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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Hip Swag

What the hell is a hip swag?  Are you serious?  How do you not know this? ( I kid, I kid)


Hip swag, meet the internet.  Internet meet hip swag.   I got the chance to try on this beautiful gown by Sarah Seven, at the Lovely Bridal shop, where I was introduced to the hip swag.  Do you see that bit of fabric that is draped over her hips on either side?  That, my dear friends, is a hip swag in all it's glory.


Don't be afraid.  Or, if you're like me and have the shape of a pear--be afraid.  And then be a little disappointed when you see the hip swag add a couple inches to your hips, so instead of looking like the statuesque beauty pictured above, you look like this:



And nothing against Prince Charming and his royal festivities, but Anastasia and Drizella are pretty much what I don't want to look like on our wedding day.  And I'm not really all that into the concept of resting a glass upon my ass, or whatever Annie and Driz were trying to do when this style was the rage.  Sadly, I don't need help flagging attention to the lower half of my body.

Just had to take a moment to recognize the hip swag before I get into the second stop of our dress hunt.  Get ready for more!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Sniff...Tear

I just got a letter in the mail.  The floral arranging class that I signed up for has been cancelled.  Something about low enrollment.  So I guess I won't be making anything like this anytime soon:


Yes, I know.  Arranging flowers does not sound like the most fun to pretty much everyone I've mentioned this to.  But I've really wanted to take a class for two years now, when I had the opportunity to create the flower arrangements for my sister's shower. It was supposed to be my little distraction (and indulgence) that had noting to do with the wedding.  I wanted to make something!  For fun!

This is the second class that's been canceled, after I signed up.  There is a dark cloud above me wherein flowers are concerned, I tell you.  This dark cloud has something against nerdy chicks with a love of pretty things.  That is the only thing to explain this travesty.  And also, that there really isn't that much to do in this neck of the woods.  

Consider this reason #9,997 why I want to move back to Brooklyn.  

The Dress Hunt: J. Crew!

I took my mom and Lil $is into Manhattan for (what turned out to be) round one in my misadventures in dress shopping.  Our first stop in my marathon day of dress hunting was the J.Crew Bridal Boutique, I was sure that my dress was there!  I was so excited to get there--so excited that I barely took any pics of the gorgeous shop.  Except these:
  



Shoes!  Pretty perfume bottles!




Ooh shiny... 



I want that dress in the background.  If only I could find a wedding dress I want that much.  


And with that, my lovely consultant Lydia took us downstairs and the appointment began!  (Mr. Marmalade darling, this is the little warning.  If you don't want to see me in any wedding dress before "the big day" then turn back now.)

Friday, September 24, 2010

Friday! Roadtrip to Maine!

Woohoo!  Heading up to Maine for a wedding!  I remember the night my friend got engaged, and here I am getting ready to hop in the car and celebrate!


This is also the first wedding I'm attending without Bear.  He will sorely missed.  I had hoped that he could be there, but it wasn't meant to be. 

But nevermind, I'm focusing on the positive here people!

A little roadtrip music, 


and I'm off!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Let the Venue Search Begin (Again!)

 (Goodbye SFV!  So pretty.)

After two torturous weekends of indecision, I finally came to terms with changing our wedding plans.  I had to cancel our dream venue, and I as sit here writing this, I can feel the tears forming.  Clearly, I'm still not completely at peace with the change.  But, I am happy again and excited.  And now that I am looking back on this with some perspective, I know I made the right move for us.  

Without further ado...searching for a new venue!

Here are the new criteria for our venue:

1.  Closer to home - There was a lot of talk about how far our wedding was for our guests.  As a matter of fact, there was way too much talk about our wedding being too far from home.  While some of the comments were out of line, they had a point. 

2.  Easily accessible for travelers - This is related to number one.   I want people to be able to arrive at a major airport with more flights available (cheaper tickets!), or take a train, or rent a car--without too much trouble.  

