Currently...

Eating







Mr A wanted me to try to make this last week for baking day. It was so easy to make. Just add butter to the ingredients in the box. It tastes great!

Reading








I bought this on a whim. I used to watch her show, but stopped because her voice annoys me. But her magazine is full of interesting ideas and good recipes. I would definitely pick it up again.

Wanting








We played this at Jeff's a few weeks ago. I had so much fun. Even Mr A had a good time with it. He usually doesn't like these types of games but he thought it was fun.

Holiday Gift Ideas

Perhaps you are still looking for a gift for the eighth night of Hannaukah or haven't completed your Christmas gifts. Never fear, I've combed my favorite site, etsy, for you and present you with my ideas!(from etsy seller, Art on the Ave) Get 2 of these wall vases for your sister in law or friend who just moved into a new place!(from etsy seller, DAMdesign). I love this print. I would hang it in our living room except that we'll have get a new couch to go with the print. But would work great as a gift for a newly married couple (Especially if they are having trouble decorating, it's a neutral color).

(from etsy seller, zelas) Mr A could get me this cute patch for my backpack as a stocking stuffer. Or if you know a Wii fiend you could totally make their day!

(from etsy seller, RiverzEdge) I love this surfboard table. Perhaps a gift for mom and dad or a recent graduate? And a steal at $125!
(from etsy seller, sally1) I love this koi onesie. If I was going to buy anything for the Wee W (who looks just like her daddy), I would buy this. If you know a Star Wars fan, they also have onesies with Yoda and Dark Vader. May the force be with you!

Sweet Dreams...

Since Mr A and I have been together, our bed has been a source of problems. The problems make it hard for one or both of to get a good night sleep. Let me explain, as their are many sources of problems here.
I'll start with my bed. I say mine because I bought it before I met Mr A. It's a Select Comfort bed. It was the most comfortable bed I ever slept in (expect the one at the Westin...heavenly!). I bought it the first time I ever laid on it. I was very happy with my bed. Then Mr A arrived and slept uncomfortably on it until he decided to buy a Memory Foam topper for the bed. I was less than thrilled. Why mess with perfection? But Mr A insisted that he would sleep better with the Memory Foam so I agreed to try it. I don't know if it our memory foam or what but I hate that thing. It's slightly too small for the bed so either my head or feet hang off it (I'm a little too tall for the Queen sized bed anyway). But I could sleep on a rock so I make due.
Our problems don't end there. Before I met Mr A was a one pillow girl. I'm not one of those girls with fifteen pillows stacked on her bed. I had 3 pillows-one for sleeping and 2 for decoration/guests. Mr A came along and I bought him a pillow like mine. He didn't like it. He brought 4 more pillows over including his favorite tempurpedic pillows. But no those didn't help him get a good night sleep. So he bought 2 more pillows with the memory foam, supposedly better than his tempurpedic pillows. No those haven't helped him sleep better either. Sigh, I now have 9 pillows now. One for me and 8 for him.
Our latest frustrations are with the blankets. I have 3 blankets on the bed. 2 light ones and one heavy comforter. When I go to sleep I wrap myself up in all three. I try to share with Mr A but he likes to wrap himself up too. I think we'll have to go out and buy 3 more blankets to accommodate everyone. The ironic thing is that we both wake up without the blankets and they are either on the floor or at the edge of the bed.
But the real problem is that Mr A is an insomniac. He's battled insomnia for years. I, on the other hand, sleep pretty easily and I stay asleep for hours. I need an alarm clock so I wake up on time. Left to my own devices I'll sleep to noon. Ok, on the weekends, bad during the work week! Mr A hates my alarm clock and penchant for hitting the snooze button. He just nudges me out of bed after the first ring!
Any ideas on how to keep us both warm and cozy in bed without having a mound of blankets? Does your bed or his sleeping habits bother you?

Single?

On a knot board I frequent a girl started a poll where one of the questions was "are you planning on doing any special while you are still single?". One of the girls replied no, because she hasn't been single in a really long time. I presume that she meant since she's been with her fiance she considers herself no longer single.
I agree with her but it seems like the rest of the world doesn't. I went to the a doctor last month and had to fill out the customary paperwork. Under marital status it said: Single, Married, Widowed, or Divorced. I thought this was odd. There was no partnered or in a committed relationship. Not only did not know what to select, what about gay couples? I felt it was a civil rights issue so I wrote in engaged and went to the front desk to complain. Yes, I complained.
The receptionist looked at me funny and told me to select single. I argued that that wasn't true and she said unless I could provide a marriage license, a divorce decree or a dead husband, I should check single.
I complained to the nurse, who I hoped would listen more. The nurse laughed at me. Especially since I wrote in engaged and circled it. I pointed out that it was discriminatory to gays as well. She chuckled and circled single. What a backwards bunch of people.
On a side note, this was a specialist I had to see and not my regular doc. My regular doc had a space for partnered relationships. And when I told them I was engaged, they made a note in my chart.
It seems like before, maybe around the time my parents got married, that there was that definite line. You were either married or not. Now it seems to me that line has gotten blurred. Some people live together for years before they get married. Some people are married but live separately. Some married people act more single that unmarried people. To me, it's less about the paper commitment and more about the actions.
Many men and women won't fully commit to someone until they sign the dotted line. Some people are committed from the moment they meet. My aunt had a "boyfriend" for 30 years. He took care of her, helped her financially, but never lived with her. They were in a committed relationship. To my knowledge neither of them strayed. Yes, her boyfriend was straight and probably would have married my aunt except she didn't want to.
We all know men and women that stray from their marriages. There are people who don't take their vows of marriage seriously. There are people who never commit to the marriage for whatever reason.
Wow, I'm beginning to get a little preachy. I guess there is the literally interpretation of single and then the common interpretation. I know I didn't want to put Single on that form and I rather check Partnered. I know what that girl meant in her poll (are you doing anything wild and crazy before you get hitched?) and I went with it. I guess I just let it go in some places and stand firm in others.

