FA Update

FA = Farmer's Almanac, for those not paying attention :) Anyone care for a FA update?

About a month ago I wrote a little bit about the Farmer's Almanac, and how I pretty much think it's a load of crap. Don't get me wrong, I WISH they weren't! But, the fact is, no one can predict the weather from that far out. They can only use historical information to guess.

Here are the dates I chose, locations, and the date range and predictions from the FA.
May 8th, Kansas City, MO: May 5-8: Sunny, then t-storms, warm
May 14th, Philly: May 9-17: A few t-storms

And what happened?
May 8th, Kansas City, MO: CHILLY, and no rain in sight! Very sunny, just chilly.
May 14th, Philly: Super nice out for the whole day, then thunderstorms in the evening.

So there you have it folks. The FA was sort of right for the 14th, but almost completely wrong for the 8th. I'm still sticking with not going by their predictions. I'd rather do my own prediction that it will not rain and will be gorgeous, 75 degree weather :)

If you do care to check out the FA, maybe just for some piece of mind, they even offer a whole page for wedding planning! http://www.almanac.com/content/wedding-planning-wedding-weather-sunset-calculator-tools-and-tips The only thing I will rely on the FA for is the sunset time: http://www.almanac.com/sun/rise/PA/Philadelphia/2010-09-18.

-C
xxx

Londy Londy Londy

Headed to London town today to visit the FH, and I'm excited to see what the fashion trend that grabs me is going to be this time! I know people think NYC is fashion-forward, but I never see anything that impresses me when I'm there. Everytime I go to London, though, I get snagged by one trend or the other, and bring it back with me. They may sound simple, but the trends I've fallen in love with in the past are:

The color purple

The saggy hat

Chinese fans (looks like these are a hot trend again this summer, they're still on my favorite UK store's website!!)

Clearly these are all very technical terms for the trends ("saggy hat"). I'm telling you, though, it's not like I see it in one place. Each of these trends I saw EVERYWHERE in London, from the store windows to every other girl on the tube. Apparently Brits take a trend and really run with it! I love it, though. It's pretty funny, though, that whenever I've pointed these out ("Oooh there's another girl wearing purple!" "Oooh there's another saggy hat, I want one!!"), FH is completely oblivious. I know men tend to not particularly... well, notice things, but come on, how do you not notice every other girl on the tube wearing purple?? I'll let you know what's trending in London this Spring when I get there. Hopefully it'll be something GREEN!! :)

Of course I'm excited to see FH, too, but I can't lie and say I'm not excited to go to Accessorize!! It's the equivalent of our Claire's, but awesome instead of lame. So really the only thing it has in common with Claire's is that there's one every 2 feet.

-C
xxx

Uncle Randy - Help! (or anyone else with ideas!)

Hoping the title caught your eye Wendy... :) You'll see why below.

By now you all know I'm planning a tent wedding. I hadn't mentioned this before (I don't think), but I've been planning all along to do my own lighting (mainly because places charge mucho dinero to do lighting for you). As in, bought a gajillion christmas lights at the after Christmas sales (the cute circular ones - "cafe lights" if you will), and have been acquiring the materials needed for LED throwies that will be put inside of Chinese lanterns to hang in the tent as well. This is a project that's been going around bridal blogs for a while now. It's super cheap, actually REALLY EASY to do, and they last for days, needing no plug-in electricity, which is awesome (see below for info).

Screeeeeech! That's the sound of my ideas coming to a screeching halt about a week ago when talking to my cheap tent dude and he said that basically there's nowhere to hang things from inside the tent. Whaaaaat? But. But. But I want to hang things inside the tent! Namely, lights and chinese lanterns! He was just like um, well, uh, I'm sorry but there's only three poles inside the tent and they go straight up to like 18 feet. The only other place to hang things from is on the outside of the tent, where they usually put perimeter lighting. (Don't get me wrong, he was nice about it, I was just in disbelief that my vision wasn't going to work.) So I'm a little stubborn and refuse to believe that I have to give this project up. I've been thinking about how I could make it work. The original thought was to cris-cross fishing wire all over the place and hang them from that, but, obviously, that was assuming it would be between short sections of poles throughout the tent. I think it's going to look something like this:

(note the three poles in the center)

Soooo I had a thought the other night, and I had to make a drawing because trying to explain it would just be useless (trust me). Don't judge me on my lack of drawing ability. (Please??) I was thinking if we tied one end of a string/rope of lanterns, and tied the other end to an outside pole, it should work.

