Photos are up!

Last post, I promise! I just want to link to Meg's blog post with my wedding photos because I am so thrilled with how gorgeous they are!
I think I've thanked Meg a dozen times by now but she keeps sending me things that are more and more beautiful and I feel like I just can't thank her enough. I'm completely blown away!
Enjoy!

1 week a-versary!

I can't believe it's been a week since I got married! Since we're leaving for our honeymoon in Spain on Monday I thought I should blog while I had a chance!
The short story is that despite having a somewhat non-traditional wedding with different events ALL throughout the day- everything was absolutely perfect and beautiful. The day exceeded my expectations in every way and I hope that everyone there had at least as good of a time as I did.
I want to blog about all the little details in part so I'll remember it and in part so that anyone looking for New Orleans wedding ideas can hopefully find this and get some inspiration. I think that many of my vendors aren't your standard wedding vendors- but they really should be because so many of them were so wonderful! (I seriously hugged all of my vendors.)
Events started on Saturday night with our rehearsal dinner at Calcasieu. I joke that my bridezilla moment was when I decided a week prior to the wedding that needed flowers for the rehearsal dinner because I was worried that it would be too "plain". I ended up adding flowers to my order with the florist at the last minute (more on that later) but I shouldn't have worried because the quality of the food overshadowed everything else about that evening.
I sat at the table with all of my very picky relatives from Mississippi and really enjoyed watching them be blown away by the food. We started with Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, then had Smothered Greens, Shrimp and Eggplant Dressing with Roast Pork with Onion Jus, and Andouille Sausage with Green Chiles and Creole Cream Cheese Grits as entrees, then finished with Brown Sugar Lemon Meringue Pie and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie for dessert. My relatives all said that it was the best gumbo they'd ever had and the best meal they'd had in New Orleans- and I caught most of them going back for seconds. I think that most of them planned to go eat at Cochon again before leaving town. My biggest worry at that point was that the food at Calcasieu would outshine the rest of the weekend- it was unbelievably good!
Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early since the wedding itself was at 10:30. My photographer (and dear friend), the ridiculously talented Meghan Campbell, did double duty as my makeup artist. She arrived bright and early, along with Diem Lu from the Keith Noonan Salon- to help me get gorgeous! Again, I can only say wonderful things about both my makeup and hair- they lasted from 7:45 am to 12 am- amazing! If you live in New Orleans and need an updo- go see Diem! She's a miracle worker!

My flowers were also delivered Saturday morning. I used Harkins the Florist for the flowers for my rehearsal and wedding and my MIL used them for a family brunch she hosted the next day and we were both extremely pleased with how easy Harkins was to work with and how well our flowers turned out. I honestly couldn't stop looking at my bouquets because I was obsessed with how beautiful they were. I also have to point out that they were incredibly accommodating when I decided to expand my order a week prior to the wedding.

So pretty!

The wedding itself was just for immediate family (I wanted a small wedding, so we had a tiny ceremony followed by a big picnic and reception) and was in the Peristyle at City Park at 10:30 am. The Peristyle was gorgeous and my only complaint was that they decided to power wash the peristyle that morning so the bottom of my dress got a little wet during the ceremony. All things considered, it wasn't a big deal and if I'd had an evening wedding, it wouldn't have been an issue at all.
I really loved my wedding ceremony. We hired a violinist- Stephanie Screen, and I'm really glad that we did. Beautiful music added so much nuance to our ceremony.
Our ceremony was performed by Benjy's good friend who is a Methodist Preacher. I loved his sermon because he told a really funny story that involved him and Benjy trying to cook a live lobster and being terrified of it until his vegetarian girlfriend (now wife) showed them how ridiculous they were being by picking up the lobster! I loved that he had a personal story to tell!
I didn't anticipate being very emotional, but I found myself with tears streaming down my face during our wedding vows. This is just further proof that I'm a total sap. :) (And I have to say that despite my tears, my makeup didn't budge!)

This is me, makeup miraculously intact!

After the wedding, we all walked from City Park to Ralph's on the Park for brunch. We started with turtle soup, then had a choice of shrimp and grits or cochon du lait over poached eggs and biscuits. Dessert was chocolate and Kahlua mousse in pecan crisp cups. Everything was to die for, and Ralph's is just a beautiful restaurant.
After brunch, Benjy and I went with Meg and her husband Eric to take pictures in City Park. I really enjoyed having Meg take my pictures. It's always interesting to see how you are seen by your friends, and of course it helps to have friends who are *really* talented photographers. I really enjoyed watching Meg and Eric play with light and just enjoy the amazing backdrop that City Park provides- but I also really enjoyed watching them work as a team. Seeing another couple work so well together is a great way to start off one's marriage!

