tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74494816826881210102024-03-13T22:23:16.879-07:00Confessions of a BridezillaBellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.comBlogger374125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-63439863026113896352009-11-11T11:31:00.000-08:002009-11-11T11:35:47.242-08:00I'm alive<span style="font-family: verdana;">...and I'm an old married lady now! That's right, not only did we get married on Halloween, but I also celebrated my birthday recently. That's a lot for a girl to wrap her head around, so I haven't been up to blogging.<br /><br />The wedding was completely and utterly perfect and I enjoyed the whole day from start to finish. I couldn't have dreamed a more perfect day. And it's true what they say, whatever you don't get done doesn't matter one single bit.<br /><br />I might wait to blog more until we have our pro photos back, but maybe not. We'll see if the writing bug bites or not. I've definitely enjoyed the time off the last couple of weeks, and am very happy to be past the "engaged" stage and onto the "happily married" one. Our house is even almost back in order (and if you had seen how crazy it was the week before the wedding, you'd realize what an accomplishment that is!).<br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-80786803059814468472009-10-23T17:07:00.000-07:002009-10-23T17:09:12.326-07:00This is really true<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvU5dHqwjLVRXtO_lnlpEOpXwcVQItfcPG0qsvll9uP2BsxsnJglnxAnzCcWh5DtvDBvox2AKWeSnONWe0RCBpYwShg7Rr5YF4a4zDILO4QrlJ7mz_3YhgXQxVMW1-RXGcoAVA6_cQFw/s1600-h/Picture+4.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvU5dHqwjLVRXtO_lnlpEOpXwcVQItfcPG0qsvll9uP2BsxsnJglnxAnzCcWh5DtvDBvox2AKWeSnONWe0RCBpYwShg7Rr5YF4a4zDILO4QrlJ7mz_3YhgXQxVMW1-RXGcoAVA6_cQFw/s400/Picture+4.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395951812951273234" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">What is it about Halloween? My friend and I were discussing how all of the women's costumes in the Halloween Superstore have "Sexy" in the title. Sexy nurse, sexy police officer...it's just funny.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />I'm guilty of it myself, of course. I totally plan on looking hot on Halloween. ;-)</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-64335222866305746812009-10-23T11:20:00.000-07:002009-10-23T11:30:38.013-07:00Marriage License: Check!<span style="font-family: verdana;">Mr. T and I went and got our marriage license before work today. It was really easy, and can I say how refreshing it was to be in a government office where things were run efficiently? They really had their act together.<br /><br />We had to wait about 10 minutes while another couple got their license. We saw yet another couple waiting to be married that morning; the bride was in a cute short white dress with silver shoes, and her bridesmaid (I assume) was in a short purple dress.<br /><br />Our clerk was pretty funny. I finally had to 'fess up that I was indeed changing my last name to Mr. T's. He was surprised, and I think pleased. The clerk said it was good I'd decided beforehand because she's witnessed a fair number of fights about that subject. I can believe it, but really? People want to get married and don't even think about the name issue until they're at the county clerk's office to get the marriage license? That's so not how I operate.<br /><br />She got a little squirrelly when I was asking how our officiant should list his title, and I was surprised the Universal Life Church thing isn't old hat by now, but Mr. T pointed out that I never named the church. But I did say that our officiant was ordained over the internet, so how much clearer could I be?<br /><br />It made me a little concerned, but I have countless friends who've been married this way, so I'm proceeding. We'll figure out the title thing...if nothing else, we can call the county clerk's office and hope we get someone else on the phone.<br /><br />Having the license really drove it home that yes, we're going to be married in a week. I think it put both of us in a really good mood.<br /><br />Now off to face my last day at work before the wedding! Oof, so much to do!<br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-84949782690459072009-10-19T12:29:00.000-07:002009-10-19T12:35:09.169-07:00Dress: Check!<span style="font-family: verdana;">I picked up my dress on Saturday! I adore it. As one of my friends commented, it feels weird to love an inanimate object so much. I can't wait to wear it! The dress maker did such a great job.<br /><br />After I picked it up I dropped it at the MOH's house; it's hanging in her guest bedroom closet. We'll have to figure out logistics of getting it where it needs to be when it needs to be there later, for now, Mr. T is just not allowed to see it, so her place was the best storage option.<br /><br />I also came in under budget on the dress (Hooray!). I'm contemplating using the extra to buy myself an "after-party" dress. I can't help but think I'll be over wearing a corset by about 10 pm. Still, that means locating another fabulous dress in under two weeks. Hm.<br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-88179794493784259692009-10-19T12:19:00.001-07:002009-10-19T12:26:42.365-07:00Pumpkins: Check!<a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwr6sSGYC0Ol9OA4E-uSD_Uk2p8kb0N0PkEIsQRCo1zwqJiNTAnWgODdYLwXTP0udAIUc7SnLKXNU5UBY3JCQs5E4iqV0u_b2xZIciULKPiLHjto9pySM6QxoE0F-uCy6EzWkfdLaHB0/s1600-h/pumpkins.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 374px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwr6sSGYC0Ol9OA4E-uSD_Uk2p8kb0N0PkEIsQRCo1zwqJiNTAnWgODdYLwXTP0udAIUc7SnLKXNU5UBY3JCQs5E4iqV0u_b2xZIciULKPiLHjto9pySM6QxoE0F-uCy6EzWkfdLaHB0/s400/pumpkins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394392928824562786" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mr. T and I got some crazy looks at Safeway last night as we bought 14 pumpkins from them. The price was just so good: $3.99 per pumpkin! The lowest price I got from the pumpkin farms I emailed was $5 per pumpkin, and that would've also meant a long drive out to pick them up. Still, I bet the pumpkin farms would've had prettier pumpkins than Safeway. In the photo you can see that some of our purchases have...character.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Because of that, I also went to another store and bought 8 more pumpkins--they were more expensive, but also prettier. Those will probably end up on the tables. The other ones will be glued and glittered and become pretty much unrecognizable as their former selves in order to take on their role as our aisle pumpkins.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I also got some small pumpkins to scatter on the escort card table and other places, but we need to get a few more of these. So, we're not entirely done, but 22 pumpkins feels like an accomplishment. It also makes our house look like a deranged indoor pumpkin patch. The cats don't know what to think.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">And, happily, we only spent about half our pumpkin budget. Hooray to saving money!