girl about love

THE ONE WITH MY FAST APPROACHING DRESS MEASURE

2012-09-11T12:08:00.001+10:00

Eek – just eighteen days until my first measure for my wedding dress. Eighteen days. EIGHTEEN DAYS. I’m not ready!!!

I never really knew what kind of wedding dress I’d go for, I didn’t dream of my wedding dress as a little girl and didn’t know what shapes or styles suit my body. There is just so much choice – how can you settle on just one look? So when we started our wedding planning, I headed out to a few bridal stores to try and find out what I like. Straight away I disliked pretty much everything. I just found the boutiques ever so overwhelming, tizzy and frankly, a little too much. Sequins, lace, tulle, jewels, flowers, ruffles. Confuse-balls.

The day I went to Vera Wang was a whole other experience though. Ryan and I were in New York in early October to scout wedding locations, check out churches and so on. I mean, what is a wedding trip to New York without a visit to Vera Wang. I feel I need to preface this next part by saying it was hot and muggy in New York and I had packed minimal clothes. So off I went to Vera Wang in my best ‘holiday’ outfit that I had and took the subway from the East Village up to the Upper East Side – 991 Madison Avenue in fact. I turn up and the streets were impeccable, lined with designer stores and designer people, it was far less busy than other parts of Manhattan, with well dressed models lazily going about their business of being ever so fabulous. I looked down at myself and very quickly realised that I looked a right mess in comparison. My sandals, shorts and sleeveless blouse gave the impression that I was about to visit the Bronx Zoo and not about to walk into the world’s most well known wedding dress boutique. Upper East Side I was not. Even more embarrassing than that, when I arrived at the shop front I stood there taking photos of what I thought was just a window display but quickly discovered it was a window and when I sat in the waiting area before my Consultant collected me, I realised I had stood just outside that window taking photos as other brides to be were sitting in the very same waiting area I was in watching me as I clicked away like a silly tourist in her silly Zoo outfit. Cringe.

The other brides to be in the waiting area were equally as glamorous as our surrounds, flanked by their glamorous mums and glamorous bridesmaids, groomed to perfection having looked like they stepped straight right out of a magazine and into the waiting area. I became quite nervous as I was on my own, however I was quickly put at ease when my lovely Consultant, Francesca, welcomed me to Vera Wang with the offer of “champagne, juice, sparking” which I quickly accepted and sipped my champagne up the giant staircase to what felt like heaven. It was the most amazing dressing room I’ve ever seen, huge private rooms came off the main floor which was full of dresses. Francesca knew by looking at me exactly what dresses would suit my body and pulled about five and popped them in my dressing room before asking me to walk around and pull any dresses that immediately catch my eye. I tried on about twelve dresses and of course, the dresses that Francesca selected were in fact, perfect for my body. I fell in love. I fell in love with each and every dress. It was such a far cry from the visits I had been on in Melbourne trying on dresses and feeling ever so overwhelmed by the sequins, lace, tulle, jewels, flowers, ruffles.

I was convinced I had found ‘the’ dress and walked out on cloud nine. I skipped down Madison Avenue and met up with Ryan to tell him all about the fact that I was going to buy a Vera Wang wedding dress. I had all the details, they took my measurements and I simply just had to place the order with Francesca via email nine months out from the wedding date. I was really excited when I came back to Melbourne and started Googling the dress and found that it was everywhere. On every single wedding blog, there was this dress. Quite quickly, it went from being ‘the’ dress to being ‘that bloody dress I see on every single wedding website’. I grew tired of the dress and the fact that it was no longer special and realised I’d been caught up in the experience that Vera Wang provided. They made me feel so special in their fancy boutique with their champagne and motherly approach. I decided to put my dress plans on hold. It was too early anyway and I had plenty of time to look around.

Around the Christmas holidays just gone, a funny thing happened. I was walking around my local area and what did I see but a new bridal boutique with a stunning wedding dress in the window. Sure enough, when I met with the designer at One Day Bridal I finally realised that a custom made wedding dress was for me. No more sequins, lace, tulle, jewels, flowers, ruffles for me. Just a lovely experience with a gorgeous designer who is inspired by so many wonderful bits and bobs which I also adore.

Kyha has come up with a wedding dress design which screams Natalie and on 29^th September, I will be measured for the first time. It’s a scary thought because this date has crept up on me out of nowhere and I feel ill prepared. Should I be at my ideal wedding weight now? I’m certainly not there yet and it makes me so nervous. I don’t want to see myself in my wedding dress looking far from my ideal but with only 2.5 weeks until the big measure, I have to just suck it up (and suck it in) and stick to my fitness plan so that over the next few months I get to my ideal the healthy way a.k.a the slow way. Just stay consistent with the old exercise regime. I don’t want to be one of those psycho girls who gets a bit outrageous with the weight loss. It just isn’t my style but weddings can do crazy things to people. Fingers crossed I avoid the craziness…and fingers crossed the torturous (fun) run I’ve signed up for with the girls from work pays off and I run some of the excess kilos off my little 5’1 frame.

Now, back to my carrot stick *joke*

All my love,

THE ONE WITH MY BESTIES WEDDING

2012-09-03T17:07:00.000+10:00

In 68 days I’ll be standing by my besties side as she marries the man of her dreams and I cannot even tell you how excited I am. I don’t want to give too many sneaky deets away about the wedding except that it will be magical.

Shanelle and I have known each other since we were eighteen, introduced by our mutual bestie Louise, and we’ve grown up together over the past 13 years. We’re very similar, and yet we’re also very different. Geminis, there’s just no telling with us really!

She’s the kind of friend that everyone wishes they had. She is beyond thoughtful and really goes out of her way to be there for everything going on in your life. You know, the friend that remembers not only your birthday but your partners too, the friend who remembers your anniversaries, the friend who remembers if you have a big meeting at work, the friend who checks in with you after you have been to the doctor, the friend who gives you objective advice, the friend who will dance with you until the sun comes up, the friend who will drop everything to spend time with you when you need her, the friend who you can talk to on the phone for hours on end when you actually have nothing to say and the friend who would defend you to the death if it came down to it.

And the more I get to know John, the more it becomes clear that they really are perfect for one another. Two peas in a pod.

So it makes me ever so happy that Shanelle is set to marry her Mr. Big in only 68 days. I love saying 68 days, it just feels so soon. Weddings make me so happy but this is all the more special due to the fact that I’ve watched Shanelle and John meet and fall in love. There is nothing nicer really.

All my love,

THE ONE WITH WEDDING PLANNING

2012-08-29T20:24:00.000+10:00

Well. I always knew weddings were stressful but lately I’ve come to realise the extent of the stress as the months trickle down to single digit numbers until our wedding in May. Eek.

The first initial buzz of wedding planning has worn off and I now approach it with a checklist plus quick and accurate decisions. I’ve given up on the hours and hours of research into twelve different DJs and the what they each offer. I’m simply a “find one and book it” kind of girl these days.

I couldn’t have been any luckier in the fact that most of my friends are married (or are almost married) and therefore they’re passing on their words of wisdom and believe me, I’m taking every bit of it onboard. It’s fascinating to observe the girls and how each of them organise and plan their wedding days. And I’m loving the fact that every one of my friends have planned weddings that differ so much from one another. It’s lovely to see their personalities shine through.

One of my dearest friends Anna, who I will always refer to as Huffy even though she is now a Porter, has been dishing me out loads of advice. I’ve known Anna for five years after she started working with us when she moved from New Zealand to Melbourne. She is one of those people that you just fall in love with instantly because she is completely outrageous and hilarious. And you can never get annoyed with her because the soft spot for Anna is just…well…ever so soft!

