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?