Honeymoon decisions - Cross-Country USA or Backpacking EUROPE??

Merry Christmas!!

I can't believe it's already Christmas and there's less than 6 months to go until the big day! This year, Kev surprised me with an awesome gift (a Garmin nuvi GPS.. so I never get lost) and a cute card with a poem he wrote:

'Twas the night before Christmas and boy was I busy
I cooked up a feast, but man am I dizzy
I planned ahead this year, I hope you are proud.
Finally for once, right before our vows.
You are so special to me and I can't wait till May
Merry Christmas babe, until our big day!

Love,
Kev

The card read - "I'd make a Christmas wish, but you already came true." :)

Thank you babe! Of course, I didn't disappoint either. I got him Cole Haan socks (so he won't have cold feet.. get it?), Frosted Cranberry candles & fragrance oils from Bath and Body Works (his favorite scent), $80 gift card to Sports Chalet so he can buy his bball shoes, and... dun dun dunnnnnn.. A Nintendo DS lite!! ;)

Anyway, with some time on my hands this Christmas day, I am daydreaming of our honeymoon and can't decide between

Cross-Country USA Roadtrip: http://www.roadtripusa.com/

or

Backpacking across Europe: http://www.backpackeurope.com/

What do you guys think?

Happy Holidays to you and your family!

I said YES to dress!

I never thought wedding dress shopping was going to be this easy!

I've always wanted to check out Marylinn's bridal in Pasadena, but felt the dresses would be completely out of my price range. However, a week ago, I got an email from theknot.com about their "Black Friday, White Gown" sale from November 27-29. I was leaning towards renting my dress to save some money, but I thought, what the heck.. let me call and make an appointment. By the time I called, they were all booked for Friday and Saturday, but I managed to squeeze in a last minute appointment for Sunday.



When I got there, I had no expectations of finding a dress. There were some beautiful dresses in the front, but way out of my price range. We hit the jackpot in the back room where all the Black Friday deals were. With the help of my mom, my 3 cousins and my maid of honor, we picked out several great dresses for me to try on. My sales rep, Desiree, was really friendly and helpful in helping me get into all the dresses. I tried on 4 dresses and with no expectations at all, I said YES to MY dress! I was really lucky because all the dresses were so beautiful, but the second one I tried on stood out the most! The dress fit me (very important), it complimented my wedding theme and colors, it was in amazing conditions, and originally listed for $1,750, it was a steal for $399!! I never thought wedding dress shopping was going to be this easy! It definitely helped to have the support of my family and friends and a sales rep that was friendly and helpful. The only thing missing from my experience was having all my bridesmaids there.


No pictures of the dress here, since my fiance hasn't seen the dress (and won't until the wedding).. but here's a picture of Desiree, the wonderful sales rep at Marylinn's Bridal, and me:

My missing tea tins have arrived! Except, I had to re-place the order so technically, the missing tins are still missing..

Either way, I'm excited they're here! And I love the tins! I did expect them to be a little bigger since I'm using them as vases for the wedding, but I love the design! If not as vases, I'll fill them with wax and make them into candles.

Tea Tin Candles:

Flea Market treasures

I went to the Rose Bowl flea market this past Sunday with one of my bridesmaid. Originally planned for 7am, we ended up going around 11am (in my defense.. 7am is REALLY EARLY for a Sunday!) Since K & I had to be at a baby shower in the O.C. by 1pm, our time at the flea market was really limited. My mission was to find a vintage suitcase to use as the card/money box for the wedding. Although we got sidetracked a few times (there's just WAY too much cool stuff at the flea market) and ended up browsing a vintage jewelry booth for 20 minutes. Not good considering we had only one hour to complete my mission. Good because I got a really neat gold/orange ring with an elephant carving made from a vintage earring for $10.

We hit jackpot when we walked into the anitque section and I got this vintage dark blue canvas suitcase for $8 (thanks to my bridesmaids awesome negotiating skills).

