Category Archives: the wedding

April 6, 2010 · 6:58 pm

Project 365 4-5-2010

Today went by so fast and was spent playing catching up.  I hate having to wait on other people for stuff, especially when I get a good momentum going.  But better to be waiting on someone else then to have all hope gone.  The most exciting thing I did was prepare the next set of lots for eBay.  I found another box of “childhood” worth selling and with a wedding coming up it seemed like a good idea to get that stuff out.

In fact today’s picture is one of those lots:

They are old Resident Evil action figures from my brief obsession with the game.  After looking at eBay to see what these are going for I think I can expect $10-$15 for the whole set.  That’s a fifth of a person at the wedding!!

I better win the lotto.

Anyway, that’s about it for today.  I’m also posting this blast from the past that I had forgotten about until Rene found it again:

The Easter Bunny does hate you and, if you want more back story on what made E.B. so violent you can go HERE but, personally, I prefer the shorter version.

See you tomorrow!

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April 3, 2010 · 7:29 pm

Project 365 4-2-2010 Wine Country

Of everything that happened today I would have to say that our trip over to Temecula Wine Country definitely earns the title of “Thing Worth Talking About in a Blog.”  As part of our wedding progress Rene and I headed down to look at some possible wedding venues.  Her first thought when we got engaged was to get married at a winery.  “Sure,” I said.  “But I was told that Temecula smells like cow poop.”

Whoever told me that was wrong, Temecula does NOT smell like cow poop and the wine country there is beautiful!  We took tours of a couple wineries including Falkner and Wilson Creek.  Both are great wedding venues that appeal to different things you might want.  In the end, if we decide that a winery wedding is the way to go, I prefer Falkner.  It’s more “home-y” and their package is really inclusive.  We also did a full tasting while we were there and they have a variety of really good wines (you select four to drink in unlimited amounts if you have your wedding there) that got Rene a bit tipsy.  Really we should have probably eaten first, Rene only had some cereal and coffee before hand, but it did not change the fact that the wine was good and we ended up making friends in the tasting room since we were a little “lubed up.”

We ended up eating at Wilson Creek at their Creek Side Grill.  The food was so good!  I think my favorite, oddly enough, was the Creek Side salad that we started off with.  The rest lunch was also REALLY good, but the salad was a seriously awesome salad.

Today’s picture is from our trip:

We’ll see next week which way we decide to go.

See you tomorrow!

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April 2, 2010 · 6:00 pm

Project 365 4-1-2010 April Fool’s Day

I’m not a big fan of April Fool’s Day.  I remember, back in the drunk times, playing a few pranks but none that stand out as all that impressive or funny.  There were a few good Facebook gags today, though.  Some of my friends made the most of it, one by completely re-doing his page to make everything from his photos to his favorites lists be the complete opposite of who and what he is and another who lived out a whole relationship via his relationship status.  Even Rene and I got into the act – completely by accident.  I tried to type out the story in a way that makes sense, but it just reads like a mess so I’ll cut to the chase – people thought Rene was pregnant.

She’s not.

I even got a text message about it.  It was pretty cool, even if it was an accident.

Other stuff happened today – like dog vomit.

That’s NOT today’s picture.

My parent’s dog, Pete, had an upset stomach and yacked all over the house.  Once on me, once in the hall, twice on the couch, twice on the rug in the dinning area and once in my parent’s room.  It was awful.  Thankfully he’s ok.  We’re not sure what he he ate, but it seems to be through his system now.

Rene and I also got a chance to taste at one of our possible wedding venues, The Hacienda, today.  This is the place we keep raving about on Twitter (her Twitter too).  We take a trip to a winery tomorrow, then get ready for the holiday weekend.

Today’s picture is:

This was an excellent cup of coffee.  It was so good it inspired me to take a picture.

See you tomorrow!

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April 1, 2010 · 10:51 pm

Project 365 3-31-2010

Had more meetings today, spent most of the day in an office with a lot of coffee and a few bagels going over movie and show pitches and talking about money.  Very interesting stuff… that I can’t go public with.  Sorry, but it was good.

Then I went to see Rene and discuss more wedding stuff.  Oh, and, due to a lost set of keys, Rene and I cleaned out her car.  She had SO MUCH STUFF in there!

