So after about 2 years of savings, Paul and I are finally breaking the bank. I set a goal 2 years ago (before any plans of getting engaged) that we would save a specified amount for a down payment for a house by Oct. 15th, 2007, 12 noon. I had a chart that I could physically see everyday, and we would mark periodically with a highlighter each time we hit a milestone. We set a pretty high goal for ourselves just to make things a little more challenging and to just get in the habit of putting all our efforts toward this one goal. Then, Paul drops the unexpected, but very welcome bomb on me, and now we must prepare for a wedding, too. Simultaneously, we allot a specified amount to go into the house fund and then another one to go into the wedding fund. I drew up another goals chart for the wedding with a significantly smaller amount by May 20, 2009 12 noon, but now we had to split our efforts to two different, but equally important goals. Everyone knows that we were able to fulfill the first one, escrow should close on Dec. 5th. In fact, we actually managed to achieve this goal earlier than expected which was good. Thank you for overtime, and Mary Kay! I kind of wish we had an huge ceramic piggy to break spilling coins everywhere just for fun and to be symbolic. But the euphoria we felt after accomplishing this feat was quickly replaced with nervousness...especially since this was a big investment amongst other things such as the house might need new coat of paint, the electrical upgraded, and some furniture... By the time we pay the full escrow amount, Paul and I will be left with our minimal checking and savings account. A tiny bit of emergency money, and what was left of our wedding fund since we decided to use some of that to buy some points down on our interest rate. It's very depressing to know in a few weeks we will practically have nothing. I am sure that with a slight adjustment on the wedding fund goals chart and a few catch up payments, no extensive gift-giving, plus a little bit of hustling should put us back on track.
I think about this all the time...Paul and I could have been doing lots of things with our money new cars instead of the 10+ year old Hondas that we will try to drive into the ground. Paul loves his toys, video games, gadgets, and I've always wanted to buy a piano or even a keyboard, but we put most of that on hold for now thinking that one day, it would look nicer/sound nicer in a house. It feels almost surreal to be at this point especially since we've been saving for so long.
I've learned a few things from this experience. Bear with me, I feel this is important to write down and remember for myself. The first thing is preparation. Nothing happens from nothing. Unless I had some sort of trust fund, there was no other way I could plan for a house. Keeping my goals clear as a daily reminder gave me motivation and discipline to keep going. Getting started was really hard. There were a lot of bad habits that like to pop up every once in a while, but honestly, once I started getting into a pattern of saving, it was quite painless. Probably because money was taken physically out of the account into another account that I couldn't touch very easily, and I only got to play with what was left behind. Secondly, nothing always goes as planned. When we got engaged, I thought, oh shoot. What are we going to do? We had nothing saved for this, and I had always dreamed of having a wedding in Hawaii five years from now not a year from now. So we adjusted and planned again. And because of the additional things we want to do for the house, we'll probably have to adjust some more. Finally, even though at the moment it feels like all we've saved for is gone, we'll probably think differently once we are moved in and settled. We don't have to worry about paying the mortgage for someone else, and maybe later on we'll accrue equity and have a return on our investment. It's just that the first few years will probably suck, and we'll still have to be extremely careful with our expenses.
So the next goal after the wedding would be financing the honeymoon and then maybe kids. I wonder if I have to make a goal chart for that, too. Just kidding. I think I'll start with something smaller first like a piano, or maybe something bigger like my second house in Hawaii...This is a quote I always remind myself ever since I joined Mary Kay:
"Dare to grow into your dreams and claim this as your motto: Let it be me."
Mary Kay Ash
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
The Registry
So we've signed up for a few wedding registries, but we haven't really filled it up with stuff yet. It's kind of interesting doing shopping in this manner. Normally, when I buy stuff, I kind of like to find a good deal. I hate paying full price for anything, and I think I've already stated this in a previous blog. Hahahaha. So it's kind of interesting that I am basing my decisions mostly on the quality and likability of the product, and then figuring if it is really worth the price is at retail since I don't know if it will be on sale or something when it actually gets purchased. It's a different mentality, and I am still getting used to it. Paul's been pretty helpful giving input here and there. I might have to assign him reviews to go through so that I don't have to read them all myself.
