Car Tires 'n Chicken Wire

30th Birthday Party Menu

2010-09-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Vegetarian Chili Verde
Grilled corn and hot dogs
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies {thanks to The Lovliest Day for the recipe and image via Martha Stewart}
Voodoo Donuts
Spiked Apple Cider
Banoffee Pie

Any other ideas???

CtrlP is Awesome!

2010-09-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of CtrlP? They're a new etsy design business that has the raddest invitation suites for your wedding! And...... the creators are Lizzie and Isaiah from this blog that journals their Chicago wedding planning on a $10,000 budget.

Check out some of these fab, can't-find elsewhere-designs:

I recently worked with Lizzie on customizing this invite for my 30th birthday party coming up in October

I liked the playfulness of the font mixed with the warm, dark fall colors, perfect for a pre-halloween bash!

Check them out if you're looking for something fresh and eye-catching for any event!

I was alll the Buzz

2010-09-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

Okay I'm making light of this situation, but it was seriously scary. Have you ever been shocked? I mean like whole-body-taken-over-by-robotic-aliens-who-are-frying-you-with-their-zappers shocked? Of course I was stupidly hanging up christmas lights barefoot on wet grass and picked them up near broken bulb/exposed wire which didn't immediately make contact until I had a hammer and nail in one hand and looped the string of lights around my finger to nail to a tree.
For the first few seconds of not realizing what was happening it felt just like the description above. According to my husband and daughter I was screaming bloody murder so the whole neighborhood could hear. I couldn't see anything until it clicked in my brain that I was being electrocuted and I pulled off the lights with my other hand. I have no idea if I clenched my eyes shut in reaction to the sensation freaking the crap out of me or if the voltage zapping my body caused temporary blindness?
So I ran, I screamed, I was shaking, my arms muscles hurt for a bit, then my legs, then I folded myself on the ground and cried a bit. I do that, I cry to release freaked-out-ness among plenty of other emotions. I had a red slightly swollen hand for a bit, and a burn on my finger, and even yesterday woke up unable to make a fist and my left arm got tired easily and couldn't take much pressure before aching.
Household voltage is not that dangerous, but the force of a zinger is dependent on how reactive your tissues are, whether you're wet or dry (duh) and how far and where the current travels.
I managed to supply the right conditions for a whopper of conductivity!

Oh maiya, it was all worth it, your birthday was lovely.

13

2010-09-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

{ age 8}
Ack. I'm only 29 and my oldest turns 13 today. That many years ago I was an oblivious 16 year-old huge in the belly and ready to pop. That morning I sat up in bed at 9am and felt all this watery stuff coming out of me. It feels like a soft liquid that you can't stop if you try, like stopping your pee, nope doesn't work.
I showered, dressed, called my mom, called my boyfriend who picked me up and took me to my doc appt that was scheduled for that morning anyway.
I can't imagine what we looked like in the waiting room, me with a towel between my legs having contractions and my husky (read: tubby) black boyfriend sitting next to me. Haha! I bet it was shocking!
They sent me down to the hospital right away.
I had visions of walking up and down the halls during my labor, squatting, what-have-you. But sheesh the moment I got on that bed I didn't move except to turn side to side. I had a "birth plan" which I doubt was looked at by anyone, I swear they're just to make the mother feel like she has some ounce of control in the situation. I refused the 20 million offers for an epidural, but accepted some other narcotic shot to the hip a couple time. Not bad, made me sleepy.
I was there all of about 4 hours before I wanted to push and they told me NOT TOO. Crazies. Give me a woman who had a sensible hospital experience and I'll give you 10 more that didn't. I tried not too, but then I pressed the nurse call button a little bit later and yelled into it "I don't care, I'm PUSHING!!" and about 4 people scrambled into the room to assist her birth.

I won't go into the details of the rest, but she arrived safe and sound, sweet and pink and gorgeous, with wavy black hair that eventually fell out and allowed for her curly blond locks to come in. And then I blink and she's 13 and we're sharing clothes and acne products.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAIYA!!!!!
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

I pulled out my scarf hanger

2010-09-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have a scarf hanger. I figure I may as well continue to write about my humdrum and fabulous life.
I have many places I stash "things". Whatever they may be. So as I dug out the next size up from laila's hand-me-downs that I've hidden in a trunk in the living room, it meant I had to make room in the big gray bin tucked next to her crib for all of the too-smalls to go. And so, I found at the bottom my scarf hanger affixed with many colorful and some hand-created neck wraps.

It is too bad that a week ago I would be freak to don one of these and go out in public, but our weather has already turned and that means I can do whatever I please.

There is one I'm toying with tossing ~ remember when funny yarn was so popular? That polyester thread yarn with all the little hairs that when knit together made this fake-furry-boa looking thing? I made one out of black sparkly yarn. It truly is hideous and fantastic at the same time and only appropriate for a drag queen or a costume.

My sugar bean had a rough night of sleeping and was prompty awake by 6am this morning, and I begrudginly fell out of bed, lifted her out of the crib careful not to slam her lengthening legs against the bars and turned on Dora after she shreaked so loud it must have woken the neighbors. Erg. I got a few seconds of blurry-eyed rest on the couch before giving in to coffee and the start of my day.

As we speak she is pulling at my shirt and touching my nipples while wedging her feet in my armpits and wrapping her body around my side trying to get into nursing position. erg. That's how good weaning is going. I think she's frustrated at her ever growing body and how she doesn't fit into places as well as she used too which = more abuse to me.

Who Am I Kidding?

2010-09-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

I love weddings! I love looking at them, they still make my heart swell and my eyes a little watery. I can't help myself........

With the kids starting school, and throwing myself full force into work it is good that I don't have too much time on my hands, otherwise I just might try to plan another wedding.

My daughter's 13th birthday party is this Saturday. Let's see what I can pull out of my hat. She brought home a small chocolate fountaing (tacky! and I have no idea where it came from) a few years ago and I've refused to bring it out of hiding. But, this is the right occasion. What do I put inside it? Chocolate chips? Almond bark? I feel like there some special melting chocolate, hmmm off to a decorette shop to do some scavenging.

{circa 1 year ago}

My little bean is cuter than ever. She finally decided to walk on her own and her personality has skyrocketed! Besides getting up at O'Dark thirty she's a loveable, hilarious little gal. That and we've officially weaned, which I occasionaly feel a tinge of regret over but not really.

Oh, and I'm about to run smack into 30. Oh. Frick. I don't even know what to do with myself. I feel like I should have a killer party, a costume party even, as I've never done that before and was born the day before Halloween.

If I had the money I would rent out The Press Club, a literary cafe/crepe house in Se Portland that is declicious and small-ish but would be an ideal venue. Alas, maybe for my 40th?

And I'm feeling really boring lately. The constant job of motherhood and house cleaning and wifedom makes for a dull Jasper. I haven't figured out how to bring myself into the social scene again, it costs twice as much to go out now w/out kids cause I have to pay for a baby sitter too! Grrrrr
Or, if I leave my husband home and fun w/out him and vice-versa, and we don't get any socializing time together, it leads to seeing each other as boring, or maybe just I feel that way. But I don't see the point of getting to know someone and having a great time with them and then you get married/have kids/work to hard and all you can do is try to have a great time w/out them cause someone has to stay at home with the kids. Or I'm too tired to go out anyway cause i've been up since 5:30am. Just ~~venting~~ a reality check for y'all thinking of breeding. It truly is the best thing though, don't let my pity party disuade you.

Going to a Wedding!

2010-08-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

Today is my friend Kaarin's wedding. It is taking place at Youngberg Hill Vineyards in McMinville, Oregon. She is marrying her British fiance' and the father of their little boy! She is the second of 4 her in family to wed (like me!) and I've been watching the wedding come together as she's been planning it from their home in Tenessee.
Her family and ours have known one another since way back, and we have had the pleasure of living with them for a summer during a transition time for my family. And although we aren't bestie's, she and her siblings have been pseudo-family for me for years.
August weddings are supposed to be a guarantee for sunny, warm weather in Oregon. But here we are, overcast and not even 70! Go figure. This summer has been so strange for us, so mild and consitently bland save for a few days here and there.
I am so excited for this afternoon! Congrats Kaarin, this is your day and you are gorgeous! Can't wait to see that sassy little dress on you.

I Don't Have to Care Anymore!

