We've been asked, "So how is married life?"
EJ says: "'Well, I guess it would be weird if I'd married someone I didn't know, but I married my girlfriend, so it's pretty good."
I say, "It's great! Much more than I could have expected!"
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Six Month Anniversary
Six months ago today (exactly - it was also a Saturday), we got married.
We've been asked, "So how is married life?"
EJ says: "'Well, I guess it would be weird if I'd married someone I didn't know, but I married my girlfriend, so it's pretty good."
I say, "It's great! Much more than I could have expected!"
We've been asked, "So how is married life?"
EJ says: "'Well, I guess it would be weird if I'd married someone I didn't know, but I married my girlfriend, so it's pretty good."
I say, "It's great! Much more than I could have expected!"
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Thrifting!!! Who Knew?
Ok, so we've spent almost every Sat or Sun (and once or twice it was both) of almost every week hitting the thrift stores trying to stock up. This has proven to have two significant results. First and foremost is our building pile (or is it now piles, and stacks, and mounds) of wedding stuff. Mostly plates and fabric. I'm sure you've heard about this by now. So this is not that surprising to any of us. It's what we set out to do. But the second and possibly scariest thing to come of our outings is this...
I found, I kinda like thrifting.
I know, weird huh?
This is odd to me because, for the most part, I don't like going to garage sales or swap meets. One would think that if I didn't like one side of a coin, I'd not like the other side of the same coin. One would be wrong.
Not too sure why one is so much better than the other, but I do know what it is that I like about it.
It’s the stuff!
People throw away (or donate) some real cool stuff, I tell ya. Now before I go too much farther, let me say this. I'm not as fond of hunting for wedding stuff as I am of just looking at stuff. Yes, I try to keep my eye open for plates and cups and all that, but there is just so much cool stuff to be looked at. We've found groovy antiques, vintage clothes, and some sweet furniture. Sadly, money being as tight as it is, most of the groovy stuff we've found had to be left behind for others to find it. That is the only thing that is not fun about finding cool stuff, is not being able to go home with said stuff. Though, I guess that's a good thing, seeing how we do only have so much room in the apt. And most of it is being used to store wedding stuff.
I found, I kinda like thrifting.
I know, weird huh?
This is odd to me because, for the most part, I don't like going to garage sales or swap meets. One would think that if I didn't like one side of a coin, I'd not like the other side of the same coin. One would be wrong.
Not too sure why one is so much better than the other, but I do know what it is that I like about it.
It’s the stuff!
People throw away (or donate) some real cool stuff, I tell ya. Now before I go too much farther, let me say this. I'm not as fond of hunting for wedding stuff as I am of just looking at stuff. Yes, I try to keep my eye open for plates and cups and all that, but there is just so much cool stuff to be looked at. We've found groovy antiques, vintage clothes, and some sweet furniture. Sadly, money being as tight as it is, most of the groovy stuff we've found had to be left behind for others to find it. That is the only thing that is not fun about finding cool stuff, is not being able to go home with said stuff. Though, I guess that's a good thing, seeing how we do only have so much room in the apt. And most of it is being used to store wedding stuff.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Planning, Planning
This past week has seen my un-eventful return to work after five weeks off (not for fun - medical reasons). Which also means, not a lot going on on the wedding planning front. But we tried to make up for it once I got home on Friday!
Every Friday is now officially "Happy Hour Friday" in our house. It gives us a chance to try out new cocktail recipes and preview potential candidates for hors d'oeuvres and dishes we will be serving at the reception. Hey - when you're catering it yourself, you have to find *some* way to have "tastings" LOL
That reminds me - EJ needs to make his spice cake for FMIL, so we can all taste it, and she can make it herself (so we can all taste it!). I think he has some plan to have "Mom" bake a cake every 2 weeks leading up to the wedding...!
We also visited one thrift store on Friday, and ::5:: today, to pick up bits and pieces of decor, tableware, and fabric. We did a fairly good job, although it is very difficult to find (1) forks that are not crap, and (2) sheets that are not yellow, green, pink, or kid-related. I know we have quite a bit of time to continue to shop (avoiding looking at the Countdown meter at the bottom of the page!) but we figure if we get it in bits and pieces throughout the year it won't be as big of a hit on our wallets, and we can be a bit picky-choosy, at least for now!
I have also been eyeing the wedding dresses I find at the different thrift stores. Partly to see if I find something that will work (I have other plans, I do not want to look like a lace cake, or as one poster on IndieBride said, a giant marshmellow!), partly to oggle the construction; and partly because I think about the history that comes along with that dress...one of the reasons I like to thrift shop is because nearly everything there has passed through hands before coming into mine, and I feel a sense of connection with these others, even if I never know exactly what. I like these dresses because I think that they served their purpose, witnessed the joining of two folks who are now old and gray, and are ready to see another couple through their vows!
