You really CAN shorten them and wear them again!

Okay - maybe you can't shorten them, but I swear you can wear them again! My bridesmaid dresses that is! Honestly, I really did pick the one that I would want to wear again. I'm actually kind of jealous that I didn't get to buy one too! lol
The only thing that is really missing is I REALLY wanted pockets in the dresses. Unfortunately, that couldn't really happen and I figured it wasn't worth the hassle of stressing out trying to find the perfect dress with pockets. I can just imagine that they are there.
In any case, I really wanted to find a green dress but the style of dress was more important to me than the color. I figured if I found a dress I liked but it didn't have the green I wanted, I could still go with black. And that is what happened. But black totally works considering we are doing black, white/ivory and green as wedding colors. Very classic. Plus, with black dresses, we can totally jazz them up with accessories! As I always say - Accessories make the outfit!
So, I am on the hunt for some fun and funky green jewlery that my maids can wear and look FAB!
I also know from someone's personal experience that this is a super comfy dress. The material is NOT like the regular bridesmaid dress material, which I think is great. I wanted to get as far away from the "typical bridesmaid dress" as I could. You know me, I like to do the opposite of what everyone else does. lol We're all lucky I'm wearing a somewhat traditional gown. For my first communion, when i was 8 years old, I didnt' want to wear the traditional white dress that all little girls "should" wear for their First Communion - so I wore a colorful, flowery dress. lol It started early and probably will never go away.
But for now...here the the picture of the dress. Remember - it is black and it will be shorter, like knee length. It will be May after all! :-)

Where It's At!

I'll try to do some wedding recaps of planning so far (if anyone really cares. lol)

We will be having our ceremony AND reception in the Gilbert Building at 413 on Wacouta in Lowertown Downtown St. Paul. Ironicaly, Lowertown has become a new hip and happening spot with new bars opening up like The Bulldog and Barrio. A great historic district with beautiful sights like Mears Park and in the warmer months the St. Paul Farmers Market is perfect on a sunny, Saturday morning. I feel really lucky that we will be in such a neat area and also in a vintagey, historic building.
Since I'm kind of a history nerd - here is a little bit about the building where all of these amazing things for us will be happening...

The Gilbert Building is named in honor of its creator – architect Cass Gilbert. Examples of his art are still admired throughout the United States. The Minnesota State Capitol Building. The Woolworth Building in New York City. The United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. Before undertaking these famous projects, Cass Gilbert made a name for himself designing some of the most stately buildings in what is now known as Lowertown, Saint Paul’s warehouse district.
In 1893, Gilbert designed a five-story building at 413 Wacouta Street for the Boston and Northwest Realty Company. Records from the early 1900s describe the building as “one of the best business structures in Saint Paul.” The building is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. Today, Cass Gilbert’s achievement is reborn as the Gilbert Building.

I just love the fact that the building where we are getting married has an amazing and rich St. Paul tradition. (now that I have converted Rian to the right side of the river!)
This building is a new space, especially for weddings. They are still in construction building the ceremony suite which is where our ceremony will be held. I'm a bit anxious knowing that I have no clue what that important space will look like, but I'm keeping the faith that it will be beautiful. I think our wedding will be maybe the 2nd or 3rd wedding held in that space, so it will be all spiffy and new for us!
The reception area is in the basement of the building and has its own uniquness as well. It looks very old school and vintage. I love the exposed limestone and the green piping. I also love the pictures all around the walls of St. Paul back in the day. Here is a sneak peak...

I also love all the different things you can do with lighting in a room like that. Not much decorating has to be done when you already have a neat space.
Another part of Wacouta that I love is the bridal suite and getting ready area. That helped to sell me knowing that I would be able to get my hair and make-up done all there. It will help my stress level a ton just knowing that we only have to go to one place and once I am there I can relax (or try to) and enjoy the getting ready process and know that I am set. That is one of the things I am most excited for. lol There is plenty of room for all of my girls to be around, which will be amazing.

This is the actual Bridal Suite...

This is the fireplace room which is off of the Bridal Suite so there is a ton of room to have lots of people hanging out - plus they have a bar area where we can put some breakfast trays and champagne of course!

