My mom's up in Rhode Island for a couple days so we can hammer the last big pieces into place with our planning.
I went for my dress fitting this morning - which was again much less painful (aside from a pin scratch that had me slightly bleeding a bit onto the dress at my armpit. *sigh* They said they could easily get it out.
Anyway... here's the pinned, but not yet ironed first photos of me in my dress, realizing how oddly surreal this all is - and how very real it's going to be in less than three months:
http://pics.livejournal.com/measi/gallery/0000eatp
After my fitting, we waited around the house for my mom to arrive - then headed to North Providence to meet with a potential florist. And all three of us REALLY liked her. She's done several weddings at Mount Hope Farm before, so she knows their restrictions (no loose petals for flower girls, etc), and immediately was talking about things that we could use at the ceremony and then reuse for the reception - which of course my mom loved hearing... a florist who's thinking of ways to get the most out of the flowers.
We then went for dinner in Federal Hill (the Italian neighborhood in Providence) and stuffed ourselves full of incredibly yummy food. During which time, the following conversation took place:
Mom asks "So did you get your shoes?"
"Yep." (I hadn't planned on telling her that I wasn't wearing wedding shoes... surprise her on the day in case she hates the idea)
"You didn't buy them when we bought your dress, though, right? What did you get? Ballet slippers?"
"No- but they're flat."
"Oh, okay. And comfy, I hope?"
"Oh yes."
"Please tell me you're not wearing Doc Martens."
"No - too clunky. Love them, but I'd be clomping."
"You got Mary Janes."
"Nope."
"Oh, I don't know - Converse high-tops then?"
*this would be where I stare at her in amusement, and Erich just starts laughing.*
She got it in three.
And surprisingly LOVES the idea, particularly for my ankle support, and immediately started suggesting I doll them up with organza ribbons for shoelaces (which is what I was planning to do to anyway) and flowers or bows on the toes. *snicker*.
Tomorrow - we will eat cake! Lots of cake! And then go see another florist down in the area where the cake maker is - although we really did like today's florist a LOT.
And my invites are here - eep!
28 June 2007
24 June 2007
Busy, fun-filled weekend
The weather was beautiful, and we made good use of it.
Yesterday, Erich and I headed up to New Hampshire to visit Erich's dad. He moved up there a bit over a year ago, but between work hell, the insanity of weddings last year, and then our own wedding planning, we just hadn't been up there at all to see his new condo.
It's absolutely lovely. It's in an old Catholic boarding school - four stories high, and looking like all of those old academy schools you see in the movies - complete with the huge rolling lawn and gigantic brick facade. Erich's dad has about 1,500 square feet of living space - beautifully open and a great floorplan. On the main floor of the building, the front entrance hall has been wonderfully restored with white marble, columns and stained glass. And the original ballroom (with stage) was restored, as well as the side parlour room off of it, which now is a billiard room and public big-screen TV room.
I did quite well through two games of billiards. By the second game, my game was coming back to me. :)
We had a huge lunchtime feast of lobster bisque, three different types of lobster tails, and coleslaw (something to counter the mass quantities of butter). Added to that was a homemade pitcher of sangria, and we were quite happy people. :)
Around seven, we decided to venture out for dinner. We stopped at a little roadside pizza & subs place - very good (and just what was needed after the lunch, honestly), followed by ice cream. And then Erich and I did the two-hour trek home... finally arriving at our house at about 10:45.
At which time I immediately jumped online and watched The Sound of Drums - because I am a dork and am addicted to Doctor Who. (and this episode will be broadcast in the States the weekend of my wedding... so I'd rather watch it now.) The episode kept ideas brimming in my head until about 2:30, when I finally forced myself upstairs to get some sleep.
And then proceeded to have my first "wedding nightmare," in which the new aliens from the episode that evening attacked my reception.
Like I said - I am a dork.
*ahem*
Anyway...
Today we puttered around for the morning, and then headed out to reclaim the yard a bit. Erich caught up on mowing and some hedge trimming (our driveway was getting a tad narrow). I finished planting my impatiens in the front bed that's been weed-ridden since we moved into the house. I planted some hostas in it a couple weeks ago for permanent plants. There are four of them- all different varieties of hostas for textures and such, and they should get to about 2x2x2 feet by the time they're matured. For now there's a ton of extra space, so the impatiens add some color. I'm hoping that they'll become the absolutely lovely bushels of blooms that impatiens tend to become - although I'm worried the sun in that spot might be a bit too bright for both types of plants. We'll see. In any case, post-wedding this year I plan to put some bulbs in the ground in that bed for next spring. And possibly next spring we'll add a couple of smaller bushes behind the hostas for variety and height.
