Ready to bake up a storm

I might be taking this whole becoming-a-wife thing too literally, but I came across this apron on, where else?, Etsy, and kinda fell in love:

[find it at The Way We Wear on Etsy]

I think it's part of my dream of becoming a super crafty girl who makes my own stationary and goes antiquing and sews curtains and is capable of making food that my husband's children actually like.

Maybe if I have a cute apron, all of those things will be possible? I don't know, but if anyone wants to buy it for me as a wedding gift, please feel free!

Bouts sans fleurs

I don't know if I frenchified that correctly. I thought this was pretty much the most awesome non-floral bout I had come across yet:

[find it at Until My Heart Stops]

So I sent the link over to FH via Google Chat.

me: how awesome is this?

FH: huh?

me: huh what?

FH: i don't get it.

me: its a bout. for your jacket?

FH: ok.

me: you are no fun

Sigh. Someone else who is getting married or going to prom or just generally in need of a bout, please buy it. It really is amazing. As always, my hat is off to people that are this insanely creative.

Cake toppers, unnecessary but cute?

So, I was perusing Etsy the other day (I'm beginning to feel like too many of my posts start out this way, but what can I say? Etsy is addictive!) and found this cake topper:


AHHHHH so cute [cuteness courtesy of Bunny with a Toolbelt over at Etsy]

Now, of all the random things I have thought about in regards to my wedding thus far, a cake topper hadn't really occurred to me yet. It seems like one of those things that probably isn't all that important, so why do I stalk the wedding cake topper section of Etsy like nobody's business? There are so many cute ideas. People are so darn clever. I want to be clever!

There are lots of birds, which I didn't get at first. But, lovebirds, right? I get it now.

I just have a thing for penguins. And now, penguin cake toppers. Penguins mate for life you know ... and they are so cute! And chic, with their black and white and whatnot.

Although, I think I have recently stumbled across something that is even more fitting for us than the cute toppers above. It'll be a surprise for FH, though, so no pictures for now! Although, who am I kidding, the whole wedding is pretty much a surprise for FH. I just tell him to read the blog and let me know if he has any questions or concerns =)

To DIY or not to DIY?

One of the downsides (really, the only downside) to being an avid wedding blog reader is that there are so many great potential DIY projects out there, it can get a little overwhelming. I mean, how am I supposed to narrow it down? What is realistic and what isn't for someone with my, um, limited crafting skills? I have to confess that I had never even heard of Gocco until a few months ago.

In my head, I want to be this person. Or this person. I see all of these beautiful ideas and I get excited and somehow, I think I can transform myself into the person who hand-fashions 1,000 paper cranes for my wedding day. (Does folding 120+ paper airplanes count?)

Don't get me wrong - I am in total awe of what these women do to make a meaningful wedding day for themselves. I just think it's better to realize my shortcomings now and plan accordingly.

Just another day in Etsyland...

Even if you aren't a fellow book nerd, you have to admit that this is pretty gosh darn amazing:



Found at Etsy seller Quitesparkly's shop. She uses the pages of old romance novels to hand craft these beautiful paper roses.

One, I am in AWE of people that are this crafty.

And two, my mind is whirring with all of the possible ways we could incorporate these into our wedding...

Straight from the horse's mouth...

My absolute favorite quote from class last night (and there were many gems to pick from, trust me):

"Oh forget about the dramatic arc! You don't need to worry about the dramatic arc!"

Cut to half the class looking absolutely crushed, confused or a mixture of both.

Your Craft

As you walk in the door, which you find at the end of a very long and very dusty hallway, you catch glimpses of them through the glass panes in the door. They are old and young, male and female. You see them as they present themselves in the very first moments: the older man with three novels under his belt, the woman in the boots concerned about "process" with her finished novel sitting in the bright orange folder in front of her. The obnoxious hip indie chick and the other hip indie chick (not as obnoxious) - this is Los Angeles, you knew they would be here. The shy girls in the corner and the slightly arrogant man sitting next to them who knows all about points of view and narrators. Here they are. This is what you signed up for. You are terrified.

You write. You listen. The instructor doesn't remember your name, even joking about how he won't remember your name until the ninth week, when class is almost over. His eye wanders and you aren't sure where to look. You don't talk much, because you don't like talking. That is why you are a writer. You are protective and not sure of talking about "it" - process, craft, your characters. Buzzword after buzzword. But there are no rules. You aren't ready to expose Nellie to them yet.

You write furiously for two minutes and then realize you will have to read what you wrote. This is it. This is what you signed up for. You read your passage, confidently, surprised at what came out of you. You think you heard appreciative murmurs. Maybe you were hearing things.

You love this.

A New Aspiration

After a weekend of being sick and feeling sorry for myself, while simultaneously watching every single show that Food Network has to offer - even the crappy ones with that annoying host sporting a porcupine hairdo - I have decided that in my next life, I want to be Giada De Laurentiis.

She seems so happy and nice and shiny, like the kind of girl that shaves her legs every single day and never forgets to wash her face before going to bed. She probably never gets depressed and stays in bed all day, eating bright orange macaroni and cheese directly from the microwavable container that it came in. And most magical of all, she makes it seem completely possible that, just like her, I can whip up a homemade mushroom parmesan-topped tart simply with the ingredients I have on hand in my fridge.