Six Words

Was tagged over by Midge - so will try to give this a shot.

1. I am a bit nervous about moving to Philly and starting grad school. Sure, I have left home before, but this is the first time that my stuff other than clothes are books are leaving the house. I am moving out for real this time. And grad school - well it's grad school. Very scary stuff. 

2. I am feeling a bit tired today; I went to Curves after work, then cycled a bit with The Aussie. I really need to step up my game with the cycling; my mind is screaming at me to stop but I really don't want to but I do in the end. I need to work on that. 

3. I love reading the Twilight series! Can't wait till the fourth book comes out - currently re-reading "Eclipse," and seriously crushing on Edward. The movie can't come out any sooner. 

4. Even though I am a bit nervous about Philly, The Aussie is taking it in stride. I am really grateful that he is looking on the fun side of things, and preventing me from getting tooo nervous. 

5.  I am currently wondering why seeing Cleo without a collar is so irksome. I got so used to her with a collar (as well as her brother) that I think she looks naked now without it. Weird I know! 

6. I am totally stuck on what to say next. 

From A to Zee

A. Attached or Single? Attached
B. Best Friend? The Aussie
C. Cake or pie? Ice cream cake in the dead of winter is the best.
D. Day of choice? Saturday
E. Essential item? A bobby pin
F. Favorite color? Green
G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears
H. Home town? Astoria, NY
I. Favorite indulgence? Mani-Pedi
J. January or July? Erm...the kinda both suck in NYC - January is bloody cold with the canyon effect winds, and July is just so icky nasty muggy.
K. Kids? Not for a GOOD while. I have a feline nephew and niece.
L. Life isn’t complete without? Friends and family.
M. Marriage date? October 3, 2009 WAH-HOO!!!
N. Number of brothers and sisters? one crazy younger sister, counting down the days till she finally turns 21 (next August).
O. Oranges or Apples? Apples.
P. Phobias? Falling down stairs and snapping my neck.
Q. Quotes? There is a really funny one in Greek about Bill Gates.
R. Reasons to smile? Knowing that I will be getting back on my bike after a two-week hiatus, even though The Aussie wants to ride 70 miles (heaven help my legs and bum).
S. Season of choice? I LOVE Fall.
T. Tag 5 people: you're it, and you're it, and you're it, and you're it, and you're it!
U. Unknown fact about me? I have a secret talent - I can sound like a chipmunk without using helium.
V. Vegetable? cucumbers, carrots.
W. Worst habit? Biting my nails.
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasounds get so goopy.
Y. Your favorite food? Anything with chocolate is always a good start...
Z. Zodiac sign? Sagitarrius, but according to a close friend, I am not your typical Sag. I need to figure out my moon sign.
Z. Which zoo animal is your favorite? Sea lions at the Central Park Zoo.

Summer Guests

My uncle (the one who works at Disney, so his nickname is Uncle Mickey), his wife and two kids came up a few weeks ago, and shortly after that, a close friend came for the weekend.

Lots of people! In fact, there is another addition to the household this week: Monkey. Check out his adventures in my part of NYC here.

Dancing in the Aisles - Practically

Just came back from seeing "Mamma Mia!" at the theatres. Even though my parents are big ABBA/Bee Gees fans (and went to see a Bee Geees concert back in the 70s to boot) I never really got into the whole 70's disco music thing.

"Mamma Mia!" changed that. I like ABBA now. I want the DJ to play ABBA (with a good dance beat, however) at the wedding. People were laughing so hard at the movie and practically whooping and doing everything short of dancing in the aisles.

If you haven't seen it yet - go! It's a really good and fun movie; you will NOT want to leave when the credits start rolling, let me tell you. Hearing Pierce Brosnan sing "SOS" was so funny - especially seeing my mom laugh herself into hysterics because it was like James Bond singing ABBA.

In fact, I think I am going to go see it again, with my dad and one of my mom's friends as well. Seeing all the little Greek grannies shaking it to "Dancing Queen" was the best.

"Run Run Rudolph, Maria's Gotta Make it to JFK"

I just received a last-minute invitation to join The Mrs. and others on their Greece vacation.

Called my jobs, told them I am skivving off - "family emergency in Greece." They totally bought it! My family thinks I am totally nuts but it's a chance to go to the Greek Islands! I have been to Greece twice and I still have not gone to any of the islands.

