The Bling

This past weekend T and I took a big step and purchased our wedding bands.  Going into it, we thought we were going to be paying thousands of dollars, but we were both pleasantly surprised.

We decided to buy our rings from Fred Meyer - which is where T bought my engagement ring. Neither T nor myself knew what to expect before we went. I thought I would want a plain white gold band , and T didn't even want to wear a ring (don't worry, dear readers, we reached a compromise).

I tried a few different rings on just to see - I did not like any of the "solitaire enhancers" and I also didn't like any of the bands that had a lot of diamonds. So I tried a few plain white gold bands. I didn't like those either.  So, we gave up on me for a bit before I got frustrated and switched to men's rings for T. 

T tried a few plain white gold bands, and they were ok, but he wasn't crazy about any of them. So, I got him to try a white gold band with some texture etched into it. He actually liked that one - it is simple and subtle, and a good fit for T.



Back to women's rings.  The salesman brought a few more rings with diamonds, one that had prong set diamonds, and another that had diamonds on the edges, and a third with subtle channel set diamonds. T really like the one with the channel set diamonds, and so did I.

So there you have it. T and I successfully bought our wedding bands with little to no unncessary fuss :)



Ketchup - or should I say Catch - Up

I've been a terrible blog author lately - really just disgraceful actually.  I guess its been since about February since I last wrote. So much has happened, but I'll sum it quickly.

I graduated, turned 22, went to Disneyworld, decided to get married at Disneyworld, moved in with TH, got a grown-up job, got a promotion, got a kitten, booked the wedding at Disney. And that is pretty much it.

Blogger, meet Sabrina.

I should go into more detail about moving the wedding. TH and I originally wanted to get married at DisneyWorld, but the more we talked about it the more we felt bad that it was going to be very small and very expensive. So we then decided to get married a little closer to home to make more people happy. The further along the planning got, the more we realized that the wedding was becoming less and less what we wanted and more and more a demon that was getting out of control. The guest list blew up from the maximum 50 that we wanted to about 150. The price tag grew out of control, and we basically had enough.

While TH and I were down at DisneyWorld we saw all of the places that we could have gotten married if we had done what we wanted originally, and we realized that it was still what we wanted.

So, we cancelled our date at Anderson, and booked one at Disney that is just going to be us, our parents, and his sister. The rest of my siblings (and nieces and nephew are coming down for the week, too). I could not be happier about the decision.

To compromise we are having an hors d'ouvres reception at Francescos in Rockford after we get back - showing the viceo of the wedding during it (there will be cake too :) )

TH and I just had to be reminded that this is one of the few days in our lives when we are supposed to be a little selfish :-)

Getting into Wedding Shape

As is customary for me (and a whole lot of other people out there) I made a New Year's Resolution to start getting into Wedding Shape.  For me, this does not mean losing weight (I'm one of those crazy people who is actually pretty happy with themselves) but rather, getting fit and getting healthy. 

So, I decided to follow my fiance's lead and give P90X (developed by Tony Horton and sold through Beachbody.com) a try.  This week I finally started the program.  You may have heard of P90X, and you may be wondering if it really works.  I cannot say from personal experience yet (although the 4 workouts I have done so far have kicked my butt - in a good way), but my fiance's family has done the program and they all look great!  Of course, it will not work if you do not commit and give each minute, of each workout, everyday your very best, but if you do these workouts are designed to get your body into the best shape of your life.  At the moment I am only doing P90X Lean (which is a lower intensity version of the program) because I have to take a week off in March and I want to start P90X Classic on April 12 (I'm supposed to finish Lean on April 30).  So, this way I'm just getting used to the workouts and getting my heart and lungs into better shape.

I'll have to keep you all posted on my progress, but I already would highly recommend the program to anybody (some may have to start with Power 90, which is a program designed to get you ready for P90X) not only because you can do it at home, but also because of the versatility of the program itself.

Bring it!

Well, it's been awhile

First of all, to anybody that actually reads this blog... I'm sorry that I've taken so long to post again.

So much has happened since my last post.  1. I went wedding dress shopping.  2.  I found a wedding dress!  3.  I bought a wedding dress!  That is pretty much all that has happened in the my wedding world (so I guess not that much has happened after all)

So I went to a grand total of 6 bridal boutiques... 6, and let me tell you, by #4 I (and my fearless partner in crime - my mom) were sick of dress shopping.  We started off at Brandi's Bridal in New Glarus, WI.  Brandi's was fantastic - a phenomenal start to the shopping process.  The consultant who worked with us was so helpful, and the dress selection within my price range was enormous!  I found several that I liked, and one that I loved.  I loved it so much that I was asking myself if it was The Dress, but Mom and I were unsure, so we did not buy it (pictured below).

Next stop - Vera's House of Brides.  To be honest, I really have nothing good to say about Vera's.

So, the next day, Mom and I went to Sara Grace in Rockford, IL.  This probably would have been a fun trip, but my mood was just atrocious.  I had nothing good to say about any dress (even though, looking back, I really like several of them).  We left disappointed and frustrated (I was disappointed and Mom was frustrated - with me).

So we took about a week and a half break from dress shopping.  During that time I helped my fiance coach his high school speech team, and I had an absolute blast (so much so, that I am now considering pursuing teaching, but that is another story).

