Quarter Auction

Last night I went to a quarter auction with my future monster-in-law (she calls herself that so it's ok). Anyway, there were several vendors there like Pampered Chef, Party Lite, Home Interiors, some purse lady, a food vendor like Tastefully Simple but different, and some other candle person. Each vendor donates so many items to the auction and the way it works is that when you get there, you pick a number and that is your bid number for the night. If you book a party with someone or place an order for $35 or more, you get another bid number (but I didn't do that part). So a chip with your number goes in the pot for the drawings. They hold up an item and tell how great it is then they tell you how many quarters it takes to bid on that item, anywhere from 1 to 4 quarters. That's right, the max bet is $1, how awesome is that! So anyway, if you want to bid on that item, you throw your $$ in the pot and hold up your number. If they draw your number, and you bid, you win the item. It really sucks when you don't bid and they draw your number, even if you didn't want the item to begin with. It's just fun to win something. So last night I won 2 items but my number was really called 3 times and I missed out because I didn't bid.

Everyone at our table were friends of Mary's (Larry's mom) so when they would win something, they gave it to me. Helen, a dear friend of Mary's started it when she won and said "I'll give it to the bride" and it caught on so I made out like a fat-cat last night and it was awesome. I told Larry when I got home, I love being a bride, LOL. We had a lot of fun, I got cool stuff, and some brownie points with the MIL for hanging out with her and her friends. I would consider that a successful night.

Now, you know I always have to throw a wedding blurb in my posts somewhere and this one is kind of comical. Larry and I decided against being married in his church for several reasons and my church was already booked for the day (not to mention very expensive for members even) so we were on the hunt for a ceremony site. I originally thought the reception venue would work but as it turned out, the other hall was too small and we didn't want both the ceremony and reception in the same room so the search continued. I found a cute little chapel in Mascoutah that was only $100 to rent and our date was open, perfect right? Not so much. I did a Google search to look for wedding pictures that other couples may have posted and discovered that the chapel is in the middle of a cemetery! I don't care how cute or inexpensive it is, I refuse to be married in a cemetery. So the search continues again. This time I called St. Pauls church in Freeburg and they do marry non-members, the cost is reasonable, our date is open, and it's in a great location for easy travel to the reception site. The pastor of the church is out today and will call me on Monday to discuss details but please, keep your fingers crossed that this is our lucky break and we will have a ceremony venue that's not in a cemetery. Of course, I'll post as soon as I know something on Monday.

Happy Friday everyone!!