We're on the move!

Hello, hello, lovelies. It’s time we officially announce that we’ll be relocating (or, as I like to say, coming home) to Upstate, NY at the end of this month! There are many reasons why we decided to move, but the biggest was to be closer to family. Only seeing our families 2-3 times a year maximum was really taking a toll on both of us, and made traveling back to New York a bit stressful because we always had so many people to see and so much we wanted to do.

In addition to that, Josh and I realized that as much as we wanted to fight it, we're nature people. I know! Shock! Gasp! We love being outside, going for long hikes and breathing in country air. We feel like ourselves when we're not in the midst of city hustle and bustle, which is something I never thought I'd ever, ever say. I suppose you don't realize what you love until you don't have it anymore.

I can’t avoid sounding like a cliché when I say that leaving Chicago will be bittersweet. Josh and I moved out here with nothing but a few extra dollars in our bank accounts and some determination to be real city people. We didn’t have any jobs lined-up, and had not one, but two apartments fall through while we were in the process of moving out here from New York (thankfully, the third time was a charm for us). And on top of that, I was recovering from The Big C and the surgery I had to get better. We built a life out here together, got engaged here, came back here after our wedding in New York and started a business here. These past five years have been amazing, and I wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything. But, with that said, I’m extremely excited to see what New York has in store for us. We’ll be moving to the Albany area, close to where we got married, actually. We've always had a strong connection to the area, and it almost feels like a dream to be coming back.

I thought it was fitting to make some lists (because, well, this is me we’re talking about here). I put together a list of things I will and won’t miss about Chicago, and things I’m excited about for our new life in Upstate, NY. Here goes, with nothing in any particular order.




Things I Will Not Miss About Chicago

- Traffic and a lack of parking. I feel like half my life in Chicago has (literally) been spent either sitting in traffic or looking for parking. No matter what time of day, I always have to budget, at minimum, an extra 20 minutes to drive even a mile down the street, and plan my entire day around traffic patterns. I've even had to wait in line for a spot in a parking lot. If we want to go out to dinner some place other than our usual neighborhood hangouts, we have to have this conversation: “Okay, so should we drive or take the train? If we drive, how bad will traffic be? We should leave a half hour earlier than usual. What’s the parking situation though? Do we have cash for a valet? Is it metered? Permitted? Screw it, let’s take the train. Oh, but it’s the weekend, the train barely ever comes and it’s like, really cold and windy out there. Let’s just drive. But wait, did we decide where to park?" It's a bit exhausting.

- Speaking of traffic - CUBS TRAFFIC. I will never, ever miss that. Getting around in the city on a Cubs home game day is nearly impossible.

- The CTA, Chicago’s public transit system. It’s a bit of a joke, really, after experiencing how readily available trains and buses are in other cities. The trains are not a very developed system, even downtown, and the bus routes are just incredibly unreliable and time-consuming.

- The wind. I know The Windy City was named for its politicians, but heck, it really is windy here all the time! It’s a rare occasion when I can wear a dress or skirt and not be genuinely scared I’ll flash half the city while walking around downtown. Which has happened. On several occasions.

- The noise. At any given moment outside our window, we can hear at least one of the following: drunk people yelling, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, horns honking or car alarms. I'm ready to hear frogs and crickets again.

- The crowds. There really is just a lot of people everywhere at any given moment. Unless you wake up early and get to Target right when it opens, there's no way you can shop there peacefully. Or anywhere in the city, really. We find ourselves shopping in the suburbs of Chicago quite a bit just to avoid crowds and get some personal space. In addition to that (and I know this is a bold statement), but I really haven't ever found Chicago people to be any nicer than other city people, making the statement, "Oh! But Chicagoans are such nice people because they're in the mid-West!" a myth for me. I still witness as many rude and inconsiderate people as I have in other cities I've been to. Including the Big Apple.

- Deep dish pizza. I don't understand the appeal. It's a food pie, and I feel sick and disgusting after one slice.


And now, onto the things I will miss about Chicago.

- The shopping. I have almost every store I could ever need right at my finger tips, including all the major luxury department stores, as well as some amazingly lovely boutiques. I will truly miss that, and I'm taking bets on how long I will last without them. I'm hoping it will help to curb my shopping budget a bit.

- The Joffrey Ballet. Josh and I became subscribers our first year here and have attended every performance since because it’s surprisingly affordable and very accessible. It is now, without a doubt, my favorite dance company in the country, and I feel so lucky to have witnessed some truly life-changing performances. A new artistic director took over the company just as we moved here, and he did some amazing, amazing things and took the company in some truly unique places.

- Being able to walk. Everywhere. If it’s 1-3 miles or under, give or take (depending on the weather), I will choose to walk because city living makes it easy for us pedestrians. And within a very short walking distance from our apartment, we have a Trader Joe’s, quite a few lovely antique shops, a major grocery store, a Bank of America ATM, a CVS and Walgreens, a Starbucks, two Thai food places and an El station. Not only that, tons of restaurants are up the main street we live on, the best fried seafood joint EVER is just down the street from us, the best martini bar of life is next door, and the pub that David Beckham frequents when he’s in Chicago is across the street (Which I only go to for their awesome grilled cheese, and where Josh goes to actually watch soccer). Near our place in New York, we can't really walk to anything, which is sad.

