Lots of updates!

It's been a while since I've updated my blog... apologies!  Lots of exciting things to update on though...

1. Chris needed a cargo van to transport all the food to site, and my good friend Jennifer Inouye came to the rescue.  Her boyfriend, Mike Bruggerman, happens to have one for his families business.  So they were nice enough to allow us to borrow it.  This will be extremely helpful and I am very grateful to them!  Thank you Jen!

2. Speaking of food, our good family friends family owns the fishing import business (I think that's what it's called?) in Hawaii.  I've been talking to their son, Michael, who also went to LMU about it in advance.  We're very lucky to have connections, because he informed us that they are expecting a ban on some of the imports and so it may be wiser to buy now and freeze.  I put him in touch with Chris and they wer able to talk and figure things out.  Mike said Chris's #1 choice in fish would be going on sale soon, so he was planning on buying it then and freezing it.  So lucky to have him looking us out for us there too, any money I can save is a blessing!  I'm starting to crunch numbers and we maaaay have gone over budget :-/

3. Also speaking of food, I don't want to give the cool surprise away, but while visiting home, we went to Roy's for tutu's birthday dinner and were given something really cool.  Of course my one track mind was like "This would be awesome for the wedding!" so happens, a friend I used to play Manoa softball with is the restaurant manager there, and so when my dad asked her if there was some way we could get them... she said sure- and she sold us a box of them at their cost.  SO NICE!!

4. On another note, I won't go into detail...but looks like I have to find another poke vendor... I may just go with Foodland since I love their poke anyway, and it should be pretty easy to get.  I need to really work and finalize my cocktail hour menu and my dessert table menu.  Scott's friend, Yuree is going to be out little "food errand runner" on the day of the wedding... such a huge help! 

5. I picked up my veil this weekend! :)

6. So I am adding some lace to my dress-- the lace however, has sequins and beads on it.  Very subtle, but it does add something and you would be able to tell if one part had it and another part didn't.  Anyway, I thought it would be sooo easy to find sequins... CLEAR sequins... but apparently it's mission impossible!  The beads were easy to find at Ben Franklin, but mom, Sam and I went to Ben Franklin, Flora Dec, Kaimuki Dry Goods and NOTHING.  So I thought, OK, I'll make another trip downtown to the fabric district- there are tons of little beads/ trims/ everything stores down there.  Sean and I went on Saturday...and again!  Nothing!  Just those iridescent ones that won't match!  Crazy how the simplest things are sometimes the hardest to find!!!  Absolutely crazy.  I am doing more research online, but it's just hard to tell what they really look like on here....

7. While I was home, I met with my friend- Jay Hanamura.  Who has always been super talented in filming and editing and creating DVD's.  His most popular, probably Todd, Kawika thems grad video.  I still crack up and can manage to smile no matter how I feel watching that to this day.  He also created Sean's grad video for me.  He is very talented.  Sam and I went over to his house to see some examples and talk details while we were at home and to say the least, when we watched Mari and JO's wedding video, we were both sitting there on the couch in tears by the end... I was like "damnit!" and Sam was like "I don't even know them!!!"  Pretty funny.  Anyway, I am a little torn because it is supposed to cost $$$ and that is with his friends discount.  It is a few hundred over what I expected it to cost, and I'm sure it's worth every penny, but with already being over budget I don't know that I can have it, which makes me a little sad!!!

8. Turns out we maybe be able to rent a house with our friends.  It would only be Roenicke, Hector, Nolan, Kyle, Samantha, Sean and I, so a smaller house, but so much more fun.  It is actually a house that belongs to the Markhams, a classmate of mine, Ryan Markham's mom.  She and I have been emailing back and forth for a while now, and she is just so nice!  She offered me a discount from the normal daily rate which was really sweet.  And then on top of that, she is doing something that no other rental person would.  On Wednesday, Peter Phillips has offered to take us all out to his beach house and to stay over the night.  But this would mean that we wouldn't need lodging that day/night and would be paying for it which kinda sucks... but it's not like it's a hotel, and they wouldn't be able to rent the house out for that night, so that kinda sucks for them... anyway, she is So nice and told us she wouldnt' charge us for the night as we wouldn't be using power or water.  I know it was such an odd thing, but she was so nice and accomodating to us, so I feel really lucky about that too.  Hopefully we will be able to book that this week.

I'm sure there is even more, as I have been slacking in my updates.  But that's all I have for now... I will