Last Wine and Love v52

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Happy Thursday, All! Today will be the last weekly Wine and Love; I may do it as a monthly feature to recap my months or not at all. I haven’t decided yet. At any rate, thanks to everyone who joined in along the way and kept Wine and Love going for 52 weeks! If you want to keep going with Wine and Love you can as the awesome Suki has volunteered to carry the torch for the next 52 weeks. Look for it on her blog next week and link up on future Thursdays.

Weekly W(h)ines:

* This week my whines are the usual: not feeling like I’m getting enough sleep even though I’m going to bed at an earlier time and dealing with allergies, and the whole stress/uncertainty thing that goes with my post from earlier on doing the right thing.

* This is a silly one, but on Sunday night we watched the CMAs (I know, who am I?) and as a result I’ve had Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup” stuck in my head ALL WEEK. Doesn’t help that Knight randomly emails me a line from the song during the day while I’m working (though it does make me laugh).

* Work situations that make me want to crack the screen on my laptop. Or scream. Or both.

Weekly Loves:

* We celebrated Easter with the girls last weekend. It was pretty funny to hear Jolie’s take on the Easter Bunny: There is one for girls, and one for boys and they are really little, tiny bunnies who sneak into houses assisted by dogs. (I assume she said this since the Easter Bunny “came” while we were at Church and our dog was the only one home to have let him in.)

* My back is all better which means I’ve been exercising again consistently for the last week. My knees are holding out ok so far too, which is probably because I’ve moved to an every other day workout routine. Feels good to keep moving. Bonus: last weekend? I was able to put on a pair of size six pants and zip them. It felt amazing. And is keeping me motivated.

* A trip to see my parents this weekend for Easter and do some wedding planning as a COUPLE! Shocking, I know, since most of my trips home have been me by myself since Knight has been on business trips. Kind of excited to have him with me this time around. Also, Easter candy. May be the demise of the size six pants for a few days but I’m kind of excited to have chocolate again (in moderation, I promise).

* Earlier this week I received a gigantic package from Nintendo and the Brand About Town folks containing a Wii Fit Plus & a brand new Wii for me to share with a friend or family member. I immediately thought of my soon-to-be-niece and her husband. We are hopefully meeting up with them on Saturday to give it to them and then she and I will start the workout plan that was included with the package. I’m kind of excited to shake up my workout routine and incorporate something other than the Shred and running into my daily workouts.

* Today is my Friday!

What’s on your Wine/Love list this week?

 

1. ris
2. Heather		3. Suki
4. Lauren		5.
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All There Is

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One of our weekend habits when we have the kidlets is to go to the library. The girls adore reading which makes me incredibly happy, so while they are off in the kid section picking out books and fighting over discussing which Disney book to get this week, I look through the new releases. The nice thing about being in a smaller town is that the new releases are so much easier to get ahold of. I grabbed a few books and at the last minute on the way to the checkout counter, grabbed a book called “All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps,” by Dave Isay. I started this book on Saturday afternoon and couldn’t put it down; it was done by Sunday (this isn’t a book review, I promise; stick with me). This book is all about love: romantic love, platonic love, lost and found love, and everything in between. The premise of StoryCorps is totally awesome. You go to one of their locations with a friend or family member and record your story, whatever it may be. When you’re done, you get a copy of the interview and a copy is sent to the Library of Congress. Kind of neat, right?

As I’m reading the book I’m laughing, crying and making mental notes as I read about marriages that lasted 50+ years and started thinking about what story I’d want to record. {photo credit}

I’d love to take my Gram there and ask her what her life was like as a nurse in the Navy. And how it was to be a divorced woman in the 1950s (she remarried to my Poppy, one of the most awesome men I’ve ever known). I’d like to have her tell me what it’s like to process grief and lose your husband after over 50 years of marriage. I’d like to learn from her.

I’d love to take Knight, so we could record our story up to this point. I love the way he tells the story of how we met; it all started with a nod of his head and the word “hey.” It was literally that simple but also so complex, in a good way. I think it’d be so great to take him now, and then again in 25 years and hopefully 50 years to reflect back on our lives then vs. now.