In any case - it's something, rather than the weed-filled patch that it was. :)
My hydrangeas are now blooming - mostly still those tiny premature green balls of blooms, but one is starting to hint that they'll be coming out a lilac purple again this year. Our dwarf lilac bushes are now in full bloom and smell AMAZING. They just have this incredibly sweet smell that fills the air without being overpowering... just little wafts of scent on the breeze. Except in the sunroom, where the smell is just everywhere and to die for.
So now I'm doing some direly needed cleaning on my computer - between Doctor Who, X-Files, and random David Tennant avi files, my 200 gig computer is about to burst. Writable DVDs are currently my best friends in the world. :)
It's been a good weekend. Productive, but fun. Can't ask for better than that!
Yesterday, Erich and I headed up to New Hampshire to visit Erich's dad. He moved up there a bit over a year ago, but between work hell, the insanity of weddings last year, and then our own wedding planning, we just hadn't been up there at all to see his new condo.
It's absolutely lovely. It's in an old Catholic boarding school - four stories high, and looking like all of those old academy schools you see in the movies - complete with the huge rolling lawn and gigantic brick facade. Erich's dad has about 1,500 square feet of living space - beautifully open and a great floorplan. On the main floor of the building, the front entrance hall has been wonderfully restored with white marble, columns and stained glass. And the original ballroom (with stage) was restored, as well as the side parlour room off of it, which now is a billiard room and public big-screen TV room.
I did quite well through two games of billiards. By the second game, my game was coming back to me. :)
We had a huge lunchtime feast of lobster bisque, three different types of lobster tails, and coleslaw (something to counter the mass quantities of butter). Added to that was a homemade pitcher of sangria, and we were quite happy people. :)
Around seven, we decided to venture out for dinner. We stopped at a little roadside pizza & subs place - very good (and just what was needed after the lunch, honestly), followed by ice cream. And then Erich and I did the two-hour trek home... finally arriving at our house at about 10:45.
At which time I immediately jumped online and watched The Sound of Drums - because I am a dork and am addicted to Doctor Who. (and this episode will be broadcast in the States the weekend of my wedding... so I'd rather watch it now.) The episode kept ideas brimming in my head until about 2:30, when I finally forced myself upstairs to get some sleep.
And then proceeded to have my first "wedding nightmare," in which the new aliens from the episode that evening attacked my reception.
Like I said - I am a dork.
*ahem*
Anyway...
Today we puttered around for the morning, and then headed out to reclaim the yard a bit. Erich caught up on mowing and some hedge trimming (our driveway was getting a tad narrow). I finished planting my impatiens in the front bed that's been weed-ridden since we moved into the house. I planted some hostas in it a couple weeks ago for permanent plants. There are four of them- all different varieties of hostas for textures and such, and they should get to about 2x2x2 feet by the time they're matured. For now there's a ton of extra space, so the impatiens add some color. I'm hoping that they'll become the absolutely lovely bushels of blooms that impatiens tend to become - although I'm worried the sun in that spot might be a bit too bright for both types of plants. We'll see. In any case, post-wedding this year I plan to put some bulbs in the ground in that bed for next spring. And possibly next spring we'll add a couple of smaller bushes behind the hostas for variety and height.
In any case - it's something, rather than the weed-filled patch that it was. :)
My hydrangeas are now blooming - mostly still those tiny premature green balls of blooms, but one is starting to hint that they'll be coming out a lilac purple again this year. Our dwarf lilac bushes are now in full bloom and smell AMAZING. They just have this incredibly sweet smell that fills the air without being overpowering... just little wafts of scent on the breeze. Except in the sunroom, where the smell is just everywhere and to die for.
So now I'm doing some direly needed cleaning on my computer - between Doctor Who, X-Files, and random David Tennant avi files, my 200 gig computer is about to burst. Writable DVDs are currently my best friends in the world. :)
It's been a good weekend. Productive, but fun. Can't ask for better than that!
