Visit with Jack.

Yesterday Johnny & I had breakfast in York at the Stolen Menu Cafe (one of my fav places... sooooo delicious. If you are not familiar with this place, you NEED to go. It's a little pricey but their dishes are so unique and it's worth it for a special brunch once in a while. Yesterday I had "Georgia on my mind" which was bacon & cheddar cheese grits dressed with wilted leafy spinach, grilled asparagus and cherry tomatoes, topped with cheesy scrambled eggs drizzled with hollandaise sauce, baked southern-style ham and a sweetened grilled biscuit. yes, seriously. I love food.) Anyway, after this fabulous over-indulgent meal, we decided to stop by Sentry Hill and visit Johnny's grand-daddy Jack. Jack is now in his 98th year of life, and fairly recently moved to the Altzheimer's wing over at Sentry Hill, however, I think he's in pretty darn good shape for his age, and I love that he still has that twinkle in his eye, and remembers quite a lot - especially of the important things.

I've met Jack quite a few times, but unfortunately as I entered Johnny's life more seriously after his grandmother Dorothy's death and as Jack was seriously advancing into his 90's, he never seems to remember me (although he always seems to find me very pretty and mention it frequently during our time together, which I can't complain about at all!). The last time I saw him was when he was awarded the Order of the First State award by the governor of Delaware last summer. He kept trying to match me up with an older man from the newspaper that was there. 

This time, we went to tell him about our engagement. At first he seemed a bit surprised, since he'd never met me before, but he quickly warmed up to the idea and became excited about it, telling his roommate's family who were also visiting, the nurses, and the other people around when we walked with him to lunch. I was disappointed that when I showed him the ring, which had been his wife's, he didn't remember it (Johnny's Aunt Sallie had suggested he might have some stories, but unfortunately he did not), but it was overall a very nice visit. He has a beautiful picture from his & Dorothy's wedding day by his bed, which I hope we will be able to borrow and get a copy for display at our wedding. He talked lots about "his girl" (wife), as well as "his girls" (daughters), and how there were all busy and active and strong-willed - asked me if I was too, and warned Johnny about keeping up. :) He also asked other little questions about when the wedding was to be, and what we had planned so far.

Other than that the major topic of the day seemed to be travel. He happily reminisced about Scotland, living and traveling there and in Europe. It's always interesting to me with older people, which parts of their memory remain the strongest. It speaks volumes to the life experiences they valued the most, the things which stick with them, the people and moments they remember most clearly and enjoy talking about even as many other memories fade. His short-term memory is weak (such as remembering me from visit to visit, or remembering that the Scottish caps he thought his roommate had taken had been recovered and were sitting on the chair across from him at that very moment), but when he talked to Johnny about their travels together, certain things are very clear. It gives me hope he will make it to 100, and to our wedding day, to see how much is still clear as a bell for him. It made us sad, though, that we all aren't able to visit and spend more time with him more often. He seemed a little lonely, and like he missed all his girls quite a bit.

I also went by a bridal expo in Portsmouth yesterday and talked to a couple other photographers and dj's... not really sure what I'm looking to get out of these things at this point, but it put me back into wedding planning mood/zone again, and I got to spend some time with my mom which was nice.

Today is the last day of my three day weekend. It was very needed, and has been quite enjoyable & fairly productive so far. My living room is completely taken over by clean laundry that needs folding. That's my single must-do today. There are other things I'd like to do, but I still have my cough and woke up with new/more congestion in my nose, sinuses, and head. I'm taking mucinex (max strength!) and now some sudafed, and hoping that if I just keep on managing it and taking it easy, I WILL get better. So we'll see what I'm up for today. I wish I could take the whole week off and have a stay-cation, but perhaps I should save that for later in the month when we get into moving. Time for a little snuggle with Rudy and maybe a movie or nap. Or both. :)

Hellloooo 3 day weekend!

I haven't felt up to blogging much lately. Wedding plans are more or less at a standstill. I just got tired of obsessing over decisions we're not ready to make (silly to do anyway!) and "regular" life - work, errands, chores, keeping the house in order, having this stupid cold, etc.- seems to be taking up most of my time and energy. I have the next three days off though - unexpectedly - since I need to work next weekend, so I plan to make the most of them and try to get back on top of my life and find some energy, I hope!

As we do plan on moving in the next month or so, we have to start packing and cleaning this place up to show it to potential future tenants. I haven't moved in about 2 1/2 years. Johnny moved in here with me about 2 years ago. In this time we've gotten nice and comfy in this place, this big condo that's more like a house than an apartment, allowing us to accumulate quite a lot of crap and clutter, and not really be forced to get rid of anything as we have two extra bedrooms, a garage with storage space, and just plenty of room in general to keep stuff that we otherwise might of chucked when we moved in together. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to this process, but it must be done.

Other major things hanging over my head are: laundry (well always, but especially this weekend, since I haven't done much since going away to Texas) and taxes. Yes, I've been avoiding them, as usual, until the last minute. I won't go into all the nitty gritty details about my personal tax situation, but suffice it to say that it's never a pretty picture when it comes to Maine and income taxes. I'm still paying off my 2009 tax debt, and I'm not looking forward to adding onto that again this year, even though I do have taxes withheld from my paychecks now. Being an adult really sucks sometimes.

I've been battling this cold for over a week now. Every time I have a day I start to feel better, my sore throat or cough (non-productive, still) comes back that night or the next day. Yesterday I was feeling so much better, and so happy to get through the week, that I went out for drinks & apps with Jess after work. We shared a couple apps and I had two glasses of riesling, and when I got home I immediately found myself coughing, congested, and having trouble breathing again. Ughhhhhh. Maybe I should have gone to the doctor?

