Color palettes are cruel.

I am clearly a big fan of inspiration boards and color palettes for wedding or event planning. Or for home decorating. Or darn near anything.

Months ago I did a post describing what I imagined for our wedding colors. As my ideas moved toward reality, I discovered something important. Color matching for an event is a bitch. Especially if you're trying to do it on a budget. You can have fourteen different things that are described as "chocolate brown" and no two will match. Not only will they not match, they'll clash. A lot.

We wanted shades of brown, and moss green. I had chocolate brown tablecloths that I had purchased on eBay*. I had chair cover samples. I had napkin samples. I had paper samples, because I'm making our wedding invitations. Nothing matched. Not even a little bit. And I had a lot of things to choose from.

I had shown Dylan the samples and swatches as they'd arrived. He'd nod and smile and say something like, "Those look really nice, babe!" Then one day he came home, and I was edging toward a melt down. I tried to explain that nothing was matching, and I was losing my mind. He shifted his weight nervously and cautiously admitted, "They all kind of looked the same to me." And I know that nearly every man on earth would have thought the same thing. It wasn't his fault. I did my best not to stomp my feet and start sputtering. I'm not entirely sure I succeeded, but at least I didn't yell at him. Instead, I rushed around the house and gathered every piece of fabric or paper or anything else wedding related and tossed it all into the center of our dining room table. I spread it all out, flipped the light on, and threw my arms open in a triumphant presentation. Dylan took it all in for a moment, and his brow furrowed. Finally he said, "Wow. It really doesn't match. None of it. It actually kinda... clashes." I take it as a small credit to my character that I didn't start laughing maniacally and yanking my hair out.

Don't get me wrong -- I am not a "bridezilla". I have been pretty calm and collected about wedding planning. It's just that I had put well over a year into researching and planning, and my lofty ideas were suddenly being thrown out the window.

When my color-clashing meltdown finally came, I decided it was time to re-think things. I took all of the things we already had, and all of the samples that we had, and decided to see what might work together instead of trying to make things work with the image I had in my head. As I started looking at everything, I also found myself favoring certain samples. For example, I had beautiful satin pillowcase style chair cover samples in ivory, pale silver, and chocolate brown. Even though it was the least obvious choice, the pale silver was our favorite. The fabric seems a little nicer, and in the soft lighting of our wedding venue, they give this sense of luxury and romance that the other two just didn't live up to.

Early in the wedding planning stages, I was overzealous and purchased some metallic copper crinkle tablecloths. If you look at my first two inspiration boards, you'll see what I'm talking about. They're beautiful, but I was worried that the color would be hard to match things to. I had started leaning toward using brown instead copper, because I thought it would be easier to use as part of the color palette. (Ha ha! Silly me!) That led me to buy those chocolate brown tablecloths**.

We decided to choose what parts we liked best, and then be more flexible on the rest so we could make it all work. We are going to use the copper tablecloths and the pale silver chair covers. We went to fabric shops and found a beautiful paisley fabric that ties the whole thing together. I waited until Joann Fabrics had a 50% off coupon and bought enough fabric to make runners for all of the tables.

So this is a mish-mash of what we've got:

Oh, and Dylan's Ben Sherman suit did not fit him properly. In the picture above, you can see the sleeve of the suit we ended up finding for him. It's a really dark navy, or maybe midnight blue. The suit jacket is two button and looks great on him. Our favorite part is that it's actually a three piece suit! Dylan looks so good in a vest. Plus, he over-heats easily, so it'll be a bonus for him to able to take off his jacket during the reception and still look dressed up.

The bottom line is that color palettes and inspiration boards are wonderful, but don't let yourself get too caught up in forcing your wedding details to fit into a preconceived palette before you explore and experiment with what is actually available to you.

* Budget Helper: I have discovered that for things like table linens and chair covers, I can usually buy them for less than I could rent them. Besides the fact that it's initially cheaper, I love the idea of being able to pass on the savings to another couple while recouping some of your expenses. eBay and Craigslist are both big money savers if you're a savvy shopper. Linentablecloth.com is also a good website if you're considering buying your own table-linens. You can also purchase napkin samples for $1, which is a nice way of getting a big fabric swatch to use for color comparisson. If there is one thing that I have learned from this experience, it is to buy the damn samples before you place a big order. It will save you time and money in the long run, and most of all, it will keep you from ripping your hair out when you discover that one company's idea of "sage green" is what you would have call olive green and another is almost blue.

** Even if you're a savvy shopper, some people are not as forthcoming and honest as they should be. Those chocolate brown tablecloths are not nearly as nice as that lady described, and some of them have stains or wonky hems. I've been cranky about them ever since. So again, if you have the option of seeing stuff in person or ordering a sample first, do it.

Updates: Part 2 - Wedding registry complications

Another bit of excitement involved our wedding registry. Dylan and I have been together for five years. We've lived together for several of those. We're not 20 year olds just starting out, so we didn't have that much that we wanted to register for. We decided that the main thing we did want to register for were nice dishes. Nothing too formal, but something that we loved and that we'd be proud to use when we entertain. We found these gorgeous dishes.

