The story of a brother. And a really small world.

As if it wasnt strange enough to find out my father lives in my city...it gets stranger.

I have a half brother. From my father's side. I haven't seen him in about ten years since our father used to pick us up on the weekends.

My grandma informed me recently that he works at a grocery store about a mile from my house. My father ran into him one day there.

Coincidently, Melissa shops at that store all the time. I told her to be on the lookout for a kid with red hair and freckles named Stephen. I had even gone a couple times with no luck. I brought it up again yesterday to her and she says, "Well there's a guy who goes to my church named Stephen who works at that store." Um what?! Does he have red hair?..yes. And freckles?..yes. You know my brother?! And you've been holding out on me!! She totally never made the connection.

Troy also happens to be good friends with him and called him right away and he was super excited. We arranged to have dinner tonight and it was great! We relived old memories and caught up on the last ten-ish years. We had a really great time and it's so weird to be back in contact as adults with my BROTHER!

Do we look alike? :)



What a small world!

MRS.!

I'm MARRIED! Feel free to call me Mrs. H from now on :)

We are enjoying Maui, but here's a photo to hold you over until we get back.



It rained on our wedding day, but it was still more fabulous than I could have ever imagined. I'll tell you about it soon!! Love!!

Surprises!

I have to make this quick because my list of things to do is a MILE long. Okay, maybe just two pages typed, 10 point font, but it FEELS like a mile long. With only two weeks and one day left, I am a busy, busy girl. No one told me my list would grow instead of shrink so close to the wedding.

Anyway, yesterday at work my coworkers threw me a surprise party. I don't have the pictures uploaded yet (add that to the list..), but it was AMAZING. I can't believe all the love. I had no idea any of this was planned and when I walked in the door my cubicle was COVERED in balloons, streamers, congratulations banners, you name it. For lunch we had a Hawaiian themed shower and played a couple games. It was put together so well and I was completely surprised by it all. I feel so lucky to have such amazing coworkers. I'll definitely post photos as soon as I get them up, but I have one from my phone:



The next surprised happened at about 3:00 a.m. Earlier in September, I entered a contest to win a pair of Rainbow sandals. Rainbows are huge here and they are the most comfortable sandals I've ever worn. For my wedding, I'll be sporting a white pair with rhinestones that say "I Do" and "10.17". The contest was to submit your best Rainbow sandals story along with a photo, so of course I chose a photo of my wedding shoes. They started posting winners on Facebook at about 11:00 p.m. last night and by the 7th winner I could NOT keep my eyes open any longer. When Dex woke up itching like crazy at 3:00 a.m., I decided to check the last of the winners. I didn't really think I'd win, but there was always slight hope. Sure enough, I was winner #9!! I am so freaking excited! I never win anything, so this is huge! Not to mention, a pair of Rainbows costs $50! What a pleasant surprise! Here's the photo I posted:



Anywho, now I'm off to tackle that wedding list....

I'm getting MARRIED in two weeks!!!!!!!!! :)

The most devastating thing ever happened to me today. God, I'm such a drama queen. Anyway. I learned today that CANNED pumpkin is SEASONAL. Um, what? Says who? I mean, really. It's canned for goodness sakes. How the heck does it have to be seasonal? And besides that, isn't it close enough to fall that it should be on shelves by now? Apparently the answer is NO. I'm so sad. I went to the store this morning after getting everything I need ready for pumpkin mousse, only to find out they didn't have any! I then called about 6 different stores (even specialty stores) to get some freaking pumpkin...and nothing. This is horrible! I love me some pumpkin and when I want it..I want it now! So sad. I did find some organic pumpkin on Amazon, but everyone complains of dented cans (to the point you can't open it), so I'm hesitant. What to do...what to do.

Invites are OUT! I've already gotten tons of great compliments on them..awesome!

My wedding band and engagement ring will be delivered to my work TOMORROW. SO FREAKING EXCITED! I've been without my ring for far too long.

Tomorrow is shaping up to be an awesome day. An old co-worker is stopping by, ice cream social at our building = free ice cream!, celebrating the August birthdays in office, so MORE junk food in the form of cupcakes, AND I might just make Andrew take me on a date to cap the evening off. Loving it.

We have netflix and it's amazing. I had it before, but never really got into it because I'm NOT a movie person. Now that they have instant streaming and all kinds of TV shows, I'm totally loving it. We have the Wii set up in the bedroom and the PS3 set up in the living room. Not to mention there is also the app for iphone with instant streaming. Our new favorite shows are Dexter and Weeds. Anyone else a fan?

