Friends, make them a part of your life

It's quarter past two in the morning.  Ashley is sound asleep, and I'm sitting on our couch in our back room listening to the buttons on my clothes gently make clicking sounds in the dryer upstairs.  In a matter of 20 minutes, that dreaded buzzing sound will tell me it's time to toss in load number three.  Ashley won't stir, though, when her lights go out she couldn't hear a Mack truck driving through a nitro-glycerin plant*.  Anyway, I find it interesting that now is suddenly a good time for me jot down an entry.  By all accounts I should be exhausted, yet here I sit, feeling like I might be able to get the juices flowing.

Ash has really put me to shame with her latest spree of blogging, considering my last entry was over a month ago, but I'd like to remedy that.  There are so many things I've been wanting to write about, but I'm not sure how far I'll get since it's so late.

August 21st 2010 — Save that date!
There isn't so much to say on this topic, since I believe we've already mentioned it.  Still, I wanted to post the finished design.  A lot of people asked what printing service I went through, and the answer is postcards.com.  It's been years since I've done print design, so it was fun to draw something up that would ultimately be tangible.  Now Ash and I are using a variation of the save the date as our desktop wallpaper.  For some reason it feels guiltlessly narcissistic.

Team Friends!
Lately, we (Team Fiends!) have been spending a lot more time with our friends - and guess what - it's rejuvenating!  Whether it's after work, or on the weekends, we've just been finding more time to see the people that mean the most to us.  I think this is a real challenge for us college grads and twenty-something's who find themselves frequently exhausted from the 40 hour work-week.  For couples, it's especially difficult because sometimes it feels like the weekend is the only time you really get to spend quality time with each other.  Still, after these past weeks, I must say that it is crucial to find the time to spend with friends... especially mutual friends.

When I spend time with my friends, I notice that they tend to revive a bit of energy that seems to have been lost in the nostalgia of my university days.  Maybe it's not the aging of our bodies and minds that makes us tired, but the distance from rejuvenating sources of energy such as our chums.  I think back to the all-nighter's I pulled in college, and the late-night antics despite homework and looming tests... there's no way we could have done it without each other!

This brings me to mutual friends... there's just something about being around people you love when in the company of your significant other (sigfig).  Now, not only do they feed your own energy and personality, they feed your sigfig's too.  Suddenly you start noticing character traits about each other that you forgot about, and you can't help but remember how lucky you are to be with this amazing person.

So here's a shout out to everyone I've spent time with lately!

I chatted it up at Beerworks with Jon and Ryan, and had such a good time that I completely missed my train and had to wait 2 hours for the next one.

Tim, RaeBeth, and I tried a new restaurant in Salem recently, before returning to their place and getting totally engrossed in Wii Mario Kart.  Tim and I used to dominate the Salisbury video game scene... since then I've apparently lost some of my skills when it comes to handling a virtual go-kart.

Mike and Rhys, joined Ash and I recently for pizza and Beatles Rock Band at our house.  We wore hats... so many hats.

Nikki and Mike, two friends of mine who I've known since high school, recently bought a house right down the street from Ash and I, and we've wined and dined together on a few occasions including a classy shindig at their place on New Year's Eve.

We've met up Kevin and Alyssa on multiple occasions, and have begun to make a habit of documenting our activities (such as bowling) on video... it may sound boring to watch, but Kevin transformed over an hour of footage into a few minutes of trailer-quality material, music and all! 

Jackie (a.k.a. "MOH", and "Rrrrrooomie!"), and I recently had a blast getting lunch together and talking about ridiculous sightings that she blogs about daily, then she joined Ash and I for dinner at Not Your Average Joe's.

In a stroke of luck, we bumped into Laura at work in Newburyport while we were with Jackie, and next thing we knew, Andrew, Jamie, and Julia were all at our house, serving up gelato and epic guitar riffs in Beatles Rock Band!

Speaking of Rock Band (haha, it's still new okay!?), Pete joined us for a session recently before heading out to Colorado for a vacation.  Ash cooked up some spaghetti and garlic bread for the occasion, and I do believe we tapped into a bottle of wine... or two?

Last Saturday, I caught up with Mike and the rest of the gang at the Eggroll Cafe, after Ash and I met with a promising, potential photographer.  Then Mike informed me of skiing plans for Sunday, and next thing I knew, we were sitting in a gondola (haha -- or as Mike referred to it the "ganjala")!

