Aloha Honeymoon Day 1-4

I love the first day of a vacation because each day to come is stretched out ahead like an unopened present just waiting to be had. Checking out your digs is usually one of the first thing you do and it was so cool to find that our room not only met my expectations but exceeded it.  When we walked into our Lagoon Tower room and started exploring I got really, really excited because it was even nicer then I expected.  

Master Bedroom

Dining Room

Living Room

Granite counter tops, plantation shutters in the master bedroom, two balconies!  When you open the sliding door of the main balcony the AC automatically clicks off and it's like being outside but in.  It was a recently renovated huge 2 bedroom/2 bath condo with a full kitchen.  It still had that "new" smell and I was so excited to have it as our "home" for 8 whole days!!! 

We watched the sunset, unpacked and then went foraging for food which isn't too hard since the Hilton Hawaiian Village is really just that.  A little village that has everything you need including retail stores, convenience stores, restaurants, bars and most importantly the beach.  We ate at a Japanese restaurant called Hatsuhana where Mj was quite happy to make sushi his first meal in Oahu.

He loves Sushi but I just think it's gross

We strolled around a bit before heading back to the room.  The front desk check in areas are all partially outdoors and the hotel was just  beautiful.

WAIKIKI BEACH [Day-2 Sunday]

The first thing we did is head to the gym bright and early to get our sweat on. It's so much easier to get up and go to the gym when my time is really my own without 40 hours a week of it sucked up by going to work every day.

I love reading outside.  And check out that
beautiful backdrop.

Playing in the water

  After that we bought some sandwiches and munchies at the ABC Store which is on every corner there and headed straight for Waikiki beach which was conveniently right in our back yard. This beach is so beautiful and it was calling my name since the moment I laid eyes on it the day before.  I could hardly wait! We paid $60 bucks for two chairs and a guy to dig us a hole to put an umbrella in and then lounged around and played in the water there all day.  

I only live 30 minutes from the beach
but I can't remember the last time I went

After we finished there we headed to the Lagoon tower pool and lounged some more.  This pool had fun water slides and when I got chilly I just jumped in the jacuzzi.

Lagoon Tower Pool-view from our room

I screamed half way down every time I did it

HANGING AT THE POOL [Day 3-Monday]

Back to the gym for an early morning run on the treadmill.  Gotta balance out all that food somehow.  After that we headed over to our timeshare meeting.  Mj is a Hilton Grand Vacations Club owner and when they offered us $200 Hilton bucks to go for an owner update I couldn't turn it down.  I have no problem with taking time out of my vacation to sit through these things when we are being offered money that will help finance it.  She made us a great offer but there is no way we can buy more points right now so we said no and that was that.

We ate lunch at Hatsuhana again so Mj could eat more sushi then walked next door to the Hale Koa hotel to buy tickets for the activities we wanted to do.  They are a military hotel so a lot of the shuttles and tickets are offered at a military discounted price. Up until now we weren't exactly sure what we were going to be doing all week aside from our dinner reservations and our couples massage.  Who says you don't need a planner on vacation?  The difference is on vacation your planner is only filled with fun stuff you want to do.  I wrote out our activities in the daily planner so we wouldn't get confused about when we were doing what.

Our fun filled schedule

• Tuesday-Atlantis Tour 3 pm, dinner reservations 7 pm
• Wednesday-Diamond Head AM, Couples Massage 3:30 pm
• Thursday-Hanauma Bay 7:30 am-1:00 pm, Luau 5 pm
• Friday-Explore the Island
• Saturday-Go home : (

After sorting that out we headed straight for the Kalia tower pool near the fitness center/spa which we discovered is a lot quieter with very few rug rats running around.  This is where Mj jumped into the pool with his iPhone in his pocket.  Yep.  The very same iPhone that he was getting ready to let me have.  I was sooooo close to having an iPhone but it was not to be. Guess it's just me and my trusty crappy razor.  That night we watched a DVD we brought from home and ordered pizza in for dinner.

