multi-tasking to a fault!!

so just in case i didn't have enough to do planning my wedding, i decided to start graphic design classes this semester at risd...thinking maybe i'd like it enough to work toward a certificate and make myself that much more marketable... :) i was pretty nervous before starting since creativity isn't really my strong suit, but two weeks in i'm feeling much better and actually enjoying it so far. and the best thing...work is paying for the classes as part of my professional development! love being in communications...

digital tools has started out with much more of a basic focus than i expected, which is great. some people in class have never even used a mac before, so at least i've got that experience under my belt. am looking forward to learning how to use photoshop, illustrator, and indesign -- designing and doing layout in word is faaaaar from ideal so will be so nice to be able to use actual design software. think we start photoshop this coming week, should be fun.

intro to graphic form also hasn't been as scary as i thought it would be...and i like that despite the subjectivity of art and design, there is very much a focus on precision and certain rules as well. we've done some work on gradations and letterforms (yay!) and can already tell my eyes have become a little more discerning this week, after some class critique and discussion. below assignment for this week isn't super-impressive but took a while and am happy with the result. we had to lay out three grayscales, from lightest to darkest, using newspaper text, newspaper solids, and pencil. it's amazing how many shades of gray there are...and i'll never look at a newspaper the same way again. okay, have to start working on assignment #2 and then back to never-ending wedding prep!!

2011 so far...

Okay, so it's been a while since I've last checked in...although have to say not much has happened wedding-wise since the beginning of the year. Most of 2011 so far has been spent working on the house (stop me if you've heard this one before...), and I'm happy to report that as of this past weekend, one floor has been completely finished!! After four long years, the studio loft is complete...only three more floors to go... We moved into the top floor space over the weekend, so Jack tells me the rest of the house should come along more quickly now. Guess I'll believe that when I see it!

The few wedding details that have been "nailed down" (I use quotes since things could maybe still be tweaked somewhat): Date = October 1; Place = Acadia National Park, Maine (exact location TBD); Colors = no longer red and black, thinking maybe a fall theme; Dress = purchased and ready for alterations in September, by which time I hope to have lost at least five pounds! Not too bad, right? We head up to Maine next weekend to scout out the park for ceremony locations, hopefully pick a reception venue, and meet with some vendors (florists, bakeries, etc.). When I don't think about it too much, it all seems so do-able...but then I start mulling over the details and begin to freak out. Invites should probably go out soon but have no idea what kind of invites/stationery we want to use...and then there's the registry too! Okay, going to stop writing soon in order to avoid having a complete meltdown...

On a totally unrelated note, the past few months have been interesting job-wise for both of us. Jack had the opportunity to go down to Haiti again, this time to evaluate the transitional schools that have been built over the past year. He spent about 10 days in-country, including being in lock-down the last weekend he was there due to the presidential run-off elections. As an aside, apparently provisional results indicate "Sweet Mickey" has won, should make for an interesting next few years. For my part, started yet another new role at Plan, this time as Senior Writer/Communications Specialist -- which so far has been great, not as much responsibility or stress as the past four years, plus I get to write and lead special projects like documentary partnerships and celebrity engagement!

We also took a two-week vacation to the San Francisco area in February, spending a few days in the city, then making a loop from San Jose to Palo Alto, down to Monterey and Carmel, east to Yosemite, then up to Sonoma to finish up with some wine-tasting... Museums, beaches, aquariums, waterfalls, mountains, vineyards, redwood forests...and tons of yummy food! We had a fabulous time, with beautiful weather most of the time as well -- would highly recommend such a trip to all of you! Now to think about where we want to go on our honeymoon... :)

another year over...

Hard to believe that 2010 is virtually over! I'm actually amazed that we've made it through the holiday season okay, what with everything going on at work, with the house, planning Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations, etc. Once October went by, think we were pretty much on automatic pilot for the rest of the year, figuring out how to get down to North Carolina for Thanksgiving (14-hour + road trip), organizing Christmas cards (thanks, RISD museum store), and then the whole present-buying thing (good thing Borders is always a good fallback)... So grateful for wonderful time spent with family -- including two new additions with baby Sadie and baby Mazzy!! Of course family keeps wanting to know when the wedding will be, and we keep saying we have no idea...but likely sometime in the fall of 2011.

So now that we're through the stress and busy-ness of the holidays, back to concentrating on the house. It's been a little slow but still moving along, with the attic almost done! After getting the drywall in at the end of the summer, it's been plastered, primed, and painted. Now all we have to do is get the floor in, and we can move up there while the rest of the house is completed, hopefully by this time next year! Again taking longer than expected but guess that's how this kind of stuff works...if I only knew then what I know now.

almost ready to move!

Only two more weeks until the end of the month...and the move to 22 Bianco!! It's going to be pretty rough going for the first month or so -- although we'll have A/C, security system, cable and internet, basic appliances, we won't really have any walls or a working shower. Maybe I'm being a little stubborn about imposing this "early" deadline and insisting on moving in by September 1, but I really feel that after three years, it's time to get serious and force ourselves to be uncomfortable...or else it'll never get finished! Plus I don't want to deal with the messiness of a half-month lease...or my landlady trying to convince us to stay another year... It's altogether simpler this way -- definitely not easier but cleaner...