That is just a little recap of where it's all happening! Wish I had a picture of the ceremony suite - only in my mind I guess. ;-)

Register, Schmegister

Considering that it is exactly 123 days until I become Mrs. Noelle Heaslip - things are really starting to roll and I'm really starting to freak out.
Did anyone freak out about changing their name? I never really thought about it, but its kind of weirding me out now. Just typing it all out freaks me out. lol I guess it is a reality, but it is still a weird thing to consider. Rian will tease me and call me Noelle Heaslip and it weirds me out, yet it is happening soon. Like 123 days soon!

On top of that, I'm just getting weirded out that everything is actually happening. I honestly never thought this day would come and now I'm planning my wedding. I'm also stressing planning the wedding as well. For someone like me who has an INCREDIBLY difficult time making any decisions, you can understand how this would only multiply everything and stress me out even more.

But right now I have a question for all who are reading and could REALLY use the help and advice. I'm just wondering....

*What things about your wedding did you love and are so glad you did?
*What things about your wedding do you wish you wouldn't have spent the time or money on and would not have done if you had to do it again?

And the same goes for registering....

*What are you so glad you registered for and love?
*What do you wish you wouldn't have bothered with on your registry?

I keep telling people how frustrating it is planning a wedding because (hopefully/usually) you only ever plan one, so its everyone's first time doing everything!

Any other advice being four months out? I know it seems like forever away, but of course it isn't and there is much to be done, especially in the next couple months. I know I can't control having a lot to do close to the wedding, but I would like to try and get as much done as I can now so that I can enjoy the months leading up with showers and things.

So.....comment away - or if you are feeling really ambitious - email me! noelle.fastner@gmail.com

Thanks Ladies! :-)

ps: I will try to show pics of some of the main things I have picked for the wedding in my next post!

B-I-N-G-Ohhhh Yeah!

This past summer, we found Bingo. Well, actually, we feel that Bingo found us.
Yes, of course I (we) have all played Bingo in the past and enjoyed it on a random basis - but only this past summer did I truely find and LOVE bingo.

I probably blogged about it this past summer, but one day after enjoying some races at Cantebary - Rian, Dirty Steve, Andy and I decided that we were still itching to drop some money and went over Mystic Lake. Thought we would give Bingo a shot. And ever since then, the four of us have had Bingo Fever!

Although we hadn't met for official Bingo play in a few months, last Monday night the four of us met at the 5-8 Club in Maplewood for some bingo action. It is $1/game and there are 12 games. Let's just say that the Bingo Gods were smiling down upon us on December the 7th because out of the 12 games played - our table won 4 of them!
Steve won twice (lucky bastard!), I won once (a whopping $36!) and Andy finally popped his Bingo winning cherry with a $41 win!
Here is Andy with his big cash winnings....

And Steve with his lucky Bingo move...you must actually see it to truely appreciate it....

Poor Rian was the only non winner at our table. Next time, Rian, next time!
We throughly enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to go back again on Monday. Also - the food is excellent and not too expensive. They are known for their burgers - juicy lucys especially. Both Rian and I were happy with our dinner selections.
Then, we saw someone order a bloody mary and damn did it look good. I think the whole beef stick in the drink was the kicker. So, Andy, Rian and I had to give it a shot. Rian and I are HUGE bloody mary fans - always looking for a good bar bloody since they are hard to find and can often be hit or miss from each visit. Rian's homemade mix is still the best!

In any case - our Bingo adventure was a success and we can't wait to go back and win some more!

here is the whole bingo gang - which we have even made a group page on facebook for our bingo club....very exclusive....

Done and Done

You know how you always make those lists of things you want to do before you die or things you want to do before the end of the year....? You know - those things that you rarely ever actually do but like to think about doing them?

Well I feel like this year or at least a lot in the past couple months I've done a few things that I always said I wanted to do.
Earlier in the year - I started volunteering and became a Big Sister. It was an amazing experience, very eye-opening about struggles of single parent homes and kids growing up without much of anything. I feel like Nina and I bonded a lot - and I really felt like she was proud to be my "little" and that she really trusted me. Unfortunately, that relationship came to a startling hault. A few months back (I believe it was September?) I got a phone call from Nina in which she told me that her Mother had passed away. It was surreal enough for me - it was hard to believe how Nina was dealing with it. Especially because her Dad is in jail and has not been with Nina's mother in many years - so 13 year old Nina lost her only parental figure. I was overwhelmed with the fact that Nina trusted me so much that she called me only a few hours after her Mom died to tell me. It was pretty brutal going to the wake and having Nina hug me and cry. I can't imagine all she was goign through. And then, to make matters worse (at least for me) Nina ended up moving to Texas to live with her sister. I know that was the best thing for her but the last time I saw her was her Mother's wake - she moved like 3 days later. I asked her to keep in touch and call me and let me know how things were going - but I haven't heard anything from her since. All I can hope is that she is doing well in Texas and starting a new life and most importantly that she is happy. I do miss her though.

