Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I've been waiting to wield the gun for a long, long time: the magical wedding registry gun that puts unbridled consumerism in the palm of my hand at no financial cost to myself. *POW* buy us this. *ZAP* buy us that. I'm usually not a materialistic super shopper, but in this case I couldn't wait.
Luckily upcoming bridal showers recently sent Kyle and I to Bed Bath & Beyond to set up our first wedding gift registry. Sadly they didn't allow us to run wild with the scanning gun. Instead we received a guide, who clearly needed to get through several contractual obligations:
1. Ask how we met. (Which she misheard as extreme frisbee, which she repeated several times.)
2. Ask for the proposal story. (Which she said was the best story she had ever heard. And I imagine she hears a lot of stories.)
3. Ask about the destination for our honeymoon. (I love the confusion/shock/awe on people's faces whenver they hear our response.)
4. Ask what kind of china we want. (We don't.)
5. Ask what kind of toasting flute we want. (We don't.)
6. Ask what kind of china we want, again. (No, really, it's ok. I have my grandmothers' china. Let's move on already. I didn't believe you when you said this process might take 3 hours, but now I do.)
It took some effort to make her understand how little we needed china or any plates of any kind, but eventually we made it into the main part of the store. She was very helpful when we had trouble choosing among different brands, though I think her attention to the finer (aka unnecessary and expensive) things in life, her repetition of "extreme frisbee," and the sheer length of the process when we had to be guided slowly through each section started to get on Kyle's nerves. Luckily he was able to entertain himself (and me) with the amazing animal potholders that doubled as hand puppets.
We never did get to hold the gun, but we were able to ask her to point it at plenty of fun things. Well, we thought it was plenty of things, but apparently we're well under the recommended number of items, which is 3x the guest count. I'm not sure there are that many items in the BB&B store, and we really don't need online offerings such as relationship remotes or an inflatable mortuary. We also turned down the rice cooker that was highly recommended by our guide, even though Kyle is incapable of cooking rice properly. (And yes he's usually a better cook than I am, but I'll take whatever victories I can get.) We ended up with about 50 items, which you can find by entering our names here if you're interested. We've also started a registry at Amazon.com, which is much more eclectic and entertaining. Some of the gift suggestions were chosen together, but many are clearly tied to one recipient. (Guess who wants Newsies and a Shakespeare watch, and who wants camping supplies and Linux books? I know, it's tricky.) It also allows for joke items like the $15,500.00 Soccer Simulator.
Despite the delight of making gift lists Kyle and I are very capable of buying things ourselves, which we proved after emerging from Beyond. We ran around to Borders, Target, the grocery store and a few other places and came home with a load of items. Our best find by far: a coffee and expresso maker, orginially over 100 dollars, for $17. It was just sitting there on the Target clearance shelf, boxless, dusty, and a little banged up but just begging us to take a chance on it. Imagine our surprise when we got it home and it actually worked! It isn't an easy one step process, in fact you might need a degree in chemistry and burn treatment in order to use it without messing up a few times, but eventually it will serve up a steaming pot of expresso and steamed milk deliciousness.
Cheers to a day well $pent.
| posted at: 09:08 |
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Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Kyle is apparently dieting. And by dieting I mean barring all cookies from his apartment and taking smaller second helpings than I do. Neither of us will ever be calorie counters, but at least he's making a concerted effort to be healthier. I should perhaps be "dieting" too, especially for the next dress fitting, but I'll probably just rely on my workout regimen to slim me down and tone me up. Not that I have a real workout regimen right now, but I will soon. (More on that in the next biking entry.) Kyle's healthier eating habits did make me think about how a diet would fit into my current lifestyle, however, and I made the following realizations.
Things that would hurt a diet attempt (besides the fact that I never seriously diet and possess almost no will power):
1. Lindt dark chocolate truffles.
Have you tried these delights? They are incredible: little orbs of deep, chocolate ecstasy. I only recently developed an appreciation of dark chocolate (which I read as a mark of my increasing maturity) and Lindt is the main source. The other day I walked past a Lindt store running a spend-a-boatload-on-chocolate-and-get-free-truffles promotion; I was really close to buying everyone on my list chocolate for Christmas just to score some truffles for myself.
