Husband and Wife

So the wedding is 99% planned and ready to go- vows written, center pieces assembled and the gown is being steamed this weekend, but wait- that is all for the "party"- now it time to prepare for MARRIAGE.

Isn't that what this is all about anyway?

I come from a long line of successful marriages- and did I mention "religious family", so every single relative; aunt/ grandma and mom has shared their own advice on how to have a long lasting happy marriage.

Honestly- the articles, scripture and "Oprah books" are a bit overwhelming. Half of them talk about what do when your spouse hits a mid life crisis, money runs dry and or the kids are acting up. I understand the importance of being a team, having an open/honest relationship and loving one another- but is there anything I should be preparing for, anything that will change right after we say "I do".


Well, I'm stuck- we kind of already live like a married couple
1) We live together- we have been since May 07.
2) We share just about everything- a checking account, a bed, a car.
3) We take of each other when we are sick
4) Celebrate occasions together, birthdays, Christmas...etc.
you get the idea..

Besides a name change- and a fabulous honeymoon is there any other life alternating change I should be prepared for in those first couple of months as newlyweds!?

Wedding Weather

From the Farmer's Almanac-Northeast region!

September 2009
1st-3rd. Record low temperatures

and fair skies. 4th-7th. Clear and unseasonably chilly air shifts into the Northeast, after showers. Pleasant, dry, and cool for Labor Day. 8th-11th. Continued unseasonably chilly and dry. 12th-15th. Lots of cloudiness 16th-19th. Showers move in from the west. In addition, there’s a hurricane threat for the coast. 20th-23rd. More light showers. 24th-27th. Variably cloudy skies, with more widely scattered showers. 28th-30th. Increasingly cloudy skies.

Yea- cool and dry by labor day!!! perfect wedding weather.

Keeping my fingers crossed- only 12 more days to go :)

Hair Issues

This weekend was fun- we got a lot of wedding stuff done - including our marriage license!! and also spent Saturday in Newport with friends, so it was good!

But yesterday was stressful- I went for my "hair trial" so that the stylists knows exactly what to do on wedding day. She is a wonderful woman and super nice, but I just wasn't in the mood for some reason.

She spent hours- washing, curling, spraying and fooling around with different looks- All I want is something SIMPLE, very natural and simple looking. Its a beachy wedding, nothing too formal- and I just felt like she wanted to make it over the top.

I was in no mood to argue, so I just let play. Then came the veil.

I mentioned before that I am wearing my mother's veil- it is suppose to be the kick off of a new tradition between the girls in my family. At first I thought this was great- but now I'm realizing- I HATE the veil, not my mother's veil, just the whole thing- any veil, I DO NOT like it on my head!

Maybe I'm just super moody (menstrual) and stressed out- but yesterday was a disaster- between my MIL to- be telling me how important it is for a bride to wear a veil and my stylist sticking sparkles in my head all I wanted to do was cry. Whats wrong with me?? I just do not like this "fancy bride look"- the veil and sparkle headgear has me stressed out. I just prefer simple- nothing weighing me down.

I think I also really miss my bridesmaids/sister and mom. They understand my style more- and get the fact that I just won't be comfortable wearing the veil for more than just the church- and would hate sparkles in my hair.

It sucks that they are so far- but it just 10 days everyone will be in the Boston area and ready to help me with those last min. details! whew.

What are other brides doing with their hair? Veil?

Holy Heatwave!

Its hot out- like really hot! and humid, gross!

This is probably a good sign- because I think that since it rained all June/July that means a good chance for a sunny August/September!

And because all my formal wedding pictures will be taken at the beach (Duxbury, of course) good weather is crucial- therefore my fingers are crossed for sunny skies.

Till then I am grateful for our central air, and will be staying inside gluing, cutting, sewing, and finishing all these last min. DIY wedding projects.

Time has really flown.

In just 19 days I will be a Mrs. :) and in 21 days my new hubs and I will be lounging on the beaches of Aruba! Can not wait!!!

Weekend Wedding Hoopla- please use your imagination!

Before I dive into the MANY things Fiance and I accomplished this weekend- let me apologize for my lack of photos. I promise I will add them later- when I'm not at work and have access the to many illustrations.

First off I never realized how "DIY" this wedding actually is! One, we are paying for it- that's right, every last cent we are responsible for. ( with the exception of other wedding events such as showers and rehearsal dinner) At first this seemed impossible but, we did it! We saved, salvaged, and cut back like whoa. The perks of this is that- WE decided everything! Guest list- bar- time-date, everything was what WE wanted :) Two, Because we were very caucious of cost- we did a lot of this "stuff" on our own, from scratch.

Lets recap the DIY projects this weekend.

Programs- we built the programs we will be handing out at the church. A four sided piece of "off white" card stock paper with brown color font, covered by a piece of navy cardstock and tied together with a brown/white printed piece of ribbon! 120 finished and ready to go!!

Hotel Guest Bags- We have a lot of guests from out of town- so we wanted to make some goody bags for them to recieve when they check in. A brown gift bag, with a welcome tag attached with ribbon thanking them for traveling. Inside: two water bottles- some cape cod chips, a baggie filled with red lobster gummies and an insert with information about the area. 45 bags- DONE!

Table Numbers- We order these cute little silver sailboats that hold pictures or placecards- and backed a piece of light blue cardstock with left order navy cardstock- printed the numbers in navy- cut-glue and BAM we have table numbers! 18 finished- check!