</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-760946189270703492009-10-15T17:13:00.000-07:002009-10-15T17:36:48.122-07:00Round-up of Book Reviews<span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:verdana;" >I've been reading as much as ever but too busy to feel motivated to review anything. Here are a bunch of short and overdue reviews, in no particular order:<br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CgHdAi9wO6SVtLuvoPfrgP5xBVzYffS4lPq96yTVEwaAgG3_zPqKUkXIA9AeyG7STYrMGHcK73lUGpACs627G21eY8MY2SPeL7gf3UQdv3HY8uO3xcg1gBTHli-86XfDXGSwTzR7fZQ/s1600-h/StonesFall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CgHdAi9wO6SVtLuvoPfrgP5xBVzYffS4lPq96yTVEwaAgG3_zPqKUkXIA9AeyG7STYrMGHcK73lUGpACs627G21eY8MY2SPeL7gf3UQdv3HY8uO3xcg1gBTHli-86XfDXGSwTzR7fZQ/s400/StonesFall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392984834520906562" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Can't remember how I heard about this one, possibly the library newsletter. This book was a thick one, and it was told from three perspectives, getting progressively earlier in the timeline, but centering on the same people. I disliked the first narrator the most, but he sets the scene for the book. The last narrator is the gentleman whose death the first narrator is investigating (got that?). It's well-written and, perhaps it's just me, but I didn't see the end coming at all (and I typically figure these things out in advance. So it's either bride brain, or a good mystery). I enjoyed this book but didn't adore it. However, I'd recommend it.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmXQ39z3xHn6fezhOCushrNOBx36BOS0PqEsxXCLZgFCHdgbTAjFGSvZ6YcWrX3ugfSYX8u4NQEtuhcPZH3C9AmWwiwaQqOucKWiUVYvVR1kvHw0BkMheXBtS0PFn2QLa9FwlVVn-4Es/s1600-h/deliveranceDaneBook.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 273px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmXQ39z3xHn6fezhOCushrNOBx36BOS0PqEsxXCLZgFCHdgbTAjFGSvZ6YcWrX3ugfSYX8u4NQEtuhcPZH3C9AmWwiwaQqOucKWiUVYvVR1kvHw0BkMheXBtS0PFn2QLa9FwlVVn-4Es/s400/deliveranceDaneBook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392984858929401362" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another library newsletter pick (actually, all of the books in this post are, now that I think about it! I love the library.) This was a fun one to read right now because it focuses on Salem during the witch trials, interwoven with a modern-day story. I enjoyed it a lot right up until the end, where the author lost me. I just couldn't buy it. Still, I'd probably recommend it to a friend, with caveats. If you were interested in historical fiction and/or witchcraft, you might like it. I was reading a novel about plague times for my book club around the same time and the two books had some similarities in their descriptions of witchcraft, which was a funny coincidence.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc2NKRzx9SriQvwgzqhx797b2d82ncUPFik6wD-n3IuE5BL2Lf2Zt08lCBMBZgSHszTi-RY1gOGiwTv9nvbkaP188EmS6xMjFWXGjViLKPds-oLB4BdQb-Wja6DZ_HxvR20aRxXQlft0/s1600-h/the-magicians-by-lev-grossman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc2NKRzx9SriQvwgzqhx797b2d82ncUPFik6wD-n3IuE5BL2Lf2Zt08lCBMBZgSHszTi-RY1gOGiwTv9nvbkaP188EmS6xMjFWXGjViLKPds-oLB4BdQb-Wja6DZ_HxvR20aRxXQlft0/s400/the-magicians-by-lev-grossman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392984883389782946" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I just finished this one. The cover references Harry Potter, which of course got my attention, and it makes sense the novel centers around a college for magicians in upstate NY. The characters themselves talk openly about Hogwarts and Harry from time to time, which I thought was a nice touch. The author also borrows heavily from the Phantom Tollbooth (I think, I'm not as familiar with that one) and The Chronicles of Narnia. Actually, the central theme of the story is a series of books centered around a world called "Fillory" but which bears a strong resemblance to Narnia. All of the characters read these books as kids and wish they could visit Fillory, even though it's fictional...and as you've figured out by now, they do actually visit it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">This book was interesting in that I was prepared to adore it, sink into it, and immerse myself into it, and what I found was a cast of awkward, disgruntled, very real characters, who wouldn't let me use their novel as an escape. I appreciated how real the characters were, but on the other hand, they were also miserably unhappy for large chunks of the novel. So, no happy escapist fiction there. I really liked it, though, and would recommend it...just be prepared to dislike the characters, particularly the main character, who's whiny and spineless a lot of the time. Still, there were some fascinating moments.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX05JLrkNrG0xF2dlhNnrF4-sAcKRbpDAu2eqxPio9-azrNtz2zCJNK8EkM1r1LrY6dV4hNrG1amV0iSrl01bodFAXXgfYYsZix8Lo9NdZ48m8fBeKGUNxKAxu-FMh2VuUGZTh71aFAqM/s1600-h/the-name-of-the-wind.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX05JLrkNrG0xF2dlhNnrF4-sAcKRbpDAu2eqxPio9-azrNtz2zCJNK8EkM1r1LrY6dV4hNrG1amV0iSrl01bodFAXXgfYYsZix8Lo9NdZ48m8fBeKGUNxKAxu-FMh2VuUGZTh71aFAqM/s400/the-name-of-the-wind.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392984871624982722" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">This was another thick one. I really liked it. I was prepared for this to be very "guy" fantasy...like China Mieville or someone like that, not that there's anything wrong with that, I just have a hard time reading it. However, the characters were well-sketched, empathetic, and warm. It's told as a narration from a warrior who has achieved a certain level of infamy and is, for an as-yet undisclosed reason, hiding out as an innkeep in a remote village. A biographer hunts him down and gets him to recall his life story, growing up as a gypsy kid in a caravan to being orphaned to attending a college for magicians at a very young age...he is brilliant and cocky and arrogant and yet still lovable. This is obviously the first in a series, and left me wanting more even after reading 700 pages, so that's a good sign. I'd recommend it to those who like a good old-fashioned fantasy epic.</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NB3fqKs8DpCJg1yP8itSrsu_noC6kGn0hIWdrk46Rwo5d7VbmzxJch1ZYIQEUHhlxszoLy_3KSwauKuL-siiTtIN6jpu_vKGJws-9egIQwk17o3ZmkMfMTzGTeFWoE5dSbGyO534Byg/s1600-h/sandman-slim-richard-kadrey.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NB3fqKs8DpCJg1yP8itSrsu_noC6kGn0hIWdrk46Rwo5d7VbmzxJch1ZYIQEUHhlxszoLy_3KSwauKuL-siiTtIN6jpu_vKGJws-9egIQwk17o3ZmkMfMTzGTeFWoE5dSbGyO534Byg/s400/sandman-slim-richard-kadrey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392984849619685458" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">This was my fave of the bunch. LOVED it. I admit I was pre-disposed to like it after reading the William Gibson quote on the cover about it being a dirty-ass masterpiece. And then in the acknowledgements the author thanks Tom Waits and David Lynch. I knew I was on to something!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">The book reminded me of the Dresden Files a bit, in that the main character is very snarky, but he lacks Harry's geekiness. He is a magician, like Harry, and he's cocky, but he backs up that cockiness. Also like Harry, there's a lot of heart in the story, so you don't end up hating him, even though the driving plot is that he's seeking to kill a bunch of people for revenge. I liked him enormously, actually. At one point he meets up with an angel who hates him but is trying to enlist him to fight with her legion, which she calls "The Golden Vigil". He tells her the name sounds like a community-college goth band. That made me laugh aloud!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I would recommend this one without reservations to fans of "dirty-ass masterpieces" and hard-ass yet lovable bad boys.