7 Month Mark!

How incredibly lucky are we that we actually HAVE the 7-month mark to celebrate this year?! A year earlier or later and we wouldn't have this extra day to wait, but also this extra landmark to celebrate!

Leap years are supposed to be lucky, and Leap Day is supposed to be the day you try something new and crazy, because it is not supposed to count. Although I can't claim to have done anything new or exciting today, I did get to go out to dinner with good friends to celebrate, and you could technically count the fact that I somehow got Kyle to want to marry me that "crazy something new".

And do you really want me to blow your mind- 7 is a lucky number, and that is how many months we have left on this lucky, extra day! Can you believe it?! That must be the reason why this wedding just feels right, like everything has fallen into place, and that this entire relationship (of nearly 7 years now) has just been fated by the Heavens.

I am one happy, lucky, Leap year girl right now! Hope that I can help spread a little of that joy your way on this Wednesday!

Confession: I am a bad bride

Lately, I have had to face the realization that I am not a very good bride. I am not a Bridezilla, so don't take it that way, I am the opposite, I don't have enough opinions or enough "vision" in my mind to insist upon perfection.

For example, although my sisters found a fabulous bridesmaid dress that they both liked on the first day we shopped, I waited until recently to give the go-ahead for the dress. Then I have procrastinated sending out the information for ordering to all my other bridesmaids. I feel like such a slacker!

I tried to dissect this issue. I believe part of my problem is the fact that I'm afraid to disappoint my girls with my choice. Since day one, I've been worried about making everyone else at the wedding happy (as you've seen in previous posts). I also just think that I gave myself a LOT of time between the engagement and the wedding, so I am not working well without the pressure (once an AP kid, always an AP kid!)

But anyway, I hope that this is just paranoia and that I really am not falling behind in my planning, nor do I have as much to do as I fear (lurking behind every corner, more wedding must-haves that I missed).

Here's a teaser for you:

Which one

did I

choose????

 

 

 

 

 Dresses from Pinterest collection- Da Vinci, Impressions, Dessy, and the Perfect Palette blog

Wishing for Trees

Lately I have had a massive tree obsession. I think that sometimes I just crave some shade, hearing the breeze running through the leaves, and the colors (green, gold, red, whatever!) that the trees provide. People claim that there are "trees" in Arizona, but anything under 10 feet tall doesn't count in my book, and anything that pricks you with thorns, scratches you with needles, or you can't climb, isn't a reliable tree, either.

Here are my latest tree-inspired wishes:

ALIBI NYC

Anthropologie

 

 

 

 Thank you, Pinterest, for feeding my tree/shopping/jewelry obsession...

More domestic bliss!

Ok, after my post about past Valentine's Days gone bad, I wound up eating my words a bit this past Tuesday. I had rolled my eyes all day long as my students brought giant stuffed dogs to class, bouquets of flowers were delivered in the middle of quizzes, and all too much chocolate was passed around (none to me, mind you), but when I got home to roses and a romantic date night, I was put in my place.

My romantic "give in to this Hallmark holiday" place.

So I cooked a home made meal. The kicker- NO RECIPE. NO BOX. NO FROZEN FOODS. I chopped vegetables, I added spices, and I made it FROM SCRATCH! (Ok, I had bought the pasta at the Farmer's Market, but still). Then I bought a bottle of Pinot Noir, rented a Rom Com, and spent the night with Kyle. And there were tears. Tears over a Facebook post about an old man who was buying his wife, deceased for 3 years, a Valentine and a rose because she was the only person who would ever have his heart. Tears over the movie One Day with Anne Hathaway. But mostly I think the tears were from the past few weeks of stress adding up and the realization that Kyle, no matter what my world looks like, will always be that rock and we'll have many, many more Valentine's Days to remind us of the love that keeps me going.

The results! Look at the color. Bob Harper would be proud!

Proff that I really cook!

Whiskey Wish

This week's wish is not for me, but for Kyle. After all, the guys have to get something they want for the wedding, too!

http://www.bowtiesandbliss.com

Bachelorette- Vegas Style!

We are lucky girls!

Alright, I have just witnessed, participated in, and survived my second Vegas bachelorette weekend of all time, and this time I had real cause to celebrate with my own upcoming nuptials.

The last time I was in Vegas for a bachelorette party was for my college friend Melissa. The weekend involved such shenanigans as "travelers" (drinks to go, with the lax open-container laws of Vegas, only ours were full-on bottles of booze), yard drinks by the pool, flamingos, and some sun-poisoning.

This visit was to celebrate my friends Jill and Sarah's bachelorette parties, and I went along for the triple threat! Nothing is more fun than telling people that ALL 3 of you are getting married. We were joined by other friends and Jill's families (current and future), and it was one of the best times I've had, ever, not just in Vegas.

Friday night we hit the country bar/restaurant, Toby Keith's, and danced the night away. Saturday we hit up Fremont Street (the "classic" strip) and went ziplining. After a necessary stop at the buffet at Fitzgerald's (you can't avoid a buffet in Vegas!) we returned to the hotel, when the REAL celebration began!

