I bought my dress!

So now things are getting interesting, I bought my first tangible piece of evidence that I'm actually getting married!


I am trying to keep the dress itself somewhat under wraps but there are pictures floating around if you can keep a secret and just really want to see how effing hotttt I'm gonna look on my wedding day! I don't even want to discuss what it looks like on here for fear that my fiance may actually read my blog before the wedding. That would be a major bummer!

Anyways, I went shopping with Maid of Honor, Liz, Sisters/Bridesmaids, Rachael and Sarah, and my Mom! We had an early appointment at David's Bridal and got there before the doors even opened. I'm glad we did because it appeared that they were relatively busy. I walked in there a little nervous but luckily my consultant, Rachel (no second "a" in her name) asked me my bra and pant size in front of everyone, so that breaks the ice.



I tried on 5 dresses in total which makes me wonder what it's like working with one of those brides who tries on like every dress in the store! I watch way too much Say Yes to the Dress to know that people have tried on over 80 dresses before. All of the dresses were pretty except for number 5 which I just tried on for fun which really was more like a comforter than anything else.

The wedding dress was a gift from my mom! She cried a little when she saw me in it and that made ME cry and then it was an all around cute moment :) Now my biggest problem is that I want to wear the dress EVERYWHERE. And second biggest problem is that my dress is too long to hang in the closet so I'm hanging it on the closet door so it's always in view (in a bag). Sigh... I wish that we could just start this party already!

So yes, if anyone wants to see a picture of me in the dress I might send it to you only if you promise to never show my fiance... unless you want to show him after the wedding then that would be ok.

Here are the losers:

Dress 1 - I really liked this, especially the corsette top and the rouching (spelling?)



Dress 2 - this one was fun and elegant but not really me...





Dress 3 - I didn't really like this one at all! Too plain!




Dress 5 - I tried this one on for fun, the mermaid shape... I found it to look too much like a comforter for my taste.


I said yes to dress #4! SO EXCITED!

Vegas Fit Club (Membership: 1)

Earlier this week I purchased round trip tickets to VEGAS! So that gives me a motivation and a deadline to get in shape. I don’t think I’ll be “finished” with my journey by the time Vegas comes around but I’m hoping that in 8 weeks I will have lost anywhere from 10-16 pounds. That’s anywhere from 1.25-2 pounds a week.

This goal is ambitious but doable, and it’s up to you – my loving audience – to cheer me on!

Vegas also corresponds with my friend’s wedding!!! So what better reason to get in shape than a wedding with college friends and cute dresses – Spoiler alert, I already bought a cute dress, which if I like will probably be worn to both the wedding and Vegas.

So no goal should come without a plan of action.

First step – Officially join a gym.

I found a gym I really liked and officially became a member yesterday. My main problem is that I think the cost of the gym is outrageously high… but when I went in to sign up THEY KNEW MY NAME! They also have other great amenities that I’ll have to take advantage of, such as a steam room and individual showers.

Second step – Go to the gym!

This is the hard part, joining the gym is painless aside from the monthly cost. But going to the gym is a completely different story. Luckily my boyfriend and I have worked out a system to correspond with his schedule. Since he’s a physical therapist, his hours often run late into the evening which puts me in a poor situation because I have no way to get home other than walking (poorly lit streets and limited sidewalks make for a scary journey home). For the past 3-4 weeks I’ve been trying out gyms in the area close to the metra (the train I take to get to/from work). So I’m making our difference in schedules work to my advantage by working out until he’s done with work, or asking him to pick me up at 7 if his schedule allows him to be home earlier! I’m so lucky to have such a supportive boyfriend!

Third step – Watch what I eat!

I’ve obviously been doing this for the past 8 weeks already but this is pretty much 80% of the battle. I mentioned recently about a podcast that I listened to which gave me some great advice… Since no one is perfect you can’t expect to be a perfect eater, but as long as you’re 80-90% compliant with eating healthy then you’re on your way.

“How many times is a toddler going to fall down when he’s learning to walk before you tell him to just give up?” – A quote that can be related to healthy lifestyles and forgiving yourself when you “fall” by going overboard with food.

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Personally, I think this all sounds too easy not to work! I’m excited to continue with this weight loss journey and happy that you’re all supporting me! I hope I make my short term goal!

On a related note, I’m not sure what my final “goal weight” will be… I’m not 100% sure how you pick that, if you have ever tried Weight Watchers, or lost weight on your own, how did you decide on a final goal weight?

Until next time, can I get a show of hands of those who are excited that I did some formatting to this post?

Not Without Coups, Babe

I officially love you if you get the Dane Cook reference in the title!

Since I've decided to talk more about my frugal activities I've though it would be fun to talk about the under used coupon crisis!!

I'm not addicted to online shopping, but I get my joys out of ordering something fun, letting my roommate know to look for a package of whatever awesome thing I bought- or better yet, actually picking up the package yourself and feeling the surge of joy that you have something fun, new and probably pretty to play with :)


Here's one thing about online shopping I didn't quite get until this past year - discounts are offered for almost every store - all the time! These discounts can range from free shipping to a percentage off the sale... or sometimes even a freebie with a purchase. My theory behind online coupons is this - if they don't pay for the brick and mortar costs of running a business, they save a lot of money by encouraging online business.



My recommendation for the day: ALWAYS CHECK FOR DISCOUNTS!

This is similar to ask to pay less that I wrote about last week, however it doesn't involve much other than a few clicks when you're online shopping. To offer you guys an example I did a quick google search of Bath and Body Works Coupons.

A few things to note right away:

• 460,000 results come up. Stick to the first or second page though, many older/not even relevant coupons may be showing up.


• When I entered "Bath and Body Works coupons" the BBW website came up 3rd, meaning that these websites promoting these coupons PAY to come up earlier in the search. This indicates that they have a more legit website than the 459,997 following websites.

Some of these coupons are printable, which is great if you have access to a printer and the brick and mortar location of the store, but they should also have an online checkout code too. Online checkouts generally ask for this promotional code right away. Authors note: What is this promotion they're running that you save $0.04 on shipping? Whew, run right out and jump on this one!!!

This is about the easiest thing you can do to save a few bucks here and there, especially in the midst of the holiday season!!!

Happy frugal shopping!