The pirate is marrying a pear

2010-01-28T20:09:00.000-08:00

2009-08-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

Though I was incredibly tired from my long drive and still grumpy from the night’s events, my mood had been elevated by the issuance of our marriage license. But let’s face it, I was still in “fake it until you make it” mode.

Mr. DG and I made it to the wedding site, and I was ready to stop faking it and start working. When we arrived on site, we looked for the owner so that we could settle in and get to work. He wasn’t there. There was however, a distressed man also looking for the site owner. Apparently, this man’s child was having an allergic reaction to something… Well, at least I could help with that!

We called the owner’s numbers and waited for a while, and I could have gotten really steamed again… but instead, I decided to get to work. We unloaded all of our craft boxes right in the middle of all the cabins (with no access to anything indoors) and just got down to work. So much for unpacking, organizing or collecting our thoughts!

I started working on chalkboards—a job that was going to take the better part of my next two days. And I erased. And it was scary. And there was paint… and sharpie on them! It was a mess. I whipped out the krylon and resurfaced the seating chart board. I had bought all of the supplies that the hive suggested, including the miracle pens suggested by August15bride. Thank goodness!

An hour or so later, Mr. DG’s family started trickling on site. I just knew that they knew about my meltdown and I couldn’t bear to look them in the eye. Luckily, Mr. DG’s sister in law (who I had never met before) figured me out in 2 seconds flat. She asked me when was the last time I ate. All of a sudden I realized I hadn’t eaten since the day before. In the afternoon! No wonder I was so crabby! Sheesh… So she fed me, and now ranks as one of my favorite people in the world!

We were all hard at work, and finally about 3 hours later the owner showed up and said, “Oh sorry if you were waiting. A man’s gotta eat lunch you know.” Grr… but I’ll get to a vendor review on the site way later!

Anyway, the day ended up being a colliegial collaboration between us and Mr. DG’s family. My family showed up and some friends showed up and it was a great day after all!

I worked on chalkboards. Mr. DG’s family cooked food. Friends and family played catch… and I got to catch up with some of our favorite friends from Seattle. I was stinking tired!

By the time the sun went down, I had one chalkboard completed (the menu board) and the other was at least drawn (but not inked). I knew with all the things planned for Friday, I’d be cutting it really, really close to get everything done :o!

Taste of the honeymoon

2009-08-11T13:01:00.001-07:00

Today I wish I was back in Glacier National Park!

Jen photos

2009-08-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

My friend Jen took some great photos with our camera. I thought I'd share a couple since they don't feature on Annie's blog. Nice second shooting, Jen!

recap part 3

2009-08-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

The kindly housemate took my note saying do not disturb me very seriously. Apparently she fended off several calls wondering where I was. She even made sure that Fiance didn’t wake me up when he dropped by! I woke up at about 9:30 and felt like I never wanted to get out of bed and face the world. I was still totally in a funk and knew I’d need to get out of it.

I called fiance and we discussed the marriage license that we would need to get that day. I had done all the research about cost, what to bring and where to obtain it. The only hitch? Do to the economy, the local office had shut down. It seemed that the nearest office was an hour and a half away and only available by appointment! There were no appointments available for that day.

Fiance came over and we tried to brainstorm. I looked him in the eye and asked, “Is somebody trying to tell us not to get married?” Seriously, so far it had been roadblock after roadblock. Thinking outside the box, we started looking at municipalities outside the Tahoe area to obtain a license. Finally, here came our first ray of sunshine. There was a no-appointment necessary place at the Nevada County office, which was actually closer than the other one. Score one for the DGs!

It was already hotter than blazes at about 10 am, and I was thinking “Uh oh, is it going to be this hot on wedding day? I might not do so well in this kind of heat!”

We got to the office, handed in our paperwork and felt a little triumphant for a minute. I should never feel triumphant…

The county clerk informed me that my driver’s license had just expired. (I had not received a notice, nor was I aware that this was the case prior to leaving Seattle). Not only was I not sure that she would issue our license, but we were far from home and planning to drive to our honeymoon. This was not good!

Luckily, I had my passport with me and my old California Driver’s license. The kind official decided not to make a big deal about the expired license. I could have just hugged her!

Then, the county clerk told us about the Name Equality Act in California. To avoid having to file a court order to change names, we were going to have to decide right then and there what we wanted to do with our names. Now, we had talked about this extensively (because I wanted to keep my last name), but we also decided that we wouldn’t need to officially decide until after we were married. All of a sudden we went from having all the time in the world to having about 3 minutes to decide what we wanted to do. Yipes!

Due to professional issues, I was pretty committed to keeping my last name. But, both of us felt that we wanted to do something to acknowledge our new partnership. We had discussed taking his adorable last name as a middle name… but that didn’t really solve the problem, since it didn’t reflect any change in his status. We asked the clerk, “Can we do anything we want?” She affirmed this and our eyes lit up. I could take his name as a middle name and he could take my name as a second middle name! It felt egalitarian and transformational at the same time. It was an option we could both live with ☺

License in hand, we headed to the wedding site for the first time. At last, I felt like the fates couldn’t stop this marriage from happening. Now, about those chalkboards…

We're back!

2009-08-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

We've traveled over 3,500 miles, suffered a flat tire, chalkboard fail, dress hi-jinx, gotten married, gotten honeymooned, and have generally been head over heels for each other.

Chalkboard FAIL!

2009-07-14T07:46:00.001-07:00

We paid a chalkboard artist to do our seating arrangement and our menu. What we got was a major FAIL. Now I'm going to have to spend time figuring out how to salvage the whole mess.

This is time that would be far better spent on other things at this point!

Welcome to wedding month!

2009-07-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Wedding is fast approaching! We're still working on favors, seating arrangements, music, schedules, decorations and many many other little things.

I'm ok... but it was really adorable when Chris had wedding anxiety dreams last night. I felt like he was sharing some of the stress! Thanks baby!

Our weekend

2009-06-28T21:01:00.001-07:00

Well, I enjoyed my last free day until we head down to California. We spent it

1) making a chalkboard
2) fixing my french net birdcage veil
3) going to the dog park
4) making the seating arrangement. My hope with this one is that everyone will be happy :)
5) making a delicious dinner
6) working on thank you notes
7) working on a photo shot list

I'll still have some short workdays and some free daytime hours, but every weekend from here on out, I'm working 11 am to 8 pm. Sad.

Accessory festival!

2009-06-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

I went to try on my dress today with all of my accessories... More on that later. But, when I got home, I put all the accessories together with the veil I made today to take a picture.

I may try and make another veil with french netting. I'm not fully convinced that this one is quite right... but since I made it today, I thought I'd try it on. Veil making is another post as well!

Beautiful bouquet

2009-06-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm on a flower kick, because this bouquet caught my eye today.

Found at http://sarahkchen.net/

Flag it!

2009-06-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share my latest DIY. Total cost: less than $4 (cost of glitter and tempra paint). Everything else was free! Please excuse the messy front porch. The picture wasn't going to get taken if I didn't do it right then!

You can find instructions for this project here. It was actually incredibly easy. All you need is a ruler, newspaper (we just saved all the spam we get in our mailbox), some water soluble paint, glue and some glitter or letter stencils.

One little tip, don't plan to go around an MRI machine the day after working with glitter! Whoops!

Perfect peonies!

2009-06-10T11:14:00.001-07:00

I have a whole hedge of peonies in my backyard. I love them so! When I was planning for wedding flowers, I knew that I wanted peonies. Every florist told me that peonies bloom in May, and so by July there will definitely be none left. Well, last year was a very cool June in Seattle, and my peonies did bloom in July, so I was hoping that mine would be blooming for the wedding this year and I could bring flowers of my own to round out our florals.

Well... wouldn't you know it... It hit 90 degrees in May and June here, and we haven't had a drop of rain in weeks. My peonies are in full bloom right now. It's sad because we won't have any for the wedding, but I'm trying to see the glass as half full-- after all, they are gorgeous.

I made a bouquet yesterday in honor of the wedding, and the beautiful flowers are now sitting on my dining room table!

Milk Expiration Date

2009-06-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Chris bought milk today that expires on July 18th. Yep, by the time our new milk expires we'll be getting married! :)

Spectacular Shrug

2009-06-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

My friend Jen (hi Jen!) found this amazing designer who makes custom shrugs. Jen and I worked with Holly to make the perfect wedding shrug to go with my dress. Holly (and Jen) were so great to work with! This is what Holly made for us :)

Lots of love to Jen because she is in the midst of moving into her new home this weekend!

Walking songs

2009-05-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm having a bit of a conundrum. There is so much good music out there that I'm having a hard time figuring out which song to walk down the aisle to.

At first I was pretty convinced that I wanted Bittersweet Symphony, but as I was running yesterday (a whole other post in it's own right!) I was inspired by another song by Bloc Party which maybe feels slightly more current for me. But then again, I'm assured that Bittersweet Symphony is a classic. Funnily enough, both videos feature people walking!

Bittersweet Symphony

So Here We Are

Preferences? Any other fabulous suggestions for the perfect song for me?

Chalkboard

2009-05-27T09:43:00.001-07:00

Did I mention we had a busy weekend? Well, one of the things we did was to go yard sale-ing in the neighborhood. We saw an old classroom chalkboard for $40 and thought, "Hey that's cool" and then went on our merry way.

Well, after a trip to Michael's and some google searching, we realized that the giant door-like chalkboard was a pretty good deal. The next day, we went back to the house where the sale was and saw that the chalkboard was still there. We offered them $20, and voila the chalkboard was ours!

Now we have to decide how to best use it for the wedding. It's about 6 ft by 3.5 ft. We were thinking about using it to direct people to their tables, but we also wanted to write the menu on a chalkboard. Could we do both with this? Any other ideas?

This photo was taken right after we washed the board, so it isn't all shiny splotchy like in the picture. I should say that the random snowboard binding in the foreground was purchased at the GI Joe's going out of business sale for $16! New Burton Freestyles, and they were practically free!

Busy weekend!

2009-05-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

We got so much stuff done this weekend. It was great! We did some important wedding stuff...

One thing we did was our table numbers. We decided that we wanted to continue on with a national park theme, so we ordered some postcards from Ranger Doug.

Then we went to Michael's and found a great deal on unfinished wood frames ($1/piece). I then varnished the frames with a polyurethane seal. We trimmed the postcards to fit inside and voila... Table names!

We are going to have one person or couple at each table fill in their address on the postcard, and then next time we go to that National Park, we'll send them the postcard with a memory from our trip.

Results

2009-05-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend (more on the various details later)... but I had my hair and makeup trial with the fabulous Laura from Salon Bella Vita in Tahoe City and with Jen from Kiss and Make-up (also in Tahoe City).