I think it would be fun to have my parents tell me what it was really like at Woodstock, or about the year my mom lived in Paris. I would definitely take my dad so he could record all his childhood stories of living in a multi-generational and multi-lingual Italian home; I know most of them but how awesome would it be to have them on a CD forever? I know my brother and I would get laughing over tales from our childhood, each of us sharing things we remember about the other person, like how my brother used to wear a Lego tub on his head as a hat, march around with a sword and pretend he was a pirate.

There are so many things that we know about our family members and friends and yet there is still so much to be discovered. I think once things settle down a bit for me, post-wedding and etc., I might start my own version of a family posterity project. Combine handwritten letters and pictures, emails and stories, music and more; maybe our future kids won’t care and maybe they will but I know I’d get a kick out of learning more about my family.

Who would you want to take to StoryCorps and what would you want to ask or talk about with them?

 

Doing the Right Thing

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 Sometimes it’s really hard to do the right thing; not because you don’t believe in it with every fiber of your being, but because of the unknowns: the big, awful, scary, who-knows-what-is-going-to-happen-next feeling the lives in the pit of your stomach and eats away at your thoughts during the day. That’s where I’ve been the last few weeks. Excited and hopeful but also nervous and scared.
About two months ago, Knight and I made a huge decision. One that we feel is right not just so we can live our lives peacefully but so others can, too. One that we firmly believe in. One that takes a lot of strength, patience, grace, resources and support.

Because of the legalities involved, I will be vague for awhile longer until it’s all sorted out but trust me when I say we are working on making a positive change to the sticky wicket that is living with divorce. Everything I shared in that post and everything I didn’t share became to much for us to handle and frankly, no one should have to live like that. It was infringing on our daily lives and how we went about business as usual and it got to the point where something really did need to change.

This is not one of those decisions that was made lightly. There were weeks if not months of talking, hashing out plans and details, researching, seeking counsel, weighing options, praying, and finally, taking the step in what we feel is the right direction.

This direction though? Comes with costs, especially when it’s a battle for what we believe is right. There are costs to our sanity. We don’t quite know what awaits us on a daily basis directly or indirectly; there’s a constant fear or the surprise of the unknown.  There’s the emotional toll it takes on us, our relationship; sure we workout, go to work, be social, remain parents and a couple, but sometimes it takes every single ounce of our energy to push through the bullshit that’s we are facing, to put on a smile, to try to remain positive. There’s the fear factor, and trust me the opposition is trying to scare us; sorry to say some days it works. There’s the distraction factor: distracted from everyday life, the fun and the mundane alike. The exhaustion factor. The I’m-so-tired-I-don’t-wanna-blog-factor. The tired-of-considering-other-possibilities factor. The how-much-more-of-this-can-we-take-factor. It’s all there. Every raw, intense emotion that goes along with making a big life-changing decision; they are constantly lurking right beneath the surface. There’s also anger, frustration, disappointment, hopelessness, confusion and a general feeling of make it all go away, but alas, we are going down swinging.

I wish I could say doing the right thing was easy because who doesn’t like easy? But as they say, nothing worth having and fighting for is ever easy. So we forge on, into the unknown, not sure of how things will turn out in the end but know in our hearts that we are doing the right thing and as a result of this battle Knight and I will be forever stronger and unbreakable.

Apologies for the vagaries; I hope you’ll trust me when I say we are doing what we feel and believe is right. In time, I will be able to share more. In the meantime, thanks for being here.

Wine and Love v51

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51 weeks! I decided this morning that next week, week 52 will be the last weekly Wine and Love. I think I’m going to make it a monthly thing from now on, on the last Thursday of the month.

Weekly W(h)ines:

* There is still stuff I can’t yet blog about and it’s driving me nuts. I’m being vague, I know, but positive thoughts and prayers are appreciated. Hopefully I’ll be able to share more soon, because once again I feel like I’m hiding a piece of myself from my own blog.

