KL's Vancouver Reunion

The best events in life are reunions, and this past week our dear friend Kerrilynn came back to Vancouver to visit her Everything Wine family.

Our friend and co-worker Rhonda was gracious enough to open up her patio doors and allowed us to take over her home. We arrived to the sounds of summer tunes and a feast of foods to nibble on.

What I thoroughly enjoy about getting together with the Everything Wine Crew is that we all know the standard procedure to all social gatherings: show up, bring a beverage to share and something to eat. If you are the one who arrives empty-handed, we'll still share with you, but know that you're being severely judged.

The other amazing thing about this crew is the sense of family we feel towards one another. Case in point, a former employee comes "home" to visit for a few days, and the other family members make sure to clear their schedules and make time to catch up. And though it's been six months since Kerrilynn had left, it was as if she had just worked a shift yesterday.

Rhonda and her husband has a boat, and their boat was currently parked on the driveway; so naturally this means that we all had to climb into the boat, and take pictures.

One thing I've noticed is that while I get mocked for constantly taking pictures at any social gathering, it's assumed that I'll have my camera and will be capturing life's precious moments. What I thought would be a couple nice commemorative pics turned into about 85 must-have pics to post on Facebook. And I didn't take them all.

One thing I know for sure: we sure have missed our "Little One" and had an excellent time celebrating her brief return to VanCity, and will continue to miss this little bundle of joy after she leaves. Then again, that just means that when she comes back again, there'll be another party to plan. What to bring... what to drink... the cycle never ends. Oh how I love a good party!

Tegan's Summer Solstice 2011

A couple of weeks ago, my good friend Tegan held her annual Summer Solstice party on her brand new patio at her home in North Vancouver. We were blessed with a little sunshine that evening, which added to the summery feeling of the event. Friends brought sangria, veggies, dips and goodies, as we gathered around several blankets and caught up on life.

I love how Tory and Tegan painted their faces, and don't even get me started on Kelsey's amazingballz furball hat!





What I loved about this event was the simplicity of it: dress up in summer clothes, bring food suitable for a patio setting, bring wine or the likes, and come with an open attitude to meet new people and embrace summer's arrival.

Little did we know at the time, that this might have been our only summer's night.

Tegan's probably one of the most creative people I have ever met. Having graduated from Emily Carr last year, this girl is nothing but creative genius. Her print work is stunning and deep, and to own a print would be a dream of mine. She pours her heart and soul into everything that she does, and the result is always pure brilliance.





My favourite part of the evening was when Tory and Tegan surprised the guests with a rainfall of glow sticks and sparklers. Literally, we were all chatting below her balcony when we all of a sudden heard "SUMMER SOLSTICE!" and the sky was filled with a rainfall of glowsticks. The girls then came down with lighters and sparklers and we all had an illuminated three cheers for summer!

From bubbles to neon, glow sticks to sangria, regardless of what the weather may be in Vancouver these days, Tegan's Summer Solstice Party was hot hot hot and may actually be the best "summery" day of summer 2011.

Thanks, Tegs! x

Rachey

Rachel

Rachey

The Ra in RaRo

Best Friend

World Traveller

Pure Class

Loyal

Reliable

Ridiculous

Pretty much, the best friend a person could have ever asked for. I'm blessed to call her my friend and am so excited for her as she steps out into the next great phase of her life: marrying Jonny on Friday, and cBoEvents will be there to not only make sure the bride's wedding is the vision and event she's always dreamed of, while Craig will be there to cheer on my friends as they (finally) tie the knot. CONGRATULATIONS RACHEY & JON! x

Rent A Daughter - 6 months(ish)

My dear friends Nathan & Christina have the most incredible daughter, Dallas. I just think people need to know... she's amazeballz. I <3 u Dal, my wee gorgeous rent-a-daughter.

Show Hearts

So I saw this thing on Justin Bieber's and Britney Spears's facebook fan pages and it got me thinking. Show hearts. Send love and support to those in needs. It's amazing that only in a time of need we all ban together to help those in crisis, usually in our own communities. Then a few days later, say after an earthquake, flood, or a riot in Vancouver, we all forget that there are some people who will need help after the fact... after the cameras are gone. Got me thinking about our own Vancouver Downtown Eastside and how I used to be so involved down there. When I was younger, a few of my friends and I would get together and we would make hot dogs, hot chocolate and whatever other treats we had donated to us, and would stand on Main and Hastings to serve those who are at the most in need. The only reason we stopped? Summer. Work. Jobs. Yet I'm sure that there were those who actually came back week after week thinking "thank goodness I'll have a meal tonight" and then the week came when it stopped. I'm not saying I'm about to make up a bowl of soup and drive downtown by myself, but I think a bigger lesson is to be learn. We live in the most incredible city in the world with some of the world poverty in the country. Perhaps there needs to be more events that pertain to loving those who need love the most. Perhaps we need to have more fundraisers to help our fellow brothers and sisters in need. Or perhaps, I'll just got to Starbucks tomorrow morning and order my vente americano and go back to working on my career.

Emo blog post? Perhaps. Thought provoking? I'd hope so. Show Hearts. Help your neighbour. Give them your Starbucks and make your own silly drip coffee at the office. <3

Life continues to bloom after "what happened" in VanCity

There's life after the Canucks
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Pasta, Passion & Pistols - my Murder Mystery Dinner Party

It was a Friday night in my apartment on March 11, 2011. The gingham-red table cloth was pulled out and candle sticks were lit while classic Italian music played in the background as my dinner guests arrived. While aromas of pesto pasta & fresh garlic bread alongside a caesar salad wafted throughout my apartment, this was not your typical Friday night dinner party. Tonight was my much anticipated murder mystery dinner party for 10, and I, French Winemaker Bo Jolais, welcomed my guests; Momma Rossa, Rocco Scarfazzi, Tara Misu, Claire Voyant, Father Al Fredo, Angel Roni, & Marco Roni. The key to the success of the evening was inviting friends who would arrive in costume and embrace their characters’ descriptions, and my guests did just that. I was in tears laughing at their attire as well as their attempts to maintain Italian accents throughout the evening, which quickly declined as the chianti flowed. I cannot express how much fun it is to host one of these events. I received the "Passion, Pasta & Pistols" gift box for Christmas from my family, which you can order from a variety of web sites and stores such as amazon.com. Inside of the package are professional invitations to mail out to your guests which list off all of the characters, their descriptions and costume ideas. You also receive booklets for each guest to be opened on the night of the event which has all the dialogue and questions for each character to ask and details to reveal if asked. Some even come with DVDs with video clips to enhance the story telling and set the tone for the evening's crime to be resolved. While I had read the rules and instructions ahead of time, I did find it to be a bit challenging and confusing to be both host and a character, and we found that having one guest as the dedicated host for the evening allowed for the game to flow much better. We also found the books being written in 3rd person to be a bit of a word jumble as we attempted to translate the dialogue into 1st person, but again, the chianti probably didn't help too much either. By the end of the game everyone was completely involved in the game, including the few guests who attended but did not necessarily have a roll to play, and only one of the 10 participants actually accused the correct guilty person. I have personally attended three of these murder mystery dinner parties and every single one of them has been an evening of tremendous fun, laughter, and a great way for your friends to have a shared unique exerience that you know they'll be talking about on Monday at work. I have to be honest, I am usually against the 1970s concept of "game-night", however I have to say these murder mystery games bring a whole new dynamite and definition to game nights -- I can't wait to host another one!!