Shopping for Mother of the Bride's dress and Memorial weekend. Or How I bought a $600 dress for 50 bucks!

I am still tunneling through the things I brought back from Tucson as well as all the stuff I need to get rid of from here!  We are going to have another garage sale on the weekend of the 11th.  Trey and Christa came over and helped us get ready by moving things around since the stuff was just dumped where ever when I got back last week.  Trey thought we should empty Grandma's living room, give it a thorough cleaning and put everything back in.  I have to admit it was a good idea, but very tiring.

They also brought wonderful food and we had a really nice family bar-be-que with them.  Very yummy and lots of left overs.  Trey puts oil on everything he cooks and it does make it taste yummier.

After that, since Christa was here, we put in huge orders on line for various wedding stuff at Oriental Trading,  Wedding Accessories.net (for all her Cherry Blossom items), and Smarty had a Party (for disposable china since we can't use glass at her venue.  We charged so much that when I went to order a dress at Nordstrom's,  they wouldn't take my debit card. I had to call fraud prevention and get it reactivated.  I guess I'm happy that they are looking out for unusual activities, but a call would have been nice Chase!  I mean, what if I would have been out shopping?  THAT would have been so embarrassing!

Nordstrom's Dressing room with #1

Our friend's son, Siva, is going to UCI and occasionally we meet up to Auntie and Uncle him a bit.  He decided we should go to South Coast Plaza.  Good for me, I

need to pick up my dress!  I think he might have been sorry for suggesting it, LOL.  I wound up needing the dress in a smaller size.  I'm not sure weather to say "Yeah, I'm toning up!" or "Yeah, Vanity Sizing!"  Because I can believe I went down a dress size, but TWO dress sizes?  I'm not so sure. They had it in the size smaller, but not any smaller than that. Dress Number One Picture.  

Norstrom's Dressing Room Dress #2

They had the dress that Christa liked in my new size, so I tried that one on. Just didn't fit quite right.  Then I tried on one that Randy picked out.  I wound up getting it.

We had lunch with Siva at Macy's Wolfgang Puck's Bistro.  Caught up with each others lives and had a great time.  Sive, like me is not an Apple fan, so we snubbed them and went to the Sony Store.  I didn't realize until after the mall closed, that there was also a MicroSoft Store.  Oh well, next time.  We bummed around for a while and then I saw it.  Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn in.  BLOOMINGDALE'S.

$598 dress for $50 Not bad!

Big Brown Bag Sale.  I picked out a couple of dresses, but didn't really like them.  The sales lady, Lauren, was so sweet and so expert, she picked out things I would have never thought to try on.  I had never even heard of David Meister.  But I tried on this dress.  Wrong Color!  Short Skirt. Lots of Bling.  I'm just doing it to be nice to her since she is so nice.  It was fantastic on!  I didn't notice the original price, but it was marked down to $99.  I thought that was the sale price.

I hope someone has this in my size!

I tried on a halter dress she brought me in a size too small. Randy said I took his breath away in it.  Well, when my husband says that, I don't care how much it costs, find me that dress in my size!  Lauren checks.  It is no longer on line.  She says it is in one store in New York and 2 in New Jersey and they are both closed due to the time difference.  She will call me tomorrow and let me know the results of her looking.  Keep your fingers crossed!

I tell Lauren, I'm going to take the purple one regardless. She says, I know, that's such a deal on a $600 dress.  I'm like what?  She said, yes, it's David Meister. LOL  I still don't know who he is, but I love his dress!  So I ask timidly, Do I get 40% off the mark down or is that with the mark down?  She lets me know that not only do I get the 40% off, since it's on clearance I get an additional 20% on top of that.  I walk out of the store with that dress for $50.98 including sales tax!!!!  Steal of the DAY!

I will probably take the Nordstrom's dress back.  Or I may wear it for the rehearsal dinner.

Nordstrom's dress that might be going back

Siva in his new shirt.  NICE

Although he really didn't want me to, I got Siva a cute shirt at American Eagle for all his patience!  He's quite handsome in it and, ladies (around 20) he's single!

