Registry Schizophrenia

If the folks over at Pottery Barn and William Sonoma were keeping a close watch on our registry item list, they might think I was, well, a li'l bit crazy.

Let me explain:  I keep going back and forth regarding how I feel about our registry.  Way way back in the beginning (of time?) we were not going to have a registry.  No, we said, we'd love to get creative, thoughtful presents that our guests took the time to really think through and that would reflect us as a couple.

But with an engagement party looming, FMIL Trail Mix received several inquiries to our registry whereabouts and we feared the dreaded "kitchy" presents that might come our way without a registry, so we caved to the pressure.  Fine, we said, we'll do a limited registry with just a few things we really need.  With our limited space in our miniscule studio, we have no room for extra "stuff."

But then we went to the these stores, got that handy-dandy scanner gun and, folks, it was game over (or game on, depending on how you look at it.)

We definitely had some fun registering for lots of things that somehow were absolutely "necessary." Like an ice cream maker.  Which we actually got and which, by the way, totally freakin' rocks.  But a kitchen staple? Not so much.

However, once the engagement party was over (from which we received lots of lovely gifts off the registry!) I kind of went a little bit psycho about the whole thing.

You see this vase set?

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I've taken it on and off our registry at Pottery Barn no less than three times! It's like every other week, I completely change my mind.  First, there were lots of items; then the next week I decided we didn't want "stuff" and took more than the half the things off of it.  Then a few weeks later, I was browsing through the websites late at night and added a bunch more things.  Then I went back and took some of them off.  It's been a vicious cycle.

Ultimately, I have pared it down some from it's original state and added a few big ticket items on there because truthfully, that's what we really could use (both our couch and our bed are thrice handed-down from friends-of-friends.) 

I think it's safe to say between the my registry stalking and adding/removing items, I'm pretty sure both Pottery Barn and William Sonoma are ready for me to be married already (as am I!), just to get rid of my crazy registry wheelings and dealings.

Has anyone else flip-flopped over what's on their registry? Do you stalk your registry like I do? 

I Did It!

26.2 miles were run on Monday in Beantown.  It wasn't pretty but it's done and damn, if it wasn't crazy-fun yet totally torturous all at the same time.

Words are failing me at the moment so some picture narratives will have to do instead:

Finally, I am the proud owner of the highly-prestigious/much-coveted (fine, only in the running world but still...) BAA marathon jacket.  Seriously, every time I've seen someone wearing one of these while running in the park, I had a major case of the envies.  Until now.

Pre-race, taken at about 6:00 am on Marathon Monday, which would explain my lack of open eyes.  I was on my way to take the shuttle (school) bus out to start line, gatorade and banana in hand.

 

My mom took this one (and the rest of them, come to think of it) at Mile 17.  Truth be told, I was totally majorly hurting by this point and it felt like if I stopped at all, even for a second, I'd never be able to start again.  Therefore, I am gesturing a bit wildly to Mom to "Take a picture!" because I can't stop!

Action shot at Mile 22.  Definitely could not stop by this point.  Again, was pretty much fading but I think I managed to put on a good show for the camera.

Finally, finally finished.  But not without some war wounds.  Between a massive blister on my heel and several more on my toes, plus chafing and a bruise/scrape from when I tripped and fell (while warming up. I'm such an effin' klutz...) I was kind of a mess.

And one with my parents.  Who schlepped to Boston, stayed in a ridiculously over-priced Holiday Inn, fed me pasta the night before and got up with me early in the morning, all for the chance to see me run in the marathon.  For about a total of 7 seconds.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!

I had a wonderful weekend in Boston and the marathon was incredible.  I know not everyone feels like this when they reach the finish line of a marathon but for a lot of people, it truly is an event filled with emotion.  Trust me when I say that 26.2 miles really is as far as it seems.  And it's an awesome feeling to realize that you did it.

Secret confession: I cried when I crossed the finish line.  Ok, I guess for those who know me that's not really much of a secret confession, but I'm still slightly embarrassed by the fact.  Good thing the only people around me were lots of sweaty, tired runners, most of whom were in too much pain to notice anything else.

And even though I went out way way way too fast, I still managed to take 6 minutes off my best marathon time.  Greeeeat success (Borat voice.) 

And my final confession for the day? I brought (ok, fine, wore) my finisher's medal to school to show to all my students. It was awesome.

