wouldn't it be nice if we were married

wedding updates! although we only have a few months left, i presume this will be the first of many.

i should start off by letting you know that we've chosen a date and that i will officially be mrs. katie menz as of september 1, 2013. i've heard that the whole "name-changing" process is really frustrating, but i think i'm up for it. i also plan on keeping my maiden name (guiffre) as my middle name, because i just cant give up the sweet nicknames i got through highschool and college (guff, kt guff, guff-unit, guffers, guffer-nutter). i'm interested in hearing about what others have done as far as the name switch- did you keep your last name? did you take his? did you hyphenate? please share!

these days, i feel like we are in the home-stretch. things are moving quickly and we are crossing tasks off our to-do list daily. we picked our location and it's perfect for us. i found a (grey) marchesa dress on a random trip to the city and it's lovely. my yogi teacher and friend will be officiating the ceremony. we have an amazing local 9-man band that will keep the party going all night. we found a really great photographer that fits our style just right. we have 14 of our closest friends in our bridal party, and of course, we have eachother. i try to remind myself that one of the most important parts of this whole process is to focus on the real reason we are doing all of this. every once in a while i get caught up in the cost and magnitude of it all, especially when the number of guests crept over the 200 mark... but the wedding is just a chance to celebrate with all of the people that have played a role in the story of us. i would imagine that being married will be a lot like the last 6 years, with the addition of a lovely piece of paper that basically states 'forever'. i'm guessing we will still disagree about what temperature to keep the apartment at (i'm eternally cold and he's an oven). i'm assuming there will always be time for spontaneous weekend morning wrestling sessions (3 broken toes later, and i still enjoy these moments). and i'm positive there will continue to be plenty of stay-at-home, thai food/movie nights in our future (because i can't really be expected to cook more than 4 nights a week). at some point, if we're lucky, kids, work, and a mortgage will complicate it all, but i'm looking forward to those adventures with my best friend by my side.

right now we are working on the invites (see the save the dates that i designed below), putting together some crafty decorations, and i'm trying to figure out what to do with this overgrown-pixie-on-it's-way-to-a-bob hair of mine. suggestions welcome :)

paint myself in blue and red, black and grey

over the last few years, i've gotten a really great response from friends and family about my paintings so i thought i would share them with you. i never really thought of myself as a painter- i'm far too precise and controlling to paint a still-life or portrait, or heaven forbid, a landscape. when my screen-printing professor saw what i created for my collage assignment freshman year of college, she immediately declared that i should be a graphic designer... and loosen up a little. i looked around and realized that my precisely measured, neatly trimmed and delicately pasted collage was surrounded by heaps of torn newspaper, messes of glue, and random splatters of paint. and that moment marked the very first time that i became aware of the difference between fine-artists and graphic-designers. i was so jealous of the fine-artists' ability to throw caution to the wind and dive right into their projects, without seemingly second-guessing themselves.

not being able to let go of my obsessive tendencies, i figured i would never be much of a painter... until a couple of years ago when joey bought me a book by one of my absolute favorite artists of all-time: mr. andy warhol. i had always thought of him as more of a fine-artist, but soon began to realize he definitely had a method to his madness. his famous uneven register lines? deliberate! strange color schemes? modern! choice of subjects? the beginning of the pop revolution!

so, i digress. with a little inspiration and lot of nervous energy, i started to develop my own painting style. i've combined my love of typography, lyrics, pop art and bold colors, and this is what was born...   i hope you like!

"clear eyes, full hearts, cant lose" - friday night lights

"i need a big love" -counting crows

"all is pretty" -andy warhol

"if you're a bird, then i'm a bird" -the notebook

"i may take a holiday in spain" -counting crows

hey, i put some new shoes on and suddenly everything is right.

i know what you're thinking... i'm awful, just awful. it's been an entire month since i last wrote anything (besides my private little "notes to self", which are one-word reminders about things i need to write about the next time i get that bloggin' itch). so, of course, my apologies. let me first apologize for the writing hiatus that i never told you i would be taking, and secondly, for the literary diarrhea i'm about to spew. too graphic? third apology.

no excuses, but life has been bonkers, for realsies. i got engaged, we moved, and i got a sweet promotion at work! i am referring to this period in my life as katie's quarter-life trifecta. this really has no importance at the moment, but someday when i become super-cool and people are writing my life story, it will make their jobs easier if i've already coined this phrase. make sense? it's just me, being all considerate and stuff...

so yea, promotion, woot woot. i am now a fancy-schmancy marketing director! (side note: 'fancy-schmancy' was not allowed on my business cards, unfort.). it is certainly keeping me very very busy, but i'm loving the challenge. and we are both loving saratoga springs, as well! we are only 497 steps to broadway and the downtown vibe is full of energy, just like albany. we haven't stumbled home drunk just yet, but we have wandered over to plum dandy several times, and this past weekend we jogged to the Y, worked out, and stopped at the local farmer's market on our way home. love!

being so close to the Y has other perks as well- it's allowed me the opportunity to begin working on my yoga teaching with one of the best mentors ever! i cant tell you how incredibly excited i am, but i will make sure i blog updates of my progress...  stay tuned!

xo

come on baby, let me show you my tattoo

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i am the luckiest...

i spent this past weekend attending a lovely 2 day ceremony in plattsburgh ny. my college roommate, monica, married her college sweetheart, rob. we lucked out with lots of sunshine and very little rain (which actually resulted in a post-reception rainbow! what a sweet ending to their big day...)

their first dance was to ben folds "the luckiest"

handmade colorful signs, paper cranes & flowers, and painted rocks were the decor.

sarah, myself, and sully- roommates of fontbonne '08

we ended the day with a rainbow over the lake

i just wanna be ok today

after a rough last week and a crazy/busy weekend, i came into work today to find a gift from a friend that made me smile.

beautiful oops by barney saltzberg

the sweetest little book ever, that teaches us to turn an 'oops' into something beautiful... not a bad idea, huh?

thank you for thinking of me, paige.
xo

let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters

hi all- i have a special little announcement for today... my dad and i have just finished publishing our very first children's book and we would like to share it.

it's a collection of poems that my dad has been working on for the last 20 years or so, mostly about family, friends, and his experiences with parenting. a few years ago, he asked me to illustrate the book, and now it is finally printed and ready to be sold! if you're interested, please take a minute and check out our blog and shoppe. if you like what you see, please share it with others...

thanks all! hope you enjoy...

xo

this is the start of something good...

my last blog post was in november of 2010 and since then, a lot has happened. a lot. and i often curse myself for becoming so lackadaisical with my blogging, so here's my shot at redemption. a few goals for the future:

• write it down. write it all down. dont wait to think of something clever. dont procrastinate by photoshopping the crap out of a photograph. just post it.
• attract some followers. although i appreciate you, nana, mom, dad, and joey, i need to expand my list of readers to people that are not related to me. therefore....
• be more interesting. this is the hardest one, but i swear i'll try :)
• stop making smiley face emoticons in every post. seriously, dont do it. end of story.

ok, so here are my promises to the blogosphere and myself. wish me luck :)  (one last smiley face emoticon for old times sake)