Four Weeks!

Graham and I are getting married four weeks from today!!!

I have been planning this and preparing for this.. for like FOREVER. I've looked at wedding pictures and videos and I can't wait to have some of my own.

December 21st cannot come soon enough!

Btw, I'm trying to pick out a song for our first dance. I want a Brian McKnight song, and here are my favorites:
"The Only One for Me"
"Love of my Life"
http://www.amazon.com/There-Here-1989-2002-Brian-Mcknight/dp/B00006SMBY/ref=pd_sim_m_img_4

Let me know which one you all like!

Bridal Shower

Ok, so the blog you've all been waiting for... Descriptions of my bridal showers. I'll do my California one first, since it didn't really have any humorous moments. Well, it was a lovely day in Folsom.. sun shining, hummingbirds flying around, etc. I helped my family prepare for the likely onslaught of people just dying to see me pre-wedding and my ring.

Then I went to my dress fitting. I can't post pictures of me in my dress since Graham might see them, but if you want, I can email you a few. Anyways, my dress and veil are GORGEOUS. They are quite white, so it's a good thing I've been tanning. I look slim from the front, but not so much from the side (what can I do besides become anorexic?), so I'm hoping to take more pictures facing the front. The night before the dress fitting, we had a fun time marking where the sleeves need to go to cover everything. I still have pen on my boob and back. It's all about the round neck--it's lower than the square neck!

Tish joined me and my mom at the bridal shop, where she took my mom's side about where my veil should go. I want a back piece... not a front one! Anyways, I compromised, but we'll see where it goes on my wedding day... So after that, we headed back to my house to decorate. My sister likes pink and brown, so even though those aren't my wedding colors, it still looked nice. We got all creative and used some of the candle holders I'll be using at my reception.

1st picture: Maren is telling me here that she helped pick out this stuff for me for "her" gift to me (thanks Joanna). It included an olive wood spoon, which if you use while cooking, is supposed to make for a long lasting and happy marriage (so the French say). I thought that was very nice. Joanna and her sisters all have one, and they're all still married, so... I think it'll work.
2nd picture: My only piece of lingerie sent from Mallory and Whit. It is VERY cute. Graham was very excited to hear I got some. I tried it on and I look pretty hot...

3rd picture: Part of our creative decorations. I don't like carnations, but when stuffed into a little square vase like this with a bow, they looked adorable. Thanks Anna! (Yes, I have a sister-in-law named Anna and another named Joanna.)

4th picture: The brownie tower with brown plates and the pink and brown bow. I added the bow and convinced my mom to get the good brown plates.

5th picture: Julie's main idea was to serve "mocktails" in the cute little glasses. We had diet sprite and cran-raspberry juice with frozen slices of lime and maraschino cherries. They were delicious and very fun.

Anyways, even though people didn't come that said they would (the invitations were sent out pretty early), I had so much fun! I got to see old friends, family, new family (new baby boys!), and friends from the ward. It was very chill--NO games--and fun to think all these people were coming to support me getting married. I got some awesome presents and a bunch of new cookbooks. I was like, do these people know me or what? I love to cook!

So, my Portland shower was a little more awkward since I haven't known Graham's family for that long.. But, all of them showed up (even Graham's cousin who'd had a baby 3 days before) and gave me good presents. Oh, and only one of my friends showed up. That was really nice of her and it made me feel better about myself.

Ok, so the "heirloom" thing... Graham's mom gave me some things of Graham's great-grandma: a porcelain cup and saucer and a porcelain bowl. It was very nice of her to give me those things and nothing big or bulky like a quilt. She also gave me the down-alternative comforter I registered for, so that was even better. Graham's grandma bought me jewelry. She told me she gives all granddaughters getting married something like this, but Graham's sister-in-law only got a picture of her future husband before they got married. Anyways, I digress..

So, I open the bag, and it's an earring box from Zales. I'm like, is this a trick? I open it up, very curious as to what's inside, and I see... EARRINGS. Pearl and diamond earrings with gold accents. To all of you that know me very well, I haven't worn earrings in over 10 years (I have weak earlobes that are almost ripped from wearing earrings when I was young). Plus, I don't like gold, nor do I really like pearls. I'm like, oh crap, she wants me to wear these on my wedding day.

So I'm debating... Do I take them and never tell her my ears aren't pierced? Do I tell her later they aren't pierced? Or do I now tell her straight up I can't wear them? So, this is how it went down..

I exclaim, "Oh my gosh... they're beautiful!"

...Pause...

I whisper, "But I can't wear them.."

Silence.

So I have to explain my ear situation to everyone.. and now everyone in Graham's family now knows the story. Good thing everyone thinks it's funny. His grandma has since bought me a nice diamond bracelet (in the shape of hearts) to replace the earrings. Not my style, but I can (and will) wear it.

Anyways, 30 days from tomorrow and I'll be married! Yay!!!!

Hola

Pretty descriptive title right?

We received our invitations yesterday, and.. of course I had to assemble them and prepare them all to be sent out soon. Expect one in the mail soon!

Geez. Great picture quality. I'm really thinking of going into photography to showcase my skills.

I also just found some pictures from our trip to Utah. It was a windy day at temple square and seriously at least 5 couples had gotten married in a 2-hour period. I was rating all of the dresses. We wanted to take some pictures with couples in the background. I didn't like this girl's dress.

Classic Graham shot.

We're so hot right now.

Anyways, that's life and I'm excited for everything coming up in the next few weeks: bridal showers, dress fitting, catering tasting, and Thanksgiving (pie making won't be the same without you Julie!).

Btw, this blog is Sherri's intellectual property. Graham never gets on the internet, much less to even look at my blog. He will never blog... ever. Hah. Oh Graham.

Exciting Life

So, I live a pretty exciting life now. Pretty much every night, I go home from school, cook dinner, work on some homework, and fall asleep to some TV show with Graham. I then have to kick him out of my apartment around 11 PM.

Sometimes.. we throw in a movie instead of a TV show to mix it up.

Excitement.

I just get TIRED around 9 PM every night. Does that make me old? Speaking of old--I'm turning twenty-FIVE in a month. Do you remember when 25 was freaking OLD?!

Anyways, some real "excitement" in my life was my first appointment yesterday with a gynecologist. I won't go into detail or anything, but it actually wasn't that bad. Phew.

My bridal shower thrown by Graham's family is next Saturday. I'm excited, but a little.. apprehensive. It's partly an "heirloom shower"...

I don't know about you all, but my family doesn't really have "heirlooms". Maybe we're not very sentimental or something, but we don't pass stuff down at all. I really didn't like getting "hand-me-down" clothing from older cousins... not that those were heirlooms. I guess I don't have much appreciation for old stuff. I will practically throw stuff away just because it's old.

Anyways, so I might be getting some nice stuff, like... I don't even know what. I'm type-less.

I'm expecting a quilt somewhere.. maybe a picture of Jesus or a framed cross-stitched quote about family. Maybe a coat of arms! Haha. Jokes. His grandma said I should know how to take a joke or something at the shower. That sounds interesting. I'm not even going to explore that thought whatsoever.

Oh, and Graham and I have tentatively secured a spot as apartment managers in a free 2-bedroom apartment. However, the floor is all linoleum and tile, so it's like a dorm room. Anyone know where to get cheap and attractive rugs? We bought a cute couch and chair for $350--brand new! I'll maybe have to blog about my awesome negotiation skills later.

So.... with a 2-bedroom apartment, everyone is welcome to come and visit us in Portland!

Well, keep posting your blogs, and I'll keep reading them. I need SOMETHING to check while I aimlessly surf the Internet.