Martha Stewart Weddings Makes Me Want to Blog

I just got off the phone with my mom who is absolutely thrilled that I will be in Chicago next week. I asked her to make a list of the things she wants/needs me to do while I'm at home and she goes "oooooo, I really want to go to that bridal shop and look at dresses!" She's like, super stoked about the whole thing. Which got me thinking how I haven't really done a "wedding" post. So voila.

The first thing one should do when planning a wedding is pick a budget. Matt and I discussed how much we felt comfortable spending before I approached my mom to see what she wants to contribute. Here's how that convo went:

Me: Mom, before we can really do anything, we need to know our budget.
Mom: What's a budget?
Me: You're cute mom. Seriously though, I need to know.
Mom: You don't have a budget.
Me: A budget is important
Mom: You're crazy. You know your mom has expensive taste. So tell me what you need to make it look amazing.

Helpful, right? While it could be fun to pretend like my wedding is an episode of "My Super Sweet Sixteen", I really couldn't pull it off. So I have a mental idea of what I want to spend and will have a lovely time discussing this with mom next week.

I spent the majority of the summer looking at the billion possible venues where I could see myself getting married. Major criteria: 1) Ceremony and reception in one location. The wedding can be outside and the reception inside, but I really want to keep it all together. 2) I really want my ceremony outside. While my mother is still trying to get over the fact that I won't get married inside a church, I've always pictured myself outside. So that's that. 3) Must have amazing photo ops. That makes sense for obvious reasons. 4) Has to be somewhere where we can stay late. And by late, I mean like...11ish. Which you would think is easy, but places have a ton of restrictions that might make it difficult. So after searching and searching I think I have 5 places that fit the criteria. I made Matt create a series of spreadsheets (because excel is a beautiful thing) with costs based on number of guests, what each venue includes, pros/cons, etc. Matt and I are going to start visiting them next month and then pick...*fingers crossed* that I absolutely fall in love with one of them.

I have a mental idea of what I want my dress to look like. I've found a bunch of pics that I love, but each one has 1 tiny thing I want to change. Part of me thinks that I'll have to tweak whatever dress I pick, but I am so thrilled to start trying them on. Look forward to the "omg, I hate wedding dress shopping - I feel like a cow and I look crappy in white" post that I'm sure will show up in the next few months.

I have a bunch of ideas and visions about what I want(flowers, colors, favors, etc.) There's only one thing that we're dead set on, but everything else is up in the air. All the wedding mags and tabbed like crazy. I'm starting to freak out with the enormity of the whole thing, but I think I can handle it...right?

Buh Buh Buh Bennie and the Jets

I love music (duh, if you read this blog/know me I'm sure you've figured that out). If you put my ipod on shuffle you'll get the most bizarre combination of music. For example, today on the BART ride home I listened to "One Song Glory" from Rent followed by "Nuthing But a G Thang" by Dr. Dre. Random.

While I love listening to music on shuffle, today I realized that I have another music problem - when a song that I love comes up, I get really excited about it and proceed to listen to it over...and over...and over again.



While on shuffle mode, "Bennie and the Jets" came on. I LOVE that song. 70's Elton John was a genius. I learned the words to this song when I was like 5 and thoroughly enjoyed the scene in 27 Dresses where Katherine Heigel and James Mardsen are attempting to sing along but screw up all the words. So I turned the volume up, sang along and danced a bit in my seat until it was over. But then I started it again...and again...and again. And sometimes if I'm feeling particularly motivated and moved by a song, I'll look it up on youtube and see live performances, or if I'm really lucky, someone's attempt at singing the song. Am I the only one with this problem?

Also in youtube fun, I've been watching clips of "The Dan Band". They're the band/comedy trio in "Old School" who perform bouncy and often crude covers of songs that are usually performed by chicks. Here's a little Wilson Phillips for your listening and viewing pleasure:

NPH

I absolutely adore him...from Doogie Howser to HIMYM to Harold and Kumar to Dr. Horrible...this man can do no wrong

That is all

Today's Lesson

On my BART ride home today, something was wrong with the brakes so we stopped between 2 stations to have it checked out...45 minutes later (over an hour after I got on the train) we finally pulled into the next station.

