The pain of running

This weekend was a great weekend for us. The work week was standard, but the weekend is what really was a mile marker. On Friday, I cooked something other than spaghetti for my friends. I made stuffed manicotti along with garlic bread and caesar salad. We had our good friends, David and Jamie Orr, Sarah, and Liz. We were able to enjoy the beautiful weather and eat outside. From there, we went down the hill to sleep. On Saturday, we went on a 10 mile run... YES! A 10 MILE RUN... with Dave, Jamie, Sarah, and Megan (on her bike). I can't believe we actually did it, and it hurt so good. When we got home at 3, Nick slept for 6 hours while I iced my knee. we were able to watch one movie together, than went back to sleep.

Today, we went to Nordstrom (to return some very cute shoes that were too expensive for a soon-to-be bride) and then crate and barrel to update our registry. I hope to win the lottery and buy another house so we can have two houses to have all the cute crate & Barrel stuff. :) (one can only dream!) Then homeward bound to do another run. We were only able to go a mile since our legs are SCREAMING! :) I love spring weekends. If only we didn't get the sad news of little Claire Calhoon. :(

Engagement photos

This weekend was a beautiful weekend up at our house. It was in the mid-70's and sunny! What a great time for engagement photos. We are very fortunate to have Nick's uncle, Larry, be our photographer for our wedding! Larry has taken gorgeous pictures throughout the years. He has been on many hikes and captured the morning sunrise just right on the lake, morning dew on a fully bloomed flower, etc. He was thrilled when we asked if he would be our wedding photographer. On Sunday, Larry came over and had us do all sorts of fun and cute poses. Unfortunately, I did not have too many ideas for engagement photo poses, so we were all trying to think of past engagement photos we had seen and imitated them. I wore three different outfits: a blue dress, jean capris with a blue and white silk shirt, and a burgandy formal evening dress. The photos took a course of 5 hours, with a few breaks in between (dinner, watching of the health bill discussions), but I think we got some quality shots. I will post the pictures when we receive them from Larry. My total evaluation of the day: Nick looks awesome in blue, engagement photos are tiring, and I am so grateful that spring has sprung!

Caterers

Wedding planning. So fun! So much to do! People have said numerous times that simply saying "wedding" in front of catering equals instant price increase! Finding a caterer has been difficult for us. We have tried a few places, each one seeming pretty good. The one we really like is located in the East Bay, so we would be charged an extra $400 just to pay for everyone to drive from the East Bay to the coast (anyone ever heard of carpooling?). Then, a place in San Mateo called Espostos seems like it has a fair price point, good food, and friendly staff, but people on Yelp say differently. The reviewers say that the food was dry, the service staff was lazy, and they were running a bit late. Even with these bad reviews, this place still offers the best price point. Maybe there's a reason for that... Then another service contacted me today. They are priced high, but all 15 reviews on Yelp gave them 5 stars and rave about the quality of the food and the service. We shall see what price they quote us.

At the venue, you don't even have to have a caterer, but it would make it so much easier....