Adventures in Gowning

Mom and I headed to Charlotte on Sunday and dress shopped til we nearly dropped yesterday evening. I have to say, this has not gotten easier. The problem with shopping for a wedding gown is that they're all gorgeous. It's not as if you put on dress after dress and think, 'Wow. What a hideous dress!' until you finally come across one that you think is beautiful and say, "Finally! A beautiful dress instead of all those horrendous ones! I knew there'd be ONE!" If only it WERE that easy. Instead, for two days straight, my mother and I woke up as early as possible, hit the very first bridal appointment possible and continued from one store to the next until the day was done. My brilliant Mom did think to keep a small portion of time between places to 1-find the next place and 2-grab some Starbucks. Below are a few of the dresses we tried that did not make the final cut:

This dress was from a place called New York Bridal Loft. I forget who designed it, but there were sort of a lot of things I didn't love about it: the straps were weird, the lace wasn't consistent or just what I was thinking of when I thought I'd like lace...and, overall, I just didn't love it. There were a few dresses we tried on at this place. While the location and setup were super cool, the dresses weren't as flattering as I'd hoped.
This dress, however, was made by Cymbeline. I saw it in a magazine soon after Fi and I got engaged and I immediately fell in love with it. This pic really doesn't do it justive. It has this incredible old-lace look to it with really carefully made patters. The train had some beading on it so it was a bit heavier at the bottom. The entire dress was lace over a silk slip with a thin satin sash at the empire waist, a sweetheart neckline...etc. This was my dream dress and while I adored the dress just as much in person as I did when I saw it in the magazine...and although I'm just as in love with it, if not more now, than I was then...it wasn't my dress. I can't pull it off and I didn't love it on me. I know I could go on a serious diet from now until our wedding and I'd be able to pull it off, but that's really not what I want to do. I don't want the next six-seven months of my life to be about fitting into a dress and hoping it's going to look great...etc. I have other things to worry about and dozens of gorgeous dresses that won't require me to starve myself for months so I look fab. So while I adored it, I finally had to put the Cymbeline dress of perfection dream to rest. I am, however, thrilled I got to try it on, again, at the same NYBL location. It turned out, when Mom and I left the NYBL that what I loved most on me was their adorable changing robe with faux fur at the neckline and wrists...white and very sophisticated looking!

From there, we moved on to two more stores. J. Majors and Hayden Olivia. Both pretty wonderful, though Hayden Olivia had a swankier, posher feel to it. A big reason for that is most likely because Heather (the owner) took wonderful care of her sample dresses (she is the sole owner and pays for everything herself so I suppose she values her samples more). Every dress looked perfect, as if it'd just come off the runway. And in one case, I was the very first person to try on one of her samples as it had just come in that day!

The dress to my left was one Mom adored. While it was beautiful, it was super conservative and felt really mature for my age. I suppose this dress taught me that I wanted something a little more fun.

I did, however, find one of the two dresses I've narrowed it down to at Hayden Olivia which is located in uptown Charlotte down the street from where my brother and cousin live. The funny thing about Heather's store is that she's on the second floor and the first floor, right below her, is home to a male grooming store. Needless to say, when we were looking for Heather's store it was rather confusing.

<---- This is Heather's awesome store, named after her daughter, btw, and these are a handful of the spectacular dresses I tried on. I can't believe how amazing they all are! I found out that a few of the samples I tried were actually dresses celebrities wore for their weddings and I suddenly felt rocketed into the realms of superstardom. Weird, right? Somehow, I doubt I'll be wearing one of those dresses, but when else do you get to try on dresses worn by the rich and famous!?!

And this, of course, is a classic photo of mom and I trying to figure out one of the dresses. I can't remember if I was getting in or out, but I am pretty sure it was in. Obviously, it takes a lot of work to get into one of these suckers. I think this is one of many reasons why a person should only get married once.

Lastly, we went to J. Majors which also had a dress I loved. It is one of the dresses in contention. There is a third dark horse, as well, from the very first store we went into called Nitsas. I actually dragged my mother back to that store to retry the dress...and while I still love it and think it's gorgeous and even think it sort of looks good on me (that's a hard sentence for me to type or say aloud, folks!), I wonder if it's not Wedding Dress to Remember dress. Like...wow, that dress is beautiful! as opposed to the other two which were more like, "WOW! Now that's a dress and that bride looks amazing!"

