Pinterest is Killing My Blog

It has become so difficult to blog lately! First off, nothing wedding-wise has happened lately. We have made some vendor-related decisions, but nothing has been officialized (not a word, but go with it). I'm still about 5 addresses short of being able to send out my save-the-dates. I have been working on our wedding website, but haven't finished any of the pages I have started. But baseball season ends at the end of this month, so I will really be able to start focusing then. I hope. I already work like 6 nights a week as a server, and now they have me bartending a few days a week.

Now don't get me wrong, I do still have the urge to post pictures of wedding inspiration from time to time... but it never leads to a new post. And for this, I blame Pinterest. It has changed my life. I can essentially bookmark every image I come across, and then have all the images in one place that link back to the original post. I can "pin" recipes, decorating ideas, clothes I want, wedding stuff, places I want to visit... anything! If you haven't tried it, let me know and I will invite you in; trust me, it's worth it.

Sorry for the leave of absence

I know I haven't been around in awhile. That said, I really don't have much to say. We went on a few vacations back to back, and when we got home, I was just too lazypants to post pictures and whatnot. And then life got in the way. But I'm here now! I think that counts for something...?

One of the trips we took was to the Russian River. We stayed in the house where we are going to get married, and honestly, we had so much fun. Within an hour of being there, I could feel my stress melting away (expected, seeing as I was dozing in a lawnchair in the sunroom looking over the river). I'm not sure who all is going to be able to stay in the house with us, or where they will sleep, but it is going to be such a great time. I can't believe it is only 10 1/2 months away now! Being there was a lot of fun, but it was also nice to get a feel for the layout of the property so we could decide where to have the ceremony, the dance floor, dinner, etc.

I have been trying to write out all my save-the-dates, which I wanted to be done with last month, but work has been so crazy lately. I figure baseball only goes until the beginning of October, so I want to work as much as possible until then. Once work slows down, it will be a lot easier to balance work, life, and wedding planning... which will be nice, because right now, nothing is getting done. And now, off to bed, because I have to be back at work in the morning.

Later luvies!

Random purchase

Ok so I bought this necklace and am pretty sure I want to wear it for the wedding. I just happen to come across it awhile ago and it became kind of a source of inspiration for me while starting in on the style/design aspect of this wedding.

I might need a sash to balance it out. Whaddaya think?

Just checking in

I don't really have anything to report, but I wanted to check in here so that I don't get out of the habit. I have been working like crazy, which is bittersweet... I am not such a sports fanatic, but seeing as I work in a sports bar right across the street from SF Giants' baseball stadium, I am surrounded by it constantly. However, it pays well and weddings don't pay for themselves. I have also met some awesome people who are fun to work with.

I haven't been doing much on the wedding front since the baseball season started. We got our save-the-dates, so I have been collecting addresses and finalizing the guest list. I have a very extensive excel spreadsheet going, it keeps me organized and therefore keeps me sane. I am going to try to get the postcards out in the mail by the end of June, a year before the wedding. It should be easy enough, but we do have a busy couple of months ahead. On the itinerary: Tony's dad's birthday (Tony will be going to visit him), my birthday, my little brother's high school graduation, our anniversary, Tony's birthday, my cousin's wedding, a trip up to the Russian River to look at the venue, and, as of today, a trip to see our friends for 4th of July!

So if I can get the save-the-dates addressed and sent out... I will legitimately consider myself productive. That's all for now!

Easter Treat

I don't really do anything to celebrate Easter... it's one of those holidays that is more fun when spent with children. Plus I work.

There is one tradition I have, though, and I definitely need to share it with anyone who will listen. Toasted Peeps. Those silly little marshmallow candies shaped like bunnies and chicks? Definitely not my favorite Easter candy, (Peeps only rock when you are looking through the finalists of the Peeps Diorama contests... which is always fan-friggin-tastic entertainment, in my book) until my mom sent me this link last year.

Basically, toast them like you would a regular marshmallow over the fire (I use our gas stove, and it works fine), just be careful because they catch on fire a LOT quicker than regular marshmallows. The sugar coating of the Peeps caramelizes, into perfection that is. I'm telling you now, they are really sweet. I can only eat 1 or 2 at a time. Ok that's a lie, but still. At least try one, and let me know what you think.

