More initial inspiration...

Some of these ideas I'm doing very similarly, some I'm putting my own twist on, and some I couldn't do at all...I don't want too much going on! (I found the hardest part of all of this is scaling back what I want to incorporate and choosing to do only my faves.)

**These images are from all over the net...sorry I haven't given credit when it's due! Most are from oncewed.com, 

southern brides and stylemepretty.com.

"Lookbook"

Sorry for the lack of posting!!! It may have something to do with the fact that in JUST over one week I'll be Mrs. Tourneur!!! 

I was flipping through my "lookbook," a folder I've got on my desktop that contains some inspiring images for when I was in my planning stages. When I was blog-surfing, if anything tickled my fancy, I just threw it in that folder. It's fun to check it out now, and definitely provides a clear sense of my style and vision which hopefully helped to keep my wedding theme on track! I suppose we'll know soon enough! In the meantime, here's some of my faves from that folder that inspired a lot of my ideas and planning.

Denilore Dress Disaster Debacle...Damn!

Ugh. I've told this story many times over...for good reason. If any of you girlies out there are looking for a bridal gown, please stay far, far away from this place! I'm not one to spread a bad word about anyone, but this constitutes a complaint.

I went in and ordered my gown from Denilore on September 27th...I found out it was a couple hundred bucks cheaper than Pure Bridal, and the ladies sure seemed a lot nicer to boot! So I thought, sign me up!

I left them alone for a long time...I had heard Denilore took awhile. About 7 month in, I gave them a call. They were very friendly and said it wouldn't be much longer.

At the 8 month mark I called an average of four times a week. It was the same story - it's coming next week, it's in our next shipment...we called the manufacturer and it's ready to ship...we'll call you right back, before five today. I not once got a phone call from them. And then from one of the girls I got, "Well, we're really busy so you should be calling us." Um, ok. THIS IS YOUR JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!! And calling them did absolutely nothing. I was sick of the lies.

Finally I was pissed (and not as much as I should have been!) and Mom and I went in there (for the second time) and the closest thing to the truth that I'll ever get from them came out...apparently my dress was ordered on time, but it was ordered wrong. I don't know what came, but it wasn't right. So instead of letting me know this, they called the manufacturer and got them started on making a brand new dress. I knew none of this...they were smiling and reassuring me it was on its way. GRRRRRR. I was given five guaranteed dates of arrival...each one passed on by and I heard nothing.

I got the dress finally...9 months after ordering it. No discount. No apology...they acted as if everything was fine and dandy...all I got was "wasn't it worth the wait?!!"

They appeared on the Troubleshooter twice, and so far, six complaints to the BBB have been filed. Other brides were in worse shape than me...one girl's dress in my shipment had her wedding the next day after it arrived. Yikes. Poor girl. No one needs that stress before one of her most important days.

You have been warned...stay away from Denilore Bridal!!!!

(I do love my dress though!! Two weeks until I put it on.)

Vegas Virgins

My sis enjoying frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity.

Fire/volcano show at our hotel, the Mirage.

We didn't do too much of this!

Stagette night - had a blast!

The shopping was amazing! We all had some great finds.

I'm still exhausted, but it was 100% worth it.

For my bachelorette party, me, my sister Nat, and friends Tara and Kaitlyn went to Vegas...and we were all Vegas first-timers so it was the perfect adventure to take together.

Besides hitting up the clubs every night (Tao - so annoyingly busy but cool to see, PURE - so fun, but I paid for it on the plane the next day, and of course, Margaritaville...just plain good times!), we did a lot of walking, shopping (PREMIUM OUTLET MALL IS AMAZING!), drinking, eating and laying by the pool. We stayed at the Mirage, which was a great hotel. The fire show there was cool, er, hot, and our room was nice - modern. We even got upgraded to a room with a view!

I'm jotting down some highlights because I'm so worried that I'll forget the those little Vegas nuggets of memories that made it one of my fave holidays ever!

Jersey girl - this cougar woman tells me how wonderful it is I'm getting married, than says, "My son just got married. SILENCE. SHE'S A BITCH." She later told us she was part of the Mofia...let's just say we were nice to her.

Margaritaville bartender - fast-talker! We couldn't understand him because his words came out so fast...I imagine that must be how Edward and the Cullens talk to one another. Anyway, we still managed to chat after many polite "pardon me"s, and he discounted our bill by like 100 bucks! Needless to say he got an excellent tip ; )

Quizno's commercial - my acting debut! At 3 am we acted in a Quizno's commercial for their new, sexy torpedo sandwich. Our line was "I loooooooove my torpedo." We signed waivers and everything! Watch out for us youtube!

Celebrity stage - a seven foot black man guarding the stage grabbed Tara and I and told us we were exclusively invited to dance on the "celebrity stage." Hmmm...we didn't turn down the offer. After a few glasses of champagne and Tara whining that she couldn't dance (even though she CAN) we decided we'd had enough of being all alone up there.

Topless pool (Bare) - an experience I won't forget! Vegas is a playland, and the topless pool is Silicone land that epitomizes the city in my mind! (FYI - along with your bikini, high heels, big earrings and fake eyelashes are required.)

