Viva Las Vegas in 22 Days

Throughout the whole planning process for our Vegas trip, Kelly has kept me in the dark about the details of the weekend. It's been so hard for me to be out of the loop, but now I'm thrilled b/c I know the details!!

She's done a great job of getting everything organized and all the details put together, and it's actually a great feeling for me to know I can just show up (with the right clothes, of course!) and be ready for a weekend-long party.

Speaking of clothes, I'm pretty much prepared! I have a new swimsuit, a blue satin dress for Friday night and a white sequined dress for Saturday night. I just have to figure out which shoes I'm going to wear, what casual clothes I should bring for during the day and figure out jewelry/accessories. That's all fun stuff.

The details for the guys either still haven't been determined - or I just don't know them yet. Either way, I have a great feeling that it'll be a fantastic weekend.

Kristen and I during one of our past trips to Vegas. Cheers!

 - Lisa

Two More Months

That's right... our wedding is exactly two months from today!

We had a really productive - yet fun - weekend. With no kickball on Friday, we were able to just relax around the house; that was a much-needed treat.

On Saturday, we got the backyard grass trimmed down and reseeded. The grass seed and soil are now down; we should get the new grass coming in probably a week and a half.

The plants/trees are looking great, and we got a new hummingbird feeder since the other one continually leaked. I saw a couple hummingbirds flying around, but the only birds on the feeder so far have been a pair of woodpeckers. I'm definitely looking for suggestions other than "keep the feeder full" and "patience" on getting hummingbirds ASAP - those are the suggestions I'm keeping in mind... not that I have any proof those will work.

I met up with a friend to deliver a couple personalized baby hangers I had made... Those are definitely on the list of things I'll be selling from my etsy.com account after the wedding. They're smaller than the wedding personalized hangers, and I get to have a bit more fun with paint & a ribbon that go along with the baby's room (or just a favorite color).

On Saturday evening, we met up with friends for Katie's birthday. It was fun to see everyone.

With Mal & Mandy

Our new sectional

Sunday continued the productivity. We sold the three remaining pieces of furniture we had on craigslist, and we were THRILLED to realize that using the money from our craigslist furniture sales, we paid a total of $25 for our new sectional AND recliner. We're both loving the new sectional (it's about the size of a bed when the ottoman is pushed into the corner), and Patrick loves his recliner. The finish of the leather is different on the two pieces, but both are a dark brown leather, and they look great.


With the older furniture out of the garage, we headed to Men's Wearhouse to get Patrick measured for his suit alterations. He was looking sharp when he tried it on.

One of the things I'm most excited about that we did this weekend was getting speakers hooked up in the backyard. Now, we can have music playing outside just by turning on the stereo inside, instead of having to lug the boombox outside and cross our fingers the battery on the ipod or phone was charged enough to keep the music going. Patrick knew how to hook it all up by getting up into the attic, attaching the wires to both the speakers and the box inside. I helped out as his assistant, and the sound is now set up for the rehearsal dinner. The only big thing left for the backyard is to do the patio area, and we're just trying to get a contractor over to give us a quote. One of these days..!

- Lisa

Aw Man... Mistake #1

Apparently, even though I have been overthinking every detail possible, I made a mistake. Sad.

Even though I realize it wasn't too big of a deal & I caught it with plenty of time, I put "Please RSVP by April 26th" in the invitations. April 26th is actually the day I have to give the final counts to Aldea and the vendors, so I wanted to give myself 2 weeks flexibility to follow up with people. I KNEW that, but for some reason, I still added April 26th.

To start potential damage control, I sent out some facebook messages and a mass BCC'ed email to most of the people who haven't RSVP'ed yet, and those messages have actually spurred a total of four responses today.

Latest RSVP Update:   YES - 31%  /  NO - 16%  /  NO RESPONSE - 53%

- Lisa

Mixing Up Numbers & Pumpkin Bread

We got a package in the mail today from my grandparents, and it absolutely made my day. It was the gift I was hoping for the most... my countertop mixer!! The color is called "Imperial Black," the matte black option, and it's so pretty. My Grandma and Grandpa definitely went above and beyond, but I'm SOO thankful!

