Our new house!!

i am soososoosos excited! i think i secretly love moving (i am crazy)... but there is something about a change of scenery that is always fun, and i just like newness. it is like being able to start over, every year, in one way, at least. you can't start over everything, but you can start over with your living situation. new things to decorate, new things to look forward to.

things we are looking forward to in the new house:

1. a washer and dryer
2. a FOLDING station in the...
3. BASEMENT
4. basement=no more having to look at the cats' litter box!
5. a built in microwave!
6. a super nice kitchen, with all new appliances, and cool lights!
7. a door from the kitchen to the back yard
8. a backyard that is...
9. fenced in! for a doggie!
10. a spare bedroom!
11. a music/craft room!
12. 2 bathrooms!
13. a porch outside with a rocking chair
14. a window above the sink (something i've wanted in all of our apartments)
15. the fact that it is a house, equaling privacy
16. the fact that the landlord is so excited that we have 2 cats, and that we want a dog
17. a dog trail behind our house, that leads to a field
18. more than 1 closet!
19. did i mention the kitchen? it is my favorite part
20. parties again!

so here is the outside... I will post inside pictures once we have moved in:

yayyayayyy

wedding deets

since i haven't posted anything in hundreds of years about decisions I have made about the wedding, i figure now is the perfect time. pj is in bed, getting over the stomach bug. yayy, my most favorite sickness of all. so now i am praying for my own health, and staying as far away from him as i can. 

i've been purchasing milk glass vases off of ebay, and looking in antique stores, for my centerpieces. there is some type of rose, which i forget the name of now, that resembles a peony. so, i want basically all of these flowers shown in the picture above, with maybe a few dark mums thrown in. 

this is basically what i am going with for my color scheme. the bouquet lying on the floor is the one i like, not the one with the calla lilies.  and i hate the invitations, but essentially that is the color i want the bridesmaids dresses, a champagne color. i decided against doing fall colors, because i just liked these more, and just because it's fall i don't have to do everything in super fall form. 

the flowers in these centerpieces, i love love love. i also love the white pumpkin idea, but the milk glass is just cheaper to be honest. in the top photo, if you notice the little pumpkin tea-light though, i have all intentions of doing this, but with a small white pumpkin instead. hopefully i won't lose the motivation to do it. i wish so badly that my wedding was going to be outside like the one in the photo above, but unfortunately we just couldn't do it :(

i want to get this dress made, but i want the price of getting a dress made to be cheaper than buying a dress. so far that isn't what i have been quoted. i'm not giving up though, because the girl in this dress had it custom made, and its the only dress i can't stop thinking about. pj also loves the gray tux a lot, i hope he sticks with it, because he wanted brown, and i hate brown tuxes :/ 

and, lastly, these are the invites we decided on. a girl makes them on her etsy shop. she is going to change the colors to fit my color scheme. i love how on the rsvp there is a place where people can write down their song requests. and i also love the little tied on doily thingy. and that is all for now!

new years resolutions

this year is going to involve some really life changing events; moving out of our apartment in May, getting MARRIED, and hopefully getting a dog towards the very end. it is exciting, kind of stressful, but i actually do like change. PJ hates moving, but i like it. i never mind a change of scenery, it keeps things interesting, and we learn things each time we move. this year i think PJ and i are really going to feel like adults. PJ is turning 26 next month (ahhhh), and adding mr. and mrs. to our title just makes me feel like an adult in general. anywayssss, pj is currently making me watch the dark knight. i already can't deal with the way batman talks. why does he talk like that? who talks like that?  ok, he isn't making me watch it, but i am trying to be a good girlfriend and watch things pj wants to watch. that is one of my resolutions for the year 2010...

1. watch more movies with PJ, since i know he loves them so much

2. begin eating healthier, and living a healthier life style

3. be nicer to PJ, and work on my patience...

