25 random things :)

i was actually thinking about doing this the other day but one of my favorite blogger girls, dancy, beat me to it!  so here's a fun list of random facts that you may or may not know about me:

1. bruce springsteen makes me happy.  "cause down the shore, everything's alright". 

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2. i hated high school but i loooooved university of rhode island.  at the time we were the #3 party school in america.  but i enjoyed my studies the most :)

personal photo - senior week 2003, i got pulled on stage to rap "nothin' but a g thang" with a live band.  amazing.

3. i despise wal-mart. i grew up working at my family's hardware store (page hardware!) with all of my best friends, so of course i'm biased but i think you should support your local family-owned businesses.

4. i played lacrosse all through high school and college - i miss it now but am glad they didnt start making you wear goggles until after i stopped playing!

5. when i was a little kid, i used to tell my parents "when i grow up, i'm moving to NEW JERSEY!" i didn't even know what new jersey was.  now i LOVE new jersey.

6. on that same note, my favorite breakfast is taylor ham, egg and cheese on an everything JERSEY bagel from bagel buffet in secaucus.

7. my family is HUGE. i love it.

personal photo circa 1982 - can you spot the ONLY kid with blonde hair in the photo?  yep, that's me - bowl cut and all.

8. fourth of july is my favorite holiday because it means i get to see all of my family.  in fact, i'm headed back east on friday to celebrate for the weekend!

9. i love planning things. from bar crawls to parties to anything that includes an evite and RSVP.  oh, and weddings :)

10. i lived in australia for just under a year, after college. i always said i wanted to do it, so one day i booked my one-way ticket, gave my notice at work, and moved there. i got a work visa and worked in sydney, and lived in a beach suburb right outside the city. when my work visa expired, i traveled to new zealand, and renewed my visa so i could go back to australia. then i traveled the whole east coast of oz, and loved every minute. i went by myself and had no choice but to meet friends everywhere i went. i miss those friends.

personal photo - me in front of my "backyard"

11. oh, and i went to fiji for 2 weeks on my way home. it was pretty, but WAY too many mosquitos for me.

personal photo - me and my fijian "family"

12. my younger brother rules. i still treat him like he's 12 and he lets me get away with it... most of the time (sorry todd :))

(c) todd page

13. everytime i introduce myself to someone new, i have to repeat my name and then spell it. i've never introduced myself without the person saying "jacin?"  i guess for some reason it sound less like a guy's name if i spell it out for them.

14. i love to take pictures of flowers.  our walks usually take twice as long because i'm constantly taking pictures.

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15. i spend all my money on nice jeans and buy the rest of my clothes at target.  but i could also spend my life savings at CVS.

16. there's no shame in my game to admit i subscribe to cooking light and real simple magazines!

17. i'm embarrassed to listen to my iPod on shuffle in public. it's way too random - newsies, SWV, frank sinatra, wu-tang, RENT, bruuuuuce...

18. i never imagined i would be marrying pat when i met him almost 11 years ago - he was always my secret crush in college.  i can't believe how blessed i am to have him in my life!

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19. like dancy, when i get angry/frustrated, i cry.  not like "sadness" cry, like "frustration" cry.  it is SO annoying and SO hard to prevent!

20. i love wine country :)

personal photo - august '09 visit from the NJ crew :)

21. i love love love the beach and summertime.

22. i am training to run the 2010 NY marathon in november.

23. my favorite tv shows are: real housewives of NJ, NY and orange county, top chef and anything on food network (except rachael ray - sorry!), LOST and Sopranos (and i wish LOST and Sopranos were still on)

24. i can find 4-leaf clovers on command - it's my party trick.  in fact, when training for the marathon with my cousin, i actually spotted one while running by, then backtracked to pick it up.