This is the life!

This medium pizza was $23 bucks!
The twisty bread was free with our coupon.

ATLANTIS [Day 4-Tuesday]

We did our 3rd and final gym work out for the week in the morning and then went to lunch.  I picked off of Mj's plate because I was still full from dinner the night before but I had a yummy tropical drink.  After that we did our Atlantis Submarine Tour.  We took a boat out to the submarine and then had to climb down a hole on a latter to get into the submarine.

Mj  laughing at me 'cause I fell

I somehow managed to skip the last 5 rungs on the latter and scraped my shin.  We went down to about 100 feet.  Did you know that the Hawaiian state fish is a Humuhumunukunukuapua?  Now that you do can you say it?  I can't!   We saw schools of fish and sunken airplanes.  It was pretty cool.

After that we went to the Hale Koa Hotel bar where the drinks are a bit cheaper and sat there sipping on tropical drinks until dinner. We each had two.

I had either a tropical drink, beer and/or wine every day
except our last day

At 7pm we went over to Bali Steak & Seafood  for dinner.  It was an overpriced expensive but delicious meal.  I got fillet Mignon and Mj got the New York Strip steak.  At those prices you'd think they'd give you the the sides but since they didn't we ordered the medley of mashed potatoes, green beans and Jasmine rice.   We got a free dessert with a coupon but were so full that we had to take our 7 layer chocolate cake to go.  We are only half way through our vacation at this point.  Time was moving nice and slow, I was having a blast and there were still four days to look forward to.

Honeymoon Day 5-6

Backyard Landscaping

I am still getting my honeymoon posts together but in the meantime I thought I'd post about something that happened before that.

Our backyard which until recently was an ugly dirt lot was finally completed two weeks before our honeymoon.  This was hubby's project from start to finish and it took a little bit longer then originally planned but he got the job done within the 6 month HOA time frame.  We were just fine with having a small backyard.  We really didn't want the maintenance and upkeep that a large one would require.  We definitely didn't want to worry about watering grass or sprinkler systems.  We could have done concrete like just about everyone else on the block but we wanted to do something different.  Our landscaping concept was so fancy in fact that the HOA required an architectural review.  They made us submit our plan, documentation and get 6 of our neighbors to sign off on it before approving.  Then we get this little letter in the mail from them kindly letting us know that they had not received our $120 payment for architectural review.  Huh?  I suppose that was in the fine print somewhere in that thick book of rules and regs but I sure didn't see it.  

 After initially considering the cheaper possibility of having Mj and friends attempt to do the work and five estimates later we hired a professional to lay pavers and build us a fire pit and stone planter.  The fire pit required a gas line which we didn't want to take any chances with and he and his friends really have no experience with landscaping.  They were just going to wing it and who knows how long it would have taken considering it took the pros 3 long days of hard work.  After the pavers were done we contacted a rock company to come out a few days later.  A big red dump truck pulled up and unloaded $425 worth of rocks in our driveway.  Who knew that something you get outside for free and kick with the bottom of your shoe could cost so much? Mj's friends who thankfully work for beer instead of cash came over and helped him lay down plastic and haul the rocks onto the sides of the house and the back corner of the yard.  Our house is no longer surrounded by dirt.

$425 bucks worth of rocks.  Our garage and everything in it is now coated in dust

 Of course I tried to talk Mj cheaper options like concrete but he was adamant about what he wanted so I stopped fighting it and just let it happen.  If it cost this much for our tiny yard I can only image how much it costs to have pavers in a large yard.  It was the more expensive option but I can't argue with the results.  Our yard may be small but now it looks nice and inviting.  It's opened up the space and made it appear so much larger.  We are going to add some potted plants around the edges and plant some in that handy dandy planter we had built.  If anyone has any ideas on plants that are hard to kill let me know.  I am really, really bad at remembering to water plants and in keeping with our low to no maintenance theme we want  tough plants that can stand up to our neglect.

