"I want to flip?"

Given the title, you're probably thinking I'm on a "mad rampage" but that is not the case at all. Well, here is a briefing; I have always liked the idea of wearing a birdcage veil for my wedding day, because I think it’s modern and vintage inspired all in one.  It allows much more room for personality in my opinion.  I can personalize the birdcage veil with tulle, flower, Swarovski crystals and/or feathers and more versus picking by length such as chapel length, elbow length veil, fingertip veil, semi-cathedral veil, well you get the point. Look at these beauties, they make a fashionable statement without much of a fuss.

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One Sunday afternoon, while sitting on the couch, doodling with new projects on my loving Mac, I decide to ask Mr. Fiancé wedding related questions. Mind you as every other Sunday he is sitting in front of the television playing his PS3 game. He responds to my questions with nods and yes babes. Then I ask, “what do you think of birdcage veils?” he looks at me and asks “what’s a birdcage veil?” I start my whole process of explanation and in between my sentence he says: “No, I want to flip!” At this point I’m still trying to process the word NO, and then he resorts to explaining that he wants to be able to flip the veil off my face before the official kiss.

Sigh, it seems my veil excitement that I have yearned for so long had just been crushed! As any other situation I would try to talk my way into getting what I want but I realized through-out this whole planning process, this is one of his first requests (aside from liquor!). Well, I haven’t lost all hope, I plan on drowning him with dozens of gorgeous pictures of the birdcage in hopes that he too would come to love it as much as I do.


Do I have any regrets asking? Somewhat!!! At times I think I should have left it as the reveal as I walk down the aisle, then again I might have gotten an eye-brow raise look from him wondering what the heck I was donning on my head, laugh-out loud!

Laughter to tears

I was getting ready to write my next post entitled "It's not all in the detail". I had pictures of detailed cakes and how the idea was gorgeous but not for a bride like myself.

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As I am browsing at wedding cake ideas, I stumble upon a website called CakeWrecks, Oh my word!!! I couldn't believe what I was viewing and I couldn't stop laughing. Don't get me wrong, I felt bad for the brides that had to deal with this on their wedding day.

The intended cake order:

cakewrecks.com

this was what she received:

cakewrecks.com

Ordered:

cakewrecks.com

delivered:

cakewrecks.com

If the original pictures weren't shown then the cakes delivered wouldn't be so bad because there would be no comparison.  In any case, at this point I am laughing so hard that I am in tears. Then my laughing tears turn into sobbing, "what if this happens to me?" is all I can think about. These plans have really gotten me extra emotional! 

As I was getting into a better mood, I come across:

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No need to ask!

At last, I think happy thoughts and move onto something more positive. As I end my cake search, I view this cake which was the highlight of my search:

cakewrecks.com

I had to enlarge it so the details can be more visible.

This cake definitely scored major cool points in my book!!!!

Day 10...No Meat

Day 10, day 10, which means I have about 20 more days left. I wish I had posted yesterday because this post might have been a bit more positive. Basically, I have my moments! Some days I feel great, proud of being able to sustain without giving in and knowing its a move to a healthier me. However, since my surroundings aren't helping then I have moments like today, where I just want to a piece of chicken and tell myself "it was only one piece". I think I would be fine, if I didn't have to smell meat or poultry of any sorts, freshly baked and seasoned well. I can taste it by just smelling it!

I have a prime example of what I had to deal with three days ago. My fiance and I had our movie/ junk night; as usual  we picked up a few items from Publix.

This is what I picked up:

and he had:

I did well that night but I did do a  "swiff"; I inhaled some of that chicken scent and went on with my multigrain pizza proudly with a side of steamed veggie. 

I thought this process would have been a breeze because I am not a big meat eater to begin with, but never did I miss it either. I'll just end this post on a positive note, I've done well so  far and I am proud of it.

Think I am going to order a PETA brochure so it can help with the process :-)

Ladies in waiting...

Thou art chosen to be amongst....okay so it's not that serious!

