we made an appointment, brought a list of or wants and needs and sat down with our realtor. It was a LONG appointment. 3 hours! We listened a lot and Jordan asked way too many questions and we talked about commissions and contracts and it was a.lot. Period.

After that we received a login to a database and we would get notifications of houses for sale and ask our realtor to set up appointment for us. That's one thing you don't hear about: you do a lot of the work too. They don't generally just start showing you houses. You pick the ones you want to see and your realtor is the one who sets it up.

House hunting is not glamorous my friends, there, I said it. It was months of searching with no bites, awkwardly walking into strangers homes and having to walk around while they sat in their living rooms, standing in the freezing cold while talking to our realtor...it was a lot of things. Disclaimer: winter is apparently a slower market for real estate which means less sellers and buyers. Therefore if you find a house you like in the winter you could probably get it for cheaper and have some bargaining room since there is less interest at that time and it's likely that it has been on the market for longer.

Side note; humans are a scary breed. During our house hunting we encountered one hoarder, one person who had more animals than I could count including a turtle, a hamster, two dogs, a cat, a snake and a bunch of animals we probably didn't see, one curious looking blood-like stain, and one man who had no furniture but did have about 25 mattresses stacked in different rooms of his house.

House hunting was exciting, and it was disheartening. I have zero interest in going back to house hunting any time soon, which I think is something people should know.

There is A LOT that goes into buying a house. We sat for hours writing offers that were rejected and that is nothing compared to the hours we spent at banks, with mortgage brokers, and with lawyers.

Near the end I said "I can't believe everyone who has ever bought a house has gone through this."

Honestly, you need to be ready for all this because it is no joke. Once you own the house...well that's where the real work starts.

But more on that later.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
HGTV Whistle Blower

*If you have any questions about house hunting contact me using the information here*

Cant' Stop. Won't Stop.

YOU GUYS.

I'm back.

And I have so much to tell you.

Since we last talked my life's been turned upside down. Now I know how the Fresh Prince of Bel Air felt...minus the mansion, and the aunt and uncle to take care of me, or the butler.

It's only been a month since Jordan and I moved into our house but SO much has happened. It feels like a lifetime.

I've been busier than ever before. I work all week, have a part-time job serving on the weekends, and spend every moment in between that helping Jordan renovate. We are so busy! But it's been wonderful!

I can update you on everything when I get more time but for now I'm here to stop by and say hi. (HI!). And let you know I'm still alive but just very, very, busy!

I'll update more soon!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Jack of Every Trade

Adult Stuff

<< Me after I spent a morning on hold >>

Man, oh man, there is a lot of adult stuff you have to do when you get a house. Last week my job was to set up the gas, hydro and water. It was, to say the least, a painful experience.

KW hydro betrayed everything I know about waiting on hold. I spent my entire morning, two hours to be exact, waiting on hold to speak to a representative and just kept telling myself that I had to keep waiting on hold or I'd lose my place in the queue.

WELL GUESS WHAT!?

EVERYTHING I KNOW IS A LIE.

After two hours on hold I hung up and I thought "hey, I'll call back, just to see." And I got right through. 

Good news is: everything is sorted out. 

Bad news is: my youth is gone. 

Tips for calling to set up your hydro:

1. Call as early in the morning as possible

2. Have all your information ready (your address, your move in date, your lawyers name etc).

3. Take up the mindset of a Buddhist monk before making that call

Now we've got everything sorted out that we need to and we've only got a little over two weeks until we move. I can't even believe it. This is the first time I'm moving out of my parents house with no intention of coming back. Feels good kids, it feels pretty good. PRETTTYYY GOOD (in Larry David's voice).

Well that's enough of that.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown

Old Lady Crippled By Time Waiting for a Customer Service Rep

Word to Your Mother

This is a weirdddd mother's day because it's the last mother's day when I'll actually be living under my mom's roof.

It's bitter sweet to say the least but I know that moving out is only going to make me appreciate everyone in my family that much more.

Yesterday was a day wonderfully full of family. We started off the day by going to church with my sister and her family-in-law (that's not even a thing, but that's what I'll call them). My niece was getting baptised so we all went to support. We had an amazing lunch afterwards in the beautiful weather. It was pretty much a perfect afternoon.

And yes, I know it was not only mother's day and it was also my niece's baptism day but I couldn't resist the urge to make the day feel extra special with a tutu, because nothing says crying for attention like a tutu. 

Hope it was a happy day for all you mother lovers out there. 

