Time for Bachlorette craziness!

Tomorrow is my Bachlorette Party! I am beyond excited. I have been counting down to this day since we decided on a date back in March. I have some friends coming up from STL and IN for the festivities. The night is a surprise for me, which has been so hard since I love to plan and be involved in details but I know it will be a great surprise and a blast of a night. This is the first real wedding event and it's all sinking in that 'we are getting married'. My 2 bridesmaids and my MOH have been hard at work planning this party and my friend Amy has designed the invites (which I cant wait to see, they were also a surprise).

Got my mani/ pedi last night, red of course, so I am all ready to go!

I will post pics this weekend. I took Monday off on the advise I may want an extra day to recover...LOL. I am also trying my dress on Monday too, I haven't seen it in 8 months. So excited!

Have a great weekend!

7 inches!!

So....I had my hair appointment last night and I decided to cut it!! 7 inches...wow!! My hair guy (love him) was all about it and he did a great job. I was super nervous about doing it and I am so glad I did. It's like a whole new me! I also cut my bangs short again.

Right before....and right after...

Fun Survey Game

I got this idea from Living our own fairytale, she has cute ideas. Copy/ Paste it to your blog and lets see your survey answers too.

1) How did you and the hubby/ fiance meet?

D and I met at a bar one night (cliche I know) while out with mutual friends. We attended the same college and never met until a few years after.

2) If you could do any job in the world, what would it be?

A wedding planner! I would love that. I love to plan and love everything wedding. What a perfect career. I keep trying to convince my friend Liz to move to Chicago and start up a business with me.

3) What are your and your hubby/ fiance's dreams for the future?

We would like to sell or rent our condo downtown Chicago and move to the north suburbs (Northbrook) and buy a good sized house there. Hopefully by the end of the year. We would get a dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog, which has been D's dream dog since birth pretty much. Luckily I have learned to love them as well.

We would like to be married for a while (year or so) and then add to our family. We talked about having 2 kids.

We plan to enjoy life, get this newlywed thing down, travel, work hard, play hard and enjoy life.

4) Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I had a few friends who blogged and I loved their pages. I wanted an outlet to express my life and thoughts for my family and friends. I am slowly getting a following and love meeting new people and hearing their comments. Keep them coming.

5) Who do you look up to?

I look up to my mom. She is a wife, mother, business owner and still has time to be an amazing person. I hope to be as good as she is at all 3 things.

Life lessons in grilling

Over the weekend Derek and I decided to make salmon on the grill since it was a really nice day in Chicago. We bought some cedar planks because we have always wanted them and decided to give that a try. We soaked them the allocated time (1 hour) and began to cook our yummy dinner.

Apparently the 1 hour was not enough. The whole grill was on fire. Luckily after a small heart attacked and some water the fire went out. And we had wood chips left...LOL. The salmon was a little blackened but still pretty good.

Lesson in grilling: soak the planks longer than you should, don't leave the grill unattended, a low heat may be best (not high, ooops). We definitely got a good laugh though.

Marley Monday-Bad Kitty!

I guess we will be needing a new computer cord in the near future. Bad Marley...I caught you!!!

Bridesmaid's dress...take two

So after my little freak out on Friday night and searching for dresses this weekend I found a bridesmaid dress, well two actually. I got them from a store in Schaumburg IL called brides by Demetrios. Their customer service was awesome, way better than Davids Bridal ever was.

So here they are (keep in mind they were clipped in the back because they were too big and the lighting is horrible). I looked them up online and couldn't find them so you get me in the dress.

Dress color will be Black!

Red dress= My matron of honor dress. This is a maternity dress so she can be comfortable.

Green dress= Bridesmaids dress. This dress is same style and material so they match really well.

They are strapless (I forgot to take my bra off for the pics...ooops!) They will have thin straps that can be added.

Marley says hello from my lap as I blog. He never usually sits in my lap like this so I had to have D snap a picture.

Happy Birthday Papa!

Today is my Grandfather's (Papa) Birthday. I hope you have a happy birthday. I can't believe your turning 40 ;-) LOL.

My Grandparent's live in Mrytle Beach SC and they are coming to visit at the end of August for my bridal shower (well my papa will golf that day). Can't wait to see them.

Miss you-love you!


