3 o'clock walk

Currently Obsessing Over: TOMS Petal Grosgrain Classics

2011-08-05T22:19:00.000-04:00

I want these TOMS mainly because they look like ballerina shoes :) They are actually wedding bridesmaids shoes...either way they are dainty and cute.

Bake Sale Recap!

2011-08-05T22:10:00.000-04:00

The Baking Betties Bake Sale was a success! Here's what I've learned:

If you're hosting a bake sale in July, buttercream icing is your friend. It doesn't melt as does normal store bought icing. We luckily only had one batch of cupcakes donated that were made of regular icing and the oozed and melted a few hours into the bake sale. Buttercream icing is really easy to make, just some butter, lots of confectioner's sugar and a splash of milk.
A canopy is a must. Had we have been under direct sunlight, I know our baked goods, not to mention ourselves, wouldn't have lasted very long.
A flea market is a good place to hold a bake sale as far as foot traffic. But, most patrons were in the mindset of bargains and didn't want to pay much for a bag of brownies. So we ended having to slash a lot of our prices. The price list guideline suggest $3 for cupcakes and such which is realistic but our bargain shoppers weren't biting so we made some changes.
Buy lots and lots of ice! We had containers filled with ice, we then laid tin foil on top, and then placed the baked goods atop the foil to keep the goodies nice and cold while preventing them from getting wet too. We also bought an inflatable buffet and filled it with ice. You can find them online or at Party City if you have one.
Aluminum baking pans are really inexpensive and sit easily in ice without getting soggy.
Microsoft Office has great templates I encourage everyone to utilize. They had great raffle ticket templates that were customizable and were much cheaper than buying the actual rolls of tickets.
For packaging we used plastic baggies labeled with the GABS stickers, plus some red, white, and blue curling ribbon. We bought white lunch paper bags for customers to carry off their goods in. For people who bought individual cupcakes we bought paper bowls and just wrapped them in tin foil for them.

We were blessed to have a local craft and sew studio donate a lovely retro apron, which fit with our Baking Betties Team theme.

It was hot and a lot of work with only a 4 person team but I think we did a great job!

Looking a bit odd...

2011-08-02T14:05:00.008-04:00

You may see the blog looking a bit different for the next few days or weeks...depending on how long it takes me to be satisfied with a new layout. I'm trying a few things out so if things look wonky or out of place, do not worry...tis only temporary. Thanks for bearing with me during these "costume" changes!

Wedding Hair: Wrap-Around Braid

2011-07-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

via pinterest

I love all the braided hairstyles I've been seeing this summer. Reminded me I never posted my wedding hair. It's basically a wrap around braid with the loose ends curled and pinned up. I made both my fascinator and birdcage veil with the help of this and this tutorial.

side

click image to see larger view of fascinator

front

with birdcage veil

Happy Independence Day America!

2011-07-08T10:57:00.002-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth! The 4th of July is def my fave holiday! Grilling. Summer. Swimming. Fireworks. Family. Proposal. We got rained out this year so I didn't get to see an official fireworks display, but that's okay bc there were enough contraband [they are illegal in VA] fireworks going on in the neighborhoods, keeping me up until 12 am mind you. Basically spent the weekend swimming, grilling, roasting s'mores and spending QT time with family and friends. Need I say more why I love Independence Day? Home of the Free because of the Brave. Thanks to all our past and present military for keeping America Freeeeee!

my fam inadvertently dressed as the American flag :P

Pink Bike

2011-07-01T15:22:00.004-04:00

a photo by 3oclockwalk on Flickr.

pics via my home town. snapped this while grabbing some cupppy cakes at Just Cupcakes

I love this sentiment...

2011-06-30T11:38:00.002-04:00

"Sea otters hold hands when they sleep, so they don't drift away from each other." Love it!

via pinterest

Nap time must be lovely here...

2011-06-29T08:00:00.003-04:00

via hollymaus

Currently Obsessing Over: Jason Segel and the Muppets!

2011-06-28T13:22:00.000-04:00

Jason Segel is the man of the year for my husband and I. Ever since we watched Despicable Me with the lil one, we are addicted to this funny man. So I am super excited that he is teaming up with my fave Muppets for their new movie! I can't wait!

A bittersweet mood.

2011-06-28T13:19:00.000-04:00

Bittersweet chocolate is my mood today, emphasis on the bitter. A bitter mood. I've got a lot of baking on my mind and I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little Verklempt. I have this great idea of how I want the bake sale to go, but then of course it takes resources, like extra money and extra time, both of which I do not have. I've been having sleep issues and on top of that I have 2 major events that I am volunteering for this summer. Luckily, one of them, the bake sale is this weekend so once that is over I get to cross it off the list. Unfortunately, that means I only have a few weeks to get the other done.

The Great All American Bake Sale is this coming weekend, just in time for the 4th of July weekend. I pray for good weather, a great turn out, and for none of our baked goods to melt. Then starting July 17 is my church's Vacation Bible School, where I am heading up all the decorations this year. Which is def a task in its own. I basically have to build a small town in our church. So a lot going on in one month. I will be relaxing when July is over for sure.

Baking Betties All American Bake Sale
at Haygood United Methodist Church and Flea Market
July 2, 2011 bright and early at 6:30am-1:30pm
http://join.strength.org/goto/bakingbetties

Haygood UMC
Vacation Bible School
Inside Out & Upside Down on Main Street
July 17-21, 2011
www.vacationbibleschool.com/haygood

Class.

2011-06-08T10:59:00.000-04:00

Meet Kokeshi Kitty! Art by @kimanh_nguyen

2011-06-07T23:02:00.001-04:00

Meet Kokeshi Kitty! Art by @kimanh_nguyen, a photo by 3oclockwalk on Flickr.

Say Hello to Kokeshi Kitty! This makes tatt #5. I adore her.

My Zearly Experience/Review

2011-06-03T13:05:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned using Zearly for the first time and I wanted to let you know how my experience went.

Pros:

Its a smart service and really helps you get rid of clothes that you don't have the time or patience to sell at consignment yourself.
They pay for shipping on your bags.
They accept more than most kids consignment places. Which I appreciate since I don't normally buy brand names. (I can't tell you how many times other places have passed up barely worn items just because they didn't have a big brand name on the tag.)
They provide great/prompt customer service and communication.
The business idea is a great way to stay frugal & green!

Cons:

Their site server crashes every now and again. I'm guessing they are getting more traffic than their host can handle. I also had problems receiving confirmation emails from their system, but that very well could have been my mailbox's issue and they could have been put in my Spam Inbox without me realizing. I brought up the issue with their customer service and they were able to take care of the issues immediately.
The selection is a bit small since it is still an emerging business. Which is why I want to spread the word so that more items are available for more parents!
For now, I recommend buying points if you already see items on the site you wish to purchase. If they don't have your child's size then your money could be sitting around in your account for weeks. But if you traded in items to get your points then it really is just a matter of waiting for items that suit your needs. And that's okay with me since I didn't spend a dime and it helps build their inventory when you trade items.

They are a new business so there are a few kinks to work out still. Think of them as still operating in Beta for all you techies out there.

All in all I remain an advocate for Zearly. I think its a great idea that I hope catches on and grows. The staff was very helpful and prompt with getting back to me. They do a great job of staying active and communicating with their customers both on Twitter and Facebook. Which I can appreciate...being the social media addict that I am ;)

AMF Summer Unplugged Program

2011-05-25T20:03:00.002-04:00

The weather in Hampton Roads for this week will reach up into the 90s! Not to mention the crazy tornadoes our area has been having. And yes, I said tornadoes. And no, tornadoes are a new thing for us and very uncommon. But for the past few weeks we have been hit with quite a few of them which is quite unsettling. We were out of power for quite sometime so our house is incredibly uncomfortable due to the lack of electricity and AC. Its times like these that retreating to a nice air-conditioned facility would be nice...like the bowling alley!

AMF is currently having a Summer Unplugged Program for families! Families with children 16 and under bowl free! (limit 2 games per day, not including shoe rental) All you have to do is register your child at the Summer Unplugged site and you will be emailed free game coupons every Sunday starting May 29th. The program runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There are also great deals for families with older children as well. Head on over to sign up and get your free bowl on!

http://bit.ly/AMFfree

Disclosure: all opinions stated in this post are my own as a member of One2OneNetwork.

my thought for the day...

