Ah, Springtime at Last!
Finally it's feeling like spring outside again. TIme for yardwork renovations to start to happen. So far we've already tackled a lot but still have quite a bit to go -- and of course the nice warm seasons will disappear before w can get all of them done.
We've already done lot of trim work on the huge tall shrub/trees on the front corners of our house. Essentially it entailed me (Jen) climbing up a very tall, scary ladder while Trist held it at the bottom. It's not that he left me with the scary job, I just didn't want to see him up there! In anticipation of our backyard fence, we also removed some of the flagstone from around the back and placed it around the front tree/shrub. We like them a little better now, but are still thinking we'll tear them out next year or the following year.
We also removed our fir trees from our backyard. If you remember what it looked like back there, the trees were pretty gimpy. We're planning on planting some nice shade trees out there in the fall of this year that will hopefully grow up tall by the time we have kids running around back there.
Finally, we cut out the grass around our deck as it's just a pain to mow under that bush and we thought this would look much better to put mulch in there. We're very happy with how it looks. On the side of the deck, you'll notice a large dirt patch next to our air conditioning unit. As our fence will enclose it as well, we're turning that into our garden. Stay tuned for photos of this and more!!!
Some renovation photos...
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By Jennifer on April 25th, 2009
Merry Christmas from the Chiappisi's
Well, our Christmas morning has come and gone with loads of presents for the whole family as well as a delicious meal cooked by the famous chef Tristan. We had orange-glazed ham with cheesy mashed potatoes and stuffing along with pink drinks and coffee from our brand-new coffee machine (Thank you Tyler!). Talk about a great morning.
Here are a few photos from Christmas morning...
We actually had a few bumps happen before Christmas. These included our tree falling over, which of course I was home by myself when it happened (the girl who has lived with artificial tress all her life), so Bananas and I had to try to put it back up ourselves. We attempted to do so only after a call to Trist, interrupting the holiday grocery shopping with a demand to check out now and please come home and help. Thankfully, though it was incredibly tough and I had sap all over me and wet pants/socks, I was able to get the tree back upright. I then sweeped up the needles which was quite stupid looking back on it as there was a lot more work that needed done to the tree to make it stay upright in it's base again, raining more needles down all over the carpet. Trist worked his magic though and before long, the tree was standing correctly in it's base and then I worked mine to fix the garland, lights and ornaments. There were no ornament casualties thank goodness. Also, we both agree that the tree is much prettier since it fell - go figure!
Another little bump that I had happen to me was that Trist's biggest gift from me (a new iPod nano) wasn't delivered on time. USPS was supposed to deliver it from Amazon on the 23rd, but as I saw the carrier drop off only mail, I ran out to ask him personally. He said that nothing came and it might be in tomorrow (Christmas eve). Upon hearing this, I immediately called Amazon and they were kind enough to Next Day Air it to ensure I would have it by Christmas Eve. Well, after UPS delivered one of our two needed Christmas packages but not the iPod, I got worried. I called several people, including the Post Office to locate the first one. Apparently from USPS, the carrier not only lied to me when I asked if he had a package but he also did not give me a notice that I had a package even though he claimed to for USPS tracking purposes. Let me just say that even as I went to bed last night I was still upset over that. This isn't the first time we've had issues with our carrier - how hard is it to put the right mail in the right mailbox? Anyways... the story ends well as UPS came through and made a second delivery to our place at around 4pm yesterday and Trist got to open his iPod on Christmas.
Some additional photos from Christmas morning...
During Christmas morning, Bananas was so cute. She decided that she was going to help us open every single one of our presents. She really got the idea behind Christmas presents, as she would help pull off the wrapping paper to get what's inside. And she was the sweetest dog ever, she actually liked chewing up the paper but would stop as soon as Trist or I asked her to. She's our little angel! She got a few toys, including Gumby, a soft round cow and a soft dragon. So far she hasn't destroyed any of them, which for a lab puppy is pretty amazing.
More photos from Christmas morning...
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By Jennifer on December 25th, 2008
Happy Holidays & Fourth Floor Interactive
Well, this is Tristan & my first Christmas as husband and wife as well as in our new house! We're incredibly excited this year as both my brother and his wife and my parents will be coming to our house for festivities this year. Yay for no traveling!!! Check out our Pre-Christmas photos and keep in mind, we should have some excellent photos to put up rather soon of the Christmas loots.