</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-44352038541607138022009-10-15T16:56:00.000-07:002009-10-15T17:09:37.762-07:00Our other costume<span style="font-family:verdana;">Mr. T and I have been talking about how we can "Halloween" our wedding attire (yes, I did just make that into a verb, thank you), and he was fixated on getting a decent pair of vampire fangs, so finally I just bought him some at vampfangs.com. I also bought myself a fake tattoo of a vampire bite, and some gel blood.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDExvpuA5i-KgZjOH0di8HK1mc-cJEjdYlGs0cAOhLyjWN3q3mux0FSMcRJin5BNQ7GngZYDJ3p5bIdqe8DX3vWWWKE6pWog6flBxo3wrXwXCUZTZxPapycf-6NhkBM-Y4rsbuMQbjNI/s1600-h/Picture+5.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDExvpuA5i-KgZjOH0di8HK1mc-cJEjdYlGs0cAOhLyjWN3q3mux0FSMcRJin5BNQ7GngZYDJ3p5bIdqe8DX3vWWWKE6pWog6flBxo3wrXwXCUZTZxPapycf-6NhkBM-Y4rsbuMQbjNI/s400/Picture+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392982532358803026" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTv2wXZs1SXYAbcW-0PMUj3CvQF95L6PaRlrcIkK4vdu4lPr1ARIcIH6cX8yem8nzudMSwrN64VvwQ4Op-2FWi2Dgh6MN0e2z0W9ssEGcuZmwyykPL65OJS_P242qv92mm886ayjXxrtk/s1600-h/Picture+6.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTv2wXZs1SXYAbcW-0PMUj3CvQF95L6PaRlrcIkK4vdu4lPr1ARIcIH6cX8yem8nzudMSwrN64VvwQ4Op-2FWi2Dgh6MN0e2z0W9ssEGcuZmwyykPL65OJS_P242qv92mm886ayjXxrtk/s400/Picture+6.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392982545187687170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">We're going to take a moment alone after the ceremony, so after we are done freaking out about finally being married, we'll get into our "costumes"--he as the wicked vamp, me as the helpless swooning victim. Today I also bought a 4-pack of the Tru Blood soda. Mr. T wants to carry one around during the cocktail hour as part of his costume. Lord knows he won't drink it--he hates soda. But the bottle is awesome, and we're huge fans of the show.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYlf3DKACRulMYAjaasg1UDTn4i0SE3h0aYtTh_oBoeSp7uowX9Cow1bNDyhKkzJ8AsYv0BulcpOQEGhFKVFCik1UKT9o0hw32D-_1Qi1yTfyU0R9qxZhLGzMFLwnxuLVEktDmyFWK4c/s1600-h/Picture+7.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 357px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYlf3DKACRulMYAjaasg1UDTn4i0SE3h0aYtTh_oBoeSp7uowX9Cow1bNDyhKkzJ8AsYv0BulcpOQEGhFKVFCik1UKT9o0hw32D-_1Qi1yTfyU0R9qxZhLGzMFLwnxuLVEktDmyFWK4c/s400/Picture+7.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392982553432908578" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">The only thing left on my shopping list is a cape. I forgot to look when we were at Target, which is a bummer, but perhaps the Halloween Superstore would have a better price anyway.</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-20193701612825373142009-10-15T16:48:00.001-07:002009-10-15T17:53:44.342-07:00OMW Week 40, WW Week 30<span style="font-family:verdana;">Forty weeks of getting up at 6 a.m. to work out! Can you believe it?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">This week, if the non-digital scale is to be trusted, I gained a half-pound to a pound. I don't mind, because I'm picking up my dress this Saturday (Squeee!) and I'm seriously worried about the skirt not fitting because I've lost more weight, as I believe I mentioned. I'm stowing the dress at the MOH's house since of course Mr. T's not allowed to see it (we're keeping that tradition! He's seen my wedding shoes and hair stuff, though). After the wedding I'm totally buying a digital scale for the house. I just don't trust this analog business.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">This week the women's section of the gym is closed again so they can put in new floors (about time, too). We're all in with the "smelly boys" again in the coed section, as I've been telling Mr. T (seriously, they need some fans up in that joint, is all I'm saying). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I finally got tired of my one pair of jeans that "fit" me falling off, so I went and bought two new pairs in a smaller size!! That was a super-exciting moment. Mr. T came with me and when I came out he remarked he hadn't realized how poorly my jeans were fitting until he saw me in some that actually fit right. What I said was, "I'm tiny!!!" It does take awhile for the self-image to catch up with what I see in the mirror, I'm discovering. In my head I look the same. I was so sick of my old jeans that I didn't even try to shop cheaply for new ones, I paid FULL PRICE for the two new pairs. And I don't regret it. Ha!</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-57951000109331896992009-10-15T15:46:00.001-07:002009-10-15T16:33:14.462-07:00Booze: Check!<span style="font-family:verdana;">If anyone's wondering what $1300 worth of alcohol looks like...<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsX-J-SXgA_KBUhw2jTR_udPrjQlrAV4ZBgbcmE2GP_H2AAiwNZw4eKlByNUCAVbMtqLXQJNMHaUGzsKE95AG4IRUoN7U1zrHdS_VPH4ZwL8u9AbhfkHgEt8vdhyphenhyphenA1OdfDFx2wyH8VVcE/s1600-h/booze.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 340px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsX-J-SXgA_KBUhw2jTR_udPrjQlrAV4ZBgbcmE2GP_H2AAiwNZw4eKlByNUCAVbMtqLXQJNMHaUGzsKE95AG4IRUoN7U1zrHdS_VPH4ZwL8u9AbhfkHgEt8vdhyphenhyphenA1OdfDFx2wyH8VVcE/s400/booze.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392964252925853346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyejUGZyuvOciDLaDJ3V5VYPxtoV8mc6s2UBw9PxL2XOMxAk-y9z6cu400h9US2WYL3FbNjfnkfc1TODJtVP_edzAcZXeICdJJGEcZ2HnO2mga98vM09m84V-LNqp8t84s89BHvRyXKRA/s1600-h/wine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyejUGZyuvOciDLaDJ3V5VYPxtoV8mc6s2UBw9PxL2XOMxAk-y9z6cu400h9US2WYL3FbNjfnkfc1TODJtVP_edzAcZXeICdJJGEcZ2HnO2mga98vM09m84V-LNqp8t84s89BHvRyXKRA/s400/wine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392964261941971074" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />There you go! Our original budget for alcohol was $1500, so we came in $200 under budget AND we also bought 8 bottles of wine for the rehearsal dinner, which was not in our initial alcohol budget at all.<br /><br />We will probably end up returning some, but we just didn't know what folks would want to drink. Beer? Wine? If wine, red or white? If red, pinot or cabernet? If none of the above, vodka or tequila? And so on...so, we probably overbought, but I really, really don't want to do a beer run in the middle of our wedding. We also bought toasting champagne (excuse me, sparkling wine!). We'll have 3-4 bottles of champagne for guests to drink before the toasts if they prefer to drink champagne...those are Moet, left over from Mr. T's cousin's wedding. The toasting ahem, sparkling wine is Gloria Ferrer, which was a recommendation from my codancer who loves champagne, so we totally took her advice with no hesitation. We are also serving the same chardonnay (Benziger) and pinot (Castle Rock) that she served at her own wedding, so thanks, Rachel!<br /><br />For the cabernet we went with Smoking Loon, which Mr. T likes, and for beer we went for two more of his faves (and also locally brewed!) Anchor Steam and Trumer Pilsner. He also picked the vodka, of course, which is Ketel One, and I obviously picked the tequila, which is Corralejo (Herradura is my fave but was a tad expensive, unfortunately).