Registering

Only 141 days until the wedding!! We are making progress, slowly checking things off our list. I think our favorite part so far has been registering for gifts! It's like shopping for anything you want with someone else's wallet! After some deliberation we decided to register at Target and Bed Bath and Beyond.

Our registering experience at BBB was really nice. There was drinks and cookies for us and they were really helpful without being annoying. Every employee who saw us registering seemed exciting for us to be getting married and were more than happy to help us find something. The main person (Patrick was his name) who help us set our registry up told us how many gifts we should register for based on number of guests, explained the different types of dinnerware to us then stayed available to help us but also left us alone. (I've heard from friends who got dragged through the store by an employee for hours, but that wasn't the case for us).

We had so much fun going through picking out things for our future house! Here are some of the things I'm most looking forward to (hopefully) getting.


Kate Spade Larabee Road dishes. Aren't they pretty??

 

 

 Trap door colander. After you drain out the water you just pull on handles and the food drops through the bottom. Genius!

Our experience at Target wasn't bad or anything, but it was nothing like BBB. They simply handed us the gun and said to bring it back when we were done. Here's some of the things I'm excited about from Target.

Singer sewing machine! Even tho I can't sew much more than a straight line, I would love to have this.

We tried to be practical; no need to have a $50 shower liner when a $10 one will do just as good. And we were really careful to try to not register for the same thing twice (once at each store). Because really, one toaster is enough. Now we get to wait and see how much of this stuff we actually get.

~em

Always Winter, but Never Christmas

Four weeks have passed since I arrived in Seattle! Everyone keeps asking me how I like it here. It's different, but I'm getting used to it. I thought it might be fun to compare the Northwest with the South. Of course these observations are generalizations, not absolutes, and most of these observations were made at work over just four weeks, so please don't get your feelings hurt if you're from the PNW (or the South for that matter).

Of course the most obvious difference is the weather. It's always winter here, but never Christmas! Well, that's a little bit of an exaggeration. Santa really does visit in December. I think. But seriously, I've worn a sweater almost every day that I've lived here. And it's June. But the whole raining every day thing isn't awful. It's a different rain tho, like they don't get good thunderstorms here, it's like the sky just has a leak in it.

The people up here seem more casual and relaxed in the PNW but more formal and strict in the South. I hear less "yes ma'am"'s up here and people dress less formally than what I was used to down South. 

People are way friendlier in the South. In the South, anyone will talk to a stranger about anything. Here people don't speak unnecessarily or offer up much information. That has definitely been something that's been hard to get used to at work. It's not that people are especially rude up here, they're just more cold and take longer to warm up to you.

Another thing I've noticed is that there are a lot more tree huggers up here. This goes along with being more casual, but I see a lot more people wearing hiking shoes (at the mall) than I did in the South. And people take recycling seriously! Sorting the recyclables from the non-recyclables is major stuff here. And not only are people all "trees have feelings too," people seem to also be very pro-dog here. (Here is a great article that accurately expressed my feelings about dogs in public places).

One thing I haven't noticed much is peoples' accents. I don't think PNWers talk strangely. However, they don't seem to think the same about me. I get asked frequently where I'm from. Some people can pick up that I'm Southern. Some people, just like in the South, are confused about where I'm from. One day at work two ladies came in the store. I asked if they were looking for anything special and they said no. I gave them the typical "well we have a lot of new sandals so check those out, and let me know if you need something blahblahblah." Awhile later I reapproached them to find out if they had picked out anything to try on yet. The following ensued:

Customer: Okay, we have a bet. She thinks you're from England, but I think your accent sounds Australian.
Me: Nope, you're both wrong.
Customer: Oh oh, you must be from South Africa then!
Me: Not even close
Customer: Where are you from then?
Me: Alabama
Customers: What??

Those people make me laugh. And then there was the customer who said I talk funny and then proceeded to mock how I sounded. She was just a meany head. And she had ugly shoes.

Another difference I've noticed between the South and the PNW is the roads. Whereas in the South road lanes are divided by painted lines, here the lanes are divided by little bumps. So every time you change lanes you hear 'bumpdabumpdabumpdabump." I actually noticed that the very first time I visited seven years ago and I thought it was the weirdest thing ever.

