Our wedding rings

You might recall that last year we did an impromptu engagement ring photo shoot in Hawaii.  I love those photos.  At the time I was VERY into reading wedding blogs (I feel like a bride has to go through that phase), and I was always excited when people did fun ring photos.  After Hawaii I loved the engagement ring pics so much that ever since we got our wedding bands I've been wanting to take the time and do some shots with them.  So, today we did.

You might notice some props that will reappear at the wedding.  All photos are by Dave.

Now we just need to get them on our fingers...

A night off for a Sounders game

A couple of weeks ago a coworker very kindly gave me 2 tickets for a Sunday evening Sounders game.  I was only too glad to oblige (by attending).

So Dave and I enjoyed a night off from wedding projects.  It's funny to think what life will be like without wedding projects.  What will I do with my time?  Oh, right.  Work.  Grad school.  Married life. :)

Anyways, it was a fun evening, even though they only tied the game.  I think Dave was happy to have a chance to wear his scarf and jersey, too.

I had spirited shoes - which I thought was pretty awesome.

And we had a sweet view!

Napkin rings...

...AKA the wedding craft I couldn't be happier to have complete!

Our napkin rings are based on this blog's directions, recommended by wonderful bridesmaid Brianne.  They have been a labor of love, for us and our friends (thank you to everyone who helped make napkin rings!).

We began collecting tubes, but then concluded it would make life much easier if we could pre-wrap the silverware in the napkins and put them in the rings.  Enter the amazing and resourceful Danielle, who happened to have access to an abundant supply of larger, stronger tubes at her architecture firm.  Because she is such a nice person, she even cut them for us on her table saw - I highly recommend having talented, kind friends when you get married.  Then each ring was trimmed, many were covered with a lining, and they were carefully covered in fabric (which was cut to size out of upcycled fabrics from thrift stores).  Once dry, ribbon was added to the centers.  Multiply these steps by the 112 rings that we made, and it adds up to many hours of work.

So you can imagine how fabulous it feels to say that they are DONE.  112 rings (plus about 10 in a fabric that I later decided I didn't like...).

Here they are, in all their eco-friendly, recycled material, napkin ring glory:

Next we have to make the seating cards that will match these lovely napkin ring fabrics, the inspiration for making them in the first place.  Wish us luck!

Meet the hummingbirds, part deux

Watching the hummingbirds grow up has been so fascinating and has in fact become a bit of an obsession for me.  I will usually look in on the birds while coming and going from work and occasionally a couple of times during the evening.  An interesting development is how quickly the birds have been growing which means that the mother hummingbird no longer fits inside the nest with the babies.  I don't know where she sleeps, but she'll stop in periodically to check in and say hello while perching on the side of the nest.  Apparently a hummingbirds feet are only good for perching and if they need to move even a couple of inches they will fly instead of walking.

The babies don't look like babies anymore.  They are almost the size of mom and seem to be having trouble fitting into the nest together.  There must be enough room for them to move around a little bit because sometimes they are facing the same direction and other times they are sitting beak to tail.  I am afraid that the day is fast approaching when I will look into the nest one morning only to find that the babies have begun their own lives.  When that day comes I might become an empty-nester, at least for a day or two...

One month to go!

All I can say is wow.  I guess I would have figured it out at some point today, but then Rick wrote Dave and I and pointed out that today marks our one month from the wedding day point.  It's kind of hard to believe.  It doesn't seem that long ago that we celebrated the one year to the wedding, or one year of engagement.

All in all I would say that we are on track.  Certainly there are things to get done, but I am fairly confident that they WILL get done.

And I can't wait to see everyone!  We're so happy that many of our family and friends will be joining us to celebrate our big day.

So keep us in your thoughts this month.  We're very, very excited, but can use all the love and support we can get to make it through the projects, appointments, and all the fun activities that lead up to "I do!"

