Thursday, May 26, 2011

Sunday forecast

Sunday is going to be fun! Our amazing photographer, Abbey Hepner, is shooting our engagement photos.

I got my hair cut yesterday by Shaina at La Belle Marie Salon - I highly highly highly highly recommend her. Just throwing that out there.

I have a manicure and a pedicure lined up. I know, that doesn't sound ground breaking, but if you saw my gross toenails you'd realize that this was kind of a big deal. (PS - thank you, Groupon.)

I'm having my makeup trial done on Sunday - how fabulous is that!? I couldn't have made this work out any better.

While I do not yet have my outfit picked out, although I'm now closer - thank you! - I'm mainly focused on crossing my fingers that this is accurate:


That, my friends, is a blurry forecast. With a blurry roundish yellow thing. For those of you in Seattle who have forgotten, that's the sun. It's pretty great when it shows up. But even more importantly, do you see that little thing below the sun? That says there's only a 10% chance of precipitation! On the day when we want to do outdoor photographs! In the middle of a forecast that calls for rain on every other day out of the next ten!

Keep your fingers crossed for us! I can't wait!

Wedding Day Emergency Kit

Everyone needs one. Usually I raid the target travel section for a bridal shower gift for a friend (I know it sounds cheesy - but it's one less thing to worry about before a wedding, and peace of mind is a great wedding shower gift!).

This time, I did it for myself.


And yes, everything is there. Fingernail clippers? Check. Static cling remover spray? Check. Lactose intolerant? I got you.

(Well, plus there is will be vegan dinner and dessert options. That's just how us violently lactose intolerant folks roll.)

It's all organized by type.


I'm loving the clear bags! You can see it! (Although there is a small flashlight in there - just in case!)






And these velcro into a larger travel bag that will be coming with me day-of.

I plan to put these in the ladies room during the wedding so that if one of my beautiful guests might need some mousse or perhaps some floss (ok - *I'm* the one who always needs floss) it'll be there for their use! There will also be a list, so that people will know if what they are looking for is actually in there. But, I promise. It is.

Cost of all the miniatures: Probably something ridiculous like $80 - I may have gotten a tad carried away. Feeling prepared for anything on your wedding day: Priceless.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Milk glass breeds like rabbits around here...

I'm not kidding. Or exaggerating. I'll prove it!

They fill up this here bookshelf.


And then they're on top of the bookshelf, because I ran out of room.


(Oh, and how much do I love the mini suitcases? So much! I have many ideas for their use at the wedding. Mmm.)

Then they spilled into my china cabinet.


And did I mention they made their way to the top of the buffet and the built-ins above that? No? Well, they did.


Oh, and here's some more.


I told you they were multiplying! Here are some of my favorites.








And a super extra special wedding-y one my aunt found:


I know, it's a bit of a cliché today, but for the record, I've loved the idea of milk glass compotes as the wedding centerpieces for two and a half years - waaay before I saw them on every wedding blog. I've decided that I'm still doing the things that I love, even if they've become a tad overdone. I figure most of my friends and family don't spend hours browsing wedding blogs and they won't know that I'm a copycat! Until they read this, I suppose. Shhh.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Working and Cake

You may want to know where I've been. I'd like to know myself - help a girl out and tell me where the last two weeks have gone! The reality is that I've been working. And working. And trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. So, no big.

But, of course, some cupcakes snuck their way into the last couple of weeks. That's just what happens at my house.


First, there was Cake Chelan (ala cupcakes). I created this cake in honor of someone's birthday some years ago. It's definitely one of my favorites. How could it not be? White cake (sometimes with coconut extract thrown in if I remember) with a lime cream filling (these were dairy-licious, so I couldn't eat them, but I have a vegan version as well - Mmm), topped with a coconut meringue frosting and toasted coconut. Yes, it is amazing.

Up close and personal:


Right!? I know. Here are some with red stripe cupcake liners. I mixed it up a bit.


