Home Re-do

Along with wedding planning, we're also remodeling the house in anticipation.  The roof has been fixed, along with the kid's bathroom.  We also had the entire house painted inside (we will be painting the outside as well).

I took the opportunity while rearranging the house from disarray to re-organize and "spring" clean.  I dusted every surface and hung photos that have been laying around for years.  The kids rooms are finally DONE! YES!  They are all in love with the colors they picked out. And I am finally in love with my house.

The office

P's room

P's room (he got a TV for his 12th b-day from father in law).

Our room (we used the same colors as the office and P's room to save on cost).  I love this color!!!

Princess's room

Princess got a dresser from father in law for her birthday

Princess's Princess accessories

Fatty's room... his favorite color is green so the color is perfect

Kitchen with a fresh new coat of paint

Hallway (we kept the color for the main areas similar to what it was before, but it looks so much fresher)

Food Tasting

We have been toying with the idea of hiring a caterer for our wedding and found one we really like. They offer all the bells and whistles we need for a seamless, stress-free and elegant wedding.  And their prices are pretty reasonable. Although a bit high for our budget, they include a lot to go with it. After our first official meeting, we set up a tasting appointment, which was today.  We were offered our choice menu items that were available with our preferred package.

We arrived early and were attended to almost right away. The table was set with our linen color choices and we were offered a drink.  We did have to wait a bit for the food and the manager (but nothing I would even complain about).  Also, the chef did get our appetizer and hubby's main course wrong but it was quickly remedied. Everything was delicious and I was full after the first course LOL.

It didn't look like a lot of food but it was so filling and Hubby enjoyed his food so much, he finished every last morsel.  We were able to talk about the menu options, the catering service and all the fine details.  I really enjoyed the tasting and I really like Annie, the manager.  I hope we can book with them.

The menu consists of:

Appetizer: Cream of broccoli soup

Main Course:  Spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breast in cream of mushroom sauce, salad, dinner roll, garden rice  (the chicken comes wrapped with a piece of bacon which I took off since I don't eat bacon).

Dessert:  Lemon tart 

Hubby's plate will be the same except he will have fish fillet

Moulon Rouge-y

I knew I wanted to have a garter for the wedding, one for keeps and one to toss.  I also knew I wanted it to be my little something blue. But I have no idea why.  Where did the idea of wearing a garter come from?  I guess this is where Wikipedia comes in but before I could research it's origins, I went ahead and got my garters anyway. 

Now I know it can be embarrassing as your husband hikes up your skirt and showcases your bare thighs to your entire wedding party, grabbing your garter with his teeth (usually)... but it can also be fun if done tastefully.  It's not for everyone but it might just be for me... a little brothel type, moulon rouge feel for a few seconds at the wedding. 

I thought I wanted to buy my garters, so I looked for ones I liked.  I saw one for $11 at the bridal salon but figured I could find one a little cheaper, and so when I found one for $3, I bought it.  But I still needed one more, so I let my DIY persona take over. After all, for the price of 1, I could have made at least 6.

With my mother in laws help, I was able to make the perfect garter... now to decide which garter to toss (the store bought one) and which to keep (the DIY one). 

First thing I needed was some ribbon, which I got at the material store for less than .50 cents for the meter.  measured my thigh with the ribbon to see how much I needed and cut.  I did a simple stitch as a marker and to hold the ribbon together for sewing. I did sorta kinda follow a simple DIY tutorial on youtube, but not to the T, just the basic idea.

My mother in law took over here and used her machine to sew the ribbon and the lace together.  After she did this, she strung the elastic through and sewed the garter shut.

I glued the cute little bow and silk flower on the garter.  Final touch will be a personalized ribbon with our names and wedding date.

"The Rings Please...."

You tube strikes again.  I am telling you, having youtube.com as a source of inspiration and a tutorial guide is awesome.  As a personal touch for the wedding, I want to do a few DIY items but nothing too grandiose. I know my limitations and skill set so I wanted to do a few simple items that would not only look good but also save me money.  This is where youtube.com comes to the rescue.  Just type in what item it is you want to make and there are a myriad of video tutorials (some better than others) for your choosing.   

I figured a ring pillow would be something easy for me to make.  I took home economics in high school and sewed two pillows. Granted I also forgot much of the sewing techniques I learned so many years ago BUT I recently signed up for a weekly sewing class at the local Catholic church, so my confidence in amateur sewing has increased.  A ring pillow was right up my skill 'alley', so I took to youtube and found a tutorial for a simple (yet pretty) no sew ring pillow. I followed the tutorial BUT decided to sew the pillow instead. The results are amazing, if I do say so myself.

For a heart pillow (my theme is two hearts): trace a heart on a piece of computer paper, then place the heart on the fabric and cut.

