His ring.

For months, Mike has been trying to find her 'perfect' wedding band. I find it so cute that he is being so picky! He is an artist..so he wants something different than the norm. We have looked at all the local jewelers, chain jewelers, online jewelers...and we finally found the one!

Source

It's not only what he wants-but it's extremely affordable too! I am hoping to make the purchase this weekend! It is a special order-so we won't receive for a few weeks. But I can't wait for us to have it, and another thing checked off our list!

Has your fiance been picky about his ring?

Playing dress up!

I've been a bad blogger. I am really sorry! I blame the Holidays! I had a great Holiday by the way... I hope everyone else did too! I was constantly reminded how fast the wedding will come after these Holidays are over. It definitely put me back in gear!! The excitement is back on! Woo hoo!

This weekend me and my boy went and registered for our tuxes! It was so fun to play dress up! (Well..for me anyway!)

We decided to go with the Perry Ellis 1-button notch.


I wish the flash wasn't so bright....new camera-still working on using it properly! But you get the idea! Doesn't he look so cute!?!

We also chose the plain ivory satin vest. With a paisley tie. (this was all Mike's idea-it's definitely the artist in him!) And I think it looks fabulous!! I just LOVE it!!


Now on to the groomsmen....

The closest green they had was Sage. And here is a picture...not a very good picture (I'm a noob!) I just don't think it goes well with the bridesmaid dresses.
What do you think?

Here is my other option...again thanks baby! I love his artistic talent... He is so good with putting things together!

"How about ivory vests and brown paisley ties...since we our colors are green and brown?", he says.

"Wow...you're a genius!", I say.

Viola!



I'm still not 100% sure about this. That's why I need you guys!! What do you think? Do I risk the green? Or do I go with ivory and brown?

I have to admit...I really hate the matchy-ness of all the groomsmen in the same color (like all green). To me-it's like color overload. And I've been thinking about how I was going to incorporate more brown..and this may be perfect.

And if I go with ivory and brown for the boys-Should I give the ushers and my Dad a brown hanky or no hanky? Soooo many options!



Now I'm off to order my invitations!

Camera Crazy

I hope everyone had a fabulous Holiday! We definitely did! It has been so nice to spend time with family for the last few days. It is also nice to relax now.... we have had 3 days straight of Christmas's!

One of my favorite gifts is the new camera I received from my Dad! The Canon Powershot A2000IS. I was in desperate need of a new camera.. Thank you Daddy!

After I read Anne Ruthmann's tutorial on Weddingbee...I have been dying to take some shots of my ring. And I'm sorry for stealing your blog idea Bella! But you inspired me!!! Check her ring shots! They are amazing!

I have been playing with my camera all night..and possibly went a little overboard! But here is what I came up with!

These 2 are my favorites.

(Dimitri decided he wanted to be included!)

Dear blog friends,

I have been a bad blogger. I have been so wrapped up in baking things like Potica for my Grandpa, shopping for last minute presents (I'm a procrastinator..), wrapping presents, dogsitting, and cleaning up the house for Holiday guests!

Christmas is my favorite time of year. And today Christmas Eve..is my ultimate favorite day! Today we will go to my Grandma's house and hang out-watch old time Christmas classics like, Suzie Snowflake, Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer, Hard Rock Coco And Joe, The 3 Wise Men....And we will all feast on Christmas dinner. (I'm also in the middle of making the scalloped potatoes as we speak) Then we will listen to a Christmas story by my Uncle Fr. Bart. He loves to drag it on....to make the gift opening suspense even stronger! Then we open all of our presents!! I have 6 cousins and Mike and my cousin's boyfriend have joined our clan...so we all pull out of a hat-then exchange gifts. I pulled Troy-Annie's (BM) boyfriend. I'm so glad we include all our significant others now. It really makes them feel special and part of the family.

We will all miss my cousin Nate, he is in California at Camp Pendleton. He and I loved to spend Christmas together. We were connected at the hip-as my Grandma likes to say.. He will be home for our wedding-so exciting! Which makes it a little easier without him at Christmas. (Love you Nate!)

Tomorrow is Christmas with my future In-laws! We get up early, she makes us breakfast, we take all day to open our presents...and then we feast on dinner! It's so fun hanging out with his brothers-they really make me feel like family. It's nice having older brothers! (even if they tease me!) And I love his parents too....(they also tease me! But all in good fun!)

I wish all of you a safe and Happy Holiday!!!



