Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Bridesmaid Dresses - CHECK!

As I mentioned earlier, my little sister, Rachel, is getting married!! They set the date for January 7th, 2011...that's 1-7-11. Such a fun date, no?

Rach lives in NY, but her fiancee {as well as my husband and I} live just outside Philly. Thankfully, it's just a 3 1/2 hour drive and she has the summer off {she's a teacher}, so I get to see her quite often. Last night, we kicked the boys out and had a fabulous girls' night, filled with delicious food {Pesto Pizza and Creamsicle Floats ~ mmm}, lots of chatting, and of course, wedding planning! We created a new registry for her at BB&B and edited her Target registry {let's just say that future husbands aren't very good at picking out kitchen items}. It was sooo much fun!

I get to be her Maid of Honor {oh wait, technically Matron of Honor, since I'm married...but that makes me sound like I'm 85 years old} and her Wedding Planner, which is a dream come true!

She's been having some people try to push her around {you know how some people get when it comes to wedding-planning} so I've done my best to just answer questions instead of forcing my opinions on her.

However, when she told me she wanted coral dresses and coral roses for her bridesmaids, I had to say something. I gently explained to her how this would cause a problem {coral is a tricky color and the dresses and flowers would most likely either blend together and look weird or completely clash}. Then, I suggested coral dresses and green flowers like these...


...or coral roses with aqua colored dresses {wouldn't the colors look great at a beach wedding?}.

She loved the idea of having coral colored roses, but she fell in love with the Solid embossed Lorelei dress from J.Crew. Ruched, strapless, textured, cotton ~ way too good to pass up. They had it in "coral", so she decided to go with that...only to find out that they had just one left in stock! She ordered the dress, in hopes that they would get more.

Then, this afternoon, she called to let me know that she had a revelation:

Although the dress was no long available in "coral", they did have it in "bright seaside":


Isn't it pretty?! She immediately bought one for each of her bridesmaids. I can't wait to wear it to her destination wedding! And now she can have her coral roses after all :)


What are some dilemmas you dealt with when planning your wedding?


Oh, and in case you're curious...our {tiny, gorgeous} mother is going to wear the coral colored dress that Rach originally purchased from J.Crew.


P.S. I just received notification that one of the items from my shop is currently being featured on etsy: how fun!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Weekly Menu: 7/26-8/1

Benj {the husband} has a work schedule that literally changes from week to week. Sometimes, he's home for dinner almost every night. Other times, we're lucky if we have one meal together. This week, his schedule is pretty consistent.

Since Benj will be home, that means I'll be cooking a lot more "real" recipes this week, since apparently, Twizzlers and Coke don't fall under the category of "balanced meal" {it's true: I eat like a bachelor when I'm home alone}. In light of this, I decided to give more stringent meal-planning a try, by way of a schedule {I'm hoping the fancy colors and font will keep me motivated to do this every week...we'll see how that goes}:



What are some effective {and ineffective, so I know what to avoid!} ways you have made meal-planning more manageable?

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Wanted: Coral Eyelet Dress

I need your help!

My sister recently got engaged and I get to be her Maid of Honor and her Wedding Planner! Yay!!

They're getting married at the beach {most likely Key West} in January and my sister wants her Bridesmaids to wear dresses just like this one, from Nordstrom:


Unfortunately, it only comes in white. :(

So, we are on the search for something that has the following qualities: cotton, eyelet, above the knee, and coral colored.

Translation: nothing shiny, nothing below the knee, nothing with a giant bow or sash, nothing with stiff, scratchy fabric ~ basically, nothing that would make her bridesmaids look like Pepto-Bismol and feel like death. Hurray for a bride who cares about her bridesmaids! hehe

Please let me know if you happen to stumble upon a dress that fits the aforementioned description!

Muchas Gracias! :)

Monday, July 19, 2010

So, so, so TRUE!

I saw this floating around Blogland and just had to share. Though I don't agree 100% with everything on this list, I think most of them are pretty accurate!

Random thoughts from people 25-35 years old…

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when yourealize you're wrong.


-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you'regoing in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed tobe going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in thedirection from which you came, you have to first do something likecheck your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter toyourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you'recrazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.


-That's enough, Nickelback.


-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.


-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choosenot to be friends with?


-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn'twork? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magicallyfix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we allknow how to fix the p roblem? There was no internet or message boardsor FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.


-There is a great need for sarcasm font.


-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger andsuddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I firstsaw it.


-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actuallybecomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone'slaughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a littlebit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still theonly one who really, really gets it.


-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?


-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand thantake 2 trips to bring my groceries in.


-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying t ofinish a text.


Was learning cursive really necessary?


- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".


- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.


- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantrontest is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nodand smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a someone from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'examples, I will undoubtedly draw a b lank and sound like a completeidiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney andsaid "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road andinstinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure Iknow how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how theperson died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water. {actually, I do that!}

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just gotthe Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to goaround and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like, I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at workwhen you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anythingproductive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don'twant to have to restart my collection.

- While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairlycertain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you aregoing to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks meif I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that Iswear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but willthey judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren'twatching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up andleave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times andgoes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good a nd then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new person, I'm terrified of mentioning something they haven't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.


- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Blog Love: 7.14

Here are five posts I'm currently loving:

#1: The prettiest kitchen

#2: A good cause and a hilarious "love letter"

#3: One creative couple

#4: Her refreshing honesty about life's ups and downs


What posts have you been loving lately?