4. laugh more

5. learn how to SAVE money, instead of always spending

6. blog more!

i am keeping it short this year, but a lot of what i want is to just work on myself as a person. this year is going to be about me, but in a non-selfish kind of way.

so, now that all the holidays are over, pj insisted we needed to take down our incredibly dead, pathetic, christmas tree. the tree was so dead, it left a HUGE mess

it only took about 3 hours to clean, no biggie. next time i'll be sure to not let the tree die, even though i swear it wasn't my fault! everyone was pretty wiped after all the de-decorating, sooo we all took a nap.

i heart naps

because cats love family photos

tonight we decided to do family photos with the cats, and by we, i mean me. 

this year i made PJ partake in the event, but it is impossible to get all of us together. i don't have a tripod... hmm, christmas gift idea (hint, hint). just kidding, pj is getting me my most favorite lens for christmas, and i am really excited about it! it snowed a lot today, i actually had to shovel. shoveling is not fun, and it made me almost throw up because i am so horribly out of shape. the snow was so heavy, because it was sleeting for 2 hours before i got out to my car. so tonight i came home, had some hot chocolate, some white fudge covered oreos, and looked at the christmas tree. i love christmas trees.

their faces crack me up so much, they both look so miserable. and they were, except mugsy was just uncomfortable, that cat will do anything. my kids are doomed. 

christmas time is the best time

it is impossible not to be happy around christmas. i love being at red lights, i love green lights, not so much yellow lights... i don't get road rage (as easily) around christmas time, and i love going to the mall more than ever. mall christmas decorations remind me of being a child, being dragged along on christmas shopping trips with my mom and sister. we got our christmas tree this weekend, which is my #1 favorite christmas outing. we hiked up a mountain, and fought through some pretty fierce wind to find the perfect tree. our apartment smells soo nice, and mugsy loves the tree. at first, he was petrified and hid under the bed for hours, now i can't get him out from under it. he loves christmas! 

long time no see

PJ lost the USB cord for my camera. I blame him for losing it, no way on earth I could have lost it... So, I was basically unable to get any pictures on my computer for a while. Then I fell into a wedding slump, which I blame on DIY indie/vintage/cool wedding blogs/websites/ideas. I feel so angry every time I read something about how some trendy bride had a DIY budget wedding. When I look into what vendors they used, they had their wedding at a barn with a $7,000 site fee, and their dress was $5,000 dollars, but they made their own boutonnieres! Which in essence, probably cost them more than buying them from a florist. It is so frustrating, and it gives brides to be this false notion that they can have a wedding just like theirs. So for a while I felt really angry, and frustrated with the way weddings are being portrayed as budget/DIY weddings, and they still cost a fortune. I basically decided to stop looking at wedding blogs all together, I will still rummage through theknot.com, and project wedding, but otherwise I am staying far away. I don't mind looking at beautiful weddings, but don't try to trick me into believing they were cheap, or low budget, or easy. Between the DIY blogs, and the Mormon blogs, I can barely stand it. I feel so inadequate from BLOGS, that I just needed a break. 


We booked our Honeymoon, to Antigua.

I am excited, but currently not so excited at the INSANE prices of plane tickets. I am trying to not have an anxiety attack that the prices aren't going to drop significantly. I deal with stress horribly, I may never make it to my wedding day, or I will look 52 years old. So, all I do is force Mugsy or Mona to hug me and lay on me, to help calm me down. It doesn't usually work, because whenever I want them to love me, they want nothing to do with me. 

ha, i just love catching mona in the act of licking her chops. 

serious cupcake business.

i stumbled upon the best blog, ever.


it is a blog all about cupcakes. with pictures. 

www.cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com

here are a few that i want ASAP:

there are basically thousands of amazing cupcake pictures. there was even a french toast cupcake with bacon on top. ridiculous!

cinderelly, cinderelly!

so i decided tonight, i need two weddings.


one will not do.


i need a formal, princess wedding


then, i need a fun, party, informal, casual wedding.


i need both though, because coming up with an in between is so hard. this wedding is going to wind up looking like our apartment. a mixture of so many different styles, because i can't just pick one. from our antique furniture, to our country kitchen table, to our modern kitchen cabinets, to our  flat screen tv, to the chandeliers on the ceiling. 


but seriously, is it just me or would this not be the greatest way to arrive at your wedding?

i am a sucker for cinderella everything. if i had a cinderella themed wedding, i'd wind up taking it so seriously i'd name my first born son Gus, and expect birds to come and fluff my pillows in the morning. ok, so i am over the cinderella idea... 