PS: I wish all this snow would stop! We have had almost 20 inches of snow since Friday...and it's still coming down hard. Whoever wished for a white Christmas-got their wish! I like snow as much as the next person-but enough is a enough! :)

Snow Day!

Today was a perfect kind of day.

I woke up to our Instant Alert system-advising me that our school is closed to inclement weather. Woo hoo! Snow day! No work for me! I laid around the house and took occasional naps. It was wonderful.

Here is a picture of my antique angel. I inherited from my Grandma. She is old but I love her. (the angel that is...)

Another family tradition

The week before Christmas, my Grandma and I make Kolachkys. They are a Polish cookie made from pie dough and fruit filling. We use apricot, raspberry and a few prune (for Grandpa!). My Grandma has been making these since she was a little girl and she taught me when I was a little girl. It's so much fun to make these little treasures of yumminess. Over the years, I was voted (by Grams) as the best 'pincher'...but the last 2 years I've been promoted to the 'dough roller'. My Grams just doesn't have the strength anymore. But I am Kolachky police! They have to be pinched correctly or they open up. And we are Polish and make them the correct Polish (closed) way. I'm picky about my Kolachkys. So, if someone isn't pinching properly I fix them!

Here they are ready to be put in the oven..

And here they are piping hot. As you can tell...someone wasn't pinching properly!


And here they are after the have been properly sprinkled with powdered sugar!

I had 2. (even though they are not part of my diet..) But no Christmas is complete without a Kolachky or 2...

Do you have any traditions passed down by your Grandparents?

I'm not a morning person.

Source

This is what I feel like in the mornings. (and look like!)

Mike will tell you (and so will my Dad)...I am a horrible person to wake up in the morning. I kick. I yell. I push. I moan. I throw my alarm across the room.

It's not pretty.

Both of my parents are like this. So, it's definitely genetic.

This is Mike's biggest pet peeve.. I will let my alarm go off for 45 minutes. Sometimes I don't even hear it..Mike has to reach over me and turn it off. He gets up 30 minutes after I do-and I definitely ruin his morning zzzz's. Yes, I feel bad..but I physically can't help it. I've tried.

Which leads me to this thought...

How will I be the day of my wedding? I have invited my bridesmaids to sleep over and have a slumber party! I'm hoping the excitement alone will get my ass up in the morning. But if not I have 6 girls to help me!!

Do any of you have serious problems waking up in the morning??

My favorite ornament

Christmas is my favorite holiday. I actually don't even care about presents, it's more about traditions and spending time with family. Every year Mike and I have made it tradition that we and my Dad go out to a local tree farm and pick a out a real tree. This year we got a tree a little too big.. But is has got to be the most perfect tree I've ever seen. It's perfect in shape and extremely healthy (it is dripping sap onto my carpet! Yikes!)!

Here is my dad trying to get the tree just right.. (please excuse my ugly curtains...my 'landlord' wants them to stay..)


See how big it is? It takes up half of my living room! My love seat is almost pushed to the corner of the living room! And it isn't even done 'falling' yet..

Here she is! All dressed up! Ain't she puuurrrtty??!

Note: I really hope I get a new camera for Christmas-my camera is getting worse and worse..

I personally like collected and meaningful ornaments. Not the ones that are all the same. I like my tree to have some character. We both have collected all of our ornaments since we were babies. We both get one every year from our parents. It has become a tradition.

Last year, we started our own tradition by getting each other one. And here is our 1st one. I have to say it's my favorite. Isn't it so cute?!

And here are our very first ornaments. Mine is on the right-it says "Baby's 1st Christmas" and Mike's is on the left-we aren't sure what it symbolized. But it still is special.

Do you have any special traditions?

Happy Birthday Bella!

Today is my friend Bella's birthday! I just wanted to wish her a Happy 26th Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Bella!
Happy Birthday to you!

She is a wonderful friend. I'm so glad I have her in my life. She has been a godsend. She is such a great listener, and has been so helpful with wedding planning...even with all the wedding planning she has had to do. It's been so much fun planning our weddings together. I feel so lucky to share such a special time with her.

Her wedding is coming up so soon! January 31! She is pretty busy getting all the last minute details done. I can't wait for her wedding, it's going to be such a beautiful day.

Happy Birthday Bella!

Problem Solved.

I dropped the stained bridesmaid dress off at the dry cleaner's yesterday morning. And picked it up without any stains! Our dry cleaner is awesome!

Check it out.

