Kind

Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.

- Henry James

Ryan has been working non-stop on the house to get it ready for this weekend. It's crunch time and in an effort to help I found myself scurrying around after work to retrieve my lost cell phone, then grab dinner and head to the house to help him. We decided to order pizza for the 2nd time in 3 days because it's the quickest and most convenient choice. I felt bad that Ryan has been spending countless hours laboring away, continually ordering pizza and then eating leftovers until he needed to order pizza again. So, I decided to pick up some eggrolls for him from our favorite chinese restaurant as a little pick me up surprise.

In fact, I too needed a bit of a pick me up. I could feel myself taking in deep breaths and then holding my breath for as long as I could - the telltale sign that I am stressed. I walked in and ordered the eggrolls and Simon, the owner, greeted me and told me to sit down. "Would you like some tea?" he said. His simple gesture of kindness threw me off - I'm so used to ordering food, having the cashier swipe my credit card, perhaps exchanging pleasantries in an incredibly anonymous fashion and then waiting for whatever I had ordered. "I would really love some tea," I replied.

I sat down and in just a moment Simon came out with a teapot, a teacup and a cup of wonton noodle soup. My stomach has really not been feeling so hot the past few days and hot soup was exactly the thing I needed, so comforting and warm. Simon made a joke about leaving a newspaper written in Chinese for me to read and relax while I waited for my eggrolls. I sipped tea and enjoyed my soup. I stopped holding my breath and started breathing again. What a wonderful gesture of kindness. I left feeling much lighter, with my stomach less in knots. I gave Ryan his eggrolls and sometime around 2am he enjoyed them. I always seem to forget the impact of kindness, perhaps because I hardly ever make an effort to be kind. Thanks Simon for the soup and for the reminder.

Chiavari Chairs

Ok so I vowed to myself that I would stay away from obnoxious wedding posts, but I have been spending quite a bit of time in the wedding blogosphere and simply had to share this little tidbit with you.

Do you know what chivari chairs are?

Chivari chair: A chivari chair (or chiavari chair) is a high-end chair often used for upscale weddings. They are more expensive than other types of chairs; the average rental for a chivari chair is about $8. Brides on a budget often struggle to justify the extra cost of chivari chairs. Notes: The spelling seems to vary between chivari and chiavari. The etymology of the word is unknown; it may be a reference to Chiavari, a town on the Italian Riviera. (Courtesy of Weddingbee)


I sure as heck didn't know what they were six months ago, I mean I had seen them but had no clue of the pandemonium that they strike in the hearts of brides-to-be. For your reference:

So apparently, a very common dilemma in the wedding planning world is the chairs to be used at the reception. Let me be honest - I too am grappling with this. You see bulky faux navy blue leather banquet chairs are just not aesthetically pleasing, and so in an effort to create the most beautiful day of all times brides rent chairs, the most coveted of which is the chivari chair. The problem: They run about $8 a piece to rent. The bigger problem: Can you remember a single chair that you have sat in at a wedding reception? Didn't think so.

Given the price tag and the fact that I can't remember chairs from wedding receptions that I've attended, I am ok with giving up the chiavari chair dream. For some brides this is not such an easy parting as is exemplified in this post on a blog called "Weddingbee." I was highly amused at this response from a fellow blogger trying to comfort the woman that posted that her wedding day would in fact go on in the absence of the beloved chairs:

YOU DON'T NEED CHIVARI CHAIRS!
Chivari Chairs : Wedding Industry
Crack : Crackhead

Ah yes. It is good to see that much needed dose of reality has been introduced into the wedding blogosphere.

Skipping

With the exception of Senior Skip Day when our whole class went to the beach instead of to class, I never skipped class in high school. Senior Skip Day was really a terribly cheap imitation. I mean let's be serious, we had to wear shirts over our bikinis.

In high school I would hear that on the first beach day of the year all the Cox High School kids would skip school and head to the beach. I was never brave enough to actually ditch class, but I always thought this was a really cool beach kid thing to do.

Yesterday, I got to skip work. I ended up having to entertain an intern and his dad for the afternoon. I was a bit apprehensive about the father/son combo, but was exhilarated at the thought of getting out of work. With pure joy I shut down my computer and all but ran out of the office. The weather yesterday was absolutely perfect. Sunshine and blue skies, it was about 80 degrees. Clearly, the first thing that we needed to do was grab lunch at Chick's, sit on the covered deck and eat fish tacos. The serving of guacamole was particularly generous which added significantly to my enjoyment. I knew it was going to be a great day.

After lunch we changed into our bathing suits, me sans Senior Skip Day tank top, and headed down to the 47th street. It felt so illicit -- to be a big grown up working girl sneaking off to the beach with all of the college kids on summer break. Beach chairs in tow we set up our plot near the water and then ran into the ocean. The water was the perfect temperature - warm enough to stay in for hours, but cool enough to be refreshing. It was that temperature where if you are all the way in your toes can feel the cool water at the bottom but your arms are so warm in the sunshine that you feel absolutely content. Summer has certainly arrived.

After the beach, I dropped off the intern and his dad and drove back home on Shore Drive. I love everything about Shore Drive -- coming over the Lesner Bridge and then driving through the canopy of trees with the windows down. It was beginning to cool off and I felt just a little bit tired, but I love that feeling - the way the sun and sand and salt wear you out. I felt as if I had really used up the day in the most relaxing, summerish, make the most of skipping school sense.

I stayed in my bikini and sun dress for as long as I could, clinging to the sand and saltiness and trying to hang on to joy that I found in not being at the office. I am glad that I finally got to see what it feels like to skip.

The Nest

I hit the ground running when I got back from Paris. It seems that the wedding is really upon us. We are less than three months out and things are moving. Last week I finally got the bridesmaids dresses ordered. Saturday my mom and I spent the day looking for invitations. That night we had a meeting of the parentals to make sure everyone is on the same page for the big day. We discussed all that needs to be done and then we went to the reception venue and peered in through the deck windows to see what a wedding there really looks like. Sunday I shopped for the bridesmaids gifts and fabrics for table decorations. Monday I met with Jacklyn, our wedding coordinator, who I am so incredibly grateful for.

As I have been immersed in the world of weddings, Ryan has been working away remodeling our soon-to-be home. He has been working so incredibly hard even through the 100 degree temperatures that we have been having.

I am so excited to see how everything comes together. It has been to so fun to look at potterybarn.com and imagine creating this living room:

Although, secretly, my design inspiration has come from a much different place. Here is a hint: It is Audrina approved. We want to paint the living room gray like this -

However the room turns out, I am sure that is will be a wonderful place to be as we transition from theknot.com to thenest.com.