Sunday, November 13, 2011

Photo Book

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Photo books are the perfect gift for any occasion.

Friday, October 7, 2011

And they lived happily ever after...

Hit play...








Wednesday morning, I awoke after 2 hours of sleep. Jimmy and I barely got our luggage up our winding staircase and patiently hailed a cab while the rain came gently down at 4:45am in the morning outside of the building where our relationship started so many days before as we embarked on our journey as man and wife.  We loaded everything in our cab and laid my wedding dress on our laps.  I swear I must have fallen asleep at this point in the cab and dreamt the rest. Our wedding...our wedding...was everything I had or could ever dream for even with the bumps and twists in the roads.  It was what little girls imagine when they put the pillow case on their heads twirling in their room.  It was in one word...magical. 



But let's back up... and everyone said this would happen and in fact it has.  I gave birth.  It was a beautiful birth (must have opted for the drugs), but I gave birth. By all means, I had 12 months with most of them difficult.  I think I fought with every single person I love at least once and swore I would never talk to them again. Yes it's true,I was disappointed a lot  but it's only because I love and believe in the people around my so much...and forgot that they too have lives hopes and dreams and just maybe weren't ready to be happy for me and for us.  Engagement is funny. It makes you realize who your friends are and who really loves you beyond the fake glaze of the sunny day friendship.  It shows you who will be standing there when the world comes crashing down and you may not be at your best.  It shows you who will run behind your back and bad mouth you at the first moment they can, and it shows you who can make you feel better with a simple hug when everyone has seemed to turn against you.  For those of you who think, engagement is fun and glamorous unless you have a million dollars and have not one single female friend or family member-wake up...it's a freak show!! BUT in the honeymoon haze of it all-I'd do it all over again today to live that one day again and again. 



So come with me on my journey to becoming Mrs. Tobin one final time.  So here we are waiting in front of the building where 4 years ago we decided hmmm...maybe we are a little more than just friends.  A cab pulls up, we get in and lay the goods on our laps.  The cab driver almost killed us a few dozen times on the way, but we made it.  We check in after a few hiccups and mean glares shared between each other about which line to stand in (I think he forgot I am a Delta expert with my 6 flights in 4 months but he came around).  We get rid of our overweight bags ($90) and then round the corner with dress hand to security.  OH MY GOD...I have to put my dress through this monster eating machine!! I swear I was 3 again and facing the vacuum cleaner for the first time! NOOOOO... so the nice lady who checked my ID must have seen the amount of sheer dread and fear in my face and explained to us the one person needs to be at the receieving end and one at the giving end while the dress goes through.  Sounds  easy enough...IF Jimmy hadnt been selected to be randomly dusted and checked for bomb debree.  So here I am at the receiving end by myself with two bookbags, one Tiffany bag, and my dress coming right at me.  Holy Shoosh balls and all Jimmy could do was look from his little glass cage 5 feet away in terror as I had a mild heart attack.  I managed though and he was eventually released. 

The flight was crammed pack and running late (only Delta can make a 6am flight with the pane already there delayed).  The sort of nice kind of snarky flight attendant jammed my dress in the Captain's closet where an elderly man also slammed his suit into later. Sigh.  Of course ontop of it.  BUT it came out perfect.  Woohoo.



We land.  Grab candy from my brother's house.  Grab last minute supplies for the welcome boxes.  Stop for coffee where I see a jeweler close by.  I ran over to see if I could buy a cleaning kit to make sure my ring was super duper clean for Saturday.  The lady tells me she just ran out BUT will clean it for free as a wedding gift.  Woohoo (or so I thought).   It looks amazing and turns out she was actually from the East Village. Everything seemed to be going perfectly (remember the scene in horror movies where they are blissfully happy and then the killer jumps out and kills them seconds later). 


So off we go.  On our way to the Keys.   We stopped in Marathon to pick up our marriage license to make certain we would be legal for Saturday and sat back to enjoy our drive down.  It was  beautiful and such a perfect drive. 

