Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Where's Waldo...err i mean Brittany?
You see I always knew I would see so much extended family in July but our family reunion came about 6 months earlier than expected. This wasn’t the joyous happy event of my wedding but the death of my lovely, loving, caring grandma. January 24 I got a phone call that sticks a knife right in your heart and twists. It HURT and well you know what it STILL hurts today. Knowing that I will be honoring her at my wedding as opposed to having her sitting there celebrating along side of us HURTs. I guess I should give a little background at how excited my grandma was by the fact that I was marrying Barry. She adored Barry. She loved his smile, his warm and caring nature but more than anything she loved how happy he made me. It wasn’t uncommon for my grandma to call me up and ask how Barry was doing before she asked how I was. She was so excited for him to be joining our family in fact she was already packing for the few days she was going to spend down at the beach for our wedding. A few days before my grandma died the dress she was going to wear to the wedding came in the mail and it is bitter sweet to know that although not for my wedding my grandma did get to wear her party dress.
10 short days after my grandma died my sudo grandma also died. This grandma isn’t my grandma via my mom or dad but via my uncle. We are a very close knit family and always celebrate holidays and birthdays among many families. This death was sad but wasn’t nearly as hurtful as my other grandma. It wasn’t the fact that she was a sudo grandma it was the fact that she was 94 years old and had lived a long, healthy and fabulous life. It was her time but none the less having two lovely women taken from a family in such a short period of time is never easy.
I did turn 25 in March which was OK. Barry was so great but I was just sad. My brother said I was having a quarter life crises but I think I was just not in celebration mood.
A couple weeks after my lovely 25th birthday my brother was laid off (we worked at the same company) and I was moved to part time and took a LARGE pay cut. And about 2 weeks after that I gave my two weeks notice and got another part time job. My new part time job is not glamorous but I am HAPPY. Most people know I am a very ethical and just person and when I feel things aren’t “kosher” I am usually the first to speak up and let my feelings be known. I am also in a great place where I have a loving fiancĂ©e, family and friends who support & love me. I know my new part time job isn’t something for the future but it is survival. I needed to leave where I was for my heath and sanity and am pleased to admit that today (TAX DAY) is my freedom day.
So enough with the doom and gloom lets talk about some happy stuff. Well we had Jen’s Bachelorette party, I promise to post pictures soon but I am confident to say that a good time was had by all. This weekend Jen is traveling home to SD for a bridal shower, our lovely BM dresses came in and look way AWESOME, and in 45 day Jen and Matt will be tying the knot and will officially be Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Elias.
Barry and I are just 88 days away until we are hitched which is kinda crazy. I have put off some of the important things like invites until the last minute but you know what as we near the 2 year mark of our engagement I just want to be married. Everything will come together and everyone who is invited knows about it so worse comes to worse we just call/email/text everyone a “formal invitation.” Just kidding but you get my point. I am excited to have all our family and friends in one place to share in our love together. It is going to be a BLAST.
I think that’s all. You are officially caught up on my life. Hopefully there wont be such a long intermission until I post again.
Xoxo
britt
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Hope over Fear
Today is a magnificent day.
Today we have President Obama. He has told us to be hopeful, rather than fearful. This is what we have been craving; we are tired of living life in fear.
President Obama has given us a lot to be proud of - I am incredibly proud that he had a dinner last night honoring Senator John McCain. What a truly magnificent gesture.
President Obama has also given millions of us something else to be proud of, he has shown us what a loving, respectful marriage can look like.
I am excited that we have a first-couple who deeply love and respect each other, they are truly equals.
I admire Laura Bush for her grace and compassion, but she was never a strong force, not that there was anything wrong with that. Hillary Clinton is President's Clinton intellectual equal, but they (obviously) displayed contrasting messages about their love. Barbara Bush was not an intellectual force, perhaps behind the scenes, but not openly. And Nancy Reagan... We have had strong first ladies, but this is the first time we have had an openly strong and successful, as well as loving first lady.
I sincerely admire Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt; they accomplished great things, but only as much as society would let them. They were not considered their husband's equals, even though they were probably just as intellectual.
First Lady Michelle and President Obama convey their deep love and respect for each other. The way they smile at each other, hold hands, and even talk to each other, we can see their admiration for each other. Whenever I see Michelle grab Barack's hand, I find myself wanting to seek out Matt.
And their daughters are the cutest things. I enjoy how spunky they are.