Every Friday is now officially "Happy Hour Friday" in our house. It gives us a chance to try out new cocktail recipes and preview potential candidates for hors d'oeuvres and dishes we will be serving at the reception. Hey - when you're catering it yourself, you have to find *some* way to have "tastings" LOL
That reminds me - EJ needs to make his spice cake for FMIL, so we can all taste it, and she can make it herself (so we can all taste it!). I think he has some plan to have "Mom" bake a cake every 2 weeks leading up to the wedding...!
We also visited one thrift store on Friday, and ::5:: today, to pick up bits and pieces of decor, tableware, and fabric. We did a fairly good job, although it is very difficult to find (1) forks that are not crap, and (2) sheets that are not yellow, green, pink, or kid-related. I know we have quite a bit of time to continue to shop (avoiding looking at the Countdown meter at the bottom of the page!) but we figure if we get it in bits and pieces throughout the year it won't be as big of a hit on our wallets, and we can be a bit picky-choosy, at least for now!
I have also been eyeing the wedding dresses I find at the different thrift stores. Partly to see if I find something that will work (I have other plans, I do not want to look like a lace cake, or as one poster on IndieBride said, a giant marshmellow!), partly to oggle the construction; and partly because I think about the history that comes along with that dress...one of the reasons I like to thrift shop is because nearly everything there has passed through hands before coming into mine, and I feel a sense of connection with these others, even if I never know exactly what. I like these dresses because I think that they served their purpose, witnessed the joining of two folks who are now old and gray, and are ready to see another couple through their vows!
But like I said, I have my own plans for my dress. Unlike EJ (who has changed his mind 5 times so far, the only thing I'm certain of is that he will be wearing his Burns clan check in *some* manner), I have a pretty clear picture of what I will be wearing for the ceremony and Par-Tay! afterwards.
Because I'm making my own duds, I will be working on a prototype of sorts to figure out different techniques and practice before I make an entire dress (or, top and skirt. That part *is* still up in the air until I pick a pattern). I am very enamored with NatalieChanin and the type of clothing she offers (even wedding dresses! but *so* out of my price range!) So, I am starting with this:
three cotton t-shirts from the thrift store, a bunch of beads and sequins from my stash, buttonhole thread, scissors, and a bit of imagination, and will turn it all into an appliqued, embellished shirt. Then, once I have my skill set down, and pattern in hand, I will put together my wedding ensemble. I am pretty excited!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Who knew...
Who knew that Bridal Shows could be fun? I'm not saying it was a blast and a half, but it was kinda fun. Between all the free food, the (few) fun people manning the booths, and the loads and loads of great ideas just sitting out in the open to be emmulated by the DIY crowd (namely Nessa) it was great. Did I mention the free food? There were booths that belonged to people who didn't even handle catering and they had cake out for grabs. Was almost confusing. One of the best things I ate was given out by a booth for vacation packages or something like that. No catering, but good food.
Go figure.
Speaking of cake, it has fallen onto me to be in charge of the whole cake thing. I say "fallen onto me" but realy I snatched it up from the get-go. I'll admit I'm kinda passive on a lot of the planning and designing stuff, but I wanted to have a hand (or just a few fingers) in the food department. One of the things I love about Nessa is that she is letting me run with this cake thing. And the pig thing too, she is suportive of that as well. If you didn't know, we're planning on having pig at the reception. I've always wanted to do a pit roasted pig, and now I get to do it.
I love her.
But like I was saying, the cake is the fun project of the moment. I think I've narrowed down how I want it to look. There was some tweaking of my original thoughts after seeing some stuff at the show, I won't lie. But the visual concept is solid. Now all I have to do is decide on the flavors, colors, and number of layers. I'm thinking 4 layers plus the topper. I guess I could go with 5 layers plus the topper, but I'm not that mean to the baker. Or am I?
Well that's one Bridal Show down and who knows how many more to go. But I'm glad to say that it was fun enough to make me look forward to the next one (whenever it is). I mean, you can never have too much free cake.
Go figure.
Speaking of cake, it has fallen onto me to be in charge of the whole cake thing. I say "fallen onto me" but realy I snatched it up from the get-go. I'll admit I'm kinda passive on a lot of the planning and designing stuff, but I wanted to have a hand (or just a few fingers) in the food department. One of the things I love about Nessa is that she is letting me run with this cake thing. And the pig thing too, she is suportive of that as well. If you didn't know, we're planning on having pig at the reception. I've always wanted to do a pit roasted pig, and now I get to do it.