They're part of the Martha Stewart Collection with Wedgewood. Pictures don't do them justice. They have this beautiful texture, like eyelet lace. They come in slightly different patterns so you can mix and match. When I first saw them, I got that tingle that people say you will get when you find the perfect wedding dress. I like my wedding dress, but I love these dishes. Dylan probably doesn't care about dishes nearly as much as I do, but these were also his favorites of the many patterns we had seen. So, of course, they were discontinued. They were discontinued in February. Our wedding isn't until October. That meant that by the time people were starting to think about getting us a wedding gift, those dishes would no longer be available. We were so disappointed!

Thankfully, with the help of a couple of relatives, a good friend, and our rainy day fund, we got our dishes! It took a lot of time and work, and bless the local Macy's employees who went out of their way to help us. We ended up buying or ordering all of the dishes on clearance, during a One Day Sale, with a newly opened Macy's account, so we got an amazing deal at least. I don't think there's any way we could've gotten them otherwise. Every time I look at our china hutch, it makes me happy.

I made us whole-wheat spaghetti with browned butter and mizithra cheese served in our wedding china!

Now that we've purchased a large part of our own wedding registry, we're having to re-think what to register for. We've decided besides the traditional registries, we'd also like to give the option of donating to the ASPCA or the Humane Society since we're both such animal lovers.

What about the other brides-to-be out there? Are any of you registering for something extra special, or unique?

Updates: Part 1 - Health scare

I know that I haven't been a good blogger for months. Things got crazy and I decided that blogging had to take a backseat. There have been hundreds of hours of wedding research and planning. So much planning. There has been work, family, and even a little drama.

I also had a bizarre health scare. I had a pink mark on my forehead that looked like I might have burned myself with a curling iron. It was there for quite a while, and I didn't think much of it. I didn't know where it came from, I just figured it was some little bit of skin irritation, maybe a spot of eczema or psoriasis, or some other skin condition I don't know much of anything about. I wasn't particularly concerned about it. While I was at a dentist appointment, my dentist noticed the spot and encouraged me to get it checked out by a dermatologist. I knew it was probably the smart thing to do, so I unenthusiastically agreed. The dermatologist took one look at it and said, "Yeah, I think that's probably skin cancer." I nearly choked. My exact response was to sputter, "What?! Why would I have that?!" She shrugged and said, "Usually from sun exposure." I continued to gawk at her and squeaked, "Have you seen me?! I'm practically an albino!" Plus, I've had bangs my whole life because I've always hated my big forehead. The doctor cut a little chunk out of my forehead, and about a week later it was confirmed. I had basal cell carcinoma.

I hated my forehead, and it gave me skin cancer!

Alright, probably not. But either way, I ended up with a patch of mutant cells that turned out to be cancer. I had to have surgery to remove the cancer. They basically took a melon-baller to my forehead, then stitched me back up. Now I have what I refer to as my Harry Potter scar.

Hopefully the darn thing will fade more by October, but overall I'm just thankful that if I had to have an experience with cancer, I got the least scary option. Nothing like a little health scare to make you appreciate the good things in your life.

Free Father / Daughter Wedding Song by Edwin McCain!

Life has been crazy for the last couple of months. I know I'm well past-due for a blog update. I'll try to make some time for that soon, but for now I at least wanted to pass along a cool find. This is a really sweet song by Edwin McCain called "Walk With You" that was written specifically from a father to his daughter on her wedding day. I'm sure everyone would be happy to pay a buck to download this song for their wedding, but you can download it for FREE! Nothing beats free!

Click here to listen to the song, read the lyrics, and to download the song as a 320k Mp3, FLAC or darn near any format you'd like.

The groom's suit update

The lovely brown Ben Sherman suit arrived. Dylan tried it on. It doesn't fit properly. Ben Sherman suits are made for more the skinny hipster types. Dylan is not built that way. The suit was very close to fitting, so we kind of held our breath until we went to speak to the seamstress / tailor. The tailor is a friendly, very pregnant Russian woman. As much as Dylan was disappointed by the suit not fitting, I think she at least helped to ease the blow. It was hard for me not to laugh, because she kept patting Dylan's arms and saying, "You have big muscles. That's why the suit won't fit. Your muscles are too big. You exercise?" She did the same thing on his chest, patting his pecs and commenting on his big muscles. I could tell Dylan's disappointment was at least slightly tempered by the pride of having someone compliment his physique. It was cute. Plus, I reassured him that if I had to choose between that one suit fitting or him being buff, I'm definitely voting for his physique.

So we sadly had to return the suit. The suit search continues! Blah!

I'm thinking we may end up heading over to Seattle to suit shop one of these days.

Oooo, speaking of Seattle...! I officially got to ask my beautiful friend Melissa to be one of our honor attendants for the wedding. She lives in the Seattle area, but she was on this side of the state last weekend, so I got to ask her in person.