My problem issss - if the strands of lights are tied to the poles, how do we keep them from sliding down the poles? Do you get what I mean? I need some sort of something stopping it from coming down. Oh Uncle Randy, king of all that is handy, Mr. fix-it of everything, do you have any ideas for me?? I'm not asking you to make something, just to brain storm a little bit since I'm at a loss.

Ideas are welcome from others as well!!

For anyone who wants to know how to make the LED throwies, here's the link. I'm probably getting my Chinese lanterns here: http://www.paperlanternstore.com/, purchased my LED bulbs from ebay for about 16 cents each (I got 200), and got the batteries from ebay as well for about 6 cents each for 200. I've tested out the tutorial and they are super easy to make. I kind of want to light everything with LED throwies now.

-C
xxx

Everybody's Got One...

Ok, maybe not everybody, but I've been noticing it happening more often than not these days. Yes, I'm talking about... the pregnant bridesmaid! (dun dun dunnnn) :) Yup, the one who has to wear a special dress (because she already bought the one you picked out and THEN proceeded to get preggers). Awesome for you, Bridesmaid Lela, and congrats and all that, but better you than me :)

Did you ever know someone who didn't know if they wanted to actually birth children? I mean, besides me of course. Yeah, that was Lela. When I had my bridesmaids get their dresses back in... what, September? October? I forget who it was, but someone actually said to me, "Well, a lot could happen between now and your wedding, what if one of them gets pregnant?" I remember laughing in their face! Well, I think it might've actually been on email or gchat, so I laughed in their face... via technology. "My bridal party? Seriously? HAHAHA!" And I'm pretty sure I even said, "and DEEEEFFFINITELY not Lela!" So I said to whoever I was having this conversation with (I truly don't remember, because obviously at the time it was a non issue in my mind!) that if someone got pregnant, they'd have to wear a "special dress".

Well, looks like Lela changed her mind and decided she wanted to have a baby! I had to keep it a secret for a little bit, but she's out of the closet now, so to speak. And she's even got a blog - inspired by moi of course :) Sooooo somebody needs a special dress! When I originally said that, I was thinking, "If someone gets pregnant I'm gonna make them wear the ugliest, brightest colored dress in the universe!"

This is even too ugly to be funny.

(If you've never been to http://www.uglydress.com/, you need to check it out.)

But obviously that's because I thought it seemed so far-fetched. So we've been trying to figure out some non ugly clothing options for her since I'm not really going to make her wear something hideous just because she decided to procreate! That would just be mean. The dress is pretty form fitting so it's not exactly going to FIT when she's 8+ months pregnant at my wedding. It's pretty stretchy, but not THAT stretchy! Since my girls aren't wearing dresses from a bridal shop, we can't just go to them for a matching one in a different style. Bridesmaid Lela and I have been trying to figure out what to do. At first she thought about cutting the top off the dress and sewing it onto another skirt, but it's a dress I think she'd wear again so I didn't want her to mutilate it (unless she wanted to). The newest development, however, is that her MIL is going to attempt to alter the dress - opening it at the seams and inserting fabric. So she may not look like she's in a special dress after all! I told her she should insert bright green fabric (the dresses are all black). That would look pretty funky! (I'm only half joking. I kind of think it could look cool...)

For other brides in this situation, take note: your girl may not be there for your big day. Bridesmaid Lela has assured me that she'll be there for mine, but know that there are some people who wouldn't even think of even trying. Maybe I'm being naive, but when Lela says she'll be there, I know she'll do everything in her power to be there. Obviously, if a doctor gave her a no-fly order or something, that's not something either one of us can help. You can't just hit pause on the pregnancy. It's the circle of life and all that junk.

