Times, They Are A Changin'

Any other fans of the movie Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead?  I always find myself quoting that movie, especially with my brother.  Love it!

Not that surprising, as my current stage in life changes so do my interests in shopping and internet research.  Prior to getting engaged I was all about travel research.  When we were planning our wedding it was numerous stops to Michael's for paper products.  Now that we're saving for our house I find myself reading up on home renovations, watching HGTV and browsing the listings on realtor.com and trulia.com.

The other weekend my parents told me they were going to be in my area looking at new appliances so I decided to join them.  Before I would have had no interest in spending hours looking at dishwashers and refrigerators, but I was actually excited to see what is out there and make wish lists for the future.

We headed over to the Sears scratch and dent outlet where they had amazing deals on practically new appliances (some were never used and returned because they did not fit in the customer's kitchen).  Honestly, there were some that looked like they had been through a hail storm with the amount of dents.  On the other hand, there were several that only had scratches on the back side which would never be seen.  Mom & Dad fell in love with a dishwasher (the original reason for the excursion) and a new fridge (a splurge that they couldn't pass up).

Of course, things always seem to come with a story in my family.  The appliances were delivered and they hooked up everything.  Then mom noticed it wasn't their fridge!  The outside looked exactly the same, but some of the additional slide out shelves (you can see them in the top right corner of the picture above) were not there.  Mom did some more research and found that this fridge was for a Clara Williams, in stead of my dad (who's first name is William).  After a couple of calls and another day of delivery they finally had the fridge that they picked out, only to find out that it was dipping in the back because it was missing wheels.  Well long story short, Sears customer service really came through.  They delivered a brand spanking new refrigerator to my parents home.

Do you find that your shopping and internet searches change as you enter new stages in your life?

Hearing Our Vows

It must be the weekend to relive our wedding - we just got the link to our montage!  We didn't originally plan for videography, but I'm so glad that we squeezed it in.  Hearing our vows again had me in tears.  Even if we only watch it once or twice a year, I'm still so very happy that we have the ability to. (Password: Lord)





Were you able to capture any of your wedding day on video (through a videographer or family/friend)?

Wedding Memories!

Our album is in and it is AMAZING!!!

Part of our wedding package included an album for us and one for each set of parents.  After seeing the pictures on our online gallery, I knew we would end up adding a couple of additional pages to our album.  Our fabulous photographer Lynn mentioned that our wedding, with all of it's details, would look pretty awesome in a unique 20 x 8  flipbook style and after seeing a couple of layouts we agreed and upgraded.

We debated between green and brown for the cover, even put it to a vote on Lynn's blog.  As you can see green won out (which is what we were leaning towards from the beginning).

The title page will always remind me of reading Chris' book while getting ready.  We love all of the different layouts Lynn and Vivie designed for our album.

But my favorites are the full page layouts.  Maybe that is also because they are my favorite pictures, so seeing them in 20 x 8 size just makes me smile.

I love how thick the pages are, as well as how they lay flat.

The green lizard skin wraps from the front all the way to the back.

I'm a big fan of the metal cover!  I couldn't figure out how to get the best shot, but I think you can kinda tell from this one.

And just for comparison, here's the album with little Gypsy.   It's longer and heavier than she is, not that that is very difficult since she is less than 10 pounds.

Did you get an album with your wedding pictures?  Is it included in your package, or will you DIY one?

All photos of the album are personal.  Pictures in the album are from Lynn Michelle

Turning 28

Chris really outdid himself this year in the birthday gift department!  I was allowed to open the gifts early so that I could use them on our trip to PA for Corinne's wedding.

I may have mentioned once or twice some of the items on my 30 before 30 list, and Chris took note.  The kindle will hopefully make it easier to reach my goal in reading more books, and the new lens for my DSLR will give me that extra push to read up on my camera or take a photography class.  

After Corinne's wedding, our plan was to head to Atlantic City Sunday - Tuesday, but due to Hurricane Irene the casinos were closed through Sunday.  We camped out with Corinne's mom one additional night and then headed to the shore on Monday afternoon.  Although we only had 24 hours in AC, we made the most of it!

View from our room at Caesar's

My brother surprised Chris and me with Swedish massages at Caesar's for our birthdays.  I will never turn down a massage, especially a free one!  After the massage we changed and headed across the boardwalk to see if our dinner reservations were still in tack.

Thankfully the restaurant was open, and we enjoyed a fabulous meal at Buddakan.

The setting was very intimate, and with the shore being closed down due to Irene the crowd was pretty light.  We started off with drinks, I had a glass of Gewurtzraminer while Chris went for a flight of Sake.  

My prior experience with Sake was limited to sake bombs in college, so this was a classy step up. We selected Chicken & Ginger Dumplings for our appetizers.

We were tossed between this and Pork Pot Stickers, but the dumplings were delicious! What is the difference between pot stickers and dumplings?  We looked it up but could only find that pot stickers were a form of dumplings.