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25. i try to live each day to it's fullest. you only live once so do it up! "celebrate we will, 'cause life is short but sweet for certain"

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fun bachelorette party game

anyone have any bachelorette parties coming up?  personally, i'd rather have the mandatory veil or sash than wear the you-know-whats all over the place!!!  no thanks!  but i know i must surrender myself to the girls and i will probably have no choice when the time comes in august :)

ANYWAYS!  i have created this "game" a few times before and it is always really fun for the bride-to-be.

here's what you do (behind the bride's back - don't let her know you are working on this!  for me, i usually just tell the other girls "i'm working on a game" but don't give them details so there's no chance of spoiling the surprise):

1.  get the groom's email address - if you don't have it, give him a call or ask one of the guys.  no one needs to know why you need it and at this point, there are plenty of secret surprises going on so no one will even ask why you need it! 

2.  once you have his address, send him an email with the following questions (change them up as applicable!  some can be racier than others, i just kept it pretty PC and cute), and make sure to ask him to respond by a certain date - you might want to give him a call too, in case he doesn't check his email regularly. 

• what did you do on your first date?
• where did you have your first kiss?
• describe what BRIDE first thought when she saw you
• what is BRIDE’s favorite food?
• what is your favorite food?
• if you and BRIDE were stranded on an island together, who would have a better chance of survival, and why?
• who does the laundry/cleaning and cooking?
• what is BRIDE’s favorite sport?
• what is your weirdest habit?
• what is BRIDE’s weirdest habit?
• what is your favorite dish that BRIDE makes?
• if BRIDE could throw away anything of yours, what would it be?
• what would you toss of hers?
• what are your pet nick-names for each other?
• what is your favorite drink? BRIDE’s favorite?
• what is your favorite part about BRIDE?
• what is BRIDE’s favorite song?
• what is your favorite song?
• if BRIDE could have any music group play at your wedding, who would it be?
• if you had to date a celebrity before BRIDE, who would it be?  what about BRIDE?
• when did you realize BRIDE was the woman you were going to marry?
• when did BRIDE know you were the one for her?
• who is more likely to get hammered on your wedding night?
• what is BRIDE’s best quality?
• what is yours?
• what message would you like to give BRIDE about her bachelorette party? 

(it might seem like a lot of questions at first, but the more the better because it seems to go by quickly!)

3.  once he responds with answers, compile the list and if you have it, use PowerPoint to make a flashy handout.  you can also use a word document and insert images to make it look pretty.  i used the bride's colors for mine and printed handouts for everyone.  you can use google to find images for all of the answers and facebook for personal photos of the bride and groom.  this makes it really personalized for them!

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4.  when you get to the party, reserve some time to play the game (during pre-gaming is fun, last time we even played at the end of dinner while we were drinking - i don't recommend playing a drinking game with a martini/glass of wine though, so keep this in mind!).  i gave a copy of the printout to all the girls in attendance except the bride, and you'll see directions on the first page (above):

We asked GROOM the questions,

Now BRIDE must think.

For every incorrect answer,

The Bachelorette must drink!

go through all the questions and for every correct answer, all the girls have to drink.  for every incorrect answer, the bachelorette must drink!  when it's all over, i give the bachelorette her copy so she can see all the photos - it is really fun :)

tissue paper pom poms part 2

the inspiration is back and it's back with a vengeance.  i have now become absolutely obsessed with these things and i now know why courtney was obsessed too!!

but now it's time to settle down a bit and figure out which colors i actually want!  everyone's seen my inspiration board a million times, but here it is again to give an idea of the overall theme:

so now comes time to figure out exactly which colors will work with the color scheme - what do you think?  too much color?  not enough?

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i heart the Paper Source

have you been there yet?  if you haven't, go now.  it is AMAZING!  not all of us can be like my girl JEM - Aqua Bride who has it going on when it comes to D.I.Y. - me?  not so much.

that's where the Paper Source comes in.  

