Wide Open Spaces

Our apartment feels huge. There are no extra people, but more importantly there is no extra stuff. The floor is terribly dirty where it all used to sit, but the stuff itself is gone. We're not really sure what to do with ourselves at this point.

The wedding invitations are done. DONE. Licked, sealed, stamped, and sent. I'm SO glad they're done. I really love that we made them ourselves, but it was a lot of work, and I'm glad to have one less thing to worry about! Now it will be the organization of the response cards I guess...

Hopefully I'll feel more normal this week. I got to catch up on some sleep yesterday and felt rested for my way too early in the morning gym session. The temps in the city have FINALLY cooled off, and the humidity is no longer 90%, so I plan on enjoying a little evening fresh air while I do some laundry. As it turns out, I really enjoy my daily grind.

Alone Time

Tonight we will have no house guests. It's the first time since March that no one else will be at the apartment. Just the hubs-to-be and me. I'm so excited for it.

The in-laws-to-be came in last week, and it's been fun having them around. We've done some fun Boston stuff, and spent time in Vermont (with a stop at the Ben and Jerry's factory!) They're here until Sunday, but are spending two nights down the Cape, so we're on our own. My sister moved out of our living room and into her own place this weekend too, so even she doesn't need our couch. (This I am pretty sad about. I loved having my sister with us. Luckily her new place is only a few blocks away!)

So what will two young, vibrant, engaged people be doing tonight in our alone time? Why, working on our wedding invitations and cleaning our apartment of course! I wanted to mail the invitations yesterday, but it just wasn't going to happen. The arrival of the family came too quickly and there was just no time. So now our two nights alone will be spent doing arts and crafts. And cleaning. Lots of cleaning. It's hard to really get a good deep clean when the apartment is stuffed with people and their stuff.

It may not be the most exciting plan for time alone, but mostly just the lack of other people will be nice. We've been missing that quiet couple time we'd been so used to. It will be nice to have it back, even though we do love having family around.

Summer is Here

The last two days have been close to 90 degrees. For me, that's too hot. Especially in Massachusetts where the humidity makes the air feel thick. You sweat just thinking about going outside. I hope these few days isn't a projection of what the summer is going to be like. It's only May, and I don't think I can handle three more months of this. Personally, I'd like another month of mid to high 70s first. Here's to hoping...

Despite these last hot days, the weekend brought perfect weather, and I spent a good majority of it outside. I went on a hike (read: nature walk) with two of my friends, and I volunteered at the Run for Home Base 9K on Sunday. After the race I got to walk around the warning track at Fenway park, and it was pretty much the coolest thing ever. Lindsay even stole some dirt.

Overall, it was an awesome weekend. I'm looking forward to the upcoming one as well, since we'll be in Vermont, and it's a long weekend! Oh annnd my mother-in-law-to-be and sister-in-law-to-be arrive this afternoon! Too bad my apartment isn't as clean as I'd like...

Right Place, Right Time

Wednesday night I found myself at the Red Sox game. I had planned on spending the night at home, watching the Biggest Loser from the night before and maybe having eggs for dinner, if I even got that creative. But after work I went to Happy Hour for a friend's birthday and ended up getting free tickets to the Sox game that night. Even though it rained and was a little cold, the seats were amazing and it was worth being damp for a few hours.

I took my sister, since the hubs-to-be was M.I.A. and we enjoyed a hot dog and a beer. I have never sat so close to the field, and I cannot thank the guy at the bar who didn't want his tickets  enough (he works for East Coast Tickets and so generously gave them to me). I was the only one at the table who didn't have something else already planned for the evening, and I'm glad I didn't! It worked out perfectly that I could go and I had a great time. It was really a classic right place, right time moment!

Getting Closer...

Our wedding in three months and 10 days away. It's getting SO much closer! We've been knocking things off the to-do list left and right, now that the hubs-to-be has finished school for the semester. I love being productive.

