Hello blogging world!

How I have missed thee.

But there's been significant progress in our wedding planning so I have much to update you on!


THE DRESS HAS BEEN PAID FOR AND ORDERED!!!!! EEEEKKKKK!!!!!! Needless to say I am pretty darned broke at the moment. I was still 4 pounds away from my target goal weight when I ordered the dress last Wednesday but I didn't think it would be too much of a big deal. But. It kinda was. The sample dress they had me try on was technically a size 12 (meaning it was a 6 in real life) and the zipper couldn't make its way up my back for the top two inches, which I thought was fine. Then when the lady measured me, she told me that while my bust and waist were around a 12/14, my hips and thighs were a size TWENTY so they would have to order a size 20. In addition, that was considered el nacho grande so they would have to charge me a bit more money. Um. What? Yeah I don't think so. There's no way in HELL I was a size TWENTY and they better damn well recognize I ain't paying a single cent more for this dress that literally cost enough to feed the entire country of Lithuania. I said that I was never a 20 in my entire life and I planned to lose 100 pounds and I was happy for settling for the size 14 thankyouverymuch. The lady tried to convince me to go bigger but I stood my ground. I can see why the boutique wanted to make sure that the dress ordered was on the bigger side since you can always tailor the dress to be smaller but SIZE TWENTY? That's ridiculous. I think they're banking on making SURE that they get to charge me for some additional tailoring.... But whatevs. Little do they know I got my Korean peeps who run the dry cleaning kingdom who'll be taking care of all my alterations. Stickin it to tha man feels oh so good!!!! ;)

wedding invitations have finally been decided on!!!!! Brian was here last weekend and I dragged him to a few paperias and we sat down and looked through about 300 invitations and we found the magic one! Let me rephrase that: I found the one while Brian begged for me to just pick one already since they all looked the same. I will say the invitation I picked is like 98% me and 2% Brian. All you lucky ones will know what I mean when you get your invitations in Decemeber/ January! :)

The menu proteins have been decided! All the honorable guests will have the option of picking either fish (most likely halibut), beef (possibly sirloin), or vegetarian (which will be either a pasta or noodle dish). Yummy! How exciting is that! Brian and I have booked another tasting in December so I'm happy to see that all these major deets are well underway!

So..... I've hit a diet plateau. I haven't lost any more weight since my last weight loss milestone and Brian's visit didn't help. But! I'm ready to up the ante and add some actual weightlifting and workout sessions into my weeks now that I'm whittling down my shifts at the hospital. I'm hitting the gym tomorrow with Gracey for a heavy duty ass whooping at a fancy shmancy place in her neighborhood. Bring on the pain!

I think I've covered all the major points. I'm trying to brace myself mentally for this week since it's my all time favorite holiday -- Thanksgivingggg!!!! Must. Resist. Seconds. :)

Beautiful Victoria, BC Wedding!

Checks it out here!


Definitely one of my faves! I LOVE HER DRESS! So unique!


P.S. I just lost a major bet. I gave Kim Kardashian's marriage 100 and overshot it by 28 days. D'OH!


P.P.S. I've lost almost 15 pounds now!!!! Workaholic diet = success!!! On the flip side, I have to find a chiropractor/herbalist/acupuncturist to go to because I've been having THE WORST neck pains the past two weeks. Gonna go back to my roots and try some acupuncture!


Happy Halloween! I'll be working 'til 11:30 tonight so hopefully I'll have some interesting patients donned in scary costumes! :D

Laziest post ever. :)

For updates on Brian and my wedding plans here is Brian's sister's blog entry on their wedding food tasting weekend. Check her out because I know you're dying to know some wedding food deets. And also just because she. is. fabulous. :)




Gimme a break here kids. I'm workin' my ass off in the name of my wedding dress.


More wedding updates soon to come!

My newest toy and FIVE more dresses!

Dude. I am totally converted.

I am obsessed with my new french press thermos (Thank you fabulous future sister-in-law).

So. Pretty.



Essential for my mornings at the hospital.

 Definite recommend.

So yes, I am back to my busy bee little self. I had an orientation this morning at a veterans' hospital for the psychiatric ward there and then I had the rare occasion of having the afternoon off so Anneliese and I decided to hit up a bridal boutique for some more dress try-ons! Yayyyy!

For your viewing pleasure:

I forgot the name of this brand but the company not in business anymore anyways.

A very popular Maggie Sottero dress.

Don't remember the brand but it was my first taffeta dress!

Such lovely details!

An older Maggie. Twas vintage-pretty.



Honestly. Mags has the BEST destination gowns!

 I think this brings my dress count total to.... around 80ish? I've tried on a CRAPLOAD of dresses! HOLY MOLEY. I am still feeling like I haven't found "THE ONE" but just like the whole venue searching fiasco, I'm sure I'll cave at some point and pick a dress that I'm content with and slowly fall in love with it more and more as we get closer to the wedding date (I'm ECSTATIC about our Vancouver Art Gallery venue now!). All I have to do in the meantime is start saving up for my gown down payment!