My "guest book"- We decided to go with the trend and have an untraditional guest book. We went down to the beach found an old oar- about 6 feet long. Sanded it down and engraved our name with the wedding date at the paddle. At the wedding people will sign the oar with paint pens then we will lacker the oar to make all the signatures permenent. Then we will proudly hang it in our home!!

Ring Bearers Pillow- Yup, made this too! I bought some kacki fabric, sewed together a 8x8 pillow and then tied a navy ribbon around the top. Since all the men are wearing the kacki pants with navy blazer, it matches perfectly!! the shiney white ones at the store did'nt quite fit the casual/natuical theme I have going on. Pillow- DONE!

Card Box- Big cardboard box- wrapped in navy paper- same brown/white ribbon- and hung a sanddollar shell from the bow!

Whew- and I still have a list a mile long to complete- in the next 20 days!!!!!

Again- I promise to share pictures!!

Now What...

Recently one of my friends/co-workers got engaged (Yea)! So office talk has turned to wedding planning all the time. Between my count down and her initial planning we have turned our section into a party planning hub!

So this got me thinking- as I research dresses, vendors and themes for my dear friend "S" I realized that in a little over three weeks, it will all be done!

Yes, it gets stressful, and its very expensive/time consuming- but... I LOVE doing it.
I really enjoy the planning, coordinating, research, details, and I am going to miss it- A LOT.

In the mean time I have volunteered myself to aid "S" in all her wedding planning for her Kentucky wedding. Which is so fun- already we have found southern carriage houses- discussed a brunch menu, complete with mimosas and bloody Marys ( which would fit her yellow/red color scheme).

Basically what I'm getting at here- is that I'm sad to see it all go. And I'll be happy to assist any other bride to be out there with wedding planning :)

Engagement Story

So today is kind of slow at work- we had a new intern start today, and she is starting a big a project for me- hence my down time. Rather than online shop (my number one weakness) I spent a good amount time blog reading and realized that one of my favorite things to read on “wedding blogs” is the engagement story. Which brings me to my point – I have not shared “our story” yet, so in my down time I have written it out, with incredible detail so everyone can “aw”

It was a Thursday- October 4^th 2007 to be precise.

I remember waking up in our bed to find Fiancé already dressed and ready to go. He was wearing a suit and searching through the closet for a matching tie when I asked him about his fancy attire. He claimed that he had an “off site” meeting with a client and may be able to come home right after it was done.

Well this thrilled me, because at this point in time in our lives we were both working different jobs, not the ones we have now. I was employed by the devil and was working a crazy schedule, sometimes weekends, lots of overnights and never predictable. So, it just happened to be that this weekend I had off Thursday- Saturday and we had planned to get away- maybe camping up state. So the fact that he would be home early was awesome because then we could go shopping for the trip together and get an early start on the road.

Fiancé left and I proceeded to draft up “to buy” lists and research some sites on the internet. Then at around 1pm he called and said he was done and on his way home- he also mentioned that his parents put the boat in the water, due to the warm fall weather and asked if I wanted to go for a quick ride around the harbor before shopping.

I happily agreed- honestly I can never say no to a boat ride. I grew up on the water as did Fiancé so I have a sense of belonging out on a boat.

So, we got dressed and headed down the shore to the harbor. When we arrived I jumped right in and started to review with him my lists and discuss what we needed to buy that afternoon. Then I noticed he was acting funny- but thought nothing of it, just kept rambling.

Finally he asks- you hungry? Well of course I am, I am ALWAYS hungry. He replies good! and turns the corner into the “back river” part of the harbor. Then I see, set up on a dock a table and chairs, candles and a bucket of champagne. (No joke, seriously like just out of a movie). Immediately I am thrown off, my legs turn to Jell-O and my head feels foggy.

He parks the boat alongside the dock and helps me out- then we sit down. I make some comment about the lobster dinner that was displayed in front of me, but then he turns and says “I can’t wait a second longer”.

Down on one knee he looks into my eyes and pulls out the most beautiful ring I have ever seen then asks the most important question – “will you marry me”.

I naturally start to cry and I nod my head yes. Meanwhile in the house across from the dock, about 10 little girls run outside and start cheering.

See, the dock is owned by that house- and when Fiancé went down that morning to set everything up ( he never had a meeting, he took the day off) he explain to the owners that he was proposing, so the little girl invited some friends over to watch the magic happen first hand. It was sweet!

After the ring was placed on my left hand and the tears stop flowing, I totally forgot about the amazing dinner in front of me and called my family. Eventually I got off the phone and enjoyed some food- and lots of champagne.

He did an amazing job.

"The most important day of your LIFE"!

No pressure- right? WRONG!

Lots of pressure, tons of stress and a whole lot of emotions.

Forget a new chapter in the book of life- this one day is the start of a whole new story, the story of your life as a "couple", a family- an adult ( gasp).


So since this is such a big event- all the pros, i.e. magazines, websites and blogs ( hehe I could be a pro) suggest a pre-planned beauty regimen to help prepare the Bride <--me, for the special day.