I haven't been to yoga in... probably a week & a half. Which bums me out. But I don't want to push myself if my body is not healing. Not that a gentle/intro class would kill me, but you know how you just feel unmotivated and run down when sick? Yeah. I heard from someone pneumonia is going around in the area and I have had bronchitis a couple times in the past, and that it what my cough has felt like. The fact that it is unproductive and I get to the point of wheezing and having trouble taking a deep breath sometimes in the evenings is what makes me nervous. So I am trying to take it easy, and keep up with medicine to try to get that congestion to break up. I wonder where I got this lovely illness. Airplane maybe?

Okay, this blog entry is turning into a gripe session and that needs to stop. Couple of positive things.... I FINALLY finished and mailed my bridesmaid cards yesterday! Yay! I am so pumped with how they came out even though I got a little sloppier on the ones I did later, but I still think they are super cute (especially for such a non-crafty person) and I hope everyone will love them. I tried to write personal notes with them and I just think it is a nice way to ask everyone to participate in the wedding. I know I would like it if I got something like that in the mail. :)

Also... I did it, I permed my hair! I hate calling it a perm because it sounds so lame, but I'm excited anyway. I don't know if I've ever been so excited to wash my hair as I was today. After 3 days of putting products in and just wetting it a little and scrunching, it was really getting gross. And crunchy. I got it done Wednesday night and you can't wash, get your hair completely wet, or put any elastics, headbands, barrettes, clips etc. in for at least 48 hours after the perm. It has to set, and you don't want to crimp it any particular way during that time. Anyway, my first impression was that it was curlier/crimpier than I expected, and my first go round today with my own products & defuser I didn't exactly hit a home run. I think (hope) once it relaxes a little more and I get used to styling my new 'do I will be happier. My hairdresser Ashley, who I really like and I do trust, used these new foam blocks that are supposed to give it a more natural/wavy look, not your typical spiral perm. Anyway, it definitely has wave, and it definitely has more body, so so far I am glad I did it!

Some pictures... finished cards, ready to mail out! (I keep using Kate's since she knows and I already spoiled the surprise for her by posting pics here & on facebook)

And my new hair... I took these Thursday, the morning after the perm.

Sunday Rose.

Home sick today. For whatever reason yesterday really took it out of me and this cough/cold has gotten the better of me. I felt like I could barely breathe trying to go to bed last night. It actually feels an awful lot like the cough I had when I had bronchitis a couple years ago. I would prefer to avoid that scenario again, so I'm in bed resting, and maybe doing a few things around the house today, hoping that with a few more doses of robitussin I won't have to make a trip to the doctor.

Over the weekend I didn't get much of anything done, as I wasn't feeling well, but I did work on a couple more inspiration boards. I think I'm still looking for direction. Or it's just fun to make them. Either way. 

I was watching "Say Yes to the Dress" on Sunday morning, and saw an episode where one bride was trying on "Sunday Rose" by Monique Lhuillier - a dress I kind of like (I can't decide, keep changing my mind), but Johnny saw it and HATES it. He doesn't like big poofy dresses or ballgowns at all... the complete opposite of me. So I'm trying to figure out how to find a dress that I will still feel like a princess, and have a dress that exemplifies my personality and the dream dress I've always envisioned, but that is also figure flattering, somewhat form-fitting, and thus pleasing to the man. Ugh, I have no idea. I am totally lost on the dress front lately.

Anyway, the first inspiration board features that dress, and the second one just became a group of pretty, soft, vintage-y feeling images. Lots of flowers, vintage, lace, pastel colors, details... it's hard because I love this look, but it's a bit tough to marry it with my color - the peacock blue - and some of the more formal details I like for a wedding. I guess that's why I still need to make inspiration boards... until I figure out which direction this is really going! Oh yes, I've also been throwing beach and ocean images into these, since our venue is on the water, and we are planning on incorporating elements of Maine, summer, the beach, etc. somehow into this thing. 

That's all for now... My one goal today (besides resting) is to finish gluing the paper dolls for the bridesmaids cards... then I can get them out by the end of the week hopefully! Yay!

 

Sunday Rose 

Vintage Pastels

Just breathe through it.

I'm having a hard time coming up with a good title for this blog entry, so I just decided to get started and see where it goes. [sidenote/shout out to Hilary's blog...see link below...which ultimately helped me come up with my not all that clever, but I thought it kind of was, title.]

I haven't been doing much on the wedding planning front lately. I was/am pretty close to being finished with my bridesmaid cards, but when I was away last weekend I got out of my groove. All the time changing really screwed with me - first to Houston to CST, then to DST (losing an hour of sleep after coming home from the wedding after 1AM, then getting woken up to pack and get ready for the post-wedding brunch around 7...or was it 8AM?), and finally back to EDT. I don't remember what time it was when we started. So I've been totally exhausted all week, and feel like I'm coming down with my annual spring/seasons changing cold. Bleh.

There's a lot on my mind lately. A lot on my mind and not much to do about it, it seems. So instead of obsessing over all these little things (and big things) that I'm not quite ready or able to tackle yet, I've been trying to focus on me, and what it is I need to feel like I'm in control, back in the driver's seat, I can do this, and when the time comes to tackle each of these things, I won't feel overwhelmed and stressed, I'll be able to compartmentalize and accomplish what I need to, task by task, day by day. Run on sentence much?