3.  COST - Clearly this list is not in any particular order.  Because if it was, cost would be the first on the list.  Our projected costs were quickly getting out of control at our original, and we were in danger of completely blowing the budget.  No matter how much Mr. M insisted that we could make our budget work, I couldn't wrap my head around the numbers we were coming up with. Maybe you remember my little rant? So, we were looking for a significant savings.  

4.  Flexibility/Simplicity aka "One Stop Shopping" - No matter what, our date is still not certain.  I can repeat the date of our wedding a thousand times, shout it from the rooftops, and tattoo it on my arm, but the date is still (mostly) tentative.  Mr. M has no control over his schedule.   So while we've done our best to plan around what we think his schedule will be, we can't really be completely certain that our date won't be changed.   So I need a place that is flexible enough to allow us to rebook our date.  And most importantly, I need to work with as few vendors as possible.  The thought of coordinating another date with a venue, caterer, florist, photographer, DJs, and on and on, made my hair stand on end.  As much I didn't want a "one stop shop" for our venue, the reality is, that I need that right now.  I need to keep things as simple as possible, for my sanity's sake.  

Side note:  the owners of our original venue were some of the most kind and gracious people I have met in this planning process.  They were flexible and understanding, and would have let us rebook.  But they had no control over other vendors.  I would highly recommend anyone work with them.  

 (I had no reason to post this, other than I took this at our original venue)


Okay, got it this time.  Ready, set, go!

Can't wait to show you what we came up with!

If I Could Press Fast Forward...

To February 2011, I could be the owner of one of these beautiful gowns by Vera Wang for David's Bridal.  This unbelievable pairing was announced by Women's Wear Daily last April without much indication of when it would be available.  

Oprah got a little preview of White by Vera Wang, and I am toying with the idea of putting the dress hunt on hold until February...


Sigh.  There are a couple here that I would be thrilled to wear on our wedding day.  Is it wrong to want to run to DB once they are available, even if I already have a dress?  Pretty sure I know the answer to that. 

Side note: apparently Oprah surprised fifty brides with their very own wedding dress from this line.  She featured a woman who is engaged to a man serving in Afghanistan and trying to stick to her tiny budget.  Sadly, that woman was not me.  And clearly, I missed the memo (seriously, where was I?).  Guess it wasn't meant to be.  

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

One Woman Pity Party



Comic by Julia Wertz



If you ask a group of married women if their husbands helped with their wedding plans, chances are you will get a good number of "no" and "not really" responses. Nearly every married woman I spoke to reassured me that their husbands didn't really help in the planning process.  So we're not all that different. Weddings are typically the bride's domain, right?

But I can't help but feel alone in this sometimes.  

I won't let this become a pity party, because it isn't.  This is a happy time, and honestly even if the Mr. Marmalade was around, he'd still be living a couple hundred miles away.  I would still be alone. But, what?

Part of it has nothing to do with him.  BM Cuz is getting married in mere weeks! And I am oh so excited for her.  But I've kept mum about a lot of my details and ideas because I want her to have her time as the bride of the family.  Yet as her wedding approaches, mine does too. It's time to get things done!  Things, like say, dress shopping.  Even though, I'd rather not go through that ordeal again.

I met with a potential florist and my mom came along.  She didn't know she would be able to join me until the night before. It was nice to have someone sitting next to me, and not have to explain why I was alone.  And as much as people say their spouses had little to no involvement, I know that if Mr. M could be sitting there next to me, listening to things he doesn't really care about, he would--he would sit, cracking a joke here and there about how he has no idea what we're talking about.  I'll have to fill him in the next time I talk to him, though I'm not sure when that will be.

And I mentioned before, we had to choose a new venue. We made the decision over Google Talk.  To this day, he and I haven't set foot at our reception venue at the same time (he actually attended a wedding there last Spring). And our ceremony location is a place we discussed long ago, in one of those "if we get married here..." conversations.  Hopefully, he remembers that one. 

There are many women who would love to make every decision about their wedding plans all alone.  I'm doing it.  And I wish I didn't have to.  I'm grateful we get to chat on occasion, I'm grateful for the internet--because without it, we wouldn't get to talk as often as we do, and he wouldn't be able to see our wedding plans progress via my blog posts.  



