Farewell California!

In under 24 hours, I'll be making my way north to Washington State. More importantly, in under 10 minutes, I'm going to bed! I can barely keep my eyes open, but wanted to express that I'm looking forward to being one GIANT LEAP closer to seeing Sean again. February feels like FOREVER ago.


 I can't wait to be home -
   Which is where ever Sean and I can be together.


Port Orchard or Bust!

Well it has been a while since I made a post and so here it is. I found out in the past few weeks that my graduation date is actually April 8th instead of the 15th. What does this mean for Jaime and I? Well for one thing instead of leaving the 21st of April for WA now I get to leave the 15th. We get a whole extra week together! And on top of that I don't have to report to my next command until May 2nd. This means I get 17 days off of work and only 4 days are charged leave. It is going to be really nice to just relax and get used to the WA area before I get to my crew, the Pennsylvania Gold. As far as helping me with the move is my friend Louis and hopefully my friend Andy. After the ridiculous 38 hour drive and unloading the U-Haul we are going to spend a few days treating them around Seattle. Both of them are really helping us out a lot so we agreed that they deserve some time to see the area and have some fun. I also plan on paying for their plane tickets on the way back, which we have to buy soon.
As far as the front with how things are going with Jaime and I things are rather well, well as good as you can 2500 miles apart and with a 3 hour time difference. Even though we have this huge hurdle we try our best and set aside at least a few hours everyday to either talk or have our Netflix dates...with a few shows from Hulu plus thrown in every once in a while. After months of watching movies and shows though even this became stale so what did Jaime do for us last night? Bought a copy of "Would You Rather" of course! It was a nice change of pace. We had a few good laughs and it sparked some conversations that we probably never would of had. Once the move is all done and settled and she has a bit more free time I hope that we can find a book that we both want to read and read to each other before bed. I just look forward to a time that we can finally do all this in person.

The Wedding Chronicals - The Dresses that Didn't make the cut

Last month, my mom and I went dress shopping as we stumbled across and bought "the dress"! (THANK YOU MOM!!!!!!)
We went to Alfred Angelo because I thought I knew what I wanted.

As it turns out, the dress I came in to try on has been discontinued... In fact, the sales person had never heard of it when I was describing it, and neither had the manager. I'm thinking it must have been an on-line exclusive. Well, wedding dresses are non-refundable, so I wasn't about to order something I couldn't try on.  LightInTheBox carried a similiar one, and I was interested in trying it on before ordering (or winning) their version.

So I tried on some other colored gowns.

We started out with a simple option:

WHAT I LIKED:This dress was VERY light, despite it's "full" appearance. A sash/bridal belt gave me more control over the color choice. Oh yeah, it also had pockets! The price was right too. I liked the straps too. Definately something customizable that could be passed on as an heirloom peice.WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:The fabric was taffeta, which isn't soft to touch. I like a dress that

"feels" as lovely as it looks.

WHAT I LIKED:This was a VERY sliming dress. I loved that aspect! When you looked from the side, I looked 20 lbs lighter.I like the very top of it as well.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
No train. The color you see is all of the color what would be on the dress. It felt very "business like", nothing "fun", "classic" or especially "bridal" about it. I felt like a pretty girl in a nice dress. If Sean were wearing his dress uniform, maybe this would work, but he's not, and it's not exactly the look I'm going for...

WHAT I LIKED:Honestly, I expected to like this one the best. I expected to LOVE this one. What I can say is that I liked the fabric a lot. It was a very soft, rich, comfortable satin. I expected to LOVE the huge splash of color on the train. My colors would be Ivory and Clover Green.WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:The band of color at the neckline. I felt it was too small and contributed to a "wider" look from the front. This also has a completely zippered back, which is unforgiving as far as sizing/alterations go.
Oddly enough, I didn't like the HUGE splash of color on the train. I thought I'd LOVE this feature, but after trying on "the dress", this one seemed 'common'. I also feel that this isn't an heirloom peice. (Yes, future-daughter, I'm thinking about you!) I felt it lacked that attention to detail that I love so much, and was very "cookie cutter". I felt as though I'd seen this dress already, on a 1000 brides and it lacked originality. Mine would have been in Ivory and Clover. With that in mind (and the peacock feathers I'll be using in my hair) it just seemed like color-overkill. I felt that I could be more bold with my accessories if the coloration on the dress was bit more subtle. I LOVE loud color, but this was just too big of a leap for me. It's a BEAUTIFUL gown, don't get me wrong, and I almost felt bad turning it down when I told the sales lady that, surprisingly, I had fallen in love with the previous one.