Picking the bridesmaids (bm's) seemed to be a harder task than expected. There is no scheme, technique or practical method just a load of confusion. A confusion simply because when I jotted down the names of possible bm's, I had over a dozen names. I could already see faces reading the previous sentence and thinking "do you seriously think you have that many close friends", answer yes (at least I think) and I have 6 sisters.  Now, as many articles suggest and as a good friend of mine said, "make sure your bridesmaids are ladies you can count on and know they will be there for you".  Made perfect sense but the list didn't budge so much.

In the end, I made a decision that I knew would be best for both parties; besides not everyone can be a bridesmaid! but they can still be lovely ladies without a title.  Though, I may have not picked some of these ladies they knew I still loved them and that is what mattered.

Moving along, next was the task of asking. A simple phone call couldn't complete it for me so instead I created a card.

The front of the card:

Middle (depending if it was a bm or moh):

Back:

The bottom reads "cool as a cucumber", because I really am!!

My out of town bm's received it in the mail while the one's in town, I invited them to what they thought was a ladies night out dinner. Upon arrival, after putting them to work for a few (which I will show in a later post). I handed them the envelope,  I do wish I had them in better envelopes but trust, when planning a gala such as a wedding, you tend to forget things/items and even people. So I forgot the actual envelopes at home and had to use the remaining mailing envelopes I had in the car. 

Some of the ladies and I at Elephant Bar:

This was just the beginning to my quirky ideas!!

Name in Lights! (part1)

Or more like initials in lights...

I never realized there were a million and one fonts until I was looking for the best one to use for our monogram.

I went the easiest route (in my opinion) to create the monogram...entering PowerPoint! I looked into two possible fonts that seemed appealing for our monogram.

pick 1

pick 2

By the way if you recognize the fonts above, send me a message with the names (forgot to save the font types).

After opening a blank slide, I inserted text boxes with out initials (M, J, R). Then I chose colors, fonts, and sizes for each element. I placed the last initial in the center, then sent it to the back so I can have the other initials overlap for arrangement. Once I have all the elements in place, selected all the text boxes, then grouped them (Ctrl + A, right click, point to "grouping" and select "group". Now that it's ready; I saved the monogram as a picture.

MonoGram1

MonoGram2

This is the first part of it, hopefully I can design a logo I like to insert with the logo. In any case,  I am pretty happy with the way it turned out especially as a trial. It sure beats the sketches I tried to begin, which were.....I will just show it (laughter not allowed:-).

Candy favors: Baby Shower Edition

For my sister's baby shower I decided to embark on a simple project...candy favors! We already had  candy goody bags but I wanted to add something with a personal touch.  I took another trip to JoAnn Fabrics to pick a few items to create the little favor bags. Here it goes :-)

I wanted two different looks, so I purchased 1(one) yard of each of the fabrics I chose (I think cotton works best). Then I cut the fabric into strips about 5'' wide by 8" long.

The plan was to use the sewing machine to sew each strip into little pouches, first hemming the top and bottom edges then folding the bottom portion of fabric up approximately 3-4 inches creating a pouch. Well, the sewing machine was giving me problems, so I ended up sewing it by hand. That process took longer so I cheated with my glue gun and created little envelopes instead of the pouches. To prevent fraying, I trimmed the sides with the pinking shears. 

I cut the "It's a boy" ribbon about 3 inches long and secured it around the pin using the glue gun.

As you can see the difference, the one to the left was the pouch sewn and the one to the right was the one created with the glue gun.

I wrapped mints and mentos in tulle and inserted them into the pouches. Then I sealed the pouches with safety pins. I wanted baby pins but it was hard to find (at least at a reasonable price :-)

Here is a closer look:

I just thought these were too cute :-)

There you have it, the candy favors!!

Blame it on the...

Along with the wedding planning and research, I have been getting better acquainted with the world of crafting. With every detail, I assume I can re-create it myself at a more affordable price. Every idea I came across seemed like a project for me to take up. It didn't take long for me to take a trip to JoAnn Fabrics and this was the end result:

Here is a closer look at the items:

-Sewing Machine

-Glue gun (my back-up)

-Scissors

-Thread

-Needles

-Pinking shear

-Measuring tape

-Seam ripper

-White marking pencil

-Tomato pin-cushion

-Tracing wheel

However, I quickly realized there are some items (floral arrangements to be exact), should be left for a professional (florist!!); I know my weaknesses and strengths :-). Everything else (esp. paper related) seems to be right on my wagon.