Let's just say, that it's a real good thing I only live 20 minutes away by car from the airport. However, I needed a quick "getting my bum to Greece wardrobe" so I ran to the JCrew at Columbus Circle, called Little Sister to get her bum there too for a student discount and picked up these lovelies:

Unfortunately, most of the tickets to Greece are booked - ESPECIALLY via Olympic Airways. Everyone in my neck of NYC uses Olympic to go back to the "patritha." Luckily, there was a seat available on Delta, which is the only other airline to fly direct to Athens from JFK. So in my carry-on:

ipod shuffle
passport
Miffy neck pillow
frog eye mask
camera
and my daily miscellany things: wallet, brush, makeup bag, toiletries in their TSA sanctioned-size bottles (stopped at the drug store on my way into Manhattan).

It sorta sucks how I missed out on Santorini but that's ok. It will always be there (and my mom's cousin has a hotel there too!).

See you ladies on Mykonos!

-ing, -ing

What with the knitting, cycling, working, studying, and wedding planning I really have not been able to do much of my favorite "-ing": reading.

I did renew my local public library card, but I lost it again. Boo.

One of my co-workers at the community college I work at offered to lend me her copy of "Twilight," by Stephenie Meyer. I figured, heck I'll give it a shot. I had been wondering what it was all about regardless. I joke to my friends that in terms of American pop culture, 2006-2008 for the most part is a black hole, so I am a bit behind the times.

I started the book this past Monday. And I finished it on that Monday (I practically devour books when I read them, which is why I need books that are 400+ pages). I read it in between tutoring breaks, on my way to the subway, whilst walking in the street to the gym, on the bus home after the gym, and regardless of the heat, on my patio for the last 3+ hours it took for me to finish it.

It was soooooo good - I keep rereading one particular scene that takes place in a meadow. A bit of a devastatingly tempting love story with action and a sexy vampire. Nice way to break up a pretty uneventful summer. PLUS, there are two more in the series and the 4th comes out this August (although I did go to Wikipedia to check out what the others are about, for me it doesn't really spoil the story).

And...the movie comes out this December. The actor who played Cedric Diggory is going to be the main vampire.

"Never on Sunday"

So my mom's friend likes to send me (and everyone else) these crazy emails with jokes and links to YouTube videos. This is the latest one, which was so cute I thought I had to share. The description is as follows:

Miss Piggy sings "Never on Sunday" for the opening number in episode 309 of The Muppet Show. True to the song's Greek writer and the film in which it first appeared, Miss Piggy incorporates plate-smashing "Greek" dancing into her rendition.

Opa!

Side note: while the clip starts with the song "Never on Sunday," it slowly verges at around 1:15 to "Zorba the Greek."

Twice as Nice!

Not only are we partnered up for the Christmas in July Swap (in which I am having SO much fun getting stuff for and utilizing my secret weapon like no tomorrow), but Kate and I are in the Preppy Paper Swap together. Cool! So here are my answers:

-My favorite colors: navy blue, kelly green, pale yellow and plum, but pretty loose with stationery colors (for example, i do not like sky/cambridge/tiffany blue as a rule, but it looks amazing on stationery).
-Anything I especially love: I like things that are classy, but have a bit of a whimsical twist to it - flowers are especially nice, travel themed, vintage style, bikes, porcelain designs, as well as birds, or design flourishes like damask, or borders.
-How often I entertain and/or types of parties I host: hmm, i definitely want to entertain more especially with the wedding coming up and a new apartment (!!!!!), but I really do not do so much of that now (I write letters mostly to friends). I am the sort that would LOVE to do the cute little etiquette thing and send thank you notes and invitations out (in fact, my mom made me write out thank you notes after my college graduation party).
-My monogram: MMN

Now, If Only There Was a Video Camera Recording This

The mosquitoes were biting my legs, so I shut down my laptop and proceed to walk back into the house from our patio. I wanted to pull the power cord from the kitchen first (there is an outlet near the windows in the kitchen that face the patio, so it makes it really convenient if you want to bring your laptop outside).

I open the screen door, and head inside.

KABOOM.

I walked into the glass door that led to the patio, with so much force that my head sorta snapped back. My mom saw the whole thing from the living room and was cracking up.

