6.26.2009

Friday Fun Facts

1. Do you like my new header?
I made it myself via Microsoft Word and Paint! I don't think it looks to shabby considering I am 1.) not that creative and 2.) have no idea how to use computer programs to design things, I'm a work in progress. I just thought it would help spice up the blog!

2. I forgot to mention how sad I am that Ed Mcmahon and Farrah Fawcett died, I was just as shocked by these two deaths as I am by Michael Jackson's, it's been a sad week in Hollywood.

3. Starting this weekend I have ZERO free weekends until after my wedding. I will be on vacation for 4 of them but subsequently traveling on one of the weekend days so my next free weekend is officially Sept 12, 2009.

4. I am going to be an Aunt!! My future sister and brother-in-law decided to adopt a few months ago and just found out they were "chosen" by a birth mother!! Their baby girl is due on November 5th which happens to be there wedding anniversary- so we feel like it's fate!! Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as adoptions are a very difficult decision for both parties. Also BFFs if you're a mom and you have some good advice for her you can stop by her blog here to give her the in and outs of being a new mom! This will be the first grandbaby in our family so it's a pretty exciting time :)

5. To tweet or not to tweet? Twitter might be the only social networking site I have yet to join and I just can't decide if I want to or not. I don't know that my life is so exciting that you would want to know what I'm doing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Do you really care that I'm grocery shopping at Walmart on Saturday mornings or that my exciting Friday night consists of baby sitting a 3 yr old and eating pizza?

6. K and I have been together officially 6 years this month, we don't really have a specific date. We met in June 2003 and in 64 days I'll finally officially be Mrs. H.

7. I am not a DIY person but I am currently attempting working on a DIY project that I promise I will unveil to you all once it is perfect complete.

8. I have been pulled over 4 times in my life (3 times this year alone, opps!) but I've never gotten more than a warning. I have inherited my mom's ability to shamelessly flirt with a cop to get out of a ticket.

9. I buy all of my books because I am horrible at returning library books. I currently owe the library $25 in late fees, I have been avoiding it because I don't want to pay and I just found out that stuff now goes on your credit report. Awesome- I will be heading to my library right after work.

10. Whenever I do these lists I have a hard time not going to 10, it is the perfect number for a list so sometimes I feel like I'm stretching by the time I get to 10.

Happy Friday and I hope everyone has an awesome weekend :)
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6.25.2009

Man in the Mirror

Our favorite bar (in college) RJ Bentley's would signal last call with Man in the Mirror. I can remember many countless nights in college being like "Ohhh no Man in the Mirror is on, the bar is closing hurry get another drink!" or "Ohh no we've been out waaaay to long, Man in the Mirror is on, we better hurry and leave!"

I actually started considering ending our reception with Man in the Mirror since me and K met in college and most of our friends went to UMCP with us. I thought it would be a fun thing for everyone, now I am definitely going to for a few reasons:

1. Many unforgettable memories with my friends
2. WE ARE GETTING MARRIED ON MICHAEL JACKSON'S BIRTHDAY- I should do it as my last toast to him
3. My late grandmother, Gigi, loved him and I know how sad she would be today and how excited she would be to hear that I played him at my wedding just for her

No matter how controversial he was at times you have to admit he made some damn good music!





Michael Joseph Jackson- August 29, 1958- June 25, 2009
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6.24.2009

What's in a Name?

First off thank you to everyone for your advice on the joint account issue. K is currently in Cali for a business trip but we're going to figure out our financial arrangement when he returns!

Since I'm on the topic of combining our lives I will admit that I'm having a hard time giving up my last name. Now I have always planned on taking my husband's name for the sake of our children I wouldn't want us to have different names or give them an long hyphen (not judging if you do, just not my cup of tea).

So here is my thing. I currently use my middle initial with everything. All my credit cards, bank account, electric bill etc, I am Natalie K. D.... I have been going back and forth about keeping my last name and making it my middle name or just keeping my middle name and taking K's last name. My last name is very common so it's not like it's a special family name or anything but I'm not sure I want to give it up!! My Mom just took my Dad's name and didn't keep her maiden name and really wishes she had. I have also considered the 4 name option and just give our kid's K's last.

So ladies any advice on this topic would be EXCELLENT? Did you keep your maiden name as your middle name? Did you just take your husband's last name? Did you do the 4 name option?

Thanks in advance :)
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6.21.2009

When a Spender marries a Saver

otherwise known as I might die if we have to combine bank accounts.

