The Kids

Kristian and I are the proud parents of two furry, four legged cats. Wendal (the black and white cat) is 11 years old. Kristian got him as just a kitten back when he was in college. Yeah a college fraternity boy adopting a kitten is a little strange I admit, but he loves animals and a dog can be a lot of work for someone whose single. Cats are far more independent. Now that Wendal has earned his senior citizen status he spends most of his time sleeping and isn't quite as active as I'm sure he was back in his younger years.

This leads me to Halpert who is the one year old kitten that I adopted almost exactly 1 year ago. I got him right before meeting Kristian after I had resigned myself to the fact that I would probably never get married and accepted my future as the crazy cat lady. Turns out my new little kitten must have been my good luck charm because I met my future husband exactly one month later! I knew that Kristian was a keeper when he came over to my place for the first time and instead of bringing me flowers or wine he brought a toy for my cat. I guess he took me seriously when I said that I couldn't date a guy that my cat didn't approve of.

It was a rocky start to the boys relationship. Halpert being a kitten wanted to play all the time and jump on poor Wendal who just wanted some peace and quiet. There were many nights we were woken up to the sound of hissing and meowing and we often wondered if our cats could learn to love one another.

Well here we are several months later and the boys are now as close as brothers. They are always in the same room together, sleep on the guest room bed together and Wendal will actually even play with Halpert every now and again. They are two of the most entertaining cats and we love them dearly. Not mention they are great practice for our future kids.

Weekend Updates and Movie Review

We had a pretty mellow weekend. Friday night I came home and Kristian made a fabulous steak dinner with potatoes and green beans and wine. We ate on the balcony to enjoy the weather. Then we watched Mr. Brooks on DVD which stars Kevin Costner, Demi Moore and Dane Cook. It was a really good but slightly disturbing movie. It was odd to see Dane Cook in a more serious role from what people are use to. I thought he did a good job for the most part and overall I liked this film much more than any of his slapstick comedies.

Saturday we went yard-saling (not sure if I can turn that into a verb but oh well). We were on the hunt for a pantry/storage cabinet piece of furniture for the kitchen since we aren't having any luck looking around in the stores. After hitting up a few yard sales the only thing we bought were some x-mas lights for $.10 for a project that Kristian decided to do later on, involving an empty wine bottle, drilling a hole and stringing the lights thru the hole into the bottle. We now have a decorative wine bottle that we can light up. It's actually pretty neat.

That evening we went to see The Hangover with my new crush Bradley Cooper.


I've actually been a fan of his since his days on one of my favorite shows Alias. He also did a great job in Wedding Crashers and He's Just Not that Into You.

It also starred Ed Helms from The Office, another favorite show. This movie was absolutely hysterical. We try not to go the movie theater very often since the prices have gotten out of control and Netflix is far cheaper and more convenient but I had heard so many good things about this movie I couldn't resist. I must say it was totally worth the $30 we spent on tickets/food.

The movie is about a group of four guys that go to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate a bachelor party which they stupidly planned for two nights before the wedding. Honestly, who does that anymore? I think people have wised up to having their bachelor/bachelorette parties at least a few weeks prior to the big day. Annnyway, they wake up the next morning with no recollection of what happened the night before and a missing groom. Then as they try to piece together the events of the previous night, shenanigans ensue. After seeing this movie I was even more thankful that Kristian does not plan to go to Vegas for his bachelor party because I could see him and his buddies having a few similar experiences. Oh and a special shout-out to the wedding scene at the end, this movie had the best of both worlds, raunchy toilet humor for him and wedding scenes for me!

We finished up the weekend having lunch yesterday with my brother and more unpacking at the condo. I also made a kick-ass homemade vegetable soup last night. I'm so domestic!

**Photo courtesy of IMDB

15 Minutes??

Let me start by saying I love my dear, sweet fiance but sometimes his ideas/expectations especially when it comes to the wedding make me laugh and shake my head. Last night we were reviewing the initial pricing we received from one of the caterers I contacted. He was concerned because they didn't include the pricing for the Raw Seafood Bar which is an additional option that they offer per their menu online. I explained to him that this was just an initial proposal to show us some basic pricing and we can add/delete things later.