Anyway, just had to get that off my chest.  The pity party is officially over.  Back to happy times.  

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Tuesday (Tunes Day)

Tunes day!  Get it?! Tunes...Tues... Get it but think it's lame?  


Ah well, here's the newest mix tape for Bear.



Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones

This playlist is pretty much all over the place.  It starts with a song from Muse and goes straight into Jeff Buckley.  As always, there is an explanation to just about everything. 

"Starlight" - We saw Muse when we were at the Voodoo Experience a couple years back.  Although we didn't have time to stay and watch their whole set, we enjoyed what we saw.  We've gone every year since we started dating and unfortunately we're going to miss the festival this year due to Bear's deployment. Hopefully, we'll be able to go to the next one. 

"Book of Love" - Not sure when I first heard this with him.  This not-so-lovey-song reminds me of laying back in the car, and singing.  I'm a sucker for car karaoke and he doesn't mind. Perfect fit, if you ask me.

"No One's Gonna Love You" - I listened to this album by Band of Horses almost nonstop, when we first started dating. It was the only thing, before the beverage cart came around, that would calm my nerves on the flight to Austin.  






Monday, September 20, 2010

Lovely Lavender

I'm headed to meet a potential florist tonight with my mom and I remembered to bring along some examples of what I like.  Now that I'm sitting here looking through them all I realized that I really love lavender.  

When I first started thinking of what I wanted our wedding to look like, I pictured a ton of it!  But then I changed my mind because I'd seen a so much lavender around the wedding blogosphere, that I worried I wasn't being "different enough."  But, I like lavender.  I always have.  And when I learned that lavender is a symbol of devotion, joy, and luck and I was sold!  


Image via Amazon 


What can I say?  I'm a sucker for symbolism--especially in flowers.  As a mini Marmalade, I was obsessed with my Anne of Green Gables Treasury, it's where I first learned of the symbolism of flowers.  It's something that's stayed with me ever since.  So, who cares if I've seen other people use lavender?  I like it, and my inner literary nerd does too!  Great minds think alike!

Here are some of my favorite inspiration pics, that I'll be taking to the meeting tonight.  





I like the idea of adding some lavender to my bouquet as a back up plan.  Chances are I won't be able to get a Lily of the Valley bouquet (which is what I really want) because of the cost and because they should be out of season in July.  So this could be a strong contender for my bouquet.


Image via Project Wedding



There will be some tables set up outside for cocktail hour.  I would love to be able to add some flowers so they don't look too bare.  But I need to keep it simple and cost effective.  I have a bunch of Ball jars I would love to use for some small lavender arrangements like these.  



A sprig of lavender in a cocktail?  Mmm...yes please!  I haven't really started thinking about the bar.  But once I do, watch out!  I would love to create a cocktail for our reception, if I can (i.e. if it's not an added expense).   A couple years back, I created a lavender syrup which would be nice.  Or, maybe I could create a lavender-infused gin? Yum.

Image via Etsy / Photo by PaulaJeansGarden

And last but not least, I think lavender would be perfect for our moms!  I am not a fan of the traditional wrist corsages because they remind me of prom (and the thought of prom makes me shudder).  So instead, I want to have some posies of lavender made for our moms.  I think they would like it, especially since lavender is really easy to dry and preserve as a keepsake, if they choose.    


So what do you think?  Anyone else smitten with lavender? 

Sunday, September 19, 2010

ROCKED -- Wedding Dress Failure, Left and Right

**Miss M here!  This is the story of my first dress shopping horror experience.  I sat down and wrote this post as soon as I got home from my dress shopping excursion, and this is what I had to say. Warning, it's long and it's not all that nice. So if you're easily offended by anything, move along...**

Image via Collider.com

My ears are ringing right now.  I am sitting here, slightly nauseous and mostly sad.  I feel like I was put to the test today in a big way.  And how did I do?  Fail.  Fail, fail, FAIL. 

I went dress shopping today.  And I can't decide if I need to cry, or just turn back the hands of time, and rip someone a new a**hole (verbally, that is).

