The Home Stretch

As of this weekend, we have less than 6 months to go before the wedding! Now no one can say I'm planning way far in advance, because I actually have to get stuff done now instead of just pondering every detail incessantly. With the holidays upon us, I haven't had a whole lot of time or cash to deal with any major planning, but I have started on some more long-term projects.

One long-term ordeal has been trying to contact the wedding coordinator. Not really sure what's going on with that one. I tried emailing several weeks ago to no avail, called last Wednesday and left a message which has not been returned, and now I'm really starting to wonder what the deal is. The thing is, she is the only person who can set-up the remaining contracts with the caterers and cake bakery, so we still need to make one more trip up the mountain to hammer this stuff out sooner than later. So if this blog has indeed become more popular than I am aware of on the web, maybe someone at the venue will get the hint and I won't have to go bridezilla on them. I have two years worth of pent-up wedding angst, and that just wouldn't be pretty.

Anyhoo... My other project has been to find the vases/bowls/etc. with which to create the reception table centerpieces. So far I have won 4 eBay auctions for lots of several antique milk glass pieces, and I have 3 more to go. After that I'll have to wait for the shipments to come in so I can re-evaluate the situation. It's easy to get carried away with those things. If I get too many, my florist will hate me and there may not be space left for food at the tables. But if I get too few, well, that'll just look kinda sad. I like the concept I've finally landed on though, with all white milk glass pieces of various shapes and sizes scattered on the robins egg blue tables, filled with peonies and ranunculus. No more stress dreams about that one, I hope.

I think the thing I'm most excited about though, is the plan we've conjured-up this week for the honeymoon. Now that we have a better idea of our budget and time constraints, we're planning a week-long road trip up to Seattle, and possibly further to Vancouver, BC for a day or two. I'm researching our specific stops, which may also include Big Sur and Portland if we have time. The main priority is, of course, Seattle. It'll be hard to come back, I'm sure.

So all of that plus plans for the bridal shower and bachelorette are in the works. The real planning starts now! Wish me luck!

Progress Makes Perfect

This month, we have three major items checked-off of my to-do list.

First, the photographer is booked at last! Roya Jade will be our super-awesome picture provider, including an engagement shoot in the near future. See her work at royajadephoto.blogspot.com

Second, we met with Debra from Fleuris Flower Studios (at her really cool house on a hill in San Bernardino) today. I was nearly convinced we wouldn't even be able to afford flowers at all, but she seriously made it do-able for us and our trimmed-down budget. And I still get my pink peonies and yellow ranunculus! So, our official colors are now: light pink, fuscia pink, light grey (from the bridal party attire), butter yellow accents, and robin's egg blue and ivory table linens. Now I just have to scour the internet, thrift stores, and garage sales for inexpensive vintage vases or bowls for the centerpieces, and they'll do the rest. Whew, huge weight lifted. Maybe I can have a non-decor related wedding nightmare now.

Third, I'm in the process of booking a really nifty surprise for our favors. Only Darryl and my dad know what it is, and I think it's super awesome. Hey, I have to have some mystery left in the big day, right?

Oh! Also, I added another registry to our list. We are now registered at Williams Sonoma, for anyone who would prefer shopping there. Particularly for the Le Creuset Dijon yellow pots I like. :)

So the next major things to figure out are cake, and how much to budget for a DJ. I have one quote for the DJ so far, and it was about double what I expected, however that particular one knows the sound system at PineRose the best, so we would avoid a lot of potential problems with technical malfunctions, and also seems to have a good personality and music selection. But, talent doesn't come cheap. So... yeah. We'll see. Also have to decide how much stuff I should/need to go DIY style on, like programs, veil, etc. Feeling good about my progress so far, though.

Menu Tastings

This week in wedding news...

Darryl and I went for the dinner tastings at the home of the caterer in Fontana. First of all, let me point out that according to South Park logic, "this place must be legit, just look at the fountain in the lobby..." Well, front yard. The use of fall decor inside would also, I must say, put whoever is in charge of Fall merchandizing at Michael's to shame.

The tasting itself definitely brought out my inner Top Chef judge. Points for presentation; although microwaving the samples in front of the judges is probably a no-no. Higher points for taste, which is always what really counts anyway. Darryl voted for the lemon buttermilk chicken, and I voted for the marinated sirloin with peppers, so I guess that's our two main courses. The side of buttered assorted squash was nice. Other sides will include: a spinach green salad, red skinned potatoes, pasta salad, and appetizers that I haven't decided on yet. Should please everyone, right?

