It's Christmas time at the Joneses

So apparently I am not keeping my posts fresh enough...so here is what I am up to for inquiring minds ;-) I AM FREEZING, WHEN IS SUMMER COMING BACK! During my daily 15 minute walk today I couldn't help but wish I was one of the lucky people who head to the Caribbean during Christmas but no hope anytime soon so oh well.

This weekend was supposed to be our "weekend together." We thought that date night was a bit too ambitious for us to start with so we are scheduling a weekend per month to do stuff together. Unfortunately, this was also my weekend to clean up and therefore I spent a considerable amount of time on cleaning, grocery shopping and running errands. I need to figure out how to make more money and hire some help (this feeds into why we have a moratorium on children in the Jones household but that's a whole 'nother post). I honestly day-dream about having a part time housekeeper to clean, wash and run errands! Yolanda hasn't been over since the wedding and as I was scrubbing the 2nd bathroom I started to think that she is really worth every dime she charges. So I told DH that we need to put her back in the budget soon. At least he no longer disagrees that we need someone, before he used to say that it's plain old lazy...I am wearing him down ladies!

But I digress, we did manage to make it to Benihana, which brought back some reminiscing because that was our lunch spot in Memphis. Since we were both in a good mood when we left, we tackled the task of purchasing the Christmas tree. It came out ok for a first try; I will post picture tonight. I should point out that I put of the tree myself because DH felt that his job was done once he got it from the store to the house. Jahmil came over and they watched the Cancun video while drinking sweet tea that I prepared and watched me put up the tree! But I was not angry because I was drinking eggnog and my house smelled like pine...plus had we put up the tree together, it would have been way beyond our cute couple limit ;-)

I can't wait 'til Thursday at 5pm because then I am off until January 2nd. I have big plans for the break: there is the cookie swap, the potluck, making tamales and taking a trip up to CT to visit the Costa Rican contingent and Mama Lo. I also plan on getting my out-of-control pictures organized and re balancing my retirement account. So I should be busy until January 1st at 10pm with all the things on my list ;-)

Just saying hi and more house pictures

There isn't much going on right now except me procrastinating and eating great meals with friends. I went to Bonefishgrill with my cousin and her boyfriend this weekend and I had a great time. The bang-bang shrimp were excellent and the bill wasn't scary...Jersey is so not NY! I also had some life-changing Indian food in Westchester with another friend on Sunday; I must say that there is something faboluous about eating out on a sunday but I digress. This Friday I am going to the annual Christmas gathering at a bar in Gramercy and next week is my office Christmas dinner at Asia de Cuba...so I am basically eating cereal for dinner the next 2 weeks to overcompensate for all the eating and drinking that I shall partake of ;-)

I have been meaning to buy christmas cards sometime soon and to my surprise, I got 5 in the mail already...on December 5th! People are really at the top of their game. Well you won't get my cards next week...you might get them before Christmas but I can't make any commitments ;-)

My home decoration has come to a standstill until further funding, so here is pictures of where it all stopped. My next projects include accesorizing, redoing the bathrooms and far far down the line putting down wood floors (wood floors are 'spensive, I may need to get a knock-off version!).

Scenes from Thanksgiving

So as I reported a few weeks ago...I was incharge of preparing thansgiving. I don't have much to report except that I got all he sides down cold. Hehe....so you are wondering about my turkey eh? Well it didn't work out so good; despite my best efforts, it was undercooked, dry and not tasty all at once! It is now being enjoyed as turkey tetrazinni. Anywho, here are some picture for you to enjoy.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=7ix2yrd.bo5poepl&Uy=-bnucws&Ux=0

How does it feel to be married?

I am sitting at home sick and my voice is gone so I felt inspired to write about the question that I get asked the most. Invariably, my answer is that it doesn't feel much different from my life before. Which is true for the most part. Everyone who knows us as a couple knows that we are truly different individuals, we have our own friends, we have our own interests and we really don't make anyone go awww all the time. But the cool thing is that we can talk through everything and we accept each other and all of our flaws...which is what got us through 8 years, 6 jobs, 4 cars(RIP Berretta, I30 and Sentra), 2 cross-country moves,1 house closing and 1 wedding.

We have already had the big fights and know how we feel about cleaning, money and sex so we don't have to work through those newlywed issues. What is really new to us is that we have to present our married couple front on certain things and that is what we are trying to work through. So we are trying to figure out how we entertain together (we never had any events at our house prior to the last month!), how we shop for gifts (we realized that Christmas presents and wedding presents will now come from the Joneses), how we give to charity and what will become our traditions. I find it to be new and challenging for me because I have to ask Todd how he feels about things that I used to just decide on for myself; this is hard because I have been grown for a long time and it feels like I am giving up some independence...argh! He really asked what I bought on one of my many Target runs and when I asked "why you want to know?" he was like "well you are now spending my money too." The nerve!

The other thing that is new is that I have to develop my "wife" persona. I remember having so many conversations with my friends when I graduated college about how weird it felt to in the working world because being in school was such a strong part of my identity up until that point. So I feel that inevitably I will have the define who I am as a wife and work that into my identity as well. Most days when I think about it, part of me is like "but you are not grown enough to be a wife!" but then my grown-up side, the side that pays the bills and goes to work, regains control...hehe ;-) So in conclusion, I would say that being married feels good because I get to take it all in stride and I don't feel any pressure to fit into a "married person" mold; we will make it all up as we go along. It really helps that we both presented a true picture of who we are as a person beforehand and that our marriage is sanctioned and supported by all of our friends and family.

Pictures

I am back! No more west coast for me this year. So I wanted to post some links to pictures because I know I won't have any free time tomorrow.

