Day 425

Hello Hello!

The past day has been spent researching one of the most important aspects of a wedding in my opinion and that is the photography. Boy was I clueless to how expensive wedding photography could truly be. I read in Real Simple magazine that brides should expect to spend between $2000 and $6000 on photography. Holy cow that is so much! For me, photography is on the top things I want to focus on. However, I think it is outrageous so spend that much. I know everybody has to make a living too. I did find a reasonable photographer who is willing to travel without added expense. She seems very eager and nice. She is even willing to skype with me to meet for the first time.

One of my best friends from childhood takes beautiful photos for her church. I have seen some of her work at weddings and it is wonderful. I would ask her to do this special job for me however she is moving to Africa in the next couple months and wont have a return date. Therefore, she might not make it to my wedding :(

My baby girl Eren is another creative person but we already have a role in mind for her and if we asked her to do this I am afraid we would have her double booked for the day. To me, I would rather her relax and have a great day than anything else.

Danny also hates to have his picture taken in a controlled environment so it is important to create a personal relationship with our photographer to help us relax and feel natural.

We are going to ask Eren to help us with engagement photographs. I don't really see the point of them but from what I understand they are a standard. So I have a question, are there any "must have" poses or pictures?

Day 432

Danny had to go to work while I was already at my job. I just got home and this is what I found.

 Here is what his note says in case it is hard to read:

Dear Tricia,

You are the love of my life and you are my shining star. I miss you and cant wait to come home to you! Sit back and relax; cheers is cued up for you and there is a cold beer in the fridge. I will see you very soon. With all the love my heart can give

Danny "Legosoup" Sorensen

I am so blessed. I know its cheesy and probably pretty lame but I totally go all butterflies in the tummy when he does little things like this. What more could I ask for than a man who finds little ways to make me feel wonderful whenever he can. That is pretty swell. Not to mention he left me set up with our TV show and beer! I am so glad to be on my summer vacation so I can back to wedding choices.

Here are some other things I am considering:

Another sign I would like to make

Instead of rice or bubbles we are going out with a spark!

This is my solution to our tight-ish budget. Boys will wear starfish instead of flowers :)





Im really not into the wedding garb but for some reason I really want this tank!

Day 435

Though I am not sure how I made it out of the last week alive and I sure thankful it is over! Let me explain, Monday started my last week of the summer quarter. Thus it was finals week. I had one large paper (6-8 pages) on the researched topic of my choice which was the importance of sex education. One medium paper (1000 words) about the musical dynamics of the opera La Boheme. Then I had to do a presentation on my sex education topic and take a final test for musical appreciation.

I have been sick all week and still feel pretty nasty right now still. At first I thought it was strep throat but now I am convinced it is a sinus problem. Danny has been taking great care of me, like always. To celebrate the newly finished quarter  and my sickness we ate mac and cheese for dinner with a side of FROZEN YOGURT!! That's right, I have lived in my new place as my own "grown up" and I am eating a meal that 3rd graders dream of.

Tomorrow we are driving to Seattle to help celebrate my grandfathers 80th birthday by attending a Mariners baseball game. Along the way we are also joining my uncle and his fiance for lunch which will be nice to visit with them.  It will be a great way to begin my month long summer vacation!

Off to snuggle and watch some Cheers!

Day 440

Well here we are in our new place! I don't think it has it me yet that this is the real deal. I have been sick all weekend and Danny had to work so it has been a slow process. I have just been walking around like a zombie randomly hanging things on the wall. I kept wondering when I am going to wake up, or when someone is going to barge in with bad news. I think this is one of the first times in my life where all of my belongings are under the same roof and it happens to be the one i reside under too. It sounds so silly but it is such a treat. Danny and I cooked our first homemade dinner of shepherds pie last night. I have never personally mashed potatoes before, so it was a new adventure.

This is finals week so things will settle down by Friday afternoon I cant wait until then to practice my calligraphy on the save the dates. I found out my wedding budget today so we will know what we are up against. I am going to contact the event planner at the inn to get some names so I can start running down caterers. I also should start considering what I will be doing about the flowers. So much to think about! As always, any suggestions?

