Sunday, July 25, 2010

sweet 30

This past week had been nothing but birthdays galore in my family. Between my mother-in-law{?}, my brother {31st}, and my sister's {30th} birthdays, I'm exhausted!!!
For my mother-in-law (soon to be), we kept it traditional and took her out for a nice dinner with just the four of us (BJ, his dad, and I of course). Actually I should rephrase that.... once we remembered it was her birthday, we took her out for a nice dinner with just the four of us! LOL!!! Yes, I know... shame on us for forgetting her birthday... well SHAME on BJ for forgetting his own mom's birthday!!! tsk tsk babe!!!(Technically, I should get a pass because that's his mom... I on the other hand will never do such a thing!) Finally halfway through the day, we were kindly reminded by a text from his cousin. We immediately rushed to the bakery and got a cake, bought a gift and cute balloons, wrote a thoughtful card, and took her out to dinner... and pretended to surprise her. I can only imagine what the poor woman was going through thinking that her only son forgot her birthday!!! :( All in all, I think we pulled off the "surprise" well... and hopefully she will never know!
My brother's 31st birthday was surprisingly tamed... I guess the tornado watch for that day had a little something to do with it. (tornado??? in Jersey??? in Bergen County??? seriously??? world is definitely coming to an end!) But as always, his birthday ended with him past out cold in his car while the rest of us enjoyed the night :D OOoooh Brother!!!
Now for my Dear Sissy's big THREE OOOHHH...
Everyone that knows my sister, knows that she is definitely not a party animal (to say the least)... so a big shin dig was certainly not in the picture! So as a token of appreciation for everything she has done for me and the wedding... I decided to throw her a little "SWEET 30" surprise =D Just a small gathering of our family filled with love, food, and of course sweets !!! Unfortunately my sister is not very camera happy, therefore it's rare that you'll see her in any photos... she is such a party pooper, but we still ♥ her!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

{sneak peak}

I have been super excited and looking forward for my bridal shower!!! Now that it is only less than 2 weeks away, my MOHs and I have been busy Bees preparing for it. I know most brides prefer to leave the bridal shower planning to her wedding party... after all it's one less thing to worry about right?!? Well I on the other hand, have been quite adamant about being a 100% involved in the creative and planning aspect of it all. The bridezilla in me wants to make sure that this event like my wedding reflects who I am. Lucky me, my sister truly is the creme del la creme !!! She has been eye to eye with me throughout this whole process... and with both of our creative minds brewing into one... it's no surprise that we're coming up with fabulous ideas! Here is a preview of what's to come:

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

BREATH...

I can't believe how hectic and busy it has been for the last couple of weeks!!! Ironically the only time I've been able to blog is when I'm at work! (night shift = slow nights) SOOO much to vent about, but I will do my best to keep it on a positive note =)
First of all... tell me why am I still sending out invitations a little over a month before my wedding???? This is sooo not proper wedding etiquette!!! This is exactly what I did not want to be doing!!! Sorry babe but I have to put you on blast because unfortunately this is all your doing!!! I honestly believe that the most tedious thing about planning a wedding is making a guest list and sending out invitations!!! (although I do ♥ picking out invitations... just to make that clear) Choosing Who to and Who not to invite is absolutely annoying... half the people you end up inviting are people you barely or don't even know (usually parents' friends). What is even more annoying is waiting for RSVP responses! Seriously people the stamp is already on the envelope... all you have to do is check off yes or no, seal it and leave it in your mailbox for the postman to pick it up... you don't even have to go to the post office!!! tsk tsk tsk on all of you who still have not mailed it!!! My poor mother-in-law now has to make a million phone calls to get a reply from these lazies!!! (lucky for my mom, my side has done quite well with sending out their replies). OH I just cannot wait to work on seating arrangements (with sarcasm of course )! One more thing... it is NOT OK to add an extra person on the reply card especially if you have not discussed it with me prior. It is clearly addressed on the envelope who the invitation is for and if a +1 was indicated!!!! remember your etiquitte people geeeez!!!
AAAAhhhhh sigh... feels good to get that out!!! Although there is plenty more to whine and moan about, again I'll try and keep this on a postive vibe. Just a quick thank you to my true friends that have been there for me for the past few weeks listening to my tantrums and ventings!!!
Now on to the next...
Finance has definitely been a gigantic issue for me this month. It seems that all my usual monthly bills and mortgage are colliding with all the wedding payment dues and have truly taken a toll on both our wallets=( Keeping up with our daily expenses and leisures has certainly become a challenge. We barely get to enjoy what is left of our paychecks... but somehow we still manage to eat out almost everyday... Hence our HEIFER STATUS... and to make matters worse, we are both paying 2 gym memberships... gyms that I haven't seen in months!!! SMH!!! Yesss, I know there is definitely something wrong with this picture!
If planning a wedding wasn't already enough, we're also in the mist of renovating his or should I say "our" place. Something I certainly did not want to tackle until after the wedding. But staying true to my nature, once I get started on something (especially anything that requires designing) I just jump right into it & go full steam ahead. So obviously I started planning and scheming of wall colors, room decors, type of wooden floors, kitchen counter tops, bathroom cabinets, and more importantly my walk-in closet... completely taking my focus off the wedding (again, something I did not want to do.) My soon to be new home definitely has plenty of potential in becoming fabulous, and I am so eager to get started on the decor aspect of it. I'm finding great "must have pieces" and as much as I want to whip out the credit cards, sadly I'm reminded that it is just not possible at this time. I just can't focus on TWO ginormous projects at once. Both require time, creativity, and obviously lots and lots of DINERO. As much as I want to start making a home for us... first thing first, my priority is the wedding!!! With a little over a month to go, I know I can hold out a tiny bit longer. But in order to put my sanity at ease...as a compromise, we did do some decorating with the bathroom =)
With all the craziness going on, I'm surprised and amazed how our relationship (BJ & I of course)have only gotten even stronger if that's possible. Obviously we are not perfect and we have our usual bickering here and there, and with all the BS we deal with from everyone, surprisingly we're not pulling our hairs out or down each others throat. Just the opposite actually...after 10 years, at the end of the day we're still laughing, cuddling, and wondering if other couples are having as much fun with each other as we are.
I've mention this before on our wedding website...There's a scene in the movie Bride Wars (one of my faves I must say) where their wedding planner narrates a small scene and states "The final month before the big day is a witness test for a couple on how they work together, solve problems, communicate. The early happy glow is over and the nerves begin to set in... With some couples it brings out the fundamental conflicts in their relationships. With other couples... "THE LUCKY ONES", it highlights the essential harmony of their partnership!!!" I must say, we are truly one of ♥"THE LUCKY ONES"♥ =D

Friday, July 2, 2010

E-session

Finally the proofs of our engagement photos are here! Other than the fact that I appear to resemble a heifer cow in half of the pictures... I am overall satisfied with how the photos turned out! Here's a sneak peak on some of our faves...
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