We did manage to stop by and see my mom.  It was after hours so we only visited for a few minutes.  How come everyone I've told in person that I just bought a $600 dress has asked, "For how much?"  Am I really that predictable?  LOL I think the answer is yes.  My mom, Corina, Christa and even Alex all said exactly the same thing.  I get such a rush out of getting deals!

So much done. So much to do!!! And Arizona Recap

107 days to go.  WHAT?!?!  O.K. I'm done freaking for the moment.  The menu is chosen.  Catering contract signed.  The venue contract is so confusing, but I think that's done as well, including the rehearsal the night before.  Still looking for a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner.  The bridesmaids dresses are bought.  Two of them fit perfectly, Christa is mailing the other to the third to try on.  I still have no idea what I'm going to wear!  Wedding invitations ordered.  Save the Dates sent out.  Trying to decide on plates, since we can't use china or anything glass. I am thinking of  these.  Or maybe these?

I have been trolling weddingbee.com for their classified and have found the napkins and overlays there.  YAY!!!  Still looking for other stuff including a DOC wedding planner.  If anyone's use someone good, let me know!

My sister and I made it back with a TON of stuff from Tucson.  My hubby is particularly happy with a leather recliner.  Still trying to coordinate stuff to make it fit and decide what to keep and toss of my things.

Ginger in front of a cactus in Gila Bend on the way to Tucson

I left my house at 5:15 AM on Saturday morning and made it to Ginger's house around 6:30.  I got used to the huge cargo van driving to her and was pretty comfortable controlling it.  It was LOUD.  Basically a tin can, but comfortable enough.  Ginger, however, has control and anxiety issues I wasn't really aware of before this trip.  She really didn't take too kindly to me taking an exit by changing across 3 lanes of the highway and hitting the exit at a speed she was not comfortable with.  She say I hit the exit doing 80.  I didn't.  I was going about 45 when I hit the exit. She said the posted speed was 35.  I pointed out that it was in yellow and was only a suggested speed.  She claims she never heard of a "suggested speed". I pointed out it's in the California Driver's Handbook so it's a good think I'm driving since I'm apparently the only one in the car that had read it.

Why is there a bull in your neighbor's yard, Carole?

To add insult to injury, she insisted on paying for breakfast at the McDonald's I had spotted, hence the lane change and exit.  Only to have her card turned down.  She had transferred money the night before, but it hadn't gone through.  Needless to say, it was not great for about the next 25 miles.  But we got over it fairly quickly. 

The next few hours were quite wonderful.  We truly enjoyed ourselves.  Talking, catching up, making jokes.  Planning which casinos we were going to stop at.  Close to the summit on I-8, we passed a bunch of beautifully restored classic cars.  I don't know what was wrong with me on this trip, but I barely took any photos.  I'm really sad now that I don't have much to post.

We hung out for about a half hour with my Aussie buddy, Johnny.  There was some issues with actually meeting him so our time was short.  But it was so good to catch up with him.  He has such an exciting life.  And he's single, girls!!  He is in Yuma getting flight training for the defense contractor he works for.  It's a Canadian company that hires Canadians and Australians to work in Afghanistan.

Gas really is cheaper in AZ

Back on the road and we got to Carole's around 3ish.  Waited for her guy to get there and help us load, got everything in and got to catch up with her and Phil. 

We had a nice time hanging out at dinner, but Tim had plans with his co-workers.  He got home just as Ginger and I were going to bed.  I got up and after much prodding from his mom, Tim decided to go see if he left his credit card at a bar he was at the night before. It's called, "Mr. Heads".  Apparently because they serve beer, not because it's a gay bar.  I'm just saying.

The only pic I got of Tim this time, his feet, LOL

Tim and I really had a nice chat about his life, graduating with his Master's, his new job, his new girl, the long summer without her, his new roommates.  Two of them are archeologists.  The kind that dig, lol.  He's really looking forward to having quirky roommates.

We were out the door by 6:30 the next morning.  The I-8 is a a lot scarier going back into California then coming out of it. Especially when you have a screamer sitting next to you.  But we made it back.  Well, we did stop at a casino for 2 and a half hours, but we were doing so well.  We even left $10 richer than when we arrived.  So not too shabby!

Fully loaded van, side view.

