V: Two weeks

to go. And I have to admit, adding "documentation of the DIY" to the DIY list is just not gonna fly. So you'll have to wait til post-wedding for all the details. More importantly, post two-week-dream-vaca-in-Italy-extravaganza. Cause OMG we just got the details and it is going to rock my face off.

Can you say Renaissance art in Florence, modern art Biennale in Venice, wine library in Sienna, palm trees + Alps in Lugano, truffle season, Lake Como and my birthday in Paris? Whoa.

I don't want wedding shoes. Is that wrong?

At this point, I think I'd much rather spend [really, blow] my budget on a sweet pair of brown leather boots to wear on our trek through northern Italy. 

Oh J.Crew. Your shoes continue to taunt me.

I just can't find anything to wear on the wedding day that isn't better than what I already own [aka comfortable and broken in. Without 3.5"+ heels]

Can I pretty please replace 'wedding shoes' in the budget with 'honeymoon boots'?

Awesome, thanks.

V: Forget the wedding, I'm going to Italy!

It seems many folks are choosing to postpone a honeymoon or opt for a smaller mini-moon these days. 

But wow. Mr. B just booked our trip through a travel agent our photographer recommended, and it is going to be OFF THE CHAIN.

Besides the fact that it is every man's dream to take an extended vacation to New Zealand, there was never much doubt that we'd definitely honeymoon in Italy. Florence specifically, where Mr. B spent three years of high school. I need to visit this town to understand that time in his life, and what better time than after I've locked up our relationship and thrown away the key? 

First stop is naturally Florence, to check out the bars Mr. B was regularing at the tender age of 15.

Next stop will be Venice, which would normally hold less interest for Mr. B (some grumbling about all the freaking tourists), however we will just happen to be in Italy during the Biennale.

THE BIENNALE. The historic, prestigious, famed, international art show that only occurs every other year. A dream of mine to attend for ages since studying as an art history major. 

No joke: we will be staying in a Best Western. It just happens to be a 15th century monastery.

We will see awesome art!

Final stop will be Lake Como. A place new to both of us. Our hotel is RIGHT ON THE WATER and there is a chance we will run into George Clooney. Good thing we will have already thrown away that key. . .

The economy being down right now is actually really working in our favor, considering the amazing deals we got on all 4 star hotels. Sabine, the German-accented travel agent has a terrible website, but is the nicest person in the world and really hooked us up. CANT WAIT. ALMOST MORE EXCITED ABOUT THIS THAN THE WEDDING.

Vacation wedding bananza!

It's been FOREVER since I've written! Was off in Kauai, chilling with 14 of my family members and el fiance. It was great for Mr. Livalittle to get to know our crew, which included my parents, two brothers, two sister-in-laws, niece, uncle, uncle's girlfriend, uncle's girlfriend's daughter, cousin, cousin's husband, cousin's son, and aunt.

We took the opportunity of togetherness to do some serious wedding planning! First of all, fiance and I finished our counseling with my Aunt, who will be co-officiating at our ceremony. Hallelujah, praise the lord! We talked about all sorts of interesting marital and wedding-related issues, including the need to do wills, advanced directives and life insurance. Seems scary, but it is a practical issue of getting married and being bonded to another person legally!

Secondly, Mr. L and I have booked our honeymoon! We will be flying to Calgary the day after the wedding and will spend time in the Banff and Lake Louise area at Mount Engadine Lodge and Lake Moraine Lodge. Will be gorgeous I think! I've heard rave reviews of both! We're excited to be in a quiet and serene part of the world. We also have never experienced cold weather together (literally, never. We've always been in 65 F or above) so it will be cozy.

We also addressed wedding invitations. OMG is that a pain. Addressing everything correctly with the right titles, honorifics, addresses and handwriting is not easy! It is fun, however, to think that it's all getting more real. I used the stamps available at the post office:

We discussed music and are still trying to find a father-daughter song! Any good suggestions? We talked about "In My Life" by the Beatles and "You are the Sunshine of my Life." Dad thought that the former is a little too sad and hippy and the latter is a little too 70s. Thoughts?

Exhilirating adventures!

Hello blogging friends!

Well, I celebrated my birthday yesterday in Hawaii by parasailing! It was really amazing to soar over the ocean near Waikiki and Diamond Head right next to Brad. If anyone is honeymooning out in Oahu, I highly recommend this activity. When you go with Xtreme Parasail, couples can go together. I love heights, so I thought it was great fun, despite Mr. Livalittle's attempts to tickle me and shake the harness while we were 700 feet above the water (typical). The company offers skydiving and jetskiiing too, which would be pretty amazing in such a gorgeous place. I think that high adventure brings a couple closer together, especially when you can experience the risk at the same time! I think I'm going to learn to do stand-up paddleboarding next and then perhaps kite-surfing? Good times!

I love this man.

Some day, I may run away to Egypt to follow Dr. Zahi Hawass, because few can compete with his badass title: Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

I've watched Zahi on hundreds of Discovery Channel Egyptology documentaries since I was a kid. And last night, I got to see him IN PERSON (thank's Emory!) at Atlanta's gorgeous Fox Theater, which probably deserves a post all of it's own. 

The Fox was inspired by the 1922 discovery of King Tut's tomb, a fitting place for Zahi's lecture on the latest archeology discoveries he's made this year. It was one of the first buildings in America to get air conditioning, even beating out the White House. And it has GORGEOUS ball rooms that are available for weddings.

The main theater (georgia.org)

I guess you could say I'm pretty passionate about ancient Egyptian art (I learned how to read hieroglyphics in college. For real.). And let's just say I was excited (JEALOUS) to see Zahi give away a trip to a little brown-haired girl and her family to Egpyt.

I would love love love to honeymoon in Egypt. Imagine walking the Valley of the Kings with your new husband, floating along on a Nile cruise or seeing the sun set on the pyramids. Romantic to me, most definitely.

Unfortunately, Mr. B just isn't into it, specifically for a honeymoon. And he's right. I would probably have the hiccups from excitement (did I ever tell you that we are Lilly & Marshall from How I Met Your Mother?) the entire time. And Mr. B really doesn't do well in the heat.

But if you want to go, this company is offering guided tours of Egypt's major archeology sites WITH ZAHI in October 2009 and January 2010.