...but I actually enjoyed "New Moon". Yes, yes... for all my moaning and groaning about the Twilight fans out there, and their subsequent ridiculousness, I finally broke down and watched the first movie last week. I then acquired the first book from a friend, and read it in a day. Just finished the 2nd book (also in a day) and went to see the 2nd movie tonight with my slightly-embarrassed friend A. (I can't out her yet!) - we felt like we were sneaking around!

But then.

We actually enjoyed it. Where the first movie had us giggling our butts off in front of the TV, the second one started to work its teen-hypnotizing-magic on us. We DID have a good laugh at the 45 year old MOMS in front of us who all practically fainted when the Jacob character took his shirt off for the first time. It was hilarious... we were laughing so hard we were crying. People watching is the best!

I think the books are QUITE good for material that's aimed at the young adult reader crowd, I dig that the plot line is different from any other vampire stories that I've read. Yes, the writing can be very juvenile and off-putting at times, but I really enjoyed book 2 and I'm excited to read the last two. I was really into vampire fiction in high school, so I guess this makes sense... but my visceral reaction to this series was always a big fat "UGH" before I actually looked into it.



So I guess... moral of the story is not to judge a book by it's somewhat cheesy cover. And this coming from the girl (me) who's favorite authors are the Bronte sisters, Dickens and all purveyors of historical non-fiction.

Who'da thunk it? Geez.

(On a side note, there were some super cute little girls (5th graders maybe?) in their Twilight tees at the movie... and they wouldn't quit staring/whispering at me when we were waiting in line for the bathroom. Not sure what that was about, but they were so cute and totally nerdy. Just like I was when I was that age. Dig it.)

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I've finally started working through our mountain of wedding and honeymoon photos. I've decided to create a hardcover portfolio of our photos using Blurb - such a cool company offering a wonderful service! I'm also planning on designing two smaller wedding books for our Moms, which I know they'll really appreciate!

Here's one of my favorite images from our wedding, shot by Eddy Price:



We have always wanted to take a great American trip together, so we decided to hit the rails and see the great American West on our honeymoon. Our trip on the Empire Builder took us northwest from Chicago, through North Dakota and Montana to Glacier National Park, where we stayed for a couple of days. Talk about some hardcore adventure driving! At one point, all I could do was close my eyes and scrunch down in my seat while Ryan navigated some of the more suicidal treacherous curves on one particular mountain road. Sheer rock face on one side, sheer cliff on the other - I nearly had a heart attack.

We finally made it to the Glacier entrance, and we were both absolutely floored by the beauty of the region. Words and photos can't describe such a glorious and pure place... truly the Crown of the Continent. I highly recommend that everyone take a trip to Glacier NP at least once in their life, it left me speechless at many turns. Just a few of my favorite photos from our trip to Montana:








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Welp, we're married. Just got a fresh batch of photos from our photog (Eddy Price Int'l) this weekend, still waiting on a few more from another friend, but I thought I'd post a few of my faves so far Everyone had a blast, the whole night was magical!

Finished sewing my dress the morning of the wedding. Nice!

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Working on my wedding dress and other wedding stuff, trying to get everything made before the big day. Which is now 2 weeks away! Oh my!

I'll survive. I'm just ready for our super-fun honeymoon to begin! We're taking the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, with a stop off in Glacier NP. Exciting!

I need a vacation.

As soon as I'm back from said honeymoon/vacation - expect to start seeing pieces from my Rockin' B Clothing line popping up. The wedding has consumed me over the past year (that's what I get for making EVERYTHING myself!) so I haven't gotten anything done for Rockin' B. I'm also going to be working on more of my Rural Daughters paintings.... possible show for that in Oct or Nov.

So much to do.

HALP!

xoxo
Miss (Soon-to-be Mrs.) Jess

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Sorry I've been sooooo busy, and quite absent from here - I'm scrambling like a mad woman to get all of our wedding stuff finished up. I'm making almost everything for our wedding myself, including my gown and headpiece... so yeah, I've been busy!

Just ordered the silk for my dress today, so that's exciting.

Other than that... I'm doing my best not to feel overwhelmed. The moment I've been waiting for all my life is almost upon me... about 7 weeks from now. Woo! But... wheeeeew..... I've still got a lot of crap to make.

Yeehaw!

xoxo my friends.

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