We're on our way to fall in love.

I remember a summer's day
I remember walking up to you
I remember my face turned red
I remember staring at my feet
I remember before we met
I remember sitting next to you
I remember pretending I wasn't looking

When Josiah and I met at Barnes and Noble on Nov. 3, 2004, he handed me a burned copy of “And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out” by Yo La Tengo. It was his favorite CD, he said. It still is.

It was appropriate. I was initially drawn to him because I knew he listened to the same music as me. It sounds shallow, but that’s a big selling point for indie hipsters. You know, we just “get” each other. Zack Horne brought me up when meeting Josiah at a Microphones concert at the Modified. Our first date was a Delgados concert at the Clubhouse, back when it was like 10 square feet.

I remember driving home from Barnes and Noble, and stumbling upon track two “Our Way to Fall,” while pulling into my neighborhood. It instantly struck me.

A couple months prior, I was at Barnes and Noble (cut me some slack, it was the only cool place in Goodyear) with my good friend Mia and her brother Bo. We were hanging out at a four-person table when I heard a faintly familiar voice and looked up at the fourth person joining us at our table: Josiah. I can only imagine the panic clouding my mind as I instantly looked away and tried not to freak out. I have a feeling I did a poor job.

This was a common occurrence during my few interactions with Josiah pre-November 2005. Whether in the Millennium High School cafeteria or outside of Mrs. Sveom’s class where I had homeroom the last period of freshman year, my reaction was always the same.

I remember pretending I wasn’t looking.

Needless to say, I could relate to “Our Way to Fall.” I tend to be a superficial music listener. I don’t pay much attention to lyrics or delve into songs, but how could I not pay attention to this anthem of embarrassment and eventually love?

In the past five years, Josiah and I have probably attended 100 concerts. Our most anticipated one is coming up a week from today: Yo La Tengo. They haven’t played in Arizona for years and we fear this may be the band’s last hurrah (they’ve been together for like 20 years). We are both incredibly excited to see this concert and I know we won’t be disappointed.

Josiah’s main contribution to the wedding planning is the music. I’ve given him the task of compiling the music that will truly set the tone for our event, including mingling music, what I walk down the aisle to and reception tunes. This portion of the wedding is so incredibly important to us, and I wouldn’t trust anyone else.

I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

P.S. - In an upcoming post I'll include some of our favorite tunes that we plan on including in our playlist.

No turning back!

The invitations are coming soon! They are expected to ship on Oct. 2. I can't believe it. This will be the first physical "thing" I have from the wedding. It's crazy to have done a ton of work but not really have anything to show for it (other than peace of mind, ha).

Onto our proof...



The huge version is available here.

Josiah's response to the invitations nearing completion:

"I guess it means you HAVE to marry me now, or it would be a waste of money
and paper ;)"

Such a sweetheart. Also, I'm pretty sure that's the first time he's used a smiley face. Priceless!

Real updates coming soon.

I hate chocolate, except when combined with hazelnuts

Yesterday Bethany and I were having an emotionally charged conversation about old people not liking cute invitations. In a rash moment, I blurted out (via Gchat) “My mom is just lucky that I didn’t fold the invitation like a crepe and put Nutella inside.”

Thus came the greatest idea of the wedding so far: “You should do mini things of Nutella as your favors.”

Oh yes.

Anyone with a brain knows how good Nutella is. Especially paired with bananas. And especially inside crepes.

Like all good things, Nutella comes in small jars that would be perfect as a gift. I’m still unsure whether people will think I’m odd or not. I mean, it’s not exactly the same as gifting a jar of super-crunchy Jif, right? I wonder if our non-hip, non-Euro guests will even know what Nutella is.

Who cares. Nutella!!!!!!!!!

Here’s a picture of a cute set of seven mini jars.



I have an inkling that mini Nutella jars will be:
1. Hard to find. Dumb imports.
2. Not economical.

Regardless, my search starts now. As I told Bethany, I hope people are confused and don’t want the Nutella. That way I can take it all home. I deserve 100 mini jars anyway. Think of all the crepes I could make…

I have a jar of Nutella in my “pantry” (really just half a spice cabinet) that hasn’t had any use in a long time. That needs to change. When I studied in Italy, I had a Nutella and banana sandwich every day for lunch because there was no peanut butter. I also had four helpings of gelato a day. And I still lost 10 pounds!

In honor of Nutella and the glorious Italians who created it (I think. Maybe not. Too lazy to go on Wikipedia.), I am going to make banana and Nutella cupcakes from the blog Bleeding Espresso. Maybe I’ll post some pictures tomorrow.

Hardpressed

I am obsessed with all things letterpress. It all started with the invitations. But now it's spread to thank you cards, calendars, fortune tellers, moleskine notebooks (I know, right?) and now ... recipe cards!!

While I was browsing Design*Sponge, I came across this post with the most darling letterpress recipe cards.

One D*S reader suggested including a recipe card in each bridal shower invitation, then asking party-goers to return them to the bride with a recipe. I think this is the greatest. Idea. Ever.

I love cooking. I love cooking for people. I love cooking for Josiah. I love cooking for myself.

I pull almost all of my recipes from Cooking Light, with the occasional Bon Appetit or Food and Wine recipe thrown in. But I would love to have a collection of tried and trued family favorites to store in a recipe file.


Letterpress recipe cards by Moontree Press

P.S. - I can't wait to debut my wedding invitation design. I've been working with the lovely ladies at Invited Ink and I am so excited. Sally Ann drew me up a custom invite and I couldn't be more excited. It's so beautiful!

Cutesy moments, pt. 2: "Keep on blogging"

Some odd smells just drifted over from Jo's side of the couch. After I expressed my disgust, Josiah recited the next blog entry:

"Today's entry. As I look over to my soon-to-be husband's way, I am rethinking my decision to marry him."