A great action shot of Meg and Eric

I've seen a few of the pictures they took so far and I am incredibly impressed- I'm so happy that they were there to capture my wedding day! If you live in Chattanooga you should really check out Soliphoto- they are outstanding!
After we took our wedding photos, we went back to the Peristyle to have a picnic with all of our guests. (I told you we held events ALL DAY!)
We had the Peristyle all day, and so we decided to have a picnic there between the wedding and the reception and invite everyone who would also be going to the reception. This was the biggest logistical difficulty but I was fairly shielded from that because Benjy did all the work for the picnic.
We chose to self-cater it because City Park charges you $3 per person if you bring in a non-city park caterer (for that and power washing related reasons, I'd give the Peristyle an A- overall), but cooking food yourself is free. We grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and turkey burgers; and had baked beans and Zapp's chips as sides. I also made sure that the picnic fit into the theme of the rest of the day by making sure that there were pretty beverage dispensers with lemonade and tea; flowers (hydrangeas in mason jars) and white table clothes on the tables.

The Picnic!

Self catering was difficult because we had to figure out who would bring the food and beverages and cook the burgers. It worked out perfectly, but only because some good friend stepped in to start grilling when all of our groomsmen got stuck in traffic. I'm glad we had the picnic though because we've gotten some feedback from people saying that they were glad to have something to do during the day and prior to the reception so they didn't feel bored or lonely.
The final event of the night was our wedding reception. We held our reception at the Lemieux Art Gallery on Julia Street. Lemieux was such a cool place for our reception! We didn't have to do much in the way of decorating because there was lots of beautiful art- and the space itself is just really beautiful and unique. They were also really easy to work with.

Food at the reception was provided by Michael's catering, which is the catering branch of Matt and Naddie's. It was outstanding. Our good friend Jon chose to have his last meal in New Orleans before he moved to DC for his residency at Matt and Naddie's because the food at our reception was so wonderful. We also chose to have Haydels king cakes instead of a wedding cake, and I think that the king cakes were a big hit! I don't like "regular" cake, so this was an easy decision for me. :)

The cake topper was on my maternal grandparent's and my parent's wedding cakes too!

The other highlight of our reception was the music. Debauche: The Russian Mafia Band played and absolutely brought down the house. Benjy and I were both in favor of getting a band we love rather than a "wedding band" and it really ended up making the reception. They were so much fun! Our reception was pretty non-traditional- we didn't cut the cake or throw bouquets or garters but I think that the great music more than made up for that!

Other outstanding vendors- I used Pearl's Place for my wedding dress (which was actually a pretty inexpensive Bridesmaid's dress ordered in white), wedding bands were from Symmetry, and had my nails done at Rose's Nails on Carrollton and Oak (and I have to say that manicure lasted a full week without chipping- amazing!). I booked a block of rooms at the Embassy Suites on Julia. While the location was perfect, I have to say that I was a little disappointed with my dealings with them. They were supposed to expand the block after our initial 20 spots (10 on Friday and 10 on Sat.) filled up, but they were unable to because they were booked. I understand that, but I wish they had let us know. Finding that out when my mother in law was suddenly unable to get a room on our block was fairly unpleasant. Overall I'd give them a B compared to the giant A++ I'm giving almost everyone else.
I know this post is dragging on forever, but here is my little bit of wedding planning advice. First, choose a photographer whose work you love because your wedding memories are precious things that you want to preserve. After that, spend the majority of your money on food/beverages and music; and choose beautiful settings that don't need very much in the way of decoration so you can save money that way. Overall, try to focus on what makes you feel joyful about your wedding day. Even if things don't go exactly as planned- only you know that plan! So if you don't sweat the small stuff, your guests will never know there was anything to sweat about at all! That being said, the more you can do in advance, the better! Like I said, the only challenging part of the day was dealing with the picnic logistics because everything else had already been taken care of.

This gorgeous shot and the one at the top of the page are courtesy of my sneak peek from Soli Photo.

I'm currently wound up in packing for my honeymoon, but hopefully once I get back I'll remember to write a post all about what I packed and how well it did or didn't work out. (Hint: 18 days, 9 shirts- will I make it?)

