Counting the clock until this workday is over. At 4pm I’m hitting the road with Lindsey and Wes and heading to Indianapolis for a weekend campout. This will be my 3rd Indy 500 – always an experience…

Last night I was running around getting ready, doing laundry, all the other stuff that has to get done before I could take off for the weekend. Around 8pm I started feeling guilty that I had skipped a lot of running this week. It was starting to get dark, and I knew Casey would hate it if he knew I went running alone in the dark, so I leashed up Indy and hit the pavement. I actually had a really good run! My first good run post marathon. It was short – only 3 miles – but I felt really strong and fast, and didn’t drag the way I have the past few weeks. So that was a good motivator going into the weekend of laziness and gluttony.

Next step on the wedding front is that we need to meet with a caterer. Once we have that firmed up, we’ll have our two big expenses covered, so we can see where we stand after that. I haven’t shopped for my dress yet – I’m thinking that will happen around the end of summer. I’m really nervous about it! You all know that I am the most indecisve person ever, so it’s so hard for me to imagine just picking ONE dress! Not that I need more than one, I just mean there are so many little details that I like in the dresses I rip out of magazines – now I need to make them all come together into one fabulous dress.

I’ve found from magazines and web searching that I reaaaaaally like the dresses by Nicole Miller. And surprisingly they don’t cost a fortune! Problem is, the closest Nicole Miller store to here is in Chicago. But I do have several Chicago trips planned this year (including the marathon!), so that might be a possibility. (MA* – they also have one in Winter Park, Florida – road trip on my next visit?) I’m also going to look at Saks downtown and see if they have any of her stuff. It looks great in print, but obviously I’d like to see it in person too.

Outside of MY wedding, I am getting super excited to be the maid of honor at Liz’s wedding on July 4th! It’s coming up so quickly, and now we’re getting to plan all the fun stuff like showers, bachelorette party, spa days, etc. I’m really nervous – my first time as a bridesmaid! But I guess I’ll be getting in good practice for my own trip down the aisle.

Back to work…

In some respects, I feel like I have soooo much time to plan this wedding. But in others, I feel totally pressured to find things now. Recently I’ve been looking in stores and online for the perfect bridesmaid dresses. May is a tricky month for a wedding because it comes just as the weather starts to change. If I wait any later than this summer, all the seasonal dresses will be gone, and I’m afraid next spring’s dresses won’t be out in time for a May wedding. So the time is…now!

We’ve already picked our wedding colors – pale pink and grey. I love it. I think it will go really well with he look and feel of the Taft (reception site). So now I just need to find the perfect dresses to compliment! I (of course) have envisioned the perfect dress in my mind, which makes it that much harder to actually make something come to life in a store. I’m looking for a light grey dress that doesn’t cost a million dollars, and will be light and comfortable. The dress pictured at left is my dream dress, and is my inspiration going forward in trying to find something similar. Sadly, the dress pictured is a Donna Karan runway original, and costs an ungodly $9,900. For a DRESS! Donna can dream on, and I will do my best to find something similar on the rack. Keep your eyes posted for fabulous swingy grey dresses!

The other thing I’m finding in looking through bridal magazines and wedding websites, is that I’m slightly obsessed with buttons. I want to sew them on everything. Which is funny because I don’t know how to sew! Regardless, I keep finding weird button crafts that I want to try. Everyone can expect buttoned items for xmas, along with signed copies of CinWeekly:)

Lindsey and I have seriously slacked in the running department. We’re running today after work since we were lazy and didn’t run on Sunday. I added a whole bunch of new songs to my running playlist too, so I’m hoping that will motivate me to get out the door a little more. Marathon training will start in a few weeks, so laziness is limited, but nice for now.

This weekend brings the Indy 500! Always a fun weekend, filled with a lot of camping, games, grilled food, and keg beer…..and also a little car racing at the end. Here’s hoping it doesn’t rain again this year.