This so called regimen usually consists of dieting, working out, some sort of tanning, facials, etc. So lets discuss what this Bride to Be has been doing to gear up for her big "I do" moment... nothing! :(

As I mentioned before the whole process is a bit stressful, so I have no time to think about any of this- until now- when I only have 3.5 weeks left!! ( oh boy)

Here are the issues;
1) My skin sucks! and all this stress is NOT helping. As I am writing this post I can feel another blemish forming on the tip of my nose, which is forcing me to look cross eyed every few minutes as I constantly check to see if its noticeable yet. I can picture it now..."the bride, cross eyed with a big red nose"
2) I hate working out! I don't know how people get excited to "go for a run"!- I get bored. And while my gym is literally feet from my apartment I still can't muster up the motivation after a long day at work. Dinner and DVR always wins my attention.
3) FOOD- I love to eat. However the good part here is that I do keep a healthly diet, I hate fast food and most greasy dishes just upset my stomach so I usually binge on fruits and veggies. BUT I have a weakness for desserts- chocolate, cake, cookies, you name it!! I have a serious sweet tooth.

So with that- I ask for help. I need skin remedies, quick easy workouts that would maybe help tone my arms, and maybe some yummy recipes for lowfat desserts?!!?

oy vey!

Days 29 &28

I had a very busy but extremely productive weekend.

Where to begin..

Lets see on Saturday was the Fiance's bachelor party so he was occupied all day and night which left me free to wedding plan with my mother-in law "to be".

First stop was the reception hall, where I had a final walk through so I could "envision" everything and discuss how I wanted it to be set up for the big day; 18 tables, one sweetheart table- gift table- etc. The place looked GORGEOUS!

Next, a quick trip to the bakery for a final design appointment. I decided to go with white Adirondack chair toppers, (rather than the topper I found online) and white chocolate sea shells placed sparely between the tiers. Since I'm also a bride on a budget we also decided to opt for a smaller three tier cake for display and have a large sheet cake in the back that will help serve all my guests. This was a great move- we saved about $200 on a cake and were also able to pick out two flavors. The "cutting" cake is vanilla and choc. cake with choc. butter cream filling- and the sheet cake is white almond with raspberry filling. The finance doesn't like fruit in his cake and I love raspberry dessert so this was a happy compromise.
Last errand of the day- the tailor. I needed to drop off my viel for some alterations and my shoes which need to dyed Ivory. See, my viel is actually my mothers, which is awesome because its not only "something borrowed" it is also a nice tradition to start with the women in my family; my mother-myself and sister will all wear the same viel on our wedding day. The only issue was this viel is from 1982- so it was a bit dated. However, my AMAZING tailor made some great suggestions that were very minor- so the viel is the same viel just with a little update. Don't worry I did'nt pull a "27 dresses" and cut the whole thing up!

Then on Sunday I had a quick meeting with my photographer to go over pictures. We discussed locations-times- prefered poses- etc. Finace and I agreed to have all our pictures taken at the beach- because thats "us", and also a couple at the habor.So location was easy but poses is a bit a tricky- I'm not sure of what I really want/ don't want. Therefore my mission this week is to stalk wedding pictures and come up with a couple of must have pictures that I want taken. Suggestions are always welcomed!!!

Side note- as for the bachlelor party festivities- the Fiance was still in "recovery" when we went into work this morning :) I think it was a sucess!!

30 Days to go

I still can not believe how fast the time has gone. Thinking back to when we first got engaged- I thought the wedding was FOREVER away, and I had all the time in the world to plan the perfect wedding.

Well- talk about a wake up call, reality is I didn't kick into full gear plan mode till the 6 month mark!

So back to the count down- day 30. I got my "one month" e-mail from the theknot.com and according to them all I should be doing is thinking about honeymoon wardrobe, bridesmaid gifts and seating charts- (HA). It goes without saying- this bride to be is very behind..but look on the upside, I work GREAT under pressure... (ehhhh)

Its Friday (yea) , the start of a super busy weekend. This afternoon I should be able to take advantage of the office summer Friday policy and leave a little early. Which will allow me to shop around the back bay area for wedding party gifts and jewelry for me! I'm looking for some earrings and maybe a fun bracelet. I decided no necklace because there is already a lot going on with the dress in that area.

Then tomorrow the fiance has his bachleor party- which means I have no excuse to get sh*t done- no distractions! The plan is; morning appointment at the reception hall to finalize layout- early noon appointment at the bakery to go over cake design- ( we already did the tasting, trust me the fiance would never agree to miss that appointment)- and then off to my AMAZING tailor for a fitting, and shoe dyeing.

In addition to all the appointments I need to print/fold/stuff wedding programs and start building/hot gluing centerpieces. We will see how much of this actually gets done- because with the fiance gone all day/night all I really want to do is sit infront of the TV with some wine and watch Sex and the City eposiodes on demand.

Oh and on top of it all we are writting our own vows...which I thought was an awesome idea at the time- except with only 30 days to go I have the WORST writer's block.

Countdown

I'm well aware its been MONTHS since I have posted- in my defense life did get pretty busy, BUT enough of the blame game- point is I'm back, and I'm on mission.

I want to make these next 30 posts a countdown- a true recap of day to day activities/emotions of a bride to be.

I started to blog about my upcoming wedding in January of 09 and it was a lot of fun to share stories about planning and the Fiance. Even now just looking back to almost eight months ago its fun to read.

So with that let the count down begin!

I’m such a hypocrite...

I haven’t gone “tanning” since my high school days; I got the memo that it is cancer causing and gives you wrinkles- so I did away with the “fake and bake” method and moved on to spray tanning.

I was the spray tanning queen throughout my sorority days and lectured anyone that exposed their skin to the tanning bulb’s UV rays- in fact I even submitted a news article which mocked the woman behind the desk at the tanning salon; comparing her wrinkled tan skin to my leather coach bag.

OH THE SHAME!

