These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I have had a very long, very hard week. The original post that I had planned for Friday is going to require some thought and searching for images and I just don't have it in me. So, out of sheer laziness and a very strong desire to be in bed, here are my favorite blog moments from this week:

Funniest Post

Honey Bee Wedding's Nipple Cards
I shared this one with my coworkers!

Favorite DIY Project

Hasel's Save the Dates

Image: Hasel

Favorite Photo

Photo: Kim Bednarski via Blush

Favorite Blog Surprise

Finding my blog featured on Unveiled Society.

Favorite Blog Surprise #2

Hitting the 100 Visitors in One Day Mark!

Favorite Moment of Bride Solidarity

Seeing A Windy City's Wedding's post on Unresponsive Vendors

Favorite Etsy Find(s)

The Precious Meshes Shop
(found via the Style Me Pretty Handmade Wedding feature)

Photo: The Precious Meshes Shop

And when I was out there looking at that, I found this in the paperlust shop:

Image: paperlust

I want this image so bad, but know that I shouldn't spend $18 on random art. And look this one:

Image: paperlust

Favorite Small Thing Stumbled Upon
While on Someone Else's Blog that I Might Actually Buy

I might get this card to give Andy on the day of the wedding. Why? Because we laugh our a*ses off about these videos: 1 and 2.

Image: Whimsy via Style-ish Wedding

I ran out of steam before I could narrow down my favorite inspiration board and Real Wedding. Maybe next week?

My Friend Sarah's Wedding

My friend Sarah (trix) was married in 2006. She let me help with all of her paper projects. It was so fun! I am still bummed that she didn't submit it for a Knot Pick. I think it would have been a sure thing. In honor of DIY Month, here are a few highlights of our projects. I'll have to post some highlights from her shower too. We had a pink and brown theme. It was so fun!

Invites

I don't have any pix of the invites, which are in storage with my photo albums. They were brown Envelopements with pearly pink paper. One of the above logos (forget which) was mounted on the front on pearly ivory paper. I believe that all of the inserts, like the map shown below, were also on the pearly ivory paper.

Dresses

Check out how perfect our dresses look together. The florist had ordered all of the wrong colored flowers, but Sarah was a roll-with-the-punches bride. Not that she had much choice, as the florist burst into tears when Sarah pointed it out. I don't think you could tell that our fuchsia flowers were unintentional.

Programs

The programs were printed on ivory paper and hand tied into pink and brown 5" cards from Paper Source. I ended up having to take them to Kinko's for printing. (Long, bad story) A wonderful manager saw the finished product and noticed a little black smudge (which I think came from my work printer at work) and threw a fit. She reprinted them and then cut them for free...which saved like $200. I actually cried with joy when she called me. I HATE cutting.

Her Pretty Cake

Apparently, Sarah and I share a thing for dots and circles. ;) I think that her cake was adorable. Andy ate like four slices and was sicker than a dog at the end of the night. Apparently buttercream and gin don't mix.

Table Numbers

The table numbers were printed on 5" inch stickers from Paper Source and mounted on 5" square cards stood sideways like a tent. This project was the hardest one. I had to manually measure the center of each sticker and tape it to an 8.5" X 11" inch sheet of paper before printing. And it didn't actually print straight each time, so I had reprint them or cut them down to even them out. I was so tired at the end of the project that I didn't make myself one to keep. And then was too busy dancing at the reception to nab one from the table.

Table Numbers

The place cards were printed on pink circle labels from Paper Source and then mounted on brown place cards, also from Paper Source.

Menus

I don't have the fonts anymore, so I can't open my menu files. (I HATE VISTA lately. I should have gotten XP or a Mac.) The menus were about 7/8" X 9 1/4". They printed on ivory paper with pink and brown font.

