I can't believe that next Friday is the 3 month mark until the wedding! Time is really racing by. The other day our wedding favors came in-- I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but we've decided to make a donation to the Lance Armstrong Foundation in honor of our guests and give our guests the yellow wristbands as favors. I need to get some cornflower blue card stock (see what I did there? That's right-- yellow & blue are our colors.. and we got yellow favors. Zingggg-- point for creativity!) so we can print little messages to tie onto the bracelets. I was thinking about getting boxes for them, too, but upon further thought, I think we'll just put them at each table setting as is. I'm all about cutting the unnecessary, and little boxes would just be extra money and extra trash at the end of the night. I love our guests, but they're not getting boxes. I like to think that they'll appreciate not having tons of useless boxes floating around!
We're still house hunting, of course. We saw two BEAUTIFUL, very historic old houses (one which was next door to Andrew & Lisa!) that we would love to live in if we had the extra money for all the work the houses would need over time. They were really great houses. We love the historic homes that have charm and character and a bit of a past. The newer houses are just fine, but they're not as magical as old homes. I'm really hoping we find ourselves in an older house (preferably one that has been updated, of course, but still retains the integrity of the original architecture). Hey, I can dream!
I need to schedule my first dress fitting soon, which is really exciting. My mother and I went to Party Dress Express last week so she could try on her dress. She's so lucky-- it fits like a glove. It just needs a little tucking up top to make it snugger, but other than that, she's golden. And thankfully they caught the jerk who was setting fire to all those mills in Fall River. My mom got nervous because her dress is sitting in one of those mills! But it's all good now.
My final submission for the semester is due on Monday and then I'll be in my LAST semester of grad school. How on earth did that happen so fast?? Through a connection at school I've got myself set up with a pretty neat freelancing job, which is a relief because the newspapers haven't been sending me as much work as I like lately. We need money for the wedding and life in general, so having this job will help out a lot. I'll post more about it once I have the scoop and start working/writing!
So that's about it. I think we'll be printing our invitations soon and doing other odds and ends, but as always, it's smooth sailing (oh no, I can feel it... I'll regret saying that and jinxing myself...)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
And we move on
Ok, so the other people accepted the bank's offer and they're just doing all their jazzy purchase and sales stuff now. WELL GOOD FOR THEM. I hope it works out great for them (and if it doesn't that's fine, too). I swear I'll get over this bitterness soon.
To help facilitate said "getting over bitterness" we have resumed looking for houses. We took a long break while we were waiting to hear about this last one because we thought that was IT, so now we're getting back into the swing of searching for properties and checking them out. We saw one in Warwick Neck the other night, but it didn't feel right. The layout was strange and there was no front yard, and I'm pretty sure there's a meth lab or something next door. The house itself was all redone and beautiful, but it was laid out in a strange way and it felt very tight. Tonight we're going to see a house on Fairview Ave in Coventry that we saw online back in November. I guess it was almost sold and then within the past week or two it went back on the market. It's been for sale for something like 200 days, and even though it's out of our price range, we're going to look at it and maybe put an offer in. At this point, nothing can suck more than losing the house on Youngs Ave, so we're kind of throwing caution to the wind and saying screw it, we'll try anything. So, who knows. Maybe the bank is desperate to sell it and will take our low offer. They've already dropped the price about $40,000, so what's another $20,000? HA. We shall see.
We purchased Matt's wedding ring last weekend on the Cape and today I went down to the jewelry store where I found my ring and ordered it. I'm soooo excited. I might purposely take a long time to pay it off so I don't feel the urge to wear it before the wedding. It's just so stinking pretty! Just to recap: it matches the design on my engagement ring exactly and it curves perfectly around the center of my ring like none of the other ones I've looked at have. The woman even commented today that it looks like a set and I was lucky to find it because custom-making a ring like that would have cost a lotttt of money. Thanks Grandma for that great find!
We ordered our Lance Armstrong wedding favors the other day so those should be arriving soon. I think we need to print our invites soon, too? Also, question for married folk out there, or anyone who knows-- do we get a marriage license in the town we're getting married in or in the town where we/one of us live(s)?
I'd also like to mention that our flower girls, Sarah and Daniella, are up here visiting from Maryland with their mommy Hilda and we've gotten to spend some time with them this week and it's been great. Their daddy David is Matt's best man and is in Iraq right now, but he'll be home just in time for the wedding. Please send extra prayers their way to help them through the next few months!
