honeymoon in Barbados (part 3)

Hi guys! Sorry for yet another long hiatus - I just haven't felt like doing much lately. Anywho. Last we left off, the mister and I had a good, but long, rum and history tour. And since that wasn't enough history, the next day we took a taxi to the George Washington house. Did you know that the only time President Washington ever left the country was when he was a teenager to go with his sick half brother to Barbados. Yeah, I didn't either. But these are the kinds of things you learn when you marry a history nerd buff.

a rum safe - we totally need one of these!

the mister thought this satchel/man purse was pretty cool

good ol' Georgie

Overall, we were very impressed with the house, tour and museum. They did a wonderful job refurbishing the property and the museum exhibits were very informative and thorough. It was definitely worth the taxi fare.

And here are some random photos of us before dinner one night and the "friends" we made when attempting to walk on the beach under the moonlight. That walk sure didn't last long - ha.

pardon the interruption...

Hi all! I just wanted to interrupt these honeymoon recaps to excitedly exclaim that we have our pro photos! Actually, we've had them since last Thursday. However, for the past week I've turned into quite the selfish photo hoarder. I did send our family and friends the preview slideshow, but since Thursday the full online gallery has been allll mine (and the mister's, but I'm sure he doesn't click through them obsessively in his free time - like me). I still have to wait for the disc and there are so many pre-wedding things I have yet to share. So until I finally get to the wedding day recaps, here's a little teaser:

photo by the ridiculously talented Heidi of Our Labor of Love

just a little sneak peak...

My MISTER (!) and I are now in Barbados - waiting for our third room change (but that's a long story). I don't have much to say about Saturday other than, it was absolutely perfect. I can't wait to see the pro pics and tell you all about it when we get back!!

this is it

Our day is finally here. Almost two years in the making! As I type this, I am sitting in bed in my parent's cottage on the wedding property. With the perfect view of my beautiful dress hanging on the closet door in front of me. These are my last few moments of silence and reflection before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. I am ready. Today I am ready to commit myself to my best friend, my complement, my one true love. Today. Tomorrow. And always.

See you all on the other side!

grieving

Hi friends. It's been awhile, and well, this week I come to you with a heavy heart. Last Friday (the 15th) I received a gut-wrenching phone call, while at work, from my dad. My grandmother (grammy) had passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. It's only been a little over a week since then, but it feels like at least a month has gone by. The future mister and I flew to Pennsylvania to be with my family, and I can't even begin to explain how emotionally exhausting it was. We are all in shock and still mourning.

I had just received her and my grandfather's reply card. A week or two later, I watched as they buried her in the dress she bought to wear to our wedding. Light green (one of our colors!) with ivory embroidered flowers. Simply heartbreaking.

In this time of loss and sorrow, I am still grateful for many things. That I was able to make it home to be with my family and that my last memory of her was giving her a hug goodbye at my Pennsylvania shower.

(Aunt Jackie, Grammy and Aunt Debbie)

She will no longer be physically present on May 21, 2011, but I know that she still "wouldn't miss it for the world."

Needless to say, my posting might continue to be light in the weeks leading up to the wedding. I've got so much more to share with you and hope to get it up here eventually, but I just don't have it in me right now. Thank you so, so much for following along during my long wedding planning journey. I've learned a lot and gotten some great feedback, advice and support. It has been such a rewarding experience!

in the garden of love

(usps via hello! lucky)

I spotted these beautiful new forever stamps over on hello! Lucky's blog this morning. I am so very sad that they won't be available until May 19. Way too late for our invitations, but just in time for all of those thank you cards, perhaps?

four

They say that love will find you when you least expect it. I didn't believe them.

Four years of college almost over and nothing more than a few dates with a few guys and some talking. Nothing ever went anywhere. High school had ended with much of the same, except instead of dates, they were at least boyfriends. But does it really count when nothing ever lasted for more then three months? If I said that thinking something was wrong with me never crossed my mind, I'd be lying. My mom told me that it was because I was the marrying kind, not the dating kind. Smart woman.