<br /><br />Buying the alcohol took all day. First I placed an online order at BevMo. I saved 5% because it was my first online order (Score!). We also got our chardonnay for essentially half off because of BevMo's five-cent wine sale (buy one bottle, get the next bottle of the same wine for five cents, on selected wines! Double score!). After we placed that order, we had to wait an hour for them to get everything together so we could come pick it up. So we went to Safeway, because they had an amazing deal on wines. A discount for 6 or more bottles of the same wine, PLUS an additional 10% off for 6 bottles of any wine, period. We saved $110 on 24 bottles of wine. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back for suggesting going there as our first stop! Triple Score!<br /><br />Our next stop was Trader Joe's. Unfortunately they were sold out of the margarita mix, but we did buy the rest of the wine for the rehearsal dinner there, plus the remaining bottles of pinot (Safeway didn't have enough in stock).<br /><br />After Trader Joe's we swung by BevMo to look at beer and pick up our order. We bought two cases of Anchor Steam there, and at this point my credit card was declined. "Oops," I thought, "I should've called them." I bet hundreds of dollars of alcohol purchases in an hour raises some red flags. So I put the purchase on another card, and we picked up the online order. The woman who helped us out to the car complimented us on our wine and tequila selections (patting myself on the back again...and Rach, you should too, since you picked the chardonnay). "It's for our wedding," I confessed with a smile, and she congratulated us. All day I told people about the wedding, whether they wanted to hear about it or not, since we were getting a lot of attention around our massive alcohol purchases.<br /><br />We dropped off all the booze thus far at home and I called my card and reassured them that yes, it was me, buying crap for my wedding, nothing to worry about. The operator congratulated me and restored my card to good standing and we were off again! [Lest anyone worry about my credit card spending...no worries, it's just on the card until I can transfer money from our savings account, which takes a couple of days. We're a no-debt wedding! As a matter of fact, we have <span style="font-weight: bold;">extra</span> in our wedding savings. Hooray!]<br /><br />Next we took a break from alcohol and went to Target. We bought CANDY for the candy buffet. $100 worth of candy is a lot of candy, but unfortunately I didn't get a pic of that one to show you. We also bought coloring books for the niece/nephew. I had a crisis in the middle of the lane at Target. I literally could not pick up the coloring books with the Disney princesses on them. "There must be something else," I kept muttering. I had no idea I felt so strongly about this issue until I was confronted with corrupting my niece with them. Finally Mr. T suggested Dora the Explorer and I grudgingly went along with it. He of course had it easy and picked out a superhero coloring book for his nephew. Anyway, we also picked up frames for the parent gifts (we're going to give them wedding photos, so they'll get the frames with "picture coming soon" signs in them), plus tooth whitening kits (yes, we're vain), and I got some cute Halloween tees for myself for $6 each, which I thought was a score. As we checked out the checker (who reminded me of Kristin Wiig's character on SNL) asked if the candy was for trick-or-treaters or if it WAS ALL FOR US. And then she said people sometimes told her they were going to keep the candy for themselves. We're talking about 20+ bags of candy, here. That's frightening!<br /><br />Our next stop was another Trader Joe's. They did have the maggie mix, and by making nice with one of the employees, we got it in an unopened box. Hooray! After that we went to another BevMo, and since we were under budget, Mr. T approved the purchase of the Crystal Head vodka that I'd been dreaming about. It's going to look so awesome on the bar!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbJtNwEuJf38E2MfVwfF__0ma6UX3AACB5GVKioYF9vz6n8rmpduX06bsodbo0J9VcnUKsZqrxsfQovpgDDKOm_k3Ey122zjhfy8MDmwswO7eKBHWNJB40CZ9Jp12uCPYbc_M0XKsQKk/s1600-h/Crystal+Head+Vodka.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 269px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbJtNwEuJf38E2MfVwfF__0ma6UX3AACB5GVKioYF9vz6n8rmpduX06bsodbo0J9VcnUKsZqrxsfQovpgDDKOm_k3Ey122zjhfy8MDmwswO7eKBHWNJB40CZ9Jp12uCPYbc_M0XKsQKk/s400/Crystal+Head+Vodka.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392968511709447106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Plus if we run out of vodka we can crack it open.<br /><br />After BevMo #2, we proceeded to Michael's, where we bought flower petals for our flower girl, spray paint for some of the used frames we bought for venue signage, more glitter for pumpkins, two types of glue, and other random stuff.<br /><br />We were also supposed to make a stop at Pet Club for the littles but it was closed at this point. It was probably for the best, since we were soooo tired by then.<br /><br />And finally, we stopped at Andronico's for two things:<br /></span><ol><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Individually wrapped candy corn packets--we love candy corn and had to have it at the buffet, but we don't want any open candy, just wrapped. Andronico's was the only store we found the packets in!</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">The Trumer Pilsner beer, which was on sale, and because of the sale, they had cases in stock, which they normally don't. Quadruple score!</span></li></ol><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />And then we went home and collapsed.<br /><br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-2430317084102172742009-10-14T10:34:00.001-07:002009-10-14T10:36:56.663-07:00This is so true<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlLCpPf9182m-cZHq6RkXUINV4YE0k6bkU2kX3fGDtIRLW8QWQGxco-TTaHnik5r2ns3rBAIGX_HBlb-8iOpt9s-hvtt0n8zWBmlqZNcmot0DkJwsxVzlVvIW8P1Jr89f7OKu0PZzSO0/s1600-h/zombie-manger-491x500.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 393px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlLCpPf9182m-cZHq6RkXUINV4YE0k6bkU2kX3fGDtIRLW8QWQGxco-TTaHnik5r2ns3rBAIGX_HBlb-8iOpt9s-hvtt0n8zWBmlqZNcmot0DkJwsxVzlVvIW8P1Jr89f7OKu0PZzSO0/s400/zombie-manger-491x500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392510924857925042" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I found this on another blogger's site. It's true, while we were at Michael's this weekend I noted that the Halloween stuff is already on sale, and crammed into fewer aisles, and there are now a few aisles devoted exclusively to Christmas. WTF?<br /><br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-23939110322503541502009-10-08T16:28:00.000-07:002009-10-08T16:33:31.587-07:00Another Processional Option<span style="font-family: verdana;">I've been pondering my processional options. I was thinking about some of our belly dance faves like Beats Antique, but a lot of those songs have doumbek interludes and that just seemed odd to me.