Anna married her husband Ben at a gorgeous winery in Adelaide on a perfectly glorious day. She couldn't have asked for anything more perfect really. We've been chatting about weddings lately and I’ve told Anna that I’m nervous that the wedding planning could turn stressful (I’m stressed about getting stressed! Ridiculous) and she passed on some little gems of wisdom to me that have actually made me remember not to get caught up in the small things that really don't matter (i.e. the font used on the menus, the spacing between each table at the reception, to decorate or not decorate the church gates).

"Just do what YOU want, don’t listen to other people. It’s not about anyone else but you. Enjoy that. It’s a huge achievement being able to say you did it yourself, and it’s a great start to your life together knowing you can set goals and achieve them together"

"Honestly I got so stressed out and angry, and if I had of just ignored everyone else the whole experience would have been far more enjoyable. AND FOR GODS SAKE, it is NOT your job to entertain people when they get to NYC, do your own thing with your family but people are on holiday, so don’t feel obliged to entertain them for the duration. I felt like when people came over from NZ I had to look after everyone (which no one expected at all, I just felt like that). This is why I forgot my toothbrush, hair extensions and wedding shoes when I got to the hotel the night before. I ended up sleeping in my bridesmaids Qantas PJs she’d been given when they had lost her luggage. When I realised I had forgotten my tooth brush I locked myself in the toilet and called Ben in tears ahahhahahaha"

"To me getting married is about the life ahead of you, not the one day. I just took the attitude that I would rather focus on that than micro manage every little part of the day itself.

I got so stressed throughout the whole process that I ended up crying a couple of times. Then I just decided this was about Ben and I. No one else. And everything was better when I realised that"

After all of this, Anna told me she had posted her RSVP card in the mail and so now i'll be hanging out by my letterbox all week waiting to receive it all the way from Adelaide because I think it might be my first RSVP. And an RSVP 'yes' at that. It means so much to me that wee Anna will be at our wedding. After all, she was there when I first met Ryan. Bless.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH KANYE WEST

2012-08-28T12:42:00.000+10:00

This crush I have on Kanye West is starting to get slightly out of control. And I don’t even know how it started.

The guy is a jerk and he certainly make some questionable choices.Kim Kardashian. Need I say more?

But then I saw this photo of him and it made me smile. Like my crush on Jay Z (is there a pattern here?!), it all comes down to swagger.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH MY FIRST FEW DAYS IN SINGAPORE

2012-07-31T19:04:00.000+10:00

Date: Tuesday 31^st July 2012

Location: Poolside, Sentosa Island, Singapore

Temperature: 32 degrees and what feels like 100% humidity

Feeling: Slightly sunburnt

Music:: Rihanna ‘S&M’ blaring out of the poolside bar

I love travelling and always knew that I would travel to places near and far at any chance I could get. Today, I write to you from Singapore.

We’re here as Ryan has some work to do however, following his two day conference; we will be holidaying for another 5 days. After a very long and very cold few months in Melbourne, this trip could not have come at a better time.

Our first day in Singapore was Sunday and luckily Ryan had the day to relax before his work commitments. Ryan had organised with a friend here in Singapore to give us a tour of Singapore. Gerald was the perfect tour guide who chauffeured us around in his Lexus, air conditioning pumping, and a very comfy back seat for me who was struggling with a head cold I’d picked up on the flight to Singapore. Not sure why I fall sick on every trip I take. Grrr.

So, off we set with Gerald and Ryan’s boss Nick. First stop, ‘The Thian Hock Keng Temple’ full of praying worshippers and incense smoke. It was fascinating to learn the practice behind seeking answers from bamboo sticks.

Next stop, a hawker centre, which is basically a food court except there is no McDonalds, Subway or Hungry Jacks. These food courts have stalls full of authentic cuisine. Some of these stalls have been owned and operated by the same person for twenty years, making and serving the same few dishes and perfecting the recipes over time. Lots of the hawker’s stalls proudly display awards they’ve won for their food. Now…I’m possibly the most unadventurous person when it comes to foods but I didn’t want to be disrespectful to Gerald who had taken us to a specific stall and ordered a sample selection of four different soups to try. It didn’t go so well. The first soup I tried was so thick and oozy, like a caramel sauce that tastes of nuts and sugar, topped with some bread croutons. I gagged as soon as it hit my tongue. The next soup was pure black and reminded me of squid ink. Surprisingly, this soup was even sweeter than the one before. I gave the other soups a miss.

After the soup taste test, Gerald promised us he would take us somewhere nice for lunch. Off we set again and Gerald gave us a bit of commentary along the way on different buildings and the beautiful trees and plants that line the streets and freeways. To my horror, we arrived at the ‘nice’ place that Gerard promised. Casuarina Curry. Indian cuisine, my least favourite of them all. Again, Gerald ordered for us and out came an array of different foods. Noodles. Lamb curry. Chicken curry. Prata.

My favourite part of the tour was what came next. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. A tropical rainforest with a walking trail that took us through the jungle and gave us the opportunity to come face to face with some hyperactive macaques (tiny monkeys). They were so confident, they marched right up to us, almost as if they were about to leap onto our heads. As it turns out, so many people feed the macaques fruit on their walks that they’re now so used to humans walking through their rainforest, they simply approach you without a worry in the world. The walk was about 45 minutes and by the end, I was sweating in places I didn’t think possible.

Sunday afternoon saw us back at our resort on Sentosa Island for some relaxation by the pool before Ryan was off for an evening mixer with work. I don’t mind entertaining myself when Ryan is at these conferences as it gives me a chance to have little adventures on my own. However, Sentosa Island is ever so strange. It’s literally an island full of resorts, a few touristy things like a zip line, Universal studios and man-made beaches, a mini monorail and that’s about it. So, my dinner options were really limited. All of the resorts offer these amazing buffet dinners however they come at a cost of $65 per person…not really ideal when dining on my own. So, I hit Chilis. I know, I know…I’m a terrible tourist for eating at an American chain but honestly, there is so little choice on this island. Which meant I also ate at Chilis Monday night too.

With not much for me to do on the island, I spent Monday and Tuesday trying to kill time. I managed to get in some gym sessions before spending hours on end by the pool where I have been lounging with a girly novel.

Tonight, Ryan and I are off to Marina Bay for dinner and drinks overlooking the Singapore skyline. A chance to dress up and celebrate being on holiday together before we are off the island tomorrow and we stay in the heart of Singapore until we head home Saturday night.

On the agenda for the rest of the week:

The Botanical Gardens which I’m imagining to be very ornamental and perfectly groomed.

The Zoo & Night Safari, bring on the lions!

Chinatown & Little India, for Ryan to experience some more tasty delights while I gnaw on a plain piece of roti bread.

Orchard Road, for shopping, shopping, shopping. Bring it on!

And of course, a Singapore Sling at Raffles. How can you not?

And now, it’s time for me to take another dip in the pool.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH PINTEREST

2012-07-26T17:40:00.000+10:00

P.S. You can follow me on Pinterest.

Seriously, it's a girls best friend.

http://pinterest.com/girlaboutlove/

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH FANCY EVENTS + LASTING FRIENDSHIPS

2012-07-19T13:58:00.001+10:00

The best thing about my job is that I get to celebrate the end of financial year with a black tie event. This year we celebrated at Eureka 89.

I was still struggling almost 48 hours later with what was possibly one of my worst hangovers of all time, bar karaoke (and inappropriate microphone cord grinding) back in 2007. Is it because I’m too old for a night of champagne guzzling? Or the fact that I didn’t eat a meal the day of in the lead up as I was run off my feet getting glammed up for six hours straight. Seriously. Six hours. It sure is hard being a girl.

