Joint Banking is the Solution? (422 Days to Go)

So, Tuesday night as usual was our date night.  We went out for Mexican food, discussed the venues in Westmoreland County that we liked and then did our grocery shopping for the month.  Giant Eagle was offering bonus fuel perks on all of their gift cards so we decided to stock up for future dinners out and some summer repair projects we've been planning or might need unexpectedly.  We decided that I would pay for the gift cards since I wasn't the one who'd just broken my wrist and was now broke.  Well, when I went to pay with my debit card, it was declined.  We thought it was a mistake since there is a relatively large balance in my account thanks to my tax return and asked the cashier to try again.  Declined again.

By now I was flustered, mouth agape, and turning bright pink.  I sheepishly dug out my credit card while the cashier gave me an annoyed expression and I did everything in my power to ignore the customers in line behind me.  My credit line isn't very big on that card, my only credit card, and I was cringing at the thought that it was being depleted so badly.  Never mind the fact that I no longer earned any points for the purchase I was trying to make.  Yes, I have the only credit card in America that doesn't have some kind of points.  But I don't like having credit cards because I have enough debt thanks to college.

Immediately after exiting the store, I started dialing the customer service line while using Jeff's phone to check my bank account's activity and balance to make sure nothing funny was up.  I was on hold for 30 minutes before my phone acted up and I accidentally disconnected on my end.  I tried again and was on hold for another 30 minutes without ever getting hold of a person before we were sitting down in the movie theater and had to disconnect.  Oh, and my card was also denied for the measly $10.50 it cost for our movie tickets.  By now I was furious.

Well, yesterday morning the bank finally decided to call me and ask if I had attempted to spend money at the Market District in Robinson.  I emphasized that attempt was the right verbage to use and demanded to know why my card had been shut off without receiving this phone call immediately following the act as was stated in their bank policy.  I was not given an answer.  I demanded a supervisor and got one.  She wouldn't give me an answer either.  I got transferred, spoke to that person barely long enough to confirm my account and was disconnected.  Take me from furious to enraged x 10.  Luckily, I had grabbed some cash from the house to pay for lunch out for a coworker's birthday and immediately following lunch, I walked into a local branch and demanded to speak to the manager.  He took me back to his office, had my card turned back on and tried to find out why the card had been turned off without calling me for 13 hours.  No one would even give him an answer.  I politely thanked the bank manager and silently vowed to yank every dime out of the bank.

So now, I'm planning on going with Jeff tomorrow and opening a joint checking account, having my paycheck rerouted and to get another bank to buyout my car loan, even if it does mean a higher interest rate--I don't really care right now.  I have never been so embarrassed and frustrated by such terrible customer service in my life.  And what infuriates me more is they won't tell me if this will happen again the next time I make a large purchase on my card such as, oh I don't know, a down payment for my venue or caterer.  Wouldn't that be a great way to start a relationship with a vendor?  That would actually be a million times more embarrassing than the grocery store if the caterer told me my card had been declined.  I'm tired of my bank making me feel like it's a crime to occasionally splurge on something big with my own hard earned and saved money.

Has your bank ever left you high and dry without access to your money when you needed it most?

Wearing White (423 Days to Go)

Jeff & I at last year's playoffs. 
Round 1, Game 5

You thought I was going to talk about wedding dresses, didn't you?

Available at Dick's Sporting Goods

Wrong!

 

Today marks the official start of the Penguins playoff season and thus, it is time to bust out the white Penguins related wardrobe.  There's the white version of the Penguins Jersey (usually the old Winter Classic Jersey in pale blue is considered acceptable), unofficial t-shirts from Strip District, the many t-shirts given away every year at the arena, and the dozens you can buy that are official NHL white-out t-shirts.  There's even white-out rally towels--lovingly stolen from Myron Cope's Terrible Towel.  In fact, Pittsburgh has been so instrumental in developing the concept of the rally towel, that last time we won the Stanley Cup in 2009, Detroit felt the need to make a towel of their own in red.  Obviously, it wasn't enough for them to win.

