Being Domestic

Curtis and I scheduled a night to make dinner and just spend time together. So last night we made dinner and dessert with some of our new stuff!

We made steak with our new George Foreman grill, Rice with one of my new glass dishes. and corn (with my old sauce pan, given to my by my grandfather to make fudge)

Then after we made cupcakes and a small cake. Curtis went back to Mission Viejo with most of it :-). I was very excited to use my new yellow and white C&B mixing bowls and cupcake set!




We tried out those silicone cupcake cups and found that those cupcakes tasted much better than the ones that cooked directly on the pan. I also used the silicone oven mitts, which I think Curtis dubbed "The alligators".

After dinner and dessert we worked on thank-yous and I made some tea with our new tea kettle!

Overall we had a lovely evening.

Monday Updates - 3/23/09

In case you've been following along, 2 months to the day until the wedding! To say I'm excited is an understatement :-).

Spring Break -
SB turned out to be pretty eventful, I'm still recovering. This week I spent a lot of time in the gym and doing wedding stuff. On Friday night and all day Saturday I was in Irvine for the National Black Law Students Convention, which was a great experience.

I also had a bridal shower on Thursday thrown by my mother-in-law to be. It was so fun, and Curtis got to be a part of it! Here are a few pics:



Job -
I accepted a position with the Disability Rights Legal Center in downtown Los Angeles! I'm still working on getting funding since it's a public interest organization, but I'm not too worried about that. I'm very excited about my job and am happy that the process was over.

Law School -
Not very happy to be back, but I'm coping.

Wedding - Lots of wedding stuff was done this week - so surprise there.

On Tuesday my mom, grandmother and I went to It's all About the Cake in Dana Point to try out cakes and decide the design. I'm very happy with what we picked - it will be mostly white with some yellow and a fun topper that we still need to go purchase. Later that day Curtis and I got our marriage license and met with our pastor. Then late that night my dad and I went to a private dance lesson for the father-daughter dance (we're doing the rhumba).

On Wednesday my grandmother and I drove some of my shower gifts up to LA, went to lunch, and then spent some time cleaning and organizing the apartment - which is still a mess.

On Thursday, we went to my first dress fitting, where they will do the hem and bustle. Then we went to Paper Source and got the materials for the ceremony programs and the place cards. I was so happy with the help we had picking everything out, it was a much better experience at South Coast Plaza than in Beverly Hills. And we received the invitations while i was there so we started getting everything organized. Invites are probably going out in the beginning of April. There's still a lot to do, but I'm happy with how much is already done.

That's all for now. Have a good week!

Monday Updates - 3/16/09

Hi! I'm on spring break, so I'm taking my time to sleep, get some wedding planning done, study, and blog!

School: School is the same, I'm working on getting everything ready to buckle down and spend the month of April studying. I have my final legal writing paper due at the end of the month, so I'm trying to get some work done on it while I'm off. The paper is important both for my grade and for my moot court tryout.

Work: Still unsure where I'll be working this summer, but I'm getting closer to a decision.

Weekend:
On Saturday my mom threw me a bridal shower! I felt so honored to have so many family and friends here and we had a really good time. We played some games, like making a bridal gown out of toilet paper, and answering questions about me. Here are a couple of the pics!

Have a good week!

Wedding Checklist

Here's what I'm hoping to get done over Spring Break (it's a long list, I know):

Bride Stuff
Dress - first fitting appointment (scheduled)
Hair/Makeup - schedule test run
Determine outfit for Rehearsal Dinner
Gifts - Purchase

Pre-Ceremony
Figure out transportation to ceremony
Figure out time line with photographer (and if we're doing engagement pics)
Fill out wedding invitations and send out

Ceremony
Meet w/ pastor - scheduled
determine readings/music/customs
Meet with (or schedule to meet with) organist
Get marriage license
figure out programs

Reception
Meet with bakery for consultation/tasting
start seating chart
follow up with florist on some reception issue
Scope out supplies needed for favors
gather materials needed for escort cards
get cake cutting utensils and champagne flutes?
figure out guest book
gather pictures for reception decor
Start picking out music for DJ/make appt to meet with DJ
dance lessons with Dad for father/daughter dance
Figure out whether we're going to change after the reception but before we leave location (and what we're going to wear)

Monday Updates - 3/9/09

Hello again! I'm procrastinating going to the gym, so here we go:

Weekend: Curtis and I went to the mall on Saturday. He needed a new suit so we did that and while we were there I (finally!) got a new wallet and a case for my iphone so I don't destroy it at the gym. On Sunday I stayed in, studied and baked cookies.