What did I learn today? Make sure to use the bathroom right before you get on BART because even if your commute is only 20 minutes long, it could turn into over an hour of you wishing that you didn't drink that 20 oz. bottle of diet coke.

Law Student Turned Music Critic

This past weekend I ventured up to Amoeba to dig through some stacks of records to add to my new collection. It also turned into a "Bianca teaches Matt about the beauty of vinyl" lesson. Seeing that I'm a starving law student this summer, I limited myself to 3 purchases: 1) Chicago's (then known as Chicago Transit Authority) first album. It's beautiful because it's the only album they released under that name since the actual CTA threatened to sue. Gotta love my hometown; 2) The Go-Go's "Beauty and the Beat". Another fabulous debut and contained "Our Lips are Sealed" and "We've Got the Beat". Obviously a necessary addition to the collection; and what I was most stoked about, 3) Fleetwood Mac "Rumors". I remember each and every lyric on this album. My parents were obsessed with it. While it was released in the late 70's and I wasn't born until 1983, I vividly remember my parents playing it, on the turntable in the house and on a recorded tape in the car. I remember my dad used to tell me how it was one of the best selling albums of all time. So as I sat here listening to it, I decided to do a little wikipedia search...

When I decide to look up something on wikipedia and I have some time to spare, I tend to start clicking the links within the article. This usually leads to hours reading random but incredibly enjoyable information (example: last night Tiffany and I looked up "where are they now?" of our favorite childhood stars. I didn't get to sleep until 1 a.m.) So I look up Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" and I get a link to the best selling albums of all time...

At #1 we have Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Completely acceptable. It's the album that included "Billie Jean" (my personal fav - in my young years I wished the sidewalk would light up as I walked), "Beat It" and "PYT". This is followed by AC/DC and The Eagles (ok, I'll give it to them) and then...The Bodyguard Soundtrack. I thought "this can't be right..." but apparently it is. Ok, when Whitney hit those long, high notes towards the end of "I Will Always Love You", I was impressed. 42 million albums sold impressed? Not really. Following Whitney we have some unsurprising artists: Meatloaf, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin. A little further down the list we have...the Backstreet Boys. Not once, but TWICE!!! 30 million albums each. Higher than other Michael Jackson Albums, Nirvana's "Nevermind", and my beloved "Rumors". Insanity.

Perhaps I think I'm a music critic. Or maybe I've been watching "Almost Famous" too much.

Designer Imposters

When I was 10 years old, I got an allowance of $2/week. I thought I was rich - $2 can buy so much! Candy, string to spend hours using to make friendship bracelets, and when I was feeling extra special, a bottle of Wet & Wild nail polish or designer imposters perfume. My friends and I would walk to Walgreens and spend hours spraying the different scents in the air. Sure we made customers cough and sneeze as they walked past, but all we cared about was finding the best scent for us. Imagine my surprise today after a long day at work when some lady on Bart pulls a bottle out. First I was surprised to see they still existed. Then, imagine how I felt when she popped off the cap and sprayed it...in the bart car...so everyone had to smell it. I was no longer that 9 year old girl, but one of the many adult walgreens customers coughing and sneezing like crazy. I think I can still smell it...

Update: I should have quoted Clueless in this post:
Amber - "Was I the only one listening? I thought it reaked."
Cher - "I believe that was your designer imposters perfume."

My Kind of Town

Some peeps were bugging me to talk about my recent trip home and since things have been bananas lately, I haven't written. So voila...

Chicago = Pizza, Water Tower, Dunkin Donuts, Visits with WA Girls, Al's Deli Cookies, Lake Shore Drive, etc. I love it all. The trip to Chicago was absolutely fantastic. It had been such a long time since I was home during the spring and I forgot how pretty the city can be. My mom's new place is fabulous. It's so great to see her being independent and it's soo much closer to all the fun stuff in the city that I love. I was a little bummed out that I had to get used to a new neighborhood. I totally took advantage of where we lived before. But once I figured it all out, it was great. ALSO, I spent my birthday here:

FANTASTIC. I love my Chicago Cubs and it had been ages since I had gone to Wrigley field. Plus I got to spend the day in the sun resting up from the birthday festivities of the night before. I hope I can go back in August to get a small glimpse of the humidity before school starts. We shall see.