A dream daily coming true

Laramie... like going home

2012-01-18T13:21:00.001-08:00

I love going back to Laramie. I love coming down the Summit and seeing the mountains for the first time. I love to drive around and see the changes; see the student walking where I once walked. I love going through Frat Mall and past Tri Delta, where I spent four very important years of my life. I love going downtown and getting Coal Creek coffee and reading the table that's been scribbled all over. (Personal favorite: Coffee makes you poop. I'll never grow up.)

Going to Laramie is like going home. Part of my heart will always live there.

I'm totally getting this for my cousins.

2011-11-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

Before I gift this giant flying fish to my cousins for Christmas, I'm going to bring it to work and fly it over my co-workers cubes :) Awesome.

I hate TLC

2011-09-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

Brendon and I celebrated our one year anniversary last month. I was in Philly for work and B was home in Cheyenne. Bummer. I was alone in Philly, and it rained for 3 days straight, so I watched a lot of stupid wedding shows on TLC and cried cause I wasn't with my husband. Stupid TLC.

We celebrated a week later by having a yummy dinner at a new place in town. The day after that we had our bridal party over for a bbq to bust open the giant bottle of wine that we got from James and Kristin.

I feel very blessed. My husband is wonderful to me. We have a great life, a puppy who is like our kid, jobs that we like, and absolutely wonderful friends. Life is good.

Happy Anniversary Brendon! I love you!

Day 11-The coolest part yet

2011-09-02T17:40:00.001-07:00

I really loved Turkey. It was my favorite of all the countries we visited. But visiting Pompeii was the coolest thing we did.

On the drive to Pompeii, Mt Vesuvius comes into view. It's a very strange thing to look at something so magnificent and pretty knowing that it destroyed a once thriving empire.

Since its volcanic soil, the plants and trees are crazy beautiful. It's no wonder that people wanted to live there. We walked around the excavation for a few hours. We saw homes, street signs, beware of dog signs, wine bars, communal areas, and art.

Days 10 and 12 were cruising days. We spent our time relaxing at the pool, drinking and playing cards. We found the helicopter pad, where at night time, it's pitch black and a very unreal feeling to stand on. It was located at the very front of the boat, where you can stand and look at the water and feel the ocean spray and breeze.

On our last day, we toasted to the four of us and being able to spend such a long time together and learning to be better people. I couldn't have asked for anything more out of our trip.

We were excited to get back to Layla, the little bugger. She was happy to have us back too. Every time I go somewhere cool, I come back to Cheyenne a little sad. It always seems to me that it's such a waste that I spent my 20's living in this little city that doesn't have much to offer me. But the feeling always passes once I get back to my friends and our great times. Cheyenne will do... for now. :)

Day 9-Santorini, Whitewashed villages and bright blue sea

2011-09-02T17:20:00.001-07:00

Santorini is beautiful. Just beautiful. Cruising in, you see tiny white villages with the bright blue roofs and doors on top of cliffs. It's stunning.

First we got off the cruise ship onto a pirate boat. The pirate boat dropped us off on the volcano. Hiking the volcano sucked. Really. It felt like it was 240 degrees and there was no shade anywhere. But we hiked it. And the view from the top was amazing.

Next the pirate ship dumped us into the "hot" springs. These so called hot springs were not hot at all. They were quit cold. I was very grateful for this because it was such a necessary reprieve from the unbearable heat we had been in all day.

Then we went to Santorini. There are two ways to get to the city of Santorini from where the boats dock. By gondola, or by donkey. We chose gondola.

Once at the top we ate feta, olives, and gyros at a restaurant that overlooked the islands. It was cool and peaceful and I never wanted to leave.

After lunch we explored Santorini, took some great pictures, ate ice cream, and headed back to the boat. What a great day.

Day 8-Took me by surprise!

2011-09-02T17:05:00.001-07:00

We went to Kusadasi, Turkey. We shopped, ate (twice), drank, and visited a beach. This is one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. The people in Turkey were so nice! It was clean, friendly, and beautiful!

Day 7-Athens by taxi

2011-08-02T17:09:00.001-07:00

Day 5 & 6 were cruising days. That pretty much meant we hung out at the pool, drank too much, and ate too much.

Day 7 we arrived in Athens, where the excursion we had purchased was cancelled. They told us it was due to low attendance, but I’m not convinced it wasn’t because of the rioting taking place the day before.

The taxi drivers in Athens wait at the port and then try to get cruise passengers to take a tour by taxi. We weighed our options and decided this was the best way to see a lot of the city. So off we went with our taxi driver, who spoke very good English and drove like a freaking crazy person.

He took us to a gorgeous place where we could overlook the bay, the sailboats, and the city. From there we went to the Acropolis. It was hotter than hell, again, and after we purchased our tickets they closed the gates. Awesome. So we sad around for about half an hour in the heat watching the line get longer and longer and longer…. Eventually they carried some dude away in handcuffs and started letting people in. I was just a little nervous about being in Athens at this time, even though our taxi driver assured us that there was not likely to be any rioting that day, and the whole episode freaked me out just a little.

After that it felt like a race to the top! People were scrambling to get ahead of the crowd, only to get stuck in another group of people. So there we were, halfway up the Acropolis, and stuck. With a million sweaty people who mostly towered over me so that I couldn’t breathe. We never really figured out what was going on and why no one was moving, but after 45 minutes of not moving we pushed our way back down and left. Sad….

From there we went to the Temple of Zeus, which was pretty awesome. Then we went to the palace and watched the Changing of Guards Ceremony. Then we went to the original stadium for modern day Olympics.

By now we were starving, so the taxi driver took us to a place to get gyros. Best gyro ever! Nothing like what we eat in the US. Same ingredients, but somehow so much better. We then said goodbye to our Taxi driver and to Athens and once again headed for the pool.

