Friday, July 22, 2011
For the sake of sanity and time!
Just a quick little note here...
...I know it's an awful taboo to talk about gifts and such, but I thought ya'll might like to know that I am decent in the ways of the kicthen. I happen to be responsible for cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Milton- which really isn't too much of a problem- except that our kitchen happens to be missing a few things that could make life a heckuva lot easier.
For example, I have been using a single 1/4 cup measuring cup for all of my baking for the last seven months...because somewhere between college and here, all of the other matching cups have gone AWOL. Same with measuring spoons. My cobbler turned out swell yesterday, but having to measure everything in approximations of tablespoons or 1/8 tsp is a little bit of a pain in the rumpus.
So, if you are worried about gifting kitchen stuffs because you think we might already have it, please do not worry. I've been forbidden to remedy any of my kitchen woes until post wedding because Joel thinks it would be just horrible to have to return something I really needed, that you were generous enough to give, but that I was not patient enough to wait to receive.
Thus, unlike the poor sad bride above who doesn't need much more than a microwave, a gladware bowl, and a husband who is content to smile through endless meals of Chow Mein...I would love a meat thermometer, a real live cookie pan, or anything else from our registry at Target.
If you are on Joel's side, look at this as a selfless plea to better survive Joel's endless appetite for quiche and duck rather than a blatant wish list. Anyone from my side can look at it as a wish list, because I'm pretty sure you are just happy I got the link out there. :-)
Monday, July 18, 2011
Fun Colors!
Among many other wedding things, the lanterns came today! Over 100 lovely, bright colored lanterns to bring color to the school during the big weekend.
I still need to procure sockets for the big lantern chandelier that we're building for Friday's dinner. In the meantime, I'm having a good time looking at all the lovely colors.
I'm thinking it'll be Uncle Ken's job to hang all these suckers. ::winks::
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Buff and Tuff
Within the first ten thoughts that enter a woman's head when she becomes engaged, whether you're a minga or a super model, is "OMG! I've got to do (______) to look good before the wedding!". Don't blames it all on superficial whateverness- a wedding is a day where even the most bland woman imagines herself to be a rock star. In a way, every bride is; even in a recession, my photographer friend tells me that families rich and poor spend as much as they can on wedding photography. There isn't many times in anyone's life where there will be dozens of photos take of them within the span of a few hours. The photographer you hire might be good at flattering your flaws- but lord forbid Aunt Jemima stick her camera phone in your face and enthusiastically post the FIRST photo of your wedding on Facebook, making you look something like a cow stuffed in a white sausage lining.
We were engaged in the winter, and everyone's a little less toned and tanned then. Yes, I may have been a little worried- but it turns out that those worries have become superfluous. If we in anyway get this building close to what we hope for this wedding, I'm more worried about falling on the freaky muscle-builder side than the flabby. Every other Facebook advert on my page has been something like "loose 20 lbs fast!" or "look good for the big day with this one simple tip!".
Yeah. I've got a tip for you:
Hand mix and pour 350 sq ft of concrete in the blistering sun.
Or, how about this one:
Tear down an entire rooms worth of 1930's drywall ceiling with nothing but a hoe and your will power.
or
walk up and down 40 flights of stairs everyday
work 14 hours a day
strip paint off of a 600 sq ft wood floor
...and then strip the paint off of another 600 sq ft room floor.
Or, all of the above!
If you don't sweat off that 20lbs, I'd be surprise. I've lost seven pounds since February, which isn't uncommon for winter to summer around here, and I wouldn't be surprised to loose some more- and gain it back in muscle before September.
Hiring security for Saturday is going to be a convenience thing at this point; I'm pretty sure by September I'll be able to kick any rowdy drunk's a$$.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Boxes everywhere!
Six of eight boxes arrived today with our place settings for the dinner. Instead of tearing them open and throwing the packaging everywhere, I'm waiting until Joel is finished working on his current project so we can open them together. How grown-up of me....
Still, as the pieces begin to come together, I become more and more excited about the festivities of the wedding. Yesterday I pulled the oil lamps we'll be using to accent the table Friday evening, washed them, and packed them away so nothing has the chance of damaging them before then. Today, there's plates. I made the first payment for the 150 succulents that will be nuzzled together with limes and roses in our planter boxes...we're on a roll!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Heart Strings.
It is very upsetting to me that there has apparently been some discord over our invitation list for our private, intimate wedding on Saturday.
Very briefly, I would like to explain that Joel and I view this wedding as a time to not only commit ourselves to one another with the blessing of our closest loved ones- but as a time to joyfully express our thanks for the people who have influenced us, raised us, saved us, and aided us in becoming the awesome couple we are.
