A must read for dog lovers...

I'm a huge fan of NPR - I love their interesting stories, their unusual spins on everyday life - yesterday, an article was mentioned during my ride home from work. An article about dogs. For those who know me well (and even those who have met me for 2 seconds) know that I have a large place in my heart and life for man's best friend. So of course, I had to look up this article on the NPR website - and of course it brought tears to my eyes. Enjoy :)
Hounded by Grief Over A Canine Companion

Happy Birthday, Marcey!

Today is Marcey Erickson's Bday!!!! We will be celebrating next Wednesday at her place, in sweatpants, eating Thai food and watching 'chick' shows that our significant others don't care to be in the same room with!!
Love you Marce!

To do list...

29 days to go and lots to do! So - I put up a lovely whiteboard in our house, just staring straight at us everyday! :)

30 days! 30 days! 30 days!

I think that this is the first time in a VERY long time that I feel SUPER excited for the big day! Please don't get me wrong here - I am STOKED to marry Matt! I am so excited to spend my life with him!
But this wedding planning extravaganza has been soooooo stressful - so very stressful. Trying to please everyone, hitting road blocks left and right and up and down, it has not been a fun ride at all.
However, today I sent a text message to my amazingly wonderful cousin John Hildebrand asking if he would be an usher. I'll share the message(s) with you:

Me: Will you be an usher at our wedding?
John: Sure thing. I'd love to help
John: And when is it again? I know I should remember, i've seen your 'save the date' magnets urrrrywhere ha ha ha
Me: September 3!
John: Thanks. Lookin forward to it
Me: You better be excited!
John: Where are you havin' the wedding?
Me: Omg...where have you been...a place by my parents house
John: Haha apparently out of the loop. You know I knew this was gonna happen after the first time I saw Matt. And I think he told me he knew he was gonna marry you the second time :)
Me: You just made me tear up
Me: love you
John: love ya too :)

Teary eyed. Super grin. Can't wait :)

36 days to go...

Lots going on this weekend!! Matt is in San Diego, "surfin' USA" with his friends and enjoying the beach and sunshine! And I'm having my Seattle bridal shower which will include friends and a few family members. My wonderful friend Carolyn White (in Magnolia) is hosting with the help of my MOHs, Emily and Amy. I had a quick peak yesterday when I stopped in while on a walk with Dena - it looks amazing. I cannot wait :). I did a little last minute registering on Tuesday - stopping in at the Table Top Shop, and registered for a nice set of dishes and flatware. I tried finding a set at Macy's or Crate and Barrel, but really wanted something unique. A little on the pricey side, but hope to at least get 2 sets for Matt and I on SUPER special occasions :).
Matt's new suit came in the mail this week - looks like he will be wearing tan and his groomsmen in gray - I think it will look amazing!! Still working on the details - I brought a white board home from the office, and will be hanging it up in the house. Sounds a little nutso - but we have a ton to do, and only 36 days to go! Next up - wedding bands

43 days....

I'm back! I know it's been a while, but while I was in Pasadena, my Uncle Doug actually ASKED about my blog and why I have not kept up with my posts! Holy Moses - someone actually reads my blog (not including my HTB, Matt)! :) So....GAME ON!

I have SO many updates - which will need to be broken up into sections - Bachelorette party, flowers, the wedding checklist, and what's up next!

I'll end this blog with a few fun pics we took while visiting my family in LA for my amazing cousin Ellen's wedding at the Redondo Beach Historic Library. Such a fun wedding! The weather was perfect, the food was fantastic, I LOVED the photo booth idea (implementing that into our wedding), and it was so wonderful spending time with my dad's side of the family - We need to see eachother more :)

My mom and I in Pasadena:

Here are a few pics of my Uncle Doug and Aunt Kate's backyard guest, Touche.

100 days to go...omg...100 DAYS!

So I was going to title this post "end of May" but then double checked the calendar and realized there are 100 days until the big I DOs!
100 days, a little over 3 months! Holy smokes - I am SO excited!
Another thing for all of us to be excited about is that I just read online that Benedryl my favorite sleep aid causes: weight gain, slows metabolism, dry skin, bloating...
So from this day forward, I'm going to try and fall asleep naturally...meaning homeopathic sleep aid :) I'll keep you posted regarding weight loss - but seriously, I eat healthy, work out daily, stay away from bad food - and I haven't really seen any weight loss. Stay tuned....