First, here is the link to the photographer photos. Not everyone likes them but I happen to like the pictures. I really wanted to focus on candid shots rather than 200 formal poses and I certainly got that...I can't wait to put the final album together.

http://www.saffronstudio.morephotos.com/mp_includes/index.asp

password: crojon07

I plan to send the link out to all guests as soon as I muster the energy to type up all of their e-mail addresses. The pictures do cost more than snapfish or photo gallery but its a photographer so that is what their prices are...I hope guests wont find it too terrible to spend $12 for a 5x7 that they really like. If you just want a couple of 4X6 though you can just wait until I get the cd. My cd will have low-resolution images that can print out to a 4x6. The photographer has the high resolution images that can print out in poster size. I do plan on buying my high resolution images but not this year ;-) Just in case anyone was wondering, I do plan on sending a wallet size picture out with the thank you cards and I am committed to getting them out before the year ends.

Links to Honeymoon Pics:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=7ix2yrd.a04dxnu1&x=0&y=mwp9nn

Looks like Thanksgiving is on me...

So my mother called me today to figure out the holidays and this year for the first time we had to pick sides because I supposed is no longer cool to just go our separate ways during the holidays (at least not for year 1). So we had an invite from the Chandlers (always a great time...fried turkey, oxtails, oh my!) for Thanksgiving and my mother wants to know if we want to cook Christmas or have Christmas with them. After much back and forth and conferencing DH's mom in, it looks like I am cooking. DH's mom doesn't want to go down to the C's because she went last year and she feels like she is imposing (understood, I guess) but that would mean that they would be home alone because Todd is usually the only person that comes over so of course I can't go elsewhere because I would feel like a horrible person.

So for the two people that visited me in Memphis (you know who you are) you can imagine how terrifying that is because 1) my turkey was horrible and 2) I don't like to cook a lot of food. I never quite understood why there has to be 5 types of proteins 8 starches and 2 vegetables at Thanksgivig! So I need help with recipes and anyone who wants to be at my house to see how it goes down is welcome to come spend next thrusday with me.

Ok, as you know I am in San Francisco at a conference, time to go to some more "networking" events.

Addis Doin it Diva Style...a week b4 the wedding!!

Ya'll remember this...

Not ready to give up the blog just yet

So I thought that I was going to give up the blog as soon as the wedding was over but there is so much more that I still need to share. I am still trying to piece together everything that happened that night as well as finding pictures of all of the blog readers at the wedding. I also haven't shared my honeymoon pictures. So now this is going to evolve into my newlywed blog...hehe!

I will post about the honeymoon later this week, right now I am having an issue with decorating my house and I am going to need an intervention. So here is what happened in short: I always wanted a yellow dining room and a green livingroom. Then my DH comes along and requests a plum living room. So I had this plum and yellow thing going which was bad. Last week I repainted the dining room beige so the walls have receded. Now I am trying to find curtains for my plum living room but nothing is working and DH can't come up with a solution for the color scheme that he invented!

This is my plum living room....

And these are the curtain that I found thus far. I would seriouly go for some wooden blinds and call it a day, but I want to save money on my utility bill by having panels ;-)

Does this table look too tight in my kitchen?

Look at the time!

It feels like my clock is on crack right now...I swear I don't' know where my time is going. So as you can probably tell I had a ball at my bachelorette party... in the words of Wendy "us girls be doing it for ourselves!" I have never ever partied so hard...like it took two days to feel like myself again!

Anywho, I got a phone call from my florist yesterday (sidebar, I apologize to anyone who left me messages this weekend...there are just so many people calling me with questions that I can't keep up) telling me that she had some bad news...apparently the grower in Holland said that the peonies for my bouquet will not open in time for the wedding. She ordered them months ago so I don't understand what is the problem...or why they had to grow in Holland for that fact ?!? But that's neither here nor there, I am mentally prepared for all types of things to go wrong so I let it roll off my back. My new options are calla Lillis or Orchids. Since the calla Lillis have been done to death that really leaves me one choice so problem solved.

Today during lunch I am going to run and pickup Todd's ring and on my way home I am going to finish the seating chart...which I just knew that I was going to do on Sunday..hehe!

This Picture says it all

NJ Diva request

Post your favorite chick flicks

I am scheduled to be finished with my to-do list by Saturday night in time for the party ;-) I am thinking that on Sunday and maybe next week I feel like watching sappy chick flick or Sex and the City so post your favorite flicks and I will put them in my netflix queue. Also, does anyone know the name of the guy in "stomp the yard"? I need to replace Tyrese with him in my "get out of marriage free" clause...hehe!

The stars are so not aligned

So today started off as a bad day...The salvation army was supposed to pick up some furniture from our old apartment between 8am and 10am so I got up early to make it there ontime. They did not get there until 1:30pm at which point I was already fustrated and upset because I really need every minute at work that I can get. Turns out that my dresser and table are not in good enough condition for them ( I think they just didn't want to take it downstairs!). So now I have to hire someone to take them apart and take them downstairs because Todd and I can't do it ourselves.

So I get to work and Todd calls me to ask about where is the nearest bank of America so that he can get money to tip the bed delivery guy (we are both bad about having cash on us). While Todd is out getting the money, the guys calls him with an attitude about needing to leave even though he himself was there late. So Todd gets upset and has some words with the guy and now he is not in a good mood (men don't take stress well at all!). So now I have a situation in North Bergen, a fustrated DFH at home, an electrical problem at home...makes me want to just go to happy hour and forgettaboutit...hehe!

But I didn't, instead I am still at work trying to play catch up and I called Lands End to track down one custom made shirt for the DFH (shirts at tux rental place are too short). When I leave here, I am going to run to Ikea to finish up some wedding shopping. I have already called 3 electricians to request a quote...1 is stopping by tomorrow at 5pm to do an estimate. I will get my to-do list wrapped up this week so that next week I will have time to tackle all that can and will go wrong.

So there you have it ladies...today was not our day but maybe stuff is supposed to go wrong the week before the wedding. No meltdowns here...I refuse to because this isn't even the busiest I have been in my life! There really is no reason why anything should overwhelm me because I always create these overwhelming situations and find a way out...I can't help it!

Good song for Bridal Party Intro...

I am trying to finalized the play list and I can't think of a good song to have the bridal party make their entrance to at the reception...I guess I haven't been out enough because I can't think of one good get everyone hyped up song. Ok, I can thinkg of one but who really wants to play 50 cent "In the club" as their intro?