I had to open it and take it out, but I didn't use it. I'm still not sure if we're supposed to use the gifts we get, and all the wedding etiquette postings I find are giving contradicting answers. For now, I'll just look at it and smile.

The tough thing about not knowing tonight whether or not I should use it was that I made Patrick some pumpkin bread (using the recipe my grandma recently sent me), and I mixed it by hand. This was my first try at making pumpkin bread, and because I was scared it wasn't cooked throughout, I accidentally wound up making the crust a little bit too crispy. Fortunately, it still tastes good, and I learned for next time!

With Patrick in Tucson for the night, I've had a really productive evening. I put the final touches on the two personalized baby hangers that one of my friends ordered, and the glue should finish drying overnight. They turned out really cute.

I started working on the table numbers... but I haven't figured out what I'm going to as the next steps. I cut the numbers out of a lime green colored glitter cardstock (see some of the #'s in the picture), and the glitter is worked into the paper so it won't get everywhere. (That's right - I honored my fiance's request of avoiding anything glitter-covered b/c it would get everywhere... but I was still able to incorporate some sparkle lol). I'm not sure if I'll put the #'s on wire or a wooden dowel(s), on folded cardstock, in little picture frames or some other option, but I'm happy with how they look so far.

If anyone has any ideas of what to do with the numbers, or if you've seen an example picture that you think would be a great inspiration photo, let me know!

-Lisa

Happy St. Patricks Day Weekend

Green beer!

We've had a lot of fun this St. Patrick's Day weekend. Kristen (one of my bridesmaids) was in town with her boyfriend Greg, and we got to see them both on Friday night and all day Saturday. It made me happy how much Greg and Patrick got along, and I'm even more excited about getting them back in town for the wedding (AND seeing Kristen in Vegas in a month!).

This afternoon, Ron from the BBQ place came over to take a look at the backyard. We went over details and felt that we needed to tell Ron our hesitations/worries... After going to the location by the house, we were kind of nervous. The food was good, but it wasn't the amazing food we had remembered - the jalapeno peppers were different, the meat was a little more fatty/dry and the banana pudding wasn't the same. We talked a while, and I feel a lot better after talking to him. We were reassured that the food would be made out of their new location, and it would be just as good as we remembered. Hopefully we'll be able to get everything settled and finalized soon.

For now, time to relax and rest up for the week.

- Lisa

Catering Crisis: AVERTED

For dinner tonight, Patrick and I went for BBQ at the restaurant we'll be having as our caterer for our Rehearsal Dinner. We wanted to schedule a time with Ron, our contact, to come check out the backyard and figure out how the seating should be set up.

We walked in and didn't recognize any of the people working there - which was strange because it has been the same group each time we've gone there. We asked if Ron was around... The two girls working at the registers gave us blank looks (we soon found out this was only their 2nd day), and the guy cutting meat kind of stumbled through his answer. He said he was now in charge, and Ron had quit and was no longer with the company.

Our shocked faces probably said enough, and he hesitantly told us he could help out with whatever we needed. We explained that we'd been working with Ron to set up the catering for our rehearsal dinner on May 25th. His reaction: "Oh, um... I don't know anything about that. Wait, WE'RE doing the catering?!" Oh geez...

We also explained that Ron had taken all the information needed, including the colors of the linens and the plates/silverware. He stared blankly back at us and said, "Ron was going to do THAT? I don't know how to do any of that. I just know how to cook the food." My skin was starting to crawl a little bit...

It finally dawned on him that there needed to be another step, and he handed Patrick the company's business card... then he asked for Patrick's number so he could follow up tomorrow or Saturday - after he was able to call Ron to see if he could get some details to work with.

We got our food and were still kind of reeling from the shock that the caterer details we thought were set apparently were now non-existent.

After dinner and a couple phone calls to fill in our parents, we just tried to relax (ok, *I* just tried to relax... Patrick was calm) and realize everything was eventually going to work out. Patrick got a phone call around 9pm tonight from a number not saved on his phone.

The caller on the other line was Ron. Yes, the same Ron were were told was no longer with the company. He apologized profusely and said that the guy at the restaurant was a manager who needs a lot of help on customer service. He said the guy was also very incorrect in saying Ron wasn't with the company anymore... In reality, Ron had just moved to run the new Scottsdale location. To prove he was still on top of the details, Ron rattled off some of the details that had previously talked about, and he said he'd stop by on Sunday to see the backyard.

