A Doggy Bag Full of Seafood and Advice

So finally, with a tall iced tea and a breezy spring afternoon, I have found the time to blog an update! So much has been going on lately for Chris and I that it's been difficult to sit down with enough momentum to record this last month's events. I thank our loyal readers who have been so diligent in reminding me to post. I was told I wasn't "giving them enough stalker material", and for that, I sincerely apologize.

Without further ado, let's kick it into over-drive and commence stalking.

I'll start with our dinner with my cousin, Fr. Peter, back in the beginning of March. It was delightful! He had read on our blog that we'd been looking forward to having dinner on Arthur Ave., and he did not disappoint! After giving us a private tour of his church, he took us to a quaint Italian restaurant where we dined on fresh muscles and toasted to new beginnings. The evening had a dual effect for me, both in the fact that I was able to spend time with a family member that I don't see nearly as often as I should, and also that we were lucky enough to receive our first religious counseling from such a respected figure. Knowing that his advice was coming from both a place of familial love and religious guidance, to me, gave the experience even more impact. Fr. Peter had spoken at length with us about the roots of our relationship and what our goals for our marriage are. He asked us about the relationships that surround us: our parents, our family, our friends .. and then he asked us to define what makes Chris and I different, what makes us a successful candidate for the sacrament of marriage.

Chris and I found that even later in the evening after we'd said our goodbyes, that we were still engrossed in the conversation about our future. Fr. Peter gave us so many things to discuss and I was so comforted to know that Chris and I, at the core of our desires for a marriage, are on par entirely. And though we already knew that, the evening served as an affirmation and really enabled us to converse on the important issues. And, as in any relationship, there is always room for improvement. The day someone thinks their relationship is perfect, is the day they stop trying to better themselves. Fr. Peter really gave us a forum to open that discussion and Chris and I left that evening with much more than a doggy bag of seafood.

Now for some fun news on the wedding-planning side of life -- we booked our wedding band! We chose the first and only band we saw showcased, Infinity. We both agreed they were so lively and offered such an array of great songs to choose from! In addition to the band, we also opted for some extras - like a mini horn section which is going to sound so great with the golden oldies! And we also booked a little something special for our cocktail hour .. that you'll just have to wait to see/hear! We couldn't be happier with our choice and found ourselves even more blessed when Chris's father gave us the entertainment as a surprise gift. It was more than generous and I'm completely at a loss for words to thank him, though I believe the phrase, "You're Amanda's new best friend.." was tossed around more than once ;-)

Other than that, because we're so ahead of the game, we've been taking it easy and just enjoying the time we spend together getting ideas from wedding shows, taking out books from the library, and searching around on the internet. His sister, an award-winning pastry chef, is going to be making our wedding cake and I'm really excited about that. I've seen some of the stuff she's made, and she's ... well, "award winning" really sums it up. I found a design online that I like a lot, and in addition to having a beautiful wedding cake, there's something even more special knowing a family member created it specially for us. That is something about our wedding that I really love- that our family is able to be such a large part of the ceremony and the festivities. I know that's not a privilege many people are afforded, so Chris and I are even more grateful for that added bonus.

Now .. house-hunting! It seems as if our hunt might have come to a halt! ... in a good way, of course. We found a perfect little house in Huntington that fits what we were looking for. It's totally adorable, a little fixer-upper, and opens up future investment opportunities as well. The neighborhood is charming and we're close to both his family and most of mine. For those of you who aren't familiar with the township of Huntington, I really suggest taking a day to visit. The village of Huntington at night has so many great restaurants and is always packed with people. Northport village offers a farmer's market on the weekends and houses the beautiful Historical Society. Greenlawn has a whole bunch of cute shops and Centerport is gorgeous, located right off the northern waters. Before Chris and I started dating, I didn't know too much about the area but having been exposed to much of it, it really is a lovely place to live or visit. So my advice to you is to pack a picnic and bring it to the Northport harbor for lunch and walk across to the sweet little bakery for desert, or to bring an appetite and spend the evening at an open-front restaurant in the summer and top it off with one of the many cafes for a cup of delicious chai-tea! ... my personal favorite!