As the days inch closer to my wedding, according to the knot only 69 more days (insert scream of panic and excitement here), I am starting to worry more about "combining our lives." Now we already live together so that step is taken care of and I've already forced nicely asked K to get rid of the ugly leather couches that used to reside in our living room. We already have a good idea of who does which household chores, Me: ALL OF THEM, K: take out the trash, we have a really good bill paying system worked out to. I guess I just never imagined that I might have to combine bank accounts with him until my recently married friend M said "It's hard to do secret shopping now that we combined our bank accounts." I'm pretty sure at that moment my face turned white and my mouth dropped to the floor, YOU COMBINED BANK ACCOUNTS??? WHAT?? Now he's going to see everything that your buying! I probably scared her half to death but she sweetly responded "Yeah well luckily J let's me shop and doesn't really care." To which I am pretty sure I responded "YOU ARE SO LUCKY, CAN I MARRY J?"

The man I am about to marry refuses to purchase anything new. If he became president, America would become a third world county. He literally put on a dress shirt for work the other day and asked if I could see the HUGE rip in the sleeve, YES I CAN SEE THE RIP THROW THE SHIRT AWAY to which he responded Nah, I'll just save it to wear out or to dinner and roll my sleeves up. Me: No, you can still see the rip. K: So who cares? It's not like I'm trying to make a fashion statement. When I brought home my shower gifts he couldn't understand why we could possibly need new plates when the mismatch of plates we have worked perfectly well. We have screens in our windows with holes in them that let bees into the house, but apparently $5.99 for new screen is a "rip off." I've only received flowers once because and I quote "Why would I waste my money on something that is going to die in one week?"
As I've mentioned before in my blog every purchase we make has to be "a good investment." This is what happens when you date an accountant/financial analyst. He actually sent me a cost benefit analysis of our honeymoon equipped with a chart to see how much money we would save going with option 1 vs option 2, talk about romantic!!

I am a spender, I always have been. As my Dad used to say "Money just burns a hole in your pocket. " I pretty much have my entire paycheck spent before I even get it. I will admit to making very frivolous purchases in my past but I have come a long way in the past few years. I have a savings account and I am better at making purchases that I need not just stuff I want because I have the money to spend. I have learned in our relationship to keep the peace between a spender and a saver is to slowly introduce my new purchases one at a time. Which usually consists of me taking one piece of clothing, ripping the tags off and hanging it in our closet so that way when I go to wear it you can't tell how long it's been in there. I'm sorry but I love my shopping and I can't help it!

I fear the joint account because I fear the scrutiny of every purchase I make. I can just hear the phone calls now, K: "Umm, $3.50 at Wawa, was that for coffee? Did you get a donut too? Don't you think $3.50 is a bit much to spend at Wawa? or K: "$65 at Nordstrom, that better be a really cute pair of shoes you got or else they're going back to you know what else we could get for $65"


K likes the idea of a joining account so he can "monitor" my shopping habits more, not in a controlling way though just in a why don't you save that $100 instead of buying a new dress way. I suggested that we have one joint account for stuff like bills, groceries, activities together and then we each keep our own accounts to use for our own purchases. He's open to that idea too because he will admit to you that he will scrutinize everything I buy.

So married bloggy friends do you have a joint account?
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6.17.2009

Bridal Shower= Success



This is why I haven't been blogging at all.

I just wrote my last thank you note. I like to attack thank you notes right away and get them over with. I had an absolutely amazing bridal shower!! My sister and mom did a great job putting it together and I can't say thank you to them enough.

Oh I also wore the plum JCrew dress I got for $35 and it was a huge hit and much cuter on than hanging in my closet.

Here are some pics:


Ready to open gifts


My Mom's best friend gave me The Joy of Sex... you should see the pictures! They totally make me blush!!


My sis, mom, and me


K's grandmother, Mom, and my future sister in laws

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6.14.2009

And the Winner is....








Congratulations Kate!! You can email me at eastcoastnat@gmail.com so I can get the package sent to you right away!

I did it the old fashioned way and wrote all the entries down on paper put them in my handy left over Philosophy perfume boxed, put the lid on it, mixed it up and then drew a name!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who participated, thanks to all my loyal bffs and my new bffs for playing along with me! This was so much fun and I have a feeling there may be more in my future!


I had an amazing exhausting weekend and promise I'll post bridal shower pics tomorrow!


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6.12.2009

Reminder

Today is the last day to enter my giveaway!! It ends tonight at 5:00pm EST!!
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6.10.2009

80 Days

Yes only 80 days before my wedding!!!! Ahhhh!! Any idea how much stuff I have left to do??

When I got engaged in December I thought 8 months was plenty of time to plan a wedding, seeing that I am an event planner by day but there is so much more to a wedding than a meeting, open house, or retirement party!!

Plus can I mention that I only have 2 free weekends between now and my wedding so it looks like I'm going to have to make every minute count for the next 80 days!

I have my first bridal shower this Saturday, I am sooooo excited to see all my family and friends!