So now, I must confess- I purchased a tanning package, lotion- goggles- the whole sha-bang!

My reasoning behind this hypocritically purchase was my desire to be “sunkissed” all summer long- for the bach party, showers all the way up to my wedding. While a spray tan would be great for the big day- going spray tanning all summer long would be 1) EXPENSIVE and 2) not consistent, it would fade.

When I have wrinkles by 30, and constant dry skin I have only myself to blame,but- I will be hopefully be tan for all wedding related events/pictures.

Any tips on getting the most out of “tanning” without going all the time? Has anyone had sucess with the bronzer lotions?

So much to do- So little time!!!

All of you Bostonians are well aware that this past weekend was a holiday- yes, a lovely three day weekend in honor of the Marathon. This bride to be did not actually run in the race but I did do a little marathon planning.

With 4.5 months to go I’m beginning to get nervous that not everything will fall into place and I’ll run short on time. So with check list in hand the hubby to be and hi went into a planning frenzy.

First up, the tables- we decided to skip the floral centerpieces and try something different.

The place cards are actually sanddollars, real beautiful sanddollars that I found online! And our wonderful stationary girl will print up the names of the guest on tiny square pieces of paper and tie them to the shell with a small ribbon.

As for the “centerpiece” we ordered these pretty lanterns to sit in the middle of the table- and will put a blue candle inside. Then surround the lantern with five white tea lights.

Bridesmaids dresses are set- and I finallllyyy found the perfect navy blazer for the groomsmen. We decided the men will all buy the same jacket and pair of khakis rather than renting; because what guy couldn’t use a basic navy blazer, right?

The girls dresses are awesome! We went to Aria on Newbury this past weekend and tried on a million styles. After much consideration, I decided to have each girl pick a different style and then have them all ordered in silk shantung, navy blue. Cross your fingers for me that they come in time for alternations!

Next TO DO- Limo services!!

Then I need to start thinking about, honeymoon wardrobe, vows, ring bands, music selection, flowers, hair/ make up, programs....oy and the list goes on....

as always- suggestions/tips/advice is appreciated!

Back to blogging!

A whole month without blogging! So much for my commitment- huh? Well, in my defense a lot has changed and I have been super busy, I’m not even sure where to start…


1) We moved! As you may remember from some of my earlier posts we were looking to “upgrade”. Our old apartment was just south of Boston, and was getting very small. After countless weekends dealing with Boston real-estate folk and evil Craigslist LIES we found our new home. As it turns out we moved OUT of the city- (does this mean I can’t be Boston Bride anymore!?). We found brand-new construction in on the south shore and fell in love with the waterfront views, and historic new England downtown vibe. So I guess this makes me “south shore bride”?





2) Wedding is moving full speed ahead. Cake is ordered- DJ is booked- hotel rooms for my many of out of town guests are all set and I ordered the most beautiful sand dollar shells to be used table cards. Next up- bridesmaid dresses on the 18th and finding a place where I can rent navy blazers for the men- suggestions are welcomed!

3) HONEYMOON!!! The fiancé and I will be spending a full week on the lovely beaches of Aruba.

I will try really hard to update more often- because I do enjoy the quick break from “Stupid Work” to write about the fun stuff .

All the best
-BB

Damm Economy

It’s been a long week, a very stressful/eventful week.

Rewind to last Friday when my company issued layoffs! It was seriously the scariest thing I have ever experienced- picture this..

Typical Friday, everyone is super excited for the long weekend and is making their early morning coffee runs. At about 9am my whole team gets called into the conference room for a touch base, as I get up to follow my co workers into the meeting I realize that half my team isn’t behind me. Then just as we settle into our seats the boss man comes in and very bluntly explains that they have issued layoffs, and ( INSERT NAMES HERE) have been let go.

My reaction are- 1) WHEW! I’m safe. 2) We just cut our team in half! 3) This economy BLOWS!

So my weekend/week was a little unsettling and a bit of a wakeup call. The fiancé and I have luckily not been effected (yet) by the poor economy, but who knows if we are safe forever! Fiancé works in private equity and I dabble in Public Relations, both industries are getting hit hard- so who knows what tomorrow brings!?!?!?

In response to my near lay off experience on Friday the Fiancé and I discussed some very “grown up” planning for our future. We decided that while a move into Boston would be nice, it’s not necessary. Yes, our commute in longer than we like, but honestly paying more in rent rather than saving for a “house” is frivolous. We also planned on contributing more into our savings fund, and making some wedding adjustments.

It sucks that things are the way they are but I was always told if you have a plan set in place for the “worst scenario” then the “worst” will never happen.

Wedding Cake Topper

While doing some wedding related browsing online I stumbled across this wedding topper. Personally, I love it! Anyone who knows the finance and I, would think this topper is hysterical. We are both very affectionate, and are practically attached at the hip. No joke, we are rarely apart, and absolutely love it that way. But here is the question- my family is pretty conservative, would this topper be offensive?

I know Fiancé’s family would love it and get a real kick out of the little figures, so they are a non issue. But I wouldn’t want to embarrass my mother/grandmother in front of relatives.

On the other hand, it’s my wedding, we are paying for it, so we should be able to do whatever we want- right?

Thoughts?

I am woman, hear me roar...

Overall I had a really good weekend. Friday night we did dinner/ game night with some friends of ours, Sat. we apartment hunted (unsuccessful) then went out for another friend’s birthday, Sunday I had a bridal shower to attend. The shower was fun, I always like to see what other brides receive and then adjust my own registry. But it was a certain conversation at the shower that is fueling the fire for this post.