We danced as if we were in the dancers quarters in Dirty Dancing, we sang along with the band until we were hoarse in the throat (cringe at the flashback to Mustang Sally), we sweated until our makeup was running off our faces. And it was the best night ever (but I say that every year).

I've made some truly amazing friends through work, most of which have come and gone (yet I’m still here) and I chat to them all every few days. Here are some photos of my gorgeous friends I have made in the past six years.

After all of the years and all of the friendships, I've been so lucky to celebrate big birthdays, weddings (wedding dress fittings) and babies with the girls. And this weekend, one of my all time favourites, Anna, is coming to Melbourne for a much needed catch up. Cannot wait!

Anna and her husband Ben are the most suited couple on earth and nothing makes me happier than when Ben and Ryan watch on as Anna and I talk endlessly, laughing until we cry and Ben will always say "they are the same person". Bless.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH THE GREEK, THE IRISHMAN AND THE AUSTRALIAN

2012-06-14T13:25:00.001+10:00

I thought that Ryan was Greek. It was his dark features. It was his confident walk. It was the fact that I didn’t know him from a bar of soap. Mr Mysterious. When I eventually met Ryan all those years ago and we got to chatting, I was surprised to hear his Irish accent come out of his Greek body. And to be honest, I was so happy because who doesn’t love an Irish accent? No matter what is said, it’s just always fun. And I’m not sure I could deal with a Greek mother in law – how on earth could I compete with their cooking for a start.

The Irishman = tall, dark and handsome. A true joker, full of craic. Sports fanatic, I’d say borderline obsessed. Considerate and thoughtful. Ever so romantic.

The Australian = spoiled and showered with lovely gifts. Very lucky indeed.

I celebrated my thirty first birthday yesterday and wasn’t looking forward to it one little bit. I mean, thirty one. That’s like proper grown up age yet I still feel as though I’m about twenty five. So I woke up slightly grumpy “Urgh, it’s my birthday”, all tired and not wanting to get out of bed. You know, pretty pathetic. Lucky for me though, my Irishman was excited and he promptly handed me my lovely birthday card and gifts. It cheered me up immediately. Not because of the presents, but simply because Ryan had gone to so much trouble to write me a lovely card and he was so excited to celebrate the day with me. That made me over the moon happy.

And celebrate we did. Another Irishman trait...drinking. I adopted that one last night. Mojitos baby! Radio Mexico in St Kilda was our dinner of choice and honestly, my taste buds have never been happier. Char grilled corn on the cob with cheese and lime. Pulled pork tacos. Chicken and green rice. Hangar steak tacos. Then, just when I thought that I couldn’t eat another morsel, we had birthday cake waiting for us at home. Strawberry sponge, delicious.

However, the Irishman was not so happy this morning when I announced that it’s still my birthday week and that the party is not over yet.

The Australian = cheeky.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH MY ENTOURAGE

2012-05-29T19:51:00.000+10:00

Let me start by prefacing this blog entry by telling you that I’m not a diva. Really.

I had a great day today…no work…just a few hours spent with one of the most creative and fabulous ladies ever. Zowie Evans, my hairdresser of eight years. I adore her. And not only because she can work wonders with my damaged blonde locks, but because three hours with Zowie feels like two minutes. We talk and laugh, talk and laugh for hours and yet I’ve come home today kicking myself at the things I’ve forgotten to discuss with her.

So today we were chatting away about weddings. Zowie was married last year so was giving me lots of advice, pretty much all along the lines of “why do the typical things if they aren’t things you actually like”. A girl after my own heart. Anyway, while chatting away I put it out there that should Zowie coincidentally be in New York on May 15^th 2013, I’d happily hire her to do my hair. It breaks my heart that it will never happen.

Zowie: “You need to just fly your entire entourage over Natalie”
Natalie: “Seriously. Who do I think I am, Mariah Carey?!”

Hahahahahahahahahahahaahhahahahahahahahaha.

The thing is, I’ve managed to find myself some truly awesome contacts here in Melbourne over the years and now I can’t imagine going to anyone else for hair, makeup, nails, spray tans and so on. My own little dream team is just that, a dream.

And to be honest, I think that I’ve been a real pleasure with the wedding planning so far. I even checked with Ryan and he agreed. It’s been a breeze. No stress. No drama. No tears. No tantrums.

But now I really want my dream team in New York with me on the wedding day. WHY DON’T I OWN A PRIVATE JET?!

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH A SURPRISE BABY

2012-04-29T22:38:00.000+10:00

How is it that I didn’t know one of my friends was pregnant until she announced the birth of her baby girl on Facebook?! Admittedly, we don’t have a call each other up relationship, but in the past two years, we have managed to catch up for drinks and dinners every few months. So, not knowing she was pregnant with her second child comes as a real surprise. I mean, we’ve spoken in the past nine months. Confused-balls.

It’s made me take a quick little look at how I manage my friendships and I have to say, I’m not the best at it. While I love all of my friends so dearly and enjoy hearing about their lives, relationships and what they have going on in life, I’m just shocking at returning texts/calls/emails. I get distracted and think I’ll reply later when I’m at home on the couch, but in all honesty, I just forget.

Kelly, Sarah, Me, Shanelle & Leanne

And so as of this weekend, I’ve decided that I really need to make more of an effort at keeping in contact with the girls because what is life without your friends, hey?

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH SUPER WOMEN

2012-04-21T22:59:00.000+10:00

I have a few really close friends. My besties. And it makes me really proud when I think about each and every one of them and how they’re all such strong women.

My Mum comes from a large family with seven kids, five of which are girls. You’d think you’d get a pretty mixed bag with five girls, however being raised by my Nanna meant that they all have a bit of sass about them, they’re pretty loud, talkative and fun, and they have a whole lot of backbone. My Nanna was a force to be reckoned with and I adored her so much. She was sometimes ridiculous and was just non-stop with the chat. I see a lot of her in me. I love all of my aunties for so many different reasons but mostly because we have fun together. Sure, there can be some hairy moments (you know how it can be) however they always have your back, no matter what. I have always felt like I was the other sister, not the niece. Possibly because some of us are close in age and we kind of grew up together, possibly because I always referred to my Grampa as my substitute Dad, or possibly because we are a close knit group when it comes down to it. They all have their strengths but as a whole, look out! They could kill you in a game of trivial pursuit, out sing you in a sing star battle and drink you under the table.

So it really comes as no surprise that I have somehow managed to surround myself with a strong group of friends over the years. I always refer to one of my long time besties, Bianca, as the strongest person I know. She is a super woman. Seriously.

Bianca and I went to high school together way back when and while we attended the same school, it wasn’t really until Year 11 that we became friends. There was a brief one week long friendship during Year 8 camp when we shared a room with eight other girls (and I admired Bianca’s sunflower shoe string strap summer dress and her sandshoes that went with it), but that friendship was short lived. Once we were back at school again following camp, we never really spoke. That was until we hit our second last year of high school. As soon as we became friends, we were as thick as thieves.

Following our graduation from high school, it wasn’t long before Bianca and I moved out of home and into a rental together. Good lord…there are so many stories that I could share with you but honestly, I can’t bring myself to type them out. They are mortifying. We battled along together with little cash and lots of partying but then there were the times when we’d just put our PJs on, hire DVDs (actually, I think they were videos back then) and eat ice-cream together for whole weekends. Bianca and I could laugh for hours with tears running down our cheeks and we never took ourselves very seriously. All we did was laugh.