* I’ve been running late/behind this week. With work. With blogging. With returning phone calls. I’m hoping next week is a tad less stressy.

* Because of the first bullet point, our Florida vacation is kind of up in the air. We NEED this vacation so I’m hoping we can figure out how to make it happen anyway.

* It’s getting to the point in the wedding planning process where I/we kind of want to throw up our hands and say elope. Silly becaues nearly everything is planned but the shower planning process is surprisingly stressful (and it’s not the one my mom is throwing for me).

* The weather. It’s a total yo-yo. It’s also driving my allergies insane.

Weekly Loves:

* Knight sent me an email yesterday about going on a cruise with Blake Shelton which totally made me laugh. First you need to know that Knight has a mad man-crush on Blake. Secondly, all he listens to now in his big ole’ man truck is country music.

* Spending one-on-one time with the kidlets. It’s nice that Jolie has a Wednesday night activity at Church so that I get a little time with just Belle. And on the weekends, during Belle’s quiet time, I/we get some time with just Jolie.

* We are taking a last minute trip to STL next weekend. Kind of excited to get some wedding stuff done with Knight there for a change and to see my folks.

* Having an awesome support network of friends. Can’t say enough good things about them!

* I was in a bit of a funk yesterday after work so I grabbed my music and blasted “Ants Marching” by Dave Matthews Band. Instant mood boost for me. (Also, can’t wait to see him with Knight in July!)

Tha’ts all I’ve got this week. What’s on your w(h)ine (or beer!)/love list this week?

 

1. Smidge
2. Sara		3. stealthypoo
4. Cait		5. Treavioli
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How to Eat a Cupcake, a Review

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Warning: Reading this book will cause you to crave and subsequently bake cupcakes. And then proceed to eat a bunch of them, even though they aren’t as good as what you’d find in the bakery that exists in the book, How to Eat a Cupcake, by Meg Donohue. At least that’s what I did this past weekend.

From Goodreads:

Funny, free-spirited Annie Quintana and sophisticated, ambitious Julia St. Clair come from two different worlds. Yet, as the daughter of the St. Clair’s housekeeper, Annie grew up in Julia’s San Francisco mansion and they forged a bond that only two little girls who know nothing of class differences and scholarships could—until a life-altering betrayal destroyed their friendship.

A decade later, Annie is now a talented, if underpaid, pastry chef who bakes to fill the void left in her heart by her mother’s death. Julia, a successful businesswoman, is tormented by a painful secret that could jeopardize her engagement to the man she loves. When a chance reunion prompts the unlikely duo to open a cupcakery, they must overcome past hurts and a mysterious saboteur or risk losing their fledgling business and any chance of healing their fractured friendship.

This book took me by surprise: how much I liked it (I read it in less than two days and struggled to put it down), the different elements that Donohue pulled into the book, the character development, the twists and turns. I am sure some people would classify this is as chick lit and I suppose I can see that, but at the same time, this book deals with personal growth and being honest with yourself as well.  I think Donohue does a good job of appropriately mixing mystery, chick lit and good ole’ fiction in this novel. Each chapter alternates points of view between Anna and Julia, former best friends. They are brought together under unlikely circumstances; they push forward, starting a new business and forging new bonds, while overcoming old scars and wounds.  They begin a new joint-venture business, called Treat, and through the ups and downs of business ownership and a lot of cupcakes, find their way back to friendship, love and the next phase of their lives. Although the book was 320 pages long, I wish that we had a bit more insight into the characters at the end of the book, as it seemed to end a bit abruptly, but otherwise, I really don’t have a bad thing to say about this book. (Maybe a chance for a sequel?)

You can follow Donohue on her  Website | Facebook | Twitter, plus be sure to tune in on April 24th at 7 pm ET for a interview with Donohue on Book Club Girl.

If you’re looking for a fun and lighter read to ease you into spring and summer, I highly recommend this book. If you’ve read this or heard of it, let me know what you think!