So my thing, my and many other people's thing, has become yoga. To clear my head, to relax and work my body, and to focus on something very important: me. I finally found somewhere comfortable, affordable, and that fits in my schedule where I can practice in Portsmouth. It's funny, because I'm so not a yoga person. Except that I am. I'm exactly the kind of person that needs yoga. Nothing I have ever done has had as profound a calming and energizing effect on me at the same time. Nothing else I have ever done has allowed me to feel the kind of clarity (read: not obsessing over to do list and all other things running through this ridiculous mile-a-minute mind of mine) that I feel when I practice yoga. And although I would still consider myself very much a beginner, I have already introduced other people to the practice, and they are loving it just as much.

It's funny to me that I called this blog "just breathe" without really thinking. I was feeling stressed out, and like I needed to breathe. Also, I just couldn't think of a good name, and I intended to change it as soon as I came up with one. But then it sort of seemed appropriate to the task at hand, and I decided to stick with it, again figuring I could always change it later. But it sort of clicked, the other day, seeing and reading the blog of a former camp counselor, breathe through this, which is about life, love, and yoga - as her subtitle indicates. I saw on facebook a post about ujjayi breathing, which is what we do where I go now at Zev Yoga (I guess I was probably doing it in bikram too, but as I mentioned I'm pretty new at this and all these sanskit (? I think they're sanskrit) words get a little confusing for me.), and I thought, oh I'd like to read that and get another take on it. It's one of those things that when you're practicing, even in an intro class where things are explained relatively well, you kind of wonder, "am I doing this right? it feels weird, and I think I'm making a sound, but is it the right sound? and also, umm why am I doing this?" Yes, that is me, even in a yoga class, where I just said I find the most clarity. Right after that series of questions, I am reprimanding myself for thinking about anything other than breathing and doing the postures. Oh, Sara.

Anyway, I read her post on ujjayi, along with about five or six others, and was hooked. I also thought, how funny, both of our blogs are about breath. Not really similar at all...and yet what is breath but the life-giving force that gets us through just about anything? Whether it's a tough day, an 18-month marathon wedding planning process, or just a desire to find who you are, connect with that person every day, and live the life you are meant to live. And maybe share it with a few other people along the way... who may or may not stumble upon your blog and find something that strikes a cord and feel like, hey, I'm not the only one. I'm not alone in this world. And now my thoughts, my instincts, and my passions have more meaning, because I share them with another human being. Hey, it's kind of like a relationship, and finding the person you want to spend your life with.

So I think I know now why I called this blog what I did. I was talking with someone last night about it, yoga and breath I mean, and I could just sense her excitement at having started practicing and feeling a sense of calm, and of transformation already. I love that. I love sharing that with people, because as much as yoga is a solitary practice (it is, right?) I think what helps me feel like I am doing something truly good and beneficial, and to quote Hilary, not just "hippie-dippie new age bullshit", is to know that others share the same (or a similar) experience I do - especially people who have lifestyles and personalities similar to mine. I will never have the time, or the focus, to be a full-time bride or a full-time yogini. But that's okay. I kind of like being the kind of woman who does it all (or tries)... even some things that seem like they don't go together - careerist, fiancée, friend, bridezilla (sometimes, I'll admit it, it's probably gonna happen), over-analyzer, perfectionist, wine-o, dog lover, (can't wait to be a) soccer mom (yes, I'm only 25 but I'm pretty sure my clock has been ticking since 15), yogini, and someone who probably doesn't exercise enough, in general. Oh, and kind of a spaz. But if I just breathe through it (see how cleverly I combined the titles of both blogs?!) .... I can be somewhat less spaz-y! (sometimes.)

On that note, TGIF!

Houston Wedding

Oh hey blog, I've missed you! It's been a week since I last posted, but I've got some good stuff to share. 

It was a crazy busy long weekend, even short trips (and especially those that include time changes and daylight savings time changes) throw me off and seem to add more stress than relaxation sometimes. But I made it to Houston and back, and had a great time at my cousin David and new cousin Lauren's wedding. I would have to say that it was one of the best weddings I've been to, and the closest in some ways to the wedding I envision for us. My relatives asked me many times throughout the weekend if I was taking notes for my wedding, to which I dutifully responded, "Of course! Copious notes!" But seriously, I was taking quite a few mental notes, which I will now record here for future reference.

The best part of the wedding, in my opinion, and the aspect I most hope will occur in ours as well, was just the overall fun, happy atmosphere. Of course every wedding is happy, and most of the time everybody seems to have some fun, but these people had A LOT of fun. From the moment the dinner was served and the toasts complete, the band started playing, and it was a par-tay! Bride and groom were the first on the dance floor, and I'm pretty sure they never left. I heard a couple people tell Lauren they'd never seen a bride dance so much at her wedding. They were both out there, together at times, with their respective friends and relatives at others, and they were having a blast and making sure everyone else was too. It was difficult not to, with such a great band, the drinks flowing, and the occasional spurt of break-dancing taking place (including the groom throwing down a couple handstands at one point). The variety and style of music brought out all ages, and the interaction the singers kept up with the crowd was the cherry on top of an already over-the-top evening of entertainment. Here's the band's website if you happen to live in Texas/the Houston area and want to hire them: Fried Ice Cream Band. They really were awesome.