2011-05-18T14:19:00.000-04:00

Zearly: Revolutionizing Kids Clothing

2011-05-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

I just stumbled upon Zearly via Eversave.com. As a mom, it is what I've been dreaming for! Zearly is an online service where you donate your child's outgrown clothes in return for points that you can use towards "shopping" for new ones off their Zearly site.They send you a bag in the mail, you fill it up, and based on their criteria you receive a certain amount of points that you can use to get new stuff for your kiddie. You don't even have to go to the post office to drop it off. They pay for shipping and have UPS pickup your bag right off your doorstep. It is a Godsend! Years of packing my daughter's clothes to bring them to local consignment shops, only to find out they weren't accepting donations or weren't accepting my child's size, it was rather frustrating. It seemed like they were NEVER accepting anything!

Zearly is the brainchild of two momprenuers that had similar gripes about finding something that worked for their children's hand-me-downs. I think its amazing and quite empowering to come across women like that who find a need and do something about it. Very inspiring.

Zearly sends you one bag to fill, you can order more but I was able to fill the bag up with the contents of 2 Rubbermaid boxes. I am sending off my bag now. This is my first time using Zearly so I hope everything works out because this would be an answer to my prayers. I'm not worried though, I have high hopes for Zearly. Cheers!

My 1st bag ready to go!

Braided Pizza Bread

2011-05-17T10:34:00.003-04:00

You find wonderful ideas on the Internet. I came across this via ljc's pinterest and thought, why didn't I think of that? It worked out bc I had already planned to make pizza bread this week, but instead of normally just rolling up the dough like I usually would, I thought I'd try out this braided version. It does make it quite prettier and I like how the ingredients are sort of oozing out, teasing your taste buds ;) Pizza bread is a cinch to make. Just takes some Pillsbury pizza dough, pizza/tomato sauce, and whatever toppings your fam is into. Are you on Pinterest? Find me...lets share :)

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

2011-05-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

In case you didn't know, May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month :) Reading Rockets and PBS have links to great children's books for families of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Filipino decent. Being a Filipino American myself its important to me to educate my daughter on her other half of ethnicity. I think its great that their our more books available to her from Filipino authors. I urge you to take a look or try and find some at your local library...even if you and your family are not of Asian decent it'll be great to teach your families of the many different Asian cultures out there.

I'M A FINALIST: Gallery at Military Circle Mall Mother-Child-Look Alike Contest!

2011-05-12T08:00:00.001-04:00

YAYE! I'm a finalist! I came across this link via myactivechild.com during Mother's Day and figured I'd give it a go. I'm always being told how I look just like my mama and look I made it to become one of the three finalist! I'd appreciate your vote :) To vote: "Like" the Gallery at Military Circle's page by following this link, then you will have access to my photo within the contest album. "Like" it and share the link to your friends! I'll be greatly indebted to you. Last day to vote is Friday, May 20th at midnight.

VOTE FOR ME HERE!

Etsy Craft Party 2011: Norfolk, VA

2011-05-11T12:58:00.001-04:00

1. Norfolk Craft Party shirts, 2. Swap Table, 3. Vendors, 4. Stache Station,
5. Makin' it happen..., 6. Craftin' it up..., 7. WINNING!, 8. Virginia is for Lovers, 9. VA Pride!

Hello all! Just got word that this years Etsy Craft Party is scheduled for June 10th, 6pm, at 757 Creative Space in Norfolk. If you are in the Hampton Roads area and you enjoy all things crafty, come out! My bestie and I had a blast last year and even walked away with a new sewing machine! There will be make-and-take tables, a photo-booth, food and fun! Check out pics of last years craft party on Flickr. For more info feel free to visit the links below:

Etsy Meetup
Craft Party 2011

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-09T09:39:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! Mine was lovely...time with family, with some downtime in between, and sweet indulgences provided by my husband. My Mother's Day weekend started off great with some kite flying at Mt. Trashmore park. Sunday, thankfully our church service was putting on a children's production so there was a combined later service, meaning I got to have breakfast in bed and I was able to sit with my entire family at church. My husband plays guitar during their contemporary service and my daughter is usually in Sunday school so I'm usually sitting by myself in the congregation, so it was a nice treat for my Mother's Day to have us all together.

kite flying...

Afterward, I had a special request to visit The Royal Chocolate for some chocolate covered strawberries which were divine! Followed by lunch with my parental units. I was able to get some sewing time in since my parents took my daughter for a few hours. We met them back later for dinner at their house. All in all it was quite perfect :)

Photo of the Day: Domestication

2011-05-09T00:26:00.001-04:00

Domestication..., a photo by 3oclockwalk on Flickr.

Product of the Day: Liberty of London kicks!

2011-05-06T09:28:00.000-04:00

I'm not much of a tennis shoe wearer...I mostly wear flip flops or flats on casual days. You will probably only see me with lace up shoes on when I workout. But I may have to make an exception for these sweet Liberty of London print Nikes. I absolutely love L of L prints :)

Currently Obsessing Over: Neutral Nail Polish

2011-04-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

I've never really been a fan of nail polish, just seemed like a lot of work for results that didn't last more than a week. But I've been wearing it a lot more lately. I think Spring starting probably has a lot to do with it but I'm really digging neutral tone colors and pretty pastel ones. My current fave that I've been wearing is a shade by Claire's called Secret Garden. I got it last year so I'm not sure if its still around but Essie has a very similar color to it. I'm loving the entire Essie Nail Color line actually. I bought a whole bunch of neutral pinks and browns recently at my local Five Below. If you have one nearby I def suggest checking them out. You can't beat 3 for $5, especially since the Essie ones usually run about $8 at Wal-Mart, although their color selection is amazing so its pretty much worth it.

Product of the Day: Leaping Rabbits Mobile

2011-04-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

I have a thing for bunnas. Digging this simple and adorable Leaping Rabbits mobile on Etsy via Paper n Stitch. But I'm not shopping for a baby anytime soon...well at least not yet :P

Join me for Share Our Strength's: Great American Bake Sale 2011

2011-04-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

I'm very excited to announce that I will be participating in this years Great American Bake Sale, one of many campaigns by Share Our Strength, in the plight to end child hunger. The concept is simple. Hold a local bake sale to raise funds for: awareness, educational programs, affordable fresh fruits/vegetables and community farmer's markets to low-income areas. Why a bake sale? Because everyone loves sweets!

If you are in the area and would like to participate, feel free to join my team the Baking Betties! We would love to have you. Otherwise, you can search the Share Our Strength website for possible bake sales in your area or start one of your own!

Help spread awareness and take the No Kid Hungry Pledge. Join a team, host a bake sale, spread the word...the more the merrier!

kit + lili Print Dresses

2011-04-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Loving kit + lili's (via Black Eiffel) choice of bold colorful prints for these adorable dresses plus the wood-grain tote; I'm obsessed with totes and ever since my rustic wedding planning I've been a big fan of wood-grain.

Embroidered Book Covers

2011-04-18T10:03:00.000-04:00

I recently started an embroidery project. I have stacks of embroidery patterns that I bought for a nickle a piece or so years ago at a local antique store that was closing its doors. I stocked up on them and never really touched them until now. So, I thought it quite fitting when I came across these Embroidered Book Covers, via Freshly Blended, of classics by authors like Jane Austen. They are done by an Illustrator by the name of Jillian Tamaki. Definitely inspiration for me while working on the tea towels I'm embroidering.

Weekend Fun

2011-04-11T11:45:00.000-04:00

This weekend was both good and bad. For half of Saturday we were very productive in getting the house all nice and clean, even managed to get some creative time in with the lil one. We painted wooden eggs that I had in my craft stash. We busted out the paint and glitter...it was a grand, messy ole time and we inished off with some yummy ice cream sundaes with Magic Shell Topping. Yum! The best. Shortly thereafter, my throat got sore and Mommie spent most of Sunday in bed :( Ah well...on the bright side I'm okay with staying in bed too.

Product of the Day: Grab Guard

2011-04-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

I don't know why someone didn't come up with this sooner? Grab Guard works like a mini padlock for your belongings when you are out and about. Yet, its designed to look a bit more discrete so you don't look odd padlocking your purse somewhere. I always get so paranoid when I go out to dinner and I hang my purse on the back of my chair. And it gets soo annoying when I go grocery shopping and have to pick up my purse just to walk a bit down the aisle, keep in mind I like big purses and my usually weighs about 8 lbs :P So smart and simple.

