hi, I'm not dead. I promise.

For the past 2 weeks I've been working at the off-campus bookstore, during the back-to-school rush. Tuesday is my last day. I'm disappointed, but went into this knowing that it was a temporary gig. Now, I can get back to wedding crafts! Today, Ben and I have been working on welcome bags and picking out music for the ceremony. I've also been looking at friends wedding photos online.

response tally, since invitations were mailed

I am SO glad we registered for a toaster oven

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="kale chips + toaster oven = FIRE!"]No, my kitchen walls aren't dingy, that's SMOKE![/caption]

One of the first engagement presents we got was a rice cooker from my great aunt and uncle, sadly the FIRST engagement present we got was a rice cooker from my grandmother! So, the second rice cooker turned into a fancy toaster oven, the larger (12") version of what my parents have at home. That toaster oven is currently waiting for us in my bedroom, at my parents' house.

My dad is going to return it tomorrow, get store credit for it, and then we'll either wait for the Labor Day sales coming up or order a new one to be sent to Colorado. Our old toaster oven is currently quite charred (yes, I took a photo of it right before throwing a wet towel over it --thanks for the advice, gramma!) and sitting out by the dumpster. I'm 99% sure that it still works, but it smells like burnt food and is quite sad looking.

Lesson learned, don't make kale chips in the toaster oven, they're too close to the element and will curl up as they dry and catch fire when they touch the element (sinking back down to catch the others on fire too). Doh.

I look forward to our new toaster; this photo makes it look like a super hero!

my dress is here!!!

I'm working at the off-campus book store for the back-to-school rush through next week, after that I may or may not have scheduled hours. Then, we have our menu tasting, yum!

Once I've been nicely fattened up by pizza and burritos at work and our menu tasting, I have to go have the final fitting on my dress. Ugh!

My big personal debate is whether to try and make my own veil, or just order one online (I found the perfecto one for under $40). I think I'm just going to order it. I only bought one length of tulle that matches my dress perfectly and don't want the stress of not f'ing it up.

items left to order: TWO

Kippot AKA yarmulkes (little hats for the men) and benchers (song/prayer books for after a meal).

That's it. Oh, and to pick up the water bottles and potato chips for the welcome bags.

Seriously. That's it. I sent the contracts to the DJ and the brass quintet (for the ceremony) last night. Every vendor we're hiring has been hired! All that's left is to do/finish all my crafty projects, finalize music selections, menu selections, floral decor, get our clothes tailored, and find someone to do my hair (I can do my own makeup).

We also have to talk to Rabbi Marc about our ceremony. A peer from synagogue (who is also a friend of a friend) got married about a month ago and Rabbi Marc was the officiant at her wedding too. He had just returned from a silent retreat and found out that his dad was quite sick and was in a weird/meditative head-space. Apparently, he threw everyone off by asking if they had any thoughts or wishes that they wanted to share with the bride and groom, to be spiritually sealed into their ketubah before signing it, no one was prepared for this question and there were 3-4 minutes of awkward silence (which my friend said felt like 10 minutes because everyone was just looking around like a deer in headlights). I want to go over everything with him, step-by-step, to make sure that there are no silent surprises like that at our ceremony. While Ben's family may be OK with the touchy-feelies, mine isn't. We're more of the silent WASPy types when it comes to emoting than the huggy ones.

I don't know my own address

Remember how I was freaking out because I hadn't gotten the invitation that I'd mailed to myself? Yeah, that's because I forgot to put our apartment number on it and it it was returned to my parents' house as undeliverable. I'm awesome, no?

But, look how pretty my handwriting is! It took me 162 envelopes to address 117 invitations. I have only 8 left!

Also, please note the awesome stamp. Only a handful of people appear to have noticed it :( But my little brother Daniel commented on liking the "font" I used to address his invitation. Silly brother, that's no font, that's D'Nelion handwriting, a la 3rd grade writing sample! I just wish my lines were more straight and that my numbers were fancier looking. Oh well. All invitations should be delivered at this point, and if not, my dad should see more in the mailbox at home in the next few days.

shopping with Miss Andrea

Doesn't she look amazing?!

I survived my Denver-tastic bachelorette party!

FYI- Whitney and I aren't giants, we're just sitting on a closer bench to the camera than everyone else.

[caption id="attachment_937" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Andrea, Becca, Katie, Miri, Shiri, ME, Whitney F."][/caption]

One friend drove home early to Boulder from California and 2 friends flew in. Wow. I've got 6 girlfriends friends who are all totally AMAZING! These are the girls I call when I'm happy, sad, or need help/someone to talk to. Thanks for being there with me to have some fun so that we can be a little more subdued at the wedding.... That is until the AFTER PARTY!

Whitney Francis (far right), Ben, and I scoped out The Attic Bar and Bistro for an after party and I am stoked. We're going to have tasty fried snacks, beer, free pool tables, and some giant leather couches to crash on. SWEET!

the red coats are coming!

Well, Whitney might own a red coat, but she's definitely not British. She's organized a bachelorette party for me and 6 girlfriends tomorrow night. Two of whom are flying in from Far Far Away, one is driving from CALIFORNIA and the others are locals. I expect to eat too much and try to not drink too much all weekend.

I'll have to warn them that I'm an idiot and scheduled myself to work on Sunday at noon. Oh well. I need the money and I can do retail 1/2 awake. I'm working the back-to-school rush at the off-campus bookstore on The Hill.

+ = sad