all i can see is things going swimmingly

it's been such a hectic week, but we are checking off 'i do' to-do boxes left and right!

i've put my yoga class on hold for the summer, because numbers get low and because when i checked out my schedule, i realized i would only be in town for 5 or 6 sundays from now until october! craziness...

i'll still be expanding my practice with classes at local studios, and i will continue to attempt the impossible for me.... scorpion! i'm thisclose... i feel like my toes will never touch my head, and my teacher says that my over-flexible back is actually making it more difficult for me to hold this one. who knew too much flexibility could ever be a bad thing in yoga? but when i get frustrated, i just remind myself how i could barely hold a headstand a year ago. i worked on it daily and last weekend i was able to hold it for 2 minutes and 20 seconds! now, my goal is to headstand while paddleboarding this summer :)

so back to that 'checking boxes off' comment- in the past week alone, i found my rehearsal dress, bought my bridal shoes, and just got my wedding band! (is it bad luck to wear the wedding band now until the wedding? it's so sparkly, i can't help myself...).

the rehearsal dress is from a place called fancy schmancy in albany, ny. i was there to help my mom find her mother of the bride dress when this little tadashi number caught my eye and i had to try it on. love, love, love.

i had seen these shoes on pinterest (tgfp- thank god for pinterest), but couldn't locate them  anywhere.  they were originally from j. crew, but i finally stumbled upon a never-been-worn pair on ebay last week where they were just my size, and slightly cheaper than the original, so i scooped those bad boys up immediately.

as for the wedding band, it's just lovely. joey and i couldn't find any bands that either of us liked so we decided to have both of ours custom made. i wasn't sure if we were being ring snobs, or if we were just unique (joey says unique :). he had this beautiful idea to put his grandfathers ring inside of his, and have it covered in white gold. we went to glen peters in clifton park and they did an amazing job. for mine, i knew i wanted a double band (on either side of the engagement ring) with lots of little diamonds for that antique look. the last step was to get them engraved with something, and i was completely stumped until joey suggested an ampersand. i cried. it's so perfect for us. there is just something about a simple ampersand that says so much- after september 1, it will be me & him, it's that simple. we've also been planning on getting ampersand tattoos on our honeymoon, so it seemed fitting. i think i'll wait to share a picture of the ring until after the wedding, though. i've got to keep some of the mystery, right?

happy friday! xo

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 :)

where do i start?

it's been almost a year since my last song-lyric-titled, anti-cap-letters blog post and i've really missed it. sure, there have been plenty of times where i've thought, 'i should write about this on my blog!' but it never came to fruition. i think the longer i waited, the more daunting it became, which is just plain silly because nobody is making me do this. ease up on the self-inflicted pressure, girl in the mirror!

so here i am, a slow day almost coming to an end, tired of looking for the perfect bridal shoes online, and almost out of almond butter, thinking now is a good time to start this ol' blog up again.

it's almost impossible for me to begin where i left off, which was describing my wonderful, life-changing experience at last year's wanderlust festival in stratton, VT. i still have all of my classes written down and my notes from those classes, but i can't quite tap in to the overall feel, and it would be a disservice to try to recap at this point so i'll just move on. the good news is, i'll be heading to the 2013 wanderlust festival, so i will be sure to blog about that experience twice as much, just to make up for last year :)

i know i was giving you guys the play-by-play of my yoga trainings, but i haven't wrote since i actually began teaching. surprise! i am officially a yoga instructor at the local ymca and i am loving every minute of it. each week i try to attend 3-4 other yoga classes from various studios and teachers to find new tricks, and then i spend about 2 hours setting up my class and playlist. it is everything i ever wanted it to be and more. the students are amazing. their encouragement and feedback kept me working hard and coming back when i was so nervous i was getting sick every saturday night before i taught (i still get nervous, but not sick anymore, thank god.) i have regulars who show up every week, and when they cant make it, they call to tell me why :) they've nicknamed it the yoga bootcamp, because it's nothing like traditional yoga, and i always guarantee they will work up a sweat. joey and i make a playlist each week that is high energy, full of music from the likes of pearl jam, lil wayne, she & him, beyonce, the beatles, and vampire weekend. it's kind of like a dance party with a really wonderful group of people, in a room filled with mirrors, for one hour every weekend.

i recently got this tattoo to honor my practice and the whole yoga-teaching experience. it's sanskrit for ahimsa, which most people recognize as a symbol of 'non-violence'. this is true, but on a deeper level, it means to be kind to others, be kind to yourself, and not to allow others to cause harm to you. i'm really working on those last two, so this just serves as a small reminder to not be so hard on myself, and not to take what others say to heart.

i think that's all for now. i dont want you thinking that i suddenly became long-winded in my extended absence, and then swear off this lil' blog forever. be back soon,

xo

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

time ticks by her one race at a time

the saratoga racetrack closed this past weekend and i was once again disappointed with how very few races i attended... it's a huge tourist attraction, and every year i promise myself that i will take advantage of living/working so close to the track, but alas, i never do. this year i was able to squeeze in two visits, both of which i came home with less money than i left with.

this is strange because, if my memory serves me correctly, my twelve year old self used to be very good at placing bets (aka, telling my dad to pick the prettiest horses or the ones that had super cute names) and winning more often than not. however, in retrospect, i am starting to think that my dad would take my 'suggestions', alter them slightly, place the bet and, win or lose, simply tell me i won and give me a few bucks... god, i miss that.

sarah, tashia, me, moni, andrea, sully, brie

anyhow, my first trip to the track was in august, for monicas bachelorette party, which i had organized. we all wore our big fancy hats and i added a giant bow and ribbon to monis that said "bride to be". i dont want to toot my own horn, but we got a lot of compliments, a few people clapped for us, AND we got the thumbs up from two dudes- it was that awesome. so yea, big fancy hats, lots of chicks, and the final race of the day- we each picked a different horse to win (8 horses, 7 girls.... guess which horse won? yup, the only one we didnt pick. where was my dad when we needed him...?).

then, last week, a few co-workers and i went back to the track and for the first time EVER, i sat in the box seats! we were right in front of the winner's circle, so we had a clear view of the finish line, which means i had a really great view of my horse coming in last every time... notice a trend? i kind of suck at this betting stuff, but i swear, it's still fun to go! if you've never been, i suggest you grab some friends, a couple bottles of wine, some fine artisan cheese (fine artisan cheeses are always a crowd pleaser) and check out the racetrack next year in July when it opens back up for the 2012 season. and if he's anything like mine, bringing your dad might be a good idea, too.

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