Red All About It

It's a bit overwhelming to be planning a wedding in the world of blogging, facebook and The Knot because there are so many amazing ideas out there when it comes to planning. It's hard to sift through everything to figure out what is really important to you. Obviously you can't have EVERY cute thing you see...it would blow your budget (and probably drive you crazy.) I have, however, decided to enduldge in a few wedding trends for December 5th.

About a month ago, I made the executive decision that the girls in the bridal party would all wear red shoes. Since they will all have different black dresses, I thought red shoes would be a fun and unique way to tie everything together. I even decided to match! Thus started the quest for the perfect pair. I finally found them at DSW for a reasonable price, so I bought them for everyone.

When Adam and I returned from our long weekend at the beach, I was surprised to see that they had already arrived. Of course I tore open the box and gushed over them (I mean, every girl loves shoes, right?) while Adam proclaimed that it looked like OZ had puked all over our living room. I can't wait to bring them along for my first dress fitting next week. Next on the footwear checklist is finding the perfect red argyle socks for the guys.

Weekend Getaway

This weekend, Adam and I went to check out the little house that his parents recently purchased in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was the first weekend they owned the place, so we christened it with a bottle of champagne (we drank it instead of smashing it against the house) and had a relaxing weekend at the beach.

On Saturday, they had a neighborhood picnic, so we all hung out there for a while before heading to the beach in the evening. Dewey Beach allows dogs after 5:30 PM, so we packed some sandwiches and watched the sunset. Tobey HATED the water, and would not go anywhere near it...so now we know not to waste our time bringing him again!

On Sunday, we stopped in Wilmington to pick up our wedding rings. They are beautiful, so I thought I'd give you a sneak peak before they get locked away for the next 4 months.

Happy Anniversary!

It's been one year since I started my little blog, and what an exciting, exhausting and fun year it has been! Whew...I get tired just thinking about it!

In the past year I have:

1. Planned most of the wedding: reception location, celebrated our -1 year anniversary, picked a cake, booked the honeymoon and had a great bridal shower just to name a few!

2. Vacationed in Hilton Head, S.C. and Boston

3. Met some memorable people on the train

4. Celebrated Adam's 23rd Birthday and (and mine)

5. Learned to appreciate football

6. Moved....twice

7. Had Tobey's manhood removed

8. Celebrated lots of holidays

9. Went back to school

10. Had bad days & good days

11. Purchased a new car

12. Learned to appreciate my wonderful fiance and his quirks

13. Had some interesting experiences at work and grew to respect the nation's veterans

14. Been grateful to have a good job, a nice place to live, and plenty of people who love and support me.

I know the next year is going to bring lots of new adventures (the biggest being marriage), and I can't wait to blog about them all!

Bridal Shower Surprise!

A couple of weeks ago, I was told that my sister and brother-in-law would be coming to Pennsylvania for the weekend, and I was asked if I would drive up to see them. So on Saturday morning, Adam and I made our way up to Mechanicsburg so that we could hang out, and so I could go mother-of-the-bride dress shopping with my Mom and sister. After finding a beautiful dress for her, we went over to one of our family's favorite restaurants in Hershey for what I thought would be a girls lunch. Little did I know, the girls lunch would include about 25 women and was actually a surprise bridal shower. Needless to say, it was a great shower and it was so nice to see everyone from my family and Adam's family in the same room. We also got some wonderful presents!

Here are a few pictures, courtesy of Adam's Mom:

Grand Entrance

My sister emailed this to me today, and I think it's hilarious! Although our minister (and probably half of our guests) would have a heart attack if Adam and I planned something like this, I still think it would be really neat and funny.

Boston or Bust

Last weekend, Adam and I, along with two of our friends decided to take a road trip to Boston for the Fourth of July. We left early on Friday morning (3 AM) and came home on Monday. All-in-all it was a great trip, and, according to my boss, the last I would be granted any time off until the wedding.

When we got there on Friday, we wandered around the Harvard campus, and then drove into the city to check into the hotel. That night, we split up and saw two different movies (the girls saw My Sister's Keeper and we both cried through the entire thing) then we headed down to Little Italy. Here was the view from the walk (not the best picture, but it was really cool):



Saturday, we decided to walk the entire Freedom Trail, and we did it! Luckily, we had beautiful weather.

On Saturday night, the Charles River was lined with thousands of people to see the fireworks, and Boston did not disappoint. The fireworks ranked right up there with the ones my parents and I happened to catch on Bastille Day in Paris, they were AMAZING!

On Sunday, we went on a Super Duck Tour, a definite highlight of the trip:



Monday we drove home after a fun, but exhausting trip and to be honest, I was pretty happy to be back in Baltimore.

On a completely unrelated note, Pottery Barn discontinued the bedding that was on the registry, so Adam and I went over to the store last week and bought the last duvet cover (I considered it a reward for getting an A in my four-week summer class from hell!)

Here's a picture of it (Tobey isn't supposed to be up on the bed, but he's kind of spoiled):


Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! We're moving this weekend, so hopefully there next week there will be a new edition of CRIBS: RACHEL AND ADAM'S NEW PLACE.

