2014 Wedding Season

Now that Dan and I are engaged, weddings have taken on an extra bit of meaning.  Sure, we still enjoy going to weddings, but they are also a great opportunity for us to figure out the types of things that we like at weddings or would prefer to not have at our own, and, just in general, decide on the type of feel we would like to have at our wedding.  

Last weekend, we traveled to Pittsburgh to watch one of Dan's best friends from high school get married {actually, they have known each other since they were just little guys}.  It was a really fantastic wedding, so low-key and down-to-earth, which was perfect for the couple.  Dan's {yes, his friend is also named Dan, and yes, there are three of them named Dan in their high school friend group} grandfather is a deacon and was able to be a co-celebrant, so the ceremony was very personal.  The reception was really fun, and we loved spending time with the entire group, many of whom we hadn't seen since this friend group's last wedding this past August.  Towards the end of the after party, Dan and I were getting ready to head out, so we said our goodbyes to Dan {the groom} and Jen.  As I went to say goodbye to Dan, he motioned to me to come towards him, and, giving me a big hug, he told me, with tears in his eyes, how thrilled he was for Dan and I and how perfect we are for each other.  In his defense, it was late in the night, he was coming off of a highly stressful day and he had had more than a few to drink, but the sentiment was certainly genuine, and seeing him tear up made me tear up as well.  Dan is so lucky to have such a good friend, and it is SO apparent to me how much the two of them care about each other.  Weddings are one of those moments in life where you can really reaffirm relationships with people you may have known for years, and I know that my Dan was so happy to stand up next to Groom Dan as one of his groomsmen.  All in all, it was a fabulous party, and it was wonderful to get to meet some more Pittsburghers.

This past weekend, we went to my friend Colleen's wedding in South Bend, Indiana {yes, that's Notre Dame, for those of you who thought that name sounded familiar as you read it}.  Colleen and I lived together, along with one other girl, in the year after graduation, and she has been a dear friend ever since {I'm so grateful to the mutual friend who "set us up" as roommates!!}. We opted to drive to this wedding, because of the extreme cost of flying, and, although the drive was painfully long {roughly 9 hours}, at least Dan and I had each other to share it with.  Molly and Lauren drove up separately, and it was great to have the two of them there, because we were the few non-Domers at the wedding!  This wedding, you guys, was Colleen and Brett to a T - it was quite the classy event.  While I am completely biased against Notre Dame, I will say that the Basilica that they got married in was gorgeous, even outdoing dear Dahlgren.  One little detail that I loved is that both of them are eucharistic ministers, so we actually got to receive communion from the two of them.  It was just a really nice touch.  We had a bunch of downtime after the ceremony, which was at 9 a.m. {that Basilica is in high demand!!!}, so we walked around a bunch {we figured out that we walked about 5 miles that day} and  watched some World Cup.  At one point, Dan went to the lobby to get a soda, and found us three girls passed out upon his return mere minutes later - we were exhausted!  The reception was lovely as well, and the food was probably the best of any wedding that I've been to!  Lots of options for a vegetarian with nut allergies, which made this gal happy :)  

It is so hard to not go to all of these weddings and not get the warm fuzzies.  Some of our earliest, most concrete conversations about marriage happened after the weddings we went to last summer, in large part because you're on such an emotional high and are feeling the love after attending a wedding.  I know that ours is still about two years away, but I just can't wait to marry my best friend :) I'll do a phone dump at some point this week so I can post some pictures from these weddings, but for now, here's one that I Instagrammed from this past weekend!

Colleen and Brett, seriously beaming!

Yesterday was also my parents' 29th wedding anniversary! I was so lucky to be able to spend it with them once we got back from the wedding.  I sure am lucky to have them as my parents, and here's to many more!

Post-Weekend Links

Happy Monday, friends!  Big news: I GOT THE BOOT OFF a few weeks ago!  I had been carting that darn thing around since the beginning of May, and the month of May just DRAGGED as a result.  I couldn't have been happier when my orthopedist told me a few weeks ago that I could rid myself of what Dan and I affectionately call Das Boot!  This injury has definitely prompted a bit of an attitude change when it comes to running, because I know now that I can't sustain running 50 mi/week.  My body WILL start to break down, it's just a matter of when.  So I'm kicking of a recommitment to finding fun forms of cross-training, and I have to say, I absolutely loved my time spent swimming during the month of May.  I felt myself getting stronger, and it was a nice release.  I hope to find a pool near our new apartment so that I can continue to do that a few days a week.  In the meantime, I have started running more, and have found that, thanks to swimming, I have been able to bounce back really quickly {whereas, last fall, when I couldn't exercise at all while I had the boot on, I was sucking wind for my first few weeks of running}.  Anywho, a few interesting tidbits:

