I think I'm going to have Erin take me bday shopping next Saturday. We aren't doing anything for Easter, so the Saturday before would be a good day for shopping. We will have our AT&T rebate by then too....maybe I can convince Erin I need a tank top to go under the sweater I liked. hmmmm......Can you tell I'm excited to go shopping for my birthday. I haven't gotten anything new since December when I got some stuff for my Texas trip. Plus there isn't anything else really going on to be excited about.

Time for dinner and then rest to try to get rid of my headache. I'm tired of them, they hurt so much! I didn't have a single one last week and I'm on my third for this week. Ugh!

Oh and if they ever answer the phone I may have an interview. It's with Hilton hotel....I can't even remember what I applied for with them. It's one of those few jobs I've applied to, just to apply. But it's an interview...always good to practice. :o) However, they aren't answering the phone. Ah well.

flower ideas

Here are the pics I'm taking to the florist on Thursday.

I want Tulips...I want to make these ties too....I prefer a smaller version like this picture and I love the color!Yes, I want tulips, but these are orchids and I like them too.These last two, I picked for the colors. And I could do centerpieces like the one below. But still like my idea of a square vase with rocks at the bottom and some tulips.

Basically, I want simple...whatever flower just a few in a bunch. That's why I like tulips, you can easily do that. Plus I want color. Everyone in the wedding party will have brown on so the colorful flowers will just pop and look great! Plus, outside in the fall with the leaves changing colors. I think our pics will be GREAT!

dinner

Whats for dinner:

Chicken in Savory Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:

Vegetable cooking spray

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves (about 1 pound)

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Healthy Request® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup chopped red pepper OR green pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley OR 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon paprika

4 lemon slices

Directions:

Spray a 12-inch nonstick skillet with the cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned on both sides.
Add the soup, water, pepper, parsley, lemon juice and paprika to the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Top with the lemon slices.

random

Long story short I started working out and hurt my foot and then stopped working out. I am finally motivated enough to get back to it. I worked out Sat and then today and I'm going to workout everyday of the week from now on. I can do it! Plus, Lexi helps me. It's sooo funny, if I'm on the floor she licks my face, attacks the weights. I just laugh. Hopefully I can lose a few pounds before my bday weekend cause then a week or two after that I need to dress shop.

Speaking of my bday it's 99.9% official I am going to get those Anne Klein shoes for my birthday! I'm soooo excited! If I get the yellow purse I want it will match the shoes...hint hint :oP Also, if I can convince Erin to let me get a top or two and the dress I want - again the shoes will match all that! YAY!! But this means next week I have to make sure the Von Maur card is paid off! (so we can use it for the shoes.) :o)

My mom booked our room for my bday weekend. We get to stay at the Keystone Crossing Marriott! I love this hotel!! Plus....we are next door to the Fashion Mall.....hmmmmm.....I'll have to go visit Janna at Northstrom and look at all their pretty shoes that I can't afford and then to the Wine and Cheese store to get my chicken spices. Just over 3 weeks till we leave!!!

I'm sooo excited for April! It's Easter, my bday, possibly hiring a florist this month, finding a dj & a photographer, buying my wedding dress, registering for gifts, mailing my save the date cards (so excited for that...I'm just dying to print out my website cards that go with them) All-n-all it's going to be a fun month! AND we hope I find a freakin job, so I can stop crying about having a degree and student loan payments and no job! I'm really not bitter or anything about my situation. :o)

Now to open the windows and enjoy the weather before the rain returns this week! I'll post flower stuff tomorrow Jen. :o)

shoes!

Here are some shoes I wish I could have....I'll have to watch the sale room at Von Maur! (please remember I haven't bought heels in about a year...I used to buy a pair a month! What can I say I worked in the shoe department at Von Maur and wore heels daily!) I might have to talk Erin into the Anne Klein or Jessica Simpson ones.