I feel a lot better knowing that he's back in the picture. Now, we just need to get all the details finalized and set in stone, then I'll feel fantastic. I think tonight must have just been a test to speed up our pulses, but I'd be great with not having any more tests like that!

-Lisa

A Very Happy Fiance

Yep, Patrick has been in a great mood tonight.

We went to dinner tonight at the Cornish Pasty (the restaurant we went to on our first date - exactly two years ago). The food was really good, and Patrick even finished the meal with a glass of Jameson.

After we finished eating, we had some time to kill. Patrick had been wanting to go to a store called "Brew Your Own Brew" for a while now. They sell everything you could want/need to brew beer, wine, cider, etc.

Apparently, he has watched a few videos on how to brew your own hard apple cider over the last few days, and he had his heart set. I couldn't dash his excitement, so we left with a 1-gallon brewing kit. You should have seen the smile on Patrick's face - he was pumped.

From the store, we headed to a complimentary dance session at a dance studio a few blocks away. I had no idea what to expect from a free 45 minute session, but I feel like it was a good start for the basics of dancing. I have to say that the tiny Russian girl who led our lessons was a little bit too "touchy/feel-y." Don't get me wrong; nothing she did was over the line, but she liked to hold hands and link arms any time we were moving around the studio. It was just a little bit much for me.

I think that Patrick thought it was a little TOO basic, but I think it was a great start. I bought a Groupon yesterday for five dance classes, so from this point, we'll be able to work with one instructor (at a different studio). I'm excited, and even if we don't catch on enough to completely choreograph a dance, I really think we'll be able to feel confident for our first dance.

On the way home, we stopped at a grocery store to get apple cider for the brewing kit, and then Patrick's night got even better by getting a Shamrock Shake at McDonald's (his first in two years). Once home, we mixed up the cider and it's started the process of fermenting for 2-3 weeks until it forms hard apple cider.

Jameson + buying a home brewing kit + a Shamrock Shake + mixing up the start to hard apple cider + a celebration for two years of being together = happiness, and I like him being happy!

-Lisa

75 and 1

75 = the number of days until our wedding!

1 = the number of days until the two year anniversary of our first date.

Before I met Patrick, I amused myself by writing an online dating diary/blog. I thought it'd be fun to look back & read my entry after that first date (I referred to Patrick as "Red")...

Post-date update: We went to a cute little restaurant that served a kind of gourmet hot pocket that originated in England. It had a long wine/beer list and was a great, casual atmosphere. We sat talking for about 3 hours. The conversation wasn't awkward at any time, and I tested it by intentionally not saying anything a couple times to see if he would keep the conversation going and ask questions. He passed! Red was very nice, has a great job that he loves, is in the process of buying a house, is close with his family and we seem to have a lot in common. We went our separate ways after dinner: he went home to take care of his dog, and I headed out to meet friends. We've texted back and forth a few times this week, and he's coming to kickball again tomorrow. I'm a little iffy because my parents will be there, too lol. I'm totally not trying to be the girl who introduces a guy to her parents after one date, but at the same time, I don't want to be rude!

The plan for next time is to go to the driving range on Sunday after my parents leave. I'm looking forward to hanging out with him again, and we'll see how I'm able to hit a golf ball after not touching a club in over a year ;).

  It's been a fantastic two years, and I'm looking forward to many more.

-Lisa

Backyard Update: Plants are Planted!

We've been working hard on the backyard this weekend. After two trips to the nursery, two trips to Ace Hardware, one trip to Target and hours of work, the majority of our plants are planted! We didn't like the looks of the Chinese Pistache tree the nursery had (so we're holding off on that and haven't planted the flowers that will go around the base), they didn't have any Yucca Gloriosa in stock and we're waiting for the Red Bird of Paradise to come in, but other than that, we're set!

It's been amazing how many more living creatures we've seen this weekend than ever before in the backyard... Lizards have been running up and down the walls and butterflies are already visiting the flowers. We bought a shepherd's hook and a hummingbird feeder, so we'll hopefully have hummingbirds visiting soon (and often).

