Seriously...

I don't invest...but if I did, judging by the number of black and white boxes I have thrown away in the last 3 days - and taking into account whether Crate & Barrel is a publicly traded company - I would buy stock. Lots of it. Because I have a feeling that their earning this 3rd quarter are going to be higher than anticipated.

H had her one and only wedding shower this past weekend in Chicago. I am not going to write much about it. Alas, I wasn't there. I was busy golfing with my soon to be father-in-law, Richard. He beat me by 40 strokes. I am not a good golfer.

The shower was held at Branch 27 - a new restaurant near our house. Cary and his staff put out a great spread and it appears that everyone had fun. The girls all loved the server Kevin - who, by the time I got there to load the presents into the car, had baby's breath in his hair.

To everyone that attended - thank you. H loved everything and I am so thankful that you all could make it. Special kudos go out to H's Mom, Sandra, my Mom, Carol and H's bridesmaids - who all hosted this event and made this a shower for H to remember. It seems like everything really came together amazingly and I am so appreciative of your efforts on behalf of my favorite girl. Special props go out to the girls who bought the cake (shown above) (Jrise and CKang, I think?) - its pretty awesome, though, it may be derailing my wedding diet.

Magic Cards...

We are less than seven weeks away...invitations were dropped a few Saturdays ago (props out to Sandra H - H's Mom - for doing the leg work and getting these out). My understanding is that these things are beautiful. I wouldn't actually know, since H did this one on her own. She met with a woman named Gloria in May and kind of laid out what she was thinking. There was no mock-up. There were no drafts. Just Gloria and H (and Monica and Sandra H) sitting around brainstorming. Between you and me, I am a little glad that I missed. I don't work well in group settings - I am at my best when its just me, some saison du pont and an evite (and a bad attitude).

As I was saying - the invitations went out in the mail two Saturdays ago...on Thursday we started receiving the RSVPs.

You know you are wedding dorks when you have a little ritual for the RSVPs. I'll be the first to admit it. I am a huge wedding nerd...and I have turned H over to the dark side. Every night for the last seven days (that mail has come), H or I (whoever gets the mail first), places the unopened RSVP cards (complete with the $0.44 customized Jezebel the Pug Stamp)(Pimp my stamp!) on the center of the kitchen table and we wait until the other gets home. The wait is excruciating...Admittedly, we peek (you can make out whether the RSVP is an "accept with pleasure" or "decline with regret" through the envelope - as well as whether a vegetarian dish is requested (so far there have been 5 vegetarian dishes requested - good for you readers!). We then split them up and begin opening them one-by-one.

We then argue about who had the better RSVP... usually H opens the one from the people I invite or that she invites. Which means she gets all the ones with the little notes written on them (which I never knew was allowed - though, we are the first people I know that are getting the RSVP cards - they usually go to the parents). It makes me jealous.

Why am I writing about such a mundane wedding detail. Other than the fact that I am running out of material? Easy. There is something about these cards that change H's mood almost immediately. Last Thursday, H came home hysterical - she was scheduled to begin a trial in a few weeks and felt like she was behind. She was also traveling to Indy (and leaving an hour later than she wanted) for the weekend and felt like she was missing valuable trial prep time (especially since I was out of pocket all weekend). This is also the day that we received our first 10 RSVP cards...almost instantly (after we opened the first), H's mood was transformed...she loved the notes and loved the fact that people were taking time out of their lives to join us on our day. I think she loved thinking about these people at our wedding. It was pretty remarkable - and, as she drove to Indy, she texted me about the people who responded (well, about one of the people that responded). I could tell her mood had changed. Her focus was off the trial for a little bit and was now focused on just how amazing her wedding is going to be...

And yes, dear reader - you have to respond. If only just for H.

She's got the fever...and the only treatment is more wedding bells

There has been a pretty consistent theme throughout these fifty+ posts - unless it has to do with music, H is not a fan of planning this wedding. It was a real issue between her and I before we agreed that the best thing for our engagement would be to hire Monica from Detail + Design to aid us as a wedding planner.

Something is changing...slowly....surely. Someone is embarrassed... someone is conflicted ... someone has wedding fever.

While I was out passing out at (or before) midnight with my friends for my bachelor party, H slipped away to Indiana to put a dent in our wedding 'to-do' list - make-up and hair run through - the Tasting at the Central Library - sit down with the designer - sit down with Monica - get wedding band for future husband - wedding (cup)cake tasting. What started as a major inconvenience (H has a trial starting in a few weeks) quickly turned into a series of text messages stating in no uncertain terms "OMG! Our wedding is going to be amazing!!" and Facebook wall posts saying "I am getting a little too giddy about this bridal situation and I don't know how I feel about it."

I don't know if giddy is the right word - I have never known H to get giddy - but she definitely has got the wedding fever and the only prescription is her taking a more active role these last few weeks. Its exciting. I love the fact that this wedding is going to have her stamp on it (in someways quite literally - since she was the brains behind the $0.44 customized Jezebel Pug Stamp on the RSVP cards)(as well as the creative drive behind the invites)(which I planned on talking about - but since I still haven't seen one, I remain silent)(I digress).

