Guess what? I got the videos up!

BUT, before you watch them, you need to know this. We narrowed down our choices to 2 options -- one is an urban condo and the other is a quirky-home-like townhouse. Two completely different styles, right? Both are 2 bedrooms with 2 full baths but the townhouse includes a loft (small one).

Uptown Location: I combined 2 videos, one of a furnished unit and the other of the unit we would be renting (empty). I combined it because when we saw a furnished version I realized HOW big it actually was. It seemed sooo much smaller when we first saw an unfurnished one. Be mindful that the furnished one is NOT a model home and someone's actual condo.

Townhouse: This video is pretty straightforward. I tour the house and sorry for the last minute run up the stairs (lol). I wanted to take one last look at the loft space.

My thoughts after you watch...

Uptown


Townhouse


Uptown Location PROS: Centrally located, light rail RIGHT in front of building, huge patio with beautiful view, modern structure, very safe neighborhood, heated salt water pool (whaaat?!), fitness center, sauna, 15 seater movie theater, in front of historic neighborhood.

CONS: Mainly older people (late 30's/early 40's) who live there, smaller square footage, 2nd bedroom very small to have office & bed, very small closet in MBdrm, hardly any counterspace in MBdrm bathroom, underground parking

Townhouse PROS: Quirky, very cute, very spacious, HUGE bathroom suite in master bedroom, in nice neighborhood, quiet, large kitchen, high ceilings, not overwhelmingly large, includes loft, 2 car garage + storage.

CONS: Location -- we would have to drive everywhere, small pool, no fitness center or other amenities, horrible commute to Phoenix (though Jose is working in Tempe), suburbia vs urban = closer to families.
----

Sooo.... yeah. The biggest difference is the location and space. Do we sacrifice a couple hundred feet of square footage to be in the center of Phoenix right by the light rail with luxury amenities & a beautiful view, or take a super cute townhouse in a more suburbia neighborhood where we would have to drive to our entertainment and most everything?

The commute to Jose's work from both places is only 4 minutes in difference, the price is the same, so the only differences are the two I mentioned earlier. What kind of lifestyle do we want to choose for our first year?

I love both but for different reasons and there's a lot to consider for our first year (furnishing, location, utilities, amenities, etc.). We have our thoughts, but since this is long enough -- why don't you tell me yours? I'd love to hear your perspective or things to consider!!!

p.s. I'm sorry if the Uptown video is a little dizzying lol -- I was a bit rushed because we needed to go.

I suppose since I'm not "excited" to be leaving, that's a good thing, right? I think I just recycled well over 300 pages, full of 2 years of notes, doodles, and questions. Somehow, four little burgundy, foil-wrapped, dark chocolates stared back at me inside of my pen container. I forgot about you guys. My little "sugar" stash. And now, I'm rushing to finish the last details of our office's website before I depart. My last day.

And in one month from today exactly -- I will be married.

I mean, how much symbolism can one day have? I'd like to say my "last office job" in my life because I have wrapped my legs around, literally clinging, my dream of going full time into photography once I step into Arizona. But what if God has other plans before that? Or during that? There is definitely the idea that I will be doing other things along with photography until I'm well established. Though I don't think it will be in an office.

While I'd like to devour the 3 remaining dark chocolates at this moment, I have papers to shred, hair to pull out of my head, and yellow heels that have to march across the parking lot to my little dented car in preparation for today.

Regardless, I have a wedding dress, an officiant, a venue, food, and a photographer. Oh yes. And the groom. So my hair may be a little crazy and the cake may or may not be a surprise -- but in one month, I'm getting married dagnabbit. Is that how you say that word?! Cause clearly I can't speak English well. Ask my fiance. He'll just tell you to have me say precision. Pruh-zi-shion. Sounds about right to me! When will he learn that I'm having his kids one day and guess who they will most likely sound like? Hmph.;)

I'm back from Arizona!! And guess what? Jose and I managed to narrow down our choices to TWO places! However, they couldn't be anymore different.

I created a video of both places because I would LOVE to hear your opinion. Granted, some of you may or may not know me, but it's always good to hear different perspectives.

You will just not believe how opposite these places are to each other, haha. But I suppose if you know me, it kind of makes sense.

While I get the videos put together, I wanted to feature a really cool way to create a ring pillow! I'm in the process of figuring out what I'm going to do w/my own ring pillow (or whether to just BUY at this point!), but wanted to share one of my ideas with you:


Create a ring pillow out of a vintage handkerchief!