2010-08-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

What a relief it is to say that........ I don't have to plan a wedding, or fill my head with ideas. Nope, I can just make some strong coffee and soak in the hot tub in the early morn' with my hubby and girls and not.talk.about.the.wedding.
Then for breakfast have toasted pugliese bread with salted avocado on top and tomato quarters drizzled with champagne pear vinaigrette, followed by a salad nicoise to pick at throughout the day. I've since finished that off!

And I got to do a belly casting at work today,on a client who shares my littlests' name, but spelled differently.
Yes, these are the daily moments I love.

Did I ever share a photo of my belly casting?

My oldest daughter, younger sister and I decorated it with a variety of paper pieces and modge podge. Its been hanging above Laila's crib ever since.

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Congrats to Angie, Brittney and Rachael who all got hitched yesterday!!!!!!!! Ladies, I hope it was fantastical!

Could it be? And a music share

2010-08-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

The spell is broken!

I haven't looked at Style me Pretty, Ruffled, OnceWed, GreenWeddingShoes or any other stuffy bridal inspiration blog in 2 whole days?!?

To think that I've detoxed off these sights so quickly after my wedding!*

This calls for a beer.

*denotes sarcasm

This has been my wedding song since before I even met my husband.

Guest Blogging on BridalHood!

2010-08-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

Today you can find me on the lovely wedding blog BridalHood! Debbie's fantastic blog was one of the very first I followed when I joined blogger-land. She writes about her own wedding planning and also shares great wedding inspiration with her readers. She married in Hood River a few months ago and is currently driving from Florida to her new home in Hood River with her husband. From their photos I can tell they are super cool and full of life and happiness!

Check it out!

From Seeds and Stiches

2010-08-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading this post:

Note from a 5 year old marriage...

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And wanted to share it with my readers, in case they aren't following seeds already. There seem to be so many posts post-wedding that I can't agree more with regarding the aesthetic and expectations of a wedding day. I like that she addresses her thankfulness at not having wedding blogs during her planning to further increase these visions and pressures. And that so many people are having lovely weddings that aren't what we see day to day on all these blogs.

Still, obviously, so many people are having these types of weddings.

But, being here now, 6 weeks post wedding, I'm proud of the work we did, we carried out our intention of love and family, and the responses we've received from our guests support those feelings. We accomplished not only throwing ourselves a wedding (with friends and family helping immensely of course!) but we've accomplished a year and a half of an awesome marriage, filled with new jobs, new baby, a broken toe, financial gain and loss, tearing out a wall and a chimney together, celebrating our first anniversary, as well as landscaping our yard and other small home improvements. But most of all, its the end of the day, when we have our customized bowls of popcorn, and sit on the couch with each other, taking turns putting the kids to bed, and just enjoying being together.

More Wedding Photos

2010-08-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

These creative pictures are the work of my cousin and bosom friend for life, Lindsay.
The best photo of my bouquet ever.

Me smiling at something, with my friend's boyfriend beside me.

Devin and the girls, with my older sister on the right

A sort of behind-the-scenes snapshot, see the top of the porta potty on the left? and our brick pathway my hubby laid with the chimney we tore out a few months ago.

Last, but not least, my oldest daughter and my bff forever (and cake baker) Jill. They are my favorite girls.

Thank you Lindsay! And your creative genius.

Un-wedding Post

2010-07-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

Three chicken eggs... the one on the right got stuck and took in two yolks.

Isn't it Huge? I should be a hand model...

My tin can herb garden courstesy of wedding table tins from my mother that she *doesn't want back*

And lastly, little LW's first camping trip on Suttle Lake in Central Oregon

She is most happy outdoors, so spending three days and two nights outside was her favorite! That and the tent, she was all about how cool then tent was and made lots of scratchy noises with her fingers on it.

Happy Weekend everyone!

She Takes the Cake

2010-07-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

I heart my bff. She is so amazingly generous, loving, tender, and makes some damn good cake. Seriously, she does this professionally, went to school for it, been working as a pastry chef for 10 years. So to have her as my friend, to make my cake as a loving gift makes a girl feel pretty freakin' lucky.

It was three round tiers made of chocolate espresso stout cake, filled with espresso amazing creamy goodness and covered in caramel buttercream. In the beginning of planning I was inspired by a local artist's creations of bird and branch decorated cakes, in a somewhat folk-art manner, but the more cake photos I saw, the more I knew I wanted a simple fluffy cake that just made me want to eat it as soon as possible.

Table Details

2010-07-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

We kept our table centerpieces small, simple, and free. Everything we used was sourced from my mom's house, tin cans, doilies, old spools, glass bottles. She even sewed the table runners from more Pendleton wool scraps that had been donated to her art class. I wasn't concerned if they were perfect, so we left the pinking edges and didn't worry if they weren't perfectly straight.

The haiku forms were great, I found another stack yesterday hidden in a tin. They were written by my husbands family and some of my not-so-appropriate co-workers! Smile.

{All images Chris Lae Photography}

Our Ceremony

2010-07-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

{Images by Ron Hope, except #2 Chris Lae}

Its Friday!

2010-07-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

And I'm going camping my friends, I've been baking blueberry muffins and brownies, prepping hamburger patties with blue cheese, I've got balsamic potatoes ready to roast, and sliced stale bread with veggies to make a panzanella salad (with a bottled vinaigrette), and the standard breakfast fixin's.
I haven't been camping in years, and I'm looking forward to low slung camp chairs, cozy sweatshirts by the campfire, canoeing in the lake, a bandanna in my hair and great company!

What are you doing this weekend?

Our First Look

2010-07-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

Devin and I dressed side by side, he helped me clasp my necklace and I watched him put on his shoes. We didn't' have the typical first look. Seeing these moments captured in our bedroom, I don't think we missed out.

Getting Ready

2010-07-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

I left my house at one, three hours before wedding time, to be hair and make-upped. I didn't want to go, I wanted to set up photos and seating charts and help decorate. But if I hadn't left I would have walked out into my wedding a total homely looking mess. And yes, I am writing my vows down right before the ceremony.

Weddings

2010-07-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

In my non-effort to stop looking at wedding blogs now that my wedding is over, I came across two this morning that I L-O-V-E.

First up, from grey likes weddings is an intimate gem in Palm Springs, California at the Korakia Pensione.

I definitely need to vacation here soon! See more here.

Second wedding love of the day is Jessica + Tyler's in Carmel (boy, am I a sucker for small California shindigs today!)

I couldn't pick a favorite photo from either of these weddings, its the collective style, atmosphere and sweet, simple ceremonies that got me on both. They're worth a click over to see the rest!

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All this is making me even more excited and anxious to receive our own wedding photos! Which, I will post immediately, of course.

Have a great day!

A quick clip of us dancing

2010-07-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

My old, My new, My blue

2010-07-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

My necklace........was periwinkle.
My corset...........was borrowed.
My dress.............was new.
My boots............were old.

This was by accident, but when I gave it thought, all of the elements popped out together in my mind. Ah, sweet tradition, I can't defy you with any amount of indifference!

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This wedding got me excited today:

Head over to Ruffled to see the rest!

And my new friend and wedding blogger Julie of the Smart Ass Bride is getting married this Sunday July 4th! I am so excited for her, she has been working her butt off DIY-ing so many darling red, white and blue you-name-its for their party at the Overlook house here in Portland. Check out her blog to see some of her lovelies.
Have a blast Julie!

Happy Fourth Everyone! I'm looking forward to a warm, romantic evening with my husband and our two youngest. What are you doing this weekend?

The Other Reading

2010-06-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

This poem was supposed to be read at the wedding. I had lost the book I found it in, and so, a few days before the wedding I went to Powell's Books, found the book and looked for paper and pen in my purse. I had none. What mother, or woman for that matter, doesn't have a bazillion things to write with and on in her purse at all times?!

Here is my little sweet that I love so much. I saved it as a text draft on my phone, and never typed it out for anyone to read. But it is still ours.

Do you not see
that you and I
are as the branches of one tree?
With your rejoicing
comes my laughter;
with your sadness
start my tears.
Love, could life be otherwise
with you and me?

