2 + 2 = ?

Source

I swear I can do math. But when it comes to planning a wedding, its like the numbers get a little overwhelming and your basic math skills go right out your ears. And I know I'm not the only one who has experienced this... its just that no one wants to admit it. I know, it's pretty embarrassing to admit, but I'll take one for the team.

It all started after we had picked our venue, the wonderful Valentine Museum, and knew how many people it could hold for the set up we wanted -- 75. So I started looking at paper products for invitations, save the dates, etc. During my search and pricing I started getting a little worried... it was pretty expensive. Then I realized that I was doing the math for 100 people and that each person would get an invitation, save the date, etc. Umm... wake up and do the math correctly. 75 divided by 2 was 37.5. At most I would need 50 of each to account for errors and f*ups. Those prices were starting to sound a lot sweeter.

Ok... so I didnt learn the first time. Or maybe its that I wasnt paying attention, but when I opened my box from Paper Source, I was greeted by 4 packs of envelopes. Ok... that's correct because they come 10 to a pack for a total of 40. And there were 4 packs of flat cards. Ok... that's what I ordered thinking that they also come 10 to a pack, but it felt awfully thick. Yeah, that's because they come 25 to a pack. So I went and bought 100 flat cards when I really only need half. Oh well, I guess I will just find something else to do with them. Maybe they can be used for the bridal shower or rehearsal dinner?!?!

Hopefully, this inability to do simple math has gotten out of my system, because it will get embarrassing.

Did you experience a similar inability to do simple math with wedding numbers? C'mon dont be shy.

It's like catnip... but for brides

You know how cats get when they get ahold of catnip? And they get all excited and run around?

Source

Well I'm pretty sure [read: actually] I was experiencing that same feeling when I opened the box from Paper-Source and pulled out the envelopes and flat cards I had ordered for our Save The Dates. I had totally trusted my gut when I chose the colors beet and leaf, but boy was I pleasantly surprised when I opened the box and found these inside:

They are the perfect shades of purple and green that I wanted. And then...

my stamps arrived. And it was that same feeling all over again. They turned out better than expected and match the envelope colors perfectly. I cant wait to get our save the dates all put together!

Did you have that "cat on catnip" feeling over any part of wedding planning?!?!

Bridesmaids Dresses - Check

My checklist of things to do is getting smaller... yay!

On one of my very first posts, I shared the dress that I was leaning towards for my b*maids. I knew I wanted to give my girls some options as far as which dress they wanted to wear, since not everyone likes or looks good in the same style. The great thing about JCrew is that they offer different styles in the same colors and fabrics, so you have a little more to choose from. And their dresses can be worn again, which is another thing that was important to me. If they were going to spend the $$ on the dress, I wanted them to get their money's worth out of it. The original dress I liked, in Spiced Wine, came in silk chiffon, so I looked at the other dresses in the same material and picked a 2nd option that wasnt strapless.

Well Wednesday, my MOH informed me that JCrew was having a 20% discount on all dresses... yeah, you read that right... 20% OFF ALL DRESSES! I've been watching the website weekly and from reading other bride's blogs, the dresses I picked never go on sale/clearance so I thought they would have to get them at full price. So you can imagine our urgency to jump on getting these dresses ordered before the sale ended 2 days later.

So I quickly sent texts to my 2 sisters and told them the dresses were on sale and that we needed to get them ordered by Friday afternoon at the latest. I'm happy to report that all dresses are ordered and by some freak of luck (probably the fact that she was shopping at midnight), my MOH actually got hers for an additional 20% off. 40% what a steal.

My MOH chose the strapless and my 2 sisters chose the v-neck. I like that they didnt all choose the same dress.

I cant wait til they come in!!! Then we can pick out shoes. :)

Did you have any luck with discount/sale prices for your b*maids dresses?

Save The Dates

I'm finally getting around to working on our save the dates. I know, I know. My calendar says I wanted to get them out last month and Justin told everyone we were getting them out late January. Oops!

The main thing holding up making them was we werent in agreeance of the style of save the dates we wanted. Justin wanted to do a postcard with our picture on it. Problem with that idea is, we dont have many pictures of us that we could use and we havent done our Epics yet either. I wanted to do something a little different. Something less expensive and time consuming. I'd rather spend time and $$ on the invitations since people will hold on to those a little longer.

So with that in mind, I started drafting a few ideas based on things I had seen online and in the stationery magazines I've received in the mail. Justin finally agreed on one design after I explained the vision in my head.

This morning I ordered my supplies so that we can get these babies put together and in the mail to our guests. finally!!!

So what did I get?!?!

First, I wanted to design our own stamps. So I went to Zazzle.com, found a design that I liked and customized it. The finished product:

Then I headed over to Paper-Source and ordered the paper products I need to put them together. I like the #10 size because they are a little different than the normal envelope size. I also want to play with our 2 colors -- purple & green (or beet & leaf according to Paper-Source).

I'm thinking about mixing up the envelope and notecards so that its a little more eye appealing.

Did it take you forever to get your ideas together for your save the dates, like it did us?

Ring Etiquette

Justin and I were in the grocery store last night picking up some things for dinner. We were standing in the checkout line and the girl behind the counter started commenting about my ring. "Wow, thats a relly pretty ring" then "That's a really big ring." I did what I always do, smiled and said "thank you." I'm used to people commenting about my ring and I still find myself holding my hand out and starring at it with googly eyes.





