Once upon a time at Kleinfelds...

Once upon a time...

Kleinfeld Bridal called August 12 and said that the dress was in! The earliest weekend fitting date they said they could do was September 17th. As you know the wedding is October 15 so that would be cutting it too closely for my comfort. Luckily they had a cancellation for August 19 and I had taken the time off of work for some other wedding stuff. Everything happens for a reason.

My appointment was at 10am in NYC on August 19th. Mom came into town to go to the fitting with me on Wednesday. I was suppose to go get my hair done on Thursday night, dyed and prepped. We were ready to get out at 6:15pm and of course something went down and I had to stay till 7 and missed the appointment. That just sent me over the edge. I was so disappointment. I havent been able to get my hair colored in sooooo long and the color that it is now, I hate. I feel so unattractive. So getting it colored before the dress fitting meant so much to me. I went home on Thursday night feeling like a total brat because of how disappointed I was.

We had to leave at 4am on Friday to get there on time. We were all exhausted. It was a longer drive then I anticipated. We got there with about 30 minutes to spare. It was perfect. Jonah did a great job getting us to the city safely.

I went in with Mom to try on the dress and Jonah went to Union Square to hang out and wait for us. We got this fantastic seamstress, Anna. She was so sweet. As soon as she came in to the little waiting room with the dress I knew it was mine. It was like I could feel that it was my dress she was holding. What happens is all the seamstresses come out with the dress, call your name, and you go with them to their room. As soon as she entered I knew.

We went in to her room and I got to see my dress again and I was so excited to see "her". Yes, I just gave the dress a sex. Anyway, it was perfect. I tried it on and it was way too big. Mom could stick her entire arm down the back of my dress. It was a great feeling. I still have a lot of work to do but I was pleased thus far.

As soon as Mom saw me in the dress she started to cry. It was really sweet. It meant a lot. I knew that it looked amazing when she was so touched. Anna had to take it in a lot and as she was hemming it up at the bottom I started to feel a little weird. My feet were hurting and then I started sweating profusely. It was horrible. I didnt know where it was coming from. Yes, the dress is heavy and the lights were warm but it wasnt that bad. Then Anna asked me to take a few steps back and all of the sudden I started to feel dizzy. I had to take a seat.

As I was sitting there Mom had a panicked look on her face, apparently I lost all color, like I had a whole lot to begin with! I was going to pass out, the voices were getting tiny. Then I imagined passing out and vomiting or other bodily functions happening in this beautiful dress! That was enough to keep me there. I realized that in all the excitement I completely forgot to eat the breakfast I bought on the way. So Mom ran to get me a snack and Anna grabbed me a cup of water.

It took Mom about 5 minutes to grab the snack and by the time she came back I was out of the dress. As soon as I was well enough to stand Anna took me out of the dress and ended the session. I think she was nervous that I would pass out on her watch. I dont blame her. So we reschedule the rest of it for September 17 and the end of the day. I guess I wont forget to eat if its at 4:30pm.

So that was the first fitting experience!! I will attach a sneak peak...

XoXO!
M

69 days to go!!

Sixty nine days until I marry my very best friend. SIXTY NINE DAYS!!! That number evokes such joy..and PANIC! Is everything in order? Could I be missing something?

The things that are still up in the air;

Not all of the bridesmaids have ordered their dresses. It takes 2 months for the dresses to come in. On the 15th we will be at 2 months! We have 2 girls left to get their dress and one has dropped out because she couldn't get it in time.

Flowers for the bridesmaids. Mom is working on them. Im not too worried since Mom is on top of it but Im anxious to see how they turn out.

The cake. The wedding planner has yet to send me the pictures of what they can do.

The dress hasnt come in yet. Its not late but Im super excited to see it again and try it on. Ive lost a little over 30 lbs so far so I want to see how it fits and what I look like in it now. The first time I tried it on it was just a sample. So it didnt fit perfectly and now I just want to see it. I hope I still love it.

Expenses. Thank God we have help! But we still have quite a few expenses that we are budgeting out.

Does my registry look ridiculous? I have never done it before and it seems like there is a million things on there. We went by what all the wedding expects suggest! I hope people don't think we're greedy.

We have the showers coming up. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone.

Do I get a makeup artist? I think so. I need to look into it and see how much it will be.

Okay so enough wedding stuff. Now for an update.

