Hair Dont's

My hair and makeup for the wedding day is one thing I am very nervous about.  I feel like no matter how gorgeous the dress and accessories are, hair mishaps can REALLY ruin a wedding day look.  After perusing a couple (thousands) of pictures, I realized I have more ideas of what I DON'T want than what I actually do.  Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Shouldn't I have millions of inspirational pictures that drive my stylist nuts because I want a combination of all the pictures that is impossible to do?  "I want it down to show my length, up to show off my cheek bones, side swoop because that's what looks best on me, curls because it looks elegant, but straight because I look better with straight her. I also want it to be poofy to look "bridal" but flat so I don't look like a poodle.  I like gems to add sparkle, but not too many because I want to look mature.  I also like side buns.  So...do that. Kthanks".  I would walk out like this:

"Oopsies...guess I didn't communicate well.  This is absolutely disgusting.  Why didn't you understand my vision?" Sad Stylist would say, "this is exactly what you wanted. Now give me my $100000 for your bridal updo which is priced significantly higher than normal updos."  I usually am a glass half full type of person (that may be a liiiiiittle false), but I am severely paranoid about my wedding day look.  I just see it being a disaster.  I don't know if my expectations are too high or if I just have that "I want to feel like a princess" mentality, but I do know that choosing a hair style seems to be harder than selecting my gown.


Here are my dont's regarding my hair.

Couture - On the runway it looks FANTASTIC.  I always look at models and think that their completed look is the most amazing thing in the entire world.  I sit in front of my TV watching "America's Next Top Model" and just WISH I had their hairstylists to do my hair on a daily basis.  However, in reality, I am NOT a model and my wedding will NOT be in New York during fashion week.  Also, Tyra Banks will not be attending. So, realistically, the couture look is out because it's absolutely not feasible for a normal, non-fashionista wedding.

Tight Twists - I am VERY against the "high school prom" style updos.  I don't get the allure behind them.  I feel like MAYBE in high school it was ok, but for my wedding I want a more relaxed look.  Hairstyles that are that "hairsprayed" look like they'll give me a headache in about fifteen minutes.  Everybody has their own style, but this one is just NOT me

Lots of Tiny Accessories - No offense to those who choose this look, but I think it looks like dandruff.  I get the allure behind this look, it looks pretty whimsical.  But to me, the amount of time it would take to add the accessories would not be worth it. Also, if using flowers, I feel like this would cause a HUGE problem with my allergies and by the end of the night, I would need a whole bottle of shampoo to get out the little bits of flower that are left.  I also am not a huge fan of sticking random gems all over my head.  My OCD would kick in and I would need them to be spaced evenly around my head and I would end up looking like a "connect the dots" game.

Princess Updo with Tiara - I am not sure what to call this style of look, but I tried.  I don't like the tight, high bun on top of the head with a tiara.  I am NOT a princess.  There is a way to feel like a princess without having to say "LOOK AT THIS TIARA ON THE TOP OF MY HEAD! PAY ATTENTION TO ME! I AM THE BRIDE! SEEEEEEEEE?!?!?"  I want my wedding look to be flowy, and I feel that this type of updo is the complete opposite.  While I do believe that some tiaras look very nice, I think when paired with an over-the-top updo, they end up looking a little cliche. 

 Overboard of Accessories - I understand that wedding shopping is a TON of fun.  If I could pick out everything I wanted, I would have 15 dresses, 24 pairs of shoes, 8 necklaces, and 4 sets of earrings.  However, that is not a reasonable amount of items to have for one wedding.  So when it comes to hair accessories, I do NOT want to have every item that catches my eye to be in my hair.  

With all of my dont's (the list does go on), I feel like it's going to be VERY hard to find my perfect style.  I want to feel elegant, yet understated.  I want the hair to be able to last through a monsoon, yet not look hairsprayed.  I want to have a lot of sparkle in my hair, but not look sparkly.  I want to show off my length, yet be short to keep me from overheating.  Makes sense right?

Like I said earlier, I think the hair and makeup is VERY important to help achieve a bride's overall look for the wedding.  It stresses me out, but at the same time isn't even close to the top of the list of wedding priorities.  I am afraid that without a distinctly clear vision of what I want to look like, I'll end up looking like my usual, hot mess self.

You're Invited!