As my wedding day approaches, I hope that my marriage will resemble theirs after 16 years. "All you need is love," which is perhaps true, but to maintain a strong, successful marriage, I believe you also need more qualities like respect, admiration, humility, and many more.
Friday, January 16, 2009
My Two Least Favorite Words
I hate that phrase. I do not like to use the word hate, but I genuinely do not like to hear “hiring freeze.”
There are good days and bad days. Most bad days are when we hear “hiring freeze” from a law firm or county. We should not be surprised anymore, but when we have hope that someone is hiring, and then hear those words, it is frustrating.
We were hoping for something to work out in Pima County, but no dice. Pima County is also in a “hiring freeze.” Thus, we have resorted to applying to places like Yuma, Parker, Globe, etc. These are not places we want to live; we just want a job.
When we do have a job, I can not wait to move on with wedding plans. We have put on hold many things we did not expect: wedding bands, honeymoon, dance lessons, personal trainer, etc. Some are easier to give up on than others, the obvious ones. I have hope though; hope that things will turn around soon.
We are optimistic about our situation. My mom teases me that Matt and I are "practicing" for retired life. If we can make it through studying for the bar together, taking the bar together, waiting for results together, facing unemployment together - and not to mention all the other stuff like 3 years living 200 miles apart, going to two different law schools, so forth - I think we are ready for marriage and have no doubts.
Another thing I despise, the neighbor’s barking dogs. I swear the two houses behind us, their dogs have barking competitions to see who can be the most annoying. I love dogs with the best of them, and I understand their barking is “talking,” but enough already! I can not stand barking, yelping dogs. Three words I do like: barking dog ordinances.
Sorry for the doom and gloom post. I had to vent. I promise the next post will be fun and light-hearted.
Tomorrow I plan to start working on wreath number two so I can have it finished before my dad gets here. I think I have had enough of a break from the first one. :-)
- Jen
P.S. This is post number 99 for us. I feel pressure that we have to make #100 a good one!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Hello Again.
Why I am blogging… I have never liked the idea of New Year’s Resolutions. The excitement of a new year always dissipates quickly, as it already has for this new year. I am not making resolutions, but rather I feel inspired to be a better person, especially since 2009 is the year of big changes and big weddings!
My challenge to myself is to be healthier: mind, body and spirit.
1. Mind
I am going to challenge myself to read more, to fall in love with reading again. Law school and the bar effectively ruined my drive to read, but I did enjoy the Twilight series this Christmas break! I am also going to be more professional - I am going to respond to all e-mails, text messages, and phone calls promptly. Ignoring messages until later or procrastinating phone calls is a bad habit I am going to break.
2. Body
For me, this means trying new things and eating better. I am going to try new things at the gym, new classes and machines. But I am also going to bike more (I love my new bike I got for Christmas), play tennis with Matt, hike the other side of Camelback Mountain, and golf more. As for eating, I will eat more fruits and veggies. I am also setting a goal of not eating after 7:00 P.M., the recommended time by nutritionists. Of course there will be exceptions for special occasions.
Also with the weddings coming up, time to buff up. I want to be healthy just to be healthy, but with all the weddings in 2009, it gives me extra motivation. Matt and I started the 100 pushup challenge last week so we are on week 2. It is interesting thus far. I have been able to do all the pushups and it is getting easier, kind of. I will let you know if I can do a 100 at the end of week 6…
3. Spirit
I am going to keep a healthy spirit by continuing to go to church every weekend. Going to church can be difficult at times and mass is often the most rewarding when it is the hardest to get to. If we are going to go out on Saturday night, we will just prioritize and go to Saturday Mass at 4:00.
I am also going to be nicer; being nice is never overrated and I find myself quickly to criticize or get down on people. I am going to aim to see the bright side of things and to be more compassionate. I just feel better when I am happier.
Happy 2009! I know I am excited for this year!
- Jen
Friday, January 9, 2009
Playing Dress Up
OMG!!!!! Guess what came in today? Yes that’s right my DRESS. I got all kind of panicky; what if I didn’t like it? What if it didn’t fit? What if? What if? What if? Telling myself to breathe was easier said than done. This was my largest wedding purchase to date and the most expensive piece of clothing I have ever purchased and owned so it had to be perfect. Within seconds of seeing her in the bag I knew she was still the one, and that I loved her more today than I did the first day we met. Come to think about it these are the emotions I hope Barry has when he sees me wearing her for the first time in 185 days – not that I am counting. Now a recap on the attire front: Dress: Check, Shoes (yes TWO pairs): Check, Veil: Check. That means I still need undergarments, jewelry, and maybe another hair accessory for when the veil comes off. Overall I am super excited, getting the dress in makes it all more real (as if it wasn’t real before) and it has renewed my sense of wanting to get more things done and finalized.
britt
Friday, January 2, 2009
Dress Registry? Who knew.