I think my main goal is to keep everyone nibbling on something for the majority of the day. Maybe even some snacks before the ceremony, and something on the tables. My number-one pet peeve of weddings is being hungry and waiting for the dang reception to start. And we all know how I get when I'm hungry...

9 months until the birth of our wedding!

Wow, we're into single-digit months now! And it just so happened that yesterday was the open house for our wedding venue, Pine Rose Cabins. The last time we were there in April, there was still snow on the ground and everything was covered in a thick layer of ice. So needless to say, we were eager to see what the place will (hopefully...) look like for our June wedding. Thank goodness that now I have a much clearer image in my mind of the whole set-up than I had previously, which means I don't think I'll be spending as much on decorations as I was anticipating since the natural surroundings need little help...

(All photos by Julie Wilson/Pine Rose Cabins)

So let's see how my master to-do list is going...

1. Venue - check!

2. Dress - check!

3. Bridesmaid dresses - check! but still need shoes and the flower girl dress

4. Save-the-dates & invitations - check! and will order the invites later

5. Catering - going to our tasting in two weeks!

6. Cake - I know what I want, and going to tastings after the menu is confirmed

7. Music - talked with the DJ at the event, will probably book him soon

8. Drinks - talked with the bartender, have to decide on buying our own stuff vs. his package
9. Photographer - talked with one, waiting to hear back from another

10. Flowers - need to call, and thus be forced to decide on colors

11. Favors - we have a super awesome idea in the works :)

12. Cabins - so far 2 are reserved, still waiting to hear if we need to reserve another for more family members

13. Honeymoon - ... well, depends on if we'll have enough money left over to survive after the wedding, haha.

It looks like I have a lot of phone calls to make, but at least some progress has been made!

Keep Calm and Carry On

I love these British WWII posters, originally created as a kind of positive propaganda for a population under intense enemy attack, not knowing if they would live to see another day, or what the future may bring. Those phrases are still so true today, in particular the last one of which this post is named. That logo has become increasingly popular on t-shirts, vintage posters, and eco-friendly water bottles as of late. Perhaps because of the rather depressing state of the economy, which directly affects peoples' careers, such as my future husband's.

I cannot truly understand why the timing of it all has to be like this; why our plans have this potentially giant chasm in them thanks to the state education budget crisis, and perhaps other factors that remain a mystery. I remember being so happy that Darryl decided to go into teaching because of how relatively secure that field is (or was). Who knew that the same year he began to work towards his credential, so many teachers would be laid off that entire schools shut down not far from where I live. To be completely honest, we're pretty worried. It's hard not be become completely consumed by the whole situation; the situation being, 40+ teaching applications sent, 7 interviews, and 0 job offers. A lot of it really doesn't add up, considering that almost all of the interviews seemed to go very well, but then again it's hard to say exactly how many people are out there applying to the same positions. For one of the jobs for which he interviewed, the applicant number was around 200. And with each interview comes a new set of hopes and nervous anticipation, which ultimately lead to greater disappointment. It's all rather draining.

The only reason that I even bring this up on my otherwise upbeat wedding blog, is that part of the reason I created this publication of mine was to document the reality of our 2.5 year engagement, mainly for myself to look back on one day. As of now, this is our reality. Each week brings a new set of "what ifs" and "plan B, C, and D's." Personally, I have released whatever plans I had for us and have allowed myself to be open to other prospects as far as where we might live, what I might do as far as working or going to grad school, when we may have kids, etc.... I could get excited about pretty much anything at this point. I have released it all into God's hands, and now we wait and see. And if there's one thing we've had to get used to, it's waiting. We must have faith that it will work out for the best, as it always has before, and in the mean time I keep reminding myself to "keep calm and carry on."

Bridesmaid dresses, check!

We finally picked out a bridesmaid dress! Yesterday I was sitting in Starbucks browsing Modcloth.com, as I do everyday since their inventory changes every few hours, and found the perfect light grey chiffon dress...

This isn't your typical embarrassing bridesmaid dress, right? And you really can wear it again, even if you never do! Plus, it's a neutral color, so I don't have to make-up my mind yet about light green vs. robins egg blue vs. cherry blossom pink. Now to find a freakishly adorable flower girl dress...

I heart this fabric.