I simply made a comment about how I love showers, both bridal and baby. The baby shower comment then prompted the question of “when” in regards to starting a family.

My Response: “ I would love to start as soon as possible, but we want to be smart about and will probably wait a little while so that we have some newlywed time to ourselves and are financial stable.”

Her Response: “Oh that’s smart, plus you probably want to grow some more in your career and not have to worry about taking chunks of time off.”

Me: “True, but I would really love to be a stay at home mom, right now my “career” is more like a job, I haven’t quite figured out what I want my career to be.”

Her: “A stay at home mom? ( giggles) well, there goes a 100 years of women’s rights down the tube!”

This conversation left me livid! The whole woman’s movement was not about us working or not, it was about us having a CHOICE. Every woman has a choice, to pick her own future. Whether it be a career, a husband, a partner, kids, or no kids; and so what if my CHOICE is a little “old fashion”, or whatever you may call it, it is what I want.

Regardless of if so my called dream comes true; (Husband, four kids, beautiful house, dog) it is still MY dream, so please, don’t judge. Maybe one day I will find a career/job that I am passionate about and I will be more excited to work, but right now I love the idea of being able to stay at home with my children when they are young. But again this is MY CHOICE, and I would never judge other woman for picking a different route.

That is the beauty of being a woman we can do whatever we want, but one thing we can’t do is turn on each other, so please just respect each other’s dreams.

Sweet Stuff

So despite my constant battle with SHADY relstate people contacting me about crappy apartments- and more lies on Craigslist!.. I have two things to look forward to.



One: The conclusion of my current read. I seriously LOVE this book.



Back in December I went on the wait list at the Boston Public Library (just like Carrie Bradshaw, I also love the smell of library books) and I finally received it on Friday. I am a huge book worm, and have already read two other novels by Curtis Sittenfeld, which were amazing; Prep and The Man of my Dreams, so I was really excited to get my hands on American Wife. It's great- I actually look forward to commuting just so I can get back to the book.



Two: I just received an e-mail that Madewell is coming to Newbury street. The store is fairly new and is affiliated with J-crew. Now being a HUGE fan of J-crew I am excited to see what Madewell has to offer- Maybe a honeymoon wardrobe? The store is opening Feb. 17th and the e-mail includes a coupon for 15% off till March 2nd. Leave me your e-mail if your interested and I'll forward it along.



and for all you Bostonians bundle up....its COLD out there!! Brrrr


XoXo
BB

Weekend/ Wedding Update

I'll admit it- I have been very inconsistent. My goal was to blog at least once a day but I see that due to Stupid Job, busy weekends and late night wine drinking....this goal is a little unrealistic.

But I do have a lot to write about...all within good time ,I will post my stories, thoughts and random observations.

So on to my updates, first the wedding!

• Dress is ordered! I am so excited, but a little nervous because it won't come in till June.. so fingers and toes crossed that it is perfect.
• We think we picked a honeymoon spot. Although I had my heart set on Hawaii our budget needs us to pick some where more reasonable. So Aruba it is! Which I am thrilled about because neither of us have ever been and it seems to offer all the honeymoon essentials; spa, sun and sand. If anyone has Aruba trip tips, or must sees- let me know.
• I found a great place for bridesmaids dresses. All of my girls are out of state; NY, PA and NJ which makes the process more difficult, but I love how this place makes it easy to order five different dresses but keep the same fabric/color. All my girls are also all different shapes and sizes so I want them to wear something that they will feel comfortable in! Its right on Newbury too..ARIA.
• Next up- I need a DJ! Suggestions?

Weekend in NYC

After much talk and planning we finally went down to NYC for the weekend. It was awesome. We saw a ton of friends from college and sampled all the food I miss most; pizza, bagels...and late night diner. ( MUST GET TO GYM THIS WEEK)

I tried to do some shopping with Grammatically Impaired but no such luck. After finding a million sample sale goodies lying around her apt. I was hopping to find some steals of my own- but nothing. Oh well! (sigh)

Saturday night, a large group of us went out and shuffled around the city. Tons of fun, but this bride to be learned her lesson, don't drink excessively the night before taking the bus back to Boston. Needless to say it was a very long ride back.

We took the Bolt Bus, hoping to save some time and money. Personally I just hate bus rides, but if I was to rate the Bolt bus I would recommend it to others. They had outlets for your laptop, but *warning* the WIFI was very spotty.

Then just as we pulled into South Station our friends called asking about Super Bowel plans. The Fiance and I totally forgot we said we would host. So in exactly 2.5 hours we cleaned the apt., food shopped and made meatballs for sub sandwiches during the game. It was quite the site.

So, as you can imagine I am very tired today and fully plan on being in bed by 8pm.

XoXo
BB

I was tagged!

Yummy Mummy has invited me to play a game of tag and who doesn't like games so of of course I'm in!

The rules were go to your 4th photo folder on your comp.- upload the 4th photo in that folder and provide an explanation!

Well since I am at work, I did'nt have access to my personal comp photos so I went through my Facebook albums. Sure enough the 4th album down was filled with my engagement photos (no joke). Very fitting for this blog :)

The pic I uploaded is one of the million we had taken on Duxbury beach when we were first engaged. So now you all know what Boston Bride and the Fiance look like!

So the last rule of this game was to tag four others... so Cali-Ally, Legally Brunette, Grammatically Impaired and Irishlizzy

YOU'RE IT!