So right now Chris is in the throes of paperwork, engineer reports, contracts, etc. We will know much more in the days ahead, but we're feeling confident that this house is the one for us and we're hopeful that everything works out to our benefit. I heard closing on a house is killer! ... I hope it's not so bad! Any advice from our readers?

Oh! And how could I forget? While our Easter celebration seems more of a personal anecdote than one pertaining to our engagement/house hunting, I'm going to make a little exception because this year blurred the boundaries. My parents, for the first time, met Chris's family. All at once they were introduced to all of his aunts, uncles, cousins, grandma, sister and father. Unfortunately, Steve, his brother, is up in Buffalo at college and they have yet to meet him- but as soon as he's home, I'm making it a priority! My parents had nothing but wonderful things to say about everyone, as I knew they would. My mother always said, "You marry a husband's family just as you marry a husband." I know so often family matters are a delicate situation and nobody is entirely immune to familial disasters now and again, but I truly feel fortunate to call Chris's family my own. Watching how they interacted with my parents, how everyone went out of their way to make them feel comfortable, is a true testament to how loving they are. From day one I felt welcomed and in that respect, I'm definitely one of the lucky ones.

In a short time from now Chris is going to have the opportunity to meet a large part of my mother's family and I'm really excited for him to meet all of them. There will be many things to celebrate on top of the reason we're all getting together: (I can't get into specifics about WHY we're getting together .. let's just say it's a surprise .. ) My cousin Alex just had his first baby, a bouncing baby girl named Angelina! And Isabelle's baby, who I haven't been able to see since she's been born, I'm hoping will be there so I can finally meet her! There are also birthdays and good news to commemorate as well, so I'm looking really forward to the whole event! Just as I am marrying into a big Italian family .. so is he! It's a nice trade-off :)

I know some of you are also wondering when we're going to be registering. The only reason we've decided to wait a few months is because we wanted to be in a house and see what it was we needed. Hopefully though, we'll find ourselves at home very soon and we already have a place or two in mind and will updated the website as soon as we know more.

________

I think I've covered most things without getting too much into how beautiful my friend Leila looked at a Submarine ball she attended with her beau recently .. or how I'm keeping my friend Natalie's family in my prayers for her baby cousin and for the health of her grandma, Babbi .. or how thankful Chris and I are for the engagement gift from the Manuzzi family .. or how I'm stoked to see my cousin, Alex, for dinner tomorrow night or ... how I hope Jess is keeping her chin up while writing her thesis .. In other words, while you're all reading this, we're thinking about all of you too!

And a happy belated birthday to Chris's cousins, the triplets: Sam, Heather, and Andrew!

Much love from us,

Chris and Amanda

(I just posted this picture because I liked it :) It's Chris and I walking through the Planting Fields in Oyster Bay)

Lords a'Leaping? ...

So while there isn't too much to blog today, there is one very important thing I'd like to mention ...

My Christopher bought me the most beautiful ring in the entire world. I absolutely could not love a solitary thing more than I do this engagement ring; both because of what it symbolizes and because of how perfectly this antique is an extension of my personality. I truly believe if someone combed the Earth for a ring more fitting for Chris and I, they would ultimately fail.

And while an engagement ring seems like something only a bride would get excited about, I know Chris is equally as excited that we found a ring that is as beautiful and is as adored by his fiance. I know he's both proud and honored to be able to make me so happy, and for that reason, I'm proud and honored to be making him my husband.

In other news; we attended out first music showcase last night at Chateau Briand. The band was incredible and the experience was a lot of fun. You know the band was good when I felt awkward just watching them and rather have been up on the dance floor. I was a little disappointed that the band didn't have a horn section or any brass instrument - but found out today that it's not a problem, and rather inexpensive, to add brass to the ensemble. I was very happy to hear that and will likely look into it when it's time to book entertainment. As the manager of the band put it, "What's a Louis Armstrong song without a trumpet?"

