To Take a Man Shopping

The usual routine for shopping in this house is 1. Erica goes shopping and browses. 2. Kyle asks for something. 3. Erica buys that something, or the alternative is to take Kyle directly to that item and make him try it on, make a quick decision, buy, leave. When it comes to online shopping, Kyle will search multiple sites, research on CNet, compare pricing, and order from Amazon.

Registering was going to be a challenge.

I first decided to bribe him by choosing REI as one of our stores. We don't necessarily need anything, but what other time is better for splurging than choosing wedding gifts. We started our registry journey at the local REI store, because online wasn't as fun as "using the gun". Well, REI's "gun" is a little tiny scanner, about the size of a stopwatch, on a lanyard. Super fun. Super tempting.

2 hours later... we may be getting a few knives, some camping cookware, and binoculars.

Checking out the good in REI

Our favorite! See, we still look happy!

Then it was on to my number one pick, Target. I must say that we were a little disappointed because there was not nearly enough junk to pick out! The problem is most likely due to fact that I shop at Target too often as a form of stress reduction, and already own much of what I need from there. At Target, we killed the battery on the gun.

The glorious gun!

Finally going to be able to put Pinterest recipes to good use!

2 hours later... I took a chance and asked if there was a possibility we could browse through one, last store. Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Oh shoot! We should have begun our day at B, B, and B. It is paradise. I've been there many times, but never to seriously shop for more than one item at a time (a towel or two here, a bathmat there, some utensil...) They give a us a book to pick out our "China" (we did not go for the bone-quality), and we don't even have to move from our comfortable chairs. They bring us water, offer us a snack, and tell us about their incentives program to win FREE stuff!

Then we see the kitchen knives, all I've wanted (besides a crock pot) since I knew I was getting married. Oh good quality Calphalon knives, you will change my life. To chop a vegetable without exertion, to cut through bread as though it were the butter, to eat steak without your knife bending in half from the pressure.

Luckily there was a monsoon outside, so we had no incentive to leave, and then registered once again at a third store.

Oh the joy! At least B, B and B is prepared.

10 hours total, Kyle was getting really grumpy and tired, but we survived, and now we have accomplished one more challenge of preparing for our wedding!

Check out or super cool combined registry site: www.amazingregistry.com/JensenDavisWedding

Wedding Planning Week Days 2-3

So far this has been a very successful wedding planning week. For having a destination wedding, the ability to be "on location" this week has really helped to get down and dirty with the planning. I feel like our wedding will be really personal, professional, and fun!

The first vendor I met with was our florist. I didn't really need to meet with them in person, but I feel like the face-to-face contacts help me convey my personality in a way that will not translate over e-mail. If my vendors get to know me better, I feel like they can better capture my spirit, and the vibe I want going on the most important day of my life (so far). So meeting with the florist, I got to sincerely express my concerns with my previous contract (like having all the same centerpieces, which I had originally requested) and got to see first hand some of their handiwork so I could use that to make some changes. I decided to vary the height of the centerpieces and add in a variety so that we could add dimension and extra color. I also added a couple of extra special touches that I had been inspired to include when reading other wedding blogs. I'll leave those details as a surprise!

Petal and Bean, a.k.a. "Creative Flowers Inc", a.k.a. Stacy and Dina Sanchez, have really captured the essence of wedding flowers (for over 15 years!). Their creations are unique, modern, stunning, and totally Colorado. I can't wait to see what they come up with for our wedding!

If you're interested, Stacy blogs and has a Pinterest account as well. See their wedding planning services at

BreckWeddings.com

And isn't this the cutest barn you've ever seen?! On location downtown Breckenridge!

Friday Confession: Surviving Wedding Diets

I know that perhaps my posts seem to have a common theme lately, but when you decide to go, go big I guess! We are in the second week of our new workout regime/ pre-wedding diet. This is the "cleanse" stage. I think it means that I have to get rid of all my memories of anything with cheese, sugar, bread, or alcohol.

