This past week, I finally graduated. I'm finally done; finally moved on; finally free! The last year has been an absolute juggle between my business and school and I'm so thankful to be able to focus 100% on my business this summer (as well as sneaking in some rest). I'm headed to TWU in the Fall for just one year of school (majoring in Business). Those eight months of full-time classes as well as running a full-time business will also be challenging, but exciting!

Anyway, this post is all about the dress--isn't it always? I've always been mature for my age, especially in my fashion tastes! When it came to buying a grad dress, I was very set in what I wanted. First and foremost, it needed to be black! Classy, elegant; I was set on black. And there needed to be no crystals, no sparkles, a lack of crinoline, no-lace up backs and no strapless styles. Yes, I knew what I wanted! Well, my criteria, I soon discovered, ruled out almost every single dress in the whole world.

I've always been such a HUGE, huge, huge, huge-I don't know how many times I can write this--HUGE fan of Monique Lhuillier and her dresses. I have a love affair with the timeless quality of lace, and Monique uses lace in a lot of her designs. I also have loved the "sash" trend I've seen in wedding dresses the past few years--I added that to the list of what I wanted. We found the perfect seamstress to make my dress in White Rock, Kristine of Bernardi's Bridal. She is just incredible, and completely custom-designed my dress from the photos I brought to our design meetings!

"Miranda" by Monique Lhuillier:



The sash inspiration (although I ended up tying it a different way):




Another dress I could fall in love with!



And the dress that started the whole black lace idea; Drew Barrymore at a Gala event.



After three months, eight fittings, and ...some money: here's the final product. Exactly what I wanted; perfect!


(Photo by Michael Wachniak)

Yesterday I had the pleasure of discovering the beautiful (hah!) back alleys of Cloverdale with Michael Wachniak. We were out to capture a few promotional images for his website and blog. I rarely photograph sessions in the harsh sun, but it was a fun challenge and I enjoyed playing with a little bit of sun flare! :)

I wake up at 8AM. Roll out of bed with greasy hair and question, "Why can't my blow-dry and hair straightening magic last more than 24 hours without turning to muck?!" Get over the fact that that is how God made my hair. Throw myself in the shower, get out of the shower and put the same T-shirt back on. Grab my yoga pants and my Nikes and Ipod. Stop for a break to read the bible and eat eggs. Swallow 24-hour Claritin. Put in way-too-many-eyedrops. (Thrilling, right?) Out the door I go with Taylor.

Run 1km. Question why I am running at 8:30AM on a Monday morning. Mutter to myself that at least it's sunny and not that cold. My Ipod that is shoved in the waistband of my yoga pants keeps slipping. Run another 2 kilometres. See a rat scamper across the road. Think "I've never seen a rat run across the road." Run 100m. Think, "It's pretty cool that I just saw a rat run across the road and didn't scream like a girl. I must be pretty tough." Run another 100m. Keep closing my eyes, alternating one at a time because my allergies are screaming at me. I wonder if it's safe to run with one eye open. I stop closing my eyes. I start walking at 5KM and go back to alternating my eyes. I run, charging up a big hill and when I reach the top I feel like I'm going to keel over. Back to walking.

I finally reach my house. My favourite thing to do after a run (it's a little twisted, I know!) is take a look in the mirror. It's quite funny. I always wonder how so many short pieces of hair I didn't know I had can be sticking up at all angles. The random bobby-pins I've placed to keep these mysterious short pieces in place have always slipped towards the back of my head. My lips are always dry, my face red. But today, I got the added bonus of completely blood-shot red eyes. Joy.

More eye-drops. A Halls cough-drop for my throat (they are the only thing that keep me from wanting to punch my throat in anger! Somehow violence makes me ignore the scratching feeling?) Another shower and after all this kafuffle, doing my hair is out of the question. A quick ten-second braid makes me thankful I have long hair. The End.



Well the End of Monday Morning. On Saturday morning we made the drive down to Seattle (Issaquah, WA to be specific) to move my brother into his dorm for the next eight-weeks. He will be doing the Summer Generation Interns Program with The City Church. We spent Saturday loading his stuff into his tiny home, buying groceries and other miscellaneous items like wash towels and paper plates. We were busy with that until 7pm. After dinner, My Mom and Dad and I crashed back at our favorite hotel, the Redmond Marriot, and watched Juno--I loved it! We just got back at about 9pm last night, and I arrived home to about 15 emails to answer. My brain felt like it was going to explode so I made a quick to-do list of about twenty-five items that need to be checked off in the next three days. Eeek.

Well, enjoy YOUR Monday--even if it hasn't been eventful as mine yet. Hah!