We arrive to Key West, and check in to our dream wedding suite.  There was a note to welcome us on the door and it was just perfect.  We ran to the wedding planners to unpack a few boxes to get the supplies for the welcome boxes we still needed.  A few of the boxes were wet from the shipping process, and three vases broke.  BUT we 're rolling with the punches.  We find out my mother and aunts had gotten lost on their trip from Ft Lauderdale to the Keys to come to the hotel who had misplaced their reservations for the first night.  They journeyed for 10 hours to arrive to no room on what should have been a 4 hour trip.  Ugh.  We then met two of the bridesmaids for dinner and much needed drinks with a welcome box stuffing mission in our living room (thank you Miss and Chelle) later and call it a night. 





Bright and early I wake up for my hair trial with Michelle and Melissa with the fantastic Marie-Pierre.  We had a blast and my hair and makeup looked awesome.  We realized we were missing the ribbon so we swung by the wedding coordinator on the same block.  While opening the boxes, I noticed I had lost another diamond out of my ring.  Sigh.  Now, I had lost three diamonds two weeks ago and we had them rushed to be fixed before the wedding, but three days before and hundreds of miles away from NYC...this was a problem.  I ran home to Jimmy where he made an annoyed phone call to the jeweler who claimed it was the cleaning (the 3 minute cleaning) which had loosened the diamond (it's never THEIR fault).  Four diamonds in 3 weeks seems like a lot to us though...sigh.  


The girls leave and we decide to go get a scooter and cruise around the island to shake off some stress.  We decide to grab a bite at Sloppy Joes where I discover I have a voicemail from the Florist who we had bought 60 Gerber Daisies wholesale to place in our centerpieces as well as my bouquets.  Their number kept going straight to VM but Jimmy finanly got through to find out that 30 of the daisies were not sendable and we would have to choose either carnations or another flower.  Carnations...what are we at prom.  Folks, I tell you I handled everything until this moment. This same florist called the Saturday before to confirm my red bouquet...our flowers are orange and yellow and now they are ccancelling my daisies when that's the only flower I want. Sigh.  I gently look down to my diamondless ring and begin to sob gently at the table at Sloppy Joe's.  
I know what you are thinking...that's only two small details...well.  Remember that dream I was giving birth to?  I was handing it over to a complete stranger who I had just heard of 2 weeks before our wedding.  Our original wedding coordinator had gone MIA to us but later we found out the company itself was going through some transitions, but to us they were not answering calls, emails and were just "dropping the ball." And now I had to trust a stranger to execute my dream she just heard about once and seemed distracted...by the way I adore her and she is my hero now and I am could not have been happier with her even through the bumps.  See, you can't pick or even know how people represent your business completely.  She was our god send and if it took a business break up to get her to us, I welcome it!  I think both parties will be just fine and thankful for the split and drama some day.  But just like any break up- it ain't easy and we were caught in the middle unknown to us. 
So let's go back...sobbing at Sloppy Joe's.  All these changes and now we are searching for daisies instead of enjoying the keys.  The waitress comes over and gently asks..."is something wrong?"  Jimmy tells her about the flowers and the ring.  She begins to tell us the story of her rainfilled wedding day in her backyard instead of a sailboat and her blissful marriage.  Then she runs to her manager to tell her about our troubles.  The manager and the waitstaff begin to do the most amazing thing...they start calling around to florists and jewelers! She even handed me her phone to speak to a few! Ah-mazing.  I think we found our after the wedding party place!! So we say our million thank you's and head down to the jewelers the angel of a waitress recommended. 

We step into Neptune's to a warm smile behind the counter.  We explain and show the jewelers.  See my small diamonds are all on prongs...which means PIA to replace each and never a simple 1,2,3 job.  He says to wait and he thinks he can fix it.  We begin to sweat thinking...ugh..another wedding expense.  I begin to talk to the salesman about the Keys and the community which is still truly a community where people love and care for their neighbors.  The jeweler comes out about 30 mins later with a fixed ring.  He had placed a CZ diamond in where the small supporting diamond fell out.  It looked perfect and he did it as a present to us.  
We blissfully skip out and run onto begin to get ready for my bridal shower.  I arrive to find out one bridesmaid was really sick and wouldn't be making it.  Ok, no big deal.  Then I find out 17 members of our family had their luggage not make it to the Keys.  So now we have 17 members of family in the travel outfits at the shower.  Ok, annoying for them.  Then we find out Jimmy's grandparents and aunt were in a car accident totalling thier car on the way to the airport.  Okie dokie...where's the champagne?  Really wedding gods? All in one day???  