I liked Athens. It’s really busy, too busy for me, but I really enjoyed our time there, and that freaking gyro. :) The people in some places were not always very nice to us, but in Athens they were great.

Day 4-Rome-La Dolce Vita

2011-07-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Rome… I won’t be going back to Rome. I don’t mean to start on such a negative note, but Rome might have been my least favorite.

We started by taking a bus to the Colesseum, which was really cool. It was awesome to see it and I got some really great photos. The problem is that at 9 a.m. it was about 110 degrees and 4 other cruise ships were also visiting Rome. Too hot… too many people.

After we left the coliseum we drove to the Vatican. On the way we passed the theatre where Julius Caesar was murdered. That was also pretty interesting to see. It’s in ruins, and is surrounded by stores, pizza joints, and apartments.

I was excited about the Vatican because I thought it was going to be a very spiritual place. Instead, it’s jam packed with people, chincy stores, and trash. The line to get into St. Peter’s Basilica was 2.5 hours in the brutal sun. We couldn’t cut it.

Instead we walked around some of the shops, until we got too hot to bear it and found a nice small restaurant to cool off in. It was here that we had the best meal of my life. No kidding. I can say with confidence it’s the best food I have ever had. We had bruschetta and a caprese salad. Then I had gnocchi and B had lasagna with meatballs. I can’t describe how melt in your mouth tasty it was! It did however, come with a $230 bill. Oouch.

We attempted to walk around for about 2 more hours until it was time to catch our bus, but the heat was so extremely unbearable that we sat in an ice-cream store most of that time.

I would have loved to inside the basilica. I would have loved to walk to the Fountain di Trevi… but I am fairly sure one or more of us would have passed out or had heat stroke. When the time came, we loaded the bus as fast as we could. The pool was calling our names.

The ceiling at St. Peter in Chains Church

St. Peter's Basilica

Moses by Michelangelo

Day 3-Tuscany

2011-07-18T13:18:00.001-07:00

Next we made our first stop in Italy to go wine tasting in Tuscany. We could have seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but given how the rest of our touristy things went on this cruise, I think opting for wine tasting was a great choice. We did, however, see the Leaning Tower from afar as we were traveling through the Tuscan countryside.

I regret to say that I didn’t love the wine we tasted. I wasn’t feeling well the morning we left, and the hour long drive didn’t help, so that may have had something to do with it. But of all the wines that we tried, I only really enjoyed one of them. I did, however, become a little tipsy and then decided it was a good idea to bring the yummy bottle of wine back for friends and family. So, fast forward two weeks and I’m packing my luggage for the trip home wondering how to pack 5 bottles of wine in my check in. Fortunately, all bottles made it home safely.

Something I really enjoyed about the wine tasting is that we sat around tables with family style tapas in front of us. This gave us the chance to meet some of the people on our cruise that we never would have talked to otherwise. We met a couple from New Jersey, one from Minnesota, and one from England.

This tiny little village built in a line up the mountain was near our vineyard, and is where Pinocchio was created.

Cruising Day 2-The French Riviera and Villefranche

2011-07-13T15:36:00.001-07:00

Day 2 we stopped in France. We were in a bay, not docked, and so we had to take little boats from the ship to the town. It was beautiful. I think the coolest thing I found about France was the colors. The buildings were painted brightly, with different colored shutters and doors. The flowers were gorgeous as well.

We walked down to a lovely beach, and then got some ice cream and sat in the shade to get out of the heat for a while. Then we explored the town. We stopped at two different bars for beers and mozzarella.

I would have liked to see more of France. I don’t think the amount of time we had there did it any justice. Next time I’ll visit some bigger cities and spend a lot more time there.

Cruising Day 1

2011-07-12T15:11:00.001-07:00

When getting on a cruise, you stand in line for hours. We came to learn that most people called it “queuing.” We were queuing to check our luggage, queuing to check into the ship, queuing to go through security, queuing to learn more about our dinning, queuing to enter the ship, queuing to enter another part of the ship, and finally, queuing to get on the elevator once we were on the ship.

After all our queuing, we gathered excitement all over again and hurried to our stateroom, which was not the right room. Not the right room at all. Royal Caribbean was unwilling to help us. They had a big fat sign posted at the customer relations desk that said “all staterooms are full,” and we were offered no compensation. After an hour or so, we decided just to make the best of it. We had a great balcony, and we weren’t going to be spending much time in the room anyway.

Shortly after the mandatory emergency evacuation meeting we began our vacation. We watched Spain fade away (sadly) and then went to the pool. At dinner we met our waiter and assistant waiter, two very personable and funny guys. Then we explored the ship.

We were traveling through The Bay of Lions, which apparently meant choppy water. Everyone had always told me that you can't feel the ship move because it is too big. That’s a big fat lie. I don’t get sea sick, thank goodness, but that boat moved a LOT.

The ship was pretty awesome. The only one of us who had cruised before was Brendon, so we were impressed with the options for on board entertainment. We spent a ton of time at the adult only pool (I’m never taking a child on a cruise,) saw some musical productions, hung out in the casino, and even attempted to watch a movie in the theater (but it was full so we left.) There were several dining options as well. I thought for sure I was going to gain 10 pounds while there.

I am pretty sure we went to bed early that night. We actually went to bed early most nights since we were usually exhausted. We left the balcony door open and listened to the waves and smelled the air. It was awesome.

Barcelona-Until we meet again...

2011-07-11T15:55:00.001-07:00

Just after B and I got married, my best friend Jen suggested that the three of us and our good friend James go to Greece. I said I would love to go to Greece, but that I was not going anywhere near that part of the world without going to Spain. There were several other areas of the area that we were very interested in seeing as well, so we decided on a Mediterranean Cruise that started in Barcelona. We spent the next 8 months anticipating this trip and thought it would never come!