Body By Wii

I used to belong to a gym before I met Mr A. I went pretty regularly until we started dating. I couldn't stay on schedule and after a while I let my membership lapse. Mr A belongs to a gym but never goes because I'm not a member of that gym. Right now it seems like additional expense so I'm looking for other means of exercise.
I walk pretty regularly. I walk from the bus to work and back everyday. Not too far but it does help. I walk on the weekends but not really enough to consider it cardio. So I've been playing Wii Sports everyday to help keep me healthy. It takes me about 45 minutes to go through all the sports (baseball, tennis, bowling, golf, and boxing) plus doing the fitness test at the end. It's great arm exercise but not much else. I'll have to look into some other ideas.
Mr A usually plays tennis with me once I'm done with my "exercise". We play doubles against the computer. It's a wonderful teamwork exercise. We try to be fair to each other and not monopolize the ball. But who ever is near the net does get to play more than whoever isn't. Plus the game helps him unwind and get his mind off everything else. I like the quality time aspect and I think this game has brought us closer. We like to beat up the other team together!

Currently....

Listening







I found Apocalyptica through iTunes while looking for ceremony music. I'm a closet classical music fan. I've been buying all their albums. It's very contemporary classical music.

Making









Freshly baked apples. Today is our annual holiday baking day. We get together and make holiday treats and exchange some with everyone. I made these this morning. I can't wait for them to cool!

Watching







Life. Mr A was excited when this show premired. The main male actor was in Rome which Mr A adored. He made me watch it and I have to say that I enjoy it. It's a great drama. I'm intrigued.

So I unofficially did NoBloPoMo. I didn't want to commit to it since I'm a new blogger. But I did make a conscience effort to blog more frequently. I'm going to try to blog more often which means less wedding posts (since I don't think I can write that much about the wedding) and more life and food posts.

7 Random Things about me

Elizabeth at Tie the Knot tagged me!

First here are the rules:1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. My Dad and I share the same birthday, just different years of course.
2. I went to an all girls school for 6th through 12th grade. I went there by choice.
3. I hate ice in my drinks and prefer most drinks warm.
4. I've been to over 100 concerts so far. I've seen Dave Matthew in concert 6 times! Going to live shows is one thing I splurge on.
5. I used to belong to a bowling league. I own a bowling ball and shoes. I love to go bowling and would love to join a league again. Maybe after the wedding.
6. I got involved with theatre in college after accompanying a friend to an audition. A girl asked me if I would like to audition too. I declined but she offered me the Assistant Director position. After that I AD'ed 2 more of her plays and directed a play my senior year.
7. I proudly continued a family tradition of hitting trees while learning how to drive. My grandfather, my father, and I all hit trees before we got our driver's licenses. I haven't hit a tree since!
I tag Darci, Lauren, Tying the Knot, Tiffany, Preppy Wedding, Ten Thousand Only, and Laura.

You're Invited!

Now, that I have the Save The Dates done and almost out the door. I can turn my attention to the invitations. I thought I wanted a pocketfold like this one:
But I don't really need to put anything in the pocket. I'm not sending RSVP cards or a map. We have a wedding website which will be able to help people.
Although I'm rethinking the RSVP card. A friend of mine told me just to have people call or email us and let us know if they are coming or not. I can't decide if that's a good idea. If you'd like to weigh in on this debate, I'd love to hear another opinion!
Another knottie (fionuelah) had this beautiful gatefold invitation in her bio:That gatefold got me to change my mind. Perhaps that would be what we need. Same concept just different style.Of course in our colors but we would be able to include all the information if we went with no RSVP card or map. I think it's clean and very elegant.
This one is even in our colors! I don't know if you can see it or not, but the paper is textured. I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish this since I'm making them myself. All the websites I've stolen this pictures from sell the invitations done, not DIY. I stopped at Joann's today and did not find anything remotely similar to what I was looking for. I'll go to Paper Zone this weekend, maybe, and see if they have something that will work there.

Fit to Be Tied

Hahaha. Today's post is about ties. Mr A and I have been talking about the guys are going to wear for the wedding. We decided a while ago no tuxes. But rather black suits. I kind of worried about how that would look with brown dresses but I've seen plenty of pictures with brown dresses and black suits or tuxes to believe it will be fine.

I want the guys to wear brown or coordinating ties to somewhat match the girls. I need to talk to J since he wears a suit everyday. He'll be able to help me choose something appropriate. But I decided to look and see what ties are available.

BTW, I found all of these at Neckties.com.

The brown is not as bold as I would like with this one, but I like the different light browns and since the girls have a champange bit at the bottom of their dresses I thought this would coordinate nicely.

This one is more subtle. I would have to see it in person.

Plain brown is always an option.

I want Mr A to wear pink since my dress is pink. I would have to match the tie to dress though.

Tradition, Schmdition

Ok, time to talk about the wedding. That's what I started this blog for right? But things have been kind of slow on the wedding front. Not a whole lot's been going on. I got my dress but haven't taken it to get altered. I figure I'll do that in February. I did buy mints and some ribbon from a girl I met on Craigslist. They were super cheap too. I'm still looking for wicker baskets and metal buckets but not finding anything at a good price.
I finished the Save the Dates and they are ready to be mailed out in the holiday cards next week. I told Mr A that he has to get my computer cleaned off so I can load MS Office. I bought Office so I can make the invitations easier. I can load graphics and fonts on my faster computer then take them to Dad's to print on his color printer. I asked Mr A to finish working on my computer by the end of the year.