 

* Disclosure: All opinions in this review are my own; apart from receiving a review copy of this book from TLC Book Tours, I was not otherwise compensated to read this book or write this review.

 

 

 

Wine and Love v50

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Holy cow, 50 weeks of Wine and Love. Kind of a long time but you know what? This little meme helps with weekly perspective, at least for me, so I’m going to keep it up. Join if you like, on your blog or in the comments! Always welcoming new participants and guests.

Weekly W(h)ines:

* I threw my lower back out on Monday night. Like, to the point I was in tears and lying flat on the floor. Thank goodness for chiropractors. And ice packs.  And a fiancé who helped me as much as he could. Two days later and I’m feeling like my old self again.

* Mosquitos and flies. With the warm weather, comes the bugs.

* I just went grocery shopping last week and I already need to do it again. I. Loathe. Grocery. Shopping.

* Dealing with incompetent people. Also people who mess with those I love. Uncool, world, uncool.

Weekly Loves:

* We are kidlet free and plan free this weekend. I’m kind of excited about it.
* Homemade blueberry  muffins. The kidlets and Knight headed to church last weekend. I went for a run and then decided to surprise them with baked goods when they returned.
 
* Speaking of running: I’ve started adding two to three miles to my workouts, a few times a week. So far, so good. My knees aren’t hating me (yet) and it feels so good to be out on the road again. I will be slow and steady in terms of mileage so as to not piss off my body too much.
 
* It’s been kind of a long-ish week for me, so thrilled that tomorrow is Friday. Add to that that Knight is bringing Chipotle home for dinner and it’s sure to be a good start to the weekend.
 
* The Voice. I know I’ve said it before but we are hooked. How/why I didn’t watch it last season, I have no idea but man, it’s a good show.
 
It’s been kind of a slower week around these parts, so that’s all I have today. I suppose there is nothing wrong with short and sweet, though, is there? 
 
Tell me, what’s on your wine/love list this week?
 
 

 

1. ris
2. Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields
3. Travel Spot		4. The Many Thoughts of a Reader
5. Lauren Michelle
6. Cait		7. Suki
8. Heather
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Jolie and Belle

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I have become fiercely “Mama Bear” over these girls in the last few months. Just the other day I had to chat with the 13-year old boys at the park who were pushing our kids around on the slides and walkways. I hate it when they hurt, when they are upset, confused. I hate it when I can tell the divorce situation is taking such a huge toll on them, so much so that you can see it in their eyes and their spirits. Knight and I have chats after our weekends with them to figure out what worked/what didn’t from a parenting standpoint, rehashing the funny moments like the girls’ belly laughs while we attempted to play frisbee, or how competitve they were over who could blow the bigger bubble. It took me some time to give in to letting myself fully and openly love the girls for a variety of reasons, mostly out of respect to their biological mother, the situation at hand and not wanting to make our delicate situation any worse. As time progressed I realized the girls needed another positive role model and someone else to love them. I also realized I couldn’t fully be me until I gave in. And so I have. And I’m so much happier for it.

Jolie is the taller of the two girls, standing at about four feet tall at just five and a half years of age. Her initial growth spurt seems to have tapered off a bit but Knight still jokes that maybe she’ll play basketball or volleyball when she grows up. She’s our fashion kid. Loves clothes. Asks to wear make-up all the time. Makes bold choices when it comes to nail polish: last weekend’s selection was a bright yellow and pink combination, alternating every other fingernail of course. Loves sunglasses and lip gloss, making sure her hair looks good. I suppose she may be a diva in the making. She’s a bit of a hoarder, too. I’ve found empty wrappers (no idea where she gets them), rocks, random puzzle pieces, bags from the store and tons of nametags with her name on them in her room, in her drawers, under her bed. I suspect that has something to do with the going back and forth between houses/divorce situation. Jolie can be incredibly sensitive, for all of her fearlessness. She’s become an expert at lying, another big task we are working on. She’s the kid who likes to go to the restroom by herself at restaurants (don’t worry, I always watch her come and go). She’s bossy, too, especially during play dates; we are slowly working on that. She’ll give you ten hugs a day and always says she loves you before she goes to bed. She recites all of three of her prayers each night with confidence. Her favorite character these days is either Minnie Mouse or Hello Kitty. Her most recent big-kid fascination: helping Knight rinse the dishes each night after dinner so she can put them in the dishwasher and earn a sticker on her allowance chart. Jolie counts her stickers every single day to see how close she is to her allowance for the month. Her reading is a complete 180 from where she was at the beginning of kindergarten and nothing warms our hearts more than when she’ll bring two books in the car to read out loud to us. Hard to believe she’s almost done with her first year of school. When her friends are over she introduces me as “My Nora and my Daddy. They are in love.” Kills me every time.

