A Change of Address...

I must apologize for the inconvenience, but I have decided to make some changes around here. A few of you have noticed and commented on the new banner, along with the new name. It wasn't just me being crazy, it's just my new blog.

http://www.abrideagain.blogspot.com/

Yes, I've stepped out of my shell a little bit and decided to blog as myself...under a new blog name...something that will have some continuity with some blogs that are already under construction for the future. I wanted to have the name recognition for those newer blogs and be able to connect all the blogs together, thus the change.

To my followers - I REALLY do apologize. I really hope to see all of you following my new blog, as that's where the new posts will be from now on.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience, but you'll find me here now...along with all the histroy that was on this blog...don't worry - I'm taking it all with me!

Thanks for reading, and I'll keep my fingers crossed to see you at the new site soon!

Why I blog…

Someone asked me the other day why I choose to write about my experience as a bride. More importantly, why I feel the need to write about it all as a bride doing it all again. A first-time bride is understandable, since there is all this excitement and anticipation of the unknown coming at you. But for someone who’s already been there and done that…what’s the attraction? And why would people care?

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Well, it’s not a simple answer. There are several reasons why I blog. First and most importantly, I blog because I love it. I’ve always been somewhat creative and love having the outlet that blogging allows. It’s not necessarily that I think that what I have to say is so important, I’m confident and have LOADS of good self-esteem, but even I realize that my audience is small! But it doesn’t really matter to me if one person reads my blog or if 500 people read my blog. I don’t write for you guys, I write for me.

This keeps me sane. Yes, it’s a way for me to keep friends and family informed with what all is going on with the wedding planning process. This way I don’t have to make three phone calls to three Maids, plus one to Mama CC and one to FMIL…they can read the blog at their own pace and stay caught up with what’s in the works. I just love it when I talk to one of them and they bring up something that I wrote about…makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Yes, sometimes it gets confusing because I wait to talk about things until it’s posted on my blog, but that’s just me making things harder on myself!

Another reason that I do this is because I have really tried to connect with people in my same situation. Planning a second (or third) wedding is WAY different than planning your first wedding, and although there’s nothing wrong with first-time brides, there is often a different perspective that women doing this for a second time around have. And I look for that. I actively search for it. And I can tell you, it’s sort of hard to find. There’s just not that many of us out there being open and upfront about this whole process. It seems to be more “acceptable” to have a small, intimate second wedding, not to do the whole extravagant affair when it isn’t your first wedding. So if my posts can bring someone else some measure of comfort or a feeling of “I’m not alone in this!” to them, then I have accomplished what I set out to do.

And to be perfectly honest, it’s just not the same being a bride for the second time around. There are different issues that I face…things that I deal with that new brides don’t necessarily understand. Things like how your decisions affect people other than just you and your groom. Understanding that at times, there are just things that you cannot have in your wedding because it’s something that brings up painful memories. And being ok with your future spouse telling you that you can’t do this or that for that reason and not being all jealous-crazy-woman about it. Let’s face it, most “encore brides” are more mature, if not in age, then in experience. There are things that we’ve gone through and experienced that new brides haven’t.

We know what it’s like to have the one person that you thought that you could always count on let you down…and yes, it’s different than when a parent or friend lets you down. We know what it’s like to love someone with all your heart, but to understand in your head that it’s best to let them go. And we know when to admit that we made a mistake. With full knowledge of making the mistake at the time that we did it. And we still did it. So, we also know what it’s like to correct something like that, knowing that the other person doesn’t understand and probably never will. Living with that is sometimes hard.

So planning a wedding isn’t all happiness, hearts, flowers and butterflies all the time. It just isn’t. It can be, and there may be weeks in between each maudlin session that an “encore bride” might experience. For me, those moments are few and far between. I think that what makes the most difference is Mr. CC himself and how I am with him. I’m me, plain and simple. And he loves me. Doesn’t ask or expect me to be something/someone that I’m not. And that means the world to me.

Did you start a blog during an important event during your life? Was it helpful to you? Did you continue it even after the event was over? This is something that I’m starting to think about as my wedding day gets closer and closer…

Work Out Wagon Results – Week #8

Last Week’s Stats:
Weight – 147
Tummy – 32/36.75 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.25

Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD)
To actually follow the goals that I have set out to follow…I did do better on this one, no matter WHAT the numbers below say
Move to next step of Couch Potato to 5K running plan – run a minimum of three times during the week Ran Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday
Take only one day a week off of SOME form of exercise – days not running either do a P90X workout or swim Still didn’t do as good on this one…
NO SODAS during the week!!! Only cheated ONE time – YEA!

Current Stats:
Weight – 148
Tummy – 31.5/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.25

Here are my goals for this week:
Increase my running length of time and speed, following the Couch Potato to 5K running plan – running at least 3 times
Take only one day off of SOME form of exercise – do a P90X workout or swim on “off days”
Continue with no sodas during the week, and making good diet choices.
Work on smaller meals, more often.

