Saturday, February 28, 2009

Once you go black....

You never go back, yeah yeah yeah- I've heard that one before. In fact, I am a strong supporter of going black in almost everything- shoes, dresses, bags, men, hair color, you name it, but would you go black with your wedding dress? A friend of mine recently brought up black wedding dresses as a trend. I thought she was joking. I mean, I've considered a light colored pink dress or even a peach, but black? I wear black to weddings all the time, but I dont think I could do it if I was the bride! Wouldn't I look like I was going to a funeral?

I did a little research and was suprised by the results- she wasn't joking! This is an actual trend. Designers debuted black dresses in Paris last year and I guess black was a common wedding color pre-1840. Before that time brides chose colored dresses- usually black but that all changed in 1840 when Queen Victoria got married in a white dress.

Considering it, I don't think a) I could pull it off and b) that my mother would let me do it.

If you want to incorporate black into your wedding day without going all the way with a black dress there are a couple things you can do like wearing black gloves, a black veil, black nail polish, or dying your crinoline black instead. As for me, well I plan on having my wedding band made with black diamonds.

Would you ever wear a black dress? Are you incorporating black into your wedding day?

Photos: 1)Photo by Jessica Claire as featured on blueorchidblog.com

The DIY's I wont be able to do

It's no secret that Do It Yourself saves money, and the amount you save depends on the amount you do yourself. I had grand plans in my head of doing almost everything DIY. Even though I have 10 months before the wedding, I am starting to realize that a lot of the things I want to do are unrealistic. At this point, the only DIY I will be doing are: my awesome map/ photobooth save the dates (wait till you see them. Awesome!), fan programs, our guest book- which wont be a book at all, day of wedding decorations, decorating the car, and hor dourves for our cocktail hour which includes making the drinks as well. It makes me a little sad that I don't have the time to do more myself. None of this is set in stone- I may be able to add something as time goes on, or at least I hope so but I have no doubt I can still make my wedding special without all the DIY.

Did you or Will you be able to do everything you wanted to do for your wedding?

Friday, February 27, 2009

I'm a Barbie Girl

Everyone who knows me knows that I am pretty much blind. I had glasses that I loved, they broke after DKNY discontinued them, I tried to glue them back together which worked for a while and then even used black duct tape but they all failed. I still need glasses but am considering contacts. Today while looking at ebeautyblog.com I came across these Korean circle lenses. They work by making your pupils look dialated- a black ring gives the effect of bigger, puppy dog, anime eyes. Cinthia from ebeautyblog looks beautiful with hers in but every other picture I saw of someone in these lenses made me think of druggies and then I thought of Heather Locklear's mugshot photo.
Still, I am thinking about getting a pair. I want to look like a doll on my wedding day so I may experiment. If I look like a druggie then I just wont wear them that day but I imagine they will come into use for some reason, like clubbing- I am in MIAMI ya dig!?

Cinthia from ebeautyblog.com in her circle lenses


Heather Locklear's mugshot picture


Are you experimenting with something before using it on your big day?

The Proposal Story

Well I don't know where to start because there isn't much to say. The Mr. is super romantic. He gives thoughtful gifts and does thoughtful things. After we started dating, I told him never to buy me flowers because I think they are just a waste. They die and I have no desire to water them or look at them. Fake flowers are just as good as real flowers for me. Well, the first gift he ever gave me was a flower- but a swarovski flower and attached was a note telling me not to fear because this flower would never die like our love (awww!). For Valentine's Day one year he made me a sailors valentine completely out of seashells. It took him forever. Before rose gold got all popular, he got a ring custom made for me made of my 2 favorite stones: opal and diamond set in rose gold. As you can tell from this, I thought when he finally popped the question it would be thoughtful.
Well, I kind of ruined that. We talked about marriage from the very beginning so it was no suprise that we were going to get married eventually. We talked about having kids, where we wanted to live, what kind of houses we wanted, etc. 2 years after dating I saw a ring in a magazine and decided I had to have it- it could be my engagement ring! Well, it was $18,000 so that idea quickly went out the window. Engagement rings were still on my mind though. We went to the mall one day just to browse, having no real intent to buy, and I saw this beautiful ring all in white gold that was sort of like what I wanted. It was different, and vintage looking, and the price was RIGHT- this is becausse instead of being 1 big diamond, its lots of little ones which was fine with me.
We picked it out, he paid for it, and I got it customized to have a yellow gold band instead of a white one since I'm a total goldie. So, it was no real suprise that I was getting a ring and he was going to ask me.
We were supposed to get the ring back in October, but didn't end up getting it back until Decemeber. During my 2 month wait I made it clear that I wanted nothing special because it would just be a waste of time- I'm going to say yes, and he was going to ask.
December came, he called and told me he picked up the ring, and as I got out of the car one day outside of his house he opened my door and got on one knee and said "will you marry me". I don't think I said yes, I am pretty sure I just took the ring, put it on my finger and got upset that it was a huge size 8 when I wear a 5. That was the start of my hate for the ring because I've had nothing but problems since then- mostly rhodium plating problems, which is another reason why I am a yellow goldie.
So I messed up the proposal. It could of been something special but I ruined that. At the tiime I didn't care but reading all these cutsie proposal stories make me wish I wouldn't have stifled his creativity, but then again we don't have any cute stories. The way we met wasn't cute, or the way he asked me out, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. He makes me feel like the most important and beautiful person on earth, so I guess together we make each other special. There is no need for cute stories with us.

