5 Ways to Tell if You’ve Become the Bride You Said You’d Never Be

Posted on by Katie

Bad news, guys.  I’ve been engaged all of 2 months and already I’m starting to see that wedding planning changes a person. I once thought that I could never earn the title of Bridezilla and that I would be “so chill, you don’t even know.”  I was wrong, and here are the things that opened my eyes:

1. The times you used to talk about the weather, you now use to talk about your wedding.

Maybe you thought you weren’t going to be the girl who tells the cashier at the grocery store about how your venue visits are going, and yet here he is hearing all about how maybe the space is too small for the number of people you planned on but oh em gee is it just so perfect. You will get so used to friends and family asking you about your wedding plans that the topic is going to spill over in to other, inappropriate situations.  Your mailman, nail tech, McDonald’s drive through person are all perfect targets for your wedding small talk.  Your poor coworkers (who you probably wont invite) are going to get the brunt of the situation.  Waiting for everyone to get to your meeting?  Chat up the early birds with wedding minutiae. This is your life now.

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2.  Your social media accounts are rife with clandestine wedding related posts.

What looks like an innocuous cocktail Instagram pic is paired with “Margs with my bestie after doing some wedding planning! (all the emojis)”  Maybe your MOH tags you while you are visiting a venue.  You make a ring holder in ceramics class and share a pic on Facebook.  You don’t say that it’s going to cradle your new rock, but your sudden interest in jewelry organization makes it pretty clear. It’s all there, if only you are looking for it.

3.  You’ve already cried, and not tears of joy.

Real talk:  I cried at brunch with Alex a few weeks after we got engaged.  I was overwhelmed by my family turning their noses up at the fact I was thinking of getting married in 2017 vs 2016, I was getting teased for my wedding theme, and he was giving me a tough time about something I can’t remember.  I am sure their hearts were all in the right places, but the moment Alex slipped a ring on my finger I felt a huge pressure on my shoulders and I didn’t want to disappoint.  I got over it pretty quickly and the date and theme are still going full steam ahead.  You don’t think the pressure will get to you, but it got to me over a piping hot breakfast skillet and a side of pancakes.

4.  Your decision making skills are leaving something to be desired.

I used to make decisions with laser focus.  Choices? Boom! Decision.  Now I can’t choose between 2 very different venues. It has gotten so bad that I have had to make 2 trips, with 2 different groups of people so I could poll them.  One of my venues is 3 hours away.  I’m being an insane person.  This is an illness only cured by signing a marriage license.

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5.  Despite all the pressure and drama you’ve said something along the lines of, “I wish I could have 2 weddings.”

Maybe all the Pinterest browsing has inspired you so much that you can’t decide which theme you want (see #4).  Your mind has been so perverted that what seems logical is, in fact, completely illogical.  You start to lose sense of what is normal anymore.  The idea of paying extra for nicer chairs (when perfectly fine chairs are included in your venue) seems reasonable to you.  If you, like me, are stuck between 2 venues you are absolutely prepared to work out every pricing detail for both venues to determine which is actually the most cost efficient.

If any of these apply to you, it’s ok.  The thing about being engaged and planning a wedding is that they are both temporary stages of your life.  After it’s all over, you will be married and maybe things will settle down.  You’ll return to your previous state of chill.

As for me, I know Alex is ready to help me see some perspective and my friends are ready to help me achieve whatever crazy DIY project I’ve concocted.  I get to marry the love of my life and I’ll probably have a super wonderful wedding.  I realize now that just because it’s made me a little crazy doesn’t mean it’s any less meaningful.

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We’re Going Through Changes

Posted on by Katie

A little more than a month ago, we found out our other roommate will be moving out. He moved out over the weekend, and I’m really bummed.  He is so relaxed and just an all around nice guy (and a stellar roommate).  He will be missed. That leaves us with 2 empty bedrooms. I would love a new roommate but I don’t have any homeless friends. For a while we will just be 3 humans and 2 dogs.  This opens up a whole new world for our other rooms. What was going to be a guest room (the smallest bedroom) will now be transitioned into an office and the big bedroom will become a guest room until we get another roomie. My sister is totally content with her apartment-like basement.

I posted this list for the room I imagined as a guest room (updated):

  • Take down blinds and put up some classy window treatments (maybe just curtains)
  • Shampoo the life out of the carpet (he was very clean, but all the carpet in the house is detestable)
  • Take down wallpaper
  • Paint the room something modern and subtle
  • Paint the trim
  • Add storage and furniture
  • Remove wobbly desk
  • Replace/update light fixture
  • Find/make some fun and light art
  • Pray for better flooring under the carpet (unlikely)

It all still applies but the furniture will be different. We have quite the slew of office furniture so we’ll see how I can make it work.

The big bedroom will be a guest room, but it needs a lot of love. Take a look.

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The big bedroom deserves a list of its own. Thar she blows:

  • Take down blinds and put up curtains
  • Shampoo carpet
  • Determine scale and solution for possible damaged subfloor (previous tenant let the bathroom on the other side of the adjoining wall leak into the bedroom)
  • Take down wallpaper
  • Paint (put in some effort to tie the whole house palette together)
  • Paint/replace closet built ins
  • Furnish the room
  • Paint trim
  • Get some cute art
  • Come up with a lighting solution (the little bedroom is the only bedroom with a light in the center)
  • Check under carpet for wood floors (unlikely)

It’s hard to tell from the pictures but the room has a fibrous wallpaper that some cats scratched to death. I recently found out my brother is coming to town and I would love to have him stay with us for a few days. Challenge Accepted.