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i went there the other night in search of some cute thank you notes and that's when the inspiration hit me. they have workshops and classes (click HERE for a list of classes near you!) where you can learn how to carve your own stamps, fun frames, paper collage art, paper flower gardens, flower felting, summertime party invites & favors, rookie rubber stamping, calligraphy classes (for all you DIY-ers out there, you can learn to do it yourself and save the $ you would have paid someone to do it for you!), and girls night out - sassy personal stationery!

i signed up for the girls night out option because i either wasn't going to be around for some of the others, or the time had passed.  here's the description:  What woman doesn't love having her own stylish collection of stationery for personal notes and letters? With rubber stamps and a colorful variety of inkpads, we'll create fun, sassy and sophisticated stationery that you can proudly send to friends, family and colleagues! You'll get to use a wonderful selection of our rubber stamps - florals, funky patterns, borders, and monogram letters. We'll teach you masking and tone-on-tone stamping techniques that you can use while mixing and matching note cards and envelopes in a variety of colors! Bundle your handmade stationery creations in a lovely linen folio, which comes free as part of this Girl's Night Out! Plus, we can't wait to show off our new "wood veneer" stationery samples!

oh and PS - did i mention they have wine and appetizers?  sold to the blonde in san francisco!

3 months!!!

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three months from today i will be getting married!!  time has FLOWN by, and i can't even believe we've already hit the 3-month mark!  we still have so many things to do but i'm trying to remain calm :)

our list:

• finalize the song list for the DJ (and the DO NOT PLAY LIST!)
• meet with the venue manager to finalize food & beverage (and decide on our signature drink(s)), and find out who will be setting things up (putting up the lanterns/tissue paper pom poms, etc.)
• see if we want to rent chairs or use the ones the venue is supplying (blah)
• meet with the florist to finalize flower arrangements
• take a dance lesson or two for our first dance
• pick up our marriage certificate/license (are they the same thing?  clearly i need to figure this out, haha)
• SEND THE INVITES!!  i have them ordered, it's just a matter of getting them ready with the personal touches i'm going to add
• hair trial
• look in to wedding insurance (don't get worried about this mom and dad - it's just in case of bad weather!)
• purchase his wedding band and finalize mine
• purchase our wedding party gifts
• finalize our wedding favors (any thoughts?)
• decide on readers for the ceremony (and make sure they're ok with it :))
• meet our new priest and finalize pre-cana
• finalize my special surprise for the ceremony (oh man it's gonna be gooood!)
• pick up a chalkboard for the reception
• figure out transportation
• ...and lots of other stuff

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!

shower gift cross-country transportation dilemmas?

if you live in california but your showers are back east, how do you get everything home, you might ask?  it definitely didn't sound like an easy task but after all was said and done, wasn't too bad!

after the beautiful shower that pat's mom, aunt and sister-in-law threw for me in new jersey this past weekend, my mom and bridesmaids packed up my rental SUV and we drove everything back up to my parents' house in connecticut.  then, my mom and i walked everything from the trunk/back seat up the stairs, across the lawn, across the porch, up the stairs and to my old bedroom (which PS is still the most comfortable bed in the world by the way).  

the next day i called bed, bath & beyond to see what kind of options i had - could i please please please drop everything off at the connecticut store and then magically pick it all up at my local BB&B in san francisco?  luckily, the nice store clerk happened to be working that day so that's exactly what we did!

so on monday morning, my dad and i walked everything back down the stairs, across the porch, across the lawn, down the stairs and put it all back in the trunk/backseat of my rental SUV.  then i drove everything to my local BB&B in milford, ct, loaded shopping carts full of wonderful gifts in to the store, returned it all, and jetted off to newark airport to head back to SFO.

on tuesday, i knew i had to act quickly because there was one minor catch... when i returned everything, it was all added back on to my registry!  i wanted to make sure that no one else purchased the gifts we had already received, and also that no one thought we actually returned the gifts they gave us, so as soon as i could, i headed to my local BB&B in san francisco to pick everything back up and cram it in to my civic - not quite as easy as the SUV, especially by myself, but it worked!!

