Wedding Brunch & shopping spree

Yesterday I mentioned that the wedding will be in the morning. This is probably the part of the whole she-bang that I am most excited about. I LOVE breakfast/brunch food! And I love the late morning. There is something about 10 am that is just cool.

The ceremony will probably be at 9:30 with the reception beginning around 10:45.

The menu will consist of traditional brunch fare(waffles, eggs benedict, etc) with seafood: shrimp & crab omelets, crab dip, poached salmon, oyster shooters.

To supplement these delicacies, we'll have a champagne bar: mimosas, bellinis, sunrises, etc. I also would like to have an espresso cart with baristas at the entrance to the yacht club so people can fuel up prior to the party. Ideally, we would have this at the ceremony site so people could sip lattes during the ceremony, but of the 2 ceremony venues we're deciding on, no food or beverages are allowed. Darn!

My mom finds wedding cakes to be dumb. She thinks they are overpriced, dry, and taste like cardboard. And, I'm inclined to agree with her for the most part. BUT I will have a wedding cake. I want one! It will be small as we will also have a Kransekage, a traditional Scnadinavian almond wedding cake (see below), as well as a dessert buffet consisting of cheesecakes, pastries, etc.

Picture from DanishDelightBakery.com Note: Mine will not be this "foofy."

Here is a picture of the napkins I picked up at Target yesterday for the cake table--the blue is a bit lighter that what I want, but it's a minor detail!


Today, I went shopping. Real shopping--at a mall! Exchanged my Coach wristlet for the small Carly bag in black. Scored BIG a J. Crew! 2 ribbon belts and anchor flip-flops. I got out of there for $22.


At Gap, I got this little baby for $2.97. It was a sweet trip to the mall!

Target = Wedding Haven?

Today my housie and I went to Target to pick up a few items. While there, the crew had just finished stocking the seasonal department that Bona Fide Preppy Bride mentioned in her last post. Anywho, I feel like I bought out the place!

Unfortunately Target.com doesn't have pictures of all my loot, so bear with me, plus I'm using the housie's desktop computer as our wireless is down. Boo!

I got this:


Which I'll be giving to my mom for Mother's Day, BUT will def. show up at the reception for something!

I also bought out their seasonal napkins--they were blue with white ropes criss-crossing through them, and they were big. So I think we'll be using those for the cake as I don't mind paper napkins for that and it'll cut down the linen rental bill!

I also picked up a soft cooler similar to this--the sailboats are great!


I am also done with my move and with finals. So, I'm definately back in a wedding mood.

Did I mention we're having a morning wedding with a brunch reception? Details to come later!

Bags galore!

I'll admit it, I have a problem.

Not only do I have a shoe fetish, I also have a bag addiction.

And not just purses--oh no. Duffle bags, bags to carry my notebooks, handbags, wristlets, wallets, you name it--I either have it, love it, or covet it! So for my birthday, Fiance got me the large version of this Coach Soho in chocolate brown:


Then as a thank you/birthday gift from a friend, I was given this Coach wristlet:


Though I may exchange it for this:

Or This:


Just today in the mail I received this Hobo International "Lauren" wallet/clutch as a graduation present from my favorite cousin:


What a month for Purse-Love!

PS- images from Coach.com, Nordstrom.com, and google images. :-)

Moving!

Yes, I am moving--but only down the hall. And it is SO WEIRD! Housie #1 moved out as our contract is up April 30. But Housie #2 re-signed, so I am subletting from the new Housies for the summer, while Housie #1 is moving out. The crazy part now is all the room switching going on. I'm moving into the Master (YES!) for the summer so that housie #2 can have my old room. It's complex.

The weirdest part is coming to the top of the stairs and not going straight, because now I have to turn and go down the hall. I keep telling Housie #2 not to worry if she senses someone coming into her room late at night, as it will only be me--lost on my way to go to bed.

Plus, seeing my stuff in Housie #1's room is odd, it's HER room. What the heck is my stuff doing in there. I'm sure I'll get over that feeling soon--but I miss her!

Oh, happy first day of Spring Pacific North West. It's currently 66* and sunny. But BEWARE the BEES! As I got stung on my way home from my run today. The poor woman I accosted to help me get the stinger out at the park (it's on my elbow--very akward to remove stinger by oneself). Luckily I am not allergic, but it was hard to tell if I was having a reaction or not because I was already winded from my run. That caused some anxiety! "Can I not breathe easily because of my run, or am I having an anaphylactic reaction? OMG!" But I'm fine, no ED for me today. A little Baking/Soda and water paste and I'm good to go.



So, beware--the bees are out early this year! I think I'm going to need a Margarita! Happy Hour, anyone?

Made of Honor

Made Of Honor with Grey's Anatomy hottie Patrick Dempsey is going to be released on Friday, May 2nd.