School: Good news is I just finished Legal Research for the year. I wish I felt better about the exam, but I don't think I could have prepared any better. Unfortunately with the exception of Spring Break next week, school is about to get a lot more rigorous. I have my last paper due for legal writing on March 30th, and then starting in April I'm preparing for finals. (mark your calendars: I'm officially done with my 1L year May 14th!)

Summer Employment: I'm still waiting to hear from a couple of potential employers, but the good news is I have an offer to work at the Disability Rights Legal Center in Downtown LA! I'm very excited as this is a great opportunity. The only downside is that it is unpaid, but I am looking into finding grants.

Wedding: Lots of movement on the wedding front - I ordered and received my wedding ring on Friday. I love it and I try it on once in awhile ;-). I ordered the invitations on Saturday finally. I am now getting ready to make my to-do list over spring break, since that's really my last opportunity to get much done. I might post a blog with my checklist later tonight. I'm also very excited about the two showers that are being thrown in my honor over spring break - it's great to have the festivities actually begin.

Health/Wellness: No word on the celiac blood test yet. I am seeing an allergist (for unrelated symptoms) tomorrow afternoon so I might find out. In the meantime I've been eating a lot of gluten-rich food. Curtis keeps teasing me saying that if I find out that I don't have it I'll have to then work on losing all the weight I gained thinking I did. One somewhat distracting thing is all the headaches I've been having the last couple of weeks. Some of you know that I have this funny habit of getting headaches on Saturday mornings. Well - I had a severe headache on Friday and a more normal one on Saturday morning this week. It could be anything from dehydration to caffeine withdrawal to the amount of gluten I'm consuming (which can apparently cause headaches). I'm obviously taking measures to be more hydrated, which is difficult since I'm back at the gym on a regular basis, and I'm drinking much less caffeine, so we'll see what happens.

That's all for now. Have a good week!

Monday Updates! - 3/2/09

Hello! I'm back for today. It's amazing how busy life has been lately. Here we go:

Weekend: I had a paper due this morning so I had low expectations for this weekend. However, I was able to attend the Public Interest Law Foundation Auction put on by USC Law every year. It was really fun watching students bid on dinners with faculty members and with prominent attorneys, all in the name of public interest. Unfortunately, the fun came to an end on Saturday when I woke up with a severe headache. I was unable to do anything most of the day, although I managed to make it to Pinkberry that night. On Sunday Curtis and I went to brunch and I spent the day finishing my paper.

School: School is tougher this semester because we have so many other distractions. We're trying to find jobs this summer, network, and get involved in school organizations. And there is at least one class, Property, that is pretty difficult to learn, so I'll be putting in a lot of work during April figuring that everything out.

Wedding: We had the tasting about a week ago. We got to choose all of the dishes that would be served, and we tasted the salads and main courses. I have to order the invitations as soon as possible. I also updated my registries and will be doing the cake consultation soon. I'm excited for my bridal showers this month, and I think it's crazy that the wedding is about 80 days away! I'm getting really sentimental and excited about getting married, I even told Curtis yesterday to let me know if I am being too sappy (he said I was OK so far).

Other: First, I finally purchased a gym membership at my complex, and I really like it so far because my schedule is such that the gym is really quiet when I'm there. I'm generally doing 2 miles on the treadmill and then a half hour of weights/resistance exercises. I'm probably in the worst shape of my life, so it's quite the challenge, but a fun (and healthy) hobby.

Second, I had my blood drawn last Friday for Celiac Disease. I'll find out whether it's positive either late this week or early next. If it's positive I will be eating gluten-free going forward. As most of you already know, my dad and brother were diagnosed with it several years ago. I have no idea whether I will be diagnosed, but in the meantime I am eating all of my favorite foods that contain gluten (pita chips, Nestle's break-and-bake cookies, pancakes, Pizza Hut, beer). If diagnosed, I will probably stop eating gluten immediately (although I am undecided as to what to do about my wedding cake - it will depend on what the bakery can do). I do not have severe day-to-day symptoms that indicate the disease, but it was worth testing given the family history since eating gluten can result in long-term damage if undiagnosed. I'll keep the blog posted when I know.

That's it for now...have a good week!