Other exciting wedding news: The first wave of invitation samples are being sent to my house on Wednesday! SOOOOOOOOO looking forward to picking out the PERFECT invite and getting them out to my guests. Brian is working on the catering options and we've pretty much narrowed down our choices to two caterers (Culinary Capers and Savoury Chef). I'm leaving it up to Brian and Mama Gregg to do the tasting honors and determine which is better! Hopefully the menu will be setttled upon within the month and I will be able to get the invites out no later than November!!! We are well on our way! :)

Tomorrow will be GRUELING. I work the morning 7a to 3:30p shift at the hospital and then have to trudge on over to CIGNA for a few more hours. It's pretty much gonna be a minimum 12 hour work day. Whelps. Gotta start makin' that dough in order to supplement my painfully fabulous tastes!  Cheers to makin' that PAYPURR. Let it rain! :)

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED!!!!!

It's finally DONE!!!!!!!!!!

We are officially getting married at the Vancouver Art Gallery on August 4th, 2012!!!!!!!!

At long last!

That date is especially good for any residents of British Columbia because it just so happens to be a long weekend! :)

Brian and I have agreed that we couldn't have found a more perfect spot: It's located in central downtown, close to EVERYTHING and we get the ENTIRE art gallery to ourselves!

I don't want to give all the exciting details away but we also have our own private animateurs at our disposal and Brian and I plan to utilize ALL FOUR FLOORS of this beautiful gallery!

Oh and the best part??? Just GUESS who's being showcased that weekend?

Here's a clue for all the art lovers out there:

One of the GREATS! :)

I'm SO EXCITED I COULD DIE!!!!!!!!

So. Close.

Guess what?

The contract to our wedding venue is sitting on the kitchen table. Unsigned.

We're 90% sure we will sign it and turn it in but there are a few adjustments that we are going to try to make.... such as the price.

It is pretty steep.

We've already haggled it down but it's still a lot of money. And I think Brian's having second thoughts. I, on the other hand, have no thoughts. It's been a painful experience throughout this whole venue selection process and I am mentally done with it all. I don't care if we get married in a asteroid crater at this point (Actually, that would be pretty cool. Dusty, but cool). It would be disappointing if I left here without a confirmed venue but I guess there are worse things. It just sucks since we've managed to look at so many and the one venue we're BOTH set on, happens to cost an arm and a leg. I'm debating between setting up some more last minute venue options or just letting Brian make the decision himself. I cannot wait til this is all over!! And then I'm not thinking about wedding plans for a long long time!

Anyways, that's the update folks. I'll keep you posted as to what happens next! Hopefully my next post will be on how we FINALLY BOOKED SOMETHING!!!

Another Fab Weekend!

Oh man. Brian is really itchin' to move out of his place.

It's not that there is any real serious issue with his landlady but I think she's just a little bit more involved than we're used to. We're still certain that she comes down to check on the suite when we're away but Brian and I have been making sure that the place is spotless before we leave. That's not too big of an issue. But lately she has been imposing a bit of pressure when Brian decides to cook with garlic or spices or any other odorous ingredient. Which I happen to love. She's never directly said that she disapproves. She just makes comments such as "I've noticed that you've been cooking with garlic a lot." or "I can smell the curry you're cooking from my bedroom. It's very strong." Anyways, on Thursday night Brian was cooking some of his delicious aglio e olio with a jalapeno kick when we suddenly heard the landlady begin to quickly lumber about and pace above us. All had been silent until Brian began frying up the garlic. I tried to air out the suite as much as I could by opening windows and doors and turning on fans but the bear upstairs continued to pace back and forth. So Brian turned the stressful situation into a romantic evening by announcing that we were going to enjoy our dinner on the beach and watch the sunset while we ate our pasta. We packed up all the food along with some fruit and crackers and the remaining pieces of our delicious banana bread and drove down to the Spanish Banks just in time to watch the sun set. It was a beautiful setting for an orgasmic meal.

Pics.

Picnic-packaged meal

Lovin' life.

To die for.

Not a shabby view.

Relaxed and landlady free.

So on Friday I almost died.

I made the stupid decision to have a three hour workout sesh at the gym (1.5 hours on the treadmill and 1.5 hours of weightlifting) and my body definitely felt the pain for the next few days. My calves were on FIYAH. Good thing I had a relaxing weekend in store!

Doug picked us up from the ferry terminal Friday night and we headed straight to our friend Genevieve's beautiful waterfront place where Jane and cutie Arfa was waiting. We indulged in tons of finger food and late night conversations before heading to Brian's parents' house to crash. 

The next morning we all got up to meet Brian's sister and others on Sidney Spit, a tiny island off the island. We had a bit of a late start and we missed the ferry that we wanted to take but we all eventually got there in one piece. It was the perfect day for the beach and minus the freezing water, it was pretty much a day in paradise. 

That evening, Brian prepped a lovely summer roll dinner for everyone that was an instant hit with his tandoori spiced chicken. The meal was followed by some delicious chocolate cake and by then I was ready to pass out. Everyone wanted to watch "River Monsters" and "Hoarders" so my social instincts were to join in but my eyes refused to cooperate. I was in the REM stage of sleep 10 minutes into the show. 