Happy Easter!

I LOVE MAIL!!!

I am really starting to become addicted to getting packages in the mail. Half the things we buy for the wedding are bought online, so for a while, I was getting 2 or 3 packages a week from either ebay or etsy sellers. Well, today I got my Save the Dates, and holy crap am I excited! Since I am making our invitations myself to keep costs down, I didn't want to spend a ton on Save the Dates, but I also didn't want to just use word-of-mouth or email. So I did some shopping around, and finally decided to use one of our engagement photos as the front of a postcard.

Vistaprint is a website that does free printing (free being relative, seeing as you still pay for shipping and then they try to sell you all kinds of stuff before letting you checkout - also, this only works for quantities of 100, more than that and they start charging). Some reviews of the website helped me to understand that it wasn't necessarily the best quality, and people were either fine with that or upset. I decided I would be the type of person who is fine with it, since you get what you pay for, and in the long run it is JUST a Save the Date. It is not part of the decor, it won't be on display at the wedding, and as long as it still looks decent than mission accomplished.

Well, I couldn't be happier with the result. Especially for the grand total price of $28 for all 100 to be designed, printed, and shipped to me (Well, I designed them, so that was free, but whatever). I know it is a faux pas to discuss money, especially when it comes to how much you spent on something, but c'mon! $28??? I want to shout it from the rooftops, saving future brides the stress of having to budget for something that can be done so cheaply and still turn out great! Here is the front, which is all I am going to show you for now, mostly because I don't have an image of the back.

I designed it to look like an old French postcard on the back, and added a vintage treatment to the image on the front. Mind you, this is pre-cropping of the image, I just want to give you an idea. I'm not sending them out for a couple months still, but by then you will be able to look forward to getting fun things in the mail, too!

Engagement Photos

I realized that I never posted any of our engagement photos on here... though if you read my blog, chances are we are friends on facebook. Still, this blog is for all of my wedding stuff, so it seems like an obvious choice to keep everything together in one place. These are my top favorites (the same ones I posted on facebook). We took these at the Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park. None of us had been, but it was totally worth it and a lot of fun, even if it was drizzling half the day.

Our awesome photographer Dan Simmons works with us at the sports bar, which proved to be a really great idea. It means Tony and I have a closer work friend, and it makes it easier for our other coworkers to be a little more interactive when it comes to our wedding, which I love since they are the people around us day to day so why shouldn't they be part of it at least a little. It's also opened the door for a potential cake decorator, hair stylist... a lot of people have ideas about wanting to help!

Anyways, without further ado, I give you our engagement photos! Enjoy!

Invitation Dry Run

I decided awhile ago that I would be DIYing our invitations, so I tried a few different designs to see what worked/I liked. This is the winner.

It doesn't have the correct information on it, so ignore the text. And I think I am going to leave all four corners square. I tried a few different corner punches, but they end up looking like something I would have been really proud of in middle school. Nice but not very professional. So whadaya think?

Final Product

Here is a photo of the finished banner from a sneak peek of our engagement shoot, by the amazingly talented Dan Simmons!

Save the Date Banner

Yesterday Tony and I went to have our engagement photos taken. Normally I wouldn't feel like spending money on them, but 1) I wanted to see how this photographer's work looks because he usually works in still life, 2) I want Tony and I to be comfortable with him shooting us since he might be covering our wedding, and 3) I decided to use one of the photos as our Save the Date.

So I decided to make a banner with our wedding date on it, that way the front of the Save the Date is a photo of us with the date needing to be saved. And because I finally charged my camera and got a new laptop, I decided that a tutorial was in order.

First order of business was to decide the font for the numbers and print them out on regular computer paper. I also chose thick cream-colored cardstock for the flags, since the banner I decided to make were pennants strung on a ribbon, and a light green 5/8" ribbon.

I considered a few different ways to make this. I could trace the numbers onto a darker cardstock and then mount them to the pennants, or print them out directly onto the light cardstock. I decided to trace them out and paint them in. It was going to be meticulous no matter how I did it, but this way gave me more control over the final product. This meant cutting out the numbers, which was slow-going.

After I cut out the numbers, I cut the sheets of cardstock into the triangular shape. I had to play around a little bit with the actual shape so that the size and shape of the numbers looked right. I then positioned the number and traced it out. I would highly recommend securing the number down, I just held it and tried to keep it lined up. It worked fine and turned out right, but it was a huge pain.