Today’s picture is one that Rene sent me while I was having a business/catch-up dinner with an old friend:

I love that boy!

See you tomorrow!

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Filed under business, Frankie, making movies, project 365 2010, the wedding

· 10:39 pm

Project 365 3-30-2010 The Hunt Begins… And Continues!

Sorry for the big delay on this one, it’s been a busy couple of days.  The short of the long of it is all about contracts for the movie (finally done & out!) and deal memos for the show (this is really good!).  Those were time consuming, but only in horribly boring ways that are not worth writing about, although the anxiety and insomnia caused by it might be.

But today what I wanted to talk about was the few hours that Rene and I took to go look at wedding venues!  We had a schedule of three locations today, all owned by the same group: Tivoli Terrace, Tivoli Too (both of these are in Laguna Beach) and The Hacienda (in Santa Ana).  They are all very “artsy” and kind of Italian-ish in decor, with the exception of The Hacienda which is more South West/early California.  All three locations appealed to us quite a bit.  The decor fits, the packages work and take a lot of the stress away from Rene, and, the big kicker, they all allow dogs!  It is a big deal for us to have Frankie in the wedding.  He was there when we started dating again and he’s been like a child to us so we want him to be there.

There’s just one problem with the locations in Laguna – I HATE Laguna.  The city is delightful but getting there, parking there and getting out are all definitions of my personal hell.  The traffic is atrocious – even by L.A. standards – and parking?!  We were there in the late morning, so the streets were empty and it was not busy but I could not find any easy parking!  The parking meter we did park at ate a dollar in quarters and then decided that we weren’t allowed to have our time.  We ended up sneaking into the workman lot.  That worked out.  Then, at Tivoli Too, we parked in a nearly empty strip mall lot that still has a “No Parking” sign to keep the art school kids out, but there were only two businesses that were using the lot and neither seemed to need the spaces.  Kind of a bummer and it made the sign a sad joke, but I’m sure (because I remember the fighting that happened in college for parking and I was in parking friendly Orange County) that if that sign weren’t there ALL the spaces would have been filled and those last two businesses would be completely up a creek.  Anyway, as I was saying, the locations were cool but I’d prefer not to subject our closest friends and family to the horror of driving and parking in Laguna.

Then we got to the Hacienda!  It’s in the middle of Santa Ana, next to Santa Ana College, with a HUGE parking lot that is easy to find and park in.  It’s like a little early California theme park – the main courtyard is part of the original home built in the early 1900’s and all the fun artsy stuff that we liked about the Laguna locations is still there, but there’s a lot more space.  They have a separate section that is more South Western in its decor, which isn’t quite us, but the chapel is awesome!  We got really excited about it.  And then our coordinator helped get my vote by giving us a large slice of their award winning Viennese Spiced Carrot Cake.  It was SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!  I love cake.

Today’s picture is of me with one of the Easter decorations – The Easter Bunny:

See you tomorrow!

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March 21, 2010 · 7:36 am

Project 365 3-19-2010

OMG, I just accidentally erased the blog that I wrote.  That is so frustrating.  I need to disable the hot key combo that does this because it has happened too many times and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

I’m going to skip right to the point of the blog for today – my Mom took me shopping and Rene came with me.  I got an opportunity to buy some new clothes for my birthday.  It was a very nice gift from my Mom and Dad.  When I was younger my Mom and I used to make an annual trip out of shopping for my birthday.  She’d bring the cash and I’d get a chance to re-fill my wardrobe without going broke myself.  It’s been a while since we’ve done this and it was a nice thing to revisit, especially with the wedding coming up it was a great chance for my Mom and Rene to bond as more than “mom and girlfriend.”

Today’s picture is from Rene’s camera.  It is one of the photos she took to help her remember what a pair of pants looked like so she could see the difference between the two sizes I was trying on:

See you tomorrow!

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March 18, 2010 · 6:00 pm

Project 365 3-17-2010

Today was a crap day, especially compared to yesterday.  I don’t feel good, I didn’t get a lot done and the dryer broke so my whites are just spinning and I’m hoping the water will just be forced out by force of will.

The only high point of the day was meeting up with Rene after work and getting some froyo, which just so happens to be the picture today:

I’m writing off the night.

See you tomorrow!