I just saw this in the textiles section of the new Ikea catalogue that arrived in the mail today. I love how retro-forest-y it is, although completely different from what I've been thinking about so far. Table runners, or cloth napkins, perhaps? Hm... great, once again just too many cute ideas...

In other news, this summer has pretty much been consumed by Darryl's job hunt. There are lots of positions out there, it's just a matter of convincing the right person that you are the best fit for their school. It's been quite the emotional roller coaster, for sure. Hopefully something moves forward soon. Keep us in your prayers!

Also, if you haven't received it already, the first batch of the save-the-dates have been mailed, and the second batch will be out as soon as I stop procrastinating and put them together. Still kind of adjusting to not being in school, I suppose. Sometimes too much free time is just as bad as no time at all.

Sweet Ideas

One of the many things which I have spent literally hours, days even, pondering in regards to the wedding is the issue of the centerpieces. There are quite a few factors which make these pesky arrangements more complicated than one might assume. For one thing, flowers, or more specifically florists, are rather expensive. We could easily run-up a $3,000 floral bill without even trying if a professional does everything with the flowers that I actually like, which (of course) are more expensive than one might assume. One way to get around this is to buy the flowers ourselves at the LA flower market and do the arrangements ourselves the day before, which would save a significant amount of money, however you are at the mercy of whatever the market has available that day. Also, we would have to find a way to keep the flowers fresh overnight, and enlist our bridal party members to spend several hours at least preparing every single one of the flowers in vases which I would have to buy wholesale on ebay and etsy. This is an option I'm still considering, however my main concern is that I will hate myself when that day comes if the workload is way more than I'd bargained for, or if it doesn't come out as I'd envisioned and I have only myself to blame.

Regardless of the DIY decision, I have always gravitated towards using vintage vases and cakestands with the flowers at each table to bring some girly-ness and parisian flair to our outdoorsy venue. I'm always amazed how easy it is to find these things in lots of a dozen pieces for less than $10 online, which makes more sense than renting them, if I figured out a way to use them after the wedding anyway. And then, inspiration struck! I saw the above photo on the hi-fiwedding blog and thought it was the best idea ever. Why not pay homage to my love of all things baked, cute, and sugary and just put desserts on the cakestands at each table? Each table could have something different, or maybe three tables per treat variety, and everyone would have something to nibble on as they chat during the reception. They could also visit other tables and swap treats on cute vintage dessert plates. The only thing is figuring out how to tie-in the woodsy theme with this, and also making sure that the treats survive the elements of the outdoors, but I'm positive there's a way to put a unique spin on this. So exciting. Now we'll just have to figure out what real food is going to be served, haha!

Pre-Anniversary

Yesterday, June 18th, was our pre-wedding anniversary. We have been married -1 years and counting. Which means that as of today, we have less than one year to go until the wedding! Holy cow, it feels amazing to have made it through the first year-and-a-half of our engagement, and now we're in the home stretch. To celebrate we went to Ruby's on the Huntington Pier, which is always more windy and cold than I expect it to be, but still fun. For the rest of the night, we looked at the clock and thought, 9:17 - we will be dancing at the reception... 11:30 - wrapping things up and heading on the honeymoon... or possibly still dancing...

364 days! The real craziness begins now...

Graduation, etc.

Let me start off by apologizing for being so impeccably absent over the past few months or so. This past semester, along with all kinds of drama at work, and perhaps the occasional nervous breakdown, have caused me to use my precious little free time to curl up in bed, turn on hulu/netflix, and veg. I do feel bad, though, and I promise to make up for the lack of posts and other forms of online communication this summer.

In other news, I graduated! Well, walked anyway. I'm officially done with my BA July 14th, 2010, and then life can re-commence, or at least the wedding planning aspect of it. Graduation was exciting, though. One thousand times better than graduating high school, for a few reasons. One was that I'm not so much of a loner this time around, and have wonderful classmates whom I'm sure will be long-time friends, at least on Facebook. Second, I'm not in a neckbrace and braces this time. Third, I had a strong cheering section made up of my family, co-workers, and Darryl, of course. Fourth: better hair. And lastly, in high school I missed graduating with honors by about .05 grade points, and this time I made it to the gold cord status. Not that that will ever matter again in the future, but for that one night it counts for something. It's crazy that I'm actually done with this stage of my academic experience. Also odd that although Darryl and I graduated from the same school, a year apart, we didn't actually meet there. In fact, I wouldn't have even chosen Vanguard as my transfer school if it weren't for Darryl's sales pitch for them two years ago. And if it weren't for that, I'm almost positive I wouldn't be anywhere near done yet. So thank you, love, you were right. :)

