I stumbled across this cool giveaway as I was perusing WeddingBee this afternoon. It's a pretty awesome concept, and I would encourage others to get involved if they like the looks of it! It closes soon, people, so check it out!
Monogram Me Giveaway
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Let Them Eat (Haute) Cake!
As stated previously, I have the bad habit of picking out really expensive things and wanting them with a passion. First it was all of the dresses I picked out of magazines, then the shoes (Manolo Blahniks in Something Blue... yum!), then the idea of having a photo booth at the reception. When it came time for the cake design, why break the chain?
Thankfully, I was blessed enough to stumble upon a listing for a fabulous baker. I believe that her sister is Sarah @ Parrott Design Studio on WeddingBee Pro. I don't exactly remember how or when I came across her cake website, but it was early in the process and I knew nothing about what our cake should look like or how expensive it would be. I mean, come on, how expensive could one slice of cake be?!
Expensive. Period. The local bakers in Bethel, near our reception and ceremony locales, were asking nearly $4.50 a slice. Would their cakes be works of art? Probably. Would we go broke paying for that work of art? Absolutely. Hoping for some sort of miracle, I branched out and started looking at bakers outside of our area. It would be more of a hassle to get the cake to the reception, but if it would save a few hundred dollars, it was worth it. Mr. Library and I can be creative problem solvers when we want to.
After coming across our baker's website and scheduling a tasting with her (I have never seen Mr. Library so excited about a wedding errand before!), I received my copy of Modern Bride in the mail. This became my ultimate inspiration:
Dream Cake
Mr. Library and I wanted to have a topper instead of flowers, but how gorgeous is this design?! I took the idea with me to the tasting, and Jessica, Mr. Library and I worked together to come up with a variation on the picture. I'm not really one to just copy someone else's idea. I need to have it be something original.
Flavor options were up next. Mr. Library and I had agreed that it wasn't likely we would totally agree on one wedding cake flavor. He is very plain (chocolate cake with white frosting) and I am more along the lines of fruity flavors with exciting add-ins. We landed on a decision to take turns determining the layers and we would agree on the top. It turned out not to be a problem at all. The cake was soooooo delicious (I have never eaten so many cupcakes in my life) and seemed to go with every filling we tried. In the end, we came out with the top and the bottom layer being red velvet with buttercreme and raspberry filling, the next layer being strawberry cake with lemon buttercreme filling, the third layer being German chocolate cake with the appropriate filling, and the top being lemon cake with raspberry filling. We were stuffed, and we were happy.
Unfortunately, FMIL Library decided that her side of the family would whine and potentially fight over who got which kind of cake (what kinds of family members are we inviting to this occassion?!), so she wanted to go with one flavor of cake. While I try my hardest not to be a bridezilla, I had to say "Oh heck no" to that verdict. This was our wedding cake, not hers, and if people were going to be picky, they should hurry to the cake table before everything is gone. We decided not to add a new flavor to the top layer since it only fed six people (our baker makes us a new cake for our anniversary so it still tastes good), so lemon with raspberry went.
How did you pick out your cake?
Thankfully, I was blessed enough to stumble upon a listing for a fabulous baker. I believe that her sister is Sarah @ Parrott Design Studio on WeddingBee Pro. I don't exactly remember how or when I came across her cake website, but it was early in the process and I knew nothing about what our cake should look like or how expensive it would be. I mean, come on, how expensive could one slice of cake be?!
Expensive. Period. The local bakers in Bethel, near our reception and ceremony locales, were asking nearly $4.50 a slice. Would their cakes be works of art? Probably. Would we go broke paying for that work of art? Absolutely. Hoping for some sort of miracle, I branched out and started looking at bakers outside of our area. It would be more of a hassle to get the cake to the reception, but if it would save a few hundred dollars, it was worth it. Mr. Library and I can be creative problem solvers when we want to.
After coming across our baker's website and scheduling a tasting with her (I have never seen Mr. Library so excited about a wedding errand before!), I received my copy of Modern Bride in the mail. This became my ultimate inspiration:
Dream Cake
Mr. Library and I wanted to have a topper instead of flowers, but how gorgeous is this design?! I took the idea with me to the tasting, and Jessica, Mr. Library and I worked together to come up with a variation on the picture. I'm not really one to just copy someone else's idea. I need to have it be something original.