As far as house-hunting, we have quite a few houses lined up and, good news, one of the houses in East Northport I liked so much came down in price and seems like a great fit for us. So I'll be taking Chris to view the property soon! It's a sweet little 1950's cape. Love it!

So, all in all, I believe I can sum up this post in an excerpt from a song.

12 realtors calling

11 bands to preview

10 cakes to sample

9 dresses hanging

8 dancing lessons

7 bouquets tossing

6 capes a'selling

5 dutch colonialllsssss....

4 bids to place

3 loans to go

2 trumpets brass

and a platinum engagement rinnnnnngggggg ....

"Blessyous"

So, we haven't blogged in a few days which means we have lots to talk about!

Chris came home, as scheduled, on Monday from his trip to Panama .. a little worse for wear. My poor boy was bee-stung, sun-burned, jet-lagged and some ot

her uncomfortably hyphenated word. So after a little TLC and lots of aloe, he's back up and running, good as new.

Him and I were supposed to meet my cousin, Peter, for dinner on Thursday night but as most of us Northeasterners know ... the weather did not permit it. So we had to push it back to this Thursday night, which still gives us something to look forward to! I'm very excited to see Pete again and for him to meet Chris. And as if that wasn't exciting enough, my mother said the food on Arthur Ave. is to die for. Who doesn't love family and food? We're Italians .. it's synonymous. If I could make wedge of lasagna a bridesmaid, I would.

Also, great news on the wedding-date update! We officially have our date se

t after speaking with a deacon at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Centerport and the date is ours! According to this very nice phone-answering lady, we're the first couple to book in 2011. I was a little nervous that when I told her I wanted my cousin, a pastor outside of the parish, to perform the ceremony that it wouldn't go over well, but when I mentioned it, she said, "Oh, how perfect!" So I was definitely relieved about that. I took another ride by the church not to long ago and brought my mother this time. The church was completely empty and we were able to walk down the isle and stand up at the altar. I said to her, "Look mom, this is where you and dad will sit." And she said, "No, I'm going to sit back here.." and she pointed to a seat in the very last row, "Why?" I asked. "Because I'm going to crying so hard, you don't want me in a place that the acoustics will carry." We might have to start thinking about having our ushers offer Kleenex boxes along with the programs of our mass ... ... We can call them, "Blessyous".

The house-search is progressing along very nicely. Chris took a tour with me on Friday morning (braving the snow!) to see the "Court" house. I was so happy to know that he saw the same potential I did and was equally as pleased with the location. We have a few other homes that we also really liked- so we're coming down to the wire now. We're waiting on a few loose ends and then hopefully we'll be a little closer to owning a home!

In other news, Chris and I had so much fun on Saturday ring-shopping! Yes, ring-shopping. When Chris proposed, he gave me a ring that his grandfather gave to his grandmother many years ago for Valentine's day. Her name is Antionetta, so the ring was a diamond encrusted "A". It worked out perfectly! "A"manda also had the same ring size so everything fell into place. This ring is now known as the "proposal ring". He gave it to me so I would have something to symbolize our engagement while him and I shopped for a perfect ring. And though slightly unconventional, I loved the idea! Now we get to turn ring-shopping into another exciting part of the wedding and who doesn't love getting dressed up in pearls and scouring for the perfect ring?! Plus, I get to bring Chris along and it turns into a couple's outing :) He's more than patient with me and I'm happy to see he really gets involved, looks at all the rings I choose, and even searches through the cases for good finds. And he's getting pretty savvy! He picked quite a few yesterday that were close contenders.

The difficulty in what I'm looking for is that I don't want a conventional engagement ring. I want something unique, something delicate, and something antique. Not "vintage" or "antique inspired" but an actual antique. There's just no mistaking a real antique from newer creations. For example, we walked into one jewelry store and my eye was immediately drawn to ONE ring in a large case that stood out from all the rest. In both the color of the diamond, the shape of the ring's gallery, the cut of the stone, everything. We had come to find out that it was the only antique in the showcase, an estate piece, and was very old. According to the saleswoman, it's a "miners cut diamond" which, upon further internet exploration, I came to find out was a cut popular in the late 1800's. She didn't know the exact date, clarity or color grade, in fact the only thing she knew was the size of the diamond and that the metal was platinum; but she'll be giving me a call on Monday with those details.

