Oregon Wine Country

Last weekend was a long one for us due to the Memorial Day holiday. We took advantage by joining our friends, Sam and Brian, and some other wine enthusiasts for a few days of wine tasting in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, just south of Portland. Oregon wine country is beautiful, and we were fortunate to get warm (not hot), sunny weather all weekend! These are the places we visited:

• Domaine Drouhin - beautiful building, spectacular view, good example of light pinot noir
• Eyrie - the original Oregon pinot noir, a very special wine indeed
• Panther Creek - bodega style tasting room, which included barrel tasting when we visited
• Erath - beautiful view and building, commercial experience, not-so-hot wine
• Anne Amie - fantastic patio and view, perfect for enjoying some nice Oregon white wines
• Medici - nice tasting room located on a farm with mediocre wine

Luna de miel

We've been on the fence about a honeymoon (Spanish: luna de miel) because we are sticking around town to enjoy our friends and family who are visiting rather than dashing off right after the wedding. Nonetheless, we've decided to take a trip to celebrate our togetherness, even though it'll be slightly delayed. It'll start with a stop in Ohio for an open house generously hosted by my mom, follow with several days of sun and diving in Miami and the Florida Keys, and wrap up with a visit to DC for a good friend's wedding. It's not at all what I would have dreamed as my honeymoon when I was 5 years old or even 25 years old, but it's going to be perfect!

While booking our (many one-way) flights, we discovered something really exciting: my tickets have to be booked in my new name since I'll have changed it by then!! My current last name (my dad's family name) will become a second middle name, and I'll take George's last name as my own following the wedding. Perhaps George doesn't want the world to know that he giggles, but the truth is that we were both giggling quite a lot each time we booked a flight for passenger ALKS or AS. [Thank you, Mom and Dad, for not giving me the middle name Sarah or Susan or any other lovely name that starts with "S."]

I have more equally exciting, but unrelated, news: in just 365 days, I'll graduate and become ALKS, J.D. :-)

Second Year. Check.

Well, I've finished my last final of my second year of law school. Now, just 60 days and a bundle of fun crafts stand between this moment and the moment when I get to marry the love of my life. I can hardly contain myself!

Wedding Progress: Vows, Dress, & Rings

We are down to 60-odd days before the wedding, and the planets are aligning. I'm in the middle of finals (2 down, 1 to go) and trying so hard to concentrate on school, but wedding forces have other plans: vows, my dress, and our rings.

We started our vows last weekend. There are some things we need to edit, rearrange, and finesse, but we have agreed to the basic things we'll promise to each other to do for the rest of our lives. Wow-that's a long time!

This week, I got a call from I Do Bridal telling me that my dress has arrived (just shy of a month early). This has taken me by surprise. I still need to sew my sash; I'm not done with school yet; my first alteration appointment isn't until early June; I have no idea where I'm going to hide my dress. I'm waiting until my last exam is over before I pick up the dress, but it is so good to know that my dress has arrived. (My clutch arrived at our house yesterday, and it is just as adorable in person as it is on Etsy.)

Today (after exam #2), I went to the jeweler to inspect our wedding bands. George's band is ready to go. Mine is currently a wax mold and will soon be solid platinum. John at Marci Jewelry handcrafted my engagement ring, so they used the engagement ring to make a mold of the wedding band. The mold looks soooooo good, and I can't wait to see the final product. This setup (diamond band for engagement and solid band for wedding) isn't typical, but I am sooo pleased with how it's turning out. And, I'll have a lifetime of being able to put my hand in my pocket, of being able to take off my diving gloves, of being able to grip my ski poles, of being able to flip through files without ever having to worry about my ring. I love that.

And now...back to the books.

A Little Plug for Etsy

I just purchased the clutch I'll carry at our wedding on Etsy, and I noticed that it just passed one year since my first Etsy purchase. It's high time to share this gem with you all!

I am a total sucker for handmade items. I love to give them as gifts, use them as inspiration for my own projects, and buy them for myself. This is why I think Etsy is just about as revolutionary as Google (sorry, Babe). It's a site of people who make and sell handmade items in "shops" hosted by Etsy. Sellers are all over the world. Really, I've fallen in love with items made in Israel, Turkey, New Zealand, England, the US, you name it. There are few things you can't find on Etsy, and I love that you can search items by geographic area if you want to see what sort of creative goods are made locally. I've purchased several items for myself and for gifts and received a few items from Etsy, and I'm always amazed at how awesome the products are...not to mention the care sellers put into packaging and writing a note of appreciation. Although all the shops are independent (and merely hosted by Etsy), I think the sellers feel a certain pride in their work and accountability to the site which keeps the quality level really high.

Next time you're in the mood or market for a handmade good, think about trying out my friend, Etsy.