I'm taking most of this month off from wedding related projects. If I have time to kill I can work on the boutonnière which are proving harder than those instructions looked. I'm still also looking for ribbon and trying to get ideas for the bridesmaid's gifts (Oh, I won't blog about those til after M and Mrs W get them since they now read my blog).
Sorry, back to the topic of this post, tradition. With the holidays I've been thinking about what traditions we follow and which ones we don't. Neither Mr A or I are religious. I really celebrate consumer Christmas (although we are trying to cut back this year) and I light the menorah. Mr A does celebrate Christmas sort of. We don't have a tree. I prefer real trees and I don't want to spend the money nor have needles all over the carpet. Mr A really doesn't care.
But with our wedding, I was thinking of all the traditions we are skipping:
-I'm not carrying a bouquet. I'm going to be walking with my dad and he's unsteady on his feet. I rather have both hands free in case. When I get up to the alter, I want to hold Mr A's hand. So I don't see when I'll carry it, so I don't see any point in spending the cash for one. M and Mrs W will have bouquets so they have something to hold during the ceremony.
-My dress is pink. No not shocking pink, but pale pink so it's not the traditional colors (white or ivory).
-I'm not wearing a veil. I've gotten a lot of crap from saleswomen at bridal stores. No veil and they still want to plunk one on my head!
-No bouquet toss. I don't have a bouquet so can't toss it. Plus we don't have a lot of single female friends so I don't want to make it awkward for anyone.
-No garter toss. Same thing, not a lot of single guys.
-No father/daughter dance or mother/son dance. My dad hates dancing and he's unsteady on his feet so I think it really wouldn't work. And at this point Mr A's folks won't be at the wedding.
But we are traditional in other ways.
-Yes, my dad is walking me down the aisle. I feel it's an important way to include him. He's accompanied through my journey this far and I want him to help me through this part too. I won't have them ask about who's giving me away and such. That's the nice thing about writing your own ceremony. Leave out what you don't want.
-We're having a first dance and I'm thinking about adding an anniversary dance for all the couples after our dance.
I guess the rest of the wedding is pretty traditional-dinner, dancing. We're still working out the details of the ceremony.
I'll post the Save the Dates once they get mailed out.

Currently...

Drinking








After watching an episode of Good Eats, Mr A and I decided to start eating more blueberries. It's kind of hard to do in the middle of winter. But Alton Brown suggested blueberry juice. Since I'm all about good health, I decided to pick some up when we went to the grocery store. The True Blue was on sale this week. We bought the plain blueberry which is yummy. We also bought the Blueberry green tea which I have not tried yet.

Reading







I started Blink by Malcom Gladwell on the bus this week. I usually don't read non-fiction. I read Freakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner and really enjoyed it. I picked up Blink on a whim at the library. It's about that split second decision that everyone makes about everything everyday. I want to give people the benefit of the doubt. I want to get to know the person, evaluate the situation. But honestly you've made up your mind in those first 2 seconds. The rest of the time you are just coming to terms with your decision. I'm enjoying this book. I plan on reading his other book, Tipping Point, in the future.

Using







My new vacuum cleaner, a Dirt Devil Easy Clean. I went to Target last night to buy a different vacuum cleaner which my dad talked me out of. He didn't think it would work for me in the long run. This one was also on sale for a little more than the other one. I used it last night and wow, our floors were dirty! It's doing a good job right now.

Thanksgiving breakfast

So this is becoming a food blog :) Don't worry I'll write about the wedding soon. I know you all are waiting for the wedding stuff.
Have you ever had hand ground coffee?
I did. I took our coffee maker over to Dad's cause he doesn't have one. Yeah, he drinks instant coffee. But I forgot our coffee grinder. I didn't want to go home for it so I hand ground the coffee with a mortar and pestle. It was weak! I don't think I ground it enough. But it was ok. We drink our weak coffee with homemade bagels.
Yes, that's a homemade bagel. I found this recipe on Confections of A Foodie Bride. Go to her site to see how they really should look. Mine were kind of lumpy but pretty good. I misread the ingredients and bought maple syrup instead of maple extract. So I used a little more than a tablespoon of maple syrup. The bagels had a very pumpkin pie taste to them. I don't think I'll make these again until I get a stand mixer. It was kind of hard to mix the dough by hand. They were pretty yummy with cream cheese.

What I'm really thankful for...

This isn't in any order. It would be too hard to order who I'm most thankful for.

My friends. This group of gals are the best. I know who to call if my car breaks down, who will try that new restaurant with me, who will listen to me complain for the thousandth time about my job. Each one of these women are special and beautiful to me. Without them, my life wouldn't be as fun and interesting.

My Dad. I'm such a daddy's girl. He's been so amazing over the past 6 years. I didn't really know him until now. He's more than my father; he's my friend. He encourages me to do what I want to do and never expects me to do anything less. He's funny with a sarcastic wit. He exposed me to great British humor (yeah, Monty Python!). And he adores Mr A. What more could a girl ask for!

My Mom. I don't write much about my mom on here. Truth is, she's a large part of my life, but all I really have are memories of how she was. I thank her for being part of my life.

Mr A. This man rocks! I'm truly grateful that I found him and he asked me to marry him. He's loving, kind, generous, and affectionate. He's everything I could have hoped for in a partner. He's brought so many new things into my life. He helps me grow. I would be lost without his love and support.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm hungry. I'm going to find me some turkey :)

It's my style

Today I am thankful for the tank top. Yes, it's 40 degrees in Seattle and I'm thankful for the tank top. In fact I usual wear a tank top 3 or 4 times a week. No, not by itself. Usually under thin shirts or low cut shirts. I makes my wardrobe so much more wearable. That shirt that's too short-wear a long tank top. That shirt that's too low cut for work-wear a tank top. Shirts that are almost see through? Say it with me, a tank top!
These are all my tank tops. Well, no not all of them. A few were dirty when I took this picture. I have about 40 all together. I buy them mostly from Target or Old Navy. I don't like to pay a lot for them-never over 5 bucks. It's hard to tell but I have tons that are white, a few red, more pink than I thought. These take up on drawer of our dresser. Mr A has 2 drawers full of t shirts so he can't complain too much.
I am truly thankful for my tank top collection. They give me so many more options and they can change an entire outfit. Make something more casual or more versatile.
Tomorrow's post will be a little more serious. I promise!