Attach bobby pins to stabilize (prevent from moving, making it easier to sew) the 2 pieces of fabric, then sew together with a simple stitch. Sew on the INSIDE of the fabric as you need to flip it over.

My mother in law showed me this trick of cutting mini pieces at the edge of the fabric to make it smoother once I turned the pillow over. Make sure to leave a little opening for stuffing. As an added touch, I sewed the pillow using a sewing machine, which is not as intimidating as it seems. This allowed me to remove the simple stitching.

Flip pillow over, then stuff.

After stuffing, attach lace with hot glue around the pillow for a more finished look... also makes it look more like a ring pillow.

Attach ribbons anywhere on the front of the pillow for a little bit of 'pretty' and also for the rings.

Voila! The finished ring pillow.  Because my mother in law already had the materials, the pillow only cost me the price of the ribbon (so a whopping .30 cents or so).  I saw a nice regular square pillow with a heart box attached for the rings for about $7 that I was tempted to buy. I am so glad I decided to make my own pillow, because I ended up saving over $6 bucks AND the pillow goes perfectly with my theme. Not to mention, it means so much more because I made it. 

Save This Date

Save the dates went out this weekend for the wedding! I know they aren't a necessity but, they were so much fun to make and even 'funner' to hand out.  I made 10, handed out 7 and have 2 more to give away. I am debating if I should make more and sent to family in Boston. We'll see.

I had another idea for the save the dates entirely, but in the end did something even simpler and cheaper than the original idea. These save the dates cost about $5 and I went with an older photo of Hubby and I. I figured what a great way to showcase how long we've been together, like a timeline almost of our enduring 14 year love affair. :)

Princess's 5th Birthday

Princess turned 5 and she could not have been any happier to do so.  All week she kept talking about her birthday, about being a big girl and about finally being 5 (something she had been looking forward to since last year, right after she turned 4 LOL).  

I promised her I would take her to get a professional manicure for her birthday and so off we went. 

April 26: her birthday

Getting ready to get her nails done

All done... look how pretty. She was on cloud 9 the rest of the day :)

I took her to Mas x Menos and let her pick out a toy for her birthday present. She chose this baby doll set.

Having pizza

Time for cake!

So Princess had been asking to get her hair flat ironed for a while. Well, my in-laws got her a flat iron for her gift and I decided to grant her wish for her birthday. I mean after all, you only turn 5 once right?

Party time!

Pinata

After the party, we all headed out to the movies for some good 'ole family fun.

THE Dream Dress

I found my dress!!!!!! I cannot believe it! I am still on cloud 19!!! After my last (and first) dress shopping appointment, I was not really looking forward to more fittings. To be honest, I was over the whole experience and didn't have hope in finding a dress I would love. I actually thought I would be looking for months before I found something I could be happy with. Not to mention the prices. They are so insane, I was worried I wouldn't be able to afford something in my budget.

I thought about renting a mediocre dress (after all what will I do with the dress after the wedding?) But the whole idea of buying a dress that was mine to keep was still in the back of my mind of something I wanted to do.

It was by chance I found my dream dress. I went back to the dressmaker's shop to pick up the quote for a custom made dress, when I saw a wedding dress on a mannequin that I liked. I asked her assistant to let me know the price of the dress in hopes it would be cheaper than the quote I was given for a dress made from scratch.

After a few days, the dress was still there and each and every time I saw it, I fell more and more in like with it. So one day, I went in and talked to the owner and let her know the quote she had given me was too high, what my budget was and asked about the already made dress she had for sale. When she told me the price, I couldn't help but hope that my strong like for the dress could turn into love if I just tried it on. So I made an appointment for a fitting.

After I put on the dress... it just felt RIGHT! I did not want to take it off. It was perfect (if a little too big). It was THE dress. The one I had in my mind of what I wanted. I couldn't believe I had found my dress and I could not believe I could finally stop looking for the one because I had found it, in a local seamstress's shop. After the shock and awe, I bought the dress right then and there.

The dress has cap sleeves (yes, I never wanted strapless). The sleeves criss-cross in the back with 4 straps. It is a princess dress and light and fluffy but not too puffy. It is simple yet still elegant. I cannot wait to get married in it.

Now, the dress is not ready yet. My payment was a deposit, and then I pay a minimum amount every couple of weeks. The total price of the dress includes all the alterations, a cleaning and a good pressing and a crinoline to make the skirt fuller and give it more of a ball gown princess effect. To be honest, there was only one minor issue that needed fixing on the dress, so I am anxious to see how it fits after all the work is done. And I am glad it didn't need too much done to it at all.

I am just so excited to have finally found a dress I love, my dream dress without having to settle or paying an astronomical amount of money. Having the dress makes the wedding seem so much more real.

My dream dress... I felt like a princess!