Below is a picture of the 1st of my 2 engagement rings.


Was your proposal story special? Why or Why not?

I want to live in Robin Thicke's dreamworld too.

I have been a fan of Robin Thicke since his first album came out when he had long hair. He has grown more gorgeous and sexy since then. His wife, who was featured in his first video for his last album, is beautiful as well. They have been together since they were 13. Amazing!
Sometimes I think that me and my guy are the Robin Thicke and Paula Patton of the normal world. I'm black, the Mr. is white. The Mr. has those baby blues and dark hair going on and well, I'm at least sort of cute.
Todays song of the week is "Dreamworld" by Robin Thicke. I'm not sure that it is appropriate for a first dance, but its just so damn pretty that I keep listening to it over and over and over again.
Here is Robin Thicke's "Dreamworld".


And, so you can see his beautiful wife and him together, I've added a link to his "Lost Without You" as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKNA42bj-do
Aren't they just the most beautiful couple?

Are their any famous couples that remind you of you and your special one?

Gummi Bear Wedding

Well, you know what they say- you are what you eat. Well, I think what I eat and right now I am eating frozen gummi bears (don't knock it till you try it). It got me thinking, what if I planned a gummi bear wedding. Then it got me thinking about good ol' Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. If I was going to plan a Willie Wonka style wedding, it would look a little like this:
Save the date candy boxes with lemonheads.


A chocolate bar invitation with a golden ticket inside.


And no Chocolate Factory themed wedding would be complete without the chocolate fountain! Note: this picture was taken 2 years ago at the end my dessert and wine party. Yes, we spilled chocolate everywhere and yes, all the food was gone within a couple of minutes. That is what you see here. Oh, and I'm the girl with the cinnamon stick in my mouth)


My shoes would look delicious.


My lifesaver of a bridesmaid dress would look like this, but longer.


Our signature drink: Chocolate Martini


Our favors would be giant gummi bears, of course.



Instead of a cake: Why not cotton candy instead?


Pictures: Giant Gummi Bear, candyship.com; candy bar invitations from weddingbee.com member lani; yellow candy box invitations from projectwedding.com; Herve Leger mini-dress; Betseyville shoes, Vivacious heel; cotton candy cake, yelp image from aphrodisiac;

What would you add if you were doing a delicious themed wedding? Are you incorporating any candy into your big day?

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?


Go ahead, travel back in time and sing the theme song in your head for a minute. You know you want to. Do it. All the cool kids are doing it.
Anywho, I've been Carmen Sandiego this past week. No not stealing artifacts, just gone off the map. I had a bench trial to prepare for this week and that along with every other thing going on in my life made it hard to visit my precious blog. But I'm back to post, and so for the next couple of days instead of posting every 2 or 3 days I will be posting every day just to make up for my blog slacker week.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Is forever enough? cuz' I'm never ever giving you up.

I've decided to just make Friday the Wedding Song of the Day day. So since today is Friday......
Todays song is Lullaby by the Dixie Chicks. By friend Ashley told me someone used this as their wedding song at their wedding. I heard it and fell in LOVE with it. It was written my the lead singer Natalie about her son after she gave birth. So as a mother and a future wife, this song has a double meaning to me. It is so beautiful, simple, and true.
I hope you like it.


Are there any songs that have a double meaning for you?

Thursday, February 19, 2009

My realization that I'm officially that girl.




Julissa*: I never realized how pretty your eyes are.
Me: Yeah, but you can't really tell unless I'm in the sun.
Anthony*: You do have pretty eyes. What are you doing later. (laughs)
Julissa: You better stop, she's practically married.
Me: That is true. Practically
Anthony: How long have you been together?
Me: About 5 years
Anthony: Wow. Like man, honestly, how do you even know that like, that guy, is the right one, you know?

At this point me and the only other female start to turn into that girl. The girl I never wanted to be. That girl who is all lovey-dovey and mushy and icky, yuck, yuck. I can't even talk about that girl, but that girl is me.