I was encountering the problem that not all the brands and products I wanted/could find were in the same store. I didn't want to do sign up for more than 3 registries because that's really way too much. BUT luckily I did find out that there was a place where I could find a lot of the stuff online and shipping was free on purchases over $25 or more and had some better prices than some of the other places I signed up for. So I can at least do that for the people who have access to the internet. I figure the people who do not have internet will find inspiration somewhere. We aren't going to choose most of the house stuff yet because I want us to get a feel for the new house and what colors and styles we want for each room. This is our chance to finally have some creative input on the look and feel of our new home. In all the apartments I've lived in, I only could put up a few posters and paintings. I've always wanted to paint a room or two and buy coordinated curtains and such. I am really looking forward to it. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but at least it'll be how we want it instead of white walls and living out of boxes thinking that it'll only be temporary. We're planning to live here for quite a while. I can't wait to make it completely ours. Just a few more weeks to go to get the keys, and hopefully everything else will fall into place.
I was encountering the problem that not all the brands and products I wanted/could find were in the same store. I didn't want to do sign up for more than 3 registries because that's really way too much. BUT luckily I did find out that there was a place where I could find a lot of the stuff online and shipping was free on purchases over $25 or more and had some better prices than some of the other places I signed up for. So I can at least do that for the people who have access to the internet. I figure the people who do not have internet will find inspiration somewhere. We aren't going to choose most of the house stuff yet because I want us to get a feel for the new house and what colors and styles we want for each room. This is our chance to finally have some creative input on the look and feel of our new home. In all the apartments I've lived in, I only could put up a few posters and paintings. I've always wanted to paint a room or two and buy coordinated curtains and such. I am really looking forward to it. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but at least it'll be how we want it instead of white walls and living out of boxes thinking that it'll only be temporary. We're planning to live here for quite a while. I can't wait to make it completely ours. Just a few more weeks to go to get the keys, and hopefully everything else will fall into place.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Writing Personal Vows
In between cleaning, packing, and watching "Constantine" extra features, I attempted to put on paper some ideas for my personal vows. Since Paul and I are doing a non-denomination type wedding, we're going to write our own personal vows and declaration of love, honor, and loyalty to each other. I find that it is really easy to go the cheesy route, regurgitating the same cliche phrases. I really want it to be honest and meaningful. I really enjoyed Lyndon and Pear's vows (my cousins who got married this passed September 27th), which were awesome. They made theirs interesting to listen to, both vows came from the heart, and also gave some insight into the relationship that formed from all their years together. I'd like to have that same kind of feeling and content. I am especially nervous for both myself and Paul because it's been a long time since I've had to speak in front of a group of people and if anyone knows Paul, he becomes a little quiet and shy in these situations. He will never volunteer to make speeches in front of people. I am actually surprised that he is going through with this idea. I thought I might have to bribe him with a new TV or video game, but lucky for me, I didn't have to go there. I am poking through other people's samples for inspiration. Maybe someone else's blood, sweat, and tears, could help me bring some life to my pile of jumbled phrases. I wonder what Paul is going through for his part...I'm sure he's not going to agonize over every word. He'll probably start writing like a week before, and ask Jared for some help. And it'll turn out brilliant. That's what I would do if I was Paul. LOL.
Monday, November 10, 2008
8 Months To Go
8 Months to go...once escrow closes in December and we finish moving, here's what we still need to do:
1) Lock in cake
2) Lock in flower designs for florist
3) Confirm with all vendors
4) Order bridesmaids dresses
5) Scan photos for slideshow
6) Find song
7) Invitations
8) Finalize guys clothing
9) All the little stuff
This is what's already been done:
1) Venue
2) Officiant
3) DJ
4) MC - need to confirm that Kelly can take the vacation time
5) Photographer - need to still pick out our 1 print out
6) Found dress - need to pick out accessories
So there's still quite a lot more to do. Hopefully, we'll still have money to do it. =P
1) Lock in cake
2) Lock in flower designs for florist
3) Confirm with all vendors
4) Order bridesmaids dresses
5) Scan photos for slideshow
6) Find song
7) Invitations
8) Finalize guys clothing
9) All the little stuff
This is what's already been done:
1) Venue
2) Officiant
3) DJ
4) MC - need to confirm that Kelly can take the vacation time
5) Photographer - need to still pick out our 1 print out
6) Found dress - need to pick out accessories
So there's still quite a lot more to do. Hopefully, we'll still have money to do it. =P
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wedding Plans on Hold
Don't worry everyone. It's just temporary. For the next few weeks, Paul and I are going to take a break from the wedding planning to focus on closing escrow on the new house. Here's a new countdown:
Trust me, I didn't plan to do a wedding and a house so close to each other, but Paul's the boss. What he says goes. =) Seriously, we've been planning to do both for a while, and it just so happened that a lot of the things that made it all possible kind of fell into place one right after another. So we are at the inspection/escrow stage. Please cross your fingers that it will all go smoothly. With today's market, anything can happen, and we still have a little more to wait before we officially get the keys to the house. This is quite an exciting time for us. We are both really happy and extremely nervous. Especially since this is a lot to take in all at once. Just giving everyone a heads up, since we will be very broke right before Christmas please forgive the meager Christmas gifts. We're going to have to eat ramen for a year to get back into the positives. Hehehe. Well, wish us luck. We're going to need every little bit we can get.
