Bicoastal, again

Married seven months and we are now on separate coasts. I had 7 nights with my spouse in the last week and boy was it nice!? Soon we will actually be in the same place for.....ever? We will be back in the "promised land" starting the end of June. We can't wait. It was 3 years in the making. I am so excited to be married. The last few days have been very hectic and included missing a flight, a flat tire, a red-eye flight, a big work meeting, and..... I guess that was it. Anyhow, having a wonderful co-pilot made it easier and better.

A month is too long to be separated. If you plan to live apart during your engagement or marriage, do not wait a month to see each other. 3 weeks max, really.

Better Late Than Never: The Obama's RSVP

More than six months after my wedding and eight months since I sent my invitations, the POTUS and FLOTUS (President and First Lady of the United States) have sent me a response to my wedding invitation. The could not attend but wish us many good wishes.

I admit after reading that I could send an invitation to my almost neighors, Mr. and Mrs. President, I was pretty excited to think that someone in the White House might open my carefully designed and executed wedding invitation, afterall it was a silk-screened bandana map of Oregon and a letter press info card. I couldn't actually imagine them going to my wedding website and filling out the electronic RSVP, but I held out hope until my wedding that they might send at least a form letter that I could relish and paste into my wedding guestbook.

Time passed by. I revisited Emily Post to see if this really was protocol. I waited some more. And then after I had changed my address at least two times and moved from the West Coast to the East Coast and back again, my mom called me and told me she had picked up some old mail at the house I lived in leading up to the wedding and ............ there it was.

I received a hand addressed envelope from the White House. Enclosed was a third sheet sized notecard with the White House seal and an stamped signature of Barack and Michelle wishing us a happy marriage. So small and conventional and yet still very symbolic and pleasing--but I do work for the man after all.

For now it's going on the mantle for all to see.

Identity Crisis

I just got a new job and they wanted to know my full legal name so I told them, the one that is on my passport, which is the same one that I was given at birth. I prefer to use a shorter name on my business cards, taxes, and driver's license because I have a long name, but in this case they were insistent that I use my full legal name. So I figure this means the name on my passport, but they tell me to call the county where I got married and ask them what is on my marriage certificate. Turns out that I put my shorter name on it. Well I guess I inadvertantly changed my name and the ironic thing is, I didn't change it to my husband's name, I just changed it to a different version of my own.

Wonder if I will be able to go on my honeymoon with my passport? Ugh.

The Registry that keeps on giving

It's been five months since the big day and H and I are still getting a few wedding gifts here and there. We have had to make several returns and exchanges because we ended up with duplicates and things that we didn't prefer, not that we are complaining--the stores we registered at have been very nice to work with and we finally put all of the gift cards for William Sonoma together and purchased the big All-Clad cookware set. It's very pretty and if we had enough room for it in our kitchen, I would create a meal that used all seven pieces today. Unfortunately, most are going back in the big box which I am going to try to find a place for in our stairwell or someting. (I wish we had a house, or at least a one-bedroom.) Anyhow, in looking back at W S website, we realized that we could get all of this cool booty by registering for a bunch of Wusthof and Le Creuset, and just for registering and sending in a copy of your registry, you can get some cool free gifts. So soon we will have some more stuff and no room for it, but perhaps by then we will have a new home.

Married Christmas!

H. and I went back home to Portland for the holiday. (We seem to be alernating whose family we spend Xmas with each year.) We had a great time. As usual, I busted a move in the kitchen and cranked out many, many more cookies--perfecting some of the recipes that we (and others) tried out at our DC cookie party: chocolate coconut meringue, ginger shortbread, lavender and pink salt shortbread, coconut snow balls, thumb prints with real cherry halves. Oh! and I found a great recipe for sweet and spicy pecans in the Oregonian Food Day. Seriously, these things were great and went so fast at the Xmas Eve open house that I made more and gave them away as gifts. If I had had this recipe at our wedding these would have been the favors--with hazelnuts for my home state and pecans for H.'s. I also made an excellent butternut squash and roasted chesnut soup, sesame soy kale, and......... helped my sister with an oven-baked shitake mushroom risotto. Dad pitched in an awesome leg of lamb and my mom and step dad smoked a turkey. It was a delicious spread. I almost forgot the smoked steelhead that H. and brother in law offered and the goat cheese cheesecake that I whipped up.

All in all, a delicious week. I didn't get to get out and exercise much over the last week, but the domestic goddess in me really came out and it felt good to have that Kitchenaid lever in the hand again. The wedding gifts are still all in storage, but my sister had hers. I think I will live a little longer without my gadgetry. I will try to post the recipes soon.

H. surprised me once again with some great gifts including 8 weeks of swing-dancing lessons with him. I can't wait for those. Some couples do that before their wedding, but we didn't have time. Plus... we have our whole life to dance together, not just our wedding day.

I am married. What now?

Not in a hurry for the next big thing, but I am thinking about what I can offer those other budget brides you have yet to march forth.

A couple of ideas:

1. made my own cake - approx $250 in savings, was able to get the exact flavor I wanted and only use good local ingredients, was also a big hit with the inlaws because I used their family recipe
2. caught our own fish - we went on a guided salmon trip the week before the wedding and were able to catch enough fish for the entire wedding, made for a great story and locally and sustainably caught fish
3. had mom do flowers - bought flowers at farmers market by placing an order, then mom, grandma, and aunties did flower arrangements and bouquets on-site that morning, savings of approx $250
4. had friend cook fish - if you can talk a chef friend into doing this it can ensure that you get your hard caught fish the way you want it. Not every caterer can ensure that. It also gives your friend a duty of honor at the wedding, though this can turn into a duty of anxiety and sweat if you have a lot of backseat cooks
5. had a bunch of our guests camp together and paid for group campsite - saved number of hotel rooms that they took up and left more for family who wouldn't have camped, and was fun
6. have friend design invitation and another friend design other stuff like wedding program and thank you notes - you could have one friend do it all, but you might wear them out, afterall, they are providing a service to you and you may not be paying for it. I saved a lot of money this way, approx $250 on invitation and $100 on program and thank yous. I also took care of the printing myself through my own contacts so I could pick out all of the paper and stuff myself
7. have a friend or friends be your photographer - buy them a plane ticket to the wedding, or provide them with lodging and a rental car, or something to entice them to offer this service, but be sure to make them feel as if they are a guest and not a worker. You will want to have other people photograph too because your photog can't be everywhere and can't be expected not to drink and have fun all night long, approx savings $1000-$2000
8. more to come
   

Gone Fishing

It was great. I can't believe it's over. It's not over. It's just the beginning of our next adventure.