Our Wedding: Hair and Makeup at Bloodline Parlour

I'm not sure how most brides go about finding their salon. Mine just kind of fell into place. I was getting my hair cut with Becca at Catalina Salon at the beginning of February and asked Becca if she would do it. I guess I just assumed your regular hair stylist would. But she immediately responded with, "You need to go talk to Jess at Bloodline Parlour." Becca said that not only did she not have the manpower, but that doing updos wasn't her specialty. Plus she added that Jess at Bloodline was the best in town for doing very quick updos and for specializing in fine, thin hair. Which I have been cursed with. I went straight to Bloodline from that appointment and booked the day. Luckily they still had our date open.

Coincidentally (which happens often in Peterborough), I had actually met Jess before at a Halloween party at a mutual friend's house. I had really liked her then and it wasn't any different now that we were both sober. Jess has a really dry sense of humour and a very open, very honest personality. She will neither stand for nor give you any bullshit. I wound up doing two hair trials with Jess because she didn't like the way the first one had turned out. I had just had my hair cut and washed beforehand and it turned out a little flat. I also did a makeup trial with Alex there and absolutely loved chatting with her about makeup and product. It was an easy decision to have my wedding morning start there.

LOTS more photos after the jump.

Buying our first home: Part 1

I'm sure some people - those organized, responsible people who have their shit together - enjoy the process of buying property. It's certainly exhilarating. There are moments of excitement and happiness. But so far, mostly what I've been is exhausted. Tim and I weren't planning on buying a place, or even looking really, until next spring. We just got through the wedding, which was so expensive. But we were out for a Sunday walk and saw a house for sale only a block from where we're living now. We thought we would check it out on MLS.ca just to see what the market in the area was. Only to find out it has a woodshop - a seriously nice woodshop. So we had to go look at it in person, right? I called the realtor listed and set up an appointment. Tim got in touch with an acquaintance who had offered to represent us when we did start looking to buy.

Lesson 1: The seller and the buyer don't usually have separate realtors.

What we should have done was call our guy and ask him to show us the house. He would have gotten in touch the the seller and set up the appointment. I had assumed both the buyer and seller had realtors, but when the two of them realized our mistake, it got awkward. They were both trying to be polite and offered to just let the other person show it, but it was obvious we had stepped on a few toes. We wound up seeing the seller's realtor and having him show us the house. I'm still not sure this was the best decision. While he seems like a really nice guy, he doesn't seem that motivated to answer the specific questions we've asked about the house, like closing date and actual cost. I guess I was expecting it to be more like the shows on HGTV, where your realtor tells you what he thinks the place is actually worth and gives you tips on getting the cost down. This guy priced the house to begin with, so he's giving us very little assistance in that regard. 

We did go to check it out, though, and there's more than a little case of puppy love. The woodshop is incredible. It takes up about half of the three car garage, but there's more storage in a shed out back. It has a wood-drying kiln. The shop itself is heated and ventilated. The whole garage is insulated. The house itself is a weird layout, but it's the right size for us at approximately 1,350 sq ft. The work that's been done inside is gorgeous. Some hardwood floors, great paint jobs, beautiful baseboard and crown moulding, a gorgeous custom kitchen. The lot is big, really nice, and in a great neighbourhood close to work.

Under the advice of friends, we ran numbers like crazy. The asking price is $259,900. We hope we could get them down to at least $250,000. I took the standard mortgage rates for a $250,000 mortgage and did all the calculations. 5% down would be $12,500. Okay, we could get that together. At a five-year fixed term rate of 3.59%, the monthly mortgage payment would be $1,131.49. We've been paying $1,100 per month in rent, so that doesn't really change anything. The mortgage insurance and property tax amounts would go on top of that, say another $300 per month. That's doable for us without any real stretch of the imagination. We would have to be a bit more responsible, but we're pretty irresponsible now, so there's room. So we went in to the mortgage meeting at the bank feeling pretty calm - our income can support the purchase and ongoing payments on a home like that.

Lesson 2: Your income only counts for so much. Your debt counts for just as much.

We have quite a bit of debt. To get a mortgage, your debt payments - including what your mortgage payments would be, because that is a debt payment - have to be less than 43% of your after-tax earnings. You get a little bit of wiggle room, but they'd prefer you be under 43. With both of our cars, our loans, our lines of credits, and Tim's student loan, we were around 45%. Oh - and here's another kicker. If you have a line of credit, they calculate your debt payment as the total you would have to pay if you maxed out your line of credit - not the payment you currently make. It's because you could spend everything out of that tomorrow if you liked. So annoying bank man, who told me years ago that it didn't matter whether he gave me a high approval limit or not? You lied, you jerk. It matters.

