A chuckle on a lazy saturday afternoon

I read a page of the "worst analogies ever written in a high school essay" and found a few of them to be particularly humorous. They're not real, which is unfortunate, as I would have liked to have met the teens who think like this...

1. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.

2. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup.

3. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

4. He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.

5. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

The full list.

The Lion's Den

A little Jamaican/Japanese restaurant I have been frequenting lately is The Lion's Den on East 15th and Fraser. It's a place that doesn't stand out, the huge trees in front don't help, and it's about the size of my tiny attic apartment...except a little more colourful.

It's run by Ken and his partner Junko who are not shy and will warmly welcome you into their home. Their home: Ken keeps the reggae on repeat, a tabletop pac-man game system in mint condition (dana has held the high score at one point) sits by the window and a wall to wall sunset mural transports you to a sandy beach in the Caribbean.

The food is great, made from scratch, following old secret recipes...and if you're not sure what you want, Junko will get you something good - "trust me" she says.

I recommend everyone to go there, and I hear they have cheap yummy breakfasts too, and experience The Lion's Den. They will probably ask you to sign their calendar, if it's your first time, and tell you...oh wait, I'll leave some extra details for you to find out for yourself.

Have fun! and Merry Christmas!

The Lion's Den
651 15th Avenue East
map

our stumbled links #5

I took a few minutes out, while drinking my morning coffee, to do a bit of stumbling. It's been so long! I heard a debate on the radio the other day about whether the internet is killing our ability to retain information or dive further, as we are mostly just skimming the surface of topics we look up online or just getting the basic information...but I don't know...I thought to myself, isn't that was newspaper articles do most of the time? Are we dumber just by reading the newspaper? I don't think I'm getting dumber because of the internet. I think I'm only getting smarter and smarter. One day my head won't get out the door and I'll be forced into a life of surfing basic information.

Here are some interesting links I came upon:

1. The Good Ol' Hot Pants Days

2. I'll Never Eat Here

3. History of Burning Man Art - which is going on right now! This years art theme is "American Dream"

4. What does your card say about you? - for Albertine. She loves this shit, but I must say it was kind of interesting.

What to do when you receive a 2 fold invitation

This is a situation we may all come across one day and the only way to handle such a pinnacle of life is to be prepared. Knowledge is power and you will have all the power in 2 seconds. Are your fingers getting sweaty? Mine aren't.

Stay Calm

It's best to stay calm. Life tends to throw us all hot steamy meatballs once in a while, almost daily for some, and calmness is our desired state. You have to grab those oven mitts and catch the unexpected meatballs with confidence and pride.

So with this is mind, you first need to open the pretty envelope with your name on it. If your name isn't on it, I might recommend leaving it alone and maybe starting a Sudoku puzzle instead. This is another person's journey.

Give yourself some space

As you slip the invitation out of the pretty envelope you'll find in front of you an invitation to an upcoming wedding. It looks deceiving. Your brain tells you it's just a 1-fold invitation and you can make one quick swift movement and all the information is in front of you...but...but there's something different about this invitation. There are 2 folding edges. There are 2 edges!!! That means there's more...there's more going on here than you thought. How exciting. You might want to sit down.

Focus

The invitation is still in front of you. Waiting. You see the cover and accept your responsibility to see what's behind door #1. Let's all look and see what happens to the following 2-fold invitation receiver...


That was amazing.

Did you see how that all played out? It's like nothing I've seen before. Now go. Get yourself ready for the 2-fold invitation that may show up at your door. You're strong and full of power now. I have no more to teach you.

A Strange New Painting

As Is Is Ready To Go

Good day everyone!

It's a happy day today. We're launching our As Is Catalogue right now. Everything listed on these pages are printed, produced and discounted. All the details are listed on the page, along with a photo so you can see the colours and style of each piece. Extra details include: quantities, printing information and paper type. We will constantly be updating these pages as the products become available and are sold, so come back often to see what we have for your party or wedding reception.

As Is Stationery Products

There are four stationery pieces available at this time, in various R2W designs:

1. place cards/escort cards
2. table cards (numbered)
3. guestbook cards and
4. thank you gift tags (with a punched hole)

Eventually we want to add thank you cards and thank you postcards. We have big dreams.

Check out the whole As Is Catalogue and have yourself a great weekend!

I just had to share these photos...

These 2 photos are from my trip to Fernie that I just had to post. They are A. hilarious and B. hilarious.

The first is Rod and I (my bathing suit is not the most flattering) and the second is Rod's brother Steve and Mrs Jen Brink. Good times. These photos bring a smile to my face.

A Little Friendly Story

Last night I had some energy to burn. You know those moments where sitting still isn't an option? You just need to run around in circles like you were 6 and then crash on your mother's lap. Well i didn't do that. I had a better idea.

I went for a walk.

I started going south on main street and my purpose, for some reason I couldn't just go for a walk, was to find an after dinner dessert to compliment my new fresh coffee (thanks, dana!) It was the perfect plan, and I'll tell you now, this has a happy ending.