Pepper the Wonder Dog

Fully loaded (we could have taken more) van

I'm afraid I was not too social when we got to Ginger's.  I would have liked to visit more with my nephew and grand-nephews, but I just didn't have it in me.  I left after they unloaded her stuff and came to my house.  Luckily, Randy had help for us here as well.  We unloaded the sofa sleeper and leather chair and cedar chest with their help.  They were on their way to church so we had some well-dressed movers.  Then Randy and I finished.  We then went to Christa's to take advantage of the van and got her futon and dining table and chairs she wants to sell at the next garage sale.

This Memorial Day Weekend, we will be getting ready for our garage sale on the 11th of June.  Gotta pay for this wedding somehow!

Arizona here we come!

So, I am going to pick up the cargo van today from my friend, Elliot at Enterprise Rentals.  Should be a fun lunch.  Christa and Trey are picking me up at work running to the rental place, driving the van home, then having them drop me back at work.  Oh yeah, and finding something carb-friendly to eat along the way.  No problem.

Tomorrow I will be on the road around 5 or 5:30.  Pick up my sister, Virginia in Temecula and then off to Tucson to pick up some furniture from my sister, Carole, who is moving to Savannah.  Can't wait to see my now credentialed and Master's Degreed nephew, Tim.  So proud of him!  He is going to be a GREAT teacher!

Still trying to get the final details worked out with the venue.  The lady that runs the events is very nice, but is also very concerned with covering her um... self. So she runs everything by her supervisor.  We are trying to get enough time in to get the rentals there the day before as well as most of the decorating and get a rehearsal in too. Trying to figure out the timing is interesting to say the least. 


My patient, Tess, suggested that we try restaurant.com to see if we like the food at the restaurants that have been suggested for the rehearsal dinner.  We are going to try Raffelo's and J.Trani's.  We are also looking at using Hotel Current's patio/pool area and hiring a taco cart.  YUM!  I love taco carts and it's very So. Calish.

Since I'm out of town this weekend, I started a community page for my mom on www.lotsahelpinghands.com  It's a place where friends and family can coordinate care for people, organizations and events. Since I can't get over to see my mom, I listed Visiting Evelyn as an event and almost immediately my friend Corina picked up the weekend visits.  Thank you, Corina!  But the idea is that if people know what is needed and it is shared with lots of other people, more things will get done without burning people out.  It is great because you only commit to what you want to do at times/days that are convenient for you.  The needs of the person are listed so nothing gets over-looked and no one takes on more than they want to or feel comfortable doing.  I'm really an advocate for this site!

Well, time to get dressed.  I hope to have lots of pix and video of our weekend adventure to post on here soon!

May Updates.

Korina at the game

Fluffy, the knocked up kitty

I guess I will start with Fluffy.  I had a couple of leads on a home for her when BAM!  I realize she is PREGNANT.  So, we will be putting that off until she has her kittens and we get her fixed!  So stay tuned for adorable kitten pix.

"Bridal Enough" Shoes

Christa is in the process of sending out her save the date magnets.  She also found her wedding shoes (again).  Hopefully, she will be happy with these and stop looking.  She said the last ones weren't "Bridal" enough. They are quite pretty.  She got them at Nordstrom's.  They have rhinestones all around the back of the heels.  You know, they part no one will see. SMH.  But she loves them and they will be great on the day, so that's all that really matters, right?  She finally came by and looked at the 145 pounds of candy and was amazed.  But that's only the beginning, LOL.

We are trying to figure out how many will be attending the rehearsal dinner.  Trey's parents are from out of town and are relying on us to help pick the restaurant.  I'm going to be relying heavily on my friend/patient, Majella to help me.  She is the one who helped us find the venue for the wedding.  She was raised in San Pedro and knows all the ins and outs.  It's a quite lovely little town.

I bought about $50 in ribbon for all the remaining wedding projects I have to complete.  Then Randy and I hit some garage sales and found some more things for DIY stuff.  We found strings of lights and favor boxes.  I might use the favor boxes for her shower as we're using the candy buffet and photo booth (Thanks, Aunt Carole, for paying the balance on that!) for the favors for the wedding.

It's less than 4 months to go and still can't figure out what I'm going to wear!  I really need to get to France's and just pick something so she can get going on making it!

