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... and 20 days to go until LA! Ooh, but more importantly - 97 days until the wedding. ack!
Alex has been gone for exactly a week now and while I miss him every minute, I have really been OK. I thought that I might spend most of my time out of the house, seeing friends, engaging in distractions, but I have really enjoyed quite a bit of "me time". I have definitely emerged from my little domestic hole, catching up with friends and making plans, too. I realize that I don't do this enough. It's very easy, when in a relationship, to neglect this part of your life. I discovered just today, that although Alex and I function very well as a 24-7 couple, we can survive this, too.So what's it like to be 4000 km away from your hubby-to-be? It's a test, certainly. I think we're passing, which is a relief: the next 4 or 5 years of our marriage could very closely resemble this period. I have been prepared. We have been saved by Skype. Honestly, it makes such a huge difference to be able to talk face-to-face. I've never been much of a phone person anyway. The guys have been putting in 11 and 12-hour days laying drum tracks for the past week, but we've managed to talk at least twice a day, even with the time difference. Yesterday they hit Joshua Tree National Park, and today - the beach. I'm a tad jealous. This is my summer, and he should be enjoying it with me! :) Luckily, in September, we're signing up for a lifetime of summers together. The wedding feels like our reward for passing our first test. Yay!
After my visit to LA, Alex spends another month away, before returning with just over a month left until the wedding. Time is flying. There are actually a few major items that really need to be dealt with ASAP. Like food. We still have not resolved the matter of BBQ-ing for 115 people... I have a lead, though. Fingers crossed!--
Yesterday, as she miraculously emerged from bed before 4pm, I took my night-owl sister shopping for a dress. This has been somewhat of a concern for my mother, who bought her own dress two months ago. Also, my sister and I are quite the opposite - she owns maybe one dress and one pair of heels, both of which she rarely wears. She's more comfortable in skate shoes and oversized hoodies. Where did I go wrong? She's cute, though - any easy fixer-upper. After about 1/2 an hour of grumpy foot-shuffling, she finally perked up and began actually picking things out for herself. Store #3 was a success - she snagged an on-sale bold floral print pin-up style dress at FCUK. I actually had no part in the decision - all her. My mother will be thrilled, as it's a complement to her own dress. Unfortunately, their choice of orange as the dominant colour doesn't quite work into my palette. However, this is what I wanted, right? Everyone wears what they want, everyone's happy. So what if our photos are a little, um, colourful? I hear that my Dad has been contemplating his rainbow pig tie. This may be where I draw the line.
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My friend Dawn passed this along today and I wanted to share: http://www.redleafstudios.ca Dreamy wedding photography set in Saskatchewan... really, there is nothing more romantic than the prairies. Big sky, dusty air, no discernible horizon... *sigh*
"Alex?"
"Uh huh?"
"I can breathe all the way in, in this place."
"Mm hm..."
Sometimes, in the city, I can go for days without taking full breaths. Unless, of course, Yoga is involved. Really though, I survive via hyperventilation. Maybe it's stress. This never quite occurs to me until I am miles away from the city, and have the strange sensation of completely filling my lungs.
We are getting married here, in this place that makes me sane just for a little while. I might never want to leave.
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Alex left today. This day has been coming since we met; I have been amply prepared. After seeing him off on his way to the airport, I filled my day with a workout, 2 margaritas with a friend, and a good dig in the garden. I am really going to be OK! So, it is only now, as the sun drops and the house becomes eerily quiet (Dudley has finally stopped sprinting in circles), that I am suddenly feeling a bit sad. Fellow band-"wife", Becky, and I admitted optimistically that we both had big plans for our summer of singledom - I with my many fussy little wedding/garden/sewing projects and she with catching up with single friends. As busy as I make myself, though, it could be a long 27 days until my visit to LA.
Anyone wanna spoon?
On Saturday around 2pm, we shut down our wedding fundraiser (ahem, yardsale) and packed up the remainder of our treasures (er, junk?) for Goodwill (well, I did - Alex conveniently had rehearsal that afternoon).
[ from realsimple.com ]
We've already spent half of it renting a car and taking a road trip out to see the venue once more. There were a few measurements to be taken, and we wanted to get a feel for the place now that the trees are in bloom. I was looking forward to the day, as we'd planned to take the opportunity to mosey through Prince Edward County. It was our last full day together before Alex hops on a plane this Sunday. *tear* However, Mother Nature was not kind, and gave us a dreary day, not suited to moseying. It was, nonetheless, a productive trip. Oh, and it reinforced my original sentiment: the farm is the most gorgeous place on earth.
Our second round of measurements revealed that fitting our ever growing guest list into the barn would be nearly impossible. Plan B? Well, we didn't have one. Upon inspection of the area, though, we found a nice patch of grass that appeared perfect for pitching a huge tent. We are eating outside. I am somewhat disappointed, as the light streaming in through the barn boards during daylight hours is ever so romantic. We will however, move the entire party into the barn post dinner for a barn dance. Eliminating the tables will make the squeeze just a little less of an issue. I imagine that some of the older folks will opt out of a little "getting jiggy with it" anyway (no, Will Smith is not on the playlist).
Back to the drawing board for me, as I now need to create a decor/lighting plan for two spaces. Insert eye roll/look of confusion from Alex here. Staying within our $10, 000 budget could be a challenge...
I love snail mail. it's another great reason to shop online (as if I needed another excuse). Yesterday, a swatch of the silvery linen arrived, and today: the vintage lace for my dress deconstruction project and bride/groom BBQ aprons. OK, so these are only teeny tiny Atkins-diet slices of the huge pie that is our wedding, but it feels like progress, and I am happy!
My future mom-in-law, who I can tell is oh-so excited about the big day, picked up some more old bottles for us (in addition to those that we found last weekend). We are almost set for centrepieces, except, of course for the flowers. I am also hoping to snag a deal on a few antique cheese boxes (as below) for my wheatgrass project. I am still determined to fit this in somewhere!In other wedding news (not my own), our friend Kim is off with new hubby in tow on a Mediterranean honeymoon. I just returned from her Ottawa wedding feeling more optimistic about pulling off my own. It was really fun and Kim even had time to drag her cumbersome train around the dance floor a few times. I hope I can pull off the relaxed thing as well as she can. Seeing the event as a guest, and not the bride/organizer/scary dictator that I have become, I can see that people expect very little from you. They want to be fed, seated with people they like, shed a few happy tears, and maybe dance to a few songs that they wouldn't admit that they liked in any other setting. I should chill.
Congrats to Kim and Jamie, the newlyweds and soon-to-be new parents!
Congrats to Mel and Erick on their recent engagement!
Except for a few missing addresses (Amy! Liz!), the Save The Dates are whooshing through the postal system and arriving in mailboxes as I write this.
I hesitated to post this until we had actually sent them, but now that everyone has seen the fruits of my Photoshop labour, here it is, digitally:
I had so much fun with it, but it did take me the better part of a Sunday, and I typically am not blessed with these long stretches of time. This is my reason for beginning to question the thought of making my own invites. I probably will in the end (who am I kidding, really?), but I did consider hiring this gal to do them for me: www.yokochapman.com. She's one of my vendor contacts through work, and she has been oh-so kind enough to offer me a deal on her recently launched line of 100% recycled and vegetable printed invites. Plus, she's from Winnipeg (go Prairies!), and prints in Canada! While I will likely end up designing them myself, I think her line is just amazing, and wanted to give her a little shout out.
[ vert by yoko chapman ]
