My Gown-Shopping Weekend

I'm sorry to get this post up so late. Since my mom has been here, I've been slacking on keeping up with my online responsibilities. :)

My "gown-shopping" weekend was totally crazy!

First, my mom and my cousin Christi were supposed to fly into Boston around 5:15 p.m. on Friday. They were going to take a shuttle to the hotel and I was going to meet them there as soon as humanly possible. Well, around 10:00 a.m. I got a call that their plane had broke down and the airport staff searched and searched for another flight to Boston and could only locate ONE ticket that day for ANY airline. WTH?? When does that ever happen? I guess it was spring break and everything was booked. So, my mom got the ticket and my cousin had to stay home. I was soooo bummed she couldn't come. AND my mom wasn't going to get into Boston until midnight!

So, I took my time getting up there and when I got to the hotel, I was feeling kind of bummed, so I ordered a martini and turned on Comedy Central. I felt a little better. :)

FYI, the Chelsea Windham hotel serves the BEST dirty martinis!

When my mom showed up at the hotel, it was after midnight, but of course we started chatting and didn't go to sleep until around 3:00 a.m.!

We begrudgingly woke up the next morning to start our busy day of shopping.

The first place we visited was Vows.

Starting my gown shopping!

This place was highly rated on The Knot, but when I went in and looked around, I only found ONE dress I even wanted to try on! I tried on a few others, too, but didn't find anything that really wowed me.

Next we went to The Bridal Secret (no picture, sorry). I had high hopes for this place. I read through the website and the owner seemed like she really knew what she was doing. She emailed me a bunch before our appointment and she just seemed very friendly.

Well, she didn't really understand what I was going for and I didn't feel very happy there. I found a couple dresses that looked 'okay' and she kept telling me that she could tell I loved them. Yeah, I didn't.

We weren't planning on going to any more places that day, but I was feeling pretty anxious and decided to stop by a high-end shop in downtown Boston called "Pricilla of Boston". We didn't have an appointment and when I asked the sales lady if there were any dresses under $2,000 available, she basically turned her nose up to us and said we were in the wrong place.

When we left there I was convinced that I was never going to find "the one" (or that "the one" was going to cost me $8,000 custom made, which wasn't going to happen) and I found myself thinking I would either have to go back to The Bridal Secret and buy one I didn't love, or fly back to Seattle and get one of the super-expensive ones I found there that I did love. Neither option was ideal.

Both my mom and I were feeling kind of down when we went back to the hotel, so we went down to the bar for drinks.

Yum.

THREE ROUNDS LATER (which is a TON of alcohol for us two lightweights), we stumbled back to our room and I fell asleep as my mom scoured the internet for other options.

The next morning we both woke up with hangovers and my mom announced she found a great bridal outlet.... in Ohio. We were actually contemplating how we were going to get to Ohio as we got ready to head out to our fourth and final store.

The final store we went to was The Wishing Well, in East Providence, R.I.

The BEST gown shop in New England!

As soon as I walked into this store, I saw a gown hanging up that actually looked like what I was looking for. When I went over to that one, I found two more that were my style. I started shaking because at that point I KNEW I was finally in the right store. It sealed the deal when I came across my pipe dream dress - the dress I found in a magazine when I first got engaged that I fell head over heals for and placed in the front of my wedding binder. I never thought I would get to even try on that dress, let alone think about purchasing it!! I was elated!

I tried on several dresses and can you believe it - I found a dress EVEN BETTER than my pipe dream dress! It's the same designer (Maggie Sottero) and very similar, but with just a few details changed that made it so 'me'. As soon as I put it on, I knew - I had that amazing, enchanting feeling and knew I found "the one". It was even in my price range. My mom was crying, I was crying, and everything was wonderful.

What a relief!

We put half down and they ordered it. So exciting! (And now we don't have to drive to Ohio.)

I know you want to see what it looks like, but I don't want Joe to see it until the big day. So, I'll have to send you all individual links. Just don't show it to him!!

Such a big decision out of the way. It feels good.

This or That Tuesday

My blogger friend over at The Winey Mommy has put together a weekly post called "This or That Tuesday" and because I like her so much, I thought I'd play along.

This week's question is pretty funny for anyone who knows me. It is:

Do you buy your makeup at a discount/drugstore or some type of specialty makeup store?

Yeah, I don't really buy makeup. I think the last two little jars I've used are hand-me-downs from my mother. I REALLY want to go someplace and have them tell me exactly what I should wear to make me look my best. I hate my skin and I never use makeup correctly to cover up all the badness... I've never really learned to apply makeup properly and I think we can all agree that I am in need of a professional. I'm hoping that at some point I can save some money to replace and replenish my makeup selection, as recommended by someone who knows what they are doing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Joe and I got dressed in green in honor of the day. (Don't you love his tie? His staff got it for him a couple weeks ago).

Everyone at Joe's work totally gets into the holiday spirit. It's awesome. This is Joe and one of the Chiropractic Assistants, Deb.

And of course, I had to have my annual green beer. Cheers!

Hope you all had a great holiday!

Random Updates

So, there hasn't been any one big thing that has happened in the last few days, so I thought I'd just update you on the little things that are going on in our lives.

