Dear USPS,

This is your fault, not mine. I am highly pissed and will show you pictures of as many save-the-dates as I can get my hands on until you refund every penny of my postage.

Love,
Melanie

The Early Bird Gets the Stamps

I was first in line at the post office this morning.

I was there before they even opened. Why? To buy stamps. I know, I lead an exciting life. However, I had to laugh out loud when she brought me my 68 postcard stamps. Here's why:
Polar bears. She brought me 68 polar bear stamps for the Fall-themed Save-the-Dates. I loved it. :) Another thing I loved? Sixty-eight postcard stamps didn't really hurt the wallet too badly.

On this past Saturday, Brad and I went to see the Krippendorf Lodge with our pastors, Mark and Lisa. Brad had never seen the lodge, except for in pictures. He was thoroughly impressed, proclaiming, "It seems fine." Ha. Mark and Lisa were more open about their enthusiasm and I am now more excited than ever about September. We all got the lay of the land and talked about how the service might go. I won't go into specifics because I'm hoping that some of you reading this will show up in September.

I am on Spring Break this week and hope to accomplish some more wedding things this week, such as nailing down a flower contract and maybe starting some DIY projects. We shall see. I do want some time to just eat ice cream and watch movies.

--Melanie

Think Brad will go for this?

This is a wonderful print by Jason Polan for 20 X 200. This particular print is available for $50 as a 14 x 11. It's not bright colors, so Brad may be able to tolerate it...

wishful thinking

So, my dear readers, Brad has booked our honeymoon flight and hotel. We'll be in San Francisco, CA for 5 nights and I'm very excited. We won't fly out until Sunday morning, giving us Saturday to hang out with family from all sides and make sure our bags are packed. Speaking of packing, here's a small list of essentials I want to have with me.

Let's go ahead and number the items 1-6 (going clockwise, please, and starting at the top left corner).
1. Dillen Satchel in Brown $235.00
2.Zip Sweater $34.99 (clearance--I better get on that)
3.Yellow jacket from the Gap. I purchased this item two years ago and love it to death.
4.Between the Lines in Blue $58 for the cami, $28 for the bottom
5. Toms Classics in Navy $44
6. Forever Skinny jeans from the Gap. I purchased these last year and wish I had bought more.

Weather in San Francisco tends to be of the varying kind. September should be rain free, but I've been advised to wear comfy shoes, jeans, and to layer on top. I'm sure I'll be adding a cardigan or two to my wishlist, as well as a fantastic dress. Ideas?

--Melanie

P.S. All images from store websites or a google search of the item.

P.P.S. No link to the items I already own as they are no longer for sale. The images were obtained from a google search, though I have style numbers if anyone is interested in hunting an item down.

Sneak Peek

Whoops! I wanted to leave you with a little sneak peek of things to come...in the mail. :)

--Melanie

Cake, Etsy, & Flowers, too!

Hello, out there! My job has kept me pretty busy as of late, so I apologize that I haven't been posting more frequently. Next week is Spring Break and I'm hoping to recharge and relax and plan some wedding stuff!

Brad and I went to the BonBonerie on March 8 and ate so much delicious cake and had a wonderful time! Well, I had a wonderful time. Brad figured out that wedding cakes cost money and was displeased at the prospect. :) Our consultant welcomed us and offered any drink we could see. I chose a Crush because, well, that sounded yummy. We were shown the available list of cake flavors and invited to choose five for tasting. While we were tasting, she discussed different ideas of how the cake could look and paid special attention for my request of a non-table-scratching cake stand. She recommended that we keep the cake strictly on the silver platter and decorate with flowers in order to protect the table the cake will sit on.

When we were preparing to leave, she took the time to put our leftovers in a box along with a sixth cake flavor and two cupcakes. She made sure that we had--in writing--the prices of each option we were considering. Such a switch from the last cake tasting! After munching on cake for the next three days, Brad and I decided to go with the BonBonerie and paid a deposit.

Another great thing that happened recently is that I made my first etsy purchase! That site is amazing and I've bookmarked so many things that I love. I might be dangerous... Anyway, here is a picture of our personalized silverware that I am beyond excited about. Anyone who knows me knows that every piece of silverware I own has been acquired from some restaurant. Every piece. It seems fitting then to have strange silverware at the wedding.