Anne Klein - Floral Pump - $79.00Cole Haan - Carma Open Toe Pump - $275.00Micheal Kors - Prescott Peep Toe - $129.00

Jessica Simpson - Josette Peep Toe Pump - $79.00

OK, I need to get off the internet now!

my bday wish list

My birthday is 3 weeks from tomorrow! I'm soooooo excited for because we are going to IN and my parents will be there and so with my grandpa Shank! We are going to stay in a hotel Fri and Sat night and a huge dinner on Sunday! I can't wait!! Here is my b-day wish list, in honor of my birthday.... :oP (all from Old Navy)

I'm hoping to get one or two of the items so I can have a new outfit for dinner on Sunday. :o) My top two are the dress and sweater...those are the two I showed Erin. So, fingers crossed! I want a new pair of heels too. (the list keeps getting longer and longer....)

flower appointments

I'm satisfying my moms interests and made two flower appointments for next Thursday. She wants a cost idea. I want to do them myself, but she is looking at the idea of paying for them.
We are going to these two places Bloomtastic and Fireside on Thursday afternoon. Now I have to combine pictures of our dresses, flowers I like, colors, and flower ideas.

i want to do something

So, I keep thinking I need to be doing something to prepare for this wedding...but there really isn't anything for me to do. We are going to go to two florists on Thursday just to see what costs would be. My mom is now wanting me to hire someone instead of doing my own.
I did change my mind on our favors. We are going to do a version of this. I talked to my mom about it tonight and convinced her to go for it....after I told her how much boxes cost. :o) We are going to do white bags and wrap chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies in saran wrap and then place them in the bags with our personalized M&M's. Jen is perfecting my tag that I made up. :o)
Um, other than that I'm ready to register for gifts! I'm going to have to ask for new bake ware. I have a lot of older corning ware from my Great-Grandma Ryan and my mom. Well, as that has been useful, tonight our dinner was ruined from the older items. We were going to make this Cheesy Chicken Bake (on the back of the stuffing box) - and the container we cooked the stuffing in broke when we took it out of the microwave. Ugh! Dinner ruined...from broken glass! So we went out...but still we were both excited about dinner it looked sooo good! Therefore, I'm asking for all new Pyrex containers!
That's all for now. Time for Oreos and milk. :o)

OH WAIT! The best news....I'll be an Aunt! Erins sister-in-law is pregnant! YAY! :o)

one of my projects...

Well Jen finally got her Bridesmaid Card in the mail. It was my fault...I originally put the wrong address on it. opps :o)


I found them at Martha Stewart a few years ago! I have been clipping ideas for years thanks to Jen. :oP I cut off the contact info.....this was the first one I did, but I ended up redoing them and writing a little note and included the dress ordering info. Just cute! Plus I felt like being crafty.

dinners

So not much going on wedding wise. I'm going to go talk to a florist tomorrow or Friday, whichever day Erin leaves the car. That's about it. I have rooms blocked at three hotels and Erin did his part of the website last night. Plus I emailed Mary Kay and Avon reps here in Columbus to see about wedding day make up. Until I get paper, favor boxes, final guest lists with addresses, there isn't much more I can do right now.

We are doing all kinds of new dinners. Last nights dinner was ok. Tonight it's a Ryan family recipe, chicken enchiladas! I like making it, I always have good memories of our get togethers and of course Grandpa Ryan. Chicken enchiladas was his all time favorite meal. :o) Tomorrow night though I'm making Chicken and Stuffing Skillet. I think it looks good!

Then the next meal we are going to try is Cheesy Chicken and Rice.

So, I hope we like them both. Then we have a bunch to try next week too. :o)

Also, I think I'm going to make two sugar cookie recipes and have everyone taste test them when we go home for my birthday. The winning recipe will be our favor cookie! :o) My parents and my Grandpa Shank will be in town! So, I'll have a good group of testers. I can't wait! Just over 3 weeks!

new washer/dryer!!

This is just too exciting, that I have to share!
We resigned our lease today. We really do like this apartment...it's quiet, it's two floors - so no worries on people above or below us - good location too. Plus the price is right and if we want to upgrade they offer 2 story, basement, garage town homes and we wouldn't be breaking our lease or having to wait until this one is up. Plus, until we know we will be here for awhile, we don't want to get a house.
So anyways, we resigned, and while there we placed and order to have our washer/dryer looked at. The maintenance guy came this afternoon and after looking at it he is placing an order for us to get a new washer/dryer! They are on back order so we should get it in a month or two. We are number 5 on the list. He said ours is close to dying....fingers crossed it waits! But others have nothing right now.
YAY for a new washer/dryer! I'm sooooo excited! I like new appliances. :o)

~our wedding night~

We booked our room for the night before and night of our wedding today!
We are going to stay at The Renaissance Hotel! We booked as AAA members and got a really good rate for a king bed room! I can't wait! I just love the way the rooms look. Its very modern, not what I would expect in Columbus, OH....I have issues with Columbus, and so I expect very little from this city. :o)
Here are some pics of where we are staying! :-D Just over 6 months till we are married!

little vent...

