Admittedly, I can be a snob about certain things in life, namely fast food and Walmart.
The Walmart avoidance is mainly due to long, slow checkout lines, and the fact there is usually at least one unruly child throwing some sort of tantrum.
But when you’re shopping for a wedding, you have to go to reasonable places for things you never needed before- like spools and yards and feet of RIBBON. I have lists of our sudden ribbon needs, such as for the program, bouquets…before this planning process, I probably purchased ribbon maybe once, if ever. Anyway, so Mom and I decide to head over to the local Walmart ( ew) to try to purchase what will hopefully be the last of many ribbon purchases.
I was immediately turned off by the scores of cars outside and the lack of clean-looking shopping carts. (Dingy. Ew, ew) So when Mom went to get a shopping cart, I had my reservations. After pushing the thing down a few aisles, I finally dared myself to see if our cart also contained some sort of garbage product as the others seemed to. It did. A clothes hanger and a piece of round cardboard. (Tacky.)
At the sewing/craft center, I I needed this one type of blue ribbon. Walmart had one left on the shelves. It was missing the back of the cardboard spool that contained the barcode. I felt justified in my lack of respect for Walmart, yes I did. Look how they take care of their merchandise. Mom said we may have a problem at check out, but we would try and buy the ribbon anyway.
After waiting in a slow line, it was our turn to pay. I put all the ribbon spools- even the barcode-lacking one- onto the conveyer belt and was checking to see if we had missed any in the cart. Of course, I saw the nasty trash again. Some random hanger, hmmph. And that pointless cardboard circle….
Hmmm. I held the circle up. It had a barcode and a description-

1917SFS LT BLUE
5/8″ x 18ft
100% polyester

I held the piece up to our ghetto fabulous, backless ribbon spool. Perfect Match. I placed it on top of the backless spool, watched it go through the scanner, paid for it, and felt a little weirded out. It was a Walmart miracle, yes it was.

Josh and I are on our way to the downtown courthouse to obtain our official marriage license. We’re just sticklers for rules – the recommended time between application for a license and ceremony is 1 month. (Check out the date!!!) It seems we picked the right county to get married in, because the requirements are minimal, at best.

Fulton’s Quick Tips for Marriage License Applicants:

Age: Must be at least 18 years of age

Who: Georgia residents OR Non-Georgia residents being married in Fulton County. Both bride and groom must appear in person.

When: Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Proper ID: Driver’s License, Passport or Birth Certificate. (Documents not in English must be accompanied by certified English translation).

Cost: $32.00 Cash

Where: Fulton County Probate Court, 136 Pryor Street, Suite C-230, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 (404) 730-4692 or (404) 730-4640

Please note – no witness, no blood test, or second valid form of ID. They really want people in Fulton to commit. Wish us luck – we’re almost legal!

Alright so here’s the scoop. Tiffany forwarded me an email this week letting me know about this promotion that Ikea is running with Star94FM that ultimately gives 5 entrants $2,000 a piece to spend at the store! What’s more? You MUST stay in the store from June 26th thru the opening day (the 29th), for reasons that were not completely explained. To do this, I had to say in a few words the reason why I should be chosen to do this. But in the end, Ikea is saying that it is a “random” selection. Here’s the link that will will click on and just see where I entered . . and then you will leave, having not entered the contest. Here’s what I wrote to them:

Hello Ikea. I love you. I have only been to one of your stores once, and that was on a trip from Atlanta to Los Angeles where I ended up having to pay an extra 25 dollars in freight costs to get my bought goods (all from Ikea nonetheless) home. What’s better is that less than 3 weeks after the Atlanta store opens, I’ll be getting married! For the first time to my lovely fiance, Lauren. We’ll be getting married just in time to furnish our new loft apartment which we move into in July. Want more? I work right behind your new store at 500 Bishop St.. I’ve had to pass your building everyday during its construction just waiting for it to open. Complete and total agony. We take the “long” way back to the office every few days from lunch to check out the progress of the construction. What’s best, you ask??? My bosses have deamed our office CLOSED on your opening day just so we don’t have to fool with the resulting traffic at your store’s opening! So that means I’ve got the day off anyway, so why not just let me stay there? I need something to do. Come on. Let me in. I’m begging you. Thank you Ikea for finally putting a store in the South — it will make Atlanta great again! It will!