New year as Newlyweds!

Well, this will be our first official ringing-in of the new year as a married/legitimate couple!

And we are both SICK AS DOGS.

Sucks, but we remember fondly the New Year's Eves of past years today, knowing that no matter what, we made it a fun night despite often having too high of expectations for an epic evening.

The nicest thing about today was the Kyle was really trying to come up with something fun for us to do, since he wanted to make me happy and make the evening memorable.

Here is a tribute to our 8 New Years together!

2005-6 at Tempe Town Lake- Blues Traveler

2006-7 at our house

2007-8 at Tempe Town Lake- Bare Naked Ladies

It wouldn't let me flip it- 2009-10 at the Boes'

German New Year to celebrate with Casey and Karen

At Palbykin's 2010-11

In Keystone, CO 2011-12

3 Months of Marriage Bliss!

More like "busy-ness" but happy for the most part!

I think that I finally recovered from the post-wedding shock and have given myself enough distance to not be sad about it all being over, or feel exhausted just thinking about it all again. It is amazing that I survived planning a wedding, working, and all of our other normal life activities, seeing as how the last 2 months have been crazy busy and there was no wedding!

Come to think of it, there have been a lot of wedding things still going on in the house. First, there are the loads of thank you cards, which I finally finished today! I know, 3 months, seriously bad etiquette. But I was told by more than 1 person that I had a year and not to worry about it. And technically we didn't have the cards in our possession until 2 months ago! Next, we had to unpack all the gifts (and open them!) and then had to figure out what to get rid of and what to replace. We had a "successful" garage sale two weeks ago (raising $72!) to clear out the clutter, but are still weeding through endless items from our former separate lives. I finally was able to part with the large stack of bridal magazines, the file folders of planning materials from vendors we didn't choose, and have kept only a small stack of wedding souvenirs for a future scrapbook (which I'll probably change to a "scrap box" and then eventually just trash anyway!)  We narrowed down the boxes of extra decorations and found a great website to sell them on (when I get the time), and we brought the wedding bench inside and lacquered it.  Add to the wedding stuff the fact that we have a new baby nephew AND the holiday season just ended, and man, time has FLOWN! I miss you guys!

We came home to a record-breaking speckling! (A game we play on our friends who watch each others' houses)

This was our front room in the aftermath- before we added in the boxes of decorations, too!

One by one... Kyle opened and I recorded the contents.

Scott wrapped his gift in a baby diaper box, just look at Kyle's reaction here...

The mess after opening boxes and boxes! Thank you to all our generous friends for so many gifts!

There is just so much I feel like I could still share about the wedding and the post-wedding fallout! I miss writing, and I hope that some of you will be happy to know that I am back, feeling relaxed this winter break, and prepared to post to my heart's content until I feel like I've said all I need to say!

Honey- we've made it a 1/4 of year already and we haven't killed each other (or even come close!) Congratulations on wearing a ring with pride, and thank you for making me so very happy as a wife.

Wedding Recap Part I

So, I am back. Sorry for the delay and absence. I know you missed me every minute of your day.

I want to go back through some of my favorite things about our wedding. First, it will help cure the post-wedding blues that I've only been avoiding with a busy work and social schedule up until this point. Second, I reviewed many other weddings, so I must review my own. Third, you KNOW you want to hear more!

I am going to start by talking about the events leading up to the actual wedding. For one, making programs. This became a huge task because I put it off for so long, and of course I wanted to make them really unique, so I stressed over content, format, materials, construction... My awesome friend Nadja came over to help one weekend while Kyle was at his bachelor party in Vegas. We ran out of card stock, had to wait because Hobby Lobby is closed on Sundays, got FedEx/Kinkos to professionally cut them so we saved our hands from arthritis, (They are the BEST and their machine rocks), and had lots of wine.

Here is the result:

Photo courtesy of Devon Adams Photography

Along with programs, my sister-in-law, Karen, helped me to construct our table "numbers" which were named for places Kyle and I love in Colorado. We ordered picture frames off Etsy, added labels, and inserted photos of Kyle and me at the locations. Here is a compilation of the frames:

I think they turned out pretty cute!

