289 dtg!!!

I'm bringing in the new year by blogging!!!!!!

Hahaha, not really. Casey, Allie (future sister-in-law) and I have been enjoying movies, games, drinking and food galore.

It's great to think what has happened over the last year, and what will happen by the time next New Year's Eve.

We'll be married!!!! And hopefully have gone to Las Vegas.....and won the jackpot!!!

I know, wishful thinking on that last one. :)

Happy New Years!!!

290 dtg!!

Traditionally the father of the bride and the other men in the wedding
(not groomsmen) wear regular tuxes right?
Without colored vests and such?

Well that's what I thought. That way they are distingushed..... And
really only the "wedding party" are the ones that are matchy matchy.

And does Casey wear anything different to stand out? I guess we will
just have to go try stuff on to see what it all looks like.

Casey threw me for a loop today when he told me that he wanted to
change the color of the tuxes.

He found these ones that Chandler on Friends wore. It was a striped
gold vest. It looked nice, but that would be either adding an entire
new color or redoing the whole look. So I just said no.

291 dtg!!!

So far I have $1.56 towards my spa treatments! Wahoo!!!!

Casey has $.26 towards his gambling.

We still need $2000.....just to be able to go.

Here goes nothing!

292 dtg!!!

Time to start the honeymoon fund!

We had our maguire Christmas with Casey's parents tonight. Casey and I each got these cute little coin containers that count the change as you drop it in the slot. Mike wrote on each one "Honeymoon Fund"- His and Hers.

So mine, will obviously be for saving up for massages, shopping, and fun excursions.......his will obviously be for gambling.

Oh yeah, if you didn't know already, we're going to Vegas.

I wanted to go to a Sandals resort, but Casey, the smart (worry wart) that he is, pointed out that it is hurricane season in October. So instead, we will just have a small getaway to Vegas after the wedding and then try to save up for a trip to the Caribbean in the spring/summertime.

293 dtg!!!!

During various shopping today, we ran by crate and barrel which was
REALLY busy and REALLY picked over! BUT!!!!! that makes it really
exciting for when they reorganize everything and put out the new stuff!

One sign that you have found the one= he gives you a gift certificate
to Lisa's Tea Treasures (which I have been talking about for months)-
and where he knows that he will be the only guy in the joint........
But he still wants to take you. :)

294 dtg!!!

And now we are back on track, back in civilization!

Home from our Christmas journey, it was great to get away and spend some time in the snow, even though it was a little short.

Casey and I had a good heart to heart chat today, just about our future and what we expect of ourselves and each other. It's always comforting to know that you are on the same page with someone you are going to share the rest of your life with.

One of our goals for the next month: to meet with our DJ and go over the venue, contract and possibilities for our music and lighting package

P.S. After a brief video game challenge of stepping to music...........we definitely need to do some dance lessons no matter what ANYBODY says!

295 dtg!!!!

(Should have been written on Thursday, December 25th---but we were in Placerville, where there is no internet)

We enjoyed a very relaxing, snowy Christmas in Placerville with my family. We talked with family from around the world, opened presents, had lots of laughs, watched a couple movies, and even some old home videos. It was quite hysterical watching my brother and I as we were children. Casey got to see all of my great fashion and hairstyle moments of the nineties....and he still loves me. In fact, I think he loves me even more. My mom wants to turn all of the movies into DVD's so we can easily enjoy them at any time.

My mom and I also went through some old pictures to use for our slideshow during the wedding. Great going through old memories......even ones I would like to forget!

My dad also brought up the question of something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. As he didn't quite understand the phrase, I realized that I don't quite understand it fully either. Are these just things that I need to have during the day? Or do I need to be wearing them- ie. jewelry, shoes?

296 dtg!!!

(As you can tell, should have been written on Wednesday, December 24th-- but I obviously was home too late to function properly and remember to blog)

Spent all day in bed till about one.....the 100 degree temperature finally came down, after I felt like my face was going to burst into flames. But of course, Casey took such great care of me.

After trying to finish our baking and packaging, I was able to muster enough energy to make it to Xmas Eve at the Maguire's. We had a great night with the family, even though both Casey and I were out of sorts in the corner.

There was some mention of the wedding........for some reason, everyone keeps asking if we are going to be playing the Chicken Dance? Ummm.....no.

Tomorrow we have to wake up early and head to Placerville to the Eddleman Christmas!

297 dtg!

I'm sick with a 100 degree fever.

Casey is downstairs finishing the Xmas baking without me that we
should have been doing together.

