2 kids from jersey

Sept. 29th ’07 = 3 months ’til Dec. 29th ’07!!

This month is all about invitations. Paper has been ordered and we’re in the process of printing everything out. We will be assembling everything on the 13th & 14th. I think we’re doing a good job of getting the word out, regarding our assembly party (Operation Invitation @ Carrie’s parents house). If you’d like more info, just let us know!

SNL starts tonight. Time to tune in!

It was quite the wedding weekend and LOTS got done. Megan came up to visit and we finished her dress. Well, almost finished. Once she has shoes, a local seamstress can put in the hem. It looks SO good on her!

My dress came!! YAY!!! It wasn’t supposed to arrive until the end of October. Chrissy O’s said a couple months ago that it might ship on Sept. 6th. I called 2 weeks ago to see if it would be in and was told it should ship sometime last week but they weren’t sure when. Well apparently Kathleen or Jessica at Chrissy O’s told the manufacturer to just ship it (instead of waiting for the extra fabric) so that it would arrive in time for Megan to see it. It came Friday. Saturday morning, we drove 2 hours (both ways!) to Newton, NJ to pick it up. It was all packaged up, so I didn’t really get to see it until we were home.

Sunday we met with videographer Ken Stillman. There were a bunch of different videographers we were considering but I guess we picked exactly the same way we picked photographers. We met with one and decided that it was  good fit. The contract was signed and emailed the same day. We got a good vibe; low key, just there to film, no direction or instruction. Hopefully he’ll deliver as promised. I think it’ll be good! We’re excited about having him.

We also picked up my wedding rings! We got Rob’s a couple weekends ago but mine needed a little tweaking. It’s back; sparkly, and perfect. I’m SO excited to be able to wear it!

Wow! Only 99 days to go. I remember thinking December would never come and now it’s right around the corner.

Today = 100 days to go!!

From here on out, it’s double digits! SO exciting!!

Greetings!

Our invitation making party has been moved to October 13th. So if you would like to come help us bead, wrap or glue – let me know! I will be sending out an evite either tonight or tomorrow, so if you’d like it, shoot me your email. You can either email me directly or let me know via our contact form.

Details:
Operation Invitation
Saturday October 13th
10am – late evening
Carrie’s Parent’s House

This may also extend to Oct. 14th, depending on what we get done the 13th and if we still have the energy.

Cheers!!

Football, crisp air, and flip-flops with sweatshirts. Yesterday was Homecoming at Rutgers and it was perfect. Rob joined the Glee Club and other Club alum to sing the national anthem. Lyndsay kept me company as we wandered Field E and scored a bunch of freebies. Our loot: ‘R’ drawstring bags, rally towels, ‘R’ magnets, ‘R’ tattoos, twizzlers, 2 shirts (not free but only $10 and super cute), a few key chains and a couple muffins. WaHoo!

With the surge in popularity, Rutgers has completely reworked the way they seat the stadium. The Glee Club used to have a few front rows of the student section reserved for them and their alum (and guests). Not so much this year. Club only gave tickets to their alum (not guests) and their seats were in the far end zone, next to Norfolk’s marching band (who was freakin’ loud!).

Lyndsay and I had tickets in section 107, row 7 thanks to the wonderful Lisa English. She’s the director of alumni relations for the Newark campus and probably the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. I had emailed her a couple weeks ago to see if she knew how I could get some tickets to the game (after just learning we only 1 ticket via Club). I was thinking if I volunteered to work an alumni table or something like that I might get 1 free ticket. Instead, she offered me her 2 staff tickets – for Homecoming! And they were fantastic seats. Right on the 40 yard line, on the side of the stadium the sun went down behind (so not in our face), only 7 rows back. Perfection. Well, the color commentary from the guy behind us was incredibly annoying but he left at halftime. Come to think of it, a ton of people left at halftime. Poor Norfolk State; they got trounced. Rob came over at halftime and sat with us. His commentary was much more entertaining.

We didn’t stay for the whole game because after awhile, it got a little boring. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter with a score of 52 – 0, we figured there was no way Norfolk was going to rally and come back. We joined the legion of other fans making their way home.

