Friday, July 23, 2010

A Few of Our Favorite Things


Because there's nothing else I should be doing right now (except sleeping/packing), I made another Save the Date! Yaaaay!!!

This one features some of our favorite things (cue Julie Andrews...). Clockwise from top left they are: soccer cleats, a radio mic, the Southwest icon, the Penn State Nittany lion, pointe shoes, the Martha's Vineyard black dog, a typewriter, the symbol for the Camino de Santiago, the Cabot House shield, and the Spanish bull.

I think if I did this in real life (meaning, not in 2 hours with random gifs from Google), I would probably add a few more icons and maybe shrink them. Cute?


Also, I've lost count of how many times I've said this, but no, that is not the realio date. It is top secret, for now...

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Buying a Wedding Dress is Strange and Surreal

Lovely Bridal. Yes it is.

Now that the Wedding Countdown is in effect, I'm back to doing all those things that brides-to-be are supposed to do. On the agenda for today: dresses!

Through various linked blogs, I somehow stumbled upon Lovely Bridal, a bridal boutique in the West Village, and today I checked it out with my mom and Evie, the maid of honor. It was...an experience.

The day got off to an inauspicious start, what with my mom and me walking 20 minutes out of our way, and then with the restaurant we were supposed to have lunch with being closed. Like, forever. Hot, sweaty, tired, and hungry, I was feeling iffy before we even stepped into the shop.

Luckily, things turned up from there. We found an awesome restaurant just down the street, where I had the most aMAZing goat cheese raviolis (must try to recreate...). We walked out and were wondering where the shop could be when Evie pointed to the building across the street, festooned with multicolored bunting and a chalkboard sign. Bingo.

We rang the doorbell and were greeted by the owner, Lanie List, who cheerfully remembered (from my appointment email), my mom's and Evie's names, and invited us to look around the store. Right from the start, I knew Lovely was my kind of store--beautiful, modern, classy gowns, handcrafted jewelry, a sweet and DIY-aesthetic. Lanie pulled some dresses, including one I'd seen online (on Lovely's blog!), and we went upstairs to try them on.

Ok. Trying on gowns. Let me just put it out there, I don't really like being the center of attention. I don't love everyone looking at me, definitely don't know what to do/say. I mean, I don't even really like going shopping for regular things, let alone the clothing that I will wear on the day when I marry my kiddo. So I was, to put it bluntly, nervous. Actually, I confessed to Evie during lunch that I'd been debating throwing back a shot before heading out on this excursion, but then I thought about how once I defended an honors thesis without breaking a sweat and these are just dresses dammit! and I decided I could do it. Sorta.

I tried on the first gown, the one I'd seen online and been drooling over for weeks, came out into the main area, and that's when it hit me--I am getting married. Whaaaat?!! I didn't even need to see myself in the dress, and in fact I almost couldn't look at myself. Lanie put the veil on, threw the blusher over my head, and I just kept repeating to myself, "Hold it together! Hold it together!"

I felt the same thing the last time I tried on gowns, this feeling that all this is really real and I'm actually going to be wearing a dress and standing in front of Dave and all our friends and family, but it was different today--so much stronger. After a few minutes I went back into the changing area to try on another gown.

"You're totally freaked out, aren't you?" Lanie said. I started laughing and said that this whole experience was just so surreal--we've been engaged for so long and now things are actually happening and I don't even know what to think (in an incredibly happy way). So she started telling me a little about her own experience, how she didn't like bridal boutiques and for her wedding just bought a white dress in a store off the street, and then how she decided to start this boutique to give people a relaxed, friendly place to find a dress (and not mortgage their houses to buy it).

I tried on a few more dresses and felt more relaxed--talking about details, silhouettes, lengths--although the dresses were not leaping out at me like with that first one. Don't get me wrong--gorgeous, impeccably-made, comfy--but just not the kind of "this is my wedding gown" feeling that I'm looking for. Before we left, I tried on the first dress again, just to double-check how I felt. And there it was, that feeling again that I had to hold it together, that overwhelming "We're getting married!" feeling.

I do petrified Bambi pretty good, huh?
I swear I'm actually happy in this picture!

Lanie tucked a veil into my hair, threw the blusher over my head, and then started laughing, "I know--you're like, ok, enough!" It was true, but not because I was unhappy--the whole experience was getting so overwhelming that I was worried I was going to start leaking happy tears, and somehow I don't really want to be one of those people who break down in the bridal salon. I told Lanie I wanted to sleep on it, which she agreed was probably a good idea (or maybe she was just worried about my flop sweat getting on her beautiful gowns. I kid!), and we headed out into the sunset.

Do I looooove the dress? Maybe not in the way that I love my red cowgirl boots (which, to be fair, I wore to the boutique), but it definitely was something special. Beautiful? Check. Flattering? Checkity-check. So I'm going to think on it, maybe check out a few more dresses, see how I feel in a few days. It's very weird, all of this, this whole wedding experience. Sigh. Am I one of those crazy people who freaks out over every little wedding thing (uh. yeees?)? Oh wedding dress, I will beat you yet...