I am really about to remove that daisy tracker at the top of the blog...I don't need no further reminders of how late in the game it is!

We really are getting married now...

Just got back from city hall and our marriage license should be ready for next Tuesday! Todd's mom was the witness and she had to testify that we are who we say we are and that we are not related...hehe! Todd and I went to our first dance lesson last night which was a lot of fun. We are definitely stiff do we need to work on relaxing and not stepping on each other. I really wanted to take a picture of Todd dancing with dude holding his elbows! But I know he won't let me because he has a reputation to uphold...hehe! So I am meeting with the minister tonight at 6pm and I am having a makeup trial after that in Woodbridge.

I still have 13 things on my list of things to complete by Sunday and I am pretty confident about everything but the seating chart...however, I am serious about finishing the list by Sunday because I am not going to be stressed last minute over this. Next week I should be caught up and I can actually shop and pack for the honeymoon :-)

Very Important

I finally moved yesterday, which in itself was a crazy experience but I am so happy to be in my new house. So you know I have to tell you all about what happened this weekend:

Let's start of with how I had Todd to pick up the painters on Friday to paint the house but they don't speak english and he doesn't speak spanish! So here I am in the middle of my hair trial trying to mediate between Todd and the painters...just too funny! I went to home depot five million times this weekend to get stuff for the house and I had someone come in an scrub the bathroom and the kitchen. In the middle of this all, FedEx lost my moving boxes! They said that they dropped them off at my back door...but I don't have a back door. Anywho, Todd and I scrambled to find some boxes yesterday and we got all packed and moved with the help of the movers. Before the movers got to our new home, they had their own bit of drama getting stuck under an overpass and having a portion of their roof ripped off (I don't have to pay for that though). Boxes: $60, Professional help for 8 hours $780....not having to spend 2 weeks packing myself...Priceless!

Ok, so now that I am finished with my move and manged to find a toothbrush and some clothing in my 50 boxes...back to wedding planning. Lakshmi so kindly reminded me that I have less than 3 weeks to go...Dios mio! So the most important things on my list this week are to find someone (anyone!) to do the make-up, get my marriage license and finalize my guest count...I am still missing 56 answers. BTW, still not certain about my hair or jewelry...get your life together Addis!

Update

So I went to Thalia's Jeweler yesterday and I ordered a ring for Todd, yeay! I also got started on the wedding program thanks to Lakshmi who refused to have me lounging around not doing wedding stuff on her watch (thank you!). Still trying to pull the centerpieces together with Kristen's help so hopefully that will be done soon too.

As you guys know, I had my closing this Monday. We are moving next Monday and we are not quite sure how we are going to pull it off but I did hire professional help and I ordered boxes online...thank God for the internet! I also had my utilities connected, scheduled cable and forwarded my mail...obviously I have done this too many times.

I really need someone to take charge of the welcome packets for the out of town guest because I really haven't done it. Here is what I think they need:

• Travel information to get to the city from the Newark Marriott Airport by bus.
• Some points of interest in the city and how to get there by train (be sure to include shopping options)
• A list of exhibits or any events taking place on Saturday.
• A list of restaurants in Newark for eating and address and phone number (maybe IHOP and places in Iron bound).
• Anything else cool that you can think off.
• I will provide a list of our favorite restaurants in the area as well.

Just send me the word document and I will print out. Also, does anyone know where I can buy subway maps?

Ok, gotta go to the gym now so that I can get home at a decent time. XOXO

Bridal Shower!

My bridal shower was yesterday and all I can say is that it was far more than I could have even hoped for...it was beyond fabulous! So just about everyone who reads this blog was there but I still feel like I should have my own recap of the days events.

Let's start with how everyone schemed and conspired for months to catch me off guard! My mother let if slip months ago that the shower would be at her house...up until that point I knew that it would be at Charmaine's house. Over the last two months my parents have gone on a home improvement rampage...they did the works: painting, construction, redoing sidewalks, changing light fixtures...even building a new bathroom! Then Ebony had me concerned all week that she was having an existential crisis so we went shopping yesterday to talk about stuff. Then Charmaine invited me over to her house for Ackee and Salt fish which she knows I would not turn down!

So here I am trying to get to Charmaine's house and finding a grocery store to get Ebony something that she can eat. Then I arrived and I saw my parent's car parked which is normal and I walked inside and my father and Willie are sitting in the room looking normal (good job on the acting). Off course I did not notice that Ebony and Charmaine where ducking behind me and I opened the door and everyone was there! I was so shocked and it was crazy to think that so many things that were said to me were all lies.

Once the shower got started I had a ball and I hope that everyone else did too. I was overwhelmed by how lavish it was and all the details and planning that went into it. Its really humbling to see that soo many people would take time out of their own hectic lives to plan all of this. Don't get me started on the food...I am eating some fried fish and curried rice right now! The mango salsa, the sangria, the patties from Scott ( ladies bless your soul), the buffet, and the dessert display.....OMG it was fabulous. I am so glad that Todd has been diving into the leftovers because I could really eat through the whoppie pies all by myself (but I won't because I have a dress to fit into).

Last but not least...the presents. Let's just say that I now have a lingerie collection that will require its own drawer! I am not quite certain that I know how to put it all on but I will work it out, hehe! All of my friends and family were extremely genorous and I was absolutely delighted with all the home stuff. I am like a kid...I can't wait to open up my gifts and start playing with them! I feel like the toaster oven and the crockpot will be instrumental in getting Todd to learn how to make some basic dishes too ;-) I can't thank everyone enough for everything.

Ok, let me go pull myself together for closing tomorrow!

Sidebar

Is it just me or is this daisy tracker moving too quickly? What do you mean I only got one month! Ahh Damn!