I think I may have tried on nearly 20 dresses today.  Who knows how many women before me tried those sample dresses on--I am now stewing in the germs of all those faceless women.  Barf.  

Also, that diet I've been sticking to?  Didn't feel like it was enough today.  Although nothing seems to be enough for some of these dresses. Here's a great example, today my favorite consultant informed me that one of the dresses I hated was too slinky even for size zero women as even they are advised to wear Spanx under the gown.  What the hell am I supposed to do with that information!?  Give up?  Start looking for a nice bridal pair of blue jeans?  Elegant wedding muumuu? There is plenty of room in them, no Spanx needed!  Pretty too.




Until today I was under the impression that it's not normal, outside of models and nudists, to stand around naked with strangers.  Well, I was wrong.  Because my mom, sister, friend, and three consultants got a show today.   All in the name of finding a wedding dress!  It was totally fine for them, but wasn't fine for me. I should have said something but I didn't want to make the situation more awkward.

You know, I didn't look in the mirror at myself while I tried to squeeze my kulo into the dresses, and that's MY KULO!  There was this one dress that was really hard to pull up over my hips, and I could just picture how awful it must have looked from the consultant's perspective--I pulled the plug on that one as soon as I visualized what I must have looked like from behind. 

Watching episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, and even attending a few shopping excursions for wedding gowns has not, in fact, prepared me for the shopping experience.  So far, I felt like none one cared that I was shopping for a wedding dress.  No one cares if you need to try on more dresses.  No one cares if this time is special for you.  They just don't.  On any given day, there are fifteen other women in their store, that are just like you.  You're not special.  And they'll let you know it, one way or another. More on this later.


And just when I was feeling really down,  the world decided to kick me in the face.  I looked down at my phone and saw that I'd missed a call from Mr. M!  I fought back the tears and resisted the urge to throw my phone into the street.  We went to grab lunch and then, SMACK, the last jab of the day.  Just as I was refilling my salad toppings for lunch, I was reproached (rudely) by an employee--

"You know...you're really not supposed to refill that." 


Well you know what?! Here's my salad.  In your eye! BOOM. 

Okay.  I didn't say that.  I kept filling up on veggies and told her that refills are cool at the location I regular.  She looked at me incredulously and said, "really? they are?"  They are--swear.  And you know what?  After a long day of feeling like crap about dresses, I had some snarky chick tell me to ease up on my salad toppings.  I let that get to me too--in my mind, she called me out for overeating.  The reality was, she was just doing her job, albeit she could have done without the snark. Who knows? Maybe we were both having a crummy day. 

I had to let that out.   Still not crying.  But I am not looking forward to finding a dress anymore.  And seriously, my ears are still ringing.      

Friday, September 17, 2010

Friday! Hip Hop Love

I was inspired by the concert this week, to make a playlist of Hip Hop love songs.  And while I'm working on it, I wanted to share what is my favorite love song on the list so far. 


"You're All I Need" - By Method Man ft Mary J. Blige






Like sweet morning dew
I took one look at you
And it was plain to see
You were my destiny
With you I'll spend my time
I'll dedicate my life
I'll sacrifice for you
Dedicate my life for you




MJB made an appearance at the concert that damn near brought me to tears.  Call it nostalgia, call it a deep admiration--but I have been a huge fan of her since grade school.  Her talent is unparalleled.


I remember choreographing a dance when I was 7 to her "Real Love" remix at Summer camp--it must have been awesome, of course.  She is just amazing.  As is this song.  It's not your standard love song, and   I don't know if would work as a first dance at a wedding.  But listening to it brings me back to dances in the school gym, baggy jeans, and happy times.  


Enjoy and happy Friday!

Where Have All the Weekends Gone?

Image via Flickr / Photo by MoodyMal

"Stay busy."  

That is the most common piece of advice I was given after Mr. Marmalade deployed.  "Keep yourself busy, don't sit around, time will fly."  You know what?  That is absolutely true.  But I didn't need to try very hard!  



