Bachelorette Party

Everything about the bachelorette party was secret until right before we left the house.  I was just told to be there by 3:45 and to wear shorts and a tank top then to have a white outfit to change into later.  Strange request I thought, but I went with it.  Where we ended up: Indy Pole Dancers in Greenwood!  We learned the flamingo, the mermaid, good girl/bad girl, and what pole burn is.  We had a blast!  It was so much fun and we all have the bruises to prove it!  

Next up was dinner and drinks back at the house during which I became an angel (albeit with a crooked halo, but still yet) and I coined Charlene the devil.

Next up, I debated punching my entertainment when he tried to "serve" me with court docs.  Talk about pissed!  Nice call, ladies!  Then on to McGilvry's where Rhys and I had our second "first" date.  Equipped with my halo and veil, we attempted to complete everything on a list from kissing the bartender (his girlfriend was a waitress and was cool with a smooch on the cheek) to getting 5 phone numbers (during which Cara and I met a 911 guy) to rubbing a bald guy's head (thank heavens for the door guy!).  We were there until almost 3AM and I was down many drinks and lost count, but I was content.

Not having a bachelorette party before, this was a new experience for me and as Mom said, it was definitely interesting!

Centerpieces!!!

The centerpieces are finally done and they are AWESOME!!!  Thanks so much to Marcus for not only creating them, but also coming up with the idea!  He's a genius!

T Minus 3 Weeks

Everything has been super hectic lately, as you can imagine.  It's been awhile since I've blogged, but we really are getting everything done.  It's all finally coming together and as long as none of my crazy dreams come true, it's all going to be great.  I've dreamt everything from tripping on the carriage to being serenaded by our exes (BOTH of them at once) with Adele's new power ballad to an airplane from the nearby airport crashing into the veranda during our vows.  I'm not sure which is the worst!

I went to pick up my dress from alterations Friday and thankfully, it fit perfectly!  The corset looks great and Mom found the perfect ribbon for it.  We are down to the last three weeks and it has flown by so fast.  From the proposal to finding the venue to choosing the dress to music and flowers and catering, my girls and Mom have worked tirelessly next to me.  My mom actually made the bridesmaids dresses!  Yes, I said MADE the dresses!  She gave them to me for final fittings a couple days ago and they look so awesome.  Charlene and Breanna tried them on last night and they looked fabulous in them.

We have confirmed with the caterer, florist, DJ, cake designer, and of course, the honeymoon!  We are heading to Grand Cayman, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico in a short three weeks!  Aunt Shalee (who is a total lifesaver) is moving in for the week to take care of the kids and keep them in school.  It would be a total bummer to be arrested upon our arrival back in the states for our kids' truancy. ;-)  I'm so blessed to have a sister-in-law like Shalee!

We are meeting with the venue tomorrow to go over the final details for catering, seating, accessories, photography, and the cake.  Can you believe that we are the first ones to request a custom cake in the two years that Mike Terry has been there?  They have a world-renowned cake designer that exclusively designs for Valle Vista brides and no one wants one?  True, it was a few dollars more, but it'll be one-of-a-kind! :-)

Charlene and I went shopping yesterday for an all-white outfit and do you know how hard that is AFTER Labor Day?  I hadn't even thought about it until last week.  We went to Fashion Bug and had no luck, so we went to Goodwill.  I have a love-hate relationship with Goodwill.  I LOVE DEALS.  Anyone who knows me know that I can't pass up cheap and free.  The problem with Goodwill is that you have to go through racks and racks of stained, torn, or otherwise unwearable clothes before you find that one great deal.  While I love to find the deal, I have to really be in a good mood to shop there.  Yesterday, I was in a great mood.  Hanging out with Charlene and Starbucks...just sayin.  Needless to say, we found a complete outfit (white pants, white shirt, white sandals, and even a white purse) all for the low, low price of $13.80 after tax with Charlene's student discount!  Apparently, the whole month of September gets anyone with a student ID an extra 20% off.  So of course, she had to shop as well.  She spent $30 on 5 name brand polo shirts, a cute white skirt, and the most fabulous black and white dress you have ever seen!  Would have fit right in at the bridal shower for sure!  So now you ask why I'm looking for an all-white outfit?  I HAVE NO IDEA!  I'm told that I have to wear this for the bachelorette party, but I'm not sure why.  As long as we're not re-creating the pig's blood scene in Carrie, then I'll behave and wear white. :-)  Can't wait to see everyone this weekend!

Now it's back to work for me as soon as I remove the weekend "rings" from my daisy chain...19 days and counting!!!

So, it's been a while since I put anything on here, so I figured it was about time! From the Maid of Honor's point of view...this stuff is CRAZY!!! Haha! I have been doing so much crafting...card box, thank you cards, coasters, pomander balls, out of town packs, boxes to put in the out of town packs, fold out books with hanging androids in them, and much much more! I have told Vanessa that I am boycotting crafting for the rest of my life once this wedding is over, and I will be sending my kids to her when they want to do arts and crafts projects! Ha! I knew the android idea was going to be cute from the beginning, but I had no idea how involved it was going to be because there is not a lot of android stuff out there for purchase!