Choosing a paint color was a weird process. I tried to decide what matched with the rest of the wedding stuff (the invites specifically), then I looked at colors that would look nice outside since we were going to take pictures at Golden Gate Park. I eventually realized I was over-thinking it and just picked a color that I had enough of.

Once I finished painting them (and redoing a couple that I messed up) and letting them dry, I glued them to the ribbon and voila! I don't have photos of the finished product (after hours of tracing and painting, I was DONE), so you will just have to wait until we get the engagement photos back, sorry!

Lazy Days

My days off have been few and far between. So when I do get a day off, I tend to catch up on sleep, and then spend the rest of my day zoned out in front of the tv in my pajamas. It's nice, and very necessary, but it's getting old. If I am barely ever off, then I don't want to waste that time by tuning out. We need to get out of the house and explore!


Maybe we should take a day trip out of the city. And have a picnic. While snuggling up in cozy blankets.

Now if only it wasn't going to rain for the next two weeks.

STD's

Ok so I came across this video in my blogland wandering, and I can't figure out whether I want to laugh or shake my head. It's a dramatic reading of message board posts about polar bear stamps. And how bitchez be crazy, basically. While I can definitely appreciate a comedic take on how ridiculous the wedding industry can make us, when every little detail seems like such an end-all be-all, it really makes me wanna slap a lot of brides out there right across their pretty little faces. (Please don't get offended, I can also see this as a very valid point of discussion based on trying to make the details of an incredibly important day come together, which is why I have mixed feelings about the video and am writing about it in the first place.) Still, it's a pretty funny video, especially when you can recall having read comment threads exactly like this. Let's just say yay for a woman who isn't afraid of being a little silly!



Obviously, usernames have been changed.

Happy Pi Day!

Les fleurs

I've never been a flowery girly girl, but the more I grow up, the more I really appreciate flowers. There is absolutely nothing bad to say about flowers. They are pretty, they smell nice (some more than others), the can brighten up a room, your day, your event...

Needless to say, I'm up to my eyebrows in floral inspiration pics. I think the flowers are the easiest way for me to picture the style and colors of this wedding coming together, so I have definitely been gravitating towards floral inspiration as of late.


This first one is my ultimate favorite (so far). I am head over heels for black and white anemones. They are without a doubt making an appearance in the wedding somewhere (more likely everywhere). But I love how the graphic high contrast of the anemones looks with the soft pinks and grey dusty miller in this arrangement. I like to think I can recreate this look, but a test run sometime this summer will prove whether or not I am correct in that thought process.


Maybe I will forfeit and just stick with anemones and some greenery. If that's all it takes to make this bouquet happen, I will be a happy little camper.


Or maybe I will go the other direction and amp up the pink flowers and use anemones as an accent. I love these pink dahlias... the first word that comes to mind when I see dahlias is architectural, which I am definitely alright with, because they really are just cool looking flowers when it comes down to it.


The other big fluffy flower option would be peonies. They definitely win the blue ribbon for "big ruffly wedding flower" and they would fill up a bouquet quickly, so I wouldn't need to get as many. But that big blossom comes with an equally big pricetag, so maybe not. (I like the peach garden roses in these arrangements though.)


Roses? Never been a huge fan, they are easily overdone. However I cannot get enough of the color of these particular roses. I can't figure out if they are pink or purple or what, but I totally dig it. If anyone knows what kind of roses these are, please please please let me know.

Well, that's all for now!

Love.

Inspiration at its finest

I'm really start to crack down on figuring out exactly what our wedding will entail. I've been making all sorts of extremely detailed spreadsheets for the budget and the breakdown of all the different ideas we have. Since we are paying for this wedding ourselves, and we aren't exactly rolling in cash, I want to make sure that we don't spend unnecessary money on things we realized weren't important. I mean, food is important, the bar is important, but an aisle runner? Absolutely not.