Our other honor attendant is Jeffrey, whom I fondly refer to as our "dude of honor". I think he's going to basically be the best man, but since I've known him since I was about 14 and we joke that he's my "brother from another mother", we figure that kind of makes him my "dude of honor", too.

We're thinking we're just going to keep it simple with the two of them, since they're the two friends who have been in my life the longest and the two who have been the most loving and supportive to us and our relationship.

I am also very thankful for my lovely friend Samantha, who has volunteered to be the ring-leader for the day. She's going to keep an eye on things behind the scenes and try to help make sure that things go as smoothly as possible. Plus, with Melissa is in Seattle, and Jeffrey in NYC, Samantha is the only local friend who has been patiently looking through color samples and fabric swatches with me. It's so nice to have someone to humor me when I'm obsessing like a crazy person! Although she did make me promise to give it a break this weekend while we celebrate my birthday.

Tonight we're going to meet up with a potential DJ and a potential videographer. After that, I'm looking forward to a weekend of good meals with friends and family, and hopefully sneaking out to a movie with Dylan.

Fantastic album deal today!

I haven't posted any music specials in a long time, but when I saw what the Amazon MP3 download of the day was, I had to spread the word!

Adele's album 19 is on sale for only $2.99! This album is SO good! It's worth so much more than $3. If you haven't heard it yet, you owe it to yourself to spend the three bucks. "Make You Feel My Love" is a beautiful song, and could even be used as a wedding related song!

This link will take you to the album right on Amazon:

And you can just listen to samples of the tracks here:

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Who knew I'd ever be excited about postage?

I don't know if anyone else has read all the stories about mailing out their wedding invitations (or save the dates), but I did. People are crazy. (Including me, because I read all that stuff.) I now feel paranoid about having things addressed properly, and hand-cancelling our invitations to prevent the post office from mangling or marring them. Then came the topic of postage. I've seen a lot of the old fashioned "Love" stamps, so I decided to do a search and see what was available now. I was tickled to find some stamps that I really like! They just came out last week. They're totally the kind of stamps you're supposed to collect rather than use, but what the heck. I'm using them. They're the Celebrating Lunar New Year: Year of the Tiger commemorative stamps!


We're planning to try to send out our save the dates on Valentine's Day, so I thought the dark red background with the narciccus flowers would be nice for that. When I read more about the stamps, it turns out that the Chinese New Year begins on February 14th this year. I'm taking it as a sign! (And my dad is making fun of me for it.)

You can't tell from the picture, but the edges are actually a shimmery metallic gold. I love them extra in person. Maybe they'll help me to get my butt in gear to make a decision on which save the date design we should use. Fingers crossed!

The wedding planning continues!

I know, I know... I haven't posted in forever and a half. We basically took a break from wedding planning over the holidays. Holidays are stressful enough with the planning, preparation, cooking and entertaining. We were due for a break from the wedding obsessing. So now I'm back to obsessing, but I'm feeling refreshed and optimistic.

I just wanted to give an update for some of the progress we've made.

*drum roll please*

We have officially hired Matt Shumate as our wedding photographer. He's terrific, and we're really looking forward to working with him!

We think we have selected a caterer. It's actually one of our favorite locally owned little restaurants here, and I don't think we've ever had anything there that we haven't liked. They're also the first place that gave us the answers we'd been dying to hear. They're flexible and happy to work with us on a menu, they're happy to supply a couple of vegan meals if we need them, and they're happy to do a tasting with us once we narrow down the menu! YES! I don't know why it had to be so ridiculously hard to find somewhere that was happy to do that, but we were thrilled to finally hear it. Plus, as a big added bonus, they also supply the serving staff and the dishes! DOUBLE YES! And YAY! That'll save us hundreds of dollars to not have to rent all of those dishes. We have to meet with them again soon, but at this point, we're feeling pretty good about things.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a little adventure when we went looking for a wedding suit for Dylan. Our TV has been flooded with Men's Wearhouse commercials lately, and we kept seeing the commercial about "When all eyes are on her, she's going to be looking at you..." and how they're going to make you look your best for your wedding. We thought that seemed like a good place to start looking. As it turns out, not so much. We were excited when we arrived, and very disheartened and discouraged by the time we left. The woman who helped us was terrible. She directed us to a section of about a dozen suits on a rack and said that was where we could look. The choices were crap. When we told her we were hoping to find a dark brown suit, she just said they didn't have it. When we asked if there were any options, like maybe finding a suit in a different size and then ordering it in Dylan's size, she actually told us we should just go somewhere else! We couldn't believe it. I told her that there was a nice brown suit on their website, and she shrugged. When we saw a dark brown tuxedo, we asked her about that and she said it was a rental. We had to ask if they had something like that that he could try on, just so he could try on SOMETHING remotely like what we were looking for. We were shocked to find out that they don't have rentals for you to try on. They take your measurements, and you get what they give you. You don't get to try it on first! The woman literally told us we should shop elsewhere several times. Dylan was furious by the time we left. He was ready to write a letter to Mr. "I Guarantee It" in the commercials. It's not like we were being jerks, either. We were polite, and excited about buying his wedding suit. Blah! I don't ever want to go there again.

