Wedding Website

Have you visited our wedding website yet?

http://www.vesic.com/isbell/ :-)

And we have a video!  When we shot our engagement photos, our photographer had a friend, Brett Mullen, accompany him.  Hooman (our photog) and Brett are thinking about offering couples engagement videos, so he wanted to film us to make some samples and advertisements.  In return for being guinea pigs, Aaron and I got a free video!  It's so sweet, I love it.  We also sat with Brett and talked, to create a voice-over video where we talk about meeting each other.  I'm not sure what happened to that video, if it's still in the works or if it's on the cutting room floor-I suppose beggars can't be choosers!  All I know is, I LOVE this video!  :-)

to play it smoothly, press play and then pause to let it load first! then hit play again!

Philly!

Today I write from Philadelphia!!!  I had an interview at Jefferson University yesterday-awesome program.  They stood out for having a really dedicated faculty.  I talked to Aaron on the phone last night and told him it's hard.  How can I make decisions about the rest of our lives when he's not hear to take in what I see? Aaron being Aaron, answered in a super reassuring way that we can always check out my top ranked place together, so he can see what I see and understand how it's a good fit not just for me, but for us.  We'll see.  I doubt any program directors have stumbled across this blog, but just in case I keep all of my program evaluations short and sweet.  However, it's true that Jefferson was awesome, as were a few other programs I interviewed at...so, beyond the school, I have to take in other factors, like where can Aaron and I be awesome together, where we can be set and secure to start a  new life together.

Philly!  I've completed a 10 week internship in the city before, 

so I've grown to know and love it

Now unto weddings...I suppose I should do our save the date reveal!  We sent our save the dates out around the 5 month mark, a little tardy since it's recommended to do so around the 6 month mark, but it doesn't really matter.  I think the true reason to send a save the date is to help you get organized and obtain a final invite list + addresses.  Now when it's time to send wedding invitations things will go so much more smoothly!

I was going to take super nice pictures, but I won't be home until Saturday and it's not worth really worth the wait haha.  So without further ado...

Our save the date!  I ordered the invitations from Papersnaps.com.  They came out excellent-great price, look and customer service.  I would recommend them to anyone!

Next, I purchased a label template from Etsy.  My mom felt 150 addresses was a lot to write by hand, so she encouraged me to do labels.  I didn't want to look "cheap"-a horrible, nonsensical fear in wedding plan that will cost you lots of thought, headache and unnecessary expense- so I purchased these Etsy labels that were custom made for me, totally cute but not totally practical since there was no way to mail merge them and I would have to copy and paste the addresses in one-by-one.  It didn't sound bad at first, but the template was locked so there was no way to save a copy with addresses pasted in. I would have to copy, paste and print all in one setting.  Lucky for me, Aaron once again came to save the day.  He converted the file from pdf to word and found a way to mail merge all addresses into appropriate places.  And he helped me print the labels and slice'n'dice them with a paper cutter.  

Labels=labor of loves!

 We wrapped this around our envelopes with the return address on the backside.

Today Ebony posted a picture of our magnet on her fridge (among many others).  All of our hard work was worth it!  Not to mention all of the happy phone calls and texts we got from receivers!  Wahoo!  If you are reading this blog, know me and have yet to have gotten your invite...it's probably on Aaron's kitchen table. :-)  It's coming!  He's just hoping to hand deliver it to you!  

Off to explore more Philly!  While I await my UPenn interview I've been boutique browsing and searching for the best sandwich in town.  Fork and Pumpkin Market have been great.  Tomorrow I'm taking advantage of a spa special and getting a facial!  I think a monthly one until the wedding will be the plan.  Have a great hump day everybody!