The fourth shop was Beautiful Brides in Madison, WI.  I found a dress I really liked, but I read the price tag wrong - I thought it said $610, but I missed a 1... it was $1610... too far out of my price range after alterations.

#5, Premiere Couture... the only thing I have to say about this place was that it was waaaay to expensive for my blood.  Now after this, Mom and I had not planned on going to another shop, but she hates ending shopping days on a negative note, so we remembered a store in Monroe, WI called Mahin's, so I called and asked if they could squeeze me in - they could, so off we went.

The final shop... Mahin's in Monroe, WI.  From the minute we stepped foot in this store, Mom and I knew that we found a winner.  There were so many dresses (over 1000 we were told).  By this point, I was much more adventurous in dresses that I was willing to try on.  There was a dress in the front on a mannequin  that was more interesting and wild than any I had seen or tried on yet.  I loved it, but my mom was iffy about it because it was too wild for her taste.  Next, Mahin brought me a beautiful, elegant, and most of all, bridal.  It was the first dress I truly felt like a bride in.  However, I felt that the dress was not "me" enough.  So Mahin brought another dress that had been on a mannequin in the front, and Mahin had just put it on there that afternoon and nobody had tried it on yet.  As soon as I put it on, I knew it was The Dress.  It was the perfect combination of fun, elegant, sophisticated, and beautiful (just like me :) ).

I would put up pictures of my dress, but a certain fiance of mine reads this blog and neither he nor I wants him to be able to see me in it before the wedding day.

Throwing Tradition out the Window

So, first of all, Merry Christmas Eve to one and all (well all four of you that read this, thanks guys).

The title of this post "Throwing Tradition out the Window" is just going to be a little teaser of what my fiance and I think of typical wedding traditions (because we like to do things our own way).

First an anecdote... the other day, my fiance decided that it is not fair that a wedding should be all about the bride, so his new plan was to walk down the aisle after me with a red kimono swinging a samurai sword.  I assured him that I would still be the center of attention, so the new plan... jumping from a helicopter :-)

While I would like to say that all of that is nonsense, he had a really great point... a wedding is not all about the bride, it isn't her day.  A wedding is about two people and their decision to spend the rest of their lives together.  So I guess my big point is that it isn't going to be all about me - it will be about us.

Some other traditional wedding stuff I would like to throw out the window...

1. The Chicken Dance (or any other group dance for that matter)
2. Speaking of throwing...the throwing of the bouquet (not my thing)
3. A veil (I prefer a fresh flower instead)
4. A garter dance  

Not that any of those things are bad in any way, but those of you that know me will understand that they just really aren't my (nor are they my fiance's) cup of tea.
Now don't get me wrong, there are several wedding traditions that I find beautiful and significant...

1. The bride's father walking her down the aisle to give her away
2. Both the father/daughter dance and the mother/son dance
3. The first dance of the newlyweds

My fiance and I (I hope) will also be adopting a Japanese tradition - in honor of our nuptials occurring in a Japanese garden - of the bride and groom to be folding 1000 origami cranes to ensure their long and happy life together before the wedding (ideally these will serve as place cards and decorations at the reception).

Handling the Holidays: A Lesson in Time Management

Thanksgiving (last Thursday) gave the Fiance and I the opportunity to learn a new lesson about being engaged...

How to Handle the Holidays. 

It turns out, once you get engaged, you start becoming a part of your fiance's family (if you weren't already before) and he (or she) becomes a part of yours.  That said, you have new family celebrations to attend on the Holidays and are still expected to go to your own.  In my (and my fiance's) case, I have 2 separate Thanksgivings to attend (my mom's family and my dad's family) and the fiance's family also has a celebration and their own traditions that he has never missed.

Now this year, we chose to attend our own separate Thanksgiving celebrations.  However, as we travel through our lives together, this will no longer be a great solution (i.e. if and when we ever have children, each family will want to see them).

My new proposed solution.... Not to rely on holidays for family visits because then they just become a hassle when they should be joyful celebrations.  This said, I think that for Thanksgiving we will simply alternate which celebration we go to each year (his one year, my two the next) and then travel back to his parents to play board games and then the next day decorate the Christmas Tree.


Another fun lesson the fiance and I learned over the weekend... weekend getaways are an absolute must to maintain sanity.  We went to Galena, IL Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon.  It is a picturesque town in Northwestern Illinois.  We took (well the fiance got a hold of my camera and took) a million pictures. It was, simply put, amazing.  Unfortunately, I was spoiled this past week and weekend and now I just want to be with him during the week more than ever.

I've been waiting my whole life for this day

Alright, by my whole life I mean 10 years... Yep, that's right, people, tonight is the Premiere of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've got my ticket, made my t-shirt, finished my research paper that is due tomorrow (take that Winfield Scott), and I am ready. 

For all of you out there that do not, or can not, understand my excitement, that's fine.  I realize that not everybody has gone to nearly all of the midnight showings, read the books the day they came out without a break, or bought Quidditch Through the Ages (Rowling) and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Rowling).  If you're one of these people, that's cool, just don't rain on my parade.

Let me be excited about the end of a story whose characters I've grown up with.  I know I'm a nerd, but that's alright with me. 

Although nobody ever comments on this (and I think only like 2 people read it....), I want you guys to comment and tell me a book or movie that was important to your childhood.

That's all for today (sorry, no wedding updates).