They did a great job and I'm happy, but if you have suggestions for tweaks, please let me know. The makeup was inspired by Claire Forlani in the second photo in the blog post just below this one and the hair was inspired by Katherine Heigel shown here.

Here's how it turned out:

Hair and makeup trial

2009-05-13T10:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'm going for a hair trial and trying to organize a make up trial as well... It'll be fun because I have a wedding to go to Saturday night. Knowing nothing about make-up means that I'm kind of shooting in the dark here.

I've found a couple of pictures of make-up that I like (on some of the most beautiful women I can think of-- so it's really not a fair comparison!)

Claire Forlani

Jennifer Connelly looks great here, but I'd definitely lighten the lips!

Input?

Challenges in men's fashion

2009-05-13T08:49:00.001-07:00

Do you know how hard it is to find a decent tie/vest combo for formal wear? Jeez. I thought guys were supposed to be the easy part. Maybe it's because my dress makes actual matching impossible, but we worked long and hard to find a tie that we liked... Simple and elegant, but not too blingy with a subtle pattern to give some interest. When we finally did find the right tie, it made finding a vest nearly impossible. Chris really wanted a vest, so we eventually found something that would work.

We got lots of compliments on the tie, and the good news is it was on clearance! $60 tie for $20... not bad. (The one we really liked was $95 at Nordstrom, but that just seemed outrageous).

Signed Sealed Delivered!

2009-05-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

Aside from a few last addresses that we've finally wrangled, our invitations are out. Many have been received, so I feel like I can show some images. Yay!

As for details: We received the image from the designer and then uploaded it into gimp and added our text and manipulated our image to make the postcard. We used a free font called Deco Tech from Da Font, but a different font for the fancy capital letters. I scoured high and low to find the information card border. It's got a very art deco feel to it.

We printed these on our home inkjet printer, but were we to do it over, we now know that it is cheaper to get them printed at the UPS store. Printing was a true labor of love. We have a great recommendation of someone who prints in Seattle! Jon (said person) cut our invitations and cardstock to our specifications, and then we mounted the invitation using spray mount.

I then calligraphized all the invitations (with variable results!), but got better as I went along. Working with metallic ink is incredibly difficult. We got wedding ring stamps for the outer envelope and polar bear stamps for the postcards. We then numbered the postcards (well most of them) and sent them off! I can't wait for our first RSVP cards!

We found it!

2009-05-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today I looked at 1,000s of girls dresses. I tried all sorts of things to find something that would work. I started envisioning different sashes and planning a trip to the fabric store, and this evening just before shutting down the computer to cook dinner-- I found it!

The funny part is that my sister saw the same dress earlier today, but thought it wouldn't work so didn't mention it to me.

Here it is!

Not to be

2009-05-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

My sister and I found this cutie at Dillards, but it's not available in any size but 8 (though it is on sale for $30!) We're continuing to look for a cute but different flower girl dress. Any ideas?

Perfect Table Plan!

2009-04-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks Wedding Bee and Perfect Table Plan! Today I received a license key for Perfect Table Plan software. This software allows you to drag and drop people from your guest list to tables. It's easy to arrange and rearrange and you can manage RSVPs and meal choices using the program.

Check it out!

http://www.perfecttableplan.com/index.html

Veggie Tales

2009-04-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

Chris's dad came up from the Bay to spend the weekend with us. We had so much fun, and his visit inspired us to do a big project.

Well, actually, I should say that it inspired Chris. He did most of the work, but I make a great day laborer! They built 2 4x4 planter boxes for us to grow our vegetables in. See, we have birds and squirrels and raccoons (and a dog), all of which have a habit of decimating the garden every year. It is really frustrating to plant all sorts of vegetables and then have 3 peas and one teeny tiny zucchini at the end of the season.

This year, it's on! We planted lettuce, onions, brussel sprouts (shh, I know, but we love them), zucchini, cucumbers, peas, carrots, and we will be planting potatoes (but haven't yet). We planted thyme and cilantro (my favorite herb of all time) and got sunflower seeds and a Meyer lemon tree.

As a side bonus, maybe we'll cut down the grocery bill.

Here's a picture of our new little paradise, netted to avoid birds.

Invitation fun!

2009-04-13T08:41:00.001-07:00

After months of work, we are so close to finishing the invitation that I can taste it. We've finished designing and proofreading and readjusting the Invitation itself and the Information card. We're still working on the RSVP postcard, but we have half of it finished. We just have the backside left to do.

Last weekend we went to Paper Zone (in the midst of a little squabble, since I thought we should have brought our images of the invitation to compare colors-- turns out Chris was right, we didn't need it!) and got sample card stock. We printed some test runs and have tentatively picked the papers. Then we went to Costco and bought very expensive color printer cartridges-- enough to print 150 invitations.

This has been a true group project. Chris has been manning the actual program manipulation (which is the lion's share of the work and frustration), and I've been designer, font-finder, text writer and proofreader.

I can't wait to start assembly! (But I wonder what I'll be saying once that starts...)

It's all about the checkboxes... Next up, ceremony!

DIY Ring pillow-check!

2009-03-27T23:41:00.000-07:00

I finished my first ever ring pillow. What a learning experience! It wasn't that hard to do, and I sewed the entire thing by hand...

Were I to do this over again, I would have pinned the whole pillow before stitching it together, and I would have used a wider grosgrain ribbon... Next time.

Things you'll need to do this: a 10 x10 inch wool felt square, a complementary fabric of the same size, a grosgrain ribbon long enough to wrap around the entire square, stuffing, a small piece of ring tying ribbon, a nice button, and miscellany to make felt flowers (or you can purchase them at a craft store).

Make sure that your fabric squares are very even. Pin the wrong side of the grosgrain to the wrong side of the fabric, being careful at the corners (things can get wonky there) with 1/4 seam. Stitch the complementary fabric until the ribbon is entirely attached to one side, then do the felt side. When you have approximately 2 inches left before your close the pillow. Turn it right side out, and stuff the thing with tons of stuffing. Sew the pillow closed and revel in your amazingness for a few minute...

Maybe drink a beer at this point, or just repeatedly show it to fiance and say, "See what I made! See what I made!" Once you get over that, and get over the imperfections at the corners, attach the button in the center by stitching all the way through the pillow and back again. You'll get a nice pucker in the front and the back. Then attach your previously constructed felt flowers in a way that makes you happy.

At this point you'll need to interrupt the movie your fiance is watching to say, "Does it look right now? How about now?" This may or may not get the desired response. Once you are satisfied with the placement, stitch down the flowers (which is easier said than done).

Try not to curse when you are stabbing yourself in the fingers while pulling the needle through multi-layers of felt. It is really important at this point, to avoid getting the blood you've drawn on the pillow itself.

When the flowers are attached to your satisfaction, dance around and gloat, and alternately despair at the crooked corners. Wonder aloud if you will make another one or just use it as is. Ultimately realize that nobody is going to notice the problems except for you.

Then attach the ring-holding thin ribbon underneath the button. Tie a simple knot and call it a night. Blog about it immediately!

So here are some images of the process.

Ring pillow

2009-03-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

Well, now that I had 1 DIY success, I think I'm starting to get too big for my britches! Nothing in the ring pillow world remotely struck my fancy. (Well, nothing in our price range anyway!)

I think we can all safely say that something like this is not my style:
I had images in my head of a Princess Lasertron type creation. PL and I convo'd on Etsy a few times, and while she doesn't make pillows, she'd be happy to embellish one for me with her flowers.
But PL is a busy girl, and she suggested that I make the pillow myself to save some time and money in creating the pillow. Well, Chris and I went to the fabric store today. (Chris sews, though I don't) and we picked out some really cool material and some felt.

I decided if I'm going through all the effort to create a pillow anyway, then I might as well embellish it on my own too!

Wish me luck and uninjured fingers! I'll let you know soon how it's going! I'm using a Martha Stewart do it yourself pillow pattern. If all goes well, it should end up looking something like this:
Oh, the other upside, is that all the supplies (and I'll have plenty left over to do other stuff with) were less than $20. I had to buy everything including pins and scissors, since I haven't sewn anything since girl scouts!

Instructions:

Pillow How-To
You'll need two 7 1/4-inch squares of fabric and a length of ribbon (about 29 1/2 inches). With right sides facing, pin ribbon to the edges of one square, starting at the middle of one side. Fold ends of ribbon under so they meet, and pin. Sew, using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Repeat to sew remaining square to the other edge of the ribbon. Turn pillow right side out (through hole where ribbon ends meet), and fill with stuffing or with 7-inch squares of batting. Hand-stitch opening closed. Sew a covered button to center of pillow, stitching all the way through. Tie thin ribbon around button; stitch to secure. Tie rings on ribbon.

Martha Stewart link

DIY ornament balls

2009-03-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to blog about these for a while, but I think it's harder to motivate for a technical post, and I definitely wanted to get the details right for those who were interested in doing this. First off, let me say that these were *highly* do-able, even for a DIY beginner like me!

The first order of business was to get all the right supplies. We went to our local paper source and picked out a heavy paper stock (2 sheets in each color) just so we could try a few of these. While we were there, I realized I'd probably need a cutting mat (which is essential), a heavy ruler with a cork back (also quite helpful), and lots of fresh blades for our box cutter. We already had an awl.

Back home, we cleaned our dining room table so that there was a nice open area to work with, and popped open a few beers, and turned on some music to get the mood right!

Here's a picture of our supplies!

So then, we started using the scale model instructions that I blogged about a while ago (a couple of posts down). We followed them exactly and made these cute teeny tiny ornament balls. I was pretty freaked out that I was going to mess things up, so I wasn't exactly the nicest girl for the first 5 minutes, but I mellowed out... then again, that might have been the beer!

If I have one small word of suggestion for the small ornament balls, make sure that you are using a mono-filament wire. Anything else frays! We used non mono-filament picture hanging wire, but we also knew we were only going to do a couple of these. It was still frustrating.

Next, we (and when I say we, I really mean HE) got out a clean piece of paper and some basic algebra skills to figure out how to scale these things up. The original dimensions were 1/4" by 9" strips. These made balls that were Christmas ornament size, but we wanted more like paper lantern size.

We settled on 1 inch by 21 inch strips. We (again I mean he) cut 14 of these (important that these strips are really straight) and used the awl to poke a hole in the absolute center of each strip, and 1/4 inch from each end. These work better if you really center the holes, and I was really glad I had a grid mat!

Then we used a heavy duty monofilament wire (16 gauge, though we probably could have used 18 gauge and been fine) to thread the middle of each of the strips through the wire. At this point you have to stay organized with the strips and keep taking the end of the bottom one and pulling it up and threading the end through. When you have half a ball, you continue working from the other side, always taking the bottom strip. You'll quickly see your "onion" or "sort of ball" take shape! We then bent the wire at the top, so that these wouldn't come undone once the full onion was assembled...