Pre-Christmas Photos
I figured I should also include some updates on some of the major things to happen in our lives, one of which was me being laid off from my previous position. As you know, the economy isn't doing the best as well as the fact that (in my opinion) my previous employer just did not get interactive which added up to letting me and a few more of my colleagues go. Most of my friends had actually already left the company and Trist & I had planned for me to quit and go freelance full-time in March, so it was actually great that it happened. My employer gave me an incredible severance package and so now I have a cushion with which to ease into my freelance business.
If you know of anyone in the need for interactive projects, make sure to check out Fourth Floor Interactive, which is my new freelancing company. Eventually I'd like to turn it into a full business and actually be able to hire employees, but for now this is great.
Tristan, meanwhile, has been working very hard at studying for Microsoft certifications to become a DBA (Database Administrator). They are by far the most difficult Microsoft Certification that you can achieve but I have no doubt that he'll ace them. He's planning on taking the three he needs by early next year, which will definitely make my new business and the decisions about children a lot easier.
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By Jennifer on December 23rd, 2008
Wow, the wedding is over... BUT WE HAVE PHOTOS!
Tristan & I got in around 10pm last night from Jamaica mon. Boy, let me tell you - it was incredible and exactly what we needed after several very busy wedding-filled months. We spent the first few days just saying to ourselves (to convince each other I think), 'Wow, we're really married and we're really in Jamaica... who would believe we almost didn't go on a honeymoon!' I have to say, neither one of us would trade those 7 days in paradise for the world, much less a few thousand dollars that could have been put towards a hot tub!!!
It's a long sorted story, but Tristan and I forgot our digital camera (which incidentally had been purchased pretty much for the honeymoon) for our time in Jamaica. At first we were both very upset & disappointed. After all, how would we properly remember our honeymoon and share the sites with family & friends. Then we realized that our honeymoon was intimate and private. The fact that we weren't going to have photos of it made it even moreso, as only he & I would know what beautiful sunsets we fell asleep to and what incredible sites we saw in Jamaica... not to mention the fact that we didn't have to worry about documenting every little bit of our trip. So essentially, if we had to do it all over again, I think both of us would definitely 'forget' to bring the camera.
One other quick note, we have pictures. All you need to do is to 'sign the guestbook' to see them and if you wish, to purchase them. I think they turned out great. To view our photos, click here.
By the way, our wedding photos are done by Bella Blu Studio - DEFINITELY a great company for wedding & other photographs!!
A Few Examples
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By Jennifer on October 6th, 2008
Is it really almost here?!?
Tristan & I have been up to a lot with the wedding. In tasks of getting the house ready, I've been working on curtains while Trist organized the crawl space & the entire basement. He also did a great job of getting things around to take to Good Will. I think, with our move into the new house this year and now getting ready for the wedding, the amount of items we've taken to Good Will in the past year would easliy fill an entire store. Here's hoping our old stuff goes to good use!
We've also managed to find what we consider to be a beautiful dining room table & six chairs for our previously empty formal dining room. The table was a little banged up and had horrible (in our opinion) fabric on the seats that just really didn't match our style -- but that was nothing that a few wood markers and reupholstering wouldn't fix. Here's a photo of the table in mid-reupholstery. Happily, the table is totally done now and looks fantastic! We've also been working outside a lot, chopping down a couple of sad looking fir trees, planting and watering grass seeds in the yard, laying down dirt for grading and then weed-prevention (tarp-like stuff) before throwing the mulch on top. Hopefully the house will look great for Trist's family, who are mostly from New Hampshire so they can't make it out to see the house often. We want to 'Wow!' them with it.
Of course we've also been busy with wedding tasks as well. I got my hair done this week in preparation for the big day and it looked incredible. I don't want to ruin the surprise or wow-factor on the wedding day, so I won't include photos yet. I was incredibly pleased though with what they had done with my very thin hair, giving it such awesome body & volume that it had for the rest of the night (and that Trist couldn't take his eyes off of).