You can find TONS of vintage handkerchiefs on ebay for cheap, such as these:


Although it's quite easy, Martha provides a DIY :) You can buy the already made pillow from IKEA for cheap and just hand stitch the hankie over it (via Ruffled). Sounds like a plan to me, don't you think?!

I can explain this. This absence... my behavior. In SIX days, it will be ONE M.O.N.T.H until I get married!

Married.

Like.. I wake up, get my hair done, and walk down the isle to commit to my fiance for the rest of my life. And dance. Lots of dancing. And pictures too :) Though I still haven't decided on a hair stylist (craaaap!!).

So you can see that I've been running around like a mad woman. Mainly getting ready to visit Arizona tomorrow, so the wedding planning itself has been frolicking in la-la land, ready to slap me when I realize what I've neglected.

To forgive me, I'm leaving you with my favorite links from the web that I'm pretty sure you will like too. Then you will forgive me, and I will tell you all about Arizona when I get back. Hopefully with an awesome tan. Or sunburn. You know, the order doesn't matter.

Mmmmmexican Sangria anyone?

My friend Meghan featured my Etsy site! Which now has the Art That Helps work up! 20 of us collaborated to create some art for YOU, where 100% of the proceed will go to Haiti. Promise Tangeman tells you all about it.

This girl's grandfather died, but she is honoring him by creating the CUTEST dresses and tops out of the clothes he left behind! I'm telling you -- PURCHASE worthy creations.

Wouldn't mind seeing this on my bedside table

Some inspiration for my upcoming move. You can bring NY to your home... even in the dessert ;)

I can see myself attempting to make this bedside cabinet

Oh my word. Libraries.

Dummy. I definitely thought the before was the after.

Drag queens meet Easter? Or just really creative people...

What a CUTE (and free!) stationary set.

Goodness, I love red.

LOL. These colorful piggies crack me up. Via ffffound.

He just wants to be a single lady.

If I was starting from scratch (meaning JUST recently engaged), I would be ALL over this wedding inspiration.

I got this AMAZING robe for my bridal shower (which was ridiculously awesome), and now I'm obsessing over this Etsy seller. Particularly her dresses.

Happy Friday everyone! Wish me luck finding our home this weekend (eep!!). And BTW -- I have to say that I got one of the most incredible gifts from my friends this week!! I can't do it justice by one line -- it needs its own post. That will be up next week. Ciao!

Jose and I are going to Phoenix this weekend!! We'll finally get to look at the places we've been considering moving into in person. Unfortunately, some of these places that we may end up loving could become unavailable in May so we have to have a back up plan or someone that is willing to hold the space for a -small- deposit fee.

Anyway, I found this seller on Etsy (GraceysBags) who makes the CUTEST clutches! Granted, they aren't the cheapest things, but I'm assuming because the fabric is sooo beautiful. They would make great bridesmaid's gifts!


How perfect?! In my colors!


Too bad I'm horrible at downsizing to a small clutch. Are you a big purse girl? Or could you actually maintain a clutch for a week?

Question for y'all...

I have no idea what to do for our exit. Meaning, I don't have 'thingies' for people to chunk at us. It's not a big deal, just haven't really thought about it.

There's the idea of throwing butterflies cut out of music sheets:

Or strips of paper
Not allowed to do this one at our venue, so nix that:

Stick to the original:

I've also heard of making mini-lavender packets. That's kind of cute.

There's also marbles you can throw:

So today I celebrate Femme Fatale (as noted by the images :) for winning their mission. If you're lucky, you'll get to read their stories!! I'm considering posting them individually. Believe me, they are ridiculous, hilarious, and sweet.

After having so much trouble with our wedding cake trial, our only back up plan is to use our caterer. I mean, what else can I do? That bakery I went to is not an option. I can't taste these Houston cakes from Atlanta...

BUT, I did taste the tres leches from my caterer (Cordua), and they have THE best tres leches cake in Houston! So what am I worried about? It's not cheap. Fortunately, our guest list has dropped by 25 guests since it's an out of town wedding and that means LESS plates to pay for! This would put us just fine with the wedding cake, except now we have to consider having a "mini" cocktail hour because of the photography!!

Call it stubbornness or tradition, but I don't want to see Jose before the ceremony. I know that so many photographers tell their clients that it doesn't take anything away from you walking down the aisle, but in my heart -- I can't come to terms with that. I'm not saying that seeing your groom before you walk down the aisle makes that less special. But for *me* personally, I want to wait. However, this completely screws me over for photography because we have to -rush- through pictures after the ceremony so our guests aren't waiting longer than 45 minutes.

