October 6

This may have been my all time favorite thing that I've done so far in Boston. A few months ago we bought Groupons for a Boston Segway tour, and we finally scheduled it. It was a blast! After watching the safety video, I was pretty sure I was going to go flying off of it, head first. Fortunately, that did not happen. It took a few minutes to get used to riding, but once I did I never wanted to stop! We rode with our guide all along the waterfront as the sun was setting, then through the city. It was the perfect night and a great way to see places in Boston you've probably never heard of. Best part, now that we did the tour we're "Segway Certified" which means we can now just go rent them for the day, and it's cheaper than doing a tour. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone, Boston native or visitor!

October 5

While walking with Dane, we saw this on the sidewalk. It's a sumo wrestler and says "Attack". I'm not sure what that's all about, but it's pretty funny to me.

and thanks blogger for not letting me flip it the right way. whatever.

October 4

This picture is from the wee hours of the morning. We went out with my sisters, ended up getting separated, but called our friends and they came to meet up with us. I can always count on Shawn for some fun when we're home!

October 3

Back to NY this weekend. We had all kinds of last minute things to take care of because we won't be back in NY until the week before the wedding. We woke up, went to the hall, chose our menu, did a floor plan for how it will be laid out, and ordered linens. Then I picked up my sister and we went to do a hair and makeup trial. I absolutely love the way it came out. Afterwards, off to a meeting with Pastor Dave to finalize the ceremony and iron out last minute details there. Then to a cake tasting. Lastly, to David's Bridal to get my sisters their dresses. That's another story in itself. But the best part of the day was probably tasting cake together!

October 2

My co-workers absolutely love this little place called The Knotty Pine right near work. It's cheap and has great food. You can't really ask for more. Jenny and I decided that we need to have a monthly trip to the Knotty Pine from now on, because it just brings us so much joy. All we talked about for two days was how we were going out to lunch on Friday. As you can see, she was very happy to be there.

October 1

I was having a stressful week at work, until I got these! My best friend, Sam, knew I was struggling that week so she sent me flowers to my office. This is probably one of the nicest thing any friend has ever done for me. I can't believe she's moving to Minneapolis! I really don't know what I'm going to do without her.

September 30

One of the students who works in our front office is a senior and a fashion design student. Our fashion department is the largest academic department on campus, and one of the biggest events of the year is always the Senior Fashion Show. All the senior Fashion Design majors have to create an entire line of clothes, construct the clothes, find models, pick the styling for the models, and pull off a successful runway collection. It's a really exciting event, and today I was asked to model in it! I'm so excited and she even let me choose the garments I like best. Mine will be the coat and dress on the left in this photo.

September 29

Dane and I are now both volunteering for the annual SnowBall on the Leadership Team. Today was the first meeting Dane has attended, and we were going to meet with people interested in being on our committee. I ended up with 9 people, but Dane, he ended up with 0. It was sad! This was his nametag and he even drew a little tree on it, since he's the Holiday Tree Coordinator. He'll get some more volunteers soon though, don't feel too badly about it.

September 28

As I was driving back to Boston, I got really excited for two reasons. First, I had an appointment to get new glasses and I've been wanting new frames for a while. Second, I had a ton of new kitchen things in my car and I wanted to use them all. I headed to Trader Joe's, then Lenscrafters, then home and began cooking! I made a salad, sliced fresh mozzarella, make bruschetta, and baked foccacia bread (not from scratch, from the rolls you get at Trader Joe's and put in the oven for 10 minutes, seriously amazing though). Then I made pesto from my basil plants and papparadelle pasta. It was delish! It was nice to see Dane after the long weekend apart and we enjoyed a lovely dinner together.

September 27

Heather's present to me was tickets to see Jude Law on Broadway starring in Hamlet. WAY better than a pair of potholders. We went into NYC, had some NY pizza, then headed to the theater. It was a really intimate theater, small and cozy. There really wasn't a bad seat in the house. We oohed and aahed over Jude, tried to figure out what they were saying during some scenes, and shared some candy at intermission. I could not be more thankful to her for that amazing gift!

September 26

Bridal shower day! I had no idea what to expect, and my sisters did an amazing job. I had so much fun, and my family and friends were wonderful to me. I can't wait to go home and start cooking using all the fun new tools I have!

