Weekend Update

The new job is going great, in spite of the national tragedy that took us all by surprise when we went to lunch on Monday. My heart goes out to VT students. I'm from a college town and I can't imagine what it would be like if something like that happened here.

This Saturday was keep Georgia Beautiful Day and my small town (pop. 200 +/-, in which I hold a political office) replanted our Children's Garden. I was inspired to plant it last year on the site of a vacant buliding that had literally been allowed to fall down. We cleared the lot, put up donated fencing, borrowed child-size gardening tools from the neighboring University and let the kids plant squash, tomatoes, watermellon, sunflowers, etc. It was such a big hit that we decided to do it again this year. In addition to the kid-friendly, pesticide-free fruits and veggies, we added an herb garden for us foodies. We also added things like pinwheels and humming bird feeders and a picnic table with a bright umbrella to encourage families to come out during the day for lunch or a snack. I hope to post pics later in the week.

Mi Vida Loca!

It has been waaaaaaaaay too long my blogging friends! I have had time here and there to read your blogs, but I haven't had any time for my own postings. With wedding planning breathing down my neck (4 months out) and starting a new job on Monday, my schedule has been nuts.

I do have some exciting news to share:

A) I will be starting a fab new job on Monday. This job comes with a fab new paycheck and will actually allow me to use my MBA - what a novel concept! The only downside is I'm going from a capri pants and polo setting to a heels and hose setting, so that will be tough the first couple of weeks.

B) My engagement announcement finally came out in our hometown newspapers, and I got a call on Tuesday to come and pick up some wedding gifts! These two were from a local jewlery store that carries tons of great stuff. I got 4 monogrammed iced tea glasses and a matcing lucite monogrammed drink tray and pitcher - just perfect for Sunday brunch on the patio!

C) (Which relates to B) I am so organized lately that I wrote the thank you notes for the gifts on the same day I received them. I used my gorgeous embossed monogram notes from Lemon Tree Paperie. I also went strawberry picking with my nephew, bought a whole flat, dame home and made 75 mini-jars of "Lovin' Spoonful Strawberry Jam" (yes that's what I put on the labels) to use in my gift bags for OOT wedding guests. Monogram Momma would be so proud!

D) (Which relates to A) Do any of you preppy girls have suggestions for office supplies (blotter, trays, pencil cup, etc.) I want to start this new job in style and I want my desk to be as fab as the job!

E) Polo Guy and I have been looking for the perfect look for the guys in the wedding. I'm not into the whole tux thing - sometimes it looks way too "prom-ish" (is that even a word!?). We've decided on charcoal grey suits, black wingtips, and some sort of VV tie, just to make it fun. The guy at the store is going to order me samples of everything they have in pink and I can then decide on a design (sometimes it pays to be from a small town!). I just hope everything turns out as well as it did for Jen at Preppy Wedding. Her details and photos are AWESOME. I'm so glad she's continuing with her blog and helping out other brides-to-be.

I think that's it for now, but I'll try to do better with my blogging!

Rehearsal Dinner Outfits

I'm in the process of narrowing down my choices for my rehearsal dinner. Since Polo guy thinks every day is khaki pants day, I'm choosing his clothes too. I don't want to be too matchy-matchy, but I think this is the one time I can get away with it. I'm open for feedback on the choices below.

For Polo Guy: Jos A Bank Seersucker Pants in blue with white VV shirt and blue VV Champagne Tie.

For The Preppy Peach: Old Navy Seersucker Dress, maybe adding a coordinating VV Sash.


My wedding colors are (of course) pink and green, so I thought of switching the seersucker to pink with green accessories, but not sure Polo Guy would go for it! Give me some help Preppy Girls!

Clothing Compromises

As you all know, I'm in the midst of planning a wedding. With the wedding comes showers and with showers comes the need for lots of cute new dresses. While I would like to stock my closet exclusively with Lilly, that's just not in the budget right now (although I am planning of wearing a Lilly to my rehearsal dinner).

I was grocery shopping in (gasp) Wal-Mart today and passed a dress too cute to leave in the store. I figure if I only spent $20 on the dress, then I should be able to justify a fabulous Bonanno sandal to go with it! My selections are below. Maybe Mrs. P will style me with some Chic jewlery to complete the look!

Still Waiting

So I celebrated the new job 2 weeks ago, but the offer was pending the successful completion of a backround check. IT IS STILL NOT COMPLETE - mind you I'm not going to work for the CIA or anything!