**P.S.- Remember to enter my giveaway it ends this Friday June 12**
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6.09.2009

Were you as in LOVE with Zack Morris as I was 1990?



Did you see this?? It is hilarious!!!

Now that he is divorced from Kelly Kapowski maybe I have a chance?
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6.07.2009

Me and my Man

So I stole this from Miss Mindless because I thought it would be fun and I don't really have much else to write about today!

1. What are your middle names? Kaye and Matthew... I used to hate my middle name when I was younger because people would always ask why I only had a letter for a middle name so whenever people asked what my middle name was I would reply, Kaye as in K-A-Y-E.

2. How long have you been together? 6 years this month! We started dating in June 2003 got in engaged in Dec 2008. Can you believe I waited 5.5 years for a ring??

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? Umm we kind of just starting dating right after we met

4. Who asked whom out? We met through mutual friends, I was kind of seeing someone else but he told my friend Allison that I should be dating him instead. I found that a bit cocky but did think he was cute so I ended things with the guy I was seeing and told Allison to set us up. We met up with friends at a bar and he got my number, called me the next day and the rest is history!

5. How old are each of you? Both 27

6. Whose siblings do you see the most? My sister all the time because she dates one of K's best friends and lives like 10 mins away. All of K's family is in PA

7. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? K's work consumes a lot of his time and lately all of our weekends have been crazy busy, so it can be hard to find quality time together

8. Did you go to the same school? Yes we met at college

9. Who is smarter? Hands down K, no question. I do know a lot more random facts though

10. Who is the most sensitive? Neither of us is that sensitive

11. Where do you eat out most as a couple? Fado or Rio Grande (when we lived in Bethesda- best mexican!)

12. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Italy

13. Who has the craziest exes? Me, don't ask

14. Who has the worst temper? Me- I get mad really quickly then I'm over it just as fast

15. Who does the cooking? I do most of the cooking but K is clearly a better cook than me. I'm kind of conservative and scared to try new recipes

16. Who is the neat-freak? Neither of us, it's pretty sad how messy our house gets sometimes

17. Who is more stubborn? Me, I'm always right

18. Who hogs the bed? K- it is actually a new problem. I can't even explain how bad it's getting. It needs it's own post, let's just sayt I think we are going to have to get a king bed so no one gets hurt.

19. Who wakes up earlier? Me

20. Where was your first date? does meeting up in a Bar count? Our first "real" date was in Georgetown I think we went to Manhattan's for dinner and the J.Paul's for drinks afterward and I remember we walked by the water and we both felt like such grown ups because it was the first real date either of us had been on where we could both legally drink!!

21. Who is more jealous? K used to be, you can't pay me to get jealous.

22. How long did it take to get serious? I would say 6 months

23. Who eats more? Me

24. Who's better with the computer? If we're talking about stalking celebrities, stalking blogs, uploading pictures, using facebook/blogger/any other social networking site than Me. If we're talking about working on excel spreadsheets then K

25. Who drives when you are together? K, he doesn't like my driving he says it can be scary at times. He just forgets that I drive better than most people on the road.


Don't forget to enter Brittany's awesome giveaway over at Living in the Moment it ends this Tuesday!!!

Don't forget to enter my fitness inspired giveaway it ends this Friday!!
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6.06.2009

A Giveaway from Yours Truly... Finally!

I was planning on doing a giveaway from my 100th post but life got in the way as it usually does and changed my plans a little but the giveaway is finally here!!!

This is my little Thank You to all my wonderful BFFs (blog friends forever)! Now I don't have any luck and never win anything so I hope you all have better luck than me.

I have been an active person my whole life playing sports through out elementary school and high school, running, being an exercise science major, etc. Being active and fit has always been a part of my life, sometimes more than others but I'm human and try my best.

I've found that that recently it seems harder to fit exercise into my life. I'm too busy, too tired, working too much, too much wedding stuff to do, and downright too lazy at times. Sometimes all we need is a little kick in the butt to get us going, just something small to make us get rid of our can't do attitude and pick up our can do attitude.

So for my prizes today....

1. Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred


This video has been my life saver over the past 2 months! Her workouts are hard and she is tough but that is exactly what I need. Plus the bonus is it's only 20 minutes and she kicks your butt. Everyone can find 20 minutes a day to work out! Trust me you will love it!

2. Yoga Mat


Everyone needs a yoga mat. Whether you work out at home or do yoga or pilates at your gym. This is must have. The one I'm giving away is a dark blue with nice black carrying strap so it's easy to take with you!

3. The Ultimate Workout Log


The key sticking with working out or anything you do in life is write it down. I don't have this handy little log but I do keep Nat's Workout Journal where I track my progress whether it be for weight loss, mileage goals for running, or just my everyday workouts. It helps me to stick with it because I feel accountable for writing everything down. This log offers space to write cardio, weight lifting, nutrition and other notes. It offers a weekly log and a weekly wrap up page so you can see what progress you are making. Don't worry there are handy instructions in the book to help you navigate.