2. Gifts from my ESL student.
For the past year I've volunteered at the local literacy center, helping a man from Burma (now known as Myanmar, but as he still refers to it as Burma I follow suit) with his reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in English. He must have felt overly bad/appreciative when we had to switch our tutoring sessions to the late evening due to his work schedule, because he's started bringing me food products each week, no matter how much I politely protest that it isn't necessary. At first I got strange offerings like rusk cake, Red Bull, and giant containers of malt energy drink mix (apparently he could tell I was exhausted) but then he switched to homemade bread products made by local Mennonite women. I'm very thankful to be receiving food that I want to eat, but I know those loaves of nut bread and packages of cinnamon rolls are going straight to my hips. I try to share them as much as possible but Anna is usually the only one who can help me out.
3. My Carb Loving Origins
I'm from Lancaster PA, the land of soft pretzels, funnel cake, and dumplings. This is Carb Country, and we never met a starch we didn't like. Even though we like meat too, the Atkins diet and other anti-carb mantras are just never going to work for us. I really wanted to show solidarity with Celiac Sabrina and give up gluten for Lent but honestly I don't think I could ever manage it. My body demands breads and potatos on a regular basis.
Things that would help a diet attempt:
1. Small Lunches and Breakfasts
I'm too poor to buy lunch at Charlottesville prices, but I'm also too lazy to pack a full one. So for the past few weeks my lunch (which is also my breakfast) has consisted of almonds and Campbell's soup at Hand. If I didn't eat large dinners followed by Lindt chocolate I would probably lose a lot of weight.
Oh well. More reason to climb on my bike!...
| posted at: 10:40 |
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Friday, October 24, 2008
I'll admit: while I always recognized how much emphasis others put on choosing the right wedding gown (there's a reason for those capital letters in the title) I was never obessed with the dress. I wanted to look beautiful, certainly, but I was much more focused on the location, photographer, and other aspects of the wedding. In fact I initially planned to buy a $200 dress that I saw online to save money and hassle, but my mother and bridesmaids revolted and insisted that I at least try some dresses on in stores for their benefit. If my mother hadn't repeatedly warned me that dresses should be ordered about 9 months ahead of time (which I still think is ridiculous) I wouldn't even have begun the search at this point. But with the support of my mother and some of my wonderful girls I really got into the whole princess for a day thing. (Actually I rejected any princessy dresses because excessive sequins are itchy and poufy dresses make me look like I'm perched atop a wedding cake, but you know what I mean.) I'm so happy that I took the time to find the right dress.
Bridesmaid Liz joined my mother and I at the first dress location: Weddings by Paulette. The girl who helped me pull and try on dresses was an english major with an english professor father, both of whom love science fiction and dystopian novels. This similarity gave us a lot to talk about, which helped the inevitable awkwardness of having someone else dress you. It was actually a fun experience all around and I fell for a very simple Maggie Sottero but not enough to commit to it. (Note: you may think by my "Maggie Sottero" namedropping that I know anything about dress designers. This is sadly untrue. Shop owners kept asking me if I had any favorite designers and I had nothing to offer. My deep and enduring love of shows like Project Runway and What Not to Wear is apparently matched by a complete ignorance of designers in real life.)
The next day my matron of honor Steph joined us at Alfred Angelos. We were blessed with another friendly assistant who did her best to find simple but beautiful dresses for me. I believe I saw my mother tear up when I walked out in our favorite dress of the day. It looked suspiciously like my favorite one from the day before: gathered fabric down a fitted bodice with a lace-up back. Apparently I know what I like. A crucial difference was that this dress had off-the-shoulder sleeves. They were attractive and classy but also constricting. At one point I flapped my arms dejectedly below my waist and whispered: "I feel like John McCain." Torn between both dresses but sure of neither one (even after trying on the first dress again - bless you mom and Steph for following me around all day) I decided to postpone the search until the next weekend when my parents would be visiting me in Charlottesville. And by visiting me I mean coming to UVA for the big football game and happening to see me after. There was one affordable wedding dress shop in Charlottesville and even though their window displays sometimes scare me I held out hope that my dress would be somewhere on the racks.