So the inevitable question following graduation is, now what? What are you going to do with your bright, shiny, expensive degree? Funny you might ask. I've changed my mind over the past year more than ever before as to what career would best suit me, besides Domestic Goddess and (future) mommy. And yes, I could stay a dental assistant, but the thought of having to work overtime with my school-age patients during the same vacation months that Darryl will be off of work as a teacher kind of depresses me. Among other reasons, of course. One of them being radiation exposure. So what I've learned about myself as I have gone through my psychology program is that I love the field of psychology and learning about disorders, assessment, etc., and I still love working with kids/teenagers, but I'm not big on your typical marriage/family therapy-type counseling. I admire those who can do it, but it's just not really me. So the best combination of my strengths seems to be school psychology and teaching. The plan is: get married, get a teaching credential, (hopefully) get a teaching position, go back for a masters in educational psychology with a PPS credential, complete an internship, and then land my dream job. Then work just long enough to afford to quit and have babies, haha! Luckily, despite the school budget crisis, there are still jobs out there for school psychologists, which was surprising. So, that's the plan, we'll see how it goes. It's not written in stone by any means, but it's a direction to move in. We've had plans before which haven't worked out quite the way we expected, but the good news is that in many ways they seem to improve with time. Cheers to the end of one era, and on to the next!

A Venue at Last!

Ladies and gentlemen, the deposit has been placed! Get ready for a fun-filled mountain wedding weekend extravaganza on...

June 18th, 2011

at

Hidden Creek Lodge at Pinerose Cabins Mountain Resort

Twin Peaks, CA

I'm so relieved to finally have this one big decision over with! Over the past few months, I have been crazy busy with school like never before (remember how I said previously that this semester would be cake? Yeah, I was sorely mistaken). In what precious little free time I did have, I was vegging in front of the TV and scouring through any and all possible wedding venue websites, considering eloping once every other week. At least. But, we didn't give up on the promise of a real wedding to share with everyone else, and considered several different possibilities for a location. Pine Rose won the contest for several reasons:

1. Unique and picturesque landscape

2. Includes guest cabins of various sizes to rent and one big cabin for our wedding party to stay the entire weekend, so no worries about partying the night away

3. Once the insurance deposit is placed, the whole place is our's to do whatever we want with it, so long as nothing is permenently damaged

4. Complete freedom of choice with vendors

5. Day-of coordinator included, who gave us the tour and seems very helpful and responsive

6. Very (very) reasonable pricing, including the catering costs, including being able to purchase any and all alcohol on our own to avoid crazy bartending fees

7. Available sound equipment with which we could have an iPod DJ if we so choose

8. The starlight dance floor (see above)

9. The TV in the living room of the main cabin where a Wii/Xbox station could be erected (you're welcome, Ethan)

10. Including cute forest creatures somehow in the decorations :D

So although this isn't exactly what I had always pictured my wedding to be like, it's clearly the best choice out of what we had available. We will be going back up there in May for their wedding open house where we will meet the caterer, baker, and such to see how we like them. In the mean time, I'm still quite busy with school for the time being, but graduation is coming in 3 weeks (eee!), and then there's just two more (hopefully easy) summer classes to go. So, as of July 14th, I will be DONE with my bachelor's and ready to complete my MRS. preparations.

3 = perfection

Today (well, yesterday, but we celebrated today) marks the third anniversary of our first date. As always, we commemorated the event with dinner at Jalapeno's in downtown Orange. On the one hand, I can't believe it's already been 3 years, and at this time last year we weren't engaged quite yet. On the other hand, with everything that has happened in both of our lives since we've known each other, it seems more like at least 5 years. So I guess it evens out.

I love you, D! Cheers!

Where, oh where, shall our wedding be...

The search continues for our wedding venue(s). Crestmore Manor is still a major contender, which we visited last weekend to have a look around. I still have some questions on specifics for that location, but it definitely looks like it could work. I am trying to keep an open mind, however, dating around with different locations before marrying the first one that comes along. So to speak.

Last night I came across an interesting option:
Hidden Creek Lodge at Pinerose Cabins, Lake Arrowhead
http://pineroseweddings.com/hidden-creek.shtml

These are from greenweddingshoes.com, which has more pretty pictures.