Have I mentioned that I HATE the moving process?! *sigh* Despite usually being in denial about these things, I actually have started packing slowly... My books are all boxed up, and the next room to tackle will be the kitchen with all the necessary wrapping. After that I'll tackle the bedroom and throw all the clothes in big plastic bins -- key because everything we move into the house will need to be covered/have a lid given there will continue to be a ton of dust (plastering, drilling, sheetrock, etc.) to accumulate in the foreseeable future.

Once we're more settled into the house -- I'm thinking by mid-October or so -- I can begin thinking more about the wedding. My mom called this morning to offer her help with the guest list...which I appreciate but can't even wrap my head around right now!! At least I have something to look forward to and hopefully take my mind off the fact that I'll be walking across the street to our neighbors' house to shower for most of September!! (Luckly they happen to be very good friends or else we''d have to rejoin the gym just to be able to freshen up in the mornings!) And lest it sound like I'm complaining, am trying to approach this whole move as an adventure...something to tell the kids about in 10 years... :)

countdown beginning...

One of the things I'm most looking forward to in our new house is central air conditioning!! And our own washer/dryer!! Having to haul all my clothes to the laundromat every two weeks or so for the past three years has gotten a bit old, especially since I'd always been able to do laundry at least in the same building in every other place I've lived (including at college!).

And even though I always tell people (and myself) that we don't really need air conditioning in Rhode Island -- where it's pretty hot for only about two weeks a year -- it's freakin' HOT right now, and the ceiling fans can only do so much. Thought I'd be used to it after three months in the Caribbean, but for some reason sweating continuously down there wasn't that big of a deal...and certainly nothing to complain about given the conditions that people were living in. Up here, it's not really that cool to arrive at the office with my makeup dripping down my face... Hopefully it won't last much longer...or I'll toughen up some more...

As far as wedding plans go, no more progress to report, I'm afraid. I'm still browsing dresses online but otherwise not thinking about it too much, except when other people keep asking when and where the wedding will be. I do know the wedding will be before the next Twilight movie comes out, however...given that Breaking Dawn won't hit theaters until November 2011!! Strange to think I'll be married by that time...and yes, of course I'm looking forward to the wedding more than the movie! :)

renovating...still...

The real priority this summer will be moving into our house...the house Jack bought in 2007 not long after we started dating and that he's been renovating for the past three years! We've come a long way since it was gutted and the foundation rebuilt three summers ago, but I have to admit it's not going quite as quickly as I'd like. The end result will be amazing, though, and hopefully moving into it before being completely done will serve as incentive to finish it up sooner rather than later...

Other than a final coat of paint, the outside of 22 Bianco Court is pretty much done -- new siding, metal roof, studio dormers, door awnings, and cement foundation -- and it's beautiful! The inside work is still ongoing, with most the rooms now framed. Next steps will be to get the mechanical elements installed (boiler, ducts, all that good stuff so we can have central A/C and heating!), then electrical wiring, insulation, and finally the sheetrock (walls!). I never knew how involved building a house was and how many little details have to be worked out in sequence before the next steps can be taken. So if I want a working bathroom and kitchen by the end of August, we have to figure out where we want to place all the electrical outlets, what kind of bathroom and kitchen fixtures we like best, whether we want dark (nope!) or light tile in the bathroom, the list goes on and on...

We haven't exactly been arguing but let's just say there's been quite a bit of discussion with few final outcomes as of yet. Part of me is fine with whatever Jack wants to do -- he's pickier than I am when it comes to design elements -- but I'd like the house to reflect some of my preferences and personality too. Just hoping there aren't any big blow-ups over the next two months... :)

In the meantime, think we're going with Kohler Stillness fixtures in the bathrooms, and sink (or sorry, washbasin) is a toss-up between the Duravit Vero 045480 and Lacava Aquamedia 5061. Who ever knew there were sooooooo many options for sinks?! It's seriously a whole new world for me, and so many options tend to be paralyzing. Thank goodness it's just a few more weeks of having to make such decisions!

engaged!

And now it begins! Hard to believe I've been back from Haiti for a month now...and that we've been engaged for that long also! I figured since I've been involved in dozens of weddings -- even planned/coordinated a few -- I'd have a better idea of where to start when it comes to my own...but no such luck. Just going to www.theknot.com is overwhelming, and their incessant "countdown" and checklist aren't really helping to make the whole thing less daunting. Still, have to admit looking at dresses and cake designs has been kind of fun, even if in some ways I feel like I'm doing all of this for someone else, still hasn't really sunk in that I'm the one getting married!

I should probably concentrate on first things first, like deciding where and when the wedding is going to be... That we haven't really nailed down those details is a bit stressful, since not much else can really be done until we have that info, but the procrastinator in me knows I have more than a year to plan this thing, so what's a few more months of uncertainty?!

So instead I've been exploring random possibilities such as buying a letterpress -- and all related equipment -- so I can design and print my own invites...as if we have the extra disposable income lying around! But I would consider it an investment for (hopefully) many future projects as well... :) I discovered the definitive website for all things letterpress yesterday (www.briarpress.org) and am a little obsessed right at this moment, despite the fact that I'm a complete novice and have only taken about 20 hours of letterpress printing class so far. Still, I'm maybe 30% convinced this hobby could actually stick (unlike others I've taken up over the years)...

Okay, back to the issue at hand... The one thing I'm pretty sure has been decided about the wedding so far is the color scheme...in case you couldn't guess already from this website: black/white (or natural)/red. Not bad, right? Maybe a tad formal but it's not going to be stuffy at all, just simple and clean. Any other suggestions ranging from venues to vendors are welcome -- could use all the help I can get!!