So much to say, and so little to show!

I can't believe it has been over a month since I've last posted, but it has.  Time flies, and so much has happened!

The big news is that I am actually getting married!  We finally set a date (April 30th, 2012)...yes...that's right!  A couple of weeks ago we decided we should get married in less than 2 months.  So much for the typical long engagement during which time the bride actually plans a wedding!  (And no, I'm not pregnant yet!) :)  To make things less insane, we threw out our latest idea of a picnic in the park-type wedding, and we are going to the courthouse in Annapolis to "get'er done!".  But...I still wanted a celebration, and my friends and family have pulled through for me in a big way - I feel really special!

My mom flew up from Georgia last weekend to go dress shopping with me.  We went to Nordstrom's Wedding Suite, and IT WAS AWESOME!  We'd signed up to make an appointment later than we should have, it turns out, and we got very lucky that the coordinator was willing to work hard to fit us in for an appointment with a stylist last Friday.  And even luckier that the stylist was training someone else, so I had two people helping me and making me feel like a princess.  It was like my own version of "Say Yes to the Dress", and it was a blast.  Having never tried on wedding dresses before, I didn't have a sense of what would look good, and, in actuality, I wasn't looking for a traditional wedding dress, but it was so fun to see what that would be like. 

The really funny thing was that the dress I think I'm ending up with was the one that I saw as we were coming up the escalator and looked into the area...I pointed to it and said "that's the dress".  They didn't have it in my size to try on, so we sort of forgot about it in trying on gowns that were in my size (or close enough to be put on and then closed with clip things!).

Here's the winner of the ones I could try in my size...and it is pretty close to what I'm ending up with, though I'm hoping that the final one looks better.  I thought about sharing some pictures of the rejects, but...well, it's dinner-time and I don't want to spoil your apetite (further)!

I actually ended up ordering three dresses...they are sitting in boxes in my front hall right now waiting for Sunday, when I'll open the boxes and try on the dresses with my two super-close girlfriends (Anne and Talia...both of whom have unfinished quilts that I hope to finish before the wedding...because why not give myself something different to stress about work on?!?)  We will then go to brunch, because one way or another, I suspect I'll want a mimosa!  (Incidentally, after seeing the pictures my mom took of some of the rejects that were being pushed on us the next day at Neiman Marcus, I should really go on a diet.  Instead, I made blackberry cobbler earlier this week, and I'm currently contemplating getting up and making chocolate mousse before Bryan gets home from work.  I think I have the wrong idea about how to solve the problem of my mental image (aka Supermodel) not matching the photographic evidence!  Oh, and might I add that I'm about to start a daily push-up regimen - yikes!)

Anyway, in other exciting news, Anne is hosting a bridal brunch for me, which I'm absolutely thrilled about!  It's on April 15th, so I should probably not wait until that day this year to do my taxes!  Details...

We'll have at least one small dinner celebration the weekend before the wedding, and then my aunt and uncle in New Orleans are letting us use their amazing backyard for a family crawfish boil/reception!  More on that later (once I've figured it all out!).

In further exciting news, I am once again a landlord, and I'm thrilled.  After having my house in Athens, GA, on the market for 5+ years (and only rented 1 of those years), I'm excited for the stress relief that comes from having someone living there.  It's always a bit scary, but the couple seems really nice, and I reduced my rental price pretty significantly to make it possible for them and in hopes that they'll take good care of the house, so hopefully karma will work for me this time.  I'm crossing my fingers, and in the mean-time, it is nice to have someone there to pay some of the bills and to take care of the yard!  Who knows...maybe someday they'll be able to buy it!  This is a picture of the Paulonia tree blooming in the front yard...isn't it amazing?!?  I planted that tree (o.k., my brother planted it, but I helped), and look at it now!  It's huge...wish I had something to show the scale better!)

Oh...and you probably would like to hear about quilting!  I've got so many tops finished or really close, but no pictures!  I'm hoping to have some time this weekend to wash the kitchen floor and baste 6 projects!  (OK, I divided the duvet cover for my brother into 4 quadrants for the front, plus 1 pieced section on the back so far.  The picture shows the layout on my design wall before I pieced it...it has sashing between each block, and I think I'm going to free-motion a different design in each block for the fun of practicing...it's the back of a duvet cover, so it won't matter if it isn't perfect, right? 

I spent many days working on organizing my sewing room so that we could fit more stuff under the bed before my mom's visit, since she was going to need to sleep in the bed, and it was completely covered in fabric and projects.  I have a little more to do, and then I'll finally be able to present the sewing room in all its glory...I'm sure it will stay cleaned up better after seeing what agony it has been to get it manageable!  Here's part of the before...complete with my little helper...NOT!

I also have to get Talia and Aaron's quilt basted.  I love the idea of presenting them with the quilt I promised them at their wedding on my wedding day, plus it is also Aaron's birthday, so I'd love to get it done and delivered.  The top turned out so beautifully that I really am terrified of messing it up with the quilting, so it may be slow-going, but I think I'm finally mentally-ready.)   I'm also taking off at least 3 days from work during the first two weeks of April, so I should get a lot done, in theory.

OK, Bryan's home and catching me in the fact that I've not done anything about dinner or cleaning up the dishes from breakfast (which I usually do during lunch on days I telework!), so I better run and show him that he's not marrying a lazy bum!  Heh...what he doesn't know...

I'm about to post more regularly, including a fun "tag-it" post from Becky!