• We went to a wine night on Saturday and had a lot of fun. It was a party thrown by a new friend of ours. We connected because she lived in Seattle for 14 years and is obsessed with Starbucks. So, of course we became friends!
• On Sunday we went and saw the movie "Shutter Island". I had read the book on my flights to Seattle the other weekend, so I knew what was coming. Made it easier, since it's kind of a freaky movie. We both liked it. We also rented "The Hurt Locker" the other day because of all the Oscar attention. It wasn't as good as I would have expected. But then again, I'm not a huge fan of war movies.
• For those of you who don't know, we took Ava back to the vet last week and he said the ulcers on her eyes were rapidly decreasing in size. Tomorrow will be her last day of medication, and then she should be all better. What a relief!
• We paid off a credit card this week! We have been working really hard to get some debt paid off (all while saving for a wedding), and our first major credit card victory was this weekend. It's HUGE for us, and re-motivated us in our goals. Love this feeling!
• My cousin and mom are flying into Boston on Friday to take me wedding gown shopping. I'm really hoping to find my dress this weekend! So excited!

Well, I guess that's about it. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

P.S. It's my future father-in-law's birthday today. Happy Birthday Joe!

Things I Love Thursday

Recently I started following a blog called "The Diaper Diaries". Ever since I worked at Birthday in a Box, I've been a huge fan of these 'mom blogs'. I used to follow them to keep up-to-date on what moms out there thought about birthday parties and such (for research)... and I guess I got hooked. I still follow a lot of them and I learn a lot from them. Plus, most of them post about coupons and money savers, and some even offer giveaways, and you know I'm always up for saving money.

Anyway, this new 'mom blog' I found has a weekly post called "Things I Love Thursday". She posts about something she loves and then asks her readers to do the same and link back to her blog.

I thought that sounded like fun, so here we go.

7 Random Things I Love:

1. Starbucks!!

I'm a true Seattle girl, I guess, because I really love Starbucks. Although, a lot of that could be because I have no access to a Starbucks where I live (well, there is one - but it's FOREVER away) and don't we always want what we can't have? Currently, I am digging Americanos. Joe and I don't allow ourselves too many trips to Sbux, but when we do, we savor it. (Yes, I got him hooked, so sue me!).

2. Modern Family
Have you seen this show?? OMG, it is the FUNNIEST half hour of my week, seriously. Joe and I love it. Every single episode makes us laugh. Especially the characters of Mitch & Cameron. Too awesome!

3. Wine
There is nothing better than starting the day off with an awesome cup of coffee, and ending the day with an awesome glass of wine. Joe and I found a super cheap bottle that we love at our local wine shop, so whenever we have an extra few dollars, we treat ourselves to a bottle of wine.

4. Loungewear

I really wish I was the type of girl who got all dressed up to go to the grocery store and had the perfect makeup on all the time. But I'm not. I'm a hop-into-my-sweats-as-soon-as-I-get-home type of girl. I love nothing more than my loungewear. Sorry, Tim Gunn.

5. Naps
I tell everyone that sleeping is my favorite hobby. I CANNOT stay awake if I'm tired. I can sleep anywhere and anytime. I just love the feeling of curling up and letting that blanket of sleep come over me. Which is the number one reason you should never let me drive longer than about an hour on road trips.

6. Books
I have always been a bookworm. I was the girl in school who read during recess and missed her bus stop because she was in the middle of a chapter and didn't look up. And I continue to be a bookworm. My favorite books are written by Stephen King, but I do dabble in other books as well. Someday I'll have my own library in my home, and I can't wait. I have tons of old books from my gramma (who I inherited my bookworm-ness from) and someday they will all be displayed as they were meant to be.

7. Woot
I just found out about this site from a friend of mine in the Italian Greyhound world. And although I haven't allowed myself to buy from it yet (saving for a wedding after all) I look each day to see what they feature. It's SUCH a cool site!

So there you have it. A few things on my 'love' list. Tell me a few things on yours!

This Family Loves Us Some Sunshine!

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful and today was absolutely beautiful! And I think all four of us realized how much we needed some sunshine! It lifted all of our spirits. It was so nice out that I took a chair out in the front yard, hooked Jackson up to a long leash tied to the bannister, and propped open the front door. I sat in the chair, Jackson rolled around in the grass with a huge grin on his face, Joe kicked back on the front steps, and Ava sat right inside the front door. She just couldn't muster the courage to actually join us OUTSIDE but she laid in the sun and got some fresh air. (We did take her for a nice walk today, so she did get some exercise!)

I know I look totally weird in this picture, with that hat and all, but I just woke up and I wasn't that concerned about my appearance. I was only concerned about the warmth I was feeling!

Okay, she looks a little pathetic, but she really was loving the sun. We kept trying to coax her out with us, and she did spent a little time curled up on Joe's lap, but she felt much more comfortable here.

Jackson's Monthly Playdate

Finally - a beautiful sunny day!

Today was great. I just got back from taking Jackson to his monthly playdate with the Bethany Friendly Dogs Meetup Group. He had a ball! It was sunny and warm and a tons of dogs showed up. And although Jackson kept mounting this sweet little Aussie mix named Hobbs, it was a pretty successful playdate.

And he needed this. He has had cabin fever BAD over the last few weeks. And I spent most of the afternoon just turning my face up to the sun and soaking it all in. It's amazing what a little Vitamin D will do for you!