Tsu Yeh 265-316 Tsin Dynasty

My Bouquet

2010-06-26T20:43:00.000-07:00

{blurry pic sorry}

The story goes like this..... I never planned or budgeted for flowers. First, we were going to grow them. But then we decided to gather or buy some the morning of. I had intended on making a few herbal boutonnieres for the boys and family, but that never happened. My mom stopped by the local farmers market on her way to our house and picked up a few bunches of brightly colored flowers. I never communicated to her that I preferred softer, more neutral colors, but no matter.
My husband's grooms maid split and arranged them into about 18 different bottles and vases. I came back to the house an hour or so before the wedding and casually mentioned to Katy that I didn't have a bouquet. I never intended NOT to have a bouquet, it was just one of those things that never got planned. In fact, the most recent thought was that I'd have my hubby put one together for me (he has some experience, don't fret!) But, of course, you already know how our day went.
So his sweet and awesome friend/grooms lady looked at me wide-eyed and said "What? You don't have a BOUQUET?!" And proceeded to pull flowers out of vases, and took scissors to our rose bush and the neighbors' garden. It was her first bouquet. She tied ribbon around the stems and I handed her an old lacy trim piece I had worn as a hair accessory for years to go around the ribbon. I am eternally grateful. And I think it turned out quite lovely! The pop of color against my dress and the overcast sky was perfect.

What We Did Do

2010-06-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

{my auntie's cute shoes}

I'm still lamenting at the small decor details and large lack-of-tunes details surrounding the wedding. To forgive myself I am acknowledging some key factors

1. I have children, they take time, money, and energy away from spending my time however I wish.
2. It rained pretty much the whole month of May and June, so my cleaning and painting windows with chalkboard paint, making a chicken wire name card holder, etc just didn't happen.
3. We spend pretty much all of our time and resources into getting the yard ready for the wedding. I'm serious, the last overhaul cost a grand.
4. With my husband busy putting up the tarp the whole day of the wedding I couldn't exactly have him come down and help me with other little things.
5. On your wedding day, if you're anything like me and easily overwhelmed, it seems damn near impossible to get anything done, just keep in those tears and know that everything will be okay.
6. I forgot to ask people to do a toast or say a speech. How hard would that have been?
7. We didn't sing our duet to our wedding guests. Boo!
8. I didn't get our seating chart done
9. I didn't put up our family photos
10. We didn't have a photo booth ( I REALLY wanted this!)
11. We didn't get our playlists together for mingling or our recessional - geez how many times can I repeat myself?
12. We didn't get photos by the train yard, or with the chickens, or at some industrial building, or with classic cars, or in silly poses with our bridal party, etc etc.
13. We didn't do a "first look"

Here's what we did do:

1. I ordered and painted our cake topper
2. I made miles of pendleton bunting
3. I sourced and cleaned (with my sisters help) a gazillion mason jars
4. I picked through my mom's tin can collection and cleaned them
5. I DIY our invitations
6. I printed a couple hundred haiku forms
7. I made 20 kids activity books
8. I ordered and cut out 90 something custom tattoos
9. Various shopping
10. I had the leads in my dad's band perform a song he wrote as our processional
11. I sang a song with the band that we rehearsed once 3 weeks before the wedding.
12. I put up a mirror, table, wash bowls, watcher pitcher and soap outside the porta-potty's
13. My cake was perfect!
14. We customized our whole ceremony.
15. I saved and washed baby food jars for tea lights, although not even half of them got on the tables. Grrr

I promise I will stop whining soon. The OCD in me just has to relive these details with a certain level of anxiety before I can move on, it will happen, I'll be done and over it, I promise.

The Big Top

2010-06-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Oregon is notorious for irratic and unpredictable weather patterns. Case in point: Our wedding day said sunny and mid-70's until the Tuesday before. Then it said scattered showers and low 60's. Are you kidding me? This created more stress around our wedding than it deserved. But, we had to be prepared. So the night before, my husband ran to home depot and bought the largest tarp they had - 40ftx60ft and some 2by4's - and spent all day Saturday attaching it along our roof, cutting it around trees and tieing it up. The result made me want to cry cry cry! I was in such a bad mood, this ruined the vision of my day, but I can't control the weather.
In the end, it did rain, barely. We probably could have gotten away without tarp city, but as my mom repeatedly told me "It gives people a sense of security and makes it warmer in here" plus we had band equipment and instruments. Had it rained and we were unprepared? Wedding OVER.

So, alas, I await my wedding pics wondering just how atrocious of an eye-sore this tarp is going to be!

Oh the things we can't control.......

P.S. That ladder my husband is on isn't connected to anything at the top. It is held up merely by the tension of the tarp, which is why there's a group of people steadying it. And do you see what he's doing? Wrapping it with tiny white christmas lights! I had a christmas lit ladder in the middle of my reception magically standing upright.
P.P.S. Until later in the night when the wind blew the corner of the tarp down and the ladder crashed to the ground. It was loud, and kinda crazy, and nothing was in the way, not a table or a plate or a small child, or a big child. Double whew!

Poem

2010-06-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Poetry is a means for a world of emotion and experience to fit inside a few clean words, placed precisely on a page. I understand this, in the reading and in the writing of it. It is where my heart takes a deep breath and my soul sighs in response. One too right not to share:

Habitation

Marriage is not
a house or even a tent

it is before that, and colder:

The edge of the forest, the edge
of the desert
the unpainted stairs
at the back where we squat
outside, eating popcorn

where painfully and with wonder
at having survived even
this far

we are learning to make fire

Margaret Atwood

Three Days After

2010-06-22T15:45:00.000-07:00

The feeling to continually list out and moan about all of our didn't-haves is fading, or maybe the fact that my husband and I are trying to finish off the kegs with round the clock drinking clouds the brain. We've had some bad energy with the caterer, this is in the process of resolution (revolution?) and has definitely put me in a sour mood the last couple days, but that is slowly fading too.

I'm left with the knowledge that weddings happen whether you have everything ready you wanted to or not. And I didn't heed other brides' advice (no matter how often I read it) to do things as early as possible so they are finished and you aren't frantically trying to do it all the day before, the day of, or even the week of. I thought I had all the time in the world.

I also wonder how different it feels to leave your wedding venue, not wake up the next morning and deal with all the aftermath, or the memories good and bad.

But overall, when I thing about everything, I'm so proud of the work we did leading up to the day, and all the amazing hands we had helping make it a reality the day off.

We agreed though, if you have the money, hire a wedding coordinator.

It Happened

2010-06-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

It is done, it was great, nothing was perfect, nothing was terrible.

Note to those of you planning and executing your own wedding: unless its really simple, its really hard work.

Even if its really simple.

Many of our plans didn't happen. I'm sad about this, but overall, the emotion I take from the day is greater and more memorable than the fact that we never got our recessional song played, or music during the arrival/mingling time, or yard games set up, or a photo booth/guest picture area, or that a whole case of red wine got tucked away on the stage and wasn't found till this morning, or that the caterer didn't get all the agreed upon food out on each table.

What did happen was magical. My husband tarped our entire back yard in case of rain, an amazing feat that took most of the day. Our friends and family worked like magical little bees to put this thing together, and I am eternally grateful and amazed and overwhelmed with emotion for their help and generosity. Our ceremony was perfect. I sang a song to my husband. We danced. We had a wedding crasher. Our friends wrote us silly and touching haiku's. My husband's friends dad sat in on drums for a few songs so my dad and I could dance. My dad said he loved me. My sister, daughter, and cousin dj'd after the band for the remaining family members and we got crazy on the dance floor, we made a fire finally but smoke filled the tarp. We put the kids to bed and soaked in the hot tub to finish the night. I had a whole pitcher of tea to myself to ease the headache I had at the end of the night.

This morning we opened cards and gifts and again I am overwhelmed with the love and generosity shown by our friends and family. It makes me want to be a better person. And I love my husband.

A Backyard Wedding

2010-06-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

{via Ruffled}

This is another wedding that pulled my strings last week as the beautiful couple were married at their home and blended their families. Sometimes its the story of the couple, not the wedding photos that make it a favorite. They had a Quaker style ceremony, where each guest speaks if they feel led too and the couple is married by their community.
I love the unique and romantic feeling of her dress, their gorgeous home and darling children.
Visit the link above for more photos from this simple, relaxed, and wonderful wedding.

Recouping

2010-06-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

{a much better photo than i had previously here, thank to emily!}

Last night was my hen night. Late planning on my behalf meant a smaller turn out (or so I like to think!) but we enjoyed drinks, shopping for bachelorette paraphernalia (yes, I wore a red glittery penis-horned headband, you can sorta see one horn in the pic above, it could have been a LOT worse!) a less-than-awesome bar, followed up by some seriously talented karaoke. My girls are the best! Thanks to a great night!