Our apartment is really coming together. I have been yearning for a home. Its starting to look like that.

We are going to a concert this weekend. I wont meet and greet tickets for My Chemical Romance and Blink 182. I won them for Eddie and Beth. For Eddies birthday. Im so excited for them. Eddie has been such a fantastic brother and friend and I wanted something so nice for him! To actually "chill" with his idol. I am so happy that Beth is going to have this experience with him. She is such a great Mom to the kids and I want her to have something exciting and fun. Something really special. They mean a lot to me and deserve it. I made them promise to get something signed for me by My Chem and Blink for our rockstar room and LOTS of pics. It makes me so happy that I am able to give them this present.

Can I just take a moment to say that I am so in love. Jonah makes me want to soar! I am such a blessed and lucky girl. So so happy.

Alright,
Off to pick up my ring! Its in!!
XoXo,
M

Less than 3 months to go...

Let it be a dance we do. May I have this dance with you? Through the good times And the bad times, too. Let it be a dance.

What a great feeling tonight, sipping on the peach wine and enjoying the flowers growing on the deck. Nature brings me peace, Gods prints in it all. Thats why the garden wedding seemed most appropriate for us.

We've gotten a lot done so far. Today alone we accomplished so much. It was pretty exciting really.

*Tuxedos- I dont know ANYTHING about suits or tuxedos. NOTHING. So today I learned something. We ordered the vests and ties in Olive green and the little guys will wear tails and bow ties. My Dad will wear pink for me :) and Jonahs will wear green for him. Its gunna be fun!! Im really excited. Jonah is going to look so handsome. I cant wait to see him all dressed up.

*My Wedding Ring- We got a great deal. It happened to be on clearance and it was the one I really wanted. Jonah and I have decided to engrave the inside of the rings but it will be a surprise for eachother. We will find out on the day we wed. Lovely. I cant get the picture to show up.

*Vows- I finished mine! They arent long and not complicated. They are sweet and to the point. Cant wait to vow them to him in front of God and family/friends.

*Music- Uncle Jim is going to be the DJ and so we picked the songs we will have played for the traditional dances.

*Bridal Shower- I hear a date and location have been decided on. Pretty exciting. I suggested a zebra print cake with pink border and strawberry mojitos. Im really excited. The only problem is that we have moved a lot and have friends and family everywhere. Unfortunately its impossible to pick a place that is easy for everyone to attend. I just hope everyone can attend.

Other news thats not bridal-

*Our very loved son, Fuzzy, is sick. He is having some issues with his bladder. The doctor thinks it might be Kidney disease which we are really nervous about. He is on some medication and looks all doped up, poor guy. I am really concerned about him. He just crawls up on my lap and sleeps. Hes breaking my heart... and wallet! The vet is MAD EXPENSIVE!!! He is so worth it. Good thing Mommy got a raise! Thats all I got to say. He may single handedly postpone the wedding!haha. He is one of our babies and we are worried.

*Jonah and I have been doing really well on our diet/life style. Jonah has hit his goal!! Back to a 32 waist! And goal weight. Ive lost 30lbs so far. When we picked out the ring I had to keep asking them if they were sure about the size bc it was a size and a half smaller then what I normally wear. We are really happy. Much healthier than New York.


I have been really trying to make this apartment a home. We signed the lease again, kinda, and I want to make it home. We will spend our first year/ half year as newly weds here. Im in nesting mode, minus the pregnancy. We bought some stuff on craigslist and are trying to do this inexpensively. Its a start.

We’ve been in DC for 3 months now, guess its time to unpack. We weren’t sure if we should stick with this apartment or rent one closer to my office. Truth is this apartment is beautiful and really more space than we really need. But the cool thing is we have a hobby room which we will make into an awesome guest bedroom soon.

Since Jonah is a musician and I’ve always loved all things music we decided that would be the theme of the guest room. We will get a futon from Ikea and make throw pillows out of old band t-shirts. Then we will make curtain by copying album covers onto fabric and patching them on to some curtains. We will also frame some of our favorite rolling stone covers. We will also hang Jonahs guitars on the wall. We are pretty excited about our project. We can only hope it looks as cool when its done as it does in our minds.

We finally cleaned the room out. It was filled with boxes full of boxes and what not. It looks so much better. Jonah has all his recording equipment in there which is pretty messy looking but he has promised me that by the end of the week that will be taken care of too.