This recipe makes 8 inch or so balls. I think if we put a light in them, it should throw off some great shadows. We started by alternating strips blue, cream, blue, cream. However, I quickly figured that 2 blues and then 1 cream was much more to my liking! We're also planning to do this with some more vinyl like material that is more durable.

I think with many of them, rather than assemble them now, we'll just thread the center through the wire and assemble them in California so that the car isn't completely filled with ornament balls when we drive down! We practiced doing these with my friend's niece and nephew the other day, and the kids were even able to do it...

Here are a couple of the finished products.
If you have any questions, let me know.

Anxiety Dreams

2009-03-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't had wedding anxiety dreams in months. I took that to mean that we were pretty on top of things. Well, last night I had a ridiculous series of dreams that blew all of that confidence out of the water.

Last night, I dreamed that our wedding was tomorrow and I took the dress out of the bag. It was the wrong dress, wasn't altered, and looked awful on me. Someone had used a sharpie to color the train (which was made out of feathers) black (?!)

We had none of the decorations done, it was raining, I didn't have any of my accessories, and not all the invitations had been sent.

Chris had all of his stuff done, and was all dressed and ready to go... except that it was my first boyfriend. I woke up panicked!

I think this means I need to make some stuff happen this week... Whew. That was crazy!

Wedding Ring update

2009-03-02T08:10:00.001-08:00

Chris brought in the wedding ring last week and spoke to the manager at the store. The guy was very accommodating, and said that he would try to get the ring fixed in-house before he sent it out to be re-made. I am a little skeptical that they could fix milgrain that was so badly damaged at the store. I mean parts of it were knife-sharp and other parts had almost no milgrain at all. I kind of wish they would send it straight to the manufacturer, but I'm willing to give them a chance.

My other question is this. Why would they let a product like this go out to the customer? Do they think we wouldn't notice?

I think I just have to let that line of thinking go...

In other news, we had diy success this weekend, and I'll share all about it when I organize the pictures!

Weekend project

2009-02-27T10:10:00.001-08:00

I'm going to tackle a DIY project this weekend. I'm going to try and make round decorations that look somewhat like paper lanterns.

The "recipe" for them makes a small Christmas ornament type ball, and I want to try and make something bigger. So, I'll use thicker wire and a more durable paper or even a wall paper or vinyl. If you have any ideas, let me know. I'm probably crazy for even trying this-- but hey, why not?

I can imagine these with a strip of a blue and gold brocade type pattern alternating with a champagne strip... and hey, what is stopping me from throwing a little LED light in there too?

Stack the sheets atop one another and use your craft knife to cut them into 1/4-inch-wide strips. You'll need 14 strips total (7 of each color).

Using an awl or needle, make a small hole in the center of each of the guidelines across the back of the strips (in the center and at each end of the strip).

Cut a 6-inch length of floral wire and make a small loop in one end.

Thread wire through the center of each strip (the loop at the end of the wire prevents the strips from falling off).

A detail showing the strips threaded onto the wire. Note that I have alternated colors: a light strip followed by a dark strip followed by a light strip, etc.

Begin with the bottom-most strip (nearest the loop end of the wire).

Fold this bottom-most strip up and insert the end of the wire through the hole at the end of the strip of paper.

Continue folding strips up and threading them onto the wire. Be sure to always draw the bottom-most strip so that your colors alternate light and dark.

At the halfway point, you will have threaded 14 strips onto the wire and your ornament should look like this illustration. Continue in the same direction around the model until all ends are threaded onto the wire and the model is complete.

Once your model is completely folded, trim excess wire and fashion a small, tight loop in each end of the wire and attach a small cord or ribbon from which to hang the ornament.

Wedding Ring delimma

2009-02-21T16:22:00.001-08:00

I'm having a little bit of a dilemma about my wedding ring. I'll need to give you a little background so that you can fully understand.

My engagement ring initially was set crooked. The stone was tilted and there were a number of delays resulting in Chris being unable to present the ring on my birthday, on this amazing hike we did (where he had the proposal all planned for), and a weekend where we planned to go out of town. We wrote a letter expressing our dissatisfaction, and our jeweler fixed the ring, gave us a coupon, our setting for 1/2 off, and generally worked really hard to make us happy. We felt happy to be working with them despite the glitch.

So, when we went back to get my wedding ring, we didn't hesitate to work with them. They offered to do a custom wedding band to match complete with matching pave diamonds. They took a mold of the engagement ring, and sent if off to be made.

We received the ring last week and it was... well, less than perfect. The milgrain was crooked and sharp in areas. It caught on my skin, cloth, and pretty much everything else near it. Some of the diamonds were set too deep and not symmetrically. It didn't sit flush to the engagement ring because it wasn't straight.

Now to be perfectly honest, it's a small 2 mm band... No one would even notice the multitude of imperfections. But I look at it and I'm just kind of "Grrr..."

I'm not mad at the jeweler, and we only paid $300 for a heavy platinum/diamond ring. But I'm having a hard time deciding whether to bring it up with the jeweler or let it go. What would you do?

The pictures I'm including aren't meant to be artistic, just to kind of show you the defects (as much as we could without a good macro lens). You have to click on the enlarged version to see any of the defects!

New E-ring pictures

2009-02-20T09:24:00.000-08:00

I have been learning how to use our Nikon D80. I'm not very good at it yet, but trying not to get frustrated. Lighting is a huge issue with this lens. It is a non-automated old macro lens, so you can't use flash to augment the light. Here are a few attempts at some macro engagement ring pictures... Just in time... My wedding ring arrived yesterday. I'll blog about it tomorrow.

I took these photos on top of the scarf I knitted over Christmas (first knitting attempt ever), and on top of a really great bottle of wine.

Vases

2009-02-19T10:35:00.000-08:00

I found some cool vases on Jamaligarden.com. They are affordable, sustainable and come in many different sizes and shapes. What do you think?

Invitation final image!

2009-02-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

After much thought, we opted to combine the mountains and trees of the second image with the sky of the first image. We're completely thrilled with the outcome. I think it really makes the whole graphic pop!

Now we have to figure out how we're going to put it all together into an invitation suite. We went to Paper Source yesterday and scoped out #10 paper and envelopes. Did you know Stardream is 50% off right now? I have some ideas about what we might do, but I'm open to your thoughts as well!

I just went crazy for an Etsy store

2009-02-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

New love courtesy of Jen!

Jen has been concerned about what I'm going to use to ward off the summer evening chill during the wedding reception. It is so fun to have her thinking about it and occasionally emailing me pictures of options she found. Boy, did she find the most awesome stuff today!

She just introduced me to an Etsy seller named Holly Stalder, and I've fallen in love.

Holly is totally vintage inspired. I'll share with you some of her dresses and shrugs. Enjoy! (and let me know which shrug you like best...)

She has some dresses that would be perfect for a rehearsal dinner or after party!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5097725

Surprise shower: or how I spent last weekend.

2009-02-13T08:48:00.000-08:00

(Sorry Bean, didn't mean to leave you hanging, but I knew this was going to be a long post)

It was so amazing!!! These girls went so far over the top for me, that it humbles me.

Friday night I flew first class to San Francisco on Virgin Atlantic (how appropriate!). One of the girls had been tricking me for weeks about what was going to happen, so I thought I'd get her back by telling her I missed my flight. I felt a little bad, because she seriously got scared. I told her right away that I was just kidding... I had a few drinks on the plane, then was picked up by another friend at the airport.

She took me to the Park 55 Hotel in San Francisco, where we met a bunch of my friends... 29th floor suite. It was amazing. They had me change my clothes, and then we went to my coolest friend ever's cousin's restaurant. It was the most amazing Vietnamese fusion cuisine that I've ever had! At dinner, two other friends walked in and surprised me. They were girls that I wouldn't expect to have made it based on their schedules. One flew in from LA (taking time off during the Grammys, when she was supposed to be working), and another who I haven't seen in a long time. The champagne, wine and food were all flowing, and we stayed at the restaurant pretty late.

Then we walked down through the Castro and went to the Orbit Room (art deco decor fitting with the wedding vintage theme). There we had somedrinks, and we all recounted the stories of the various events that led up to Chris and I meeting and dating. They had to kick us out of the bar at closing because we were having so much fun!

The next morning, the plan was for us to have a bridal brunch with my family. We were running a little late, and so my mom, and sisters decided that they didn't want to come :( We opted to cancel that event, since all the girls were going to drive up with me to Tahoe to go snowboarding, anyway.

Once in Tahoe, we had dinner and made bingo cards to play Bar Bingo. We went out that night for our Bar Bingo game (so fun), and went home early to get some much needed sleep. I'll post more about Bar Bingo in a separate thread, because it was so fun that we are thinking of doing it every time we go out!

The next morning we had breakfast and went snowboarding. It was such a great day. There was really great snow in the trees, and it is always great to ride with the girls.

I surprised all the girls with a sushi dinner that night. (It was hard to trick them, but I gave the restaurant my credit card before everyone got there). During dinner, we all decided that this is so much fun that we're not waiting for bachelorette parties to hang out like this again.

We made a plan to reconvene at a concert (Bloc Party) in Seattle in April! I don't think I've ever had so much fun for a continuous 48 hours in my life... Seriously!

It's so great to have a group of friends where we have bonds that are as strong as a family! Huge shout-out to all the girls!

The weekend!

2009-02-11T18:32:00.000-08:00

Painfully adorable ring kids!

2009-02-10T16:59:00.001-08:00

I've been loving this look for some time now, but am having a devil of a time finding it in the US. This particular outfit was made in England by a very fancy kids designer. Not only is she no longer making this, but the prices are unrealistically high.

Anyone know where I can get something similar? I can find Eton suits, but not with the mandarin collar, which is what I would prefer.

Invitation possibilities

2009-02-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the color schemes that Mike mocked up for us. Any opinions. I think I like the one on the left best, but I do like the middle one as well. Maybe the sky of one and the blue of the other?

Guess where I'm headed this weekend?

2009-02-04T18:16:00.000-08:00

But even if you guess correctly, I couldn't tell you that you were correct.

Laura and Jen (and presumably others) are planning a surprise for me this weekend. All I know is that I have a 4:30 flight to... well... somewhere on Friday.

I'm really hard to surprise, so this is kind of a huge deal. I'm so excited just to see the girls. They could be flying me to Battle Mountain, Nevada (armpit of Nevada, which is in my opinion the armpit of the US) and I'd be happy just to be with them.

Laura was cracking me up. I kept asking her, "What should I bring?" She was totally oblique about it, but the more I pried, the more I realized that I really have no clue what to bring. The list included "going out clothes"-- which to me means a hoodie and jeans (she says this is ok) to "snowboarding gear" (but not my snowshoes, but yes on the transceiver), and "Oh, by the way... If you can fit your sleeping bag..." and "Oh, bring your passport."