Another enjoyable part of the wedding for me, was getting to see an traditional Episcopal marriage ceremony. Believe it or not, I don't think I've ever been to a wedding in an Episcopal church (at least not that I can remember). It was nice to get to experience the service I plan to use for our wedding, and I was glad to see that they had one reading that was not from scripture, which is something we would like to do as well. It was a very beautiful ceremony, and the priest's homily was the best and most entertaining I've heard at a wedding. I'm not going to lie, it really irritates me when priests/pastors ramble on about all the rules of marriage and not entering into it lightly and all this other stuff that is a) not personal and b) not very upbeat, to say the least. Yes, marriage is a serious commitment. We know. But, a wedding is supposed to be a happy occasion, and I feel like if they made it as far as the day itself, and are getting married in a church (meaning they almost undoubtedly were required to go through some form of premarital counseling), you can probably spare us the lecture. The priest's remarks or homily during the ceremony, I feel, should be personalized, positive, and concise.

David & Lauren had done a "first look" with each other and almost all of their formal photographs except in the church & with the families before the ceremony, which made it quick and convenient to get right to the main event: the reception. Although I don't think I want to see Johnny until I'm walking down the aisle, I think it's possible to keep the photography to a minimum and well-organized, so that you can get your family & bridal party to cocktail hour, and yourselves to a few moments alone perhaps before the fun gets fully underway.

I was impressed how their photographers and coordinators were very on top of the order and execution of the evening's events. There was almost no down/drag time, except for one little snafu of a big line going into the reception signing the guest book - those of us in the line didn't know what the line was for - and no one was there to tell us we could just sign the guest book later, as it would be out the whole night. I would have liked to have gotten to cocktail hour a little sooner since we seemed to miss most of the passed hors d'œurves (rather than standing outside in a line not knowing what it was for). After that though, the cocktail hour flowed smoothly into the reception, the dances (first dance, father-daughter, and mother-son) took place, and we were seated for dinner. The parents-of-the-bride said a few words, the priest said grace, and the food appeared. As soon as the meal was complete, the toasts took place (including a great one by the father-of-the-bride, my favorite line playing off my cousin Andrew's best man toast: "It's a little disconcerting to hear that your lovely daughter is 'down for whatever'..." ... I guess you had to be there.) Then the cake was cut and it was on to dancing. It's not that things were rushed, but everything seemed to flow smoothly and efficiently, making it un-boring, and enjoyable to experience. I'm all about efficiency.

So to recap, the speeches & toasts were all great (except for one uncle at the end...although his joke about always fighting naked saved an otherwise awkward, long speech...haha). The food was great, and served efficiently (meaning it was actually hot - often not the case at weddings). The drinks were aplenty and easy to come by at multiple bar stations. As I've already mentioned, the band rocked. The reception hall, the Cohen House at Rice University, was a great venue and of course, the flowers and other decorations were gorgeous. I especially liked the way they incorporated candles into the centerpieces. I don't think we'll be able to afford quite as many large, lavish floral arrangements (also not our style), but I loved the different shapes and sizes of vases they had with candles floating in water. These were situated around the flower arrangements (which varied in height from table to table) and the entire centerpieces were encircled with small votives. I LOVE candles, and they actually removed the flowers at a certain point and just left the candle arrangements and votives on the table (which I took some pics of). I think it would be a very chic and afforable way to fill out centerpieces or even subsitute for flowers on some tables. Lauren looked absolutely beautiful, and her bridesmaids looked great too (she told me the dresses were from Priscilla of Boston, under $200, loved them!), and as I already mentioned, everyone, of all ages, seemed to have a fabulous time. So really, hardly a bad word to say about it!

I may have overused the word "great" a bit in this post, but it really was a great wedding. I won't go into all the details of the other events of the weekend, but I definitely formed some opinions and got some ideas about how I'd like to do our wedding weekend and the most important things to keep in mind when planning this whole thing. I'm really happy for my cousin David that he found such a great (gorgeous!) girl - and you know, one who's "down for whatever" - to spend his life with. It really is moving to experience the marriage of two such awesome people, who so clearly love and were meant for each other. And, since I don't have siblings myself, I like to think of them as the next generation on my side of the family, who hopefully Johnny & I will get to know and spend more time with in the future.

I have to say I did feel a bit overwhelmed experiencing this great, fun, and well-organized wedding, because it just seems like there is so much to do. There are times when I think about our wedding plans, and how we basically know what we want for all the major things - venue, caterer, florist, music, photography - and it seems like okay, this isn't so bad. Then there are times when I start thinking about all the details, and all the minute personal touches I'd love to add. I start listing everything in my brain (usually while trying to fall asleep at night) ... the save-the-dates, invitations and all the inserts that go along, the favors, the linens, every plate, glass, fork, and knife we have to rent (not to mention tables and chairs), the alcohol, the bartenders (do they come with the caterer?), the website, blocking hotel rooms, planning transportation for out-of-towners, organizing events like bridesmaid luncheons and rehearsals and, well I could go on and on. You see how at this point that could all seem very overwhelming? Now add into the mix that we plan to move at least twice between now and the day we get married. We need to save money, not only for the wedding and honeymoon, but you know the rest of our lives. Just breathe... right? Sleep, well, I guess I'll worry about how to sleep, after all this gets done.

At this point, I feel like what I need to do it start making lists and spreadsheets and compartmentalizing what to do now, and what I can't, or don't need to worry about until later. I hope that more sun, longer days, and warmer temps will help my mood. And once we get this first move out of the way, and start working toward the financial and savings goals we have, I will feel a lot better. I hate... hate hate HATE just talking about stuff like this. I just want to do it. Now. It's so hard for me, once my mind has been made up about something to be patient. I especially can't stand it if I feel like time and money is being wasted by not taking the action right away. That's how I'm kind of feeling right now, and to add to the stress, when we tell people about our plans, we get a lot of the dreaded advice and opinions on the matter. Not that I don't care about what the people we care about think... but sometimes I feel like every time someone else voices their opinion, J & I have to go through the whole discussion on why we're doing this and what the goals are over again. It's just getting a little tiresome for me. There comes a point where you have to stop over analyzing and just go with your gut. If it doesn't work out the way you planned, you just correct course, make a different decision, and try again. It's really the best anyone can do. You don't know until you try something whether it's going to work, but if you don't try, you're just stuck in a rut and never moving forward.