We’ve been through a lot together in the last 15 years and I’ve watched as she has grown into the most amazing woman and mother. I’ve seen her meet her fiancé and make the most gorgeous little babies. Miss Super Woman has always been strong. Whatever crap gets thrown her way; she takes it on and sorts it out. Her life in Darwin just amazes me completely. Not only is Bianca a fabulous mum to her gorgeous three children, she also works full time, studies and is engaged to a man who works in the armed forces so more often than not, he is away from home with very little contact for months on end. And yet, with all of this going on, Bianca is completely selfless. Honestly, she is 100% selfless. She could be having the worst day or the worst week but you’d never hear her complain about it. She is always there for all of her friends no matter what, she is so upbeat and happy all the time and she just radiates goodness. Pure gooey goodness.

There are often times when I’m tired and exhausted, and I’m juggling a few things at once (you know, going to and from work, being tired, trying to exercise…pathetic how busy I think I am) and my mind always wanders to Bianca and I ask myself how she does it. Seriously. Three kids. A job. Studying. A fiancé. A sister. A friend. Super woman!

I love that Bianca is my friend. She seriously is one of a kind. Bless.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH MUSIC + MEMORIES

2012-04-14T23:11:00.000+10:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love music. I love everything about it. I enjoy nothing more than singing at the top of my lungs and dancing like I’m in a club when really I’m just in my lounge room. I love going to concerts. I download new songs for my iPod every week. The 2am karaoke escapades are where you see the real me. And it ain’t pretty (isn’t that right Mel B…? So many laughs, so many laughs). And doesn’t everyone love memories that come when you hear certain songs? So many memories pop up for me when I hear music. Some I’d really rather forget too. You know, like the 5am last song before the lights come on memories. Why are those ones still ever so fresh in the mind? Cringe.

I’ve always had the most amazing musical plan mapped out in my mind for our wedding day. I thought that I was Miss Thang with my musical prowess and the way I went from ceremony to cocktail hour to dinner music to dancing to farewell so magically. That was until I discovered a few things:

1. We’re not allowed to play recorded music during our church ceremony. All music must be played by organ. Not ideal as I had a whole instrumental number lined up by way of The Verve. Disappointing.
2. The cost of the French jazz trio I fell in love with after a late night Saturday session Googling said band is almost as much as the entire wedding itself.
3. And I can’t even talk about how much of a shock I received when researching bands for the reception…costly. Ever so costly.

So, I’m going to rethink my wedding music until I get it absolutely spot on because music makes me happy and I want our wedding guests to have the most amazing night. To the coolest soundtrack that I can compose. I’m going to weigh up every single musical option, cost and song so I get it just right because music is going to make the reception a truly awesome night.

Turns out, there is one thing I’m sure of though and that is I think I finally have my ‘something borrowed’. You see, I love the tradition of something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. I’ve just never been able to come up with my something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. That was until I was going over my musical styling’s and remembered that one of the songs I had imagined being played while Ryan and I sign our marriage certificate was actually the song that my aunty Felicity walked down the aisle to. So, while this ‘something borrowed’ may not be a physical object, I think my ‘something borrowed’ is going to be her wedding entrance song ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’.

Now…just for fun, here are some of my more fun musical memories. I hope some of these will make you laugh, sing your heart out or bust a move.

Let’s Get Married (Jagged Edge) – reminds me of Catherine Saad (as she was way back then) and I dancing at Bourbon Street…worst nightclub on earth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKzat-kGias&feature=related

Milkshake (Kelis) – randomly reminds me of an old employer who gave me the Kelis CD for my birthday and we would play it in the office and shake what our mammas gave us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2SZPb7UUtc&feature=related

Dilemma (Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland) – Shanelle, I won’t go into all the details out of sheer embarrassment but this reminds me of you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WYHDfJDPDc

We Are Family (Sister Sledge) – The Bywaters family on the old SingStar. Cheeseball fun. This video is HILARIOUS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbiWK_LqrcM&feature=related

Do You Feel Me (Anthony Hamilton) – every time I hear this song, I think of Ryan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jsv7j3tj34

Stronger (Kanye West) –triggers my curiosity for Kanye.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsO6ZnUZI0g

I’ll Make Love To You (Boyz II Men) – Row A at Boyz II Men concert a mere five years ago with Catherine as we relived our youth. They still have it BTW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV8vB1BB2qc

Never Forget (Take That) – the obsession, the stake outs, the chasing, the tears, the VHS concerts, the teenage crush. Louise, they were our One Direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoO_1FFr56k

Rise & Fall (Craig David ft Sting) – my sister and I would duet this song together ALL. THE. TIME when it was released and still to this day I call her and play this song down the phone singing along. I was Craig, she was Sting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv4lKeSTkJc

Bonnie & Clyde (Beyonce ft Jay Z) – makes me feel love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLhWmTe8kso

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

2012-04-11T17:00:00.001+10:00

Ah Easter, how I miss you already. Four days away from work, catching up with friends and family, fancy meals out, a pamper day with Shanelle, red wine, Easter eggs, my new risotto maker, DVD marathons. Unfortunately, it’s now back to the daily grind. Meh.

This year is a bit different for Ryan and I given we’re saving our pennies (except over the Easter weekend which saw our budget get thrown out the window for a few days…not so much) and therefore, we’re not going on any holidays in 2012. Super sad face. There is usually one slash two holidays for us each year giving us something to look forward to, something to get excited about as you battle your way through the long and tedious weeks of work. This year there is no holiday to look forward to. Meh again.

I had so been looking forward to Easter and the break from work, which let’s be honest I was in desperate need of, and now it’s over I have no countdown to anything. Except of course our wedding….in 13 months. Let's not forget about that.

So it is with great pleasure that I’m now going to throw myself into full on wedding planning. Look out desk buddies, you may (scrap that, you WILL) be bombarded with excessive talk of wedding shoes, wedding favours, wedding flowers, wedding food, wedding everything, starting from now.

While we have our venues booked, our photographer and my dress confirmed, we still have a hell of a lot to get sorted. And so it begins. Luckily I’m already armed with gorgeous wedding stationary, notebooks, folders and a planner (courtesy of one desk buddy who may possibly regret showing an interest in anything wedding related once I really start talking her ears off). Now I just need to start crossing things off my list.

Oh and one thing before I go…this new risotto maker…it's life changing. No more stirring, no more uncooked rice after 30 minutes of adding stock cup by cup, no more agony in my right arm. Simply add ingredients, put the lid on and press a button. The end result: creamy, oozy, delicious risotto. Perhaps I’ll bring the risotto maker to New York and just whip up a batch for the wedding dinner. Save us some pennies right there.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH WEDDING LOVE

2012-03-22T21:31:00.001+11:00

I have a cold. The sore throat, the runny nose, the sore feeling behind my eyes...meh. Double, triple meh.

So while trying to rest up on my couch and kick this germ as quickly as possible, I've been trawling through photos of couples on their wedding day.

These ones made me swoon "awww..."

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH THE TERRIFYING BMI RESULT

2012-03-15T12:44:00.001+11:00

From slightly overweight (damn you BMI and your harsh words) to long and lean like Jennifer Aniston (my ideal) in the blink of an eye. Don’t I wish.

I keep seeing these purely disgusting ads on TV for some sort of magic potion that you drink and it expands in your stomach leaving hardly any room for you to eat food. Apparently Sophie lost 20kgs in 14 days by drinking this magic potion. The thought of these kind of ‘lose weight fast’ products makes me feel physically sick. Who on earth would put themselves through something so vile? After a bit of Googling, I’ve discovered some horrible side effects to these magic potions and know too well that they are actually more like the devils juice than anything else (not sure why but that instantly makes me think of Michael Jackson and his Jesus Juice. Eww).