We also were tasked with needing to find a new minister for our wedding when we came to the realization that our current minister was very adamate about the wedding service being exactly as he designed, without any changes from us. He told us this a bit late (nearly a week away from the wedding) so I was freaking out a little bit about this, calling Trist (who kept me calmer than I would have been), Jeff (who I figured would definitely be able to help -- and he totally came through for us, looking up bunches of ministers he knew in the area), my mother and every minister I have ever known. Luckily, I was able to find Tom Bolton's number and quickly called him. Tom is a Methodist minister who I knew back in my high school days of Defiance District Youth Council and truly a great, sweet man. I explained our situation and he agreed to help us. In fact, he is even driving up to our place this Sunday to meet with us. Normaly we would go to the minister's place so that they wouldn't have to drive anywhere. I'm going to make sure we have some delicious food ready for him when he gets here!
Our Dining Room Table
Dress Fittings with the Bridesmaids
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By Jennifer on September 20th, 2008
Photos Galore!
Tristan & I have been working incredibly hard lately, not only to get all of the wedding details finalized but also to get the house fully finished as we'll be having quite a few people at it for the wedding (including the rehearsal dinner). Everyone who will be in town Friday from out-of-town is welcome to come to our rehearsal dinner at our house, but please let us know as soon as possible if you are planning on attending and how many are coming with you. Tristan & Tyler (his brother and best man) are going to be taking care of the grilling and overall cooking, so you know it will be an incredible meal. I just hope it doesn't overshadow our catering. *wink*
I promise photos a few blog entries back and have yet to get any up here so I figured that this blog entry could be mainly filled with lovely photos of our bridesmaids in their fittings, some great flower photos from my Aunt, bridal shower photos and a few of our house & our wonderful dog, Bananas. I'll be adding to these over the next few days so keep that in mind & check back often! Click on the photos to view a larger version!
Bananas, our Black Lab Puppy
Engagement Photos shot by Bella Blu Studio
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By Jennifer on September 10th, 2008
Just a Few Updates
This is just a short post, not much going on except waiting and a few last things, things are going well so far, though! I can't believe how fast this past month has gone by. So far we have the majority of the details taken care of for the wedding. This week I'm going to go get the alcohol for the reception, get the tux stuff taken care of, some last minute little things like pick up the bird seed to throw at us (don't throw too hard please) when we're leaving the reception. Hopefully I'm not missing anything!
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By Tristan on September 9th, 2008
The Shower & Dress Fittings
Wow! So much happened this weekend with the wedding and yet it still felt like a very relaxing couple of days for Trist & I. We started off getting in Friday night (as did Christina) & having a good night's sleep before an incredibly busy day Saturday. We woke up and enjoyed a few hours chatting before my friend from BGSU, Sarah (Smith) Moolman pulled in the drive. Soon after, we were off to Aunt Bunny's house in Bryan, Ohio for the dress fittings for the girls. And I only have great things to say about the bridesmaid dresses! THEY TRULY ARE PERFECT, even better than I imagined they would be. Aunt Bunny did a spectacular job on all of them and suggested an idea with the sash/belt that ended up looking so much better than my original idea. Of course, she has been doing dresses like this for well over thirty years, so she definitely knows what works and what doesn't. Thank you so much Aunt Bunny - the dresses are INCREDIBLE!!!
After getting back from Bryan, we stopped at the house and then headed on up to the church to setup for the bridal shower. Christina did so much work to make it look absolutely beautiful. And Mom, Christina & Sarah worked really hard preparing all the food beforehand. It was really great, all the thought that Christina had put into it to make it just right, like including my favorite foods, such as the delectable swedish cream. I loved it all!
The shower went very well also. We had my Great Aunt Helen, Aunt Sandy, Aunt Darlene, cousins Rachel, Heather (and her little girl - so cute!), Tami and Sherrie along with Christina, Mom & Sarah. It was just the perfect size for us all to have a great time. My favorite part was probably either no one (but Mom really) coming up with any deep dark secret memories or stories of me when I was younger OR seeing the beautiful toliet paper brides, portrayed by none other than Rachel Briskey & Great Aunt Helen Metz. You guys both looked great, though I think I still like my dress a little better. ;) I should have a few photos up of the shower, the girls in their bridesmaid dresses, and possibly some of Bananas, our dog, 'swimming' in her kiddie pool on Sunday. Check back soon for those!