Product of the Day: Ticket Stub Diary

2011-04-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

Love this idea! This Ticket Stub Diary would've come in handy throughout high school...admittedly I don't get to see that many concerts these days. I am super excited for a concert I get to attend next month though! My older sis and I are going to the NKOTBSB concert! My sis was a big NKOTB fan growing up, thus she lovingly passed the NKOTB and the boy band gene to me and I became a big fan of my generation's boy band, Backstreet Boys. I got an early lesson in boy band-om and now that they are a super boy band, I'm super psyched! Hah!

Product of the Day: SMEG Retro Fridge

2011-04-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

One day I will own a cute retro fridge just like this to match my future retro kitchen. It seems weird to have the words "future" and "retro" next to each other in the same sentence...

Product of the Day: Veggie Cutters

2011-04-07T08:00:00.004-04:00

My daughter starts Kindergarten soon and I can't wait to make her exciting lunches for school. I know Bento has been around for a while but I am now just realizing its awesomeness. I just like its ridiculous cuteness. I didn't realize how many accessories go with bento making. I came across these vegetables molds on this Japanese site. (Those Japanese are so clever with their cuteness?!) If you don't want to go through the trouble of actually growing your vegetables or if you feel weird about manipulating their shape like I do, you might like these vegetable cutters that work like cookie cutters to get all sorts of shapes out of your veggies.

Cuteness for the Day: PANDAMANIA Bento Box

2011-04-06T10:30:00.005-04:00

I'm shopping for bentos for the daughter and I. I originally bought one for her while in San Francisco but I accidentally dropped it and broke off the latch. That is why I loved this bento with its cute strap. He looks like he's working out...ack so cute!

I know I want a 2 tiered bento for both of us and I wan't mine to be cute but not overly kiddish. I work with a lady who brings her lunch in a Hello Kitty lunchbox, complete with thermos and such. Don't get me wrong I love HK but I only eat with her utensils. I don't want to advertise the fact that I like HK too much at work; it might cause some concern haha.

tweet tweet!

2011-04-05T16:49:00.000-04:00

All this social networking is getting confusing. Either way I added to the madness by creating a Twitter account for the crazy things my 5 year old says. I started posting them on my FB and my friends and family urged me to create a site to house all of them. Wonderfully enough Twitter already exists, so I post all her zaniness there. Feel free to follow and "LOL."

www.twitter.com/randomcarmen

Chronicle Books

2011-02-16T10:44:00.000-05:00

Another must-see of mine was to visit on zee Honeymoon was Chronicle Books; they publish all of my favorite crafty books. I love Chronicle Books for the types of books they publish, not only the crafty ones. They carry authors with like-minded quirkiness as myself. I picked up these while there: Softies, My Quotable Kid, Listography, and Bear in Underwear for the lil one. She loves that book! The illustrations are adorable and it is such a funny book. A bear in tightie whities = genius! I recommend My Quotable Kid to any parents out there. My child says the most random things so I like to jot them down in the My Quotable Kid journal, as well as on Twitter so I can share her craziness with everybody. Feel free to follow me here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-16T10:33:00.002-05:00

Happy Belated Baby with Bow & Arrow and Wings Day! I signed up to bring the cupcakes for my daughter's class party for Valentine's Day. I had so much fun making them for the Halloween party, I figured why not? I've been bad and haven't been posting as often as I should. But these were the cupcakes I made for her Halloween Party. My daughter loves Candy Corn, so they were quite perfect and easy to make too.

We had a cupcake making party at the bestie's. She's more than awesome at specialty cakes so I knew she'd have everything necessary to make awesome cupcakes. That and its always a good excuse so we can get together. Her sis, who is a teacher, came by to make cupcakes for her class too. There were cupcakes everywhere :)

For the Valentine's cupcakes I didn't do anything fancy per se for the actual cakes but I dressed up the presentation a bit. My family and I recently watched The Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole via Netflix (we are avid promoters of Netflix; if you don't have Netflix you are missing out!) Whilst watching the Tyto Owls I fell in love with their cute heart shaped faces and decided to use them as the inspiration for my daughter's valentines for her classmates. I'm big on themes so I made coordinating cupcake wrappers and cupcake toppers as well. I may post printables in the near future, or sooner if there is a demand for them :P

It's only been 8 months...

2011-02-15T14:58:00.000-05:00

I'm only almost a year late on posting this but whatevs. For our honeymoon back in June the hubby and I went to San Fran. There were a couple stops on our agenda that we wanted to visit. One of mine was the Britex fabric store. Being a fan of both sewing and Project Runway I became educated on wonderful places like Britex. Four wonderful floors of fabrics and notions. I was particularly smitten by their collection of Liberty fabrics. The 3rd floor was particularly my fave since it consisted all of notions; trimmings, buttons, and anything else fun.I ended up walking away with some lovely oilcloth and ribbon trims.

freshlyblended Ornament Swap

2010-11-19T10:35:00.001-05:00

I'm happy to say that this year I will be participating in freshlyblended's 5th Annual Ornament Swap! Swapping with others is a great way to meet like-minded crafter's and not to mention receive awesome little treats in the mail ;) This is my first ornament swap so I'm excited to join in on the fun. I hope my swappers like their ornaments!

Halloween Costumes 2010

2010-11-17T22:39:00.006-05:00

I am so, so happy with how well my costume making went this Halloween. As mentioned in my previous posts, it was my first full on garment so I was worried whether or not I could pull it off. While it wouldn't be able to be sold in stores anytime soon, due to some of my crazy stitching, I am so proud of how my daughter's Pink Cheetah outfit turned out. It was wearable and functional. And it held up for both her preschool party and Halloween night. No wardrobe malfunctions here!

My husband has a tendency to do low commitment Halloween costumes. Meaning he doesn't like anything too overly complicated. The more he gets to wear normal clothes the better. So we came up with the idea for him to be Wolf Man. We both agreed that a typical plastic wolf mask would be lame (and not good for the kiddies.) So we were quite happy when we came across the werewolf hood in Simplicity pattern#: 2513. It was my first time working with fur and yes it does get everywhere! But it was pretty easy to sew. Luckily we were only doing the hood and not the full on pattern including the chest plate. I am quite proud of it.

As for myself, well I had to take a backseat to a homemade costume since I was focusing more on them. But I got the Sherlock Holmes idea from the Simplicity 2513 pattern. I already had a tweed capelette, a fancy hat, and oxford shoes. All I had to do was pickup a smoking pipe and magnifying glass and I was all set ;)

Minnie Costume for Disney World!

2010-10-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Two years ago, we were blessed to experience Halloween at the greatest place on Earth...Disney World! I knew I wanted my daughter to be something Disney without having the exact same princess costume as every girl in the park. So, we opted for a simple DIY Minnie Mouse costume.

I made the ears and bow: just a covered headband, felt stuffed ears, and a stuffed bow in quintessential red and white polka dot fabric. The tutu is a No Sew Tutu. Google those exact words and you'll come up with plenty of tutorials and videos to help you make one of your own. Good luck on your tutu tutorials!

Halloween Tradition

2010-10-18T22:48:00.008-04:00

I'm confidently working through my first official garment pattern by myself. I'm making my daughter's Halloween costume this year. Although I did make her a Minnie Mouse outfit a few years back, it was really simple with minimal sewing really. Patterns usual intimidate me and I usually do better with just tutorials I find in the blogosphere, but I'm really starting to see the advantages of having each piece in the shape in needs to be...less measuring. Which is great because I'm not the best with numbers :P

I am using Simplicity pattern 2327, View C.

My mom would make our Halloween costumes every year. Which thinking about it now, is pretty impressive since she had to make one for me and each of my siblings. Its coming together slowly but surely.

I still have loads of wedding entries to post, but frankly I was getting a little tired of all the wedding stuff (months of planning will do that to ya). But, rest assured they will still be sprinkled in from time to time.

Wedding: Entrance

2010-10-16T00:13:00.003-04:00

Meet Pearl! The sweetest, most beautiful white pony I have ever met. We got to make our grand entrance to our reception with her. I never thought I would have the awesome opportunity to ride in on a pony as we were announced the new Mr. & Mrs. We figured how many other people get that chance to ride in on a pony at their reception site? The barn although, oh so hot that day, really made for a perfect atmosphere.