Translation: This is a very, very intimate ceremony where we will be spending time to personally address individuals throughout the evening.
We will not let this opportunity be open and appreciative of those attending our wedding be diluted by petty passive aggressiveness. We will not let this sacred and spiritual time be tainted by folks who have never been involved in our lives, and are making a fuss because they somehow feel they now have a say in what we do.
Friday is going to be a wedding that is probably more heartfelt and inclusive of those in attendance than weddings you may have attended in the past. This is why most of our friends- even the majority of our closest friends- are being invited on Saturday only.
Finally, if you would like to protest, please call Joel or myself (depending upon which side you are on) directly instead of torturing those on our invitation list behind our backs.
Honestly, what civilized person would truly think such behavior would endear themselves to anyone? I'm ashamed of you.
Very briefly, I would like to explain that Joel and I view this wedding as a time to not only commit ourselves to one another with the blessing of our closest loved ones- but as a time to joyfully express our thanks for the people who have influenced us, raised us, saved us, and aided us in becoming the awesome couple we are.
Translation: This is a very, very intimate ceremony where we will be spending time to personally address individuals throughout the evening.
We will not let this opportunity be open and appreciative of those attending our wedding be diluted by petty passive aggressiveness. We will not let this sacred and spiritual time be tainted by folks who have never been involved in our lives, and are making a fuss because they somehow feel they now have a say in what we do.
Friday is going to be a wedding that is probably more heartfelt and inclusive of those in attendance than weddings you may have attended in the past. This is why most of our friends- even the majority of our closest friends- are being invited on Saturday only.
Finally, if you would like to protest, please call Joel or myself (depending upon which side you are on) directly instead of torturing those on our invitation list behind our backs.
Honestly, what civilized person would truly think such behavior would endear themselves to anyone? I'm ashamed of you.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Four wedding dresses.
Ah- the evolution of the wedding dress story, certainly an interesting one. One that needs to be told, since many people seems to be inquiring about "the dress", but how to tell without giving too much away?
I think this little blog is fairly safe. My intended isn't much of a web savvy fellow, and is more likely to go the way of coaxing surprises out of me through margarita than independent research.
Long story short, I have four wedding dresses.
It is amazing for me to think of, since I'm really not that much of a clothes hound. In fact, from the beginning, I think I felt more of a thrill seeking out the most awesome wedding boots and accessories- slightly terrified of the prospect of dress shopping.
The boots were indeed the first to arrive. I bought them here on endless.com (click to see a photo) and they are everything I could have dreamed of. Having a spinal cord injury and residual, um, clumsiness resulting thereof, I knew immediately that spending any amount of time in heels would be a nightmare- and trying to walk down steps fluttered by emotion in heels? Well, insert here some word that is a magnifying descriptor of "nightmare". Weak ankles, the inability to tell where one foot is at any given time, general inattention to details...I do very well to keep myself free of injury on any given day. What about a day where I have a photographer ready to capture every memorable millisecond? All I can imagine are comic flip-books of the impending disaster being sent out with our 'thank you' notes.
When it comes to dress shoes, I've always felt more comfortable in boots. They don't slip off my feet, they make it more difficult for my ankles to give out while running down stairs, and they cover one of two places on my body which can cause paralyzing self-consciousness. My calves. Yes, they are uneven because I have muscles that never learned to "work" properly after my injury.
So, I ordered these lovely boots and let me say the color is nothing less than "wow". Bold, rich, vibrant, I couldn't have dreamed of more. They are comfortable as marshmallows, made of suede, dressy with a little heel and cute little swirly designs on the toes and back. I don't think I've ever loved a shoe more- every time I zip them up I dance around the room. They are actually currently in the custody of my mother so that the temptation to wear them out before the wedding hoo-ha isn't pressing.
My happy blue boots. Yup.
But this post was supposed to be about wedding dresses, wasn't it?
All right, so here is how the story went.
I was told soon after our announcement that, having a "party" day and a dinner besides, one dress wouldn't cut it. For reasons of practicality rather than vanity- you simply can't celebrate for an entire weekend with the risk of spilling salad dressing on yourself in the first moments after the ceremony and not having anything fun to wear the next day. Besides, what if it's hot? Or I get rained on? Twelve hours between wedding and day-long party isn't enough time to count on drycleaning or sweat-stink removal.
Saturday is not a formal day- so dress shopping for that day just doesn't have as much pressure. Plus, up until a few weeks ago, it had been over a year since I bought any decent clothes. I'm one of those people that has really specific clothing requirements, and, when I find clothes I love, I wear them until they have holes in strange places, have underwires poking you uncomfortably in certain lady bits, are missing straps, pinned together, etc. etc. Hey! This all is a perfect excuse for a little clothing indulgence.
