Our Ultimate Marriage Test

For our honeymoon, instead of going somewhere tropical like Hawaii or somewhere romantic like Paris or somewhere just down right fun like Australia, we've opted to go on what I like to call The Ultimate Marriage Test. It's going to be 2000 miles, 2 countries, 4 states and 18 days of 24/7 togetherness. The road trip of a lifetime... to Canada! :) We were going to go on a mini-moon to Disneyland, but Dearest wanted to go somewhere new and we're going to Disneyland for New Years Eve anyway. It's not set in stone, but it seems like what we're leaning towards.

Since we're also taking Italian this semester (yes, I'm going back to school, but this time for fun) we are planning to go to Italy for our 1 year anniversary. We figure it'll give us over a year to become fluent.

Speaking of Hawaii, I'm going in a couple days! Yay! Maybe all that swimming and running on the beach will whip me into shape. I'm trying to lose that last 5 lbs! And I'm sure eating chips and all that cake tasting didn't help. :D

Delicious Cake!

We went cake tasting this past week and boy was it yummy! I never knew there were so many different varieties of wedding cake. There was chocolate with chocolate mousse, vanilla with strawberry preserves, lemon with lemon cream, chocolate with raspberry mousse... I could go on for a while. After tasting enough cake to consitute a meal, we decided on the flavors we're going to go with. Each tier will be a different flavor, so be sure to look out for the variety! :) We're scheduling a later appointment to figure out the design and look of the cake.

Didn't Make The Cut

I thought I'd give ya'll a little taste of my wedding dress shopping experiences. Here is a dress that didn't make the cut. :) This was my #1 choice until I found THE dress. I love the detail on the top. Doesn't it make me look super skinny? :D

Engagement Pictures... Check!

A couple days ago, we had our engagement pictures taken by our amazing photographer. Even just viewing a few of the shots on the small screen of her Canon (yay for brand power!), I knew that we had gotten the best photographer for our big day. She's so fun and easy going about things, making what could have been a seriously awkward 3 hours into a fun time with friends. The pictures wont be done for a few weeks and I am SO excited to see them and share a few with you!

And if you're looking for a great photographer at a very low price, let me know! :)

New Job

I started my new job a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it. It's a small team of only 7 people, including me, so it's a tight knit group. Lots of inside jokes that I'm slowly picking up on. ;) Training is going pretty well. I have to admit that the work is pretty basic compared to what I've done before. Just a lot of steps to memorize and products to learn.

In other wedding news, Dearest and I are taking our engagement pictures today! I'm really excited! I'm definitely excited to showcase my shoes. :D We've been waiting to send out 3/4ths of our Save-the-Dates because we want to use one of the photos from our engagement session, so they should be going out by the end of the month. Stay tuned for more news. :)

The Handsome Men

Being a woman and having never worn a tuxedo, I stopped in at Men's Wearhouse to poke around and see what sorts of styles and colors were available. The sales associate was really helpful in explaining the different styles of tuxes (the fit, number of buttons, lapel styles, etc) and colors/patterns. Here's a tux I like.

My main goal was to find a shade of pink that I liked. Pink, our accent color, can come in many many many shades and normally brides bring in their bridesmaid dresses to match the color. I on the other hand, decided to go backwards. I found a shade of pink at Men's Wearhouse and then I'll match everything else to that. Much easier, in my opinion. :)

With the help of my mom, we were able to get an idea of what Dearest and his groomsmen would wear. I know the guys aren't so fond of wearing pink, so I just wanted a pink tie, which matches quite well with a black vest, yet the color really pops. Dearest doesn't like to wear white, so he'll be wearing a silver vest and tie.

She's Here!

I ordered my dress in May and she wasn't set to arrive until early September- smack in the middle of my Hawaiian vacation. I called yesterday to check on the status of the dress and to my surprise, it had already arrived! My mom and I picked it up today and I love it! I had tried it on in ivory, but ordered white and it's beautiful. I can't wait to wear it on our wedding day. Dearest always asks if I want to get a second dress for the reception, but no way! I want to wear it as long as possible! I may even shorten it after the wedding so I can wear it on our anniversaries. :) The wedding seems more and more real now that I have my dress.

Mid-year Reflection

We've crossed the mid-year point, so it seems like a nice moment to reflect upon the first 7 months of the year. I made some resolutions, none if which were unattainable (what's the point of unattainable goals??).

~Finish School: I definitely finished school and 6 months earlier than I had originally planned. If you do the math of actual class time, it took me 10 weeks less than most of my fellow graduates. ;)

~ Finish a book or screenplay: I finished two screenplays! One full length and one short. I have to admit that I'm more proud of my short script, mostly because I felt I invested a lot of time and effort, even if it was only 12 pages.

~ Save some dough: Saving has gone... no where. We're debt free (aside from that 40" HDTV...), which is nice. We've got a lot of upcoming expenses, most of them wedding related.

~ Try a new recipe every week: I'd say everything even out to a new one each week. Some weeks we try 3 or 4 new things, other busy weeks I stick to something simple and familiar. One of my favorites so far: "shake and bake" chicken.

~ Make my skinny jeans my everyday jeans: I'm doing a lot better. Not necessarily losing pounds, but I'm still thinning out. There's this ad at 24 Hr Fitness of a woman and her personal trainer. The quote over her head explaining her reason for hitting the gym: "To fit into my wedding dress." 'Nuff said.

~ Move: We moved! I'm pretty sure I've written about this before, since I love love love the place. :)

It's been an eventful 7 months!

Aquarium/2 yr Celebration

In honor of our two year anniversary, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I have this strange attraction to sea horses- maybe it's because the males give birth- and they debuted a new sea horse exhibit this summer. Although Dearest says he had a good time, I think he was just enjoying it because I enjoyed it. Hmm... I suppose aquariums aren't for everyone, but he's such a good sport! How did I ever get so lucky?! :)
There were tons of different sea horses. Some leafy, some mini. Overall it was just fun to spend a full day with Dearest, which is hard to come by these days, what with my 3 jobs. Dearest has taken full advantage of his summer break by indulging in all the mind-numbing games he can get his paws on.

Yummy Yummy Cake!

For me, one of the most important things about the wedding is the cake. Only once in your life can you go all out with a cake- like a 5 tier, fondant covered, sugar flower embellished, decadent triple chocolate cake. :) I orginally wanted to have cupcakes because well, cupcakes are so much more delicious than regular cake! But they are pretty impractical for a 250+ reception. There would be cupcakes on the tables, on top of speakers, as "floral" arrangements, coming out of peoples' pockets... So we've decided on a classic cake with a personal twist. Here are a few of my inspirations: