It's almost time...

...for my fun time trip!  Through a series of events, I have found out that we are going to Miami.  However, the rest of the details are still unknown.  I'm so excited!  I will be driving to Nashville after work on Thursday to stay the night with Jenn, and then I believe we are flying down to Miami on Friday morning.  Can't wait to tell you about what I know will be an amazing trip when we return!  

I also start my new job tomorrow - exciting!  I'm really looking forward to it.  Look for a report on the job and Miami early next week!  

DIY flower girl basket

Mom had a flower girl basket that was used in my aunt's wedding - many, many moons ago. We thought it might be fun (and cheap) to take the gross 20 year-old floral foam out of the basket and redo it! Sadly, I didn't think to take a before photo, but - thanks to some new floral foam and about $10 worth of silk leaves and flowers from Hobby Lobby, I have a flower girl basket for Jaylanne to carry down the aisle!

One important shower gift to note

I initially didn't post this photo because I look so heinous. However, I really wanted to showcase the fabulous "something blue" that my mom made for me. She and I had discussed a wedding day hankie, but what she surprised me with was more than I could ever imagine:

I'm not sure how easy it is to read the embroidery, but - on the left, it says 11-08-08 (our wedding day!) and on the right, "sLm to mSm" (obviously, our monograms). I love this!!! It is safely waiting for the big day in what I have nicknamed "the wedding closet." The walk-in closet in our second bedroom is full of wedding stuff - my wedding shoes, wedding makeup, wedding earrings, Matt's wedding suit, china, toasting flutes, and...well, pretty much everything you can think of that has to do with the wedding, including some wedding gifts that we won't break out until after the wedding. My wedding dress was hanging in there, too, until I took it to the alterations place last week.

Anyway - just wanted to share!

Bridal hair fun

Two weeks ago when I was in Michigan for my bridal shower, I got my hair cut and colored, and did a half-bridal-hair-trial. Why half? Well, my new hair person (Irene, owner of Flip Salon in Ferndale, which is fantastic) wasn't planning on doing a hair trial that day, and neither was I, so we both kind of ran out of time.

I didn't really like it, and this totally bummed me out. However, I booked a second, REAL hair trail for this past Saturday. I absolutely love what Irene came up with. Here are some photos at every angle. Thoughts?





I love it even more looking at these photos. I really wanted a loose, romantic look - but I had to get the hair off of my face. I know it would drive me crazy the day of the wedding. I have a makeup trial the week of the wedding, just a few days before, so I have to start compiling some nice makeup looks that I like!

More shower photos and detail shots

Hello, friends! Great news - my computer is now stealing internet successfully! You know what that means...I can finally post more regularly! Yay!

I have lots more shower photos on my computer, including some great detail shots that my mom took. Here they are, for your viewing pleasure.

A great photo of some of the tables set for lunch. Gorgeous!

The bride and the mother of the bride

Some shower guests and a lovely cupcake and tea tableDelicious and pretty!Clearly discussing something extremely important

So, that's about it - those were the main photos I wanted to post. Absolutely LOVING having internet on my computer again!!!

Alterations Appointment

On Monday, I had my first alterations appointment for my wedding dress. It seems weird to finally get it altered, seeing as how I've had it hanging around for about two months. Most brides have their dresses altered right away, but I chose to take it home, knowing that I was moving to Indiana at the end of the summer. I didn't want to start alterations in one state and finish in another...besides the general hassel, I would have had to pay two different alterations fees! And that's not good. So anyway, I held onto it until we arrived here in Bloomington, and made an appointment at a bridal shop that's attached to an alterations place. It's called "Golden Stitch." Hmm. That sounds promising, right?

It was so fabulous putting on my dress again! I haven't had it on since I picked it up in July. It still looks amazing! I cannot wait to wear it for AN ENTIRE DAY, rather than just a couple of minutes here and there. Thankfully, the dress basically fits perfectly and needs very minimal alterations. I'm getting cups sewn into the bust, a slight tucking of the straps (they are a little too big), and the most fabulous French bustle you have ever seen. The length of the dress is perfect with my fabulous shoes, so the dress doesn't even need to be hemmed!

This weekend, Matt and I are heading to Michigan for another busy weekend of wedding stuff. Here's our weekend schedule:

Friday
8:00am: Leave Bloomington for Michigan
2:00pm: Arrive in Pleasant Ridge
2-5:00pm: Give Matt a tour of the area, including the Royal Park Hotel and the Village Club. I think it's time for him to finally see where we're getting married!
6:00pm: Hurried dinner
7:00pm: Wedding cake tasting at Holiday Market
Saturday
10:30am: Meeting with Carolyn, our fabulous wedding planner
3:00pm: Bridal hair trial with Irene, my new and awesome hair person
7:00pm: Dinner with Matt and the parents at Sweet Lorraine's, to pick out a rehearsal dinner menu
Sunday
11:00am: Engagement photos in Ann Arbor
12:00pm: Lunch at Zingerman's to celebrate Matt's official last day in the Army
1:00pm: Meeting with John Rubadeau, our officiant extraordinaire, to create (?) our wedding ceremony
2-3:00pm: Drive back to Bloomington
8-9:00pm: Collapse, exhausted, in our apartment

Yikes, I'm getting tired just thinking about it. I'm hoping I'll be able to fit in some college football watching on Saturday...fingers crossed!