And so last Friday I found myself at West Main Street Bridal with my parents, my maid of honor Sabrina, and my other awesome housemate Anna, who may in fact be my flower girl since Kyle and I apparently know no one under the age of 12. The phrase "found myself" was more accurate than usual; I was running on less than 2 hours of sleep thanks to a procrastinated paper so everything seemed a little hazy. I worked with the owner of the shop, which meant there were more rules. I couldn't run wild along the racks pulling a pile of dresses. I had to start with only five and I couldn't even choose those on my own; the owner had to show me each dress in turn, sometimes offering commentary on them, and I had to respond with "no, there's just too much" (embellishment/sequining/rouching/color/volume/ugliness) over and over again. She was also more, well, self-assured and forthright than the assistants from other stores. She shared numerous complaints about her teenage help, for one, and also pulled no punches when it came to my measurements: "Well, your hips say you're a size 4, your waist says you're between a 4 and a 6, and your bust says that you don't exist." She knew what she was doing though and was helpfully just as forthright about the designers and seamstresses that I would have to deal with depending on the dress I chose. I kind of like her style, and she'll get the job done. Most importantly, I found two fantastic dresses out of my five (which became seven by the end of things) and one of them turned out to be, well, THE ONE. I had to try it on twice with a veil just to make sure, but everyone with me agreed that it was definitely the one. The gown is strapless and claims to be an A-line silhouette, though we (meaning the owner and my mother) thought it verged on a trumpet shape. The back laces up on the inside but has buttons on the outside - the best of both worlds for me. Even better are the bands of brighter white fabric around the waist and on the train. It looks elegant but incredibly unique. Plus as many people know I LOVE stripes, so it's perfect for me in an entirely unexpected way (because who puts stripes on a wedding dress?), which just might make Kyle laugh out loud. I can't wait to walk down the aisle in it.
| posted at: 11:16 |
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I thought I would be eager to blog about wedding planning right away, but that’s because I didn’t expect it to be so hectic from the start. But now everything has settled down and become fun again (and not in the way that those commercials claim that "car buying is fun again"; I never really understood those claims) so it's about time I posted an update on our planning progress.
Picking a date was our first priority, which was easier said than done. I’m a big number and pattern person, so I used to assume I’d get married on, say, 11-02-2011 or 07-08-09. (Bonus: cool dates are easier to remember.) Then I reentered reality and realized that a date would be difficult enough to pin down without trying to be clever about it. We planned to get married in late spring or early summer, after school ended but before the weather got too hot, because I am not riding across the deserts in August. Even more importantly we wanted to hold the wedding before Kyle’s best man Dave began his second tour of duty in the middle east. He's scheduled to deploy in the early summer, though of course that could change for any number of reasons. In the end we settled on a date near the end of May. Kyle will still be in school then, but he has vacation days that we can use for a mini-honeymoon before the trek. The date also works well for everyone we planned to involve in the ceremony (except for those who would find almost any date difficult: the Staphs who moved to Texas and Sheila who is abroad in Spain. We'll miss you!!)
With the date more or less set we needed a location. I of course wanted something breathtaking and since we planned to marry in Lancaster I was drawn to the idea of a rustic but beautiful restored barn with ample grounds. Once again reality shattered my ideal plans. The thing about restored barns is that they generally can't hold large groups. Kyle and I always said we wanted a small wedding, but that's difficult to accomplish when you have a large family (Kyle) and don't want to cut out a number of close friends in order to fit into an ostensibly perfect space. There was one location that had ideal aesthetics and square footage, the Riverdale Manor, but all Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in the spring were already booked, including of course our chosen date, which we learned had been reserved almost 2 years ago. People are apparently crazy prepared. Or just crazy.
We narrowed our non-farm options down to two locations near downtown Lancaster, the Mulberry Arts Studio and The Hamilton Ballroom at Wheatland Place (which is NOT at President Buchanan's Wheatland - a common misconception since it's right down the street - but the old R&D facilities of a repurposed watch factory). The art gallery was closer to the charming atmosphere that I wanted and as a bonus the gallery would be displaying a macro photography show that weekend. It was also more crazed and crowded, however, and there was a chance that another event would be occuring in the room upstairs, meaning parking, bathrooms, and the owner's attention would be awkwardly split between two parties, not to mention potential sound issues. The Hamilton Ballroom at Wheatland place had better space and parking and would be all ours for the day but it didn't feel as warm, welcoming, and unique. When the cost estimate for the art gallery was much higher, we began leaning towards Wheatland Place and discussed ways to make the ballroom more personal and exciting by drawing on its art deco attributes. I struggled most with the decision because the ballroom was so far from my original farmhouse plans and it was hard to abandon that kind of aesthetic. Eventually I came to terms with the decision, however, and got really excited about plans to work with and subtly transform the space. We can also compensate for one of the major drawbacks - the unimpressive exterior - with outdoor photos at a nearby park. Since making the decision - which we're all still happy about I'm pleased to say! - we've heard from caterers and others that Wheatland Place is an easier venue to work with overall and that we made the best choice, which was reassuring to hear.