We left this corner without pavers to fill with rocks

An inviting outdoor space for relaxing

 I can already see us sipping on wine cuddled up around the fire pit on a chilly night or enjoying some BBQ and beer outside on a sunny day.  We are going to have to spend even more money to get there.  Will it ever end?  Aside from the plants we still need to buy a grill and a small table with chairs to totally finish off our outdoor space.

Home Project:  Crown Moulding

Home From Our Honeymoon

View from our balcony

On the way there I was bright eyed and bushy tailed as I had my very first body scan at the airport and then sat through the five hour flight that put us in Hawaii around 5 pm.  The way home was much different.  I was so tired on our overnight flight that I could barely see straight.  The plane and the airports were freezing!  Red Eye flights are so hard for my body to take!  We got home and immediately unpacked.  I just hate letting it sit and dealing with it later so as tired as I was I wanted to get it done and Mj was on board.  It was nice not to have much dirty clothes to unpack because we did laundry on our last night.  This is something I've never done on vacation but it was nice not to have to unpack and wash sweaty gym clothes and salt water logged bathing suits.



We made it home around 9:30 am and Mj is still going strong like some kind of freaky energizer bunny.  I was laid out half asleep and partially incoherent during our flights and layover while he was  just as wide awake as could be.  He says, "No I'm not really that tired" while I stare at him in disbelief.  I'm a wreck myself.  After unpacking, sorting through some mail and catching up on some on blogs I finally had to to take a nap.  I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.  I'm catching up on some DVR stuff now starting with Gymnastics.  World Championships were televised last weekend and I've been dying to know who won what.  On the way home we stopped and got some Halloween candy to hand out.  I've already eaten a bunch!  I haven't handed out candy on Halloween since I moved out of my mama's house.  Our neighborhood is tiny so I doubt we'll get too many kids but it will be fun.  Provided I can stay awake that long.

My little nephew is ready for Halloween.
Don't think he'll be doing much trick or treating

We are both taking tomorrow off.  I get one more day to recoup, pay bills and mentally prepare myself for going back to work.  Is there some sort of time change that is supposed to happen?  After a food filled eating out extravaganza vacation I have no idea what we will eat now because there is little to no food around these parts.  The kitchen food supply is on E.  I am just barely accepting the fact that I am back home.  I love home but I LOVED Hawaii and I LOVE being on vacation.   Where oh where did I go wrong that my actual life can't be one long vacation?? I already miss that warm tropical breeze sifting through my sun dried hair.  We had such an amazing and perfect time together. Recaps to follow.  

Pack Your Bags

Ugg!  There is so much to remember!!!

Did I mention that I hate packing?  Well I do.  A LOT.  I like to think that I'm a pretty low maintenance person.  On a day to day basis I don't feel that I require that much grooming.  My hair is get up and go and my make up routine is usually just blush and lip gloss but when it comes time to pack for a trip I am overwhelmed by all of the things I need.  Hair dryer, flat iron, lotions and make up.  Don't even get me started on accessories. There is jewelry, hair ties and purses to consider. I have two pairs of sandals and two pairs of flip flops in various colors I want to bring.  Good thing those are fairly compact.  I need tennis shoes and work out clothes for the gym.  I need sweaters in a variety of colors for chilly nights and air conditioned buildings.  I have to have shorts, tanks and bikinis of course but I need capris, jeans and my sketchers just in case.  I checked the weather forecast again today and as of now it's supposed to rain.  Every single day that we are there!  I need to be prepared for that scenario.  I can't forget my iPod, iPod charger, camera, camera charger and heaven forbid if I forget my glasses or a back up pair of contacts.  It just goes on and on.  What seems so simple is suddenly complicated and I am worried if I can even fit it all into my suitcase!