Thursday night, we decide to enjoy the nightlife a "little."  We had a great night.  Jimmy beat Andy in a dance off.  The video is classic, and we blissfully skipped over to the next bar where a rude bartender screamed at me.  Ugh...where's the Key West community love thy neighbor attitude we had before?  One of the bridal party members and one of my best friends get into a little fight presenting a little drama for the weekend, but all in all a good night. We then head home for the night.

Friday, we wake up and begin the wait for the flowers.  We had to run to the wedding coordinators to go through the boxes of wedding fun to explain our vision.  Then Jimmy finds flowers at Winn Dixie! So we run over to make certain the girls have bouquets.  We found our next angel at the flower section.  He had owned his own business and was now working the flower section branching out into weddings.  We then decide to have him make the bouquets instead of us scrambling for them! Perfect!!!  We pick out the flowers and say our million thank you's.   We then RUN to go get ready for the rehearsal at 3pm all while my mom waits at the house for the flowers to arrive.  We run in the door at 2:30pm to get ready for the rehearsal. I barely glanced at the flowers...which most looked bad but my bouquet looked perfect!!  

Off to the rehearsal  which the best men were late to due to the fact, one of their girlfriends spent the night in the ER with an extreme allergic reaction.  They barely made it at all.  BUT here we were all bridesmaids and all groomsmen sic k ones, late ones and all.  We run through the rehearsal while it rained and off to check in to our honeymoon suite.

We booked our honeymoon suite a year ago.  I explained, we need the biggest room you have and the nicest.  I explained I loved the one with the hallway and top windows...we were in the wrong room.  I go to the front desk to find out Judi, the hotel staffer who handled our reservation and all of our guest reservation was on vacation! Of. course. she. was. I ask for the manager when a snooty man dismissed me crying explaining we were getting married ( at that point I was just another "bride" to them...another number...no sympathy...all of our hard earned money working three jobs was a spit in the bucket to them).  The manager came over and said "sorry" shrugging her shoulders.  She said she was sold out and "sorry."  I cried hard now.  It wasn't about the room...it was everything at this point.  Are these signs?  What the hell is going on...my dream is coming to a crashing halt and turning into some sort of sick twisted nightmare?


We ran to get ready for the rehearsal dinner/welcome bbq.  It went amazingly after one of my maids of honor arrived sick as a dog:).   It did though.  It was so nice to see everyone come together,and my now sister-in-law and mother-in-law made everything so beautifully.  They thought of everything.  I could not have pictured a better night.  The food was great and the company was better. Things are looking up. 



Erin and I went to CVS for some cheap wine to enjoy our last night of single friendship alone.  We ordered pizza and reminisced about the good ol'days while starring into the Key West sky.  We curled up into bed, and peacefully fell asleep for an hour.  I couldn't sleep.  I kept waking up starring at my dress and the clock waiting for the day to come. 

We woke up and watched the tent trucks arrive to begin the day. Grabbed some breakfast and coffee while my other god send of a maid of honor gathered the many things I forgot at the other hotel suite.  We took our showers and waited for the hair and makeup team to arrive. Everything was amazing...and going amazing.  




