Post-Wedding/30th Birthday Chop

Hi Hive! I'm taking a brief intermission from recap-land to show you my new hair. 5 months post-wedding and 1 week to my 30th birthday, I decided to go big. The shortest I've ever worn my hair is in a chin-length bob, and I really wanted to buzz it short, but I have big ears and know I would have regretted that as soon as I did it. (Oh, the foresight that comes with being 30!)

I love it the most when I take the time to flat-iron it, but it's pretty fun to play with, and fresh out of bed in the morning I have a bit of Charlie Sheen going on. Winning!

It is perfect for the island climate and I swear it only takes me 10 minutes from shower to finished. Know what else? I get to spend extra time with makeup, which is way more fun for me to do than hair! I think I may keep the shortie style for a minute-- it's making me feel shiny and new. And nothing feels better when you're turning 30 than feeling shiny and new.

Did you do a serious chop post-wedding chop? Love it or hate it?

In Sickness and In Health-- Already?

I had hoped to hit the ground running with posts as soon as we landed back in Guam, but you know how life pops into the best laid plans!

Seven days after we tied the knot, Mr. B woke up with severe abdominal pain. When the pain had not lessened by 6am, I convinced him to let me take him to the Emergency Room. After googling "right side abdominal pain" and all the hits screaming "appendicitis", I knew there was no where else he needed to be.

Upon examining him, the doctor concluded his appendix needed to be removed that afternoon. What?! Isn't  it crazy when one minute everything is normal and the next minute your love needs to be cut open? At any rate, the surgery went well and we spent the night in the hospital while his pain was managed and his food intake was monitored.

We are at home now and I'm playing Nurse Barrettes. Seems only fitting we spent our 1-week anniversary in the hospital, as I spent our wedding night cleaning puke off his tux coat-- but that's a whole other story altogether. I'm just happy his appendix waited a week until it decided to be a bother. Timing is everything!

Did you need to care for your new spouse shortly after your wedding?

23 Hours of Travel

We leave Guam on tomorrow at 10am and land in Baltimore at 7:30pm the same day. How is that possible, you ask? Easy, we're flying back in time! Here in Guam, we are 14 hours ahead of EST. Our flight is broken-up by a layover in Japan, but our total air time is roughly 19 hours. It's not "fun" by any means, but now with the addition of Baby Barrettes flying under the seat in front of me, things should be very interesting...

I have been waiting for these days for weeks...months...years. Our wedding has always seemed like this far off 'thing' that always seemed forever on the horizon. I've had so much time to prepare, yet I feel like it's all going to be whipped together in a whirlwind of commotion!

I am promising myself to take it day-by-day and really enjoy all the little moments. This thing is only happening once. This ain't no dress rehearsal! But, I'm sooo ready! Let's go get married and celebrate the start of something good! See you on the flip-side, hive!

(personal photo)

My Guam Bachelorette!

It started out with shots. It ended with shots. Ryan came home and found me on the bathroom floor. Yes, it was one of those nights. My hard-partying days are over, but something came over me! Bridesmaid Amy did a fab job-- we played games, wore silly masks; I had a super-fun violet feather boa and 2(!) princess veils. I started on my "Bachelorette Checklist" at our 2nd stop and it was all downhill from there... 

[VIDEO] Save the Date!

I started this almost a year ago and forgot about it until I was editing show videos! Enjoy!

Spotlight on Baby Barrettes

Baby Barrettes is a really cool dude. He loves the beach and is always the first one in the water. He has more human friends than dog friends and we're really excited to introduce him to all of his furry relatives in the USA. His favorite treats are apples, although he will totally eat broccoli. We let him grow out his hair as long as he wanted, but now with the wedding coming up we have been dog-scaping him.

Oh, Guam!

(source)

Since I'm writing to you all the way from Guam, I thought I'd take a minute to share some photos of our little island paradise! Its a great spot to Honeymoon for those of you willing to part with $1400 (from USA) for airfare. Most of Guam's visitors are Japanese and Chinese families looking for a quick island getaway.

Barrettes enjoying sunset.

What I love most about living on Guam are the sunsets. Almost every evening from 6-7pm the sky puts on a show. Never have I seen sunsets anywhere that come as close to the ones on Guam.

Me with Bridesmaid Amy

We also have some beautiful beaches, which look just as pretty in the daytime.

Mr. Barrettes at Country Club of the Pacific

(source)

Not much here as far as cities are concerned, but we have our fair share of nightlife and shopping. Super high-end fashion stores like Gucci and Chanel are popular with the Japanese, greatly contrasting the rest of the retail on island. We don't have Starbucks or Gap, but we have a massive Kmart.

(Baby Barrettes cooling off at the beach)

He needs sunglasses!

Its easy to see why Mr. Barrettes and I have been able to live far away from home for so long. But now that we are tying the knot and thinking about family, our days living on Guam are numbered.

(all photos by Miss Barrettes unless otherwise noted)

Have you ever lived far away from your family? What brought you back home?

Faux Fitting

The morning of my Mom's flight out of Guam we met the girls at Iridescent for our 'Faux Fitting'. I wanted my Mom to have the experience of dress shopping because my wedding dress experience is a bit different. We will be modifying her wedding dress for me to wear during the ceremony, and I will then wear a fabulous little white number for the reception. So.... no true "Say Yes to the Dress" moment for us.
Knowing that I wouldn't actually be falling in love with a dress, I jumped right in to try a few different styles, just so we could get some idea of what we did like. At the time of this fitting we had plenty of time to play with the details. I already have a pretty good idea of how I would like her dress to be manipulated so the seamstress has her work cut out for her.

After a few dresses, I was getting bored with their selection and decided to try a veil, since I truly don't know what I'm doing in that area yet. I freaked out a little once it was on my head! Ahhh! A veil!! Its real!!!

Friend Barrettes played dress-up as well and she tried on one dress that I actually really liked. Well, I say that loosely. I liked it better than most of the dresses there. I'm sure had there been a better selection, and more dresses in my size, it wouldn't have been my favorite....but we worked with what we had. I really did feel like a BRIDE in it. It fit me well and flattered my semi-curveless body...

Pretty right?! This just makes me that much more excited for my real dress! Can't wait until my Mom and I have that true moment when we know its perfect...♥

What was your "Say Yes to the Dress" moment? How did you know it was THE ONE?

It's All in the Details

Well this just came out so darn cute I had to show it off! This is our postage for our Save The Dates!

I mentioned previously that I wanted to find ways to infuse our island life into our winery wedding. I am a sucker for inanimate objects dressed in Bride & Groom, so when I saw the graphic on a local greeting card at our bookstore I knew it had to me mine. I was sure I could find it online, but I bought the card anyway just so I could feel better about snagging it. Thank you Zories Only!

I uploaded the image onto stamps.com, chose the postage, and voila!

What is your favorite little detail?

Playing Dress-up!

 I did a photoshoot for Guam's annual Bridal Guide back in March 2009 and thought I'd share the end results for fun! The shoot was a blast and a number of Japanese tourists thought I'd really gotten married and took pictures with me. After I told the editor that I actually was getting married and that I have a very handsome fiance, she suggested that we do a shoot together. But my superstitious side kicked in and I got cold feet, thinking it must be some sort of bad luck to 'play' bride and groom before the actual day!

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw teasers in the newspaper for the magazine! I had made the cover! Awesome! I don't think I'll end up wearing a ball gown for my wedding, so it certainly was fun to play dress up. I definitely felt like a Disney princess!
(photos courtesy of Guam Bridal Guide)