Now I know very well that some of this is to throw me off the trail, but which parts? My bet is that I'll end up in California (but who knows?).

I'll keep you posted!

It'll be the bee's knees!

2009-02-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

Save the dates *finally* are going out as we speak! We worked on these all weekend, and I still don't know if I have every address that we need. They went out electronically. It is an html file that opens when you open the e-mail (like a flyer). When you click on the picture it takes you directly to the wedding website.

We took one of the graphics from our invitations (the moon), a free font from dafont called decotech, one of our favorite engagement photos and the colors of my Fluevogs (blue and burgandy) to incorporate into the design. Chris and his friends love the expression "It's the bee's knees" and since it's a very 1920's vintage phrase, we wanted to incorporated to set a vintage tone. I love that it brings a very real part of Chris to it as well.

You've got to love Chris and his computer savvy ways!

OK, here it is:

What do you think? We're at 6 months until the wedding. Do you think it's too late?

Blog love

2009-01-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

I just saw that AmyJean from the Relentless Bride nominated me (and several other of her friends) for a blog award. I think this is fun because it perpetuates the blog love.

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

So I'm linking to That [engaged] Girl, Betrothed Bean, My Wedding Report, Engageology, Cats Cheese and a Wedding Please, Wide Eyed Bride (whose taste I absolutely love), and With this Ring.

Pay it forward girls!

Backup shoes. What?!

2009-01-27T20:55:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows by now that I have my beloved Fluevogs. They are comfortable... for 2-3 inch heels, but they're still heels. Also, my sister thinks I'm crazy for wearing them in the first place!

Well, last summer, when I was making my very first inspiration board, I pulled a picture of some Two Lips shoes that I loved... and they were flats. The thing is, the shoe had been discontinued and you couldn't find it anywhere but e-bay. I wasn't too keen on wearing used shoes.
This is the Tessa... She doesn't exist anymore :(

Not to be daunted by a challenge, I looked through all existing Two Lips shoes to see if there was something comparable. Through that search, I found the Talent. It was also unfortunately discontinued. But through more searching I found one pair on discount at an on-line shoe seller. They were less than $30 bucks. This meant I had to get them as a back-up for the Fluevogs. Here is the Talent. (Pretty similar to the Tessa, no?)

I wish it had straps and a back, but I'm just happy to have a comfortable back-up!

Inauguration Day!

2009-01-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

I'm watching coverage this morning of our new President Obama (love saying that) before the swearing in. There seems to be so much joy and hope in Washington DC and the country.

I feel a bit misty eyed to be watching history, and am wondering what it's going to be like to tell people about it 20 or 30 years from now.

Right now, I think someone needs to pinch me!

Oh and in only slightly related news, hats are back! Never have I seen so many fedoras, golfer caps, top hats and other chapeaus. I think this is a great trend, as you can see from our engagement photos.

Flower girl dresses: harder than you might think

2009-01-15T13:05:00.000-08:00

I feel a little rant welling up inside of me. What is up with flower girl dresses? Why is it so necessary to dress little girls up like women? What is wrong with these people?

Now, I may not be the most conservative person, but this is one place where I am ultra-conservative. I believe that little girls should dress like little girls. No need to rush their developmental process by putting them in slinky, spaghetti strapped, v-necked numbers. I feel like role models like Miley Cyrus and Brittany Spears are rushing girls' mental image of what they should look and act like, and I don't think that's a good thing.

Here's a sampling of what I found by clicking the first link that popped up when I google searched "Flower girl dresses"

I did not go searching hard for *ehm* horrible images... This is what is really out there! (I'm not going to even credit these images-- they don't deserve it)

What happened to sweet traditional little girl dresses? Maybe like this from Smitherman and Barnwell:

or this from the Briar Patch? (which is the only dress with any sleeves that was worth posting)

Ultimately, it will be up to my sister and her kids to decide what they want to wear, but I don't think it'll be easy finding something appropriate. I wish them luck! (and am happy to help)

Slightly more traditional

2009-01-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the slightly more traditional engagement shots... (for the mamas)

Miriam Haskell vintage pearls

2009-01-13T11:05:00.001-08:00

I've been on the hunt for just the right necklace to go with the sweet dress. We've talked about making something so that it would be perfect. I ran across this charming necklace on Bel Canto Designs on Etsy, and was pretty smitten.

It's vintage Miriam Haskell and it's in mint condition. My only worry is that it might be too long to sit exactly where I would like-- it's a 16 inch strand, and I have a 13 inch neck.

What do you think?

Blurb on Miriam Haskell:

BORN IN 1899, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE ART NOUVEAU VANGUARD,
she was one of four children, and the daughter of small-town merchants in Albany, Indiana. Some 30 years later, Miriam Haskell would have tea with Coco Chanel while selecting the upcoming season’s beads at Madame Gripoix’s- the finest source in Paris. While Miriam would bring her young design artist, Frank Hess, Chanel was alone. They would talk. Share ideas. Trade fashion celeb secrets. They were among a new class: independent women who began their careers designing jewelry to complement high fashion clothing in an exclusive boutique.

MIRIAM HASKELL OPENED HER FIRST BOUTIQUE IN 1926, “LE BIJOU DE L’HEURE” IN NEW YORK”S McALPIN HOTEL. She created collections for the society women of her day, the lavish productions of Flo Ziegfeld, as well as the couture of Coco Chanel. Joan Crawford, Lucille Ball, the Dutchess of Windsor, to name a few, were among her greatest patrons. It wasn’t long before her spectacular, custom-made jewels were sought after, collected and cherished. If history is any indication of the value of a Miriam Haskell piece, today’s collection promises continued appreciation- be it at an auction house, by chic women throughout the world or simply by generations to come.

Vintage wedding

2009-01-13T10:26:00.001-08:00

I just stumbled across this great vintage wedding through the Little Black Book. The bride is Heather Fowler, a wedding photographer. I think she did a great job of incorporating a vintage feel to the modern setting.

And I am loving her hair! I laughed because in her blog she said she really struggled to find someone who could do the look she wanted. Well, I think they nailed it.

I don't want to borrow any of her photos, so here is a link to her site.

Heather Fowler

Another taste of the engagement photos

2009-01-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

It's taking us some time to re-size all these images. They're huge! Here are a couple of other images that we've already finished with.

Anyone notice something funny in the above picture? I didn't notice it until yesterday...

This might be one of my favorite pictures. This whole place is totally decimated, we're all dressed up (which is super weird for me), and the only way to get upstairs is to climb. Imagine doing that in what I was wearing. Yikes! And isn't Chris just completely adorable?

My new favorite centerpieces

2009-01-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

I wonder if we can do something like this for centerpieces? These are bear grass, little mums, and cabbage done by Colin Cowie. These tables look so great.

Engagement Prelims

2009-01-10T20:21:00.001-08:00

I love the above picture because it looks like an album cover or something. Kevin's camera work is amazing!I love how this looks like 4 frames of film, each with a different story. Again, Kevin is awesome!

All photos by Kevin Payne (please don't use without permission).

Engagement pictures are here!

2009-01-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

We have to resize them because they are giant files. As soon as we do I'll post some pics.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-25T02:38:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday. We're having a great time down in California!

Snow Day!

2008-12-18T10:58:00.000-08:00

Well, there is clearly no way that I can get in to work today, so I decided that it has been a long time since I did an inspiration board. Since the ideas have morphed and changed over the last 6 months, I thought I'd reorganize.

There are still some of the original elements, but otherwise lots of changes...

Many of these elements are things that are already a part of our wedding.
The location (center) is Shinneyboo Cabin Creek Resort
Top (tile 4) the sweet dress!
Bottom right: the engagement ring
3rd down on left: the shoes

My dress is in! My dress is in!

2008-12-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

I found and ordered my dress on November 29th. That was less than 3 weeks ago. I was told that it would arrive in March or April. It came in today!

I don't know what happened, but I did have an email exchange with the folks at Sophia Tolli about jewelry. Could that have had something to do with it?

Now the conundrum is how and when to pick it up. We're going through Portland tomorrow on our way home for the holidays, but Charlotte's Bridal is closed tomorrow. They'll be open Friday at 11, but by that time we should be well on our way to California. Aagh! What to do?

Fit Bride, Part III: The daily grind

2008-12-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

I'm checking in again, and trying not to be too boring or repetitive about the whole business... but it's true, we sort of are in the daily grind portion of the fitness program.

Yoga continues. Besides increasing my strength and flexibility, it's getting more fun too, probably because I'm not suffering the whole time!

In order to keep things interesting, I just got the class schedule for the downtown branch of my gym. It's two blocks from work, which is great, but unfortunately, the really good classes seem to be right in the middle of the work day.

Yeah, I haven't actually done it yet, but at least I'm in the contemplative phase. They seem to love spin classes there, which don't sound fun to me. In fact, the class description used the word pain--which doesn't seem like an enticing way to get people into your class. Also, I googled spin class images, and in all the pics (exhibit A above), people look pretty miserable. So if you've got a great reason to try it, I'm willing to listen. Otherwise, forget the spin class!

I've also learned that completely avoiding Kit Kats and other sweets completely is impossible. I'm allowing small amounts and trying not to over restrict. Otherwise, despite the holiday, the diet is on track. I'm super strict on weekdays, and then on weekends am much more flexible. (Fried chicken last Friday- yum). Still rocking the whole grains too. Popcorn is also a hero food!

Here are the results in graph format. (Thanks, FitDay.com) I should be super-pleased, since I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, but I guess I had this vision that once I got my act together, the weight would magically disappear. Well, this is the real world and things are working exactly how they should. And for that, I am grateful.

Veiled or unveiled?

2008-12-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

I've been casual browsing veils to see 1) whether I wanted one at all 2) what I thought would look good with the sweet dress.

Suffice it to say that with all the traditional veils, nothing caught my eye. Then I stumbled on this one today by Erica Koesler. I thought it was pretty nifty.

It's sort of a combo between the birdcage blusher and a traditional veil, and though I could do without star sparklies, I think it's a good starting point. What do you think?

The "need" for personal eye candy (or wedding porn if you prefer)

2008-12-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

As you can see from my last post, I've been struggling with the "stuff" of the wedding and the meaning of the wedding. I mention in that post that Chris and I had decided not to do engagement pictures. We thought it was an unnecessary expense, and for us, self-indulgent.

But this decision has continued to gnaw in the background somewhere. Maybe there is something about capturing the joy of the engagement process that is important. Or maybe it is the cool idea for a photo shoot that keeps this in my mind.