Rats, I would have totally submitted that America's Funniest Home Videos.

The Pet Peeves of a (Neophyte) Cyclist

1. Potholes (bumps are one thing - all ya gotta do is stand up on your bike to absorb the shock in your knees - even my own crappy knees - and elbows. There are some NASTY potholes out there, on the other hand).
2. Taxis (I don't like them on a general basis, regardless).
3. Crazy drivers (maybe I shouldn't learn to drive, after all).
4. Double-parkers (Pfffffffft...)
5. Triple-parkers (Grrrrrrrr...)
6. Livery cabs (which are worse than the regular yellow taxis in my book).
7. Daring pedestrians (but hey, they help me when I want to ride across the red light too - bad, Maria, I know, but I hate dismounting unless I really have to).
8. Pedicabs in the Park.
9. Tourists who rent bikes in Central Park and ride 5-6 abreast in the Loop.
10. People in general who go. in. the. opposite. direction. of. traffic. in. the. Loop.

For me, today was a bad cycling day. Waaaaaay to many people for my liking; granted I know that the Park is for everyone and today was a gorgeous day, but there is a bike lane for a reason. Because of the runners, the rollerbladers and the walkers, cyclists cannot ride in that specific lane so we end up zipping between numbers 7-10 as stated above. I just felt that I was either going to hit someone or I was going to get hit by someone. Plus, there were more people than usual going in the opposite direction.

I told The Aussie that if he wanted to ride in the Park again we go earlier in the day (like before noon). He said that's when "the Cyclists" (I am presuming with a capital C) are there, but I would rather ride to the side with them and know that there isn't going to be someone(s) blocking me because they are more likely to be aware of me "plodding" along at 20-25mph when I go downhill. I know I am still nervous when I ride, and I really need to get over it.

As a sidenote, even though the Tour de France is also known as "Le Tour de Hell" because of the nearly vertical mountain climbs, crazy weather, accidents and the length of 3000 miles, I am jealous. They have 3000 miles of smooth road without nary a pedestrian (or a car - except for the team supply cars) in sight.

Oh, and I am developing a "cycling tan." It doesn't bother me with the legs (I don't wear miniskirts and short-shorts regardless, but I need some sort of solution for my arms, especially with the wedding around the corner.

Random Bullets of the Fourth of July

• My Fourth of July was quite nice. We had a bbq at my house, but sadly my dad had to work the ice cream truck. And it rained in the afternoon; plus our crazy neighbors proceeded to try to blow up our block by placing roman candles and fireworks in the middle of the street. I live on a two-way main avenue, not a side street. Cars had to swerve, and sparks flew into neighbor's porches.
  

• My earrings came! Smaller than I thought but really pretty. The Aussie doesn't like them, thinks they are not "appropriate wedding earrings." Well, not like I can afford a new pair of Tiffany earrings or other pretty sparklies. My earrings look like a million bucks. (Hope my tragus piercing doesn't gross anyone out, it was the only decent photo of the earrings that I got).

• When I went to BJ's with The Aussie and my dad last weekend, I headed over to Target which is in the same shopping center. It kinda sucks - there is hardly anything there, but I picked up file folders. Really cool design; I remembered what Cindy once did with her recipe files and was inspired to take a leaf out of her file box so to speak. With the move to Philly and a broken filing cabinet, space is at a premium. Now my life fits into cute file folders and sits on a shelf on my bookcase.

• My job at Muji really stinks. You really do not want me to get started on it - thank god it is almost over. Let's just say that if I were at the store that I originally started at, it would be much much better.

• Called a DJ the other day - not too bad for NYC in terms of pricing. He is a Greek DJ and does American stuff too, but we need a Greek one for my side of the family. To some extent, the "Greek Factor" is a bit of a blessing I think at least in this case - this one DJ was HIGHLY recommended (he is also flown out to weddings in Greece and has done parties out in the Hamptons and LA and Mykonos), and since we need the Greek music, I do not have to go crazy on The Knot to find the "perfect DJ." In essence, our choices are a bit limited. Let's go crazy with the photographer and flowers.


• Cycled for about 32 miles on Sunday. Until I started cycling, I never knew that my bum actually had bones, and now three days later it still hurts. And I wore the fancy tight shorts with chamois padding in the crotch; I think I need a different seat. The one I have now is the one that came with the bike, and that is a men's seat because it's a men's bike. Here we are in front of the house, utterly exhausted. I think my shorts look wierd on me.