As I walked down Main I see a few coffee shops but I wasn't looking for biscotti or a muffin so I kept walking. I will tell you that there are plenty of friendly people in Vancouver. A large amount of people were smiling at me as we crossed eachother's paths...but then I had a thought 'is my zipper down?' so I checked and it wasn't. It's confirmed: People are just friendly.

I'm passing more coffee shops (there are so many in this city) and sushi joints and boutiques. Nothing. I've decided to walk to the nesters market to see what they have to offer. Nothing. Nothing anywhere. I had noticed a few specialty dessert bars but that seemed inappropriate for this particular night. I just needed something good but not delicate.

At this point I begin my walk north on the east side of the street. Is there a possibility that people walking on the east side of a street are less friendly than those on the west side? That's bizarre! It's not that they weren't friendly, just less smiley.

My theory is: at this point I wasn't so "open" and "happy" on my "energy burn" walk cuz my trip's purpose had not been fulfilled. I was becoming less approachable.

So as I'm mentally pushing people out of my way on the street, I start to sweat and get really thirsty. My mouth was so dry. It's a matter of life and death now! I NEED a dessert and I need some water. And then I see the light. I see the light so bright. Is this death? No it's Bean Around The World. THEY HAVE DESSERTS! I picked up a four dollars and twenty five sent carrot cake chunk and proudly walked home feeling complete and calm.

It was perfect. The coffee and carrot cake are best friends in my mouth.


I slept like a log. That's my little friendly story.

Keeps Us Regular

Here's a list of blogs we enjoy on a daily or every-other-daily basis. Sometimes I don't look at their site for days and then HOLY there's so much read. Exciting.

!. http://decor8blog.com/
@. http://www.thepunkguy.com/
#. http://dooce.com/
$. http://tremble.com/
%. http://www.blogto.com/
^. http://www.abeautifulmess.typepad.com/
&. http://obscuresound.com/

Music To Listen To

It's the J day!

The Jayhawks - Blue



John Doe - The Golden State



Jeff Hanson - If I Only Knew

Listen to the song here.

It's Suit Time

Once in a while we take on jobs outside of the wedding world, which allows both of us a little sanity and an opportunity to try something new. We've done all sorts of birth announcements, birthday invites, personal business cards and illustrations but we also fit in a few corporate jobs each year. They tend to be small businesses who need a little help getting a website up or need to start their identity from scratch.

A few of our recents jobs

1. Lit'l Buddhas - Lit'l Buddhas were created because of Ineke’s own little Buddha ‘A’ and her adorable pudgy ankles. Unable to find shoes to fit A and unwilling to have A go shoeless (or miss out on the joy of shoes), Ineke designed a pair of booties that would not cut off the circulation to A’s adorable ankles.

Check out what she has in store, and while you're there, admire her website designed by us!


2. Stuart Dean Salon - A new chic salon located across from the new Woodward's building, at 105 West Cordova Street in Gastown, Vancouver. SDS's website is still in the works, but if you walk by the salon you'll see our fancy pants logo. It's pretty cool.

They know how to make white on white on white look hot, but they also know hair. To make an appointment call 604.687.7399 or email info@stuartdeansalon.com

3. Mountain High Rafting - Mountain High Rafting is located in Fernie, BC and they needed a quick and easy update to their website. BSD to the rescue! Albertine and I had gone white water rafting with this company in July and, let me tell you, they come highly recommended. For a little heart jumping adventure, give this team a call.

Introducing to you: Our As Is Catalogue

We are proud to announce the coming of a new era for blue skies & daisies, which brings BSD slightly closer to the massive retail world. In the coming week we will be launching a new section on our website called "As Is." These pages will be devoted to selling Ready2Wear products that are already printed and produced. You just pick what you need and off you go!

It's very exciting for us and for you as the prices are discounted and we have plenty in stock. We will be launching the As Is Catalogue with only the following products: guestbook cards, place cards, table cards and thank you gift tags. We're so grown up!!

I'll let you know when it's up. Just wanted you to get excited for the future.

A New Found Love

I've been excited lately about a painting technique that I've taken up. It may be partly inspired by Alice Young's amazing calligraphy work, but I feel like I've made this my own. This is painting #2, untitled, that I feel is complete and ready for my wall.

Happy Sunday!

The Series Stationery

Our Unique Stationery

There are 4 designs in our Ready2Wear Catalogue that work differently than the others. I would say it's one of the things we do that no one else does; but that could be a lie; but I don't think it is.

We offer design series. This means when you pick, for instance, Bunny Love, you then have options for your Bunny Love photography. There are 8 Bunny Love photos in the series. This gives us the opportunity to A) Give you more options B) appeal to more people and C) let us experiment and play around with an idea.

Our 4 Series Wedding Stationery are:

1. Bunny Love - Warning: the bunnies are not made of chocolate
2. Arts and Crafts - For the kid in us
3. The Little Things - Thanks to Derrick Belcham
4. In The Bushes - We encourage you to submit your own photos for this one.

To view the photo or illustration options, just scroll down to the "Your Included Options" and see what we have to offer you.