<br /><br />Then I remembered this one:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">You're My Best Friend by Queen</span><br />Ooo. you make me live </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">whatever this world can give to me </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's you, you're all I see </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ooo, you make me live now honey </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ooo, you make me live </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You're the best friend </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">that I ever had </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've been with you such a long time </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You're my sunshine </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">And I want you to know </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">That my feelings are true </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I really love you </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You're my best friend </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ooo, you make me live </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've been wandering round </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">But I still come back to you </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">In rain or shine </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You've stood by me girl </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm happy, happy at home </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You're my best friend. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You're the first one </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">When things turn out bad </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You know I'll never be lonely </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You're my only one </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">And I love </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">The things that you do </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You're my best friend </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ooo, you make me live. </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm happy, happy at home </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You're my best friend </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You're my best friend </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ooo, you make me live </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You, you're my best friend. </span><br /></blockquote><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pretty perfect, right? I love it, but I have concerns:</span><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's 2:50. Is that long enough for two bridesmaids, a ring bearer, and a flower girl to get up the aisle? Because if it isn't, now I need another song for everyone else.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is it weird that it's sung by a gay man to a fictional woman? </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">My dad is going to make fun of me, but I can live with that (nothing new there). I just hope he doesn't refuse to walk down the aisle because of it!</span></li></ul>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-51542133537808895112009-10-07T11:32:00.001-07:002009-10-07T11:37:42.858-07:00To-do list for this week/weekend<ol style="font-family: verdana;"><li>Meet with officiant re: vows again.</li><li>Finalize seating chart.</li><li>Work on signage for bar, cupcake table, buffet table, candy buffet, gift table.</li><li>Work on escort cards and room map.</li><li>Buy alcohol.</li><li>Decide where we're buying pumpkins.</li><li>Buy parent gifts.</li><li>Buy candy for candy buffet.</li><li>Practice corset lacing with MOH.</li><li>Send out rehearsal dinner invitations.</li><li>Decorate cupcake tree (this might have to wait until next weekend!).</li><li>Wash and decorate candy jars.</li></ol><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm sure there are about 80 other things I'm forgetting at the moment. Here we go!!</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-48794869294994825732009-10-06T17:51:00.000-07:002009-10-06T17:52:42.832-07:00Skirt Resolution<span style="font-family: verdana;">By the way, my dressmaker did come up with a solution for how I can dance in my skirt. We're going to bustle the skirt, but not in the traditional "wadded up fabric on your butt" kind of look. She says that it hopefully won't even be noticeable in the tiers of lace that are on the back of the skirt.<br /><br />Hooray!<br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-90543306561091925892009-10-06T17:43:00.001-07:002009-10-06T17:50:28.913-07:00OMW Week 39, WW Week 29<span style="font-family:verdana;">Last week again, it's hard to tell with the analog scale, but I think I neither lost nor gained. I think. So I didn't bother to blog about it.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">I figured I was in a holding pattern and that was probably fine, since it's about time to start finalizing my dress, which we can't do until I'm at a stable weight.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">This week I think I lost 3 pounds! I have no idea how I did that. I certainly didn't hold back this weekend, which was my bachelorette party (and the less mentioned about that, the better...suffice it to say there were some calorie-laden cocktails and much yummy food involved!). So, to celebrate the inexplicable loss, I got a scone and latte this morning. Seriously, I think if I lose much more weight my dressmaker might kill me.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">It is absolutely frustrating to try so hard to lose weight and not have anything happen week after week, and then to all of a sudden lose 3 pounds for no good reason...3 pounds that might make my skirt not fit me anymore! I just don't get it. Perhaps I am being a lot more active lately...and I did dance for hours on Saturday night....?</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-37596922571242865912009-10-01T12:43:00.000-07:002009-10-01T12:47:28.617-07:00October is here!<span style="font-family: verdana;">Happy Fall, everyone! I'm still waiting to find out what happened to summer...feels like we never had one, weather-wise. But here we are in October and the wedding is a month away and I'm still chasing down RSVPs (it can't be THAT hard to say yes or no, can it?) and I realized we have so many things we need to do now: buy alcohol, get the marriage license, write our vows, finish our music playlists, coordinate with out-of-towners and possibly plan other activities...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I feel pretty calm, even though intellectually I know that's a hell of a lot of work. I'm really looking forward to October 31. I know that day will be perfect, regardless of whether I've got manicured nails or if we didn't manage to frame any old Halloween pix of us for decor.</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-59564583092133751392009-09-30T14:05:00.000-07:002009-09-30T14:10:44.176-07:00Skirt dilemma<span style="font-family: verdana;">So, the MOH and I went to my semi-final dress fitting on Saturday. The dress looks amazing! All they need to do now is line the skirt, and finish all the edges, and a few other finishing touches. I am in love with it. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mr. T and I have been practicing our first dance, and it's become obvious that there is no way I can dance in my skirt. As soon as I step backward, I'm going to step on the train and it will all be over. Or Mr. T is going to step on my train and it will all be over. Oops. That's what I get for going for drama!<br /><br />Now I'm pondering either buying a cute skirt to change into right before the first dance, or having my dressmaker whip up a shorter skirt in the same material, if such a thing is even possible or remotely attainable on my budget/within our timeframe. Hm.</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-76715506056436929152009-09-30T13:48:00.000-07:002009-09-30T14:03:26.362-07:00RSVP Already!