One Week Countdown!

OMG...one week! Good news--I'm not having a panic attack today. Actually, I'm super excited! YAY!

We're finally starting to make some good progress on the millions-o-projects front. Thankfully, we've had lots of help! Our friends, Jamie and Michael, came over this week to help us polish the forks...then took all our dishes with them to wash! Lifesavers!! We finally finished cleaning out the votives we're borrowing from ACS...what a task that was! Raf is missing some flesh in the aftermath, resulting from a very ugly incident with a boxcutter, but at least he still has all his fingers. The twinkle light collection is coming along swimingly. Jules is helping us track down sign holders. Lisa picked up extra fans in Chinatown. The cupcake liners have been distributed. Jars have been de-labeled. Nena visited a rockin flower farm in Nipomo (thanks to the reference from fellow Flying Caballos bride, Cat) where we'll source our table flowers, easing the anxiety of having to deal with Farmer's Market. The rental order is just about finalized.

Whew! We're doing good! Still plenty to do, but we're feeling good about the progress. Can't wait to share it with everyone NEXT WEEK!!!

Happy Birthday Andy!

Ah, the good ole Frank chair dancing memories. :)

Best Day Ever, Indeed

Julia just forwarded this ridiculously awesome video. I'm pretty sure that means she's volunteering to be the choreographer. HA!

I needed a quality wedding feel good today. Nice one. Unfortunately, it still made me cry, but evidently I've just hit the stage where I'm officially an emotional wreck. YAY!

Projects & Poker

As I'm sure you may have guessed, my lack of blog presence has not been because I lack projects or fun happenings to share. Quite the opposite, of course. We're just too darn busy to stop and blog these days! Plus, I have to save a few crafty surprises for the wedding day, don't I?? But here's a little sneak preview of what we've been working on over the past week. I'm sure you can guess at the project, but you'll just have to wait for the finished product!

This was too entertaining to not throw in as well. Raf's boys came over for a little bbq and poker night last weekend. The house is still bare bones, and we've never owned a kitchen table, so this is what the poker space looked like: a sheet of plywood, layed over some saw horses, covered by a blanket on the deck. Good times!

One Year Ago

A year ago today, Raf took me hiking in Big Basin and asked me to marry him. Despite my overwhelming nerves, I squeaked out a Yes. And here we are, just two short weeks to go before we're married! I can hardly believe that a year has passed--what a whirlwind it's been!

I'm so thankful that he found the patience and bravery to propose. I may be a slow decision maker, but I rarely make a choice I regret. I'm grateful for the life we've built together, and I can't wait to walk down the aisle to him.

Life is Good

I've had a yucky day. Nothing in particular--just grumpy. Tired mixed with a case of the Mondays, I suppose. So, when I pulled this little gem off my camera tonight, it was a needed and welcome surprise. I may have down days--but MY LIFE IS SO GOOD!! I'm so grateful for these two.

Here's another fun one for you--Raf taking my dad's measurements for a suit...with a tape measure! HA! As if he had any clue what he was doing anyway!

Ahh, good times.

Still Time

We are SO excited to announce that Still Time will be providing the musical entertainment at our wedding!! Still Time is a local San Luis band. We got our first taste of their goodness last year. We celebrated Jin Ho's birthday at Downtown Brew (formerly SLO Brew for those of you who don't get there much anymore) and Still Time was playing. We had such a great time that night. Raf had a few cocktails and danced the night away solo! They're just THAT good! (Don't worry, I was up & grooving too, but Raf needed more space beyond the wall of our table for this goodness.)

I'll be honest--it wasn't an easy decision to hire a band. Especially one that's not going to play cover songs all night. But it came down to this--the price for hiring a DJ is not so much different than hiring a band. And while I fully believe in the value of an excellent DJ...we couldn't find one. The ones we'd heard good things about were already booked. And there are just too many bad DJs to risk it. So here was our logic--first, we'd rather pay to support artists, and second, we LOVE Still Time! The scary part is that so few of our guests are familiar with their music. But we figured hey--we were hard core fans after two songs, so hopefully you will be too. And this was the one area where we decided: you know what--this is our day. And if Still Time is there, we know we'll have a great time!

So we're letting you know that Still Time will be playing for 2 reasons. One--because we're super freaking stoked! And two--because we want to give you a few weeks to get familiar with their goodness so you can jam with us! The official Still Time website is here, you can listen to the music on the Media page. Or simply head to their MySpace page for all kinds of musical wonderfulness.

Some of my faves: 9 to 5, The Fortune, Old Soul, Come Alive, High Tide, Power of Now, Girl I've Always Loved. But let's be real here--it's all good, so GO LISTEN! Head to iTunes and grab either album--they're both well worth the money. It's time to become a fan, friends!

Sign Holders

Does anybody ever see these types of table number holders in physical stores? If so...where?? Look how cute this one looks with something in it:

Collections: Jars

Surprise! My collection requests aren't over just yet! In these last few weeks, please do me a huge favor and save all of your clear glass jars. We'll use them as vases on the dinner tables.

I don't care how random--just bring them along. (Ideally if you'll be in SLO by Friday.) Our collection includes spaghetti sauce, olive, pickle, milk and mustard. Eat hearty from your pantry for the next few weeks and bring the jars for us to upcycle, please!

