House pictures!

Here are some (pretty poor) pictures of our glorious new home! These are the shots that were provided on all the websites, so they are not very good. Once we get our own pics taken, I'll post them here.

Here is our humble new abode!

front

deck basement fireplace more basement fireplace/basement walk-out
Master loft (two ceiling fans in Master!)
Master loft look over -- sky lights in ceiling
My glorious master soaking tub and double vanity
Master shower -- peek at the recessed lighting and high ceilings in master bath!
Master bedroom window, ceiling fan, vaulted ceilings
Guest bath. Todd is psyched about the green vinyl shower curtain. It will be immediately placed in the trash.
Guest bedroom (larger of the two)
Guest bedroom 2 (smaller of the two)
Living room looking into dining room, kitchen pass through & stairs to top level
Living room looking into dining room - love that chair railing and crown molding!
Living room window and walk out to deck
more living room/dining room/kitchen pass through
more...love those new hard wood floors!
Kitchen...island, bay window...
Kitchen island -- check out those granite countertops!
more kitchen island
and more...
one more for good measure
foyer/front door -- door on the left is powder room

WE GOT THE HOUSE, WE GOT THE HOUSE, WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We found a house we love, put in an offer, and today they accepted!!!!!!!!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

That's all for now -- house details to follow soon :)

What a great day!

Wedding plans...full speed ahead!

So I suppose I should put in some updates on the wedding plans, seeing as this IS my WEDDING BLOG. Updates as follows:

Invitations:
Mom & I have decided to save a little money and make our invites ourselves. Mom found some really nice DIY invites and loaded up on them. But we have since decided that we don't quite like the formating, and have instead found some kits at Michael's (thanks to my future sis-in-law!) that we are interested in using. Only problemo there is that they are still a little pricey! I mean, not nearly as pricey as buying pre-made invitations, but come on, can't a girl get a coupon? A discount? Somethin'? Anyway, we have until about May 1 to seek out the perfect invite, produce them, seal them, address them, stamp them, and get them circulating around the greater US.

Dress:
I am currently in possession of my favorite article of clothing of all time...no, i'm not referring to the cat sweatshirt I took home from the lost & found in the 3rd grade (I swear it was mine, mom!) I'm talking about my wedding dress!! Aside from all the hassle I've had with David's Bridal, where none of the employees have a clue what is going on, I have finally taken the dress into custody....well, mom's custody. For the next 5 months (HOLY! 5 MONTHS?! EEK!) my dress will live in my former bedroom closet at my parent's house. We still have to take it to a tailor to have the bustle done, and a final steam press, but otherwise it's just about ready. So if you know a good tailor/seamstress, holler my way.

Bridal Shoes/Undergarments:
So I bought two pairs of Bridal shoes on endless.com -- which is a website that I love -- and was completely disappointed in what I picked out. My mom even said they were ugly -- and she's supposed to lie and say they're beautiful! haha. So those are going back to the internet...and this weekend Mom and I are heading out to look for shoes and undergarments. Where do you buy wedding dress undergarments?! Yikes...

Bridesmaid Dresses:
They are ordered, and almost all in, and I looove them! The color is exactly what I had pictured, and they look great on everyone! Long, but lightweight, so I'm hoping nobody is sweating too bad in the July heat ;) Regardless, I have the hottest bridal party this side of the Mississippi, so it would be pretty impossible for them to look bad no matter what I had them wearing. The bad part is that David's Bridal ordered the wrong sashes for all the dresses, so all the girls had to return them and order the right sashes. Surprise, Surprise -- David's messed up again! Anyway, all the girls have their shoes already too which I'm thrilled about -- and they all seem to like them! Monica modeled the whole ensemble for us last weekend (the 15th) and I was so happy with the overall look!!

Flowers:
We have a florist appointment this Saturday. I think I have found a centerpiece design that I really love...shallow, square, cobalt blue vases with white and blue hydrangeas. That's just an idea though -- I'll know more after the meeting. I'm still pretty sold on stephanotis for my bouquet. No clue for bridesmaid bouquets or boutanniers though.

Cake:
We were supposed to attend an open house at The Sweet Life bakery this past Sunday, but I failed to ask Todd his work schedule and since the open house started at 2 and Todd had to be AT work at 3pm, we didn't make it. So instead I have scheduled a tasting for us at one bakery this Friday night, and a tasting at another bakery on Wednesday the 4th. And yes, I still have my fingers crossed for a chocolate cake! :)

Tuxes:
Todd and Chris are venturing out this Thursday evening to start the Tuxedo search. Todd keeps tormenting me by saying that his yellow tux is going to be sexy. I keep responding with "oh, I feel bad for whoever you are marrying then..." haa :) I know he won't get a yellow tux though. He's promised :). I personally would prefer if he had the groomsmens vests and ties matching the bridesmaids dresses, and if he wore all white underneath, but he's not sure if that's "him" and I want him to feel like "him" at our wedding.