<span style="font-family:verdana;">So our RSVPs are due today and there are at least 12 people who have still not responded, including some family members. Frustrating! Planning a wedding has given me a whole new perspective on weddings...I will never RSVP late again. So much stuff depends on headcount; we feel a bit paralyzed until folks respond.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I was dismayed to find out that some invitations went missing in the mail. I hope the folks who didn't get their invites while other family members did weren't hurt by our apparent lack of inclusion...well, they know now that we sent them, anyway. And the invitations are so awesome that I feel annoyed at the post office for not delivering them. ;-) Here's the top of our lovely invite (I cropped out all the wording, sorry!).<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNY2Vc5dYQzFE_5LKXu8ty7KZlzbGmh23bNx_TtY6bZn9s4Gxr-BQr_MFGHJsE7tVKnOzgJjuLLV7Asy6W5VojPEPAAyapYTUuBObVvlsuNXULAPSydTE5BH5itnaIGzkDRCyBG477tDk/s1600-h/BT_Weddingcrop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNY2Vc5dYQzFE_5LKXu8ty7KZlzbGmh23bNx_TtY6bZn9s4Gxr-BQr_MFGHJsE7tVKnOzgJjuLLV7Asy6W5VojPEPAAyapYTUuBObVvlsuNXULAPSydTE5BH5itnaIGzkDRCyBG477tDk/s400/BT_Weddingcrop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387368578142703746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />We decided not to do the craters, which we were going to do as blind letterpress, but they look awesome even without them. Didn't Mr. T do a good job? Although two of my friends have commented that he should've made my boobs bigger! Ha!<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Even with all the unknown replies, Mr. T and I have worked out a rough seating chart already. We did this when we were at dinner on Saturday. Pretty much any time we're together we're talking about wedding crap. I look forward to the day when we become interesting people again!<br /><br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-73211286489596871232009-09-25T13:14:00.000-07:002009-09-25T13:41:52.979-07:00Shopping Spree<span style="font-family:verdana;">After I looked at the MOH's dress options and we had our belly dance rehearsal on Saturday (told you it was a marathon day!) the MOH and I proceeded on our shopping extravaganza. First I decided we should eat, because I was getting hangry already and shopping wouldn't improve that. We had pasta. Mmmpasta.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"> Second, we hit a TON of stores in a very short time period:</span> <ul><li><span style="font-family:verdana;"> A sock shop, where I got a pair of striped tights and a pair of striped socks. I think I'm leaning toward the socks; more comfy. They're over the knee, so they're still cute.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Four lingerie shops, and no luck there. Can you believe it? Thankfully I hit up Macy's later in the week and they solved all my problems. Love them.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">A tattoo/piercing shop, to look at earrings. I thought I wanted black faceted cubic zirconias, but I didn't like them close up (the stone wasn't very big, actually) and they were $200! I ended up going with black horn earrings that are lovely and a bit art nouveau-ish and won't fight with the rest of my outfit. I got 10% off thanks to a coupon I've been hoarding for just such an occasion! But they were very reasonably priced, actually:</span></li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8L93PFvqSZGB3w0zpWFrxXjy6WKu-OEAeekIc2PM5fVqwij2_ODzqdSn5GkNMW61eldCn6Ko2yQqsVmrn2CtetIb3xsVTuck-Xj2H6B4DKiCO_4zcjMTBZGbwOVwIoKaDf8yVE9my7A/s1600-h/datura2hook.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 363px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8L93PFvqSZGB3w0zpWFrxXjy6WKu-OEAeekIc2PM5fVqwij2_ODzqdSn5GkNMW61eldCn6Ko2yQqsVmrn2CtetIb3xsVTuck-Xj2H6B4DKiCO_4zcjMTBZGbwOVwIoKaDf8yVE9my7A/s400/datura2hook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385502431207565570" border="0" /></a><ul><li><span style="font-family:verdana;"> A costume shop, to look at fascinators. They didn't have what I wanted, so I ended up ordering another one off Etsy from the maker of the red fascinator I previously purchased:</span></li></ul><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span> <a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8A2y51WqIndXb8b8vLd_GUDzHhXKpjHsxOQudAMeUITbKVZ9nbUjLeA1geUUeoa-HEHiyOCkpsCo_lv-SjTonSz9wImC4PICb_AF_wBxZ7j-P-sl-Hm3v5rkYgs5ZjgRkMQxaQdATlKw/s1600-h/blackfascinator.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8A2y51WqIndXb8b8vLd_GUDzHhXKpjHsxOQudAMeUITbKVZ9nbUjLeA1geUUeoa-HEHiyOCkpsCo_lv-SjTonSz9wImC4PICb_AF_wBxZ7j-P-sl-Hm3v5rkYgs5ZjgRkMQxaQdATlKw/s400/blackfascinator.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385499093986427122" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:verdana;"> I can't remember if I already mentioned that since my dress fabric changed, the red fascinator no longer goes with it (that's what I get for ordering too quickly!). This black one is also lovely and the black faceted stone matches the choker that I believe some elves are buying me as a (pre)wedding gift:<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NOtkFPRYW6-etX31h7Pb2VkjbjWgNlLpnaiNFO-u8NnaLZVgClTwBQbKNWJnhoFql6121usWPa7xqa79-Zp59lcvEX_kYecQuex6rKKPu7YVr0BgYHyoQ_zQU82H1LlEKSM5ug1TDNY/s1600-h/neckie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NOtkFPRYW6-etX31h7Pb2VkjbjWgNlLpnaiNFO-u8NnaLZVgClTwBQbKNWJnhoFql6121usWPa7xqa79-Zp59lcvEX_kYecQuex6rKKPu7YVr0BgYHyoQ_zQU82H1LlEKSM5ug1TDNY/s400/neckie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385503092951888706" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">It looks so great with the corset! I'm a very lucky girl with generous friends.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Anyway, after all that we also went to Sephora (for Fiberwig mascara) and then Nordstrom's to check out their lingerie (another fail) and also the MAC counter, where I proceeded to empty my wallet. I love makeup! I bought all of the eyeshadows and the eyeliner from the Dita Von Teese makeup tutorial. I also bought an eyeliner brush (since I bought the Black Track Fluidline gel liner) and the highlighting face powder, and those two things were my fave purchases. First, I wanted to bathe in the face powder, it was so dewy and glowy and awesome looking. Second, I had never used a professional eye liner brush before and IT CHANGES EVERYTHING. Such control! Such fine lines! Such even lines! I will never go back to the brush that comes with the eyeliner! Sorry to wax rhapsodic, but I just can't believe I've gone this long without a proper eyeliner brush.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">We went to a friend's wedding on Sunday (it was lovely, and I took NO pix, because again, I'm a bad blogger), and I tried out the DVT makeup. Folks told me it looked good, but since I forgot to take pictures I'll have to do it again so I can see how it looks on film. Sometimes I change my mind about something once I've seen a photo of it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">The rehearsal dress came in and the material is, to put it bluntly, cheap looking. However, it does look really cute on, if I do say so myself, so I'm overlooking the cheap material. I think it's not as apparent once I have it on, or perhaps I'm fooling myself. I'll ask my belly dance girls for their opinion on Saturday, but I think it's a keeper even with the fabric. The design is just so cute!