If our lives develop in phases, I would say that I am living through the marriage phase right now, as it seems that all of our friends are getting married.  And oddly, it seems that everything is happening at the same time this year.  

Let's look at this past September:


The first weekend was BM Cuz's bridal shower, that I helped organize.  The second weekend was saved for a dress shopping extravaganza (more like dress fail, but I digress).  The third weekend, I headed up to Maine for a friend's wedding.  And the last weekend, I scheduled some more time for dress shopping.  Did you get that?  One month of my life, committed weddings (weekdays are a total wash for me since I work pretty long hours). 


While that was going on over the weekends, I made it a point to work on things for myself, things I enjoyed.  Like writing, for example.  And reading--I'd been trying to head to the library for what felt like months.  And friends?  Well, I made it a point to call at least one friend a night, so I wouldn't let myself become isolated.  Of course, none of this was easy with work. By the time I got home I was amazed at how tired I was, sometimes I was too tired to put together a complete sentence let alone cook up a meal.  

Image via Amazon.com / Book & Cover Art by Roger Hargreaves


Even now as time is winding down (and Mr. M is home safe and sound!) I struggle to write this, I can just feel my eyelids growing heavy.  If I could just convince someone to squeeze a couple more hours into the day...  


I'll miss this time in my life one day, so I'm not complaining.  My friends are getting married!  I'm getting married, too.  This is a time to celebrate!


And yet, being busy all the time began to wear on me.  Especially when I found myself too busy to talk to Mr. M.  I was so good at staying busy that we went long, long stretches of time without a chat (via phone or Skype). Our communication was confined to short emails and handwritten letters (does anyone else love snail mail as much as I do?).  And that hurt.  I desperately wanted to hear his voice.  I wanted to laugh with him and fill him in on my life.  I wanted to tell him about this busy time. I wanted to fill him in on our plans, and my friends' plans and everything else wedding related in my life.  And there was the rub--there came a point in this whirlwind of weddings, that I started to miss him more, no matter how busy I became.  He's my partner in crime, he's part of me.  I will never be busy enough to forget that.  


Ah well.  Looking back on it now with some perspective, I can say time flew by.  Our email communications did the trick, and I'm happy we had that much.  I'm thrilled to have been busy with so many wonderful things to do.  I was honored to be there for my friends as they planned their weddings, and I'm excited to plan ours.  




Long distance folks: what have you done to make your separation easier?  And, has anyone else felt like their life is just filled to the brim with weddings lately?






Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Font, Font, Font!

Somewhere in the wedding planning process I came across the whole idea of branding for a wedding.  I was struck by how cold the terminology felt, "branding."  As if that meant that all couples were required to create a logo for their wedding, and slap it on as much merchandise as possible.  But isn't that what people do anyway?  Isn't a monogram or a decorative motif (like flowers, or anchors perhaps) the same thing?  


I was immediately turned off by the idea of having a theme for our wedding.  To me, weddings don't necessarily need a theme, "marriage," or "we love each other," is good enough for this lady.  I'll save the themes for birthday parties and showers.  But "branding" is something I could get behind.  Something to help keep me on track and help me focus on just a couple ideas for our wedding.  


First step?  Choose a font.  Something beautiful and script-y.  And then something to contrast that font.  




This font.  I've been holding onto this image for a while--and I am completely enamored with this gorgeous font.  So I hopped over to IdentiFont, and did some detective work.  And I found, Memoriam.




Since this is more decorative than anything, I'm going to have to find another typeface to use in the body of the texts I plan on creating.  I'm still working on it, but there is one I really want to use. 




American Typewriter.  Depending who you ask, it's the font seen in the iconic logo (err, rebus) designed by Milton Glaser, above. 

If I could use this on a daily basis, I would.  And I think it's perfect for our wedding.  We're both avid readers.  I am an aspiring writer.  And we have a strong connection to the city of New York--it's where our relationship started, and where we got engaged (maybe where we'll live again one day...).  I'm not completely sold on using it on all our stationary, but it certainly going to make an appearance.  