Day 4...No Meat

Four days ago, I decided to go on a no meat diet for 30days; my goal is to lose 15lbs by July 1st. Not eating meat for the first 30days is not a method to necessarily lose weight but to give my organs a rest from the process of digesting meat.

Hopefully, I will be able to sustain for the next few weeks so I can kick off my weight loss goal. After the first 30 days, I hope it will be easier for me to make healthier eating choices. Day 4 so far is going well, I haven't craved a piece of chicken, yet and I don't feel as if I am missing something, not sure I can say the same next week but we'll see.  Wish me luck!!

You got me Crew!

So I fell in love with this simple and oh so gorgeous dress from J. Crew. Yes, J. Crew! It has no lace, no beads and not overly done with embellishments, just my kind.  To top it off it’s at a reasonable price, which triples the points in my book.  It was the first wedding gown that I could actually see myself in. Next call of duty was to search for a (wedding) store locally, to my surprise, nothing came up within a 50 miles radius….NOTHING!!! Why??

I fell in love with the dress but couldn't commit, in other words, loved it but not going to risk ordering without trying it on. The thought of purchasing the dress and the gown not looking the way I envisioned on, was a dreadful thought on its own. In the end I decided to lay my first dress love affair to rest.

JCrew.com

Chiffon/Organza gown, just know you will always have a special place in my heart!!

Engagement Bliss

First comes a ring, then….

Some women dream of their wedding day since they were little girls, some delve in the idea the day they know he’s the one, some dream about it or have an idea of what they want but are just waiting for Mr. Right. I on the other hand didn’t think much of it until after I had a ring on my finger.  After all the excitement and the wonderful compliments, (well, in my case, the majority of my compliments were “it’s about time”); what happens next?

With a ring on my finger I was at a total lost but enjoyed the idea of getting married. Which means the world of weddings had taken me by surprise. There are no guidelines as to what to do first; I was excited and at a lost.  All I knew was that from that point on, everything would start changing, life wouldn’t be the same. So what did I do first?...NOTHING!! I took a three-month break to enjoy being engaged. I mean why not? It only gets hectic till the day of the wedding so why not enjoy those very few months where I can say, “I’m engaged”.

So I was living those months of what I call “engagement bliss”. I have no regrets taking that path because since I am currently in the planning phase, no day seems to be an ordinary day anymore!

Personal Image

A moment...for Japan

I had a pretty rough time trying to keep up with the news because of all the disasters and misfortunes that have taken place these past few months, in fact years.  Most recently was the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  It struck a chord just as the earthquake in Haiti did, which occurred last year. I may not have family members in Japan but it breaks my heart to see the death toll rise.

In 2009, a friend of mine and I took a trip to Japan and we both fell in love with the people, food and culture. Our favorite place was Harajuku, because the people there went beyond dares and imaginations. The lens couldn’t quite capture all we were able to see through our eyes.  Japan offered a sense of calmness, kindness & uniqueness, though heavily populated. Others might argue differently since the suicide rate in the country is considerably high but we saw differently. As we left the country we vowed to visit again.

With that said, I would like to take a moment for Japan and all the lives lost during these past few days.

I refuse to post pictures of the disaster and deaths; instead I opted to post pictures of how I remember Japan because that is how I prefer to remember it!!

Traditional Kimono

Streets of Harajuku

They put a Haitian flag on the wall, we were the first Haitians to stay at the hostel!

View from Tokyo Tower

 Go to www.redcross.org and donate to Japan 

Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami. You can also text 

REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Please keep Japan in your prayers!!

Gone for too long!

First I want to start with an apology to those that have been coming to this blog but haven't gotten an update. Long story short, I was without a computer for about two weeks. Third day after starting the blog my computer goes out, yes I was devastated. Not necessarily because of the blog but I had all of my wedding research, plans, templates, memories and I wasn't sure I would be able to retrieve them :-(.

Went to the shop and found out they had to replace the logic board (aka mother board) and video card. I'm just glad it was fixable and I am back in full swing. Unfortunately, blogging on my phone wasn't easy to do. As I typed, it deleted and I am not kidding.

Now, I have a lot of catching up to do...:-)