I got the Job!

I got the job! Don't remember if I told ya'll, but I applied for a nursing residency about 8 weeks ago. They called me yesterday, and I got the job! WAHOO! So excited for real paychecks, and to play with babies! ;-)

I can now call myself a NICU Nurse. (Well once I pass the NCLEX-RN!)

Flowers, Round 3

I met with two florists last week. One shop's wedding consultant was not in, so I met with their "designer" (aka guy in the back who puts it all together). He was extremely opinionated and told me point blank that some of my ideas would look very bad (like the rope boutonniere a la Stacey Kane)that I love. I still want to get a bid, but the guy really turned me off.

The bid from the florist whom I just LOVED came back at $4,000. Whew! That's high. My wedding coordinator is a friend of hers and thinks she can get her to knock about $1000 off, which would make the total a bit more reasonable. (But still high, is she worth it?)


Gardenia


Stargazer Lily

Tagged! again

The Prep-E Girl tagged me again. Here goes:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 0745
2. Diamonds or Pearls? Both!
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Sex and the City
4. What is your favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, House Hunters, Property Virgins, Jon & Kate +8, The Bachelorette
5. What did you eat for breakfast? French Toast sticks, sausage, coffee cake, coffee
6. What foods do you dislike? Pickles, tomatoes
7. Your favorite potato chip? I'm not a huge fan, but Sun Chips (original)
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? No CD--My "Run Like a Girl" mix on my iPod.
9. What kind of car do you drive? 08 Accord
10. Favorite sandwich? Grandma's strawberry jam with Nutella (I know, it's a sugar coma!)
11. What characteristics do you despise? pomposity, dishonesty, being fake
12. What are your favorite clothes? I love yoga/pilates capris and comfy tanks
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Greece
14. What color is your bathroom? boring white with some beach decor
15. Favorite brand of clothing? Lucy, Gap, Lily, J. Crew
16. Favorite time of day? Evening
17. Where would you want to retire to? I dunno yet
18. Favorite sports to watch? Baseball, football and basketball, but only in person
19. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Pepsi
20. Are you a morning person or night owl? Afternoon person
21. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I got my top choice capstone placement
22. What did you want to be when you were little? a Mommy, and a real estate agent
23. What is your best childhood memory? Summers at the lake
24. Nicknames? Brownie, -ica, ErBear, Sis, Ugga
25. Piercings? Ears (2x punched)
26. Eye Color? Blue
27. Favorite day of the week? Friday
28. Favorite restaurant? Nicola's
29. Favorite ice cream? Tillamook Vanilla bean with fresh fruit and Bailey's
30. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Pottery Barn, J. Crew, Lucy, Victoria's Secret, Target
31. Bedtime? Between 10:30 and 11:30
32. What are you listening to right now? The 5:00 news
33. How many tattoos do you have? zero
34. Next film you'll see? No clue--still have yet to see "Made of Honor" and there's a new one coming out that I thought looked good, but I can't remember the title (of course).

DIY Invitations

I went to meet with a paperie last week that came highly recommended for their designers and low cost. The bid for my very simple invitation came in at over $1,000.00 for 150 invitations. Not to mention the $400.00 for my even more simple save-the-dates.

I wanted to cry. $1400 for paper? SERIOUSLY?! There must be a cheaper way!

Enter Evenstar Paperie. The owner, Dana is a bride herself who was also shocked at prices. While I won't be using Evenstar to create my invitations, she gave me faith that I could create amazing invitations without breaking the bank.


Caroline is the design that I will be assimilating. Evenstar's cost for 100 invites: $488.76. Less than half, and I won't have the design and assembly fees due to family help.

If you are planning to do your own invites, you need to know about these 2 sites:
Paper and More will send you as MANY SAMPLES AS YOU WANT at about $0.50 each for a flat shipping fee of $1.00.

Cut Card Stock will send you 1-3 samples for FREE, 4-5 samples for $3 and 6-8 samples for $5 and the shipping is FREE.

Also most of these paper sites will cut and/or score your paper for a minimal fee if you do not have the time or equipment to DIY.

Sailor Suits

My nephew and 2 neices will be my flower girls and ring bearer. At the time they'll be nearly 3 and 18 months. We'll see if they even make it to the aisle! HA! ;-)

But, they'll be dressed in these sailor suits. Let's hope these exact ones are still on the market when it's time to order them in 9 months. I'm not taking any chances and ordering them now--that'd just be tempting them to all have major growth spurts!