The point - as it has been throughout really - is that the whole process is infinitely more enjoyable when we are both immersed in it - H and I were talking about the stresses of planning the other day (a pretty routine conversation) - and I mentioned the things that are going to stick out as the memorable moments of our engagement (other than night we got engaged)(of course) and they were all things that we did together: quick trips to Indiana to see the Library; meeting with Monica; sharing a bottle of wine while we completed the save the date cards; faux dancing around the house to the song that we plan on having as our first dance ("Bump n' Grind" by R.Kelley)(I wish); and two weekends ago when we sat around with our computer and ipods and picked out songs that are "must plays" at the wedding.

H and I are often on the same page - but its those moments that really captures just how great of a team we are.

Worst Bachelor Since Andrew Firestone...

This weekend was the long-awaited bachelor party of your dear blogger. Despite my best efforts, I am alive and well and slightly dehydrated. All the same, I had a great time and truly appreciate the efforts of everyone in making the weekend a memorable one for me. Understandably, several of my friends owe their wives/girlfriends a spa day or two for sticking them with the kids for a few days while they golfed, drank and recaptured college (if only for a few hours).

I would be remiss if I didn't single out my brother and best man, Jason, for putting this all together - he was a rock star and gave me what I told H was the perfect bachelor party for me - rooftop BBQ, golf (props to another groomsman, Steve, for putting together a solid invitational at Glencoe Golf Club), dinner...pass out. Yes, I did pass out. Hard. I am a shell of my former self. Most of the times its a blessing. This time it was a curse.

I don't know if it was the shots, the "t and stormy" or the beers, but by 11:30 PM - your bachelor was D-O-N-E. Oh well...pick more daisies, I guess. Phil - a college roommate - suggested that I was the worst bachelor since Andrew Firestone. While, I disagree that AF was the worst bachelor (Brad Womack, anyone?), I do agree that I let the team down - they all went out for another 2 hours in the neighborhood - I got 8 hours of sleep. Its a win-win, as far as I am concerned...lets just hope that I keep it together on the wedding day. That might be difficult if they serve tequila.

Your Blogger's Back...

I have received a lot of guff lately. Apparently, if you take 45 days off between posts, you are a real jerk...who knew? Its wonderful that I have such a great fan. What happened? I guess life got in the way. It seems like every morning I tell myself I am going to post something - but when its time for the rubber to meet the road, I decide that I probably should write something that gets me paid and allows me to keep my job - contract litigation is sexy.

Regardless. Michael Jordan said it in 1995. I'm saying it now: "I'm back."

In the next week or so, you should be ready to learn a lot. Invitations dropped last week. Thats kind of a big deal. My bachelor party is this weekend. Think docker's commercial with cheaper beer. H and I stayed up drinking last week and picked out music for the wedding...it was really good times - especially the part where we drunk dialed my Mom to see what song she wanted me to pick for the Mother/Son dance - she said "something by Frank Sinatra." Naturally.

Stay tuned - I'm at the controls and I promise to take you safely into the wedding day - its coming fast, but I think I can handle it.

Still kicking...

Fear not...H lived through her Bachelorette party last weekend. The girls have been pretty mum on the stories and no pictures have been leaked (which is fine) so all I have to go on is a 2:24 AM voicemail from H telling me that my sister-in-law is awesome, that they're eating burritos and to 'suck it' (she's so cute), but, from what I can tell, H had an amazing time and was extremely saddened by the end of the weekend.

I know its cheesy (or cheese-ass)(or whatever), but I was really touched that so many of the girls took time out of there lives and came into town to fete my future bride. Its really a testament to the friendships that they have and have maintained over the years. So, ladies, thank you. You mean so much to H and I am glad that she has friends like you in her life (to the ladies that could not make it, please know that I include you in this sentiment).

Thank you all again for loving my girl as much as I do.

Suck for a buck...

This weekend is H's bachelorette party...blurgh.

I'm kidding. Aside from the part in which I was politely asked to leave for the weekend, I am excited for H. She needs a weekend with her friends doing whatever it is that they do (usually screaming sing-a-songs and dancing to the Roots)(it doesn't matter where they are)(seriously). My understanding is that this is not going to be a typical Rush/Division bachelorette party with suck for a buck t.shirts, veils and phallic earrings...I love that this is not H's style. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with that style, its just so...gauche. The girls on "Bridezillas" do it this way - I'm just saying.

I can go either way on bachelor/bachelorette parties. I think they are a necessary evil to the process. H and I have talked about this more than I care to admit: I don't like the archaic view that this is the man/woman's "last night out as a single" - something that you see often with bachelor parties. Its so 80's in that Tom Hanks, donkey on amphetamines sort of way. I think that that ideology only encourages being a jackass and maybe makes the whole thing bigger than it needs to be. It doesn't have to be an "anything goes" or "whatever happens in Bar Chicago stays in Bar Chicago" sort of event. It should reflect the person they are meant to celebrate and not the other way around. (Admittedly, I am not a strip club guy - ipso facto - we're not going to a strip club for my party).

From what I can gather, this is a really well thought out and "H-esque" weekend centered on all the girls catching up and enjoying each other's company - with some woman's empowerment type activities thrown in. Big props to the MOH, Midge, who has been a rockstar planner. She seems to have everything covered and I can't tell you how much I appreciate her commitment to her maid of honor role.

So, ladies - have a great time this weekend, keep your tee shirts with lifesavers taped to them at home and call the guy from your gym that you want to jump out of a cake(?) and tell him to make other plans and just take care of my girl.