I love him.

298 dtg!!!

Found out today that the tables at Martinelli are 60 inch rounds.
Which is great, and not so great....

Great--- the runners don't need to be as long.... The linens don't
need to be as big, which means they'll be less expensive.

Not so great--- there will be less seats for people at the table,
which actually means there may need to be more tables anyway.... Which
would probably come out to the same costs for linens. We will see.

I have such piece of mind knowing that I am ahead of the game with my
invitations..... Since I know how hard it is to order these certain
envelopes for customers, I have given myself PLENTY of time!

Which reminds me...... I have to remind myself of these crazy wedding
dreams I have been having. Share-worthy!

299 dtg!!!!

We have broken the 300 barrier!!! Wahoo!!! The wedding is that much
closer.

I am writing this as we drive back from Auntie Patti's wonderful Xmas
party.... Therefore, this blog post may come off as a little bit
confusing (ie: I may have had a little too much of the good stuff).

It's great to talk to other couples about their wedding plans and see
where they are at. Casey's cousin Brandi is getting married in Jan of
2010 and have so many plans already...... Just goes to show you how
important this day is for each couple.

300 dtg!!!!

This is what happens when you decorate a Gingerbread house while a
little tipsy.

However, Casey definitely is getting less paranoid while I enjoy the
fruits of life. He basically let me have at the house..... I may have
gone a little overboard ya think?

301 dtg!!!

We had a great dinner with some members of Casey's family, which we try to do every year around the holidays. It's the least we can do to spread some holiday cheer and thank them for everything they've done over the past year.

After getting grilled by his family, Casey might now understand the concept of a registry, and be a little more willing to put stuff on there that he THINKS we don't need.

We can't have very many people in our tiny little place; 8 was quite cozy. But it was lots of fun. It definitely made me realize how many things we are missing. Like, we only have 5 wine glasses and 6 nice plates; we do not have any cheese knives for hors d'oeurves. We don't have a nice serving platter, or salad tossers.

Just more to hope for!

302 dtg!!!!

Ok, so now that I am really caught up........

Casey and I are a good team I think. We can get things accomplished together in a timely manner when needed and both understand what is at stake. You could say we are on the same playing field......most of the time.

We'll see how our christmas baking goes that we do every year together. Sometimes, it goes by without a hitch....other times, one of us throws a fit (can you guess who?). It's never intentional....I think it's just from mounds of stress piled up over the span of the holiday season.

303 dtg!!!

After somebody pointed out to me that I missed ANOTHER day....

Because I am having THE worst luck in the world, I don't have my computer again.

I SWEAR that I emailed in a post from my phone, but I am guessing that it got deleted or didn't go through.... because it is nowhere to be found.

SO this is obviously going to be the mysterious post....that has time traveled from Tuesday to today. Boo.

I can't even remember what I did on Tuesday. Casey was studying. I was doing nothing apparently.

304 dtg!!!

Went with my FSIL (future sister-in-law) to crate and barrel to try
and update the registries.

Well......

1. Shopping with Allie is soooooo much different than shopping with
casey. She will put ANYTHING on there..... Because she knows that
anything is possible to receive/not receive.

2. Only found 14 more items at crate and barrel, but their scanner was
whack and wouldn't load the items.

3. Didn't find ANYTHING at macys!

4. I am still looking for bathroom towels, everyday dinnerware, wine
glasses, a cake platter, and sterling silverware.

5. There's plenty of time.

305 dtg!!

I keep trying to convince Casey that we should take dancing lessons.
Every once in a while when we have music playing and we just start
dancing like fools, realizing how terrible we are.... I just hope that
we can pull something together.

If you have seen the last scene in the movie "Hitch"...... Yeah,
that's us.

306 dtg!!!!

Well nothing wedding related today really...... I was at work and then
cleaning/laundry in the evening...... Then some good old fashioned
staring at the ceiling too. Yeah so exciting!

Something just always seems to keep Casey and I on our toes each
week!! Something wrong with my computer again! Yeah! If something can
go wrong, it will.

Do they have "luck" or "good karma" on the wedding registries???

307 dtg!!!

I actually got quite a lot done today!!! I don't want to give too much away if it turns out to be something final---gotta keep some things a secret.

1. We met FMIL at Joanne's and purchased the fabric for the runners. We came up a little short, but may be able to make do, by adding black borders to each side to add some width.

2. Made some additions to my invitation mock up that makes it a little more polished and final. It seemed a little plain beforehand.

