I've got a gun, and I'm not afraid to use it.

A registry gun, that is.

Last weekend, Benjamin & I began working on our registries. I was a little apprehensive because Ben is.... let's see... how can I put this nicely.... Practical? Yes. Practical. For instance:
Carrie- "Oooh! an apple slicer/peeler/corer! we NEED this!"
Ben- "We have a knife. And you don't even eat apples that often"
Carrie- "But think of the time I could save! And I could avoid a potential knife disaster! And I would eat an apple every day if we got one!"
Ben- "No."


Our first stop was Williams Sonoma. We grabbed our guns, took a stroll around the store, and surprisingly had fun! We agreed on almost everything (minus the aforementioned apple peeler/corer/slicer). We agreeably compromised about what our dream kitchen should look like. It was a very positive experience.

Just off of our Williams Sonoma happiness, we decided to head to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Our personal registry coach walked us around every.single.inch of that store, trying to convince us we couldn't live without an espresso machine, or $50 bath towels.... It was miserable. Which is why I wasn't surprised that afterward when I checked over our registry, I found Benjamin had snuck off in an attempt to score us a porcelain cat toilet brush holder (no, I'm not kidding)

a mother-of-pearl toilet seat

and lifesavers. Yes. Candy. On our wedding registry. (Although, I do give him credit. He registered for a nice, big bag. Good job, Honey!)

Fortunately, we survived. And Ben's surprise additions gave me a good laugh.
(Although you can bet I removed those from the registry that same night.)

p.s. I tried to be sneaky by adding my beloved apple gadget to our registry.
Ben quickly discovered my addition and removed it.

Planning a wedding is hard....

Okay, I'm totally lying. You see, I have done some planning, but I haven't done much doing.

Booking the reception venue? Ben took care of that.
Arranging the ceremony? Yep. He did that too.
Oh! Blocking rooms at the hotel? Ben was all over that.
Researching wedding photographers and DJs? Yeah, Ben did that.
Designing our Save The Dates? Ben.
Emailing & calling vendors? Ben.
Signing us up for pre-marital counseling? Ben has that taken care of.

As for me, I spend obscene amounts of time browsing wedding magazines and websites.
Oh! I took care of stuffing, addressing, and applying postage to the Save The Dates!
Wait, nope. My sister did that.


He might look lazy, but he is the best fiance imaginable. Ben has totally taken the stress out of wedding planning (so far:). I'm so thrilled to have him, my friends and family taking such an active role in helping out! This wedding planning is a breeze!

some thoughts on being a hippie.

lately, i've been finding that ben & i are increasingly being labeled as "hippies".
yes, we are interested in the environment. yes, we recycle.
but it's not like we go out every day to hug trees and eat granola. we recently had a discussion to try to pin-point where this perception could be coming from.
do we wear tie-dye? attend music festivals? listen to the greatful dead? eat organic food?
no. so what gives?

well, we both went to school for "earthy" type degrees. (as far as our friends can tell, anyway.)
we sometimes go camping. not very hardcore camping, though... nothing like the AT (<-- hippie jargon. a real hippie knows that AT stands for appalachian trail.)
we prefer to eat at local restaurants instead of chains, you know, to help support the economy. ben does wear a lot of earth tones. (BUT! it all comes from gap & j.crew! and i am sure they outsource their labor to small, poor counties. so ha!)
are we interested in current events? down with peace? sure! but who isn't?

after a lengthy discussion about whether or not we are, in fact, hippies, we came to the conculsion that maybe we are just environmentally-conscious nerds. (which in my opionion is a much better label, since environmentally-conscious nerd girls can still shave their armpits.)

wait a second, is that me? in tie-dye? just pretend you didn't see that.