This transitioned us into a conversation about the post ceremony pictures/cocktail hour. The Raw Seafood Bar that he wants to add will probably be around $1,000 extra which I'm not thrilled about but I know how much he loves oysters and shrimp and all that comes with it. I pointed out to him that if we get this for the Cocktail hour there is a good chance he won't be able to really sample much of it because we'll be busy taking pictures. However I did mention the idea of having someone bring him a plate while the pictures are going on. Actually I think we might end up just including this during the dinner portion.

That's when he explained that our post ceremony pictures should only take 15 minutes! 15 minutes! Now I must say I'm not personally a fan of having a lot of posed pictures with every family and wedding party combination imaginable (I prefer the photojournalistic approach) and I do plan to take as many pictures before the ceremony as possible. With that said I also know that taking even the most basic posed pictures will still take time. It's not like a photographer places you, snaps one shot and moves on. They usually take several of each pose. Not to mention it takes time to organize and pose everyone, especially right after the ceremony when everyone will be excited and talking, hugging etc. I also pointed out that while I don't want/need a lot of posed family and wedding party shots I do want to take many with just he and I. One of the great things about our venue is that it's a very large property with numerous photogenic spots and I want to take advantage of that.

I tried to explain that one of the main reasons to have a cocktail hour is to give the guests something to do while pictures are being taken. He wants to spend that time drinking and chatting with our guests, which I understand and agree with. However, pictures are very important to me and we will have the rest of the night to drink, eat and socialize.

He insists this shouldn't take more than 20 minutes. I think he's nuts. We'll see who ends up being right.

Sequins, Lace, Tulle...Oh My!

So yesterday was my dress shopping trip with my mom. It was definitely a surreal but fun experience. We arrived at David's Bridal right at noon when they opened, I was glad to be one of the first to arrive and beat the rush. I've heard some horror stories about their customer service but my dress consultant was a very sweet and helpful woman. She pulled the dresses I had saved to "my favorites" on the website as well as a few additional including one dress that I had seen on the website and really liked but didn't mark because of the price.



I tried on this dress first, initially I thought this would be a good contender but when I tried it on I found that it was VERY heavy. I knew that I would be uncomfortable wearing it all day and trying to dance in it. So this one got nixed pretty quick.




I also tried on this one but I found it very unflattering on me. It pretty much just hung and did nothing for my figure.



I liked this dress except I felt like the top portion made my boobs look weird and actually seemed to flatten me out. I know with some tailoring that could be fixed but it wasn't one of my favorites.



I tried on this dress and you can't see it well in the picture but the skirt is a ballgown style and full of tulle. As soon as I tried it on I knew I didn't like it. It was way too much skirt for me and I looked like I was drowning in it. As my mom said it was the dress I would have picked out when I was 7 years old...only I would have wanted it in pink. It's a definite princess dress.



This was the dress my mom liked the best. It was a completely different style from the others with the satin fabric and more beading. I thought it was very pretty but I'm not sure it will work in the outdoor garden setting that I'm getting married in. I think this is more of a ballroom in the city type of dress. Funny enough when I was browsing the website again that night Kristian pointed to this dress and said he really liked it. Guess he and my mom have the same taste.



This is the dress I liked the most. I actually think it looks much better in person and not to sound conceited but I liked how it looked on me much better than the model. As in the picture I tried on a long, cathedral length veil with it which I loved. It had the sweetheart neckline I wanted and the lace look, even thought it's not lace but more of a brocade type of material. It also had just a small bit of beading under the bust which I think was a nice touch. I thought the fit was very flattering to my petite frame as well. Unfortunately this dress was also the most expensive of the bunch.

After trying on all these dresses I've come to some conclusions. I definitely think the sweetheart neckline is the best on me, I think lace will work the best in the setting I'm getting married in, I don't like tulle, I do like long veils, because of my small frame I think I look better in dresses that are a bit tighter thru the torso and gradually flare out more at the hips. However, I still haven't completely ruled out a dress with a fuller skirt, I think I would just need to find the right one.

I still want to shop around a bit more and see what else is out there and how other designers look on me. I also really want to go with one or two of my girlfriends to get their opinions since my mom and I have different tastes. But overall it was a really fun experience and something I'm really glad I got to share with my mom.

Visions of White

This Sunday my mother and I are going dress shopping...yes we will be shopping for THE dress. I am so excited. The only time I have ever tried on an actual wedding dress was when I was younger and I use to play dress up in my moms. She never cared since her and my dad were divorced so any sentimentality she had for the dress had long since disappeared.