Other dresses made me LAUGH. I couldn’t believe someone will be wearing some of the dresses. I also began to look at the level of formality each woman would be wearing (this is something I stress out about – being under or over dressed). Take these for example: britt
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
10, 9, 8, 7....
What a crazy end to the month and year. Christmas in my house is always CrAzY but also always a great time. It was so nice to see my family and just get some R & R, haha yeah right there is no R & R allowed. Our
britt
Friday, December 19, 2008
I Went & Did it!
xoxo
britt
Why Blog?
Why not? Would be the simple answer but I recently started thinking about why I wanted to start blogging.
For me I like to talk and I figure a blog would be a way for me to talk about things and pretend like others are paying attention to me and what I have to say. I think I also started to blog because I realized that my life was moving past me so quickly and I love to look back and go remember September 19, 2003? You see I have kept all my college day planners that were my life line for 4 years. I wrote down everything in those things – first kisses, first date dashes, first time meeting his mom & sister, a lot of firsts went into those. Now that I am working I don’t really have a need for a paper day planner since all important deadline go into my work calendar and I have pop up reminders to keep me on track so no new first go into it (unless you count the first time I did something at work). So for me blogging is a way to keep track of all the fun things, firsts or not. I am also only planning one wedding (maybe a vow renewal in a few decades or a future kids wedding) but only one wedding of my own. I want to be able to look back at this time and laugh at myself but also remember how awesome this experience has been.
I also started this blog to keep everyone up to date about things I am thinking about, doing, and just giving them a glimpse into my life at the present moment. Last but not least I love public forums – I wish more of our readers would comment – and I love how
xoxo
britt
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Another reason why i love him...
xoxox
britt
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Parental Control
Let me preface everything I am about to say with I love my future in-laws and am extremely lucky that all four are sane, loving, and caring. Today I got an email in my inbox and the title was Getting Along with Your Future In-Laws. Now this email didn’t look like spam so I opened it up and I guess it isn’t spam but it is from some weird photographers who bought my email address along with all my other personal info from the bridal show I attended, but that is for another day another post.
This article talks all about how in-laws today are different than in-laws of the past. In the past most Americans married the girl or boy next door, who had a similar upbringing, religious beliefs, etc. That made it easier for the bride and groom to understand how each others' parents behaved, and how they are expected to behave with them (e.g., calling them Mr. or Mrs. Whatever versus calling them by their first names). This never occurred to me that I might be viewed as disrespectful because I have always called my future in-laws by their first names. I was just doing what I knew was right and seeing that my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncle have no issues being called by their first names I just made the assumption that it was ok for me to call all of Barry’s relatives (except his grandparents) by their first name as well.
The article also goes on and states you’re not just marrying a person, but their family as well! Plus, since his/her parents are the ones who raised your spouse to be, you can learn a lot about what to expect from your spouse in your marriage, in terms of behavior, personality, etc. This can not be truer. I am lucky that I am getting another KICK ASS family. Barry’s cousins are awesome, his aunts and uncles are great, his parents have been so loving and welcoming, and I can only wish that Barry and I have a successful marriage like his grandparents. I am also confident that his parents have raised a man who is caring, compassionate, driven, meticulous, fun, hard working, and spontaneous, the list can go on and on and for that I will be forever grateful.
xoxo
britt
Monday, December 15, 2008
No Bride Wars Here

I do remember getting advice from someone that I should not go wedding dress shopping with
britt
Thursday, December 11, 2008
My something Pink...

or I could go with my something pink.
But when I was out the day after Thanksgiving (yes I know you are supposed to be buying gifts for others but I couldn’t help but look for myself) I found the most perfect pink shoe from Old Navy and they were only $10. How cute is this little ballet flat.
Love it but more importantly I love this pink way more than the rainbow pink. So these will be my reception shoes or shoes for after Jimmy starts to wreak havoc on my feet.
xoxo
britt
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
What’s in a Name?