Lyndsay got the grand tour of the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus. I’m not 100% positive she really cared but she was sweet about indulging our trip down memory lane and at least feigning interest. We started the tour by trying to figure out where to go for food, pointing out all our favorite spots along the way. It was fun to see what was still open, what closed, and how things have changed. Mexican was decided to be the cuisine of choice, so we bounced out of NB and headed north.

While you can find practically every cuisine known to man in the bruns, the BEST Mexican we’ve had is in Newark. It’s a tiny little place on Ferry St. called Mi Pequeno Mexico. They have the best burritos you’ll ever have. I’m boring and always order the same thing (burrito pollo) but why mess with perfection?? We probably make up the 2% gringo population that goes there. Thankfully Rob remembers some Spanish from HS b/c the girl who was waiting on us last night only spoke Spanish. I’m sure we sounded hilarious to everyone else in the restaurant but it must have been good enough to get by b/c we got our food with only 1 mix-up.

We try not to eat out all the time but when we do, this place is usually on our short list. I consider going there practice for the honeymoon. If you come visit us, we’ll take you. It’s worth the trip up the turnpike!

Anyway, here are some pics from yesterday. Final score: Rutgers – 59, Norfolk – 0.

After ordering my dress back in May, I was told it would arrive in 4-6 months. Not a problem. I put it on my calendar for 6 months, figuring that it would be best to expect it at the lastest possible date and be pleasently surprised if it arrived early. Well, in a later phone conversation with Chrissy O’s, I learned that it was actually schedule to ship Sept. 6th – nearly 2 months sooner than I originally thought. YAY!! 

Well Sept. 6th was last Thursday, so I called the shop this morning to see if it had shipped but it has not. Kathy (or was it Jessica?? either way…) said they are running a little behind but it is schedule to ship next week sometime. This is still totally within my original time table – even a little early. But I can’t help feeling a little disappointed and relieved. I want it to be here but will it fit? Those 10 lbs I swore I’d loose are still quite with me. Is it going to be the right color? I went back and for between the light gold and the ivory for days before ordering. I never had the opportunity to compare them side by side, although I did try both colors on (at different shops). I only have pictures of me in the light gold but ordered the ivory. Did I make the right choice? Is it going to be to long? I ordered the petite length but will it still need to be hemmed? Or should I just get really tall shoes?

Will they remember to send the extra yardage I ordered and paid for? I need that to make Rob’s vest and tie. What if they don’t send it? It will have to be rushed and even then it will be from a different dye lot. What if it doesn’t match?

Ridiculous, paranoid swirl of thoughts of things beyond my control. Details that aren’t a big deal in the end but I spend hours obsessing over anyway. What is wrong with me?

It’s wedding brain. I offically have wedding brain – a condition by which one spends 85% of their concious and unconcious hours obsessing over details and planning; symptons include discussions over whether the invite matte should be 6 1/4″ or 6 3/8″ wide, concern over whether the groomsmen should wear the tie that comes with the vest or purchase new ties that coordinate with the bridesmaids dresses; and fitful, wedding-related dreams.

And yet, I don’t feel stressed. I know these details are usually trivial and no one is going to care about an 1/8″ difference in the invitaion matte. In fact, if I hadn’t mentioned it here, it probably would never have crossed your mind. Obsessing over it is a poor use of my time. I realize that so I’m not stressing. It might sound like I am because I do have my moments. But when I really take the time to stop and think about it, it’s not a big deal.

With only 108 days to go, we are savoring every moment. Trying to remember to stop and enjoy the process. Only 3.5 months to go!

Operation Invitation is going to be our invitation free-for-all weekend on Oct. 6 & 7. This is your chance for a super sneak peek! The details, such as time are still being worked out. To stay in the loop and be included on the evite, please shoot me your email address. Either email it to me or just send us a quick note via our confidential form. Just type in your name and email & click submit! Super easy and it comes directly to me (instantaneously). CLICK HERE!!!

