J & J: October 2009

Just thought I would share a sneak preview of our costumes... we are heading to a themed Halloween party, where we're supposed to come as our 'worst nightmare'. I think our approach, as well as our friends', was for creativity. I'm kind of apposed to gory stuff. We were originally aiming for Bridezilla/Beaten-up Groom, but Goodwill didn't come through for us (I can't believe how much they try to sell bridal gowns for!!!?!?) So, maybe you can guess what we are going to be, maybe not... lol... I'll post after pics within a few days. Tomorrow I get to do some more Homecoming hair :), this time for my brother's girlfriend. And I really should start packing boxes... ugh. We've got a big 2 weeks ahead of us, but at least I get to take a lil' break and head to Coeur d'Alene to visit a girlfriend! I'm so excited!

(Sorry this ones a little blurry, but I had to show Oscar checking out the the competition)

(This is the first time we've ever done this, and I felt so bad! We are using it for the costumes & couldn't resist, Oscar was not so happy and we couldn't even get near Lilly with it. It's supposed to be a ladybug and it didn't even fit on his head, lol)

Hope everyone has a great Halloween and a fun weekend!

Love, J

I definitely have not seen or heard any evil lately, as our lives are just full of events and fortunately, a lot of good news. However, it's definitely been a long time since I have spoken of anything on this blog, and I'm feeling the need to start things up again. Want a recap on the majors since May? Here it is:

Summer 2009
We were so excited to move back into the Portland area, and realized right away, what a good decision it was. Our summer was full of friends, family, wedding planning, wild b-day celebrations, others' weddings, the 80's, superheros, a rodeo, and more...

Wedding Updates
{ We chose a venue! }
{ We have an awesome wedding party! }
{ I bought my dress!!!! }

At the end of June, we started searching, and finally when things were looking down, we (re)discovered the Historic Octagonal Barn at McMenamin's Cornelius Pass Roadhouse and . The name still makes me laugh every time I say it, because I think of Roadhouse, the movie. Anyways, they say that you feel it... and that's pretty much been our motto this summer. I think we knew right away, or at least I did. It had everything we were looking for; top of that being the vibe (warm, charming, open & not overwhelming), and closely behind was $$ (they provide almost every item you'd normally have to rent, including all food/beverage & if you're familiar w/ McMenamin's you know the beverages are great). We've been back multiple times since, to have dinner & show others, and we've never doubted that we found the right location for us. I can't wait!

One of our visits back out there was to show our friends the location and ask them to be in our wedding party, which luckily they accepted. ;) We've had such a great summer with our friends & family and couldn't think of any better people to support us through this process.... BM: Jess' brother, Taylor; MOH(s): Jess' sisters Lindsay & Lacey (friend); and our great friends Jesse, Trey, Geoffrey, Stefanie, Ashley & Lisa.

And the most recent update..... my DRESS! Whoohoo! My first time trying on dresses occurred last week and it was such a great experience. I went in very skeptical and nervous, due to budget and the original idea I wanted to redesign/wear my Mom's dress; but it was an entirely different experience. My two mothers (own & future MIL) and my two MOH's joined me, and surprised me with wine & snacks. I will provide more details later on the experience and maybe dress designer... But, by the end of the night, I was in tears and so certain that I had found the dress that I wanted to wear on my wedding day. Again, back to the 'you'll feel when it's right' scenario. I am so lucky & excited! To end this little story, I will remind all why I want to marry this man.... a few hours before I went to the dress store Jeff called me to see how I was doing (he knew I was nervous), and immediately started giving me all these words of encouragement about how it was going to go; reminding me that I should have fun, not to worry, and find something that 'I' really love. He then made me promise that I would send him a picture of me in a dress (not 'the' dress, but any one, just so he could see). I just LOVE that guy! :)

Fall 2009
Excitement thus far.... we're buying a HOUSE!! We finally made the plunge in early September to start looking for a house, with the hope that we could take advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit. All I can say is, eye-opening! It looked really grim for awhile; anything really new was way outside our budget, and anything older (which we would've loved) needed WAY way way too much work for what we could do/afford in the near future. And then a month later, while driving around with Gail one afternoon, we found this: