Friday, January 2, 2009

A Resolution to Not Call them Resolutions

The tradition of writing a list of things you'd like to do differently in the New Years seems doomed for failure. Everyone waxes poetic and looks through rose colored glasses towards this brand new vast expanse of time that seems unmarred by reality. Yet. And though some manage to keep that childlike wonder with them long enough to make those resolutions last a few moths, most lose it the second they clock back into work and realize that it's just another day.




But regardless of my jaded outlook on the tradition, it's hard to shake that childlike hope that maybe this year will be different, maybe I will keep that willpower around long enough to instigate change.


2009 is going to be a very significant year in our lives, if nothing else, with out upcoming wedding (9 months tomorrow!) so why NOT start this year on an optimistic foot.

So here it is, my resolution list, my goals for 2009.
  1. Plan a simple wedding that will be special for its tiny significances, not its large extravagances.
  2. Get us to Hawaii unscathed for our dream vacation/ wedding/ honeymoon
  3. Follow our game plan towards forming our own business. [Steps in '09 include getting the digital SLR I've been dreaming of, building my photography portfolio, learning to work/ teaching Rob to work Serato, and run a couple dry runs with friends and a video camera for a demo DVD]
  4. Change my home routine- time to grow up and ALWAYS have the house company-ready [or at least in a state I wouldn't be embarrassed of]

Fingers crossed. At least this is the first year I've kept my goals realistic....

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Year, New Ideas

Although I seem to constantly have Wedding Brain, it's not as all consuming as it seems.
In light of our upcoming nuptials and the New Year, Rob and I have been talking about our Life Plans again this week. We want kids (2), we want physical custody of Alina, and we want a house, not necessarily in that order, within 5 years of our wedding.
5-ISH years.
We'll see what shakes out.
[Its still hard to picture doing the whole pregnancy, birth, juggle work and kids right now. Alina is a different story because we only get Baby Girl on weekends- no work juggle. And no birth. And plans hinge on ability to conceive, too]
Anywho, the only kink in the plan is how we get there. Ok, ok, big kink.
I hate the idea of leaving my kids with someone else... heck, that's even if they was someone else to leave them with. Paying a stranger is out. [Babysitting occasionally is one thing but I don't want a total stranger raising my kid, and when you look at the number of hours I'd be away working full time, that's pretty much what we're talking about.] And I don't want anyone else raising my kids!
So how do we work around this? We've been marinating on how to work on our own schedule. Start our own business now and build it so that by the time we want to have kids, one of us can quit [fingers crossed both of us could quit] and be at home [...and that's PC bull, I wanna be the one at home hehe].
But what are our strengths? What can we do better than others that would set us apart and allow us to create a niche for ourselves? One thing all this blogging and wedding planning has taught me is I like planning and I like weddings. One thing it reminded me of is my love for photography. It's been years since I got behind a camera with purpose and I miss it. Lack of time and equipment has led me down a dark, artless road. Bleah.
If I can get back up to par and develop a portfolio, I might have a fighting chance. My current work schedule allows me the time to do it, now I just need the equipment [buy a camera or buy a ridiculous dress, hmmm, tough choice...].
And how does Rob factor into this? Boy is a DJ, people! And a damn good award winning one, at that. All we need to make him event-capable is FINALLY install Serato [think of it as a program that lets you play your MP3s through a turn table; we;ve owned it for close to 3 years now and haven't even played with it yet] and buy a PA system- heck we can even rent that awhile. If we pimp him out as a wedding DJ, me out as a wedding photographer, or the whole package at a cut rate... we may be on to something...
I'm floating off into LaLaLand, dreaming about working for ourselves, doing something we love to do and get paid for it, and being with our kids.
So until our wedding, I'm going to be working on getting that camera and building a portfolio, much of which will probably end up here.
Wish us luck!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Special Things come in Strange-Looking Packages

An ode to weirdness on Christmas.
Pre-lit upside down trees are all over the internet... of everything here, this is the only one to which I say...
WHY??


Now this is my kinda tree.

A jeweler in Singapore brought new meaning to the phrase "looks like a million bucks" with this tree comprised of 913 carats of diamonds! Talk about blang BLANG!

Knit yourself a tree!

Yup, that's a tree of Grolsh beer bottles.
::hiccup:: Lotta work goes intop this one ::hiccup::

The Charlie Brown tree!! My favoritest.
[all photos above from elanso.com]


Those are little people cutouts running around that tree!
[from jsanimesg]

Installation art- a light-fountain at Rockefeller center.
[from ablogabouthings.com]

Yup, those are kegs. And not pony kegs but the real deal.
[photo from tensionnot.com]

A prelit conjoined tree. Hmmm... do you put twice as many presents underneath that?
[photo credit: Green Head]

Special Things Come in Small Packages

Whats better than a Christmas tree? A mini Christmas tree! I love these miniaturized trees, decorated like they're 20 feet tall.





