Say Yes To The Dress

Everything went perfectly at my final dress fitting this afternoon 🙂

But before we get to that (I hope you all don’t mind) I wanted to share some pictures from today.

 

From my workout  this morning.  I promised I’d give a view of the sweat fest that was my speed workout this morning (apologies to anyone who is grossed out by that picture. You won’t be alone in your feelings of disgust I’m sure).

Don’t worry — we all can’t be this glamorous after a good workout.

 

Honest-To-God the largest zucchini I have ever seen in my life.   That picture of Gus behind the zuch is an 8 by 10…and is dwarfed by my new friend zuchinni.   We have a wonderful lady at work who has a great organic garden, and brings in the most ridiculous produce.  I have been intimidated by them to date, but today I decided zucchini bread and brownies sound delish, so I brought it home (please, any recipes you recommend, send my way.)

 

Zach and August sharing some afternoon kisses.  Love them.  Just because I thought it was cute.

Anyways…

 

Dress Fitting

I was actually pretty anxious going into my fitting tonight.  The dress has fit me perfectly in the bodice, but was extremely long in length, had layers from the fullness taken out, and really had no room for me to gain/lose any weight.

All things considered, I really didn’t have that much done to the dress in comparison to some stories I heard, but I had NO idea what to expect going to my fitting tonight.  Every other time I’ve stepped into the dress, it’s been far too long and hard to imagine being fit for my little body (I’m 5′ tall…tiny).

Today, I walked in with my beautiful shoes (I’m obsessed), and was prepared for anything.  In the end, the dress fit perfect, and I wouldn’t change a thing about the final product at this point.   I even took another big step and DESIGNED MY VEIL.  I had been stressing a little bit about what I was going to do, and just really wasn’t having any luck finding things in store or on etsy.  My amazing seemtress let me know that, if I was interested, I could give them specs and they could design my veil for me, for a great price.  I jumped on it, and totally took a leap of faith by doing so.  I’ll see the veil for the first time September 5 when I pick up the dress, but am confident that it will be exactly what I dreamt of.

I stayed strong, but during the fitting I did really miss having family or friends with me.  It was hard to be sitting there, staring at myself in the dress, for the first time, and not having anyone to share it with.

That’s OK — the wedding day is going to be that much more special as everyone will be seeing it all for the first time.

Everything fit great, the cut was perfect, I absolutely ADORE the bustle, and the veil was the final touch I needed.  I really could NOT be happier, and just continue to get more and more excited for the big day. . .

While I don’t have any pictures of the dress, I do have a pictures of my other favorite piece.

My something blue.

I swoon.

Tonight

The fitting was quick and simple as everything worked out well.  Afterwords, I met Zach at our favorite grocer, Sprouts.  We picked up groceries for the week, as well as dinner for the night and made our way to Zach’s favorite watering hole, Denver Brew Co.

I enjoyed another Ginger Ale

To wash down my spicy jalapeno chips and

pretty awesome strawberry salad.

It was another beautiful night in Denver, so it was nice to enjoy dinner outside.

Now, we’re back at home and relaxing for the night with our furbabies.  I think dessert is calling 🙂

Tomorrow:  More Wedding Fun!

Tomorrow morning we have our final walk through at our venue, Boettcher Mansion.  I can’t wait to walk through and really create the setting that we have dreamt up for our big day!  Once again, I’ll be back with an update and lots of pictures tomorrow! 🙂

Question of the Night:  What was your favorite part of wedding planning, whether it’s your own wedding or one that you were involved in.

The Art of Racing In The Rain — review

On my way home from Indianapolis a few weeks ago, I ended up getting saddled with a 3.5 hour delay.

Thankfully, I had just picked up The Art of Racing In the Rain by Garth Stein.

By the time I made it home to Denver, I was nearly halfway through the book.

Between a couple long bike rides on the stationary, and a few quiet evenings, I was able to finish the book within just over a week of returning.

Background on the book

The story follows Denny Swift, a semi-professional formula one driver,  and his family, all told through the perspective of the narrator Enzo, the family dog.

The story introduces us to Enzo as an old dog, very ill and prepared to be reincarnated as a human (as is his belief for all dogs when they pass, he saw it on TV! :).  He then brings us back through his life with Denny.  It’s unique story of the development of a family told through the unique lens of a dog!

