Adding a little sparkle

Being busy is something that I really enjoy. It keeps me active and makes me feel accomplished at the end of the day. Since I'm not working for another few weeks I've been trying to keep busy with running errands and getting everything out of the way before work starts...today was no exception.

This morning I was able to go to the gym (heck yes!) and get in a cardio work-out. Working out is something that makes me feel healthy and good about myself so it's great to be able to start my day off with it. After the gym I ran a couple of short errands and went back to Phil's house to eat lunch and feed my internet fix. Since I'm going to Virginia tomorrow to see my Boo (my maid of honor), I wanted to make sure to have the color swatch for the bridesmaids dresses so that we could get the paint needed for the centerpieces. I called the bridal shop to make sure they had the color swatch we needed and to see how much they would cost. While on the phone I mentioned to the saleswoman that my dress was ordered in a smaller size and wanted to try one on in that size to see how close I was to fitting in it. She surprised me by telling me that my dress had come in!

Once the call was ended, Phil's mom and I made plans to go down there, try it on, and pick it up. I had promised Phil's Gram that she would be able to see me in it when the dress came in since she wasn't there when I picked the dress, so she decided to join us.

The drive to the bridal shop is about an hour away, so we made our way down there. When we arrived I got to try on my dress to find out that it fit! I had ordered the size a little smaller so that we would be able to get it altered a smaller size if necessary. The new consultant that I had was a little underwhelming. She kept trying to push me to buy things and I was less than thrilled with her lack of attentiveness.

The one good thing about the trip was that there was a brooch that I had wanted to purchase there.

The dress itself is very simple so I thought an accessory would be nice to give it a little "bling" and "sparkle."

Overall, the day ended up being great and we were able to get way more done than originally planned! I'm definitely looking forward to a little "break" from everything and to see my friends down in Virginia.

We finally got one!

I've been pretty busy this past week running errands of all kinds. My favorite, of course, are wedding-related and yesterday was no exception. Phil and I met with our DJ and went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond afterwards to work on our registry. I love that store because there are so many things there and we always have extra 20% off coupons to use. So, as we are walking around, we found what I've wanted for about a year now. One of these

What I love about this convection oven is that it has buttons to press, not knobs to turn because I seriously always turn it too far and burn my toast! The other thing is that it can bake, toast, and roast a small chicken in it as well as a 12" pizza! Seriously, I've wanted one forever, but because of the price, Phil said "No" and I figured we would eventually get married and it could go onto the wedding registry.

Luckily as we were walking through the store yesterday, I saw the box for one and scanned it immediately. There wasn't a display model out anymore and that seemed odd so when we checked the price of the item in the scanner it was $30 off. Score! I promptly told Phil this and said if we used our 20% off coupon then we could get it for half off the original price (which Target is still charging for the same convection oven). He didn't seem too thrilled about it so we didn't get it.

On the way home we were talking about the registry and what we had chosen and the convection oven was brought up again...funny how that happens. We were talking about the prices and everything when it finally "clicked" for him. This was the last one at the store and it was basically on clearance. Once he figured that out, he decided that the best thing would be to go back to the store and get it!

Needless to say, I am beyond thrilled with our new purchase as my old toaster oven only works on the "bake" function and we don't have the tray that it came with. Now, I'll have to try it out soon and see how well it works!

Registering

With so much of the wedding planning done (for now) we're focusing on starting our registry. We started over the vacation by starting off doing it online when we had some downtime and I must admit that I love it. For me, it's the one time in life that you get to be specific and say what exactly you want. That doesn't mean that we're necessarily going to get everything on the registry, but it's fun to look and pick what we would like to have.

Starting online was the best thing for Phil and I. We were able to sit down next to each other and as I would scour the stores online, he would be able to watch the Weather Channel and give his opinion on what he liked and didn't like without it being overwhelming. I liked that since it was online, it was categorized for us and I could search for what the items were and pick from the list instead of walking into a giant store with unlimited options. Did you know that I'm incredibly indecisive? Well, I am and it can be a problem.

We plan on going to the store later on and finishing it with things we couldn't find online. Surprisingly, Phil is very interested in registering and wants to give his opinion on what is on the list and what is not! I'm looking forward to finishing it up and having one more thing checked off the wedding to-do list.

What do you think is the most important thing to register for?

The Perfect Shoes...

Today was, by far, my favorite day of our vacation. We went to the outlets where I found these...

These are my wedding shoes!!!