I only took pictures at David & Lauren's ceremony, but my parents may have a few more. I will post some when I get a chance, and in the mean time, in honor of a gorgeous weekend in Houston (temps in the 70's and sunshine almost the entire time), Happy (almost) Spring! Here's to longer days, warmer temperatures, and more sunshine. This morning I found Rudy lying on the stairs in a strange place - the one place he had found a sliver of sunlight coming through the window. He's ready for spring too! :)

Pretty!

Oh my goodness, if only there were more hours in the day! I cannot tell you how many amazing, wonderful, beautiful, interesting wedding blogs and inspirational websites there are out there, and I probably haven't even scratched the surface.

Last week, I'm not quite sure how I stumbled there, but I found three new sites I absolutely adored (which I immediately bookmarked but haven't had time to get back to and actually look at since) Green Wedding Shoes, Green Bride Guide, and Southern Weddings (gotta keep that little bit of Southern Belle in me, even if I'm not a Southerner by birth and don't even live there anymore!). This week, my new obsession is Style Me Pretty.

As I mentioned, I'm still in the inspiration phase, so it's hard to get ENOUGH of this kind of thing right now. I love love love it. All things wedding, and well, all things pretty! If you know me, this is me: girly to the core, classically feminine, but not boring (hopefully), lover of all things soft, handmade, vintage-y, shabby chic, chic in general, glamorous, gorgeous, sparkly, and pink! (although as of now, I am trying to keep pink out of my wedding color scheme, at least as a major player, so it's not TOO girly... but it's really hard... because it's so pretty...)

In college, my roommates & I called everything "pretty". Both sarcastically and seriously. When we looked like hell after an all nighter after a weekend bender after a high calorie good old Southern style breakfast over-indulgence at McClurg ... we usually looked "pretty". When we found seriously cute seriously on sale shoes down the Mountain at Marty & Liz ... they were "pretty". When we finished the paper from the all-nighter-bender, put a nice little cover page on it, and handed it in ... it was "pretty". When we got all dolled up to go out to Pearls or High Point, even if just with our parents ... we were definitely "pretty"! You get the idea. So I like the word pretty. To say the least.

Style Me Pretty (besides have a fabulous name) has SO many great pictures, ideas, DIY projects, and soooo much more. I had followed links to this site before, but I never really looked at it closely until last night/today. Well, I'm in love. Did I mention that already? :)

Unfortunately, my love does not extend to their inspiration board creating gadget anymore than the one on The Knot. I don't know why this has to be so hard! The first board I created, when I went to save it and create an account to do so, half the pictures disappeared and the format got messed up. Twenty minutes later I had recovered most of the pictures used the original, switched out a few, and tweaked the layout. I'm still not 100% thrilled with it, but I need to wrap up my day here... I'll show it anyway since with all the interruptions (you know, actual work and stuff), it took me almost all day to make... and I think I'm getting carpal tunnel from all this inspiration board creating!

I'm also happy to report the next issue of Martha Stewart Weddings arrived at the shop today... so I have some new reading material for the trip to Texas this weekend! Hope everyone had a lovely Tuesday!

Inspiration Boards.

It turns out making inspiration boards on The Knot is a huge pain in the you-know-what. However, I'm definitely in the "idea" phase of planning, so it's helpful to start to gather all of the ideas & pictures I like, put them together, and see what does & doesn't work. It did take me an excessively long time to find a picture I saw last night, just to fill in my last slot on the blue board, though, so I'm kind of over it for right now.

Got a lot of work done on my bridesmaid cards this weekend. They are looking really cute! I am hoping to finish them before I go away to Houston for my cousin David's wedding this weekend, since I won't have that time to work on them. Feeling a little tense as I'm still debating whether we need to keep looking at alternative venues, whether to have the ceremony on site or at the church, and just getting some other "big picture" things nailed down. Not sure why (I'm tense I mean) ... we still have plenty of time, but it just feels like these decisions need to be made, and if we are going to look at other venue sites we need to do so asap (mainly for my own sanity). I don't want this debate going on for months..... I've also had some form of a headache for 8 straight days now, and I'm sure this isn't helping...

Well enough about that... Without further ado, here are my three inspiration boards I made last night and this morning, which I have entitled: Romantic Outdoor Maine Wedding, Something Blue, and Sparkle!

Enjoy! :)

A Romantic Outdoor Maine Wedding (full size version)

My Something (or a few things) Blue

Give me some Sparkle! Diamonds & Pearls are a Girl's Best Friend!

P.S. Sorry these are so small... If anyone knows how to export the full size picture of your inspiration board from The Knot, let me know. I tried to just "blog" it, but it came up with a link. Not what I wanted. I posted the links below so you can at least check out the full size versions if you want to! It also won't let me edit & save them now that they are made... another annoyance that significantly decreases the amount of "inspiration" going on!

7th grade style revisited.

Every now and then I really get the itch to change my hair. I've off and on had really long hair most of my life. Well actually, it's like this, it gets very long, and then for some reason, I don't know who's idea this ever is, it gets chopped off. Then, it takes forever to grow back and irritates the crap out of me along the way. I look back on pictures, and go, "What was I thinking?"