September 25

This weekend was my bridal shower at home in NY. I left work early to start the drive home, getting back just in time for dinner. I went out to Applebee's with my parents and grandparents, and besides being exhausted, it was a fun night. My grandma and I were the only two that decided they had to have dessert. Must be because we were the smartest ones at dinner :)

September 24

Dane discovered this wonderful thing. Once a month, the Sam Adams Brewery has an open house. Each month there is a different theme, but every one features at least 3-4 free samples of beer and getting to mosey around the brewery unattended. This was my first one, and it was great. The Open House this month centered around an author who wrote a book about the history of alcohol in the US from prohibition until today. He was an interesting speaker, and now I can't wait until next month!

September 23

This is always the highlight of my day. This is the second time I have seen wild turkeys on my way to work in the morning. I just think this is so strange! This picture is obviously not the best, but it was the best I could do as I struggled to drive, get my camera out and take a picture while moving. Which, now that I think of it, probably wasn't the best idea.

September 21

We are pretty much out of food at the apartment, so we finally went grocery shopping. I'm a big fruit and veggie lover, and that's always our first stop when we go shopping. Doesn't this array look pretty? I love fall colors.

September 20

Today was Jesse's first birthday party. Dane's family all came out to celebrate. It looks like the birthday boy really enjoyed his cake!

September 19

Dane spent the whole day watching Jesse while his sister ran around to prepare for Jesse's first birthday party on Sunday. He was in his glory playing with his nephew and seeing how big he got. He's riding around on his little truck and being a cutie.

September 18

All I did was work all day and night today, so here's a picture of Jesse from this weekend. Dane went to PA for the weekend and took the camera. He got some adorable shots of his nephew. I can't get over these cheeks.

September 17

I met with the new Dance Team captains today at work. We are preparing for auditions next week, and they are very excited for this year. I noticed this later on in the night, but they had left a note for me on our board in the hallway. So cute.

September 16

We already got our first response back! Dane got it, but waited until I got home so we could open it together. Ben was our first response, and left us a funny note in the dietary requests section. This seems to be a trend now, everyone is leaving us messages on the response cards, which is so fun!

September 15

Last week I get an email from Groupon for reduced prices tickets to StyleFixx. I've never been before, but just know it sounds like something that would make my life complete. I immediately consult Sam, who is trying to find someone to take Red Sox tickets that she has with Jason. Because she's awesome, she decides to forget the game and come with me to StyleFixx. Dane and Ben joined Jason at the game, and we got a night of drinking and shopping. It doesn't get much better than that!

September 14

Today was the last day at work for one of Dane's co-workers, and her farewell party was at my favorite place: Pour House. I love that they invite me out, so I met up with everyone and indulged in some Sam Adams Oktoberfest with Dane. Here's the aftermath of our gigantic beers.

September 13

We headed over to Nino's for some quality time with him. We had a Lost marathon and finished season 4. Now I just have to catch up on season 5, which I plan to do as soon as they put it online or make it available on DVD. Seriously, ABC, move a little faster with this. We made veggie stir fry and enjoyed some Italian red wine. I realize those don't go together, but that didn't matter to us in the slightest.

September 12

Finally we got to the Post Office. Here is our little stack of invitations that are stamped and ready to be mailed. This is really exciting. I feel like it's all becoming more real now that we actually get to invite people to our wedding!

September 11

I honestly don't remember where we were going together, but I just love that Dane and Jason are holding on for dear life when Sam started driving. Sam does hate most other people on the road, for good reason, so maybe that made them nervous.

September 10

Totally forgot to take a picture today, but I have this one and I was really craving sausage and peppers today, so I figure it's totally appropriate. Fenway has spoiled me with amazing sausage and peppers.

September 9

Last time I was at Becca's I got into an accident. Not this time though! I went over and pretty much ate all her food. It was wonderful. And, besides seeing Becca which is always fun, I got to hang with my girl Sophie. She really wanted to eat what was leftover on my plate. Turns out she's not much for pasta. Also, that's Becca's foot, which she'll probably yell at me for posting :)

September 8

After a few days of working on them a little at a time, the invitations are done. Now we just have to bring them to the Post Office and mail them. Scott did such a great job with the design!

September 7

For some reason I had a ton of energy tonight, and Dane was exhausted. I thought instead of letting him sleep, I should take pictures in the dark. He didn't agree. But isn't this shot just lovely?