Maxime Talbot

Last year, Jeff grew out a playoff beard, and for those of you unaware of this crazed facial hair superstition, let this picture be your first introduction.  Last night was the last that any of the Penguins will touch a razor until the playoff season is over for them.  Hopefully,  by the time it's done, we'll be chuckling at Crosby's lack of beard and the rest of the team will all be well bearded and hefting the Stanley Cup.

But Jeff has agreed not to for this year and next for the sake of our engagement photos and for the wedding.  Yes, playoffs could last so long that our June 9th wedding could be coinciding with the final round.  Oops.  If the Penguins do well next year, I can look forward to five groomsmen sporting beards.  If you recall there are actually six, but Dom is physically incapable of growing any hair on his head.  But luckily he's got a nice skull for it.  

Only time will tell, but in the meantime, they're bringing back the outdoor viewing screen!  The location has changed as it will now be outside Gate 2 of Mellon Arena, but who cares?!  Anyone have an old futon they don't want? I'm hoping that if it goes to game 5, Jeff and I will be able to go as an anniversary to the first game we ever attended.

OMG, Monday was Good? (424 Days to Go)

So Sunday, my mom came to visit Jeff and I and took us out to lunch (right after she helped repair what was an ice cream shortage and near crisis in our freezer with some fantastic Turkey Hill Ice Cream).  We went out for lunch at Bahama Breeze and caught up on everything that's been happening: my cousin's new baby, my mom's shop, lack of wedding plans, my job hunt, Jeff's wrist, etc.

While we were sitting there chatting my mom suggested I try Google-ing for barn dances to see if there's a location that would be suitable for our wedding but not necessarily marketed for weddings.  So, yesterday, I had a few spare moments to try searching for her suggested "search terms".  I got nada except for some college group trip to some place in Westmoreland county.  Couldn't find that farm once I tried to narrow in on it.  So I broadened back out and found a catering website with a ton of different farm and outdoor reception sites.  Carson's Weddings may have just restored my faith in being able to find an outdoor venue that I can afford and fall in love with.  Thank you!

So, Sunday night Jeff and I ended up having only what I can describe as an argument.  Only because I was super frustrated.  This weekend I'd had the bomb dropped on me that Jeff would not be available to go with me to venues, cake tasting, or anything unless I was able to make all arrangements be in the evenings or on Sundays that weren't "too busy".  Otherwise, everything is now on my shoulders to bear pretty much alone.  Because as much as I'd love to delegate looking at venues, I can't--not really at least.  I mean, let's be practical, would you let your mother go alone to view a possible venue and base your decision on description alone?  Of course not.  You might as well base your decision on photos from a website.

And of course, I'm starting to actually be busy teaching knitting on the weekends which means I will have even less free time now, specifically, fewer Sundays to try and coordinate with Jeff.  So, Sunday night I was upset because I have too much to do and not enough time and yet more keeps getting dumped on me every time I turn around--such as a fall craft show for the fire hall, more confirmation that the wedding is all on me, and of course all the house hold chores because he's still a gimp.  So not cut out for this much domestication all at once.

But what came of the discussion is that Jeff said he'd be willing to more or less be my personal wedding assistant.  He would take care of calling vendors and venues and setting up the appointments for me to attend.  It's a huge load off my back since I have a supervisor currently who won't leave me alone for five minutes and I've been getting only barely enough time to eat for the past several weeks.  More frustrating: a lack of getting paid for the significant amounts of overtime I have.  In short, the HR system punishes the workers if we are overtime because supervisors don't want to pay it and don't acknowledge that they've caused us overtime either.  It's actually less of a headache to suck it up and ask for a day off and cross your fingers your supervisor allows it. 

Now I only have to hope that Jeff doesn't keep forgetting to make calls on my behalf.  It's certainly happened before and it's frustrating because it causes delays but I can't do any better myself so I guess I have to be grateful for any help I can get.

But, to make Monday all the sweeter, I finally got a call for a job interview on Friday.  This girl needs to dig into the attic and resurrect some analytical chem texts and study up.  Wish me luck!

Possible Bridesmaids Gifts (425 Days to Go)

Frenzy Shark

So as I mentioned yesterday, I had contemplated giving each of my bridesmaids a silver pendant from a jewelry line carried in my fiance's store.  Well, I'm still contemplating different options.  Even though I can really see my one MOH, Kansas, loving that I'd give her the shark.