3. Worked on the response cards, map and envelopes in Word and had an interesting time printing them out. You obviously have to have the right side up, in the right direction...it was a disaster at first! Good thing I had lots of paper!
I had to create the map to the venue from scratch since I was not able to find anything online. It took me a good half hour or so, and I think it turned out pretty good!
I showed it to Casey and he was a little iffy on the wording of the response card and is unsure if he likes the map or not. Back to the drawing board!

4. Using our love for movies as a theme, I think I have come up with a cute way to name/number our tables for our guests. This I will keep a secret....at least for now. Took me almost a couple of hours to do the research and work in Publisher on the computer! I should have been painting.....but oh well!!

Well off to bed! After a very exciting Sharks Game at the Tank....I think I may have lost my voice. We will see how it is in the morning!

308 dtg!!!!

WELL!

Tonight I had the whole place to myself. Casey was out playing poker with the guys, so I decided to do what else? Surf the web for wedding stuff of course! I actually haven't LOOKED for important things lately....normally I am just killing time and looking at pretty pictures.

But I have come to learn a couple of things after an evening of bargain hunting.

1. Flowers are expensive! Which is a bummer of course, because they are so pretty and add so much life to a space. I am going to have to look into Costco or Safeway to see what is available through them and if it's any cheaper. Coz since I am looking for something really simple....I really don't want to be charged up the rear for a package when I want something modern and simple.

2. Why can't all of my rental needs be in one place at a reasonable price? I am looking for linens, vases, candle holders/candleabras, and table number holders. Of course, the linens are at a great price at two rental companies, but neither of them have the vases that I am looking for. The table holders are really inexpensive from one place, but their linens are expensive and they don't have any vases. What is a girl to do?

3. Lighting companies can be REALLY expensive! This one I looked at had a minimum base charge of $2,500!! Yeah.....just for lighting!!!

Well, I am going to keep doing my research so we can come up with some kind of budget for all of the decor ideas that I have.

309 dtg!!!

So I got a general idea of how long its going to take me to create all of my invitations..... a while.

I just started to address our xmas cards this evening---which are....interesting---and I attempted to do them in calligraphy. They didn't all turn out the way I wanted them to, so I still have to practice, and understand that it may take me a good five-ten minutes to do ONE invitation address.

I also need to learn how to relax when I do it! I feel like I've got carpal tunnel after all the cramping up and holding onto the pen with my death like grip.

310 dtg!!!!

Thank Goodness Casey wants to be nice to me on our wedding day.....you won't be seeing any of this.

And he may like video games......but he's not this much of a geek.

AND!!!! He doesn't like guns......so this wedding cake is out. Darn.



He may be able to put me on his shoulders though.....that is if I lost another 20 pounds.

But according to him, this is what will happen to us.......

311 dtg!!!

Well.....I received yet another Bride's magazine....it was so thick that it was like a manual!

I found the coolest bit of info that makes me feel oh so smart.

There is a sample of invitations that is a VERY similar layout to mine.... and how much does 100 of those invitations cost!!!!

$1,010!!!!!! Yeah!!! Can you believe it?

312 dtg!!!

Wow....soon we will be under 300 days to go.....amazing how time flies huh?

So.....got some menial stuff out of the way to keep myself organized. Since I have pretty much finalized the design for the invitations, I was able to find out how much this is all going to cost me! Including stamps, probably around $180.....really the paper only costs around $100. Yeah, the stamps kill me.

Needed: Black cardstock----available in pads at UA
Green cardstock----which I still need to find in a catalog or at Kelly Paper
Black and White cardstock----available to order through UA
Announcement/response cards----on order soon at UA
Clear Vellum----available in either pads or sheets at UA
Outside envelopes----on order from UA
Monogrammed stamp-----check
Silver Ink----available at UA
Labor----myself and my elves(bridesmaids)

I was also able to check out some more fabric with my wonderful future MIL (mother-in-law). She's going to do some test runs and try to make the fabric stiffer/thicker without having to sew a black or white backing on it (since it's cotton and so thin). Luckily there is a sale going on at Joann's this weekend, so here's hoping they have enough of this pattern I like!!

P.S. How cool are these lanterns? If I was getting married near a large body of water, I would totally want to use these!!

313 dtg!!!!

Watched a couple of the My Fair Wedding shows on the WE channel. David Tutera is the wedding planner/coordinator.....and although he creates beautiful wedding spaces........they are so over the top!!! There is always huge stuff.....drapery........lighting........stuff hanging from the ceilings......its just everywhere! Not quite my style......