At long last it did come, and we left Cheyenne full of energy and ready for the trip of a life time. We had two suitcases each, with enough clothes for 15 days. The cat went to a friend's house, and the dog went to B's parents, and we went to Spain!

The first day we suffered from jet lag… bad. We had travelled through the night and landed about 10am, but we were unable to check in to our hotel until 3. So we wandered around the area half asleep, extremely hot, and totally clueless about what we should be doing. Soon we decided to sit outside at a little restaurant and drink copious amounts of sangria.

After three hours of tapas (including breaded and fried anchovies) and drinks, we walked down "Las Rumblas." This is a street dedicated to venders in tents. We found another little street cafe and had more sangria.

By 3, we were more than ready for a nap and shower. After we cleaned ourselves up and took a three hour nap, we ventured out again to find more food and drinks. :)

The next day we rented bikes and hit the town! We rode through the pier areas, down the beach, and then back into the city to see some of Gaudi's most famous creations. We ate more delicious tapas and drank more delicious sangria (you will come to notice that we did a lot of eating and drinking on this trip.) Then we swapped out clothes for beach wear and hit the beach! The clothing optional beach... little did we know until we were there.

When the sun started to get low, we packed back up and headed to a restaurant in a plaza where there was going to be live music. It would have been awesome, except for the waiter really did not want us there. He ignored us, was rude to us, and never even brought us menus.

We rode to another restaurant where they were much friendlier. And after dinner, drinks, and complimentary shots, we attempted to ride back to the hotel.

When planning a vacation, one should always check to see what's going on in the area while you will be there. We skipped this part, and found ourselves in the middle of a HUGE Summer Solstice Festival. I'm pretty sure every man, woman, and child was out celebrating that night. The streets were packed. Fireworks were going off everywhere... they were even landing on the tables at dinner and being thrown on the sidewalks in front of people. So, given that and the drinking that had taken place that evening, we were very quickly lost. After some trial and error, we ended up on the right track and found home.

The next day was about the same, riding bikes, eating and drinking, and learning more about the area.

Barcelona was great and I feel very fortunate to have been there. I have been pretty obsessed with Spain and Spanish culture for some time now. It was awesome to be able to speak Spanish, and to learn a little too! I will definitely be going back to Spain, but I think next time we will hit up some smaller coast towns and stay for much longer.

We walked down to many pretty streets with amazing flowers on the balconies. The detail on the buildings in amazing. Even apartment buildings!

The beach was awesome.

Tapas!

La Sagrada Familia-One of the coolest places I have ever seen. Designed by Gaudi, it's got incredible details from top to bottom. They have been building it since 1882and it's not going to be finished for another 30-80 years!!

Here's a picture of me with the elephant...

2011-07-08T04:05:00.001-07:00

B and I are back home. We were in the Mediterranean for nearly three weeks. It feels weird being back. My time is all screwed up and I already miss the air, the way the boat rocks, the food, and the absolute free time. I am however, 100% glad to be away from the 2400 people on our cruise ship.

I'll post lots of pictures and stories from the trip. It really was amazing and I can't wait to go back and do it again... only better.

Making our home

2011-01-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

Our house it awesome. We really love it. The basement, however, was less than ideal when we moved in. I regret that I didn't take "before" pictures. But we just re-did the basement bedrooms and they look 100% better! We painted and got new carpet and new closet doors. We also just got new windows on the main level. Our house is becoming our home!

Next on my list of basement to-do's is to paint and add a bar. Then we'll update the bathroom and finish the laundry room and storage. Who knew it could be so fun?

Brendon's Birthday

2010-12-22T09:15:00.000-08:00

Brendon turned 30 last weekend. We went to Winter Park for four days with a group of friends and stayed in a nice cabin with a great view. The snow was incredible! For the past four years Brendon and I have boarded on his birthday and it has always snowed TONS!

So happy 30th birthday to my wonderful husband! I can't wait to celebrate the next 30, and 30 more after that with you. I love you!

Chavez

2010-12-03T12:05:00.001-08:00

When I was 12 my great grandfather died. I was crushed. He was the most important person in my world, and in my adolescent mind, he was the only family member that I actually wanted to be around. I'll never forget my grandpa and how much he loved his family. We were everything to him. He gave us so much.......

I recently found out that he wasn't my biological great grandfather. He adopted my grandpa and the rest of his siblings when he married my great grandmother. Learning this so late in my life was a shock, but it made me love him even more. My grandpa's last name was Chavez.

I didn't change my name when Brendon and I got married. I'm very proud to have my grandpa's last name. I'm a Chavez. And while I would be just as proud to be a Reed, I can't imagine giving up my grandpa's name.

If the fires out baby.... how you gonna keep me warm?

2010-11-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

Welp, I can check "stay the night in Chugwater, Wyoming" off the bucket list, as Brendon, his sister Kristen and I were snowed in there last Sunday evening. It was by far the worst weather I have ever driven in, so some time after nine pm we opted to stay in Chugwater. Fortunately they allowed us to have the dog (who barked at anyone that walked by.)

I’m teaching a new course next month! It's an entrepreneurship class that's being offered brand new, which means I get to design the whole class, from the book to the content to the tests! I'm actually pretty excited about it. Teaching has been keeping me busy.

Brendon has been busy getting really good at guitar! He started playing about the time we met, over four years ago. About that time I took my guitar to his house and we played together. At that time, we were both awful, but I think I was better than him. Now I'm still awful and he's good. He's even accompanying me at Autumn's wedding this April!

We are working on some house projects. We are getting new paint and carpet, moving some furniture around, and finally deciding what we want on the walls. Owning a home is exhausting. And I get a D- for decoration. I just don't have an eye for it. So no judging when you come over! I'll post pictures once we get things the way we want them.

We are headed to Colorado Springs this weekend to have Thanksgiving with my family. My dad had surgery on his knee this week, and I'm thankful to say that he's doing well and the tumor he had is not cancerous.