Before:

After:



Note to Self: Leave the dresses in the closet.

I've been tagged!

I was tagged by my blogger friend Krista over at Canadian Bride...

1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Here are 6 random things about me:

1. I leave every drawer in the house open. I will grab a shirt and forget to close it. I've done this ever since I was a little. Mike HATES it. He will try to get up to pee in the middle of the night and bang his leg on one of my drawers... I'm glad he loves me!

2. I'm an extremely picky eater. I won't eat Chinese, pork, BBQ, seafood...the list could go on and on.

3. I've never been on an airplane. Or left the Mid-west. I live in Illinois, and I've only traveled to WI., MI., IN. and recently IA. (I'm damn excited for our Californian honeymoon!)

4. I'm a hairstylist. I went to school-got my cosmetologist license......loved it. But I needed a place where I could receive good benefits and make more money. So, now I work in Accounts Payable for an School District. The ladies I work with are my family...I love all of them. (Kinda like a salon...without all the unnecessary drama) I still do hair-but for friends and family only. I'm hoping one day I will get back into the salon-I do miss it a lot!

5. I was always a size 7/8 until I turned 18. From 18-19 yrs. old I went from a size 7/8 to a size 22. (I know...you're probably thinking WHAAATT??!!) I developed Insulin Resistance (or Metabolic X)-apparently it runs in my family. But from 20-21 I dropped from a size 22 to a size 9/10. It only took me a year to loose that 100lbs. It took a lot of hard work-and the medicine helped too. I met Mike when I was 21, now I'm 26. My weight has gone up and down-but at the moment it's going waaayy down. I'm almost back into my 9/10's...and hopefully by the wedding I'll be in my 7/8's!

6. I'm daddy's little girl. My parents got divorced when I was only 2 years old. And I grew up with my Dad-and my Dad and I have nothing in common...but I look just like my mother...and sometimes I act just like her. But nonetheless...I'm daddy's little girl. And always will be.

Ok I'm going to tag the following....(I'm going to try not to duplicate!)

Blabber And Blunder
Project Subrosa
An Atlanta Bride
NYC Newlywed
Our Little Haus
That Wife

Picked up the girl's dresses..

I came home last night and was lucky enough to be carrying in hand our bridesmaid dresses! I was so excited!!


No you don't understand. I was really excited.

(Mike looks thrilled, right?!)

I tried on Bella's (MOH) dress. And had a bandaid (with Neosporin in it).

Something horrible happened.

I can't believe I did this.



Is it noticeable? I swear it seems more noticeable in pictures. Maybe because I've been hyperventilating since it happened....I'm delusional now.

The dry cleaner told me if I spot clean it-it will leave spots. And if I have it dry cleaned it might fade-and they can't guarentee the spot will come out.

WTF.

What do I do now? I'm going to call a few different dry cleaner's in my area. (Does anyone know of a good dry cleaner in the Northern Chicago suburbs?????)

I feel horrible. It's not my dress. Bella paid good money (almost $200) for this dress. I want this spot(s) to come out!!!!

I could buy her a new dress and have it rushed delivered.

To me-I wouldn't care if she wore it like that. I don't think it's too terribly bad. But I feel so horrible.

I'm going to make it my mission to fix it.

I'm open to any and all suggestions.



Why me. I have the worst luck.

I'm back up and running!

Woo hoo!

Modem was delivered. There is peace in my house now.

Let me start by showing you one of my favorite Christmas decorations.

It's my Nativity Scene. My Grandpa made it for me when I moved out. It's a little small, but-to me-it's perfect.



Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus came from my Uncle Danny. He passed about 16 years ago..but we remember him daily. He was a very important part of all of our lives. He was a wonderful man. And always made sure we ate our fruit! I can still hear him now.. "Here-eat a banana!"

Love you Uncle Danny. I miss you.

My modem is broken :(

Sorry for the lack of posts. My modem went to modem heaven. (I'm sneaking in a post at work!!) I should have my modem on my doorstep when I get home.

I have lots of things to tell you about..

I bought a tree too big for my house.

I finally decorated.

I picked up my girl's bridesmaid dresses. And some how got neosporin on my MOH's... (Still haven't found a cure.)

I've been really crabby lately with no computer.

I'm crossing my fingers that it comes today.

RSVP's -Help!

