busygirl

sending thanks with a lot of love.

I'm getting married.  In TWO days.

Must keep breathing.

And since I still cannot reveal all my little secret details, I do want to thank some people, places and things for their help along the way in this planning process.  As wonderful as it was, I'm GREATLY looking forward to stepping down from my bride pedestal and taking a backseat as I help my future-sister-in-law Megan get planning on her big day.

 
THANK YOU TO...Google.  You let me put labels on my emails.  And your calendar sends me reminders.  Clutch.

THANK YOU TO...The Megans.  Both of my future-sister-in-laws, who are pretty much my best friends.  Thank you for always telling me that I'm pretty.  Because I believe you when you say it.  Thank you for telling me that I'm sometimes a bit of a mess.  Cause it's normally true.  For always knowing the right thing to say when I am seething mad about yet another thing that someone said/did.  Thank you for sharing my special day and for letting me share yours (both past and future!).  Also, here is an advanced thank you for helping me pee.  Some things just mean a lot :)

THANK YOU TO...Weddingbee.com.  Without you, most of our DIY projects would not exist.  Inspiration is unending on your wedding boards.  And I like looking at pretty dresses, lots and lots of dresses.

THANK YOU TO...my other fabulous 'maids, Miss MOH Amy, Wren and Mel.  You girls have made me laugh through all of this and have helped so much with the planning!  Thank you for the many, many projects you helped with, and for your amazing sense of style, for inspiration boards, bubble ribbon tying (my fingers hurt), movie nights and every little detail.  Also, to Miss Amy, thank you for completely mocking how I dance.  And for indulging my Lady Gaga obsession.  You make me laugh. 

THANK YOU TO...Starbucks.  Taco Bell.  Diet Coke.  Wendy's.  Jack Daniel's.  And whoever invented spaghetti.  You are all I have consumed for the past month.  Can we say wedding diet fail?

THANK YOU TO...the male portion of the bridal party, who has put up with my many, many rambling emails.  I know you didn't actually read them, but thank you for humoring me and letting me think you did. 

THANK YOU TO...NCIS.  Without you, there would be no handwritten addresses on our invites.  Our table numbers would have been printed sheets of paper.  All of my design work would have fallen by the wayside.  You saved me with your ruggedly handsome Tony and quirky Abby.  With your plots and schemes and the creation of a tv show that you can 'watch' without having to actually look at the screen.  Oh yes, NCIS, there is no ending of my love for you.

THANK YOU TO...the parentals.  Who have housed our stuff, both wedding and moving related.  Who have watched our puppy.  Fed us.  Humored us.  And have pretty much gone along with most of our crazy ideas.  Although I am sad to say we will not be arriving via helicopter nor hubercraft.

THANK YOU TO...the World Cup.  For scheduling yourself around our wedding.  And for letting players take their shirts off.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THANK YOU TO...Adam.  Without you (and this wonderful shiny ring on my finger), Friday would not be a reality.  I'm excited to see you all James-Bond-like in your suit.  Thank you for cutting your hair the way I like it and for staying up many, many late nights finishing our DIY disasters.  Thank you for standing up for me, for being there to laugh and joke with through this whole process, and for just generally being you.  How bout I meet you at the altar?  Say, 4:30pm on Friday?  I'll be the one in white.

miscellany monday: this week.

1. I'm getting married this week.  And here I am sitting at work like it's any other normal week.

2. Puppy got his hairs cut this weekend.  Looking pretty baller for the wedding now.

 

3. US soccer?  Really now.  Disappointed.  It's like we didn't even show up to the game.  Oh well, better luck in the next four years.

4. Okay other Ohioans, did anyone else see that sky last night?  It was a torrential downpour, crazy lightning and the sky was bright orange and yellow.  At 9:30pm.  And not in the direction of where the sun sets.  Weird.  It felt like something out of a movie.  I was waiting for the alien spacecraft to appear.

 (sorry for the crackberry-while-driving-in-the-freakishly-weird-storm photo)

5. I have water stuck in my ear.  It sounds like the ocean and is driving me nuts.

6. My family plays this game called furniture ball where we take a piece of my sister's old dresser and try to hit this little red ball over the house.  I'm terrible at it, but I did get it over at least once on Friday.  Not without wiffing about eight times before that hit.

7. I am so tempted to post photos of some of our wedding plans right now.  But I won't.  I can't wait for next week though - you're all going to be photo-shocked.

...and counting.

Exactly ONE week from RIGHT NOW, this will be me...

eeeeekk!!!!! :)

fashion friday: the bridal edition.