So, I found one party dress for Saturday that I loved- first, I believe was the black and red polka dot dress you may have seen in a previous post. My mother kindly assisted by making me a petticoat to go underneath, so it's nice and poofy and old timey and I just love to spin around in it like a silly girl...and then I have strange homemaking urges to craft delicious muffins or ask all the men-folk if they'd like a martini. Hmm....
Then, I found another dress from ModCloth for (gasp) $89 that was almost everything I was looking for in a wedding dress, and more than enough for that price. I ordered it, had it shipped to the parents, and tried it on a week or two later. The cut is cute, a ruffly knee-length base of creamy muslin and accents of some pleated gauzey fabric with a sweetheart top. It was nice, I didn't mind the more informal fabric (especially if its a blazin' hot end of September- we're all gonna need something with absorbency). Plus, with a cute veil and my a-maz-ing boots, it'll be dressy enough. Right? Yeah.
It was safe. And, even safer, I had a back up option. I own a vintage cream dress that I love to death and have worn on many, many occasions that I was willing to take the raised eyebrow "We've already seen you in that before" look because I feel comfortable and good looking in it. Plus, it'd also look good with the blue boots, so as a back up for dinner, no sweat.
There it is. I bought it at a thrift shop in a very hispanic district in Chicago. I bought it because it reminded me of my grandmother for some reason- even though I've never met her and have very little of anything of hers to remember her by. Sometimes I lie to people and tell them it was my grandmothers, because I've been told we have the same body type and look similar- and I wish it was hers.
I bought it on a hot summer day when I was walking back to my car to drive to my second loop of dogs (I was dog walking that summer). I stopped in this shop, but after finding it and taking it to the counter, the old hispanic lady told me they only took cash. I asked her where the nearest ATM was- three blocks away. I asked her if she'd hold it for me while I went there- no. So I ran as fast as I could down three city blocks and back, clinching this $20 bill in my hand. She sold it to me, and I wiggled it on in the back seat of my car because I couldn't wait to try it on (the shop had no dressing rooms).
So there's the story of that dress. It had this horribly 19-somethings beading granny thing on the bodice that I carefully cut off when I returned home that night. It's one of those dresses that always fits and always looks good- even on the "fat" days. Miracle vintage dress.
So there's three dresses. Three dresses for one wedding.
Briefly, I must mention, that in my research I found that it is a Chinese tradition for the bride to display her family's position to wear as many dresses as possible during the wedding celebration. Sounds pretty crazy, no?
And so for the big one.
My mom was sitting on the couch while I was twiddling around in the kitchen and, out of silence, she asks, "So...are you really decided against a wedding dress?" You know, a real one, she means- like a fancy one. Well, no, I said something to the affect of- no, but with all the other things that are important to me on the subject of wedding (like good photography and good music), I just couldn't justify taking a large sum of money to spend on myself for this dress thing. I was still against several wedding dress things: against sparkles, adornment, or big poofy-fluff Cinderella ballgowns. Against mortgaging the schoolhouse to pay for said dress. Against certain styles that I know would not flatter my short-and-not-busty body type or styles that I think look just plain ridiculous. No prom dress that just happen to be white.
But I guess, no, no- when all things were considered, I wasn't against having or wearing anything that would be considered or may have been created specifically for the purpose of getting married.
Hesitant for fear of risking being pushy and prefaced with a number of "if you don't like it just let me know no pressure no worries just wanted to show you"s, she showed me a dress that had caught her eye a while back but she didn't want to suggest for...whatever reason. She said if I thought I might like it, she would order it just to try on, and if it wasn't right, we'd send it right back in a jiffy. No problem.
It's hard to tell what things look like online. You have no sense of quality, only a vague comprehension of color, and what about cut and length? But, at first glance, there weren't any red flags. It wasn't some Disney princess dress, thank goodness, not that it was too much of a risk she'd suggest such a thing- fortunately her sense of what I like and what I actually do like have a good amount of alignment.
There wasn't any risk in ordering after all. If I liked it, she'd gift it to me. If not, we wouldn't mention anything to anyone and no one would be wiser. No worries. So, ten minutes later, it was ordered and we sat for a week in anticipation for said dress to arrive.
