Holiday P.S.A.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

And please, spare the world and do NOT do the following :

Image courtesy of takadanama.com

Image courtesy of marketplace.secondlife.com

Image courtesy of hairstyletwist.com

And last but not least, do NOT do this :

Image courtesy of squidoo.com

For the love.

But okay, I am a little bit of a sucker for this vintage book cover I stumbled across :

 Image courtesy of ladybluestocking.com

But then again, she's not wearing a slutted-up evening-wear santa suit with antlers on her tiara. Something for everyone, I guess.
Happy Holidays Everyone!

Note: Not sure why my 'scheduled' posts aren't posting... Sorry for the delay in Christmas wishes, but happy holidays just the same!

Lovin' An Oven

As we inch/creep/move-at-a-snail's-pace toward home ownership, one of the stipulations of the bank is that we install a range (or at least show proof-of-purchase) prior to closing. Apparently if there are no appliances in the house (thankssssssssssssssss, previous owners, for that one.), a stove somehow makes it a "livable residence".

............Alright.

So! We went a'lookin' this weekend and found this bad boy at a local business (Judd & Black) :

Love that it's electric but LOOKS like gas, thanks to the knobs on the front instead of on a backsplash-style panel. Just a little non-wedding related life tidbit!

In actual wedding news, fringing the letters has taken a bit of a backseat to some last minute gift whipping up (there's only so much floor space in a small apartment), but I plan to spend some time with that crazy-tedious super fun project once my break from work begins at the end of this week.

Scotch Free

You know it's love when your fiance brings home a suprise for you : Not one, not even three, but EIGHT rolls of Scotch tape.

 Image courtesy of Sears.com

It's been a cuh-ray-zay week, and I haven't had the time 'nor the gumption to make a special trip to stock up, so Nate decided to surprise me with a haul last night. Swoon.

And on that note, have you seen the MIND BLOWING stuff people do with tape?! Seriously, who knew...

 Ducks!

Image courtesy of ironicresult.com

Dragon!

Image courtesy of bayourenaissanceman.com

Kids! (and also : HOLY CRAP! AMAZING!)

Image courtesy of niceshoes.com

On The Fringes

Fringe Fest 2011

That's what the craft projects of the weekend should be titled. 'Maid (of Honor) Emily arrived and flexed her patience craft muscles on the project of attaching fringe to the 3-D letters (remember those guys?). And you know what? I'm going to let the pictures do the talking.

 My view from the 'V' to Em's 'L'

No, not a hula skirt. 'V' in progress (have faith, grasshoppers!)

Craptactularly (yep, you heard me) lit photo of the finished 'V'

'E' is for Em!

My best gal and the dog who worships her (mine. feel the love).

 

I still need to finish the 'E' and tackle the 'O', but we're moving right along. The worst part is snipping all the tissue. Can you say hand cramp?! But hopefully the textural finish and scale will be worth it.

Insider trading tip of the day : Invest in Scotch tape. Because I'm about to go buy a few cases. 

And for the record, I know it's gotten a leeeeetle bit quieter on this blog of late, and that's because it's just frankly less of a crazy wedding whirlwind then it has been. And you know what? I'm grateful. With the holidays around the corner (um, literally : 12 DAYS until Christmas, can you handle it?), out-of-towners making their appearances, and trying to buy this house in the middle of it all, I'm soaking up the respite.... If that's what you can even call what I just listed off. A respite from wedding planning/stresses at least!

So cheers to time with family and friends who love you enough to sit on your apartment floor buried in tissue for hours on end. Thanks Em!!!

P.S. Need an insight to how my brain works? (careful, it's scary in here...)

Here is the original inspiration for what's clearly taken on a life of it's own in my hands.

A 'Maid to Order Weekend

Okay, so I'm not actually going to order her around ... much .... but 'Maid (of Honor) Emily is  making the trek from Portland to have a Wedding Craft Take-Down Weekend (WCTDW) with me starting Friday!

