We interrupt this thread for some real news

Well, not really. Not "real news" in the sense of the Chilean earthquake or anything. Just, you know, regular day-to-day stuff.

We took advantage of a Men's Wearhouse 50% off suits sale to buy my soon-to-be-husband his wedding suit. Also his first suit, his job interview suit, and his subsequent weddings/funerals suit. These are all the same suit. How a man gets to be 41 years old and never have owned a suit is beyond me, but as everyone in California delights in telling me, "Everyone on the East Coast dresses better." I guess. I was brought up in the school of even-if-you're-applying-to-clean-toilets-you-wear-a-suit-to-a-job-interview-damnit so it's a wonder to me how all these Southern Californian wrinkled stained flip-flop-wearing slobs ever get hired anywhere.

But I digress. Three salespeople and I poked and prodded him for the better part of three hours and we finally outfitted him with a lovely dark grey pinstripe four-season Italian wool suit, complete with four French-cuff dress shirts, ties and pocket squares to match, suspenders, dress socks, and a spiffy pair of oxblood wingtips. (Yes, oxblood. It's the first time I've seen that color referenced that way since 1994.) I suspect it's the first time he's ever been properly fitted for anything, given all the deer-in-the-headlights looks I was getting from him; most men subscribe to the theory of "if it's too big for me, that must mean it makes me look smaller," even outside of California. Once the tailoring is done, he's going to look damn fine, if I do say so myself. And his red power tie matches my red power shoes. We will be one hot and sexy wedding couple.

I got so excited by this purchase that I found myself turning a critical eye to the rest of his wardrobe. Not because he needs new clothes (well, we could debate that point, but then "Everyone on the East Coast dresses better"), but because I myself need new clothes. I can't convince myself to actually spend the money on new clothes for myself, partly because we don't have the money, and also because here no one cares. But suddenly all my clothes-buying urges have found a new outlet: buying clothes for OTHER PEOPLE. I never had to do that before. It's nearly as much fun as buying clothes for myself. I find myself reading GQ online at work. If he's not careful, he's going to become the human equivalent of a Ken doll.

But, Danger, Will Robinson: I then found myself looking at wedding suits for his son, and thinking things like "that junior seersucker suit is the cutest thing ever! Wouldn't he look snappy in that with a plaid Madras shirt and a pair of red high-top Converse?" Technically, the answer to that question is yes. But he would also look like a Eurotrash reject from Andover. How my fashion sense trended so preppy all of a sudden is beyond me. Possibly because I was on the J. Crew website. Fortunately I managed to stop myself and go BACK to Men's Wearhouse, where they rent boys' suits (complete with shoes) for $50 a day. So, wedding attire accomplished. That is officially crossed off the list.

Now I'm looking for other cost-cutting measures, as our new joint budget is VERY tight and will remain so until some things are paid off. It's hard enough managing my own budget, much less doing it for two people. But I got our joint checking account set up, which is very exciting. It's the first one of those I've had since the one I had with Chr--since a very long time ago.

Continuing the wedding momentum, I'm working on the various playlists. It's harder than I thought it would be. At first it was breaking out roughly chronologically--pregame/cocktails music was mostly Motown, immediately after the ceremony was disco/funk, transitioning into the 80s block. But now that seems too...blocky. I think I'd rather mix it up a little more, but then, my mixes are a little brain-jarring for most people. I'm the person that once followed up Nine Inch Nails with "Memory" from Cats, which made perfect sense to me at the time, but tended to make people listening to it start clawing the walls. Then again, I can't be the only person to ever follow Marvin Gaye with Violent Femmes, so there.

If anyone out there has any must-listen wedding songs to add, or advice on how to arrange them, please let me know. Note: the first person to suggest the Electric Slide, the Macarena, or the Funky Chicken will be placed against the wall and shot.