Canada Part 1: Where We Stayed

Shelby and I used Airbnb for our stay in Toronto. I have found that most people I talk to, do not know what Airbnb is. It is basically like the movie, The Holiday, if you have seen it. You can rent other people's apartment, condo, home or rent just a room in someone's place. It is much cheaper than staying in a hotel or using homeaway.com, plus if you stay with someone, you get to meet someone new and have a local who is able to give you advice on where to go.

We rented a room in a condo located in the 230 King Street East building, in the design district of Toronto. The condo complex we stayed in was beautiful! The girl we rented the room from works in sales and travels for her job, so she is currently living in London. We stayed in her room for the week. She had a roommate who lived with her. Not as weird as it sounds, we were gone most of the day and she worked so we didn't really see her much. She was very nice anyways!

Since the condo was on King Street, it was very centrally located to everything we wanted to do. Although the unfortunate part about it was that we were on the east end and most restaurants are on the west end, so we did a lot of walking! King Street is very safe and we never felt scared walking at night or anything.

Here are a few pictures of the condo we stayed in, right in the heart of downtown!

Barely Made It!

Let me tell you, a GPS is not set up to travel from one country to another. Shelby and I planned to leave at 6am in the morning for Canada, however, we ended up leaving an hour late because of GPS problems. I updated the GPS to make sure everything was up to date and updated the border states and Canada. Little did I know, that meant switching the region of the GPS to the border states and Canada, so when we were leaving in the morning the GPS displayed no map since we were in southern Ohio. We drive around for a while hoping it would show up, but ended up going back to the house to grab my laptop and change the region. We changed it back to the lower 49 states and it worked and displayed everything perfectly. We stopped in Toledo at McDonalds to change the region back to the border states and Canada so we could drive into Canada. All was good and we were making great time.

When we approached the border it was very strange because it looked like we drove into an airport lot, cameras everywhere and signs that are trying to be helpful but are more confusing. We had to pay a $5 toll to get on the bridge to the border. It didn't help that the speed limit was 32pmh.

Once at the border, it was mad chaos. Cars are everywhere, everyone is angry, nothing is moving, no lines are actually formed. I felt like everyone knew we had no idea what we were doing because we had an Illinois license plate instead of Ontario or Michigan. 

After about 30-35 minutes of waiting in line, it was finally our turn in line. You must stay back at a stop sign while the car in front of you is pulled up by the window. We pulled up to the window and handed the the police officer our passports while she asked us very seriously, "Where do you live? Where are you going? What are you doing there? How long will you be there? How do you know each other? Are you bringing in any tobacco or alcohol?" After all the questions, she handed us our passports back and then asked if we had any mace or pepper spray. If you know Shelby and I, we both carry little pepper spray bottles in our purses (paranoid much...). We said yes, she immediately asked for our passports back. She said, do not reach for the spray and shut her window. She explained to us that pepper spray is illegal in Canada and we could be arrested for it. I asked her if we just throw it away and she said no, we had to abandon it. She made us put our purses on the dash board, and filled out a yellow ticket and stuck it on our car (embarrassing), then showed us where to pull over at customs and immigrations.

So we pull over into this other area and were greeted by 3 manly police officers wearing bullet proof vests who told me to shut off the car, get out of the car, give him my keys and stand in front of the headlights. We both stood there feeling like criminals while we laughed as they searched our car. One officer was very serious and questioned us intensely about why we were here, what we are doing in Canada, where we are from, what we do as a career, etc. Two of the officers went through our back seat stuff and our luggages in the trunk while the other officer went in detail through our purses. Everyone knows I carry around about a 10lb purse with everything you could possibly need in it. Therefore, he pulled out a little baggy full of vitamins, which looked totally sketch, and asked what are these? What KIND of vitamins are these? Followed by little medication pouch--I whispered to Shelby, "Oh here we go..." He pulls out another zip lock bag with more colorful pills in it, asking what they were, I rambled, "Advil, Aleve, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Airborne, Tums and Synthroid" (can you tell I am well prepared and work in healthcare?). Every possible thing was looked through, way more intense than the border scene in We're the Millers! 

The officer took our pepper spray and asked if we wanted to pick them back up before entering the US or abandon them. We said we will just abdomen them. The offer then asked as we walked into the office building if we wanted him to fill out a form for each or put it on one. I said, whatever is easiest for him. He quickly remarked, "NO whatever is easiest for you"....um okay SIR. Anyways, we got a lot of good laughs out of our additional 1 hour delay despite feeling like such criminals. The best part about it is the report copy (which will be going in my scrapbook), the officer wrote, "hot pink pepper spray". What a wonderful way to start our trip!

But hey, we made it!!! Stay tuned for more, this already sounds like one heck of a trip...

PS-I don't think we can afford gas here

$20 DIY Headboard

My bed now currently does not have a headboard. For the past year, making my own headboard has been in the back of my mind to do, however, I never actually got around to doing it. I have been taking large boxes home from work to use as packing boxes for moving and came across a super large heavy duty one. I thought it would be the perfect size for my headboard and I just got in the groove to complete it!

I have a full size bed, so first I drew my design on the cardboard with the correct dimensions. You can really do whatever design you would prefer. So many options!

