DEAR DIARY #017

sooooo the other day, I was showing someone my sweet as coldplay bracelet….

..oh, yah i went to coldplay..it was AMAZING…like..pee your pants AMAZING…Chris Martin is insane. Seriously, he sweats passion. Opened with Hurts Like Heaven…and all the while the entire arena was sparkling with LIGHT UP BRACELETS!!..anyways right after he played IN MY PLACE, if you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ll know that is my ultimate fave coldplay song…my heart was exploding….and just when I thought it couldn’t get better…CONFETTI fell from the sky. (Can coldplay puuhllleeze produce Illuminate next year?) They blew me away…played every single favourite song..and to top it off showed some beautiful humility. I highly recommend seeing these guys one day.

oh yes, back to the opening sentence…

So I was showing my friend Jason how you can light up the coldplay bracelet by inserting a paper clip into the plastic part (everyone received a bracelet at the door and they lit up to the music…sooo magnificent!) and all of a sudden the bracelet stayed on!!! (Which apparently never happens because they can only be lit up by a satellite. So I was able to relive it all at church on Sunday ha….anyways

Wedding plans are going AMAZING! God has seriously, seriously been blessing us…like blowing out of the water blessing us. We finally found a ceremony location which is beyond beautiful (which is another miracle in itself). I found gorgeous peach flower girl dresses…isn’t Eden such a little dreamboat? (tip- if you have a summer/fall wedding, look for flower girl dresses post Easter. They’re gorgeous and 50% off!) We’ve started working on invitations and hope to have those bad boys out by mid-May. I’m not stressed at all (well sometimes I get a little stressed but then the amazing man I’m marrying brings me back to reality).

Vancouver two weekends ago was amazing. Sunday was a dream come true. A whole day with James is a rare occurrence these days. Breakfast with our friends Tiffany & Roman. Shopping with our good friend Courtney. Frolicking at English Bay. Dinner at Stephos (insanely amazing Greek food!!) Short hangout with Mahkeela. Then catching the ferry home. I loved every single second…mainly because time wasn’t really an issue (except for catching the necessary ferry).

We’ve started reading Real Marriage by Mark & Grace Driscoll.  I highly recommend this to all you single, dating & married folk. Such, such, such good stuff and I’m only on chapter 3!

oh and another exciting thing happened recently…MY SISTER GOT ENGAGED!!!! Congratulations to Catrina & Mike!!!!!

stay gold,

s.s.♥.

SMILE LIKE YOU MEAN IT

I used to NEVER SMILE in photos…like, never ever, ever never.

People bugged me about it all the time, and I would always reply ‘Smiling ain’t my thing…’

The truth is, I didn’t like my smile. I didn’t like the way my cheeks would puff up. I didn’t like the way my eyes would crinkle. And I didn’t like my teeth. Over the years, I have slowly learned to love my smile. (and I’m pretty sure loving to smile is a pre-requisite for getting married, ha)  

This morning I read Proverbs 31 and this verse burst forth from the page…

"…she always faces tomorrow with a smile."

This incredible woman was marked with many, many traits, but one of my favourites is..her joy. 

I want to be like that woman. I want to be marked by joy, marked by positivity, marked by smiling. And I’m not talking, cheesy, fake smiling…but real, authentic smiling, deep rooted in joy. Joy that says, “I know who I am and I know who created me and I know that whatever tomorrow brings, it will not rob me of this joy!”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

I don’t want to be known for not smiling in photos. I don’t want to be known for grumbling & complaining. I want my joy to be vibrant and strong. I want others to be inspired by the joy within me…

So go ahead and face tomorrow with joy. Put that smile on…it’s the prettiest thing you can wear ;)

xoxo,

s.s.♥.

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Source: eatsleepdraw.com via Laura on Pinterest

Yesterday was April 24th, which means…4 months until I get to marry the love of my life!!!!!!

xo,

s.s.♥.

COACHELLA DREAMING

Coachella 2 starts today…well camping opened up yesterday. Ah, it feels like just yesterday when we (Rachel, Thea, Courtney & I) were in the long car line up to get in. We were slightly scared but not terrified of the numerous party cars surrounding us. But once we got to our car site, all was grand. We quickly became known as the sober girls who play boardgames. (Which I’m totally ok with.)

Anyways…if I were going this year, I’d bring these gems

all items from topshop (which, btw, The Bay, downtown Vancouver sells!!)

Last weekend I caught a couple of the coachella shows online…do it up! youtube.com/coachella

I only got to see M83, Bon Iver, Florence & a bit of Snoop & Dre. But there are heaps more!

This weekend for me is crrrraaay. But amazing!

Tomorrow morning I’m speaking at a Women’s Breakfast at another Church in town, then heading off to Van to see COLDPLAY!!!!!!!!!! Then I’m excited to frolick around downtown Van with my love on Sunday…yay weekend!

stay gold,

s.s.♥.

ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS

So a couple weeks ago, me & the man of my dreams basically pranced around in a field & kissed all day while our incredibly talented friend, Stephanie Christo (I’ll be posting her fb photography page soon!) took some photos of us.

We’re beyond stoked on how our engagement photos turned out! (If you haven’t heard our engagement story, you can read about it here!)

daaaaaaamn

love this one

here we are ready to fly away…

Awweee, aren’t we so presh? ;)

In the shoot we were able to pay tribute to two of our deceased grandfathers. The chest that we are sitting on in the field belonged to my Italian grandfather. He actually used it when he immigrated from Italy to Canada in the 70’s! And the mandolin that James’ is playing belonged to his grandfather. 

James: WESC chinos, Vintage blazer, Vintage shoes

Laura: H&M dress, Jacob leggings, BCBG Hat, & Vintage boots