Another weekend up and down the turnpike (waving to the pole zombie both ways).  Friday night was a quick trip with the rents to Moorsetown. Mom returned 2 possible MOB (mother of the bride) dresses to Lord & Taylor. They were in the running but have since been surpassed by other options. The final MOB dress hasn’t yet been decided on but I think we’re getting closer. Rob and I hung out in Barnes & Noble in their travel section, looking for good tour books for the Rivera Maya.

Saturday morning began with a quest for Bruce Springsteen tickets. New album = Tour. Tour = Bruce in Philly on Oct. 5 & 6. My computer apparently had some sort of magic. The Wachovia/Comcast ticketing website was supposed to put each user in a queue, to be served first come, first served. I only waited in the queue once and had no problem going back 4 more times for tickets. $1500 later, we’re going to see Bruce!!!! Invitations in the morning, Bruce in the evening. Sounds like a good Saturday (Oct. 6th) to me.

Then a quick lunch of grilled sandwiches and off to meet the A…/M… clan for MOB/MOG dress shopping. We met at Fashions by Penina on Main St. in Marlton. Both mom’s found some great options and shopping there was such a pleasurable experience! They let us take pictures of the dresses and Penina walked around handing out sparkling cider. Everyone seemed really nice and very helpful. A+ to them!

Saturday night & most of Sunday was spent working out the nitty-gritty details of our invitations. With Operation Invitations rapidly approaching (Oct. 6 & 7), we have to get everything finalized. And it’s all little things, such as – “do we make the tag 2.75″ tall or 3?” (PS – we’re going with 3″ b/c 2.75″ was deemed ‘squatty’). Once dimensions are estimated, how many fit on a page? If we make the Fish Lake Friday 2nd matte a 1/4″ smaller, can we fit strip of tag mattes down the side? Yes! Yes we can.

I have now completed the master templates for all paper pieces, except the tag closures. That will get worked on tomorrow night. We are printing everything out at home but Sir Speedy is cutting everything down to size for us on their giant electric paper cutter. YAY!

We said goodbye to Diggie tonight. He & Dad leave for their cross-country voyage on Tuesday. Diggie is living off campus at Alaska Pacific University (APU) this year and needs a car to get around. Hence the new, 2007, metallic brown, Chevy Silverado sitting in the driveway (complete with all the bells and whistles). It’s a pretty sweet vehicle and Diggie loves it. Visions of putting the 4-wheel drive to good use with some off-roading have been squashed by Dad. FYI – AAA will not tow you, if you’re more than 50ft off the road.

Anyway… the easiest way to get said new vehicle to the 49th is to drive it. According to GoogleMaps, it’s a mere 75 hour drive across the US & Canada, up the Alcan highway. Dad flys back on the 21st but we won’t see Digs until a few weeks before the wedding. Drive safe guys!!

Rob’s mom found her dress today! YAY!! I don’t want to ruin any surprises, so I won’t say much. In fact, I haven’t even seen it yet but I hear she looks simply smashing in it. But honestly, how could she not?! She’s such a beautiful person to begin with. One mom dress down, one to go!

Mom is having a little harder time making up mind about her dress. We have found so many gorgeous options, so it’s a lot to pick from. She, Aunt Becky & Dad are going out tomorrow b/c I think it’s been narrowed down to one dress. Now it’s just to pick the color. She’s going to look amazing in either color!

What pretty women we have in our lives!!

Rob just got our hotel confirmation for Mexico. YAY!!! We will be staying at the #1 small hotel in Playa del Carmen, Luna Blue. It gets fantastic reviews and looks awesome! Cheaper than the monster all-inclusives and a ton more charm. We’ll also get to try more places, instead of feeling tied to the resort. We just recorded Rachel Ray’s Tasty Travels: Playa del Carmen for inspiration. Rob’s not such a huge fan but I’m sure she’s got a least a few great tips.

Conveniently located right on 307, Playa is in the middle of the Rivera Maya strip. South of Cancun, north of Tulum and a few hours east of Chichen Itza. Luna Blue will act as a home base and making day trips to Tulum, Chichen Itza, and maybe Cozumel. With 7 days in Mexico, we are trying to balance site seeing and relaxing.

Have you ever been to Mexico (specifically the Rivera Maya)? We’d love to hear your suggestions! Leave a comment or shoot us an email.