Behold the Crack Tots

Awhile back I made an appointment at BHLDN (pronounced "beholden") to find a wedding dress. The closest BHLDN to me is in DC (which is inside the Anthropologie on M Street). I was under the gun so I HAD to find one there and fortunately I did. I love it! Right now it's getting hemmed and altered a bit. I can't wait to see the finished product which should be done by the 21st. Here's a recap of our trip. Of course a trip to the DC area means a get together with the besties, too. 

Kathy and Irene came with me to BHLDN while the guys hit up Sequoia. We were given some bubbly after we were done shopping. I love their dresses and accessories. Very affordable and most items ship within 7-10 days if not already in stock. I walked out with the dress and a sash.

Back to Iron Age for AYCE Korean BBQ for lunchy.

After a break at the hotel to freshen up, we found ourselves on The Roof in Bethesda. Cool place with strong drinks. Irene and Daeho are getting married in February. It's going to be epic.

Sliders and garlic fries. Yum. Roy won't touch the sliders because of the Cole slaw. More for meee!

Me and the Man.

Next stop, Rock Bottom Brewery.

I liked the last one but forgot what it was called..

Third and final stop of the evening - Clyde's Tower Oaks Lodge. They have a late night Happy Hour starting at 10 pm. These are their crack tots - bacon wrapped tater tots baked in brown sugar. Ohhh yeeaaa...  

And half price oysters to top it off. 

 PA is my home but I so love Maryland, my Maryland. Where is your home away from home?

Holy Matri-money

Our wedding is less than 3 months away and our reception is less than 6 months away. Where did the time go?! I'm kind of glad it's quickly approaching though because knowing how I am I need to feel the pressure a little bit to get my butt moving on some projects. Plus I'll be happy to not be draining my bank account anymore. Gah! I know it'll be all worth it in the end but sweet baby Jesus it adds up FAST.

I'm not sure if I mentioned what our final plans were but we are taking a road trip out to Las Vegas starting on August 1st. The goal is to arrive at the ARIA Resort & Casino by August 13th and get married there on the 14th. We're taking the long way to Vegas in a rental car via the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Pacific Northwest, and down the Pacific Coast. We'll stop to see my friend Liz in San Fran and also Roy's sister and brother-in-law in Torrence. We've always wanted to do a road trip across the country and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do it. Since our time is limited (and we ain't rich) we are going to fly back from Vegas the 16th. Hopefully we won't want a divorce after we've spent two weeks in a car together. I think we'll be okay as long as we're not camping or using leaves as toilet paper. Some family and friends are meeting us in Vegas for the wedding but we are also having a local reception in Pennsylvania later in the year on November 15th.

Here are some updates on wedding stuff:

DRESS: Went to a Nordstroms at KOP with my cousins last Saturday to try on dresses. I found out that it takes 4-6 months for a dress to arrive once you order it so it was just for style reference only I guess. I really want a short dress due to the expected 100+ degree temps in Las Vegas but the short styles they had were frumpy. I tried on a couple of long dresses and fell in love with a Vera Wang column dress. It was mucho expensivo ($3200). I have an appointment at BHLDN next month down in DC so I'll have to pick one from there. It only takes 7-10 days to get those dresses in, thank goodness.  

Big smile for Vera Wang (4003BN)

This off the rack dress looked okay but would need to be altered and I think it makes me look old(er).

SHOES:  My cousin and her husband generously gifted me with wedding CHOOS from Neiman Marcus. They are gorgeous.

WEDDING BANDS: Picked up mine a couple days ago. Roy's is on its way. He is a 12.5 ring size so it's on special order.

WEDDING DECOR:  Roy started working on the project I gave him for the reception this past weekend. The letter cutouts came out really nice. The ampersand was his favorite (not).  I have an appointment to look at linen rentals this Saturday. Sounds exciting doesn't it?

"R" is for...?

FAVORS: Finalizing a design. Need to order before July. What is it? Hint: It's for all you beer drinkers out there and it's not a bottle opener.

FLORAL:  Not even close.

CATERING: On the to-do list...

GUEST LIST:  Uhhh...

INVITATIONS:  Crap...

WELCOME GIFTS:  Help?

And people plan weddings more than once? Why?!

