Sandalwood Fans for $1

I'm holiday shopping (mostly on line because I don't do so well with crowds and the Midwestern cold weather).  I came across these wooden fans from Pier 1.  They're ONE DOLLAR.  They'd be great favors/decorations for a beach wedding or reception....again, just $1 a piece!  Just thought I'd share.   Happy Shopping!!!!

I'm working on body scrubs from scratch for most of the grown ups (I use that term loosely) on my list...the munchkins are getting t-shirts and onesies I'm designing for each one of them with the wonders of iron on transfer paper and MSWord.  I'll post pictures as I finish them in the next week along with a 'how to' for anyone who cares to know.  If all goes well, these projects will resurface around wedding time.

Collecting Wedding (or any event) Photos with Flikr!

I have been trying to figure out a good way to collect guest shots....thought about leaving a box of blank disks with pre-addressed envelopes, then realized people are slackers about getting photos off their cameras onto disks.  This might solve my problem as long as I include clear directions and maybe even my e-mail address in case guests have questions.  Flickr has a fantastic set of tools available for the DIY wedding album builder.  You can create a group and then invite your guests to join the group and post pictures from your event.  You then have access to all their pictures to enhance the collection you're slowing starting to amass.  

Date Night on a Budget

Weddings are expensive.  Relationships are still important. What's a girl on a budget to do? Restaurant.com is my newest find.  It's not entirely free as my tag implies, but it is a deal.  I was watching the News in Chicago and they had a report on the site's efforts to market restaurants in this troubled economy.  Currently they're running a special for 70% off gift certificates.  For example, you'd pay $10 for $25 certificate and right now it's $3.  You have to read through each offer to make sure it suits your dining out desires....but overall, a pretty sweet deal.  We found certificates to our favorite Chicago hot spots. Chocolate, Delicious, Deleece, Kaze, Mrs. Murphy's Bistro (not so much a hot spot, but a neighborhood favorite...)  Enter promo code: THANKS for the special discount. Not sure when it expires, so get moving on it, okay? 

DIY Wedding Albums

Picaboo has come out with a flush mount leather bound wedding album. Starting at $349.99 for 20 pages; this is a pretty sweet deal. The pages are flush mount board and it lays completely flat when opened. It comes in 9 colors with 2 lines of foil stamping on the cover. There are two sizes to choose from (11 x 8.5 inches and 14 x 11 inches).  I was hoping they'd come out with something like this before next Spring as I'm making our album myself.   I can only imagine choosing my own lay out for each page and having complete creative control over one of the only tangible memories of our day.  Picaboo also has smaller albums I can order for our parents....the possibilities are endless!!! Can't wait!

EEEEEKKKK!!!! 204 days to go!

I logged into myknot.com site to check my to do list and realized I'm a bit behind on a few things. Here I thought I was sooo ahead of the game, but somehow I have fallen behind! I have been sidetracked by stationary and some how created extra holiday projects for myself. I am going to use the next few weeks in November to pick out bridesmaid dresses, print invitations & find a florist....oh and reserve a block of rooms for my out of town guests. AHHHHHH!!!!!!

At least I'm organized.

In other news, I recently started a new job and it's going pretty well. I also moved to the city, so that's been a bit stressful. I think Groom and I are trying to figure out how to merge our personal styles and even daily routines. Tucker and Luke have adjusted pretty well to the condo. Tucker's been protecting Luke from getting onto the balcony (we're four floors up and Luke has NO idea).

I feel better now. Thanks for listening. :)

Scrap Booking Fun!

Archivers is my new favorite (well maybe second favorite) stationary stores. I found paper of all kinds, shape cutters, stickers, card stock in every shade of every color of the rainbow. Groom can handle about five minutes in the place before he has to leave. He likens a visit to taking me to a gaming cafe (which he's not done, thankfully) so he waits in the car. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ideas and work space. They offer classes regularly and have a huge work space in the back for scrap bookers to spread out and do their thing. I am using paper from the store to make tags for our gifts this Christmas...will post pictures when I'm done!