Menu

After my aunt re-stated her complaints, re: the lack of seating at A New Leaf, she had me hemming and hawing about the location again. (I mean, bridesmaids and guests sitting on the steps? Come on!) So, at last week's tasting, when I was trying to convince my caterer to put stools around all of the highboys, she told me that if I am going to do a cocktail party that I am going to have to remain committed to it. And she was right. Unrealized or not, a few people been giving me heat on the cocktail party decision -- all delivered through unrealized facial ticks, eye rolls, "Whatevers," and forced smiles. And, because I have the disease to please, it has caused me to triple guess everything. Well, to all of the naysayers, I present:

Our Menu

Anyone who frowns upon this is nuts. (If I say so myself.) Doesn't it sound so delish? I need to add some chicken to round it out and there will be a few vegan options made available. But, for the most part, this is it! I think that it's the coolest! (I am supposed to be at the gym AS I POST THIS (Baby steps to the 4:30 a.m. plan, I guess.), so I don't have time to edit and format this. I just copied it from the contract. )

• Passed Hors D'oeuvres:
• Gourmet Pizzas: Four Cheese Pizza with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Vegetarian Pizza, Plum Tomato, Mozzarella and Fresh Basil
• BBQ Pizetta: Smokey BBQ Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Shallots and Smoked Mozzarella drizzled with Truffle Oil
• Jumbo Shrimp stuffed with Chorizo
  
• Open-faced BBQ Beef Brisket on Mini Cornbread topped with Homemade Apple Slaw
• Both Potato and Spinach Mini Pierogies served with a Sour Cream Dipping Sauce
• Mini Meatloaf Sandwiches served with Pancetta, Roasted Tomato, Caramelized Onions and Fresh Sage
• Mini Macaroni & Cheese topped with Lobster Morel (ome prepared without Lobster ) Presented on a Tasting Spoon
• Mini Cheeseburgers passed in a Hawker Box with Squeeze Bottles of Ketchup and Mustard
• Mini Pigs in a Blanket served from Hawker Boxes
• Phyllo Dough Rolled into a Pinwheel with Mushrooms, Fresh Spinach and Onions garnished with Sour Cream and Fresh Chives
• Tuna Tartar: Ahi Tuna seasoned with Sesame Oil, Ginger, Garlic served in a Crispy Wonton Cone with Wasabi Cream
• Diced Pear and Apricot with Brie Cheese Quesadillas
• Mini Open Face Polish Sausage on Rye topped with Sauerkraut
• Wine and Cheese Hors d'oeuvres Reception in the Black Table Room
• International Cheese Display with Imported and Domestic Cheese, served with Lavosh Crackers and garnished with Red and Green Grapes
• Roasted Red Pepper and Eggplant Humus served with Pita and Vegetable Crudites served with Assorted Dipping Sauces
• Wedding Cake
• Sweets Table:
• Fresh Fruit and Berry Platter
• Assorted Mini Tarts: Lemon, Apples & Praline, Chocolate, Banana Cream, Hazelnut, Raspberry, Blueberry, Pecan and Pumpkin
• Assorted Mini Cheesecakes: Tiramisu, Chocolate Chip, Plain & Raspberry
• Mini Taffy Apples
• Assorted Gourmet Cookies
• Freshly Brewed Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee and Gourmet Tea served with Baby Tongs, Sugar Cubes, Cream, Equal and Sweet and Low
• Late-Night Snacks:
• French Fries served with Squeeze Bottles of Ketchup
• Mini Wrapped Gyros with Julienne Tomatoes and Onions
• Mini Chocolate and Strawberry Milkshakes topped with Whipped Cream and a Cherry

220 Days To a Better Me

So, according to Knot.com, there 220 days until the wedding. That means 220 days, or 31.5 weeks, to lose enough weight to feel comfortable in my wedding photos, which is a lot of weight. I'm hoping that some posting this will translate to public humiliation which will translate to M-O-T-I-V-A-T-I-O-N!



