4.29.2009

Wino Wednesday

and only 4 months until my wedding day!!!! (can you believe it??)

I decided to scratch Wedding Wednesday because I have a feeling a lot of my posts are going to be wedding related from here on out. Soooo I decided to talk about one of my most favorite subjects...

WINE


Since I claim to be a wine lover in my title description I figured I would fill you in on that part of my life.

Wino is one of my favorite terms because it's how K describes me and most of my girlfriends, we're Winos. It doesn't mean we drink a lot (sometimes we do more than others, I will admit) what it means is that no matter where we are, WE DRINK WINE. I'm talking dive bars, tailgates, BBQs, it could be the dirtiest little place and we will be standing their with our glasses of wine. We have been known to order glasses of wine more expensive than the $6 burgers we're consuming.

I don't know if wine drinking women are a special breed of us but some how all of my girlfriends are wine girls. It could be my good Irish catholic blood or the fact that I've never seen my mother drink anything other than wine, no liquor, no beer.
I know many girls that only drink beer or liquor, for instance my co-worker is a diet and captain girl, she will only dabble in wine if she has to.

I want to say that I am no wine connoisseur. I do not spend tons of money on my wine. I am by no means a wine snob, maybe one day in my old age I will be, but right now I cannot afford to be. I drink what tastes good and fits my budget. I also mainly drink Pinot Grigio, a light fruitier wine. Yes I know many people think this is a crappy grape and just an ok wine but I used to drink Chardonnay exclusively, unfortunatly I am allergic to oak trees. What is any good chardonnay aged in? Why yes, it is oak barrels. So I would wake up with a stuffy nose and raging headache prompting me to finally make the switch to Pinot Grigio.

So this week's wine in honor of my fav is Pinot Grigio. Below are a few different brands that I love. Oh and I also buy all my wine in 1.5L because it is much more economical, except for the expensive ones that they only sell in the 750ml.


Barefoot Pinot Grigio- California
Very lite, but freshing on a hot summer day
Price: $9.99-12.99 for 1.5L


Cavit Pinot Grigio- Italy
Dry, light, crisp
Price: $12.99-$16.99



Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio- Italy
Crisp, clean
Price: $26.99-$30.99


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4.28.2009

How "Sweet" it is to Be Loved by You

I have decided to hop on the trend train and do a Candy Buffet at our wedding!! We had been going back and forth about favors and couldn't decide on anything when I came across the candy buffet idea and fell in LOVE.

I LOVE candy and so do all my friends so it's perfect. In high school me and my friend Laurel would rent scary movies and eat Hot Tamales in her bed while we watched them, we would always wake up covered in candy with the empty box of hot tamales floating around.

We ate soo much candy in college I'm pretty sure my Soph and Junior yr I lived on a diet of sour patch kids, hot tamales, and swedish fish. I will actually admit that I owned the most awesome ugliest Hot Tamale pajama pants in college, yes they were black with the red hot tamales boxes all over them. I wore them to my human anatomy final with a gray and red Terps sweatshirt, classy, I know. That just shows my die hard love for candy and the fact that no one ever got dressed up at university of maryland.

These are the candy ideas I have so far. They suggest having 7-10 different kinds of candy and 15-20 pounds of each variety.

1. Hot tamales
2. Skittles
3. Runts
4. M & M's
5. Swedish Fish
6. Sour Patch Kids
7. Jelly Belly Sours

I don't plan to stick to a color candy theme. Since my colors are navy and white I thought the variety of candy would add some nice color and I didn't want only blue candy. So I am doing the different candies that I like but using the white liens and navy blue table runner.

I plan to use clear glass containers which I am hoping to pick up at Home Goods, Michaels or Marshalls. I already have some vases that would work perfectly.
I plan to label each candy using a small white or navy blue card and then attaching it with different kinds of ribbons. I'm thinking solid white, solid navy, navy and white polka dot, and navy and white striped ribbon.
I found the perfect scoop here and below and it's only $1.25 for a 3.5 oz scoop! I will probably add a ribbon as they did too.