Clam Chowder & Lobster Ravioli

Hi guys!  I had a wonderful, but busy time in Boston.  I interviewed at Tufts and Boston University/Boston Medical Center.  Both schools are great and do a lot of work with undeserved populations, which is what I'm interested in.  It's just a question of is Boston the right city for Aaron & I?  I've always been drawn to large, walkable cities with tons of culture and a great nightlife.  Unfortunately they have their drawbacks too, largely in expense.  My friend pays a little under two grand for an apartment with 2.5 rooms-a kitchen/living room, a bedroom and the bathroom.  It's small.  I'm really going have to really like Aaron to be living literally on top of him every second like that.  And the food, while delicious, is pricey.  Sit-down dinners start at $20 and go up from there.  Even a quick bite to eat, lunch spot can still cost you $8.  And the cocktails while ultra fabulous - not once this weekend was I disappointed- usually cost around $11.  Last, but not least, there's the fashion.  While my friend walked beside me carrying Ferragamo and Marc Jacobs handbags, others bustled past me with Gucci and Prada tucked under their arms.  We went to an awesome bar, Alibi, on Saturday night and I was simultaneously underdressed (in terms of formality) and overdressed (I looked so modest, I was analogous to a nun).  I felt so raggedy all weekend!  I haven't had much money to shop lately while juggling wedding planning, traveling for interviews and my usual lack of negative income of being a student.  I need more dresses, heels, boots and blouses!  Med school is making me lose myself.  For the last 6 months of third year I didn't wear eyeliner, and while it sounds minor I'm a firm believer in that this is how people let themselves go.  I need to get myself back!  I did some shopping in Boston and hope to do a little more "maintenance" in Philly as well.

Anyways, I traveled  far away from my point, which is Boston is wonderful, apart from being cold, but I worry the expense could seriously cramp our lifestyle.  Aaron & I love to go out and be social and doing that in Boston could have quite the effect on our savings.  We want to have a nice house one day and I want to work part-time and  not worry about money and I'm not sure Boston would help us prepare a foundation for that.  Who knows if we could even save a dime there?  You do get paid more to live in Boston, but I'm unsure if it works out.  We'll see.  I'm headed to Philly now for more interviews and more possible places to train and live!

Boston!

Hello everybody!  Today I am in Boston!  I've started the interview trail.  Here's my schedule

Home--->Boston--->Philly--->Home--->Atlanta--->Baltimore--->D.C.--->home!  All before Christmas!  However, after that I'm done.

I am interviewing at a total of 11 schools, 4 in-state and 7 out-of-state.  It's pretty exciting!  Interviews can be pretty exhausting as well, so I was careful to spread out my interview schedule so I can make the most of my trips.  Today was a free day in Boston, then 2 days of interviews, followed by another break.  In Philly, I only interview on Tuesday and Friday.  I'm really want to enjoy the cities I visit and spend time with friends and family.

In Boston I'm staying with my partner-in-crime, Aviva.  Aviva and I were roommates during a summer internship in 2008 and have been friends ever since.  We've conquered Slope Day at Cornell and two Beer, Bourbon & BBQ festivals together.  Now, I get to stay with her and her boyfriend, Shaun, while I interview! 

Aviva had to work today, so I explored on my own.  I've found that I am the type of person who is comfortable traveling and exploring solo, it isn't for everyone.  Sometimes I prefer it. 

I started the day browsing the shops on Newbury Street, then traveled downtown to Government Center, where Aviva works to meet her for lunch.  The picture above was taken near Government Center.

 

 

After lunch I went to Fanueil Hall, more stores.  Maybe it's because I'm broke, but I like to think it's because I'm seeking culture, but I'm getting tired of vacationing just to shop.  So I kept the shopping to a minimum and headed to Northend.  Above is a cool dress in one of the stores made entirely out of Vitamin Water aluminum cans.

 

Northend is Boston's historic Italian neighborhood.  There were tons of independent groceries and pastry shops.  I stopped at Mike's because Aviva told me they were awesome.  I purchased a lobster tail for us to have for dessert tonight and got the dessert above to snack on immediately!  It was pretty tasty and seemed to be made with classic, simple ingredients and no processed food.

 

While walking around Northend, I found the waterfront!  It was gorgeous!  I wish I had a picture to share with y'all, but I haven't uploaded the pictures off my camera yet (thus, only the instagram photos are shared on the blog).  The sun was shining, boats were sailing and it was a nice moment just to stop and enjoy life. 

 

Well, tomorrow I interview at Tufts and then Saturday at Boston U!  Good night everybody!  On Sunday I'll have another day to explore, guided by Aviva and Shaun.  :-)

 



Registered!

Yesterday, we finished registering.  We have a large registry on Bed Bath & Beyond and a baby one on Amazon.  I had a lovely time and figured I would make a pros & cons list for all of y'all.