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Anyway, phew! Things will only get busier from here, I bet...</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-61831360599634852852009-09-25T13:11:00.000-07:002009-09-25T13:14:13.585-07:00MOH/BM Dress Update<span style="font-family:verdana;">After the tasting on Saturday I went to the MOH's house to look at the dresses she'd bought as potential MOH dresses. My bridesmaid has already bought her dress:<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtWVUcrp-TbBf6MpTy3u8A_tJUB4eVR-PxPWpGrvvQAOlHDcNdR4LCtlFv1pkDqOZCDa41AFTW9OeIlCmEhUTArweiLOQRqDuBJpyt1FSNw8XKJt8YXY4MMh5mpvaDlr1VVTXQMM-V-o/s1600-h/Tinadress.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtWVUcrp-TbBf6MpTy3u8A_tJUB4eVR-PxPWpGrvvQAOlHDcNdR4LCtlFv1pkDqOZCDa41AFTW9OeIlCmEhUTArweiLOQRqDuBJpyt1FSNw8XKJt8YXY4MMh5mpvaDlr1VVTXQMM-V-o/s400/Tinadress.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385497509509354370" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">It looks super cute on her! The MOH ended up not liking either dress she'd ordered, so she's shipping them back and trying some other things. Those repro vintage dresses mess with you on the sizing...an XL might be a size 14, or a size 8!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">She knows she doesn't have to go with a vintage look, of course, but I think she really wants to find one she likes and can wear again. I hope she loves one in the next batch!</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-24134899715380774042009-09-25T12:45:00.000-07:002009-09-25T13:11:11.055-07:00Tasting/Menu: CHECK!<span style="font-family:verdana;">On Saturday I had a very typical marathon day. It started with a tasting at our venue. We were there to settle the vegetarian entree and the last appetizer. The venue had an updated list of appetizers, so we selected a bunch to try in case we wanted to either add a fourth app or change our mind on the coconut shrimp we'd already selected.<br /><br />We tried:<br />Phyllo cups with gorgonzola cream cheese, walnuts, and pears<br />Crab cakes with aioli<br />Lemon peppercorn prawns<br />Portobello mushrooms in phyllo "purses"<br />Risotto stuffed mushrooms<br /><br />We opted to stay with the original coconut shrimp. They were yummy and we preferred them to the other seafood apps we tried. Likewise, we chose the portobello purses as the final appetizer. They were delicious, the vegetarians can eat them, and they don't contain cheese, which means I can eat them too! (I snuck a taste of the gorgonzola cups and they were yummy, but Mr. T thought the flavor, which was strong, might not appeal to everyone.)<br /><br />For the entrees, we tried curried veggies and a lentil stew. They were both yummy, but we ended up going with the stew for two reasons: 1. It contains protein. I think vegetarians are frequently shafted on this, because folks don't like to work with tofu. 2. The curried veggies, while delicious (I reaffirmed that I'm a huge fan of turnips, to my surprise), seemed more like a side dish to us and we worried that folks would overlook them as an entree option.<br /><br />The tasting was super quick and easy. I want more of those portobello purses right now! Nom, nom, nom....<br /><br />Oh, and we opted not to add a fourth appetizer. Our coordinator at the venue said that it usually ended up being too much food with that appetizer/guest count ratio, and that it would go to waste.<br /><br />Our other appetizer is a cheese station with "gourmet cheeses and crackers", and I think we'll be bringing in pumpkin butter and/or quince paste for some other options. The venue was fine with that as long as the items were store bought--something about health codes. I found that so interesting, as my sister-in-law handmade some of the desserts at her wedding. I guess because our venue is a hotel/caterer they are held to stricter standards? Anyway, I'm no Martha Stewart, so buying these things at a store is so not a problem!<br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-39635408022524022812009-09-25T12:40:00.000-07:002009-09-25T12:44:38.008-07:00OMW Week 37, WW Week 27<span style="font-family: verdana;">I either lost a pound or stayed the same, I couldn't really tell this week. I miss the digital scale. I might be forced to go out and spend money on one of my own!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mr. T and I have been forced into a Tues-Fri workout schedule thanks to our busy weekends lately. It's not optimal--my body feels more tired and I don't think the workouts are as good. And then, Tuesday mornings are particularly hard after 3 days off. I guess I should be grateful we have time to work out at all! I was looking at my calendar to contemplate what I have to do the week before the wedding and realizing, "I am going to have family and friends in town starting Saturday 10/24...how the heck am I going to get to the gym?" I need to steal time somehow, even if it means getting up at an ungodly hour. I think the workouts will help stave off the stress...plus, we need to do some preemptive work to get rid of the candy and cupcakes! ;-)</span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-61570725761387020312009-09-18T11:17:00.000-07:002009-09-18T11:33:39.798-07:002nd Dress Fitting, Rehearsal Dinner Dress, and Cufflinks!<span style="font-family:verdana;">I went for my second dress fitting yesterday. I'd thought they were going to do another muslin, but this was my actual dress fabric--exciting! Unfortunately, they have to re-make the corset. The cutter didn't make the lace on the bodice wide enough, and the pattern of the lace was upside-down. However, it was fun to try it all on together! My first thought was that it makes me look very tall! Actually, that was my second thought. My first thought was WOW.<br /><br />They are going to finish the corset that I tried on and sell it at Dickens Fair...funny to think of someone buying something that was literally made for me. I wonder who out there has my measurements?<br /><br />Autumn, my dressmaker, is awesome and so nice. She is full of compliments every time I'm in there, about how great I look in the dress, how my figure is made for a corset, how tiny I look, and this last time she told me my arms look good. I could keep her around all day!<br /><br />As usual, you can email me for pix...I can't post in case Mr. T checks the blog. I have another fitting in a little over a week. Yay! At that fitting I think we'll make some decisions about beading the corset and/or the skirt.<br /><br />What I CAN show you is the dress I splurged on for the rehearsal dinner and/or the bachelorette. It's a little strain on the wallet, but it's so cute! Hopefully it looks as good on me as on the model...or at least, half as good anyway!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4zFJIWjHUVwBtcf67W1HEcqkZhuWf-Gj5YvU__WN6D5UfFWl59yKE-KLmRV2gFjgMagtK6ynVQZpWrNHsCNWwL4nMzjimuaZuxH1Z4FCHQAALWlivf4rd3ui9zykCP5auwbcXiLzto0/s1600-h/rddressfront.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4zFJIWjHUVwBtcf67W1HEcqkZhuWf-Gj5YvU__WN6D5UfFWl59yKE-KLmRV2gFjgMagtK6ynVQZpWrNHsCNWwL4nMzjimuaZuxH1Z4FCHQAALWlivf4rd3ui9zykCP5auwbcXiLzto0/s400/rddressfront.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382875533484366226" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8DGdSfRfDtNpQzwFhhgf1s23tyxGmkuViDhyphenhyphengdt1_yGq_0eOcQLZW6qF-XYC92Jh4sMLQnnt4Ug6yeMEnCupxc0WvPFZbIxBTcYL08N5pcURuKdw0C0l0f6PxsswZ46FOEqbrBxdheE/s1600-h/rddressback.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8DGdSfRfDtNpQzwFhhgf1s23tyxGmkuViDhyphenhyphengdt1_yGq_0eOcQLZW6qF-XYC92Jh4sMLQnnt4Ug6yeMEnCupxc0WvPFZbIxBTcYL08N5pcURuKdw0C0l0f6PxsswZ46FOEqbrBxdheE/s400/rddressback.