Whose crossed the finish line of a race and felt emotional about it? It's a good metaphor for the "race to the altar," don't you think? 

Confession Time

Ok, so my shower was completely amazing, wonderful, awesome, incredible, etc.  Make no mistake about that. But I have to confess that it did end on a slightly negative note.  Mr Trail Mix had been asked to stop by about half an hour before it was supposed to end.  We made sure to finish up all the games and presents a bit early in order to have time to spend with him and take a few pictures and so forth.  Well, at 1:40 we were still waiting for him.  10 minutes later, still waiting.  Finally, with literally 3 minutes left before we had to leave, he made it.

I.  WAS.  PISSED, to put it bluntly.  I had been looking forward to him coming the entire time and I wanted him to have a chance to be fussed over by all my aunts and cousins and get a chance to take some pictures of us together.  When he finally arrived, I was, how shall I say? Not exactly nice to him.  We actually got in a bit of a spat over it, although luckily I don't think anyone else noticed since everyone was too busy moving the massive amounts of presents downstairs and collecting everything.

However, turns out he did leave with (barely) enough time to get there when he had been asked to arrive but he stopped to buy me flowers, in which took almost 20 minutes for the florist to make a bouquet.  Once he told me this, I instantly felt like a complete and total ass.  He apologized for being so late and missing the end of the shower, I apologized for over-reacting and being a mega-biotch.

But I'm still kind of mad at myself for getting so upset the last 30 minutes of the shower.  My mom and aunt kept telling me to let it go and brush it aside but I just couldn't.

So I want to be the mature child and learn a lesson from my over-reaction. On the wedding day, I must not do the same thing.  Obviously, something will go wrong on the day.  It would be unrealistic of me to expect otherwise.  Something will go wrong and I cannot let it bother me because the wedding day is too special to ruin with my emotional outbursts and irrational anger.

I know that this is a valuable lesson to learn, although I wish it hadn't happened on such a special, lovely day like my bridal shower but I am willing to be a grown-up about things, learn from mistakes and move on.  Come wedding day, I know now that these things are not worth getting upset over and I know that if I do get upset, I will regret it deeply in the following weeks to come.

So bring on the wedding disasters, I'm ready now, I can take whatever the wedding gods have in store for me.  Lesson learned and you can all be sure I will be reminding myself of this and how I wish I had reacted, should anything go wrong on the big day.

Can anyone else relate to this experience? What's been your biggest "lesson learned" moment?

April Showers Bring...

June weddings! On Sunday, my Aunt J hosted a bridal shower for me at Alice's Tea Cup on Manhattan's Upper East Side, kicking off Day Two of my bridal weekend extravaganza.  The place was adorable.  In case you didn't get it from the name, it's an Alice-In-Wonderland themed tea house that was just the cutest thing ever!

For some unknown reason, the sidewalk in front was decorated with chalk.  It wasn't for me but it made for a fun picture.

The best part about the shower was that I pretty much had zero hand in planning it, making everything a total surprise.  My aunt did these really pretty favor bags from Pottery Barn that held a small glass vase in a little basket with a package of tea (since it was a tea house) in each one.

She even had ribbon printed with my name and date on it to decorate the bags!

Look at what greeted me when I walked into the entry of the party:

A whole mess of presents! Given my obsession with (both giving and getting) presents, you all know I was pumped to see that pile :)

When I made my way to my spot, I was greeted with this absurdly massive tea cup. It's hard to tell without a person for scale in this picture but that thing is the size of a large mixing bowl.  I love it! 

My amazing MOH Pip started things off with a fun ice breaker game: She had the names of famous couples written on name tags and everyone got one to put on their backs, without looking at who they were.  The idea was to ask yes or no questions to try and figure out who you were, then find your match.  The first pair to find each other won a prize. It was really fun and good way to chat with everyone (not that I really needed any help with that, I'm a total chatty Kathy, especially after a glass of champagne, haha...)

And then we ate.  Oh, did we eat.  There were strawberry scones, pumpkin scones, scrambled eggs, potatoes and crepes with fresh berries, not to mention tons of different types of tea. They even had a special bridal tea made with rose petals...Mmmmmmm...

When I arrived, I was immediately given a tiara and wand, which I had a blast waving about (and ordering everyone about.  HA! Kidding, kidding...)