And then it's snowboarding season! We have all our trips planned out and I can't wait to get on the snow!

We're famous!

2010-10-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

Our photographer, Emily, used our photos for her latest ad in Colorado Homes & Lifestyles Magazine.

Time slow down!

2010-10-26T15:31:00.001-07:00

It's almost November! Brendon and I have been married for over two months now. We finally have our house mostly set up. We're pretty much back into the swing of things.

Brendon has been practicing his guitar like a mad man. The dog has been.... like a mad man. And I have been teaching my tush off.

Tuesday and Thursdays are really rough. I start the day at 8 am teaching, then go to my real job, then teach again from 6-10 pm. It's a long day. Last week I had a particularly bad day, and by 8 pm I was ready to cry in my class. But then I realized that I have nothing to be sad about. I have a great life. I have an amazing husband. I have wonderful friends and family. So I sucked it up for two more hours and then went home to all the wonderfulness.

We booked our Mediterranean cruise last weekend! We will be going to Spain, Italy, France, Greece, and Turkey in June. Seriously exciting stuff!

Does it feel different?

2010-10-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

And when are you having babies? Those are the two questions we get the most after being married.

Yes is feels different. I'm not sure why or how...but it's different. It's amazing and I can't even believe how much I love my husband.

When are we having babies? We don't even know yet :)

The honeymoon :)

2010-09-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

Brendon and I had 8 days of fun, relaxing, Hawaii for our honeymoon. It was the perfect combination of activities and hanging out doing nothing, just enjoying each other. We went to a luau, went snorkeling, parasailing (Brendon faced his fears and LOVED it), sailing, and surfing. We even went on a helicopter tour of Kauai (AMAZING). We sat on the beach, we swam in the ocean and in the pool, ate way too much, drank way too much, and got too much sun. It was perfect.

I'm very grateful that we could go on a honeymoon right away. I think it's the perfect chance to get away from everything, and think about and celebrate what you have just done.

We went to two islands, Maui and Kauai. Maui was great, but Kauai was exactly what I had been hoping for. Can't wait to get back there!

P.S. Brendon did the hula on stage at a Luau. He was tricked. They asked all the newlywed men to come on stage to get a gift for their new wives. It was a gift alright... ;)

And next!

2010-09-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

My new sister-in-law is recently engaged! Congratulations and BEST wishes to Autumn and PJ!

The Pictures

2010-09-10T11:17:00.001-07:00

Our photographer was wonderful. I really couldn't be happier with the photos she took. Not only was she professional and easy to work with, but she was efficient and helpful as well. I would recommend her to anyone. To view the professional photos, visit collages. The user name is Reed and the password is 15634.
Thank you Emily!

Here's a couple samples!

First, and most of all....Thank you

2010-09-03T09:49:00.001-07:00

The first and most important thing Brendon and I could say is THANK YOU. We knew we had wonderful people in our lives, but by the end of the weekend, we felt like the most fortunate newlyweds ever.

I can't believe how well everything went... the closest thing to a catastrophe was when half our chairs didn't get delivered. But Autumn was on top of it before I even knew it was a problem and they arrived in plenty of time. I was expecting to be running late all day because I thought it would take forever to set up the depot. With the help of our friends and families, we had a beautiful reception set up in no time, and even had time for breakfast courtesy of James and Jeff. When I forgot my hair gems for my appointment, Jen rushed them over stat even though she was in the middle of getting ready. When the hotel didn't have our room available when we arrived to get dressed, Autumn and Emily let us infiltrate theirs. Jen brought champagne, Phipps made a play list, and my mom provided lunch. The dresses that Billie and Autumn made were beautiful. And the flowers! I could not have been happier with them! Phipps' mom and family friend traveled all the way from Lander to do the flowers! My bouquet was stunning and I never wanted to put it down! James made sure the bridal party was never thirsty ;). Craig officiated the ceremony as if he had been doing it for years. Our friends and family carried chairs... lit candles... and danced like crazy! The next day, Kristen hosted a brunch. And afterwards, our families, even my brother in his nice shoes, helped us rinse and pack all the dinnerware from the night before.

We are thankful for how many people came to celebrate with us! We loved visiting with you all, and we're so glad that people had a good time. The messages you wrote on your cards meant the world to us, and we will treasure the pictures of your smiling faces forever.

It truly was the best weekend of our lives. The love we felt from our friends and our families still overwhelms me to the point of tears. It could have poured rain, the food could have sucked, and the DJ could have played country all night ;), and it still would have been perfect.

We know we are so very fortunate to have such caring people in our lives, and we can’t thank you enough!

August...

2010-08-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is that last day of the biggest month of our lives. We got married, we went to Hawaii for 8 days, and we closed on our house and moved in. While it's been the best month of my life, I'm glad it's all come to a close. Brendon and I need some down time.

With all the craziness and the huge list of things we still have to do that relate to the wedding and the house, I haven't had any time for blogging. But I'll get posts and pics up soon! The photos we have seen from the wedding have been beautiful, our photographer was amazing and I'm so happy we went with her.

Here's a photo for now that a friend snapped!

August 14th weather forecast

2010-08-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have been checking the forecast for August 14th since it came out a few days ago. It's changed a few times, but today's forecast for the wedding day is my favorite: High of 74 degrees (no one wants to sit in hot weather), 10% change of precipitation (down from 30%).

6 days!

2010-08-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

We have 6 days until the wedding. And only three days until family starts to arrive! I'm really excited and happy that we are finally going to be married.

Brendon and I leave for Hawaii two days after the wedding. It hasn't even hit me yet that we are going on a honeymoon to Hawaii. I have had so much to think about this month. I don't think my brain can manage all these details! Between the rehearsal, wedding, honeymoon, and closing on our house, I'm pretty much maxed out.