To help facilitate said "getting over bitterness" we have resumed looking for houses. We took a long break while we were waiting to hear about this last one because we thought that was IT, so now we're getting back into the swing of searching for properties and checking them out. We saw one in Warwick Neck the other night, but it didn't feel right. The layout was strange and there was no front yard, and I'm pretty sure there's a meth lab or something next door. The house itself was all redone and beautiful, but it was laid out in a strange way and it felt very tight. Tonight we're going to see a house on Fairview Ave in Coventry that we saw online back in November. I guess it was almost sold and then within the past week or two it went back on the market. It's been for sale for something like 200 days, and even though it's out of our price range, we're going to look at it and maybe put an offer in. At this point, nothing can suck more than losing the house on Youngs Ave, so we're kind of throwing caution to the wind and saying screw it, we'll try anything. So, who knows. Maybe the bank is desperate to sell it and will take our low offer. They've already dropped the price about $40,000, so what's another $20,000? HA. We shall see.
We purchased Matt's wedding ring last weekend on the Cape and today I went down to the jewelry store where I found my ring and ordered it. I'm soooo excited. I might purposely take a long time to pay it off so I don't feel the urge to wear it before the wedding. It's just so stinking pretty! Just to recap: it matches the design on my engagement ring exactly and it curves perfectly around the center of my ring like none of the other ones I've looked at have. The woman even commented today that it looks like a set and I was lucky to find it because custom-making a ring like that would have cost a lotttt of money. Thanks Grandma for that great find!
We ordered our Lance Armstrong wedding favors the other day so those should be arriving soon. I think we need to print our invites soon, too? Also, question for married folk out there, or anyone who knows-- do we get a marriage license in the town we're getting married in or in the town where we/one of us live(s)?
I'd also like to mention that our flower girls, Sarah and Daniella, are up here visiting from Maryland with their mommy Hilda and we've gotten to spend some time with them this week and it's been great. Their daddy David is Matt's best man and is in Iraq right now, but he'll be home just in time for the wedding. Please send extra prayers their way to help them through the next few months!
Monday, April 19, 2010
House Hunting Sucks
Well. Not long after I posted my last update we heard some not-so-great news. Apparently the bank decided to counter-offer the other offer they received. Our two offers were similar, but theirs offered more money. Unless they decide to reject the counter-offer, I guess it's over for us with that house. We were really disappointed, but there's not point in dwelling on it. Time to move on and try to find something else.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Shoes... and impatience
We're still waiting to hear back from the bloody stinking bank about our offer on the house. They're really taking their sweet time making this decision that they were supposedly ready to make a week ago today. What is the hold up??? They have two offers and clearly ours is the right one. Accept our offer! Call our agent! So she can call us and give us good news! I'm trying to be patient and calm about it and remind myself that it'll work out how it's supposed to, but every day that goes by without news about the house makes me more and more anxious. It's a really crappy feeling knowing that you're at the mercy of some bank somewhere. They obviously don't care that we want to be in contract by the 30th so we can get the tax credit. I'm trying to contain my aggravation, but it's getting difficult. And our poor agent-- she's just as anxious as we are. Thank God we're working with someone who genuinely cares about us, because apparently there are people out there who don't appreciate how stressful this can be. LET'S GO, BANK. PICK UP THE PACE.
In other news (because I need other news in order to not go insane right now), I ordered a second pair of wedding shoes online the other night while chit-chatting with my future sis-in-law. We were discussing comfort and practicality and I happened upon a pair of really cute heels that had endless reviews that claimed they were comfortable enough to wear all night long. Sold. My priorities are as follows: comfort, re-wear-ability, stylishness. These are the shoes I bought initially. I put them on my feet and they hurt before I even had them buckled, so they went right back to shoes.com the next morning (thank goodness for free shipping and free returns). They were pretty and definitely bridal, but not very practical for wearing again with other ensembles. So then I found these shoes at DSW.com. They arrived this morning and I put them on my feet and... they were comfortable! Nothing pinched or dug into my skin or cut off circulation. Even the heel itself doesn't feel very high. Jackpot. These were less expensive and the shipping was free, so there you go. Bargain bride strikes again. Plus I can wear these with tons of other outfits, from jeans and a nice top to all those cute dresses I bought to wear in Bar Harbor with my future hubby.
To be honest, as great as these shoes are, they don't help make my any less anxious about the house. A good pair of shoes are nice, but the perfect home is way more important.