The most recent chop was senior year of high school. A few people I knew had recently cut their very long hair and donated to Locks of Love. I was inspired. I booked an appointment and less than a week later said goodbye to 13 inches of long, blonde, beautiful hair. I graduated high school and went off to college with my new "older" look, a classic bob, and spent the next four years wishing my hair would grow faster. I'm glad I did it, in that I know it went to a good cause, and it was, in a sense, a liberating experience, appropriate for someone entering a new phase of their life. But after a series of bad and boring hair cuts, I was totally over it and wanted my old look back.

For 8 years now (holy crap time flies!) I've been growing it back out, and I believe I may have finally surpassed the longest it's ever been. This is also the first time since 7TH GRADE that my hair has been entirely my natural color. And actually, it's the first time since 6th grade it's been entirely natural. The reason is that in 7th grade a couple friends & I decided getting perms would be a good idea, and starting in 8th grade, I did some theater and dyed my hair black (ugh) two years in a row for these shows. My hair color was still in the dirty blonde family at that time. Needless to say, blonde to black? You never go back.

After unsuccessfully having the color stripped (for the second time), I started highlighting, and eventually dying my hair various shades of blonde, then went dark for a semester in college, which turned reddish and did not exactly flatter me (at least in my opinion). The thing about going to school in the middle of nowhere is that frequent hair cut & color touch ups (by people who know what they are doing) are hard to come by. The following summer I moved to Florida and needless to say, went back to the lighter side.

Once I finished school & realized coloring (and even regularly cutting...) my hair was something I didn't exactly have room in my budget for, I've been heading back in the direction of au naturel. I went about 6 or 8 months last year without so much as trim, until I finally realized my ends were getting pretty ragged, and one of my personal pet peeves is people with really long hair who don't take care of it. So I snagged a last minute discounted appointment at the spa down the street from my store, and fell in love with a new hairstylist, who I now make a point to visit at least every 3-4 months.

So back to that thing about the perms. In 7th grade, my friend Jessica, who incidentally had (and still has) super long, thick gorgeous hair, decided to perm her hair. Although we all made fun of the initial awful smell, I was super envious. I have always, ALWAYS wanted curly hair, and not to be left behind, I convinced my mother to let me get a perm as well. My hair is very fine, and though somewhat thick, it was only about shoulder length at the time, and I had bangs. You probably see where this is going. I looked like a poodle. An older girl from my neighborhood started calling my "poofy head". Then my friend Amy followed suit with a perm of her own, and became "poofy head poser". Oh, middle school, you are so harsh.

Once the perm started to grow out & loosen up, it wasn't SO bad, but then came my stint with Seacoast Rep, and the black. What actually happened first, was that we tried to do it ourselves at home (BAD idea). In gym class later that week, a boy asked me why my hair was green. MORTIFIED. I was rushed to a friend who owned a salon for emergency hair color correction.

But again, back to the perm. So it took me roughly 13 years to get over being "poofy head" (the insult was significantly less once Amy became "poofy head poser", as of course being the original is far less offensive once there is someone new to make fun of... sorry, Ame), but I have decided to do it again.

I asked my then-stylist a few years ago about a body wave or something to just give my hair a little more cohesive, overall wave (it's slightly wavy, but not consistently, so if I don't blow dry it & "do something" it looks pretty, well, blah). She wouldn't do it, because at the time I still had color in my hair, and it's so fine that multiple chemical processing would probably fry it. I then decided I was going to grow it out to donate again (not going quite as short this time), so I needed to grow out that highlighted portion of my hair. Then, we got engaged, and even though it's a year & a half away, I will NOT be cutting my hair and taking the risk it doesn't grow back quickly enough to be whatever length or style I want it to be for the wedding.

But I've got that itch. I need a change. And a trim just doesn't cut it when you have hair so long that no one will really notice a clean up on the ends or a few extra layers. So I went to Ashley (new stylist) and tentatively inquired about how we might make my hair curly... I mean wavy... I mean, just a little more body .... You mean, a perm??? she said. Yes.... I replied sheepishly, expecting her to ask me if I was nuts, those are for old ladies (and stupid 12-year-olds). Well.... actually... I think that would look BEAUTIFUL on you! she said. I can do really big spirals and your hair is so long it will weigh it down, and mostly just have some nice wave and curls on the end. Ahhh Ashley, I love you! That is exactly what I want!

So I booked my appointment a few weeks out for Sara gets a perm, 2.0. But I must admit, I'm still on the fence. What if the smell is just god-awful (even though I go to an Aveda salon and everything is as natural as possible, with minimal chemicals etc. etc.)... and I can't wash my hair for 2 days afterward... and will it be okay to have that wave/curl in there 1 1/2 years from now or will I regret it? And what about the money? It's not exactly cheap. The whole reason I stopped coloring and worrying about my hair was saving money on something unnecessary (and I have to say, now that I know what it is, 12 years later... I actually really like my natural color!). Now more than ever, I need to be saving, though. Oh dear.

What to do, what to do. Anyone have any thoughts? Tell me your wedding hair woes and stories. And don't mind my excessive ramblings on something so trivial as the history of my hair. This is why it's good to shake things up every now & then, and not get too attached. I can't say so much for my fiancé - he is 100% attached to my long hair, the notion that I am still a blonde, and against the idea of cutting it in any significant way...EVER. What IS it about men & hair?

 

Amy & I, on her wedding day.

Perms grown out, all grown up, middle school awkwardness long left behind.

Your love has just gone Platinum.