- The restaurants. This is a "kind of" a miss because yes, Chicago has tons of amazing restaurants to go to. But one, Josh and I just don't go to them for whatever reason (laziness and traffic), and two, amazing restaurants exist in other parts of the country. While in New York recently, just outside Saratoga Springs in a small little town, my mom and I had one of the best meals of life at a quaint little restaurant with a fireplace. Not a place you'd ever find in Chicago. The restaurants here are awesome, and I'll miss them, but not as much as I thought I would.


And now, drum roll please, things I’m greatly looking forward to about our new home.

- Nature. We'll be living right on the Hudson River, and a state park is within walking distance. Feeling connected to nature makes me a more calm and enriched person in a lot of ways, and having all that at my fingertips will be a very welcomed change.

- Outdoor space. That is so, so hard to come by with city living (and when it does happen, you pay a pretty penny for it). I'm looking forward to being able to actually use our Smokey Joe grill, and eat food on our patio! We already have our first grilled veggie fajita and margarita night planned for outside.

- Big bedrooms. We have a king-sized bed because, well, we just really needed it. And while it fits in our bedroom, that’s pretty much all that fits. Our guest room barely fits a full-sized bed. I’ve also stubbed my toes in our bedroom more times than I can count. Josh and I, since moving to Chicago, have never been able to have both our bedroom furniture pieces in the same room (his has always been in the guest room). We're looking forward to actually sharing a bedroom together for the first time in five years, and still have enough space to walk around.

- Lots of day-trip options. You’d think being in the mid-West, there would be plenty of places to visit, but we’ve always had a really hard time finding day trip and weekend destinations. Wisconsin and Michigan are about your only two options, and while they're lovely, they're still pretty difficult to get to. However, now we’ll have the entire Northeast to explore, and I’m way too excited about it. One place in particular I’m excited to visit frequently is Vermont. We honeymooned there and fell in love with the state. In fact, if family wasn't a factor, we likely would have moved there. And, as a side note, Vermont has amazing dining opportunities. A lot of NYC-based chefs relocate to the Vermont area and open restaurants in B&Bs an Inns. During our honeymoon, we honestly had the best meals of our lives in Vermont.

So there you have it, folks! We have quite a journey ahead of us in the next month. I really do despise packing, moving and unpacking again, but I know deep down that this is going to be a great thing for us. As much as I’m stressed about it, I’m also ready to make the change. So, for now, goodbye, Chicago. Hello, New York!

How To Choose Your Wedding Vendors

The most common question I get asked from clients when it comes to choosing their wedding vendors is, "Does the personality of the vendor play a big role in my decision?" My answer is yes and no, and here's why.

There are some vendors that you'll interact with a lot on your wedding day, and when it comes down to it, you'll want to make sure you actually enjoy being around those people and feel comfortable with them. If you don't, you'll be adding extra stress to your wedding day, and gosh darn it, we don't need that!

The vendors you'll be interacting with the most are your photographer, videographer, DJ or band leader and wedding planner/coordinator. These are the vendors that, when it comes down to a few choices, personality might be the winning factor in choosing the one you want to work with (as long as their reviews and references are stellar, of course!).

One vendor that I consider to be in a grey area when making this decision is your catering manager or venue coordinator. I certainly don't mean this to be a blanket statement, but when my day-of coordination clients, one complaint I hear more often than not is that the venue coordinator or catering manager they have been working with just isn't living up to their expectations, and that can add extra stress during the planning process. So, I will often get asked if it's worth it to forgo a dream venue or caterer knowing that it isn't always the easiest to comunicate with them. My answer is ... it depends. And I hate saying that! Honestly, my personal reaction would be that it's worth it to deal with an incommunicative venue contact person if you know you adore your venue (or, you could hire a wedding planner to deal with them directly for you!). But, sometimes your guy may tell you that you'll be saving yourself a lot of headaches if you go with another venue that has better reviews or a more responsive coordinator.


Photo Courtesy of A Crimson Kiss

Sometimes clients ask me, "I love this person's work, and their references are great, but our personalities don't totally mesh - should I look elsewhere?" I usually say no in this case when it comes to vendors you don't work with directly on your wedding day, such as your florist, cake baker/designer or rental company. As long as the vendor understands your vision and you're confident that they'll deliver on the wedding day, it's okay if you're not BFF's after your first initial meetings. Obviously, if you're completely uncomfortable with that vendor in general, then move on to the next, but sometimes, personality isn't everything.

So, just think about which vendors you'll be spending the most time with, and about how it will affect your wedding day when you hire those people. In most situations, listen to your gut. It never steers me wrong!

Snippets From Our Easter Sunday

Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a very lovely Easter/Passover/Long weekend. We certainly did. I'm not a religious person, but I love holiday weekends because I feel as though, in this very fast-paced world, time seems to slow down a bit. I looked out our window on Easter morning and there was barely any traffic, most stores were closed down, and I just felt a calm sweep through our neighborhood. I like it when that happens every now and then! We spent our easter having my sister and cousin over, and we ate, talked, laughed, ate some more, gobbled up Cadbury mini eggs, laughed again, watched YouTube videos and movies, ate again and then ended the evening with hugs. It was picture perfect. Here are a few snippets from our Easter. Enjoy!