#1 Sailor Dress choice for the girls:


#1 Sailor Suit choice for my nephew:

Kicking myself!

I just returned from a whirlwind weekend in Boise, Id. It was way too short, but so much fun! I think Fiance and I will be returning as we found the city had charm and the people were so friendly, I almost thought I was in the South!

Our close friend S from high school got married on Saturday night. It may have been the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended. It was also a budget affair, but you couldn't tell.

Well, I am kicking myself because I forgot all about my camera as I was so wrapped up in love and only took 1 photo...and it's grainy!


S and C enjoying their first dance.

The wedding took place in the back yard at their church/pastor's home. (A bit odd, but the church is small and this arrangement works as all members get full usage of the resort-like grounds.)

The ceremony took place in the lawn as the sun began to set, but we were shaded with trees. The groom cried as he said his vows. He told his lovely wife C, that "2 years, 8 months, and 2 days prior had been the best day of his life up til now because that was the day C's father had allowed S to date her." How sweet is that?!

The reception was set up around the perimeter of the pool, with dancing in the lawn and tennis court. Hanging baskets and huge pots full of bright flowers were all the decorations that were needed. Economical, green, and gorgeous!

All 75 guests had a great time and it will be a wedding I will always remember for its simplicity. And for how it kept love as it's focus. This was a wedding that had nothing to do with being a wedding: it was the beginning of a marriage filled with love.

Today Show Throws a Wedding.

Congratulations TODAY Show Throws a Wedding: Race to the Altar winners LaDonna & Darnell of Atlanta, GA!


Their wedding will occur at Rockefeller Plaza 2 weeks from today, on June 25th. Their reception will occur in the famous Rainbow Room

Be sure to go to TODAYshow.com throughout the next 2 weeks to vote on their wedding details.

Tagged!

Kate at Nautical by Nature just tagged me. Hopefully I can come up with some interesting info for you!


1. What were you doing ten years ago?
Raising my kitten, Ruthie. I received her for my birthday that year. In school, babysitting. The usual teen things to do.

2. What 5 things were/are on your to-do list for today?
- Go to class
- Interview the associate dean candidate for my school of nursing
- Exchange my dress at Ann Taylor Loft
- Homework: put together powerpoint, edit 2 papers, reflection/recommendations following dean candidate interview
- Wedding stuff: order shoes (see previous post), e-mail coordinator re: floral appts, narrow down sailor outfits for the kiddos (I'll post these later).

3) Snacks you enjoy?
ALL! Nutella, Ice cream with Baileys and fresh fruit, fresh fruit--esp. peaches and strawberries, peanut butter filled pretzels, chocolate, Honey Bunches of Oats with fruit & soy milk (usually my 10pm snack)

4) Places you've lived?
A few select spots in the Pacific Northwest. Sorry, I'm just not comfortable posting my exact location(s).

5) What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
- Buy a home
- Travel--I really want to go to Scandinavia, Greece, Australia/New Zealand, Italy, South of France, Virgin Islands
- Charity
- Savings: start college funds for the future kiddos
- New wardrobe...each month! ;-)


I tag: The Prep-E Girl next.

So the dress I mentioned above. Remember when I bought this at Ann Taylor Loft?

Well, I tried it on last night to determine the kind of undergarments necessary for it and IT DIDN'T FIT! What?! I've not gained or lost weight in the past 3 weeks. I'm always within about a 3 lb range. Still confused about that--I must not have been paying much attention in the fitting room.

So, I went to go exchange it. Found out the dress was now on sale: price adjustment, YAY! But they didn't have my size, so I got this instead:

And I like it much better. It's wrinkle-free material (good for packing!), and more versatile. Plus it was onsale as well and cheaper than the original dress: $$Cha Ching$$ for me!

Wedding Shoes

I just bought these Linea Paolo Kitten Heel Pumps to wear with my wedding gown.



I had purchased a different pair of simple flats for quite cheap, knowing they weren't quite right but were "close enough" in case I didn't find the PERFECT pair. So now hopefully I can find the receipt to return them!

Flowers, round 2

Here is another carnation bouquet a la Martha.

Now I'm starting to think all carnations and not gardenia for my bouquet... I don't think they'd look good mixed...