I've never been the that girl type. I make fun of that girl. I don't cry- unless it is in a movie, in which case I cry at EVERY SINGLE movie, whether it's a kids movie, comedy, action flick, whatever. I'm assertive but kind, but never into romance- as evidence of the proposal story (to come, don't worry).

The rest of the conversation went sort of like this.

Me: You just know when you found the right one. Like I just love to be with him and around him. We've been together so long but it was always long distance so I didn't think we could get along while living together, but we moved in together and everything has been better. He just makes me feel like Christmas!
Julissa: Awww
Anthony: Auuuuh?
Me: Well he does! I can be silly with him. We are just stupid together and I know he would do anything for me, and I can't stay mad at him because within 10 I miss him and I want him to be my friend again.
Julissa: That's just how I feel about Gus*. Really. I feel like we are part of each other.
- At this point we started talking about that Robin Williams movie "Field of Dreams" where the guy wasn't happy in heaven because he was without his other half, and he rather go to hell to be with her than stay in heaven without her. Awwww. Warms my cold heart.

Sadly, I've turned into that girl, but suddenly I'm okay with it.

*Names have been changed. Picture is from the classic, "The Notebook".


Have you turned into that girl yet, or were you always her?

Sunday, February 15, 2009

My Valentine's Day


Not to brag or anything but my valentines day was pretty awesome. It started off with a 7 year old waking me up at 7:00 in the morning because of his loud talking on his cell phone to his grandparents. Yes, he has a cell phone and no I didn't buy it for him- his grandparents did, but that's another post all together.
Anywhoo, he plays little league and after 5 games of straight (but very close) losses, they finally won one! It was probably the best game I've seen and our pitcher was great. And suprisingly my sweet child took the game win well with a new found maturity and sportsmanship. Gone are the days of when he won soccer games calling all the members on the other team "good losers". It warmed my heart.

Then, well, we went home and cleaned. Yay! Actually, that was the plan but I went home and fell asleep and my hunny cleaned the house for me while I was sleeping. Umm, how sweet is that?

My Valentine's day is still going on too. Because I'm on the Medifast diet and can only have one almost normal meal a day, my hunny is taking me to a super awesome seafood resturant for crab, crab, crab. We could make it for half the price, but not having to clean up after is totally priceless, and I like my clean house.

What special events occured on your Valentine's Day?

Friday, February 13, 2009

Oooh girl, that's my song!

Once upon a time, I thought I would have music at my wedding. Right now, I'm not so sure. So until the time comes when I finally figure it out I will take you along with me on my quest for the perfect wedding song.

First Up, Corneille "Too much of everything." My mom picked this song out one day. Corneille is a Rwandan turned French Canadian. Youtube him to find all of his awesome songs in French. I can't understand a word he is saying but it all sounds so pretty and you can't help but smile.

This song though, is in English. In fact, it's his first single off of his American debut. It's a beautiful song, it made me cry, and his wife (a Canadian singer) is the woman in the video!
Without further adeiu, here is Corneille.


How many songs did you go through before you found the perfect one?

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Do you TAAZ?





I am about to do the unexpected. Something I may totally regret- maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon and at least for a couple of minutes. I am about to show you....
ME WITHOUT MAKEUP.


So, all you out there with sensitive stomachs- look away. Please keep your hands, feet, and head inside the vehicle at all times.

Why am I doing this you may ask? Because I just found an awesome online makeover site that gives super realistic results and uses makeup that you can actually go out and buy- from lip liner to contact color, foundation color to eyeshadow. And best of all it is FREE!!
As you see, the pictures above are my before and after results of my awesome online TAAZ makeover. I didn't have to make an appointment or sit in a chair (well, other than my computer chair!). Now, I don't plan on dying my hair, and I stopped wearing lavender eyeshadow in high school, but it was so much fun to experiment without having to spend an arm & leg on purchasing products.

Go ahead and try out your own online makeover by going to http://www.taaz.com/. You can print it out and take to your hair and makeup artist so she gets an idea of what kind of look you are going for.
What kind of things did you do to pre-prepare for your wedding look?

Monday, February 9, 2009

What is this thing called blog?


I planned my wedding in all of 6 days- yes, 6 days. I looked at websites and magazines and said "Yep! That's it!", but it was more of a basic outline of what I wanted. I've been engaged since December 2006 to the most wonderful man in the world. I always assumed we would just stay together for a good 20 years or so before we decided to take the plunge and get married, but I saw a picture of a tree and everything changed.

Browsing websites just for fun, I saw a tree and said "I must get married by that tree." It isn't a super special tree, in fact it is in someones backyard, but it had something that I wanted: nature; and something my mother wanted: beach nearby.

So, come along with me on my journey of expanding my wedding outline. I promise it will be awesome.
Was there anything in particular that put your wedding planning into over-drive?

Note: Picture is not "my tree". This tree picture was taken from the nativetreesociety.org