That being said, in trying to figure out what we want, we have started trying to really figure out the style of this wedding. It is going to be in a backyard during the summer, but I don't want a super casual affair (but on the other hand, neither one of us are formal people). I love color, but I am obsessed with neutrals and then stick with bolder accent colors. We love the outdoors but aren't really outdoorsy people. Maybe we are difficult. Maybe we don't really know our personal styles yet (though I disagree, seeing as we have been pulling together a very lovely apartment, with photos to come soon). I like to think it is because we are both Gemini, sign of the twins, and sign of balancing/contradicting ideas. Example: I either want to live in the middle of a bustling city or out in the middle of the woods, completely off the grid. Nothing in the middle sounds good.

Despite the overwhelming amount of inspiration out there (and it's all just so damn pretty!), we have managed to narrow down our ideas. These are three of the many inspiration boards out there that best suit our tastes. They are all completely different from one another, but I am determined to somehow incorporate all three styles, color palettes, themes, etc. I know I have probably bitten off more than I can chew here, but I'm stubborn. And I prefer to think of it as ambitious.


The first one is the main feel. We both love the idea of the Secret Garden theme. All the natural and overgrown greenery, little vintage touches like rusted skeleton keys and stacks of old books, the formal touches like the chandelier offset by a casual setting... *swoon* I'm sold. In fact, I'm so sold that I have already started hunting down old keys and books on ebay and scouring the local vintage shops for tarnished silver centerpieces. Super fun, by the way, I am loving it. I might not be about to wear a big floppy white hat on my wedding day (though I have nothing against it, just isn't my personal style), but I had pretty much found the inspiration board that had exactly what I wanted, all inclusive.


Until I saw Inspiration Board #2. Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I would give my right foot to live in Paris, so a romantic, luxurious, dramatic take on my favorite City of Lights got me right in the gut. If ever I was to embrace pink, this would be it. The playful pink offset by sophisticated raspberry and all alongside that moody charcoal makes my heart pitter-patter something fierce. So how can I just brush it aside? I can't. I'm thinking the colors will lead the way for the bridal party and flowers. Romantic gray dresses for my girls, with peachy-pink bouquets and pops of burgundy... hm, somewhere, not sure yet. But I am determined to make it work.


Now Board #3 is really more of a general guideline. The blue isn't quite my shade and I have no particular attachment to Mississippi. What I like about it is that it has a distinctive vintage flair without it being a "theme." It's more like a vintage take on understated elegance. Not to mention both Tony and I love magnolias. If I could find them on wholesale somewhere, I would have them be my bridal bouquet. I can't seem to find them anywhere though!

I think everything will go together fairly well, and keep in mind I have a more detailed picture in my head. But I would still love to hear any opinions or thoughts. Or ideas! Let me know!

My Dress!

I bought my wedding dress! The day after we got our venue figured out, I realized that the dress I had been keeping an eye on had been discontinued. In a panic, I called the store, and the saleslady explained that they had one left, in a size close enough to mine. I went immediately to try it on, and low and behold, still loved it. I decided that if there was any chance that I was going to want this dress, I needed to buy it. So I did!


Note: gloves definitely NOT included.

I will definitely need to get it altered, but I love that it is such a blank slate! No matter what direction I end up going with style and accessories, this dress will look great and feel comfortable. It is so crazy to me that I have my wedding dress hanging in the closet right now! It just makes me sad that I have to wait over a year to actually get to wear it (I'm actually looking forward to alterations because it's an excuse to put it on) but I will just be that much more in love with it when the day comes!

On a tragic note...

I apologize in advance for this post being... well, incredibly saddening. But I need to write out my thoughts and feelings on this subject, and this blog is my outlet.

Chances are, unless you live in Miami, you didn't see the cover of today's Herald. To sum up the article, 10-year old twins were being abused by their adoptive parents and Child Services was investigating. In my opinion, and I am not alone on this, it was a half-assed attempt, especially considering they took the weekend off. The reports were filed on Feb. 10th. By Feb. 14th, cops in West Palm found a pick-up truck on the side of I-95, the little girl's body was wrapped in plastic in the truck bed, the boy unconscious and suffering from chemical burns (and upon further investigation, a variety of other injuries/signs of abuse), and the father and boy doused in gasoline. According to the man, he was so distraught with the death of the girl that he was going to light himself on fire but had second thoughts because the boy's head was in his lap (he was "sleeping" because the man had given him a handful of sleeping pills. He has been formally charged with abuse, but they still aren't sure how, when, or where the girl died. Apparently the parents' granddaughter was the one to speak up, stating that she had seen the twins being tied up and made to sit in the tub with the shower curtain taped shut and other things of that nature, and was told to keep it a secret. The little boy is in critical condition, slipping in and out of consciousness and they are treating the spreading burns and various lacerations/fractures he has throughout his body. The little girl's death is being investigated. To read the full article, click here.