I started last night just to give myself that one extra day to add in stuff and pick up anything else that I had forgotten about.  I stopped at the library to get a good book on the way home from work yesterday and I've got my latest Marie Claire and People magazine ready to go.  And so am I!  I've been looking forward to this trip all year.  Hubby and I have taken two shorter trips to Vegas.  We went to Delaware to visit his family which doesn't count!  This is our first big time vacation together.  Our flight leaves around noon tomorrow and neither my hatred of packing or rain will stop us from being on it.  I am officially on vacation and Hawaii- AKA paradise awaits!! 

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. 

Bridal Party // Group Shots.....

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.

Building the Home

Home Sweet Home

Home Renovations

Wedding Advice From A Budget Bride

Pre Wedding Pics In The Park

As a bride who has been there these are some words of advice that I would pass on to other brides beginning that adventure called wedding planning. Thanks again to Jacin of She Said Yes  for allowing me to put this very post on her awesome blog where I was allowed to guest post while she is away.  She is at this very moment basking in the glow and joy of her own wedding on her honeymoon.  I hope she is having a blast and I can't wait to hear about it when she gets back.

1. Choose your favorite colors for your wedding.  Even if you have to change the shade depending on the season.  The whole experience of putting my wedding together was enriched that much more as I shopped for everything in my fav color PINK! Pretty Pink flowers, pretty Pink dresses, pretty Pink party favors....you get the idea.  It is so much fun to watch your wedding come to life in your favorite color.  If your groom doesn't like the color too bad.  We already know who's doing all the work so he'll just have to get over it.
   
2. Don't sweat the small stuff because they really don't matter. Trust me,  I know.  I am the bride after all who discovered her cake was the wrong color as she waltzed triumphantly into her reception venue.  Did it ruin my night?  Heck no!   I didn't even try on my shoes or my jewelry with my dress before hand and it was just fine.  You may not believe it at the moment as you toil over yet another project or laboriously search for just the right shade of pink for your name cards but at the end of the day or night you will remember the moment you said I do or how wonderful you felt in your dress more then you will remember if you had napkins with your names on them or not.  Get what you can afford and if it's not in your budget forget about it. You probably don't really need it anyways and it's not likely to make or break your wedding. Of course you have to fret a little.   You are a bride after all and this is important but don't feel bad about things you can't afford, obsess over mundane details or overburden yourself with projects that you don't really need.   My only DIY project incidentally was my centerpieces.  If you are just crafty and enjoy it great.  Pick and choose what's important.  If that still means a zillion projects on your to do list then so be it but don't say I didn't warn you!
3. Don't wait until the last minute on anything.  You might think you have time but you don't.  Your wedding will sneak up on you like a thief in the night and you won't know what hit you. Luckily, I didn't do this but I can only imagine how stressful that would be.  I saved links to all my research so when the time came to act on something I had only to go back to it and didn't have to start from scratch to make decisions or move forward.  I planned ahead and did a little bit here and there even if it felt "too early" so by the time the wedding rolled around I was not totally overwhelmed.
4. Utilize a day of planner.  If you can't pay for one hire a friend.  I rolled my eyes at that one.  I certainly don't need a planner. My wedding is simple.  What would I possibly need a day of planner for?  But simple turned into me rushing from the moment I got up and barely being able to take a breath until just before our ceremony started.  Even if I had a friend who was in the know on my simple centerpiece set up that would have helped a lot.  If I had it to do over again I would still not budget for one but I would have a friend be responsible for day of details instead of trying to do everything myself.
5. Don't take pictures right before your wedding.  I take that back do it.  So, I guess this is just a word of advice that it can really press you for time AND that it's really cool to have that private moment where you see each other for the first time.  It doesn't have to be at the end of the aisle with all eyes on you to be special.  I cried when I saw Mj outside our hotel before we went for pictures.  We didn't do engagement photos and it's not like we are ever going to wear those outfits again so I'm glad we did but it sure was difficult to squeeze in. What limited time I had prior to the ceremony was now cut that much shorter while we were at the park.  I guess that's where #4 hire a friend planner idea would have come in handy.
6. Make time to relax the day of.  See #3 & 4 above to assist you with this.  One of my bridesmaids who couldn't make it to the rehearsal dinner drove in and out of town just for that one day. So busy was I setting up, getting made up and taking pictures that I didn't even have a chance to sit down and chat with her. I would have loved to enjoy a leisurely glass of wine and chat with my bridesmaids and my sisters that day.   There was no leisurely shared girly moments of anticipation.  Instead, I was a whirlwind.  I got an early start but still it was go, go, go and the reception was more of the same so I really missed out on just getting to BE and take my time in the moments leading up to the ceremony.
7. Wear comfy shoes.  We've all partied the night away with a huge smile plastered on our face and an extra awkward bounce in our step as we try desperately to disguise the limp resulting from those hot shoes rubbing a hole in the heel of our right foot. Just don't do it on your wedding night.  If your dress is big enough your shoes will hardly be noticeable at all and it's one less thing to worry about.  I wore a pair of cute silver gladiator flats that I found at Macy's and my feet were not a source of discomfort at any point during the night.  Granted, I might have been too tipsy and happy to really notice if they did hurt but still.
8. Stick to your budget.  As much as I LOVED my wedding I don't want to associate that day with financial burden and debt. If you start to feel a longing sense of sadness as you peruse wedding magazines filled with pictures of things you can't afford see #2 above, turn the page and get on with planning YOUR wedding.

