Sydney so far

So far I've loved Sydney! The jet lag's killer, but it's been great seeing seeeestorrr. And we're also here during Sydney's Fashion Week...AWESOME to see, but lotssssss of "I might as well not even try today" clothing experiences. But hey, they're doing their summer fashions and it's almost winter here, so I don't really look like the craziest person out here.

Here are some pics so far!

Day 1...ish (We arrived on Sunday but didn't start "sightseeing" until Monday...hence Day 1ish)
Breakfast at The Coffee Club. Delicious! Dad was a little freaked out that a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato isn't, well....real. So he was very interested in his tiny cup.

 

We did a beach walk from Coogee to Bondi Beach...chilly and rainy, but beautiful! Plus, we started it off with gelato covered in melted Nutella...no shame. Hey, we walked it off, so it's all good.

And I think this is my dad's favorite picture from the trip, so I have to post it.

Day 2
Dad and I did a hop-on hop-off bus tour while Em was in class. Not many good pictures because it was cloudyyy. And we caved and had Starbucks. You can judge all you want, but I find Starbucks in other countries SO interesting. Also, America, we've been doing the scone ALL WRONG. The Aussies know what's up.

BUT we did get to go see Much Ado About Nothing at the Sydney Operahouse! Let me tell you....it was AMAZING. Ohmygoodness. So great. So great that I just need to stop trying to describe it lest I do it more injustice by rambling like I am now. So...here's a picture of Dad and Em outside!

Day 3
Best. Day. Ever.  Emily got out of class early, so we took a bus to Hyde Park (named after the one in London) and visited the Barracks Museum (we went to one in honor of you, Mom!). Sydney history is fascinating. Obviously, I couldn't take pictures in there, but here's one from the park!

We're sisters, and I have an awkward claw-like hand.

Then we went to Pie Face. Hello, wonderful. I've tried to be good on points while I'm here, but this was the only thing that I ate every. last. bit. I had the Chicken and Mushroom, Em had the Thai Chicken Curry, and Dad had the Steak and Peppercorn Stacked--stacked meaning that they put mashed peas (sounds weird, but so good!), mashed potatoes, and gravy on top of the pie. They were all deliciousss! And this is me being a super tourist. You can judge. But don't judge my lack of neck. Or my chipped nail polish...I forgot to take it off after my engagement shoot with the lovely Amanda Scott. So leave me alone.

After lunch we went on a coffee cruise around Sydney. Great food and great commentary. I'm a sucker for informational things like that. I know I said this earlier, but I find Sydney history fascinating; it's such a young country, and yet was modernized in such a short period of time. The weather was perfect, so I got approximately eighty billion pictures of the Operahouse, give or take 79.9 billion. Here's the one I like the best!

Wait, what's that you're saying? It looks like EVERY other picture you've seen of the Operahouse? I know, I know. But it's mine, so I like it.

We followed the cruise with Em giving us a tour of University of New South Wales, where she's attending this semester, concluding with a visit to her house and meeting her lovely flat mates, then eating some amazing Thai food! Like I said, best day ever.

Overall the trip's been great, so I'm looking forward to the rest! Taronga Zoo tomorrow (KOALASSS! I finally get to meet one after years of "K is for koala and Kayla" in alphabet name games), SHOPPINGGGG on Friday, and more beach walks on Saturday! 

Then, it's back to the real world. And wedding planning. Real wedding planning. Which I've neglected for a long time....but I'm choosing not to think about that right now.

Something old, something new...

Something borrowed...well, that's kind of gross, isn't it?

I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but I have a dress. A wedding dress. A dress for my wedding. Because I'm getting married.

It's white and I love it. That's all I'm going to tell you. I like being mysterious. That and Le Fiance doesn't want to know ANYTHING about what I'm wearing that day. Nothing. Which is kind of okay with me, it just gets hard to keep my mouth shut. Oh, the things we do for love.


But now that I have the dress, I'm running into problems. The old adage "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" is great and all, but what's old that I could wear on my wedding day? That kind of weirds me out. And I'd like to borrow something, but what? What do you borrow from people? Thinking about it kind of gives me the shivers. The new part is easy: dress, duh. And so is the blue. One of the first presents Fiance gave me was blue rope bracelet; it's plain, it's kind of camp-y, but I love it. When he gave it to me he said "Every time you look at this think of me" (cheesy, judge) and I do. And he has a "matching" yellow one, so somewhere on my person will be the blue bracelet. But can you double up on them? Can I get blue shoes, too? Then it would be "Something old, something new, something blue and another thing blue" right? Does that count? Or can I just change it altogether?