On to more happy things that have happened.

Of course getting engaged was one of the biggest things to ever happen to me this year (lifetime). Coming from a girl who ever since she was little never thought she would get married - never thought anyone would ever feel that strongly about her that they would want to spend the rest of their life with her. All overwhelming that I've gotten to that point in my life and things are coming together. I'm lucky. (watch for the lucky theme!)

Another pretty amazing thing that happened to me this year was the fact that I got to shake President Obama's hand!!! Now I know that sounds lame to most people but it was incredible. My Mom and I went to the Target Center when he was here this fall to talk about Health Care. By no means did we get there super early or anything but we ended up about 15 feet from the left of his podium. AMAZING! His speech was amazing and I took some incredible pictures. But the really amazing part was after he spoke - he came around and shook hands of people in the front. Of course, using my past experiences of working my way through a crowd to shake a hand, get an autograph or take a picture - I grabbed my Mom's hand and shoved us toward the front. Lucky for us - it worked. Both my Mom and I were able to shake Obama's hand! (They were pretty dry and rough for those of you wondering. He is definitely selflessly putting his mosturizing needs aside in order to help this country!) In any case - we were amazed by this and even more so - check out this picture......again - this is NOT the first time I have had to work my camera and hold out my hand to be shaken all at the same time. I actually snapped a picture of Obama and I touching hands. Its blurry but you can make out my hand in his hand - I could feel the power!

Next - one thing I always said I wanted to do but never did but now finally did - was start a book club! I always thought it sounded fun and wondered if anyone else would want to join. After some positive feedback from people - I decided it was worth it. We have 8 official book club members and continue to meet on the last Monday of every month. We have had three meetings so far. Last night was our November book. We read - Big Fish - and then watched the movie. It was a fun change of pace and fun to discuss the differences we saw in each medium. So far things are going well with book club and I'm really happy I mustered up enough people who wanted to do it with me. Always a good thing to get together with girl friends, eat some food, drink some wine and be together.

My last achievment but not final achievment is the fact that on Thanksgiving morning, I ran a 5K! Now, if anyone knows me - they know I am NOT a runner. Never have been, probably never will be and certainly never claim to be. BUT - KC (my work buddy kelly chad) and I have been working out after work for the past month. We have a gym at our work and are finally taking full advantage of it. We have been motivating each other to go - it helps to have that other person who is depending on you to go with them. We have been helping each other and it has really worked. So not really training for a 5K or a anything - the day before we heard about this thanksgiving 5K and just decided to do it. Now - mind you - we are used to running in doors at room temp - and running at 8:30am on thanksgiving was a rude awakening. It was definitely more difficult than I thought with breathing. Definitely walked and ran - but ran for probably 2/3s of it. We finished at 43 minutes and some seconds - and honestly I was okay with that. I was just so proud of us for doing it. Waking up early - on a day I didn't have to - to RUN?!? I MUST be crazy! lol But it was a wonderful guilt free Thanksgiving!

Here are Kelly and I after the race. They asked people to write signs on their back for what they are thankful for - and Kelly made us awesome signs that said - Giving Thanks for her with an arrow pointing to the other. Super cute!

And of course we ROCKED the sweatbands!

I'm happy to say that I have accomplished those things this year and hope to continue to do more and more. Nice to put check marks next to those things on "my list."

Oops.....

So I usually use the excuse when I haven't blogged in a while that I had nothing to blog about because my life is not very exciting. And while I still believe that my life really isn't that exciting - I have probably had a couple of the most exciting months of my life. I've felt bad not blogging but my pictures are never on the computer that I blog on so I might just have to add those another day. If I even have pictures to add. We will see.