From a thankful library lover

For today's post, I want to express my thankfulness for the King County Library. This is the library closest to my house. I go here 4-8 times a week.

The library has everything-music, movies, books, magazines. And I love this particular library because you cannot put anything on hold stored in this library. It's first come, first served. Trust me, I've been knocked down by people trying to get to the latest DVD. I actually was holding a DVD once and a woman asked me to put it down so she could make sure that she didn't want it. I was flabbergasted but I told her no and she got huffy and told the librarian. Mr A loves that you can use the computers there for anything. He was really surprised to see people playing World of Warcraft.
Yes, this is our pile of library books and music except for the book in my backpack, and the few CDs at my dad's. I read several books a month and get as many CDs as I can. Mr A reads as many books as I do and he likes the selection of DVDs they have.
Thank you King County Library!

From a thankful bus rider

I thought this week I would blog about things I'm thankful for. I thought I would highlight things that are slightly out of the norm, but things that make a difference in my life. So today's post is about the Seattle Transit Tunnel.
(stolen from Wikipedia) I commute to Seattle from a suburb everyday. I did drive but it was so expensive. Park, gas, oh my! Shortly after I took this job they closed the bus tunnel for 2 years. My commute was ruined. It took me 20 extra minutes in the morning and sometimes more than 30 extra minutes in the afternoon especially if there was a baseball game. Now all that has changed!

My commute is so much faster. I get home so much faster now. I am really glad that they finally opened the bus tunnel. Thank you! I am looking forward to light rail. Especially if it comes to the Eastside!

Currently....

Watching





Big Bang Theory. When this show first started I thought that's funny, I'll watch it. Mr A didn't think it would be funny at all. He believed that it was would be full of stereotypes and the characters wouldn't be interesting over time. Ha! He loves the show as much as I do. He's getting his friends to watch it too. Sadly I think all the new shows are out right now since they writer's strike. It looks like Monday's episode will be a repeat.

Eating








I made these lovely poached pears last night. So yummy so easy. This is my new dessert. Thank you Alton! I think this picture looks slightly pornographic (pears in lust?). My food photo skillz suck cause I'm learning. Bear with me :)

Reading









Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton. I'm reading the graphic novel version of this book. The graphics are very cool. Who ever drew this comic loves to draw vampires. Strangely realistic but also very comic book-y. I should be reading our book club selection (Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini) but I read it already. I'll leaf through it and make sure I remember the important parts.

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs W. Their new baby girl is here! I just got the call! Mommy and baby are doing fine. Welcome to the world, Wee W!

Beauty Roundup-Body

For the next installment of my beauty roundup, I'll be talking about my body care products.
First, my shower gel. Actually, body wash. Recently I've been using Method's Body Wash. I really like Method's products. It actually looks the body wash I'm currently using-Olive Oil-is discontinued. That's really too bad. I do like it a lot. I also like Dove's Calming Night and Energy Glow. Both of those really make my skin feel nice and soft. Whenever Olay Ultra Moisture Body Wash is on sale, I'll buy it. I like it but it's expensive for such a little bottle.
For body lotion, I love love love White Rain Shea Butter body lotion. I bought this stuff for a buck! It smells so yummy. Mr A loves the way it smells-slightly vanilla and slightly coconut. It moisturizes so well. But when my skin really needs a little extra care I use Jojoba oil. I buy mine from Sensaria. But I've tried the stuff from the grocery store too and it works just as well. Jojoba just sinks into your skin right away. If you have a sun burn or skin irritation will work wonders.
I love my body buff scrubber.
It's got two sides. One side is a little more abrasive so it exfoliates really well. Sometimes it's a little too much but the other side isn't nearly as abrasive. Mr A and I both have one which we bought at Fred Meyer's. I think we bought them over the summer and they are still going strong.

Dress Store Reviews

I decided to review the bridal stores I went to in my search for my dress. These are all in the Seattle area, so hopefully these will be useful to someone else.
Victoria's Bridal Couture (inside the downtown Macy's). I went here on a whim one day after work. I did not have an appointment but I hadn't really planned on trying on dresses. I just wanted to see what is available and get some ideas about what was there. But the store was pretty empty and they were nice enough to let me try on some dresses. Most of their dresses are between $400-$1000. They always have a selection of sale dresses starting at $99. I did find some beautiful dresses and one that I loved but it was out of my price range. They did have some plus size dresses for me to try on. They also have a lot of bridesmaid dresses and prom dresses too.
David's Bridal in Lynnwood. I made an appointment for a Sunday afternoon. I took M, Mrs W, and Kris with me. The consultant was kind of rude. She laughed at my selection of shoes which I brought with me. She kept insisting on a veil which I told her several times I did not want. Finally she just stuck one on my head and asked me to try it. I did find 2 dresses that I liked. Both were around $800. The girls later told me that the salesperson was rude to them. I didn't like how the salesperson followed me into the dressing room and forced me to wait for her to get dressed or undressed. I spent a lot of time in my underwear.
Bride's Outlet in Everett. I went to this store because I heard they had a ton of dresses that were cheap. Again I took M, Mrs W and Kris. They were very nice. They have a huge room of sale dresses in all sizes. I wore the largest size there. Their dresses are definitely smaller than other stores. I did find a dress for $299 but it was bright yellow. They also had a selection of bridesmaid dresses. They have some dresses that you could order. A lot of prom dress too.
I did buy dress off eBay from a private seller. I figured I would wind up buying my dress off eBay since I was looking for a really good deal and I'm not a sample sale size :( With eBay you need to do a lot of research. Ask a lot of questions. If the pictures aren't giving you a good indication of what the dress looks like, ask for more pictures. I noticed a lot of people didn't include sizes or measurements. I always asked even if I wasn't interested in the dress-kind of a public service.
I'd post pictures of my dress but it's too big and I had trouble trying to take pics while holding it up. Once I get it altered I'll post pictures.