Are these seriously not the most perfect shoes ever?! These are the shoes that I will be walking down the aisle with and think they are absolutely perfect. We found them at the outlets today and as soon as I saw them I thought..."Those are perfect for my wedding shoes!" When Phil came in the store I immediately had him come over to see them and to my shock...he AGREED completely! He said that they "fit" me and my personality. When we looked at the shoes they only had one pair in my size. As soon as I saw them I just knew that these were THE shoes.

Now, I just have to learn to walk gracefully in them...

McFatty Monday

I took last week off because of the holiday, but did manage to lose 1 pound! This week I'm on vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina so there is no scale around for the moment. I'm really happy about that because something about the heat, humidity, and long hours in a car make me want salty and sweet snacks...a lot.

As you can imagine, this week is pretty hard for me eating-wise. It's also difficult because there are a lot of comments being made to "remind" me that the weight will not come off for the wedding if my diet continues. You know what that makes me want to do? Sleep and eat more junk food.

I feel that there are times where it's ok to have an ice cream or have a little junk food, but it needs to be kept in moderation. It seems that people around me who love me are trying to be helpful by making these comments, but are really being hurtful. I feel that I'm not allowed to eat anything unhealthy because once I do, someone makes a comment (and no, Phil is definitely not saying these things!).

The other thing that was hard for me was working the new job. I was in training for two weeks, but the job was basically a tele-stalking recruiting position for the Red Cross and was incredibly stressful. There are rules to adhere by and no matter how much someone begged for you to take them off, there was nothing you could do about it. Not the job for me.

My job has ended (I'm sure I'll write about that soon enough) and feel that I will have more time to get things together and work out more consistently once again! I miss working out and how great it felt, so it will definitely be more of a priority until the new job starts!

Letter to Vendors

Dear Prospective Vendor,
My fiance and I are planning a wedding for late February of next year. We are looking for a few simple things that should be pretty simple, but just in case you need a clue please do not do any the following and still expect our business:

1. Show up 45 minutes late. Also, do not admit to wanting to "call and check in" with me earlier in the day because you are unsure of the time and still show up late for the incorrect time.
2. Be unwilling to work with what we want. It's OUR wedding and WE want certain things and a certain way. Yes, we are open to suggestion, but no, we don't want to play dance songs during the meal at the reception.
3. Just because I fill out the contact information page on your website at 11:35pm does not mean you can call me that late and keep me on the phone past midnight. I do not want to talk to anyone that late unless you are my bff or it is an emergency. Yes, I like prompt service, but please try to call the following day between normal waking hours (i.e. 9am-6pm).
4. Ask us for our budget and go as close to the top of it as possible. We would like to stay under budget if at all possible and will compare prices/quality with other vendors. Be reasonable and polite and you will be considered.
5. Please do not assume we want to spend significantly more for your services because you are "All about the party," have a blue wave light, and want to schedule the events for the reception in the most bizarre way possible. These things are not what we are looking for and your "unique-ness" is not worth the extra money...especially when you are creepy.
6. Do not try to be our best friend! Being polite, friendly, and personable are all things we are looking for, but crossing the line and sucking up just to get our business will not work.
7. Do not come unprepared! We make appointments so that you will be ready for us and we can see your best work, not with whatever you decide last minute. If we are not a priority, you clearly do not want our business.

With all of this said, we are looking for people who are professional, personable, willing to listen to what we would like, but still offer suggestions, and on-time. We know what is considered reasonable for what we would like and will not be choosing any vendor that is trying to charge more than what it is worth.

Thank you so much for considering to work with us!

*This letter is based on actual experience! I find it more funny than aggravating and wanted to share some of our experiences thus far. There are plenty more, but after our meeting tonight, I think we hit the jackpot of "what not to do!"

Engagement Pictures

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend, I know that we sure did! We were beyond blessed to have been able to spend it with family and friends.

We also were able to get our engagement pictures done today! We thought we weren't going to have enough time, but it all worked out and we love how they came out. Jackie did a fantastic job and was able to put some up on her blog tonight so feel free to check them out along with other work she has done recently. She does photography part-time and is working on building her portfolio so the best part about it is that the shoot was free! We are getting a cd with our images once they are edited and the only thing she wanted was to be able to use them in her portfolio. I highly recommend her if you need any portraits done.

Without further adieu here are some of the pics:

There are more on her website so feel free to check them out! And please excuse my hair...it was hot, humid, and we had to hike to take these pictures!