"Say Yes to the Dress"

This a reality show on TLC but it is from the point of view of bridal sales people at Kleinfeld's. For those of you not familiar, Kleinfeld's is an upscale, well known bridal salon in NYC. And in my humble opinion (and those of others as we discussed after my own experience dress shopping in NYC at RK Bridal - not upscale in any means), Kleinfeld's does not always come out looking good in this show, many times I think they are pushy and seem to have alot of issues when it comes to alterations (and alterations cost $650 at the store).

While watching the show (it was in marathon mode yesterday) this one dress style kept being selected by brides and B and I have no idea why. Maybe I am not couture enough for the dress style. It is a Pnina Tornei and from her 2007 Bridal Collection. It was all about this corset top (which I think is kind of see through but then what do I know).

(image taken from http://www.pninatornai.co.il/)

Hair Bling

Continuing the theme of bling, I found these barrettes online (http://www.whiteaisle.com/) and have loved them. I think about buying them just incase they disappear or sell out but my practical side thinks it is silly until I know what I am doing with my hair.

I also don't know if two would be enough if they were actually going to hold up my hair but they are cute.

(both images courtesy of white aisle)

More Bling Talk

Ardent reader Betty T (Aunt Betty to me and also need to say happy belated birthday to her) mentioned me wearing a colored stone (in this case a ruby) and originally I had wanted to do just that (not a ruby but something with color).

I love blue topaz (the lighter colored ones not the rich blues) and had talked to the woman at the jewelry store about it but she kept telling me that it would be too informal and casual for the wedding. In my head I was thinking: a) but I want blue b) it is not THAT formal of an affair (but I also would not describe it as casual either). So we stopped that discussion while I tried on diamond necklaces I would never buy.

So I decided to think about colored stones again and while walking through the South Shore Plaza (this mall has an insane number of jewelry stores in it in my humble opinion). I happened upon a really nice light blue pendant. Of course you can't see prices in the display case and I didn't want any help from a sales lady since I am not going to purchase anything. So I went home and looked it up online and it turns out that the pendant is an aquamarine stone. Aquamarine is the birthstone for March which happens to be when my birthday falls - how convenient.

The ones I am seeing online are much more affordable than the diamond necklaces I tried on and I think I will wear an aquamarine one more often than a formal diamond one. So I am going to search stores and see if I find one I have to have and then I will buy it.

From macys.com - similar to what I saw in the mall:



The one I saw in the store:

Renting Bling

Besides wedding bands, there is a discussion of wedding day jewelry. And while I have more than one option of borrowing pearls, I didn't know if pearls will look right with the dress. So after checking out necklaces (and prices) at the jewelry store I began to reconsider the pearls option. And there is always the option of renting jewelry. I had heard of "Bag Borrow or Steal" before and then while evading work came upon this article on CNN.

I would rent a necklace for $150 but the article states, "The most dazzling piece is an 89-stone diamond necklace with three optional pendants worth $95,950. It rents for $2,290 a day." and at that rate, I would just buy something a bit smaller.

If I was a betting woman, I would bet on me wearing pearls as my something borrowed come November.

I would only wear 3-ply

I meant to post this earlier but I got delayed by a cold and holiday preparations (belated Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year).

A couple was married in Times Square at the Charmin Restrooms set up for the event. The bride wore a gown made entirely of toilet paper. Click here for the article and click here for pictures of other toilet paper dresses. A toilet paper dress can come in handy in many situations and I can leave filling in that the list of situations up to you.You cannot tell from these pictures that they are TP. I swear - these women are very creative. However, I prefer a dress that can stand up to the elements.

Snow and stuff

We have had more snow in one week than we did all of last winter. It has been fun times in the Boston-area especially because of the "save your spot" phenomena. If you shovel out a parking spot, it is yours for a looooong time. Streets are lined with garbage cans, orange cones, lawn furniture - all saving the spot. Boston tried to crack down on it saying that after 48 hours you cannot save a spot. Trucks drove through and collected all the items in parking spots. Not to be outwitted, residents started saving spots with bags of trash and had garbage collected on non-pick up days. I guess this is just "save the spot" another thing that makes no sense and is technically illegal but everyone looks the other way because "this is how it is done in Boston".

Anyway, the snow combined with a cold mixed with a lot of work coupled with the Jamie Lynn Spears scandal has left me no time to post. So I apologize to my legions of fans. I truly am sorry.

And I am really upset by the Jamie Lynn thing. I thought she had a good head on her shoulders. But what can you expect when you let your 16 year old daughter's 19 year old boyfired live with her.

She is back!

Having survived the TWO storms that have hit Boston, I have good news. My engagement ring is back on my finger. And I checked out the recommendation for Barmakian Brothers and they have two rings that are similar to the one I love and for less than I was expecting. So all that is good.