So, why did I have to call to one of the hotels a week later to request the the contract they said would be e-mailed to me. They didn't even have my information! I only sat in the lobby and watched the lady write my info down. Ugh! I'm really glad I'm doing this now, I thought it would be simple and easy.
Anyways, Erin and I are still debating where to stay the night of our wedding. I'll be staying the night before too. We can't see each other before our ceremony! We LOVED this hotel when we looked at it - The Renaissance. However, we have rooms blocked at this hotel - Marriott Courtyard. So who knows.
I think we will splurge, it's not much more, and stay at the Renaissance. It's just sooo pretty! Actually I should just block rooms there too. :o) That would give people 3 hotel choices....hmmm
Our website is almost done too! Erin just has to write about his groomsmen and then I can officially share it!
We are trying new dinners a lot the next two weeks, if there are any good ones, I'll be sure to post them!

recipe cards

So, I decided to get my recipes in order and make a recipe card box. I found a cute template on Microsoft Office today. (I love Office 2007! got to love my dad!) And have been transferring my recipes onto these cards! I've done about 20 so far....the ones I've had to type in. All my other ones are on my computer, so it's just copy and paste. Easy. Then I've just been printing them on card stock to make them sturdy. I've been cooking dinner a lot lately and have been remembering my old favorites. Even calling my mom a few times for her recipes. Time to get them on cards instead of post-it notes.

Now I'm venturing into some new ones...

We are going to try this one for dinner tonight, from Campbell's , they have a lot of good ones we want to try-- (I think I'll do the Creamy Mexican Fiesta style)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular, Healthy Request® or 25% Less Sodium)1/2 cup salsa 1/2 cup water 6 flour tortilla (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.
Stir the soup, salsa, water, and tortillas in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir the beef mixture. Top with the cheese.

Creamy Mexican Fiesta: Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream with the soup.
Ranchero Style: Use corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas and shredded Mexican cheese blend instead of Cheddar.

livingroom

Well we have decided to stay in our apt another year. We resign on Saturday, so I decided it's time to change things up a little. I have recently changed up the spare room to a den per say. computer and tv room. I can't change our bedroom there is no other way to arrange it. So, it was time for the living room. I did it by myself this morning. It reminded me of college with Jen....changing the living room around all the time....not consulting the other two roommates. The couch with no feet... lol

old bookshelf..... bookshelf now.......


the couch..... is now the tv....


the tv........ is now the couch....


and this area didn't change much....the sewing machine just moved a bit.


Next up....the patio, probably next weekend. We are going to tear up the old flower things...whatever they are. and do something different. I want to get a humming bird feeder to go with the other bird feeder and make a bird bath. (we have a ton of birds! I have to fill the bird feeder once a week, I could do it twice a week they eat it so fast!)
And the dinning room. I have to sell the armoire first and then i can arrange the dinning table and bench. We are asking for chairs in our registry.

my paper!

My paper came today! It was wrapped in bubble wrap. :o) It's two sided - here are the sides.


Maybe Jen will get my project tomorrow and then I can post it. :o) I'm so excited...I'm getting bits and pieces to my wedding and I can't wait until it all starts to come together. Jen is getting my maps/website cards together and I may be able to print those out here next week. My mom is getting me our guest list and I can print out address labels next week too. Best of all....Jen will be sending out my Save the Date cards to be printed. I CAN'T WAIT to mail them! :o)
I'll post a picture of them when I get the final draft from Jen.

lexi

I took Lexi to the vet today for a mid year exam. She was scared being in the exam room and after smelling the room she got in the sink and hid. I guess she thought she was safe from the vet if she was in the sink hiding. It was soooo cute! The nurse just laughed and after examining her Lexi got back into the sink until the vet came in. He laughed too.

busy day

Today has been a busy day....We did wedding stuff too! First of all Erin and I woke up at 8am and went running....well running/walking. :o) We are going to do this 3x a week! Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Then in between Erin will be playing hockey and I'm going to do my workout DVD's. We are going to get in shape for our wedding!