Of course probably anyone that even reads this blog knows why its been an exciting couple months. Starting with Friday, October 2nd, 2009. It really was like any other random Friday. I worked a half day - and then with no other plans on the agenda, I decided to spend the afternoon on the couch catching up with my DVR. I was enjoying many episodes of Oprah saved up from the week. It was nearing 4:30 and I knew Rian would be getting home from work soon. I remember exactly that I was watching an episode of Oprah about young girls and rape in Africa. (weird i know that I remember that) Anyways - Rian finally got home from work - heard him come in the back door and he said hello. Again, thought nothing of it. I continued to watch Oprah. He then comes right over to me sitting on the couch - he hands me a brown paper bag and says nothing. I open the bag and pull out a bottle of (very expensive and very delicious) champagne that I always wanted for a "special occasion". I remember holding the bottle in my left hand and taking a second for me to really understand what this all meant. Once it clicked - I remember my heart starting to beat very rapidly and I turned my head to Rian and said, "Seriously?" Before I had the chance to say anything else - he dropped to one knee in front of me, told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. All the while I'm thinking - should Oprah really be here at this moment?? haha Didn't think of it too long because of course (knowing me) I just lost it and starting to bawl my eyes out. That is no surprise to anyone that has met me! I seriously started hugging him and was wailing on his shoulder. It was perfect. All the time that I'm thinking about getting engaged and all the times I thought it was going to happen. It would have been no fun if I really saw that it was coming. Not that I wouldn't have loved every minute of it - its just that this was so wonderful because I really was completely caught off guard - I was so surprised and that was what I was hoping for all along. Rian was also very thoughtful in the fact that he knew I was concerned about us getting engaged and then my sister being far away in Chester - and I wouldn't be able to tell her over the phone so I would have to drop everything and drive down there. Fortunately, timing was perfect that my sister and Bryan and Owen were coming up for the weekend - going to be at my parents literally 30 minutes after we got engaged. My parents would obviously be there as well, so we could tell everyone all at once.

So - we got to my parents, with the champagne and the green champagne glasses that my mom bought me for that very purpose. I had to wear my sweater so I could pull it way down over my left hand. Of course everyone was late and I was dying waiting.
When everyone finally got there - I ran to the other room to grab the champagne. I made sure everyone would look at me and then I pulled the champagne out from behind my back and said - "Is anyone thirsty?"
Of course my sister knew right away because she saw the bottle of champagne and knew exactly what kind and how expensive it is. lol She jumped up right away and said - "Really?" So then I pulled my hand out and showed off my bling!
It was perfect being able to tell my whole family all at once. Rian knew that was really important to me and timed everything perfectly.

Thus what has been keeping me busy the past couple months and my lack of blogging. It has been a blast though. For someone who never in their whole life thought they would ever get married (or would find someone that would WANT to marry them) - this has all been pretty amazing. It has been a blast telling people - I have been very concerned with telling my important peeps in person (or over the phone if need be) - it has been more fun that way to see people's reactions. I was VERY worried about peeps finding out on facebook, but I kept a close eye and warned many people not to let the FB beans spill or they would pay (for my wedding).
All in all - October was probably one of the best months of my life with many more time to come. November has been a little more stressful with planning but we are doing amazingly well with setting plans. And also not wasting anytime considering we set our wedding date for Saturday, May 22nd, 2010. For those of you counting (ME!) that is only 178 days away, less than 6 months. Many people would freak out about that - but I'm quite excited that I'm not having to wait an entire year to get the show on the road. We are happy to get married as soon as possible and get all of the fun things going. Plus - that means I get to go on a honeymoon in six months! I don't think I could wait a year for that. lol At this point we are thinking Sandals Jamaica - anyone ever been? Have any suggestions or recommendations?
We are also set for the location of the ceremony and reception. It will all be held in the Gilbert Building at 413 on Wacouta.
It is a gorgeous, old school, vintage space in lowertown in downtown St. Paul. It is a new space, which I love. I also love that it is very unique and different from most of the weddings I've been too. You know me - gotta be different!

Anways - that is a short (or long) summary of the last couple months. I will be better with updates - as now I have a life full of changing and new things.

Happy Gobble Gobble!

Reunited and it feels so good....

PEACE. LOVE. MRAZ.