Getting on Track

ok, I am back and I have exactly five minutes to update y'all before my next meeting. Life is just crazy right now...just the way I like it! I did find a flower for my hair in Cali but I made no attempts at the Program. I gave Todd some things on the list to take care of and gave him specific deadlines to get them done. I have also schedule all necessary appointments for this month with the exception of the Make-up person (I really haven't done anything about this yet). Closing is on Monday and I already booked a mover for the 17th. We decided to just pay someone to pack because really, neither one of us has any free time to speak of. I just need to find someone to clean and paint next week and we will be doing well.

We did go look at some wedding bands for Todd and I have an idea as to what he wants. I just need to find the time to make it out to the Jeweler. I also got my order from Bluefly and I am very pleased with my purchases. Thanks God for the internet! I would not have any clothing and I certainly could not plan a wedding without it. Ok, that's it for now.

Ebo Beat me to it but...

Addis The Smart Ass Diva is Getting Wiser

glitter-graphics.com

Going back to Cali

I am heading off to California tomorrow on official NYU business (another training class, I love my job!). Hopefully I will get to go buy some wine while I am out there; I am all about the white merlot that I found with the Divas. But I digress; I did manage to get the tuxes settled once and for all as well as the Ceremony coordinator...score one for the bride! So it appears that Jahmil went and got fitted for his tux so Todd said he "guess" Jahmil is in the wedding. I personally did not see his name on the list at the Tux shop, whoever, he said he went to a different store. Hopefully that concludes my wedding party drama.

I ordered two Le Mystere bras online today because bluefly.com is having a $20 off sale...I am so excited! My sister found her dress so now I am down to one bridesmaid in need of clothing. I think we are in good shape. While I am gone I will not be totally slacking off...I will work on the programs (Ebony I swear I will!).

So when I return on Sunday, crunch time begins...I have a closing on the 5th, then I will deal with the move logistics and wrap up all the loose ends for the wedding. I am also going to have to finish getting my look together and maybe even schedule a massage and a facial.

Groomsmen

With 6 weeks to go until the wedding, I believe that Todd has asked Jahmil not to be in it. I am not sure if he was serious or just said it because he was mad. Apparently, Todd has been asking Jahmil to get fitted for his tux for quite some time and Jahmil is always busy. In the mean time, he has asked his cousin Fred from Texas to get measured, which he did. Fred has faxed in his measurements to the store here in New Jersey. So I think we could have 5 groomsmen or no Jahmil.

This is so sad that both of us had friends drop out of our wedding...is it just us or does this happen to other people?

I have made further progress...I setup an appointment with a ceremony coordinator for Sunday at 1pm. She came highly recommended, I just hope that her fee is not too steep. Also, the chairs at the hotel are hunter green, which so do not go with anything else! But chaircovers would run me another $600. Todd and I talked about it and if we find an extra $600 we would rather put it towards getting a videographer (although I am perfectly ok with Tyson filming the wedding for me). So I say all of that to say that my chairs will not match the color scheme but hey there is open bar! you win some, you loose some.

Centerpieces

So I will take the silence about my centerpieces to mean that nobody liked them. That's cool though...I gotcha. Kristen showed me some more ideas for centerpieces and I really liked this one:


I think I may have an easier time finding a cake stand and some votives than the right candle shade. Wish me luck!

So the limo is booked and the favors have been ordered. I am trying to get as much done as possible this week since I will be off the grid next week in training.

Adventures in Wedding Shopping

So as you already know, I am all about buying stuff this month. Ebony was kind enough to convince me to stop watching Sex and the City on Monday to order some silk flowers for my hair and to look at centerpieces. I think that she now fully grasps what a hard time I have been having with them. So we found this store called Jamali Garden on 28th st. and I took Tyana on a trek through the world of fake flowers and decorations. We ended up buying a set of the glass cubes below to test out. They are only 6 inches high so they look kinda low on the table. I am still questionable on them but I haven't found anything else that fits my vision. I really should have just went to the store with a blank slate because really, the stuff that I see in Magazines is not for real life weddings! Lesson learned.

My Friend Juli is letting me borrow her basket and pillow (bless her soul) and I am fixing to buy a fuscia guestbook on The Knot along with a knife and Isle Runner and a Mailbox. I think that covers all the ceremony knick knacks!

Trashy Wedding

I thought this was hilarious, so I'm posting it.

Status Update

Happy Monday Ladies. The fitting this weekend was uneventful which I guess is a good thing. I really need to practice just standing in those shoes more often though. I also went to IKEA where I spent three hours and did not find any centerpieces. I did find the dried branches and the vases to hold them.

So I am still not happy about the groomsmen tuxes. To refresh your memory, the ladies are wearing black dresses, gold shoes and carrying fuscia flowers. The men have decided to wear all black with a fuscia tie and Todd is wearing ivory (!?!). I e-mailed Ed(the only groomsmen who seems to have any interest at all in the wedding) to see if he would consider a different shirt and tie combination. But instead of being helpful, he goes back and tells Todd! He is so out of the circle of trust now, as if! Who would have thought that dressing the men would be such a nightmare?

Flower Girl Dress

I just had to post this picture...its so cute.

The Dress is Here!

I just got a phone call from Bridal Elegance and my dress is finally here. I have scheduled a fitting for Saturday at 12pm. So by the end of this week I will have gotten fitted, ordered favors and possibly bought the decorations...some progress at last :-)

Proof for Favor

This is the design for the Mugs. I am going to order these as well as some tea and hot chocolate to put in them. I was thinking of ordering two of these per family as well as coloring books and pencils for the kids.

Dress Watch

Just a quick post to let you ladies know that there is still no dress. I called Bridal Elegance again and they said that Pronovias is running late with everyone's dress not just mine but that they thing it will be in the Tuesday shipment. Pronovias really needs to get their act in order because the China manufacturers are at their heels!

I called another limo company and they have a 16 passenger navigator available that I am going to go see on Saturday. I am thinking about having the same limo take the groom's party and come back and get my parents, bridesmaids and I. Then after the ceremony, we can ride in the navigator with the wedding party and have a towncar pick-up the 'rent. How does that sound? The place that Todd visited last week had a stretch hummer but I feel more comfortable with a stretch navigator.