My mom went to pick up my wedding dress yesterday.  It's completely finished, perfectly altered, cleaned and pressed.  And now it's hanging in the closet, just taunting me.

And the worst part?  Because it's summer we had to remove it from the heavy-duty dress bag because the fabric will 'wilt'.  So there she is, out in the open, shining in all her glory.

So tempting.  Must. Not. Play. Dress. Up.

So to keep my mind off of my gorgeous dress, I've been scouring weddingbee looking at others.  No worries, I'm not cheating!  I'm totally and completely in L-O-V-E with my gown and while I'm finding others that are striking my fancy, there's really no competition.  Not to mention I cannot justify spending a small fortune on some of these gowns, no matter how much I drool over them.

My gown is designed by Emerald Couturiers, it is so unbelievably perfect but it surprises me because I don't think there are any other gowns of theirs that I even remotely like.  Although I suppose that most bridal designers put forth a mix of styles, so you're bound to find something you hate.  And of course, something you love.

For instance, this Allure ballgown is stunning.  Simplicity and elegance wrapped into one.

Or this Mori Lee ballgown - it has pockets!  And in my book, that rocks.

If we were having a beach wedding, I would have been sure to track down this Amy Michelson Gracegown.  I thought the front was gorgeous when I saw it, so soft, pretty and feminine.  But the back is what wins me over every time.  I've seen so many couture photo shoots with this dress that are unbelievable.  Miles of chiffon fabric.

Swoon.  What is it about Amy Michelson and me?  Her Love Me Tender gown's hint of playfulness under the skirt had me at hello.

Back to another ballgown, surprisingly, since my dress is not technically a 'ballgown'.  Must be those fairy tale fantasies of mine.  This Justin Alexander gown is so soft and dramatic at the same time.

Had I had an unlimited budget, ah every brides dream, to completely blow on a dress, I would have to say that this Lazaro gown would have been one of my top contenders.  I first saw it on 'Say Yes to the Dress' and have been in love ever since.  It had everything element I wanted: simple, modern, classic, elegant.  And RUFFLES.  Which was not a necessity in my dress search but I love how they add to this Lazaro gown.  Only problem?  It's strapless, something I was not crazy about since I like to um, boogie, a lot.

Isn't she gorgeous though?  And no, I'm talking about Randy :)

Ah but for those of us with a more, um, limited bank account, perhaps one of David's Bridal's more mainstream dresses would fit the bill.

And finally, what I've determined is THE MOST POPULAR DRESS OF 2010 (according to my very scientific method of scouring weddingbee from-end-to-end).  A dress that to be honest, other than the 1-strap, doesn't particularly interest me, but she must have something going on for her to be gracing brides everywhere.  The Maggie Sottero Fiorella.

And that concludes this edition of Nicole-is-obsessed-with-weddingbee-dot-com.

things i love thursday.

poms of delight.

pampering a la mode.

 

confection perfection.

 

me in threes.

tagged.  so here are my threes:

 

3 Names I go by:
Nicole

Coley

Jeannie

 

3 Places I have been:
Spain

Switzerland

Germany

 

3 Favorite Drinks:
McDonald's fountain Diet Coke

Starbucks Mocha Light Frappucino

Apfelschorle (carbonated apple juice)

 

 

3 Jobs I have had:

lifeguard for many a years

professional pizza artist at donato's

pricing this and that

 

 
3 TV Shows I watch:
burn notice

ncis

two and a half men

 

3 Places I would like to visit:
Australia
Greece

Brazil

 

 

3 Fave retro TV shows:

Golden Girls (sorry, retro to me is the 90's)

Saved by the Bell

90210

 

3 Places I have lived:
Vernon, Connecticut

Mission Viego, California

 
  

Londonderry, New Hampshire

 

3 favorite dishes:
Spaghetti

Sticky Chicken (honey teriyaki chicken)

tacos

(what can I say, I'm a plain food girl)

3 things I am looking forward to:
getting married in NINE days!!!

seeing ALL of my family in the next few weeks

the dog getting a haircut, he's shedding like crazy

 

3 People I am tagging:

miss katymary

 

miss chelsea

Miss Sarah

   

yesterday and today.

Yesterday:

- I left my wallet at home, but luckily checked my purse before walking into Target so I wasn't tempted to buy anything.

- Leaving my wallet meant that I could not purchase what I really needed to get at Target.

- I found a brand new red sharpie in my desk.  Score.

- I struggled with my journal entry.  I'm doing the 30-day journal challenge from iheartrunwithsissors.  Yesterday's prompt was about collections.  I don't really collect anything except dog hair on my clothes.

