Unity Candle

I did have visions of making our own Unity Candle but when you can find so many things on Etsy made my people who have WAY more time and talent than you do... you should go with it. Here is the Pic.

This was done by Fanci Flamegirl (http://www.etsy.com/people/FanciFlamegirl). She did a wonderful job and the best part is it only took me about 15 minutes to order it! :)

Wedding Dreams

"Wedding Dreams" sounds like such a nice title doesn't it? It conjures up images of white clouds and beautifully dressed people floating through the air, sipping on champagne and smiling and laughing. Basically having the time of their lives. I know you can envision this, everyone is floating around in in slow motion because they are so relaxed and happy.

For those of you former brides, you know good and well that my wedding dreams have been anything BUT the above described scene. They are more like wedding nightmares... In my most mild "dream" I thought that all of the guests were going to have to sleep in one ski lodge with many couples in each room. Basically my "dream" had people sleeping on every available surface in this place. And, somehow Mr. E and I had to share with the loudest snoring couple there. I was in a panic! Both in my dream and immediately following my dream when I sat straight up in bed, sweating at 2:30 a.m.

It doesn't take a dream interpreter to tell me that this is my mind's way of manifesting worry and the fact that we need to get moving on a few things! So, this week, for the sake of my sleeping and sanity, we will accomplish the following:
1) Unity Candle- yes or no, if yes, I'm making it and I'll post photos/process of that craft project
2) Tuxedos for the men- just pick them out and order them!
3) Invitations- We are thisclose to being done with these
4) Come on Mr. DJ put a record on I want to dance with my baby...

Stay Tuned!

Bridal Showers Bring Bridal Flowers

I had my first bridal shower last weekend. My Maid of Honor flew in from Chicago and my mom's friends, the G.A.L.S., did a really nice job organizing, calling a few audibles due to flooding and avoiding cheesy shower games. (That last one was an order, really.) I think everyone enjoyed themselves and I did too... even though I might have been sweating through my new dress while they all watched me open gifts.

One of the nice things that the ladies did was ask all of the guests to bring a flower that reminded them of me. Then, as they introduced themselves to everyone else, they told why their flower reminded them of me. One cousin brought a sunflower and said it reminded her of me because it was Hawkeye colors. Huge score! Other friends and family members brought roses, daisies and lilies. They all said very nice and really wonderful things about me. I knew that we had a mutual admiration for each other, however when they put their thoughts and feelings into words, it was very touching and sweet. And beautiful. Both figuratively and literally.

How I Love the 4th of July!

I love fireworks! I mean, I love fireworks the same way little kids love fireworks. I stare in awe like the little kids and I cheer like the little kids. Sometimes, I even get a tear in my eye... for some reason fireworks bring out the emotion in me. For the past several years, Mr. E and I have gone to my hometown for the 4th of July. We spend Easter with Mr. E's family in Michigan and the 4th of July with Ms. D's family in I-A. (That's Iowa for those of you who aren't hip to my other love of nicknaming and abbreviations) I must say, I like the arrangement. Unfortunately, this year we can't do the 4th in I-A because we have so much going on, financially. As it is, the flooding in I-A, may have put a kibosh on the fireworks anyway. (Flood Pictures.) I decided to get over my initial disappointment and look forward to the fireworks here. I mean sitting on a pier overlooking the ocean, watching fireworks and eating ice cream... kind of an awesome replacement. Exceeeeept, those got cancelled TOO! Darn these economic times. So, I made cupcakes instead. Of course I made yellow cake with chocolate frosting for me! I used the vanilla frosting for those who like pretty holiday arrangements. I'm bummed I won't be seeing any fireworks this year but cupcakes are a close second. They definitely taste better (well, who knows what fireworks actually taste like) and if you squint the sprinkles kind of look like fireworks... Happy 4th of July!

Little Old Lady From Pasadena

Last week, I made a 45 minute trek to Pasadena to check fabric. Yep, you read that correctly. It took me longer to get there and back than I actually spent in the store (10 minutes.) I went to Pasadena to see the fabric that some potential bridesmaid dresses were in. Silk Shantung or Satin? Oh man... the dilemma!? I'll figure that part out soon enough... now for the really cool part of the trip...

I figured that if I had come this far, I may as well stop at THE football landmark of all time. A landmark that I definitely hope to be at on New Years Day 2012, wearing black and gold, of course... THE ROSE BOWL! I have pictures of me, my brother and my dad all wearing Hawkeye gear and crammed into one chair watching the Hawks in many a Rose Bowl... Those pictures are very old though so hopefully we can get some new pictures involving the Rose Bowl and the Hawkeyes... Until then, feast your eyes on this and Let's Go HAWKS!

Versus- The Game, Round 2

This one will be short:


Most of you know that I allow several little things bother me. And I know that I am persnickety and I have a lot of rules and whatever. I am trying to relax but it is hard... just ask my friend Stephanie. She knows. But NOT scooping poop is not a little thing! And, it is in my top 3 pet-peeves of all time.

That being said:
LA: 0, Chicago: 0

Doesn't anyone, anywhere SCOOP their dog's poop!? Come on people? No one wins when you don't scoop your poop! Especially in the game of Versus! Total Score: Same.

Virgin Airlines Rocks

I don't need to go on and on about Virgin Airlines the way I did about Spirit because Virgin totally and completely rocks... allow me to explain:

We walk into LAX, the crappiest of crowded airports in my opinion, and into the Virgin Airlines Check-in area. We are greeted by friendly, upbeat but not too loud music and a white monitor and white acrylic desk. Everything is very modern, very Apple-like and most importantly in my book, VERY CLEAN. We get our little mini boarding passes printed which are square and have only the essential information on them, i.e., flight, name, city and seat. Very small, very efficient. Ooh... I love that word, efficient. Then we wait in the really awful security line at LAX. (Have I mentioned I dislike LAX and I think they could most certainly engineer a better way to get people in and out of there faster, yet?) Once we get to our gate it is clean and our plane is on time. We start boarding and when you walk into the plane it is like walking into the mind of Itunes. The lighting is low and purple-ish-blue, the music is hip but again, not too loud. The plane is clean and we find our seats swiftly. There is a TV on the back of every seat with a touch screen that allows you to pick what you want to watch and the coolest function of all. A MAP, a GPS enabled MAP (I love maps). Seriously. You can see where you are in the air, how fast you are going per hour and how many miles you have left. Genius. I can't stop looking at it... you would think this would make the flight last longer as if I were saying, "Are we there, yet.... are we there, yet.... how about now?" But nope. Not a chance. This made my flight go FASTER. I was obsessed with it and could not get enough. Pretty soon it was smooth landing into Seattle at 345 mph with 2 miles to go.

I won't bore you by repeating my story again because seriously the flight back was a repeat of the flight out there. It was just as on-time, awesome and fabulous with all the same wonderful sensory experiences. I loved having the knowledge that we were traveling at a ground speed equivalent to 545 mph and if I were you, I would fly Virgin airlines all the way out here to LA, immediately.