In Maui B and I are taking a helicopter tour of the island. We are also going zip lining! I think we'll find time in Kauai to try surfing!

I can't wait to see everyone this weekend!

August 25!

2010-07-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

That's when we close on our first home!

It's a great house. It's spacious, four bed, two bath, huge back yard. We are very excited and can't wait to make it ours!

Bridal Shower

2010-07-13T09:49:00.001-07:00

Thanks everyone who came! I had such a great time and loved having the women from both our families together. Thanks Jen and Brenda, my wonderful hostesses. Thank you Mindy for all the wonderful photos!

Like a record baby...

2010-07-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

This has been a little crazy for the Chavez/Reed household recently. Brendon and I got our marriage license. We're all set to be husband and wife! We have the DJ, the cake, the photos, the flowers.... everything is pretty much ready to go. People keep asking me if I'm crazy busy with wedding stuff. I'm glad I can say that I'm not. All I have left to do are things that can't be done until we know exactly how many people are coming. Brendon mocks when I do things ahead of time or plan way far out. But it was worth it this time!

I had my first dress fitting last week, and I'm happy to say it needed to be taken in many inches. The personal trainer has done some good at least. I put it on and remembered why I bought it to begin with it. I still love it and can't wait to wear it.

Our biggest news is that we have been house hunting! Brendon and I looked at about 30 houses over the past couple weeks. We found one that we really love. We are hoping it all works out and I'll keep you posted!

Bachelorette Party

2010-06-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

I am lucky to have some pretty outstanding friends. I just got back from a Vegas bachelorette party with 7 of them. We had a great time. We ate too much, sunbathed, danced, gambled, and made some pretty great memories. One of my bridesmaids, Kristin Phipps, even surprised us with a limo stocked with champagne to pick us up at the airport. I'm so grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life.

I finally feel like it's soon!

2010-06-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

We only have to wait 2 months and 11 more days until we are husband and wife! The past couple months have been brutal for me. I was starting to regret having a whole big wedding. I didn't think I wanted to have a shower. And I was tired of planning. We said that if we knew then what we know now, we would have had a tiny wedding/honeymoon and then had a casual party when we got back.

But I have been thinking about it, and I'm glad it all worked out this way. We are going to celebrate our love with all our friends and family. All the people we care about and that care about us will be there to support us. That's the most important part.

Invites are out! Can't wait to see you all!!

Things that have inspired me

2010-04-15T10:36:00.001-07:00

These photos have helped me make decisions about our wedding details.

2010-04-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

I got my shoes! You know how sometimes you picture something in your head that you want and then you try to find it and you can't? It's totally frustrating. But these were exactly what I had pictured. Perfect :)

We got our rings too! It kills me that it's sitting in a box instead of on my finger.

Tuxes

2010-04-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Brendon and I went to chose tuxes today. The woman asked us if we were going to prom.

Trash the dress

2010-03-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

I think that trash the dress photos are beautiful. I'm really into the artsy fartsy photography and TTD shots are always so fun. I think I would like to do our TTD here. It's in Glenwood Springs and it's one of the most gorgeous places in this area.

All the reasons we fell in love

2010-03-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think about the things that brought B and I together. I think music and playing the guitar was probably the first thing. We could talk about music for hours. We made cds for each other. Shared things each other hadn't heard before. Found that we had similar tastes. We went to a lot of shows and festivals together.

Then we started snowboarding together. I actually ditched a poker night with Brendon to go boarding for the first time with a group of friends. I didn't know if I was going to ski or snowboard, and B pretty much told me not to be stupid. So snowboarding it was. And I loved every second of it. I came back and told him how much fun I had and how much I loved it. I think he took me with him every time he went after that.

We cooked together a lot in the beginning. We made it a habit to cook dinner while drinking a bottle of wine and listening to music. It was my favorite thing ever.

B and I used to ride our bikes together a lot as well. We barely used our cars in warmer months. I loved our long bike rides that lead us to the end of town before we realized we would have to ride all the way home in the dark.

That's pretty much how we spend the first couple years of our relationship. Things have been different this last year. I have two jobs and spend an hour each day at a trainer. We have Layla, who takes a lot of time and work. And we are planning a wedding, which is also a time sucker.

I have pretty much stopped touching my guitar. We didn't get to bike ride much last summer because Layla was too small to run next to us and we didn't want to leave her all the time. Cooking together is harder because Layla barks at the cat like a maniac if we are both in the kitchen. We haven't been to a show in months and don't get to hear new music as much as we used to. We did get our fair share of boarding in this winter (refuse to give it up until there are kids in the mix).

We're still madly in love though, and we make our crazy schedules work. We have found new ways to make our relationship strong. But I think I will start trying harder to re-focus on the things that brought us together to begin with. I never want to lose those things. They are all the reasons we fell in love :)

Hair

2010-02-23T13:27:00.001-08:00

I think I really like this hair piece. Matches my dress too.

Less than 6 months now!

2010-02-18T11:23:00.001-08:00

Holy cow. Brendon's parents gave me a calendar of Hawaii to look forward to the honeymoon with. I stare at it a lot. I can't wait to be on a beach with Brendon being all married :)

Done and Done. No more looking for food.

2010-02-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

I have mentioned before the troubles I have had with caterers. Our wedding is in a train depot, so there's not a kitchen and there is nowhere to make food, keep it cold, or keep it warm without bringing in all the necessary equipment. This is the reason that all the caterers I talked to cannot do a plated dinner off their premises. I get it. Food needs to be fresh and warm...

What I don't get is how they can pull off a buffet if they can't do it plated. What's the difference? They will have to keep the buffet food warm, right? They bring in all the burners and warmers and equipment for that... why can't they just… use the same stuff, put the food on the plates and serve it?

