New York, Here We Come!

Got the best news in the world today! My fiance got the job he interviewed for! He's going to be a Web Developer for the NEW YORK TIMES!!! :) The starting salary is wonderful, and he's getting a signing bonus that will help (although not completely cover) our vast moving expenses. This makes it officially real - we are off to New York!

The is one minor...thing...though. He is scheduled to start working May 16th - a mere 2 days after graduation, and 5 days after finals end. That makes things even more stressful. We're probably going to have to miss some school to fly out, look at apartments, and sign a lease so we have somewhere to stay. That will be easier than missing finals. We'll be here probably for finals and graduation, and then fly out after graduation to prepare for his first day.

We'll also have to sell/store/get rid of/pack ALL of our possessions, including our furniture and car. We have to plan how and when we'll get our things to NY and when we'll start the moving process. Plus, we now have just about a month to save up for our apartment, moving costs, flying, etc. It's stressful, but I'm so excited! Now, fingers crossed, I'll get into a publishing institute and we'll both have our careers underway literally right after graduation!

Sex and the City

With increasing boredom and no nice weather in sight, I've started rewatching the Sex and the City series from the beginning. Not that I'd ever really admit it, but this show inspired me more than anything else (except my love of publishing) to move to New York City. I literally cannot wait to experience it all - or at least the New York parts! Plus, it's just an awesome show.

Every day I get more and more impatient to move to NY. I still have about two weeks until I'll hear from any of the institutes I apply to. Why why why can't time go faster??  Even so, there's only 46 more days until graduation, and I know that once it's over it will feel like time went by at warp-speed. If only it could do that now... My fiance is waiting as well. He flew to New York on Friday to interview with the New York Times, and he's supposed to hear back early this week. I'm kind of living vicariously through him, so I'm incredibly nervous!

Okay, back to my show...

Break In Illinois

Spring break isn't too exciting when you seem to be the only one stuck in Illinois!

Break was uneventful for me, and nothing new has really happened. My fiance, who I still swear is the most incredible man I've ever met, is being flown out to NYC by...get this... the New York Times! They're interviewing him on Friday. I'm so proud! But as for me...I'm still waiting.

I did get to have a couple nice "wedding" moments over break. I picked up my wedding dress, which is now residing safe and sound at my parents' house until I get it altered in December. I also got to visit the location for our wedding again. I thought I'd share some pictures:

This is where people will sit. If you can see it, behind the bricks against the glass is a pond with pretty fishies.

This is where PJ and I and our wedding party will stand. The chairs will go past those stone areas, and we'll stand just to the right of the waterfall.

And here's a closer view of the waterfall.

I love where we're getting married. It's so pretty inside, and we get the run of all the outside gardens too. They're not in bloom yet, but I know they'll be gorgeous come June.

The Waiting Game

I finally mailed my applications to the publishing institutes yesterday! It's such a relief in a lot of ways, finally getting it done and knowing that I did my best. I hate waiting though. I should find out if I'm accepted by mid-April. If only I had that much patience...

There's not much else new going on. My wedding dress is in, and the contract for our wedding venue is signed. Now I'm just waiting to figure out more about New York and trying to get through school.

Is anyone else ready to graduate like now?

Have I Mentioned...

...that I looooove wedding planning?! It seems like things keep falling into place. I got my dress last week, and today I got two more pieces of really great news.

1. My mom came to visit today, and as we were sitting and chatting, she told me that she had some good news and some bad news for me. I told her to tell me the bad news first, and she said that she had called the Botanical Center, where I want to get married, and that it was booked on June 2, 2012. My heart sank; I was so sad! Then she smiled and said "By you!" Apparently she called and set up an appointment and is signing the contract this week! So naturally we squealed and jumped up and down. She's so sneaky, but I'm so thankful to have such a selfless and thoughtful mom. So... I am OFFICIALLY getting married June 2, 2012 at the Quad City Botanical Center! Yaya!

2. Later today, I got a reply to a message I sent on Facebook a long time ago. (P.S. Gotta love social media for tracking down people! :)). It was to the woman who took my senior pictures when I was in high school. She was awesome, and I wanted to try to book her for our wedding. I finally heard back from her today, and not only did she agree to take our engagement and wedding photos, but she said the sweetest things and is essentially charging us what she does her family. So I'm getting an awesome photographer that I already know at a fraction of the price of many others I've looked at. And we don't have to pay her for quite awhile, meaning we can save up for other things right now.

I really do love planning my wedding! :)

Here Comes the Bride!

I did it! I bought my wedding dress yesterday!

It's so pretty - and the most money I've ever spent on one thing in my life! But it was a wonderful experience that I got to share with my mom, sister, and both grandmothers. I couldn't be any happier. I wish I could describe the dress or post a picture, but I'm afraid my fiancé would read this blog and see it. I'm old fashioned like that - he won't get to see it until I'm walking down the aisle.

This makes the wedding so much more real to me, and I have no idea how I'm going to wait another 15 months.

Yesterday was really a great day to lift my spirits. I got to spend the day with my family, got my first smartphone, and bought a wedding dress. And today I blew off my first class so we could do a little more shopping (shhh!). I adore my mom and my sister, and they helped me forget about the sadness for awhile.

Happy day!