I think another thing the trying on has taught me is this: I'm perfectly comfortable with what I look like, enough so as to not be interested in doing everything possible to fit into this one, specific dress that I saw in a magazine because I'm comfortable with me and I think my wedding dress should look amazing on me as I am and only look even more phenomenal when I get myself into better shape. I don't think it should be that the dress will only look fabulous if I work really really really hard to help it look that way on me. What a disappointment it'd be if, even then, I wasn't thrilled with it!

Also, it taught me that, all clothes look better when they're custom fitted :)

And that I've got more of an idea now as to what type of a bride I am (I had no idea how to answer that when people used to ask. I even took the quizzes and they were completely unhelpful!).

I have tons more pics and stories...etc...about our adventures and more to come since my sisters, mom and I are going to Savannah to check out a few dresses there on Friday, but I'm kind of sick since my niece and nephew and mom...and everyone, really, has a cold. I'm starting to get it and still have the Turkey Trot tomorrow morning with my brother! I've been taking Vitamin C and some weird thing that starts with a "Z" and Claritin...advil...etc...in hopes of staving off the cough, sore throat and congested head. So, now I can't think straight enough to tell you about anything else at the moment, dear friends, but I promise more updates and pics to follow in the days to come.

Tonight, I am thankful for the optimistic outlook I have managed to begin nourishing in myself thanks to Dustin. I was never very patient or optimistic, but Dustin has managed to teach me (through example) how useful and wonderful it is to be both of those things. Also, I'm thankful for my family coming together for this holiday. Lastly, I'm thankful for the family we have in India's safety.

If you're of the praying kind, please do so for the people of Mumbai/Bombay. A year ago at this exact time, my parents and I were about to depart on a plane for Bombay. I'm thankful that is not the case this year, but so sad to see what's happening only one year after our visit.

Wedding Dress, Anyone?

Monday  Night: Mom and I went wedding gown shopping today! Wow!!! Sooooooo much fun!  I was so afraid I wouldn't find a single dress that I loved. When we got to the first bridal store, I picked out a ton of dresses I thought I'd be in love with...some were ones we specifically asked them to get from different designers whose lines I liked, others were just attractive on the displays, some were ones I was perfectly certain I'd want. What I quickly learned was 1-I wasn't in love with most of the dresses I thought I'd be in love with 2-dresses look waaaaaay better once they've been fitted snugly to your figure 3-I will NEVER wear the same size wedding dress as what I wear clothing.

I found one dress I keep thinking about. I think it might be the one but I found a few others I like a lot and still need to figure out about. Ugh!!! I want to post pics and have everyone help me out, but I can't because Fi might be reading or even (hopefully) posting a blog at any give moment!!!

So...mom and I headed to the mall to do some Christmas shopping when we were finally done trying on dresses. I needed a new pair of running shoes and I got these fab Saucony ones that I think will be absolutely durable, supportive and cushioned...and yet a reasonable price! Who knew!?!

The only issue with my night was getting into an argument with my MOH...who is also my sister. I don't want to get into details. I do want to say, I'm sorry we argued. I hate arguing. I hold no ill feelings since I don't hold a grudge for more than twenty minutes (less, really) and I love love LOVE my sister no matter how different from me she is.

Again: what I'm thankful for:

Tonight, I'm actually pretty thankful for being true to myself. I'm thankful I'm honest and able to accept people's honesty. I'm so thankful my priorities are 1-family 2-friends 3-school...etc...and that I have friends and family and students that make my life feel so fulfilling. I am SO soooooo thankful that my life is as full and wonderful as it is. I'm even more thankful that my parents brought me up the way they did...all of us, that is.

So, thanks, Mom and Pop for being so fantastic. And thanks family for being so supportive and loving and thanks D for being the love of my life :) As every night, I'm thankful for Fi...and tonight...I'm thankful for all my priorities, too! 

xoxo

Back in the South

Yesterday was a sad day. I packed up the car, loaded in the fur-babies and had to say good-bye to my Fi and Columbia for the week. Of course I'm excited to try on dresses, but D and I are always together so it's incredibly strange and empty being without him. The drive was long, of course, and I hated not being able to see Fi's second to last performance, but the dogs got cozy and no one got carsick, so at least that part of the drive was good. Byz even got super comfy and slept like a baby most of the ride.
Luckily, earlier this year, Fi downloaded a ton of NPR: This American Life audiobooks onto my iPod so I had a lot to listen to on the fifteen hour drive to Hilton Head. Fi said last night was one of their best performances (ouch!) and I missed it :( BUT, I did get to talk to the cast after the show when they were at their cast party. Fi called and the phone got passed around so I spoke to just about everyone. It was sweet. They said they missed me and my "energy," awww. We did have a great time getting to know them and seeing them once a week. I hope we keep up relationships with them.

