Our 1st Wedding Anniversary…

My husband and I celebrated out first wedding anniversary on December 20, 2015 *cue band to play our favorite song*. Due to the holiday activities and spending time with family I can finally show you guys how we spent our night.

I’ve Moved | From Island life To Big City Life…

I've been living in Barbados for more than half of my life and now I reside in Canada.  Even though according to my hubby Barbados will always be home and it meant leaving our family and friends, Canada proved to have more opportunities to fit our lifestyle.  Just to give you some background information, I’m Canadian and my husband is Barbadian and we both went to school together but never spoke a word to each other. We dated for 5 years and we are currently 1 year happily married but have known of each other for 7years prior to dating.

Beach Day At Miami Beach

OOTN | 6 Month's Dinner Style…

On June 1, 2013 Kevin proposed to me and on June 20, 2015 we celebrated our 6 month anniversary.  People often get comfortable in their relationships and forget the little things which made the relationship work in the beginning. We don’t profess to know everything just what works for us. Even though we enjoy wine & dining, we also enjoy the little things in life. Beach dates, movie dates, sit at home and chill dates, doing stuff for each other, buying each other favorite treats randomly. These are just a few ways that works for us.

Dinner at Zen Restaurant Barbados

My Apologies for Live Streaming…

Please accept my sincere apology for the live streaming which didn't work. Even though the location was equipped with the internet, unfortunately the test for the internet speed was only done on the afternoon of the wedding and the signal strength was strong enough.  This was outside my control and I hope you guys forgive us for those who tried to tune in. I will share some aspects of the wedding so you can see the proceedings.

Here is a sneak peek of us on our wedding day which isn't from our professional photographer and an aerial view shot.

Aerial view shot taken by Cielo Productions

Non- Professional Pics

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. God has being amazing to us for 2014 and I wish all the blessings in the world for you guys for 2015 and beyond.

How was your Christmas?

Be inspired…

Finally Our Engagement Photo’s…

I got engaged on June 1, 2013. I can still remember it, like if it was yesterday. The level of planning and thoughtfulness that went into the proposal was truly amazing. I thought I was organized but Kevin takes it to another level, a level I’m now striving to reach. He’s a perfectionist giving the nature of his career which is an architect.  I was totally surprised as seen in many photo’s shown here. Kevin blew my mind then and is still blowing my mind everyday.  I can’t wait to say “ I Do” to the man of my dreams and start building our empire together.

Our engagement photos took place at the same venue of the proposal, which was Limegrove & Port St Charles.  Who says engagement photos needs to be cliché. Special thanks goes out to my amazing photographer Himal Reece and his assistant Allan Harvey for making our photoshoot very memorable. These guys are very flexible and easy to work with.  I’m confident that my wedding pictures will be above my expectation.  Take a look at some of our favorites.

Photography: Himal Reece. Location Port St Charles

Come & Meet Our Bridal Party…

I can’t say enough how happy Kevin & I are with the choices of our bridal party.  I’ll say take your time and choose your bridal party wisely and not because the person is family or a casual friend. Being in a bridal party needs dedication, support and just being there for the bride and groom. I’m not saying to comprise your standards but support is one of the biggest things you can offer in a bridal party.  Of course voice your opinions but your role isn't to take over the concept the bride and groom has.  We are pleased to say our bridal party was drama free, stress free, full support at all times. We are not saying everything has been perfect but the hiccups were so far and in-between its almost like they never existed.  Our first meeting was held in January 2014 and we were alil nervous how everyone would gel and get along. The meeting ended and we just sat and talked for hours like we were all bestie’s who hadn't seen each other in a while and was catching up. The vibe was great and everyone messaged us saying they had a great time and the vibe was nice.  You don’t know how great Kevin and I felt because our chosen friends are now our chosen family. We love these guys dearly.

You guys know I love photos, so a photo shoot for my bridal party was a given. In addition, it could act as a practice session as well as memories to last a lifetime. These pictures typically tell you how our vibe usually is. We are always joking around, laughing and just having plain old fun. These photos were taken by Himal Reece who is one of the best photographers in Barbados.

Our Bridal Party

Guest Post | Pre-Martial Counselling Homework (Love Letter in 25yrs)...

Hi Readers, its Kevin again, yes i'm back for another guest post. Since this month is our wedding month, it's only fitting to start of this month with a wedding post. This post is just a little homework we had from pre-martial counselling actually, where we both had to write a love letter to each other as if it was our 25th Year Anniversary of marriage...Tomi is really great with words, after all she runs a blog, and she has written me many love letters over the years, her letter was very touching, insightful, boy do I have alot to live up to and much to work on, based on her expectations post 25 years, lol...she knows how to pull at my heartstrings for sure...she asked if I would not mind sharing mine so here goes... 

::25th Anniversary, Happily Married...