I got a call this morning from my best friend from high school, telling me all this. We knew these kids. They had been foster kids in her home for almost 3 years. They were babies/toddlers then. We use to watch them, play with them, feed them, spend time with them... they were absolutely adorable and we couldn't get enough of them. We also made it our duty to show them love and affection. When they were placed with my friend, they were about 2 years old. They moved on to the next home when they were almost 5. It absolutely sickens me to think that those sweet little babies had to go through this, and who the hell knows what else they had to go through in that home? It frustrates me to no end that people can treat other people this way, especially children, and I hate that the system failed these kids so drastically.

My heart goes out to Victor, who will hopefully survive this tragedy, though he will have to persevere without his twin Nubia. And I may not be religious, but I am pretty darn sure that wherever Nubia is now, it is a place better than where she was in this world.

Thanks for listening.

Will You Be My Valentine?

Happy Valentine's Day, lovelies!
xoxo

Changing Names

Almost all of my friends are married, and I don't think that any of them kept their maiden name. My mom did, though, and while it made for some confusion (I have one last name, my mom has another, my stepdad and stepsister have yet another), I always respected it. As a little girl (and all through my teenage years), I always imagined that I would eventually become Mrs. Someone. The more independent alternative side of me considered keeping my name when Tony and I get married, but I am too romantic for that and I love the idea of us sharing a name.

So here is our solution: Combined last names.

Not hyphenated. That might work great for some people, but with our last names, it sounds awful. You can't tell where one ends and the other begins. No, I mean completely combined.

Bruno + Auer = Brauer

I didn't think Tony would go for having to change his name, but he is totally down for it. I like the idea of starting our own family name together, and I am completely relieved that he does too.

It opens a considerably interesting conversation, though, since everyone feels a little differently about it and there really is no right or wrong way. So that being said, what do you think? Did you ever consider keeping your own name? Or hyphenating them? Or even combining them? I would love to hear what you have to say.

BHLDN

Being the obsessed wedding blog reader that I am, and seeing as I would happily outfit my entire apartment and closet with finds from Anthropologie, I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was to find out that they were opening a sister store dedicated to weddings! BHLDN (Beholden) is launching their website this Monday (Valentine's) and previews showed up on all my favorite blogs, one of which explained how not only will they have dresses, but all sorts of wedding goodies!



Now, I already bought my dress (more on that in another post!), but I looooove some of these dresses... they are so very different from what you normally see, which I totally appreciate, but they are still romantic and dreamy without being too drastic.



Regardless of whether or not they are your particular taste in wedding dresses, you have to admit, they are awfully pretty... just as far as dresses go. *sigh* You've done it again, Anthropologie. It pains me that there is an actual Anthropologie store about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. How am I NOT supposed to spend all my money there??

Let's try this again, shall we?

So it has been close to a year since I have written on this blog, and surprisingly, not a lot has happened that has been blog-worthy until more recently.

We were finally able to move into our finished apartment (after 6 months of living in a construction zone), but once we bought furniture, I lost steam in the decorating department. In the next week or two, I am going to be buying the last few pieces of furniture and hanging stuff, etc. Then I can finally feel a sense of accomplishment (and post pictures!) and take a deep sigh of relief.

Mostly I have been working. A lot. It's exhausting, both physically and mentally. But after 11 months of being patient, it's finally paying off... my shifts are better and there are plenty of them.

Also, in the wedding department: We have a venue and set a date! June 23rd, 2012! Save the date! It's a long way off still, and I think my wedding blogging will be severely out of hand by that point, but we are both really excited! It will be up at the Russian River, about an hour and half north of San Francisco... we haven't been there yet, but it looks gorgeous and the venue is being given to us as a wedding gift, so who are we to say no to a beautiful venue?! Both the ceremony and the reception will be held in the garden of the River Queen, a house right along the river. It is exactly what we wanted and it couldn't have worked out better. We better see you there!