Today I am heading to Maggiano's with my mom, (future) mom in law, and (future) sis in law to do a tasting for my bridal shower next month. I already know what everything tastes like but it's a great excuse for a girls lunch at a great restaurant. We are heading up to my moms after to get favors and such ready for the shower. We may have a surprise stop at Nordy's to look at a bridesmaid dress I found online last night, thanks for the suggestion Newlyweds Next Door. Hopefully it's a winner.

Happy Saturday!

My first bridal meltdown

I just found out the my bridesmaids dresses were discontinued. I found this out after my matron of honor went to order her dress and they told her. Why didn't they call and tell the bride when they discontinued them??? Davids Bridal is on my shit list!

So deep breath....My wedding is less than 3 months away and I need to find a dress for my girls. My challenge is to find another empire waist style like the original. Originally I picked empire because I love the style and its so flattering and now it is a must because my MOH is pregnant, which I don't mind, just need to find an awesome empire waist dress!! Stat!

I feel angry that I picked this dress out months ago because I am a planner and like to do things early and now it's gone. It was my first choice too.

Deep breath...OK time to Google bridesmaids dresses!

My day as a model

Three years ago (Sept 2006) I got the chance to be a model for the day. I have this photo and wanted to share since it's been what feels like forever ago.

My old hairdresser asked me to be her hair model for a hair show she was participating in, in Orlando FL. I agreed right away and we began practicing the next week. We had 2 months to prepare for the big show. I lived in Carbondale (southern IL) at the time and she was in Chicago so I drove up (6 hours) a few times in those 2 months for her to get some practice in. She did all the design, clothes, makeup, hair. I just had to sit there and 'look pretty' basically. We did workout how I could help her during the competition. It was timed so I would hold things for her and help things run smoother.

Time for the show....before the show I drove to Chicago to prepare my hair. She died me super blond, put in long blond extensions, and put crazy color extensions in my hair. I looked like a punk rocker traveling through the airports...LOL. Her competition category was avant guard so it needed to be a little edgy.

All in all the experience was fun. I felt like a model for the day. My only complaint is that it was murder on my hair. It took about a year for my hair to get back to normal from the extensions pulling out hair, the bleach, and all the pulling and tugging from the show.

She (we) ended up getting third place!

Then and Now

I stumbled upon some old pics on Facebook and thought I'd post a then and now pics in terms of me loosing weight. As most of you know I lost 80 lbs. I never used to workout and I would just eat whatever I wanted. Eventually it caught up with me. I was tired of being 'fat' and got on the scale one day and it said 220!! Yikes! Something just clicked in my head and I was done. The next day I joined a gym, started eating healthier (I never dieted), and slowly but surely the weight came off. It took about 11 months. I have kept it off for 4.5 years, I go up and down 5-10lbs now and then but the bulk of it has stayed off.

I look at these old pictures and don't recognize myself. It's like two different people. Now I still eat healthy but have what I want to on occasion. Sugar is my weakness, but I am more aware about what I eat now. And I have come to enjoy exercize, I go 3-5 days a week.

THEN: Me in college. I believe this dress was a size 14.

THEN: Also in college. I lived in sweatshirts pretty much.

NOW: Last November in Thailand. Size 6/8 now.

NOW: St John USVI 2008.

25 Random Things About Me

1. I was born in southern California.

2. I have an unusual obsession with sushi. When I am preggo I will probably go nuts without it.

3. 90% of my clothes are black/ red/ white.

4. I have been doing personal coaching and growth work for a few years. D and I just started couples coaching a few months ago and we love it.

5. I have 6 tattoos and will most likely get more. My most recent was in Thailand (below) Traditional Thai bamboo tattoo.

6. I can't curl my tongue, trust me, I have tried!

7. I HATE cilantro.

8. I am new to blogging and love it. I just hired a designer to make my page look cool and custom.

9. My two front teeth are veneers.

10. I am Buddhist. Since planning my trip to Thailand I have been reading and studying the culture and religion and have really come to relate to it. Visiting there last Nov was an awesome experience. I am still reading and studying about it.

11. My original due date to be born was Dec 7 and they changed it to Dec 9. My mom went into labor Dec 7 and had me Dec 9.