My beautiful PINK Bridal Bouquet

Babies Are More Then Just A Cute Picture

My nephew DJ gets cuter every day

Looking at those little arms flailing about, that joyful little baby expression and those bright eyes makes my heart melt.  Literally.  It's in a puddle on the floor right now so I don't even know how I am typing this!  If this pic doesn't make you want one of these I don't know what will.  That's just the thing though.  Babies are more then just a cute picture.  I am not a kid person.  Never have been.  I absolutely did NOT expect to be this enamored by my little nephew.  I can't stop talking and thinking about this precious little boy and that kind of scares me.  I don't want children.  At least I don't think I do.  Until I hold him and look at his pictures and feel those maternal instincts tugging at my heart like never before.  Babies are so full of life.  Sometimes a little too much of it at 2:00 am when my sister would kill for another hour of sleep but still.  When you look at their little faces you just see so much hope and possibilities.  They are so innocent and have so much living ahead of them.  It really is a beautiful thing. And as a parent you get to be a part of that.

But they will not always be babies.  They grow into terrible two's and angry adolescents.  I have to wonder.  Do I just want that cute little baby to call my own and not everything else that goes along with it?  There is so much time, energy and money that will go into making that little boy a man.  Is that something I want to take on for myself?  I am determined to think logically here and not be swayed by emotion.  My head says "Hell no I don't want any kids," and my heart says "Yes." But only some of the time.  Having a baby changes EVERYTHING and I'm not so sure that I want everything to change.  I actually kind of like things the way they are.  Mj and I are free to do or not do whatever it is we please.  We can travel or just go to he movies without thinking twice.  The house is quiet and the only person I have to pick up after is him! What effect might it have on our relationship? I think I'm tired when I get home from work now?  Well, the work never ends when you have a little one.  Being a stay at home mom likely would not be an option.  Going back to work would be so hard and of course there are astronomical child care expenses.  Any extra money right can go towards savings, retirement or just ourselves right now but that would not be the case with a child in the mix.  I can't even afford ballet lessons for myself so how am I supposed to feed, clothe, support a child AND pay for their extracurricular activities?  They want and need so much and I would want to give it to them.  Sometimes people jump in without considering these things.  People just assume that having a child is what they are "supposed" to do without really considering the option of doing the cost benefit analysis and simply deciding not to.  That it might not be the right thing for them.   People worry, me included-that a life is incomplete without a child but I don't want to do something just because that's what everybody does and I THINK I might be missing out.  I wish I just KNEW for sure either way what I really wanted.  I'm not getting any younger here.