My mom and in-laws helped to construct the aisle runners, which made the aisle space a bit tighter than we expected for 3 people (both dads got caught up on the trees), but were SO beautiful and just what I imagined.  Here is a shot of them, I am sure you'll see more when I get the wedding pictures themselves posted.

Photo courtesy of Devon Adams Photography

So, as you can see, the details really started to come together nicely. I think that my vision was pretty close to the final result! 

Oh no, I'm not finished, even though I'm officially a Mrs.!.

Well, the wedding may be officially over, but the blogging MUST GO ON!!!!

I still have so many great details that I kept quiet to surprise our guests. I want to share some pictures of the final preparations, the aftermath, and of course, the party itself!!

Leading up to the wedding 3 weeks ago, I know I had the intention to blog away my stress, but the stress won the battle, and I didn't find time to fit in posting between grading, writing sub plans for the days I took off, and finishing the last minute details. Oh, and dealing with those crises that everyone warned me about but I didn't believe in until they happened.

Like, who needs a wedding ring, right??? Apparently Kyle didn't, since his ring was not showing up in the mail. Finally I broke down and called the jeweler, who had assured we'd have the ring in time, only to find out that it wouldn't be SENT until the day of the wedding! WHAT?!?! I may have freaked out, and told the jeweler that we were getting married that weekend, and would need something. He sent out a replacement ring, and this is what arrived the following Friday (1 week before the wedding):

The first fix...

Yea, I know, FRICKIN' BLUE?!?!? What part of "wooden ring" translates into "blue"? So, I again freaked out. This time Kyle was in Vegas for his bachelor party, so I turned to his sister, the ever calm Shannon, to help solve this problem. Then to Karen, the strong-willed and well-practiced negotiator. Thanks to both of them, we got a SECOND replacement ring to use for the ceremony, and for the honeymoon, and still because WE STILL DO NOT HAVE KYLE'S ACTUAL RING.

And, I forgot to mention, the one we ordered may not even fit, because the OTHER jeweler that measured his ring size used a thin band to measure, which turns out to be a different type of measurement than the thick band we ordered.

We await the results...

Ok, ok, the rest of the men!

My mother has put in a request for me to finally finishing blogging about the men in my wedding party. I didn't want them to think that I left them out. This post is therefor dedicated to... THE BROS!

There are three brothers in our wedding. Although I only grew up with one, I have gained two more in the past few years as I've been invited into the Davis family. My brother is also gaining a brother in Kyle, so we can pretty much assume all hell may just break loose here in the future at family function.

First, we'll start with the eldest of the brothers, Brett. Brett has been absolutely amazing during this wedding planning time. He has a great job working as a liquor distributor, actually I think he is now a representative for a specific brand within the company, but anyway, he has been our go-to man for advice on drinks and for gathering up resources for our open bar. Brett is also dad to the nephews, so he is incredibly valuable in keeping them in line as ring-bearer and usher. We are grateful in many ways!

With Brett

Next is Casey, Kyle's best man due to the fact that Kyle was the only family member at Casey's wedding in the Seychelles, so he wanted to "return the favor". These two grew up living in the same room for many years, attended the University of Arizona together, swam in many meets on many early mornings, and have more recently traveled together throughout Europe. Although I only had the opportunity to meet Casey twice during the first four years of our relationship, as he was living in Iraq, Djabouti, Kuwait, or Thailand, I am glad that he decided to domesticate himself in the U.S. for a few years so we would be able to hang out more often!

Casey and Karen's Wedding in the Seychelles

Me and my bro in Denver

Finally is my own brother, Brian. Why Kyle ever agreed to allow him in the wedding is beyond me! :) (Just kidding, Brian, but I know that this could spell trouble). Kyle has adopted my brother as his partner in Jack Daniels consumption. Although this angers me at times due to the resulting behaviors, I am glad to see that Brian and Kyle get along as well as they do. It just reminds me sometimes of when my brother used to steal away my high school boyfriend to play video games for hours on end. 

