The wedding gifts have begun to roll in (and I swear, I’m going to write a batch of thank-you cards tonight; really!). Yesterday we arrived home to a deep fryer on our doorstep, courtesy of my cousin and his wife.

James is thrilled. He unpacked it and read all the directions last night.

He says we’re making fried ravioli tonight (yum). This is going to make staying at a weight that will allow my dress to zip even more difficult.

My shower was Saturday. Everyone did a wonderful job of keeping it a secret, even though I found out the date (I mysteriously had Saturday off — no way to avoid that tip-off). I wasn’t even sure of the location until we actually pulled into my aunt’s driveway.

They set up a food tent and a wine tent in my aunt’s backyard in the center of Blandford, Mass. It was HOT, but there was enough shade (and cool wine!) to make it comfortable.

Heather (MOH) and Sarah (BM) did an amazing job, with the help of several others (Mom, Aunt Mary, Wendy, Brion…to name just a few). It was a lovely afternoon shower and I think everyone enjoyed it.

And we got tons of great loot, which is still mostly packed up in the dining room. But I did manage to get thank-you cards in the mail today!

The biggest surprise was my cousin Barbara, who came all the way from New Zealand for my shower (okay, she came to see Snooky, my aunt in the hospital in Florida, and swung by the shower before heading home; still, it was a wonderful surprise).

The theme was wine tasting and everyone brought a bottle of wine. I picked three to open and then picked my favorite of the three. Then the person who brought the winning bottle got a prize. (I picked a savignon blanc with a leopard on it — it even had leopard spots on the cork, which pushed it into first — that my cousin Sharon brought.)

Heather also made up a bunch of photo boards, including one with photos of me at different ages. We played guess the bride’s age and the winner of that won a prize, too. (My cousin Becky got 11 out of 20 for first place; I only got 7 right and James got 6.)

Heather made all the food and Sarah and Wendy brought amazing cakes from a bakery in Boston.

Here are a couple of photos from the day. My camera didn’t have batteries, so I’m waiting for people to send me pics. Check out my gallery for updates.

I cannot believe how many things are getting done. I was really worried about two weeks ago that there would be no way to pull this off. But somehow, we’re being really productive.

The biggest news is that James has a best man. Mark, who works with us at The Journal, will fill the position. James and Mark have known each other for years. Mark was a sort of Big Brother to James way back when. He’s very supportive and proud of James. I think it was the perfect choice.

And Mark is very excited, too. Within about 5 minutes, he was online looking up his duties. James is in good hands.

I also have my shoes. I ordered from Endless.com and it was a wonderful experience. The first pair I ordered were just a little too small — the plastic straps were cutting in too much. I returned them and ordered a size larger with no problems (well, technically my credit hasn’t shown up yet, but I didn’t have to pay for postage, and I have shoes that fit, so I’m happy).

I wanted to post a photo, but the site has a fun flash feature that lets you look at the shoe from every angle. I got the Tiffany Slide in bronze. They match the jewelry I got for my bridesmaids perfectly.

Other big news is invitations! They are designed, printed and sitting in my kitchen. James and I are headed to Target for the express purpose of buying a fancy pen for me to address the invites. I’m off from both jobs for three days this weekend, so I should have plenty of time to address them. And I’ve already bought all the postage (much cheaper than I was planning; I thought it would be at least $100, but it was only $60; shows how well I can add).

We met with Shaffin at the Wake Robin on Tuesday to talk about our cake. I convinced James that it was okay to have carrot cake in a wedding cake, so we’re doing three layers: white cake on bottom, carrot in the middle and white on top. Buttercream frosting. We have a cute cake topper picked out but not purchased and the baker is going to talk to our florist about getting some blooms for decoration.

For some reason, the cake isn’t a big deal for me. I want it to taste good and look nice, but I don’t have a dream cake and I really don’t care much about the decorations. So we’re just trusting that it will be pretty. Everything else they do is great, so I’m not worried.

And I know that invitations to my shower have gone out, but that’s about all I know about that. I’m trying to be good and not press for details, but it would be so easy, especially when a coworker slipped up and told me she got an invitation.

The other thing that is taking an enormous amount of restraint is staying off the Bed, Bath and Beyond website. I figure when stuff starts to move off the registry, the shower is getting close. But I’m going to try not to look until after the shower. At that point I’ll have to look so I know whether to add more stuff.

This weekend will be full of relaxing, spending time with James (we work and live together and lately still feel like we never see each other), addressing invitations and making napkin rings (if my copper mesh shows up today like it’s supposed to).

And then things will really start to get crazy…

James and I went down to Stamford this weekend, where our friend Kate works at Bed Bath & Beyond to set up our registry.

Let me just say, Kate was amazing. She stayed with us for three hours and guided us through the store, making suggestions and recommendations. She said that we did get some special treatment (she wouldn’t usually stay with a couple that long), but even if we didn’t know her, I would have loved to have gotten that much help. The store is huge and overwhelming without a guide.

The whole experience went pretty smoothly. James turned out to be the picky one. I liked just about everything, so it was mostly a matter of finding which things he likes as well. We agreed pretty easily on the china, flatware and pans. The crystal was harder, and finally James just let me pick what I wanted.

Kate complimented James on being so involved. She said most grooms get bored and hang back.

To find our registry, go to the site and enter one of our names in the registry section. It’s still a work in progress (do we really need a $150 toothbrush?), but I think the bulk of it is there.

The other day James and I came home to a package on our doorstep. We hadn’t ordered anything, so we were mystified.

But it had my mother’s handwriting on the label.

We open it and there’s a package for each of us, wrapped in tissue paper with our names written on it. A note said that Mom thought they were fun and hoped we enjoyed them.

We rip them open and find two books: For him, “Well Groomed,” by Peter Scott; for me, “Zen Bride,” by Nora Cabrera.

Mine is a kit that includes lavendar bath salts, candle (which James is burning sorta maniacally as I type) and room spray with a sleep mask (and a book). I squealed when I saw the sleep mask. I’ve been looking for one for the last few weeks. James likes to read in bed, but either stays up reading until 2 a.m. or falls asleep immediately without turning the light off. I don’t sleep well with the light on, so I thought a mask might help.

James is delighted with his book and immediately starts reading me the chapter titles: “How Can a Magazine Cost $12.95 and Not Have Pictures of Naked People in It?” and “Why Are You and Your Mom Acting Like Rival Street Gangs?” The subtitle of the book is “A Wedding Planner for What’s-His-Name (And His Bride).”

He hasn’t really dived into it yet (he says he wants to finish the book he’s reading first — nevermind that he routinely has about 12 books he’s in the middle of), but he sneaks a look between the covers now and then, laughs, and says, “I can’t wait to read this book.”