My last bit of news is that it's time to retire Benjy's last nickname (my darling fiance). I'm thinking that since he's graduating from Med School the week after we get return from Spain, I'll go ahead and promote him to Dr. Hubby. :)

The Soon to be Formerly Decayed Gentlewoman

I'm getting married in 3 days! I really happy to have a little time to blog since I've been BUSY this week, but I'm going to keep it short for obvious reasons.
Wedding preparations are going great and I am so grateful to my darling fiance because he he has been incredibly involved and helpful throughout this entire process, but especially this week- he's been working his butt off to get everything ready. A girl couldn't ask for a more responsible, considerate or hard working fiance! I appreciate him so much and I'm so happy and excited that we're getting married this weekend! I don't want to get too sappy, but I can honestly say that before I met my darling fiance I couldn't have imagined that someone so perfect for me even existed. It was more than I even thought to hope for. I thank my lucky stars that I was able to meet and fall in love with him. :)
When I'm not busy stressing myself out over a million little details (because let's face it, it's kind of inevitable the week before your wedding), I'm really aware of how lucky I am and I feel so happy. I'm overwhelmed by the love and help and support that we've received from our families and friends and I feel so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life!
I'm also really thrilled that we have so many people who care enough about us to come in from out of town for our wedding. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of people I haven't seen in quite some time (and some of my darling fiance's family I haven't gotten a chance to meet) and I'm so flattered that they've chosen to travel to share our day with us!
I can't wait for Saturday! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, enjoying the celebration, and most of all, getting married!
I'll leave you with the music that will be played when I walk down the isle- Bach's Wachet Auf. Enjoy!

Love in a Cold Climate

I meant to blog about Match Day prior to the actual day because I was really nervous and full of deep thoughts about what the future might hold. Of course, I suck at writing about anything remotely meaningful, so that post didn't happen.
What did happen, however, is that on Match Day, my darling fiance matched into his first choice for residency! We're moving to Portland, Maine!!!
Despite living exclusively in the deep South, I've always had an odd fascination with New England. I can't wait to live there and I'm tuning out all the mocking I've been getting that starts with "wait until your first winter...."
Planning for a big move adds all sorts of additional complications to the craziness that's been going on (even though it's not entirely unexpected since there was only one residency darling fiance could apply to in New Orleans and 13 spots on his rank list), but hopefully I'll be able to juggle it all. We have basically zero details worked out at this point, but I'm sure I'll be blogging more about the move as it gets closer.
Leaving New Orleans will be incredibly bittersweet because I have a great job and great friends here. I also truly love the city and enjoy being fairly close to my family. However, my life is only going to get less portable and I feel like I'm at a "now or never" point in terms of having a big adventure.
Other notable things that took place this week included getting our marriage license and my bachelorette party. My darling fiance and I had to go downtown to get our license, so afterward we took advantage of Happy Hour at Domenica and had some half off pizzas and cocktails. My pizza had garlic, oregano and clams, and his had roast pork shoulder, fennel, and apples. Both were outstanding!
My bachelorette party was on Saturday. First my friends took me to tea that Ritz. Then we got cocktails at the Hotel Monteleone's Carousel Bar, and then we went back to my friend Sarah's house for a lingerie shower! Finally, we went to dinner at Slice. It was a fun day that didn't end with me dancing on a table (my main request) so I'm calling it a win. :)
Today was a pretty slow catch up day. I did laundry, helped tidy the house, bought groceries, and roasted a chicken. As usual, I wish the weekend wasn't over so soon!

Of all the places you've lived, which one was/is your favorite?

Crazy

Please excuse my even longer than usual absence from blogging. I've been unbelievably busy, both with wedding planning and with work. My company recently merged with another company and I've also taken on some new projects- and as a result I've been working at a frantic pace for weeks, with no end in sight.
Add to that the disruption of having my bathroom redone (it's done, thankfully) and dealing with a misbehaving cat (Pancake, obviously) and Mardi Gras festivities- and hopefully you'll understand why blogging has been at the bottom of my to do list. I think I'm managing pretty well, but when I'm this busy, my free moments are filled with a nagging anxiety that I'm forgetting something.
Of course, it hasn't all been bad- I had a good time during Mardi Gras, got fake eyelashes (so glam!) for the ball I attended this year (and as a trial for my wedding look), got a wonderful hot stone massage last Wednesday, and made some really awesome homemade granola tonight (seriously, go make this granola now- it's easy and so so good!).
I'm also doing pretty well in terms of not biting my nails. Getting a manicure every 3 weeks or so is really helping- as is wearing fun nail polish colors. My current favorite is OPI's Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, a platinum grey with kind of a satiny finish. It's kind of bold for nails, but I really loved wearing it during Mardi Gras.
The biggest news of course is that I'm getting married in a month!! Of course, I'm really excited and I know that any wedding related stress will be so worth it in the end. :)

Are there Mardi Gras parades/celebrations where you live?