I justify the consideration a couple of ways... Comfort with your photographer is very important, especially for goofy and camera-shy folks like Chris and I. We love our photographer's work. Frankly, I think she's one of the best out there... not just in Tahoe, but anywhere. I want to share her work with you because it is so great.

Annie X photographie

and her blog

Who wouldn't want the opportunity to have some extra photos from Annie? Her work is AMAZING!

Also, isn't it somewhat important to capture this time? We don't need photos to make memories, but they certainly do help sharpen the details in our minds. Looking at them evokes emotion, fills in the color, and provides an anchor for the time.

Finally, my mom has been bugging me for years to give her a photo for her desk. This would be a way to do that without having the photo be of me in a wedding dress!

Of course, we've also considered that we could probably get a friend to do photos for the cost of a burrito and some beer... and that we don't really "need" more photos, since we're getting some from our wedding day. Still, it's not really the same as working with our photographer. For a couple of folks that are committed to keeping costs down and the wedding industrial complex at bay, it feels a little like a compromise.

So I ask those of you who are engaged or married, did you do engagement photos? Are you glad you did or did it end up being unnecessary? Did it help to practice with your photographer? For those of you that know me well, do you think I'm losing sight of our goal by doing something like this? Should we just forget it? Or should we go for it?

Next things next

2008-12-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

Now that I have a dress, I have to admit that I'm kind of at a loss for what to do next. I feel like most of the macro issues that you are supposed to do for weddings are taken care of now.

Venue-check (even if they are trying to sell it... yikes!)
Catering-check (thanks, babe!)
Color scheme-check
Photographer-check
Officiant-check
Best folks/dog-check
Obligatory paper lanterns-check (and from a long lost friend that I found through a wedding blog!)
Invitations-holding pattern, but decided

I feel like a little hamster running frantically on that wheel thingy, thinking of all these little details like jewelry, wedding yoga, horse and carriage, music playlist, ceremony, favors, best people gifts... The list seems like it has the potential to be endless...

hackedgadgets.com/.../_human_hamster_wheel_2.jpg

I'm actually starting to create extra work for myself because I keep dreaming up new things. My latest is an idea for an engagement shoot (really cool idea, I might add!), but that would mean having to get engagement pictures, which weren't in our budget and are not something we were planning on doing. Now that I'm considering them, I have to wonder is it self-indulgent busy work or something I should really be doing?

So what's a girl supposed to do next? And where, oh where, do I draw the line? This stuff is really fun, and a bit addictive I might say... but I don't want our wedding to be about "stuff" and really cool looking images. This is about a great new life together, the start of a new family and the growth of love-- these are the most important things to me. Isn't doing more "stuff" a step toward losing sight of that?

Fit Bride, Part II: It's all about the yoga!

2008-12-04T17:54:00.001-08:00

I planned to hold myself accountable for fitness progress and pitfalls weekly. Because of the holiday, I didn't quite make it... but I'm checking in now.

So far, I've been sticking to the plan pretty well. I've been doing yoga about 3 times a week and doing cardio, well, not enough, but some!

I swear yoga is the best exercise for me. It changes my metabolism so that I burn more calories all the time, and my flexibility and mental health are improving too. The last time I did a big healthy push was in my second year of residency. I tried everything with very little success. I was working out and eating smaller portions, but I just seemed to bulk up muscle-wise. I added yoga, and dropped down to my pre-residency weight. So, I knew yoga worked for me, but it seemed too expensive for me to do sustainably-- until I joined a gym that had classes. Yay!

Here is a snippet from a review article (science geek alert) that I read,
"There is a need to have yoga better recognized by the health care community as a complement to conventional medical care. Over the last 10 years, a growing number of research studies have shown that the practice of Hatha Yoga can improve strength and flexibility, and may help control such physiological variables as blood pressure, respiration and heart rate, and metabolic rate to improve overall exercise capacity."

J Altern Complement Med. 2002 Dec;8(6):797-812.

Psychophysiologic effects of Hatha Yoga on musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary function: a literature review.

Raub JA.

In addition to the yoga, I've cut out simple carbs. It was hard to do initially, but you start to get used to it after a while. Whole grains can actually taste good, and I've learned to love Wheat Germ! I've increased my fiber from next to nothing to nearly 30 grams a day... no easy feat...

I've also cut down my processed sugar intake. This is so hard for me to do... Sometimes I just crave something sweet. I can't help it. So, I haven't been perfect on this, but I'm not binging on Kit Kats either ;) and hopefully I'll get there with baby steps.

I'm also using www.fitday.com where I can track every single thing I put in my mouth (if I wanted to) and all of my activity. It's a bit obsessive, and it sends me into a slightly anorexic freakout mode, so I use it sparingly...

The net effect is that I've dropped 4 lbs, in 2 weeks, healthily. I know it's better to only drop a half pound a week, but I'm just going with what happens and not depriving myself, so I feel ok with it. That's great, right? Well, in just the course of me changing my dietary habits and going to yoga, Mr. Chris managed to drop 10 lbs!!!

First of all, I'm jealous (and a little frustrated), but secondly, he doesn't need to lose any weight-- at all. So now I have to figure out a way to shrink myself while keeping the boy adequately fed. Sigh.

I've fallen for someone...

2008-11-30T20:59:00.000-08:00

And that someone is a dress.

I've spent a huge amount of time and energy trying on, thinking about, talking about, and soliciting opinions on dresses.

This weekend, we made a trip to Portland to finally try on some of the dresses that have been part of my most recent dress fantasies. Chris's cousin Annie came to the bridal salon to be opinion-giver and photographer. Thanks Annie!

All the decision making and agonizing went out the window when I tried on *the* dress. There was no thought process, just love. No frantic phone calls for sibling approval or friend advice, just action. No pro and con list, just self-assurance. There was also the scary down payment, but the wallet damage wasn't too bad.

It just *was*... and it was perfect.

I'm almost nervous to show her off, because I'm in such love... so lest anyone be too critical, I know there are some challenges associated with my "sweet" dress. But I'm gonna learn how to rock her in all her beauty confidently. There will be train-- for part of the day, but for part of the day she'll probably be train-less.

Please bear with the pictures, we did the best we could in the circumstances... So, without further ado, I present Sophia Tolli's Dolce in Gold/Ivory... (except for Chris who should read no further)

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The crazy train!:
Train off:
Anyway, I wanted to make sure and thank Jen, Kate, Janna, Sandie, Liz, my mom, and all the endless parade of friends and acquaintances who lovingly critiqued and provided advice on dresses. You all are the best!

Oh, she's super comfy too!

The hair affair

2008-11-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

I was trying to think of how my hair should look for the wedding... or in general really, since my hairstylist needs a "vision" to work with, as he says.

So I found some lovely pictures that capture a vintage look, but will still appear modern. Finger waves are great, but they might look out of place. I found a few looks that I like. Hopefully, my rockstar stylist can work with them to get me ready. Chris's close friend will be doing my hair the day of the wedding.

Here are Grace Kelly, Lauren Bacall and Katherine Heigel... Not that I can hope to look like any of them, but maybe my hair can!

The bait and switch

2008-11-24T17:15:00.000-08:00

www.flickr.com/photos/13525219@N00/360104197

I think most people know by now, but my amazing weekend of trying on dream dresses turned into a jilted at the alter scenario. I'm trying to be understanding about what happened, but it's still baffling.

Last week, as you can see from the post entitled "A happy accident", I found a salon that is about half an hour away that carries Sophia Tolli dresses. I called the store and ran through a list of several style numbers that I wished to try on. From the other end of the phone I could hear the tappity tap of computer keys and then the cheerful voice of the salesperson saying, "Yes, we have all 3 of those dresses!"

Now to be fair, maybe in my excitement I misheard the salesperson, but she went on and on about how beautiful one of the dresses was, so I could only surmise that she'd seen it and it was in the store... But I was oh so wrong.

To get my friends together (many of whom are very busy) is no small feat, but we were able to arrange to have 2 of my girls come with me. When we got to the salon, the same cheerful woman from the phone call met us and told me to pick out 6 or 8 dresses. I told her that mostly I wanted to try on the 3 dresses we had come to see, and could she pull those out? She said, "sure, sure" and then disappeared. She came back empty handed. I was still clueless and trusting.

And then, she tried to steer me toward high-end dresses. It was only then that she admitted that she didn't have *any* of the dresses that I called about. Now reality started settling in for me. What an awkward situation. I was bummed, the saleswoman was clearly uncomfortable, and my amazing friends were trying to salvage the situation.

I did try on some dresses, a few of which were quite lovely... but my heart just wasn't in it, and we quickly realized it was time to cut our losses. Before we got ready to leave, one of my friends said to the salesperson, "You should have told her you didn't have the dresses..." in her best mom-like disappointed voice. She was my hero in that moment.

I surely hope that this isn't the store's usual customer service policy, but just an isolated incident involving one salesperson... As such, I'm not posting the name of the store, though if you are curious I'll share it privately. Still, it was sort of embarassing to haul my friends down there into a rather uncomfortable situation, though they were so sweet and tried to console me with lunch afterward.

On the bright side, the experience motivated me to find dealers who had these dresses in Western Washington (no easy task). It also showed me that continuing to look is probably a good idea, as I feel very strongly about these dresses (which are as elusive as unicorns). One is in Tacoma, and two more are in Portland, so we'll visit Chris's cousin and to try on the other two! (PS no sales tax in Oregon!) So maybe, this will all come up roses after all :)

Alternative Invitations

2008-11-23T19:01:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Chris and I were walking down the street in Ballard. We saw an art poster that caught my eye, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. I thought it might be nice to use an image like this as a totally alternative wedding invitation. It's very much our style, and also somewhat reflective of our venue.

We discussed a collaboration with the artist, and he said he's willing to do it! He's been suspicious of doing wedding invitations in the past because he had a bad experience with one customer, but because we only need artwork and not the whole suite he said yes.

The first design is the one I originally fell for.

Here is another that looks surprisingly like our save the dates which are below:

Source: http://www.powerslidedesign.com/posters_html

Our save the date image:

A happy accident

2008-11-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

Another bride-to-be inadvertently steered me toward the Sophia Tolli site. I haven't even gazed at a dress site in months. I've been trying to avoid buyers remorse and analysis paralysis... And let's face it, I don't want to try on another wedding dress, well, ever...

But, I haven't been able to decide between the two dresses that I've been looking at, and my poor friends keep having to make special trips to the bridal salon to look at them. I wasn't really conscious of why the decision has been so hard. Maybe it is because I'm not much of a girlie girl and dresses don't matter so much to me. But maybe, just maybe, it is because I haven't met the *right* dress (yet).

Just looking at Sophia Tolli dresses feels different. It is not at all clear to me whether any of these will even look good on me... BUT, if one did, let me tell you, I would be so excited about my dress (and that means a lot coming from me!)