OMg - it's the end of APRIL

Just read on theknot.com - 127 more days! OMg! (mini freak out)....I've been watching overwhelming myself with wedding blogs, videos, and ideas. I teared up today watching the Royal Wedding and listening to love songs. I'm totally going to ball like a baby while walking down the aisle - 2 reasons: I've found my soul mate and the man I will be with forever, AND I'm moving from my dad's little girl to a wife. Does that not just FREAK you out? (more tears...)

Here are a few things that we have accomplished since my April 1st post:

HUGE update - we had a Meet the Parents weekend! Matt's parents came all the way from West Hartford, CT, and spent 6 days traveling all over Seattle, the cascades and Yakima Valley. We had an amazing time - of course my mother was super nervous, but after the first evening she said - "they are just like us!" Yes, mother - I told you :). Plus we had our first shower - it was a couple's shower. I think Matt thoroughly enjoyed ripping through the gifts :)
I'm 99.9% done with the designing of our wedding invitations - I'm at a point where I don't really care. Just get them in the mail :)
I need to make an appointment to have my dress tailored (if possible) - there is a 50/50 chance I'm going to need to go up 1 size - stupid rib cage!
Matt's suit jacket should be arriving any day now! We still need to order his vest - 1 piece at a time ;)
We found our cake lady - here is what we are aiming towards (thank you Kalea's blog):

Flower appointments are scheduled for next weekend. Here are a few ideas in regards to bouquets:

Each is a little bit different - I'm leaning towards all white since we will be surround by the colors of the orchard and venue :)

More updates to come....

April fools - whatever!

2 things about April fools - 1 a memory, and 1 a fact: Memory: When Andy (little brother) and I were growing up, we could not wait until April Fools - we would ALWAYS get my Grandpa Garrett! We would wake up SUPER early, and have my dad call Grandpa and say "Garrett, the horses are out again" - (my aunts horses always got out) - So Grandpa would immediately get upset - sigh -and then head to the truck. Andy and I would at the bay window and watch for the garage door to open - once opened IMMEDIATE laughter!! We would watch my Grandpa's truck drive slowly down the hill towards the stables - stop at my aunts - and then we would wait for him to come down to our house, where Andy and I would run outside and yell APRIL FOOLS!!!! Got him every time - miss you Grandpa :) Fact: Every year, I'm always the root of an April fools joke - already was played this morning. ha ha ha

Man o' man....

Talk about feeling the heat! Holy cow - 5 months away and SO much to do! Here are a few more updates from the BTB: Booked my invitations! WOO HOO! Sally Balt, owner of La Happy has held my hand and is guiding me through the world of wedding invitations. Cross your fingers we get them out by Mid-End of May :) Bachelorette Party - Palm Springs here we come!!! So far we are at 16 girls - holy moses! We have nailed the houses down to 2 - one is an estate and is FABULOUS! Need everyone to cross your heart and promise to be there :) Rehearsal Dinner - @ the Casa de Johnston Familia (or something like that)! My parents have graciously agreed to let us use their home for the 60+ person rehearsal dinner. Thank you so so so much! Next up - my first dress fitting, eastcoast meets westcoast family meeting next week, finalizing the palm springs adventure, and about a zillion other details. Stay tuned :)

The dress...

It fit - kind of... :) Looks like I need to let it out a 1/2 inch OR just have a rib or 2 removed. Nothing too drastic ;)
To be honest - I had not had a great...er...good...ok I will be honest - I had a horrible dress experience. You watch the shows, you see it in movies, it's all over reality TV - where the girl tries on the dress, and everyone cries - and you know its the one. I was too caught up in the "i hope everyone here is comfortable" or "everyone else likes this, i guess it's the one".
But before I was engaged, I had my eye on this dress. If I would have a spare moment in the day, I would go to the website, look at all the dresses -but always stop at 'the one'. I could see myself in it - and it even has pockets!! :)
I have to tell you, the moments that led up to me trying it on at my neighbors house were the same feelings you have when you walk into an interview - i hope they like me, i hope i like them...i hope it fits and i still love it! My neighbor, Elspeth, helped me step into it, zipped me up - and she made the moment amazing...making me feel so extremely special and repeating - it's so you, this is so you! It is - i love it! I can't wait for our special day :)

Today - it arrived....