ONE WEEK!!!

I know, I know, where I have been lately? Well, in case you haven't experienced it all yourself, when planning a wedding, you barely have time to breathe near the end of the planning period! But, I don't want to horribly neglect my job of informing you loyal readers about all the fun that has been going on! My goal is to post a blog a day until the wedding! It may not be lengthy, but it will help build the excitement!

And, when it is all said and done, the secrets I've kept all this time are going to finally be revealed as I will continue to write about our wedding experiences to share with friends and family who were unable to be with us on our special day. It will be a great medium to recap the major events of the weekend. I also think I'd go through some major blogging withdrawal if I just quit cold turkey.

So what have I been doing? Anxiously awaiting the final packages of supplies and decorations to arrive at our doorstep. Doing art projects. Organizing timelines, drivers, gifts, bridal necessities, honeymoon luggage. Dealing with "normal" life throwing us curve balls, like my car key falling apart, or our sprinklers springing leaks. Answering so many e-mails that I try to not open Gmail until I am mentally prepared. Working out. Buying new clothes that fit my slender new figure. Trying not to run out of funds!

Are you excited? Can you believe that this journey is nearing its climactic peak? I am getting teary with anticipation and nostalgia all at the same time.

<a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5751029/Erica%27s_wedding" title="Wordle: Erica&#39;s wedding"><img src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/5751029/Erica%27s_wedding" alt="Wordle: Erica&#39;s wedding" style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd"></a>

2 week countdown begins...

In 2 weeks we will be done with all of this! We will be married. We will be exhausted from a full weekend of fun. We will be relaxing, and ready to start the next chapter of our life, officially.

I cannot believe how fast this time has gone by. Sitting here and thinking back, I remember thinking it would never end at times, thinking that I had all the time in the world to get stuff done at other times, and missing out on some of the fun because I was so worried about the work to be done.

Kyle reminds me every morning of how long we have until we get married. His enthusiasm proves that this is just right, we are totally meant to be, and I am really lucky to have him in my life, forever!

We were out to dessert (cheat night, once again) with our good friends tonight, and we got to meet their newborn son. It is finally hitting us that we are no longer going to be "Erica and Kyle" but "The Davis FAMILY" before we know it! This is why all the heartache of making it official matters, because we have bigger goals for our relationship.

We are truly really close to finishing all the prep work that needs to be done. I have some minor art projects I'll be sure to document this week, I have some pictures and songs to upload, but other than those tasks, we are ready to roll with all the important parts. People keep telling me it will all fall together nicely. I hope so, because I am running out of brain cells and creativity.

Good thing I have a lot of post-its, because I'm gonna need a lot of reminders in the next week to make sure I am not forgetting anything!

Thanks for coming along with us on our journey so far!

Erica

Cheers!

Phoenix Bachelorette Party!

That's is right, bachelorette #2!

What a night to remember/forget! (I remember most of it!)

Thank you so much to my ladies Bev, Drue, Amanda, and Lindsay for helping to organize my evening of debauchery.

We started the evening with gourmet pizza and sangria at Grazie. There I was given a bouquet of lollipops and was told I needed to sell them to buy an outfit for my honeymoon! (see photo) Then we went to Dos Gringos, mostly for nostalgia, but somewhat to get the party started. It was too quiet, so we went to a club called BS; nearly all men there, if you get my drift, but what else would a bachelorette want?! It was totally by chance, but when I saw the nearly naked guys dancing on stage, I knew we found a good place. Cheap drinks, too! Then we moved to the final destination of Martini Ranch, negotiated a reduced cover charge, and watched Rock Lobster rock the 80's tunes, with a short trip to the club to dance, too (but a creepy guy ruined that for me). We weren't kicked out until after 2:00, but then I was insisting on a snack, so we hit up the after-hours bar, Gus's for pizza, where a very nice man practically let me steal slices from his pizza since the line was so long. I never made it inside. And I think I walked there barefoot. Rickshaw back to the Valley Ho- quick night's sleep- and a great breakfast and some pool time topped off the weekend. (Need I remind you this all took place the night of my shower, I was EXHAUSTED)

P.S. I made $70!

