Done with wedding faires!!

I went to a wedding faire yesterday and realized I am done going to them! I originally went so I could get ideas on flowers, invitations, pictures, cakes, etc. Now that I have the venue, food, flowers (ideas), invitations (I think), and pictures figured out, I only went yesterday to look at hair, makeup and cake. Trying to avoid the other stations, however, seemed near impossible. I felt hassled as I told the vendors that I already have the service they were providing. Nobody would take no as an answer. I even got a "if your vendor fails, you can use us!" Way to scare me! So with new bridal magazines in tow, I left the faire within 45 minutes. I am officially done with wedding faires.

First race!!

Nick and I completed our first race yesterday (04/11/2010). We ran the 10K in Santa Cruz. Let me paint the picture for you. 8 AM we arrive at the race. 20-30 MPH winds, 4000 people all at the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk, dark clouds threatening rain. Our 4 friends (Adrienne, Dave, Jamie, and Sarah) ran the half marathon, so they started the race right at 8 AM. Nick and I started with the rest of the 10K runners at 8:15. The first two miles were alright. Nick and I were keeping a good pace. Pretty much around the 2.5 miles, though, I popped my ankle stepping awkwardly. Needless to say I experienced pain until I stretched my ankle. Near the end, the ocean waves were splashing against the rocks, spraying all runners with loads of salt water. Nick and I ran through the finish line at 1:09 hours. That averages out to 11:15 minute miles. Not too shabby for our first race. We were really thankful that we got finished before it started raining. While standing at the finish line while waiting for our friends to finished, a massive amount of rain came pouring down. I'm sure the people running in shorts and tank tops must have hypothermia by now. Nick and I are proud of ourselves for running the race and hope to continue "training" for our unplanned future race!

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....

Sorry to keep you waiting...

Sorry to make you all wait. What has happened? four holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Valentine's day).. most importantly, the engagement! To find out the information about our wedding, please visit our website http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/EmilyAdams&NickZontos
Other than that, life has been busy with work, school, and wedding planning. Venue is booked, dress is purchased, veil is borrowed, rings are chosen, caterers have been sampled (but no decisions yet), etc. Fun Fun Fun. We are also doing a race on April 11 in Santa Cruz. Although it may be only a 10K for us, it is our first race!
Stay tuned for more info!

Birthday week

It's that time of year again!! My birthday! Yay. Although 26 is no milestone, it is still my birthday. How great is it to have one day where you can say "you have to buy me something" and not have someone laugh in your face? Ha ha just kidding....
Today was the start of festivities. I went to IHOP for breakfast with my boss and my coworker. I had some delicious pumpkin pancakes with bacon and eggs. While tasty, I always think about how nobody can ever make over-easy eggs as well as my grandpa could. I sure miss him! Well now I'm back at work for a couple of hours before heading up to Burlingame to have lunch with the other admins and our DBO (the head honcho at our SSF office) then off to Go Kart racing!! After that fun event, I get to go home to pick up my honey then off to the city to see "Wicked". I have been dropping subtle hints for months that I've been wanting to see that. Nick took the bait and is taking me to it for my b-day! I am ecstatic. Then tomorrow (my actual birthday) I get to do some damage at the Nordstrom half yearly sale. Then mom and I are going to get pedicures and lunch. After that.. it is unknown for a few hours until I get to have my birthday dinner. I took the plunge and invited different groups of friends, and they all accepted. Although it took some convincing of the hostess, I was able to make a reservation on a Friday night at 7 for 16 people at Los Altos Grill. I'm so excited. Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for the actual events of my birthday weekend!