A Week Without Coffee

One week ago today, I decided to take a break from caffeine. It's no secret, I'm a caffeine junky--daily Starbucks, the occasional Red Bull or soda--anything for the immediate mood and energy boost. The thing is, I don't feel well on almost a daily basis. I have stomach issues that bother me most days--sometimes all day. I went to the doctor for it over a year ago, but my HMO is worthless, so they tell me I have heartburn and prescribe me drugs. They work...sometimes. But I'm not a fan of putting drugs in my body everyday just to function. It drives me nuts. I'm sure they mentioned all the things that cause heartburn--diet, stress, etc.--and told me I should "exercise and eat right", but they leave it at that and hand you a completely open-ended prescription, essentially saying, "Here you go, please don't come back." Awesome. Are there still doctors out there that work with you? Talk to you? Check in with you? "How about we try removing X from your diet for two weeks and see how you feel?" No time for that, I'm sure.

Last week I had reached my wits end. Something's gotta give. I've been feeling like crap for too long to just keep doing what I'm doing and popping pills that aren't helping. There have to be preventative measures I can take for the heartburn/acid reflux (assuming that's what it is--my HMO doesn't believe in testing). I know there are. I also know that I don't want to hear them because of the serious will power that will be involved. But, like I said, something's gotta give. So I returned to this trusty little website I discovered a few months ago, MotherNature.com. I happened across it while searching for a fix for my hair issues. (I have super oily hair and skin, and had recently added the joy of dandruff. Seriously? Super oily AND dandruff? BS.) After reading about the types of products to use to deal with the oily hair, I started clicking around on the sidebar-o-issues on the left. Interesting stuff from the Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women. By the next day I had a new shampoo and a new face wash, and months later, I couldn't be happier. No dandruff. I can go a good day and a half (unheard of!) before my hair starts to get oily. And my skin has been as clearer than the last 15 years. No complaints!

So, like I said, I returned to the trusty little site to look up heartburn. There are many preventative measures (and drugs) listed, but this one stood out the most for me (I may have been in tears upon reading and/or thrown a tantrum):

"Eat no chocolate, drink no brews. The road to heartburn is almost always paved with alcohol, chocolate, fatty foods, mint and coffee (even decaffeinated coffees contain irritants that can affect your stomach and esophagus), says Dr. Elta. All are capable of weakening the lower esophageal sphincter."

Seriously? Did you have to list ALL my favorite things in one sentence? Coffee, alcohol, fatty foods, chocolate, and mint!?!? I hate Dr. Elta. But not because I don't believe her, unfortunately. So, my quest began. Just try one thing, Brooke. Can't be alcohol--too many weddings this summer! And food--while I truly want to get better, until I have more time to dedicate, I simply don't forsee consistency on that front. Coffee is the one thing that I enjoy on an all too regular basis that can quite simply (and painfully) be cut. Caffeine in general is going with it.

As mentioned, it's been a week. Good news--I'm doing remarkably well! The first few days were pure torture. I was out at events for work, then in the airport, then on vacation, and up late nights...without any caffeine! Torture. My stomach still felt terrible, I had more headaches than I normally do in months, and I was cranky! Then, after a few days, my stomach stopped hurting on such a consistent basis. And in another day or so, I started waking up more easily. (Anyone who knows me, knows that this is a feat! I despise the morning and snooze for a good hour--and still get up grumpy. No joke.) Yesterday, Raf and I even got up super early to make a batch of soap...in the morning!! Before work! At my suggestion! Madness, I tell you.

So we'll see how long it lasts. I certainly make no promises that I'm caffeine free for life, but as long as I'm feeling better--I'm in! Considering the craziness of getting married so soon, and the stress and nerves that go along with it, if I can cut the stomach pain out of my life for the next month, it will be such a welcome blessing. Decaf tea, anyone?

1 Month Countdown

I have to realize how MIA and distracted I've been when not only am I getting a slough of messages about my pathetic blog showing lately, but when I also got multiple reminders about today being the 1 month countdown when I barely remembered myself! (Raf had no clue, btw.)

I'm going to work on climbing back on the blog wagon this weekend, as I'm looking forward to spending it at home. It's just been difficult to stay on top of things--especially because the computer was not plugged in for a good chunk of time while the floor work was happening. The electronics have recently found a temporary home in the guest bedroom--sorry, no room for guests--but at least I can blog again!

I desperately need to get back into list mode--especially considering we only have one month to get things done! Super high priority will be:

• Find Raf a ring! Totally forgot about this one.
• Go get a marriage license. Be sure it should be done in Alameda County before taking the time off to go to Oakland in the middle of the day.
• Finalize the rentals list.
• Schedule a makeup trial for the week of the wedding.
• Work out our ceremony. Going to visit Uncle Cool this weekend.
• Put together a day-of itinerary.
• Plan rehearsal dinner & get the word out asap.
• Choose placecard design for my lovely mother (and sister?) to put together.
• Figure out table number design. And cupcake table look.
• Finalize RSVPs and invites.

We have gotten some things accomplished since the last list. At least I like to tell myself that! Many more updates on the past month to come...promise!