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March 17, 2010 · 6:00 pm

Project 365 3-16-2010 Love, Lawyers & LOST

I’m listening to a bunch of music right now as I write this.  Thanks to Entertainment Weekly I’ve been turned on to UK techno sensation Little Boots.  She’s tiny, blonde and writes fun electro dance tracks that are very Lady Gaga like, but a little more mainstream.  Her name is also the same as the nickname for the Roman Emperor Caligula.  I added the song Earthquake to my MySpace play-list.  It’s at the bottom.

Today was a good day.  Business wise paperwork is finally at the final lawyer stage so funding is very close!  It’s been a turbulent ride to get to this point and, although the ride isn’t actually over yet and the whole deal could still fall horribly apart, today was a good “win.”

I also got a chance to catch up with some old friends that I haven’t talked to in a while and it was really nice.  So often friendships can be made or broken by proximity and in L.A. it is easy to lose track of the people you don’t see very often, but it was nice to see that the phone is still a good way to connect… and that my calls still get taken after such a long absence 😉

Rene and I texted and phoned about possible wedding venues today.  She has good ideas and I have outlandish ones.  I like her ideas better, but when I randomly shout out places it makes me feel like I’m making a larger contribution than I am.  Her current plan is my favorite and I’m pushing for it… unless she gets a better idea.  When she’s ready I’m sure she’ll post the location in her blog.

Fianlly we ended the day with Greek food and wine at our LOST night at Dean’s house.  LOST is slowly becoming the addition to the evening instead of the reason for the evening.  In my opinion the night is now all about getting together for dinner and conversation… oh, and then we watch LOST.  It’s a great way to end a Tuesday.  Like our brunches of old, LOST night is a bastion of highfalutin’ conversations on topics that cover the most mundane (like soap and salad dressing) to the most controversial (politics and abortion).  It’s a lot of fun and we have a variety of view points in the group so I feel like we usually get a good look at the different sides of the issue.

Today’s picture is of the group of us in discussion at the dinner bar:

We also have a posed group shot, but I feel like this represents the flow of the evening better.

See you tomorrow!

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March 16, 2010 · 6:00 pm

Project 365 3-15-2010

I didn’t get the picture that I wanted today.  I didn’t even think about it until I started writing this.  What I wanted to have a picture of today are the wedding planning books that Rene and I got today.  What I actually have a picture of today is this:

That’s right, it’s a bag of socks.

Really the day was far more exciting than that.  First of all I was doing business with the east coast, organizing some final contract stuff (FINALLY!!!) and generally having a productive Monday.  Then we took some time to hit Barnes & Noble and grab some required reading for wedding planning (I’ll try to include those pictures in tomorrow’s blog).  Rene seems to shift between being really excited and really over-whelmed when it comes to the wedding.  It’s really cute.

The thing that seemed to kind of weird up the day, though, was the fact that Rene’s parent’s had an opportunity to make some upgrades to their home, including a much needed central A/C system, and decided to go for it!  It was really exciting to see how quickly it all came together.  The initial consultation happened this morning and was finished by 10am.  I guess it’s a testament to the lack of work out there that they could have a team in the house and working by noon!  As cool as it was to have the new water heater, central air and heat all installed the same day they were ordered it kind of messed with any chance of getting anything other than that done at Rene’s house.  So I had to head home, and then teach.  Now I’m going to watch “Monster” on Chiller and go to sleep.

Oh, and I found this:
demotivational posters

See you tomorrow!

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March 15, 2010 · 6:00 pm

Project 365 3-14-2010

Two days after the proposal and life is essentially back to normal – with the exception of the growing number of bridal magazines, guest lists and venue options.

We began the day with a large group of friends at Spadra.  We recently found out the the Fullerton restaurant staple is closing down and so we are trying to enjoy as many brunches there as we can before the final date.  I got their mushroom crepe which, if you have the chance, I suggest you try.  It is a mushroom omelet wrapped in a crepe and then covered in a mushroom sauce.  It is truly delightful!

Then I had to go teach.

Then we went to my parent’s house to celebrate our engagement with chicken poperkosh and cupcakes.  We had a great night that finished up with a good bottle of wine and sitting with Frankie.  Now we just need to see what comes tomorrow!

Today’s picture is from my parent’s house:

See you tomorrow!

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