Trust me, I didn't plan to do a wedding and a house so close to each other, but Paul's the boss. What he says goes. =) Seriously, we've been planning to do both for a while, and it just so happened that a lot of the things that made it all possible kind of fell into place one right after another. So we are at the inspection/escrow stage. Please cross your fingers that it will all go smoothly. With today's market, anything can happen, and we still have a little more to wait before we officially get the keys to the house. This is quite an exciting time for us. We are both really happy and extremely nervous. Especially since this is a lot to take in all at once. Just giving everyone a heads up, since we will be very broke right before Christmas please forgive the meager Christmas gifts. We're going to have to eat ramen for a year to get back into the positives. Hehehe. Well, wish us luck. We're going to need every little bit we can get.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Quest for the Dress
So I knew that the search for the perfect dress was going to be hard and time consuming. I am especially thankful for the gals who were able to accompany to as many of those dress hunting sessions even ones that were so far away. We expended a lot of gasoline. Plus, those that were out of town still could put in their input from the photo postings that Kathy set up. It was really helpful getting feedback. I am also thankful that I got to experience shopping with my mom and sisters in Hawaii. That was really unforgettable.
So I can't post any pictures or share too many details since Paul can read it all. I am just going to briefly write about the whole darn process. It was 5 months of hard work, but I am glad we did it. I could never feel really comfortable about spending so much money on a dress that I only wear for one day without shopping around first to make sure it really is the one. Plus, I totally want to get a good deal. Who wants to pay full price for anything?
The first trip was to David's Bridal in May. I was accompanied by I think Kathy, Charissa, and Paul's mom. Charissa took extremely meticulous notes, Kathy and her mom took pictures, and picked out dresses. Even though, I didn't start tearing up, it was an extremely important and productive day. We figured out the general style of a dress to look for. By the way, I have to say that the sales person helping you out with the dresses have to be nice. This woman was nice in the beginning, and then she became really bossy. It kind of takes away from the whole fairytale feel of it. No matter, because in every website and book that I've read, there's been horrible experiences with David's Bridal adding expensive fees for alterations. At the very least, we got to try on a variety of dresses even some fun ones, and we narrowed down the style and general feel of this dress.
End of June/beginning of July, was an especially busy time for Paul and me. I have all the things we settled/figured out in some earlier blogs, but I didn't get to really write about trying on dresses in Hawaii. I don't know if it was because we didn't really go into any boutiques in California yet, but the dresses we tried in Hawaii, I felt, were much prettier. I really enjoyed this experience...and my heart was really torn when we tried on some dresses at Kiyomi's which was closing and selling their dresses for really cheap. I must have scoured each and every dress around my size. It wasn't really that I didn't find a dress that I liked. Some of them looked really beautiful and for about $200-$600 (normally $800-$1000). I just didn't find the dress that I loved. I kind of wish I could snip out the bodice and attach it to the train from another dress and combine it with another bottom. It was extremely hard for me to walk away from that store. We even went twice to make sure that we didn't miss something special. The owner of the store said something important to me because I think she could tell that I wasn't 100% happy. She said that if the dress doesn't make you smile and happy, then you won't look as beautiful in it. So we left Kiyomi's, but I didn't regret that decision.
We tried on a few more in Hawaii, and the dresses, although they were so beautiful, they were also out my budget. At most I wanted to spend $800. Paul's really sweet telling me that if it is something that I love, I should get it no matter how much, and that we'll figure it out. Even for a wedding and a perfect day, I cannot resist a good deal. If it just so happened that I find a really lovely dress with the elements I like for a decent price, then it will be the one.