Good Mood :)

Today was a pretty good day- lots accomplished and tons to look forward to. All the wedding planning is finally in motion and I have a million things scheduled!

Tomorrow Night- Meeting with the "ring guy". This is the same man that made my engagement ring and the Fiance and I LOVE him. He is very precise and takes extreme pride in all his work. The Monday after we got engaged he demanded I meet him downtown so he could check the size and steam clean the diamond before showing it off to my parents.

So I'm very excited to see him again for two reasons- one, because he will clean my ring, and check the prongs (which I always worry about) two, I get to try on bands! Now, lets focus for a minute on the band- a very important (life long) decision. I already know what I want for the actually ring; I'm thinking something thin, simple, with diamonds across the top half. My engagement ring is the classic round solitaire, in the 6 prong setting- so I don't want the band to take away from the engagement diamond- just enough bing to give my left hand extra sparkle! BUT the big decision is what do I get engraved in Fiance's ring?!!? I want it to be original, special and meaningful. This is going to take some serious thinking.

Saturday Afternoon- ORDERING MY DRESS! I finally figured out the whole dilemma I posted about below. It turns out the sales woman in VA was lying to me, and the dress I tried on at her shop is the same one I found up in Mass, for a better price. So I'm getting measured at 1pm and will have completed the gown hunt, Whew!

Sunday Afternoon- Blocking rooms at the hotel, not terribly exciting. However, after we are done meeting with the hotel people we are going Boston neighborhood exploring. We are still searching for our next "home". Thus far we have liked Brookline, Somerville, Cambridge and Charlestown, all seem very cute and reasonable online.

Here's to a busy weekend.

Cheers!
XoXo
BB

Away On Business

I am currently in New York for a client meeting and won't be returning to Boston till later tonight. Thankfully this PR gig of mine doesn't require a TON of travel, but rather the occasionally trip here and there. While some people love the idea of traveling for work, I actually don't enjoy it that much, for a couple of reasons...

I HATE airports, so the this particular trip sucked. These meetings are not in glamorous Manhattan NY, they are located in "upstate" middle of no where NY; so not only did that mean an annoying switch in Phili, but also a ride in one of those tiny propeller planes (UGH).

Also, this may sound a little "not so modern, independent woman like", but I hate sleeping alone in a hotel room. Even for a night, I genuinely miss Fiance; a lot. It feels strange to sleep in an empty bed and not have his arm around me. I end up tossing and turning most of the night and waking up very sleepy.

One other hang up about business travel is the food. Don't get me wrong I love dinners out, but rich restaurant food for breakfast, lunch and dinner meetings just leaves me feeling sick and bloated.

So with that, I am excited to get back home :)

Updates later on the wedding and apt search!

Need to Upgrade!

Our lease is up in May and I really, really want to move! This once, cozy little apartment just outside of Boston has quickly turned into a very cramped apartment in the crappy suburbs. It was a great first home, and I will never forget the millions of memories we have here, but its coming up on the two year mark, and its time for this bride to be to upgrade.

We have discussed possibly buying something, but honestly I want to put that idea on hold till after the wedding- one big stressful thing at a time! So right now we are searching for our next apartment, and the first home we will have as newlyweds.

Maybe I'm being picky- but thus far the search has been unsuccessful. I'm not too "set in stone" with a neighborhood; we both work in the Backbay, so some where with an easy commute would be nice. All we need is one bedroom, and somewhere to park our car.

I used to look at Craigslist everyday, just to see what was available, BUT- no more. I lost all faith in craigslist- just a couple weeks ago I was almost scammed by a shady post.

The Fiance and I were scanning the usual "for rent" section when we saw a fantastic condo in the backbay. It was two bed, two bath, two parking spots and was walking distance to both of our offices! We both knew it had to be too good to be true, but just for the hell of it we e-mailed the contact on the post . A day or two goes by and we get a response from "Julie", she explained to us that she had to move to England for a couple of years for work and wanted to rent out her condo. She attached additional pictures, and explained that utilities were included but the lease would be a max of five years. Sounds perfect huh?

After bouncing back and forth e-mails all week, she finally told us that a third party would involved (rent.com) so that we could take the keys and view the condo before paying rent. I was super excited, this condo sounded like a dream come true. I even called my current leasing office to see if I could get out of my lease early!

Here was the catch- in the last e-mail she mentioned a money order, that we would need to put on hold as a deposit. The transaction sounded very shady, so I shared e-mails with a co-worker of mine. She then told me that the whole story sounded VERY familiar, and sure enough it was a scam! A TOTAL SCAM!

When I googled various lines from the e-mails, exact copies came up, posted on fraud web sites. I was so sad, but grateful that people posted those e-mails so that other innocent people are warned.

So now we are back to the drawing board (sigh)...

If anyone hears of anything- let me know :)

XoXo
BB

Dress = Stress

I have a dilemma and I am entirely open to suggestions, so please, let me know if you have ANY advice- here is the story..

Over the holidays the Fiancé and I went down to Virginia to spend Christmas with my family. The day after Christmas “the girls” decided to walk around the town and explore my parent’s new neighbored. My mom, sister and I found a dress shop opened so went in to try on some gowns. Well, it was there in that tiny country shop, that I fell in love with the most perfect wedding dress. After we all “ oo and ah-ed” I asked the sales woman how much? She originally gave me a price that was a little out of my budget, but said that she will check with the owner, because sometimes she will go lower. So we left the dress shop feeling pretty excited.