My invitations finally came in!  The second I saw a package from my wonderful invitation designer, I ran to my family room to show everyone what came in the mail.  It was the package I had been waiting for!  3 months ago, meaning 6 months prior to the wedding, I started my invitation journey with ETSY designer J & M Contemporary Paper Inspirations. After about two months of looking around at wedding invitations, I finally selected her because of her creativity, quality, price, and communication.

Image via Jas0120 at ETSY.com

I am a huge paper addict.  Could be due to my obsession with scrapbooking, who knows.  But anything that's paper, I love it.  So when it came time to do invitations, I was drooling at all the images I saw.  Luckily my designer did everything she could to make my vision a reality when it came to my invitations.  She communicated SO well with me and sent me sample after sample.  She even did a special request for me that she had never done for previous invitations.  And for her first time doing it, they sure did turn out fantastic!


When I opened the package containing my invitations, I was so excited to see all the hard work!  They looked marvelous! I wish I could show pictures, but I am not going to ruin the surprise for everyone when they open their invitation.  My dad, fiance Eric, and MOH Caitlin were the only people at my parent's house when I opened the packages, so they got to be the only ones to witness my "kid in a candy shop" moment.  I opened up one of the invitations, looked at all the inserts, and fell in love! I don't even want to mail these out. I want to make sure they arrive in perfect condition. Looks like I'll have to drive all around the country and hand deliver them...on a horse most likely.  That will cost a lot, and the horse will be tired.

I was so in love with every little detail.  I showed my dad my envelope for the RSVP and his response was "Ooh, nice, it's an envelope" but my response was "NOT JUST AN ENVELOPE! The cutest, most perfect RSVP envelope! Look at the shimmer!"  Then I pulled out my outer envelope and went to each person individually in the room to show them the envelope.  Their response? "Oh, it's like the other one but bigger."  UGH! YOU FOOLS! DON'T YOU SEE HOW AMAZING THESE ENVELOPES ARE!?!  They truly are the most magnificent envelopes ever.  I even made a last minute change to my envelopes about three weeks before I received them.  I changed the color and texture of the envelopes and I am SO glad I did.  


In about three weeks, the addressing will be done and I can mail these beauties out.  I am so excited.  I made sure to order enough so I can keep one for my scrapbook...or shadow box. To be honest, I am not sure which I am doing yet.  Whichever I decide to do, I know it will be PERFECT!


Since I cannot show you my personalized invitations, here is some "invitation overload" inspiration.

Image via Jas0120 at ETSY.com

Image via Jas0120 at ETSY.com

Image Via The Polka Dot Alley at ETSY.com

Image Via 1 Of A Kind Custom Design at ETSY.com

Image Via Paintings By Shanon at ETSY.com

Image Via Art by Crystal at ETSY.com

Moneyhoon

When it came time to plan the honeymoon, I immediately knew where I wanted to go. Since I was 14, I have dreamed of going to Bora Bora.  That is always where I wanted my destination wedding/honeymoon.  I always wanted to see that crystal blue water, with a bungalow over the sea and a glass bottom.  Yup, I had my honeymoon all planned out.  I even owned the Bora Bora perfume set by Liz Claiborne.  I was officially obsessed.

Well, that dream was squished.  It dawned on me that I was NOT made of money and at a nightly rate of $500 plus, I would only be able to afford one night on my dream island.  That is not long enough.  Since my engagement is so short, a mere 8 months, that was not enough time to save for the honeymoon I have imagined since I was young.  So sadly I had to say goodbye to my glass bottom cabana and look for other options.  


New and most recent obsession for a dream vacation? BELIZE Y'ALL!  Very quickly I investigated Belize. My obsession with that country is their infamous "blue hole".  Am I a professional scuba diver? Nope sure am not.  Have I ever been scuba diving? No, have not done that either. So why would I want to go to a location that is mainly for scuba divers?  BECAUSE LOOK AT THIS PLACE!

Holy banana breath batman! THAT PLACE IS UH-MAZING!  It has everything I want in a honeymoon.  Beautiful scenery, ocean with clear water, and even a little adventure!  They have ruins, forests, old cities, and the list goes on and on.  This place is beautiful.  Weird that nobody really ever talks about it. Then reality set in again.  Still out of my price range.  Not Bora Bora expensive, but more than Chuck E Cheese expensive.  Hmph.  Pity party aisle one for this girl.  I REALLY wanted Belize.  Oh well, in the words of Jay-Z its on to the next. 

