Jenie and Frank dot com slash blog

So Frank is obviously the technological power behind the construction of our website, while I’m more the ‘creative director’ with the vision of what the ‘end product’ should look like.

My job has been to come up with what the website should contain, the format, the style, etc. I’ve had all these ideas, but of course, have no clue as to how difficult any of it is to set up. With every new idea, I’ve said to Frank “I don’t know if this is do-able, but…” and we’ve had countless conversations where I’ve said “well, can we do this instead?” or “what about this?” or “I was thinking…”

Tonight, Frank was able to add a particular feature that I’ve been bugging him about since we started working on the website. And while I was so happy that he was able to add it, I wanted it tweaked just a little, in a visual sense. Having worked on it for a long time, his response was something like “I think we’re just going to have to live with it.”

“Uh, no” I’m thinking.  There’s nothing wrong with striving for better, right?  So I make my classic sad, pouty face and proceed to explain why I think it’ll look better tweaked, all the while giving him a shoulder rub (wink wink).

A few keyboard clicks later…success! It now looks great–exactly what I envisioned! We make such a great team! Hee hee!

The site is definitely coming soon! We promise!

Kudos baby! It looks fantastic so far!

Many of our family and friends have been asking about how the store is coming along. After what seemed like an eternity spent looking for a good location in the Fremont/Newark area, we were able to sign a lease for a space in a brand-new shopping center in Newark this past July.

Presently, our architect is drawing up our plans based on the Dream Dinners Corporate Office designs for our location. Then, the plans will be off to the permitting stage. Once we get the permits, we’ll be in the build-out stage! As for target dates, we’re hoping for a late 2007/early 2008 opening. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Frank deserves a huge round of applause for all of the hard work he’s put into our store so far! We’re basically learning as we go, and he’s been great at figuring things out and getting things done. Fantastic job baby!

If you’d like to learn more about our business venture, you can check out the Dream Dinners website at www.dreamdinners.com. We’re now listed as ‘Coming Soon!’ in the “Locations” section. Yeah!

YEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHH! We just confirmed our flight for our honeymoon! We will be visiting the beautiful Italian cities of Rome, Florence, and Venice on a wonderful 12-day trip. I knew our Mileage Plus credit card miles would come in handy! I’ve been saving mine up for years, so now we’ll be flying business class. How sweet it is!

I’ve always wanted to visit Italy, see the sights, and eat authentic Italian food. Frank’s in agreement on the food part, and now he has a great place to put his new camera to good use.

Colosseum, The David, canals…here we come! Woo hoo!

Diane, my best friend since high school and matron of honor, came with me to go bridesmaid dress shopping today. We had so much fun dressing up and being girlie, even though it rained pretty much all day. I believe we found a winner!

We also got to look around for veils and tiaras, and oh my goodness! It’s ridiculous how much these things can cost at bridal stores! Frank would probably pass out if he knew how much…so the search is still on for these accessories. Mom’s going to look in Hong Kong for me when she visits later this year. Given that most of them say “Made in China” on the tags, we’re hoping Hong Kong will save us major $. Keeping my fingers crossed…

Thanks Diane for braving your least favorite kind of weather and helping me go through what seemed like a million dress choices.  You are the best!  I’m still full from our late lunch and skipped dinner entirely!  But it was yummmmm!

Rewind to February 2007, less than two months after we got engaged. This is when all the planning began. Frank thought that he’d have a few months to relax and bask in the glory of doing a fantastic job picking out the ring (my Vera Wang is BEAUTIFUL. I love it baby! XOXO)…little did he know that we were going to jump right into the craziness of wedding planning!

After visiting a few potential wedding venues, we decided whole-heartedly on having our wedding ceremony and reception at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, CA. Thanks in large part to the great time we had at our friends Michelle and Jim’s wedding, and Frank’s love of Wente’s double-cut pork chop, we booked Wente in February, a whole year and 6 months before our August 2008 date. Call me crazy, but I like to have a plan and get things done!

The search for a photographer came next. After scouring the internet, I got a reference from friends and fell in love with Augie Chang Photography (a HUGE thanks to Lilia and Kerwin for the reference!). After finding out that he had potential clients for our date, we booked him without having the usual meeting and “interview.” Again, call me crazy, but I know what I like! We met with him the next weekend and felt completely comfortable with our decision. He was great to talk to and has an awesome vision and style. Frank keeps reminding me that we went over our photographer budget, but what do we know about wedding photography and budgets? You can check out his website at www.augiechang.com.

In the last few months, we booked our videographer, dj, and string trio. We bought both wedding rings–a matching Vera Wang for me, a Benchmark for him (thanks to Felicia for helping us bargain with the jeweler!)–and I even bought my wedding gown. Yes, again, crazy.

My mom came up over my Spring break and we went to Trudy’s in Campbell just to look and get ideas. Well, looking turned into falling in love with one of the first dresses I tried on. Wanting to buy it, but feeling impulsively crazy, I called Frank to get some advice on what to do. His words of wisdom: “If you like it so much, just get it.” We left the store without buying, with the intention of taking my time and sleeping on it. Well, needless to say, knowing me, I couldn’t sleep that night! I kept thinking about that dress! We went back the next day and bought it. Thanks to my mommy for buying me my wedding gown and sharing in this momentous occasion. (Note to my wonderful mom: No need to worry! Your fears of me changing my mind or finding something I like more are unwarranted! I LOVE my dress and sneak a peek at it every once in a while. It always makes me happy! I even look at wedding gowns in my bridal magazines and my love for my dress is unwavering.)

The next things on our list are a florist and invitations. I’ve already got my mind set…no one who knows me is really all that surprised.

Well, the day has finally come… no, not our wedding day. Today marks the day we launch the “Jenie and Frank dot com” blog! Any and all updates on our wedding as well as new developments in our lives will be “hot off the press” and posted here!

We will also be launching our website soon as well!

Check back often!