• I found this article about "The People Who Can't Not Run." Even I can admit that the people are a bit extreme {running in place while in labor? No thanks!!!}, but some of what they said that resonated with me.  I run every day both because I love running and because no other form of physical activity gives me the same emotional high that running does.
• I found this great post over on Hey Natalie Jean, a blog that I read frequently.  It features a documentary called "Spent: Looking for Change" that features five families who represent the growing percentage of Americans in financially underserved households.  It is really sobering, and illustrates the very fine line between a great financial situation and a few bad breaks that can send a family into a tailspin.
• During my job search, I realized I needed to brush up on how to negotiate a salary increase.  I found this awesome article that provided a word-by-word of what you should say.  I think that this is a skill that women need to practice more {i.e. not being afraid to state what we think we're worth}, because, really, what can you lose?  Also, this is something they should teach in school.

I will work on posting some more this week, which is my last week of work {HALLELUJAH!!! My last day is Thursday!}, because I have so many updates to share, from the job search to two fantastic weddings and lots of travel in between!

This Move is Officially Happening...

Last week was a banner week in our household! We started off the week by getting engaged on Sunday, and, by Thursday, we had gotten a condo!  Add to it some slight movement on the job front, and it made for a great week.

To be honest, I was not completely stressed about our housing situation in Chicago.  If I needed to move to start a job, I knew that I had a couple of great friends that I could crash with for a couple of days while I tried to find us an apartment.  However, I feel SO much better knowing that there is a place that will be ours as of July 1st!  As opposed to the job search process, which has been long and drawn-out, the housing search happened at a lightning-fast pace.  We had narrowed it down to one neighborhood that we wanted to target, based on proximity to public transportation, overall feel of the neighborhood, etc.  Dan was able to see a few buildings in this area during a neighborhood housing tour that was a part of Admitted Student Weekend.

Based on the research we had done and the buildings Dan had visited, we were primarily considering three buildings.  On Wednesday, we had our real estate agent go and look at a place for us, and we made a split-second decision to go for it after seeing the pictures that she sent us.  Our plan all along had been to have either one of our friends or Dan's sister go and see our prospective homes before signing a lease, but we soon learned that we were going to need to move more quickly than that, requiring us to place all our trust in our agent to get a sense for these places {this is not a good feeling for a control freak like me!}. We raced to get the application completed on Wednesday afternoon and evening, and found out late on Thursday morning that we got the condo!  It was such a whirlwind, and we certainly got ourselves worked up about it, but I am so glad that everything turned out okay.  We are very excited to move in!

I found out in the middle of last week that I got an on-campus interview for a job that I am very interested in, so I will be heading to Chicago next week.  I am both excited and nervous, since the job-related component of this move is what has stressed me out the most, both from income and healthcare perspectives.  I so badly want to have that nailed down so that I can truly enjoy my remaining time in DC and not need to stress out about my employment prospects.  I will keep you all posted!

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the aftermath of the engagement.  It has been a huge adjustment to refer to Dan as my fiancé, and I have certainly slipped up more than a few times.  Everyone has been so sweet and curious to hear about the details, and I think I have the story memorized at this point!!! We are not moving forward on any major details yet, although I have started brainstorming a guest list, as that will affect the types of venues we are able to consider.  We got to see several friends over the weekend who hadn't seen us since the engagement, so it was really fun to share the story with them.

In general, it was just a perfect weekend! Dan and I got to spend some quality time together, and, very importantly, we spent a LOT of time outside, as the weather was absolutely gorgeous!  Dan, Molly and I went to a Nats game with Dan's dad on Saturday, followed by a great late afternoon/evening on H St. celebrating our friend Alix's birthday on a rooftop.  On Sunday, we went to the Air & Space Museum, which Dan had never been to, and I spent the afternoon with my dad at the outdoor pool that they belong to.  We grabbed dinner with my parents at Blacksalt on Sunday evening {seriously, mouthwateringly delicious fish!} and got to catch up with them post-engagement {they had not seen Dan since then}.  It was a beyond perfect weekend, and this upcoming one will be one of our last in DC, as we will be out of town at weddings the following two weekends.  Exciting times! It is finally feeling like summer, and I think going to Jazz on Friday will make it feel like the official start of summer for me!!