For dinner we shared a bowl of Crab Fried Rice and split the Wasabi Crusted Filet Mignon and Grilled Lamb Chops.

 Even though all of that food alone made for a wonderful meal, we couldn't resist a little dessert.  It was a special occasion after all!  We made room for a trio of ice cream and Creme Brulee and it was worth feeling so full.

We capped off the night with some time in the casinos, Chris had a little luck with the new Hangover penny slot machines which were based off of the movie.

Do you get the opportunity to try out new restaurants? Ever had to change your vacation plans due to the weather?

Rock Me Like A Hurricane

This past weekend Chris, the fam and I traveled up to Philly to celebrate the wedding of my childhood friend Corinne and her husband Dave.

Our first stop straight from the airport was good ol' Pat's King of Steaks

The weekend was filled with wonderful events from the welcome BBQ on Thursday,

To the rehearsal, dinner and cocktail party on Friday 

The bride and all the bridesmaids

LOVE my new coach purse from the bride

To the big event on Saturday.  Of course the weather was a big topic of interest as Hurricane Irene was heading our way.

Corinne and her mom worked so hard on the beautiful purple and green wedding details many of which were DIY such as the programs, flip flop baskets, ceremony decor and cake pops.

The flowers were bright and beautiful!

Alter arrangements

Bridesmaids bouquets

Close up of their tasty cake.  I don't really like cake, and I ate all of my piece that night, it was that good!

Corinne even surprised Dave with a Boston Sports themed groom's cake at the cocktail party on Friday. I like to think she got that idea from all of her dedicated reading of Weddingbee :)

Unfortunately their plans of a gorgeous garden wedding were dashed by the torrential downpour and wind thanks to Irene.  

Family shot with the bride and groom

Their wedding was still amazingly beautiful even though the tornado warnings shut the party down a little early.  The food was amazing, the cocktails were flowing and we made more than one trip to the photo booth not worrying about the rain until the very end.

With warnings of the hurricane approaching and transportation in the Tri state area shutting down, there were more than a handful of guests that understandably decided not to make the trip to the wedding.  If you were a bride in that position, would you want to receive cancellation calls and texts ahead of time, or after the wedding?  Have you been through a hurricane before?

30 Before 30

Today calls for a special drink or two.

Wine tasting for my birthday last year

It's my 28th birthday!! Nothing like getting older to prompt me to make a little list of things I would like to accomplish. I thought I would add to the blogging trend of creating my own 30 before 30 list.  I have 2 years to get these tasks checked off, and I'll be sharing the results along the way!


Hobbies
1. Take a photography class
2. Paint a piece of art
3. Grow a flower or vegetable
4. Learn a new computer skill from Chris
5. Read 20 new books

DIY
1. Complete a home renovation project
2. Make scrapbook with postcards and photo strips from wedding
3. Make something out of polymer clay

Travel

1. Travel outside of the country

2. Plan a fun anniversary trip

3. Take a road trip

4. Stay at a B&B

5. Experience an exciting staycation

Food & Fitness

1. Get Chris to try and like a new veggie

2. Make a new Thanksgiving dish

3. Make homemade ice cream

4. Try 40 new recipes 

5. Work out 3-4 days a week for at least 2 months straight

6. Lose 20 pounds

Personal
1. Buy a house
2. Prep for a baby
3. Get a new truck for Chris
4. Weed out old clothes in wardrobe, replace with new clothes

Fun Times
1. Go to a concert
2. Venture back to College Station
3. Go to a college football game
4. Be in print
5. Throw a house warming party
6. Go to Medieval Times
7. Eat something from a food truck

*The list is subject to change :)


Do you have any activities that you would like to accomplish in the coming years?

Home Goods Happy

This store could be the death of me.

After a relaxing pedi with my mom (in prep for Corinne's wedding, yay!), we headed over for a little shopping.  With all of this cooking, I figured it was time to get rid of my cheap baking pans and pick up some nice stoneware.  Although I would love to splurge on some Le Creuset, it wasn't in the budget for right now.  I am so tempted to check out the outlet shop close to my parents during the holidays.  It could be a Christmas gift for our future house ;)

I've been to the Home Goods before, and I've picked up things here and there but have never really looked around for home decorating.  I found some pretty decor pieces.

Perfect items for a fan of travel.

Holiday decor

Even saw our Calphalon pots and pans from our wedding registry at an awesome discount.  I might go back and pick up the wok since we didn't register for it at Bed Bath and Beyond.

In honor of my moniker on Weddingbee, it would only be right to have one of these guys in our house.

But back to the reason for our shopping trip, the stoneware baking section.  There were so many bright colors, and if you know me, you know I was drawn to the blues and greens.  Not wanting to decide between square and oval, I picked up both. I can't wait to try them out!

Mom found a couple to gift me for my birthday, so yay for a rectangle and another oval.  All four came in under $32!

What are some of your favorite stores to pick up items for the home?