Another great weekend and hopefully many more to come!

This past weekend started very well! On Friday afternoon my mom joined me in the city to go wedding dress shopping...again. This is the 4th time I've been "dress shopping," and even though it can be fun, mostly it's just exhausting and fuels more confusion. Which style is better? will my stomach look big? Do I need a sash? WHY AM I WEARING A WHITE DRESS?!!!! But this friday, we went down to Saeyoung Vu, a small shop down on Mulberry and Spring streets. I picked my bridesmaid dresses from here, but never really looked at their bridal collection, until a stunning dress caught my eye in this months Martha Stewart Weddings and to my surprise (thanks to great PR efforts on their part) it was a Saeyoung Vu dress!

I tried on 4 dresses and 2 of them were fantastic! Problem...they were both so different, but so fabulous and I couldn't choose. So what does a girl do when a problem like this presents itself... She buys both! So I'm very excited to say that I now have 2 gorgeous wedding dresses! One for the ceremony, it's stunning white and flowy and very goddess-like, and another for the party, very old hollywood and sexy...perfect for a fabulous reception! My mom said it best to the sales girl..."My family is insane!" But in the end, she agreed this was the best thing to do.

From there we headed out to Jersey to get ready for the Hunt! I'm sure some of you are familiar with the hunt, but for those of you who have NO idea, this is a day long event, consisting of horse racing and ultimately raising a considerable amount of money for a medical center. It's a blast and people plan for a full year. Basically, you get up early, put on your "hunt like clothing," and head out to the fields for drinking and eating. This year, the sun decided to come out about an hour after we got there and after a while, you didn't even notice the knee high mudd...it was simply wonderful!

After the Hunt, we drove back into the city to get ready for a night of Halloween parties! I have to say, I really thought I was going to want to just sleep, but instead I got all dresses up as a sexy devil and Ken as a Priest. It was a very fun night of awesome costumes, lot's of drinks and fun people. Halloween in the city can be super fun or really suck and this year was great! Oh...on a side note, Halloween is such a liberating day for women...seriously, all those inner yearnings to get all whored out and show the world your "goods" just bubble to the surface and the city is just bursting with hot girls! I never see so many hot ladies as I do on Halloween! Good job women of NYC!

Sunday morning was perfect. Made breakfast...my first attempt to actuallu make bacon on a skillet...yuck! what a mess! I prefer the microwave kind...no mess. But, Ken and I ate a nice breakfast together, read the paper, cirlced open houses, laid in bed, showered and then finally decided to go look at apartments. We saw some interesting places...the thing is, ALL NYC apartments have something wrong with them. If they are big with great closets, then the bathroom is tiny and there's NO kitchen. If they have awesome kitchens, then the bedrooms are tiny...ALways something! We did see this amazing 2 bedroom on 35th and lex...seriosly HUGE apt, great price, but needs work...a lot of work. I don't know, it's really tough to try to plan your life for the next 5-10 years around moving. I feel like we want to find a place where we can somehow start a family in the next 3 years and not be on top of each other every second we're home. This is tough in New York no matter how much money you have, because if you can afford a million dollar apt, then why not a $1.5 million dollar one...and then why not $2? It always seems as though the next step isn't that far away, but it actually really is...

ok, so that was the wonderful weekend...to some it might sound tiring, but to me it was one of the best:)

Tomorrow we're off to Budapest for 4 days! Can't wait!

We've checked off everything on the 9-12 month part...

Of the wedding checklist, that is. I'm very proud of us and super excited! I'm pretty sure we've made a decision on music, which was what we thought was going to be the toughest thing to do. Turns out we met with two great companies and we decided to go with the first one. We're going with a dj/band concept and these guys are incredible! This wedding is going to be one rockin party!

We also received our decor proposal and wow...amazing. I could actually see the entire wedding unfolding before my eyes and I started to get very excited! There's so much going on with seating, lot's of different types of tables, lounges, pillows...it's just so cool. The food is amazing and the flowers...uhmmm...let's just say it's very zen, but with a bang. Now we just have to pick our wedding cake, which you know what...as much as I thought this process was going to be painful, I bet it's going to be one of the most fun. Can we say TASTING!!! Trying to decide between chocolate and hazelnut and buttercream and ganache...well...there could be harder decisions in life:)

So back to the checklist. So far:
-picked the venue
-picked the food
-picked the music
-picked the decor (flowers, tables, settings...)
-picked the bridal party and their dresses
-down to 2 wedding dresses (ok, so that's not done, but damn close to it!)
-narrowed the honeymoon choices
-discussed transportation
-discussed invites and save the dates
-down to a few photographers

I think we're in good shape! I mean, the wedding isn't till NEXT October...

more to come as always...

Fried Chicken, fried Shrimp, fried catfish, French fries...

And I could go on...and on...and on... I was in the south this weekend. When I say "the south," I am specifically talking about New Orleans, LA and Gulf Port, MS. I'd say this was a good "heart of the south" weekend.

I'm the true definition of a notherner. I really don't like fried foods, not because it doesn't taste good, but my poor stomach suffers to such an extreme level when I consume any of the above listed items, that it's just not worth it. I talk fast. "Yeuewwww Taaaalk Vieerrry faaast," as one lovely southern woman from Mississippi pointed out to me as I tried to expidite my spa tab. Yes, yes I do. I like to say what I have to say and then move on with my life...but thanks for pointing that out. I wear my hair not poofed. I do not create volume when it is not needed. I don't wear white ked sneakers. I lOVE sushi, steamed foods, tofu, Thai food and Indian food. I do NOT wear tight rolled jeans and "I love Disney world" t-shirts. Seriously, some of ths shit we saw...there are no words.