Wedding Rings!!!

Oops...how could I forget to post about our brand new purchases? Matt and I picked up our wedding bands today! It is TOO weird having these things in the house. We got home and immediately put them on, you know, just to try them out. It is really odd seeing a ring on Matt's finger! By now, I'm used to having a ring on my left ring finger, but at the same time...adding that band still feels a little weird. Thick, maybe?

Anyway, of course I had to take a photo of my fabulous band with my engagement ring. What do you think? Please ignore the fact that the picture is crummy and blurry, my ring finger looks weird, and oh yeah, we're not actually married yet.

So, what do you think? It looks so amazing and sparkly on my hand in person! I am dying to be able to wear it. According to my countdown, only 46 days until it will be permantly on my finger! Matt and I are taking the rings to Michigan this weekend and leaving them there until the wedding. Just one more thing we won't have to think about when we're packing for the wedding week. I'm starting to get pretty excited!

Shower photos and other excitement

Happy Saturday! I finally uploaded some of the shower photos onto Matt's computer, although there are some great detail pics and other fun stuff still stuck on my computer. Oh well. Hopefully soon we'll have real internet and I'll be able to share them with you! Until then, here aer a few fun shots from last Saturday's shower:

Getting ready to open presents!

What's in here???

A totally awesome little tea press!

Fancy new tupperware!

A nice shot of my mom and me with the wonderful ladies who threw the shower.

Two of my lovely bridesmaids, Lisa and Jennifer

Trying on a fun antique veil on display at the shower!

In other fun news, I was offered the job that I had the second interview for on Thursday! I'm thrilled to be employed again. I will start October 1st, and will be "headquartered" at Bloomington North High School. Stay tuned to find out how all of that goes.

I also finally made an appointment to have my wedding dress altered. It will be nice to have it out of the closet! I also forgot to mention in my previous post that when I was in Michigan last weekend, we also did a food tasting at the Village Club and nailed down the menu. If you're curious, here's the details:

The beef entree will be prime rib, the chicken will be a champagne chicken (with a champagne and mushroom sauce, cream-free, of course), and the vegetarian will be a delightful portabello mushroom thing. Trust me, it's tasty.

Oh, and did I mention that the invitations went in the mail on Monday? You probably know this already, because I think almost everyone has received them. I have received two responses in the mail, so, that's fun! One yes and one no.

Anyway, that's all for now. The next few weekends will be mighty busy - next weekend Matt and I are in Michigan for a cake tasting, meeting with our wedding planner, I have a bridal hair trial, then we're getting our engagement photos taken on Sunday AND meeting with our officiant, John Rubadeau. Whew! The weekend after that is my FUN TIME trip, and then after THAT is my Indiana bridal shower. So much excitement! Have I mentioned that the wedding is a mere 49 days away??? Lots of fun to come!

I'm alive!

Hello friends. I can't believe how long it's been since my last posting...too long. I'm so sorry. Life around here has been hectic, and for some reason only Matt's computer has internet (we're, ahem, stealing from our friendly neighbors).

Matt and I successfully made it to Bloomington last Tuesday night, and our new apartment is amazing! Last Wednesday, I had a great job interview, and I have a second interview for the same job tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Last Thursday, MOH Jenn and I drove to Michigan for my bridal shower weekend! It was fun, but also really busy and stressful. I really have tried to keep the wedding planning as non-stressful as possible, but when you are faced with what seems like a thousand wedding decisions two days after moving cross-country, things can get a little dicey. However, I had a great meeting with my florist and finally nailed down the flowers for my bouquet, my girls' bouquets, and the floral centerpieces for the reception. Phew! That's one big check off the list.

Saturday was my bridal shower! It was so fabulous. There really are no other words to describe it, besides WET! It poured rain for the entire day, which made for some unhappy drivers. Three cheers for my amazing bridesmaid Lisa, who drove 5 hours from Chicago that morning in a monsoon just to come to the shower. Due to the internet problems, I do not yet have photos I can post here of the shower, but I'll try to take care of this asap.

On Saturday night, Jenn, Lisa and I went out for dinner drinks, and they presented me with the packing list for my fun time trip (which is coming up in just a few weeks!). The highlights:
-beachware
-beach bag
-1 fabulously fun going out outfit
-sunglasses
-sunscreen
I think I'm going on a beach vaca!!! I'm sooo excited. I know that with these girls planning it, I will have a world of fun.