That night my sister and I jumped online and found a picture of the gown so I was able to circulate it to all my bridesmaids.

A couple of weeks go by and my mom finally hears back from the shop owner- she is willing to knock off a couple hundred making the dress “do-able”. While I was thrilled to hear the news, I still wanted to see if it was available for a better price, and some where a little closer. Remember- I’m a bride on a budget, so every penny counts.

More good news- I found the gown in MA for the perfect price! But they don’t have it in the store to try on, they would have to take my measurements and order it. I immediately called my Mom, she was trilled and said she would tell the VA shop to forget about the order.

Here is where trouble comes in; the VA shop tells my mom that the gown I fell in love with is from the designer’s private collection, therefore a better material, which is why it is marked at a higher price.

When mom calls to tell me this bit of information I get confused. I have been stalking the designer’s website for days, and the dress only comes in one material on the site and there is no “private collection”.

I proceed to call the MA shop where I found the bargain price and they agree with me- no private collection and the gown can only be ordered in one material!

Now I am worried, my mom and I are concerned because what if I have the wrong dress? I don’t want to order it, get it in six months and realize it’s the wrong dress, too late! Is the VA shop lady trying to scam me? Does the dress come in two material choices?

Here is the dress…. My Dress.

Designer is Maggie Sottero- gown name: Antonia Marie. Does anyone know if this gown also comes in silk? Or does anyone know where I can try it on again that is close to Boston!

I need to order soon!!!

Jobs, Work, Career?

As you can see I haven't posted since the weekend! The neglect was not by choice... stupid work, at stupid job has kept me insanely busy. I've had reports due, long ass meetings in Cambridge and now I might be traveling to NY next week. Oy!

Since we are on the topic of work let me explain my career a little more.

To begin, I don't HATE my job but I certainly don't LOVE it. Some days I enjoy the work and actually feel like I'm using my skills, other days I feel like my cubical is a cage and I need to be let free!! Then I start with the whole " if I told myself five years ago I would be working in an office cube I would have laughed". But its true, this was not in the plan, but life doesn't always go according to plans.

In college I had an obsession with the "news". I majored in it, interned for it and then when senior year rolled around the news gave me my first real job, as an associated producer! Sounds all fine and dandy, but then a year later I moved to Boston and EVERYTHING changed.

Boston is a pretty big market for news, so when I was offered a job and one of their stations I was tickled pink! But nobody warned me that my cozy Hartford station was heaven compared to sweat shops in Boston. Bottom line- I hated it! I would work overnights, get criticized for EVERYTHING, and was on an hourly wage. And the real eye opener, was that NO ONE was happy. It seemed that there was a constant revolving door of writers, reporters and anchors.

This experience was educational to say the least! I always thought I would work in news, but after enduring hell on earth for six months I knew I needed a change. Because of the economy smaller stations were making cuts, and rumor had it all big market newsrooms were the same- so this Bride to Be made a "career change". Public Relations it is!

So here I am today,working for a mid size PR firm in the backbay. As I sad before, I don't HATE it... but I don't LOVE it. I'm in a rut. Working in news, i hated my life but I enjoyed the work. I could be creative, it was exciting and something new everyday! In PR the work is "sub-par", I get bored easily and I am not able to be creative; But I love my life. Money is good, I never work weekends, holidays off, and lots of vaca time. So I'm stuck.

I guess the real issue is, I don't know what I want to be when I grow up?

Bad Bride

Soo I already broke one of my own rules. I was doing so good, this whole week I stayed on track..but it ended on a bad note.

Fiance and I both had a very long work week, so we decided to have a bum weekend. No traveling, no big night out just veg and relax.

On our way home on Friday night we picked up a bottle of wine and went home ready to clean out our DVR. So we plopped down on the couch and started to pour. Just as greys was coming to an end I began to realize the inevitable- this bride to be was drunk and about to make a very bad decision.

Through my fit of drunk giggles I turned to the Fiance and said "lets go get ice cream"! He happily agrees- my recent healthy habits have resulted in having no junk food or ice cream in the apartment. So when he saw the opportunity for a fatty forbidden dessert- he jumped at the chance.

Neither one of us was in the condition to drive, so we bundled up, head to toe in winter gear and stumbled across the street to Friendly's.

It was there, in that sticky plastic booth, I made the worst decision a bride to be could possibly make. The 13 year old waitress looked down and asked "have you decided yet?" and I looked right back at her, flashed her my goofy intoxicated smile and said "YUP! one brownie Oreo, Carmel fudge brownie sundae".

And I licked the dish clean, not one scrumptious drop of hot fudge left!

I told myself no more drunk eating, it only leads to bad decisions. And the Fiance does nothing to stop me.

Oh well! Can't look back now- all I can do is get off my bride butt, go to the gym and hope for the best in the future.

XoXo
BB

Making Memories

After doing some mid afternoon blog reading I stumbled across a post from Yummy Mummy, who is celebrating her 5 year anniversary today, Mazel Tov! Anywho- her post was about how she has been called “child bride” because she was 24 when wed. Well, lone and behold that is the precise age I am, and will be on my wedding day.

Therefore I dedicate this post to the young and in love!

When the Fiancé and I first announced our engagement we received many comments similar to “you’re crazy to get married SO young”. Or the words of wisdom from many of Fiancé’s frat brothers “Dude, I’m not getting tied down till I’m 35, you’re nuts”.