After stuffing our faces, we played a Newly-Wed type game where I was asked questions that Mr Trail Mix had previously answered to see how well we knew each other. I kicked butt at that one, I know him so well.

And then it was all presents, all the time.  I'm not going to lie, I loved opening all those gifts and I got some amazing, thoughtful, generous presents! I think the highlight of the gift-opening was when my mom handed me a bag with a string hanging out one side and instructed me to pull out the string.  Attached to this string were clothespins with 11 pairs of undies, one for each day of the honeymoon.  I think this next series of pictures is hilarious!

And of course, no shower would be complete without the requisite ribbon hat and some beautiful girlfriends...

It was truly a celebration of womenhood and I could not have asked for a more perfect shower.  The love that I felt that afternoon was incredibly powerful and uplifting, I was pretty much floating the entire time. I only wish it had gone longer!

Special props must go out to MOH Pip, who did an awesome job planning all the games, complete with prizes, as well as an extremely creative gift for me that brought down the house! Thanks, Pip, after 15 years of friendship still going strong, I love you more than ever!

And finally, so much love must go out to my wonderful Aunt J, who planned the entire thing from start to finish.  It was more than I ever expected and the experience is a memory I will always cherish.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I could seriously write twice as much as I did here but enough gushing adjectives and exclamation points, I'm sure you all get the picture.  Love, tea, presents and champagne made for a divine shower experience I'll always be grateful for.

What was your favorite part of your shower? Share, I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Dresses, Dresses, Everywhere...

Alright, I chose the dress for the rehearsal dinner but it wasn't the one you guys liked the best, for several reasons. Number one, even though I had given myself a generous budget for this dress, the Carmen Marc Valvo one far exceeded said budget.  I just couldn't pull the trigger.

I ended up with the Anthropologie dress that was a sleeper hit.  I grabbed it at the last second off the sale rack, not expecting to give it real consideration.  But I fell in love with it when I tried it on and the price was right.

I had to get it altered so I brought it along to my second dress fitting this past Saturday at Ellen's Couture on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The front of the shop is so pleasant and comfortable, which made it perfect to bring Trail Mix Mom and FMIL Trail Mix along.  

Here's a somewhat better picture of the dress (although I look like I need some make-up and diet coke stat. We were there relatively early in the morning for a Saturday :)

It's more a champagne color in real life and has a pretty flattering shape.  I don't usually go for the type of dress with a big bow on it but for once, this one just felt right...Plus, I got to order more JCrew shoes to go with it (it's a genuine addiction, that makes 5 pairs from the Crew alone this past 8 months!Shhhhh....)

Oh, and since you asked (ok, fine, you didn't but Ima show you guys anyways) here's a few sneak peaks of my dress perfection. 

This fitting was the first time I've gotten to try on pieces of my dress that actually fit.  Ellen had to take the entire dress apart and then fit it to me piece by piece.  It was a little scary to show up and just see the skeleton lining of my dress hanging there but once she had pinned on the lace overlay and flower embellishments, I was in love all over again.

I can't wait to show it to you all but I really want to wait for the finished product, hopefully I'll get a chance to before the wedding...If not, you'll just have to sit back, dying of anticipation, and settle for a cute photo of Day One of my bridal weekend (Day Two was my shower, more on that tomorrow!) with the Mama's (and FMIL Trail Mix's sister) after the fitting at Ellen's shop...

Thanks for coming!!!

We spent the rest of the day after the fitting wandering down Madison Avenue, admiring jewelry store windows and trying on Italian silk shirts.  FMIL Trail Mix popped into Cole Haan on a whim and emerged with shoes for our wedding, which she'd been on the hunt for for a while now (and while there, I spotted the adorable shoe choice of Miss Hamster, over which my mom pretty much DIED when she saw them and tried to convince me to get them too!)

It was a complete and total girly, luxurious day and I loved every second of it.

Anyone else have some fun, bridal weekend experiences?

Stop The Madness!

It's just over eight weeks until W-day and I have officially put a moratorium on all new craft projects.  When I consider all that I've done, I think it's finally time to say enough.

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Bye-bye to dreams of the beautiful lace candle holders from Martha Stewart!

This official end to all things DIY came to me when I realized how overwhelmed I felt thinking about the new projects I potentially wanted to add to my list.

Divine little tags with the flavors of the chocolates for our new favors (tied with the adorable bakers twine we all go gaga for?) No, I say, let the chocolate shoppe package them up for me with a in a plain clear plastic bag and a gold twisty tie and I'll be on my merry way.