On Sunday, I braved more icky rain and drove back to Bloomington, and Matt and I have been unpacking boxes and trying to get things organized ever since!

One huge wedding highlight: we bought our wedding bands today! Talk about a huge check off the list. I originally planned on a band that matched my engagement ring, but the jeweler had a couple of diamond bands in the store for me to try today and I just fell in love with it. It's a 14k white gold band with ten diamonds that total just over a 1/2 carat. The diamonds match up really well with the diamonds on my engagement ring. He just has to size it up a 1/4 size, and we are getting the wedding date engraved on both of our bands (11-08-08). We should have both rings in 2-3 days! I'm so excited.

So, that's what I've been up to lately. I'm hoping we get real internet soon, so I can blog more regularly. I promise to upload some photos soon!

Last VA Blog

Our apartment is empty, except for the air mattress on the floor where our dining room table used to be.  Weird!  Today was definitely tiring and hectic.  We were up late last night, getting ready for the movers and cleaning as much as we could without all of our stuff being gone.  Up at 7 for a quick errand at the doctor's office, and then the movers came at 9am.  I've never had professional movers before, and wow, they were awesome.  All of our stuff is in boxes neatly labeled with "Smith" and whatever the contents of the box are, complete with creative spellings...we had a box in the kitchen labeled "Tubaware" but I'm pretty sure they meant "Tupperware."  Another good one - "Kitchen Floor Matt."  Haha, get it??  They meant mat, but wrote MATT, like the one I'm marrying.  Hilarious.

Anyway - they left at around 4:30 and we had two and a half hours to furiously clean the place so the landlords could inspect at 7.  Somehow, we got everything finished on time - early, in fact - and the landlords were so pleased that they gave me back my entire security deposit!  Yay!

We topped off the day with a great meal at one of our favorite spots - Southside, in Alexandria.  That is definitely a place we're going to miss.  

We plan on taking off pretty early in the morning and getting to Indiana asap.  And a hectic wedding week ahead of me:  on Wednesday, MOH Jennifer drives up from her new home in Tennessee to my new home in Bloomington.  We will put the stamps on the invitation envelopes.  And then on Thursday, we'll drive to Michigan together.  Friday morning - florist appointment, Friday afternoon - hair appointment, Friday night - food tasting at the reception site.  And on Saturday???  MY BRIDAL SHOWER!  I'm sooo excited.  Besides MOH Jenn, one of my other fab bridesmaids Lisa will be in attendance.  I'm incredibly happy that they will be there.  

So - you probably won't hear from me for a few days, because life is crazy.  But - guess what?

THE WEDDING IS TWO MONTHS FROM TODAY!

Saying Goodbye

Nobody ever said it was easy, that's for sure.  Matt and I leave on Tuesday for our new home in Bloomington, Indiana.  As we look forward to so many wonderful new things, we have had to say goodbye to some very good friends here in DC.  Yesterday was my last day of work; we both celebrated and mourned this by the most fabulous going-away happy hour in the world.  Saying goodbye to my fantastic coworkers - who are so much more to me than coworkers - brought tears to my eyes.  Literally.  I cried.  And then I cried again a little later, and again this morning, thinking about how I won't get to see them for awhile.

The silver lining, of course, is that I will hopefully see most of them at our wedding, which is only two months away!  Can you believe it?  

Today has been a dreary day, as Hurricane Hanna hits the east coast.  It has been pouring rain ever since I woke up this morning.  I cannot understand how it's still raining.  I guess I feel a little sad about these transitions, despite them being so positive.  

To all my friends in DC - you will be sorely missed.  Don't forget about me!

For Megan

I know that my good friend Megan reads my blog compulsively, and therefore I kind of feel obligated to blog more frequently so that she has something to do at work.  :)  She mentioned today that she always knows everything I've bought for the wedding, because I post everything here.  Well Megan, I don't want you to be disappointed!  This morning I bought a secondary pair of wedding shoes.  I plan on changing into them when my feet start hurting in my gorgeous kate spades.  I also plan on wearing them to my bridal shower next Saturday in Michigan, to go with an adorable blue silky polka-dot number from Banana Republic (can't find it online, sorry!).  So, my dear friend Megan, let me introduce you to Pair Number Two:

(photo courtesy of endless.com)

Aren't they adorable?  And, thankfully, significantly more affordable than my Primary Pair.  I had them shipped to my parents' home, so I won't get to see them until next Thursday.  I'm hoping they fit and work out okay...fingers crossed!  

In closing, Megan, I don't want  you to be concerned about missing out on any wedding details now that I'm moving away.  I promise to post as regularly as possible so you know everything that's going on!