It was really important for me to have my mother with me on at least the first trip to try on dresses. I know that most mother's dream of the day their little girl will grow up and get married and seeing them in a wedding dress is a huge milestone. Since I'm not expecting to decide on a dress on my first trip out (even if I do find one I love) I do plan to go shopping again hopefully with one or more of my friends. There is a store in Frederick, MD where my friend Kelli got her wedding dress that I want to check out, unfortunately they aren't open on Sunday's which was the only day my mom was free. Hopefully I will be able to get up there one Saturday and have Kelli go with me. It's always nice to have someone whose been through this already there to give advice. I also want to try to go shopping down in NC where my matron of honor lives. I think I have better odds of finding an affordable dress down there than I do in the DC area.

My mom and I decided to go check out David's Bridal this weekend. There is a large one about 30 minutes away and I figured that could be a good starting point for the dress hunt. I went online and actually found three dresses that I'm interested in trying on:

Style CT2406 (minus the red sash)


Style VW9469


Style T9658



Right now what I'm interested in is a dress with a strapless (preferably sweetheart) neckline, A-line/Full skirt, and lace. For some reason I continue to be drawn to pictures of lace dresses. However I reserve the right to completely change my mind once I see how these look on me. For all I know I could end up with a satin, halter neck, full sequined, mermaid style dress...though I highly doubt it.

I've waited my whole life to find someone to marry and be able to try on/buy a wedding dress. I've been picking them out since I was around the age of 5 so I suspect Sunday is going to be a very exciting yet surreal experience and I'm so excited to have my mom there with me to do it.

Calligraphy

I know it's WAY early in the planning process to be thinking about smaller details like calligraphy...I should probably come up with a guest list and invitations first...but after seeing my awful handwriting on the thank you notes I'm doing for the engagement party gifts I can't help it. Calligraphy is one of those weddings items that I always considered to be a luxury and something that you can easily fore go to help with the wedding budget, after all how many people really look at the handwriting on the mail they receive?? Then again if we are going to spend X amount of money on nice invitations it seems a shame to take away from the overall appearance with bad handwriting.

Oh and the option of having the fiance hand address the envelopes...well let's just say I want the postal carrier to be able to at least read the addresses on the envelopes :-) So now I might be adding "search for affordable calligraphy" on my to-do list.

Family and Friends = Great Time

The engagement party on Saturday was a great success. The weather was beautiful, the location was perfect and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. The gazebo that we had was on the hill overlooking the water and surrounded by trees, it had a very tree house vibe to it. My mom outdid herself cooking BBQ and chicken and cole slaw etc. She decorated all the tables and even bought personalized M&Ms. We also had a variety of desserts including a really adorable cake that was decorated with a fish theme in honor of my fisherman fiance. I actually didn't get to eat very much because I was so busy trying to talk to everyone and make sure everybody was introduced but I guess it's good practice for the wedding since word on the street is that a lot of couples don't get to eat the food they spend so much money on.

Kristians family finally got the chance to meet my family and everyone seemed to get along really well. Our moms really hit it off which didn't surprise me since they are very similar. My brother decided to put his fancy new camera to work and was the official party photographer and ended up with some really great shots.

In addition to our families we also had several of our friends there. Three out of Kristian's four groomsmen were able to make it and my bridesmaids were also there including my matron of honor who made the trip up from Raleigh with her husband and had to deal with the ridiculous DC traffic. It was great seeing my girls together and we had a good time catching up. One of the funniest things was that we all ended up wearing green which is not exactly a common color that people wear everyday. I wore a cute green sundress courtesy of Tar-jay and my MOH also had a super cute green dress on. My other friend and old roommate wore a green skirt and my friend that I've known since I was 12 wore a green top. It actually made the group pictures turn out even better since we were all color coordinated!

Not only was everyone nice enough to come to the party but we also got a lot of wonderful gifts as well. We really didn't expect anything so it was a pleasant surprise to see what thoughtful and generous gifts everyone brought for us especially since we haven't registered yet.

After the picnic was over the "younger" crowd went to a restaurant/bar close by for some adult beverages. It was so much fun to just sit around the table and drink and laugh with everyone. After my friends and my brother left we decided to head back to Kristians buddy's hotel room with his wife and another one of the groomsmen so that the boys could continue to drink and his friends wife and I could do some more girl bonding. I finally got to bed around 2am.

We had such a great time and we're so grateful for everyone that made the effort to come to our party. We really do have some of the best family and friends.