I’m really proud of what I was able to get back on track with last week. I watched what I ate and made sure to exercise more. Yes, I should have done something for two of my three days off, but maybe I’m doing just fine with my baby steps to fitness…

I was disappointed in the numbers posting this week. Despite all of my good efforts, it seems like I fell short a bit. I’m counting on that being blamed for my monthly visitors who brings along water retention and bloating with her when she visits! Next week, I hope to continue to see my weight drop and my measurements decrease as well.

I’m almost 100 days out from the wedding right now, and to be perfectly honest, I’m feeling a bit of pressure about the “hump” that I seem to have hit. I cannot get past the position that I’m at with my weight or my measurements, it seems. So, in order to try to force myself to do better and be more accountable, I’m going back to the food journal and really watching those calories. I’m excited that my workouts are at the level now where I’m burning significant calories…I just want to make sure that I don’t undo all of my hard work with bad eating choices.

You might have noticed also that I added a new goal of eating smaller meals more often. This one is REALLY hard for me to do. Not only do I have to make good snack choices, which isn’t all that hard for me, but I have to eat at set times during the day. I noticed that when I did this when I was first starting out on my workout wagon, it really did seem to speed up my metabolism a bit. The past three weeks or so, I haven’t been doing very good with this aspect of when I eat, and I think that the numbers really reflect that.

Is anyone else out there struggling to get past a “road block” in their fitness program? I’m making progress, so I’m ok with this small set-back, but it’s frustrating all the same.

What are you doing to get over your “hump” in the road?

The "Guest Book" Revealed!

Well, since I wrote about the “dilemma” the other day (read - "a few weeks ago") with the signing spots on the “guest book” I wanted to go ahead and share some pics of my work on the actual quilt.

I bought several (five, I think) different patterned fabrics along with a solid black to make up the arcs of the rings. I had envisioned just using the colors black and cream to go along with my color scheme, but fell in LOVE with a fabric that I saw on sale at Hancock Fabrics. It was a cream background, and had black on it, but also included the color grey.

Bringing in one more color really opened up my mind a bit and I ended up with another grey and black material as well. I wasn’t sure how exactly it would all look together, and I KNOW that we’ve had THAT talk before! So I was REALLY anxious to finish cutting up the million zillion thousand pieces that it took to make all the arcs that I think that I’ll need and get to sewing some things together and seeing how the fabric looked.

Here’s the result: That’s just one side of the ring.

Here’s one more shot of the “ring”:
I apologize that it’s such a rough draft, but you get the picture. Just use your imagination and picture the cream muslin inserted to fill in the circles, and the arcs will all be finished off with squares cut out of the same black solid fabric that is the center piece of each arc.

What do you think? I REALLY like them! I can’t wait to see it more together, since it’s still a little hard for me to envision at this point. I know, I know. Imagine how frustrating it is for ME! Anyway, the plan of attack is for me to make as many of these arcs as I can BEFORE the actual wedding occurs…thus increasing the likelihood and ease of getting this project finished AFTER the wedding.

I was a little concerned about this type of quilting. The pattern is a piece-work foundation paper quilt pattern, which is something that I’ve never really done before. Essentially, you copy the pattern that’s given onto special foundation paper and then sew your quilt pieces to the actual paper, which at the same time sews them together. At the end of the project, you simply rip the paper out (in theory that happens easily since sewing the paper perforates it as you go). This gives you a firm foundation to work with and it would seem to me that it would help decrease the chance of error and help make all of your arcs exactly the same. Or at least closer to exactly the same than if you didn’t have it. So anyway, this is a new thing for me, so I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it, but I LOVE it!

It was really easy to pick up the hang of it, after the first one – since you KNOW that one took a little longer to get the hang of it! All in all, I finished the other three arcs in no time flat. I would say less than 10 minutes per arc, but I’m just guessing. So hopefully, by starting early my grand master plan will work out and help me to finish this up after we collect all the signatures.

Did you have a wedding project that you started ahead of time like that, even knowing that you couldn’t finish it until AFTER the wedding was over? How did working on it early work out for you? I’d love to hear about it!

Joining the YMCA...

So I’ve been writing a lot about our workouts. Something that has been happening recently has really affected our workouts. Texas has been in an early heat wave. Yes, I realize that I live in Texas, and that it’s hot here a lot of the time. I get that. I really do. But it’s been unseasonably hot…in late June we’ve been hitting triple-digits on the temperature front each and every day. A cool day (read cold front) for us is high 90’s.