So don't be naive and think that none of your bridesmaids will be pregnant at your wedding, because it happens more often than you think! Shoot, if you google "maternity bridesmaid" you get 533,000 results. There's clearly a market for maternity bridesmaid dresses!

While writing this I found a pretty helpful post on things to think about when you're a pregnant bridesmaid. Of course, they try to sell you on their dresses, but I think a couple of the tips are worth mentioning:

* Your body is going to continuously change for the next few months. Eliminate the guesswork (and the stress) by selecting a gown with an empire waist.

* Make sure you will be comfortable - steer clear of itchy lace sections and definitely don't try to squeeze yourself into a gown that is too small.

* Invest in a comfortable pair of shoes. You will be on your feet for a long time so be prepared.

* Make sure you enjoy yourself and don't hide from the camera!

You may be thinking "duh" to all of these. Yes, they may be common sense stuff that all brides/bridesmaids need to think about (like comfy shoes), but I think they're even more important for the preggers ones to think about.

Do you think there are any other special considerations to be made for preggers bridesmaids, besides attire? Maybe a doctor on call? A birthing room? Bachelorette party lamaze classes??

Happy baby-ing Bridesmaid Lela, and Happy Birthday this weekend!!!

-C

xxx

Last Week's Secret Project Was...

...a faux fabulous bouquet for Bridesmaid/Bride-to-Be Amanda! MOH Cassie and I joined forces to make it all happen. She made the flowers and I did the arranging and decorating of it. Amanda's going to use it as her bouquet for her wedding rehearsal (I hope!).

Here's how it was done:

MOH Cassie made the flowers (I'm trying to get her to do a guest post tutorial!) and glued stems onto the blooms. The stems are bound together using floral wire to form it into a bouquet.

I decided to add little tulle circles inbetween each bloom.

I think it adds a little something, don't you?

I wanted the "handle" to be thick and cushy, so I started with some scrap fabric to bulk it up a bit. I wrapped and hot glued, wrapped and hot glued, wrapped and hot glued...

...and then I wrapped and hot glued lots of navy fabric around it as well. I added the white lace at the top and bottom (hot glue again) to class it up a bit.

I only had a little bit of some shiny navy satin, so I cut it into strips and glued it on in a spiral, then added navy buttons on there. Want to guess the first thing that popped off when I gave it to her? Yeah, one of the buttons! Lol, but I was well aware that this could happen. Her nickname ain't "Hot Mess" for nothing!

People kept asking her to pose with the bouquet all day, so I guess it looks pretty good!
I'll fix the button before the rehearsal... :)

-C
xxx

Bridesmaid/Bride-To-Be Amanda's Bachelorette Bash!

Bridesmaid Amanda's bachelorette/bridal festivities were in full effect this weekend. We came up with the theme of "Hollywood Glamour" for the bachelorette party. Here's the pic I made for the evite:

We had everyone else wear black dresses because, well, just about everybody owns a black dress, right? And because Bride-to-Be Amanda wanted Bonnie (Un de Six) to make her a red dress. Pretty sweet being able to be like "I want this exact dress in this color to fit me exactly for my bachelorette party" and for your friend to be able to make it, right?? Here's the dress:


So Bonnie & I planned the bachelorette party last week. In a day. And it turned out awesome. But as soon as the plans were done I was like "Oh sh1t, I need something to decorate with and am NOT going to get a chance to go to Target or Michael's or any other large retail place that would have actual bachelorette party stuff!"* That's when the "Hollywood Glamour" theme morphed into pink and black (at least for the decorations). It just wouldn't have looked right with red and black unless we had like hollywood/movie stuff around to complete it, you know? And we were only decorating the first stop on our itinerary, so no use buying things like that that we were going to look at for like an hour and a half and then toss. So the typical bachelorette party color scheme of pink and black fit the bill. So, naturally, off to Dollar Tree I went. I went around looking through party stupplies, toys, and everything inbetween for just anything pink! I grabbed candy necklaces and jewelry for everyone, hot pink flamingo drink stirrers, hot pink and white polka dot ribbon, pink cupcake cutouts, and a couple other things I didn't end up using. Hot pink solo cups = so cool looking. But where would we use them? Guess we could have used them at dinner but oh well!