Wedding: Signature Drink

2010-09-30T19:54:00.005-04:00

Here we are toasting our Appletini's during my lovely MOH's speech.

For anyone who really knows my husband and I, you know we share a love for the sitcom, Scrubs. It was one of the first things we found out we had in common and our first few dates consisted of nights hanging out and watching all the seasons of Scrubs on DVD. Aaand, for the rest of you Scrub lovers you know that JD loves Appletini's. With our green apple theme, it seemed silly to not incorporate Appletini's as our signature drink. I recommend using signature drinks to help tie in your theme. Signature drinks are also smart if you want to save on money. If you focus on one cocktail you won't have to spend a lot of your budget on a bunch of liquor. We also had beer, wine, and champagne available, but cutting back on the liquor goes a long way. If you're having a hard time figuring out a signature drink for your event, try finding drinks that simply match your color scheme!

Wedding Mess

2010-09-15T08:00:00.001-04:00

My apologies and thanks to my then fiance and my daughter for putting up with this mess for the last, oh 2 months or so before the wedding. It was a happy day for all when the floor could finally be seen again :P

Wedding: Banners

2010-09-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

We were working on a budget with our wedding, (as I'm sure most do) and if you look in the right places you can find a world of great freebies and printables. Marthastewart.com of course is a great resource. She has these great letter templates to make banners out of. Just print them out on cardstock and cutout. I found circle punches worked great for a nice clean, symmetrical edges. Above, mine are strung up with the same twine that we used on our invites.

Wedding: Reception Details

2010-09-10T18:55:00.004-04:00

Just posting a few more quick images of our wedding :)

...the food,

and table settings...

Wedding: Children's Gifts

2010-08-22T23:45:00.003-04:00

I wanted to make the children's gifts extra special since my daughter was going to be our flower girl. I tried to think of what I, as a mother, would want her to have. Something that wouldn't just become clutter and be forgotten. I wanted them to have something they could actually use but that was still personal.

Again, I referenced the lovely tutorials from thelongthread.com for these children's capes. They were a bit cumbersome to make since I was making 4 at one time. I felt like a factory worker pumping those capes out in time. It was my first project using an applique so I had to get the hang of the stitching since I just used a zig-zag stitch. The kids loved them, because really...what kid doesn't like being a super hero?

Wedding: Ring Pillow

2010-08-21T00:00:00.003-04:00

Back with another wedding project. Sharing today with you the ring pillow I made out of the same fabric I used for the clutches. Gotta keep everything consistant and get my monies worth of course ;) They were real simple, just two squares of fabric stitched and stuffed. Then I finished them with an embroidered 'a' and 'k' as well as our wedding date :)

Wedding: Centerpieces

2010-08-09T22:07:00.006-04:00

I liked the whole mason jar trend going on in the wedding world. It fit in with our rustic/vintagey theme and they were pretty inexpensive to buy in bulk. I also used regular canned food cans as well as Starbucks Frapp drinks to supplement the mason jars. A great way to both save money and the environment :) I drink a lot of Sbux drinks so I just saved those and cans that were in good condition and dressed them up with twine, ribbon, and burlap. A very low cost centerpiece with highly attractive appeal.

Above is the final end result at our reception.

Tip: GooGone is a great product that helps get sticky residue off surfaces. I used that to get the Sbux bottles nice and clean.

Wedding: Apple Clutch

2010-08-05T23:26:00.006-04:00

I wanted to make my gifts for my bridesmaids. I figured it would be that much more personal. I used Michael Miller/Sandi Henderson Farmers Market in Spring Apple Dot fabric. Lordy was it a painstaking process. It literally took blood, sweat, and tears. First, I had to figure out the purse shape pattern, which took a few muck-ups to get right. I eventually came up with a pattern that worked and from there three more purses were born. Needless to say my fingers got quite a bit raw and bloody getting the fabric in the purse frames. Alas, I persevered through the pain and ended up with 4 cute and personal clutches for my ladies.

Lisa at u-handbag.typepad.com has a lovely tutorial that helped sooo much!

Hiatus over!

2010-08-05T23:10:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the absence...I was busy getting married and all :P That and I decided I deserved a little break after all the stresses that wedding planning brings. So to update you in all the happenings, I'll be writing in retrospect for the next few posts. Thanks for your patience and welcome back!

Wedding: Bridal Tea Party

2010-05-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday was warm and sunny, perfect for a tea party. My MOH and best friend threw me a wonderful Bridal Tea/Lingerie Party.

We have been scouting out a few tea rooms in the area when we landed on "With Flair" tea room in Chesapeake. The owner Pam is the sweetest thing ever. The tea room itself is in a converted old house by Cedar Road. Her chicken salad sandwiches are on point. None of those weird cranberries, apples, or nuts. Call me old fashioned but I like my chicken salad sandwiches pretty bare bones.

She had everything you would typically want at a tea party: scones, cucumber sandwiches, pimento sandwiches and all sorts of yummy tea. My favorite is the Strawberry Pomegranate...iced or hot...its awesome.

We ate, laughed, played games...which let me stop and say I beasted at the newlywed game. Getting 10 out of 15 questions correctly...what can I say I know my fiance.

With Flair is open for lunch Tuesdays through Saturdays 11am-2pm. I hope you stop by for a bite and a slurp of tea. Tell Pam I say "hello!" ;)

tea lollipop favors made by my MOH :)

ps. notice I wore this dress? I had to wear my tea dress to my tea party :)

SOL: S**t Outta Luck

2010-05-04T13:51:00.002-04:00

I'm having quite an off day or few days actually...with my wedding day approaching in exactly one month tomorrow, I am officially freaking out.

I publicly apologize to my fiance, with whom I was quite nasty with last night. I had a meltdown when the last of the wedding party gifts came in and I realized that I had entered the initials incorrectly for the monograms. Call me stupid, but I didn't know that the monogram initials are supposed to have the last name in the middle. Please tell me I'm not the only one on the planet that didn't know this! Lets just say I don't have a lot of monogrammed things. So sue me. So all the monograms are incorrect. I spent majority of the night whining, being rude, and tearing out stitches. There is a no return policy for personalized items at the store I bought them at so I am either stuck with a bunch of incorrectly monogrammed items or I can make the best of it and tear all the stitches out.

But still with the stitches out of a few of them... I still don't know what to do with them. You can still tell where and what was stitched there. I was thinking I might take them to a local embroidery shop and have them redo them. But its still a matter of figuring out where to take them to and when to find the time to do it. We should get wedding leave at work. Kinda like maternity leave but for the months before...oye....is it time for the honeymoon yet? :(

Wedding: Vendors

2010-04-22T14:10:00.003-04:00

With roughly 2 months to go we finally have all our vendors squared away. I've made a convenient little section to the right -> of all my current vendors for the wedding in the Hampton Roads area :)

Wedding: Bridesmaid Shoes

2010-04-22T13:09:00.002-04:00

I really wasn't too strict on how my bridesmaids should look. I don't have a preference for hair, jewelry, or shoes. As long as they have the dress on the day of, we're good. I gave my bridesmaids the option of wearing whatever shoes they liked in a color that complimented the green apple dresses. Just so they weren't left too much in the dark I did suggest unforgettablemoments.com. They are a dye-able sister shoe company with Payless Shoes. They have a range of colors to choose from. Being a sister company with Payless you know they will fit most budgets too. Only set back is there are not that many styles to choose from. The good thing though is Payless has some of the shoes in store, so if you did want to try on the fit and see what colors look like in person you can go to the store and see. Just go to the front and ask the sales lady for the book of colors for Unforgettable Moments. I think we're going with the Rich Mocha to compliment the apple green. Great for prom season coming up too!

Wedding: Bridal Shoes

2010-04-22T13:00:00.004-04:00

I've been looking for green wedding shoes for quite some time. I wanted to have a pop of color under my dress with my shoes. But I haven't been able to find the perfect shade of green. I came across these Green Apple Electra Pumps by Nina on zappos.com and I got all excited, until I try to order and they are all sold out of size 7. Typical.

