DJ- Check!

In addition to the house work, the wedding planning is still in full swing.  Over the past month we have been researching and meeting with various DJs to book for the reception.  Our venue makes things so much easier and has a list of ones they have worked with in the past and highly recommend.  Given the peculiarities with the Vandiver (smaller, enclosed pavilion, noise restrictions in the historic town, etc.) I really wanted to go with someone that had successfully worked there before.  I had two favorites picked out in my mind and we met with both.  We clicked right away with the first one, but I was still unsure over a few details.  We met with the second one who turned out to be not as enthusiastic as we anticipated, but who we still felt comfortable with.  My vote was for the second which was ok by Mike.  After all, his reasoning over liking the first because she drove an SSR was just not convincing to me.  We sort of put it on hold for a few days and then got an email from my choice telling us he had another couple interested in the date, but was giving us first refusal since we first and had already met with him.  It was a Tuesday and he asked for a decision by Friday.  I emailed him back on Wednesday saying yes, we were going with him and sent an email to the other DJ thanking her and saying we had decided to go in another direction.  Within an hour or so, I got an email back from what I thought was our new DJ telling me he had decided to take his family to an out of town reunion that weekend instead.  Seriously?  Not only had he told me the day before that he was still available, but I'm also pretty sure he told me he wouldn't miss a wedding to attend things that came up, specifically things like family reunions.  I understood, after all we didn't have a signed contract in place, but I was still disappointed.  We ended up continuing the search and met with another DJ this past Friday night.  We really liked him and his vibe and decided that night that we were going with him.  The decision is made, the contract and check are in the mail, and best of all, I have one more thing to check of the to-do list!

So Many Paint Choices, So Little Walls

We have officially entered the world of paint samples.  It is quite entertaining to pull colors and discover the descriptive names like baked sconce, shark fin, pensive sky that some "professional" came up with. (I wonder what that job actually pays?)  It is absolutely amazing how many choices are out there and completely daunting to narrow it down to that one perfect color.  Yes, I know that paint colors can always be changed and that doing so is the easiest way to transform a space.  I also know that the mere mention of this would put Mike in a tailspin over the thought of even more housework down the road.  For us to actually agree on a color is a task in itself, but to then make sure it looks right on the walls- in every light, at every angle- well, its a bit overwhelming.  We have collected quite a few paint chips over the past few months, excited that this time was nearing. We went back and forth between colors for the walls and coordinating whites for the trim.  Did this one have a gray tint to it?  Did this white have an underlying pink hue or is it the reflection off of your bright red shirt?  Did this color have too much yellow?  Did this one not have enough yellow?  At 11pm the other night I came to the conclusion we had to make a decision, now.  We put the samples next to a cabinet, stood back and did the squinting, head tilting thing that at the time seemed like the perfect way to tell you exactly how a 3x5 chip would translate to an entire room.  We went in and out to the freezing cold sunroom to check the color against the couch (before we realized we could simply bring a cushion inside and stay warm).  We second and third guessed ourselves and then threw more options into the mix to make it more complicated.  But, we finally did it.  We actually decided on a color for the kitchen and living room which makes up the entire entry level of the house.  And what is the exciting, luminous name of this perfect color?  Lightweight beige.  Yes, Mike and I somehow managed to pick the color with the single most boring name in the spectrum.  Anyway, I picked up samples of the color and trim and went to town painting squares all over the house to make sure it was indeed what we wanted.  To Mike's delight, it turned out a bit lighter than we expected, but it works.  The trim color, however, did not.  Polar Bear did indeed dry with that pinkish hue that we attributed to the reflection of Mike's shirt.  Ok, back to the drawing board, or more accurately, back to the store.  Despite all of the variations of white in the entire Behr line at Home Depot, I did not like a single one.  We tried out Lowe's to look into Valspar's whites where we happened to get a lesson in paint variations and mixing by the "expert" behind the counter.  It actually was pretty informative and he took the time to tell us the formula differences between the shades we were looking at.  It literally came down to a white base with 6 drops of brown versus one with 4 drops of brown.  At that point I realized how ridiculous the entire thing was, quickly made a decision and left the store with the little sample size paint in hand.  (We went with the one with 4 drops.  Luckily it had a more exciting name than the Lightweight Beige wall color- Du Jour. Fascinating, I know.)  We added squares of the new white to our increasingly splotchy walls and determined it was the one we were going with.  So, you heard it here first, (hopefully) soon enough, our kitchen and living room will be Lightweight Beige with Du Jour trim.  I think we'll give ourselves a little break before moving onto the bedroom colors.