12. I love love love cupcakes.

13. D and I have already picked out our kids names. (Don't worry I'm not pregnant!)

14. I had my tongue pierced for 7 years.

15. I am not wearing a veil at my wedding. I have never wanted one.

16. I lost 80 lbs 4.5 years ago and have kept it off ever since. (+/- 5 lbs here and there)

17. I am awful at math.

18. I check Facebook at least once a day.

19. I recently bought a really nice camera and love taking pictures. I am learning to be artsy with it.

20. Carrot cake makes me gag.

21. I eat my steak rare. Like still moo-ing if possible. Gross I know. My papa taught me how to eat a real steak!!

22. I rode an elephant bare back in Thailand.

23. When we lost Marley for 2 days last January I stayed in bed for a whole day with no food.

24. I have a step sister that I haven't spoken to in over 10 years.

25. I got to pick out my own wedding ring. It was fun!

**PS I was having trouble with my comments the last 2 weeks, people were saying they coudn't leave a comment, but I fixed it**

To cut or not to cut?

Lately I have been really thinking about cutting my hair. My hair has been really long for 85% of my adult life. It was super long in high school and then I cut it off in college and grew it long again. It has been on my mind on and off for a few weeks now, that's got to mean something right? Don't get me wrong I love my hair and I get compliments on it all the time but it has been driving me nuts!

My hair is curly/ wavy naturally so when I wash it, it needs to be straightened. When it is down I end up putting it in a pony tail of some sort because it annoys me after a while. Curling with a curling iron takes at least an hour and it doesn't hold the curl because of the length. So I think it's time for a change.

I originally wanted my hair really long for my wedding in Hawaii. After some thinking of some of my points above: Would it annoy me and would I want to put it up? Will it hold the curl? If it's windy would it be all over the place? I decided that I would be doing a low do of some sort for both events. So why not cut it right?

If you can't tell I am nervous to do it. My hair grows really fast but this is a big change since my hair has pretty much always been long. But big changes are happening in my life with the wedding and moving soon (we hope its soon) so why not add one more? I also grew my bangs out for the wedding and would eventually like to cut those again, longer bangs.

Here are some styles I like. I am thinking of doing a little longer than shoulder length. This way I can still pull it up if I want and wear a low do style I like for the weddings and have plenty of hair to use for that.

This is my length as of now...it's pretty long! (That's Kelly, one of my oldest friends)

Marley Monday

As D suggested...I will start Marley Mondays. My friend Liz has Walter (her dog) Wednesdays and we liked the idea.

And so it begins...

Marley's favorite spot of all time is the window in our living room. It is more a full length door that opens up to a screen. A door to nowhere essentially, not sure the design genius behind that but Marley loves it. He hears us rattling the door handle and he will come charging from anywhere in the house and run to the window. He will sit for hours and stare out the window, at birds, at people, at air for all we know...?

Sadly for Marley, winter months are not so fun because the door stays closed. During that time we keep the blinds pulled up enough so he can still sit in the window and look out.

Flatts show

Some pics from the concert this weekend. My parents didn't end up going so we had our friend Bjorn come with us. We had a great time. The show was awesome. Confirmed how much I love Rascal Flatts. Sitting on the field at Wrigley Field for the show was also awesome. It was a great night!

Going to see Rascal Flatts

We are headed to the Rascal Flatts concert tonight at Wrigley Field. This is my second time seeing them in concert and I'm super excited! They are one of my favorite bands. I am a proud country fan (I blame 5 years in Carbondale).

D and I are going with my P's. We have seats on the field by the Cubs bull pen.

Fun story: back in the day when their first album came out (2000) I flew to Cali to visit my dad and when I left LAX I saw them standing on the curb waiting for their ride. Since they weren't popular then no one one around them making a fuss but I knew exactly who they were. I regret not going up to them to get an autograph but I was too nervous to do it at the time. Now if I were to see them I'm pretty sure there would be a mob around them plus all the security. I missed my chance I guess!

I will post pics from the concert. I am excited to wear my cowboy hat (I will be cheesy like all the 17 yr old girls wearing theirs...oh well!).

New Design...to come

I stumbled across this girl that designs custom blog layouts. I did some research and decided to hire her to make me one. My treat to myself :-). She is making me a completely custom blog page. Her wait time is 2-3 weeks so keep an eye out for the new site!! Hope it turns out great....any ideas??