Monday, July 12, 2010

Cuff Links for My Kiddo

If I can get my rear in gear and/or learn how to do it, I think I would like to make cuff links for my groom-to-be and his wonderful groomsmen.

That, or I will cop out and buy them from Etsy... It's not my fault! This stuff is cute!


I am always in awe of the lovely wood-inlaid pieces on Etsy
These beauties are no exception


One time Dave and I visited the (wonderful, but textbook yuppie) couple I dog-sat for.
They were drinking glasses of wine, listening to jazz, and playing Scrabble.
It was like a Stuff White People Like explosion!
Since then Dave has often expressed his desire to drink wine and play Scrabble.
But thanks to an obnoxious college roommate,
I can't stand the game (yay Ivy League!)
Still, I could see myself making this small concession to marital bliss.


Yankee Stadium cuff links!
Juuuuust kidding. If I gave these to Dave he probably would not marry me.
Sports are funny.


I love these. Lovelovelove.
With my kiddo in Chicago and me in New York,
this is like our relationship, in cuff link form!


Typewriters are very important to me.
Back when I was considering writing for a living,
Dave went and bought me the most beautiful vintage typewriter,
his way of saying that he supported me.
I know, right?


Black Lego for the classy nerd.


Lego PLUS Star Wars?!
Now I know what to get my brother when he gets married


I wouldn't actually buy these.
I just like how much they remind me of that episode from the Simpsons
when Homer gives a pair of heirloom cufflinks to Lisa's future husband

Monday, July 5, 2010

My Lovely Ladies

yes. they are very pretty. even steve

These are the wonderful, beautiful, kind, funny women who will be my bridesmaids. Clockwise from top left they are Marisa, Dave's sister; Danielle, my archery/camp/Boston buddy; Jenna (on the left), Dave's sister-in-law; and Evie, my maid-of-honor and dear college friend. They are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself, and I couldn't ask for a better bunch of women/friends/family.

Marisa - my future lil sis! And my partner in crime for keeping Dave in line. I think I fell in love with her right from the beginning (she made me a smoothie and told Dave to stop biting me! True story) and I am looking forward to years of raiding her stylish wardrobe and warding off skeezy old men at bars who try to get her to dance with them.

Danielle - who has never failed to crack a pun every single day since I've met her, who is already planning my bachelorette party. Former archery teammate and co-camp-counselor, Danielle is probably the most positive, upbeat, cheerful person I've ever met in my entire life, someone who reminds me constantly to enjoy life, love, friends, and family.

Jenna - my future big sis! Every since Dave and I met Jenna, Dave's brother's girlfriend-->fiancee-->wife, I've been saying "You know, I really like Jenna." And I really do! Dave is thinking about moving next door to Steve and Jenna when we're all grown up and when he told me my reaction was "And I'll get to see Jenna every day and hang out and watch terrible MTV dating shows with her yaaaaay!!!!"

Evie - oh Evie. What more can I say? Evie who was there when Dave and I met, who was there when we (very, very temporarily) broke up, who called Dave's proposal fully six months in advance, whose response to hearing we were getting married and she was going to be maid-of-honor was "Pleasepleaseplease don't get married June or July of 2011 because I'm taking the bar!", who puts up with my relationship talk and wedding complaints and starry-eyed gushing, who else could have filled her (low-heeled, sensible) shoes so well?

I am thrilled and excited that these are the people who will be standing next to me when Dave and I get married. I know every one of them will support me, make me laugh, get me tissues, and ensure I'm fed, rested, and relaxed. Plus they will all look smashing in whatever pink poofy monstrosity I pick for them, right ladies? Honestly, though, I feel incredibly lucky for each of them--I keep reading all these articles about "Bridesmaids Gone Wild!" "What To Do When Your Bridesmaid Steals the Show!" "How to Make Your Bridesmaid Your Slaaaaave!" and wondering, who are these people? My bridesmaids to-dos are simple: show up, smile, make sure I have flowers/ring/husband. Success!

Also, this post has made me realize I need more pictures of these important ladies. I seriously have no non-preggars photos of Jenna? Why is Marisa so fuzzy? And that picture of Danielle is circa 2004! Of course, I have more recent ones of Evie, I just think drunk-Evie is the cutest :)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Catch Me If You Can Save the Dates




Hooray for wedding planning! I will take any excuse to pretend I am a graphic designer, but it's nice to actually have a semi-legitimate reason now.

We're still debating Save-the-Date ideas, but I can't get the travel theme out of my head. With that in mind I made this Catch Me If You Can-inspired card (by "inspired" I mean "copied and pasted directly from the opening credits." It might have taken animators 4 months to make their credits, I knocked out this little number in about an hour).

I like it a lot--it's cute, funny, reflects all the hours we've spent sitting in airports for each other, and even the title, Catch Me If You Can, fits for a wedding.


*And no, that is not the date when we're getting married. Because that is still up in the air (although now somewhat narrowed down), I went with something generic: my birthday. Again, friends and family, don't go savin' nothing (this message may or may not be intended for my future brother in law. Just sayin.)