Faulty Equations

What do you get when you add a UPC Scanner and an indecisive couple?

Not much.

Today was our second registry date And while KJ will tell you all about the novelty of the first time... it was not in the cards today.

The goal was bedding and dishes. Two BIG ticket items on any registry. And where do you go for items that will last through the decades? Well, the classic MACY's, of course.

We got through the bedding slowly, but I wouldn't be surprised if we change our initial pick before completing the registry, but where we really struggled was the dishes! SO many options, yet none spoke to us.

We want something that we can use everyday, but that has an elegance that can transcend different occasions. KJ is a little more traditional, while I'm a little more modern. We needed to find a pattern that blend both of us... and of course, is dishwasher safe. I don't think there is too much worse than having to hand wash dishes.

Lennox Venetian Lace

Love the romantic pattern here - but its on the too formal side for every day use. It's definitely fine china, plus the platinum rim means no dishwasher to preserve this prettiness.

Lennox Chocolate Dinnerware

The swirls are pretty but this pattern just seems too busy. I don't know if all types of food would look appealing with all the plates have going on.

Noritake Mocha Java

I'm a HUGE fan of these super sweet polka dots, but KJ isn't... there was no compromising on this one.

Mikasa Daylight

I thought the leaves were cute and modern, but KJ wasn't sure it would work in winter and throughout the year... definitely something I didn't think about!

Lennox Opal Innocence - Carved

Lennox actually has a fine china pattern in Opal Innocence which I'm a fan of, so I thought these might be a possibility, but in real life the plates look a little heavy.

So back to the drawing board we go. I'm in need of some plate inspiration... anybody have good suggestions?

Happy Birthday, Sadie!

ONE non wedding related post wont kill me - so here it is:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SADIE! Yesterday was our puppies 2nd Birthday and we took her to Dairy Queen for her first ever puppy cone! These pictures were too cute not to share.

The first bite



Half way gone... More Sir, Please?

Ice Cream Champ finished her cone!

Seconds? I help you finish...

Eat Your Heart Out, Jane Krakowski!

So back in January at the Golden Globes, everyone was all eyes on Jane Krakowski (in the pretty amethyst dress) because she was rockin her new engagement ring!

I however was oogling her for another reason, her HAIR! I thought the wavy and tousled tresses would be pretty great sitting on top of my head accenting my fabulous dress. Today I went for my first hair trial and used Jane as my inspiration photo.

My mom took pictures, but seeing that she doesn't know how to get the pictures off her camera... they are currently stuck in technology purgatory. Sorry I'm not able to show you quiet yet how the hair tuned out - but I'll tell you this much - Jane's Hair and My Dress were meant for each other like PB&J!

Pictures will be posted soon, I hope! But for now, I leave you with more Jane,

more pretty purple dress, and more inspiration hair shots!

side shot

...and, of course, the real curl queen, Taylor Swift!

Out Blogged

I surrender.


I admit defeat to my fancy-pants fiance who has announced our miniMoon's Elite 8 - done in such a pretty layout that instead of even talking about it - I'm just going to refer you to his blog, where you can see the Elite 8 in all of its glory.


In going through 16 hotels and eliminating half down to our elite 8 - I have definitely picked out my favorite, but also the "sleeper" that I think could be a surprise and come on strong in the final four! I'm not giving anything away just yet - but we should have our final four posted this weekend.

Sweet 16!

We've whittled down the field to 16 miniMoon destinations. You can see the bracket breakdown on KJ's blog - he was super speedy in putting them up! Results from yesterday's first round games are below:

Wisconsin
Grand Geneva - Grand Geneva
Stone Harbor - Stone Harbor
Lake Geneva just seemed boring!
Pfister (Milwaukee)
Rhapsody on Lake Delton - Wisconsin Dells
Milwaukee is just too close to home - plus, who doesn't love the Dells?

Florida
Amelia Island Plantation
Santa Rose Beach - Watercolor Inn

Point Vedra Beach
Hampton Inn Destin
Ugh... Florida just seems like such a far drive when Mickey Mouse isn't involved. We went with the more exciting of the 2 places.