Check out her work...
http://thedesigngirlstudio.blogspot.com/

They can dance!

I started this show (So You Think You Can Dance) last summer and fell in love with it. Not being a huge reality TV fan I was surprised how much I liked it. I even called a few times to vote, so not like me. So this summer is season 5 and I love it even more this year. The dancers are way better. Me, myself am not the greatest dancer (D can attest to that) but I used to dance/ compete when I was younger and I think this show plays into my secret obsession to be a really good dancer. I am having a hard time picking favorites but last night narrowed it down for me.



Randi- she has been one of my favorites since the beginning of the show. She is this cute little fireball dancer. I really liked her Mia Michael's 'butt' dance. Last night i think she did poorly and I see her as one of the weaker girls now. She is still super cute but may be going home.

Evan- he has also been a favorite since the show started. I like how he is a Broadway dancer and his style is so different. He has proven to be good at many styles since the show started. Do I think he is the best male, no, but I think he will be around another week or two. I don't think he is the best trained dancer, but he seems to be a fan favorite.

Jason- I didn't really like him that much till last night. he was just OK to me these past 5 weeks. Last night he did a routine with Jeanine that was awesome! Judges gave it a standing ovation and Mary (one of the judges) cried. I think this dance is my favorite so far and will be one of the ones repeated at the finale.


Jeanine- she danced with Jason last night and like him was not a favorite till last night. I think she is one of the best females and has a good shot of being top 2 or 3.

If you don't watch the show then you are probably lost in my blog post and should check out the show, it's definitely entertaining. Even D likes the show...even though he doesn't like to admit it!

All done!

I decided to end the fast today. I am getting sick of juice. So it's been 1 week and I dropped about 5-7 pounds (I never actually weigh myself but that's about how I can guesstimate) and I feel much better/ healthier. Today I decided to eat just rice and fruit/ veggies to be easy on my stomach. I am still a big fan of the fast and will continue to do it on occasion. For now I will continue with my bridal slim down to prepare for my dress fitting.

I am proud of myself for doing it again for 7 days and also for D and my mom doing it as well, good job!

I am defiantly squeezing in sushi sometime in the next few days...been craving it this whole time!

Yum!

So...since doing my fast I have been in search of new good juices/ smoothies. Being a huge Starbucks fan I stumbled across these Vivanno smoothies. I must say they are SUPER yummy. I tried the banana chocolate (not suppose to have chocolate on the fast but I needed something sweet) it was really good. I had them take out the protein powder and add soy milk instead of milk (I don't drink milk). It is deliciousness in a cup! It tastes like a chocolate covered banana. If you haven't tried it, try it!! I already had another this morning. Ooops!

It's finally here

I called to check on my dress and it's finally here (well by next week, it shipped though)!! 8 months for a dress..really? But it will be worth the wait when I can do my fittings. I am going to go in and do a fitting and see if I want to get it altered then or wait till Hawaii gets closer to avoid possibly sizing it twice. I am excited to see it again after so long. My fear is will I still love it as much? I take a peek at it online every so often and I still think it looks perfect. I am really glad I found this designer, she makes beautiful dresses. I wish I could post a picture of the dress but it must be a surprise! I can say it's so me and perfect for the beach! I am so excited to go and see it.

Juice...Day 4

Today is day 4 of the juice detox/ fast. D has joined me on the fast for a few days (such a good fiance). His goal is 4-5 days. It makes it much easier when D does it with me. My mom is starting on Sun or Mon too. I am loving the support.

It is going really well. I only feel hungry first thing in the morning and once I have some juice I feel better. I do miss actually eating. It is hard on the weekends because D and I will usually go out to eat once or twice and we have to stay in and drink juice! Luckily we can stay occupied. LOL...D actually asked if we could put the rice crispy treats in the blender and drink them...sadly that sounds awesome right now.

This time I bought these great vitamins at Whole Foods (food based multi vitamin). I wanted to make sure I am still getting all the things I need since I have a heard time drinking the veggie juices. Since I have done the fast so many times I physically can't swallow V8 anymore. Good thing I prefer a mimosa over a bloody mary ;-) I want to keep taking these vitamins all the time, love them!