September 6

Sam and Jason have been away in California, so we agreed to watch their kitties. This basically just meant feeding them a few times during the week. But this weekend we went over, did some laundry, watched their TV and hung out with the kitties. This is Bruno (a.k.a Ruddus) who just loves to snuggle, especially with Dane, who is allergic to cats. I couldn't get a great picture of Bailey because she's a little bit of a schizoid and doesn't like to sit still.

September 5

Today Dane, Ben and I went to watch the Penn State game at the Greatest Bar (disclaimer: it is actually called that, I don't really think it's the greatest though). The Penn State Alumni Association always shows the games there, and it's so fun to be amongst all the hardcore fans. Best part is, they always serve grilled stickies, which I've learned is unique to the Penn State area and absolutely scrumptious. This was totally the highlight of the game for me. Oh, and Penn State won.

September 4

We began putting our wedding invitations together today. After I got really annoyed when I figured out we couldn't do our original plan, which was to use a wax and stamp to seal them, Dane suggested stickers. First, in my fit of annoyance, I said no way to stickers. I just have this image in my head of Disney princess stickers or giant flowers that are all irridescent, neither of which I wanted on our invitiations. But then he coaxed me to the Paper Source, not really a hard thing to do with me, and we found these stickers you can design and print yourself in the paper color we were already using. Perfect! This is how the finished product came out.

September 3

I got these shoes this past weekend, and made the mistake of wearing them for the first time when I had to walk all over Boston. My feet hurt so badly when I got home. I pretty much flung them across the room and never wanted to see them again. They've worn in much more nicely now, but that first wearing was awful!

September 2

Another Etsy find! I saw this dainty ring on an Etsy shop, Cherry Creek Designs. When I saw you could get it personalized with initials, I figured what better way than to start embracing what will be my new last name? I got it in the mail today, and it's perfect.

September 1

I got one of the best gifts ever today. When we were last in PA, I showed Dane's mom this Etsy shop called the House of Mouse. The things on there are absolutely adorable and I fell in love with little Yoda mouse. Today I went to pick up a package I got in the mail, and guess what is was? Yoda Mouse from Dane's parents! I couldn't believe they got it for me! Look at him with his little lightsaber! He stayed with me for the day at work, then I took him home so that both Dane and I could enjoy his company.

August 31

And still going with all my sewing fun! I got this fabric in PA when Dane's mom and grandmother took my shopping. I love the funkey geometric pattern. This is another hard one to part with!

August 30

Sewing up a storm again. I have to get it in now, because I know once students return to the college it's going to be insanely busy. I'm in love with this fabric, and made this bag. I can't even explain how hard it is to put this up for sale, but I'm doing it!

August 29

We had the best day ever today for wedding planning. I can't believe how much we accomplished! We picked out the tuxes, got Dane fitted and ordered his, picked out our wedding bands, got things we needed for the centerpieces, picked up containers for our candy bar, and actually had fun with it all. It was great to check all those things off of our list! Here's Dane getting measured for his tux. I can't wait to see him looking all handsome in November.

August 28

I'm a plant murderer. I have had these for months now and they're not totally dead, so that's a plus for me. It's been so hot out lately, and I think the poor things are just suffering from heat stroke. I've been watering them like crazy, but they're always dried up by the next day. I hope they bounce back!

August 27

Today was a magical day. My former roommate, Emily, sent us a wedding present because she just couldn't wait. The Magic Bullet! I realize some people may think that it can't possibly work or be worth the money. But trust me, it is. This thing makes the best smoothies ever and I was totally going through withdrawal after we moved into the new place and I didn't have Emily's Magic Bullet anymore. Thank you Emily!

August 26

We got tickets back in April thanks to Ellen for this game. Since it was the day after my birthday, it was part of my presents from Dane. We managed to score some free food (thanks to former students I've worked with who hooked us up!) and I got my first piece of Red Sox apparel. I absolutely love this hat!

August 25

Today is my golden birthday! I turn 25 years old on the 25th of August. We've been doing a lot of going out with friends recently, and have the Red Sox game tomorrow, so we had a low key night. Dane bought me these beautiful flowers, and we went out to dinner at my favorite place in the North End. The food was awesome and it was great to hang out with Dane, drink some wine, and enjoy the night together.

August 24

Today wasn't all that exciting, so instead of take a boring picture I figured I'd use a fun one. We already went to one game this summer, and the next one is coming up. Let's go Red Sox!