Good morning blogworld! In case you don't know what I do, I work in my family's retail jewelry store in downtown Portsmouth, NH. Our store has grown a lot, to say the least, since my father starting making hammered gold & silver jewelry to sell to summer tourists in Perkins Cove back in the 70's. Today we carry quite a few nationally known designers, and we are the premier shop for jewelry repair and custom design in the greater seacoast area. Besides our specialty in being able to custom design basically ANYTHING you can dream up, we carry an extensive collection of about six different bridal lines, all different styles and price points, plus additional pieces here & there, have access to other designers even if we don't showcase their bridal lines in store, AND we carry the BEST of the best Ideal Cut diamond, the original, the world's most beautiful, the Lazare Diamond. Our (relatively) new store slogan is that we're "Where the Seacoast Gets Engaged!"

So this post is a little shameless plug on behalf of the entire jewelry industry for the king of all precious metals, my personal favorite of course, PLATINUM. The reason I bring this up is that we had a great training session compliments of the Platinum Guild earlier this week and I want to share all the great stuff I learned with all of you. Plus it's helpful for me to review as I start using it to (hopefully) sell even more platinum jewelry, especially to brides & grooms!

Did you know that 81% of women about to be engaged want platinum? Hey, maybe you are/were one of them! Our society has kind of ingrained in us that platinum is the best. What's better than an AMEX Gold (or Black or whatever)... Platinum. What happens when a record is really selling? ... It goes Platinum. Okay, so you know you want platinum, but why? And, probably more importantly, why should you spend the extra money to get platinum, because yes, it is quite a bit more expensive.

To help you (and those of us selling it) understand why platinum is such a superior metal, the Platinum Guild came up with a fun little mnemonic device to keep track of all the features... and I'll tell you the benefits! (If you can't figure them out for yourselves. I know you're all very smart.) So here it is: She PREFERS platinum.

Pure

Rare

Eternal (Enduring)

Feels Significant

Emotional

Real White

Secure

Pure: At 90-95% pure platinum, you are getting more of the precious metal you are paying for. (This is also one of the reasons platinum costs more, because it takes more of the actual metal to create the jewelry you are wearing.) 14KT gold is 58.5% gold and 18KT gold is about 78% gold, with the rest of those metals being made up of various other alloys - often base metals, not precious metals. Platinum on the other hand is alloyed with other precious metals. This is why Platinum is hypoallergenic, and non-corrosive, whereas gold is not. Why wouldn't you want to give or get the purest precious metal when it comes to your engagement & weddings rings, the most significant, forever symbol of your love?

Rare: Platinum is 30 times more rare than gold. Approximately 88 tons of platinum are made into jewelry each year, as opposed to 2700 tons of gold. Also, if all the platinum ever mined were melted and poured into an Olympic-sized pool, it would barely reach your ankles. Gold, on the other hand, would fill three Olympic-sized pools. The higher price per ounce of platinum is primarily due to its rarity.

Enduring: I actually like to use the word "eternal" here, because it makes me think about being in love forever, eternally, no matter what happens... and how with a platinum ring, the exact same ring and metal will be passed on from generation to generation, serving as an eternal symbol of your love, your relationship, and your family. Platinum's density makes it highly durable. Unlike gold, when platinum is scratched, very little metal is lost, it is merely displaced. This is why platinum takes on what we call a "patina" - like a satin finish - over time. Gold loses little slivers of metal every time it is scratched. It will need maintenance and repair over time, and ultimately will need to be part or fully replaced to be passed on from generation to generation. (Sidenote: this is something to consider when comparing the price of gold to platinum rings... platinum may cost you more now, but long term, the expense of keeping your gold rings in like-new condition will probably surpass the original cost of platinum.) Platinum rarely needs much maintenance or repair work. In fact, the metal is worked by wear, and the surface actually becomes harder and more durable over time. As the Platinum Guild says, "As the ultimate symbols of love and commitment, a platinum engagement ring and wedding band are perfect for a lifetime of everyday wear. And like your love, platinum grows stronger over time!" Awwww. 

Feels Significant: Feel that reminder on your hand? Don't you want to feel inside that you got the best of the best? I know I do. Some people are surprised by the heaviness of it at first, but I love it. And I think most customers come to, as well, after they get used to it. Platinum is 60% heavier than 14KT gold and 40% heavier than 18KT gold. A six inch cube of platinum weighs 165 pounds. Yowza. Again, it's because of the density of the metal, and the purity of it as it is used for jewelry. Being able to feel the weight, the significance, of a platinum ring on your hand, symbolically is so meaningful to me. You want to have the constant reminder (in a good way!) of your love & commitment to each other.

Emotional: The wedding band is the outward & visible symbol of your inward & eternal bond. You're planning on getting married and having this bond right? Well, like I've said 81% of women want platinum, and I'd guess about 100% of men want to make their woman happy, so they can be confident in choosing platinum as the first choice. There is an innate sense of pride in giving, wearing, and owning platinum, because we know it is the best of the best, and truthfully, I do think it makes it that much more meaningful. It really is the most befitting metal to symbolize the ultimate commitment that is marriage, and as we see today, platinum has always been the choice metal for bridal jewelry - it is what we see in antique and heirloom pieces most often today, both because it was always a preference, and because quite frankly, the gold pieces just didn't last.