• Speaking of cycling, it leads me to exercising: I finished my Curves 1-month Fitness Study. Final results :::drumroll please!::: Lost 7 pounds total and 9.75 inches in the past 30 days. The lady who measured me had to actually double check because she was so astonished. Since I am moving to Philly, they are going to waive the service fee and let me pay 1 more month and "see what we can do with the last two weeks" before I leave - meaning I can just pay like half of one month. They are SO nice at my Curves gym, I only hope that the Philly one will be as great.

• Started moving our stuff down into the apartment - the condition was that we have to "move in" in July so even though we aren't there physically, our stuff will be there. Case in point: All it takes is just one minivan (The Aussie's parent's).
  

Cleo seems to want to come along for the ride, too; she is sitting on top of half of our dishes.
Right now, just the kitchen stuff (or at least what was brought down) is unpacked.

More photos are on my Flickr page.

A Swapping I Shall Go

Basics

What is your favorite color(s)? kelly green, plum, navy, and pale yellow

“Shabby chic” vs. “straight, clean lines” – what’s more you? straight, clean lines

Where’s your favorite vacation destination (you have to have been there before)? Yitheo, Greece and Sydney, Australia

Pick ONE: shoes, clothes, purses. SERIOUSLY?!?!? You are really talking to the wrong person here.

Describe yourself in three (3) words. Adventurous, loyal, nifty.

Music (personally, I think you can learn a lot about a person based on their feelings about music):

Favorite song of all time? "The Car Song"The Cat Empire, or "Cabriolet" by Antipas (Greek singer).
by

What is one song you secretly really like that no one would believe you if you told them? "Toxic" by Britney Spears.

What would you consider the “theme song” of your life? "Stronger" by Kanye West

If you could see any concert – what would it be? Actually I already saw it - The Cat Empire at the Bowery Ballroom June 2006, before they released their music in the United States.

Name the radio station most commonly playing in your car. What’s the genre? 87.7 is dance music, 100.3 is regular stuff, 102.7 is rock, 92.3 is rock, 101.1 is oldies.

Holiday

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Greek Easter.

What food item is your holiday not complete without? Lamb and deli mustard.

What’s your favorite holiday memory? Well, I don't remember it, but it was recorded for eternity and since I have watched it, it is my favorite: I was about 3 years old and Little Sister 1.5. We went up to my grandparent's house upstate for Christmas and guess who is there: Santa Claus! With a beard and red clothes and everything. Apparently, I didn't buy it and when I went up to Santa, I promptly pulled his beard and it came off as it was attached with scotch-tape. I shriek aloud at the top of my lungs: "That's NOT Santa! That's PAPPOU!" ("Pappou" is Greek for "grandfather.") What I find watching that tape as an adult is that while I am shrieking my head off and being totally traumatized (since I probably knew from then on that Santa was fake), my sister is just sitting there sucking her thumb and looking cute. As a sidenote, my mom played that tape for The Aussie when we first started dating and imitated me for MONTHS afterwards.

Is there a holiday tradition that you cherish? If so, what is it? Going to church for midnight mass on the night before Easter Sunday, playing the "egg game," and then going over to a family friend's house to eat lamb and a crapton of other Greek food till 2 in the morning.

Lights: colored or white? Hmm, it depends on the style that the tree is decorated in. I always grew up with white lights - now we have a pre-lit tree.

Deep Thoughts

If you could get advice from any woman (dead or alive), who would it be? Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Madeleine Albright and Jackie O.

Name three (3) “simple pleasures” in your life. Iced Frappe coffe on a hot summer afternoon, string & sticks, and lying down with one of the two family cats.

What is your dream job – be honest! Designer for Kate Spade.

If you could play any character on TV or in the movies, which one would you pick? Charlotte York Goldenblatt, hands down.

What car would you most like to be the "spokes model" for? Smart Car!

"My Name is Maria, and I am Becoming an Etsy Addict"

I LOVE Etsy. For me, it's like the monthly temple crafts fair that was in my neighborhood back in Kyoto - but online. I love, love, love that site, but I haven't had the chance to really get stuff for myself. So far, I have gotten stitch markers for knitting swaps.

