169 dtg!!!

Attended the tasting tonight at the Garre winery cafe; it's in conjunction with our wedding site--it's where the cook does his thing.

Were able to try 6 different appetizers....I really only liked 2 or 3 of them, which is hard now, because we need to try and pick out a total of 3, but would like them all to be different. They were delish though!

Then tried the two salads that will be served....also delish! Casey and I both loved em.

Then we tasted 4 entrees: Tri Tip, Mahi Mahi, Rosemary chicken and chicken marsala. Casey and I had already decided that we would do the Tri Tip, because we eat it ALOT.... both our families love it, and it is a pretty popular dish. Then, we figured we would do a chicken dish...keep it simple. But both chicken dishes were terrible! One was really dry and the mushrooms were funky and the other chicken was way too moist, and it was a leg (I'm a breast gal myself)..... Didn't like that!

BUT!!!!! Surprisingly, we both loved the Mahi Mahi! And both of us are not huge fish lovers, so that totally shocked us! It was just great flavor, had the great salsa that accompanied it. Perfect! The only thing is that it's a little pricier than the chicken that we had normally budgeted, so we will see. But I doubt that my parents would want to go for something that is going to be sub par. I mean, we have to feed ALOT of people!!!

And finally, there was unlimited wine tasting, since we are going to have to choose the wines that we are going to serve at the wedding. WOAH! Was that a mistake for me or what!

First of all the champagne was AWESOME!!!!!!! I have never liked champagne before, and this stuff was like candy to me! Then we tried some reds and I fell in love with this white, and soon enough I'm toasted!

All in all, it was a great experience! We will definitely try to get back so we can try some of the other appetizers.

170 dtg!!!!

Okay, so I know this is going to sound REALLY sad....but I had a dream last night that it was October 15th, and I was wedding blogging-of course- but I was still at 100 dtg. I freaked out thinking that it either was some time travel mishap (maybe I've been watching too much Lost), or I made a huge boo boo and had been miscalculating the days till our wedding. How sad is that dream?

Spent a quiet evening continuing the calligraphy while watching Made of Honor.....such a cute movie.

Pictures found at sjbweddingsandevents.blogspot.com

How cool is this collection of pictures?! Totally the look and feel that I am trying to achieve. Classy, yet modern and fun. Here's hoping that we pull it off!

171 dtg!!!

Didn't do much today.....except run through the massive budget that we have to stick to over the next 6 months. It will be a challenge for sure!

Casey's already having second guesses about our choice of hotel in Las Vegas. Although, that's not really surprising.......he will walk around the store with a video and eventually put it down before he goes to the checkout. That's just how his mind works.

But I think I have convinced him that this is a SPECIAL stay in Vegas, and we should really go for quality! Which is why we want to stay at The Venetian!! So exciting!!! So he will probably book the flights and put the deposit down later this week.

172 dtg!!!!

Well, ALL of the printing is done!!!! Now I just have to write everything in calligraphy on the outer envelopes, inner envelopes and rsvp response cards. I definitely have time for that, if I do 2-3 a night.

I think I am currently watching the last Sharks game of the season. I don't see them coming back from this deficit, and if they lose, they are done for the year. Boo.

But, to look on the bright side, that means I will have more time for painting, reading, exercise and wedding stuff! Casey on the other hand...........he'll turn to baseball. And will probably tell everyone that he won't watch any Sharks games next season.......there is just no point apparently. And he has a good point.

173 dtg!!!!

After a day of wine tasting, I definitely had a little bit of a headache/hangover. But we all had such a great time.....it was worth it!

I felt like my head was going to explode today! Had so much to do, and only one day to do it in.....didn't get everything done, but did get a bulk of the invitations completed and stuffed into envelopes and KEPT ON PRINTING!!!!! I had to take a break at one point, coz I didn't want to break my printer! I think Casey's paranoia has just been washing off onto me. :)

The string lights finally went on sale at Target. So thanks to my future MIL, we've got those squared away for the courtyard! It's going to look so cute!

