Getting a Home Together

Another big news item is that I will be moving in two weeks!

Michael and I decided it would be nice to have a 2 bedroom instead of
a one bedroom to make room for all of our (his) stuff.  It would also
be nice to have a room for guests to stay in if anyone wants to come
and visit us.

So, on June 1st I'll be moving in. It's in the same complex as my
apartment now, which is nice because the landlady is real nice and it
seems to be a nice place to live. Granted, it's not luxurious, but
it's nice, quiet and affordable. We also won't be living there super
long, hopefully.  If we got too comfortable, it would be easier to
settle in and not be in such a rush to save up and buy a house.
Ideally, it would be nice to be moving out of this in a year or so
into a real home.

We have gone furniture shopping, which wasn't terribly productive, but
I'll admit it..it was fun.

One of the funniest things was when we went to Wicks furniture and we
were browsing around, and we were followed by one of the salespeople,
Doug. He greeted not too long after we were in there. In fact, he was
stalking us while we were talking to another representative, and then
he came over and asked us if we needed any help. We told him we were
just looking, but he kind of casually followed us around the store. We
would go from place to place looking at sofas and dressers and the
like, and we kept noticing that he would keep popping up!

Well at that point, we began to realy keep an eye out for him.  He
didn't want to look like he was following us, but no matter how far we
walked away, he always showed up! It was almost like a cartoon...Pepe
LePew, most precisely, where we would move really fast, and he would
be moseying along, but still be right behind us!

We noticed that he would go to various computer stations around the
store and sit down and start typing at a keyboard to look like he
wasn't really following us. But there was nothing on the screen! It's
like he didn't want to get caught following us, so he wanted to look
like he was busy doing something else.

As soon as we would move to another area, he would get up, and then
follow us, and when we turned around, he would be sitting at another
computer station!

The second-funniest thing was when we were sitting at this one sofa
set and there were these "decorative" fluffy ;leather balls (that
looked like the McFry creatures from the 1980s McDonalds hamburger
club).  When Michael asked to me, "What is this?" Suddenly Douged
popped out, seemingly from behind the sofa (we didn't even know he was
there) and said "It's a leather ball!!"

What? Where did you come from?

So then it became our mission to try and lose this guy.  So we would
walk a little more gingerly and see if this guy moved a little faster
to keep up.

He did.

We found this sofa set we really liked and it was so comfy that we sat
down on it for a while to talk.  We were chatting and at the same
time, watching what Doug was doing (Doug meanwhile was chatting with
one of his co-workers and watching what WE were doing).

After a while (it was a while because the couch was so comfy!) Doug
came over and asked us how we were doing. He was expecting us to say
something about the couch.

Michael, being typical Michel said, "Yes, we are just sitting here
trying to decide on that nightstand right there." From where we were
on the couch, it offered a perfect view of a night stand.

"I heard," michael continued "that when you are shopping for
furniture, you should start with the nightstand and buy your furniture
based on the style of the nightstand. You then pick a bed set based on
that, and then you work your way out to other rooms, but you start
with the nightstand."

Doug didn't know what to make of that!

"You heard that, huh?"

"Yes, on one of those home improvement channels."

"Well, you don't want to do that, because you might not be able to
find that style again...No, no..." he continued on "don't start with
the nightstand. I've been in this business for a long time and I've
never heard that."

"No, they had that on one of the channels, maybe they were wrong. So
we aren't supposed to start there?"

"No, typically you start with the bed set...a  bigger piece."

He then kinda moved along, but still not sure he convinced Michael of
his error he said again, "No. Don't start with the night stand. You
don't want to do that."

michael just smiled with that thin-line smile on his face, glancing at
me from the corner of his eye.

Doug didn't come back.

So anyways, that was part of our adventure making our house a home.
The only thing we will really need is to invest in more cars to
strategically move in and out of parking spaces so Michael won't get
too homesick when he gets married to me and we have a parking spot for
each of our cars. :)

Back from Hiatus

Kim	Join group to reply 4/16/07

After an extended period of being on wedding planning hiatus, I
decided to come back to the game.

Last Friday, I had the final fitting for my dress.  Um..probably am
not going to post pictures here....but the dress turned out well.

As for the bridesmaids dresses, I am still trying to resolve this. I
have the dresses picked out, but basically, the sizing charts on the
website are the sizing charts from hell...basically, this sizing chart
makes the people looking for their size get double their normal dress
size. Definitely not something women want to do is size up. And it's
not just one size larger...it's pretty much double. Yikes!

I have yet to resolve the issue, not because it's hard to resolve, but
I have to call the place, and they are  in Utah, and by the time I
remember to call, they are closed. So, it's just a matter of
remembering to call at the right time. I need to do that this week.