Flavor options were up next. Mr. Library and I had agreed that it wasn't likely we would totally agree on one wedding cake flavor. He is very plain (chocolate cake with white frosting) and I am more along the lines of fruity flavors with exciting add-ins. We landed on a decision to take turns determining the layers and we would agree on the top. It turned out not to be a problem at all. The cake was soooooo delicious (I have never eaten so many cupcakes in my life) and seemed to go with every filling we tried. In the end, we came out with the top and the bottom layer being red velvet with buttercreme and raspberry filling, the next layer being strawberry cake with lemon buttercreme filling, the third layer being German chocolate cake with the appropriate filling, and the top being lemon cake with raspberry filling. We were stuffed, and we were happy.
Unfortunately, FMIL Library decided that her side of the family would whine and potentially fight over who got which kind of cake (what kinds of family members are we inviting to this occassion?!), so she wanted to go with one flavor of cake. While I try my hardest not to be a bridezilla, I had to say "Oh heck no" to that verdict. This was our wedding cake, not hers, and if people were going to be picky, they should hurry to the cake table before everything is gone. We decided not to add a new flavor to the top layer since it only fed six people (our baker makes us a new cake for our anniversary so it still tastes good), so lemon with raspberry went.
How did you pick out your cake?
Shoe shopping is an aphrodisiac...
Or at least that was what one issue of Cosmopolitan said. The nerves in the brain that control the sensations in the feet and the sensations in, well, other places are next door neighbors, so shoe shopping is like a ramp up to a big event. Does this also work for online shoe shopping?
I have been trolling the web for months looking for a pair of glamorous blue shoes to wear for my wedding. I saw lots of different magazines and wedding websites touting the trend of colored shoes, and not being one who likes to stand in the background on bland color choices, I jumped at the idea. My wedding colors are cobalt blue, cornflower blue, white, and fuchsia peonies. I would like my shoes to match the color of my bridesmaids, but it's not a do or die.
Does anyone have any good resources for blue high heels?
I have been trolling the web for months looking for a pair of glamorous blue shoes to wear for my wedding. I saw lots of different magazines and wedding websites touting the trend of colored shoes, and not being one who likes to stand in the background on bland color choices, I jumped at the idea. My wedding colors are cobalt blue, cornflower blue, white, and fuchsia peonies. I would like my shoes to match the color of my bridesmaids, but it's not a do or die.
Does anyone have any good resources for blue high heels?
If You Like It, You Shoulda Put a Ring on It... for the Second Time
Oh wedding ring shopping - the beauty of the rings, the intrigue of the different types of metals and what they do (or in some cases, what they do NOT do, like stand up to everyday wear and tear), the glitz of the possible diamonds - how much fun you can be. However, looking at the price tags, I now fully understand what Mother Library meant when I grew up having "expensive taste."
Being that my engagement ring has a Tiffany setting (see below), it has been a little difficult to find a wedding band that adds something to it, but doesn't outshine the engagement ring. Different jewelers have been more than happy to show me wedding rings with more carats than my engagement ring. One even said I should trade up! I have politely declined and kept looking.
One rain-drenched afternoon in August, on the way to dropping Mr. Library off at the train station to go back to school, we stopped by a Maine jeweler called Day's Jewelers. Father Library had purchased a piece or two for Mother Library here before, so I had seen some of their pieces. We decided to give it a shot and went in. Not only were the sales reps helpful, they gave us REAL advice on what to look for and were willing to work with our budget, which is pretty tiny when it comes to wedding rings (thank you, grad school loans!).
I found this baby and fell in love with it:
Sparkle Sparkle
It had sparkle, it had class, it had diamonds, and it had a reasonable price tag. Mr. Library seemed happy with it as well (he has his own ring buying pressure to manage, so I don't expect a lot of decision-making action from him when it comes to mine.) We wrote down the number so the store and I would remember it. I'm still a little skeptical about the height, though.
Has anyone else had the ring height problem? How did you match your engagement ring and wedding ring?
Being that my engagement ring has a Tiffany setting (see below), it has been a little difficult to find a wedding band that adds something to it, but doesn't outshine the engagement ring. Different jewelers have been more than happy to show me wedding rings with more carats than my engagement ring. One even said I should trade up! I have politely declined and kept looking.