Pretty in Pink, Absolut-ly

There are also other options that are a tiny bit overused but still quite amusing.  Such as pink hip flasks.  This would be a fantastic idea as a little toss in gift to be included with something else, except for the fact that two of my bridesmaids would be anything but amused.  One doesn't drink hardly ever and the other one is actually allergic to alcohol.  Other used and abused ideas are monogrammed tote bags and luggage pieces and heart pendant jewelry.  I'd like to get away from trite if at all possible but I would also like for my gift to not scream "I got his from Jeff and Alyssa's wedding."  So how does a bride find the perfect gift for her six bridesmaid (and one junior bridesmaid) without breaking her bank and without it looking like I bought the first thing I saw on mybridesmaidsgift.com?  Why yes, there really is a site called that.

The other day when I was cruising the internet and the various wedding websites, I cannot remember who it was that featured this particular handbag designer, but Sara Lloyd makes beautiful clutches and is apparently becoming quite popular for bridesmaid gifts.  And why not?  She offers to work with a bride in order to customize the colors and patterns in order to coordinate the set to the wedding colors and also to the individual tastes of the bridesmaids.  And each clutch is accented with a beautiful brooch.  Sara collects all of her materials from markets and through refurbishing materials in order to guarantee that the bag you buy from her is a one of a kind piece of art that won't be found anywhere else.  For now, they only places you can find her bags are on her website and also in a small boutique in Athens, GA near where Sara grew up.  But for now, all of the bags are made by Sara's own hands out of her NYC apartment as she works to build the reputation of her label.

Well, after seeing Sara's bags, I was reminded of a brand that my mother carries in her store.  Offhand Designs is a cooperative out of Oakland, California and all of the bags are handmade in order to ensure the uniqueness of each piece.  The materials are always luscious: velvets, brocades, and now leathers.  Larisa Snydal does a fantastic job of creating designs that are functional for the average woman but also for the avid knitter.  It's great to be able to take a purse and reorganize it into a knitting bag on the fly and in the reverse too.

Mom has always had a good relationship with the company and so I've contemplated bringing up the idea to her to see if we could get a set of them specially ordered in colors and materials that would suit the wedding and  my girls.  I'll have to keep this idea on the backburner of my brain for now.  But for those of you interested in seeing these bags in person, there are many distributors spread out across the country and you can find them here.

Domesticated Saturday (426 Days to Go)

So yesterday I only went out during the early afternoon to JoAnn's for their open house in order to recruit knitting students.  For once it seemed to go very well.  So despite some heehawing over whether or not to go, it paid off in the long run (so long as they don't later back out of their classes).

I also found out yesterday morning that another of my articles got published.  This one is about the five largest summer art and craft shows in PA.  Check it out if you're in PA or one of the surrounding states.  It goes from one end of the state to the other.

When I got home, Jeff had finished washing our bed sheets and I remade the bed with our new duvet cover that I picked up the weekend before while shopping with my FMIL.  Best $20 I've spent in a while because our bed no longer looks like a hand me down of a hand me down with it's old patched and stained duvet cover.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon cuddling on the couch watching the movie Runaway Jury while I knitted on my cousin's baby's blanket.  That thing refuses to ever be finished no matter how much I convince myself that it's getting close to the end.  But the movie kept me guessing for a while.  Granted, unlike Jeff I had not read the book first.

For dinner, Jeff had marinated steaks and fired up the grill.  It's finally starting to hold a steady spring-like temperature in Pittsburgh.  In fact I saw trees budding for the first time this week.  While he was grilling, I was making cheesecake like I'd promised to do this weekend.  Domestication does not come easy to me and cheesecake is about the only thing I can make without burning it.  In all seriousness, not even Toll House pre-made cookie dough can survive under my baking.  I blame it on the fact that I haven't been able to figure out how to use the confectionery oven since I used to have a gas oven/stove in my old apartment.

But cheesecake is apparently a specialty of mine.  Today's version:

Layered Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.  