My Favorite Wedding Today

2010-06-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

This wedding has had me swooning the last couple days, I keep going back and lingering over those hazy, warm images, her gorgeous dress, that venue (!!!) and the quirky 'stach on the groomsman.

To see more visit 100 layer cake, photos courtesy of One Love Photo.

I pick up my dress this morning, and I am terrified I am not going to like how it looks on me. If I haven't said it before, I do love my dress, but I don't know that it was the best choice for my body. This whole wedding-obsession process has taught me much about my body shape. Which, I've had to accept, is "athletic" by body-type standards. Small breasts, broad shoulders, undefined waist, square-shape torso. Going through it this last year post-baby has made me a little more conscious off my body's changes as well, besides a softer belly I'm pretty much back to normal, or maybe better than normal. So we'll see how today goes! I think we can make changes, but at this point, with only a week left and just my mom and I to do it we could be re-bustling and pinning the bottom the minute before the ceremony!

Oh the blog......where we post our deepest fears for the whole world to read.

Updates

2010-06-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

{wishing I had this fire-pit}

The 10-day forecast calls for sunny and 73 degrees next Saturday. This makes me happy.

My photographer asked if he could bring along a second, amateur photographer and we would get his images in exchange for allowing him to use them on his website, etc. Double happy.

I've left 2 voice mails for the porta-potty vendor over the last week. Even though we spoke in person once, I'm not convinced anything is confirmed. This makes me nervous.

I've called the fabric store to check on how many bolts of burlap they can sell me, since I waited too long to order it. It will take 1-3 days for them to get back to me. This makes me nervous too.

I ordered the wine last Saturday and haven't heard anything from the store. Must check asap.

I pick my dress up on Saturday, totally nervous I'm not going to like it, but hoping I will love it. No turning back now.

Waiting on an updated invoice from the caterer since we've added more mouths, supposed to have a check to him by the 12th but not sure what amount to make it out for.

Family begins to arrive next week.

I unofficially have the next almost 2 weeks off starting today!! Haven't made my pedicure or eyebrow wax appointments, need a haircut and possible color touch-up, had a major breakout last week that is finally calming down.

Bachelor and Bachelorette parties this weekend. How fun!

Updates.....finished.

This wedding is going to happen.

What if It rains?

2010-06-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

We have had record breaking rainfall lately, going on a month now and I have to say it is making me uber depressed. Oregon isn't one of the happiest places on earth to start but we generally have beautiful summers......now its just lagging along in this dreariness which isn't doing me or anyone else any favors. I still haven't gotten my garden done, and its very difficult to do any yard work or porch work in the rain.
So with two weeks till the wedding, I'm starting to think about what we do if its raining on our day. We don't have a back-up plan. We can't fit 125 people in our house, or afford to rent a tent large enough to fit everybody under.
I know things will work out, I'm not stressing about it, cause that doesn't help matters, but I am thinking about it. Part (most) of me is planning on the weather being dry, if not sunny, at least dry. Even if the forecast calls for rain rain rain every frickin' last day of the next week.
Farmer's Almanac predicts June 16-19th to be Fair. Aiy yi yi! What does fair mean? I'll take overcast. I'd be thrilled with overcast at this point!
This lack of motivation has me just staring at my to-do list and between nap times, changing, feeding and grocery shopping when can I even get things done, realistically?
My husband is so side tracked and in and out of the house all the time we don't even have our ceremony or vows put together yet and he thinks he's going to refinish the front steps, build back stairs and finish off the deck, make a brick pathway, build a stage, fix our chicken coup and till and barkdust the other unattractive areas of our yard, all in the next two weeks? Ha!
Why do I have to feel so poopy right now? My baby won't nap, I'm disgruntled about work, and I can't even catch a break to exercise for 30 minutes, which would make me feel loads better.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Okay I've vented.

A Necklace

2010-05-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

I bought this today and another which is no longer on the website, to wear with my dress.
Which one, we'll determine in a couple weeks!
The second necklace is layers of gold coin looking pieces, very delicate yet definitely there.

And then these......

Cream and sugar dishes to go with coffee ~ these are huge, by far larger than any I've owned. That creamer holds almost 20 ounces! I'm serious, I measured.

We had our tasting dinner last night, which I meant to take photos of but then felt silly when we were being served, plus I was hungry, so I just ate. It was great, we're very happy, and it was nice to see it prepared and talk about details of the wedding day with the caterer.

20 days.

Wedding Nightmare #3 or 4

2010-05-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

It was my wedding day, we were somewhere along the coast at a park and somehow time got away with me. I looked at the clock and it was 20 minutes to 6pm, guests had arrive almost 2 hours ago! I looked out the window and they were mingling and eating and drinking, but I wasn't ready at all and couldn't find what I needed to wear. I kept grabbing odd things like arm warmers and socks.
I ran outside away from the guests and called the photographer who wasn't there. His girlfriend answered and told me he was at a golfing trip in San something-or-other and was laughing at me!
My groom wasn't exactly lost but wasn't in the dream either.
Geez................
And I thought I wasn't stressing.

A Month to Go

2010-05-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling like I should write the obligatory "one-month countdown" post. But, I don't have anything new to say, or any pretty pictures or favorite weddings to post about. I'm still worried my dress isn't flattering or sexy enough. we haven't purchased groomsman vests, I'm not even going to THINK about flowers until a couple days before the wedding. And I need to get money together to pay the caterer 1/2 down by monday.

Instead I'm filling my time with gardening (my first garden!), making cookies, kissing baby cheeks, and getting increasingly nervous about my July 9th pole dance recital.

I've actually come to really appreciate having other things to focus on as the wedding draws near. It reminds me that life continues on after the day is over. And that besides sewing table runners, making votive holders out of baby food jars and other various DIY projects, I really don't have anything left to do.

Tuesday Wedding (Wedding Tuesday)

2010-05-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

Tuesday's are my official day off, no work, no kids except the baby, and its my time to put some energy towards this wedding. Three things I want to unofficially work on today are our ceremony, bunting flags and votives.

For our ceremony I've pieced some readings and greetings together for our officiant, who is a friend of my husbands ~ think friar tuck in stature, with a sweet comedic disposition. He had to ponder our request for a few days but eventually agreed! We love our friends. Devin and I will forgo the ring ceremony and repeating our I DO's but instead we are incorporating our promises into our personal vows for each other. We spent a long soak in our think tank - hot tub - on Mother's Day and talked about how things would go. I had no idea he was so excited about the ceremony. He certainly has his wants and dislikes and told me he wants our vows to make people cry and see our great our bond of love. Ahhhh So Sweet!!

I've been saving baby food jars for votive holders or perhaps to create an outdoor chandelier. I also like the look of book pages or newsprint wrapped around each jar. As a bit of a word-nerd, I would love to incorporate all sorts of book-y and poetry-esque elements of design into our wedding.

As far as the bunting flags go......I made a post earlier with those wool plaid scraps I haphazardly cut at angles and stapled to cotton string? Yeah.....hmmm. I have this eternal war inside me between the casual comforts of anything goes vs. a little more elegant and pretty. Even when I was picking plates (rimmed vs. no rim).
I've always been afraid to be "stuffy". This carries over into every aspect of my life.
But, I regress, so I'm not going to use the wool plaid, but instead the gorgeous jewel and gold toned paisley lightweight pendelton that my mother initially intended for me to use before I saw the plaid and wanted it for some reason.

Now that I've published my to-do list its time to get crackin'! After coffee, breakfast and a shower of course!

So Ready...

2010-05-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

We are just over 6 weeks away from the big day. And you know what happens? You get kinda tired of the overwhelming self-indulgent wedding-planning-inspiration-gathering-obsession but you can't stop. Its weird. I almost begrudgingly look at the same 10 bridal blogs everyday, most of the time bored out of my mind, but its ritual now. And every ONCE in awhile I go "oh look honey, that's our groomsman attire" or "brown paper on the tables just like we're doing" or something else affirming me that I'm doing okay planning this whole thing.
Of course I'm doing okay, there's no wrong answer!
At this point its just about paying people and setting things up. Calling those who haven't RSVP'd and nailing them down. And perhaps looking into renting a porta poddy, oh and verifying our rental contract - I never got an email with our changes - probably something I should look into.
I posted a couple times about our yard. We are ready to seed, finally. This is a huge relief for me. Also an ouchy $1,000 we just dropped on equipment rentals and hauling away debris to get it to this point. I was really stressing about this even though I couldn't care less if we have grass or not by June 19th. Its just nice to know there isn't much left for us to do, now its mother natures to beautify.
I finished up the last 10 or so invitations today that will go out tomorrow, because I was (and am) just too tired today to make it to the post office. I will NOT put those things in the mail box to go out.
Sure, I'm still going through the usual self-doubts: Is my dress flattering enough, did I set the wedding time too early, is everyone/thing going to fit, will people be entertained, is everything going to fall apart on the actual day-of because I don't have a coordinator, should I be scouring through vow ceremony's to find the perfect sayings and readings. What if it isn't special enough? what if we leave something out??