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as if things weren't getting "real" before - now we have proof of the upcoming marriage with REAL pots and pans (i feel like barefoot contessa!), matching plates (i secretly kept my pink plastic CVS picnic flower plates but pat will never find them), matching glasses (pat secretly kept his guinness and harp pint glasses but i pretended i didn't find them), a working toaster oven that won't set the building on fire and many other wonderful things.  now that i have the transportation part of things figured out, shower #2 in 2 weeks should be a snap!

paper lanterns

we want to use paper lanterns to spice up the ballroom at the yacht club but i'm having a dilemma as to which colors and which styles to get.  there are several versions out there with and without built in batteries, different sizes and shapes, etc.  our colors are slate blue, khaki and hot pink, so i was thinking khaki and blue could be pretty or i could just do all one color.  ahhh!!!  what to do!

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source (c) Steve Depino - Steve is AMAZING and as we all know, i was originally planning my wedding date around his availability!  this photo is actually taken in the exact ballroom at our wedding venue :)

there's also another option which my cousin did (along with lanterns) - we called them "tissue paper puffballs" but i'm not sure what the technical term is, haha!  

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source - (c) caitlin campbell - photos from courtney's wedding!

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i just want to bring some color in to the ballroom/dining room but don't want to go overboard either - is there such thing as a happy medium?  probably not in my life :)

weekend recap!

this weekend has been a whirlwind!  it's amazing and i don't want it to end!!  so here's a quick recap to get us up to speed to-date:

tuesday night, flew back to NJ

wednesday, worked in NJ and then.... went to my first yankees game in the new stadium!!  i'm just gonna say it once, but it is nothing compared to the old stadium - this new place is like an amusement park with ZERO charm :(.  but nonetheless, still great to be at a home game again.  AND, i didn't drink a single beer or eat a single french fry, which made my trainer very proud of me, and made me realize i really can live through food temptation :)

awesome seats on the 1st base line, personal photo

freddie sez even sat next to us with his pan and spoon! personal photo

thursday night i took it easy and worked on a game for my friend erin's surprise "bachelorette" night which was coming up the next day.  more on the game later this week.
 
friday my 3 best girlfriends (they're also 3 of my bridesmaids) from home came down to jersey to stay with me - they got stuck in tons of traffic though so we decided when they finally arrived not to drive to the shore for the day - instead, we laid out at the hoboken pier for the day and drank champagne!  later that night we threw a surprise "bachelorette" party for my friend erin who is getting married on july 10.  we had a nice night out on the town and it was so great to hang out with my girls!
 

the girls in our room at the W, personal photo

 

i'm sure the girls will be much happier with this photo :).  personal photo, from left - christine (maid of honor), betsy, me, erin

 

saturday was the most jam-packed day of them all - and the one i've been talking about the most for the past few months!  i got up bright and early (and didn't even have a headache from the previous night!) to go pick up my mom from grand central staion, and shortly after we arrived in hoboken i had my first dress fitting with my girls and MOM! YAY! and guess what ladies and trainer - they had to take the dress in 5" - yes, 5 inches!  now i'm not trying to brag but i have been working my BUTT off for the past 5 months trying to get in shape for this wedding!  when i first tried my dress on, it was a bit snug and the seamstress was like, "wow, it's a perfect fit!"  but when i came back for my first fitting this weeend, she was like, "wait a minute, what happened!"  and all i could do was think "YES!!".. anyways... sorry, but i won't be posting a pic on here because i am traditional in this one way, and i know pat reads the blog, so i won't be risking his eyes seeing the dress before the big day!  but all i can say is, it is perfect and just as i had pictured it, and it was so great to be reunited with it, and i didn't want to take it off, and, and, and...

after the dress fitting, we went back to the hotel to get ready for phase II of the day - pat's mom, aunt and sister-in-law threw me a shower for all the NJ/NY people to attend!  how sweet/wonderful/amazing of them!  i was very nervous and for the first time in my life, shy!  i was meeting all of pat's mom's friends and people i had heard about but never met, and it was great - everything i could expect and more.  i couldn't be more thankful to them for their hospitality and generousity!!  (more this week on how to transfer gifts from NJ to CA!)