Belle is the munchkin. Well, not really considering she’s three and she is only about eight inches shorter than her sister. She’s the stubborn one, always giving us a run for our money with listening, eating dinner, bed time. A constant challenge, but a rewarding one at that. Belle insists she doesn’t like cottage cheese, even though she’s enjoyed it five times before. When she finally tries it? “Oooo! I DO like it.” She’s obsessed with her penguin and Ariel stuffed dolls and clothes. Penguin goes everywhere: to play in the backyard, on the chair next to her during dinner, clenched in her tiny little hands during the rare nap. She’s a quick study. She’s mastered two of the prayers that Knight and I have taught her by heart already and she remembers the most random of things, like swimming at my parents house last summer. She is a total daddy’s girl. If I wake her up in the morning her first question is always “Where is Daddy?” and he gets the running hugs and kisses. When we travel anywhere, even the super short trip to the library, Belle asks to listen to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” The kid knows all the words and sings it at the top of her lungs; and then will ask to hear it on repeat for the rest of the trip. Speaking of the library, the only books she’ll check out are Disney Princess books and if those are out, she’ll settle for regular Disney books. When we get home, Belle settles into the couch and “reads” to herself, in a not-so-quiet tone, making up the story as she goes, even if she knows it from the movies. Belle isn’t nearly as concerned with fashion as she is being just like her sister. If her sister is wearing a dress, she wants one. If her sister is in sweats, she wants those too. She loves pigtails in her hair, regardless of the outfit, the weather, the occasion. She’ll catch you off guard spouting off philosophical questions and statements too, just out of the blue. She’s our random, firecracker of a kid.

These two little girls, Knight, the love of my life and Jack, the always loyal pup make-up my awesome little family.

 

Wine and Love v49

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It’s already Thursday which means: it’s time for more  Wine & Love. If you’re joining in this week, link-up below, share with us in the comments or join us next week! Also, we’ve been doing this for almost 50 weeks. Not sure how much longer I’ll keep it going, but we’ll see!

Weekly W(h)ines:

* I called the bridal store yesterday to order a bridesmaid dress for my friend who is traveling and working overseas. They informed me they lost her measurements. No apologies, no nothing. I was (am) a little peeved. Of course my friend is willing to get them done again but it’s just such an inconvenience to her. This is my first (of many, I’m sure) hiccups with the wedding planning process for which I’m thankful, though I’m still annoyed.

* I’m exhausted. I was on a six day trip back to STL for work + wedding planning and my goodness, I’m so tired. Like lacking all energy. I’ve fallen into bed every night since I’ve been home and I’m pretty sure I’m asleep before my head hits the pillow.

* The price of gas. Holy cow it’s crazy expensive. So glad I have an economical car, but still. Just insane.

* I officially despise grocery shopping. I used to love it. Now I can’t stand it.

* My poor Gram has had her apartment flooded by her upstairs neighbor twice in less than one month. It’s forcing us, as a family, to look at making some decisions pertaining to the future for her. Let me tell you, those are hard conversations to even consider having! Hopefully it all resolves itself soon.

Weekly Loves:

* Coming home on Tuesday night to Knight. And two books that I’m reviewing for the blog, one of which is by my favorite current author. Bonus: Knight cleaned the whole house before he left for his work trip so we both came home to a beautiful, clean home.