But it was the next thing that she said that really shocked me. Now let me remind you, she's just some random stranger checking out our groceries. She said, without taking her eyes off it, "should I even ask how much it cost." Umm... excuse me?!?!


I thought it was very rude and even more inappropriate. I dont even know how much my ring cost, I have an idea from the appraisal, but you dear stranger definitely should not. I just smiled and thanked god that she said it right as we were finished paying for our stuff. I grabbed our bag and headed to the door.


The whole situation got me thinking about what is/isnt appropriate when discussing engagement rings. I just feel like there are some questions you shouldnt ask, unless you are close to that person and one pissed off bride shared it best here. By the way, love that blog -- it definitely provides some great laughs.

Were you thrown off by someone's comment/action towards your engagement ring?

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Purple Polka Dot Bikini

Remember this yogurt commercial? It comes on frequently during Winter/Spring to remind people that bathing suit season is quickly approaching. And for me, after bathing suit season is our wedding and honeymoon -- in St. Lucia!!!





So of course I will be wearing a bikini and now is the time to start getting ready for bathing suit season. Most people have something to motivate, or remind, them to stay focused on their goal. Whats my motivation?

(photo courtesy of moi and bathing suit can be found at Target)

Yep, thats my new bathing suit that I bought in the winter. Some girls love shoes and accessories, I love bathing suits. I usually get at least 1 new bathing suit each summer and rotate them depending on my mood. The thing I like about this one is that it's purple -- my favorite color in case you hadnt picked up on that yet -- and you can mix and match however you want. I chose halter because that's my favorite top style and the polka dot bottoms for a little fun.

I think I might hang my bathing suit in a place I will see everyday to keep me motivated to reach my goal.

Do you have any wedding and/or honeymoon goals?

Pretty in Purple

Remember here when I talked about my purple wedding shoes?!?! Well, they arrived and I love, love, love them. They are pretty, very comfortable and the perfect shade of purple.

Wanna see? Oh and please excuse my unpedicured toes/feet and very pale legs.

Photos courtesy of moi

I'm very pleased with my find and cant wait to wear them with my dress.

How was your shoe search?

A "Real" Housewife

Housewives of Orange County

No, not them. Although I cant help but be addicted to the show. Forgive me, but these ladies are not real housewives, at least on tv they arent. They flaunt around all their (or their husbands) money and pay people to do things real housewives do.

I like to think of myself as somewhat of a housewife -- eventhough I am not technically a wife, yet. Justin and I have lived together for 2 of the 4 years we have been a couple. But even before we called the same apartment home, I was already taking on certain "duties". I helped with his laundry and cleaned the dishes, brought him breakfast and/or dinner most days/nights, etc.

When we moved in together, I became even more like a housewife. And dont get me wrong, I definitely dont mind. I've always been a nurturer and feel the need to take care of people & animals.

I do a lot of things that girlfriends/wives/significant others do:

* I make sure the laundry gets done -- including picking up/dropping off dry cleaning

* I make sure our furbabies are taken care of

* When Maddie was doing agility, I took her to her weekly classes - that reminds me, add to list of things to do - find Maddie an agility class

* I make Justin's lunch/dinner to take to work -- or drop off dinner when he closes

* I clean the apartment

* I make sure that the rent check is dropped off on time

* I schedule/plan all of our trips, weekend getaways, etc

Just to name a few, and I could definitely go on.

Like today, I woke up at 6:35am, got ready for work, during that time I fed & walked Maddie, went to work, came home for lunch and during my break I washed dishes from dinner last night, packed Justin's dinner to take to work, got the trash together, went back to work, came home, had dinner and started a load of laundry. But days like today, make me feel like I've accomplished something. I'm definitely one of those people that hates to sit still. Probably why my current job is starting to drive me a little insane. I sit in a cube for 8 hours a day in front of a computer. I need a dynamic environment to keep me focused and energized.

I enjoy taking care of the home, and Justin, Maddie & Jackson. Plus its good practice for when we decide to start a family ( dont worry that wont be anytime soon ) and we have little ones running around with school and sports and anything else they want to do.

Do you consider yourself a "housewife"? Are you planning on being a "housewife"?

I Love My Marine!

Justin is a Marine. He's not active, but a few years ago he served in Iraq for 9 months. Of course all this happened before we even knew each other. His contract with the Marines will expire on Friday, September 24, 2010. The day before we get married.

When we first started discussing wedding dates, something we wanted to consider was whether or not he wanted to wear his dress blues. I wanted the decision to be totally his, and I even slightly encouraged it. Saying things like "It will be the last time you get to wear them" and "I'm sure your mom would love to see you in them one last time" etc. He said he would think about it some more and let me know.

In the initial stages of contacting venues, most were already booked for the month of September except for the 11th. So we went with it. We were both ok with it and thought that our families would be too. I thought wearing his dress blues on the 11th at our wedding would be a nice little nod to his service. That was until what we thought was going to be our wedding venue turned out to be horrible.

After we found our venue and booked it for the 25th, it was pretty much decided that he wouldnt be wearing his dress blues. I dont think he is completely bummed, but I still want him to have a piece of that with him on our wedding day.

I was doing my daily google search for random things when I came across something that I knew would be perfect. I'm going to gift my hubby with a pair of these...

Marine Corps Cufflinks

I think he will appreciate it and I cant wait to give them to him.

Did you find a gift for your hubby that had special meaning to you and/or him?