Oh. God.

I'm letting myself off the hook for awhile.

And Baby Makes 5

2010-04-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

We are an unconventional, yet not uncommon family. When my husband and I met my daughter was almost 10 and his was one-and-a-half. And now our littlest turns one this Monday!
We've both adjusted from the simpler life of single parenthood to the bustling, chaotic noise and mess that is three girls, and each other.

Sweet Love Shoot

2010-04-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share this next post with you! Devin and I never had a chance to get any engagement photos ~ so this makes up for it. We had very little time as it started raining as soon as I pulled our props out to the field bordering our fence and gate. Which meant the records didn't make it into any photos. And my many ideas for the shoot (different outfits, bowling alley, fun jumping on the bed ideas) didn't happen either. Still, given our limited shots and scenery, I am ever so pleased with how lovely these are!

{photo credits: lucy hobbs}

Stay tuned tomorrow for a few of our family shots!

Le Creuset and Handy Spice Shelf

2010-04-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Remember when I won a Le Creuset baking set from broken*saucer? I made delicious cornbread in the large one tonight:

And for dinner we had organic whole wheat penne with spaghetti sauce, chunks of asiago, corn, and cornbread. I served mine on a plate my mom made:

And this was my handy-woman project yesterday. I got so tired of my spice bags all shoved together in this towel rack thing I have, so I found a dirty piece of wood in our lumber yard, some hemp string, a couple of nails and voila! I'm so proud of myself.

And my teas, sugar jar, and the brown tin on the left holds kosher salt ~ mainly used for edamame sit on my unclean stove.

My husband who is a contractor/builder extrordinaire was impressed with my ingenuity but hates my design. He'll just have to deal with it.

Pendleton Bunting Flags

2010-04-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

My husband is from Pendleton, Oregon, so I thought it would be fitting if we used fabric scraps to make our bunting flags ~ besides the fact that my mom was donated tons of them for her art class. Here's a few pics of my creations:

Country right? Well, you konw what they say:

you can take the girl outta the country, but you can't take the country outta the girl!

I found some fab cardboard letters and have a "beer" flag for the kegs, must post pic.

Happy Sunday

2010-04-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

{a beautiful belly and an almost birthday}

Our little Laila will be one in a week. I've been having a few of those "this time last year" moments lately.
This time last year I looked closer to the photo above.....

For anyone on this journey ~ enjoy it and find the beauty in the miracle that is growing inside you.

photo credit: Lucy Hobbs

Our Wooden Family

2010-04-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

.

I'm happy to have completed our cake topper, above us, obviously and below, the girls.

Together

DIY Projects

2010-04-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

(via feather love photography)

A gorgeous wedding caught my eye this morning as I was browsing The Bride's Cafe, a site that I haven't visited frequently enough to go "oh I've seen that before". Although, I have already seen this wedding before, because its lovely enough to make a few wedding blog rounds.
I tried on the dress she is wearing - Jenny Yoo I believe - it was the first dress I tried and I really liked it, I felt like a grecian goddess. It was the dress that had my mom been with me she would have said - that's it, just get it. And maybe even, "I'll buy it for you." But, she wasn't with me and I wasn't done looking yet.
I love the vintage quality of the photos, the personal style of the whole event, and some tasty treats that look like they're from Pix, what fun!

Projects I am working on:

Naked Peggies Family - painting our wedding day attire on our cake topper family
Bunting Flags from scraps of Paisley lightweight Pendleton my mom has access too with corrugated cardboard letters attached
Chalkboard painting a window or two for wedding signs from a stack of windows in our backyard
Making a Chicken wire seating card holder from chicken wire in our backyard
(I should change my blog to Car Tires and Chicken Wire, it would be more appropriate!)
Finishing my birdcage veil

Almost 2 months away, and we're 1700 lbs closer to getting our yard cleaned out. It barely made a dent in the piles that's how much crap we have!

A Real Vintage Wedding

2010-04-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

Aren't these two adorable? These are my parents, circa 1973. They were married in Eugene, Oregon at the Lutheran Church my mom attended.

I wish she had a close-up of her dress...its white eyelet over yellow cotton, she made my dad's outfit as well. Talk about a DIY bride! Anyone you know of sewing their groom's attire? I think not.

She baked her own lemon wedding cake, look that those cute, tiny tiers! And made sheet cake to serve her guests.

Young lovers....they were only 20 I believe.....and they were so cool, too.

I think this may be the blue VW bus they once had. Do I see curtains on that window?

My cute mom and dad, gotta love em!

I love a morning starting out this way...

2010-04-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

Perfect waffles, warm berries, strong coffee, yes. This is what Sunday mornings are all about. And its Easter, and I'm not working (unusual).

Sharing it with this little girl is even better!

Yesterday's photos show our backyard, in its rustic state of existence. I've accepted that we may have our reception in dirt and as long as it doesn't rain on June 19th that is okay.

I would however like to see our piles of debris disappear. This will happen ~ it won't take but a day when we finally get to it.

Oh boy.

Keep It Small

2010-03-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

Ah.....the answer to the budget wedding. Keep your guest list small. I've read quite a few blogs that have had to address this once or twice. Readers' pondering how to have a 10,000 dollar wedding with 200 guests ~ well that's probably really hard to do. Having a 5,000 wedding with 50 guests? Hmmm, maybe.

Then there's what we're trying to do, have the most cost-effecient wedding with 100-150 guests. We have gone over and over our guests list to figure out what tier of people we include. The problem is our "closest friends and family" is huge. Our families are numerous and wonderful, our friends are special and dear, and, well, it just wouldn't be very fair to pick and choose who to invite. So out the invites go! I think i'll be printing a few more to accomodate the groom's expanding list. Which he fully has the right to do.

I've been emailing with a caterer to figure out what menu we can have to serve all these people in a $2000 max budget, as I anxiously await rsvp's. Crossing my fingers!

The above figure is only for dinner, mind you. Desserts, cake, wine, beer, and other drinks not included. Pre-ceremony mingling food (gelato and donut holes, if I get my way) are a seperate fund as well. And then the thoughts come raining in....should I just buy a bunch of bread, some cheese and salalmi, 100 heads of lettuce, huge bags of rice and a whole pig to roast in the ground? wouldn't that be cheaper?

Anyone have any wonderful catering or food serving advice that doesn't include having a potluck wedding? Maybe what I need to hear the most is nut up and fork it out! Pun intended. The fork pun, not the nut up pun.

And they're off!

2010-03-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

I got my lovelies mostly finished these last two days, still collecting addresses, but the majority of my do-this-as-easily-as-possible invitation project is finished.

I downloaded this label template from Martha Stewart early in the wedding planning, because I am not a calligrapher, nor did I want to hire anyone or bother my mom or friend, both of whom have wonderful penmanship skills.

I bought full-sheet labels and a $3 pair of scrapbooking scissors and voila! And of course the stamps... they are so cute aren't they? I went to two different post offices because the first one didn't have any good options. For a split second I felt crazy for caring, but when I saw the folk art King and Queen of Hearts at the second stop I knew I wasn't. Plus, they match the envelopes so darlingly!

The backside....

I should have taken a photo of the paper mess I created on the living room floor cutting all these labels out! Laila had a ball playing with it all. There are stories of some of these being returned to sender, so I double checked with the postal clerk before I got too deep into it and he said if they're fed into the maching the way they're supposed to be fed then everything should be fine.

Le Creuset Giveaway on broken*saucer!

2010-03-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

I hate to promote this, cause I'd rather keep my chances of winning as high as possible, and now whoever reads this just might try to win thus lowering the odds. But, here goes....

broken*saucer is hosting a Le Creuset giveway: A two-piece bakeware set! Um, Yes Please!

So, if you go there, you can comment and enter for a chance to win, isn't that great?

