Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A future in law

My father in law to be is just awesome. He is smart, witty, sarcastic, warm and on top of any game. He has a very methodical but creative way of developing solutions.

This weekend we went to his house for a BBQ with the BF's bro and fiancé. During the course of the afternoon. J and I were dishing on our favorite guilty pleasure. The Real housewives of (insert city). Now it is NJ and it is such a train wreck and we love it.

Not one to be behind the times. he was puzzled about this show, he sent the following email to the BF who then sent it to me and I have to share:

"Intrigued by your discussions on Saturday, I have just tuned into "Real Housewives of Atlanta". WOW! Talk about Tramp Camp !I'm going to become a faithful fan.

It will even displace Dog the Bounty Hunter from topping my list of favs
."

This is why he is awesome.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Lame

I am very tired today, but that is what happens when you wake up at 3 and couldn't fall back asleep so it is bullet/lazy cop out time:

-I called my brother the other day to check in and left him a message. He hasn't called me back and I can't blame him
-We went to two BBQs this weekend, one at the BF's father's house and the other at his brother's house. Both were fun, I am BBQ'ed out though!
-I was working on the wedding budget and I am pleased that we are over the budget by a small percentage (So far!)
-We got some crafty things for the wedding and I know what I will be doing for the next week once we get our invites (hopefully tomorrow)
-I am on day four of giving up soda, so far so good.
-Our office starts the "Biggest Loser" contest tomorrow. We have a pretty cool team and have planned a strategy cause we want to win.

What are some of your bullets?

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Back down

I have been told that I will be down another bridesmaid. My brother and his wife have separated and she had decided that she will not/can not participate.

Anyone wear a size 14 (can be altered)?

Seriously thought, I feel bad for the both of them. I really don't know what happened and frankly, it is none of my business. My mom is devastated.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Friends and cupcakes

We spent the weekend doing out typical errand running but we got to have quite a bit of fun along the way. Our wedding task of the weekend was to meet with our florists again to solidify the plans and all went well. We are very pleased with what they did so, one more thing checked off the list.

On Saturday night, we went to a BBQ at a friend's house. She is one of my bridesmaids and I was able to finally give her the dress. It is so funny that we are both from the east coast (we grew up 40 minutes away) and we now live 5 blocks away but hardly see each other. So it was great to see her and her husband plus her stepdaughter and her parrot. We had a great time!

Sunday we grabbed a bite for breakfast at one of our favorite places and then I met the girls for a cupcake class here. Afterwards, I met the BF and as we were walking back to the car we windowed shopped at our favorite store. Lo and behold the sideboard we've been coveting was reduced in price, and we could afford it. So we got it. I am so pleased that our living room is done (well once it gets delivered).

It was a much needed sunny weekend.

What was your highlight?

Friday, May 15, 2009

Splurges

Well I have been trying to limit extra spending due to the wedding etc. But then I become aware of things evil bad things which are...cute unique web sites and stores. So to torment you too here they are:

Etsy-I love this site, I have used dedicated crafters to create my bridesmaid's gifts, my hair piece and my bridal jewelry.

Mod-Cute vintage dresses and clothes with funky accessories

Trashy Diva-Come on who can resit a visit to this site. This site was a siren...want to see my newest splurge, check out the trixie 2 dress in aqua...

Le sigh!

Other than that I've been good....somewhat.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Guess again...

It has been no secret that I have been second guessing everything about the wedding from my dress to the flowers, to the venue to the food to the photographer to the date and beyond. I think it is because it is so unknown to me what it is like to be a bride. I've been to plenty of weddings but orchestrating one is a completely different. My friend told me the other day (I a moment of irrational crisis on my part) that she loved getting married but hated being the bride. I can see that point.

I am not one to jump into the spotlight and I can be very indecisive and I tend to second guess a lot of my decisions as they happen. Part of it also has to deal with the crap that we had to deal with from our families. Every decision was a battle with someone and after a while, it made us question certain things.

But that comes with the territory and I have accepted that onions, comments and suggestions that are both welcomed and unwelcomed. We have about 80 days left and I have to make the decision to trust myself or question every little thing….I am planning on trusting myself.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Tired woman

For some reason, I am still tired from my trip out east. It is not like I was out late but, since I've been back all I want to do is sleep!

The trip was productive and of course the seminar was great. the instructor was so personable and she just oozed confidence. Her experience and sense of humor disarmed any skeptic. What was best about the group is that there were so many varied personalities and yet we were all engaged and found our individual voice. Some of the topics were how to say "No" and mean it, dealing with difficult people, emotion in the work place and leadership. I have a few tools that I can build upon. Overall it was a great success and I was so glad to have been able to participate!

I got home tired on Friday afternoon. We had some errands to run then we grabbed dinner in River North. I was sleeping by 7:30! I was so tired.

Saturday was more errands and Sunday was brunch with the BF's brother and his fiancé then groceries then home. I took a little nap in the afternoon.

I am hoping for the engagement photos this week!

What is going on with you?

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Treats and trips

One of the BF's friends sends care packages to his mom and family in southern IL, he spreads the leftovers among his friends here. So he called the BF and told him about the treats. We met up with him last night at one of our favorite dive bars a block away and he gave us homemade spice nuts, ginger cookies and orange marmalade. He is an amazing cook! It was nice to just hang out and chat for a little while.

Tonight I have to forgo the gym to pack because I am heading out east for work. I am excited for this trip because it is for a seminar about Women and leadership. The topics sounds really interesting and I know that I will learn a lot. Plus I am travelling with one of my fav co-workers and my former boss who I love will be there too. So it will be very empowering!

Plus they are working on the office roof this week and it gets really annoying so I will be gone for the bulk of it.

The office is doing a "biggest loser" challenge and I am going to participate. We have a team of 4 and we are all talking about how we can win. I plan on eating better and adding a day or two at the gym.

Oh and my matron of honor by best friend in the world is back from her French vacation and I really missed her.

Things are looking up!

What are you looking forward to this week?

Monday, May 04, 2009

The locals

We try to support local businesses and I think that we do a pretty good job. We buy our groceries at a little grocery store a block away (and we save a ton), we are going to order our invitations from one of our fav stores and we bought our furniture from a local store. However, the furniture store is closing because the owner is retiring after 40 or so years.

So yesterday we went in to see what they had left. The two things we were needed were a sideboard and a coffee table (and a bed but that is on the back burner). We ended up getting a coffee table and almost got a sideboard.

Before we left the house we talked about how much we can spend while considering the variables of the wedding. We are trying to be better about money and have to start working on a budget.

So we left the sideboard at the store. It is sad that they will be closing their doors but there will be more sideboards in the world.