Back to the future

We're back!!

Life is going to be "normal" again. I just got in last night and I'm already getting stuff done, checking my list off, drinking coffee and sweating in my chair.

It's so HOT here!

So if you haven't heard from us, you will soon. Thanks for your patience!

Let the games begin!

Still in Ontario...

I have some time between visits and games to write a quick hello; I'm taking advantage while it lasts. We're still in rainy Ontario for another day or two and, but I can't speak for Teenie, I am looking forward to a bit of summer sun in Vancouver.

It's been looking a lot like this at my parent's place in Oshawa, Ontario...


But a few main events have already taken place. Trevor and Mandy's wedding was a big party, with a few minor moments of drama (which will be funny in about 2 to 5 years) but for the most part it was a beautiful night of two very different families coming together to dance the night away.


Because I'm Aunty Bwina, I got to take care of the nephews for the first chunk of the night. They were a bit hyper, and obviously very excited because of the attention they were getting...which makes them even more excitable...so I did my best, and so did Alex and Rod. It was 3 adults on 2 kids and we barely got them to sit long enough to take down one meatball.

I'll have more pictures in the coming weeks from the photographer and from my own collection. It being my brother's wedding, I didn't want to be the one behind the camera, so I don't have much.

We'll get back to business soon enough though. I need to beat my dad in cribbage a few more times before I get on that plane.


My friends Linda, Lisa, Layla and Laura turned 30 on Monday. It didn't pass without a big bbq at their mom's house with 50 to 60 people. It was really nice to see everyone and catch up. I'll try and get pictures from them too. SIGH. I haven't been good with taking pictures lately.

Introducing to you: Destination Tropical

That was a really brief so long!

Don't worry, the plans haven't changed. I still fly out today but before I do, I wanted to let you all know about a new Ready2Wear design that we just launched; It's called Destination Tropical.


It's a stationery design for all those lucky couples who are hosting a tropical destination wedding...or for anyone who wants a tropical or beach inspired wedding day. The look is subtle and organic; rough yet confident. You can change the colours, include a photo and make this beautiful hand drawn design your own.

To view the whole stationery set, just head over to Destination Tropical in our catalogue.

OK for real I'm leaving now. Have a great weekend!

A Brief So Long

Fernie, British Columbia

Tomorrow I head out for Ontario for 7 days, where, hopefully - cross - my - fingers - hooray, I'll meet up with Albertine who is visiting her family for a couple weeks. I'll be saying "so long" to Fernie for a little while and "so long" to the blog for a week. I have been enjoying my morning blog these past few months but once I'm back in Vancouver, it will all be back to normal...as normal as normal can be.

My brother Trevor is getting married Friday night (I'm so excited,) and my good friends Layla, Linda, Lisa and Laura are all turning 30 on the 11th (I'm so excited,) plus, I'll have family and old friends to catch up with and some good home cooked meals to devour. I hope you enjoy the next week. If you need us, just email info@blueskiesanddaisies.com and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

To sign off, Ill leave you with this daily quote:

"Wherever you live is your temple if you treat it like one."

Invitation Photography or Not

Pre-Coffee Ramble

I just woke up. I'm pre-coffee and feeling a little drowsy but there is no better time to write about invitation photography than now. It's in my brain and I gotta get it out. The sample above is an invitation for Amber and Shane, who are not yet married but will be very soon. We're working on their place cards and table chart at the moment, but I digress, I mentioned them because they are a good example of outstanding photography in a wedding invitation.

Tacky or Not?

We've heard the argument a few times; is it tacky? is it not tacky? But we believe if it's done right and if you WANT to include a photo, then do it! "Do it," I say again.

Many times we've included photos of couples on their vacation or when they got engaged, which is a really sweet idea, or you might spend a night and go through the folders and folders of photos you have backed up on a disc...which can be fun! Another option is to include a photo from your engagement session with your wedding photographer. It's common to receive a complimentary engagement photo shoot, which benefits the couple and the photographer, and more often than not you'll have one shot that you absolutely love. Amber and Shane, I believe...someone correct me if I'm wrong please, went with Blue Olive Photography for their wedding photography and their photo made a huge difference to the final product. Those photographers really know what they're doing.

It's a subjective argument though. We encourage photos in our invitations because they add a certain personality and style to a design but at the same time we can appreciate a clean, bold design as well. There's no pressure to include a photograph in any wedding invite. It's all about what you want and that's all that matters. Awe. What a happy ending to this story.

featured bsd wedding : august : massiel and john

Massiel and John contact us earlier this year to help out with their wedding invitations. They were hosting a destination wedding in Tulum, Mexico, so they were sure about including colours from the ocean and a subtle tropical feel.

Their wedding photos, taken by Elizabeth Medina, are a true representation of how in love and dedicated these two are to eachother and their family. It looks like the party of the year!

We asked Massiel and John our 4 questions, so check out what they had to say about their wedding planning experience.

View the full slideshow of their wedding, including pre-wedding shots, the decor in detail, ceremony, mariachi band, the fire dancers and the rip-roaring reception.