There were a couple left, but since I couldn't eat the cake or filling, I ate the frosting off (it's that good) and then yard-wasted (what? that's totally a verb) the rest. Don't hate me.


I did bribe my uncle with one of these puppies. Then, he mowed my lawn. But there's something you should know. If you leave my uncle alone in your yard with a lawn mower, you may return home to this:


Yes. To interpret this little gem for you, it was Chris' birthday last weekend and my uncle's present to him was mowing his age into my lawn. No joke. Awesome. Now I need to bribe someone else to finish mowing that patch!

And when it rains birthdays, it pours birthdays. It was also Chris' daughters 8th (8!!) birthday. She's into horses right now since, you know, she's an 8 year old girl. So, I made her some horse cupcakes from the Hello, Cupcake book.


They aren't perfect, but I had to assemble them in approximately 10 minute's time - remember that work thing I was talking about? Yeah, I got home after 7pm that night. Thank goodness Chris cooked dinner! (Yes, you read that right. And, yes, I ate it. Love me some TJ's curry sauce!)


I covered the orange circus peanut candies with chocolate. This first one looked fine, but he other two were a hot mess, but sometimes these things happen. Plus, they were all devoured within about 20 minutes of being "born," so there's that.

I have tons and tons of things to do and many many pictures to take. I'm working on some invitations - I hear those things need to get in the mail. I promise there will be more wedding goodness soon.

In the meantime, I'll be figuring out the rest of my life. Wish me luck!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Love is Sweet.

Yes, it is. Sweet like candy. Mmmm, candy. (This is how my brain works.) There will be a lovely dessert bar at the wedding, so I had a banner made to hang above it. I considered making it myself, but sometimes its just best to leave it to the professionals when you have a zillion other things going on.

And boy did the professionals over at Earmark on Etsy ever do a great job! Of course, I heart the packaging. Again.

What a cute bag!





And some free postcards for good measure.


Did I mention that taking a decent photo of this banner proved difficult?


Here's a better one:

Note me and my neighbor's houses in the reflection. Oh, and my couch inside. Wow. Not winning any photography awards over here, but you get the idea. (This is why I hired Abbey Hepner.)


Case in point:


Blurry photo of the heart spacers with our initials! But even with the blurriness, that's ridiculously cuteness. AmIright?

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Rings

Not the jewelry kind, but rather the napkin kind. A lot of them!


I covered a whole bunch of buttons with scraps from other projects, as you already know.





Then I threaded them onto this lovely dupioni silk ribbon.


The ribbon frayed just a tad, but I decided to go with it.

My napkins will be white, but the tablecloths will be the color of the napkin rings, so I think it'll all blend quite nicely. Must.mock.up.table!


Great, right?

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Something Old, Something New

So, I think I have my traditional wedding accessories down.

Something old: Milkglass bracelet.


Something new: Pretty necklace! (I still haven't tried it on with the dress, so I don't know if it'll work, but it is lovely and sparkly, just like I wanted.)


Something borrowed: the totally perfect earrings!



and Something blue: Again with grandma's hankey. Still madly in love with it!


Check. Check. Check. Check.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Gah! Necklace!

Remember this post where I whine about not liking pearl necklaces with my dress? Well, I showed this photo to my aunt:

[Please forgive me for forgetting which discount website I found this on.]

...and then look what she came home with! (*Ahem* for 1/6 of the price!)

I haven't tried it on with my dress yet, but doesn't it have such fabulous potential!? Kinda like my engagement ring, but, you know, a little different. The above photo really doesn't do it justice. (I swear I took it in daylight. Sigh.)

It's the perfect length.


Here it is with my hairpiece that I won from Abbey Hepner!

Aren't they just delicious together? Yeah, I think so, too. (PS - the vintage broach in the center of the hairpiece is *not* black...again, I should learn something about photography.)

I can't wait to try it all on with my dress and see if it gets the overall thumb's up. And I'm hoping I can find some time here soon to make my veil and my belt. Gah! I need more time in a day!