I went around taking some close-ups pictures of the plants - especially for my plant-loving family... If you can't see it clearly, click on the picture to make it bigger. This may only work if you're looking at the blog entry on the blog website - not on the emailed version.

Red Hibiscus & our Orange Tree (which is potentially still in shock) and Red Yucca:

Lady Banks Roses and Dwarf Bottle Brush:

The flowers on our Lime Tree and Orange Jubilee:

Gold Mount Lantana and our hummingbird feeder:

I give Patrick credit for doing most of the hard work with digging through the clay with a shovel & pick axe. He's still working outside, and I'm FULLY enjoying relaxing on the couch. I don't know where he gets all of his energy! ;)

There are a only a few things left to do on the backyard: order the tree (and have it planted), plant the 3 lantanas under the tree, put in the 2nd cornnole scoreboard/cupholder, hook up the lights, reseed the grass and put in the patio. That may sound like a lot, but holy cow it's nothing compared to what has been accomplished!  

-Lisa

New Pictures: Coming Soon!

One of the things I've been wanting to do was to get new engagement pictures taken. The original ones were fantastic, but since I've worked so hard to slim down, I wanted some pictures to reflect that... and the goal was to get one good one to use as a big entrance photo for the wedding. We had a fun photo shoot today with Banks, and before seeing the final versions, I can confidently say we were successful!

The site of our photo shoot was the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall Plaza. It has a LOVE sculpture that I've adored since the first time I saw it a few years ago. After looking into it, I found out that there are versions of this sculpture around the world (including New Orleans, Philadelphia, Lisbon, Vancouver, Tokyo, Jerusalem and Singapore); this one is red and blue, and there are other versions other color combinations including blue/green and red/white/blue.

The sculpture was incorporated into the majority of pictures we took tonight, and we were able to time it out to take most of the pictures during "magic hour" (which is apparently the hour-ish before the sun completely sets and created some gorgeous lighting for photography).

Banks already sent some of the pictures for us to look at (and I'm THRILLED with them), but I'm going to hold off on posting any of them until they're touched up and some effects are added. I'll leave you with a teaser shot of the sculpture and keep you wanting more... Isn't it the perfect touch for the pictures?!

- Lisa

Ceremony Ring Options: Who Knew!

One of the things that hadn't really crossed my mind was that there is an option of which ring(s) to use during the Exchange of Rings part of the ceremony. Because I had no clue, I hadn't even thought about what I'd prefer!

My bling... Yes, I still LOVE it!

From the research I've done tonight, I've learned a lot. The wedding band is apparently traditionally worn under the engagement ring which also means it's closer to the heart. Fortunately, that's where I've been planning on wearing my ring! As far as ways to use the ring(s) in the ceremony, there are five main options:

1. Transfer the ring to the right hand. Most of the time, the bride moves her engagement ring to the ring finger on her right hand. At some point before the end of the ceremony, she slips the engagement ring onto the left ring finger.
2. Groom puts both rings on the bride's hand. At some point - and I'm reading the option as either wearing the engagement ring as I walk down the aisle to Patrick or handing over the ring beforehand - I would give Patrick (or Sean?) my engagement ring, and Patrick would put both rings on my finger instead of just the wedding band.
3. Put the wedding band on top of the engagement ring. If I didn't want to have to take off the engagement ring AT ALL, I could keep it in place and have Patrick put the wedding band on the same finger. It would be in the wrong order, but that could be changed afterwards.
4. Wear only the wedding band during the ceremony. To have Patrick put a ring on my finger during the ceremony (without starting out wearing one), we could have someone hold the engagement ring or put it in a safe place during the ceremony. Afterwards, I'd be able to put it back on.
5. Solder the two rings together before the ceremony. Since the rings were made to fit together, they could permanently be attached. With this option, there would be no option rather than to use both rings during the ceremony

 Here are my thoughts for those options...

1. Transferring the engagement ring to my right hand isn't an option that will work for me. Right now, my engagement ring doesn't fit on the right ring finger, and I'm planning on getting it sized down another 1/4 of a size this week (it's gotten a little bit too big and turns so the diamond isn't on the top of my finger). There's no way it'll fit on my right hand when it's smaller. #1 = No.
2. I like this option because it incorporates the engagement ring - which I adore. I'm not sure yet how I feel about wearing the engagement ring down the aisle vs. not wearing it. I could see both sides of that argument, but the jury's not in for me yet. #2 = Possibility.
   
