Coming Soon...

...another post! I have some great ideas brewing... but have been spending the majority of internet time putting together a budget plan for me and Tony. We started a new class about two weeks ago about managing our money. We really want to start our marriage out on the right path and since money seems to be the leading cause for divorce, we want to get a handle on it right from the get go.

So stayed tuned... hopefully tomorrow! My free Saturday of having nothing planned suddenly turned into 1) Picking up my car 2) Picking up the dog 3) Grocery shopping 4) Working out with Kel 5) Driving my parents to the airport 6) Hanging some decor 7) Hanging with three big black dogs. Hmm.

Fishies

Goldfish. You know, those little yellow cheesy crackers shaped like fishies? Have you had them since elementary school? If not… give them a whirl again! But buyer beware! They are super yummy but addicting.

How did I get back into Goldfish? I had originally wanted to include two real goldfish per centerpiece at our wedding. Logistically, it did not work out. Plus I did not want people to be grossed out if the fish went belly up halfway through dinner. To keep with the up north “fish” type theme, we decided to have Goldfish as a snack during our cocktail hour.

Lakes Area Photography

Quick side note: I loved everything about our wedding. Nothing was really missed, majorly screwed up, or overly dramatic. It was more than I thought it would turn out to be (as you maybe could have seen from my constant happy tears during the ceremony that continued well into the next day opening gifts). I am soooo grateful for all of the fabulous people that helped pull everything together.

(Note the ugly cry face... it stayed there pretty much the whole ceremony!) Photo by Tom Hall

One thing that I personally kind of screwed up on was communication. I slightly blame my parents… they are not the greatest communicators and I learn from my elders, right? I had all these awesome visions and I did my part to make these things come to fruition. However… I forgot about telling key people what I envisioned. I don’t know if I assumed they knew, if I thought I already told them, or if I simply was so busy I forgot. Either way… it happened with a few things over the course of the weekend.

Back to the Goldfish. I calculated enough to fill the vases at least once and then possibly a refill or two. Yes, I asked people to fill them up for me during set up, but I forgot to communicate the role of refilling. I also forgot to communicate the fact that “a full bar” during the reception means to me: beer, wine, hard liquor the entire time (7pm-midnight)… but more on that another time.

So because I did not communicate the need to refill the vases and I also probably overestimated how much people would eat... we are left with quite the abundance of Goldfish! I put one of the large bags in my desk at work. My thinking was "better this than something from the vending machine." But maybe I was off track... these things are addicting! Especially when you have a never-ending super huge bag of them :) Oh well. Either I will get my fill and won't buy them again until I have kiddos or I will buy a much, much smaller bag once this one runs out. I'll be sure to let you know if they become a staple in my lunch bag.

Jax Loves Squirrels!

Apparently this is how he spends his day while we are at work.

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Picking Out Rugs... I Realized: I'm Married!

So whenever somebody finds out I just got married, they ask, "How's married life treatin ya?" It's been two weeks people! One of which was our honeymoon! This question is especially noticeable at work.

For those who do not know, I work at an apartment community. We have a pretty great relationship with our residents - better than any place I have ever rented at. With this solid relationship comes a lot of chatting with residents. For anybody who knows me pretty well... I'm not exactly a social butterfly, especially when it comes to small talk. I am just awkward. But, for our residents, I give it my best.

(TWP in Burnsville)

Anyway, even with all those questions about being married, it never really hit me until this past Sunday morning. We were shopping at Target with a few gift cards from the wedding. We wanted to pick out a some items for our new place in St. Paul. I know, I know... we have lived here for almost two months now. But it's still new to me since I was in the wedding-planning-fog most of the time! For example... I still don't quite punch our microwave buttons right (which results in changing the clock frequently instead of cooking something).

So back to Target... I had my heart set on a particular set of rugs. They were even on our registry. I picked them out MONTHS ago. Sunday morning I was thinking a quick trip to Target Boutique (read with french accent) to return some double items, pick up the rugs, and maybe a few other small items. Nope. Wrongo. Tony despises these rugs! He has the largest version in the lobby of his office. He can't stand looking at it there everyday and then coming home to it and seeing it all over our entry/kitchen area. Plus he doesn't want to hear the comments if we have people over from work and they see the rugs.

Silhouette Vine at Target

I'm devastated. Ok... maybe a little dramatic. But I am highly disappointed. It is the only patterned rug that does not have any red in it (I'm not a fan) and that doesn't look floral antiquey. And it is dark... therefore dirt won't be quite as noticeable right away.

After a few debates, I put on my big girl pants and remembered that we are married now. It's not my home to decorate, it's OUR home. It's not my money we are spending, it's OUR money. I guess I have to start considering his opinions a little more than I used to... even with home decor. Yup... I'M MARRIED!!! It's not all about ME anymore!

I asked him about which rugs he preferred and we settled on a rug that would work for both of us. It wasn't my favorite and I'm not sure if it was his, but it's something that we both enjoy enough to buy it for our home. We are really shooting for a "grown-up" feel for our place. We are even thinking of inviting people over for dinner and such! :)

Left = Modern Botanical at Target . Right = Modern Botanical in Our Home :)

Testing Larger Photo Sizes!

Trying to fix these pics... I am horrible with HTML code... but I think I finally got it!!! Please let me know if this pic is outside the borders of the column, it seems each browser is a little different sometimes but I think I got the codes set to auto-adjust now. We shall see! I'll try more tomorrow.

Also... I am trying to decide what to put in the tabs up above. Or should I skip it? What ideas do you have for good pages? Thanks for the help revamping our blog!

Under Construction

Working on revamping the blog this week... in the meantime, stay patient. Thanks!

Almost Back to Reality

Thank you so so much for all of the love, happiness, and great times last weekend! We had a blast and couldn't have asked for a better day!!!

I will be changing up the blog next week when I get back to real life (still up north at the cabin). Thinking something more along the lines of just everyday life and such...

In the meantime, please feel free to share your pictures from the wedding weekend and browse other people's pictures: www.tonyandjustine.shutterfly.com.

Love you all!