And oh, when it did. I took a trip to Springfield yesterday and two minutes after walking in the door I was throwing off clothes and borrowing my sister's strapless bra. The dress was made of gorgeous material- elegant, not snazzy; creamy, not white; just a hint of sheen, but not shiny; with flattering lines and simple gatherings. Oh, and an asymmetrical hem on the base to SHOW OFF MY BOOTS. It was- is- gorgeous. And the thing fit like a glove. We took it to a seamstress to have the hem shortened a wee bit (no tripping down the stairs, thank you very much) but no adjustments needed. It had all of this built-in support and extra hooks for perfect form fitting without mushing or inciting the need to stuff the boobage. Very nice. More than I had really thought of or expected. In fact, I stood there looking at myself and, holy crap, I looked like I was getting married.
I looked like I am getting married.
"I guess this means you're all grown up now." Mom said to me later.
Well, heck...I guess it at least looks like I am to everyone.
I've been walking around ever since trying to wrap my head around this realization that I AM GETTING MARRIED.
Really? Me? Me. I'm getting married. Really? Really.
I don't even have anything to end this post with. I'm sitting here looking at the quick snapshots (which you aren't going to see) of me in a wedding dress. Me in a wedding dress. Me...looking like I'm getting married, which I am, but looking like I actually am...am getting married.
I think this little blog is fairly safe. My intended isn't much of a web savvy fellow, and is more likely to go the way of coaxing surprises out of me through margarita than independent research.
Long story short, I have four wedding dresses.
It is amazing for me to think of, since I'm really not that much of a clothes hound. In fact, from the beginning, I think I felt more of a thrill seeking out the most awesome wedding boots and accessories- slightly terrified of the prospect of dress shopping.
The boots were indeed the first to arrive. I bought them here on endless.com (click to see a photo) and they are everything I could have dreamed of. Having a spinal cord injury and residual, um, clumsiness resulting thereof, I knew immediately that spending any amount of time in heels would be a nightmare- and trying to walk down steps fluttered by emotion in heels? Well, insert here some word that is a magnifying descriptor of "nightmare". Weak ankles, the inability to tell where one foot is at any given time, general inattention to details...I do very well to keep myself free of injury on any given day. What about a day where I have a photographer ready to capture every memorable millisecond? All I can imagine are comic flip-books of the impending disaster being sent out with our 'thank you' notes.
When it comes to dress shoes, I've always felt more comfortable in boots. They don't slip off my feet, they make it more difficult for my ankles to give out while running down stairs, and they cover one of two places on my body which can cause paralyzing self-consciousness. My calves. Yes, they are uneven because I have muscles that never learned to "work" properly after my injury.
So, I ordered these lovely boots and let me say the color is nothing less than "wow". Bold, rich, vibrant, I couldn't have dreamed of more. They are comfortable as marshmallows, made of suede, dressy with a little heel and cute little swirly designs on the toes and back. I don't think I've ever loved a shoe more- every time I zip them up I dance around the room. They are actually currently in the custody of my mother so that the temptation to wear them out before the wedding hoo-ha isn't pressing.
My happy blue boots. Yup.
But this post was supposed to be about wedding dresses, wasn't it?
All right, so here is how the story went.
I was told soon after our announcement that, having a "party" day and a dinner besides, one dress wouldn't cut it. For reasons of practicality rather than vanity- you simply can't celebrate for an entire weekend with the risk of spilling salad dressing on yourself in the first moments after the ceremony and not having anything fun to wear the next day. Besides, what if it's hot? Or I get rained on? Twelve hours between wedding and day-long party isn't enough time to count on drycleaning or sweat-stink removal.
Saturday is not a formal day- so dress shopping for that day just doesn't have as much pressure. Plus, up until a few weeks ago, it had been over a year since I bought any decent clothes. I'm one of those people that has really specific clothing requirements, and, when I find clothes I love, I wear them until they have holes in strange places, have underwires poking you uncomfortably in certain lady bits, are missing straps, pinned together, etc. etc. Hey! This all is a perfect excuse for a little clothing indulgence.
So, I found one party dress for Saturday that I loved- first, I believe was the black and red polka dot dress you may have seen in a previous post. My mother kindly assisted by making me a petticoat to go underneath, so it's nice and poofy and old timey and I just love to spin around in it like a silly girl...and then I have strange homemaking urges to craft delicious muffins or ask all the men-folk if they'd like a martini. Hmm....
Then, I found another dress from ModCloth for (gasp) $89 that was almost everything I was looking for in a wedding dress, and more than enough for that price. I ordered it, had it shipped to the parents, and tried it on a week or two later. The cut is cute, a ruffly knee-length base of creamy muslin and accents of some pleated gauzey fabric with a sweetheart top. It was nice, I didn't mind the more informal fabric (especially if its a blazin' hot end of September- we're all gonna need something with absorbency). Plus, with a cute veil and my a-maz-ing boots, it'll be dressy enough. Right? Yeah.