Then we went and paid our deposit and signed the papers for our wedding site! YAY!! We will go back sometime in June to have a tasting. I can't wait! We also went to a few local hotels to get special rates. We only got to met with one sales person, so I have a few people to email. Once I get another hotel or two with blocked rooms I can finally share my wedding website! :o)

And here are a few pictures I took today....first Lexi watching her birdie friends. (we need to get them more bird food. I love our Lexi girl!! She is sooo cute!

Also, to keep Erin from buying cookies at the grocery store I promised I would make him some. It gave me a chance to use my new cookie scoop! Look at pretty and uniform they look! :o)

Needless to say we are having chicken and rice for dinner!

Now to work on my website and I think I'm going to go to a craft store...They are all around me. But I made this for Jen when she got married and I want to make something for Erin and I.

I just haven't found the right one yet...I found something online, but I'm so tired of paying shipping! :o) Plus if I find something now I can start working on it asap! Also, fingers crossed my flower paper gets here today! And tomorrow I think I'm ordering my favor boxes. :o) I found them for like .25 cents a box! WAY better than the .50 - .60 cents I was seeing them for.

honeymoon

So I think we have figured out our honeymoon. We are going to wait and go in December. It will give us time to save a bit of money and get through the holidays. My parents live in Austin, TX now so, the plan is to fly there on the 26th of December and stay with them a night or two. Then we can drive to Corpus Christi, it's about a 3 hour drive from Austin. We are thinking we can stay there from probably the 29th - 1st of January. Therefore, our honeymoon is an after Christmas vacation and we can visit my parents. If they are coming here in October who knows if they will make it here for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It'll be a two for one. Also, Erin hasn't been to Austin and neither of us have been to Corpus Christi. Plus I found a Residence Inn there at a good price...even for staying there on New Years Eve. Look at all the fun things there are to do : (it's all 10 - 15 miles from the hotel)

Activities
· Hiking
· Horseback riding (15 miles)
· Hunting
· Jet-skiing (10 miles)
· Jogging/fitness trail (10 miles)
· Kayaking (10 miles)
· Nature preserve, trail
· Sailing (10 miles)
· Scuba diving
· Snorkeling (10 miles)
· Sport Court® onsite
· Tennis
· Volleyball
· Water-skiing (10 miles)
Attractions & Landmarks
· Texas State Aquarium
· USS Lexington Museum
· Columbus Fleet
· Greyhound Racetrack
· Padre Island
· Naval Air Station
· Naval Station Ingleside
· TX A&M Univ., Corpus Christi
· Corpus Christi Marina
· Botanical Gardens

random

Well we went to the mall last night and I went to the Jessica McClintock and got a catalog and asked about when I should order and such. I found my dress in the catalog. I need to go in and try it on, along with a few others ones I did like. But I think I found it. :o) I can't wait till April to try on dresses, however, it will suck a little because I will be doing it alone. :-/ But I'll have the sales ppl take pics so I can send them to my mom and Jen.
We also went and looked at the tux store. I think we will go with a brown one and blue accents. It'll help tie everything together. It'll be from the Mens Warehouse and Tux.

I said I would mention some money saving ideas that we have.

~ First of all I'm going to contact Ohio States photography department and see if they have any photography students interested in a wedding job.
~ I'll probably order my flowers from Sams Club. This couple on Good Morning America saved money by getting theres at Costco.
~ and of course I'm making a ton of things myself!! I like that part! It's called control. :o)

I'll get to order my solid paper next week! I should get my flower paper next week too. I found this paper website yesterday. I love it. I can't wait to order the paper and the stickers so I can make fun ones for my favors. :o)

OH and we went to Best Buy while we were at the mall and I got my Pretty Woman dvd. I have it on VHS, I watch it whenever it's on tv. It's one of my favorite movies! Erin picked out Emperors New Groove. We are going to work on our Disney movie collection. The classics - Little Mermaid (my favorite, we both have red hair) Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Robin Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi...you get it...the classics! He told me to check EBay and well I'm bidding on a set of some...I hope I win! :o)

random

First, I just did a fun little wedding craft...I can't post it yet...I will after Jen gets her mail. :o)
Also, Jen posted this site on her blog. I found the perfect gifts for her and Brittany on it and well the price was right so, I bought them! :o) YAY, my first 'real' wedding purchase....well second I bought some paper online yesterday.
One last though, I can't wait to register for gifts!