How has this affected us, you’re asking right about now? Well, we run outside. We don’t own a treadmill and we’re not members of any gym. So this means avoiding heat exhaustion is the most important thing for us. When we first started running, we could run right after work (between 5:30 – 6:30 at night) and have no problems. That quickly changed as May became June. We changed our routine to run about an hour after we ate in the evenings. This might mean a little discomfort while running if we ate too heavy a meal, or didn’t wait the full hour, but it was worth it to run during a cooler period during the day.

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Last week, we had to start waiting until after 9pm to run. It’s been THAT hot. And that’s just not acceptable for us working folks. Mr. CC works quite a ways away from our house, having to go right through downtown Austin to get there. Which puts him going through some heavy traffic, except that he goes so early in the mornings, that he misses it all. (So for those of you familiar with Austin and it’s traffic, you get that that is VERY early!)

So running that late at night forces us to go to bed later and later. And it’s just going to keep getting hotter and hotter. We needed a better solution. This is starting to affect our desire to work out at all, and staying on track with our goals is important to us. Especially since it's not just ME that is worried about looking her best on her wedding day...this is something that Mr. CC worries about constantly.

So what did we do? We joined the YMCA. I don’t know about the area that you’re in, but in Austin, the YMCA has some top-notch facilities for member use. Nice gyms, workout classes, summer programs for kids, and swimming facilities. An extra score for us, since we “lost” our summertime pool when little CC and I moved out of our apartment in Austin and moved in with Mr. CC. Without access to a pool, the summers in Austin can be L-O-N-G…

So just for your information, joining the Y was a simple choice for us. They offer a family membership, allowing all four of us access to all of the Austin area YMCA facilities, for a mere $75/month. There was no activation fee since we signed up the same day that we took a tour, and there is no contract to sign. It’s month-to-month on bank/credit card draft with just a 30-day cancellation policy to follow. Right now, the kids are young enough where they get in under our cards, and they must be supervised at all times. But the Y does provide on-site child care for ages 6 mos and up. Within a year or so, Mr. CC’s son will be able to roam about as he pleases when we’re there, but little CC will have to continue to go to “Hang Time” until she reaches 13.

Lucky for us, we’re pretty flexible and one of us doesn’t mind sitting watching little CC swim while the other works out and then taking turns. It’s a win-win situation for us. We get to run on treadmills (better for our joints on shock absorption) in the A/C (MUY importante in Tejas!) as well as full access to the rest of the amenities that the YMCA offers.

We’re thrilled with our choice, and just to be certain that I did a good thing financially, I did a break-down on the cost. I figured out that if we go to the Y three days a week (which is how often we’re SUPPOSED to be running each week) the cost is a mere $3.13 per visit. I will GLADLY pay $3 to run in the A/C any day of the week!

Check out the new YMCA that just opened last year, and is the closest one to our house:

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What new expenses did you incur to meet your fitness goals for your wedding? Was it worth the money that you spent?

Birthday Celebration

So I mentioned the other day that part of my “downfall” on the work out wagon last week was the birthday celebrations that I partook in. Is partook an actual word? I’m not sure, but you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, the reason for this is because it turned into a three-day long celebration.

Here’s how it all went down. Mr. CC had been being secretive about my birthday surprise for the last few weeks. Since I love surprises (NOT!) I was on pins and needles trying to wait patiently for the big day. Yeah, I don’t do that well either, and since Mr. CC is HORRIBLE at keeping secrets, I kinda knew what was happening beforehand. But since I wasn’t 100% sure what it was, I wouldn’t confess what I thought it was to Mr. CC when he asked.

So, the big day rolls around. It’s an odd year for me, 33. I can’t think of too many people that celebrate 33 really big. But in my family, growing up your birthday was YOUR day. It was the one day a year that was solely about YOU – and lucky for me, Mr. CC was raised the same way so we celebrate our birthdays in BIG ways.

5 minutes before midnight the night before my birthday I got my first “happy birthday.”

Then I got a sweet “happy birthday” good-bye kiss as he made his way off to work while I was still snoozing away.

He had already told me that his goal was to actually tell me “Happy Birthday” 33 times throughout the day. It was fun to count and keep track of it all! Little did I know that his actual intent was to say it 33 times over the course of the celebrations. Dinner was my choice that night, and after a stressful week at work, moving offices all the previous two days, I was pooped. Mr. CC’s parents called to see if they could take us to lunch. I begged off, being too tired and just wanting to sit and do nothing. We ended up eating leftovers and watching a movie of my choice. I think that it was “. I’m really a homebody, and was really looking forward to our birthday celebration the next day.

I was only told that I would need an overnight bag and be prepared to make lots of decisions on what I wanted to eat, what I wanted to do, and where I wanted to go. Are you noticing a pattern here? It was all about ME, which was SO cool!

So we slept late. I got up way before Mr. CC, which is the way that it works sometimes, and I worked on our guestbook rings. I LOVE sewing and having a project to work on, but since I have to sit at our dining room table to do it, I try to just work on things in stages when Mr. CC isn’t around. Him sleeping late was the perfect excuse for me to get some sewing time in.