I cleaned the bathroom

Usually when I ask Adam to do something, he'll do it. He's a pretty laid-back and congenial guy, and unlike some guys, he's not THAT messy. You will see the occasional dirty glass or dish lying around, and there are usually crumbs on the sofa and the coffee table, but all-in-all, he doesn't make a whole lot of messes.

Every other week or so, I'll ask him to clean the bathroom, and most of the time it will be done the next day when I get home from work. On Monday, I asked him to clean the bathroom and yesterday I came home to a spotless counter and smudge free sink.

Then, I got into the shower and noticed the nasty old toilet-cleaning brush hanging off of the towel rack inside of the shower. When I got out, I asked him why the gross toilet brush was in the shower, and he told me that he uses the toilet brush to clean the shower floor (after saying this he assured me that he rinses "the crap" out of the brush before using it to clean.)

EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

I'm glad I found out this little fun fact now, because after he told me, all I could think of was our poor little children someday sitting in the bathtub in poop residue.

Needless to say, there is now a brand spanking new sponge in the shower to use for cleaning.

When in Rome...

We did it! We finally decided on the accommodations for our honeymoon in Rome, and to say we are incredibly thrilled would be a complete understatement. After much consideration, and mulling over several books and websites, we decided on the hotel pictured above: Hotel Barocco. The hotel received good reviews on every website we visited, and we were even able to get an upgraded room with a view and a queen sized bed (a plus for a honeymoon). It seems to be within walking distance to many of the popular attractions and it’s close to the metro line (we all know how much I love public transportation).

While in Italy, we plan on taking two day trips by train: one to Florence and one to Naples. We also plan on enjoying the start of the holiday season in a different country! Although I’m really looking forward to going back to Italy and seeing Rome, I am even more excited to be with Adam when he takes his first trip outside of the U.S. (because seeing Niagara Falls in Canada didn’t really count.) I know that he is going to love the trip, and he has already downloaded the entire Italian language on his computer (he walks around with huge headphones on repeating, “scusi" followed by a variety of different questions.)

Now we have both a wonderful wedding and an amazing honeymoon to look forward to for the next 5 months.

"We Soldiers Really Like Cookies"

About 4 months ago, I attended a training session at work so that I could go do some outreach at military bases and installations across Maryland. I have been to a few so far, mostly speaking to service members about benefits that the VA has to offer once they retire.

Last week, I was assigned to go to Fort Detrick in Frederick, and my day was scheduled so people could come individually to ask me questions about their benefits. My last person of the day never showed up, so I called to see why she had missed her appointment.

The phone rang, and then an older woman, about 85, picked up.

"Hi," I said, "I'm calling from the Department of Veterans Affairs. You had an appointment today that you missed, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Oh yes," she said, "for 1 year, I wrote to a young man in the Army who was stationed in Iraq. He wrote me the nicest letters and I began to think of him as a son. My husband is deceased and I have no children, so I really looked forward to my letters from this young man. Altogether, I got about 50 letters from him while he was abroad and also while he was being treated for injuries at a military hospital in Texas. I sent him care packages, including homemade cookies, and he would always write thank you notes that said, "we soldiers love cookies." About a month ago, I sent him a letter, and the letter was returned with a stamp on it that just said "DECEASED"."

I could hear her starting to cry over the phone as she explained how harsh that big red stamped word seemed on the front of the hand-written envelope. I felt awful, and my heart broke for this woman.

She wanted to find his family's address so that she could mail them all of the letters he had written over the past year. Unfortunately, with only the man's name, there wasn't much I could do to help her, which made me feel even worse.

On days when I am tired and really don't want to be at work, I remind myself that each and every folder I pick up is someone who fought for this country and was injured in the process. So many people are so wrapped up in their own lives, that they forget about the thousands of men and women in foreign countries serving in the military, whose families and friends sit at home and worry about them. Then, an old woman comes along, who thinks of a man that she has never met like he is her own biological son, loves him when he is alive and mourns him when he is gone and it makes you remember all of those soldiers.

Just a story I thought I would share, since the experience really made me think about the people I work for everyday.

6 Months to Go!

Less than six months until the big day and I can't believe the past year that we've have been engaged has gone so quickly! I actually feel really good about everything, and know that for the time being, most of the planning is under control.

Last night, we went to the mall to register at Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn. I thought it would be fun, and it was, but it actually also ended up being stressful at the same time. Adam, (whom I let use the scan gun as a bargaining tool to get him to come with me) was standing right behind me ready to point and shoot (and scanning who knows what else in his boredom) as I was attempting to imagine the material possessions that would be crucial once married life begins.

It's kind of hard to figure out if you're REALLY going to need 8 champagne flutes, a gourmet garlic press or a digital meat thermometer in your life after you're married, when you most certainly do not use them before you're married. So, I pretty much stuck to the important things: pots and pans, towels, bedding and of course, margarita glasses (because seriously, what's a good marriage without good margaritas?!?).

Next weekend, we are taking a mini-trip to Delaware to look at wedding rings and hit up the Italian Festival in Wilmington, where our whole relationship started 3 years ago! I'm pretty excited about it, but first I have to make it through another week of work and class.