Also, the speed limits here are crazy low. Really, is there any reason we can't drive 70 mph on the interstate? Unfortunately I haven't quite adjusted to the super low speed limits, and I kind of got my first ticket this week to the tune of $349. Ouch. And I was only going 46mph!

Speaking of weird road things: street names! Agh! They (mostly) only use numbers! How am I ever supposed to remember where things are if it's just a bunch of numbers? I can't imagine how someone who hates math/numbers ever manages to get around. "It's so easy" they say, "the streets are just a grid." "You can know where everything is because all the numbers are in order." Lies, all lies. See, the thing is there could be a NE 4th St, and a SE 4th St, and a S 4th Pl, and a S 4th Ave and and and, who knows what else. But they're not the same. It's even more confusing than in Atlanta where every other street is "Peach" something or other.

And one more car related thing: getting my drivers license was the easiest thing ever. Seriously, I didn't even have to provide proof of residency. I just claimed to live here and they gave me a license!

So in conclusion, it's different up here, but I guess I'm getting used to it. One thing I had no problem getting used to was being near Jeremy. I love being able to see him all the time! I think being in a long distance relationship made us be more appreciative of the little things. Even just seeing him for lunch is really exciting to me. I'm sure some of that will wear off eventually, but I'll never get tired of seeing him and I hope to never take him for granted.

~em

Servant's Heart

Wowzers, has it really already been four months since Jeremy proposed? I can't decide if our engagement is moving quickly or slowly. I guess the last four months haven't felt too long, but looking forward five months until the wedding feels like forevverrr!

Since we have checked another month off, I want to take the time again to appreciate one of Jer's many amazing qualities. In the past four weeks I've really gotten to see what a servant's heart he has! I mean really, he drove across the country to move all my stuff. But he also has been such a sweetheart about doing littler things like fixing my windshield wipers and putting new tires on my car and bringing me lunch at work. And I'm not the only one he serves! Just this past weekend he spent a big chunk of his Saturday at church for a work day, and it seems like he's always helping someone out with this or that. And starting in a week or two he'll be spending most of the summer serving on various mission and youth trips. I'm so blessed to be marrying a man who seeks to serve God and others every day.

Living in Seattle

Well, I did it! I booked a one way ticket to Seattle and finally moved closer to Jeremy! My last day of work at the old store was Monday. Monday evening we loaded up the truck. Tuesday Jer headed off across the country in a 18 ft truck, pulling my car. And I rode with my mom and brother to Alabama for a couple days. Thursday I flew to Seattle. Friday (today) I picked out an apartment, and tomorrow (Saturday) I start work!

We (obviously) ultimately decided to have Jer drive everything and me fly. Our decision was based on money and convenience. If he pulled everything I didn't have to sell my car and buy a new one, and I didn't have to to ship the car. He is such a sweetie for driving all my things for me! I had considered going with him, but he suggested I visit with my parents for a few days and then fly out. So I left after him but still arrive before him! And, for the first time ever, I flew first class! Poor Jer definitely got the short end of the stick.

Once I got to town it was time to find a place to live, for real. I've been joking about being "homeless" for the last few days. But it's not funny; I've seriously been SO stressed out about my living situation! Apartments here are sooo much more expensive than in Atlanta and Greenville. And I was having a super hard time finding a place that would give me a 6 month lease. I spent all afternoon Thursday looking for a place and I found almost nothing. I was so frustrated and just wanted to cry.

This morning the search continued and I was getting no where fast. I found a few places that were kind of okay, but I really wasn't feeling it. I prayed and asked God to provide the perfect place and to give me peace about knowing it was the right apartment. After putting God in control of finding a place (because clearly I wasn't doing a good job) I went downstairs to get breakfast and found my future in mother-in-law looking into a few places for me. She sweetly offered to spend her whole afternoon looking at places with me

We went to our first appointment at a place about halfway between Jer's house and my work; and things just felt right. The price was good, the location was great, the complex looked safe, and the floor plan worked for me. I didn't want to make a decision right away out of desperation, so we left and headed to our second appointment. That place was nice too. Safe, good location, etc etc. But the floor plan was a little weird. As soon as we walked in the second apartment, I just knew that the first place was right. We said thanks but no thanks and headed back over to apartment #1 to put down a deposit! We didn't even bother going to the third appointment that she'd set up.