Pippa Middleton ~ World's most famous Maid of Honor

Image courtesy of FashionFame.com

Already planned is a trip to Michael's, some sushi eating, coffee getting, brunch-going, drink-drinking... Um... so basically we'll be eating our way through. Nate's already offered to be our bar tender, which means any and all crafting will have to end before happy hour to prevent wonky tissue or upside down cake stands (just kidding, Mom).

So not a ton getting done on the craft front this week since WCTDW is the perfect excuse to procrastinate during the current weekdays (other than me maniacally finishing my friend-gifts project last night so Em doesn't see and ruin her surprise).

Two sets of hands, a solid 24 hours plus, and someone who knows how to put up with me? Awesome.

Bride and MOH jumping on bed

Image courtesy of BrittanyRumsey.tumblr.com

Task Master

Is it just me or as the holidays approach do the weekends fly by even faster? Even though mine kicked off a few hours early with our Lord Hill Farms tasting on Friday, those two-point-five days just seemed to evaporate. Maybe I'll feel better after an Accomplished This Weekend In Pictures sesh.....

Tasted (and chose!!) The Day's din din :

 

Gorgonzola Pasta at Lord Hill

Asiago-Stuffed Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce at Lord Hill

  

We also managed to eat SO MUCH FOOD that we literally didn't eat for the rest of the day. The bride and groom that had the tasting appointment with us were having appetizers, so while we managed to avoid that up-sell, we still got to partake in the deliciousness. Because, you know, we needed more food.

We also hit up Home Depot :

A little laminate research - This one's my pick

Mini Christmas Tree!

The mini Christmas tree was the best compromise this year as A) I advocate for a real tree EVERY YEAR and Safety Nate always denies, and B) with moving looming on the horizon (no new house news - STILL waiting on the bank that owns it to drop the hammer), this seemed an easier route than hauling out the big one we use every year and then having to pack it up again so soon.

Last but not least, my logical self decided I needed another project, so I gathered up all the ingredients to make some gifts to send my pals (don't judge me, I know I'm nuts) :

I can't spill the beans and tell what I'm making, but my hot craft tip-o-the-day is Buffalo Snow. It's the stuff you're supposed to put on the mantel or around the tree to look like fluffy snowfall, but it's basically a gigantic bag of Poly Fill but softer and for like half the price. I got mine at Michael's... I'd say "in the Christmas section", but apparently the entire store has been taking over by craft-centric elves because I actually had a hard time finding NORMAL craft supplies.

At a CRAFT STORE.

But I digress. It's good stuff, and I think could double as batting since it comes in a sort of weird sheet. Information  you never knew you wanted, eh? You're welcome.

Weekend success!

Tasty Treat

We are headed to Lord Hill Farms today for our tasting session to determine which dishes we'll have served for din din on The Day.

Lord Hill Farms ~ Photo courtesy of BeccaHowell.com

Obnoxiously, that means cutting into our work days as the tastings are only offered on Friday afternoons (really!?), but I'm sure it will be fun once there.

We'll be trying things like this :

Roast Salmon ~ Image courtesy of TastyKitchen.com

This :

 Stuffed Chicken ~ Image courtesy of Williams-Sonoma.com

And this : 

Pastas ~ Image courtesy of LifesAmbrosia.com

... And choosing two of the three. 

After looking at those pictures I'm decidedly more excited about lunch. Cheers!

Tissue and Tulle and Lace, Oh My!

Knee deep in making the tissue/tulle/lace flowers for the centerpieces these days. And at the risk of ruining the 'magic', I snapped a pic of a few in progress last night for those interested :

Those 'stems' you see are bits of sturdy floral wire with a large plastic bead attached at one end. Then all that's left to do is a little stringing action (okay, mixed with some strategic folding and crimping to up the pretty factor).
Here's an Instagram shot of the flowers created from the supplies you just saw above :

I heart easy.