Nesting

I love old houses, and I can't wait until Ryan and I are settled and ready to shop for homes (it will be a while, but I am a planner, and long term planning is a particular favorite of mine, it drives Ryan nuts!).

I like really old houses though, impractical ones with terrible plumbing and ancient wiring, sunken foundations and leaky windows. I would love to re-do a home from the ground up...which is why I feel kind of bad for Ryan, because he's the handy one. I can do little things, like paint and tile, but the big projects would be all on him.

There's this fun website, www.historicproperties.com, that lists older homes according to style (pre-1820's, Romantic Revival, Victorian, etc.) from across the country. I found this home in Indiana that I love...


Here's the inside:



Flooring needs refinishing, I'd put 5 bucks on the fact that the wiring is worthless, and that dropped ceiling has got to go. The white paint needs to be stripped off that trim, too, and that is NOT a fun job (ask Ryan, he's done it before!).

This beauty is in Alabama, it's classic:

That front porch!
Those columns are so gorgeous.


I found this house on Carleton Island, New York. It was built in 1895 and it's been vacant for 60 years. It needs so much work, and it costs $495,000! It has hundreds of feet of waterfront footage, I'm thinking that's where the hefty price tag comes from. Obviously Ryan and I will never have a house like this, but it's so stunning I had to post it anyway. It's like one of those houses on "Life After People."




I think those are trees growing out of the home in some spots, that can't be a cheap fix.


This house is in such bad shape I don't know what could even be salvaged. But look how huge those windows are...



Taking a wild guess here that those stairs are not structurally sound...

Here's the home in it's hey-day:


All properties and images courtesy of Historic Properties.

So someday (hopefully not too far away) when this wedding mess is over, Ryan and I can find a cute Craftsman bungalow or an old farmhouse that needs some work (but not too much, I'd like Ryan to stick around and not take off!) and we can put our own mark on it.

What are your post-wedding plans?

The Weird Face Phenomenon

I've talked before about the bizarre faces Ryan insists on making in 99.9% of the pictures we take. It's not just me you guys, check this out (go to mid-way through the post), this (scroll down to "from Abigail), and this.

Who knew so many guys do this?!

D*mmit ModCloth! And Tulle4Us....

All my working life, I have lived paycheck to paycheck and blew my money on clothes. I am reforming myself quite successfully--I put money (a big chunk of money...at least I think it's a big chunk) into our wedding account every single month, I pay quite a bit extra on my car note, and I am buying lots of Christmas presents. The money I have to spend on myself and shopping is on the non-existent side right now.

Well my dumb*ss subscribes to Fashion Under $100. And a few days ago they posted the most lovely dress, so I clicked over onto their website to see what else they had...I told you I was dumb.

Look at this stuff!

How cute would this look with jeans and moccasins for a casual Saturday out and about?

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Holy goodness the dresses....

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I could wear this so many places! Like work, and shopping, and going out (because I go out so.much.!)

The last thing I need is another black dress, but this one has a bow that ties in the back, it's so different.

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I love dress shopping so much.

Ryan thinks I need to show off my figure more, I wonder if he would like this dress?

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Tailored dresses like that tend to work well on me.

I really need more practical things and less dresses, but we all know what's more fun to shop for, right?

And then, Jenna on That Wife posted about a photo contest for Tulle4Us, so like a total idiot, I clicked over there where I found this...

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It comes in green...sigh....

As soon as this wedding business is completed, I am going on a shopping spree for sure.

Has your spending money diminished with wedding planning?

No Such Luck

I keep finding shoes I love that just won't work!

Like these Nina beauties. They're 3.5 inches high, which is fine, and they are so gorgeous. They're $69.95, which is a great price, and they are pretty much perfect.

Ha, Stacy, not so fast! You thought that purchasing shoes would be a simple, easy, straightforward process?

Guess how many sizes they come in? 2, an 8 and an 8.5. I wear a 7 or a 7.5.

I don't give up easily my friends, a simple lack of my size will not deter me! I mean look at these shoes, would you give up on them?

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They are perfection, and they don't come in my size. Don't worry, I already talked to the Nina Shoe people, this is what they said:

Dear Stacy,

Hello and thank you for contacting us!
Unfortunately, most of the sizes are out of stock. We are anticipating additional inventory by the end of the month. However, we do not have a method of knowing which styles, colors, and sizes will be included in the next inventory shipment. We suggest that you check the website regularly for the updated inventory.
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Please let us know if you need additional assistance.
Thank you and enjoy your day!

Sincerely,

Oana

Customer Support Manager

They sent me that e-mail within 5 minutes of me e-mailing them to ask about sizes. 5 minutes, aren't they amazing?

So if they don't have these shoes by the end of this month, I will move on. And by move on I mean continue to stalk Ebay and consider paying $200 to design custom Nina shoes.

Did you find things you like that just didn't work out?

The Drive Home

The drive home from St. Louis on Sunday was rough.

I was about 10 miles down the road when Ryan mentioned me stopping by his work. Driving away from Ryan never feels like the right direction, and I needed coffee anyway, so I flipped the car around and swung by his work.

We visited for a while, but it inevitably came time for me to go.

So I got in the car to leave and cried almost all the way home. By the time I stopped crying, Ryan was off work and called me to brainstorm ways to get me moved to St. Louis as soon as possible. Which made me cry harder...I didn't stop until I was 15 miles from home. I had a fierce headache the next morning from all of that.

I've been applying for jobs up in St. Louis, but I'm sure everyone (especially Em, we've both got communication degrees in a tough market!) knows how long finding a new job can take. Ryan and I are hoping that I can write the scripts I write now at least part time from St. Louis and find another part-time job to supplement my income. He mentioned that we had been doing this distance thing for 3.5-4 months now. It feels like it's been 5 years.

My point is...I was never a crier before. I was the girl who cried maybe twice a year, and now I cry once a week. None of this is Ryan's fault, and I feel that by being upset about leaving every week, I make it so much harder on him. I'm just really disappointed in the way I'm handling this. Lots of people have to do long-distance for much longer periods of time than this, and they don't get to see each other every weekend like Ryan and I do. I had this image in my head of me as this strong, ass-kicking woman and I don't feel that way anymore. I feel weak, I feel like I should be able to handle all of this better than I am. I'm doing everything I can to stay busy, talk to him everyday, e-mails, etc, and I still act like a spoiled 2-year old when it comes time to say goodbye.

So I'm trying to get up to St. Louis ASAP, but until then, I have got to get it together and be a woman about this!

Sorry to be a downer, but this blog is a record of my wedding planning process, and I'd be lying to you all if I acted like it was all pretty dresses and roses.

Has your wedding planning process been tough for any particular reason?

Aw, Shucks....

ChocolateLover is altogether too good to me!


I am supposed to detail 5 things I am obsessed with and then pass the award on to 5 other bloggers, so here goes:

1. I am obsessed with learning about different religions, they are endlessly fascinating to me.
2. I am obsessed with J Crew.
3. I am obsessed with reading, I love it.
4. Also obsessed with pashmina scarves...I have lots.
5. Obsessed with....getting a good deal. I never pay full price!

And now to pass this on to 5 fab blogs...

Gator Bride, BuhDoop, I'm Gonna Marry You Someday, With This Ring I Thee Blog, and Miss Pug!

Monday Monday

Miss Mojito over at With This Ring I Thee Blog was kind enough to blog about me a few days ago, and today she's giving some kick-ass giveaways, so mosy on over here and check them out!