i found these on an ezine, www.utterlyengaged.com

and i think they are so cute, 

except i can't figure out where they exist.

the little article just shows pictures of them, but doesn't seem to 

explain where they come from... not cool. 

i want this cake, this cake exactly. if i decide on green bridesmaids dresses, this will be even more perfect. i love the fading of dark green to light. this cake was from the Ace of Cakes website. 

lastly, i like this combo of mums and roses. especially the mums, because it is no secret i love mums. i stop to admire mums in front of peoples houses. i will excitedly point, and make pj slow down in the car to admire mums, wherever they may be. 

dress up

today i plan on making my way into new paltz. there is this vintage shop there, and i want to see what kind of goodies they have to offer. i need some ideas! i hope they don't mind the large camera i am about to drag inside with me! 

i have been getting all giddy about dresses, and i definitely have a certain style in mind. i think it's pretty obvious when i post some of the dresses i am most interested in. cascablanca has really won me over; they aren't too expensive, and i think they just make some really beautiful dresses. 

this dress is my FAVORITE. i love almost everything about it, except that i wasn't looking for a strapless dress. i believe this particular dress is from their spring 2008 collection, if that is incorrect, it is listed under their bestsellers. 

www.casablancabridal.com

here is another from casablanca. i think it really contours the body nicely, gives so much shape. i also love the color of the dress, plus the lace and beading, which is what i am going for!

these three dresses are from the Kleinfeld collection, which if that name sounds familiar, it's because you must watch say yes to the dress! these dresses are pricier, but really gorgeous. i especially love the second one to the right. it is like that princess wedding gown i always imagined as a child, but really stylish. 

this dress is from a designer named St. Pucchi. This dress is amazing in my opinion, but unfortunately totally out of my price range. here we are talking $5000+ :( 

this veil, named a mantilla veil, is what i have recently fell in love with. it's a spanish style, and i think it is just BEAUTIFUL. i have no other vocabulary that fits. there are so many types of veils, and for a while i thought i liked the birdcage veils. but they are everywhere. etsy shops are flooded with them, and i don't necessarily want to have what everyone in the year 2010 has adorned on their head. 

Oh, and lastly! I have found a cheaper alternative for an invitation. I have been hemming and hawing over whether the Lucky-Luxe orchard invitations are worth all the money. I am so picky when it comes to stationary, but I think, THINK, i like these:

these ones are made by hellolucky, weird that they have similar names. anyway, their digital prints are very reasonably priced. $150 of these, digitally printed, would be $335.00. Include RSVP cards, add another $205.00. My soon to be sister in law recommended I check out a wedding lady/land based printing place for prices. I need to do this, in order to get a true idea of what my pricing options are. Letterpress is expensive, but it is so classic, and how i always imagined my invitations to be. if only i could find someone just starting out...

i am hoping to hear back about touring some reception places today. some of these places are GREAT with emailing me back quickly, with tons of information. others, not so much. right now pj and i are looking into Twin Lakes, in Hurley, NY. and West Park Winery, in West Park. Both have good rates, we are excited!

a year away, oh my!

i think we have set a date!!


october 2, 2010. it is the day before our anniversary, and next year that will be our 6th year anniversary, and the start of a new. i am even more excited, and have a touch of anxiety thinking about it. i am most torn on wedding colors. i know i want a vintage fall theme, but what colors?! black, orange, gray?! it isn't that i love gray, but the dress i really love only seems to look good in gray. plus, with some bright flowers i think it would spruce it up a bit... it's from jcrew. i just really like the style of it, but i don't like the way it looks in any of the other colors. 

i am also into the incorporation of hay, and fun signs such as:

I love this, but it definitely needs mums. it's not quite colorful enough for me. but, the pumpkins! and the background is breathtaking. I think we decided on a church wedding. I am disappointed in the fact that I will have no breathtaking background, with pumpkins, mums, and hay. But, I have to make a sacrifice for PJ. Church means a lot to him and his family, and I wouldn't want to disrespect that. When I was little, I always imagined having a church wedding. Kingston has beautiful churches, hundreds of years old. The dutch church is really great, I will have to take some pictures if I ever get out of work before dark.

all of the above i found on theknot.com, and are pictures from real weddings.