I hung some pictures as well this weekend. We need to have them framed but until that good ‘ole promotion kicks in they are just posters on the wall. We really are pleased with our picks.

Jonah had a big job interview this week. I could not be prouder of him. He thinks he nailed it. It was for a screen writer for the government. How cool, right? Im most excited that if he gets it he will be happier than his current position and the benefits working for the government are fantastic. Praying hard.

I went ahead and sent the menu choices to the wedding planner. I had to make a decision and with the guest list being rather large we needed to go with the food stations rather than the table service. Mom made some good points, kids generally don’t eat the meals served and people prefer choices. We went with two meats, potato station, salad station, and asparagus wrapped in bacon. The flowers have got to be peonies. I love them. I could stare at them all day. What a beautiful creation God gave us. I told Jonah, “I don’t wanna stop watching them, Im afraid I’ll miss something”. They just make me happy and even though its fall they will have to do. The cake will be four tiers and 4 different fall-esque flavors; pumpkin spice, maybe a carrot cake or maple something or other. Fun fact: it wont include walnuts because I’m allergic. So that all I have for now on the wedding front.

We got some of the engagement pictures back. Just as I thought, we weren’t happy. Jonah does not want to use her for the wedding and truth be told I don’t either. They aren’t horrible, just not great angles of us. I will post one or two here, our favorites. He wants to go get more engagement pictures and to be honest Im just not interested. We have so many other expenses with the wedding that the engagement pictures will just have to be left as is. We just wanted one or two to frame. Who knows, we haven’t gotten the whole cd yet, maybe there are some that we will like there.

Went to the doctor for a follow up on the cysts this week. All is well. She explained that every month a cyst will form and some will be bigger than others and the one that I had must have burst making it very painful but the tests that she did showed that everything was fine and that I wouldn’t need surgery or anything, Thank God! Really no pain either. She also was impressed with my weightloss since the last time I was there and even gave me a little help. With 4 months until the wedding it is one of the only things I can think of these days. The wedding dress isn’t even in yet and Im nervous how I will look in it. Its been so long since I tried it on, February 12th to be exact. I guess most girls say that though, since it takes so long to come in.

This weekend we have company!! Eddie, Beth, and my babies are coming to visit! Ed and Beth will go out on the town and I will play with the kids and Jonah will work. I can’t wait. I miss the kids. I haven’t seen them in a few weeks, and to be honest while staying tuned in with the Casey Anthony case, I just want to hold those kids tight and thank God their parents are great and sane… most of the time.
Anyway, can you tell our internet is down? I was bored and filled ya in on everything! I guess I should go clean and organize another room. Thanks for stopping by!
XoXo!
M

Engagement Pictures

We took our engagement photos this weekend with the very talent Ms. Porter Watkins. We are really excited to get a couple of great shots. To be honest, Im pretty nervous about the results because I haven't lost the all the weight I was hoping for yet. I know there are going to be some that I hate. We got a preview already. Not the best Im sure so I will wait to share with everyone until we get more. Hopefully by the end of the week we should have a handful. Our contract says we'll get them all in 20 days.

The rest of the wedding stuff is going pretty well. I need to leave the registry alone. I keep going in and deleting and adding. I just think about some of the stuff we added and think, "Will we use that often?" but I guess the point is to get the things that you will use and need. Its hard to keep that in mind.

I need to send the decisions to the planner then we will be a lot further along. Jonah needs to call our friends the videographers as well.

Oh and great news! Jonah got a promotion! I could not be prouder of him! He is taking his new role very seriously and I think its going to be a very positive thing for him and for us. Im really excited for him.

Ah, and one last thing on my mind, the wedding party. I am so stoked we have such a great group. Its been on my mind those who cant be a part of it for whatever reason. It saddens me, really. I have Beth, Kelly, and Hayley and then a bunch of Jonahs little cousins (he really wanted to make it a family event- sweet boy). But there isnt a time that goes by when I dont think of those who cant join us. I hate it but I also know it is what it is. Moving on...

Thanks for joining us, You!!!
XoXo!
M

We're not in New York anymore...

While in New York I knew what the hottest book was at the time, I read the paper daily, we went to the movies almost every weekend. I knew what everyone around me was doing. Hadn't a clue about myself.