First Experience at a Bridal Show

Lots of other brides have told me or mentioned on the chat boards that this one bridal show at the Univ. of DE is really worth going to.  Not only is it free to get in, they have lots of vendors there and you can get lots of discount coupons.  It sounded pretty good to me and I thought I should attend at least one of these events.  Given everything else going on, I was also hoping it would get me back in the wedding planning mood.  We are getting pretty darn close and should be booking things left and right in preparation.  About a month ago I happened to see that it was coming up and decided I was going.  Being the super supportive fiance that he is (and perhaps wanting to get as much free food as possible) Mike offered to go with me.  I really didn't want him to be miserable, but I really wanted the company.  I had a few specific types of vendors I wanted to look into- namely, attire and videography, and perhaps different florists.  We took a break from all things house and went towards the middle of the four hour event.  Immediately upon entering the parking lot, we realized how popular this show was.  We couldn't find a parking spot anywhere!  We tried the stalking technique, but people were just moving too slow.  We decided to brave the cold and park pretty far away in campus parking- the same lot I parked in when I went to UD and lived up there.  Ahhh, memories.  We entered the hustle and bustle of the show and made our rounds collecting bags and pamphlets and cards everywhere we went.  Mike dutifully carried everything and actually appeared to be having a decent time.  We sampled lots of food, tried a few cakes and signed up for as many promotional giveaways as possible.  While we didn't find anything particularly helpful and didn't win a single prize, it did help get those wedding ideas going and get me back in the planning mood.  And Mike was pretty happy to get a free lunch out of it too.

Remembering Mike S.

A year ago today we lost a good friend, Mike lost his best friend, and the world lost a truly wonderful person.  Mike S. was a caring, thoughtful guy who was always up for a good time and never one to say no to a friend in need.  He spent countless weekends happily doing things for other people and would not even think to ask for anything in return.  In fact, after only knowing him for a few months, he came all the way down to Maryland to help me move across town to Bethesda.  I was floored by his genuine kindness, something that still inspires me today.  He was simply one of a kind.  Mike, you are greatly missed and thought of often. I hope you are at peace.

A Romantic Valentine's Day...Sorta

Just when you think you have everything under control, or at least planned out and scheduled, life throws you a little curve ball.  Well, in this case it was the house throwing that curve ball.  Last week Mike discovered the sump pump was stuck in the on position.  He adjusted it and everything seemed ok.  Then, a day or so later, he ran the pump and it started smoking.  Not good.  Our sump pump goes off about once a day so not having a functional sump pump is a dangerous chance to take.  I was, however, uncomfortable leaving it plugged in because of the obviously malfunctioning motor.  Yeah, happy Valentine's Day to us.  We did some research, Mike made a couple trips to Lowe's and finally this past weekend we replaced the sump pump.  It seems that nothing is exactly cut and dry for us, and sure enough this project was no different.  The angle of one of the pipes running to the pump was not to Mike's liking so he decided to change it, remove and reconnect even more piping.  Luckily everything else went smoothly and all in all, it was probably one of the easier projects so far.  And we have a shiny new sump pump.  What could be more exciting than that?!

Old Pump

New Pump

Wow, I can't believe I just blogged about a sump pump.  We need to get out more!

No More Crazy Colors!

Well, maybe I should say we have fewer crazy colored walls.  I am loving primer white and the break from the neon walls is very welcome. We are still searching through paint samples and trying to reach a compromise between my fondness of neutrals and Mike's love of bright colors.  With so, so many options out there, hopefully we can agree on something!

Original walls.

Walls in progress.

Ahhh! Pure white!