Day 445

T minus 3 days until moving and life has become quick! As of right now I just got home from work and finished unpacking our dresser (my second mom is going to refinish it for us so it matches, thank you Tona), we are sitting down to eat while the 104 degree heat cools down so we can go to my sisters and walk her dogs then instantly return home because my dad is bringing over more boxes for us! I have an essay to finish and I have been up since 4 am. Phew! I also have a swollen lip from an evil canker sore! 

 I am glad to have Danny, because I would have eaten today, especially not so well, if he wasn't around helping out. Through all the madness he found time to cook a delicious meal for us. Split baked potato, organic bbq chik'n (non meat protein source for us vegetarians), peppered broccoli and a 2009 Merlot. He takes wonderful care of me.

I am off to do as much as I can before the day is over.  I can't believe its already almost Wednesday!

Day 477

Yesterday as I was slacking off instead of doing my homework I came up with a brilliant (if I do say so myself) idea for our wedding favors! We are getting married in the fall, one of my favorite things about the fall is Pumpkin! Who doesn't love pumpkin? Apples are another great feature of the season. Why not combine them?

That is correct, Pumpkin-Apple butter!! Not only did my mouth begin to water instantly, I started thinking of cute ways to decorate this treat into precious little favors. I have enlisted the professional help of my second mom. We started searching for recipes and they all sound so delicious, I cant wait to make a little sample to taste test. 

I think we will use mini mason jars, wrapped in twine with little labels that say:

Spread the Love

October 26, 2013

Pumpkin-Apple Butter

I have seen this idea before with Jam but I really think pairing pumpkin and apple together to make a butter will be so perfect for toast or buttermilk biscuits.

Date night

We have been house-sitting for my mom while she is away camping. It is nice to think that we have already spend our last weekend where we are currently living. At first we were also hanging out with my younger sister but she left with our grandparents in the morning. So when Danny got off work it was just him and I for the night!

We love to cook and search for new nutritious meals that tickle our taste buds. One of our favorites that we discovered is butternut squash ravioli! Last night we prepared butternut squash ravioli with a walnut glaze topped with Parmesan, paired with some red pepper corn bread and a glass of 2009 Syrah. The meal was wonderful!

After dinner we went for a swim in my moms pool which was nice because we needed to get some movement after eating a heavy meal!  We ended the night snuggling (or attempting to, the cat kept getting in the way) while watching Inglorious Bastards.

 

 

Such a lovely preview for the next chapter of our lives together.....just the two of us!  



Day 448

We are moving in six days! It almost doesn't seem to really be happening. When Danny and I were considering wedding dates we were looking into this October. Thank goodness we set it back! I can imagine working through all of this that we have faced in the last month and attempting to plan a wedding. Even over a year away seems too soon. Don't get me wrong, I cant wait to marry Danny its the planning of the event that takes so long. Thankfully, I have some great help!

In regards to an earlier post, I have received some feedback on the topic of sharing a room or sleeping separately the night before our wedding. From what I have heard we should split up. Danny doesn't like the sound of this very much. He said he probably wouldn't sleep but just lay there awake only to get dressed at 3 am because he had nothing else to do. The funny thing is, I can totally see him laying in a hotel bed outside of the covers in complete wedding day suit including shoes just trying to wait for the sun to come up. We like tradition but we like waking up next to each other even more. Most of our wedding day we will not be seeing one another and though we will be busy its a day about our love and it is hard to think of not spending all of it together. We haven't closed our minds on the matter.

We have started talking about honeymoon plans, which is something I am very excited about! As of now we are thinking of taking a tour of the Oregon Coast. A couple nights in a few different cities. We want to go back to Lincoln City since that is where we got engaged. We were also considering Seaside or Cannon Beach. There are several little Inns and family run B&B to think about too. Anyone have any ideas of where to stay or what to do?