House

I have not done anything wedding related this weekend but I thank everyone for their generous offer of time...trust me you will be sick of me this month because I plan on getting alot done before I leave for California on the 27th (yes another training! gotta love the University world). So I actually have a signed contract from the seller...I still have attorney review and inspection before I can actually say we are buying a townhome.

It is in Newark, which is not for everyone, but we feel good about our decision. Hopefully we will close on by the 7th of September so that I can take advantage of the pool next door ;-) Also, there is a garage sale at my house in North Bergen this Sunday from 9am to 2pm just in case anyone is interested.

Potential Disaster!

Ok, I just got this e-mail from my Friend Juli in Lodi:

"I got a delivery notice from Sender (Crooks) that requires my signature and a postage payment of $.39."

So now I am worried that more guests will receive an extra charge for postage although I went to the post office with the invitation to have it weighed and purchased wedding stamps. I called the post office in North Bergen (where by the way we hand-delivered the invitations) and they said to come in today with my invitation to speak to a manager...not good. So I could potentially have all the invitations sent back, this is crazy!

Stuff that I need help with

• Shopping for wedding stuff-I need to look for a cheaper versions of my hair piece, gifts(obviously bridemaids are excluded from this trip), ring and the list goes on. So you can help me greatly by scheduling time with me that includes shopping :-)
• List of things to do for out of town guests-I was thinking about ordering a subway map as well as getting bus schedules for whatever bus runs from the Airport to NY. A list of must see attractions in NY and how to get there would be cool. Jersey also has a few things too. So any of you gals who loves to research could really help me by putting this together.
• The slideshow! I haven't even begun this one...
• Wedding stationery-I am not the most creative person so I need help creating and printing up the programs and menucards.

Still no dress...and other fun things

So today my dress is 26 days late but who is counting! I also got my sample mugs in the mail from discountmugs.com. They are actually much better quality than I expected and I am just trying to decide between the black or the clear mug. DFH doesn't think that any of his friends and family drinks chocolate or tea but he has no suggestions for a better favor so I can't conceive of something else. I was thinking about putting a 1 liner on the mug plus our name and wedding date.

I have not been able to make it to Ikea to explore decorations options although I want to go so badly! I have given myself until August 17 to get decorations finalized so I will have something soon...I promise. As of now, I have hired pretty much every vendor that I need except for the coordinator and the limo. What I am really needing to do is to shop for stuff on my list of things to buy. So I am going to need all of you to make sure we are shopping for something everytime we make a date during the next month ;-)

Work is still really busy and I can't see a light in the end of the tunnel but we have a new consultant so maybe that will smooth things out a bit.

Invitations are ready!

It took 6 people and 3 hours but the invitations are all stuffed and ready to go ;-) Special thanks for Adaobi, Ebony, Kristen, Thalia and Tyana for the manpower and to Kristen for feeding us (like I said before, I love food at the Kris' house). It took so much time because I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to coordinate the assembly line...so needless to say, I am not a good person to coordinate this type of stuff. I also realized that I made a mistake on the invitation with the number for the church I put 900 instead of 1009 which puts you like a block...but I fixed it on the directions to the church so follow those instead of the address on the invitation. At the very least the people who read this board should make it to the church!

I stayed in Brooklyn last night and today I was able to choose my "something borrowed" out of my aunt's jewelry box, I am soo excited...its a fabulous bracelet! Now all I need is some great gold and diamond earings and my wedding jewelry will be complete.

This week I will go to Ikea after work to see about more options for the centerpieces. I am going to MA next weekend for a wedding so I don't expect to get much done before the month is out. I do need to call the wedding coordinator that Leticia recommended and make sure I get her on board to coordinate the rehearsal and the ceremony. I would hate to be that bride looking crazy at my rehearsal so I think is best that I hire some professional help. That's all for now.

In California

Just in case you are wondering why the blog hasn't been updated this week, I am in California for training. I am supposed to take the red-eye back home tomorrow but Jetblue is not sure if the flight is on or if it is cancelled. I am supposed to do invitations on Saturday so hopefully I can get on a flight tomorrow night. Iwill be calling Bridal Elegance again tomorrow to find out what's good with my dress though ;-)

Ahh, St. Thomas awaits after it's all said and done...

I didn't do anything this weekend but I thought about it...

With T-minus 3 months to go, I did not do a single wedding related thing this weekend...but y'all know me by now, I work in ebbs and flows. I was dying laughing over the comentary on the board, hehe! I feel like I have had a proper panty-vention and apparently Christina Millian's hair do is the one for me. I just thought I should mention that the flowers I had posted are $150 a piece...so I am going to have to find the knock-off version of course.

While waiting to see Harry Potter (which was awesome by the way) my neighboor Jaimie who also reads the blog (Hi Jaimie!) encouraged me to start calling the bridal salon every week about my dress. I was supposed to be here June 30th and she assured me that I will not be a bridezilla if I start calling. The dress is coming from Spain...do they work on CP time there too? Damn! Another update, DFH went with the Ivory tux and my Mom and Ebony encouraged him (I am not mad though...although I am mad at Ivory size 15 dress shoes, not cute!).

I am leaving to California for training this Wednesday and I will be returning on Saturday at 7am in time to do Invitations at Kristen's on Saturday night. I believe all of the bridesmaids plus one of my honorary bridesmaids will be there...I am really looking forward to it. This is it girls...invitations are going out!

To-Do list follow-up, Hair choices, etc.

I am actually home before 7pm today...so excited! I am on my couch watching "Code Name the cleaner" while eating cereal while trying to come up with a plan to tackle all of the stuff swishing around my head. Yes I am seriously multi-tasking and I am eating cereal for dinner. Cereal is saving whatever figure I have right now; I am a stress eater so eating cocoa pebbles gives me the sugar fix with half the calories...its a miracle food! Anyhow, I digress. There are a couple of outstanding items that I am still awaiting to hear back on from the readers of this blog...you know who you are:

• Playlist


• Sample groom's cake
  
• Dried branches report

I just remembered that I wanted to take a dancing class with DFH. I know there is a dancing studio in Noth Bergen so I am going to call to see about that...we all know exactly how much of a disaster the first dance could be for us in particular, hehe. I also want to start scheduling monthly facials, which may be wishful thinking but hey, it's all good.