Denny meets the love of his life, gets married, has a child, and progresses through early family life all while Enzo is a ,passive, but important family member.

The story tells of human challenges, set backs, illness, struggle, love, family and triumph, all through the lens of a dog.  While it may sound odd, I really enjoyed the unique narration and perspective within the novel.

My Thoughts

I actually loved this book.  I went into it expecting a Marley and Me tale, or something similar, but to be honest I didn’t get that at all while reading.

The book is very easy to read, due in part to the writing style as well as the fact that you just fall in love with the characters.  To see the love of a family through the eyes of a dog was great for me.  Dogs love unconditionally, and this quality was really put on the human members of the family as well, being told from Enzo’s perspective.

I was a bit concerned that the story would be a little out there, or that they would go overboard in humanizing Enzo, but while reading I felt the author actually struck a nice balance of human vs. dog characteristics.

I have been going through a lot with my own dog and his illness, so furbabies are a sensitive subject to me. I absolutely cried at a few points in the novel, but at the the same time, had my heart filled by the relationship between dog and family.

For dog loves (or even non dog lovers) I absolutely recommend The Art of Racing In the Rain!

Reminder:  IM SO EXCITED! FINAL DRESS FITTING IN JUST A FEW HOURS! Update to come!

It’s Ladies Night . . . And the Feeling’s Right

Furst off:  thanks for all the love and support about my amazing groom and upcoming wedding.  We really couldn’t be more excited and it makes me so happy to have so much love and support around!

Work was fairly uneventful yesterday afternoon and I was able to head home looking forward to a fun evening with some ladies.

But first:  I went home to say a quick hello to the family.

We ended up having some family time up in the loft before I headed to ladies night.  How adorable is my family?  I apologize for August giving us her backside…but really, she does what she wants.

Ladies Night

My friend, a colleague from SLU and fellow Denver-ite now, hosted a ladies night full of good food and good times :).

I’m still a little weary about telling everyone about the blog, especially strangers…so I was a little apprehensive about whipping out the camera and didn’t take any pictures of the ladies, but did get some pictures of the grub.

Cheese + chips and crackers (my favorite!) were served as the hostess worked on the main dishes for the evening

Appetizers were served with an assortment of wines, that we each brought along with us as our contributions to dinner.

(a few of these glasses may or may not have been enjoyed through out the evening).

Dinner was pulled pork, with side salad, baked potatoes, fresh sprouts bread, and steamed beans.  Delish.

And of course, no ladies night is complete without a dessert.

While not pretty at all, the dessert was chocolate silk pie and key lime pie.  (please please excuse the picture.  I didn’t care what it looked like at this point..I just wanted it in my belly!)

After dessert, we all said our goodbyes and headed home (it is a school night after all).

When I got home, I was greeted by a wonderful surprise

Zach hung out beautiful Pottery Barn clock and second wine shelf.   Honestly — do I not Have The Best Groom Ever?

I made Zach some dessert — (and if we’re being honest…I gobbled up a few spoonfuls of the dough myself.  That stuff is AMAZING) and we wrapped up the night with some Colbert and Oliver (John Stewart stand in).

This Morning/Workout

On tap this morning was a speed workout.

I am beyond proud of myself for getting out of the gym and pushing a great run outdoors.  I absolutely plan on integrating more outdoor runs — I think I need to for my training, but this morning I was craving my favorite treadmill interval workout.

Workout of the Day – Speed Work 45 minutes

• 10 minutes steady warm up run (6.2-6.4)
• 10 minutes intervals of 9.0 one minute, 4.1 one minute
• 10 minutes intervals 9.1 one minute, 6.0 one minute
• 10 minutes steady cool down run 6.1-6.5
• 5 minutes incline walking @ 8% 3.5-3.8

total: 4.76 miles

I have pictures, but forgot the cord…so you’re spared the sweaty goodness.  Seriously, this was a TOUGH workout…when I was finished I went back upstairs and got some water from the fridge.  Zach came up to give me a hug and touched my back, then immediately recoiled.  Good thing he doesn’t mind a gross, sweaty girl!

 

Tonight — FINAL WEDDING DRESS FITTING

Tonight is my final fitting for my wedding dress (as long as everything is good!).  I can’t wait, I’m so excited to see the dress and again and feel like a bride 🙂

I’ll be back tonight to let you know how it goes!

 

Question for the day: What was your last ladies/boys night?