Music Update:

After seeing/listening to the wedding playlist...

Jake: People are going to think this is an 80's wedding.

Me: So?

haha...what can I say? I love 80's music. Jake will be making adjustments so the music is "us" and not just "me" :)

Wedding Makeup

I've actually been thinking about my wedding makeup quite a bit. I intend to do it myself or have someone (bridal party or family member) help me out. I've been a Clinique girl since I first started to wear "real" makeup back in the 9th grade, but I thought the time had come to try something new, so I bit the bullet and purchased the Bare Minerals starter kit. The commercials make this stuff seem so amazing and I've been wanting to try it for a couple of years now. After I made my purchase I came home, watched the instructional DVD and gave it a go. The first try didn't turn out so well, but today was much better. I love the way it feels on my face (like I'm not wearing anything), but I'm not sure yet if it's wedding worthy or not. Don't get me wrong, the makeup is great and has a very natural look that I definitely love for everyday wear, but I think I need something a tad more dramatic for the big day. I'm also not sure how it will look in pictures. I have a very shiny t-zone and might need something with more coverage and that's more absorbent. I also have darkness and wrinkles under my eyes due to being a grown up the past 2.5 years. It seems like just yesterday I was being mistaken for a 12 yr old, but now there are times I don't even get carded...sigh....Anyway, before I disregard Bare Minerals as my wedding day makeup I think I'm going to travel back to Sephora in the next couple of weeks and see what I can get to add to the starter kit. Maybe I'll ask one of the 20 million workers they have there each weekend for some "professional" advice.

We have big news, but.....

I can't write about it for another month :( Our friends and family already know, but I can't reveal it to blogland yet on the off chance that somebody who's not supposed to see it will somehow stumble across the secret information. Let's just say that we're about to start a whole new chapter of our lives. And we're not having a baby (in case you were wondering).

Speaking of babies...we're thinking about getting our actual baby declawed soon. We've talked about this on and off for the past couple of years, but we think the time has finally come. I'm going to make Jake take her though because I don't want her to hate me. I know that cat declawing has become quiet the controversy, but I think it's necessary. She has abnormally long claws and she used them to scratch everything (including my legs). I don't want to hurt her, but I really can't afford to have her ruin any more clothes, chairs, or a future couch that I hope we can eventually purchase. It will just be the front claws that we have removed so that she'll still be able to defend herself in case she gets out. I get sad just thinking about hurting her though. Any thoughts on the matter?

Parasols for the bridesmaids

I'm considering using parasols for the bridesmaids instead of flowers. I think they're really cute, but the main reason is because I'm trying to save time the day before/the day of the wedding. Since we're making all of our flower arrangements by hand I feel that this would save a lot of time and cut down on the stress factor. I still have convince the groom of this idea though. He's not too sure about it. Here are some pictures stolen from google images:





P.S. Our system is down at work and I'm super bored :(

Rehearsal Dinner & Reception Dinner

I know I've mentioned our fabulous caterer a few times so I thought it was time to share the menus for the rehearsal dinner and reception dinner. Please visit her website at http://roseycooks.com/. Be sure to click on the "gallery" link. The pictures are so amazing. And if you live in the Lake County area then you should hire her for your next event :)

Rehearsal Dinner:

Stationary Appetizers:

Pan Fried Onion Dip with chips

Old Fashioned Deviled Eggs

Platter of Mini Rueben Sandwiches

Salad Course:

Italian Pasta Salad

Fresh Fruit Salad

Main Course:

Baked Beans

Fresh Pressed and Grilled Cheese Burgers

Kosher or Kasper Hot Dogs

Dessert:

Strawberry Shortcake

Reception Dinner:

Stationary Appetizers:

Green Chili Cheesecake

Cocktail Meatballs

Ranch Dip and Crudités

Passed Appetizers:

Pear Bruschetta

Mini Avocado Crab Quesadillas

Salad Course:

Field Greens with Candied Nuts, Blue Cheese Crumbles and Fresh Pear Slices

Main Course:

Each Plate to have:

Grilled Chicken Taco

Mexican Grilled Steak

Smoked Paprika-Honey Glazed Shrimp

Lime Cilantro Basmati Rice

Black Bean and Corn Salad

***Cupcakes and s'mores for for dessert***

P.S. I had to take out all the delicious descriptions because Blogger was not liking the formatting or something :(