Funny how right after I finally surrendered the apartment thing to God, He gave me the perfect place. The location is fabulous! It's right on the lake; you can literally walk out the back door and be right at the beach. It's super close to the interstate and just a 9 mile commute to work. It's $40 under my budget. And, it has two huge closets! I am so excited and feeling really blessed.

It's really nice to look back and see how God has been working everything out.

• 7 years ago He allowed us to meet in Chicago, a place neither of us are from.
• 4 years ago He gave us the thumbs up to start dating.
• 3 years ago He provided me with a job in a company that has locations in Seattle.
• 2 months ago He opened up the exact position I had been wanting for almost three years.
• 2 weeks ago He worked out the pay rate I needed with the new job.
• This week He blessed me with a smooth move.
• Today He provided a beautiful apartment.

Obviously that list doesn't even begin to cover everything that God has orchestrated to bring everything together. But it is a good reminder of how well He takes care of His children. I'm so thankful my God is in control.

Glitter Shoes

Considering how long I've been looking at wedding dresses (Fact: I looked at dresses the night Jeremy asked me to be his girlfriend. I knew way back then that he was the man for me!), it's no surprise that I had my dress picked out less than a week after getting engaged. What should surprise you is that pre-engagement, I had given almost zero thought to what shoes I would get married in.

Crazy, right? I mean I'm surrounded by shoes, that's how I make a living. That's the first thing I notice about a person. I have something around 50 pairs of shoes in my closet (err, in a moving box). Yet, I really had no idea what kind of shoes I would get married in. Our colors are pink, yellow, and brown. And I want the bridesmaids shoes to match mine. And they absolutely had to be comfortable. And preferably from my store since I get a discount. That's about all I had. So, I started looking.
 
One of the perks of my job is having access to literally hundreds of thousands of shoes. I wanted to go with pink or yellow, so I looked and looked, but I just couldn't find something I liked. But, pinterest swooped in to save the day!

 

Why not get a comfortable pair of shoes in the wrong color and just put pink glitter on them? Brilliant, right? I decided to do a trial run before actually purchasing shoes for the wedding. I dug an old pair of black heels out of my closet. Old as in I got them in highschool. I was never going to wear them again as is, so why not try spicing them up a little?

The whole thing cost me maybe $5-ish and I was able to find everything at Michaels. I went with orange glitter for the trial run because, hey why not? And plus (okay, the real reason), the orange glitter was on clearance.

I started by painting mod podge onto the shoes with a little foam brush, then sprinkled the glitter on top.

It took more glitter than I expected. Maybe it would have been better if the color of the shoe were a closer match to the color of the glitter.

I ended up applying three coats total. But I could never get it to look like it was covered evenly. I think maybe the glitter was too course and thick. Maybe a finer grain would have worked better.

Although they might only look halfway horrible in the picture, trust me, they're awful in real life.

FAIL.

Soooooo long story short, I'm not going to be decorating my wedding shoes after all.

But the good news is, I found some amazing shoes!! You can see them in 178 days.

~em

 See more projects here, here, here, and here.

Cross Country

Today is almost exactly a year since I moved to Atlanta. Today also happens to be about a month until I move to Seattle!! Moving to Atlanta was so easy. Jer flew into Greenville on Thursday morning, he took a nap and we loaded the truck that night. Friday we drove the two hours to Atlanta and had everything unloaded before dinner time. Easy peasy.

This move is going to require a tad bit more work. When I was planning my move to Atlanta, I was able to make several quick trips, most of which my company paid for, to look at apartments. I had everything settled with my apartment a good month before moving. This time, I'm not even close to signing on an apartment. Fortunately I can crash with Jer's family for a bit until I find a place of my own.

The big question, however, is not where I'm going to live, but how all of my stuff is going to get there! There are three main options.

1. Sell most stuff, ship a little stuff, and repurchase on that side of the world.
2. Drive all stuff halfway across the world.
3. Ship all stuff halfway across the world.