Wedding Fever

Okay, I fully admit I've been exhibiting bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia when it comes to planning a wedding. One minute I want to run away and elope and the next minute I want to go all out. And as Roy points out, I want to get married at the last nice place went to (Baltimore, Vegas, and in a few weeks it'll be NYC). But I think it's finally dawned on me that I do want to have a nice get together (locally) and have all our friends and family in one place, on one night, for good food, drinks, and all the crazy fun and memories that come with it. I came to this conclusion recently because I remembered that when my friends got engaged, I so looked forward to attending their wedding and if they didn't have one, I would have been bummed. Especially with a guy like Roy, who is always making people laugh, I think a lot of people would look forward to it. I would. So what's a few thousand dollars when it's spent on the people you love, right? GULP. It's only money. It's only money. It's only...

So, we actually have an appointment this Saturday to check out a venue. Things just got real. I'm hoping that it'll be one and done so we can reserve the date and get on with the rest of the details that need to be reserved, worked, re-worked, DIY'ed, fitted, tasted, tested, invited, and all that good stuff. Oh, and remember that September 2014 wedding date I might have mentioned? Well it's going get pushed back if this venue is a go. It's that freakin' popular.

I'm ready to get this ball rolling and I'm also excited because Pantone just came out with their 2014 Pantone Color of the Year! I had somewhat jokingly told Roy and a few others that Pantone will be deciding the color theme of the wedding. Here is what they chose:

via

And me likey! Purple is my favorite and I think I can work with this in different variations. The easiest and obvious way to incorporate it would be to have purple orchids at each table or something.  Kind of pricey but maybe that'll be it for the flower budget! Ha. It doesn't really scream "Fall" wedding but that's probably a good thing.

P.S.  I had a dream last night that I was at my wedding reception in a beach house. I was also secretly pregnant and had a glass of wine in my hand. Not sure what that means, but thank goodness it was just a dream!

Fall Follies

These last few weeks have flown by. I can't believe it's already been a month since we got back from Vegas. Here are some things that's been going on since then.

 

At the end of September, Angela and her friends got all decked out for the Homecoming dance at their school (and my alma mater), Mechanicsburg H.S. It's been fifteen years since I graduated from there. Unbelievable.

 

A very patriotic color palette - this wasn't planned, I'm sure!

Liz (far right) came into town from San Fran for a baby shower earlier this month.  I can't believe it's been almost two years since I saw her last. The usual suspects all met up in Rockville, MD for a night of good food, drinks, and of course...
 

...singing our hearts out!

 

Me singing Roy a lullaby, apparently.

Dunzo! Roy and I have been a part of a Monday night pool league called PA Cue Sports and we just called it quits.  He's been on a pool team for years and years and I joined a few years ago after I met Roy. We decided to retire from the league and our last match was last week. We love the team but the nights were getting looong. We are old.

Here are some other updates:

WEDDING: We have decided what city, state and the month and year. More planning will be done after the New Year. Yay!!! Let's just say, it's going to be SUITE!

SKATING: Synchro practice is in full swing. The music is from The Great Gatsby soundtrack (see sample below).  New dresses are being made this year and I'm liking the routine so far. It's got rockers, weaves, and whips! First exhibition will be Jan. 4th and the first competition (sectionals) is at the end of January.

Individually, I'm working on landing my Lutz and perfecting the scratch, sit and camel spins. STILL. My goal is to get all these consistent by the end of the year. Flip and loop are slowly getting more and more consistent. Hopefully I can start working on an axel next year. Right before we left for Vegas, I hit my head on the ice for the first time which was kind of scary. Luckily I didn't get a concussion but I did get major whiplash. I was really wishing I had one of those foam neck braces. Note to self: Do not drink the night before early morning skating practice. Not good!

Here's music from part of our synchro routine:

   

Hold the iPhones

I just wanted to take a moment and express that I LOVE this dress from Monique Lhullier's Fall 2014 Bridal Collection:

via



via



I love the light gray/silver color and the halter style straps. I think strapless dresses are pretty but I don't like wearing them because I have nothing to hold them up if you know what I mean. I'm hoping there will be some good knock-offs available in this style. It's so gorge. Okay, snapping back to reality now...