3. This continues the discussion about wearing the engagement ring into the ceremony, but I'm not a big fan of this thought. If I'm going to have both rings included in some way, I'd want them to be in the same order as I'd be wearing them in the future.  #3 = No.
   
4. The option of completely leaving the engagement ring out makes me sad. #4 = NO.
5. To solder the rings together would make it permanent, and that's not something I'm sure about. Before making that decision, I want to be able to wear both rings for some time and see if I prefer them to be separate or if it's better to have them solidly together. I'd probably like them together, but before making an uneducated decision, I'm holding out on that. #5 = I like the thought, but just not yet. 

Well, it looks like #2 is our winner! The only things to figure out are if I want to wear the engagement ring as I walk into the ceremony and at what point to hand over the ring. It would most likely seem to be the biggest statement if I walked in ring-less & out with a ring (or rings), but it's something to think about...


-Lisa

NOTE: If you received this blog post as an incomplete email first, I apologize; it was all thanks to the website's excitement to get this entry out to the universe. I tried to press "enter" to make it go to the next line, and the blog entry was inadvertently sent. Yes, blogger.com, that was frustrating, but thank you for your enthusiasm.

St. Louis Shower

I've known this for a while, but I'm so lucky to have such a great family! Yesterday was my wedding shower in St. Louis, and it was hosted at my cousin Lindsey's house.

They went above and beyond with the foods I grew up with at all the family get-togethers (chicken salad sandwiches, jello/pretzel salad, crab pizza, etc, etc, etc). My grandma made chocolate-covered strawberries, and there was a really cute cake in our wedding colors.

We played a bingo game - which was very appropriate for our family! - that included filling out the bingo board with the gifts you thought I'd receive. My grandma, the Shower Queen, was the winner of that game and the only person to get a bingo! Afterwards, we played a 'How well do you know Lisa?' trivia game. Olivia, my dad's cousin Karen's daughter, only missed one question to win.

Here are some of the questions; how well would you have done?

1. What college did Lisa attend?
2. What sport did Lisa get cut from in high school? (NOTE: I'm still bitter about this, haha)
3. What foreign country did Lisa study in?
4. What's Lisa's shoe size?
5. Where did Lisa and Patrick meet?

Answers: 1. Columbia College / 2. Volleyball (and the coach apologized my senior year) / 3. France / 4. Nine / 5. At the kickball field

Top & Bottom Left: Focused! Bottom Right: My gift helper, Logan

We got some great gifts from the registry and also some fun gifts that we hadn't expected. We're in Missouri until about 5:45 tonight, and then we're headed back to Phoenix. The trip has been great so far; we got into town and headed to Cecil Whittakers (my favorite St. Louis-style pizza place). We've been able to relax and just spend some time with the family - including Doodle, who drove the 2 hour trip after he got off work at 11:30pm on Friday night. 

With the RSVP's we've received this weekend, we're up to 50 'YES' responses! That brings us 1/3 of the way to the number we've been throwing around as our guest count guess (well, we're actually guessing somewhere around 150-160), and we actually got our first official international RSVP this morning - from Ireland!

-Lisa

Loving the RSVP Emails

My mom told me that one of her favorite parts of the time leading up to her wedding was getting the RSVP's in the mail. Since we're doing ours online, I get an email each time someone RSVP's, and I have to admit that I agree. It's so much fun to get the responses!

We knew that since we decided to have the wedding in Phoenix, it could be too much for people who live in other states to handle. There were a number of people on our list who we weren't necessarily expecting to make it - but definitely hoping they could. One of those RSVP's came today... and my friend Danita is coming to the wedding!

Showing off our 2007 WNBA Championship rings

This made me so happy! She and I worked together at the Mercury for a few years, and she's fantastic. She now lives in Tulsa and is  working for their WNBA team (the Shock). Especially since our wedding is happening the same time of year as the beginning of the season, the timing worked out perfectly: they have away games Memorial Day weekend. I unfortunately can't say the same for the Mercury: their home opener is May 26th at 7pm... the exact same time as the wedding reception. I'm hoping that people we've invited who have to work the game can show up and celebrate at the reception afterwards.

- Lisa