AFI's Top 100 Movies
So... out of AFI's top 100 movies of all time, the ones in bold are the ones I've seen...
1. "Citizen Kane," 1941.
2. "The Godfather," 1972.
3. "Casablanca," 1942.
4. "Raging Bull," 1980.
5. "Singin' in the Rain," 1952.
6. "Gone With the Wind," 1939.
7. "Lawrence of Arabia," 1962.
8. "Schindler's List," 1993.
9. "Vertigo," 1958.
10. "The Wizard of Oz," 1939.
11. "City Lights," 1931.
12. "The Searchers," 1956.
13. "Star Wars," 1977.
14. "Psycho," 1960.
15. "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968.
16. "Sunset Blvd.", 1950.
17. "The Graduate," 1967.
18. "The General," 1927.
19. "On the Waterfront," 1954.
20. "It's a Wonderful Life," 1946.
21. "Chinatown," 1974.
22. "Some Like It Hot," 1959.
23. "The Grapes of Wrath," 1940.
24. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," 1982.
25. "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962.
26. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," 1939.
27. "High Noon," 1952.
28. "All About Eve," 1950.
29. "Double Indemnity," 1944.
30. "Apocalypse Now," 1979.
31. "The Maltese Falcon," 1941.
32. "The Godfather Part II," 1974.
33. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," 1975.
34. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937.
35. "Annie Hall," 1977.
36. "The Bridge on the River Kwai," 1957.
37. "The Best Years of Our Lives," 1946.
38. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," 1948.
39. "Dr. Strangelove," 1964.
40. "The Sound of Music," 1965.
41. "King Kong," 1933.
42. "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967.
43. "Midnight Cowboy," 1969.
44. "The Philadelphia Story," 1940.
45. "Shane," 1953.
46. "It Happened One Night," 1934.
47. "A Streetcar Named Desire," 1951.
48. "Rear Window," 1954.
49. "Intolerance," 1916.
50. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2001.
51. "West Side Story," 1961.
52. "Taxi Driver," 1976.
53. "The Deer Hunter," 1978.
54. "M-A-S-H," 1970.
55. "North by Northwest," 1959.
56. "Jaws," 1975.
57. "Rocky," 1976.
58. "The Gold Rush," 1925.
59. "Nashville," 1975.
60. "Duck Soup," 1933.
61. "Sullivan's Travels," 1941.
62. "American Graffiti," 1973.
63. "Cabaret," 1972.
64. "Network," 1976.
65. "The African Queen," 1951.
66. "Raiders of the Lost Ark," 1981.
67. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", 1966.
68. "Unforgiven," 1992.
69. "Tootsie," 1982.
70. "A Clockwork Orange," 1971.
71. "Saving Private Ryan," 1998.
72. "The Shawshank Redemption," 1994.
73. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," 1969.
74. "The Silence of the Lambs," 1991.
75. "In the Heat of the Night," 1967.
76. "Forrest Gump," 1994.
77. "All the President's Men," 1976.
78. "Modern Times," 1936.
79. "The Wild Bunch," 1969.
80. "The Apartment, 1960.
81. "Spartacus," 1960.
82. "Sunrise," 1927.
83. "Titanic," 1997.
84. "Easy Rider," 1969.
85. "A Night at the Opera," 1935.
86. "Platoon," 1986.
87. "12 Angry Men," 1957.
88. "Bringing Up Baby," 1938.
89. "The Sixth Sense," 1999.
90. "Swing Time," 1936.
91. "Sophie's Choice," 1982.
92. "Goodfellas," 1990.
93. "The French Connection," 1971.
94. "Pulp Fiction," 1994.
95. "The Last Picture Show," 1971.
96. "Do the Right Thing," 1989.
97. "Blade Runner," 1982.
98. "Yankee Doodle Dandy," 1942.
99. "Toy Story," 1995.
100. "Ben-Hur," 1959.
1. "Citizen Kane," 1941.
2. "The Godfather," 1972.
3. "Casablanca," 1942.
4. "Raging Bull," 1980.
5. "Singin' in the Rain," 1952.
6. "Gone With the Wind," 1939.
7. "Lawrence of Arabia," 1962.
8. "Schindler's List," 1993.
9. "Vertigo," 1958.