Hawaii was the farthest I've traveled looking for a dress, but in California, I drove 2 hours away for a Bridal store that was closing in Santa Barbara. Sarah (a friend from college) and Kathy were able to accompany me to this store. I treated it like a road trip since we don't go to Santa Barbara that often. This store sold high end dress, and they were advertising 80% off, which wasn't true. The discount was more like 20-30% off which wasn't enough. The dress there still would have ended up costing $2,500 at the least. We all had lunch together, and enjoyed the afternoon taking pictures and taking in Santa Barbara which was beautiful. I did feel a little disappointed that we drove all the way there for really nothing, but it was still a fun short trip. A couple of weeks later, I received emails that the price of the dresses dropped. It was still like $1,500...what were they thinking? I'm just not that kind of girl; so I knew that those dresses were not for me, and I could wait until another opportunity comes along.
There were other dress trying sessions in between. I ended up going to a bridal place called Pebbles located in Woodland Hills. There, I found I dress that I loved by Maggie Sottero. Only problem was that in the back there was a narrow strip of decoration that ran straight down the back. I would have preferred a little more decoration than a straight line...So I decided to sleep on it.
Later, I did an impromptu visit to a bridal show at Knott's Berry Farm Hotel. There was a bridal store that was retiring and letting go all of their inventory. They were selling dresses for as low as $199.00. I was there really early, and by myself. As soon as they let us in, I went directly to the 9th floor where they were letting people try on dresses. I had contacted them earlier on which dresses I was interested in, and they had them all ready for me. I tried on about 5 dresses. 2 looked really good. 1 of which was by the same designer as the Pebbles Bridal store (Maggie Sottero). It was a good thing I got there early. Some of the later girls were eyeing some of the dresses I was trying on, but since I came there first, they had to wait until I had made my decision. I narrowed down the choices to 2 dresses, and one of which I really loved, but I was kind of worried about this satin strip of color that was on the dress, and there was no way to remove it or change it. After a whole bunch of phone calls and a lot of thinking, I ended up buying the dress. I was really excited. I knew that there was a way to incorporate this extra color in my bouquet or something. It pretty much fits. I would probably benefit from losing an inch or 2, and the only other alteration would be to chop a little off the bottom in the front.
Overall, I am happy with my decision. I love the way it looks, and I am happy that it fell into my price range. It has everything I've been looking for and more. Thank goodness this part of the process is over because dress shopping is hard work. Now, that I've found the dress, I can start other decisions like bridesmaids gowns, jewelry, bouquet, etc. I am totally excited about checking more things off my list.
So I can't post any pictures or share too many details since Paul can read it all. I am just going to briefly write about the whole darn process. It was 5 months of hard work, but I am glad we did it. I could never feel really comfortable about spending so much money on a dress that I only wear for one day without shopping around first to make sure it really is the one. Plus, I totally want to get a good deal. Who wants to pay full price for anything?
The first trip was to David's Bridal in May. I was accompanied by I think Kathy, Charissa, and Paul's mom. Charissa took extremely meticulous notes, Kathy and her mom took pictures, and picked out dresses. Even though, I didn't start tearing up, it was an extremely important and productive day. We figured out the general style of a dress to look for. By the way, I have to say that the sales person helping you out with the dresses have to be nice. This woman was nice in the beginning, and then she became really bossy. It kind of takes away from the whole fairytale feel of it. No matter, because in every website and book that I've read, there's been horrible experiences with David's Bridal adding expensive fees for alterations. At the very least, we got to try on a variety of dresses even some fun ones, and we narrowed down the style and general feel of this dress.
End of June/beginning of July, was an especially busy time for Paul and me. I have all the things we settled/figured out in some earlier blogs, but I didn't get to really write about trying on dresses in Hawaii. I don't know if it was because we didn't really go into any boutiques in California yet, but the dresses we tried in Hawaii, I felt, were much prettier. I really enjoyed this experience...and my heart was really torn when we tried on some dresses at Kiyomi's which was closing and selling their dresses for really cheap. I must have scoured each and every dress around my size. It wasn't really that I didn't find a dress that I liked. Some of them looked really beautiful and for about $200-$600 (normally $800-$1000). I just didn't find the dress that I loved. I kind of wish I could snip out the bodice and attach it to the train from another dress and combine it with another bottom. It was extremely hard for me to walk away from that store. We even went twice to make sure that we didn't miss something special. The owner of the store said something important to me because I think she could tell that I wasn't 100% happy. She said that if the dress doesn't make you smile and happy, then you won't look as beautiful in it. So we left Kiyomi's, but I didn't regret that decision.