With This Ring...

When Mr A and I got engaged, we were going to use my greatgrandmother's engagment ring as my engagement ring. But it's too small for my finger and I'm scared to take a 100 year old ring to Jared's to get resized. It's not important to me to have to right now anyway because Mr A wanted us to have matching engagement bands. We found (on eBay) a matching set of titanium rings. I'm totally happy with them but Mr A would like them to have a little more color.

When we bought these on eBay, I saw a few rings with color through the middle, but not in sets. I thought I might replace these rings with rings with color as a holiday gift. So, I'm searching for affordable, stylish rings. I thought I'd share my search with you. No fear in Mr A finding out what his holiday gift is now. I doubt he reads my blog and I'm horrible at keeping secrets from him.

So here's what I found:
( From etsy seller RobandLean)Ok so not really color, but more interesting that plain titatium. That's wood there in the middle. I think it's masculine looking so I think Mr A would approve but I don't think it would look so good on my finger. Especially once I get my greatgrandmother's ring resized.

(From etsy seller Shade Jeweler) I like the color in this ring and according to the seller, you can get any color you want. I'm just not a fan of the circles!

(From etsy seller Shade Jeweler). I really like this one. This what the seller states about this beauty: "This ring is the same as my Deeply Carved Titanium Ring, but with a permanent multicoloring, which I call a "confetti color". The color processing is known as anodizing. It leaves a very strong layer of coloring on the metal. The coloring is multi-colored and actually changes based on the light and angle of viewing. The coloring will not wear off, it is not a paint or a stain of any kind, and it will not peel or fade, it actually changes the color of the metal. " I think this is my style as well as Mr A's. I love the deeply grooved parts of the ring as well as the coloring. The seller states that matched sets can be made. And the best part is that each ring is only $80! What a steal!

I'm becoming addicted to etsy! It's an online marketplace for people who make their own wares. I love to see how creative people are!

Sunday Breakfast

A few months ago, a friend gave me a recipe for Apple Dutch Baby Pancake. I made it once right away and it turned out awful! It was supposed to be sweet but it was bland. Mr A put pancake syrup all over it. I was sad that it didn't turn out right. I checked with my friend and she wasn't sure what I'd done wrong.
I had a couple of apples sitting around. I thought about making baked apples again but I choose to try the pancake again. And this time I got it right!
Yes, it doesn't look like much. But so yummy. I think I didn't use enough honey the last time I made it.

Dutch Baby Pancake (Martha Stewart)

Serves 4 (or 2 very hungry people)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add butter. When melted, add apple wedges. Cook until softened and lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in honey and cardamom, and remove skillet from heat.
In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients, except confectioners’ sugar, until smooth. Pour over apple mixture. Bake until puffed and brown, about 20 minutes. Slide pancake onto a serving platter. Serve immediately, cut into wedges, with confectioners’ sugar sifted over the top.

Modifications I made: I didn't have cardamom, so I used some cinnamon instead. I used Red Delicious apples since that's what I had on hand. And I didn't add the sugar at the end. It was pretty sweet anyway and didn't need it.

Currently...

Reading







Wedding Chic by Nina Willdorf. I've been consuming wedding books like they were going out of style. Most of them are filled with the same ideas over and over again. But this one had a lot of really good different ideas.

Loving








I use this in my laundry. It get my clothes so much cleaner. Plus it's a natural fabric softener so my clothes are so soft! Works best with towels.

Using







I got my new digital camera this week. Yeah!

Beauty Roundup-Hair

I love talking about my hair products. I love love love my hair! I'm blessed with really good hair. I have a varied diet with lots of good fats, so my hair is very healthy. But I do believe that my hair products are partly responsible for how freaking good my hair looks.
For years, I would switch shampoos and conditioners. I would use Pantene, Finesse, Nature's Gate, Neutrogena. Each would would work as promised for a few weeks. My hair would shine. Then, flat nothing! It would stop working. I bought clarifying shampoo and that would help but nothing would regain those beginning days. So I would find another shampoo.
A few years ago, I was introduced to a brand called Sensaria (back then it was called Natural Bodycare). It's one of those sell at home companies. I went to a party and learned about their facial products. I liked their products and used them occasionally. Then at one party (my friends all use one or two of their products so we take turns hosting the parties) I noticed they had shampoos and conditioners. I was in a hair care rut, I decided to try to their shampoo. OMG, my hair felt clean and healthy. The conditioner was so wonderful that I hardly needed more than a squirt. I choose to try the Rosemary Mint which is for normal hair but over time I've tried the whole line-Sweet Orange, Mango, and Cherry Almond. I think each on is terrific.
Over the past 4 years (!), I have strayed. I admit it. But I come rushing back to Sensaria every time. Nothing works on my hair quite the same.
I don't sell Sensaria so I don't profit from my shameless plugs. I tell everyone how wonderful their product is because I truly feel like it is.
As far as styling product, I use whatever I find cheap at the store. I have no favorites here. I don't put a lot of product in my hair on a daily basis. I do like Garnier Fructis Style Surf Texture Paste. It gets my hair all piecey. When I go out dancing, I like using that on my hair. Which means I hardly ever use it now!

