What to wear at a vineyard wedding?

You already know that I'm working on putting together a group wedding gift, which is 90% complete.  What I haven't talked about yet is what I'm planning on wearing to the wedding.....that's because I just don't know!!!

I spotted a dress at Ricki's that I fell in love with last month and saved money from the gas/grocery/entertainment/travel budget to buy the dress.  This dress is the first purchase of 2012 that I've paid full price for -- I love it that much!!!  I am just not sure yet if it's right for the wedding.

The wedding will be at Vineland Estates Winery.  I should mention that it's a day-time wedding.  That means an 11am ceremony followed by a winery tour then an afternoon with no dancing (no dance floor and no deejay).

Here's a shot from the vineyard's website:

 

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I'm putting a call out there to PF Fashionistas!!  Here are my two dress choices:

 

Ricki's gold: Regularly $129.95...bought for $29.99 (yippee!)

 

Ricki's blue: Regularly $79.95....paid full price.

 

Okay readers.....which dress would you wear to the wedding??  

I have a big push to finish before the wedding in exactly 2 weeks.  I am currently a size 13....the gold dress is a size 12 and the blue dress is a L (I'm into a large currently, but would love it to fit better!).  You'll be seeing a lot of #pfworkout tweets from this blogger!!

Apps I Love!

I purchased an iPad 2 back in August (2011) and I've loved it ever since!!  The $500+ price tag was one I mulled over for about a month before I decided to buy it. 

I thought I'd do a post today on my favourite Apps - some new, some I've been using for the past 8 months.  In no particular order they are:

1) Travel Wallet (Free lite version, $2.99 full version) - This app lets me keep track of spending on vacation.  Instead of keeping a spending journal, I have a real-time tracker of how much I've budgeted and how much I've spent.  I can attach a photo of any receipt to my trip expenses. I can calculate how much of my budget I've spent already and how much is remaining overall and in each category.  For my trip to Europe this summer I can see that I've budgeted $3,200, I have paid $1,900 and I have $1,300 to go. These expenses are in the following categories: food, souvenir, attractions (not including Olympic tickets), transportation within the cities, passport renewal, and park and fly Ottawa.

2) LoseIt! (Free) -   Since following the LoseIt! program since mid-march I have lost about 12lbs and am down 2-3 dress sizes, depending on the store.  I have been using the App when I'm at work or away from my laptop at home.  Features of the App are the same as what you'd see on the regular site.  What sets the App apart from the computer-based version is the fact that I can scan bar codes into the system instead of manually adding the food along with the calories, fat, protein, fiber, sodium, etc.  I've found that a few not-so-popular brands don't scan properly, but I've had success with most of what I've scanned.  

3) Budget Envelopes (Free for first 20 transactions, $1.99 thereafter) - Since I switched over to the MBNA Smart Cash Back card I've been spending on my credit card instead of cash via the envelope system.  The budget in gas, groceries, gifts, entertainment remained the same, I just spend the money using plastic instead of paper.  I use the budget envelope app the same way as I did my budget binder when I was spending cash. 

4) Couch-to-5K ($2.99) -This app will be getting a good workout the next nine weeks!  I'd used it in the past, but quit at about week 3.  Today, Destination Declutter and I are starting the Couch-to-5K program.  The C25K app will help me stay on track with the 3x weekly training sessions -- I've also downloaded running podcasts to track when to transition from walk to run and back again since I won't be running with my iPad -- for iPhone users I think this app would be more useful.

 

What are some of your favourite Apps?!

How did I get so busy??

Within the last month or so my daily calendar seems to have something every day....aside from work of course!

Last weekend I began French classes I'm taking through Algonquin College.  I'm enrolled for 8 weeks.  Classes take place Saturdays and Sundays between 9am and 12pm.  On top of classes I have about 3 hours of online homework/week in addition to about an hour of textbook homework and studying (I have quizzes, a midterm and final exam).  So much for just taking a French class to brush up on my skills!

I posted back in February that I'd joined by condo's Board of Directors.  We're now getting into the Reserve Fund Study and Performance Audit time of the year, so that's keeping me busy.

I've also signed up for Boot Camp (starts later this month) and I've been hitting the gym about 3x/week in addition to heading outside on my new bike - I have a 1 month membership to try a new gym out.

I've started volunteering with three other organizations, two are recreation development organizations/organizations who raise money to offset sports costs to low-income families (definitely in my field), another unrelated to my field which raises money towards activities for children who are hospital-bound. 

On top of all of that, I'm still keeping up my goal to go out with former colleagues/classmates in the hopes of making new/old friends in the city!

I've been eating healthy thanks to the Eat Clean Diet and Clean Eating Mag and this morning I pulled on a pair of pants I haven't worn in about 2 years!!  Thanks to everyone on Twitter using #pfworkout....it's definitely motivating to me!

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Budget: May 2012

Budget for May is complete!!

Crossing my fingers that I'll be able to stay on track:

	Budgeted
Full Time Job	$2,810.24
Transfer from Planned Spending Account	$270.00
Mortgage + Taxes (3x this month)	$1285.54
Condo Fees	$75.01
Insurance (Car/House)	$97.69
Hot Water Tank Rental	$50.79
Car Maintenance/Licensing	$49.00
Extra Mortgage +Tax Payments	$65.00
Natural Gas	$95.00
Hydro	$45.00
Rogers	$140.00
Pension	$333.32
Emergency Fund	$50.00
RRSP	$100.00
Travel Fund	$200.00
Clothing	$17.00
House Stuff	$30.00
Gifts	$50.00
Food/Restaurant	$200.00
Entertainment	$40.00
Gas - Car	$140.00
Memberships	$15.00

Easter Weekend Recap

After what felt like an entire day of driving along the 401, I arrived back in Ottawa sleepy and not ready to get back into the swing of work this morning!

Here's how the last 4 days played out:

Thursday:
- Worked 7:30am to 3:00pm
- Filled up my gas tank ($30)
- Drove home, arriving at the front door of my mom's house at 11:30pm
- Good: brought my own salad along the drive, so I didn't have to stop at the rest stop, except for gas the last 150 kms ($40)

Friday:
- Grocery shopped with my mom.....only one grocery store in town was open.....not so fun!
- Met up with some high school friends at Boston Pizza
- Good: Spent only $10 out.  Split 1/2 individual pizza and yam fries with my friend.

Saturday:
- Met up with same high school friends for coffee ($6.78)
- BAD: $19.95 oil change turned into $240 oil change, air filter, transmission fluid flush. I have about $180 in my car maintenance account, so luckily I had to scrounge for only $60
- Visited my Dad, who loved his belated birthday present. He also gave me $60 towards gas - love Dads!
- Had Easter dinner #1 at high school friend's parents house....love those 4+ hour talks around the dinner table

Sunday:
- Easter dinner #2 with my Mom's family (20 people).  I made a skinny cheesecake and "mashed" cauliflower and sweet potatoes
- Mom filled up my gas tank - yey again! ($20)

Monday:
- Left Mom's at 7:30am
- Visited with a friend/former colleague for 3 hours.....played lots of hide and seek with her 3 year old!
- Drove, drove, drove. 
- Filled up again after 6 hours of driving - $40
- Arrived back in Ottawa at 6:30pm.....ran inside with arms loaded up to get away from the rain.
- Vegged on the couch the rest of the night!

So, aside from my surprise car costs, I actually stayed under budget....I need to swap my winter tires for my all seasons soon, so next pay cheque I should be back on target when it comes to vehicle maintenance.

 

How was your long weekend?