So I opted for white shoes. I wanted something with a little bling since I wasn't going to have that "color wow factor" anymore. I searched around zappos.com until I found these pretty pleated pumps by Coloriffics. I'm a frugal lady. I get it from my mom who wouldn't let me buy anything growing up unless it was on sale. So spending $80 on a pair of shoes I will probably wear once, (bc who really wears white shoes?) was a bit steep for me. So I googled the shoes to compare prices. And I'm glad I did. Of all places Sears.com had them. I was pleasantly suprised by their evening shoe selection at Sears. Who knew? They have brands like Coloriffics, Caparros, and Benjamin Walk. I perused the site until I found these. They are similar to the Coloriffics with the pleats and bling but at a cheaper price. So I was sold. Hooray for google searches!

PS. I also went to a Sears store to see if I could try some on. They don't carry half of what they do online, in stores. So needless to say we didn't see any Evening/Wedding shoes there.

Passing time...

2010-04-20T16:18:00.003-04:00

This has been floating around blogland so I figured I'd pass the time and join in...

1. When do you feel happiest?

After I've accomplished or finished something I've been putting off. (i.e., sewing projects, wedding planning, jobs at work...)

2. How do you take care of yourself?

I give myself time outs by secluding myself to the bedroom and taking a mid-day nap. Unfortunately, I can only do this on the weekends.

3. Are you internally (by yourself) or externally (by others) motivated?

Internally, almost too much, I have to "feel" like doing something or it won't be done. I'll wait and wait until I "feel" like that basket of laundry or what have you. Its a habit I'm not proud of bc life won't wait around for when you feel like it right?

4. What do you do for fun?

Flea markets, antiquing, catching the occasional concert or show depending on the cash flow. Movies with the fiance or netflix on the couch.

5. What intimidates you?

My dreams intimidate me. Sometimes I think I'm dreaming too big and I think I need to pace myself. I have a habit of looking at the big picture prematurely. When I should be looking at the steps at how to get to the big picture.

6. What is something you're proud of?

I'd say my small humble blog. I remember when I even doubted starting you. I'm glad I did.

7. Finish this sentence. I never _____________ ever am on time. For. Anything.

8. Favorite vacation spot.

I don't get to go on many vacays so I'd say good 'ole VB oceanfront. Bc in all honesty even having the time to go there is a feat in itself.

9. Today is a (rate from 1 - 10).

A 3. Really bored. It was a weird day. I didn't even notice people at work today. I was really out of it I guess?

10. Finish this sentence. If you knew me really well you'd know _____________ I have major sleep issues.

If you still want to join in, feel free to post your answers on your blog!

Wedding: Rustic Invites

2010-04-18T00:13:00.004-04:00

Our wedding invitations, probably the biggest hurdle of wedding planning, are finally out the door and we are already getting RSVPs in! Getting those out really makes getting married feel even more legitimate. These are our invites. I sewed each pocketfold; all 100 or so of them. The fiance helped print, assemble, and package them while I diligently sewed away. I like how they turned out and so far I have heard nothing but good things about them. It was funny buying all the fabric for them at the fabric store. The lady at the cutting counter was like, "Wow, what are you gonna make with all this burlap?" And I was like, "Um...pocketfolds for my wedding invites." When she responded, "Burlap? That's so interesting, most people want satin or organza for wedding projects..." Haha. Not us. We like unconventional ;) Enjoy!

Currently Obsessing Over: Olive Juice Mary Janes

2010-04-16T17:28:00.004-04:00

jazmin mary jane via olivejuicekids.com

How cute are these! Ugh...can't stand it. Once again too rich for my blood, but soo cute for the little one.

Wedding: A dress with persona

2010-04-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

stolen from FB. hah thnx Tin!

Meet my recently married cousin overseas in PI and her amazing wedding dress. I really wish I could pull off a little hat like that. Tee...its so dainty! I love the details in this dress. So much personality, from the piping to the ruching and don't forget the black cap sleeves. Amazingness must run in the family ;) Well done cuz!

Dear Fiance: Wedding Gift Suggestions

2010-04-15T13:06:00.006-04:00

Dear Fiance,

If you need suggestions as to what to get me for a wedding present I've provided some help for you ;)

Yudu screen printing machine

Cricut Cake Machine
Diamond Hello Kitty Ring via zales.com

and of course a bunna! Thanks!

Love,
Me

Currently Obsessing Over: L of L Kiss Lock Wallet

2010-04-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Liberty of London prints @ my favorite place Target def scream Spring. I really want this Lock Kiss Wallet. The pattern is coated cotton which means I can just wipe it clean. I lug a lot of stuff around in my wallet. Right now my current wallet is actually a clutch I bought from NY&Co. awhile back. So its sorta silly, I have a clutch within my huge 8lbs purse, a purse within a purse really. I like the added Kiss Lock section of the wallet...more for me to stuff up my wallet with ;) Sadly, most Libery of London stuff has gone quickly. I can only find the blue print in stores and not the poppy pink as pictured. I wanted a L of L teapot also, but those too were sold out within days both in stores and online. The search continues for poppy pink...

Fred Heutte 29th Annual Herb Sale & Festival

2010-04-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Fred Heutte Center is having its Annual Herb Sale and Festival this weekend, April 17th & 18th, along with a Spring Art & Craft Show. The hours are 9-4 Saturday and 10-4 Sunday and is located in the old train station at 1000 Botetourt Gardens in the Ghent area of Norfolk.

If you go, say hi to my fellow 7CCer Kristin, she'll be the one selling gorgeous aprons and such. Kristin is owner of the Craft and Sew Studio located in Virginia Beach. I might've mentioned it before, but if not...if you've ever wanted to learn how to sew cute things she's the one to see. Her studio specializes in sewing lessons for the beginner to the seasoned seamstress.

Wedding: Official Engagement Photos

2010-04-13T13:08:00.003-04:00

I finally uploaded pics from our photographer. Our engagement photos were taken at Norfolk Botanical Gardens in Norfolk, VA. As mentioned in my previous post in was super cold that day. Ironically enough, the next weekend it was like 80 degrees out, stupid Hampton Roads weather...click here to see the entire set.

Wedding: E-Sesh!

2010-04-12T17:03:00.003-04:00

Here is a link to a sneak peak of my engagement session that was shot not too long ago. It was frigidly cold that day and other than looking a bit "cold" in some photos (in temperature, not emotion) they came out beautifully. I had the opportunity of not only working with my photographer, but he brought along his colleague William who was there to provide some amazing shots as well. These are Williams photos, I will post Chris' photos as soon as possible! Enjoy!

Sacrifices, sacrifices...

2010-04-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

A very daunting task of wedding planning has been completed. We have finished printing, creating, and assembling our wedding invites! (I'll post what they look like once majority of them are sent out.) With such a big wedding things had to be sacrificed to keep within budget and sanity. I had to let go of some dreamy things that in a fantasy world/wedding I would've had. So goodbye...

Calligraphy addressed invites...

via mrboddington.com

And letterpress printed invites...

via ephemera-press.com

We started to reach crunch time so in the end while I was still pumping out pocketfolds the fiance diligently worked on addressing the invites himself. Thanks dear :)

STELLLAAA!!

2010-04-02T11:14:00.005-04:00

Sooo who wants to buy my little girl everything from the Stella McCartney line for Gap Kids? Lord knows my budget won't allow it...takers? Anyone? So cute...

Rock Candy Cake?!

2010-03-31T11:17:00.003-04:00

Rock Candy wedding cake?! YES PLEASE! This stylized wedding is just UHH-MAZING...love love love the colors.

click for entire inspiration board via stylemepretty.com

make do and mend.

2010-03-30T16:42:00.001-04:00

Singer Print.
Originally uploaded by Clare Owen Illustration

Sooo I somehow need to send out our wedding invites by April 1st. Throughout the whole DIY wedding invite ordeal we have managed to wear down our equipment to the bone...we've needed to order a new printer and last night my sewing machine decided to crap out on me as well. I believe I just need to oil my machine...so I'm going out this evening to pick some up from the fabric store. Lets hope that fixes it...otherwise I don't know how I shall "make it work."

...be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

2010-03-30T16:24:00.007-04:00

Our honeymoon destination: San Francisco, California baby! We were originally thinking Hawaii but after realizing a plane ticket to San Fran would be about a third of the price of a ticket to Hawaii, we wised up and booked San Francisco right away.