So far, I am 15 minutes late on the new schedule that Andy's supposed to hold me to. (I should have started packing my gym bag at 9:30 p.m. to ensure that I'll be in bed at 10:00 p.m. and able to face the world at 4:30 a.m.) So, I am going to post this for tomorrow and say "Good Night"/"Good Morning!" before he confiscates my laptop. (Another new rule.)

Is anyone going to the bridal event at The Chicago History Museum on Thursday? If so, do you want to meet up? I have an extra ticket if anyone needs one. (I just need to find it.)

"Nah, she looks to pure to be pink!"

Below is an excerpt from a post that has been sitting unpublished in my list of rainy day posts for a few weeks now. I wrote this shortly after I had been shopping with my sister and friend and got dirty looks for rejecting dresses as "too bridal."

"One of the problems with reading wedding blogs and wedding magazines is that you stumble upon so many people that are cooler than you. After I saw Style Me Pretty's feature on The Unbride, by photographer Justine Ungaro, I found yet another Rizzo to my Frenchy. According to her web site, I am an 'Unbride.' YEAH! Take THAT tradition! I crush you with my brightly-colored shoe.

- she’s probably not super young (grrrrlllll, okay?) or the first of her friends to be married
- perhaps she’s just a little bit (or a lot) jaded about the whole wedding machine
- she wants the vibe of the wedding to represent the personal style of the couple rather than trying to create a “fairy tale”
- she wants to vomit if a wedding is referred to as a “fairy tale”
- on that note, anything princessy has to go…no tiaras here
- menu choices might be unusual or presented in a different format
- the invitation might not even resemble an invitation
- some traditional wedding etiquette might be thrown out the window altogether
- the day’s/ evenings events might be rearranged somehow
- the gown might be “different” - short, colored, sexy, crazy, unusual, not a gown at all?"

So imagine my surprise when I checked out her new blog, Unveiled Society, tonight and saw my blog featured front and center. Yeah! I feel like Dirrrty Sandy. Too bad I have a big embosser in the screen shot she used. Embossers are BAD ASS!

Photo: collider.com

P.S. I have to admit that I often wonder if people call me "sassy" to be polite. Kind of like when you describe relatives as "eccentric."

Return Address Distress (Not Really)

So, the first line of our address is 24 characters long. I am tired of trying to fit on envelopes, so I ordered this embosser from Expressionary.com:

after seeing this post on With This Ring. It wasn't the best design that they had, but I wanted a nameless one so that I could use it now and after the wedding without blatantly advertising that we're living in The Sin. ("Just in case" there's someone that my parents haven't told.) And the circle works with our invites too! :)

Since I've spent this money, I was thinking about using this to print the return address on the save the dates and invites as it will save me $60 in print costs, which would MORE than pay for this. Well, after waiting a MONTH to receive it, I've found that it's totally useless. The embossing plate is plastic so it BARELY imprints. I tried it on the Save the Date envelopes...which are plain 'ole Paper Source envelopes, nothing too thick...and you can't even read it. So now I am out $40+ bucks for nothing and still have to pay for printing. They better let me return it.

My favorite part of me ordering this embosser is that I was floored when my friend trix ordered one from Paper Source back in 2005. I remember her telling me that frugality goes out the door when planning a wedding and I was all, "Not for this broke-ass trix." And now look... Maybe I am being punished for wasting money on unnecessary things like embossers.

Sorry for all of my lame posts in the last week. Between work and home, I have been too busy to scan and write things in advance. I need to get back on the stick.

Son of a B*tch

I am about to order the Celebrate stamps:

Image: United States Post Office

for our Save the Dates:

and decided to check the Champion Stamp site for kicks. I found these on page 4:

Image: Champion Stamp

Unfortunately, I'd have to buy 10 sheets at $17.50/ea to get enough of the hand stamps* for my STDs and still cough up another $10.80 in postage. That's a lot of change for something that no one but me would notice. But it's still a funny coincidence, no? Martha would have been impressed!

*Not to mention that I'd have 100 29 cent stamps featuring a mom telling her baby to "hang loose" floating around the house.