The events of the last week or so have been, well, in a word, surreal.   

Last Monday started off as a beautiful, sunny day in Boston and I happily watched the amazing runners cross the 20 mile marker, including David. He was one of the lucky ones who finished the race unharmed, but only just barely. I was with his parents only three blocks away when we heard what we would later find out were the two bombs. Everything that followed was unreal and so incredibly sad. We are beyond blessed that no one in our family was hurt. We all walked away from Boston safe and alive, but still shook up by what had transpired and the many what-ifs that could have changed our world forever. That is not to say that the world has not changed. I continue to pray for all those involved and hope that they can start to heal and move forward.  

I could not wait to get back home, but was still hit by more sadness upon my return. Tuesday night was spent visiting my loving grandpa for the last time. He didn't talk to me, but I think he knew I was there. I told him that we were home safe and that I loved him. He passed peacefully on Wednesday in the early morning hours with my grandma beside him, holding him. I'm so thankful I was there to see him and listen to a little Sinatra with him on his last night. He was a great man, a wonderful man. A man who treated everyone around him with respect. A kind, loving grandfather who always knew the right thing to say and who could always make you laugh. We will all miss him terribly, but I know he's looking down on us now, and smiling.  

And, if that wasn't enough, we wrapped up our week with even more prayers for other scares that have hit too close to home. But we believe and hope that everything will turn out just fine and it is all perhaps a blessing in disguise.   

All of this has really inspired me try and change the way I live. I'd like to say that I don't get hung up on things that don't matter, but I do and I'd like to stop that. I know that wont be easy, but I'd like to try and focus on the good things in life. I'd like to stop waiting to do the things that I want to do. I'd like to start telling those around me how much they mean to me and spending more time with my family and friends. If I've learned anything from this past week, it's that life truly is short and we should all love each other a little bit more.    

While life lately has been fraught with worry, unexpected events and sadness, I'm very lucky and fortunate to have the life that I live. I am blessed for all that I have and all the wonderful love and support around me.   

Love to all of Boston, we hope to see you again in 2015. 
Love to my darling grandpa. I'll find you in the morning sun. 
Love to my grandma, may she find peace on the road ahead.  
Love to my one and only David. I can't imagine a world without you in it.
Love to you all. Please be kind to one another.

How we decided to hold our reception at an antique store

Wow. So, we have officially been engaged for six months and beyond our engagement story, I really have not put any updates about our big day on the blog. I guess that might be because we've been so insanely busy planning this little shindig! But now seems as good a time as any, so here's the scoop on our venue.

After the euphoria of the engagement craziness wore off a little, we finally got down to brass tacks with our venue hunt. Since Chicago venues book up quick, we knew the venue would be our starting point for everything.

The first step in the venue search was the straw man guest list and budget. Once we had that, David and I started researching and looking at TONS of venues in Chicago. Our estimated guest count really helped narrow our options, but we looked at a variety of spaces: everything from restaurants to blank lofts to barns and museums. I swear, we hit practically every venue in Chicago. Looking back, it was really stressful - I felt like we were searching for an apartment all over again. And the prices!!! I honestly don't know how people afford some of these places for one night. It is INSANE how much weddings cost (that's a whole other post altogether). Anyway, ultimately we had an idea of what we were looking for: something non-traditional, unique and overall, a place that felt kind of like us. Not to mention, a place that wouldn't break the bank and had some fall dates available. So, when we stepped into Architectural Artifacts, while on a run one night, we both kinda knew right away that it could be the place.

Architectural Artifacts is a huge antique store on the north side that moonlights as an event space on weekends. It has three floors of antique goodies and a beautiful light filled atrium. It's definitely not a space for everyone: its quirky and a bit eclectic--but that is what we liked about it. A few other pluses to the space was the fact that the whole place is ours, we have access to the outside courtyard, and we can use pieces from the space in our decor - and really make it our own. No two weddings look alike at AA. Not to mention the fact that we have ample photo-ops all over the place. The only real downside to the space (beyond the purple paint) is that we have to bring everything in, (catering, chairs, tables, etc.) - but ultimately we would have to do that with most venues. And even though we have to bring everything in, we estimated it being cheaper than a restaurant (most of which have pretty hefty food and drink minimums for weddings - of course they do). 

So after a week or so of hemming and hawwing, and frankly debating about AA over a similar space, Salvage One, we finally made it official and selected AA. Plus it helped that my mom even gave it the thumbs up prior ot us booking.

After we booked our date, we "crashed" a wedding a few weeks later to really get an idea for what the space felt like at night. The space really transforms itself in the evenings, all the candelight and low lighting really helps it feel cozy and romantic. Needless to say, it solidified our decison - and it was one of the bigger ones! It was such a relief to have that big thing crossed off the list - since it sort of set the tone for everything else. 

p.s. My iphone photos don't do the place justice, check out a recent wedding held at the space here.

Snow + Illusions

This was the scene earlier this week. An abundance of snow greeted Chicago. It was really, really beautiful, unless of course the wind was literally blowing the snow right at your face as you walked down the street. But look at those trees - they are so pretty they almost make up for it. Kinda. 

Meanwhile, this song has been on heavy rotation lately. Looking forward to seeing these guys again in May.
 Shout Out Louds "Illusions"

These days

These days having been filled with:

A whole lot of wedding tastings, meetings and emails!!!

Nights out with friends at fantastic new restaurants - so, so good. 
  
New and old birthday celebrations.

Valentines day surprises and love notes.

New music courtesy of David. 

Deciding on the dress! ekk!

Lots of these in our lunch boxes (we have little assembly lines in the kitchen).

Snow and more snow.
 
Last minute movie nights to see Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty (I'd recommend both).

A whole month not buying anything! The only exception being groceries and a few toiletries. I'll admit, I'm amazed I could do it. But that doesn't mean I'm not coveting a few things: here and here. 

To The Moon & Back

Although it has already been months since our engagement (I can hardly believe it!), our full story never made its way to this space. Although I never intend to forget, and never could, I wanted to to try and write down every moment and emotion from the weekend.

So what better time to do that than the official day of love?

Years from now I hope we read this and remember how dreamy and special it all was (and is).

This is pretty long and detailed, so click through if you are interested in both the big and little moments from our incredibly lovely engagement weekend. Here is goes.