Funny thing about netflix. We were supposed to cancel cable and just have netflix. I totally chickened out. So now we've got both! However, I did call and get our bill lowered, plus we sent one dvr box back..so that's how I'm justifying it.

52 days to the wedding. Today we decided we're doing a "Faux-to Booth." Should be something fun for everyone and we'll have great photos when it's over.

FYI

I mailed my engagement ring back today. To have my wedding band made. Umm...nearly had a panic attack. My hands were shaking. I've been putting it off for over two weeks. I mean, how do you just hand over thousands of dollars of meaningful jewelry to some random stranger? Crazypants! I was tempted to fly up to San Francisco to hand it over myself. But that just wasn't possible. Happy thoughts it makes it there! At least it's insured.

(Naked) fingers crossed!!

A titanium band.

Andrew decided a while back that he wanted a titanium wedding band. It is especially meaningful, as it relates to his line of work (he is a Metallurgist working with titanium and aluminum).

I scoured the internet looking for all kinds of different titanium bands.

I found rings with wood in them. I found rings with colored titanium. I found rings with titanium and other metals in them. I found rings with different techniques used to make them look different. Who would have thought you can do so many things with titanium?!

But ultimately, Andrew decided he just wanted a plain titanium band with stone finish. Choosing his ring was a MUCH simpler process than mine has been.



I also had it engraved with a personal little saying that I’m not going to bother explaining because it’s THAT cheesy and only makes sense to us!



I then decided I was going to buy myself one as well. I plan to wear it to the beach and places I wouldn’t otherwise wear my ring. It’ll also be nice for when I send my engagement ring in (this week!) to have my wedding band made.



Titanium Knights on Etsy did a fantastic job creating both of our rings and we love them! They are also super affordable and had great turnaround time! I highly recommend them if you are looking for a titanium band.

Designing my wedding band.

In case you need a refresher, this is what my engagement ring looks like:



This made things slightly more difficult when deciding on a wedding band, as we couldn't just buy any straight band. So off to the internet I went searching. I found some things I loved…and some things I really didn't love.

I emailed Brilliant Earth and inquired about a custom band. They emailed back with photos of "the most perfect compliment to my engagement ring." It was the ring I had seen the night before and told Andrew how much I disliked it and if that was the only option, I'd opt for a plain band sans gemstones.



I hate to say anything bad about it because someone out there clearly likes it, but really, truly, not my style. AT ALL.

I returned the email with photos of what I was really looking for. I sent photos of straight bands I liked, that just needed to be curved. That's all, just a little curve. I sent things like this:



I also sent a photo of a ring I found on their site because I loved, loved, loved the color of the stone. Doesn't it look AQUA to you??



Apparently it's called a "seafoam green" sapphire.

I then got an email back with the TRULY most perfect compliment to my band and I am so excited they had exactly what I was looking for:



They also sent me photos of some beautiful seafoam green sapphires:



Unfortunately, they were REALLY green. Like, green green. As in, not aqua. Which means, not really what I was looking for.

I hated to email them back after all that and tell them it's not quite what I had in mind, but I had to. I just didn't see myself wearing a green band for the rest of my life.

So then I decided on Aquamarine. Andrew's birthstone is aquamarine, so it has some significance. Plus, I think it's pretty. They found some beautiful aquamarines, so my band will be alternating aquamarines with white sapphires. The little pretties:





I seriously cannot wait to get my band! The only bummer is I have to send in my engagement ring so they can fit the band to match the engagement ring exactly.

Fortunately, I'm prepared, as when I bought Andrew's wedding band, I bought one for myself that kind of matches. It'll be my stand-in ring for times like this, or when we go to the beach/pool/etc.

Am I the only person who doesn't wear their ring 24/7? It seems like everyone I talk to thinks I'm crazy because I take my ring off to shower, sleep, go to the beach/pool, etc. I just like to keep it CLEAN!

Whew. I'm glad I didn't have to go through this whole process with my engagement ring!

I'll post photos of Andrew's ring soon!

Another reason I love California.

I am currently laying on the beach (iPhone secure in a ziplock bag, haha) and all the sudden I notice a fin about 50 feet out in the water. Then I notice another, and another. Three dolphins showing off for everyone super close to shore.

I wish I had my real camera. It was SO cool.

I live where I live. Especially on days like this.