In other news (because I need other news in order to not go insane right now), I ordered a second pair of wedding shoes online the other night while chit-chatting with my future sis-in-law. We were discussing comfort and practicality and I happened upon a pair of really cute heels that had endless reviews that claimed they were comfortable enough to wear all night long. Sold. My priorities are as follows: comfort, re-wear-ability, stylishness. These are the shoes I bought initially. I put them on my feet and they hurt before I even had them buckled, so they went right back to shoes.com the next morning (thank goodness for free shipping and free returns). They were pretty and definitely bridal, but not very practical for wearing again with other ensembles. So then I found these shoes at DSW.com. They arrived this morning and I put them on my feet and... they were comfortable! Nothing pinched or dug into my skin or cut off circulation. Even the heel itself doesn't feel very high. Jackpot. These were less expensive and the shipping was free, so there you go. Bargain bride strikes again. Plus I can wear these with tons of other outfits, from jeans and a nice top to all those cute dresses I bought to wear in Bar Harbor with my future hubby.
To be honest, as great as these shoes are, they don't help make my any less anxious about the house. A good pair of shoes are nice, but the perfect home is way more important.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Pictures are in!
Our pictures from our little engagement session last week are up on pictage.com! Here is the link to the pictures. The code is "kr0807ma" and you can order pictures, view them, and pick your favorites. Let me know what you think!!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Today is my wonderful mother's birthday! We have a family dinner planned for tonight, but before that, mom and I are going to head out to the East Greenwich Wedding Walk today. I figured I'd make it a three-fer: day out with mom for her birthday, see some wedding stuff, and write a story about the event for the paper. A freelance writer's work is never done *sigh*. haha, but anyway, I heard about the event a few weeks ago when I was writing another wedding piece for the paper (New Trends vs. Old Trends with Weddings) and it sounds like it might be interesting . Basically, the walk will start at Dugan Custom Jewelers where they'll give out maps, pens, paper, goody bags, etc and from there you walk a route down Main St. and visit other wedding vendors along the way. To be honest, I'm not really looking for anything for my own wedding since we're pretty much all set, but I'm still after all engaged and it doesn't hurt to take in all these fun pre-wedding activities, right?
A week from today is our meeting with the Crowne Plaza to finalize our menu and other details, which means we need to think back to that amazing tasting we attended in January and try to remember which of all the delicious foods were the most delicious. Good thing we took notes! I think next week we'll do the wedding-ring-ordering-thing, too. Mine is at a cute little shop in Apponaug, Tebeca Jewelers , and they're so sweet. They said I could go in and order it (they custom make the rings there) and come in over time to pay for it. Isn't that convenient? I guess it's the same as having a no-interest credit card at a big jewelry store, but whatever. I like working with small business owners over big corporations. Matt's ring is more common, so we had to just find the store with the best price. We did some investigating while we were on the Cape last month and found it reasonably priced at a Belden Jewelers (Zales and Hannoush were out of their minds with the prices they were charging. Sorry, if the store across the way is a lot less expensive for the same ring... guess who we're going with?). This isn't the exact ring Matt's getting, but it looks very similar to this. So, my ring is from a little privately owned jeweler and Matt's is from a big company-- oh, well. We like the rings we found (and I searched high and low to find one that would fit around my engagement ring!), so we'll go with that.
We're still waiting to hear aboutthe our house. I cleaned out my closet last night to make life a little easier when (not if) we move in. Here's the thing-- one of the other 2 offers dropped out, so we're competing against only one other offer. And beyond that, we just feel like this house is home. We've gone to see it quite a few times and we were the ones who found all the water in the basement-- we care about it more than the other people! It's just sitting there waiting for us to come move in and love it, so I drove by yesterday and blew it a kiss. I'm hoping we hear good news very soon :)
So Wednesday night we had that engagement session with our photographer, and did we ever luck out with the weather! Oh my gosh, we did all the shots outside at dusk at this cute park near our photog's house and it felt like a July evening. I wore a sundress and was actually warm. I'm dying to see the pictures and can't wait for him to post them online! If anyone wants to pre-register to see them and eventually the wedding pictures, you get $5 off. Click this link and use this event key: kr0807ma.