So last night both Chris and I, unbeknownst to each other at first, went online that night and scoured the internet looking for similar rings from that era. We found SO many styles out there that were vaguely close in style but none of them offered all of the things I loved so much about this specific ring. The solitaire round-cut diamond is set extra high, giving it this very "regal" look, as my mother (who saw a blurry camera-phone picture of it), put it. And the entire shank of the ring is hand-engraved with filigree work. What is so interesting about it as well is that the filigree carries all the way up the basket and into the tiny prongs holding the diamond. The engraving doesn't stop at the base of the diamond where the prongs begin- but flows in a beautiful curve up to the crown of the stone. Really, it's such a gem. We went to a whole bunch of other jewelry stores and all of the antique rings are short and stout looking- often times with round stones over a square setting. This one was just ... there was something about it that both Chris and I agreed was special.

And in the event this IS the ring and I'll be wearing this magnificent antique on my finger soon ... I'm going to have my nails done today. Oh, shush. You have no idea what you're talking about. I am most certainly NOT putting the cart before the horse. Nonsense. I just happen to need tips and a french manicure today. Why today, you ask? Well, aren't you a little busy-body? ...

Annnnddd... change of subject. Chris and I received our first engagement gift! My mother's friend, Sandy, bought us a beautiful journal called, "The Book of Us: The Story of our Love in 160 questions". Him and I, both excited to start, sat down on the floor of his grandmother's den and began writing. We both admitted we had a lot of fun talking about our first date and first impressions of each other and silly things we were nervous about. So I realized .. the gift Sandy gave us wasn't so much the book itself, as it was the moments him and I will spend together rehashing our own love story. And for that, we're both so incredibly thankful.

I shall be a called a Fiance. A fiance named Amanda.

Chris has been nice enough to let me live vicariously through him via his online web album, that he has been updating for me throughout the week, with pictures of his vacation in Panama. I liked these two the best so I thought I'd share them. Him and his buddies are going to a volcano tomorrow! He told me that they were going to be visiting a town there with a lot of indigenous art .. he mentioned "carved potatoes". Now, a lot of imagery comes to mind when I think of a culture's indigenous art, but never did I think I was going to be introduced to a widdled spud. I'm definitely looking forward to the pictures of that!

I'm just lucky customs won't let him bring food into the country or I'd be getting that spud for a souvenir ...

There isn't too much to report by way of real-estate or the engagement until Chris returns home. I've been keeping busy while he's away, taking care of phone calls, writing applications; just errands and busy work. A little more good news here and there about some of the houses we're looking at, but nothing ground breaking in that forum.

Today I did get a special treat, however. I met with my friend Jess this morning for breakfast and my friend Natalie for a sushi dinner. Not only was that fun in itself, but I got to tell the story of our engagement twice! What girl doesn't like that? And though getting into all the details of that faithful Superbowl Sunday night (a play-by-play, if you will) seems very tempting, written word doesn't do it justice.

In fact, his brother, Steve, got the best telling of it of all. We were speaking to him on speaker-phone so we BOTH got to tell the story and it's funny the differences in things we chose to remember. I remember most of that moment how nervous his eyes looked; how I saw an expression in him that I hadn't seen before and, from that, I knew something was about to happen. It's interesting to me how I can't remember every word he said, which at first seems like the most important thing when people ask, "How did he do it!?". I trip over the exact phrasing, but the look in his eyes was the part of that moment that stuck with me so profoundly and isn't easily translated in it's telling. I'm sure one of his favorite parts was when I asked him to ask me .. in different ways, to see if any of them sounded any less surreal,

-Say, 'Will you marry me?'

-Amanda, will you marry me?

-Say, 'Will you be my wife?'

Ok .. Will you be my wife?

-Call me your fiance, say, 'This is Amanda, my Fiance.'

This is Amanda, my Fiance.

-Ok now say 'Will you marry me' again.

Will you marry me?

-Am I your fiance?

