Now I can moonwalk all night long...

...Because yesterday I found the perfect pair of dancing shoes! For those new to the blog, you should know that I LOVE shoes. Heels, platforms, sneakers, sandals - you name, I love it. When I purchased my lovely blush pink heels back in September I was filled with giddiness. And when I found these bedazzled pair of Converse shoes at Winner's yesterday, that same wonderful feeling returned.



Here's the best part - they were $20! Woot Woot!

There's a backstory to all this too. I use to attend weddings all prettied up from head to toe, but by the end of the night when I was gettin' jiggy with it on the dance floor, my poor feeties would be killing me. It eventually dawned on me that I should just bring an extra pair of (more comfortable) shoes to change into. Enter my black converse shoes. I'd bring them with me to every wedding, and change into them when the dancing began. I got a lot of thumbs up and other girls telling me that they wish they had done the same.

So when it came to our wedding, it only made sense that I should carry on the tradition. Of course, with a bedazzled version :)

Are you changing into a different pair of shoes later in the day?

How I survived my Bachlorette

I'm back and all in one piece :) We returned from Miami yesterday afternoon, and when I got home I was giddy and exhausted all at the same time. It was a jam packed weekend full of beach time, booze, dancing, and very late nights (or early mornings, whichever way you see it). Miami is definitely the place to go for a bachlorette getaway, and I'm glad I survived it, lol. While the weekend was pure awesomeness, there were a few things I learned about myself and about bachlorette parties. And I'd like to share them with you because I think it speaks true for all bride-to-be's out there...



1. Have fun but be smart. I'll admit it - there wasn't a day without vodka, wine, or rum. The girls and I took full advantage of the liquor store to stock up our fridge, the free drinks at clubs, and the general large amounts of alcohol poured into every drink we consumed. However, while alcohol was present throughout the weekend, I made sure that I never crossed that bridge of getting beligerent, blacking out, or getting sick. I know that this is a personal choice and every person has their own tolerance for alcohol. But I think you can have just as much fun without getting to the point of no return.



2. Ignore Anti-Marriage comments. I can't tell you how many random guys told me over the weekend that I was making a big mistake, or tried to sway me into the dark side. It's not that I didn't get "Congratulations" from strangers. But I went to a lot of clubs, and let's face it, dancing is not always the main priority for club goers. I know that all these guys were just trying to be funny, but even a confident Bride-To-Be like myself got tired of the "Are you sure" and "Why get married" comments I got from guys. By the end of the weekend, I felt like yelling "I'm getting married because I found someone to love, therefore I won't be lonely like you!" But I didn't. Instead, I chose to keep my head up high with confidence, smile, and dance with my girls.



3. Watch your cash flow. It can be all too easy to pull out the plastic at the bar when you're having a good time. If possible bring enough cash with you for the night. I budgeted $500 US and managed to come back with $37 (which I passed on to Office Groom to add to his Vegas trip). It helped that we did a lot of pre-drinking at the hotel. Miami is great, but damn expensive, as are most touristy places, if that's where you and your ladies end up. However, on the plus side, when we were at The Mansion, they dropped dollar bills from the ceiling! Hence the picture above. I made $14 that night, lol.



4. Take some time to relax. Don’t feel like you have to go full speed all weekend long because this is your last trip as a “single gal.” You’ll tire yourself out, which isn’t fun for you or your friends. Just remind yourself – there will be many more adventures to come after the wedding, with your friends, your new hubby, and on your own, so no need to rush!

I'm so happy that I had the chance to get away with my girls. It was a great bonding experience and we'll have a lot of stories to share for years! Now I just have to prepare myself for the local bachlorette that my MOH is planning in August. Yes, that's right. A second one! Hopefully my liver will be back in shape by then :)

Photos from my Miami trip!

Miami + Rain = ....

One more (half) sleep until the girls and I are off to Miami! "Half" because we're up at 4 am tomorrow morning to catch our 6 am plane. Wooooooo....zzzzzzzz... I can't believe we're finally going though! it feel slike I was just posting that we bought tickets yesterday! The moment we get to our hotel we're changing into our bikinis and walking down to the beach!

At least, that was the plan until we saw the weather forcast for the weekend:


Source

Scattered showers everyday?! Booooo!

However, I'm all for positive thinking. Hopefully (1) The forecast will be wrong or (2) It rain for all of 10 minutes and then the sun will shine for the rest of the day.

We've all agreed that as long as there isn't any lightning and it's nice and warm, we'll just run around the beach in our swimwear and go swimming :) We're also fervently researching indoor activities that we can do just in case 10 minutes of rain turns out to be half a day of torrential downpour.

Here's what we've discovered:
- We are a 5 min walk away from the World Erotic Art Museum. If that doesn't scream "Bachlorette outting" I don't know what does!

- We are also a 5 minute walk from Miami Ink, aka Love Hate Tattoo Studio. A glimpse of Ami is all I need - moreso just to find out how tall/short he is in real life, lol! And who knows, maybe one of us will come out of there with some new body art :)

- Bars close at 4 AM. Dear God, we're not going to have any sleep this weekend! So it doesn't matter if it rains - chances are we'll be sleeping through it during the day anyway!

- Spa day. Rain or shine, I'm always up for some pampering!

Regardless of the weather, I'm sure the girls and I are going to have an awesome weekend! Now if only this day would go by any faster...

Is it possible?

Have the Office Groom and I finally decided on the official Honeymoon destination?!

Here's a recap:

We wanted to go away for 2 weeks, but we would have to do it during the Christmas holidays (3 months after the wedding). We also couldn't decided on where, and what type of honeymoon to have. An adventure trip to Peru or Egypt with Intrepid Travel? A week in an all-inclusive in Varadero followed by an adventure trip to Havana? Or maybe just a week in beautiful Jamaica with either Sandals or Couples with a possibility of a second week?