I dunno, sure, whatever.  It needs some kind of name.

So...ingredients: 

2 eggs

2 8oz packages of cream cheese

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of cocoa

10 chocolate chip cookies

2 tsps of vanilla

1 pre-made graham cracker crust

Layer One: Traditional Cheesecake

Mix one 8 oz package of  cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla, and 1 egg together with a mixer.  Pour into graham cracker crust and spread even.

Crush four of the chocolate chip cookies and sprinkle across the bottom layer of the cheesecake.

Layer Two: Chocolate Cheesecake

Mix one 8 oz package of cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of cocoa, 1 tsp of vanilla, and 1 egg together with mixer.  Pour about a half to 3/4 of the mixture onto the cheesecake and spread even.  The rest will probably be overflow so you'll have to make yourself a single serving size version in a small bowl that's oven safe.  I call the mini cheesecake my upside down cheesecake because it's crust will be on top. And it's perfect for taking to work in a packed lunch.

Jeff looooves cheesecake!

Crush the remaining cookies and sprinkle across the top of both cheesecakes.  Oh and don't forget to let your man help you clean up the only way guys know how--by licking the beaters.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Bake the mini cheesecake for 30 minutes.  Bake the full sized cheesecake for 45 minutes.

And after some patience, you have this:

 

And because your man is so grateful for cheesecake, you also have this waiting for you...at least I hope you do.

Wedding Jewelry (427 Days to Go)

Starry

So as I mentioned once upon a time, my fiance is a scuba diving instructor and he and his father run a scuba diving merchandising business.  Well, back around Christmas they brought in a line of jewelry from Big Blue Jewelry that included some pieces with dive flags but also many pieces that were just sea life themed.  I know you're probably all thinking this is relatively corny, but some of the pieces were actually quite elegant looking.  I particularly liked the starfish and turtle designs.  So, it was early on during the engagement period and of course I thought this is exactly what I want for my bridal jewelry.  I'm no longer

Ocean Traveler

quite as certain four months later.  I have a feeling that I might still wear one of the pendants for a necklace but that I won't be cheesing it up by wearing matching earrings or anything else from the collection.  The solitary pendants really are quite beautiful and my FMIL has been wearing the turtle almost non-stop and it looks good with anything and everything.  Luckily, I'll be able to borrow the piece from the store for when I go to try on my dress when it gets delivered.  Oh, it makes me a tiny bit sad to think it won't be in until early fall.

Of course the long wait until when I have my dress will not keep me from browsing and looking at different pieces that catch my eye.  I have ADD; shiny jewelry is like my kryptonite. 

Clarissa Boutique

So early on in the week, I got an e-mail from Clarissa Boutique over in South Side about a trunk show that they were having for the Haute Bride jewelry line.  I have been absolutely dying to go over to Clarissa's and look around.  Unfortunately, it's not often I can find time on Saturday to run down to Southside and it's even rarer that I can get away from work early enough to go then.  Unfortunately, once again, that's exactly how my week played out.  So, I'm missing the trunk show.  But, if you have time, you can still catch it.  Today's the last day and they're open from 10am to 4pm.

So, since I couldn't view the trunk show in person, I'm doing the next best thing, I'm looking at the pieces on-line.  At least now I know that I can keep an eye open for a future trunk show or request an item to be ordered when it finally is time for me to look for real in the fall.

Haute Bride's Home Page

So it's usually a really good thing when you look at the home page and immediately find something you fall in love with.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the hand band modeled on the left in their catalog in order to get a catalog number.  I had seen bridal head bands before but they were usually a little clunky looking on wide ribbons.  That however, is much more dainty and elegant looking.  I love it.  And it would look so cute with the veil style that I've been considering.  However, I also really like the flower on the right as well.  Thank goodness I have so much time to make up my mind about what kind of accessories I want to have.  Granted this is making me all the sadder that I'll be spending my day hanging out at JoAnn's instead of going to the trunk show and being able to see the accessories up close and personal and possibly even on my head.

Haute Bride B621

Digging deeper, I found this really beautiful bracelet.  The centerpiece of the bracelet really makes me think of the jeweling on the wedding gown I've got on order.

