Today’s my last day in Omaha as a single gal. This afternoon we’re off to NJ. Let the wedding weekend madness begin!
As much as I tried to avoid it, I couldn’t help but sneak a peak at the forecast for this weekend.
Now, this could change, as weather often does, but if it doesn’t… I’ll be a very happy bride!
On the agenda today:
1. Clean apartment
2. Buy a Kiddush cup at Temple gift shop
3. Stop at Costco for Fiber One bars
4. Pack toiletries
5. Prepare Sushi for a week at Aunt Jamie’s
6. Get ourselves to the airport with 3 large suitcases, 2 small carry-on suitcases and two backpacks with our computers (you’d think we we’re actually heading off on our honeymoon instead of just spending two nights in NYC! I can’t imagine what the luggage situation is going to be when we actually go to Italy in September for a two week honeymoon…)
It was such a relief not to go into work this morning. J and I had To Do list with a deadline–ASAP! We dropped off our welcome letter, programs and seating cards to the copy place this morning, and I had to go back this afternoon while J was at work to pick them up. I can’t believe how professional they look! We worked really hard on them, and I’m proud of us for getting to the finish line (around 11:30pm last night).
Next I went to Von Maur to look for earrings for the big day. The very first pair that caught my eye in the jewelry department was the one I bought. How unlike me! Somebody had offered to loan me a pair, but without having the chance to see them first, I was hesitant to accept. Plus, I want the jewelry I wear to be mine, so I can pass it down to my kids someday.
Today I also hope to get most of my packing done. Last night we did 4 loads of laundry, so everything is clean and ready to be folded and packed. We have to have outfits for the days before the weekend, the wedding weekend, and our 3 day “mini-moon” in NYC, and that equals a lot of luggage.
Saturday night J had his bachelor party, so I had a girls’ night out. It wasn’t a true bachelorette party, but I did receive a couple of pairs of Victoria’s Secret underwear, include the hot little number above. When I was browsing the VS website for that image, I came across something I can’t believe I kind of want:
I’m so embarrassed. It’s so not me. I would never call myself a “Sexy Little Bride.” And it has a wedding ring zipper for goodness sake! But it seems so practical for the whole getting ready ordeal since it doesn’t go over your head (no chance of messing up hair or makeup) and it’s so festive. Oh, for shame!
Anyway, that night we had some cocktails, ate some sushi and went out for ice cream. If we weren’t all exhausted we would have gone dancing, but it was nice to have a laid back night. I was home and passed out way before J’s evening ended. Atta boy!
Today is a big day for me. Today is my last day in PR. I’m leaving the company where I’ve worked only few short months because I’ve decided that a) agency life is not for me and b) I’m done with PR. I quit before the wedding because I need time to decompress and really focus on the fact that I’m getting married. (Holy crap!) I’ll have a 2.5 days next week to relax and take it all in before J and I fly back East on Wednesday. (Relax? Who am I kidding? We still have so many little things to take care of! Though I am planning on getting a massage before we go…)
The bigger news is that I don’t plan to jump back into work right after the wedding. I don’t want another cubicle job. I want a job that allows me to be creative, to work directly with other people, to make a difference in their lives. I’ve had some ideas as to what I might want to do floating around my mind for the last couple of years, but I’ve been afraid to pursue any of them. Fear of failure, maybe? But the wedding has been the impetus to get over my fear and find what I truly love to do. I’m starting a new life — a new husband, a new last name, a new extended family — so why not take a chance and start a new career.
So what do I want to do? Be a wedding planner. Own a small stationery store. Go back to school. Open a franchise. Be a freelance writer. Be an interior designer. The truth is that I’m still in the discovery phase. I want to learn not only what I’m good at but also what I’m truly passionate about. I’m going to spend the summer networking (meeting wedding planners in the area, talking to small business owners) and researching (reading business books, perhaps seeing a career counselor).
All I know is that I want to be happy. I want a job that I love and that challenges me. I want to work hard everyday. While I’ve enjoyed all of the jobs I’ve had since college (more or less), none of them were my dream job. While I’m still not sure what my dream job would be, I intend to start figuring it out this June.
Have you found your calling? Are you doing what you love to do? Have you started your own business? If you have any advice or words of wisdom, please share!
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Just ten days until the wedding!