Lovely Dresses...

2010-03-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have to remind myself that just because there are so many gorgeous dresses out there it doesn't mean they are any better than mine. Even if that isn't true. As of yet I still feel like I could have 20 different weddings, and wear a different beautiful dress each time.

Dress commitment inevitably comes down to one I thing I believe: how much money you want to spend. Now it makes more sense to me when performing artists change outfits every song! So with that said, here are a couple dresses I think are so sweet ~

Dress #1 is an Embroidered Organza 1950's Cocktail/Wedding Dress and can be found here on Once Wed for $200.

Dress #2 is Vera Wang and is yours for only 3,500 UK pounds. Again, found here on Once Wed.

Invitations

2010-03-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Our invitations are printed!

I was dreading the thought of designing them myself and discovered DIYPaperie's Etsy site through reading Bride On a Shoestring's blog. Thank goodness for them both.

Husband and I picked the one below, sent her our color combo and that was that! I spent $25 on the PDF printable design and about $15 bucks on 5x7 cardstock (I haven't bought envelopes yet). With every invite order you receive a mailable RSVP card as well but we're having people respond through our wedding website.

Here are our lovelies ~

I'm very pleased with the way they turned out, and not the least bit upset that we didn't splurge on letterpress. I respect and admire the antique art of papergoods but can't even for a minute consider spending precious money on something people will recycle! My heart is in woodcuts, and if I had the time and resources wouldn't it be so cool to have woodcut prints for invitations? Yes, it would.

Excitement!

2010-03-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

I just ate yakisoba stir-fry that my mom came over and made for us while my dad hyjacked the TV to watch a Rockumentary, followed by an apple and some fudge filled oreos so I may be on a bit of a sugar high, but I love my dress and sometimes I want to squeel inside. I put it on yesterday and could breathe in it! which means, yes, it fits me perfectly right now.

It has always fit me in that it would zip up, never mind the back cleavage, bulgling love handles and a really round rear. But I put it on, showed my husband, messed with how to take about a foot of it away from below the hips (making it a totally different dress, but the one I knew was hiding inside trying to come out) and messing with how and where to bustle it. No, I'm not doing my alterations. In fact I have an appt next Saturday to meet with a seamstress. So excited.

And, I'm pretty sure we nailed our invitation. You know, those things I was whining about in my previous post? Yeah, not designing those anymore. I will still print and mail them, but we're ordering a pdf through etsy. Done. Whew!

Excited, yes. Sugar high, probably. I swear these wedding planning emotions are like some kind of disorder. There are days I can't get enough and want more more more and other's where I am so over it and no pleasure from thinking of our own party or looking at other people's gorgeous events. Once this is over I'll have to channel my energy into something that is actually productive! How do bride's go about this after the wedding? Is it total relief or total letdown? I think I will be insanely relieved. Truly.

Most of this planning is really nothing at all actually except thinking about where to set up tables and what food we should eat. There isn't much doing, so I talk a lot bigger than I bite.

Anyway, just wanted to share my feeling-of-the-moment.

Thanks.

Renewed Inspiration....Confidence....Passion

2010-03-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Okay I admit, I've been stalling a bit on making our invites and getting things together for this wedding. I feel a bit like I'm in college again, looking at the syllabus knowing I have a huge project coming up, but waiting until 4am the morning it is due to begin working on it. Oh the memories! But then I chanced apon this wedding today shot by Alec Vanderboom and courtesy of Southern Weddings Magazine. (Is that how I appropriately site my sources? )

To see the original post click here because these pics are TINY and you probably can't really see it very well. I'm not all that when it comes to blogging or figuring out pic sizes and such.

This wedding cost $6000 and took place on the bride's family's property. Just beautiful. I look at so many weddings every day, really I'm addicted ~ I get my coffee in the morning, then sit down and see what new weddings are posted on about 10 different bridal blogs! But, what set this apart from the rest? As I was looking at these photos I thought, I can do this. We can have simple decor, easy, inexpensive food, and still have an amazing, fun wedding. I had to show my husband, something I rarely do since I kindof get embarassed when he catches me obsessing over weddings all the time!

He looked and he liked. He said people would like having something laid-back and comfortable.
We are definitely not stuffy people!

So, hopefully this "I can do it!" attitude sticks around because I need to get moving on this wedding! we're just over 3 months away.....my how close we are, geez, its about time! I'm terrified to make my own invitations because I know that if they look anything close to what I want its going to take some time. If I decide that my time and frustration on the invites is too tedious and not worth it, well then they'll just be plain black Times New Roman on white cardstock. And maybe I'll care, maybe I won't.

I'm raising my own glass to "cheers" me on moving forward.

And my husband too. He's got a LOT of yard work to do!

Our Anniversary Trip

2010-01-29T17:52:00.000-08:00

We spent the night at the Brightwood Guest House just 14 miles from Government Camp on Mt.Hood ~ it was cold and rainy on and off, but a perfect short & sweet getaway!

We checked into our cabin:

Then drove up to the mountain:

Getting closer.....

Rode the slopes for a good three hours followed by beer and dinner in lodge

Then back to the cabin for a fire:

And a hot soak in these wonderful outdoor tubs!

After a cozy night's stay in our cabin...

And a homemade breakfast

It was time for a morning soak before we packed up and headed home

Did I mention we were right by a creek?

Happy Anniversary to us! And many many more to come...

Friday's Musings

2010-01-22T16:42:00.000-08:00

My dress.

Is nothing like this.

And, yet this is closer to it than anything else I can find out there. Now don't get your hopes up cause if you do you will be disappointed when you see it, not that I'm dissing on my dress (do people even say that word anymore?) but it has about 90% less of those awesome ruffley rows, and it has a completely different cut (shape) and it is lace.

But. I love this dress.

You can't find it on JCrew anymore which leads me to believe many a lady love this dress too. I'm sure it was in the $1-2,000 range. At least.

I wanted to share something on a food related issue ~

These photos are the reason I have the Little Red Bike Cafe blog on my reader list. But can you believe I haven't actually eaten there yet? It is on my to-do list for sure.

Mmmmm....banana cake:

And Huevos Rancheros: Breakfast anyone?

We will be on Mt.Hood enjoying a night away and celebrating our one-year anniversary this weekend! Have a great one!

Shrugs

2010-01-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

You may have seen this image around... it is Cori from August and After wearing a beautiful red silk bolero from Mary and Angelika on Etsy.

After seeing images of her wedding and gorgeousness I immediately sought out her shrug and decided I would buy it in blue. I showed Devin and he didn't like. Humph. But, like everything else in our wedding, things have changed since the planning begun and now I am in love with the knit sweater shrug!

Below are just examples of what I have found while perusing Etsy:

I've already asked a co-worker/friend if she would knit me a sweet cap-sleeve shrug for my wedding day and after (and maybe before?)

Here are some of her creations:

Heidi - you need your own Etsy!

And she wore a flower in her hair....

2010-01-21T10:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, self portrait not-so-great, but I wanted to clip my flower in and wear it. I'm thinking that the feather comb/veil will be for the ceremony and then perhaps because I'll be afraid that it will fall out, or I won't want netting in my face that I'll switch to this flower. In the meantime I'm going to try to wear it everyday, cause hey, why not?

Feeling a little self-conscious about posting a close up of my face on here. For some reason I like some anonymity on blogs. Its like reading a book, I can imagine the characters myself, if you show me a picture it ruins it somehow.

DIY Veil

2010-01-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

With my mom's convincing and a little bit of confidence and inspiration I have decided to make my birdcage veil myself (or rather have my mother make it for me!) There are instructions for veil making everywhere, but this one has some nice photos to go along with it. French or Russian veil netting is inexpensive and super cute - I bought a yard of both 9" and 18" wide yesterday so we can play with length and poof and have a little room to mess up if that so happens.

Mom and I met up at Anthropologie yesterday and I left with this in a taupe-ish gold color:

And this in white with some pink floral fabric pieces although the green really speaks to me. I'm avoiding shipping costs and the hassle of mailing returns if it doesn't really work out. crossing my fingers!

I will unveil (haha) the finished product when we're done! And if all fails, I have a few fun hair accessories to wear around town. If you aren't in the mood to make-your-own, but still want a cute, sassy, or dramatic hair plume check out Twigs and Honey and Smitten on etsy.

I'll leave you with a gorgeous photo courtesy of Smitten:

Happy Weekend everyone!