On Tuesday, Tang took Ashley, Mike, Curran, and I out to an incredible sushi dinner at Kayuga in Brighton.  Mmmm -- nothing stimulates my palate like good sushi, and nobody stimulates my intellectual side like these guys.

Lastly, tonight Kevin, Alyssa, Nick, Kate, and Chris all joined Ash and I in Beverly to behold The Roger Brockelbank Jazz Trio (+1).  We opened the night with dinner and drinks before filling up on sexy jazz that flowed until midnight.

...what can I say, I'm still on a high from all the fun.  I guess that's what's carrying me into the wee hours of the morning, typing away.  Alas, this is all I've got in me for now.  More to come soon about our experience in hunting for a wedding photographer, and about our upcoming vacation in California!

Beautiful Bridesmaids and Save-the-Dates---oh my!

Wedding planning has been going well. :o) Just a few weekends ago Adam and I were sitting on the couch, perusing wedding blogs and websites, taking notes, searching for photographers, etc. Though both of us were on our laptops, I felt like we were making a lot of headway and so I turned to him and exclaimed, "Wedding planning is so much fun!!"

And I truly meant it. I feel like a very lucky bride-to-be, for a variety of reasons. We have a vision for our special wedding weekend, and though I'm not a religious in any way, shape or form, I do feel rather "blessed" to be able to plan our wedding the way we want. We have chill friends and family supporting us and our vision---no religious zealots who are disappointed with our lack of a church and ordained minister; no divorced-parents drama; no one telling me that orange is too loud of a hue for bridesmaids to wear; no one arguing our wanting to be barefoot for the ceremony. I hate to jinx it, but everything is smooth sailing right now and it's just SO nice to be able to really enjoy this engagement to the fullest and prepare for our marriage in our own way, with the support of those we care about.

There is still {SO} much to be done and decided on, but we're making progress so I'm not too worried. After all, we have a lot of the big stuff done: my dress was found and purchased just 8 days after getting engaged (I didn't waste any time, boy-howdy! dress shopping was the LAST thing I wanted to stress over), and we got a SWEET date and venue reserved.

About 3 weeks ago Adam designed our Save-the Date postcards and ordered them through www.postcards.com. I'm ***SO*** pleased with them!! Adam did a stellar job, and I think they represent our creativity well; they ooze with the essence of Team Fiends one might say. ;o)

We opted for postcards for our save-the-dates for a few reasons:

1) magnets were a cool option, but very pricey

2) saves paper since it's a card and envelope rolled up into one

3) postage stamps are only .28 cents!

I addressed 140+ postcards with an orange Sharpie, plus added a yellow daisy and short message to each one as well. Took a while, but I wanted to add that personal touch...and in all honestly, I didn't mind laboring over them because I was essentially giddy with the idea of sending them out the next day. We couldn't wait to hear feedback from our friends and family. :o)

Today I went with my Maid of Honor (Jackie) and bridesmaid (Alyssa) to David's Bridal to try on bridesmaid dresses.....and we had great success! The color of dresses is the *perfect* shade of orange---I couldn't have hoped for a better hue! And the style is cute and very flattering---my 4 bridesmaids are going to look lovely!!! The fabric is cotton sateen, and bonus feature: pockets! I kinda want to get one for myself..... Seriously.

Things on my mind as of late (now that bridesmaid dresses have been found, thank gawd):

* Music. I am *constantly* thinking of songs to add to the "indie playlist" we'd like to be played during the cocktail hour and dinner. We are not into the cliche wedding music and want the whole day to really represent who we truly are. As nice a musician as Michael Buble may be, neither Adam or I listen to Mr. Buble, so why would we play him at our wedding reception??

* Centerpieces. I have been raiding the local thrift store every other week or so and buying out their collection of old glass bottles. I have a good amount, but if I want *at least* 5 bottles of varying sizes on each table, I'm clearly going to have to continue my glass bottle hunt... And is it wrong of me to want to put stickers on the bottom of each bottle saying "DO NOT TAKE"??? Some of the glass bottles have been a part of my collection for years and I don't wish to part with them....and I don't think a "win the center piece" game is really something I care to have at our wedding anyway..... :o/

* Flowers. Why are they so damn expensive? And what should I do----have them taken care of by a small family-owned flower shop near Chocorua or buy them wholesale and do the bouquets myself?? I want small, simple bouquets of orange and yellow (and maybe some white) gerbera daisies. That's it. It couldn't be THAT hard to do 'em myself, could it??? I dunno....I'm a little scared and don't want to be walking down the aisle with half-dead daisies...! ;o)