But once he was up and about, we got all packed up and headed out. We stopped for a quick brunch and then the shopping commenced. We went to several stores, and once it started to get really hot outside we headed for the mall. Mr. CC had gotten a good chuckle the night before when I asked if the weekend was all about me, if that included him taking me to get my brows done…

The mall was nice and all in all, I scored a new pair of shoes, a new pair of earrings, a new dress, a pair of pants and unlimited shopping at VS! Plus the eyebrow wax. Sweet! About this time I got all pooped out. It was time for the big reveal. Where we were going to stay.

A long time ago, when Mr. CC and I first dated, we were strolling through an eclectic part of Austin, South Congress district, aka SoCo. I pointed out this quaint little hotel that I had admired and fell in love with upon first sight when I moved to Austin several years earlier. Mr. CC, being the romantic that he is, remembered this conversation and booked us a night’s stay at the hotel. May I present to you the Hotel San Jose…

Isn’t it gorgeous!?!?!

Check out those gardens?!?!

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I loved every minute of it. We checked in and settled our bags and looked around for a few minutes. Then we headed up the street to Guerro’s Taco Bar for some tasty margaritas. A few of those later and I was ready to get ready for dinner. Mr. CC took me to a favorite of ours, the Macaroni Grill. I know, it’s just a big chain restaurant, but we never go there to eat and it’s SO yummy! Since pasta isn’t really on our diets, I knew that this would be a treat worthy of a birthday celebration.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and dropped off our truck, called a cab and headed down to 6th street. We have a favorite bar/pub on 6th street in Austin, a little place called B.D. Riley’s. It’s a good bar for some live jazz/blues type of music, and we’re never disappointed when we go there. We hung out there for a few hours and were then ready to call it quits. We took a cab back to our hotel and settled in for a long sleep. It was really nice.

The rest of the weekend followed those same basic guidelines. Whatever I wanted to do, we did. Wherever I wanted to go, we went. Whatever show/movie I wanted to watch, we watched. I was flattered and touched. More importantly to me, the fact that Mr. CC went to SO much trouble to make my day special just warmed my heart all to pieces. Yeah, I know, it’s gushy and mushy and kinda yucky…but I’m the luckiest girl that I know! He’s a great guy, and I can’t say “THANK YOU” enough.

He was even sweet enough to get the key from the hotel for my scrapbook. The key was an actual key (unheard of these days with electronic locks!) and it had a cool keychain. Apparently at the front desk, you could buy a replica key chain…so he bought one and then switched the key chains so that we kept the beat-up looking one that we were given. SO sweet and thoughtful…

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

A Bride…Again

When I first started making plans for this wedding…WAY before there was an engagement ring or anything, I noticed that I really worried what other people would think. Not so much the type of thing like “I can’t believe she picked the color eggplant!” but more along the lines of “I can’t believe SHE’S having an actual wedding…again!”

I really struggled with this topic of conversation, and spent countless hours stressing myself out about it. And let me be clear here, I was really the ONLY person worried about it. Mr. CC is so calm, cool and collected about things – his take on it was that if we wanted a wedding and were willing to pay for it, then who cares what everyone else thinks. Oh, to be so free. To be so open and uncaring. Most of the time, I can admit to being that carefree about things, but this is one thing that I was unsure of.

It took several months of planning, dreaming and talking about what we would do, how we would do things, and what was important to us for me to become comfortable with the idea of a big wedding. (Not that 150 guests is all THAT big, but it’s nothing to scoff at!) Maybe it’s just easier for guys than for girls…they’re tough and hardy and girls are supposed to be sensitive and caring. I didn’t want people to look down on me or us for planning a wedding when it was not our first wedding.

I’m proud to say that in the end, after several agonizing weeks and LOTS of conversations with the Mister, I came to terms with it. This is what I want. This is what we want. I don’t really care if you (stranger) think that it’s presumptuous of me to have a wedding when it isn’t my first. That’s more your own problem, than mine to deal with. I have enough on my plate…DIY projects, meeting my budget, not going crazy doing this while working full-time.

As I started reading wedding blogs and searching for ideas and inspiration (every bride’s favorite pastime activity) I realized that there truly is a shortage of brides out there coming right out in the open about second or third or fourth marriages and actual weddings. Yes, people re-marry. But many people (it seems) don’t talk openly about it. It’s somewhat taboo. I applaud sites like weddingbee.com that actually dedicates a section of their boards to what they term “encore brides.” This encourages me that there are others out there like me. And weddingbee also features a bride (or two I found out today!) that IS an actual encore bride who spotlights her second time around. This gives me hope that I’m not totally against the grain here.