Meal replacement shakes. Fat blaster tablets. Expand in the belly potions. NO, NO AND NO.

A well balanced diet and regular exercise leads to a healthy lifestyle - it’s not rocket science and everyone knows this is the healthy way to drop fat, but my goodness gracious me, it is hard work. How do I stop going for the trusty old favourites like hot chips and donuts and stick to nutrient rich quinoa, fresh vegetables, high protein meals and most importantly, sugar free snacks. HOW I ASK YOU. It seems impossible.

One of my favourite bloggers, Amanda @ Me Vs The Bulge, makes it seem so easy, even though from reading her blog I know too well that in fact, it’s not been easy at all. She is just so determined and strong willed. Inspirational she is. She has me hanging on her every word, simply because I love reading her story and seeing her progress. She is looking so amazing after losing something crazy like 25kgs. She is currently training for a Sports Model contest which is being held in a few weeks, and I can’t wait to see some photos because she already looks like a winner.

But for me, there will be no sports model competition to get me motivated. Simply a white dress. One white dress that is going to change me in so many ways, and I’m mostly talking physically, sister. Kyha over at OneDay Bridal has sketched me a stunningly fabulous dress which gives me six months to get myself in tip top shape before she starts creating the dream dress. Scary but ever so exciting at the same time.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH HERB FARMING

2012-03-07T11:37:00.000+11:00

It’s really just been one of those weeks at work, the kind of week that you find yourself sitting in disbelief at the random things people come to you with… “the printer says it’s out of paper….the fridge smells…is this the photocopier?... I don’t know how to use my own brain…can you think for me Natalie?”.

ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

All harmless questions yes, but surely there is more to life than cleaning out our office fridge?! It’s weeks like these that I find myself sitting on the train traveling to work, completely lost in my own thoughts as I brainstorm get rich quick ideas. The thought of no more sucky Sandringham train line is like a little piece of heaven.

Last week I found an article on herb farming. Is there anything I can do with that? Ryan was baffled when he received my email with the article attached. He called me straight away “Herb farming? Seriously….herb farming?”. I had to laugh because he was right. As if I was going to start herb farming. Although, I do quite like the idea of having my own little herb patch, planting them, nurturing them, packaging and selling them. How much could I make on a bunch of sage…two dollars? Hardly worth my time but I do quite like the idea. Home all day long, tending to my little herbs, relaxing with some tea in the backyard. Bliss.

If only I had a skill. Something I was good at. Something that could possibly turn into a nice little income. Reading magazines for a living? Eating donuts for cash? Going on luxury holidays to earn a wage?

One of my dear friends and I recently sat down and turned to each other in slight desperation trying to give each other some awesome, never before heard of, fabulous, millionaire making ideas. We came up with nothing. Nothing that hasn’t been done before. Nothing revolutionary. We resigned to the fact that we get paid pretty good money in our current jobs and that’s really all we need at the moment. Sigh, sigh, giant big fat sigh.

It just takes one idea. Share a good one with me and I may even split my profits with you when I hit the big time.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH THE INTERVIEW

2012-02-27T19:37:00.000+11:00

Congratulations on your wedding. How are you feeling now that it’s all done and dusted and you’re Mrs. Kemp?

Thank you. I feel great, happy, relaxed and proud to be the new Mrs. Kemp. There is a part of me which is sad that it’s all over now as I had such a great time planning and organising the big day. And look how gorgeous my new husband is.

You made a stunning bride. Tell us about your dress?

Thanks. My dress was inspired by two dresses that I had seen in a magazine the day Lee asked me to marry him. Off I went to Baccini & Hill and they were able to create something with the same style for me which included the antique lace from the 1950’s.

Did you have a theme or a look that you were going for with the wedding?

Ha ha. Lee would even be able to answer this question as all he heard me say was ‘vintage, edgy and1950s’, so I guess that answers the question. We also wanted to incorporate our kombi in there so the boys arrive in ‘Norm’ our kombi and it made a great prop for photos too.

You were quite the organised bride. How did you find the whole planning process? Any tips?

I loved every minute of the planning process…almost as much as the big day itself! The whole thing was really fun. As you know I’m super organised, so my tip would be to book early to get what you want. I started off with an inspiration board and it just took off from there. I have a very distinctive style and decisive personality so that helped I guess.

What part of the wedding planning did you spend the most time on?

Hmmm, those amazing blue Badgley Mishka shoes. I managed to find the last pair on sale in a small little boutique in Canada which happened to be just the right size. The Bridesmaids dresses and shoes were a challenge to fit different shapes and sizes but we got there in the end. One other thing was the succulents for the wedding favours - there was a bit of planning and organisation that went into those but they were a big feature for the table settings and worth every minute.

Did you find any websites handy when planning your wedding?

Apart from the obvious stylemepretty.com and polkadotbride.com and lots of random blogs, Google images was my best friend. I found everything through Google images.

Your Dad gave you away at your wedding. How did you feel walking down the aisle?

I was worried I would be a crying mess. Luckily I was happy, relaxed, excited and able to take it all in. Once I hit the top of the black carpet, I almost cried but then looked up at Lee, winked at him (which is very odd for me) and then managed to hold it together. It was great to have dad share the aisle with me and I particularly love this picture of us.

I saw you wink at Lee from the top of the black carpet and I had to turn away because it made me tear up! Very very sweet.

I’m just obsessed with the photos that I’ve seen so far. OBSESSED! Where did you go for photos and did you have an idea of what you wanted your photos to look like?

The amazing, lovely, fabulous Sally Goodall was our photographer. The only way to describe this woman is that she is made of pure sugar. Not only is she professional and captures some amazing pictures, she is such a beautiful person to share the day with.

Check out her blog of our wedding
http://www.sallygoodall.com/blog/2012-02/lee-leanne-get-married.28

Tell us a little about the reception venue and the styling?

Butleigh Wootton is a beautiful old manor house based in Kew and as soon as we walked in on our first viewing, we fell in love with it. It’s traditional, intimate and perfect for us and what we were going for.

Your band were the fabulous White Tree who had everyone up and dancing. Did you have a favourite song they performed?

They were great, weren’t they? I think my favourite was my entrance song; Songbird by Eva Cassidy, it was up there with the best! It was sung beautifully. I also remember loving ‘You’ve Got The Love’.

For those who weren’t lucky enough to be there and see the first dance fill them in….

Ha ha. Okay, the first challenge was convincing Lee that it was a good idea. His response was that if we are going to do a first dance, it can’t be too cheesy, can’t be too serious and “we will have to nail it”. After seven 45 minute lessons at ‘Let’s Go Dance’ in Brighton, we had a perfect little performance to a 1950’s swing song called Mr. Lee. The lyrics were perfect and the dance was actually one of my highlights of the night. There were a few technical moves as it was quite an energetic dance, so I had a little costume change also. We both loved doing it and I believe there is some video footage getting around.

I have to tell you, I was SUPER impressed. The dance was highly choreographed and complicated and you looked so professional.

I adored your wedding shoes so much that I’ve decided that I’m going to wear coloured heels for my big day. It was quite a mission finding those though, wasn’t it?

Ha ha, oh yes it was. But they were worth it. You may have noticed that I changed from my blue wedding shoes into Blue suede dancing shoes for the first dance. Having a shoe change was a great excuse for buying 2 pairs of fabulous blue shoes. I highly recommend a fun coloured pair of shoes which people may catch a glimpse of as you walk down the aisle.

And what did you choose for your bridesmaids outfits?

I went a little controversial as I wanted my bridesmaids to wear ivory. My dress was oyster with ivory lace and I wanted them to match. I just love lace and the dresses we found for the girls were perfect. They all loved them but they didn’t come easy to find!