Throughout this whole process..I was very unemotional through the good times...maybe I was scared of the next bad to enjoy the moments of good.  I cry at Foldgers commercials..so this was unusual for me.  I should have been a blubbering mess through the bridal shower speeches and the rehearsal dinner best wishes.  I was cool and calm and most of all READY.  After we took our pictures and the girls left me to line up to walk down the aisle, Andy turned the corner to walk down the aisle.  I saw the tears in his eyes, and yelled at him to stop but it was too late.  The moment was here and it came so fast.  It was time for me to walk down the aisle and see Jimmy for the first time.  This was the moment I had been waiting for all of my life.  So what do I do? I hysterically cry and can't even look at him! But they were good tears...they were tears for all that had gone wrong and all that would now go right forever.  They were tears of saddness for my father who couldn't be here and the tears of no longer being a Barron, but also they were tears of joy of joining an amazing family to mine.  It was tears of knowing I am marrying my best friend and my soul mate.  It was tears of knowing how amazing we are together after everything and it was tears of joy knowing I would love him until the day I die. Maybe I cried all the way through the ceremony and down the aisle, but I have never been happier than that moment and if I could freeze time and sit down in that moment forever I would.  

Our wedding was amazing.  I want to thank a few million people for making it happen...Megan from Swankey Events made everything amazing and even more perfect than I can ever imagine.  And to know she did it with out even a skip in the beat with all of the hurt and drama she had been going through, I will always hold her as a true angel in my book.  I honestly think it was fate the way we ended up with her...and I thank fate for her everyday!!    Julie from Studio Julie who was a friend, a shoulder to lean on, and a helping hand to completing my dream wedding.  These two ladies are dream weavers and angels in my books. Melissa at the Southernmost for always answering my emails and calls and for making EVERYTHING so beautiful and yummy!! You are the only reason we speak highly of the Southernmost.  Jennifer McDermott...she is just amazing.  The amount of detail in everything she has done and the welcome I received from the Tobin's is so amazing it almost leaves me loss for words.  I have never felt so loved in my life.  I now have two amazing mothers and finally a sister:).  Thank you for remembering everything I forgot! My bridal party..thank you for all of the emails, calls, facebook messages, and finally taking the time and money to stand by my side.  My mom, thank you for always being my mom and my friend.  I know our relationship is unique but I love you so much and I am thankful to have you as a mom.  My brothers- who in this year I have grown closer to more than ever and I hope we will continue to grow closer to having what we never had growing up a tight knit family with kids who actually know their cousins!!  Family is more than who you lay your head with at night..it will always be those who you share blood and tears with as well.  I love both of you and my sisters-in laws very much! I love my nephews even more than you four!!! :) Kidding...well...ok no I am kidding. Thank you for joining us and adding to our happiness. Thank you to my waitress and the staff at Sloppy Joe s!!!  Thank you to everyone who took the time and money to join us on our big day-each and everyone of you mean so much to me and I am so happy to have had you there.  My only regret is not personally saying it to everyone at the reception.  But most of all, thank you James.  You are my Ken doll...you are my peanut butter to my jelly...you are my dream and my soul mate.  I never dreamed I would have someone so wonderful and inspiring to hold my hand forever.  You make me smile in the darkest hours and drive me crazy at times, but I can't imagine not having you in my life.  So on Friday if you decide you want another after I am gone, that chica better know what she has in a man like you. I love, love, love you.  Thank you for the most amazing wedding ever.  Baby?

Sincerely and with the warmest hearts even on this cold day in NYC, Love each and every one of you,

Mrs. Tobin

"All of our dreams  come true- if we have the courage to pursue them." ~ Walt Disney


Monday, September 26, 2011

Rose are red...

Hi Everyone. So here we are.  It's the wedding week. Insert shock..denial..shock...excitement...denial...shock..and sometimes all at once.  We are so excited to wake up Wednesday morning to jump on a plane and fly into Fort Lauderdale to start our journey.   


Things I know...things may not go as planned nor have they thus far..but I do know I am marrying my best friend and that's all that matters.  Engagement and weddings are stressful and not at all what they seem to be in a little girl's eyes.  There are budget fights, angry mothers, so many dresses, buyer's remorse, realizing your friends have lives, RSVP's...oh the RSVP's, the planning, the vendors who never answer calls or emails, all of the fun, but at the end of the day it's one day.  It's one day where I will go from a girlfriend to a wife to begin our own little family while adding to two families we've grown to appreciate more than ever after this year.  He and I will be family now and forever.  THAT I love..and am super duper excited about! 