I feel like our list of things to do may be longer than the average wedding planners because we're going the DIY route. From homemade save-the-dates and invitations, to the centerpieces, to the iPod play list. Even my dress is homemade (thanks to my dad's awesome wife). As it gets closer, I'm definitely getting more excited, but also trying not to go into panic mode. Three months is plenty of time...I think...but we have a lot to do. Last night we picked out our wedding bands, which was a huge thing on the to do list. It was fun to actually ring shop with the hubs-to-be (since I didn't help with the engagement ring, he did a great job all on his own), and now it feels even more real. Now I know that when we say "I do" he'll be slipping a wonderful band on my finger, not a twist-tie that says "I owe you one." The next big thing is getting the invitations out by the end of the month...

In other news, there is no news. Meaning, we still don't know if we'll be moving this year or not. We heard from our landlord yesterday, saying he wanted us to move into the three-bedroom place he has, since we're such good tenants and the last people trashed it, but it's just not something we can swing on our own. So we wait. I've still got all my fingers and toes cross, but it will still be a while until we know!

For our current apartment, I'm starting the spring-into-summer cleaning process. It's time to purge the closet, and clean up the place...just in case we have to pack and move! The wonderful duo (now trio! congrats!) over at Young House Love have great tips for organizing, redecorating, and making your own cleaning products, so I've been reading up to stay on top of my game. (I actually found their site by searching for "backyard weddings" but I love their DYI in a budget-friendly way approach to everything. I highly suggest checking it out). The real motivation for cleaning (since the move is really an unknown at this point) is to get a super clean house before my mother-in-law-to-be and sister-in-law-to-be get into town next week! We're so excited for their visit, but I really want the place looking great. Hopefully I can make it happen!

A Little Late

I know I'm late on posting about New Mexico. It was a fun trip, but a busy week when I got back and I just didn't have time. Missing two days of work is tough...I came back to quite the large pile of packages on my desk and haven't been able to get out from under them...even a week later.

The trip was worth it though. I got to see the bff and the in-laws-to-be. The weather was awful (and I miss the crazy warm Boston weather), so the race was FREEZING, but we managed. I was happy with my time, even though it's not an impressive one compared to anyone else. We didn't make it to the zoo because of the weather, but there was good baseball time and shopping. I just love New Mexico so much. It's hard to be away for too long.

Isotopes park at sunset

fireworks after the baseball game

some shots from the race. crowded start line, the bff and her bf finishing, me finishing and a post race picture (once we finally got some coffee).

On an unrelated to New Mexico note, the hubs-to-be and I FINALLY figured out our moving/living situation for next year. We're in our lease until September 1, and we're getting married the weekend before, so poor planning on our part, but we want to move. We need more space but we weren't sure we'd be able to move anyway due to the deposits etc required since we're paying for said wedding the weekend before. So, after a long talk of moving/not moving/breaking our lease/subletting, we decided we'll stay in our place for another year, unless the one bed in the building next door becomes available. It's the same landlord, so we won't have to do any new deposits, or  applications or anything. It would still require us to move four days after getting married, but it's bigger and nicer and only one building over, so it would be totally worth it. The catch is, the landlord doesn't know if the current tenant will renew or not. She just hasn't gotten back to him yet. We're crossing our fingers that she's moving on, because we want to move in! Hopefully we'll find out this week...

And There Goes April...

Four months of this year are gone already. It's hard to believe the year is going by so quickly, but at least it was been a good four months!

In this post at the beginning of the year, I listed a lot of things I was looking forward to and some goals. At this point in the year, I'm doing pretty well. I didn't get to go down to the Gulf, but I am running the 5K this weekend in New Mexico! I know it will be hard, but I'm ready, and I'm excited.

I'm just looking forward to this weekend in general. The time away from the city is always nice, and I miss Albuquerque. I haven't been there since Christmas, and probably won't be there again until October, so it will be a nice visit. I'm looking forward to seeing the girls too. Since the hubs-to-be is hunkering down for finals week, he isn't coming with me. This means we're not staying with his family, but instead I'm staying with the BFF, and there won't be so much required family time. Don't get me wrong, I have some fantastic in-laws, but I always feel like I miss out on friend time.This weekend is all about the friend time. :)

Hopefully I'll have awesome pictures to post when I get back!