Next up? HAWAII!!!  Haula-aaaaaay Haula-ooooooo (thats the hula song, fyi)

PERFECT!  I would still get my "tropical forest" feel and the crystal blue water.  This seemed like the most amazing honeymoon.  We wouldn't need a passport, it had EVERYTHING we were looking for, and in January it won't be cold.  MAGNIFICO! We found it.  So I started looking online, found a travel agent, and told her our dates and what we were looking for. She got us a rental car, hotel, and flight.  All for just under $6000!  Um...come again?

Yeah, uh, sorry miss travel agent lady, looks like I was just kidding about booking that trip.  Turns out I am uh, allergic to Hawaii, they have a, uh, bug down there that will make me die.  So, uh...go ahead and cancel that, kthanks.


After turning down three beautiful options, I got a little discouraged.  Aren't honeymoons supposed to be the thing that relaxes you after months of hectic wedding planning?  Pretty sure I was going to have a coronary after looking at honeymoon spots.  Why are vacations so expensive?  This isn't fair.  Poor people deserve honeymoons too. I should get some kind of scholarship for being a hard worker and being poor so that I get a discount on my honeymoon.  Do those exist?  No?  This is complete shenanigans.


Deep Inhale.  Ok, I know I'm being dramatic.  

While I would ADORE to go to those places, I put my "I have all the money in the world" mentality aside and realized there were a LOT of reasonably priced options out there for us.

1. A minimoon.  We could go to Colorado where I have family and spend time in the snow and mountains. That would be fun and we could DEFINITELY cuddle there since it will be freezing.  More reason to drink cocoa and use my snuggie.
2. A trip to Orlando, FL to go to "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter".  This would rock my socks off.  I am obsessed with Harry Potter.  Not the man, the story.  When Eric and I first started dating, we had five weeks until the newest Harry Potter would come out. I made sure that once a week we watched one of the first 6 Harry Potter movies so that on opening day he could take me to see the new one.  So I guess you could say Harry Potter is kind of our thing.  So this would be an AWESOME honeymoon.  Downside? It won't be awesome weather.  Neither hot nor cold...just bleh.
3. A cruise.  Due to Eric's school schedule it would be hard to find a cruise in our price range, in our timeline, leaving from the port we would need, and going places we want, but it IS a possibility.  Cruises are amazing bargains.  We would get:
1.  The ocean (which I want)
2. Multiple locations
3. Ability to be around multiple people but also just be alone if we wanted
4. Excursions at the ports

So, there you have it. All (most) options considered when choosing our honeymoon.  After two tubs of twizzlers downed and many "woe is me", we have a honeymoon and I am very excited! I'll discuss the honeymoon we chose later.  It would be too much reading for one post.

Must Love Dogs

I have three dogs.  They are all very special.  Each I rescued.  They all have their own personalities and I even think two might be lovers (emotionally).  While they are menacing little creatures, they put a smile on my face very often.  When they're not going to the bathroom all over the house and tearing up toys, they're either laying with me or sitting on the floor by my feet.  I am a crazy dog lady.


My oldest dog is Lexus.  She is a miniature pinscher/who knows mix.  Maybe chihuahua?  Maybe daschund?  I don't know and neither did the rescue.  I got her from the SPCA when she was about a year and a half. That was September 2004.  In her first 1.5 years of life, she had been with at least three different homes.  All of her owners gave her up.  So since the very beginning, I knew she was the one for me.  I do not believe you should adopt a pet then return them.  When you take on that responsibility, they become a part of your family.  Maybe not your "dress them up like a baby" child type family, but your family nonetheless.  Lexus does, however, LOVE her doggie clothes.  If I go over to where her coats and sweaters are kept, she starts jumping in the air because she is SO excited to get dressed.  Like I said...my dogs are "special".

Her favorite spot, the fireplace

Lexus quickly became the family lap dog and would rather be on a person's lap than playing with another dog anyday.  She's a hot mess though.  Very grumpy (especially with old age) and very fat.  She has a sausage body with these little toothpick legs...not sure how she supports herself.  And her head is VERY tiny.  She is not proportional at all.  But I love her BIG eyes and floppy ears! She's mama's girl for sure!

Then there is Kia.  Kia joined my family in March 2010.  She was about 2.5 years old.  I picked her out by going on Petfinder.  I entered the search for a chihuahua/dashund mix and a bunch came up.  After flipping(virtually) through a bunch of pages on the site, I came across this white little chiweenie! She was absolutely adorable! Her name was Daphne and I contacted the rescue right away.  Luckily she was still up for adoption so I filled out my application and a couple weeks later drove an hour and a half to go pick her up! She was so scared and on the way home peed in her new crate. That's ok...I loved her immediately.

