Wedding 08: Miscellaneous

Found these great signs from Delightful Details at the Brides Cafe. Also check out the other beautiful images of floral decor ideas on that site.

If you ever wonder what my idea of a cool wedding would be you should read Lina's take on Lina's Lookbook. If someone told me I was not allowed to plan my own wedding (I strongly suggest no one EVER do this, because it would be their lives on the line) I could be perfectly happy going along with this plan.



Here's a great source for wedding shower, house warming, party hostess gifts from Beehive Kitchenware, lots of great metalwork pewter items. I was reminded of this company after they were mentioned by Ariana on Becoming Mom.

Also check out the Wedding Week of posts on This Young House, devoted to documenting their very DIY backyard wedding from last year. I think everyone would be tempted to have a wedding at home if they had that back yard!

Wedding 08: Keeping up to date

Wow, I really thought I would have a blast blogging about wedding options and such but I just haven't had time to do the additional research needed to write. So in future posts (I have SO many unfinished posts on this!) , I am just going to list and link to all the great stuff I've found in the last few weeks. Not a lot of pesky text to read, just beautiful images and incredibly great ideas. How's that?

By the way, the planning for the July 19 wedding is going smoothly. The things that had me freaking out two weeks ago, have been handled.

I had totally forgot all about the event planner "need for control" thing. Which is amazing, since that was exactly what burned me out on the job. You have an incredibly strong need to control every aspect because you feel that is your job, however, just as in real life, you can not possibly have control over everything, therefore, you constantly have to re-evaluate what to freak out about more. The good thing is that I also remember how great it feels when it all comes together and people thank you for the job you've done.


Just ten more days!

Photo: Adorable directional signs by Delightful Details.

A Room Nearby and other joys

Up late again, I saw this great show on my local PBS channel, written, produced, and animated by Paul and Sandra Fierlinger. The movie is described as "Blending intimate interviews with distinctive animation, A Room Nearby gives voice to five culturally dissimilar people as they reflect on the process and unexpected revelations of loneliness." It was both lovely and touching. Having been a loner in my childhood I know about the difference between loneliness and being alone in my adulthood.

In the film was this incredible quote "If we crave affirmation from others for the way We see things we will remain lonely forever." I will have to keep that in mind.

What I find weird is that I hardly ever "plan" to watch PBS, but just find myself turning the channel and discovering gems like these. Unfortunately, most of the wonderful pieces I've seen have been scheduled during the late night hours or VERY early hours of the morning. I just hope that people who live a more healthy sleep schedule have opportunities to see these too.

Pieces I've seen and enjoyed lately have been: the strong women of Cranford, Independent Len's Abduction: the Megumi Yokoto Story, Live From Lincoln Center's Camelot (with Gabriel Byrne eerily channeling Richard Harris), and an interesting look at the making of the UK's Lord of the Rings musical, that is about to close on July 19. I can't find a proper link to the complete piece I saw but you can see some of it on YouTube (of course!)

Check out PBS some night, you will be happy you did.

Marc Jacobs Bias Skirt - Vogue 2068

I don't know if I'm going to find another vintage top to make from my stash anytime soon but I decided this skirt is my next garment.

I had planned to make this with a certain fabric since November so it is part of some sewing plan, just not the mini-wardrobe. Hopefully, I'll have something to show you soon. Edit: I've sewn the side seams, so it is officially in progress! I remember that it was incredibly easy; easy enough that I actually have two already in my wardrobe and I usually don't make any time consuming or difficult things twice.

The ingenious elastic waistband is the selling point for the skirt. I had to alter it a bit by add a tiny bit to the width (tiny, because it is on the bias) and quite a bit more to the length, because get this, the skirt length according to the pattern is 16 3/4".

Yup, not gonna happen.

I love how they show it as part of a business wardrobe. Maybe for the offices of Vogue magazine but not for the majority of offices in the U.S.

The Purge, continued

I finally got to Payless last night to try on the shoes from this post.

Unfortunately, nothing fit, either they were too tight in the toe or too wide for my high arches. I had really hoped to buy a sweet little ballerina flat and retire at least one pair of old shoes today.

I was able to try on two of the styles I posted from Payless, plus one new one. This first shoe is the one from Old Navy, but as it turns out, Payless had a very similar pair with the same "higher heel hidden inside" design. However, I didn't like the fit on this shoe either. I really like the look of the Old Navy pair and they are still my first choice, but I don't like the fact that they only sell them online and you can't try them on in the store.

This shoe retirement has become a more urgent goal since I realized I do not want to be wearing high heels during the wedding that I'm managing in three weeks. I've walked the location; Maymont Park, with it's cobblestone paths and gravel lanes enough times to know I do not want to twist my ankle. On the first day I toured the space, in heels, I found myself cursing their quaint and lovely garden paths.

So, where else can I find a nice pair of ballerina-like flats for cheap? Any ideas?