It's not quite a monogram, but it's getting there!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

All I Need in this Life of Sin...

What is the best bridesmaid gift, ever?

Tickets to the second, and final, Jay-Z concert at Yankee Stadium.  Tonight!  After tonight I will be able to cross Jigga off my list of artists on the "must see live" list.

I can't thank my Cuz enough for such a unique and perfect present.  Thank you, thank you, and thank you!  How about that for thinking outside the box?

And with that, I was going to post my next "mix tape" but instead, I'm going to leave you with Jay-Z's version of a love song. 




So poof. Vamoose... 

Monday, September 13, 2010

Mac-A-Roli

Or "Why I Need a Food Intervention--Stat"




Look at that smiley-faced raviolo,up there. That teeny, delicious, S.O.B.  I'll miss that little guy.  


When the Bear deployed, I did my best to stay in my routine.  I tried so damn hard to act like everything was fine.  To be honest, I was trying to convince everyone that I was fine.  Fine. Fine. Fine.  It all boiled down to the fact that I was scared to let people down, and I didn't want to look weak.  It all sounds melodramatic now, but there still is some truth to it.  No one likes to see someone struggle to adjust, and frankly, I don't like to let anyone see me struggle.  But I did.  And you know who was there to help me out, when I refused to communicate that anxiety?


That delicious little bugger, right up there.  Yep.  Mac-o-roli. Actually, I'm not gonna lie.  This is some seriously good stuff.   It is macaroni and cheese, stuffed into a  bite sized piece of junk food heaven, and you can microwave it(!!). Nuke it for two minutes and enjoy.  And when the Bear left, there was 20 bags of this in my freezer.  My mom found them on sale, and stocked up.  Know what else was on sale that same week?





And this my friends, was my perfect storm.  

I gave my self a week or two to eat like there was no tomorrow--full bag of mac-a-roli (650 calories,15g saturated fat,825mg sodium--so good), washed down with a Klondike Bar...And where did it get me? You don't wanna know.  Actually, I didn't want to know.  Until I went to the doctor's office, and they weighed me.  I tried to keep my eyes closed, but I peeked.  Wish I hadn't done that, because I learned that I was (am, maybe?) two pounds away from my heaviest weight. 

This is no good.  I did this to myself, and I'm gonna have to kick my ass to get out of it.  I've banished ice cream and pasta from the house.  I'm committed to working out 4-5 times a week.  And I'm not going to weigh myself.  

So, goodbye old friends.  You were tasty, but I'm gonna have to go find a better way to cope.  Peace!

Mich 

Thursday, September 9, 2010

An Inspiration Shoot & A Game Changer

That's what this beautiful shoot is for me, a major game changer.  I came across this via Snippet & Ink, and then Grey Likes Weddings.  Each time I look at it, I am floored by the gorgeous images, and the elements that make them up.


I was set on the overall look and feel of our decor--I wanted a clean and crisp look made up of white and sea glass.  This is not it:


And what is it with me and stone fruit all of a sudden?  Cherries?  Brilliant!  Now I'm into nectarines and plums?  


I want a cake like this.  Nothing too fussy.  Nothing that contains fondant, or gum paste, or supports made of "crispy rice treats."  I want a cake that just looks delicious and doesn't require a pastry chef to cut it.  Just like this:


Then there's the added element of print thrown into the party, adding a bold touch.  Didn't I say I wanted to add sheet music and books into our decor?  Yes I did.  And then the lovely stylists took that a step further.  Touché.  


The panels could certainly be used to serve another purpose--maybe a new spin on a guestbook?  Or table assignments?


I didn't mention that they not only managed to incorporate red, but they added lavender and a brightly colored cocktail.  Now the wheels are turning.



The bouquet is perfect--like all the florals featured in the shoot, the flowers are loosely arranged.  Nothing too architectural or forced.  I could be very happy with a bouquet like this since it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to get my hands on some lily of the valley. I'd probably ask for a little less purple.  


I'm still working on our reception site.  But where ever it is, I hope to have a moment like that with the Bear, to make a toast to the day (hopefully around a bonfire).