Hello, Mrs. Roy! Hello, Mr. Judy!

Here's an update on the upcoming nuptials of Roy and myself. Upcoming is used loosely, as we have no real definitive plans on tying the knot anytime soon. I kind of like where we are now - living together in our humble abode with a big diamond on my finger. Does it get any better than that?

Since receiving said rock, I've delved into the world of weddings. However, I barely stuck my toe in and I'm ready to run back to where I came from. There's just So. Much. Stuff. that costs So. Much. Money.

Here's a quick rundown of our initial ideas for a wedding:

First it started in the backyard of our future first real home which we aren't planning to get yet until the end of the year and that's if we're lucky enough to find one we like and can afford.  This image is from the Young House Love authors' backyard wedding.  Roy and I thought we'd just like to get married at the courthouse then celebrate picnic style in our big backyard. 

Then Roy's sister came to town and the wedding planning turned into a full blown destination wedding in Hawaii. We decided Oahu was ideal and after doing a fair amount of research, I fell in love with the Sunset Ranch in Hale'iwa. We even set a tentative date for September 2014.

We were really set on Hawaii for about a week but the more we thought about it and the more we realized just how much time and money it was going to cost us AND our guests, we changed our minds. It'll be nice to go there for a honeymoon or for a family vacation. Roy's sister lived there a few years ago so most of his family have already been out there and some of my friends have already been there also. I have yet to go!

So we revisited the backyard wedding idea and we discussed having a pig roast and maybe a live band. But a really good live band costs $5,000! I think Roy and I both like to go either all out or not at all, but that's just way out of our budget, at least for just one element of the party. Moving on...

Which brings us to our current plan, which is no plan at all and not planning on planning until a plan is really necessary. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm happy with that. We will probably have a party, but not a wedding (if you call it a wedding it automatically costs more).

I'm gonna try not to think about it, at least not until we move and settle into a new house.  Then we'll have a better idea on whether we have some money to spend or not in order to celebrate the beginning of our lawful union. But you never know... don't be surprised if you find out we went and did this on our trip to Vegas this September:

Pull a Ross and Rachel!

Etsy Ring Holder Knock Off

After I got engaged back in March, I was looking for a place to put my ring when I was at home. I found this lovely ring holder on Etsy:

I decided to make this myself since I wasn't too crazy about any of the frame styles being offered plus they were priced higher than I was willing spend. I finally got around to it this past weekend and here's how it turned out:

It's small but I think it turned out pretty nice! It has a mid-century look to it which I'm loving. It was so easy to make, I'll have to make them for my friends.

• Frame from Michael's = $3.99
• Pearlized Pins from Michael's (100/pk)  = $3.99
• Streetwise Laminated NJ State Map from Barnes & Noble = $6.95
• Disposable Facial Cloth (on hand)
• Scissors
• Wire Snips
• Pencil
• Large Post it note
• Measuring tape

Here's how to make it:

1. First take the frame backing out and trace it on the post it sheet, or any piece of paper.
2. Cut out the square (or other shape, depending on the frame).
3. Use the tape measure to center the dot for the city within the frame (or you could do it off center like the Etsy piece), make sure there's enough room for the ring to hang down.
4. Trace the window on the map where you need to cut.
5. Cut out the map and trim accordingly to fit inside the frame.
6. Cut out squares of the facial cloth or use flat cotton pads and place them between the map and the frame backing. I used three layers - just enough so there's some tension when the backing is secured.
7. My pins were long so I had to trim them down otherwise it would stick out of the frame about an inch. Wire snips are perfect for doing this - just make sure to hold both ends so it doesn't go flying in your face when you snip it. I'm not sure how I would have trimmed them without Roy's help. I wouldn't have had this tool on hand. I guess try to get shorter pins if you don't have wire snips.
8. Pin the city where you got engaged and hang your ring on it - Done!