I was originally going to name her Shelby to keep with the whole "car motif", however her personality would put shame to the name Shelby.  She was scared, lazy, wouldn't come out of her crate for ANYTHING!  I had never seen a dog this AFRAID!  The poor thing has finally warmed up, and around JUST me she is a complete hoot.  However, she only feels comfortable around a select few people.  Whenever a stranger is around, she's hiding.  Not exactly my guard dog.

Kia is in love with Tank

The last animal to join the family is Tank.  I adopted him in November 2010.  He is a pitbull and is adorable.  He's a big, goofy, clumsy baby.  Kia and him have become BFF's.  She absolutely loves Tank.  Tank was destined to join the crew from the very beginning.  He is still in the vehicle class of names so that's destiny to me.

Tank is not the best with other large dogs, but he is GREAT with the girls.  He protects them, plays with them, and even gives up his giant bed so they can lay down.  He is not the most well behaved dog in regards to potty training, but his cute little face always puts a smile on mine.  

So there you have it.  Those are the three dogs that make up my little family.  And now in future posts you can put a face with the name if I mention one of them.  They are all unique and all very interesting.  I would not call any of them a normal dog, they're kind of handfuls.  

Of Mice and Me

So...I have a mouse.  Not a pet mouse and not one of those dressed mice who help Cinderella with her chores.

I have an "evil, poo all over your kitchen, eat through your trash bags, scare your dogs" mouse.

I have yet to see this little rascal, but for the past week my miniature pinscher has been attacking my oven.  Now, if you know Lexus, you'll know she is already a little "off".  But for her to attack an oven, that's even more strange.  She'll sit next to the oven for hours, just pawing at it and trying to get the drawer beneath the oven open.  She'll bark at it, growl at it, all sorts of crazy stuff.  I would have taken her to a doggy psych had it not been for the fact that she did this about a year ago when I first moved into my apartment.  Why did she do it? Because I had a mouse.


The first time around I found evidence.  I found poo in my pantry...poo way to small to come from a dog.  And all my ziploc bags had been taken our of their box and chewed up.  Again...not by a dog.  So I did what any reasonable 25 year old adult would do to solve this problem.  I called my mom.  

Luckily I have the world's best mom.  She came over while I was at work, looked for the mouse (thankfully didn't find it), and brought me some rat/mouse poison that luckily is non-toxic to dogs...somehow.  When I got home, all I had to do was throw a pack or two all the way to the back of beneath my oven.  About 5 days later, Lexus stopped barking at the oven.

Well over a year later, the mouse is back!  Well, technically it's not the same mouse. But A mouse is back.  I still have yet to see it, but between Lexus going super crazy again and me finding one little dropping, I'm sure that's what it is.  So what did I do?  I looked in my pantry, found the rat poison from last year, and threw that sucker under my oven.  VIOLA! Handled it like a big girl! YAY ME!  In a few days I am sure there will be no more mouse.  And Lexus can go back to being her normal, yet completely insane, self.

Lexus under a blanket

Live, Laugh, Love Y'all!!

So...I changed my blog name and sign off name.  Why? Because I finally realized I should probably have a blog name people could pronounce.  Plus, the first name I came up with was cute...in English.  So since I liked it in English, I kept it as my URL.   So first up, the Blog Title.  I was a big fan of a play on my name.  Something like "Bridge over Water" or "Bridging the Gap"...something like that. But since I couldn't think of something specific that I liked, I kept on thinking.


Then I looked at my wall behind my couch and saw my favorite catchphrase "Live, Laugh, Love".  I buy a lot of things in this motif.  I have wall hangings, picture frames, and even scrapbook paper in that theme.  So that would be perfect for my blog title.  If I hadn't already chosen a theme for my wedding, I probably would have incorporated more of this saying into my decor.  This cake is pretty cute!

Let's see what else I can find in this theme.  This is fun! What about wishing tree tags in the theme?

And a big YES PLEASE to these invitations.

Ok, sorry my wedding planning obsession kicked into hyperdrive and I got a little carried away.  So...back to the subject on hand.  My blog title and name changes.  I had to come up with a new name to sign my post as.  I could have done my name, I could have done a nickname, or one of my dog's names, or even just thought of something funny.  What did I go with? Fat Cat. :)

Why fat cat? Well first of all, look at that cute little guy! So lazy, but so happy! SO CUTESIE!! Secondly, and more importantly, it's an inside joke between me and my closest of closest friends.  I'll probably change it someday and when I do, expect to hear why.  But for now, it excites me to think about these little guys below AND my best friends every time I write a post.

