Sneak Peak

Sorry for the lack of updates. Can you believe that I will be getting married in about two weeks?! I am so excited. Russell and I have been putting finishing touches on all our decorations and plans. I have to say, I'm pretty stoked that we were able to actually pull everything together. Sometimes I step back and think, "Wow, we planned a wedding."
Anyways, we have been putting together song playlists. If you guys don't know yet, Russell has some pretty wack weird taste in music (haha, sorry Russ). This will lead to a very...interesting reception music playlist. I love a lot of the songs we have already but somehow I can't stop listening to You and I by Ingrid Michaelson. 

Oh let's get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France Let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance
It makes me want to dance and pick flowers. There you go! A little sneak peak into our wedding reception playlist ;)

Bridal Shower

I had the best bridal shower with the best people this past weekend. It was thrown by my two wonderful maids-of-honor and it was so much fun. The wedding is less than a month away (!!!), and everyday I am amazed by all the great people I am surrounded by.

The women invited to my bridal shower have all influenced and shaped me in some way. It's touching and yes, somewhat emotional to see all these great people in a room together. It fills my heart with so much gladness and I'm overcome by it. It's truly amazing.

Jessica and Bernadette even had a station where the girls had to write a memory they have had with me. Then, I had to read them aloud and guess whose they were. Many of them were funny, a couple were slightly embarrassing, and all were touching. It reminded me of all the adventures and laughs I've had the privilege to share with them. Gah, this wasn't meant to be sappy but I guess it is. But no matter, my heart is overflowing and I wanted to share.

I also had a box of advice that the guests wrote for me. One lady also gave an encouraging speech of her personal advice. People were hugging and stopping me throughout the party to offer advice or help with the wedding. Did I mention how awesome these people were? It's one thing to know cool people but another thing to be surrounded by so much love.

P.S. Here's a video my older brother made of some pictures from the bridal shower: Katrina's Bridal Shower

A Joyful Heart

So many good things have happened! A few of which are:

• Russell and I finding an apartment for us to live in once we're married. Russell will start "nesting" mid-April.

• Russell also found a great suit that fits him nicely. The worker at the store was very nice and even gave us the tailor charge for free! While Russell was changing, I found out that the man helping us was from Jordan. I got excited and told him that the best man in our wedding/Russell's best friend moved to Amman, Jordan. He then responded that Amman was his home city. I also found out his wife is Filipino and that he gets to visit my home country this July. Once Russell came back out, we talked a bit more about Arabic food and tea before he told us that he'll tailor the suit for free. 

• My maids-of-honor are so cool and I'm excited for my "tea party" bridal shower.

• Our pastor who is doing our premarital counseling told us that if we really want him to marry us in Oroville, he'll travel up there for our wedding. How awesome is this? Totally awesome.

• Speaking of people traveling to our wedding, we have a lot of people traveling to Oroville in April. Relatives from Philippines, Toronto, Chicago, and Texas are making the effort to come. My cousins from Texas have a test the following Monday but they're flying in Friday and leaving Sunday just to see me marry Russell. Also, Russell's best friend is flying from Jordan! YOU GUYS ARE SO CRAZY AND AMAZING. And of course, we mustn't forget all the Southern Californians road tripping it up to norcal. Russell joked that it has become a destination wedding, haha.

• Last but not least, so many things have fallen apart but better things have been put together. I've reached a point now where if I get bad news, I shrug and don't worry much about it. Because in the end, I still get to marry the love of my life. Not only that, but I will also get to see so many people I love all in the same place on one of the best days of my life. It seems so surreal that it needs to just happen already.

All This Wedding Planning Must Be Good For Something

(Source: 20somethingbride)

I ran into this chart while browsing through tumblr and couldn't stop laughing.

Wedding planning is actually getting stressful and all I want is just to be married. There are so many things to get done and so many things to come. However! I still find myself sharing lots of laughs with Russell and it brings me back to this engagement season and how blessed we are. We are learning so much—about each other, about ourselves, about other married couples, etc. While it may be stressful, it's still an exciting time.

Girl Stuff

This weekend, I got a couple wedding errands done with my two maids-of-honor. The first was a trip to a makeup store. We ended up at MAC.

My first purchase ever from this store.

I've never been into makeup. I have the few basics—eyeliner, mascara, powder, and lipstick—that I bust out during special date nights and special events when I'm not feeling too lazy. But these were all bought at moments of desperation. We decided since I'm about to get married, I might as well splurge on the name brands. Hence, MAC. I have no regrets whatsoever. The guy who helped me, Jessica, and Bernadette, was so nice and got our foundation color correct after quick glance at our faces. He was good. I also got some blush 'cause I was feeling extra girly. And I'm a sucker for nice people trying to sell me stuff. I pretty much buy anything that's offered to me if the person was helpful and/or nice. 

Afterwards, we went on a hunt for the perfect bridal shower invitation cards. After searching in three stores, we finally found some and headed back to my house.

Jessica and Bernadette

There's a picture of the two of them working so hard. It's so cute. I have the best friends ever.

P.S. Less than two months!