I’ve added a couple of my favorite wedding blogs to the sidebar. They were hugely inspirational to me during the planning process. And just because the wedding is almost here doesn’t mean I’m going to stop reading them!
I just learned via A Cup of Jo that New York City is getting four waterfalls this summer! The installation will be designed by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who is best known for The Weather Project (2003) at the Tate Modern in London (which I was lucky to see when I visited my sister when she was studying abroad).
The Circle Line will offer daily trips for close-up views of the installations. I am SO making a trip back East to see this in person.
How do you think this installation will compare to The Gates?
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Heather Waraksa has posted more photos of our engagement photo session on her website. I thought the originals were amazing, but now with the retouching… WOW. I didn’t know we could look that good!
Just 11 days until the wedding!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R34-K9UlaSw&hl=en]
I saw this on Weddingbee and just had to share. How fabulous! Amy is such a lucky girl.
Turn your speakers up. Totally appropriate for cubicle listening.
Of all the friends J and I invited to our wedding, only one person hasn’t sent in her RSVP card yet. Unfortunately, the deadline to RSVP was May 1. We have to assume that she isn’t coming; this person’s ex is going to be at the wedding, and she probably doesn’t want to come for fear of it being uncomfortable for her. Whether I think this is a valid reason is irrelevant. It’s only polite to RSVP.
I should also mention that this person didn’t RSVP for my bridal shower (which she attended) nor my bachelorette party (which is this Saturday night). I suppose it’s possible that she is just SO busy that she can’t spare a minute to check off a box and throw a pre-stamped envelope in the mail or to pick up the phone and dial a local number… Yes, that must be it. I’d rather think that she has no time in her schedule to RSVP than that she just doesn’t care enough to RSVP.
However, it appears that not RSVP-ing has become somewhat of an epidemic in today’s world. Is Evite to blame? Writer Alexandra Jacobs seems to think so. In this article for The New York Times Style Magazine, she writes:
The practice of replying to invitations, let alone actually showing up to parties as promised, has become as antiquated as the chimney sweep, and much messier. We can blame this, like practically everything else bad in the modern world, on the rise of electronic communication. There is the dreaded, inertia-triggering Evite. ‘‘You can see who’s viewed it but not responded,’’ fumed one popular Park Slope hostess — via e-mail, of course. ‘‘Would it kill you to just put ‘Maybe’? Are you waiting to see what better Evites will come along?’’
I suppose that when an invitation is sent in an email, it’s easy to ignore it or to forget to respond, especially if the person’s in-box is overflowing. And Evite invitations offer a “maybe” option, allowing the guest to not have to commit either way. So now when people receive an actual piece of paper inviting them to an event, and there’s no “maybe” box to check off, they must not know what to do — so they don’t do anything. Social etiquette, what? Make a decision — yes or no!
Bottom line: Guests are invited to events for a reason — the host would like them to come — and should be courteous enough to let the host know whether they plan on attending. It’s especially rude to not respond to wedding invitation, and a bride should not have to worry about tracking down an M.I.A. guest two weeks before the big day.
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I’m so frustrated with myself. Yesterday, out of sheer stress, I basically chewed my thumbnail down to nothing. I really wanted to avoid having to wear fake nails for the wedding, but I just can’t stop biting my nails! Even a coat of Orly’s No Bite polish can’t stop me. All of my nails are short (meaning they don’t extend past the tip of my finger), but how ridiculous will I look with 8 short nails and 2 REALLY short nails in all of my wedding photos? (My left index fingernail is also prone being bitten.)
Does anybody know how to make fingernails grow ridiculously fast? And if you were me, would you get your mani/pedi the Friday or the Saturday afternoon before the wedding? I’m afraid that if I get them done on Friday, they could chip by Sunday… but if I go on Saturday between the Aufruf in the morning and the “celebration dinner” in the evening, I might be crunched for time.
Um yeah, I’m starting to freak out… And don’t even get me started on what color I should wear on my hands and feet! Ugg…
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Pascal Dangin is quoted in the May 12 issue of The New Yorker as saying he retouched photos used in Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty.”
He said, ” Do you know how much retouching was on that? But it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.”
Unilever has not confirmed Dangin’s claim, but if it’s true, it would be a major disappointment and totally undermine Dove’s message that “real beauty comes in many shapes, sizes and ages.” Apparently real beauty comes only after your photo is retouched.
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