Goodbye 2009

2009 (MMIX) is a common year starting on Thursday and is the current year. In the Gregorian calendar, it is the 2009th year of the Common Era, or of Anno Domini; the 9th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century; and the 10th and last of the 2000s decade. (Wikipedia)


WOW. I can't believe 2009 is coming to an end. What a big year it has been for me.

• I planned a wedding.


• We got married. MARRIED.


• We bought a house. a HOUSE.


• I turned 26.

And then of course, Barack Obama became president. We had the outbreak of swine flu. The economy tanked.... etc etc.


There are of course the many things that went wrong... but I can't harp on those things. We'll fix those in 2010 ;-). I will try to go to the gym more often. I will try not to pig out. I will try harder at work. But really, I hope 2010 brings many things to me and to you.

Happy New Years <3

Tis the season...

Wedding season has arrived and in full force :) It has me a little emotional because it's so different not being the bride. But in a really really wonderful and fun way. I love seeing what choices people make, and because my wedding is behind me--I find myself in a completely judgement free zone. I am just enjoying every part of being part of the process and trying on dresses or talking about the little details like colors and flowers and jewelery.

And on that note, two huge shout outs to my ladies Nicole and Veronica! who are my 2010 brides and who have asked me to be a part of their special day just like they were able to take part in mine <3

Nicole will be getting married in September at Cranwell. It's simply georgous, with the trees and mountains and other beautiful scenery in the background. She's chosen georgous pink bridesmaid dresses that are just so flattering and her gown is AMAZING. I wish I could show you! Very similar to what I did, she'll be doing an outside ceremony and inside reception--which is just perfect to cover any weather conditions.

Veronica will be getting married in October on the beautiful charles river and a view of the city at the Hyatt in Cambridge. Their ceremony will take place outside in the garden with reception to follow on thr 16th floor ballroom--stunning! Veronica picked amazing dresses as well in a "raspberry" tone and they are just perfect too (and also very flattering!).

I'm so lucky my ladies have good taste ;-)

Now that I've dished on their weddings (hope they don't mind), I hope you see how much fun this wedding planning can be, for both the bride and the people around them. It's such an amazing day, that goes by SO incredibly fast, so taking in all the details before the big day is so so important.

Happy Holidays!

The holidays always seem to get me and I lose all track of time. Work is a little busier, free time is spent with family and friends at holiday parties, shopping for gifts, getting the Christmas tree and all of those tedious errands before it flashes by you with a mere 24 hours to cram it all into.

This year was a little strange. November was spent with my family a lot given the passing of my aunt, and Christmas was spent in Virginia as a Britt. A much warmer, less hectic Christmas for sure...but a very nice time nonetheless with a lot of movie watching!

I have to say the house is coming along quite nice. Jarrett's mom will be coming in 2 weeks to visit and we'll be spending quite a bit of time at Homegoods. ;-)

We also should welcome a new addition to our family (NO, no baby!)...Lincoln! He comes home on January 9th.... boy are we in for a rude awakening.

I've been slacking.

How can you blame me? We've been busy! We bought a house people.

So while the final moments of the home buying process proved to be quite stressful (the loan took a day longer, our closing was pushed until the evening, th packing) we moved into the house on time--with movers...it is the best feeling in the world.

For living in the house exactly two weeks today, we've done quite a lot. We unpacked all of our wedding gifts (we had saved them in the original boxes and it was eating away at me), we painted the master bedroom, we ordered additional furniture, tv and surround sound is installed and the house has begun to feel like home.

I love coming home and find myself stopping in certain rooms and just staring. All of the little touches to the rooms are beginning to take their place, Knight is starting to claim it as his own, and we love being to close to the city and all of the errands we need to do.

Pictures to come soon...and thank you HGTV, I'm obsessed with you.

The Good Wife's Guide

One thing I've learned over the past month is that I am not a good wife. *Disclaimer, Jarrett has not said this to me*...I just know it. I leave my clothes everywhere, he does most of the cooking, he makes lists and keeps us organized, he takes out the trash, he makes the grocery lists (and unfortunately the list goes on and on). And between you and me, I call him MY wifey. I read all these blogs complaining about people's husbands and I realize I just don't have that. Sure, he leaves the seat up, or vaccums in a way that clearly doesn't get all the dog hair up, but damn...look at all the things I do wrong or don't do at all!

Kudos to his mother for raising a masculine male who also does all this, and kudos to me for finding and holding onto him.

And then I remembered this framed article in the 50's diner in Dedham, and I figured I'd compare myself against it, for a good laugh...clearly.

The Good Wife's Guide
From Housekeeping Monthly, 13 May, 1955

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed. <>
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. <>
• Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.
• During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction. <>
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
• Be happy to see him.
• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours. <>
• Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
• Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him. <>
• A good wife always knows her place.

well, i hope you too enjoyed this one.

New name, same old me.

I'm beginning to get used to the name. I almost don't stutter when I need to introduce myself. I'm perfecting the signature. (with all the signing for the house, it's beginning to look good). I'm even responding to it. I even LIKE it. I'm transitioning away from the old name and old email addresses, and I find myself annoyed when I have to type MacTaggart. How did I possibly not scream everytime I wrote that long name or long signature?

I went away last weekend and used my new snazzy license to board the plane, I'm starting to get mail delivered. This is fun! And I'm not as sad about losing it. When we first got engaged I told everyone "Of course I'm changing my name", but then the closer we got to the wedding, the more sad I became. Not because I didn't like it, and not because I didn't want to do it, but I was attached. JLM were my inititals for 26 years.

well, here's to JMB!!

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

As an update to an earlier post, there is such a thing as post-wedding blues. (see: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2338245&page=1 One in ten women may suffer from post-wedding depression, an increase, experts say, that is due to the trend towards more elaborate weddings.)

But with buying house craziness, I luckily do not have it. I have crazy bits of anticipation where I can't wait to move in and decorate. I spent about 20 minutes telling Jarrett the paint for our bedroom, then color the sheets and comforter will be to contrast the pillows and curtains and I think he stared at me blankly wondering WTF. So I share these things with you, friends, family, strangers... because luckily you can't give me any looks of confusion or eye rolling.

First, it's time for house pics so you know what I'm talking about!

I kid, I kid.

Here it REALLY is....