But when it comes down to it, who cares if I am totally against the grain? I don’t. Like I said earlier, this is what I want, this is what Mr. CC wants, and we’re SO excited to be planning our wedding. Who cares if we’ve been down this road before? We don’t. Luckily for us, things are different this time around or else we wouldn’t be where we are. And maybe having this unique perspective on things allows us to focus on what we know is really important this time around. Yes, I want a gorgeous wedding…but without the love that we share beneath it all, it’s just a big party.

With all of that being said, there are still moments that I look up and wonder what the H*%K I’m thinking. Like when my dad called to talk one night and I mentioned something about him walking me down the aisle. He didn’t mean anything by his response…but he literally said “Again?!?” Yes, Dad. Again. Please. It would mean a great deal to me. Even though I’ve made my peace with my decision, there are still moments that I question it all. Luckily for me, I’ve got a GREAT groom who picks up my spirits, turns my frown upside-down and makes me remember why all of this is SO important to me.

Are there other “encore brides” out there who struggle with these issues too? Are you doing something like writing about your experience on a blog? Comment below if you are, I’d LOVE to chat! And I would LOVE to follow another brides’ blog about her wedding experience.

Calling ALL Crafters!

Hey guys and gals! I don't know about you, but I LOVE me some coupons!

I get emails from Hancock's Fabrics regularly and though they are always running great sales, sometimes their emails provide EXTRA coupons.

So I thought that all of you brides (or just crafty ladies) might want access to the great coupons too. Click below and print off the coupons:

CURRENT HANCOCK COUPONS

Be really careful about the dates - just a little word of warning. I've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for another 40-50% off of fabric purchases for what seems like AGES now and have to wait until July 19th again! Oh well, just knowing that I have the coupon in my possession helps.

Happy Crafting!

We HAVE a Caterer!!!

Yep, it’s official folks. We. Have. A. Caterer. YEA!

I don’t really remember if I posted about this before or not, so forgive me if I’m repeating an earlier post, please. We had initially looked at the recommended caterer for our venue, Texas Old Town. We had taken a recommendation from a co-worker and contacted Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que out of Lockhart, Texas – the BBQ capital of Texas. When Mr. CC (since he was in charge of this particular project) called to reserve the date and get pricing and more information, he was sort of given the run around. Not that they wouldn’t commit to doing our wedding reception, but the gentleman that he talked with that day told Mr. CC that there was no need to reserve the date, just to call back a few weeks before the wedding and book it at that time.

Ok, slow down there. NO NEED to reserve the date for OUR wedding?!?! Are you picking up on my shock, here?

But knowing that these smaller BBQ places can be a little more lax on this side of their business, we held our tongues and waited. Now, when I say that we were patient, I don’t mean that we intended to wait until three weeks before the wedding and call to reserve like the guy told us to. No way am I chancing that they’ll get booked, or the prices will change, or something else equally as bad will happen between February (when we first called) and late October. But I was patient and waited until July to call back. I mean, come on, I gave them 5 months…and then I urged Mr. CC to call back again.

Like the good groom that he is, he did so right away. I was on IM with him, so I not-so-patiently waited on the other “side” of the phone call. When he didn’t respond for a minute, I assumed that all was going well. Then he IMed me that the guy that takes care of those things was on the other line booking a wedding and Mr. CC would have to call back later.

Gulp.

Lucky for us, when Mr. CC called back and talked with Danny, the caterer manager over at Chisholm Trail, he actually OFFICIALLY booked us down for that Saturday night in October and had a LOT more details than the previous person did. In fact, Danny laughed and knew exactly who we had talked with when we called before and he said not to worry, that was the owner that we had talked with and he was WAY more relaxed about things than most brides and grooms. Understanding that other people might need a little more reassurance than the owner is willing to give, Danny had sort of taken over this aspect of their business, and was able to give us exactly what we were looking for.

He still didn’t want a deposit…I guess that’s good for us. But we ordered the three-meat meal. Chisholm Trail will show up at TOT at 6pm and start setting up the spread while we’re finishing up family pictures and our other guests are mingling. The food will be ready to serve at 6:30pm. We’ll do it all buffet-style, but they will provide the servers at each station so that all the guests have to do is point and take. Chisholm Trail is providing brisket, chicken and sausage for the meats, along with beans, potato salad, and cole slaw as the sides. (I’m a little disappointed that there’s no mac ‘n cheese, but what can a girl do?) They also provide tea to drink, including all the lemons and sweeteners for that. Good deal. And they’re doing it all for WELL under 10 dollars per person. (The price actually went up .25 from when they quoted us before, but I’m not going to bicker over a quarter – pick your battles, right?)

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I’m relieved (except about the mac ‘n cheese) that we now have a caterer. Someone that I KNOW will be there, and I can take this off of my list of things to do. Truthfully it was already off of my actual to do list, since I knew that they were going to do it, but it’s more official now.

