Here, take my sweater

My mom invited me and my sister to go to see the Wailin' Jennys with her tonight at the local Paramount Theatre. It should be a good time; I missed them the last time they were here (right before our trip to San Francisco last year) because I had bronchitis that was slowly causing me to die. Except, I didn't die, because I went on vacation four days later, but it was painful, so. I'm quite pleased that my mom offered to take us to the show tonight.

The last show I saw was with S when we saw Ingrid Michaelson at the Fine Line. It was a sold out show, and I learned a few things. First, that she is a great live performer, very witty and charming the crowd to bits. Second, that I am far too old to stay standing for more than four hours together in a row. Third, that mean girls who steal Ingrid's sweater are bad. Shame on the girl who stole an Anthropologie sweater from Ingrid on her last tour. Shame! Maybe she was just really drunk?

Here's to not thinking about wedding things for at least three hours.

The joys of unity

S and I are both working with our insurance guys to figure out the best coverage for our cars and since we are in an apartment, renters coverage as well. I really like my insurance guy, and I just got off the phone with him. Coverage for our rings would be a bit cheaper if we added a rider to the rental insurance, so I my have to debate switching that over. I'll have to see if S's insurance guy can add the quote for jewelry coverage as well. Ahh, the joys of unity.

Eee, very excited about this...

So back when I discovered Myra Callan and her Twigs & Honey shop on Etsy, I knew I had to get a hair adornment of my own. Mine was so fun and inspiring that my cousin Maggie offered to be my flowergirl, but she wanted a hair flower of her own.

Today, Myra updated me with the news that the headband she made for little Meg was finished and ready to go. I'm going to surprise her with it once I get it in the mail. For now, since she's seven and doesn't use the internet, I think I'm safe posting it here. I love that Myra went the extra mile on this; she matched Meg's dress, and added the berries to match my hair flower. It's so cute, I just want to eat it up!

Update!

S graciously offered to drive to my school in order to pay for the lost library item. He hit the road around 1pm, and made it there, only to discover that the item had been returned, just not checked in. Eek! This happens occasionally at the library where I work, so I was sympathetic, but criminy! The librarian removed the hold on my account and I got into the two courses I wanted (Materials for Young Adults and Library 2.0 with Michael Stephens). Overall though, I just keep thinking, S drove an hour and a half to St. Paul and back for me. That's what we call "a keeper."

Ups and downs

I am feeling pretty anxious right now, though I'm trying to play it cool. I woke up at 5:50 this morning to register for classes, both of which had plenty of seats left, only to find that I have a hold against my registration for a lost library book! I am going to be making a lot of calls today (already sent e-mails at 6am) to try to resolve this and register today instead of later this week. I have earned enough credits to register today, and so I just ask that you say a prayer/send a wish/hope/dream that I am able to get into the two courses I would really like to have this fall. Thanks.

In other news, S surprised me yesterday with our couch! He and my parents picked it up, lugged it into the apartment, and assembled the legs (they are plastic but look like wood) all without my knowledge. S picked me up after work to attend his cousin Becca's birthday party, which was fun. On the drive, I was asking about when he could pick up the couch 'tomorrow' and he said he'd 'work it out.' Sneaky. So I'm writing this from my new couch, on internet access that I am paying for, across from our fully assembled Ikea bookshelf. Woo!

Foray into real furniture

S and I started off the day with a trip to a local discount store, along with my mom, to look at some bookshelves similar to the Ikea Expedit that we liked. We wound up looking at microfiber couches, and after we decided we liked one enough to buy it (in our price range of 'as close to zero dollars as possible') my mom informed me that she could just buy it and it could be "part of" our wedding present from my parents.

Awesome!

So, she paid for it, and we'll go pick it up sometime this week. How excited am I to sit on a real, padded surface instead of our Japanese Zen style cushions or hard dining room chairs? Words cannot describe.

After dropping S off at work for a hard afternoon/evening worth of raising money for various political groups, I hit the road with my friend Amanda for a lovely shopping-filled afternoon. We headed southeast for an afternoon of shopping at Ikea. The bookshelf at the local store wasn't quite the versatile statement piece (see #1) we were going for, so I bit the bullet and bought the real deal. S is assembling as I type, and I'm enjoying sitting on a chair cushion which only set us back $5.99.

I also acquired two more dining room chairs, so now we can have a proper game night, and many textiles and some lighting. I bought some art as well—some Carl Larsson cards and box frames to put them in. I actually am part Swedish, and they are very cheery little pictures for our kitchen. I promise some photos of our fully furnished and decorated apartment are coming soon!

Naked walls?

Our apartment is still coming together. We're gathering more furniture, though we have more bookshelves than seating currently, I may hit up Ikea for another one this weekend. Maybe the couch shopping will happen on Friday, if I can convince S to take some time to head to the other end of town.

The real problem, in my mind, is our naked walls. At my parents house, all the walls in our downstairs are painted vivid colors. My sister Andrea's room is blue, my room is red, the family room is a sea green, and the hallway is marigold yellow. The apartment is pretty stark cream-colored walls with texturizing.

S and I have put a few of Gennine's prints on our registry, though I am very tempted to just buy one or two to cheer up the place. I would also like a few things from Three Potato Four but need to figure out some cheap frames and where I'd put the little prints. We also should get our engagement photos developed and framed for a grouping, and of course, quite soon we'll have wedding photos as well.

At least I have some lovely flowers left over from Sunday's bridal shower in my honor, hosted by S's wonderful aunts. They cooked fabulous food (chicken salad, a quiche type thing, fruit skewers, a special shrimp cocktail since I love shrimp, plus three kinds of dessert and two kinds of punch!). It was a good time for all, and we got some lovely gifts. I've been diligently working on writing out thank you notes.

Heading out this evening to see "Sex and the City" with my sister. Woo for movie night!

Update from the new homefront

It's been a while since I've updated, mainly due to the fact that we don't have internet access at our new place yet (Monday!), and I am lazy. It seems that every evening this week, I've been going over to my parents' house, picking up a few miscellaneous items, then going to pick up S from work. He's working evenings now, which means I see him far less than when he was working days. It's kind of sad, but I'm hoping he can find a different, more rewarding job that will see him through the fall semester at least. Last night I hung out with my sister, and we played Wii golf and went for a bike ride which was great. Tonight when she gets off work, I think we'll swim, since it's like a sauna outside.

It's kind of weird to be moved out of my parents' house, but it's also weirdly nice. Our apartment is lacking furniture, but I'm hoping to find acquire seating this weekend, and add some artwork to our very bare, very white walls. I don't yet have my summer routine down without class in session, so I feel somewhat lazy and bored, until I realize I have books to read and wedding things to do...

Wedding plans are down to just a few things; S needs to buy a suit, we need to call people and confirm that they are coming and what they want to eat, figure out a seating chart, and ask the restaurant how early we can set up the room with place cards and such. The week before the wedding, we'll have favors (chocolate truffles) to pick up and box, I'll have flowers to arrange and assemble, announcements and programs to print, and we'll have our rehearsal. Really, there's not too much left to do, or that I have to do, anyway. Now it's up to the kind people who are helping us out to do their part! Oh, and S's aunts are throwing me a bridal shower on Sunday, so that should be fun, and they are both awesome cooks, so it should be a yummy time as well.