Pippa Middleton really started a trend with the white bridesmaids dress. It is such a stunning look and makes a great impact. Did you follow any wedding traditions?

I swore I would never throw a bouquet. After a few champagnes, I ended up throwing the bouquet. I love the traditional sit down dinner, cutting of the cake, first dance and all those things that I associate with weddings but a few tweaks like NOT wearing a garter, walking down a black carpet instead of a red carpet made the day more suited to us.

What do you think your guests will remember most about your wedding?

Hmmm. Hard call, probably the dance. I would think some guests might not have much memory past 10pm. I’m hoping they all took their succulent’s home and they don’t kill them, which will be a nice reminder of our big day.

Do you have any advice for brides to be? Particularly those who are getting married in New York in fourteen months from now and are about to kick their wedding planning into overdrive?

Enjoy every minute of it and just don’t stress about it. I loved all the little things we had to organise, from the invitations to the seating plans, and it was so great to see everything come together on the day. I loved the night before the wedding with the girls too, getting ready and all of the excitement of the day. Oh and obviously seeing Lee standing there waiting for me to come down the aisle.

And now for the honeymoon. You’re planning a big trip later in the year?

Ohhh yes we are and I can’t wait for 3 weeks of holidays. Europe here we come.

It’s hard to believe that your wedding has been and gone after so much talk and discussion for the past year. Now is the start of your new married life with Lee. Sending you both lots of love.

And a very big personal thank you for letting me run all my ideas past you on the run up to the big day. Now onto your wedding.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH THE RETURN OF FOOTBALL

2012-02-20T19:27:00.000+11:00

Urgh, so it’s back. Football. How on earth am I even saying these words in February?! Is it me, or is football starting earlier and earlier each year?

Last night, a Sunday night, I strolled into my lounge room to find this…

My fiance engrossed in a game of football. On a Sunday night! And what’s worse is that he informs me, in what I can only describe to you as an overly excited tone, that there is a new AFL channel on Foxtel. Awesome. So now, rather than a few games on TV on the weekends, I now have a full on channel dedicated to AFL in my lounge room, giving Ryan the opportunity to watch games 24/7. Nooooo.

Sunday night is still movie night to me. Remember the good old days when every Sunday night there would be a movie on at 8.30pm on channels 7, 9 and 10? What happened to that? I admit, AFL is not entirely to blame for this. There are an abundance of crime shows on Sunday night, all the CSI’s and Law and Orders, but now there is this special AFL channel in the mix, my TV life will never be the same again.

I love nothing more than relaxing to the max from 4pm on Sunday afternoon in preparation for a week of work ahead. I put my PJs on and lay on the couch watching TV for as long as I possibly can. Not using any energy. Just laying there, slug like. Last night however, I had to find ways to fill some time while Ryan caught the Essendon vs. ‘some other team’ game. And it wasn’t so bad, but I just know as the months go on and the proper AFL season starts and the weather is wintery, I’m not going to be as accommodating with this new channel.

So we have the return of AFL, the return of soccer (or not...is it on year round? I'm unsure) and of course, Ryan has his football season starting in April which sees him training three times a week in addition to his weekly games (not to mention the fact that he has been doing pre season training for about 6 weeks now).

Too much football for me. Bring back the Sunday night rom com. WAGs unite.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH GUEST BLOGGER JENNY HANSON

2012-02-19T20:41:00.000+11:00

A girl who says she has never thought about her wedding is lying. She may not have thought about the finer details but she has thought about it.

I have always known I wanted to be married and that I would want a non religious ceremony but I didn’t think I had a clue about the finer details.

How wrong I was.... here’s how it goes.

Four and a half years ago I was working in Dubai and enjoying a night at the balmy and ever so slightly glamorous Rooftop Bar at The Royal Mirage. I met a Welshman called Leigh and we ended up drinking two bottles of Shiraz. It was undoubtedly one of the best nights of my life. He was over on holiday for a week visiting his brother. We ended up spending every day that week together. I cried when he left. We Skyped often and spoke every day and six weeks later I left the UAE and moved to Wales to be with him. We shared an apartment on the water’s edge before getting a house together.

Four years later on a cold but gloriously sunny day in Cardiff he took me back to the water’s edge under the balcony of the apartment we first shared together and asked me if I would be his wife. I cried.

Shortly after this we packed up our worlds and moved to Melbourne. We booked the wedding before we left – Friday September 7^th 2012 in Cardiff, Wales – his homeland. It made the move easier knowing we had such a wonderful event planned – a special time to share with our friends and family.

Leigh and I have always been organised and to a degree a little regimented with a mutual love for routine and structure. I am grateful for this because it turns out planning a wedding on the other side of the world requires somewhat of a military approach to planning and presents challenges. But it’s ok – a spreadsheet for this and a spreadsheet for that helps keep everything in perspective.

Reverting back to my original point about the finer details... turns out for years I have been storing inside my head a wedding box – and when Leigh proposed I subconsciously opened this box and discovered it contained the entire contents of my dream day. No exaggeration. The colour scheme, the menu for the wedding breakfast, the bridesmaid’s dresses, how I pictured Leigh to look, smart in a charcoal grey suit with crisp white shirt and silver grey tie... but there wasn’t a clear image of my dress...all I knew was that I did not want to look like a meringue.

So time passed quickly and I’m six months away from D Day. My Mum had said from the moment we announced we were to wed, that she would like to buy me my dress.

My Mum and I have lived in separate countries since I was 17 years old – regardless of this we have remained very close. I call her every day, text her every few hours and value her opinion above pretty much everybody else I know. So early February she flew to Melbourne to take me shopping... we had three appointments booked and they were nicely spaced apart to accommodate wine before each shop! So off we went to appointment number one... a 10am at Baccini & Hill. We were a little early so we walked past the shop to grab a coffee – stopping only to drool over a dress in the window – a little Grecian like, a healthy amount of bling and certainly nothing I’d ever a) go for and b) look good in.....

Buzzing from our coffee fix we stepped into the shop – for someone like me walking into a shop stocked entirely of dresses and nothing else (apart from accessories to go with said dresses) is beyond daunting. I knew what I didn’t want and conveyed that to the assistant. So whilst I went off and got changed in the rooms, she went off and picked some options... she returned and handed me ‘contestant number 1’... – a little Grecian like, a healthy amount of bling and certainly nothing I’d ever a) go for and b) look good in.....

From the moment I put the dress on and felt the silk georgette glide over my skin....I knew. The bling was clear to see but not a bit “Big fat Gypsy Wedding”, the way it moved when I moved made me look like I was gliding, the fitted waist and ruching showed off my good bits and covered the not so good... in a nutshell I felt like a princess.

Historically I am an impulse shopper. So there was a part of me which wanted to sign on the dotted line right there and then. Mum quickly unearthed the sensible voice in my head and reminded me the right thing to do would be to continue on to the other appointments and then decide from there. So that’s exactly what we did....Mariana Hardwick failed to impress as did another. But how can this be when their gowns are so special? Because in my head I had my dress picked... a little Grecian like, a healthy amount of bling and certainly nothing I’d ever a) go for and b) look good in.....

So we returned to Baccini & Hill and the same assistant from earlier came bounding over to me...if I was on the cusp of a hefty sale I am pretty sure I’d have a spring in my step too. She took ‘the’ dress of the model in the window and we returned to the changing rooms to try it on one more time. It felt even better the second time round only this time round I cried. I’ll be honest – I am a softy and I cry often at anything remotely slushy. Last week whilst laying in bed I spent half an hour on YouTube watching a whole host of marriage proposals – I wasn’t howling but I did well up on more than one occasion – even at the over the top American ones! So tears were no great surprise but they were welcomed, as were my Mum’s. As a moment it was beyond special although it lasted just minutes I will treasure it forever. We both knew this would be the dress I would marry the love of my life in. All I could think of when I stood facing the mirror was what Leigh would think if he saw me in ‘my’ dress.