Anyhow, I talked to over 10 people and no one was willing. I was to the point where I was ready to give in and just arrange for a buffet when I called the Plains Hotel. I actually didn't even call them about catering. But turns out they can do a plated dinner no problem at all. They just wheel the stuff they need over to the depot (it's a block away). I'm totally thrilled!

Being a bride is like being drunk!

2010-02-02T14:32:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine at work just compared being a bride to being drunk.

You are either a happy, smiling bride, or an angry violent one. I like it. Let's hope I'm the first ;)

Cheyenne Bridal Show

2010-02-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

I attended the Cheyenne Bridal Show last weekend with Kristin, one of my bridesmaids. It was.... interesting. All I can say is that I see why I have had such a hard time finding what I'm looking for in vendors and services. I think the highlight of the event was the models walking to "Margaritaville" during the "fashion show".

The real highlight of course was the cake samples and the mimosas. Mmmm.

Christmas with the Reeds

2010-01-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

Brendon and I had our first Christmas together this year. We went to Douglas, where the snow came down like volcanic ash. I was hoping to get snowed in and spend another day there, but no dice. The sun saved the day.

It's hard to be away from my family at Christmas. My parents and brothers have lived in Virginia and Chicago the past 6 years, and I never bank on traveling in the winter, so it's been that long since I have had a Christmas with them. (The good news is that they are moving back this year!)

I usually head to C. Springs to hang out with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. I missed them all very much this year, but Christmas with B's family was great! Pretty similar to Christmas at my house actually (sans pulled chicken tacos).

I felt like part of the family, so thank you to all of B's family for welcoming me and allowing me to fit right in. Can't wait for many more holidays as part of the Reed family!

Rent your jewelry?

2009-12-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

Why not? I just discovered this company that you can rent your wedding day (or any other day) jewelry from. The stones and metals are all genuine. http://www.adornbrides.com/

Disaster

2009-12-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

These cakes are hilarious. I got these from http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/. It's great. Check it out.

The holidays

2009-12-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Brendon went with me to Thanksgiving this year. It was his first time away from his family for a holiday and I knew he was sad about it. Before we left for C. Springs I said, "We aren't married yet; we could just go to our own families for Thanksgiving." To which he said "you know that I don't put a lot of stock in the idea that marriage determines these kinds of things."

I love him for that :) He's good to me.

Dumb.

2009-11-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

The thing I think of the most about the wedding is the tables at the reception. Weird... I know. But I think the tables really make the reception. So I have been debating in my head what kinds of linens, what kinds of chairs, what kinds of glassware and will it look too plain... What centerpieces should be there and how do I not spend a million dollars on them. I tried on four wedding dresses. I bought the second one I tried. Easy. Why is it so hard for me to imagine the tables? Thanks Kristin, for putting up with my table shenanigans and being so helpful.

If you fake marry me I'm gonna be pissed!

2009-11-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

Brendon and I decided a long time ago that we wanted someone close to us to be our wedding officiant. We decided on Craig, a great friend of Brendon's. Craig and his wife Melissa live here and Cheyenne and just had their first baby, Korbin.

Last week Brendon was looking into how to get Craig ordained or licensed to marry us. We started talking about it on instant message at 2:21 and by 3:22 it was done. Craig was officially ordained to marry us. Weird, right?

I didn't believe it could be that simple... so I kept telling Brendon, "You are going to fake marry me!" or "If we get fake married I'm gonna be pissed!"

But it's real and Craig is legally able to marry us August 14th!

I am finding that some things that I thought would be so simple are turning out so hard, and things I was expecting to be torture are so easy. Same with what things cost. Some things I expected to have to pay a lot for and it's much less, and vice versa.

We have a photographer!

2009-11-05T11:19:00.001-08:00

http://www.emilyforsbergphotography.com/

The photographer we were planning on using sent me an email to let us know they were moving to D.C. (gee thanks). I thought I was going to have to go through the photographer search all over again. But a good friend of Autumn (B's sister) happens to be a great photographer and the search is done! We're excited to have Emily shoot our wedding!

Lucky for the wonderful people in my life!

2009-10-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Brendon and I have a bridal party! We are being married by a long time friend of Brendon's, and we have 5 groomsmen and 6 bridesmaids.

Six is a lot. I wasn't going for a big bridal party, but they are all people that have been a significant part of our lives and who mean the world to us. I have two future sisters in law that are great, and four best friends who truly represent different stages of my life! I’m lucky to have so many fantastic women standing beside on August 14th!

Great progress!

2009-10-06T13:40:00.001-07:00

I've gotten a lot done in the past few weeks. We have a caterer, a DJ, a cake, and I just found a dress!

Finding a caterer was a nightmare. No one was willing to do a plated dinner... then I found someone who would and could tell that she and I were not going to get along well. Her ideas were awful (including the golden arch behind the wedding cake-even though there is no gold in our wedding) and I knew I would not feel comfortable leaving my reception up to her.

But.. after all the people who didn't call me back or never had time to answer my questions, we have-what I believe to be-reliable vendors for the wedding.

I tried on dresses for the first time yesterday at a dress store in Cheyenne. The fourth one I put on was it. I'm done. I love it and I can't stop looking at pictures of it. Phew.

Am I sure we don't want to elope??

2009-09-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have had a really hard time working with vendors so far. ALL of them. Even the ones in Estes Park. I swear no one writes anything down... no one remembers to do what they say they will… and no one ever follows up. So far, people have forgotten to get me the information I am looking for, wrote down an incorrect email address for me, called me back... with information someone else requested (that's my favorite), and quoted me different things every time I talk to them. For as much money as people spend on weddings, you would think that the vendors could at least have their stuff in order.

Invites by Cecile

2009-09-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

My good friend Cecile, who is also one of my bridemaids, is a graphic designer and makes invites. She has a website http://cecileelliottdesigns.com/ where she has samples of stuff she's been doing. Here is the latest that she has been working on for Brendon and me.
It's inspired by an engagement card that our friend Corry sent to us a few months ago.