I am so excited about the wedding and I know at the end of the day (actually the beginning of Saturday am) all of the little things won't matter...the fights will disappear...the problems will disappear...the only thing that will matter is him and I. 


It's funny at least once an hour, someone will tell me "don't worry" or "why aren't you excited?"  I can list those things here, but I am not going to.  I am going to leave them all behind me from this point forward.  Dear Troubles, I will see you in a week from tomorrow.  So effe off.  I am punching out. 


Just a few things that I would like to send a positive thought out to before I go and leave you too... 


Dear Flower peeps, please, please no red roses in my bouquet.  I am not sure where you got that info...


Dear Veil lady, you got one more day lady...


Dear Bank, gimmie my money back.  For those of you who don't know, my credit card number got stolen and a thief helped himself to our wedding money.


To my family and friends...save the drama for your mama! Notice I said my. :) Seriously, I am looking forward to having you all close in a loving positive manner.  As my friend, Nina, says I am a changed woman with my honey...so please get to know the new me...  That's all I ask. You DO all mean the world to me or you wouldn't be at the wedding. SO, let's share the good times. 


And to most of all to my blog lovers and followers...I thank you for reading and following me along the journey in my engagement.  It may not have been the smoothest...but it allows me to cherish the good days, the good friends and most of all the love of my life and the day my dreams will come true next Saturday...rain or shine...red or white roses...cake or no cake...it is my dream wedding thanks to all of you and most of all my Jimmy.  Thank you for your love and support.  I will always hold it close.  You all have been my therapy and that friend at the end of the line through this.  Just knowing you read when I post...it's just so touching to me.  I can't thank you enough for being my friend.  




Ta Ta for now...see you on the other side!


BTW...no rain on the forecast:)



Friday, September 23, 2011

Isn't it ironic

Hi All. I cannot believe next week this time, I will be waking up on my wedding day! No...really I can't believe it. Really, isn't it June and I am still 24?  I was telling a friend last night that I think with all of the excitement my psyche has only processed certain things at a time or, as my friend Michelle, would say I would explode with excitement from overload! Funny, last night I was going through the first dance in my head as I lied down to sleep(something I have done since I was 12), and it dawned on me that would be after the ceremony where we. got. married. Oh em gee. So apparently, it's starting to set in a little bit at a time...and it's exciting to me finally!:) 


So, as any Florida hurricane season bride-to-be would do, I have begun obsessing paying attention to the weather. The good news is Fla weather is ever changing.  I always said I would love to be a South Fla weather man.  You wake up.  Shake your head.  Put on a pin stripe suit and several rings.  Go spray tan.  Put on makeup and hair like you are going to prom.  Then stand in front of a blue screen and say," partly cloudy, 60% chance of afternoon rain."  Until there is a hurricane, your job is pretty much the same year round...it just is. 


So what's the forecast you ask... here it is...mom, sit down and read.







What's that saying all you kids are saying now-a-days? Oh ya..FML.   Mom-that means for my love.


Ugh...rain...so what shall we do.  Well, the reception is under a tent but yes it does kind of ruin the whole sunset wedding on the beach if it's raining cats and dogs carrying lightning bolts.  So what do we do? We pray. Kids..I need your prayers to Mother Nature and well...whatever you pray to ..your higher up. I am going to stay in faith and worse case scenario bring your umbrellas...and tissues for me. 




On the other hand, some say rain on your wedding day is a sign of good luck (that person had an inside wedding I am certain of).  Let's turn to the wiki gods and ask them...


"Rain on your wedding day means the atmosphere was sufficiently unstable to support enough rising air and consequently, precipitation. 
What else could it mean?
Your wedding day was someone
else's funeral, another person's graduation, another person's car accident, and just another day for another 60 million people who experienced rain that day.