Tissue paper poufs a la Martha Stewart to decorate the entranceway to our ceremony site now that we've officially move it indoors? HA! Let the florist figure out how to decorate that space (and fresh flowers are the best decorations, anyways...)

Fancy, matted, specially-cut and printed menu cards? How about a Word document and my trusty local Staples instead...

You see where I'm going with this? I read early on in my planning adventure to stop adding projects to one's list at six weeks out.  Well, I'm just over eight weeks out but I feel that this is a necessary step to preserve my sanity.

And girlfriends, let me tell you, it feels so good.  Like, I'm free as a bird and want to skip and run and hop about with glee because there will be no more frustrations over craft projects for me!

There's lots of small projectitas to finish up and plenty to keep me busy until the big day but I feel this is the right decision.  And so I have laid my scalloped scissors by the wayside and put my papercutter out of site.  The glue gun has gone on vacation to Hawaii and my paper puncher's officially retired due to a broken spring.  We had a good run, me and all my craft supplies but stick a fork in me and turn me over because when it comes to crafting, I. AM. DONE.

When did you decide it was time to stop crafting? Or are you a glutton for punishment and will keep on going right up until wedding day?

Favors, Part Deux

Back when I was still trying to be a good little budget bride, I came up with these lovely mini-favors (favoritas?) that I felt fit the theme of our wedding without breaking the bank.  Remember my lavender bunches? Here's a pic to jog your memory:

Rustic, sweet, cheap.  I think the total cost of the project was less than $75 and I was able to make 185 little  bunches, tagged and tied with raffia.  I still totally heart them and I think they will look lovely tucked into napkins at each place setting.

But (you all totally know where this is going...) a few choice comments about the necessity of a grander favor as well as my blowing the budget with reckless abandon led me to the conclusion that something edible must also be included as part of the favor-set.

So I put my thinking cap on and very quickly, an idea came to me.  Brother Trail Mix worked at a gourmet chocolate shop in the area one summer.  I like gourmet chocolate (that might be the understatement of the year.)  I think our guests would like gourmet chocolate.  Ding ding ding, we have a winner!!

I contacted Chocolate Springs in Lenox, MA (making sure to drop the Bro TM connection to get the best price possible) and la-di-da, we have our second favor.  I may be a little bit biased because I'm a huge lover of all things chocolate but seriously, guys and dolls, this is honestly some of the best chocolate I've ever had (and don't even get me started on their chocolate ice cream.  I DIE.) Anyone in the Western Mass/Albany, NY area should definitely check out their website and/or store, even if you're not getting married and needing chocolate favors because I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

And even more gloriously, they're going to package them up for me so I don't have to add another DIY project to my list (thank GOD!) Each guest will receive a little bag tied with a gold twist-tie with two pieces of yummy chocolates at their place setting, along with the dried lavender bunch.  I think everyone will really appreciate the sweet treat and you can better believe I will make sure to collect all those who foolishly leave theirs behind at the end of the night cuz I ain't lettin' no chocolate go to waste, uh uh!

Are you ready for some (literal) eye-candy?

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They also do gorgeous desserts and (dum dum dum)...Wedding cakes!

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How frickin' gorgeous is that wedding cake? It's almost enough to make me want to have a cake (but not quite since...well, I'll be honest, these chocolates are costing roughly what a small cake would cost so there ya go...)

I'm happy with this decision, even though I know it was a totally unnecessary addition.  I know, I know, just add me to the list of those who have caved under the dreaded wedding industry pressure.  It's ok. Since there's chocolate involved, I like to think that everyone wins :)

So now here's the fun part where I need your help.  I have to choose the flavors for the favors (HA!) Mr Trail Mix doesn't really like chocolate (Sacrilege! Can you believe I'm still marrying him?!?!?) so he did not have an opinion.  So I'm turning to all you chocoholics out there.  Which two of the following flavors would you prefer as a guest at my wedding? (Sadly, I had to automatically eliminate  all options that had nuts due to allergy concerns...)

1.  Milk Chocolate and Caramel with Sea Salt

2.  Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Ganache

3. Dark Chocolate and Lavender Honey

4. Milk Chocolate Truffle

5. Dark Chocolate and Passion Fruit Mousse

Mmmmm, my mouth is literally watering just thinking about these options (and they have lots of others, I just narrowed down the choices to five otherwise we'd be here all day!)