So that's the latest in Planning-Land. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to update after this weekend. We're getting into full swing, which is good, and also necessary seeing as we're only 5 months out. I can't believe how fast time is flying by! Before we know it, the wedding will have come and gone, we'll be "old married folk" and we'll be gearing up for Matt & Marissa's big day!!

Surprise!

On Saturday night I organized a surprise party for Todd's 30th Birthday...and actually pulled it off!! I reserved the lower section of the Crystal City Sports Pub around all of the pool tables. We had a huge spread of food, 3 pool tables, and a ton of TVs to watch the Tech basketball game (AND the Michigan/Ohio State hockey game...which people kept asking me if I had special ordered for Todd's bday...but even HE didn't know they were playing!)

Earlier that day (well, that week actually) Chris and Annie convinced Todd that they were going to CCSP to watch the Tech game and that we should go with them. Todd wasn't too keen on the idea -- he'd rather watch the games from the comfort of his own couch -- but we dragged him out anyway. His best buddies all made it to the party, to include his best friend Jay and his wife Larissa who drove down from Scranton, his brother Matt who flew down from Michigan, and his parents who drove up from Hampton. When we got to the pub, a waiter jumped out in front of me and said "need a table?" I mouthed to him that we were there for a surprise party for Todd and he loudly repeated back to me "TODD?!" and I again mouthed back to him "yes, it's a surprise...and he's standing 6 feet behind me" so the waiter pointed us towards the back corner of the restaurant and said "oh, uh, sit anywhere back there..." When we got to the back of the room by the pool tables, Jay had all of the guests crouched down around one of the big tables and when they saw Todd they all jumped up and yelled "SURPRISE!!" Todd nearly fell over backwards, he was so shocked!

It was a huge success and I could tell that Todd was genuinely surprised! I think the best part of it all was the fact that on his actual birthday (last Wednesday) we some how got on the subject of surprises and he said "honey, you're not very good at surprises". Well, low and behold -- he was eating his words on Saturday! :) I'm glad we were all able to make his 30th Birthday such a special one. Especially because after the stress of planning that party, I don't plan to do it again for another 30 years! ;) Juuuuust kidding....

Pics to be posted when I get my hands on some...Yup -- all that planning, and I forgot to bring my camera. harrumph!

Time To Turn Thirty, Todd!

...how do you like that aliteration?!

Anyway...this is to wish a SUPER HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY to the love of my life, my fiance, partner in crime, and best friend!! I hope your birthday is fantastic and amazing and more than you could have ever wished for! (at least for lucky #30!!) I love you!!

As Promised...

Whinnie, Me, Todd, and Cait in our awesome 3D glasses

Michigan Babies

No, we are not planning a baby. Well, not any time soon. (Yes, I realize this probably makes my mom sad). But we do have a bit of a 'timeline' when it comes to our future offspring. Todd wants to wait about 5 years. I want to wait NO MORE than 3 years. So in compromise we'll probably have a baby in 4 years. Which is ok, because I want a baby before I turn 30. AND, speaking of 30, Todd will be 30 in exactly 12 days! Very exciting, though he doesn't think so ;)

Anyway, I must have some sort of baby fever -- though I know I'm not quite ready to have one just yet -- because I'm constantly thinking about baby names. I've already picked out a baby girl name that I love, but sadly Todd does not like it. (I don't want to post it here for fear of jinxing myself). He says we can not end the baby's first name in an "e" sound because it won't flow with Kalinosky. My response to that is that my first suggestion "Ann Arbor Kalinosky" flowed really well, and he shot that one down (shocking, I know!) and even worse than that, he shot down my boy name suggestion "Michigan Kalinosky". SERIOUSLY! How much does that A) Fit the [other] love of Todd's life UofM, and B) sound like a professional sports player??

Guess I've got time to work on the baby names. I think the next naming we do will be for the bulldog puppy that Todd wants (we'll see if he can convince me...so far, not so good). However, that puppy will affectionately be named "Bo Schembechler Kalinosky". Can't get much more Michigan than that!

The late, great, Bo Schembechler

Pictures I promised...and a few more

Marissa and I in our "Bride to be!" buttons!

Whinnie & I doing some Wedding Planning

Super Bowl pics:

Whinnie being sad that the Redskins weren't in the SuperBowl...

The SuperBowl party kids in 3D

Todd was downstairs during these pictures, but we do have one of him in the glasses. I'll post it if Mrs. Isibel or Caitlin sends it to me.

Me stuffing my face while watching the game with Marissa



Some pictures that I never posted from our Bridesmaid dress shopping excursion and lunch at Mikes American Grill:

Me with my congratulations dessert!

Mom and I outside of Mike's -- she makes me look huge!

[Almost] all of the girls after dress try-on at David's Bridal

[next time we'll get Stef in the pic too!]

[almost] All of us girls outside of Mike's

Everyone else was in the bathroom...