I am still on the search for the perfect favor bag. I have a few ideas in mind so I may ask for advice later on this week.

Here are some pictures, inspirations, etc below.





If anyone has any experience with this any ideas, tips, advice, etc would be AWESOME!!
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4.27.2009

LA Fitness

Hello fellow bloggers! I hope everyone had as lovely a weekend as we did here on the east coast. It was sunny and in the 80's! It couldn't have been more perfect, I even got some color!

Ok now to the real reason I'm here today. I am looking for some advice. K and I have been waiting for the new LA Fitness to open right across the street from us. They have been building it since we moved in and we just realized that it is now finished! So I went online to read up more about the club and it's going to awesome plus it has a pool which I love b/c I love swimming.

BUT after I googled it I read a ton of customer complaints about poor customer service, problems ending your contract, problems with stealing, corporate never solving your problems, unqualifed staff etc. I know that every gym has it's problems but I noticed an extensive amount of complaints for LA Fitness. I have belonged to quite a few different gyms in my life- Gold's Gym, Fitness First, etc. I have never had a problem with any of them and I just want to make sure before I commit myself to contract that I won't be getting screwed.

Does anyone belong to LA Fitness? If so do you like, do you have any complaints? Any advice or info would be much appreciated!!
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4.25.2009

My 8 Things

So Brittany over at Living in the Moment tag me to play the fun 8 Things Game... I thought it would be fun :) Her blog is adorable and I would like to give her a big pat on the back for being a high school teacher... I don't know how she does it, I could not handle teenagers.

So here goes nothing...

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. SUMMER
2. My wedding and being married finally
3. Vacation in OBX
4. The 4 weddings I have besides my own this year
5. Sleeping in on the weekends (and by that I mean until 7:30-8am, isn't that sad, there was a day once when I used to sleep in until noon)
6. Being "shredded" after I finish my Jillian Michaels video
7. Having a family... one day

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Went to work
2. Finished all my work that had to be turned into my boss by noon
3. Organized more tabs of my wedding binder (yes it's crazy tabbed and color coded)
4. Ate lunch at Jae's Grill
5. Went to Pre Cana
6. Actually participated in group discussions at Pre Cana (I know right, shocked myself!)
7. Ate Pizza after Pre Cana
8. When to bed at... watch out we're crazy....at 10:30pm

8 Things I Wish I Could Do
1. Quit my job and be a full time stay at home fiance
2. Sing, but unfortunately I'm like Cameran Diaz in My Best Friend's Wedding
3. Stay skinny and healthy but live off of glazed donuts, peanut butter cookies, and B&J cinnamon bun ice cream
4. Buy a new designer handbag every month
5. Invent something really cool so I could sell it and never have to work again
6. Travel whenever I wanted
7. Redecorate our house whenever I felt like it
8. Lay out by the pool every day

notice my trend in laziness and wanting to stay home...

8 TV Shows I Watch (this is the easy one)
1. The Hills
2. Real housewives of NY
3. 90210
4. The Office
5. The First 48
6. Locked up Abroad
7. CSI: Miami
8. Law and Order

I tag anyone that wants to play this fun little game!!

Happy Saturday I am going to being working on my tan ALL day!
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4.24.2009

Precana

or Pre-Cana, what ever you want to call it. K and I have our first Precana class tonight from 7-9pm. We have it the next two weekends Fri & Sat night from 7-9pm. I will admit I am slightly bitter today considering it is GORGEOUS AND WARM AND SUNNY out finally and I'm pretty sure God would rather me spend it drinking a margarita on my back patio, but whatever, such is life.