We won’t be numbering our tables. Yes I know, I know it would be so much easier to just number the tables and hope that no one feels shafted for being sat at table 15 when they thought they should be at table 3. So once we were set on not numbering our tables we started to think about fun alternatives. We could do famous couples or better yet couples that we admire (starting with our family of course). After writing down all the couples we wanted to include we realized we would need far more tables or we would be leaving someone out. So we scratched that idea and moved on. We could do cities we have been to or even just cities we would like to go to. But this idea wasn’t all that fun in my book. I could easily name 50+ cities we have been to together or places we want to go so this one was scratched for being a little too impersonal. My next idea was our favorite anything (TV, food, candy, etc.) but sitting my grandparents at a table named WWF (world wrestling federation) or my anti baby friends at Jon & Kate plus 8 just didn’t feel right on so many levels. So I know we have so many University of Arizona tributes going on in our wedding we wondered if naming our tables places in the Old Pueblo would be a little over the top. But after realizing that our little tributes to a place where we met and fell in love would not be taking away from our classic elegant wedding we were set. Our tables will be named after places in and around the University. Things like Old Main (where Barry snapped many pictures of
xoxo
britt
Monday, December 8, 2008
Pillow Me This, Pillow Me That
Would a lovely pillow with a large orange flower suit us? (think orange flower)
What about a pillow with a gray ribbon? (gray ribbon, although the orange could work)
Oh what about the ever popular Palmoas Nest?
Or what about a pillow with the 
For us none these hit it out of the park. Not to mention the little voice in my head asking, “what would I do with it after the wedding?” So I started to think about toys, yes toys. Something our ring bearer would like to keep and maybe even use long after the wedding. What about an actual bear? Or better yet one dressed in 
(maybe a bear dressed in a letterman's jacket)
But that too didn’t seem right but than it hit me like a ton of bricks. A miniature basketball. Yes I said miniature basketball. How perfect? A jersey clad ring bearer carrying a basketball with our rings securely tied by a ribbon (a ribbon that is easily removed right after the ceremony).
(Remove all Standford images and Replace with Arizona goodness)
So now all that is left in order to officially check “Buy ring pillow (or in our case – ring basketball)” off the to do list is to make a trip to the University bookstore during one of our visit and make the purchase.
xoxo
britt
Viva Las Vegas!!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Can I Have Your Cake & Eat it Too?
So far during our engagement there are only a few things that have remained constant. One being my want and desire to marry Barry, one being our want for a summer wedding and the last my want for our cake design. When we first got engaged I found the most perfect cake and immediately copied the picture to my desk top, and didn’t think I would need to look for another cake. Considering I don’t even like cake, and in all the weddings I have been too have NEVER, I repeat NEVER had a piece of wedding cake I knew it was and still isn’t at the top of my priority list. So since it isn’t at the top of my priority list I was surprised to hear that cake is one of the things that my mom is really excited about. Based on talking with her I know she wants a big
beautiful cake. Maybe not as big has the Donald’s cake (picture to the right) but I think she wants the cake to be a focal point. So since we get a cake with whatever package we go with at our location I started looking for different cake options. Round cakes, square cakes, hexagon cake, cake with flowers, cake with ribbon, cake with crystal bling who would have thought choosing cake could be so hard. After looking at so many beautiful cakes on various websites I keep going back to the original cake that I found over a year and a half ago. I think with a little tweaking this cake can be the elegant beautiful focal point that will make all involved very happy. So now that we have a design concept in mind finding the perfect baker should be a breeze, a breeze considering our location only have 3 preferred bakers and our package cake has to come from one of them. I guess considering all the bakers in the Thursday, December 4, 2008
Crazy Orange or Classic Black?
I guess Clint deserves a little back story. Clint’s Formal Wear has been in business for a LONG LONG time and when you walk into his store in
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Huppa, a Whata?
White cover, hanging down flowers, bamboo poles, and large enough for us is what we wanted.
When I was home a few months ago I got some fake orchids to hang down, some crystal prisms and my parents even got the bamboo poles so I was just looking for the white shear cloth to drape over the top. Enter Cost Plus World Market for the beautiful cloth that will drape over our huppa. It is white with a little gray detailed border that I have decided to sparkle up by added rhinestones to the edges.
Yes, It is a bed cover but will be our huppa cover!
It is beautiful and perfect, what more could I ask for. I can’t wait because in less than 8 months it will be put to great use.
xoxobritt