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382875544374691346" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">And, finally, we bought Mr. T's cufflinks today. They are Halloween with a classic look. I think you won't be able to tell they're Halloween-appropriate unless you're up close, which is very him. He likes his dark side to be more subtle.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50xyuznhHEiYpXGTi2h0e18VvMrxfWUuGLIQkTM4K2Yesc1kAJ5oGip5C1grTT4lYmQCMgQnV5ZJRaNa9iZc7ZodNTcEMY-ut0BqRTFeJm3Zhw9OqPdXd3n08BrOf7N8_MpQz-_BMqRg/s1600-h/cufflinks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50xyuznhHEiYpXGTi2h0e18VvMrxfWUuGLIQkTM4K2Yesc1kAJ5oGip5C1grTT4lYmQCMgQnV5ZJRaNa9iZc7ZodNTcEMY-ut0BqRTFeJm3Zhw9OqPdXd3n08BrOf7N8_MpQz-_BMqRg/s400/cufflinks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382876841722086754" border="0" /></a>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-27026640846067803262009-09-16T12:50:00.000-07:002009-09-16T12:54:56.173-07:00Rehearsal Dinner: Check??<span style="font-family: verdana;">I forgot to mention that we may have found the place for our rehearsal dinner, although nothing's final yet.<br /><br />We gave up on finding anything near the wedding venue, which opened up some places we'd ruled out before. I emailed our favorite Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood to see if they ever close the restaurant for private parties (the place is tiny, so we'd have to buy them out), and they said they did! We've been working on a menu, and it looks like we'll also have a tea presentation after dinner, which will be really fun. I love this place--they use organic produce and free-range meats, and they're known for their tea selection. And better yet, the prices are not going to break us.<br /><br />We haven't put down any money yet, or finalized the menu, but I am cautiously optimistic that we've found our restaurant! Hooray!! And phew. I was getting worried there.<br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-63553744015003482112009-09-16T12:22:00.000-07:002009-09-16T12:27:01.900-07:00OMW Week 36, WW Week 26<span style="font-family:verdana;">I'm not sure how much I lost/didn't lose this week! The digital scale I've been using at the gym is broken, so I was forced to use one of those old-school scales where you slide the pointer over and see if it balances. If I go by that scale, I lost 2.5 pounds, which seems unlikely to me. Hm.<br /><br />They put new carpet in the locker room. I guess they have to replace it frequently because of all the swimmers and folks wet from the shower who drip all over the carpet. One woman wears normal closed-toe shoes (not flip flops, like all of the rest of us!) in the shower and then tracks soapy water all over the locker room. Folks' choices baffle me. That's stranger than the woman who wears jeans during her workout. Or eyeshadow lady. I do love people watching!<br /><br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449481682688121010.post-13900783773480928302009-09-15T16:47:00.000-07:002009-09-15T17:05:43.851-07:0045 Days to go, and counting...<span style="font-family:verdana;">...and all I have to say about that is GAH.<br /><br />Today I bought our ring bearer (Mr. T's nephew) and flower girl (my niece) a couple of books each, as their wedding party gift. They're both almost 4.<br /><br />For the ring bearer, I thought <span style="font-style: italic;">Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs</span> would be fun, and then his parents could take him to see the movie!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0wcQQTizQm4-cDvBmZWAN7qtuIsYiOhrwhdrp5HdMTpLNGx34vhvZlfNQTFdpui-JDptjjky3E6AXB9xkG3cWShXaDG9QuU-Lsee8blze0dbct0OhG3H0bBARrCJ_IKezNyD7yKK4DI/s1600-h/cloudy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 354px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0wcQQTizQm4-cDvBmZWAN7qtuIsYiOhrwhdrp5HdMTpLNGx34vhvZlfNQTFdpui-JDptjjky3E6AXB9xkG3cWShXaDG9QuU-Lsee8blze0dbct0OhG3H0bBARrCJ_IKezNyD7yKK4DI/s400/cloudy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381847139720552930" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">For the flower girl, I got <span style="font-style: italic;">Beatrice's Goat</span>, which is based on a true story. I like to annoy my brother by giving my niece ultra-liberal message books. The last one was about environmentalism.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlKLvZ7gn-V64qkSIAgi_k80YJn_btXwxzc9a2_vP-Qkfk0ItMt-huLIf5rqiA87Fnk-pJTjA2KOn4Lp5xAmoLTGuFT9XIub7PtedBzR0sx7xnyhsp0NHIdLwI8wQZA01k8jr7okMFrM/s1600-h/Beatrice.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlKLvZ7gn-V64qkSIAgi_k80YJn_btXwxzc9a2_vP-Qkfk0ItMt-huLIf5rqiA87Fnk-pJTjA2KOn4Lp5xAmoLTGuFT9XIub7PtedBzR0sx7xnyhsp0NHIdLwI8wQZA01k8jr7okMFrM/s400/Beatrice.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381847133390907298" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />And I thought it would be fun to give them a couple of Halloween books, and these looked cute and not too scary:<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6Vn1M3FsgmXVLt0LC91cTXL1920AjBnOWIb0gwxrFt83s-h5E3XvyxWqiU4L5hBnQZ250hR6uvsHRMFdjPvosSQdZq2zY4Cm8W1983Zm0AG0IR2SNYz9Wy4EmLLFBRDfk0x2hRHz4fM/s1600-h/bigpumpkin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6Vn1M3FsgmXVLt0LC91cTXL1920AjBnOWIb0gwxrFt83s-h5E3XvyxWqiU4L5hBnQZ250hR6uvsHRMFdjPvosSQdZq2zY4Cm8W1983Zm0AG0IR2SNYz9Wy4EmLLFBRDfk0x2hRHz4fM/s400/bigpumpkin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381847127596739986" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRMa8-Jd36KRHtUFWdjbtcWH48T7tEze47J6DWayy9sI4lK_HrYW2tGJ46HxTflMLUkbqyY-gADSGNGN87hYHLFZ0UGTgkzIeN2WBl0PPolHJFaNHfzRv7eROjS2HrJlSOjvOM-0C2RU/s1600-h/OnHalloweenNight.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRMa8-Jd36KRHtUFWdjbtcWH48T7tEze47J6DWayy9sI4lK_HrYW2tGJ46HxTflMLUkbqyY-gADSGNGN87hYHLFZ0UGTgkzIeN2WBl0PPolHJFaNHfzRv7eROjS2HrJlSOjvOM-0C2RU/s400/OnHalloweenNight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381847123026264930" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I haven't decided who gets what yet. I might have to read them first!<br /><br />This weekend we're going for our final tasting at our venue, where we're nailing down the vegetarian entree and one of the appetizers. I was happy to see that the apps menu is much longer than it used to be, so it should make choosing much easier. Last time there was a lot of deep fried stuff. Not that deep fried doesn't equal yummy, but my thought is that one deep fried app is enough.<br /><br />After the tasting I'm going on a whirlwind shopping spree with the MOH, to buy makeup, lingerie, and earrings. I can't wait. After saving for so long, it feels naughty and forbidden to plan a shopping trip, which makes it that much more fun.<br /><br />Last weekend we went to a friend's wedding in Sonoma, and this weekend we go to another in Saratoga. It's wedding season! After Sunday we're done, until ours, that is! I'll try to blog about the weddings later, but I've been a crappy picture taker lately, so they might be short posts.<br /><br />Finally, we got our first wedding gift!!! It's official, we're getting married! Or that's how it feels, anyway. My lovely friend bought us a food processor. I'm sending off our first thank-you card to her today (we bought some Martha Stewart ones at Michael's last month; that woman is a genius!).<br /><br /><br /></span>Bellybeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12898007189870447318noreply@blogger.com2