Oz Smash Book

Since I've been back I've been spending a lot of time scrapbooking, both at TM and at home.  I brought two Smash albums with me to Oz to document my trip.  I did really well keeping up with our adventures until we moved to Sydney, where I was too busy to scrap on a regular basis.  Now that I'm home I have a backlog of pictures to scrap- five months worth to be exact!  I've made it up to the start of October now, a good dent, and am past the middle of book two.  I bought a third album as I took way more photos the second half of the trip then the first.  Good thing I'd been more diligent on keeping up with my blog so I can remember exact dates and little details.  I printed all my pictures with my Selphy, which was handy while traveling.

The best thing about scrapping back home- the product!  Scrapbooking is not so big in Oz and I had a really hard time finding stores that didn't have cheesy 1990's product.  I've been buying a lot since I've got home!

Fresh Start

I have been back home for just over a month now and I am somewhat organized.  Though there have been a lot of stresses with getting settled in yet another city (number three this year) it has never felt better to be home.

Tomorrow I start a new job!  I had gone back to work at my old salon, but after three weeks it just wasn't feeling like the right move.  I went for an interview and found a place that had all the things I liked about my Sydney salon so I went for it.  It was tough to tell my old boss I was leaving, but my gut tells me this is definitely the right move.  Even better, it's on the south side of town, which is where Joel works and where we plan on living.  Before we left for Oz we lived and I worked downtown and I couldn't see us living anywhere else.  Funny how one year away has got me ready for suburbia!  Now everything I need will be in my little south side bubble.

Right now we are staying at my parents until we save up enough money for an apartment (we didn't come home with much money in our pockets).  Hopefully now that we have two full paychecks coming in we will be able to get our own place soon!  We'll also have to get ourselves a car.  I've been checking out Kijiji and thankfully we can get a decent VW for good prices.  In Oz we had to buy the most embarrassing car ever and I told Joel that will never happen again!

The weather here in Edmonton has been great!  We have snow, but it's not been cold.  The coldest it's been in the last few weeks was -10 C.  There's been lots of sun, many days in the positive temperatures, and big, fluffy flakes when it does snow.  If winter was like this every year I'd be happy!  For those wondering, it doesn't feel extra cold after spending a year away from winter.  I'm  wearing my fall coat, so haven't had to bundle up too much.

On February eleventh we welcomed a new niece- Arianna Carolyn.  Joel's sister had her first baby almost two months early.  She arrived tiny but healthy.  We went to meet our new niece a few hours after she was born and we were honored by being asked by Savannah and Jamie to be Arianna's godparents.  She'll stay in the NIC unit for a few more weeks, but she is doing great.

Wainwright, Alberta

A week after arriving home I drove out to Wainwright, Alberta, a town east of Edmonton, to visit with my friend and her kiddos.  Wainwright is not an overly exciting place, with a population around 5000, but it is a cute town.  I've been going out to visit for quite a few years now and this time decided to explore the town and take a few pictures to capture it's essence.  Since arriving home I decided I want to get to know my country on a higher level and appreciate all that is Canada, the big and the small. Sometimes you have to stand back and realize something so simple that you take for granted on a daily basis can be pretty interesting if you take the time to look.  Hoping I can do more "exploring" of my own backyard this year.

Driving on a snow covered Highway 14.  Note the CN Rail train to the right.  A typical sight on an Alberta highway.

War Memorial Clock Tower at the center of town, looking down Mainstreet.

Mainstreet Wainwright.  I love the vintage feel of some of the shop fronts.

Town Hall, which I believe was previously a fire station.

My little nieces and I enjoying the snow.

Life Is Better Blonde

Welcome to my new blog!  For those of you who have followed me here from Word Under thanks for finding my new home.  For those of you just joining, here's a little bit about me:

My name is Victoria.  I have just moved back to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada after a year's stint in Australia.  I'm a hairstylist so I love all things beauty and fashion related and am a mega shoe-a-holic.  I'm a scrapbooker and an avid photo taker (and slowly getting the hang of photo editing), so be prepared for a lot of photos!  I love to travel (hence my year down under) and see new parts of the world.  I also have a new love and appreciation for my own country, which I hope to get to explore every inch of.  I love spending time with my friends and family (which I've discovered is the most important thing to me after being away so long) and my husband Joel.  

This blog will be a combination of my life, my photos, my scrapbooking, fashion, a bit of party planning, and future travel endeavors (once my Oz debt is cleared...).  I have just joined a group called What to Wear, some awesome ladies giving biweekly fashion posts, which I'm pretty pumped about joining.

Hope everyone enjoys the new blog!