Precana, for those of you who were not blessed to be raised in the Catholic Church, can be described here. I am very very a little scared. Catholicism is a God fearing religion that isn't really open for discussion, what the Pope says goes no ifs, ands, or butts. I have also read horror interesting stories about Precana which can be found here, here, here, and here. I have been told they make you sign documents saying you won't use any form of birth control, EVER. I am all for having children but I am not trying to beat the Duggar's anytime soon. We will be discussing the rhythm method also. I actually know a girl who got pregnant using the rhythm method, oops. They also are strongly against living together before marriage, oops.

We are also not the talk-about-your-feelings-with-strangers type, that doesn't mean we don't talk to each other about them we just aren't big on displaying them to the world. I know you're probably thinking well you have a blog, isn't that discussing your feelings with strangers, but this is different I have to actually look these people in the eye and I don't really lay our relationship out on this blog, so it's different. We have also been together for 6 years so we have pretty much covered every topic and been through a lot together, not to stay that we are perfect. We've just been through more "life stuff" together I guess is a good way to put it.

All in all I don't think it will be that bad. I think I'm just nervous. I promise to give an update of how it went on Sunday and let you know if it's really that bad.

Those of you not in Precana tonight, please have a cocktail for me.
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4.22.2009

Desiderata

If you are not familiar with this prose/poem/prayer then you've been missing out on a lot. I was first introduced to this poem by my Gigi, my Dad's mom. She was one of the most amazing people you could ever meet, I could go on for hours but I'll end up in tears at work with my make up running down my face and you all might get bored so I'll keep it short and sweet.

My Gigi kept a copy of this in her bedroom to live by, I couldn't agree more with her. I used to have my own copy in college but I lost it somewhere along the way. I have been searching the internet for a nice poster, needlepoint etc, etc of it but haven't found anything I like yet. Until then I'm just going to print my word doc and hang it in our bedroom because these are words that everyone should live by everyday.

Enjoy!

Desiderata
by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be
greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career
however humble;
it is a real possession in the
changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you
to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit
to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have the right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Do you have any poems, quotes, prayers, etc that you live by or recite to yourself everyday?

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4.20.2009

Weekend Recap

My good friend Meghan from high school got married on Saturday and it was absolutely beautiful! They managed to get an AMAZING gorgeous sunny day sandwiched in between this miserable cold rain we've been having up here.

Let me tell you... going to a wedding as an engaged woman made me focus soooo much more on the details then the partying and/or taking pictures of myself... so I only have one of us from the end of the reception where all my makeup has worn off and I'm looking tired- pls don't judge!

Her colors were pink, pale blue, and navy blue. I absolutely loved her pink centerpieces and her bouquet. It was the perfect amount of pink without being too pink. Her dress was gorgeous, I was obsessed and probably told her 10 times how good she looked.

Enjoy!


Alter right on the water- so gorgeous!


I love this shot of them on the altar and you get a great view of her dress


Hydrangea Centerpiece

Tulip center piece- I love that color of pink


Wedding cake with bridesmaids bouquets as floral decorations

Breaking it down on he dance floor


Me & K




Then Sunday was a lazy day for wedding planning(stressing), cleaning, organizing around the house, etc.
It looks like it is finally warming up around here and staying warm.
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Wedding invite issues resolved

Thank you for all your good advice/suggestions, etc. I think I was having a wedding budget related melt down last night b/c at times I can over react just a little... Ok a lot.
I never knew just how overwhelming wedding planning would be and I stay calm most of the time but have my little flip outs here and there!
Thanks for listening to my rants!
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4.19.2009

Wedding Invitations- Help! I need some advice!!

So I asked an old acquantiance (whom I'm not inviting to my wedding) to design my save the dates, wedding invitations, programs and thank you notes. The save the dates were easy because she just emailed me the design and I uploaded and ordered them off Vistaprint for $25.00.

Well... we're finding out that some other things in the wedding are going to cost A LOT more than we planned for. So I think I'm going to need to just do our invitations on the cheap off a website rather than paying her for a design and then paying to have them printed. I feel so horrible because she just got laid off from her job a few weeks ago (which I know isn't my problem) and has been working on my invites.