I know the plot is kind of cheesy and predictable, but I don't care. I'm excited to see it!

Are you?

BTW, who's excited that a new Grey's is finally here, tomorrow night?! I am!

Busy, Busy!

It's not even 12 o'clock noon yet, and I already feel like I've put in a full day's work!
Got up early and baked up a storm--Vanilla Spice Muffins and Chocolate Chip Cookies as a Thank-you gift to the nurses at my clinical site tomorrow. Barely had time to grab a decent shower (let alone blow-dry!) before I was running out the door to take my final ATI of the semester (I passed!). Got home, packaged my goodies, packed my overnight bag, and talked to my boss. Phew!

In 20 minutes I'm leaving to go shoe shopping with my cousin. Yay! So excited, but like I really need more shoes! HA! What I really need is a girl's afternoon out! and maybe a treat from Moonstruck Chocolate! Yum! Then this evening, I'm watching my 3 month old Niece! She's so adorable, I can't wait to cuddle all evening!

Phew! Busy day, for anyone else living each day like this would probably be really stressful, but my secret is that I actually LIKE this kind of life. I like to be busy and surrounded by the people I love. I think that may be part of why I chose to be a nurse--BUSY and lots of human contact. Plus, you work 3 on and 4 off--leaving me LOTS of time to spend with those I love!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is my Daddy's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you.



I miss days of bubble gum, graham crackers, and moon boots!

I Passed!

In the next year:
*I will graduate Nursing school
*Move back to my hometown
*Get a "real" job
*Fiance graduates
*Find out if Fiance got accepted to Grad School
*Find a place to live together
*Get married
*Move (most likely across the US) for Fiance's grad school

Crazy much?! I think so!

Today I had my Medical-Surgical ATI exam, which is kind of like a pre-NCLEX. And I passed it! Wahoo! The exam counts for 5% of my overall grade, which isn't huge but is enough to help bolster it. BUT, the most important part is that it gives me a fairly good indication of how I might expect to do on the actual NCLEX. And passing is exactly what I am aiming for!

Passing the NCLEX is so on my mind these days (even though I don't take it until August...) The point is that I just signed up for a Kaplan Prep class. Paid $375 for this book, and 4 days of seminars. Oh boy! It better be worth it.

Craft Store Treasures!

I've been away for a while--had 12 hour shifts on Thurs/Fri and then my Fiance came for the weekend. There always seems to be so much to do and so little time!

The Fiance and I purchased plane tickets yesterday to go to the wedding of a good friend in June. I'm very excited! Don't you just love weddings?! Especially when you're planning one--it's great for stealing ideas! What's funny is that a very close friend of mine is getting married this summer and her reception is at the same venue as mine will be at next summer. Crazy! But I'm really looking forward to it because the room isn't all that great, so I'm excited to see how she spices it up!

Anywho, have you been to Michaels lately? I forget how amazing (and Expensive) the place can be. I went a little while back and found their Shoreline Accents collection. It generally fits the feel of my wedding, though is a bit too beachy, but I did find some neat pieces that will work perfectly.


I purchased the blue and white anchor pillow hanging from the "boat" sign to use for my ring bearer's pillow. It's perfect!


I love these Stars too, it would be fun if they could somehow hold tealights...

Micheal's DIY section also has these, which come blank. It could be fun to buy and DIY these for wall decor or signage to the Reception venue or something along those lines.

Cake!

My Birthday was very fun! There was about 10 of us that took over a poor little local pub, it didn't know what hit it!

Today I didn't have class so I was able to sleep in. Yay! Found out that my dream job was just posted online, so I have been working on my application and resume today.

With This Ring... has posted her 250th post today! To celebrate, she posted a picture of a cake, which made me hungry and led me to think about MY wedding cake. Here are two forms of one idea:

The flags are fondant (though I'm sure you could buy paper flags to save some money). I do like the use of real nylon rope as shown on the first cake.

For those who don't know, Nautical Flags are actually an alphabet--each flag has a different letter associated with it. Go here: The Alphabet in Nautical Flags and figure out how to write your own name in flags!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Have you filed your taxes yet? Last chance! -- I jest because I am a tax-baby and get that question more often than you'd think!

I don't think I'll be doing a whole lot today. I actually have to go to the DOL and get my license renewed. How's that for exciting? Not. Hopefully the line will be short. If not, I have my new iPodShuffle to entertain me (Thanks Mom!) Tonight a bunch of girlfriends and I are going out to dinner and then drinks in the city. Now the big question is, what do I wear? :-)

If I get any fun pix, I'll post them.

Happy Birthday to me; Happy Birthday to me; Happy Birthday, Dear ME... Happy Birthday to ME!

Inspiration, Bridesmaids, & Shoes

I have spent too much time today catching up on reading blogs. Part of my problem is that I keep discovering new blogs, and being linked to other new blogs from there... For instance, I found Kate at NauticalbyNature today. Though she is not planning a wedding, Kate is very nautical and I love her style!