So I am still contemplating hair styles, I am debating between wearing it out or up. I am also contemplating a headband or flowers in my hair. The internet has not turned out to be a good place to find head pieces for me so I am just going to start scheduling some shopping time to find that and other wedding stuff. There is a veil shop in the East village that I really want to visit. Here are the Hair styles that I have found:

Here are some accessories:

Post your store recommendations

One more thing...anyone has any recommendations for great intimates stores? I was just wondering if there are more choices besides Vicky's secret and the gap that people love.

Invitations, Tuxes and Out of town guests...

This weekend Todd and two of the groomsmen (the other 2 had questionable excuses) went to get fitted for the tuxes. The Groomsmen diced to wear all black with a Fuscia Tie, which is alright I guess. I wanted Todd to wear a black Tux with an Ivory, shirt and tie...sounds simple right? Well, when they brought the swatches out, Todd thought it looked bad and the lady in the story was saying that nobody ever gets that combination. Then she went on to suggest that he wear all Ivory with a Fuscia tie,which I am not too warm on. So I am going to have to research some more pictures to find something that will work. I was really trying to not be involved in the Tux affair....

I was running errands all weekend and I attended the K-Diva's baby shower so I didn't make much progress. However, I did start writing out the group rate information on the Hotel Directions card that the Marriott sent me. I also purchased the stamps so I should have everything ready by the weekend of the 21st. I will be going over to Kristen's at 6pm with some snacks on Saturday the 21st to do the invitations. Anybody who wants to come over and help just let me know, there will be plenty of work for everyone!

I was talking to my friend Kyra this weekend (she posts under the name "Kentucky" and I met her in Memphis) who raised a very valid point: What is there to do for the out of town people? I haven't given the out of town guests much thought up until this point but I guess I need to get a packet together with options for them. I am sure there is a bus from the Airport to New York if they want to go shopping and dinning. I didn't budget for a welcome basquet but I probably need to get some together...ok ladies, I am really going to need some help on this one!

As you can see I am updating the blog more frequently, the complaints about my tardiness have been duly noted ;-) I also called the bridal shop about my dress, nobody answered but I left a message.

Tuxes maybe?

So after a month of friendly reminders, Todd is working on getting his groomsmen together to get fitted for tuxes this weekend...however, I am not holding my breath because they always have scheduling issues.

This is the tux that he likes, I am trying to gently persuade him to go for a tie instead whatever that is around the neck. So what have I been up to? Nothing! I have been so busy every weekend and during the week that I haven't worked on anything at all...in fact I am still trying wrap up some work right now and I am taking a break. I did have a conversation with my Aunt Silvia and she has been helping me find packaging options for the favors on the internet. As you know, I am doing packages of hot chocolate or tea. Here are some of the packaging options:

I am not exactly crazy about this one but it may look nice in white with Black lettering. They have cutter ones but those are above budget.

I am not sure how I feel about the envelope, I need to see it in person to make sure that it is not too chincy looking. I haven't seen anything else that I like...maybe I should have figured out the packaging first and then found a favor to fit in it...ladies take note!

My next big project is getting everything together to mail out the invitations. I just ordered directions from the Marriott today and I need to print out ones from the church and buy the stamps. I think I am going to do them the weekend of the 21st, I was going to do it next weekend but I want to go see Harry Potter and hang out with Mom dukes for her B-day.

I am also getting more serious in my research of a wedding band for DFH. I even ordered a plastic sizing tool from BlueNile to get his size!

Ok, I better get back to work so that I can have tomorrow to slack off...or maybe shop a bit before heading to see Transformers ;-)

Update on Limo, invitations and everything else

So, I am back from Cancun and trying to get back on track. Cancun was fine, a nice break from everything and I got a tan. Can somebody tell me why we only have 3 months left? I am not panicking, just making an observation...

The florist that Leticia recommended is a go, ladies, we have flowers! I am going to go over there this weekend and sign a contract and put down the deposit. As for the other things on the to-do list:

• Todd is in charge of getting the limos checked out so hopefully he will get it done by this weekend.
• I am going to cajole Todd into going to the Tux shop on Saturday...anybody knows of any good tux shops?
• I think I may have found some "Candle Shades" that we can use to create the centerpieces that will go on the tables with Candles: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/glcycash10in.html. I am going to order 4 of them so that we can do a trail run...this gonna be fun!
• Invitations will be stuffed and in the mail by July 23rd. I already have two volunteers, I just need to figure out a date and time because its a bit involved.

So is it a good idea for me to schedule an get together for the Bridesmaids and the Groomsmen to meet before the wedding or is that overkill? Also, I am in the market for a headpiece...nothing to big so please feel free to post your suggestions. In fact, I am starting to develop quite the wedding shopping list:

• Broom
• 44 candle Shades & Candles
• Some sort of creative place card arrangements
• Gifts
• Cheesy "bride-to-be" t-shirt
• Guest Book
• 3 dozen votives (will that be enough?)
• Christmas white lights
• Dried Branches
• Vases for dried branches
• Seat Covers
• Fuscia Menus
• Programs
• Ring for the Groom

I am feeling pretty badly about not being able to invite my team right about now, but our collective offices amount to 40 people! Finally, I ordered my dress 12 weeks ago and still no word from the Bridal shop...would it be to paranoid of me to call and ask what is going on?

Ummm Where is the Bride???

I know you're on vacation and you soooooo needed it. I just thought I would post something and show a couple of pics to get you a "pink" moment going when you saw this.

Miss U Mucho Smooches, Ebo

Update on Decorations, Limo and Invitations

I did go to Whole Foods this weekend and met a somewhat interesting person in the florist department but I don't think that is going to work. I also met with a florist in Roselle Park on Sunday who promised to get back to me with pricing by yesterday but I am still waiting. On the positive side of things, Adaobi, Ebony and Lakshmi helped me to develop a real plan for decorations so I am feeling better about that. So now I just need to find a limo and order favors and I should be in good shape for now.