I've always wanted to visit and neither of us have been to California. Crazy right? I may just fall in love with it. I've always said I wanted to move to San Francisco and sell my crafts by the sea...

I emailed the famous Victoria aka sfgirlbybay and she was kind enough to give us some insider tips on what to do and see. For anyone else that has been to SF please send us your suggestions! Thnx :)

Go with the flow...

2010-03-19T15:50:00.005-04:00

We're shooting our engagement photos next weekend. So I have been desperately seeking outfits to wear. I've probably been driving my photographer nuts with all my scatter brain ideas for the shoot. And out of all the ideas I've come across I still don't know exactly what we're gonna do or what we're gonna wear. I guess I'll just have to leave it up to the professional.

I had this vision of wearing a light, airy, flowy dress. And I have yet to find the perfect one that isn't more than I want to pay. I stumbled across these two Etsy shops and I wish I had found them sooner, seeing how one is located in Taiwan and says shipping can take anywhere between 7-30 days :P

Spunshop makes these wonderful Mexican style embroidered dresses, which I thought was odd since they are in Taiwan...I digress...I love the hand embroidery on the light fabric. They'd be pretty with some cute boots or woven sandals. It just looks so comfortable and effortless. Which is always a good thing here when with how humid it can get.

Then on the totally opposite spectrum. I found these lovely flowy tulle dresses that are dreamy on bustle. Either way they won't be here in time for the shoot. So I am still left empty handed. Le sigh...

Sharing smiles...

2010-03-18T16:23:00.002-04:00

This made my day. I hope it makes yours too :D

Wedding: Let them eat cake!

2010-03-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

Found my baker! The hunt for wedding cake is finally over. We shopped around at a few places until finally booking Chef DeLong at Gourmet Bake Shoppe. While doing my research her name kept popping up with glowing reviews about her cakes. Its no surprise I guess since Chef DeLong has been in the cake business for 17 years and it truly shows in her execution. I had high expectations for my wedding cake design. I blame my bestie who is pretty skilled with a piping bag herself. In high school we worked at a local ice cream shop, so we've got some cake decorating skills under our belt.

On my search I either came across bakeries that were too high priced or the skill level just wasn't there. Chef DeLong offered both. She was more than happy to help us cut costs while still providing the sugar flowers I wanted for half the cost that I was quoted at other bakeries. I love Sugar Plum Bakery (another local favorite) but they weren't even offering sugar flowers. Another place wanted waaay too much for them, since the artist herself couldn't do them and had to outsource the task to someone else. Which I feel if you are in a cake business that should def be something in your repertoire.

Chef DeLong was such a sweet lady, her portfolio is amazing, and the cake was delicious. She has her very own design studio which I thought was quite professional. I'm happy with my choice. I can feel at ease knowing my cake will look and taste amazing on the big day.

Spring = Craft Shows!

2010-03-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

It was quite beautiful yesterday. Very exciting seeing how the first day of Spring isn't until next week. Warm weather means many great things, a few being craft shows, antique shows, yard sales...etc :)

The Virginia Beach Spring Craft Market will be this coming March 19-21. Some 7 Cities ladies will be there selling their wares. Hopefully next year I'll be able to participate too, since I won't be planning a wedding an all. So if you're in the area I def suggest checking it out at the Convention Center @ the beach.

Coming in the summer will be the Virginia Beach Antique Show as well, August 13-15. Definitely will hit that up!

For more crafty events feel free to visit the 7 Cities Crafters Events page for updated events and info :)

Wedding: Rustic Vintage

2010-03-10T10:47:00.003-05:00

I try and shy away from reposting things from other wedding blogs here on my blog, because I think its pointless when so many other blogs do it. But I couldn't help but want to share the latest images from Utterly Engaged's digital mag. I love everything about it. Mainly bc it is along the same lines of the "rustic-vintage" aesthetic I want for my wedding...that and it features my fave color teal :) I love the detail of both cakes and how one is very loud and busy while the other is very simple, but both very stunning. I wonder if after the wedding I'll still be interested in all these wonderful wedding blogs and sites. Or if I'll be sick and tired of seeing it all :P Either way, I'll enjoy it while I can.

Wedding: My Wedding Band

2010-03-08T16:50:00.000-05:00

I love my wedding band. I want to wear it now. My mother escorted us to her jeweler, a local business that has been in the area for years, Rinehart Bros. Jewelry. I heard enough horror stories about mall jewelry stores to even attempt looking there, and after my issues with my engagement ring, it was an easy decision to listen to my mother's advice. My sister got her wedding ring from there too; might as well continue the tradition. Their storefront is kind of a hidden gem in its self hidden in the middle of Janaf shopping center. You wouldn't know it was there if it weren't for their amazing word-of-mouth reputation. My mom first ended up going there upon a recommendation from a coworker and she has been going there ever since.

All I knew about my ring is that I wanted a vintage/antique design. Rinehart was very accommodating to helping me find my dream ring. They didn't have the style in store but I was able to pick it out of their catalog. I received it in no time at all, it was in about a week later and it looks just as it did in the book. I was very happy to find my ring and at the price we were shooting for. Not to mention they were able to fix the bend in my engagement ring at no charge at all! You should go visit the store and pet their cuddly office/store dog for me :)

Wedding: The fiance's band

2010-02-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

Cocobolo Wood Flared

Buffalo Horn Ring

I love my fiance, our styles and aesthetic our very much the same and that makes me happy. We've known for quite sometime now what he was going to get for his wedding band. I found it perusing wonderful etsy.com of course. Its very unique and out of the ordinary so I knew he'd dig it. The ring is made by the husband and wife duo at MinterandRichterDes. I swear, the fiance was more particular about his band than I was about mine. We ended up getting a custom ring made for him and they were so helpful and accommodating to making sure everything was to his liking. He basically got a combination of the Buffalo Horn and Cocobolo rings. His ring will be in the style of the Buffalo Horn but with the rich, red Cocobolo Wood inlay instead. And come to think of it, our wedding rings really reflect us and our wedding style. My ring represents the vintage, his the rustic. A perfect match.

We're Legit...

2010-02-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

Guess who has their own t-shirts. Haha. We're totally legit now :P

Wedding: Bridesmaid Dresses

2010-02-25T09:00:00.001-05:00

Check out how classy my lovely bridal party will be looking ;) My lovely ladies will be wearing Alfred Sung dresses in the Pantone collection shown in appletini. Fits right in with the apple theme!

Wedding: Personalized Stamps

2010-02-24T09:00:00.001-05:00

I highly recommend personalized stamps for an easy "wow" factor when it comes to sending out wedding save the dates or invites. You're going to be spending money on postage anyway, why not it be customized to your liking? Apparently a lot of my guests really enjoyed the stamps, which is always satisfying. It is really not a difficult process and they come out great!

There are two online sources I'd recommend. I used zazzle.com, we've ordered stuff from there before so I knew I could count on their customer service and business. Stamps.com is another online outlet that provides personalized stamps, I've heard good things about them too. Of course the USPS store offers them as well, but I could never get their site to work so sadly USPS didn't make the cut. Each time I tried to upload an image on USPS's site it would just freeze and do nothing after several attempts. So alas I went with Zazzle.

Wedding: My DIY philosophy.

2010-02-23T09:00:00.001-05:00

I realize especially after completing our Save the Dates that yes, DIYing is very time consuming and can be quite stressful, but I wouldn't want it any other way. I considered scrapping my DIY plans and just picking an invitation suite with Save the Dates included out of a catalog, but then I realized that wouldn't be true to me. I wanted the creative freedom for everything to look uniform with our wedding theme. By doing my own Save the Dates I was able to customize them to our wedding website, all the same font types that are used in our Save the Dates are used throughout our website as well. I was able to use the same paper and colors that I've been using for various other projects (like the one pictured) from my bridesmaid badges. I loaded up on Martha Stewart paper while it was on sale at Michael's. I'm pretty sure I took every piece of green, brown, and teal paper in the Martha Stewart section at my local Michael's. Michael's coupons are key ;)

I love being crafty, I love being creative and creating things. And I believe that if I didn't enjoy being crafty in the first place I probably would've scrapped the idea a long time ago. But the fact of the matter is that DIYing is part of who I am and what I like to do. DIYing your wedding is definitely not for the faint of heart. If you aren't into craft projects in the first place, I wouldn't recommend the DIY route even if it does save you money. It'll save you a lot less stress and headache in the end if DIYing isn't your forte. I am by no means discouraging you all to DIY, but just be warned that you will need to dedicate plenty of time and much of your sanity to the whole process.