“I stayed up all night, so I could get this thing right, and I don't think there's anything missing, cause a person like you, made it easy to do...your love completes my existence” – Amel Larrieux...On reflecting and reminiscing on the time we have been together and as I prepare this letter with a music mix of our initial 6 songs from our courtship days playing in the background, there is still a freshness and a smile that peaks out like the sunrise of a new day, as I get flashbacks, of a life well spent with you. It's almost as if I was born just to love you, no doubt about it, today we celebrate our Silver Jubilee, 25 years of being happily married, with God’s infinite blessings – what an amazing journey it has been so far. Tomes you are indeed a wonderful gift from God not just to me but to our children. We have had some enthralling experiences, great memories and moments, but let's also be honest some setbacks, but all of them have provided a balance that has kept us sane, humble, and also looking forward to the next challenge – those marriage vows have really become reality, they are truly timeless...

Engagement Photoshoot: Please click to enlarge...

Wedding: Pre-Marital Counselling Homework (Love Letter in 25yrs)…

Our pre-marital counselling sessions are over and we are happy to report that our priest has confidence in our relationship.  We were asked to write a love letter to each other 25 years from now and read it to each other at one of our sessions.  Neither of us had an idea what we wrote to each other, until it was read out.  Kevin and I are very competitive, so to jazz up my letter I added 25 hearts going around it. This letter is exactly what I read infront of the priest to Kevin.  Do enjoy!

My Dearest Husband Kevin,

Time is flying and waiting on no one and I’m so happy that our paths crossed so unconventional and now we are building the life we always wanted.  I truly believe God made you for me. There is no one else that I have ever met that understands me like you do. God has been good to us.  The kids are all grown and looking to start their own lives, which gives us an opportunity to explore each other without the distractions of family or the outside world. Our first trip together to Las Vegas in 2010

Wedding: Our Cake Tasting Experience…

To be honest we knew who we wanted to bake our wedding cake from last year and kind of slacked on looking at other options.  Always have a plan B trust me . When we finally chose a design for our cake, the quote given to us was way above our budget. Its at that point we decided to start looking at some other options to see if we were getting a deal or not.  We had 3 quotes for the below cakes without the topper and one with the topper.  We asked for a 3 tier Chocolate Cake with Vanilla filling. Aren't they gorgeous.

Source from Pinterest. Our first design Cakes

My Apologies & Life Update…

Let me first apologize to you guys for my lack of postings recently.  So much has been going on which has pushed me to take a mini break from blogging. I absolutely love blogging but there are things right now that I need to put all of my energy into. I do hope I can still make an appearance atleast weekly till the end of the year.

What have I been up too you may ask? Well trying to tie loose ends for the wedding as well as sending out invitations, meet with service providers to make sure everything is covered. Kevin was the brain child behind our invitations and he actually printed them too.

Our Wedding Invitations in the process and finished

Right now, I’ll say everything is on schedule for the wedding. I’m overwhelmed as I can’t believe 2014 is almost over and I’m going to be a Mrs. It was just the other day Kevin & I were discussing our guest list and now our wedding day is almost less than 30 days to go.  I do have some wedding posts, hair posts scheduled soon, so stay tuned and stay blessed.

What have I missed, share with us below?

Be inspired...

My Bridal Make-Up Consultation Recap…

I had a bridal consultation with Renee Ifill from Next 2 Natural in Barbados.  I think consultations are important especially for brides, so you can see potentially see how you would look on your big day. It also helps to tweak any changes that you may notice after the consultation. For example, how long did the makeup last, how fast your face gets oily? All of these can be addressed so you look your absolute best on your wedding day.

I arrived at her studio which was very cozy. Outside was so hot that day that I welcomed the air conditioning in her studio to keep me cool and calm.  I explained to her the things I didn't like and let her work her magic.  I don’t like harsh contour lines on the nose at all. 

Ignore this lip color as I’m definitely not wearing this on our day.  She used this lip color because that day was also our engagement photo shoot so she matched my lippie to my shirt. Isn't it pretty?

Bridal Make-up by Next to Natural

My Birthday Celebrations…

I have entered into a new decade of my life and I’m entirely grateful to God for allowing me to reach this milestone and be able to celebrate it with good health, awesome family, wonderful friends and my Fiancé. Last year Kevin left Barbados to study for a year in England and I told him not to do anything since he was travelling the following day. I’m not an overly fussy person but I do appreciate the little things in life. So for the BIG 30, I also told Kevin not to overdo as our wedding is around the corner and we should be focused on that.  If there is one thing I can say about Kevin, is that he listens and very carefully too. This is a quality that I truly admire from him.  All I asked for was a cake, I really did need anything else but a cake.