Then at the beginning of spring semester senior year a friend/sorority sister suggested that I meet her best guy friend. This wasn't the first mention, but I had already forgotten that she had wanted me to bring said guy as my semi-formal date in the fall. I said no and opted to go alone because he had just broken up with his long term girlfriend. Formals aren't much fun if your date is hurt, brooding and pissed off at the female kind, which is what I assumed his mindset would be after a breakup.

I wasn't very interested in this second attempt at matchmaking. There were four more months until graduation and my biggest concern, at that point, was what I was going to do with my life. Why on earth would I spend the time and energy getting to know someone new when it would all end the moment after the cap and gown came off and my tiny car left my little college town behind?

But my friend got my roommates involved. Soon he started showing up at the places I hung out. The first time I saw him in person and not just in facebook photos was at a party at my house. He was a bright red hat in a sea of mostly sorority girls. We were never introduced. And we didn't talk to each other. But I could hear him nearby talking to other people while I stood near my kitchen sink chatting with friends. Then he showed up at my sorority little sister's house one night. This time it was a much smaller group of people. Five or six, I think. Still no formal introduction. There wasn't any one on one interaction, but I remember making fun of his accent.

I'm not exactly sure when, but soon after that we started chatting online. It was around my birthday/Valentine's Day that he began to express interest (to our friend) in wanting to ask me out on a date. Maybe in the next few weeks, was my reply. I had been on a few first-ish dates around Valentine's Day before and they always ended up awkward. Add a birthday to the mix and it's just too much pressure (in my opinion).

Well, today marks four years since our first date (and three months until our wedding!). I remember exactly what I wore - jeans, a pink tank top and an aqua sweater. I picked the restaurant and then forgot how to get there (and since this was pre-smartphone days, neither one of us could look up the directions). We were two (almost) strangers, aimlessly driving around a city 30 minutes from where we attended school, trying to get our bearings. Luckily we eventually made it, albeit late for our reservation. Surprisingly, though, there was no awkwardness (aside from first date nerves) - not during the long car ride, not during dinner. We shared a bottle of wine and got to know each other.

That night was the beginning of a wonderful thing. It was the beginning of a relationship spanning four years, four states, many moves, two grad schools, two jobs, one crazy roommate, an amazing engagement, lots of memories, smiles, laughter, stress and tears. It was the beginning of me realizing that they are right - love does find you when you least expect it.

Happy four years to my soon to be husband. The first four were wonderful and I have no doubt that, between now and forever, the rest will be wonderful, too.

putting our e-photos to good use

I've been on the minted site dozens of times, but never knew that they offer photo calendars! Ever since having them taken, I've been looking for a fairly inexpensive way to display our engagement photos. One of these would be perfect hanging in our kitchen where we currently have a Georgia Bulldogs calendar (which is, thankfully, about to expire).

Some of my favorite designs:

Fling

Love Struck

Heirloom Blooms
(all from here)

What are some of the ways you used or plan to use your engagement photos?

groom gift guide

We're still over six months out from the wedding, so this post is probably a bit premature. But, with the future mister's birthday quickly approaching and the holidays coming up I thought I would share some of the gift ideas I've been compiling as they could be great inspiration for groom or groomsmen gifts.

for the eco-conscious:

Alex Bottle

for the stylish techno guy:

macbook skin by Karvt - made out of real wood!

(they also make iPad and iPhone skins)

for the history buff:

shaving kit

vintage toiletry kit

pocket watch

for the world traveler:

world map with pins

for the (forgetful) outdoorsman:

polarized sunglasses

and croakies so that they don't get lost (again*)

Since I don't think I have to worry about the future mister reading this before his birthday on Wednesday, I ended up getting him the Alex Bottle. Ever since taking up running, he's been mentioning that a Nalgene would be nice to have because he currently uses a pretty beat-up plastic Gatorade bottle. I considered just getting him a Nalgene (they are less expensive), but the Alex Bottle was too neat to pass up. First, it comes apart at the middle, so it's super easy to clean, unlike most bottles. The other great thing is that when not in use, it's super compactable - just take it apart, invert it and twist back together. Hopefully he'll be just as excited about it as I am.

What unique or thoughtful gifts have you gifted your guy?

*Yes, the future mister bought himself that exact pair of L.L. Bean sunglasses in the summer and as of September they were nowhere to be found.

money, money, money...money!

