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Something BLUE?

S-Wine Flu

I'm currently in Dallas for work and feelin' a lil' too close for comfort to the Swine Flu epidemic.  As I write, I am quarantined in my hotel room with a glass of vino watching Sex and the City reruns ... will this show ever get old?  I. don't. think. so. 

Key West was incredible.  I can't post the pics now (as I am on my work laptop and the photos are on my desktop at home), but I will do so for the next entry.  We putzed around the island on our bikes, ate at least 2 soft-serve ice cream cones a day and stuck our toes into the ocean once or twice to not feel guilty for neglecting the water (Key West doesn't really have beaches).   Susan and Ross got us this amazing two-bedroom unit at Simonton Court, right in the heart of Key West.

The above was the walkway into our unit and we were spoiled with a private pool right outside our doorstep.

 

Over the past few days, I've been putting quite a bit of thought into the ceremony and we have some AMAZING things planned.  I certainly won't ruin the suprise, but this will be unilke any wedding ceremony you have seen before.  We really wanted the entire experience to be a reflection of the two of us, and I truly feel that this will be the case in the decisions we have made.  I can't believe that the wedding is a little over two months away.  I have been receiving the most comforting calls from family and friends follwing the panic blog I posted a week or so ago with all of the ytbd items on my to-do list ... no worries, my loves ... I will start delegating soon! :)

In other news, we have officially nailed down the locale for our rehearsal dinner.  It's an amazing wine bar/art gallery (Harvest Gallery) that we LOVE to visit when we're on the Cape.  It has such an eclectic, comforting and familiar feel and Ben and I just knew that this was what we wanted for our RD.  When I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in my best friend's (Rachel) wedding, I knew that I wanted something very similar to what she did.  It was such an intimate setting and we all were given an opportunity to talk about why it was meaningful for us to share the experience with her and Lee.  By the end of the night, we were all in tears (of joy, of course!) and felt connected in a way that I cannot put into words.  I want to emulate that experience in my rehearsal dinner - it was truly a magical moment.  Below is a photograph of the site for the RD:

 

So slowly, but surely, things are starting to come together and take shape.  Oh, and BTW, I just purchased the most amazing accesorie for myself and my ladies on the big day.  They are called "solemates" and are the perfect solution to the inevitable quicksand effect of heels on cracked sidewalks and grass ... no more sinkage, my dears!  Behold, your new solemates!

 

You can find these nifty lil' gadgets at http://www.thesolemates.com/.  I have to admit, I gave a second thought to my promise of never opening a bridal mag ... I did find these suckers in the latest issue of Modern Bride and I am so grateful that I decided to dust off the cover and flip through the pages  (and my shoes are, too!) Why didn't I think of the solemate?  Such an obvious and genius invention!

I will return home tomorrow and will be able to post the Key West pics by Wednesday. I'm still waiting on some advice from you ladies on what I cannot afford to wait until the last minute to do ... Jill?  Rach?  Mando?  Tams?  Come on, I KNOW you are reading this!  I NEEEEEEEED advice!

 

xo

 

Keys to my Heart

 

We are currently in route to the Florida Keys.  On a good day (sans traffic), the drive is about 3.5 hours - but this is no typical Alligator Alley or I-64 excursion, we're talking 3.5 hours of endless views of the turquoise-blue waters and powdered-sugar sand.  This vacay (although short) has been calling our name for awhile now.  I'm pumped to kick up my heels under the shade of a sleepy palm tree while sippin' on a festive, paper-umbrella clad bev. 

Ross and Susan got into town on Wednesday night, just after our ballroom class with the World Salsa champion, Isaac Altman, of the International Dance Studio in Miami.  I used to teach ballroom at Franklin Cottrell Dance Studio in Lex, but Ben is new to the game.  It's actually quite nice to be teachin' my honey something for a change.  Because he's a jack of all trades, it's usually Ben who is teaching me a skill like photography or photoshop.  For once he was on my turf and it felt so amazing to dance again.  I won't spoil the suprise, but we're planning a really beautiful dance for the wedding to our favorite song.  After the wedding, I have plans to continue to train in ballroom and perhaps start competing again ...

 

The above is a photograph of a gorgeous spot called, "The Moorings Village."  It's perfectly situated between Miami and Key West and would have been a perfect spot for a Destination Wedding in Florida.  My mother would have died and gone to heaven at the sight of the home right at the start of this dock: Gone with the Wind meets Weekend at Bernies (the movie may have been bad, but Bernie's casa was fab).  We stopped by Moorings on the way to Key West and are just now hitting the mile-marker #30.  Once you leave Miami and hit US-1, you start at mile-marker 140 and, like watching a countdown, you slowly tick away at the miles until you're down to # 1.  At that point, you can't go any further south in the United States of America and you have reached Key West.