HOW DID I KNOW I'D FOUND THE ONE?When they put the veil on and my mom and I both caught our breath. That was pretty much solid. (Of course, it didn't help that I turned to her and said, "Can you see me marrying Sean in this?" I already could.

I can't wait to visit this summer after my dress comes in! My mom will be taking good care of it in California until it's all ready and it's ready to make it's Florida debut!



Honoring the Blogger Day of Silence

Until April...

Last week we found out Sean is officially stationed in Bangor, Washington. What a relief! It means I'm making the right move when I head up to Washington in 2 weeks (well, 13 days).


However, it's going to be a bit longer than we expected before we get to see each other. The Navy is keeping him on Georgia for just a little longer, and then he's driving over to Washington (after a visit with family). I may even get to meet his sister (one of them) if she is able to come along for the ride!


Since it's going to be almost 7 weeks before we see each other face to face, I put some spit and polish on this little montage. (The opening song is a J. Darling original.)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Good memories are always there to carry us through the tough times.

Nonsense and Non-Stress

Bergamot Day Spa

Last weekend, Sean gave me an amazing gift!

Actually, it started before Valentine's Day.

See, I'm moving to Washington (the state, not the DC) to be closer to him. And while I'm excited about the new chapter in my life, I'm also just a little stressed. USUALLY I handle it pretty well, but moving away from your hometown for the first time EVER isn't easy for anyone. Add a stressful job, where if I screw up, the FBI comes a-knockin', writing deadlines, and regular everyday life stuff, and it's enough to make anyone go crazy.

Sean knows me VERY well. We knew back in February that there would be a LONG stretch (most of Feb and all of March and April) where we wouldn't be able to see each other. He knew that I'd need a break, but that he couldn't be here to help with that, so he told me to send him a list of local spas.

I did.

And he set me up with an amazing spa morning for the first weekend in March, figuring it would relax me before the move. The package included a massage, manicure, and pedicure.

Going one step further, I have to say that I've never been entirely comfortable being touched by strangers. I'm not cold towards others, and I don't fear contact, but I've never been the touchy-feely type. I'm big on meaningful touch I guess. So when I found out that Sean had booked a massage I wondered if I'd be able to truly relax for it.

Well, I did -nearly completely anyway. A WONDERFUL, completely organic and natural head to toe massage. It took place in a little bamboo hut with soft music playing inside, and a fountain running by outside. In fact, I think he created a monster. I might have to try to do this more often. I felt so refreshed afterwards.

This place also gives the best pedicures in North County, CA. Ladies, forget about those little swirling jet thingys. You haven't lived until you've had a Bergamot pedicure. Hand done massages while your feet soak in a bowl of warm water with orchids floating in it and warm stones on the bottom of it. Only organic, fair trade substances are used in their massages (which made the tree-hugger in me feel great).

For my toes and my fingers, I ended up going with an opalescent lavender color. (I paint my nails so rarely, so it's a real treat for someone to do it for me - and do it evenly w/ all the undercoats and hardening sprays and such.)

The day continued to be great as my mom and I headed to Alfred Angelo to check out a wedding dress design similar to the one I was hoping to win from a LightInTheBox Facebook competition. (Click here to find out how to help us win!) More on that day to come...

Honestly, I've never had someone look out for me the way Sean does. While I miss him terribly and wish he could be here to help with the move, I'm so blessed by the way he takes every chance he gets to let me know that I'm loved.

The Wedding Chronicals - Destination Wedding

Sean and I have batted around hundreds of wedding venue ideas since our engagement this January.

Source

And we finally found one we're really excited about.

Yes, it will mean our guest list will be less, and our turn out may be less.

But in the end, we decided to do something within our budget, that's fun, exciting, and has special meaning to us.

We're getting married at Disney World!

But we're not paying Disney's prices to do it.

See, Disney Fairytale weddings are stunning and low hassle. There is no ifs-ands-or-buts about it.

BUT there are 3 resorts on property that are NOT Disney owned. The Swan and Dolphin owned and operated by the Sheraton company, and the military inn, Shades of Green.

The Swan and Dolphin are owned by the Sheraton company. 

I've had some pretty good experiences with Sheraton hotels in the past, which leads me to believe this could be a very, very positive experience for all involved. (Not to mention a dream come true for us!)