Wedding update.

Having 2-ish years to plan your wedding is really really nice. I highly recommend it. However, once you get about 6 months out and have had your big stuff booked for, oh, about a year (caterer, photographer, DJ, venue, church, etc), you get really antsy for the little details. You know you can't do them too far ahead anyway, but you are pining for that non-stop wedding planning feeling, one that I have not had since I have given myself so much time. I got a little taste of it this past weekend, when I had Saturday AND Sunday off and was able to check a few important things off my list (things I had been putting off). I called and made my first alterations appointment for June 4th (that puts the stress on a bit!), we had our first Skype meeting with our DJ to get the actual process going for the Big Day, and we finally went to Men's Wearhouse to figure out what the guys would be wearing!

They don't have a ton of options for rentals, but they are classic, and thank goodness they recently got a charcoal option in! We decided on the charcoal tux from the Black by Vera Wang collection. It is a tuxedo but it feels sooo lightweight and has a matching vest, so if when the guys take off their jackets later, they'll still look super sharp! It also has the option of a slim fit jacket, which we are going with.

[The lighting isn't so hot, but you get the idea]

[Close-up of the jacket. The tie was just an idea for Nick to wear as something different from everyone else. I plan on finding different shades/patterns of pink ties for the groomsmen]

 Since those pictures aren't the greatest quality, here is a picture from the Men's Wearhouse site:

Super sexy, right? I am so excited - the boys are going to look so handsome! Nick simply tried on the jacket and I got a little teary. Pathetic, I know. I'll be a wreck on the wedding day!

Friday and an outfit.

[The Limited jeans, sunglasses, necklace, earrings, and bracelet // American Eagle chambray // Steve Madden shoes]

It is currently 7:14 am here and I have been up since about 4 am. Oh, joy. I've been doing this a lot lately - I wake up (usually at 5 am) and all of the sudden it's like my brain feels like it needs to wake up and start going over every little thing that I need to be doing or should be doing or whatever. One of the reasons was that we had planned earlier this week (or so I thought) to go to the Men's Wearhouse in Champaign to check out suits, since we got a coupon in the mail and we still haven't finalized what the guys are wearing. Well, I mentioned something about seeing our friends for dinner that night, and apparently it was news to Nick that we were going... basically me being up at 4 am and thinking/stressing about it because WE HAVE ONLY 3 1/2 MONTHS LEFT has decided that, yes, we are in fact going to Champaign to look at suits and see our friends and he's just going to have to deal with it. I mean, we won't get another weekend off together in at least 3 weeks, and by then we've passed the 3-month mark, so... this needs to happen.

Another reason I was up this morning was concerning my tax return. No, I hadn't filed yet, but that's because I finally got the one form I was waiting on for these past couple months in the mail yesterday from my parents' tax guy. Trust me, it's a step up from last year, since they sent it to my parents first and then to me, so I got it literally about 5 days before taxes were due. Talk about some fun! I was looking at all my different forms other than my W-2s (which, really, is the easy part) and remembering how confusing the K-1 was last year and stressing so I decided to tackle it this morning - and succeeded immensely I must say! I decided to take a whirl with Turbo Tax and, with a little trial and error in finding the correct form (they ask you questions so it's harder to find the exact form you need at times), I completed both Federal and State returns and all in all it was super super easy. Plus, with the added forms I had to put in this year (including interest paid on student loans last year) I got more back than I expected. Super bonus! I even got a few hundred back from the State, I just have to send it in instead of E-File it. Let me tell you, I am breathing much easier right now, and about to celebrate with my morning coffee since it's actually a decent time to be up now. Ugh. My life.

I am so happy though, because somehow my schedule worked out that I have Saturday AND Sunday off and it's not even technically my weekend off! Not only that, but it's supposed to be 70 tomorrow. And then in the 60s most of next week. YES. And since it's decided that we ARE going to Champaign tomorrow (hehe), I am looking forward to getting out of Decatur and getting my man in some suits! It makes it even more real that our wedding is a little more than 3 months away. I also have a Secret Rewards card from Victoria's Secret that I desperately need to know the amount of... I mean, this is important. It could be $500! A girl can dream, right? I plan on getting a few wedding-planning phone calls out of the way today, and then our first official Skype meeting with our DJ is on Sunday, so I'm feeling pretty good about this whole wedding stuff. Well, better at least. Once I cross a few more things off the to-do list maybe I won't be waking up at 4 am anymore... here's hoping! Happy Friday!

Easter walk.

Well, it's finally April! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, whether you spent it with family and friends or really didn't do anything special. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was so so nice to have the whole day off! The weather was the nicest it's been so far, so after a breakfast of french toast we decided to take a little stroll outside and enjoy the sunshine. The rest of the day was spent hanging out and eating delicious food, and I baked cupcakes! All in all, a fantastic day. It's amazing how much better my mood was with the nice weather! Here are some snaps from the day: