happy birthday little buddy

[card via someecards.com]

just kidding! however the past week was very long and heart-wrenching. i won't go too much into it since it's now a new week and time for smiles and joy [at least i'm going to try my best to make it that way]. and i feel so grateful to be able to say that last tuesday's inauguration was probably the best and most inspiring event that really helped me to stay positive and serene. sadly some family sorrows occured and everything has been turned upside down; however, i have always been a huge believer in perfect balance and i know that everything will work itself out for the better in the end.

also, i've been keeping a very large secret. j and i have been house hunting and we found a house! we have been negoiating with the family that owns the house and hopefully we'll be able to all agree on a price soon. with all of the counteroffers last week, i felt very devastated (i know, i have broken the cardinal rule and fallen for the house - so shoot me), but j and i have worked out every number in our budget and may get some monetary wedding gifts early so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it all works out. regardless of what happens, i am finally at peace with whatever the outcome is.

anyways, moral of the story is that there have been many things that have sadly pushed the thoughts of wedding planning to the back of my head for the past week; however, we did meet with 2 different catering options yesterday which has helped spark motivation to get back on track! the two different companies we met with could not be at complete opposite ends of the spectrum! the first company sat down with us for 2 hours and talked about everything involved in the wedding which was great, but i can tell the price tag is going to be huge. the second company was so laid back and other than the food, they are not involved in anything else. i will say that their prices seemed pretty high considering how laid back they were. now if we could only find a cater with medium involvement and a lower price. you would think having all vegetarian options would help cut costs, but apparently not...

...when meeting with caters or planning your wedding, what resources did you use to cut back on catering costs? any suggestions would be wonderfully appreciated!

and before i go, and most importantly, today is my niece [and future flower girl] natalie's 4th birthday! happy birthday sweet baby!