After weeks...no, months of going back and forth with ideas, we finally made a decision over some sushi dinner last night.

JAMAICA!!!!

It will be somewhere new for the both us (Yay).
OG can get his diving in and I can go on adventure day trips (Nice).
It's relatively inexpensive, so we're hoping we can stay an extra week (Awesome).
Plus, we're going to put a deposit down for Peru, and go later in 2011 (Wooooo!).

So we're both getting what we want!!

I think making the decision when we were both relaxed (and greedily munching away on yummy tempura) helped a lot. And you know what? Making the decision was a lot easier than going back and forth with ideas. 'Cause now we can get excited about the planning! The best part in my opinion :) And after the honeymoon is all said and done, I look forward to many, many more trips and adventures with my new husband :)

Dear Etsy Seller

I have been a big fan of the site for the last year, and have never had any problems... until now. You led me to believe that we were both on the same page with the bridesmaids clutches. We corresponded over several messages and I really believed that I had hit the jackpot finding you.

And then you disappeared. *Poof* Just like that. You closed your store and left a message saying you would be back in a few weeks. That was months ago.

And then I started to notice the negative feedback you were getting from other buyers. Some were saying that it took months to get their items, or that they never received them at all. Some said that you had one excuse after the other. Interesting.

I'm really sorry that it didn't work out. But I'm even more sorry that I wasted so much time with you, thinking that I had found the perfect gift for my girls. Thanks for nothing, literally.

Simply put - you suck.

Cheers,

The Office Bride

Religion & Young Adults

Two things that don't seem to mesh very well together these days. When I think of all of my skeptic and/or agnostic friends, it makes me realize that there's a huge lack of faith in religion among young people. And for good reasons, when you think of all the crazy messed up things that happen behind closed doors, the constant wars between groups of different faiths, and the extremists who either knock at your door every other day or preach (a.k.a. yell) on street corners.

I know that my opening paragraph might lose some readers for me, but there's a twist to all this.

While I can understand why people would either lose faith or not have any to begin with when it comes to religion - I still consider myself a spiritual person with religious beliefs.

I grew up Roman Catholic, attending church every Sunday with my mom when I was kid. In high school, I got away with joining the choir in an attempt to entertain myself (and the congregation) instead of possibly falling asleep in a pew. In university, life got hectic with work and school, and I attended church less frequently, and even less frequent once I joined the "real world." But nonetheless, I continued to pray (when I felt like it, not out of obligation) and attended mass for special occassion like Christmas and Easter.

However, despite all the years of practicing the same faith, I find that it's difficult to be honest about it or even talk about it openly, being a young adult living in a modern society. Skeptics seem to have no trouble sharing their opinions, usually because they back up their arguments with logic. But faith isn't about logic, or at least it isn't for me. It is what it is, and it's in the very core of who I am. So how do I reason with skeptics that my beliefs are based on just that - simply believing.

I bring this all up because Office Groom and I went to church yesterday for Easter - the same church where we will be getting married. We've heard a few jokes about getting married in a church, and while we've always laughed it off, a part of me can't help but feel like I should stand up for our decision. I don't ever want to make any conversation awkward, but I need to find a balance between being a modern woman and a spiritual person.

The one idea that comes to mind is to simply not say anything at all, when people are making jokes. I'm not one for preaching, it's just not my style, but at the very least I would know that I wasn't part of a conversation that contridicts my beliefs. And maybe those around me would start to notice and stop poking fun.

At least, that's my hope.

Photo from Source

The Wedding Talk Jitters

It doesn't make much sense.

I'm an outgoing person with a big social network full of awesome people. I love to laugh and make people laugh - hence why I do comedy on the side, making an ass of myself on stage for the benefit of the audience. I absolutely love the process of planning the wedding - I wouldn't be writing a blog about it if I wasn't. And I take a lot of pride in all the personal details which Office Groom and I have added to make the wedding truly "ours."

However, if someone catches me off guard and asks me about the wedding - I get tongue tied. My palms get sweaty. Total panic in a matter of seconds.


Source

WTF?

It happened yesterday, and this isn't the first time. I was having dinner with OG and my closest girlfriends when the topic of our wedding flowers came up. First off, I should state that while I love flowers, I don't know very much about them. So when they started asking me questions about what kind of blooms I wanted and in what arrangement, words seemed to escape me. I managed to put together a few cohesive sentences, but I could tell that they could tell that I really didn't want to talk about it.

When I got home, I pointed this out to OG, who had noticed it too. And I went on to ramble through my thoughts, trying to figure out why I get the jitters every time someone asks me about the wedding.

This is what I think may be the reasons...

While I’m very comfortable in front of large groups of people, it’s usually because I’m onstage being someone else, or it’s just a gathering that doesn’t have me as the center of attention. The wedding will be first time all eyes are on me - as me, and it freaks me out! Plus, the event couldn't be a better representation of who OG and I are, and it's weird to open up so honestly about myself in front of so many people all at once.

And then there's the judging. On the outside I may appear confident, but I crumble into pieces easily when people criticize. And when it comes to weddings, everyone, I mean everyone , always has an opinion on something. I've shared this feeling with OG and friends, and they all say the same thing. "This is your wedding! Who cares what other people think?" And the reasonable part of me totally gets it, but at the end of the day I still care a little bit about what others will say.

I've promised myself, and OG that I would do my best to talk more confidently about the weding when people ask about it and muster up the courage to not shy away and avoid the topic. And if anyone else reading this has felt similar about their wedding, please share! It'd be great to know I'm not alone!