Realistically, as a photographer, I know that is HARDLY any time for pictures with your family AND your groom. My photographer is really non-pressuring about me seeing Jose -- she said she'll work it out either way. She even said she'd be willing to do pictures AFTER the wedding of the two of us since the wedding is over at 3:30 p.m. -- perfect lighting outside. The problem is that I'll be dancing during the wedding and may end up looking sweaty & tired after it's over. But maybe not?

Past brides? Did you find yourself sweaty and tired after your wedding? Maybe if I got my make-up retouched a little ... I could be fine?

Soooo, if I want to buy my photographer some time after the ceremony, then Jose and I need to add some cocktails = more $!! Maybe I can just get some french bread & different jams... haha. I mean, hello, it is brunch after all! And who doesn't love bread? Actually, we are having plantain chips with different chimichurri sauces, so we might bring those out with the fruit display and only have to buy one appetizer. That's enough to munch on, right? Fruit, plantain chips, and a meat appetizer? Thoughts?

Last -- Groom's cake. We still want to have a little something for Jose despite our own troubles with the wedding cake. Originally, when money was a fairytale and we were oblivious to actual costs, we wanted a MILK fountain surrounded by chocolate chip cookies! How cool would that have been?! A photographer had told us she did that for her wedding (Julie Wilhite). Then reality kicked in, and our new options are:

Get this... a rice krispies treat cake!!

For a while now, I had been craving fajita meat -- but specifically, the kind they sell at Hispanic meat markets that prepare the seasoning for you. My mom made these often when I was in high school, and still does when I visit.

After church yesterday, Jose and I decided to venture and find a local market to make them for dinner that night. I made a quick phone call to my brother to look one up online (since we were on the road and NO people, we are still technologically in the stone age without a smart phone that leads us to making sibling calls in the middle of the day for internet requests) and we found one with some good reviews! I bought a pound of meat, avocado, limes, cilantro, flower tortillas, jarritos, plantains, and a tub of homemade salsa.

This is how my mom makes them and I prepared it the same way: Dice tomatoes and onions in a bowl (green for me!), add lime juice and sprinkle some salt and top with cilantro (extra for Jose). Cook the meat, heat tortillas on skillet, and in the mean time I also was preparing some fried (sweet) plantains. Make a meat taco with your tortillas and fajita meat, scoop the tomato mix on top, add some chopped lettuce & sliced avocado, drizzle homemade salsa, and something my mom and I always do --- drizzle some more of the lime juice from the tomato/onion mixture into your taco.

YUM!!

I'm telling you. Google a local Hispanic market, ask for "fajita preparada" (that means prepared fajita meat). One pound in Spanish is "una libra." When they prepare it for you, it is SO easy to cook! Literally, throw on the grill or skillet and cook. You just have to "dress it up" with the condiments to make it uh-mazing.

Then this happened:

Jose spent the night last night. Our a/c hasn't really been set to our Spring weather, so it has been quite warm at night. Jose gets hot very easily so he ends up getting up a lot in the middle of the night to drink water and cool off. At some point, I wake up and say "just take the thicker blanket off and sleep with the sheets only."

However, I woke up and said this in SPANISH to him. To which of course he responds "What?" and somehow in my dazed, sleepy state, I realize I said this in Spanish, and stumble through my English translation. Hahaha -- woooow. I don't know why I woke up and said it in Spanish first, but I must say -- those fajitas took me way back to being home that I wasn't even talking English now.

So try it. You might wake up in the middle of the night saying something to the effect of "el sudor debe de ser por casi tragarte dos tazas de salsa!"

What does it have to do with weddings? Well, this week I am posting something on marrying Hispanics and would love your opinion/thoughts on it :)

p.s. Did you try translating that? ;) Jose, if you're reading this -- don't cheat! Put your translation in the comments (or your best attempt at making one up ;)

Good Friday! And good it is :)

Have you heard of the website Awkward Family Photos? OMGoodness. I couldn't stop laughing. I picked out some favorites for you to enjoy your Friday afternoon.

quote: "Nobody forbid these two to marry, but they decided to poison themselves anyway."

quote: "This family just wants to know what the hell you’re looking at."

quote: "Gym, tan, winner."

I mean... REALLY?!

quote: Sisterhood of the traveling perms "You go straight, you’re out of the sisterhood. No exceptions."


This last one is actually from I Heart Faces when they had a week designated to "Hilarious Outtakes" and this cracked me up SO much!