Here are my tips to all brides who are looking for help while trying not to think about food (although sooooo hungry...) on their pre-wedding fitness journies:

1. Shop for wedding stuff on Etsy to take your mind off of how you are feelings- it will eat up hours of your time. (sorry, didn't mean to bring up "eat" there)
2. Shop at Target for absolutely nothing in particular, or better yet "pre-shop" your registry as often as you can. You can't expect to pick out all the gifts you'll need for life in one trip!
3. Look through fitness magazines at all the girls who look like how you WILL look after you survive this time. Then tear their faces off.
4. Call your best friends and ask them to tell you stories about what they are cooking and how many disgusting calories are in that food.
5. Exercise. I recommend long walks to clear your head with an LMFAO soundtrack, Zumba with a Pitbull soundtrack, and smashing things with a Linkin Park soundtrack.
6.  Stop watching daytime TV- too many commercials for food, restaurants, and Health Alert systems.
7.  Stay as far away from your significant other as possible, you'll want to kill him when he loses all his weight in the first 2 weeks, while eating pizza...
8.  Sneak a Hershey kiss, you know you want to, no one will ever know...
9.  Mix a lime in with diet tonic water and pretend you are drinking, or drink water out of a wine glass, margarita glass, martini glass, champagne glass, hurricane glass...
10. Buy your dress in a larger size so you don't feel the pressure to diet in the first place?

As I seriously fight off my food withdrawals, I will try to follow my own advice (most of this list has already been accomplished), and I look forward to the day when I can happily eat a bread stick with my salad.

All I can think about is food...

Could really use these about now, since I'm chopping everyday!

Wednesday Wish!

Although I truly just wish I had more vacation time to relax and hang out with the family (I shouldn't complain with 2 whole weeks for the holidays), I am also getting more and more checked off my wedding list so the wishes are narrowing to the details. The details are the fun part, anyway. Today's detail wish: cute shoes. When I got my dress last week, I was told that I had to know which shoes I thought I might be looking at wearing so that the dress doesn't wind up being too long or too short. I chose a medium heel height, but honestly I don't know what I'll wind up doing for shoes!! Here is one idea, which may hint at details from my dress... ;)

From Pinterest

I bought a DRESS!!!

I know I've already blogged about dress shopping, and discussed the bridal salon experiences I've gone through, but even with all my talk, I did not officially purchase a dress until now!

I am absolutely ecstatic that I waited and that this can now be marked off my long list of wedding to-dos. I am glad I waited because I got to really think about my decision, and I don't doubt my choice at all now. I am also glad it is over, because the 4-6 month delivery period puts me a little bit uncomfortably close to the wedding date!

I am sad that I did not choose the dress from my favorite bridal shop, Uptown Bridal, in Chandler. I realized, however, that their fabulous customer service could not distract me from thinking that another dress I had previously tried on was worth a second glance. Turns out, the old adage that brides choose the first dress they try on may be closer to reality than I thought. The dress I bought was among the first 5 I tried on the first day I went shopping for my dress in Denver. I should have gone with my gut and taken care of it then, but having waited I scored a $600 discount and got to give my patronage to a Chandler business as well. I wound up purchasing my Casablanca gown at Yes I Do Bridal from a very nice couple, who also had great customer service. And after trying on the dress a second and third time, I keep loving it more and more.

So the benefits go either way. Buy early and stop worrying about finding a better dress "out there" because you're probably wearing your favorite one right now anyway. However, if you do shop around, you can also solidify your choice and not wonder "what if there is another dress out there I'll love more" and you could save yourself some cash!

If there is one thing I learned, it is that it is beneficial to ask around when pricing your dresses as well, as each shop can charge what they want, and some will be cheaper than others for the same dress!

Sorry, can't show the dress online!!! You'll have to wait to see!

On the 12th of December...

On the 12th of December, my true love gave to me, presents that needed wrapping.

A sign of times to come I am sure, but I am not complaining, as one of the few tasks I enjoy "taking over" as the wife is wrapping gifts for holidays. I know I will go all out and make them fancy, with bows, and add gift tags instead of writing the recipients' names in Sharpie on them. My perfectionist side likes this task.

One thing I've noticed about wedding planning in the midst of the holiday frenzy is that it is really hard to think of gifts you want that you don't want to register for in a few months.