So which ones should I pick? Are the chocolates a great favor addition or a completely unnecessary waste of moolah?

Tapering Off

As much as I wish the title of this post was reflective of the wedding planning, alas, that is not the case. Wedding planning is still going strong (too strong.  I want to quit my gmail account, walk away from the computer and never plan another thing. EVER. But I digress...)

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So close I can taste it!

What is tapering off, however, is my running schedule.  Now that the Boston Marathon is less than two weeks away (eek!) my mileage has severely decreased.  And, my friends, it. is. glorious! As much as I love to run and have enjoyed the training process for the marathon, it's so nice not to have to go spend between one and three hours working out every day.

Tapering, for those of you who are interested, is a training technique widely approved by most track and field coaches that encourages the athlete to significantly reduce his or her work effort, mileage and training time for about one to three weeks before the race, depending on the distance.  For a shorter race, such as a 5k or 10k, a week to 10 days is usually standard tapering while for a full or half-marathon, the taper can be more like two or three weeks.

I personally always have a little bit of mental trouble with tapering, because it feels counterintuitive.  How is running/working out less going to help me run more on race day? I'm used to pushing myself at a certain level and have to force myself to back down and hold back a bit, which is frustrating.  I always get nervous that I'm tapering too much and will find myself weak and out of shape for the race.  And then race day comes and the adrenaline kicks in and thus far, my tapering has been successful. I was able to far exceed my time expectations for both of the two marathons that I've run.

Tapering does work, although it's often a difficult concept to fully come to terms with.  However, at this point, I'm not complaining because with all the wedding craziness going on in  my life, it's a bit of a relief to cut down my hours of running.

Have you heard of tapering before? Anyone else use this technique before a race?

You Can't Always Get What You Want...

A while ago, I was reading the ever-sensible and down-to-earth A Practical Wedding blog and came across a post about choices.  In essence, the entry argued that everything regarding the wedding was a choice, not a necessity.  You don't need to have (insert any number of wedding-related items here,) but most of us want them and therefore have to choose what to incorporate. Great advice, if I ever heard it, and I've kept it in my head since.

I've been thinking about this advice with the recent arrival and departure of my invitations. I'll admit, my invitations were not in any way a DIY project nor were they particularly cost-effective (I got a great deal on them but they were well over the usual cost per invite of a hand-made one.) I love them to death but the cost left little room for extras.

Which is why I chose to not have calligraphy addresses or even faux-lligraphy addresses.  Nope, instead I grabbed a pretty, light blue Gel ink sparkly pen and wrote everything out by hand, adding a few flourishes here and there but nothing super-intense. Although there was a big part of me that was convinced that the outside of the envelopes had to be as beautiful as the insides, the budget has been steadily increasing as the wedding approaches and we all know the feeling of panic that tends to accompany that phenomenon.

Ultimately, when it came down to hard numbers, as much as I wanted to have beautiful hand-calligraphied envelopes, it just did not make sense to spend the extra money and therefore I made the decision not to do it.
So far, I think the decision was the best one for us, although there is a part of me that yearns a bit wistfully for lovely, calligraphied addresses.

I guess the point of this post is to remember that every wedding decision is a choice, not a necessity and there is always an alternative, although it may not be as attractive.  For the most part, I'm very happy with the choices I've made regarding the wedding, but some of them have required serious thought and some late-night tossing and turning.

What choices have you made during wedding planning that you really had to think long and hard about?

The Invitations Have Been Sent...

Which means I can finally show them off.  My aunt who used to run a stationary and invitation store for years offered to do them for me, which I eagerly took her up on.  I may occasionally churn out a successful DIY project but never did it ever enter my mind to try and make my invitations.  No, hi ho hi ho, it was off to a printer I would go.  We used Encore Studios of New York City and they were dreamy to work with and I am so pleased with the results.

The suite includes a lined envelope, single-matte formal invitation, the RSVP and lined mini-envelope (love it!) and the rehearsal dinner invitation. I made some very problematic direction slips that were also included.

Invitation Photo Overdose!

I love them.  I love love love love love them! Heehee, I am giddy with anticipation over getting RSVP cards back this week.  These were definitely money well-spent and I was sad to send them on their way...

Do your invitations make you excited for the wedding??