One rain-drenched afternoon in August, on the way to dropping Mr. Library off at the train station to go back to school, we stopped by a Maine jeweler called Day's Jewelers. Father Library had purchased a piece or two for Mother Library here before, so I had seen some of their pieces. We decided to give it a shot and went in. Not only were the sales reps helpful, they gave us REAL advice on what to look for and were willing to work with our budget, which is pretty tiny when it comes to wedding rings (thank you, grad school loans!).
I found this baby and fell in love with it:
Sparkle Sparkle
It had sparkle, it had class, it had diamonds, and it had a reasonable price tag. Mr. Library seemed happy with it as well (he has his own ring buying pressure to manage, so I don't expect a lot of decision-making action from him when it comes to mine.) We wrote down the number so the store and I would remember it. I'm still a little skeptical about the height, though.
Has anyone else had the ring height problem? How did you match your engagement ring and wedding ring?
Monday, November 23, 2009
A Bargain Hunter's Paradise
I know I must be super late catching on to this trend, but eBay is a god send when it comes to finding great deals on wedding supplies. I had read a few dozen wedding planning books that sung its praises for planning a wedding on a budget, but I had been skeptical. An honest to goodness wedding dress without any flaws for how much? Yeah right! But after scouring local craft fairs for the perfect gifts for my bridesmaids and coming up with nothing that worked, I had to come up with other resources.
Etsy was my next stop, but I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. While I would like to say exactly what I am looking for, but because Miss Sox in the City is watching, I have to keep my lips zipped! I am all for supporting crafters in their endeavors, but being on a tight budget and not seeing anything that struck me, I had to dive into the unknown: the world of fast-paced bidding (ok, so it's fast-paced for me when I am using the computer on dial-up at home! Yes, I do live under a large rock...) and Paypal.
Yowza! Was I surprised when I not only found exactly what I wanted, but many of them were still around $0.99! Of course there is shipping involved, but come on! This was awesome! After a few choice words for the speed of dial-up and being outbid, I found four out of four pieces I wanted. Nine hours later, the results were in: I had won three auctions and had been outbid at the last minute on the fourth. I settled on a similar item from Amazon.com for a similar price for the fourth and called it a success. I am hoping my girls will love them (if not, I'll certain take them!).
The only problem I have faced, and currently am facing, is that we have to have our account with PayPal verified. Well, what if I don't want to have my PayPal account hooked up to my bank account? What if that makes me really nervous? What if I absolutely do not want a credit card through them? I have enough bills already! What then, PayPal? What then? Has anyone else faced this dilemma?
Etsy was my next stop, but I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. While I would like to say exactly what I am looking for, but because Miss Sox in the City is watching, I have to keep my lips zipped! I am all for supporting crafters in their endeavors, but being on a tight budget and not seeing anything that struck me, I had to dive into the unknown: the world of fast-paced bidding (ok, so it's fast-paced for me when I am using the computer on dial-up at home! Yes, I do live under a large rock...) and Paypal.
Yowza! Was I surprised when I not only found exactly what I wanted, but many of them were still around $0.99! Of course there is shipping involved, but come on! This was awesome! After a few choice words for the speed of dial-up and being outbid, I found four out of four pieces I wanted. Nine hours later, the results were in: I had won three auctions and had been outbid at the last minute on the fourth. I settled on a similar item from Amazon.com for a similar price for the fourth and called it a success. I am hoping my girls will love them (if not, I'll certain take them!).
The only problem I have faced, and currently am facing, is that we have to have our account with PayPal verified. Well, what if I don't want to have my PayPal account hooked up to my bank account? What if that makes me really nervous? What if I absolutely do not want a credit card through them? I have enough bills already! What then, PayPal? What then? Has anyone else faced this dilemma?
Friday, November 20, 2009
The "I's have it!
Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin, Ireland (Internet photo)
Ahhh... Rome at sunset. Now all we need is some gelato... (Internet photo)
Romantic Italy with its bustling streets, its ancient architecture, its creative ambiance -- who wouldn't want to spend a week or two? Being a book nut, I had fallen in love with the different portrayals of Italy in "A Room with a View" and "Under the Tuscan Sun", while Mr. Library is a theatre geek with an ever-developing love for art and art history. As a planning surprise to me, Mr. Library decided to play around with hypothetical honeymoons. He came up with an amazing trip: a week in Paris with a day trip to Belgium and to EuroDisney, followed by a few days in Barcelona before taking off on a week-long cruise around the Meditterranean, stopping in at least three Italian ports. It was a honeymoon match made in heaven... or so we thought.