Oh man, this is going to be so tough!

Flowers, round 1

My wedding coordinator says it's time to start meeting with florists because the good ones around here book up fast. So she's making appointments with her top 2 favorites for Friday. I'm actually kind of excited about it now (flowers are not a top priority for me). My list of flowers that I want to include:


Stargazer lilies




Gardenia




Carnations (white, pink, and dyed blue)

Did you know that a bunch of carnations can look like peonies? Carnations are a much cheaper alternative to peonies and they are "heartier" and will last longer.



Stephanotis



Blueberries



Hydrangea (blue)




Roses (Blue? and Ivory)




Gerbera daisies (pink)


Stargazers are "my" flower, so they were a must-include. I think my bouquet may be gardenia only. It is just such a classic flower, plus it smells so amazing. The only downside is the petals can bruise easily, but I don't think we'll have a problem.

Gerberas and blue roses may be too modern for the style of my wedding, but they add color and pop. They will probably only be seen in centerpieces.

The groomsmen will probably have boutonnieres of rope/knots with maybe a sprig of stephanotis. I have not decided on bridesmaid's bouquets as of yet.

There will undoubtedly be more posts from me on this subject as I meet with florists and make decisions. What are your must use flowers?


*all pictures from google images.

Let them eat cake!

This will be my wedding cake. Pink will be added (no light blue) and the life ring will be replaced with our custom designed birgee.

Now I'm hungry!

Nautical Groom

Dana of Jumping the Broom tagged me to tell 5 details about Nautical Groom. So in no particular order, meet my amazing Fiance:

1. He always goes the extra mile. He once got out of bed at 6 am on a Saturday to go to the store and get me cold medicine because I couldn't breathe. And he often stops at my favorite coffee stand and gets my signature drink before coming over in the morning.

2. He's an entrepreneur. He and his brother started a side lawn mowing business and have kept it running for about 10 years. He also works as a "mail escort" to make some extra pocket cash. (Can you tell he's got a sense of humor?!)

3. He doesn't mind watching romantic movies with me, and sometimes even admits to liking them!

4. His favorite kitchen appliance is the toaster oven. If he can make it in there, he's willing to cook anything at anytime!

5. He rarely gets cold. He gets hot wearing a t-shirt in the snow. I just don't understand...




I'm tagging Angela of The Bona Fide Preppy Bride to tell us about her Ryan.

Sorry for the absenteeism!

I've been absent for the past week or so. Not from your blogs (I love reading & commenting!), but from my own. Lack of inspiration I guess. :-(

This morning, my Mom had a melanoma removed from her foot. Because my dad has to be out of town this weekend, there was no one to drive her around and make sure she doesn't go running(!!!) or get too loopy on pain meds, so I gave up a wine tasting trip to Lake Chelan in central Washington to hang out with her and eat chocolate. :-) The surgery went well, and that should be the end of it. Yay!

I went and saw Sex and the City with a girlfriend last night. I feel as though I must preface this with the fact that I never got into the tv show. I found it fairly vacuous, but the movie was phenomenal. Yes, I cried. Can I just say how much I love the character Charlotte? I find her character to be the most honest and sincere. I never have been a SJP fan, never will be...

I've had centerpieces and flowers on the brain the past few days and will be posting on that later this weekend or even into next week. I'm planning to go meet with 2 florists next Friday.

Anyone else having trouble with the picture uploading form?

Out of Town (OOT) welcome bags

Luckily for us, we will not have many OOT guests. This is a good thing as it will reduce some stress, but I feel it "ups the ante" slightly as to what will be in the OOT basket.

Never fear! Kate Parker Weddings has come to my rescue with her Out of town baskets. Unfortunately, she does not have a basket specifically for my city. That is ok because I got some great ideas from her.

I will add: local cuisine of some sort (maybe smoked salmon), a bottle of wine from a local winery, corkscrew, a map & welcome brochure for the area, some local coffee, a Starbucks' city mugs, and a hand-written thank-you note for coming.

These will be put into the Canvas Teacher's Tote ($4.99 each) or the Reusable Tote Bag ($1.49 each) from Cheap Totes. Which are MUCH less expensive than the L.L.Bean Boat&Tote


Is there anything else that is a must for the OOT bags? I feel as though I'm forgetting something important!

ebay

Look what I just picked up off of Ebay.

I think I may have a slight problem...