Why don't they have "Christmas Registry"?? I mean, how much easier would our holiday shopping be if we could all just go shopping, use a pricing gun to scan a bunch of stuff we like, and then send that list out to all our friends and family? In our family at least, we kind of already do this with the hopes that the items on our wish lists will be easy to find. It might take some of the excitement out of unwrapping a present, but at least there is no need to wait in the return lines the week after Christmas.

I do wish that I did not have to try to balance my time between work (the end of the semester), Christmas (13 days and counting down), and wedding planning (only 9 months left?!?!). Unfortunately, work usually takes precedence, but this year I've slacked a bit, causing even more "end of the semester" stress. Slacking is maybe too harsh a word because I have successfully bought gifts, wrapped gifts, set up appointments over Christmas break with our wedding vendors, and even decorated the house! That is a lot to accomplish with all the other stuff going on during this time of year. I just need to quit procrastinating doing the real work I have so I can enjoy the holidays, stress-free.

So as the holidays near, I hope that I can keep up with my blog posting so I can be an avenue for all of you to procrastinate, too! :) Or you can spend your time browsing Pinterest for winter wedding themes, like me.

Via Pinterest

Confession: Black Friday Edition

I have a Thanksgiving and Black Friday confession. I hate to admit it, but this time of year just makes this issue blatantly obvious. As I looked around the spread of the 2 Thanksgiving meals we attended, I could no longer, in good faith, deny this truth.

Confession #3:
I do not own a Crock Pot.

There, it's done. I've let it be known! Go on, judge me as you will. You people and your slow-cooker recipes. Your planning and preparation in the morning hours, loading up the pot with the ingredients needed for dinner in a mere 12 hours. Your superior cooking and ability to go to work while dinner is being prepared by the robotic function of the Crock Pot. I know, I am a lone holdout. I can no longer live with shame, but must face the truth.

And how might this relate to Black Friday, you ask? Well, the deals of course. Crock Pots here, there, everywhere on sale. And do I go out to purchase said Crock Pot? No, I do not. I am holding out for the time honored tradition of registering for my wedding, and on that registry will be Crock Pots of various sizes. I could not imagine missing out on the experience of getting not 2, not even 3, but potentially 4 Crock Pots on my wedding day! Of course, some of those would be the exact same Crock Pot, but due to Target's lack of efficiency in checking off the registry items, I know I will be blessed with various duplicates, which I will then get the opportunity to return in exchange for toilet paper or cleaning supplies. How could I deny myself this experience, which has been shared by brides near and far throughout all of time?

I am holding out, and by next Thanksgiving I'll have that Crock Pot, in silver, with automatic shutoff, and digital temperature control, and I will finally be able to bring that dish over to our friends' houses with pride to join in the great circle of moms and dads who have perfected their Crock Pot expertise.

www.amazon.com

Designer Dresses

I know I am not the only person out there who has humbly accepted that I have no personal fashion sense. I see some of my girl friends' outfits and wonder how in the world they can just find stuff THAT cute off the rack in any store. I read some fashion blogs and realize that I cannot AFFORD to look that good. So when it comes down to finding an ideal wedding dress, I guess what I first need to find is my true inner fashion diva.

I originally imagined myself in the most plain and boring white gown. Something simple but timeless. I didn't want to spend too much on a dress that had a label when I could get a replica for half the cost. I also wanted clean cut styles so I could look back on my wedding photos in 40 years and not be embarrassed about the "trendy" puffy sleeved dress with the giant butt bow (not a dig on the 80's, not at all...)

I, however, upon looking through the endless pile of bridal magazines (see previous post) and the online searching through every wedding dress store and designer website I could find, have come to the conclusion that I have no clue what my dress should or will look like. I am hoping that when I go to my first dress store appointment in 3 weeks, I will get a fabulous consultant who just knows what to put on me that will look awesome. I am mostly looking forward to getting to play dress up for a few hours with my sisters, mom, and close friends. I feel like I am not mentally ready for dress shopping, but at the same time I am kind of hoping that I find what I want the first time so I can stop stressing about it.

On a final note, my dress will not have any feathers attached, will not have a hoop skirt, and will have a maximum train length of 3 feet if I get my way! At least I can tell the stylist what I don't want to see in my outdoor, Colorado wedding.

Here is my favorite from blog surfing so far:

From Weddingchicks.com