We tried on a few more in Hawaii, and the dresses, although they were so beautiful, they were also out my budget. At most I wanted to spend $800. Paul's really sweet telling me that if it is something that I love, I should get it no matter how much, and that we'll figure it out. Even for a wedding and a perfect day, I cannot resist a good deal. If it just so happened that I find a really lovely dress with the elements I like for a decent price, then it will be the one.
Hawaii was the farthest I've traveled looking for a dress, but in California, I drove 2 hours away for a Bridal store that was closing in Santa Barbara. Sarah (a friend from college) and Kathy were able to accompany me to this store. I treated it like a road trip since we don't go to Santa Barbara that often. This store sold high end dress, and they were advertising 80% off, which wasn't true. The discount was more like 20-30% off which wasn't enough. The dress there still would have ended up costing $2,500 at the least. We all had lunch together, and enjoyed the afternoon taking pictures and taking in Santa Barbara which was beautiful. I did feel a little disappointed that we drove all the way there for really nothing, but it was still a fun short trip. A couple of weeks later, I received emails that the price of the dresses dropped. It was still like $1,500...what were they thinking? I'm just not that kind of girl; so I knew that those dresses were not for me, and I could wait until another opportunity comes along.
There were other dress trying sessions in between. I ended up going to a bridal place called Pebbles located in Woodland Hills. There, I found I dress that I loved by Maggie Sottero. Only problem was that in the back there was a narrow strip of decoration that ran straight down the back. I would have preferred a little more decoration than a straight line...So I decided to sleep on it.
Later, I did an impromptu visit to a bridal show at Knott's Berry Farm Hotel. There was a bridal store that was retiring and letting go all of their inventory. They were selling dresses for as low as $199.00. I was there really early, and by myself. As soon as they let us in, I went directly to the 9th floor where they were letting people try on dresses. I had contacted them earlier on which dresses I was interested in, and they had them all ready for me. I tried on about 5 dresses. 2 looked really good. 1 of which was by the same designer as the Pebbles Bridal store (Maggie Sottero). It was a good thing I got there early. Some of the later girls were eyeing some of the dresses I was trying on, but since I came there first, they had to wait until I had made my decision. I narrowed down the choices to 2 dresses, and one of which I really loved, but I was kind of worried about this satin strip of color that was on the dress, and there was no way to remove it or change it. After a whole bunch of phone calls and a lot of thinking, I ended up buying the dress. I was really excited. I knew that there was a way to incorporate this extra color in my bouquet or something. It pretty much fits. I would probably benefit from losing an inch or 2, and the only other alteration would be to chop a little off the bottom in the front.
Overall, I am happy with my decision. I love the way it looks, and I am happy that it fell into my price range. It has everything I've been looking for and more. Thank goodness this part of the process is over because dress shopping is hard work. Now, that I've found the dress, I can start other decisions like bridesmaids gowns, jewelry, bouquet, etc. I am totally excited about checking more things off my list.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Inspiration from the LA County Fair
The Mendoza Family goes every year to this event. We usually watch pig races, Chinese Acrobats, do some wine and beer tasting, shopping, etc. There's a lot to do there! This year in the Home and Garden section, the theme was "Escape to Hawaii," and there were all sorts of very pretty and interesting floral designs. I took a whole bunch of photos which can be found on my wedding photo sharing website
I have a few ideas about my flowers. I know that I want the protea to be the main feature. I want burgundy to be the main color surrounded by shades of pink to dark red. I wouldn't mind a few green fillers like ferns or leaves. Other than that I have no clue what I am going to do.
Here are a few photos I'd like to highlight:
Here are proteas and red plants.
These are really small anthuriums.
I don't know what this is, but it's really pretty.
I'm still trying to collect little bits here and there to get a better idea of what flowers combination would look nice and still keep within our sparkling tropical theme.
I have a few ideas about my flowers. I know that I want the protea to be the main feature. I want burgundy to be the main color surrounded by shades of pink to dark red. I wouldn't mind a few green fillers like ferns or leaves. Other than that I have no clue what I am going to do.
Here are a few photos I'd like to highlight:
Here are proteas and red plants.
These are really small anthuriums.
I don't know what this is, but it's really pretty.
I'm still trying to collect little bits here and there to get a better idea of what flowers combination would look nice and still keep within our sparkling tropical theme.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