It's sort of like guys. I always thought I wasn't the marrying type... and I wasn't. But it was because I hadn't met the right guy. When I started hanging out with Chris, I absolutely knew that this was different. Maybe it's the same way with dresses?

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite Sophia Tolli dresses. I'm scheduled to try them on (sigh) Saturday. Please, let there be one that I love!

The first is the Selene... This dress has optional straps with a lace back or peak a boo corset. I wouldn't even know how to decide which way to wear it. They are both beautiful in their own way. Maybe some pics with and some pics without? Oh Selene, please look good on me...

The second is the Emily. I love how it has elements of the Betina and the Mori Lee. I also love the diagonal edge that reminds me so much of a sari. So elegant and beautiful!

There are too many that I love to show you them all, but in honor of my sister's extreme passion for this one, I'll show you it too. I think it is not structured enough through the waist to look good on me, but it'll be fun to try on!

I've got a bad crush... I just hope this new relationship works out ;) Does everyone "just know" when they have the right dress? Was it similar to the way you "knew" about your fiance? (because, that I get)... I kept waiting for that moment while trying on dresses and it just hasn't happened. Pray that Saturday it does!

Fit Bride

2008-11-18T23:33:00.000-08:00

I've found new motivation to achieve some weight loss and health goals. It's a no brainer when I look at myself in dresses and see a different image than what is in my head. It's a hard thing to even talk about, actually.

I know that I wasn't healthy at 98 lbs during medical school (though that's a whole other story), but I'm not exactly in peak condition at 136 either. I still definitely think of myself at 118 lbs when starting residency... Though I don't anticipate being able to get there.

The situation has required a re-dedication of my efforts. I want to feel really good about myself on my wedding day, and to know that I did everything I could to look and feel my best.

This week I started going to yoga at my gym. I can go up to 4 times a week, though I'm being realistic and setting a goal of 3 yoga classes. I'm also taking a dance class, and using the eliptical machine a couple of times a week... Increased energy output--check!

Chris is totally supportive, so we've cut the meat in our diet at least in half. And hardest thing of all-- I've cut out processed foods :( Only whole grains for me. Bye, bye white rice. See ya, plain pasta. Good riddance snack foods. (I am allowing for a smidge of after dinner dark chocolate, but no more real dessert). Decreased energy intake--check!

Hopefully, all of my friends will be equally supportive, because this is going to be damned hard!

One motivation I found today is a site called www.weightview.com You simply upload a picture of yourself, they use some pixel magic to shave off the pounds to your goal weight, and presto... you are that much lighter. Maybe this will help me stick to it!

One version of a wedding invitation

2008-11-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

Though I love letterpress from the bottom of my heart, it is *way* out of our price range. That being said, we still wanted great invitations to set the tone for a great day. They're all just too expensive, but electronic invites seem to be out of the question.

So, I went to Costco Invitations online. And, they happened to be having a sale... And, that sale happened to be 40% off on certain invitations. And, one of them happens to be to my liking, though not what we had anticipated...

What do you think?

And then there were 2

2008-11-13T17:30:00.001-08:00

OK, final two.

I think I know what you all are going to say, but I'm putting it all out there for comments. I won't tell you what I think because I don't want to color anyone's opinion. I will say that there are pros and cons to each, which makes this a hard decision.

I have a feeling that at this point my decision will be in agreement with popular opinion. Let me know what you think, and most importantly, if I should keep looking! (Please don't say I should keep looking)...

I should add: OK, I take it back, I have no idea which one I'm leaning towards now. I keep going back and forth about straps/no straps, the fancy back of the Betina, the beautiful detail on the Mori Lee, the $1,000 price difference. I just wish I could show my man, but he wants this to be a surprise now.

Vote for Change!

2008-11-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

Whatever your political orientation, I beg you to go out and vote today. Let your voice be heard! I will not pretend to be non-partisan, but I do respect everyone's individual decision to support who they think will be best for our nation. Personally, I've been working for Barack Obama since November, and I feel like I own part of this campaign. Never have I been so politically energized and included! History will be made today, and I am so happy to be a part of it!
Also, California friends, please consider voting no on Proposition 8. I know most of you are.... but as someone who is getting married in California next year, I want to make sure that every single person in the state shares that same right. The world will not end, morals will not crumble. Families will be created and we'll all be better off for it. I point to MA. for those concerned. The world has not ended there, divorce rates have not worsened (and in fact they've actually improved).

I understand that not all of us meet eye to eye on this, but I had to say it. I still love those of you who disagree, just as I love my gay and lesbian friends who I write about No on Prop 8 for.

Shoe reveal

2008-11-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

So I've had a couple of phone requests and Betrothed Bean's online request to see the shoes.

Now, I had no idea that these very shoes were becoming a rampant wedding trend, but apparently they are. So sue me, I'm trendy for once...

I wanted something really comfortable. As I said, I was going to wear Chuck Taylors, but they seemed too blah for the kind of dresses I'm looking at. I went to try these on a whim when I was in Downtown Seattle. John Fluevog, I love your shoes so! They were so comfortable and seemed like they were made for me.

I thought, eeks, should I really buy shoes before the gown? That doesn't even make sense... But the more I thought about these, the more I was narrowing down dress choices. I also wanted a place where I could really express myself without anyone (oh, you know who you are ;) having a heart attack.

Some may love them, some may hate them, but all I know is that Chris and I are both wild for them... and that's enough for me!

I plan to lace them with either blue laces or blue ribbon. So much fun!

Shoe Love!

2008-10-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Remember when I was going to wear these?

Well, I don't think that's going to be the case anymore.

I found a new shoe and I'm totally in love. It's different, it's comfortable and it's so me!

Do you want to see it or do you want to be surprised? It's up to you... for now I won't post it... but I would be happy to if you want.

The minds (part 3)

2008-10-28T12:40:00.001-07:00

I've been putting off writing the next installment of Meet the Minds. Why, you ask?

Simple. Writing about this chick is no easy task! I wanted to write something perfect and witty... fully befitting Jen, but knowing that I'll probably fall short, I kept putting it off until divine inspiration hit. Well, that's never going to happen, so I thought I would just dive in.

I remember explaining to a guy that Jen was dating once that, yes indeed he was wrong... Jen is always right. I don't mean sometimes. The girl is a wonder, and so if she says something is fact, it is. All the googling in the world will only bear her out. I used to try disagreeing with Jen, but it's a useless endeavor! Not only is Jen right, but she is also smart, funny, humble, crafty, creative, reality-based and emotionally intelligent. And I'm still selling her short with this description.

Jen and I met in the first few weeks of grad school. (Let me know if I'm getting this right, Jen). She was a nutrition chick and I was into Infectious Diseases. One of my earliest memories of hanging out with Jen was when I somehow convinced this nutrition girl to walk with me to the corner of Shattuck to go to McDonalds. Apparently, I had no shame eating the worst food in the world with one of the healthiest people I know. I reflected on this moment in August when Jen had a McDonald's biscuit waiting for me on dress try-on day. She always knows just what I need! So, on our first outing to McDonald's, I remember thinking, "Man this girl is cool." Maybe it was the witty banter or maybe it was the biology nerd in her. I can't remember the particulars, but I knew there was no going back.

Since then, Jen has been there through thick and thin. We suffered through altitude sickness and gastroenteritis together in Tibet and China. Eww, we tasted scorpion together, and we used the worst bathroom in the entire world on one of the most memorable nights in Tibet. (Side note: When I say worst bathroom in the world, I am not exaggerating. I'll save the particulars for those who are interested, but trust me when I say that you never have and never will see anything like this anywhere, ever. Period.) We've lived in Tahoe together, snowboarded together in Jackson Hole (and elsewhere), hiked, canoed, shopped, plotted, and played Taboo. Jen kicks all ass in Taboo, and I have been lucky enough to be her ass-kicking assistant. To this day, I've never been able to break our record of Taboo points with anyone else.

Now we live far from each other, but we see each other when we can. She's my fashion and decorating consultant. Jen doesn't need me for anything... she's far too competent for that. But for whatever reasons, she lets me hang out! She's way too busy for words, being such a successful person... but she still finds time for me... and for that, I am forever and ever, tears in my eyes grateful!

My taboo clue is, "Something Homer Simpson might enjoy ingesting"

Gah! The dress saga continues...

2008-10-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

I learned something crucial today. Such a simple thing, but it may make me go back and revisit everything. The bra I've been wearing to try on dresses is no good. It seems that to give a strapless bra structure, you need to make it padded. Well, the last thing I need is padding! I took it off today to try on a couple of dresses, and lo and behold-- it's a whole different look.

Crikey, how many dresses did I dismiss that might have been ok with a different bra?

Anyway, I liked a couple that I found today... Don't get too attached to either of them ;)

The first is Vera Wang. It is so delicious!

I'm not sure who makes the next one, but it was fun, so I thought I'd show it.

So, I've got to go try on some of these other dresses again. My thoughts were to retry the Betina, the Audrey, and the Mori Lee. Anything else I should re-try?

Dress Madness, Part 2

2008-10-21T17:11:00.001-07:00

I braved the world of dress shopping again today! I was feeling fairly well, and let's face it-- loads better in terms of physical health compared to last time.

We made it to 2 shops today:
I Do Bridal
La Belle Elaine's

Now I have to say, the staff in both places was great. However, the atmosphere of La Belle was crazy. There was a giant lighted runway lined with mirrors, and 100's of dresses in a huge circular room. I mean the place is way cool! I Do was much more utilitarian, but they made up for it with their charming staff and their prices are unbelievably amazing.

We had some good luck today. I don't know if it was my mood or that I already sort of knew what I was looking for from my previous experience, but we really did like almost all the dresses I tried on. Keep in mind that I still like the Augusta Jones, Betina... but Tia did fall off my list when I tried it on again today.

I'll try to weed them down here to the ones I really, really liked and give some images. Unfortunately neither place allows photos, which was a bummer. Fortunately, I was able to get a couple of images to help with the decision.

Enough with the talk. Let me show you some photos.

Mori Lee Style 2105. It really is hard to get an idea of how this looks on me, until you see it... But you'll have to trust me that it accentuated my waist, and laid really nicely through the hips. It wasn't too low on top either.

The next one that we really like was a Casablanca dress, style 1908. This dress fit really well, but I'll admit that I felt a teensy bit like the top of a cake!

Next we have the Maggie Sottero Colby. It's a great dress, very light and very destination wedding. It's made of chiffon, so it feels a little flimsy compared to the others. Oh, and note that my hair will never ever look like this ;) (I promise!)
Next, I tried on a dress from a local Seattle designer. I think the line is called Audrey and the number is 1307. I put on the dress and felt pretty great about it. I tried it on again, hoping to remember it, but knowing that I wouldn't. No photos, so there was no way I could capture it.

