Oh Yeah

So while we were in Chicago... we passed the 4 month mark. HOLY COW!!!

Where is time going?!?! Up to this point we've been pretty organized, and I'm not saying it's falling apart now, but I am definitely realizing that there are some things that could have been done a little bit earlier.

We still need to:

*find/book our ceremony musician
*book our hotel room for our wedding weekend -- oh and look into a group rate at that same hotel for about a handful of couples
*pick out/order our wedding bands
*order invitation stationery
*work on/finalize invitation design -- at least I've already started it, just need Justin to look at and approve
*pick out the guy's attire
*finish picking out the b*maid's attire/accessories
*start working on our family/wedding party gifts
*start booking hair/makeup trials
*start booking hair/makeup/nail appointments for the day before
*start thinking about flowers -- thankfully Justin's mom is doing the flowers and she's already got some great ideas in mind

...i think those are the major things left to do. I've found that it's really difficult to get some things done without taking time off from work, which cuts into my PTO time that I am desperately trying to save to cover the wedding/honeymoon and any emergency that might come up. Planning a wedding is truly like a 2nd job. Too bad I'm not getting paid -- haha.

Our 1st Gift!!!

While we were in Chicago, our dear friends Brian & Betsy gifted us with our first present -- an engagement gift. We didnt open the crate & barrel box until the day we left, mainly because that was really the only time that worked best.

Once we opened the box, inside we found:

the cupcake carrier from our registry and some additional little goodies: cupcake liners and different size spatulas.

I cant wait to make cupcakes so I can use my new stuff. Thanks B & B!!! :)

We're Back from Chicago

What a great trip visiting great friends -- Brian & Betsy! (B & B from here on out) I'm already ready to go back.

Since this was our 2nd trip to the Windy City and we had already done most of the touristy things last time, we were up for anything. Did I mention we brought great weather with us?!?! 80 degrees pretty much every day. You're welcome! :)

Saturday -- we arrived around 5 and were pretty tired from the travel. we rested and enjoyed a delicious sushi dinner at Wakamono. oh how i've missed good sushi -- yumm!

Sunday -- B & B had made plans with friends to picnic at the beach of Lake Michigan. the weather was great and we had a lot of fun, but the water was cold. After a day at the beach, we went to Spacca Napoli for dinner. A great place for (not Chicago style)pizza.

Monday -- Justin and I went out exploring downtown. Our first stop was Mr. Beef's, a famous Chicago spot, for lunch. Then we headed to Michigan Ave for some (window)shopping. We walked past Crate&Barrel and decided to go in. Once inside we saw some things that the Short Pump store didnt have, so we went to the desk and asked for a scanner to add things to our registry. After that, we came across a little mall and inside found the Lego Store. Justin was like a kid in the candy store. He wanted everything -- even thought it would be cool if they had a registry. We headed over to Millenium Park for a little while, then made our way back to our "home" for the week. For dinner we grilled out on B & B's back porch -- something we arent able to do in our current apartment. so sad, i know.

Tuesday -- B & B were both off during the day so we were able to do something together. We went sailing at the Northwestern University Sailing Club. We rented a catamaran and made our way out on the lake. We were out for an hour and, for the majority of the time, had some really good wind. Later, we went to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Cubs beat the Dodgers 3-0 in case you were wondering.

Wednesday -- our last day :( While doing research before our trip, I came across a restaurant owned by the winner of Top Chef Masters, Rick Bayless. We planned to have either lunch or dinner at Frontera while we were in town, and lunch Wednesday is what worked out. The food was delicious and we are already looking forward to a return trip to try his other restaurant for dinner. After a quick lunch, we headed to the architecture boat tour on the Chicago River. The tour was pretty interesting and provided great pictures. And not to mention, we had great weather.

After the tour, we walked over to the Field Museum. Not too much to report here, because we were super bummed by it. It was mainly focused on being kid friendly and not what we expected. We headed back to B & B's to hang out and relax -- aka nap. We enjoyed a late dinner at HB.

and finally Thursday we were on our way back to Virginia.

THANKS B & B for letting us invade your personal space for a 2nd time. We cant wait to see you in September!

We're Off....

to Chicago!!!

See you in a week. :)

*pictures from our trip in 2007 -- i cant believe its been that long already.

Bite Size Goodness

Yep, I'm talking about our hors d'oeuvres. For our caterer tasting we decided to just try the options for our butlered hors d'oeuvres since our main courses are pretty "normal". I'll explain later in a more detailed reception food post.

From a pretty long list, we narrowed it down to 8 that we wanted to try. Since our main courses are basic, we wanted to have some "interesting" hors d'oeuvres. Again no pictures... sorry!

We requested to try:

* grilled breast of duck
* fried oysters
* mushroom caps
* fried raviollis
* sweet potato & ham biscuits
* peanut chicken skewers
* mini grilled cheese quesadillas
* fried banana & coconut bites

The only thing we didnt try were the fried oysters, because our caterer Jack didnt like the shipment he had received. Oh well. Safety first. So he brought fried shrimp instead.

Starting from the top... the grilled breast of duck was delicious. the fried shrimp, mushroom caps and fried raviollis werent anything to write home about. dont get me wrong, they were good, but not what we are looking for. i liked the sweet potato & ham biscuits, but Justin didnt like the ham. the peanut chicken skewers were another one that we both liked along with the mini grilled cheese quesadillas. and i swear they saved the best for last. the fried banana & coconut bites were amazing. and definitely something interesting.

We havent finalized our choices yet, but I think we are leaning towards the duck, peanut chicken skewers, quesadillas and the banana/coconut bites.

Are you hungry yet?!?! I know I am. I just hope that guests dont fill up on hors d'oeuvres, because we have a lot more food to eat.

3 Tiers of Yummy

Way back when... well more like a few weeks ago when we had our caterer tasting (next post I promise), we also met with the lady who will be making our cake. Talk about a great afternoon!

I apologize for no pictures, but we were too busy stuffing our faces with deliciousness. Sue, our baker, arrived with a cupcake carrier full of extra large tasty treats and because I love cake like a fat kid does, I was ready to dig in. We had requested to taste the following:

* almond sour cream
* chocolate cinnamon
* yellow
* something coffee flavored

I left the filling flavors up to her and what she thought would go best with the cake flavors we wanted to try. She decided on:

* vanilla
* caramel
* cinnamon
* and two styles of chocolate

We mixed and matched cakes with fillings for all kinds of different combinations. The coffee flavor that Sue brought for us to try was Espresso. At first we thought we wanted to do a different flavor combo for each tier. Then after we discussed it, we realized that the top 2 tiers would equal the same amount of slices as the bottom tier. So we decided on 2 flavor combos.

It was a really tough decision, but after tasting and talking, we decided to do.... Espresso with Caramel and Almond Sour Cream with Cinnamon. Yumm! My mouth is watering just thinking about how good it was. Anyone who opts to not eat a piece of our cake will really be missing out. Just to let you know.

My Baby Sister is a MRS!!!

This past weekend my baby sister Laura got married. The ceremony was held at the groom's grandparent's house followed by the reception at the Colonial Heights Moose Lodge.

*all photos courtesy of family

May Madness

I know, I know. Technically its March Madness. But with 2 weddings, a trip to Chicago and Maddie's 3rd birthday all happening in May, it is definitely a crazy month for us.

Kinda like this...


This post is my apology/reason for being MIA for like a month. I'll make it up I promise. We have quite a bit to catch up on.