Down With the Sickness

Posted on by Katie

A few years ago my boyfriend told me his list of “Feel Better Tools.” They are as such:

  1. Take a shower
  2. Go to the bathroom. Ahem.
  3. Take a nap

 

I guess he and his friend came up with this list in one of their deeper conversations as teenagers. When he told me this list as if he was handing me a bag of gold, I realized that the list is spot on. I never quite understood why but a good hot shower has relieved many a malady in my life. The whole subject came to mind today because I’ve become progressively more ill as the day has gone on. I woke up with a sore throat and hoarseness. It was nearly unbearable, but I just went on vacation and I can not afford to miss work if I can stand up straight.

When I got to work, my boss asked me if I was going to yoga tonight and I replied, “No, I’ve taken ill.” Ok, perhaps I wasn’t that dramatic, but the “Oh no, I must take care of you” look popped into her eyes and in mere minutes she was back with tea, cough drops, and cold medicine from the supply closet. What an angel. Seriously best boss I’ve ever had. She told me not to worry, if I needed to go home that would be fine. I, however, carried on despite my illness.

At first, the cold medicine did nothing. Then I had a cough drop. Those things slapped my sore throat in the face. I went through the 3 I had pretty quickly and realized that I needed to keep ingesting them if I wanted their continued benefits. Uh oh. So I got some tea steeping in my baby teapot.

The heat really soothes, but I don’t drink it fast enough to finish it while it’s hot. At this point I feel miserable. I can’t take anymore medicine until at least 8pm and I’m dying over here. So I’m going to take a stab at some other feel better tools.

  1. Eat. (unless nauseous, eating can be quite beneficial)
  2. Comfy clothes (just because)
  3. Maybe more tea.

 

I got this devil illness from my boyfriend (who gets sick on vacation?!?!) and I know he had a fever, but thank goodness I don’t! I get sick maybe once a  year and I’m a total baby about it. Hence my quest for “Feel Better Tools.”

How are you feeling? Do you have any Feel Better Tools? Tell me!

I$lands of Adventure

Posted on by Katie

In just 6 anxious days, my boyfriend and I will be embarking on a vacation! While I’m sure you want to hear all about the silly girl giddiness I feel about it, I’ll spare you. Being the poor 2o somethings we are, we had to be very budget conscious.  I bet you want to know some sweet money-saving tips we used to book this wondrous vacation though. I’m happy to share.

We are traveling to the wondrous city of Orlando, Florida.  This is how we do:

Hotel – The Fountains Orlando. Yeah, it’s part of the bluegreen timeshares. The boy is a part owner thanks to his thoughtful parents so we get to stay there for free. Ok, so not everyone has parents who are part of something like this, but I bet you know someone who is. Or maybe they have a cabin near a lake, or a campsite, or a hookup. Trust me, if you look you will find something.

Transportation – We booked our flights as early as possible. The closer to your departure, the higher the cost. We are saving ourselves from having to park at O’Hare (which is practically theft) by parking his car at my office and taking the bus. It’s pretty convenient, but not everyone works within spitting distance of a major international airport. Do the fun thing and beg someone to drop you off. We also saved money on a rental car for Orlando by finding a company that doesn’t charge the renter for being under 25, and they will pick us up from the airport. Shout out to Carl’s Van Rentals! I called to double-check about the fee and the gentleman on the phone was very friendly. A+!

Dining – The Fountains only has 2 room villas with kitchens. You won’t hear me complaining. We plan on taking our lovely van to a local grocery store to pick up some way-cheaper-than-eating-out essentials like milk, cereal, lunch meats, etc. It is still vacation, but we plan on keeping the costs down by eating groceries and eating out with local deals groupon style. Your hotel room doesn’t have a kitchen or fridge? Buy some non-perishable snacks and pick up lunch from a local supermarket. Most have prepared foods for a fraction of the cost of even fast food.

Entertainment – The Fountains (like many other hotels) include DVD players in their rooms so we’ll be bringing along a few of our faves (forecast is showing rain for the entire length of our trip, hence the DVD precaution). We will also be (hopefully) hitting up a few theme parks. I got reduced price tickets through a perks program at work, but our hotel also offers more wallet friendly deals on the local parks and I bet yours would too. Google it, and they will come. We will also be bringing along a book or two and an ipod just to keep us occupied constantly.

Here are a few extras I picked up:

  1. Bring your own empty, refillable water bottle to the airport. You can’t bring more than 3 oz of liquid through security, but you can bring an empty water bottle to refill after you get through. Save yourself the $5.
  2. Bring your own snacks to the airport. It is suggested that we arrive 2 hours before our midday flight. This girl gets crabby when she is hungry. Save yourself the stress and the money and bring yourself some snackage.
  3. A vacation is an exciting thing, but you don’t need an entire new wardrobe. My closet is packed with clothes and I won’t be buying any new vacation clothes. If you really need to feel fresh and new for your vacation get a mani/pedi or a haircut. $30 well spent.
  4. Set a budget for your spending. We know that a nice picture frame with a picture of us on vacation will be more sentimental and long-lasting that 2 $40 hoodies, or any other wildly overpriced souvenir. If you see something you like and immediately have a place for it in your home that people will see and appreciate it, then fine. If not, pass it up. 
  5. If your family is anything like mine, they will be expecting you to bring them back some souvenirs. I started a little tradition of sending my younger siblings postcards from my various excursions and they always seem to love them. Less than $1 per person. I might grab another small something, but I don’t feel obligated to spend $20 on each of them (there are a lot of us).
  6. Book your vacation off season! Everyone is going to be traveling during the holidays, summer, and spring break. We booked our vacation during the fall when everyone else has run out of vacation days (it just so happens to fall on my birthday also). Orlando will still be sunny and exciting in September and maybe even less hellishly hot and humid than it would be when it’s also packed with people.