It's a different world down there,but one thing remains true...the people are as nice as can be!

Even the waitress at Waffle House was chipper and nice. Let me describe Waffle House...Imagine a McDonalds with no golden arches and waitress service. Then change all the food to waffles, sausage, eggs and other bad for you fried stuff. Then imagine the tab being something like $10 for two...and you have Waffle House. In Mississippi there's one every two miles.

We had a very interesting weekend down south. New Orleans is a great city...full of great antiques, lot's of alcohol and pretty buildings. But it's very sad to be there. I can't say I felt the same energy as I felt pre-Katrina. People are sad and talk constantly about how their lives were ruined and you can't help but feel so bad for them. They are 100% justified in how they feel. Here we are more than a year later and I'd say over 60% of the homes we saw, had people living in trailers on the front lawn! It's not pretty anymore and is lacking that incredible spark that used to light up that city.

Gulf Port...wow...there's nothing left. driving along the coast all you see are empty shells of hotels and beach resorts, beach bars and of course...waffle houses. And when I say nothing...I mean Nothing!

I started to feel numb to what I saw. You see so much devastation and after a while, those FEMA trailers start to look welcoming. I arrived back in New Orleans after a few days in Gulf Port and was like, "oh wow, it's so much better here." BUT IT'S NOT! it's just THAT bad there. I could go on and on...

ANyway, to sum it up. The South: food sucks, people are funny, they are left with nothing, but through it all they are still incredibly nice and welcoming.

A little change in topic... just because.

SO I've been trying to find a great pair of flat boots for a while now...Last year I purchased a fabulous pair of very high Frye boots that I still love, but I'm looking for the flat dream boot this season.

Last weekend I ordered a nice pair of black riding style boots from JCrew...very cute, but when I got them I noticed that they are HUGE in the ankle area and calf. I'm just not sure if this is the look I'm going for. I'm not exactly equestrian anymore...Maybe when I wasd 13, but at 26 I consider myself a little more chic. Although, they are very pretty boots and I've seen women on the street who can really pull this horse look off well!

So then I went searching and I found these two boots that I now have a huge crush on! This always happens to me! WHy why why do I go looking!!! I should know by now that if I start searching I'll inevitably end up at Saks or Barneys, and that is BAD.

Anyway, these are sexy, stunning, comforting and just so pretty all in one.
These are both Bottega Veneta and I might just have to go try them on this weekend...ugh...so bad!

WE FOUND IT!!!!

I'm excited to announce that we have found a venue for our wedding!!! We will be getting married and having a fabulous reception at...wait for it...wait for it...The W Hotel on 49th and Lexington!

I knew the moment I walked in today, and felt it so strong as I walked through all the rooms. I even like the color of their carpeting! I love the chocolate brown leather chairs, the awesome lounge furniture, the grass everywhere, the bamboo in the hallways and smell in the air. It is exactly what I had imagined. It's sexy, chic and warm all at the same time:)

And...it's in the city, making it so easy for my bridal party and family to move around for pictures! It also makes life easy for people who live in the city, which is about 30% of our guests...and the rest of the people can stay at the W if they'd like to go home to Jersey, which is where most of them are from.

I had so much running through my head as I sat there and spoke to Jill, the fabulous in house event person. Shawn was also spitting out idea after idea and we were just going with it! SO MUCH FUN!

Now, we just have to finalize the food and do a tasting and we'll be all set with the very important stuff...oh wait, hmmm...rrrright...everything is important! hehehe whatever, it'll get done and be great!

Today was a very positive day all around. Found a place for my wedding, picked up some new clients...good day, good day.

back in the running

West side Loft is back in the running...how? I don't know, but it is...hey, they had really pretty light fixtures, that's gotta be worth something right?

WIll keep you posted...

Engagement parties are very fun!

This past saturday we celebrated our engagement with ALL of our family members...It might as well have been a small wedding, because there were a lot of people there all wanting to take pictures and say hi and congratulate us! We had a blast:)

It's simply amazing to me how well our families get along. There was so much happiness and positive energy in the room, you could feel it! We saw family friends that flew in from out west, family that we NEVER see on a normal basis and hung out with family that we love to see all the time...It's so hard to explain, but it felt so good.

Ken and I were running around all night talking to people about how we met, our wedding that is SLOWLY taking shape, our lives and our plans for the future. I was exhausted by the end of the night and I didn't have a single drink and barely ate something...IF this is any sign of what the wedding will be like, damn! I better get a burger before I put my dress on and have a few shots! THIS is why i want to have an after-party...so I can take off my dress, slip into something very cute and dance, drink and get a little nutty!

By the time we got home and the remaining guest left our house after late night, we were beyong tired...but not too tired to open presents!!! We got some amazing gifts, which is so surprising to me, because we were not expecting gifts for our engagement! But we got such nice things off our registry and people were very generous. It was so sad to leave all of our nice new stuff at home, but we'll see it again soon:)

I could always visualize our lives together, that was never a problem, but NOW I can fully see it! I just can't wait to find our apt and to get married and just start our lives together...I mean, we basically don't exist without each other on a daily basis...only when we go back to our own apts...which is sad because I like a good night kiss...Soon enough we'll be decorating our apt and "taking up too much of the bed." But now I'm more pumped than ever before:)