But I digress.  I'm getting ready to go to my sister Carole's house to pick up some hand-me-downs that she wont be taking with her to Georgia when she moves from Tucson on the 4th of June.  Can you say "Road Trip"?  Yeah, baby!  We're renting a van and hitting the road.

Pastor Alex with Community Leaders

Getting ready to Hula.  Alex, stop unbuttoning your shirt!

We attended a party last night for our neighbor, Alejandro Leon, Sr.  The pastor of Alcance Victoria (Victory Outreach).  They did a great job!  The hall looked fabulous, there was lots of entertainment.  Ezekiel Seven, the church band, played some great music as well as various church members singing and dancing.  They also hired Polynesian Dancers who were quite fabulous as a precursor to present Pastor Alex with his trip to Hawaii.  A good time was had by ALL!

Oh, we got attend Korina's last T-ball game last week as well.  We took Grandma Evelyn to watch.  She was so happy and impressed with the game.  It was her first T-ball game and she just LOVED watching the kids play as well as how well the coaches interacted with them.  It was GREAT.  I was impressed with the way the dads of both teams were so polite and appreciative of one another.  A truly good demonstration of competition without malice.  Sadly, Josh Sr. had to go to hospital for his blood pressure right after the game, but woot, that more time for us watching the kids.  Glad to report is all ended fine.

Spending time with the kids.

Fielding a ball!

Olivia in front of the Doll's banner

Randy and Junior

I'm so sorry I haven't been updating much lately.  My computer took a nose-dive and wouldn't work from more than a few minutes at a time and I just don't like writing on Randy's laptop.  My wonderful husband fixed it for me and I should be up and running now.  So I should be able to keep up more now.

Here are some links to the various activities on You Tube:

I forgot, my mom won First Prize in the Crazy Hat Parade and Contest

These are some videos from Pastor Alex's Birthday.

More Videos to follow of Korina's T-Ball Games.  Check out my Channel on You Tube "Kromrey"

I can't have FIVE cats! Or... Fluffy needs a new home

My god-daughter, Prudence, had some housing issues so Randy and I were glad to have her come and stay with us a while.  A while only lasted about four days.  No problem.  But I wanted to make sure her new housing was more or less permanent before she took the cat she had a pet with her, knowing that the cat would not adjust well to a back-and-forth lifestyle.

Well, the day she moved out, the cat disappears so there was no question of her taking it with her anyway.  I felt so bad, the kitty was gone and we couldn't find her anywhere.  We looked everywhere we could think of.  In closets, under beds, asked neighbors.  No kitty.

I had given up hope on day four. Prudence never let her outside.  She must have gotten out, gotten lost...or worse.  I was so sad and upset.  She was such a good little cat.  Affectionate, loving, obedient, quiet, loved sitting on people's laps and just being around humans.

I went through day five convinced she just wasn't coming back.  At four in the morning, I am awakened by scratching on the glass sliding door in my bedroom.  I look around, all the cats are on my bed except Amber, my aggressive little orange tabby.  She's growling at the door.  I'm thinking, "It must be a possum or raccoon?"

I get up, turn on the patio light, and lo and behold, KITTY!

She is looking at me like, "Don't just stand there, please, let me IN!"

I opened the door, picked her up and took her to the cat food.  She really wasn't that hungry or thirsty.  But she was a bit dirty.  I'll never know what transpired during that five-day adventure.  I probably don't want to know!

Amber, the aggressive kitty

Well, Prudence tells me she'll pick up the cat on Sunday and doesn't show up.  I find out the transportation she's been using has broken down.  Then I see on Facebook she got her own car.  Still not getting the kitty.  She finally tells me that the place she is staying will not let her bring the cat with her.

Well, I really do love this little kitty, but I can't have five cats.  And while I wouldn't be very sad if one in particular (you know who you are Misty and I know you sneak-read my blog) gave up the ghost, I really can't keep this cat.  I can't be the Crazy Cat Lady!  I'm in my mid-forties and that's how it starts.  I saw it happen to my mom and it will NOT happen to me.

So, the bottom line is, if you know someone that needs a kitty that is well-behaved, litter box trained, loving, happy, quiet, affectionate and just a great all around cat, please have them contact me.

Fluffy (my name for her), needs a NEW HOME!