Rain, Rain, Go Away

I think Connecticut is said that my mom left because as soon as we hit the CT border after dropping her off at the airport, it started raining and it. hasn't. stopped.

Now, I know I'm supposed to be used to the rain, coming from Seattle, but I've quickly got un-used to it, and it can stop ANY minute now.

Although, on the bright side, we have our own little swimming pool in the back yard. Maybe when it warms up we'll add some sand and some lounge chairs, start practicing for our honeymoon. What do you think?

An Hour in Boston

Yesterday ended my mom's week here in Connecticut. We had a fabulous week and got a lot done! I was sad to see her go, but she'll be back in June with my aunt and family friend, and I'm sure it will go by fast.

She flew out of Boston at 6:15 p.m., so Joe and I decided to drive her up early so we could spend a bit of time downtown together. We put 'Boston Common' in the GPS and got there fairly early. But then, of course, we proceeded to drive around the park for 30 minutes trying to find parking! I was driving and apparently making my mom and Joe a bit nervous, so we finally pulled into the very expensive underground parking lot, just so we could actually get out and walk around a bit.

I love this picture! I haven't spent a whole lot of time in Boston, but I just love the feel of it and this picture, with the park and the city skyline, just makes me happy. Good energy here.

Yes, I am a complete tourist. I insisted we go to the Bull & Finch (aka Cheers) for drinks. My mom had already been there, but Joe and I hadn't.

My mom with her beer and my large glass of wine. (Soooo yummy!)

Not the best picture of me, but oh well...

This next picture is on the way back home after dropping my mom off at the airport. We stopped at a gas station to get some water and Joe had to get some Hostess cupcakes. He was eating them and got chocolate all over his hands and was asking me to take the wheel but I thought it was so funny, I took a picture. Husband-to-be not so happy.

heehee

It was a fun trip, even though it was pretty rushed. One of these days, Joe and I will get up to Boston to really explore it. I think we will both really love it there.

Wedding Shoes!

The shoes for my wedding never really felt like that big of a priority for me. I just didn't see the reasoning behind paying $200 for a pair of shoes that you don't really get to see, because they are hidden under a big beautiful dress.


When I went shoe shopping yesterday, I admit that I started getting that 'spend, spend, spend!' feeling as I was looking at all these gorgeous designer high heels. But I'm happy to say that I didn't give in. I think most girls love the way they feel in high heels, and I'm no exception, but I knew from the beginning that I was going to wear flats so I didn't tower over my husband-to-be.


This is what I decided on:




They are simple, very inexpensive ($20!!) and I happen to think they are perfect. They are very comfortable and so cute and don't make my feet look like the huge behemoths that they are.

My mom happened upon these frilly little cuties while we were at the store:

At $9, I couldn't help but buy them as well. How perfect are they going to be for the pre-wedding festivities? I love them!

So, I stayed under budget and am really happy with my choices. What do you all think?

Mom's Week

It's been so much fun having my mom here this week! We haven't really done a whole lot, so there haven't been many photo opps. I feel like a horrible hostess, since we should be going out and exploring and making the most of it. But, I'm poor and saving for a wedding, so instead I tell her I just want to spend 'quality time with her' at home, and she totally buys it. I don't seem like such a loser that way.

But since there hasn't been much to post on the blog, I made a point of taking some pictures today.

Ava doesn't like her gramma to work on the computer. Pay attention to me!

She's used to me being on the computer.

We took a long walk to the park today and I got a couple random shots, but then we decided to take a real photo shoot because my mom needs some good picture for her pet-sitting business.

Pick me up gramma!

Jackson says "No more pictures, let's GO!"

Photo Shoot:

Of course, I had to get a couple shots of me lovin' on my sweet babies!

Is he not the CUTEST??

So, that's our day. It's really all about the dogs. Sad, I know. Time to go make dinner now. I'm such a good wife-to-be. :)

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!