End of an era

It's 8 o'clock and I'm sitting here on my brand new (second-hand) couch. Josiah's lounging on the chaise next to me, furiously highlighting a book on some nonsense ... gender and modernity. Noah looks like one big lump at Josiah's feet; he's tangled up in his holey blankie.

Josiah and I are both in odd times of our lives right now. Things are busy, stressful, disappointing and, honestly, not right in some aspects. We both need to work through it until we can reach a point in life where we are happy -- not just OK.

A lot of times over the years (and especially this month) I've regarded Josiah and our commitment as the one "right" thing in my life (in addition to friends and family, of course). He has been the constant good force over the past five years -- the consistently encouraging presence through the strenuous classes, the late nights in the newsroom, the crappy jobs, the identity crises and the losses.

I haven't blogged in the past week or two because, honestly, I haven't done much. I've been addressing a lot of personal issues that have put wedding planning on the backburner. I'm trying to be proactive and positive, but it's hard to when the future is so uncertain.

But once again, I have to remember what is certain: Josiah and I are getting freaking married. And all of my best friends will be there. Why shouldn't I be excited? We are going to be throwing a party (for ourselves, but still) and it will be kickass.

Sometimes I have to remind myself what this wedding is about. My mom has brought this up a lot. It's about Josiah and I. It's about our love. It's about our marriage. Of course, it's also about all of the people who have brought us together, encouraged us, supported our decision.

So, here's the hoping that the coming blog entries will bear good news and fruitful inspiration. I need it. Both in life and in wedding.

P.S. - Thanks to Amanda, Erica and Todd for being especially great friends during this ever-changing time.

My maid of honor

Three months ago, my best friend Amanda moved 2,400 miles away. She packed up her tiny Hyundai with as much crap as it could hold, and she drove to the other side of the country to participate in Teach for America.

To be honest, it's been shitty. Really shitty. I've cried a lot, felt sorry for myself, wondered why I have no friends and, overall, been very lonely since she left. I feel selfish for wanting to keep her here forever -- to go to sushi, eat McDonald's swirl cones, make fun of everyone, use terribly ugly voices, etc. It sucks to be with someone non stop, then have them torn away from you, never to return again. (At least not for two years.)

But before she left, she gave me a going away present: a bridal list book and a pack of brightly colored felt-tip pens (my favorite!). The big engagement was coming up and she knew exactly what I needed: a place to keep all of the lists that would soon consume my life.

I love Amanda. I love her more than I've loved any other friend. I'm not gay, but if I was I'd love Amanda in that way too. Right now, that love is devoted to Josiah.

Amanda is the best. She is the friend who will drop everything for you -- no matter what. She is hilarious, thoughtful, gorgeous and nurturing. She is the friend that has made me pee my pants. And even though I fake peeing my pants a lot, I'm being literal here. Not only is she the greatest friend on earth, but she is brilliant and an extremely hard worker. She was my assistant editor when I was EIC at the State Press Magazine. And to be honest, I would have not be able to do it without her.

It's funny, because Amanda and I have known each other since our freshman year at ASU. She was the awkwardly tall and obnoxiously loud one who lived a couple doors down from me in the Hayden West dorm. I was the reclusive hipster in room 209 who did not like anyone having fun remotely close to me. My roommate Bethany and I would complain about everyone outside who would never shut the hell up.

Then, sophomore year Amanda stumbled into the SPM editors' office during one of our weekly meetings. She was a new writer, and I recognized her as the loud girl from the dorms and promptly decided to not talk to her. Instead, I was pretentious and made fun of my fellow staffers with Katie Lehman, our photographer.

The next semester, our paths crossed again while working at the Arizona Republic. I figured I might as well get to know this girl, considering we'd probably just run into each other more and more as we continued our journalism classes. Surprisingly, we instantly became attached at the hip, hanging out at all times and becoming BFFs.

Since then, there have been three trips to California, too many days spent in the basement, countless hours getting goofy and a lot of wondering why everyone else is so dumb.

I am so thankful we came to be great friends. She is truly a blessing in my life. I would be even more of a disaster without her right now. Even though she lives on the other side of the country, even though she teaches Pre-K full time for TFA, even though she's taking graduate classes at John Hopkins ... we still manage to talk every day. I think that speaks volumes about how good of a friend she is and how much she means to me. I have friends who live 15 minutes away who couldn't be bothered to pick up my calls, let alone call me in the first place.

Thanks, ManFru. I don't know what I would do without you.



Photo courtesy of Deanna Dent.









P.S. - I forced Amanda to get a blog to chronicle her experiences as the greatest Pre-K teacher in all of Baltimore. You can read it here.

Edit with Amanda's response:
Amanda: celeste
oh my god
i am crying right now
you B
i cannot believe you did that!
ugh you are the best friend ever
and i miss you all the time tooo!

Then:
Amanda: i am in shock
me: why?
Amanda: i didnt think you liked me that much!'

Hahaha. Oh man.

Cutesy engaged moments, pt. 1

I have decided to write more easily digestible entries. My first attempt is the installation "Cutesy engaged moments." Here you will find embarrassing snippets of me and Josiah's relationship as a newly engaged couple.

Josiah: "You look especially German tonight."
Celeste: "No."
Josiah: "Yes, you do."
Celeste: "Why?"
Josiah: "Your hair, your complexion, your eyes--"
Celeste: "--Those have not changed. I don't look German."
Josiah: "It's not a bad thing. I'm German. You know who else is German?"
Celeste: "Hitler."
Josiah: "No."
Celeste: "Heidi Klum."
Josiah: "Yes! How did you know that's who I was thinking of?"

The rest of the conversation covered whether Seal was a robot or not.