Honeymoon

New plan! Instead of going to Portugal for our honeymoon, we are now going to Spain!
To make a long story short, I won 2 free tickets to Europe at a conference last year and we couldn't use them to go to Portugal in April (due to the Spring being a popular travel time and there not being many flights to Lisbon) so after spending a LOT of time with customer service, we managed to make a trip to Spain work out!
Not that I'm complaining because a free trip is a free trip, and I think that Spain is going to be awesome! So it's time to brush up on my Spanish! Anyone have a Rosetta Stone they want to lend me? :)

Has anyone ever been to Spain? Where should I go? What should I see?

Makeup

I've never been incredibly adept with makeup. I feel like some girls are just born with an innate understanding of how to apply it, whereas I'm lucky if I remember to slap on some lip gloss before I leave the house in the morning. ( I do wear light foundation, mascara and blush, for the record. It's just that nothing stays on my lips anyway!)
There are several reasons I'm not a huge makeup person. My mom never wore very much in the way of makeup, I am generally running late in the morning and don't like to spend any extra time getting ready, and I have very small facial features (which I don't think can really carry a lot of makeup- if that makes sense).
I do, however, like to amp up my look a little bit for special occasions in which I will be photographed repeatedly. So this means that I have to think about wedding makeup.

I think I want to do it myself.

I remember when I was in high school and college, getting one's makeup done for a special occasion (at least in the bustling metropolises....metropoli....metropolai? of Natchez and Hattiesburg) meant going to Dillard's or McRae's (which doesn't even exist any more! Clearly, Belk's bought McRae's just to make me feel old!) and getting your face done at the Estee Lauder or Clinique counter.
In all truth I wasn't really a fan of their work. You know the saying that when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail? I guess the deep south equivalent is that when all you have is a makeup brush, everything looks like a contestant in a Miss Mississppi Pageant.

Not the look I'm going for

I'd say my least favorite experience at the hands of a Clinique girl was when I was being prepared for a sorority formal and she said "Oh! You have the tiniest eyes and lips!" While proceeding to attack me with purple eye shadow. Yeah, That's not really a compliment.

Although I could use the makeup artist at my salon on my wedding day, I have a couple of other reasons besides my distateful experiences at the hands of the Estee Lauder girls for wanting to do my own makeup.
1) I'll need to touch up my makeup throughout the day anyway.
2) It seems like a good chance to splurge....I mean, invest in, some nice makeup!
3) I think that if I do it myself, it will be more "me."

Fabulous

So...thoughts? advice? tips? Any favorite products to suggest?
I'm thinking about going to either Sephora or Mac to buy the makeup I'll use....

Are you one of those girls who "gets" makeup or do you find it a little intimidating like I do?

Wedding Inspiration Update

It's been a while since I've blogged about wedding stuff, but I spent some time tonight updating my wedding inspiration board. I've split it into three boards- one for the ceremony, one for the picnic (we are taking advantage of the Peristyle since we have it all day by having a picnic between the morning wedding and evening reception, to refresh your memory), and one for the reception.

Brevity

Sorry for the silence, dear readers. I'm actually working on a post about packing for a work trip, so expect something servicey (and lengthy) with pictures (albeit ones taken with my lousy blackberry camera) soon.
So for now I'm quickly going to post about the nice time I had on Monday evening. I got to see my good friend Kathleen, who was in town for a conference. I was lovely to catch up. I don't get to see my friends from high school as often as I would like, so it's always a treat when they come down to New Orleans!
We had an excellent meal at Dragos, which, by the way, still offers their famous chargrilled oysters. I'm so happy that their oyster beds have thus far been spared!
Before dinner, Kathleen was kind enough to accompany me on another fruitless search for a reception dress. This BCBG dress looked so amazing online, but is only flattering on a stick person in real life.
I'm not even kidding when I tell you that the skirt is secretly sticking out about 6 inches on either side of her hips. (Also, does anyone else notice the weird lighting angle and that her shadow only has 1 leg? Photoshoperiffic!)
It's a pity because the fabric was amazing- a slightly metallic ecru with a waffle texture. I also really loved the black ribbon at the waist- I think it was such a sophisticated touch. *Sigh*
This dress, on the other hand, was adorable in white, but more along the lines of something I would wear to someone else's reception (though not in white, obviously).
I also re-tried on the White House Black Market dress I had my eye on. It's now on sale for $80, but I swear it gets more shear every time I try it on. So the search continues!

