Check, check, check!

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Happy Friday everyone!

I don't know about all of you, but I feel like lately my life is one big whirlwind of stuff to do.  Not necessarily bad stuff, but there's a lot going on.  I blame the wedding. :-)

As much as I love the planning process of making an event happen, I feel like the most satisfactory part of planning this wedding is when I get to check off a box on my to do list. Dress shopping? Check! Venue? Check!  We finally figured out our save the dates and invitations last week and I got such a rush out of checking this off the list.  I know I have so much more to go to get this done, but knowing the end is in sight and at that end I get to see my fiance's smiling face is definitely worth it.

This weekend we go to pick out rental items (tents, place settings etc) and do a tasting with the caterer.  After we figure that out, we're celebrating with going to see the tulips up in Mt. Vernon, check out the street fair and lunch/wine tasting at Carpenter Creek.  Supposedly the weather's planning on cooperating so that makes it all that much sweeter. Although if M has his way we'll be checking out the new Cabelas opening, after all Troy from Swamp People will be there. ;-)

So...any good weekend plans?  And if you're planning a wedding do you feel like this as well?

Victoria's Secret, I'm sorry but my breasts are not that big.

To continue where we left off, last weekend I went shopping for dresses for tonight's wedding. As usual I felt a little like goldilocks, things either didn't fit right or in person they didn't have the same appeal. I found one dress that I put on hold, a little black sparkly number (and yet not one of the ones I showed previously) that definitely had the ability to be worn again. But there was something about it that didn't have me super excited like I should be.

So I headed downstairs to yet ANOTHER dress department in Nordstrom. Seriously, how many departments do they need? I always get turned around there. Anyway...this is where I found THE DRESS.

This is the one, but my dress is in navy. I put it on and at first it seemed a little bland to me, but M was convinced this was it. That's when I figured it out...it was too long. The designer (Mark & James by Badgley Mischka) thinks every woman is 6 feet tall so it was hitting my knees. A quick call to the alterations department had the hem ready to be shortened and a little tuck at the zipper and we were good to go. You know, until I saw the price tag. Cue eyes bulging and a slight amount of hyperventalating until I calmed myself down. I remembered I had a large gift card that would bring it down to reasonable levels. Thank goodness for that. Pair the dress with some strappy silver heels and some purply nail polish on my toes and I'm good to go.

It's actually darker purple than this.

I went to pick it back up on Wednesday when the alterations were done and at the same time needed to pick up a new strapless bra. This is where I decided the only thing worse than shopping for new jeans is a new bra. I know some people say bathing suits, but this was just lame.

Confidential: my breasts are not any kind of crazy size. I've had small ones for most of my life and can go braless no problem. Last year or so I gained a little bit of weight and I went up to a 34B and I was happy. Normal sized boobs.

Logically when I started shopping and a sales girl came over I told her 34B, right? I grab a couple different ones, heading into the dressing room and surprise! None of them fit right. Some the band was too small (hello weight), some the cups were overflowing. The poor sales girl comes to check on me and I'm babbling like an idiot stating "either my boobs grew or these sizes are crazy!" She wants to measure me just to make sure. Cue sighs on my end.

"Your band size is right, but I think you need a bigger cup size. Let me get you a C"

*blinks*

Umm...ok.

Surprisingly these fit like a glove. Maybe my boobs grew?

I pick a bra and head to pay and thankfully it's less than the dress. But no, I'm not done feeling crappy. I head over to Victoria's Secret.

Victoria's Secret normally isn't so bad. Most the bras I buy are from there and they're comfy plus kind of cute/sexy depending on what I'm wearing that day. So I thought, "hey, I saw a pink cheetah strapless online, let's try that on".

I start the process again. Talk to the sales girl, she wants to size me and says I'm a 34B. Let's go to the dressing room.

Surprise! This one doesn't fit. Salesgirl gives me the next cup size up.

Double surprise! This one doesn't really fit either. Band size is fine, but that little bit between your breasts is far enough out that I can put a few pencils in there.

Me: "Umm...I don't think this fits either".

Salesgirl: "No way, it fits perfectly."