Today - my wedding dress arrived! I can hardly contain myself right now! I've opened in twice already - it's beautiful! BEAUTIFUL!! I'm going to take it directly to my neighbors house and try it on - please, oh please, fit!! Stay tuned... :)

Week in San Fran

I'm here in SF for the GDC conference - and big YAY - Matt was able to join me! If you could see me now....we are sitting on a 2 seater couch - catching up on email. Today is BEAUTIFUL! OMg - the sun is out, and it's around 60 degrees. We are staying at the White Swan Inn - free breakfast and happy hour - love it! We were able to catch Jessie and Annie for "lunch" at Buena Vista. After dropping them off at their hotel, we sat outside @ Union Square, enjoying a beer and sunshine....Seattle winters can be overwhelming. Today we are heading out to the W for the unveiling of our new feature w/ I2, and out to dinner with Dana and Aaron. Tomorrow, GDC (Game Developer Conference) and back to Seattle (and the winter weather) on Thursday.

...and a few more checks off the list :)

Matt and I had quite the adventure in Yakima, visiting with caterers and tasting such a huge variety of small bites. We have decided to go with Picazo 7Seventeen out of Prosser. The food and presentation was perfect - totally our style. Also, Kristen and Chef Frank were easy to work with which is exactly what we need. We had the opportunity to meet with 2 others - one of which charged us $50 for the tasting itself. Seriously? Seriously.
Really excited to post the final, final, super final menu once its complete :)

Save the dates....

Goal of the week - get the save the dates out!! You may ask, Meagan - why has this taken so long? Well, my mother - love you, mom - keeps adding to head count and I go back and forth with whole - why don't we just elope - idea. My husband to be has told me no several times - and can back it up quite well - but our mid size wedding of 150-180 has now exceeded the 200 person marker and creeping quite closely to 250. (sigh). You only get married once :)

Happy Anniversary, honey!

3 years today - Matt and I ventured out to Big Bear Mountain. After all of my girlfriends bailed, Matt was the only one left standing - and he really wanted to try out the westcoast snow. We had the best day - skiing in the rain, eating burgers and drinking hot chocolate at one of the local pubs, and listening to the superbowl on our way back to San Diego - high fiving when there were good plays, and sharing disappointment during the not-so-good plays. As soon as the day ended, I knew he was the one for me! Love you honey!

A lot can happen in 18 days...

Save the dates - check! Went through magnetstreet.com - lessons learned? Next time use Costco :)

Engagement pics - check! Thank you, Annie Brady! What a fun day out at Discovery Park - love you so much my friend.

Matt's suit - check! We found an amazing suit at JCrew - he tried the suit jacket, and tears just came in my eyes. I couldn't help it - the man I'm going to marry is standing in front of me - I found him, he found me. What a feeling.
My dress? Getting close. Still have a few more places to check out, but I think I may have found it. Sorry readers, all 1 of you - not going share that info until the big day :)
This weekend, we are heading over to Yakima to meet with caterers and taste their food - fingers crossed we find our people :)
More to come....stay tuned

I've changed my status - I'm engaged!

Can you believe it! I can't! It's a dream come true! I finally found the man of my dreams - the one I'm going to spend the rest of my life with...I'm totally freaking out.

Matt proposed on New Years Eve Day while on a walk in Discovery Park - you couldn't ask for a more perfect day! Woke up to blue sky and sunshine streaming through into my living room - I decided to cook up some Spam and eggs for breakfast - Oh yes, my friends, I love Spam, and then asked Matt to go on a walk - which he gladly responded YES to without any guff. Little did I know he had purchased my engagement ring 3 weeks back, and had his friend Scrub hand deliver it to him while we were in West Hartford for Christmas - it was burning a whole in his sock drawer. We started out on our walk with Dena and came over our first hill onto a huge meadow - Oh my gosh - the mountains were super amazing! I had to take a picture. So I over course told Matt to "stand over there" and snapped a few pics of him....

And then he took a few pictures of me....

And then HOLY SMOKES - he reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out the ring we had found in Ocean Beach back in August - he started to grab my right hand which I immediately said "WRONG HAND! WRONG HAND!" and then I started to say "shut up! no way! are you serious! OH my gosh!!!"

We continued on our walk after that moment, and I over course told EVERYONE that passed by us - We just got engaged! The pic below was taken by complete strangers who were able to celebrate with us along this magical day in Discovery Park!