The Day I Tried on Wedding Gowns

Considering I've been engaged for almost a year now and *almost* have a date selected for this shindig, I thought it high time I start giving some consideration to the details. My former roommate came up to Boston for a visit last weekend, so I went ahead and scheduled an appointment at a nearby bridal salon.

Until now I've pretty much felt void of any sort of bride-to-be enthusiasm. Since my fiance and I have lived together for two years and been together for nearly ten, becoming gung-ho about planning some sort of extra-special big day feels a bit...trite? I still maintain that we keep the wedding intimate and simple (and in Boston), but that ain't happening.

So the wedding bug may have sunk its teeth into me momentarily last Sunday when I tried on dresses. It's hard not to play into the fantasy a bit when you're trying on extraordinary beautiful gowns that cost almost a year's worth of rent.

I ended up finding two that I could see myself wearing. I'm not waiting for that "this is the one" feeling to surface--a dress is a dress is a dress. If it's fabulous and looks good, I'll take it.

One of the more positive take-aways is that the samples in this particular boutique all nearly fit me spot on. The idea of being able to purchase a sample is encouraging to my wallet.

I'd post pictures of me wearing the top two contenders, but that seems a bit gauche. Here's the web image of one of my selections:

image: Liancarlo.com

Love the theatrical style. Considering the venues I'm looking into, this would be perfect. Has almost a "Swan Lake" sort of appeal.

I'm not posting a picture of the other one, because it may be the one I ultimately purchase :)

Side note: I already have the shoes!

Pipe Dreams

Lately I've been pining for the Midwest. Boston has given my fiance and I a bit of a beating recently, and the thought of running into the safe and certain (albeit boring) depths of suburban Nebraska is appealing. I'd never make it in New York.

I'm probably being slightly over-dramatic, but we've had a few shake ups.

For starters, our landlord informed us at the end of January that he'd decided to sell our place. That's never good news. Saying that we love our apartment is an understatement, and we moved in fully expecting to live here until SO completed his PhD. Now it's back to scouring Craigslist for a decent place, which is much more difficult this time around. Rents in this already costly city have increased  in the 18 months we've inhabited our current place, and most of the listings online are glorified crack dens.

Two weeks after we learned we're being kicked out of house and home, SO learned that the president's 2013 Budget Proposal completely zeros out his PhD research project. What that means for us is TBD. What it means for the future of domestic innovation is far more disconcerting.

The proposed funding cuts are by far the biggest blow. They say bad things happen in threes, though, so I'm waiting for the locusts.

I'm also trying to figure out how to make the most of my situation. I'm ready to move in a new direction with my career and have had some promising leads, but nothing has materialized. The process in itself is exhausting.

And here ends my vague tale of woe.

It all makes me want to tuck my tail and run back to carve out a life in a city that's easier to navigate (and that's closer to our families). But we're not the types to give up so easily, so we'll continue to crack at this hard nut known as Boston.

On a positive note:

• I'm paying down my credit card debt like a mo' fo.' Actually, as I'm being kicked out my home, I'm looking to sell myself out of it, too. I'm debating whether or not to sell some high ticket items, but that's a topic for another day.
• I'm looking to become certified in either Zumba or Turbokick in the next couple of months. I've only been wanting to accomplish this for about five years now, so the prospect is pretty exciting. 
• My former roommate from Richmond is coming up to visit next weekend. CANNOT wait.
• I should *probably* start planning our wedding. It'll be a nice distraction from the agony that is work.

Happy Saturday. Don't forget to flip your clocks forward tonight.
I have no clue how I'm going to peel myself out of bed come Monday morning.