But, it really has been fun, and we are getting to the point on the to do list where it says "confirm DJ", "confirm honeymoon reservations", etc! It's a very exciting time.

I do want to say thank goodness for Kat! She has been an absolute life saver in helping me with my maid of honor duties! I live in a 2 bedroom apartment, so I was freaking out about where to have the bridal shower....Kat to the rescue! Kat helped me with everything, crafting, buying, ideas, buying and making food, and then let us use her beautiful home to host the shower! Even Shane stepped in and made our android greeter for the yard, and was our bartender. It was a great shower....if I do say so myself. We themed it black and white...to go along with the wedding...and everyone came in full black and white outfits! Everyone looked so wonderful! We had green drinks to go with the android theme of the wedding (grasshoppers, melon balls, and margaritas) and we even had everyone make an android out of modeling clay and Vanessa got to judge them! Then, to top it all off we had a frozen yogurt (froyo version of android) bar where you took your yogurt and put on the black and white toppings of your choice! Everything and everyone was black and white, food included for the most part! It was beautiful! Pictures to come soon! I would do it myself, but #1 I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, and #2 I don't know how! hahahaha!

Coming up soon....final dress fitting, final appointment with the venue folks, trial manicures and pedicures, bachelorette party, and all of the various confirmations. I will try to keep hounding Vanessa to put more things on here, cuz I'm sure no one wants to hear from me, but she is so busy, it's tough! At the very least, I will just try to get her to put up a string of pictures of some fo the crafts we have completed!

On Passing Out, Getting Arrested, and Bartenders

Right before I passed out on my alterations lady last night (we'll get to that in a minute), it was brought to my attention that I haven't blogged in a minute.  OK, a month...but I've been a busy girl!  And I say to my ladies in waiting, where are your blogs? ;-)  My mom sort of repels technology (10 points if you caught the Bella reference) so she has an excuse.  The girls have been feverishly working on my bridal shower.  I would love to give you all the juicy details, but they are secretive little things.  I got to work on a craft, but really only because I guilted them into letting me help.  Hey, I really wanted to make those!  Other than that, I don't even have the guest list.  Aside from the few who have told me they are coming, I'll be surprised to even see you there!

So my month hiatus, I've been working on some stuff for our out-of-town guests.  I would do a show-and-tell complete with pics here, but I don't want the recipients to see the contents. (Guess that whole secretive thing is contagious...)  Let's just say that they have a small package of crafted items that welcome them to our fabulous state. I've also been working on survival kits for bridesmaids and groomsmen and I finished my veil.

Last weekend, I wanted to get my crinoline dyed, so I bought some RIT.  Did you know that you have to have a top-load washer to use this stuff unless you do it in the sink or a bucket?  I did not.  Crinoline is way to big to go in a sink, though a 5-gallon bucket could be a possibility.  I thought maybe I would go to Mom's, but then was worried about dyeing the inside of the washer, so we ultimately decided to go to the laundromat.  As you can imagine, laundromats frown on patrons who pour bottles of dye in their washing machines, and in an attempt to not take a trip to the clink, I snuck in with the dye while the lady was out back sweeping and smoking.  I love smokers!  Unfortunately, she was only a one-smoke-at-a-time kind of girl I guess, because she came in right as I was pouring the dye in.  Of course, I had my back turned and my purse blocking my hand from the front desk (and hopefully the cameras) so she was probably staring at me because I made myself look ridiculously suspicious.  The hard part was that you had to wet the fabric before you could put it in with the dyed hot water, so not only was I trying to pour the dye in the machine unnoticed, but I was holding a sopping wet crinoline in my other hand.  Completely normal right?  Mom got there (and being productive, brought a load of laundry with her) and we waited to see the results.  Why did I need to drag my mom out after dinnertime with about 2 minutes of notice to come to the laundromat for this?  I guess I didn't, but it would've been a WAY better story if we'd gotten arrested for vandalism TOGETHER.  To my knowledge, Mom's never been to the clink and neither have I, and I thought we should experience that together.  Or it's possible that I didn't want to be someone's bitch and maybe she'd take one for the team. ;-)  In reality, I just wanted Mom to come hang out with me. LOL

So here I am, not arrested, with blue crinoline.  Yes, I said blue.  Most of you know that the colors of the wedding are black, white, and lime green.  There is NO blue.  Unfortunately, RIT might've mixed a batch of color up, because the bottle I have says green and the crinoline is sky blue.  Very pretty I might add, but clearly not matching.  We'll be repeating this process this weekend, but NOT at the laundromat this time. :-)

Now that we are getting back to the present, we can talk about how GORGEOUS my hair looked yesterday.  Priscilla at Texture Salon did a fantastic job on my hair and it actually stayed through the afternoon and into the evening for a total of 8 hours before the curl fell.  I was IMPRESSED!  We got a glimpse of my "day-of bridal look" when we went to get my bridal gown fitted.  We were having a great time, laughing with Jennifer (my alternations lady), until another bride came in with about 7 people, including 2 kids.  I was already hot in my 17 layers of gown, and the added body heat didn't help.  Talk about sweating profusely!  I was attempting to be very still so she could mark the right hem of the dress and suddenly I got light-headed and swayed a little.  I'd already asked for water and Mom took off to find some, while Charlene stabilized me for a few minutes.  I was in a cold sweat and dizzy and actually had to sit down!  The other bride was measured for a bustle and her bridesmaid was measured for a hem in about 20 minutes and by that time, I was good to go.  I got back up there and finished like a champ.  My dress looks awesome!  I haven't had it on in so long that I almost forgot how totally BEAUTIFUL it is!  I'm so excited and I think Rhys will love it!!!