Then I hit up Hallmark which, surprisingly, didn't have anything for bachelorette parties at all! I thought that was odd. But I picked up some confetti there (that said "The party's here!"). The next day I hit up 5 Below (a cheapo chain in Philly, not sure where else they have them), and got some pink curling ribbon, sunglasses to complete the Hollywood theme, and some photo clips to hold up signs of the logo Bonnie made for the night:

(It's an upside down Philly skyline. Awesome, right??)

Didn't end up using the photo clips due to physics and gravity, but we put them up elsewhere (like on her chair, with lots of ribbon and balloons). Bonnie also hit up an "adult store" for some male genitalia straws and balloons and various other objects. I had no idea they made male genitalia whistles! Drinks were had, bulls were ridden (seriously), all in all it was a great night.

The secret project was for the shower. It'll be revealed next on the blog, so be on the lookout!

-C
xxx

*If you don't already know, I don't usually move my car during the week for two reasons. Ok let's make it three. 1 - The train into downtown Philadelphia is like 3 blocks from my house, so I walk there and take the train directly to the building I work in. Yes, it's pretty awesome. 2 - The neighborhood I live is notorious for its TERRIBLE parking. As in, it's really hard to find anytime after 5pm and nonexistent if it's after 10. I one time had to park my car so far away I took the train back to my house. Yeah. 3 - It's eco-friendly and wallet friendly. Do you know how often I buy a tank of gas? Ummm I'd say typically once every two months. Alright and we'll make a 4 - I sometimes forget where I've parked my car because I either haven't seen it in so long or just due to the fact that I have to park it in such different areas every time I move it. :)

Look Out World!

There are a few things I'm well known for not doing: hugging, calling people on the phone (outside of work), and wrapping presents (I tend to stick to gift bags). And, I mean, people know this about me. My friends will warn other people not to hug me lest they receive an awkward half hug back and think I hate them. Some *cough* Amanda's FH Mark *cough* like to hug me simply because they KNOW I hate it. Some will say to each other, "You want to know how bad it is? Cyndi CALLED me. That's how bad this situation is." And my friends and family have just come to expect their presents in gift bags.

This is even less awkward than most of my hugs.

In the past week, I've done them all. People in Kansas hugged me. A lot. I've called people on the phone because texting just wouldn't suffice for all I had to b1tch about. I wrapped bridal shower presents. And I have a feeling that's going to continue through the weekend. At least the phone calls and probably even hugging. Oy. Because... this weekend is Bridesmaid/Bride-to-Be Amanda's Bachelorette Party/Bridal Shower Weekend!
And it's going to be awesome. It all starts tonight, so look out world! Or at least Philly.

-C
xxx

Everybody Hurts... Sometimes

In my case, volleyball hurts. My finger hurts. And is SWOLLEN. Oh, did I mention it's my left ring finger? And that it's been swollen for over a month now? Yeah. I'm getting annoyed. I never hear any other brides talking about how their ring finger got injured in the months leading up to their wedding. Oh, right, probably because this would ONLY HAPPEN TO ME!! I should start with that I never ever ever wear rings when I play sports. Never have, never will. Well, maybe I did back in elementary school, but it was probably short-lived and probably the reason I don't wear them today. So when I got engaged it was a no brainer for me - I would take it off when I played. My reasons where the engagement ring are concerned are: I'm uber worried about losing my diamond. And I am prone to finger jamming. I think part of it is due to the fact that for years I would automatically reach for the volleyball with my hands open (not when I'm bumping of course), not closed. So my fingers bent backwards a lot. And for some reason, it always seemed to be my RIGHT ring finger that jammed. Before my left one jammed, I would always say thank god it's my right and not my left, but then follow it up with something like "That would so happen to me." Yup, it did.