Flippin' Awesome

2010-01-12T11:54:00.000-08:00

This is just a teaser:

Go see more of these photos on Green Wedding Shoes, so creative and fabulous - and a beautiful people alert for sure! I though the steampunk element was a bit understated, but in a good way.

I am overwhelmed with inspiration once again as the holidays are over and more new weddings are posted everyday. I like the creative "doing" aspect of planning our own wedding, but I feel like my hands are tied since I can't actually execute anything right now. Speaking of, when are we going shopping for linens and veil making items mom?

The things I still should be doing are making our itunes list for all the times the band won't be playing, and getting the guest list finalized, addresses compiled, making (or buying) wedding invitations, etc. etc. Those things just sound tedious. I hate tedious.

I'm hoping my shoes arrive today, I have this feeling, you know?

My first dress fitting is scheduled for March 13th!

The bridesmaid dresses are bought! Two ladies need to try their dresses on but my fingers are crossed that we're all happy. The breakdown: two gals in chocolate brown, two in gold/brown floral, our oldest daughter in chartreuse-y green, the two little girls in tan.

Next: Groomsman. This is pretty much figured out just needs aquiring.

********************************

January 27th we are celebrating our one-year anniversary with a night away at a cabin on Mt.Hood sans children.

We will ride the slopes that night, come back to a hot soak in these darling out-door soaking tubs on the cabin patio, then enjoy breakfast courtesy of the inn-keepers the next morning, enjoy some snowy walks and romantic cuddles and head back home! My manual camera's forwarding lever is broken and I really want to take "real" pictures of our getaway. I should probably take it in asap to get fixed!

Let the Planning begin...

2009-12-31T11:13:00.000-08:00

We are just about 5½ months away from wedding day, which seems like really soon.

Last night we met with a friend who's boyfriend is a photographer, looked at a slideshow of wedding photos, talked deets and booked him. Well, I need to run him a deposit, but we're on!

Its exciting to feel like things are in motion, and relieving to check things off our list. And it puts us out $600. Knowing that bridal packages start around $1500, I am feeling lucky or what-have-you that we know someone who literally lives up the street, is professional, and is able to do the work for us at this price.

Really ~ we have a crew of friends that are coming together to make this wedding happen in our budget. And it feels like such a gift, cause, well, it pretty much is!

The photos below are of a wedding Ron shot this summer ~ I hope he doesn't mind my posting them!

The couple wed at the Historic Deepwood Estate in Salem Oregon ~

Photos by Ron Hope via my friend's facebook page.

I Won Filippa Scott Shoes!

2009-12-28T08:52:00.000-08:00

The lovely ladies over at Pip Pip and All That hosted a fantastic 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway this month, to which I entered all 12 contests. And the last day, a pair of fabulous shoes from Filippa Scott's Luxe line......I won! A bit about her shoes....

"Filippa Luxe is the hot new range of limited edition bridal shoes. These beautiful styles are only available to a very select number of stockists in both the UK and the US. Only 50 pairs of each shoe are made every season and the styles change every year so you will have to be quick to own these amazing shoes.All are made from our signature duchesse satin fabric and beautifully crafted Swarovski crystal trims from Italy. They are also fully dyeable to fit in with any theme of wedding or party."

The above shoe is called Flora and retails in the US for $260 ~ it is made of duchess satin and Swarovski crystal.

Thanks Filippa and thanks Pip Pip!

Dreaming is Planning

2009-12-22T09:16:00.000-08:00

I read this in my massage magazine...they were talking about your business plan, but I needed to read it because I go in waves of being completely obsessed with visioning our day followed by feelings of never wanting to look at another wedding photo set again! (This quickly turns back into the prior state-of-mind)

I know it will be over far too quickly, so dreaming and planning are like 85-95% of the fun of having a wedding!

What do I dream about? Oh.....where we will set up for the ceremony, whether we'll have chairs or bayles of hay or standing only, we are up top center, or if people will be circled around us (but then where does the wedding party stand?) whether the chairs will be plain ol' folding, or if we can spring for the NICE chairs to class things up a bit. Trust me, my back yard needs all the classing up it can get!

I wonder where the dance floor will be positioned and exactly how I can incorporate a fire-pit for an after party for lingering and out of town guests...after the kids are in bed we will join them while they wait out their buzz making smores and eating popcorn and red vines.

Should we have a tent? what would be under the tent? How do we have a family style reception dinner without an actual caterer. How badly I want to use real place settings but don't want to pay for them.

I could go on and on and on.....

We are officially a few days short of 6 months away! I read a great post on A Practical Wedding on how to have a lazy and cheap blog-worthy wedding. She had some great advice that I know will come in handy when I'm feeling completely overwhelmed and crying over something stupid.

key points were:

A great photographer will make your wedding look amazing
Marry someone you really love and want to be married too
Find a fabulous dress
Don't sweat the details or try to be super crafty especially if it isn't fun or isn't your thing

These are good. I still fret over not having a wedding planner and wonder if I should hire a day-of coordinator (how much are those?) Or if I have a friend/family member who not only can execute and maintain order, but also shares my vision for the day.

I know I will need to give over control on the actual day or I won't enjoy it.

***************************************

I had another bridal nightmare the other night. We were at our reception in a very dark/cementy/80's looking venue. My groom was not my groom (different skin/hair color, body, hair, age, everything - whoa) but the biggest problem was that none of his guests were at the wedding and all I could think was I was going to have to throw another wedding so that his friends could celebrate with us!

Geez, these stop don't they? Probably not.

~ cosabella lingerie giveaway ~

2009-12-21T13:19:00.000-08:00

I almost titled this lingerie contest, but I think that would give off the wrong impression!

Go here to A Mountain Bride to enter to win! Such lovelies, girly, feminine, sexy in all sorts of loungy wear!

Second Wedding Nightmare

2009-12-16T14:30:00.001-08:00

Last night's dream......

Dusk was approaching, guests were mingling, the air was warm, we were outdoors - where - I don't know, I was gorgeous in my cream dress and white floral headpiece......everyone was waiting for us but the groom was missing.
I wandered away towards the reception tables which were bare, and round, and the chairs were strewn about as if a windstorm had just come through. No lights were on in the house we were supposed to be getting ready in. I stepped in a door way, the rooms had a dim blue light cast on the walls from almost-dark sky, the groom was nowhere. hmmmmm

On a good note!

3 of the bridesmaid dresses have arrived! I haven't seen them yet, but hear they are perfect! Short, chocolate brown, with ruffles. And three flower girl dresses, which are better than we had expected, tan with pleats and a bow and a surprise layer of light pink tulle underneath! squeal!

My latest ideas:

From other blogs I found understated invitations tucked inside stiched up quilting fabric. In my colors. How much easier could it be? If only all my questions were answered so perfectly......

So many weddings have personal touches with vintage decor.....a milk-glass vase collector finally has a reason to show off her collection, or antique books stacked as centerpieces, cute succulents in ceramic pots crouching beneath stemware and next to gold-rimmed plates.
All of these things are fabulous, but none are within my reach.

And then a thought! My mom has collected a very colorful assortment of tins throughout her life, tea-tins, cookie-tins, baking soda and spice tins! She stopped a few years ago but all her tins are displayed above her kitched cabinets, bringing whimsy and interest to her house and collecting dust I'm sure.

but hey, wouldn't those be cute scattered down the center of the table? Maybe some could have flowers or candy or hold the haiku cards and pencils?

Our Courthouse Wedding

2009-11-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

I wanted to blog our wedding more officially......

We're almost 2 months shy of our one year
anniversary. I must say, when we got married I wasn't thinking about anything other than getting to the court house on time and just keeping it together. I'm thankful that my mom took some photos. They capture the wintery Portland day that surrounded us. A light drift of snow covered the streets and grass.

But we were warm and cozy inside....

The judge spoke very quickly, perhaps because we were at least 30 minutes late, or perhaps that's just his style. Still, the words held meaning and it wasn't without emotion.

Afterward, in perfect pregnant craving style, we went for Reuben's and dessert at Roses Delicatessen on NW 23rd Ave.

Dreams, Dresses and Pumpkin Bread Pudding

2009-11-17T09:43:00.000-08:00

This morning after running out of pancake batter I remembered my Pumpkin Bread Pudding in the fridge from a couple of days ago. I heated up the piece in the oven, then topped it with chocolate chips, powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup! It was quite delicious. I do plan on working out today, at least for 30 minutes.