gorgeous flower arrangements - made me second guess the table arrangements we've chosen for the wedding!  personal photo

chatting with a future sister-in-law and niece!!  personal photo

all my lovely lady friends!

me and my two little helpers - hannah and riley, personal photo

sunday i headed up to guilford to be with my dad on father's day and i also got to see my grandfather - it was so nice to spend time with family and friends throughout my visit that i am really dragging my heels to get back to san francisco.  it's an awesome city to visit - but to live?  well, it's just not home.

hope everyone else had a great weekend!

ahh, his bachelor party has finally arrived...

i'm a guys girl - i get it, i'm not upset about the bachelor party because frankly, i've lived through 5 other bachelor parties so even though this one is his, it still doesn't really bother me.  of course the fact that i have about 5,000,000 other things going on this weekend to distract me (yankees game last night [i miss the old stadium, just sayin'], jersey shore with some of my bridesmaids followed by a night on the town in hoboken tonight, pat's mother and sister-in-law are throwing me a bridal shower on saturday!!!, my first viewing/fitting of my dress and unveiling it to my mom [still no shoes!], and lastly i get to go to my hometown in connecticut to celebrate fathers day with my dad!).  so needless to say, luckily, pat's whereabouts with the guys will not be top on my list.

in fact, i can go as far as to say that i am so excited for pat!  he gets to see his best friends, 4 brothers, and dad for the first time since thanksgiving!!  the guys are all in myrtle beach for a 4-day weekend of testosterone, golf and i'm sure, relaxation :)

so, let's just hope the following does not happen this weekend to kick it off:

The Hangover "Wolf Pack Speech"

bridal blog awards!

weddingchannel.com is running their annual bridal blog awards and i thought it'd be fun to be a contender - so if you enjoy reading, please click the link above and nominate me!

but i also have several other blogs i follow, and out of those i'll be nominating the following lovely ladies as well - i feel like we're all going through this together and it makes it even more fun.  these blogs rock, check them out and nominate them too!

Dancy! http://beerbudgetbridesmusings.blogspot.com/

Courtney! http://courtneyandjohnforever.blogspot.com/

Girl Whose Name I Don't Know! http://crosscountrywed.blogspot.com/ - side note - we have the same wedding date and we're both in the same jam, planning a wedding on the east coast but living on the west coast. 

Sara! http://thistleandclovers.blogspot.com/

KMalandro2B! http://itallstartedwithspinthebottle.blogspot.com/

Jem! http://jemwedding.blogspot.com/

PartyPlannerGal! http://perpetualpartyplanner.blogspot.com/

that's it for now.  pics from the yankees game and some more exciting invite updates to come :)

10% discount at bluenile!

i ordered my wedding band from bluenile.com because they offer free FedEx shipping and i finally decided to go with a platinum band vs. white gold (because my engagement ring is also platinum and i've heard horror stories about mixing the metals and was worried about my engagement ring denting the white gold).  i actually think i might exchange the ring i did purchase for a different one from bluenile.com, but that's another story.

 personal photo - it seems too tall of a setting to me!

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i received an online coupon from bluenile.com the other day and it's a great deal - 10% off any item!

wanted to share with all of you in case you are interested - when checking out, enter GIFT20* and the 10% discount will be applied.  terms and conditions are below.

Terms & Conditions:
* When you use our Build Your Own Diamond Jewelry^® feature, offer applies only to the setting for a ring, earring, or pendant. Offer is not valid for any loose diamonds, pre-set engagement rings, or watches. Offer is not valid for any gift certificate or polishing cloth purchase. Reference code GIFT20 MUST be entered in cart or mentioned over phone at time of purchase. Offer may not be combined with any other offer and cannot be applied retroactively. Void where prohibited. Offer valid through Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

i said yes to the dress... but now what does it look like?