Things I learned at this party:

1. When eating outdoors at Grazie, bring an umbrella to protect yourself from the misters/rainstorm (the misters soaked us!)
2. Order bread
3. Always carry a "big-ass glass" with you because it is much harder to spill when dancing (see photos)
4. Don't try to sell Scottsdale douchebags a lollipop before 10:00 p.m., or before 5 drinks...
5. Use pathos to get people to feel sorry for you and give you cash (for the lollipops)
6. GO TO BS, the club where male go-go dancers (hotter than strippers) will give you jello shots and there are 2 for 1s every Saturday night!
7. Pizza, Gus's, 2:00 a.m., DONE!
8. Get a hotel room close by, like at the Valley Ho
9. Hire a rickshaw
10. Wear sensible shoes
11. Go see Rock Lobster at Martini Ranch and rock out!
12. Water, drink, water, drink, water, drink

Oh man, it was a great time, probably the most fun I've ever managed to have in Scottsdale.

My "big-ass glass" from Karen!

The lollipop bouquet and glass I carried all night- got my arm workout in!

Mom rallied for the first stop!

Nadja made it out to 2 bachelorette parties!

This one was for Kyle and all my friends who love The Captain! Not sure where I got the crown...

My Wonderful Shower!

Girl time post #2: My Bridal Shower!

I am not the world's largest fan of showers for many reasons. One, I am burnt out after all the bridal and baby showers I've attended over the past few years (they are countless). Two, I usually feel awkward asking anyone to do anything for me like plan a party. Three, I usually plan the party, so I know it will be exactly what I imagined, thus giving up control makes me a bit uneasy.

But my shower was perfect! It was at The Living Room (my favorite bar and the location of my 30th birthday bash 2 years ago), in Chandler. This martini-themed bar specializes in small plates and fabulous drinks.

30 or so of my female family and friends gathered together to celebrate! I must admit that it is exhausting to socialize with three or four different groups of people at once, making sure they are all having a good time (I know that this precursor to the wedding was good practice). We had a spread of bruschetta, flatbreads, hummus, and classic wedding cookies from Barb's Bakery downtown Phoenix.

My sisters created a few simple games, Kyle and Erica trivia for one, and Bride Bingo (for gift opening, when I got a gift or said something about the gifts they got to mark it off), and then created a mad lib out of my wedding website story. Totally typical English teacher.

My sister-in-law, Karen, also created amazing decorations and my other sister-in-law, Anji, sent out adorable invitations. My third sister-in-law, Shannon, helped put up the decorations and my mother-in-law Peg helped cover the cost!

Thank you all for all you did for me. I never felt more loved and special.

AND of course I got some wonderful gifts, the highlight definitely being my CROCK POT (so I can shut up about it now) and some scandalous goods for the honeymoon, too. :)

And of course, pictures:

My sister-in-law, Karen, created this awesome banner (and another with our wedding date) for decoration!

My sister painted these glasses with chalkboard paint and wrote in names for favors.

The ladies of the Jensen family were all here!

The spread- amazing cookies and flat breads.

Gift time!

My knives!!! :)

Thank you for making me learn to cook!

Thank you, Audra, for the Crock pot!

The new family! Anji, Peg, Shannon, Aunt Pat, Karen. Thank you for all your help!

Much Needed Girl Time

Over the past month, I've been reminded multiple times of how many wonderful females are in my life. I can love Kyle because these women taught me to first love who I am and to be comfortable with all my quirks. It is no wonder that a weekend away with them added up to one unforgettable (for the most part) time!

My first bachelorette party (yes, I got 2!) was in Denver, Colorado. My good friends from college, along with my sisters, organized a weekend of fun activities. I can honestly say that I had the time of my life! Everything was just perfect, and reminded me of all the good times we've spent together in the past.

We stayed at the Curtis hotel downtown, walking distance from bars and activities. From a pretty tame dinner and martini bar hop on Friday night, to a spa day on Saturday, to a wild night of dancing and debauchery on Saturday night, even my Sunday morning hangover could not put a damper on the fun.