Californiaversary

We have officially been living in California for one year.

Over the past year, we have:

Lived with some awesome people (and dogs). I can't even begin to express how thankful we are for my aunt and uncle opening up their home to us. I have no idea what we would have done without them. We had some pretty great times and I think Andrew formed a really great bond with my uncle.

Spent a lot of time with my family. From BBQs to birthdays, we've caught up on missed time.

Got engaged! Pretty amazing, for obvious reasons. I cannot wait to marry my best friend and partner in crime.

Moved into our own apartment. Pretty neat because I had never lived on my own in California. I love the little home we have built.

Celebrated Dexter's first birthday. I can't picture our lives without him anymore. He brings so much entertainment to our lives. I love that little boy like crazy :)

Bought a new car. Which would be a lot more exciting if we didn't just drop $1200 on repairs this afternoon. We do love the little silver thing, though.

Started careers! Pretty huge. Andy as a Metallurgist and myself as a Legal Secretary.

Made multiple drives up and down the coast of California. Nothing better than a sunny drive down PCH!

Made new friends and spent time with old ones.

Gone to quite a few Angels/Tigers baseball games. A split house, indeed.

Visited every store that was nowhere near in Michigan. And lots of malls! I've spent much money since our return!


Sometimes life isn't always rainbows, but I can't say I have a ton to complain about.

The Rejects.

Dress shopping was actually a lot more fun than I imagined. Us larger girls are definitely afraid of the Bridal Size. It’s really not as bad as it seems, though.

So here are the Rejects:

This dress was pretty and looked decent around the waist, but eh.



This does nothing for my figure.



HUGEST HIPS EVER. Yeah, no.



I’m going to my WEDDING, not Easter Brunch.



No. Just no.



I don’t know why I’m smiling. I must be thinking about something happy, because this dress..is not.



I actually really liked this dress. Until I saw the back. HELLO, Butt Back!



This one was nice, as well. Especially when I discovered the POCKETS!!! I wish my dress had pockets. But then I noticed more Butt Back. Crap!





One word: Cupcake. Enough said.



Fortunately, the first dress I ever tried on I FELL IN LOVE WITH. It’s the one I ended up buying, AND it was on sale. Holla! Can’t wait to show you the dress...AT THE WEDDING!

The Dress

I bought my wedding dress tonight!

Highlights include:
-Making sure I'm frowning in photos of all bad dresses
-Prancing around to store IN THE DRESS shopping for bridesmaid dresses
-Watching Mommy try stuff on
-Picking out a bridesmaid dress
-Deciding on THE dress, only for my card to get declined at the register. WHOOPS, apparently my card expired 2/28/10 and with all the moving I've done, never got a replacement. Amex to the rescue!
-Signing my life away on the receipt that states ABSOLUTELY NO REFUNDS, only to realize, HELLO she just handed me a bag with the nasty dress off the rack that is all kinds of broken. Cue freakout. Kind of.
-Fortunately, it was quick enough to void the transaction and start over, so a fresh new dress should arrive late next month.
-And the best part is the price! All dresses were on sale and my total with tax was $281! Freaking score! My budget was $300 and I didn't even have to sacrifice to get what I wanted.

Goodnight!

Sneak Peak: Save the Dates

Here's a VERY slight sneak peak at our save the dates. The pieces have been ordered and I should have them assembled by next weekend. I can't wait to show you guys the final product! I'm actually really proud and excited (say what?!) about these. They are designed by myself and I am definitely no graphic designer/artist, but I think they came out really well.

First wedding project down. Many more to go!

Love is:

sharing the TV so I can watch Real Housewives of OC, while Andrew plays video games.



Love him.

Cuteness.

Seriously. He kills me. The cuteness is too much to handle.

Something Silver.

I am ridiculously behind! You haven’t seen my apartment, heard about our wedding plans, or even seen a photo of Dex in a LONG TIME! I’ll get on that.

But for now, let me introduce you to the newest vehicular member of our family.

Remember how Ms. Maxima died back in October? Well, we sold her to the mechanic for a measly $200. I hear she’s doing really well now with her new owner.

Please meet the Silver Bullet. Or the Sleek Geek. Or whatever. I don’t think he’s got an official name yet. We haven’t come up with anything that has stuck. Any ideas?



Can you spot the puppy?



It’s a 2008 Mazda3 hatchback and we love it! It’s SO convenient with the dog to have a hatchback. It’s definitely fitting right in with our little family.