Grocery Store Wedding Cakes?

I grew up across the street from Jewel-Osco and once upon a time Amlings. Amlings has since moved and made way for a mini strip mall consisiting of a liquor store, nail spa, custom flooring and of course a Starbucks! The Jewel-Osco did some renovating and is now a pretty sweet place for grocery shopping. While shopping for grocieries yesterday, at the recommendation of my friend, CR, I stopped into check out the florist. She told me after her wedding she found out that Jewel does weddings. Seriously. I have to find out and see actual samples of their work, but the Florist seemed very knowledgable and sensitive to my budget concerns. She also thought I was a first time bride of 23....I let her know that I wasn't 23, but didn't really feel the need to tell her about this not being my first rodeo. At any rate, she sent me to the bakery to talk to the Baker. I then learned that I can do flowers and cake for 300 for less than $1500. The only catch is that we have to pick them up ourselves. Since we live across the street, I really don't see this being a problem. If we lived across town, I could see it being a little more of an issue. I am soooo excited, you don't even know. Groom is of course skeptical being the brand baby that he is. I said that we would order a sample and add it to our taste testing pile. They can do a fresh strawberry filled cake in white, yellow or chocolate....can we really go wrong? We could order three different flavors or more with all the choices of fillings. I suppose we can do that at a 'real bakery' too. We'll see how it stacks up. I of course will keep you posted.

Formal Wear Rentals for the Munchkins!

I am watching 190 North (yes, I'm home at 11:25 pm on a Saturday night). The show just featured some fun kid friendly places in the city for dining, shopping, and even a spa day. So the place of interest for this and any other bride to be is the formal wear rental place that offers just about everything you'd need to dress your child attendant at a fraction of the cost. You can rent not only the cutest dresses and tuxes ever, but also accessories! A pink hat or a little party purse or even outerwear! You can even dress up your puppy!!!! Maybe two ring bearers is an option again...How cute would Tucker look in this?

Indian Inspired Invitations!

I am attempting to be productive while Groom is away at a golf thing this weekend. I am looking for invitations and stumbled across Wedding Paper Divas. The Modern Paisley Invitation (pictured left) and the Woven Paisley Invitation (not pictured) are my two favorites. They're reasonably priced at under $8 for the set. They have samples available for $5.00/ea. Groom really likes the first one (he's been in contact via his super duper phone). He seems to get most excited about the invitations and the reception. I bought a paisley stamp that I can use to make my own thank you cards. The simpler, the better for me.

Paper Source has embossers with three styles of plates to choose from with a myriad of fonts for a variety of purposes. Most relevant to my needs of the moment: the return address plate. I can literally press it into my envelopes! There's a circular one that could make an interesting seal. The embosser is sold separately from the plates, but will come in under $60 for both! Not sure if that will go with our day, but still a neat texture for any invitation.

OPI's Indian Collection for your nails!

OPI came out with a Spring/Summer 2008 Collection called "India" with colors like a soft bronze called "Charmed by a Snake" or a deep blue named "Yoga-ta Get This Blue". I am not sure if the marketing peeps knew that the Taj is a mausoleum, not a church, but either way, "You Gotta Get Me to the Taj on Time" is my favorite. The Fall/Winter 2008 Collection is inspired by the French with deep burgandies and purples. Click on the title or the picture to check out the collection yourself.

Another fun beauty fact of the day: I was reading an old issue of Allure magazine and came across a beauty find for those Bollywood actresses in training (and Indian Brides!). Mehron Slim-Pro Pencils are among the darkest black kohl one can find in a pencil form. You will find it alongside white face paint and pencils in other fun colors since it was originally intended to be clown make-up. Go figure.

Freezer Paper Stencils Part II

Here are a few pictures from my afternoon of craftiness. I am still a beginner, so thinking in negative space is new for me. I started with something simple: a flower. Then I turned it into a "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" design to put on a tote bag that I will use on my wedding day. Groom approves (he came home from work while I was finishing up). The canvas fabric of the tote was a little tricky with the fabric paint in that it bled a bit, but I'll either freeze or but something in the paint to make it thicker to use next time.

Here's how you can have an afternoon of craftiness yourself!

1. Draw a design (or trace something you like)

2. Cut out the parts you want to be painted using an exacto knife

3. With your iron on to the highest setting, iron the stencil to your fabric of choice

4. Paint

5. Wait for it to dry, then peel off the stencil

6. Iron to set the paint

UPDATE

Apologies for slacking on my posts! My interview with a very well known non profit went very well. Let's hope they liked me as much as I liked them.

Groom and assorted family members and I went to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children in Aurora, IL for two hours. Their major partner is Cargill so they have another location in Minnesota. Along with a whole host of others, we packed enough food to feed 32 children for ONE YEAR. Groom stocked the big tubs that the teams used to pack the individual bags. I helped by putting labels on each bag before they were filled. It was a very rewarding experience to physically measure out soy, rice, chicken & dried vegetables then seal and pack into boxes and know that it will go to aid other mission agencies feed children around the world. We plan on going back and becoming more involved with the organization as our schedules and lives permit.

Guest Seating Display

I plan on using foam board from Office Depot and a single mast easel to display the table arrangements for guests to view. I will also need ribbon and card stock to back the lists. The lists will be in alphabetical order with table number listed across from each guest's name...much like the table of contents of a book. We have 300+ names to post so I may make two boards (in addition to a mini binder organized both by guest and by table for the venue manager). We'll also have table numbers at each table to connect the chart to the table and possibly individual place cards at each seat to indicate meal preference. I really want to put little wooden chicken or cows on a stick at each setting, but I think Groom would frown upon this. :)

I'm still working on the fabric painting. I will get that up next week.