Pro:  You get to register for whatever you want.
Con:  You don't want to look greedy or selfish.  For this reason, I only registered for stuff I truly wanted and believed would not clutter our kitchen too much.  Still, there are some pricey things on our registry.

Pro:  At BB&B an employee will assist you in making your registry.
Con:  At BB&B an employee will assist you in making your registry.  I had trouble deciphering if she was truly recommending a product or liked it due to the price.  Do they get kickbacks on the stuff we get?

Pro:  On Amazon you can add stuff from external websites.
Con:  On stuff from external websites, your address won't auto-populate.  I solved this problem by putting our address in the notes, but I do fear Universal Registry will confuse less computer savvy people.

That's about all...I figure all and all, registering is a wonderful and exciting part of being engaged.  While I hope we get everything haha, there are a few favorites of mine, in particular our china, flatware, Le Creuset pieces and the sheets we registered for.  Hmm..being engaged makes you desire some pretty boring stuff, huh?

Our registry collage I made on Polyvore...fun site :-)

    

Happy Holidays!

Hello everybody!  Sorry for the brief hiatus!  My life has been a mix of interviewing, final exams (goodbye emergency medicine) and Thanksgiving celebrations.  Aaron and I went with my family to my grandmother's house, which is our routine.  My grandmother threw down, as she does every year.  Turkey and stuffing is one of my favorite meals and it was so tasty.  Everyone in my family has been super welcoming of Aaron-my grandmother insisted he get in the grandchildren pictures, because he is soon to be a grandchild.  How nice!  Aaron and I have been lucky to have such supportive families.  However, towards the end of the weekend I was getting tired of the hustle and bustle and ready to take it easy.  Yesterday Aaron and I simply curled up on the couch, watched a movie and cooked together which was really nice.  I briefly complained about watching a movie, because I think some of medical school type A personality is rubbing off on me and I feel like watching a movie is equivalent to wasting time.  Then later I reflected, what's so bad about spending a couple hours watching a good/humorous/touching story?  Aaron's trying to get me to watch Stars Wars and the Lord of the Rings trilogy; I've seen neither.  Will I take the plunge??

We also mailed our Save the Dates!  Finally!  This was both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.  Overwhelming-managing a guest list of 260-something.  Underwhelming-actually handing out/mailing the save the dates.  No one cares as much about your wedding as you, folks.  So don't expect people to be bowled over when they get your magnet...I think I even confused a few senior citizens (a friend of my grandmother's kept turning his over, and over).  I'll take pictures of the save the dates and post on this next week!

Lastly, we started registering!!!  This has been a lot of fun and I've gotten a bit obsessive.  We've registered at Bed Bath and Beyond and Amazon.  I've had a lot of things to register for, since I've only lived alone briefly and Aaron's house is a total bachelor pad in need of a revamp.  So I pretty much stuck to the traditional registry and did fine and everyday china, silverware and appliances.  I tried to keep the registry small-but not too small since we're expecting 200 guests-and within a wide price range.  I'll post on that this week as well!

I'm so happy to be blogging again!!  I'm done with school for the rest of the year so expect much more blog nurturing. :-)

I'm here

I'm here.  In the midst of interviewing at psychiatry residencies (UNC! Duke!), working shifts in the ED including overnight last night, suturing up people's faces that got into a fight at 12 pm noon and stumbled in drunk, I am here.  And wedding planning is hold for the minute.  And I struggle with feelings of frustration after being told not to try to do it all by myself, but no one else moves fast enough for me (*ahem*AARON GIVE ME MY MAILING LABELS).

But onto other things....don't you just love this amazingly gorgeous wedding that was featured on Southern Weddings last month?  SWMag is one of the few blogs I read-I found that too many lead to overload and too many budget breaking and totally ridiculous ideas.  So I read SWMag daily and supplement with Ruffled and Elizabeth Anne Designs when needed.

http://iloveswmag.com/2012/10/09/virginia-garden-wedding-by-megan-w/

P.S.  Amanda's getting married this weekend!  Her fiancé is a friend of Aaron's and we met at a mutual friend's wedding a couple months ago.  She's a bride blogger for Southern Weddings too!!!  Yay for bride bloggers!