- They were talking about that dang oil spill again on the radio.  And how we should just send down a truckload of feminine products to sop it up.  I find that humorous.

- I went to bed at 7:20pm.  That's right.  The sun was still shining bright.  And I was falling asleep to the delicious sound of Johnny Depp's voice.  Oh Jack Sparrow...

Today:

- I'm in love with all things royal blue.

- I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of Adam's wedding present!  According to Amazon it will be on my doorstep today.

- My right pinky hurts.

- I switched from classic to french roast coffee.  I'm pleased with the results.

- This morning's radio oil spill update consisted of an in-depth discussion of the feasibility of using BP Oil as tanning oil.  Hey, it's free, right?

- It's not even 8am and I'm already covered with glitter.

- Spell check does not recognize Johnny Depp as a word.  Ridiculous.

- I just discovered that I can recline my office chair.  My day just got tremendously better.

wordless wednesday: hellloooo in there!

the great oil spill of 2010.

No.  Not the one in the gulf.

The one in my KITCHEN.

 
Oh yes, this brilliant chef-extraordinaire knocked over a nearly-full bottle of olive oil last night while preparing a small feast for her fiance.  Unfortunately it was right after the wine kicked in, so my reaction time was less than desirable.  Which means about half of the bottle did reach the counter surface, seeping up under the microwave, our treasured rock-salt grinder and spice rack.

It took me nearly half an hour to clean up.  Do you know how HARD it is to clean up oil?  Ridiculous.

But I did it, and no animals were harmed in the great oil spill of 2010.

But now I'm asking, what the eff are those BP guys doing?  If lowly me can clean up my spill, can't you do something about yours?

my home is...

A- My AIR CONDITIONER is set on: Um? I'm not even sure where the air conditioner button thingy is.  That's all Adam.

B- My BEDROOM theme is: completely modern.  Gray, turquoise and bright yellow!

C- The CAR in the garage is: a gray 2007 Nissan Altima.  My side of the garage hasn't been cleared yet due to our ever-growing donate pile.  Once it is then my sporty little silver 2009 Scion TC will fit right in :)

D- My DESK looks: a stolen beer pong table from an OSU dorm room.  Oh wait...

E- The EXACT time I wake up daily is: 5:14am

F- The FIRST thing I wash in the shower is: my hair...I always follow the same rountine.  Gosh I'm predictable.

G- My GARAGE is filled with: tools, donations, moving boxes and random kitchen appliances that we don't use.

H- My HOME is: a 2 bedroom ranch apartment.

I- If you peeked INSIDE my bathroom you'd see: hm, well in one there would be a pile of laundry hiding in the tub behind the shower curtain.  In the other, you'd see the remains of my rushed morning since I didn't want to wake up - contact solution, spilled foundation, toothbrush still out.

J- My favorite JUICE is: orange by far.  Or diluted apple juice.

K- The best part of my KITCHEN is: That it's open and I can watch tv while I cook.

L- The LAST person who visited my home was: Adam's mom!  For a quick lunch while we hashed out some wedding plans.

M- The last piece of MAIL for me was: a reminder that my Cooking Light subscription is going to expire in 14 months!  I better hurry and renew...

N- My NEIGHBORS think I'm: One thinks I'm a crazy dog person...it's true.  The other loves that we love soccer.  So he must think we're normal.

O- If you OPENED my fridge you'd see: 6 cases of pop.  All regular, so all not mine.  And a ridiculous amount of tomatoes.

P- My last house PARTY was: well, technically Adam's bachelor party, though I quickly left for that one.  Before that, a memorial day cookout.

Q- A QUICK meal I like to fix is: Spaghetti.  My go-to.  It never fails me.

R- My favorite ROOM of the house is: My bedroom, it's relaxing.

S- The SHAMPOO brand I use is: I try to mix it up, currently it's Herbal Essences, the volume edition.

T- My largest TELEVISION is: right now the 40" in the living room, but we'll be getting a 50" by the end of this year

U- UNDER my bed you will find: probaby a handful of bobby pins and possibly a dog toy or ten.

V- The last time I VACUUMED was: another one of Adam's jobs...I think last week?

W- Looking out my WINDOW I see: out the front? Our across the street neighbors.  Out the back, a large yard and a fence. 

X- I wish I had X-TRA: money because I would love to have a REAL couch...not our trash-picked one with the slipcover.

Y- My YARD is: small but adequate.

Z- ZZZZZZZ My bedtime is: ha, lately 9pm because I can't stay awake any longer. Must start sleeping again soon...