The invitations have already arrived and they are in my house awaiting to be shipped. At some point in the near future I will go to the post office to figure out exactly how crazy my postage bill is going to be.

My boss just let me know today that the inital scope of my project that is due to roll-out in September is bigger than I initially thought. I am sure that he thought he had made this clear from the onset, but none of us really got that feeling...I love when that happens! So needless to say I am feeling a bit stressed at the moment but I am sure I will pull through. I guess no beach days for me this summer!

What not to Wear (and do) at Your Wedding

At Addis' request, I'm posting this link. All Praises that she is not having us wear something like these dresses!

http://www.etiquettehell.com/content/eh_misc/misc/dressincinerator.shtml

If you get the chance, browse the rest of that site for crazy ass wedding stories. One of my favorites is this one:

To give a little back story on this email, my husband and I were scheduled to attend the wedding of a friend of a friend. She and her then-fiancé had come to our wedding a year and a half prior. On the day of her wedding I came down with a bad migraine and could not go to the wedding. I didn't want to bother her during her wedding preparations with a call telling her I wasn't coming, so I instructed my husband to tell them when he got there, which he did. It was already too late for them to change the catering count so I didn't think that a few hours would make much of a difference and I really didn't want to give her anything to worry about before the wedding. A few weeks after the wedding we sent them registry gifts, one place setting of fine china, and one place setting of everyday china (close to $200 in cost). I just received this email from her today:

"We received your gift in the mail the other day and I must say that we were
quite surprised by it. There are a couple of thoughts that come to mind about
the gift, and about the events leading up to our wedding.
First of
all, we don't understand why our gift to you for your wedding was not
reciprocated in monetary form, considering we gave you both a generous
check.
Second of all, we understand that circumstances arise whereby a
person cannot attend the wedding, and we are sorry that you were sick, however,
we never received a phone call, which would have been an appropriate gesture,
even though it would have been too late. The plate was already paid for, and
each plate was a considerable amount of money. (I don't have to tell you that-
you know how much weddings cost).
Getting to the point- the value of
the gift did not cover 2 plates, let alone 1. We seriously have our doubts about
whether or not a gift was even purchased which was from the heart, which would
have meant more to us, or whether it was bought out of guilt, due to the fact
that it got back to (your husband) that we never got anything from you. A great
deal of respect was lost when a gift was received that did not amount to the
cost of one plate, nor was not the amount given to you at your wedding. You know
as well as we do that we did not do that to you, nor would we. If money is
tight, than the response on the invitation should have been a "no".
We
cannot contemplate now, or ever, the reasoning behind these events, but we are
not the type to "let things go". We wanted to let you know our feelings about
this. Not only are we upset, but disappointed as well. We have always gotten
along well, and I cannot recall any time when I did something to offend you.
More of a reason to not understand why you would do this to us. My instincts
told me to tell you how we feel...it's more a matter of principle, which I was
always taught to stand up for, then anything else. We appreciated the generosity
of everyone who came because their gifts were sincere, which is why we are
surprised by yours. If you want to write back, you can."

So if I am to understand her email, anyone who cannot afford to pay for their plates at a wedding should not attend the wedding... that would leave a whole bunch of very small weddings! Also, if she was so concerned about getting a gift "from the heart" then she should have graciously accepted what we sent her since I bought it based on the fact that I concerned about her getting all her china since I did not get all of mine for my wedding and my pattern was discontinued.
Oh, and btw, she only gave us a gift that covered about 1/2 the cost of her and her then-fiancé's plates at our wedding.

Can you believe that?

OK, I just thought I'd share that.

Beautiful Shoes!!

On a whim I stopped in at Charles David again this Saturday with Ebony and Lakshmi in tow and I found them...my shoes!

Zoom View

They were on sale 20% off, you know I love a bargain. So shoes...check, invitations...check, Pottery Barn and Macys Registry...check. Now I have a brand new set of to-do list item...there is still not end in sight to this list!

I must note on my own before you start talking abou me, yes, I have 1 casual china set on each registry...I initially chose the one at Pottery Barn, then I saw the set at Macys. Now I can't decide which one I like better!

I also know that I went a bit overboard with gadgets on my Macys' Registry ;-) But they are things that I always wanted (a garlic press, egg slicer...oh my!) and they create a plethora of affordable gift options. Plus I get a discount at the end to buy what's left, so it will make my black friday shopping a fun experience.

Saffron Studios

I went all the way down to Bridgewater to meet with Sonia at Saffron Studios and I really enjoyed myself. She wasn't pushy, didn't try to sell me on a package and came up with a way to get me what I want on my budget. I have a good feeling about her and even though she won't be shooting the pictures, I really liked the pictures for the photographer that I choose. So although I haven't met with anyone else, I am going with Saffron Studio because:
a. My gut says so
b. Its a small independent woman run business (you know I have a soft spot for that)
c. She actually enjoys wedding, this is not something that she does on the side to supplement her "Real" career.

After I left Saffron Studios I went on over to North Plainfield to have a chat with Shellewah. I am glad that we had a face to face conversation because now I know where she is coming from and she understand where I am coming from on a number of things. I am always surprised at how differently our words and actions can be interpreted but that's life...we all wish we could see ourselves the way others see us.

DF got back from his boys trip last night and he seemed much more relaxed than when he left. Of course he had to point out how nice everyone in ATL was an how he saw Usher just walking down the street and how life just seems better in ATL and nobody appears to be struggling. He then went on to say that I looked stressed and that I should go to the spa this weekend...it's monday, I am always stressed on Monday! I am going to the spa this weekend to celebrate Kristen's B-day so I guess it comes at a good time ;-)

"Life is beautiful. Life is a struggle. Life is a beautiful struggle."-Mos Def

Wedding Invitations, Bridal Party, Rings

I finally ordered my invitations today! I decided on something real simple but I think they look nice. My sister thinks that they are ugly but she later recanted her statement to "plain." Ok, so maybe they are plain but I wanted something simple and sophisticated and these worked!