I learned a few things during the course of the weekend that I feel the need to pass along for your benefit:

• My sister does not like me trying to find her a date to my wedding at a bar
• Flabongos draw a lot of attention
• Bouncers love bachelorette parties
• I know a lot about Kyle! (We played a game [see picture below] where I had to take a shot if I guessed an answer wrong for trivia questions the girls had made Kyle answer)
• I need to remember to take pictures before entering a club and sweating my mascara off
• Drinking at altitude= bad hangover
• Wear your most comfortable shoes
• Avoid throwing glasses into the street, or kicking newspaper boxes
• Don't plan for breakfast the morning after your bachelorette party (before noon)

Here are some photos:

The whole family got involved for dinner the first night!

Martini Bar Hopping

Spa Time- complete with spritzer!

Muddy feet but happy ladies!

This is where the trouble started...

A 3-course meal with drink pairing per course!!!

Delta Gamma Pride!

This spells trouble...

Now this is what fun looks like!!! Bride sailor hat AND crown!

This is called a flabongo... I only took 1 over the course of the night!

The Friday night gang! Cassie, Sarah, Melissa, Kaycee, Jenna, Amanda, Erica, Jill, Irina, Katie

The final stretch...

We have hit it, the one month mark. No more counting down months, as now we focus on weeks and days. Soon enough it will be hours. I can honesty say I had no idea how fast a year would go!

The sad part of today is that I am celebrating alone, with Kyle being gone to India for another week. I grilled my first turkey burgers by myself (and they came in a two-pack, rub it in why don't ya!), I am toasting myself, and I am going to watch some Arizona Highways in honor of Kyle.

Dinner for me! (See, minus the cookie, still being healthy).

This week has made me realize that I am very, very excited to marry Kyle, because I really miss him (now that the chaos of my shower weekend is over at least) and I realize when he is gone how much I love to be around him. Everything is more fun when Kyle is around. And although I was excited a week ago to have some down time to get all my work accomplished, I have barely made a dent in that list, and I don't know where my time has gone! So really, it must not be his distractions alone that cause my procrastination.

I also have so, so much left to do, and everyone is being so nice and offering to help, but really there isn't much I can pass on to others. The last tasks involve gifts for friends and family, things to buy, and personalization of items. And I don't want to give away every surprise for our wedding!

So here's to one final month of the stress and single life! (Let's get real, I haven't been living single for many, many years). But for some reason, I am so excited to have the title of "married" officially!

I LOVE AND MISS YOU, KYLE.

Hello from India!

Kyle is in India

So, you know how you wanted to freak out the month before the wedding because of the long list of things to do, and felt like it would never get accomplished?! Thank God your husband-to-be was there to help, along with friends and family.


Or not.


India. That is right, Kyle left today to go to India until September 5. That means I have 2 full weeks of wedding planning chaos that I will have to do on my own. Luckily, I have my mom and sisters in town this upcoming weekend to help figure out some of the more artistic details.

I took a picture of Kyle's lucky travel Buddha so he could "take it with him"

I know I have influence when he has a typed checklist...

Should I be worried this trip required shots?

What is worse than not having help is just not having him around, though. I will be bored, not know what to do with my evenings, have to make dinner for one, learn how to grill a good chicken breast, and make sure I keep up on household chores on my own.

Wait a second here, I may be on to something...

Without Kyle running interference, I might ACTUALLY get some of these things done! No more putting grading off because he wants to go out. No more waiting to go to the gym so we can go together until after he is done with work. I can eat dinner before 8! I can get into bed before 11! (I know he will say that I can do all these things while he is here, but you all know that is much easier said than done when you're working on 2 separate schedules).

I get 2 weeks of chick flicks and "Bride Nights". 2 weeks of down time. This may be the best thing to happen to our marriage as of yet.

Productivity. Here I come...




As soon as Kyle finally gets on the plane. Right now I will just keep talking to him and get my fix of gushy love talk. I really will miss him.