I had looked at places in the Big Bear area before, but the pricing on this one is much more reasonable than the other ones I found, and seems to be a bit more flexible with vendors. Plus, we could spend a little more and have everyone in the bridal party stay the night before and after the wedding, so no one would have to make the long drive up and down the mountain that weekend. I still want to go up there with Darryl to check it out ourselves sometime, but most of the pics I found online of weddings there are pretty impressive. And we got engaged around Lake Arrowhead! So... a good sign, perhaps?

Let the Search Begin...

Over the past few days I have accepted, and even perhaps embraced, the fact that we will not be having a Mission Inn wedding. It could, in fact, be for the best. For starters, I can take another look at places which are (as we now know) much cheaper and more flexible than the Mission Inn. Also, since we still have the luxury of time, I can search around for places more off the beaten path which allow for more creativity and a different style.

I've been pouring over my favorite wedding blogs, in particular Green Wedding Shoes and Junebug Weddings, as well as some photographers' blogs such as Jagger photography, for venue ideas. So far two have stuck out as good candidates:

1. Crestmore Manor, Riverside

These are from the wedding of Heather Jagger, one of my most favorite photographers, taken by Dana Grant. I like that this venue is in a pretty convenient location, near Mt. Rubidoux, that it is pretty inexpensive to rent, and I would have complete creative freedom with both design and in choosing vendors. That being said, it does create more of a challenge when every tiny detail needs to be addressed, which is where a wedding coordinator (or perhaps a very good friend who takes on such a role!) may become necessary to help run things.

2. Marvimon House, Downtown Los Angeles

So with this one, the location isn't quite as ideal, and I actually haven't found out the cost of it yet, but it seems really unique and interesting. Outside vendors are allowed, but they offer their own caterers. Maybe not the most feasible place, but I think it's worth looking into at least for the fun of it.

We still have a lot to think about and consider over the next few months, but at least I've found some interesting possibilities for our wedding location. Anything could happen, and that just makes things all the more exciting.

A Sad Day on Mission Inn Ave.

I have been looking forward to today for quite some time. Today was the wedding open house at the Mission Inn Hotel, the planned location for our reception. Since before we were even engaged, we have been saying that we were going to have our wedding here because it was the best value for the money and it is uniquely gorgeous and historic-feeling. We have been to the expo twice before and were never disappointed in the venue itself, although the vendors on display weren't always the greatest. And besides, the cake samples, chocolate fondue fountains, and champagne are always there in abundance. This year I was all set to put down our deposit for our special day in June, 2011. Sure, it's still 18 months away, but I figured better safe than sorry since that is the peak of wedding season. I was also excited since this time I actually had my ring and could legitimately ask questions and inquire about more specifics since I've already had about a year to plan.

We arrived and immediately noticed new details added to the hotel, including a giant vintage cage with two macaws at the entrance, which was neat. We entered the biggest room, the Music Room, and I immediately noticed that the color scheme the florist had used was one of the same ones I was considering, taking it as a good sign. We chatted with a couple of vendors, and on our way into the next room a DJ company stopped us and mentioned during their promotion that the hotel has a new wedding policy that people are only allowed to use Mission Inn preferred vendors, not just for food and such, but EVERYTHING from lighting, to DJs, to photographers. Everything except the invitations and the wedding dress, basically. This immediately worried me, but Darryl insisted that this could not be the case, maybe they were just saying that to get us to sign with them. We moved on to the Spanish Art Gallery, the room we were planning on using, and got some more cake, and talked with a couple more unenthusiastic vendors.

We continued on to the spiral staircase and went up the the third room which had refreshments and tables to meet with the coordinators to put down deposits. After nibbling nervously on an orange cupcake, we sat down with a consultant who inquired about our date, and then said that they no longer book weddings more than a year in advance. And then the second question, about the vendors: it is true, they do not allow outside vendors unless we pay a $300 fine and get them to sign up for the hotel liability insurance. In addition, they have raised their prices for the meals about $10-20 a plate. Well, shoot. We got up and I grabbed another glass of champagne with which to drown my sorrows and made our way to the fountain to sit and have another look at their new packets of information. How could it be? We have always planned on having our reception here, for over a year if not longer, have told everyone, and put it up on the website, that this would be the itinerary, and now...