I love her.
But like I was saying, the cake is the fun project of the moment. I think I've narrowed down how I want it to look. There was some tweaking of my original thoughts after seeing some stuff at the show, I won't lie. But the visual concept is solid. Now all I have to do is decide on the flavors, colors, and number of layers. I'm thinking 4 layers plus the topper. I guess I could go with 5 layers plus the topper, but I'm not that mean to the baker. Or am I?
Well that's one Bridal Show down and who knows how many more to go. But I'm glad to say that it was fun enough to make me look forward to the next one (whenever it is). I mean, you can never have too much free cake.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
I almost can't...
It's hard to believe (at least for me and my oldest friends) that I found some one that I want to be married to. That's not the same as just spending the rest of our lives together. Whole different (and yet not) thing all together. Seeing how I'm not overly religious (pagan or otherwise) and I'm not from a family of wealth that needs to be tied to other families of great wealth to maintain our overall wealthiness, I've just always kinda felt the whole wedding/marriage thing was over rated.
But despite the odds, I found my self thinking "Why not?"
And then shortly after that "What could go wrong?" popped into my head.
And then "Well? What could go wrong that hasn't already?"
And then I had a whole conversation with my self over that one. Took a few hours if I remember correctly.
That's when it hit me. There was only one thing left that could go wrong.
She could say "NO".
So I mustered up my courage, called up our closest peeps, and dared her to say no. Well not really, but it sounds cool.
I still feel that marriage isn't for everyone, but I can say with a fair bit of certainty that it just might be for us. We'll see. After all, what else could go wrong?
EJ
But despite the odds, I found my self thinking "Why not?"
And then shortly after that "What could go wrong?" popped into my head.
And then "Well? What could go wrong that hasn't already?"
And then I had a whole conversation with my self over that one. Took a few hours if I remember correctly.
That's when it hit me. There was only one thing left that could go wrong.
She could say "NO".
So I mustered up my courage, called up our closest peeps, and dared her to say no. Well not really, but it sounds cool.
I still feel that marriage isn't for everyone, but I can say with a fair bit of certainty that it just might be for us. We'll see. After all, what else could go wrong?
EJ
Sooo Much To Do!
It really seems overwhelming, all the planning, scheduling, arranging, shopping, buying, talking, dreaming, and deciding we have to do (and *still* have to do!). And this has been "in the works" for over 4 months now. Well, we got engaged in August last year, but there was a self-imposed moratorium on wedding planning/discussion until after we moved into our new place in September...so really it's been 3 months.
But, man, is there a lot to do!
Especially if you are, like me, someone who never really "dreamed" of her wedding day. Marriage, sure. Being with someone for my entire adult life? You bet. But the "wedding" part of it was never really considered, at least not until EJ. And then it was more of 'what fits with us and our lifestyle' than Thoughts About The Big Day.
Luckily we are on the same page with pretty much everything so far. (I suppose some people will say, "Lucky you care about what he thinks!" and "Lucky you have someone who is interested in the wedding!") Especially with the things that DO NOT matter to us: napkins, ice sculptures, engraved wedding favors, i.e. the whole Wedding Industry ticket.
Which means we are building this event from the ground up, with little to guide us at the start (no "dream day" fantasies, no cookie-cutter "this is how you do it"). I will say that without certain online resources (IndieBride's forums, and OffBeat Bride to name two) we would both be a little more lost that we are right now.
But like good Vikings, we are forging ahead into unknown territory, taking few prisoners and going for lots of shiny things!
- nessa
But, man, is there a lot to do!
Especially if you are, like me, someone who never really "dreamed" of her wedding day. Marriage, sure. Being with someone for my entire adult life? You bet. But the "wedding" part of it was never really considered, at least not until EJ. And then it was more of 'what fits with us and our lifestyle' than Thoughts About The Big Day.
Luckily we are on the same page with pretty much everything so far. (I suppose some people will say, "Lucky you care about what he thinks!" and "Lucky you have someone who is interested in the wedding!") Especially with the things that DO NOT matter to us: napkins, ice sculptures, engraved wedding favors, i.e. the whole Wedding Industry ticket.
Which means we are building this event from the ground up, with little to guide us at the start (no "dream day" fantasies, no cookie-cutter "this is how you do it"). I will say that without certain online resources (IndieBride's forums, and OffBeat Bride to name two) we would both be a little more lost that we are right now.
But like good Vikings, we are forging ahead into unknown territory, taking few prisoners and going for lots of shiny things!
- nessa
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