My Rant

There's a website I frequently visit: http://www.weddingbee.com/ It's basically several brides to be that blog about their wedding. It also includes wedding recaps of those that have tied the knot. The site is wonderful and provides a lot of great ideas. The past couple of weeks they've been having posts called "Real Budgets" where the bride shows pictures of the wedding and gives a complete breakdown of the wedding expenses. Today featured one that cost a ridiculous amount of money. Granted, some of the ones they've featured have been very reasonable, but then they throw in ones that are ridiculous like this and it makes me sick to my stomach. If you want to be wasteful with your money then feel free to drop some on my doorstep and I'll use it to buy a house. I can't even fathom spending the amount that some people do. What's really amusing to me is that the weddings they feature that cost a fraction of the price are just as beautiful as the expensive ones. So what are these people thinking? Is their expensive wedding going to make for a happier marriage? No. Is it going to make it more memorable for the guests? No. Is it going to put them into debt for years and years? Probably. Even if I hit the jackpot on a slot machine and suddenly had millions of dollars to spend on our wedding, I can honestly say I would not change ONE thing. I realize a wedding is a very important event. It's something you'll remember for the rest of your life and will cherish every moment. However, I don't believe this is the most important day of ones life. The most important days are the days when you get your pilot's license or finish a marathon...the days when you come home after a horrible day and your spouse makes you feel better...the days when you have a huge fight, but are able to resolve the problem...the days when you give birth...the days when you move into your first home. Yes, the wedding signifies that you promise to support one another through all of these other important days, but I don't think this one day justifies spending a ridiculous amount of money. Okay, I'm done venting. :)

The Rings

Jake's wedding band arrived a few weeks ago (he purchased it online) but he had to send it back for a smaller size. The new one came in the mail just a couple of days ago and it's just beautiful. It looks soooo wonderful on him!! It's platinum,very shiny, and screams "I'm most definitely taken." Here are some pictures of our rings.

3 Months Away!

People keep asking me how the wedding planning is going and each time I'm asked the question I feel like I'm forgetting to do something. It seems the whole process has been too easy (with just a couple exceptions) and that I'm going to get to September 19th and realize I've forgotten something huge! I think the main reason everything seems so easy is that we are basically only using 2 vendors: our caterer and a rental place for table/chairs/etc. Our caterer is so amazing that I feel like she's more of a wedding planner than JUST a caterer. She has so many amazing ideas for the food presentation and all the decorations in general. Here's a list of things that have been excluded from the wedding in order to save money and, more importantly, stress:

No searching for a venue (we knew all along we wanted to have it at Jake's parent's house)
No florist (using flowers from the garden and farmer's market to make our own arrangements)
No DJ (using the old ipod)
No wedding dress fittings (shorter dresses don't call for many alterations)
No bridesmaid dress fittings (they chose dresses that already fit)
No wedding cake (mom is making the cupcakes)
No meeting w/ different officiant's to choose someone we feel comfortable with (Jake's uncle is marrying us)

And here's a list of things we still need to do:

Buy Jake's suit
Pick out a suit for the groomsmen to rent
Have invitations made
Choose linen colors
Purchase wine & champagne to be served
Make Out of Town gifts for our traveling guests
Purchase bridesmaid/groomsmen gifts
Assemble aforementioned gifts in a cute, DIY, way (I have big plans)

Things to do a couple days before the wedding:
Make cupcakes
Assemble/decorate cupcake stand
Assemble gifts for all guests
Assemble flower arrangements

Please help me think of what I'm forgetting! There has to be something! (or maybe I'm just preoccupied with all the non wedding things going on within the next few months).

Charlie Brown

Jake asked Charlie Brown to be his best man yesterday. Charlie Brown is his grandpa. We call him Papa Charlie. I am so excited that he is going to be the best man. I honestly cannot think of a better person for the job. I get happy tears when I think about it :) Note to Melanie: Ask him about the hippies or the tomato story as you walk down the aisle. You'll get a good laugh.

Lake County, CA

Here are some pictures of the surrounding area of where our wedding will take place. All the pictures are from lakecounty.com. The website also has a lot of visitor information so if you're coming from out of town then you should definitely check it out.

BM's Dresses

Aren't they beautiful?!
(click on picture to enlarge)
Please note: The two girls on the end are not Christina and Jenna and my sister (the yellow) is not an invisible person, I just couldn't find the picture of her in the dress.

The 51's Game

Jake and I went to our first Las Vegas 51's game today (as in Area 51... in case you were wondering). The temperature was only in the high 80's today so we figured it would be a perfect time to go and the tickets are super cheap! In fact, the 2 drinks and garlic fries were about the same price as the two tickets and we basically had our choice of any seats in the stadium. We started out in the front row, but the sun got to be a little too much so we moved about half way through the game to an area in the shade. It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon :)

The Centerpieces

will look something like these. The fruit of choice will be pears and some of the pears will be cut in half so we get the contrast of green and white. The flowers will be a mixture of whatever the garden grows in September.

Reasons I Love Jacob:

(I decided I need to write a blog and when I asked Jake what to write about he said "me")

• He has soft feet
• He sings goofy songs in the morning
• He doesn't complain that I use all the hot water in the morning
• He gets the mail every day
• He has crushes on famous people that are naturally pretty and not the typical "crush" type
• He takes my car to the car wash
• He loves Sydney even though he pretends not to
• He tells me I look pretty even when I know that I don't
• He knows that he would die of starvation or dysentery or some other type of disease if he didn't have me
• His deodorant smells good
• He's always warm
• He can consume just as much food as I can
• He listens when I talk about The Hills
• He's kinda girly about certain things (like when I say "which headband looks better?" he says "I like that one, but the other one goes better w/ your outfit")
• When my friends tell me the jerk-type things that their boyfriends do, I think to myself "Jake would never do that" and it makes me feel so lucky to have him