Real White: Platinum is a naturally white metal, gold is not. There is no "white gold" mine out there, guys. Sorry. It kills me people actually white gold is WHITE. It's really not. Gold is gold. You know the color gold? Yeah, it's named after gold. Duhhhhh. To be white, gold is mixed with different alloys that are white. Then, to make it look really white, it typically gets plated with rhodium, which is a platinum family metal, naturally white, and very hard. But rhodium wears away, and then your white gold starts to yellow with wear. You can have it rhodium plated again and again, but trust me,  that gets expensive. I love the cup of coffee analogy to help people understand how they make white gold. No matter how much cream you put in a cup of coffee, it's still not white, right? Coffee is black. Or brown. whatever. If you put even one drop of coffee in a mug full of cream, it's going to taint the color. So gold is gold (yellow) and we have to have at least 58.5% of it in there to have it be 14KT. Even if the rest is all cream (meaning solid white metals), it's still not going to be white white. Not white like platinum. And so ends my little rant on white gold. (Sorry, it's a thing I have.) Anyway, as platinum is so lovely and white, it is the best metal to showcase diamonds, especially important ones like oh, I dunno, in an engagement ring. Gold, even "white" gold, can reflect some color into the diamond and detract from it's brilliance. We don't want that!

And last but certainly not least.... 

Secure: Oh this is an important one. You are going to wear this stuff the rest of your life. TRUST me, no matter how laid back you think you are, people are very attached to their jewelry, and no matter how educated or good about taking care of it, they do not like having to leave their rings for repair, rhodium plating, and so on and so forth. As I have mentioned, platinum is very strong, durable, and corrosion resistant (this is because it does not have base metal alloys like gold - there is only one acid, ONE, in the world, that affects platinum, and I forget what it is, but if you're dealing with it, you are (or should be) wearing a hazmat suit). Platinum is also more malleable than gold, which is brittle, and thus offers better protection for diamonds. The prong may bend out of place, but a gold prong is more likely to break when subjected to force. Bottom line: Platinum holds diamonds most securely, when properly designed, which means you can wear your platinum jewelry for years, worry free.

So there's my spiel on platinum. I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you learned something! If you or any bride- or groom-to-be has questions about platinum vs. gold, or anything else jewelry-related, please let me know. I LOVE to talk about jewelry, ESPECIALLY engagement & wedding rings right now! (I'm sure you can't imagine why!) I have a degree in graduate gemology and am a certified diamond grader, in addition to having been around the jewelry industry my entire life, so I like to think I'm a pretty good resource.

A lot of times people seem to forget the rings when it comes to their wedding budget. Today, even gold bands can run you a pretty penny, plus some designers and custom pieces can take up to 4-6 weeks to order/create, so you do need to plan for this purchase and put some thought into it. Of course I feel strongly it's something you should make (lots of) room in your budget for - for quality (ahem, platinum) and for what you really really love. The rings mean so much, they really do, you wear them every day, and they really are THE symbol of your love and your marriage. Owning an heirloom piece (even though it's not platinum), I know how AWESOME it is to inherit something that has meant so much for so many, and been passed down as a symbol of love & life in a family. I plan to take good care of it, switch it to my right hand when I get my platinum wedding set, and I look forward to someday passing it onto our son or daughter and telling the story of the ring that has become so precious to me.

Learn even more about Platinum here!

Color & Inspiration.

I have been telling people for years that my wedding colors were going to be peacock blue & gold. I know, it's a bit ridiculous, but I decided on this palette in college. My roommate, Holly, & I spent the better part of our free time doing one of three things: watching Gilmore Girls, drinking, and planning her wedding to her college boyfriend (who I think we will all agree we are happy she decided not to marry after all!). Not to be left out of the fun, I also started envisioning my perfect wedding, despite that at the time I didn't exactly have a groom in mind. 


One of the main sources of inspiration for this color palette was the work of art I chose to study for the semester in my junior seminar course for my art history major. I have always loved peacocks and developed a fondness for late-19th century British art, particularly Whistler, during my sophomore year. When I learned about his Peacock Room, I was enthralled, and shortly thereafter, obsessed. The Peacock Room resides today in Washington, D.C., as part of the Freer & Sackler Galleries. This work of art became near & dear to my heart (spending an entire semester studying something will either make you hate it or love it all the more deeply) and I think the combination of colors is just divine.

Southeast corner of Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, 1876-77, by James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903). Oil paint and metal leaf on leather, canvas, and wood.

Now that I am officially "allowed" to be planning a wedding, the overall feel of it from that original "vision" has changed somewhat, but the colors have not!


I've been vacillating on the accent color to my perfect shade peacock (when I find it), and lately have been of the opinion that it will just be a combination of pretty pastels and metallics. There may be some more vibrant hues (hello, it's a summer wedding) too, but overall I'd like the atmosphere to be soft & romantic, with kind of a vintage country feel. I think it fits with our personalities, our site, and of course the main inspiration - my antique engagement ring.


The reception to the color by the potential bridesmaids has been positive, although I am still considering doing more than one color for their dresses. I like the idea of either doing one color and letting them all choose their own style of dress, or, alternatively, choosing one fairly simple and (hopefully) universally flattering dress, and doing three colors, alternating down the line of girls. Since I'm thinking of incorporating quite a few different colors into flowers and reception decor, I'm not sure whether this would become overkill on color, or help it feel more unified in that there isn't just one or two signature color(s).


So there are my thoughts on color, and here are some (stolen!) inspiration boards from the Madeleine's Daughter blog, and a few bridesmaids dresses in the shades of the blue I like best. 

As far as the dresses go, I have found a TON that I like, so I will have to have my girls try some on, and I will be letting them each weigh in on their favorites and preferences. I'm not going to say any more on that for now, as I still haven't been in contact with all my friends to let them know about the bridal party & other responsibilities for the wedding. Plus, it really deserves an entire post of its own - and that I will save for another day!