Eight Days 'til Our Honeymoon

So excited we finally get to use these cute luggage tags!
We got an e mail with "upcoming Hawaiian vacation" in the subject line and it dawned on me.  Our honeymoon is next week!  We didn't jet off from our wedding and straight to the honeymoon mostly because the resort was booked until October but I'm actually glad it worked out that way.  We had plenty of time [3 months] to unwind and settle in after the wedding and by stretching out the festivities it gave us something else to look forward to even after all of the wedding day hoopla.

Hawaii was not our first choice.  At the beginning of the year we had our heart set on Europe.  Greece in particular.  But as we started the house hunting and wedding planning process the enormity of what an expensive year this was going to be hit us and we decided that it would be best to scale it back.  We have to save Europe for a year that we don't buy a new house and pay for a wedding.  Neither one of us has ever been to Hawaii and by going there instead we were able to keep costs low.  So low in fact that the whole trip is basically free!  We'll be staying at Hilton Grand Vacation Suites at Hilton Hawaiian Village right on Waikiki Beach in Oahu.  With our HGVC timeshare there was plenty of points to cover the hotel.  Mj had enough points earned from his USAA Credit Card to pay for both of our airline tickets.  We even have $150 in discover gift cards as spending money that I earned using my Discover credit card.  Score! We have a little bit of left over wedding cash but we will definitely need to bring more spending money then that.  And that's where things get difficult for me.  I am the type that will go on vacation and not spend a dime more then necessary while I am there.  I am already so overwhelmed by the expense of just getting to the darn place so I feel like I can't.  No souveniers no extras.  Spend as little money as possible.  But I can't do that this time.  Spa treatments will run about $300 and the underwater Atlantis submarine tour is $89.   We will be eating out.  This is our honeymoon and it only happens once so I'm going to really try to let go of that hang up.  The trip was basically free so don't think about the money and just enjoy it already!!  I'm also going to try not to worry about all of the excess delicious food I'll undoubtedly be pigging out on and how many LB's I'll gain.

Atlantis underwater submarine tour [Pic Source]. 
I'll be getting my mani/pedi this weekend.  I didn't need to buy much to prepare for the trip.  My bikini's get so little use that they last long time and I bought a few things during the summer that I've been saving for the trip.   My main concern was making sure I had some non greasy high SPF sunblock that I would actually feel comfortable putting on my face.  I got Aveeno which is a bit pricey just for my face and I will save the gunky Banana Boat stuff or whatever it is we have for the rest of my body.  The worst thing for me will be packing because I am such an anxious packer.  I am so terrified of not having what I need on my trip to the point where I triple check everything and agonize over every single thing I put into my suitcase.  The only thing that alleviates my stress at all is packing early so that's exactly what I'll do.

Next Saturday we'll be on a plane to paradise.  It's not the one way ticket I want but we'll have eight whole days of rest, relaxation and romance to ourselves.   There will be white sand between my toes and a margarita or two or three in my hands.  We actually have a 2 bedroom suite because that's all they had available but you know we didn't invite anyone else to come along.  This trip is exclusive.  It's not a group type of party and you can bet there will be a "do not disturb" sign hanging on our doorknob.

Wedding Wednesday: You May Kiss the Bride

Our wedding was short, sweet and simple.  No sand ceremonies or poetry readings.  I didn't want a big production.  Just us saying our vows to one another and exchanging our rings.  The officiant started out with a brief introduction and a paragraph about love and marriage and then I started first with reading my vows. 
Mj wipes his eyes and I can barely get the words out as my voice wavers
I love to write so I was really excited about writing my own vows.  It really felt like I'd waited so long to say in front of everyone just how much I loved him and I was finally getting my chance.   I pretty much cried my way through them.  It was such a release saying those words in front of all of those people.  I didn't realize just how emotional it would be for me or for Mj.  I have never seen him cry.  I could hardly believe it when I saw him tearing up as I looked through tear filled eyes of my own and it made me cry even more.  I later discovered in pics that my make up was streaming beneath the trail of tears down my face.  Not a good look.  But at the moment that was the last thing I was thinking about.  A tissue would have been nice!    I turned around and mouthed to my little sis "tissue" and she just shook her head.  She probably had to use the tissue I gave her for herself!  We weren't the only ones that cried.  I think everyone was really moved.
Mj, ever the procrastinator was up the night before trying to figure his out.  I'd say he did it justice and the words he spoke to me were perfect.  Then, we moved onto the ring exchange.  The officiant made a statement and we each repeated after him as we put the rings on each other.  Then, it was time to kiss the bride.
Smooches!!!
At the rehearsal the evening before kissing in front of a group of people felt so awkward.  Our wedding coordinator didn't help any by making us kiss over and over just for kicks.  I started to get nervous about having to do it in front of even more people at the wedding.  Turns out I had nothing to worry about.  I was so in the moment and so excited that I happily went for it.  Mj went for it and the kiss was as natural as could be.  Which is a good thing because that kiss was just the beginning of more kissing with all eyes on us as the night went on.