So we started making adjustments to get that number down. We can consolidate my loan and Tim's loan together. It's smart anyways to start combining our finances. We paid off Tim's line of credit with mine and cancelled his. We're going to drop the limit on mine. That dropped us a bit, but not enough to make the bank comfortable. The only other place that could give was to sell my car. It's been an option on the table since we moved to Lakefield to get our finances in a better place, but I was resisting because I'm used to the sense of independence that having my own car gives me. Unfortunately, sacrifices have to be made. I'm not making them gracefully, though. I try to catch myself, but selling my car instead of Tim's kind of gives me a bit of a "Why me?" complex. I need to get over it. Better decisions!! We don't really need two cars, anyways. I walk to work most days and Tim can drive me most of the time when I don't. We go in to Peterborough a lot, but we don't really need to and probably shouldn't. So I started the ball rolling to sell the car.

It's a 2008 Pontiac G6 GT coupe and I love it. It's pretty, it drives great. It's had a bit of a knocking in the front end that I've been ignoring for a while because my mechanic told me that it was probably the grease redistributing weirdly in the steering column. Apparently it's a problem in Pontiacs, and my Dad confirmed that their G6 also has some front end noise that they've deemed to be harmless. But it had a recall out on it for the shift lever anyways, so I took it in to the GM dealer in Peterborough to have the recall done, the fluids changed, and the safety and e-test done.

Lesson 3: The safety expires after 30 days. Don't get one done until you have a buyer.

I didn't really expect there to be any problems with the safety. However, what I think isn't always the case, unfortunately. I just heard back from the mechanic and there are multiple problems. Both upper strut mounts need to be replaced, as well as the right side lower arm bushing. That work, plus the necessary alignment afterwards, has been quoted at $1,162.06 plus tax. Apparently (and weirdly) it needs a new windshield due to sand blasting damage. No clue what would have caused that, but they're saying that's around another $350. Add the cost of the safety at $94 and the oil change and fluids at $39.95, and you have a total bill around $1,900. Ugh. Makes my stomach drop. We're supposed to be saving money to buy a house - not spending it! I've sent a message out to a mechanic friend of mine, I'm hoping that he can do the work for less than that. Sometimes dealers can be priced high. Until I hear back from him, I'm just stewing and stressing. Large financial decisions are not fun.

Date night! at Le Petit Bar

Last Wednesday Tim surprised me by taking me out to dinner at my favourite restaurant in Peterborough, Le Petit Bar. Every couple of months I get a really big craving for a sophisticated cocktail and cheese tasting and this is the best place (perhaps the only place) in Peterborough to get both. Besides at home, given that I visit Chasing the Cheese at least every couple of weeks and there's always cheese in our fridge and lots of alcohol in our home bar. Chasing the Cheese supplies the cheese that is used at Le Petit Bar. I need to be better about making simple syrups so that I can make actual cocktails. I've already started accumulating bitters (none of which have ever been opened). 

My handsome husband with our dinner.

Tim brought one of his Rustic Woods cheese boards to give to Shannon (the owner) as a trial for the restaurant. Currently they use dollar store style bamboo boards. It's due to cost and how easy they are to clean, but it looks so sad when they arrange all of these amazing cheeses, meats, and housemade condiments on a made-in-China piece of cr*p! I hope Tim and Shannon can work out something - it would be great to have Tim's boards being used there. We love it there and Tim takes so much pride in his woodworking. It would be great to see them move to a product made with local, sustainable materials. Fingers crossed! She brought out our cheese and charcuterie mix on it and we quickly noted some necessary changes that would make it more functional. Plus I'm looking forward to going back and checking in on how it's going - like I need an excuse!

  

Curried Oeufs Mayonnaise - $5

Tim is a huge fan of deviled eggs (eggs in any format, really), so we knew right away we needed to get this for an appetizer. We were not disappointed. These were easily the most complex and delicious deviled eggs I have ever had. They had a syrup on them and were topped with crispy onions. The red sauce on the plate is sriracha. Tim compared the flavour profile to Caribbean roti. I'm not sure what spices were used in the syrup, but it definitely had a beautiful savoury/sweet balance. When you added the heat from the sriracha, it made for a really incredible bite. 

Two meat charcuterie and four cheese board - $10 for the meat and $16 for the cheese

The two salamis are both from Niagara Food Specialties - one is the abbruzzesse and the other is the nostrana. The cheeses from top to bottom are the Chateau de Bourgogne, a goat beemster, an applewood smoked cheddar, and the Tomme de Gross Iles. The sauces from top to bottom are honey, a ginger chutney, a spicy mustard, and a sweet cherry mustard. 

I love mixing and matching the cheeses, meats, and condiments! The Chateau de Bourgogne is one of Tim and my favourites. It's very mild and buttery. It's perfect to try with the different condiments and a little bit of apple. Tim loves smoked cheeses, but I didn't love the applewood smoked as much as the Bothwell smoked cheddar or the smoked gouda that Chasing the Cheese regularly carries. It was a little too smoke prominent for me - more than a little bitter. The Tommes de Gross Iles also wasn't my favourite cheese we've ever tried there, I found it almost non-existent on the palate. Notably, I am a fan of really funky cheeses. I like my cheese to have taste to it! This was just too mild. The surprise winner of the evening was the goat beemster. It has a beautifully smooth texture with a nice, sweet barnyard finish. I generally love goat cheeses, but even Tim said this was his favourite. He usually does not love goat or sheep cheeses. It was especially good with the chutney. I loved both of the salamis as well, although I don't think I could tell you the difference between them. They were both sweet and not too hard (I don't like really tough charcuterie). I thought they both tasted very strongly of honey. One was more peppery than the other, but I don't know which. 