On Sunday, the major plan for the day consisted of an awesome blueberry pancake brunch with Heather and James providing the yummy yummy bacon. As the last bites of pancake were being taken, James generously offered one of his trophy salmon to be the main course for dinner that day so Brian and I extended our Victorian stay for the chance to partake in a sea-derived feast! And it was well worth it! We had pink salmon, corn, potatoes, carrots, quinoa salad, green beans, impromptu fried rice, and Bailey's milkshakes for dessert. I could barely move post meal but we had to get our hustle on in order to catch the last ferry off the island. We said our goodbyes and Heather and James were gracious enough to give us a lift to the terminal. It was 9pm and I was poooooped. But had a GREAT time with some GREAT company.

Visual aid.

Finally on the ferry to Sidney Spit!

Beach camp

Beach baby

Beach babes.

 Pico!

Doggy kisses!

Sibs

Super sibs

Ready to take on the spit

Le spit.

Fiance.

DINNER.

The angler and his trophy

Adventure baby!

HI ARFA!!!

Can we get a decent pic?

Lol. Nope.

Doug joins our predinner walk.

Super mom.

Will Doug eat the salmon eyeball?

Naturally.

Boys will be boys.

Gals will be lovely.  :)

So Brian and I have made it back to Vancouver safe and sound although I slept 75% of the way home. I was supposed to go kayaking today but it is probably the worst day (weatherwise) we've had in Vancouver since my arrival. It's gray and rainy and cold and just plain yucky. Melissa and I have postposed the kayak trip for another day and also scheduled in a girl's night out for Saturday. It'll be nice to go out with some gals and make some friends in the city before I leave so I'm definitely looking forward to it!

BIG NEWS!

Brian and I have an appointment with the events coordinator of the Vancouver Art Gallery this Wednesday in hopes to finally SEAL THE WEDDING VENUE DEAL. Holy cow am I ready to do this! And Brian is as well! And then I am not thinking about the wedding for a VERY long time! :D

As for my insomnia, I have been taking two melatonin pills for the past few nights and it seems to be helping. I wake up at a reasonable hour (6ish) and I try to go back to sleep but I still have these annoying fits of restlessness. What is up with that?? I'm still tossing and turning a bit in the mornings but Brian has learned to sleep through it. I'm glad my sleep duration has been lengthened and so far, no side effects of grogginess. Keeping my fingers crossed for full recovery! I am seriously considering getting a massage this week. Brian's insurance company has already agreed to let us use any medical resources necessary to  alleviate any physical symptoms and I'm thinking a deep tissue massage could definitely help my restlessness. I'll keep you posted!

Only one week left before I have to head back to another semester of craziness..... Sigh. Gotta enjoy the remainder of the summer! 

THIS MIGHT QUITE POSSIBLY BE "THE ONE!!!!!"

I think Brian and I may have found our venue.

After church service on Sunday, Brian and I went across the street to see the Vancouver Art Gallery. This place is BEAUTIFUL. It's an old courthouse that has been renovated into an art gallery and is one of Canada's biggest.

They rent out their rooftop pavilion for events and after some coaxing, Brian and I were able to convince the security guard into letting us scope out the place.

Pictures!

The front of the Vancouver Art Gallery

Rooftop Terrace set up for kids program

The view of Robson Square

The inner room of the rooftop terrace

Georgia St view. The fountain got soaped by some hooligans.

The rotunda from the inside.

This place is pretty perfect. It seats about 150 people, has a nice open terrace, and is fairly affordable for $6,500. Of course this is strictly the rental fee so we'd have to have it catered separately and rent furniture and such. But Brian and I have talked about it and have decided that it would still be cheaper than the Georgia Hotel which happens to be right across the street. Plus this place has got a view!

We're just waiting for the event coordinator to get back to us regarding the rental space. But I'm really hoping that this is the one! Brian and I are quite excited about it!

What do you guys think?

Rosewood Hotel Georgia!!!!

Don't have a lot of pics since the ballroom was set up for a surprise anniversary event but this hotel is quite possibly one of the nicest in Vancouver.

In front of the hotel. Right across from the Vancouver Art Gallery

Lobby

Awesome Elevators

Pretty ballroom!

Pretty table arrangements.

Renter be warned, this ballroom for between 100 - 150 people has an 18K minimum spending limit that's without taxes and gratuities included. It's a five star hotel, the location is prime and by golly is it ever luxurious! Brian liked it but did not love it for the price which is understandable because it costs a pretty penny so it's back on the maybe list. Yes, so predictable.

However, the man can cook some mean french toast!

Serious french toast and double pan fried red skinned taters.

Oh my goodness frikkin' gracious! Hands down, this was the best french toast breakfast I have ever had in my life! Brian can be so sexy in the kitchen! Secret ingredients? Egg batter had milk, butter, brown sugar, ground sesame powder, and crushed peanuts! The brown sugar caramelized on the outside of the toast and holy father in heaven was it ever DIVINE!

Anyways, more updates soon, Brian insists we seize the beautiful day! :D