Me: "Do you see this" *points*

Salesgirl: "Oh, it's supposed to be like that."

NO IT IS NOT!

Me: "Hmm, I think I need to think about this a little more."

*walks out*

*end scene*

There was no way I was going to buy a 34D - and if you've seen me you'd know there's no way in hell my boobs are that big. Thanks Victoria's Secret for making me feel fat.

But on another note...I hope to have wedding pics soon enough. We head up tonight, should be fun!

"If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance." -Bern Williams

Summertime is...

Corn on the cob

Floating in the lake / Sitting by the pool

Strawberries & blueberries

BBQs

Vacations

Iced tea

and most of all....BIRTHDAYS.

I don't know about you and your family/friends, but summer is called "the season of going broke" in our family because of the sheer number of birthdays. It starts in June and doesn't end until September, and until the last few years we used to have a party pretty much every weekend. It's a little exhausting.

But my birthday in particular, is very significant. July 23rd, is home to birthdays for two different great uncles, a step-grandmother, M's new niece and myself. I welcome M's niece w/open arms because this is a pretty special day to be born. :-)

This year the day was pretty packed. I made the executive decision to work that Friday and we had a BBQ at the office. In addition one of my coworkers made me angel food cake with berries & whipped cream because she knew how much I enjoy it. I was able to cut out a little early and head to the hospital with M to see the new addition to his family. She's beautiful and healthy and absolutely perfect.

Of course we needed to cut our visit a little short because we had plans to go to dinner that night at John Howie Steakhouse. If you live in the Seattle-area you've probably heard of the new mall area called the Bravern, it's home to such famous stores as Hermes, Anthropologie, Jimmy Choo as well as many other high end stores. But what's special about chef John Howie is that he already has an awesome restaurant called Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar. I have been to the steakhouse once for happy hour and their happy hour food is tops.

We decided to check out their full menu this time and they definitely did not disappoint. But the best part? M totally surprised me! We had planned to go (just the two of us) and when we checked in they told us some of our party were waiting in the bar. Turns out he invited a bunch of our friends! He can never keep secrets from me so I was so thrilled.

The following weekend was my grandfather's & brother's birthdays, so we celebrated with brunch on Sunday for my grandfather and dinner the next night at this tiny Mexican joint that my little brother loves. Thankfully this weekend will be a little quieter, we have a pass until the next one. Instead we're headed to a Mariner's game on Saturday and out to Seafair on Sunday. Please wish us luck that it doesn't rain like it's supposed to this weekend, Seafair is much more fun when it's not raining.

So tell me...what are your big plans this weekend? And most importantly, what signals to you that it's summer?

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings & what sound bees make

With all the controversy surrounding Google Buzz I haven't really known what to think about the system. It really seems like a mix of Twitter, Facebook & Google Reader but there certainly are parts of it I do like. I do like the fact that if you put your blog in your profile you can find blogs you didn't know existed. I have some IRL friends who I didn't know they blogged at all. I guess that could be a double edged sword for some, but don't put the information if you don't want it out there.

What I love the most is the "people you follow" section in Google Reader. I never utilized this before and by "following" people in Buzz it's opened a whole new world to me. Jamie Lovely shares some of the awesomest (is that a word?) posts and I've found some new blogs because of her. I also like how all the shared items show up in the Buzz timeline as well.

Here is my list of new blogs or things I've discovered in the last few weeks that make me extremely happy.

Green Wedding Shoes - No, I'm not getting married but I love everything about this blog. The photos, the ideas that can be used for ANYTHING and yes...when the marriage thing happens I'll be prepared.

Eat Drink Chic - Everything about this blog is awesome. I came for the DIY origami heart love note and stayed for so much more.

Aria - I'll be going to Vegas soon for the first time and staying in this hotel. The BF's company did work on the City Center and since I've heard all about it for so long I want to see it in person.

Seattle sunshine - We all know the reputation Seattle has and it's not for the great music. It's all about the rain and although most of the country is covered in snow we've had one of the most beautiful winters ever.

The Millionaire Matchmaker - Ok, I watched this show off & on last season but I finally set up a season pass on the DVR and surprise! The BF is addicted too. We spent last Sunday watching a marathon when I felt crappy.

