licensed to wed

On Friday, Erik and I got our marriage license! It was such a funny experience: There were dressed-up brides and photographers and some grumpy-looking couples. Erik cracked a steady stream of jokes, and I'm pretty sure we were the only couple there laughing our heads off. After we filled out the DMV-like paperwork, I exclaimed, "we're licensed to wed, dude!" and even our bored-looking clerk cracked a smile. One week! Of course, we're up to our eyeballs with errands and work, but it's been so super fun sharing this experience. Tonight we wrote our wedding ceremony script (Erik's best friend Mous is officiating), and my cheeks hurt from giggling so much. Pretty excited to spend my life with this guy!

wedding countdown!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, our wedding is less than two weeks away! One week till the Liaos come to town. I'm so not ready; yesterday I went on a bridal accessory buying spree online. Somehow I forgot that I would need earrings and hair adornments and the like (insert mug: world's worst bride). But all that stuff is gravy -- what I'm really looking forward to is seeing our friends and family, and, above all, marrying Erik. So I'm going to devote this post as a shout-out to him, because he's been incredible. Even though wedding planning is ridiculous, I have to say that I've enjoyed most of it because we've worked so well together. Erik's been there every single step of the way, from designing our invites to planning our music and even helping me choose my wedding dress. Not that I had any doubts before, but this all reinforces the fact that Erik is my perfect match. I love him!

my life lately...

...has been all about wedding, surfing, working, and running. Yup, I'm pretty much going to sound like a broken record this summer. To that end, thought I'd do a little check-in on each aspect of my life:

Wedding: Getting soooo stoked! The other day Erik admitted to me that he was getting excited for it, too...huzzah, success. :) My favorite part of planning is that our wedding truly a collaboration between the two of us: There's going to be a boombox DJ and drumming (him), photobooth and bright colors (her), and Chino-Latino grub (them). Plus all of our favorite peeps!

Surfing: Meet my new board (above). The super rad guys at Breakwater sold me their demo board for a great bargain, and I'm smitten. She's a 6-ish Greenlight Subway Series. A little harder to paddle into waves, but she's very wide so I'm stable once I'm up. Plus, it's so much easier to turn, not to mention carry on the subway.

Working: Oh, man, keeping busy. I've worked non-stop around-the-clock these past few months. (Can't remember the last weekend I didn't have to write.) But, I can't complain. I'm really enjoying everything I'm doing, and it's nice to frontload since I know I'll be hectic in the fall.

Running: The only thorn in my side. This heat is brutal. I've kept up with my long runs, but swapped out some of the midweek runs for swims and surfs. Oh, well...I'm not trying to win this thing. Just want to finish. :)

wedding update!

It's no secret that Erik and I thought long and hard about whether to even have a wedding in the first place. In fact, everything pointed towards us eloping: We don't have family pressure. We're untraditional. We're frugal. We don't have the time to plan out a big event. But, after a lot of debate and tossing around scenarios, we decided to go forward with the wedding route (with some apprehension, I'll admit). And I have to say: It feels like the right decision. As I grow older and life gets even faster and busier, it's been tricky to meet up with many of my friends, who live far away and have kids, mortgages, etc. It's meant so much to me to feel their love and plan out a reunion. I don't think I'll ever truly care about all the little details (uhhhh, what favors? color scheme who?), but this...THIS...is what's important to me. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

getting there!

See that happy face? That's the smile of a woman who sees the finish line of wedding planning (in front of the built-in succulents at my venue to boot, wahoo!). I'd be lying if I didn't admit that settling on a place was tricky -- and that we didn't have our share of exasperated tiffs. But, in the end, I'm grateful for this whole process: It's forced us to work together, lay our money issues on the table, reexamine our values, and hash out family complexities. It's like a pre-marriage bootcamp! Both of us also have unique circumstances where our families rely on us more than the average 30-something, which has presented new challenges and brought us even closer together. Planning this thing has also been a terrific exercise in staying true to myself; it's all too easy to fall into "others-are-doing-this" and "must-be-nice" traps. Erik is awesome about not caring about convention (for the most part), and it's reminded me that this event, much like a relationship, doesn't have to be perfect -- it just has to be perfect for us. :)

missing piece

Lately, I've been both really sad and happy at the same time. It's a strange feeling. All of this wedding talk has me glowing with joy, but at the same time there's a little tug at the bottom of my heart. Or, to put it more accurately, a trigger in my tear ducts, something that I quickly blink away before anyone even notices. You see, the more I think about my own wedding, the more I miss my little dad. I've never been the kind of girl who dreamed about white dresses or flowers; really the only thing that I really pictured on my wedding day was seeing my dad's eyes, loving and strict and gentle, beneath those funny triangle eyebrows of his. That's when reality stings, and I ache. So it was with a smile and tears that I received my "uncle's" email containing old pictures of my dad as a young man. (Dad's on the far left in the one above.) His high school buddy had heard of my engagement and reached out. So lovely, right? The timing couldn't have been more perfect.

wedding planning

So I'm only a few weeks into the engaged life and already I'm getting the wedding questions. Eek! Although I adore going to other people's weddings, I've never dreamed about my own affair. And now that the time has come, I've realized that I definitely don't want to throw a traditional one. After all, both of our families are pretty laid-back and hands-off. Plus, we'll be footing the bill, so we get final say! We're still deciding between a City Hall/park ceremony and big party; small Brooklyn affair; or plain old elopement. Right now, all we know for sure is that the dress code will be "no suits" and the menu will be Chino-Latino. :)

the rings

I've never been one for tradition, and Erik is even more staunchly unconventional than me. I mean, the man has never once owned a suit in his 35 years! So it's only fitting that I wound up with not one but two engagement rings. My only parameters was that the ring be flat to my hand (no annoying snagging), not too flashy (no constant worry of losing it), and ethically sourced/environmentally friendly (no horribleness). Erik worked with his friend, the genius jeweler Osa, to design my gorgeous set. The top ring is diamonds set in rosegold, and the bottom is deep pink (almost purple) diamonds set in yellow gold. I adore it. It's so very uniquely us!

engaged!

Erik asked. I said yes to...

* laughing until I weep
* morning family cuddles with Monkey
* extra-long arms that hug me in just the right way
* a shoulder to cry on
* super-passionate diatribes
* crinkles around the edge of his eyes
* never following convention for convention's sake (even though it drives me crazy sometimes!)
* really long decision-making periods... (see above)
* ...with the very wisest outcomes!
* random dance parties
* full-body lean-embraces after a tough day
* super-sweet texts that make me melt
* a handsome face that still makes my stomach flutter
* a man who I know will make the most loyal husband and dad
* my very best friend in the entire universe

Excited to spend my life with this guy.