A volleyball came to me really low in a game one night and basically got caught between my left ring finger and the floor. Yup, ow. And now I can't wear my engagement ring on my left hand. And let me tell you something - people notice these things! They're like *gasp* "where'd it go?!". Other hand, calm down, it's still here. I've heard "Oooh I didn't want to ask..." and gotten crazy wide-eyed stares when I show my right hand. People think for some reason that I'm unengaged when I move it to my right hand... isn't that strange? Like wouldn't I just not wear it or something?? I don't personally know anyone like this, but have read on blogs that some people wear it on the right hand anyway because the left is reserved for your actual wedding ring or some crap.

Anyway, I'm over it. I'm ready for my finger to stop being swollen so I can wear my GD ring on it. I don't like it on my right hand!! I've been taking ibuprofren to reduce the swelling, I've wrapped it with finger wrap stuff, tried ice, tried heat, tried icy hot.... My DR told me it could take up to 12 weeks for my finger to go back to normal and that there was really nothing I could do that I wasn't already doing. The funny (NOT SO FUNNY) thing is that everytime I've ever jammed my right ring finger in the past I never did ANY of these things, and it went back to normal, and definitely didn't take this long.

I am going to be insanely pissed off if I can't wear my engagement ring OR WEDDING BAND THAT I'VE ALREADY PURCHASED on my wedding day. Just sayin.

Any advice?! Is there a doctor in the room?

-C
xxx

Bridal Buffness

Maybe not "buff" so much as "slightly more toned", but I like kitschy titles. I get sad when I can't think of one...

So update on my bridal buffness - I went to the gym, wait for it... wait for it... 4 times last month! WOW! Look at me! Ok I know it sounds pathetic but 1 - I did my workout videos way more, so just not going to the gym doesn't mean I didn't work out and 2 - my new realization is that I don't hate gymS, I just hate gym equipment. And, unfortunately, the gym in my building is mini so all there IS is gym equipment. Not to mention I really do think people watch you there, and I don't like that! FH says "No one's watching you, that's all in your head!" But my response is that I watch people! So why would it be so far-fetched to think they watch me?! I am what you would call a "people watcher", though. Like, everywhere I go, not just the gym.

Last weekend when I visited MOH Ryann in Kansas/KCMO (it's all like the same area), she forced me into taking a turbo kickboxing class with her at the gym. Ok fine, I went semi willingly. And then I almost died. That class was HARD. BUT - if my gym were able to have classes like that? I'd probably take them. I also realized that her gym is huuuge, and that if I went there, I wouldn't feel like people were watching me as much because it's so big. I'd feel much more comfortable in a big gym. Plus there was a pool. I'd totally swim as my workout if I had a pool handy. That's what I did back in high school! I just swam all day, all summer long (I was a lifeguard), and ate constantly, probably because I burned it all off so quickly. But, alas, I do not belong to a big gym, nor would I join one where I am due to the whole "I don't drive my car ever" thing.

My big revelation has been that for me, it's unrealistic to think that I'm going to actually go to the gym regularly. Why do that when I actually despise going? I talk myself out of going a lot because I'd much rather go home and do a cardio/pilates/yoga workout there. So why shouldn't I? I'm still working out, and actually enjoying it! And nobody can watch me except my guinea pigs :) Alright so my new plan is to start going to bed earlier (like before 11:30), and getting up just a mere 20 minutes earlier every day to do a quick workout. I will go to the gym once a week and run/bike/elyptical. Yup, just once. And I will do home workouts after work a couple times a week, too. I love that Comcast On Demand offers free Exercise TV workouts. There are so many to choose from, and you can also choose from 10-30 minute workouts if you want. So I will do one of their AM workouts before work, and another workout in the evenings. My goal is to do the AM workouts every weekday morning, but I'm going to start out with trying to just do a couple a week so I can get into a routine. I am a night person, so this is going to be pretty hard for me to change!

I know it doesn't seem like much, but I don't necessarily need to lose weight, I just want to be in the best shape my body can be in. I know I'm small, but in my mind, I want to look better, and I don't see anything wrong with wanting to better yourself unless you want unrealistic things.