30's Birthday Celebrations

Vacation 2014: New York Edition…

Heading to the airport for my trip to New York

Words can’t explain how much I was looking for to this vacation and if you read my BLOGGER meet and greet I explained why. After working for 6 straight months, a much deserved break was needed and I welcomed it with wide open arms.  I normally travel on American Airlines but after my co-workers were raving about Jet Blue service from Barbados to New York, I decided to give them a try.  I don’t see the fuss about Jet Blue except there is a TV at the back of every seat, which is convenient for watching TV to keep you occupied. Actually the particular flight I was on was newish and didn't come with that feature, but they were kind enough to offer $15.00 off my next trip. The air-hostesses weren't friendly and the flight was nothing to shout about, just another regular flight.

Guest Post | Behind The Scenes Story About Tomes Edition...

Hi everyone this is Kevin, Tomi’s fiancé. I just thought it would be nice to do a guest post on Tomes Edition to give you guys kind of a behind the scenes look at Tomes Edition: the person behind the posting (blogging | vlogging), and also to say thank you for your very kind words with regards to an earlier post where Tomes Edition would have discussed the details of my proposal for the (engagement). I really appreciate the love, assurance, blessings and advice you have all shared, it inspires us and keeps us grounded as we continue to plan for our big day.

Please click image to enlarge

It has been truly an amazing journey Tomes Edition has been on so far, and to be involved in the so called “fetus" phases of it all, to seeing it grow, develop and expand its reach, has been a joy to see

He Went Down On One Knee & I Said…

I've have been racking my brain as to if I should do this post but I asked myself if anyone asked me how Kevin Proposed the story is going to be the exact same thing so why not share with my "E friends". I thought this post was fitting since we are in the love month.

On June 1, 2013 was one of the most amazing days of my life. It all started when I headed down to the salon to get my hair relaxed and I asked Kevin to assist in recording some of the relaxing process to share with you guys.  Well, after I left the salon Kevin asked to go Limegrove Bar for drinks to celebrate me making my first goal of Armpit Length (APL) but I was nervous I didn't reach that goal yet and blew him off by saying “why do we need to go celebrate, I don’t know that I met that goal (my hair was left wrapped from the salon) plus we are travelling next weekend, lets save the money and use it at a restaurant overseas”.  He still insisted but I shrugged it off and figured he had forgotten all about it.

Later that day my mom made homemade hamburgers and I invited him to come over for a burger and he came and saw my hair still wrapped and wondered why I haven’t taken it down to see the length. Kevin and my mom were cheering me on, so I unwrapped my hair and realized I was in fact grazing APL *jumping with excitement*

At 6:30pm I was on the phone with a girlfriend of mine and I heard a beep come through on the phone and it was Kevin saying “Babe be ready for 7:15pm” my response was “ to go where” and he went on saying remember I told you when we were in town lets go celebrate reaching your first hair goal.  I got off the phone and went to get ready and at 7:15pm I had just scrambled to finish my makeup which wasn't even flawless given the time constraint. Kevin came inside my house with a black slacks and navy blue button shirt and enclosing shoes. Now I told him you’re very dressed up and we are only going to a bar and he said "but its Limegrove". He didn't agree with the dress I was going to wear saying it wasn't dressy enough. I picked out another dress and I was able to be out of the house by 7:30pm.

Kevin went back into my house saying he forgot his stuff and I was waiting for about 10mins in the car till he came out with a bag and placed it in the trunk. Normally his stuff  goes in the back seat but I dismissed it. Driving down the road I realized Kevin was driving faster than normal and he brought up the story about when he was driving in Orlando last September and everyone including trucks were passing us because he didn't want to go over the speed limit, these people are driving like he was, I just chuckled.

Having drinks at Limegrove

We arrived at Limegrove Bar and sat adjacent from the bar. We ordered Mudslides and he was drinking faster than normal but even then I didn't get suspicious. I did notice a guy was looking down from upstairs at me the WHOLE night but failed to mention it to Kevin, which was creepy.  We talked and laughed and took loads of pics then Kevin asked for the bill. Now I 

My Vacation to New York, Toronto and Calgary...

I went on holiday for 2 weeks as you may have known and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Travelling to Calgary from Barbados is usually very expensive so an opportunity came up and I decided to grab it fast   I haven’t seen my good friend Nikita in like forever so the opportunity to hang with her, I took it in a heartbeat. I've never been to New York before so I needed someone to show me around - Nikita was an awesome guide; we got to see so many places in the short space of time of 1 1/2 days. In addition her accommodating tour guide skills, she also makes unique jewelry and her pieces can be found at (LaNomRahDesigns), be sure to check it out!!! From NYC we went onto spend 1 day in Toronto with Kevin’s cousin and the other days were spent in Calgary with my family.

Take a look at some of the stuff I got to do and the people I spent my vacay with.

::New York City w/ Nikita & Kevin::

Please click image to enlarge