They've called twice to verify my driver's license number and even had me fax it on Monday. Apparantly they are still waiting on my MVR, which I was able to pull myself in about 2 seconds from the web. AHHHHHHHHHH! What is it with computers that don't "talk" to each other??? Drives me crazy.

Anyway I'm just ready to know whether I'm staying where I am or moving on or what. Just a little Wednesday vent for your reading pleasure!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

So I've been completely slack on the blog lately, but my life has been CRAZY.

Polo Guy and I had what I term the "Wedding Budget War" on Monday and Tuesday. We finally got everything worked out, but that involved a change in town, which necessitated a change in venues for both wedding and reception - mind you, we are only 5 months out! Thank goodness everything worked out and we have booked the new venues!

We also had our fab engagement party this weekend. We had our out of town guests over prior to the actual event for a "pre-party" (what's with me and all the quotes today???), which of course involved some killer homemade appetizers by moi and lots of cocktails. So many cocktails, in fact, that we were almost late to our own party!

This was our big "coming out" in my hometown, and it was really fun, but tiring at the same time. People just kept coming and coming and I was in heels smiling and hugging and making small talk. By the time we left, we were both wiped out. At last count we had about 74 guests in total, which was way more than I expected.

We also received our first wedding present - a Beatriz Ball oval salad bowl in the pearl pattern. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and it will coordinate perfectly with my Butler's Pantry everyday china. I couldn't find a photo of it online, but it's very similar to this cracker tray from the same collection.

China & Flatware Patterns

Posts on The Preppy Wedding and Magnolias, Marriage, and Manhattan got me thinking about sharing my china and flatware patterns, so here we go:

Everyday Flatware - Oneida Interlude

Holiday China - Spode Christmas Tree

Everyday China - Lenox Butler's Pantry Gourmet

I was lucky enough to inherit beautiful antique china (Royal Worcester's Blue Regency) and sterling (Gorham's Chantilly, used today by George & Laura on Air Fore One) from my grandmother. This photo doesn't do the china's deep cobalt border justice. Now if only I could get my mama to fork over the Waterford Crystal, I'd be set!!

Wedding Flowers

After dinner with my mother on Wednesday night and a marathon conversation on wedding flowers, we have decided on hydrangeas and roses. I want to do something a little more lighthearted and fun for the reception and I found a great picture of an arrangement using apples online, which I think is very fun and not too stuffy. I'm inlcuding photos of all the ideas that are in the running hoping for some feedback and more ideas! All colors will in my signature pink and green, of course, these are just inspirational.

Celebratory Dinner

To celebrate the job offer I got yesterday, I whipped up an awesome dinner for myself and Polo Guy. The chicken turned out so delicious that I thought I'd share the recipe:

1 whole chicken (split in half)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon herbes de provance (if you don't have these, just add a dash or two of your favorite herbs)

Mix together all ingredients (except chicken - duh). Place chicken in roasting pan and pour 1/2 of liquid mixture over it, rubbing to make sure it's well coated. Reserve the remaining liquid for basting. Bake for 2 hours at 325 - I have a convection roast feature, which gets the skin really brown and crisp, but if cooking in a conventional oven, I'd suggest 350.

When chicken is done, remove from pan to large platter and deglaze the roasting pan with red wine (I only had half a bottle left by the time the chicken got done!). Add in sliced mushrooms and onions and reduce.

This was yummy paired with a simple green salad and some oven roasted potatoes! (Since I'm new to the blogging world, I'll let you in on some personal information related to the previous sentance. Notice I didn't say yum-o because I CANNOT STAND RACHEL RAY. In my opinion she's a Martha wanna-be and not a very good one at that. That said if you love her, more power to you, I just perfer Martha's cool perfection!

Rehearsal Dinner Thoughts

Being a true Southern Girl, I love, love, love Low Country Boil. For those of you who aren't fortunate to live in Coastal Georgia, this is a boiled mixture of shrimp, potatoes, sausage, onions, and corn. It's very simple but DELISH and is coming into vogue in such hallowed spots as Kiawah and Sea Island.

Anyway, Polo Guy and I have decided to do one for our Rehearsal Dinner. Since our colors are pink and green, I've ordered pink and green bandannas to roll silverware in. Now I was thinking of just using plain galvanized tin pails for the silverware rolls and to ice down beverages (6 oz. Cokes, natch!), until I found these great pails from The MacBeth Collection. I'm using the Sorbet Stripe Pattern on the Party Bucket. This is a FAB site - enjoy.

I Finally Started My Own

After months of reading blogs like Preppy Wedding, Chic, and Monogram Momma, I finally decided to start my own!