We decided to make the most of it while we were on the other side of town. I really don't have a good sense of the best places to buy a suit for a man, but I was thinking that our next stops should be somewhere like Macy's and Nordstrom. Lo and behold, across the street from the Men's Wearhouse was the Nordstrom Rack store! We figured it was a longshot, but worth a try. JACKPOT! There was a wonderful girl named Nicole in the men's department at the Nordstrom Rack who went out of her way to help us find the perfect suit for Dylan. We found a gorgeous chocolate brown Ben Sherman suit that we both instantly loved. Unfortunately, they only had it one size too small for Dylan! Lovely Nicole made it her personal mission to help us find the suit in his size. I don't know how many other Nordstrom Rack stores she ended up calling, but today she called and announced that she had found the suit! HOORAY! She gave me the number to the San Jose store, and when I reached their men's department I got as far as, "Hi, I'm calling because someone from the Spokane Nord--" and he said, "Yeah! Is this Alyson?" Now that's service when a complete stranger from several states away knows your name. So now we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Dylan's gorgeous new Ben Sherman wedding suit! And if for some reason the suit isn't right or doesn't fit, we can return it locally, so it's pretty risk-free. We're so excited!

This is a picture from the Nordstrom website of what I'm fairly certain is the same Ben Sherman suit that we bought him (except this one is navy, obviously):


This is a picture I took of the suit we found, so hopefully the suit that's being shipped to us will look like this! My flash made the suit look a little brighter than it really is, it's a nice dark brown.


Dylan's going to look so good!

Oooh, and I also found a pair of wedding shoes at the Nordstrom Rack. They're very simple, but they're a pretty iridescent pearl and they're so soft they feel like slippers. And I got them on clearance for less than $20! I've heard too many horror stories about brides wearing hot shoes that killed their feet, so these will at least be my Plan B shoes, even if I find something fancier for pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have been busting our butt getting ready for Thanksgiving. I'm not going to admit what time I'm posting this, but I will tell you that if I don't go to bed soon, I may as well just stay awake. :-P

Here is my menu for the day:

• Roasted turkey (I even made stock to use for the gravy this year!)
• Classic mashed potatoes
• Cornbread dressing with onions, fennel (because I'm allergic to celery), apples, water chestnuts and pecans
• Smushed sweet potatoes and apples (we love these, we might even try to incorporate them into the wedding menu)
• French green beans with roasted nuts and dried cranberries
• Whole kernel corn (because I'm weird and I like to mix it with my mashed potatoes)
• Cranberry sauce (I made it with orange juice, a little drizzle of molasses and a splash of honey cherry wine)
• Oprah biscuits (I totally cheat on the biscuits and use the Southern style Grands. Thanks for the tip, Oprah!)
• Black cherry gelatin with black cherries, pineapple and pecans (I feel a little dumb admitting to making Jello, but it's our weird family tradition. Although this year I'm putting my own spin on it and I'm making a mold with my Williams-Sonoma pumpkin patch mold. I know. I'm a dork.)
• Pumpkin bread pudding with caramel sauce and whipped cream

We'll be serving it with our favorite cranberry wine by Pasek Cellars. We plan to serve it at our wedding, too!

I don't know who took these pictures, because they were sent to me. We didn't dress our dogs up as turkeys. However, we did dress Gracie up like this for Halloween once, and Dylan pointed out that a Native American costume would be somewhat appropriate for the occasion:


Now if only we had a pilgrim outfit for Franklin. He went as Elvis.


But I digress...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Remember to think about what you're thankful for today!

Holiday and Wedding Menus

Hi everyone!

I received an email the other night from our wedding photographer checking to make sure everything was alright because he noticed I hadn't posted here for a while. Thanks Matt!

In case anyone else was concerned, everything is alright. I haven't been feeling especially inspired (or inspirational) lately in the wedding department, because I've been a busy bee. Dylan's family (aka my future in-laws) are coming to our place for Thanksgiving this year, so I've been driving myself a little crazy in preparation. I may have mentioned this before, but my mom is very much the hostess-with-the-mostess type and she set the bar pretty high when I was growing up. This will be the fourth Thanksgiving I've cooked, but it's the first one with real guests. The last few were just us, usually with one of my parents. There will still only be 5 or 6 of us this year, but our entertaining space is woefully small, so it will feel like a full house. For whatever reason, I've chosen this year to second-guess some of my Thanksgiving recipes, which means I've been spending a lot of time reading magazines and online recipes trying to see if I can find a couple new dishes for this year's Thanksgiving menu. I've been talking to some friends and clients about traditional recipes, and it's funny the way we all have our own dishes that we associate with the holiday. One of my clients recently said that the first time she went to Thanksgiving at her in-laws, she couldn't believe they weren't serving sauerkraut alongside the turkey, because that was always a family tradition for her. I haven't heard any feedback from Dylan's family, so hopefully they aren't expecting something like sauerkraut this year! Do you have any special Thanksgiving traditions? Leave me a comment and tell me about it!