Also put together a large calendar for the next 6 months.....phew.....there are sooooooooo many things to do! Funny thing is I have a calendar in my planner, the big calendar and the calendar in my iPhone!!! So everytime something comes up, I've got multiple ones to update. Hah!

174 dtg!!!

Enjoyed a nice day in the sonoma countryside wine tasting with casey's
family. Beautiful day!!! And lots of firsts for me.....

First time going over the Golden Gate bridge
First time wine tasting
First time trying a dessert wine.... Oohh... Dangerous!!
First time getting tipsy by 2pm
First time going to eat at Guy Fieri's restaurant Johnny Garlic's

And after a Sharks win, we've got nothing to complain about..... It
was a great day.....AND!!!! I didn't have to do any "printing" (those
were for you FFIL)..... But I've got plenty to do tomorrow!

175 dtg!!!

Kept printing today.....I hope my printer isn't broken by the time I am done with this wedding. It is getting a total workout!

Realized after looking at the calendar over the next few months that our schedule is jam packed! Between birthday parties, trips to LA, meetings in Livermore with the caterer and baker, trips to Placerville and trips to the beach............trying to find a weekend to shoot our engagement photos might be harder than we think! Hopefully the photographer can be flexible!

And now........we may need to rethink our favors! Casey is possibly changing his mind. Oh joy. :)

176 dtg!!!!

Living with a sports fan can have it's perks.....and it can also be dangerous! Sharks playoffs bring out the recluse, and the lion inside of Casey.

Currently, he is sitting in the living room with all of the lights turned off.....hoping his beloved team pull away with a win. I rarely go down to speak to him, unless the team is doing well. But if they aren't ...............I really can't ask him a question that I need a legitimate answer to. Coz I won't get it.

It's funny though. He gets very animated, as I'm sure all sports fans do. He throws a stuffed zamboni across the room. He's very passionate....some might call it crazy. He's a boy..... what can I say.

At least the Sharks are something that we can both share and experience together.

177 dtg!!!

The calligraphing.........has begun.

I've printed out all of the response cards, and am now handwriting names. That's only step one. Then I have to write the names on the inner envelope, as well as the outer envelope. But since there is so much to do, I'll be a pro by the end of it!

Thank goodness it is cooling down! I actually am a little chilly now and sleeping will be much easier!

178 dtg!!!!

As I'm sitting in the office here.......melting......

Ive been continuously printing response cards and envelopes, as well as writing in names....all the monotonous stuff. Better to get it out of the way though eh?

Oh, and no on the coat check tags....that was the word from the big kahuna.

GO SHARKS!!!

179 dtg!!!!

At some point, I think I need to stop looking at ideas....coz at a certain time, I won't be able to do anything else!!! But these ideas are too cute not to share...

Image found at craftstylish.com

I think these look so cute....they are actually meant to look like snow! And all you need is dental floss and white circular stickers! Crazy eh?

Image found at elizabethannedesigns.com

Casey and I have debated whether or not we want to check people's coats....these coat tags are so adorable!!!

180 dtg!!!!

Almost went to bed in this heat without blogging!! Ugh....gonna be hard to sleep tonight!

Edited the response cards, map and return envelopes some more....added a bit more flair design to them, and am now trying to finalize the RSVP date. I don't want to make it too early...but also don't want to leave it too late.

Photo courtesy of merrimentdesign.com

I already know that I will be using mason jars....with candles. But this is a cute idea for the bridal bouquets...I love the labels too.

181 dtg!!!

Found these flowers at thefabricofourlives.com

These are actually made out of jersey fabric!!! How cool!

Found these monograms at marthastewartweddings.com

I wanted to do something like this with "M"....but apparently Casey thinks it looks cheesy or lame.

Found this at.....of course.....marthastewartweddings.com

I will probably be doing something very similar to this....I have some frosted votives, along with stamps/ink....plus some crafty friends to help!

182 dtg!!!!

Today is 6 months to the day until the wedding. S-I-X M-O-N-T-H-S!!! OMG.