But he still has great ideas, that I can try and incorporate into my SMALLER simpler wedding.

314 dtg!!!!

You would think there is a sign hanging above Casey and my head that says...."If it can go wrong for us, it will".

Not only is the economy hurting us (well, at least me and my massaging at the spa)....it's the holidays and we are trying to save money for gifts and such......but Casey just had to have an emergency root canal this week.....AND I just had to get my car towed tonight because it's acting up again. Is this for real?

We may get lucky with a lot of things....but it always seems like we can never catch any breaks when it comes to saving money or getting back on track. Casey jokingly says, "Don't marry me....this is gonna happen for the rest of your life....Bad Karma just follows me everywhere."

Even if he was bad karma, I still would marry him. No way I could spend the rest of my life without him.

On a lighter note.....

So I think I may have created a replica of the final invitation design. It probably took me a good hour to measure, cut, assemble, do some test prints and put it together. Now I just need to see how much this is all going to cost me......and if I can get it all from UArt. THAT'S THE REAL KEY......gotta save money in every which way possible.

315 dtg!!!!

Well it was bound to happen at least once..... I forgot to blog last night!

I just got so caught up in the holiday activities that I completely forgot before I put my head to the pillow.

I did realize after talking to another bride to be, who is getting married in august, that I should be grateful for what I have accomplished so far in the wedding planning stages. I am ahead of the
game!!

316 dtg!!!!

I realized that the damask fabric I found at Joann's may work out. I didn't realize that the bolts of fabric were 44 inches wide (rookie mistake). That might actually be okay for doing 3 runners per couple yards.....I just don't know how long they will need to be since I can't remember the size of the tables at the venue.

I mentioned maybe looking into actually making a print/stamp of the damask and just hand painting it.....but how chincy would that look!? Hopefully I won't have to go down that route.

I've seen some runners sold on eBay, so it's not like I will necessarily be stuck with these runners for life. Hah!

317 dtg!!!!

I suddenly became semi-stressed out last night, after realizing all of the things that need to be done within the next few weeks before xmas. It reminded me of the last few years of college and highschool when I had millions of things to do and was always under a deadline....I couldn't believe I was feeling this way when I'm not even in school!!

Paintings to be painted.
Cookies to be baked.
Appointments to go to.
Xmas gifts to be purchased.
Bills to be paid.
Holiday parties to be planned.
And.....all on top of thinking about my wedding.

I know that I should be putting the wedding off for the month, but I have to keep up on a couple things. Like my invitations......

I stopped by the local scrapbooking store to see if they had the patterned papers that I have been looking for. Sure enough they did, so now I just need to make a mock-up of what Casey and I supposedly want. Then, hopefully I can order the papers through work and use my discount! Whoopeee!!!

Another thing that I am always on the lookout for is parts of the decor for the reception/ceremony. I haven't been able to find any inexpensive damask fabric that I can use to make the table runners. Everything on the internet and eBay is going for $8-9 a yard. Yikes!

I did stop into Joann's Fabrics and found a couple patterns that would work, for a little bit less. $6.99 a yard. That still seems like a lot, but I have no idea where I am going to find anything for less.

P.S. Giving a shout out to Aunt Betty who may be joining the tiny audience of this blog. Hello Aunt Betty!

318 dtg!!!!

I had a crazy dream a couple days ago that I got some tattoos!!! Yeah....I don't want tattoos at all, and worry about the permanancy of them on my body. It just doesn't fit with my sense of style. I think they look great on some people, just not me.

So apparently, I was so excited to get these tattoos, and I remember it being a very spontaneous moment.....I chose some stars and butterflies on my upper arms/elbows.....and then I got something huge across my chest....nothing totally important or special....just some random designs I think.

After getting it all done, and even considering getting something on my upper back....I showed my mom. She was supportive at first, and then kinda wondered why I got it so close to my wedding!!!

In my dream I flipped out. OMG!!!! I couldn't believe that I had fresh tattoos when I was supposed to be wearing an elegant, strapless dress on my wedding day. I got so upset I think I panicked and started to cry.




And then I woke up and thanked God it was just a dream.

319 dtg!!!!

I realized today that I really need to keep working on my invitation layouts.....like actually finalizing my design and picking the right papers. I really don't want to take this to the last minute and start freaking out about paper availability. This customer came into the store and bought a calligraphy set to address her invitations. She is getting married in February and hasn't even sent them out yet!!!! Yeah.....don't wanna be like her!!!