But, with me reading wedding blogs (much more preferable to The Knot), I first discovered Myra Kim's headbands. Going to get one for myself (No veil! Yippee! Short hair! More yippee!), one for each of my flowergirls, and a hairclip for my bridesmaid who wants to wear her hair down.

Next, I read about these clutches. I might get each of my bridesmaids one as a gift as well as Little Sister - in fact, I will get her one for her 21st birthday because she fell in love with them. So affordable! Tricky part is to get one that suits each of the bridesmaids.

And then, jewelry. I got alot of unique jewelry at the temple fair, and have drooled over Etsy's offerings. My sister and I were browsing, and she found the most perfect pair of earrings for herself, as she will be in a yellow dress. They are blueberry colored quartz briolettes, and let's just say, Little Sister can rock long dangly earrings with no problem.

(image from The Peach Tree)

She was hooked, so we ordered them. God bless Etsy. They were so affordable too - under $20 with shipping.

After that, I began to browse a bit more - for myself. An idea was germinating in my mind: since I have canary yellow diamonds in my ring, why not try to find something that reflects that? I fell in love with small drop earrings (all of my earrings except for 4 pairs are drop) in Japan, so I entered "yellow" "drop" and "earring" into the Etsy search engine.

I found them.

(image from Haleseia Designs)

These are not actually a stone - according to the seller, they are called the "Sunburst Dichroic Fused Glass Earrings." The designer layers "many colors of glass and kiln fire them until they fuse into a rounded cabochon. The end result is a beautiful, unique piece of art with a depth that captures and reflects the light in a way that is difficult to portray in a photograph."

Wow. That is really unique. I was thinking of going for some citrine drop briolettes, but most of what I found was a bit muddy looking. Anotehr thing that I really like was I can change the hoops - my ring is platinum, so I wanted the yellow stone with silver hoops, and the designer has stainless steel. Add to the amazing price (under $15 with shipping) and they were perfect.

I might find others, but right now these are the earrings I will wear. Of course I got them waaaaaay early, but hey, they are unique and will hide in my jewelry box till October 3, 2009.

Hooray for Bridesmaids!

These days bridesmaids do more than just stand there and look amazing in their dresses.

They can also make "Save the Dates." D, my friend from college came over my house today and fiddled with her Adobe Illustrator to try to make something like this one because alas, I like it a lot but I really can't afford them with postage. Also, I think I need less than 25, and in the color scheme of the wedding too. I am forever indebted - she rocked the Adobe. 

She *might* also make some menu cards to put in frames at the table, since The Yale Club allows guests to pick what they want on the day of the wedding, and would be nice for the guests to know what they are eating besides "meat or fish." 

Hooray! Now let's hope I can print them on the printer - but first, I need a good place to get card stock (Kate's Paperie and this other paper store in SoHo are options because I am not down with paying for shipping, really). Any advice on card stock for inkjet printers? Mine is an HP with Vivera inks. 

(Un)Necessary Television Material

The scene: The Aussie and I at our laptops on our dining room table. 

What's on the TV? 

"Bridezillas."

Oh yes, wedding planning is WELL underway. 

PS. I went down again! So far, I have lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks. 

PPS. I can kinda relate with one of the bridezillas - she specifically said "no strippers" at her bachelorette and her friends got them (I do not want them myself). I would rather go bar hopping and wear a silly tiara. 

PPPS. I really can't wrap my brain at how for being a *&$(@, these women on that show get a free honeymoon. 

And Yet ANOTHER Post About the Wedding

My own father is telling me to be quiet about it. Haha.

Anyways...one of my most favorite things about weddings: the invitations!!! I am a lusty one after paper.

But I do have one problem - since when did letterpress get so darn expensive? I would LOVE to have something like this (from kate spade for Crane's):
Or something just as cool or custom and unique and such. In my family, the most common invitations that I have seen are pearlized slightly raised flowers with gold script, all in white. Every. single. time. Like a big bloom that you can barely see down in the corner, and the paper is....shiny. Oh dear. Now the big bloom that you see above is waaaaaay better.

Alas, I cannot afford kate spade, so I am trying to find something that is "kate spade-y" as my sister and I call it. I love her sense of style: a combination of classic and modern with just a touch of whimsy for fun.

