I Bought THE Dress!

I did it!!! I officially placed a down payment on my wedding dress. 😀 I am beyond excited!!!

Today at Something Blue Bridal‘s veil and headpiece trunk show, I saw my dress in person for the fourth time. It is so beautiful and finally, after four separate appointments to see and try on this dress, I feel 100 percent positive that I found my perfect dress. (Can you tell I am a very thorough person? 😉 )

The women at the boutique said the designer of my dress, Jim Hjelm, will be in town in April and I will get to meet him in person. My dress is actually designed by James Clifford, but he is  Jim Hjelm, so I cannot wait to meet the man behind the masterpiece in couple of months.

Though the trunk show for my dress’s designer isn’t until April, the women still offered me the trunk show discount on my dress, which saved me around $160. For a frugal gal like me, this made my day!

Since I cannot post pictures of my dress since I don’t want my hubby-to-be to see ’em, I hope you’ll enjoy these pictures of me trying on veils today. I want my veil to be a combination of these two veils… long, but with lace trimming that starts around my fingertips and goes to the floor. I love the cathedral veils!

Long Veil

Short Veil with Lace Trimming

Does anyone out there have any tips as to where to look for a less expensive veil?

Any advice is appreciated!

Errands and Eats

Oookay, let’s back up a bit. (I got a little too excited to share my wedding dress news with you!)

After breakfast, Ryan and I headed to Home Depot to pick up a new air filter before stopping by IKEA to check out furniture and brainstorm decorating ideas for our new apartment.

Ryan ❤ Home Depot

We forgot what size air filter we needed so we bought two, figuring one would work. Turns out neither were right! Such is life. 🙂

Ryan and I had a good time in IKEA and found several pieces of furniture (a chair, dresser and bed frame) that we definitely think would make a wonderful addition to our new home. We wrote down all the details and are planning on stopping by again sometime soon.

IKEA

Lunch

We came home and immediately wanted lunch. I made two hummus sandwiches… mine with zucchini and Ryan’s with turkey. I used roasted red pepper hummus and it was so tasty! I think I had several servings while I was making the sandwiches…

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Zucchini

Lunch

I also enjoyed a cool and very crisp Jazz apple.

Apple

After lunch, Sadie needed some lovin’, so we took her to the dog park.

Sadie Girl

The weather was gorgeous today! Ryan and I both commented on how wonderful it felt to feel the sun on our skin again.

After the park, it was time for me to head out to the bridal trunk show, so I made a quick quesadilla to snack on in the car. Sadie was very intrigued…

"Gimme the 'Dilla"

After the trunk show and officially placing the down payment on my dress (YAY!), I stopped by Fresh Market to browse for a bit.

That store is gorgeous! I was most impressed with the bakery and the large selection of desserts. YUM. I bought a piece of peanut butter Ghirardelli chocolate and some honey roasted nuts to munch on while I drove home.

Peanut Butter Chocolate

I think I ate more nuts than I should have because I wasn’t all that hungry by the time I got home.

Ryan was ready for dinner and talked me into swinging by Chipotle for some grub. I kept my dinner relatively light with a burrito bowl, topped with lots of guacamole.

Chipotle Burrito Bowl

Stirred Up

Guacamole makes great salad dressing!

Ryan and I both also shared a bag of chips and more guacamole. Olé!

When we came home, we took Sadie on a short walk to the grocery store where I bought mix for Jello Oreo pudding. We’re currently waiting for the pudding to set before digging into our dessert. 🙂

Ryan and I are taking it easy and staying in tonight. Today was a go-go-go kinda day and Ryan has a soccer game early tomorrow morning, so an evening of relaxin’, move watching and flipping through our never-ending stack of magazines sounds perfect.

See ya in the morning! 😀

Ricotta Stuffed French Toast

G’mornin’ and happy Saturday to ya!

Ryan and I have already checked the gym off our to do list, which feels great! Sometimes I tend to put it off on the weekends, but I really do prefer going right away.

When you do like to workout on the weekends?

We hit up the gym and split up to each do our own work out, as usual. I did 25 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical while reading the latest issue of Health magazine before heading off to BodyPump at 8:30 a.m. I love that my gym now offers an early morning Saturday BodyPump class. Sch-weet!

By the time our workout was over, we were two hungry people.

Breakfast Time!

Breakfast today was a major success!

Ingredients

If you’ve been reading this blog a lot recently, you know I am on a mission to use up the HUGE tub of ricotta cheese we have leftover from our eggplant lasagna dinner at the beginning of the week.

While I was working out this morning, I brainstormed a way to incorporate the ricotta into our morning breakfast: ricotta stuffed French toast!

I made typical French toast, adding cinnamon and nutmeg, and cooked several slices on the griddle.

Makin' Breakfast

 While the French toast was cooking, I combined ricotta cheese, cinnamon and a little bit of sweetener in a bowl and stirred it up.

I then “stuffed” the French toast with the cheese and covered the cinnamony goodness with syrup.

Ricotta-Topped French Toast

Stuffed French Toast

Syrup Makes Me Smile

Yum!

Ryan and I both loved this breakfast. Complete success!

Today’s Plans

Today’s plans are full of errands, but they’re errands I’m really looking forward to running!

First, Ryan and I are stopping by IKEA to check out furniture and get decorating ideas for our new apartment. I could literally spend half a day in IKEA and never get bored.

Later in the day, I have an appointment at a bridal boutique to check out veils and wedding headpieces at a trunk show. I’m excited!!! I love all things wedding. 🙂

Right next to the bridal boutique is a Fresh Market store. I’ve never been to one, but have heard great things about it, so I’m planning on popping in after my appointment at the boutique. I’m hoping to find something extra special for dinner.

Free Auntie Anne’s Original or Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Today

Visit any Auntie Anne’s location today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and receive a free original or cinnamon sugar soft pretzel. YUM!

Click here for more details or to find a store near you.