To Have and to Hold

I've been looking online for something to hold my ring when it's not on my finger at home.
Here are some of my favorites I found on Etsy:

This ring looks just like mine

Beachy

Map Ring Holder

Ceramic Holder

I really like the personal touches to each item, but after thinking about it and thinking about it some more, I decided to just make something myself. Maybe something similar to the map and pushpin frame. I do have a 30% off coupon at Michael's I can use. I'm hesitant to spend money on things like this because I'm afraid it's going to snowball into full-on engagement/wedding splurge mode. It's so easy to get caught up in all the hoopla. I might have to just plan my own virtual wedding or something so I can enjoy being able to pick out a dress, flowers, food, colors, decoration, favors, and all that fun stuff without actually paying for it. I guess that's what Pinterest is for. Where do you put your engagement ring?

Young House Love

I stumbled upon a gem of a blog last week after I googled "backyard weddings." It's called Young House Love and it can be found here.  The blog is actually about DIY home projects but the couple who author the blog, Sherry and John Petersik, also chronicle their family life in Richmond, VA. Their backyard wedding was a DIY project in itself.  I fell in love with their story and they've also published a book and everything. Not to mention their decor style is near identical to mine (white brick! YES!). Swoon! Their latest post on their family blog is a trip to IKEA (hello!? I LOVE IKEA!). I am so happy I've found it and it'll be a great inspiration when Roy and I get our own place.

Speaking of which, after we shared our engagement news, the first question on the tip of everyone's tongue was, "When are you getting married?" Well, unless you were female, then it was, "Let me see the ring?!"  Roy and I both agreed that it would be best to have something next summer so that we aren't pressured to plan something this year.  We have a few things we'd like to get accomplished and planning a wedding is only going to make us stress out (and broke). Roy is not into the traditional ceremony and neither am I, except I do love the dresses and flowers part! Ideally, we'd like to get our own place and just have a huge celebration in the backyard. Finding and buying a place we both love could take awhile though.

Right now we're giving our young house love to this new rental property we picked up last September. It is located 5 units up from Roy's place and it was priced too pretty to pass up.  We originally planned to have it rented by the beginning of this year but Roy got super busy with work.  Now we've put a strict deadline of April 1st on ourselves (we already have tenants planning to move-in) so we are cranking this baby out.  Here is a sneak peek of what we're doing (or Roy is doing I should say):

Roy is amazeballs - he did everything in this bathroom

Painting in progress - by yours truly (sea foam green and skin color are being painted over)

I'll have before and after pics once the project is over. The upstairs is done and now Roy is working on the kitchen. I'll be painting because that's pretty much all I know how to do (oh, and fetching tools for Roy).

After this I'll hopefully pass my real estate exam (again), broker up and be able to transact our own deals. We're hoping to pick up one more before the year's out then focus on finding our own place.  Once we do, the real planning can begin!

Will You...

Roy proposed to me on Saturday, March 9, 2013 on Brigantine Beach Island, NJ.  I can't believe it has happened! I was beginning to think it wasn't ever going to...
We drove out to Brigantine (by Atlantic City) Saturday morning after my skating practice. Roy had promised his buddy that he would go out there and attend to various issues with his beach house since rental season was fast approaching. I went along too because we like to take road trips together. After he worked on the house all afternoon and I read magazines, we decided to check out the beach which was a short walk from the house. It was around 3:30 or so. The weather was so nice and the beach was empty except for a few people walking.  We were looking for shells and checking out all the strange things that had washed onto shore.  

Roy looking for seashells

...and looking some more...

Roy's bootprints

At one point Roy put his arm around me as we were walking.  He then reached in his pocket and handed me a conch shell. I looked at it and it had this beautiful ring inside of it. He got down on one knee and asked, "Will you marry me?" I was so nervous for him!  Of course I said yes! I didn't cry. I think because I've played out this scenario in my head over and over and over again! I felt like I was dreaming. 

The Rock

Isn't it lovely?! Roy bought this ring in December of 2011! I can't believe he had it that long. The ring size is big so I have to get it adjusted. Roy's sister works at Littman's Jewelers and she told Roy I'd probably get the ring remounted since I like bezel settings, which they don't carry. But truthfully the ring is so beautiful I want to keep it just the way it is. It's a very simple four-prong mount that Roy picked out and it's totally his style. I'm wearing it on my pointer finger for now since it flew off my hand once already. 
So all weekend I was on Cloud 9.  Monday came around and literally "crashed" me back to reality.  More on that joyousness later. Need to bask a little more in this newly engaged glow!