Speaking of planning menus, that has been one of the toughest parts of our wedding planning so far. We still haven't found a caterer that we've really clicked with yet. I have a question for all of you brides-to-be or newly-weds: Have the caterers you've met with offered tastings? Every wedding planning book I've read (and there have been many) talks about the importance of tasting the menu you've chosen. I think that makes complete sense, because if you're going to be spending thousands of dollars on food for your guests, you want to know what you're going to be serving them. Much to my (and Dylan's) chagrin, none of the caterers we've met with offer tastings. It seems bizarre to me. Dylan is especially disappointed, because as a food-lover, trying the food was the part of the wedding planning he was most looking forward to! I'd like to hear what others' experiences have been with hiring their caterers. If you know a fantastic caterer (especially one who will let us try some of the food) in the Spokane / Coeur d'Alene area, please send them my way!

And because I always like to throw in a little eye candy, I wanted to show this crafty autumn decor idea:


You know I love the balance of elegant and rustic, and I think these corn husk wrapped votives from Martha Stewart are an interesting example -- perfect for an autumn themed wedding, or your Thanksgiving table!

Hopefully things will slow down a little soon, because I'm excited to try to put together at least a couple of winter wedding posts!

Happy Halloween! Halloween Wedding or Party Treats!

Happy Halloween everyone!

I have had no time lately -- this week has been a beast! I couldn't resist putting together a few pictures for Halloween, though. Getting married on Halloween isn't really my cup of tea, but some of these pictures are so cute, I can see the appeal! I figured that for most of us, these would just be inspiration to throw a fabulous Halloween party.

Genius event planner Amy Atlas is responsible for the majority of these pictures. The picture of the table settings is from Real Simple. The dark chocolate graveyard pots de crème with tombstone cookies are from Sunset. (I linked to the recipes, although I think those are both prime "fake-it" treats if you're not feeling gourmet. Make some instant chocolate pudding, crush some Oreos over the top, write RIP on some Pepperidge Farm cookies and wedge one in the top of each dish.) They have some other really adorable Halloween party treat ideas, including these Spider Eggs:

(Mmm, deviled eggs and olives!)

And these cute little candy corn truffles:

Make sure to check out the Pina Ghouladas with these creepy "speared eyeball" garnishes from Hostess With the Mostess!

(Gross, yet delicious! I love lychees a whole lot and blueberries are one of Dylan's favorites. I just never would've thought to turn them into creepy eyeballs.)

If you're interested in trying one of the many pumpkin beers out right now, we'd recommend the Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale. We got excited and tried darn near every brand we could find of pumpkin beers and ales, and that was our favorite.


Okay, that's all for now. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite Halloween finds this week and hope that it provides some inspiration for your Halloween festivities!

Have a fun Halloween and a great weekend!

FREE Wedding Music!

I have another great wedding find to share! It's The O'Neill Brothers Wedding Music: Amazon Sampler.

It's really quite lovely. It's a wonderful collection of classic wedding songs, and to top it all off, it's FREE to download! There's nothing more budget-friendly than free. For those brides who are planning to have an iPod instead of a band or DJ, you may have just found your processional or recessional songs!

You can listen to samples right here, and either download just your favorite tracks, or download the whole album for free.

Pretty, pretty water!

I like to pass on great deals when I find them, and I've found something I think is really cool!

Dylan and I were wandering around at Big Lots yesterday. They always have an assortment of weird stuff, and every so often I find something great. We turned a corner and I saw a stack of boxes labelled Evian with a fun pattern on them. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that they were limited edition wine bottle sized glass bottles of Evian with a beautiful lace pattern design by Christian Lacroix.

(I found this picture on Green Wedding Shoes.)

I love them.

Once I saw what they were, I got excited and thought, "Ooo, glass bottles instead of plastic! Festive instead of utilitarian! Elegant! Oo la la! These would be a classy upgrade for the wedding!" Dylan looked at me skeptically and said, "I don't know. A dollar?" and I looked at him funny right back. I explained that they were multi-serving size glass bottles, they were Evian, and they were Christian Lacroix. When none of those things meant anything to him, I also pointed out that to buy a plastic bottle of Dasani at a gas station would cost a buck, so it really wasn't weird to spend $1 on these. To that he said, "Oh, yeah. That's true. And they are pretty cool looking..." I offered a compromise: Let's just buy enough for holiday entertaining for now. Our tap water tastes like crap, and these are a much more classy option to offer guests. We came home with a case and I decided to get online and Google them to investigate my find.

Check them out here on the Evian website. $13.95 per bottle! HOLY MOLY!

Dylan gets a huge kick out of a great deal -- almost as much as I do. He gawked at the website and went, "Wow, you're good. Who knew?! Well... you did! You were right, let's go get more!" Bless his heart. So today after work, he went and bought a few more cases. (Actually, my mom ended up going because when I told her about them, she wanted some and she was kind enough to buy them for us! Thanks Mom!) We now have plenty of fancy schmancy beautifully decorated Evian water for our wedding guests. I also plan to use them as part of a welcome basket / bag for our out of town guests. Hotel tap water always tastes like chemicals, and to buy a bottle of water out of the mini-fridge is ridiculously expensive. I thought this would be a cool addition to greet the people who have travelled to join our celebration.