Our officiant did so good!  Our midnight rehearsal the night before really paid off and everything went perfectly.  He is my bridesmaid Eb's husband.  He probably never thought in a million years that he would be officiating a wedding.  I wrote the script, we practiced, and he pulled it off like a pro. 
So happy!!!


Another kiss for good measure
I LOVE the song that we  played as we walked down that aisle after being pronounced man and wife.   Hearing the opening melody of that song start right when it was supposed to couldn't have been more perfect as we faced our guests and walked down the aisle together.  It Feels Like Home by Chantal Kreviazuk [Listen to it here].  Every time I hear it now it makes me smile and I think of our wedding day. 

One Lovely Blog Award

They like me, They really like me
Faith over at Life, Love & Marriage was kind enough to recognize me with a blog award that I could pass on to other blogs  that I enjoy.  This blog award is awesome.  It has no strings attached.  You don't have to answer a list of questions, make up knew questions to ask or confess a single one of your deepest darkest secrets.  Well, it did say that you were supposed to post a comment on everyone who you award it to but I just know that all my blogger buddies read my blog faithfully every single day of their life so the very minute this blog post pops up in their reader their gonna check it out anyways.  Right?  Just kidding. 


Thanks again Faith! She been married for almost a year and has a really fun blog where she writes about all the weddings she's been going to this year and the goings on of married life and home decorating.  Check her out if you haven't.   I also want to take a moment to say thanks to anyone and everyone who reads or comments on my blog.  I used to blog on My Space when nobody else was and I didn't even know that what I was doing was called blogging.  Needless to say, it was a very lonely space so it's been great to have this creative outlet where I can share my writing and my life and read about so many others.  I love reading all the blogs on my blog list and some of you I've recognized before pretty recently so the ones I'm passing this award onto are really just to name a few.  You have been recognized by little old me and please feel free to pass it onto however many blogs you want to.

One Lovely Blog Award Recipients:

Adorably Distracted
Bronzed Beauty
Dancy Days
Discovery Street
Jem-Living
On A Tangent
Random Musings of My Life


Have a great Columbus day weekend everyone.  Which for me is like any other seeing as how we don't get Monday off.  In fact, I didn't even realize it was coming up at all but now that I do I will try to take advantage of some sales.  As if I haven't done enough shopping already!  I was wearing boots and long sleeves FINALLY this week but overnight it's supposed to climb into the 80's for the weekend.  So, it'll be a warm weekend in flip flip flops running errands, cleaning house and relaxing.

Bad Bride

Thanks for all the lovely Gifts! 

For some reason I thought I had up to a year to send out Thank You cards after our wedding.  After the frantic build up to the wedding and all the organizing that goes into that I couldn't even think about Thank You cards right away.  I needed a break!  I wasn't going to take a whole year of course but it was nice to know that I didn't have to rush right into it.  Then, I started googling wedding etiquette and found that I was actually a bad bride for waiting even this long. 

According to essortment.com, It’s impolite to procrastinate and send your thank you notes out late. They shouldn’t be put in the mail any more than two weeks after you return from your honeymoon. If you receive your wedding gift before the big day, it would be best to post an acknowledgement immediately. No matter when the gift was received, however, one must never wait longer than a month.

Oops.  My wedding was July 10th-almost 3 months ago.  I kept searching for a site that would tell me I had a year so I could move myself out of the impolite bride category but alas I did not.  I promptly or not so promptly as it were ordered my Thank You cards last month which was two months post wedding.  They've been sitting in my closet for the last two weeks so I finally pulled them out this past weekend and got down to business.  It's definitely less work then doing invitations.  Not everyone you invite comes to your wedding and not everyone that comes buys you a gift.  There is also less assembling which is less time, but there is a heck of a lot more writing.  They must be personalized.  That's one rule I won't break.  I used Vistaprint.com and they only cost me $41.14 for 40 including delivery.  Their standard delivery is 21 days.  Even they refer to it as "slow."  They did ship early but with a 21 day expected delivery it's still late if you asked me, which was actually mostly fine seeing as how I obviously was not in any rush to do this.  Seeing their Thank You cards made me even gladder that we didn't use them for our invitations.  I used one of the few mostly Pink and Black patterns they had.  I got them personalized with our names on the front and a small black and white picture from our wedding day photo session inside but overall they are a bit flimsy.  No embossing on the print and just not the quality that I wanted for our invites but just fine for Thank You cards.

