That's a Wrap!

I realize that it's been almost a year since I've posted anything, so I thought that a farewell post might finally be in order. In the past year the Mr. and I have gotten married, and we're expecting our first non-furry baby this fall. Needless to say, I am supremely happy with my life right now.



While I'm not keeping this blog for posterity, some of the pictures are just too gorgeous to delete into blog nothingness, so I am leaving it up untill I figure out what to do with them.

Since I have again found the blogging itch, I am thinking of starting a new blog, The Eager Homemaker, to have a place for my musing on life and family. It's anyone's guess how well I'll maintain that one, but for now I thnk I'll take the chance and start over.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the new one!

A relationship is all about give and take...

The Mr. wants new goalie pads so badly that he has actually offered to take me diamond shopping in California!



I love my original engagement ring, a claddagh ring from back in the days when we were broke and ridiculously young and happy. But with all of our friends getting married and us finally setting a date, I think we're ready for Engagement 2.0. If that means that the Mr. gets a new set of goalie pads and I get a diamond ring... so be it. Like I said, a relationship is all about give and take.

It's the Little Things in Life

One of my favorite things about weddings right now is the plethora of ladylike, vintage inspired accessories. When I was a little girl I made a list of must have classics: Cartier Tank Watch (just like Jackie Kennedy's), Hermes Kelly Bag, 16 inch Mikimoto pearl necklace... and the list goes on. My current lifestyle may not require getting quite so dressed up every day, but I girl can dream, right?

For now I'm satisfying my desires by seeking out the perfect wedding accessories.
Peep Toe Pumps





MyGlassSlipper.com


Structured Clutches

ViaBella

And Ladylike Pearl Necklaces

10 mm South Sea Pearl Necklace

We Set a Date!!!

Oh yes, you read that right. After being engaged for two and a half years, we have finally set a date for our wedding!



Drum roll please...



We will be getting married on May 21, 2011



I know it's odd to set a date two years in advance, but it works for our completely over-scheduled lives. Between now and then I have 32 credits of science classes to take, plus a GRE prep class, the actual GRE, and a ton of grad school applications to fill out. The date I picked ('cause who are we kidding, he just smiles and nods) is a week after finals and about three weeks before most of the DPT programs start. That should give us enough time to do all the last minute wedding preparations, move if we have to, and take a nice little honeymoon (is it too much to hope that the Ducks make it to the Stanley Cup in 2011? I want a nice big sign that says "I'm on my honeymoon with the Ducks and this guy--->")

Now the question is, am I going to drive myself absolutely nuts planning my wedding for the next two years?

Your Love is Like a Roller Coaster Baby Baby!

Yup, that's the song that has been playing in my head for the past couple days... Wedding planning, with all it's uncertainties, family obligations, and ridiculous budgets is like a freakin' roller coaster!

We've been planning all along to get married at the Sheraton Anaheim.



How can you not love the English garden courtyard and white gazebo? Plus the Mr. and I stayed there on our first vacation together, and it's a great hotel close to Disneyland. Then I started figuring out our budget using Southern California vendors and including the things that matter most to each of us: gorgeous flowers and Chaivari chairs for me and prime rib for him. Really is that to much to ask? I stopped planning when I estimated $20,000 and just about gave myself an aneurysm... Since we're paying for this wedding ourselves, and I will be quitting my job to start grad school the same summer we get married, we have got to find a cheaper way to do this!

This past weekend the Mr. and I had the brilliant (and stress induced) idea to get married on October 18th. As in two and a half months from now. At an Elvis chapel.

That lasted for about a day before I realized that I was close to tears from the thought of not being able to have at least bits and pieces of the wedding that I want. We talked things over like a good soon to be married couple, and decided that getting married in Las Vegas wouldn't be so bad if we could find a budget friendly, yet classy place to do it.

Now the venue search continues...

Sometimes it's Good to be a Girl!

I had the most incredible, surreal night last night at the NHL awards and I have to admit that it's probably all thanks to being a girl! For those of you who don't know, the NHL awards have signed a three year contract with the city of Las Vegas despite the fact that we're not exactly a hockey town and The Palms is better known for scantily clad women than hockey players.

I spent most of the week trying to attend horribly publicized, unorganized hockey themed events around town (I'll get to more on that later); however, the actual NHL Awards ceremony and the red carpet photo op at The Palms were fantastic. I arrived in time to squeeze into a spot in front and then waited in the sweltering heat with a couple excited Canadians and two little boys in Penguins t shirts (which Maxime Talbot was nice enough to sign). Lucky for me, Kent French from The Element and his super nice camera guy were right across from me and my Ducks jersey, so after interviewing Bobby Ryan they sent him over to me for an autograph!

Bobby Ryan signing my jersey
photo by Duck Fan

Screaming and holding up a jersey is fun and all, but what made my day was the huge grin that spread across Bobby Ryan's face when he saw the Ducks jersey and the fact that he went out of his way and over a velvet rope to get to me. What a big difference from Nick Lidstrom, who didn't stop and smile or even bat an eye at the group of screaming fans in Wings jerseys. Just another example of the Ducks' character and another reason to dislike the Wings!

Penguins Head Coach Dan Bylsma with the Stanley Cup

I was disappointed that George Parros (my personal favorite Duck) didn't make it, despite being nominated for the Masterton Trophy. I'm guessing that walking the red carpet with a cast on your right hand is no fun, but I did hear that he made it to some of the events the night before.

At this point I figured I might as well stick around for a while, so I staked out a spot at a slot machine in front of the theater and watched a live broadcast of the ceremony. Just by chance I happened to meet another girl who's a Ducks fan (which I think made two of us in the entire casino) and she even has a Ducks blog And he shoots... he scores!! (An Anaheim Ducks Blog) It was great to meet someone willing to talk about Ducks hockey, Scott Niedermayer's future, and all the events that I miss living in Vegas.

Well, that's it for now... I'll have Part II of how great it is to be a girl up soon (including pictures from the official NHL Awards after party)!

There is Still a Wedding in Our Future...

The problem is that with an uncertain economy, the issues with my family that I can never seem to be rid of, and a busy schedule of school and work, we've put the wedding on hold. I'm still attracted to gorgeous wedding magazines and flower arrangements, but it looks like we're now aiming more for the spring of 2011.

My going back to school has put a strain on our relationship that we've never had before. Twelve hour marathon study sessions really cut into date nights, and at times I felt like I was already married to my study partner and longtime friend who is also an aspiring P.T. Things have gotten better since the semester ended, but it made me realize that time management (and dividing up chores, bill paying, laundry, etc.) is something that we really need to work on. I have no allusions that life gets any easier (children, careers, in laws... you get the picture), so the trick is to learn from the tough spots and keep going.

I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the summer with the Mr., taking a few vacations, saving up for next seasons Ducks' games, maybe doing a little wedding planning, and reminding ourselves that we're lucky to have each other.