Yes, this is me and I'm clearly living in a fantasy world.  This amazing shoot took me from "we're not doing flowers" to "oh my goodness, how do I get romantic and lush arrangements like those" in the blink of an eye (or a couple clicks of a mouse, as the case were).  

This has to be another symptom of bridal-itis.  Symptoms include: acute inability to make decisions,  insatiable appetite for items that are over budget and out of reach, and repetitive list-making that is a direct correlate to the neglect of said lists.  

Please, please, let this thing only last until the wedding.  Or tomorrow. I'll be bookmarking these pages while I wait for it to pass.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Hello, Vera!

It was bound to happen. Who was I to think that I wouldn't like any gowns in Vera Wang's collection? No really, I always thought that her designs were lovely and sophisticated, but I didn't even bother looking at her latest line. The reason? Because I didn't want to fall head over heels for a dress that is way over my budget.


You know where this is going. So, meet Evelyn.



There she is: simple, sophisticated, romantic, form fitting, and different from the more popular wedding gowns of late.


I want to try her on. I want to march right into the nearest Vera Wang boutique (with an appointment, of course) and take this gown for a little spin.


But there are two reasons that stop me in my tracks; I have no idea what this gown costs. And as BM Lil' $is so kindly put it, I have hips while this lovely model does not. She's right, it might not be the best silhouette for me (which is what BM Lil $is was trying to say).  Choosing a dress from a picture alone, is probably not the best idea.  But my common sense is being overpowered by my fashion sense.  




So am I just headed for a major disappointment?




Did you find that the dresses you tried on looked different on you  versus how they looked on the model?  Did that change the direction of your bridal gown shopping?

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Mix Tape #2: The Love Continues

Here's the next "mix tape" I made for the Bear. 












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It's a little off-kilter as far as playlists go.  I go from Empire of the Sun to Jason Mraz--start to finish.  Never thought I'd mention both of them in the same breath, but there they are nonetheless.  Each and every song on this list represents a moment, a memory, a piece of our relationship.  So while they don't fit together on the surface, they come together to form the narrative of the past few years for us. 


Take "Lucky" by Jason Mraz for example, I avoid it at all costs on the radio.  For one, it was played way too many times on the radio for my sanity's sake.  And two, I didn't want to hear it so much that I lost the connection to it's significance.  One lazy day in Texas, I lounged on Bear's bed and surfed the internet to pass the time, while he cleaned his room.  I was checking out some newly released albums from the week, when I came across a preview of "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things," and I reluctantly started listening to it.  While I've always had a soft spot for singer/songwriters, I tried to stay away from most new music in that genre (note: past tense, I'm over that now).  I clicked around on the internet until we came to #6.  I gasped and stood up just a few seconds into the song.  Bear stopped what he was doing when he heard the lyrics, and scooped me up.  Just like that we started dancing, listening to a song that pretty much summed up the beginning our our relationship. He had just returned from Iraq, we'd just fallen in love. Pretty perfect if you ask me. 


Anyway, enjoy!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Labor Day


Hope everyone is able to take a moment to relax today.   I'm in Vermont on a camping trip, my first since I was eight years old.  For many reasons, I wish the Bear was with us.  We're all going to miss his presence and of course his expertise this weekend, that's for sure.  


Happy Labor Day!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Happy Friday: Uptempo Love

Here's a love song that's a little different from the norm.  Try not to tap your toes to this one, I dare you.  









Get a load of some of the lyrics:

Home, Let me come Home
Home is Whenever Im with you
Home, yes I am Home
Home is wherever Im with you



Lalalala Take me Home
Mama Im Coming Home



I follow you into the park, thru the jungle thru the dark
Girl aint never loved one like you
Moats and boats and Waterfalls, Alleyways and payphone calls
I been everywhere with you
Laugh until we think we'll die, barefoot on a summer night
never could be sweeter than with you



The song is called "Home" by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros.  It was released in 2009 by Vagrant Records/Rough Trade Records, on the album titled "Up From Below."

Enjoy!  And have a great weekend!