From Kate's blog, I found Seabags and think that the Small Anchor Raspberry bag would be great for my bridesmaids!

On this same anchor theme, I also found this AnchorPendent at evesaddiction.com, which I think will also look be great for the bridesmaids.

These Sperrys might also make a fun gift for the girls, though I'm not sure they're "formal" enough for the actual ceremony. Still deciding...

So, on the topic of Sperry's, check out the ones I picked up at ShoePavilion for $3.74! No, I'm not kidding, they were on a major clearance because many deemed them ugly and they weren't at a store in a boat-friendly area. I, on the other hand, saw their true beauty and decided to give them a home. They'll be nice for doing lines on my Dad's boat...

Since this post now seems to be about shoes, I picked these up at PaylessShoeSource last week. I thought they are so fun, and were on sale for $12.99. What is it with me and shoe deals lately?! I love it! Payless has an entire line of nautical inspired shoes right now...unfortunately I have too many shoes already, too little space and money, and too short of a PNW summer in which to wear them. Darn!

Alright, now I am going back to watching TV and perusing other blogs, as this post has become very long. Thanks for sticking it through! :-)

Great Day!

Hey, Hey!

I've had a busy past couple o' days. Thursday and Friday I had 12 hour shifts, so needless to say I didn't even turn my computer on those days.

Yesterday, I took the train home to my parent's house for the weekend to celebrate my Birthday with the fam. My Fiance and I went to the Daffodil Grand Floral Parade and watched my little brother and his band as they marched through town. After that, we went to this AMAZING restaurant on the water for my Birthday dinner.

Yesterday was the best day I've had in a long time: sunshine (80* in W. WA), flowers, fresh air, family, food, fiance, presents! :-) The Fiance did really good this year--he gave me a Coach Soho Flap purse, plus the amazing dinner. This restaurant was so amazing, I almost wanted to move the wedding there! It's right on the water at a Marina; the place has a pond/stream with sea life running through the middle of it. Very NW with a touch of Polynesia--plus, they served the BEST Raspberry Mojito I've ever had. Yum!

Alright, I'm off to church with the family.

School, Graduation

Nursing school just sucks the life out of me. By about 7 pm, I usually am so tired that I can barely function, much less have a meaningful conversation. Long distance + a tired, cranky me = my poor Fiance! I feel so bad for him, I just can't give very much of myself right now. That will all change in a few weeks though. I do get to see him this weekend, and that makes me very happy. It's the light at the end of my tunnel as I am preparing for finals.

Today was my final lab simulation. I knew everything that was going to happen prior to going in, and I still managed to let my nerves get to me (it's worth 10% of my grade). Oh well, it is over and done with. The best part is that I'll never have to enter that lab ever again if I so choose. Wahoo! I am that much closer to receiving my BSN. 109 days to go actually.

At my nursing school, the July grads "graduate" with the May grads, so I do have the whole rigmarole approaching in 3 weeks, which will be fun but won't feel rewarding as I still have another 3 months to go. For the ceremonies I found a great cream with black flowers silk dress, and it was even on one of those super sale-on-top-of-another-sale sales! Plus some great peep-toe pumps by the brand "I Love Comfort" from Sears. They look slightly 'old lady' BUT are extremely comfortable and look great once on the foot.






As "graduation" and the Nurse's Pinning Ceremony are really the only time in which July grads get honored, my family is poised to celebrate with wine, I mean flair. My parent's have rented the back room of my favorite Italian restaurant near campus. I actually met with the owner this afternoon to work on our menu: antipasti platters, house salads (dressing on the side, of course!), and an all you can eat calzone bar. This will be complemented with (I'm sure) many bottles of pinot grigio and Tiramisu.

Mmmm... tiramisu. Maybe it's time to go scrounge up something for dinner.

Inspiration

This image is the quintessential inspiration for my upcoming nuptials. I saw this couple, Katie and TJ, featured in a back issue of Modern Bride. View Katie and TJ's entire story here: http://www.brides.com/weddingstyle/realweddings/168387?af=Theme%3aSeaside&page=2&offset=21

I love the look of the groom's suit, although I'm not digging his shirt and tie. Check out his feet--Great idea! Though, I'd use the real thing: http://www.sperrytopsider.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=893&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=893&pageSuffix=Recently%20Viewed%20Item

Working on "cleaning up" the links. May take me a while to learn, sorry for now!

First Post

After perusing the blogs of many other Brides, I've decided that maybe it's time to start my own blog. Not that I need another excuse to procrastinate... right. Anyway, I'm excited to be joining the blogging world!

As you can see, my wedding is going to be Nautical--held at a local yacht club, natch. It's a little over a year away, and thus far I am loving finding inspiration in the most odd places...

I'm looking forward to this new adventure!