Fat cat loves money

Fat cat has ugly hair cut

Fat Cat loves beer

There you have it.  My edited blog title and name...and why I changed it.  I figured it would be easier to understand if I write all things in English.  

Candy Dilemma

I love candy.  Like...a whole bunch.  Could probably live off of candy...if that was possible without being severely malnourished.  So here in lies the conundrum.  This is a HUGE issue (in bridal minds).  Should my candy buffet be monochromatic or just have all the candy I love with LABELS that are in my theme?

Ok, for realisies this is something that has been on my mind a LOT lately.  I LOOOOOVE the look of monochromatic candy buffets.  However, some of my favorite candies don't come in my colors. In fact, my color is actually teal...and there isn't much teal candy at all so I would end up doing a blue/green candy buffet.  That's actually ok because TECHNICALLY blues, greens, and teal are all my colors.  Problem solved you say? I SAY NOT!


One option is monochromatic.  I am choosing not to show the buffets in my colors necessarily, as I feel this would confuse everyone (especially me who is attempting to make decisions)

OMG ITS GAWGEOUS!  Look how pretty everything is!  It all matches and the shapes of the dishes add to the allure of this option.  What's the downside?

• I am NOT doing a white candy buffet...that's too clean for my liking
• An all blue candy buffet would leave my photos looking like something out of Syfy and I don't particularly want all my guests to look like smurfs
• An all green candy buffet wouldn't really go with the overall look I am going for.  My wedding is mostly blues so a green buffet would stand out...not in a good way

So sorry gorgeous, clean option...you are out due to the blue lipped monster.

Then there is the multi-color buffet.  This is a nice option.   With this choice you can pick out all your favorite candies and just make the labels and table linens match your wedding theme.

I LOVE ALL THE COLORS!! This option means not having to sacrifice favorite candies just because they don't match a theme.  This means being able to buy a big bag of m&m's from the store for cheaper than buying them in bulk online in just one color.  This is a fabulous idea!!  What's that you say? It appears I have a winner? SLOW DOWN SPEED RACER! This one has deal-breakers too.

• Its a little too "rainbow brite" for me
• I am a little bit too OCD to let my WHOLE wedding match and then my candy buffet look like a black sheep amongst goldfish (yes, I feel it would stand out THAT much)
• I would be worried that I didn't have even distribution of color.  If some things are multi-colored but some are solid color...I know I would spend hours making sure that I had even amounts of the solid color candies.  Then once this is ransacked at the wedding I will cry because all my hard work was ruined

This option is still a contender...sort of.  Ok...not really.  I just don't see this type of buffet looking the way I want it to.  

I bet you never knew there were this many options...but there are.  I have yet another option for my buffet! A themed buffet.  These are pretty.  You get to choose candy in your theme, set up the table all pretty, but since you have more than one color there is more for the eye to be attracted to. Here are some of my favorites like this.

Image via jharman at Weddingbee

Aren't they lovely?  With about three colors, you still get to have a buffet in your theme but have variety so it looks less like a paint spill. Is this one perfect? Nope, absolutely not.

• Choosing three colors in my theme is going to be a little difficult
• Since there are so many shades of blue and green, it could end up looking messy rather than organized
• Where do I find bags in my colors?
• What if I find one candy that is a little off in color but is SO YUMMY...will it ruin the table?

As you can probably tell...I have pretty much made up my mind. But with the wedding still a good while away, I have not even ordered the candy yet so I still have time to talk myself out of any logical decision I come up with.  In fact, I have even considered doing a dessert buffet instead of just candy...I'll explain in a later post because I already feel like this one has everyone's minds spinning.

Even after all the planning I am trying to put into my delicious candy (or dessert) buffet, I am still DREADING that my buffet will end up looking like something half-a$$ed the day before the wedding.  Some buffets that I feel would have been better off left on the idea board:

They're not ugly...just not what I would consider a showcase...which is what I want.  An edible, beautiful showcase.  I have this fear that the one thing I have always known I wanted in my wedding, the candy buffet, is going to end up looking like a hot mess.  Like Lindsay Lohan circa 2010 hot mess.  What advice do you have and what is your favorite buffet look?