Wedding Dress Inspiration Board

I know it's been forever since I've blogged- everything is going really well and I've had a lot of fun lately, but I just haven't really felt like I can distill things into an interesting narrative right now. So, to tide you over, I'll show you an inspiration board I've made to cover the three looks I'm aiming for for the wedding. (Ceremony, afternoon BBQ, and Evening Reception). So far I have my wedding dress (the dress in the top left corner, but in white), the reception dress (which I own and is very similar to the one in the middle), the silver heels and the black cork wedges. I've also ordered the flower broach- I think I may put that on the knot of my wedding dress. The hairpiece I'm still deciding on. I would want it centered (and I'd still wear my hair pulled back) and probably on an ivory ribbon. The search for my reception dress continues but I still like the idea of a strapless A-line dress, big flower on the side of my head, and sassy blue shoes.

Save The Dates

I ordered Save the Date Cards today. They're going to look a lot like this, except with information that pertains to my wedding. :) They are from RSVP Stationers. I think they're pretty darn cute!

Inspiration Board #2

A few changes this time. I'm kind of obsessed with dusty miller in boutonnieres and bouquets. I also think I'm going to go with a darker color (the aforementioned aubergine) for bridesmaid dresses b/c they will be more wear-again-able that way. Also, I want to turn one of my greatgrandmother Tootsie's sequined broaches into a hairpiece. I've also included a picture of the Russian Mafia Band b/c we are thinking about having them play at the reception.
You can see my first inspiration board here if you would like to compare the two. :)

Inspiration Board 1

There is a trend in the online wedding world, it seems, to make mosaic inspiration boards from images on the net. Here is my first try. I started out going for a color scheme of white, green, aubergine and silver, but somehow it morphed into white, yellow, green, aqua, and silver. Some of the images are just things I like and some are actual images of my venues: The Peristyle at City Park (which will feature both my intimate ceremony and a larger wedding bbq later in the day), Ralph's on the park, where the wedding party will be having brunch, and the Lemieux Art Gallery (which is where the evening cocktails reception will be held). What, doesn't everyone have a wedding in 3 acts? :P
I also have a picture of my actual dress (I ordered it yesterday!) but it's kind of cut off in the mosaic. Also, it will be off white instead of aqua.
Other salient details are the king cake (instead of wedding cake); Zapps, lemonade, croquet, and bocce ball (which I want to have at the BBQ); and pralines as favors. The flowers are white roses in mint julep cups (for the brunch and art gallery) and hydrangeas in mason jars which I think would be adorable for the BBQ. I also really love the little succulent plant as a boutonnierre. All of this is pretty much just brainstorming at this point, of course.

Wedding Bells

We've set a date! April 9, 2011!

Rather Busy

This is the time of year in which I live by my to do list! I am pooped and am staying in tonight. :) I must say that I have accomplished a ton this week- both in terms of socializing and in terms of getting important tasks out of the way.
On the social front, I went to book club. We read The Help, which was really good. It's been my favorite book so far. Up next is Cleopatra's Daughter. I also went to a holiday happy hour hosted by my local sorority alumni club (Kappa Alpha Theta, if anyone is curious, and I'm actually the treasurer of our club this year) at the Swizzle Stick Bar (one of my favorite places for creative cocktails), and I had dinner with my friend Heather last night at Il Posto Cafe.
On the task front, one of the most notable things I did this week was get two of the four remaining outside cats fixed at the Southern Animal Foundation. Trapping the cats was actually kind of scary because they went nuts when the trap door closed and I had to wear work gloves to move the boxes because I was afraid that they would bite or scratch me through their cages. However, I am really glad I got it done because the two cats I caught were actually both girls. I'm so glad I prevented two more litters from being born this year! The remaining two cats are boys and I have an appointment to trap them and have them fixed in January.
In other news, I am psyched to say that I got a pair of Spyder ski pants for $30 yesterday! They are actually little girl's pants- my current ski pants (which fit but are old and kind of out of date looking) are a girl's XL (ski clothes run really big!) and I looked at the measurements and realized that I could totally fit into the Spyder girl's size 18. They were marked down to $80 from $100 on Amazon.com. I also knew that my mom had gotten me an Amazon gift card for Christmas. I thought it was for $25, but when I called her to get the number, she said it was for $50. Score!! My pants should be arriving Monday. :)
Today I was as busy as can be. I'm facing a big deadline at work, and I had a bunch of errands to run afterward. I actually trapped the cats last night and took them to the vet this morning. After work, I first dropped by Massey's for waterproofing spray for my new snow boots (Amazon sales have been good to me this fall), then I stopped and looked at the bridal shop (Pearl's Place) down the street. It recently occurred to me that since I want a fitted dress and I don't want a train, a good option for me might be to order a Bridesmaid's dress in white. A lot of bridesmaid's gowns were too shiny, but I really liked this one. It's significantly less expensive than a standard wedding gown, but what I really like is that it weighs so much less than a wedding gown! I know it's a weird thing to be excited about, but I was walking through the store trying to get a better look at some of the wedding dresses, and whenever I would even move one on the rack, all I noticed was how heavy they were! It made them very unappealing to me. Anyway, I think that the dress is really cute on me too. I love the single shoulder strap and the horizontal pleating. I took a picture on my camera phone (please ignore the weird face I'm making and my strange hair)- what do y'all think? You have to picture it in white, of course. After that I went to Symmetry and priced wedding bands (because we have been working out our budget this week- fun stuff), and was pleasantly surprised that my initial guess for that part of the budget was too high. :)
After that I picked up a couple of Christmas presents (I'm officially DONE!) and then went and got the cats from the vet.
Tonight I still need to finish wrapping presents and then wash the dogs because tomorrow is my family's Christmas party in Gulfport. I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog but for the past few years I've gone skiing in Switzerland with my darling fiance and his family during the actual Christmas holiday (hence the snow boots and ski pants), so I celebrate with my family early. I'm looking forward to tomorrow because I got everyone some great presents and I can't wait for them to open them.
Okay, less blogging, more work! Have a good weekend everyone!