I began to read The Preppy Wedding when I first started blogging and she mentioned once Wedding Paper Divas. THANK YOU! I LOVE LOVE LOVE that site. Here are some top contenders:

What I really like about Wedding Paper Divas is their accessibility; my mom had some questions on the wording of invites (I want to include both sets of parents who "request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their children Maria and The Aussie") and all we had to do was click the "Live Chat" button and bob's your uncle. I am asking them a question now about changing colors - they have set colors, but mayyyyyybe if it is possible I might try to change one of them.

ETA: The $15 charge is just one flat rate!!!! AWESOME...especially since I would just change one thing, $15 isn't that much. And if I can combine the location of the reception on the invite as well, I don't need to get reception cards. Thoughts?

So what say you? I won't say which one is my favorite, though if you have been reading my blog long enough, you might be able to guess.

And now onto other things: Save the Dates. I shortened them to StD's in my instant message chage with D, one of my bridesmaids but I stopped doing that ASAP as you can see above. Some people (like those in the Philippines, Bulgaria, Australia/Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Japan) need them. I like these two:

However, D has Adobe Illustrator and wants to learn it (she majored in visual arts/photo in college) and actually tried to come up with her own version of the second one with the colors of the wedding, and maybe see what she can come up with with the inspiration of the first. Opinions? Do Save the Dates and invites HAVE to match? My mom says it sorta ruins the surprise of the invitation.

In other news, we have started to look at photographers and DJ's. The DJ looks to be quite easy - we need a "Greek DJ" so that they can play the traditional wedding music (like the first dance that I have to lead, which is exactly like this one I found, complete with people from immediate family and bridal party adding on) as well as the American. Quite easy to solve that problem: we tell the DJ it's a 50/50 wedding, which is the term these days for when only one half of the couple is Greek (or any other nationality, I think). There is one that was highly recommended to us, so we are looking into it. Photographer, we are going to still shop around.

However (and maybe unfortunately?) there will be no breaking of plates. Greeks usually break plates to express "kefi" which is sorta hard to translate; closest is "an extreme expression of joy." It's illegal now to break plates at taverns and bouzoukia, now they throw flowers. Or money.

Mamma Mia, Here I Go Crazy, My My, Look at All the Calls I Made

Even though it is all settled now... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH.

Here is my whole day, summed up as per the time it happened (more or less approximately): 

6:00am - Wake up.

7:15am - Mom drops me off at train station.

8:00am - Arrive at Penn Station, waaaaay to early for my bus to Philly. Get Starbucks. 

9:15am - Depart for Philly.

10:00am: Fall asleep. 

10:30am - Leave message on machine at Yale Club, saying we will take the Grand Ballroom for September 12, 2009. 

11:15am - Arrive in Philly.

12:00pm - get to realtor's office and get keys for apartment. 

1:00pm - Get call from my other job for confirmation of training day tomorrow and my schedule.

1:01 - Call Muji, ask for tomorrow off. 

1:05 - Call college, say tomorrow is good for training, request my schedule ASAP because Muji needs my schedule yesterday. Will call me back. 

1:15pm - Finish with realtor, checking apartment and taking measurements. Wait for trolley. 

1:17pm - Get email from the Yale Club when I checked it on my cell phone, saying that there is one other girl with a similar date request, but since we were first technically it is still on hold. Please call back.

1:18pm - Call back, leave a message.

1:20pm - Get on trolley. 

1:30pm - Get to station, take earlier bus at 1:45.

2:00pm - College calls...got my schedule for July. Phew. 

3:30pm - Got a call back from Yale Club - coordinator's boss didn't know about us and the date, the other girl CAME WITH A CHECK AND TOOK MY DAMN FRIGGIN' DATE AND MY ROOM! Still, the lady was really nice about it. 

3:45pm - Arrive in NYC. Call The Aussie (he still wants the GB); try to call mom. OMG SHE DOESN'T PICK UP. 

3:46,7,8,9,50: Call mom again. Call her friend. Call Little Sister. Call dad. WHERE IS MY MOTHER? Call Mel - what is another good day...October 3? Ok. Call Little Sister and tell her come hell or high water even if you are in Greece (she is applying for a Fulbright starting September 2009) I do not care you are going to be at my wedding even if you are jetlagged in 4-inch heels. 