I just want to make sure the are accurate charts and don't want to buy
6 dresses according to their sizing charts and then have all of them
be way to big on everyone and we either have to send them back or take
them in. We shall see this week what happens.

Otherwise, I am just working on a few side projects and the
centerpieces.

Next in line are flowers, invitations and cake. One step at a time!

NB

Join group to reply 4/16/07

Good I am glad to see some activity on here. :)

The cake and flowers should be an exciting step!

Wedding Favors

Kim	Join group to reply 3/10/07

Yes, I'm a slacker.

I haven't really done much for the wedding in the past few weeks.
Well, I've been brewing ideas in my head, and going to craft stores to
try and see some actual raw materials with which to build my
vision....

...but today, I've accomplished some ground in getting some party
favors.  A necessary evil to show the guests that you like them...but
not too much.

Can you imagine buying presents for 200 people? Not an easy task!
There's so much wedding "crap" (sorry mom) out there, it's hard to
sort through it all....

It really makes me feel ill to buy favors just for the sake of buying
them, even though I know people aren't going to be too thrilled about
them. There are so many things I could buy, but I just keep asking
myself "what's the purpose" and "what are they going to do with this."

I may be a mean person, but for the most part, I have not kept more
than 2 wedding favors from all the weddings I've been to in the past 7
years (and I've been to a lot of weddings). Mostly, I try to leave the
favors accidentally at the table and hope no one catches me in the act
and stops me saying "oh, Kim, you forgot your bag of silver almonds.."
Blech!!

And chalky mints? No thank you!  (Props to my sister for finding good
tasting mints for her wedding! Many people were asking for more even
after the wedding. A job well done!).

I think it's just me. Unlike my darling fiance', I am not a very
sentimental person when it comes to saving things. I think I used to
be, but moving to 4 different locations since graduating college will
quickly reduce the amount of things you want to drag along in tow.
Sentimentality fades very quickly for me, and if I'm too attached to
something to get rid of it this year, chances are, that attachment
will probably fade next year.  (But don't worry, this doesn't apply to
anything Michael has given me, or notes from my parents, sister, or
anything the Barbers have given me...I have all of those still :) )

So now I stand thinking of spending money and all I can do is
visualize these little trinkets not even making it off the table...or
if they make it off the table, they will certainly end up in someone's
junk drawer as soon as they get home.

Is there anyway of preventing that without breaking the bank?

I think I'm close to finding an answer, but it is taking some serious
research and a little creativity. But since the colors are maroon (or
burgundy, or wine, or "gingerbread" or whatever color it's called in
all the places I've checked), it would be nice to integrate that into
the favor.

And I would also like to foolishly entertain the possibility that
someone would look at the favor and say, "oh that's neat" or even
think they could put it on a desk or shelf someday.

Now, even if I am paying 50 cents more extra, that puts a little more
enthusiasm about coughing up a couple hundred bucks for these favors.

Please don't mistake this for being a miser who doesn't want to show
appreciation for the guests...in fact, the opposite...if I'm going to
give a gift, I want to at least try to give something that someone
might want otherwise I feel like I'm going throw a pointless hoop that
I just don't understand why I'm going through it....why would I do
something just for the sake of doing it? (Hm...I feel a post on
bouquet tossing brewing in my head...)

So, after much research, I am getting a little closer to a purchase
stage. Basically, the favor will be a burgundy/maroon/gingerbread
colored candle in the shape of a flower, glued to a silver tray. I
bought a sample already and it looks nice. I am quite pleased with
myself, and in the end, it's not too much more expensive than some
other gifts.

I did find a neat little favor of a tea cup with a candle in it...but
when I crunched the numbers, it just seemed like I could afford a
better price, and I can, by about a dollar per favor.

Anyways, it's late...but that's what has been going on in the wedding
department!

--Kim.

P.S. I'm sorry this post sounds jaded...I'm really having fun :)

MB

Join group to reply 3/13/07

HHAHAHAHA!!  You better have everything any Barber has given you!
ahahhaha!  Just kidding. ;)

Good luck in your hunt.  I have faith in you. ahahaha...  I haven't
been to too many weddings so I can't compare the favors, but I'm sure
yours will dominate all others. ahahhaha....

- show quoted text -

NB

Join group to reply 3/21/07

hahah... you forgot you bag of silver almonds... haha

and thank for clearing up that you save everything anyone on this
message board has given you. hahah

i am with marita. i am sure your favors will blow all other favors out
of the water, and at a reasonable price too. ;)

if you need help i am great with glue! haha