== Cultural Meaning == In some cultures rain is good luck, and can represent cleansing or stronger unity in the marriage.It comes from several cultures mainly from the Hindu with the idea that a wet knot is harder to untie. Since marriage is often referred to as tying the knot. Rain was also a symbol of fertility to agricultural societies, since rain restored and maintained the wellness of crops. Crops were peoples main source of stability and income so it was thought to guarantee a long happy marriage!


Read more: 
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_rain_on_your_wedding_day_good_or_bad_luck#ixzz1Yn20WM7v


It also can make for some unique pictures...



And of course it could be worse...




No matter what happens...in the words of my favorite two 80's funny men..."Game on"

See you guys soon! And besides only the best love scene in the world was made during the rain...remember the scene from the Notebook.  Somehow I don't think it would have been romantic with the sun shining in the background. Hmmm. Oh and if you didn't get my Alanis Morisette throw back, here's a refresher course! 
Chow lovies!




Friday, September 16, 2011

Crisis evaded once again

Last weekend, I woke up Sunday morning as usual.  I walked Daisy May and came back to start my coffee.  I sat on the couch turned the tv on as usual and checked my email only to be stunned by a bride-to-be's worst nightmare weeks before her wedding.  Yes, I lost a diamond out of my ring.  Why is this such a crisis, you ask.  A. umm the obvious, diamonds are not cheap and we are not rich.  B. jewelers are usually too busy to turn over a sizing job within a week let alone a detailed repair.  Ugh...







So Monday morning, Jimmy and I began our errands.  We had to go to the DMV to make sure he would have proper ID when needed at the courthouse for our marriage license (that would have been a bummer).  Then off to the jeweler...well...I won't go into the detail but let's just say it started off very rocky and I almost had words with a certain female counter person.  BUT then a jeweler who actually showed some compassion came to our rescue.  He told us we were actually missing 3 diamonds from my ring and being my ring is so unique it may not be ready in time.  See my diamond has these little prongs that run along the sides and front which hold the delicate diamonds into place (guh-reat ring for someone who's middle name is grace).  He said he would make some calls and see what he can do.  Sadly we left without my ring... :( and I went the rest of the day/week without a diamond on my hand (which actually caused a commotion with people who see me everyday..."are you ok"..."is everything ok"...it took me a minute to figure out what they were referring to).


Well, we got the call the jeweler had fixed my ring and actually donated the diamonds!!! I would just be responsible for the work costs (which wasn't cheap...but wasn't the price of three diamonds).  I am proud to say, I have my ring and it is more beautiful than ever!!! I forgot how much it sparklers brand new!  So what did we learn ladies and gentlemen...when bartending your way through nursing school leave your ring around your neck or at home (might make more tips...j/k)!








Wheeew...that was a close one!


For those of you that do not know our story of my ring, here is our actual review of our jeweler...


"We originally went to Michael Fina to purchase my engagement ring. We felt pressured to buy a ring I wasn't 100% in love with. The salesperson actually said I was expecting too much out of the experience meaning I was expecting to fall in love at first sight and feel the earth move while fireworks went off. Being the romantic I am, that bummed me out to say the least. So we opted to "think" about it and do more research. Walking down the block away we stumbled into Raffi to just look. We met John who explained diamond buying to us in the fullest detail. He let us compare diamonds side by side to see the advantages of the cuts and clarity. This also allowed us to find what mattered the most to us. But that's not what I loved about the experience. I have looked at a lot of rings and a lot of jewelry shops, but when I glanced down and saw "my ring" I knew it was the one and I did indeed have that moment I was looking for. From that point on, we built the main centerpiece. I am in love with my ring, and I have been ever since that day. Not a day goes by I don't admire it or appreciate Raffi Jewelry for my ring. They will see us again very soon in the future for our next (and all) jewelry purchases."


Happy weekend!! 2 more weeks!!!!



Saturday, September 10, 2011

We have some finals for hair and makeup


With the veil decision coming to a halt in a few short days, I have some decisions on hair and makeup! Here are my top favorite hair ideas...











This is a makeup and hair finalist...

Hair and veil...

Makeup...

Hair and makeup...

20 days and counting!!