South
Westin Savannah Harbour
Windsor Court Hotel (New Orleans)
I actually really like the Westin Savannah Harbor... it's so pretty!

Bohemian Hotel Riverfront (Savannah, GA)
Ritz Carlton (New Orleans)
Puttin' on the Ritz...

North Carolina
Ashville - Grove Park Inn
Outer Banks/Kitty Hawk
My boss always talks about how cool his honeymoon was - they went to the Grove Park Inn. When I told him it was voted out of the miniMoon tournament he said "By Someone who doesn't know any better...." I'll show him.

Outer Banks - The Sanderling
Charlotte - the Ballantyne
We have talked about going to Charlotte for the weekend for a looong time, why not now?

Vendor, FAIL

So, I'm guessing by the recent actions of a potential vendor they must be really doing well and not needing my business.

I order a sample wedding invitation about 2 weeks ago. It clearly said on the website that the sample would mail (1st class) within 2 business days from their warehouse in New Jersey. I ordered the sample on a Wednesday, so it should mail by Friday. A week goes by and no envelopes have arrived in my mailbox. I logged on to check the order confirmation after a week and it said Status Pending, so I figured I would send the customer service an e-mail and just double check. They said it had already been mailed and it should arrive shortly.

I waited, and waited.

I went to Paris for the weekend, positive when I got back home there would be an envelope in my mail box.

Nothing.

Well, its three more business days later and I still haven't received anything. And now, I need to think of an alternate idea for invitations, which were originally supposed to go out May 10. Not happening thanks to this 2 week hold up. It's SO frustrating and disheartening. I highly doubt I will proceed with my order if and when the invitation ever gets here. Ugg, lazy vendors are such a drag!

Round 1 - miniMoon Madness Tournament

If you are playing along at home, now is the time to pull out those red pens and get ready to scratch out the sorry hotels who fell out of the minimoon tournament last night. 4 of the 8 brackets played: Nashville, the Mid-West, Michigan, and South Carolina! Without further ado - check who fell off the bandwagon this week!

Nashville
1 Hutton Hotel
2 Union Station
this was a tough one, after much back and forth Hutton Hotel got the "w" because the rooms at Union Station looked a little like Harry Potter's chamber under the stairs.
3 Renaissance
4 Opryland
Renaissance dominated this game.

Mid-West
1 Branson, Missouri – Chateau on the Lake
2 Niagara Falls – Hilton Niagara Falls
3 Branson, Missouri - Hilton Branson
4 Black Hills (Mt. Rushmore), South Dakota - Powder House Lodge
This bracket got a little busted - we knew Niagara Falls had an automatic bid to the second round, but it came up against Chateau on the Lake which was the favorite of the two Branson Hotels. So, we killed both teams 3-4, and gave 1-2 each spots in the the next round of the tournament.

Michigan
1 Mackinac Island – the Inn at Stonecliff
2 Bay Harbor – the Inn at Bay Harbor
After finding out the Inn at Stonecliff only had rooms for over $300/night left the week of our vacation, Bay Harbor trampled the competition and moved on.
3 Holland - City Flats Hotel
4 Mackinac Island - Chippewa Hotel
Although both City Flats Hotel and Chippewa Hotel looked like ugly step sisters in the field of 16, Chippewa gained the advantage in overtime because of its location in Mackinaw Island.

South Carolina
1 Hilton Head Island – Hilton Oceanfront
2 Charleston – Francis Marion Hotel
In Hilton Head vs. Francis Marion, Hilton Heads dynamic location and more modern playbook earned it a spot in the second round.
3 Charleston/Isle of Palms – Wild Dunes Inn
4 Charleston – Vendue Inn
In what KJ called the "upset" of the night, Wild Dunes Inn put Vendue Inn to rest. Wild Dunes location a block from the beach was just too much for Vendue.

365 Days later

So - this entry was written last Friday (the 9th) which was our engage-a-versary. I was in Paris for the weekend visiting KJ's fam and had little access to the internet, so its being posted today instead!

Guess what today is?