For drinks, Tim just got a beer (I don't remember which one). I had a maple bourbon sour ($8.50). It was a little more sour than I was expecting. A bit of a duh moment for me, considering the name, but I think I just saw maple and bourbon and thought sweet. It was good, though, and grew on me the more I had. Ha - one could say that about most types of alcohol. Shannon was also a real sweetheart and let us try the 2008 Lillypilly Noble Blend. Shannon is really well-informed about the wines she carries and it was so neat to hear about this particular wine. It was very similar to an ice wine, only the concentration in sweetness is caused by a fungus that only occurs in very specific conditions. While I'm not a huge wine drinker, I do appreciate a good sweet wine and this one was lovely.

Afterwards we went home and cuddled on the couch while watching Pan Am. Perfect date night!

Morning walk to work!

I love being able to walk to work now! It's only 10 minutes from our new place to Savage. Even with the colder weather, I've been so happy. Especially since I walk across and along the river. I love the water and the dams. I love the birds - there are three herons and an osprey nest along my walk. Well, the herons aren't always there, but there's usually at least one of them and I love looking for them. I love to look for fish and think about how much my Mom would love it here. I like to watch the construction team at work rebuilding the one retaining wall on the bank. I love living in a small town again!

The river this morning as I walked to work. It was a one heron day today.

The osprey on it's nesting platform. I've seen both of the mating pair, but not the chick I've been told they have. Apparently it is mature now and flies around. They make the most noise of any bird I've ever heard - more than seagulls!

This photo from last week shows a two heron day - can you see them both?

Storm clouds over Savage a couple of weeks ago.

The crane lifting materials down to the work site for the retaining wall last week.

Friday night when Tim and I walked to the grocery store, we actually had a three heron day! Two on the south side of the bridge, and then this guy hanging out by himself on the north side.

All bundled up for the walk this morning. It was 0 degrees when we woke up and it's not much more than that now!

Have a great day!

Mini Honeymoon Pt. 2 - The Old Station

All day on Monday as we were hoping for the weather to subside, we were hearing radio reports on the cottage traffic. 

          "It's a parking lot on 35 from Lindsay." 
          "Traffic isn't moving on the 400 south of 89."
          "It's bumper to bumper on 11 from Gravenhurst all the way to Barrie."

Needless to say, neither Tim and I nor Matt and Teri were looking forward to the drives back to Peterborough and Mississauga. We knew we could backroad into Bracebridge, so we decided to do that and then find a place to stop for dinner to kill a little more time. We drove in circles in Bracebridge for a little bit looking for the top-rated restaurant, which is a little place called the Griffin Gastropub. Unfortunately, once we did find it, it was only to learn that it is closed on Mondays. We had passed another place that was definitely open, so we went to the Old Station instead. 

Interior shot courtesy of www.oldstation.ca

I had assumed this place was brand new. It was super clean and looked like it had been styled to be the perfect cottage restaurant. I was quickly informed by the server and Tim, who had read the plaque, that it was actually started in 1985. It's aged well! The exposed brick and gigantic tree trunk pillar are very on trend for design these days. The clientele was a good mix. A few older couples, a group of young friends, a family. The menu was big, but absolutely full of things I wanted to try. I usually find the opposite - a large menu full of mediocre items, or a small menu full of crazy things that you get really excited about eating. I had difficulty picking between the Oven Roasted Pepper Squash, the market pasta of the day, the Crackling Skin Chicken Supreme, the Chicken Curry Masala, and the Fish & Chips. Tim wound up ordering the Chicken Curry Masala ($18), so I ordered the Crackling Skin Chicken Supreme ($18). We also ordered the Deep Fried Dill Pickles ($9) to start. 

Hot apple cider at the Old Station in Bracebridge

I was so happy to see hot apple cider on the drinks menu. We ordered a full round of these, and it was a great way to warm up after the rain. If we hadn't been at the end of the long weekend, I would have ordered mine with a shot of spiced rum! The deep fried dill pickles were really neat - I had never had anything like this before. They were SUPER hot on the inside, though. I'm glad the guys warned me about that. But the coating was crispy and the pickles were soft. Really, really yummy. 

Chicken curry masala at the Old Station in Bracebridge.

Tim's chicken curry masala was alright. Nothing really spectacular, but it hit the spot. I thought their spice blend had too much cumin in it. It made it taste a little more Mexican than Indian. Not a bad plate of food, though.

My chicken was easily the best dish. (Matt and Tim helped me polish it off, they thought so too.) The chicken was moist, the skin was crispy, the toasted pecan sauce was delicious. The mashed potatoes didn't blow my mind, but the rest of the plate was spot on. I loved it! I would go here again in a heartbeat the next time we head up to the cottage!