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Mini-Van?

I've always been sort of Anti-Mini-Van.

They just always seemed...well...old.

Once I start popping out babies, the hubs and I plan on buying a Chevy Tahoe {not too big, not too small, but juuuuust right}.

However, this hilarious video now has me waffling...



What is your current {or future} "Mom-mobile"?

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Creating Registries: Part Three

Here is the final segment of my "Creating Registries" series!


Before you open your gifts, make sure you have pen and paper handy. You'll need to write down each gift and giver so you can accurately write your thank-you notes.

After all of the beautiful bags and bows have been thrown away {or squirreled away in your closet for later use}...what's next?

Say Thank You: Isn't it sad when you spend forever picking out the perfect gift from someone...and then never hear a word about it? Did they receive the gift? Did they hate the gift? What gives?! If you are using wedding-related cards {ie. with your pictures on them}, order them as soon as you receive your pictures back from the photographer. Otherwise, you should purchase thank you cards before the wedding so you can write them as soon as you get back from your honeymoon. 

Return Unwanted/Duplicate/Broken Items Immediately: Some stores have very strict return policies. Chances are, if you went away for your honeymoon, you are quickly running out of time before you can return some of your items. Be sure you and your hubby agree on what items to return, and then dash to the store asap!

Also, don't feel bad about hurting people's feelings. If your Great Aunt Millie gave you a lime green tablecloth and you registered for a white one, return it! Most people would rather you get something you like than keep something you dislike and will never use.

I received 3 rolling pins at my Bridal Shower. Three. The only person who bought me the one from my registry was my mom {Oxo Plastic Rolling Pin perfection! ~ thanks, Mom!}. Write a thank-you note to the gift giver, but go right ahead and return it. You're not really thanking them for giving you a gift, but for the thoughtfulness of actually buying something for you and your new hubbie.

Without further adieu...


my top five must-have items for newlyweds:


Luxurious Sheets
Where do newlyweds spend most of their time? That's right: the kitchen table. haha just kidding! But seriously, every married couple should have a great set of sheets {preferably 2}. Qualifications: high thread count, neutral color, and oh-so soft. Some people say anything over 400tc is overkill, but I disagree. Although I do believe 400-500 feel similar, 600+ is where it's at!


Our pick: Hotel Collection Sateen Sheets, 100% Cotton, 620 Thread Count in "Silver"


Timeless Dinnerware
I am just going to copy this directly from the Bed Bath and Beyond website, because it really says it all: "Porcelain dinnerware in brilliant white will add a classic element to your table. Mix and match with your favorite dinnerware or use on its own. Oven and microwave safe for reheating. Dishwasher safe." Truly the perfect addition to your table. If you don't choose white, I highly recommend going with a solid color {no designs} because the simplicity will give the dinnerware more longevity.
Our pick: Everyday White Rim® Square 10" Dinner Plate


Plunger
haha I'm sorry, but it's true! Every home should have a plunger. Your best bet will be to choose a plunger that can be left in a somewhat visible place {i.e. smack dab in the front of the linen closet} so guests who loved your bean dip a little too much can avoid an awkward conversation. However, it should be kept in a canister to avoid the spread of germs. Our plunger canister "has a built-in drip tray to catch excess water from plunger after use. Ventilation slots in drip tray allow water to quickly evaporate."


Our pick: Oxo Good Grips Plunger


Pyrex Bowls
They can go in the microwave, in the oven, and even in the freezer. Use them to make a casserole, then just pop on the lid and store the leftovers in the fridge. Plus, they're stackable, and they make great mixing bowls.


Our Pick:  Pyrex Glass Bowls with Lids {set of 4}.


Matching Cups and Saucers
Do you really want to serve your mother-in-law her coffee in a mug that says "I got boned at the Museum of Natural History and Art"{name that TV show}? I think not. But, rather than splurging on fine China {necessary for some, but not for most}, I suggest going with something simple, yet classic.

Our pick: Everyday White Rim® Square 8-Ounce Cup and Saucer

Registries allow people to quickly and efficiently purchase something they know you will love. So go ahead and register to your heart's content! :)

Question: What is one item you believe no newlywed should live without?

Or better yet, what are some things newlyweds should not register for?

My least favorite items:

Springform Pans: I accidentally registered for these...I haven't used them once.

Egg toaster/slicer/poacher/cooker: Really? You can't just use a frying pan?



Monday, July 5, 2010

!!!!!

My little sister is ENGAGED!!!

Her now- fiancĂ©e proposed last night on the beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina, just before the 4th of July fireworks display! So romantic :)

And I REALLY want to take their engagement photos, so...who would like to buy me this camera:

No. Seriously.

Here is the happy couple just after they first started dating three years ago:


Congratulations, Rachel and Jason!!!! :)

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Happy 4th

Well this certainly took me by surprise. It's very weird to see my face on someone else's blog. But thanks, Lindsey ~ I'm glad you like my necklace!

And then I received an e-mail about this:


I don't think my ego can't take all of this ;)

So, what's everyone doing for the 4th?

We are going to church, grilling out by the pool, watching Eclipse at the IMAX theater in King of Prussia, and enjoying some fireworks. I can't wait!

As requested by the husband, I will also be making some sort of red-white-and-blue themed dessert, such as this:


And here is my random {yet festive} home decor-related image:


I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!

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