10. "The Wizard of Oz," 1939.
11. "City Lights," 1931.
12. "The Searchers," 1956.
13. "Star Wars," 1977.
14. "Psycho," 1960.
15. "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968.
16. "Sunset Blvd.", 1950.
17. "The Graduate," 1967.
18. "The General," 1927.
19. "On the Waterfront," 1954.
20. "It's a Wonderful Life," 1946.
21. "Chinatown," 1974.
22. "Some Like It Hot," 1959.
23. "The Grapes of Wrath," 1940.
24. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," 1982.
25. "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962.
26. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," 1939.
27. "High Noon," 1952.
28. "All About Eve," 1950.
29. "Double Indemnity," 1944.
30. "Apocalypse Now," 1979.
31. "The Maltese Falcon," 1941.
32. "The Godfather Part II," 1974.
33. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," 1975.
34. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937.
35. "Annie Hall," 1977.
36. "The Bridge on the River Kwai," 1957.
37. "The Best Years of Our Lives," 1946.
38. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," 1948.
39. "Dr. Strangelove," 1964.
40. "The Sound of Music," 1965.
41. "King Kong," 1933.
42. "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967.
43. "Midnight Cowboy," 1969.
44. "The Philadelphia Story," 1940.
45. "Shane," 1953.
46. "It Happened One Night," 1934.
47. "A Streetcar Named Desire," 1951.
48. "Rear Window," 1954.
49. "Intolerance," 1916.
50. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2001.
51. "West Side Story," 1961.
52. "Taxi Driver," 1976.
53. "The Deer Hunter," 1978.
54. "M-A-S-H," 1970.
55. "North by Northwest," 1959.
56. "Jaws," 1975.
57. "Rocky," 1976.
58. "The Gold Rush," 1925.
59. "Nashville," 1975.
60. "Duck Soup," 1933.
61. "Sullivan's Travels," 1941.
62. "American Graffiti," 1973.
63. "Cabaret," 1972.
64. "Network," 1976.
65. "The African Queen," 1951.
66. "Raiders of the Lost Ark," 1981.
67. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", 1966.
68. "Unforgiven," 1992.
69. "Tootsie," 1982.
70. "A Clockwork Orange," 1971.
71. "Saving Private Ryan," 1998.
72. "The Shawshank Redemption," 1994.
73. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," 1969.
74. "The Silence of the Lambs," 1991.
75. "In the Heat of the Night," 1967.
76. "Forrest Gump," 1994.
77. "All the President's Men," 1976.
78. "Modern Times," 1936.
79. "The Wild Bunch," 1969.
80. "The Apartment, 1960.
81. "Spartacus," 1960.
82. "Sunrise," 1927.
83. "Titanic," 1997.
84. "Easy Rider," 1969.
85. "A Night at the Opera," 1935.
86. "Platoon," 1986.
87. "12 Angry Men," 1957.
88. "Bringing Up Baby," 1938.
89. "The Sixth Sense," 1999.
90. "Swing Time," 1936.
91. "Sophie's Choice," 1982.
92. "Goodfellas," 1990.
93. "The French Connection," 1971.
94. "Pulp Fiction," 1994.
95. "The Last Picture Show," 1971.
96. "Do the Right Thing," 1989.
97. "Blade Runner," 1982.
98. "Yankee Doodle Dandy," 1942.
99. "Toy Story," 1995.
100. "Ben-Hur," 1959.
22 June 2007
Plans coming together
Erich and I have been fairly busy with the wedding planning lately. Lots of stuff is getting settled, resolved, or at least band-aided for the time being. Our awesome maid of honor and best man have been very supportive (mostly to get me to stop losing my shit).
But I'm honestly feeling a bit better, a bit more in control. We're now 90 days out. Ninety. I feel like it's tomorrow. So I keep switching between "oh... I'm fine. Really. No probs." and "ohmygodimsofarbehindshitineedtodothat."
Melinda has been keeping me sane via email. I will owe her big time after all of this.
We've booked our photographer - a fantastic photojournalism-style photographer that Melinda found via Craiglist. Her prices are fantastic, and I seriously can't wait to work with her, based on our phone chat a few nights ago.