Basically, I'm just putting this in writing so I have to do it.

-C

xxx

Guest Book Ideas

This week I'm working on a secret project so I can't post about it... I can tell you only that it may or may not be partially blue. I'll post pics next week! Muwahaha :)

In the meantime... I recently decided on what I'm doing for a guestbook. I guess I'll tell you. I mean, it's not like everyone who's coming to my wedding reads this blog, right? Sure. Well, I decided on a photobooth guestbook! You know, where you have a photobooth and doubles of the pics come out and people paste them into an album and write nice things in there? Yeah, that. I kind of need to find a photobooth vendor and all, but that's a minor detail...

via Bridal Gown Blog

Anyway, all along I've been waiting for some unique version of a guestbook to just jump out at me and make me fall in love with it, and of course the second I decide on the photobooth guestbook, I find this:

Curse you Martha Stewart!!
Just kidding, I love you...

That's right, it's a quilt where people write on the squares and someone sews it together so they'll have it forever. *sigh* How freaking cool is that? Martha, you've done it to me again. Or, rather, your executive assistant has because it's her wedding. Grr! I know I could give up the photobooth guestbook, but what's the point? I'm not giving up the photobooth, so there'd be no point in not using the pics in a guestbook and there'd obviously be no point in having both the quilt and the photobooth guestbook. However, I'm not giving up completely. If I ever have a child, I want somebody to do this at my baby shower. That's right friends, take note. I won't forget either. AOB Cheri quilts in case you're wondering who I'd volunteer to put it together :)

Anybody else know any unique guestbook options? I love seeing new ones like people signing guitars or skis. I tried to think of something like that for us, but couldn't think of anything! I guess I have to leave some of the cool ideas for other people to have as their own!

-C
xxx

KCMO, yo

I'm going to see MOH Ryann this weekend! Woo hoo Kansas City here I come! We're going to do so much DIY it's ridiculous!! I'm bringing all my supplies in my carry-on and she's SO excited to help me with all my projects!! She's been telling me for weeks how she can't wait til I get there and we can DIY our faces off!






Ok so yeah we're just going to drink a lot. It's kind of what we do. Plus I'm not even sure she knows what DIY stands for.

Obviously no craftiness will be getting done this weekend... or next because it's Bridesmaid Amanda's bachelorette party!!

See ya'll on the flip side.

-C
xxx

Don't Bug Me

I scored big at dollar tree yet again last weekend. They have tiki torches for $1! I also got some tin-like platters (not plastic is what I'm trying to say). Hmm what else have I gotten at dollar tree so far for my wedding... well, shepherd's hooks were a big find. I think that's a pretty big score considering if you buy them from home and garden shops they're like $10. Sure, those are more sturdy, but do I need these to last forever? Do I need them to hold super heavy plants? Nope and nope. They're for holding ribbon and signs. Easy peasy cheapy. And they'll go in my garden (or MOB's) when they're done.

But back to the tiki torches, to touch on another backyard bride issue - BUGS. Yup, only glamorous parts of wedding planning mentioned on this blog, folks. Yet again I find myself thinking, "Wow, I never thought I'd have to think about this while wedding planning." But, alas, bugs are inevitable in a backyard in summertime. Hopefully because it's right on the edge of being fall it won't be too buggy, but gotta be prepared nonetheless. SO, do I spray people down with bug spray when they walk in? Do I give mosquito bracelets away as wedding favors? Bug repellent could give the food an extra zing, right? Gross. I hate bug spray. Who doesn't? I mean, there's really no avoiding it getting in your mouth. I know I've never put it on without tasting it.

