Absent

I've been absent for a while -





OK OK OK I've fallen off the face of the earth since I moved up here - but I've been BUSY!!





In the past 3 months I have:





BOUGHT the Dress!


Picked out bridesmaid dresses


Made and sent out save the dates


Picked the DJ


Had engagement photos


Done some crafting


Spent lots of money!





Here is my latest project:

For the church doors, I turned this ....

Into THIS....




(color is a little washed out - its more of a chartreuse)


Just need fatty ribbon :o)

Hello New Jersey

OK so Madison and I have officially crossed that Mason-Dixon line!

This weekend Corey, Cooper, Madison, and I shoved everything I own into a 6x12 trailer and hauled it up to the Garden State... 6 hours in the car, 2 phone calls from Poppa Jack, and 2 unhappy puppies later we finally made it, unloaded the trailer, ordered a pizza and sent Corey on a hunt for beer. A long weekend of unpacking, rainy dog parks, shopping trip, and we even fit in a family birthday party. Here are some pictures of the new place... sorry for the moving mess!

Front of house

My new street... perfect little neighborhood...
Side of the houseBack deck

Living room My bare bedroom :(
Favorite part of the house... arch :)




And of course Madison's new friend Pepper!

Busy Busy

So Florida was FUN! Corey got his Eric time, I got my Natty time, and we even were able to shove in some time with both sets of grandparents... Unfortunatly I was not in photographer mode so this vacation is not documented very well... but anyway...

We have a photographer! J&K Photography won! I am pretty sure we will be having our engagement photos done at the national arberetum sometime in July.

We also have an appointment today with Anna and Anne- wedding planners, tomorrow with A2Z Music Factory- DJ, friday with Rex & Regina - Weding planners, and Monday with a florist.

And no I still haven't found the dress... but my ties from http://www.thetiebar.com/ came in for the boys! I love the white one for Corey, and the green one too... the black and teal- not so much! haha that one will be going back.

Back to Reality...

OK I am finally back to reality... and back to wedding planning...

This week I was really productive... no matter what my mother thinks... I met with two photographers... picked a church (maybe)... picked a DJ (maybe)... and narrowed it down to 3 (maybe) dresses! HAHA OK so theres a lot of maybes in there but whatever... I really do have a long time!

The "maybe" church... the historic old Pohick Church... it is now Cranford United Methodist.. and I knooooww its not Baptist... but its got character... and did I mention its only 8 miles from the O Club?! I am just waiting on the packet info from the church ladies... they like snail mail apparently... www.cranfordumc.net

The photographers... J&K Photography, and RMN Photography.... I ended up LOVING both of them in person (of course) so I have NO idea what to do... I am leaning towards RMN she seems to be trained more and has more experience... but shes also more expensive.... check out their websites... I am expecting some voting comments... www.rmnphotography.com and jandkphotography.biz

The DJ... Bobby G's I actually talked to a bride that used him... she said he was great... we'll see...

The dress.... HAH yea right... boy eyes read this... all I will say is that every dress I like is by Casablanca! :)

OK so I am getting back to work... this weekend is apartment searching... BOO... I guess I really do have to go to NJ now :(

BUT

Next week is FLORIDA!!!!!!

A Redneck Weekend...

... and ANOTHER week of NO wedding planning...

Ok so I keep getting the question "Hows the wedding planning going?" and my response has not changed in quite some time... "It's not." I promise I will get back to the wedding when my fun is done :) Last weekend was my first trip to NASCAR at Richmond and Corey's first race ever! All of our favorite rednecks were in attendance, including Miss Madison, and I do believe we have finally finished the transformation of Corey from Jersey boy to VA Redneck!!!

GO GREEN

So as most of you know my Green Chemistry class has turned me into a semi tree hugger... Really its just one of those classes that makes you think twice... So I am going to try to make my wedding a little greener...

According to Brides.com there are 7 simple ways to save the earth on your wedding day:

1. Gown: Wear natural fibers like cotton or silk HAH so I went to this website to check it out...getconscious.com... ONE the models have dreadlocks... TWO ewwie... I will not be saving the planet with my dress SORRY

2. Rings: Exchange family heirlooms or vintage jewelry Little late for this one... and NO I am not giving up my perfect ring...

3. Invitations: Try recycled paper with soy ink Possibility... but we are going for cheap... I know my printer does not print with soy... and I am pretty positive Kinkos would laugh in my face if I specified Soy ink!

4. Food & Drink: Keep it organic, & donate leftovers Organic costs more... and these places are Nazis when it comes to left overs... I am guessing they pay their staff with all the left over food... and IF they actually did let us take it... it would just be donated to MYSELF because I will be so poor after all of this I will not have money to buy food.... And I am pretty sure Bacardi is not organic... :o)

5. Transportation: Limit emissions with a shuttle or walk No walking... my guests do not exercise... almost half of the guest list is out of town- VERY BAD for the carbon footprint... BUT we will hopefully have some sort of shuttle service! YAY

6. Photography: Go digital (no chemicals or wasted paper) Isn't everyone digital?!

7. Centerpieces: Display potted plants and soy candles I am defiantly going to research this one... could be a semi possibility

SO after all this I don't think my shindig will be LEED certified... but I will TRY to save the world somehow...

As for the rest of you... instead of working calculate your own carbon footprint... and see how to reduce it... you'll be surprised at how bad you really are... http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/

MS Walk 2008

Today was the Blule Ridge Chapter's MS Walk! We had great weather, and a beautiful location at Bisset Park in Radford, VA. Madison and I walked on the Riverway along the New River- and of course she was the prettiest pup there!


Thanks to everyone who supported me this year! I was able to exceed my goal and raised $520 putting me in the top 5 fundraisers for the walk!