Then, there's the question about what to do with my car.

1. Sell it and buy a new one
2. Drive/Tow/Ship it

Ahhhhh, so many options! Ultimately we decided that selling and repurchasing most of my stuff was not the right answer. Mainly because I don't want to have to deal with having to Craigslist everything, which of course involved inviting strangers into my home to look at things. No thank you! Plus, after I got there I would have to deal with re-buying everything. As much as I love the idea of getting all new things, it's just too much work and not necessarily the most economical option.
Pros: Have to move less stuff
Cons: Have to sell stuff, then rebuy, and still have to ship some stuff anyway

So that left us with driving everything or shipping everything. Shipping everything sounded convenient. I can just pack everything into a container and then a week or two later, it magically arrives at my destination! U-box seemed to have the best price at just over 2k. If I ship everything that would likely also mean selling my car and buying a new one in Seattle.
Pros: Personal travel time from Atlanta to Seattle is only 6 hours
Cons: Have to sell and rebuy car

The other option is driving. Across the entire country. That's approximately 2700 miles. Renting the truck, towing the car, gas, and hotel will cost the about the same as shipping a container.
Pros: Car travels with stuff, more control over everything
Cons: Five-ish days on the road

Right now driving seems to be winning, but we haven't completely ruled out the U-box option either. My selfless fiance has graciously offered to drive, but I just hate the idea of making him be alone on the road for five days in a row! So we've also talked about me riding with him, which would save me a plane ticket, but that savings is canceled out by having to buy two hotel rooms every night instead of just one. And let's be honest, I don't really want to spend five days in a truck either.

In conclusion, we haven't decided anything yet. But we better decide something quick because we're running out of time! 22 days until my last day at work at the old job and 28 days until I have to report at the new job. I am so thankful that God provided the exact job I've been wanting all along (assistant manager at a multi million dollar store)! Now I'm continuing to pray that He gives us wisdom about how to actually move.

~em

Say Cheese

When Jer and I started planning our wedding two months ago, we agreed that photography was one of our top priorities. After the wedding is over, the only thing left to show for it will be the pictures. November 2 is going to be the most important day of our lives; I want to have plenty of photographs to remember it by! It took us two months for us to find a photographer that 1) we both liked 2) was available November 2 and 3) didn't consume our entire wedding budget. I was beginning to think we would never find one who met all three criteria. But we finally did, and the winner is... *drum roll*

Doerman Photography!

 

As I was looking through different photographers' work I would ask myself the question "Is that a picture I would want to display in my house for the rest of my life?" When I showed Jer these photos I told him that yes, I would be pleased to have these pictures in my living room. He said "Why would you want to display strangers' wedding photos??"

Isn't his work fabulous?

I think the most important picture to me is the kiss. It actually amazed me how many photographers that I looked at didn't take good first kiss pictures.

Only 203 days until our own wedding is photographed!

~em

Manliness

Today is two months since Jeremy asked me to be his wife! Just like I did last month, I want to take this moment to write about something I appreciate about my future husband.

I appreciate how much manly knowledge Jer has. I mean how much he knows about cars and other boy stuff.

We've been looking for a car for when I move next month. And by "we've been looking" of course I mean that he has been looking and I've said "ooh, that one's pretty!" Seriously though, he knows so much about cars and how to fix them and stuff. We test drove a car the other day and he kept saying all this stuff about it. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I love that I can rely on him to pick out a car for me. And if that car ever breaks down, I know that he'll be smart enough to fix it for me. He's also done a really good job editing his truck. I think it's pretty awesome that my boy knows how to switch out body parts (I mean truck parts, not arms and legs) and stuff to make a better truck.

I also admire how good he is at making stuff. The first Christmas we knew each other he made me this cool lamp thing that lit up my name. I still have it, six and a half years later! He also made a huge desk in his room and is really good at making other cool stuff. I just think it's so manly when a guy can make stuff with his hands!

He also knows a ton about sports and he's really patient about explaining sport words to me. Over and over again. If we ever have little boys, I know he is going to do a great job teaching them to be manly men!

Only 205 days until this man is all mine.

~em