Saturday will go down in history as epic and unreal, and full of crazy laughs and crazier memories (we can only remember thanks to the digital photo evidence). As graduates of Colorado College, no night can commence without a classic dancing and drinking pre-party! This pre-party came with a little surprise, let's just say of "Russian origin", from my fabulous fiance. None of us really expected that, but it was certainly a highlight for the ladies! After that excitement, we scored VIP entrance to 1 Oak, the club at the Mirage where we were staying. We had comped drinks for the first 2 hours, which was plenty, and we all danced until our stilletos burned holes into our feet and we literally began collapsing to the dance floor. What night in Vegas would be complete without additional debauchery, with visits to Subway and McDonald's at 5:00 a.m., snapping photos with a bride and groom, walking though the casino, and starting our own dance party in the middle of the empty lounge. Oh, and "Tebowing".

<record scratch> Whhhhaaattt? 

Oh, that's right, Jill and Nadja started to Tebow all over the place, in random people's pictures, with random strangers, and yes, even with the bride.

Notice the man walking by and staring...

Hilarious. 

Guess you had to be there.

So, what happens in Vegas doesn't really STAY in Vegas, but the truth is, do we really even know what just happened in Vegas??

(It is probably better that way...)

That is us ziplining Fremont!

Dancing at 1 Oak with my DG girls!

Sarah bought us these shirts!

So cute!

Valentine's Day Confession

With the upcoming holiday growing ever so near, I feel like I need to recap my Valentine's Day history to fully explain why it is that I don't fully support this holiday. I am not a cynic, but I am also not going to give into consumerism. (Maybe on Christmas, but not in the middle of February!) However, the real reason to dislike V-day is the pressure it places on us to make the day go well, when really it most likely won't. Here are a few examples:

Valentine's Day 1987- Kindergarten exchange day- we all had boxes in the floor in a circle. As we were walking around the circle to deliver the valentines, clumsy me trips over a box of one student (I think I was pushed, actually), and sprains an ankle.

Valentine's Day 1992- 5th Grade and my teacher let my boyfriend at the time sit next to me for the exchange. We exchanged extra special valentines that year, king-sized candy bars (and small ones for everyone else). I realize that Valentine's Day could make me fat.

Valentine's Day 1996- My lovely high school boyfriend at the time gave me heart-shaped cubic zirconia earrings in a hand-made plastic and yarn heart box. Shortly afterwards we broke up. Hence forth, I hated heart-shaped jewelry.

Valentine's Day 1997- My new high school boyfriend orders a limo to take us to an Italian restaurant, invites a buddy and his girlfriend along for the ride, and then takes me to Titanic (which we had already seen)and I spend the evening in tears leading to convulsions. Upon dropping us off at home after the movie, the limo gets stuck in the ditch at the bottom of the driveway. Epic fail.

Valentine's Day The College Years- Numerous "single's awareness day" celebrations. One nice trip to the mountains, which was promptly followed by another breakup.

Valentine's Day 2007- I bought Kyle a 6 pack of Guiness and made a trail of Hershey kisses through the house to his office, where I left a Valentine that consisted of a picture of Final Fantasy. I told him to enjoy the evening without me and to have a night doing the things he really enjoyed, beer and video games. We still have the Hershey kisses in the freezer.

Other than those memorable years, Valentine's Day has been largely forgettable.

A Non-Valentine's Weekend Celebration- Westin Kierland May 2011

P.S. If you are one of those former boyfriends, sorry! And if you are Kyle, no pressure, really. Let's celebrate when the roses are cheaper, the restaurants emptier, and the love less commercialized.

Seriously Slacking Wish

We brides all hit that bump in the road, you've already heard about mine, but that wall where we can't go further with wedding planning because we are burnt out! So, my wish today has nothing to do with weddings. Sorry for my brides to be out there, I don't want to put the wrong idea in your heads, but every once in awhile it is important to remember that we are not brides-by-profession, and our professions will consume our lives at points, putting weddings on the back burner. This past weekend I traveled to Washington, D.C. and attended a leadership conference with 12 high school students. It was a really fun trip. Lots of walking around and seeing the sights, lots of motivation, and a positive feeling to spread to all upon my return (I CAN make a difference!)

Today's Wish: For more of my students and more of my coworkers to be able to attend leadership training to inspire their souls and ignite their passions (or reignite) for the young men and women we work with daily. This is one of the motivational videos we watched that really got me thinking...

The U.S. Capitol

Georgetown Cupcakes

Lincoln Memorial

Registry Wish!

I am starting to get all the major business of wedding plan done, so I am moving on the fun job of shopping! I just have no idea where to start with my registry, as I was so many things from so many random places. Here is one, to start!

www.westelm.com

I love how unique these are, I feel like I could leave them out on display as wall hangings in between cutting vegetables. And monogrammed? This is a wish for my guests to take note of! :)