My next blog is going to have some money saving ideas.... :o) My mom LOVES all of them.

my love

This one is for my amazing fiance Erin! He has been so great lately with my wedding focus. He lets me bombard him when he gets home from work with my magazine clippings and what I've made or what Jen has made. When he is playing games downstairs and I'm upstairs on the computer he pauses his game and comes up to see what I want him to see. He even listens to me while we are falling asleep at night....thats when I get my ideas! He always ooos and aaahhhs and gives me his honest opinions. He has just been soooo great! I'm even booking up all his Saturdays and he just says ok. :o) I just love him to death! I've been extra nice to him too....I'm not complaining about his hockey playing twice a week and I've been even giving him lots of game playing time too!!

7 MONTHS!!

Oh My Goodness....What have I done!
There is exactly 7 months until my wedding day! I'm going to plan and put this wedding together in 7 months!! I did do a lot of my idea hunting before hand and I have made a lot of decisions...now I am putting things into motion. WOW! I can do this though! I know I can. Just for some reason I thought I had a little more time... :o)

Tomorrow I'm paper shopping! :o) I'm going to Archivers at Easton Mall. I'm excited! I'm hopping there might be some good deals and then I could by most of my paper tomorrow. I need some for my seating table, table cards, invites, favors. I think that's it....I hope that's it.
I'm also stopping by Davids Bridal to see the dress I like for the bridesmaid up close. It's hard to tell online. That way I can let Jen and Brittany know what dress to get. :o)

Then Saturday Erin and I are going to pay the deposit and sign the contract at Confluence Park. We are also going to two hotels to see if we can block some rooms at a good price. October 10th happens to be an Ohio State football home game. UGH! I'm afraid rooms might fill up fast...but since the hotels are downtown I'm hoping not many people stay there. These fans are crazy! I'm sure they book years in advance!
We are also going to go to the mall. We are going to see about suit rentals and I'm going to go to the Jessica McClintock store and see how early I need to order my dress. So just some little errands. We might even look at wedding rings too! :-D

Thats about it....I just want to do everything NOW, but I know I can't. :o)

Martha Stewart

Thank goodness for Martha Stewart and her Wedding website!

Now that we have a place, and date....I really can plan this wedding. Make purchases, make favors, make plans! So I already had an account on Martha Stewart Weddings , so I found her checklist and downloaded her guest list organizer. It's just what I needed! The only thing I'm 'behind' on (thats according to her checklist and my wedding date) is finding a DJ/Band. But only behind by a few weeks.

And thank goodness for Jen! She already did this and is answering my never ending questions! I didn't realize how many I had until my parents said we will send a check! Oh my, oh my!

Well, I'm off the computer for a LONG time....well until tomorrow. I'm getting a headache from all this stuff. :o) But it's OK. I'm planning my wedding! YAY!!

Oh and in case you missed my last post. We are getting married on 10-10 of 2009!

~OCTOBER 10TH, 2009~

YAY!!!

NOW TO START THE NEVERENDING WEDDING LIST! :O)

Confluence Park

We fell in love with Confluence Park in Columbus, Ohio today. (we didn't even bother with the other venue) :o) Here are some of the pictures I took. Keep in mind that they are remodeling and changing out the carpet right now so it's not as pretty as it could be. Plus I can only imagine the view in October with all the changing leaves! My colors will be perfect! (Jen this place reminds me of your bridal shower venue) Hopefully by the end of next week I'll have a deposit made and can plunge full speed ahead with my planning!

Entrance

Ceremony area (Where the chairs end is

about the place that we would stand)

What the guests will see durring the ceremony

(besides me) :o)

When you walk into the reception

Head table and parents table area

View behind those tables

Guest Table area

View behind their tables

Another area of the room

This is whats along the wall where you walk in