Finally, I have started looking at flowers. I've gotten quotes and ideas from two florists and I think I know what I want the bouquets to look like. I just need to find the best price now so I can tell Brad that we kept at least one thing within budget. I want the bouquet to be tied, so it'll be a round shape with lots of texture, height, and color. I'm pretty stoked about this, but I want to remind everyone with allergies that this will be an outdoor shingdig. Please, take your allergy meds.

Please feel free to comment if you have ideas of flowers that may look wonderful in this bouquet and/or recommend a florist to me!

--Melanie

Dang Technology

Well, I had intended to finally post about our second cake tasting, which went wonderfully, but I can't get the pictures from the computer I'm currently using. So, you will have to wait until tonight (fingers crossed).

Instead, I'll mention that our save-the-dates are being printed in time for Brad and I to begin addressing them this weekend. Yay! I really am pretty excited for this because it means that we're getting even closer to the wedding. Yesterday marked six months until the big day and today is five months since Brad dropped to one knee in the pumpkin patch. Aaron has been super hard at work designing the stationery for us and we can't thank him enough.

I'm starting to want to take on more DIY stuff as well, and that worries me a bit. I like to bite off way more than I can chew, so we'll see how many of my ideas actually come to fruition.
1. Sew a dress (for rehearsal or shower). These patterns by Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity are amazing!

2. Make a return address stamp. I know etiquette says that I should handwrite everything, but if I make the stamp, doesn't that have as much love and personality as my handwriting? To make this stamp, I'll need to have some time to relearn my linoleum carving skills.

3. Cake topper

4. Secret something something. (No picture. Sorry.)

That may be all for now, but we'll see. After all, I have to finish the planning for Brad's and mine September nuptials as well as plan kick-a wedding shower and bachelorette party for Kerry and Gary.

Also, I just want to again congratulate my friend's Scott and Ellen on their recent engagement. They came over for dinner last night (yummy chicken parmesan and lots of wine) and Brad introduced Scott to the Apple TV while I introduced Ellen to Martha Stewart Weddings. Fun times.

--Melanie

P.S. We selected and ordered bridesmaids dresses as of last Friday!!! Woo-hoo! Now the florists will talk to me!

Awkward Cake Tasting

I guess I thought that when we booked a cake tasting it would go something like this...

Baker presents cakes and talks about the different flavors, options, frostings. Bride and groom are asked which cake looks they prefer, how many people, what flavor is yummy. Baker then works with them on initial design so accurate idea of cake and cost is given.

Brad and I had our first cake tasting last night and it did not go like that at all. We were given yummy cake to try. Chocolate-raspberry, yellow with strawberry filling, and marble. She brought out the carrot a few minutes after the initial three because I had specifically asked about that flavor when booking the tasting.

(Photo credit: Brad or Me with the iPhone. Also, Blogger hates me and will not orient this picture correctly.)

We were left alone for most of the time, not really knowing what to discuss. The baker finally returned and asked us which ones we liked and if we had a cake style in mind. I told her that I liked the look of buttercream, as seen on a picture in a cake lookbook we were given to peruse. She said that the outside would be made of the icing on our sample cakes, but gave no hints as to what that was or how we could get the look of buttercream that we expressed interest in. She brought Brad a take-home box for the remaining bits of cake and gave me a price list. That was it.

I guess we should have asked more questions, but she didn't seem very outgoing or interested in answering questions. Also, we don't really know what questions to ask. Ideas?

On our way home, I was feeling pretty yuck about the whole thing and wondering if this was going to be as ridiculous a process as finding the venue. We checked mail and headed upstairs and that is when my mood began to lift.

This beauty was just waiting for me and knew I would need to be re-energized when it came to cakes. Thank you, Martha. I haven't made it through the entire issue yet (I like to savor the first time through), but I am already feeling like we can find a cake at a suitable price. We will get better about figuring out which questions to ask and we will get to eat more free cake. Also, Brad and I are laughing about the awkward cake tasting, which helps a lot.

--Melanie

P.S. In case you're not already counting down, we are at 199 days until the wedding. Get stoked.