The bad news: B's car has not moved in a few days and hopefully he can get it out of the snowpile that is the parking spot. Maybe we should put covered garage on our list of requirements of a house if and when we buy one. After all this snow we added proximity to the commuter rail or subway line that links into the commuter rail (mainly the Red Line which I love so I am fine with that) to the list of house requirements.

Who doesn't love a pinata?

Today is kind of slow for me at work and so I harassed bridesmaid Kim into emailing with me. And in our discussions of all things wedding, she mentioned having a pinata at the reception. Oh ho we laughed. But then I thought about one at the rehearsal dinner. How awesome would that be!! Everyone gets to smash the bride and groom until candy falls out. It is good clean fun the whole family can enjoy. So after our email exchange I searched and found this lovely couple.

(image from www.lamariposaimports.com)

If two pinatas are too much we could attack a wedding cake. But we are not having a wedding cake per se at the actual wedding.

Or we can get something like these custom made ones from thepinatashop.net.

I can see you getting beer pinatas but what crazy fool wants a butter stick pinata? Seriously that is just gross. I used to eat straight up butter as a kid and I don't even like this pinata. I guess if you worked in the butter department of Land o' Lakes you would like the pinata. But still...

Hillary the Hand Model

So I mentioned that B got bought his ring and it was very quick and painless. I tried on over 10 rings and purchased nothing. Part of the problem is that my friend Hillary (the Texan republican with a heart a gold*) was given a ring by her beloved as a gift a few years ago and I fell in love. Unfortunately for the rings, each one I treid on or looked at was compared to Hillary's. Since we have time I am now pursuing the option of just getting Hillary's ring made. Alett (friend who got engaged on Halloween, click here for a refresh of her story) is having her engagement ring made (they are using Hugh's grandmother's stones but redoing the ring design to one more suitable to her profession and lifestyle). Also the lady at Romm Diamonds mentioned custom making the ring. And we have some time so I am meeting with the jeweler Alett is using in February and haivng Romm give us a price. I figure it can't hurt to ask and if I have to pay a lot I should get the ring I want. And the ring is the one wedding purchase I will use everyday.

So without further adieu, I introduce to you Hillary's hand and her ring. It is so purty! (and Hillary's hand is looking mighty fine as well).

*She is not really Texan but we call her that and it is a long story. But she does have a heart of gold and after learning she is a Republican I "allegedly" asked her "But do you have a heart?" I have no recollection of this conversation and that is why it has "alleged" status. But I can see myself saying that to her so it probably did happen.

An easy out...

After one of the more than I would like to know about story where a husband/boyfriend murdered his wife/girlfriend while she was pregnant, I had a discussion with B. During it I gave him an easy out. I told him that if he ever feels that he wants out of the marriage and responsibility of the kids and wants to kill, all he needs to do is leave me a note that basically states, "Liz, I can't do this. I was going to kill you but decided to just leave you and the kids." I figure it is a win-win, I don't have to die and he never has to deal with me or children again and does not have to go to jail.

Naked

So I went to get my ring resized but we decided to hold off but then this morning things changed. I took not one but two headers on the black ice and my hands broke my fall both times. After the second fall my ring looked a little off. Since I was on the verge of freaking out, I drove from North of Boston to South of Boston and had the ring checked and resized. It is being taken down one whole ring size and the prongs are being readjusted (I wasn't crazy!). The only problem is I don't have my ring for a whole week. I keep having little moments of panic when I don't feel my ring on my finger.

I can't wait to get my ring back and to not have it spin around on my finger.

Belated Well Wishes

Happy Belated Birthday to Ryan D! I remembered to call this year so that is step in the right direction.

One ring down

After an hour and half visit to the jewelry store, I walked out empty handed and B will have to return in a few weeks to pick up his wedding band. It was the first one he tried on and after trying several other ones, he went back to the original ring. And much like my dress selection, he was surprised that he really likes a ring and the way it fit. I was worried about B's ring selection process since he has never regularly worn a ring. I guess that is not that strange for a guy. He does wear a Celtic cross every day but that is kind of different.

So we still have another ring to go but we have time.

Happy Birthday!

Congratulations to Teresa and Mike on the birth of their daughter, Danica Rose. She was born at 4:24 am weighing in at 8 pounds and 21 inches long. Teresa's blog is listed on the side and judging by the pictures and her posts, she is very happy not to be pregnant and to hold her baby. Both are doing fine.

Congratulations to all!

My weekend and love of cookbooks

My company has a "use them or lose them" policy with vacation days and I will be taking Monday and Tuesday off next week. So in preparation I have been creating my to do list (I love to do lists. Love them. Though I rarely cross everything off and have notebooks filled with unfinished lists) and while a lot of things related to boring things like cleaning my apartment, doing laundry (long side story coming: once I get a "new" washing machine and I mean new to me via craigslist. I think my washing machine got jealous of the "new" dishwasher and decided to give up on me. Hopefully the new one will be delivered tomorrow and installed shortly after that. Not a good month for appliances here) and holiday things like sending christmas cards, finishing my christmas shopping - there are some fun wedding related things on their as well.