First of all 24 is not “too young” or a “child bride”. Both of us completed college, received our degrees, have great jobs, a home to call our own and most importantly are head over heels, crazy in love with each other!

Fiancé is a couple years older, but we have known each other forever. Back in the day, we were the “greek power couple”, me being sorority president and Fiancé was his Frat’s VP, ahh those were the daysJ I would spend hours gushing to friends about the crush I had on the SigEp VP!
But being young and in love does come with some obstacles. In addition to being “a Boston bride” I am a bride on a budget- a very strict budget! Don’t get me wrong we have good jobs, but we are new in our industries. Also, we are paying for the wedding/honeymoon ourselves. Like my G-ma always says, it’s those memories you make when you’re far from rich that will last a lifetime and build a successful marriage (G-ma has been married to G-pa for 56 years).

Our first night in our first home we slept on Fiancé’s college futon, ate pizza on the floor and rolled change to afford additional furnishings. We continued to sleep on that futon for almost a year, so you can imagine how great it felt to buy our very own “real” bed with our tax refund money last year.

So yes, we are young, we are far from rich, but we couldn’t be happier and more in love!

XoXo
BB

To hell with "the wedding dress diet" ..

I have a good amount of friends that are currently engaged, in fact this year alone I'll be attending 6 weddings! Not including my own. So when it comes to a girl talk, it usually turns into wedding chat- and the current hot topic; Diets!

Between everyone going on crazy diets as their "new years resolution" and my crazy bride to be gal pals counting every calorie- I am personally going out of my mind.

Don't get me wrong, I want to look AMAZING on my wedding day. But I don't think a diet would do the trick. See- I love food, love carbs, and LOVE dessert. Honestly diets are just meant to be broken! I have my own plan of action.

* Eat healthy- more fruits and veggies
* Still enjoy dessert, just smaller- one tiny dessert per day
* Fitness- walk everywhere if possible and try to make it to the gym as much as possible.
* Drink tons of water!
* No drunk eating. ( When your drunk calories don't count-right?)
* eat breakfast, bring lunch and make dinner. (also a great way to save money)
* No bagels! this is the one food I need to omit from diet, there is just no good in a bagel. If I'm craving bread in the AM, a whole wheat English muffin will do just fine.
* Eat all day. Constant healthy snacking will help me stay on track, and prevent blind binge eating when I'm famished.

My goal is not to fit into my wedding dress or lose 15 pounds, all I want is to look smokin in my honeymoon bikini :)

On that note, does anyone have some great work out tips to get a toned body. I want a flat tummy and Jennifer Aniston arms!

XoXo
BB

A Story About Save-the-Dates...

First off- I got a call today saying that my Save the Date cards were ready to go and should go out this weekend! Yea :)

But it wasn't all smooth sailing-wedding crisis numeral uno involved my beautiful save the date cards. In order to fully grasp the horror of the story I am about to share- let me explain the importance of this stationary.

I believe that the save the card is essential, especially in my case- where 50% of our guests are traveling to Mass. for the event. It is the very first piece of stationary people will receive regarding the special day, and therefore sets the tone. This one- tiny, little piece of paper will be hanging on the refrigerator of all my guests for the next 8 months! People will view this work of art every time they go to get something to eat! Bottom line- I was very careful selecting my cards, and LOVED my original design, complete with ribbon I hand picked from AC Moore.

Now lets get to the story...

My save the dates cards were delivered to me just after Thanksgiving and were slated to be mailed right after the new year, therefore avoiding the Christmas card rush. They were perfect! wrapped in tissue paper and tied together with a baby blue ribbon. So I took them home and placed the box next to my mail/bills basket. Couple of weeks go by and the apartment has quickly transformed into Santa's workshop; wrapping paper everything, boxes stacked high and tape stuck to just about every surface.

It was the Monday before Christmas and the Fiance and I were traveling to my parents for the holiday. He decided it was time to clean up the disaster around the tree, so before he headed out for some last minute shopping, he collected everything in site. So with trash in hand I gave him a quick kiss good bye and started to pack for our trip, then I headed out for a holiday manicure. When I returned home I did a quick scan of the living room and realized the box of save the dates were moved. So I searched- bedroom? no.-kitchen? no.-closet? no.- They were gone. Frantically I call the Fiance demanding to know where he placed the cards... his response "uh oh, I wonder if they got mixed in with the trash".

I proceeded to sprint to the dumpster, only to find they it was already emptied. Then in a panic I ran to the leasing office, burst through the door and asked where the garbage goes to next! " hell, I don't care, I will dumper dive if I have to". But the answer was " sorry sweetie but they are long gone".

Heartbroken, and sad I did what any girl would do.... went home opened a container of ice cream and called my best friend.

Fast Forward through the holidays, the Fiance did good. He felt awful, returned home with flowers in hand and already called our invitation lady ( who is a SAINT). She agreed to reprint through the holidays and will address free of charge, She was even able to hunt down my ribbon. I now refer to her as my wedding angel <3>

XoXo
BB

Welcome!

One of my new years resolutions is to start a blog ( in addition to about 5 others)- why you may ask..

Well- bottom line, I want a creative outlet. A place I can write freely without having to worry about pleasing anyone but myself. Also, as you can see from the title of this blog I am in fact a "Bride", planning my September wedding. I am hoping that by writing about my upcoming wedding I can receive some help/advice from readers. Being new to Boston and the whole wedding planning thing, I can seriously use all the help I can get!!!

So with that...more to come. Expect regular updates, venting and the occasional wedding crisis post.

xoxo

BB