Return to Blogging...with a new purpose

So I started to blog about being engaged and the whole wedding planning process....but that fizzled out since I was such a procrastinating bride. Incidentally, our wedding was perfect in every way - we were both happy, comfortable, and surrounded by people we love.

With the nuptials a few months behind us, we just bought our first home. After a "learning experience" in September with a builder and the loss of a deposit, we took a short break in the house hunting process and picked it back up in October. We spent a few Sundays hitting the Open House scene - partially for something to do and partially to check out the market. In the process we stumbled across a very unique townhome, which we nicknamed the "artsy house." Actually, every house had a nickname - sort of the Seinfield method of house hunting. Not only did the artsy house have 3 split-levels (for a total of 6 levels and 5 flights of stairs) but the foyer walls look like those of a castle, and everything that looks like wood, was indeed painted to look like wood by the owner. We actually had to touch nearly everything in the house to determine what materials it was made from. After exploring several areas of town and a couple houses in each one, we kept coming back to the artsy house - we loved the layout, the storage space, and even the castle walls. So we found a realtor and bought our home.

Last week we went to closing and now the keys...and all the design dilemmas...are officially ours.

While we would love to have every room just perfect, we know we have to prioritize both our time and money. Some of the projects we have decided to tackle at the beginning are:

• installing hardwood (perferably bamboo) to the kitchen, dining area, and living room
• expanding the kitchen by breaking down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room and consequently rearranging the cabinets...and installing an island.
• replacing the fireplace.
• buying LR furniture as well as a dining table/chairs.
• finding our "style"
• ...and all of this on a BUDGET.

I've decided to use this blog as a venue for sharing the highlights of my design inspirations.

Sooner Than Later

My plans for a spring wedding were whisked away when we found out Chris's brother is being transferred abroad in the early part of 2009. Now we're looking at a fall 2008 shindig...after I got over my initial disappointment of a spring ceremony with beautiful pictures outside - and having a year to plan - I started the official hunt for a reception site...and decided that the fall foliage in PA could be just as beautiful. The challenge is on, the reception site has to be:

• affordable
• available
• easy to get to from the church, especially for the out of town guests
• a place that we like - something that has a rustic, comfy feel - not a grand ballroom, and ideally with a view of something more than just another building. I would love to have it in a cool barn or historic house, but those are usually pretty small.

After hours on the web and a few phone calls later we think we narrowed it down to a ski lodge, a country club, and a "country" setting catering facility.

TIP: have a picture in your head of what you want and think outside the box - don't just look at the places that call themselves "reception sites." If you're having a small reception, there are some really cool options out there.

When is it too soon to plan?

I waited one whole week after we got engaged to start thinking about plans...okay, maybe I didn't wait on the thinking, but I didn't bug Chris about it for about a week. I truly did want to just enjoy being engaged, but then my anal retentive inner self started to take over and wanted to start making spreadsheets, interactive maps, and Gant charts. We knew we wanted something in the spring of 2009, so we technically had over a year, but all these crazy wedding websites can really freak you out about planning and planning NOW!...but still I waited. After about a week and a half, I couldn't take it anymore...the inner organizer was bursting at the seams.
We started big - what state? Between the 2 of us, we cover 5 states...MT, SD, VA, MD, and PA. VA and MD - neither are really home... and the price points for the DC area...too high. Now we're down to the west or PA?....hmmm.... this was quite a decision. The west could be very scenic and laid back (which I like), but cold/windy at times...and far. PA on the other hand, close and my home. We settled on PA - by way of drawing from a hat.... now he gets to pick the honeymoom.
Great - I have a state!...and more or less a city, Allentown. Yes, like song, but not many woo hoo's about it - except my church. I'm not uber religious and often skipped church on Sundays (and even sometimes CCD class...) but I do love my church - it's beautiful.

...Let the planning begin

the ICE Storm

For Spring Break we headed out west to S. Dakota and Montana (where Chris is from).

After a few days in SD we hopped in the Tahoe for a 4.5 hour drive to Montana. Along the way we made some stops, including one at the ranch where he group up (in Ismay, MT). Despite the snow and rain we hopped out of the truck to get some pictures at the top of a hill in the timbers. Chris wanted to show me a cool tree that he really liked growing up.

Chris put Rufus (a wooden turtle that has been the star of many photos) on the tree so I could take some pictures. After telling me to get a close up of Rufus, he told me to look at what he found. It turned out to be a bigger Rufus, that Chris painted. I loved the Big Rufus, but the surprise was waiting under the turtle shell.

There was snow, rain, and ICE.....

Year 1

Chris and I met on St. Patty's day after he told me a really corny Michael Jackson joke (not knowing that I had a way cool MJ belt when I was little.) After that and a few more rum & cokes we exchanged numbers.
We had a hilarous first date, a very sweaty third date (hiking in Great Falls), and it was just uphill and full speed ahead from there.

Why a Blog?

I've been wanting to have a blog, but I couldn't think of any topic that I had that much to talk about. Now I'm engaged and even though I've only looked at one bridal magazine and I can already tell how much planning there will be.