For your butts

2009-09-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

It's going to be a rough year of decided what kinds of things are worth the money. Chairs for instance. There is a 450% price difference in these two chairs. Of course I want the more expensive ones. Sigh...

Check this out!

2009-09-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yay!

Wedding traditions

2009-08-31T15:35:00.000-07:00

When B and I became engaged, we envisioned a very non traditional wedding. The first place we looked at for a reception was an island at a boat marina in Fort Collins. Guests would have gotten on a boat and headed to beach volleyball, a water trampoline, and a tiki bar. It was pretty awesome and we were sold for a while, but it cost nearly 4 times as much as we should pay for a reception venue.

As stress and ease issues come up, we are leaning more towards a traditional wedding than we had hoped for. And that's fine! Weddings are weddings for a reason, and traditions come from somewhere. But there are traditions we are unwilling to participate in.

The first tradition is when the officiant asks "who gives this woman away?" Brendon is a bit of a feminist and finds this pretty offensive. I'm all for walking down the aisle with one or both of my parents, but no one will be giving any persons away.

The second tradition we are likely not to adhere to is not seeing each other before the wedding. I realize that this tradition has become a romantic way to make your groom burst with love and pride when he sees his beautiful bride all dressed up for the first time on that special day. And that's wonderful. I don't begrudge anyone that feeling. However, not taking pictures before the wedding means taking them after... when your guests are either without anything to do for that amount of time, or enjoying your rather expensive cocktail party without you. This tradition was actually started when marriages were arranged. Parents of the engaged couple were afraid that if the bride and groom saw each other before the wedding, one of them would run scared. Seriously. So while the tradition has become about more than that, we will be taking photos before the wedding. Still want to have that moment when you see each other for the first time and it's perfect? Arrange it! Perhaps we will set up 15 minutes before pictures to meet somewhere private, just Brendon and me, to express our excitement and enjoy each other before the chaos.

Here's a good one: the garter toss. This is an old British ritual called "flinging the stocking". After the couple was married the guests would rush into the couple's bedroom and take their stocking, and the first guest to throw the stocking and hit either the bride or groom on the nose was the next to wed. That might be the weirdest thing I have ever heard of. Other garter traditions involve virginity, and others involve the groom removing the garter before drunken men try to do it. Still.... weird. I don't care about that tradition. Furthermore, it's strange. Brendon would rather not take off a piece of my lingerie and throw it at a bunch of single dudes.

Lucky Im in love with my best friend...

2009-08-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine is going through a divorce right now. Without getting into it, I think it's a good decision. She finally realized that this is what she has to do when there was an accident with one of their dogs and her husband reacted about as poorly and insensitive as a person can get. She realized that she could never have children with him.

The only reason I bring this up, is that I have seen a whole other side to Brendon since we got Layla. He's a dad. :) He's a worried, loving, spoiling, attentive dad and it's the most amazing thing. (He'll probably be so mad at me for posting this)!

Our Layla is going to be such a well behaved and loving dog, and I really have nothing to do with it. He reads about ways to work with her and train her, he spends hours teaching her, he brings home new toys all the time, and he wakes up all night long to take her outside.

I know that when B and I decide to have kids, I will have nothing at all to worry about. He's going to be the perfect dad! I realize every day how lucky I am that Brendon and I found each other.

I love my friend very much and I'm here for her during this hard time. I know she will be happier and healthier and find lasting love someday.

2009-08-25T10:51:00.001-07:00

This blog may be becoming a blog of all my decision changes. But! Everything I have changed my mind about so far has turned out really well, so I'm ok with it.
I have changed the reception venue once again. We were having problems with the Atlas people getting back to us with questions or requests, and there were a few other things I was pretty worried about. I would like for this whole process and the whole day to be as simple and easy as possible.

We went to look at the Cheyenne Train Depot today, and it was lovely. The people there are nice, they call me back right away, and they have worked out all our questions or concerns. It's bigger, brighter, and has a much better area for the caterer to set up in. There is more room for the DJ and dance floor, there are better tables, and it's a much nicer set up.

These colors might be the winners...

2009-08-24T11:41:00.001-07:00

If I can convince Brendon. He's not really a fan.

Tiffany blue and fuschia wedding by SquiggleJay on Polyvore.com

For the wedding party!

2009-08-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

I learned an important lesson last week when we decided to completely change our wedding. Don't reserve and pay for things until you have to! Fortunately, we were refunded the most of the money spent to reserve venues in Estes Park. But I am being much more careful about paying for things before it's time.

That's why I felt silly calling the city this morning to ask about the Cheyenne Railway Trolley. Mostly I was just curious about the details for budgeting purposes, but when I called, they told me that 1 of the 3 trolleys had already been booked for our wedding day.

Are you kidding me?? It's over a year away! A year!!

So I booked it and I feel pretty good about it. We won't be changing venues again, so I think we're safe.

We get this great trolley for one hour after the ceremony to drive us wherever we want to go before ending up at the reception. Great fun!

The new time and place :)

2009-08-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

I have official booked the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens for our ceremony. It's beautiful this time of year there, and there are a few different areas of the garden that we will consider for our ceremony. The wedding will start at 3:00 on August 14, 2010.

I have also been looking at places to have the reception. My favorite ideas are a tent in the gardens, the train depot, or the Atlas Theatre. I think we have decided on the Atlas Theatre. It's downtown Cheyenne close to a popular hotel and a few fun bars. When you walk in, there is a big lobby with a bar that would be perfect for a cocktail hour. The auditorium has dinner style seating and would be great (and unique) for the dinner. I am pretty happy with the decision to get married in Cheyenne.

Long time to plan=too much time to change our minds!