So 6 days to go for me. Friday I will see how I feel and maybe go longer. I have a concert on Sat (Rascal Flatts yay!) so I am debating weather I want to be able to eat there or not.

I heart Hawaii

Hawaii is one of my favorite places, especially Maui. I have been there twice and loved each trip. I always dreamed of getting married on the beach in flip flops. It was either Hawaii or St John USVI, my 2 favorite places. When the time came to pick a wedding spot my family luckily always knew about my beach dream and agreed to fund our big day for us. We decided on Hawaii after I searched online and found an amazing photographer and weding planning service all in one. After seeing the wedding pictures on the beach I knew, Maui would be where we get hitched! The photographers pictures were awesome and I wanted him to shoot the wedding.

Picking the actual spot to get married on Maui was easy. I told my planner I wanted to be next to the beach but not on the beach (Hawaii has crazy rules about no chairs and permits for events on beaches) and I wanted the reception site to be steps away at a beautiful location. She sent me two options, one which we had to hike down to the beach for pictures (no thanks) and one was the Royal Lahaina resort on Kaanapali Beach. It was perfect...and the planning began!

Then it came down to, OK, when?? I know in Hawaii it's the same temp all year round but I love Fall in IL. It is my favorite time of year, especially October so this was a perfect month to get married in. We can celebrate our anniversary in Fall every year. The 17th was picked because it was pretty much one month before the reception (which we wanted) and it was a Saturday. So Oct 17 became THE DAY!

My planner sent me these photos of a couple who got married at the same location we are and the beach just steps away. I love seeing pictures like this because I get so excited at how beautiful our ceremony and pictures are going to be.

Kaanapali Beach, located just steps from the lawn.

Villas Lawn at the Royal Lahaina Resort, ceremony location. What a view!

http://www.photographershawaii.com/
Photographer: Eric Dahl

100 days and counting

Well it's been 7 months of planning and being engaged. Now we have hit the 100 days left mark. I can not believe how fast it is all going and how soon we will be sitting in O'hare waiting to board a plane to Maui for not only a great vacay but a Wedding!! We are so blessed to have so many friends and family coming to join us over in the islands. So far we have 27 (including us), which is way more than we ever expected. We really are so lucky to have people that would fly and spend there time off to be with us. I know it's not here yet but we can't thank you enough.

These last 3(ish) months are going to be a blast and the most fun. We have bachlor/ bachlorette coming up, bridal shower Aug 30 at Maggianos (yum), food tastings, dress fittings (if it will finally come in already!), and all the fun little details I love. I can't wait to experience these and all the other joys that come with being a bride!! I will live it up for sure.

Thanks mom for the cool desk calendar. 100 day countdown pull off calendar!

Eat. Pray. Love.

So I FINALLY finished the book. As some of you know I have been reading this book for 1.5 months off and on. For some reason it took me forever to finish it. The funny thing is that I really like the book I just couldn't make myself read a ton in one sitting. So that said I love Liz Gilbert. I think she did a great job of writing this book. I especially loved how it was broken down into 108 small stories (based on Buddhist prayer beads, 108 beads). This may be the reason it was hard to finish though, easy to start and stop. I would love the opportunity to travel around like she did for a year. Especially being able to stay in an ashram for 4 months, though this would be difficult I would love the chance to do it. Realistically would I be able to up and leave and travel for a year by myself?? I think the idea sounds so romantic and exciting but in reality I don't think I could. I admire her for doing this and writing so honestly about her struggles/ adventures. I love her non byist view on religion and how she studies and practices a few different ones. It's not about what you believe it's about having faith and knowing what you believe.

If you haven't read it I recommend it!

Favorite Quotes:

"A soul mate sometimes enters our life as someone to stir us up. To hold up the mirror so that we can see ourselves more clearly and antagonize us and make us so uncomfortable that we have to change because we can't continue to look at the same thing because we're looking at it clearly now. This is the reason a soul mate may not last forever. The encounter is so intense and so clarifying that we burn through those things quickly." Richard from Texas

"Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognized yourself as a friend." Liz Gilbert

Juice...juice!

It's time again for my juice fast! I try and do it 2-3 times a year and I scheduled it for July 8-17. Trust me it needs to be scheduled so you're not eating at some fun events. I wanted to do this as my pre-bridal workout/slim down routine since there is 3ish months left.