Yes, you're my fiance.

-That means you're MY fiance?

Yes, I'm your fiance.

-Say, 'I'm Chris, Amanda's Fiance'.

I'm your fiance.

-No, you didn't say it right ...

I'm Chris, Amanda's fiance.

-Wow.

Actually, reading through that reminds me of my favorite childhood storybook. See if you see the resemblance.

-We are called anteaters, right?

Right.

-But cats eat fish, right?

Right.

-A bird eats worms, right?

Right.

-A cow eats grass, right?

Right.

-But a cat is not called a fisheater and a bird is not called a wormeater and a cow is not called a grasseater, right?

Right.

-Then I will be called by another name.

What will you be called?

-I will be called a blion.

But you are not a blion.

-Then I will be called a swhale.

But you are not a swale.

-Then I shall be called a melephant.

But you are not a melephant.

-Then I shall be called a brabbit.

But you are not a brabbit.

-What shall I be called?

You shall be called an anteater. An anteater named Arthur.

___________________________________________

Chris called me tonight and were only able to speak for a short while. His friend Alex's family had cooked them all dinner and returned to the house for some evening festivities. I heard a lot of commotion in the background and he apologized, and said he had to go.

I asked, "Are you going to say you love me in front of all those people?"

And he said in a tone with conviction, "I love you," and one-upped me, "very much."

Yours truly and his soon-to-be newly,

Amanda

Break-Dancing with Jesus

Ok, so new happenings in the world of real-estate!

While Chris is away I recruited my father to come along on my house-hunting expeditions! I was really glad I did too, because I can only see the superficial, cosmetic flaws of the properties, whereas he and Chris are able to look at more structural issues and pricing. So in the end, having dad's perspective was much appreciated!

So at 10am yesterday morning, Dad and I went to look at another few homes in Huntington. Chris and I had driven by one house on a court (we'll call it the "Court House" from now on) a few weeks ago and had deemed the property worth a second look. Chris was concerned the house was going to be tiny on the inside and he was right. The front door, entering from a porch, opened into a small living area. Connected to which was a small bedroom/office and the kitchen. The realtor, Janine, and I LOVED the kitchen! Super cute and relatively substantial size with glass-cut out cupboards. It had the original cabinets (from the 1930's when it was built) and still had a lot of its old charm. The larger bedroom was off of the kitchen across from a small, in need of an update, bathroom. And towards the back of the kitchen was a mud room to the back door.

All in all, the interior just needed a good cleaning and for the current piggish tenants to move out and take all their junk with them! The place was COVERED in stuff! At first, I couldn't even see the kitchen table! They had piles of stuff everywhere .. which was unfortunate because I couldn't really get an accurate feel for the size of the rooms because of it. But, even still, I thought it was small but quaint and just the perfect size for a Christopher and a Me.

The backyard was sort of divided by a looming, ugly fence. But upon further investigation, the fence was easily removable (I bet I could have knocked it down with a hard sneeze) which would open it up to a very sizable property in the back with lots of levels of a retaining wall to plant wild flowers! So that had a lot of potential, indeed. It was sort of sad though, because about 20 years ago when the town of Huntington had taken a survey of the property, the home was still owned by someone who cared for it. Since then, the shutters had been ripped out, the pretty old wood was ripped off and replaced with a cheap, no-maintenance siding, and the porch was let to rot. You could see that any repairs were slap-dashed and instead of properly fixing things, boards were nailed over the small holes. It's such a shame to see people who have no integrity let historic homes fall to bits. Not on my watch! Chris and I have every intention of finding a home and providing it as much care as we do each other.

Then, we took a look at the attached accessory apartment. That was one of the best features of the Court House. It needs a lot of work but the bonus is that it's legal and it already has the plumbing, heating, and electric running to it. So really, it's just about sprucing it up and Chris is very handy and more than capable of such a project. And the best news of all is that the realtor quoted us a much lower price than the listing! Apparently the owner is ready to sell and understands his previous assessment was quite a bit inflated. I emailed Chris all the details of the house and he's eager to take a look inside when he returns. As am I, because this house really seems like it fits the bill!