One of my best friends is a super stylish dreamboat (he's going to laugh that I called him that) with a definite eye for detail. What's the guy version of fashionista? We've been friends for over half of our lives now. I miss him terribly because he now lives in NYC. If these bottles didn't weigh so much, I'd send him a case for his holiday entertaining because when I saw them, I thought of him. Even if most people don't notice them, I know Jeffrey will appreciate them. Between him and my mother (whom I fondly refer to as Martha Stewart on crack), at least I know I'll always have someone to appreciate the little details!

Before I get carried away in sentimentality, the point is: if you think these are cool and you have a Big Lots near you, rush your butt down there and get some! I think the lace pattern would be perfect for any wedding, but I think they'd be especially gorgeous for a winter wedding.

Cute wood-grain faux bois save the date cards!

I was just looking on the minted. website and found thesed adorable save the date cards that I wanted to share. I've been obsessed with faux bois (wood-grain) patterns, so of course I was happy to find these!

They're called Fall Carving Save the Date Cards by Amanda O'Rourke, if you want to find them on their page.

I couldn't link right to those cards, but I did find this banner that shows the cards, and a code to get 5% off your purchase! Yay for saving a little money!

I hadn't looked at minted. before. I was impressed by their variety. They do everything from save the dates, invitations, menus, bridal shower invites, and thank you cards to custom calligraphy and custom letterpress designs. They even have an eco-friendly line. Some of their stuff is way out of my league price-wise, but they do have cute stuff that is within my budget. For example, those save the dates are $163 for 100 of them. Not bad at all! (Plus, a lot of their save-the-date examples have the name Aly on them. Maybe it's a sign!)

Since it's getting closer to the holiday season, I'll also mention that they do a lot more than wedding stationery. I was oogling some of their holiday menu designs and thinking that if I were more well-to-do / fabulous, I would like to have those for every party I ever hosted.

Here is a really sweet wedding menu option:


Those are called Charmed Menu Cards by Oscar+Emma Design. I love the initials dangling like charms with the little thank you note tag at the top. Plus, I've always liked dogwood flowers.

I just wanted to share a cool new find, but I ended up liking their stuff enough that I decided to sign up so I could link to them. If you click on one of the links and end up ordering something, I guess they'll send me like a quarter. Yeehaw! If I get kick-back for spreading the word about stuff I think is cool, that will make my day.

One last thing:
If you're in the market for holiday photo cards, they have a 15% off holiday card discount for early shoppers. Real Simple even calls them their favorite resource for personalized holiday cards. The code is EARLYSITE09 and it expires on 10/18, so hurry!

Have a great weekend everyone! We plan to live it up for Dylan's last weekend of funemployment. By live it up, I actually mean sit together on the couch a lot. We've rented a bunch of movies, we're stocked up on popcorn and Halloween candy, and almost everyone we know is out of town or stuck working this weekend. It's feeling like a hermit weekend. I'm kind of looking forward to it!

Wedding Place Settings and Table Decor

I apologize for not posting more lately. I've had doctors appointments, dentist appointments, and we've even squeezed in a little socializing with friends! I am also somewhat happy to announce that Dylan accepted a job offer, and will be starting a new job on Monday. I say somewhat happy because it seems like the few places that are hiring right now are offering really low wages because they know how many people are desperate for work. I'm going to miss how much time we've gotten to spend together this summer since he graduated, but we're both trying to be optimistic. Fingers crossed that he likes the job, and that they appreciate what a hard worker he is!

(Oh, and I've also become somewhat addicted to playing the stupid games on Facebook. That hasn't helped.)

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I've been working on this blog entry about wedding reception table decor and place settings for days, because I have been having a heck of a time finding the right pictures to go along with it. Actually, that's part of what I wanted to write about -- how hard it is to find realistic inspiration! It's a big topic for me to write about, because it is such a large part of the overall vibe and appearance of your wedding reception. I wanted to put some time into covering it.

As I mentioned before, I've made a couple of purchases for the wedding. I've bought brown tablecloths, and some lovely pearl colored organza napkins. I have never used organza napkins, but I have seen them in pictures and always thought they added some elegance and flair to a tabletop. I bought the darn things on eBay cheaper than I could rent the boring ol' plain cloth napkins, so I decided to go for it. I figured if we didn't like them for napkins, maybe I'd use them to wrap up our wedding favors or put them up on Craigslist. They just arrived, and I think they have the potential to be a gorgeous addition to our tables. I'm excited!

As you may have guessed, my current fascination is the wedding reception place settings and table decor. I've seen a ton of reception photos where the overall look is gorgeous, but I'm having a tougher time finding pictures that really show the details in a helpful way. I'd love to find some examples that make me think, "I want our tables to look just like THAT!" and "I know exactly what's needed, and I can totally make our tables look like that!" It hasn't happened yet, but I continue to look.