The issue with hiring preferred vendors is that there are only 2-4 vendors available per category (flowers, photography, etc.), they tend to cost way more than outside vendors (about $2-3,000 more, each) at least compared to the ones I had already chosen, and they are quite frankly not nearly as talented or creative as other, better professionals (in my view, anyway). The wedding schemes I saw today were pretty cookie-cutter, and it seems that this is all that is allowed in such a place as the Mission Inn because of liability issues, perhaps since it is a historic monument. Some may be OK with this, but someone like me who has spend countless hours, months, planning a more personalized, creative vision for my wedding, could not be so satisfied.

So. Now we are back at square one. Needless to say, I'm kind of pissed. I'm cursing internally, to be honest. This was the one thing since the beginning which was set in stone. I bought my dress to match the Mission Inn style, in my own vintage kind of way. The kinds of colors and flowers I have looked at and saved files of pictures of may be for nothing. Who knows, maybe six months from now we go back and they've discovered that raising their prices and allowing only in-house vendors during an economic depression in the middle of a hot-bed of foreclosures wasn't the best idea and would maybe cut us a deal, but I doubt it. In the mean time, I'm relying on my inner wedding coordinator to find us a new, better place, possibly much different from my original ideas. Regardless, in 18 months we will be married, whether it may happen in Riverside or the Redwoods, we shall see.

Hello 2010

Right now I am with Darryl, our laptops side-by-side, sitting at the kitchen counter at Reesa's house with the whirl of the new Cuisinart ice cream maker my parents gave Darryl for Christmas in the background. Last night he made spearmint ice cream, tonight we are having cookies n' cream. Either one combined with the from-scratch dark chocolate brownies I made yesterday could possibly be the answer to world peace.

So. Happy New Year once again! We had a blast ringing in the new year with old friends at the Carmona's (and at the neighbor's across the street) in Corona. I think this is the first time one of our friends has thrown a new year's party and it was a huge success. Rockband, lasagna, sparkling cider, a bonfire, loud salsa and techno music, and illegal fireworks make for a fun party any day.

Every year I make a mental list of goals and dreams for the new year. This year is pretty much the same as always: spend less, save more, work out, eat better, cut back on Starbucks. I guess they are all kind of interrelated. This year though, is serious business. I have a rough estimate of how much I really, seriously, need to save up for the wedding by this time next year to avoid mountains of wedding debt. Also, now that I actually have my dress, and since I'm fairly certain I've already gained at least a couple of pounds since I bought it, some kind of self-control should probably begin to take place in terms of food and espresso drinks. Working out would probably also be a good idea. I'm still working out the specifics on how I'm going to approach these things in a more effective and realistic way than I have tried in the past. Perhaps bringing up a need for more self-discipline in my prayer circle. Then again, that's one of those things you should really be careful about asking for.

My biggest issue is that in theory going grocery shopping and cooking instead of eating out everyday should save money, and be healthier than restaurant food, especially fast food. However, I tend to be kind of picky when it comes to buying ingredients with which to cook or bake things since if I tend to not think as much about what goes into restaurant food as much as what I'm consciously allowing into my own culinary creations. If I'm going to get meat or poultry, it's going to be organic or at least antibiotic/pesticide free, which can often cost a great deal more than conventional meat, for example. Also, it's harder than you might think to buy a week's worth of groceries for one person and have just the right amount of things without perishible items going bad and still having enough of a variety of things to eat every day. When Darry was living on his own, he could survive on peanut butter, whole wheat bread, instant oatmeal or cream of wheat, protein shakes, bottled water, baby carrots, and bananas. Of course we would still end up eating somewhere for dinner almost every weeknight. During our 3 day attempt at the South Beach Diet, we had to buy groceries for us to share, which was quite the task because of both budgetary and dietary considerations; part of the reason it only lasted 3 days. I know that it should be a fairly simple task to plan out meals for the week, make a list, and stick to it, but it always seems like I end up spending way more than I would just getting my southwest chicken salad from McDonald's for lunch at work (or Flamebroiler, or Subway, etc.). However, healthwise, I know cooking more often would be best for my heart function and blood glucose levels, and obviously when Darryl and I get married, I hope that we will eat at home as much as possible (especially if I get at least half of the stuff on our registry). So. I'm working on it. If I can make this work for myself my hope is that it'll be much easier when I'm shopping and cooking for two. Or maybe I'll just save my grocery money for baking more things.

Speaking of which, Darryl's ice cream is done, and it kicks store-bought cookies n' cream in the butt.