4:00pm: Hide in Manhattan Mall, call Yale Club, tell her I will touch base and get back to her by the end of the day. 

4:10pm - Hide in Macy's and call church. Ask for another date: October 3, 2009. Okey dokes. Apologize for changing things right and left. 3:30pm is good. 

4:20pm - Get hold of dad. She is not missing, but her phone is dead.  I tell dad to call her and tell her to call me now. Mind you, my battery on my phone is dying. 

4:21pm - Mom calls. Tell her the situation. October 3, 2009 is good. 

4:22,3,4,5,6pm - Call Yale Club, keep getting voicemail. Left a message, saying that I am going into the subway and will be out by 5pm.

5:00pm - Emerge out of the tunnel onto the El (El = elevated) part of the subway. Arrive at station, walk towards Curves and get voicemail message. It's Yale Club - 10/3/3009 is good, please call back to confirm. Call back, get contract emailed to me. 

5:15pm - Call mom and tell her what is going on. No probs. 

5:30pm - Start my Curves workout. 

I am exhausted. 

Ooh Ah, Just a Little Bit, Ooh Ah, A Little Bit More!

My mom's friend at school is hilarious. She kept me company many a lonely night in Japan with her sense of humour; when my mom told her that we decided on The Yale Club, she said, "I KNOW that someone is this school's kid got married there!" (my mom's friend is the computer teacher - she gets to play with the fancy iMacs).

Turns out, the gym teacher's daughter got married there (she is Jewish, and her husband is Greek so that must have been an interesting wedding) and it got a lot of positive results (now the next battle is going to be Halibut vs. Chilean Sea Bass - what say you ladies?). So even more reason to go for it.

I had to call the church again - my mom kinda flipped at a 3pm start time: "Too early!!!!!" So I called back, requesting a 3:30pm start time. This time I spoke with the Presvytera (she is the wife of a Greek Orthodox priest) and again when I said my name, she did a double-take and asked me to spell it. She said that my dad and her husband need to get together to figure out the connection. I say this is a good sign.

But more good news (and why I named my post after this great mid-90's dance song that I heard at Curves today - seriously its a junior high school soundtrack but good fun): I lost another pound and a half!

Now then, this crazy idea for a "Save the Date" came up in my head: with The Yale Club being all college-y and me in academia (sort of) and The Aussie doing brain-y stuff as well, I had this preliminary idea of incorporating pennants - one would say "Save" and the other would say "The Date" like on a postcard, and the other side would have the information. I do not like the whole magnet thing or the photo strip - it's really cliche.

I am not going to go mega crazy with the college-y theme but I thought it would be a whimsical touch (the one other and last mention of pennants would be to use mini pennants as place cards of some sort). This creative girl mentioned using Etsy's Alchemy for her paper needs, but I am graphic design impaired so I have no idea where to start (PS. it's gotta be afforable, I am still a student!). The only thing that I know right now is that the colors are going to be navy blue, pale-ish yellow and white, and while pennants would be fun, I still want some elegance (The Yale Club is quite classy) - though people will see bicycles as well. That is a definite.

PS. Unfortunately, I do not think there will be anything handknit for the wedding. I would have loved a shawl (and still might do it in case I get cold) and because I am soooooo slow, I am not sure if the girls will get anything. But I might knit my garter, There is a cute pattern for it on Ravelry, and it is not frilly, which is very, very important. No frills here!

Save the Date!

September 14, 2009 is a religious holiday in my church; my parents were a little concerned that they wouldn't do weddings that weekend. Turns out, I called the church, and to tell you the truth, I was a bit nervous. My cousin's friend is also getting married and she told me what hell she had to go through to get married at our local church right here. I was worried that because my Greek is sorta crap, the old biddies at the church office would give me poor treatment and give me a nationalistic lecture. I have been to the office when I was younger to register for Greek school; my mom always spoke in Greek to them.

I dialed.

The lady on the other end was so nice and sweet, and she spoke English too! She also sounded pretty young. When I gave her my name, she I guess did the vocal version of jumping in her chair; turns out, my last name is exactly the same as the last name of the priest. Really coincidental. When I asked for her name (so that I can speak with her in the future), I realized that her last name is the same as my paternal grandmother's maiden name. Sign?