A Sea of Flowers

I'm not a huge flower person. I love carnations since they are the flower of my birth month. I dislike roses since everyone gives roses. I told Mr A when we first started dating that I didn't want rose. In fact I would be upset if he gave me roses. He should come up with some original, something he wanted to give me. Don't give me something just because you should or you think you are supposed to.
My indifference to flowers makes choosing a florist and flowers for the wedding kind of hard. I do like carnations. I might use them in some of the bouquets and arrangements but to most people carnations are cheap, filler flowers. So people won't give me grief about it, I'll use them sparingly. I also have a really hard time spending a few hundred dollars on something that will last a few hours. I rather people enjoy the natural beauty of our site, but tables have to have something on them, the bridesmaids have to carry something, and the guys need boutineers!
I asked Mr A if he saw his groomsmen should be wearing boutineers. He stopped playing his game for a few mintues and said yeah, I think they should.
I saw these a few weeks ago:
At first I thought well that looks too hard to do. But the more I thought about it. I decided that it probably wouldn't take too long and I could choose the exact color I wanted.
Now, I know, you're looking at them, saying Miss A, those are roses!
Yes, I know. But I haven't liked the look of other ribbon roses. I think these look real enough so when people see them, they will think they are really roses. I doubt the groomsmen will keep them but I won't feel so bad. I can make them now and if I change my mind, no big deal.
If you'd like to see how to make them, go here.

A Rousing Reception

For some reason, I've been fixated on the timing of the reception. The ceremony and the reception will be at the same place. We'll be getting married outside on the grass and the food and everything will be inside in the barn. After the ceremony, we'll walk back up the asle toward the barn, then what?
I surfed the Internet looking for timelines of the reception. The Knot has one but I didn't like it. I found this one, that I did like. But everyone talks about cocktail hour. We're not serving cocktails! The site doesn't allow alcohol! So what do I call it? Wait around hour? Of course I'll have drinks available for people, some soft music playing, maybe some snacks. I'm not sure that I want formal pictures anyway. I don't have use for an 8x10 glossy of me and Mr A in our wedding clothes.
The last wedding I went to the Bride and Groom entered the reception and danced their first dance. I'm not a fan of that plan. I think the dancing should all be at the same time. So we enter, we're announced, there are toasts, we eat, we dance. Yeah I think that will work.
OT, but last night when I came home from dinner with M & Mrs W (who is thisclose to popping), there sat Mr A, bald headed! He's shaved his hair numerous times but he usually warns me. I thought I walked into the wrong house! His scalp has been bothering him so he thought loosing the hair might help. We'll see.

Pass the Popcorn!

I'm actually stealing this from myself. I wrote this on my myspace blog last year. Anywhoo, I thought I'd repost it here.
For your reading pleasure 20 of my favorite movies...

1. As I've said before, Can't Hardly Wait has to be my favorite film.
2. Better Off Dead. "I want my two dollars!"
3. The Matrix. Probably have seen these a 100 times. Mr A owns it. I should watch it again. Haven't seen it this month.
4. Ocean's Eleven. Yes I've seen the original. But how can you resist Clooney and Pitt? Such wonderful eye candy. The first time I saw it, I thought it was very original how they robbed the casino, but I like to watch it again to try to catch things I've missed.
5. An Affair to Remember. Cary Grant and Deborah Karr. Now one talks like that but I would if I met the love of my life on a boat while I was engaged to another man. Maybe.
6. Brokeback Mountain. Probably one of my more recent favorites. I saw it more times than necessary in the theatre. Thank you, Mr A for buying it for me.
7. The Last Unicorn. I loved this movie as a little girl. I used to wish I could be a unicorn. It's so sad at the end.
8. Charade. I went through a Cary Grant phase. Probably after I saw An Affair to Remember. Plus Audrey Hepburn and Walter Matheau.
9. Shawshank Redemption. I remember the first time I saw this movie (over a 100 times ago). I thought wow, why haven't I heard of this movie. Terrific performances.
10. Love Actually. I love all the different stories and how they connect to each other.
11. Quills. I've never read anything about the Marquis de Sade. I've tried but the library doesn't seem to carry it. Strange. Besides I love Joquin Phoenix and Kate Winslet.
12. The Power of One. Such a powerful movie. It gets its point across without being preachy.
13. Xmen
14. Spiderman
15. Spiderman 2
16. Dave. I love Kevin Klein!
17. Clueless. As If!
18. Gross Pointe Blank. Of course, John Cusack!
19. Breakfast Club. Classic 80's film!
20. Hairspray. I love John Waters. The music from the original is so good!
I love fall. It provides a good opportunity to curl up and watch great movies!

What I'm currently into...

I stole this idea from Not Martha. I'll try to make it a weekly thing like she does.

Reading







I really like Jodi Picoult. I've read several of her books. I'm enjoying this one very much. It is about a school shooting like Columbine. So it might be too much for some people. I can be too much for me at times. I get teary eyed on the bus while reading it.

Playing







JT bought this and let me play it last night. Wow, I love kicking ass! I never played the other ones. Although I started to get carpal tunnel from moving the wii mote all over the place. Mr A and I talked about buying it. He wasn't a fan of rushing out and buying. I don't think I'll rush out and buy it, but I think it will be fun to play for a while. Especially after a trying day at work.

Looking for

The blue shoes I had for the wedding aren't going to work with my pink dress. So I'm looking for silver shoes now.

