Quick Update

Hello family and friends! We're a little ashamed that it's been about 4 months since our last blog update. Please forgive us. We've been incredibly busy starting new jobs, moving, avoiding the DC summer heat, etc. Here's a quick update:

• I finally finished painting the bedroom. I procrastinated as long as I could, but then Tim threatened to take his ladder back so I had to get it done. It looks great. See photo.
• Annie and her mother moved to DC about 2 weeks ago. We found her mother a beautiful studio just a few blocks from here on 16th St. The move itself was quite an experience. The movers showed up 5 hours after their scheduled time. They also got into a little verbal dispute with the doorman at Annie's mother's place. The good news is that it's over and they successfully got Annie's piano into our apartment. yay!
• We've been buying the necessities to make our apartment feel like a home. We found some nice bookshelves and a tv stand for our new tv. We've also been investigating the possibility of getting a Wii. But who has time for that?
• It looks like I never posted pictures of the finished bathroom. We went with a color scheme straight out of the latest issue of the crate and barrel catalog. We have tiffany blue tile covering the lower third of the walls, and then a nice chocolate brown paint for the rest. For decorations and what not we went with very bright oranges, purples and greens. See photos. The painting on the left was done by Rene Trujillo.
• We also took in two of Annie's great-grandfather's paintings to get framed. We'll put up pictures when we get them back.
• Annie started her teaching job this week! (The most important stuff comes last) She's been doing faculty meetings and classroom organization preparing for her students' arrival on Monday. She's crazy excited. I'll make her write more about her experiences sometime.

There's also this wedding thing we're planning for. We haven't gone crazy yet, but we're not far from it. Seriously, it's been a lot of fun, but I cannot wait for it to actually happen. We sent out most of the invitations this past weekend... just a few stragglers left to get addresses for. In the past month or two we've also finalized our menu and flower arrangements. We think you'll like them. We can't wait to see you all in a month and a half-ish. If you have any questions about travel arrangements or anything, feel free to ask.

Apartment 103

We recently bought a co-op in the U Street area of DC, famous for Ben's Chili Bowl, the African American Civil War Memorial, and general good times. Joe's been painting every wall he can get his hands on. We've got working appliances, quiet neighbors, and big windows. What more could one ask for? We're also steps away from some really cool stores and restaurants, and Meridian Hill Park, arguably the coolest park in DC, is right across the street. We have room for visitors, so start planning for your visit to DC!

The STDs have been transmitted!

That is, the Save-the-Dates have been mailed. Wedding lingo. You understand. We're still hunting around for some addresses, but soon, all of your refrigerators should look something like this: For hotel information, take a quick peek at the column to the right, which has information about two hotels. We've blocked off rooms at both hotels for the Yang-Dickerson wedding, so you can inquire about that if you so desire. Both hotels are within walking distance of the ceremony/reception sites and the rehearsal dinner. Please let us know if you have any questions at all (email Annie at yayang@sas.upenn.edu or Joe at dickerson.joseph@gmail.com). We can't wait to see you all on October 6th!

Mapping our Wedding

We've created an in-depth map of our wedding and other activities for guests which can be found here: http://www.weddingmapper.com/map/43736. Feel free to comment on items on the map, or leave a comment here on what should be added. Also, we've blocked rooms for the wedding weekend at the Society Hill Sheraton and the Independence Park Best Western under the Yang-Dickerson Wedding for wedding guests. Save the Dates are going out soon!

Engagement Party!

Thanks to the generosity of Uncle Bill and Auntie Beth, we were treated to an amazing engagement party. Family, friends, and coworkers traveled far and wide to celebrate this joyous time with us, and much fun was had by all. We felt so loved and blessed that we were able to share this time with our closest friends and family. The laughs, tears, and memories of that magical night will not soon be forgotten.

Annie Yang and Joe Dickerson are Getting Married

May 13th, 2006, in the far away land of China, I proposed to Miss Annie Yang. With her answer of 'yes' (or some variation thereof), this long build up to the beginning of the rest of our lives began. Over the summer, we did a lot of decision making over size, location and dozens of other wedding matters. After considering several other sites around the country (including my Aunt Nancy's beautiful bed and breakfast in Sonoma Valley, CA!), we settled on the headhouse and shambles in Society Hill, Philadelphia, PA. It's an open air meat market built in the early 19th century. Here's an artist's rendering of it circa 1900: enlarge photo For the reception site, we chose Society Hill Dance Studio, which is located in the first building on the left in the painting. For a date, we decided on October 6th, 2007. We hope to have beautiful, cool, fall weather. As far as other details go, this blog will be used for passing them along.