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Forever the Family Baby 

Things They Don't Tell You: Budgeting for a House

I cannot, cannot, cannot stress money talk enough. Now before you do anything, talk budget. It's probably the least sexy thing that two people can do together, but it's SO important. 

When Jordan and I decided that we were going to do this thing, like really, really do this thing we got out our paystubs and calculated just how much money we had after we paid for our car insurance, our cell phones, my OSAP (shoutout to the Canadian Government for taking all my money. Hayyyyyy). 

Then we did some calculations of what a home would cost. We used a mortgage calculator to try and see what a house would cost and then did some guesswork for things like utilities. We tried to include EVERYTHING. Groceries, gas, small necessities, extra spending money to keep us sane etc. etc. etc. 

Once we had it all written down we looked at it and said "hey, we can do this."

Your turn. 

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown

Money Lover

Can U Not, Life?

So lately, I have had a series of unfortunate events happen to me. In the grand scheme of things, my suffering is very low on the scale of human anguish, but it is mine nonetheless.

A few weeks ago I had to mourn the loss of my macbook. I spilt (spilled...whatever) a tidal wave of tea on it and it was DOA. I looked into options for replacing it and now that I've got these big, bad responsibilities under my belt it didn't make sense to run out and buy a new $1,500.00 computer. So I've been surviving with an ipdad (yeah, yeah woe is me). Really the thing that sucked the most was only having myself to blame, that and the fact that I had to force myself to make the mature decision and live without a laptop. Basically pried my fingers from the key board as I was about to order a new one. Being an adult man, it's no joke.

My other misfortunes have been small ones. Smaller than the world's tiniest violin that you're probably playing for me right now, but they add up man.Just small things,  like losing my Can U Not pin and knowing I probably won't order a new one because, priorities. Or living on pennies a day because I'm try so damn hard to save. It's stressful and even harder when Jordan and I are trying to get ready for our house and I open my pockets and teeny little moths fly out but I know all of this scrimping will be for the better once we're moved in to our house. 

Yearning to be an adult is by far one of the silliest things I've ever wanted. Maybe it's just because I'm in this in between period where I'm feeling all the strains of adult life but none of the perks. When we move in I think I'll make it a point to enjoy the perks which include but are not limited to:

- eating dessert for dinner
- being as loud as you want
- never having to clean up after yourself
- never asking permission to do anything EVER

Basically, everything I could do now but I think it will be that much sweeter if  I could l think that my 12 year old self would say "yup, this is what I would do if I had my own house."

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Cry Baby who is Actually a Cry Adult

We bought a house!

That's right! We did it! After all the house viewings, negotiations, the offer writing, and everything else in between, we finally did it.

I must admit that I was exhausted at this point of house hunting so this is perfect timing. 

We move in on June 1st and I am beyond excited. Jordan and I already spent the weekend buying different housewares and arguing in the lamp aisle about our great divide in home decor taste.

Everything is just so crazy exciting right now. Exciting/terrifying/stressful/fun/making me want to jump up and down and take a nap simultaneously.

There's lots I want to share and I think I'm going to create an ongoing series about things NO ONE tells you about buying your first home but for now just take my news and do what you will with it.

I'm off to go dream of different DIYs, check my bank account 50 times, make a mental list of every single thing we need, think of a way that I could convince Jordan to get a puppy (just kidding...kind of), and pass out at my desk.

Au revior!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Home Owner (woohoo!)

Death Valley's Little Brother

Last weekend I told you about how my friends and I tried in vain to go to a whisky bar in town but the place was closed for no apparent reason, besides the fact that the owners just didn't feel like showing up. They seem to be free spirits like that.

Well this weekend we decided to try it again and it's now apparent why they can hold whatever hours they want. You guys, this place is my new favourite coffee place. I'm saying it here and now in front of the world.

It was actually a really cool spot. They sold whisky, espresso and baked goods. Everything inside was gorgeous and it was a nice place to hang out and have a couple drinks without the annoying live music that every single bar seems to think is a pre-requisite to getting drunk.

I was the DD, as usual, so I got a latte and I like it...a latte (see what I did there). They had whisky hot chocolates with real chocolate in them, that's what Erika got, and the boys tried a few different whiskies. Overall it seemed pretty expensive, not something you'd want to do every weekend, but it was fun for the night.

I bought a bag of coffee beans and you guys, they blow my mind. I'm in love with this coffee.

Overall it was a fun place to go that I'll definitely be heading back to once my supply of beans is running low. Way to go Waterloo, that place was cool.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Chugger of All Things Caffeinated 

What a Wonderful World

<< Weekend attire for when I'm le tired >>

Once upon a time Anne of Green Gables said "I'm so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers." Well Anne, I'm so glad to live in a world where there are weekends. How about that?