If Italy and this European expedition were honeymoon nirvana, Mr. Library and I were experiencing that annoying ringing in the ears before you reach true enlightenment. With the economy the way it is, and with both of our bank accounts reflecting back on our status as students, Italy seemed a little out of reach. Airfare would chew up most of our budget, which was kind of limited for European travel. The cruise was, as expected, expensive, but we were willing to look the other way because of excursions, the all-inclusive cruise plan, and the fact that we would have been visiting at least four different countries. The hotels and the meals in Paris and Barcelona, though, were the troublemakers, so the plan was scratched. We must have gone over at least a dozen more plans before finally landing on one we could both love: Italy and Ireland.
Now, one might wonder if heritage had anything to do with these two very different locations, and the short answer is no. Mr. Library is Lithuanian, English, and Canadian French, while I am Canadian French and what my family lovingly refers to as "pale European mutt." There isn't a drop of Irish or Italian in either of us. The two places just happened to be locales we had both dreamed of visiting, and as Bob Barker used to say, the price was right. Airfare was reasonable enough and we wanted to visit more than one country, so the "I"s had it. With plane tickets from Boston (to London) to Rome, Rome (to Budapest) to Dublin, and Dublin (to London) to Boston, and hotels in both cities, Mr. Library and I can finally turn our attention to the smaller details of the honeymoon... where to get some excellent gelato, pasta, and pub food!
The After-Ceremony Seed Tossing Blues
I have always thought of having something thrown after the ceremony of our wedding. I suppose it is normally done as the happy couple run off to their honeymoon, but Mr. Library and I will be staying at the same resort as the reception and won't be leaving for our honeymoon for another couple of days. You know... just enough time to open presents, collect our newly-married thoughts, and make sure my crazy aunts haven't played any pranks on our packed suitcases.
After much deliberation over what to throw after our ceremony, I came up with a brilliant idea (ok, so I thought it was brilliant and sold it to Mr. Library as such). Instead of throwing rice, which can harm birds, blowing bubbles, which leads to too many plastic containers and seems to be overly done, glitter, which will stick to us much more than anything else, and bird seed, which I hear can hurt and smell bad, I found an eco-friendly idea: throwing wild flower mix. Getting married on a bridge means that whatever we throw will inevitably end up in the water, and I didn't want to be responsible for hurting the ecological balance. Talk about bridal guilt! If I get a mix of indigenous flowers, I won't be upsetting anything; everything will just be more colorful because of my love for Mr. Library! Sounds like an awesome plan, right?
Here's the catch. I have fallen in love with petal cones like the ones Mrs. Caterpillar posted. I am a total craft person, as is Sister Library and Mother Library, so that won't be a problem, but we can't find any blue paper that will work! You would think it would be easy to find nice blue paper in a range of shades. I'm not even picky about the pattern! Does anyone have any good places to get shades of blue paper?
After much deliberation over what to throw after our ceremony, I came up with a brilliant idea (ok, so I thought it was brilliant and sold it to Mr. Library as such). Instead of throwing rice, which can harm birds, blowing bubbles, which leads to too many plastic containers and seems to be overly done, glitter, which will stick to us much more than anything else, and bird seed, which I hear can hurt and smell bad, I found an eco-friendly idea: throwing wild flower mix. Getting married on a bridge means that whatever we throw will inevitably end up in the water, and I didn't want to be responsible for hurting the ecological balance. Talk about bridal guilt! If I get a mix of indigenous flowers, I won't be upsetting anything; everything will just be more colorful because of my love for Mr. Library! Sounds like an awesome plan, right?
Here's the catch. I have fallen in love with petal cones like the ones Mrs. Caterpillar posted. I am a total craft person, as is Sister Library and Mother Library, so that won't be a problem, but we can't find any blue paper that will work! You would think it would be easy to find nice blue paper in a range of shades. I'm not even picky about the pattern! Does anyone have any good places to get shades of blue paper?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