I then used an X-ACTO knife to cut out the headboard. After that, I used batting from Joann Fabric to cover the cardboard and make it cushy. I wrapped the batting around the back and used a mini stapler to attach it. I doubled the batting to make it a bit thicker than just one layer.

I did the same thing with the fabric that I chose as I did with the batting. I picked a grey, jersey/stretchy type of material. When it rang up at the cash register it came up as jegging material. I would suggest a knit, jersey type material because it was easy to pull and stretch as well as it did not have any wrinkles. A thicker material would have been a lot more difficult to attach and give a tight appearance. I also noticed a lot of other fabrics in the store attracted a lot of lint/hair. I used my mini stapler to attach the fabric as well (too easy!!).

After that, it was done! It still looks a bit plain to me, so I may add some pearled push pins to give it a quilted appearance. The best part about this project, the price!
     -Batting on sale for 50% off: $7.99
     -Fabric on sale for 40% off: $14.00

There you have it! Super easy and cheap headboard! I don't know why I put it off for so long. I am super excited to put it in my new place!

Apartment Update

Yesterday I went to see my new apartment before renovations. Someone was currently storing their stuff in the apartment while his apartment is renovated. It made me quite worried hearing the property manager say they were running 2 months behind on construction, yet she promised me on our way out that mine would be ready by July 1st...so fingers crossed they kick it in the butt!

As you can see from the pictures (excuse the hideous couch) it is very small and outdated! Yes, I could've found a different place with more space, however, I wanted to live in the Hyde Park neighborhood, and well, that's the price you pay! I love a good project, and although I will not be the one doing the construction, I am determined to make this little space cute! Construction will be painting walls, polishing floors, gutting the kitchen to put in new black appliances, granite counters, cherry cabinets, new tile, new fixtures, completely new bathroom and wood blinds. I figure I would scare you guys with these pictures so you can see how pretty it, hopefully, will be afterwards!

Yikes right?! Since the kitchen is so small, I am worried a bit about storage space, since with the update I will have a fridge, dishwasher, stove and sink, there will not be much under the counter space or drawers. Any ideas, please comment! Thought it would be fun to have you all come along on this new journey into this disaster of an apartment with me.

On another note, I picked up my currency for Canada the other day. Can we just talk about how cool their money is?!

As you can see, I have a lot of organizing and packing still left to do before our trip. This vacation could not have come at a more perfect time. 2 more days!!!

Exciting Stuff

So many exciting events have or will be taking place over the next few months. Share in this joy with me!

1. Graduation! Hard to believe 4 years of college is already over. Graduation was bittersweet, although it was sad, I was ready for the next chapter in my life. Senioritis is a thing, and I majorly had it second semester. I joke that it feels like I am on vacation now because I have so much more free time and I love my job so I don' t dread going to work, I actually look forward to it. Not going to lie, I sometimes miss the busyness of homework, but maybe I'm just a nerd. I've been so busy since the semester has ended, that I don't think it will really hit me until later this year.     
   
2. Vacation! Next weekend, Shelby & I will be going to Toronto, Canada! Weird place to vacation, I know. However, I have never been out of the country before and it has always been something I've wanted to do, so baby steps! I will be blogging more about Toronto after our trip.  
3. Moving! July 1st I will be moving into my own apartment. First place by myself, first place I'm paying for by myself....yikes! Actually, I am super excited. The location is exactly where I wanted, unfortunately that meant I had to sacrifice space (Mom always said, you can't have everything you want). So a tiny little studio will be my new home! The management company is remodeling all of the apartments, so luckily mine will be brand new before I move in. I will be posting updates of my apartment and the move in process along the way! 
   
4. Summer! Although, I am a winter person at heart, Cincinnati has helped me learn to love summer. Summer in Cincinnati is wonderful! Festivals, farmer's markets, eating outside, parks, etc. I love it all, minus the humid 90 degree temps. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Job! July 1st is the start of my 9 month Administrator in Training (AIT) program. In order to obtain my Nursing Home Administrator License in the state of Ohio, I am required to complete a 9 month AIT after graduating. I will work side by side with the Nursing Home Administrator at the Retirement Community learning all aspects of the job. I am required to complete my AIT before taking my licensing exam, which I plan on taking next April. I am so thankful that it was approved to complete my AIT at my current place of employment. I love where I work now and I love all of the people I work with, so it makes going to work so much more enjoyable!
   
   

Welcome!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my blog! As I am sure most of you know, I am an avid storyteller, hence the blog name: Stephanie's Stories. I have been told throughout the years, I get it from my Grandpa Dave. Those of you who do not know what that means, it simply implies, I can go on and on and on telling someone every single detail of my story before actually reaching the main point.

I decided to continue living in Cincinnati, Ohio and am in the process of moving out into my own apartment. 18 years of living with my family, 4 years of living with 2+ roommates....to now living by myself. Who am I going to share all of my pointless stories with?! Therefore, I am going to be one of "those girls" who have a lifestyle blog and talk about what happens in my life. The main point of this blog is to keep my family back in Illinois in the loop with what goes on in my life (as if my mother doesn't hear about everything during our daily phone calls).

So there you have it! If you miss hearing all of my silly little stories, here is your outlet.

Enjoy!

Stephanie