Honestly, when you start working full time, weekends are everything.

To quote lyrical genius Will Ferrell during one of his flawless SNL skits:

"Mondays I hate Mondays.
Weekends I live for the weekends."

True say Will, true say. 

This weekend was a full one.

To start with I made true on my promise to go to the gym and to do some arm workouts. Saturday morning Tessa and I worked our butts off running, cycling, lifting heavy things, and making my abs feel pain for the following three days. Success.

I also made the life changing decision to try a middle part and was actually pretty pleased. I know you guys, big things happening around here.

Saturday night I went to not one, not two, but three bars. We even tried a fourth but it didn't quiet work out. A few friends and I started by going to the Brownestone, a teeny tiny pub, but it was so loud we literally left within five minutes. Next we went to The Beaver and Bulldog and after a drink or two decided we were in the mood for a microbrewery so we headed to Waterloo to try to Abe and Erb. Pretty cool place but they tried to fancy up a poutine and ruined it with cheese curds that tasted like smoke and poutine that tasted like mushrooms. No bueno. We tried to go to a whisky bar after that but they were literally too hipster to have hours of operation. Seriously. The hours on the door were just guesses as to when the owners come in and literally ended with "and sometimes we're just not here." Too cool for school boys, too cool for school.

All in all it was a pretty wonderful weekend. Especially because it ended with a turkey dinner on Sunday night. 

So here's to a world with weekends!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown

Saturday and Sunday Enthusiast

I'm So Much Happier...

Do you wanna know the best thing about being out of school? Reading what you want instead of reading what you're told to.

Since I've finished university I've been reading non-stop. Last year I read 15 books and this year I plan to beat that.

So far I've already got 4 books under my belt which I think is pretty impressive considering we're only a couple months into the year.

The first books I cracked open this year were Gillian Flynn's collection: Gone Girl, Sharp Objects and Dark Places.

I became obsessed with reading her work after seeing Gone Girl. If I really like a movie I like to read the book to get an even better insight into what the characters were thinking.

Surprisingly Gone Girl stayed pretty close to the book. It was a great read but if you could read it before seeing the movie I'd really suggest that!

I read Sharp Object second. This was Gillian Flynn's first book and I think it really shows. Her writing definitely isn't as well formed as it is by the time she had written Gone Girl. If you read Gillian Flynn's work I suggest starting with her oldest book and working towards her newest. This book did have a lot of crazy twists though so it was definitely a good read.

The last book I read was Dark Places. I really did love this book. Just like Gone Girl Gillian Flynn writes from different characters perspectives and I love when I get to read books like that. Just like all her other books there's a huge twist that keeps you hooked. 

Overall I really recommend Gillian Flynn's books. She tells such amazing stories and her representation of women is mind blowing. My favourite was her perspective on "the cool girl":

“Men always say that as the defining compliment, don’t they? She’s a cool girl. Being the Cool Girl means I am a hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping, who plays video games, drinks cheap beer, loves threesomes and anal sex, and jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang while somehow maintaining a size 2, because Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl.

Men actually think this girl exists. Maybe they’re fooled because so many women are willing to pretend to be this girl. For a long time Cool Girl offended me. I used to see men – friends, coworkers, strangers – giddy over these awful pretender women, and I’d want to sit these men down and calmly say: You are not dating a woman, you are dating a woman who has watched too many movies written by socially awkward men who’d like to believe that this kind of woman exists and might kiss them. I’d want to grab the poor guy by his lapels or messenger bag and say: The bitch doesn’t really love chili dogs that much – no one loves chili dogs that much! And the Cool Girls are even more pathetic: They’re not even pretending to be the woman they want to be, they’re pretending to be the woman a man wants them to be. Oh, and if you’re not a Cool Girl, I beg you not to believe that your man doesn’t want the Cool Girl. It may be a slightly different version – maybe he’s a vegetarian, so Cool Girl loves seitan and is great with dogs; or maybe he’s a hipster artist, so Cool Girl is a tattooed, bespectacled nerd who loves comics. There are variations to the window dressing, but believe me, he wants Cool Girl, who is basically the girl who likes every fucking thing he likes and doesn’t ever complain. (How do you know you’re not Cool Girl? Because he says things like: “I like strong women.” If he says that to you, he will at some point fuck someone else. Because “I like strong women” is code for “I hate strong women.”)” 

Get reading!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown

Book Worm, Not actually a Worm