After my dad and I visited a few more houses (none of which were worthy of detailing), we quickly drove by the Cottage and then stopped into Our Lady Queen of Martyrs to see the interior of where Chris and I will likely be married. It was kind of a trip when walking down the stairs, my dad said, "So this is nice. This is where you'd all say goodbye to your guests to take pictures with your new husband." My new husband.... my new husband.

In other news: I spoke with a band that someone at the Thatched Cottage had recommended and am looking very forward to enjoying several showcases that Chris and I will be attending throughout the next month or so. Basically - it's getting to see live music for free! The owner, Frank, was such a doll and was looking very forward to working with us. He said the bands he offers can play anything from "Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga". I told him .. "If you play Lady Gaga at my wedding .... except the check to bounce." He laughed pretty hard at that ;-) NO ... I'm not a Lady Gaga Hater ... but I don't appreciate the "young people's music" of today.

Oh, well except "Forever" by Chris Brown that I have coined the best dance song of this century :) In fact, someone else agreed with me SO much that they decided to make the song a feature presentation of their church ceremony. Check it out:

No, we won't be doing that ... despite how tempting break dancing in front of the Lord and Savior seems! It just cracks me up every time. I don't know who the bride and groom are but I hope their marriage is as fun as their ceremony was!

So, Chris is having fun in Panama City from what I can tell. His friend Alex has been taking him and his college buddies on tours of the area. He said the weather is hot and beautiful and they're all looking forward to going on a fishing trip soon. I bet he catches some gorgeous fish :) Too bad I won't be eating any of it. I keep looking out of my window, watching the snow continuously fall, and I wish I was in a hot place right now, myself. I'm going to be jealous when he comes home with a golden tan and I'm still pale with chapped lips...

Before I go ...

And I'd like to thank Leila for being a loyal follower of my blogging adventures, and really a loyal follower of a friend for all these years as well :)

Not to mention I know I have a personal cheering section of close friends that work with my mother. Thanks for the comments on our website, Sandy and Camille!

I couldn't be happier to share all of this with you girls. My mother simply adores you and knowing how you all take such joy from my important moments makes both Christopher and me excited to share with you our new life together. You're an important part to what makes a couple successful- being surrounded by supportive family and friends.

Yours truly and his soon-to-be newly,

Amanda

A Cameo Appearance

Despite the fact today is Valentine's day, Chris and I celebrated on Friday February 12th. Since he was leaving on Saturday evening for his trip to Panama, Friday night was our time to celebrate .. and we had so much to celebrate, indeed!

We had a lovely, decadent dinner at Prime in Huntington. The food was absolutely delicious and the atmosphere was beautiful. It was my first time going there and I'd heard such wonderful things about it. I'm here to tell you: all true. It was really lovely and Chris and I discovered a Riesling that we really loved. Everything from appetizers, to sushi, to the fish, steak, and desert was excellent. I highly recommend it for special occasions!

Then Chris bought me a present as well. It was definitely a surprise considering I thought the engagement was gift enough! But he bought me an absolutely beautiful cameo. He bought it, without me knowing, when him and I went to a large antique show at the Huntington Hilton. It's my first and it's gorgeous. The detail is beautiful and it's such a lovely piece. I pinned it to the collar of my black sweater while seated at the table, and it absolutely popped. He did a wonderful job picking it!

Saturday afternoon Chris and I visited his father, who greeted us with open arms, at the Thatched Cottage, where he is owner and chef. He was overjoyed at our engagement, bestowing us with a bottle of champagne to celebrate, and then we set a date! Since we're busy real-estate hunting right now, we planned on a longer engagement. We wanted a year and half to be able to take our time and really enjoy the planning process. So we're going to be married on September 4th, 2011. It'll be a Sunday evening wedding, as that Monday is Labor Day. Which allows our out-of-town guests to enjoy the wedding without having to travel on the day of. We still need to meet with the priest of his family's parish to confirm the date, but barring there is no conflict, we're set. My cousin, Peter, is a pastor and he will be performing the ceremony. I spoke with him last week and he's excited about the news and as soon as Chris returns from vacation, we'll be having dinner with him to discuss. He presided over his parent's (my Aunt Rita and Uncle Pete) 50th wedding anniversary where they renewed their vows. Peter gave a beautiful mass, really personalizing it, and I cannot wait for him to do the same for us. Chris and I will be the first from our family that Peter has officially married and we're so honored!