How do I nicely break the news to her?? Should I still pay her for all her trouble? What should I do? I want to tell her ASAP so she doesn't keep working on them!

Thanks for all your help fellow bloggers!
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4.18.2009

And the season begins....

Wedding Season!!

Wedding season is my favorite time of year because who doesn't love:

1. Seeing two people truly in love with one another

2. Open Bar

3. A reason to wear a pretty dress and high heels

K and I are going to my high school friend Meghan's wedding today. She marrying someone with the same last name which I am a bit jealous of because she doesn't have to change anything! It's also been a funny joke since they started dating because they are both from upstate NY so they checked the family tree back to great great great grandmothers and didn't find any relation and they don't care if they're related past that... haha!

She is getting married right on the water on the eastern shore of Maryland. She got sooo lucky that the rain and freezing cold weather finally moved out and she has a GORGEOUS sunny warm afternoon. The day could not be more perfect!

Here is a pic of the place I stole from their website!

I am wearing a Jcrew cotton cady dress in classic navy. It's basically last year's version of what I'm putting my bridemaids in! I am wearing a little white/gold jacket and gold nine west open toed heels. The dress is actually my sister's which she got for a steal on ebay. I was considering the purple Jcrew frock I bought last month but I need a tan to wear that color and I can pull off navy blue with my faux glow.

I promise I'll share pictures when we return tomorrow! Have a great weekend!
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4.17.2009

I have a addiction...

to Electronics.

Specifically ones that connect to the internet or take pictures of people. I always knew that I was obsessed with my computer but going for one week without one has totally proven to me that I am not only obsessed but addicted.

Without access to the computer this week I have managed to finish all my laundry, clean (and scrub very hard) all my bathrooms, organize my closet, read a book, and catch up on my DVR, and reorganize my living room. These might seem like normal every day tasks to some people but to me I usually complete just a few of those and usually play catch up with myself all week. It has also been surprisingly nice not to have access to the internet. I tend to be one of those people who's like oh what movie was that actor in? and then I immediately google it! I can spend hours browsing the internet for wedding ideas, online shopping, browsing and adjusting my wedding registry, reading blogs, facebook, gossip websites, the list could go on forever!!

Sooo to make a long story short I have a ton to catch up on in my google reader and tons of comments to leave for all my BFF(blog friends forever) (just passing my Friday afternoon at work!) and K (the gatekeeper of our money) said we can buy a new computer!! Yay!! I am looking into a Dell b/c that's what we used to have and they are offering a 20% off promotion right now so hopefully I will have a new computer by next week and my house will go back to being a mess but I will be caught up on all my blog reading and celebrity gossip!!
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4.14.2009

Blogging from my Blackberry

Soo I am blogging from my BB because my computer is in it's final stages of life. I am leaving it off before it completely dies so hopefully I can rescue my pictures and songs. K is in California all week for work so I have no alternative computer either! It's going to be a lonely week around here! Hopefully I can sneak in a blog post at work tomorrow. Shhhh don't tell my boss!
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4.09.2009

Real Housewives of the OC meets The Sopranos

Welcome to the Real Housewives of New Jersey

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4.07.2009

My First Trip to Walmart

and I'm completely in LOVE. Now I have been in a Walmart before but it's always been a casual stop in to grab something. I've never actually spent time browsing and shopping mostly because I'm a Target girl. I have always lived with 5 minutes of a Target so it's always been my go to. I decided today to see if Walmart was cheaper b/c I found one that is right on my way home from work.

Let me say this. You can literally find everything you could ever possibly want in a Walmart. I spent an hour just going through the aisles with my mouth gaping open. You can buy milk, fishing gear, fabric, gardening supplies, furniture, home decor, clothes, shoes, paper towels, door knobs, kitchen appliances, drills, baby bottles etc I could go on forever, and most of you probably already know all of this.

So I am totally and completely hooked. I am planning to do my next full grocery shopping trip at Walmart to see if I save myself significant money vs Target. I'll let you all know how it turns out.
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4.05.2009

I made it all winter without a cold....