There is a small (but insignificant) glitch: The Aussie has to get baptized. The Aussie knew about this (we had a feeling this was going t happen, so the subject was approached very early) so I know he is pretty ok with it. But seriously, if any of you have seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" the movie is becoming more like my real life. Still, it's a funny movie and this is going to be fun.

Well, they do have the date of September 12, 2009, and the secretary is going to send me a packet of information on wedding (and baptismal for The Aussie) as well.

Everything is falling into place. Next up: wedding dress. I am determined to get that over and done with by the time I leave for Philadelphia; with school starting, I know I won't have time to look for a dress. I know that there might be better ones, or that I might change my mind, but I found a really pretty one (and others!) from La Sposa, which is a Spanish company.

How Knitting Saved the Wedding

No, I will not knit my wedding dress (though I have seen a gorgeous one, I can't even knit a sweater - yet - much less finish a scarf. Knitting ADD I tell you).

Knitting helped The Aussie and I get one of the most crucial points for a wedding - where the heck we (and our guests) are going to sit down, dance and eat. The reception site.

Prior to my departure for Japan, we looked here, here and here. The first place smelled of fish, the second one was tacky and WAY overpriced, and while the third seemed to be the winner, upon further reflection it was overpriced and would underfeed (their site fee was astronomical!).

Quite stressful. So much so that the wedding was postponed simply because everyone was just freaking out. When I get back from Japan, then we have plenty of time.

Well time is passing, and The Aussie and I are leaving for Philly come mid-August, so time is actually pressing on us. On Ravelry, the knitting/crochet website I belong to, I posted a slightly sarcastic (but I really meant it) post in the "Dear _____" thread in the wedding group I am in. "Dear _____" is a place for us 'brides' (gag me with that word) to vent, share thanks, and cheer one another on. This is what I wrote one day:

Dear New York City, Westchester County, and Long Island:

You really suck. I love you and all, you are my home, you are one of the best cities in the world (and at my age, I have to been and lived in a few others, mind you) but you really friggin suck.

I hate you because you make it SO hard to find a decent wedding reception site without it looking like a tacky catering hall from the 1980s.

:::puts on a Queens accent::: Ya gotta be kiddin’ me.

PS: Long Island, come ON! You are supposed to be CHEAPER than the 5 boroughs! Or at least more affordable.
PPS: Same goes for you, Westchester.

Yours in New Yorker-ness,
v.

"V" is short for my nickname on Ravelry, if anyone is curious. I get a response from a fellow knitter, saying that she went with this place called The Yale Club. As in Yale University and all that Ivy League hullabaloo (which architecurally and design wise, I think is really pretty; I am a bit of a sucker for that). Turns out, you don't need to be a member; I sent her a private message and asked her if she had any information. She was so nice! I read her wedding blog and saw that she went with The Yale Club because it has alot of goodies to offer. Here is what they got:

5 hours of alcohol
8 butlered appetizers + 3 cocktail stations
4 course sit-down meal (appetizer, salad 2 choices of entree, with vegetarian as well, kosher an additional charge, and dessert)
Wedding cake
really affordable site fee

and a really big plus: a bridal suite for the night of the wedding and according to my knitting friend, a doggie bag for the bride and groom. I show my mom the website. We both go "OoOoO."

Trust me, you will want to see the photos. It also got a a lot of good reviews: first from my knitting friend, second from Little Sister's boss who is a wedding planner on the side (and has done two weddings there) and third, from this lovely lady (who I had the pleasure of meeting along with another lovely lady last week).

So far, so good. This is the most personal feedback about a place thus far. Could this really be it? Could the agony of trying to find a decently affordable place with enough food and a "wow" factor (optional, but a cool plus) in New York City of all places end?

We (as in, me, The Aussie, my parents, his parents and his grandfather) got the chance to check it out today.

All together now: OoOoOoOoOoOoO!!!

As you can probably surmise by this point, ladies (and gentlemen? Any boys read this?) we now have a wedding reception site. My mom will call a friend of a friend who works in the Marriages/Divorces office of the Greek Archdiocese tomorrow to see if the church is available for September 12, 2009 (this church is like our version of St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue). Hopefully, we cn get some wedding photos taken in the main concourse of Grand Central Station.

Let the wedding blog posts begin! (And the wedding stresses, as well oh dear).