Bridal Bootcamp

As if there wasn't enough to do this summer, I decided to sign up for a bridal bootcamp - a workout program designed specifically for brides-to-be.  For one, I thought it would be a fun (and funny) experience.  I also wanted to schedule myself for workouts so that I would be motivated to show up and work hard!

Last week I had my first 2 classes, and let me tell you, I am feeling it.  The first day we did fitness testing, which included running a little under a mile at a effort level "6 or 7 on a scale of 1 to 10."  We also had to do sit-ups, push-ups, and measurements.  From there we moved into the REAL workout.  This involved a lot of lunges, a circuit with biceps, triceps, and sprinting, and then 9 different abs sets.  At the second class some were doing fitness testing, so I repeated all of those things, in addition to a hard workout.

Now to be fair, I am a competitive person when it comes to athletics (I know, you are shocked), and therefore push harder than I probably should. Add in that quite a few of the girls are returning from previous sessions, so they are further along on these particular workouts - and I feel the need to compete with them...oops.

If that wasn't enough, last week at work my summer camp students were hiking and canoeing, which meant I was already working out!  Needless to say, I now hurt...a lot.  On Thursday night I didn't think I would be able to canoe the next day, but I pulled it together.  Fortunately I only have one class next week because of book club (I'm going every Tuesday and  few Thursdays because the wedding is sooner than their 8 week program - eek!).

On the plus side, Dave thinks the workouts have been really good for my energy and stress levels.  Way to go, endorphins!  So, wish me luck!  I'm already proud of myself for hanging in there and working hard all week, so I think this will be a great experience.  And hopefully all this hard work will mean that I look and feel great on the big day. 

Meet the hummingbirds

It seems fitting on my grandma's birthday to tell you about our new bird friends (my grandma loves birds).  Dave loves to check on them whenever we come and go from the condo, and now I'm hooked, too!

Here is what we assume is "mama bird."  We could almost reach the nest on the tree growing out of the courtyard.  Kind of her to pick a branch on the second story!

I would swear it was a fake bird and nest because she sits so still, but we see her come and go.  In fact, we got to spot an egg!  And then today, for the first time, we got to meet the babies (mom must be out getting food for those hungry mouths).

Aren't they adorable?  It's nice to pause for a "nature moment" each day.

I suggested that we have hummingbirds as pets.  I guess we really have the ideal, they sit just outside the door and we don't have to clean up after them!

(All photos by Dave)

Licensed to wed!

Today Dave and I went to apply for our marriage license.  When we realized we were within the time frame, and that the community service center we planned to visit is only open on Thursdays, we decided to go this week!  We had to wait in line for an hour to be helped, since there was only one person and her computer was down.  But, it was all worth it.  We will be authorized to make the marriage official between July 11 and September 8 (though we plan to stick with August 21). :)

After "licensing" we decided to celebrate with dinner out - also an excuse to avoid heating our house by cooking during the current heat wave.  We tried out Tutta Bella in Issaquah, and I would HIGHLY recommend it.  We shared a salad and the pizza special - an amazing Neapolitan-style pizza with peppers and garlic.

Doesn't that look delicious?

We're one step closer to Mr. & Mrs., and loving every minute of this time.

Less than 50 days

I just realized that we are at less than 50 days to the big day.  I was looking up information on getting our marriage license, and we are within the time period before the wedding when you can pick up your license!  Crazy.  (For those interested, in Washington your marriage license becomes valid 3 days after you apply and is good for 60 days.)

Without a doubt there are still a lot of things to get done, but I'm feeling pretty happy with how much we do have set.  Invitations are out, I made a lot of progress on our napkin rings today (post to come), our outfits are just about complete, and most importantly Dave and I are really ready to be married!

In the relatively near future I guess I'll have to figure out all those practical aspects of marriage - like changing my name, combining bank accounts, etc.  Any advice for us?

There is much more to say, but those posts will come (hopefully) soon...Happy Fourth of July!