But I needed that comforting hug-of-a-breakfast after having my first bridal nightmare. The day of the wedding had arrived much to my surprise, and everyone was gathered waiting for me to walk down the aisle. I was getting dressed and had no bra to wear, my slip was red and had straps (my dress is strapless) and I never bought shoes to wear! On top of that my maid of honor/best friend/caker maker/catering organizer had completely forgotten about my wedding and gone shopping! gasp! What a nightmare. I was crying, feeling like a failure, asking my mom how could we possibly push the wedding back a week with out-of-town guests?

Oh my. I never thought I would have anxiety creep in my sleep over my wedding. Really.

What its telling me, though, is that I better go bra and shoe shopping right away!!! Ha ha.

Save - The - Dates!

2009-11-06T08:25:00.001-08:00

Some of you (probably all of my readers at this point) will be receiving a save-the-date card like this one, or a variation thereof. I'm all about free, cute, and clever ways to execute all the paper goods I'll be needing for the wedding and these were created at blyberg.net. If you go there you will become addicted quickly. Which I why I made a few of them and sent them out randomly.

Printable postcards: $25
Postage: .28 cents times (x)

Haiku

2009-11-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

I recently spotted this lovely poetry form on a wedding blog featuring a sweet Portland couple.

The bride graciously emailed me the file that she and her husband created themselves! Thank you dearly Haylie, and picture props go to Rachel Thurston, based in Utah I believe. Who just posted some great pics of Portland from her trip up here.

So, family and friends, expect to see these forms on your table, and write me some damn good haiku!!

Dresses!

2009-10-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

These are just a handful of dress options that I love.

As you can see I'm really into ruffles at the moment, which is nice because there happen to be ruffles everywhere! My dress even has lace ruffles on it.

The top row of dresses are Anthropologie and the bottom row are Jcrew.

Decor Part 1

2009-10-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

I recently started saving our tin cans and glass jars instead of recyling them. I have months to store up potential wedding decor, but it makes me feel like I'm being productive every day, and saving money on table decorations. I love the rustic simple feel of the every day brought to a new use:

I love the the table layout here, the centerpieces are clean, quaint and functional ~ a bottle of wine at each table? Yes, I am going to do that! What a great idea. I think I'll have two. The chairs are made of fabric-covered logs. Aren't they adorable? We will be renting chairs.

I love this photo of multicolored flowers (aren't some of those ranunculus? I love ranunculus!) in different glass vases on a small wooded desk. Inspiration.

My dear friend Emily has given me all her red-ribbon wrapped vases and red painted votives to use at our wedding as well. Thank you emily!

We will definitely not be at a loss for pretty things!

Whew.....

2009-10-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

I bought a dress. Yes, I did.
It very much gives me that feeling of "this is my dress."

Sure, there are gorgeous dresses out there, many I would never even consider trying on, and plenty I would love to wear but are two to twenty times my budget. After watching every episode of TLC's Say Yes to the Dress and browsing online thumbnails of wedding dresses I had narrowed down a few things I appreciated in a gown.

I recently found out about Brides Against Breast Cancer, a Making Memories organization that takes donated gowns from designers, bridal stores and brides and re-sells them. The profits go back to support the Breast Cancer Foundation, and dresses sold are at a very nice discount.

My mom and I and the girls got to the event held in an antique/christmas bazaar store right as it opened and began looking. After 20 or 30 minutes I had decided I wasn't going to find anything I was in to. But then I started looking at different sizes and came across a dress in ivory, ruffle and lace, with a sweetheart neckline and a slim cut and gasped a little bit. It fit perfectly, just a little too long, but easily hemmable. All it needs is a cute french bustle and a few rips in the lace repaired. It was a sample gown too, and just under my $500 dollar budget. I pondered a while but knew I couldn't let it get away. Besides, where and when am I really going to find a better dress in my budget? I just wasn't.

I tried on a $2200 dollar gown too, for fun. Mom loved it.

There was a sweet feeling of comraderie as the brides were all in a room together in our underwear trying on dresses and giving each other feedback

I can't find the dress online, and I don't really want to post a picture of me trying it on, so you'll have to wait.

Time to shop for a headpiece/veil/somethingorother!

Things I should be doing

2009-10-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

I'm getting too excited and spending much time thinking about the decor of the day, whether to have seating cards, what the wedding party should wear, when Devin and I should start taking dance lessons......etc etc.

What I really need to work on is 1) our guest list 2) save-the-date cards and 3) finding an officiant 4) our ipod list. We will have a live band during the reception for a couple hours, but after they play, instead of hiring a dj, we're going to DIY with a mix of some good music to keep people dancing.

Why oh why am I not so excited about doing this? I'm afraid once I start delving into all the to-do work it will never end. I don't like long, tedious projects. I don't want any aspect of my wedding to feel tedious!

On a super positive note, we rented a CAT this weekend and ripped out bushes, shrubs, trees, roots, and odd-and-ends that were hiding amongst the foliage. It appears that we just sorta pushed our mess around the yard, but soon soon soon it will be beautiful!

This photo is about 5 months old, fence in initial stages, yard debris galore, and jill's garden in pots since the ground wasn't ready for them:

I don't have a pic to the left of this, of the yard area behind our house, but it is the absolute WORST!! Dirt about 18" higher than the rest of the yard and filled with tree stumps, weeds, an old metal pump that I think used to be part of a well, and some small tree-like bushes that were already ripped out once.
Getting started:

Making some headway! Laila was a big help....

I have one more "finished" photo on my phone but I couldn't send it to my email :P so whatever. We still have plenty of work to do before we really have a yard. But I now have my garden plot behind the house where we get the most sun, all I have to do now is grow a green thumb.

Cake Inspiration

2009-10-17T17:14:00.001-07:00

I spied this cake in an issue of Portland Bride and Groom. Jocelyn from the Bakery Bar creates the cutest floral, lovebird and other unique cake designs.

I am lucky to have a baker as a best friend/bridesmaid and we've discussed doing a small 4 layer cake, alternating square and round, with a side (or two) of cupcakes! The cake will most likely be chocolate espresso stout and vanilla, with carrot cake cupcakes. Fillings, colors and design will be a last-minute detail as I change my mind constantly.

Cost of cake: ingredients, supplies, and kisses!

The Ceremony DURING the reception!?!

2009-10-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

I just read a very intruiging idea: Have dinner first, then your ceremony.

This might actually work, especially at our place.

I'll ponder this awhile.....

Objections?

I love LOVE this!

2009-10-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

This is so cute:

Depending on what style of dress I get, if this cute little shrug goes, I am getting it for sure. You can find it here made by local Portland designer Holly Stadler. Of course, all her stuff is sure to make a woman feel beautiful!

2009-10-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

Things have been changing over the last year since our engagement and original date of Sept.5, 2009. That has come and gone my friends!

I am now in the inspiration and planning phase, which I better hussle on cause time is ticking and I need to be in the execution phase stat.

After looking into many many venues in Portland and the surrounding areas I came up with a handful of dreamy outdoor environments ~ some in vineyards with natural beauty galore and others in downtown buildings with rooftop patios and outdoor fireplaces.

So chic.

Unfortunately, rental prices and stipulations to use certain caterers forced us to cross these off our list. We have, once again, decided to host at our home.

This is not a Platimun Wedding folks! But endearing, personal and playful it will be.

Our Official Nuptuals

2009-10-15T09:09:00.002-07:00

January 27, 2009

Yes....we are already married. BUT, we haven't had a formal wedding...yet.

Wedding #1:

I wanted to wear jeans and t-shirts to our 30-second courthouse wedding, but my mom bought me this darling little dress and sweater that fit over my six months pregnant belly.

It was a cold, rainy and snowy morning, we were half-way to the courthouse when we remembered our marriage license and had to drive home to get it! Our road conditions coupled with a hurried speed ended in a slight crash into the retaining wall lining our driveway. Oops.

Wedding #1, attended by our children, my parents and friends Jill and Emily, Devin's sister and friend Kip.Can't wait for wedding #2!!!

Should we be doing this? Of COURSE.

2009-10-15T09:09:00.001-07:00

With three children and a house payment, throwing ourselves a wedding seems like the most self-indulgent thing to do right now, and yet so very necessary! I will share with you my giddy excitement as I'm overwhelmed with inspiration, as well as my nail-biting frenzy when things are ridiculously stressful.