And then the first weekend in April I wake up sick. I am currently surviving on a diet of Robitussin, Advil Cold & Sinus, Halls Cough Drops, and Airborne. I some how made it through the freezing cold snowy months without so much as a sniffle to wake up on the first sunny warm spring weekend with a cold.
I am absolutely miserable right now and I totally wish I had called out of work instead of being a good worker and dragging my butt out of bed. I feel so guilty missing work so I just can't bring myself to call out.
Being sick did leave me many hours to watch 1.) What Happens in Vegas, 2.) I Know Who Killed Me, and 3.) That Thing you Do!
1.)- actually turned out to be cute 2.) just plain BAD movie 3.) one of my all time FAVORITE movies

I did manage to muster up the energy to go our friends Gary & Karen's house this weekend for a housewarming party... and now I've decided that I have to redecorate my house. Their house was gorgeous and so well put together. Ours is a bunch of mismatched pieces in all different colors of wood and our bedroom set is on par with a college freshman's, it's embarrassing. So I spent Sunday on the couch watching HGTV and cutting out ideas from pottery barn magazines. Of course this freaked K out but I told him I'm just gathering ideas, at least for now.
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4.03.2009

Per Your Requests: My Hair

Now let me say this. I'm pretty sure my neighbors think I'm crazy. First I tried taking my picture on my back deck but it's too windy so I moved to my front door area and stood in front of the screen door taking pics of myself. I am horrible at self portraits so bear with me on these, I'm not good at smiling and taking my own pic so I come off a little angry looking in these, haha! I also did my hair at 7:15am this morning so it's a little limp right now but I think the color turned out well. There are a few spots where my roots were very dark that came up a little more orangy than others but for $13.99 it was definitely worth it.


My serious pose






Back of my Head




Side of my Head (notice front door in background hehe:)


Now on another note here are some pics of the flower boxes K and I planted 2 weekends ago. I must say I'm impressed with us that they have lived for 2 weeks! They are a little dishelved looking b/c it's really windy out today!






Great Giveaway Alert!!

Also head over to Dave and Brit Plus One for their awesome giveaway!! It is an adorable green and white polka dot picnic basket that you can get monogrammed which is perfect for this warm weather! Brit is one adorable blond mommy to be too!




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4.02.2009

Nothing Blonde Hair and Faux Glow Can't Fix

So I've been in a bit of a funk the past week or so. I think between work, wedding planning, and the LACK OF SPRING here in MD I'm just not feeling so chipper. So in order to cheer myself up... I dyed my hair and used some self tanner!

I had said I was going to dye my hair last Saturday, but I totally chickened out! I was a hair dye virgin. I had highlighted my own hair before and dyed plenty of other people's hair but was too scare do to my own! But after talking with my hair/beauty/cosmetics guru (aka my future sister-in-law Brynne) I finally convinced myself to do it. I am so happy I did, it looks so much better!! There is nothing better than brightening up your blond to get ready for summer. I used L'Oreal Superior Preference in Light Blonde 9 and it totally did the trick. I totally suggest using this if you are on the Recessionista (great world B!) beauty plan.
I will say have a bit of blonderexia (I never think my hair is actually as blonde as it is) so I was scared my roots wouldn't turn out but they totally did!!

I also LOVE being tan, but I have (kind of) sworn off tanning beds because I would rather not get skin cancer. I love Mystic tanning but at $25 a pop that is also not on my recessionista beauty plan... so I opted for the cheaper version.
I purchased L'Oreal Subline Bronze Self Tanning Lotion- Medium and L'Oreal Subline Glow Daily Moisturizer- Medium and I mixed the two together and applied it.


I have always found that mixing self tanner with a gradual lotion helps it go on smoother without streaking.
I read great reviews about it on Makeupalley.com so I am hoping it gives me the bronze (not orange) glow I'm looking for. I'll let you know the results tomorrow!

almost Friday :)
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