Well, enough blogging for now.  Going home tonight for some girl time with my MOH and we're banning wedding crafts for the evening.  Charlene will LOVE me for that; her and Kat have been working on "super cool stuff" (I'm told) for the bridal shower tomorrow.  I can't wait to see what they've cooked up for me!  Here's the shower teaser: I heard we have a bartender. (insert raised eyebrows here)

Bottles, Baskets, and Crayons, Oh My!

We've been so busy working on getting the labels off those bottles (and believe me, Cracker Barrel does not want those labels to come off!) along with some of the other items on the "make" list that I haven't had time to blog for a couple weeks.  The bottles are now de-labeled and ready to be labeled with the name of the wines that will go in them.  Mom says this is a horrible idea, because you can tell the difference between drinking it from the bottle fresh rather than drinking from a mini-bottle that was poured the day before.  I say she's a wine snob. :-)  Love you, Mom!!  Seriously, I don't know why I'm obsessed with this whole wine-tasting experience for the out-of-towners, but I'm leaving the uneasily explained, well, unexplained.

Once the bottles were done, I moved on to the kids table centerpiece, which turned out great if I do say so myself. :-)

I'm so glad for my Cricut! Again, thanks Mom! (Christmas gift a few years ago)  It's totally coming in handy for these projects, just wish there was an Android diecut of some kind. LOL  Having to cut all of those by hand though.  The flower girl basket was next up and I finished it over the weekend as well.

Charlene came over last night and we finished the crayons and boxes for the kids activity kits and we now have 3 less things to do on our to-do list.

Sadly, we have an additional 4 things that make now thanks to Wedding Bee.  Don't tell the girls though!  I'm already past the final date when I was supposed to stop adding to the "make" list...

Mini Bottle Mania

As many of you know, Rhys and I took a long weekend in Gatlinburg, Tennessee with his brothers and sister and their spouses.  We had an absolute blast!  Brandon's birthday (we won't mention which one) was this past Monday, so we all took a mini-vacation to celebrate.  We played Cranium and Marcus somehow went straight from amoeba to triceratops when Brandon attempted to sculpt during their turn.  Sounds fishy to me... :-)  We played Euchre, took a ski lift to the top of a mountain (yes, I went as well), relaxed in the hot tub, and went to a murder-mystery dinner.  We all met at the farm and decided on Cracker Barrel for breakfast on Friday morning.  While we were there, a few of us ordered pancakes and an idea was born.  

We had already decided to make some out-of-town packages for those traveling to attend our wedding.  I had the idea to put together a "wine tasting", but wine isn't sold in mini-bottles like liquor is.  I was having trouble finding mini-bottles online even, so we were thinking about canning the idea, but I didn't want to take away all Mom and Charlene's winery trips (a perfect task for the two of them).  Mom talked to Carousel Winery in Bedford and they said they had mini-bottles pre-packaged, but their idea of mini and mine are completely different.  Mom and Sue picked them up last week and I saw them on Sunday.  I was picturing a bottle about 4" in height.  These are mini in comparison to a full bottle of wine, but are about 12"!!!  They won't fit in the packages, but they'll be a great addition and will give them a full 2-3 glasses I think.

So while we were at Cracker Barrel, Stacy and I realized that the mini-bottles of pancake syrup were the perfect size for my "tasting".  We scooped up all the bottles that we'd used and rinsed them out in the bathroom.  When we got back to the table, I mentioned to the waitress that we were collecting them for a wedding project and that if there were any empties, we'd take them.  I love this lady!  She came back with not only about 6 or 7 full bottles of syrup, but also gave me a couple of the little jelly jars.  I'm not sure if we can use these yet, but we may be able to come up with something.  We ended up with 11 jars that morning.

The next morning, we didn't go to breakfast until about 11AM and some of us wanted breakfast and some lunch, so we ended up at...Cracker Barrel again!  Of course, we snagged the couple syrup bottles from our table, but right behind us was the jackpot!  After a table of about 10 people left, Stacy and I went over and grabbed all of the bottles from the table and headed back to the bathroom to rinse them out.  We ended up with 16 that day.  So in all, we had 27 mini-bottles, of which we only needed 25, so our "wine tasting" is on!!

When I went to look for them tonight, we realized that we actually lost the first round.  We think we left them at the cabin, so it's back to Cracker Barrel for us again. :-)

UPDATE: Shalee rescued our other set of bottles!!!  Picking them up on Saturday and will start re-labeling. :-)