* Receiving a surprise package from Knight’s sister: a box full of whitening strips for our teeth. Sounds silly, I know, but she gets a sweet deal on the professional ones and was kind enough to send them to us.

* Listening to NPR for two hours on my drive home on Tuesday. I don’t normally get to listen to it now that I’m not commuting as much. So much interesting news, food for thought, and great insight. Plus, it made me feel smarter for listening to it for a few hours.

* The weather is glorious right now. Mid to upper 70s each day. This means windows open, fans on, and exercising outside. It also means allergies, but hopefully my allergy meds will take care of that this year.

* Our trip to Florida is about a month away. This is exciting for so many reasons.

* We are making homemeade chicken quesadillas for dinner tonight. I’m a little too excited about this.

* Tomorrow is Friday!

What’s on your weekly w(h)ine or love list this week?

 

1. Heather
2. ris
3. Sara		4. Smidge
5. Kris
6. Cait		7.
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Cruising Altitude, a Review

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About the book, Cruising Altitude by Heather Poole:

Flying the not-so-friendly skies…

In her more than fifteen years as an airline flight attendant, Heather Poole has seen it all. She’s witnessed all manner of bad behavior at 35,000 feet and knows what it takes for a traveler to become the most hated passenger onboard. She’s slept in flight attendant crashpads in “Crew Gardens,” Queens—sharing small bedrooms crammed with bunk beds with a parade of attractive women who come and go at all hours, prompting suspicious neighbors to jump to the very worst conclusions. She’s watched passengers and coworkers alike escorted off the planes by police. She can tell you why it’s a bad idea to fall for a pilot but can be a very good one (in her case) to date a business-class passenger. Heather knows everything about flying in a post-9/11 world—and she knows what goes on behind the scenes, things the passengers would never dream.

What I enjoyed about this book:Poole keeps it interesting and informative without sounding condescending even when she shares stories about some of the crazier passengers she’s encountered, or her pet peeves about flying. Some of my favorite pages included the true stories of the famous-people-who-shall-not-be-named that she saw on her flights and the crazy stories from other flight attendants. I can only imagine how tough it must be to try to accommodate every passenger’s whim and request, especially in a post-9/11 world. I enjoyed reading the various rules and regulations the flight attendants have to abide by, both on and off the plane, and even during their training such as hair length, lipstick, uniform and shoe requirements. I laughed out loud when Poole says that most pilots are notorious for being poor dressers. (I went out with a pilot once. It’s true. Really poor choice of clothing.)

After reading this book I really would like to grab drinks with Heather Poole, author of Cruising Altitude. In this book Poole writes about the application & training process to become a flight attendant, the friends she meets along the way, life in and out of the airport, and everything in between. Poole peppers in interesting insight into the flight experience (did you know there are three kinds of turbulence? Or that on international flights there is a galley “under” the plane and a flight attendant works down there the whole flight time?)  that put me, a very uneasy passenger at ease. For some reason I feel more comfortable flying now than before. 

Poole mentions at the end of her book that she’ll be writing another memoir and I truly can’t wait to read it. For anyone who has ever wondered what life in the skies (and on the ground) is like for flight attendants I highly recommend this book!  Of all the books I’ve read for reviews so far, this is probably my favorite.  Follow Poole on Twitter or check out her Facebook page for more on her book and the flying lifestyle.

Question: Are you a fan of memoirs? When it comes to flying do you enjoy it, or do you prefer another method of travel?

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Cruising Altitude solely for the purpose of reading and reviewing it; I was not otherwise compensated by TLC Book Tours.

Wedding: 7 Months to go

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Back in January I updated you on a whole slew of things and in February I shared what song we’ll be recessing to after the ceremony. (Missed those? Check them out here.)

Since I’ve been back in STL for the last few days for a work trip, most of the conversations I’ve had with my mom have been wedding related seeing as how it’s really tough to plan a wedding from far away. Thank goodness all the really big stuff is situated. So, updates!