Were you lucky enough to find a caterer that was this easy to work with too? Have you ever heard of a vendor NOT wanting a deposit for their services? This makes TWO vendors like this for us…

A Dilemma?

Ok. Here’s the deal…I’m faced with a problem. That might not actually BE a problem. But I need some input.

I posted here last week about my non-traditional “guest book” that I’m working on. (I promise that a post showing off the fabrics that I’ve selected to make the rings is coming soon!) I went out and bought the material and started cutting the pieces that comprise the quilt right away, as there are about 100 million zillion of the little buggers…

Anyway. Back on track, Miss CC! As I’m cutting up my muslin for the signing squares, I realize something. There are only 20 of the big center circles in a wedding ring quilt. Wait a minute. Let me “say” that again…there are only 20 center pieces.

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You see the big open area in the “middle” of each ring? That’s where I had envisioned having my guests “sign in” for our wedding. But if there are only twenty of them…

Do you see the problem here? There will (hopefully!) be more than 20 people/couples in attendance at our wedding. Hmm…my dilemma grows in size…

So what should I do? I can see two options:
1.) Add another row/column to the quilt
2.) Have people “sign in” somewhere else on the quilt

Option #1 is limiting to me. For one thing, adding too many more columns and/or rows just creates more work for me. With only 20 circles, there are 98 arcs to make to construct the rings that form the pattern. Gulp. 98 is already a lot of sewing and piece work to do…granted, this is a project that can definitely take the “back burner” as we get closer to the wedding and projects that will actually be USED at the wedding take precedence. But still. Adding more rows/columns just increases the likelihood of this project extending into the future as long as the eye can see. Not to mention the fact that I would have to add on an additional 20 rows/columns to make this a semi-feasible idea!

Option #2 might have more promise. I know that not everyone will want to have a large space to “sign in” as they might not want to offer words of love or advice to us on our day. A signature alone can be done on a smaller piece of muslin. Like maybe on these smaller pieces where the rings “overlap”?

Do you think that would work? If so, how do I regulate who signs which piece? Or do I even try to regulate it? Maybe I should just leave all the pieces out and let each person/couple decide which size they would like to utilize. An idea that I’ve been toying with is pre-deciding who gets the larger pieces of muslin to sign – like bridal party, family members and close friends. Everyone else could just sign in on a smaller piece. The pattern calls for 49 of these smaller muslin pieces.

Another choice for option #2 would be to have no one sign the larger pieces and everyone just sign their names on the smaller pieces. I could quilt a design of sorts on the larger open areas (as shown in the above pics) to fill in the space and just have the signatures on the smaller overlap pieces of the quilt.

What should I do? I love this idea TOO much to not figure out how to make this work…not to mention the fact that I JUST finished cutting all the pieces out!

Can you help me out? I’ve posted another voting poll to the side (like I did when I was messing with those damn eggplant tablecloths…sorry MOH!) where you can vote on what you think that I should do. Side note: if you choose Other as your vote, be sure to post a comment telling me exactly what your Other idea is!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Work Out Wagon Results – Week #7

Last Week’s Stats: Weight – 146
Tummy – 32/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.25

Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD) Continue to Couch Potato to 5K running plan – moving on to the next week’s workout – run three times during the week Ran Sunday, Monday and Saturday – LONG break in between runs – more on that down below
One additional ab workout during the week Yeah, I’m a stinker - NONE
NO sodas during the week! I broke down and had a soda several days this week – BOO!

Current Stats:
Weight – 147
Tummy – 32/36.75 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.25

Here are my goals for this week:
To actually follow the goals that I set out to follow…
Move to next step of Couch Potato to 5K running plan – run a minimum of three times during the week
Take only one day a week off of SOME form of exercise – days not running either do a P90X workout or swim
NO SODAS during the week!!!

I feel really badly about my progress, or lack there of, for last week. I don’t really have an excuse, except maybe lack of willpower. You see, my birthday fell during the week last week…and although typically a birthday only covers ONE DAY…I feel like I celebrated all week long. Maybe you didn’t catch that…let me say it again. I celebrated all week long. All. Week. Long.

Yeah. So I was a bad little bride-to-be…and I GAINED weight this past week. I started off the week right…running the first two days of my week (since I count Sunday as the start of the week)…and then I’m not really sure what happened. A break on Tuesday since I had run Sunday and Monday turned into a four-day long break. Not really sure what all happened. I know that on Wednesday it was Mr. CC's last baseball game of the "season" and I didn't want to miss it. The weather probably also attributed to my lack of wanting to run - it's been in the triple digits everyday here in Texas. It's even still hot at 9 o'clock at night...and we're running later and later each night just to avoid death from heat stroke...

Oh well. It’s done. It’s over and there’s not much I can do to change what happened.