Merry Christmas Eve!

In honor of Christmas Eve, all things today shall be be Christmas
Cause I said so.
Damnit.
First off, Christmas cupcakes, care of Cupcakes Take the Cake and today's guest blogger
Marilla from Cupcake Rehab.

First off, the snowmen, in honor of my own SnowMan and fiance.
Yup, that's a fruit roll-up scarf.

These Christmas Ball ornament cupcakes look so good I want to hang them on a tree!
And now MY favoritest cupcake of the Christmas seasons- the most precious penguins ever. So we have a cold weather-creature fetish. Deal.
They're BLUSHING!
And now all other things good and beautiful about Christmas cupcakes.


Happy Holidays! Be safe and be loved!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Red Red Red



I have no idea how to recreate this chandelier... but I must find a way.

From Michelle Engvall's blog, care of Once Wed

Table Notes

Always sweet to get notes from your guests, and what better way than a notebook right on their table? They can make entries at their leisure and the books will be a fabulous keepsake, not to mention a great way to number/ name your tables!
[again from Once Wed, and their DIY projects]


The Cupcake Stands Alone



...or not, and nver will with this great idea for a DIY cupcake stand


[again, care of Laurie and Once Wed]




What You’ll Need:
2 terra cotta saucers (I used a 7” and a 10” saucer, but you can use any size you like)
2 terra cotta rose pots (The pots I used are 5” and 6” high. You can use any size as long as they are taller than the height of your cupcake and frosting.)
2 yards ribbon (or what ever it takes to make it around the circumference of your saucer)
Decorative or scrap book paper
Acrylic paint
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Sponge paint brush
Scissors
Cupcakes

Resources:
Terra cotta pots are available at most nurseries and home and garden stores.
Cupcakes shown are available at Hello, Cupcake in Tacoma, WA
http://www.hello-cupcake.com/

Instructions:
1. Begin by painting both sides of your terra cotta saucers and only the outside of the terra cotta rose pots with your acrylic paint and sponge brush (see figure one and two). Paint a second coat if needed.
2. Allow the paint to dry completely.
3. Turn the saucers upside down and glue the bottom of the rose pots to the back side of the saucers using your hot glue gun. Use a generous amount of glue. (see figure 3)
4. When the glue has dried, turn your cake stands right side up and carefully glue your ribbon to the edge of your saucers. (see figure 4)
5. Cut two circles out of your paper to line the inside of the saucers. (see figure 5)
6. Stack stands and arrange your cupcakes.

Budget:
2 terra cotta saucers $7
2 terra cotta rose pots $3
acrylic paint $2.50
2 yards ribbon $4
1 sheet paper $1.50 Total = $18 for two stands

Tulle-y

A study of tulle:

Airy, ethereal decor ideas.... again from Once Wed, thanks to Laurie.

Who needs 5 feeet of fondant when there're CUPCAKES

A creative cupcake idea from Jen, care of Once Wed


"One easy DIY project that I loved was our cupcake flags. They can be anything – a picture, a graphic, a phrase – whatever follows the theme of your wedding. I made little 2” designed circles with horseshoe, a hitched horse and tandem bicycle images with phrases like “lucky in love”, “gettin’ hitched” and “bicycle built for two”. All you need is thick paper, a circle cutter, white lollipop sticks from the craft store, and some clear strong glue. Voila!"

Shabby Chic

Again from Once Wed, an idea for paper garland, compiled of coffee filters, tissue paper, and old sheet music....



Blang BLANG!


A BRILLIANT idea- rock candy bling! A great, inexpensive, creative, and eye-appealing idea from Once Wed.

And here's a little Rock Candy: 101 from Ask.com

Monday, December 22, 2008

When I was 15 I wanted a black wedding dress...

Some dresses that I've been checking out...
of course, now that I've found
out of Australia, it's highly likely that I'll have whatever look I decide on custom-made by them!


Designed by Henry Roth for Kleinfeld

Designed by Alita Graham ::SWOON::




A dangerous online-only Chinese dress factory.... lightinthebox.com


And lilywedding.com

Wedding Photography


Dave & Mel
Originally uploaded by Shannon Dand Photography

Besides swooning over looks I;d like to see in my own wedding photography, these shots make me want to pick up a camera and find that special shot on my own,






The kiss
Originally uploaded by Piero_HN





Originally uploaded by Tim PopUp




Ok, ok, enough, I get it


Penguins, kitty.... magic

Yeah so I like penguin. What.
And yes, my cats, too are oft tortured by penguins for a photo op.
So when I came across this on Flickr, how could I not share (and put is somewhere safe to share with Rob later? He'll get a giggle, too )

It's Christmas time!


Xmas !!!
Originally uploaded by nonochan
Is this not the most creative thing you've ever seen? Rice snowman, and a christmas tree and presents out of fruits and veggies.