Matt left early early this morning for his Army weekend, so I'm just hanging around being lazy right now. I think I'll go work out for the first time in over a week-- now that I'm over my stomach bug and my colitis is chilling out, I can actually do physical activity! I did yoga yesterday and my knees ached afterwards, but I think it's from the Prednisone I'm on for a couple of weeks. Oh well, I need to stay active or I'll go nuts! If the sun comes out, maybe I'll go for a nice jog and repeat my mantra while I run: wedding dress, Bar Harbor, bikini, honeymoon! How's that for motivation to stay in shape??
A week from today is our meeting with the Crowne Plaza to finalize our menu and other details, which means we need to think back to that amazing tasting we attended in January and try to remember which of all the delicious foods were the most delicious. Good thing we took notes! I think next week we'll do the wedding-ring-ordering-thing, too. Mine is at a cute little shop in Apponaug, Tebeca Jewelers , and they're so sweet. They said I could go in and order it (they custom make the rings there) and come in over time to pay for it. Isn't that convenient? I guess it's the same as having a no-interest credit card at a big jewelry store, but whatever. I like working with small business owners over big corporations. Matt's ring is more common, so we had to just find the store with the best price. We did some investigating while we were on the Cape last month and found it reasonably priced at a Belden Jewelers (Zales and Hannoush were out of their minds with the prices they were charging. Sorry, if the store across the way is a lot less expensive for the same ring... guess who we're going with?). This isn't the exact ring Matt's getting, but it looks very similar to this. So, my ring is from a little privately owned jeweler and Matt's is from a big company-- oh, well. We like the rings we found (and I searched high and low to find one that would fit around my engagement ring!), so we'll go with that.
We're still waiting to hear about
So Wednesday night we had that engagement session with our photographer, and did we ever luck out with the weather! Oh my gosh, we did all the shots outside at dusk at this cute park near our photog's house and it felt like a July evening. I wore a sundress and was actually warm. I'm dying to see the pictures and can't wait for him to post them online! If anyone wants to pre-register to see them and eventually the wedding pictures, you get $5 off. Click this link and use this event key: kr0807ma.
Matt left early early this morning for his Army weekend, so I'm just hanging around being lazy right now. I think I'll go work out for the first time in over a week-- now that I'm over my stomach bug and my colitis is chilling out, I can actually do physical activity! I did yoga yesterday and my knees ached afterwards, but I think it's from the Prednisone I'm on for a couple of weeks. Oh well, I need to stay active or I'll go nuts! If the sun comes out, maybe I'll go for a nice jog and repeat my mantra while I run: wedding dress, Bar Harbor, bikini, honeymoon! How's that for motivation to stay in shape??
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
4 Months!
Today, April 7, a beautiful 85 degree sunny beach weather day, is the four month mark to the wedding. How fabulous! Tonight Matt and I finally met with our photographer to do our free little engagement session that we've been rescheduling for 3 months now. Thank goodness we kept rescheduling, though! We ended up with a GORGEOUS evening to take pictures. We went to a park near our photog's house and took a bunch of outside shots instead of doing them inside his studio. They were so much fun and from what we saw really quickly on his camera's little screen, it looks like they came out pretty good. We should be able to see them within the next day or two.
So today was also the first day that I've been able to leave the house in 3 days. I was totally down for the count with a miserable, awful, painful stomach bug combined with my colitis. I hope I never have to deal with something like that again. It was just the worst few days ever. But, thankfully, my wonderful fiance stayed by my side the whole time and took care of me. On Sunday, when I was too sick to go see our families on Easter, he stayed home with me all day and night and missed out on Easter dinner and all that good stuff. The on Monday, when he saw that I was no better, he took a sick day from work to stay home with me. This is definitely unconditional love-- when you take care of someone when they're that sick, it's something very special . I owe him big time!
Still waiting to hear about the house... keeping our fingers crossed. I'm not sure if they pumped the 7 inches of water out of the basement yet, but I really hope they have.
By the way, I'm watching the American Idol results show and I root for Siobhan, of course, and I love that she's usually safe within the first few minutes because then I don't have to watch the whole stupid show. Anyone else watch this and see how they just told the 3 girls that they're all safe?? Totally cruel! I really hate Ryan Seacrest. He's a strange little man.
Anyway... I'll post pictures if I'm able to once they're online!