Haute Bride SB107

So if you follow the link to their "Cocktail Collection", they have all kinds of beautiful jewelry, but also bling for the shoes!  What a cool way to customize your wedding shoes.  Now you can buy any pair of shoes to wear for the wedding and with the money you save, bling it up with one of these and you can use it on any pair of shoes afterwards!

Okay, so please don't be like me and end your weekend with trunk show regret.  Check out Clarissa Boutique and oggle up these pretties before they leave town.

~*~

So, before I sign off for the day, I just have to give myself a tiny little pat on the back.  I've been getting a few articles published on Yahoo, and right now if you Yahoo search "2011 graduation songs" my article is #1.  Google search and I'm #8.  So I'm a tiny bit hopeful that it might make slightly more than a few pennies.  Like maybe a quarter?  Here's hoping that all of this writing stuff will eventually help put some quarters and dimes into the wedding budget.

Pittsburgh's Royal Wedding - Big Ben's Wedding (428 Days to Go)

Ben's Fiance, Ashley Harlan
Source: Sports Grid

So it appears that yesterday "Big Ben" Roethlisberger has finally came out in the open about his engagement to Ashley Harlan of New Castle.  It's been grinding around the rumor mill since January and honestly, I was expecting it to be a bigger topic as soon as the Superbowl was over.  I have a feeling that this will be Pittsburgh's royal wedding of the year, not just because of Big Ben's celebrity, but also because of his infamous past behavior.  It's hard to overlook multiple trips to court to battle rape charges.  And if you're like my fiance, you take the stance that these girls were probably gold digging, however, I'd personally hate to think that one of them might have been legit and it's been overlooked or downplayed because of others abusing the system.  And being a Duquesne girl myself, I've heard quite a few stories about Ben's tours of the South Side where he thought he could buy any girl in the bar with just a good mixed drink and would get pretty angry if he was told "no".

Okay, enough of my poo-pooing on Pittsburgh's royal wedding. 

The details thus far:

Oops, wrong DWTS contestant will be
present at the Consol Energy Center that night.

The date has been set for July 23rd, one week before training camp starts.  Apparently Ashley's crossing her fingers for a continued lock out in order to get her honeymoon.  But seriously, why not book it a week earlier or a month for that matter?  I doubt Ben has any fiscal challenges in booking a venue.  Granted he was turned away from the Consol Energy Center because of a WWE wrestling match.  But again, this strikes me as a timing issue, not a money issue.  Obviously money can't be an issue when you're planning to invite 500 guests.  And I'm pretty sure that when you're inviting all of the "Stillers", you'll have to count some of them two or three times when giving a final head count to the caterer.  So the hunt for a venue continues.

Perhaps they're merely trying to plan the wedding as closely as possible to when they met six years ago at training camp?  That would be romantic.

And if for some reason you feel inclined to buy Big Ben and Ashley a wedding present, you can either make a donation to Ben's charity (the Ronald McDonald House) or buy something off of Ms. Harlan's bridal shower registries.  Apparently there are several amongst the local department stores.  Already, strangers have started to mail in the gifts sans an invite to the shower.  I wish random people would send me gifts.  Especially since I can't afford the stuff and she certainly will be capable of it after July 23rd.  I mean in all seriousness, why would you buy a celebrity a wedding present?  They don't need our charity.  It should be the other way around.  If you have that much money, you should be looking up random people's wedding registries and be buying them a wok or a waffle maker.  And this really does strike me as odd because I'm fairly certain the average British citizen wouldn't dream of buying Kate Middleton a new set of silverware if they weren't invited to the wedding.

Another curiosity, they won't be living together until after the wedding. No wonder Ashley's hoping for a lock out to extend the honeymoon!  Ben is claiming it's for religious reasons which is somewhat understandable, especially here in Western PA, but it's also a little shocking considering his past history.  Perhaps it is more for her religious qualms than his, but it seems rare in this modern age to not live with your future hubby or wife before the wedding. Hopefully Ashley and Ben won't spend their first night of marriage arguing over who gets which side of the bed!  I guess we'll find out when Ben's dragging his feet to training camp.

Sources:

Post-Gazette