While we were at The Country Squire planning our reception with our wonderful wedding coordinator. He told us that he wants us to have a name card for each person. And for each person should have a red dot for beef and a yellow dot for chicken. This way it won't look tacky when the waiter comes to the table asking who wants what. I couldn't agree more. However, I'm having a problem with the RSVP wording. I don't want it to look tacky!

Here is where I need your help.

We look for forward to celebrating with you!
Kindly respond by April ? 2009
_Regrets _Accepts
M_____________
Please indicate name(s) for your choice of entrée
_____Filet Mignon _____ Chicken Imperial
_____Chicken tenders (10/under)


We look forward to celebrating with you!
Kindly respond by April ? 2009
Please indicate an entrée choice for each guest attending
Filet Mignon
Name(s)_________________
Chicken Imperial
Name(s)_________________
Chicken tenders (12/under)
Name(s)_________________
Unable to attend
Name(s)_________________


The favor of your reply is
requested by April ? 2009
M_______________
__ Accepts __ Regrets
Please intial your entrée choice below:
__ Filet Mignon
__ Chicken Imperial
__ Chicken fingers (12/under)


Please indicate 1, 2 or 3 for the one you like the best. Or if you have another suggestion please share!

Also, for the children's plate...should I omit Chicken fingers and just write 12 under? Chicken tenders just seems tacky to me. (Or am I just over thinking it?!)

I hate having to put the menu choices down. But our caterers are perfectionists, and want to be able to take each guest his/her food without having to ask "who had chicken" etc. I think they have this vision of the food magically appearing in front of everyone without the guests even having to think about it. Which is great..but now I'm stuck figuring out how to word our response card without looking tacky!

Please help!

Early presents-daily!!

It all started last Friday when I picked up my dress from Brides by Demetrios. I can't put in to words how much I love my dress. It's going to be an agonizing 3 months before my first fitting. I just might have to go visit her and try her on a few times in between...

On Thursday, Mike and I headed over to The Country Squire-where our reception will be-to finalize our menu. Pick out our FABULOUS cake. Pick out our linens. Got our seating plans. Planned a 'kid's room'. Oh how very exciting is was to talk about it and plan this all out! I'm working on an ispiriation board..and hopefully it will be at the bottom of this post!

Yesterday, I received a phone call from Demetrios (again) telling me my bridesmaid dresses are in! Yipppeee!! They previously told me they might not be here until April and well let just say I wasn't too happy about that. So, them coming early is such a wonderful surprise! We have 2 weeks to pick them up. I just can't wait to see them in person! The suspense is killing me!

And over the last a couple days I've picked out our cake topper. Thanks to all of you-my blogger friends!!! Thank you for all the comments! I truly appreciate it! It's helped tremendously!

Everything feels like it's coming into place now. For last few months, I've sort of been taking a 'break' from planning because there wasn't much to do. It was a nice little break. But now it feels like we are FULL STEAM AHEAD! And it's just the best thrilling feeling in the world! It;s all so exciting..and I'm taking everything in day by day. I will never forget all these wonderful memories.

I'm so happy I've joined this wonderful blogosphere...it's truly a blessing to meet such wonderful and beautiful brides!

Here is a little preview of what our wedding will look like.... (I'm a newbie at making these collages..)

Sources: top; Tying the knot, Country Squire, American Wedding, After-Six, Bridal People
Bottom; Country Squire, unknown, Bridal People, Country Squire, The knot

PS: Does anyone know where those shoes are from!?? I lost the source and it's driving me crazy! I really want to purchase them!

Still Dreaming..

Thank you so much for all the cake topper feedback! It's greatly appreciated!

I am not one for monograms because I think they are too modern for me. However, they are lovely. And I have grown out of the children figurines...I agree-they are a bit weird. And I'm still on the fence with the doves.

Here are few more I came up with. I'm going to choose between these 4. The top right seems very vintage to me. Simple yet elegant. And the price of $11.90 isn't too shabby either! And the bottom left is very romantic and the bottom is a keepsake holder. I'm still not sure about the doves, but they are very sweet-they make me smile. And the top right might be a little too much for me-but it looks vintage..doesn't it?

Sources: top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right

Which one do you like the best?

Think vintage...

Dreaming of the perfect Cake topper

I've been having such a hard time choosing the perfect cake topper. They either look cheesy or too modern. I'm a traditional kind of girl who is envisioning a vintage wedding. But the cake topper industry is making it so hard on me.

Here are a few I kind of like..

Sources: Wedding Collectables, Rexcraft, That's my topper

I am lost in the cake topper world. Which one is your favorite?