Bling bling

Yesterday, my darling fiance came home with a dozen roses and two cans of Sofia champagne.
(Fun fact, I LOVE champagne in a can. Yes, I am that classy. :P)
I suspiciously asked what the occasion was and he said "Why can't I just surprise you with something nice?"
Then, he gave me my ring! I didn't expect to get my engagement ring until next Friday, so it was a wonderful surprise!! I cried again, because I am a sap. :)

I love my ring so much! It's even prettier than I thought it would be. :) It's hard to see in the picture (my camera doesn't like to focus on something so small), but the band has pave diamonds on the top and the rest of the band is engraved. The setting itself looks like a chalice and is also inlaid with pave diamonds. It is gorgeous! Here I am, wearing my ring and enjoying my champagne. (I look kind of rough because I'd actually just gotten up from a nap, and, like I said before, I cried.)

Last night was really fun. We had a great time at the GAPSA mixer and at Maison Musique, listening to the Russian Mafia Band. We had a little too much fun, actually- I bought two Russian Mafia Band T-shirts (one for my future brother in law, and one for my boss, who introduced me to the band) and a CD, but managed to lose the T-shirts on the way home. I have no idea how. At least I still have the CD! Here I am with Stephanie and Sarah at the GAPSA mixer, showing the camera my ring. :P

Today we went to visit two potential wedding/reception venues. One is an art gallery on Julia St. and the other is a wedding hall. This was a very good experience because both places are in our budget and are both very nice. Of course, they both have pros and cons and we still have other places we want to see, but it's prompted us to further discuss our vision for the wedding. Nothing was decided today, but I feel like the day was very productive nonetheless. We still have a long way to go, of course!

Between our night out last night and our busy day today, we were both very tired so we've spent a quiet night at home. Tomorrow I only have to run 6 or 7 miles (yay, taper week!) and then we are going to watch the Saints game with our friend Bruce and Simone. This will be the first game we've watched and I'm mildly paranoid that this change will jinx the Saints. So feel free to blame us if they lose!

I also need to finish tidying the house. The front rooms, at least, are nice and tidy. My darling fiance took this pictures this afternoon because the light was just perfect. Isn't our apartment lovely?










I'll leave you with a picture of me and my ring, resting on the sofa after our day of wedding planning. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wedding Stuff

It's been almost a month since I got engaged and people have started asking me how my wedding planning is going. My answer is, slowly. In all fairness, we've kind of narrowed the date down to March or April of 2011, so there is plenty of time. On Saturday we're going to look at two potential venues, which I am looking forward to. I want to be able to imagine details of what everything will be like, but I find that to be pretty difficult when I haven't even seen the places where I'm thinking about having the wedding and reception.
Other progress:
We've "envisioned our event," as the knot would say. Basically this means that we have agreed that it will be inside, during the evening, and that the wedding and reception will be in the same place. We favor cocktails and appetizers over a sit down meal.
I know what I don't want in a dress- I am basically going for the opposite of the poofy princess dress. I'd love something fitted and maybe even short. That's all I know- I haven't done much else beyond dismiss the majority of wedding dresses on the internet as entirely too poofy, and wonder aloud if the Jcrew dresses would look good on someone other than Keira Knightly's clone. (I particularly like the second dress I've linked but I don't think it's designed for someone with boobs.)
I have a vague image of white flowers with dark green leaves in mint julep cups.
Oh and I've added a bunch of wedding blogs to my google reader. That totally counts as progress, right?