I know that somehow, some way I will have all things "something." But what do I borrow? I want to borrow accessories (again, can't say much because of Fiance) but I'm kind of (okay, REALLY) picky. And can I buy shoes and wear them and count them as "old"? I just don't know these things.

But the main thing is I have a dress. OH and a fiance. A wonderful one, at that.

What did you borrow on your wedding day? Or did you opt out of that tradition?

The "I Dos"

I think hands-down, one of the hardest things about wedding planning is remembering what comes after: the marriage. Don't get me wrong, I think about the marriage part all the time. We're going through premarital counseling right now, so we're DEFINITELY learning about how things "really" go (I know what you're thinking, "Wait, it's not all cuddles and romantic dinners?" I know, it surprised me too! Kiddingggggg.). But somewhere between the cake tasting, decoration making, and vendor confirming it's easy to lose sight of what the wedding means and symbolizes, the joining of two people. Forever.

And maybe that's why I struggle so much with the vows. To me, the vows are what "make" the ceremony. The vows are, in essence, a snapshot of the couple; it's the part I wait for and look forward to at every ceremony. What are they promising to do? To have and to hold? Or to take out the trash every Tuesday and let her cook one chocolate dessert every week? I think traditional vows are perfect for some couples, repeating words that have been voiced for centuries and saying the same things your parents said is a powerful thing. I also like non-traditional vows, ones that are unique to the couple.

But I see issues with both. The traditional vows are just that...traditional. I love them, I do, but Scott and I aren't exactly traditional people and our wedding will reflect that. I think the words are touching, but just not "us." Then there are non-traditional, which are cute, but sometimes leave people out of the loop and asking "Wait, what'd he just say?" or "Was that supposed to be funny? I don't get it." Granted, I know this is our ceremony, but it's still a day that we're sharing with people and I don't want to have to plant people in attendance to laugh at the right time. That's just awkward.

So I think we'll combine both, traditional and non-traditional. Maybe we'll just re-word some things and make it more "us" or maybe we'll google "vows" and see what happens (Is that bad? Because that's probably what we'll be doing.).

Either way, I can practically promise you that some of what this darling couple says will make it in there. Seriously. I cry every time I watch this.

Gene + Jill // Two Pease in a Pod from capture studios on Vimeo.

I mean, really? So adorable. I die.

So what were your vows? Did you go the traditional route, or choose to write your own?

My Nightmare

I've had wedding nightmares before. You know, it's my wedding day and Mom says, "Oh, hey, p.s. I forgot to send out wedding invitations so we just used the phone system at church and everyone will get a voicemail about it." And then the flowers show up and they're huge, gaudily pinkish-mauve roses and the wedding planner whips out forest green tablecloths and everyone thinks it's beautiful. Sick. I've had those before.

But this nightmare, this is of an entirely different caliber. I think every girl dreams not only of the day itself, but what she will look like; her hair, make-up, and of course, the dress. She looks stunning and she feels like a knock-out. That's what girls dream of. So when I start having nightmares regarding how I look and feel...well, that's just downright nasty, subconscious.

It goes a little something like this: I'm walking down the aisle with my Dad. He's smiling and patting my arm, while I'm a little bit teary eyed but can't keep a grin off my face. I shift the positions of my arms a little bit....and something feels wrong. As I lift my arms, I realize that I haven't shaved under my arms in what appears to be, oh, three months or so. Horrified, I slam my arms down and keep them there the remainder of the day. In every picture, my arms look huge because they're glued to my sides.

And the worst part? This is not a one-time dream. To date, I think I've had it about seven times. Awesome.

So, friends, if you see me move in limited ways, you'll know. If you come up to hug me and it's like hugging a T-rex, you'll know. And most importantly, if you see Emily slip me something pink that glimmers in the sunlight in the middle of the ceremony, oh, you'll know. So don't mind me if it looks like I'm doing a strange dance mid-ceremony, I'm just sparing everyone the trauma of unsightly underarm hair. You're welcome.