Where did January go?!?

This month has gone by in the blink of an eye!  So much has happened in the last 31 days...I started the month focused on the bridesmaid dresses, then my mom got really sick and had surgery, I spent a lot of time working on a mock-up invitation, the bridesmaid dresses got ordered, we chose an officiant, we reserved the event lighting people, added to our registry, and my matron of honor had a beautiful baby girl!  It's been quite a year so far and it has only just begun!!

The last few days I have been trying to find a good place to have our rehearsal dinner...but I'm not having much luck.  I originally wanted to have it at The Harbor, which is a nice restaurant right on Portage Lakes and only a couple miles from Firestone.  We go there all the time in the summer because they have a great outdoor patio/bar and it is always packed, but it is also a nice restaurant.  My mom and I went Thursday night to see the room where the dinner would be held and it was hideous!  Here is a picture that the event woman sent me:

I was hoping that this was just a bad picture - but it actually looked even worse in person.  It is so surprising because the restaurant downstairs is so nice - it looks like this room hasn't been touched in a decade or two!  The best part was the next day (after we went to see it) and I got an email from the lady asking what we thought and she said, "The room generally sells itself".  I honestly started laughing out loud.  On top of everything else - the prices were extremely high!  The only nice part about it was the view!

Friday night, my mom, grandma, dad and I went to a cake tasting at my baker's store.  They host an open house that is open to the public once every couple months and they let you sample about 25 - 30 different cake/frosting/filling combinations...and it's FREE!  I had already gone to one a couple months ago with my dad and Greg, but my mom and grandma hadn't gone to one, so we all went and it was so yummy!  I am pretty sure that we are going to have white or yellow cake with strawberry and bavarian cream filling.  We might alternate cake types on the different layers - for example - we might have a chocolate cake with raspberry filling as well - but I'm not sure about that yet.  Since Greg is having a groom's cake (which will probably be some combo of chocolate and peanut butter) we may not need to alternate the layers of the actual cake.  I had originally planned to serve sheet cakes, but we have decided to serve the actual cake instead.

On Saturday, we went and looked at 356th Fighter Group - which is a very unique restaurant right next to the Akron-Canton airport.  My dad and I thought it was nice - but Greg said that he wasn't thrilled about it...so the hunt will continue for the rehearsal dinner location.  Our biggest problem is that there are not very many places in the area that can accommodate our party - and I don't want everyone driving all over town.  After, I bought a lot of the paper that I need for the invitations and we relaxed the rest of the night.

Today, I cleaned up the house and did my usual Sunday chores to get ready for the week.  Since I did such a good job, I decided to reward myself with a glass of wine!  Maybe that's why I was so chatty tonight! :-)