I'm going to fix it up and apply a gold finish on the metal latches/hinges. I bought a "Rub'nBuff" antique gold wax metallic finish that seems to do the job.

Before After

For $8.. I'd say I accomplished my mission.

darn you UPS!

I was looking forward to receiving my package from Pearl River of these beautiful antique-looking tea tins that I wanted to use as my wedding centerpiece.. but my package is MISSING! The UPS tracking said delivered @ FRONT DOOR. K was home ALL day and they DID NOT COME! I'm so sad.. :(

This is my inspiration:

It's November already?!

Time is FLYING! we're down to 6 months and 26 days until the wedding..

update:

- booked photographer: Aaron Gil @ Fotonuova

- met with invitation designer: Caroline @ Carciofi Design

- met with one DJ/MC: Jaimee @ Edge Entertainment

- in contact with makeup/hair artist: Grace @ Beauty By Grace

- researching videographers.. interested in Daniel @ dvArtistry (love the Cinema Reale idea)

- 2nd meeting with our wedding planner Amanda @ Fresh Events Company. We met with our venue coordinator Linda @ Fantasea Yachts and toured the Fantasea One again!

note: the invitation designer and DJ/MC had such a beautiful home studio/office.. makes me wish I worked from home! :)

**special thanks to my dedicated bridesmaids who have been helping me research wedding themes, bridesmaid dresses, invitation designs, and everything else! With your help, we have finally decided on an intimate and fun theme that reflect both our personalities.

fitness update: got sick and cancelled boot camp.. luckily, I was able to get a full refund after providing a doctor's note! haven't made any huge leaps in progress the last two months, but I did attend bikram yoga once a week for about a month and it was an amazing experience! I would love to do it regularly, but I'm going to utilize my gym membership and make better progress before I spend more money. I still have hatha yoga on Saturdays at P.C.C. and yoga with my cousins at Tzu-Chi on Sundays. This month, I'm going to focus on food intake and regular exercise. No more CARBS! :(

Labor Day = looonng weekend!

Wedding update:
Kev and I met with a photographer on Wednesday. Aaron Gil of Fotonouva. Let me know what you think.

Life update:
It's the loong awaited 3 day weekend!! I can't wait!! and on 9/13, Kev and I will celebrate our 11-year anniversary! And next May, we'll start counting the first year of marriage. Eek!

Fitness update:
Day 2 at bootcamp today! My first day was on Tuesday and after I got my ass kicked by the class, I changed my schedule to MWF. I chose not to go on Wed because I was unable to move after Tuesday. If the class were free, I probably would have wimped out on today's session, but I did put down big bucks for this so I had to suck it up! It was a great workout though and really helped loosen up the tight muscles.

9 months to go..

It's time to get this wedding on the road. Only 9 months left and there is so much to do.. It's hard to figure out just what needs to be done and when!

So far here are the wedding updates:

Wedding planner: booked (Amanda @ Fresh Events Company)

Bridal/wedding party: selected.

Reception Venue: booked (Marina del Rey, CA)

Ceremony Venue: same as reception venue?

Photographer: booked appointment to meet Wed 9/2

It felt like just yesterday when Kev and I hosted our dinner party @ Mi Piace to celebrate our wedding party selection. That was back in May and now it's already September!!

Right now, my number 1 focus is to get back in shape! Since coming home from Vegas last year, I am reluctant to disclose that I gained over 20 lbs. So if you're wondering if I've started looking at wedding dresses.. the answer is no, because I'm just not ready.

I'm back on Nutri-system and signed up today for 4 weeks of boot camp at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. Mon-Fri 5:30-6:30am. I also signed up for Bikram Yoga once a week starting 9/15. And Hatha Yoga once a week starting 9/26. I'm totally spreading myself too thin, but I've got to take it one day at a time. And if not now, when?

Alright, only 4 hours of sleep is possible now. I'm going to call it a night. More updates to come!