NYC Flower District

This Saturday Oct 3rd, 2009 is Our Engagement Party. And I've been running around doing last minute errands in preparation all week. This morning I got up at 4:30am to drive into the NYC Flower District on the LWS near Chelsea. Its 1 full city block of flower importers flinging roses & orchids everywhere! My mission was to get Hydrangeas. I got there just as the shops were opening & receiving their deliveries. The flowers I saw this morning were only 2 or 3 days ago in the dirt in Columbia or Holland or maybe even Washington State or Ohio if they are domestics. All the flowers were so beautiful it was hard to stick to just the hydrangeas. They have stores that specialize in tropical & exotic flowers & fruits and just about anything else you can think of. Grass, bushes, tree branches, lilies, potted plants, red pineapples, and daises, roses & carnations in every color of the rainbow. Its pretty overwhelming the 1st time you see it.

I brought back medium sized Blue & White Hydrangeas 30 stems each, and mini green hydrangeas 80 stems, for filler. The total: $270. Not bad. Until you factor in the parking ticket I got. Ugh! FYI you better be done perusing the flowers by 6am unless you have commercial plates on your car. Otherwise you'll be paying $115 for street parking. Yea... Please, don't even start with me. Ok so the flowers now cost $385. Not as good of a deal as before, but still way better then getting arraignments from the florist.

So I get the flowers home and first things first. Cut the stems & put 'em in ice water. Mist the blooms and let them open up. They need time to fall after being packed in boxes for 3 days. And they should stay nice & big for about 7-10 days. Later my Mom & I made bouquets for the centerpiece vases. I only needed 12, but got 20!! The blooms are so big we only needed about 3 stems per vase. They look really great. Check out the pictures & let me know what you think. I can't wait to see them on the tables with the handmade Damask table runners my mom made.

Our 1st Engagement Gift!!

So I came home from another miserable day at work to find a package waiting for me. In my normal cranky-after-work fashion I said "What the heck! I didn't order anything!" So i open it up and I see a little white card on top of some packing material. It said "Congratulations from the Farrell's" "OH MY GOD!" I said, "It's our first engagement gift!!!" It was the perfect thing to bring me out of my post work funk. It was wrapped so nice in white snakeskin wrapping paper & tied with embroidered black ribbon. I opened it up so carefully with lots of excitement. And when I say It was just what I needed, I mean it. It was a pair of Waterford Crystal Wine Goblets!! So Beautiful & So Perfect! I immediately put one to use & relaxed as I imagined how married life will be. It's nice to be able to stop & enjoy the engagement part of this whole thing. I feel like its going by way too fast....

The Registry

So after much procrastinating & prodding, I finally got Mike to take a tour through Bed Bath & Beyond and we officially started our Wedding Registry! At first niether of us were really into in, but our registry consultant Keiran was great & a load of fabulous fun! He helped us go through everything...and I mean EVERYTHING. He knew about all the products & appliances and told us to register for multiples of everything; which I thought was a little overkill, but as far as Keiran is concerned, "Doubles just mean free money to come shopping again when you return it." lol. I guess it makes "cents" now. Cooorrrnnny! :)

Anyway, Mike had a great time with that scanner. I think that's the allure for the guys during this whole process. The opportunity to use handleheld machinery with many buttons & functions that us women couldn't possible figure out how to use without bringing them along. Yes...thats it. Mike was even more handy than that; He's tall and grabbed all the stuff on the top shelf that I couldnt reach. All in all the Bed Bath & Beyond wedding registry was easy & fun to do. BB&B also has a great return policy. You can return items even if you've used them & didnt like them! They will match all competitors prices & promotions AND they accept all their own coupons, even if expired. Not too bad. :)

So for funzies, I signed us up to attend the Bloomingdale's Registry Event at the Garden City Mall. Mike obliged and we set off to Bloomies for the 8pm start. It was pretty cool, because it was only for engaged couples looking to register. They greeted us warmly & made it feel like a private party as they served us champagne & hor's d'oeuvres butler style! JACKPOT! I ain't cookin dinner. lol They had reps from all different brands walking around and showing off their products. All Clad, Bobbi Brown, Kosta Boda, Kate Spade, Jo Malone, and Waterford just to name a few. Jorge Perez from Waterford was there giving demos on crystal and he was so nice! Mike & I missed his presentation & he gave us a private one on one. He complimented on my engagement ring, but seemed a little more intrigued with Mike. Bobbi Brown reps were giving makeovers, JoMalone making perfumes, and there was plenty of freebies & giveaway including a beautiful Vera Wang Crystal Vase! By the end of the night Mike & I had learned all we'd ever need to know about the difference between teflon, stainless steel, & copper cooking ware, that crystal stemware isn't for thanksgiving dinner, and that Kate Spade & Vera Wang both make fine china! Whodathought?! All in all registering at Bloomies is definitly highly reccommended!

Our Bed Bath & Beyond Registry

Our Bloomingdale's Registry