Speaking of caterers, we found one of those too. I was disappointed to discover that caterers don't do tastings until after you hire them, but luckily Olde Greenfield Inn has a restaurant where we went for lunch, so we could at least assess their ability to make soups, salads, and quiches (all of which were delicious). They won out over the other contenders (even the one that gave us mini pastries to take home) for their flexible menu and their ability to cook everything on site. I can't wait to sample what they'll be preparing!
We also booked a photographer, and despite all of my "The photographer is the most important choice! The food and flowers are for a day but the photos are forever! We need an amazing photographer!" tirades it was a remarkably painless process. After much online research we only needed to meet with one photographer - Kyle Keagy. He's a very friendly stay-at-home father who charged less than the other photographers we researched but had an equally impressive portfolio. He has experience and ideas but seems more flexible, attentive, and unobtrusive than larger photography companies. I'm quite pleased with the choice and hopefully the photographs will be as amazing as I anticipate! We also let him know about this blog and he was very willing to work out an agreement that would allow us to use his photos here and in any future projects that come out of it.
Finally we began the quest for a dress, but I'll have to cover that in the next entry once it is successfully concluded. Stay tuned!
| posted at: 10:01 |
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Sunday, October 12, 2008
I realize I've been a negligent writer on this blog. Don't worry though, I've been slightly better about my bicycle training, though only just. Kyle suggested that I post an entry that said "Grad School and the Job Search take up all of my time. The End." but I'd rather apologize whilst writing an actual entry. (That's right, I said "whilst.")
I'll begin by admitting that I haven't ridden my bicycle outdoors for over a month now, for a few reasons. I was getting tired of my two main long-distance routes, which then became one main route because I forget the specifics of the second and yet never remembered to consult a map. (This is why Kyle is planning our cross country route.) I tried to discover new routes but every attempt landed me in a bad part of town with only a vague idea of how to get out. (Again, I should never navigate.) Then one Thursday evening my friend was biking in town and was attacked by a group of teenagers who shoved him off of his bike into the road. He got away with only some prominent scrapes and bruises and his bike and belongings still in tow, but it was a rather unexpected and harrowing experience. Needless to say the story shook me up as well, especially since my rides either take me into much less safe areas of town or on country roads with no shoulder and few houses to go to for help. I started to be skittish about riding for hours by myself - and let's not forget the dog incident that initially taught me the dangers of solitary riding - but I couldn't find any feasible riding partners. I also felt pressed for time since outdoor rides had to be completed before sundown, which was coming earlier every day, and also needed to be scheduled carefully; I couldn't risk getting lost and coming home half an hour late if I had class or work to attend.
Luckily UVA has excellent fitness facilities, so I've been riding indoors a few times a week. All of their stationary equiptment is programmed to stop after half an hour so that no one monopolizes the machines; this quirk gives me a nice stretch every half hour but makes it hard to keep track of statistics. I need get back into lifting weights as well so I suppose I could use that to break up the half hour sets. The best part of stationary riding is that I can read. I can't focus well enough on readings for class but it's nice to read for pleasure without feeling guilty about wasted time. My first bike books were Blade Runner and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim and now I'm working my way through collections of short stories. It's a pleasant way to pass the time, and I always put the book down for the last 10 minutes so that I can do some interval training before the bike forces me into a cool down. I still really need to step it up, however, if I want to be ready to ride across the country by this summer. Not that I actually believe I'll ever be ready to ride across the country.
I still lament the fact that I'm wasting months of excellent riding weather (not to mention my new bike shorts) but for now it's better than nothing.
| posted at: 09:36 |
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