The good news? I had a GREAT birthday – ate cake for breakfast…followed by a cupcake after lunch…and another half after dinner. Yeah. Maybe I can understand why there was weight gain! LOL. The surprising thing is that my “true tummy” measurement finally changed, which was shocking considering that my total weight measurement went UP…but I’ll take what good news I can get.

I feel like I need to hit the program really hard this week. Rededicate myself to it all. You’ll notice that my first goal this week was actually to FOLLOW the goals that I lay out for myself. To be perfectly honest, I feel like I’ve let you all down with my lack of dedication last week. I know, I know, it’s not that big of a deal…but still. Being open and honest with my good days and bad days here on this blog holds me accountable. Not just with myself, but with you all.

Is it easier for you to stay on track with your goals if you tell someone else about them? Does that help you stay accountable?

A New Spin on an Old Toss?

I saw the cutest thing the other night while reading my daily wedding blog, weddingbee. For current brides, if you don’t already subscribe to this, you need to! Visit their site at http://www.weddingbee.com/ – it’s one of the BEST resources for creative ideas that I’ve found.
So what do you think? Isn’t that just the cutest packaging idea ever for birdseed/rice? The bride that posted about this will actually have lavender tossed at her since rice and birdseed tend to be a little bit hard on the landing…but the whole thing got me thinking about our toss and the logistics of it all.

Traditionally, the toss is done as the bride and groom make their “escape.” While this is fine, if you’re just having a cake and punch reception, doing the toss at the end of the night after a dinner reception has its hiccups. Mainly that these days, all guests don’t wait for the bride and groom to leave before making their own exit. I know, Miss Manners says that a wedding guest should NEVER leave before the bride and groom, but I don’t happen to agree. Especially for couples that brought their children along and older couples, making an early exit can be the smartest thing as the evening wears on longer and later.

But this causes a problem for the toss…it could be that SO many of your guests leave before you choose to make your own exit that the classic photo that you’re hoping to catch with the bubbles blowing in the wind won’t happen simply because there are not enough guests left at the end of the night to pull it off.

In order to try to avoid this, I’ve been thinking about doing out toss between the ceremony and the reception. At our venue (Texas Old Town) the ceremony site is in a wooded glen across the road from our reception hall. I think that it would be a simple enough matter to have a small table or even just a barstool set out at the edge of the road with a sign instructing guests to grab a bag of whatever and form the line along the walkway to the reception hall. The photographer could then stand at the doorway to the reception hall and snap the much-sought-after picture of the toss and everyone is happy. I’m happy because I got my picture. The guests are happy because they don’t have to feel guilty about leaving early should they choose to do so since the toss has already happened.

What do you think? Do you think that my venue setup allows for this to happen in this way? Do you think that this is a good compromise? Is it ok to “buck” tradition and do the toss before we’re actually planning to leave?

And Now for the Veil…

I was a terrible tease two weeks ago and mentioned very briefly that some decisions had been reached regarding my hair and veil. Then I went on and on for several days about other DIY projects and decisions that I’ve been making…just leaving you hanging for more about my hair and veil.

I could try to lie and tell you that I did that on accident…but I’m a horrible liar, as people tell me all the time. Ok, that’s mainly coming from Mr. CC, but I think that it’s a GOOD thing that I’m a bad liar. Seriously.

Anyway, when I last talked about my hair/veil dilemma here, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do about either. My big plan was that while shopping in Dallas with my Maids, I could work with my hair and the veils that they have at Alfred Angelo and play around with what options looked best on me. Because let’s face it…just because you love a hairstyle or veil on one bride does NOT mean that it will flatter you!

Mr. CC – this is your cue to exit and STOP READING this post. Sorry, honey!

Ok, now that he’s gone, let’s get down to it. First up? Hair down with veil. I’d already decided that I will not be sporting the blusher on my veil on my big day. Mainly because I’m worried just a bit about how it will look in pictures. That, and Mr. CC expressed a wish to be able to see me completely as I make my way down the aisle.

Here’s a picture of me with hair down…
And from the back…
Hey notice how well my Work Out Wagon results are showing? This dress that the store had was actually a size smaller than mine, which is why the V doesn't meet at the top...but my back view is improving!

I was really concerned about the length of my hair covering up the back of my dress…even if it might provide some camouflage for any “back cleavage” that hasn’t disappeared by then. The length did cover a bit of the back of the dress, but not so much to be concerned with, but it will grow a bit between now and the wedding. This style is doable, but it wasn’t anything great.

Next, I pulled my hair up into a twist of sorts. Please excuse the ugly twist. I was just trying to get the hair on top of my head (which I accomplished) and wasn’t really concerned about how well it was placed there!
I have to admit that I like the look of having my hair up. A little more formal, and dressy…maybe even more princessy. Yes, that’s a word. There are a few options when your hair is up on where to place the veil. Above is pictured placing the veil over the updo.