It was safe. And, even safer, I had a back up option. I own a vintage cream dress that I love to death and have worn on many, many occasions that I was willing to take the raised eyebrow "We've already seen you in that before" look because I feel comfortable and good looking in it. Plus, it'd also look good with the blue boots, so as a back up for dinner, no sweat.
There it is. I bought it at a thrift shop in a very hispanic district in Chicago. I bought it because it reminded me of my grandmother for some reason- even though I've never met her and have very little of anything of hers to remember her by. Sometimes I lie to people and tell them it was my grandmothers, because I've been told we have the same body type and look similar- and I wish it was hers.
I bought it on a hot summer day when I was walking back to my car to drive to my second loop of dogs (I was dog walking that summer). I stopped in this shop, but after finding it and taking it to the counter, the old hispanic lady told me they only took cash. I asked her where the nearest ATM was- three blocks away. I asked her if she'd hold it for me while I went there- no. So I ran as fast as I could down three city blocks and back, clinching this $20 bill in my hand. She sold it to me, and I wiggled it on in the back seat of my car because I couldn't wait to try it on (the shop had no dressing rooms).
So there's the story of that dress. It had this horribly 19-somethings beading granny thing on the bodice that I carefully cut off when I returned home that night. It's one of those dresses that always fits and always looks good- even on the "fat" days. Miracle vintage dress.
So there's three dresses. Three dresses for one wedding.
Briefly, I must mention, that in my research I found that it is a Chinese tradition for the bride to display her family's position to wear as many dresses as possible during the wedding celebration. Sounds pretty crazy, no?
And so for the big one.
My mom was sitting on the couch while I was twiddling around in the kitchen and, out of silence, she asks, "So...are you really decided against a wedding dress?" You know, a real one, she means- like a fancy one. Well, no, I said something to the affect of- no, but with all the other things that are important to me on the subject of wedding (like good photography and good music), I just couldn't justify taking a large sum of money to spend on myself for this dress thing. I was still against several wedding dress things: against sparkles, adornment, or big poofy-fluff Cinderella ballgowns. Against mortgaging the schoolhouse to pay for said dress. Against certain styles that I know would not flatter my short-and-not-busty body type or styles that I think look just plain ridiculous. No prom dress that just happen to be white.
But I guess, no, no- when all things were considered, I wasn't against having or wearing anything that would be considered or may have been created specifically for the purpose of getting married.
Hesitant for fear of risking being pushy and prefaced with a number of "if you don't like it just let me know no pressure no worries just wanted to show you"s, she showed me a dress that had caught her eye a while back but she didn't want to suggest for...whatever reason. She said if I thought I might like it, she would order it just to try on, and if it wasn't right, we'd send it right back in a jiffy. No problem.
It's hard to tell what things look like online. You have no sense of quality, only a vague comprehension of color, and what about cut and length? But, at first glance, there weren't any red flags. It wasn't some Disney princess dress, thank goodness, not that it was too much of a risk she'd suggest such a thing- fortunately her sense of what I like and what I actually do like have a good amount of alignment.
There wasn't any risk in ordering after all. If I liked it, she'd gift it to me. If not, we wouldn't mention anything to anyone and no one would be wiser. No worries. So, ten minutes later, it was ordered and we sat for a week in anticipation for said dress to arrive.
And oh, when it did. I took a trip to Springfield yesterday and two minutes after walking in the door I was throwing off clothes and borrowing my sister's strapless bra. The dress was made of gorgeous material- elegant, not snazzy; creamy, not white; just a hint of sheen, but not shiny; with flattering lines and simple gatherings. Oh, and an asymmetrical hem on the base to SHOW OFF MY BOOTS. It was- is- gorgeous. And the thing fit like a glove. We took it to a seamstress to have the hem shortened a wee bit (no tripping down the stairs, thank you very much) but no adjustments needed. It had all of this built-in support and extra hooks for perfect form fitting without mushing or inciting the need to stuff the boobage. Very nice. More than I had really thought of or expected. In fact, I stood there looking at myself and, holy crap, I looked like I was getting married.
I looked like I am getting married.
"I guess this means you're all grown up now." Mom said to me later.
Well, heck...I guess it at least looks like I am to everyone.
I've been walking around ever since trying to wrap my head around this realization that I AM GETTING MARRIED.
Really? Me? Me. I'm getting married. Really? Really.
I don't even have anything to end this post with. I'm sitting here looking at the quick snapshots (which you aren't going to see) of me in a wedding dress. Me in a wedding dress. Me...looking like I'm getting married, which I am, but looking like I actually am...am getting married.
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