Some of you have asked about this fast/detox I do so here is the jist of it:
*schedule a time to do this
*pick a goal (amount of days)
*have a support team (again...trust me...you need it)
*drink only juice, no solid food at all
*drink natural juices: no added sugars (Naked is my fav), as much veggie juice as you can stand. I know the fruit juice tastes better but get as much veggie down as you can (better for you). Also soup with vegetables works too, tomato soup, squash soup...all good.
*drink TONS of water
*exercise OK, just don't over due it. Maybe some fast walking.

I have been doing this fast for 2 years now and I love it. I'm not going to lie it is difficult but I have proven over and over that I can do it. It is very good for your body. It gives your digestion (which burns the most energy in your body) a break and allows your body to burn fat for energy. When I do this I have TONS of energy, way more than normal and I feel great. When you are hungry have some juice, anytime. I find that I am rarely hungry during it. The hardest part is not eating, I love to eat and the physical food to mouth is the hardest part...mind over matter. I have done research and read books and know that this is medically safe for me.

Now the good part. Besides all the energy and detoxing your body from the crap we eat/drink. You will lose about 1 lb a day. Some of this is 'the waste' that is leaving your body that you will gain a few of it back when you incorporate food again but in the end you will still feel lighter, because you are. When you start eating again start slow, fruits, veggies, small proteins. Don't go straight for the burgers or you may feel sick.

If anyone is interested in trying it I highly recommend it. Good luck...I will need it too! What should my last meal be??

Marley and Me

We have had our little (well big really) monster, Marley, for over a year now and I thought I'd share how he even came about...

D and I had been talking about getting a cat for a while and last April (2008) we decided to head up to this cat only shelter I found less than a mile from our house, Tree House Cats. I had done lots of research and fell in love with this shelter. They are a no kill rescue shelter that has large rooms for the cats, no cages. The cats live in luxury while they are there waiting for a home. We went there with the intention to check the place out and 'just look'. We had already skimmed through the online listing and found a few we liked, one fav in particular, Magellan. We walked in and started filling out paper work and was approved by the staff to officially adopt. All the cat rooms were upstairs with the exception of one cat that was in a downstairs office by himself. Why we asked is he by himself. They explained that he was a human friendly cat that did not play well with others (cats that is). We decided to check him out before heading upstairs. When the door opened we saw Magellan, which was confirmed when they introduced him by name. He immediately came up to us and was purring and showing off. (I secretly knew at that moment that this was my cat) We spent some time with him and then headed upstairs to see the others, about 50 others. The whole time I had the big dude downstairs in my head. We looked and quickly decided to check out 'the one downstairs' again. We asked to be alone with him for a few minutes and realized that we had liked him the best online and he was the first one we met here, it was fate. He likes to be alone which is perfect because we work all day. We ended up buying him then and there (they have a $100 donation fee for the shelter). We asked if we could pick him up in 2 two days since we had ZERO things a cat needed at our house. Two days later and lots of cat shit, (for lack of a better word) we had a cat!

Magellan...was a two year old cat who had lived with an older man who couldn't take care of him anymore and dropped him off at the shelter. He lived at Tree House for about 2 months. He was healthy, rather large, and after about a day happy to be with us. The only thing...this name has to go.

What to name him?? I always wanted a cat named Jack or Sawyer (I have an unusual obsession with the TV show LOST). These are two main characters from the show. D was not having any of this LOST nonsense. Boo! So after a few hours of making lists of our favorites, crossing them off, calling our family, making new lists, searching boy names on the Internet (yes we went there)...we had nothing! We could not agree on a name. D finally picked up his Ipod and started to go through it, the first thing he said was 'how about Marley'? Us both being Bob Marley fans I said 'yup that's his name' Marley! It was a year later that we saw the movie Marley and Me and laughed when that is exactly how he named his dog in the movie.

In the last year (plus a few months) Marley has become a great joy for us. Our child if you will. And a great pain in the ass too. I never met an animal more chatting in my life. His favorite time to talk is at 3am!