Wedding: Our Save the Dates

2010-02-21T21:09:00.008-05:00

After two bridal breakdowns our Save the Dates are miraculously out. (Click image to enlarge.) The first bridal breakdown which I knew would be inevitable at some point (every bride graduate had warned me about it) was after I realized I had ordered the wrong paper. I didn't have time to send back the paper, get the correct paper shipped to me, assemble them, and have them shipped out in time. I was already pushing the Save the Date window by getting them out so close to when the actual invites should be sent. So after I had my mental breakdowns and regathered my thoughts, I figured I'd have to make due with what I had. Granted, I had to change my original design idea and opt for something I could just print out quickly and send.

I've been saving images of ideas I liked for our Save the Dates so I consulted those for inspiration. I came across one Save the Date that was pretty much the what I had in mind regarding an apple tree with our initials carved in the trunk. Then ironically enough I found a blog that had the designer of the Save the Date featured. And the designer was kind enough to provide a downloadable template! God was definitely on my side that day. They are inspired by Shel Silverstein's, "The Giving Tree" cover image, which I love. So with a few tweaks in Illustrator I was able to customize it a bit to fit our "you picked me/apple" theme. I didn't design the artwork entirely, but did assemble and print them out ourselves. It truly saved us a lot of money in the end.

I I truly am indebted to all the wonderful bloggers in blogland that aren't stingy with their designs and encourage them to be used to help spread the love of creativity and in my sake, help save my sanity.

Wedding: You Picked Me

2010-02-21T21:05:00.002-05:00

Ahh my bliggidy blog. I apologize more times than I should for not updating you. I figure I better set aside a few things and make time for an update since #1: I realized that I started you around the same time a year ago. HAPPY BLOGAVERSARY TO ME! Most people in blogland do a giveaway or something for their blog anniversary but I figure I can't have that many readers due to the fact that I don't update it enough...sigh...life.

And #2: I finished our Save the Dates and they have a link to my blog on them and it would just be silly if I didn't have any recent updates with wedding planning up. Hi to anyone visiting from our wedding website! Which is located at www.upickedme.com by the way (shameless plug).

Currently Obsessing Over: Pocketwatch Necklaces

2010-01-11T11:42:00.004-05:00

Received this past Christmas; this is my new fave piece to wear :) Can't help wearing it with everything bc I think it goes so well with everything!

via fred flare

Wedding: Floral Shop Dress

2010-01-06T08:30:00.001-05:00

Last summer I posted about how I wanted a happy, perfect, tea dress for my rehearsal or shower from Sohomode. She still has her shop open and her dresses are still lovely, but I ended up buying the Floral Shop Dress over at modcloth.com. I do feel bad for not helping out an independent shop, but hey we are in a recession and it was $30 cheaper and included free shipping. That and I was a bit worried about Sohomode's fabric selections and how it would all come together in the end. Either way I still got a happy tea dress to wear somewhere for my wedding :)

Wedding: 3rd Times a Charm

2010-01-05T08:30:00.001-05:00

So last wedding post I left you with was about a dress outing to All the Rage at Hilltop. But I have been a bad lil blogger and have not updated you on such important events as PURCHASING A DRESS! WEE! I knew I'd be buying a dress there because it was a perfect mix of both my experience at Pure English and David's Bridal. It wasn't overly priced as Pure English, but I felt more like a valued customer than at David's Bridal. I felt like a bride but not a stuffy couture bride, bc thats not me in spirit or in what I'm willing to spend. The sales ladies are very helpful, but they let you breathe and let you pick out what you want to see, while still being helpful and picking things that you might not think of trying on.

I think I was also set on buying on this trip because I was just tired of searching. You'd think searching for something like your bridal gown would be something you wouldn't get tired of. But it is a tiring process. The search, the trying on, the coordinating everyone else's schedules. I just wanted to be done with it and check another thing off my list.

At first I was having second thoughts about my dress. Mainly bc I wasted my "this is it" dress feeling on a Paloma Blanca dress not in my budget (pictured right). But after much thought I realized that I am happy with the dress I purchased. It fit all the criteria of style, fit, and price. As mentioned before, I won't be posting my actual dress bc my fiance is a very supportive fiance and visits my blog every now and again. But I will tell you what my criteria was and that it is a Maggie Sottero dress. Also, I'll post some of the other contenders that didn't quite make the cut.

Criteria:
Lace
Cap sleeves or key hole back
A-line, sheath or trumpet shape
Light-weight for my summer barn wedding.
Vintage feel
Non-traditional
No satin

some Pure English Dresses:

a bit too simple for me...

not quite digging the asymmetrical sleeves...

I liked the gathering detail at the waist, but the all over lace
was a bit heavy and looked a bit matronly in person.

some David's Bridal Dresses:

I loved how this dress looked on me and it would've been perfect
for a barn wedding but I wasn't willing to pay $500 for a short dress...
it makes me look like i have a teeny waist :)

Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the dresses I tried on at All the Rage. As I said I was kind of tired of the dress search and I think my MOH was too, so we didn't even remember to take pics until we came to the dress I ended up purchasing. But I had an overall great experience at ATR. I felt their service, selection, and prices made it an overall good buying experience.

Wedding: My Photographer

2010-01-04T16:00:00.006-05:00

Sean Young x City
Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/bautistaphotos/

Alo! I wanted to share some vendor info. Our photographer for the wedding, Chris Bautista, is a good friend of mine. I'm pretty sure I've known him since I was in middle school. You may have already seen some of his work via the 757 links in the sidebar of this little blog. It was pretty much a no-brainer to whom I wanted to shoot our wedding. His style is something you can't teach, which wasn't since he is basically self-taught when it comes to photography. Some people just have an eye for photography and others just have an expensive camera and call themselves photographers (not anyone in particular...jus sayin'). I love his use of lighting and the photo-journalistic style he does his weddings in. I'm so happy he's agreed to do our wedding. We'll also be doing engagement photos at some point. So keep an eye out!

http://www.bautistaphotos.com/ or bautistaphotos on flickr for more examples of Chris' work :)

Elementary my dear...

2010-01-04T11:10:00.004-05:00

I heart capelettes. I bought one similar to the one to the right last year at an end of the season clearance at delias.com for quite a steal. Mine is made out of a yummy tweed but the overall shape is the same. I was getting breakfast one morning at an Sbux and an older lady came up to me and asked where I got it. She said it was "soo chic!" It made me laugh and beam bc unexpected compliments are always the best. Alexis over @ "My Mama Made It" is giving away a lovely wool cape. I love that it has a hood! I'm taking my chances at winning it...and you should too bc I like to share the love. :)

2010 Sewing Calendar

2010-01-01T17:41:00.002-05:00

calendar 2
Originally uploaded by stardustshoes

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 2010 is extra special for me since as some may know I'll be getting married this year! Crazy to think that this time next year I will have a whole different lastname and be in a different tax bracket, okay well the 2nd isn't as exciting but still.

I started the New Year off right by being uber productive in the house today. I did some Spring cleaning in the middle of Winter. What better way to start the New Year than to purge a few things?

Productivity is key this year. I must get wedding planning underway. My SIL got me this 2010 Sewing Calendar for Christmas. It's pretty sweet, it has a detailed projects w/instructions & patterns for every few days of the year. A lot of the projects were submitted & compiled by the crafty people here in blogland. (Follow picture link for one of the contributors). Hopefully, it will help me stay productive in the crafty areas as well. Here's to a productive, exciting, and new 2010!

7 Cities Crafters Christmas

2009-12-31T08:30:00.000-05:00

A few of us gals from the 7 Cities Crafters met up for a little Holiday Pot-Luck and gift exchange during the Christmas season. Fittingly, our gifts had to be handmade, so I whipped up these dainty reindeer ornaments. The image is simply an iron-on transfer with a blanket stitch all around; along w/some poly-filler inside. I love that they aren't the traditional Christmas colors. I still have loads left. I even gave some to my family as tag/gift toppers. I'm thinking maybe I'll perfect them and possibly sell them for next years holiday shows. We'll see...