1) Begin Save the Dates: I already introduced you to my Gocco machine and I have been trying it out and setting up different layouts. I think I have it figured out. I like how the end product has an unevenness in the ink and has a bit of a vintage feel. Each one is unique. I like them.

2) Ring shopping: I know I posted how I was probably not ring shopping for a while but B got a gift card to the jeweler store where my e-ring was purchased. So we figured we would look around for our rings and see about getting my ring resized.

3) Think about cupcake flavors: Before it became the cool thing to do, I knew we were going to have cupcakes. I love them. B doesn't like cake, especially wedding cake but liked the idea of cupcakes. As a wedding gift, my friend Kristin will be making the cupcakes and a small cake for us to cut into and save for our first anniversary. B is going to build her a web site in the new year and I will be talking more about that at a later date. In New York I used to get cupcakes and went to Buttercup. Oh how I missed it when I moved and I am not in Manhattan much anymore when I visit. This made me sad. Then a cupcake place opened up in Bay Ridge near B's parents. I visit it when I am in the neighborhood and B brings me back some when he visits. This cupcake place in Bay Ridge is owned by a guy that used to work at Buttercup and uses the same recipes because the Buttercup owner published a cookbook with her recipes (she also tried to sue him but lost the case). Kristin said she would make us any flavor cupcake as long as she had a recipe. My big idea - get the recipe book to get the exact recipes of the cupcakes I love so much. So B's roommate has a library card (I don't even know where the Medford Library is. I probably need a car to get there.) to the Boston Public Library and went and took out this Buttercup cookbook. At this moment, the cookbook is in Dot (Dorchester for the non-locals) and it is waiting for me to open it up and see all the different cupcakes I love and maybe some new ones I will grow to love. I am so excited to see which ones there are and to start seeing about options for the wedding. I love reading cookbooks. It is a weird past time of mine. Stop judging.


So that is what I will be doing Saturday - Tuesday with some sleep thrown in and a 50% chance I shower.

Free movie screening courtesy of Modern Bride

These are available on a first come, first serve, basis but for those in Atlanta, Dallas, or New York you may get lucky and have some fun.

Tickets to a creening for the movie 27 Dresses starring Izzie from Grey's Anatomy (a show I love but am not allowed to watch alone). Tickets available at www.brides.com/screening.

Do not remove

While watching some of the wedding shows on TV (I typically watch Bridezillas or Whose Wedding is it Anyways?), B and I heard of two couples who had some fun with the engravings on the inside of the groom's ring. One had "Do Not Remove" engraved and another had "Put it back on!" Nice to see humor in weddings is not totally a thing of the past. Here is an article that reinforces the notion of a man keeping the wedding ring on - it saved his life. His wedding ring deflected a bullet. I kid you not. Read the story here.

Marriage helps the environment

It is true according to this new article featured on Yahoo!. Ok actually it says divorce is bad for the environment because it creates an additional household where there was once only one.

Name Game

Changing of a last name is ultimately a personal decision and at most a decision between a bride and groom. Though these days it seems some are taking the decision to family members (via competitions) and the Internet.

Today the options are seemingly endless:
1) Bride takes groom's last name (but what about middle name, keep it or have maiden name become middle name)
2) Groom takes bride's last name (possible in seven states of which Massachusetts and New York are two)
3) Bride takes hyphenated name (Smith-Jones)
4) Bride takes combined name (SmithJones)
5) Groom also takes hyphenated name
6) Groom also takes combined name
7) Both take a new last name altogether

For some interesting discussion of the name game, read the New York Times article here.

Information for the Groom

In the latest bridal magazine (Modern Bride) I have purchased (it is the last fall/winter one to go onsale so I am done buying them...I think) there is a listing of the most helpful wedding web sites. I checked one of them out out of curiosity and it proved to be quite funny. Groom411 is a web site for the groom (duh) and is pretty funny. My favorite part is the extensive list of to do's for the groom. You can read it here. I like that it starts out before the mate is found.

Inspiration Boards

A big trend on all the wedding web sites are inspiration boards. Pictures of things that inspiring the theme of the wedding. I think artist's use them for help in creating, well, art. Now brides-to-be use them to create the day of their dreams (which I have yet to buy into because the day of my dreams should not involve me doing one thing I dread and there are things I dread associated with it).

Here is a link to a style blog and reader submitted inspiration boards: Style Me Pretty

Here is a blog post about how to create one: Weddingbee


I barely have a theme (I guess it is Fall. I am not that creative. Sorry.) and I do not have an inspiration board.

Being A Good Wife

This is supposedly from the 1950s but some investigating places it more around the 1880s (with the picture added later). For information about the investigation, click here.

The clipping speaks for itself (click on it to read it).

The heat is on

I succumbed to the New England weather and turned my heat on today. My toes were just too cold.