An Embarassing Accomplishment

I feel like such a hypocrite!  My blog has the word "organized" in it...but I feel like I'm not always as organized as I would like to be.  When I do organize something (whether it's my closet with clothes, wrapping paper, Christmas decorations, files, etc...) I get immersed in it and the end result is phenomenal.  The problem - well because I do get so immersed my progress is sloooowww.  The same problem presents itself when I clean - when I clean, I really clean.  But then I don't get to clean everything I want/need to clean.  Ahhh a catch-22! 

I'm a great planner but I'm not always the best at making decorating decisions as they pertain to our house.  For example, I didn't want to put up any photos on walls until the walls were painted...well here we are now...still no photos on the walls (nor art work).  My excuses are a sham.  I have a few frames sitting on counters and other furniture, but I still haven't come up with my big decorating scheme for the house (thus my hesitancy...again, it's a sham I tell you!). 

Now that our dining room is painted a beautiful olive green and the room is *this close* to being 100% finished, I thought (as I was cleaning the room of course)..."hmm what does this room need?  Ah, look at the mantle, I still have berries from last winter...opps.  Oh well, I'm all set for fall!  Wait, I can put a frame up...one with a wedding photo!  I know I ordered a ton of prints from Mpix several months or ahem years ago."

Now let me defend the aforementioned berries...they had been hidden for a while and just made a re-appearance once we put the dining room back together.  So there.  What do we need for the dining room still?  Some more mantle decor, art work above the mantle, some wall scones next to the china cabinet, some lighting, some decoration on the floor in the one corner, and maybe some floating shelves on the one wall.  In all seriousness, the room looks pretty great now and I'll have to post pictures soon.

Baby steps, baby steps!  I found a frame I bought at Pottery Barn ages ago that says, "I do."  Next I found the prints I ordered from mpix.  Here is the result - our FIRST wedding photo displayed in our house (kind of!). 

Now if I could only work on putting up the 6 8x10 frames I bought a while ago too (I also have all the prints). 

This is the actual photo in the frame:

All of the Mpix prints I ordered:

Congrats Ryan and Lindsay!

Friends of ours (Ryan and Lindsay) recently got married in PA.  It was such a fun weekend!  We stayed at the Nemacolin, a well-known resort that even some celebrities travel to (or at least that's the rumor).  Upon our arrival on Friday afternoon, our townhouse wasn't ready, so we played mini golf with some other friends.  Then it was time for the rehearsal dinner at a country club near Lindsay's parents' house.  It was great to see people we haven't seen in years!  Many of Mark's friends from high school live in different states so we rarely get to see them.

Left to right: Ross, Ryan, Tripp, Greg, and Mark

 Me and Mark

Ryan gifted Mark and other friends with a book called, "Bonds."  At first glance we were all confused about this...I know I thought, "why is Ry giving them a book about fixed income?"  Closer inspection found that this book was written by Ryan about the "bonds" he and the other guys had growing up.  They were all part of a close-knit group - a group that they named "Party Wagon."  The "Party Wagon" term was originally coined to describe the car (minivan) they used to drive around in high school to parties and to each other's houses.


How touching that Ryan would write and publish a book...it's really funny too.  Mark and his other friends spent all weekend reading the book and talking about it...this inevitably led to reminiscing about the good old days.  I have started to read the book only to be threatened by Mark that he would take it away from me if I kept asking him questions about his life back then!

 Note the real-life key that Mark still carries to the Party Wagon!

 Me, Lindsay, Jessica, Shannon...notice how I always do the "elbow/chicken wing" thing?  ugh!

A Love Affair With Zappos

What other website could I go to a few days before a wedding and get a dress online and in time?  Ummm Zappos!  Yes, they aren't just about shoes, people.

I have been a devoted Zappos customer for years.  I'm not the only one that shares such a love for them (I'm thinking of you, Laura!).  A few months ago I ordered some new Asics running shoes from Zappos...only to have them become damaged...as in the interior of the shoes started to get some large holes (hard to explain).  I called Zappos to see what they could do.  Umm no problem, they said.  They proceeded to ship me another pair overnight, told me I have a few weeks to send back my old pair (free), and upgraded my account to VIP meaning everything is one day shipping.  I think Zappos used to have universal one day shipping but now "regular" accounts have to wait a few days?  Who knows?  They're still a ton faster than places like Macy's and Ann Taylor.  I'm a VIP!  Yes, lame. 

The quest for the perfect "guest at a wedding" dress began weeks ago for me....yes, this is kind of the usual process.  I tend to research things a little too much...translated to I'm a really picky shopper and not all dresses fit me well (thanks hips, legs, and butt) so I scour websites until my eyes go bleary.  My devoted research backfired a few times...just when I had looked at every dress on a website and shopped the price elsewhere, when I would go to order, I was informed it was sold out.  This happened at least three times.  Mark laughed.  The websites I looked at were: Nordstrom, Macy's, Overstock, SmartBargains, Bloomingdale's, Zappos...I think there were a few others. 

Yes I could just wear some of the cocktail/evening dresses I have worn before to events but what fun is that?  Plus this is a wedding in July so I needed a short and colorful dress...plus I think the wedding is going to be pretty formal. 

I was excited to have finally found a dress I liked online (because let's face it, it's nearly impossible to find evening dresses in stores).  This dress from Ralph Lauren looked so pretty...but with two weeks and $16.95 in shipping before it finally reached me, I said no.

I ordered this gorgeous dress (Calvin Klein) from Nordstrom only to have it fit tight across by ribcage - what the?!?  That's odd.  It also came up too high and close to my armpits...not ideal for this hot summer heat.

I came close to admitting defeat (especially after going to the mall today)...and thought I would just wear this dress I wore to another friend's wedding a few years ago (it's from Ann Taylor).  Yes that is me looking like a dancing fool.  This dress is my backup plan.

I am now about to order this dress (Tahari)...I love the color and unique tulip-type bottom.  Let's face it, this is probably as trendy as I will get.  I'm still trying to figure out why I always seem to get silk and satin-type dresses?!?! 

Let's hope it fits...if not, no worries thanks to Zappos.  I think I'll get this on Tuesday when I get home from work - such convenience.

Three Year Wedding Anniversary!

Wednesday, June 9th was our three year wedding anniversary!  Ah yes, the old adage that time really flies when you're having fun is accurate in most aspects!

Three years ago we had beautiful weather on our special day, thanks in part to the 90+ year old gentleman that I worked with.  He was known for channeling his dead cat, Spencer, to ensure good weather for brides-to-be.  I kid you not.  I made sure to talk to Mr. K. before my wedding and he said, "oh that's right, I'll get on the phone with Spencer right now!"  I'm not sure what was stranger 1. the fact that Spencer was dead or 2. that he was going to call his dead cat.  Either way, he's a lovely person and he and Spencer made sure we had perfect weather.

We had our ceremony at the Basilica in Baltimore.  When we first started planning our wedding (we got engaged in October 2006) the Basilica was just re-opening after being closed for a long time for significant reservations.  We were VERY lucky to get a date there.