I suited up

On Saturday, Wesley and I hit the Macy's One Day Sale to try and find suits for the wedding. Mission accomplished!

We bought Alfani Red suits for just $200! I'm not going to lie. I look RIDICULOUSLY good in the suit. Here we are suited up.

Not sure my shoes or Wesley's hat are going to make the cut on the big day, but you get the idea. Next up on my shopping list: yellow ties and suspenders.

Wine Days Ahead

Paolo and I always enjoy a few bottles of wine each week, and of course I get excited and want to open a couple at a time. Last week, we had the privilege of having Paolo Sr. over for dinner, and I cooked an amazing meal while drinking a glass of wine. We had polenta with a sausage marinara sauce, side salad, and bread with EVOO, parmesan, and balsamic. We enjoyed brownies and a chocolate bar with dessert. Trader Joe's has a great assortment of chocolate bars, FYI!

We were drinking a cheap Pinot Noir that we picked up from TJ's and I couldn't stop myself from opening another bottle. We recently went on a weekend get away to Mazama, WA and we stopped at Lost River Winery where I picked out a special bottle of wine called Cedarosa. Boy, is it tasty and we had a great time snacking on cheese, chocolate, and brownies while discussing wine.

As the month of October leaves us, we will be starting a new blog about wine. I am excited, but feel a little amateurish on the subject. Even though I can polish off a bottle in a day by myself, I am going to do my research.

Grocery stores are a lot of fun these days. Since I always do most of the shopping, I am always finding deals and for the most part planning meals. If Paolo comes along I will find him 30 minutes later in the wine section of course. If we have $50.00 to spend on groceries and Paolo is with me, you better believe at least $30.00 is going towards wine.

Well, the new blog will be up and running soon. I better go study.

Sweet Nothing

Did anyone else celebrate Sweetest Day?

Origins and Facts About Sweetest Day

Observed the 3rd Saturday in the month of October, Sweetest Day observance originated in Cleveland in 1922. Herbert Birch Kingston, a philanthropist and candy company employee wanted to bring happiness into the lives of orphans, shut-ins and others who were forgotten. With the help of friends, he began to distribute candy and small gifts to the underprivileged.
On the first Sweetest Day, movie star Ann Pennington presented 2,200 Cleveland newspaper boys with boxes of candy to express gratitude for their service to the public.

Another popular movie star, Theda Bara, distributed 10,000 boxes of candy to people in Cleveland hospitals and also gave candy to all who came to watch her film in a local theater.

Primarily a regional observance celebrated in the Great Lakes region and the Northeast, Sweetest Day is gradually spreading to other areas of the country. People tend to take the Sweetest Day tradition with them when they move. Ohio is the top state for Sweetest Day sales, followed by Michigan and Illinois. Texas, California and Florida are among the top 10 states in sales.

Over the years, Sweetest Day has evolved into a time to express romantic love and also to show appreciation to friends.

Reference www.theromantic.com/sweetestday.htm

Home Again, Home Again

Paolo and I will be traveling home this December over my birthday, hooray!!! I am very excited and I think it will be a great time, unless we get hit with a mega ice storm again and lose power.

On this trip we will be discussing, the wedding (of course) and spending time with the fam. I am hoping that my dress is in so I can try it on and we will try to get the guest list mastered. I need to introduce Paolo Jr. to the pastor who will be marrying us and get that lined up (I hope he approves)!

My Dad and Grandpa are building an arbor that we will get married under and I am super excited about this too! We hope they make it so we can ship it back to go in our own garden.

We have decided to go with a tulip mixture for the wedding bouquets. My mom and dad planted over 200 bulbs a couple weeks ago, to see if we can grow enough for the table decorations and bouquets. I am excited and I thought it would be meaningful knowing that the flowers are from my own yard in Indiana.

Since the wedding is outdoors, we are going to have white chairs and straw bales to sit on. The aisles will be lined with tulips and tin can flower vases. I know it's going to be beautiful.

Every day I wake up saying, "I wish we were getting married this weekend." I have to remind myself, "We will have our whole life to be married, enjoy being engaged and enjoy planning this wedding!" I am glad that I waited and didn't settle. Sure I may be 28 going on 29, but I think it's the perfect age for me to get married.

Ultimate Thailand Explorers found here

Hi everybody,

We applied for a chance to explore Thailand together through the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Registration is just about closed and so far just over 100 candidates representing 25 countries have applied for five spots. Those are pretty darn good odds. Better than a lottery!

So how can you support us? View our profile and watch our video! Easy enough, right?

Shoes

Since my last post was not wedding related I though I would blog a little about the wedding. I am on a mission to find the right shoes for my wedding day. Any suggestions?

Here are a few shoe designers I am planning on scoping out:
Jimmy Choo
Prada
Stuart Weitzman
Fendi
Manola
Cole Haan
Kate Spade
Christian Loubiton


Remember to keep in mind that I roll my ankles easily and I am not interested in being taller than Paolo Jr.
My dress is traditional,long, and off white. I can't wait to try it on again!

Doctor's orders

After making you fill out paperwork, what is the next thing you have to do at a doctor appointment? That's right, you take off your shoes and you get weighed and measured. This was the first thing that went wrong for me.

I apparently weigh five pounds more and I am an inch and a half shorter. For high school basketball I always exaggerated my height by an inch making me 5'9.5", which is why what the doctor said did not make sense. She said, "You're 5'7", sound about right?" I said, "Whoa, 5'7"? Are you kidding me? I am shrinking." To make matters worse, she was not concerned.

When I lived in Seattle I told my last nurse after being measured, "I am shrinking!" and the nurse said, "Really? If this is a concern you can talk to the doctor about it and we can check and make sure your calcium and bone health is OK."

I didn't get the same sympathy this time. I guess this doctor is fine seeing shrinking patients.

I had my blood drawn to make sure my hormones weren't out of whack (thyroid, etc.!). Everything was great until the phone nurse mentioned my cholesterol. That's right, my cholesterol is a little high, too. I'm shorter where I want to be taller and I'm higher where I want to be lower. At least my blood pressure was OK.

I am on a mission to lower my cholesterol.