It is my one year anniversary of being engaged! That’s right folks, one year ago I went from “for now” with KJ to “for always”. In one year it seems like absolutely nothing has changed. We haven’t won the lottery. KJ hasn’t become a big rock star (yet, I’m still holding out for this one) We are living in the same apartment, working the same jobs, with the same stinky puppy. We have talked about changing where we live or where we work so much, probably everyday since a year ago, and nothing has changed. But that’s not a bad thing.

A year has gone by since we got engaged and I still love KJ to pieces, I never want that to change. KJ makes me laugh till it hurts, one of my favorite qualities about my finance. He makes sure I don’t get caught up in the little things. He holds me accountable for being a healthier person. It’s nice to know that we can go through something as demanding and time consuming as wedding planning and underneath it all – we are still the same. Some times I think “what will KJ and I even talk about after this wedding is over?” But looking at how we are the same silly people we were a year ago makes me realize we will figure it out and we will make it work (even if it does take us procrastinators a little longer than it probably should).

I’m really lucky, and thankful. Happy engage-a-versary to me!

Bonus question... why is KJ holding an empty box in this picture?

April Showers bring May Flowers!

Let's hope April's showers don't put a damper on wedding plans. This is just a short list for the month, I'm sure I am forgetting something!!

order invites
find/book florist
continue to scour the Internet/department stores/shoe boutique for shoes
register
schedule e-pics
plan out rehearsal dinner
set day of timeline
contact organist
hair/make up

miniMoon Madness

If you've read KJ's blog you'll already know what this post is all about.

In honor of the final four games this weekend and the national championship game tonight, I thought it was very appropriate to post this today.

I've told you all about our decision to take our official honeymoon after recovering from the wedding. So we've turned our efforts to finding out miniMoon destinations. By miniMoon I mean a small, less expensive trip you take right away after the wedding when you are planning a more elaborate "honeymoon" at a later date. We decided our miniMoon would be someplace within a days drive, and living in the midwest, we are semi-limited to where we could go.

There were a few places that came to mind right away, the top "seeds", if you will, but then there were a few places that if we looked into a little deeper, they could be winners to, underdogs.

So, in true college-sport lovers fashion, we made a miniMoon madness bracket!

March was pretty much dedicated to filling out the bracket, and April will be time for the hotels and regions to go head-to-head.

So, with no further ado, our bracket:



I know it's a little hard to see, we have a large version of it sitting at home for us to actually cross off, but here is a listing of all the players:

Nashville
1 Hutton Hotel
2 Union Station
3 Renaissance
4 Opryland

Mid-West
1 Branson, Missouri – Chateau on the Lake
2 Niagara Falls – Hilton Niagara Falls
3 Branson, Missouri - Hilton Branson
4 Black Hills (Mt. Rushmore), South Dakota - Powder House Lodge

Wisconsin
1 Lake Geneva – Grand Geneva
2 Door County – Stone Harbor
3 Milwaukee – the Pfister
4 Wisconsin Dells – Rhapsody on Lake Delton

Michigan
1 Mackinac Island – the Inn at Stonecliff
2 Bay Harbor – the Inn at Bay Harbor
3 Holland - City Flats Hotel
4 Mackinac Island - Chippewa Hotel

Florida
1 Amelia Island – Amelia Island Plantation
2 Santa Rosa Beach – Watercolor Inn
3 Point Vedra Beach – Point Vedra Beach Resorts
4 Destin - Hampton Inn Destin

South
1 Savannah – Westin Savannah Harbor Gold Resort & Spa
2 New Orleans - Windsor Court Hotel
3 Savannah – Bohemian Hotel Riverfront
4 New Orleans – Ritz Carlton

South Carolina
1 Hilton Head Island – Hilton Oceanfront
2 Charleston – Francis Marion Hotel
3 Charleston/Isle of Palms – Wild Dunes Inn
4 Charleston – Vendue Inn

North Carolina
1 Ashville – Grove Park Inn
2 Outer Banks - The Sanderling
3 Outer Banks/Kitty Hawk - Hilton Garden Inn
4 Charlotte – Ballantyne Resort

WHAT DO YOU THINK? I'm taking bets on who the winner will be, where is your favorite?