I was more worldly, more cultured in New York. But I wasn't healthy. I'm healthier now, mind, body, and spirit. I'm connected again, to God, myself, Jonah, my family. Life is good.

How does that happen. How do you take off to fulfill your goals and dreams but completely forget to include yourself in the experience? I was a shell of who I really am as a person. I was aiming for all the wrong things because I thought they mattered. Even now I can distinguish when I disagree with what I am being asked to do at work. Big difference for me.

I was blessed enough to share the experience with my best friend, Jonah, and continued to grow and love him but it is pale in comparison to now. After we moved here we rediscovered each other. We were more like roommates in New York compared to now where I am desperately in love with this man.

I've found myself again, Im getting healthy again. Losing weight, trying to make the gym a habit again. We cook, we clean, we sleep. Its a beautiful life.

Currently we are sitting on our deck and it is storming. It's so green and the air is so refreshing. There are no sirens just rain and birds. I have missed this. I feel like I was away from this for years, like this is something so new. As if we were living in a bomb shelter and maybe to me it was a bit of a bomb shelter. We love the city. We will ALWAYS love the city. But living there, full time, is not my thing. Not unless I can have a much nicer place closer to work and the means to live there comfortably.

Ok wedding deets:

So we are exactly 5 months away. 5 months! In the blink of an eye, my eyes, it will be here. I will be putting on that Ivory gown and following my bridesmaids, who will be dressed in the color "wine" from Alfred Angelo (its a deep autumn friendly PINK). Wine, fitting right? Their shoes? No idea. Mine will be HOT PINK!! Moms gunna hate that.

Ive picked out my jewelry which my Dad is going to buy me so that I have something special to wear from him that day. Im getting most of it from www.Etsy.com. I think its going to turn out perfectly. The place that we are having both the wedding and reception is Coopers Landing in Clarksville, VA. It is perfect for our little garden wedding. Blocks from the lake, in the town we fell in love. Perfect.

I can see why brides get so nervous after they buy their dress. I havent seen it in months! Since February 12th. I wont see it again until 6 weeks before the wedding. Thats when Kleinfleds receives it and I start the fittings. I sometimes have to revisit the photos because it has been so long that I cant remember how perfect it is for me. Plus the sample size wasnt my size so it wasnt perfectly fit to me. So who knows. I love it and I hope it looks good.

My Bridesmaids are just a few of my friends and then the rest are Jonahs little cousins. He feels like they are sisters to him and its important to him to have them involved. Three are my friends then four are his cousins. We have asked one of my friends to do the Bible reading for us. The groomsmen are Jonahs best friends, my brother Eddie, and his little cousins. My Ushers will probably we my older brothers- I need to ask them, and then 2 more people. Who knows who will be the guest book stuff.

My goal today was flowers and cake. I didn't get very far sadly... I tried. Got some ideas. But I basically just need to send them to the planner. She takes care of everything. Best investment ever. My job doesn't allow me the time for the added stress.

Engagement pics at the end of the month... Roosevelt Park in DC. Hope its pretty. Haven't a clue about it.

Ah, I think we will eat dinner and watch Thor now. Maybe plan a much needed break from work. Enough rambling.

I'll post a sneak peek ... in pictures.

Thanks for reading along.

66 is HOV in the morning... ???

I was thinking about this blog when I was sitting in the impound lot. How would I start it. Don't we think in blog from time to time?

So as I'm getting on the highway Im thinking, "Today is bound to be a better day because yesterday (Thursday) was a nightmare". I go ahead and click on the cruise control and start my journey to work knowing that I will be early because I left nice and early.

I get to Falls Church and this Trooper gets behind me with his lights on. I keep going thinking it cant be me. Im going the exact speed limit. Im wearing my seat belt. I keep watching him as he follows me from lane to lane. Then finally waves me over with his arm.

I pull over and ask immediately, Why did you pull me over? He said that he would discuss it after he saw my license and registration. Then proceeded to tell me that 66 is all HOV from 6-9am every morning and again in the evening. Wow. Didn't know that at all.

Then he ran my license and said that I had an unpaid ticket from 2006 and that they would need to tow my car unless someone could come get it. Of course both my phones are dead. So off we go to the impound lot. How in the world do I dispute a ticket from 2006? I have no idea.

So what a day we had on Friday!