I decided to do something I would never do. I put on a very pitiful look and told the assistant that I really really would love a photo to show my family back home in California. I wasn't exactly pouty, and I didn't cry, but I did leave enough doubt as to whether we were going there! The assistant was so lovely about it and snapped a couple of iphone photos for me. So kind! This is a lot of dress, and I do look very curvy in it. I wish you could see the details, especially since we can't find this online. It's got lace and rusching on top with a small amount of beading and crystals, but not too much. The back has two tiers... so think about dresses with pickups.

Now I know the majority of these dresses are strapless, but most of them can have straps added. The bottom one unfortunately would not look good even with spagetti straps.

Oh, and I'll show you the Betina again, since it is the one remaining on the list from my prior outing.

So what do you think? Opinions? Questions? Concerns? Let it fly!

Global financial meltdown (wedding style)

2008-09-29T21:06:00.001-07:00

Now is a funny time to be planning a wedding. We've been so carefully planning and saving for a life together. We put together a reasonable budget and have been financially responsible. We have a plan for the wedding and for the future. Even in the best of times, throwing a wedding puts a financial burden on a fledgling couple... but add an unpredictable market and failing banks, and it makes you wonder if putting money into a wedding is such a good idea.

We're in a weird space because we've already paid for or put deposits down on the major things. But it does make me re-evaluate some of the details. I wonder if paper invitations are really essential. I also wonder how many decoration we really need. Maybe I can find a dress bargain that I can live with. How much DIY can I really do? (Especially since I'm so talentless when it comes to artistic things!)

In a way, I take this as an opportunity to re-evaluate what is important. It should be interesting to distill things down to the essential elements, and maybe in the end it will even take some of the pressure to be perfect off.

Yeah, if Chris's glass is all the way full-- 1/2 with air and 1/2 with water, I'm going to make sure mine is at least half full(!), but it does feel like we're blindly hurtling off a cliff into an abyss right now.

Anyone else feel guilty about the state of the economy and its relationship with your wedding? Are you changing or revising anything because of the crisis?

Lucky girl!

2008-09-20T23:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe that I've actually had a stroke of luck. There are a ton of bridal contests out there, and when I run across them I'll enter-- of course never expecting to win anything.

(Although, what I really would love to score is a set of letterpress invitations... Guess I have to keep dreaming on that count!)

Nonetheless, I did score a gift certificate to Bonita J. jewelery. Check it out, and let me know if you have any opinions. I have a few ideas, but I'll be interested to see what you think!

http://www.bonitaj.com/sfnt.html

Example of one of their necklaces:

Amazing letterpress

2008-09-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

OK, so most of you probably know that Chris and I were at first going to send out our invitations electronically. That idea didn't last very long. But lately as themes and ideas have come together, it has seemed more and more that invitations are a nice element to set the tone for our day.

I stumbled across the Dingbat's Agenda and learned all about some of the more creative things you can do with letterpress. They are giving away a full invitation suite, and I figure that their contest is the closest I'll ever get to letterpress. Here's hoping! (How perfect is this simple pear invitation?)

Pirate Name!

2008-09-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

Friday is national talk like a pirate day! Being that I'm the pirate piece of pirates and pears, I went and searched out the pirate name generator.

My pirate name is: Bad-Rum Antonia. (I like it!)
Chris's name is: Cap'n Gus Cannonballs (funny)

Check out the site and find your pirate name!
http://gangstaname.com/pirate_name.php

Maybe we'll publish your pirate name in the wedding program!

Buying Fancy Color Diamonds (a science geek's dream)

2008-08-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Fancy colored diamonds are becoming increasingly popular, and come in pretty much any color that you can imagine.
Color is created in diamonds as they crystalize. The normally perfect tetrahedral structure is twisted and the diamond absorbs other atoms. Instead of reflecting all available light, these diamonds will absorb some light and reflect the rest. The color you see is that of the reflected light.

We know which atoms cause most of the common color changes.

Type I diamonds have absorbed nitrogen and are generally a pale yellow.
Type Ia has an uneven distribution of atoms, resulting in a light yellow appearance
Type Ib has an even distribution and shows up as a deep yellow (canary, orange, brown, green) These are very rare.

Type II diamonds have no nitrogen, but a twisted lattice structure.
Type IIa-These show up yellow, brown, pink or red.
Type IIb- These have absorbed boron and show up as a blue color

Green diamonds are unique and rare. Their color is actually a result of radiation. They can have some very unique and chameleon-like properties, where they actually change color in response to light.
http://www.duke.edu/~hls1/diamant/yellowgreen.html

As natural colored diamonds become more popular, thanks to JLo and other high profile celebrities, there is a large preponderance of treated or manufactured stones. So it is really important to know what you are doing when picking a colored diamond. Treated diamonds as a rule have no resale value. This is because they are not stable and the color can change over time. It is really best to only by a stone that is a certified natural colored diamond.

About picking a colored stone:
Remember the 4 c’s? Good. Now completely forget them… Colored stones are a whole different ball game.
The most important element in a colored diamond (above all the C’s) is COLOR. This means that weight, shape, and other inclusions will be sacraficed to get brilliant, even color. In a colored stone it is perfectly acceptable to have some inclusions as long as they don’t interfere with the sparkle and color and you can’t see them with the naked eye.

Because this is the primary rule, it means that picking a colored diamond is extremely subjective. I can give you some rules of things to look for and things I found in my experience of looking at a ton of colored stones.

One of my very favorite rings:

Bijoux Extrodinaire

Look for: Maximum sparkle. This means you are going to have to look at a lot of stones to know where you are at on the sparkle scale. My stone in particular looks like it goes on forever as you gaze into the stone because of the way all of the reflection happens.

This leads me to cut. The cut is going to bring out the best in the color. When cutting colored stones, some non-traditional cuts may maximize the color and sparkle. Clear diamonds have very specific proportions that maximize sparkle. These same proportions don’t work with colored stones… so you may be looking at cuts that ordinarily you would discard with a white stone. Because we are so worried about color, a bad cut (especially too shallow) can cause light leakage and “dead spots” that can interfere with the sparkle and the color. Make sure that you look at the diamond from every possible angle to see what the light does to the stone. A larger table on your diamond can make stones look lighter than they really are, and a thicker girdle (which we want to avoid in white stones) can intensify color. It also ends up making the face look a bit smaller.

Color: It has to be a color that you love. Look for evenness of color. Color grading is extremely complicated. There are color charts with about 1500 unique colors, but you can bet that diamonds often don’t match those colors in the books. There are certain very “accepted” colors, so if the stone doesn’t match one of the typical colors, you get a modifying color name (brownish yellow). Here brown is the modifying color, with yellow being the predominant color. Having an ISH modifier, usually decreases the value of the stone, but also allows you to find a stone that is exactly the color that suits you best.

Then there is an intensity factor. This is tacked on to the beginning of the description. They range from faint, light, normal, intense, vivid, and deep/dark. With yellow diamonds, canary is the name reserved for the deepest intensities. So now your stone is a light brownish yellow.

Finally, “fancy” goes in front of stones deemed to be exceptionally brilliant. This can modify any intensity of stone except for faint. So you can have a fancy light brownish yellow stone.
Fancy Yellow Diamond - 17.46 Carat VVS2 Fancy Yellow Radiant Cut Diamond (this is an exceptional diamond!) Image from www.lussori.com.

Words of caution: Many middling white diamonds, deemed unsuitable for normal use will be color treated in a lab. Don’t buy a colored stone without a certificate. If the stone is certified by GIA, HRD, IGI, EGL, CGL, or AGS you can be sure that the color is of natural origin. If there is any doubt to the origin, then the certificate will say “undeterminable” and the stone becomes unsellable as a natural colored diamond.

Pricing: The price in descending order of color is red, purple, green, yellow… then brown, black and grey. Yellow diamonds range from 10,000-50,000/carat. But don’t despair. You can get a beautiful colored diamond on a budget. Brown diamonds (known as champagne in the diamond industry) generally have a market value similar to or slightly less than white diamonds. As you go up in intensity and color, you’ll pay more for a brown diamond. Also, the more modifying colors, the lower the price… so if you had a yellowish orangish brown diamond, you might find a lower price point than a pure brown diamond. (It also might be a funny color!)

I opted for a yellowish-brown stone that looks closer to the yellow family than to brown. I also decided to go with a lower intensity (light), but with a fancy modifier. I originally wanted a princess cut or another square cut, but quickly realized that to achieve a really brilliant effect, there needed to be more facets. We opted for a square cut radiant diamond, which gives you all the faceting benefit of a round diamond but with the shape of a square diamond. My diamond sacrifices a little in face what it makes up for in depth, so although it is just over a carat, it faces up to seem smaller than that. I wasn’t really going for size, but was instead focused on sparkle. People definitely do a double take!

My pretty!

Some people opt to set their yellow diamonds in a gold setting, offset by a platinum band, but I really felt that my beautiful diamond could speak for itself. So I went for a platinum band with a platinum setting. I really believe it depends on the diamond whether you go that route or not, so work with your gemologist to decide.

You’ll need to see these stones in person. You can’t buy your colored stone very easily on the internet. We worked with 2 different gemologists. The first one was not a color expert, but she was able to get us a ton of stones. We viewed 9 different stones with her, and learned a lot about what we didn’t want. We saw a lot of light leakage, uneven coloring and dull stones. Then we went to a local color expert. We viewed a number of canary diamonds they had in house already. We spoke with the gemologist about what we liked and what we didn’t like. He ordered 2 stones in for us and both would have been great. The one I didn’t pick was a little darker and more intense on the color scale, but a little less brilliant, while the one I picked was incredibly brilliant and alive. The prices reflected the differences, but we feel like we got a great value for a colored diamond by buying a light yellowish brown stone! It just happens that we found a stone that was VVS2, but I would have been happy with anything up to SI.

Ultimately, its going to be up to your particular taste with colored diamonds, so get out there and start looking and asking questions. (And isn’t that the most fun part?!)

A really beautiful pink diamond:
Image from www.lussori.com
Reference:
http://www.color_diamond_encyclopedia.com
http://jewelry.about.com/od/diamonds/ss/fancy_color.htm
http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/go340/students/flax/fancy.htm#odd

Blog-cest!

2008-08-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

OK, so this is a bit of blog incest... but I just fell in love with a piece of jewelery and wanted to share it!

Now, I was just reading Starry eyed barefoot bride's blog and stumbled across an entry about Noaki's jewelery. I went and checked out her site, and found a modified vintage piece that would be so perfect for the Pirate and Pear wedding. I hope that Michelle doesn't mind that I'm posting in a similar vein on the same day... but this find seemed too perfect!