When Ben and I go to the Keys, it's usually our time to decompress from all of the day-to-day stresses that seem to pile up.  It's amazing that we live only 3 hours from such a tropical destination.  It's very different from Miami because it's a very groovy, peaceful beach town with such a community feel.  South Beach definitely feels small and is very much like a community, but there's an unspoken calm to the energy of Key West.  We usually rent beach cruisers, never move the car and catch a few drag shows in the evening for giggles.  It's has also always been a great place for us to relax and reconnect - it was the place where Ben and I made the list of our favorite things that he used to create the scavenger hunt for his marriage proposal for me.  We made the list while sipping champagne on a porch swing in the treetop townhouse at our favorite B&B (the Ambrosia House - pictured below).

 

In wedding news, we nailed down the attire for Ben and his boys.  I just got a lil' taste when he tried on the jacket and my heart melted ... he's going to be gorgeous!  I also am planning a really special gift for my ladies in the wedding ... so slowly, but surely, I am checking off the millions of tasks on my to-do list.

At this very moment, we are arriving in Key West so, as much as I would love to conclude with something clever, I'd much rather hop out of the car and into the hammock.  May each of you have a fabulous weekend!

The List that Keeps on Giving

I'm officially back from what I am sure seems to be the dead.  To be quite honest, I have been utterly overwhelmed lately with everything there is to do from my new job, to working on my business (I just incorporated!!) and, not to mention, planning for our wedding which is THREE. MONTHS. AWAY.  (ahhhh!)

I logged on to theknot.com today for the first time in about a million years, only to have what I believe to be a minor panic attack.  You know those to-do lists/planners they provide, where they detail, by month, what you should have already taken care of?  Yeah, uh ...steer clear of that page, ladies. 

March was absolute madness (Ben's birthday, my birthday, my dad's birthday, everyone's birthday) - and April is not much better.  I wrote out a list today of the things that have YTBD (yet to be done) for the nups, and it's not pretty:

Video/photo montage
Wedding Rings
Bridesmaids gifts
Groom's gift
Party Favors
Out-of-town guest packages
Rehearsal dinner dress
Wedding shoes
Writing my vows
Finish registering
Ben's tux
Signs/maps/etc.
Invitations (although we are almost done)
Programs
Bonfire permit
Marriage license
Hair Trial
And about 10000 other things that I haven't even thought of yet

To-do list aside, it has been a great (but very busy) few weeks.   Last week we had Tami (my cousin) and Kendra stay at the house for their Spring Break from Dental School and we had a lot of fun.  Tami told me that her best bit of advice is to not wait until the last minute to do the programs.  What is your advice?  What did you wait until the last minute to do that you wish you would have started sooner?

One of Tami's wedding projects that has been ongoing was her family cookbook.  On her invitations, she asked all guests to bring any/all family recipes that they would like to share and she had a gorgeous vase for people to drop them into at the entrance of the reception.  She didn't get as many recipes as she wanted, so she has been pleading with all of us to submit our recipes to her for almost a year now.  She was in heaven w/ Ben - following him around the kitchen with her notebook, documenting every move he made, from the tiny dash of cumin to the last zest of lime.  She sent me a text message yesterday telling me that she was going to try her hand at vegetarian sushi (inspired by Benny Croker himself):

(Ben's veggie sushi rolls)

Tams, how did they turn out?  Send me a pic and I'll post it!

Here they are during Ben's sushi lesson:



Next week Ben's parents are coming to visit us and we're spending next weekend in Key West.  I'm really looking forward to a lil' R&R.  One of my birthday presents from Ben were tickets for us to go see Flight of the Conchords this past Tuesday.  They were incredible!  If you haven't checked out their show yet on HBO, I insist that you must!

Now that I've vented and spent the time that I should have been tackling one of the items on my to-do list to update the blog, I would love a lil' last minute bridal advice from any of you ... any horror stories?  Any advice this close to the big day?  What item on that list should I do right now?  Help!!

Confessions of a horrible blogger

It has been two weeks since my last post ...I have no excuse, other than our typical, crazy lives.  Lots to update and post.  In the past two weeks, the following has happened:

1.  I turned 26 (ahhhhh!)

2.  My hair was dyed purple and then back again

3.  Ben threw a birthday party for me

4.  Tami and Kendra came to visit for a week

5.  I got the new G1 phone

6.  Ben fixed the fan in the bedroom

7.  We booked our first ballroom private lesson to prepare for our first dance

8.  We have almost completely finished our invitations

9.  My wedding dress arrived

10. The 100 day mark of our countdown to the wedding came and went

We are 3 months away from our big day and there is still so much for us to do.  I will be posting some photos from the past two weeks later this evening.