* Honeymoon! It’s booked. My mom writes for a few bridal magazines in the area outside of her day job, so she immediately recommended to me a travel agent she’s known for eight years. The entire experience at the travel agent was amazing. They took the time to get to know me, Knight (via phone, as he’s also on a work trip), what we want out of a honeymoon and where we’d like to go. Our initial thought was the Dominican Republic but after reviewing a plethora of options, Mexico won out for a few reasons: Availability of excursions and activities; the resort we chose. It’s totally up our alley: small & intimate but ever-so-accommodating with activities nearby, a beautiful honeymoon suite, and so much more. I can’t stop look at the photos, dreaming of what we’ll do while we are there (I think a camel ride sounds fun, don’t you? And hiking up a Mayan Ruin?), and am amped about the massage we get, the beach dining and so much more. We’ll be gone for a week which I am sure will be much needed since this wedding planning business is stressful.

* Guest List Tweaks. Turns out we left a few key people off the initial guest list way back when, so we’ve added to it. We are still under the 140 people mark, but I’ll be honest: that’s too many for me! I know that on average 30% of invited people do no attend the wedding, so I am sure it will be ok, but man, I don’t like to be center of attention. On the flip side, it’s important to us that we have everyone who we love and care for at our wedding.

* Bridesmaid Dresses/Guys Suits: The girls’ dresses are (mostly) ordered which is another big item I can check off the list. And the guys? We think we have a beat on what we want. Knight’s suit is ordered which is also a huge relief.

* Decorations/Centerpieces/Ambience. I’m sending an email out to friends and family in the area to ask them to save their olive oil bottles, as they are key to my centerpieces. It’s my hope to start putting the centerpieces together starting in June, maybe earlier if I can. This past weekend we got started on the bouquets that we will be carrying which makes me really excited too. Part of this project bleeds over into the centerpiece idea as well, so I’m thrilled to see it all coming together. Knight will be making some lighted trees for the reception which I’m stoked about, and we are planning to have an actual tree where we display our parents’ and grandparents’ wedding photos as well. (I hope to take those photos and frame them and have them in our house as well, complete with ours!) The good news is that the more I talk about the decorations, centerpieces and etc. which are all mostly DIY, and now that we are starting the projects, I can see the vision coming together and it makes me so happy.

* Shower Planning: It’s all in the very early stages of planning but my mom asked me about my preferences and etc. The date is set and the rest will be a surprise. Kind of excited. Knight’s mom will be throwing us (yes, it’s a couples shower, for a variety of reasons) one in the early summer as well, which will also be fun!

* Food Tasting: The date on this is set for April. I’m beyond excited to get our menu situated. Our wedding coordinator at our location has been nothing but phenomneal and accommodating, so I know this will be another great experience with her. We haven’t picked the dishes we are going to try yet but I do know that a mashed potato bar is for sure going to be at the wedding.

* Wedding Rings: We are struggling a bit here. The ones we originally wanted don’t look nearly as appealing to us as they did before, so the hunt is back on. It’s my hope we can get this taken care of in the next month or so (I know it’s an important item to get situated).

* Hair and make-up: While I was home I went to my usual salon/spa for a haircut and my usual, fabulous hairdresser told me she and two other girls already took half the day off to do our wedding (they will be doing mine, the bridesmaids and my mom too!). And they have a make-up lady. I’m so thrilled to be able to get ready at my parents house the day of the wedding (I think it will help with my nerves) and have the ladies to the house. There will be some mimosas and definitely coffee, for those so inclined, as it’s a really early morning, girl talk and relaxing as much as possible before the ceremony. This logistical detail was really nagging at me so I’m overjoyed at having it done and situated.

* Invitations! They are in the final design stages and look awesome. My goal is to get them out in the middle of June so that people have eight weeks to decide/respond and etc. (All headcounts are due one month prior to the wedding to my various vendors & etc.) I cannot wait for people to receive them in the mail!

Question: What is your favorite thing about attending weddings/receptions? What is your least favorite thing? Let me know so that I can be sure not to do that at ours.