We did the ‘admin’ and they took measurements and then I took my Mum for a drink – a glass of champagne. Sat in the sunshine with a head full of thoughts, all I kept saying was “wow, that’s that then”.

Jenny x

THE ONE WITH INSPIRATION BOARDS

2012-02-10T21:24:00.000+11:00

As I sit here on my couch in all of my spray tan glory, the Real Housewives of Atlanta in the background and homemade pizza in the oven, I'm pawing my way through hundreds of wedding inspiration boards for a little bit of fun.

The problem I have is, I cannot decide on a look for our wedding. How can you when there are so many beautiful options, so many ways you can style your venue. I always imagined all white with millions of candle votives but now I'm wondering, do I add some soft colour? Should I go for a super glam look, or a French provincial look? Country table or fine dining? Argh, the options are endless.

And to make it all the more difficult, these inspriation boards courtesy of Snippet & Ink, are simply adding fuel to the fire!

Parisian Brunch

Romantic Early Spring

Ruby Red & Gravy

Gingerbread & Pear

Pink Pierrot

Black & White Ball

Caramel & Cream

Charcoal & Plum

Shell & Cocoa

Garden Pink & Green

Southern Charm

Romantic Black & White

Lucky in Love

Love & Lilacs

Playful Pink & Blue

Ahhhh, decisions.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH MY SISTER

2012-01-30T20:20:00.000+11:00

My sister turned 21 on the weekend. I honestly cannot believe it. It feels like yesterday that she was a little three year old girl who said and did the funniest things and she always had me in stitches.

It’s so strange for me now that Jessie is 21 because I see her as a little girl still. So when she tells me about parties and nights out drinking fabulous cocktails and devouring pizza at 3am to soak up the alcohol, my instant (internal) reaction is “WHAAAAT?” before I remember, she is a grown up now. Accept it. If I’m lucky enough to have a little girl of my own, golly gosh, I will be such a hideously overprotective mother. How did my Mum do it with not one but two daughters? The constant worry I have when I know my sister is out for the night is ridiculous. And I’m just the sister.

You see, Jessie has always been my little angel. There is a ten year age gap between the two of us and when she was born, she became my best friend. I just loved her and cared for her and wanted to be around her more than anything. She was such a little character, always telling jokes and making her own fun from anything and everything. It makes me laugh so much to this day to think of the two of us singing Row Row Row Your Boat because we had a little joke where we wouldn’t look at each other when we sang it, but then if one of us snapped our head around to look at the other person, you had to try and snap your head back at the exact same time. Silly to anyone else, but how we laughed.

The nicknames I had for Jessie have stuck with her for 21 one years. It’s rare that I call her by her actual name, but rather the ridiculous names we came up with when she was just a little girl. Loop, Loopy, Loopalina, Munchican, Munch Head. Variations of all of these things. Jessminda. I did try to get Flubber to stick, purely because the movie Flubber came out when Jess was six years old and she used to dance like Flubber to “do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight, get down tonight” and it was hilarious. However, she HATED me calling her Flubber, so that was one name that was kind of off limits.

Of course during the teenage years, I do recall Jess telling me not to call her any of her names in front of people. I would get yelled at if I called out “Loopy” in front of her friends. “Naaaaat, you’re so annoying”. Ha ha ha.

I feel so happy when I think of my sister growing up and all of the fun we have had over the years. There was a period where we had some great house parties when Jessie was a teenager. Not the kind you might be imagining, but family parties where we had jelly shots, punch and a lot of SingStar. Good times. Jess and I would always be a team (trust me, I never wanted to go up against her because she would ALWAYS win) and we were hard to beat. Jess would sing properly (winning us the points) and I would be more into the performance part, up singing (badly and loudly) and dancing away. All of the aunties and even Mum, would get amongst it, singing out hearts out and having a blast. My Grampa would sit in the next room laughing at how horrendous we all sounded but he loved that all of his daughters and granddaughters were all there with him and that we were all being silly and having so much fun.

Originally when Ryan and I started planning our wedding, I was adamant that I didn’t want to have a bridal party. I thought it would be so nice to be just the two of us and perhaps our parents could be our witnesses. It sounded so romantic. Ryan on the other hand wasn’t keen on this idea. He was really excited at the thought of having his best friend as his best man and told me that our wedding was not a “barn dance”. He was right and now, I cannot imagine ever not having my sister as part of my wedding day. What was I thinking?! So, Jessie is going to be my one and only bridesmaid and I’m super excited to go shopping for her dress and to get our hair and makeup done together. She is such a beautiful girl and I’m so happy to have her by my side. I love that when I told Jess my idea for a hens night (which ladies, I’ve decided I will definitely do in Melbourne after Shanelle suggested it might be a good idea as more people can attend) she was SUPER excited and completely loved it. She has been so wonderful since Ryan proposed, her and Mum have been marking pages in wedding magazines and Jess sends me emails full of wedding inspiration.

And, lucky for Jess, she has had a little bit of practice having been in some wedding previously. I adore this photo of a six year old Jessie (the tiny little one in front, pictured with my Nanna) at my aunty Felicity’s wedding. Cutie pa-tutie. She just looks so innocent.

My sister is the best.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH THE CATCH UP

2012-01-22T20:55:00.000+11:00

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog on New Year’s Eve and I’d love to tell you that I’ve been ever so busy doing fabulous things, but the truth of the matter is I’ve been really lazy. I’ve literally been laying around on the couch catching up on sleep and bad TV over the Christmas break I had from work. So much so, that I even joked with Shanelle that my couch has a body imprint of me from having spent hours on it for the past few weeks. That’s what holidays are for though, right?! With Ryan away for three weeks, I had the house to myself and it became my little quiet haven. I rarely cooked dinner for myself (who can be bothered cooking for one every night?), the house stayed super neat and tidy for all I did was go from the bed, to the shower, to the couch and back again. Pure relaxing bliss.

Don’t get me wrong, there were the girly catch ups, the dinners with friends, the pool hanging on hot days, a few hours laying on the beach, shopping and I did speed read my way through a fabulous read in a few days, The Help. I’m sure loads of you would have read it or seen the movie, but if you haven’t, I highly recommend it. I literally could not put the damn thing down. I laughed, I cried, I flicked from one page to the next desperate to read how the story went.

Sadly though, it had to come to an end and it was back to work for me and my fabulous little cycle of doing nothing was over. Life is now back to normal. I’m back at work, Ryan is home again (YAY!) and January is coming along quite quickly.

There are a few little things I have brewing this month, such as my save the date cards which are en route from St Louis. I’m just desperate to get them into my hot little hands and send them out as soon as humanly possible. And in addition to that, my FAVOURITE little custom blog designer is currently whipping me up my wedding website to send to all of our family and friends so they can keep informed on the week of our wedding. I tell you what, Miss Sass is just a dream come true and I love her designs and creativity. I tell her what I like and she brings it to life. Um, love her!

Another exciting thing for me is that my lil sis Jessie is turning 21 this month. Very hard for me to believe as I still see her as a little three year old girl. Bless. So, we have a delicious family lunch planned to celebrate and I have a nice little present to give her, which makes me ever so nervous. I really hope she loves it as much as I think she will. So, bring on Mr Wolf for a classic margherita and the cos salad. And for Jess, the potato pizza, a cocktail and the chocolate mousse. My mouth is literally watering as I type this. No joke.