Saturday evening, unfortunately, we packed Chris up and sent him along on this travels. He's currently waiting at a layover in Georgia but will be arriving in Panama this evening. I'm excited for him, but at the same time ... how much longer!?

So, back to real-estate!

While Chris is away, I've recruited my dad to help out and visit some homes with me. Tomorrow him and I are driving out to Huntington and visiting 3 homes that all fit the bill. The realtor we're using right now is really great- she's on top of the ball! So I spent the day speaking with Chris via g-chat and taking virtual tours of the homes and the street views. Definitely some potential.

So tomorrow we'll be getting up early and taking lots and lots of pictures of the houses to keep Chris up to date until he returns. I also have several phone-calls to make, which will keep me busy, all involving various processes of home-ownership. It's a lot of paperwork! Nobody tells you that when you're envisioning picket fences and flower boxes! But, it will keep me busy until it's time to pick Chris up from the airport and bring him home.

On a side note: I've started Weight-Watchers once again. What better reasoning than to go dress shopping could there be!? So, I'll be throwing on a tally of of my lost-weight in here as well. Today we (my parents are joining this venture as well) made whole-wheat dough for salsa-pizzas! Then we paired it with a potato and leek soup from the W.W recipe book. So far .. it's not torture yet. I also bought a bike at a garage sale Chris and I went to a few weeks ago. For $3 ... who could resist!? So I'm going to be adding biking to my list of things to do each day.

I believe that's it for now. Still have some other possibilities for houses and in a few days we'll know more. But it's getting exciting because we're finally narrowing it down and just around the corner, we'll be home-owners! Or, so we plan ;-)

Yours truly and his soon-to-be newly,

Amanda

--Yes, I'll be sure I make Chris post once in a while, hehe.

Just a quick starting update:

So I wanted to post a little something here to kick-start everything, but I will be posting more in depth later on.

Tomorrow afternoon it's off to view a few heavy-weight contender houses in Huntington! One of the houses we're going to see is a top-choice so I'm eager to get a really good look at the interior seeing as we've drove by the property once before. It's really beautiful; situated high on a hill with a really pretty old retaining wall covered in ivy. Very quaint. I'm reluctant to post photos here because it's hard not to get too attached. Chris and I have already discovered that the real-estate market is dog-eat-dog. The minute a good deal goes on the market, some rich corporate investor snatches it up .. or so I imagine when we read the bad news, "House in contract: Pending Sale".

But it's ok- I think we both have a really positive outlook on things. We know that if it's meant to be, it will be! Simple as that. So on that premise, we're waiting to hear back about a price on one house, also located in the area, and we'll keep looking until then. I think the process was a bit stressful in the beginning, but we've become a little more seasoned in things and I'm so proud of how Chris has really taken charge of everything. I'm looking so forward to the moment we both know the timing is right and everything falls into place.

Chris and I are also going to 'Prime' tomorrow, on a side note. He's leaving on a little vacation with some college buddies on Saturday so we're celebrating Valentines a bit early. I'm really excited as I've heard wonderful things about this restaurant and my good friend, Emily, had highly recommended it. I just really love the idea of putting on a pair of heals and wearing my pearls and hitting the town with my sharp dressed fiance.

Oh and how could I forget? We had dinner with my parents tonight- a buffet of Chinese food! It was yummy, despite my over-full tummy and what I've lovingly termed, "the buffet aftermath". All in all, it was fun and my fortune cookie read, "Don't stop now!" like I was planning to? Chris's fortune told him to bring his fresh ideas to the table as they will be well received. I'm just glad it didn't say, "You're making a mistake. Get up from the table and run for it!"


Yours truly and his soon-to-be newly,
Amanda