(*** Edit *** Dustin here. What Neesh doesn't know is that when I showed up to the theater knowing she wouldn't be there, I was totally worthless. The whole cast took me into a huddle right before the show and said, "You know she'd want you to do well tonight. She's thinking about you. Now think about her. Get your energy up and get out there!" And that's why that particular show was good)

When I got to Hilton Head, it was nearly 4am. Papa was waiting up for me, but Mom was in bed. When I walked the dogs, I stepped in some other dog's poop cus I couldn't see it in the dark (gross!), so I had to take my sneakers off at the door, but once inside, it felt so good to be home. Byz and Bogey were thrilled to be out of the car. My parents' dogs met me at the door, as did my Pop. I checked in on my mom and let her know I was home, then I trekked up to my sister's bedroom where my niece was sound asleep. I peeked in on my nephew who was curled up in a tiny ball in his crib, uncovered. I'm only his aunt/godmother and I feel incredibly moved when I stand above him watching him sleep-soft breathing, peach skin head, round ball of a body, sweet and gentle. I covered him with his blanket, listened to him breathe, kissed his head and went to climb in bed with my niece. Genevieve stirred a little when the light from the hallway streamed through the doorway behind me and said, "Granny?" before turning over and falling back to sleep. She moves a lot in her sleep-moves around and kicks, shifts and even talks: "I want my candy!" (a direct quote from her soon after I climbed in bed).

When I woke in the morning, this was one of the first things I saw:

My adorable butterball of a nephew, sick, but still smiling and wide awake wrapped up in his blankie. Such a cutie.

Today, we went to church with Genevieve (my mom and I), then had I-Hop for lunch/breakfast (Harvest Nut Pancakes! Yummy!). Then we headed to Charlotte, NC to stay with my brother. We had dinner at his newly opened restaurant: The Wild Wing Cafe at University Park in Charlotte. I had seen Kiran's restaurant before it opened. When it was, literally, just a plot, then just a shell...etc. I've, essentially, seen it from start to finish-especially now that I got to have dinner there. It looks awesome! Kier was gone by the time Mom and I showed up, but Sara met us for dinner and the three Navare ladies had a tasty one. I had a scrumptious salad with grilled chicken and spicy grilled shrimp, then ate one of the amazing Wild West wings they make (my absolute favorite!) and my sister, who I don't have a pic of from tonight but will definitely get one of before we leave Charlotte, snapped this photog below, which I promptly sent to my Fi. :)

As we finished up dinner, Mom and I jumped back into the car to get to Kier's place. It was then my phone beeped letting me know I had a new message. I was THRILLED to see it was a picture message from my Fi! (His texting allowance is limited so I'm always overly excited when I get a message of any kind from him.) Anyhow...this is what the message was:

I couldn't believe it! This is our house. When I left, there were no lights on it, but Fi and I discussed decorating the house with lights when we got back from break, before Christmas break. We decided we liked white lights and would have time to decorate since we'd already done a lot of inside decorating. I was completely surprised to see this photo in my inbox. D had mentioned he wanted to do some work around the house when we spoke a few hours earlier, but I couldn't have guessed that running out, buying lights, climbing a ladder in bundled up clothes and putting the lights up all by himself was what he had in mind! I know I say this a lot, but my Fi is the most amazing, incredible Fi in the world. He's so wonderful and thoughtful. Mom said to me tonight, on our drive home, "I think you two are going to be very happy."

This is one of the few times in my life my mom and I completely agree on something. He's amazing and I really am the LUCKIEST girl in the entire world and I know we are going to be completely happy.

P.S.-Fi-Sar loves the one-year-anniversary gift! :) I do, too, but I really just Love love love LOVE you!

Lastly-I'm grateful I arrived home safely and that I have a loving, healthy family. I am so thankful for the new additions to our family (namely, Jacob) and the addition of a new extended family: The Michael/Crater family...and I'm so thankful to my Fi and for my Fi. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

P.P.S.

Dustin here again.

I love you, too, Neesh, and all the fulfillment and promise you bring to my life. I miss you terribly, but I'm glad you're having fun with your fam -- my new fam!

Looks like I've got some catching up to do on the thankfulness list, so I'll make one that's big enough to count for both today and yesterday, which I missed. I'm thankful that our families and our close friends are healthy this Thanksgiving. Goodness knows we've seen our share of holidays where people we love weren't in good health, and we'll see more, of course. But this year everyone is well, and that's a blessing. Here's to our health -- all of ours.