I need to baby sit this little guy to see what it feels like but even still I will never know the full enormity of what it is to have a child of my own unless I actually had one.  That's the tricky part.  It's natural for any woman to have doubts and fears about having a baby but because I am not a woman who has always wanted to be a mother I have to be very careful here. I have to think with my head and not my emotions.  It can't be a passing fancy or just a moment.  It has to be a desire and a need in order for me to move past those normal doubts.  And then there is Mj of course.  It has to be a joint decision.  He is still at "HELL NO" and despite those maternal feelings I didn't even know I had, most of me is still there too.  So for now the answer to the baby question is still no.  Whether or not that changes remains to be seen and in the meantime I'll just have to direct all of that revved up maternal energy towards my sweet little nephew.  Which won't be too hard-I mean...just look at him!

Wedding Wednesday: Processional/Meet the Bridesmaids

I got to watch everything unfold from the back without anyone knowing.  When I took my first peak at the scene that was my wedding ceremony I had my second cry of the day.  All of those RSVP's sitting in my shoe box at home had translated into all of these people sitting in one place at our wedding.  It was so surreal.  It was finally happening.  The six months of planning and a hectic morning had finally come down to this.  I watched Mj walk his grandma then our mom's down the aisle.  Then our bridal party walked down the aisle to take their places at the front. 

Mj and Grandma.  He went back and got my mom and his mom. 
I got them both to wear PINK!

Our bridal party.  The girls-Eb, Fe, Jan, Lil' sis.



Eb is one of my closest friends and the only one of my bridesmaids who lives here and actually got to come to my bridal shower.  We met about five years ago when we both used to work for the same company.  She is as forgetful and fun as she is sweet and giving.  I love having her as a friend.  Fe is the one friend I made in college and actually stayed in touch with.  She lives in Atlanta but she told me from the start that she would make it for my wedding.  She was only here for one night.  I wish I had been able to spend more time with her.  Jan is my oldest and closest friend.  We met in 8th grade English class.  We are such opposites it's a wonder that we were even friends.  I was always the quiet conservative one and she was the wild outspoken one who dated older guys when I had never even been on a date.  We did cheerleading and gymnastics together in high school and stayed in touch through college even with all the craziness going on in our lives.  She is in No. Cal finishing out her time in the Army AND getting her Master's degree.  She drove for hours here and back to be at my wedding for just the one night and I barely even got a chance to talk to her.  Without her this wedding would not even be happening since she is THE WOMAN who introduced us.  Thank goodness she did!  Last but not least is little sis and MOH.  My how this young lady has grown up.  She is 10 years younger then me and I used to change her diapers.  She used to be painfully shy but now she is a beautiful well spoken young woman about to graduate from college in San Francisco.  The only person not up there that I wanted to be was my big sis.  She got pregnant and didn't know if she was even going to be able to come.  Then she found out she could and I was just happy to have her there. 

I didn't have a bachelorette party.  I don't have a lot of friends.  I'm kind of over "going out" and so the idea going to party downtown just to say I did for my bachelorette party was not appealing.  After reading about some of these awesome girls weekends that other bride's had I kinda wished I'd been able to have that.  How amazing it would have been to spend a weekend or even a day with all of these ladies.

   

Mj watching me approach.  Our officiant
may have been nervous the night before
but looks confident here.
He is my bridesmaid Eb's husband.

One of my favorite moments of that day was walking down the aisle with my dad.  He just so happens to have been the target of my only bridezilla moment of the day but I put that behind me as we walked arm in arm.  I drank in everything around me.  The melody of the beautiful music we chose.  The vibrant colors all around me.  All of our friends and family seated together.  The beautiful stark white arch and my handsome man standing there in his tux waiting for me.  Sometimes when people are nervous they rush but my nerves were gone and for the first time all day I felt no need to hurry.  I wanted to take my time and savor the moment.  I need that moment because everything before and after was truly a blur. 

I couldn't stop smiling!

I love it how this pic caught my mom in the background between Mj and Dad.

A great start to the festivities.

You May Kiss the Bride......