Other events coming up include my Theta Alumni Club's wine and cheese party tonight (I've made Smitten Kitchen's cheesecake brownies, and urge you to do the same because they are amazing), and a night out on the town tomorrow. We are planning to go to the GAPSA (graduate and professional student association) mixer which gets all the grad students (and their dates) at the various colleges in town together for free drinks; and then we're going to the Marigny to listen to Debauche- The Russian Mafia Band. We keep tossing around the idea of asking them to play at our wedding, but we're worried that they're a little too non-traditional. :) And on Monday my office is having their annual Thanksgiving Potluck which I really enjoy. The food is always really good. I'm making Macaroni and Cheese (also from Smitten Kitchen).

I Amuse Myself to No End

I've been engaged less than a week and I've already found the ugliest dress on the planet. This is seriously like the Chinese Crested Dog of wedding dresses.

Sweetest Day

Wow.
When I woke up yesterday morning, I thought the biggest news of the day was that I was going to darken my hair color. I went to work, then left at noon to go the the salon. While I was at the salon, a car crashed through the window in the front of the salon! I was in the middle of having my hair colored at the time, so I'm pretty amazed that it came out alright. :) The lady who crashed her car ended up being my colorist's next door neighbor who actually had an appointment with my colorist! She had a cast on her right foot and apparently hit the gas instead of the break as she was trying to park. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
After my hair appointment, I was apparently a little distracted, because I accidentally locked my keys in the car when I got home, along with my purse and phone! I ended up making friends with my new downstairs neighbor because I had to wait until 5:30 for Benjy to get home. (Yes, I am departing from my usual pet name for my sweetie, for reasons that will become apparent....)
After that, we had some cheese and crackers (I'd locked my snack in the car too) and got ready to go to the Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel. When we left, I called my friend Anne, who was going to be at the bar, and said "You won't believe the crazy stories I have to tell you about today!" Little did I know!
Benjy had been saying all week that he was really excited to go see the hotel because it is a historic New Orleans hotel that has just been reopened. (Benjy is really into New Orleans history and culture.) Apparently Huey P. Long, a noteworthy New Orleans politician, spent a lot of time there in the 20's and Benjy told me that they had restored his old suite on the 10th floor and marked it with a plaque with an "H" on it. We were supposed to meet everyone at 7, but we got there about 10 minutes early, and so Benjy said "Let's go see if we can find his room!" We went up to the tenth floor and Benjy led me down the hall saying "You're supposed to go left, then right, and the room is at the end of the hall." I was gamely walking down the hall thinking it was cute how much he loves New Orleans history. Well, we got to the end of the hall and I was looking around for the plaque, and feeling kind of confused because I didn't see one. Benjy took out a room key and said "I lied!"

He opened the door into a beautiful suite with rose petals scattered on the floor and a table with roses in a vase and a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket...He sat me down and then got down on one knee and proposed!!!!! I'm engaged!!!! I was so surprised and happy! (I cried, of course.) :)

The set up

When Benjy proposed, he gave me a beautiful round diamond that belonged to his mother. Today, we went to Symmetry Jewelers and I chose a design for my ring. It is so beautiful!! Symmetry Jewelers is known for their hand crafted rings, especially those designed by Tom Mathis. Each ring is individually manufactured in their shop, and all of their designs were gorgeous. It was really hard to decide which one to get, but I am so happy with the one I chose! My ring will be ready on November 20th! I can't wait to wear it!

Of course, all my friends were in on the surprise, and after I called all my family and Benjy's family and out of town friends, we joined them in the Sazerac bar. I was talking to my friends when all of the sudden, Mom and Dad walked into the bar!! I was so surprised that I started crying again!

Calling everyone!!

Benjy had also gotten a chocolate and raspberry cake from Sucre that said "Happily Ever After" so we all went upstairs and had cake and champagne. My parents called it a night after that because they had to drive back to the coast, but the rest of us ate at the Sazerac Bar restaurant then hung out in the bar for a while after that.

After we went to bed, I couldn't sleep very well because I was too excited and happy. I kept waking up and thinking about everything that happened! I think I got about 4 hours of sleep, total. So I am pretty tired today. :) This morning we ordered room service and sat around enjoying the suite- it was lovely.

The view from our room this morning

After breakfast, we went home, walked the dogs, and went to pick out my ring.