2009-08-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

Things have changed. You might know that I change my mind about things frequently. (Too frequently). And with a year to plan, I'm grateful that I have made these changes now instead of a time much closer to our wedding.

I was already having nightmares about the Estes Park wedding, and I was already freaking out about planning a wedding in a different state. The biggest source or stress for me was the pavilion. We would be able to start setting up the reception at 9:00 that morning. The ceremony was scheduled for 1:00. That would only give me four hours to set up the reception, get ready, and take pictures before I walked down the aisle. Many people offered to set up the reception for me (and thanks for all the offers), but I feel like that's something I want to be a part of.

The other thing I was freaking out about was having to leave the pavilion sitting alone during the ceremony. I was freaking out about having to set up a tent for the dance floor, and having to tear it down and clean up by 9:00 pm. That would mean party over by at latest, 8:30. No way I'm ready to say goodbye to all my friends and family by 8:30.

When I reserved the pavilion, I wasn't told about the time frames. When I called back with more questions, someone much more informative filled me in.

The first train of thought was that we could have the reception at Mary's Lake Lodge, where the ceremony was. The reason we didn’t do this to begin with is because it's very expensive. But I was starting to feel like it was worth not having to deal with the pavilion.

Brendon was not convinced. So we sat on it a few days and thought about it. I was completely ready to just spend the extra money and book the venue. So I left the decision up to him.

A couple days later, I was sitting in a Poor Richards in Cheyenne with a group of friends having a great time and I had an important realization. While I stand by my opinion that Cheyenne kinda sucks, it's where we live. It's where we have good times. We have great friends here and we met here. We should just get married in Cheyenne!

Brendon has been amazing with all of this, and while he was very uncomfortable with the Estes Park wedding, he had decided to do it because he thought it was what I wanted. So when I told him I want to get married in Cheyenne, I could totally see his relief.

So for the past week I have been looking in Cheyenne for places to get married and places to have the reception. I have been really surprised with the options and am very excited to tell you all about the new where and when.

More later!

I love this!

2009-07-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

The grass is greener...

2009-07-15T10:08:00.001-07:00

It's important to Brendon and I that we are environmentally conscious and try to reduce our carbon foot print. We ride our bikes a lot, recycle anything we can, and avoid eating meat. Brendon even mows with a push mower (apparently gas mowers are worse than trucks...)

We are going to make an effort to keep the carbon foot print of our wedding minimal as well. This can be pretty hard, but I've been reading about ways to "green up" weddings that seem pretty easy.

The first "green" decision I made was about the forks, knives, and spoons. I ordered them all from a company that makes biodegradable wood cutlery. Not only are they environmentally friendly, they are cheap and super cute!!

Today I learned about wedding dressed that are made out of hemp, and invitation printed on wood. I'll be looking into both of those ideas.

I'll check on lots of other ways to stay green, especially since our wedding is in Estes Park and all of our guests are going to have to drive there from other cities.

The time and the place!

2009-07-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago B and I went on a day trip to view wedding sites in Estes Park, CO. I really wanted a mountain wedding, and had been thinking about Winter Park, but Brendon said it was too far.

Mary's Lake Lodge was the second place we went to see that day. It's a great set of condos and cabins with a ceremony site that looks out over a lake and the mountains. I fell in love with it right away. I could picture us standing there saying our vows with all our family and friends around. There was only one other place we looked at that day that made me feel the same way. That was the Black Canyon Inn, which has three different sites that are beautiful. The price tag on the Black Canyon Inn, however, wasn't so beautiful. So Mary's Lake Lodge it is! One o'clock on July 10, 2010.

We have also booked our reception site. We knew from the beginning that this was going to be a casual event. So after looking for hours online at reception halls and hotels, I found a pavilion at Lake Estes. It fits about 120 people (perfect), and is outdoors but still covered.

Rings, rings, rings

2009-07-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

Like I said, I knew Brendon had a ring. We looked at quite a few together and the one he ended up getting me is one I told him I liked a lot. There are about four billion rings, so it can be one of the more hard decisions to make.

This is my ring. Let me explain a few things about it.

It's platinum. I'm not a yellow gold kind of girl. So it was going to have to be a silver colored metal. The decision was between white gold or platinum. The thing about white gold is that you have to take it to a jeweler periodically to be re-plated. All gold is naturally yellow so most white gold is plated with a thin layer of rhodium, a white and very durable metal. Frequently worn jewelry like a wedding ring can require rhodium plating up to twice per year. The cost of this coating is usually covered for the life of the ring at the jeweler you bought it from. So money wasn't the issue for us when making this decision. We just didn't want to have to take it to the jeweler for the rest of our lives.

The second thing about my ring is that the stones are moissanite, rather than diamond. We wanted to avoid diamonds because of the diamond conflict (though my friend Mindy has a beautiful diamond that is conflict free... from Canada I think). So after thinking about alternatives to diamonds, we decided on moissanite. It's nearly as hard, more brilliant, and just as beautiful as a diamond. Plus, it's on average about 10% less expensive.

There are other trends in the engagement ring industry that can either save money or lives. I mentioned the conflict fee diamond. These may actually cost more, but if money isn't the issue, it's a great choice. Some brides are opting for rings with center stones other than diamonds, like a sapphire.

Other options include vintage or indie rings, or rings made from recycled gold.

Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married!

2009-07-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Brendon and I became engaged on May 15th! It was not a proposal, in the sense that he asked me and presented me with a ring. I knew he had a ring. He came home with it and I saw it and he gave it to me. We had talked about getting married and I told him not to "ask" me. It was a very happy decision we made together and there was no need for him to ask.

Since then, I have been looking at website after website and magazine after magazine. I have found other bride's blogs to be the most helpful with ideas and planning, so decided to start one myself. Plus it's a great way for friends and family to find out what's going on and offer any advice or questions.

Cheers!!