I've set a reasonably formal table before, but only our own dining room table. It's a different story when you have to set enough tables for 50+ people. I find myself wondering things like, "Do we really NEED chargers? Or bread plates?" I know that those are considered a standard part of a formal place setting, but when I start to weigh the usefulness against the added cost, I'm not convinced that it's worth it. I'm very detail-oriented, but the details can really add up. Plus, a lot of the pictures I see that use EVERYTHING end up with really cluttered tables.

For example, this photo I found on Flickr:

I originally focused on this picture because it had some similarities to what I imagine for our reception. They used dark tablecloths with light colored napkins folded to hold menu cards, and there weren't dinner plates on the table. Since we're planning to have our dinner plated instead of buffet, those are details that would go along with what we're imagining. I studied the photo for a moment and thought, "Yeah, we could do something like that." Then my eyes drifted toward the rest of the table. Don't get my wrong, they obviously went all out and I can absolutely appreciate that. The table just makes me feel kind of claustrophobic when I look at it. It seems to have gone a step past formal into overwhelming. I think it's an easy line to cross, and I'm trying to hold myself back from that edge.

While it may offend Martha Stewart if we skipped those details, I'm guessing that most of our guests may not even notice. Although if Martha Stewart would like to attend our wedding, I would spend the extra money and rent those things, because I love her. But I digress...

I am in brain storming mode, and soon my friend Samantha and I have decided to set up a practice table so we can experiment with what looks good.

I may be off the hook a bit because I'm not sure organza can be folded ornately, but it's been fun to see how many ways there are to fold napkins decoratively. This Napkin Folding Guide website is helpful if you're in the same stage that I'm in of going, "What the heck are our tables going to look like?! What do we do?!"

I still haven't found the "right" pictures yet for our wedding, but I have found a couple of pictures of napkin ideas that I like. I've been thinking that I'd like to tie our napkins with velvet ribbon, so here are some examples along the same line. Napkins rings are another spendy addition that I don't want to have to deal with, but I like the warmth and texture that velvet brings to the table. Plus, if I can't fold the organza into complicated origami shapes (not that I'd want to), tying a simple ribbon sounds good to me. (The top photo is from Martha Stewart, the bottom is from BHG.)

If you have some inspiring table decor ideas that you'd like to share, you're welcome to email me so I can post about it (I'll give you credit), or you can post in the comments section.

In the meantime, I continue to wish everyone luck with their wedding planning! I found myself fantasizing about eloping earlier today. But even with the elevated stress levels, I still like all of the details and planning. It'll be worth it to share our celebration with our friends and family. Remember, we just have to take a deep breath and sneak off for a pumpkin spice frappuccino with a good girlfriend every so often. (Thanks Samantha!)

The final countdown!

It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN! (And yes, I am dramatically humming the song as I say that.) One year from today, Dylan and I are getting married! I'm so excited, I could throw up a little.

A little after midnight, I gasped and said, "Oh my god, baby! We're getting married one year from today!" Dylan gasped, ran over to give me a kiss and said, "Oh my god, baby! I didn't realize it was the 10th!" At which point, my enthusiasm and facial expression fell and I said, "Uh... it's not!" Dylan promptly slapped his hand over his mouth and looked horrified and said, "The ninth! The ninth! I knew it was the ninth!" He does know it's the ninth, because HE chose the the 9th. Nine is his lucky number. So he's kind of a weiner, but it made me laugh.

Between having the flu, and then trying to catch up on everything I missed while I was sick, I have been a busy bee. I did make another purchase for the wedding that I want to talk about, so I'll try to get to that this weekend.

Oh, and I wanted to mention that the Amazon Mp3 download for today is a Norah Jones album for $2.99.

In the meantime, TGIF! Let the countdown begin!

365... *gulp*

Jason Mraz album deal on Amazon.

Thank you for the get-well notes! I'm feeling better, but not back to 100% quite yet. Now I think Dylan might be coming down with it, even though we've tried to both be careful. Hopefully if he does come down with it, it's only a mild case. At least I'm feeling better, so I guess it'll just be my turn to take care of him. In sickness and in health, right?

In the meantime, I wanted to give a heads up that Amazon's MP3 download deal of the day is Jason Mraz's album Mr. A-Z for $2.99. It's one of his earlier albums, so this is a great chance to check out some of his earlier stuff for only a few bucks!

I downloaded it, and I'm listening to it right now. It's sweet, flirty, and a little sexier than the songs you've heard on the radio.

You can listen to samples right here:

Or download the whole album (for $2.99 today only) right here:

Stupid flu.

I have the flu.

Blame it on the illness, but I find myself quoting the old Foreigner song: I'm hot blooded, check it and see. I've got a fever of 103!

Well, I had a fever of 103. Now it's closer to 100 degrees. But I still feel like crap.

We don't want Dylan to get sick, so he's been sleeping in the guest room. It's the first time in 3+ years that I've had to sleep alone, and it's bumming me out. We keep making sad faces at each other from across the house, because we've never been unable to kiss and hug each other.