By Jennifer on August 25th, 2008
One Month to Go
Well, we're nearly at a month and counting now. It's hard to imagine that in just a short amount of time, I'll be Jen Chiappisi instead of Jen West. Though I have a feeling that it will take longer than that for everyone at work as well as all my friends to call me by the right last name. I still have problems with that in regards to friends who have been married over five years ago!
Lately we've been working on finalizing a lot of things for the wedding. We finished up our wedding counseling with Bob Ingram, apparently we graduated and can now be married (aka we're officially insane). The wedding counseling wasn't at all what either of us thought it was going to be. It was actually incredibly helpful in pointing out some truths that seem as though they would be obvious but in reality, I'm guessing most of the couples out there in the world never realize. I think that Trist & I will do great after we're married. One huge bonus we have going for us is communication & honesty. We're both pretty good at those, which I must say makes for a much more enjoyable relationship.
We're finalizing the details for the catering on Monday. I'm not really sure what to do as we only have received a handful of RSVPs back so far. I think some people don't know that RSVPs are needed whether you plan to attend or not. Honestly, I didn't realize how important and helpful they were before I went through this whole 'wedding planning' experience. In any case, I have a feeling that we'll be doing a lot of time on the cellphones next week calling people who haven't responded. I may get a few more though at my Bridal Shower this weekend.
That brings me to my next exciting information - Christina West, my new sister-in-law, decided to throw me a Bridal Shower in Hicksville, Ohio (my hometown). Thank you so much Christina! It'll most likely be my family and a few of my friends that still live in the area. I'm looking forward to it so much, it should be great! I think that's one of the best things about the wedding... the fact that we get to see both sides of our family and friends all in one place, celebrating with us. The Bridal Shower will give me a little preview I think, allowing me to hang out with all my female family members before the wedding (and of course, to brag about the great man I'm marrying). I will probably have some good blogging material after this weekend to share with you all on how the shower went.
By Jennifer on August 22th, 2008
Finally Got All the Invitations Out!!
Happily, Tristan and I finished up the remainder of the invitations this weekend. Boy did they take tons more time to make than I anticipated. I'm glad that we split them up, sending out the out-of-state invitations first followed by the out-of-town ones and finally left the Columbus area ones last. I think that worked out well considering the amount of time and concentration each one took.
I have to say though, in looking back on the long hours spent cutting & stamping each individual one, I'm really glad I did it because they're completely unique and really are my style. I'm not sure that I could have bought invitations that I liked as much as I do these... not to mention, we saved quite a bit of money doing it this way, which is more that we can spend on food and festivities on the big day itself. And it's rather funny to find out how glittery people get when they open them. Just remember, Trist, Bananas & I handled every single one of them and had far more glitter on us than is on one of the invitations.
By Jennifer on August 17th, 2008
In Other Words....
Trist & I checked out the song booklet we got from our dj (Solid Gold Sound) this weekend. Boy, I never realized how many songs I like and exactly how many 'love' songs are out there that can be your possible first dance. I have to say though, a ton of them are all songs from the 80s/90s that I personally remember dancing to in junior high Girl Scout dances... and none of them really felt like us.
So we ended up settling on a song that's rather unique and something that we felt really fit our life together a little better. We have chosen 'Fly Me to the Moon' by Frank Sinatra, an excellent older tune that really captured the feeling that Trist & I have for one another..
Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
In other words hold my hand
In other words darling kiss me
Fill my life with song
And let me sing forevermore
You are all I hope for
All I worship and adore
In other words please be true
In other words I love you
By Jennifer on August 14th, 2008
Mmmm, how Good it is!
We've been making some progress on the wedding planning. We went food tasting the other day and decided on what we're going to have catered at the wedding. The catering company we went through gave us a little trouble with the first tasting so they allowed us to go to another tasting a few weeks after the first one and it was much better. The food is extremely good. Here's a list of what we'll be eating:
Appetizers
• New Potatoes Stuffed with Cheese and Bacon
• Au Gratin Crab Dip with Baked Pitas and French Bread
• Portobello Mushroom Stuffed Ravioli
Entrees
• Steak Marinated in Merlot Sauce
• Cajun Chicken in a Cream Sauce
Sides
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
Drinks
• Beer
• Wine
• Soda
• Water
• Tea
• Coffee
Cake
• Italian Chocolate
• French Vanilla
• Buttercream Frosting
Next we have the rest of the invites to make.
By Tristan on August 12th, 2008