So that got me a little frazzled because there is still so much to be done. So what do I do? Enlist Casey to get some stuff done! Which was great. He researched hotels and airfare in Vegas, while I ran to the book store to browse through some books to get ideas of what I'd like to see and do.....it's all coming together now and getting very excited!!!

I finished putting all of the seals on the wedding invites...but still have to do more printing/editing and then finally calligraph all the addresses. OY....that will be the hardest thing to do, since I'm gonna be doin it all on my own.

Found this DIY project from marthastewartweddings.com

Really cute accordian programs. Haven't even started planning those yet! This is a cute design idea though.

And these were another DIY item on marthastewartweddings.com

How adorable are these flower girl baskets!

183 dtg!!!!

Just got back from Game 1 of the Sharks Playoffs. Had a GREAT time, even though they lost. Got my rally towel, got to cheer my head off, free ice cream, a balloon fin hat, a free lanyard with pic of me and Allie (my future sis-in-law)....was tons of fun. I was having so much fun that half way through I realized I had not thought about the wedding at all today! CRAZY!!!!!!

Casey was such a great guy to let her and I go. Unfortunately, their outcome wasn't so hot....and even though it's only game one, and a little pre-mature.....if they get bounced in the first round...........................................he apparently will not watch games next year.

I asked if he was going to sign a contract, coz I really don't see that happening.

184 dtg!!!

Well lets see........










Got nothing.
May be going to Livermore again this weekend....checkin out another hotel for my mom and hopefully meeting with Gloria at Dolce Bake Shop.

It's supposed to be our valentines day on Saturday (since it's so close to my birthday, we moved it). We really have no idea what we are doing.....probably just going to a nice dinner, maybe a movie. He still has to take me to Lisa's Tea Treasures......that probably won't happen until summer. Some guy at work scared Casey off the idea........but I'm not letting him off the hook. He promised me!

185 dtg!!!!

I'm tired.....even though I didn't get to do any exercises tonight. I did however massage for about two hours....one of the hours torturing Casey. I seriously was using the same amount of pressure that I would use on other clients. And you thought he was going to die. I have never seen a man scream, wiggle and tense up more from a massage....and I wasn't even using that much pressure!

He has been going to the gym, so his muscles are a little tight. But he also does not get massages on a regular basis, so he has LOTS of knots.....and he's gotten so used to them, that he thinks it's normal....he normally never lets me touch his shoulders its so painful. Any manipulation or little pressure is the end of the world. The whole time he kept repeating......"you really must hate me don't you"!!!

Looks like I'm going to have to break him into it S-L-O-W-L-Y!

186 dtg!!!

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Anne Designs

Aaaaah.......pleasant. Gotta love candles.

187 dtg!!!

Today was a very productive and accomplished day!!! It was a beautiful spring day at the future in-laws......We spent the day assembling invitations, making mock ups of centerpieces, drawing layouts, going through guest lists, looking at rehearsal dinner menus.....it was great.

Now I only have a couple aspects of the invitations left, before we need to mail them out in July. It's nice to have everything done early!

Turns out that Casey's cousin, who is getting married a few months after us, is interested in some of the same decor aspects as us. So we may be able to share and save some money together! Yeah!!!! Nothing like saving money!!!!

188 dtg!!!!

I am now taking a break from cutting to blog....I feel like my wrists have formed into a claw and I may be getting carpal tunnel! Haha.....only 4 more invitation outlines to cut and fold before everything is glued together tomorrow.

It will be nice to have all these done and something else out of the way.

189 dtg!!!!

Well......looky what I found! I figured with all of the fans out there.........somebody was bound to do a San Jose Sharks themed wedding!

They named all the tables after the players....they even cut a puck in order to display the table names!

The menus even had the Sharks logo on it, and all the linens and ribbons were in the beautiful teal color!

While I love the Sharks......I just couldn't see basing my wedding around them. But I know somebody who would!

Pictures courtesy of weddingcabaret.blogspot.com

190 dtg!!!

Pictures courtesy of stylemepretty.com

I thought that this wedding was darling. Loved all the colors. Even though we already have our escort cards designed....I still really like those ones in the middle. So vintage and craftsy.