Playing Catch Up

2009-12-30T12:55:00.010-05:00

Sigghh...its the end of the year and I have neglected you my poor little blog for way too long. But alas I shall manage to post a few things for this month before the year is over and a new wonderful/hectic/exciting year awaits. Let's recap:

Fall...brought lots of pumpkin guts thanks to our Hunt Club visit. Pumpkin guts then led to lots of...Winter...pumpkin choc. chip cookies used as gifts and such for family & friends. Sadly, I do not have a pic of said cookies, but they are yummy. Not too much pumpkin taste...just right. I had to tweak the above recipe a bit since I used fresh pumpkin guts versus canned. It wasn't as thick as when made with canned pumpkin puree so I added flour, which didn't effect the taste or texture either. Along with lots of other holiday treats, goodies, and decorations as pictured below :) Hope you had a great holiday!

Busy busy busy...

2009-11-30T17:20:00.006-05:00

November has been busy for me. With my daughter's bday and the holidays all falling within the same few months, things can get pretty hectic. Either way my daughter had her 4th Bday a few weeks ago. She had an "Under the Sea" themed bday party. We hung blue and green streamers all around the house to resemble seaweed and the sea. My bestie made my daughter's bday cake. I've seen "rainbow cakes" all along blogland and being the little baker that she is, I asked her to take a stab at it. I think it came out great! Very colorful and happy! Kudos Auntie Kelly ;)

Wedding: Mens Apparel

2009-11-04T12:13:00.006-05:00

I have learned quite a few things from wedding planning as far as wedding apparel goes. For instance Mens Wearhouse has monopolized the Hampton Roads area. I couldn't find any other formal wear boutiques for men that wasn't a Mens Wearhouse. I remember they had Mitchell's Formal Wear-gone, all the places in the mall...all now Mens Wearhouses. So basically our options for groomsmen apparel was significantly limited. I originally wanted tan suits for the men to wear but after a trip to...Mens Wearhouse of course...we learned that we could only buy suits or rent tuxes. We didn't feel comfortable making the men buy $300-$400 suits so we are now opting to rent tuxes. I'd love to do these wheat suits from J.Crew. They are reasonably priced for the quality and fit but again we feel funny making our groomsmen buy tan suits. Tan suit aren't very practical to wear often so I doubt they would get much wear out of them. Luckily MW currently have these fabulous gray tuxes that work well with our whole casual, laid-back, summer wedding. We knew that traditional black tuxes definitely wouldn't go. So I am happy to have the gray alternative.

Next weekend I have an appointment at All the Rage in Hilltop. I am growing more optimistic with my dress search. I visited their site and picked out a few things and I'm excited to try them on. The prices are well within my budget too so fingers crossed! I'm also confused as to whether All the Rage in Chesapeake is the same? The VB site has a disclaimer saying they are the "original" but I was always under the impression they were owned by the same people? Guess not. Just seems silly that they would have the same store name I guess? Anywho wish me luck!

I've been tagged!

2009-11-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hooray for my first award! Fellow Hampton Roads blogger, Flip Flop Bride has awarded me the Sugar Doll Blogger Award, thanks so much! I am quite new to the whole blogging scene so I really don't know who to tag, so I'll just continue by answering the questions. Without further ado here are 10 random/interesting facts about me:

1. An entrepreneur from the start, when I was little I would collect wallpaper samples from the interior design sections of department stores and make bookmarks out of them to sell to my classmates for 10 cents.

2. To deter myself from boredom on long shopping sessions with my mom when I was younger, I would collect all the sequins and beads on the floor of the dressing rooms for craft projects.

3. My fondest childhood memories include collecting things from my yard and making "potions" with them out of my moms empty perfume bottles.

4. My favorite holiday is the 4th of July. Cookouts, warm weather, fireworks...what more could you want in a holiday. That and my wonderful fiance proposed to me 4th of July weekend, making it an extra special holiday.

5. I barely wear shoes with laces or that need socks. I am not much of a sneaker gal, my casual shoes are a pair of good ole black ballet flats.

6. I am ALWAYS late.

7. Growing up I wanted to be a journalist like Barbara Walters hehe.

8. To this day I resent taking piano lessons instead of continuing with ballet class.

9. I love puzzle games.

10. I can only finish the "short" size of coffee at Starbucks.

THANKS!

Wedding: Dress Search Part 1

2009-11-02T16:11:00.004-05:00

As far as wedding planning goes, right now I am searching for my "it" dress. Unfortunately, I want my dress to be a big surprise for everyone except my lovely mother and bridesmaids, so I won't be posting pics of what I have been trying on. That and the fiance does occasionally read my blog (such a supportive fiance isn't he?). I will be posting and sharing my experiences though. Hopefully it helps other brides in the area figure out where they want to shop.

My first stop I went to was Pure English at Hilltop, in La Promenade shopping center. I knew I was going to a higher end boutique that sold designer gowns but I'm glad I did. I am glad I got that movie-esque experience of trying on wedding dresses where the attendant helps you in and out of the gown. Mind you at Pure English you change in front of whoever you bring, so you may want to keep that in mind :P The sales lady was very helpful but she seemed a bit short tempered with my daughter. So I suggest not bringing little ones. I did find a wonderful, wonderful dress. But of course it is more than I am willing to spend. So beware if you do want the quintessential dress shopping experience do visit a higher end boutique. But be careful, you very well may fall in love with a dress out of your price range.

Secondly, I visited David's Bridal. The ladies were sooo friendly. I suggest going to their website and adding dresses you like to your "Wish List," then print it out and hand it to your sales lady on the day of your appointment. I did this and the process went by so much faster. I already knew that I liked all the dresses on the list so I wasn't wasting time with dresses that just weren't what I was looking for. Once she got an idea of my style she felt comfortable enough picking dresses in the store for me and she did quite a good job at it too. Keep in mind David's Bridal is off the rack, so yes it is much cheaper but you are getting what you pay for. You may be buying a dress that hundreds of other ladies have tried on so you want to keep in mind the cost for alterations like bead tightening and such. But I was pleasantly surprised with their selection and prices. Unfortunately, none of the dresses really got me overly excited, so for now the search goes on.

Happy Halloween 2009!

2009-10-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

I didn't have the time or sanity to even attempt to make my daughter's Halloween costume this year but I plan to eventually for future Halloweens. My wonderful mommie made all of our costumes growing up (I got my sewing genes from her and my grandma) and I plan to continue the tradition with my children...just not this year whilst planning a wedding. That and her birthday is next month so I've been party planning for that too. Yeesh. I want to talk her into this awesome costume one year! I have an unabashed love for Hot Air Balloons. As noted here, here, and here.

via Black *Eiffel w/tutorial

60's Stewardess

2009-10-30T11:34:00.004-04:00

I stumbled across a post on The Cupcake Diary featuring Elle Italy's editorial on 60's stewardess fashion inspiration which I loved! It reminded me of my visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in D.C. I made the fiance take this pic of me because their outfits are so fantastic! I'd love to live in those days and dress like that on a daily basis. Although it seems that wouldn't be the case since the other pictures depicts my sadness that I indeed couldn't be a stewardess back in the 60's because I am indeed not a white female. Phooey :P

Handmade Nation Premiere @ the NARO

2009-10-23T23:05:00.003-04:00

FYI! Tomorrow is the premiere for the indie documentary Handmade Nation, being shown right here at our own NARO Cinema in Norfolk. The film describes and follows the diy/craft movement happening across the nation.

Some fellow ladies from the 7 Cities Crafters will also be there before the premiere selling their wares in promotion of the movement itself. Awareness for handmade! Woo!

So go check it out. The Trunk Show is open to the public from 3-5pm and the screening of the film is immediately after @ 5:15 pm. Admission is $6. Hope you all can make it.

Emma Pillsbury

2009-10-23T17:18:00.005-04:00

I really love Glee. I have always had a thing for musicals...stage, cinema, television...doesn't matter (I can't wait to see Nine when it comes out), so Glee is right up my alley. Personally, I think its very well written; its smart and funny. Aaand I love the character Emma's wardrobe. Its very classic and vintage, lots of cardigans, pencil skirts, brooches, and pins...all me. I've been wanting/needing to make a sweater clip for myself since I don't like actually buttoning up my cardigans for work but I like them to stay in place. The more I saw Emma's character on Glee wearing them I couldn't resist. So I made this yesterday and I plan to make more :)