Beauty Roundup-Face

When you are getting married, the pressure to look good mounts. But I, like most women, spend time and money trying to look good on a regular basis so I don't think I need to change my beauty routine. I love talking about skincare products so I thought I'd share the products that I'm currently using.
I'm going to start with my facial products. I kind of see this as a regular kind of post.
I've been using Cetaphil as my cleanser for over 8 years now. I used Noxema for years (my mamma used it). But I found it made my skin tight. I tried some other fancy products like Orgins. But after reading so much about Cetaphil, I decided to try it. I love it. It's cheap and very effective. I have pretty normal skin. I break out infrequently. Cetaphil cleans just enough and never leaves my skin feeling tight.
As a night cream, I've been using Murad's Essential-C Daily Renewal Complex. I got this from my coworker who works part time at a beauty superstore. It's very light and sinks in so quickly. It makes my skin feels so soft! I doubt I'll actually buy it since it's $90. I'll probably go back to my regular night cream, cheapie St. Ives Collagen Elastin Facial Moisturizer. I think a 10 ounce jar was $5. It's not as wonderful as the $90 stuff but it does a decent job.
I put eye cream on every night. I'm not loyal to any one brand. Whatever is on sale, what I ever I feel like buying. I do have dark circles under my eyes. This is my biggest concern. Although one time I bought a cream to fix that and wound up with puffy, swollen eyes. I think dark circles are better. Right now, I'm using Nivea Visage Wrinkle Reducer. I've been using it for about 3 months. I don't see any new wrinkles. I didn't do anything for my dark circles but that's not what it's for.
As a day cream, I've been using Murad Essential-C Day Moisture with SPF 15. It came with the night cream. But I'm kind of nervous about using so much of the Murad product together. It seems that it's supposed lighten your skin. I don't really want to get lighter, so I'm trying not to use them together. So I have Cosmedicine's Primary Care Multi-Tasking Moisturizer SPF 20 which I also got from my coworker. I tried it this morning. A little thick, but felt nice. Maybe I won't put so much on tomorrow!
If you have an eye cream you think is good, I'd love to hear about it. I'll blog about my hair care products next week.

Idea for Trash the Dress shoot

Since we're getting married on a campground, I have tons of ideas of interesting non formal pictures. Essentially Trash the Dress pics.
(Stolen from the University of Boulder). Can you imagine me doing this in my wedding gown? Mr A thinks this would be a funny picture and I can't help but agree.
I want to take some pictures on the rocks by the river. I would even be willing to wade into the river if it meant some beautiful memorable shots.
(Stolen from Manolo for the Brides). I know someone with a paint ball gun that resembles this gun. I could totally pull that off. I could send it to some of friends from college. They would get a kick out of it. They always said I was white trash!

Stolen from Rich Johnson's flickr set). I would love to have some of us climbing trees. If we could get the bridal party into it. I think it would be a lot of fun. I could just see some of the guys hanging from the branches. It would make me laugh.
(Stolen from stonesinthegarden's flickr set). There are some really cool trails in the park and I would love to wander around a find some great shots like this. BTW, I love her sandals.

Wedding Saving Tips #1

I know it's helpful for me to find other people's cost saving tips, so I thought I'd pass a few along.
1. After I got engaged, I said I wasn't going to buy any bridal magazines. Everything I could want is available on the Internet. Besides, my days of reading magazines and watching tv have gone out the window. Mr A hates it when I do that. He cannot understand how I can watch and read at the same time. If he thinks I'm not paying attention to a show, he'll quiz me on it for reassurance.
Not being bridal magazines is easy. M does get a wedding magazine that she passes on to me. If I want to read a magazine I'll go to B&N and peruse the selection but I usually get bored of them quickly. Also I use my library for all wedding books. I can see if it would something worth keeping. If not, back to the library it goes. If I think it will be useful, I head to Half Price Books to find it.
2. Don't be bound by tradition. Look for alternative ways to accomplish the same thing. Anything with the word wedding on it is more expensive. The wedding aisle of my local craft store has a load of crap. But I can usually find some beautiful things in other parts of the store. Look everywhere for inspiration for your wedding.
3. My new favorite word is repurpose. The wicker basket I'm using for magazines at home can hold a centerpiece at the wedding. After the wedding it can go back to it's original purpose. Everything can have multiple purposes. Don't feel like you have to buy special things for the wedding. Include some of your everyday things in your wedding. It's an easy way to save money and to show your own personal style. Use the serving platters you already have. Ask your friends if you can use theirs too. Create an eclectic arrangement with objects you already own.
I went to a bridal shower once where the hostess gave prizes to people who won the games. The prizes were tea pots that she collected over a few months. Each one was different, but interesting at the same time. She also used them as decoration during the shower. Each had a small potted plant inside too. Very creative. Guests were clamoring to win the games to get their pick of a tea pot!
Having any event (wedding, birthday party, or holiday gathering) can create more waste than necessary. Try not to buy new items. If you do find ways to give them away after the event is over.

I am so Freaking Lucky!!!

I just won my wedding dress on eBay. I'm so excited! There was fierce bidding competion. But I knew I wanted that dress. It matched so many things I wanted-no train, all satin, the beading on the bodice, and no train! I had to have it!!!! And the best thing is that I paid $120 with shipping. I cannot wait for it to arrive.
I am also lucky because Tiffany, a girl at work, offered to be my DOC at the wedding. I'm so happy. Tiff plans parties at work so she's used to setting up and organzing. She's got such great personal style too. She'll be able to really help me get everything done. And the best thing is that she offered to do it for free. For free! I'm going to get her a nice gift-dinner at a nice resturant-but so thoughtful. I cannot believe how lucky I am.