Here’s one of the veil being placed under the updo…
Our helper, Brandi, placing the veil beneath my updo as an option. Here’s a view of that same style from the back…
Once again, excuse the updo…and I don’t know WHAT I was doing with my hands…I kinda like this look. Other than it might tend to leave the front looking a little bare…which can always be fixed with the addition of something sparkly. Other than that one fact, I think that I REALLY like this option! Something that I hadn’t even considered.

What do you think? Hair up or down? Veil above the updo or under the updo? Did you start out with one vision that you wanted, just to find out that it wasn’t as flattering as you pictured in your mind?

Re-Visiting My Floral Budget

Oh, what a girl will pay to get what she wants…

Yep, I’m looking at our budget. I’m constantly working on ways to save a little here and there without compromising the overall feel that we want to encompass for our wedding. I also don’t want to skimp on quality too much, either. I may be a “budget friendly” bride, but I’m not a cheap bride! This coming from the girl who spent countless hours making flowers out of TISSUE PAPER…LOL!

In the interest of our budget, I’ve been looking at our floral budget quite a bit. Our wedding budget calculator tells me that my floral expense should be $1500. At first, this seemed like a lot to me, to be perfectly honest. Then I started shopping for flowers online and seeing what my options are. And since I’m one of those stubborn brides who wants what she wants no matter what time of year I’m actually getting married…yeah, that just complicates things.

I mean, if I was getting married right now (let’s just pretend) then I would be able to go down to HEB (my local grocery store) and pick up a dozen nice looking roses for about $10, including tax. I actually think that they’re on sale this week for $7.99 plus tax. CHEAP! And those Stargazer lilies that I have to have at the wedding are selling for $4/stem right now, with 3-4 buds on each stem. NICE. Buying locally would save me a LOT on my floral budget.

But here’s the thing. I’m not getting married right now. I’m getting married towards the end of October. Hmmm…so will these flowers still be available then? I don’t know. So I’ve been researching other options - mainly ordering my flowers in bulk online.

There are several resources that I’ve found for this type of service. Apparently it’s a hit thing to do now (DIY-ing your own flowers) and there are several websites that cater to the bride that chooses this option. The flowers come from all over the world, allowing these vendors to sell their goods year-round. This means (and I checked carefully!) that I can get fresh roses and lilies at any time during the year. I might be limited on some color selection as far as the roses go, but that should be it.

This color limitation brings in another option – artificial flowers – since I have to also have lavender flowers. I know that I’ve posted in the past about this seller that I’ve found that offers some pretty amazing fake flowers. Some of them aren’t so great, but that’s why you buy just one stem of each ahead of time and then you can pick and choose what works best. Incorporating some artificial flowers into my décor will allow me to have some of the colors that I want or out-of-season flowers at a fraction of the cost that I would pay to get them there fresh. Because I’m sure that peonies in October would cost an arm and a leg, IF you could even get them.

So yesterday, I’m crunching numbers on doing a mix of fake and real flowers, trying to see where I stand on my budget. The good news? Even if I paid top price for everything, and ordered WAY more than I think I’ll actually need, I can get all the flowers for around $800. So, as long as I can get the moss, floral foam and various other floral supplies that I need for around $200 that would bring my total to about $1,000 – which is $500 LESS than what the budget calculator tells me to allow for.

This is GREAT! I share the news with Mr. CC the other night in my excitement, and he thinks that spending $1,000 on flowers is a little steep. I explain that it’s actually only 2/3 of the budget that I’m supposed to be spending and he gets a little more on board with my excitement. I guess that not sharing the hours and hours of research on this that I’ve done online does have its drawbacks…

But I get his point too. Since I had to go to HEB that night anyway, picking up stuff for dinner I went through their floral shop looking for the specific flowers that I’ve come closer to deciding that I want in my wedding. Here’s the breakdown:

Online HEB
Roses (125 – 16”) $172.05 $10/doz=$110
Stargazer Lilies (40 stems) $172.05 $4/stem=$160

That’s not as bad as I was thinking the difference would be. I was actually expecting a LOT more – of course I haven’t factored in shipping either. The only other “fresh” flower that I’m buying online will be the rose petals that I want to line the aisle with. I’m still working out exactly how many of those that I need…but they should be less than $300 at the MOST.

But the thing that I just realized? I don’t NEED 40 stems of lilies….I only need 10 stems to give me the buds that I need for my centerpieces, which would also leave me with extras. But 40 stems is the least amount that I can buy through the place that I liked best online.

I guess the search goes on…surely someone out there can sell me only 10 stems of lilies?!?!? In the meantime, I think that I’ll stop and talk with the florist next time I’m at HEB. I mean, who knows, maybe they can get me stargazer lilies in October…as Mama CC always told me growing up – you never know until you ask!