The colors- ah- perfect. Sapphire colored glass (goes with the lake blue dresses) with that champagne-y color that would perfectly accent my ring. Vintage, but modern. Pearls (for my birthstone). Blingy, but not too blingy. Qualifies as something old and blue!

What do you think?

Oh and check out Noaki's site because it is awesome! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5707526

Photos of an unwell Zoliepup in some dresses

2008-08-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Now before I post these, let me preface this by saying I think I was really extra-puffy on the day we went dress shopping. It might have had something to do with having drinks(!) the night before, and I definitely wouldn't recommend a large alcohol infusion pre-dress shopping. So, I'm a little embarrassed about how I look in these, but I want to get opinions relative to which look better on me-- so I'm sucking it up in the interest of your thoughts! (Also because I mostly felt like retching that morning, I don't look very happy... but don't let that fool you. I was just under the weather and very self-conscious--these are the first dresses of any sort that I've put on in over a year!)

#1 Augusta Jones Tia (front and back) "I'm going to come attack you now... or throw up, not sure which!"

#2 Augusta Jones Betina (front and back-- unbustled and bustled)

Valentina(?)- only strapless I really liked. It is covered in vintage French lace and is totally gorgeous, but didn't feel very much like me. I'm posting it because it was very different than the other 2.

The fruits of our labor

2008-08-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

Jen and I had a great day yesterday, even if I was feeling a bit under the weather. I wasn't at my best, but luckily Jen was.

I learned a lot. A few of the practicalities I mentioned in the comments section of my last post, but I did learn some things about the dresses themselves. To quote Meghan, our wonderful helper at Haute Bride, "The trick with wedding dresses is to find the right optical illusion for you." (I'm afraid that might be a loose paraphrase!)

So I learned that the initial thoughts I had were on the right track, but rusching is my friend! Here are two of the best dresses we found yesterday. Remember, we'll be outside in July... so I'm thinking simple but elegant, and I'd like it to be lightweight. What do you think?

I'm skeered!

2008-08-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally bit the bullet and agreed to go dress shopping next week. Jen and I are going to partner up and tear through San Francisco next Tuesday.

Did you know that you need to make appointments to visit most of these places? (Ok, did I just reveal my utter cluelessness about wedding stuff?!) Needless to say, I've got a lot of dress research to do before our big shopping extravaganza!

We're going to the Bridal Galleria, Haute Bride... then the day gets a little hazy to me after that... but the crowning piece will be our visit to The Glamour Closet. I'm totally excited about this place and had read about it before I even knew I was going to get a chance to go there. This is a place that sells brand new designer wedding gowns that happened to be samples. This means big discounts on fabulous dresses!

I can't wait to hang out with Jen, and I fully expect the dress hunt to be adrenalizing and demoralizing all at the same time.

Anything else I should know before I go?

Meet the minds (behind the bride) Part dos

2008-08-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my sister Liz, or Lizzie if you prefer (aka the Cupcake Princess). I've known Lizzie for the entirety of her 26 years on this planet. The first irony here, which is not at all lost on me, is that my sister is the same age as my fiance... Well, that's not true... She's 6 months older than him! This is ironic because I always thought of Liz as my "baby" sister (being that she is 11 years younger than me). Of course she settled down and got married and started a family while I was still in school, so who's the baby now, baby?!

Anyway, I was always kind of in awe of Liz. She was such a *good* kid. You know, so polite and kind and happy and angelic-- the perfect kid. I have a picture of her from when she was two where she literally looks like an angel. The awe and the age gap put us in distinctly different realms growing up. I moved away when Lizzie was 2, so we didn't exactly spend a ton of time growing up together.

We bonded over fashion when she became a teenager. Liz became a 5'9" beauty, and being a stubby 5'4" myself, I lived vicariously and dressed her in various outfits that I purchased in the Haight... She introduced me to Delia's online store(I still get their email), and I introduced her to the musical Rent. Bonding was fun, and I'm always really glad I had that time with my youngest sister to finally get to know her!

Facts about Lizzie:

When Liz was little, the family called me at my high school to say that Liz was hit by a car on her bike. I was so worried that I was physically ill, because as everyone knows the really good ones are most prone to really bad things happening.

Liz was once a model for Papa John's Pizza.

She is a burgeoning triathelete (which I think kicks all ass!)

She planned a gorgeous Mendicino wedding on a shoestring budget.

She is a brilliant cake decorator and will be designing the cupcakes for my wedding.

She has two kids named Jonah and Myleigh.
Here is a photo of my beloved Liz (and all the neices):

*next up... wait for it... Jen!

Table setting

2008-07-31T09:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a blue and gold table setting that I love.

The best dog

2008-07-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

While I eagerly await a photo of my sister Liz to post with her bio, I thought I'd skip to one of the other attendants at our wedding-- namely, Catch. I wanted our beautiful Bernese Mountain Dog to be part of the festivities and was trying to think of a good way to integrate him.

I thought about ring-bearer, but I really have unbearably cute nephews to do that job. I also thought about flower dog, but without an opposable thumb, he would be severely limited in that regard.

But Catch is a pack dog. He loves wearing his backpack, and we often walk him around Greenlake with his red pack ladened down just because he enjoys it. So I thought that my nieces could walk down the aisle with him with two baskets hanging at his sides. The girls can grab and throw their petals from the baskets that Catch carries. I envision belt-loop berry picking baskets strapped to his backpack frame.

Besides, wouldn't he look completely sweet with a collar of flowers around his neck?

Catch:

He's a working dog, through and through... Here he is swimming on a mostly frozen alpine lake. He's so tough! That water was just at the melting point. My toes went numb in seconds, but he chose to submerge himself and swim in it! He got in repeatedly over the course of the afternoon. He always came out shivering and then went back for more!

So what do you think I should call him in the program? Flower dog? Best dog? Bride's best buddy?

Chris's engagement ring (with mine)

2008-07-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

We just got Chris's engagement ring (and wedding ring) in the mail! We looked high and low for something that we both liked, but everything seemed completely ordinary. We finally found Rob and Leighanne on Etsy--and their rings are anything but ordinary. They have been amazing to work with too.

This is a sandblasted titanium, and it hits all the right notes. The sandblasting gives it a flat appearance, but also a bit of sparkle. I've been calling it "boy bling".

Too bad my photography with my broken camera doesn't reflect their craft. Since I dropped my camera when photographing my engagement ring, it has had some problems. Add camera to the list of things that need to be replaced!

Here is a better picture of it, from Rob and Leighanne's Etsy site. Hopefully they won't mind that I'm sharing it!

2008-07-26T20:46:00.001-07:00

A hair thing I like

2008-07-24T21:23:00.001-07:00

I think this is a really cool headband, especially in light of the fact that I'll probably have short hair for the wedding.

Back in the land of the living!

2008-07-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

I'm cradled in the arms of society again in a few different ways.

I finally finished attending on the wards. I love doing it, but it means 12 hr plus days of putting your heart and soul into some very sick kids and their families. It is so draining, but also hugely rewarding. For those 2 weeks, I did essentially nothing related to the wedding (minus the pear trial) and had no inkling of what was going on in the world. Its nice to be able to read the news, watch Keith Olbermann and have time to read my favorite blogs.

But the real way that I've come back to life is by getting a new cell phone. Not just any cell phone, but the i-phone 3G. You all remember that fateful day in March when my phone broke. (Well, I accidentally crushed it with my foot, but that's a whole other story). I've held out and dealt with a dysfunctional screen for months. For a while, I could at least see the phone number of who I was calling. That was great, because I started memorizing numbers... Good thing, too, because eventually the screen died altogether. If I didn't know your number by heart, I couldn't call you. In the past week, it no longer told me when I was getting calls or if I had messages. Old slider phone was giving up the ghost :(

I finally went to order my new toy. I was nervous, and my palms were sweaty. I had no doubt about what I wanted, only whether I would be responsible enough to care for her appropriately. She was on back-order, so I had time to think about my choice. Well, she came in yesterday and she's everything I could have hoped for. She's smart, sophisticated and funny... and I love her so. She's so sleek that I've already dropped her once. I'll try not to repeat that trick!

Now, I can finally get your calls and call you again! We can plot and scheme to our content. (Limited only by i-phone's battery life).

Here she is in all her glory!

2008-07-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Centerpiece work

2008-07-18T20:24:00.001-07:00

Still working on centerpiece ideas. I wonder if we can somehow meld these 2. (and its too bad I can't link to the other picture of sugared pears. Maybe I'll just link to the image. You can go to:
http://www.usapears.com/lifestyle/decorating.asp
and then click on sugared pears.

New inspiration board

2008-07-18T19:57:00.001-07:00

Meet the minds (behind the bride)

2008-07-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

The name of this post could have been "Meet the Maids", but that would have just been cheesy! I realize that most of you know a lot about each other, but don't know each other so much... and I figured it would be fun to do a little "get to know ya". Let's see what I can put together.

I'll go in order of the length of time I've known you.

Yup, that means you Sandie.

I've known this girl since she was in utero. I talked to you before you were viable on your own, and I have to say, I always credit the fact that we can be singing the same song in different states at the exact same time or decide to call each other at the same moment to the fact that we've shared our pre-natal environment, home, and experiences since day #1.

Facts:
I have a tape of Sandie singing in made up foreign languages when she was about 5. It is one of the cutest things that I have. We should definitely burn it onto a CD!

I've never seen someone so scared as my sister when I fell out of the Gumm's accelerating truck and almost got hit by another car in the middle of a busy road. That might be the first time I knew how much she loved me.

Sandie adores most things Japanese, and is more fluent in Japanese than she lets on.

She used to love the Julianna Hatfield 3 and Pizzicato 5. (Maybe just a fetish with bands that have numbers in the name?) Sandie has seen Madonna live in concert in Japan. (Which I made fun of at the time, but now think is *way* cool.) Sandie has a great fashion sense.

She has 3 adorable kids and one husband who is pretty cool. She's got 2 dogs (Cavalier and a Lab) and a cat named Omaha (think Counting Crows). She used to have a cat named Julianna (named after the aforementioned band) and now, even better, has a daughter named Juliana (not after the band)... Note the different spellings.

She's an ESTP on Myers Briggs Testing... which might have had an impact on me. Chris is also an ESTP. But when it comes down to it, she has the biggest heart and is the glue that keeps our family together!

*next up-Liz

More dresses

2008-07-16T19:49:00.001-07:00

Love this dress, although the neckline would have to be altered (its plunging!)

Dress Madness

2008-07-11T17:32:00.001-07:00

Jen brings up the infamous dress question... which I've been putting off. Here are some options, most of which you guys have probably already seen. This is sort of one grouping I've been looking at. Some days I like other stuff, so when I'm in a different mood I'll post some different styles I like.

A cool vintage inspired dress

2008-07-08T22:03:00.001-07:00

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