I also took some time to iron out some to-do list and duties for the bridesmaids because I am sure everyone is confused...what with me talking to them at random different times. I was able to negotiate with Todd to have a Maid of Honor and a Best man. He has two people splitting the best man responsibilities but he is not giving them the title (I'll just call them the men formerly know as best), Brian and Ed.

As for my team...

Adaobi is the maid of honor (First day of school, 1995, Algebra I class at Roselle) and I have 3 bridesmaids, Kristen (spring 2000, the conspiracy begun), Tyana(interestingly enough I met her through Shellewah in 1999...ain't that something?) and Ebony(summer 2000, freshman orientation...she joined the conspiracy). I also have three honorary bridesmaids who make guest appearances in posts (Thalia, Laksmi and Leticia). Lakshmi and Leticia are in the wedding, while Thalia is being spared from an official job because her B-day is the day before the wedding and I wouldn't dare encroach upon her Birthday weekend.

I was looking for rings for Todd but the ones for men didn't have that many choices so I started to look for stuff for me. I like the ones below but I am really iffy as to how I can make a set. I may end up going for a plain band.

So with four months to go, it is shaping up to be a wedding y'all!

Pink Moment

So I am having a pink moment, I really appreciate all the help and advise that I am getting from the bridesmaids and the Very Important People who read my blog. I certainly have no clue as to what I am doing! I don't know what I would do without my "Wedding Panel?"

Photographers

I called just about all of the photographers that were recommended to me and some that I found online and most are booked for October 7th. I was able to make an appointment with two studios that have availability:

-Saffron Studios in Bridewater (so not looking forward to that drive on Monday)http://www.saffronstudio.com/home.php
-Celebration Studios in Hoboken (meeting them on Tuesday)
http://www.celebrationstudios.com/essentials.html

I am also going to make an appointment with the friend of a friend from my previous post:
http://madisonsphotography.com/default.aspx

Finally, I am going to look into this Journalism Professor at NYU that was recommended to me:
http://www.adamfernandez.com/index.html

One of these people have to work out, I just know it :-) I did send another message to Angela, my original prospect, about meeting up one last time. Will keep ya posted.

Photography update

I forgot to add this to my previous post so here goes:

I got an e-mail from Angela on Friday night saying that she would need to reschedule to June 3rd (sigh). A friend of my mom's brother-in-law wants to do our photography but I am not to certain about him because he has like 4 different jobs and its really a hobby for him not a career. My mother is going to call her friend to find out how he felt about his wedding pictures since this guy did them as well. So there you have it...still no photographer.

It's really my fault because I did not investigate the cost ahead when I was budgeting the wedding so I had no idea that established wedding photographers will run you $4,000! So I need to figure out if I want to wait it out with Angela but I am going to keep looking until then or if I am going to find a way to come up with another $2k to have some more options.

Charles David Shoes

Zoom View

Ladies we have a dress and a registry!

With exactly 146 days to go, the mother of the bride has found her dress and it is fabulous!

We also went to Macys and put one of the registries together; Thalia will join me at the Pottery Barn in two weeks to finish the next one. I can't believe I registered for China! I always thought I would just wait to get my mother's when she inevitably got tired of her. But I did like how everything came together and I do want to be able to reach for the "good" dishes every so often (hopefully more that my grandmother, whose good dishes I have eaten on once, when I was nine, haha!).

I did find some possible shoes but they are 4 inches high and I was really struggling with them. I need to consider if 5 months is enough for me to develop the grace that has eluded my adult life thus far...

Finally, I have to confess that I had a Johnny Rockets shake....so good! I will be doing 45 minutes on the eliptical Machine on Tuesday to compensate but it was well worth it. Here is completely random picture of me and the girls in California having fun. I wish we could get together more often but it takes a miracle of God to find an opening in everyone's schedule! Too bad we don't all live in the same neighborhood because I sure enough would be at somebody's front step when they g0t home ;-)

No progress this weekend

On my way to the test photo shoot, I got a call from the photographer saying that her sister was bent over in pain and she had to rush her to the hospital. So that didn't happen. When I got home, Todd and I took a break to relax and watcth "Blood Diamonds" which made me real sad but it is a great movie and everyone should watch it. I am feeling pretty guilty about my little diamonds at the moment but I am glad that I opted for a blue sapphire which comes from Australia were there are no warloads killing people and chopping their arms off (not that I am aware of). I am seriously considering going with an estate or reclaimed gold wedding band now because although I am not Condolezza and I can't make a big different I like to make a statements in my own little world.
But I digress, somehow on Saturday night I brought up the fact that I would prefer a townhouse or a condo in Hudson county because I feel that I am too young to do the house in the suburbs with a lawn thing. This lead to a 3 hour discussion and we failed to make it to the store to do this Registry thing. I wonder if it is normal for engaged couples to argue about silly hypothetical situations? Maybe we need more counseling? And of course, it's not like it changed anything because we are still not going to purchase a condo in Dowtown Jersey City...we can't afford it! Moral of the story: I should pick the right time to bring up contraversial things because nothing gets done!

Flowers and Favors

As you all know, Shellewah is not longer in the wedding. I am working on getting a finalized list of everyone who is in the wedding by the end of this week.

It is getting to that time were I need to start thinking about the flowers. I have some thoughts in my head but I need to start researching if I can make them happen within my limited flower budget (there shall be no calla lilies at my wedding, sorry!). Here are some flowers that I am considering:

This one minus the Berries for the bridesmaids

This one for the Bride in all Fuscia

Hey, here is apicture of a black and white wedding just like mine! Gosh, I am starting to act corny and emotional...maybe is the cold medication that I am taking.

Here are some of my favorite favors thus far...as always I welcome your suggestion :-)

Hot Chocolate or Tea...

Love Notes Pad....or Tin Mints!

I am seriously considering doing the black table cloth like this picture....except I want short vases for the flowers...

Maybe something like this...