(source)

I've read and heard, many times, that money is one of the biggest points of contention in relationships. I'm not sure how accurate that statement is, statistically, but I definitely don't disagree. Money is very personal. It can be difficult to discuss and incredibly stressful, especially if couples don't share the same spending (and saving) habits. Every person and every couple, though, has their own way of organizing and managing their finances. I'd like to share how the future mister and I organize our money because I remember trying to research similar information when we were preparing to move in together back in the spring of 2009. Again, this is not to say that our way is better than anyone else's, but rather it's what works for us.

Around the time that the future mister and I first started contemplating our move to Georgia, I began worrying about how we would deal with our money. I knew that I didn't want us to combine our finances completely, but I also wasn't a huge fan of keeping everything separate. It can get quite confusing when you have multiple bills and have to keep track of who owes who and how much. After some thought and deliberation (and research), I suggested to the future mister that we open up a joint bank account. Since we each earn different salaries and have different amounts of debt and/or personal bills to pay, I thought that contributing a percentage would be more fair than deciding on a flat amount. At the time that I presented this information, the future mister was not on board. Unfortunately, I can't recall the reasons why, but that's neither here nor there.

Eventually we moved and only a few weeks after that we were engaged. We had not been living in our apartment a full month when the future mister, out of the blue, told me that he had changed his mind (perhaps he just needed to warm up to the idea, or maybe he was waiting for the engagement - who knows). The process of setting up a joint checking account was fairly simple. We each have checks and a debit card, and can both access our account online. Once that was complete, we sat down and agreed on the parameters. Every pay period, we each contribute a certain percentage of our paycheck to the joint account. This money is used for rent, utilities, groceries (which includes cleaning supplies and basic toiletries), and joint gifts, in addition to food, entertainment and travel that we do as a couple. Any other bills (for instance, I have some student loans, a car payment, car insurance, a cell phone bill, and a fitness membership), gifts, hobbies, more expensive toiletries/beauty products (like makeup), and individual food, entertainment or travel is paid for separately. In addition to our joint checking account and separate checking accounts, we each have our own savings accounts with enough of a safety net for us to live for a few months if one or both of us were to lose our job/teaching assistantship. Someday, in the near future, we would like to set up a joint savings account as well.

So far, our system has worked out very well. We never have to worry about owing each other anything and neither one of us has to feel guilty or ask permission if we want to purchase something for ourselves or spend our personal money in some other form or fashion. I'm glad that we were able to discuss this openly and come up with a solution that meets our current needs.

What kind of financial arrangement do you and your significant other have? Do you have any advice?

personal goals

I am so, so proud of my soon-to-be husband this morning! He, along with some of our friends who were in town visiting, ran the Athens Half Marathon on Sunday morning. He signed up over the summer indicating that he could run it in under 2 hours and 30 minutes. After training for a few months, he set a personal goal of running it in under 2 hours. Well.....

My future mister ran 13.1 miles and beat his goal by over TEN minutes!!

1:46:25 - 259th out of 1791, 29th out of 123 in the men's 25-29 age division

He deserved it, as did the rest of our friends who ran! Here are some more pictures of our weekend:

Saturday night I cooked everyone a spaghetti dinner - the boys were watching the UGA/UK game

pinning their bibs onto their shirts

all dressed and ready to go

City Hall at 6:30 am

the runners

and they're off!

at the halfway point I started jumping up and down and causing a big racket

look at all those runners!

Jonathan at the finish line

Patrick at the finish - unfortunately this guy stepped right into my shot

Nathan at the finish

Katelyn at the finish

the future mister and his groomsmen, post-race

so proud!

City Hall at 9:55 am

Did you and/or your fiance set any personal goals prior to the wedding?

strike a pose, part 3

These are the last of our photos and definitely my least favorite of the bunch. The future mister changed into a red polo and the photos were in front of a red barn (not sure what we were thinking). So needless to say, I like these best in black and white.

*all photos by Heidi of Our Labor of Love

Now that you've seen a decent amount of our photos, any suggestions on how I can incorporate them into the wedding? Keep in mind that save the dates are out since we're doing something like this. A guestbook is an option, but I'd prefer something more unique than the typical album from snapfish or blurb. Thoughts?

strike a pose, part 2

*all photos by Heidi of Our Labor of Love