So what's a bride to do? Well, apparently there's a spray you can put on the grass, which sounds awesome to me. I mean, as long as you don't roll around in or lick the grass, there should be no reason you'd taste it with your dinner. But I want to keep these suckers out as much as possible, so citronella candles and tiki torches will also be in attendance at my wedding. Some other options I've read about, that I may use, but may be useful to others planning backyard weddings or events, are:

• Plants: Catnip (I personally hate cats AND bugs, so no catnip at my wedding!), lemon balm, rosemary, eucalyptus, and citronella grass
• Insect Controlling Devices: This one and this one claim to cover up to an acre! The latter seems like it would make that zapping noise, though, but I'm no expert. And this just seems cool (reviews are mixed, though).
• Bug Repellent Lotion/Wipes: Yes, they still smell like the spray, but at least you can control where the lotion goes, and perhaps include it in your OOT (Out of Town) guest bags for guests to apply before they get to the venue.
• Timing: Some even recommend changing the time of your event. I don't know if you could ever really time it so that you won't get any bugs. Plus, who thinks about that when they're deciding on a time for their wedding?

Or you could just give everyone a bug racquet :)

-C
xxx

Everyone Has a Secret...

Psst

I've got a secret.

I'm going to share it with you all because I love you. Don't say I never gave you nothin'.

I call it... my secret weapon. My miracle worker. My must have product on event days. My must have product on some non event days. But what it's actually called is Dr. Scholl's For Her Miracle Shield - Anti-Friction Stick. I recommend this to brides for sure, but also anyone who is on their feet a lot or just anyone who ever experiences "shoe rubbing". I guess I can't speak for everyone, but my feet hurt like every day of my life. Yeah, sure, I admit it - it's the shoes I wear. But hey, my shoes are damn cute (and totally worth it).


My boss thinks I'm insane to wear heels everyday. I'm not wearing like stilettos or shoes that hurt the second you put them on, but I do wear heels I'd say about 95% of the time (at work). I'm short! I have to! Plus they're cute. Ask me how many pairs of shoes I have under my desk! Ha, you don't want to know (15). Ask me how many pairs of shoes I have at home! Ha, I don't even know the answer to that one. Anyway, I am not even kidding, if your shoes EVER rub you the wrong way, you need to go out and get this stuff right now. I got it on a whim from a drug store and now can't imagine what I'd do without it. It's not a cure all, but it really is a miracle worker. Some of these products it's like once you put it on the damage has already been done, so really you have to anticipate having the problem ahead of time and use it before it happens. This thing? When my shoes are rubbing me in a certain spot, and I just KNOW by the end of the day I'm going to have a blister (sometimes I already do), or, shoot, maybe even a bloody shoe, I just remember I've got this stuff at my desk, rub it on, and done. It's not a pain reliever, but it stops the rubbing. Maybe it's kind of like the stuff they put on boxers cuts above their eyes? So the fist kind of slips off and can't open the cut anymore than it already is? I really don't know the science of it, but trust me, this sh#& works. And, no, I'm not a paid spokesperson, but TOTALLY would be.

-C
xxx

Vintagey Bouquet

And it's not going to be green! Ok there might be some green in there because I bought some peacock feathers at MOB's urging. She really had to twist my arm. Not. I heart everything peacock! How can you not? So many colors, beautifully pulled together by nature/machines. But I suppose it will be green in the "I'm reusing some materials I already own and not throwing it out after one day" sort of way, though. Anyway, after we found out one of my MOHs has the secret talent of making fabric flowers, I came across this:

and decided she/we/she needed to make something like it! Alright, fiiine, it'll be a combined effort... but my secret plan is to be the designer and have her put it all together :) ok not so secret anymore... So I found some really great fabric that pretty much matches my dress and sent it to her to make the flowers. I also have some ivory feathers, antique rhinestone buttons and brooches, and lots of other fun little things. Here are the finished flowers!

They're so pretty! The pics really don't do them justice, like, at all, so trust me on this, they're awesome. MOH Cassie's pretty talented, eh? Yeah, that's why we asked her to sell her fabulous flowers on our Etsy shop. What? Oh yeah, Bridesmaid Amanda, Bonnie and I are starting an Etsy shop! Not ready just yet, but it's coming soon! Don't worry, you'll be the first to know when it's ready :) so if you love DIY but... well, can't DIY, then our shop's for you!

-C
xxx