Shoes

The other day I was looking through my closet (let's face it..most likely I was frantically searching for something I had lost) and I realized I have become the kind of girl who has more athletic shoes than high heels. At first I panicked, then I checked to see if I still like men, then I started to reflect on the different shoes we wear and what they say about us. So here's a little run-down of my shoe lovelife right now.

First are my new Asics. This is a love/hate relationship. Right now running shoes are a major source of contention for me because my knees are bothering me. Why can't they just make the new ones the same as the old ones???? This is the third pair I've gotten from Luke's this month (I returned the other two). I think they are the ones. Hopefully.

The other shoe relationship I am having is with Wedding Shoes. Really, I am wedding shoe dating right now. I went ALL over the Galleria on Saturday trying on many many pairs of shoes that I can't afford and a few that I can. My idea was to buy a fab pair of shoes that are different and don't look like "bridal shoes" (ie. no ivory satin). This is a lot harder to come by than I thought. Most formal shoes that aren't bridal shoes are really really shiny. Cute. But shiny!

These are the ones the girl at Gregory's had me try on. I love the flower. And would love the entire shoe in a more muted gold.

Right now the shoes I have found that I like the most are these (Don't click the link, Greg!). They are only sold at the J. Crew in NY so I will have to order them to see if they fit. I don't know if I have the energy or the cash for that. I'll probably swing by a Bridal store and order a pair of something in Ivory Satin. :)

Funny shopping story:

I was in Saks talking to the salesman about what kind of shoes I was looking for. He looked down at my feet. And said "Are those Chloe flats? They're nice." I giggled shamefully and replied "No, they're Jessica Simpson."

He stopped helping me after that. I understood. He has standards. The sad part is...t hose are some of my nicer shoes. Good thing I wasn't wearing my Exhilaration flats from Target.

These shoes, however, make me very happy. Utter infatuation...

I got them last week during a fit of PMS hysteria. And I don't regret it. Not one tiny bit. They make remember that I am still a fun and whimsical gal even though I am a nerdy tech writer, homely grad student, and grisly triathlete.

So far they have made only one appearance, but I think they will be great paired with a tan, a fitted tank, a statement necklace, and a cute skirt on a sultry Meditteranean evening. No?

More info to follow on THAT subject. Very. Excited.

So think about your shoes. They reveal alot about you.

The DIY Bug

So now that all the major details are squared away. It is time to start thinking about decorations and details. I don't want to get carried away with a million mindless details but it is important to show people I can throw a nice party (with my Dad's money). I am sort of having these crafty urges, which I can only compare possibly to the "nesting" instinct a pregnant lady gets. I really want some homemade touches, but don't want to be unrealistic about what I can accompish.

I know, you are saying "But Melissa, you can accomplish anything!"
Stop it, you're making me blush...

SO. I think it is important that the DIY list does not get out of hand, and it is important that I have good people to help out. Here the things I want to do and the people I think will

be good resources.

1. Flowers for the tables.

I love this (via The Knot), but with hydrangeas.

I could make the little vases ahead of time and have my Mom's girlfriends, who have graciously volunteered to set some thing up, plop in the hydrangeas (bought en bulque at Sam's) the day-of.

2. Favors.

I KNOW!! I said in the last post favors weren't for me. I think they are kind of an insult to guests. But I'd like the idea of favors more for their decorative ability. Since we aren't having a sit-down dinner, I want to have something at each place to fill up the tables a little. I am thinking of these...

filled with homemade sweet-spicy pecans. Kind of a Southern take on Jordan almonds (blech). And I have no doubt Lana Monkhouse will be a great MOH and allow me to boss her around while making said pecans and filling said boxes.

3. Table runners...

This one is definitely up in the air. I may try and sweet-talk my Granny and/or my future mother in law into "whipping up" some table-runners to add a little sumpin' sumpin' to the white linens provided by the country club.

4. MUST HAVE THIS!!! (via Martha Stewart... the photo wall, not the seating cards)

And I have already sent my wonderful friend and BM, Kristin Meyer a "please-help-me-make-this-happen" e-mail.

5. Programs

I will probably design and print my own.

Shouldn't be too hard...

I bet the wedding mischief fairies and computer-virus elves are laughing hysterically about that assumption.

Anyways, thanks for letting me get my ideas out. I'll let you know how thngs progress.

Have a great weekend!

Engaged Encounter

Greg and I just spent the weekend at an "Engaged Encounter." This is a retreat which the Catholic church mandates you go to before you can get married. I was kind of not looking forward to going, b/c I just wasn't in the koom-bay-ah kinda mood. BUT this wasn't that kind of retreat. There was very little group exercises or sharing, it wasn't preachy, and the "talks" weren't very long. Mostly the facilitators presented a topic (such as finances, children, conflict resolution), gave us some worksheets with questions, then gave us time to answer the questions individually and talk about the answers with each other. We got a chance to talk about some things that we hadn't thought of. Like how we are going to handle our money... and how our family of origin affected our views of marriage. The best part, was that I seriously think I got more one-on-one time with Greg than I've had in the last two months combined. It was really wonderful to just be around each other with no distractions.

Funny story. At the very end of the weekend, I was getting a little weary of "communicating" and was anxious to get back to work on my mid-term project. For the last activity they have you write a letter to each other that answers this question: After going through this weekend are you ready to spend the rest of your life with your partner and love them unconditionally?

They give you time to go off on your own and write, then you are supposed to join back up with your fiancee and trade letters. So I hurriedly wrote my letter to Greg and went to find him so we could exchange and get back to business. We plopped ourselves down on a curb outside of the meeting room and exchanged letters. I looked at his and barely got past the "Dear Peanut" before I jumped up and grabbed the seat of my jeans b/c something was stinging my butt. I looked down and there was a huge swarming ant pile right where I was sitting! I started to reach down my pants to get the ants out and realized there were ummm... people watching me. So I sprinted inside to the bathroom and had to shake out my jeans. There were ants all over the floor. Now I have about 15-20 ant bites on my rear and every few mintues I get this "feeling" that something is crawling on me.

Greg couldn't help but notice the irony, that I literally got "ants in my pants" when I was ready to go. God has a funny way of pointing things out. Maybe I should be more patient.