Sexy Little Bride

This is a totally self-serving blog post advertisement to anyone who might be considering buying me a bridal gift. Todd and I were recently in Victoria's Secret and I saw one "Sexy Little Bride" jacket (pictured above) on the 40% off rack. Todd said I could not buy it for myself as one of my girls would most likely get it for me. SO...to all of my girls, in case you didn't think I would want one of these, YES I want one. I want any of the Victoria's Secret items that are in the bridal collection, starting with this jacket. And I have zero concern that after wearing it on my wedding day, it will probably be shoved in the back of my closet, never to be seen or worn again. That is all. :)

Expo Expert

The Washington Bridal Expo was this past Sunday at the Dulles/Chantilly Expo Center, so I called up mom, and our newest bride-to-be, Marissa, and we all headed to the expo. This being my second bridal expo, I felt much more confident, and much less overwhelmed by what to expect. But I think I made Marissa a little nervous as I described to her the hundreds of booths filled with hungry-to-pounce coordinators, hotels, dj's, florists, and (yes, the occassional) sex-toy-party sales ladies. (Which I might add, Marissa handled much more like a pro than I did when the "naughty parties" lady asked me if we could book a tentative date. Awkward much? There's like 16 DJ dudes standing in the next booth over wearing their dweeby bow-ties, foaming at the mouth at the thought of chicks passing around lingerie and...well...naughty things.)

Anyway...Marissa and I looked adorable in our "Bride to be" pins (photos to be posted as soon as mom sends them to me), and navigated the bridal waters with a fair amount of ease and grace. We tasted (one too many) cakes and a few luke-warm mass produced cuisines from various bakery's and caterers. (all without one single drop of water. I felt like a polar bear in the dessert...seriously, can I get a drink?!) We filled our bags with a million brochures, flyers, catalogs, and booklets on "the perfect Bermuda honeymoon!" and "have your wedding here! our grass is like no where else in the world!!" We had a few different floral bouquets shoved in our faces for smelling purposes, and we passed on the $1 per shot wine tasting extravaganza [which I must give the expo coordinators credit for setting up at the very end of the display floor, which kept a bunch of boozy brides from stumbling through the rest of the booths and making unwarrented committments to things like "Davis deejays!" (sorry anyone who used them -- I have some ill-will towards them...for a later post)].

Anyway, all-in-all I think Marissa, mom AND I all got some good ideas out of the expo. I have officially decided that no matter the cost (hilarious, that WILL matter) I want to have stephanotis flowers in my bridal bouquet:

And that I'm seriously (much to the chagrin of my fiance...whom I actually haven't mentioned this to yet...) considering using both bright green and yellow as accent colors for the wedding. NOW, before you say "EWWWW", let me explain. I'm not talking bright green as in the bridesmaids will wear their blue dresses and have lime green wraps and shoes. I'm talking the main colors will be the deep blue (almost midnight) and white, with a few small accents of green and yellow...think greenery on flowers...green stems...yellow centers on white flowers...possibly lemons and limes incorporated in centerpieces. I just feel the greenery and yellow will give a more summery feel to the otherwise wintery blues and whites we are currently working with.

(side note, I have made a florist appointment for February 28th, so I'm hoping with the keen eye of a trained professional that they can make my weird visions turn out to be beautiful).

Also at the expo, we tasted two cakes that mom and I had previously tasted at the last expo. At the last expo I liked one cake much more than the other, but this time around I liked the other cake better (still with me?). So now I want to make cake appointments with both places to do tastings and pricing and see who wins.

The whole day was great. We were at the expo for about 4 hours. By the end we were stuffed, dying of thirst, and my feet hurt so bad I didn't think I'd be able to walk to the car. Not to mention I thought my shoulder was going to separate from the load of handouts I was carrying around. Regardless of the pain, I had a great time with my mom and Marissa and can't wait to do more wedding planning things with both of them...and soon enough, call Marissa my sister!

We ended the day with a Super Bowl party at Mom & Dad Henson's house, which was a ton of fun. Mom also took pics of all of us kids (including Whinnie) wearing our 3D glasses during the end of the second quarter commercials, which I will post as soon as mom sends them along.

In other news, our house hunting continues. I found out today that my lease was actually 13 months, not 12...so on the one hand that's sad news because we were so excited to find a place to live together. But on the other hand that's good news because now we have a bit more time and don't have to rush as much. I'm just ready to move already. I can't wait to live with Todd :)

Finally, I have made a wedding "pen-pal". My mom teaches with a young girl who is getting married exactly 21 days before Todd and I. Yesterday she gave me some tips for hair and make-up people, so I'm starting to feel a little bit better about that...there IS hope that there are people out there who will be able to do my hair and make-up on my wedding day! Anyway, she's adorable and I'm looking forward to emailing her more about wedding details. It's nice to get some outside (and some inside! hello, florist!) info. on places to go and work with. So thank you new email pen-pal! You're going to be a gorgeous bride!!

More soon when I have some pics to post...