The scientist - we saw the nerdiest man awkwardly dancing...thick glasses, buttoned-up, the whole bit. We were wondering why he was in Vegas in the first place! And then his "date", a brunette Double-D bombshell, was right behind him, sexily coaxing him to dance.... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. It really was hilarious at the time.

Of course, there were a few other notable events, but what stays in Vegas........... : )

Letting Go

We all have our kinda weird things, right? The things we do that we know don't make much sense but we just need to do them anyway. They're important to us, for whatever reason. Well, mine is an obsession with magazines. I buy around five or six a month, and that's with me definitely cutting back in the last year. I just can't get enough...I have no idea why. Women's, home decor, fashion, fitness, tabloid, wedding...I love them all. My absolute fave is Glamour. I also love People Style, In Style, Home & Garden decor specials, Martha Stewart Weddings, Fitness, Self, Shape, Life & Style...I could go on...

So that's all fine and dandy, but the weird thing is that I keep them. Every one. I have several big file boxes of old magazines dating back to 1994 stored in Trav's parents' barn. There's more boxes in a garage. I'd say I have an upwards of 500. And there WAS a huge stack in my bedroom. 

Yep. Was. I went on a cleaning/organizing rampage last night, and they're gone. I recycled them! (And they were heaaaaaaavy. Good thing I have my brother to help!) It was a huge leap for me, but really...I hadn't referred back to them and they were just taking up so much space. So I've decided it's time for me to live in the present. When I'm done with a magazine, out it goes to the recycling. This is new for me, and tough. But I'm ready.

Just don't expect me to give up my teen magazines from 1994. Those will be worth something someday!

Any strange things you do / collect? (Don't tell me I'm the only one!)

Crazy days...

Work certainly goes through its slow and busy times. Here, it's definitely one or the other. And today falls into the latter!  That's why I feel like I just need to get a few things out there, and quick. 

Short and sweet updates:

I got new running shoes and I LOVE EM! Travis and I shredded with Jillian last night (go buy this if you haven't yet!) and my feet felt great. They're Pearl Izumi's...which I hadn't heard of until now. 

Mine are bright orange...

A nice young fellow at the Running Room recommended shoes for me after determining I had a fairly straight gait and didn't really underpronate or overprontate...I just need slight cushioning and likely my old shoes had TOO much arch support. Ahhh...to be enlightened! I was way off! Thanks for the tip Meaghan; I'll definitely return to the Running Room next time.

*************************

We went back home this weekend and helped Dad make 25 benches for the ceremony. They're beautiful and it was so sweet how Dad was really into the whole thing. He spent a lot of time on them and I really appreciate it...I love that it's looking like our wedding is really going to be centered around family, incorporating things that we've made by hand. Everyone is pitching in and it should really show on the big day!

Speaking of which - no dress yet! I'm about to call Denilore for the SIXTH time. They promised to call me back three times so far and I'm yet to hear a peep from them. Frustrating. And no wedding band either. Grr...I hate when things are out of my control.

I had my hair trial his past weekend as well and it was divine! I hadn't met this stylist before as she's out of Drayton, but she was great and gave me exactly what I wanted. In fact my hair ended up looking better than I thought it possibly could!!! Trav said he loved it too (which is great since he really doesn't say much about my hair) and said he was glad I showed him my wedding day hair. I'm not superstitious - just about the dress! 

************************

I found another cute home decor blog that had me inspired all over again. So what did I do? Went to Winner's and bought 70 bucks worth of the cutest vases, candlebras and pictures. Dang. I got good deals though!! The candlebra is beautiful (I'll post pictures soon) and exactly what I envisioned as part of decor at the wedding...can't wait to see how it looks in our home and at the reception too! Once we get a rug for the living room, that's enough buying for the house for now I think. I better get to the FREE hard labour and finish touching up paint, dap the crown moulding in the bathroom and about a zillion other mindless but necessary activities. After the wedding right? That's Trav's answer for everything : )

**************************

And lastly, you must go see Star Trek. I'm not a fan of the series at all, but this movie is truly entertaining from start to finish (and the guys aren't bad to look at either). Go!

Looking for archtastic...

Since I've been working out regularly I'm in dire need of new running shoes. I've been putting it off, putting it off, but it's time I do the research and buy a shoe that works for me. Currently I have a pair of Asics that KILL my arch. Just after about a half hour of any type of exercise, both of my arches start to ache. I was trying to figure out why and after a bit of online searching I've come to the conclusion that I have flat feet and I'm pretty sure I overpronate (not to self-medicate, but...). I'm going to look at some of my worn down shoes and see what the soles say. Ha...the sole of my shoe speaks so much. Not funny. Anyway, I'm ready to make the purchase...whether it's online or at the Running Room. I have a very worn-out pair of Pumas that I keep slipping on instead of my Asics...they've proven to be pretty amazing over the past almost four years (gasp! I know you're supposed to get new shoes after six months...), except I'm pretty sure they don't make them anymore. Damn.

You can tell I've had an exciting day, can't you?