Earlier this week we ordered our invites - so I guess this whole thing is official now. :) We had a good laugh as we went through the styles and verses available. Some are truly frightening. Highlight comments included:
"Those hearts are too heartsey..." <--- that would be me, while viewing styles in horror
"Stop with the rhyming!" <-- Erich, re: verses
"IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR ANCESTORS!" <-- both of us, big booming voices, re: verses
We decided on something basic and traditional. And autumney.
.
.
.
I don't think my mom has clued into the fact that we're marrying on a Pagan Sabbat, by the way. But I'm having fun with the autumn stuff in the meantime, playing around with the double meaning.
But of course, wedding planning still doesn't come without some stress. Now it's with my other relatives - starting with my brother, who acknowledges to my mom that he received Erich's email two months ago which asked him to be a groomsman, but he didn't read it, and then gives my mom some b.s. "you know, it's better if they call me..."
ARRRRRGGGGGH!
Yes, it's my brother. Scott is being Scott. Scott is always being Scott. But seriously - TWO MONTHS. At least reply to the email that it's better to contact you via phone, for cripes sake.
After all of this, you know what I'm doing for my honeymoon? Sleeping. That's it. Erich will be relishing in the new release of Halo 3 and I'll be sleeping. Wedding over, we'll return to our lazy geekdom.
But before then, I have the Wedding Blitz Trip 2007 to work through this week, as my mom comes up for another whirlwind two days: my first dress fitting, flowers, and cakes. That's the plan.
If we get that done this week, I'm so golden.
But I'm honestly feeling a bit better, a bit more in control. We're now 90 days out. Ninety. I feel like it's tomorrow. So I keep switching between "oh... I'm fine. Really. No probs." and "ohmygodimsofarbehindshitineedtodothat."
Melinda has been keeping me sane via email. I will owe her big time after all of this.
We've booked our photographer - a fantastic photojournalism-style photographer that Melinda found via Craiglist. Her prices are fantastic, and I seriously can't wait to work with her, based on our phone chat a few nights ago.
Earlier this week we ordered our invites - so I guess this whole thing is official now. :) We had a good laugh as we went through the styles and verses available. Some are truly frightening. Highlight comments included:
"Those hearts are too heartsey..." <--- that would be me, while viewing styles in horror
"Stop with the rhyming!" <-- Erich, re: verses
"IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR ANCESTORS!" <-- both of us, big booming voices, re: verses
We decided on something basic and traditional. And autumney.
.
.
.
I don't think my mom has clued into the fact that we're marrying on a Pagan Sabbat, by the way. But I'm having fun with the autumn stuff in the meantime, playing around with the double meaning.
But of course, wedding planning still doesn't come without some stress. Now it's with my other relatives - starting with my brother, who acknowledges to my mom that he received Erich's email two months ago which asked him to be a groomsman, but he didn't read it, and then gives my mom some b.s. "you know, it's better if they call me..."
ARRRRRGGGGGH!
Yes, it's my brother. Scott is being Scott. Scott is always being Scott. But seriously - TWO MONTHS. At least reply to the email that it's better to contact you via phone, for cripes sake.
After all of this, you know what I'm doing for my honeymoon? Sleeping. That's it. Erich will be relishing in the new release of Halo 3 and I'll be sleeping. Wedding over, we'll return to our lazy geekdom.
But before then, I have the Wedding Blitz Trip 2007 to work through this week, as my mom comes up for another whirlwind two days: my first dress fitting, flowers, and cakes. That's the plan.
If we get that done this week, I'm so golden.
18 June 2007
Changing the Pretty
I was getting tired of the other color scheme - I needed to return to my blue roots. Something a bit more soothing, a bit less busy. :)
So 'ere we go.
I still need to add my little mini-intro, my blogroll, and my links back up - I'll get that done in the next couple days.
A couple changes - I'm finally ditching Haloscan, and will start using the Blogger comments. Definitely drop me a line on this entry and let me know if things are working okay.
But yes... everything will be working again shortly. I'm just in the middle of changing... *ahem*
So 'ere we go.
I still need to add my little mini-intro, my blogroll, and my links back up - I'll get that done in the next couple days.
A couple changes - I'm finally ditching Haloscan, and will start using the Blogger comments. Definitely drop me a line on this entry and let me know if things are working okay.
But yes... everything will be working again shortly. I'm just in the middle of changing... *ahem*
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