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!!