Here is how to play:

1. For one entry leave a comment on this post
2. For two entries leave a comment and become a follower (if you're already a follower let me know in your comment)
3. For three entries leave a comment, become a follower, and post about my giveaway on your blog (let me know in your comment)

The giveaway will end at 5:00pm on Friday June 12, 2009. Good Luck Everyone!!


Also please check out one of my BFF's Brittany over at Living in the Moment she is also hosting a fantabulous giveaway featuring a personalized mouse pad (yes you can personalize yourself!), Vera Bradley Forget me Not Notes (who doesn't love Vera Bradley), Sweetwater Organic Coffee with a "Live Simply Mug", and Jillian Michaels Book Master Your Metabolism (obviously I'm a fan of this one)!!
Yes you get all 4 items for her giveaway which is awesome so make sure to check it out!!!
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6.04.2009

Wedding Dress Dilemma: Solved

First off I want to say a big THANK YOU for all of the advice on my wedding dress. I really appreciate everyone's honest opinion and support! This is why you all are great!!

I have decided to keep the dress! I have been stressing out about it, like everything else in the wedding and probably more than I should, for the past 48 hours. I decided this morning that I while I did really like the J.Crew dresses they were much more simple like my everyday taste in clothing, why did I have to do that for my wedding? I mean it's my one day I should really do it up and my original dress is gorgeous without being to over the top.

My next problem with my dress was the weight. The dress is heavy, I mean heavy and I'm getting married on August 29th. Unless it rains (please pray it doesn't) it's going to be HOT and HUMID. If anyone is familiar with Maryland summers you know what I'm talking about the miserable, sticky, down right gross heat. Don't get me wrong I love summer but I could do without all the humidity at times. So I bought this....




My wedding is in the afternoon and my reception will be over at 8pm so I figured we will probably hit the bars with all of our friends after the wedding and I definitely had to have somethinig to change into. My lace dress would be torn to shreds in a bar. I had been planning on buying something and I came across this today on J.Crew. I figure if I end up getting to hot in my dress and I can't handle it, I can always change into this at the reception if need be. I know a lot of girls have the "reception" dress and depending on the weather, I may too! I feel so much better about the whole situation now!

Thanks again for all your help and be on the look out for my giveaway tomorrow!!
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6.02.2009

2 Dress Bride

So I know you're disappointed because I totally said I was going to do a giveaway but the giveaway is having some technical difficulties and I'm having wedding related mini melt down soooo I totally had to blog to get some advice from my favorite gals.
But, I promise that I have a giveaway planned for the end of this week. :)

Now to the important reason I am here today.

I am on the verge of becoming a two dress bride. Yes, I swore up and down I LOVED my dress and would never change my mind. The thing is I do love my dress. I just don't think my dress and my wedding theme go. I think I got caught up in the newly engaged bliss and bought the first dress I loved at the first bridal salon I went to and never looked back. Not to mention my dress weighs about 100lbs and it's going to be 89 degrees with 90% humidity by the end of August in Maryland, oh and did I mention I sweat like a pig (so ladylike I know). Not a joke, don't even come near me after a 30 min workout my whole body is covered in sweat.

Here is where your help comes in. Yes you, all of you. I need as much advice as I can get. See I'm a horrible decision maker and need to know everyone's opinions before I can come to a sound conclusion and since you're all very smart ladies naturally I had to consult you all too.

I am leaning toward getting a simple J.Crew dress. My bridesmaids are wearing the J.Crew Cotton Cady in navy (click to see) and the guys are wearing either khaki or seersucker pants with navy blue jackets you can see my ideas here. We are having an afternoon wedding in a church but then our reception at a local yacht club right on the water, which has a very laid back nautical feel to it. My wedding colors are navy blue and light blue (possibly throwing in a some green or yellow for a "pop" color). I feel like my current dress fits better with a more romantic fall evening wedding, not a hot summer afternoon wedding on the water.

Here is my current dress:
It is a sweethart neckline trumpet fit dress with organza and satin at the top. The body of the dress is made of alencon lace. I do not have the matching jacket, just the dress.







Here are the dressing I'm considering from J. Crew:



Silk taffeta Sabine Gown



Silk ottoman Vionette Gown


Our country is in a horrible recession and I have a perfectly beautiful wedding gown sitting in my closet and I want a new one, I feel like a brat.

Am I alone? Are there any other 2 dress brides out there? If you bought two dresses were you able to sell one? Any advice regarding my dress?

I welcome ANY and ALL feedback!! I am having a hard time with this issue!

Thanks BFFs!
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