I would not trade him for anything though. I realized just how much I loved him when we lost him for 2 days in freezing weather (that's a whole other story). It's true that you realize what you have when you lose it. Luckily (and thanks in part to the neighbors dog) he found his way back to where he belongs, with us!

http://www.treehouseanimals.org/

Celebrating the 4th!

Happy 4th of July weekend!! We had a great weekend at the Helvey Lake House with our close friends. We spent Fri-Sun with lots of food, fun, and peaking in and out sun. Thanks again for everyone who came out. It was so great to see everyone for the weekend. And the newest addition to the group, Claire, was a blast and the best baby ever. We are already looking forward to next year.

Lauren and I hanging around the fire

Liz and I

Amy and I

My favorite model for the weekend, miss Claire. Such a cutie!

D and I

Hanging on the boat!

Our group for the weekend. We had a great time!

Sentenced to life...in the joint!

Today was the big day! D and I decided to go joint...checking accounts. We wanted to do it early so we could adjust a bit before the wedding. I believe that marriage should be a smooth transition, our lives will be relativly the same other than a new wedding band (which is buring a hole in my drawer by the way, I just want to wear it), a new last name, and shared money. We already have a joint savings we opened to prepare for honeymoon costs and misc wedding expenses. We have been really good at saving this year (we have become the boring couple who saves, but it's so worth it). We have already saved 90% of what we wanted to have by October. Ahead of schedule, yay us! We want to be able to go all out for the honeymoon and have great gifts for everyone we love.

I must admit I have been nervous about doing the 'joint' thing. For most of my life it has been me and my money and my account so this is a big step for me. D and I share everything now but it has been his and my money not our money. We have been talking about it and have clear agreements about what we want so I feel confident that this will be a smooth transition...even though it's a bit scary.

We have our joint saving at my bank so D will be joining my current account, we will keep our joint savings for travel/ other things we want to save for. We will each also have a personal savings account to save for individual things we both want...sigh of relief...I can still feed my purse addiction...LOL.

So another big step down and all the more closer to marriage!

Planning...planning

So as you all know I (we) have been busy planning the wedding(s). In theory having two (wedding and reception) sounded like a great idea but planning them has proven to be a challenge, one which I do love though. Having a full time job and a wedding to plan is intense. I know in the end once our vision plays out and the events are done I will be MORE than happy we decided to do it.

I can't believe how quickly it is going by. When I got engaged I heard that 'it goes so fast' and I was like yeah right, we have 10 months of waiting. But low and behold, they were right. It flies by. We have 3.5 months till Hawaii and we are so excited. All of the planning and saving will be worth it once we get on the plane.

I have entered my 'crunch time' as they call it. April/ May/ June were my slow months and now it's time to get the final touches done. Though most of you know how much of a super planner I am and have most done already there are still tons of little details to do. I am trying to get everything for the big reception done by the beginning of October so I don't need to worry about it when I get back from my honeymoon. And trying to tie down loose ends for the events in Hawaii, via email with my planner over in Maui no less...stress! Luckily I have great friends and family to de-stress me. I have tons of help which has been amazing. My mom even got me a bridal relaxation massage last weekend as a treat. Thanks mom.

My planner(s) in Hawaii have been surprisingly a pleasure to work with. I have one for the ceremony and one for the reception dinner. I was worried about planning this big day without seeing, tasting, picking anything myself. Luckily these two ladies are on top of there game. I send them pictures of my ideas and they make it happen. They send me pictures of exactly what things will look like. My only fear is the food...it's Hawaii so how bad could it be...I will be tasting it for the first time at the wedding. Hope it's good!

I am getting anxious for the dresses!! I ordered them at the end of December and they told me 6-8 months. It has been 7 months and I am ready to see them! It has been a challenge to not talk to D about it. We both want a traditional 'reveal' of the bride on the wedding day. We also decided to keep my second dress, for the reception a surprise too, even though it's not 'the wedding dress' it is still special. My reception dress will be a fun white cocktail dress that I can dance and party in. Deciding to get two dresses was a great idea.

So 108 days till our wedding...143 days till our reception...1 month till bachelor/ bachlorette party...2 months till bridal shower...it's all happening. But who's counting! LOL.

Here are some pics my planner in Hawaii sent me...

Our table arrangements



Our wedding cake-chocolate!

My Bouquet. Love...Love it! I sent her this and she is making it exact.