The cupcake display on the bottom right is such a great idea with all the leaves....so cute!

191 dtg!!!

Had a hard time getting motivated to paint or do much of anything this afternoon. After work and my run, I can't remember much.....just putzing around on the internet and in the kitchen.......which is where I made some pretty cool chicken burgers that my future hubby actually really liked! Yeah for me!

Although I did watch the end of License to Wed, which I have seen before. So cute. I love John Krasinski, and especially the scene where he writes his vows in the sand. What a guy. :)

192 dtg!!!

Officially asked our baker to do the cupcakes for our wedding....so excited! Another thing down!

Still need to find an officiant however, as well as meet with the DJ and sign the contract.

It's nice to finally see things coming together, after having everything pictured in my mind.



After placing our order for rental items in Pleasanton, I was able to make a mock up of the table setting....well partially. It's missing the silverware, glassware, the menu, some flowers and candles and the damask runner will have a black border on both sides. Should be shwanky!

193 dtg!!!

Everyday it seems like the day is almost here! The future in-laws made the reservations for the rehearsal dinner location, which sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun!

194 dtg!!!

Here's hoping that my bridesmaids can find a great black dress. Now is obviously not the time to be looking as everything is yellow or bright pink.... summer and spring colors.

Went with my maid of honor this morning to macys and nordstroms....Didn't find much. She is looking for something in particular because of her style.

I'm sure in September there will be more..... But that sure leaves it down to the wire!

195 dtg!!!!

Today was quite a successful and productive day.

• We met with our coordinator at Martinelli. Jacquelyn was very nice, very accomodating and able to answer all of our questions. We got info on the food tastings, beer and wine available. Found out that there is not a cake cutting fee for the cupcakes, and they will provide plates if needed.
• We were able to look at the layout of the ballroom again, as well as the courtyard, to get an idea of how to hang the chinese lanterns, and how long they need to be. We'll need to bring our own ladder, and some tools for sure.
• Turns out there will be a wedding the night before ours, so if we want to do a rehearsal, we will need to do it the morning of, or somewhere offsite.
• Placed our order of rental ideas at Pleasanton Rentals. Was able to get all of the chargers, vases. napkins and sashes needed for the tables & decor.
• Casey and my father were able to test taste some beers that may be served....Casey the lightweight ended up getting drunk at noon.
• Had a nice lunch with both sets of parents. We were literally the only people in the restaurant, which was quite weird, but it was nice to chat!
• Visited our rehearsal dinner site to get some info to see if it is what we are looking for. They have a great room off to the side, that would fit enough people for dinner.....and some games! Bridesmaids vs. Groomsmen!!! It's on!
• Checked out the rooms at both the Best Western and the La Quinta for the guests. One was newer, yet smelled like smoke....while the other one was a little bit larger, less expensive....I think we have a decision made on that one.
• And finally........tried 2 different bakery's cupcakes. The first one: cupcakes were smaller, but the consistency and flavor was delicious! The toppings were oh so cute as well. The second: cupcakes were HUGE, but only a couple of flavors were tasty, and the frosting was quite rich and not that fancy....she did however, JUST finish the icing, so it did not have time to harden. Another decision to ponder, but my vote is for the first bakery.

Well.........that was that, now I'm tired and on a sugar low (after the high)....and the Sharks are on. So I probably won't be moving off of the couch for the next 4 hours.

196 dtg!!!

Big day tomorrow! I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully we will
have a cupcake decsision made! Coz you know I don't need anymore
calories right now in order to make a decision!!!

197 dtg!!!

Well......really don't have much to say tonight after a stressful talk with Comcast (I swear, they are always trying to screw you over)....and then planning a very busy and fun-filled Saturday with the folks in Livermore.....

There will be lots to do! Hey, at least there will be cupcakes! Mmmmmmm, 2 more places to sample! Yumm!

198 dtg!!!

I already have so many elements in the wedding, but this is so cute! I would probably do this at home....

Image found at remembersomethingblue.blogspot.com


Image found at remembersomethingblue.blogspot.com

There is just something so cute about bringing vintage and modern freshness together.