Yesterday my mom came over to check on me (even though I warned her against it, because I don't want to infect her) and she had a bag full of food and things like Clorox wipes and anti-bacterial soap. We already had those things, but she was pretty funny about it. She wore a really weird face mask (to make me feel better and/or make me laugh) and listed off all of the things she brought to try to make me feel better. Oranges, organic apples, Odewalla juice, sweet potatoes (I don't know why), bagels, and Vernors ginger ale. If you're not feeling well, Vernors is one of the best thing ever.

I've been missing work, and I don't have the energy to think about weddings right now. When this fever breaks and I'm back on my feet again, I'll get back on it.

In the meantime, make sure to wash your hands every chance you get, because you do not want this stupid flu.

Dark Pink with Taupe / Gray Wedding Palette

I apologize for getting this up a little later in the day than usual. I'm fighting a cold, so it's kind of thrown me off my game today.

I know this isn't my usual style of inspiration board, but I just thought this was an interesting color combination that I wanted to share. I'm not sure what to call this shade of dark pink. I was thinking maybe dusty rose, or blush? I think there's a really nice earthy and vintage quality to this shade of taupe or gray.

This whole theme makes me imagine getting married in an old chapel or school-house nestled in the woods, or out in the middle of a prarie.

{click to enlarge}

The lovely stationery, the rustic floral arrangement, and the boutonniere are all from Martha Stewart.

The pink rosewood wreath is from Smith & Hawken. Unfortunately, it looks like they may be going out of business, but you can follow that link to see if they have a store near you. Maybe you can find some great sale stuff.

I'm sorry to say I can't remember where I found the gray napkins, I was just excited because they said Alyson on them!

The John Fluevog Women's Jules Ankle Boots are from Endless.

Goodbye summer!

We've been all over the place the last few days! We went to check out another caterer, we went to the mansion venue (the one we won the gift certificate for), we went to a concert, we went to a party... phew!

The caterer we checked out this time gave more direct answers than the others so far, and actually asked us a lot of questions to get a better feel for what we're looking for. The best part was that although they don't do a "tasting" in the traditional sense, they do make enough food that we have a chance to sample some of their stuff. One of the entrees that we thought sounded interesting was a dish they called pumpkin chicken. I guess they must've been making some for another event, because as we were talking she mentioned that she was going to be making that dish the next day. We made arrangements and actually just showed up the next afternoon and picked up some pumpkin chicken to go! We bought it just like you would if you were going to get take-out, but it was already made and waiting just for us. The dish itself wasn't at all what I had imagined, but Dylan and I both agreed that it was very tasty and if we had been served that meal at a restaurant, we'd both consider ordering it again. We're not sure that dish is what we'd want to serve at the wedding, but it did let us know that this caterer does a nice job with their spices and combining flavors. The other nice thing is that these people make a whole lot of desserts. They can even do our wedding cake if we want. They actually supply a lot of the fancy cakes that they sell at Huckleberry's (one of the finer natural food shops around Spokane), so Dylan and I made a trip over there and treated ourselves each to a slice of different kinds of cake. For research purposes, naturally.

As I said, we went and took a tour of the mansion venue I'd mentioned. I'm glad we went, because it actually ended up making us both feel more confident in our choice of the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center. The mansion has potential, but it seemed like it was gradually being renovated and not quite ready to host a lot of weddings just yet. Maybe we'll still figure out a way to put the gift certificate to good use, but it probably won't be for our wedding.

Friday night we went to an outdoor concert -- Bushwalla, G. Love And Special Sauce, and Jason Mraz. It was a really good show and we had a lot of fun. The security people were a little self important and rude, but the upbeat attitude of the performers made up for it. I always loving going to a show where the musicians really seem like they're enjoying what they're doing, and Jason Mraz in particular sounded great. I obviously already like his music, but I think he may be even better live.

Yesterday we went to a vegan potluck at our friends' house. I got to try my hand at some vegan recipes, so that was an adventure. We were supposed to bring snacks instead of heavy entrees, so I made a white bean dip that is similar to a really creamy hummus, but with more lemon juice and a little fresh basil. I also wanted to try to make a vegan dessert, which was more of a challenge. I made a 100% vegan chocolate cake with a really rich chocolate orange glaze (I want to call it ganache, but obviously it didn't have cream in it.) It was surprisingly good, although the boys at the party were lamenting the lack of ice cream to go along with it. We had fun just hanging out with friends, playing some games and laughing loud enough that I'm surprised the neighbors didn't come over to see what we were up to. This may have been the last warm weekend of an indian summer, so we tried to make the most of it!

Today we're thinking about taking a day trip down to visit Dylan's sister Shannon. If we do that, we're going to be on the road for a few hours.

A lot of you may have read this and thought, "Uh... Thanks for the update on your weekend, but where the heck is the wedding stuff?" and my answer to that is that I'm hoping to have a board up tomorrow. It'll probably be a little different than some of my previous ones, but we'll see. I'm experimenting.

In the meantime, if you have a color combo that you're just dying to see, email me and tell me about it and maybe I'll feature it in the coming weeks!