So now they are addressed and impolitely sitting inside the drawer of our coffee table.  They will definitely be mailed out before we take off on our honeymoon at the end of the month, which was always the original plan.  The rules of etiquette does say two weeks after your honeymoon but I'm assuming they meant a honeymoon taken right after your wedding day and not 3 1/2 months later!

Fall Shopping List

Can you believe I only just discovered the joy of boots with leggings and skinny jeans just last year?  Thanks to the Joe's Next Model contest last year I am totally with it on a fashion trend for once.  I took home a pair of distressed skinny jeans I would have never bought on my own that I LOVE from the shoot and with the $500 Joe's Jeans online store credit I got some pretty pricey denim that I didn't have to pay for.  Two pairs of jeggings, another pair of skinnies in black and a great pair of boot cut jeans as well.  I also bought a few other fall wardrobe items but there are still some things I want for this year.  So Cal winters aren't exactly harsh and some people live year round in shorts and flip flops but not me.
  • Brown Knee High Boots
  • Long Sleeved Tops 
  • Nude Pumps
  • Black Pumps
I snagged the perfect boots at Aldo so that's one check off my list.  Real leather boots are so expensive which is why my black knee high's are fake.  I saw some great Guess boots at Macy's and DSW for $189 but I didn't want to spent that much.  I found these online on clearance for $119.98 and they even offer free delivery.  They were sitting on my door step today when I got home and they fit perfectly.
Got my brown boots!!
I want pumps because like knee high boots they just look really hot.  They look great with skinny jeans too.  I feel like I can wear them with anything and be instantly sexy.  At least that's what I'm hoping!  Pumps are not a priority so if I can't fit them into my budget now they can wait until next year.  It seems like every year around this time I look in my closet and have hardly any long sleeves.  Or maybe I just don't like what's in there from last year.  Which very well could be the case because I think I made some pretty bad choices just trying to get what was cheap.  I'll be sure not to do that this year.  Either way I need to buy new stylish ones and retire what I don't like to lounge wear and/or Goodwill.  I've got some Express,  Limited and DSW coupons and don't plan on spending too much money.

I've done quite a bit of shopping the last few months.  I got shoes, dress pants and some cotton tops.  Once I got away from focusing on wedding and house shopping I just sorta went for it, but once I get what's on my list I'm satisfied and the shopping is done.  Then I'll go back to buying things for the house and with Christmas practically around the corner I'll be shopping for that next.  There's always something.  Spring and Summer wardrobes are so much easier to build. Tanks and sandals cost a heck of a lot less then knee high boots and sweaters.  I feel like it's taking me a long time to build up that basic winter wardrobe because I can't buy everything I want at once.  It's kinda like decorating my house.  One piece at a time.  

16 Things I Love About Our New House

We have been in our new house for about 4 months now.  We painted the main living areas, we have kitchen tiers on the way and have hung our first bit of wall art.  We plowed through our savings buying furniture, appliances and window coverings. There are still lots of plain bare walls that need to be decorated and too many white walls that could use some color but we have what we need and I'm really just glad to be here.  It takes money to decorate a home and therefore it will also take some time.   What a journey it has been from house hunting, home building to house closing.  We stuck it out in my tiny studio condo for 6 months but it was well worth the wait.

1.  Overall Space.  I can be at home and not see Mj all the time. What a concept!  People need space and we absolutely did not have it in the tiny studio. We were on top of each other and it magnified clutter and anything else that bugged me times 10. He can be upstairs in the loft doing homework and watching baseball and I can be downstairs watching House Hunters. We can be apart and then come together.  Mj's untidiness is spread out so I can tolerate it for a little bit longer then usual.  Peace.

2.  Decorating fun. I now have all of these rooms to decorate which is great once I figure out what the heck to do with them. I may not know exactly where to start but I love the possibilities.
    3.  King size bed.  We squeezed into a little double in the studio.  I wanted to save money and hold onto the old Queen bed of Mj's that came out of storage but he really wanted to up size so I agreed.  Most of the time we end up on one side or the other but it's nice to have the space.  I can lay spread eagle on the bed with room to spare and I actually have to roll over a few times to shut of my alarm if I'm on Mj's side!
      Plenty of room and I love that we each have our own night stand.
      4.  Double Vanities.  Again, space.  I have my own side to do what I need to do in the bathroom and he has his.  We each have our own cabinet under our sinks.  Mine is full and his is not.
      I like having my own side
      5.  Toilet Room.  Our bathroom has a separate little room and door for toilet.  It even has a window-don't ask me why!  Not that we've never seen each other on the toilet but we love the extra privacy.

      6.  Thermostat.   Sometimes it gets a little chilly for me because I am chronically cold but that's what blankets and sweaters are for.  I no longer have to sweat through summers with only an AC Wall Unit or hope for a cool breeze to come through the windows on hot nights while trying to sleep.   When we come home from work it does not feel like walking into a sauna.