Lessons Learned From Kid Nation

Mr A hates reality TV. He makes fun of my obsession with American Idol. He'll watch it with me but never gets into it or demands to watch it.
A few weeks ago I wanted to see where in China the new season of Survivor was. Since it was On Demand, I figured that I could watch a few minutes, fast forward passed anything annoying and turn it off. Mr A was watching Jackass as usual, so I asked if I could watch a few minutes of Survivor after the show was over. He scoffed, but ok as soon as this show was over I could watch but he did not want to watch. So I snuggled on the lovesac with him until Jackass was over. Since he was comfortable he choose not to leave when I turned on Survivor. I saw that they choose a remote location of China for Survivor, met the cast, was unimpressed and reached for the remote to turn it off.
"Aren't you going to watch the whole episode?" Mr A asked.
"No remember I just wanted to watch the first few minutes. Did you want to watch it?"
"No, I hate reality TV. This is stupid."
Ok, so I turned it off and I think we watched Good Eats instead. I love Alton Brown!
A few days later I came home and there was Mr A watching Survivor! He got sucked in. He has his favorite cast members and has some he despises. But in watching Survivor he found another show that sucked us both in, Kid Nation.
If you don't know the premise of Kid Nation, go here. But wow, what an amazing show. Some of these kids are amazing. Some parents should win a prize because these kids are wonderful. Hard working, up standing, resourceful little people. And it doesn't matter the age. Some of the kids are nine or ten and really know what they are doing. Some are older and are useless.
The worst is uberbrat Taylor. She annoys me so much. Her motto is deal with it. I imagine her mom says that to her all day. Her parents should be ashamed of her behavior.
I know they probably edit the show to make some kids look worse than others, but Taylor takes the cake. I never see her do anything redeeming and she makes life harder for the other kids.
I also I forget that racism and prejudice are born at home. Some parents are teaching their children to intolerant of other cultures. I forget that it's ongoing struggle to educate people of all ages to accept others. I'm so used to dealing with intolerant adults I forget that children aren't being taught tolerance. I picture children as kinder and more loving than adults. I forget that they can be just as mean as adults. Thanks, Kid Nation for reminding me!

Perfect

I cringed each time I hear that word, Perfect. Mr A usually mocks me with it. "You want everything perrrfeccctt." Ugh, no honey, I don't want anything perfect. Perfect is straight corners, crisp lines, and tons of hairspray. If you could see our apartment you would know perfect ain't my style.
I am incapable of doing anything in straight lines. Our couch is crooked. There's hair on the floor of the kitchen-yuck, I know. I have shirts with stains. I never iron anything. I love that our plates have chips in them. Why should our wedding be any different than my normal style.
I want fun, casual, exciting, silly, and relaxing. People will be sitting a picnic tables, eating. Music will be playing. People will be dancing, enjoying themselves.
But still our day will be perfect because we're getting married. Duh, that's what makes it a perfect day. A day spent with the man I love, with the people I love, that's what makes it perfect.
I fully expect someone to cause a scene. I fully expect to not look like brides in the magazines. I fully expect Mr A to do something outrageous. I fully expect something to go horribly wrong. I expect to miss my mother, for Mr A to wish his folks were there. I expect to cry, sob even, at least once a day. I also expect to remember this day for the rest of my life, good, bad or ugly.

I Don't Need No Stinkin' DJ!

While reading Indiebrides, I found that several girls had luck using their iPods in place of a DJ. Plus I found places that will rent DJ equipment for a pretty reasonable fee (around $200) so I'm a little less worried about that now.
Thanks to Miss Hummingbird of Wedding Bee, I found Vitamin String Quartet. Yeah, thanks a lot Miss Hummingbird. I want to use contemporary songs for the actual ceremony processional rather than stuffy wedding marches. But I kept having a hard time finding songs I liked with appropriate lyrics. I love Evanescence, but their songs are not love songs. But the melody is so beautiful. So I headed over to iTunes and found over 300 songs to choose from. They have everything from Madonna to U2 to Nine Inch Nails. No more worries. I can choose from their wonderful selection! Yeah. Oh, boy I'm going to be giving a lot of money to iTunes!
I also found 2 dresses on eBay. Cross your fingers. One is a pickup skirt like the one at David's. A lot less beading than I wanted but it's ok. And the other one is adorable and pink! Yeah for non traditional colors!

Counting Down

With about 9 months to go, I'm starting to get nervous that we won't have anything to feed our guests or a photographer to take photos of our wonderful day. Money is just too tight for me to feel free to start looking seriously.
I'm nervous about finding a dress. My budget is tiny and my body is not. I've found some acceptable choices so if push came to shove I could get one of those. Or I could stumble over a bag of money and buy that beautiful one I saw at Victoria's Bridal.
This is a once in a lifetime event and I feel like I can't give it the proper attention cause I'm so broke. I'm sure I'll feel better once Mr A finds a job. Being unemployed makes it hard to really plan a wedding. But we're not just planning a wedding. It's the day our marriage will start, officially. I want it to be a fun, memorable day. I want our friends to have fun. I want to look back, see our pictures and smile. I do not want to think I did not get everything that will make me happy. Although being with Mr A makes me very happy.
I keep saying I shouldn't worry until the new year. If we're 4 or 5 months away without a dress, a suit, a caterer, and a photographer, then I can panic. Right now, it's not worth it. I should focus on the things that I can do right now. It's just so hard!

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!

Things have been a little slow on the wedding planning. I'm still looking for the right dress, a caterer and a photographer (in case JT's brother in law can't do it). I'm working on the save the date cards but that's moving a little slowly since I've been kind of busy. One thing I have been working on is our registry.
A lot of brides on the knot keep worrying about their registry. There's two camps. Do it immediately and do it sometime before the wedding. I was kind of anxious about the registry. I wanted to register at a few places but didn't want to look greedy. I choose to use thingsiwant.com. I can ask for gifts from a bunch of different places. People can check off the things they buy. It's really easy to use.
Our friends have started to ask us what we want for the holidays. Mr A told them to look at our registry. Mr A also feels that they can use that list for our birthdays as well. I agree.
Registering is a great idea because I have some friends that are sucky gift givers. I love a registry cause you can look for a gift that the person wants and find something appropriate in your price range. Trying to find gifts in all different ranges is difficult though. We have a lot of big ticket items (a flat screen tv, a vaccum cleaner). I'm hoping my family will pick up those items. But I did register for lower priced items like spatulas and oven mitts.