T-3 days until my first dress fitting!  i haven't seen the dress since january when i tried it on for the first time and "said yes to the dress" (not at kleinfeld though, but we all remember what happened with that!)

so it's been 5 months since i saw the dress, and since then my dressmaker has been altering away based on our conversations about how we wanted the dress to be.  there's lots of changes going on that we decided to make, and along with the fact that i haven't seen it in so long, now it's going to be a different dress too and i'm slightly freaking out!  but as i mentioned in the past, my mom wasn't with me when i picked out the dress so the best i could do was send her a text photo - that didn't really cut it for me so i'm really most excited to debut the dress to my mom and maid of honor so they can see it for the first time... but it will really be my first time seeing it as a final product too!  YIKES!!

i've been working out like crazy, ran a half marathon, and my trainer put me on a horrendous diet for this week (ok it's really not that bad but do you know how badly i've been craving a REAL new jersey bagel (everything!) with taylor ham, egg, and cheese?)  i will just have to wait until AFTER the fitting :)

personal photo of course, who else takes pictures of their breakfast?

for dancy! (source)

our san francisco half marathon

as some of you may know, i am currently training for the new york marathon.  oh, and planning a wedding.  oh, and fundraising $6,000 for cancer research for the marathon with my cousin.  oh, and i have to raise it all by end of august... no big deal, right?  what the @#$% was i thinking!!!  (if interested in learning about the fundraiser, please click here http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/courtneyandjacinrun!!)

 november 2008 NY marathon - personal photo

so with this being said, yesterday i ran my first half marathon of the year and i convinced pat to run it with me.  he was hesitant at first but it was fun training together because we pushed each other along the way.  well yesterday for once it was 90 degrees in san francisco and with the hills and beating sun, the race was extremely challenging!  but, we did it!  oh, and the coolest part was, at the end, we got to run in to AT&T park (SF Giants baseball stadium) and they announced your name and you got to run over home plate.  that's pretty much the reason we ran, haha!

horrendous personal photo, not sure why i'm sharing this.  oh and PS i had awesome sports bra and iPod armband tan lines after!

pat getting his photo taken on home plate (personal photo)

next up - the training for 26.2 miles continues!  oh, and HAVE TO get the invites taken care of next week!

insanity... on the road workouts

as i've mentioned several times, i travel a LOT for work.  this past week i was in orlando (can you get any farther from san francisco!) for a meeting and as we all know by now, i've been working so hard to eat right and work out, so i was determined to keep the momentum going rather than falling behind on eating right and getting some exercise.

not sure how many of you travel for work, but based on my experience, i feel like it is nearly impossible to eat healthy when you're traveling.  you're at the airport and you can choose between a banana or a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on an everything bagel - at 6am when you're starving what would you rather choose?  then when we go to nice dinners with clients would you rather have a salad with dressing on the side, or experience the local chef's specialty??  well let's just say i usually go with option b for both scenarios!

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so this week as i was entering my 2-weeks-until-my-first-dress-fitting mark, i was determined not to let orlando get the best of me and set me back on my fitness goals!  enter....insanity!  

yes... i ordered insanity after a very promising infomercial a few weeks ago.  for those of you unsure of what insanity is, no, its not my current state of mind :).  insanity is a workout DVD set that promises results after 60 days of constant workouts - as the site says, "you perform long bursts of maximum-intensity exercises with short periods of rest. Each workout keeps you constantly challenged as you alternate between aerobic and anaerobic intervals performed at your MAX. The result: burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour and get the most insane body in 60 days."

 

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so if i'm on the road and need to get in a good workout i've discovered that these DVDs are just what i need, because i can pop them in my laptop and get in a good workout in the hotel room instead of finding the gym or running outside in a foreign area.  the result?

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i decided to spare everyone the post-workout photo op, but hey you do what you can!