      7.  LG fridge with ice maker. This sucker was not cheap but I have to say it's worth it. I still can't figure out how this unlimited supply of water magically comes out of my fridge but access to ice cold water anytime without having buy bottled water and keep up on our water supply is great. I think I'm even drinking more water because of it.  And I kinda think ice is cool.
        This fridge is the BEST
        8.  Sectional with Ottoman.  We searched high and low for this cozy yet modern couch.  When you push the little square ottoman into the corner of the sectional it creates this lovely little bed like area which is perfect for cuddling while watching movies.  I can't get enough of cuddling with Mj so this works out quite nicely for me and I think he's OK with it too.
        Modern, comfy and cuddle friendly
        9.  DVR baby! I know I'm a little behind on the technology here but this is the first time in my life I have ever had this and I love it. I don't have to rush home to watch anything and I can watch various TV shows at my convenience-and fast forward the commercials. Online viewing of shows helped before but this really takes it up a notch. Not that I watch a ton of TV but it's just super convenient to have.  It's also the first time I've had a flat screen TV which of course was an Mj contribution.


        The TV console has lots of storage to "hide" crap.  So does the coffee table.
        10.  Dining room space, Bar Area & Kitchen.  We actually have a place where there is room for us to sit down and eat dinner together the good old fashioned way.  It's not right in front of the TV but we can  still see it because we have an open floor plan.  When one of us is in the kitchen cooking (ideally Mj) the other one can sit at the bar and chat.  The condo kitchen had next to no counter space and was really not functional.  I was totally uninspired to cook there so I didn't.  I vowed I would start cooking when I actually had space to do it and I did.
          A table to enjoy meals together
          Functional cooking space
          11.  Garage.  No more searching for a parking space and having to pass up most of them because I suck at parallel parking.  I no longer have to worry that my car will be vandalised yet again.  No more carting loads of grocery bags from the car down the street, through the gate, and up the stairs into the condo.  We don't have to get into a hot car and we don't have to haul our trash out to a stinky dumpster because our trash bins are right there.  It also provides more storage for crap that we should probably throw away but won't.

          12.  Extra closets & rooms.  Yes.  Back to space-which is quite a  beautiful thing.  The clutter in the condo was driving me mad.  The master closet could use a Closet World make over to make better use of the space but it is a walk in and way bigger then I have ever had before.  There is now a whole extra room for Mj to leave his folded laundry for weeks at a time and toss his clothes on the floor instead of hanging them up.   I don't have to see it so I don't nag him about it.  Well,  not as often anyways.  Win win situation.

          13.  Laundry Room.  I used to do laundry once a month.  Or even longer if I could get away with it.  I know it's terrible but I was so over hoarding quarters, staking out the washer/dryer, and carting loads of heavy laundry up and down stairs to the laundry room.  Laundry is fun easier now.
          The bobble head bride and groom was a wedding gift.  Really.

          14.  Backyard.  It still happens to be a pile of dirt pending landscaping.  This project has been totally left to Mj and he assures me that progress is being made.  We'll actually have a place to sit outdoors and relax.  It's small but we did not want any grass cutting so that's fine.  There is room out the front door too where I can actually stand there in my pajamas and check the weather and not be seen by every single neighbor.  The condo didn't even have a balcony.

          15.  Recess Lighting.  This was what I felt was an Mj upgrade splurge but like most everything else I'm glad I agreed.  It came included in some areas but we addeded it every where it didn't except the 2 spare bedrooms.  I like the modern look it gives the house and we don't need lamps.  Some of our lights even turn themselves off after a certain time period if we forget.  The light switches are all on dimmers which can save energy and is really good for setting the mood...if ya know what I mean!

          16.  Community.  I still don't know any of my neighbors but our little neighborhood is like an oasis in the middle of the little city we live in.  There are only about 42 houses spanning 3 private roads.  I don't walk out my door onto a busy street.  I feel comfortable taking a walk if I want to.  There aren't random hoodlums roaming around or broke down sofas in any front yards. I feel so much safer.  We have an HOA in full effect that I might come to hate at some point but it does wonders for curb appeal.  We are only about 5 minutes from the condo but it makes all the difference in the world.

          Are there some things on my wish list that we didn't get?  Yeah.  We couldn't do all the upgrades we wanted like granite or hardwoods.  We could use a little bit more counter space and cupboards in the kitchen.  I wish we had a linen closet but there is room to build one.  I also wish we could have afforded to buy more centrally located.  And while I'm at it, I would really love it if I could get my mortgage sliced in half!  But really, I'm not complaining one bit.  It's brand new, it's OURS, and I love it!  According to Sandra Rinomato on HGTV's Property Virgins, whom I trust completely, if you like 90% of the house you should really consider making it your home because no house is perfect in all ways and there will always be something that you wish you could change.