And of course, I have Leanne’s wedding to look forward to in just under three weeks now. Oh em gee. I'm extremely excited to attend this wedding because I feel like I’ve been there every step of the way with the organising and research and the ohhing and ahhing over wedding blogs together. It will be amazing to see how it has all pulled together nicely and of course, I'm excited for us girls to have a fabulous time on the dance floor boogying the night away. Super dooper excited. Oh and P.S. I will be recycling outfits for the weddings I attend this year. This makes Ryan very happy. No more new dresses for me.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH NEW YEAR'S EVE

2011-12-31T18:18:00.000+11:00

So, it’s New Year’s Eve and I’m sitting at Elwood beach as I write this blog, getting a little tan and relaxing to the max. I just LOVE the little beach side suburb we live in and the fact I can walk five minutes down the road to the beach. Comes in super handy when your fiancée is overseas and you have lots of time to catch up on books and magazines.

One of my favourite New Year’s Eves was two years ago when Ryan and I were in Paris. It was below zero, snowing, freezing and SO much fun! We stayed in a lovely hotel in the 7^th arrondissement surrounded by quaint little cafes and exclusive boutiques. I’d love to say that we spent NYE drinking wine, eating scrumptious food and just being all around fabulous, but no, we rugged up and walked the streets for the night with about five billion other people. I’m talking hours and hours on end of walking, seeing the sights, stopping at a few places along the Champs Elysses and having a drink at a bar every hour or so. And when I say drink, I was having camomile tea in order to warm me up. I was frozen right to the bones. Il fait super froid. Ryan would laugh and laugh at me for being so outrageously uncool with my tea, on New Year’s Eve, in a city that was clearly going crazy with people really kicking up their heels.

We made our way down to the Eiffel Tower for midnight and it was really something special and I’m so happy that we did it. You see, Paris was a quick side trip after we had spent Christmas in Ireland with Ryan’s family. A nice little trip for just the two of us and it was beautiful. J'aime Ryan.

Some Parisian memories…

Midnight kiss at the Eiffel Tower on NYE

Coffee stop

Louvre on New Years Day 2010

Arc de Triomphe

So cold my nose was red

Happy New Year French style

It has been a super fabulous year for me and I'm just so excited to see what 2012 brings. Lots of weddings that's for sure, but hopefully lots of love and happiness for all.

Amour à vous,

THE ONE WITH THE EXHAUSTION

2011-12-23T23:07:00.000+11:00

As I write this blog, I'm just home from a few days in Lorne, finding myself completely exhausted and sleepy. I think 2011 has finally caught up with me, and having finished work for the year early this week, my little body shut down and refused to do anything more than nap randomly and eat whatever I fancied. Who knew that I was in such need of some r and r, but r and r is what I had.

Ryan is going home to Ireland on Christmas day for a week, followed by a couple more weeks in the US for work, so bless his little soul, he organised a few nights away for us before Christmas and his dreaded departure. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm excited for him to go back to Ireland and spend time with his family and best friends, but the whole trip is almost four weeks and that just seems such a long time to be away from each other. Pathetic really when I think about Bianca and the long stretches of time she is away from Tyson, months and months of him being in the Middle East with very little contact. Such a strong woman that Bianca.

So Lorne was for me what rehab is for Lindsay Lohan. Lots of rest, lots of time to catch up on a good Marian Keyes novel, lots of tasty food, lots of walking on the beach, lots of napping whenever I felt like it. And it was heaven, pure heaven. I've never been one to have an afternoon nap, yet I found myself sleeping for hours on end throughout the days. I woke up one day, had breakfast, hopped back in bed and promptly fell asleep for a few more hours only to wake up at lunch time for a delicious cheeseburger. What a life eh?!

Something we did realise on this trip of endless sleeping was that when we're at home, we don't often just do nothing. If we have no plans, we'll make some. We'll go shopping, catch up with friends, see a movie, clean out the house, do a stack of washing. We never sit still. Why is it that we don't ever take the time to take care of ourselves? This little trip away has made me think that perhaps afternoon naps and no plans for life are the way forward. Forget about filling my time with fancy commitments. Fluff my pillow and say goodnight, this lady has learnt how to sleep at the drop of a hat and she isn't afraid to do it.

Perfect timing really with it being Christmas and all. Time for the Christmasy traditions and time with family, but then there is the extra week or so of holidays which will be spent laying on the beach with some trashy mags that help me nod off in the sun.

Wishing you and your families a lovely, happy Christmas full of lots of laughter and happy memories.

Oh, and just one more thing. When next in Lorne, you MUST MUST MUST have dinner at Babalu. Ahhhhmazing.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH WEDDING TRADITIONS

2011-12-13T20:03:00.000+11:00

What do we think of wedding traditions? The bouquet toss, the first dance, the something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?

Jenny reminds me of myself. She is getting married in Wales and doing all of the planning from Australia. So, the two of us having been chatting this past week about little wedding traditions, and you know what, I’m torn. There are some wedding traditions that I love, and some that are just, not so much. And I know that everyone is different and while I may love, love, love something, the next bride may not and that’s okay. No judgment here.

One that I really love is the grooms cake. I love the idea of having a fun manly cake for Ryan with some kind of odd non-wedding theme, but do people still do this? I’ve not seen a grooms cake at any of the weddings I’ve been to but it does seem to happen in the movies. And you know whatever happens in the movies is true to life. My love affair with the movie Steel Magnolias doesn’t help my curiosity either - who remembers the bleedin’ armadillo cake?

Jenny also introduced me to cake toppers. She has a gorgeous little cake topper that she ordered online and sent me the link, so I started scrolling through them and came across this one and it got me thinking. Perhaps I will organise a grooms cake. Why not?! That way, Ryan can enjoy a lovely little cake topper like this (ha ha) and it’s manly as there is a sports ball on it.

Another tradition I quite like is the bride and groom spending the night before apart and not seeing each other until the bride walks down the aisle. Very romantic. Although, it’s quite popular these days for the bride and groom to have some photos together before the ceremony as a way of squeezing so much into one day, but I’m not so keen on this. I love the idea of walking down the aisle seeing each other for the first time that day, the bride in her dress all glammed up, the groom with a tear in his eye as she approaches.

I stumbled across some really funny old wedding traditions today and I just cannot have them. I would desperately want to eat the cake rather than mush it up in my pocket or under pillows (but they do make me chuckle):

The chief bridesmaid should keep a piece of cake in her pocket for the duration of the couple's honeymoon, if she hopes to marry soon.
Single female guests should take home a piece of wedding cake and place it under the pillow to dream of the man they will marry.

One thing is for sure though, and that is I’m not keen on the garter toss. Again, no judgment for those brides who like this tradition, each to their own. I’ve just seen so many hideous displays of garter behavior that is beyond words. Grooms with their heads up the brides dress for far too long a time frame, pulling out props from under the brides dress like handcuffs and rubber chickens. WTF? No. That’s not for me. There will be no garter toss, no garter worn.

And so, as I think about all of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) traditions, I’m excited by one in particular, and that is the Save the Date card. Ours are ordered and being printed as we speak and I could not be happier with them. I love them and it’s taking me all of my might not sharing a picture of them with you today, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise for my friends and family who will be receiving theirs in January.

My fellow engaged friends at work and I will continue to share all of our little bits and pieces of wedding information with each other and in the New Year, Jenny will be a guest blogger for Girl About Love as she finalises the finer details for her wedding in Wales which is very fast approaching. Now this is one SUPER DOOPER organised bride.

Love to you all,