What have you discovered lately or made you happy?

Because you're worth it.

I have what people call the kind of hair that they want. I don't understand it, but typically everyone wants what they don't/can't have. My hair?

• Long - hits right about the middle of my breasts
• Fine - a little flat naturally but there's a ton of it (does well w/volumizing products)
  
• Straight - just a hint of wave that goes away by blow drying and can be played up when it's shorter

The problem with this type of hair is that it takes FOREVER to dry in the morning. Seriously, I'm flipping my head upside down, to the left, to the right and even sectioning it off in hopes to speed up the drying time. That is until this morning.

Yesterday I twitted that my hairdryer up and died on me. I hoped to fix it, I opened it up and looked around with no success. So I headed to the store in hopes to find something. Nothing too pricey, I didn't want to spend oodles of $$ on it, but I knew you should at least spend a little.

Isn't this thing pretty?!?! I love red so yeah, I was a little drawn to it, but holy crap this thing works! Not only do I not have frizzy hair today (this has been a big problem recently) but it dried quickly! Best thing ever, this hairdryer retails for $36.99 and I got it for $24.99. Not bad at all.

In other news, I hope to be out of the office by noon today to make the trek to Seaside, OR for the 4th of July weekend. If you haven't been before you're definitely missing out. It's a small little beach town that has stood the test of time. I'm crossing my fingers to be having breakfast at the Pig 'n Pancake, drinking wine at Yummy Wine Bar & Bistro, spending time out in the sand & seeing some great fireworks.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

I sleep with the fishes ... only not really

I promised a more upbeat post about my weekend, so here we go.

The boyfriend and I had a quiet Friday night watching the second Underworld movie (I can't believe he hasn't seen these), drinking some wine and lighting a fire because it was brr...chilly. Nothing like the rest of the country of course but cold enough to freeze if it wanted to, you know? But really this was all low-key since his company holiday party was to be held the next evening. I know you're thinking "holiday party? I thought the holidays were over." and you'd be right, they are over. But their company likes to hold their party in January when it's not as busy.

So we booked a hotel in downtown Seattle that was pretty fancy for the evening along with another couple we're friends with and had plans to meet up in our room before arriving at the party. On a side note, the boyfriend passed his PE (engineering) test and there was cause for celebration. Once we met up we drank Dom Pérignon, headed to the bar downstairs for a quick drink since it was still pretty early and then to the party over at the aquarium.

Now I've been to the aquarium before, but every single time I've been surrounded by screaming children and no space to walk. So this was a completely different experience. There were appetizers, dinner, drinks, dancing and the entire aquarium to ourselves. There were even a few employees to answer questions we had about the fish etc. The only downside I had was the next morning, not because we were hungover (thank goodness we were NOT) but breakfast. I had been looking at the room service menu since we got there and all I wanted was crab cake benedict. When we went down to the restaurant it turns out they were doing Sunday brunch buffet and although there was eggs benedict it obviously not what I had my heart set on. All in all - a pretty good weekend. :-)

The Facts of Life

I have that theme song stuck in my head and I never really watched that show growing up. :-)

It's 5:50pm on a Sunday night, and here I am watching Ocean Force on TruTV. The boyfriend is at the gym and I can see the sun setting out the window. Even better...when he comes home he'll be cooking me dinner...can it get any better? His family has been in town recently due to the birth of his new niece and it's been great to see them. They live on the other side of the mountains so it's not very often I get a chance to make a good impression, but this time around we've spent a fair amount of time with them. Friday night the boyfriend and I, two of our friends and his father went to the monster truck show down in Tacoma. Not usually my cup of tea but I've willing to try something new out at least once. We had a good time but there was a commotion in a section a few down from us that we were not sure what was going on. The next morning the boyfriend went into work early and texted me...turns out there was a little boy who got hurt from flying debris, he later died. Six years old, it's unthinkable. I know that something like this is a horrible accident and in the many years this show has been operating they've never seen anything like it before - but I think that something else should be done in preperation...I don't know what, but SOMETHING. They didn't stop the show, the continued the rest of the shows for the weekend. It just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.