So today was also the first day that I've been able to leave the house in 3 days. I was totally down for the count with a miserable, awful, painful stomach bug combined with my colitis. I hope I never have to deal with something like that again. It was just the worst few days ever. But, thankfully, my wonderful fiance stayed by my side the whole time and took care of me. On Sunday, when I was too sick to go see our families on Easter, he stayed home with me all day and night and missed out on Easter dinner and all that good stuff. The on Monday, when he saw that I was no better, he took a sick day from work to stay home with me. This is definitely unconditional love-- when you take care of someone when they're that sick, it's something very special . I owe him big time!
Still waiting to hear about the house... keeping our fingers crossed. I'm not sure if they pumped the 7 inches of water out of the basement yet, but I really hope they have.
By the way, I'm watching the American Idol results show and I root for Siobhan, of course, and I love that she's usually safe within the first few minutes because then I don't have to watch the whole stupid show. Anyone else watch this and see how they just told the 3 girls that they're all safe?? Totally cruel! I really hate Ryan Seacrest. He's a strange little man.
Anyway... I'll post pictures if I'm able to once they're online!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Soggy RI
I can't even begin to explain the flooding Rhode Island experienced this past week. It was devastating for many people and businesses, and completely took the state by surprise. We knew we'd get rain, but I don't think anyone really knew how bad it would be. The Warwick Mall was under a few feet of water and will be closed indefinitely. Roads were impassable for days. People connected to the sewers couldn't flush the toilet, run showers or dishwashers or anything for a couple of days. Just all around a huge mess. The good news is that the flood waters are receding and the sun has been out for 2 days, so there's some serious drying going on. It should be nice through this weekend, so let's all keep our fingers crossed that we don't see any more rain for a long time.
In other news... I'll be officially Catholic on Saturday at the Easter Vigil mass. This is 6 months in the making, so I'm really looking forward to it. I decided to convert to Catholicism when Matt and I started talking about a wedding. I'd been going to church with him on a regular basis, but I decided that I wanted to make the leap before our wedding because I know how important his faith is to him. He never pressured me or told me I had to do it. He's just been so awesome about the whole thing. When I told him I wanted to take the RCIA class, he wanted to make sure I was 100% comfortable with it. He came to most of the classes with me and it was a nice experience for us both. I've enjoyed learning about the history of the church and becoming more comfortable with everything. I didn't grow up going to church so I was coming in pretty ignorant. I picked up a few things from going to mass with Matt, but I had no explanation for the rituals and prayers that I was participating in. Now I have a grasp of most of it and I understand the historical background of masses. It's not something I want to push on other people, but I really think when you find a place that feels comfortable, it's worth taking a look at faith. I can't say how much I love our church and all the people we've meet while we've been there. So, on Saturday, I'll be confirmed. I can't believe it's already Easter!
No wedding news right now. We put an offer on a house that we LOVE LOVE LOVE so we're just waiting to hear back... I went with my mom and Jeanette (our Realtor, and our sister-in-law Lisa's mother) to check the basement yesterday. It had 7 lovely inches of water in it, but we went through with our offer anyway. We adore this house and it feels like home... It would be amazing to live there. Keep your fingers crossed!!!
In other news... I'll be officially Catholic on Saturday at the Easter Vigil mass. This is 6 months in the making, so I'm really looking forward to it. I decided to convert to Catholicism when Matt and I started talking about a wedding. I'd been going to church with him on a regular basis, but I decided that I wanted to make the leap before our wedding because I know how important his faith is to him. He never pressured me or told me I had to do it. He's just been so awesome about the whole thing. When I told him I wanted to take the RCIA class, he wanted to make sure I was 100% comfortable with it. He came to most of the classes with me and it was a nice experience for us both. I've enjoyed learning about the history of the church and becoming more comfortable with everything. I didn't grow up going to church so I was coming in pretty ignorant. I picked up a few things from going to mass with Matt, but I had no explanation for the rituals and prayers that I was participating in. Now I have a grasp of most of it and I understand the historical background of masses. It's not something I want to push on other people, but I really think when you find a place that feels comfortable, it's worth taking a look at faith. I can't say how much I love our church and all the people we've meet while we've been there. So, on Saturday, I'll be confirmed. I can't believe it's already Easter!
No wedding news right now. We put an offer on a house that we LOVE LOVE LOVE so we're just waiting to hear back... I went with my mom and Jeanette (our Realtor, and our sister-in-law Lisa's mother) to check the basement yesterday. It had 7 lovely inches of water in it, but we went through with our offer anyway. We adore this house and it feels like home... It would be amazing to live there. Keep your fingers crossed!!!
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