Last Saturday some of Kathy’s friends threw me a bridal shower so I could celebrate with family friends, some of whom have known Devon since he was in diapers. It was fun getting to know them all of them better. One of the first things that attracted me to Devon was that his family had such a close ties with a good group of supportive friends. That’s the way I’d always pictured my own family being when I was married. There was another quiz game, but this time there were questions about me that Marla had answered ahead of time, so everyone got to learn my family nickname (Ni Ni) and my fear of butterflies. I know, butterflies. Seriously, has anyone looked a their creepy midsections? They are scarier than spiders and they can fly at your face! Anyway, sorry there are no pictures of the shower. Marla and I both brought our cameras and forgot to take them out. Stay tuned for a housing update hopefully later this week.

Marla and Trisha threw me a bridal shower on Saturday. I had so much fun. I’ve been truly blessed with great friends the whole time I’ve lived here, and it was wonderful that so many of them were able to be there. The food was delicious and the games were fun and not embarrassing, thankfully. They had quizzed Devon on a number of topics beforehand and I had to guess how he answered each question. I was accused of cheating because I got so many of them right, but I swear we had just happened to talk over a lot of the subjects that were asked about. Besides, what other two items would Devon say he’d want if he were stranded on a desert island besides his laptop and some kind of Internet connection? (Incidentally, he also added that we wouldn’t be on the island for long.) I also received some wonderful gifts that I will cherish. I was so impressed with how well my friends know me and my tastes.

Well the housing search on Saturday was a lot of fun, but we didn’t find a house that worked for us. We each found one we fell in love with, but they both had their drawbacks. I fell in love with one with a lot of character. It had a great floor plan, beautiful wood floors and arches over the doorways. Unfortunately it needs a lot of work, which potentially could include lead paint removal. I did sit for a long time trying to figure out how we could make it work before my more practical side won over. Devon fell in love with a house with a giant deck, a big garage and a nice shed. Unfortunately that house had a basement that smelled very musty and there was some mildew on the walls. It could be nothing, but it could be a serious mold problem, judging by the smell, so we took it off our list for now.

Now we are on to round number two. We expanded our search area a little and came up with some more houses that could work for us. We drove by all of them and they are in good neighborhoods and seem nice. We’re going out with our realtor Sandy this afternoon to see them. Have I mentioned how great Sandy is? She didn’t even blink an eye when we asked to see some more houses, even though I know she’s swamped. We’re crossing our fingers that one of these will feel right to both of us. If not, we’ll find a little apartment with a month to month lease and continue to watch for a house that will work.

Yesterday we had a meeting with a realtor so she could get an idea of what kind of house, location, and price range we were looking at. She e-mailed us possible listings and we decided on some favorites. We’re looking at both duplexes and small starter homes. Our list of favorites had 12 houses on it, which seems like a lot but we whittled down the list the best we could. We’re going to look at them tomorrow so we’ll make sure to eat lots of pasta tonight to give us energy to see that many houses. Sandy, our realtor, said the most houses she had seen on one day was 27 so at least we are less than that. I’m excited to see them in person! Also, the pictures are up! Devon had to decide his favorite way to display them, and finally decided on the current version on the website right now. I love how that section turned out, especially the arrows he used. He knows I’m crazy about anything art deco.

Devon ordered his ring today! We looked at different styles a couple weeks ago and both really liked a white gold one we found at Dan Gould’s, the same place Devon bought my ring. The only thing we didn’t like was how soft the gold was. Knowing Devon, it was bound to be marked up within a week. Devon went in to see if they had it in tungsten since tungsten doesn’t scratch and they did. He ordered it right then and it should be here within a couple weeks. I love things like ordering wedding rings and scheduling bridal showers because it feels so official!