I keep feeling like I should pinch myself because everything was so wonderful and I just can't believe it's real. It was the best day ever. :)

My wonderful fiance

Not Without My Notebook

I had a wonderful weekend! Kristi's wedding was, of course, a huge part of that. Not only was she a stunningly beautiful bride, she was an organized one! Her wedding was amazing, especially considering the amount of work that she and her friends did themselves. At one point, when we were heading out to the limo she exclaimed "Not without my notebook!!!" I told her that would be the title of the Lifetime Movie about her life.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Thursday night, my dear boyfriend and I flew to Seattle. Due to a flight delay in Denver, we didn't arrive until 2am. We stayed at his parents' house Thurs. night and spent an enjoyable Friday morning having brunch and wandering around downtown Seattle with his mom. Brunch was at Le Pichet, and it was wonderful. I had a bowl of homemade yogurt with walnuts and honey, and Le Tartines- two slices of bread with pate on top. So good!
We had lunch at Whole Foods. I am so jealous of the Seattle Whole Foods because they have a noodle/satay bar. After my rich brunch, I was happy to chow down on some tofu and veggie satay. I also picked up some goodies- some Larabar flavors I haven't found in NOLA, a couple packets of Justin's Almond Butter (I love all the flavors they offer and they make a great on the go snack!), and a bag of Chocolate Covered Cocoa Nibs.
Kristi later told me she heard that the nibs were supposed to be strong, bitter and savory. I put some nibs in my yogurt and fruit this morning and didn't think they were too bad at all. I wouldn't eat them alone by the handful (I'd say they are about as sweet as baking chocolate), but I thought that they were a tasty addition to my yogurt. I'm eager to try them in oatmeal with a banana mixed in. Maybe the chocolate coating is the only thing making them sweet, but I like the strong cocoa flavor as well.
Friday afternoon, we went to Kristi's rehearsal dinner. It was at a park in Renton, Wa that was right next to a lake. It was a beautiful setting for a cookout, and happily, I didn't get too cold! After that, my dear boyfriend went back to Seattle to stay with his parents, and my hotel suite became the bridal headquarters. Kristi, the other two bridesmaids, and I stayed up chatting, snacking, drinking wine, and doing our nails until our friend Janette (who was also sharing the suite but had a late flight) got to the hotel.
We woke up pretty early Saturday morning so we could all get ready to take pictures. Once we were ready we rode to Tacoma in a limo to take pictures in a pretty park. Riding in the limo was really fun- I've actually never been in one before!
After the pictures, we went to the Renton Community center and set up for the wedding. Let's just say that I ended up dreaming about setting tables later that night! We did a lot of work, but everything went really smoothly and the end result was beautiful. I am so proud of how much work Kristi did in advance to prepare for such a gorgeous wedding and am thrilled that it turned out so well. If she gets tired of being a Chemist, she has a promising career as a wedding planner to fall back on!
Finally, we went back to the hotel so Kristi could change back into her dress. A highlight of the day for me was when we all left the hotel singing "Going to the Chapel." It's fun to be so silly with my friends. :)
The wedding ceremony was beautiful. Kristi and her husband Colin read a heartfelt statement to each other before they said their vows and I thought it was really beautiful. I cried because I have known Kristi and Colin for so long and I am so happy for them!
The reception was really great. Kristi made all of the food herself, and it was excellent. The main course was pulled pork, coleslaw, biscuits, macaroni and cheese, and salad- to honor her Southern heritage. Yum!
Another highlight of the reception was the wedding cake. It was a 3 layer cake that featured a candy river and a model of Kristi and Colin kayaking in their wedding attire. One of Kristi's friends (who is defending her PHD next week!) made the cake, and Kari, one of the bridesmaids, made the topper. It was amazing. It was also tasty- the layers were champagne cake with mango curd, and almond cake with strawberry filling.
On Sunday, my dear boyfriend and I woke up early to head back to the city to have brunch with his parents. As we were leaving, we actually got to see the newlyweds, which was a pleasant surprise. I didn't think they'd be up that early. Anyway, Kristi gave me a big hug and informed me that if I get married again, I should have a destination wedding. Haha!! I can't argue with that. :)
Brunch this time was at Cafe Campagne. It was amazing as well. I had the Oeufs en Meurette, which was two poached eggs served on garlic croutons with pearl onions, bacon and champignons in a red wine and foie gras sauce served with pommes frîtes. My morning of insanely rich food continued with a stop for gelato. I split a cup of panna cotta and tiramisu gelato drowned in espresso with my dear boyfriend. I was stuffed!!
We flew home yesterday afternoon and other than being long, the flight was pretty uneventful. I've been pretty tired today because we didn't get home until 11:30, but I am glad to be home and happy to be back to my schedule. I am also looking forward to going on a nice run after work. I need to stretch my legs out after so much flying.